Guyana chronicle e paper 02 04 2017

SEE INSIDE

Dr. Shawn Legall of the GPHC

Regular medical checks

– Can help find, prevent or delay health problems

Finally ► Page

III

No. 104871

SUNDAY APRIL 2, 2017

– Baramita residents receive land title Page 3

(VAT Inclusive)

Minister of Indigenous People's Affairs, Sydney Allicock, handing over the land title document to Toshao of the community, Trevor Matheson, in the presence of Permanent Secretary in the Indigenous People's Affairs Ministry, Alfred King; Regional Executive Officer of Region One, Leslie Wilburg; Vice-Chairman of Region One, Sarah Brown and councillors and residents of the Community

Workers moving apace to finish model houses for Housing Expo Page 17

One of the houses taking shape at Perseverance, EBD

Scrap parking meter contract without delay – Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges

Price: $140

Page 9

Ganja bust at John Fernandes Wharf – drug found in container of perishable goods

Page 14

Fisherman drowns trying to prevent major fire

Page 8

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Making Guyana a wedding and honeymoon destination – as Love and Sunshine destination wedding conference kicks off

Captain Gerry Gouveia speaking to members of the gathering as businesswoman, Simone San-Ghuran, looks on

STAKEHOLDERS within Guyana’s tourism industry are on the move to make Guyana a “wedding and honeymoon site.”

Under the stewardship of renowned wedding planner

and owner of Joy Agness Events, Ms Agness and key players in the tourism industry are working towards making Guyana an ideal destination for weddings and honeymoons.

In order to commence the process, the stakeholders

gathered at the Ramada Princess Hotel, Providence, this weekend to deliberate on the way forward for the industry.

The conference called: “Love and Sunshine destination wedding conference,” is intended to be used as a networking tool for local and regional investors.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle, Agness said that it was her ambition to push Guyana as a “Destination Wedding Site” because, according to her: “We’ve a lot to offer culturally. We don’t have white sand and blue water, but what we have is eco-tourism which is good and that’s a plus for Guyana, because everybody after a while gets a little tired of doing the same thing over and over.”

The conference will be used by investors to create

self-investment, networking opportunities, meet experts and influencers, learn new tips and tactics, create greater focus, become familiar with the industry, specific technology and communication and have a better understanding of effective planning.

Some of the presenters and speakers included Captain Gerry Gouveia, Agness, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the USA for S Travel Concepts Incorporated, Jose Santiago and Founder and Managing-Director of WWW.trinidadweddings. com, Simone San-Ghuran.

As explained by Agness, Guyana as a destination wedding and honeymoon site, is a wonderful opportunity to establish a close working relationship with the leading hotels in Guyana, to plan major national events.

of your company, and therefore you need to be quite knowledgeable about what you’re doing. So I am here very passionately trying to educate my fellow Guyanese in the Guyana [wedding] industry.”

Guyana’s Government has signalled its intent of getting involved in wedding tourism and stated that it would soon amend the Marriage Act to facilitate speedier weddings in a bid to boost wedding tourism in this country.

President David Granger had said that, “government will amend the Marriage Act to put new procedures in place for non-nationals applying for a Special Marriage Licence.”

And, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, had also listed quality and reliability as key elements in service-delivery and said

Stakeholders listening attentively to what was being said

She went on to say, “In this industry, what you’re selling is your ideas and yourself as a representative

with the expansion of wedding tourism here, those in the industry would focus and deliver accordingly.

Finally 3

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

– Baramita residents receive land title

By Isaiah Braithwaite THE residents of Baramita, Region One, yesterday received their long-awaited ‘Land Title’ which gives them exclusive rights to their territory. The land title was handed over by Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney

Allicock, to Toshao of the community Trevor Matheson. It was handed over in the presence of Permanent Secretary to the Indigenous People’s Affairs Ministry, Alfred King, Regional Executive Officer of Region One, Leslie Wilburg, Vice-Chairman of Region One Sarah Brown, coun-

cillors and residents of the community.

Baramita is home to over 3000 residents who occupy the land with their main economic activity being gold-mining.

Minister Allicock said that the issuing of the land title is “one that is long overdue and I’m happy to have

been presenting the document in the presence of the residents.” The minister stated that with the document “there is added responsibility and I hope that everyone follows what we have here, so you would know what you have.”

Toshao Matheson expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Indigenous Peo-

ple’s Affairs for finally making the document available to the people of Baramita.

Under the Guyana REDD + Investment Fund (GRIF), Government in 2013 had signed a US$10.7M document for the implementation of the Land Titling and Demarcation project. The project came to an end in

2016; however, the ministry requested an extension in the 2017 budget. This resulted in $165M being earmarked for advancing of the remaining identified areas for land-titling.

This project, which is being spearheaded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and create livelihood opportunities for residents.

Youths benefit from hospitality management training SEVENTEEN youths from communities across Georgetown and St Cuthbert’s Mission have benefited from two weeks of intense but fun-filled etiquette and home management training from the Carnegie School of Home Economics (CSHE).

The training was provided through a partnership between the Carnegie School and the Volunteer Support Platform (VSP), which is seeking to train and certify young Guyanese in the skill areas of customer service and hospitality management.

Thirteen females and four males between the

Some of the participants and teachers of the Carnegie School of Home Economics during one of the training exercises

ages of 17 and 28 benefited from the two-hour-perday training, which commenced on March 14 and ended March 24, 2017.

The areas in which training was provided in-

clude food preparation and service, events and hospitality management, proper posture and etiquette, and customer service.

The Ministry of Education in a statement noted

that hospitality management and customer service have come into sharp focus by the Government, as it is keen on assisting citizens to develop their etiquette and hospitality

skills.

“This was demonstrated in the establishment of the Guyana Public Service Staff College,” the ministry pointed out, while adding that

last year’s 50th anniversary celebrations highlighted the need for additional persons possessing the skills of customer service and hospitality management.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Wealthy White House staffers’ finances detailed in new disclosures PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Friday released details of the personal finances of his staffers late on Friday, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka, confirming that he has surrounded himself with some very affluent advisers.

White House ethics officials said the legally required disclosure documents provided a snapshot of assets and positions held by personnel when they first entered their new jobs at the White House, and before they started selling stocks and other assets that could pose conflicts of interest.

The White House disclosed Gary Cohn, former Goldman Sachs president and now head of the White House National Economic

Council, had assets worth at least US$230 million, but possibly much more. Little information was given on several of his assets and only indicated they were worth more than US$1 million.

Cohn had income ranging from US$48 million to nearly US$77 million in the year preceding his engagement in the White House, though it could be much higher.

Jared Kushner’s 54-page report – which included most of the assets and income of his wife Ivanka Trump - included scores of assets worth six- and seven-figures.

The New York Times reported that the couple’s real estate and investment empire was worth as much as US$741 million. Kushner

held executive positions with 266 LLCs, corporations, groups and non-profits, which he has resigned from since January.

Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest for Kushner, who like Trump is a New York real estate developer.

Trump this week officially added his daughter Ivanka to his staff. She had a fashion business and was involved in her father’s global real estate development business, but stepped aside from managing the businesses when her father entered the White House. Senior adviser Steve Bannon’s preWhite House bank accounts, real estate and other holdings were valued at between US$3.3 million and US$12.6 million.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had assets of between US$604,000 and US$1.16 million and income of US$1.42 million. About US$566,000 of his income came from the Republican National Committee and the rest from his partnership in a Milwaukee law firm.

Neither Trump nor Vice

President Mike Pence’s assets were included in the documents.

Trump has faced questions about conflicts of interest with his hotel and golf course businesses since his election in November.

He has handed off control to his two oldest sons, but ethics watchdogs have complained that the arrangements do not go far enough to avoid conflicts, and have urged Trump to divest fully or set up a blind trust for his assets.

COMPLEX ASSETS Trump, a real estate magnate and television celebrity with no political experience before he was elected president, has brought in some high-networth people to advise him.

For example, Reed Cordish, a Baltimore real estate developer before he become Trump’s technology adviser, disclosed pre-White House assets of between US$92 million and US$798 million.

He had income of between US$48 million and US$55 million.

“These are incredibly successful individuals, very

high-net worth, very sophisticated complex asset structures, numerous sub LLCs, trusts and other items, all of which have to be worked through,” a senior White House ethics official told reporters before the data was released.

Wealthy senior White House staff have to enter into ethics agreements where they agree to resign from positions and divest from assets. Copies of those agreements were not available.

The White House said the independent Office of Government Ethics, which reviews financial disclosures to help executive branch officials avoid conflicts of interest, has classified about 25 per cent of Trump White House staffers as having “extremely complex” reports, meaning the filers are very wealthy.

In contrast, only a sliver of the staffers in former Democrat President Barack Obama’s White House fell into the “extremely complex” category, according to pie charts released by the White House. No numbers accompanied the charts.

Almost three-quarters of the Obama White House fil-

ers had disclosure statements that were rated “simple” or “moderate” while only a third of the Trump filers were in those categories.

Not all of Trump’s advisers were gold-plated before joining the Government. Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, earned a relatively modest US$240,000 from University of California-Irvine, with less than US$1,000 in royalties from the book “Death by China” in the past year, and speaking fees from the Casket and Funeral Supply Association and other groups.

Omarosa Manigault, who rose to fame on Trump’s reality show the Apprentice and now is a White House adviser, had a modest income under US$100,000.

The disclosures showed she is a beneficiary of a trust established by her late fiance, actor Michael Clarke Duncan, worth between US$1 million and US$5 million.

Manigault is currently engaged to a Florida pastor. Forms show she received a wedding dress, veil and accessories worth US$25,000 for an appearance on the reality show “Say Yes to the Dress.”

(Reuters)

Sunday, April 2, 2017 - 08:30 hrs Monday, March 3, 2017 - 09:30 hrs Tuesday , March 4, 2017 - 11:00 hrs

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Venezuela court nixes order on Congress to quell outrage VENEZUELA’S pro-Government Supreme Court revoked its takeover of the opposition-led Congress on Saturday after it drew international condemnation and protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

“This controversy is over,” Maduro said just after midnight at a specially convened state security committee.

The committee ordered the top court to reconsider Wednesday’s court ruling, which effectively nullified the legislature and brought accusations the ruling Socialist Party was creating a dictatorship.

The tribunal duly erased two controversial judgments and its president, Maikel Moreno, met with both foreign envoys and journalists to explain the decision, insisting there had never been any intention to strip the National Assembly of its powers.

Maduro, 54, who had faced dissent even within Government ranks over the Supreme Court’s move, sought to cast developments as the achievement of a statesman resolving a power conflict beneath him.

But foes said it was a hypocritical row-back by an unpopular Government that overplayed its hand in a power grab.

“You can’t pretend to just normalise the nation after carrying out a ‘coup,’” said Julio Borges, leader of the legislature.

Borges publicly tore up the court rulings this week and refused to attend the overnight security committee, whose members include the heads of major institutions.

He led an open-air meeting of the National Assembly in a Caracas square on Saturday.

Having already shot down most congressional measures since the opposition won control in 2015, the Supreme Court went further with its Wednesday decision.

It said it was taking over the legislature’s role because it was in “contempt” of the law.

Although scores of dis-

sidents have been detained during Maduro’s four-year rule and the National Assembly stripped of power anyway in practice, the court’s move was arguably the most explicitly anti-democratic measure.

It galvanised Venezuela’s demoralised and divided opposition coalition and sparked international condemnation and concern from the United Nations and European Union, as well as the United States and many neighbouring countries.

The Supreme Court’s flip-flop may take the edge off protests but Maduro’s opponents at home and abroad will seek to maintain the pressure. They are furious that authorities thwarted a push for a referendum to recall Maduro last year and postponed local elections scheduled for 2016.

Now they are calling for next year’s presidential election to be brought forward

and the delayed local polls to be held, confident the ruling Socialist Party would lose.

Hundreds of opposition supporters marched in Caracas on Saturday. Police dispersed some with tear gas as residents banged pots and pans to support the demonstrators.

One opposition lawmaker said he was attacked three times by police using pepper spray. “Their violence does not stop us,” said Miguel Pizarro, of the Justice First party.

In western San Cristobal, a hotbed of opposition support, about 80 people also marched with whistles and banners reading “Down with the dictatorship!”

“The Supreme Court is controlled by idiots. What they did is a crime, there was no justification, and now Nicolas Maduro backs off like

a child,” said pensioner Libia Zambrano, 77.

Also on Saturday, South America’s MERCOSUR bloc met in Argentina with most of its members unhappy at Venezuela.

The hemispheric Organisation of American States had a special session scheduled for Monday in Washington.

Maduro accuses the United States of orchestrating a campaign to oust him and said he had been subject this week to a “political, media and diplomatic lynching”.

Some criticism even came from within Government, with Attorney General Luisa Ortega rebuking the court in an extremely rare show of dissent from a senior official.

“It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order,” she said in a speech on state television on Friday.

Given past failures of op-

Opposition supporters protest against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s Government during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela April 1, 2017 (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

Venezuela’s Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno, speaks during a news conference at the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) in Caracas, Venezuela April 1, 2017 (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins) position street protests, it is unlikely there will be mass support for a new wave.

Rather, opposition activists have said they hope ramped-up foreign pressure or a nudge from the powerful military may force Maduro’s hand into bringing forward a presidential vote.

“Venezuela’s grave situation remains the same,” opposition leader Henrique Capriles said, calling on the Government to free jailed activists, allow humanitarian aid into Venezuela, call elections and restore autonomy to congress.

Maduro, a former bus driver, foreign minister and self-declared “son” of late president and populist firebrand Hugo Chavez, was narrowly elected president in 2013. His ratings have plummeted as Venezuelans

struggle with an unprecedented economic crisis, including food and medicine shortages and the world’s highest inflation.

Critics blame a failing socialist system, whereas the Government says its enemies are waging an “economic war.” The fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has exacerbated the crisis.

The Supreme Court’s move this week may have been partly motivated by financial conditions. The wording about taking over Assembly functions came in a ruling allowing Maduro to create joint oil ventures without congress’ approval.

The OPEC nation urgently needs to raise money from oil partners to pay $3 billion in bond maturities due this month, analysts and sources say. (Reuters)

6

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Editorial

Established scientific evidence cannot be discarded THERE is an international tussle between believers and non-believers of science, which could pose setbacks when the latter hold positions to influence decision-making.

The Science Council’s relatable definition says, “Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world, following a systematic methodology based on evidence.”

There is no denying that scientific approaches in understanding events are not always correct. People can readily highlight opinion polls that ran afoul in predicting, meteorologists getting the weather wrong, and so forth.

However, these are insufficient evidence of science’s failure, falling within the element of human error, methodology used, or marginal errors as allowed in data analyses.

In spite of inherent and evidential deficiencies in

science, its application in guiding decision-making pays dividends. For instance, population censuses, which follow scientific methodology, present frameworks for Government and other stakeholders to plan development, based on demography, interests, needs and so forth.

The application reduces haphazard approaches to planning, minimises/eliminates wastage, makes best use of limited resources, and reach the targeted groups.

The people having evolved, thanks to science, no longer view the earth as flat with the danger of falling off should they travel to the end. This evident discovery has enhanced human interaction, travel, trade and development, although all have not been to the mutual benefit of those involved.

Scientific understanding of the universe, including the environment, has not only empowered man to engage in space exploration, but also to improve our air, water and

land travels.

Research/studies have made once life-threatening diseases curable or treatable,thereby adding value to life and living. Understanding of the human make-up, food choices, and their nutritional values add benefit to the quality of life we can enjoy.

If science is appreciated for aiding better understanding of the world, increasing opportunities and comfort derive from its knowledge; science should not have to fight for its relevancy in forewarning us that the planet is under threat and requires behavioural changes to ensure survival, health and longevity.

To disregard the warning in the presence of unpredictable weather patterns, extinction of animals, and disappearance of the glaciers, flora and fauna is befuddling.

The 2016 United Nations’ Climate Change Agreement was not arrived at because world leaders

wanted to congregate, agree to modification of developmental approaches, or more developed countries wanting to throw support behind the lesser developed in achieving carbon credits; it came through scientific work done over extended periods, that included capturing environmental trends.

Science is not stupid in forewarning that increasing carbon emissions will disrupt the ecosystem and by extension man’s well-being. At the most basic, since early childhood schooling, the inter-relationship between man and the environment was established.

Man’s dependency on plants for oxygen and plants on man for carbon dioxide formed part of elementary learning, to be built on as science evolves, not discharged in single-minded pursuit of employment and economic opportunities.

For behind such pursuit quality of life depreciates, as in the instance of underground coal-mining where

pollution adversely impacts the respiratory, nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Though science has found signs of life on other planets, none is found to allow man easy transfer to live.

Disregarding years of work by scientists and accumulated body of knowledge, which withstood intense scrutiny and continue to so do, is deigned to make the world a less habitable place for man’s existence.

Science’s evidence is not a hoax, fluke or similar dismissive ascription. It is real and ought to inform and guide decision-making.

A mind was given to man by his Creator to cultivate wisdom and understanding, science is an offshoot of such. In a not-so-subtle hint to the United States (U.S.), Government’s apparent refocusing on environmental protection and the contestation erupting as a consequence of by scientists, politicians and other stakeholders, the Vatican on

Thursday weighed in.

According to Reuters, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Pope Francis’s point man for the environment, when asked about the present dismantling of climate change regulations, said, “This is a challenge for us.” The cardinal went on to urge, in not- so-subtle terms, a reconsidering of the decision, lest the U.S. risks losing its environmental protection leadership to China.

The UN Climate Agreement remains vital to environmental protection and man’s survival. Data acquired through scientific bodies aided the work of the internationally recognised Environmental Protection Agency which played a vital role in concretising the agreement.

The work of such institutions remains critical in guiding other important global decisions and until science proves otherwise, the adage ‘leave well alone’ remains applicable.

Does the current GFF Constitution provide for a Ground Committee?

Dear Editor

CONSTITUTIONAL articulation and its strict adherence were always the catalysts towards determining the progress that was reflective of meaningful governance, in its true sense of where the administration of football was, its intended sense of purpose and futuristic direction.

As a consequence, I am compelled to add the “widow’s mite,” in what best can be construed as a pertinent factor. More so, with the publication of an article captioned, “Why the MSC ground?” SN 22. 03.17 Sports

Scope Our Opinion. While I haven’t ventured recently to both the MSC or the #5 grounds, it’s only out of honesty that I can surely say that I am in no position to offer my opinion about the existing conditions of the two playing surfaces. But what I’m concerned about is a quote in the article, “MSC poor lighting and a playing surface that resembles a dust bowl, a parlance better suited for cricket.” With this factor being taken into consideration, then at least it can be that the playing surface at MSC, isn’t as “grassy for football.” By the way, how long would it take to have the MSC surface

match-ready and improve the lighting, based on the initial request for rental of the venue?

Editor, in relation to the economic aspect of Region 10, albeit “the financial success for the wise GFF.” Surely, I can’t be in full agreement with Sports Scope, since national economic growth has declined to some extent. Suffice it to say, that “matches held in Linden during the Limacol Championship didn’t even threaten the halfway seating capacity, despite featuring three teams from the area.” Unfair, is how best I can describe such an assessment without taking

into consideration attendance at matches in other competitions, namely: Stag Elite League and UDFA Annual Christmas Tournament.

In the final analysis, while playing surfaces matter, so too are seating accommodation, lights and dressing rooms.

Does the #5 ground, situated at West Coast Berbice, much better than MSC, in all three areas? When marketing of football as a saleable product is taken into consideration, fans, spectators and supporters would go beyond the extra mile to attend, irrespective of transportation costs. By relevant comparison, the cost of transportation to West Coast

Berbice and Linden return, is basically the same. However, as it relates to the caption, “Does the GFF Constitution still include a Ground Committee?” It’s out of sincerity that I posed the question.

This is primarily due to the fact that as a former member of the Sub-Committee, jointly with competitions. Our tasks ahead of international friendlies, CFU Qualifiers and Local Competitions always entailed: Designated areas of responsibilities consisting of examining playing venues and amenities; coordinating practice venue (s), transportation, meals, accommodation, laundrying and liaising with

the relevant authorities. The GFF within a specific timeframe would have been duly informed of our observations from interactions, followed by a “Proposed Budget of Expenditure.”

If for whatever reason the Grounds and Competition Committee is no longer enshrined in the Constitution, then Sports Scope would continue to have a “field day and quite rightfully so, since the current GFF executive would have performed the final rites” by not pursuing some measure of improvements to a See page 7

7

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Former Chief Magistrate weighs in on Justice Holder’s complaint Dear Sir, KINDLY permit me to make some comments on the recent situation involving a sitting judge of the High Court and the country’s Attorney General. It would seem that the lawyer’s detractors are calling for his career to end or for him to be stripped of or relieved of his position, or for imprisonment or other dire punishments.

In actual fact though, on a more careful and complete analysis of the facts so far presented it would seem however, that it is the judge who may have disqualified himself from continuing and/ or remaining as a judicial functionary, in service to the people of this country.

Just an analysis of some key issues will make the case for this disquieting fact. Of course, there are others.

In the first place, there was this statement by the judge, ‘’...I am not prepared to sit to hear Mr Williams as an Attorney-at-Law in any matter whatsoever...’’

On the facts however, Mr Williams was not appearing in his private capacity in the matter on the day in question.

Instead, Mr Williams was appearing as the Attorney General representing the business of the people of Guyana, in

that court.

Is the judge really saying that the people of Guyana can no longer attend before him to have matters adjudicated, despite the fact that the taxpayers are paying the judge a salary of possibly more than one million dollars per month?

That is a pretty strong position for any judicial functionary to take and should not be taken lightly.

Secondly, the issue of the judge’s letter to the chancellor being made available somehow to the press.

This is the issue of breach of confidentiality in so many respects, and goes to the confidentiality of even pending matters before this particular judicial functionary.

It goes without saying that this matter is extremely serious and gives rise to the issue of confidentiality even higher up.

The third relates to the subject matter of the letter written by the judicial functionary.

It is reproduced as follows, with some modifications. ‘’RE: REPORT ON CONTEMPTUOUS BEHAVIOUR OF MR B W SC.’’ The letter calls itself a ‘’report.’’

This begs the question of ‘’Report on what?’’

On the facts, it could be asked, was there any investigation into the incident? Were there any statements taken or confrontations held?

On these facts, it would seem that the judicial functionary already has a very fixed mindset, and one that might be very dangerous for any matters involving the country’s Attorney General to continue to be placed before him, apologies or NOT. A more fitting subject matter would have been to say, ‘’ Re: Incident occurring in my court on such a date and at such a time.’’

One thing is clear. The Attorney General seemed to have been generally dis-satisfied with the court proceeding, on the day in question, and the judge himself seemed to have been aware of this fact, to the point where reports are coming out that he felt ‘’threatened’’ and in fear of his life.

On the issue of whether or not there was any ‘’threat to kill,’’ it must be first established that the lawyer was known to have killed someone, and this must be established as a ‘’notorious fact.’’

Otherwise the mere utterings of a lawyer amount to nothing more than ‘’mouthing off’’, and any experienced judicial officer would have recognised it for being just that.

Does the current GFF Constitution provide ...

From page 6 well-defined inherent policy, from former President Colin Klass’s stewardship of “enacting sub-committees, within the constitutional framework.”

But then again, this is Guyana, where investigative journalism, in this aspect sports, is sadly lacking. Can Sports Scope ascertain how many grounds where the Stag Elite League is played have proper grounds-men and the required equipment, most importantly a water sprinkler?

“Dust bowl” playing surfaces, albeit suitable for cricket, have been around for decades

now.

This nevertheless, is primarily due to economic circumstances, whereby many clubs and definitely not teams can’t afford to cut their grounds on a regular basis, much less the occasional rolling and proper nurturing of the grass to a specific height, which automatic ally would create the relevant thickness, evenly, for a proper playing surface. By the way, is the privately managed MSC in receipt of annual subventions from the Regional Democratic Council, Linden Municipality, Bosai, Sports

Ministry and the NSC? Is the soil on the MSC ground conducive to the growth of grass, which is suitable for playing proper football?

Maybe, a scientific evaluation is needed, along with a CONCACAF-funded seminar, on “Proper care and Maintenance of Playing Surface for Football.”

While the cost factor for the National Stadium, and limited seating for the Leonora facility can’t be overlooked.

Regards Respectfully Yours, LESTER SEALEY.

On the question of what an experienced judicial officer would have done, if matters were escalating into a brawl or unpleasantness, then the wise and prudent course would have been to adjourn the matter and invite the brawling participants into chambers.

After all, if a judicial func-

tionary CANNOT settle disputes in his or her own court, then what is the purpose of that person continuing as a ‘’judicial functionary’’?

The way forward in the present dispute is for there to be no more written statements, EXCEPT FOR ONE. The one that states that this matter is settled.

Outside of this then one of the lawyers should lose his position, and it should NOT be the country’s Attorney General.

Yours Faithfully.

JULIET HOLDER-ALLEN Attorney at Law.

8

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Fisherman drowns trying to prevent major fire A FAMILY is mourning the loss of their sole breadwinner who drowned while trying to avert a major disaster at the docks of the Number 66 Fisheries, East Berbice,Corentyne on Saturday.

Dead is Bhairo Persaud called ‘Geer’, 45, of Number 55 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne.

According to reports, around 11:30 hrs, a boat belonging to Harry Persaud,called ‘Chona’, caught fire moments after it was laden with over 250 gallons of gasoline and other items in preparation for a second voyage out to sea.

Emamudeen Nezam called ‘Budo’, a worker who was in the process of wrapping up the hose from his

tanker, said he heard a loud “boom” in the vicinity of the cabin and saw fire spreading towards the back which had five drums of gasoline.

“I just done load gas in them drums and did wrapping up the hose to move off when I hear “boom” from the cabin and see fire spread to the back and I see the boy who went in the cabin jump out. The other boy who de deh at the back jump off and we start fuh push the boat away from the others cause them de deh close.”

Within minutes, he said everyone at the fisheries converged to help to prevent the fire from spreading.

“As soon as the boat ketch afire, we cut the rope that tie it and start fuh use them long sticks to push it

away but it hardly moving because the tide did falling” Nezam said they did managed to get the boat a safe distance away from the others,but the barrels with the gasoline caught afire and the fire engulfed the entire boat and scorched the others.

By this time, they tried to ground the boat by cutting it with a chain saw to allow water to get in and sink it.

An excavator at work on the Number 66 Bridge was summoned to dump mud on the fire and it managed to partially sink the burning boat.

It was while this was ongoing that Persaud, who was reportedly imbibing nearby, arrived on the scene

Fisherfolk on the scene tried frantically to locate him but had great difficulty since the gasoline caught afire and was floating on top of the water while the other boats were moving as their anchors were up.

Eventually, approximately two and a half hours later they managed to locate his body some 300 feet away from where he went down.

Dead: Bhairo Persaud “When we find he body, called ‘Geer’ it moved towards the seaside because the tide pull he way, and attempted to take the but he body de fresh and he rope that was attached to the de bleeding from he ears and fiery boat and tried to pull it nose,” Nezam said, noting farther away from the docks. that the man was rushed to In doing so, he reported- the Skeldon Hospital where ly fell into the water and got he was pronounced dead on pulled away by the strong arrival. draft of the falling tide.

According to Persaud’s

wife,Bibi Farida Aaron, 43, her husband who returned from sea about a week ago left early that morning to seek a job until his next trip,so as to assist in purchasing grocery and to send two of their four children to school.

“He left to go see wan job early this morning and around one ‘O’ clock me get wan phone call seh wan boat ketch a fire and Geer bin a help out the fire and he drown in the channel and them nah find he body.”

Aaron said she was told that her husband hit his head on one of the boats when he fell into the water, and drowned as a result.

This, she said, was confirmed by a doctor at the Skeldon Hospital.

Police prosecutors better equipped to handle TIP cases THE Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons today held a training course for police prosecutors of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to equip the prosecutors with the necessary skills to successfully present trafficking in persons cases in court.

The training will also enable them to use evidence effectively to prove perpetrators guilty. These prosecutions are in line with the combating of Trafficking in Persons ACT NO 2 of 2005, while taking international best practices into consideration. The training course was held at the Guyana Police Force Officers’ Training Centre.

The prosecutors received training in identification, prevention and prosecution as it relates to TIP. They also highlighted some of the challenges they face when prosecuting TIPs cases and shared several success stories.

Task Force Coordinator

Police Prosecutors of the GPF along with facilitators of the one-day TIP training programme

(ag), Oliver Profit, of the the Ministry of Public Security, said that the Task Force is aware of the challenges that the prosecutors face when building and prosecuting TIP cases. However, he noted that these challenges can be solved with team work among the different agencies.

Profitt said that the Task Force will also be assessing the needs of police prosecutors with regard to similar local cases.

Additionally, the Task Force will be creating a network with prosecutors, whereby they can review successes, failures and make recommendations to improve prosecution of future TIP cases.

Presentations to the prosecutors highlighted definition, the act and means of trafficking in persons.

Additionally, Profitt outlined the four key areas that the task force is functioning by.

These include Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnerships.

Senior Officer (SO) in charge of the Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Major Crimes Unit, Criminal Investigations Department, Shenay Castello, in her presentation of “The Role of the Guyana Police Force in TIP,” said that the most important role is to “prevent the crime from happening.”

She added, “It’s the duty of

law-enforcement officers and other stakeholders to stand committed in fighting TIP.” Castello elaborated that the law- enforcement officers are tasked to bring justice to the victims of TIP. The SO emphasised that the fight against TIP cannot be done by just one agency, but partnerships need to be formed so that “this modern-day slavery can be eradicated.” She highlighted that currently, there is only

one TIP unit in the GPF and it is located at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). The unit consists of three ranks who are always offered assistance by the Major Crimes Unit of the GPF. Inspector Fiona Harris of the Immigration Office of the GPF in her presentation of Victim Identification in TIP, said that it is not narrowed down into one particular area. She highlighted that males are a part of the TIP industry, explaining, “It does not apply to females alone.”

She noted that the stakeholders need to pay interest in the areas of mining, agriculture and even construction in the fight against TIP. Harris, who received training from International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), reminded that when prosecuting or building a TIP case, the victims should be aware of their rights and prosecutors should have patience when Turn to page 11 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Scrap parking meter contract without delay – Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges

AFTER meeting with the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) last week, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is calling for Government to immediately revoke the parking meter contract. “… the GCCI… supports the MAPM’s Movement Against Parking Meters’ position and strongly calls on the M&CC [Mayor and City Council] and the Government of Guyana to immediately revoke the current parking meter contract between the SCS [Smart City Solutions] and the M&CC,” GCCI said in a statement on Saturday.

The business chamber said at the meeting with MAPM on Wednesday the movement was made aware of the “significant downturn in economic activity” as a direct result of the introduction of paid parking and other issues in Georgetown.

The parking meter system, which was introduced last year by the City Council, has been overwhelmingly rejected by motorists who believe the fees are too high,and others who believe the awarding of the contract lacked transparency.

Public pressure forced intervention by the Government which ordered a suspension of the project for three months.

This was done to facilitate another round of consultation

West Demerara Hospital scam – Orthopaedic technician arrested by police AS the police investigate a massive fraud at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, an orthopaedic technician who has allegedly been impersonating a surgeon at the medical institution has been taken into custody.

The man, who is said to have solicited various sums of money from members of the public for medical services for a number of years, was taken into police custody on Friday night. He carries the same first name as the surgeon.

As this newspaper reported on Saturday , it is believed that the man may not have acted alone, as other medical practitioners may be involved in this scam, which is now engaging the attention of the Public Health Ministry.

When contacted, the Public Health Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Terrence Esseboom, would say only that an investigation into the allegation would be launched after authorities there have confirmed a patient’s story.

The technician has been attached to the Orthopaedic Department at the hospital for years; he has been on the radar since 2010 for suspected fraudulent activities.

However, the authorities there were unable to launch an investigation into the matter because affected patients were afraid to step forward.

It is alleged that the technician has been charging patients for services rendered while signing bogus receipts under the impression that he was the surgeon. For

minor services, the technician would charge patients $3,000, however for surgeries and other major services, the figures ballooned into hundreds of thousands.

In recent days, the technician had reportedly demanded $400, 000 from a woman whose relative is required to do a corrective surgery for a fractured foot. The woman, who hails from Kwakwani, Region 10, reportedly pleaded with the technician, stating that she could afford to pay only $20, 000, but he insisted on the $400, 000, explaining that there were other practitioners who would have to be paid to get the surgery done.

Attempts on Saturday to reach the patient were futile.

Guyana bids farewell to Brazilian Attache and to adjust rates which President David Granger has described as “burdensome”.

At the meeting last week, GCCI said it discussed several other pertinent issues in relation to the metered parking system.

Among those issues were, inter alia: the absence of any feasibility studies done on the project prior to its implementation; the complete lack of transparency in the process; failure to demonstrate thorough and comprehensive consultation with Guyanese,and failure by the M&CC to make public all feasibility studies conducted.

In light of this, GCCI is requesting the M&CC and Government to make public disclosure of documents which prove that the tendering process used in the selection and award of the contract to SCS was fair and transparent.

GCCI also wants the lo-

cal government body and the Government to make public all reports, minutes,etc. from stakeholders’ meetings held prior to the implementation of the parking meter project with SCS; and for them to provide details regarding which stakeholders and organisations the M&CC will be consulting during this round of consultations and a timetable of this.

The GCCI also noted that while it welcomes the suspension of the project, it supports MAPM’s position which is for the M&CC and the Government to “immediately revoke the current parking meter contract”.

Additionally, GCCI is calling on the Government and the M&CC to implement a “fair and transparent” process that involves all stakeholders with regard to the procurement and introduction of a parking system in Georgetown.

PRESIDENT David Granger, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chief of Staff, Patrick West, senior army officers and members of the diplomatic community were among a number of guests at the Marriot Hotel Friday evening to bid farewell to outgoing Brazilian Defence, Naval and Army Attaché to Guyana, Colonel Oswaldo Benedito Ramao da Silva, as he handed over responsibilities to his successor, Colonel Emerson Deni da Silva.

It was a simple Act of Assumption before Brazilian Ambassador to Guyana, Lineu Pupa De Paulo,signifying the change in leadership.

The outgoing Attaché told the gathering that it was an honour being able to

work in neighbouring Guyana, which is also a friendly port. “I learnt a lot from the Guyanese people and today I am proud to look at myself as now part of Guyana’s history…” The Colonel extended much thanks to the people whom he said, “helped me to do a good job for the Guyana Defence Force and the Brazilian army.”

Colonel Deni da Silva told the Guyana Chronicle that he and his family arrived in Guyana about two weeks ago. “We are very happy and proud to be in Guyana.” The Attaché said his mission in Guyana was, “to represent the presence of the Brazilian defence force and the army and the navy in relation to the Guyana Defence Force.”

Guyana and Brazil have

enjoyed friendly and cooperative ties, with both sides being constantly engaged in friendly military exchanges.

Last August, the Twentieth Guyana/Brazil Military Intelligence Exchange convened under the theme “Continued Friendship and Partnership towards Enhanced Border Security”.

In this regard, it is said that the two countries face common challenges in national security. One of the main foci of the two militaries partnership is border security.

Colonel Deni da Silva brings to Guyana experiences in jungle warfare, intelligence, and border control among others. Deni da Silva is also the holder of four medals of dedication and performance.

Brazilian perishes in mining accident THE Natural Resources Ministry has confirmed the death of a Brazilian in a mining accident at Micobie, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) on Friday evening.

Though not identified up to press time, the ministry in a statement said that the man was a worker attached to a six-inch dredge, which was said to be operating without permission from the Guyana

Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

“Investigations revealed that the Micobie Village Council granted permission for the operation without informing or consulting the GGMC prior to doing so,” the statement said.

The ministry noted that GGMC personnel are on the ground conducting preliminary investigations and that the name of the deceased will be

released by the authorities in due course.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources expresses its sorrow and regret at this latest mining fatality and recommits to working with miners, and Amerindian titled communities to make the industry safe, accident-free and better regulated,” the ministry’s statement concluded.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

NAREI vigilant against Lethal Yellowing disease

By Alva Solomon

IN the light of fears expressed by local farmers, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) said that it has taken all necessary precautions regarding the importation of coconut seedlings from Mexico.

At the same time, the authorities are also exploring the importation of seedlings from neighbouring Brazil, initiatives which, according to NAREI head, Dr Oudho Homenauth , will assist expansion of the industry in the short term as well as facilitate plans to set up nurseries here.

According to Dr Homenauth , NAREI is also working with Mexico to produce tissue-cultured plantlets. If this venture is successful, Guyana could become the centre of excellence for coconut seedlings, he said.

Last weekend, this newspaper had reported that farmers and stakeholders in the local coconut industry fear the worst, after a prominent Pomeroon businessman reportedly imported thousands of coconut seedlings which may contain the devastating

Lethal Yellowing palm disease.

According to a letter written in the column in another section of the media, one of the country’s large-scale coconut farmers had imported a container load of 10-20,000 seed nuts from Mexico to plant in the Pomeroon.

The writer noted that the importation could cause the “death” of the coconut industry in Guyana, since there is the likelihood of the plants having the disease in at least one per cent of the nuts.

The writer said the disease spreads rapidly and has destroyed entire plantations in Northern Caribbean countries, including Jamaica.

However, reports are that NAREI had conducted a pest risk analysis (PRA) in January this year regarding the planned importation of the coconut planting materials by the farmer.

The report stated that the Mexican authorities, through its regulatory agricultural body, SENISICA, have given assurances that coconut-planting materials destined for Guyana are free of plant diseases and are sourced from nurseries and

Leaves of a coconut plant affected by the Lethal Yellowing disease

production sites that are registered and certified by the regulatory body. SENASICA protects the agricultural, aquaculture and livestock resources of quarantine and economic pests and diseases.

The report stated that several ‘phytosanitary’ requirements for importation of coconuts have been established.

These include the stipulation that planting materials shall be free of soil, trash, organic matter and pests of quarantine importance. In addition, planting materials shall be treated with a miticide — fungicide -- and must also be fumigated before shipping.

The process also requires the importer to produce a val-

id Phytosanitary Certificate, which must accompany any consignment of coconuts and must contain several declarations, one of which must be that the plants were subjected to inspection by a Plant Quarantine Officer.

The planting materials must be transported in a sealed container, the report

stated.

The name ‘Lethal Yellowing” originated from the yellowing and drooping of palm fronds (long leaves), beginning with the lower fronds and advancing up through the crown. The disease is characterised by the dropping of the coconut palms in mature and immature coconut plants, in which the fruit drops from other varieties, a process called ‘shelling.’ In addition, the flower stalks change to a blackish colour, while the palm fronds start to yellow or, in the case of some species, turn greyish-brown.

In addition, the entire crown may fall from the tree, leaving a forlorn ‘telephone pole’ stalk.

An outbreak of disease results in environmental and economic upheaval. However, large-scale crop loss and the resulting lack of income can result in more rural agriculturalists moving to urban areas, thus exacerbating rural poverty.

Coconut is grown in 90 countries globally, mainly in tropical climatic conditions. An estimated 11 million farmers cultivate the crop worldwide.

Attorney General meets USAID evaluating team ATTORNEY General and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams has met with officials from the Social Impact/ USAID Monitoring and Evaluation Team to further evaluate the system of juvenile justice in Guyana.

The Social Impact/USAID Monitoring and Evaluation Team is here conducting vigorous monitoring and evaluation of the system to track and support the attainment of project objectives, the Attorney General Chambers said in a release.

The evaluation aims to ensure that programme interventions are evidence-based and both USAID and the Government of Guyana learn from the approaches utilised and the reforms enacted.

Guyana is looking to receive maximum benefits from

Attorney General Basil Williams and staff with members of the visiting Social Impact/USAID Monitoring and Evaluation Team

the USAID new Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project.

The YES programme supports the reduction of youth

involvement in crime and violence in targeted communities in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, with particular focus on Guyana, St Kitts and

Nevis, and St. Lucia.

The team, which consisted of Reform Study Lead, Dr Dianne Williams; Project Researcher Lily Hoff-

man;and Evaluation Field Coordinator,Caroline English,met with the Attorney General and staff from the chambers’ Drafting Division

Charles Fung-A-Fatt SC, Chief Parliamentary Counsel Ananda Dhurjon, Justice Zuru and Senior Parliamentary Counsel Joanne Bond.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Whither West Indies Cricket?

THIS week, I depart from politics. The West Indies cricket team is currently doing what it has done for the last two decades — make a mess of our once proud cricket history. It is not that we have been losing, but it is the seeming unconnectedness of our cricketers that has been so hard to swallow. My approach to cricket goes beyond runs and wickets. It is premised on the Jamesian approach, which was continued by Tim Hector and currently finds voice in the work of Professor Hilary Beckles. This approach conceptualises cricket as more than a game of bat and ball on the field of play and locates it in the wider historical struggles of the Caribbean and its quest for nationhood and freedom.

The indomitable CLR James made this case in his classic Beyond the Boundary, which should be mandatory reading for every West Indian cricketer and every West Indian schoolchild.

The West Indian cricket tradition is the finest in the West Indian tradition-- it is largely about a people who transformed a tool of subjugation, domination and cultural genocide into a medium of resistance, liberation and

counter-hegemony. West Indians democratised a game that was a form of class domination in England and race domination overseas.

It is about the least wealthy and most consistently dominated nation producing the most successful team in only its second decade of post-plantationhood.

This is remarkable. This is more than bat and ball.

This is the highest expression of freedom. Any conversation about West Indies cricket outside of this context amounts to little more than empty chat. This, unfortunately, is where we have been these past few weeks.

I am less concerned about figuring out who is wrong and who is right. As the liberative poetic voice of our Caribbean, Martin Carter, observed, “All are Involved/ All are consumed.”

The Frank Worrell, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards teams took Caribbean nationalism, in all its manifestations, wherever they played. When other teams confronted the West Indies, they competed with five million Caribbean people and a fierce commitment to overcoming past injustices.

In effect, the West Indies created a new cricket praxis that was firmly rooted in the

Caribbean quest to free itself from the causes and consequences of global inhumanity. These were mostly Black and Brown men from the social bottom who carried on their shoulders the burden of resistance, freedom and creativity on behalf of an entire society. But, what was crucial was that they had the capacity to recognise the relationship between their individual skills and their socio-political responsibilities.

Their exploits created new generations of Caribbean people who looked the world in its eyes as equals.

Caribbean cricket is in trouble today, not because we don’t have cricketers with natural skills, but because our cricketers are unable to marry those skills with a larger social responsibility. Despite their natural skills, they are immobilised, unable to turn possibilities into victories. We have departed from our historical path. Undaunted, we continue to shout down and shut down each other in the name of “monied justice.” Let the political calypsonian-poet, Chalkdust, speak to and about us: “Though slavery gone/And the toils done/ Some white people/Still having fun/For there are black folks/Who by their works/

Still providing the whites with jokes.”

To understand the present, the past, including the recent past, must be invoked.

Viv Richards and Brian Lara, the two greatest batsmen of our post-colonial experience, have had different impacts, both on the team’s success and as captains -- one was a nationalist and the other was an individualist. Both represented personal triumph, but whereas Richards also represented Caribbean triumph, Lara represented decline. Lara’s personal triumph did not contribute to a continuation of the West Indian triumph that made him possible. Rather, it was accompanied by the decline of West Indies cricket. This is not about Lara the individual; it is about what he represented in the larger Caribbean context.

The transition from Lara to Gayle was inevitable.

Like Lara, Gayle and his comrades are products of an age of individualism that has become dominant in Caribbean society. The destruction of Caribbean nationalism by external and internal forces has had damning consequences for our cricket, for it was that well of nationalism that produced the cricketers of the Worrell,

Sobers, Lloyd and Richards eras. Cultural identity and national pride have been replaced by the nomadic individual, whose relationship to his brother and sister is determined solely by his personal needs. This is manifested even at the larger national level, as is evidenced by the Barbadian attitude to “illegal” immigration. If nationalism was pivotal to the success of the team, then it is logical that its decline would be followed by lack of success.

The WICB’s response to the decline of our cricket has been to resort to authoritarianism and a neo-liberal “business” approach to economic management reminiscent of governance in the larger West Indian society. The coupling of this approach with the rampant individualism of the players is what has brought us to the current impasse. Not that the WICB has ever been a fountain of commonsense and nationalism, but it has progressively declined. With all due respect to the Patterson committee, whose recommendations I fully embrace, the real problem lies in the cultural disposition of those who hold high office and their relationship to power-are they servant-leaders or

Police prosecutors better... interviewing them. Elaborating on screening of victims by prosecutors, Harris said that they must be able to listen and be respectful, ask general questions first, use open body language, and be observant.

Additionally, Probation and Social Services Officer of the Ministry of Social Protection’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Denise Ralph, said that the

ministry has been working tirelessly to assist victims of TIP. She noted that a number of victims, who are in the ministry’s care, are enrolled in number of courses. These include cosmetology and home management, among other areas.

Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or

use by force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving and receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other

forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organ.

A number of ,inistries, Non- Government Organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders will be working together to combat TIP. Several awareness campaigns, which will target schools, are planned throughout the year to sensitise youths on human

overseers?

In the final analysis, it is we the people who, through our civic and other nationalistic acts, including our advocacy, must create the conditions for accountability which has been absent from the WICB’s praxis.

The challenge is to turn the WICB away from a plantation to an anti-plantation culture. To do that we as a people, including our cricket journalists and analysts, must cease the culture of mindless cheerleading and narrow simplistic analyses.

Here in Guyana, our cricket continues to be held to ransom by a small clique.

There have not been any elections to the Guyana Cricket Board for almost a decade. Both the previous government and the present one have done nothing to remedy the situation. The culprits are wined and dined in high places. Careers are being destroyed. Does anyone care?

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

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trafficking.

The Ministry of Social Protection’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) The C-TIP unit is also planning a local documentary on human trafficking. This is aimed at eradicating the myth that trafficking involves only sex workers. The possibility of conducting street theatres is also being explored.

The unit intends to develop and pilot-test a

TIP module that is to be implemented in primary and secondary schools by the end of next year. The unit will continue to work with its partners including the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) to conduct outreaches in the various regions.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

The cockfight between the two legal Chatrees IN 2014, a tape surfaced on which the then Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs in the Donald Ramotar Government, Anil Nandlall, was heard saying that he is from a better caste than Bharrat Jagdeo. According to him, he is of the Chatree caste. In the Hindu caste system he would fall in the class of nobility and is expected to be of superior moral standing.

Transporting the characteristics of the caste system into the legal profession, it has historically been the beneficiary of people seeing it as comprising of persons of superior intellect and the crème de la crème of society.

This same Chatree in that tape was engaging in the act of seeking to pimp a woman to sleep with his uncle, in the most ignoble of language. The voice on the tape was also heard threatening the Kaieteur News and by extension its publisher and workers, in prophesying

that people will walk into the office with “their weapon…. and wha come shall do.”

In 2015, the PPP/C lost the Executive and Nandlall no longer holds the Chatree position of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. It is now held by APNU+AFC Basil Williams.

The holder of this office is not only the Government’s legal adviser, but also titular head of the Bar. Since the tables have turned, the society has had to take up a ringside seat to the continual gruelling fight between these two Chatrees, though Basil can make claim to seniority, with his recent evaluation to the honourable title of Senior Counsel.

The cockfight, even to the casual observer, is that of two cocks jumping at each other, testing the dexterity and weaknesses of the other, and in the process of picking at each other and instilling wounds, waiting for the other to be caught off guard in order to knock him

out. Nandlall has publicly communicated his disdain and disregard for Williams and his intellect, and one senses a not dissimilar view

by Williams of Nandlall.

When this government takes positions on issues where there are legal implications, Nandlall is the face decrying its actions, and making accusations of the administration operating outside of the law. The desire between the two, to draw the blood of the other, has seen them appearing in court and in meetings to have interpretation of the Guyana Constitution, behaving as though there is a duel and not the need to have legal questions resolved. These antics continue to spill out into the media, in a personal way, leaving persons dumbfounded as to their actions, given what is at stake i.e. the Rule of Law. Last week the nation witnessed, what it is hoped will be the first and last experience, where the High

Court got ensnared in the two prancing around, looking for that vulnerable moment to move in. Nandlall went to the media and accused Williams of threatening Justice Franklyn Holder during a hearing in which both appeared. According to him, Williams told the judge that the last magistrate who did this to him was found dead. Williams countered by saying his reference was taken out of context. As the story unfolded, it was also learnt that Williams allegedly accused the judge of giving preferential treatment to Nandlall.

Now the judiciary has been dragged into the ring.

When Nandlall’s tape was made public, then President Ramotar came out in defence of his Chatree. In October 2014, his administration said, “We stand by the Attorney General, as the Government of Guyana goes out of its way to foster peace and goodwill. We believe in the integrity and professionalism of the Minister

of Legal Affairs, Mr Anil Nandlall, and stand by him.”

The administration went as far as saying, “the recording contains a distorted, manipulated conversation.”

When President David Granger was asked his opinion on the conduct of his Chatree in court, he reportedly responded that he needs to hear from him first. The president has accordingly said, “I have asked for an explanation of the matters which were reported to me and when I have had that opportunity I will respond to him and the Chancellor of the Judiciary, but I am very confident that the matter will be resolved.” He also noted that “in Law there is the principle to hear the other side, so we mustn’t jump to conclusions, so I want to hear both sides.” The people will await the government’s pronouncement.

Let me make it very clear, looking at this issue through soft lens, in no way, shape, or form, it is intended

to dismiss or devalue the seriousness of what is transpiring, the responsibility that comes with the office, and the integrity and judicious comport required of the holder of the office. This is a matter of grave national import and should be treated as such.

One of the bright spots of the legal fraternity that has shown up in recent times is the public involvement on the interpretation of the Guyana Constitution by Professor Justice Duke Pollard and former Chancellor of the Judiciary and former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Keith Massiah. These men are of active and agile minds and continue to make their profession proud. Such calibre should be valued and the fact that they are remaining engaged make them not only assets in the mentorship of society, but also worthy counsel to the State/Government.

Gold miners want illegal barrier removed

By Clifford Stanley GOLD miners who are members of the Berbice Mining Syndicate are calling for urgent action to remove an unmanned barrier on a roadway to lands in the Upper Berbice River, which has forced them to abandon plans for exploration and mining in the area.

Mr Kempton Wade, President of the Syndicate said that members of the newly formed group found their way blocked by a heavily padlocked barrier a week ago, while they were on their way to the Berbice Mining District on an expedition to explore lands in the Parish Peak and Cannister Falls areas.

“This is a public roadway and the barrier was totally unexpected.Additionally,there was no one

there to open it. So we left the coast with the intention of doing some exploration in the Upper Berbice area, but due to this barrier, we had no alternative but to turn back and return without any information whatsoever ,” he said.

The Berbice Mining Syndicate was formed in February last with the support of Junior Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes.

He added that the barrier had caused the group to incur losses in both time and money.

Wade said that the group members had since investigated this matter and found that the barrier had not been set up by Government authorities, but by the owner of a privately-owned company and was therefore illegal .

“Additionally, officials at the Ministry of Natural Resources have confirmed that the barrier was illegal, but so far we have not seen any urgent action to remove this obstacle. This issue has become very frustrating for our members,” he said.

“We want access to this part of the Berbice Mining District. We are Guyanese, we are Berbicians and we have a right to access. We have not been told that any private individual has a right to block any public road in Guyana,” he stressed.

He said he hoped that urgent action would be taken not only to open the heavily padlocked barrier, but to remove it completely, since members would not want to be allowed past the barrier going in only to find their way blocked when coming back out.

Blocked at the barrier on the route to Parish Peak, Upper Berbice River

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Public servants in for a treat – new company offers $100,000 off cars RECOGNISING the contributions of public servants to the local economy, a recently launched auto dealership is looking to make owning a vehicle more affordable to that group by offering a $100,000 discount on any purchase.

This is according to Adrian Reynolds, one of the founders of the company – A.J. Carian (Guyana).

He explained that the Japan-based company, which was launched in Guyana last year was placing great emphasis on its social responsibility in the country where it

operates. As such, Reynolds noted that public servants in Guyana were being offered a $100,000 discount on any vehicle they wanted to purchase.”

“Public servants in Guyana are the engine of the economy. Without them, the country cannot run. And so, in recognizing their contributions, we want to make owning a car more affordable to them” the co-founder said.

Additionally, the company is partnering with another local company, iRide Guyana, to offer Guyanese from other sectors of society a $50,000 discount.

iRide Guyana is a mobile application which connects drivers around the city with people who are in need of a taxi. If a driver is available, they would automatically be connected to the nearest taxi and be able to see the location of the car.

The agreement between iRide and Carian Guyana is that if persons wish to own their own vehicle they can register with iRide, and that company will stand guarantee for them to purchase a vehicle from the auto dealership. They would also be entitled to a discount of $50,000.

Since the company was launched in August last year, the co-founder noted that “business has been good”.

He said that persons have shown interest in vehicles not traditionally known to be popular in Guyana, such as SUVs. The company has more than 35 different types of vehicles to choose from, including: BMWs, Honda Civic, Toyota Raum, Toyota, Premio and pick-ups.

Reynolds said that from June, the auto dealership would be supplying parts for almost all models of vehicles after which a service centre will be opened to provide for the mechanical needs of drivers.

The company is located at Unit A, Regency Business Strip, LBI, East Coast Demerara. They can be contacted via their Facebook page.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Ganja bust at John Fernandes Wharf – drug found in container of perishable goods

ANTI-narcotics agents on Saturday morning intercepted a quantity of compressed marijuana in a container at the John Fernandes Wharf, Water Street, Georgetown during a joint operation.

Reports are that the drug, which was still being quantified at midday, was discovered in a container among perishable goods.

The container arrived recently from Jamaica. Investigators believe the container was tampered with before it arrived at Port Georgetown.

Officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) of

the Guyana Revenue Authority, and Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) were engaged in the operation on Saturday morning.

It is unclear if any arrest was made.

Last December, the Government unveiled a four-year National Drug Strategy Master Plan. The key elements of the plan include the establishment of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (NANA) to counter all aspects of the illicit drug trade, a court to deal with special cases, and reduced sentences and treatment for some offenders.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Minister Scott urges BIT graduates to give back to their communities THE latest graduating class of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) was urged to “value togetherness” and share their “knowledge with persons in the community.” On Friday, March 31, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, in his feature address at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute, delivered a charge to 81 BIT graduates urging

that they give back to their communities.

The minister explained that as empowered youths, they should use their knowledge to not only gain employment, but to help others in the community to build capacity. “BIT is dedicated to preparing all youths, so they can be meaningfully involved in the development of our country,” Minister Scott said. He also noted the involvement of the Guyana

Minister within the Social Protection Ministry, Keith Scott, presents a certificate to Best Graduating Student, Orlando Davidson

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott, speaking to graduates of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programme yesterday at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute

Police Force, and “their aid in preparing them for the real world.”

The involvement of the Guyana Police Force was highlighted by ‘B’ Division Commander, Ian Amsterdam.

He explained that through a number of community outreach programmes, they were able to reach youths who may have otherwise, possibly,

Andrea Benjamin, an Information Technology student, receiving her certificate from Member of Parliament of Region Six, Charran Dass

been occupied with a life of crime.

Assistant Director of the National Community Development Council (NCDC), Donald Ainsworth, thanked the government for the programme. He said that by aiding young people, “They will greatly help to develop the community.” Ainsworth added that Region Six is known for its agricultural potential and encouraged students to “contribute and embrace the

agricultural prospects.”

Courses offered included auto mechanics, welding and fabrication, catering and cake decoration, information technology and office procedure, personal computer repairs, heavy-duty equipment operation, catering and commercial food preparation, and other lifeskills. This was the third graduation exercise for Region Six since January, 2017.

(From left to right)- BIT Technical Officer Collina Johnson; Commander of ‘B’ Division, Ian Amsterdam; MP of Region Six, Charran Dass; Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott; Assistant Director, National Community Development Council (NCDC) Donald Ainsworth; two teachers of the BIT programme and the 81 graduates of the BIT Youth Empowerment training project

Prompt fire-fighters avert fire in Linden MINISTER within the Ministry of Communities, Valarie Adams-Patterson, has lauded the Linden firemen on duty Saturday night for responding promptly to a fire that erupted in the Phase 3 Amelia’s Ward Home of her son, Lindey Sharpe.

The fire which started around 8pm, Patterson told the Guyana Chronicle, was

electrical in nature. It started in the second bedroom of one of the two apartments on the lower flat, but the fire-fighters’ quick response to the call, caused the blaze to be restricted..

“They were very prompt, they came with two fire trucks, the ambulance and electricity personnel. They were very prompt,” Ms. Patterson said.

At the time of the blaze,

the government minister who is a resident of Linden, said she was in the upper storey of the house, while the tenant of the other apartment was also home.

No one was hurt and the damage was not deemed significant. The minister wanted to make it clear that the property is not occupied by her as was reported by an online news outlet.

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Workers moving apace to finish model houses for Housing Expo WORKERS are moving apace to complete the construction of low, middle and moderate income model houses for display and sale at the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s

(CH&PA’s) “Housing Solution 2017 and Beyond exhibition.

Billed for May 1-5, the Expo at Perseverance, East Bank Demerara is set to have on display 10 low income, five moderate

and eight middle income houses by local contractors and six duplexes and two single units by the CH&PA. The project is aimed at significantly reducing the 25,000 housing applica-

One of the Flat Duplex houses

tions’ backlog within the CH&PA system.

According to reports, CH&PA will be using its existing resources from its 1000 Homes project to build its eight units.

The authority will be

constructing duplexes of three designs and flat houses on stilts.

“What we are actually creating here is a model village.In this model village none of the potential owners,

those who will buy can modify the houses until after five years,” Minister within the Ministry of Communities Valerie Adams-Patterson explained during a recent visit to the site.

Workers braving the mid-morning sun to get the work done

Local church linking youths with training – aims to reduce unemployment, crime rate

By Navendra Seoraj THE members of the Campbellville Baptist Church are on the move to give young people a chance to connect with a local training or educational institution.

After noticing the “alarming” increase of the unemployment rate among youths in Campbellville, a group of young people from the church decided to take on the challenge of organising an event where youths, particularly those who are unemployed, can be made aware of the opportunities they have at their “finger tips.”

“We want to bring together unemployed young men and women and link them with training institutions in Georgetown,” said Pastor Charles Vandyke, who told the Guyana Chronicle that so far they have managed to get several institutions on board.

So far they have acquired the support of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), the Carnegie School

Chleyon and Petra, two of the persons who were responsible for the start of the church’s initiative

of Home Economics, the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC).

With this being the beginning of a continuous exercise, the church hopes to get more support and also to attract more young people from not just the community, but also other at-risk youths from around the country.

The pastor said that it was important for young people who are unemployed and who are school dropouts to know about the opportunities that exist for them to better themselves.

And, similar to children not knowing of the oppor-

tunities, Pastor Vandyke pointed out that institutions said they cannot get young people on board, so the members of the church decided to get the institutions and church on board.

Although the youths might get involved in the courses and other activities, it was said that the members of the church will keep track of their progress, so as to ensure that they stay on the right path and become “assets to society.”

Pastor Vandyke stated that this initiative should be ongoing nationwide, because it is one of the ways

in which the unemployment and crime rates can be decreased tremendously.

One of the youths who brought up the idea told the Chronicle that they started this initiative with the hope of getting young persons in their community involved in projects that can result in them bettering themselves.

“I like the programme, because some persons drop out of school and be at home and do nothing or turn to crime…so instead of them being on the road and having nothing to do, we decided to help them find jobs and educate themselves

Youths being sensitised about what the BIT has to offer

or even learn a trade. We hope to target every young person in the community and even those from around the country,” said the young church member.

Another initiator said that many people were not privy to the opportunities available, so they hope to open the doors to “good” opportunities.

She is encouraging youths to join their progamme in order to get help in getting a job or even becoming a member of a social group, so that they can enhance their futures.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Hearing again, and for the first time

By Shirley Thomas

AT least 500 people with hearing impairments will, in a matter of weeks, experience the joy of being able to hear for the first time and for some other persons, have their hearing restored.

All this is being made possible, thanks to the Starkey Hearing Foundation of the United States, on a visit to Guyana to bring hope and relief to persons with hearing problems.

“We are here to identify patients in Guyana who may be beneficiaries of the free hearing aids we provide for patients all around the world,” said Dr.

Luqnan Lawall, Director of Global Health and Research of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. He said the initiative is an attempt to bridge access gaps by providing free hearing tests and making ear impressions, then fitting them with custom-made hearing aids in a sustainable way.

Last Thursday, a five-member team of international personalities from the Starkey Foundation commenced a twoday exercise which entailed the testing and making of impressions, to be followed with the distribution of hearing aids.

Hosted by the Ministry of Public Health and the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Sandra

Granger, the initiative had the support of the staff of the Department of Audiology, Georgetown Public Hospital, volunteers from the Lions Club of Bel Air and Demerara Lions Club, among others. The medical team was assisted by about 15 local audiology technicians trained by the Starkey team during a visit here last year.

And offering his services as a volunteer interpreter was Mr Noah Balcom.

The testing and making of ear impressions done at the Sophia Exhibition Complex, constituted Phase One of the project and are to be followed up by Phase II in June, which is the supply and actual fitting of

the patients with custom-made aids free of cost to the recipients.

Founder of the Starkey Foundation, Mr Bill Austin of Minnesota, is expected to be here at that visit and will witness the momentous exercise.

Even though the patients are largely senior citizens, there were many young children in the midst.

The exercise wrapped up on Friday with team leader, Dr Lukman Lawal, Director of Global Health & Research, commenting that the exercise had been a “win-win” situation for both the foundation and the Guyanese nation.

Commenting on the impact

Minister of Health, Dr George Norton. Some 200 patients were tested and had impressions done and on the second visit in June, they were fitted with hearing aids.

Dr Lukman Lawal, Director of Global Health and Research, Starkey Hearing Foundation

PARTNERSHIP AND CAPACITY-BUILDING Dr Lawal stressed the importance of partnership with the local communities if the programme were to be successful. And by this token, on their first visit, Starkey immediately embraced the Department of Audiology and the Ministry of Public Health as vital partners.

Dr Lawal cautioned that there was no need for panic if the hearing aid appeared to be malfunctioning. “Take them

An elderly woman being helped to the audiologist’s station

of both rounds of visits – 2016 and 2017 -- Dr Lawal told the Guyana Chronicle: “The impact has been tremendous in the sense that we were able to build local capacity. And as you can see today, apart from one of our international team leaders who is an audiologist, we have four other local senior audiology technicians who are supporting us doing the impressions. It enhances the work flow; it improves efficiency and it really reduces resources that would have had to be brought in from the U.S. Dr Lawal said that the cost of one hearing aid is approximately G$65,000 and attendant services such as professional interventions, batteries, and maintenance of the hearing aids could run into as much as half a million dollars per person, something low-income persons in Guyana would not be able to afford.

A leading health care organisation in the world, Starkey Foundation has organisations in about 52 countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South-East Asia, Asia, Pacific and low and middle-income countries.

The visit comes on the heels of two previous ones last year – in February,on Mrs Granger and then later, on

into your audiologists, since it might just be that the battery needs changing.”

He listed some precautions: ● Take off hearing aids before going to sleep; ● Do not bathe with aids on; ● Keep aids in a safe place when not being used; ● Do not use them on sticky surfaces. This compromises the lifespan.

PROJECT COST Asked to put a dollar value to the work being undertaken in Guyana, Dr Lawal said: “Though it can run into millions of U.S. dollars, I do not want to put a cost to it. However, it’s extremely invaluable.

There is nothing like the joy you feel when you see kids coming from all the regions and the tears of joy of parents when their babies begin to hear.”

Funding of the foundation, he said, is done largely through donations from the founder’s hearing aids manufacturing company--about 80 per cent. There are other donors too, such as football stars, musicians and others in the U.S. Donations run from as little as five dollars to as much as millions of dollars and the foundation has always been grateful.

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Kwakwani in must win game against Jets tonight NEWCOMERS Kwakwani are in a must win situation this evening if they hope to reach the final four of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) / Hamid Foundation Under 23 championship,when they face Amelia’s Ward Jets from 18.30hrs sharp at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Nothing but a win can guarantee the Kwakwani side reaching the semifinals since they will give way to Bankers Trust Falcons should they lose as the other team with the

jets to come out of their group.

The Kwakwani side has found itself in this position because they forfeited one game they won after it was discovered that they played with an ineligible player in their opening game which they had won.

This decision was taken after that game and therefore Falcons,who have four points from one win and two losses after three round of matches, will move on should Kwakwani lose and finish on three points

from a win and a loss with the other being forfeited.

Should Kwawkani win they will have four points along withFalcons,but having defeated the Falcons in their head-to- head clash,they will go through as the number two team with the jets as number one in Group B. Jets then will top the group play to face Raiders, as they currently are on four points from two wins, and a loss will give them five points.

This game is of great importance therefore in deciding the match-ups in

the semifinals as the top team in Group B from this clash will play the second placed team in Group A,which is Retrieve Raiders while unbeaten Half Mile Bulls topped group A with six points from three wins while Raiders ended on five from two wins and a loss.

The second game between Block 22 Flames and Christianburg Pistons is of academic interest as neither can reach the semifinals of this competition.

The game starts at 20.30hrs. (Joe Chapman)

Lewis smashes Windies ...

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From back page two, but Jason Mohammed, replacing Rovman Powell in the line-up, brought a steadying influence and guided Lewis to his 50 which came with a hearty pull high over deep mid-wicket for his fourth six off Shadab in the 12th over.

Lewis celebrated with another six high over deep square leg off the same bowler two balls later and he never eased up, saving his best for Tanveer’s third over.

He smashed three sixes – all over the leg-side – and sliced a drive to third man for four in the 14th over of the innings which cost 24 and condemned the leftarm fast-medium bowler to figures of 0-41 from three overs.

A savage slog/sweep off Shadab over cow corner gave Lewis the highest score by a West Indies batsman against Pakistan in a T20I before he was caught at long-off trying to hit the winning runs off the same bowler.

Earlier, there was an eventful start to the Pakistan innings, when Ahmed Shehzad swung the very first delivery of the match from Badree to the deep backward square leg boundary for four.

The West Indies leg-spinner got retribution however, when the Pakistani opener was bowled for four with the next delivery, wrong-footed, moving down

the pitch and looking to play into the leg-side.

Two balls later, Badree struck again, when lefthander Imad Wasim, promoted to three, reached for a delivery outside the off-stump, lost his balance and was stumped for a duck to leave the visitors four for two.

But Akmal and Babar stemmed the fall of wickets with purposeful batting, carrying Pakistan to 42 for two at the end of the Power Play.

The West Indies bowlers continued to leak boundaries before Babar brought up the 50 partnership with a single to fine

leg off Sunil Narine in the eighth over.

But the breakthrough for the Windies came from an unlikely source, when Marlon Samuels came on to bowl and had Akmal caught at deep mid-wicket with his first delivery, a high, loose, full toss – if ever there was one – in the 13th over.

This triggered a golden period for the Windies, as they claimed the next six Pakistani wickets for 45 runs in the space of 43 balls.

Badree was the most successful West Indies bowler with 2-22 from his allotted four overs.

SCOREBOARD LEWIS SMASHES. PAKISTAN (20 overs maximum) Ahmed Shehzad b Badree 4 Kamran Akmal c Simmons b Samuels 48 Imad Wasim st Walton b Badree 0 Babar Azam b Narine 43 Shoaib Malik c Lewis b Brathwaite 2 Fakhar Zaman run out (Narine/Holder) 21 Sarfraz Ahmed run out (+Walton/Holder) 3 Wahab Riaz c Pollard b Williams 1 Sohail Tanveer not out 2 Shadab Khan not out 1 Extras (b1, lb7, w2) 10 TOTAL (8 wkts, 20 overs) 137 Hassan Ali did not bat Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Shehzad, 0.2 overs); 2-4 (Wasim, 0.4); 3-92 (Akmal, 12.1); 4-95 (Malik, 13.4); 5-115 (Babar, 15.4); 6-124 (Sarfraz, 17.2); 7-130 (Wahab, 18.3); 8-132 (Fakhar, 19.1) Bowling: Badree 4-0-22-2; Holder 4-0-26-0; Williams 4-0-21-1 (w1); Brathwaite 3-0-15-1; Narine 3-0-34-1 (w1); Samuels 2-0-11-1 WEST INDIES (target: 138 off 20 overs) E Lewis c Wahab Riaz b Shadab Khan 91 C Walton c Fakhar Zaman b Sohail Tanveer 1 M Samuels c Imad Wasim b Wahab Riaz 18 J Mohammed not out 17 L Simmons not out 4 Extras (lb3, w3, nb1) 7 TOTAL (3 wkts, 14.5 overs) 138 K Pollard, *C Brathwaite, J Holder, S Narine, S Badree, K Williams did not bat Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Walton, 1.2 overs); 2-58 (Samuels, 7.6); 3-134 (Lewis, 14.4) Bowling: Imad Wasim 3-0-20-0 (w1); Sohail Tanveer 3-0-40-1 (nb1, w1); Hassan Ali 2-0-20-0; Shadab Khan 3.5-0-38-1; Wahab Riaz 2-06-1 (w1); Shoaib Malik 1-0-11-0

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Chelsea suffer shock loss as Spurs close in

By Ian Chadband (REUTERS)-New life was pumped into the Premier League title race on Saturday after leaders Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, enabling Tottenham Hotspur to cut the gap at the top to seven points after their 2-0 win at Burnley.

Liverpool won a feisty Merseyside derby against Everton 3-1 at Anfield to move into third place as Chelsea’s pursuers were all given fresh hope after Antonio Conte’s side lost their first league match at Stamford Bridge since September.

The unlikely reverse, which Conte admitted made the title race “more interesting” for everyone, left Chelsea on 69 points with Spurs

having moved on to 62 and Liverpool on to 59, though the Reds have played a game more than the top two.

Such has been Chelsea’s dominance at the Bridge this season that once Cesc Fabregas had put them ahead after just five minutes, it all promised to be plain sailing towards an 11th straight home win in the league for the Blues.

Yet two splendid goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke in the space of three minutes soon after changed the complexion of the game with Palace then defending stoically to earn the unlikeliest of wins.

Spurs had appeared to be labouring at Turf Moor without injured striker Harry Kane and they lost Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks

-- the latter to what appeared a serious ankle injury -- before the interval.

Yet Eric Dier and Son Heung-min struck in the second half to earn the points, leaving an encouraged Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino to declare: “It was important for us to be there if Chelsea failed -- and we are there.

We’re there fighting for the Premier League.”

With Chelsea on Wednesday next facing Manchester City, who currently lie fourth on 57 points and who first face Arsenal on Sunday, it is little wonder that the Blues’ defeat has put a new spring in Pochettino’s step.

Juergen Klopp will feel invigorated too after becoming the first Liverpool manager to win his first

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff Livepic

Chelsea’s David Luiz looks dejected Action Images via Reuters / Tony O’Brien Livepic three Merseyside derbies as his side won with goals from Sadio Mane, the inspired Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi.

Liverpool made it 17 league matches unbeaten at Anfield against their city rivals after Mane’s brilliant early individual effort was answered by a first goal for Everton from Matthew Pennington.

The youngster, though, was bamboozled less than three minutes later by the skill of Coutinho, who curled a delightful shot into the corner before sealing his masterful display by putting in substitute Origi.

KOEMAN CRITICAL Everton boss Ronald Koeman later criticised Klopp and the Liverpool bench for their “crazy” re-

sponse to a bad tackle from Ross Barkley on Dejan Lovren.

“Tackles are part of football...we don’t make a show from the bench like Liverpool,” Koeman told Sky Sports.

“I don’t like coaches from the bench the whole time shouting to referees and linesmen, making a big show about tackles.”

Jose Mourinho was left in a grumpy mood again after his toothless Manchester United, while extending their unbeaten league sequence to 19 matches, slipped up in the race for Champions League places, held to a goalless draw at Old Trafford by West Bromwich Albion.

It was United’s 11th draw, which leaves them in fifth place on 53 points.

At the other end of the table, Sunderland’s plight

is looking increasingly dire following another defeat, with Miguel Britos heading his first goal for Watford in the 1-0 win at Vicarage Road.

Hull City came from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 with Andrea Ranocchia notching the Tigers’ 85th-minute clincher, moving them up to 27 points in 18th place while Sunderland are rooted on 20.

Craig Shakespeare’s extraordinary start to management at Leicester City continued as the champions beat Stoke City 2-0 with goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy.

Victory meant that Shakespeare has become the first British manager ever to win his first four top-flight league games in the Premier League era.

Warriors make it 10 in a row, Cavs end slump THE Golden State Warriors made it 10 NBA wins in a row with a 107-98 victory at home to the Houston Rockets on Friday, while the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped run of three consecutive defeats.

Golden State made it 10 wins in a row with a 107-98 victory at home to the Rockets on Friday.

Warriors pair Steph Curry (24) and Klay Thompson (20) combined for 44 points, while Houston’s James Harden was held to 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Reigning NBA champions the Cavaliers returned to winning ways, accounting for the Philadelphia 76ers 122-105.

It was Cleveland’s third in eight games after a turbulent month. The San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, rallied to top the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-95.

WARRIORS USE BIG FOURTH QUARTER The Warriors trailed by two points entering the final quarter, but outscored Houston 24-13 in the fourth to win their 10th straight and inch closer to claiming the top seed in the Western Conference.

Golden State’s bench also came up big. Andre Iguodala scored 14 points with five rebounds, five

assists, three blocks and two steals, while JaVale McGee posted 13 points with five blocks and four rebounds in just 11 minutes of action.

The Warriors received a total of 49 points off the bench, with all six players shooting 50 per cent or better from the field.

CAVS BOUNCE BACK The Cavs needed a win and they got it thanks to some help from LeBron James. James poured in 34 points with nine rebounds and six assists against the short-handed 76ers.

LEONARD OUTSHINES WESTBROOK

Stephen Curry scored 24 points for Golden State Warriors.

Russell Westbrook continued his mission to make

history on Friday, but the Thunder came up short against the Spurs.

After trailing by 13 points at half-time, and 21 points at one point, San Antonio came roaring back in Oklahoma City.

Kawhi Leonard led the way with 28 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Westbrook stole the show, though. With his 32 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, he earned his 39th triple-double of the season.

He now needs just three more to surpass Oscar Robertson’s record of 41 in a single season.

CELTICS HOLD ON, BUCKS WIN IN OT

Isaiah Thomas had 36 points as the Boston Celtics edged the Orlando Magic 117-116, while the Milwaukee Bucks prevailed 108-105 against the Detroit Pistons in overtime.

The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Denver Nuggets 122-114, the New York Knicks topped the Miami Heat 98-94, the Toronto Raptors were 111-100 winners over the Indiana Pacers, the Dallas Mavericks lost 99-90 to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz beat the Washington Wizards 9588 and the New Orleans Pelicans accounted for the Sacramento Kings 117-89.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE april 2, 2017

Ashwin, Vijay to miss IPL, Kohli out for part of tournament (REUTERS)-India’s bumper 13-test home season has taken a big toll on its players with a host of them set to miss at least part of the Indian Premier League with injuries.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be without captain Virat Kohli for at least the initial phase of the Twenty20 tournament as the India skipper recovers from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the series-sealing final test win over Australia in Dharamsala.

“His recovery will be assessed in the second week of April to determine an exact return to play date for IPL 2017,” the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said

in a statement.

South African AB de Villiers will lead the side in Kohli’s absence.

Bangalore, who have already lost Australia paceman Mitchell Starc to injury, will also be without Lokesh Rahul for the entire tournament, with the India opener likely to undergo surgery on his left shoulder.

Rahul’s India opening partner Murali Vijay, who plays for Kings XI Punjab, will undergo wrist surgery and is expected to miss the April 5-May 21 tournament.

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will sit out the entire campaign for Rising Pune Supergiant as he re-

Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have all been ruled out of the 2017 IPL while Virat Kohli will have his fitness assessed in the middle of April.(Hindustan Times) A number of India’s test in a five-match series. covers from groin pain, the Gujarat Lions and Kolkata cricketers played through India also beat BanBCCI said.

Knight Riders respectively.

Left-arm spinner RavinJadeja has problems with pain during the home sea- gladesh in a one-off test dra Jadeja and paceman his spinning finger, while fast son which included a 3-0 before a 2-1 victory in a Umesh Yadav will both miss bowler Yadav has right hip whitewash of New Zealand hard-fought four-test series and a 4-0 defeat of England against Australia. the start of the tournament for and lower back soreness.

Mendis ,Kulasekara help Sri Lanka level ODI series (REUTERS)-Seamer Nuwan Kulasekara picked up four wickets to help Sri Lanka register a comfortable 70-run win in the third and final one-day international against Bangladesh on Saturday and level the series at 1-1.

Half-centuries from Kusal Mendis and Thisara Perera took the hosts, who lost the opening ODI in Dambulla, to 280 for nine in their 50 overs after Bangladesh won the toss at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.

Kulasekara’s double strike at the start hampered Bangladesh’s chase as the touring side were reduced to 11-3 and they never recovered before being bundled out for 210 in the 45th over.

Kulasekara struck twice in his first two overs to send back Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman while test captain Mushfiqur Rahim was out lbw first ball to paceman Suranga Lakmal.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and opener Soumya Sarkar put together a quickfire partnership of 77 for the fourth wicket before the latter fell to off-spinner Dilruwan Perera.

Shakib made 54 but his dismissal to Dilruwan effectively ended Bangladesh’s hopes of a series victory.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz delayed Sri Lanka’s win with 51, his second half-century in ODIs, before he was out to the first ball of Kulasekara’s third spell. The seam-

Kusal Mendis anchored Sri Lanka’s innings yet again with 54. er also dismissed Taskin Ahmed to finish with figures of 4-37 in 7.3 overs.

Earlier, captain Upul Tharanga and Danushka Gunathilaka gave the hosts a brisk start with an opening partnership of 76 before both were dismissed in quick succession.

The 22-year-old Mendis, who scored 102 in the rain-disrupted second ODI in Dambulla, continued his strong form with a wellmade 54.

Sri Lanka looked good for a big total but lost their way in the middle after the runouts of Dinesh Chandimal and Milinda Siriwardana.

Chandimal’s knock was cut short at 21 when he was out in bizarre fashion with Mushfiqur Rahim removing the bails when the batsman had lifted his bat after having initially grounded it in the crease.

Thisara’s 40-ball 52, which included four fours and a six, gave Sri Lanka’s innings late momentum.

SCOREBOARD SRI LANKA Innings Danushka Gunathilaka c Mahmudullah b M. Hasan 34 Upul Tharanga b Ahmed 35 Kusal Mendis c Rahim b M. Rahman 54 Dinesh Chandimal run out (Ahmed, Rahim) 21 Milinda Siriwardana run out (Rahim, Rahim) 12 Asela Gunaratne c Mahmudullah b Mortaza 34 Thisara Perera c Ahmed b Mortaza 52 Seekkuge Prasanna c Mahmudullah b M. Rahman 1 Dilruwan Perera c Iqbal b Mortaza 15 Nuwan Kulasekara not out 1 Suranga Lakmal not out 2 Extras (lb-2 w-17) 19 Total (for 9 wickets, 50 overs) 280 Fall of wickets: 1-76 D. Gunathilaka,2-87 U. Tharanga,3-136 D. Chandimal,4-161 M. Siriwardana,5-194 K. Mendis,6-216 A. Gunaratne,7-230 S. Prasanna,8-275 D. Perera,9-277 T. Perera Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 10 - 0 - 65 - 3(w-5),Mustafizur Rahman 10 - 0 - 55 - 2(w-1), Mehedi Hasan 10 - 1 - 49 - 1(w-1),Taskin Ahmed 8 - 1 - 50 - 1(w-10), Mahmudullah 1 - 0 - 5 – 0,Shakib Al Hasan 8 - 0 - 41 – 0, Mosaddek Hossain 3 - 0 - 13 - 0 BANGLADESH Innings Tamim Iqbal c&b N. Kulasekara 4 Soumya Sarkar st Chandimal b D. Perera 38 Sabbir Rahman c Chandimal b N. Kulasekara 0 Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Lakmal 0 Shakib Al Hasan c Gunathilaka b D. Perera 54 Mosaddek Hossain b Prasanna 9 Mahmudullah c Chandimal b Lakmal 7 Mehedi Hasan c Tharanga b N. Kulasekara 51 Mashrafe Mortaza c&b Prasanna 16 Taskin Ahmed c Gunaratne b N. Kulasekara 14 Mustafizur Rahman not out 1 Extras (lb-2 w-14) 16 Total (all out, 44.3 overs) 210 Fall of wickets: 1-4 T. Iqbal,2-10 Sa. Rahman,3-11 M. Rahim,4-88 S. Sarkar,5-111 Mosa. Hossain,6-118 S. Al Hasan,7-127 Mahmudullah,8-155 M. Mortaza,9-209 M. Hasan,10-210 T. Ahmed Bowling: Nuwan Kulasekara7.3 - 0 - 37 – 4,Suranga Lakmal 8 - 0 - 38 - 2(w-4), Dilruwan Perera 10 - 1 - 47 - 2(w-6),Thisara Perera 2 - 0 - 14 - 0 Asela Gunaratne 2 - 0 - 16 – 0, Seekkuge Prasanna 10 - 1 - 33 - 2(w-4) Milinda Siriwardana 5 - 1 - 23 – 0.

Federer beats Kyrgios to set up final against Nadal today ROGER Federer won a thrilling three-hour contest against Nick Kyrgios to set up a final against Rafael Nadal at the Miami Open.

The Swiss, 35, won 7-6 (11-9) 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (7-5) to take his 2017 record to 18 wins and one defeat.

Federer will take on Nadal for the 37th time today, and the second final this year after

beating the Spaniard at January’s Australian Open.

Nadal, 30, beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1 7-5 in the first semi-final.

Fognini, 29, had become the first unseeded player in 10 years to make the last four but was no match for Nadal, who will try to win a first Miami title in his fifth final on Sunday.

“It’s great to be in the

final for me,” said Nadal after winning the first of the semi-finals. “I am excited to play another final of an important event.

“If it’s Roger, it’s going to be another one for both of us, and that’s it. Just another one.”

Federer made sure that there will be another episode to his rivalry with Nadal, which began in Miami 13

years ago.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion maintained his spectacular run of results with victory over the in-form Kyrgios.

“It felt very good,” said the Swiss, who last won the Miami title in 2006. “You don’t very often play three breakers in a match.

“Winning breakers is always such a thrill. I tried to re-

ally fight for it. I can’t always show my fighting skills, it is great winning this way.”

Despite playing in front of a heavily pro-Federer crowd, Kyrgios extended the former champion over three hours and 10 minutes, with the 21-yearold Australian showing his frustration by smashing his racquet after losing match point.

“I had some ups and downs, bit of a rollercoaster,” said Kyrgios.

“Ultimately I think I put in a good performance. I thought the crowd would’ve enjoyed watching it, people at home would’ve enjoyed watching it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they found something bad, though.”(BBC Sport)

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Root outlines his greatest challenge DESPITE a busy English summer ahead, Joe Root admits his mind is already on the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia Beating Australia in this summer’s Ashes will be Joe Root’s greatest challenge, the new England Test captain has declared.

England have a bumper summer ahead featuring contests with South Africa and West Indies, as well as hosting the ICC Champions Trophy in June.

But Root admits he is already looking ahead to November and the start of the 2017-18 Ashes series on Australian soil, where England will be looking to retain the precious prize and make amends for their fivenil whitewash in the 2013-14 series Down Under.“Beating Australia, that’s the one

thing you’d especially want to do,” Root, appointed England captain following the resignation of Alastair Cook earlier this year, told former England players Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell on BBC radio.

“It’s very exciting, the fact we’ve got some strong senior players who’ll be very helpful and some very exciting young players as well, with a middle pack of players ready to take one more step.

“There’s a lot of cricket before we go (to Australia) but that’s been at the back of my mind since I was offered the captaincy.”

Root was appointed Test skipper in February but won’t have the chance to step out onto the playing field in his new role until the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s on July 6.

England captain Joe Root The long wait was frustrating, Root admitted, but the 26-year-old said he was trying not to spend too much time thinking about the approach he’ll bring to the role in the meantime.

“It’s a little bit (frustrating), but there’s plenty of cricket get my teeth into in the meantime.

“I’ll have plenty of distractions and things to keep me occupied and trying to score as many runs as possible.

“You want to just let it happen.

“You don’t want too many things pre-planned about how you want to play, you’ve got to roll with it a little bit.

“There’ll be things we’ll speak about and want to drive toward, but I’ll also work with the guys in the team and see what’s natural for everyone and what comes naturally for me on the field as well.”

Also undecided is where Root intends to place himself in England’s batting order. He was elevated to No.3 for last July’s home Test series against Pakistan, having previously walked to the crease at No.4.

“I’m quite happy to fit in wherever it suits the team best.

“It’s been at number three for the last (nine) months and I really enjoyed

batting at number four before that, so I’ll see how things shape up and what will look best on paper before the first Test.”

One thing Root does want to instil in his England team is “hardness”, following a disappointing four-nil series defeat in India late last year.

“I want to find a way we can be a very difficult side to beat.

“At times, previously,

we’ve rolled over too easily during the last 12 to 18 months when it’s got tough, especially in India.

“It would be good to instil some hardness in the way we play.

“The majority of the stuff we do is very good, there’s just small pockets of our game that needs tweaking a little bit.

“The guys all know that’s the case.

2017-18 International Fixtures:

Men’s Ashes Series First Test Gabba, November 23-27 Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night) Third Test Perth TBC, December 14-18 Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30 Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test) ODI Series v England First ODI MCG, January 14 Second ODI Gabba, January 19 Third ODI SCG, January 21 Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26 Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28 Prime Minister’s XI PM’s XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2

T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3 Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7 Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10 Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14 Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16 Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18 Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21

Konta beats Wozniacki in straight sets to win Miami final –– Will rise to seventh in world rankings (REUTERS)-Late-blooming Johanna Konta won the biggest title of her career when she beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 in the women’s final at the Miami Open on Saturday.

British 10th seed Konta used an aggressive game plan to overcome Danish 12th seed Wozniacki on the Crandon Park hardcourt.

Konta stuck to her hard-hitting tactics, despite a few hiccups, before clinching victory with a perfectly-weighted lob that landed on the baseline for her second title of the year, after winning in Sydney in January.

“I couldn’t believe it was over because I was so focused, just trying on every single point,” Konta, who hit 33 winners, said in a courtside interview.

“Having opportunities like these to almost get a pat on the back for all that hard work is very rewarding.”

Wozniacki used all of her vaunted endurance to run tirelessly after every ball, but was undone by a

Johanna Konta claimed the Miami Open with a straight sets win over Caroline Wozniacki weak serve. She was broken six times and won only 30 percent of her second serves, which Konta picked off relentlessly.

Konta, 25, is somewhat of a late bloomer. She was ranked 150th in the world at the end of 2014 and improved to 47th in 2015, but her biggest improvement came last year.

It has been barely eight months since she clinched

her first career title by beating Venus Williams in the Stanford, California final, before adding in the city of her birth the Sydney International in January.

“I think the belief has been there since I was a little girl,” said Konta, who will rise to seventh on Monday. “Everybody’s journey is different. I needed a little more time and a little more experience to accumulate the knowledge that I have and re-use it in my matches.

“I play smart tennis and calmer tennis I think. It just took time. On paper it looks like a quick turnaround but it’s been a long time coming.”

Asked how high she could go in the rankings, and whether a grand slam victory was in her sights, she said: “I think the belief has been there since I was a little girl. I’d like to be the best player in the world but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.”

29

SUNDAY CHRONICLE april 2, 2017

Indian players unhappy despite pay hike DESPITE receiving a pay increment as part of their yearly contracts, Team India players have exhibited displeasure at their yearly retainer values, although they were doubled from the previous year.

The BCCI had released the annual contracts of the men’s team for this season, and it was known that they doubled the yearly retainer values from last year. For the A grade players, the value is set at Rs. 2 crore while Grade B and Grade C players earn Rs. 1 crore and Rs. 50 Lakh respectively.

The BCCI also gave an increment in the match fees for the players, increasing it from Rs. 7 Lakh to Rs. 15 Lakh in Tests, and in T20s from Rs. 2 Lakh to Rs. 3

…The players sent their complaints through Anil Kumble to the CoA

Team India

Gayle looks to youngsters to help snap RCB IPL title drought WEST Indies star batsman Chris Gayle is hopeful a new generation of cricketers led by England bowler Tymal Mills can aid in helping Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to its first Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 title.

Despite having Gayle, one of the most explosive batsman in the world, RCB have consistently played the role of bridesmaids after making three finals.

A high power batting line-up, which includes Gayle, team captain Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will once again give the team a good chance to end the title drought this season. RCB, however, look a less explosive unit when it comes to the bowling line-up, with the £1.2 million Mills thought to be the main weapon.

“Mills has been very good all around the world since he started playing international cricket,” Gayle said.

Lakh. In fact, this was the first time since 2010 when changes were made in the pay structure.

“Things have gathered momentum over the last three months or so, through the New Zealand and England series. Almost every player has been involved in the discussions”, a source was quoted as saying to ESPNCricinfo.

The displeasure of the players was triggered from the fact that the Australian and English teams get higher retainers than the Indians, around Rs. 8 to 12 crore.

Another complaint was

England bowler Tymal Mills “Hopefully, he will lead from the front and fit in nicely. There are quite a few young guys who’ve been in the team as well and I’m sure they will fit in well.

“We have a great captain and a lot of senior guys to actually gel with the youngsters and hopefully we’ll get a good start in the tournament and take it from there.”

regarding how the finances are distributed of finances.

While IPL has been the largest revenue generator for the BCCI, the players say they have not been given ample share of the profit.

The players sent their complaints through Anil Kumble, the head coach, who then submitted a proposal to the Committee of Administrators (CoA).

BCCI need to fix this issue as soon as possible, because June is only two months away, when India will travel to England for the all-important Champions Trophy, and look to regain it from 2013.

PSG beat Monaco to lift fourth straight League Cup (REUTERS)-Paris St Germain thrashed Monaco 4-1 in the French League Cup final on Saturday to lift the trophy for the fourth year in a row and gain a potential psychological edge over their rivals for the Ligue 1 title race.

Julian Draxler put PSG ahead and Thomas Lemar levelled for Monaco before a goal from Angel Di Maria and a double from Edinson Cavani sealed a lively encounter at Parc OL. PSG, who trail Monaco by three points in Ligue 1 with eight games left in the season, are now unbeaten in the French League Cup since a quarter-final defeat against St Etienne in November 2012.

Unai Emery’s PSG looked nothing like the team who were knocked out of the Champions League

by Barcelona with an embarrassing 6-1 defeat, while Monaco’s French prodigy

Kylian Mbappe put on a disappointing display.

“After what happened against Barca we had to win this final,” said Di Maria.

PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot said they had a point to prove against the Ligue 1 leaders.

“We played a great game. Everybody said everywhere that Monaco were the favourites, that they were the best team in France. We showed who we were tonight,” he said.

PSG, who were without injured centre back Marquinhos, started brightly.

Marco Verratti found Di Maria in the box with a splendid through ball and the Argentine, facing keeper Danijel Subasic, played a short pass to Draxler who tapped in to put PSG in front after four minutes.

Monaco, who missed the suspended Fabinho and the injured Radamel Falcao, struggled to create chances but equalised at the end of a superb move

in the 27th minute.

Paris St Germain thrashed Monaco 4-1 in the French League Cup final on Saturday to lift the trophy for the fourth year in a row and gain a potential psychological edge over their rivals for the Ligue 1 title race.

Julian Draxler put PSG ahead and Thomas Lemar levelled for Monaco before a goal from Angel Di Maria and a double from Edinson Cavani sealed a lively encounter at Parc OL. PSG, who trail Monaco by three points in Ligue 1 with eight games left in the season, are now unbeaten in the French League Cup since a quarter-final defeat against St Etienne in November 2012.

Unai Emery’s PSG looked nothing like the team who were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona with an embarrassing 6-1 defeat, while Monaco’s French prodigy Kylian Mbappe put on a disap-

pointing display.

“After what happened against Barca we had to win this final,” said Di Maria.

PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot said they had a point to prove against the Ligue 1 leaders.

“We played a great game.

Everybody said everywhere that Monaco were the favourites, that they were the best team in France. We showed who we were tonight,” he said.

PSG, who were without injured centre back Marquinhos, started brightly.

Marco Verratti found Di Maria in the box with a splendid through ball and the Argentine, facing keeper Danijel Subasic, played a short pass to Draxler who tapped in to put PSG in front after four minutes.

Monaco, who missed the suspended Fabinho and the injured Radamel Falcao, struggled to create chances but equalised at the end of a superb move in the 27th minute.

McLeod, Thompson among Shanghai headliners JAMAICAN Olympic champions Omar McLeod and Elaine Thompson will be among several athletes leading a high-quality field at the 2017 Shanghai Diamond League meet, which will get under way on May 13.

The 22-year-old McLeod will be looking to

get off to similar start to a successful 2016, which saw the athlete claim the World Indoor Championship before going on to dominate the event.

McLeod will, however, face stiff competition from Spain’s Orlando Ortega, the Olympic silver medallist who went on to win the Dia-

ELAINE THOMPSON

mond Race trophy with late-season victories in Lausanne and Brussels.

The story will be the same for Thompson who will look to build on a stellar 2016, which saw the athlete claim the Olympic sprint double in convincing fashion. Thompson has already started off the season in promising fashion after

destroying a quality field to storm to victory in the women’s 60 metre at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix in a world leading 6.98 seconds in February.

Among the other top athletes already booked for the meet are world 800m record holder and double Olympic champion David Rudisha.

OMAR MCLEOD

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

GCA/Noble House Seafoods two-day cricket final …

GNIC fight back with late wickets after Rafael Singh 6-29

By Rajiv Bisnauth GNIC claimed six wickets in the closing stages to fight their way back against Transport Sports Club (TSC) at the end of the opening day of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) sponsored Noble House Seafoods second division two-day cricket final yesterday at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.

Replying to GNIC’s first innings total of 167, TSC reached 68-6 in 23 overs.

Shaun Massiah and Azeem Azeez will resume today on four runs each, with TSC still trailing in their first innings by 99 runs.

TSC looked set to take

complete control of the game, after off-spinner Rafael Singh first grabbed 6-29 in 12 overs. Singh capitalised on the overcautious approach of the GNIC batsmen, and used the bounce on offer to good effect, as GNIC catapulted in 66.5 overs.

From a relatively decent position of 134-4 at lunch, GNIC lost the plot in a disastrous 55-minute period after the interval, with Singh, who was almost unplayable at times on account of his accuracy,being the main destroyer during that period.

Earlier, Stephen Campbell top scored with 62,while several other batsmen got starts without carrying on,with Marc Nicholson making 33, Premchan Sook-

deo 28, and Ryan Shun 18.

Asked to bat first, GNIC made a confident start with openers Nicholson and Campbell making the most of a perfect opportunity to bat.

The pair added 52 for the first wicket, with Nicholson being the more aggressive of the two batsmen, unleashing several stylish shots, including a four and three sixes.

However, GNIC were setback when Nicholson fell victim to his own brazen ways, flicking a short ball from off-spinner Kevin Ross straight to square-leg,immediately after the first drink break.

Kurt Lovell followed, run out in farcical fashion for two before Campbell and

RAFAEL SINGH Shun put together a 33-run stand for the third-wicket.

However, the batting side was further jolted when Shun offered a simple return catch

to off-spinner Joshua Wilson.

Campbell, who looked at ease right from the outset continued to progress smoothly in company with Sookdeo, and together the duo took the total to 134 before Singh struck just on the stroke of lunch when he trapped Sookdeo leg before wicket.

Resuming the post lunch session on 48, Campbell brought up his half century off 173 balls but Singh kept a stranglehold on the proceeding, claiming five of the remaining batsmen.

Medium pacer Akeem Redman complemented Singh during that period by picking up the crucial wicket of Campbell, whose innings lasted 202 balls, with five hits to the fence.

Ryan Hemraj and Charwayne McPherson then started the run chase in solid fashion, adding 26 runs before there were a few hiccups.

Royston Simon claimed the wicket of Hemraj (11), while Deswin Butts removed McPherson (16) and Devaughn Nandan (2), at 33-3.

Things went further downhill for TSC when off-spinner Gajanan Suknanan had the wickets of Sunil Singh (11) and Singh (8), while fellow off-spinner Clyde Butts removed Mark Ramsammy without scoring, at 59-6.

However, Massiah and Azeez then survived to the end. Play will resume at 11:00hrs today.

Region Three teachers participate Campbell Brown runs world-leading 22.60secs in athletics workshop OVER the last two days, teachers of primary and secondary schools in Region 3 were exposed to an athletics workshop organized by a coaching team attached to the National Synthetic Track located at Leonora, Region 3.

This training is geared towards assisting the teachers to increase their knowledge in this sports discipline so that more students will be attracted to the sport and at the same time develop the skills of existing athletes.

This initiative is a part

Part of the Workshop

of the Education Ministry’s programmes which seek to increase the presence of music, art and sports in the school system.

The inclusion of these programmes will see the delivery of a more comprehensive education.

JAMAICA’s most decorated female athlete Veronica Campbell Brown ran a world leading 22.60

seconds (1.6m/s) to win the 200m at the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida.

VERONICA CAMPBELL BROWN

Her time is faster than the previous best of 22.76 seconds set by American Candace Hill in Atlanta earlier this month. amaica’s most decorated female athlete Veronica Campbell Brown ran a world leading 22.60 seconds (1.6m/s) to win the 200m at the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida.

Her time is faster than the previous best of 22.76 seconds set by American Candace Hill in Atlanta earlier this month.

Barbadian Crystal Emmanuel was second with 22.86 seconds with American Destiny Carter in third place in 22.92 seconds.

Campbell Brown, who turns 35 years old in May, has indicated she will be trying to make the Jamaican team to the IAAF World Championships in London this summer.

(Jamaica Observer)

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 2, 2017

Keen rivalry expected as GMR&SC circuit season opens today FIRECRACKERS are expected today when the Circuit racing season of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) opens at the South Dakota Circuit.

At the Group Four level, battle lines have been drawn and all friendships and family ties have been temporarily severed as a fierce battle is expected between the father and son duo of Kevin and Kristian Jeffrey.

Their battle is expected to take center stage as Kevin seeks revenge for the defeat he suffered at the last outing at the south Dakota circuit last year when Kristian ran

The father/son duo of Kevin and Kristian Jeffrey will be back in action tomorrow untouched,with both men at Following several ses- thrill fans as well,as the and the rest of the group three the helm of their Mitsubishi sions, Shewjattan, also at the hometown hero returns line up.

Evolutions helm of a Mitsubishi Evo- after a prolonged period on The inclusion as well of However , this time lution,has also indicated his the sidelines.

Vishok Persaud, Shan SeeAt the group three end jattan and Motilall Deodass around there are several intention to give the Jeffreys spoilers in the mix, one be- more than they bargained for of things, Stephan Jeffrey in that group also means a returns in his Honda Civic to battle royale from start to ing Rupie Shewjattan who come race day. has expressed his readiness The addition of Andrew take the fight to Danny Per- finish in the 10 lap affair. for the event.

King in the mix is sure to saud with his Mazda Miata Meanwhile,Group Two

Petra/Milo U-18 Schools Football

Contrasting wins as Sir Leon, Morgan advance to semis THE first two semifinal spots in this year’s Milo Schools U-18 Football tournament have been snapped up by Sir Leon Lessons and Morgan Learning Centre in contrasting manner when action took place yesterday.

Penalties were needed to determine the winner of the

in the box brought about what should have been a game changing penalty that should have given Bishops’ High the lead.

However, the designated penalty-taker could only send the ball crashing over the cross bar,giving the keeper no worries.

(1st), Daniel Clarke (43rd) and Orin Moore (49th) The other two spots will be determined today when Masters Academy takes on Buxton from 13:00hrs and Chase Academic Foundation play Pure Masters.

One of the goals during the penalty shoot-out between eventual winners Sir Leon Lessons and Bishops’ High. (Adrian Narine Photo) first match between Sir Leon and Bishops’ High School but it was an absolute rout when Morgan’s Learning Centre took on Carmel at the Ministry of Education ground.

In the first game, the attacking spirit of the Sir Leon side lacked teeth for the most part as Bishops High kept them at bay for most of the game, in spite of the majority of the match being played in the Bishops’ half.

The game almost ended in favour of the Carmichael street side when a hand-ball

In the end, it was Leon’s Lessons who won 4-3, scoring all their penalties while the Bishops’ team missed one and had the other saved.

In the second game of the afternoon, it was an absolute rout for Carmel as they went down 0-11 to the Morgan’s Learning Centre side.

David Coates led the line with goals in the 38th, 67th, 77th and 79 th minutes, while Osafo Matheson (6th, 32nd) and Chris Macey (47th, 63rd) chipped in with braces.

There were also single strikes from Adrian Adolph

will not be short of action as the defending champion Shan Seejattan will be back to defend his turf against Andre Danraj, Chet Singh and others.

The street and sport tuner competitions are also expected to feature on the day which begins with Time Trials at 08:00.

The event’s sponsors include Ansa McAl,through the Stag Beer brand, ExxonMobil, Fly Jamaica, Seaboard Marine, Tony’s Auto Spares, Japarts, Choke Gas Station, CARICOM Auto Sales, E Networks, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies, Truck Masters and Jialing.

Sir Curtly debunks West Indies on the improve ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) — Pace legend Sir Curtly Ambrose has debunked recent assertions by West Indies Twenty20 captain Carlos Brathwaite and head coach Stuart Law, that the regional side is making progress despite losing the opening two games of the four-match series against Pakistan.

West Indies surrendered the first game in Barbados last Sunday by six wickets and followed up with a three-run defeat in the second game last Thursday at Queen’s Park Oval, to fall 0-2 behind in the series.

Following their last defeat, both Brathwaite and Law said the home side had improved, despite not get-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday April 02, 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) 19 fours; 6 sixes (2) Shadab Khan (PAK); Rovman Powell (WI)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) How many T20 Internationals have now been played at the Kensington Oval, Barbados to date?

(2) In how many the WI have been involved?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

ting the result but Sir Curtly said the Windies appeared to be deteriorating.

“This is getting worst and worst and I’ve started believing that these guys don’t know or have the know how to win games,” Sir Curtly was quoted as saying.

“Too many times they find themselves in a winning position and then for some strange or unknown reason it’s just like they lose their focus, they lose their train of thought and end up losing and it’s like they don’t have the knowhow to win anymore.”

In both defeats, West Indies were undermined by 18-year-old leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who produced Man-of-the-Match efforts to inspire Pakistan.

Shadab took three for seven on debut in the opening game to limit the Windies to a modest 111 and returned to take four 14 to once again hurt the hosts as they failed to chase down 133 in the second contest.

All-rounder Jason Holder, the Test and one-day captain, said after the opening defeat that the Windies had not been familiar with Shadab but Sir Curtly said international cricket did not offer the luxury of time to get accustomed to opposing players.

“So what are you going to do, wait for another two or three series to get accus-

Sir Curtly Ambrose tomed to some players? It doesn’t work like that,” the former West Indies bowling coach contended.

“I can understand you meet a guy for the first time and he caused some problems in that first game because you had never seen him before but by the time the second game comes around, you should have an idea of what he is capable of or what he can do.

“You can’t be telling me you are going to wait until the end of the series or two series later to say you are going to work him out. It doesn’t work like that, you have to work him out right now.”

West Indies beat Pakistan in the decisive third game of the series at Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday.

Keen rivalry expected as GMR&SC circuit season opens today See story on page 31

FIFA boss Infantino for Guyana visit next week

By Rawle Toney

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) announced on Saturday that Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President, Gianni Infantino, will be visiting Guyana in April.

A definite date of arrival or length of stay was not specifically stated, with the GFF only highlighting that the Italian could be in Guyana between Sunday April 9 and Tuesday April 11.

Infantino’s visit will mark just the second time a FIFA President has visited Guyana, dating back to Sepp Blatter’s 2001 visit, reportedly for the momentous turning of the sod for what was thought to be this country’s first football stadium,on land under the control of the University of Guyana (UG).

According to a release

from the GFF, the visit by the leader of global football follows visits within the last six weeks by the CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice-President Victor Montagliani and FIFA Director for Africa and the Caribbean,Veron Mosengo-Omba, in a further show of the confidence regional and global bodies have in the positive direction football is heading in Guyana.

“We are delighted that the FIFA President is visiting Guyana so soon after his election last year,” said GFF President Forde.

“FIFA and CONCACAF have expressed their support and encouragement for the work of the Guyana Football Federation, and this visit will be a great honour for the whole of Guyana. We are excited about the prospect of building for the future of Guyana’s football with FIFA and President Infantino, as

well as showcasing some of the work we are doing here during his visit.” Said Forde.

Infantino, 47, is the former General Secretary of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), who was elected to lead FIFA, which governs and serves 211 member associations around the world, in February 2016 with a mandate to reform football governance, rebuild trust in the game, and increase investment in football development.

Under President Infantino, FIFA member associations now have access to at least USD $1.25M per year to support running costs, training, infrastructure and facilities projects, and for developmental programmes and competitions such as youth leagues and women’s football.

“This level of funding has the power to transform football in Guyana

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino for generations to come,” Guyana through sustain- sion set by FIFA and CONForde noted, while point- able, careful and transpar- CACAF. We look forward ing out “we (GFF) are de- ent investment and strong, to discussing this further termined to reform and ethical leadership, in line in person with President develop football for all in with the international vi- Infantino this month.”

Lewis smashes Windies to victory to keep series alive

Evin Lewis smashes one of his nine sixes during his pugnacious 91 in a West Indies victory over Pakistan on Saturday at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. (Photo: WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks Latouche Photography)

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – Hometown boy Evin Lewis went on a six-hitting spree to lead the charge with a pugnacious 91 that ended West Indies’ home season losing skid in style with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third Twenty20 International on Saturday..

Playing in front of a crowd of more than 6,000, the diminutive left-hander went ballistic upon the Pakistani bowlers, striking five fours and an incredible nine sixes from just 51 balls, as the Windies successfully chased 138 on a docile Queen’s Park Oval pitch to claim their first victory in six international matches on home soil for the year.

The 25-year-old Lewis from the remote village of Tableland about 30 kilometres east of the southern Trinidad

city of San Fernando shared half-century stands with Marlon Samuels and compatriot Jason Mohammed to be a shoo-in for the Player-of-theMatch prize and put the West Indies firmly on track for a morale-boosting victory before he was dismissed with four needed.

Lendl Simmons, another Trinidad & Tobago native, carried the home team to the magic number with 31 balls remaining, when he scorched a drive back past leg-spinner Shadab Khan, whose bowling was the difference between the two sides in the first two matches in the series, but was reduced to rubble by a rampaging Lewis.

The result meant that West Indies now trail 1-2 in the four-match series, following a six-wicket loss in the first T20I last Sunday at Kensington Oval and a three-run

defeat in the second match last Thursday at this venue. The final match of the series will be contested on Sunday here.

West Indies did well to recover from a half-century, third-wicket stand between Kamran Akmal and Babar Azam to restrict the Pakistanis to 137 for eight from their allocation of 20 overs after they chose to bat.

After leg-spinner Samuel Badree struck twice in the first over of the match, Akmal hit top score of 48 and Babar supported with 43 in a stand of 88 before the Pakistanis badly lost their way in the second half of their innings.

The Windies then suffered a setback in the second over, when Chadwick Walton was caught at deep backward square-leg off Sohail Tanveer for one from a flick.

But Lewis had a slice of good fortune on seven, when

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mid-off fielder Imad Wasim failed to get his fingers under a low chance off Tanveer in the fourth over with West Indies 16 for one.

Marlon Samuels got into action with a wristy flick off Tanveer for four, but Lewis started to cut loose, taking a couple of boundaries off the same bowler’s second over before collecting three sixes in the space of six deliveries off Wasim and Hassan Ali, as the hosts reached 49 for one at the close of Power Play overs.

Samuels late cut Shadab to square third-man to take West Indies past 50, but he was caught at long-off for 18 from a mistimed drive at a slower delivery from left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz off the last ball of the eighth over.

The Windies were 58 for See page 25 SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017