Guyana chronicle e paper 10 15 2017

Ayodele Sampson’s tough but rewarding journey as a farmer

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Anjuli Beharry Strand, mother, wife, businesswoman, breast cancer survivor (Photo credit: John Greene)

‘fight’ Learning the meaning of

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See inside: No Bra Day, the ► Page II controversy and the cause

A breast cancer survivor’s story

No. 105066

SUNDAY OCTOBER 15, 2017

Price: $140

Be more competitive (VAT Inclusive)

…CDB representative urges Guyana Government

DIVERSITY! Team Bazodee, a participating team of Fifth Form students, join hands to create their Rangoli

U.S. envoy advises...

Bone up on the subject first Page 9

– before making misleading statements about emerging oil, gas sector

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QC sets the tone ahead of Diwali

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GPL prepared to meet increased demand at Christmas Page 8

Police destroy Yarrowkabra ‘ganja farm’

– no one arrested

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

QC sets the tone ahead of Diwali – with annual Rangoli competition

QUEEN’S College (QC) held its third annual rangoli competition on Saturday in observance of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

The competition was organised by the school’s Hindu Society and featured students of the college either representing their houses or their friends’ groups, as they vied to see who could make the best rangoli, an art design made of rice, flour or sand.

Fourteen teams participated in the event this year, and in the end, it was the ‘Lit Lo-

Another participant applies the finishing touches to her Rangoli

The second-place Rangoli created by Raleigh House

tuses’ who were adjudged as having the best rangoli, while ‘Raleigh/‘B’ House’ and ‘Pilgrim/ ‘E’ House’ came in second and third respectively.

College Principal, Ms Jackie Benn-Ralph, who also functioned as Chief Judge, noted that the students were judged on their use of symmetry, colour, space, relevance to the holiday and punctuality.

Pandit Khemraj Persaud, another judge, said that though he has seen and judged many local and foreign competitions, these designs were

“excellent.”

He, however, urged that the students remain cognisant of the significance of Diwali, as while it is a Hindu holiday, it signifies the triumph of good over evil, which is something universal.

In observance of this festival, Queen’s College has also participated in the National Rangoli Competition, organised by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.

Here, the school copped second place, losing by 0.2 points to St. Joseph High.

Be more competitive

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

…CDB representative urges Guyana Government

By Navendra Seoraj GRADUATING from a middle-income developing country to a high-income country will present the risk of Guyana moving from being able to access concessional financing to the access of commercial loans, so stakeholders were urged to improve competitiveness.

As a low-income and then middle-income country, Guyana has enjoyed access to concessional loans which are extended on terms substantially more generous than market loans, but with the potential oil and gas industry this privilege might be limited.

A representative from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Kevin Hope, during a panel discussion on economic development at the just concluded Business Summit, urged the Government to look at ways to provide an injection for the private sector to lead growth through business in order to counter the inability to access concessional loans.

Local economist from the Inter-American Development Bank Mark Wenner, earlier in the discussion had explained that many donor countries raise money from their taxpayers to send as grants to the least-developed countries, so providing that Guyana moves to being a high-income earner, the argument will be more difficult.

The CDB representative as such suggested that the

President David Granger addresses the gathering at the opening of the inaugural Business Summit on Wednesday

government look at improving the country’s competitive ranking by employing initiatives that will inhibit economic growth. According to statistics that he read, Guyana was in the 100s for doing business and being competitive.

Although government had announced many initiatives and projects that will be drivers of growth, Hope said the implementation rate has been recorded at south of 50 per cent over the past years.

“Around the Region we do a lot of talking and not implementing…there are over 147 items on the government’s agenda… We need to take our time and take a look at those that have a high impact and are easy to implement in order to develop a culture of implementation,” said Hope.

In addition, he reiterated that in any sort of outlook

when doing a vision plan, a Government needs to identify who would be the drivers of growth in an economy.

The issue of bureaucracy in government was identified as one of the issues that might stymie the process.

According to the CDB representative, Government needs to look at how they can design or provide support in order to attract the members of the private sector.

Over the years, the CDB has reportedly been focusing on helping government to design developmental plans and guidelines.

Some of the necessary growth initiatives that the CDB has identified are to rebuild public trust and investor confidence, something which the Government of Jamaica has reportedly done to stabilise its economy.

“To a large extent, the importance is designing a specific structure where all

cy and domestic violence.

He therefore indicated that empowering women could accelerate better outcomes.

Hope again made reference to Jamaica which had high debts, which were reduced when the country started focusing on delivery and implementation.

Hope said the Government of Jamaica also had active engagements with civil society, the opposition and private sector, which led to continuity in growth.

Representative of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Kevin Hope, expresses his concern during the panel discussion on Economic Development

parties are involved,” asserted Hope, who pointed out that for instance in Guyana, women were earning less on average which adds to the risk of teenage pregnan-

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Although Guyana’s economy is not the same as Jamaica’s, he said there needs to be a National Development Plan and the need for all stakeholders to align themselves to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is also need for strong visible leadership; clear mandates and a

90 per cent implementation rate.

The CDB representative said the Government also needed to strengthen the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), given that in July Government had reported that less than 30 per cent of the PSIP was expended.

Once all those issues are addressed, Hope pointed out that there would be better focus on private/public partnership.

The concentration on primary production has however exposed the local economy to market volatilities and economic vulnerabilities, said President David Granger, who urged investors to diversify and innovate in order to avoid the distress caused by those variations.

For years, major emphasis has been placed on the extractive industries, with little attention on creating a value-added product out of the raw materials that are extracted. This was the main focus of President Granger during his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s two-day business summit held under the theme “Challenges and opportunities for growth and expansion,” at the Marriott hotel, Georgetown, on Wednesday.

At the forum, stakeholders had an opportunity to relay their independent and uncensored views about how to improve business and by

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

Oscars board votes to expel Weinstein –– amidst growing sex scandal

THE organisation behind the Oscars has voted to expel Harvey Weinstein following numerous allegations of sexual assault made against the film producer.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and

Sciences said its board “voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority” to expel him.

Its members include Hollywood figures such as Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg.

Weinstein’s films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations, and won 81.

The emergency board meeting followed an avalanche of accusations against the producer by more than two dozen women, including actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose McGowan, all of whom allege that he raped them in a hotel room.

Police forces in the US and the UK are investigating the allegations.

Weinstein has insisted, through a spokeswoman, that any sexual contacts he had were consensual, and he denies accusations of criminal sexual harassment, rape and sexual assault.

In a statement, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said they voted to expel Weinstein “not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues, but also to send a message that the era of wilful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behaviour and workplace harassment in our industry is over.”

They added: “What’s

at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”

Weinstein’s expulsion means he will no longer be able to vote for nominees or winners in the Oscars.

It is only the second time a member has been expelled. Actor Carmine Caridi had his membership revoked in 2004 for piracy.

As the co-founder of Miramax Pictures and the Weinstein Company, Weinstein produced some of cinema’s most celebrated films, including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, and Shakespeare in Love.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) earlier suspended the disgraced mogul.

‘SICK AND DEPRAVED’ Pierre Lescure, president of the Cannes Film Festival where Weinstein was a regular, said the organisation was “dismayed to learn of the accusations”.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Weinstein’s brother, Bob, called him “sick and depraved”, and said he had no idea of “the type of predator that he was”.

He refused to comment on reports that he and the board of Weinstein Company were aware of Weinstein’s settlements with women during recent contract negotiations, saying only that “the board did not know the extent of my brother’s actions.”

He went on to call his brother’s apology statement “utter insanity” and a “lame excuse”.

“I’ll tell you what I did know,” he said. “Harvey was a bully; Harvey was arrogant... That I knew.”

Earlier, Bob Weinstein denied media reports that the Weinstein Company, which has placed Harvey Weinstein on indefi-

nite leave, could now be closed or sold.

But several large film projects have been pulled from the company already, and reports in the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal said that financers had begun to pressure the board to sell.

Weinstein has denied allegations of rape, detailed in The New Yorker magazine, saying that there were no acts of non-consensual sex.

His wife, Georgina Chapman said on Tuesday that she was leaving him.

On Wednesday, US prosecutors defended their decision not to take action against Weinstein in 2015 after Italian model, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, then 22, alleged that he had touched her inappropriately.

A subsequent sting operation recorded the producer repeatedly attempting to coerce Gutierrez, but the Manhattan district attorney’s office said the audio was “insufficient to prove a crime”. (BBC)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

After Irma ...

Barbudans return to pick up pieces EMOTIONS are high in the low morning sun. The crowd gathered is far more than the boat can carry.

As a beleaguered official begins her sombre roll call, each person, armed with brooms, mops and gloves and blinking against the bright sunlight, is hoping theirs will be the next name to be called.

These are the grim faces of the Barbudans who lost everything they had when cataclysmic Hurricane Irma barrelled through their island on 6 September, prompting a mandatory evacuation two days later.

A month on, many are still living in shelters on sister island, Antigua and have not yet received permission to return to begin the onerous task of sorting through the rain-sodden remains of their possessions and rebuilding their pulverised houses.

Authorities are keen on striking a balance between allowing the 1,800 residents home, and ensuring there is the infrastructure to cope.

Today, the Warner family are among the lucky ones.

But they are under no illusions about what awaits them. Their home was one of many smashed to pieces

by Irma’s ferocious 185mph winds.

For now, sorting through that carnage will have to wait, says Juliette Warner.

The relatively unscathed single-storey property is a refreshing sight among its ravaged neighbours.

Mrs Warner hopes it will be habitable within a couple of weeks. “My sister lives in Canada, so it was empty inside,” she explains.

“First we had to get all the water out; that took an hour. Next is mopping and scrubbing the floors.”

A PLACE TO SLEEP Once the family has a place to sleep, they will begin to remove the rubble from where their own home once stood. That alone will take a week, Mrs Warner says.

Government chiefs say they hope to restore electricity and running water to the stricken eastern Ca-

Going home to try and salvage what they can

ribbean isle within two months. Efforts to replace telephone lines and keep disease-spreading mosquitoes at bay are also underway.

Most of the once-charming township of Codrington remains deathly quiet; a kind of post-apocalyptic feeling.

A clock on one roofless wall eerily stuck 5:25, the time when the storm hit.

Often, the only noises come from the odd whirr of a generator, a cockerel’s crow, or the sudden appearance of some skittish goats making their way down a side street.

“There’s a lot of debris there: Bits of roof, trees, someone’s freezer,” says Mrs Warner. “But I thank God for life; material things can be replaced.”

Her most heart-breaking losses are her new sofa set, imported from the Virgin Islands, and her beloved goldfish.

“My seven goldfish were my pets; I loved them,” she says. “They survived the storm, but after the evacuation, I couldn’t get back to feed them.”

Mr Warner says he is grief-stricken at losing the only photo of his parents when they were young, carefree and smiling on their wedding day.

The couple’s daughter, Cheniesha, is missing her friends, along with normality. “The worst part is that school’s closed and no-one’s around.

I’ve been helping my mum and dad, but it’s so hot. I just want to see the place back to how it was before,” she said.

Juliette Warner and her daughter trying to clean up as best they can before moving back home WHERE TO START? Eighty-year-old Manoah DeSouza is starting by ensuring he at least has something clean to wear.

“I will have to replace the roof, but I am starting by washing all my clothes. The water ruined everything, even my bed,” he says sadly from outside the shattered property his parents built decades ago.

Fellow octogenarian, Miriam Harris is also hard at work, single-handedly cleaning up the house she has lived in since 1982.

In the absence of her kitchen, she has been cooking on a traditional coal-pot.

There is one bonus to the laborious daily hunt for wood to fire it up; the food tastes a lot better, she says with a wink.

Myra Askie says that while her guest house stood up to Irma, her mother’s home next door did not.

Standing between a forlorn rack of salvaged clothes and

a heap of detritus, she says her elderly mother is still in shock.

“Hardly anything could

be saved,” Ms Askie says.

“She lost all her photos of her parents and grandparents.” (BBC)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

Violent crimes and the soul of the nation

GUYANESE cannot be comfortable with the number of murders that have so frequently been occurring in our country.

These past few weeks have been especially bloody—from the murder of young Leonard Archibald to the hacking to death of Kenesha Sheriff-Fraser to the senseless killing of two senior citizens, Constance Fraser and Phyllis Melrose Caesar. It seems as if we have been waking up to one of these violent incidents every day. There were many before and have been others since the ones cited here. What is particularly hard to come to grips with is the wanton disregard for human life that seems to be at play here.

Violent crimes are not new to the human experience and to Guyana. Indeed, we have witnessed in recent times in the wider CARICOM Region an alarming rise in such crimes. But, for us in Guyana, we have reached the point where we should not continue to treat this development as normal. If we are to be honest with ourselves, we are being faced with a gathering national security threat that cannot be explained by any single social factor. It is the multiplicity of causes that must worry those who are charged with maintaining law and order in our society—the circumstances of these murders range from jealousy to domestic abuse to robbery to mental health.

Our social scientists have long argued

that the root cause of our relatively high crime rate lies in our inability to rid our country of the scourge of poverty. That prognosis still holds true. But what accounts for the sharp increase in violent crimes, whereby those who commit these acts seem to be simultaneously intent on taking the lives of the victims ? It is not unreasonable to conclude that there must be other factors at work. It is difficult not to be swayed in the direction of those who believe that, in addition to the socio-economic condition, we are quickly losing our moral compass— something deadly is taking hold of the soul of the nation.

What on earth could explain the targeting of a little boy, full of life and hope and a long, bright future, for the kind of dark end that was meted out to him by adults in his community? We may be tempted to view that incident as an isolated one, but we have seen too many similar murders. We should guard against the temptation to be drawn into that proverbial comfort zone. When young men, in the course of a robbery, could matter-of-factly, but intentionally, snuff out the lives of two older women just because they raised an alarm on seeing strange men in their home, then our society is in serious trouble. Just look at how a man could pre-meditate to murder a woman for whatever reason and then calmly take his own life!

We cannot as a society continue to be comfortable with these senseless acts. There are those who will turn this into a partisan political football by charging the present government with being unable to bring the crime rate under control. Many will call for this and that minister to be fired. But, that very political chatter may be a hindrance to a wider societal approach to this problem.

How many times have we, for example, racialised the crime and violence in our midst, thus leading to the belief by some that their community does not produce crime and to the motivation by others to be defensive about the same? If we have not realised by now that this phenomenon cuts across ethnicity, then we will be forever trapped in a state of paralysis.

The police force and the government of the day have so often turned to statistics to explain the crime situation—we are constantly fed with statistics about the decrease in crimes. While statistics don’t necessarily lie, they often mask the human toll that crime and violence take on a society. It is impossible, inhuman and immoral to quantify violent crimes—the impact can never be captured by numerical decreases or increases.

Some may be tempted to reach for the easy solution—capital punishment. We say easy, because the operationalising of that form of punishment does not require

rational thought or policy-making. We acknowledge that it is difficult to tell the families and loved ones of the victims of violence that capital punishment is not an effective form of deterrence, that while it satisfies a limited desire for justice, it has not made the rest of us less vulnerable to violence.

This crime situation is out of control.

The government, as stewards of our dayto-day affairs must take the lead in bringing some sanity to the situation. But we must admit that the solution is not straightforward for the source is a combination of the social, economic and the moral. But it seems that we have reached the point where all sectors and sections of the society must assume responsibility for the moment.

These mostly young men do not drop from the sky, they come from communities.

And these communities are full of churches and clubs and other organisations of faith.

It may be that our religious organisations should tailor their gospel and teachings towards helping to create zones of deterrence from violence. The mission of our churches and schools and social organisations must be to deter our young people not just from crime, but from the culture of violence that is eating away at our social fabric.

If we do not begin to act in unison now, our nation could descend into anarchy.

Some singing early for anticipated supper Dear Editor, I HAVE been observing a certain trend of letter-writing from Mr. Adrian Anamayah (M.P. and Attorney at Law) and Mr. Harry Gill (M.P.), whereby they lavishly lauded the leadership of the former President Mr. Jagdeo to the extent of idol-worshipping him. It seems that they are quite ready to bury the achievements under the

late Dr. Cheddi Jagan and install Jagdeo as the new face of the PPP. I do think that these gentlemen have started to sing very early for their anticipated supper come the 2020 General Elections. I have also noted with interest that most of the letter-writers are MPs of the Opposition.

I have noted that Anamayah credited ‘fundamental transformatiive’ moves to Jagdeo and the former PPP

Administration, but failed to mention that one of such moves was to introduce the killer 16% VAT which this government is now feverishly trying to reduce. Another failed ‘transformative move’ was the Skeldon Modernisation project which bankrupted Guysuco and sounded the death knell of an Industry which sustains nearly 16,000 of its own members and supporters.

The old Skeldon factory

was still functional at the time and was producing nearly 35,000 tons of sugar, an achievement which the new Skeldon factory is suffering or failing to do. Today, thousands of distraught workers are unclear about their fate because 15 years after the EU cuts were known, Jagdeo and his ‘hardworking’ administration were too busy arranging schemes to enrich themselves through the Skeldon

Modernisation project which they knew would fail.

But Skeldon was not the only one. The Amaila Road which was originally contracted to ‘Fip’ Motielall who interestingly never built a road in his life, and after passing through the hands of several contractors became a wasted project since the Amaila Project was scrapped because of several reasons which include its feasibility.

In excess of US$30 mil-

lion was spent, funds which could have been allocated for more meaningful developmental works. Even so, the maintenance cost of this road will negate its benefits which has been approximated at $120,000 per kilometre and will increase as the road ages. Another of Jagdeo’s great ‘transformative moves.’

Next in line comes the See page 7

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

Some singing early for ...

From page 6

Pradoville 2 enrichment scheme. The ordinary sugar workers pay over $ 500 per square foot for swamp lands with poor infrastructure, while Jagdeo and his gang pay just about $114 per square foot for lands which have top-class infrastructure.

Funds that were spent from the government coffers to effect infrastructural developments amounted to hundreds of millions.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cronyism and corruption. The media and telecommunications sector were not spared. Billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money were squandered through failed projects such as the fibre-optic cable project which cost $1.3 billion. Radio licences and frequencies worth billions were actually gifted to friends and relatives of Jagdeo and other ex-ministers. The names of Robert Persaud and Bobby Ramroop tower above the rest. I guess these were more ‘fundamental transformative’ moves by Jagdeo and his administration.

The above are only some of the corrupt moves by Jagdeo and his administration. The list is very long and includes what it did to the monies from the Petro Caribe deal, the Marriott hotel, the sale of GT&T shares and so many others.

So the next time Mr. Anamayah speaks about ‘fundamental transformative’ moves to suck up to Jagdeo, he should look at some of these and ask himself where this country would have been without the mismanagement, cronyism and corruption dished out to this nation.

Then there are the controversies surrounding the giving away of most of the off-shore oil blocks and the forest concessions. At the end of the day, it is clear that the Jagdeo administration undersold or ‘gifted’ many of our resources for his personal enrichment and for those of his ministers and their friends and families.

This country could have been far ahead than where it was at the end of the PPP’s period in office in 2015, but after the death of the Jagans the PPP fell into the hands of common thieves and their friends who raped and exploited this country mercilessly.

So much for ‘fundamental transformative moves’ by Jagdeo and his gang of desperados.

Yours sincerely, Muhammad Mustapha

The aim is to inflame ethnic tension Dear Editor, HERE they come again from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic). This time, it is Gail Teixeira, a chief spokesperson, who in a letter dated October 8, 2017, via the Stabroek News, is levelling the usual accusation of ethnic discrimination against the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change(APNU+AFC).

This is in relation to the coalition government having to terminate the contracts/ employment of persons for reasons already publicised.

This line by the political opposition is not surprising, since it has been continuously peddled as a sympathy-garnering gambit, with the aim of inflaming ethnic tension.

But it is false and riddled with deception as only the PPP/C can be.

Roll back the years to 1992, when the PPP/C returned to office – recall what they did? They terminated the services of numerous African, high-ranking and middle-level personnel in many parts of the Public Service.

Clement Rohee, the newly appointed Foreign Minister at the time, visited every overseas Guyana mission and threw out many a career diplomat.

I am certain that the cases of Arnon Adams, who was simply side-lined at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by being given a desk; and the late former Ambassador

to Washington, Dr. Cedric Grant, and subsequently Foreign Affairs Advisor to the late President Desmond Hoyte, will be recalled as examples. It took a High Court action by the former, so as to receive his benefits; so vindictive were those people in Robb Street!

This particular action resulted in the destruction of what was once one of the Third World’s most respectable foreign services, with its institutional memory becoming obliterated. During this time, Guyana was noted for its sterling contributions as head of many United Nations committees etc.

Some years ago, in a sworn statement before the High Court, Roger Luncheon made the shocking statement that there were not any qualified Africans to fill diplomatic postings! That was how racist the PPP/C had been, and still is.

I should also add the gradual heaving out of the permanent secretaries. By 1994,more than 90% of them had been replaced! How about that for institutional memory, Ms. Teixeira?

Now, now, what about the Indigenous Community Support Officers? Terminated by whom? This is another BIG PPP/C LIE that must be torn to pieces.

It was already decided by the PPP/C, before they lost the 2015 national elections, that the services of all the Community Support Officers would end. I stand to be corrected, by saying that they

never informed the CSOs of that decision. In reality, the latter were being paid a stipend of $30000 monthly, but were doing political work for the PPP/C party.

Editor, you will agree with me that such was a flagrant misuse of taxpayers’ hard earned money, apart from a waste of a category of precious human capital – young people.

Today, most of these young people, who as former CSOs were unskilled, have been engaged in skills training endeavours with a view to making them employable, or self- employed. This is a major component of the Hinterland Education Youth Service(HEYS) which also pays a grant to these trainees.

Any new administration that would have taken office with inherited, scores of staff, employed to create mischief, such as writing letters and using the Facebook component to abuse opponents of the former government, in addition to being secreted on payrolls throughout the public service; and staff whose willingness to serve in the new dispensation doubtful, is within its right to determine their retention, or not.

In fact, it is well known that many of these persons, because of their close affiliation to the defeated PPP/C, tendered their resignations within a short while. They decided that they were not going to serve, or work, with the new government Whose fault is that?

There are still many known supporters of the former PPP/C administration, who are still in sensitive portfolios. That they are still there is because of the decision of the President that he and government are wholly concerned with their professional service and not political affiliation. This is how wise and magnanimous our new government is.

Not the PPP/C. In 1992, as outlined above, there were many Africans who had indicated their willingness to continue serving their country. Ms. Teixeira should be reminded – THEY WERE GIVEN MARCHING ORDERS because of the perception that they were People’s National Congress(PNC) members.

Finally, there is this belief that reeks of bullyism, from the PPP/C, that no action of any kind, irrespective of what proven offence had been committed, should be taken against any Indo-Guyanese, particularly those with party connections. In every case where Indo-Guyanese have been charged and placed before the court, there have been loud protests.

This is the mindset of Bharat Jagdeo and party colleagues, inclusive of Madame Gail Teixeira. No wonder, the revelations of the audit reports.

But this was the PPP/C that for 23 years presided over a criminal state.

Sincerely yours Cindy Evans

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

GPL prepared to meet increased demand at Christmas – Acting CEO Homer

By Telesha Ramnarine

THE Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. has said that it foresees no significant issues around the Christmas season that usually features an increased demand, as the company has already started its ‘housekeeping’ in terms of network and generation maintenance.

Acting Chief Executive Officer at GPL, Mr. Renford Homer, spoke with the Guyana Chronicle Friday night at a dinner the power company hosted to treat media operatives at Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.

Also present at the dinner were Deputy CEO – Technical Elwyn Marshall, Divisional Director- Operations Bharat Harjohn, Divisional Director- Information Technology Vijay Datadin, Divisional Director- Projects Ryan Ross, Divisional Director- Loss Reduction Parsram Persaud, and other top GPL officers.

Homer referred to past Christmases when GPL was

able to deliver an “acceptable” level of service and noted that this year’s celebration, just about two months away, is no different. “We do inject a lot of effort coming into Christmas, and well ahead of Christmas, so we do those housekeeping things that would put us in a better position. We have started, and our expectation is to be in a strong state of readiness as we come into the Christmas season.”

“I think outages during that time are significantly reduced, so we don’t envisage significant issues of any nature around that season,” Homer continued.

Furthermore, Homer said GPL is looking to tap into more modern technologies that would improve the efficiency of the services being provided. “We have been making some interventions of late, where we are looking at more modern technologies to better alert us to where some of the faults are so we can respond a lot faster, make those corrections a lot faster, and of course, reduce the discomfort and disturbance that

Renford Homer

might have been experienced by customers.”

SPATE OF BLACKOUTS Homer offered that the many blackouts over the past few months can be credited significantly to engines that were either out on plan maintenance or those that suffered machine failures.

“What happens in such cases is if we are unable to meet the demand with our

generation, then we have to reduce the load on the system in order to maintain the system and keep it up and running,” he explained.

Nevertheless, Homer referred to the return of a fair amount of capacity into the grid which he said has resulted in the frequency of outages being reduced somewhat.

“Admittedly, there is still the shorter outages which can be because of other network-related issues that would normally be addressed through plan maintenance.”

He said GPL’s generation challenge mainly contributed to the many blackouts recently. “We had at many times a peak demand in the Demerara/ Berbice and its connected system of approximately 115 megawatts. There were occasions where we just about, in our available capacity, met that demand and in some cases, we were unable to do so. As we monitor the system and there was a clear recognition that we were challenged to meet that demand, then there were certain decisions we had to take and that would have meant

relieving and reducing the load in certain areas.”

NO TARGETED AREAS Homer said there is a methodology that the power company uses to relieve the load so there are no areas that are targeted. “You don’t want to just have one area being affected all the time. As our generation returned to a level of acceptable normalcy, then there was a reduced number of outages and we continue to work assiduously to further reduce our outages to pretty much a system where outages are not something that need to really be experienced by our customers.”

NO OVERNIGHT IMPROVEMENTS Homer expressed that GPL is continuing to inject “every effort” to improve on quality of supply and on delivery of services. “This is not something that will happen overnight. We have come from a system where we were plagued with outages for years and we have seen significant improvements and

we continue to inject our efforts to move us to that point where outages become significantly reduced or pretty much nonexistent,” he said.

He observed that improvement of a network and service delivery require significant capital investment and hence it will take a process. “It will be done over a period. It is not something you can achieve and you stop there. You would always have network issues and generation matters to address, because the business is very dynamic and you will have an increase in customers which means you will have an increase in load.”

Homer also noted that any disturbance of electricity is met with a high degree of disgust, because people’s lives are now more driven to a large extent by electronic appliances. “Any disturbance is not something that is accepted as okay. Any disturbance obviously brings about a disruption to operations, a disruption to domestic lives that people don’t find palatable.”

Spinal cord injuries to be given prominence

– as Guyana readies to dedicate special month to raising awareness on subject

By Telesha Ramnarine TWENTY-nine-year-old Suzana ‘Suzan’ Da Silva experienced major life changes when she was shot during a robbery back in 2014 that resulted in damage to her spinal cord and a life of being in a wheelchair permanently.

It was “devastating” to her when she realised the seriousness of her injuries, and after receiving therapy overseas and returning to Guyana, she decided that it was time for her to raise awareness among persons here who are suffering like her.

It was then that she made contact with Senior Physiotherapist, Barbara Lawrence of the Ministry of Public Health’s Rehabilitation Department, and inquired if they were aware that there’s an entire month designated for spinal cord injuries.

Lawrence and her team, who operate out of the Palms compound on Brickdam, had never known that such a

Former Magistrate, Mr Fazil Azeez (with mike) making a contribution at the workshop.

He was injured after what he believes to be an attempt by someone to take his life

‘month’ existed worldwide, and thus immediately organised an event at the Regency Suites Hotel to help Suzan’s cause.

By the time Suzan contacted Lawrence, the month of September was already half gone, but Lawrence was nevertheless determined to do a workshop to help raise awareness.

“She was the one who brought it to our attention, because we were not even aware that there was a month designated for spinal cord injury,” Lawrence said.

“She called and asked us

if we can support her in terms of raising awareness because a lot of persons have such injuries but are just hiding away at home,” she told the Guyana Chronicle at the hotel event.

“At the Palms, we see spinal cord patients. Most of them will not walk again, but what we aim to do is help them get independent at a wheelchair level,” she said, noting that the forum provided a good opportunity for those affected to interact with persons like themselves. “It’s one thing for us to talk to them because we have our two feet, but it’s a different thing for them to hear

from each other,” Lawrence said, Adding: “We have quite a few persons, but their morale is quite low because they often can’t go back to work and so forth.”

The event not only catered for patients with spinal injuries, but for their caregivers as well, since most patients cannot operate independently.

ACCESSIBILITY Physiotherapist Neil Barry, who is attached to the West Demerara Hospital, told the Guyana Chronicle in an invited comment that a national database is sorely needed so

that the authorities can determine the number of persons suffering with spine injuries.

He also spoke about the need for more accessibility to be provided by the government. “Fifteen per cent of the world’s population develops disability, and some governments complain that it’s too expensive to make places accessible, but what the research shows is that places that are more accessible to those in wheelchairs earn more than those that are not,” Barry said.

“The disability market alone in the world earns more than a billion dollars yearly.”

Suzan herself spoke about the challenges that come with her disability as a result of limited accessibility available in Guyana for those in wheelchairs. “Accessibility in Guyana is a big problem,” she said, “because I think we have this mentality that if someone is in a wheelchair, then they should stay home.

“Sometimes I want to go out with my family, but I have to choose because the place

may not be accessible to me.

I can’t go into the movie theatre at that big mall because I would be too close to the screen,” she added.

Lawrence rejoined that Guyana’s building code should be modified to include certain requirements that cater more to the needs of these individuals.

Meanwhile, Suzan said that the workshop was just the beginning, and that she wants to form an organisation that deals with spinal injuries.

While driving her parents to the airport back in 2012, she was shot and robbed in Garnett Street, Kitty. “One of the bullets lodged in my spinal cord,” she said. “I still have one in my neck that is close to the higher part of my spine, so they said it wasn’t necessary to take it out.

“Every time I see someone get injured, I feel as though I am injured all over again because I understand their pain. I didn’t know what spinal cord injury is, so I’m glad to be able to help others.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

U.S. envoy advises...

Bone up on the subject first – before making misleading statements about emerging oil, gas sector

By Ariana Gordon U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Perry Holloway, is urging Guyanese to become “oil smart” before making inaccurate statements about the emerging oil and gas sector here.

During a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, the U.S. envoy said he has observed a number of articles over the past few months which presented much misinformation on the sector and the benefits to be accrued.

The Guyana Government in June this year announced that Guyana stands to benefit from a two-per-cent royalty when oil production begins in 2020.

In fact, the coalition government said Guyanese will enjoy significant benefits from its oil resources, as it has negotiated a 200 per cent increase on the initial agreement with U.S. oil giant, ExxonMobil.

The oil company had entered into an agreement with the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration in 1999. That agreement has since been renegotiated to ensure that Guyana and Guyanese derive sufficient benefits from the emerging oil and gas sector, the government said in a statement in June.

The government has given its word that it will continue to ensure that Guyanese and the country benefit from the emerging oil and gas sector, and that assurance followed statements made by the PPP to the effect that Guyanese have nothing to gain.

“The royalties and profit-sharing revenue are comparable with the world standard, and will redound to the benefit of all Guyanese,” the government said in its statement.

“In fact, the coalition government confirms that the 2% royalties represent a 200% increase on what the former PPP government had negotiated while it was in office before demitting in 2015,” it added.

At the time of issuing the statement, the government had said that the 2 per cent royalty will give Guyana some $7B in annual revenues on top of the 50 per cent share of profits.

NEED FOR CONVERSATION But Ambassador Hollo-

way made it clear that there needs to be conversation on the industry, and stressed that talks must bring to the fore accurate information and not speculation.

“There is no scenario where the country could get nothing, because you are going to get 2 per cent of what comes out those wells, no matter what,” he declared.

“I see articles which state that Guyana could get nothing. First of all, not true! At a minimum, there is a 2 per cent royalty right off the top.

So if the price of oil is $10 a barrel, Guyana still gets 2 per cent and Exxon Mobil gets nothing.

“There is a scenario where Guyana gets 2 per cent right off the top and Exxon Mobil could get nothing if the price of oil is so low. No one really thinks the price of oil is going to be that low,” he went on to explain.

The Ambassador was keen to note that he does not believe that the many commentators and analysts have set out to deliberately mislead the nation.

“There are a lot of articles and lots of comments out there that I am not sure where people are getting their facts or their knowledge,” he stressed.

“Sometimes I see analysis, and their math is wrong; basic math or their understanding of the Public Service Announcement. Most of the analyses do not reflect what the real truth is and the real math is.”

The U.S. envoy is urging that all stakeholders, including the average Guyanese, become educated about the oil industry and the benefits that will accrue therefrom.

“Oil is going to be a giant part of Guyana; that is transformational… One of the things I am glad about is that everyone is trying to get oil-smart. That is a very good thing,” he told the Guyana Chronicle.

He noted that ExxonMobil, which is a publicly traded company, has shareholders’ meetings during which they’ve spoken about their projected revenues and profits, and urged that persons do thorough research before making public comments on the matter.

NEW TO GUYANA The diplomat sought to remind the public that oil and gas is a new industry to Guy-

of hard work; got their application in. I am saying that I hope, as I can’t say for certain because that decision is made in Norway by a committee, but all signals are good, and I think before the end of the year, Guyana’s candidacy will likely be accepted; fingers crossed.”

U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Perry Holloway

ana, and it would be best if only accurate information is placed in the public domain.

“I am just saying a lot of what I am reading is not true.

I don’t think it is not true on purpose; no one is lying,| Ambassador Holloway said, adding: “I just don’t think they understand or know how to do the analyses. Believe me, U.S. companies have to tell the truth to their shareholders.

“I believe if we talk about it, we should talk about it based on facts.”

Asked specifically about the role the U.S. has played in assisting Guyana in preparing for the oil and gas sector, the ambassador said his country, through the embassy in Georgetown, has played, and will continue to play, a supporting role to the Government of Guyana, once asked.

He said the embassy has assisted the government in several areas, particularly in terms of technical assistance and training. Additionally, the U.S. has provided much assistance on Guyana’s application for membership to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The EITI is a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. The application was presented to Dr. Francisco Paris, Regional Director of EITI, via Skype, in a simple but significant ceremony in the ministry’s boardroom, Brickdam, earlier this year.

“The EITI process is the underlying or undergirding principle in resources of a state which belongs to the people, and therefore the incomes earned must be accounted for and spent in

accordance with both the people’s wishes,” Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman had said at the time the application was made.

Being a member of this organisation will ensure that management of the extractive sectors “is done in a manner that is transparent.”

Ambassador Holloway said the U.S. Embassy, through the Carter Center, worked with Guyana to get its application in to become a member of EITI. “I am proud to say, the Guyanese did a lot

LOTS MORE TRANSPARENCY He told the Guyana Chronicle that when Guyana’s candidacy is accepted, it will ensure lots more transparency within the extractive industry, and that is not limited to oil and gas but to gold and bauxite as well.

“But once that happens, it is a lot of work, not only for the government but for the industry as well,” said the envoy.

But notwithstanding the assistance provided thus far, the Ambassador believes more can be done on the part of the U.S. government.

“We have not written any laws or regulations…we have provided the government with model laws and regulations they might [want to] consider, [provided] technical advice on things we have been asked to comment on.

We are a country that has a very developed oil industry;

we have lots of experience all over the world. We do try to help when asked but our help is not as much as I would like it to be,” he stated.

Meanwhile, as it relates to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), Ambassador Holloway hopes that it would be transparent and done in a way that all citizens, present and future will benefit.

“Everyone wants a Sovereign Wealth Fund that indeed does protect Guyana’s wealth for future generations,” he declared.

Earlier this year, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had cautioned that the establishment of the SWF requires careful analysis to ensure its application meets local conditions.

“This administration, we are taking our time. We’re trying to get things right, because we believe in the interest of the people of this country we have to establish these funds, we have to establish all of these processes in a sound way that can stand scrutiny for years to come,” Minister Harmon had said back in July.

Guyana has received assistance from several international agencies and countries in relation to the oil and gas industry. In fact, the SWF has benefited from inputs from Chatham House.

Chilean Government continues to support development of Guyanese public sector officials THROUGH a bilateral arrangement between the Governments of Guyana and Chile, Foreign Service officials in Guyana will benefit from a seminar in Globalisation and Global Government organised by the Agency for Development Cooperation of Chile (AGCID) and the Diplomatic Academy of Chile “Andrés Bello” (ACADE). It is set to begin on Monday October 16 through Tuesday October 24, 2017.

Areas such as the theory of global governance, a multilateral trading system, climate change, sustainable development and common challenges facing relations between Guyana and Chile, among others, will be the focus of this activity. Ambassador Cristián Maquieira Astaburuaga will conduct the seminar and she will be assisted by Assistant Professor Andrea Herrera Alcayaga of the Chilean Diplomatic Academy “Andrés Bello.”

Additionally, through a collaboration between the Agency for International Cooperation of Chile and the Foreign Service

Institute, public servants are currently benefiting from the fourth edition of Spanish for public sector officials of Guyana.

More than 30 persons from Government entities, including the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Ministries of Natural Resources, Education, Foreign Affairs, and Legal Affairs, among others, are participating in this round, which is scheduled to end on November 30.

The facilitator is Professor Hernán Pons, a highly qualified and respected linguist who has advanced degrees from several prestigious universities, including the Catholic University of Antofagasta, and the State University of New York. He taught at Stanford University and Michigan University in the United States. Professor Pons has also been at various times a Professor of Linguistics, and a tutor of English as a second language and has published widely in a number of recognised academic journals.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

The PPP gloriously messed up Guyana from 1992 to 2015

NOT unexpectedly, the PPP used the recent 25th anniversary of the 1992 return of free and open elections to Guyana to try to con the nation about what transpired during its long 23-year reign. As I have opined before, the PPP’s constant reinterpretation of our recent history is given extra currency, partly because of the weak or non-existent narrative of the coalition parties which all seem to be intoxicated by power.

They evidently believe that the magic of being in office is enough to see them through. Many of us know of the folly of that belief, but as they say, “that’s why you all are not in government.” As hard as it is for me to say, these parties could, in the final analysis, pay very dearly for this dereliction of duty.

But today, I want to deal with the PPP, which I continue to believe presided over the worst government in post-colonial Guyana and the Anglophone Caribbean.

Some PPP leaders and commentators have, in the past, answered this charge by listing the many projects the party initiated while in government.

I am never swayed by that chat, whether it comes from the PPP or the PNC, because those projects often mask the real intent and outcomes of governance.

Let’s not ever forget that Germany under Hitler, the USA in the era of slavery and segregation, South Africa under apartheid and Europe as colonial masters, all “developed” during those periods of human depravity.

The PPP likes to cite the PNC’s authoritarianism and electoral malpractice and to berate persons like myself whenever we fail to mention that fact. For them, there was nothing redemptive during that period of our country’s history. While I have absolutely no problem with acknowledging the negative impact of that period on our country’s profile—after all, I spent part of my youth actively opposing it—I will not allow the PPP to use it to cover their own

equally and, in some respects, worse behaviour when they held office.

Here are some truths that the PPP would never acknowledge.

When the PNC went on the rampage, a critical mass of AfricanGuyanese leaders and followers actively resisted the African-based PNC government. From Linden, to Georgetown, to Buxton and the East Coast Demerara villages to New Amsterdam to the West Coast Demerara villages, African-Guyanese at the urging of some African-Guyanese leaders and on their own, put their bodies, their livelihoods and their lives on the line to “manners” the government and ultimately bring it down.

NOT THE ONLY ONE Walter Rodney was not the only African- Guyanese leader to confront and fight the PNC; many did so before he returned to Guyana in 1974, and after he was assassinated in 1980. Most of us are still alive to tell the story of that time.

When some misinformed nonPPP commentators repeat the nonsense that Rodney founded the WPA and that the WPA died when Rodney died, they do not realise that they are feeding the PPP’s narrative that it is the PPP and the PPP alone that fought for the defeat of the PNC’s authoritarianism and for the return of electoral democracy. That narrative has ethno-racial implications, for it writes the African-Guyanese masses out of that period of our history.

I am boldly arguing that when our country descended into the pits of the PNC’s dictatorship, it was the WPA from 1974-1992 that led the fight against the regime. If one were to judge by the bold and radical forms of struggle by that party and its ability to mobilise public resistance across ethnic and social-class lines and by the sheer extreme weight and intensity of the regime’s response, there can be no doubt about my argument and conclusion. It is not that the PPP didn’t contribute to the struggle of that time, but its

resistance was muted and compromised by ideological and tactical considerations aimed at the party’s survival, rather than bringing down the government.

So, the PPP has no sole ownership of the 1992 moment, for that moment is also written in the blood and sacrifices of many non-PPP actors. It is fair to say that given the ethno-racial nature of elections in Guyana, the PPP became benefactors of the long struggle of others who bore the brunt of the PNC’s wrath. I even make bold to say that the PPP engineered a virtual coup in 1992 when, because of its electoral victory, which had little to do with its struggle against the dictatorship, it monopolised all the political power-space that the WPA and others fought to create.

And that very act has had serious implications for the PPP during its tenure. What the PPP did was to take the very institutions of the dictatorial regime and used them to further its twin objective of ethnic dominance and party hegemony. When the PPP came to power in 1992 it did not change a single pillar of the dictatorial regime it had replaced. It is for that reason that its claim of freeing Guyana from the clutches of dictatorship is not grounded in reality.

OLD-SCHOOL POLITICIANS Here were politicians of the old school, like the Jagans, who were so preoccupied with settling scores with the PNC that they could not see how they were setting the stage for a reproduction of the same old regime that thy so hated. The Jagans never introduced into the PPP government any transformative element— they kept the same constitution, the same coercive apparatus and they practised the same politics of domination and exclusion of the other. In effect, they replaced PNC paramountcy with PPP and Indian-Guyanese hegemony.

By the time Dr. Jagan died and Mrs. Jagan handed the leadership of the party and government to

a group of PPP leaders, led by Jagdeo, who had not struggled for anything, had no proper political upbringing and so had no ideological fidelity to transformative politics, the stage was set for the PPP to take the old dictatorial order to a new and dangerous level.

This group, who activated the politics of revenge and dominance, was aided and abetted by PPP stalwarts who were so smitten by the doctrine of PPP’s manifest destiny. The Jagdeo group pushed our country to places the PNC did not and could not go, because of the resistance it faced in its time.

The Jagdeo group carried political and physical blows to African-Guyanese that pushed elements in the latter to desperation. Some left, some surrendered, some accommodated the PPP and a small group picked up arms.

The PPP then used the latter as the excuse to physically eliminate hundreds of African-Guyanese young men.

Whether these men were criminals, freedom fighters or hustlers is beside the point. What is important is that their murders by the State was politically driven—their demise was meant to quell dissent among African- Guyanese and send political messages to the leadership that the PPP meant business. Those 400 and more men were used in the same way the plantation owners used to display the bodies of rebels against slavery in public places as a warning to other rebels of what awaits them. For all Mr. Jagdeo’s protestations about his party’s innocence regarding the murder of those 400 men, he knows that they are the PPP’s trophies.

The Jagdeo group was intent on proving to its supporters that it could govern Guyana, without fear, in the heart of the PNC’s support base. They had accomplished what Jagan could not do in the period 1957-64, when he said the PPP was in office but not in power. The Jagdeo group could now boast that the PPP was both in office and in power. That’s why many Indian-Guyanese gave

thanks to Jagdeo and the Phantom groups. And that’s why Jagdeo remains popular among the PPP’s base. The outcome was the wilful marginalisation, demoralisation and assault on the collective dignity of African-Guyanese. That is why they wailed and wept in public when the PPP lost power two years ago.

ECONOMIC PHANTOMS In the economic sphere, the PPP also merged the state with economic phantom groups which disproportionately benefited from the economic projects the PPP likes to boast about. Nobody doubts that they initiated economic initiatives, but who benefited?

Certainly not the country at large!

These economic initiatives were used to transfer state resources to PPP members and supporters who were mainly of the Indian-Guyanese elite. If the PNC made the party paramount to the State, the PPP went much further—it merged the State with economic criminality, party hegemony and ethnic domination. The outcome was the empowerment of a mainly Indian-Guyanese, mega-rich elite and the concomitant dispossession of the rest of the society, in particular, the political-ethnic outgroup.

And what is most dangerous, it did so under the guise of democracy. The PNC, through its declarations, such as the Sophia Declaration, made clear that it favoured authoritarian governance. The PPP practised dictatorship while maintaining that it was democratic. So, Mr. Ramotar, the only glorious thing about PPP rule (1992-2015) is that it gloriously “screwed” Guyana. When I say I don’t want to see the PPP anywhere near to power on its own, it’s not because I hate that party—I just hate what it did to Guyana.

More of Dr. Hinds’ writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

Region Five gets state-ofthe-art operating theatre

By Clifford Stanley THE Mahaicony Cottage Hospital in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) has been furnished with a state-of-the-art operating theatre with two operating rooms.

Construction and equipping of the theatre has been completed and specialist staff at the Hospital are now adding the finishing touches necessary for the facilities to be certified prior to being commissioned to provide both routine and emergency surgeries for people within the region who require these services.

Regional Health Officer of the region, Dr. Steven Cheefoon, disclosed that staff were in the process of swabbing the two operating rooms to eliminate bacteria and that a team from the Ministry of Public Health in Georgetown was expected to visit and inspect the theatre and then give the go-ahead for provision of the service which will eliminate the need for persons in the region to have to travel to Georgetown or New Amsterdam to receive routine or emergency surgeries.

“We are now working hard to ensure that we do all that we need to do to get

Staffers of the MCH in the new MCH operating theatre last week

RHO Dr. Steven Cheefoon, REO Ovid Morrison, Medical Technologist Muniram Balgobin and Assistant Hospital Administrator Mohamed Inshan

the green light from the inspection team, so that we can make this services [sic] available to not only folks in Region Five, but all who may need it within the next week or two,” he said.

Regional Executive Officer of Region Five, Ovid Morrison, disclosed: “Last year there were no facilities for routine or emergency surgeries at any of the health care facilities in Region Five and so we in the region made a collective decision that we wanted this to happen. We got the support from central government and we are now at the stage where construction and equipment of this

Another young lawyer admitted to local Bar YET another legal luminary has been admitted to the local Bar as an attorney-at-law. This time it is 37-year-old Ravindra Mohabir of Da Silva Street, Newtown, who was admitted on October 13, 2017.

His petition was presented by Senior Counsel, Mr. Vidyanand Persaud before the Honourable Justice Sandil Kissoon.

The new Attorney-at-Law extended sincere gratitude to his parents; his only sister, Kristy; his wife Sharmila, his two daughters, Raveena and Elizabeth; and to the Bishop family, especially the late Chancellor Aubrey

New Attorney-at-Law Ravindra Mohabir, third left in back row. Fourth and third right, respectively, are Senior Counsel Vidyanand Persaud who presented the petition, and Justice Sandil Kissoon before whom the petition was presented.

Others in the photo are, from left: Sister, Kristy; wife Sharmila; daughters, Elizabeth and Raveena, and his parents (Photo by Adrian Narine)

Bishop, for their invaluable support and encouragement throughout his academic journey.

The attorney also expressed special thanks to Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos with whom he

did his in-service training, and to the management and staff of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development Development (IPED), especially its Chairman, Dr. Yesu Persaud and Chief Executive

Officer, Mr Ramesh Persaud.

He also gave praise and thanks to his “Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for His grace and favour” throughout his academic journey.

facility is [sic] complete and barring the formalities of inspection and certification, we are now ready to provide the service for all who may need it.”

Dr. Cheefoon disclosed that over the past five years, most patients in Region Five needing routine surgery had to wait three or four months to get surgery in Georgetown.

He said: “This will be no longer necessary; we will do those surgeries right here. We are expecting that when we get up and running, that we will be able to help people from other administrative regions also.”

He added: ”Because of the standards to which the theatre and the operating rooms have been built when they have these big medical outreaches with visiting teams from England and America, they will also use our theatre as one of the sites to operate from.”

He said that members of the Cuban Medical Brigade had agreed to give the Regional Health Service their expertise to do the routine or emergency surgeries.

He said that the new theatre at the hospital is also complemented with the model laboratory that was finished there last year.

The model lab does all bloodwork testing and is also complemented by another state-of-the-art machine which looks at kidney, liver and heart functions among other diagnostics.

“This equipment makes diagnosis easier. They actually bring a service to the people of Region Five that was never there before.”

He said that improvements in the Health Care system in Region Five was all in keeping with the administration’s aim of making top-quality health care accessible and thus more easily affordable within the region.

Be more... extension the economy.

President David Granger pointed out what he termed as “the curse of the six sisters-” bauxite, gold, rice, sugar, fisheries and timber.

He said the problem did not arise from the character of those commodities, but in the overdependence on raw products; lack of innovation; the absence of diversification and the neglect of value-added manufacturing.

Failure to innovate and diversify has reportedly made Guyana vulnerable to external shocks such as the decline in the price of the aforementioned commodities or loss of market access, which often leads to distress.

Country Representative of the IDB, Sophie Makonnen, stated facts about the concentration on primary production, revealing that 90

From page 3

per cent of Guyana’s export earnings are from primary commodities.

“Americans, Brazilians, British, Chinese, Indians, Russians are all investing here, Why can’t you? Why should Guyanese have to be reminded to invest in their own country,” lamented the President, who said local investors had no reason for not increasing investments which would fuel the expansion of the economy and provide employment.

With the intent on investment, innovation and an institutional framework for economic development, over the years the government has been working to create a more enabling environment for business development by encouraging investments and ensuring a stable macroeconomic environment.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

Greenidge, truth, and double standards THERE was a well-articulated letter in the press last week by Wesley Kirton calling for a Ministry of Economic Planning and suggesting that Carl Greenidge heads same. Recommendations of such nature cannot be overlooked at a time when all interest groups, including government, have accepted that the country’s economic performance has slowed to the point where it requires appropriate initiatives to jump start and sustain.

Hear me out here, advancing a step further than what Kirton has proposed.

When Guyana was experiencing its economic downturn in the 1980s, some of which had to do with foreign and domestic politics and escalating global oil prices, an austerity programme was developed which was headed by then Minister of Finance Greenidge, under the presidency of Desmond Hoyte.

In 1989 when the plan-theEconomic Recovery Programme (ERP)-- was unveiled, it was challenged by the trade unions and other forces. For the trade union community the concern primarily had to do with its potential impact on active employment and the quality of life for workers/ citizens. Notwithstanding the positions taken by labour and

other stakeholders, Greenidge stayed the course. And whereas the trade union can still argue the adverse economic consequences visited on the lives of workers, such as unemployment and erosion of real wages, it would be remiss not to acknowledge that this programme kicked start the economy and put the country on a course where economic growth was recorded over continuous periods.

When Cheddi Jagan was elected to office in 1992, he was advised by his Minister of Finance Asgar Ally to continue the ERP, though it should be said the PPP had campaigned on scrapping it.

The growth from the ERP was on a continuous trajectory into the late 1990s. When we read letters in the press from persons like Donald Ramotar and Norman Whittaker boasting that the PPP delivered economic growth and that it was the best time for Guyana and Guyanese, they are failing to give credit where credit is due. The legitimate growth in this economy during the PPP’s tenure was due to the infrastructure put in place by Hoyte/Greenidge and retained

by Jagan/Ally.

Every programme has a life cycle based on the dynamics in the society. The PPP in the absence of new legitimate

concepts and ideas held on to Hoyte/Greenidge’s ERP and the failure in creating a new programme to replace the one whose life cycle had come to an end, the country began experiencing what we have been told is negative growth.

This basically means that the country’s economy was not growing. In fact, Guyana was experiencing another economic downturn.

This however was not as a result of international pressure and other factors, but that of absence of vision and where any agitation in society became the bogeyman to justify economic incompetence or make the people feel that they have to be still and silent, even in the midst of political overreach, corruption, violating of laws, transgressing of citizens’ rights, etc.

What we experienced under Bharrat Jagdeo’s leadership, both as Minister of Finance and President, was the absence of a legitimate developmental programme, where officialdom facilitated the rise and expansion of the narco-trade to fill the vacuum and mask the absence of vision and an ERP that had already served its purpose.

What was happening in the economy was that government was announcing big projects, major institutions

such as bauxite were privatised as sugar was being sustained through bad investments such as the Skeldon Factory, tens of billions thrown into the sector not with the intent to revitalise and sustain, but as a means to channel taxpayers’ money to friends and cronies, with another example too being the billions of dollars thrown behind Fip Motilall to build a road to the hydro project.

Sugar and bauxite have been two major economic pillars in this society that attracted labour to each sector primarily from the two major races, Indians and Africans. Under the PPP these industries were no longer driven by similar policies and programmes that the ERP had put in place, leading to racial discrimination in the economy, the exacerbating of mistrust and conflict among the masses. Undergirding this situation of illicit activities had ensnared the system of government which created a false sense of growth and well-being.

Professor Clive Thomas did extensive writings on the criminalised state, narco-economy and their attendant evils under the Jagdeo government.

The narco-economy according to him was assessed to be between 40-60 percent of the economy and in the case of the criminalised state Transparency International ranked Guyana as the most corrupt English-speaking country in the Caribbean. This is Jagdeo’s legacy on the economy.

Government carries the responsibility to put structures and systems in place to create the enabling environment for productive economic endeavours of the citizens, and at all times being mindful of its leading role to weld the nation’s diversity groups and provide equal opportunities for all. The Jagdeo administration failed in this regard and where this government has rightly led in moving to excise the underground economy, it cannot ignore that a legitimate programme becomes necessary to replace the dirty money being taken out.

People have to survive and their needs for self-actualisation met. Where Jagdeo in

recognising such pursued the path of having some fulfil their needs through illicit activities, this government must recognise that it has to come up with a programme to fulfil the said needs of all through legitimate activities.

Here is where Greendige, arguably the only person in active politics today with a record tried, tested, and proven to the country’s benefit is deserving a closer look, whether in the capacity of similar responsibility he can once again take this country on a legitimate course towards development.

Last week former workers of Wales Estate hosted a press conference to bring to the nation’s attention the deprivation they are facing since the estate’s closure. As the nation pursues social cohesion, it was expected that the Government would have taken all precautions in addressing this closure by bringing the stakeholders to the table with a view of finding common ground.

The explanation that some stakeholders will not cooperate does not exonerate government from putting the mechanism in place and inviting them to the table. What the society is currently experiencing is a replay of Jagdeo’s policy and programme in treating with the bauxite industry by excluding stakeholders.

Employees in the bauxite industry are primarily Africans. When Jagdeo, an Indian leader, deliberately pursued the politics of exclusion, the opposition PNC- representative unions and other stakeholders of the bauxite community were offended and rightly so, since the decisions on the industry carried seismic consequences for the well-being of those affected.

Sugar has a primarily Indian-dominated workforce. A government that is being led by a person who is seen as an African has to be mindful where exclusion continues to take place in decision-making on the industry. It cannot absolve itself from being held to the same standard society rightly held Jagdeo to in his mishandling of the bauxite industry and the mistreatment meted out to the stakeholders.

To learn, via the media, that after the closure of the estate that a social amelioration programme has now been developed to address the fall-outs of the actions taken is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse. In 1989 when Greenidge outlined the ERP, inherent in the programme was the establishment of measures to cushion economic dislocation, which included training and education to equip persons to enter a new economy, employment and economic opportunities.

Notably absent in national planning where there exists a programme to remove narco and other illegal money from the system, there is no programme to replace that money society has grown accustomed to being circulated and around which people could have planned their lives.

Let us not forget that man’s need for survival and self-actualisation drives the principal reason for his existence, and where these are not met by legitimate means will be pursued illegitimately. It is the function of government to ensure measures are put in place to realise the former and punish the latter. At the same time, government cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for creating the enabling environment for legitimacy to function and must take responsibility for failing to do so that would allow for illegitimacy to survive.

This government must not repeat the pitfalls of Jagdeo.

In saying all of the above it is not lost on me in a society as big as ours where the politics of smallness is pandered to, the facts spoken here about Greendige can lead to jealously and the potential of him being ostracised. It is my hope however that in every environment where truth is essential for growth and development such can be respected, positives emulated, adverse conduct shunned, double standards avoided and there be realised the use of appropriate and available resources to get the job done, in order that society and all could benefit. It remains my fervent hope the nation gravitates to this path.

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She met her Prince (for Real!) at a D.C. nightclub THE NEW YORK TIMES - Few love stories resemble a fairy tale as much as the courtship and marriage of Ariana Austin and Joel Makonnen. Of course, it helped that the groom is an actual prince and the bride has a prominent lineage of her own.

Mr. Makonnen, known as Prince Yoel, is the 35-yearold great-grandson of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. And Ms. Austin, 33, is of African-American and Guyanese descent; her maternal grandfather was a lord mayor of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

As the couple noted on their wedding website, their union happened when “Old

World aristocracy met New World charm.” The old and new combined on Sept. 9, in a marathon day of events that lasted from 11 a.m. until late in the evening, and took place within two states.

The festivities began with a ceremony at the Debre Genet Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Temple Hills, Md. In an incense-filled sanctuary, guests in stockinged feet watched as at least 13 priests and clergymen helped officiate the Ethiopian Orthodox ceremony between Mr. Makonnen and Ms. Austin, who just days before had converted to the religion.

Hours after the ceremony, the pair celebrated with a formal reception at Foxchase Manor

Sunday, October 15, 2017 - 01:00 hrs | 14:30 hrs Monday, October 16, 2017 - 02:00 hrs | 14:30 hrs Tuesday, October 17, 2017 - 03:00 hrs | 14:30 hrs

in Manassas, Va., with 307 guests, amid gold sequins, platters of Ethiopian food and preboxed slices of Guyanese black cake for people to take home.

Their marriage had been more than a decade in the making. In the nearly 12 years since they first met on a dance floor at the Washington nightclub Pearl, in December 2005, Mr. Makonnen and Ms. Austin have pursued degrees, jobs and, at times, each other.

Eventually, planning a wedding just became the next item on this ambitious couple’s to-do list.

“I think we both had this feeling that this was our destiny,” Ms. Austin said. “But I felt like I had things that I

The reception came complete with a photo booth, a candy table and plenty of Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Bruno Mars hits. CreditJared Soares for The New York Times

had to do.” When the two met, Mr. Makonnen didn’t tell Ms. Austin about his royal background, and Ms. Austin, who was 21 at the time, wasn’t necessarily looking to meet her future husband. She was in the middle of a time in her life she fondly referred to as “the summer that never ended.” Mr. Makonnen, himself in bachelor mode, approached Ms. Austin and her friend Jami Ramberan, and told the two women that they looked like models for a brand of alcohol.

“I said, ‘You guys look like an ad for Bombay Sapphire,’ or whatever the gin was,” Mr. Makonnen recalled of the pickup line, one now infamous with Ms. Austin’s family. (At the wedding, even Ms. Ramberan, a bridesmaid, recalled the strangeness of that evening: “You don’t expect to meet the person you’re going to marry at Pearl.”)

Mr. Makonnen quickly

focused on Ms. Austin: “Not even five minutes later I said, ‘You’re going to be my girlfriend.’ ” His premonition proved correct.

Ms. Austin remembered being impressed with Mr. Makonnen’s worldliness. He was born in Rome while his parents, Prince David Makonnen and Princess Adey Imru Makonnen, were living in exile from Ethiopia. He grew up in Switzerland; his father died in 1989.

“He talked about weighty things as a young man,” Ms. Austin said. “He mentioned the revolution. Things that sound heavy for someone who was 23.”

Mr. Makonnen’s family is part of the Solomonic dynasty, whose reign ended in 1974. That year, a civil war in Ethiopia broke out after Haile Selassie, the 225th emperor of Ethiopia, was deposed by a Marxist Derg military coup.

By the time of his death under mysterious circumstances in 1975, it was clear that Mr. Selassie had presided over a country divided by his legacy.

He was deposed after months of political unrest directed at his administration, which was accused of being spendthrift and out of touch. The civil war lasted until a coalition of rebel groups overthrew the government in 1991.

The emperor, though, had been a powerful proponent of African anticolonialism, a leader adept at securing foreign aid for his country and pushing education initiatives.

He was forced into exile when the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1936, but returned in 1941 after convincing the British to aid him in a fight to secure his country’s independence.

Ms. Austin said she has marveled at the lore surrounding her new family, one whose lineage was said to reach back to the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. “It’s unbeatable heritage and history,” Ms. Austin said. “It combines sheer black

power and ancient Christian tradition.”

For ambitious couples, meeting and falling in love at a young age can quickly present the kind of timing problems that can doom a relationship. And Mr. Makonnen and Ms. Austin found themselves circling the globe without each other, though they remained in touch. After graduating from American University in 2006, Mr. Makonnen took a six-month internship in France.

Then Ms. Austin went to Paris for a year. In 2008, Mr. Makonnen returned to France and went on to Ethiopia, where he joined his uncle in starting Alchemy World, an organisation meant to provide young Ethiopians with business and educational opportunities.

By the time Ms. Austin left to attend Harvard University in 2012 for a master’s degree in arts education, both had grown tired of the rotation. They took some time off from each other that year.

But they were back together

by Valentine’s Day in 2014.

Mr. Makonnen, who was finishing up his law degree at Howard University, bought a princess-cut diamond ring and showed up at the home of Ms. Austin’s parents with the bauble in one hand and balloons in another.

Perhaps a bit nervous, he knocked too loudly, leading Ms. Austin to think the house was being burglarised. She called her parents, who were returning home from a dinner party.

“She thought somebody was trying to break in,” said Bobby Austin, Ms. Austin’s father. “And it was just the poor guy trying to propose to her.”

Ms. Austin remembered the episode with a laugh: “He was aggressively knocking so I didn’t answer. He came back, and then I opened the door.”

Finally, nearly a decade after they had met, both were in the same region.

“I think I said, ‘Let’s take this journey together,’ ” Mr. Makonnen said. “When I proposed she was like, ‘It’s about time.’ ” They said they owed it to each other to try and set down roots, and both have settled into life in the Washington area. Mr. Makonnen works in the legal department of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, and Ms. Austin works in philanthropy at the Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, a division of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

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Hair to stay

– going natural, a not-so-new trend

IT IS 2017 and natural hair is in vogue. When I say natural hair, at least at the first use in this column, you can take it to mean the natural textures of women of African descent.

For women like me (who had their first relaxer, the chemical straightening of our hair, as pre-teens or sometimes younger), the return to natural is almost a rite of passage, just as straight hair

came with training bras all those years ago.

Back then, to be a teenager meant an end to puffy plaits and weekly comb-andbrush torture sessions and cornrows.

But what did that rite of passage mean for little African girls, who never saw their kinks as beautiful? What did it mean for self-image and esteem? What really did it say about us, that from as early

as we knew what we thought to be beautiful, we aspired to the long plaits of our dolls and all the prettier girls in our schools were the ones with the long, straight, wavy or curly hair? Hair might be considered a superficial thing to be concerned about, especially as adult women.

But consider the ‘othering’ of the standard of beauty and its effects on young women.

Truth be told, the stan-

dard of what is beautiful in countries like Guyana is impacted by a little thing we call cultural imperialism.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica contributor, Theresa Weynand Tobin, “Cultural imperialism in anthropology, sociology, and ethics is the imposition by one usually politically or economically dominant community of various aspects of its own culture onto another, non-dominant community.

“It is cultural in that the

customs, traditions, religion, language, social and moral norms, and other aspects of the imposing community are distinct from, though often closely related to, the economic and political systems that shape the other community.”

This imperialism is sometimes deliberate, but is often just a latent result of top-down information flow, where the media is both the power and the weapon. Basically, what that means is that

when a people ingest much of their information, news and entertainment from a dominant media market like the United States, it regularly impacts and changes local culture over time. This means that if in the dominant media market, there is a narrow definition of beauty, though imperialism is just one factor, it stands to reason that it will influence how consumers of that content view themselves.

Turn to page 18 ►

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Police destroy Yarrowkabra ‘ganja farm’

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

–– no one arrested

RANKS from the Guyana Police Force Narcotics Branch on Friday conducted a drug eradication exercise at Yarrowkabra on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

During the exercise which was conducted between 03:00hrs and 16:00hrs, saw the ranks destroying 5000 marijuana

plants which were found on four acres of land.

The plants ranging in height from four to six feet in height, weighted approximately 2,500 pounds, according to a police statement.

No one was arrested during the exercise.

The ‘ganja’ plants that were destroyed

The Bagotville bridge ...

Still a long way to go –– but it’s getting there

The deteriorated part of the Bagotville bridge has been removed as construction continues THE deteriorated part of the bridge at Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, has been completely removed at last, as contractors continue to work feverishly to construct a new bridge.

GAICO Construction Inc. was awarded a $97M contract to build a new bridge in the community after the main access bridge

in the area started to sink.

The support beams of the bridge were damaged due to erosion and heavy rains, heavy-duty vehicles also helped add to the deterioration.

In the interim, a temporary bridge was constructed nearby so that there can be a smooth flow of traffic.

GAICO employees hard at work on the Bagotville bridge (Photos by Adrian Narine)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017

‘Sweet Kendingo’ on tour of indigent homes –– serenading the elderly, taking them back down memory lane

By Shirley Thomas

THE United Nations General Assembly, on December 4, 1990, voted to designate October 1 as International Day of Older Persons.

The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse.

It is also a day to appreciate the contributions that older people make to society, and to make them feel loved and cared for.

Here in Guyana, one such observance is an annual musical concert hosted by popular local calypsonian and guitarist, “Sweet Kend-

ingo.” The event is held annually at Senior Citizens’ Homes countrywide.

At least 14 concerts were scheduled to be staged by Kendingo over a period of two weeks.

But because the Palms institution was also hosting a major function for the elderly that same week, to which they had invited senior citizens from various retirement homes, the first of Kendingo’s concerts was held on Tuesday, October 3 at the Archers’ Home on D’Urban Street.

As usual, the seniors were choicely entertained with rich, melodious music as the vocalist rendered songs of yesteryear, strum-

ming his guitar and inviting them to join in singing as he performed.

Some responded, but the environment just did not have that celebratory feel it usually has on such occasions, and where normally the seniors would get up and dance whenever the music “bite” them, that just did not happen this time around.

Could it have been a case of intuition? As, what the gathering did not know at the time was that just a few streets away from Archer’s, the lives of two elderly Christian women had been brutally snuffed out in their South Road and Albert Street home in the wee hours of the morning

Providence pedestrian crossing moving apace CONTRACTORS are moving apace to complete the pedestrian crossing at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD). A visit by the Guyana Chronicle to the site on Saturday proved that stairs have been added to structure which is nearing completion.

According to reports earlier this year, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had announced that a US$364,246 contract was

awarded to contractor, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction Services, for construction of the overhead pedestrian crossing.

Harmon had also previously announced the award of US$1M contracts for the construction of overhead crossings at Peter’s Hall and at Eccles, EBD. These are also in their construction phase.

Vehicles traversing under the newly constructed pedestrian crossing at Providence. (Adrian Narine Photos)

A wide view of the new overpass at Providence.

Senior citizens at the Archer’s Home being entertained by ‘Sweet Kendingo’ two Tuesdays ago that same day, allegedly for their pensions and whatever else the criminals were able to get their hands on.

The women, Constance Fraser, 89, and her niece, Phyllis Caesar, 77, who were members of the Full Gospel Assembly of God Church, just across the road, were found bound and gagged, lying face down in separate bedrooms and exhibiting what looked like blunt-force trauma to the head.

There was deep anguish outside the women’s home as relatives, brethren, friends and just about any-

one with a heart reached the scene of the horrific incident.

The police have since questioned several persons and made arrests. The mastermind behind the plot was reportedly nabbed in the Pomeroon on Monday.

The sad story is that instead of these two elderly women being honoured in keeping with the United Nations Convention on International Day for Older Persons, they were savagely killed.

The women were buried last Wednesday and Thursday at respective cemeteries

of their relatives’ choice, after a moving joint Thanksgiving Service at the South Road Full Gospel Assembly in Bourda, just across the road from where they had lived.

However, in the spirit of goodwill and in the interest of bringing joy to the hearts of the senior citizens, the ‘Kendingo Musical Concerts’ are continuing apace and this time around, spirited and well received, bringing joy to the hearts of all. There have been calls for more, with suggestion of possibly a Christmas segment.

So far, more than 10 have been held at such institutions as: The Dharm Shala in Berbice; the Good Samaritan Home in Stanleytown, New Amsterdam; The New Nazareth Home on Carmichael Street here in the city; the Gentle Women’s Home on Brickdam; The Ivy Hall on Camp Street; and the Byer’s Home on Robb Street.

Among other venues on the cards for this week are: The St. Vincent De Paul Home, St. Thomas Moore Home, The Palms, and The Army Veterans Retirement Home.

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Hair to stay From page 15

OUR COLONIAL PAST Of course, we cannot ignore the effects of our colonial past and how that might have also influenced beauty standards and how we see our hair, skin and other features, but I argue in these pages that it is the same cultural imperialism that has, in part, influenced the way we see ourselves when we look into the mirror that has initiated a local movement that has seen so many women of African descent answering the call to return to natural. I don’t say go natural, because this is where we started.

Women of African descent in the United States and other parts of the world have, over the past decade, embraced their natural tresses, and, frankly, just as relaxed hair was once big business for beauty service providers, natural hair is raking in ‘the green’.

According to Makeda Easter in an LA Times article, “With 71 per cent of black adults in the U.S. wearing their hair naturally at least once in 2016, according to research firm Mintel, natural hair has now hit the mainstream.” These consumers are now spending an esti-

mated $2.56B on hair-care products.

This means you are seeing more women with natural hair in mainstream media as advertisers try to get in on the big bucks. Last weekend, the Promenade Gardens was transformed once again into a veritable natural-hair heaven and haven. Curl Fete, launched in 2016 under the name Curl Fest, though only in its second year, has become the main natural-hair event annually, with many looking to big chop, show up with the biggest afro and finally feel as though they have a place to celebrate a wider ideal of beauty.

Curl Fete, started by entrepreneurs Tamika Henry and Denisha Victor, while initially no doubt styled after Curly Girl Collective LLC’s natural hair expositions in the United States, has become an animal with its own stripes.

It is distinctly Caribbean, and has made steps to move away from just being an event which caters to only women of African descent.

THE REALITY Let’s be real. We cannot replicate or model a new beauty movement that celebrates us with an exclusive,

narrow definition, especially in a diverse country such as Guyana, where we celebrate our multiplicity of cultures as a thing of beauty.

In fact, girls of Indian descent, Indigenous girls, girls of Portuguese descent and girls of Chinese descent, if they have not been exposed to the ‘nappy head’ culture of shame, initially may well wonder: What is the big deal?

Why all this excitement about natural hair?

My hair has always been natural. I have actually been told some version of the above on several occasions.

I understand the sentiments and natural-hair movements must be careful not to suggest that natural African textures are more beautiful than any other. I am not here for the reverse hair shaming.

This is why Curl Fete must press forward with their push to engage all textures of natural hair. Representation is important; and every little girl deserves to see herself on the national stage, on television, and at major national events on beautiful women who are embracing what is natural about them, regardless of race and ethnicity.

Curl Fete hosted, as part of its activities, a panel discussion

SUNDAY CHRONICLE October 15, 2017 which featured participants ranging from bone-straight to curly hair, and representing diversity across religion, sex and sexuality.

Tamika Henry, in a comment to Talk that Talk, said that the consensus of those discussions was that hair should not be used as a divisive tool. She said panellists felt “that it should be used as something that we each celebrate about each other; that we highlight our differences, yes, but we also celebrate and embrace those differences.”

Another point coming out of those discussions is that everybody has faced some kind of discrimination with regard to their hair and other physical attributes, whether it was fear of perception or discriminatory job restrictions.

Yes! It is 2017, but employers still have a say about what hairstyles are deemed appropriate and which ones are not. But perception at the personal level is also an issue. Panellists discussed the issue of hair and sexuality, questioning the often expressed assumption that a woman with a “buzz cut” is a lesbian, or that a man with long hair is a homosexual.

STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES Inherently, we know that neither hair texture nor style have gender or sexual orientation, but it seems that stereotypical images of how

people believe a gay person looks still persist.

Hair, it seems, is a natural form of personal expression that is often a significant part of defining personal identity.

Everyone wants the freedom to express themselves and to feel as if they have a place where their unique beauty can be celebrated. While the event was a beautiful sea of black girl magic, it still attracted patrons with their own diverse beauty and self-expression. Henry described attendance as much more diverse than last year, with a good representation of different ethnicities. “There are so many different types of natural hair and curl textures, and we try to include every group in that. So, it is not just an Afro-Guyanese event,” she said, adding that the focus of the marketing and hosting of the event was expanded to include overall, the well-being of all, and to ensure that a wider cross-section of people could see it as something they could enjoy.

Beauty is expansive; it does not have to be a narrow thing. Girls who believe they are beautiful, who are taught they are valuable inside and out, and who feel equal in the national conversation make better decisions for themselves, and are less likely to settle for less than they deserve.

As a woman who grew up hating my hair because it was too short and kinky; who didn’t like my skin mainly because it is prone to blemishes; hating my body because I was too ‘bony’, I value the importance of inculcating self-love in young girls. No decision a young girl makes should be allowed to come from a place of insecurity. Expanding the standards of beauty is more than skin deep; it is about raising a generation of women who feel empowered, and who like what they see when they look in the mirror.

Let us use events such as Curl Fete to validate that feeling of personal value for all girls of all hues and of all hair types.

OTHER CHOICES But what of women who choose to wear their hair straight, or who love weaves and braids? Let me be clear: not all decisions to abort the natural hair ship come from a

place of low self-esteem. African women in certain tribes have been adding length and shape to their hair, using various materials and objects for generations. The women of Namibia’s Himba tribe sport dramatic locs fashioned from using goat hair, butter and mud.

According to the Trip Down Memory Lane Blog, in an article headlined, “Hairstyles in African Culture.” the writer describes the hairstyles of the Zande women of the Democratic Republic of Congo as involving “braiding their own hair along with “foreign” strands in the shape of a disc. This coiffure, called “bagbadi”, was in fact a fanshaped wig, but was rarely taken off. The disc was attached to the hair with a few loose knots.”

Diversity among women of African descent is a thing to be celebrated, and we must note as well that weaves, extensions and wigs are worn by women of all races. While I am happy that more and more women are beginning to embrace natural hair as a beautiful option, I defend every woman’s right to wear her hair in a way that makes her happy.

Going natural five years ago, for me, I often say, was not a back-to-Africa moment.

I was part bored, part ready for change, and part rebellious of all the things that defined me at that time. But I will admit that going natural at a time when less women were inclined to go this route made me acutely aware of just how ugly many people like me considered this hair that naturally occurred from our scalps.

Can you imagine, in our own eyes, this crown we have been blessed with was seen as a thing of ridicule?

For some, it is still seen as something to ridicule.

Women who rock natural hair still have to field questions like, “What are you doing with your hair?” Or statements like, “Natural is not for everybody,” and all manner of negative comments.

Thankfully, times are changing. Hopefully, we are becoming more open-minded as a people, even beyond hair, and we are learning to see beauty in everything.

That, my friends, is the real rite of passage.

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From back page

Man City dazzle after `We will put our Liverpool-United boring draw

By Ian Chadband LONDON (Reuters) Manchester City opened up a two-point lead over their neighbours Manchester United at the top of the Premier League on Saturday thanks to another display of scintillating brilliance in a 7-2 thrashing of Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium After the earlier high noon showdown between Liverpool and a United side lacking in any great ambition ended in goalless stalemate at Anfield, City cashed in with a third straight league match at the Etihad in which they have struck at least five goals.

Pep Guardiola’s men became the first team to net 29 goals in their first eight league games of a top-flight campaign in England since Everton 1894-95.

Their sixth consecutive league win moved them to 22 points with United on 20 and Tottenham Hotspur maintaining third position on 17 after finally earning their first home win at Wembley Stadium, 1-0 over Bournemouth.

Sensation of the day came at Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace, hitherto without a goal and point to their name, downed champions Chelsea 2-1 with Wil-

Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus scores their fourth goal Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

fried Zaha, returning from injury, their hero thanks to a brilliant goal just before the break.

Palace’s new manager Roy Hodgson celebrated his first win in charge but the defeat left Chelsea nine points behind leaders City, who are playing a brand of kaleidoscopic football at the moment.

Gabriel Jesus, with a brace, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Fernandinho, Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva all found the target in the demolition of Stoke.

Yet the orchestrator of the triumph did not even trouble the scorers, Kevin de Bruyne again the man of the match.

Their dazzle was a stark contrast to their neighbours’ negativity in the underwhelming Anfield game which the only Manchester United highlight was David de Gea’s great save to deny

Joel Matip.

Liverpool, despite being much the better side, were blunt in attack, failing to convert any of their 19 attempts on goal.

“Manchester United came here for a point and got it,” said Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp with a sigh.

“It was a good performance, I thought worthy of three points. We were unlucky in at least two, maybe three situations.”

Chris Wood earned an 85th-minute equaliser for Burnley in a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man West Ham United, who had Andy Carroll sent off in the 27th minute after a couple of elbowing offences earned him two yellow cards.

Swansea City forged clear of the relegation zone with only their second league win of the season, a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town.

Ireland to play first Test against Pakistan in 2018 WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan will be Ireland’s first Test opponents next May after the two countries reached an agreement at the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in New Zealand.

Ireland and Afghanistan were given full Test status by the ICC in June, taking the total number of Test-playing countries to 12.

Bangladesh were the last team to gain Test status in 2000.

“We are excited to welcome Pakistan to Ireland for our inaugural test match next year,” Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said in a statement.

“It has been our wish to make our test debut in front of our own fans within 12 months of becoming a Test nation, and against a big

William Porterfield

team, so I‘m delighted.”

Deutrom said a venue and exact date for the Test had yet to be confirmed, but the country has played one-day internationals in both Belfast and Dublin.

Captain William Porterfield said it was a massive step forward for the side. ”It’s fantastic news for Irish cricket,“ Porterfield added. ”It’s going to be a bit

special and it’s always great to be a part of history. ”Test cricket is the pinnacle of our sport and I know how much this game will mean to not only the players but all involved with Irish cricket.

“It’ll be another step on what has been an incredible journey for our sport in a relatively short passage of time.”

here in Guyana and it’s an honour to have been selected

by PAHF to host it here in Guyana; we are very excited and enthusiastic,” Fernandes shared.

Fernandes reminded that it could not be possible without the support of the many sponsors that came on board to support the tournament “in a very big way”.

“We would like to acknowledge the fact that we have some strong sponsors, we have a lot of gold sponsors, companies like Exxon Mobil, GTT, Banks DIH, John Fernandes Limited, Bounty Supermarket, while we have our silver sponsors like Republic Bank; Sterling Products with their Igloo brand. We hope to make it an event worthy of their contribution,” he noted.

Seven female teams and six male teams have been arriving in Guyana to take part in the tournament which will be held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, beginning from 10am tomorrow.

The home court advantage will give Guyana much benefits, including being able to field both a male and a female team, for the first time ever at the tournament. Though this will be Guyana’s second time fielding a male team, this will actually be the first year that the country will be represented in the female competition.

Another benefit coming out of our hosting will be the Guyanese players having the chance to train and familiarize themselves with the exact surface that they will be playing the competition on.

“Usually we play on grass

and then we go and compete on artificial turf which is very, very tough. So our teams are very keen and excited that they could play and practice in the very same venue where the competition will be played,” Fernandes explained.

The GHB recently imported an indoor plastic tile floor, similar to what is used in North America for almost all indoor sports, which was laid at the CASH. A move that has definitely pleased all of the incoming teams as well, as they had nothing but compliments about the facility.

“The venue is fantastic, the floor is superb. The people are very kind, treating us excellent.

We’ve been very impressed with everything,” commented a representative from Uruguay.

His sentiments were echoed by other representatives from Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago.

PAHF Events Coordinator, Laura Macchiotti, also chimed in with praises for the GHB’s hosting of the event.

“I want to thank you for hosting the tournament. It’s very important for PAHF to have different countries and not always the same one, so small hockey countries too can showcase big events like this and spread hockey throughout the country and continent. I know that this has been a big effort for you, not only for the finances.

We know that small federations struggle to get people involved to run a tournament, but you did it quite well, we have a very nice venue and we have everything we need to have a very good event,” Macchiotti said.

From back page

High intensity action as ...

Victoria thanks to a Jahiem Lewis-goal in the 7th minute while Rovin Henry (2nd) and Jacob Rodney (6th) piloted St Ambrose to a 2-0 win over Smith’s Memorial.

A double by Kishen Humphrey (12th and 22nd) kept Colaaco a winless team when they lost 0-3 to Den Amstel.

Arvind Henry added the other goal in the 26th.

Redeemer crushed Grove 4-0, with goals coming from Kevin George (6th, 16th), Nicolas Watts (23rd) and Miguel Alexander(25th), while Enterprise won via walkover against Supply.

Meanwhile, Mae’s and Timheri were locked 2-2 at the blow of the final whistle. Joshua Bentick (21st) and Dhanesh Persaud (29th) netted while Antwoine Denny (22nd) and Keron Williams (28th) made the impact for Timheri.

F.E Pollard steamrolled Soesdyke 5-0 with Safar Stephen (2nd, 4th), Trevon Williams (6th), Own Goal (20th) and Terrence Pearson (25th) making conversions.

Plaisance Orphanage continued their rampage, hammering J.E Burnham 4-0, due to a brace each by Ronaldo Harry (4th, 7th) and Windell Pickell (8th,19th).

Similarly, Saint Angela’s downed Winfer Garden 6-0 via Omarie Nelson’s hat-trick (11th, 20th, 30th) and supporting goals from Tyshawn James (23rd,26th) and C’quan O’Neal (2nd).

Parfait Harmony edged Goed Fortuin 1-0 when Jeremiah Ramotar scored in the 19th minute, while School of the Nations and South Ruimveldt played to a goalless draw.

St. Agnes and North Georgetown produced another draw of the day when Jermaine Crum-Ewing scored in the 20th for Agnes but Jakeel Jackson found an equalizer in the 23rd.

Jacqui Gonsalves’ goal in the 15th was enough to give Stella Maris a 1-0 win over St. Stephen’s, while West Ruimveldt edged St. Margaret’s 2-1. Devon Chance (4th) and Jonathan Andries (26th) scored for the winners. Tyrese Harris had equalized in the 14th. . Matches will continue next Saturday at the same venue.

26

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

GT Beer Sunday Night Super Cup semis..

Georgetown renew rivalry with Linden, Essequibo/ Pomeroon collide with West Dem.

By Joe Chapman TWO epic encounters are anticipated when old rivals, Upper Demerara and Georgetown battle it out

tonight at 21.00hrs to reach the $1M final against the winner of the game between upstarts, Essequibo/ Pomeroon and the team to watch, West Demerara who will

clash at 19.00hrs when semifinals in this year’s inaugural GT Beer Inter Association Super Sunday Cup football Championship is played at the Mackenzie Sports Club

ground.

The old foes Upper Demerara and Georgetown is the night cap feature and the past battles make much reading into who will come out on top.

What is however assured is that one of the two will not reach the final which not so long ago would have been highly improbable, knowing the strengths of both association teams back then.

This time Essequibo/ Pomeroon or the third rising powerhouse in football circles, West Demerara are going to be in the final.

Georgetown lost by a lone goal to West Demerara in their group play as West Demerara emerged the top team in that group; and now would face the challenge of Essequibo/ Pomeroon who has been a surprise hit.

This Essequibo /Pomeroon unit moved into the final four after one win, one draw and one loss; at the expense of East Bank who had one draw and two defeats, and East Coast who had one draw and two losses.

West Demerara will be led by the likes of their top scorer, David Blake who engineered Georgetown’s lone 1-0 loss with his strike, Jamal Harvey, Jamal Perreira, Morgan Denny and Kevaugh Warde among others.

Essequibo /Pomeroon are going to look to their top players in Devon Romeo, Sheldon Pitt, Oswin Henry and Michael Hendricks to send them past this formidable West Demerara lineup.

Hosts Upper Demerara with a strong partisan backing should be able to get past

West Demerara players from left: Kevaughn Warde, David Blake and Jamaal Perreira.

Georgetown players from left: Dwayne McBean, Quasi Benjamin and Shane Morrison

Essequibo players from left: Oswin Henry, Michael Hendricks, Devon Romeo, Sheldon Pitt.

Georgetown, since the City side is still to appear in their best mode yet.

They have a chance to make it right since this is a win or go home match.

But Upper Demerara will be confident with their leading scorers in Denzil Fordyce and Kellon Primo along with Jashawn Moore and Shane Luckie looking for more goals

as their defence is centred on Keshawn Dey and Shane Luckie, who will be among the men upfront.

Georgetown on the other hand may still look to their players who brought them this far and among those featured are Darren Benjamin, Phillip Rowley, Ryan Dowden, Dwayne McCalman and Hubert Pedro.

Hamilton Green Cup K.O. Football Tournament

Ann’s Grove battle Soesdyke for semi-final spot tonight at Victoria ground

AS action in the Hamilton Green Cup knock-out football Tournament heats up, Victoria ground on the East Coast of Demerara will come alive tonight as East Demerara Football Association’s (EFDA) Ann’s Grove takes on East Bank Football Association’s (EBFA) Soesdyke Falcons in a quarter-final match from 21:00hrs.

With both teams seeking a place in the semi-final round and with $500,000 at stake for the winner of the final, the

match which is the feature of a triple-header card, is expected to be a very exciting one that should not be missed.

Prior to the feature game between Ann’s Grove and Soesdyke Falcons, the triple-header card will commence at 17:00hrs with a grudge match between Mahaica Determinators and Plaisance United, while from 19:00hrs, Victoria Kings will host Buxton Bakewell in a village rivalry game to determine once and for all who are the real `Kings’ of

East Coast’s football.

Spearheading Ann’s Grove’s attack for tonight’s feature game is striker, Daniel Pellew, who will expect support from midfielders Philip Williams, rayon Sears, Steve Francis and Monton Adonis. Elton Adams will be on duty between the uprights.

Soesdyke Falcons on the other hand will be looking to Trayon Khan, Marvin Joseph, Kelson Benson and Dorwin Batson to seal their place in the semi-final round of the tournament.

27

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

Constituency 13 Councillor welcomes East Ruimveldt Community ground restoration TRICHRIA Richards, the Councillor for Constituency 13, is happy to see the East Ruimveldt Community Ground restoration project being commissioned, and is grateful to the National Sports Commission (NSC) and Minister, Dr George Norton, for their intervention and speedy response to the calls of the residents.

“As the councillor representing the people of East Ruimveldt Community, I first engage the Director of Sports (Christopher Jones) a few months ago on the rehabilitation of the ground.

Several consultations were done but there were a few hiccups as it pertains to the development” Richards explained to Chronicle Sport.

She also referred to Minster Norton as the lightning Minister because of his quick response to their plea for help (immediately after speaking to him, he visited and works started the next

day).

The East Ruimveldt residents have been vocal about the absence of a multi recreational centre that can cater for the different sporting disciplines to help channel youths towards positive direction by providing a safe environment for play and

ground, which will have a football field, a beach volleyball area and a cricket pitch.

Jones said the facility will be fully lit with the installation of new floodlights, while the basketball court will be resurfaced.

The fence will be strengthened, Jones pointed

(Letter to the Sports Editor)

Councillor for constituency 13, Trichria Richards

Works underway at the East Ruimveldt Community Ground

relaxation.”

Richards joined Dr Norton, Jones and Mayor Patricia Chase-Green at Friday’s commissioning of the

out, and said he hopes that the multi-sports venue will be able to return the community to its glory days of producing some of George-

town’s finest sportsmen and women.

It the hope of the Director of Sport to see similar projects executed throughout the city which should be able to promote social cohesion.

Meanwhile, Richards said that while a specific time was not given for the completion of the facility, she’s confident that it will be done in a timely manner. Also, she noted, a day of sport is being planned to commemorate the opening of the facility to the community. (Rawle Toney)

Windies Women take unassailable 2-0 lead in ODI series TAROUBA, Trinidad, (CMC) – Captain Stafanie Taylor’s 28th One-Day International half-century was enough to steer West Indies Women to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka Women and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here Friday night.

Chasing a paltry 163 for victory at the Brian Lara Stadium, the Windies cantered home in the 40th over thanks to Taylor’s unbeaten 60.

The right-hander faced 83 balls and struck three fours and six, receiving support from Deandra Dottin who stroked a busy 37 not out, Hayley Matthews who got 25, and Kycia Knight, 24.

Sri Lanka Women, sent in earlier, could only muster 162 off 46.3 overs, with Yasoda Mendis top-scoring with 34, Chamari Atapattu getting 31, Dilani Manodara, 26 Leg-spinner Afy Fletcher led the Windies attack with three for 24 while off-spinners Anisa Mohammed (216) and Taylor (2-31) ended with two apiece.

The victory ensured the second win on the trot for the hosts but more importantly, another two points to go towards their tally in the ICC

perished for just 25 runs.

Prasadani Weerakkody (19) and Rebeca Vandort (17) staged a 29-run, eighth wicket stand to hold up the Windies before the last three wickets tumbled for four runs.

In reply, Matthews and Kycia Knight put on 49 for the first wicket to give the Windies a solid start before both fell within the space of 14 balls, to leave the Stafanie Taylor … stroked a half-century for Windies Women

Women’s Championship.

Sri Lanka were off to a great start but suffered a collapse in the crucial middle overs and fell away eventually.

Mendis struck seven fours in a robust 31-ball knock as she put on 53 off 66 deliveries for the first wicket with Nipuni Hansika (18).

Both fell in the space of 32 balls with 19 runs added but Atapattu and Manodara combined in a 32-run, third wicket stand to rebuild the innings as Sri Lanka reached 104 for two in the 24th over.

Atapattu faced just 37 balls and counted three fours but once she departed, the Sri Lanka innings plunged into decline as five wickets

Was the BCB elections free, fair and transparent?

score on 59 for two in the 17th over.

Taylor then ensured there would be no hiccups, adding 27 for the third wicket with Chedean Nation (8) before anchoring a match-winning 77 in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership with Dottin who stroked four fours and a six in a run-a-ball knock.

The third ODI is set for today at the same venue.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA N Hansika c wkp Aguilleira b Mohammed 18 Y Mendis c Taylor b Fletcher 34 C Atapattu c Kycia Knight b Taylor 31 D Manodara run out 26 P Weerakkody st Aguilleira b Mohammed 1 S Siriwardene lbw b Fletcher 4 S Weerakkody c Taylor b Selman 19 A Kanchana hit wkt b Fletcher 3 +R Vandort lbw b Taylor 17 U Probodhani not out 2 *I Ranaweera b Connell 0 Extras (b1, lb4, w2) 7 TOTAL (all out, 46.3 overs) 162 Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-72, 3-104, 4-105, 5-112, 6-122, 7-129, 8-158, 9-160, 10-162.

Bowling: Selman 5-1-20-1, Connell 3.3-0-24-1, Matthews 9-0-42-0, Fletcher 10-0-24-3, Mohammed 10-3-16-2 WEST INDIES WOMEN H Matthews c Kanchana b Ranaweera 25 Kycia Knight b Atapattu 24 *S Taylor not out 60 C Nation b Siriwardene 8 D Dottin not out 37 Extras (lb3, w5, nb1) 9 TOTAL (3 wkts, 39.4 overs) 163 Did not bat: +M Aguilleira, Kyshona Knight, Afy Fletcher, S Connell, A Mohammed, S Selman.

Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-59, 3-86.

Bowling: Probodhani 4-0-13-0, Weerakkody 7-0-34-0, Kanchana 4-2-10-0, Atapattu 5-0-27-1.

Points: West Indies Women 2, Sri Lanka Women 0.

Please allow me space in your newspaper to respond to an article in the Guyana Chronicle Edition of 12th October, 2017, under the headline “BCB President says Election was free, fair and transparent” written by Rajiv Bisnauth.

It was simply unbelievable that someone who has spent over 30 years as an educator would allow his character to be stained with the most rigged election ever held in Guyana’s sporting arena and then described it as free, fair and transparent.

The Berbice Cricket Board Election on Sunday 8th October, 2017, would go down in history as the most rigged, untransparent and abuse of power to ever take place in the history of sports in Guyana.

The “Selected” President pleaded for a chance for cricket to move forward and for Court cases to be shelved.

One is left to wonder why he didn’t ask the same of his current Vice President and Treasurer who tied up the Anil Beharry Administration for two full years with a Court Injunction. Beharry won by a clear majority and yet was denied the opportunity to lead.

The four votes by Rose Hall Town and Young Warriors would not have affected Beharry’s victory, but Somwaru didn’t have the courage to beg his now close friends to give Berbice Cricket a chance.

The entire Berbice Cricketing public is very upset over the recent election which was clearly rigged and corrupted. The objective was not for the development of Berbice Cricket, but rather to protect at all costs the current leadership of the Guyana Cricket Board.

For the sake of Berbice Cricket fans, can the Berbice Cricket Board President explain the following: Why was a Five Star Hotel chosen for the meeting? Was it because it was private property and access to the Election Hall could be prevented.

Godwyn Allicock (is) one of the persons responsible for the Injunction against the Berbice Cricket Board for two years. Is it true that you

authorised him to serve as a “bouncer” at the entrance of the elevator to the Hall and to turn away people who were not your supporters. The same Allicock later turned up as a delegate of Port Mourant, a candidate on your slate and later as your “selected” treasurer.

Why was your rival for the Presidency denied access to the Election Hall? Is it true that was because he was not from a voting club? Can you explain to the public which club you were representing?

Why was the two West Indies Cricket Directors, a former Guyana Cricket Board President, a University of Guyana Professor who has no linkage to cricket, allowed in the Hall.

Why was Leslie Solomon and Raymond Mohamed allowed to pretend to be Mt. Sinai delegates when they have no connections to the Club. This resulted in the elected officials of the club being stopped from voting as mandated by the Club’s membership.

Why was the Rose Hall Estate Community Centre mandated delegates refused permission to vote, based on a faked letterhead submitted by one of your closest advisors. The members of the Club had met and voted for their delegates and even decided who to support for the Presidency. Why then was the Club denied their voting rights? Is it because you knew that they were not supporting you.

Why were Guymine, Mental Hospital and Kildonan stopped from voting when they had proper documents with their memberships? They could not have paid any membership fees to the Berbice Cricket Board because the High Court had ruled that your executives were illegal. The elections of the three clubs were widely published in the national media.

Eighteen delegates allegedly signed a document supporting Dru Bahadur for the post of Returning Officer.

Since only twelve delegates were supporting you, who were the other six.

One Police delegate has already stated that he did not sign any letter to support Dru Bahadur Turn to page 28

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

Top local cyclists to contest Sixth Kadir ‘one ounce of raw gold’ 70-miler today GUYANA’s top racing cyclists are expected to face the starter at 07:30hrs this morning for the 6th Annual Mohamed Kadir Memorial 70-mile Cycle Road Race which will pedal off at 07:30hrs today from Homestretch Avenue and proceed to Dora on the Linden Highway before returning to the place of origin for the finish.

The event, a much-anticipated one on the Guyana Cycle Federation’s (GCF) calendar of events, is expected to be very keenly

contested as the majority of the cyclists are firing on all cylinders during this period of the cycling season.

And last year’s winner, Hamza Eastman, will be hard pressed to make a successful defence of his victory last year when he registered three hours, nine minutes 17 seconds in winning ahead of Geron Williams, Shaquel Agard, Raul Leal, Stephano Husbands, Junior Niles, Christopher Holder and Paul Cho-WeeNam. After pedaling off from

Homestretch Avenue, the seniors and juniors will journey to Dora on the Linden Highway before turning back to the place of origin for the finish, while the veterans under 45 years of age as well as the mountain bikers will turn back at the first hill past Splashmin’s Fun Park on the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway.

The top three juniors, veterans, juveniles and mountain bikers will also be rewarded for their efforts.

Last year, Junior Niles won the veterans under-45

years category from Paul Cho-Wee-Nam and Stephen Fernandes respectively, while Raphael Leung won the junior category ahead of Jernel Yearwood and Christopher Cornelius, in that order.

Most likely, the pedal pushers will use today’s event as a warm-up for next Sunday’s Digicel sponsored Cancer Awareness month race which will be held over the same course with over $900,000 in prize money up for grabs.

Hamza Eastman will be hard pressed to defend his title.

RHTY&SC Busta Champion of Champions softball cricket bowls off today .. to be played over three weekends

THE Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club(RHTY&SC), Busta Champion of Champions softball cricket tournament bowls off today at the Area ‘H’ ground.

The tournament will be the 14th Edition of the Busta Tournament but will be played on the Softball format due to the problems currently affecting the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB).

Sixteen teams would be participating in the tournament which is solely sponsored by the Guyana Beverage Company under its popular Busta brand.

Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster; Vice- President Mark Papannah; Organising Secretary, Keith Hicks, and

Asst Organising Secretary, Rabindranauth Kissoonlall of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club Cricket Development Committee will be the persons responsible for organising the tournament, which is to be played over three weekends.

The semifinals and finals are scheduled for the 29th October, while the quarterfinals will be played at the Area ‘H’ ground on the 22nd October.

Foster stated that the first round of matches will be 5-Overs per side, the quarterfinals 8-Overs per side, while the semifinals will be 10-Overs per side. Only round hand bowling would be allowed.

Teams will be required to be present at the venue for 08.30 hours for the first round and at 10.00 hours for the second round and Grand Finals.

Vice President Mark Papannah stated that no form of indiscipline will be allowed and players must understand that all decisions of the neutral Umpires will be final.

The tournament will be played with a Power-play of two overs in the first round, three overs for the quarter and semi finals and four overs for the finals.

Only three players will be allowed out of the circle for the Power-play and a maximum of five afterwards.

Only five fielders would be

RHTY&SC Secretary /CEO, Hilbert Foster

allowed on the leg side field while no LBW or leg byes shall be allowed.

Papannah would also like to remind teams that only Berbice born players are allowed to play in the tournament.

Among the teams playing in the tournament are Hard

Sri Lanka to make final decision on playing in Pakistan on Monday SRI Lanka will decide on Monday whether to go ahead with plans to play in Pakistan for the first time since their bus was attacked in Lahore in 2009.

Teams stopped visiting Pakistan after the attack, when gunmen killed six policemen and two civilians and injured several Sri Lanka players and coaches.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s president said “in principal” there was still “agreement” over the 29 October Twenty20 fixture.

Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood

But he added: “Players have requested we consider the security situation.”

Thilanga Sumathipala told BBC Sinhala: “We have sought further clarification with regard to the security situation and will take the final decision on Monday.

“If we decide to go ahead with the tour on Monday, we will certainly send a Sri Lankan team to Lahore.”

The match is due to be the last of a tour that began on 28 September. The other games have been taking place in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan have played almost all their ‘home’ internationals

since the 2009 attack.

In 2015, Zimbabwe played three ODIs and two T20s in a series that was marred by a suicide bombing outside the Lahore stadium.

Earlier in September, Pakistan hosted three T20s against a World XI under a heavy police presence.

Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood, who was part of the Word XI squad, said the team was given “head of state” protection.

(BBC Sport).

Knock, Terry Grocery, Jai Hind, Grill Master, Sham Grocery, Sparta, Shamie Grocery, Rising Star, Letter Kenny, M. Ali & Son Super 95, Fyrish, Rose Hall Town, Toopoo and Set Up. The winning team will take home $150 000.00 and the Busta Trophy, the first Runner-up $75 000.00 and 3rd Place $50 000.00. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club would be using the tournament to promote the Say No to Drugs, Crime, Suicide, Alcohol and Yes to

Education, Life, Sports and Religion messages.

The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club is encouraging the general public to attend the matches to witness the high standard of cricket.

This will be the third major Softball event in the last three months to be organised by the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club following the Patron’s Green Economy Trophy and the Naeem Nasir Memorial Cup.

From page 27

Was the BCB ... but rather to indicate his presence at the meeting.

Did the five other signatures included the fake delegates from Rose Hall Estate, Canje and Mt. Sinai.

Do twelve out of 34 delegates form a quorum for an election?

Why was nomination for the Presidency closed in less than five seconds? Why (was) the President of the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association prevented from nominating Hilbert Foster?

Did you not trust your own 12 delegates?

Who paid membership fees for Blairmont, Upper Corentyne, Chesney, Mt. Sinai and Police? Delegates at the meeting openly stated that no fees were paid. Even if it was paid by fake members, who received it on behalf of an illegal Cricket Board?

Finally, Mr. Somwaru owes the cricketing public of Berbice an explanation on who paid for the rental of the Five Star Hotel, meals and the bar. The Berbice Cricket Board transported a whole Under-13 cricket team in a car, provide Kool Aid as refreshments for our youths, but somehow found funds for an International Hotel.

You complained in the media that sponsorship was hard to obtain, but funds suddenly appeared to host the most rigged election.

The business sector should not support this illegal body who stole the voting rights of 20 delegates (8 clubs and the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association).

Yours in Sports, Berbice Cricket Fan

29

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

England set for four-day Test matches after ICC approves trial CRICKET chiefs have approved plans for a radical restructuring of the game that could see England play a four-day Test within the next two years.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that there had been agreement during their latest board meeting in Auckland to introduce a Test championship from 2019 and a 13-team one-day international league from 2020 that will lead to direct qualification for the World Cup. However, perhaps the most significant announcement to come out of the meeting was the approval

by world cricket’s governing body to trial four-day Tests — starting with South Africa’s match against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day. The trial period for shortened Tests, which would need agreement from both participating countries, is only up until the introduction of the official championship in 2019.

Nine teams will play six series of Test matches over a two-year period — three at home and three away — culminating in a world Test championship final in England in June 2021. All matches will be scheduled

England captain Joe Root

for five days.

The decision comes at

a time when the sport is trying to keep Test matches relevant and draw crowds to stadiums. While this is not a problem in England, the format is losing popularity across much of the world.

But the allowance for shortened Tests in the two years before 2019 could lead to a split in the game if fourday matches prove a success, leading the way for only the blue-riband series between the so-called ‘big three’ of England, India and Australia to be played over five days.

Initially, it appears Test newcomers Ireland and Afghanistan will play all their matches over four days, with

the Irish hosting Pakistan in their inaugural Test next May. Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said: “Four-day Tests will provide the new Test playing countries with more opportunities to play the longer version of the game against more experienced opponents, which, in turn, will help them to hone their skills and close the gap with the top nine-ranked teams.”

Yet, England could also find themselves playing a four-day Test before 2019, especially as Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, has long been a fan of the concept.

Joe Root’s team play away series against Sri Lanka and West Indies next winter, with both potential targets for four-day games.

It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that the ECB would consider hosting a four-day Test before 2019, either, with a sole home Test against Pakistan in the summer of 2019 a potential candidate.

For the ODI league, the 12 full ICC members and winners of the World Cricket League Championship will contest four home and four away series, each comprising three matches.

Suarez foils Atletico as Real Madrid make up ground

By Richard Martin

MADRID (Reuters) - Luis Suarez struck late to snatch a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at Atletico Madrid on Saturday but their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga was cut to five points after Cristiano Ronaldo inspired the champions to a 2-1 win at Getafe.

Saul Niguez gave Atletico the lead in the 21st minute with a thumping low drive into the bottom corner, finally beating Marc-Andre ter Stegen after the German goalkeeper had twice thwarted Antoine Griezmann.

Barca were much improved after the break, however, and Suarez goaded the home fans behind the goal after deservedly pulling his side level in the 82nd minute, putting his finger to his lips and cupping his ears.

Earlier, Real Madrid were in danger of dropping points for the fourth time in eight games before Ronaldo rammed in a lofted pass from substitute Isco in the 85th minute to score his first league goal of the season and

avoid a costly draw.

Barca top the standings with 22 points while Real climbed above Atletico into second on 17. Sevilla slid down from second to fourth after losing 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao, suffering an eighth consecutive away defeat to the Basques.

Lionel Messi had threatened to give Barca the lead less than 30 seconds into the game at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, which was packed with Spain flags as tensions from Catalonia’s banned referendum on independence continued to be felt.

The Argentine ripped through Atletico’s defence only to see his shot squirm wide but the home side managed the first half better, soaking up Barca’s pressure and carefully plotting their counter-attacks.

The visitors, however, were much improved after the break.

Messi clanged the crossbar from a free kick and inexplicably missed the target from close range, while Suarez was denied by Atletico

goalkeeper Jan Oblak before levelling and came close to

points.”

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo scores their second goal REUTERS/Sergio Perez

snatching a winner in injury time but narrowly failed to make contact with a cross which fizzed past the far post.

“After spending almost all the game behind this isn’t a bad point for us, especially against one of our rivals for the league title,” Suarez told reporters.

“Everyone knows Atletico defend very well and have a great goalkeeper who proves himself in every game. We deserved more from the second half and could have taken all the

RONALDO STRIKES With one eye on Tuesday’s Champions League game against Tottenham Hotspur, Zidane rested his usual midfield pairing of Casemiro and Luka Modric and started without Isco.

Madrid failed to sparkle but went ahead in the 39th minute through an arrowed finish from Karim Benzema, who was starting alongside Ronaldo for the first time since the Champions League final.

India recall Thakur and Karthik for New Zealand ODIs INDIA have recalled Shardul Thakur and Dinesh Karthik for the oneday international series against New Zealand, but KL Rahul has been omitted from the squad.

Paceman Thakur has not featured for his country since the final match of the ODI series against Sri Lan-

ka last month, while wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik’s last India appearance was against West Indies in July.

The duo were on Saturday named in a 15-man squad for a three-match series with the Black Caps, which starts next Sunday.

Rahul played no part in the 4-1 ODI series win over

Australia after being named in the squad and will not make his return against New Zealand.

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were also left out once again, along with Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

India squad: Virat

Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur.(Omnisport)

They slowed further down in the second half and their lead vanished in the 56th minute with what was Getafe’s first real chance as Jorge Molina bundled the ball towards goal, although Real midfielder Marcos Llorente got the final touch.

Replays showed the equaliser should also have been disallowed for offside and Real were further aggrieved when substitute Theo Hernandez had a goal ruled out for offside.

Ronaldo, however, averted another setback in what

has been an underwhelming league campaign and saved the blushes of coach Zinedine Zidane in the Frenchman’s 100th game in charge.

“We started very well and then we relaxed after the break but in the end thanks to our character and the substitutions we fixed it,” Zidane told reporters.

“We know that over 90 minutes we can score at any moment and in the second half we struggled but we knew we would be able to get back into the lead and that’s what we did.”

English racing Tips

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Chepstow

10:50 hrs Hurricane Ben

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09:15 hrs Elegant Escape

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12:30 hrs Secret Legacy

10:25 hrs Potters Cross

Naas

11:00 hrs Olsgrangewood

08:20 hrs Lost Treasure

11:35 hrs Village Vic

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12:10 hrs Bubble O’Clock

09:25 hrs Moonlight Bay

12:40 hrs Khage

10:00 hrs Quizical

Goodwood

10:35 HRS Elegant Pose

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12:20 hrs Detailed

10:45 hrs Istanbul Sultan

South Africa Racing Tips

11:20 hrs Machine Learner

Greyville

11;55 hrs Poet’s Princess

08:15 hrs Mogostar

12:25 hrs Red Royalist

08:50 hrs Under The Stars

Irish Racing Tips

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10:05 hrs Minnie The Moocher

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11:15 HRS Land Of The Gods

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

Dr Norton ‘overwhelmed’ but optimistic of a drastic change

By Rawle Toney Dr George Norton, the Minister of Social Cohesion, had long been known as a fervent sportsman. In fact, he served as Vice President of the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG), is a usual sponsor of athletes representing Guyana, especially those from the hinterland regions, a swimmer and football player; all which started before his political days and something he continued even before his role with the Coalition Government.

Many sports representatives and enthusiasts thought that Dr Norton would’ve been best suited to serve the Guyanese people in the capacity as the minister responsible for sport, but, President David Granger instead appointed that portfolio to Nicolette Henry.

President Granger a few

months ago, removed Dr Norton as Minister of Health, and appointed him Minister of Social Cohesion. Also in one of the best moves by the Government, Sport was placed under Dr Norton’s Ministry.

Dr Norton, in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport, was emotional in his remarks at how overwhelmed he is with regards to how the country’s sportsmen and women are treated but, was adamant that under his watch, “a change will come.”

“I can tell you that it greaves my heart when I go to a top secondary school in Guyana to look at their sports and I see people are not properly cladded, people are not organised and so on, and that has to change; that’s where it all starts, in the school and we need to develop that standard from the school system” Dr Norton said.

Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton (right) and South American Youth Games gold medallist Deshanna Skeete. (Adrian Narine photo)

MUST HAVE A FRAME WORK At this year’s South American Youth Games, held in Santiago, Chile, Guyana’s 15-man team returned with four medals from the multisport event.

Kenisha Phillips picked up two silver (100M & 200M), Jermaine King copped a silver in the boys 100M and the country’s lone gold came from 15-year-old Deshanna Skeete in the girls 400M.

However, in the October 11 Guyana Chronicle, a story was told about Skeete’s mother’s struggle to cater for the athlete and her five other siblings as a single parent, as Dr Norton pointed out that a frame work must be implemented to render assistance to athletes outside of honouring them whenever they defy the odds.

“There’s no doubt that we must have a system in place.

We just can’t willy-nilly be giving athletes prizes as they perform. They’ve got to have a system in place, where, for instance, if we see at an early age an athlete is performing exceptionally well, we must be able to offer that athlete help in academic performance and welfare, whether it is getting them to a school at a higher level than the one they attend and if there’s housing facility and so on” Dr Norton opined.

According to Dr Norton, “If an athlete like Deshanna Skeete is performing well, I would do everything possible to get her into, let’s say President’s College where there’s a dorm, where the academic standard is high and where she can continue her training, because that’s the purpose, but we need to put systems in place rather than handing out gifts and waiting for a scholarship agency to get a scholarship.”

While admitting that much could’ve been done to support our athletes, Dr Norton stated “I don’t want us to look back at the things we did wrong, although it’s imperative to learn from mistakes, but let’s look to the future as the ministry looks to do all it can in offsetting expenses in the athletes training and academic pursuits. We promise to give you all that we can for your development.”

Franchise League 3-day tournament….

Motie (5-8) sparks early declaration by Lower Corentyne …centuries for Chanderpaul, Amir Khan, and Ronaldo Ali Mohamed; Upper Corentyne beat Georgetown by five wickets

WEST Berbice closed day two of their Franchise League game against Lower Corentyne on 69-1, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 74-8 declared.

When the game eventually commenced at 14:45hrs at the Bush Lot ground, the hosts won the toss and asked Lower Corentyne to bat first; a decision which went in their favour.

Only Kelvon Anderson (24), Waheed Edwards (24), and Devon Clements (18), reached

Gudakesh Motie

double figures for the visitors.

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie claimed 5-8, before Lower Corentyne declared their first innings total at 74-8.

Alex Algoo (2), was the first to be dismissed, bowled

by Stephen Harris before Motie got into the act on a wicket which produced enough bounce and turn for the spinners.

He removed Edwards at 44-2. Fellow spinner Krishandat Ramoo then claimed

the wicket of Seon Hetymer without scoring and Clements before Motie destroyed the middle-order, with the wickets of Anderson, Sharaz Ramcharran (0), Kasim Khan (1), and Naill Smith (0), before the declaration came.

In reply, Rafael Estraido made a composed 42 before he was bowled by Kassim Khan just before the close.

Leon Andrews was unbeaten on 13.

Meanwhile, Upper Corentyne defeated George-

Nadal, Federer seal Shanghai showdown as Cilic, Del Potro exit (REUTERS) - World number one Rafael Nadal squeezed past Croatian Marin Cilic with a 7-5 7-6(3) victory on Saturday to set up a mouth-watering clash with Swiss Roger Federer in the Shanghai Masters final.

Second-ranked Federer came from behind to beat Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 3-6 6-3 6-3 to ensure he would meet Nadal for the fourth time this year in Sunday’s final.

Nadal leads the head-tohead with Federer 23-14 but has not beaten the Swiss in 2017, losing in the finals of the Australian Open and Miami Masters and in the last-16 at Indian Wells.

The Spaniard was pushed

hard by fourth seed Cilic, who put his booming forehand to good use but could not stop Nadal claiming a 16 consecutive victory.

“We are at the highest level of our sport, so nobody wins easy,” Nadal said. “If you want to compete in the most important events... you’re going to have tough matches and today was one of them.”

Federer, the only man who can still stop Nadal ending the year as world number one, lost to Del Potro in the U.S. Open quarter-finals and looked set for a second consecutive defeat after tamely surrendering the first set.

The Swiss changed his ap-

proach in the second, following his serves into the net more often to take time away from the Argentine and the strategy worked as Del Potro failed to earn a single break point in the final two sets.

Nadal forced Cilic to save six break points in his first two service games, but the Croat hung on and passed up a glorious chance to go ahead himself when he squandered three break points with the score tied at 5-5 in the first.

The Spaniard looked set for victory when he broke again early in the second, but Cilic drew level in the sixth game as Nadal pounded the net cord in frustration after missing an

easy volley with his opponent stranded.

A flurry of Cilic errors gave Nadal three break points with the second set tied at 4-4.

The Croatian got out of trouble with three big serves but double faulted to hand the initiative back to Nadal and skied a forehand to give his opponent the chance to serve out the match.

Nadal failed to capitalise, squandering a match point before Cilic unleashed two massive forehands to level again at 5-5 as the set headed towards a tiebreak where Nadal’s ability to hold his nerve in clutch situations proved the difference.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

town by five wickets to take an impressive jump on the points table, moving form 58 points to 78.7 and giving themselves a strong chance of gaining second place.

At Everest, East Coast

were bowled out for 298.

Amir Khan top scored with 104 while Kamesh Yadram fell for 99.

In reply, East Bank were 184-9, with Ronaldo Ali Mohamed unbeaten on 116.

East Bank trail by 114 runs, with a day remaining.

At Tuschen, West Demerara replying to Essequibo’s 264 all out, were 81-5.

Earlier, Shivnarine Chanderpaul contributed an astonishing 119, Anthony Adams 37 and Chaitram Persaud with 40 for the tournament leaders.

Chaitram Persaud has so far collected three wickets bowling for Essequibo.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday October 15, 2017)

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) Shane Shillingford-6/49 (Barbados, 2013) (2) Ray Price-6/73 (Harare, 2003) Today’s Quiz: (1) Which WI wicketkeeper has effected most dismissals in Tests against ZIM to date?

(2) Which ZIM wicketkeeper has effected most dismissals in Tests against the WI to date?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, October 15, 2017

Guyana wraps up participation at UCI World Masters Championships GUYANA’s two-man team consisting of 1980 and 1984 Olympics representative, James ‘Joelyn’ Joseph and Aubrey Gordon, competed at the 2017 UCI World Masters Championships in Carson, California over the past week, at the VELO Sports Center.

The Guyana team participated in the 20 laps scratch race. The race was won by Clayton Shepard of the USA, while Guyana’s James ‘Joelyn’ Joseph finished second and Michael Hines of USA, third.

Gordon, who was not having a good race, was forced to abandon with 8 laps to go as he was forced off the track when two cyclists fell in front of him.

The 500 meters time trial was won by USA’s Kurt Sato (34.936 seconds). David Willmott of Australia (35.915 seconds) was second and Joseph (36.088 seconds) third.

The flying 200 metres is used to seed the cyclist for the Match Sprint. Joseph rode a world record time of 11.420 seconds and was seeded number one.

Gordon rode the final event--40 laps point to point-and was ninth.

“In Summary, Guyana did very well, however, to continue at this level the cyclists and Coach who had to foot their expenses will need financial assistance” the team’s coach, Victor Rutherford said, while adding “ar-

riving on Saturday to commence racing on Sunday in not good enough. Especially as our cyclists do not have the luxury of a Velodrome at their disposal.”

Rutherford explained that “most of the competitors have sponsors who absorb the cost and are full time cyclist. Team Guyana needs to be in place a week before the competition so as to practice on the track. Gordon and Joseph understandably have their Day job and family expenses.”

“Hopefully, next year’s Championships which will be held at the said venue, we can by way of sponsors, the Guyana Cycling Federation, the GOA the ministry of sport and Guyanese at large,

be able to equip the cyclists so that they can have an even playing field” Rutherford said.

While advocating for Guyana to have a larger contingent, Rutherford thanked Neville and Cyril Hunte, Peter Sue, Mark Wills and Nehru Sheow for their support of the team.

The VELO Sports Center is a 100,000 square foot, $15 million worth specially designed 250- meter indoor cycle racing track. The VELO Sports Center is also a part of StubHub Center’s partnership with the USOC as an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site and is a home track to USA Cycling’s national track cycling programme.

The VELO Sports Cen-

Jacobs’ 6-27 skittles Sri Lanka to give Windies A innings victory FLORENCE HALL, Jamaica, (CMC) – Leg-spinner Damion Jacobs snatched a six-wicket haul to propel West Indies A to a crushing innings and 13-run victory over Sri Lanka A, on the final day of the opening four-day “Test” here Saturday.

The 32-year-old finished with six for 27 as the visitors, following on by 152 runs, were dismissed cheaply for 139 in their second innings to fall 1-0 behind in the three-match series.

Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall supported with three for 53 as Windies A ruthlessly disposed of the Sri Lankans in just three hours.

Opener Sandun Weerakkody struck an aggressive 56 and partner Ron Chandragupta, 27, but once they both departed, the last nine wickets tumbled spectacularly for a mere 45 runs.

Resuming the day at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium on

210 for seven, Sri Lanka lost their last three wickets for two runs in the space of 22 balls.

Fast bowler Keon Joseph (3-33) and Cornwall (3-69) both ended with three wickets apiece while Jacobs (2-33) and left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell (2-41) claimed two wickets each.

Sri Lanka A then started brightly with Weerakkody blasting nine fours in a 58-ball cameo as he put on a hasty 82 for the first wicket with Chandragupta.

The introduction of the spinners halted Sri Lanka’s progress, however, as Jacobs and Cornwall grabbed two wickets apiece to leave them struggling on 98 for four at lunch.

Their fortunes fail to improve after the break, as Jacobs ran through the middle order with the last six wickets going down for 41 runs.

The second “Test” bowls off October 19 at the same venue.

Leg-spinner Damion Jacobs celebrates another wicket with wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton, on the final day of the opening four-day “Test” on Saturday. (Photo courtesy CWI Media)

TEAM GUYANA (L-R) James ‘Joelyn’ Joseph, Victor Rutherford and Aubrey Gordon.

ter hosts training and international competitions for the world’s elite cy-

clists, as well as classes open to the public, at any skill level.

SCOREBOARD

WEST INDIES A 1st Innings 364-8 decl.

Sri Lanka A 1st innings (overnight 210 for seven) R Chandragupta c wkp Hamilton b Cottrell 11 +S Weerakkody c Brooks b Joseph 0 *D de Silva c Campbell b Jacobs 104 C Asalanka c Ambris b Joseph 10 D Shanaka c and b Cottrell 20 W Hasaranga c Brooks b Cornwall 24 S Jayasuriya c Jacobs b Cornwall 14 C Karunaratne lbw b Jacobs 0 M Pushpakumara c Ambris b Joseph 14 L Kumara not out 0 A Fernando st Hamilton b Cornwall 0 Extras (b8, w1, nb6) 15 TOTAL (all out, 56.4 overs) 212 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-33, 3-73, 4-108, 5-171, 6-181, 7-181, 8-212, 9-212, 10-212.

Bowling: Cottrell 13-2-41-2, Joseph 10-2-33-3, Leveridge 10-2-28-0, Cornwall 14.4-1-69-3, Jacobs 9-0-33-2.

SRI LANKA A 2nd innings (following on) +S Weerakkody+ c (sub) Cariah b Cornwall 56 R Chandragupta c Singh b Jacobs 27 *D de Silva c Campbell b Jacobs 18 C Asalanka c wkp Hamilton b Cornwall 0 D Shanaka lbw b Jacobs 1 S Jayasuriya lbw b Jacobs 18 W Hasaranga c Campbell b Jacobs 7 C Karunaratne run out 6 M Pushpakumara b Jacobs 0 L Kumara c Ambris b Cornwall 1 A Fernando not out 0 Extras (b2, nb3) 5 TOTAL (all out, 44.2 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-94, 3-96, 4-97, 5-116, 6-129, 7-136, 8-138, 9-139, 10-139.

Bowling: Cottrell 5-0-29-0, Joseph 4-0-24-0, Leveridge 2.21-4-0, Cornwall 18-3-53-3, Jacobs 15-6-27-6.

Derbyshire snaps up Rampaul in three-year deal LONDON, (CMC) – English County Derbyshire have snapped up out-offavour West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul on a threeyear deal.

The Trinidadian, who last represented the Caribbean side in any format two years ago, has been signed as a non-overseas player and will be available for all formats, the club announced.

It means Rampaul has ruled himself out of next year’s Caribbean Premier League, where he has turned

West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul.

out for Barbados Tridents in

recent seasons.

I’m grateful to Derbyshire for giving me this opportunity to extend my career in England and play across all forms,” said the 32-year-old Rampaul.

“The club has ambitious plans for the years ahead and I’m excited by what we can achieve. Hopefully I can play my part, not only on the field helping to win games of cricket, but also help the younger guys in the dressing room.”

Rampaul turned out for

Surrey last season, grabbing 18 wickets at an average of 24 to help the London club reach the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup where they eventually lost to Nottinghamshire.

However, he featured in just two County Championship games, taking three wickets and claimed four wickets in as many T20 matches.

A member of the successful Windies squad which won the T20 World Cup five years ago, Rampaul has also played

18 Tests and 92 One-Day Internationals but has fallen out of favour in recently times.

Derbyshire’s Cricket Advisor, Kim Barnett said he expected the club to benefit greatly from Rampaul’s experience.

“We identified new ball bowling as an area we wanted to strengthen for 2018, and we’re delighted to secure someone of the calibre of Ravi,” he said.

“He is highly skilled and vastly experienced, with over 100 internationals under his

belt, and he will give us the additional firepower we needed alongside the likes of Hardus Viljoen and Will Davis.”

He added: “Ravi will be available for all forms and has committed to Derbyshire full time, ruling out any clashes with the CPL during the English domestic season.

“It’s a massive coup for the club and shows our intent that we want to build on the progress we made in 2017 and kick on in 2018 and beyond.”

Guyana wraps up participation at UCI World Masters Championships

Page 31

`We will put our best foot forward to make Pan American Hockey Championships a good show’ –GHB President

By Tamica Garnett

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB), Phillip Fernandes reaffirmed that nothing but the best was put forth for Guyana’s hosting of the Pan American Indoor Hockey Championships, which begins tomorrow, even as the Board came under much praise from the overseas team managers and officials for the facility and hospitality in Guyana.

“We will put our best foot forward to make it a good tournament and a good show,” Fernandes declared yesterday at a press briefing held at the Sleep-In Hotel and Casino, Church Street.

“We have put in the infrastructure as best we could; they’ve been some upgrades

At head table: From left, PAHF Tournament Director, Adrian Dellamattia; PAHF Events Coordinator,Laura Macchiotti; GHB President, Phillip Fernandes and sports journalist/commentator, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira, who chaired yesterday’s proceedings (Delano Williams photo)

High intensity action as COURTS football Pee Wee continues

Part of the close action on Saturday at the Banks DIH, Thirst Park ground

ACTION in the COURTS Pee Wee Football tournament was intense yesterday as the tournament continued at the Banks DIH, Thirst Park ground.

For Sophia Primary School, their winning ways were routed when inaugural winners, Marian Academy held them to a 2-2 draw.

Michael Alphonso opened the scoring

for Marian in the 8th minute but the prolific David Weeks equalized one minute after.

Bradley Walton then returned the power to Marian when he netted in the 23rd . The joy was short lived as Leonard King scored in the 28th.

Mocha needled Turn to page 25

to our facility. We’ve done our best to make it as comfortable for our guests. We know the facility is a bit hot, and we’ve done our best to try to improve that situation.

Also, we are going to be making every effort to have live streaming so that we could market the event internationally.”

This will be the first time that Guyana will be hosting a hockey tournament of such international magnitude and stakeholders are eager to leave a lasting impression that bodes well for the country.

“This is a very important event for the Pan American Hockey Federation, especially for Guyana, it’s the biggest event we’ve ever tried to have Turn to page 25

Guyana cop Milex/Crown Mining Long Range Trophy - Calvert takes Guyana NRA 150th Shoot GUYANA copped the 2017 Milex/ Crown Mining Long range title by outclassing the competition at the Timheri Rifle Ranges yesterday.

The team amassed 712 points and 31 V Bulls to take the top accolade with Captain Mahendra Persaud marking 95 with 5 V’s as the top shooter in the class.

Leo Romalho (92, 5V’s) was also a top contributor to the side, with newcomer Roberto Tiwari shooting 4 V Bulls in his score of 92.

Other members of the Guyana team were Sherwin Felicien, Peter Persaud, Vice Captain Dylan Fields, Ransford Goodluck and Lennox Brathwaithe.

Second place was picked up by Barbados who lost by 5 V’s after also scoring 712, but with only 27 V’s.

Jason Wood, Lancelot Trotman and Marlon King each shot in the 93’s but the Bajan team could not score as many V’s.

Third place went to Ireland with fourth place going to England.

Meanwhile, the Guyana NRA 150th anniversary Shoot was won by David Calvert who closed off the shoot at 198 and 18 V’s.

Local ace Ransford Goodluck was good enough for second with two

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

Leo Romalho

points and 6Vs short but will still share the spotlight. Today will feature the WIFBSC short range championship which begins at 09:00hrs SUNDAY, OCTOBER, 15, 2017