Guyana chronicle e paper 12 16 2017

NAACIE clinches 6.5 percent pay hike for P GPL staff 1a2ge

No. 105128

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2017

Price: $80

267.1B budget approved (VAT Inclusive)

–– opposition fails in late bid to have US$18M signing bonus included in estimates … studies to re-establish development bank for next year

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‘I don’t accept it was illegal’

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President says, but if advised otherwise, willing to correct Exxon bonus issue

High Court quashes parking meter by-laws Parliament security enhanced –Ramnarine says Santa intrusion‘just a prank’ Page 8

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Happy Holidays! Management and staff of the Guyana Chronicle Friday evening ushered in the yuletide season with its inaugural Christmas Tree Light-up and social in the compound of the newspaper company at Bel Air. Scores of children following the switching on of the lights were presented with gifts, complements of Mrs Geeta Chandan-Edmond Chairperson of the company and were also entertained by Santa Claus. The company intends to make the event an annual one. (Adrian Narine photo)

President parts ways with three advisors Page 14

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

‘I don’t accept it was illegal’ President says, but if advised otherwise, willing to correct Exxon bonus issue

By Ariana Gordon

WHILE President David Granger does not believe the government’s move not to place the US$18M signing bonus received from U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil into the Consolidated Fund is illegal, if so proven his administration will act accordingly.

Government has placed the money into an escrow account at the Bank of Guyana (BOG) until such time as it is ready to access the funds, which have been earmarked for the payment of legal fees if the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy is referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

US$15M has been assigned for legal fees in the event the matter is referred to the ICJ, while the remaining US$3M will be set aside for the funding of urgent training of Guyanese in areas relative to the oil-and-gas industry.

Asked at his first press conference for the year, whether he accepts that money being paid to Guyana and not placed into the Consolidated Fund is illegal, Mr Granger said, “I do not accept that it was illegal; I would not knowingly do something which is not lawful.”

“As I pointed out, the absence of disclosure does not necessarily mean the presence of deceit,” he said, stressing that his government had good reason for not disclosing the signing bonus which occurred in 2016.

The President made it clear too that no crime has been

committed or proven. “It was a course of action which was recommended and I feel where the money is located at present would be insulated from being misused or stolen. I don’t believe there is any illegality; I don’t think there is any corruption or any intention to misuse that money.”

Notwithstanding his position, the Head-of-State said if advised by lawyers that government’s move “does not conform with the financial regulations, we will comply with the ruling of any court or with legal advice. But at present the money is safe, it belongs to the Guyanese people, it was intended to be used for a specific purpose and that purpose has not been met as yet; we need it there, that’s why we put it there, but the money is safe,” President Granger assured.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan this week said that the US$18 million signing bonus from ExxonMobil will be paid into the Consolidated Fund whenever government decides to use the funds for the identified purpose. “The $18M is in a special account at the Bank of Guyana. It’s there because it’s designed for a special purpose. Whenever that special purpose is activated, the monies will first go to the Consolidated Fund,” he was quoted as telling the Department of Public Information (DPI).

After the money is deposited into the Consolidated Fund, Jordan said government would go to Parliament

President David Granger addresses members of the media for the first time this year. (Delano Williams photo) with a supplementary budget to pay those who need to be paid, so that it will be reflected in the government’s estimates.

Additionally, the Finance Minister explained that the foreign currency would be sold to the BOG before it is deposited in the Consolidated Fund, which would increase the Central Bank’s reserves.

But the move by the government is reportedly being investigated by the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma.

In a December 13, 2017 article titled, “Auditor General probing gov’t failure to put Exxon signing bonus into Consolidated Fund,” the auditor general referenced Article 216 of the Constitution of Guyana, which states that “all revenues or other moneys raised or received

by Guyana (not being revenues or other moneys that are payable, by or under an Act of Parliament, into some other fund established for any specific purpose or that

may, by or under such an Act, be retained by the authority that received them for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that authority) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.”

He promised to seek confirmation from the oil company on the signing bonus and also find out whether any other monies have been paid by the company to the government. “…So, very soon I am determined to write Exxon, because I want to be sure that it is not only this amount that was paid. I want to know if any other amount was paid for any other purpose,” Sharma was quoted as saying in the Stabroek News.

There has been much discourse in the past few weeks about the signing bonus and it was last Friday that Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman disclosed that government did receive the money. He did not disclose the amount. Previously, the Finance Minister had

said that the government did not receive a signing bonus.

On Sunday, ExxonMobil’s Country Manager Rod Henson disclosed that it did pay over the US$18M and noted that signing bonuses are not unusual in the sector. Government has since committed to releasing its agreement with the oil company by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, when questioned on the government’s reputation with respect to accountability, transparency and good governance, given the discourse surrounding the signing bonus, President Granger said, “I think the government has been very cautious, we have been taking our time and we would be very careful to make sure that none of our officials are compromised.”

He noted that he wants what’s best for Guyana and so reputation aside, his administration is working towards having a good regulatory framework, so much so

that should any company be found in breach of local laws, they will face the full brunt of the law.

“I am not afraid of reputation; let’s see what happens on the ground and if people break the laws they would be brought before the court; and if those persons who break the law are in the government of Guyana or within Guyanese jurisdiction, they will be brought before the courts,” the Head-of-State told reporters. Additionally, in his opening statement, the President said his government will continue to build its institutional capacity through the adoption of appropriate regulatory and legislative frameworks for the sustainable management of the country’s natural resources, which includes the emerging petroleum sector.

“We are seeking the best advice to enable us to adopt the best international practices,” President Granger assured.

267.1B budget approved

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

–– opposition fails in late bid to have US$18M signing bonus included in estimates … studies to re-establish development bank for next year

By Alva Solomon

AS the sunlight dimmed on Friday afternoon, the 2018 National Budget of $267.1B was passed in the National Assembly despite the opposition last ditch effort to stall proceedings by introducing a motion to

details the estimates for all ministries, was then tabled and passed in the House. Friday’s sitting of the National Assembly was delayed by several hours from its scheduled 10:00hrs start after the Opposition requested, by way of motion, for the US$18M to be included in the budget.

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan answers questions posed by the Opposition in the National Assembly have the US$18M Signing Bonus between the Government and ExxonMobil reflected in the estimates.

Following two weeks of debates and scrutiny and instances of drama, Finance Minister Winston Jordon reported the conclusion of the consideration of the budget’s estimates.

The Appropriations Bill 15/2017, which

After the delay, the Opposition’s motion on the bonus was struck down by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland on the grounds of urgency, noting that the Opposition approached the House for the motion’s consideration on the final day of the examination of the budget estimates. During the afternoon session, the estimates for the

Ministry of Education and later, the Ministry of Finance were examined. Education Minister, Nicolette Henry was tasked with providing answers for several questions posed

by Opposition Members of Parliament, Priya Manickchand and Gail Teixeira and their colleagues who grilled the subject minister extensively on monies for projects budgeted for 2018.

In some instances the same answer was provided by the minister for questions relevant to the Department of Culture which now falls under the Ministry of the Presidency.

The questioning came after sums budgeted in 2017 were higher than those for 2018. Minister Henry was quick to point out on several occasions that the drop in allocated sums were related to the Department of Culture’s relocation. Minister Henry was also questioned extensively on sums allocated for the nursery schools as well as for primary education.

She maintained that the sums budgeted were sufficient to undertake the ministry’s mandate in 2018.

Minister Jordan in providing answers to the Opposition was critical of the Guyana Revenue Authority’s Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS). He said the project has cost “us a fortune and it still doesn’t work.” The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is implementing another system which Minister Jordon noted will improve collection of customs charges. He said that the $1B TRIPS software “has really and truly never worked.”

The introduction of the TRIPS began in 2006, in time for the introduction of the Value-added Tax (VAT) and the Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN) Registration which was aimed at improving the efficiency of the Guyana Revenue Authority.

Minister Jordan also noted that several studies will be undertaken by the Finance Ministry in 2018, among them a market study for the re-establishing of a National Development Bank. That study will be done at a budgeted cost of US $ 75,000 over a three months period.

Budgeted allocations for several gov-

Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry as she answered questions relevant to the Education Ministry’s budgeted allocations for 2018 (Adrian Narine photos) ernment agencies in 2018 are as follows: *Ministry of the Presidency –$9.4B *Office of the Prime Minister -$839M *Ministry of Finance -$23.6B *Ministry of Foreign Affairs -$5.5B *Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs-$2.2B *Ministry of Agriculture -$16.8B *Ministry of Business -$2.1B *Ministry of Natural Resources -$1.1B *Ministry of Public Infrastructure -$32B *Ministry of Education -$19.9B *Ministry of Communities -$6.5B *Ministry of Public Health -$23.4B *Ministry of Social Protection -$16.9B *Ministry of Public Security -$18.6B *Ministry of Legal Affairs -$1B *Ministry of Public Telecommunications -$4.6B

Harmon calls out Bishop Edghill for lying MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon has labelled as “mischievous” an article published in Friday’s edition of the Guyana Times Newspaper under the headline “For Ministry of the Presidency $100 million allocated for bulletproof vehicles purchased on credit: government roasted for alleged breach of accountability.”

Minister Harmon said the article is at best mischievous and seeks to insinuate the existence of corrupt practices

devoid of accountability and transparency as reported by Member of Parliament Juan Edghill, who is currently on suspension.

“Permit me to state unequivocally that such a statement is erroneous and misleading… at no time since this government came into office after the May 2015 elections was the ministry allocated $100 million for the purchase of vehicles,” Minister Harmon said.

He said the facts, which can be

confirmed by the Ministry of Finance will show that the Ministry of the Presidency had in fact inherited a fleet of vehicles from the former administration, including those used in the presidential fleet. He said on more than one occasion, the VIP cars both in the Presidential and Prime Minister’s fleet developed mechanical problems.

“The Administration took a firm decision to phase out the old and aged vehicles over a period of time, in addi-

tion to purchasing reconditioned and/ or new VIP vehicles to complement the President’s fleet and to be used exclusively for state visits of other Heads of States.”

Minister Harmon said vehicles purchased with the 2016 budgetary allocation have been delivered and are in the possession of the Ministry of the Presidency. He pointed out that those vehicles are in no way bullet proof, as stated in the article. (DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Israeli troops kill four Palestinians -- wound 160 in protests over Jerusalem GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians and wounded 150 others with live fire on Friday, medical officials said, as protests over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital entered a second week.

Most of the casualties were on the Gaza Strip border, where thousands of Palestinians gathered to hurl rocks at Israeli soldiers beyond the fortified fence.

Medics said two protesters, one of them wheelchair-bound, were killed and 150 wounded.

In the occupied West Bank, another area where Palestinians are seeking statehood along with adjacent East Jerusalem, medics said two protesters were killed, and 10 wounded by Israeli gunfire.

One of the dead was

a man who Israeli police troopers said was shot after he stabbed a member of their unit. Reuters witnesses said the Palestinian held a knife, and wore what looked like a bomb belt. A Palestinian medic who helped evacuate the man for treatment said the belt was fake.

Palestinians, and the wider Arab and Muslim world, were incensed at Trump’s December 6 announcement, which reversed decades of U.S. policy reticence on Jerusalem, a city where both Israelis and Palestinians want sovereignty.

Washington’s European allies and Russia have also voiced worries about Trump’s decision.

Gaza’s dominant Hamas Islamists, who reject coexistence with Israel, called last week for a new Palestinian uprising, but any such mass-mobilisation has yet to

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be seen in the West Bank or East Jerusalem.

There have been almost nightly Gazan rocket launches into Israel, so far without casualties. Israel has responded with air strikes on Hamas facilities, one of which killed two gunmen.

The Israeli military said that on Friday, about 3,500 Palestinians demonstrated near the Gaza border fence.

“During the violent riots, IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldiers fired selectively towards main instigators,” the military said in a statement.

A military spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the wheelchair-bound protestor, Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, 29, who was a regular at such demonstrations. In media interviews, he said he had lost both his legs in a 2008 Israeli missile strike in Gaza.

In the West Bank, the Is-

raeli military said that about 2,500 Palestinians took part in riots, rolling flaming tyres and throwing fire bombs and rocks at soldiers and border police.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, an area laden with Jewish, Muslim and Christian shrines, from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed it in a move not recognised internationally.

Palestinians hope that part of the city will be the capital of a future independent state, and Palestinian leaders say Trump’s move is a serious blow to a moribund peace process.

Israel has welcomed Trump’s announcement as recognising political reality and biblical Jewish roots in Jerusalem.

U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Israel, as well as Egypt, next week.

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Protesters injured in Honduras clashes --as electoral crisis rumbles on

T E G U C I G A L PA (Reuters) - Over two dozen people were injured in clashes on Friday between Honduran security forces and protesters demanding a vote recount for last month’s contentious and still unresolved presidential election, according to the Red Cross.

Supporters of the centre-left Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, led

by TV star Salvador Nasralla, set fire to tyres across the country, blocking major thoroughfares in the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the second city of San Pedro Sula.

Police and soldiers responded with tear gas to rock-throwing protesters who set fire to a vehicle for carrying soldiers in Tegucigalpa.

Near San Pedro Sula, protesters blocked a road leading to the key Puerto Cortes port, before being moved on by security forces.

The Honduran branch of the Interna-

tional Committee of the Red Cross said that 27 people had been injured in the clashes.

At least five of those injured in the northern city of Villanueva, near San Pedro Sula, had been shot, it said.

Honduras has been roiled by political instability in the wake of the November 26 vote, which remains unresolved. Nasralla trails conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez by 1.6 percentage points, according to the official count, which has been questioned by the two main opposition parties and a wide swathe of the diplomatic corps.

Honduras’ electoral tribunal said on Sunday that a partial recount of votes showed broadly the same result as previously, maintaining Hernandez’s lead. It has until December 26 to declare a winner.

Last week, Honduras’ two main opposition parties presented formal requests to annul the results of the election.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

St. Lucia mourns death of cultural icon CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia arts and cultural fraternity is mourning the death of 87-year-old Theresa Hall who died died here late Thursday after a short illness.

In a statement, the St. Lucia government described Hall as “a true pioneer of Culture”, saying that her “passion and commitment to culture and dance in particular, spans decades and has marked her as one of St. Lucia’s premier

Cultural icon, Theresa Hall

cultural activists.”

“She was an inspiration to many young persons who she mentored while teaching and promoting the various art forms. This cultural icon will be sorely missed,” the government said in a statement.

The Cultural Development Foundation (CDF), in extending its condolences, said that the island had lost “a passionate and dedicated daughter”, whom they also described as “a devoted lover of St. Lucian culture, song,

CDB to help Antigua, Barbuda recover --in wake of Hurricane Irma

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has approved US$29M in funding to the Antigua and Barbuda government to assist with recovery efforts after the passage of Hurricane Irma in September.

The Bank said the funds will be used to rehabilitate and reconstruct critical infrastructure in the transportation, education, water and sanitation, and agriculture sectors.

Hurricane Irma impacted the twin-island nation on Sep-

tember 6, 2017, making landfall in Barbuda as a Category 5 hurricane, destroying housing, crops, livestock and fishing vessels, and also severely impacted the island’s water supply.

“The destruction caused

by Hurricane Irma adversely impacted the lives of many citizens of Antigua and Barbuda. At CDB, we worked very closely with our in-country counterparts to develop the interventions captured in this project, which will support the government’s efforts towards a comprehensive and sustainable approach to the

redevelopment process, as it aims to ‘build back better’.

“We expect the project to significantly contribute to the restoration of livelihoods that were adversely impacted by the passage of the hurricane.

The outcome for Antigua and Barbuda will not only be more resilient infrastructure, but also more resilient institutions and people,” said Director of Projects at CDB, Daniel Best.

The Bank said the project has several components, including reconstruction of 11km of road, as well as the

reconstruction and rehabilitation of education institutions in both Antigua and Barbuda, and construction of teacher accommodation in Barbuda.

CDB said it had previously provided a US$200,000 Emergency Relief Grant and an Immediate Response Loan in the amount of US$750,000 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

In addition, the Bank has approved a loan of US$11.8M to assist the government in meeting its financial obligations to external partners.

dance and traditional dress.”

The former schoolteacher, whose contribution to national development included the organisation of arts and cultural events such as the Primary School Quadrille Festival and the National Youth Pageant, received the island’s highest award, The Piton Gold Medal (SLPM) in 1995, and in 2007 was the recipient of the British Empire Medal (BEM).

In 1990, she formed the island’s premier dance group,

The Helen Folk Dancers, and was also instrumental in establishing the first dance group at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. “ M a y h e r f a m i l y, friends, acquaintances and all who loved her find the strength to cope with her passing. Let her memories and the virtues which she shared during her time with us comfort us as we each work towards leaving behind a legacy to be proud of,” the CDF noted.

Inmates threaten to burn down Haitian jail

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Prisoners at the Commissariat of Petit-Goâve jail, south- west of here, Friday threatened to set fire to the building if the authorities do not adequately deal with overcrowding and a shortage of food at the penal institution.

The building, which is supposed to house 60 prisoners, now has a population of 224, and the angry prisoners, speaking on Radio Préférence here, said they are worried about sanitation conditions as well.

“We are hungry. This morning we were given something of poor quality that we refused to eat,” one detainee told the radio station, with others warning, “If we are not given food, we will set fire.”

The police have stepped up surveillance, but the detainees have described the holding cells as inhuman, with some prisoners seriously ill and needing to be hospitalised.

They also fear that some of the prisoners may be carrying various diseases, including the HIV/AIDS virus.

ECLAC projects moderate recovery for Caribbean economies THE economies of Latin America and the Caribbean are seen experiencing a moderate recovery in 2018 and growing 2.2% next year, after notching 1.3% growth on average in 2017, ECLAC indicated on Thursday upon releasing its report Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2017.

These projections for economic activity in the region come about in a more favorable international context than in the last few years. According to the report, in 2018 it is expected that the global economy will expand at a rate close to that of 2017 (around 3%) and that emerging economies will show greater dynamism than developed ones. In the monetary sphere, the current situation of ample liquidity and low international interest rates is seen holding steady.

In addition, domestic demand will play an important role in the acceleration of growth in 2018, although with variations among its components. Private consumption continues to be the motor of domestic demand but in 2018 investment will make a greater contribution, thanks to a recovery in gross fixed capital formation, ECLAC indicated.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, gave a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile to unveil the document, in which the regional United Nations

body analyzes the economies’ performance and updates its latest growth projections for countries (which were released last October). It also provides recommendations to foster development with greater inclusion, equality and environmental sustainability in the region.

“Although there is reduced fiscal space in the region, we need to promote active public policies to sustain the expansion cycle.

These include strengthening regulation, productive development, tax collection and intraregional trade,” ECLAC’s most senior authority stated. “Spending that has a greater impact on growth and inequality must be prioritized, along with avoiding sharp adjustments in public investment to protect growth in the medium term.”

Despite the more favorable international context, ECLAC noted that some challenges and latent risks persist that could affect the consolidation of growth in the medium term. In the financial arena, there is uncertainty regarding normalization of the monetary conditions that have been implemented or announced by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan. This is compounded by the trend toward greater financial deregulation (laws to reform Wall Street and consumer protection in the United States).

A possible tax reform in the United States could bring with it greater financial volatility due to an increase in capital flows to that country. There are also

geopolitical risks, especially those stemming from the increased protectionism seen in some countries and reflected in growing support for anti-globalization parties in some European nations, as well as last year’s vote in favor of the Brexit in the United Kingdom.

The 2018 regional growth figure can be partly explained by greater dynamism in Brazil’s economic growth (2%, compared with 0.9% in 2017). In addition, several countries that were growing at moderate rates will see their economic activity accelerate (for example, Chile will rise from a rate of 1.5% in 2017 to 2.8%; Colombia, from 1.8% to 2.6%; and Peru, from 2.5% to 3.5%). In Latin America, Panama will be the economy that marks the highest growth rate next year (5.5%), followed by the Dominican Republic (5.1%) and Nicaragua (5.0%).

Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela will post figures of 1%, 1.3% and -5.5%, respectively, while the rest of Latin America’s economies will expand between 2% and 4%.

In the analysis by subregion, ECLAC foresees greater dynamism next year in South American economies, which are expect to grow 2% (compared with the 0.8% recorded in 2017). Central America, meanwhile, should have a growth rate of 3.6%, above the 3.3% seen in 2017. The Englishand Dutch-speaking Caribbean is forecast to grow 1.5% on average in 2018 (compared with virtually no growth in 2017), boosted in part by reconstruction spending after the Irma and Maria hurri-

canes caused damages to some of the island countries.

In labour matters, it is expected that the unemployment rate will start to decline as of 2018, in keeping with the improvement in economic growth. Between 2016 and 2017, urban unemployment rose from 8.9% to 9.4% due to an increase in the labor participation rate and stagnation in the employment rate. In 2018, unemployment is seen declining to 9.2% due to a rise in employment related to greater aggregate demand, the report indicates.

In its Preliminary Overview 2017, ECLAC recommends that countries expand their fiscal space in accordance with each of their realities and based on differentiated tasks. For example, in countries with low tax collection, tax activism can be maintained, while in all nations officials should try to reduce fiscal avoidance and evasion – which totaled $340 billion dollars in 2015 – by strengthening tax administration. The organisation also indicates that countries must broaden international cooperation mechanisms, evaluate spaces for the use of public credit (depending on the debt/

GDP ratio of each country), strengthen the provision of public goods with high economic and social yields (such as infrastructure, social protection, health and education), and increase the investment coefficient through public-pri-

vate partnerships and the redesign of tax incentives for industrial policies. They must also improve the mechanisms for administering public spending and accountability, and safeguard public investment, among other measures.

Editorial

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Decent work and respect for labour conventions THE development of any society is contingent on its most vital and valuable resource -- its human capital.

Workers and employers share a symbiotic relationship wherein, without the input of the former, the wheels of production, distribution and consumption would grind to a halt, and the latter -- with their goods and services – are compromised; and even breaking even, much less being profitable, becomes daunting.

As such, a stable industrial environment redounds to the benefit of the employer, worker, and society as a whole; and in pursuit of a nation’s holistic development, it becomes incumbent upon government to foster and maintain that conducive environment. Yet, within recent years, there have been serious breakdowns in the worker/employer relationship, evident in in-

stances wherein workers were not paid the stipulated national minimum wage; or were not paid at all for their labour; or were deprived of holiday, sick and vacation payments; or were fearful to speak out, lest they be fired; or were forced to sign in wage books for amounts greater than what they had received; or had NIS contributions deducted from their emoluments and not paid over to the scheme; or were made to work under hazardous and unhealthy conditions; or were occasionally forced to work in conditions that were hostile to stipulated legal requirements.

Thus, Friday’s event where Guyana signed onto the International Labour Organisation’s Decent Work Country Programme for 2017-2021 is a welcomed move. The programme, which ran its first phase during 20122015, is propelled by the collaborative efforts

of the ILO Decent Work Team and the Ministry of Social Protection. As was observed by General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis, the previous administration mismanaged the first phase of the programme which he termed as “something set out to deceive workers and citizens” because while it was promoted, it was never activated.

Lewis recommended, that in this phase, the Labour Department should be adequately staffed in order to properly discharge its duties and suggested that a public awareness and education programme be launched to attract persons to come on board with the project.

Decent work promotes fair treatment of workers and respect for their rights. It is troubling when workers are made to labour for a longer period than the stipulated eight-hour work

day without being paid overtime, as required by law; or are denied their legally mandated break periods, in addition to being denied their constitutional right to join a trade union of their choice or to engage in collective bargaining.

The right to work in an environment where safety and health are assured is enshrined in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, whose stipulations include responsibility of the employer to provide safe working conditions which include, where necessary, safety gear such as goggles, safety boots and respirators. The right to join a union of choice and to engage in collective bargaining are protected in Article 147 of the Guyana Constitution. The responsibility of the employer to deduct and, in a timely manner, pay over NIS contributions for workers is clearly stated under the

NIS Law. As a member of the International Labour O rg a n i s a t i o n ( I L O ) , Guyana has ratified a number of conventions; therefore, any attempt in violating workers’ rights and employers abrogating their responsibilities will be more than passing concerns.

A country cannot trade and develop if its activities are not conducted within its prescribed laws and international standards.

Its citizens cannot feel valued -- neither would they want to give of their labour for the nation’s development-- when they are treated as second-class citizens. Every agreement, be it regional or international, carries a basic requirement that all productive activities

be conducted within minimum, acceptable international standards – the bedrock of Guyana’s laws.

For instance, the Trade Agreement between CARIFORUM and the European Union stipulates that the Region will produce its products respecting ILO Core Labour Standards. These standards include no forced labour, no child labour, safe working conditions, the right to collective bargaining, and freedom to join a trade union of choice.

These tenets are enshrined in local laws, and violation of any carries consequences of Guyana being citied and our products facing rejection in the international market.

The president set a wonderful example Dear Sir,

WHAT do our teachers say to the nation’s students at a time like this?

What do parents tell their children that explains the lawlessness displayed in Parliament recently?

Would that explanation simply be: ‘Oh, politics is a nasty business and that disgraceful behaviour is to be expected’?

No, that could never be the explanation if we

consider ourselves to be a civilised society. In civilised societies, politicians take the opportunity that they are given to serve their constituents very seriously and they make every effort possible to set the example of decency, integrity, honesty, morality, incorruptibility, etc.

Since the age of the NeoPPP (after the era of Cheddi), the behavioural landscape in PPP politics has shifted away from honour, integrity, morality etc. and

has taken on a dark, lawless and shameless character.

Political power for Jagdeo and his sorry associates is the cherished end and it doesn’t matter what means they employ to achieve that prize. We are all too familiar with the sick examples of Jagdeo’s numerous ‘cuss down’ episodes and his extra-judicial, corrupt and other unlawful aptness. And we see that behaviour mirrored in the behaviour of his associates, as if lawlessness and

shamelessness are somehow a New Age form of political strategy. That strategy, novel and innovative as it may be, has no hope of succeeding here in Guyana. We see Manichand’s tears and hear her false claims of police assault and abuse, and we pity her for her high intellect but her susceptibility to Jagdeo’s lead, as we pity all the other brilliant but sorry associates of this broken man. Yes, it is true that the PPP has some very bright

young and not-so- young members (and some dull young and not-so-young ones as well) and Guyana is left in a state of wonder as to how these people could consciously continue to sin their political souls behind Jagdeo’s flawed, failed and forlorn political philosophy.

The president set a wonderful example a few weeks ago when the PPP attempted to disrupt his address to Parliament, by remaining oblivious to their terrible

behaviour and completing his address there and to all Guyana.

Where would we be if the situation were reversed and the leader of the PPP was disrupted in that manner? That is an imponderable that can never be calculated, because of the despicable record of behaviour that the PPP has accumulated to date.

ANONYMOUS

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday December 16, 2017

Phase 2 of decent work programme launched

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…PM says budget lays basis for social protection

“DECENT Work has to do with the protection not only of jobs and the creation of better jobs. It has to be the protection of social cohesion, protection of those who made a contribution to the society,” says Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at the launch and official signing of the Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana 20172021, hosted at the Marriott Hotel on Friday. The programme, which ran its first phase during 2012-2015, is propelled by the collaborative efforts of the Interna-

that within the last two and a half years, the government has made advancements in the state sector, which now sees working people receiving an improvement on their wages by 49%. Senior citizens, he said, have also seen their pensions being increased by a similar percentage throughout the years while 72,000 persons were removed from the income tax bracket.

“The state has a responsibility to ensure that there is an easing, a lessening of the burden of the working people and those who have reached the age beyond working,” Nagamootoo de-

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo addressing the gathering on the Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana

support of all stakeholders involved. “We are grateful for this work that is being done. We’re guided by you constantly as a partner, the Minister began. “There is much more work to be done in Guyana to improve our job creation, to improve the investment climate, to be able to build perfect partnership.”

The signing of the Decent Work Country Programme was done by the Prime Minister, Nagamootoo; Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with the responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott; Chief Labour Officer of the Ministry of Social Protection, Charles Ogle; General Secretary of the Guyana Trades

the previous administration accountable for their mismanagement of Phase One of the programme which he termed as “something set out to deceive workers and citizens” because while it was promoted, it was never activated. Lewis recommended, that in this phase, the Labour Department should be adequately staffed in order to properly discharge its duties and suggested that a public awareness and education programme be launched to attract persons to come on board with the project.

Executive Director of CAGI, Goolsarran, shared some of Lewis’ views, acknowledging that there was

(from left) Director of International Labour Organization (IOL), Claudia Coenjaerts; General Secretary of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), Dawan Nagasar; Executive Director of Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry Limited (CAGI), Samuel Goolsarran; General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis; Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with the responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, sign the Decent Work Country Programme

tional Labour Organization (ILO) Decent Work Team and the Ministry of Social Protection.

Currently in its second phase, it will focus primarily on improving working conditions, preparing the environment for enterprises and fostering cooperation among employers, workers and the government.

During the opening ceremony, the Prime Minister told the gathering that this year’s budgetary allocation lays the basis for the social protection of workers and senior citizens, providing them with the opportunity to benefit from their contributions and to live a meaningful life with dignity.

Nagamootoo elaborated

clared. “All of us must partner; the business, the state, the labour, to ensure that we do better.”

Nagamootoo also spoke to the gathering on the issue of gender equality. He stated that the matter must not only be a slogan, but Guyanese should strive to create an environment where women can be economically strong and independent, resisting the onslaught of male domination.

“Statistics show that there are 750 million people, mostly women, who are working and are still unable to put enough food on the table for their families,” the Prime Minister noted. He added that under-employment is a major factor which

contributes to the inability of women to exercise the right to equality in relationships with their gender counterparts.

Nagamootoo addressed the body imploring that the country needed to move ahead from fighting amongst itself to focusing on supporting the advancement and improvement of the nation.

“We should be able to focus on the national agenda, where we want to take our society, how we want to improve the lives of our people and how we can make Guyana a country where there is sustainable livelihood based on the availability of decent work, based on the availability of an environment where working people are considered to be an important part of our so-

cial development and not just wage workers,” the Prime Ministers commented.

The Prime Minister related that the absence of database systems, which can work to provide useful information to persons looking to invest in Guyana, is a hindrance for job creation.

“It must be part and parcel for our government to have open data, and the open data must be that Guyanese and investors must know what are the resources available in the land… that it is good for Agriculture, it is good for aquaculture, it is good for mineral exploitation or extraction,” Nagamootoo recommended.

He also expressed his gratitude to ILO for partnering with Guyana, a partnership which requires the

Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis; General Secretary of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), Dawan Nagasar and Executive Director of Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry Limited (CAGI), Samuel Goolsarran Lewis in brief remarks said that while his organisation is committed to the efforts of supporting the programme, he hoped that past mistakes would not be repeated. “We cannot sit down and say that, ‘Oh we had a good day…we launched the programme’, and then we allow it to get dust on the desk and shelves,” Lewis cautioned.

The GTUC General Secretary says that he holds

very little follow up during 2012-2015. He said that the second phase of the programme is very challenging, providing a great amount of research data and solid analysis of the country’s situation and as such political dialog going forwards is a necessity.

The Decent Work Country Programme for Guyana, launched yesterday, was developed with the aim of focusing on promoting employment and employability, enhancing fundamental principles and rights at work, social protection and social dialogue.

Guyana is the first of its Caribbean counterparts to sign on to the second phase of the project.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Sovereign Wealth Fund –– Minister Trotman closer to reality

DETAILS of the long-anticipated Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) could be released to the public as early as the first quarter of 2018, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has said.

Guyana has been receiving economic advice from the Oceans and Natural Resources Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat on the drafting of laws and establishment of the institutions and fiscal rules for the SWF. Speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI) on Thursday, Minister Trotman said the government was part of a workshop hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, where a framework for the SWF was settled upon. The next step, he explained, is taking the Bill to Cabinet and later to the public by the end of March of next year.

Minister Trotman said he is confident of the steps taken thus far, particularly because Guyana is ahead of many countries in this process. “While Guyana has not yet produced,

it has the beginnings of the framework so that when production comes, the country is ready.

Every bit of legislation pertaining to the sector will be shared with the public before we attempt to pass [it]. Even in parliament, there will be a provision for more scrutiny,” he said.

Economic Adviser, Oceans and Natural Resources Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr. Daniel Wilde, said he is impressed that the Government of Guyana is setting up a SWF so early in the process, even before there is any substantial production.

According to him, there are many countries in the world that have been substantially producing for many years but have not set up SWFs until they were well into the process. “The fact that the government here has had the foresight to look at the long-term and put the law and institutions and fiscal rules in place well before commercial production should be commended,” the adviser said.

Dr. Wilde said the team now has a solid draft which will see realisation of the three objectives of the fund, including short-term stabilisation, substantial inter-generational saving and having enough money for the long-term economic development and its ongoing spending commitments. He said the workshop was well received and saw participants from the Bank of Guyana (BoG), Ministry of Finance, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ministry of Natural Re-

sources and the Auditor General’s Office. A SWF is defined as pools of money derived from a country’s reserves, which are set aside for investment purposes that will benefit the country’s economy and citizens.

The funding for a Sovereign Wealth Fund comes from central bank reserves that accumulate because of budget and trade surpluses, and even from revenue generated from the exports of natural resources.

High Court quashes parking meter by-laws

By Telesha Ramnarine HIGH Court Judge Naresh Harnanan on Friday took a decision that essentially renders the parking meter by-laws null and void, thus putting a pause on the controversial project for which re-negotiations was only recently completed.

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was this week expected to announce to the public new rates that Smart City Solutions (SCS) had agreed to charge for parking in the city. SCS is the overseas company that the City Council granted a concession to install parking meters in Georgetown. In fact, Chairman of the re-negotiating committee, Councillor Akeem Peter had only days ago told the Guyana Chronicle that SCS has agreed to now charge for time instead of for space, and that he did not want to get into details as top city officials were about to release new information to the public.

Last February, subsequent to a legal challenge of the by-laws by New Building Society (NBS), Justice Brassington Reynolds ordered that “an order or rule nisi certiorari be issued directed to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not be issued to quash his approval and/ or decision to approve the Parking Meter By-Laws made under the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 made on or about the 23rd day of January, 2017 in that the said approval or decision to approve was of no legal effect and was made unlawfully and in breach of statute.”

Member of the Movement against Parking Meters (MAPM) Don Singh told Guyana Chronicle on Friday that the movement is overjoyed and happy and feels vindicated. He said this is the reason the MAPM had been petitioning the M&CC to wait on the outcome of the court matter before continuing to advance the project.

M&CC had however voted to begin a fresh process of negotiations with SCS. Last September, 13 of 25 city councillors voted in favour of setting up a new committee,

consisting of two members of the public, to re-negotiate with SCS. The contract that M&CC had entered into with SCS came under heavy criticism from some city councillors who called for a complete revocation of it, while some others had suggested waiting on the outcome of the court before proceeding. Ultimately, they reasoned, the M&CC will have to go with the decision of the court regardless of what the Council had then decided. The majority nevertheless voted in favour of starting to re-negotiate.

On that occasion, the MAPM member had told this publication that the M&CC in effect voted to go ahead with re-negotiating an illegal contract. “Now I don’t know how that works. We at MAPM are one hundred per cent sure that the court case will justify our position that monopoly laws were broken, procurement laws were broken and the general contract is illegal. So they will be faced with further problems down the road by taking this action.”

Other MAPM member, Luana Falconer commented that it was shocking to see that it did not matter to 13 councillors that the contract with SCS is illegal. “Where in the world is negotiating an illegal contract ok?

These people are not thinking. This is madness. Everything about the whole process was wrong,” she said.

Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikarran had said that the project lacked transparency from the beginning, was not open to public scrutiny and should have been shelved immediately. “In May 2016, the Council was informed that the contract was signed for the implementation of parking meters. To my knowledge, at no time do I recall ever discussing, much less voting, on a proposal to implement this. I didn’t even see a contract until much later on.”

Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor, Sherod Duncan, along with People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Councillors, Bishram Kuppen and Khame Sharma also called for the complete revocation of the contract.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Guyana optimistic border controversy will be sent to ICJ

GUYANA remains hopeful that by December 31, Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres will refer the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a final ruling.

“As far as the process is concerned we are hopeful that the current Secretary General will do what the previous SG Ban-Ki-Moon had committed to do. That is, if there was no satisfactory progress between Venezuela and Guyana, by the end of this year, the matter would be referred to the International Court,” said President David Granger.

The President was at the time responding to questions on the way forward on the border controversy. He reminded that the UN SGappointed Dag Nylander, his personal representative on the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, to work with both Guyana and Venezuela with a view to resolving the border controversy.

Both countries have steadfastly maintained their positions but the Guyanese leader said he is hopeful that the current UN SG will. in keeping with the tenets of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, agree to refer the border controversy to

the ICJ. According to the Agreement, if significant progress is not made in arriving at a full agreement for the settlement of the controversy at the level of the Good Offices process, then the ICJ shall consider and rule on the matter.

Venezuela is claiming that the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award, which had given more than 90 per cent of an area to then British Guiana (now Guyana), is null and void. President Granger said his government continues to engage in the renewed Good Offices process, noting there is strong national call for a juridical settlement of the controversy which has im-

President David Granger paired the development of the country. Over the past

two and a half years, government has been seeking to reach a peaceful resolution to the border controversy.

“We hope that the current Secretary-General would fulfill that requirement which was laid down

by Mr. Bank Ki-Moon , but hope is not a good planning strategy and we are working on it,” said President Granger who noted that as far as the negotiations are concerned, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge continues to engage with UN SG’s personal representative of the Secretary -General and the SG, himself. It was in September that President Granger met with

the new UN SG and he said, “If necessary, I will go and meet him again.”

“This monkey has been our backs for 51 years and we hope to go in to the New Year with a very clear idea that the matter could be resolved under the law,” the Head-of-State said noting that Guyana has every legal right in the matter as Venezuela has failed to advance any evidence to show that the 1899 Arbitral Award is null and void. Guyana strongly believes that the juridical course of action is the lone means through which the matter can be put to rest.

Trio to spend Christmas behind bars –– for robbery under arms

THREE men were on Friday remanded to prison by City Magistrate Leron Daly for robbing three female passengers and the driver of a Route 42 minibus at Middle Street, McDoom, East Bank Demerara earlier this week.

Anthony Damion, Eon Trotman and Kevin Abrams have been jointly charged with four counts of armed robbery, but denied each charge.

Particulars of the first charge state that on December 13, at McDoom Public Road, while being in the company of each other and armed with a gun, robbed Winnet Francis of a bag and purse valued $6,500.

It is further alleged that during the same incident, they robbed the bus driver Ryan Thomas of $4,000.

They have also been charged for robbing Shidea Aziez of a cellphone and other items amounting to $43,0000, and Liloutie Persaud of a cellphone valued $55,000.

Trotman was separately charged for

snatching Oslin Haynes’s handbag and cellphone valued $187,000 on December 10 at the said McDoom Public Road. He pleaded not guilty.

Damion was separately charged for being in possession of a .38 Taurus revolver and four live rounds of .38 ammunition on December 13 at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, when he was not a licensed firearm holder. He pleaded not guilty to the offence.

According to reports, on December 13, the trio entered the minibus at the Stabroek Market Square at around 10:00hrs and as the vehicle approached McDoom, they requested that the vehicle stop at Middle Street for them to disembark.

One of the suspects upon exiting the vehicle, drew a firearm and demanded that the driver and the passengers hand over their valuables.

However, swift action by the police led to the trio’s arrest at a house on Second Street, Agricola.

Brooklyn man found guilty in fatal shooting of teen who spurned his advances A Brooklyn man was convicted of manslaughter Friday for shooting a high school girl who authorities said he wanted to date.

Taariq Stephens, 26, quietly listened as he heard the late afternoon verdict on the 2016 death of 16-year-old Shemel Mercurius. Mercurius used her dying breaths to tell police that Stephens was the attacker.

He shot her with a submachine rifle while she was babysitting her 3-year-old cousin.

Trial testimony painted a chilling crime scene. Police kicked down the East Flatbush apartment door to find a blood-spattered boy crying, next to the dying teen.

After three days of deliberations, Brooklyn Supreme Court jurors acquitted Stephens of the top charge of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 16. Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Stephens’ “sinister act cut short the life of a promising young girl and undoubtedly traumatized her toddler cousin.

His deadly actions destroyed lives, left her family heartbroken and deeply hurt our community.” Stephens’ lawyer, Jay Cohen, said “it was a sad case all the way around.” (NYDaily News)

Anthony Damion

Eon Trotman, left, and Kevin Abrams

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Fort Ordnance Primary School commissioned as emergency shelter

IN its continuous efforts to advance disaster preparedness in Guyana, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Friday commissioned the Fort Ordnance Primary School in East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) as an emergency shelter, which was done under the “Enhancement of Emergency Shelter Capacity to Mitigate Flood Risk in Ordnance Fortland” project, funded through the Canada-Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund.

Deputy Director-General of the CDC, Major Kester Craig who commissioned the centre on behalf of Minister of State with responsibility for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Joseph Harmon, explained that the Fort Ordnance location was selected as a shelter location after the CDC had conducted a hazard and vulnerability assessment in 2015, which showed that the region was highly susceptible to flooding.

“The CDC recognised that there is no designated facility in the region that could effectively serve as an emergency shelter if

persons were to be displaced. The norm in Guyana over the years has been to utilise schools for temporary shelter, but the design of most schools does not cater for the basic amenities a shelter requires… The vision of having a designated facility for emergency sheltering was then manifested into the development of a concept,” he said.

The shelter, which serves as the first of its kind in the region and the second country-wide, has the capacity to house approximately 160 persons. The school is now equipped with a concrete bridge to allow the delivery of relief supplies directly to the building, bath facilities, ramps and handrails to improve accessibility for persons living with disabilities, a newly constructed kitchen and feeding area as well as new cooking tools and utensils.

Regional Chairman Mr. David Armagon, explained in addition to the shelter, the region with support from the CDC has a corps of volunteers who have been trained in disaster preparedness and would be immediately acti-

The newly renovated Fort Ordnance Primary School on completion of the Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) “Enhancement of emergency shelter capacity to mitigate the risk of flooding in Ordnance Fortlands” project

Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Director-General (Ag), Mr. Kester Craig shares a warm handshake with Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Ms. Lilian Chatterjee at the Fort Ordnance Primary School today during the commissioning ceremony for the Enhancement of emergency shelter capacity to mitigate flood risk in Ordnance Fortland, which has seen the Fort Ordnance Primary School equipped to serve as an emergency shelter. vated in the event of a disaster. The chairman also committed to ensuring that the equipment donated would be audited regularly to ensure their safety and longevity Meanwhile, High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana Ms. Lilian Chatterjee expressed satisfaction with seeing the Guyana-Canada project come to fruition. “I am pleased that Guyana and Canada are able to collaborate once again to increase climate resilience now in Fort Ordnance. This project is a good example of the community coming together with the support of the Canada-Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Funds to strengthen the readiness to respond to natural disasters

and climate change,” she said.

In 2012, the Civil Defence Commission opened an emergency centre shelter in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) at the Arapaima Primary School through funding from Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Currently, the CDC is in the process of conducting hazard, risk and vulnerability assessments across the country to determine high-risk areas and to identify appropriate buildings that can be transformed into emergency shelters.

This activity will be completed within the first quarter of 2018. (Ministry of the Presidency)

UG, secondary schools receive robotics programming kits CONTINUING its efforts to promote ICT Innovation and the development of ICT skills in Guyanese youths, more especially Guyanese girls, the Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes on Thursday presented Raspberry Pi 3 Starter Kits to four (4) Coding/Robotics Clubs in Demerara.

The presentation took place at the University of Guyana’s Computer Science Laboratory, Turkeyen campus, the ministry said in a release. The ‘clubs’ receiving the Starter Kits were the University of Guyana Coding Club, and the “Guyana Girls Can Code” Clubs at the Bygeval Secondary School,

Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes and the recipients of the kits ECD, and the North Ruimveldt Secondary School in Georgetown.

The “Guyana Girls Can

Code” clubs were initiated by the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) in 2016 and these two

schools had been selected for the pilot project, based in part on the fact that they both already had active

“Girls in ICT’ Clubs.

The ‘Girls can code’ programme is expected to become a fully-fledged

project with Computer Programming in many of its variations, introduced in both primary and secondary schools. It is all a large part of the MOPT’s aggressive push to ensure that as many Guyanese as possible become proficient in the use and understanding of computing.

The computer hardware kits presented today are very versatile. In particular, they have the capacity to teach Robotics and Programming/Coding skills in a simple, fun way.

According to Minister Hughes, tools such as these kits will surely enable Guyana to participate in the multi-Billion dollar global App Economy.

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RUSAL workers livid

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

… over proposed part payment of tax deductions refund

By Lisa Hamilton WORKERS of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc (BCGI) are livid after the company’s management issued a notice which stated that they will receive their outstanding payments and tax-free allowances, in parts.

This matter has been in the spotlight since 2016, when it was found out that the BCGI/ Russian Bauxite Company (RUSAL) workers were being requested to pay taxes on their overtime pay.

In November 2017, representatives of the company were asked to sign a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would clear the way for the employees to be paid what was owed them since October, 2016.

However, from November to date, the workers of BCGI are yet to see the materialisation of these payments. The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) addressed the BCGI in a letter dated 30, November 2017, requesting a breakdown of incomes earned by workers of BCGI for years 2016 and 2017.

Within the letter, GRA Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia, stated that the bauxite company should provide the GRA with a schedule outlining employees’ salaries and other information separated by year.

“RUSAL says that the total amount for the 13 months is 173 million dollars. I have requested that they separate this amount between 2016 and 2017, and, at the same time, submit in scheduled form, the amount related to normal pay and overtime pay for each employee,” Statia stated in his letter. “This, they have not yet provided.”

The delay in presentation of this document has hindered the GRA from directly refunding BCGI’s workers the amount

Russian Bauxite Company (RUSAL) Representative, Vladimir Permyakov owed them for the period of 2016. “For 2016, since employees should have already filed their tax returns on or before April 30, 2017, GRA will arrange for expeditious refunds once the schedule is submitted

by RUSAL for 2016.”

The commissioner-general also advised employees who have not yet filed their tax returns for 2016 to do so immediately, in order to facilitate processing of the refunds, as it is established procedure.

However, when it comes to refunds for the period of 2017, the GRA says that this responsibility lies squarely in the hands of the bauxite company.

“For 2017, I have advised that they refund the employees, in full, the amount applicable to the overtime and deduct it against future payments beginning from December 1, 2017,” Statia said. “At the rate of payments, the amount for 2017 will be recouped

by April 2018. This, in my opinion, should be refunded immediately by the company to the employees.

I advised them that this is a cash-flow problem for them which they have to deal with.”

RUSAL’s Representative, Vladimir Permyakov, told the Guyana Chronicle that although the body deliberated with the GRA to receive refunds for the year 2017, they were unable to

receive it due to existing tax laws. “We also asked GRA to kindly consider this option, to send money back to our company to redistribute all this money to our workers who worked overtime. But it was said that there is a law, the Income Tax Act, [so] it’s not possible,” Permyakov said.

RUSAL intends, instead, to utilise a scheme of month-by-month payment of money owed to workers, in addition to their salaries. “[We will do this by] setting off the amount of taxes applicable for overtime pay for 2017 against future pay, payable

by BCGI on behalf of its workers. “Before Christmas, all our workers will receive December wages and other overtime tax for two months, November and December 2017.”

However, the BCGI workers have rejected the proposed terms by the BCGI. “Has anyone considered how this kind of refunding would affect individual persons?” the workers expressed in a message to the company.

“We don’t want our money in parts or pieces, period...As workers, we wish to have the full amount of money, since we’ve already earned it, as soon as possible, so that our families can have a memorable holiday.”

General Secretary of Guyana Bauxite and General Workers’ Union (GB&GWU), Lincoln Lewis, attested to the worker’s plight stating that it was a matter that had been ongoing for over a year and as such the workers are angry. Referring to the full payment of workers, Lewis said, “The BCGI must confirm to the agreement that they had.”

He then pointed to a dilemma that may very well increase the gravity of the situation. ”It is a benefit that can only be received if you are employed with the company. If, come next year, a worker is fired; he will not get this benefit

GRA CommissionerGeneral, Godfrey Statia that he has worked for,” the general-secretary highlighted.

Lewis then went on to state that there are persons who were fired in October 2016. “What they are doing is saying to workers that the benefit that is accrued to them will be paid by way of setting off next year from their payment in taxes. If you are not employed next year, then you will never get it.”

When the Guyana Chronicle asked the BCGI representative about its consideration of the con-

cerns of the workers, Permyakov said they were doing their best. “I want to underline, to help you understand and readers understand, we’re doing our best to settle the debt. This money won’t disappear.

All this money will come back into the purses of each worker who were [taxed] for overtime work,” the representative said.

He then spoke about the difficulties the organisation would face in refunding a lump sum of the monies owed as the workers have demanded. “With transmitting 173 million it means it’s more than 800,000 US dollars and we have no money to do so,” “We’re not fitting and keeping in our purses

173 million dollars. Life teaches us to have realistic approaches. I also have some dreams but I cannot afford them,” Permyakov explained.

Speaking to the Income Tax Act, he then added, “I also don’t like many things in Guyana and in my country, but it is my position not to contradict existing laws, I have to obey [the laws].”

The BCGI workers, however, continue to make their concerns known to bodies of authority and a group of workers has recently spoken to President David Granger on bringing a resolution to the ongoing issue, during his visit to Hururu, Berbice River.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

65 police officers’ vehicles stripped of tint-Traffic Chief Traffic Chief, Dion Moore has said that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Traffic Department has extended its tint campaign to include ranks of the force.

The Traffic Chief was at the time speaking at the Department’s annual year-

end press conference at the Traffic Headquarters, Eve Leary, on Friday.

Moore pointed out that the Traffic Department has throughout the year clamped down on the vehicles with tint and as such police officers are not excluded.

“We have embarked on removing tints from those vehicles and we removed 65 police-owned vehicles that are tinted. I mean police-owned in their private capacity and 23 police vehicles that are slated for patrol purposes, we removed the tints from those

vehicles as well,” Moore stated.

The removal of tint from the police patrol vehicles is due to a directive from the GPF’s administration which mandates that no police patrol vehicles are to be tinted. Additionally,

NAACIE clinches 6.5 percent pay hike for GPL staff AFTER approximately six months, negotiations between the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) and Management of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) concluded on Friday with the parties signing off on salary increases for the power company’s staff who come under the purview of the union.

The salary increase will be retroactive to January 1, 2017. General Secretary of NAACIE, Dawchan Nagasar told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that apart from increases on the actual salaries, there are a number of other incentives that will boost staffers’ finances paid.

“The company and the union has agreed to a 3 percent in scale increments and a 3.5 percent across the board, which total 6.5…

(There are also increases in) meal allowances, commuters’ allowance for

meter readers, night shift premiums and other incentives for persons climbing poles, towers … Also increases and over-time for

other cycle of negotiations will commence soon. Chief Labour Officer of the Ministry of Social Protection, Charles Ogle said, “Don’t

Charles Ogle, Chief Labour Officer, Ministry of Social Protection hands over the contractual agreement to the General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), Dawchan Nagasar

those working the sick shift and also an agreement for annual performance incentive”, the General Secretary noted.

It was disclosed that an-

let us sign one-year agreements because as you are signing here now, it’s time to start the negotiations. We should look at two years or probably three years. Most

people have been going that way, even five years is considered.”

He added that salary negotiations for the GPL staff should begin “the latest, in the second quarter.”

Further, it has been noted that throughout the negotiations there has been much back and forth amidst disagreements, however both sides were satisfied with the outcome.

Chief Executive Officer (ag) of GPL, Renford Homer added that the level of professionalism that was maintained throughout the negotiations has resulted in both parties coming to an agreement, with hopes of improvement in the coming year.

“With the recognition that we needed to be quite prudent in our deliberation as to what we considered to be a reasonable increase in salaries, I think that level of maturity and understanding came out of these engagements”, Homer said in closing.

Moore said that several police ranks involved in traffic accidents were charged and placed before the courts. He stated that “With respect to the drivers who were involved in accidents, 23 were charged thus far for the year for fatal accidents,

some in their private capacity as well.” The Traffic Chief stated no one is above the law adding that if the GPF expects ordinary citizens to abide by the Law, then officers who break the law must also face similar consequences. (DPI)

Trio to spend Christmas behind bars --for robbery under arms THREE men were on Friday remanded to prison

by City Magistrate Leron Daly for robbing three female passengers and the driver of a Route 42 minibus at Middle Street, McDoom, East Bank Demerara earlier this week.

they robbed the bus driver Ryan Thomas of $4,000.

They have also been charged for robbing Shidea Aziez of a cellphone and other items amounting to $43,0000, and Liloutie Persaud of a cellphone valued $55,000.

Eon Trotman, left, and Kevin Abrams

Anthony Damion, Eon Trotman and Kevin Abrams have been jointly charged with four counts of armed robbery, but denied each charge.

Anthony Damion

Particulars of the first charge state that on December 13, at McDoom Public Road, while being in the company of each other and armed with a gun, robbed Winnet Francis of a bag and purse valued $6,500.

It is further alleged that during the same incident,

Trotman was separately charged for snatching Oslin Haynes’s handbag and cellphone valued $187,000 on December 10 at the said McDoom Public Road. He pleaded not guilty.

Damion was separately charged for being in possession of a .38 Taurus revolver and four live rounds of .38 ammunition on December 13 at Agricola, East Bank Demerara, when he was not a licensed firearm holder. He pleaded not guilty to the offence.

According to reports, on December 13, the trio entered the minibus at the Stabroek Market Square at around 10:00hrs and as the vehicle approached McDoom, they requested that the vehicle stop at Middle Street for them to disembark.

One of the suspects upon exiting the vehicle, drew a firearm and demanded that the driver and the passengers hand over their valuables.

However, swift action by the police led to the trio’s arrest at a house on Second Street, Agricola.

13

DDL finds competitive edge in LNG

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

–– reputedly a safer fossil fuel with cleaner carbon footprint

By Lisa Hamilton DEMERARA Distillers Limited (DDL) is currently taking the lead in the use of clean energy with company chairman Komal Samaroo declaring: “DDL believes in the future of natural gas.”

This was announced Wednesday at the launch of its pilot programme in collaboration with Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) distribution company, ICON LNG Holdings Limited.

The event was held at the Cara Lodge on Quamina Street, with the Trinidad company reporting on the success of their pilot project’s preparatory activities

his company has been challenged with finding new ways to remain competitive in a world that is constantly changing.

“In responding to this challenge,” he said: “We have spent a lot of time thinking and strategising: how do we find the competitive advantages that allow us, a small company operating in a Third World country, to stand up against giants of the world?

“And so, when the ICON group approached us, their project resonated with us very readily, because, in our industry power is the second highest cost.”

ICON LNG’s strategy

natural gas to be used with the customer’s existing equipment.

As such, a portion of DDL’s facilities has now been transformed to operate simultaneously on diesel and natural gas, a system termed ‘dual-fuel.’

This is in addition to its bio-methane plant, which originated from an investment project which today enables the waste from their distillery to be converted into methane gas, thereby helping to generate power.

Samaroo said that despite the many challenges both companies face, they will continue to work together on their collab-

of his company’s performance thus far, which ICON LNG will use as a pattern to be shared with potential shareholders.

“I think at this point in time, we can say that the technical feasibility has been proven. The operation has been going very well, after the initial hurdles have been overcome,” Samaroo said, adding: “We believe as we go forward in the next few months, we’ll be in a position to sit down and do the economic and the financial evaluation.”

President and Chief Financial Officer of ICON LNG, Mr John Thompson, said that though non-re-

President and Chief Financial Officer of ICON LNG, John Thompson, addressing the gathering about the benefits of natural gas (Photos by Delano Williams)

At Wednesday’s launch of the pilot LNG project. Seated from left are: CEO of Go-Invest, Owen Verwey; CEO of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Mahender Sharma; Chairman of ICON LNG, Stephen Scoon; Chairman of Demerara Distillers Limited, Komal Samaroo; President and Chief Financial Officer of ICON LNG, John Thompson; Chief Technical Officer of ICON LNG, Hugo Armella; and Vice-President of Commercial Development at ICON LNG, Nelson Garcez in Guyana over the past two-and-a-half years.

DDL Chairman, Mr Komal Samaroo said that for the past three decades,

is to distribute natural gas in its liquid form to companies, while at the same time providing the technology which allows the

orative six-month project which began two months ago.

He is optimistic about the upcoming assessment

Alleged car thief recaptured AS investigations continue into hijackings and theft of motorcars, police Thursday night at a road block on the West Bank Demerara, in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge apprehended a suspect who was wanted.

The suspect, Leon Allister, 24, of 2494 Tus-

chen Housing Scheme, EBE, for whom a “Wanted Bulletin” was issued was at the time of his escape being questioned for simple larceny of two motor cars.

The suspect who while in custody at the Leonora Police Station in October last escaped due to the criminal negligence of a rank.

Recaptured: Leon Allister

newable, natural gas plays a key role in evening out a country’s fuel expenses over time, acting as a backup fuel to diesel.

The company promotes LNG as a safer and cleaner fuel compared to other fossil fuels such as propane, gasoline or diesel, since it emits 30%-40% less CO2 into the atmosphere, thus leaving a cleaner carbon footprint.

This, they believe, will help in the transition of Guyana towards its goal of 100% renewable energy use by 2025.

Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Mr Hugo Armella explained that there was little risk involved in using natural gas in terms of leakage.

“Small spillages are almost unperceivable; it vents into the air, which makes it an easier hazard to address,” Armella said, adding: “If there is a major spillage, then the facilities would have a containment infrastructure to keep the spillage within the containment and let the LNG vent into the air; it would vaporise and disappear, unlike the other liquid fuels.”

The collaboration between the two companies was lauded by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Mr Mahender Sharma, who offered congratulations for the demonstration of innovation and entrepreneurship in pursu-

ing the pilot project.

“It certainly does not speak contrary to the direction that the country is heading in,” Sharma said.

“Natural gas in the LNG form presents an opportunity to displace dirtier fossil fuel, in this case diesel…

“I look forward to seeing this technology being embraced in the private sector.”

Meanwhile, CEO of Go-Invest, Mr Owen Verwey, said that he believes LNG is the way forward for Guyana.

“Today we have an example of one of the largest companies in Guyana partnering with a smaller company. It shows the potential of everyone, large and small.

Every sector, beverages and energy, it shows you that inter-linkage that is required to move to the next linkage.”

Present at the event were representatives from companies such as NAMILCO, Beharry, and Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the latter with which the GEA says it has held discussions about the role of natural gas in the power sector.

ICON LNG projects a start-up of Phase I in 2018, when they will begin the process of paving the way for Guyana’s own natural gas.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

President parts ways with three advisors … says trio will perform executive functions

PRESIDENT David Granger has let go of three of his presidential advisors who will now hold executive posts within the APNU+AFC coalition government.

Speaking at his first press conference for the year on Friday, the Headof-State confirmed that he has decided not to renew the contracts of the three advisors: Aubrey Norton, Presidential Adviser on Youth Empowerment; Rear Admiral Gary Best, Presidential Adviser on the Environment and Brigadier (ret’d) Edward Collins, Presidential Adviser on National Security.

Norton is a long-standing member of the Peo-

ple’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and has held several positions therein.

Brigadier (ret’d) Collins and Rear Admiral Best are former Chiefsof-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

When asked by the Guyana Chronicle about his decision, President Granger said, “Having come into office in May 2015, we sought their advice; and the advisory functions have more or less come to an end and we have asked for them to accept executive functions. So yes, we don’t need them in the role of advisors, but we are likely to appoint them in executive posts and that is

being worked out.”

The President did not disclose the areas to which the trio is likely to be assigned. Meanwhile, when contacted Friday on the issue, Norton told the Guyana Chronicle that the President did not allude to the non-renewal of contracts, but acknowledged that a decision was made to have them take up executive functions. Norton told the Guyana Chronicle the President said, “We will go to executive positions,” and added, “we will have discussions on it and that is all I will say.”

The Guyana Chronicle understands that several complaints have been lodged against Norton by

Brigadier (ret’d) Edward Collins

Aubrey Norton

Rear Admiral Gary Best

persons with whom he worked as Presidential Adviser on Youth Empowerment. This newspaper understands that he was non-cooperative with workmates, which caused much discomfort.

Attempts to contact Best and Collins proved futile.

However in 2016, Brigadier Collins was sworn in as a commissioner to i n v e s t ig a te , e x am i n e , advise and report on all the circumstances under which the foreign aircraft, which was discovered near the village of Yupukari, Region Nine, Upper Es-

sequibo-Upper Takutu on September 13, 2016, entered the country.

Best, on the other hand, had led a probe into the mining pit collapse in Puruni, CuyuniMazaruni (Region Seven) that resulted in the death of a miner, in 2016.

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Parliament security reviewed, enhanced

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

–– Ramnarine says Santa intrusion ‘just a prank’

ACTING Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine said that while the recent incidents in Parliament convey the impression that the security situation in the National Assembly is deteriorating, he is of the firm belief that this is not the case, but the situation was reviewed which resulted in enhanced security.

Ramnarine in a press statement issued Friday assured everyone, in particular those attending Parliament on official business that security won’t be breached by uninvited personnel. The dramatic interruptions began last week when a woman dressed as Santa, entered Parliament ringing a bell and carrying gifts inclusive of blue soap and a dictionary which she said was for Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Later the woman would be escorted off the premises by security. Her identity remains a mystery. Then on Monday of this week, the Parliament was in an uproar as Opposition MP Juan Edghill refused to follow the orders of the Speaker. He was later arrested, released and suspended from the sittings without pay for four sessions. Ramnarine noted that police ought not to have entered Parliament.

Two days later, several reporters sat uneasy as two men, later identified as “undercover” police officers, had their cover blown. The men later left the chambers.

In making reference to the incident in which a woman dressed as Santa Claus recently seemed to have occasioned a security breach,

Acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine Ramnarine said after an investigation was conducted it was discovered that the person had authorised access since it is nothing more than “just a prank.”

The second incident relates to police’s presence in the Chambers of Parliament, the acting Top Cop said this ought not to have occurred, but it did, an important lessons have been learnt from such an unfortunate situation.

“It would be good for us to contemplate that in certain circumstances necessity knows no law.”

Further he explained that the third incident where two Police Officers found themselves “enjoying elite company” gave the distinct impression that the police had not learnt anything from the previous incident and further aggravated the concerns about security of Parliament being breached. “I wish to state that the two young plainclothes policemen were not properly nor thorough-

ly briefed and also did not follow the specific instructions given, for if they had, they would not have found themselves in the Chambers of Parliament. Their seniors have been admonished and reprimanded in this regard,” Ramnarine noted.

In addressing another issue where a woman stood amidst government officials at the break for lunch Thursday and belted her lyrics , “God is watching us , God is watching us , God is watching us , from a distance” seconds after the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland announced the break from the morning sessions.

Ramnarine said, “The final incident, I hope this is indeed final, was really nothing near to a security breach, as the woman in question was permitted to enter the Public Viewing Gallery by security officials of Parliament Office Security.”

He concluded by noting that the Guyana Police Force in collaboration with its senior colleagues in the joint services has reviewed and enhanced security arrangements in and around Parliament and is satisfied that the security of Parliament in these times is assured.

“Regrettably, and unfortunately, law enforcement officials can sometimes find themselves between a rock and a hard place and in these situations they have to contemplate, in a matter of seconds the ‘dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t’ philosophy of preventive policing,” Ramnarine noted.

Man robbed at Friendship drinking spot

“GIVE me all you got” were the words a 24-year-old heard right before a handgun was pointed to his chest while he was having a few beers with a friend at a shop at Friendship, East Bank Demerara Wednesday night.

Reports indicate that the man who is employed at a construction company and who resides at New Hope, East Coast Demerara, was with his friend at a liquor shop when he was approached by

the bandit who had his cap pulled down in his face. The suspect then pointed the gun at him uttering the aforementioned threat.

The terrified man was told that if he did not hand over his valuables, he along with others in the shop would be shot.

The victim complied and the bandit made good his escape on a motorcycle.

The man lost his gold chain, wallet containing ID, Bank cards and cash.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

Traffic chief urges vigilance on roadways

TRAFFIC Chief Dion Moore on Friday urged motorists to desist from driving while under the influence of alcohol as he alluded to the recent fatal accidents last weekend in which six persons were killed on the roadways.

Speeding, drunk driving and inattentiveness were the major contributors. Moore was at the time speaking at the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Traffic Department year-end press conference which was held at Traffic Headquarters,

Eve Leary, Georgetown.

Superintendent Moore told the press conference that road safety depends on all road users and is not only confined to drivers but pedestrians as well “and we must adopt a sense of responsibility when using the roads.” He said, “If you imbibe you must have a designated driver who does not consume alcohol because if you drink and drive things will not end in your favour and you will put your life and that of others at risk.

Do the right thing, wear your helmets when riding motorcycles don’t just fasten it on your bike wear it correctly.”

Moore said that they have embarked on several initiatives and called for support and cooperation in an effort to reduce road accidents. The Traffic Chief told the press conference that the GPF had recorded a 20% decrease in fatal accidents at the end of November, 2017. He noted that serious and minor and damage accidents have been reduced by 10.1%, 8.3% and 19%. Moore said speeding, speeding whilst driving under the influence of alcohol and inattentiveness were the three main causes of the fatal accidents, followed by

failing to confirm to sign and pedestrian crossing in the path of approaching vehicles.

Additionally, he disclosed that between January 01 to November 30, 2017 69,976 cases were made of which 23,616 were charged for speeding; 3,297 for breach of condition road service licence/music, 1,751 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 1,051 for using cell phone while driving; 1,062 for breach of traffic light signal; 1,543 for tinted motor vehicles, 701 for unlicensed drivers, 1,880 for failing to wear seat belt; 1,050 for

dangerous driving; 1,105 for careless driving, 739 for failing to wear safety helmet; 1,979 for overloaded mini bus; 1,519 for obstruction; 1834 for failing to confirm to sign; 1660 for crossing double yellow line and 25, 189 for other offences.

Traffic Engineer attached to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Kester Hines said they will continue to partner with other like-minded organisations to save lives on the roadways by erecting road signs, signals, road markings, guard rails etc. He stated that they are playing their part in terms

of the engineering aspect of road safety and they have since erected bill boards for all categories of road users.

In addition, they have installed highway lights in regions Two, Five and Six and painted road markings on all public roads across the country and have constructed five pedestrian overpass which will be outfitted with lifts/ elevators and also completed the sidewalk on Carifesta Avenue.

Hines noted that additional lights will be installed in Berbice shortly and they will continue to play their part in road safety.

Bulkan rubbishes PPP claims on Aranaputa village COMMUNITIES Minister Ronald Bulkan has dispelled claims made by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira during Consideration of the Estimates on Wednesday that the village of Aranaputa, North Rupununi, was designated and gazetted as a Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

The minister on Thursday clarified that the village has not yet attained NDC status. He said the Administration has expressed its desire to have the village accorded NDC status, however, this has not been finalised. Notwithstanding this, Minister Bulkan gave the assurance that the government remains committed to providing the same level of support to officers in that village, consistent with other local authority organs.

Teixeira’s claims that there are no elected officers of the council in Aranaputa was also discounted by the Communities Minister, who disclosed that elections for officers and a councillor were conducted in July 2015 simultaneously with elections for Amerindian Village Councils held across the country. He highlighted that these elections were monitored by the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, as well as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region (Region Nine).

A chairperson and other officers were elected, therefore Teixeira’s assertion, Minister Bulkan noted, is “erroneous.” Additionally, suggestions by the opposition chief whip that line item 6211 under the expenditure estimates can only be utilised for the payment of stipends for Toshaos and Deputy Toshaos and prohibits payments to local government officers were discounted by Minister Bulkan. He explained that the financial regulations for expenditure of public funds in this specific instance do not prohibit payments of stipends to local government officers.

Minister Bulkan also found it insidious that the opposition would create a fuss about government’s decision to pay a stipend to the Chairperson of the Aranaputa Village Council, while the village awaits NDC status.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

$160M for police intelligence in 2018

THE Ministry of Public Security will spend in excess of $160M to expand the Guyana Police Force’s intelligence capacity in 2018.

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, told the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly, on Thursday, that the expenditure is in keeping with the government’s drive to create a safer society. “The intelligence capacity of the organisation is important and vital to it and the force has sought to have some re-engineering done in relation to the intelligence capacity. The undertaking has received a boost from the Jamaica Constabulary Force and this is what the expenditure [is] going towards,” Minister Ramjattan said when questioned by opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Anil Nandlall.

Further, Minister Ramjattan said while the sum is to be used to pay informants, there is also provisions for expanding the network of informants and protecting intelligence gathered. “If someone steals something and an informer is going to indicate who stole, there are times when you have to pay up the informant and it is for informant funding…and information protection we have to now have all this information protected and the protection has a cost.”

In addition, the approved amount caters for expansion of the intelligence network, nationally. “We want to spread nationally to the extent that we can always go back and find the information and the informant that could have helped and all of that and that is to make the force a far greater force than it is right now,” Minister Ramjattan said.

While Guyana has credited several of its recent successes in crime-fighting to intelligence-driven work, it has come under severe criticism for failing to protect the identity of its informants and files of information so gathered. The budgeted sum was among the more than $18B approved by the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly for expenditure in 2018 by the Ministry of Public Security.

It represents an increase of $10M compared to that of 2017. (DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

New Police Service Commission Prison food bill to reduce to be appointed by year-end – Min Ramjattan –– legitimate concerns caused halt to police promotions

LEGITIMATE concerns raised by members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had resulted in President David Granger requesting that a hold be placed on the 2017 police promotions.

Notwithstanding that, a new chairman and commissioners are likely to be appointed to the Police Service Commission (PSC) by yearend, says President Granger.

The President, during a press conference at the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday, said that while he had hoped that a new commission would have been in place by now, that plan did not materialise.

He told reporters that he decided to request that the police promotions be placed on hold due to a number of “legitimate concerns” put before him. One of the concerns, he said, had to do with a letter he had received indicating that persons deserving of promotions were being superseded.

“One letter writer claimed that they had no internal procedure for the nomination of officers; it is the convention that the commissioner would convene a committee of the most senior officers to nominate persons; this had not been done,” the President said.

“There is a danger that persons who were not qualified would be recommended for supersession, and persons who are qualified would be left behind,” he added in response to questions on the subject.

He also disclosed that there were other allegations, which he felt were justified in showing that the selection process at the commis-

sion had been compromised.

“Taken as a whole,” he said, “I feel that the integrity of the process was compromised and it would not be in the public’s interest to proceed with those nominations.

“And that it is why it was requested that the recommendations be frozen.”

BY DECEMBER 31 He said it is not his intention to start the new year without a new commission being in place.

“I expect that by December 31, the appointments would be made,” President Granger stated.

The members of the PSC, which included Chairman Omesh Satyanand, Harold Martin, Carvil Duncan, Lloyd Smith and Keith John, were sworn in back in September 2014. The life of the commission expired recently.

Earlier this month, the President had said that his administration’s action to halt the promotion of police officers earlier in the year was necessary, as they were deeply concerned about the State’s security, and that they would have been failing in their duty “if we ignored the warnings which came to us in a very direct manner.”

The Guyanese leader, however, assured the media that his government respects the ruling of the court, which declared that the directive was unconstitutional, and that they will await the full written ruling before making further comments.

Recently, Chief Justice (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, SC, ruled that the directive given by Minister of State Joseph Harmon to the PSC to halt consideration

of promotions for 2017 was unlawful and a deliberate disregard for the constitution.

Former Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, had filed a court action, challenging a letter sent by Harmon to the PSC’s secretary on the matter. He had called on the court to declare that the PSC is established by the Constitution of Guyana, and in the exercise of its function shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

Nandlall had also called on the court to declare that the letter by Harmon, dated July 26, advising that the President directed that there be no consideration of promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force by the Police Service Commission until further notice, violates Article 226 of the constitution, is unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect.

When asked to comment on the ruling, President Granger said, “The Government of Guyana is very respectful of the rulings of the High Court and of the Honourable Chief Justice. We always wait for the written ruling; not that we distrust the press, but sometimes, you know, people may get things wrong.

When we get the written ruling, there will be a formal response. But so far we are respectful of that ruling.”

DEEPLY CONCERNED President Granger made it clear that his administration is “Deeply concerned about the State’s security,” while noting that it would be failing in its

duty if “We ignored the warnings which came to us in a very direct manner that state security was being imperilled, was being jeopardised by certain actions.”

He assured reporters that the act to halt the police promotions was not a wanton one, but done out of necessity on the part of his government. “I’d like to iterate that we are respectful of the honourable chief justice’s rulings and that we will examine carefully the written ruling when it comes to us,” he said.

Back in August, the government launched an investigation into accusations of abuse and malpractices within the PSC as well as the Guyana Police Force, following mounting complaints by police ranks. At that time, President Granger had said that there were many legitimate complaints by members of the PSC and aggrieved police officers of abuse and malpractices in the Police Force, and it is for that reason he asked for the promotion of police officers to be delayed.

“We are not trying to trample on the constitutional rights of the commission, but damage can be done if persons, who are not fit and proper, make decisions which are injurious to public security.

We want the constitutional commission to function efficiently, but at the same time, we want to make sure that the public can depend on the decisions that come out of that commission being in the best interest of the nation,” the President reiterated.

Taxi driver hijacked after wooed by woman A WOMAN lured a taxi driver to be hijacked and robbed by her male companion when they joined a white Toyota Spacio motorcar PVV 9742 in the wee hours of Friday morning.

The taxi driver was identified as 30 year old Dellon Skellekie of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD). He was reportedly lashed to his face and robbed at around 01:30hrs when he was in the process of making a drop off.

Based on information received, the victim was parked at the Diamond car park when he was approached by the two persons who requested that he take them to Third Avenue, Diamond, EBD. The male bandits reportedly sat in the front seat while his female companion was seated in the back seat.

Upon reaching the requested destination, the male suspect who was seated in front reportedly whipped

out a gun from his pants waist and dealt the taxi driver a lash to his face.

They then ordered the man out of his vehicle.

He then commandeered control of the vehicle and proceeded to drive away with the car along, with the driver’s licence, National Identification card and cash left in the vehicle. The matter was reported to the police.

MINISTER of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan has projected a reduction in the food bill for the prisons this year with ramped up poultry and agricultural production.

He made the comment during the consideration of the estimates for his ministry at the level of the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly Thursday evening. The committee approved in excess of $18B to fund capital and current expenditure for the ministry and its related agencies in 2018.

Only recently Ramjattan had revealed that it costs the State $150 million to just feed the prison population annually. He said too that there are also additional

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan during his presentation costs associated with incarceration of those inmates.

Meanwhile, under its capital projects, more than $3B will be expended while current expenditure will be valued in excess of $15B. Of the allocated sums the $1,175,314 will be expended for the purposes of policy Development and Administration under Public Security Ministry. This will see donations to several associated agencies, among them the Guyana Road Safety Council and the Parole Board.

According to Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, the approved sums will also allow for increased intelligence capacity through the Crime and Security Intelligence funding, establishment of a wider intelligence network and the employment of five security analysts in the Planning Unit of the Guyana Police Force.

More than $13M will be paid to various organisations to which the Guyana Police Force are associated, among them INTERPOL and the Association of Caribbean Police Commissioners.

Capital expenditures will see the acquisition and installation of a new surveillance system, acquisition of land and water transport equipment, coupled with the completion, rehabilitation and construction of several Police stations. Meanwhile there will be the continued construction of a modern state-of-the-art prison at Mazaruni to house an additional 400 prisoners and the Guyana Fire Service will be the recipient of New ambulances and tenders.

Further, in keeping with government’s commitment to reduce the number of contracted workers by migrating them to the fixed pensionable establishment, Minister Ramjattan informed the Committee of Supply that there has been a steady effort to achieve the said goal.

To this end contracted employees at the Ministry are projected to be reduced, from 244 currently to 160, in 2018.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

First Couple fetes senior citizens at State House

PRESIDENT David Granger and First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger on Friday hosted a special Christmas luncheon for senior citizens as a way of honouring them for their service to Guyana during their working years. The event was held at the Baridi Benab at State House.

The Head of State in his brief remarks said that the festive season has a way of bringing Guyanese of all religions and cultural backgrounds together. “It is good that we share not only our fellowship with one another, but share our friendship with one another and [what] we have today is just an example of what we should be doing much more frequently. You all have served your country well and you have served

your families and communities and Sandra and I hope that this event will symbolise our respect for you and our acknowledgement of the services that you have given to Guyana and our hope that you will continue to live happily and comfortably for the rest of your days,” he said.

Seniors were served a hearty meal by the First Lady and members of the Luminous Women’s Group, while they were entertained by the steelpan rhythms of the very talented Ras Camo. They were also presented with gifts.

Residents of 14 senior citizen homes were part of the event.

These include the Palms, St. Vincent de Paul Home, Byer’s Senior Citizen’s Home, Gentlewomen’s Home,

Major companies hatch innovative plan --to make road safe over the Christmas holidays

AN innovative plan is afoot to make this holiday season an enjoyable one, and accident–free.

The plan at reference involves introducing a programme, whereby designated drivers attending events hosted by Club Rain Arena will be served their fill of non-alcoholic beverages, free of cost, compliments of Ansa McAL in an effort to ensure that everyone makes it to 2018 in one piece.

The brainchild of Club Rain’s co-owner, Matthew Persaud, the initiative was quickly adopted by some members of the business community, such as Nexgen Global Marketing, Miracle Optical, and Assuria General Insurance. Also on board is the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) and according to Traffic Chief, Dion Moore, “These are the kinds of programmes that help the Guyana Police Force save lives and minimise losses to our citizens.”

According to Group spokesperson, Aleem Hussain: “While we are unable to dictate the manner in which people choose to celebrate, we can help to keep the roads safer by providing designated drivers as an incentive to not drink and drive.”

Club Rain Arena will be hosting several events at its Lusignan, East Coast Demerara location directly behind BM Soat Auto Spares and all proceeds from the door for their December 23 pre-Christmas event will go towards providing Christmas breakfast for the children at the Enmore Children’s Orphanage.

First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger serving lunch to senior citizens at the Baridi Benab at State House St. Joseph’s Home, Ar- die’s Home, the Dharm Holy Family Home, Nazareth Home for Secher’s Home, Uncle Ed- Shala, St. Thomas’s the National Veterans’ nior Citizens. (Ministry Home, Ivy Hall Home, Rest Home and the New of the Presidency)

CARICOM voices strong objection to new EU blacklist THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has strongly objected to the recent labelling of some of its member states by the European Union as Non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque said earlier this week.

He was at the time accrediting a new Ambassador of France to CARICOM, H.E. Antoine Joly at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, on Wednesday. The secretary-general urged France to leverage its influence for the EU to desist from “taking such arbitrary and punitive actions against,” those CARICOM member states it had blacklisted. Those countries, he emphasised, have not been so labelled by the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Financial Action Task Force and the OECD Global Forum.

“This decision by the EU has been based on new and unilaterally determined criteria, that go beyond the generally accepted international tax transparency and accountability standards which our countries have been diligently meeting over

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque receives the Letter of Credence from new Ambassador of France to CARICOM, H.E. Antoine Joly

the past several years,” he stated, according to a release from the CARICOM Secretariat.

“CARICOM strongly objects to this listing of our member states and calls on the EU to remove our member states from this pernicious list,” he added, noting that the Community stood ready to discuss this matter

with the European Council. A major consequence of “blacklisting” was the “de-risking” strategies that included the withdrawal of correspondent banking services by certain international banks, the CARICOM secretary-general told the French envoy. He said that the impact has had a “detrimental impact on the trade

and financial operations” of the Region’s economies.

“As Ambassador to the Community, your direct engagement in promoting awareness about the extent of our capabilities and the obstacles we face in our aspirations for economic development is of great significance,” he told the new French envoy.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

City businessman gives back for Christmas P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd. on Friday afternoon at its North Road and King Street head office presented $100,000 each to 10 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as their way of spreading the Christmas cheer.

Representatives of the Bless the Children Home, Canaan Children Home, Hauraruni Girls Home, Ptolemy Reid Rehab Centre, Uncle Eddie’s Home, Friends of the Archer’s Home, David Rose School for the Handicapped, the Dharam Shala, Cheshire Homes of Guyana and Bright Horizon Family were all present to receive their cheques, compliments of Bish Panday and his family.

Executive Director of P&P Insurance Brokers and Con-

Representatives of the ten NGOs posing with their cheques on Friday, flanked by Vikash and Vijayal Panday (Photo by Delano Williams)

sultations Limited, Mr Vikash Panday said that their company is very pleased to give back to the 10 organisations, since

the NGOs have in their own way made a positive impact on the lives of the less fortunate.

As such, he related that

they are happy to contribute to the cause, adding that finances are always a challenge and with the contribution of the

monetary donation will be able to assist especially at this time of the year where they can provide for the needy.

Vikash Panday stated that for the past 10 years, they have tried in their own way to reach out to the community, and the presentation is yet another manifestation of their commitment, which they hope will continue to flourish in the future.

Also present was his father, Bish Panday and his sister, Vijayal Panday, who was on hand to present cheques to the representatives of the ten NGOs. After the handing over ceremony Jewanram (only name given) on behalf of recipients said they are very pleased to benefit from the gesture of which will come in useful at this time of the year to host parties for children of the various homes.

workers not fair game Feasibility study for ICT Park, venture capital for 2018 Sex--armed robber finds out MAJOR plans are in the pipeline for 2018, especially in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), since the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoT) has budgeted for a feasibility study for an ICT park and venture capital.

Subject Minister, Cathy Hughes spoke about the projects in her response to questions from Opposition Parliamentarians during the consideration of the 2018 budget at the level of the Committee of Supply on Thursday.

As opposed to previous days, the presentation of the estimates for current and capital expenditure of the ministry was less intense, since the Opposition was mostly in support of the ministry’s plans. After the deliberations concluded the Committee of Supply approved the estimated $2,131,855,000 for current expenditure and $2,564,206,000 for capital works.

The allocations were separated into three programmes which included policy development and administration, public telecommunications and industry innovations.

Under policy development and administration $224, 882,000 was approved for current works and $5,605,000 for capital expenditure, while $1,837,568,000 was approved for current expenditure and $2,557,125,000 for capital works under the public telecommunications programme.

Some of the major projects, especially the ICT Park and venture capital were listed in the progamme

for industry innovations which received the sum of $69,405,000 for current expenditure and $1,476,000 for capital projects. The projects deemed important,

were highlighted by the minister after Opposition Parliamentarian, Joseph Hamilton raised his concern over the increase in a line item called other under the industry in-

Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes defends her ministry’s budget during consideration of the 2018 budget estimates

Opposition parliamentarian, Irfaan Ali questions Minister Hughes about the estimates (Delano Williams photos)

novations programme.

He pointed out that the line item which attracted an $8,000,000 budget in 2017 was increased to $29,500,000 in the 2018 budget. In defence of the increase, Minister Hughes said the additional money was needed for the feasibility study and venture capital.

Opposition Parliamentarian, Irfaan Ali questioned the minister about where the ICT Park will be and in response Hughes said the feasibility study will be conducted next year in order to ascertain the design and location of the park. This project, she said, is expected to be complemented by the training of persons in the area of ICT. Hamilton suggested to the minister that since their intent is to improve the skills of persons, they should invest more into training because only $10,000,000 was budgeted for training and the provision of scholarships for next year. The minister welcomed the suggestion, but pointed out that they intend to distribute scholarships through venture capital which is a part of the $29,500,000.

In addition, she said, the ministry will continue to build on areas that already exist. So far they have established 96 ICT hubs across the country and intend to establish more in 2018.

Ali said the Opposition was in full support of the utilisation of ICT hubs for the enhancement of telemedicine and online education. He however called on the minister to pay more attention to hinterland communities because no region or area should be left out.

A 24-YEAR-OLD man was on Friday remanded to prison by City Magistrate Leron Daly for armed robbery committed on two male sex workers along Croal Street recently.

The charge read that Michael Macy, called ‘Andrew’, on December 12 at Croal Street, Georgetown, while being together with others and armed with guns, robbed Denzil Benjamin of a cellphone valued $45,600.

It is further alleged that Macy, on the same day, while being together with others and armed with guns, robbed Kevin McLean of a motorcycle valued $178,000.

The unrepresented man was not required to plead to the indictable charge, since Police Prosecutor, Richard Harris objected on the grounds that other persons will be arrested and charged for the same offence.

Harris further objected on the grounds that a firearm was used, and the prevalence with which such an offence is occurring.

Magistrate Daly ruled in fa-

vour of the prosecutor’s objection and remanded Macy until January 26, 2018.

According to a police report, four armed suspects attacked the sex workers, and a scuffle ensued resulting in one of the bandits being successfully relieved of his .32 pistol and five matching live rounds.

Reports indicate that at around 21:15hrs on the night in question, the sex workers were seated on their motorcycle at the corner of Croal Street and Orange Walk, when they were suddenly pounced upon by four armed males who arrived in a motorcar.

The sex workers were relieved of their valuables and the men escaped. However, one of the sex workers valiantly attempted to restrain one of the men from escaping. He was subsequently pursued by the police who had responded promptly and arrested him on Camp Street with the victims’ motorcycle.

The suspect was positively identified by the victims.

Cops probe sudden death of taxi driver POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a taxi operator/labourer of 92 Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD), which occurred shortly after 07:00hrs Friday morning.

Gloyd Montrose, 39, who whilst operating his taxi at Haslington, ECD began feeling unwell, sought the assistance of a police mobile patrol to take him to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital.

Press Officer, Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan said the police officers, without delay, acceded to his request but unfortunately he was pronounced dead on arrival. His family has since indicated that he was suffering with a heart ailment.

The body is currently at the Georgetown Public Dead: Gloyd Montrose Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post mortem examination on Monday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, December 16, 2017

ARIES You may lack good judgment today as your common sense goes flying out the window.

Ironically, this isn’t as bad as it sounds because acting on an impulsive decision might be just the thing you need. If you have been patiently waiting for a better time to take a calculated risk, the Suns happy trine to radical Uranus in your sign could be your ticket to success. Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote, “Change your life today.

Don’t gamble on the future; act now, without delay.”

TAURUS You typically like to know the consequences of your behaviour before you make your move. However, sometimes it’s impossible to predict what the future will bring, no matter what you do. Although you can’t see around the next bend, you intuitively understand that time is running out, motivating you to initiate action before the window of opportunity closes. You have thought your plan through so many times that there’s no point in procrastinating any longer. Start the ball rolling now, even if progress is negligible. Momentum, not perfection, is the key to success.

GEMINI A fateful conversation with a friend can take you down a rabbit hole today. You assumed you were heading one way, only to discover a new world of possibilities on a different trajectory. But don’t push the start button just yet, even if everything looks wonderful. If a change of direction is a good idea now, it will make even more sense after the holidays. In the meantime, continue your research and refine your strategy so you’re ready to hit it hard when all the pieces are finally in place.

CANCER Your excitement about starting a new project or possibly switching jobs adds a touch of instability to your world. You know that a change of routine is overdue, but you’re not sure if this is the right moment to turn your life upside down. The timing of your transition is less important than your attitude about it. Remaining open-minded is the secret to allowing everything to unfold organically at its own pace. Less worry, less stress.

LEO You believe you can do anything you set your mind to today -- and maybe you can.

Your perceptions are sharp and your logic is sound. You are so ahead of the game now that you don’t even need to create a plan; you just know what to do next as each moment happens. In fact, a rigid schedule or a demanding routine could dampen your enthusiasm. Do whatever you can to step outside of structure. Your creativity will flourish now if you feel free from the binds of responsibility. Spontaneity is your friend.

VIRGO You would rather think about a dream holiday now than actually leave the comforts of home. Maybe it’s the time of year or, perhaps, you just don’t want to venture too far from those you love. Nevertheless, you can derive great joy from travel fantasies, mental excursions or the study of anything that broadens your perspective on the universe. Instead of inventing reasons to maintain the status quo, consider the pleasure you can experience by expanding your thoughts into new and different realms. Author Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “Here in your mind there is no difference between what is and what could be.”

LIBRA Your friends are not the source of responsible advice now. In fact, they may be encouraging you to do the crazy thing you have secretly dreamed about for a long time. But you always find a logical reason to avoid taking such a big risk, especially if you’re considering doing something with no socially redeeming value. It can be particularly challenging to put your needs ahead of others, but the cosmos is opening doors and pushing you through them. Don’t resist; it’s your moment to fly.

SCORPIO You might be wise to hide your credit cards or ask a trusted friend to keep them for a few days, so you’re not tempted to buy something on a whim. It’s all too easy to justify a discretionary expenditure now, but spending a large chunk of money on a new car, television or camera doesn’t make any sense while Mercury is in its final days of a retrograde cycle. Channel your excitement into researching all your options and reassessing your resources so you can make a purchase that you won’t regret. Buyers’ remorse is a tough pill to swallow.

SAGITTARIUS There’s no holding you back today, nor should anyone try. In fact, you are being blasted into the future as electric Uranus forms a superconductive trine to the radiant Sun in your 1st House of Self. You are wired for sound, neurons are firing in your brain, things are happening at warp speed, and your world is popping. The distance between cause and effect has grown infinitely small. This is your chance to merge with the flow of time, itself. Answering the call of destiny is an act of faith and courage.

CAPRICORN You may be pleasantly surprised with your own whimsical outlook on life today.

Although you are still concerned about making your mark in the world, you long to set aside your ambitions and let loose now. However, you might worry about others judging you harshly if you act irresponsibly. But everyone deserves to have fun and you’ve certainly earned the right to take some time for yourself. Don’t just sit around thinking about what you would do if only you could. You can. But you better play now before the thrill of the moment passes.

AQUARIUS The future shows itself in brief flashes today, as if your cosmic connection is downloading bursts of information and then going offline. Your key planet Uranus harmonizes with the Sun in your 11th House of Hopes and Dreams, juxtaposing time and space.

You might momentarily forget where you are now, but you won’t lose track of where you are going. You are on a direct intercept route with your destiny. Check your baggage and get ready to travel at the speed of light. A more enlightened version of you is waiting your arrival.

PISCES Although your imagination is one of your favourite places to play, it is just an annoying distraction today. Your primary concern now is your overall path while here on planet Earth. But questioning your life’s purpose is not just pie-in-the-sky dreaming. You want to have a positive impact on your world and the people in it. You might be wondering where you will be in five years or even next month, but rest assured your intuition will help you navigate your true course. Managing the practical calculations sets the stage for successfully realising your dreams.

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Permaul bowls Jaguars to commanding position after Bramble’s unbeaten 196

By Rajiv Bisnauth THE Guyana Jaguars finished day two of the seventh round Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-day encounter against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes on top, taking nine of the tourists first innings wickets to put them on the back foot.

When bails were lifted last evening at 22:30hrs in the Day/Night encounter at the National Stadium, Providence, the Hurricanes were 114-9, still 304 behind the Jaguars first innings total of 417. Jeremiah Louis was on one Mervin Matthew yet to score.

The wickets were shared between the Guyanese bowlers. Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who is playing in his 100th first class game, finished the day with 6-21, Romario Shepherd 2-29 and Keemo Paul 1-35.

Earlier, it was another memorable day for the Guyanese wicket-keeper batsman, who eased to an unbeaten 196 to ensure the hosts amass a huge first innings total. Bramble, playing in his 45th first-class matches, batted for 427 minutes, 291 balls, hitting 23 fours and five sixes.

Resuming at 276-8, the centurion, who began the day on 116, along with Permaul were composed for close to an hour, with the 27-year-old Bramble, who was the main architect in the Jaguars’ spirited fightback on day one, continued to score freely.

The pair pushed the Jaguars 300, before Permaul was trapped leg before

wicket to Mervin Matthew for 11.

The right-handed Bramble, who was joined by Gudakesh Motie, remained unperturbed by the loss of his partner, and continued to combine excellent touch play, with some lusty blows, and brought his 150 with his fourth six, off 231 balls.

Soon after the players were force to leave the field after a sharp shower, but when play actually resumed after 44 minutes were lost, the pair took the home team on course for a fourth batting bonus point, reaching the 350run mark.

The two Berbicians ensured the title holders maintained the momentum and kept the scoreboard busy, hitting boundaries freely, with the help by some uncharacteristically field placing.

So much was the assault, that the duo put together 110 runs, a last-wicket record stand for Guyana before Motie, who contributed 47 off 93 balls, was stumped attempting a huge heave off the bowling of Terence Warde.

The Jaguars opening bowlers Shepherd and Paul then backed up that batting effort, thriving with the new ball, removing both openers Montcin Hodge (9) and Chesney Hughes (10), to expose the visitors’ vulnerable batting order.

Shepherd got the first break through when he bowled Hodge while Paul had Hughes in similar fashion just before the break, at 26-2.

The final session further compounded the tourists’ woes. They lost Devon Thomas (20), leg before wicket to

SCOREBOARD GUYANA JAGUARS 1st innings (Overnight 276-8) T. Chanderpaul c wk Hamilton b Louis 6 C. Hemraj c Thomas b Cornwall 25 L. Johnson lbw b Cornwall 0 V. Singh s Thomas b Matthews 5 S. Chanderpaul lbw b Thomas 51 A. Bramble not out 196 K. Paul c Thomas b Hughes 5 S. Rutherford lbw b Cornwall 23 R. Shepherd b Tonge 22 V. Permaul lbw b Matthews 11 G. Motie st Hamilton b Warde 47 Extras: (w-2, nb-15, b-3, lb-6) 26 Total: (all out; 124.5 overs) 417 Fall of wickets:1-17, 2-21, 3-36, 4-41, 5-159, 6-164, 7-228, 8-263, 9-307, 10-417 Bowling: Tonge 18-3-74-1, Matthews 22-10-31-2, Louis 22-7-60-1, Cornwall 30-2-117-3, Warde 13.5-2-48-1, Thomas 9-0-30-1, Huges 4-0-23-1, Burton 6-0-25-0 LEEWARD ISLANDS Hurricanes 1st innings M. Hodge b Shepherd 9 C. Hughes b Paul 10 S. Burton c&b Permaul 20 D. Thomas lbw b Shepherd 20 A. Saunders c Johnson b Permaul 18 J. Hamilton c wk Bramble b Permaul 0 T. Warde lbw b Permaul 8 R. Cornwall c wk Bramble b Permaul 13 J. Louis not out 1 G. Tonge lbw b Permaul 2 M. Matthew not out 0 Extras: (nb-5, b-8) 13 Total: (for nine wickets; 40 overs) 114 Fall of wickets:1-24, 2-26, 3-51, 4-77, 5-77, 6-89, 7-107, 8-112, 9-114 Bowling: Shepherd 8-1-29-2, Paul 9-0-35-1, Permaul 12-6-21-6, Rutherford 6-2-19-0, Motie 5-3-2-0

Shepherd before Permaul created the rest of the damage.

He took the scalps of Akeem Saunders (18), Jahmar Hamilton (0), and Rakheem Cornwall (13), to catches at first slip and at the wicket respectively off deliveries which have bounce higher than they expected, while Shane Burton (20) was dismissed off a simple return catch, to reduce the tourists at 107-7.

Warde was then trapped leg before wicket, as Permaul completed his 25th five-wicket haul. He then had Gavin Tonge in similar fashion.

Play resume at 13.30hrs today.

Georgetown Grand Prix Final Showdown

Gore snatches pole in 125cc Juniors

By Stephan Sookram JAMAICA’s Tommi Gore registered the fastest time of the 125 CC junior class to claim pole ahead of today’s Georgetown Grand Prix Final.

Gore set the pace on cool afternoon in Georgetown, erasing John Phang’s time of 32.219 seconds with a refreshed 32.076 second placing.

Elan Rahaman will start third on the Grid after post-

ing a 32.734 to start ahead of Rayden Persaud with a 33.044 second time.

Farud Mohamed and MIkhil Persaud will start fifth and sixth on the grid.

Meanwhile, in the Easy cup rookie class, Raymond Baksh will start on pole with a blistering time of 36.835 second time ahead of Ralph Persaud, Dharendra Dharmo and Shahab Gajie.

Easy Cup light will see Haniff Mohamed starting on pole ahead of Raymond

Seebarran and Ralph Persaud with one hundredth of a second separating the trio Mohamed’s time of 37.273 was just a shave quicker than Seebarran’s 37.389 and Persaud’s 37.392.

Steven Nobrega is on the pace as well with a 37.917 second time ahead of Dharmo with a 37.917 and Gajie with a 38.151.

Jeremy Ten Pow will start from a familiar pole position today in the Sunburst

60CC kids cup with Nathan Rahaman, starting alongside him.

Jeremy was blistering on track, registering a 34.657 second time which was just under a half a second quicker than the rest of the back.

Justin Ten Pow wills start third on the grid with Paige Mendonca fourth.

Today’s event begins at 17:00 with Shifter Kart and 125cc senior qualification with racing commencing one hour later.

Fireworks expected as St Angela’s take on South Ruimveldt

By Stephan Sookram FIREWORKS are expected when the final of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Smalta Girls U-11 football tournament gets going at the Ministry of Education ground.

Defending champions St Angela’s will come face-toface with South Ruimveldt in their do-or-die gauntlet fixture today and it’s more than a battle for the title.

The defending champs have been ruthless so far, dominating every opposition they faced with and by no means will they aim for less

today.

In the quarterfinal, they inflicted a five- nil drubbing of Tucville before putting four past St Pius to reach the final.

The side’s skipper Nakasiai St Jules has been their standout performer so far, scoring eight goals in five matches to lead her side to the final.

Coach and father of star player, Wayne St Jules, says that are intent on going all the way. “We have been training once a week for this tournament, the girls are in the right frame of mind and the right mood

for this.”

He added, “I won’t say easy but we are taking one game at a time. We have three players from last year and they are very experienced in terms of the tournament and I’m very confident that we could pull it off again.”

South Ruimveldt coach Wheatland Fordyce says that they have their particular difficulties but will be there on the day to give a good account of themselves.

“Coming forward, the field may be a little small in terms of what the boys will play on. If we can probably

have it regulated, so that everybody can play on the same field it would be of much benefit to the players,” he said.

They opened their campaign with a win against Stella Maris and West Ruimveldt on the opening day but then went down to F E Pollard in their third fixture.

They bounced back in the quarter-finals and semi-finals with wins over North Georgetown and West Ruimveldt to reach the final.

That game will be preceded by third-place playoff game between St Pius and West Ruimveldt.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday December 16, 2017

Super Smith keeps Aussies in the hunt

By Ian Ransom

PERTH (Reuters) - Jonny Bairstow kept his head with a fine century for England but Steve Smith showed a captain’s poise to guide Australia to 203 for three at the close of day two of the third Ashes Test yesterday.

Smith was on 92 at stumps, with Shaun Marsh on seven, and the home side, already 2-0 up in the five-match series, having trimmed England’s first-innings lead to 200 runs at the WACA. Bairstow marked his first Ashes ton before lunch with a cheeky celebration, nudging his head against his helmet in a nod to his infamous ‘headbutt’ of Australia opener Cameron Bancroft.

The wicketkeeper’s sparkling 119 helped push England to 403, their highest innings total in Australia since the fifth Test of the 2010/11 series.

England’s joy was tempered, however, by the runs that went a-begging. They lost six wickets for 35 in a sudden collapse late in the morning session, leaving the door open for Australia.

Smith opened it wider with an innings of typical poise, anchoring a 124-run

Skipper Steve Smith stays unbeaten on 92 to drive Australia to 3 for 203 at stumps on day two.

partnership with Usman Khawaja (50) after seamer Craig Overton removed openers David Warner (25) and Cameron Bancroft (22).

I think the game is evenly poised at the moment.

Tomorrow’s a big day,” Khawaja told reporters after his 10th Test half-century.

“We talk about it in golf

American Racing Tips

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11:40 hrs Lamanver Od-

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yssey

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a lot - third day, moving day.”

England may need to contain Smith and Australia with an injury cloud over third seamer Overton.

The Devon bowler clutched his chest following a delivery after tea and came off the ground after receiving attention on the field.

POOR FIELDING England also rued some poor fielding, with Khawaja reprieved on 39 after he nicked Chris Woakes behind. The ball sailed harmlessly past the shoulder of Joe Root in the slips, the captain seeming to have completely missed its flight.

Two overs later, Smith

Smith hundred breaks more records but Volcanoes struggle on opening day

Left-hander Devon Smith carries his bat for 107.

GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC ) – Left-handed opener Devon Smith struck his 33rd first class hundred and the fourth of an already phenomenal season, to once against prop up Windward Islands Volcanoes on the opening day of their day/night seventh round clash with Jamaica Scorpions.

The veteran batsman carried his bat for 107 as Volcanoes, sent in on Thursday’s opening day, battled to 226 for nine before declaring their first innings under lights at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.

In reply, Scorpions were 33 without loss with left-hander John Campbell

racing to an unbeaten 29 off 30 balls with five fours.

It was the 36-year-old Smith, however, who took centre stage with his 27th regional four-day hundred which saw him post 700 runs for the season.

The knock also saw him join the quartet of Desmond Haynes (1991), Carl Hooper (2001), Junior Murray (2002) and Ridley Jacobs (2005) as those with four hundreds in a single season of the modern first class championship.

Smith’s endeavours represented an unprecedented fifth time that he has carried his bat in an innings.

The former West Indies player faced

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings (o/n 305-4) A. Cook bw b Starc 7 M. Stoneman c Paine b Starc 56 J. Vince c Paine b Hazlewood 25 J. Root c Paine b Cummins 20 D. Malan c sub. b Lyon 140 J. Bairstow b Starc 119 M. Ali c Smith b Cummins 0 C. Woakes c Cummins b Hazlewood 8 C. Overton c Bancroft b Hazlewood 2 S. Broad c Bancroft b Starc 12 J. Anderson not out 0 Extras: (b-10, lb-2, nb-1, w-1) 14 Total: (all out, 115.1 overs) 403 Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-89, 3-115, 4-131, 5-368, 6-372, 7-389, 8-389, 9-393.

Bowling: M. Starc 25.1-5-91–4, J. Hazlewood 289-92-3 (nb-1), P. Cummins 28-8-84-2 (w-1), N. Lyon 22-4-73-1, M. Marsh 9-1-43-0, S. Smith 3-1-8-0.

AUSTRALIA 1st innings C. Bancroft lbw b C. Overton 25 D. Warner c Bairstow b C. Overton 22 U. Khawaja lbw b Woakes 50 S. Smith not out 92 S. Marsh not out 7 Extras: (b-2, lb-4, w-1) 7 Total: (for 3 wickets, 62 overs) 203 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-55, 3-179.

Bowling: J. Anderson 14-6-31-0, S. Broad 12-2-500, C. Woakes 15-3-42-1 (w-1), C. Overton 10-1-46-2, M. Ali 11-3-28-0.

struck a sumptuous cover drive for four to bring up his half-century and stepped up a gear to make Root pay.

It took a stunning catch by substitute fielder Peter Handscomb to break the stand, as he dived fullstretch at backward point to remove Malan for 140, with spinner Nathan Lyon forcing the miscued shot.

Malan’s dismissal triggered a breathtaking collapse, as Bairstow’s batting

partners fell quickly around him.

Pat Cummins (2-84) had Moeen Ali caught by Smith at first slip for a duck, and all-rounder Woakes was snaffled in the deep for eight off Josh Hazlewood (3-92).

Starc (4-91) ended Bairstow’s 215-ball innings by ripping out his middle stump with a sizzling ball and combined with Hazlewood to clean up the tail.

SCOREBOARD VOLCANOES 1st innings Devon Smith not out 107 T. Theophile c wkp. Thomas b Green 9 M. Bascombe b Lamont 5 K. Edwards c Smith b Campbell 57 R. Cato c & b Campbell 11 D. Hector run-out 4 K. Mayers b Lamont 3 Dennis Smith lbw b Lamont 0 D. Johnson c Jacobs b Lamont 6 K. Dember c Campbell b Smith 12 S. Lewis not out 0 Extras: (b-2, lb-8, w-1, nb-1) 12 Total: (9 wkts decl., 84 overs) 226 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-37, 3-35, 4-157, 5-182, 6-188, 7-188, 8-200, 9-226.

Bowling: Green 13-1-58-1, Lamont 30-11-52-4, Smith 10-2-33-1, Jacobs 14-2-38-0, Campbell 17-3-35-2.

SCORPIONS 1st innings J. Campbell not out 29 T. Griffith not ou 3 Extras: (w-1) 1 Total: (without loss, 7 overs) 33 Bowling: Johnson 3-0-13-0, Lewis 3-0-14-0, Mayers 1-0-6-0.

Position: Scorpions trail by 193 runs with all 10 wickets intact.

247 balls in a patient innings, striking six fours and a six, adding 98 with another former Windies batsman Kirk Edwards, to salvage the innings from a position of 37 for two.

Edwards made 57 that included nine fours from 98 balls, but no other batsman reached 20.

Left-arm spinner Christopher Lamont was the best bowler with four for 52.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday December 16, 2017

37

Bairstow celebrates Ashes ton with helmet head butt

By Joel Dubber PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - Tales of Jonny Bairstow’s head-butting incident left Australia captain Steve Smith giggling like a schoolboy just weeks ago, but the wicketkeeper batsman’s maiden Ashes century in Perth yesterday allowed England skipper Joe Root the last laugh.

Bairstow gently tapped his helmet against his head upon reaching the milestone to the delight of Root and his team mates who jubilantly roared their support in the dressing room.

The wicketkeeper’s 119 helped push England to 403 on day three of the third Test, their highest first-innings total in Australia since January 2011.

Bairstow said his celebra-

tion was a bit of “light-hearted, fun” in reference to the October night out where he greeted Australia opener Cameron Bancroft with a head butt at a bar.

It took nearly a month for the incident to be revealed, however, when Australia’s fielders were heard trying to get inside the Yorkshireman’s head when he was batting during the series-opener in Brisbane.

Bancroft recalled the incident in a news conference with his captain Smith sitting beside him laughing heartily, following England’s 10-wicket first Test defeat at the Gabba.

Bairstow felt he had been “stitched up” by Australia and that the event had been blown completely out of proportion.

So he celebrated emo-

Head-on: Bairstow celebrates the landmark by nuzzling his helmet. (Getty Images)

tionally at the WACA after pulling Mitchell Marsh behind square for a single to reach his ton.

Metro Office & Stationery Supplies to sponsor $1M first prize for Kennard’s Memorial Boxing Day horserace meet METRO Stationery and Office Supplies will sponsor the $1M first prize money for the feature event of the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club’s Annual Boxing Day horserace meet set for December 26.

The much-anticipated meet will be held at the Club’s facility,, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice and begins at 13:00hrs with seven events on the day’s card.

The feature event is open to horses classified B2 and Lower over a distance of nine furlongs and to date, most of the country’s top animals have already been registered, including the unbeaten America-bred Vera’s Finally who recently won the feature Guyana Cup event.

Other horses registered for this event include Just call Me Boss, Lady Budapest, Honey Flo, Golden Blue Echo, Brave Sky and Goodwill Boy. According to the programme’s coordinator Justice Cecil Kennard, the racing facility is in immaculate condition and turfites can expect a very exciting day

of horseracing.

The second-, third- and fourth-place finishers for the feature event will be rewarded with $500 000, $250 000 and $125 000 respectively.

There will also be two races, each over five, six and seven furlongs with three-year-old Guyana-bred animals seeking to claim the $230 000 first prize.

The second- to fourth-place finishers will receive $110 000, $55 000 and $27 000 in that order.

The other six-furlong race is open to horses classified `J3 and `K’ and Lower with a first prize of $180 000. The second-place horse will earn $90 000, while the third- and fourthplace finishers will receive $45 000 and $22 000 respectively.

Animals classified `L’ Open will battle over five furlongs for a first prize worth $150 000. The second- to fourth-place finishers will pocket $75 000, $38 000 and $19 000 respectively.

The other five-furlong race is for horses classified `L’ non-winners and the winning stable will re-

ceive $130 000, while the second-place finisher will receive $60 000. The thirdand fourth-place finishers will take home $30 000 and $15 000 respectively.

The two seven-furlong races are open to horses classified `F’ and Lower, `H’ and Lower; the `FD’ and Lower animals will compete for the $350 000 first prize. The second- to fourth-place finishers will ,take home $175 000, $88 000 and $44 000 in that order, while the race for `H’ and Lower horses will carry a first prize worth $280 000.

The second-place finisher will win $140 000, while the third- and fourthplace finishers will earn $70 000 and $35 000 respectively.

These races will be conducted under the Rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) and interested owners/trainers and handlers can call the following persons for more information: Ivan Dipnarine (331-0316), Justice Kennard (623-7609 or 235-4818), Fazal Habibulla (657-7010) or Dennis Deroop (640-6396).

“The hundred, in many ways, was my favourite one,” the 28-year-old told reporters.

”I’ve played in a few Ashes series so far now and to score an Ashes hundred is something you dream about as a kid.

“It was really good fun out there, I absolutely loved every single minute of it.”

Bairstow was unable to truly cash in, with his batting partners crumbling around him as England lost their last six wickets for 35 runs.

He was bowled by a full inswinger from fast bowler Mitchell Starc which clipped the inside edge and uprooted middle stump.

But his first Test hundred in 18 months helped tweak the narrative of England’s Ashes tour, which up to Perth had been blighted by a string of off-field incidents.

It was also a part of an England record fifth wicket stand of 237 runs with Daw-

Hetmyer, Cottrell and Walton called into ODI squad

Shimron Hetmyer

MARLON Samuels, Sunil Narine and Alzarri Joseph have been ruled out of West Indies’ limited-overs leg of New Zealand. While Samuels was pulled out due to an injured right hand and Joseph a back strain, Narine - only in the T20 squad - made himself unavailable for personal reasons.

Sunil Ambris, who took a blow to his left arm in the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, has also been replaced

by Shimron Hetmyer in the ODI squad.

Left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell and wicketkeeper-batsman Chadwick Walton, who is part of the T20 squad, were named as replacements for Samuels and Joseph for the ODIs. Cottrell had a productive 2017 CPL season, taking 11 wickets in six games at an average of 12.54 and an economy rate of 6.57.

Shai Hope will stay on after the ODIs, replacing Samuels in

the T20 squad, while Narine’s spot has been taken by off-spinner Ashley Nurse, who was initially dropped for the threematch T20 series.

The limited-overs matches begin on December 20, with the first ODI in Nelson. The T20s will begin on December 29.

Updated ODI squad: Jason Holder (capt.), Jason Mohammed, Shimron Hetmyer, Ronsford Beaton, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wkp.), Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams.

Updated T20 squad: Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Shai Hope, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams. (Cricinfo.com)

id Malan, who scored a fine 140.

Anchored by 92 not out, captain Steve Smith Australia moved to 203 for three at stumps, having trimmed England’s lead to 200 runs.

Bairstow felt England remained well-placed in the match, despite the late batting collapse in the morning session.

“You can look at it both ways and say: look, it was a fantastic recovery from being 100 for four and we’ve got 400 on the board,” he said. ”Or you can look at it and go: ‘yeah, well, we’ve let the position slip.

“But at the same time ... we’ve got the capabilities of taking five-six wickets in a session. We’ve shown that previously so there’s no reason why we can’t now.”

Virgins Promotions bowls off 10/10 softball cricket at Hibernia ground today

VIRGINS Promotions, in collaboration with Banks DIH, will bowl off the much-anticipated 10/10 Softballl cricket competition under lights at the Hibernia ground today.

Cash prizes of over $300 000 and trophies will be at stake. According to Promoter Rawl Pearce, several teams from across the Essequibo Coast have already indicated their interest. He anticipates quite an exciting and memorable day and night of activities.

He further indicated that the cricket will commence at 15:00hrs with the semi-finals and final set for later in the evening. He also said that prizes will be distributed to lucky patrons and fans. There will also be attractions for the children including Ferris wheel and trampoline.

The one day/night event forms part of Virgins Promotions’ calendar of sporting activities in the Region. Meanwhile, some of the teams that will be competing will include Hibernia, Young Warriors, Cullen, Queenstown, Suddie, Adventure, Richmond Youths and Walton Hall among others.

There will also be a competition for over 40 teams with four clubs already signed up to participate.

Among the Over-40 players who will compete are Ramesh Narine, Latchmikhant Narine, Rovendra Mandolall, Roy Gonsalves, Richie Bishop and Linden Daniels.

(Elroy Stephney)

38

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday December 16, 2017

Multi-talented Abosaide Cadogan WHEN it comes to sports, Abosaide Cadogan has proved that she is one versatile athlete, who has transitioned through a number of sports and has now found her current niche as a bright up-and-coming junior squash player. She is also showing a lot of promise in the hockey arena as a member of the GCC Spartan Juniors team.

On her way to finally settling as a squash player, the St Stanislaus College student was also once a promising national badminton champion. She has also dabbled a little in lawn tennis, table tennis and even athletics.

“She is a quick learner,” observed national hockey coach, Philip Fernandes, who works with the Guyana Cricket Club (GCC) hockey teams.

“She has great physical ability and natural talent and so she was able to learn the

game in no time.”

What drives Cadogan is her willingness to learn, and she benefits from mistakes and makes improvements.

“Once I was taught something I know that I would improve on it, so I know it was going to work,” was how she approached her start in squash, when she was still developing into a winner.

Her improvements last year, were enough to land her on the national junior team at the Junior Caribbean Squash Championships where she finished third place in the Girls’ Under-13 category.

At this year’s Championships she made it to the final of the Girls’ Under-15 category, stopped in her quest for a title only by Barbados’ Chelsie Samuels.

Starting out in athletics since she was in primary school, at St Gabriel’s Primary, Cadogan even once participated in the revered

National Schools’ Championships (Nationals) where she represented the East Georgetown District. Then she began her run in the racquet sports.

She seems to be naturally talented wherever she lands, and does a fine job of juggling it all, even as a student athlete.

“It’s pretty easy to me,” she said earnestly “It just isn’t a problem for me I guess.”

As a badminton player she represented Guyana at the 2013 Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) in 2013 where she won gold in the Girls’ Under-11 singles, while representing again in 2014 in Jamaica. She won gold in the Girls’ Under-13 singles and bronze in the doubles competition.

But soon that all phased out, and Cadogan found a new love in squash. After

picking up squash in 2015, Cadogan got involved in hockey last year - her first time juggling two sports at the same time. But somehow she seems to be pulling it off flawlessly.

When asked about her love for squash and hockey, her eyes light up. If it came down to making a choice, she doesn’t know which sport she would choose over which.

“With hockey I like the idea of having a team where you have members and we bond and stuff. With squash I just love the game,” she shares.

Though she is still yet to get her chance to represent Guyana in hockey, she has already been making strides locally. Already she has become a top goalscorer on the team. As one of many squash players who also play hockey, Cadogan’s new sport fits right in with her schedule.

Mekdeci triumphs after thrilling five-game match with Persuad IN a suspenseful battle, James Mekdeci took out Zachary Persaud in a category C match-up, to highlight the third night of action in the Farfan and Mendes Junior Skill Level Tournament, which continued last Thursday night at the courts of the Georgetown Club.

In the category B matches of the night Michael Alphonso got the better of Abosaide Cadogan with a 11-6, 11-0, 11-3, while Demetrius DeAbreu outclassed Lucas Jonas 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.

In the night’s fiercest match, Mekdeci and Persaud traded points. They each picked up an 11-9 win to break even after the first two games, Mekdeci increased the tempo in the third game, and after locking 2-all he picked a six points. Persaud was able to get in just one other point before Mekdeci took the game 11-3.

Persuad started the fourth still shaky from the loss, allowing James a fourpoint start, but soon evened the score and climbed to a three-point lead, rounding this game up eventually in his favour at 11-9.

At two games apiece James came out to dominate in the fifth, storming to

an 11-3 final game.

Also treating onlookers to a fierce level squash game, far beyond expectation in the category, were Jason Gomes and Louis Da Silva in category C. Powerhouse Gomes met a calm determined DaSilva in a four-game clash that shifted in each player’s favour in the first two games.

Jason secured the first two games before Louis stepped up in the third, and Jason won in the 4th to end with a 13-11, 12,-10, 8-11, 11-6 margin.

Category D provided more excitement with most of the matches going to five games, Chad DeAbreu conceding only one game to Dhiren Persaud.

Chad displayed measured serves, killer drop-shots and good length drives as he took a win.

Spectators are anticipating continued thrills in the remaining days of the tournament which concludes tomorroe.

Full results of the matches played Thursday evening were as follows.

Category B Michael Alphonso beat Abosaide Cadogan 11-6, 11-0, 11-3.

Demetrius DeAbreu beat Lucas Jonas 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.

Category C Mohryan Baksh beat Nicholas Verwey 116, 11-4, 14-12.

James Mekdeci beat Zachary Persuad 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3.

Jason Gomes beat Louis DaSilva 13-11, 1210, 8-11, 11-6.

Category D Jahcinta Adams beat Teija Edwards 9-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-2, 11-4.

Beau Fernandes beat Aishani Persuad 1210, 4-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5.

Chad DeAbreu beat Dhiren Persaud 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3.

Category E Rayad Boyce beat Grant Fernandes 11-6, 11-13, 11-9.

Joshua Verwey beat Arvin Seelall 11-8, 11-8.

Noah Rahaman beat Angel Rahim 4-11, 12-10, 12-10.

Lajuan Munroe beat Jared Saul 11-2, 11-7.

Category F Brenno DaSilva beat Thandi Dean 11-6, 11-3.

Matthew Spooner Jehan Singh 6-11, 11-6, 11-3.

Leshaunte Berkley beat Tiana Gomes 11-5, 11-5.

Kayden Pynaendy beat Rylee Rodrigues

11-2, 11-8.

Category G Shriya Persaud beat Matthew Daby 11-4, 11-1.

Jane Singh beat Nicholas Sawh 11-6, 11-4.

Safirah Summer beat Mya Dean 11-6, 11-2

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Saturday December 16, 2017) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1)

Stephen Fleming-7172 runs

(2)

Sir Richard Hadlee-431 wickets

Today’s Quiz: (1) How many Test centuries NZ Martin Crowe made in his career?

(2) What are the best match figures by a NZ in a Test to date?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Saturday December 16, 2017

39

Team Guyana Boxers storm into

tonight’s final of CBC C/ships

By Michael DaSilva AFTER bracing hurricanes Irma and Maria, the island of St Lucia did not expect that there was another storm/hurricane coming and was awakened to the fact that `Hurricane Guyana’ was really on its way to the Eastern Caribbean state on Wednesday evening, when team Guyana won three out of three bouts on the opening night of the Caribbean Boxing Championships (CBC) which got underway in Grois Islet., After registering three victories on the opening night, all three finishing within the distance, the Guyanese pugilists returned to the `square jungle’ on Thursday night and registered another three victories, all three ending within the three-round distance.

It now means that the four-member boxing team have all reached the final of

the tournament which concludes tonight in St Lucia.

On Thursday evening, Guyana’s Colin `Superman’ Lewis, who demolished Barbados’ Justin Edwards in their junior welterweight contest via a second-round Technical Knockout on Wednesday night, returned on Thursday and forced the referee to stop his contest against St. Lucia’s Nathan Ferreira in the second round.

Guyana’s middleweight Desmond Amsterdam (middleweight) then entered the ring and faced off with Trinidadian Mickell Joseph, but the referee was forced to stop the contest in the first round in favour of the Guyanese.

Earlier in the night, Guyana’s Joel Williamson (lightweight), who defeated Barbados’ Brandon Lee on Wednesday night and the following night (Thursday), had his contest stopped by the referee, against St Lucia’s

Desmond Amsterdam

Joel Williamson

Keevin Allicock

Kareem Boyce in the second round.

It now means that the four Guyanese boxers have all secured places in the finals of the championships scheduled for tonight.

Guyana’s other boxer, bantamweight Keevin Allicock on Wednesday evening secured a TKO win against Grenada’s Neilon Cyrus..

Six stoppages after two nights of competition ended

in favour of the four-man Guyana team.

For tonight’s final, Allicock who won gold at last year’s championships in Barbados will face Ajay Jones of Barbados, Lewis will square off with Jesse Jones of Barbados and Williamson will engage Michael Alexander of Trinidad and Tobago.

Amsterdam knew his opponent in the final after the second semi-final was com-

pleted last evening.

Guyana almost missed the championships due to the lack of funding and Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) president, Steve Ninvalle, explained that if it was not for the intervention of Minister of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sport, George Norton, the team would have been smaller.

Originally, the GBA wanted to send a full team

White-ball Windies cricketers earn increased incentives, retainers EXCLUSIVE retainers are the highlight of Cricket West Indies latest offer to Windies players.

Previously, there were retainer contracts for a certain number of players, now there will be a number of retainer offers per category.

The most respect will still be paid to Test cricket, as CWI CEO Johnny Grave’s policy will now pay the biggest retainers to players who play both Tests and One Day Internationals.

The maximum retainer is more than US$300 000 inclusive of match fees. New contracts will come into effect on July 1, 2018.

Already, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Mohammed, Evin Lewis, Rovman Powell, Ashley Nurse and Kesrick Williams have been offered Category C contracts.

Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon

Samuels, Samuel Badree and Darren Sammy are reportedly to receive pro-rata contracts.

While the CWI is yet to say what the new contracts will mean in terms of an

increase, reports suggest that match fees will increase to US$5 000, up from the US$2 500 for Tests and US$2 000, up from the US$1500 for T20Is and ODIs. The retainer contracts

of 13 boxers, three coaches and two referee/judges, but because of funding, the association could have only sent four boxers, a coach and a referee/judge.

Ninvalle extended gratitude to Minister Norton, the National Sports Commission, the GDF and the Guyana Olympic Association for assisting the six-man team to St Lucia.

Guyana won the inaugural Caribbean Development Tourney when it was hosted here in Guyana in 2015 and made a successful defence of the championship title last year in Barbados winning 10 gold medals and one silver from an 11-member team.

All four of the boxers at this year’s championships won gold medals last year after which Allicock went on to win a silver medal at the Junior Commonwealth Games in The Bahamas earlier this year.

Medals for Guyanese swimmers as ASATT Invitational begins

are also said to have improved significantly, with A contractors seeing the possibility of earning more than US$300 000, up from the US$140 000 that previously existed.

The most respect will be paid to Test cricket.

Amy Grant

Daniel Scott

GUYANESE swimmers Daniel Scott, Vladimir Woodroffe and Amy Grant picked up several medals between them when they plunged into the pool at the annual ASATT Invitational Swimming Championships which began on Thursday in Trinidad and Tobago.

Grant ended the day with a gold medal and a silver medal, while Scott earned a silver and a bronze and Woodroffe took a bronze.

Swimming in the Girls’ 15-and-over category, the clock was Grant’s only competition in the 1500m where as the sole competitor she clocked a time of 21:56.51s. However, in the Girls’ 11-and-over 1500m, which took place simultaneously, that time was good

enough for second place, after she finished behind the 21:30.94s from Dominique Allen Nurse.

Scott clocked a time of 18:2191s in his 1500m, which placed him in second place in the Boys’ 15-andover after the race was won

by Marlin’s Graham Chatoor, who clocked 17:10.67s.

Woodroffe gained his bronze in the Boys’ 9-10 50m backstroke where he touched the wall in 38.02 seconds. This race was won

by Giovanni Rivas with a time of 36.80 seconds.

Grant, Scott and Woodroffe are part of a group of Guyanese swimmers from the Dorado Swim Club, participating at the meet which concludes tomorrow.

Team Guyana Boxers storm into

tonight’s final of CBC C/ships

Page 39

Permaul bowls Jaguars to commanding position after Bramble’s unbeaten 196

Page 35

Anthony Bramble was left unbeaten on 196

MoPH/Smalta Girls U-11 football final

Georgetown Grand Prix Final Showdown

Fireworks expected as St Angela’s Gore snatches pole take on South Ruimveldt in 125cc Juniors Page 35

Page 35

The final of this year’s MoPH Smalta Girls u-11 Football tournament is expected to be a tense affair today at the Ministry of Education Ground (Adrian Narine Photo)

Some of the contenders for today’s meet. (Adrian Narine photo),

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER, 16, 2017