Guyana Chronicle E-paper 11-15-2018

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

THURSDAY

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15th NOVEMBER, 2018

No.105459

$100M dividends payout for GPSU credit union members ‌IMC says Yarde vexed, misses power PAGE

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City Hall owed $1.8B in property rates 12

President diagnosed with NHL PAGE

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‌undergoing treatment, expected to fully recover

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Additional ranks for border after shooting of cop 12 PAGE

Cabinet on Wednesday held a special session to discuss the 2019 National Budget, which is likely to be presented later this month. In this Ministry of the Presidency photo, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo chairs the session which was also attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

$100M payout in dividends for GPSU credit union members …IMC says Yarde vexed, misses power

By Lisa Hamilton THE Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU) is set to pay out some $100M in interim dividends to its members, Chairman of the IMC, Trevor Benn has confirmed.

The payment of the dividends comes following the credit union books being audited-- something which had not been done for years under the Patrick Yarde-led management.

Benn told the Guyana Chronicle that the last time members of the credit union were paid dividends was back in 2010. Benn said that since then members

have been clamouring for the payments, but the old management committee had not been approving, nor were they allowed to, because of their incomplete audits.

Benn believes that this is why Yarde, who is President of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), and other executives of the Union have developed a “sour grapes” attitude about the matter.

On Wednesday the GPSU announced its arrangement of a meeting with its members for today to address their complaints on the operations of the credit union, which they said is being credited to the “onerous measures” imposed on them by the IMC. The GPSU stated that members are required to wait 2-3 days for withdrawals;

some are ultimately denied loans while some others have opted to resign from the credit union.

In response Benn posited: “I believe what is happening is that the Interim Committee has agreed to pay out some interim dividends to the members which was outstanding since 2010 and they [the GPSU] are not happy with us paying it out, so they’re creating problems.”

He added: “There were three years of audit which they refused to sign on to and we signed on to the audit because we reviewed it and we saw no problem with signing on to it and as a result we’re now able to pay the interim dividends to the members and they are opposed to that, so they’re creating problems as a result,” Benn said.

The dividends being paid are 3 per cent of the monies members have in the credit union for a period of three years (2011-2013) and Benn stated that the over $100M in dividends will be paid out before Christmas

“These folks don’t want us to pay this interim dividend to these people, but we believe that’s the reason why the institution is in place in the first place, to provide support to its members and the members come first. So whatever money we make, any profit we make needs to go back to the members,” he said.

The IMC Chairman then added: “That is a part of the problem that we have with the GPSU. They run it like if it’s GPSU they’re running, transferring the funds to their agency and we want to stop that, and this is what is causing consternation among their members, because they are not enjoying the transfer of monies like they used to keep their machinery well oiled.”

DUE DILIGENCE When it comes to the statements made by the GPSU on behalf of their members regarding the time period for acquiring funds, Benn said like any other money-lending institution, the GPSCCU must do its due diligence.

This, he explained, in-

cludes requesting certain documentation which shows that the borrower can repay the sum. “Similarly, at the credit union, there is a committee set up to review all applicants who come to borrow money. That committee meets twice per week and so if you miss the day or you come after the meeting, you may not catch the meeting right away. It takes some time for the processing to make sure that the committee sees your application.

If you’re just withdrawing money it’s not a problem, most of the times you get it back the same day,” he said.

Members of the credit union are allowed to borrow up to three times their savings.

On the claim that members are being denied loans, Benn remarked: “There’s nobody being denied loans if you meet the qualification… some people can’t find guarantors, so we can’t give you the money unless there’s a guarantor. Suppose you can’t pay at the end of the time, what happens with the Union’s money? That’s the only way a member could be turned down.”

And, on the statement made by the GPSU that some members have opted to resign from the credit union, Benn assessed this number to be “very small” and comprising mostly persons who are moving overseas or out of the region. Commenting further, the IMC Chairman stated that he wants the “belittling” of the GPSCCU’s staff to cease as hundreds of persons visit the union for loans each day and are assisted.

This, he noted, is not done electronically but manually by individuals who are committed to the cause.

“The staff, they’re working around the clock, over time to make sure that every person who applies gets money. If you pass there 7 o’clock in the night we have staff working to meet the needs…as part of the credit union, we have more than 10,000 members and on a daily basis hundreds of them come and apply for a loan and they’re processed. I don’t know of any bank that processes as many loans as we do when the day comes…so I think it’s a little bit of ‘sour grapes’ that are at work there,” he said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

President diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

…expected to fully recover PRESIDENT David Granger has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a cancer that starts in the white blood cells; but he is expected to fully recover under the supervision of his doctors, Guyana‘s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed said in a statement on Wednesday.

gkin Lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

NHL is a term that’s used for many different types of lymphoma that all share some of the same characteristics.

President David Granger and First Lady Mrs Sandra Granger at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport before departing for Cuba

WHAT IS NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA According to the American Cancer Society, Non-Hod-

There is another main type of lymphoma, called Hodgkin lymphoma, which is treated differently.

NHL most often affects

adults, but children can get it too.

NHL usually starts in lymph nodes or other lymph tissue, but it can sometimes affect the skin. See Lymphoma of the Skin. Lymphoma affects the body’s lymph system (also known as the lymphatic system). The lymph system is part of the immune system, which helps fight infections and some other diseases. It also helps fluids move through the body.

President Granger had travelled to Cuba for medical investigation. In the statement Majeed detailed that the President arrived in Havana on Tuesday, October 30, initially, for a medical investigation which he deemed necessary because of an unusual physical discomfort.

He was received by a Cuban medical team which commenced the first phase of medical examination.

Subsequent to a series of medical tests, the President was diagnosed as suffering from Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and was placed in the Centro de Investigaciones Medico Quirurgicas (CIMEQ) on Thursday, November 1, where he underwent a surgical procedure. On Tuesday, November 6, His Excellency, the President, was discharged from CIMEQ and returned to his official accommodation, Majeed said in his statement.

According to Majeed, the President’s medical personnel have now begun the second phase of treatment which

President David Granger

started on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, and he is likely to be placed in CIMEQ for a short period of two to three days.

“During this time, the President has been working and resting in accordance with the advice he has been receiving from his doctors. He is in fine form and a good frame of mind. He is expected to fully recover under the supervision of his doctors,” the statement added. “His Excellency, the President, wishes to express his deep gratitude to Guyanese in the homeland and in the diaspora, to the various prime ministers and presidents, to the CARICOM Diplomatic Caucus in Cuba, to his friends and colleagues, and all those who sent their best wishes for his full and complete recovery – and his speedy return to Guyana.”

Above all, President Granger also thanked His Excellency the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the Government of Cuba and the medical staff of CIMEQ for the special care and attention which he has been receiving while in Havana – and, indeed, for the excellent facilities in which he

is being accommodated.

The Embassy of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana in the Republic of Cuba will be issuing another statement prior to the departure of His Excellency, the President, from Cuba.

In a statement last week, the Ministry of the Presidency had said the President is resting comfortably. “The Head of State has responded satisfactorily to medical interventions over the past week and is recovering well. President Granger wishes to assure all citizens that he is receiving the best possible medical advice and attention,” the ministry’s statement read.

On October 30, 2018, President Granger and First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger departed Guyana for Cuba.

Speaking at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri before his departure, the Head of State had said that recently he travelled twice to Trinidad and Tobago and had done his annual medical check-up in May when he had been given a clean bill of health. “If I take you back over the last six months, I went to Trinidad and Tobago to do my annual medical ex-

amination which is normally done in August. I went in May because of the Congress of my party and the impending Local Government Elections,” he said.

However, on his return to work, the President said that he started to experience certain symptoms which were persistent, and took the decision to travel back to Trinidad to revisit the tests that were done in May. “At that time, they discovered some symptoms which needed further investigation, so I just agreed with that diagnosis and made arrangements to go to Cuba for further investigations.”

At the time he had said there was no clear indication of disorder or what the nature of the disorder is. President Granger had said that out of an abundance of caution, he took the decision to travel to the Republic of Cuba to have the relevant medical investigation done. “The Guyanese public should be assured that once those investigations are complete they would be kept abreast with the health of the President of the Republic,” he said.

LGEs: Village men win in Region Five

By Vishani Ragobeer

EON Warde and Emile Wilson, two village men of Region Five, have recently won in their respective constituencies at the recent Local Government Elections, and are ready to work in the best interests of their respective communities.

Warde was able to seize Constituency Four—Paradise-- in the Profit/Rising Sun Local Authority Area (LAA) after what he described as a grassroots approach to garnering votes.

“I touched every house [in his constituency] during campaigning. I spoke to parents and children and every day I’m interacting with people

and having conversations,” Warde shared.

As the man with the most votes, he shared that he believes he will now use his position to ‘make things right’ in his constituency and by extension, the region.

According to him, many persons are dissatisfied with some of the elected representatives in the region. He, however, posited that all parties must work together.

“The interest is of [sic] the people, not the council.

We have to cooperate to better people’s lives,” he said.

Warde, a self-employed farmer, said he has a vision to transform the community he holds dear to his heart.

Among these include de-

veloping the mud dams and focussing on improving the streets, drainage, and irrigation.

“I will [also] work to alleviate poverty in the community,” he shared, adding that “Going green” will be his aim.

The farmer will also take aim at problems affecting young people, particularly the issues of alcohol, school dropout and drug abuse. In this regard, Warde said he will tap into the religious groups in the area to help push his cause.

Meanwhile, in Constituency Five (Golden Fleece), another village man, Emile Wilson, returned as the elected representative through the First Past the Post component

Eon Warde

of the elections.

At the LGEs held in 2016, he was elected as chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council. This time around, he shared that he had no intentions of running again, but did so at the behest of persons in his community who wanted him to lead again.

During his time as chairman, he said it was challenging because he could only work to develop the community with the resources he had to contend with. Nevertheless, he highlighted that many strides were made.

Developing all-weather roads, improving the drainage systems and cleaning the canals were just some of the

improvements made in Golden Fleece.

“Actually, I have done so many things that the people wanted me to carry on [for another term],” the man said.

According to Wilson, he is approachable “day and night” and attributes these qualities to his popularity in the region.

Though he is ready to continue his work in the area, he bemoaned the fact that many persons are yet to understand the significance of LGEs. “There are a lot of misconceptions [but] I’m hoping that people are educated to understand that you select the people who you feel can represent you at all times in your community,” Wilson noted.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

UK: Cabinet backs draft agreement

The Cabinet has backed a draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU, Theresa May has said.

The prime minister was speaking after what she said was a “long, detailed and

impassioned debate” in a five-hour Cabinet meeting.

She said it was a “decisive step” in the progress of Brexit, and would allow the agreement to be finalised.

The EU’s chief negotiator said it was in both sides’

Thursday, November 15, 2018

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interests.

But leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg described it as a “rotten deal”.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the Cabinet was “certainly not unanimous”, with nine ministers speaking out against the deal. In her statement outside

Downing Street, May said the agreed package was “the result of thousands of hours of hard negotiation with EU officials”.

She believed that “this decisive choice is in the best interests of the entire UK”, adding: “When you strip away the detail, the choice before us is clear.

“This deal, which delivers on the vote of the referendum, which brings back control of our money, laws and borders, ends free movement, protects jobs, security and our Union; or leave with no deal, or no Brexit at all.”

The 585-page draft withdrawal agreement has now been published, alongside a shorter statement setting out what the UK and EU’s future relations will look like. (BBC)

10:30 hrs

Trump aide forced out after showdown with first lady Mira Ricardel, the White House deputy national security adviser, was forced out of her job on Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, said Ricardel did not deserve the honor of working for her husband.

Ricardel “will continue to support the president as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the administration,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. Sanders did not elaborate on what Ricardel’s new job would be.

Trump, after congressional elections last week in which his Republican Party saw its power eroded, is also preparing to oust Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as part of a post-election Cabinet shakeup, several U.S. officials said.

Ricardel is a former Commerce Department official hand-picked by Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, to serve as his deputy.

She ran afoul of Melania Trump and her staff in negotiations over the first lady’s trip to Africa in October and the use of government resources for the trip, a senior administration official said.

Ricardel has also built a reputation in the White House for berating staff, several sources said.

Melania Trump’s office took the extraordinary step of issuing a statement on Tuesday saying that Ricardel should be ousted. While first ladies historically have been known to pressure their husbands over official business, they do not typically issue statements about it.

“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s spokeswoman, had said.

Bolton had fought behind the scenes to keep Ricardel from being forced out but ultimately lost the battle, two officials said. (Reuters)

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer arrested

Michael Avenatti, lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels in her suit against President Donald Trump, has been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, police in Los Angeles say.

TMZ website was first to report that the alleged victim was Mr Avenatti’s estranged wife Lisa Storie-Avenatti.

But her lawyers said she was not involved in the alleged incident, BuzzFeed News website reports.

TMZ later also said the incident involved a different woman. Avenatti is yet to make public comments on the issue.

The pair married in 2011, but Avenatti reportedly filed for divorce in 2017. The lawyer rose to prominence representing Daniels.

Daniels, an actor and director, alleges she and President Trump had a brief relationship - a claim he denies - and has sought to free herself from a non-disclosure agreement she signed before the 2016 election.

A frequent guest on TV talk shows and news programmes, Avenatti has emerged as a fierce critic of President Trump, the BBC’s David Willis in Los Angeles says.

At one point Avenatti was publically contemplating running for president himself in 2020. (BBC News)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

US hotel in Japan refuses Cuba ambassador A US-owned hotel in Japan has been criticised by Japanese authorities after it denied the Cuban ambassador a room over fears it would violate US sanctions on Cuba.

The Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk told Ambassador Carlos Pereria he could not stay last month because it could not accommodate Cuban government guests.

That prompted a Cuban complaint.

Japanese officials in the city have since told the hotel it was illegal to refuse rooms based on nationality. The Cuban embassy booked the room through a travel agency, which informed the hotel

of the guests’ identity, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

However when Pereira arrived in the south-western city on a trip to visit Cubans playing for the city’s baseball team he was told he could not stay.

In its subsequent complaint, the Cuban argued that applying US law in Japan encroached on Japan’s sovereignty, the Asahi Shimbun said.

But a Hilton representative in the Japanese capital Tokyo told the Kyodo news agency that the firm had to comply with US law because it was based in the US. In 2006, the Mexican

authorities fined a US-owned Sheraton hotel for expelling a 16-person Cuban delegation from a hotel in Mexico City.

In 2007, a Norwegian hotel, the Scandic Edderkoppen, refused to let a delegation of 14 Cuban officials stay as it

was part of a chain that had been bought by Hilton since the Cubans last visited.

Then Norwegian deputy

foreign minister Raymond Johansen told Reuters that it was “totally unacceptable”.

In 2016, under a thaw in relations between the US and Cuba during the Obama administration, the US hotel firm Starwood signed a deal to manage two hotels in Cuba. The two hotels were owned by Cuban state enterprises, the New York Times reported.

However, the following year President Trump tightened US policy towards Cuba, banning US visitors to the island from spending money in staterun hotels or restaurants linked to Cuba’s military.

(BBC)

Migrant caravan group reaches US border Hundreds of Central American migrants travelling through Mexico to seek asylum in the US have reached the Mexican border city of Tijuana.

The group of 400, who include LGBTQ migrants, broke away from the larger caravan of 5,000 people in Mexico City.

continue the journey so that they can claim asylum.

The journey began from the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras on 13 October about 4,350km (2,700 miles) away from Tijuana.

Because the route poses a host of dangers, such as attack by criminal gangs, many of the migrants say they feel

A group of LGBTQ migrants celebrated reaching Tijuana on Sunday ahead of the larger caravan

US Defence Secretary James Mattis said he would go to the US-Mexico border on Wednesday, his first visit since thousands of troops were deployed.

Larger groups are expected to arrive at the border in the coming days.

The 5,000 migrants, who say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, have largely been making their journey on foot.

The splinter group, which reached Tijuana on Tuesday, did so aboard a fleet of buses.

They joined a smaller group of about 80 migrants who reached the border city on Sunday.

Many of the smaller group are LGBTQ, media reported, who say they parted ways with the main caravan after weeks of what they call discriminatory treatment by local residents and fellow travellers.

Undeterred by a harder US stance against them, the migrants have said they will

safer travelling in numbers.

Most previous migrant caravans have numbered a few hundred people, but after a former politician shared news of the planned caravan on Facebook, news of it quickly spread.

More than 1,000 Hondu-

rans were the first to leave, and thousands more people have joined them from neighbouring Guatemala and then Mexico.

President Donald Trump, who has taken a firm stance against the caravan he calls an “invasion”, has order the deployment of up to 9,000 troops to the border.

US authorities closed down several lanes of traffic at two border crossings from Tijuana to California on Tuesday so that soldiers can install barbed wire fencing and barricades to reinforce security.

There is a legal obligation to hear asylum claims from migrants who have arrived in the US if they say they fear violence in their home countries.

Last week however, Mr Trump signed a proclamation temporarily barring migrants who enter illegally from claiming asylum.

The caravans became a campaign issue in the US mid-term elections that took place in last week, with Mr Trump warning without evidence they were full of “gang members”, “hardened criminals” and even Middle Eastern “terrorists”.

(BBC News)

Military personnel worked through national holiday Veterans’ Day to “harden” the US border

Some migrants, like this man and child, have snuck across the border to reach the US

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

After the Local Government Elections

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OCAL Government Elections (LGEs) 2018 are now part of Guyana’s past. And while Guyanese await official and final results, lessons are already being learned as elected councillors prepare for the task of leading and developing their respective communities.

The reportedly disappointing turnout at the polls is certain to attract the attention of analysts and politicians alike. Was the electorate apathetic? Did politicians not campaign hard enough? Did political parties fail to mobilise their foot-soldiers? Or did citizens intend to send a message to politicians?

The discussions will certainly be interesting, as various opinions are expressed and debated.

This publication has repeatedly emphasised the need for citizen-participation in the processes of government. Politicians alone cannot govern; every citizen who has a stake in the decision-making process has a constitutional right, civic duty, and patriotic responsibility to become involved in the development of his/her neighbourhood, communities, regions, and ultimately our country. Apart from participation being a responsibility, citizen-involvement would directly benefit our communities, and positively affect the quality of life of our families. After all, contributing to the decisions of government and the mode of governance would amount to representing our own individual interests in the processes of decision-making. It is therefore in our interest to be active in the process of governance.

While Guyanese may learn lessons from LGEs 2018, it is now time to move forward. It is time for elected councillors to get down to the tasks of leading by example and working

in the interest of the citizens who chose them.

President Granger wrote, “Local government is a vital aspect of public administration because it deals with people’s daily lives in their communities.” The president added that, “At the heart of the rural development crisis is the question of who wields power in the neighbourhood councils. There must be change at the local level if Guyana is to become a more equal and inclusive society.”

The president alluded to the duties of councillors.

According to a government publication entitled, Facts about Local Government, “Local government is the system for managing and developing your community under the leadership of persons you choose from within your community. The leaders chosen by you to manage your community are called councillors. The body of councillors is called a council.” The publication states too that, “Local government allows citizens to participate in the decision-making process at the community level. Councils can identify the needs of citizens and deliver services in a more efficient way. Local government is about handing power to the people to manage their community’s affairs in a transparent and accountable manner. In the absence of local government, some other body of persons will manage the affairs of your community and those persons will not have the same interest or knowledge in your community’s affairs as you do, because you live there and they do not.”

President Granger, regarding the foregoing, said, “Local problems – broken bridges clogged canals, culverts, drains, gutters, and trenches; flooding; overgrown cemeteries, playfields and parapets; potholed roads; stray dogs and roaming

cattle; lack of adequate street lighting; lack of public spaces for entertainment, leisure, sport, and recreation; lack of efficient solid-waste disposal, and lack of enforcement of building and zoning codes – combine to make many neighbourhoods unsanitary, unpleasant and unsafe.”

The president was, at the time in 2014, referring to the duties of councillors. According to the publication, ‘Facts about Local Government’ which draws its information from the constitution and subsidiary laws of Guyana, “Local government is responsible for identifying and implementing needed projects such as building and maintaining roads, bridges, playgrounds, parks, sanitary landfills and other public property.” The publication continues, “Local government is also responsible for garbage collection, cleaning of drains and parapets, protection of property, policing and provision of security for private citizens, provision of healthcare services, education, improving the environment, pest control, regulating noise nuisances, promoting tourism and sports, encouraging persons to become involved in community projects among many other services, which will improve the quality of life in the community. In other words, all the services necessary for members of the community to go about their daily lives.”

Clearly, the newly elected councillors have great responsibility and massive obligations. While Guyanese consider their motives for being less than maximally enthusiastic about LGEs 2018, it is incumbent on the persons who have been elected to learn about their functions, dedicate themselves to their duties, and work to improve the quality of life of those who live within their communities.

Cannabis is Rastafarians primary sacrament Dear Editor,

T

HE Rastafari Core Group (RCG), which comprises eight Rastafari groups recently met with Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Mr. Basil Williams at his chambers.

Also in attendance were the Heads of the legislative Drafting Department the Hon. Chief Parliamentary Counsel Mr. Paul FungA-Fat and Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel Ms. Joann Bond.

The discussion revolved around several submissions that were made by the RCG before the meeting, among them being two additions that we inserted into the AFC-sponsored Narcotic Amendment Bill 2015. We maintained the position

that as a recognised part of the religious community of Guyana, the present Narcotic Act which does not exempt our use of cannabis as a sacrament is discriminatory and a direct violation of our human and constitutional rights as enshrined in article 145 of our constitution. Therefore, the first submission was made to section (4) (3) (e) of the Principal Act, which looks at exemptions from prosecution for possession of a narcotic and should not apply to, “A person who has in his possession a narcotic for religious purposes as a sacrament in adherence to the Rastafari faith.” The second addition looked at the issue of the supply of our sacrament and is made to section (8) of the Principal Act with the insertion “Subsections (1) to (6) shall

not apply to – (a) all households not cultivating more than seven cannabis plants; (c) a Rastafari organisation licensed by the relevant authority to grow no more than five acres for sacramental purposes.”

Moreover, we reminded Mr. Williams of the recent report of the fact-finding mission of the Human R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n ’s Working Group of experts, which we presented to him.

The report states that the Working Group came and “assessed the situation of human rights of people of African descent living in Guyana, and gathered information on any form of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, ‘Afrophobia’ and related intolerance that they face. As part of its fact-finding mission, the Working Group…met

with the prime minister, the minister of foreign affairs, the attorney general and minister of legal affairs, and Members of Parliament, including representatives of the opposition.” We brought to the minister’s attention the parts of the report which state specifically and unequivocally that the Rastafari community “had been increasingly marginalised in the exercise of their cultural and religious rights, leading to a life of poverty, disease, and illiteracy; they were therefore more vulnerable to many of the social ills that affect the general population.” It therefore, went on to instruct the government that they “should initiate legal reforms aimed at addressing the cultural and religious rights of the Rastafari community.”

In addition to this, the recent report of the CARICOM Marijuana Commission holds a similar position to that of the Working Group’s report.

CARICOM’s report states that, “cannabis, called ganja

by Rastafarians, is their primary sacrament and its ritualised smoking during communal smoking sessions, known as ‘reasoning’ or ‘grounding’, is paramount to their way of life. Ganja is also viewed as the most natural and direct route to communion with God and the Rastafari brethren, and it is used as an essential element in prayer and meditation. Therefore, cannabis is integral to this religion’s identity and prohibition of its use constitutes an extreme invasion on their right to freedom of religion. Legislative changes

in Jamaica in 2015, which, as discussed below, exempt Rastafarians from the prohibitive provisions of cannabis/ marijuana regulation, therefore facilitated a paradigmatic shift in the treatment of Rastafarians who were previously liable to all marijuana -related criminal charges.

A policy shift is also discernible in Antigua and Barbuda, with the legislative reform of 2018. The commission believes that these policy changes are in keeping with the freedom of religion that is protected under the constitutions of all CARICOM states.

Future law reform should make provision for this right.” The former Chairperson of the Caricom

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Analysts suggest improvements to Guyana’s proposed Sovereign Wealth Fund Dear Editor,

T

HE Guyana government has taken a number of commendable steps in its plan to save a portion of the country’s forthcoming oil revenues in a new sovereign wealth fund, according to a report released today.

However, the analysis urges officials to address underlying weaknesses in the fund’s design to maximise its effectiveness.

“Guyana has a one-time opportunity to transform its oil wealth into well-being,” said co-author and Natural Resource Governance Institute consultant Andrew Bauer. “But this requires getting the sovereign wealth fund rules right.”

Guyana would be following in the footsteps of other regional oil producers such as Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela in creating a special fund to manage the oil wealth if policies outlined in the Ministry of Finance’s “green paper”—a government report and consultation document—are implemented.

Special funds such as the one Guyanese officials are considering have been used to prevent harmful boom-bust cycles and save oil money for future generations.

But NRGI experts say a poorly conceived fund can leave a country worse off than not having a fund at all, especially if

fund managers invest in risky assets, fail to mitigate the negative effects of oil revenue volatility, or prevent debt crises.

In their discussion of the government paper, NRGI analysts commended the Ministry of Finance for a sturdy policy grounding, especially the suggested bureaucratic structure for the fund.

They also congratulated the government for public consultation prior to establishing the fund. At the same time, the authors of the NRGI analysis urge officials to address significant underlying problems with the proposed fund design. Chief among them are rules governing how much money enters the fund and how much the government can withdraw for budgetary spending. Under the government’s proposal, a portion of the country’s oil revenue would be saved in the fund, though the government would still be allowed to borrow.

“Guyana could end up in a situation where it is saving money and earning low interest, while it borrows at a higher interest rate,” said NRGI co-author Andrew Bauer. “And in this way, the country ends up losing money.”

He and his co-authors say that the proposed rule is unlikely to smooth government spending and does not constrain overall expenses. The government could over-borrow based on the prospect of large oil revenues, which are a decade away.

“Borrowing on the back of future natural resource revenues is a big risk for new oil producers like Guyana,” said NRGI senior economic analyst David Mihalyi. “We have seen this ‘presource curse’ lead to accumulation of unsustainable debt, followed by economic crises in several countries, including Ghana, Mongolia and Mozambique.”

The NRGI analysts also encouraged the government to strengthen its rules around how money in the fund can be invested. The government proposal already incorporates important elements, such as a list of eligible investments and a rule that the fund can only invest abroad. However, Bauer, Mihalyi and co-author Fernando Patzy stressed the need for rules to prohibit purchases of particularly risky assets, such as commodities and derivatives, as well as strictly constraining and overseeing asset managers. “It is not too late to make sure that happens,” Bauer said.

Regards Andrew Bauer Consultant Max Brett Communications officer

The people with the power have no intention of saving our biodiversity Dear Editor,

F

OR some time now I have been deluded. I thought that there must come a time when the people with the power – the leaders of the big corporations which really run all the human institutions on our planet – would see reason and take action to save the natural world. I have wondered how they could possibly be so stupid, so misguided, as to force us to be continually reliant on fossil fuels, to fumigate our world with pesticides and herbicides, to swill the guts of animals and humans with so many antibiotics that pathogens were bound to grow resistant, to progressively destroy our ecosystems, to cut down forests, to empty the oceans. The more they bound every one of us into being complicit with the natural holocaust, the more I marvelled at how foolish they were being.

I was wrong to think this. All along, they have had a plan. They never intended to save our biodiversity. They never cared that we were losing our tigers, woodlands, insects. They were never worried that they might tip the world over the edge into environmental catastrophe. They wanted it to happen. And now it is nearly here.

First, they intended to reap as much profit as possible from the wholesale destruction of nature. They are still doing this, and there is still a great deal of money for them to make in this way. But it has always been pointless to tell them about the science of climate change. It has always been pointless to tell them that if pollinating insects die out, there will be famines all over the word. It has always been pointless to reason with them about anything which involves

taking steps to preserve the natural world.

Why? Because for decades now, they have had their eyes fixed on the further profits which can be made out of a world in environmental meltdown. “Radical trans humanists” will tell you that they have put their faith in technology – that the cybernetic adaptation of human bodies will give our species all it needs to survive when other species have perished. They really do intend to replace the natural world with silicon chips. The multinationals have no such idealism, but they know for sure that the trans humanists are playing straight into their hands; there are more profits to be made.

When we are bereft of our fellow animals, when our forests are gone, when we subsist only on domesticated animals and plants and on food synthesised in laboratories, we as a species will be even more neurotic than we are now. We will be as far from collective mental health as it is possible to be, because we will have been torn out of the natural systems which permitted us to evolve. Pharmaceutical companies will make billions out of their antidepressants as those portions of the human population which do not drown or die of hunger or disease try to cope with their emotionally impoverished existences: people who are sick inside because they have never encountered wilderness. Technological companies will make billions out of implanting silicon chips in people’s brains in order to cheer them up, or by modifying body parts to help make up for the fading mirages on the desolate horizon. The people who are currently running our world will be making a killing, whilst everything else is dying.

You might think that there is one problem with this hypothesis. Surely such a programme for world-destruction

and profiteering is very risky? Surely some of those billionaires will die in the epidemics? Surely some of them will back the wrong pharmaceuticals, or the wrong computer programmers, and will end up destitute? The problem here is that you are still thinking like a reasonable human being, and not like one of the shadowy figures who really have the power. One glimpse of the behaviour of the ultra-rich on the Stock Exchange should be enough to set us right.

These people love nothing more than a gamble with high stakes, and decades ago, they hit upon the biggest gamble of all: they could gamble the future of our entire planet, and hope for big returns. And that is what they have done, and are doing. None of them will ever be happy, because the money they rake in will not bring them happiness in a world where there are no lorises, or gorillas, or whales, or otters, or owls, or atlas moths, or beetles, but happiness has never been their objective. Happiness is an emotion, and they are not after something emotional; they are after something cold, and hard. Some of them will win, even if for the rest of us it looks like a horrible, Pyrrhic victory. Some of them will lose, but none of them will lose as badly as us, and none of us will lose as badly as the other species which inhabit our planet.

One thing is certain, now that even the United Nations, after decades of dragging its feet, has said that we have only two years to save the biodiversity of our planet: appeals to reason will not stop these people. For them, it is all going according to plan. What are we going to do about that?

Regards Rooplall Dudhnath

Cannabis is Rastafarians...

Marijuana Commission, Ms. Rose Marie Belle Antoine, at a recent University of Guyana forum titled, “Marijuana and Guyana” at which she was the featured speaker, stated that “Guyana’s Narcotic legislation

is one of the most draconian in the Caribbean”, and throws her support behind full legalisation of cannabis in light of the unequal application of the legislation where only the poor and marginalised are prosecuted

and sent to jail.

The Hon. Minister in his response indicated that the President has already given his word to the citizens of Guyana and he does not intend to make the President

look bad by not acting on the issue. Moreover, they have endorsed the AFC- sponsored Narcotic Amendment Bill, which has removed any penalty for possession and moved the amount that consti-

tutes trafficking from 15 grams to anything over 200 grams of cannabis. He committed to addressing our specific concerns, given the context of the UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent

From page 6 and the mandate given to them in relation to ensuring that the objectives of the Decade are achieved.

Regards Ras Khafra Chairman

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Nandlall’s arguments completely ignore this constitutional truth Dear Editor,

I

N the good Book it is written: “No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other” (Mathew 6 vs. 24).

With his pantomime with politics, it is that biblical injunction that Anil Nandlall (in his quandary of serving two masters -- the law and politics) ignores to his embarrassment.

With obdurate incredulity, he makes a mockery of our constitutional law. He writes that “the minister’s takeover of the Berbice Bridge is wholly unconstitutional” (KN, Sunday November 11 “This entire episode is a staged artifice designed to excite political sympathies”. SN Sunday November 11 “I maintain minister’s takeover of bridge is wholly unconstitutional and an artifice”).

He is wrong. Counsel’s understanding of article 142 is extravagant nonsense, seemingly induced by his obsession to be politically correct, convenient or expedient.

FIRST, even as one recognises the rule of generous interpretation, article 142 of our constitution does not end with the words”: “… payment of prompt compensation.”

Relevantly, there is the rest of article 142 that counsel appears to have completely ignored or disregarded, in his loyalty to “politics”.

Relevantly, article 142(2) provides: “Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of the preceding Paragraph” – {ie paragraph 142 (1) which ends with the above quoted words – “ prompt payment

of compensation”]” (a) to the extent that the law in question makes provision for the taking of possession or acquisition of any property – (iii) as an INCIDENT of a … CONTRACT, grant, permission, or licence;”.

And article 142(3)(iii) relevantly provides thus: “Nothing in this article” [ie article 142 as a whole] “shall be construed as affecting the making or operation of any law – (iii) for the compulsory taking of possession in the PUBLIC INTEREST of any property or… any interest in or right over property where that property, interest or right is held by a BODY CORPORATE established directly by law for public purposes in which moneys provided by parliament… HAVE BEEN INVESTED”.

It is an unarguable fact that the BBCI was established (ie incorporated under the provisions of the companies Act, Cap 89:01) for the construction and operation of the Berbice River Bridge (BRB) for the public purpose of providing public transportation facility on a commercial basis; and that moneys provided by Parliament have been invested (Government part equity financing; and N.I.S over time has been the recipient of money provided from the Consolidated Fund) in its construction. So, invoking and applying article 142(3)(iii), the making and operation of the minister’s take-over Order, cannot, in the events which have happened in this matter, be unconstitutional. The making and operation of that Order fails squarely within article 142(3)(iii). Nandlall’s arguments completely ignores this “constitutional truth”.

Turning to article 142(2) (a)(iii). Is there “any law”, “law in question” as a fact?

Yes – the Berbice River Bridge Act, Cap. 51:06.

(BRBA). Does the BRBA (given its presumption of constitutionality) “make provision for the taking of possessions or the acquisition of any property”? yes – section 11. Is there as a fact some relevant contract between the Government and the Berbice Bridge Company Inc.(BBCI)? Yes – this is an undisputed fact (the “Concession Agreement”). Is the taking of control of the operations on the Berbice River Bridge (BRB) an “incident” of that contract within the purview of article 142(2)(a)(iii)? I submit yes. Taking “possession” (assuming without conceding that the function of maintain and control operations of the BRB is “property”) by exercising BBCI’s functions of maintenance and control over the BRB is [quite a part from a statutory right and duty performed by order made under section 11 of BRBA], also a legal consequence that flows from the very fact that government is a party to that contract and there are certain obvious constitutional responsibilities and duties which inheres in any government (which our constitutional law or jurisprudence embraces) to take Executive action (preemptive or ex post facto)as are necessary in the public interest, for public safety, or order, and the “necessities of Government” (AG of Guyana V. Caterpillar America’s Co. (2000) 62 WIR125 - Court of Appeal – Minister’s Order under the Public Corporations Act, 1988 temporarily depriving the company of its contractual right to moneys due and owed to it by state entity, not unconstitutional).

I place heavy reliance on this Caterpillar America’s

case. Self-evidently, it is for the Government – of – the – day (and not BBCI) to decide the existence of such public interest necessities.

And as any student of constitutional law knows, the public interest [in terms of article 142(3)(iii)] is paramount and overrides any private interest or right (such as the non-government shareholders in BBCI have). And for the benefit of the layman reader, this is what the phrase “incident of a contract” in terms of article 142(2)(a)(iii) means : it is not an express term of the contract, it is a legal consequence which flows from the existence of the contract; even though neither party may have considered that legal consequence when making the contract. (the learned reader is referred to the analogous case of Ooi Boon Leong V. City Bank NA(1985) LRC (Comm) 336 (PC). This constitutional overriding public interest right, where government is a party to a contract, is well established by decided cases such as Commissioners of Crown Lands V. Page (1960) 2QD 274 which most probably influenced the draftsman drafting article 142(2)(a) (iii)], and 142(3)(iii).

So, the takeover or “seizure” (Nandlall’s word) falls squarely within article 142 (2) (a) (iii); and 142(3) (iii) and on this ground alone it is plain that it is not “wholly unconstitutional.”

There is nothing that is unconstitutional about the making or the operation of the Gazatted “Berbice River Bridge (Public Safety) Toll Order, 2018 (what Nandlall calls the “compulsory acquisition”, even in spite of its manifest temporary intendment). “Public Safety” is but a variant of “Public interest”.

Public Safety is not a homogenous/monolithic constitutional conception.

It embraces in its generality, myriad connotations and particularities, amounting to safety considerations.

SECOND, the BBCI has no vested, absolute right to increase tolls as it sees/thinks fit; nor does it have some vested right to some MINIMUM toll which is above the present toll it charges. So, in this regard, it can have no property protected by article 142 (1) not to be deprived of the toll increase it desires; nor the contingent/conditional contract right to control operations.

This is the crux of this matter in its constitutional aspects (about it being some political “artifice” I care not, and expresses no opinion). The BBCI has no right to toll increase, but what the minister permits IT (under the BRBA) to charge. Article 142 does not protect such a non-vested right or expectation, or hope (The learned reader is referred to the Barbados constitutional case of (Gladwyn) King V. AG (1993) 45 WIR 50 PC).

So, even if article 142(1) stood alone (ie without article 142(2) and 142(3), Nandlall’s argument would fail. It is perfunctory, unmeritorious and untenable.

It is against the weight of case law such as King.

THIRD, (here I am merely stirring and not necessarily relying on this ground) the novelty of the issue of pure constitutional law, or mixed fact and law, of whether a co-venture is amenable to allegations of a breach of article 142 by a joint venture party (in this case Government). Can the government’s party, in both fact and law, deprive itself of its own property even as a part owner? What is it, in

evidential, ascertainable fact that is contractually owned by the BBCI (even as the “concessionaire”) to the exclusion of the government, and of which the minister’s Order has deprived BBCI and/or private shareholders? Is not the “property” (ie the BRB and its operations), one and indivisible as among the co-venturers?

I consider it is, in any public – private joint venture as the BRB is. (The reader is referred to an interesting and informative letter by Rudolph Singh (KN Friday November 9, 2018 “Battle for the Bridge – the majority wants the government to win this one”). Let us be unequivocally clear about this: the Minister’s Order does NOT touch or concern shareholding in BBCI, or shareholder’s rights, individually, such as dividend rights etc.

I end with this: Nandlall is plainly right when he writes as regards the minister: “… only he is authorised by law to implement tolls”. Such statutory authority cannot be, and is not the “property” of BBCI. Nandlall having referred to the Caterpillar America’s case in his letter (albeit just en passant) and that Caterpillar case being decisively and soundly against his arguments, it is nothing but deception of a gullible layman readership, and intellectual dishonesty for Counsel to argue that the “take over” is “wholly unconstitutional”. Counsel must know that Caterpillar America’s cannot be departed from, or overruled by even the present Court of Appeal. Only the CCJ can overrule Caterpillar America’s. Will it?

Regards Maxwell E. Edwards

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Preliminary results show major parties’ dominance on EBD

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PRELIMINARY results while APNU collected 16 Coverden the APNU won candidates Dax Ferdinand by candidates Andre Murray, az A.M. Isahack, Totoram from Local Government seats and the Alliance For five seats and the PPP four Alli, Mahendra Roopnarine, Nima Flue-Bess, Terrence Persaud and Ramesh and Elections on the East Bank Change (AFC) claimed one. with APNU’s winners being Puneet Jaigopaul, Satya Rudolph, Raeburn Jones, Va- Seepaul Narine. of Demerara have shown In Lamaha/Yarrowkabra Quintyn Wright, Tethram Anand Sooknarine, Lakeraj netta Bradshaw and Sharon Meanwhile, the APNU strong performances by where there are four constit- Persaud and Malika Thomas. Ryan Mahadeo, Bibi Nazeela Stewart. won three seats by candiboth major parties- A Part- uencies, the PPP’s Nazearand The PPP’s candidates were Arjune, Bansraj Sureandra The PPP did not win any dates Rochell M, Hopkinnership for National Unity Barnwell and Finton Rago- Samantha Gopie, Mohab- and Khemraj Nishawn Singh. seat in this LAA while the son and Winston F. Stoby. police officers visiting the injured rankVeronicca Aeron, Police officials and medical personnel at theinST (APNU) and the People’sSenior nauth secured seats in Conir Misir, The APNU took only one AFC secured one seat theJoseph Mercy Hospital Progressive Party/Civic stituencies Two and Four re- Kalowtee Persaud and Misir seat in this LAA in Constitu- area. In Eccles/Ramsburg the The LAAs yet to be tallied (PPP/C). spectively; APNU’s Sheldon Rohoni. The parties also ency Seven which was won PPP won six seats and were as of Wednesday, NovemA Guyanese policeman wasandshot and Ramlall Commissioner Paul Williams Eteringbang to aMacapa, in the Cuyuniby The 38-year-old Policeman ofrepresented South Ame- byDeputy ber 14 are Hauraruni/YarWith three Local Au- Seabra William shared tie.

Margaret Ann Kennedy. candidates injured by members of the Deputy Maxine River, was fired upon by a group of Diarmed lia’s Ward, Linden, whothe is stationed the DSM, rowkabra; Good Success/ thority Areas (LAAs) still won seatsnotorious in One and Three, In Herstelling/ Little In Mocha-Arcadia HafeezatMahamad, Ronald R. Commissioner Venezuelan near the men standing DSM, Caledonia Detective Superintenon the side oftables Eteringbang Station attachedSugrim to Graham and Diamond outstanding, PPP/C hasgang—Sindicatos thus respectively. amond theVenezuelans PPP snatched turned asPolice APNU took andSarjoo, Gangaram, Venezuela Welfare Officer, the border.eight seats represented by theMacapa Base, medevaced to George- dent Michael far won aGuyana/ total of 20 seats, border OveroninTuesday Soesdyke/Huist lead with fivewas seats won ChaitnarinePersaud, Imti- Kingston; Place/Golden Grove.

afternoon.

Injured is Police Corporal Quincy Alexander, a resident of Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

In a statement, police said a wooden vessel ferrying seven passengers on Tuesday from

The incident occurred at about 12:00hrs in the vicinity of Butanuamu Creek Point, police said in a statement. Corporal Alexander, who was one of the passengers, was struck by a bullet in his lower back.

town last night around 20:30h. Alexander arrived at the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital in a conscious state and is presently receiving medical attention.

Present on the rank’s arrival were

Assistant Superintendent J. Sullivan and Cadet Officer Ike. Grandison of the PR Department. They all wished him a speedy recovery and offered words of comfort.

COTED to zero in on CSME today CARICOM Trade officials will today meet here for the 47th Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

In a release the Caricom Secretariat had said high on the agenda is the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) with emphasis being placed on the implementation plan for the CSME and challenges to that plan; making the CSME more effective and the definition of artisans and household domestics. The Ministerial discussions will precede the special CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting on the CSME scheduled

for Trinidad and Tobago, 3-4 December. At their meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica, last July, the Heads of Government recognised the need to keep focus on the CSME and agreed to have the Special Meeting.

The agenda of the preparatory meeting of COTED officials also includes the direction of CARICOM’s External Trade Policy as well as the Community’s trade relations with the United Kingdom post-BREXIT. Discussions on the trade in goods will centre on the expeditious review of the Common External Tariff (CET) and the Rules of Origin (ROO). The aim is a more efficient and

transparent trading system that would help to unleash the productive energy and innovative potential of the Region that would be more supportive of private sector initiative, Mr. Cox said.

He added that it was necessary also to deepen the existing relations with trading partners; forge agreements with selected neighbouring countries; and focus more on broadening the scope of those partnerships to include more focus on trade in services and the regulatory environment in which the trading is done. Mr. Cox also referred to the threats to the rules-based trading

Total respect to this man Dear Editor,

Timehri man in court for unlawful Advertise possession of ammunition in Guyana I HAPPENED to be in a vehicle and as I was passing, I just couldn’t help but notice this individual conducting his chore; and I believe a great lot can be learnt lice prosecutor Arvin Moore from this ‘Kodak Moment.’ had no objections to bail.

This was around mid-morning According to the police on Regent Street on November 1, facts, on the day in question, 2018. Many will only see a ‘Physi- ranks conducted a stop and cally Challenged’ human sweeping search at a roadblock exerthe road and perhaps earning a cise when the defendant a few dollars. However, I see this passenger in a minibus at the human in the photo provided as time heading to Mahdia was an inspiration and total respect is found with the ammunition. extended to him.

Passengers were asked

Chronicle For All Your Classified and Space to exit the bus and upon Regards searching it a bag was Ads. T. Pemberton found under one of the

Sunil Roopnarine

A Timehri resident was on Wednesday released on $60,000 bail when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates ' Court charged with unlawful possession of ammunition.

Sunil Roopnarine appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman and denied the charge which states that on November 10, 2018 at Linden Soesdyke Highway he had in his possession ten,

12 gauge cartridges while he was not a firearm licence holder at the time.

The 45 - year old man was represented by attorney Clevaun Humphrey who made a bail application. Po-

seats containing the said ammunition. As a result ranks enquired whose bag it was but no one claimed ownership. The conductor then told the police that the bag belongs to the defendant. The defendant was arrested and charged with the offence. He was released on 60,000 bail by the magistrate. The matter was adjourned to November 21, 2018.

system under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He cautioned officials that there was need to position the Region to effectively participate in any discussion on the reform of the WTO to ensure that the Community’s interests were maintained through the preservation of longstanding principles such as special and differential treatment, recognition of the concept of small and vulnerable economies, and the development component.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Families key to tackling diabetes –– Diabetic Association president

By Lisa Hamilton IN observance of World Diabetes Day, the Guyana Diabetic Association, in collaboration with the Ruimveldt Lions Club, hosted a health fair geared at raising awareness in families about the disease at Stabroek Market Square.

November 14th is celebrated annually as World Diabetes Day, in remembrance of Canadian medical scientist, Sir Frederick Banting, who, along with his student Charles H. Best, discovered insulin.

The theme for this year’s observance was “The Family and Diabetes”, and, as such, special emphasis was placed on families with the intention that they will look out for each other, as they often consume the same meals.

Several agencies and companies, including pharmaceutical giant, ANSA McAL, had booths on display offering diabetes testing, blood pressure testing, eye testing and more.

In addition, through the Chronic Disease Unit, a doctor was present to provide referrals while information was made available on how persons can support someone with diabetes.

In welcoming the gathering, Guyana Diabetic Association President Glynis Beaton said diabetes, while it may appear simple from the outside, is very challenging.

A diabetic for some 29 years, she disclosed that many diabetics often suffer

A POST-MORTEM performed on the remains of 22-year old Romeza Sukdeo, who was found dead at Parika on Sunday, has revealed that she died from strangulation and blunt trauma.

This was confirmed by Divisional Commander Senior Superintendent Edmond Cooper who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle Wednesday afternoon. The senior officer indicated that the woman was strangled and also had a blunt trauma to the head, based on what was stated on the post-mortem report which was shared with detectives.

Two persons have since ben arrested in connection with the alleged murder and the police are said to be looking for one other person.

From the age of 16, Sukdeo has been living on the streets, according to her mother who spoke with this publication

health of the entire family unit.

“As known, the family is living in the same home and usually eats the same kind of foods. Foods high in fat, high-calorie diets increase the risk of diabetes. When one has diabetes, his or her Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Shamdeo Persaud speaks at the Stabroek Market Square on Wednesday

Members of the public at the ANSA McAL booth on Wednesday (Samuel Maughn photos)

from depression and other complications due to their condition.

Autopsy confirms Parika woman was murdered …two arrested

With this in mind, she said the family should be a source of support for affected members, contending that “without the family, coping is disastrous”.

Ruimveldt Lions Club President Dexter Forte said the involvement of the entire

on Monday.

The woman said that her daughter had indicated to relatives that should anything adverse happen to her while she is on the street, the family should take two names to the police station. It is unclear at this point if those two persons are the ones being held by the police.

Before her death, the young lady would briefly visit her mother’s home from time to time. On Sunday a security guard stumbled on the remains of the 22-yearold while heading to work.

The young woman was at the time clad in a multi-coloured dress and orange skirt but was without footwear when her body was discovered.

There were no visible marks of violence at the time the remains were discovered. The investigation into the remains is ongoing and the police are expected to send a file to the director of public prosecutions for advice shortly.

family in the decision-making process regarding what they eat is critical to the

health depends on a radical different diet. This change is much harder if the family

doesn’t change too,” he said.

Coordinator of the Chronic Disease Unit, Dr. Kavita Singh, told the gathering that some 425M persons worldwide are affected by diabetes.

She added that 80 per cent of those cases are due to Type 2 diabetes which comes about as a result of poor lifestyle choices and is preventable.

“The first union that we ever have as soon as we’re born is that of our family, so they basically mold us for whatever is to come in the future; so it’s very important that we make the family the centre for all our targets when it comes to awareness and education,” Dr. Singh explained.

She took the opportunity to encourage the public to make use of the testing, and if found positive, they should

take steps to protect themselves and their families as soon as possible.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, who spoke on behalf of Health Minister Dr George Norton, said Guyana, like many other countries in the region, has experienced the devastating effects of diabetes over the last 20 years.

Dr Persaud took the opportunity to encourage the public to avoid excessive consumption of foods that contribute to weight gain and put them at greater risk of developing diabetes.

“It doesn’t matter your ethnicity folks, it doesn’t matter what race you are, once you’re an adult, we all should be acquiring some amount of acceptable weight control,” the CMO said.

LGEs: PPP dominates Region Five

By Vishani Ragobeer

THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has secured 75 seats across Region Five with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) acquiring 57 at the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGEs).

According to preliminary results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the PPP/C received enough votes to secure 39 seats through the Proportional Representation (PR) component and 36 from the system of First Past the Post (FPTP). APNU however copped 29 from PR and 28 from the system of FPTP. Guyana’s two major political parties dominated this region and left the Alliance For Change (AFC) with only one seat. Few independent candidates also made their

mark.

In the Woodlands/Farm LAA, APNU took four seats from the Proportional Representation (PR) component while the PPP/C trailed with three. These figures remained the same in the First Past the Post (FPTP) system where APNU candidates won Constituencies Four, Five, Six and Seven. The PPP/C won Constituencies One to Three.

In Hamlet/ Chance, the three constituencies were won by APNU candidates; and candidates from the party won in the FPTP component as well, with Marlon Mc Rae (Constituency 1) and Marcia Richmond (Constituency 2) uncontested.

The Profit/Rising Sun LAA seemed to have deviated from the ‘Big Party’ hold of the PPP/C and APNU, with independent candidates winning in four of the six constituencies. The remain-

ing two were split by the two dominant parties, while these two parties split the PR seats five/one, in favour of APNU. The PPP/C eased past the APNU candidates in Mahaicony/ Abary, with five PR seats as against APNU’s three. This was the exact opposite in the Seafield/ Tempie LAA, where APNU copped five seats and the PPP/C three.

The only seat won by the AFC was in the Union/ Naarstigheid LAA. The party however failed to capture a constituency through the FPTP component. The remaining eight seats were split evenly between the PPP/C and the APNU, but the APNU captured six constituencies while the PPP/C barely mustered two. Independent candidate Leslyn Charles Edwards won in Constituency Nine: Union/ Naarstigheid.

Bath/Woodley Park was an evident PPP/C stronghold, with the party winning all nine seats (with five going uncontested) and its candidates winning in all nine constituencies. In the Woodlands/Bel Air LAA, the PR votes and FPTP candidates who won were split evenly between these two parties, with each gaining four positions.

In Zeelust/ Rosignol, the PR seats were split among the two -- six/two -- in favour of the PPP/C, but the PPP/C won in seven of the eight constituencies.

And in the final LAA for Region Five, Blairmont/Gelderland, PPP/C got six of the seven PR seats. APNU claimed the remaining seat, but two of its candidates won constituencies; the five remaining constituencies were won by PPP/C candidates.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

LGEs results in Reg. 5…

PPP picks up 75 seats, APNU 57 THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has secured 75 seats across Region Five with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) acquiring 57 at the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGEs).

According to preliminary results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the PPP/C received enough votes to secure 39 seats through the Proportional Representation (PR) component and 36 from the system of First Past the Post (FPTP). APNU however

copped 29 from PR and 28 from the system of FPTP. Guyana’s two major political parties dominated this region and left the Alliance For Change (AFC) with only one seat. Few independent candidates also made their mark.

In the Woodlands/Farm LAA, APNU took four seats from the Proportional Representation (PR) component while the PPP/C trailed with three. These figures remained the same in the First Past the Post (FPTP) system where APNU candidates won Constituencies Four, Five, Six

and Seven. The PPP/C won Constituencies One to Three.

In Hamlet/ Chance, the three constituencies were won by APNU candidates; and candidates from the party won in the FPTP component as well, with Marlon Mc Rae (Constituency 1) and Marcia Richmond (Constituency 2) uncontested.

The Profit/Rising Sun LAA seemed to have deviated from the ‘Big Party’ hold of the PPP/C and APNU, with independent candidates winning in four of the six constituencies. The remaining two were split by the two

dominant parties, while these two parties split the PR seats five/one, in favour of APNU. The PPP/C eased past the APNU candidates in Mahaicony/ Abary, with five PR seats as against APNU’s three. This was the exact opposite in the Seafield/ Tempie LAA, where APNU copped five seats and the PPP/C three.

The only seat won by the AFC was in the Union/ Naarstigheid LAA. The party however failed to capture a constituency through the FPTP component. The remaining eight seats were

split evenly between the PPP/C and the APNU, but the APNU captured six constituencies while the PPP/C barely mustered two. Independent candidate Leslyn Charles Edwards won in Constituency Nine: Union/ Naarstigheid.

Bath/Woodley Park was an evident PPP/C stronghold, with the party winning all nine seats (with five going uncontested) and its candidates winning in all nine constituencies. In the Woodlands/Bel Air LAA, the PR votes and FPTP candidates who won were split evenly

between these two parties, with each gaining four positions.

In Zeelust/ Rosignol, the PR seats were split among the two -- six/two -- in favour of the PPP/C, but the PPP/C won in seven of the eight constituencies.

And in the final LAA for Region Five, Blairmont/Gelderland, PPP/C got six of the seven PR seats. APNU claimed the remaining seat, but two of its candidates won constituencies; the five remaining constituencies were won by PPP/C candidates.

Curriculum writers’ workshop opens MIND Bloom Consulting in conjunction with the St Francis Xavier University of Canada is hosting a three-day curriculum-writing workshop at the Regency Hotel in Georgetown.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Mr. Marcel Hutson at the commencement of the workshop on Wednesday, told those in attendance that the aim is to ensure that ‘every child can learn and that every child must learn’.

The CEO said it is important that at the end of the process there is a curriculum that is tailored towards the specific needs and experiences of all the nation’s children. “Every child has something that we can extract from them”. Further, the CEO believes that as educators, the mindset of these officials is important.

Mr. Hutson said that it is disappointing sometimes to hear some children being referred to as ‘dunces’ by some of these same officials. He believes that as educators it is imperative that different concepts and methodologies be utilised to bring about learning. A former teacher himself, Mr. Hutson said that it is no secret that every child learns at a different rate based on their own circumstances and sometimes other social issues can hinder this process as well.

A section of attendees at the curriculum-writing workshop

It is against this background that the CEO noted that he is optimistic about the curriculum review upon which the MoE has embarked. Mr. Hutson said that at the end of such an undertaking he is confident that Guyana’s education

system will be in a much better place.

The workshop has drawn participants from the Cyril Potter College Education (CPCE), the University of Guyana and education officials from the eleven (11) education districts, among

other participants.

The objectives are to familiarise curriculum writers with a curriculum framework. It is also intended to introduce the writers to the curriculum-writing process; and to develop a detailed writing schedule for the

nursery, primary and early secondary which includes subject integration.

The current curriculum revision will target from nursery to grade nine (9) at the secondary level. Grades ten (10) and (11) utilise syllabuses provide by the Ca-

ribbean Examination Council (CXC).

The curriculum- revision process is part of the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project (GESIP) programme, aimed at improving the quality of education nationally.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Mandela avenue businessman found dead at home

THE body of popular businessman Dawset Small was on Wednesday morning discovered at his Mandela Avenue, Georgetown home.

The 58-year-old, who was suffering from a number of chronic ailments, is suspected to have died sometime between late Monday and late Tuesday.

He was discovered after a concerned resident, who thought it strange that they had not heard from him in a while, went to check on him.

Given that there was no sign of forced entry, police do not suspect foul play, but will await the postmortem before coming to a conclusion. Small was said to have been a diabetic, as well as suffering from hypertension, and also had issues with his sight.

As news broke of the man’s death, family members began gathering at his residence but were barred from going in the yard, as police carried out their investigation and then took the body away. This did not

APNU did not lose Buxton A PARTNERSHIP for National Unity (APNU) has cleared the air regarding its support in Buxton, clarifying that it did not lose the constituency of the East Coast Demerara community.

“APNU would like to correct the erroneous reporting in some sections of the media stating that the PPP has won Buxton.

APNU would like to inform our supporters and all Guyanese that in Constituency 2 – Buxton-Friendship, which incorporates the village of Buxton, the results were as follows: Constituency/First Past The Post: APNU - 1,336 AFC - 103 PPP - Nil Proportional Representation – PR: APNU - 825 AFC - 68 PPP - 34

Dorset Small’s mother collapses as her son’s body is being brought out

sit well with some of the family members who had to be restrained by other relatives. A few relatives

and friends opined that he should not have been living alone, but was one who liked his independence.

“Why this man couldn’t go to the hospital, all of this could have been avoided,” cried one of the man’s daughters. “Ah love meh father, ah would’ve tek care of he. I she daddy, I would tek care of yuh.”

Another daughter had to be restrained as the body was being brought out, screaming that she wanted to see her father before he was removed from the house.

His mother, who arrived on the scene just as the body was being placed into the hearse, fainted immediately. She was placed in an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

The family was then allowed into the home after the police wrapped up their investigation. However, it was after the body was removed that drama broke out among the family, as some relatives barred others from entering the premises.

Small’s sister, Faith Pollard said she found it suspicious that they were told by his wife that she last spoke with him on

City Hall says $1.8B owed in property taxes …to publish names of delinquent rate payers WITH some $1.8B in property taxes outstanding, the Mayor and Councillors of the city of Georgetown is urging property owners to honour their obligations to the Council.

In a release on Tuesday, the City Hall said currently it is experiencing financial shortfall, noting that its records show that one billion, eight hundred and seventeen million and four hundred thousand dollars are outstanding in property rates. “The wards that exhibit the highest level of delinquency are Kingston with $95,584,495.00, outstanding; Queenstown owes $66,564,877.00; whilst North Cummingsburg accrued a total of $80,869,878; South Cummingsburg $78,493,828; Stabroek $72,504,597; Bourda 32,367,138 and Thomas Lands 30,310,089.00.

“The financial shortfall has affected the delivery of critical services to the citizens, including payment

to contractors for garbage collection. Rate payers who have outstanding amounts from the previous year can utilize a payment plan which would allow rate payers to pay 1/3 of the outstanding amount owed and the remainder in (6 six) equal installments.”

The M&CC said the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 section 209 states: (1) “The owner of a property shall be liable for the payment of rates levied thereon”.

(2) “The person whose name appears in the valuation list shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to be the owner of the property listed against his name until the contrary is proved to the satisfaction of the council”.

Section 213 states: (1) “The rates due in respect of a general rate shall be payable in four equal installments which shall become due to the first day

of February or on the day of service of the demand note, whichever day is later, the first day of April, the first day of July and the first day of October”.

(2) “ The rates due in respect of supplementary rate shall be payable in two equal installments which shall become due on the first day of July or on service of the demand note, whichever day is the later and the first day of October”.

According to City Hall general rates is one of the main sources of income for the Georgetown Municipality. The level of delinquency is higher than 2017. Shortly, the City’s administration will be publishing the names and addresses of property owners who have been consistently delinquent.

One of Dorset Small’s daughters is consoled by her mother as she mourns (Delano Williams photos)

Tuesday evening. However, when they arrived at the Lyken Funeral Parlour to view the body, they

were told they could not because the body was too badly decomposed.

Additional ranks for border after shooting of cop IN the aftermath of the shooting of a police corporal by gunmen at the border with Guyana and Venezuela, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said that arrangements are being made to dispatch additional ranks to the area.

Ramjattan said he remains concerned about what takes place in that part of the country.

Policeman Qunincy Alexander was shot and injured by members of the notorious Venezuelan gang, Sindicatos, near the Guyana/ Venezuela border on Tuesday afternoon.

Alexander, a resident of Amelia’s Ward, Linden, was in a wooden vessel ferrying seven passengers on Tuesday from Eteringbang to Macapa in the Cuyuni River when the boat was fired upon by a group of armed men standing on the Venezuelan side of the border.

The incident occurred at about 12:00hrs in the vicinity of Butanuamu Creek Point, police said in a statement.

Corporal Alexander, who was one of the passengers, was struck by a bullet in his lower back. The 38-year-old police-

man of South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, who is stationed at the Eteringbang Police Station and attached to Macapa Base, was medevaced to Georgetown Tuesday night around 20:30hrs. Alexander arrived at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in a conscious state and is presently receiving medical attention.

Present on the rank’s arrival were Deputy Commissioner Paul Williams, DSM; Deputy Commissioner Maxine Graham, DSM; Detective Superintendent Michael Kingston; Welfare Officer, Assistant Superintendent J. Sullivan and Cadet Officer Ike Grandison of the PR Department. They all wished him a speedy recovery and offered words of comfort.

Meanwhile, Crime Chief, Deputy Commissioner of Police Lyndon Alves told the Guyana Chronicle that the force is not aware of any diplomatic contact with neighbouring Venezuela concerning the shooting. He said there has been no word from the team that was dispatched to the area so far.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Official of Chaplaincy APNU wins Malgre Tout/Meer Zorgen NDC Association calls on PM TRADITIONALLY the Malgre Tout/Meer Zorgen Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is known as a People’s Progressive Party (PPP) controlled NDC, but history was made at the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGEs) when the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) wrested control by winning eight of the 14 seats that were up for grabs. Of the seven constituency seats, APNU won five while the PPP won two.

Speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Peter Livingstone, the APNU area representative said that the win is a historic one. “The citizens have sounded their voices registering their discomfort with the way their business

was being attended to, hence, they have now given us, the APNU, a chance to manage their affairs. This win is very historic because the NDC has always been controlled

by The PPP up until 2017,” noted Livingstone.

In 2016, the Local Government Elections saw a tie in the allocation of seats for the said NDC -- seven to the APNU+AFC [Alliance For Change] and seven to the PPP with the APNU+AFC winning the plurality of votes. This resulted in a PPP chairmanship for the first year and that of APNU+AFC in the second; a situation in which Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan intervened to resolve, given the electoral tie.

Livingstone further opined that residents saw

transformational works in their area under chairmanship of the APNU during the latter half of the last term, and hence expressed their confidence in the APNU at this year’s LGEs. Of the fourteen (14) NDCs, the APNU is now in control of two, namely Hague/Blankenburg and Malgre Tout/Meer Zoorgen while the PPP controls 12, namely Wakenaam, Leguan, Parika/Mora, Good Hope/Hydronie, Greenwich Park/Vergenoegen, Tuschen/Uitvlugt, Stewartville/Cornelia Ida, La Jalousie/ Novelle Flanders, Best Klien/Pouderyoen, La Grange Nismes, Canals/ Polder and Toevlugt/Patentia.

Small states will not achieve the 2030 climate agenda …ECLAC urges financing, international support for effective adaptation The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena on Wednesday said that small island developing states will not achieve the sustainable development committed to in the 2030 Agenda if they do not find an effective way to adapt to climate change.

The senior United Nations official participated today, via teleconference, in the special session “Pathways to resilience in climate-affected SIDS: A Forward-Looking Resilience Building Agenda. Promises, results and next steps,” organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, in New York, and led by Inga Rhonda King, President of ECOSOC, and Luis Alfonso de Alba, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2019 Climate Summit.

During her remarks, Alicia Bárcena said it is essential that the issue of the resilience of small island developing states (SIDS) be on the General Assembly’s agenda in 2019.

Climate change in the Caribbean is very real, she stressed, adding that the damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria in seven of the countries most affected by the storms exceeded $6.9 billion dollars. This estimate does not include islands like Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Cuba, which were also gravely affected, she said.

She recalled that, in 2017, ECLAC implemented the Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) methodology in five Caribbean countries that suffered major impacts, and it continues to offer support through technical advice on reconstruction and rehabilitation.

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary noted that the DaLA methodology is not just an external evaluation but rather a tool for developing countries’ capacities to evaluate on a per-

manent and endogenous basis their risks and financing alternatives with the aim of reducing their vulnerability, strengthening their institutions, and gathering and analyzing relevant data and information.

“It is true that, for the international community in general, measures for climate change mitigation are urgent and necessary, but for the SIDS, the implementation of adaptation measures is an imperative,” she stated.

Bárcena added that Caribbean countries face an additional challenge: they are among the most indebted nations in the world with a total debt burden that has risen to $52 billion dollars (a little over 70% of subregional GDP).

For that reason, she indicated, ECLAC is promoting the Debt for Climate Adaptation Swap Initiative, a measure that “represents our contribution to addressing the stifling debt of Caribbean economies and their need to generate resources to finance stronger resilience.”

This is an innovative strategy that seeks to transform the subregion’s debt into a source of investment in resilience, while also revitalizing growth and promoting the transformation of its economies through investment in adaptation projects and green industries, she explained. ECLAC’s most senior representative also highlighted the “Caribbean First” strategy, which seeks to call attention to the subregion and is being implemented in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda. “Caribbean First is ECLAC’s renewed determination to promote a more effective defense on behalf of the countries of that region, taking advantage of the international community’s good will, solidarity and support,” she concluded.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Dr. Devon Bannister, Pro-Chancellor of the Canadian International Chaplaincy Association

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Tuesday morning received Dr. Devon Bannister, Pro-Chancellor of the Canadian International Chaplaincy Association (CICA), which has recently

conferred an Honorary PhD on Kaieteur News publisher, Glenn Lall, and other Guyanese social activists.

The Guyana-born Dr. Bannister explained to the Prime Minister that he

wants to lift the image of noteworthy Guyanese by conferring the awards. The Pro-Chancellor is attached to the organisation’s Florida-based International University & Seminary.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

GPSU meets with disgruntled members today

By Lisa Hamilton

THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has arranged an important meeting with its members today to address their complaints on the operations of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU).

Some members claim that under the GPSCCU’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) and management, they are unable to access their special savings or loans in a timely and efficient manner.

They are expected to meet today, Thursday, November 15 at 16:45hrs at the GPSU headquarters, 160 Regent Street and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.

On Wednesday, the GPSU executives held a press briefing and detailed the situation, stating that it is as a direct result of the IMC and management installed by the purported Chief Cooperatives Development Officer (CCDO) of the Ministry of Social Protection.

“The GPSU considers the complaints to be serious, given that the challenges faced by members affect them economically, because of the onerous measures imposed upon them... the present operations of the GPSCCU require members to wait two and three days to receive withdrawals from their special savings, while members from out of town have to travel repeatedly to Georgetown when try-

ing to apply for and access loans. These experiences have resulted from backward actions taken which, apart from being unenlightened, are also insensitive to the circumstances of members,” a statement from the union said.

GPSU President Patrick Yarde added: “Some people go in and get it [special savings] immediately. Now, you have to wait two and three days to get it. The [previous] management committee had put systems in place where instead of members travelling from Linden, Essequibo and Berbice to come for loans, the team used to go up there with sufficient signatories so a loan used to be given and a cheque issued on the spot, because we recognise

the economic situation that is taking place… now, that is not happening. Since the interim committee is there, we have not visited a single location [and] anyone who wants a loan would have to come to town.”

UNEASY The union went on to state that after enduring such “burdensome measures”, some members are ultimately denied loans, while others have opted to resign from the credit union though encouraged against such action by the GPSU. Yarde made it clear that the existing challenges are not as a result of any financial problems being experienced by the GPSCCU. “There’s no financial constraint. The credit union is very, very sound financially… and I am not aware that the interim committee could take any action that would compromise that… and it is not indebted to anyone,” he said.

In dealing with the complaints, Yarde said that the GPSU is taking a “trade union approach.”

The union, he added, prides itself in being transparent and when its members

GPSU President Patrick Yarde

make their complaints, the union will also check for the legitimacy and later decide on how it intends to move forward.

“This union, apart from being transparent, is a democratic organisation… after that meeting we’ll have to go to a constitutional body of the union which is the Executive Council which is meeting next weekend to determine a decision [only] then it becomes a legitimate decision for us to take action.

There’s a process and we must conform to that process

in terms of how we will deal with this matter,” Yarde said.

The IMC being fingered as the cause of the complications was appointed by the Social Protection Ministry earlier this year over concerns of poor performance on the part of the old management team.

The committee is now being headed by former Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Justice Prem Persaud.

GPSU wants the best for public servants in 2019 budget GUYANA Public Service Union (GPSU) President Patrick Yarde said the union will push for the best possible arrangement for public servants in the 2019 budget, set for the National Assembly this month.

“Public servants can expect that the GPSU, as has been the practice, would not accept, would not agree, would not sign to anything that we consider is not adequate,” Yarde said at a press conference on Wednesday.

However, the only reference as to what exactly the GPSU will push that Yarde provided was a three-year proposal the union submitted some two years ago.

The GPSU had proposed differentiated increases for all of the salary bands spanning three years (2016-2018).

It had requested that the offer should begin with a flat increase of $7,500 monthly added to the salaries of public servants as at December 31, 2015.

However, the government had proposed as its final offer a 10 per cent increase for persons earning $99,000 or less; six per cent for persons who earn between $100,000 and $299,000; five per cent for those earning between $300,000 and $799,000; two per cent for those earning between $800,000 and $999,000; and one per cent for those earning above $1M. President David Granger had said that the government’s final offer resulted from the overwhelming amount of indebtedness that existed.

Yarde on Wednesday said public servants deserve better.

“A lot of public servants receive poverty payments. Lots of them [their] ends can’t meet with what they’re getting; so there’s no question on whether we will pursue the best we can get, that is a de facto position.”

He also addressed the recommendations coming out of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) conducted into the public service by the current Administration upon taking up office.

“We did not agree with quite a few of the recommendations that were made… for example, this differentiated salary that they give where people at a certain level are getting a one per cent. It’s ridiculous and it makes a mockery paying people those high amounts of money and you’re not taking into consideration the cost of inflation on their salary, so at least they could stabilise what they earn. So we made it very clear, we totally reject that,” Yarde said.

While he added that there were other good recommendations, he mentioned too that he is unhappy that talks have not resumed on issues outstanding since 2015 affecting the GPSU. The GPSU is a non-partisan association of public service employees which exists to ensure fairness and justice for its members and to advance their interests through collective bargaining, representation, training and education, judicial reference and industrial action.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Iwokrama US wants ‘Big head’ properties, assets forfeited Open Day

MULTIPLE properties and assets of Guyanese businessman Shervington Lovell and other co-defendants who were recently arrested for drug trafficking are expected to be forfeited by the

United States authorities.

The businessman, along with Agimero Castro and Surinamese Steven Antonius were hauled in by the authorities in Jamaica recently for violating United States

maritime drug enforcement laws in Guyana, Jamaica, Colombia and elsewhere, court documents indicate.

Shervington “Big Head” Lovell

According to the Grand Jury Indictment, the US Government asked that the defendants forfeit, among other things, all real estate, including any rights, titles and interests in the whole of any lot or tract of land, any drug paraphernalia and any firearm used or intended to be used to facilitate the sale, receipt, possession or concealment of property and proceeds traceable to such property.

The indictment also says

the government will seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendants up to the value of the above described forfeitable property. Locally, the authorities have stated that Lovell , who was arrested once by the police here during several crimes in 2010 , owns seven properties in Guyana and one in Jamaica.

The man is said to be the owner of several hotels here, including the Tower Suites on Main Street and a posh facility in Berbice which is equipped with a gym. According to the documents , the businessman was allegedly part of a ring of drug traffickers who were conspiring to ship 624 kilos of cocaine to the Netherlands via the Azores islands, an operation United States investigators said was planned and partly funded with money from South Africa.

The accused are being held in Jamaica after their arrest last month moments after they disembarked a flight. They are expected to be extradited to the United States for trial following the completion of the necessary paperwork on the island.

The Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) for Rainforest Conservation and Development hosted an open day at the Umana Yana on Wednesday. According to the centre’s Director of Resource Management and Training, Dr. Raquel Thomas the event was aimed at promoting the work IIC does. At the event visitors were taken on a virtual tour of the centre, introduced to the team managing the facility and informed about the various activities conducted by the centre such as ecotourism packages and tours and sustainable forest management. In this DPI photo Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Dr. Thomas check out one of the exhibits on display in the presence of other staff members.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Farmers, frontline defenders against antimicrobial resistance

….FAO marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week by calling on farmers to boost farm hygiene Farmers have a vital role to play in stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance among disease-causing pathogens, and can make a significant contribution simply by adopting good hygiene practices during their dayto-day farm operations.

This is the message that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is stressing this week, as the international community marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

The responsible use of antimicrobial medicines is not just an issue in the human health arena. Antimicrobials are also widely used for domestic animals and on fish farms and are even dusted on crops and fruit orchards to combat infections that affect animals and plants grown for food.

These life-saving medicines are sometimes added routinely to feed, even when animals are already healthy, to try to stave off infections and fatten animals faster.

This poses a number of problems, which is why FAO is calling on farmers to replace this poor practice with better hygiene measures to prevent infections and extend the lifespan of antimicrobials - a critical, limited resource.

Improper use of antimicrobial medicines, such as antibiotics, in both human and animal healthcare has contributed to an increase in the number of disease-causing microbes that are resistant to these treatments, developing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which renders them useless for curing some infections.

This means that diseases which can affect people or animals (or both) - and which can cause serious economic damage to farmers - are more difficult, sometimes impossible, and frequently more expensive to treat.

“Antimicrobial resistance is a concern for all of us,” said FAO Assistant Director-General Bukar Tijani.

“There are over 7 billion consumers in the world, and food safety and quality are paramount to success in meeting many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.

FARMERS ARE THE FRONTLINE DEFENDERS “When we use antimicrobials excessively on farms, we’re contributing to the spread of AMR, as resistant pathogens move into the environment through animal waste and farm runoff,” said Juan Lubroth, FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer. “They can even contaminate our food systems and market chains, moving from the fields and stables to our tables,” he noted.

Lubroth called farmers “one of the important frontline defenders” in the battle to contain the growing threat of AMR. There are three simple steps farmers can take to make a major difference, he said, and although stronger infection prevention measures take some investment, cleaner farming can also yield better profits.

These steps include practicing good farm hygiene, getting veterinary advice before buying and using antimicrobials, and comparing notes with neighbours in order to spread best practices. He also underlined the role farmers must play in demanding quality animal feed without added antibiotics or other antimicrobials.

Top tips for good farm hygiene • Clean stalls, coops, fish tanks, and farm equipment regularly to get rid of the germs that can make animals and people sick.

• Wash hands and boots thoroughly before and after contact with animals and

change your clothes and shoes when working with livestock.

• Keep animal housing and outside areas clean and waste-free - clear manure and bedding often.

• Control who can come into contact with your animals and make sure they clean up before and after doing so.

• Practice the “all in, all out” approach. This means raising animals of the same age at the same time, and keeping these generations of animals together at all stages of production. This makes it easier to contain waste and clean farms when they are moved or sold.

• Keep feed dry and stored safely away from potential sources of germs like rodents.

• Keep animals dry and comfortable with plenty of space. Lowering animal stress reduces their risk of infection. So does feeding them well and making sure they have clean water.

• Vaccinate in consultation with your vet. Timing matters.

• Separate animals when they get sick to prevent disease spread, and seek veterinary advice right away to get the correct diagnosis and treatment.

A growing threat One person dies every minute from a drug-resistant infection, and without global action, this number will only rise. By 2050, the growing AMR threat will cost the global economy an estimated $6 trillion dollars every year.

AMR also has major implications for food safety, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farming households across the planet, who can ill afford production losses, the costs of caring for sick animals, or the loss of their livestock.

“If we are to feed a growing population and keep antimicrobials working,” said

Lubroth, “we need to invest in our farmers and food production systems to shift to more sustainable agricultural practices.”

FAO is working around the globe to help governments, agricultural and animal health authorities, and livestock producers build their capacity to address AMR, with strong support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Health, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the United Kingdom’s Fleming Fund as well as from China, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. (Food and Agriculture Organisation)

Sophia youth slapped with second murder charge After months of investigations into the Timehri murder of a legal clerk, a prime suspect, Travis Evan was on Wednesday remanded to prison for the crime after he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

Travis Evans

Evan 24, of ‘C’ Field, Sophia, Georgetown, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and was not required to plea to the indictable charge.

Evans is already on remand for another murder and was one of three prisoners who recently escaped from the Lusignan Prison. He was recaptured days after.

The particulars of the charge state that between July 31 & August 2, 2018, at Kuru Kururu Linden Highway, East Bank Demerara (EBD), he murdered Gregory Wayne Frank in the company of others

during the course of a robbery.

The accused was represented by attorney, Dexter Todd. Evan was remanded to prison and is expected to make his next appearance on November 27, 2018.

According to reports Frank, 46, a legal clerk of Lot 686 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, was found dead in a pool of blood in his home on August and it is suspected that he may have been killed during a burglary.

An autopsy revealed that Frank died from asphyxiation due to a compression injury to the neck, compounded by blunt trauma to the head. The police had said Frank’s body, “with a swollen forehead,” was discovered around 4.30 am in the living room of his home.

The statement had noted that the rear door to Frank’s home was found ajar and the entire house was ransacked.

Valuables were also reported missing from the house.

On August 20, 2018, Evans was also charged with the murder of his friend after he appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, It is alleged that Evans on August 2, 2018, at ‘C’ Field, Sophia shot and killed 21-year-old Ronsley Clarke of Fire Station Road, Timehri. during an argument.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

CARICOM records concerns about pace of SIDS development at Samoa meeting

‘Family Photo’ of delegates at the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Midterm Review of the SAMOA Pathway which was held in Apia, Samoa from October 30 – November 1, 2018.

AS the global community prepares for a Midterm Review of the progress in addressing the priorities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is concerned about the pace of implementing the modalities for SIDS’ sustainable development.

CARICOM articulated the concern that SIDS face peculiar challenges with transforming their economies and societies for sustained, inclusive and equitable growth, at the recently concluded Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Midterm Review of the SAMOA Pathway.

This meeting was held in Apia, Samoa from October 30 – November 1, 2018. The SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (S.A.M.O.A) Pathway was adopted at the September 2014 Third International Conference of Small Island Developing States (SIDS Conference) in Apia, Samoa.

In 2016, the UN General Assembly (UNGA), at the 71st session, agreed to dedicate one day in September 2019 to review the progress made in addressing the priorities of SIDS as outlined in the SAMOA Pathway.

During the 72nd session in 2017, the UNGA further

agreed to the convening of regional and inter-regional preparatory meetings to review how the SAMOA Pathway has been implemented at the national and regional levels.

The Caribbean Regional Review took place in San Pedro, Belize in August 2018. At the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting in Samoa from October 30–November 1, 2018, CARICOM was well represented with the participation of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The CARICOM Secretariat also participated and provided support through its Sustainable Development and Regional Statistics Programmes.

200 delegates from all three SIDS regions (Caribbean, Pacific and the AIS Region [African, Indian Ocean and South China Sea]), UN Agencies and other international and regional organizations, development partners and stakeholders were also involved. The Caribbean Community underscored that building a sustainable and resilient Caribbean was challenged by climate change and other environmental-related stressors. It underscored the

limitations SIDS face with achieving financial and economic sustainability in the face of graduation, adverse debt, and de-risking strategies applied by some international financial institutions.

The need for strengthening institutions and enabling environments for people-centred development were underpinned by CARICOM as critical elements in meeting the targets of the SAMOA Pathway. CARICOM Heads of Government, when they met in July 2018 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, recalled that the SIDS Framework, which had its origin in the Barbados Programme of Action of 1994, was complemented by the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (MSI) of 2005 and the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway (Samoa Pathway) of 2014. Those frameworks place specific focus on the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS and provide the basic framework for international cooperation.

The Heads of Government, in expressing their concerns about the slow pace of implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, agreed to work closely with the International Community in the 2019-2024 period to strengthen implementation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Passenger boat develops engine trouble in Essequibo River PASSENGERS onboard a Parika-bound passenger boat escaped with their lives on Tuesday after the vessel almost sank after hitting an object in the water minutes after arrival.

Reports are that minutes before midday on Tuesday, the boat was preparing to leave Bartica for Parika when maritime officials objected to the captain’s plan to overload the vessel. Reports are that the vessel was delayed for several minutes and departed around midday with 28 persons on board.

According to a passenger‘s account, while the vessel was less than 10 minutes

away from Parika, it struck an object and its engines died immediately. “This happen because the captain drove the boat too close to shore,” the passenger surmised. Reports are that following the impact, the boat began to leak as persons panicked.

The captain immediately turned to the river bank even as the boat continued to take in water. Luckily for those on board, the vessel made it to a beach and they were later rescued by two boats which came to their aid from Parika.

The incident is being investigated by the maritime authorities.

The passengers stand ashore along the Essequibo River after the boat’s captain was forced to beach the vessel following the incident.

Promoters of GUYTIE conduct evaluation to make event bigger in 2020 THE second Guyana Trade and Investment Exhibition (GUYTIE) will be hosted in early 2020 and promoters of the event will use 2019 to improve on shortcomings it faced at the inaugural hosting of the trade show.

On Wednesday the Coordinator of GUYTIE Tameca Sukhdeo-Singh and partner Caribbean Export, hosted a post-evaluation discussion with exhibitors. Manager of Competitiveness and Innovation at Caribbean Export,

Christopher McNair, noted the GUYTIE Secretariat will take the entire of 2019 to plan for the second hosting of the trade show scheduled for early 2020.

McNair noted that this is to move away from the “last-minute” culture that Guyana has when it comes to hosting events such as GUYTIE. Based on feedback from the participants at the event, McNair noted more emphasis will be placed on public relations,

finding a better venue and working closely with the private sector for an even more successful trade show.

The second hosting of GUYTIE will also see discussions on the regulations and legislation that are in place and that will need to be in place to promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The second GUYTIE is also expected to address development of Guyana’s services sector

Man remanded for ganja possession A 26- year-old man was on Wednesday remanded to prison for allegedly having in his possession 76 grams of Marijuana.

Peter Patterson, an operator appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman in the Georgetown Magistrates' Court and denied the charge.

The charge states, that on November 10, 2018 at Linden-Soesdyke Highway, Patterson had in his possession 17 grams of Marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore objected to bail owing to the seriousness of the offence and the penalty it attracts.

According to the facts of the case, on the day in question police had set up a road block along Linden-Soes-

Peter Patterson

dyke Highway. When the vehicle which the defendant was in was stopped and a searched the suspected Marijuana was found.

Bail was refused by the magistrate and Patterson was remanded to prison until November 21, 2018.

and better vetting of buyers invited to the trade show, McNair pointed out.

The first-ever GUYTIE was successfully hosted

in September at the Marriott Hotel and sought to create a platform for local export-ready businesses to engage foreign buyers and

other potential partners.

Close to 60 local businesses, including SMEs, participated in the three-day trade show.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

32M state-of-the-art special needs school for Region 3 SPECIAL-needs children of Region Three, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, will soon benefit from a modern special -needs school in the region.

The new facility constructed at a cost of $28.5Million, features a building with four special-needs classrooms, a modernised sickbay, staff room for teachers, headteacher’s office, kitchen, four wheelchair-accessible lavatory facilities, two wheelchair-accessible bath-

rooms, three entrance and exit ramps and a teacher’s lavatory. Also completed are a guard hut, external lavatory facility and a completely landfilled yard at a cost of $3.5Million.

In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Regional Executive Officer Denis Jaikaran noted that the construction was done as a result of the recognition that there exists a demand for special education in the region.

The newly constructed special needs school at Schoonord on the West Bank of Demerara in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region (Region Three)

“Our former Regional Education Officer (REDO) Penelope Mc Intosh is really responsible for this project.

Under her watch studies were conducted and have shown that Region Three needs to put measures in place for our special-needs children and being cognisant of that, we have provided the facility.

It is now in the hands of the Education Department to operationalise the complex at the earliest and provide quality services to our children,” Jaikaran said.

Meanwhile, Regional Education Officer Annesta Douglas said that the recently established Special Education Needs Unit of the department is focused on getting the administrative and logistical works done so that the school can become functional. “We are right now

putting all the paperwork in order for an early start and once that hurdle is crossed, the school, which will cater for special-needs children, will become accessible to the public. Our recently formed SEN unit has that mandate to ensure the school opens its doors soonest and tentatively we are looking at a January start-up time,” noted Douglas.

According to the Regional Engineer, Vaughn Solomon, the region will soon explore the option of providing transportation for the students who will be attending the school for the simple reason of ensuring that education becomes easily accessible to all and sundry. The complex was constructed by S and K Consultancy and Construction Company. (DPI)

SDC donates school supplies to GPF

Woman Assistant Superintendent, J.Sullivan receiving the supplies from SDC Secretary L. Narine

Secretary of Strategy and Development Consulting (SDC) Inc, Lisa Narine, donated multiple school supplies to the Officer-in-charge of the Police Force’s Welfare Department, Woman Assistant Superintendent Jewel Hales-Sullivan.

Mrs. Sullivan, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Force, emphasizing that the supplies will be a boost towards the Guyana Police

Force’s Children’s Christmas Party.

The SDC Inc., is a newly established security firm, which offers Body Guard Services as well as Tactical and Academic Training and will be working hand in hand with local law enforcement agencies. As a result, they will be making continuous donations to similar organizations within the law enforcement sector.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Australia participate in ICC Cricket for Good School and Community Outreach THREE-TIME (2010, 2012 and 2014) champions of the ICC Women’s World T20, Australia, made a stop at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, as part of the International Cricket Council’s Cricket for Good School and Community Outreach programme.

The ‘Aussie’ women joined Pakistan who visited President’s College, India (West Demerara Secondary School) and New Zealand (Diamond Secondary School) as the countries who have participated in the ICC initiative, which is aimed at leveraging the vast power and reach of cricket to positively impact the lives of children and families worldwide.

This year, the global initiative is being facilitated by Cricket West Indies (CWI) at the three host venues for the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 and yesterday, the event saw Australia enjoying a dynamic cultural display by the students East Ruimveldt Secondary School.

The women from ‘Down Under’ signed autographs and

were even challenged to a game of cricket by the students, who were then handed tickets by the visitors to witness their final game in Guyana against India, on Saturday, November 17.

Amid a seemingly never-ending debate, about what the spirit of cricket actually means, the one thing that is undeniable is that cricket can be a force for good and a vehicle that can be used to raise awareness of issues that might otherwise garner little or no publicity.

In that regard the period 2015-16 saw the ICC use its profile and the profile of its events to publicise significant subject matters that affect people way beyond the boundaries of a cricket ground.

At a global level, Cricket For Good in partnership with UNICEF will collaborate in specific areas of nutrition and child development, water and sanitation hygiene, quality education, empowering adolescents, child protection and child health, all aimed at improving children’s lives.

GFF ‘Super 16’ year-end tournament to kick off December 10 … UDFA asks for Linden clubs to be exempted

By Rawle Toney WAYNE Forde, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), has confirmed that his Federation’s year-end tournament will kick off on December 10, featuring 16 of the country’s top football clubs, with the exception of the clubs under the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA).

The tournament will be launched on Monday, November 19 at the Green City Sports Bar at 16:00hrs. Speaking exclusively with Chronicle Sport, Forde said the total prize money will be $4M, since the GFF is keeping their expenses manageable this time around.

Last year, the GFF came under fire for the lengthy time taken to pay the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) their $2M first-place prize after they had defeated Grove Hi-Tech 2-0 in the final on January 1, 2018.

Grove Hi-Tech, who along with Soesdyke Falcons will be the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) at the tournament this year, pocketed $1M for their second-place fin-

ish, while Fruta Conquerors and Milerock received $500 000 and $250 000 for their third- and fourthplace finish respectively.

Ansa McAl is listed as the tournament’s beverage sponsor, as Forde pointed out that other corporate entities will be on board the annual event.

As it relates to the participating teams, eight (Fruta Conquerors, Milerock, GDF, Western Tigers, Victoria Kings, Buxton United, Ann’s Grove and Den Amstel) of the 10 Elite League teams will gain automatic berth to the tournament. New Amsterdam United and Cougars FC; who finished at the bottom of the table this year, will be in a play-off to see who will get the nod.

“We will also have an Indigenous All-Star team, made up of some of the players from the Heritage Games, and Rupununi will also be sending out a team. We’re hoping to make this tournament as inclusive as possible. The technical department will give out more information at the launching, but we’re excited for this tournament,” Forde said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Curran, Buttler fifties carry England to 285 all out in Pallekele PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sam Curran exhibited his six-hitting prowess and Jos Buttler made an enterprising 63, to help England overcome a top order collapse and post 285 in the first innings on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka yesterday.

England were reeling at 89-4 when Buttler somewhat steadied the innings before Curran clobbered six sixes in his blistering 64 to help them to a competitive score.

Sri Lanka lost Kaushal Silva in their wobbly reply, to be 26-1 at stumps, trailing by 259 runs.

Dimuth Karunaratne was batting on 19 with Malinda Pushpakumara on one at the other end.

Earlier, England captain Joe Root won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bat as the tourists, 1-0 up in the three-match series, sought to build on their victory in Galle last week.

Stand-in skipper Suranga

Lakmal dismissed Keaton Jennings in the fifth over before the home side’s spinners set about disrupting the rest of the top order.

England named an unchanged side but shuffled their batting lineup and Ben Stokes (19) was unable to justify his promotion to number three, the all-rounder surviving a review before succumbing to a second to be trapped lbw

by Dilruwan Perera (4-61).

Root’s struggle against left-arm spin, meanwhile, compounded England’s crisis after the captain, dismissed twice by Rangana Herath in his farewell Test in Galle, fell for 14 to Pushpakumara (3-89).

Rory Burns made 43 before being caught in the slips as England lost four wickets before the lunch break.

Buttler then counter-attacked, hitting Akila Dananjaya, who has been reported for a suspect bowling action but is free to play, for three

Sam Cuuran smashed six sixes to top score with 64, putting on 60 for the last wicket as England made 285.

(Getty Images)

successive boundaries en route to a run-a-ball 50.

Buttler moved quickly to 63 before a fluffed reverse

sweep against Pushpakumara led to his dismissal.

Ben Foakes was unable to match his Galle heroics

and was caught behind for 19, bizarrely failing to review the decision as replays showed he had not touched the ball with bat or glove.

Curran then lit up the final session with his binge-hitting, bringing up his third Test fifty with his fifth six.

The left-hander dominated his 60-run partnership for the final wicket - the only 50-plus stand in the England innings - with James Anderson before being the last man out.

Sri Lanka made two changes with Herath retiring and regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal ruled out with a groin injury.

Pushpakumara and Roshen Silva were brought in, as the hosts battle to stay alive in the three-Test series.

Seegobin’s five-wicket Mahmudullah’s first century in haul leads GCC to victory eight years boosts Bangladesh A FIVE-WICKET haul from medium pacer Deonarine Seegobin propelled the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) to a 69-run win over Third Class Cricket Club when action in the GCA/New Building Society (NBS) 2nd Division 40-Over cricket competition continued last Sunday at the GNIC ground.

Although GCC won the game, their batsmen never dominated. A few got starts, but none took control as Third Class opening bowler Ray Bryan did the early damage. Soon GCC were struggling at 68-6, but A. Rodrigues joined C. Persaud and the pair added 42 runs for the seventh wicket.

Persaud reached the boundary four times in his knock of 21, while Rodrigues hit six fours in his top score of 36.

GCC’s U-17 skipper Zachary Jodah also played a few shots towards the end.

The 13-year-old finished with 19 unbeaten runs to push his team to 153 before they were bowled out in 32 overs.

Medium pacer Alvin Castello and Bryan finished with

Deonarine Seegobin picked up five wickets for 12 runs for GCC.

three wickets each, while off-spinner Andre O’Neal supported with two scalps.

First Class never got into any rhythm when they batted, as Deonarine bowled wicket-to-wicket. The right-hander’s dismissals included four leg-before and a clean-bowled decisions. The 23-year-old finished with 5-12 from seven overs, while left-arm spinners Devon Lord and Stephon Wilson finished with figures of 3-13 and 2-29 respectively.

Wilson took his wickets early while Lord cleaned up the tail.

Although three of the Third Class batmen reached double figures, none reached 15 runs.

MAHMUDULLAH scored an unbeaten century as Bangladesh made strides towards victory on day four of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Dhaka.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah (101 not out) got his first Test hundred since February 2010, as the hosts set a target of 443 by declaring on 224-6, and they made in-roads as Zimbabwe lost two wickets before stumps.

Zimbabwe’s outlook would have been optimistic earlier yesterday, with Kyle Jarvis (2-27) claiming the wickets of Imrul Kayes (3) and Liton Das (6) in the space of three balls before Donald Tiripano (2-31) dismissed Mominul Haque (1) and Mushfiqur Rahim (7) to leave Bangladesh in trouble on 25-4.

However, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Mithun (67) stopped the rot with a fifth-wicket stand of 118.

The skipper found the ropes four times and added

Mahmudullah jumps for joy to celebrate his hundred. (AFP)

a pair of maximums to anchor the hosts’ innings, with Mehidy Hasan (27 off 34) proving a capable deputy after Ariful Haque went for five.

Zimbabwe’s hopes of claiming a second victory had already taken a hit, and they suffered a further setback with opening duo Hamilton Masakadza (25) and Brian Chari (43) falling in the final session.

The visitors closed on 76-2, trailing by 367, and will have to produce a stunning effort on day five if they are to even hold out for a draw.

Scoreboard ENGLAND 1st innings Rory Burns c Dhananjaya de Silva b Akila Dananjaya 43 Keaton Jennings c Niroshan Dickwella b Suranga Lakmal 1 Ben Stokes lbw Dilruwan Perera 19 Joe Root b Malinda Pushpakumara 14 Jos Buttler c Dimuth Karunaratne b Malinda Pushpakumara 63 Moeen Ali lbw Malinda Pushpakumara 10 Ben Foakes c Dhananjaya de Silva b Dilruwan Perera 19 Sam Curran c Dimuth Karunaratne b Dilruwan Perera 64 Adil Rashid lbw Dilruwan Perera 31 Jack Leach b Akila Dananjaya 7 James Anderson Not out 7 Extras: (b-4, lb-3) 7 Total: (all out 75.4 overs) 285 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-44, 3-65, 4-89, 5-134, 6-165, 7-171, 8-216, 9-225.

Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 12-144-1, Dilruwan Perera 24.4-5-61-4, Malinda Pushpakumara 23-4-89-3, Dhananjaya de Silva 2-0-4-0, Akila Dananjaya 14-1-80-2.

SRI LANKA 1st innings Dimuth Karunaratne not out 19 Kaushal Silva b Jack Leach 6 Malinda Pushpakumara not out 1 Extras: 0 Total: (one wkt, 12.0 overs) 26 Fall of wickets: 1-22.

Bowling: James Anderson 3-0-8-0, Sam Curran 2-0-5-0, Jack Leach 4-0-7-1, Moeen Ali 3-1-6-0.

Scoreboard BANGLADESH first innings 552-7 declared; Zimbabwe first innings 304.

BANGLADESH 2nd innings Liton Das b Kyle Jarvis 6 Imrul Kayes c Brandon Mavuta b Kyle Jarvis 3 Mominul Haque c Regis Chakabva b Donald Tiripano 1 Mohammad Mithun c Regis Chakabva b Sikandar Raza 67 Mushfiqur Rahim c Brandon Mavuta b Donald Tiripano 7 Mahmudullah not out 101 Ariful Haque b Sean Williams 5 Mehedi Hasan not out 27 Extras: (b-5, lb-1, w-1) 7 Total: (54.0 overs, decl.)

224 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-10, 3-10, 4-25, 5-143, 6-151.

Bowling: Kyle Jarvis 11-2-27-2, Donald Tiripano 11-1-31-2, Sean Williams 16-2-69-1 (w-1), Sikandar Raza 7-0-39-1, Brandon Mavuta 9-0-52-0.

ZIMBABWE 2nd innings Hamilton Masakadza c Mominul Haque b Mehedi Hasan 25 Brian Chari lbw Taijul Islam 43 Brendan Taylor not out 4 Sean Williams not out 2 Extras: (b-1, lb-1) 2 Total: (two wkts, 30.0 overs) 76 Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-70.

Bowling: Mustafizur Rahman 3-1-20, Taijul Islam 13-2-34-1,2, Khaled Ahmed 4-1-15-0, Mehedi Hasan 7-216-1, Ariful Haque 3-1-7-0.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Rooney to wear number 10 shirt, captain’s armband in England farewell LONDON, England (Reuters) - Wayne Rooney will wear the number 10 shirt and captain’s armband when he comes on for his final England appearance in today’s friendly with the United States, manager Gareth Southgate said.

“The players are very keen that Wayne wears the number 10 and we believe that is a fitting tribute,” Southgate told a news conference yesterday.

“All of our group have huge respect for Wayne and they feel that it is fitting that his last game he should be in the number 10,” added the England manager.

Rooney, who now plays in Major League Soccer for D.C United, will start on the bench before entering the field for his 120th and final cap in

the international at Wembley Stadium.

Southgate did not want to fix a time in the game when Rooney would come on but said he had discussed it with the 33-year-old.

“We will give him enough so that I think it is fitting ... but we also want to make sure we get the balance of looking at younger players, giving them the right amount of time, and making sure our preparation for Sunday is right is another priority.”

England face Croatia in a Nations League match on Sunday.

“But I have to say it’s very important for all of us as a group that he gets a good send-off,” added Southgate who said Rooney had

looked sharp in training.

“He is in good form; we knew he was in good form with his club coming into this.

In training, he has fitted in perfectly.”

CAPTAIN DELPH Manchester City’s Fabian Delph will captain England against the U.S. but will give the armband to Rooney when he enters.

“When I first came into the England set-up, Wayne was captain, he welcomed me and put his arm around me and made me feel at home. As soon as he comes on I will give him the armband back,” said the midfielder.

“We’re going to be giving him a guard of honour. It is going to be a huge night for Wayne and it is important

we honour him for all of his achievements throughout his career.”

The decision to make the friendly a tribute night for Rooney has divided opinion with some pundits saying recalling a player who has retired from the national team devalues an England cap.

“It’s been disappointing to see him (Wayne) almost have to defend his inclusion. But that is where we are. The most important thing is that within the England group we value what he has done and what he has given,” he said.

“We are delighted to have him with us. Hopefully he has felt that warmth from all of us and I know the reaction of the supporters will be very special to him,” added Southgate.

Wayne Rooney will win his 120th and final cap in the friendly against United States at Wembley.

WADA to conduct Rock-solid Djokovic dismantles Zverev at ATP Finals further investigations into bullying allegations

By Martyn Herman

(REUTERS) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will conduct further enquiries into accusations of bullying by executive committee members after an initial probe was unable to prove any improper behaviour, it said yesterday.

Athletes’ committee chair Beckie Scott

Athletes’ committee chair Beckie Scott told the BBC last month that she was “treated with disrespect” and faced “inappropriate” comments and gestures for opposing the reinstatement of Russia’s anti-doping organisation at a September meeting.

WADA has denied mistreating Scott, saying the atmosphere at the meeting in the Seychelles was the product of “strong and divergent views”.

Scott, an Olympic gold medal winner for Canada in cross-country skiing, had told the BBC the tone of the meeting was more dismissive

than inclusive, arguing that WADA had little interest in hearing from athletes or their concerns.

WADA said yesterday that the allegations were “discussed extensively” by the committee at a meeting in the Azerbaijan capital Baku, where the initial findings of an independent review, commissioned by the agency and conducted by an external firm, were presented.

“While these findings did not conclude that the alleged bullying had taken place, the executive committee agreed that given the seriousness of the allegations, a second phase should take place to allow the many people present at the meeting to be interviewed so that the matter could be concluded satisfactorily,” it said in a statement.

“This will now take place and a further report will be presented to the Executive Committee at the next opportunity.”

WADA said a more general investigation was not merited at this stage, based on the information at its disposal.

“However, it was concluded that legal advice be sought by the agency to help in determining a path forward. WADA continues to take these matters very seriously.”

Russia’s Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was suspended in November 2015, after an independent WADA report carried out by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren outlined evidence of statebacked, systematic doping and cover-ups in Russian sport.

WADA laid out a road map

to compliance, but on September 20 reinstated RUSADA without Russia having fully met two conditions: recognising the findings of the McLaren Report and allowing access to stored urine samples at its Moscow lab.

Some anti-doping leaders have subsequently called for reform of WADA in the best interests of athletes.

WADA’s leadership is set to change next year when president Craig Reedie steps down at the end of his second term in office.

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LONDON, England (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic has 834 Tour match wins in his storied career and the latest, a 6-4, 6-1 rout of young German Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals, yesterday, will not be one for his scrapbook.

Yet despite his not feeling 100 percent, it illustrated just how the Serb has become one of the all-time greats, mastering the ability to churn out victories in third gear.

Zverev provided some fierce resistance in the opening set of their round-robin match, but as he so often does Djokovic played the percentages.

Djokovic, who will end the year as world number one for the fifth time, struck only three winners in the opening set but relied on his rock-solid ‘middle game’ to take the opener.

A demoralised Zverev then fell apart, losing the last five games of a match that petered out into another one-sided affair - the pattern so far at the O2 Arena this year where the opening seven matches have not provided a single three-setter.

“I guess winning the first set really counts this year.

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tally quite an edge,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic has now won 33 of his last 35 matches and looks unstoppable as he seeks a sixth ATP Finals title.

With two easy wins so far in the Gustavo Kuerten group, he will advance into the last four of the season-ending tournament for the eighth time if American John Isner beats Marin Cilic in the battle of the big servers later. The top seed will also reach the semis if Cilic beats Isner in three sets.

and looked to have the baseline firepower to worry his opponent, striking 15 winners in the opening set.

Djokovic netted a routine forehand when serving at 4-4 30-30, offering Zverev a break point that he did not convert.

Djokovic then double-faulted to give Zverev another chance to serve for the set but this time the German went just wide with an attempted lob after the Serb ventured into the net.

The next game always

Novak Djokovic

“It wasn’t a great quality tennis match, to be honest, at least from the court,” Djokovic, who was coughing occasionally and grabbing a tissue from his pocket, told reporters.

“Somehow I managed to gather the strength when I needed it. I think also it seemed like Sascha was not feeling really great, definitely not playing well, especially from the back of the court. He made a lot of errors.”

For a while at the start of the match it seemed ticket holders might be in for a treat.

Z v e r e v, w h o h a s a Tour-leading 55 match wins this year, went toe-to-toe with Djokovic from the baseline

looked dangerous for Zverev and so it proved as he double-faulted to concede the set.

Zverev looked deflated and despite holding serve for 1-1 he offered no more resistance as Djokovic won five games in a row.

It is not all over for Zverev who can still reach the semi-finals for the first time if he beats Isner tomorrow.

“I think I’ll take it as a normal quarter-final match at a normal tournament,” said the German, who beat Cilic in his opening match on Monday.

“To be in the semi-finals here would mean a lot to me.

For that, I have to play good tennis.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019

Argentina outlast Panama to end Women’s World Cup drought

ARGENTINA are heading to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in 12 years following a 5-1 aggregate win over Panama in the intercontinental playoff.

The South Americans went into Tuesday’s second leg in Panama City with a comfortable 4-0 buffer from last week’s opening tie.

Panama, who have never featured at a Women’s World Cup, gave themselves a fighting chance when Natalia Mills got on the end of a cross to fire home the opening goal eight minutes before half-time.

However, Argentina grabbed an away goal through Florencia Bonsegundo midway the second half to put the contest to bed.

A late red card to substitute Yamila Rodriguez failed to dampen Las Albicelestes celebrations, with the South Americans now headed to their third Women’s World Cup. The final spots on offer for France 2019 will be determined in just over a fortnight in Africa (three spots) and Oceania (one spot). (FIFA.com)

TURBO KNOCKOUT TOURNAMENT

Pouderoyen, Mahaica seal quarter-final spots POUDEROYEN FC and Mahaica Determinators are the latest two teams to register wins on the third night of action in the second annual Turbo football tournament.

The two wins were in different fashions, nevertheless both sides are one step closer to clinching the title and the $800 000 first-place cash prize.

In the feature match, Mahaica Determinators, who performed creditably in the last Petra Organisation tournament (Limacol), needled Fruta Conquerors thanks to Kwon Goodings that found perfecting footing to steer home the lone goal of the match, early (27th minute) in the first half.

This Fruta Conquerors line-up featured players of the weakened second division squad of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite league champions.

Meanwhile, in the opening match, the Travis Besscoached Pouderoyen team, who lost to Police FC in the recently concluded Limacol football tournament, got off their campaign to a flying start with a commanding 3-0 win over Buxton Stars.

On the score sheet for the West Bank Demerara-based club were Darrell Abrams (16th minute), Marvin Griffith (51st) and Ashley Harding (77th).

The final round-of-16 matches in this straight knockout tournament continued last night at the same venue with two more matches featuring Georgetown Football Club (GFC), who will be aiming to win their first senior tournament in decades, matching skills with West Side’s Den Amstel FC at 18:30hrs.

In the feature match, city side Camptown will oppose knockout kings, Grove Hi-Tech of East Bank Demerara.

This knockout competition covers $1.5M in cash prizes up for grabs with the runners-up pocketing $400 000, third-placers $200 000 and fourth-placers $100 000.

Wimbledon finalist Radwanska retires from tennis aged 29

Mercedes salute absent Lauda with red cap tribute

WIMBLEDON finalist Agnieszka Radwanska has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 29.

The former world number two was runner-up to Serena Williams in 2012 and won 20 WTA titles in her 13-year career.

She finished every season between 2008 and 2016 ranked inside the world’s top 15, but is currently ranked 75th and has not won a title since October 2016.

Radwanska said the decision to retire was “one of the most important” of her life and was “not easy”.

“Unfortunately, I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations,” she added.

“Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I’m not able to push my body to the limits required.” (BBC Sport)

BRIXWORTH, England (Reuters) - Mercedes saluted recovering non-executive chairman Niki Lauda on Tuesday as Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton joined factory staff in celebrating their fifth straight constructors’ and drivers’ title double.

Hamilton, team mate Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes F1 bosses doffed red caps, similar to the one Lauda usually wears, to thank the absent Austrian, who had a lung transplant in August.

Team principal Toto Wolff told Reuters he would love to see Lauda, 69, return for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but it would depend on medical advice.

“I’m going to see him on Friday and I’m so happy to come back with the championship because he has been a strong part of this team,” he said.

Agnieszka Radwanska also won the 2015 WTA Finals.

By Alan Baldwin

“That’s why we toasted him with the red hats today.

If he’s making it (to Abu Dhabi), great. But I am definitely looking forward to sharing a plane journey to Australia next year.”

Niki Lauda

Next season starts in Australia on March 17.

Wolff said he spoke with the triple world champion and team shareholder immediately after Mercedes won the constructors’ title in Brazil on Sunday for the fifth straight season.

That success equalled Ferrari’s five title doubles in a row from 1999-2004.

“I called him and he said: ‘Thank you very much and I miss you guys’,” said Wolff.

“He was sad (not to be in Brazil) but I heard also from a friend that they celebrated in the hospital until 11 in the evening so I think he enjoyed the moment as well.”

Lauda left hospital at the end of October and is now in a rehabilitation clinic.

Hamilton said he had kept in regular contact with Lauda, who was instrumental in the Briton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes at the end of 2012, since the operation.

“He’s just fighting to get fit. It’s not a short journey to recovery for him but he’s massively determined to get back, and on a plane and start travelling again which he loves so much,” he told Reuters at the Mercedes engine factory.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

GBA’s Terrence Alli National Open C/ships boxes off tomorrow THE Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) Terrence Alli National Open Championships will box-off tomorrow night at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, from 19:30hrs and will conclude on Sunday night at the same venue.

Defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will be hard-pressed to retain their title, as boxers from Guyana Police Force, Republican Boxing Gym, Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF), Harpy Eagles, Vergenoegen Boxing Gym, Rose Hall Jammers, Carryl Boxing Gym and Young Achievers will be seeking to earn championship titles in the various weight divisions in a quest to be selected to represent Guyana at the Caribbean championship which will be held here in Guyana at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall next month.

It is expected that GDF will field a large contingent of experienced fighters,

who did both the Army and Guyana proud over the years, winning gold and silver medals locally and regionally.

This year Quiny Boyce, Clifton Clarke, Royden Grant, Asntion Niles and Ronaldo Niles are among others included in the soldiers’ contingent.

All of the above-named boxers won their respective weight divisions at the just concluded Lennox Blackmoore National Intermediate Championship and are now graduates for the National Open level.

Boyce was adjudged Best Boxer at the National Intermediate tourney, having won all three of his fights during the championship via the technical knockout (TKO) route.

With this in mind, the other gyms named above will have their work cut out to overcome the soldiers’ onslaught.

According to GBA pres-

ident Steve Ninvalle, three nights of exciting and entertaining boxing is anticipated as well as the largest representation by gyms.

Ninvalle said while he is anticipating a large turnout of boxers and supporters, he is hoping that corporate Guyana will lend support,

because without sponsorship, there might not be as grand a tournament as is planned.

Ninvalle also stressed the need for even more

Defending champions Guyana Defence Force

corporate support for the Caribbean Championship, as this venture is more costly than staging a national championship.

According to the AIBA Executive Committee member, this year’s Caribbean championship is expected to see teams from the English-, Dutch- and French-speaking countries and islands in Guyana come December 6.

According to the GBA head, teams are expected from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, St Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Suriname, Dominica, Cayman Islands and US Virgin Islands.

This will be the second time in four years that Guyana will be hosting the Caribbean championships.

Over 70 boxers and officials will arrive in Guyana, which according to Ninvalle, is good for sports tourism. (Michael DaSailva)

GFSCA honours softball cricket stalwarts Mark Bobb and Vicky Ramsaywack THE Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) recently honoured two outstanding veteran softball cricketers Mark Bobb of the USA and Vicky Ramsaywack of Georgetown.

They were rewarded at the presentation ceremony of the recently con-

cluded ‘Guyana Softball Cup 8’. The tournament was a huge success and the Association took the opportunity to recognise the contributions of both players to the game, on and off the field.

President of GFSCA, Ramchand Ragbeer, was high in praise for the re-

cipients and reminded the large gathering that Bobb has participated in every single softball tournament around the world from the inception in 1999 in Orlando, Florida.

That is 19 years ago.

Even though he didn’t participate on the field in the 2018 edition of

Vicky Ramsaywack is with president Ramchand Ragbeer and vice-president Reyaz Husein.

Ricky Deonarain hands over plaque to Mark Bobb of New York.

Guyana Softball Cup, he graced the tournament and inspired everyone with his usual sound advice and jolly antics.

Ramsaywack is the owner of Savage Masters and his team participates in every tournament run by the GFSCA. He personally partic-

ipates in tournaments in Canada, New York, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Ramsaywack who is popular for his pony tail and dark shades is a close friend of the GFSCA. In closing, Bobb and Ramsaywack thanked the GFSCA for recog-

nising them and that they were pleasantly surprised. Both of them said that they love the game very much and will continue to contribute to raise the level even higher. They also wished the Association more success and pledged their continued support.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Healy storm destroys New Zealand

Another injury setback for Tamim ahead of Windies series

BAMGLADESH received a huge injury scare as Tamim Iqbal suffered a side strain during a practice session at the academy premises on Tuesday.

The incident can be touted as a huge blow considering the opener was eyeing to make a comeback in the series against West Indies. The Bangladesh Cricket Board was also supposed to announce the squad for the series but will wait for an update on Tamim’s fitness before making a call.

Tamim is currently going through a rehabilitation programme after he was ruled out of the Asia Cup as he sustained wrist injury in the opening game against Sri Lanka.

Hannah Rowe is bowled after charging down the track. (Adrian Narine photo)

IF Australia’s opening pair was anything to measure by, New Zealand had done an excellent job of restricting them to 153-7 during the 10th game of the ICC Women’s World T20 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence on Tuesday night.

In their encounter, the Aussie women won by 33 runs to post their third straight win in Group B, thereby reaching the semifinals.

Batting first, the Aussie openers in Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy clobbered the New Zealand bowlers with some mouth-watering drives and surgically performed cuts.

At the end of the power-play the Aussies were well into their stride, scoring 44 as freely as they desired without losing a wicket; three balls

later, they registered 50.

And they kept on hitting, that is till Mooney held out to long-on for the breakthrough New Zealand needed.

Captain Megg Lanning didn’t last long; she nudged one to the keeper and Healy departed just two overs later; New Zealand making the inroads they needed.

Ashleigh Gardner, (10 from 13) and Elyse Villani (14 from 11) kept the scoreboard ticking over as New Zealand contained well before the explosive Rachel Haynes clobbered an unbeaten 18-ball 29 with 4x4 to take them over the 150-mark.

New Zealand’s spinner in Leigh Kasperek and the medium pace of Sophie Devine were chief in the containment,

bagging 3-25 and 2-37 off four overs respectively.

In their turn at bat, New Zealand had quite the opposite of starts that they required.

A pair of ducks from opener Ann Peterson and number three Devine meant that New Zealand were in trouble early at 7 for 2. Things only got worse when Amy Satterthwaite departed for 2 with the score at 13-3.

It would take women’s veteran Suzie Bates and Katey Martin to steer the ship and they caused the Aussies all sorts of problems.

The duo set about repairing the damage, putting on a 66-run partnership and keeping the game alive before Martin departed with the score on 79. Some fancy

footwork up the pitch left her well clear of the crease when she was undone by keeper Healy.

Still, Bates was there trying to steer the ship home and found a suitable partner for the time in Maddy Green before a thick edge on the leg side saw the latter depart for 8. Bates departed just two runs shy of her half-century after chipping down the track but being caught dead in line.

After that, the resistance was limited, Bernadine Bezuidenhout (1 from 2) left and a late cameo for Kasperek 12 from 7 was the last ditch but they were all out for 120 in 17.3 overs, losing by 33 runs.

Megan Schutt (3-12) was the destroyer with 2 wickets each for Delissa Kimmince and Sophie Molineux.

Three juveniles excel at GKC Grading THREE juveniles last Friday (November 9) were given the opportunity to participate in a Karate Grading Competition, held

by Guyana Karate College at the Transport Sports Club, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.

Two of the juveniles are from the Juvenile Holding Centre, while the other was recently placed under the purview of the Child Care and Protection Agency, but

would have received karate training while at the Holding Centre.

T h e j u v e n i l e s p e rformed well, resulting in one being graded to second brown belt, while the other two were graded to yellow belt.

The Ministry of Public Security, in a release, extended congratulations to the Juveniles, and expressed heartfelt thanks to Sensei Grant and other members of the

Guyana Karate College for their support to the Juvenile Holding Centre in helping to change the lives of juveniles.

The release read, “We also extend congratulations to Mr Frank Woon-A-Tai, Chief Instructor and Chairman of the International Karate Association, who is celebrating his fiftieth year of teaching karate in Guyana and internationally, and who introduced the sport of karate at the Juvenile Holding

Centre.”

“The Ministry is happy to have exposed the juveniles to a sport that teaches not only physical fitness but also key values such as self-confidence, self-discipline, respect for self as well as leadership skills.

“We therefore look forward to future collaborations with the Guyana Karate College as we continue to enhance the lives of juveniles.”

Tamim suffered a side strain during a net session. (Getty Images)

“He sustained side strain while batting in the net. There is some pain in his ribs. We have done an ultrasound and decided to give him rest for 48 hours,” BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury said. “If we see there is no pain after 48 hours it is ok, but if there is there is pain than we need to go for his X-ray.”

Tamim had started his preparations but acknowledged there’s still some way to go before he sees himself playing a game. I have started batting against spin and the dogstick.

“I haven’t faced any major pain, but since there’s a bit of weakness in my hand, particular shots give me a bit of pain.

Once we do some strength work, the weakness will go away,’’ he had said. “Today is probably the third day that I am batting.

I haven’t had a full net session.

There’s a lot of difference between playing 130-140 kph and playing against spin and the dog-stick. As of now, things are looking very positive. In the next three days, there’s going to be a full net session after which I can tell where I am at.

“Very less chance to play the second Test because I don’t think I can. I am not ready. I don’t think the physio will even permit me. It has just been three days of semi-batting, what I am doing right now.

“Unless I start full-fledged nets, it won’t be fair for the team from my part to declare myself fit. I think I will be fit for the first Test (against West Indies) and it won’t be fair to rule me out now because I will play the two-day game, if I feel that it is necessary. It depends where I am on November 16 or 17.”

Bangladesh will be eagerly looking forward to Tamim making a quick recovery as they take on Windies at home from November 22 in two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. (Cricbuzz)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Thursday November 15, 2018)

COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) (1) (2)

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S QUIZ: England (2009) England

(1)

(2)

TODAY’S QUIZ: How many times the Aussies have won the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup? Who won the last ICC Women’s T20 World Cup?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

31

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday November 15, 2018

Holder out of Bangladesh Tests with shoulder injury … Raymon Reifer drafted in, Kraigg takes over as captain

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – West Indies have suffered a major setback ahead of the two-Test tour of Bangladesh starting next Wednesday in Chittagong, after talismanic captain Jason Holder was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

The 27-year-old has a partial thickness tear of the subscapularis tendon in his shoulder and will remain in his native Barbados to undergo “physiotherapy and rehabilitation”.

In his absence, vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the 15-man squad which was announced, yesterday

by Cricket West Indies.

“He will undergo physiotherapy and strength work from the period November to December and will be reas-

sessed in four weeks’ time,” Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive, Johnny Grave told the Barbados Cricket Association website.

“The medical panel were concerned that if Jason was to bowl in Bangladesh, the partial tear may become a full tear which may involve the need for surgery and/ or a significant break from cricket.

“It was, therefore, then recommended for Jason not to travel to Bangladesh and instead undergo physiotherapy and rehab in Barbados.”

Holder has been the Caribbean side’s leading bowling this year, taking 33 wickets in his last six Tests – the fourth-highest tally by a seamer for 2018.

His amazing average

of 11.87 is the best by any bowler this year, and he has also nabbed three five-wicket hauls, with two coming in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kingston last July.

Holder said he had been bothered by the injury since March and now needed to correct the problem.

“I am definitely disappointed not being able to make the tour to Bangladesh, but based on the advice from the medical team, we felt this was the best course of action to deal with the ongoing issues I have been having with my shoulder and to prevent further damage,” said the all-rounder, who missed the first Test against India in Rajkot last month with an ankle injury.

All-rounder Raymon

Reifer will replace Holder in the only change to the squad which toured India recently and lost both Tests inside three days.

Following the first Test, the Windies will travel to Mirpur for the final match of the series starting November 30.

West Indies swept Bangladesh 2-0 on their tour of the Caribbean last July, with Holder adjudged Man-of-theSeries.

SQUAD – Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Shermon Lewis, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican.

All-round Siriwardene helps Sri Lanka knock Bangladesh out Shashikala Siriwardene made vital contributions with bat and ball as Sri Lanka registered their first win of the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 with a 25run defeat of Bangladesh.

Siriwardene scored a vital 33-ball 31 to prop a stuttering Sri Lankan line-up to 97/7 before returning figures of 2 for 10 in her team’s successful defence.

The result left the Asian champions winless in the competition after three games, ruling them out of contention for a semifinal berth.

For Bangladesh, this game in St. Lucia reprised all that was good and bad from their opener against Windies. Here again, they won the toss and were impressive with the ball.

Jahanara Alam (3 for 21) struck first ball to bowl Yasoda Mendis. With swing in the air, Sri Lanka decided to hold back Chamari Athapaththu, a decision that brought only 17 runs in the PowerPlay as Hasini Perera and Dilani Mandodara were expertly kept in check.

A sluggish outfield - aftereffects of last week’s incessant rain - and tight bowling meant by the 12th over, Sri Lanka had only 49 runs on the board. To add to their woes, the Athapaththu at No.4 experiment failed leaving them in need of another middle-order fulcrum to guide the total to respectability.

Siriwardene stepped up to the plate. With only the lower-order for company, she opted a more pragmatic approach, knocking the ball in gaps to sneak quick runs. She managed a couple of fours and a six along

the way to push the total to 97.

Salma Khatun, the Bangladesh skipper, was hopeful of restricting the opposition under 120 ahead of the match. Her bowling unit had gone one better to keep Sri Lanka under 100. But Khatun had no specific memo for the batters.

They were two down in response without scoring a run.

Sanjida Islam was the recipient of a poor LBW decision off the first ball but her partner Ayasha Rahman wasn’t quick on the uptake to suggest a review.

Two balls later, Fargana Hoque reviewed her LBW decision but had to depart nevertheless because of umpire’s call. Udeshika Prabodhani had set the cat among the pigeons with her first over.

Bangladesh responded by going into their shells. A total lack of run-scoring intent meant they had only 28/4 at the half-way mark.

In all, they managed to score only three boundaries as the two senior Sri Lankan pros, Athapaththu and Siriwardene, combined to take five wickets between them to bowl

Bangladesh out for a sorry 72 .

With three points from as many games, Sri Lanka stay alive in the competition. They’ll play the hosts and defending champions Windies on November 17 in their final Group A fixture.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 97/7 in 20 overs (Shashikala Siriwardene 31; Jahanara Alam 3-21) beat Bangladesh 72 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 20; Chamari Athapaththu 3-17, Shashikala Siriwardene 2-8) by 25 runs.

(Cricbuzz)

West Indies captain Jason Holder … ruled out of Bangladesh series with injury.

WEST INDIES SCHEDULE IN BANGLADESH: ■ 1st Test – November 22 – Chittagong ■ 2nd Test – November 30 – Mirpur ■ 1st ODI – December 9 – Mirpur ■ 2nd ODI – December 11 – Mirpur ■ 3rd ODI – December 14 – Sylhet ■ 1st T20I – December 17 – Sylhet ■ 2nd T20I – December 20 – Mirpur ■ 3rd T20I – December 22 – Mirpurdies captain Jason Holder … ruled out of Bangladesh series with injury.

Rising Stars into final of MPL T20 competition

The Rising Stars Cricket Club will have over a week off before they play the final of the competition.

Shashikala Siriwardene top-scored with 31 and claimed 2 for 10 with the ball. © Getty

A HALF-century and solid medium pace bowling from all-rounder Shaquille Brisport spurred the Rising Stars Cricket Club to an exciting victory against Cold Fusion, in the first semi-final of the inaugural Major Premier League (MPL) T20 cricket competition.

The competition, which started with 16 teams, at several venues on the West Coast of Demerara, is now down to six.

Zeeburg have already advanced to the next semi-finals, but are awaiting their opponents, which will be determined by Tuesday after two additional games.

At the Meten-Meer-Zorg ground last Sunday, R. Dookie spanked an exciting half-century to lead Cold Fusion to 175.

Dookie, who scored 82 runs from 40 balls struck five sixes and six fours.

Brisport led the bowling attack for the eventual winners with 3-27, while Michael Richardson supported with 2-10.

Brisport then had to rescue the side after they were struggling at 96-5 from 14 overs. The all-rounder had to score at over 13 runs per over to carry his team home. He delivered, as he spanked 50 unbeaten runs in 23 deliveries. He smashed five fours and three sixes in the process.

Brian Austin supported with 35 runs from 24 balls (1x4, 2x6) as the winners claimed a victory in the last over.

Australia participate in ICC Cricket for Good School and Community Outreach Page

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The Australian Women’s cricketers enjoy a friendly game of cricket with the students of East Ruimveldt Secondary School. (Rawle Toney photo)

GFF ‘Super 16’ year-end tournament to kick off December 10 Page

25

… UDFA asks for Linden clubs to be exempted

FLASHBACK! GDF celebrate their GFF Super 16 2-0 title win over Grove Hi-Tech on January 1, 2018 at the Leonora Track and Field Facility. (Kaieteur News photo)

A student of East Ruimveldt Secondary grabs the attention of some of the ‘Aussie’ women as she displays some arts and craft made by students of the institution.

(Delano Williams photo)

Holder out of Bangladesh Tests with shoulder injury »

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THURSSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018