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Steelband explosion this week-end ► Page
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A female student of North Ruimveldt Multilateral Steelband for the upcoming Mashramani Steelband Pan-O-Rama
17 large and small school bands vie for honours
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EBD road slowly creating III capital outside of Georgetown ► Page
Plane crashes ‘Y’all get things easy…’ ► Page
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Energy-efficient wood stoves being used in hinterland communities ► Page
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QC Students gearing up for the National Republic Bank Mashramani Pan-O-Rama Competition scheduled for February 18 and 19 (Samuel Maughn Photos)
No. 104821
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2017
Price: $140
(VAT Inclusive)
... businessman injured as aircraft crash-lands at Kurupung
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Children ‘Mash down’ the town Centre Page
Region Three participants frolic at the National Park yesterday during the Children’s Mashramani Costume and Float Parade (Delano Williams photo)
Judge’s son killed in accident Page 3
Sordid love affair A second term – barber hired hitman to kill Berbice domestic worker
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President Granger promises greater progress Page 3
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
CoI into 2000-2008 killings still on the cards By Svetlana Marshall The Guyana Police Force is facing an uphill battle in gathering evidence into the large numbers of killings that transpired under the Bharrat Jagdeo Administration between 2000 and 2008. Despite this major stumbling block, President David Granger said he remains committed to the launching of an inquiry into the murders including that of former Agriculture Minister, Satyadeow Sawh, who was assassinated in April 2006. Speaking during his weekly televised Public Interest Programme, President Granger said the process of gathering evidence is very difficult given that “many of the so-called witnesses were themselves eliminated”. “I think the present Commissioner of Police (Seelall Persaud), who was at the time Head of CID, in the case of the assassination of Minister of Agriculture, Satyadeow Sawh, pointed out that every single witness
had been killed, which is astonishing,” he told Guyana Chronicle’s Ravin Singh and HGP Nightly News’ Reporter Royden James who were a part of the interviewing panel. President Granger, who is an expert in security, said when dealing with murders, assassinations and execution-style killings, key forensic evidence is needed in addition to critical pieces of information that would lead to successful prosecutions. However, notwithstanding the challenge of securing the needed evidence into these murders, President Granger said the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the killings that rocked Guyana under the Presidency of Jagdeo, remains on the agenda. “I would like to get it over as quickly as possible because some of the relatives would like to see justice done but the availability of evidence has been a challenge to the security forces in this regard.” While in Opposition, President Granger in 2014
President David Granger
had tabled a motion in the National Assembly for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the incidence of criminal violence in Guyana from 2004 to 2010. EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS The motion had sought to address the “unlawful killing of undetermined numbers of persons including assassinations; executions; murders; extra-judicial killings by members of the Guyana Police Force Target Special Squad” and other forms of criminal violence in this country. The motion was premised on Article 138(1) of the Constitution, which
prescribes that no person shall be deprived of life, intentionally, save in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of an offence under the Laws of Guyana for which convicted. Though crime remains a serious issue in Guyana, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change Government has not seen any death squads or extra-judicial killings, since it has taken office. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, while addressing the Police Officers’ Conference in January, said the Government has made significant strides in this regard. NO DEATH SQUAD “Since the assumption to office of our Government,
we can proudly proclaim that Guyana has no death squads, no extra-judicial killings, and no electronic support architecture for the criminal enterprise and no agreement with the narco-syndicate to be an auxiliary of the national security apparatus,” he had said. The Prime Minister further noted that, “It seems not so long ago that we experienced the gruesome episodes of torture, executions and use of excessive force, which had impugned the professionalism of the Guyana Police Force.” According to him, fatal shooting by the police fell from 17 cases in 2008 and 13 in 2013, to only three such cases last year. Nagamootoo said that statistics show that
in the last 20 months, when compared with the corresponding period, percentage-wise, the incidence of crime has fallen. The Prime Minister said the facts are supported by compelling statistics, which show that the Guyana Police Force lessened the incidence of crime and that police ranks responded positively by apprehending suspects, putting them on trial, and playing useful prosecutorial role in seeing that justice is done. “You have sent a strong message that you would deal condignly with law-breakers and that our system of justice ensures that those who do the crime, they would do the time!” he said.
Plane crashes ... businessman injured as aircraft crash-lands at Kurupung AN Air Services Limited (ASL) Cessna 206 aircraft crashed on landing at the Kurupung airstrip, Cuyuni/Mazaruni, on Saturday. The incident reportedly occurred around 15:00hrs. The Guyana Chronicle understands that the aircraft was shuttling between the Kurupung Top and Kurupung Bottom airstrip at the time. The crash happened at Kurupung
Bottom. The pilot Chris King, a local businessman, sustained a broken hip and other injuries after the aircraft bearing registration 8R-CNK flipped on landing. Two persons were on board the six-seater aircraft in addition to the pilot and reports are that the injuries they sustained were not life threatening. The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is investigating the incident.
A second term 3
SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
President Granger promises greater progress
By Svetlana Marshall SIGNALLING that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government will have a second term in office, President David Granger said Guyanese can expect greater progress in the coming years. He said since entering office in May, 2015, the coalition Government had been making significant strides in cleaning up the mess that was left by its predecessor – the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). “The efforts that we have made over the last 18 months have been phenomenal, in
terms of trying to make Guyana a law-governed country and to introduce due regularity into government’s business,” President Granger said, while speaking on his weekly televised programme – In the Public Interest. He said his Administration has the Herculean task of cleaning up the “mess” left by the PPP Administration, alluding to the controversial fibre-optic cable project and the ailing sugar factory. The bungled Brazil-Guyana Fibre-Optic cable project, which started in 2011 under the PPP, was designed to improve internet access in the country and for the setting up a database hub for all government agencies.
However, in June 2015, Guyana was faced with an accumulated US$76,000 debt for internet connectivity, although the country at the time was unable to benefit from the project. The project had absorbed millions of taxpayers’ dollars. However, since then, the APNU+AFC Government has managed to put the network into operation. In fact, the Government has connected and provided secure, controlled internet access to over 140 locations. With this level of inter-connectivity, the ministry has equipped 86 secondary schools, three Regional Education Offices (REO), three Cyril Potter College of Edu-
cation (CPCE) branches, two University of Guyana (UG) locations, and six technical and vocational institutions with reliable, high-speed access to educational content in their computer laboratories, and has advanced the effectiveness of law enforcement. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), on the other hand, has been operating at a loss over the year, due to tumbling global sugar prices and the corporation’s inability to reduce its cost of production; hence, the need for government bailouts. In December 2016, the Agriculture Minister Noel Holder had said that the corporation would require $18B in 2017 and an additional $21B in
2018, if its operations were to be continued. But the problems left by the PPP Government are not just limited to GUYSUCO and the fibre-optic cable, but include corruption in public offices and a security system that leaves much to be desired. President Granger said while his Government has been putting the necessary systems in place, there were still corrupted persons in the system. “Some of the persons who have been corrupted by that period of the troubles, public servants for example, members of the law-enforcement agency are still around and we are dealing with those
problems on a daily basis,” he pointed out, while adding that “some of the so-called administrative problems are legacies of the previous administration.” Moving ahead, President Granger said Guyanese can expect positive growth and development. “The Guyanese public can look forward to a much-improved quality of governance by the time we come to the end of our first tour of duty. “In the second tour of duty, I think we would see faster movement once we would have cleared up the backlog of cases we would have inherited from the PPP Administration.”
Mark Williams gets additional death penalty – as well as life sentence over Bartica Massacre Convicted Bartica Massacre felon, Mark Royden Williams was given an additional death penalty on a murder charge; and life imprisonment on four counts of manslaughter when the Bartica Massacre trial concluded on Friday. The sentence was handed down to him by Justice Roxane George SC at the High Court and comes after a 12-member jury found him guilty of the offences. After that verdict, Justice George had imposed the death penalty on Williams called ‘Durant’ and ‘Smallie’ for seven counts of murder. However, there was some discrepancy in the number of counts of murder the jury had found Williams guilty of, and
Justice George had to rely on a recording of the jury’s verdict to sort the matter out. Williams was eventually found guilty of another count of murder, making it eight counts in total, and Justice George imposed another death penalty on the criminal, informing him that he will be hanged by the neck until he is dead. “May the lord have mercy upon your soul,” the judge said, adding: “The case had caused much trauma to the country”. As it relates to the guilty verdicts for manslaughter, the judge explained that it was determined by the jury that Williams did not intent to kill or cause the four persons actual bodily harm.
Williams called ‘Durant’ and ‘Smallie’
On February 17, 2008, at Bartica, he killed Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne. Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian, Irving Ferreira, Deonarine Singh, Ronald Gomes, Ashraf Khan, Abdool Yasseen, Errol Thomas, and Baldeo Singh were also killed in the massacre. State Prosecutor Diana Kaulesar had told the court that on the day of the massacre, gang member Clebert Reece was forcibly recruited by one “Sad Man”. Kaulesar added that it was because “Sad Man” phoned Reece and threatened to kill his family that he entered a car at East La Penitence with four men. The driver of the vehicle, she said, had a handgun, while the other men had AK47 weapons.
The prosecutor further told the court that the car took Reece to the Parika Bus Park, just off the Stabroek Market, where he met two men, with whom he travelled to Parika by bus. The series of events is said to have led up to Bartica. After their arrival, the men were said to have attacked the Bartica Police Station, where they killed Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, Constable Shane Fredericks and Constable Ron Osborne. On February 2, Justice George had sentenced Mark Royden Williams and Dennis Williams to be hanged by the neck until dead Roger Simon called “Goat Man” has been freed of involvement in the Bartica Massacre after the 12-member jury found him not guilty for 12 counts of murder.
Judge’s son killed in accident The son of a High Court judge Brassington Reynolds, died Saturday after losing control of his vehicle which slammed into a utility pole at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, and ended up in a nearby
canal. He was identified as Ryan Reynolds, 20, of Ogle, East Bank Demerara. Residents in the area said they heard a loud impact in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
“I didn’t come out because it was dark, but we hear a loud sound, but didn’t bother with it because of the time in the morning,” one resident said. Police said from the ini-
tial investigation, the young man was heading east on the roadway when he lost control of his vehicle PJJ 2706, which collided with a utility pole before plunging into the canal. Police received a
report of the accident and when they visited the scene, they found the young man in the car. He was taken to hospital by police but later succumbed to the injuries he received.
Dead: Ryan Reynolds
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Guyana and the Caribbean Community By Ambassador Ronald Austin
THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is one of the oldest regional integration movements, which is supported by a complex of institutions and staffed by competent professionals. Now multilingual in nature and relatively mature in existence, the integration Movement, after renewing itself, is pressing towards the mark of serving the needs and interests of the peoples of the Region. It was a long and difficult road that had to be followed for the CARICOM to get to where it is today. There is therefore a rich and informative history to
the background of the integration movement. At every point in its existence, this country played an important role; if not the country itself, then its sons and daughters who have served the integration movement in one capacity or another. Professionals like Sir Shridath Ramphal, Rashleigh Jackson, Rudy Collins, Lloyd Searwar, Brandy Isaacs, Carl Greenidge, and Sheila Chan, among so many others, have laboured creatively and long in the vineyard of regional unity. They have carved their names imperishably in the annals of Caribbean unity and progress. Sir Shridath Ramphal, in particular, will be remembered for chairing and producing the Report of the West Indian
Ambassador Ronald Austin Commission in 1994, which was a charter for the renewal of CARICOM. The Government and people of Guyana have had a long and fruitful association and working relationship with CARICOM. A founding member of the regional integration movement, Guyana has benefitted directly from this institution in terms of support for the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, coordination of diplomatic activity in a number of international fora, and services of experts in various fields, among others. This
relationship between Guyana and CARICOM spans some 44 years. In that period, Guyana has seen the Community go from the high point of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973, to the challenging and testing developments of the 80s, to its recovery in the late 80s and 90s and its movement from a closed form of integration to a more open and structured institutional response to the requirements of the 21st century. This article cannot encompass the entire gamut of these developments and transformations. The writer is only qualified to deal intelligently with the early period of the Community, its response to the crisis of the 80s and the re-establishment of the nation’s primacy in regional affairs after the Summit Conference in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in 1981. The Fourth Summit Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the English-speaking Caribbean met in Trinidad and Tobago in 1973 to settle several crucial questions concerning the establishment of CARICOM. After what can be considered a productive meeting, especially on several important institutional problems, the confer-
ence had to deal with the issue of where the CARICOM headquarters would be located. One of the great architects of the regional integration projects, Dr Eric Williams, who was at the time chairing this historic meeting, refused to entertain an extended discussion on the matter. He asserted that in recognition of the contribution of Guyana and its leader to the integration of CARICOM, the headquarters must be sited in Guyana. And Guyana has retained its position as the headquarters of CARICOM for the last 44 years without controversy, except for a period in the 80s, when ideological enemies of the country seemed to cooperate with external forces to threaten the establishment of Caribbean Community II. The fact that this campaign did not succeed is attributable to the general recognition by the rest of the Region that Guyana’s primacy in the integration process is not easily challenged. No rational person can suggest that Guyana and its President at the time, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, were the only major contributors and supporters of the integration process. This would be to fly in the face of the facts.
Many committed and gifted individuals, such as our own Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, T. A. Marryshow of Grenada, and Uriah Butler and C. L. R. James of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as other labour and private sector organisations were early pioneers of regional integration. Similarly, many states in the Region such as Antigua, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and several of the smaller territories had added their weight to the search for regional unity. The lamp of regional unity was burning low after the collapse of the West Indies Federation in 1960. It regained some of its glow when Dr Eric Williams organised several conferences of Heads of State and Government, which grappled with the related problems of getting the integration process going again. Mr Burnham recognised the sterling efforts of Dr Williams and commended him for his commitment and persistence, saying, “It required some courage to have thought of the idea, let alone formulate it immediately after the break-up of the West Indies Federation.” Dr Williams had embarked on this exercise, because he recognised that independence could not be an end in itself. It had to be a foundation for regional unity. During the first conference, he explained why regional unity must be an issue in the external orientation of the English-speaking Caribbean nations. “As our countries achieve independence or proceed to independence, we enter into a world dominated increasingly by regional groupings, both economic and political. Western Europe has succeeded. Africa is succeeding, and efforts are being made to translate the political association in the Western Hemisphere into regional economic groupings -- the Latin American Free Trade Area and Central American Common Market. Small countries such as ours encounter great difficulty in establishing their influence in a world dominated by power and regional associations.” Student of history and politics that he was, Dr Williams also recognised that Britain had withdrawn the welcoming mat, prompted by the growing internal
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Guyana and the Caribbean ... From page 4
opposition to immigration, after the initial period when the sons and daughters of the Region rushed to Britain to meet the demand for labour. With the opportunity for immigration gradually disappearing, the Region would have to look to the integration mechanism as the means of bringing prosperity to its peoples. But the sterling efforts of Dr Williams were not enough. Forbes Burnham and Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados, friends from the days when they were students in Britain and burning with the desire to see the dream of regional unity become a reality, considered that the momentum and pace of West Indian integration must be stepped up. Errol has revealed his thinking at the time. At the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, he made the following revelation, “I can now disclose that it was on the 4th July, 1965, that the Prime Minister of Guyana met me in Barbados, at my invitation, to discuss the possibility of establishing a free trade area between our two countries in the first instance, and the rest of the Caribbean at such time as they be ready to follow our example.� But before I proceed to detail their exploits in the cause of regional integration, it would be necessary to say a word or two about Forbes Burnham. A West Indian by education and temperament, Forbes Burnham was bitterly disappointed over the fact that the Jagan administration could not see the benefit or reason for joining the West Indian Federation. Its demise was also a source of disappointment and anguish, as those who knew him would testify. He had delivered one of his best speeches in the Legislative Assembly on the need for the then colony of British Guiana to join the Federation. That commitment was very much alive when he became Premier in 1964 and ripened into a declaration in 1971, that he was prepared to accept an abridgement in the sovereignty of Guyana if this meant the advancement of regional unity. Therefore, it was not difficult for him and Errol Barrow to quickly put together the instruments of Caribbean unity by signing the 1965 Dickenson Bay Agreement, along with Vere Bird of Antigua, which paved the way for the establishment of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA). As a result, three important integration instruments were created -- a Council of Ministers, the Caribbean Development Bank and a Regional Secretariat; these would become essential building blocks for Caribbean unity. But matters did not end there. Guyana played a leading role in getting the other states in the Region not only to join
CARIFTA, but to forge ahead and establish CARICOM by signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973. This was the high noon of the integration process as Barrow, Burnham, Michael Manley (then Jamaican Prime Minister) and Eric Williams signed this Treaty. One should note here that there was a sense of optimism throughout the Region that at last the house of unity was being built on a solid and lasting foundation. But forces beyond the Region were to test Caribbean unity. The ink was hardly on the parchment of the Treaty when what one economist has described as the most challenging economic crisis supervened as a result of the initial four-fold increase in the price of petroleum, a development brought about by the decision of the oil-producing states of the Middle East to punish the supporters of Israel after the Yom Kippur war of 1973. Caribbean States scrambled to establish some sense of order as the crisis battered their economies. These measures triggered a toxic brew of a major decline in the personal relationships among the leaders of the Region, a deepening of the ideological divisions between states pursuing a socialist path to development, such as Guyana and Jamaica, and most of the other Member States of the Community, which opted for a course of capitalist development, coupled with retaliatory economic measures by some states against others and the general decline in belief of the capacity of the Caribbean to solve the problems of the Region and usher in a period of prosperity for the peoples of the community. Faced with these ominous problems, CARICOM did not meet for eight years. In the meantime, as the ideological pendulum swung to the right and as the Reagan administration emerged in Washington, clear efforts were being made to drive a wedge between the states of CARICOM on the basis of ideology, through such instruments as the Caribbean Basin Initiative. This was when there was talk of moving the headquarters of the Community from Guyana. Even though the leaders did not meet, they kept in touch with each other by telegram and by other means. Dr Williams encouraged the other institutions of the Community to meet on a regular basis. A leading Caribbean scholar of the integration process, Professor Kenneth O Hall, in his writings has highlighted this development. And more than this, the Region got down to an examination of the problems facing CARICOM by appointing several experts to look into the social and economic problems of the community. Several
prudent recommendations were made to get the regional integration movement restarted. While these ruminations on the means to drive CARICOM forward were taking place, Forbes Burnham took practical action. He dispatched his representatives to the Region to drum up support for the holding of a summit. He invited other CARICOM leaders, such as Milton Cato of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and George Price of Belize, to Kimbia, where he made his
case for a CARICOM summit to be held. Burnham appeared to be successful. Agreement was reached to hold a summit in Guyana. However, on the very eve of this event, two of the smaller states of the Community signalled that they could not attend a summit in Guyana, because they understood that a retreat was to be held in the Essequibo, which, according to them, was claimed by Venezuela. They felt that their presence there would complicate their relations with Caracas. The telegrams dispatched to Mr Burnham by the Prime Ministers of these two states were identical in structure and content. Consequently, a decision was made to hold the summit in Jamaica. Edward
Seaga had replaced Michael Manley as Prime Minister and it was well known that he was close to the Reagan administration. Burnham agreed to attend. But even those in his delegation had no inkling of his strategic objective. When it was his turn to address the Summit, he proposed that CARICOM summits should be held annually as did the European Community. Agreement came readily. But Burnham had achieved his objective; following the Summit in Ocho Rios, Guyana could not be prevented from hosting a Summit. Unfortunately, when the time came due for a summit to be held in Guyana in 1986, Forbes Burnham was deceased. Desmond Hoyte, who succeed-
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ed him as President of Guyana, made a significant contribution to the development of the regional movement, especially in the area of the creation of a single market for the Region. If today CARICOM summits are annual events, if CARICOM seems more at peace with itself, further, if the institutions of the integration movement seem to function better than in the past and, finally, if the regional movement seems more durable, this is certainly attributable to struggles of the leaders of the Region in the past to lay a foundation for a successful future. Ambassador Ronald Austin currently heads the Foreign Service Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Editorial The power of the protest THERE is a certain power in demonstrations that pricks at the emotions of a people. Protests have the ability to turn heads, to unite the masses and at the very best, to evoke change in a system that is otherwise thought unfair. This potential has led to protests being classed as one of the ultimate rights of democracy, and has allowed it to be the solution of exhausted and dissatisfied peoples for centuries. Today, the power of protests is even more nuanced with the help of the internet and social media. Narratives are quickly and clearly broadcast across a wide cross-section of people, and as opinions and advocacy are swiftly garnered, so too are responses from the bodies to which they are directed, due to the obligation of accountability these platforms instill. The world has seen its fair share of mass demonstrations and the transformative decisions they can bring about. In the United States, the 1963 March on Washington attracted 250,000 people. Dr Martin Luther King’s revolutionary speech attracted the attention of President Kennedy, who organised a meeting with the leaders at the White House that same day. The March is also credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Modern-day examples of protest revolutions can be seen in the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, which came on the heels of protests by millions of citizens for her resignation. Meanwhile, the mass movement by millions of Americans against President Donald Trump, which occurred pre-election and post-election and took several forms across several states, shows that despite
immediate reaction, the determination of a people holds the power to demand attention. Guyana is no stranger to its share of protests, and while our population size would not allow us to see hundreds of thousands in solidarity through demonstrations, our people have used this outlet as a means of gaining attention and exercising their democratic right. Most recently, the power of the protest was tested and proven mighty in the response achieved by persons against the Parking Meter System. Through social media, the #Iwillnotbebullied hashtag gained momentum, and the establishment of the Say No to Parking Meters Facebook page received close to 6,000 likes within days. More than that, the passion of the people against what they believe is an unjust system manifested itself as hundreds of people gathered not once, but twice in front of City Hall to challenge the municipality for what they described as high rates imposed on them through the installation of parking meters around Georgetown. Resistance was staunch, and evidence of this was vivid in the empty city streets as persons found alternate parking solutions in a deliberate attempt to boycott the system. Their determination, and continued demonstration of resistance caught the attention of the government, which, though adamant that it would not intervene, suggested to Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green and Town Clerk Royston King, that a review of the Parking Meter System be done and that more consultations be made with key stakeholders in order to appease the public’s concerns. Sometimes, determination is all it takes to fight injustice.
Editor-In-Chief
Nigel Williams Editor
Godfrey Wray
Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guyanachronicle.com wnigel10@hotmail.com gnnleditorial@gmail.com
Editorial
Guyanese have been accused of being a passive society, and for not standing up for themselves in the face of wrongs done to them, but here we see that numbers and determination can indeed help to shake up power. Moreover, could it be that this new age of technology and the accountability brought on by social media have made persons more willing to stand up for their rights? The country has seen its share of protests gone wrong and the 2012 protests in Linden, which resulted in the deaths of three men, can attest to that. But evidence has shown that social media and the mass support that it can garner, as well as the platform that it provides for activism, is a key player in instilling confidence in people which aids in its translation to real-time activism. What should be noted, however, is that despite the autonomy of the Mayor and City Council, and Government’s clear stance to not usurp the M&CC’s authority, the move by Government brought on by its concern following the public’s unwillingness to back down, shows its readiness to listen to the people, but more importantly shows just what a people’s passion can really achieve. And while long-needed consultations will finally be held with the public, and though the future of the Parking Meter System in Guyana is unknown, it is achievements such as these that show signs of a healthy democracy.
Is the commitment to constitutional reform serious? Dear Editor IN welcoming the recent interest of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in constitutional reform, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) hopes it serves to re-vitalise domestic interest in the issue. As a civic organisation that emerged in response to the infamous Referendum of 1978 which sought to legitimise the current Constitution and, as an active participant in multiple subsequent coalitions and initiatives to address its baleful effects, the Guyana Human Rights Association has been disturbed by the seemingly ambivalent commitment of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government to constitutional reform. Constitutional Reform Processes The over-riding challenge to a successful constitutional reform process historically,
has been the lack of political will on the part of the leadership of all major parties, rather than any substantive constitutional issue. Despite a relationship characterised for decades by disagreements of every description, one area of enduring common ground between the two major parties has been their resistance to reforms which would democratise political power. In the context of this historical resistance, the want of purpose and lack of enthusiasm demonstrated in the APNU+AFC Coalition statements on constitutional reform are discouraging. Had reform of the Constitution not been stipulated in the Herdmanston Accord in 1998, it would not have taken place. The timid reform process of 1997 had settled the matter as far as the major parties were concerned. Even with this international mandate, however, the reform process of 1999-2000
was frustrated by the major parties. A good public consultation process with strong civic involvement was subsequently decimated by the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, followed by unanimous approval of political parties too anxious to get to the next elections to even read the Bills properly. The Reynolds reforms to the electoral system were kicked into the long grass and a sensible approach to Human Rights was sidelined in favour of the bizarre concoction of ‘Rights Commissions’ the country is now saddled with. An important lesson for any future process of constitutional reform is to ensure that extra-parliamentary influences – civic, business and faith-based - be sustained throughout the process. This recommendation is not unmindful of the need for parliamentary approval as the final stage of the process, but is calling for imaginative
ways of ring-fencing the process against any cynical party political manoeuvring. Substantive Constitutional Issues Constitution-making in Guyana must address three issues: Nation-building, State-building, and Integrity-building. Nation-building encompasses firstly, the rights of citizens and the values by which we want the State to be governed. The second part of nation-building seeks to make socio-economic rights justiciable. Without this essential feature, the concept of all citizens having equal rights will always be frustrated by the limitations posed by majoritarian politics in ethnically diverse societies. Justiciability of socio-economic rights is preferable as a response to ethnic diversity, than prioritising communal units above individual citizenship. Rather than politicising ethnicity, the GHRA recommends an inten-
sively participatory approach that works towards acknowledging differences, but accommodates them within an over-arching framework of being Guyanese. The constitutional reform process must start from the premise that while respecting culture and language differences, we are all Guyanese who come to public affairs primarily as Guyanese citizens. State-building needs to address institutional mechanisms by which the values established under nation-building are to be delivered. Each institution -- Parliament, the Judiciary and the Presidency -- must be constantly reminded of their responsibilities to citizens. Promoting integrity and accountability of all those elected to public office is vital. In the past, we had never paid sufficient attention to the destructive potential of corruption and have paid a price in terms of the
low esteem in which politics and politicians are held. Integrity must be emphasised to counter the ever-present lure of corruption. For this reason, a strong code against corruption is a constitutional priority. For too long politicians have been motivated by greed rather than service and this has to be eradicated. The GHRA is requesting the APNU+AFC Coalition to clear the air on what it hopes to achieve from the current constitutional reform initiative. For our part, the GHRA strongly supports a broad-based, adequately-resourced consultative process under the management of a multi-stakeholder committee with a time-table that envisages implementation of major reforms. Regards Executive Committee Guyana Human Rights Association
SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Sordid love affair
–– barber hired hitman to kill Berbice domestic worker POLICE in ‘B’ Division have made a major breakthrough in the execution of the domestic worker at Tain on Tuesday Night. The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the barber, his wife and two persons who are believed to be the ones responsible for carrying out the murder, are now in custody assisting
Lilawattie Mohamed with investigations. According to a source close to the investigation, the barber was responsible for hiring the hitmen to “take out” 45-year-old Lilawattie Mohamed on behalf of a woman with whom he was having an affair. While details are sketchy, this publication understands that the woman’s husband, a prominent businessman, shared a relationship with Mohamed. This allegedly angered his wife even though she too was having an affair with the barber and beseeched him to help her get rid of Mohamed. The barber allegedly
solicited the help of two hitmen from Rose Hall Town with the promise of a handsome reward. One of the men is said to be a tattoo artist and a deportee while the other is said to be a Jamaican wanted in connection with another hit in Rose Hall Town. The barber allegedly hired the men and hatched the plan to make it appear as though it was a robbery; however, investigators were able to put the pieces together and realised it was not a robbery but a hit. Mohamed, a domestic worker, was at home with her 19-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter, when two masked gunmen barged into her home about 23:30 hrs on Tuesday night. The men ordered the woman and her son, Ashad Ishack, to kneel on the floor, while her daughter hid under a bed. The men asked “where the money at?” and when Lilawattie said she did not have any, one of the men placed a gun under her chin and shot her at point blank range. The bullet exited through her skull killing her instantly. On Wednesday, the police detained the barber since relatives of Mohamed disclosed that he was making threats to her. He was released on Saturday afternoon only to be re-arrested shortly with his wife after one of the suspects in custody implicated him in the plan to execute Mohamed.
Teenager drowns at Seawall A THIRTEEN-YEAROLD boy drowned Saturday during an outing with four friends in the vicinity of the Seawall Bandstand, Georgetown. He was identified as Nicolas Sookhoolall of Ogle, East Coast Demerara. At the scene, may persons flocked around and expressed their dismay and shock at what had occurred. His father, Bhajan Sookhoolall, in an interview with this publication said he received a cellphone call asking if he was a relative of Nicolas, to which he answered that he was.. He said that the caller related that he should rush down to the seawall bandstand because something had happened to his son. “So I called a taxi and reached down and I hear they say that they can’t find the body, so I wanted to know what was going on and I saw his friends with the police,” he said. He said then he noticed a large wave rushing onto the shores and the body was seen. Persons rushed into the water to retrieve the lad. He said the ambulance visited the scene and the medical officials were trying their best to save his life, but the teenager never revived. The father of four said his son usually played cricket with his friends on the weekends, but he did
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The Guyana Fire Service Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who tried to resuscitate the teenager in the presence of his father and sister at the Seawall Bandstand. (Delano Williams Photo) not know how to swim. “I don’t know if he went into the water after the ball, or if all of them were in
the water, but the friends are with the police giving statements.” The Plaisance Second-
ary School student leaves his parents, three siblings and relatives to mourn his passing.
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Lewis ill-informed, says Morian – contends August 2012 Linden Agreement being honoured By Svetlana Marshall VETERAN trade unionist, Lincoln Lewis, has said that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government has made no positive effort to have the August 2012 Linden Agreement honoured and implemented, but Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian said Lewis is ill-informed. The August 2012 Agreement was signed between central Government and the Regional Democratic Council, Region 10, after a monthlong unrest over a proposed hike in electricity tariffs in the mining town of Linden that year. The agreement, which brought an end to the unrest which claimed the lives of three and resulted in several
buildings being burnt to the ground, included three primary elements: the development of an economic plan for the region; examination and development of an energy plan; and the return of the television dish 14 days after its signing. “It would take nothing of the Government to establish the Economic Committee to carry out a study and develop a plan for Region 10 as President Granger talks about developing flags and emblems in recognition of each region,” Lewis said in a letter penned to the editor. But Morian, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, said it is clear that the trade unionist has failed to inform himself of the progress being made in Region 10, in particular Linden.
Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian
The regional chairman said contrary to the statements made by Lewis, there is an Economic Committee in place with a Five-Year Plan of Action already being executed. Morian pointed out that through the Economic Com-
mittee, investors are being drawn to the region with the intention of transforming the economic landscape of the region while simultaneously creating jobs across sectors. “Currently, we are in discussion with three investors who are all planning to establish bitumen plants in the region, and of that three, two of them want to set up stone-crushing plants here,” the regional chairman explained. He noted that one of the investors, Metallica, is already operating in Guyana, while another one is in the process of drafting its business plan. The investors are seeking to capitalise on major road projects that will be executed in the region, in particular the Linden to Lethem Road project which is expected to commence soon,with the UK agreeing to
fund the project. The first phase of the project covers approximately 122.5km of road from Linden to Mabura Hill and the construction of a bridge across the Essequibo River at Kurupukari. This phase is being funded by the Government of the United Kingdom through the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) programme and is currently in the design stage. In addition to the establishment of the fixed bitumen plants, the investors, according to Morian, are planning to have mobile plants as well, along with generators. “When you are building a road 10 or more miles from a plant, the mobile plant can go to where the actual work is and all three of them are looking at having their generators to support their mobile operations,” he explained. Additionally, the regional chairman said the region has
been making its youth work ready. It was explained that in 2016, a Work Readiness Programme was launched after it was realised that though the region’s youths may have qualifications, many of them lack working experience. This year, the programme is expected to be expanded. Through the programme, he said youths are finding employment and others have moved onto the University of Guyana and other education institutions while gaining much-needed experience. A new RDC office and an ongoing Disaster Risk Management Programme also form part of the action plan. The region has also engaged the Public Infrastructure Ministry to have the local airstrip rehabilitated. An engineer has already visited the site, and local aircraft owners are currently being engaged on this new development.
Education Ministry hoping for better NGSA results
Minister Henry addressing students of a regional primary school
By Shirley Thomas WITHIN another few days, some 10,000 students nationwide will be sitting the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations, and the Ministry of Education is hoping that the pass rates soar, particularly in the area of mathematics. To this end, the Ministry of Education is continuing to engage in major public interactions with parents, teachers and other stakeholders to ensure this much- needed improvement is realised within the school system. Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry, on Tuesday, along with Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hudson, Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO, Primary), Owen Pollard and Regional Educational Development Officer (REDO) Rabindra Singh conducted the third set of interactions in Region Eight, targeting the Monkey Mountain, Paramakatoi and Kato settlements.
Those engaged were brought up to speed with regards to Government’s Emergency Mathematics Intervention Programme to address poor performance at the NGSA. While the issues were many, the message was to motivate parents and teachers to actively engage their children moving forward with a view to improving their performances. After listening to the many issues affecting the effective and efficient delivery of education, Minister Henry told those gathered that based on the assessment of students’ performance over the past 10 years, the time had come for them to turn things around. “Schools in your region have been performing way below commendable grades and such cannot be allowed to continue,” the minister said. She urged and encouraged parents and teachers to begin to play a more active role in moving the region from the lowest performance
level to more acceptable and commendable levels. Making the intent of the initiative clear, she declared: “This nationwide intervention is to create a movement for improved results to make a positive difference in the society through education.” The minister further encouraged parents and teachers to work together to raise the bar by supporting and offering some extra time to help the children improve in their performance at mathematics. The ongoing intervention, the minister said, goes beyond differences and political interest. “It’s for us to have more qualified persons who comprehend that as future leaders it is integral for our human resource and nation’s development,” she stressed. Making the message clear, Minister Henry exhorted the parents and community leaders: “All must get involved, and we are encouraging you to come onboard or we will, as a nation, be consumed.”
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Business PS satisfied with responses at sensitisation session PERMANENT Secretary within the Ministry of Business, Ms Rajbai Jagarnauth, has expressed satisfaction at the sensitisation session that was held recently at her ministry’s boardroom in collaboration with the Government Analyst - Food and Drug Department. The session was facilitated by Director of GA-FDD, Marlon Cole, who went through a number of issues in bringing both importers and exporters up to scratch. Jagarnauth, while speaking to the media, said the session was geared towards clarifying a number of issues, while advising them on the laws that are in place to address such issues, rules and regulations, while at the same time gathering their own interpretation. She said that there is an evident disconnect as it relates to interpretation. The Ministry of Business PS said that she was confident that based on the responses, she firmly believed that the participants have been able to walk away with valuable information that they needed. “I believe that they have walked away with a clearer understanding from the agency perspective as to how the law works and applies, which would have served the intended persons,” she said. She noted that she was extremely satisfied with the turn-out, stressing that the numbers exceeded her expectations of persons whom she thought would have attended. This, she noted, helps as they seek to ensure that the information is widely distributed. Speaking about her ministry’s mandate, the PS said, “Part of the ministry’s mandate is to facilitate business and business development. We have been doing some level of awareness and consultation at the department of commerce level and we plan to do more focused training and education, including the awareness for importers and other stakeholders.” She
stressed that her ministry has an aggressive plan in enhancing business development and growth, noting that regardless of the size of business, they will seek to provide the relevant advice and assistance in further growing it. She spoke about the need to provide the relevant support to young persons with an interest in starting their own businesses. The PS said that while her ministry would not directly provide the relevant support and assistance, the Small Business Bureau had been empowered to do such. “The Small Business Bureau that does a number of training of young entrepreneurs and skills development, they have been doing some amount of training. The Small Business Bureau is an arm of the Ministry of Business, she said. She added, “The department will be doing other specific forms of follow-up as well. The Department of Commerce as well we have the Department of Industry and while there are working with industrial estate development, there will be some level of awareness and guidance in terms of business development. In a reference to a number of other collaborative projects, the Permanent Secretary said, “We are trying to build a relationship with all the agencies that are involved in…for example the processing of licences for the importation and or exportation of goods.” She added, “We have been working at the ministry with the agencies to introduce what you call the single window and I think Customs and GRA have been key players in this regard; so not only the government agency but GRA will be integrally involved as well.” PS Jagarnauth disclosed that an aggressive approach has been embarked upon by her ministry with relation to expanding the work of seeking to further enhance business. “…and that is something we have started
to work with and that will be continued in an aggressive manner, because it’s something that we want to bring on stream as quickly as possible. We have to also take note of the pace of development and of how computerised the agencies are to bring that system on stream,
because it’s not something that we at the ministry can do by ourselves,” she explained. PS Jagarnauth spoke about plans within the ministry to advance the quality and level of service that is given to the public. She spoke about plans to
computerise a number of services, thus enhancing the quality and delivery of services adding that while the implementation will take a while, she was confident that a number of things would be done in the meantime. “For instance, if we can receive applications
on line and send them to the various agencies for processing electronically, so the handling of the paper procedures can be reduced, that is our longterm objective, but we have started the process and we are hoping to get there very soon,” she concluded.
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So many things to say: Our Government has to do better THIS week, like Brother Bob Marley would say, I have “ so much things to say,” that I don’t know where to start. The Mayor of Georgetown and some government supporters have dismissed the protest against the parking meters as a ploy by the PPP to embarrass the city government and by extension the coalition government. This is a clear attempt to delegitimise the protest. One can understand why the powers that be at City Hall are going down that road; it’s what all governments instinctively do. The PPP, while in office, perfected that ap proach, and to some extent succeeded in stifling protest among the then opposi-
tion. I remember well some people who are now high up in the present government referring to some of us as troublemakers when we dared to take to the streets in protest against the PPP government. The Burnham-Hoyte government, despite its harshness towards dissent, was less successful in stifling protest. Having said the above, I still believe that those who seek to use the PPP to scare people off the protest line are politically naïve. While the PPP would try to insert itself into the protest and to use it to that party’s advantage, that should not blind the city and central government leaders to the obvious fact that a critical mass of
their supporters are fed up with their inability to govern differently from their predecessors. That is the big message from the parking meter protest—the parking meter fiasco is the occasion for a larger rebuke of the government. The city government is the target, but the message is being sent to the central government—after all, it’s the same coalition of parties that control both levels of government. The PPP messed up Guyana beyond the ordinary—they met a mess that was left by the PNC government, but instead of cleaning it up, they multiplied it and made it their permanent address. Guyana must never forget that fact, for if we do, the present government would surely go down the same path.
The PPP, while in office, constantly scared us with the ghost of the PNC dictatorship and many of us ran for cover. In the process, we left the PPP untouched until it was too late. Even the then main opposition PNC buckled under the PPP’s rampage, partly as tactic and partly as victim of the logic of confronting a rampant regime that would stop at nothing. It took the formation of the APNU and the APNU+AFC to lift our people out of the sate of demoralisation. Now, some of the present crowd are using the same tactic of invoking the jumbies of the past government to cover their mistakes and scare the rest of us from resisting against them. That is the wrong use of the PPP jumbies. Instead of using them to sti-
fle protest, the government should use them as motivation to distinguish its governance from that of the PPP. The PPP are protesting the parking meters for narrow, partisan ends, but the majority of protestors on the streets are standing up for fairness, justice and accountable government. There is something rotten about making a big decision like the introduction of parking meters and not talking to the citizens at length about it. Precisely because it’s about modernisation and the public is paying for it that you should get the inputs of the people. Further, when a government is fighting tooth and nail for an initiative which would bring a minority of the revenue into its coffers, we must take notice. Why are the mayor and her supporters fighting so hard to put money into the pocket of a private company that has no history of service and commitment to Guyana? If
we must go the capitalist route, at least be sensible about it. As I hinted above, this mess comes out of City Hall, but it reflects on the governing coalition, which has been slow to come to grips with its own inadequacies. We are all in agreement that managing the political economy or our post-plantation societies comes with tremendous systemic challenges. We function in a world that was not made for us and is unmindful of our deficiencies. Yet we have used our independence to compound our inherited problems. We have practised bad politics—a politics which is premised on personal aggrandizement and reckless accumulation of power by our leaders at the expense of the welfare and security of our people. The result is unimaginative policies. One doesn’t have to put much imagination into flaunting power, Turn to page 13 ►
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New Thriving goes to Providence – Granger calls on Chinese to invest in agriculture, agro-processing By Rabindra Rooplall PRESIDENT David Granger has called on the Chinese to invest in agriculture and agro-processing as these two sectors are vital in sustaining the expansion of the restaurant industry. He made this appeal at the opening of a New Thriving Restaurant at the Amazon Mall, Providence, East Bank Demerara, on Friday evening. The modern restaurant can house 600 diners at one time and 1000 for cocktail. The occasion was graced by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and wife Sita Nagamootoo; Chancellor of the Judiciary, Carl Singh; Vice President and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud; members of
First Lady Sandra Granger, assisted by New Thriving Restaurant co-proprietor Che Jian Ping, cuts the ceremonial ribbon in the presence of staff and President David Granger to open the new restaurant
tinguished themselves in the fields of engineering, law, medicine and sports, among others. “Chinese entrepreneurs are influencing Guyana’s economic development, the strong
Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, in discussion with China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Cui Jianchun, following the launch of the new restaurant
the diplomatic corps; Government ministers; members of the Opposition including former President Donald Ramotar; and members of the business community, among others. The President, accompanied by First Lady Sandra Granger, urged New Thriving Restaurant proprietors Xiao Guang Zhao and Che Jian Ping and other investors to invest in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors. He said Guyana is transitioning into a ‘green’ economy. “This country has an abundance of lands for the development of agriculture. We have the potential to supply all the agricultural produce needed by local hotels and restaurants…. We, therefore, look forward to increased Chinese investments in agriculture and agro-processing. We would like for all the agricultural produce used in the New Thriving Restaurants, every bowl of rice, every leaf of lettuce, every breast of chicken and every leg of pork, to be produced right here in Guyana,” he said. Mr Granger said the estab-
lishment of the new restaurant aids in the enrichment of Guyana’s hospitality product and reflects investors’ confidence in Guyana’s economy. VITAL PARTNERS Adding that Guyanese and
Chinese are brothers and sisters, President Granger said Guyana has been home to the Chinese for 164 years and their presence forms a permanent part of the history and future of Guyana. The Chinese have dis-
foundation laid by the fraternal ties has been solidified by business enterprises and Guyana welcomes Chinese investment,” President Granger said. He added: “Our economic policy is one of enabling foreign direct investment. Our fiscal policy is one of encouraging investors, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity. Chinese investment, however, has been particularly vibrant in recent years. This has coincided with the transformation of the economy of the People’s Republic of China. We encourage even more investment, including the establishment of restaurants such as this one.” The New Thriving chain of restaurants began 24 years ago, with the first outlet being on Regent Street in Georgetown. “I personally visited all the branches before, so I am a veteran of the New Thriving restaurant which has become a household name,” the President reflected. Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Cui Jianchun thanked the President and the Government for creating an enabling
environment for their investments to thrive. “I wish that New Thriving could do more things to provide quality food to Guyanese, and that we can continue to share in your [Guyanese] story; your thinking and your feelings. And finally, I wish that this new branch could provide a lot of social service and to help to provide a good image for Guyanese as a country as a people and as a community,” he said. The event featured a fashion show, dances and musical renditions. Business Tycoon, Dr. Yesu Persaud, who was also at the opening, said he has been a friend of New Thriving since the inception of the business here. “They are a very principled people and they know how to please the public… their service is of an exceptional nature. I have been to China quite a few times and I haven’t seen anything comparable with the New Thriving Restaurant, so they have done exceedingly well in representing Guyana,” he said.
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Absence of strategic taxation programme will increase poverty, under-development, and discontent TAXING has to be part of an economic plan and that plan has to be part of the developmental thrust of a country. Any and every development has to be guided by the political underpinnings a government pursues. It is hoped that this government, as it continues to enjoy the privilege of the people in managing their
affairs, takes note. As the society continues to examine the new items taxed and feel the impact, they are bound to be asking the question, if the government cares about them. Taxation must be measured based on the economic circumstances of the people who are expected to pay, at the same time at the political
level we have to wonder if this government cares about its future. The taxing of items and services such as condoms and education lessons comes immediately to mind and begs the question whether the government is operating in an alternate universe. This same government that moved to tax condoms is claiming
an interest in reducing HIV/ AIDS and achieving an HIV/ AIDS-free society and condoms are seen as one of the most important tools in the achievement of these goals. We are concerned about poverty, when condoms are a family-planning tool, and by extension a poverty-control measure. The government has taxed education lessons even as it claims it wants an educated nation and education is an important developmental tool. At the same time, the Guyana Teachers Union, in making representation for better working conditions, i.e. salaries, classroom size, curriculum improvement, contemporary disciplinary structure, teaching aids, etc., continues to find itself facing a brick wall from the government. Teachers are expected to use their personal resources to provide teaching aids in the discharge of their duties, as they continue teaching over-sized classes, and earning remuneration that remains less than desirable. The government is falling short in providing appropriate services and support systems to improve the delivery of education, but has been quick to add a tax burden to the children’s parents, who are making sacrifices to ensure they get a proper education. By taxing those who provide lessons, that cost will be passed on to the children’s parents. I am not against taxation. I am against poorly thoughtout taxes and those designed to be punitive in the areas they ought not to be. The two cases sighted above make the point. Taxing is necessary in every society, since there exists the need to source rev-
enue to conduct the business of the State. In looking at sourcing funding for developmental programmes, same must be done, but in a strategic manner, where revenue collection vis a vis loans and grants that can be acquired for the execution of these, be factored in. The problem that confronts this country is that politicians believe they have all the answers to the challenges we face. This behaviour takes us back to the time when -- as a matter of preserving the nation-state and the role of its people in it -- they had to get together and prepare a National Development Strategy (NDS) to manage the affairs of State. Successive PPP/C governments on the eve of every election, placed snippets of the NDS into its manifestos, but never implemented any aspect of it. Our political culture has become one where politicians believe they are the beginning and the end of everything. This is misplaced arrogance, which successive governments have engaged in. They fail to recognise that we live in a representative democracy, where the political system requires the involvement of groups and individuals in the management and decision-making processes of the State that impact their well-being. Our problem is one where every individual placed in a political office believes that he or she is a competent politician. They fail in understanding that politics is about people and people’s development and every programme must have a focus in developing the people’s well-being. Taxing of condoms and
education -- and of goods and services of similar nature -- becomes burdensome and will breathe discontent and other social ills, since they were not conceptualised and implemented with the desire to the ordinary man. If the government had consulted with the citizenry on its new tax regime, they would have been presented solid proof of their anti-developmental stance. I merely cited a few reasons and know that others could add more. From this body of information, a caring government would have arrived at sane decisions. From a political perspective, one wonders how can a government be consistently involved in acts that are consistently inimical to the well-being of people it is elected to represent and serve, yet at the same time repose confidence that it will offer itself again to serve, and can be re-elected. As it was reported, when one minister was confronted about the array of taxes in this year’s budget, he said, he will not have to pay them and if the government loses, he will get a job in an international institution. Herein lie the problems with our politics and some of those who seek office. Politics for them is a gravy train while they are in the seat, and opportunity to create a resume for employment in international institutions later. Guyana has a cadre of politicians not smitten by patriotism and taken up with what they can do for the nation and its people, but by how they will use the trappings of office and access to the people’s resources for self-serving ends.
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So many things to say... but balancing resistance against underdevelopment with initiatives aimed at collective survival and overcoming calls for some degree of creative imagination. All of our governments have failed miserably as far as the latter is concerned. No government since the early independence administration has enjoyed the goodwill and opportunity to do something transformational for Guyana as the present one. But with each passing day, it demonstrates a glaring incapacity and perhaps unwillingness to rise to the occasion. The government has been unable to translate the energies of 2011-2015 into social transformation. What big positive changes have occurred since May 2015? Sometimes it seems as if all we have is a modified PPP in office. The wrongdoers of the past are untouched even in the face of glaring ev-
idence. The Ombudsman submitted a report that was tabled in parliament a year and a half ago about the abuse of power in the Freddie Kissoon matter at UG and the New Building Society scandal. To date, nothing has been done by the government. This represents an insult to the Office of the Ombudsman and a serious democratic deficit. Democracy is incomplete if the government ignores the work of democratic institutions. In the end, if their work is ignored, the institutions are weakened. Why expend resources on institutions when you don’t act on their work and findings? This has become a worrying habit of this government. They did it with the audits, with the Rodney Commission report and with some of the reports of the other commissions they have set up. The work of the Ombudsman is critical to Guy-
ana’s fragile democracy, particularly in the age of rampant government overreach and corrupt governance. The government’s failure to act on the reports on the New Building Society and Freddie Kissoon matters amounts to turning a blind eye to the transgressions of the previous government — something that has become a frustrating habit. If a government which came to office with the expressed promise to go after the gross over-reach of its predecessors ends up sweeping the evidence under the ocean, then it ends up compromising its own integrity. If you have the authority to act on injustice and don’t act on evidence before you, then you end up being a symbol of injustice yourself. The government must move very quickly to ensure justice for the citizens who were wronged in the matters pronounced on by the Ombudsman, or it risks
losing whatever credibility it has left. And that would be a serious blow to our country’s ability to recover its political sanity and moral centre, which took a hammering under the previous government. On the matter of the plight of the poor, we witness the same worrying story. Where are the initiatives to put our people to work? I love the President—he is a breath of fresh air for Guyana. Mr President, I know where you are going and I am with you on the big picture. But Mr President, in post-plantation societies such as Guyana with a limited private sector and limited scope for a vibrant and expanded private sector, it is the government that must provide jobs for the people, especially poor
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people. And Mr President, when the private sector pays poor wages and are selective about who it hires, it is to the government that the people turn for relief. Mr President, I love your sermons about the value of entrepreneurship, but until there are banks that would lend start-up capital at reasonable interest rates, it is the government that has to pick up the slack. Mr President, government matters as far as economic survival of the poor is concerned. I still have hope that this government would find its feet and dance better than it has done. I do not want the PPP to put its hands on power in the near future, at least not by themselves and not with the current crowd in charge. Guyana cannot and should
not be subjected to another round of extreme abuse that is sure to come from that party. But we should not let the fear of the PPP lead us to condone the lethargic and uninspiring leadership of the government. If we have to take to the streets, as the anti-parking meter protestors are doing, to inspire them to lift their game, then so be it—they have to do better. If they don’t, even the oil which we eagerly await will not save them and us. More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Police, Child Care Agency investigating attempted suicide cases THE police are investigating the circumstances under which a 29-yearold mother of three children attempted to commit suicide after feeding her three children a toxic substance at their Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara (ECD) residence on Friday. The food vendor and her children are being monitored at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where the mother’s mental stability is also being reviewed. Police said the Child Care and Protection Agency will also be reviewing the matter.
The children ages seven, five and three are listed as stable. Reports indicate that the woman, who had a verbal spat with her partner about his infidelity, grew out of control after loud sounds could be heard coming from the house as if someone was “smashing something.” One neighbour said that the woman after having a conversation with her husband on the cellphone went berserk and began destroying the television, stove, table and other items that were thrown outside the house and into the yard. “She even run by her cousin
house where her husband park a minibus and smash up the windows.” Reports indicate that relatives and residents from the area went to their home and found the mother and children in an unconscious state. They were rushed to the hospital. Police said efforts made to contact her 30 year-old husband prove futile, because he was said to be in the interior. A medical source disclosed that when the mother was asked why she gave the children poison, she said that she was “distressed.” A similar case had oc-
curred in 2014, when a 21- year -old Mahaicony mother poisoned her two children and then attempted to take her own life. She was subsequently charged and placed before the court. The woman killed her two children by poisoning on March 27, 2014. The mother, Awena Rutherford, also consumed the deadly substance, but survived following treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The incident reportedly stemmed from a dispute that the woman had with her husband, who was residing overseas.
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
…PM clears air on delay of Linden TV PRIME MINISTER, Moses Nagamootoo has denied any manoeuvre to deny the people of Linden a television station and has flayed trade unionist Lincoln Lewis who has accused the government of having a sinister plot on the issue. Lewis made his comments in a letter to the editor of this newspaper on Saturday. “Prime Minister Nagamootoo, who has responsibility for the information sector, continues to find excuses to deny Lindeners the return of their television station. Since coming to office he has moved with a high degree of alacrity to realise broadcasting access to the Amerindian communities, who are not only allowed to determine their management but also the content of their programmes. Now he is moving to establish community broadcasting service in Bartica,” Lewis wrote in his letter. He added: “Given the clear inequity in treatment, the denial to Linden its community television is not only discriminatory but also carries a sinister political
West District) and Region 9 (Rupununi) are receiving radio programmes on a regular basis for the first time since the establishment of the community stations. The extension of this service to Bartica, Mahdia, Aishalton and Orealla is long overdue. It is a cheap shot taken by Lewis at our indigenous people, and he should retract his offensive insinuation that our Amerindian people were getting their needs for communication met, as a result of some sinister plot by OPM.”
Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo
agenda to continue to deny a people their fundamental rights, which the High Court upheld in 2008. The PPP/C government contempt for the Guyana Constitution (Article 147), 2008 court ruling, and 2012 Agreement, is being continued under the APNU+AFC.” However, Nagamootoo said the opinions by Lewis on Linden TV are regrettably not based on facts. “Mr.
Lewis could not have been speaking for Mr. Sharma Solomon who undertook to carry out the decision of the Consultative Meeting. That decision was for the Board of Trustees of Region 10 Broadcasting Trust to include several other representatives of the people of Region 10,” the Prime Minister said. He added: “The outlying regions, Region 1 (North
CONTROLLED BY COMMUNITY Meanwhile, Lewis said Prime Minister Nagamootoo must be told that when the Trust was established by the people, the spirit and intent was for it to be controlled by the community. He said there was no intent for the Office of the Regional Chairman to chair its board. “Sharma Solomon, under whose leadership the citizens were allowed to establish the Trust, his membership on the board was not because of the office he held but the leadership he delivered to the people. As the APNU and AFC rightly demanded the will of the
people be respected when they held the parliamentary majority in 2011, and in 2015 with securing the Executive and Parliament, so too must they respect the will of people who established the Trust,” Lewis declared. He said seeking to foist the Regional Chairman into the Trust as its chairman is violating the rules and intent that established the Trust, and transgressing the will of the people in the management of their organisation. “This sinister agenda to control and deny the people continues the PPP/C’s contempt for them and the Turn to page 21 ►
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Recapture St. Valentine’s Day relevance Priest executed for promoting marriages ST VALENTINE’S DAY will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 14th. This Day is often described as “the day of lovers” or “the festival of love” and is marked by the shops decorated with red balloons, red hearts, Cupids shooting arrows and red streamers. The bakeries offer heart-shaped cakes covered with red icing and the restaurants offer special Valentine dinners with choice wines. The stationery stores dis-
religion of ancient Rome, 14th February was celebrated as the Day of Juno, wife of Jupiter play a variety of artistic Val- and significance of the festival and Queen and Mother of the entine cards and the jewellers have almost been completely Gods. She was protector of womoffer brooches and rings which effaced to the point where they expect the lovers will buy. many people now believe that en and of marriage. The Day The confectioners display their the festival was invented by of Juno was always merged into the fertility festival of striking varieties of chocolates commercial interests. and the florists their roses, and The early origin of the Lupercalia which occurred not to forget, the TV which festival has little relationship next day on 15th February. carries Valentine programmes to romantic love which is the The fertility which Lupercalia from all over the world. theme of the modern festival promoted was both agricultural The festival has become and none at all to commerce. and human and Lupercalia was almost completely submerged The festival evolved with the so important to the Romans in commerce and business blending of a non-Christian that its celebration continis far more evident in it than (pagan) stream with a Chris- ued even after Rome became “love” or “lovers.” The origin tian one. In the pre-Christian Christian.
The festival is named St Valentine’s Day after a Catholic Saint with that name. There are thirteen Catholic Saints over the centuries who bore the name Valentine but the one after whom Valentine’s Day was named lived in the third century during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II when Rome was still largely non-Christian. Claudius II found that recruitment to his armies had fallen and he attributed this to the fact that married men were unwilling to leave their wives and children to serve in the army. He therefor banned marriages. Valentine, a Catholic priest, knew the Emperor’s order was wrong and immoral and felt determined to defy it. He therefore quietly and clandestinely began to marry hundreds of men. When his defiance of the Emperor’s order was discovered, he was executed on 14th February. The year was about 270 AD. In 498 AD Pope Gelasius cannonized him as a Saint and 14th February was designated his Day. Rome by this time had become Christian but the Romans still celebrated their Lupercalia. The Pope abolished Lupercalia and replaced it with St Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine was the patron saint of marriage so there was still some relationship to Lupercalia. Marriages in the ancient world were not “love marriages” but alliances to bring forth and raise children and to unite two families. This idea of couples first falling in love and as a result deciding to marry, was unknown in the ancient world and today, in most of Asia and Africa, “love marriages” are still regarded as alien and belonging to the West. In the West, it was only in the 14th century when the cult of Courtly Love became an integral part of European culture that romantic love became popular and became the main basis for marriage. Europe was still completely
Catholic and St. Valentine’s Day reflected and promoted this idea of romantic love on the continent. Europe in the Middle Ages suffered from sparse populations. The populations grew very slowly and both Church and State felt that marriage and the growth of families should be promoted. St Valentine’s Day helped to imbue the idea of romantic love and marriage and the raising of large families. Other cultural inputs were used to strengthen the message of St Valentine’s Day such as birds begining to find their mates from 14th February and the Roman God of Love, Cupid, being particularly active at this time, shooting his arrows at hearts causing couples to fall in love and desiring to be married. Europe’s population then grew steadily making the continent’s economic and cultural development possible. Today, it is apparent that the cycle has come around and Europe’s population is becoming aged and the population is increasing very slowly. The same trend is affecting North America, which, except for immigration would be much like Europe. People are not getting married in the numbers they did before and if ever they have families, the families are very small. Even societies external to the West such as Japan are experiencing the same trend. The message of St Valentine’s Day - romantic love, marriage, having large families - is again very relevant to Western societies and a growing number of non-Western ones. Religious groups and NGO’s should again promote the core values and message of St Valentine’s Day and if this is done, the sexual superficiality and commercialization which have now overtaken and enveloped the festival would dissipate. St. Valentine’s Day would then serve Society rather than commercial houses.
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Children ‘Mash
THERE was resounding appreciation and praise from spectators who attended yesterday’s Children Mashramani Costume and Float Parade which made its way through several streets downtown before ending at the National Park.
Thousands lined the street and packed into the National Park to be a part of the annual spectacle, to enjoy the coming together of students and representatives from all 11 of Guyana’s educational districts, from the nursery to the secondary school level.
Onlookers say this year’s competition showed a marked improvement from the previous year as it was “much more organised”. “Wonderful! Colourful! The children did well. To me this year is more colourful, and more children participated, the groups were large,”
said, Wendy Wilson, who travelled all the way from Golden Grove, East Coast of Demerara, to the parade. The aged Wendy was accompanied by a number of her grandchildren and boasted that she has been attending the event “since it started”.
Wendy had a hard time deciding which of the presentations or bands were her favourite, but the performance by Bishop’s High really struck a chord with her. The National School of Dance and the Guyana Police Force “A” Division Youth Groups, Hinterland
Part of the display from the Hinterland Scholarship Students’ band
Department of Craft
Defending champion of the Regional Presentations category, Region Four in action
This Cummings Lodge Secondary float was conceptualised with the sub-theme “With Dignity and Unity, Celebrating a Green Economy”
Scholarship Students, Mercy Wings Vocational Centre, and the David Rose School for the Handicapped Children were also part of the parade. At least one patron was very much appreciative of the presentation by the differently-abled children.
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down’ the town
“To me, the costumes looked better this year, more decorated. What really excited me though were the handicapped children, because I didn’t expect them to perform so good,” she said. Veteran actor and comedian Henry Rodney, who has been part of the event
for some time now, also contended this year’s parade was better than previous years. “Impressive” was Rodney’s keyword to describe the displays he saw. “There is an improvement of the costumes; we no longer see the flimsy
costumes. The costumes are massive, they are grand, and you can read them. I could sit from this vantage point looking at the costumes and read it,” he said. The parade marked the close of the children’s competition segment of the Mashramani festivities.
Beginning last Thursday, the varying school districts and their students have been contending in dance masquerade, calypso and dramatic poetry competitions. The parade featured six categories, namely “Nursery School Bands”, “Primary School Bands”, “Secondary
School Bands”, “Other Children’s Organisations”, “Individual Presentations”, and “Regional Presentations”. Smyth Street Nursery, St Stephen’s Primary and Tutorial High School are the defending champions of the nursery, primary and secondary school categories,
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respectively, while the National School of Dance is the reigning “Other Children’s Organisations” winner and Region Four is the Regional Presentations champion. Tabulation of the results from yesterday’s competition will be available the coming week.
Marian Academy hosts 10th annual Valentine Blood Drive By Vishani Ragobeer
THE Marian Academy, held its 10th Annual ‘Valentine Blood Drive Saturday in its auditorium. Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle was Principal of the Academy, Sister Marie Harper. According to the principal, this event was something the school has been doing for 10 years now, in collaboration with the National Blood Bank and the Red Cross society. “The whole idea around the Valentine Blood Drive, is that it is a time of love and the most loving thing you can do is give blood, which is giving life,” said Sister Harper. “We have chosen this time of the year acknowledging just how many people need blood.” The sister also asserted that this blood drive is not just a one-day event, since the students of the academy are educated about the importance of blood and giving blood prior to the drive. Additionally, the students are
Some of the differently-abled children from the Open Door Centre, who were also able to impress in their performances (Delano Williams photos)
encouraged to bring as many eligible people (their family and older friends). “We encourage recruitment,” she said, and added, “In the last week of January, each child is given recruitment slips, since most of them cannot actually give blood.” She attested that each year, there is always an increase in the number of persons donating blood and an increase in the units of blood collected. This year, there were 12 blood-donation stations at the school -- compared to the 10 stations last year -- ascertaining the increasing number of supporters of the year. The older students of the school were also integrated into this blood drive and these students themselves met the potential donors, carried out the prerequisite physical checks and signed up these donors. These students were educated about the process and given some training. In addition to hosting the drive, students and teachers of Marian Acad-
emy provided all donors with sweet treats and mementos. One donor, Francine Peters, said, “I really encourage everybody to do this [give blood] since, as they say, one bag of blood saves three lives.” She also highlighted that as an institution, it is really commendable that they carry out this exercise every year and she also voiced that other institutions should endeavour similarly. The drive, which began promptly at 09:00 hrs, finished completely at around 18:00 hrs, after attracting hundreds of donors. The process of giving blood requires six simple steps from registering to checking one’s blood type and takes about 30 minutes to donate one unit of blood, which in turn can save three lives. In 2008, the academy became the first school in Guyana to host a blood drive. Ever since, Marian Academy has been hosting this blood drive each year in February -- on or around Valentine’s Day.
Several persons giving blood at the blood-donation stations yesterday at the Marian Academy
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Towards a Good Life in a Green Economy
Part 1 – Reducing Green House Gases and Guyana’s Constitutional Provisions IN this five part series we will look, reflectively, at the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of Guyana (GoG) and the Kingdom of Norway (KoN), referred to in this essay as ‘the MOU’. In this first part, I will examine who is responsible for reducing greenhouse gases and Guyana’s Constitutional Provisions. A key question to keep in mind throughout is to what extent the Preamble to the MOU has been reflected in the activities of the GoG and the KoN. A brief note on reflectivity is appropriate before I move on. According to Bloomberg and Volpe, being critically reflective allows us to challenge assumptions and perspectives. Reflecting on the thing done creates opportunities to view it in new ways. In the context of this essay I am cognizant that the document that I am reviewing is not one that I prepared. However, some principles of reflective analysis do apply. WHAT DID THE GOG AND THE KON ACKNOWLEDGE? The MOU (in November, 2009) was built on three components: the fight against climate change; the protection of biodiversity; and the enhancement of sustainable development. The two nations acknowledged that climate change is among
Mr. Gary A. R. Best is a retired Rear Admiral and former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. He is an Attorney at Law and is the Presidential Advisor on the Environment. He is a PhD. candidate at the University of the West Indies. He holds a BSc in Nautical Science (Brazil) and Masters Degrees from the University of the West Indies and the University of London. He is also an alumnus of the National Defence University and the Harvard Kennedy School. His research areas include climate change governance, climate change finance, international relations and environmental law.
gas (GHG) emissions globally was not a requirement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC, in its preamble, clearly articulated that the largest share of GHG emissions originated from developed countries. This category also includes some developing countries like Brazil, China and the greatest challenges facing the India, but not Guyana. However, Guyana is categorized as a ‘net world today. carbon sink’, which means we store more carbon that we release into the WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR atmosphere. REDUCING GREENHOUSE Therefore, why would the GoG GASES? The MOU recognizes that “co- enter into an agreement to reduce operation on climate change issues GHG when it is not a contributor to can be instrumental in reducing the global GHG emissions problem? greenhouse gas emissions glob- My suggested answer is the offer of ally and has a positive impact on financial payments for preserving the socio-economic development Guyana’s forests within a wider of developing countries and their UNFCCC payment for ecosystem communities.” We will return to services mechanism, later to be the meaning of the word ‘com- known as REDD+. Assuming this answer to be munities’ a bit later in the series. However, Guyana’s decision to factual, it opens up another concontribute to reducing greenhouse sideration. Was it deliberate on the part of the developed countries, a la Norway, to frame the issue of GHG emissions reduction within a partnership structure rather than That’s it! the obligatory naWe care for our employees who care for our clients. ture of their financial commitment under Article 4 of the UNFCCC? In summary, Article HIRING 4 states that deCUSTOMER SERVICE veloped countries shall “…provide INBOUND SALES new and addiAnswer your call tional financial Apply today! resources to meet the agreed full In-person costs incurred by By Phone • Online please apply at the location closest to you developing country Parties to meet Plaisance 222.0581 East Coast their obligations Providence 265.7092 East Bank under Article Be sure to visit our booth at UG's Career Day 12…” Article 12
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
CARES
refers to the costs relating to communication of information related to implementation. But that’s not all! The UNFCCC covers other costs. Article 4 also mandates developed country Parties to provide financial resources, including financing the transfer of environmentally sound technologies. In particular, Article 4 of the UNFCCC provides for developed country Parties to “…assist the developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs of adaptation to those adverse effects.” Finally, Article 4 specifies that developing countries with low lying coastal areas fall into the special category of vulnerable states as a result of the adverse effects of climate change. On reflection, it is clear that financing the adaptation costs of Guyana, as a country affected by the adverse nature of climate change, was and continues to be the obligation of developed countries under the UNFCCC. By sequestering its forests in exchange for ‘financial support’, Guyana is in fact paying for the financial support provided by the KoN as opposed to the MOU meeting Guyana’s adaptation costs as new and additional finance. It is perhaps ironic that in this modern age one can sell a product in return for financial support as opposed to payment. What we need to do is to categorize and quantify the adverse effects climate change has had and continue to have on Guyana and, in accordance with the UNFCCC, submit the costs of those climate change effects along with projects for their correction and alleviation to the UNFCCC for consideration. WAS THERE NOT A ROLE FOR GUYANA’S CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS? The MOU also recalls that “… Guyana and Norway are Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Convention on Biological Diversity; and are signatories to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).” The roll out of the LCDS had it success and challenges, which we will address later in the series. However, at this juncture, we wish to point out a particular challenge- a majority of Guyanese viewed the MOU and the LCDS as a plan for our Indigenous Peoples. This is perhaps not surprising given that the only human related convention mentioned in the MOU relates to the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Its important to also note that Guyana is a signatory to other important human related conventions including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. We believe it is difficult to not agree that these conventions bear significance in the context of Guyana’s international commitments and should have been referred to in the preamble of the MOU. However, a more significant omission in our opinion is the non-reference within the preamble to key Guyana Constitutional provisions. In this regard, the MOU could have benefited from a direct reference to Art 29, which speaks to women’s participation in public decision-making and Art 36, which relates to land and the environment. Arts 29 and 36 would no doubt remind the signatories to the MOU that women are equal under the laws of Guyana and that the well being of our nation depends upon preserving all lands in Guyana. In particular, the MOU could have benefited from a direct reference to Art 13 which provides for an “… inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organizations Turn to page 21 ►
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NO sinister... seizure of their assets and resources in furtherance of a few. What the prime minster is seeking to execute, having been a politician for decades and also in a different era, is Machiavellian at its most ruthless. When a senior minister was confronted by me with the idea that Region 10 might rebel in 2020 given the mistreatment they continue to receive, the response was: ‘They have no alternative since they will not go to the PPP/C, we will continue to get their support.’ This type of politics where people are seen as mules and treated with contempt is self-serving and destructive, and we must reject it,” Lewis wrote. However, the PM said these consultative meetings became necessary after the stakeholders in Region 10 formally wrote him expressing concern about the lack of
wide representation on the Board of the then Region 10 Broadcasting Inc. “At the time when the Region 10 Broadcasting Inc was registered, Mr. Solomon was the elected Regional Chairman and it was in that capacity that he headed the entity. Since then, Region 10 has elected a new Chairman and councilors. Accordingly, after consultations, it was decided that the Board of the Trust should include new directions. Mr. Solomon fully agreed to this and committed to taking the agreed actions to increase the representation of stakeholders.” Nagamootoo added that the Channel 13 Linden frequency has long been identified for transfer to the Region 10 Trust. The license for the frequency has to be assigned by the Guyana National Broadcasting Au-
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thority (GNBA), which has been awaiting the changes to the Board of Trustees before taking action. “For several months, no movement was made on the changes to the Trust in spite of reminders to Mr Sharma. An approach was made to the Trust’s attorney who has assured that the changes would be made and registered. There are no manoeuvres or machinations by OPM whatsoever. The comparison between Region 10 and Amerindian Communities getting community stations is disingenuous and divisive. Region 10 has and continues to receive both TV and radio service,” the PM added. Only recently this newspaper reported that Lindeners’ patience might be growing thin, as it related to the establishment of the
town’s very own television station that was promised by the current administration within the first 100 days of taking office. Pressure is mounting on former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon to resolve outstanding issues that have reportedly held up the process. Speaking to this newspaper, residents expressed deep disappointment and
frustration over a process that seems unending. Some residents explained the need for the town to have its own television station, as there was much to be desired about the Friday edition of the NCN’s Linden Branch newscast. “What I am saying is that they promise us this thing so long and we can’t get it up to now. There are so many things going on
in Linden, people want to air their concerns and their views, not everybody got money to buy papers every day or read news online, and we need our television [station] so that we can see what’s going on in our community at least three times a week. Once a week is not good enough for Linden, we need our station,” a market vendor had told this newspaper.
Part 1 – Reducing Green House Gases... From page 20
in the management and decision making processes of the state…” We also believe that a direct reference to Art 13 would have resulted in greater participation of the nation’s citizens in the decision processes leading up to the MOU and subsequent LCDS. Other important Guyana Constitutional Commissions
to which a direct reference would have enriched the MOU include, The Ethnic Relations Commission; The Human Rights Commissions; The Women and Gender Equality Commission; and The Indigenous Peoples’ Commission. At this juncture we can say that one of the pillars of a green economy is reducing
inequalities and promoting equity. As we reflect on the MOU so far, it appears that this particular pillar is not best represented by the contents of the MOU. In Part 2 we will continue to examine the provisions of the MOU. Comments can be sent to towardsagoodlife@gmail. com
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Stampede at Angolan stadium kills 17, injures scores (REUTERS)-At least 17 people died and scores were injured in a stampede at an Angolan football match on Friday when hundreds of supporters stormed the stadium gates, a medical official said.
The crowd in the northern city of Uige pushed against barriers after failing to gain entry before the start of the match, state news agency Angop said. Many fell and were trampled, it said. Ernesto Luis, director general of the local hospital, told Reuters people had suffocated in the crush. “Some people had to walk on top of other people. There were 76 casualties, of whom 17 died,” he said. Five of the injured were in a serious condition. Witnesses said the crowd trying to gain access would have taken the stadi-
um past its 8,000 capacity. “When we wanted to go in, we found a barrier. The first row of people fell down... I was in the third layer (of people),” said 37-yearold fan João Silva, who survived the crush with a broken foot. Domingos Vika, 35, who broke a hand, added: “When they gave the opportunity for everyone to come in, we were all packed at the gate already.” The match between Santa Rita de Cássia and Libolo was part of Angola’s first division championship. Police and football officials were not immediately available for comment.
Santos down Pouderoyen; Police ‘arrest’ ... From back page three and goal differences (0). Eagles however have a game In hand. A draw in the Eagles United vs New Amsterdam United fixture carded for tonight will allow them both to progress to the next stage. However, a loss could work in favour of the Uitvlugt team. In group A, the spots will also be decided as well. A win for Milerock with a margin of less than three goals would take them and table toppers Winners Connection through to the next round in a onetwo order,while a win of more than that offers Grove Hi-Tech the chance to sneak through. A draw would allow both the Linden teams to progress with Winners atop and Milerock second. On the converse side, a win for Winners will put Milerock out and let Grove through.
ENGLISH RACING TIPS Exeter 09:50 hrs Misterton 10:20 hrs Finian’s Oscar 10:50 hrs Tobefair 11:20 hrs Kaki De La Pree 11:50 hrs Tea For Two 12:20 hrs Flying Angel 12:50 hrs Quick Grabim SEDGEFIELD 10:10 hrs Mister Spingsprong 10:40 hrs Culmination 11:10 hrs Gray Day 11:40 hrs What A Dream 12:10 hrs Heaven Scent 12:40 hrs Joseph Mercer IRISH RACING TIPS
Leopardstown 09:30 hrs Toe The Line 10:00 hrs Canelie 10:30 hrs Bapaume 11:00 hrs Saturnas 11:30 hrs Bellshill 12:00 hrs Don Poli 12:30 hrs Foxrock 13:00 hrs Someday SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS Scottsville 08:15 hrs Midnight Man 08:50 hrs Wynkelder 09:25 hrs Cockade 10:00 hrs Brightnumberfive 10:30 hrs One Man Show 11:05 hrs Modesty
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Bangladesh fight but India in control (REUTERS)-BANGLADESH fought back against India through half centuries from Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehedi Hasan to reach 322 for six at the close of the third day’s play in the
avoid the follow-on in response to India’s mammoth first innings total of 687-6 declared. At stumps, captain Mushfiqur was unbeaten on 81 with Mehedi not out on 51, his maiden test fifty, at
Shakib Al Hasan counter-attacked with a 103-ball 82 to lead Bangladesh’s resistance. one-off Test in Hyderabad yesterday. Bangladesh’s most experienced pair of Shakib and Mushfiqur added 107 for the fifth-wicket before the latter combined with the 19-yearold Mehedi for an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 87 to frustrate the hosts. The visitors still face a steep task if they are to
the other end with Bangladesh still needing 166 runs to make India bat again. The duo kept India wicketless for the entire third session. After resuming on 41-1, the touring side suffered a major blow in just the third over of the day when Tamim Iqbal was run out on his overnight score of 24. The left-handed opener
was stranded near the middle of the pitch after a terrible mix-up with partner Mominul Haque while attempting a second run. Paceman Umesh Yadav, who dismissed Soumya Sarkar on Friday, found enough reverse swing to trouble Bangladesh’s batsmen before he pinned down Mominul in front of the stumps to dismiss him leg before for 12. Umesh continued to trouble Mahmudullah with his pace and movement but pace-bowling colleague Ishant Sharma reaped the benefit by dismissing the batsman leg before for 28 in his first over of the day. Ishant, who replaced Umesh, beat Mahmudullah’s bat with an angled delivery and the batsman’s attempt to overturn the decision on review also proved futile. Shakib then launched a counterattack against India’s bowlers and his 21st test fifty was studded with 14 boundaries in a knock that came off 103 balls. The left-hander was out caught trying to loft off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the world’s top-ranked bowler in Tests, over mid-off Ashwin’s left-arm spin colleague Ravindra Jadeja then dismissed Sabbir Rahman for 16, the batsman falling leg before while attempting a sweep shot.
Mushfiqur, who got the benefit of doubt in a run out appeal when he was batting on 18, showed plenty of application and temperament during his knock and will be crucial to Bangladesh’s hopes of avoiding the follow-on. Off-spinner Mehedi gave his captain, who suffered a blow to his right hand in the last over of the day against Ishant, able support and hit 10 crisp boundaries in his flourishing knock.
SCOREBOARD
INDIA 1st innings 687 for 6 decl (V. Kohli 204, M. Vijay 108, W. Saha 106no, C. Pujara 83, A. Rahane 82, R. Jadeja 60no) Bangladesh 1st innings (Overnight: 41-1) T. Iqbal run out (U. Yadav, B. Kumar) 24 S. Sarkar c Saha b U. Yadav 15 M. Haque lbw b U. Yadav 12 Mahmudullah lbw b I. Sharma 28 S. Al Hasan c U. Yadav b R. Ashwin 82 M. Rahim not out 81 Sa. Rahman lbw b Jadeja 16 M. Hasan not out 51 Extras (lb-13) 13 Total (for 6 wickets, 104 overs) 322 Fall of wickets: 1-38 S. Sarkar,2-44 T. Iqbal,3-64 M. Haque,4-109 Mahmudullah,5-216 S. Al Hasan,6-235 Sa. Rahman To bat: T. Islam, T. Ahmed, K. Rabbi Bowling: B. Kumar 17 - 6 - 46 – 0,I. Sharma 16 - 5 - 54 – 1, R. Ashwin 24 - 6 - 77 – 1, U. Yadav 18 - 3 - 72 – 2, R. Jadeja 29 - 8 - 60 – 1.
Sanchez double lifts Arsenal gloom, United make it sweet 16 By Neil Robinson LONDON, (Reuters)-Arsenal put two Premier League defeats - and days of uncertainty about manager Arsene Wenger behind them to post a workmanlike 2-0 victory over Hull City that lifted them above Manchester City into third place. With none of the other top four teams playing on Saturday afternoon, Manchester United beat Watford 2-0 to move ahead of Liverpool in fifth place and Southampton’s new striker Manolo Gabbiadini scored twice in their 4-0 thumping of Sunderland. However welcome Arsenal’s victory was, it owed much to luck after a controversial handball goal from Alexis Sanchez and did little to lift the mood at the Emirates where Wenger was non-committal about his future. The game turned on Sanchez’s 34th-minute opener when the ball went into the net inadvertently off the Chilean’s hand after popping up from a goalline save by the keeper. “The referee apologised to us after halftime and said it was a handball,” Hull defender Andrew Robertson said. “He obviously realises he was in the wrong.” Sanchez’s second also came via a goalline handball, this time from Hull’s Sam Clucas in stoppage time, which led to a penalty and sending-off. Sanchez’s spot-kick took his tally to 17 goals in 25 league games, including four against Hull.
When Wenger, who watched the game from the stands after completing a four-match touchline ban, was asked about his future, he said: “I focus on what is important, winning football games and getting the team to perform. The rest, I can-
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters / John Sibley not influence.” At Old Trafford, Manchester United looked unrecognisable from the side who spluttered through the early months of the season and extended their unbeaten league run to 16 games. Anthony Martial responded to a rare start with this third goal of the season after Juan Mata had given United the lead. The win put United one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who play on Monday. “Sixteen games unbeaten is an amazing record,” United manager Jose Mourinho said. “It
was a difficult match and a very important win for us.” INSTANT RETURN Elsewhere, Southampton are getting an instant return on the 14 million pounds ($17.5 million) they paid Napoli for Italy striker Gabbiadini on transfer deadline day, and his brace, including a brilliant turn and shot, means he has now scored three in two games. A week remains a long time in football and two more late goals for Southampton left Sunderland on the wrong end of the same 4-0 result they inflicted on Crystal Palace seven days earlier. Sunderland and Palace remained rooted to the bottom on 19 points after Joe Allen’s sixth league goal of the season for Stoke - his best-ever haul - was enough to see off Sam Allardyce’s side 1-0. With Middlesbrough taking a point from a 0-0 draw with Everton, the day’s real winners at the bottom were Swansea City and Leicester City, neither of whom played. Yesterday’s other afternoon game saw West Bromwich Albion secure a 2-2 draw at West Ham United thanks to a controversial stoppage-time equaliser. Home manager Slaven Bilic and his assistant were both sent off. Liverpool host second-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the late game. Leaders Chelsea, nine points clear at the top, play at Burnley today.
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Brazil’s Olympic legacy far from fulfilled at idle Game venues By Pedro Fonseca RIO DE JANEIRO,(Reuters)-Less than six months after Rio de Janeiro hosted the first-ever Olympics in South America, game venues sit idle and already in disrepair, raising questions about a legacy that organisers promised would benefit the Brazilian city and its residents. “We thought this would be for us,” said Alex da Silva Ferreira, a mechanic who walked with his 7-year-old
son past the locked gate of what was supposed to be a park in Deodoro, a neighborhood that hosted canoeing and mountain bike competitions. “It’s been closed this entire time.” A lack of activity and upkeep is plaguing facilities including the site of swimming competitions, where craters from disassembled pools collect stagnant water, and Rio’s famed Maracanã stadium, site of the opening and closing ceremonies.
The field there, one of the most iconic soccer pitches in the world, is giving way to dirt and scrub. Electricity was cut recently because of a financial spat between local officials and the contractor hired to manage the stadium. Before the games, organisers touted the venues as facilities that could easily be repurposed in sports-crazed Rio. But little more than one beach volleyball tournament has been played at any of the venues - and even that
An aerial view of Maracana Stadium, which was used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, shows the turf being dry, worn and filled with ruts and holes, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil January 12, 2017. Picture taken on January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Nacho Doce drew criticism because it involved throwing sand on the Olympic tennis court. “I guess sand is better than nothing but it’s pathetic not to be playing tennis there,” said Fernando Meligeni, who finished fourth in the tennis at the 1996 Games. Federal, state and local governments, along with private partners, paid more than 40 billion reais ($12.8 billion) to host the Olympics,
about 7 billion of which was for game venues and related facilities. Now they are negotiating with each other and new partners to find ways to fulfill the expected Olympic legacy. They acknowledge the delays and blame a series of factors for the failure to repurpose the venues from Brazil’s continuing recession to disagreements with contractors and a change in mayors after
elections in October. “It’s a complicated moment,” said Patricia Amorim, the subsecretary for sport of Rio’s city government, during a recent visit to the massive grounds where events like tennis, swimming and basketball were held. “There’s no doubt discomfort that this pretty park, so full not long ago, is not being used in the way that we, residents and athletes, would like.”
LABA/ Hamid Foundation U-23 basketball continues tonight with double-header THE Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) /Abdulla Hamid under 23 basketball championship which bounced off last night will continue tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court where,in the opening game,Kwakwani will debut against second seeded Victory Valley Royals at 18.30 hrs ,in what should be an interesting match since Kwakwani is one of the unknown quantities in this tournament. In the second game at 20.30 hrs,Retrieve Raiders, seeded at number four, will start their campaign when they face unknown Christianburg Pistons, another team which is making its debut at this level, after some years in the wilderness not playing competitively,and previously known as the Wismar Pistons. Next Friday the Half Mile Bulls,ranked number one,will face the Pistons,while the other match is between the Pistons and Jets. The teams are placed in two groups with the Bulls, Raiders Flames and Pistons making up group A, while in Group B are Royals, Jets, Falcons and Kwakwani.The top two teams from the two groups will advance to the semifinals to determine the finalists. Trophies and replicas are at stake for the top four clubs.
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Bolt All-Stars win Nitro Athletics meet in Melbourne
USAIN Bolt and his All Stars completed a clean sweep of the inaugural Nitro Athletics series yesterday, with Bolt winning the 150-metre race in his only solo appearance of the three-night meet. With Asafa Powell and Bolt — the former and current 100-meter world record holders — running the opening two legs of the deciding 4x100-meter mixed relay, the All Stars ensured they made up a 38-point deficit on Australia to finish first overall in the team event that also included England, Japan, New Zealand and China. Eight-time Olympic champion Bolt won the 150 in 15.28 seconds. The Nitro meet featured mixed relays, sprints over non-traditional distances and elimination mile races where the last-placed runner
dent Sebastian Coe said he was a big fan of the Nitro concept. “I saw engagement, I saw fun and laughter and that’s what the sport has been missing for a long time,” Coe said. “It was a terrific start. It’s an obvious thing to say but unless we innovate we’re going to become less and less rele-
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday February 12, 2017)
Jamaica’s Olympic champion Usain Bolt celebrates with team mates during the final night of the Nitro Athletics series at the Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.. REUTERS/Hamish Blair at the end of each lap was eliminated. “I’m happy, that was great,” All Stars captain and coach Bolt said after the team win. “I said ‘we were going to push, we were going to push’ and that’s what we did.” On Friday, IAAF presiReliance Juniors’ most sucRavendra Mandolall cessful bowler. contributed 33, as the juIn reply,the juniors were niors reached 158-5 when well on course to getting to their overs expired. Pearson their target, as the Mandolall claimed 2-34. brothers Ravendra and NarMeanwhile,Reliance endra provided a solid open- Sports Club had the better of ing partnership of 78 in eight a Select XI. In the six-over overs. However, once that exhibition match, Reliance partnership was broken, with Sports Club batted first and Narendra being dismissed for posted 89,and then restricted 29, the scoring rate slowed the Select XI to 78. significantly, and batting During the presentabecame a struggle. tion, Ravendra Mandolall, But Rovendra Parsram brother of the late Shivahad other ideas, as he gal- nandan Mandolall,thanked lantly produced a stunning the players and sponsors. innings of 56, decorated with Shivanandan Mandolall three fours and four sixes, in died in 2014 at the age of a losing cause. 31.
Reliance Masters capture Mandolall’s Memorial Softball title RELIANCE Masters used their experience to good effect to capture the Shivanandan Mandolall’s Memorial Softball title over their junior counterparts last Sunday at the Mainstay Lake Community Ground. After being invited to bat first in the 15- overs aside affair, Reliance Masters amassed 165-7, with Marvin Pearson smashing an impressive 42, containing three fours and four sixes. He received valuable support from Ravendra Mandolall (36) and Latchmikhant Narine (28). Trevis Simon (2-31) from three overs was
vant and we can’t afford to do that.” Nitro was developed by former Australian 400-metre runner John Steffensen and Athletics Australia, while Bolt is also a key figure and holds an equity stake in the concept. The event — with Bolt headlining — is likely to return to Australia in 2018.
The winning Reliance Masters team pose with their trophies
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Answers to yesterday’s quiz:
(1) 8 games (2) 10 games
Today’s Quiz:
(1) Who is the first wicketkeeper to effect a ‘stumping’ in CWI Nagicor Super 50 2017? (2) Who is the first ‘stumping’ victim?
Answers in tomorrow’s issue
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
TDOs, YDCs warm-up for roll out of GFF-Scotiabank Academy training centres
Scorpions beat ICC Americas in their final Group B game
THE nine Technical Development Officers (TDOs) and 14 Youth Development Coaches (YDCs) who will coordinate the new GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres (ATC) put the final touches to their preparations on Friday, training with GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood and his expanded, new team . This event was held at the National Resource Centre from Thursday afternoon and consisted of classroom and practical sessions. “This stepping stone is going to be really fantastic for a lot of footballers,” said Ryan Alcides, the new TDO for the Rupununi region. “Football is going to the next level and I’m excited to partake in this programme. The impact is really going to help a lot of kids.” “It’s going to have a real impact on the development
LUCAS STREET, Barbados, (CMC) – Leg-spinner Damion Jacobs conjured up a career-best six-wicket haul as Jamaica Scorpions thrashed ICC Americas by five wickets, in their final Group B game of the Regional Super50 here yesterday. Opting to bowl first at the Windward Cricket Club in the east of the island, Scorpions ripped through the ICC Americas innings to send them tumbling for 133 off 31 overs. The 32-yearold Jacobs was the main architect of the ICC Americas demise, claiming six for 34 from his 10 overs as the development side collapsed from 89 for two in the 17th over, losing their last eight wickets for 44 runs. DAMION JACOBS Opener Hamza Tariq top-scored with 32 and Alex Amsterdam hit 28 but they were the only two to pass 20 In reply, the game appeared open when Scorpions slid to 48 for three in the 10th over but once Andre McCarthy entered to punch a run-a-ball 47 and Devon Thomas, an attacking 43, the result was never in doubt. Left-arm spinner Saad bin Zafar (2-29) and seamer Mohammed Ali Khan (2-32) picked up two wickets apiece. Scorpions ended their preliminary round campaign with 28 points from six wins and two defeats while ICC Americas’ record was a sorry one, with a single win from their eight games.
of football,” said Georgetown Football Association’s (GFA) TDO Sampson Gilbert. “For years, we’ve been looking for a programme like this to move football in Guyana forward.” The ATC, a nationwide programme and the first of its kind in Guyana, will roll out
from Saturday, 11th February, 2017 with the East Bank Demerara Football Association (EBFA) hosting an academy session from 9.30hrs with young players from across the region. There will be 13 GFF-Scotiabank ATCs
across the country in the first wave of the programme, designed to boost participation in football and to give the most talented boys and girls from the nine GFF Regional Member Associations (RMAs) the best chance to reach their full potential.
GFF Technical Director,Anthony Greenwood,at a training session with the TDOs and YDCs
Volcanoes, Red Force score sizeable victories
Jason Mohammed top scored for Red Force with an innings of 84.
WINDWARD Islands Volcanoes recorded a comfortable six-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at Coolidge in their final match of the Regional Super50 on Friday. Kavem Hodge, who had spent most of the tournament batting at No. 6 for Windwards, struck his maiden List A fifty after being promoted to open the batting to chase Kent’s 205. Hodge got the Windwards chase going in the right direction after the early fall of Johnson Charles for 5 by adding 54 for the second wicket with Devon Smith (32) and another 86 for the third wicket with Sunil Ambris. Hodge ended with 68 and Ambris 48, just two shy of what would have been his seventh fifty in eight games during group play. Ambris ends the round-robin stage with 423 runs at 70.50, second overall behind Leeward Islands captain Kieran Powell’s aggregate of 509 at 84.83. When Hodge fell in the 40th, 31 runs were still required for victory. Captain Liam Sebastien and Kyle Mayers knocked off the rest of the runs, securing victory with 13 balls to spare. Kent had stumbled to 35 for 5 after choosing to bat at the toss before a 104-run sixth-wicket stand between Will Gidman and Adam Rouse salvaged their innings. Shane Shillingford eventually dismissed both men for 94 and 40 respectively and Kent’s tail fought until the 49th over before they were bowled out with seven balls left in the innings. Trinidad & Tobago Red Force rolled past West Indies Under-19 by 182 runs at North Sound on Friday night to set up a first-place showdown with Leeward Islands
today. The win over West Indies U-19 moved T&T to 6-1 in Group B, the same record as Leewards though T&T trails Leewards by two points due to the bonus point structure in round-robin play. The winner of today’s match will top Group A and most likely face Jamaica while the loser will probably face Barbados, who hold a five-point advantage at the top of Group B heading into the final round of group matches. Kyle Hope, Jason Mohammed and Denesh Ramdin each struck half-centuries in T&T’s total of 290 for 5 after West Indies U-19 opted to bowl. Hope made 70 off 98 balls, adding 58 for the first wicket with Kjorn Ottley before teaming up with Mohammed to add 74 for the third wicket. Mohammed top scored with 84 off 73 balls and produced a 92-run fourth-wicket partnership with Ramdin before falling late in the innings. Ramdin took T&T through to the finish, ending on 60 not out off 42 balls to ensure the target would be well out of reach for West Indies U-19. Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre continued his fine tournament by doing most of the damage during a seven-over middle overs spell of 3 for 6 that accounted for top-scorer Emmanuel Stewart for 20 and captain Kirstan Kallicharan for 16. West Indies U-19 were eventually bowled out for 108 in 29.2 overs. Their final game is a rematch with Kent, the only side West Indies U-19 has beaten in the competition.(ESPN Cricinfo)
SCOREBOARD ICC AMERICAS K Leverock c wkp Thomas b Leveridge 14 H Tariq b Jacobs 32 N Kumar b Brown 1 A Amsterdam b Campbell 28 S Wijeyeratne lbw b Jacobs 19 A Dodson c Campbell b Jacobs 12 T Allen c Powell b Jacobs 0 N Dutta lbw b Jacobs 0 S bin Zafar c Powell b Jacobs 6 Jasdeep Singh c Jacobs b Sewell 0 Muhammed Ali Khan not out 5 Extras (w13, nb3) 16 TOTAL (all out, 31 overs) 133 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-23, 3-89, 4-91, 5-113, 6-113, 7-113, 8-122, 9-123, 10-133. Bowling: Leveridge 5-0-17-1 (w3, nb2), Brown 5-1-27-1 (w7, nb1), Powell 3-0-19-0 (w1), Jacobs 10-1-34-6 (w2), Campbell 5-0-25-1, Sewell 3-0-11-1. SCORPIONS C Walton c Wijeyeratne b Jasdeep Singh 15 S Taylor b Muhammed Ali Khan 1 P Palmer c wkp Tariq b Muhammed Ali Khan 17 A McCarthy c wkp Tariq b bin Zafar 47 D Thomas c Leverock b bin Zafar 43 J Campbell not out 9 R Powell not out 0 Extras (w2) 2 TOTAL (5 wkts, 23.4 overs) 134 Did not bat: D Jacobs, D Sewell, G Brown, R Leveridge. Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-16, 3-48, 4-114, 5-133. Bowling: Jasdeep Singh 5-0-26-1 (w2), Muhammed Ali Khan 6-1-392, bin Zafar 7-0-29-2, Dutta 5.4-0-40-0.
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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 12, 2017
Six goals scored on Petra/ Milo U-18 opening day A TOTAL of six goals were scored on the opening day of the Petra/Milo U-18 football tournament when play commenced at the Ministry of Education ground. In the first game, it was easy pickings for Masters Academy as they decimated Bishops’ High 3-1. James Walcott scored a brace for the Academy side in the 12th and 48th minute while Teon Vankenic slotted home the third in the 59th. Bishops’ High, who took the lead early on through
Darin Chan in the 5th minute, were not able to find the back of the net again. A no-show for Houston Secondary meant that St Rose’s High got a walk over, while game three between North Ruimveldt and St Joseph High ended 1-1. Jerren Shepard put St. Joseph High in the lead in the 61 st before Omar Sinclair 66 th minute goal ensured that said lead was short-lived. The final game of the afternoon,which featured two
time defending champions Chase academy against Freeburg,saw the former winning via a walkover. Action continues today with Lodge Secondary taking on St. Mary’s Secondary school while Kingston will have to play East Ruimveldt. Tucville and St. John’s College will play game three while Morgan Learning Centre and Charlestown Secondary will play game four. (Stephan Sookram).
Action on the opening day of the Petra/Milo U-18 football tournament (Cullen-Bess Nelson photo)
Resurgent Powell reveals Simmons helped convince him to return to cricket ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – Resurgent lefthander Kieran Powell has revealed that an “inspirational” conversation with sacked former West Indies coach Phil Simmons, helped convince him to make a return to competitive cricket. The 26-year-old Powell took a self-imposed two-year break from the game, only returning towards the end of last year’s first class season. During the time away, Powell unsuccessfully tried his hand at American baseball, trying out with the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Powell said he was determined to return to cricket especially after the Simmons’ initiated contact. “I did a bit of baseball, started some businesses but there was one day when I received an email from Phil Simmons stating that he would love to have a chat with me,” Powell told Massy Insurance Line and Length Network. We exchanged numbers by email and then we spoke and he said he would be really interested in having me come back into cricket and West Indies cricket. “Unfortunately, as we know, he is no longer the team coach but that phone call was very inspirational to me and that’s probably one of the most important reasons why I am back playing cricket today.” In his first regional first class innings after abruptly walking away from the game in 2014, Powell hit a cameo 55 for Leeward
Islands Hurricanes against Guyana Jaguars in their penultimate game of the season at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium last March. He scored 33 and eight in the final game against Barbados Pride and gained selection for the West Indies A tour of Sri Lanka last November where he had modest returns with 119 runs from six innings in the three-match four-day “Test” series. Ironically, Trinidadian Simmons was abruptly sacked two months prior for what the West Indies Cricket Board described as
Kieran Powell has so far crossed the 500-run barrier for the Regional Super50 tournament.
“differences in culture and strategic approach”. Powell hinted at form during the first half of the current first class season but the runs finally came during the ongoing Regional Super50 where he has already plundered over 500 runs with three centuries and two half-centuries. The Nevisian said a combination of factors were behind his run of form in the tournament. “I’ve been putting in lots of hard work, [working on my] physical fitness as well, working with my coaches, being more mature, being settled in marriage – that helps me as well to just go out and play my natural game,” Powell explained. “My wife supports me a lot which is bonus. It helps me to go out and play my style. Also the team environment is just conducive to the guys going out and expressing themselves with no fear of failure. “Obviously in the fourday matches, it didn’t go necessarily the way I would have wanted it to but I have started to turn the corner now which is a blessing so hopefully I can continue to do good things from here.” Powell, who has scored just under 1100 runs in 21 Tests and nearly 800 in 28 One-Day Internationals, was once viewed as a long term solution to the West Indies opening woes. And with that problem still not solved, Powell’s form is likely to propel him into contention, with En-
gland, Afghanistan and Pakistan all expected to tour the Caribbean this year. However, Powell said his major focus at the moment was on leading Hurricanes to the capture of the
Sacked former West Indies coach Phil Simmons … played a pivotal role in Powell’s return. Regional Super50, and not on West Indies selection. “I try and control what is controllable for me. I’m just trying to put my best foot forward. Obviously I try and bat every game as if I haven’t scored a run in the tournament which is my incentive and motivation to go out and get big scores every game,” he stressed. “Hopefully I can continue to do that for the team and the team continues to win, and if that all leads to a re-selection to the West Indies team, then we’ll be grateful for that. If not, I’ll just continue to try and pile on some runs in the fourday tournament as well.”
Wilson elected president of United We Stand Cycling Club … Leung back as Secretary
PRESIDENT of the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Franklin Wilson has taken on the challenge of being at the helm of the United We Stand Cycling Club (UWSCC) which is based at 49 Old Road Craig, East Bank Demerara. Also elected on the executive are the experienced Joseph Britton as first vicepresident,with the second and third vice presidents’ positions taken by Michael Bradford and Englebert Leung. Returning as secretary is Maria Leung with Renita Perrier as treasurer. Elected to serve as Assistant Secretary / Treasurer is Debbie Jeffrey. The club will shortly be naming its Club Captain and Coach, respectively. Franklin Wilson – UWSCC president Wilson thanked the members of the club for reposing such confidence in him after being approached to serve in that capacity,noting that the club felt that he had something to offer with regards to taking them to a next level. He promised to do his best towards charting a solid developmenMaria Leungtal path for the club and UWSCC secretary for the young riders and advised them that staying in school with a view towards achieving academically would be encouraged. UWSC is one of the youngest clubs affiliated to the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF). Wilson also stated that he would be reaching out to other clubs with a view to working with them for the benefit of the sport and athletes in general, in Guyana.
Stampede at Angolan stadium kills 17, injures See story scores on page 30 2017 Limacol
Santos down Pouderoyen; Police ‘arrest’ Riddim Squad By Stephan Sookram
Part of the action on Friday evening at the GFC ground Bourda when Police took on Riddim Squad. Police won 2-1. (Delano Williams Photo)
THE battle continued Friday evening in the 2017 Limacol round-robin knockout football tournament with Santos beating Pouderoyen 3-0 while Police ‘arrested’ Riddim squad 2-1 at the GFC ground. In the first game, the Santos side found their groove in taking apart Pouderoyen,with Keith Caines and Okinie Frazer each finding the back of the net in the 35th and 40th minute respectively. Robby McElcoccon would then seal the deal for the Georgetown based side in the 52nd minute as Santos moved into the second spot in Group C,above Ann’s Grove and below leaders Den Amstel. Santos is tied with Ann’s
Grove on points (3) but have a goal difference of +2 as against +1. However, all it would take for Ann’s Grove to move onto the next round is a draw against table toppers Den Amstel,who are on six points. Both teams clashed last evening and should Ann’s Grove win, they will take the lead on the points table while should Den Amstel win, Santos will then sneak through. In game two, the Guyana Police Force guaranteed their spot in the next round with a 2-1 win over Riddim squad. Qunicy Holder scored for the boys in blue just before the first half whistle(43 rd ),while Dorville Stewart responded for the Riddim Squad in the 60th. It would take the intervention
of Dwayne Jacobs two minutes into injury time to seal the game. With that win, Police move onto 7 points in group D while Mahaica occupies the second spot with a game in hand. They faced Camptown last evening and needed only a draw to confirm their progression. A loss by more than four goals however would give Camptown that second spot. In Group B matches this evening, the fight goes on for the second qualification spot at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground as Western Tigers (9 points) are through to the next round. The battle is between Eagles, who are tied with Uitvlugt on points with See page 30
Time to regroup and refocus, says Griffith –– As Jaguars turns attention to PLC resumption By Rajiv Bisnauth FOLLOWING the abrupt end to their NAGICO Super50 campaign, Assistant Coach and Manager of the Guyana Jaguars, Rayon Griffith, admitted that the Jaguars will need to regroup and refocus before the resumption of the Professional Cricket League’s (PCL), Regional four-day tournament. The PCL will resume on March 10. The Jaguars crashed out from the Super50 tournament on Thursday last, following their final preliminary game. “Definitely we are disappointed not to progress further because every time we go out there, we are representing 700,000 or more people, but having said that its cricket… sometimes you win sometimes you lose, so all we can focus now on is to regroup and refocus ahead of the four-day
tournament, which resume next month,” Griffith, a former Guyana pacer said. He indicated that the many dropped catches, and the top-order batting failure, are the two main contributing factors to Guyana’s dismal performances during the tournament. “We had some good times, we won four and lost four, but the dropped catches cost us badly. If we had taken those opportunities we could have restricted teams for under 250 runs, which will then put our bowlers in a better position.” The 38 year-old Griffith added “On the batting part we had a top-order problem. We just could not have provided that start when we needed it the most, and that also cost us”. Further Griffith feels that the lack of self-belief and the time of execution would have played a role for some of the batsmen.
“I feel some of the batsmen had need a bit more ‘belly’, the lack of self-belief and the time of execution were simple not their… as coaches we can do so much in preparing them, but they are big men, and they need to take up the responsibility,” Griffith revealed. This is the first time since 2013 that Guyana has not made it to the ‘final four’ in this format. However, Griffith, who is also the Chairman of the senior selection panel, pointed out that there were few positives from the disappointing performance. “Raymon (Reifer) had a very good tournament with both bat and ball. Shiv (Chanderpaul) has displayed his experience…in fact he was the only batsman to score a hundred for us, Leon Johnson as well was consistent in the middle, young Hetymer made 94 in the last game, so there were some positives,” Griffith opined. The Jaguars finished with 18 points.
Guyana Jaguars won four and lost four Regional Super50 matches
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2017