Guyana chronicle e paper 12 17 2017

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Alarming upsurge No. 105129

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17, 2017

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– 70 per cent of population dies from Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases – President Granger urges urgent action, launches commission to tackle problem

Page 3

Tuschen man killed in Orangestein accident Page 18

Kamwatta to get nursery school Page 8

These children were all in smiles when President David Granger visited the Lusignan/Good Hope Learning Resource Centre on Saturday to spread the Christmas spirit (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

City intends to appeal quashing of parking meter by-laws Page 4

Health Ministry to soon say goodbye to Sussex Street bond Page 12

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Caribbean jurist accepts nomination for chancellor post A CARIBBEAN jurist has accepted nomination to become Guyana’s Chancellor, President David Granger announced Friday during his second press conference held since taking office in May, 2015.

The Head-of-State in response to questions posed about the delay in the appointment of a substantive chancellor and chief justice said, “This is a matter of deep concern to me.

“The nominations were made and contact has been made with the person who has been nominated [for

chancellor} and that person has accepted. We are now looking at the modalities for termination of the work that he is doing now in the country of residence,” said President Granger.

The nominee was selected and recommended to the President by a panel comprising former Justice of Appeal, Claudette Singh, Justice James Patterson, and Professor Harold Lutchman.

It is unclear who the nominees for the posts are.

The President said every effort is being made to have the matter resolved soonest,

while noting the concerns of President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Sir Dennis Byron. Sir Byron at a recently held Bar Association dinner in November called for the swift appointment of a substantive chancellor of the judiciary and chief justice.

At that forum, he also hinted that a judicial intervention might be needed to address a regulatory or statutory lacuna if it does indeed exist.

Guyana has not had a substantive chancellor of the Judiciary since 2005, mainly due to the fact that the oppo-

CCJ President, Sir Dennis Byron

sition and governing parties have not agreed on candidates for the post. In his address at the 37th Annual Bar Dinner held at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown, the CCJ President made it clear that it was not the intention of the local constitution to have the two most senior judicial officials act in the posts for a prolonged period.

Sir Byron noted too that no substantive chancellor has been appointed since Justice Desiree Bernard, Guyana’s first female chancellor, demitted office and was appointed as the first female judge of the CCJ. Former acting Chancellor, Justice Carl Singh, acted in that post from 2005 until his retirement earlier this year.

He also stressed the need for substantive appointments in the guarantee of judicial independence to citizens.

BEYOND ACCEPTABLE “This situation has moved well beyond what ought to be acceptable in a modern democracy, where respect for the rule of law is maintained.

The constitution envisages the Judiciary of Guyana to be headed by officials who are substantively appointed and enjoy all the legal and institutional mechanisms to secure their tenure. Anything otherwise is, to my mind, a violation of the spirit and intent of the constitution.”

Article 127 (1) of the constitution speaks to the appointment of the chancellor and chief justice and says both the chancellor and chief justice shall be appointed by the President, acting after obtaining the agreement of leader of the opposition.

The aforementioned provision was a key aspect of the 2001 amendment to the instrument, whereas under the 1980 constitution, the appointments of the chancellor and chief justice could be made by the President, following consultations with the minority leader.

However, President Granger assured that in the near future, the appointment will be made.

“I am aware of the concern of the CCJ and I am working to have this matter resolved as early as possible,” he told reporters gathered at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Once the identified jurist arrives in Guyana, the President will meet with leader of the opposition Bharrat Jagdeo as is required by the constitution. The head-ofstate reminded that while in opposition he had met with then President Donald Ramotar, but the duo could not agree on the nominations.

At that time, President Granger said he had proposed a formula to advertise, especially in the Anglophone Caribbean, for interested

persons.

“He did not accept that recommendation, but when I got into office I implemented it and a panel of eminent jurists did interview some persons who were interested in the appointment of chancellor and chief justice.”

Back in March, President David Granger administered the Oath of Office to Justices Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxanne George-Wiltshire, who were sworn in to perform the functions of acting chancellor of the judiciary and acting chief justice, respectively. They replaced Justices Carl Singh (acting chancellor) and Ian Chang (acting chief justice).

In October, the President told reporters that he was awaiting a response from the nominee identified for the substantive post of chancellor of the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Justice Byron emphasised the importance of independence of the judiciary as stipulated in Article 122A (1) of the constitution.

He said too that the constitutional provision does not contemplate and/ or condone in any way prolonged acting services of the country’s number one and number two judicial officers.

GENUINE RISK “Such a situation poses a genuine risk to the constitutional promise to every citizen of an independent and impartial Judiciary,” he warned, noting that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and no authority is above it.

The CCJ President reminded that the court is duty-bound to interpret and

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Alarming upsurge

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

By Svetlana Marshall

PRESIDENT David Granger has proposed a threepronged approach to tackle Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs), the category of diseases that accounts for 70 per cent of premature deaths in Guyana as he launched the Presidential Commission for the Prevention and Control of CNCDs. The Presidential Commission for the Prevention and Control of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) was launched

by President Granger at the Umana Yana on Saturday morning in the presence of Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence; Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO) Representative for the Guyana Country Office, Dr. William Adu-Krow; the Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Collette Adams; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud; members of the commission and senior health officials.

The Caribbean region has the highest burden of CNCDs in the Americas, according to PAHO’s study, “Monitoring Compliance with high-level commitments in Health: The case of the CARICOM Summit on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases.”

Guyana and the twin-island republic were ranked as first and second respectively, in terms of prevalence and deaths from heart diseases and diabetes.

Studies conducted by PAHO and CARICOM have pointed to unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco

– 70 per cent of population dies from Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases – President Granger urges urgent action, launches commission to tackle problem

President David Granger

use and harmful use of alcohol, driven by social determinants and global influences as the root causes.

In delivering the featured address, President Granger, cognisant of the high prevalence of CNCDs here, pro-

posed that increased focus be placed on education and awareness, new initiatives, and full implementation of Guyana’s Strategic Plan for the Integrated Prevention and Control of Chronic Non-Communicable Dis-

eases.

Explaining his approaches, President Granger, who is also chair of the commission, said major emphasis must be placed on the dissemination of information – an initiative that ought to be wide-reaching.

“We must not assume that everybody knows that drinking sugary Coca Colas or eating oily fast foods could be harmful. Some people just don’t know. People buy the stuff because it is cheaper and convenient and they like how it tastes, so we must have a campaign on public information to let every child know that he or she is indulging in self-harm,” President Granger said.

He added that citizens must be edified about the alternative foods available and activities in which they can be involved to reduce the risk of them developing CNCDs such as cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancer and chronic respiratory diseases such as

asthma.

Referring to his second proposed approach, the President championed the cause for fresh initiatives in combating CNCDs. These initiatives, he underscored, should not be led by the government alone but by citizens, celebrities, civil society, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, and even the media.

STATE OF EMERGENCY Describing the situation as a “state of emergency,” President Granger emphasised that all must play their part.

“Together we can help to propel an intense programme of responding to the crisis and the threat of NCDs. This is a national effort, it is not a governmental effort, it is not a ministerial effort,” he stated.

Attention too must be placed on implementation, the President admonished as he turned his attention to the third approach.

“Once we have all these

President David Granger and Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, flanked by commissioners for the prevention and control of CNCDs

declarations, one we have all these strategies, there must be implementation, there must be a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to implement measures for the prevention and control of NCDs,” he said.

The President posited that Guyana’s Strategic Plan for the Integrated Prevention and Control of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases and their Risk Factors (20132020) ought to be updated and complemented by an actual plan.

In the past, smoking and excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages were seen as high fashion promoted by celebrities on the international stage, but today the world knows better, the President said, even as he advocated a change in lifestyles – lifestyles that are built on healthy eating, exercise, no smoking or excessive use of alcohol.

For this reason, he said his Administration will ensure that schools across the country are equipped with recreational facilities and playgrounds, and the administering of physical education.

The Public Health Minister, in giving opening remarks, said the global health statistics reveal that there is an alarming upsurge of CNCDs around the world, noting that Guyana’s situation reflects the global trend.

WORRYING It was pointed out that approximately 57 per cent of the country’s adult population is suffering from one of the main CNCDs. “Annually approximately 70 per cent of all deaths (beTurn to page 10 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

City intends to appeal quashing of parking meter by-laws

By Telesha Ramnarine

Sunday December 17th, 04:30- 14:30 hrs Monday December 18th, - 05:00 hrs Tuesday December 19th, - 05:30 hrs

TOWN Clerk Royston King has responded to the recent ruling by Justice Nareshwar Harnanan to nullify the parking meter by-laws, indicating that the City Council may be moving to challenge it before the Appellate Court.

“The Council wishes to notify the public that it is actively engaged with its legal team. The Council is examining various options regarding the course of action to be taken, having regard to the ruling of the learned trial judge,” King said in a statement on Saturday.

Last February, subsequent to a legal challenge of the by-laws by the New Building Society (NBS), Justice Brassington Reynolds ruled that “an order or rule nisi certiorari be issued to the 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

He said that in the interim, the Council will continue to examine all possible recourses, with a view to having a system implemented shortly to regulate parking in the city of Georgetown, thereby significantly reducing congestion and environmental pollution therein, while simultaneously helping the fight against crime.

MUCH-NEEDED REVENUE “This would enable the Council to attain much-needed revenue to assist in its statutory mandate to sustainably transform Georgetown into a modern but aesthetically beautiful garden city,” King said, adding: “The Mayor and City Council wishes to assure all of its citizens that it remains resolutely committed and unswervingly dedicated to improving the quality of life in the nation’s capital and lifting Georgetown to a plateau of environmental goodness and excellence.”

Meanwhile, the City Council was, any time now, expected to announce

A recent ruling by Justice Nareshwar Harnanan nullified the parking meter by-laws 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.”

Justice 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-negotiation was only recently completed.

Said King in response: “The Council is of the preliminary view that the ruling exceeded the scope of the challenge brought by the New Building Society, and as such, it has not ruled out challenging same before an Appellate Court to test its soundness.”

to the public new rates that Smart City Solutions (SCS) had agreed to charge for parking in the city. SCS is the overseas company to which the City Council granted a concession to install parking meters in Georgetown.

In fact, Chairman of the new 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 go into the details as top city officials were about to release new information to the public.

Following the ruling on Friday, member of the Movement against Parking Meters (MAPM) Don Singh, told the Guyana Chronicle that the group is overjoyed 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 once again negotiating with SCS. VOTED IN FAVOUR On that occasion, the MAPM member had told this publication that the M&CC had, in effect, voted to go ahead with re-negotiating an illegal contract. “Now I don’t know how that works,” Singh said. “We at MAPM are 100 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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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Mitchell calls for reform of region’s energy sector MASSACHUSETTS, CMC – Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell has said that the greatest potential for transforming Caribbean economies lies in reforming the region’s energy sector.

“Research and outreach must be tailored to ensure the elimination of fossil fuel imports and 100 per cent renewable energy use by 2030,” Mitchell told a forum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Mitchell, the current chairman of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping, told the forum that the current high price of fossil fuel imports, which constitute close to 100 per cent of energy use in some Caribbean countries, is largely responsible for inhibiting growth and development.

“In some countries of the region,” Dr Mitchell said, “fossil fuel imports account for over 70 per cent of export earnings. Coupled with debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratios averaging in excess of 70 per cent, unemployment rates averaging in excess of 25 per cent and poverty rate averaging in excess of 30 percent, the region is mired in a viscous cycle of under development and poverty in some areas, with the attendant social consequences.”

He said reform of the energy sector must also include the removal of growth-inhibiting monopoly power production institutions and relations, and the introduction of pro-competitive power generation structures, aided by progressive and modern regulatory frameworks.

“The research and outreach planned must, at a minimum, examine, analyse and provide options, technologies and applications for a resilient Caribbean energy sector,” Mitchell said, adding that he would also argue that there should be no delay in investing in resilient low-carbon infrastructure and human settlements, and that doing so at this juncture will be less costly and more effective in the long run.

He said that despite the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, and the subsequent climate conferences, global greenhouse gases continue to rise.

“It is a well established fact,” he said, “that while the Paris Agreement calls for a limit to global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts for a limit of 1.5 degree Celsius, the current global trajectory is more likely to hit the 2.7 degree Celsius to three degree Celsius mark – an existential threat for Caribbean nations.”

Mitchell, who has a BSc in Mathematics and Chemistry, said a recent World Bank Report projected that should global average temperature rise by two degrees Celsius, the number of severe hurricanes will increase by 40 per cent. The report also projects that based on current trends, global average temperature is more likely to rise by four degrees Celsius, which will see an 80 per cent increase in severe hurricanes, he said.

Mitchell said that despite the overwhelming evidence of the thousands of scientists the world over, the voices of a few loud climate skeptics

Dr Keith Mitchell loom large on the development prospects of the region.

“The IPCC Special Report on 1.5 degree Celsius is due early next year, but research done on the Caribbean categorically states that even at the 1.5 degree Celsius limit, the region will be severely impacted with exponentially damaging impacts at the 2.0 degree Celsius limit,” he said, adding: “The research indicated we are currently on track to hit the 1.5 degree Celsius mark in 2030 and that the Caribbean will be significantly warmer and drier.

“There will be increased intensity of rain events, higher sea levels, and more intense hurricanes. This is what we are facing.”

He said the research concluded that the 1.5 degree Celsius limit is a necessity, a compromise and a call to action: A call for aggressive reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions; a call for legal and regulatory actions; a call for adaptation actions, and a call

for a comprehensive regime on loss and damage.

“We need to develop new creative and innovative financial tools geared to deepen the resilience of the Caribbean economies,” Dr Mitchell said. “Our research and outreach must be geared to leverage significant financial resources for resilience building.”

The CARICOM chairman said that due to fiscal constraints, Caribbean economies do not have the budgetary space to finance the resilience project and promote sustainable development.

“The economies do not have the fiscal space to invest in the widespread use of low carbon technologies in the pursuit of the goal of climate mitigation and adaptation; to improve energy efficiency; and to expand the use of renewable energy technologies.

“There is the need to re-examine the insurance facilities, the risk transfer and risk management mechanisms and the facilitative access modalities for innovative sources of finance.

“There is the need to re-examine our sovereign debt regimes and restructure them accordingly, in light of these extreme events, which create additional debt burdens and more fiscal and microeconomic trauma. Hurricane clauses as risk transfer elements in sovereign debt instruments are crucial for liquidity relief, debt sustainability and economic stability, which are necessary conditions for building resilience.”

Mitchell said that research and outreach can look at the feasibility of Blue bonds, Green bonds, debt

Jamaica deports thousands

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica deported an estimated 2,000 people last year and denied entry to more than 500 people, National Security Minister Robert Montague has said.

Speaking at a ceremony where 47 foreign nationals were granted citizenship, Montague said that the occasion was a time to celebrate the fact that despite the challenges facing the country, there are still hundreds of foreigners who want to make Jamaica their home, and “want to share this privilege with those of us who are born here”.

He said that last year, the authorities deported 2,000 persons, with another 537 being denied entry.

Noting that those granted

–– grants citizenship to nearly 50

citizenship should consider it an “exceptional privilege”, Montague said: “We are happy to welcome you. While each person has a different background, what unites us is that you are now Jamaicans. You have varying skills and talents, which can now be used to help your new country. You will now take on the duties and responsibilities of Jamaican citizens… And you must take these very seriously.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Andrew Wynter said that approximately 3,000 foreigners are granted Jamaican

citizenship annually.

He said that the latest batch of 47 persons represents the largest number of candidates granted citizenship on a single occasion, adding that PICA has granted citizenship to some 10,000 persons during its 10 years as an executive agency.

“This is a watershed moment for the agency, as we have come to recognise that there are approximately three to five million Jamaicans in the Diaspora who have descendants, relatives and others who are eligible for Jamaican citizenship. It is our intention to reach out to them to be a part of the family

of this our great Jamaica,” Wynter said.

Nigerian, Dr. Ehis-Oje Pius Areghan, who responded on behalf of the group, described the occasion as an opportunity that comes with responsibilities.

“It now becomes our responsibility (as new citizens) to exercise our civic duties, especially to help one another,” said Dr. Areghan, who is based at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay. “I am happy to be here; the joy and love I have gotten from Jamaicans, I doubt I would ever get it in any other country,” he added.

swaps, resilience bonds, social impact bonds, credit guarantees, carbon pricing mechanisms and other instruments geared to the Caribbean markets.

He said the issues of de-risking and blacklisting of economies can be critical on the research agenda, as well as the issue of graduation and of eligibility to concessional resources

based on the single per capital metric rather than on the unique circumstances and specific vulnerabilities of the Caribbean countries.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

The recent debacle and the state of West Indies cricket THE West Indies cricket team has just wrapped up another test series and predictably was badly beaten by a New Zealand team that could hardly be described as top flight.

In the first test our boys were bounced out in the first innings by Neil Wagner; and although there was some resistance in the second innings, we invariably collapsed to hand the Kiwis an easy victory.

Not much changed in the second test—the short ball was again mostly responsible for our undoing. On the other hand, our bowlers struggled to dismiss the Kiwis in the very conditions under which our batsmen succumbed. Our opponents managed big scores in both tests as their batsmen, including the lower order, punished our bowlers.

Some will ask, what’s new? Since our surrender of the unofficial world title to Australia in 1995, the West Indies have struggled to put together a winning formula. It’s been a long, dismal period for our cricket inside and beyond the boundary. We seem to have tried everything to stem the tide, but the problems have only multiplied. There have been moments when our boys seemed to have turned the corner only to swiftly return to the old

losing ways.

We have not been short of analyses and recommendations. Blame has been cast around in reckless abundance and in the process many careers have been destroyed. Many have blamed the administrators, but while there is much to said of their arrogance and incompetence, their conduct can hardly be the sum total of our continued decline. Others have blamed the cricketers. Again, while our so-called stars have often showed that they lack the necessary commitment to the larger society, a prerequisite for success in the past, it would be inaccurate to lay the responsibility for our inability to win squarely at their feet.

The truth is, our performance on the cricket field is directly and indirectly a reflection of the condition in the larger society. The more the Caribbean region has veered away from its nationalist aspirations, the more difficult it has become to convince the populations that the region means anything beyond narrow individualism. As our governments have been forced or surrendered to the inevitability of the new neo-liberal global order, the notion of nation-building beyond the macro-political economy has been abandoned.

The welfare of families and communities are no longer seen as the responsibility of the state and families and communities no longer see their survival as linked to the collective.

It is from these disconnected, alienated communities that we recruit our cricketers. Is it any wonder, then, that in a team sport which requires a sense of the role of the individual in the outcome of the collective and vice versa, that we have been found wanting? We continue to produce players of distinction, but their exploits have not been translated into the success of the team. The great Brian Lara comes to mind in this regard—neither his batsmanship nor leadership amounted to West Indies glory. Chris Gayle has just declared himself “the greatest,” no doubt referencing his unparalleled exploits in the shortest version of the game. But, it may not even matter to Gayle that he is the greatest in an era when West Indies cricket is at its weakest.

Our selectors have shown poor judgement of talent; hence, we field wrong combinations of players. Take, for example, a Jermaine Blackwood who is persisted with in test matches while he is barred from the shorter versions where

his style and temperament are better suited. Or our own Ronsford Beaton, who is inexplicably banished from the longer version of the game by both Guyanese and West Indian selectors when his speed would be an asset in any decent test team.

In addition, these seems to be no policy regarding young Shimron Hetmeyer and Alzari Joseph, who from all indications are extremely talented.

There is no doubt that there are some practical things that can be done to at least bring our cricket up to competitive standards. But at the end of the day, we have no power to stop our better players from preferring to play lucrative club cricket rather than for the West Indies. We also seem to have little power to determine who coach our cricketers and oversee a possible rebirth of our glory. We now have foreigners coaching our cricketers and managing our cricket—there is nothing more ironical than that. And It is not as if we don’t have suitable West Indians to perform those functions.

And what to do about players who evidently cannot read the game, who play as if their heads are somewhere other than on the field of play? The future continues to look bleak.

Edghill concocts controversy on new Demerara River Bridge Dear Editor, REFERENCE is made to a letter published in the Thursday December 14, 2017 edition of Stabroek News, under the headline, “Demerara River Bridge, Ministry of Citizenship digitising of records among projects that raise serious concerns”, and written by opposition MP, Juan Edghill.

The ministry wishes to respond to claims made by Mr. Edghill which target two projects under our responsibility: the new Demerara River Bridge and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion.

On the matter of the CJIA expansion, the ministry wishes to affirm the position that the retention is a form of safeguard; as the contractor works and valuations are submitted, 10 percent of each invoice is retained, to a maximum value of five percent of the contract sum. This five percent is held by the government until the end of the defects and liability period, to which it is disbursed following the satisfactory completion and performance over this period. For this project, the defects and liability period is one year. It must also be noted that the monies will only be released once independent consultants have certified following the defects and liability period that any possible defects that may arise are rectified. This retention is just one safeguard being

undertaken by the Government of Guyana to ensure value for money and the successful completion of this project.

Indeed, the scope of the original project has been reworked; however, this is public information. Additionally, the scope was reworked after unforeseen physical conditions were experienced, such as excessive depth and low quality of the soil to the north-east of the runway.

The rectification of this issue received top priority and therefore required the reallocation of funds from one scope of the contract sum to another. This saw funds being moved from building works – which would include the new terminal building and accompanying bridges – to runway works. While bridges can subsequently be bought and added, foundation works cannot be delayed. This is simple logic.

Mr. Edghill is incorrect in his claim that there will be no new terminal building. As part of this project, the airport will benefit from a new arrivals terminal building as well as a renovated departures terminal building.

The existing building previously housed both arrivals and departures, but will now simply be rehabilitated to house departures only.

These two buildings will be connected and square footage will be higher than that of the original contract; the original contract was 14,347 sq. m while the final scope will be

14,430 sq. m.

Additionally, the airport will also benefit from the additional facility constructed for the temporary arrivals terminal at no additional cost, as its construction was part of the work plan of the contractor. This facility can now be used as a cargo facility, warehouse or as an office for a ground-handling concession.

It must be noted that the project cost remains the same, even as the airport benefits from a larger terminal building.

Meanwhile, the ministry wishes to emphasise that the only “controversy” surrounding the award of the consultancy for the feasibility study of the new Demerara River Bridge is that which has been concocted by Mr. Edghill himself and the PPP/C as a whole. In fact, on September 21, 2017, the ministry issued a statement – in response to false allegations levelled by Edghill’s colleague, MP Gail Teixeira – outlining the entire process that led to the award of the Feasibility Study and Design for the new Demerara River Crossing, including the number of bid submissions and approval granted by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

When it comes to land acquisition, the determination of its accompanying costs rests with the Lands and Surveys Department. To date, an order has been issued by the department for land acquisition and a survey will be

executed to determine the exact land required.

From there, the Valuation Department of the Ministry of Finance will recommend market values to be paid. It must be noted that, once again, this information was publicly relayed to the nation through the public advertising of the order in October. Ministry officials also met with residents who may be affected by land acquisition and all relevant information, including the way forward and the residents’ legal rights, were relayed to them.

Mr. Edghill is urged to check the records before making wild accusations.

Furthermore, bids were received from international firms containing various levels of financing options; after the review and assessment of the most suitable model, the National Assembly will be approached for the required financing.

Finally, the ministry has – time and time again – shared all of this information publicly; we never have, at any moment, attempted to obfuscate or withhold any information which we were permitted to share.

The public discussions have always been present and we are more than willing to let them continue.

Regards, Hon. David Patterson, M.P. Minister of Public Infrastructure

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Disgusted by the ‘scheming’ Dear Editor, AS a profoundly grateful beneficiary of President L.F.S Burnham’s policy of full scholarship awards to all Guyanese (without regard to race or political persuasion) to read/study law at the U.W.I Cave Hill Campus (Barbados) and the Hugh Wooding Law School (Trinidad and Tobago), I have read with utter disgust and anguish, the machinations and scheming of Anil Nandlall, Reginald Armour (present Chairman of the Council of legal Education); and to a lesser degree former Chief Justice Carl Singh, to frustrate (actively, or passively by omission, as the case may be) the policy of this APNU+AFC government to have established here in Guyana the “Joseph Haynes Law School” (see GC, Sunday December 10, 2017 report under caption “Law School conspiracy”; KN, Monday December 11 “AG accuses Nandlall, former chancellor of blocking efforts to establish local law school”).

The story, as illuminatingly told to us by the Hon. Attorney General And Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams S.C, leads to an irresistible inference of some mischief and sinister motive. So, one wonders whether on one possible view, inter alia, a motive is: the preservation and persistence of the status quo which translates into PPP dominance in the legal profession and its derivative – the higher and lower judiciary, even as I acknowledge the doctrine of independence of the Judiciary).

Here is my analysis.

First of all, in the sphere of legal education (in pursuit of citizens constitutional right to free education up to university) a Guyanese student having now obtained his/her LLB. Degree right here at the University of Guyana, cannot be admitted to practise law until and unless he/she obtains the Legal Education Certificate (LEC), presently obtainable from the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS).

So, legal education is conceived of, in such entirety. With us here in Guyana, it is a most notorious fact that most legal education aspiring students will most likely not be able to afford the financial costs associated with being at HWLS to obtain that necessary LEC, particularly Africans and Amerindians.

The answer and effective remedy for such jeopardy, hardship and financial disability is the establishment of a JHLS. Besides, there are manifestations of institutional intolerance for Guyanese students at HWLS. So, the question must be asked of both Nandlall and Carl Singh: what did you do in your time of influence and trust as attorney general and chancellor (ag) respectively, to remedy this jeopardy and intolerance? Nothing. Nandlall showed no initiative, Carl Singh, no interest.

Why? For how much longer must the pursuit of legal education in its entirety by those citizens under such disability, remain only aspirational, and elusive. And paradoxically, the whole beneficial purpose of law schools such as HWLS is (as per the recitals in the Council of Legal Education, Act Cap 4:04) “to give assurance that the whole scheme for legal education will be implemented in its entirety.” To the lawyer’s question: is HWLS as presently operated, advancing or conducing towards this “assurance” for those Guyanese?

The answer is – NO. It defeats it. In these premises, it is not far-fetched to suppose that Nandlall (as a notable PPP member) is pursuing a PPP anti-student agenda when he e-mails the Council of Legal Education (CLE) present Chairman opposing the establishment of a JHLS; and that, that agenda is motivated by considerations of a preservation of PPP

dominance in the legal profession.

Secondly, (and as a corollary of my first point), racial imbalance in the legal profession is a notorious fact. And this is not because of some pathological or hereditary indisposition of that minority to be lawyers. Not at all. This imbalance is, and must be attributed (since the end of L.F.S Burnham’s policy of which I and many others are beneficiaries) to this present system which obligates Guyanese students to have to obtain the LEC at HWLS. Third, turning to the role of present chairman of the LEC Reginald Armour, SC in this scheming. It appears to me to be an irresistible inference that he is a FACILITATOR and joint enterpriser in this anti-Guyanese-students contrivance to frustrate (if not avoid) the establishment of the JHLS. The time-lines and events as outlined by the attorney general in the GC report speak for themselves. On Monday, January 16, 2017 at a PPP press conference, Nandlall denounces and opposes the JHLS establishment. By e-mail dated 21 January 2017 Nandlall communicates his opposition to the JHLS, to Armour. By e-mail dated January 23, 2017, Armour assures Nandlall that his opposition would be put on the Council of Legal Education meeting agenda for consideration. On Wednesday, 25 January, 2017, a Review Committee (chaired by Armour) convened and decided to publish in other Caribbean and T&T media that Guyana had no permission from the CLE to establish a law school, without affording AG Williams a hearing on the matter, even though in September 2016 the full Council of Legal Education, then chaired by Jacquiline Samuels-Brown, QC, made a decision/determination of prior approval for the establishment of a law school, subject to certain conditions. Nandlall, it is easy to see, was, with his accustomed degree of flippancy, pedantry and naked malice towards AG Williams, just being a mischievous busy body in sending that e-mail; having no standing or business whatsoever in the matter, and arrogating unto himself roles/power he did not have. What relevant interest did he have when as AG(2011-2015 June) he took no initiative to further the establishment of a local law school (by whatever name) This was 2017. Nandlall had long demitted office as AG since June 2015. Why then did Chairman Armour tolerate and facilitate his unauthorised intermeddling? And, but for that reckless Nandlall 21 January e-mail, would the Review Committee have made a deferment decision in September 2017? En passant, can a Review Committee overrule the full CLE?.

Is a “determination “by the Jacquiline Samuels-Brown, QC chaired Council, reviewable by a subsequent Council (a Reginald Armour chaired one) or is the previous determination/ decision resjudicata? Is there no finality to a CLE decision?

Fourth, (as a corollary of the third) even as I hold no brief for our Attorney General, it is difficult to conceive how our AG can have any confidence that in his three years chairmanship, Armour will be unbiased in any future deliberations over this JHLS matter. As lawyers we know only too well where bias can, and does, take an adjudicator. I am aware that he is not a one-person Council; but chairmanship has power and influences. In the events which have happened, there is a real danger that Armour will be biased in favour of an intermeddling Nandlall. At least he must recuse himself; at worst he should resign his chairmanship. Attorney General Williams must raise objections to his chairmanship in 2018.

Fifth, turning now to former chancellor (ag) Carl Singh. Did he vote at the 25 January

2017 Review Committee meeting? Carl Singh has denied attendance/participating (GC, December 12, 2017 captioned “was never part of any committee discussion on proposed law school for Guyana – Carl Singh”). At worst, the seeming confusion about what the AG meant, and was intending to say (in the GC report supra) about Carl Singh as regards the January 25, 2017 Review Committee decision to cause a publication in the Caribbean/T&T media as mentioned above, is all attributable to Armour. It was Armour, SC who, voluntarily, and presumably for some good reason, made reference to Carl Singh in the oral discussion with the AG about the January 25, 2017 Review Committee meeting. Carl Singh was a member of that RC; AG Williams is/ was not a member and is not privy to what happened and who participated (presumably there is a record of minutes). Armour can best explain why he made reference to Singh. But what is intriguing, remarkable, and alarming and unwittingly self-incriminating about this strident denial (and which lends some support to the AG’s substantive contention) is the palpable DISINTEREST of Carl Singh in this JHLS matter, as is to be deduced from his GC letter. His membership of the RC was from 2009 to February 2017 (9 years). Why was he not interested, at any rate from when AG Williams assumed office and put JHLS establishment on the front burner of matters at the CLE. If on the contrary he was, why such ad hoc, indolent, lack of due diligence attendance/participation? He owes an explanation.

His immediate predecessor (Bernard, C) agitated for a local law school? Why his departure from such posturing? While Nandlall is plainly an active non-supporter of a JHLS in Guyana, Carl Singh might with reason, be accused of passive non-support. Nandlall is a non-supporter by commission; Carl Singh, by omission. And being since 2007 the Head of the Judiciary, such passivity on a matter that touches and concerns the legal profession, legal education in its entirety and the delivery of justice, certainly needs some explaining away.

That GC letter does not help! His omission not to attend was a serious breach of trust.

Presumably, he was aware of Armour’s intent to reopen the JHLS matter at the RC meeting. The establishment of a JHLS in Guyana

cannot be considered a separation of powers executive branch of government exclusive matter, so that a chancellor should have no business in it, nor, be seen to be concerned about such matter. Not at all. What might have been had he attended/participated and made representations of both legal and factual purport favouring Guyana’s position.

Sixth, it may well be (I express no considered opinion) that upon a strict interpretation of Section 3 of the Council of Legal Education Act Cap 4:04 (ie the “force of law” of specifically Articles ‘1’, ‘5’, ‘6’ and ‘9’ only) Guyana is not legally bound by Article 3(b) which confers on the CLE the function and power to determine the establishment of other law schools (expressio unius est exclusio alterius – ie the expression of that specific thing is the exclusion of others not mentioned).

The practice is a different matter. I stir this point because Nandlall seeks to justify his intermeddling by some concern that Guyana is in breach of its treaty obligations. He ignores completely what has been a creeping intolerance for Guyanese law students at HWLS, which has metamorphosed into a quota situation (a maximum of 25) with the connivance and acquiescence of previous trustees like Nandlall and Carl Singh (more details appear in the GC report of December 10). Guyanese law students (present and future) should be grateful that trustee AG Williams is an activist on a crusade to put an end to such intolerance, by his activism for a JHLS. What an irony, that even that socio-economic class that can afford attendance at HWLS would benefit.

I end with this: for us on this side of the argument, it is not only of some necessity, but of paramount necessity that JHLS be established. If there was justification for a third law school (ie “Eugene Dupuch Law School” in the Bahamas); the case for the addition of the JHLS as a fourth law school, is even more compelling and justified.

The surrogates of the PPP must, come hell or high water, be thwarted in their active or passive efforts to frustrate or prevent its establishment.

Regards Maxwell E. Edwards Attorney–at–Law

8

LITANY OF LIES

THE National Assembly on Friday approved the $267 billion state budget after detailed scrutiny over a five-day period. However, on the first day when financial allocations for the Ministry of the Presidency came up, the opposition tried to derail the sitting by resorting to filibustering and flagrant disobedience of the Speaker’s orders.

The resultant noisy disruption led to the suspension of an opposition MP for gross disorderly conduct.

That contempt for the legislature and disrespect for lawful processes constitute one aspect of the politics of dissent and disorder that is embraced by the opposition.

Other features include periodic withdrawal from the chamber and peddling lies and misinformation.

CONGENITAL LIAR The current web of lies has led me to recall an encounter that I had with Dr. Cheddi Jagan, late President of Guyana, after a member of a previous Cabinet had lied about the procurement of a generator for Lethem.

We had planned a trip to the Rupununi and the President wanted the broken generator in Lethem to be replaced before the visit.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

I had contacted the minister who assured that, that would be done but subsequently he lied about his undertaking, which caused the President to rhetorically ask me: “What are we going to do with this congenital liar?”

Today, when I recount the litany of lies being peddled by some elements, I remember the sadness in the voice of the good leader as I shared his torment back in 1996, mere months before his death.

FAKE NEWS On Friday, as we wrapped up consideration of the estimates, Minister Harmon exposed the latest of these lies that the Ministry of the Presidency had bought on credit $100 million worth of bulletproof vehicles. The lie was planted by suspended MP, Juan Edghill, who is being investigated for previously misleading the House by allegedly making false statements. The minister denied the malicious claim which was made by the self-professed Bishop and “man of the cloth.”

During the general debate on the 2018 national budget, several ministers responded to an outpouring of “fake news”, which the opposition

benches had tried to pass off as facts. A buzz, “fake news”, went up every time an opposition MP made exaggerated claims.

Then the sublime gave way to the outrageous, when the leader of the opposition claimed that a specific sum of $300 million has been allocated for the prime minister’s secretariat. My technical staff combed every head of the estimates and could not find this phantom $300-million line item.

I was waiting to bludgeon the wily, young pensioner for that Big Lie during the review of the estimates for my office. The opposition leader knew that I would call on him to withdraw his false statement, and that I would demand an apology to the House. But his zealots forced a suspension of the sitting before my agency came up for review.

Kamwatta to get nursery school

By Alva Solomon A NURSERY school is on the cards for the Region One (Barima/Waini) village of Kamwatta while several other schools in the region will benefit from extension works come 2018.

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan made the disclosure during consideration of the estimates for Budget 2018 last week, while responding to questions from the opposition.

According to the budget set aside for the Regional Democratic Council of Region One, a sum of $179M has been allocated for the construction of buildings for educational purposes in the region.

Extension works are expected to be undertaken at the Santa Rosa Nursery School and the Warapoka and Assakata Primary schools, which are all located in the Moruca sub-region. In addition, the Port Kaituma Primary School annex will also be extended.

The objective of the region’s educationdelivery programme is to ensure equal access to quality education for all children and young people of the region.

In 2017, the region scored poorly in terms

of pass rates at the national examinations, notably the National Grade Six Examinations (11 per cent) and the Caribbean Secondary Entrance Certificate (CSEC) examinations (45 per cent).

Among the strategies which will be adopted by the RDC in the region in 2018 are the implementation of the national curriculum and the provision of a supportive environment that facilitates the teaching / learning process.

In addition, the regional authorities’ plan entails the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all aspects of the education system to the Minister of Education.

Meanwhile, the Moruca sub-region is expected to benefit from the services of a wharf, which will further the infrastructural development of the area.

The project falls under the RDC’s agenda and will be undertaken at a cost of $16M. Moruca will also benefit from the services of a radio station, Radio Moruca, a project which will be undertaken by the Office of the Prime Minister and the National Communications Network.

A generator will also be procured and installed at MoruTurn to page 9 ►

Earlier, with a dry, straight face, he had claimed that the prime minister’s annual salary is $100 million.

He magnified the intended mischief, saying that the PM’s salary could provide jobs for 1,000 sugar workers. He knew that, that was a blatant untruth and that the prime minister’s salary is just marginally above his $1,600,000 non-taxable, monthly pension. But I am sure that he holds a mistaken view that the bigger the lie, it is more likely that it could be believed.

STALINIST BEAST For many years under one-party rule, I had grappled with that Goebbelian factor, and I had even fought within the post-Jagan PPP the Stalinist beast of contrived, controlled and contaminated inner-party propaganda. With the disappearance of moral leadership, lie-peddling had become a method of internal political struggle.

For example, the ground for the expulsion from the PPP of Khemraj Ramjattan was laid when he was accused of being an “American spy.” Earlier, I was pushed to the edge of disillusionment after the Stalinists peddled a lie that I had planned to succeed Dr. Jagan as party

leader/president and, two years later, that I had rigged the 1998 Congress vote to emerge at the top of the list of elected party leaders. I not only survived those conspiracies, but became more empowered to pass judgment against the real riggers!

But the Big Lie has now crawled into the national political arena. Some members of the opposition would repeat that $100 million was spent on renovating the prime minister’s residence; another $100 million was spent on buying for him a custom-built SUV, etc. They have been fed on the fascist-like propaganda brew that a lie repeated often, is likely to be accepted as the truth.

The shouts of “rape”, “rape” by opposition MPs inside the Chamber of Parliament elevated the Big Lie to the status of theatre. That sordid incident was also a graphic and dramatic lesson of how the Big Lie, like a “feral blast”, could be deployed against perceived opponents, and even to besmirch the character of law-enforcement officers.

FIDDLING WITH TRUTH When the Big Lie is hard to tell, there is resort to fiddling with the

truth. Take a look at the attempts to hide the huge debt that Guysuco racked up, that exposed how the sugar industry was bankrupted under the Jagdeo regime.

The documentary evidence shows that at one point the debt had reached $82 billion, but it has since been reduced. The opposition had tried to walk around the debt, treating it as a paper baggage that government could easily take over and absorb.

GAWU was put to do the fiddling by down-grading the debt to a mere $17 billion. But the real picture at the end of the third quarter, 2017, reveals a total debt of $77.80 billion, as follows:* Long-term loans and debts $ 63.12 billion * Trade and other creditors $ 12.88 billion * Overdrafts $ 1.80 billion It cannot be that Guyana would be forever condemned to a culture of political deception and lies. We owe it to the future generation to counter the litany of lies and not allow it, like a Shakespearian tragedy, to consume us all.

Caribbean jurist accepts... ensure that the provisions of the constitution are applied, while stressing that the delay in complying with Article 127 (1) of the constitution “has long reached a level of justiciability and the most appropriate authority for resolving this situation is the court system.”

He noted too that the said article is mandatory and not discretionary and any failure to fulfil the obligation should be seen as a breach of the constitution.

Additionally, the learned judge reminded that the interpretation of Article 127 was the subject of litigation 10 years ago in the case of

Committee for the Defence of the Constitution v AG. In that case, the court was confronted with a challenge to Justice Carl Singh performing the functions of both chancellor and chief justice.

The court ultimately determined that it was a breach of the constitution for the functions of both offices to be performed simultaneously.

“What is interesting about this case is that while the court appears to have acknowledged that the failure to appoint a substantive chancellor for a prolonged period violated Article 122A (1) of the constitution, it

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seems to have viewed itself as constrained by Article 127 not specifying any time limit for the period of an acting appointment, or within which agreement must be reached.

“With the passage of 12 years the undesirability of further delay could no longer be controversial.

This is a very serious issue, because attacking the problems of delay and all other issues that need reform requires strong leadership. It is simply obvious that a leader who is not appointed is under a disadvantage, and criticisms of the sector,” Justice Byron declared.

9

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

By Dr. Ken Danns

Kangalangs in Parliament THE legislative arm of the Government of Guyana has seemingly been taken over by Kangalangs. Kangalangs are uncivil persons who have no regard for the norms of an institution, group or social gathering and act to deliberately create disarray in their environments, in such manner as to disrupt normal functioning. Kangalangs display blatant disrespect for others and moreso are indifferent to any consequences for their actions. They are by no means sociopathic, but are instead selectively irresponsible. They engage in chaotic behaviors, not with the aim of achieving any specific outcomes, but purely out of calculated and reckless disregard for others and prevailing norms.

This social type must not be mistaken for the conventional protestor. Kangalangs show up at events, showering contempt on others and promoting chaos on proceedings, regardless

of its nature or its course.

Some Parliamentarians of the opposition People Progressive Party (PPP/Civic) at the Monday, December 11 sitting of the nation’s Parliament behaved like kangalangs. Their actions served to bring disrepute on this legislative arm of the national government. The authority of the Speaker of the Parliament to moderate proceedings was disregarded.

Raucous behavior ensued.

Law enforcement officers who stood guard at Parliament were summoned and allegedly subjected to abuse by the opposition PPP/C Parliamentarians. In this openly public forum, false accusations of rape and police misconduct were shouted by opposition MPs in the highest law making body of the land.

The kangalang drama is said to have found its way on to Facebook and therefore spotlighted to the whole world.

Needless to say, this public display of kangalangism is an utter embarrassment to the

Government of Guyana, of which the opposition PPP/C is a part, and to the Guyanese people. What sort of country is Guyana becoming? Can investors and tourists take Guyana seriously? Kangalangs in Parliament are enemies of the country’s progress and development.

This is by no means the first Kangalang chaos in the Parliament. Unless resolute remedies are urgently found and implemented, it will certainly not be the last.

Political parties in opposition, all around the world, are invariably dissatisfied with the procedural conduct of their respective legislatures. I am not in a position to determine whether or not the opposition PPP/C Parliamentarians have serious and justifiable concerns about the management of Parliament and the stewardship of its Speaker. They may well have, in a political system that is still oriented to winner takes all politics. There are certainly long-established

Kamwatta to get nursery... ca to enhance the electricity grid there.

In 2018, a new ferry has also been budgeted for Region One under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure at a cost of $3.4B. Government is expected to source funds for the ocean- going vessel from India.

Other works carded for Region One in 2018 include the construction of a bridge at Fall’s Top and culverts near Matthews Ridge and at Waramuri. Those projects will be undertaken at a cost of $66M. As regards the health sector, under a $150M sum, the Pekera Hospital at Matthews Ridge will benefit from the installation of an oxygen- distribution network. An x-ray

room and laboratory have been budgeted for the hospital.

At Waramuri, a new doctors’ quarters will be constructed.

A mortuary is also ex-

pected to be built at Baramita, while provisions for additional staff quarters have been budgeted for in the town of Mabaruma.

protocols for conducting the business of the Parliament and even appealing the rulings of its Speaker. There are therefore no justifications for kangalang behaviors in the nation’s Parliament. Such behaviors accomplish nothing but show its perpetrators, the institution, and the country in a very negative light.

Guyana is already a country in which there is a prevalence of incidents of open disregard for laws and public decency. To have our nation’s leaders--its parliamentarians--engage in such reprehensible conduct, and in the Legislature at that, set a horrible example for everyone else. The message being sent by such Parliamentarians is that parties with differences of opinion must resort to vitriolic conflict to resolve such differences. And, that “cussing out” is better than civil discourse.

It is imperative that a formal inquiry be conducted into the ruckus which led to chaos and the breakdown of order,

From page 8

if not also law, in the nation’s Parliament on December 11.

Suspending a Bishop alone may work in a game of chess.

When will kangalangs erupt again in Parliament immobilizing its functioning? It is becoming systemic; a new normal in the functioning of the Legislature. Good governance, however, depends on the integrity and credibility in the operation of key institutions. An impartial inquiry that can determine the causes of failures and breakdowns in this revered government institution and arrive at functional remedies is crucial.

The leader of the PPP/C has pledged non-cooperation with the incumbent APNU/AFC Government and promises to disrupt

its policies, programs and functioning. If the ignominy that was inflicted on the august Parliament and people of this country on December 11 was a deliberate tactic, then, the responsible Leader of the Governmental Opposition ought to reconsider such actions. I would rather like to think it was neither planned nor deliberate. But, it must never happen again!

10

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Remembering Martin Carter as Guyana is dying AS a boy growing up in Buxton, I participated in almost every facet of village life—from sports to drama to politics to religion.

Looking back, I have come to realise I was part of something bigger than my community.

Growing up and coming of age in the 1970s was indeed a rare experience. I was growing up amid Bob Marley’s revolutionary music and the dominance of Clive Lloyd’s revolutionary cricketers and Mighty Chalkdust’s political calypsos and Louise Bennett’s folk poetry and Walter Rodney’s brazen, radical, political intervention. It was a time of hope and beauty—the Caribbean was in motion.

Suddenly, Martin Carter’s “dark time” was giving way to his dream to “change the world.” And there we were, teenagers and young people, owning our country and our Caribbean like Carter’s “sweepers of an ancient sky/discoverers of a new planet/ sudden stars.” We thought we were Carter’s “world’s hope.” My generation of teenagers was discovering Martin Carter’s poetry and using it as “a banner for the revolution” of which we were a part.

You see, Walter Rodney had returned to the Caribbean in 1974 after six years—the same year Viv

Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Andy Roberts were beginning their careers on the eve of West Indies cricket glory. It was that same year that Bob Marley released his first solo album, Natty Dread, and here in Guyana, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) came into being as the radical hope for a better Guyana. We were little boys and girls, barely teenagers, but very aware that something dramatic was happening around us.

I attended an event this past week to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Martin Carter’s death. As I sat in the audience, Carter’s words and images and politics flooded my memory. It was an audience of mostly older people, seemingly middle class. Our young people were not significantly represented. It occurred to me that Martin Carter’s poetry means nothing to them. I wondered how could this be—how could those foundation words and thoughts and images of our collective self have no resonance with the generations of our future? But, this is a different Guyana—a Guyana that is fast losing what is left of its soul.

My mind went back to when, as a teenage boy, my introduction to the political platform was as a reciter of Martin Carter’s poems.

Karen De Souza and I were the

Alarming... tween 35 and 60 years) reported to the Ministry of Public Health are related to heart disease and hypertension, diabetes, cancers or chronic lung disease. In fact… the report issued at the July 2017 Heads of CARICOM Conference indicated that Guyana and the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago were ranked as first and second respectively in terms of the prevalence and deaths from heart disease and diabetes,” Minister Lawrence pointed out.

She said the statistics, which covered the North, South and Central Americas

From page 3

and the Caribbean countries, are fuelled by several factors such as the decrease in physical activities, obesity, bad diets, tobacco-smoking and alcohol abused.

Minister Lawrence reminded that the CARICOM Heads of Government, in response to the silent global epidemic, issued the Port of Spain Declaration in 2007 with the aim of significantly reducing the prevalence of CNCDs but today, 10 years later, this category of diseases continues to be the bugbear and one of the main health challenges in the region of the

chanters and reciters of Carter’s poems on the WPA platform. Our task was to prepare the audiences for the political titans—Rodney, Roopnaraine, Andaiye, Bhagwan, Thomas, Kwayana et al—with folk chants and Martin Carter’s poems.

I knew Poems of Resistance by heart—from cover to cover. I still have the green Poems of Resistance that I got from Kwayana and the brown Poems of Succession which I appropriated from Karen—treasures of a time gone, never to be seen again.

I sat in that audience and watched and listened to Ian McDonald and wondered if our young people know him or care to know him. I watched as one of my heroes, Rupert Roopnaraine, still the eloquent wordsmith, but now evidently broken by time, paying homage to Carter. I shed a silent tear, because I have known Rupert since I was a child and retain a soft spot for him.

But I hardly know him these days— he seems distant. I have come to learn how politics can distort the “heart of things”, to borrow from Carter again. Guyana’s politics has worn down Rupert Roopnaraine. I hope Guyana still has some stomach to recognise this soldier of our recent struggle. Maybe wishful thinking, but as Martin Carter wrote “only hope/hope only.”

Americas.

However, she said President Granger’s acceptance to serve as chair of this very important and timely commission is proof of his commitment to ensuring that Guyanese enjoy a better quality of life.

“The Ministry of Health will intensify the campaign against the perpetuation of high incidences [sic] of premature deaths from NCDs in order to ensure a sustainable economic framework pillared by a healthy nation and to fulfil objectives of the 2030 Agenda,” Minister Lawrence said, as she recommitted the Public Health Ministry to the fight.

Already, the ministry in

Martin Carter is long dead. He had written poems about a decaying Guyana—our decaying politics in turn decaying the society and the society decaying the politics--the poet interpreting the realities of life.

Perhaps we of the WPA’s time were trying to prove Carter wrong. “The banner for the Revolution” is still my favourite Carter poem. And I still dream of that day –”Like a tide from the heart of things/Inexorably and Inevitably a day will come/ If I do not Live to see that day/ My son will see it/ And if he does not see it, his son will see it.”

But in the same week we remember Martin Carter, we witness the “carnival of misery” in parliament. We endure the pain of a government hiding money from the public when there was no need to hide it and cannot sensibly say why it hid it. I squirm at what passes for political intelligence in high places these days. The news of gruesome murders of young women fill the air. Sugar workers are being laid off and their party think only of the political loss to the party, while the government thinks only of “profit and loss.” We reach—yes, we reach where we going! Guyana is dying a slow but inexorable death. Martin Carter saw it coming. Rodney led us in the fight to turn it back.

I have never in my time heard

collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) has commenced work with regard to tackling CNCDs with the passage of the Tobacco Control Bill.

Moreover, with support from the Presidential Commission, the ministry plans to implement measures to abolish the marketing of tobacco to minors and eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke in all public spaces. Other actions will be taken against other risk factors, especially those that affect children and youths.

Similar sentiments were expressed by PAHO/WHO Country Representative, Dr.

and read so much political nonsense. I struggle to read the newspapers these days. Sensible and educated men and women are reduced to repeating empty slogans like “The president acted lawfully; he did not break any law.” Others who aspire to lead this land again holler “Rape! Rape!” at the sight of a group of Black policemen, knowing full well the racial undertones and overtones of such behaviour.

The PNC is glad to be in power and nothing else seems to matter.

The PPP is beyond redemption.

The AFC and WPA are helpless.

The APNU is a bare acronym.

The coalition is floundering. Oil is coming to Guyana, but it is bringing with it fresh decay. “I feel it in my bones/I feel it in the sun”, to quote another Caribbean poet, Surinamese Robin Dobru. Guyana is dying. Martin Carter is dead—he is not coming back. They have failed us—they keep failing us. And we fail ourselves every time we shut our mouths or open them to repeat their excuses.

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

William Adu-Krow, who said that this is an opportune time for Guyanese to come together to deal with CNCDs. He explained that the task of the commissioners on this body includes the development of policies, advising the President and the public health minister on existing gaps in NCDs that must be addressed and helping all sectors and civil society to intensify efforts to fight this scourge.

The 16 members of the commission are Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings; R. Banwarie,Ministry of Social Protection; Rhonda Godfrey, Ministry of Communities; Avonie Lekha-West, Ministry of

Business; Aileen Nestor, Ministry of Agriculture; Dr. Grace White, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC); Dr. William Adu-Krow, PAHO/WHO; Dr. Ronald Aaron, University of Guyana; Rajmatti Nauth, Inter-Religious Organisation; Dorothy Fraser, Guyana Red Cross Society; Compton Giddings, Food for the Poor Inc.; Dr. Wendy De Cunha, Trade Union Representative; Shawana Mars-Blaize, Guyana Diabetic Association; Dr. Holly Alenxander, St. John’s Ambulance Brigade; Kalawattie Datt-Singh, the Guyana Pharmacists Association; and Delicia Haynes, media representative.

11

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

PPP/C non-cooperation and Monday’s mayhem in the National Assembly WHEN you sow the wind, you are likely to reap the whirlwind.

The PPP/C made it very clear, arising from the appointment of the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, that it will not cooperate with the government. It is the government that has chosen not to see this threat as being real and focused. The altercation between Speaker Dr. Barton Scotland and Member of Parliament (MP) Juan Edghill was not by accident, for it had the features of a well-orchestrated plan to disrupt any activity the government seems to be in charge of.

Instructively, this opposition comprises men and women of the previous government, who, when stridently challenged on any issue, rather than deal with its substance, focused more in defining and determining how dissenters should behave. Their conduct in the Parliament on Monday, were they sitting in the Executive, and the opposition had behaved in similar manner, they would have condemned it, called it a threat to democracy and supported the police action. For less than what happened Monday they would have unleashed the rogue elements in the Guyana Police Force to suppress the voices of dissent and brutalise the people. It would have mattered not whether the people were maimed or killed, what would have mattered is the importance of silencing dissent and governing with an iron fist.

Times have changed and those who once governed like tyrants are now without the clout and influence of state power. Let it be made very clear, there shall be no support for any who uses state power and influence to transgress the rights of citizens or seek to not govern in the interest of society.

The PPP/C never thought it would

have been in the opposition and the evils its leadership visited on the people would come back to haunt them. This should also serve as a lesson to the APNU+AFC, for there will be a time when it goes into the opposition. When you govern by doing the right thing, when not in office there is no need to fear that the evils done to others will be visited on you.

Edghill who probably believed -- as he did during the 2015 elections that Jesus would vote PPP-that he was ordained by Jesus to strike the rod for the creation of the mayhem on Monday. This is a man whose actions should come as no surprise. There was an incident with him as a member of the Good and Green Guyana (GGG) party where under his name police permission was sought to hold a political rally at the Square of the Revolution. This was during the Janet Jagan presidency.

He was visited by Deputy Commissioner Bunbury and advised that there shall be no rally.

He was so terrified, shaken and afraid, when the media visited him to receive a comment for the non-holding of the rally he was mummed. What I am saying here could be confirmed by Julia Johnson, Adam Harris and Hamilton Green. Not long after this incident, he abandoned the GGG, crawled on his belly and went to the PPP/C. Examining the several clips of footage of Monday’s incident was nothing short of despicable. The ruling of the Speaker was correct based on the Standing Orders, which are the rules made by the MPs to govern the conduct of the business of the House. These rules cannot be cherry-picked and must be respected by one and all in order to create an atmosphere of law and order in doing the people’s business.

Edghill was told by the Speaker to take his seat, he refused and continued challenging the Speaker’s ruling/authority. The Speaker thereafter ruled him out of order and informed him to leave the chamber for the remainder of the session. He defied every ruling by the Speaker and promptly informed the House that he will not leave. He was then goaded along in the disrespect for the rules and Speaker’s authority by his colleagues from the opposition bench. The Speaker referred to the Sergeant-of-arms to have him removed from the House which he resisted. It was after these events that the police were invited to the House to have him removed.

On the arrival of the police a human shield was made around Edghill which supports the view that this was an activity that falls within the PPP/C’s plan of non-cooperation. The debate on whether it was right or wrong for the police to be called in will continue. The issue before this nation is that of Edghill’s response to a legitimate ruling and with the encouragement from his colleagues that led to the mayhem which subsequently caused the police to be there. That conduct, which was led by Gail Teixeira, was never a part of the culture of the House, neither is it permissible under the Standing Orders. The MP was fortunate to come off with a slap on the wrist. He should have been banned for the life of this 11th parliament.

This argument of being elected by the people does not grant immunity to disrespect the rules of the people’s House and not expect to face the consequences.

Immunity in the House is confined within the Standing Orders, and as a leader if you cannot follow the rules/laws that govern the institution and your presence in it, then

you have disqualified yourself to lead.

After years of governing by and applauding police excesses, on Monday when the opposition and the police clashed, they talked about police excesses and violating standard operating procedures like sleeping beauty who fell into a deep sleep and suddenly awakened to reality. The opposition MPs that cried and condemned the police’s actions honoured the police when they shot and killed peaceful demonstrators in Linden in July 2012.

When Robert Corbin and Jerome Khan went in front of what was then Office of the President to address citizens who were protesting, they were arrested by the police, physically manhandled, thrown into a vehicle and taken away to the station. The PPP/C government applauded the police for their conduct.

In 2011 when Eddie Collins, James Bond, et al were shot by the police in Hadfield Street and blood oozed from their bodies, the PPP/C government justified the act. When bodies were dropping like flies during the 2002-2006 crime spree, the PPP/C did not activate the Coroner’s Act but was content, through Roger Luncheon, to attribute the scourge to the presence of phantom squads.

To the MP, proudly knighted “the feral blast” by her colleague as I watched you cry and bemoan the police treatment I saw in you the tears of women, including Varshnie Singh, who felt violated and powerless in the presence and abuse of the powerful and armed.

Society remembers your response to Ms. Singh’s stories and pleas that it was a private matter and you could not express an opinion.

Violation, whether occurring to a person in his/her private or public capacity is wrong, should

be investigated, and the findings addressed within the ambit of the law. Those MPs who felt it was OK to form a human barrier to prevent the police from getting near to Edghill, in normal circumstances had any citizen done that he/she would have been placed in the lock-ups, charged, and placed before the court for obstructing the police in executing its duties.

While there’s no tolerance for police excesses, fair assessment of the situation saw the obstruction the officers faced in the discharge of an assignment by a group of men and women -- inclusive of fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers -- physically and verbally brawling, flaying around like wild animals, reaching for and grabbing at each other’s body parts, more focused on non-cooperation than conducting themselves in a manner befitting their presence in the House. The chief architect behind this act of non-cooperation set up Edghill and others, who like lambs went to the slaughter, as he stayed away and only appeared when it was considered safe.

As to the men who shouted rape and made allegations that the police were raping the women, shame on you. Your conduct has brought disrepute to manhood. It was wicked, sexist and un-manly to make light of the sexual violation of another’s body, fully well aware the act constitutes a crime. This conduct shows you have no qualms about using the vulnerable in our midst to advance self-serving agendas and divide the society. Monday’s incident must not only record an anomaly in conduct, but also occurrence.

We are paying our elected representatives to do better, must expect and demand better from them.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Health Ministry to say goodbye to Sussex Street bond soon

THE Public Health Ministry will continue to use the Sussex Street drug bond for at least another two months, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence informed the Parliamentary Committee of Supply during the just concluded consideration of the estimates of Budget 2018.

It was while being grilled on the $2.1B allocation to the Public Health sector that Minister Lawrence disclosed that the Sussex Street drug bond will be rented in 2018 at a fee of $12.5M for at least two months.

It was People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Members of Parliament Dr. Bheri Ramsaran and Vishwa Mahadeo, who had questioned the public health minister on Line Item 6241 – Rental of Buildings -- in which $180.3M was allocated – $300,000 more than 2017.

In responding to the MPs, Minister Lawrence explained that the budgeted sum caters for the rental of four buildings – one for the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at a rate of $25,000 per month, a building in Queenstown for displaced staff from a health facility at Liliendaal at a fee of $1.5M per month, another building for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Secretariat for the Maternal and Child Health Programme at an estimated $1.5 million, and Sussex Street drug bond at $12.5M per month. Negotiations for the building to house the IDB Secretariat for the Maternal and Child

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence

Health Programme, are continuing.

The minister further explained that it was the Public Health Ministry’s intention to bring the contract for the rental of the Sussex Street drug bond to an end by December 31, 2017; however, it is housing a CT scan for the Bartica Regional Hospital.

“As we speak right now, it seems as though we will go over for another two months, because we are storing the CT-scan for Bartica there and that place, as I mentioned in the debate, that is being put together to house the CT scan is about 55 per cent completed,” she explained.

The minister noted that the Non-Governmental Organisation that gave the Ministry two CT-scans for Bartica and another for New Amsterdam has requested to have their technical people install the machine.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is also storing drugs and medical supplies at the drug bond.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

President has Christmas Day treat full confidence in for the elderly elections machinery EXPRESSING confidence in chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), President David Granger believes that the work of the commission can now move forward as the body is properly constituted.

He told reporters Friday that the allegations levelled against the new chairman, Justice (ret’d) James Patterson are unsubstantiated. The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is of the view that Justice Patterson was appointed by President Granger with the intention to ultimately rig the upcoming 2020 General Elections.

“I have every confidence in the chairman in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and many unsubstantiated claims and allegations have been made,” he said, noting that both the government and opposition have three commissioners each sitting on the commission.

“As far as I am concerned, the commission is properly constituted and I would obviously make sure that nothing is done to have any improperly conducted elections,” the head-of-state

President David Granger

assured, while noting that his administration could not have waited any longer to appoint a GECOM chairman. “…The way the commission is structured, you have vigilance on both sides.

So I am confident, I don’t have to restore confidence, the confidence is there and I would urge Guyanese to support the work of the commission,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the President made it clear that he has no intention to rigging an election as some would perceive.

“I have never rigged an election in my life; I have no intention of ever doing so,” he said, while noting that as far as he knows the ideals of the late Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham were far removed from such illegal activities.

The President, who is leader of the Peoples National Congress (PNC), would often- times reference some of the ideals of the former President.

“Whenever I spoke of Mr Burnham I spoke of the ideals which are part of the party which he founded, the PNC. I spoke of his commitment to education and the construction of the various multilateral schools; infrastructure, airport, housing -- I think he has made a contribution and I have no compunction admitting that those are ideals which have served the nation well,” President Granger declared.

He noted that Guyana developed significantly from 1964 to 1974.

“I have always referred to those achievements. But for rigging of elections I don’t see how that is applicable to anything I have said or intend to do.”

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The children’s Christmas party at the Dharm Shala, Fort Canje Berbice

THE Dharm Shala is celebrating 97 years as a ‘Home of Benevolence for all Races’, and will on Christmas Day hold a special luncheon for the elderly residents of the facility and others.

The luncheon will be held at the 140 King Edward & Sussex Streets, Albouystown, Georgetown, premises and will begin at 11:00 hrs.

Administrators, Kella and Pamela Ramsaroop, ushered in the festive season for the Children of the Dharm Shala, holding a 97th Anniversary Christmas Party at the Dharm Shala Compound, Fort Canje, Berbice, two Saturdays ago.

The party, according to Kella, was a huge success and 180 children from Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, were entertained.

A Christmas tree was lit for the occasion.

There were lots to eat and drink with delectable goodies served at the party as well as ‘take away’ snack bags.

And Santa Claus brought much happiness to the children as he distributed toys, wrapped up in gift packages.

The management and staff of the Dharm Shala wishes to extend sincere greetings for a Happy Christmas to one and all and extend greeting for a bright and prosperous New Year!

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Former UG Chancellor Juma passes on PROMINENT Kenyan academic and former Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Calestuous Juma has died in the United States at the age of 64, prompting an outpouring of grief and tributes on social media.

“Intellectual giant”, “innovator”, “tireless champion of the world’s poorest” -- these are just some of the words used to describe the Harvard University professor after news of his death broke on Friday.

Juma, whose research and writing focused on science and the environment, was a passionate advocate of the role of technological innovation in transforming African countries.

Earlier this year, he was named among the 100 Most Reputable People on Earth

by Reputation Poll, a South African consulting company.

Juma was also repeatedly included in the annual list of the 100 Most Influential Africans by the New African magazine.

His lawyer, Peter Wanyama, told Kenyan newspaper the Daily Nation that Juma was “unwell for two years” and was undergoing treatment in the U.S. city of Boston when he passed away.

Wanyama did not specify the cause of Juma’s death.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta offered condolences on Twitter, saying he was dismayed by the news of the professor’s passing.

“We have lost one of our most distinguished scholars and patriots,” Kenyatta wrote.

Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president, said the world has

Professor Calestuous Juma

“lost a brilliant mind who was dedicated to innovation,

education and Africa’s prosperity.”

Amina Mohamed, Kenya’s foreign minister, described Juma as a “friend, compatriot and a role model.”

“The best of the best”, wrote fellow Kenyan academic Makau Mutua. Juma was a “towering scholar and a great human being”, he added.

A former student, Farai Gundan, said Juma was a “great mentor”, whose office was “a haven for discussions on [Africa] and its development.”

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has funded some of Juma’s work, said he was “a tireless champion for economic and social development in Africa.”

A prolific author, Juma published more than a dozen books on sustainable de-

velopment and won several international awards for his work on the subject, Harvard said.

His latest book, Innovation and its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, draws on nearly 600 years of economic history to explain how new technologies emerge and take root.

His writings have also appeared on Al Jazeera, as well as in The New York Times and The Guardian.

Juma served on the jury of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, among others, and was elected to several scientific academies, including the Royal Society of London and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Tributes also flowed in from politicians, journalists, celebrities and academics. (Al Jazeera)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

High Dependency Unit for GPHC Paediatric Ward THE Georgetown Public Corporation’s (GPHC) Paediatric Ward is slated to be upgraded to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Included in the upgrade is a High Dependency Unit (HDU) which is expected to be completed within the first quarter of next year and will be able to accommodate at least 10 children.

Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence during a visit to the ward on Friday disclosed that most of the requisite equipment have already been acquired.

“Very expensive equipment that was donated by Baby Heart surgery and we’re trying to upscale it so that it will become one of the first Paediatric ICUs in the country for our children.

Also attached will be a High Dependency Unit, so as the children begin to feel better, they can be moved to that section,” Minister Lawrence explained.

A section in the Paediat-

Health Minister Volda Lawrence greets a patient of the Paediatric Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC photo)

ric Ward is being managed by the Baby Heart Foundation (BHF) which collaborates with the government to provide heart-related surgeries to children diagnosed with severe heart diseases.

Members of this team visit two to three times annually

to perform the operations.

Minister Lawrence noted that the government has made a good investment and is committed to supporting the foundation. She added that the nurses stationed there are from Georgetown, Linden, New Amsterdam

and Region Two, among others.

“So, at the end of the day, they can go back to their hospitals and be able to share those skills they have learnt here. On this particular mission, they (BHF) have performed operations on 13 children. They’re just three now here. One is going home today and we have one child in the ICU, and we’re told he will be coming out of the ICU today”, the public health minister underlined.

Paediatric Cardiologist of BHF, Dr. Rodrigo Soto, said that apart from surgeries, the foundation is extensively focusing on building staff’s capacity in the unit.

“The purpose of this programme is that in a number of years, this unit is

run completely by Guyanese. We are moving in that direction. At the moment we’ve been training nurses and doctors and hopefully next year we open the High Dependency Unit which will be the baby step to open the first PICU in the country in 2019,” Dr. Soto explained.

Meanwhile, GPHC Chief Executive Officer Brigadier George Lewis expressed satisfaction with the work done thus far by the foundation.

“The cooperation between the government and Baby Heart is a wonderful initiative. Any cardiac-type operation is very expensive and calls for skilled personnel, because any mistake and the person would die.

So, them coming here reduces the cost for the surgeries, and patients don’t have to go

overseas,” he said, Kay Alves, grandmother of seven-year-old Mickon Alves, who will be discharged shortly from the ICU is grateful for the operation conducted on her grandson.

“The volunteers that came to do the job did a magnificent job, not only for Mickon, but many other children that I saw in there.

He’s a ‘sickler’ (has sickle cells) along with his heart and he’s doing really ok, he’s doing ok. I am thankful for the Ministry of Health, they saved me over a million dollars,” she said.

By 2019, the ICU will be fully upgraded. The youngest patient to undergo surgery on this most recent mission was one month old.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Tuschen man killed in Orangestein accident A 40-year-old labourer, Courtney Ashby, was killed after being struck down by a motorcar on the Orangestein Public Road, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), early Saturday morning.

According to the police, Ashby, of Tuschen, EBE, reportedly ran into the path of the vehicle which was

being driven by a 24-year-old male of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

After being hit, he was rushed by the driver to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The driver of the motorcar, PRR 5883, is in police custody assisting with investigations. He was tested for alcohol consumption but was found to be below the legal limit.

Female lures taxi driver into trap A FEMALE passenger reportedly lured 29-year-old Delon Dundar to Princes Street where he was robbed of his vehicle and cash on Friday evening.

According to the police, Dundar, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was working his white Toyota Raum ‘special hire’ at Regent and Camp Streets when a lone female approached him to take her to Princes Street.

On arrival at the location, in the vicinity of the Shikhan Hotel, the woman, who was still in the car, asked Dundar to wait a few minutes while she go and get the money to pay him.

Police say that while both parties were waiting in the vehicle, a male armed with a handgun, approached from behind and dealt Dunbar sev-

eral blows to the head with the weapon, before ordering him out.

The suspect then got into the car and speedily drove off with his female accomplice, east along Princes Street, while discharging a few rounds into the air for good measure.

Dundar has reportedly put his losses at well over $G1M, as the car alone is worth more than that. He also had $20,000 in cash and other documents in the vehicle.

According to the police, persons were questioned but they have so far received no useful information. There were also CCTV cameras in the area that are yet to be viewed.

No spent shells were discovered either, but the investigation is still in progress.

Look out for expired goods TOWN Clerk Royston King is calling on citizens to pay attention to all items, particularly foods and beverages that they purchase during the festive season.

He said a report from the Meat and Food Hygiene Department of the Council worryingly suggests that there is an abundance of various goods on sale which have long passed their expiry dates.

The Council’s Meat and Food Hygiene Inspectors are visiting all municipal markets and other public marketing facilities, in the City, to ensure foods offered for human consumption are wholesome.

“Citizens have a role to play to ensure that their purchases are not beyond

their expiry dates. They should check labels and other informational materials on items before purchase,” King said in a release.

The Council is also appealing to businesses to demonstrate corporate social responsibility by putting on sale items that are healthy and good for human consumption.

In this way, they would be assisting the Council to protect the health of citizens, the Council said.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Allocation to Finance Ministry approved FINANCE Minister Winston Jordan fielded several questions put to him about spending and programmes, under the auspices of his ministry. The ministry’s budget was last to get the nod of approval Friday evening, just prior to the closing of the Committee of Supply’s consideration of the 2018 budgetary estimates.

Approval has been given for $28,292B to be spent by the ministry next year on interventions such as micro-community development projects and programmes; payments for cycles seven and eight interventions, including water supply projects in Baramita, Canal Bank, Timehri and early childhood development centres in Ithaca, Dartmouth, Suddie, Linden, Ann’s Grove and Anna Catherina; and support to the Bureau of Statistics for a Labour Force Survey and institutional strengthening and capacity-building.

There are also provisions

Finance Minister Winston Jordan

for Amerindian Land Titling, the Amerindian Development Fund for village economies, for the Micro and Small Enterprise Development, for the adaptation projects, including rehabilitation of the Cunha Canal, for Information and Communication Technology Access and E-Service for Hinterland, Poor and Remote Communities, Sustainable Land Management and Development and for the Green Economy Development Strategy.

For the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), there is support for the completion of buildings at Anna Regina, New Amsterdam and Corriverton and implementation of the Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS) and the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) softwares and the upgrading of regional tax offices In response to queries from opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Irfaan Alli about the number of new staffers for the GRA, the finance minister stated that the revenue authority is projected to hire about 42 staffers, to boost its capacity to deliver efficient and effectively to Guyanese.

The finance minister also responded to questions raised about a$320M for trips and overseas engagements budgeted for the ministry in 2018.

The minister noted that figure remained the same despite increased costs as Cabinet agreed that unless travel was necessary, alternatives to

Areas designated for vending during Christmas season THE Mayor and City Council has designated special areas for vendors during this festive season and is happy to be able to provide space to permit street vendors to ply their trade at this time, Town Clerk Royston King has said.

Vendors selling on Council’s pavements, parapets and other thoroughfares have agreed to abide by certain conditions, including to sell in areas identified by the Council, King said.

“No selling in or around the Stabroek Market Square, provide proper garbage bins to throw away garbage in the right way, keep the area where they are selling clean and tidy at all times, bringing out small amounts of goods every day; keeping passage ways to businesses and other public and private places free from boxes, barrels, carts or any other things; not to sell in front of commercial banks, stores or display their produce and goods on the ground or on roadways; display produce and goods on clean materials three feet above the ground; use clean water to sprinkle fruits, greens and vegetables offered for sale to the public; not to encroach on public road ways; encourage the person selling next to them to obey the laws and regulations of the city and to report to the nearest constabulary outpost if they observe persons or known characters acting in a suspicious manner in the areas where they are selling,” the town clerk said.

Town Clerk Royston King

The Mayor and City Council is urging all vendors to pay attention to their assigned areas and to help the Council keep the city clean, while pointing out that activities and events, which characterise this festive season are no excuse for littering and other forms of indiscipline, which make the city look ugly and affect its image and reputation.

overseas travel would be utilised.

Questions were also raised about a sum of $381M for the seventh and eight cycles for the Basic Needs Trust Fund.

In response, the minister indicated that he was more familiar with the ninth cycle which was approved by the IDB in March of this year.

This cycle, it was stated, will last until May 2020 and is more for community out-

reaches to garner information on community projects, and to have the ministry staffers help local residents with initiatives to develop sustainable development projects.

Questions were raised about the proposed new Wismar Bridge. Minister Jordan revealed that negotiations were currently underway with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and these were expected to be completed by next year.

Asked about the institutional strengthening and the performance of the Public-Sector Investment Programme (PSIP,) the minister reminded that he had previously stated his dissatisfaction with the pace of government spending.

The Inter-American De-

velopment Bank (IDB) is also helping with this process and the government has a ‘War room’ meeting held weekly and chaired by the President to chart a way forward, the minister explained.

The percentage of total revenue based on arrears was $20B in 2016 and in 2017 the figure was $9B up to October this year, the minister answered in response to a query about the amounts thus far.

It was noted that several tables were missing from the printed copies of the estimates. Minister Jordan stated that this would be corrected, noting that it was the fault of the Guyana National Printers, who produced copies of the Estimates and would be provided as soon as possible.

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Accidents decrease significantly this year THE Guyana Police Force’s Traffic Department has recorded a 15 per cent decrease in overall accidents for the year thus far, Traffic Chief Dion Moore has said.

Moore, who was at the time speaking at the department’s annual year-end press conference at the Traffic Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown, said 89 fatal accidents resulting in 104 deaths have been recorded, compared to 115 fatal accidents and 126 deaths in 2016.

This represents a 23 per cent decrease in fatal accidents and 17 per cent decrease in deaths.

A total of 268 serious accidents were recorded in 2017 against 299 in 2016, representing a decrease of 10

per cent.

Minor accidents for this year stand at 376 compared to 409 in 2016, a decrease of eight per cent. Additionally, there were 598 damaged vehicles in 2017 compared to 737 in 2016, representing a decrease of 19 per cent.

The number of children killed on the roadways has also decreased significantly.

According to Moore, 12 children died in 2016, compared to only two in 2017.

However, 33 pedestrians head the list of road users to have died this year, followed by 20 motorcyclists and 18 occupants of private vehicles.

Speeding, texting and driving, as well as drinking and driving are the main contributors to road accidents.

To this end, Moore re-

ported that for the year thus far, 26,792 drivers have been charged for speeding as against 25,690 in the year 2016.

A total of 2,589 drivers were charged for driving under the influence in 2017 against 2,401 in 2016. As it relates to persons operating vehicles while using their cellular phones, 1,623 were charged in 2017 compared to 1,501 in 2016.

The traffic chief called on persons to make safety a priority.

“The time has come for persons to be aware and be cognisant of the fact that their safety also depends upon them, not just on the police or other people; it is important for you to have that sense of responsibility,” he said.

While accidents decreased significantly, a drastic increase in the number of unlicensed drivers on the roadways was recorded.

For this year, a total of 1231 persons have been charged, while only 865 were charged in 2016. According to Moore, too many persons continue to use their private vehicles for hire despite being encouraged to acquire hire car licences.

For 2017, a total of 555 drivers were charged, while for the same period last year 391 were charged. The number of cases made against errant drivers for the year thus far amounts to 72,706 against 70,240 in 2016.

The traffic chief said that the Traffic Department continues to work towards

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Traffic Chief Dion Moore

reducing the number of road accidents, pointing out that there has been an increase in the use of radar guns, breathalysers and increased police patrols, especially at nights.

It was also pointed out that there has been an addition of 71 ranks within the Traffic Department, along with five motor cars and 35 motor cycles.

Dubai is not only for the rich

A section of the beautiful city Dubai at night

By Ravin Singh in Dubai “I DREAM of going there one day” was the most consistent response I received from relatives and friends when I told them I’d be traveling to Dubai to attend a youth conference.

At first I was baffled. I mean, I never viewed Dubai as the ideal tourist destination and this is largely because of my strong regionalist pride. But, as I dug deeper, I realised why a trip to the pearl of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had become what millennials consider “goals”.

Dubai is like Times Square and Las Vegas on steroids; minus the gambling and strip clubs. A once parched desert had now become the epitome of western capitalism with a brooding futuristic cityscape comparable to those in a sinister video game. The city is a

melting pot of diverse ethnicities and Arab intellectual and artistic creativity. With its luxurious features, it’s easy to understand why only the middle and upper class can afford to visit Dubai; or so many may think.

In four days I was able to organise my trip, part of which was sponsored by the organisers of the event.

A visa is required for Guyanese to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This can be processed by one of the airlines once you book your flight with them. The visa processing fee in total is roughly US$500 – US$270 of which is refunded after you leave the country.

Mine was processed by Emirates Airline which had one of the cheapest return fares to Dubai from New York – US$875. What was surprising was the fact that a 27-hour return trip to the Middle East was cheaper

than a return flight to New York from Guyana.

Once you arrived there, it is difficult not to recognise that you are in one of the strangest parts of the world.

I mean, not often will you see a 2016 model Mercedes Benz working as a Uber Taxi. Or the fact that WIFI is accessible from the road.

Regimented palm trees line the roadways before you begin to see skyscrapers appearing in clusters throughout the city. Architecturally, the buildings are fascinating, but their true beauty is shown at nights when silhouetted against the black sky.

Dubai had literally risen from the desert within the last three decades. Consolidation of foreign skills coupled with visionary leadership had transformed a desolate geographic space into the commercial hub of the Arab world.

Hotels are perhaps the most common enterprise occupying highly-valued plots of land in the city, given that Dubai is one of the top three most ideal tourist destinations in the world.

Of course the hotel prices vary, depending on the level of comfort, luxury and services offered. I stayed at a three-star hotel--Rove City Centre--which in my estimation is almost comparable to Pegasus Guyana.

Unbelievably, the cost run as low as 1818 Dirham (US$495) for six nights for a single person if you book

in early January. The prices can climb though, depending on the time of year. And in case you’re wondering, buffet-style breakfast is included in that cost.

Travelling around the city is no problem at all.

Uber taxis are easily accessible, and so are road taxis which operate systematically at every major commercial centre. There is also a metro train which even the inexperienced can use. A 15-minute drive from Rove Hotel to Dubai Mall – the largest in the world – would probably cost 30 Dirham (US$8).

UNBELIEVABLE If you think US$8 is too expensive, you’d begin to reconsider that once you arrive at the mall. The visuals are unbelievable. You are greeted by a mega-mall which cannot be explored in a single day. The mall boasts stores of some of the most exotic and expensive brands on the planet.

It houses one of the world’s largest indoor aquariums and has next to it, a lake which has daily water shows for tourists. The water show, which lasts roughly 15 minutes, is an artistic display of water emerging from pipes in the lake, at different pressures, creating a firework effect. I suppose it is facilitated by a highly-computerised system.

But this is not the only thing that will amaze you.

A few hundred meters away

stands the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa – a multi-purpose structure which peaks at 381m. The scenery is one which cannot be adequately described using words. The only regret one can possibly have there is not having a good enough camera to capture every moment.

But for me, the most incredible experience to share in Dubai is the Desert Safari.

Again the prices for these vary from 25 Dirham (US$7) to 2000 Dirham (US$545) depending on a number of factors, such as mode of transportation, and amenities.

Assuming one does not have their own transportation, they would probably opt for the 70 Dirham (US$20) package which provides transportation to and from the Desert and camp site.

Pick up is at 15:00hrs prompt, from where the 45 minutes journey to the desert begins. There is a pit-stop at a local shop just before you venture into the actual desert. Here, you can purchase snacks, souvenirs, or traditional Arabian clothing. The keffiyeh or kufiya which is a traditional Middle Eastern headdress fashioned from a square scarf usually made of cotton, is the most bought item.

The Safari then begins with dune bashing. Several stops are made to allow you to take photos and absorb

the warmth of the Middle Eastern desert. You are able to see the sun set where the desert kisses the sky. It is a scene which will momentarily have you believing that you are in a movie. But reality will soon step in as you continue the dune bashing.

You are then taken to one of 20+ camp sites in the middle of the desert where you enjoy the culture of the UAE through food, belly dancing and folklore. You’d be happy to know that drinks, snacks and buffet-style dinner are all free. But it doesn’t end there. You are provided with the experience of sand boarding, riding a camel and for the ladies, henna design, all at no cost.

Having returned to the hotel from a long but most eventful day, I began contemplating if services like these were offered in other parts of the world, how incredibly high the cost would be.

But my mind was soon redirected to what was before me and how incredible such an experience would be for the average Guyanese. I began doing the math and realised that Dubai is not a destination many should only dream of; it is one which many can visit once they are constructive in how the approach life. All it takes is a little saving and you’d be on your way to one of the most luxurious cities in the world.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Smith, Marsh heap pain upon England with 301-stand

By Ian Ransom

PERTH (Reuters) - An epic and unbeaten 301-run stand

by Australia captain Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh left England’s hopes of retaining the Ashes in jeopardy on day three of the third Test at the WACA on Saturday.

On an agonising day for Joe Root’s team, Smith broke English hearts with his second double-century after recalled all-rounder Marsh celebrated his maiden ton.

The pair pushed Australia to 549 for four and a first innings lead of 146 runs, rendering England’s 403 a hopelessly inadequate total on a featherbed wicket.

They strode off to a standing ovation, with Smith unbeaten on 229 and Marsh 181 not out, pushing towards a double-century of his own.

“It felt really good yesterday, I was in the zone. I wanted to cash in today,” Smith said before he exited the ground to roaring applause.

“We wanted to be out in the middle and just keep batting.”

Two-nil down after losses in Brisbane and Adelaide, England’s hopes of keeping the series alive to Melbourne appear bleak.

On day two, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow had English chests bursting with pride after compiling 237 runs for a record fifth-wicket partnership at the WACA. But the mark lasted less than a day, as Smith and Marsh smashed 57 boundaries between them to leave England praying for the mercy of rain.

Showers are forecast for days four and five, but the weather may not be enough to save the tourists, who managed only a single wicket despite no fewer than seven players rolling over their

An unbeaten second Ashes double hundred for Smith, and 181 not out for Marsh, have left England staring at Test and series defeat Credit: PA

arm throughout the day.

Having torched England for 107 runs in the middle session, Smith and Marsh plundered another 128 after tea, as the tourists’ lack of pace was ruthlessly exposed.

“It’s been a very, very tough day for our team,” England assistant coach Paul Farbrace told reporters.

“What can we do? We’ve got what we’ve got... When it comes to flatter pitches, we don’t have that express pace.”

Smith punished England with 215 at Lord’s in 2015 but set himself a new personal best at the WACA in a masterclass of patience, precision and timing.

His unbeaten 390-ball knock has him fourth on the list of highest innings at the WACA, with the possibility of further promotion on day four.

He reached the three-figure mark, his seventh against England, when he whipped paceman James Anderson through the leg side for four.

The second hundred came with a single off all-rounder Moeen Ali, and he bounded down the wicket roaring in

triumph to the delight of a big day three crowd.

He also notched his 1,000th run for the year, and joined former Australia opener Matthew Hayden in reaching the mark four years in succession.

Marsh completed a rare family trio of Ashes tons.

His older brother Shaun

Marsh scored an unbeaten 126 in the second test win at Adelaide Oval, and his father Geoff, beaming with pride in the heaving WACA crowd, posted 138 as an opener at Nottingham in the 1989 series.

The younger Marsh cut paceman Stuart Broad to the fence to bring up his ton from 130 balls and pumped his fist in jubilation, having scored only two half-centuries in his previous 21 tests.

While stopping short of declaring England’s spirit broken, Marsh said they were “obviously tired”.

“Today was just a great day for Australia. To only lose one wicket for the whole day has really put us in a strong position,” said the 26-year-old.

Moeen had Shaun Marsh caught at slip for 28 in the first hour but it was to prove England’s only highlight.

Farbrace insisted the Ashes were still alive.

“We’ve got two more days to play. It’s going to be tough, of course it’s going to be tough,” he said.

“We’ve got to show some guts and determination.”

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings 403 (D. Malan 140, J. Bairstow 119, M. Stoneman 56; M. Starc 4-91) Australia 1st innings (Overnight: 203-3) 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 229 S. Marsh c Root b Ali 28 M. Marsh not out 181 Extras (b-2 lb-10 nb-1 w-1) 14 Total (for 4 wickets, 152 overs) 549 Fall of wickets: 1-44 D. Warner,2-55 C. Bancroft,3-179 U. Khawaja,4-248 S. Marsh To bat: T. Paine, M. Starc, P. Cummins, N. Lyon, J. Hazlewood Bowling: J. Anderson 29 - 8 - 85 - 0(nb-1), S. Broad 28 - 3 - 112 – 0, C. Woakes 32 - 4 - 108 - 1(w-1),C. Overton 23 - 1 - 102 – 2, M. Ali 31 - 4 - 104 – 1, J. Root 3 - 0 - 13 – 0,D. Malan 6 - 1 - 13 – 0.

Harry double lifts South Ruimveldt to maiden Smalta Girls U-11 title

By Stephan Sookram IT was a fairy-tale finish for the South Ruimveldt Primary School side who lifted their maiden MoPH Smalta Girls U-11 football title yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue.

The underdogs of the match turned out to be the ones with the bigger heart as they overcame defending champions and tournament favourites, St. Angela’s Primary 2-0.

St Angela’s started off hot and sweaty with their raids into the enemy half as the eventual champs weathered the storm.

After the first few minutes, the South Ruimveldt side began to break plays up in the middle of the field and even produced some counter attacks of their own.

However, the half ended scoreless and tense as many expected the favourites to be up by now, considering the chances they created.

Many more were shocked

when a Fayon Harry breakaway in the 18th minute found the back of the nets.

The celebrations were wild and jubilant for the leaders and their fans.

It would soon quell as one of their players handled the ball in the box, which resulted in a penalty for St Angela’s and a chance to draw level.

However, the powerful shot off the foot of Nakasi St Jules, while on target, was diverted through a powerful header from the

keeper.

Things were going the way of the South Ruimveldt side as they were awarded a penalty as well for the same infraction and Harry converted; a doozy into the bottom left corner of the net which sent fans even wilder.

This happened on the brink of time as the final whistle sent the parents scampering to greet their children.

In the third place play off, West Ruimveldt won 2-1 via penalties against St Pius, after a scoreless game.

Forde assures financial ...

From back page

not strayed from that mantra.

Chronicle Sport, in an article published on December 14, spoke about the over $45M unaccounted debts and income claims, according to Ram and McRae’s Audits. However, Forde called the article misleading, adding that since the publication, several concerned stakeholders reached out for an explanation.

Forde said the article painted a picture that his administration was careless with the trusted finances, and that monies were missing, when in fact, that was not the case.

The GFF president assured the public that under his watch and that of his executive committee, transparency will forever be the order of the day, with their only purpose in office being to see the development of the game on all fronts in the most professional manner, all done in accordance with FIFA’s rules.

A qualified opinion is a statement issued after an audit is done by a professional auditor that suggests the information provided was limited in scope and/or the company being audited has not maintained generally accepted accounting principles.

Auditors who deem audits as qualified opinions are advising whoever is reading the document that the information within the audit is not complete or the accounting methods used by the company do not follow generally accepted accounting principles.

A qualified opinion is typically given due to a limitation of scope in which the auditor was not able to gather sufficient evidence for various aspects of the financial statements. Without sufficient verification of transactions, an unqualified opinion may not be given.

A qualified opinion is suitable when accounting procedures used do not conform to generally accepted accounting principles. Inadequate disclosures in the notes to the financial statements, estimation uncertainty or the lack of a statement of cash flows are also grounds for a qualified opinion.

'Lightning' Allicock ...

From back page

Games, staged in Nassau Bahamas earlier this year, which earned him a silver medal. The young pugilist rose out of a boxing family, but it seems as though he intends to clinch the spotlight by outdoing his predecessors.

However, it will not be easy-going for the Olympic aspirant as his nemesis, Clairmonte Gibson, will be aiming to put a damper to his aspirations. The latter pugilist tangled with Allicock in the recently-concluded Terrence Alli National Open Boxing Championships in what has been dubbed the fight of the tournament.

The two warriors went after each other. It was indeed a close encounter in the first round, but Allicock managed to later stamp his authority and removed the bantamweight title from Gibson’s waist, following a stoppage in the second round and was adjudged Best Boxer. Gibson was not pleased and vowed to avenge the loss at the earliest opportunity. The Boxing Day card will present that opportunity and fans are advised not to miss the fireworks.

President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, said that the card is an appropriate way to close off the year which, though filled with challenges, has brought out the best in the boxers.

He also mentioned the challenges faced by his executives to field a team to the current Development Tournament in St Lucia. “We could have only afforded to send a small squad, but those boxers are representing us well,” he said.

“The impending tournament will be regarded as a fund-raiser to offset expenses of other important engagements during the New Year,” informed Mr. Ninvalle. As such, he is urging the sporting public to fill the venue.

The action gets underway at 19:30hrs sharp.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Dazzling Man City disappearing into the distance

By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City soared above the fog swirling round the Etihad Stadium to demolish Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 and leave the rest of the Premier League peering into the distance in search of Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking team on Saturday.

Tottenham, who began the day fourth, were supposed to provide a proper test but, just like City’s previous 15 opponents, were outclassed as goals by Ilkay Gundogan before halftime and Kevin de Bruyne and two from Raheem Sterling after it put City 14 points clear.

City’s 16th successive win took them to 52 points, one game short of the halfway point of the season.

Manchester United, who play at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, have 38 as do champions Chelsea who beat Southampton 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Marcos Alonso’s free kick. `Arsenal sent Newcastle United into the drop zone with a 1-0 win that lifted the Gunners to fourth with 33 points while Burnley are fifth, a further point back, after a 0-0 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion for whom Glenn Murray missed a penalty.

Tottenham tumbled down to seventh behind Liverpool, who are at Bournemouth on Sunday, on goal difference.

There were two big movers at the bottom with Crystal Palace winning 3-0 at Leicester City and West Ham United doing the same at Stoke City to move out

of the relegation zone into 14th and 15th places respectively. Stoke are 17th.

Even without the injured David Silva, City were too clinical for Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side and could even afford a second-half penalty miss from Gabriel Jesus.

“It was solid, good,

second half but were cut open in the 70th minute as De Bruyne finished off a rapid counter-attack.

Sterling’s double in the final 10 minutes took his tally for the season to 15 in all competitions before Christian Eriksen scored a late consolation for the visitors.

“Today yes, they showed

goal of the season, and Crystal Palace’s first on the road, as they trounced Leicester with Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako also on target.

Belgian striker Benteke made amends after disobeying team orders to take, and miss, a crucial penalty last week in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling scores their third goal REUTERS/Phil Noble against one team demanding to be intense without the ball,” Guardiola said.

“Since August we are so happy and I admire the most the way we play without the ball -- thank you to the club to provide me with these amazing players.”

LEFT UNMARKED City’s attacking football is a thing to behold but there was nothing fancy about their 14th minute opener as Gundogan was left unmarked to head in from a corner -- a goal Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino described as an early Christmas present.

To their credit Tottenham took the game to City in the

better quality than us. The better team won,” Pochettino said.

Chelsea have won eight of their last 10 games, but like Arsenal who beat Newcastle with a Mesut Ozil goal, are realistically playing for a top-four position unless City suffer a new year collapse of dramatic proportions.

“In the last 10 games we won eight games,” Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said.

“Some people are forgetting this run because there is a team that is winning every game.”

At the bottom Christian Benteke went from zero to hero as he scored his first

“The day after (the penalty miss) he came in and held his hand up, he spoke to the players and myself and made the point that he would make it up to team, and that is what he has done,” Palace manager Roy Hodgson said.

Marko Arnautovic scored against his old club Stoke as West Ham made it seven points from three games without conceding.

Huddersfield Town ended a long scoring drought on the road as they thumped stumbling Watford 4-1. Huddersfield’s Jonathan Hogg was dismissed in the second half for a second booking while Troy Deeney saw red for Watford in the first half.

More sponsors on board GCN’s awards ceremony tonight THE Guyana Cycling News has received additional sponsorship to host its Awards Ceremony and party, billed for this evening at the Club Latino, situated at John and Hadfield Streets, beginning at 18:00hrs.

According to information received, Keith and Stephen Fernandes of Bounty Farm Limited will supply chicken for the Bar-B-Que, while Jagdesh Singh and Sat Goolsarran have contributed $25,000; Steve Ramsuchit of Berbice has pledged $20,000; Turhan Harris also of Berbice has pledged $60,000.

The above mentioned individuals have joined the following sponsors who have all pledged $20,000 each: former na-

tional cyclist Robin Persaud and his wife Juliet of Regent Multiplex Mall Money Gram and LBI Money Gram; veteran cyclist Shameder Baksh, general manager of Universal Auto and General Supplies situated at Hope Front, Enmore, East Coast Demerara; Damian Persaud of LBI Super Bet shop; and Kurt Bumbury of Kurt and Carol Grocery, Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

Among the top performers for the 2017 season who will be honoured this evening are: (SENIORS) Jamaul John (Team Coco’s) who won 10 National Park and Road Races during the season which began in February and notched up 217 points; Team Evolution’s Paul

DeNobrega with 188 points; Team Alanis’ Alonzo Ambrose; Team Coco’s Hamza Eastman and Continental’s Geron Williams.

(JUNIORS) Briton John (United We Stand), Curtis Dey (Trojan) and Nigel Dugid (Team Evolution).

(VETERANS) Junior Niles (Team Coco’s), Ian Jackson (Flying Stars) and Leer Nunes (Continental).

Jonathan Ramsuchit and Clair Fraser-Green will be rewarded for their outstanding performances in the juvenile and female categories respectively, while Dey and Christopher Griffith are joint winners of the Most Improved Cyclist award for 2017.

Change in Kennard’s Memorial Boxing Day horse race programme … Entries close today

THE annual Kennard’s Memorial Boxing Day horserace meet will see a change to the original programme, as the organisers have changed the `F’ Class race to a `G’ Class event.

The horses registered for this event will contest a seven-furlong distance with the winner being rewarded with $350,000. The second to fourth place finishers will take home $175,000, $88,000 and $44,000 in that order, The closing date for entries to the seven-race meet is today and owners /trainers of animals they desire to enter in today’s activity can contact the following persons for more information; Ivan Dipnarine (3310316), Justice Kennard (623-7609 or 235-4818), Fazal Habibulla (657-7010) or Dennis Deroop (640-6396).

Metro Office and Stationary Supplies will sponsor the $1M first prize money for the feature event of the day and the much-anticipated meet will be held at the Club’s facility, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice, and begins at 13:00hrs.

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

Other horses registered for this event includes 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 horserace.

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 money. The second to fourth place finishers will receive $110,000, $55,000 and 427,000 in that order.

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

The six furlongs race is opened 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 fourth place finishers will receive $45,000 and $22,000 respectively.

The other seven-furlong race is for horses classified `H’ and Lower and will carry a first prize worth $280,000. The second place finisher will win $140,000, while the third and fourth place finishers will earn $70,000 and $35,000 respectively.

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Windies go down by six wickets in warm-up match

Mandolall memorial match set for Boxing Day

WHANGAREI, New Zealand, (CMC) – The Hope brothers, Kyle and Shai, gathered half-centuries but were unable to prevent West Indies from going down by six wickets to an unsung New Zealand XI in their 50-overs tour match here Saturday.

In their only warm-up match before the limited overs series starting next week, West Indies rattled up a competitive 288 all out off 48.4 overs, with Kyle top-scoring with 94 his younger brother Shai chipping in with 69.

All-rounder Rovman Powell supported with 31 while left-hander Shimron Hetmyer got 28.Twentyyear-old off-spinner Aniket Parikh was the best bowler with four for 47.

Test opener Jeet Raval, leading the side, then flayed the Windies bowling for a superb 169 as the hosts got home with nine balls reman-

THE Reliance Sports Club ground, Essequibo, is expected to come alive on Boxing Day with the staging of the annual memorial softball match, staged in honour of the late Shivanandan Mandolall, the former Guyana youth player.

The 15-over affair featuring hosts, Reliance Sports Club versus Cotton Field Wildcoats is anticipated to be a riveting affair which should provide lots of entertainment for the expected bumper holiday crowd.

Touted as one of the better players to emerge from the Cinderella county, Mandolall represented Guyana at both the under-15 and under-19 levels.

He passed away in 2013 at the age of 30, after losing a battle with malaria.

Shivanandan Madholall According to his eldest brother Rovendra Mandolall, another ex-Guyana youth player, the stage is set for the showdown, with Reliance Sports Club being the defending champions.

Mandolall, who is currently residing in Canada, stated that even though the family is still saddened by his brother’s passing, they are thrilled to run off another game in memory of him.

Preceding the Reliance/Wildcoats encounter, will be a five-over exhibition game which will see a Mandolall’s X1 coming up against a Reliance over-40 (senior) side while a female exhibition five-over match is also carded for the day.

Mandolall pointed out that the three games should all be exciting affairs while there will also be musical entertainment and off-field attractions. He also alluded to the fact that the first game will also be in memory of his dad who died earlier this year and he also took the opportunity to thank the various sponsors who donated trophies, medals and jerseys.

Apart from Rovendra, several former Essequibo senior inter-county cricketers are expected to participate as well, including Elroy Stephney, Ramesh Narine, Ray Gonsalves, Mahendra Bennett, Mohindra Boodram, Devon Ramnauth, Lakmikant Narine and Raul Khan, among others. (Frederick Halley)

ing.

The left-hander, who looked in good touch in the recent two-Test series, ham-

with 21-year-old Jack Boyle (22) for the first wicket before adding a further 149 for the third wicket

West Indies opener Kyle Hope … top-scored with 94. mered 17 fours and a six in a 150-ball knock while Bharat Popli struck 62.

Raval gave his side a flying starting, posting 77

with Popli, in a partnership which killed off the Windies chances.

Popli, a 27-year-old righthander, struck five fours off

61 balls.

Earlier, the Hope brothers had taken centre stage in a 138-run, second wicket stand after Evin Lewis had fallen in the eighth over for 17, following a 42-run stand for the first wicket with Kyle.

The right-handed Kyle Hope faced 101 balls and struck nine fours before retiring in the 33rd over while Shai stroked eight fours and a six in a typically classy 58-ball innings.

The 20-year-old Hetmyer showed glimpses of his attacking ability, smashing three fours and a six in a 17ball cameo, while putting on 36 for the third wicket with Kyle.

Powell hit two fours in a 43-ball knock late on to keep the innings going but the Windies lost their last five wickets for just 34 runs.

The first One-Day International of the three-match series bowls off at Cobham Oval next Wednesday.

Canada’s Provincial MPP congratulates Chronicle journalist GUYANA National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) freelance journalist, Frederick Halley, was last Friday night honoured for his more than three decades of service to the field, both in his homeland Guyana and his adopted country, Canada.

At a simple ceremony held at the Windies Sports Bar & Restaurant, Scarborough, Ontario, Halley was presented with a certificate, compliments of Tracy MacCharles, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Pickering-Scarborough East.

While the MPP was not on hand to present the prestigious award, the honour was done by Azeem Khan, president of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs (OMSCC), the association responsible for recommending Halley for the citation.

The certificate from MacCharles read: “As the Member of Provincial Parliament for Pickering-Scarborough East, I am honoured

Bravo sees no way back into West Indies set-up

OMSCC president Azeem Khan hands over the certificate to Frederick Halley.

Others in picture (from left) are treasurer Feizal Bacchus, secretary Khem Singh and Over-50 coordinator, Dickey Singh. to congratulate Frederick Halley on your contributions to sports journalism on behalf of the Ontario Masters Softball Cricket Clubs.

“For more than three decades, your work with the Guyana National Newspapers Limited and the Guyanese-Canadian community

has brought prominence, recognition and professionalism to the sport of cricket and sports journalism.

“I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on this occasion. Thank you for your ongoing significant contributions to our community.”

Halley, who migrated to Canada in 2003, served as senior sports journalist at GNNL and was also the National Sports Commission (NSC) Sports Journalist of the Year in 1992. He was also the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) sports representative in Guyana.

HIS last international appearance came in September 2016 and Dwayne Bravo believes a return to the West Indies fold is unlikely.

Dwayne Bravo does not see a route back into the West Indies side as he instead focuses on plying his trade around the world with Twenty20 franchises.

The all-rounder has not played a Test since 2010, while his most recent oneday international appearance came three years ago.

He featured in three T20s against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in September 2016 but suffered a hamstring injury playing in the Big Bash League at the end of that year and was out for an

extended period.

Bravo is currently enjoying a spell in the inaugural T10 league, and believes a return to the international fold is highly unlikely.

"I am looking at these tournaments as a chance to continue playing cricket," he told the National.

"As long as I can play cricket, I am happy. As far as internationals are concerned, I have been dropped from the West Indies team.

"I was dropped while I was fit. I don't think now, at 34, it would make any sense coming back.

"I just need to see what is left for me, for my fans to see Dwayne Bravo playing cricket. That is my priority." (Sportsmax).

29

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Hayden's grand record within Smith's reach STEVE Smith continues to rewrite Test batting records, becoming just the second man in history to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year on four consecutive occasions.

Australia's skipper breezed past the 1000run milestone for 2017 on day three of the third Magellan Ashes Test in Perth having notched his 22nd Test ton and his second of the series.

QUICK SINGLE In doing so, he became the fourth Australian after Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke to reach 1000 in a year four times and the second worldwide after Hayden to do it in consecutive years.

Hayden achieved the feat five times in a row between 2001 and 2005, a record Smith could match if he crosses the 1000-run barrier again in 2018.

While Australia's exact Test schedule for next year is yet to be finalised, it's expected Smith will have 10 Tests to top 1000 runs in 2018, which is the number of games it took him to do so this year.

And based on the form he displayed in moving to stumps on 92 not out yesterday, he'd be favoured to match Hayden's record 12 months from now.

"He's played with a cigar in his mouth,"

Matthew Hayden former England skipper Michael Vaughan told Test Match Special when trying to explain the ease with which Smith batted on Friday.

"He's hardly broken sweat, he's batted wonderfully well."

In reaching his hundred, Smith also became the third-fastest man to 22 Test centu-

ries in this, his 108th career innings and 59th Test. Sir Donald Bradman (58 innings) and India's Sunil Gavaskar (101 innings) are the quickest to that mark.

Smith is the 11th man in history to notch a 1000-run year four times, with Indian Sachin Tendulkar (six times), Hayden, Ponting, England's Alastair Cook, South African Jacques Kallis, West Indian Brian Lara and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara (all five times) doing it on more than four occasions.

While Hayden's dominant start to the 21st century, where he averaged 1273 runs per year for five straight years, leaves him as the only man to have achieved the 1000-run milestone five times consecutively, Ponting fell just short of achieving that feat as well.

A sub-standard 2004, when he scored 697 runs at 41 in his first year as Test captain and missed three Tests due to a combination of injury and personal reasons, was sandwiched between dual 1000-run years in 2003 and 2003 as well as 2005 and 2006.

Lara also fell just short of five consecutive 1000-run years when an injury and illness-plagued 2002 saw him score just 351 runs in seven Tests, breaking a streak of 1000-run years in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

1000 RUNS IN A CALENDAR YEAR

(four times or more) Steve Smith (Australia) - 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Alastair Cook (England) - 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) - 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014 Michael Clarke (Australia) - 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 Kevin Pietersen (England) - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) - 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010 Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 Matthew Hayden (Australia) - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Brian Lara (West Indies) - 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 Sunil Gavaskar (India) - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983 FASTEST TO 22 TEST CENTURIES Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) - 58 innings Sunil Gavaskar (India) - 101 innings Steve Smith (Australia) - 108 innings Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 114 innings Matthew Hayden (Australia) 128 innings

Ramdin hits third century of the season but Pride still in control TAROUBA, Trinidad, (CMC) However, Brooks and Al– Captain Denesh Ramdin leyne came together to restore stroked his third hundred of order to the innings, putting the Regional first class season on 53 for the second wicket. and second against Barbados The right-handed Pride but it was not enough to Brooks produced a brisk stop the visitors from taking knock, striking five fours command of their seventh and a six off just 28 delivround contest at the Brian eries while the left-handed Lara Stadium.

Alleyne was more patient in Resuming Saturday’s third a 79-ball innings that includday on 146 for eight, Trinidad ed two fours. and Tobago Red Force were When Brooks was bowled dismissed for 214 in their first by pacer Roshon Primus, innings, to concede a lead of Alleyne added a further 41 102 runs. for the third wicket with CarRamdin, unbeaten on 74 ter before finally perishing at the start, carved out a subowled by Imran Khan. perb unbeaten 132 – his 15th His dismissal, however, first class hundred. His first triggered a slump as four hundred of the season was wickets tumbled for 21 runs, against Pride in Bridgetown leaving Pride tottering on 122 DENESH RAMDIN in the first round last Octofor six. ber.

Springer then propped up the innings by anchoring Batting a second time, Pride reached the close on 188 two stands – putting on 33 in a seventh wicket stand with for seven, a lead of 290 runs heading into today’s final day. Williams and another 33 in an unbroken eighth wicket All-rounder Shamar Springer top-scored with an unbeaten partnership with wicketkeeper Mario Rampersaud (eight 38, captain Shamarh Brooks scored 37 while Anthony Al- not out). leyne and Kenroy Williams chipped in with 26 each.

Ramdin had earlier denied Barbados any immediate sucLeg-spinner Imran Khan has so far taken three for 70 cess as he completed three figures in an innings that required and was supported by off-spinner Bryan Bryan Charles with 294 deliveries and included 15 fours overall. two for 56.

Crucially, he added 68 for the ninth wicket with Charles Looking to capitalise on their more than handy first who occupied the crease for 44 balls for his two runs. innings advantage, Pride got off to a poor start in their Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican failed to add to his second innings when they lost in-form opener Shayne overnight tally, ending with six for 71 while pacer Justin Moseley for three in the seventh over, lbw to lively left- Greaves grabbed the two last wickets of the innings in arm seamer Daniel St Clair with seven runs on the board. successive deliveries to finish with two for 26.

SCOREBOARD PRIDE 1st Innings 316 Red Force 1st Innings (overnight 146 for eight) A Jangoo lbw b Warrican 14 J Solozano c Alleyne b Warrican 40 I Rajah c and b Warrican 0 E Nicholson c Carter b Warrican 0 D Ramdin not out 132 A Cooper c and b Warrican 1 Imran Khan b Warrican 10 R Primus c Walsh b Williams 3 D St Clair lbw b Walsh 1 B Charles lbw b Greaves 2 R Jaipaul b Greaves 0 Extras (lb1, w1, nb1) 3 TOTAL (all out, 104.4 overs) 214 Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-37, 3-39, 4-96, 5-98, 6-125, 7-134, 8-146, 9-214, 10-214.

Bowling: Greaves 12.4-5-26-2, Springer 2-03-0, Williams 25-9-38-1; Warrican 39-16-71-6, Stoute 7-3-18-0; Walsh 19-4-52-1.

PRIDE 2nd Innings A Alleyne b Imran Khan 26 S Moseley lbw b St Clair 3 S Brooks b Primus 37 J Carter lbw b Charles 21 K Stoute b Charles 1 K Williams c Primus b Imran Khan 26 J Greaves c Rajah b Imran Khan 2 S Springer not out 38 M Rampersaud not out 8 Extras (b17, lb3, w1, nb5) 26 TOTAL (7 wkts, 62.1 Overs) 188 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-60, 3-101, 4-102, 5-105, 6-122, 7-155.

Bowling: St Clair 13-2-29-1, Charles 23.

1-8-56-2, Imran Khan 22-4-70-3, Primus 4-1-13-1.

Position: Pride lead by 290 runs with three second innings wickets intact.

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

CWI/PCL Four-day tournament…

Jaguars beat Hurricanes by ten wickets

By Rajiv Bisnauth

pair added 76 runs for the fifth-wicket before Permaul trapped Hamilton plumb in front for 23.

The 23-year-old Saunders then registered his hundred off 171 balls, but soon after he was dismissed, edging Motie behind, at 205-6. His innings lasted for 173 balls, inclusive of 12 fours and a six.

Permaul then bowled Rakheem Cornwall (9) while

AFTER a defiant effort from Akeem Saunders, who stroked his maiden first class century, the Leeward Islands Hurricanes batting crumbled for a second time in three days to hand the Guyana Jaguars a ten-wicket win last evening in the seventh round Cricket West Indies (CWI) Professional Cricket League (PCL) Fourday encounter.

Trailing by 268 on first innings, the tourists were asked to follow on by the Guyana Jaguars, and were bowled out for the identical deficit, leaving the Jaguars with just one run for victory.

Saunders had anchored the middle-order, putting on 91 for the fourth wicket

SCOREBOARD

Keemo Paul claimed the final wicket of Jerimiah Louis, caught at the wicket for 16. et. bowlers.

Soon after Motie pegged The tourists were made to follow-on after being dis- the tourists further back with missed for just 149 in reply to the wicket of Devon Thomas; the Jaguars’ first innings 417. Motie benefiting from a fine Resuming at 114-9, 304 Johnson catch at first slip.

But Burton and Saunbehind the Jaguars first innings total 417, the Hurricanes d e r s t h e n a l l i e d f o r a overnight batsmen Jeremiah counter-attacking 64-run Louis and Mervin Matthew unbroken partnership for put together a last pair stand the fourth wicket until the of 35 runs before left-arm interval, at 100-3.

Upon resumption, the spinner Motie had Matthew left-handed Burton went pass caught at the wicket for 16.

With 268 runs ahead, his fifty but departed soon Leon Johnson rightly enforced after, caught at the wicket off Akeem Saunders acknowledges his teammates after the follow on and pacers Paul Rurtherford.

At the other end, Saunders and Shepherd provided instant reaching his hundred. results with their pace, bounce brought up his fifty in compators lost 6-141. and movement, claiming the ny with Hamilton, and the pair with Shane Burton (53) and It was a total bowling 76 for the fifth with Jahmar effort from the Jaguars, with wickets of both openers Mont- then continued to frustrate the Hamilton (23), but when he Keemo Paul claiming 3-38, cin Hodge (13) and Chesney hosts until a power outage sent the players off the field. was dismissed, the visitors’ Romario Shepherd (2-33), Hughes (8), at 26-2.

When play finally rePaul had Hughes edging effort unraveled and the Gudakesh Motie (2-79), second collapse of the match Veerasammy Permaul (2-77) one to Anthony Bramble on sumed some 40 minutes continued with increasing and Sherefane Rutherford a delivery which had some after, Permaul put down speed. From 127-4, the visi- (1-18), being the successful extra bounce while Hodge Saunders when the rightwas trapped leg before wick- hander was on 87, but the

Hard Knocks, NK Ballers, Silver Bullets and Spaniards through to semis THIS year’s New Era/Mohamed’s Enterprise annual Futsal championship has reached the semifinals stage where this showdown would pave the way for the finalists to be decided and these matches will be played next Saturday at the tournament venue: the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

At stake this time around for the winners is $1/2M with the losing finalists getting $150,000. Third place will receive $50,000. This means that the $500,000 first prize will be the real target for the four contesting teams.

Those who will now play in the semifinals are Hard

Paul and Shepherd, who both returned for respective newball spells removed Terance Warde (29), Gavin Tonge (1) and Jerimiah Louis (16).

Tagenarine Chanderpaul then ensured the victory with a boundary. Anthony Bramble was named man-of-the-match for his unbeaten 196.

The tournament will break for the holiday season and will resume on January 4, 2018.

Knocks, NK Ballers, Silver Bullets and Spaniards.

NK Ballers were first to reach the final four stage as they outscored Nutman All Stars 7-6 in a game that could have gone either way, as they were led by a double each from Donovan France and Joel McKinnon, with the others from the boots of Kennard Simon, Keon Sears and Jermain Grandison.

Tyric McAllister recorded a hat-trick for the losing Nutman All Stars with other goals coming from Andrew Myers, Romain Adams and Stephen Tappin.

And the other game that followed saw a similar shootout between Broad Money

Hard Knocks who knocked out the Good Fellas 7-6 behind a quadruple from Kelon Batson as Clive deNobrega added a double and Randy Small the other for the winners.

Deshawn Joseph netted thrice for the Good Fellas as Mark Mclean got a brace and Cameron Wills the other.

When the next game was played, Spaniards earned the semifinal slot by beating Swag 5-4 as Darren Benjamin had a double for the Spaniards, with the other goals coming from Kenneth Opara, Benjamin Opara and Cutis Kellman.

A hat-trick from Colwyn

Drakes and a goal by Shane Luckie were not enough to get past the Spaniards.

Silver Bullets closed out the night’s proceedings with a 13-10 shoot-out win against Customs led by a four-goal run by Damian Williams; Jawira Samuels with a hattrick; Robin Adams and DeShawn Freeman each with two, and Kellon Major and Clifton Halley each netting once.

For the losers, Robeiro Osbourne, Frank Crandon and Travis Martin each netted a double, with Travis Grant, Meryl Lee, Shawn Muerelly and Christopher Benjamin each scoring once.

GUYANA JAGUARS FIRST INNINGS 417 Leeward Islands Hurricanes 1st innings (Overnight 114-9) 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 12 G. Tonge lbw b Permaul 2 M. Matthew c wk Bramble b Motie 16 Extras: (nb-5, b-12, lb-4) 21 Total: (all out; 49.2 overs) 149 Fall of wickets:1-24, 2-26, 3-51, 4-77, 5-77, 6-89, 7-107, 8-112, 9-114, 10-149 Bowling: Shepherd 8-1-29-2, Paul 9-0-35-1, Permaul 17-7-32-6, Rutherford 6-2-19-0, Motie 9.2-4-18-1 LEEWARD ISLANDS HURRICANES 2nd innings M. Hodge lbw b Shepherd 13 C. Hughes c wk Bramble b Paul 8 S. Burton c wk Bramble b Rutherford 53 D. Thomas c Johnson b Motie 2 A. Saunders c wk Bramble b Motie 101 J. Hamilton lbw b Permaul 23 T. Warde c wk Bramble b Permaul 29 R. Cornwall b Permaul 9 J. Louis c wk Bramble b Paul 16 G. Tonge b Shepherd 1 M. Matthew not out 6 Extras: (nb-3, lb-4) 7 Total: (all out; 87.3 overs) 268 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-26, 3-36, 4-127, 5-203, 6-205, 7-226, 8-250, 9-252, 10-268 Bowling: Shepherd 12-2-33-2, Paul 12.3-2-38-3, Motie 27-5-79-2, Permaul 25-2-77-2, Johnson 4-015-0, Rutherford 6-2-18-1, Hemraj 1-0-4-0 Guyana Jaguars 2nd innings T. Chanderpaul not out 4 C. Hemraj not out 0 Total: (no wickets; 0.4 overs) 4 Bowling: Thomas 0.4-0-4-0

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday December 17, 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) 17 Test centuries (2) Sir Richard Hadlee-15/123 (vs AUST, Brisbane, 1985/86)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Who has played most Tests for NZ to date?

(2) Who has captained NZ in most Tests to date?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 17, 2017

Milerock cage Cougars, Winners Connection win on penalty over Camptown LIINDEN sides Winners Connection and Milerock FC became the first sides to advance to the quarter-finals of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Corona Beer ‘Super 16’ Knockout Championship, which kicked off at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground on Friday.

Winners Connection earned a 3 – 2 penalty win over Camptown FC after an exciting 2 – 2 regulation and extra time score, while Milerock ‘caged’ Cougars 3 – 0 to give the home sides a perfect start in the inaugural tournament.

In the opening game,

However, this failed to bring about a winner as no goals were scored and penalty shootout was ordered.

Camptown scored their first try but inexplicably missed their next four and, while Winners missed their first two, they made their third and again missed the two more with both teams 1-1 after the mandatory five kicks.’

In sudden-death play, both sides failed to score their first try, but scored in their second and the scores were 1-0, but Camptown could not score on their next attempt and Shaquille Frank closed out their op-

Part of the action between Winners Connection and Camptown FC at the MSC Ground. (Delano Williams photo) the penalty shootout came as a surprise after Camptown got off to a brilliant start when, from a corner, Ozel Small flew high to rocket home a head shot past the Winners Connection goalkeeper; making it a 1-0 advantage which they maintained up to half time.

Small made it 2-0 for the City side in the 64th minute and it seemed that it was over bar the shouting.

But late goals from Adrian Aaron in the 85th minute and another, one minute from regulation (89th minute) play by Joel Jemmot knot things up, forcing extra time.

ponents with his penalty, which sent the team and supporters into a frenzied celebration.

Milerock started positively as they were able to put the pressure on the Berbice side early from a 2nd minute goal from Oswald Benjamin and in the 16th minute, Denzil Fordyce showed his game continues to improve with goal number two for the Linden side in the 16th minute and soon after it was 3 - 0 when Joel McKinnon converted from the penalty shot after a ‘handle ball’ was penalised with the penalty in the 20th minute.

This early offensive

jump on the Cougars saw them being unable to mount a real threat to the Milerock side and when the final whistle came it was Milerock moving through this first run by a 3-0 score.

(L-R) Scorers for Milerock, Oswald Benjamin, Denzil Fordyce and Joel McKinnon.

Forde assures financial accountability –– Congress approves despite Auditors’ Report financial report

By Rawle Toney WAYNE Forde, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), assured his affiliates and stakeholders of the game of football, that the Federation’s finances are in good hands, despite receiving a ‘Qualified Opinion’ on their Audited Financial Statements for the year ending December 31, 2016, which was done by Ram and McRae, Chartered Accountants, Professional Services Firm.

According to Ram and McRae, one of the country’s leading Chartered Accounting firms, the GFF did not maintain adequate documentation of transactions with suppliers and consequently, Ram and McRae were unable to determine the accuracy, validity and completeness of accounts payable and accruals slated at $89,881,316 in the financial statements. Of this

According to the findings of the Financial Audits, the GFF did not maintain adequate documentation in respect of game and other income stated at $21,051,698 in the financial statements, of which a total of $16,834,029 was supported by receipts and other audit evidence.

Eighteen affiliated mem-

'Sons of Champions' card

Keevin 'Lightning' Allicock

bers of the GFF participated in yesterday’s Extraordinary Congress, where 17 voted to approve the 2016 Audited Statements.

Forde said that his executive committee campaigned on bringing integrity to the game, and they’ve

LOCAL boxing pundits accustomed to the hectic slugfests of the 70s and early 80s, staged on Boxing Day, will be delighted to learn that the organizers of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) have arranged a special event for December 26, dubbed “Sons of Champions Punch out” at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

The one night extravaganza has been so christened in keeping with the composition of the card wherein featured boxers would have had a father or other close relative who have made a distinct impression in the sport.

Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore had created waves on the local boxing scene and was among the best punchers. Several of his sons have followed in his footsteps and come boxing night, the eldest of the bunch, Isaiah, will be among the feature attraction.

This youngster is no slouch and has had overseas exposure in Barbados where he defeated all and sundry to capture gold in that country.

A rangy boxer, Moore possesses deceptive power and many of his opponents were deceived by his skinny stature, that is, until he connected with his wicked combinations.

Keevin ‘Lightning’ Allicock is the latest commodity in the square jungle and he has been making quite a name for himself. He won gold in Barbados last year at the Caribbean Development Tournament (now Caribbean Championship) and bolstered his status with a commanding performance in the Commonwealth Youth

See page 26

See page 26

GFF president Wayne Forde, flanked by vice-presidents Rawlston Adams (first from left) and Bruce Lovell (first from right) at Saturday’s post-congress press conference. (Adrian Narine photo) amount, a total of 48,320,142 was supported by third party confirmations and other audit evidence.

Additionally, the report stated, adequate documentation for expenses paid during the year under review, totalling $2,319,499 was not provided during our test of controls.

'Lightning' Allicock to strike on Boxing Day

Harry double lifts South Ruimveldt to maiden Smalta Girls U-11 title

Fayon Harry celebrates after scoring the first of two goals for her team.

see story on page 26

Champions! South Ruimveldt are champions of the 2017 MoPH/Smalta girls U-11 football tournament. (Adrian Narine photos)

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2017