Guyana chronicle e paper 07 07 2017

Some relief for Black Bush cattle farmers Page 17

No change in policy No. 104966

FRIDAY , JULY 7, 2017

Price: $80

(VAT Inclusive)

… U.S. assures Guyana that relations will not be adjusted

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Second paddy shipment off to Mexico Page 16

Security guard found dead Page 10

U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, (partially visible) introduces U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon to President David Granger while Francisco Palmieri, acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs looks on (Ravin Singh photo)

Young men under pressure

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–– because of culture of greed, says sociologist

Way cleared for term limit appeal to CCJ

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Stronger procurement, whistleblower legislation needed –– to protect Guyana from oil curse, says anti-corruption expert

STRONGER procurement and whistleblower legislation are among key areas that must be seriously addressed to protect Guyana against the oil curse.

Guyana is expected to pour its first barrel of oil in less than three years, but even as it prepares to do so, it is being urged to strengthen its procurement system and protect persons who might report suspicious and /or corrupt activities.

Addressing these matters was Trinidadian anti-corruption activist, Professor and fellow of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Afra Raymond, who was among numerous speakers leading a two-day discussion titled, “Public corruption and the Oil Curse,” held at the Pegasus Hotel.

Raymond told an audience of diplomats, private and public sector representatives, representatives from the legal fraternity and civil society that Guyana’s procurement legislation is inadequate.

Although commending

strides made in the procurement system, he pointed out that section of the 2003 Procurement Act has “loopholes” allowing for unscrupulous activities.

Raymond contended that the section of the Act referring to international agreements was specifically engineered to create an opening.

The Act states that its provisions will apply, “… unless they conflict with any provisions made applicable by virtue of an international agreement.”

In other words, international agreements of any financial size could be made outside of procurement laws, he said.

Raymond also took issue that Cabinet has the right to review contracts as stated in the Act. The Act declares: “Cabinet shall have the right to review all procurements the value of which exceeds G$15million.”

The academic views this as interesting, given the relatively low threshold in relation to Guyana’s exchange rate, pointing out

that in his homeland, “…we would regard it as backward if Cabinet had the power to review procurements of a size like that.”

With regard to the provision that stated a procurement contract would be given to the lowest bidding contractor that complied with requirements of the bid invitation, Raymond said that such a mechanism should not be used where intricate building designs, large finances and technical issues are involved.

He said they can however be used for much simpler matters, where items are identifiably specified, pointing out that the lowest-bidder mechanism could prove detrimental to development when oil money comes, especially when there is not much addressing contractor work performance.

Raymond did note however that the Act speaks to barring contractors from public works, and pointed out that in TT, contractors could be barred for as much as 10 years for poor, shabby

Professor Afra Raymond work. and custodial penalties for The anti-corruption ac- persons who fail to uphold tivist said state agencies the office for which they involved in procurement would have been responshould have a specific per- sible. son handling these matters It is for this reason, he who should be held account- said, the legislation is seeing able. a huge fight because govern“We have to make this ment and other high officials a question of personal re- are subject to it. sponsibility,” Raymond recThere is a suspicion that ommended, noting that the large sums of money are upcoming TT procurement siphoned off during prolegislation deals with fines curement.

This issue has plagued other oil-producing nations which use large portions of their oil money for infrastructural construction.

Raymond said it was found in TT’s oil sector that two out of every three dollars was stolen or wasted.

He recalled too that in 2012/2013, work at the Piarco Airport had been budgeted for some $1.6B and investigations later showed that at least $1B of that money was siphoned off, leading to officials being charged and prosecuted.

He also noted that in these instances, hardly a corrupt act in public office is usually done between two persons, noting that research has shown that just under 10 people usually know what is happening.

As such, he said, provision must be made for persons who report corrupt acts.

Guyana’s State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) and Procurement Act give some amount of protection to whistleblowers.

No change in policy

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

… U.S. assures Guyana that relations will not be adjusted

By Ravin Singh in Grenada

GUYANA, and the region by extension, can breathe a sigh of relief since there is no intention on the part of the United States (US) to alter relations with the country or region.

This was the assurance given by US State Department Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon, during a meeting with the Guyanese Head-ofState in Grenada on Wednesday evening.

Since the election of Donald Trump to the White House late last year, fear and uncertainty had gripped the minds of many world leaders and even those in the Caribbean, since his ascension is expected to usher in a change in foreign relations. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has already indicated its interest in meeting with the US President to discuss pertinent issues which affect both the region and the US. However, Guyana’s Head-ofState was fortunate enough to have met Shannon who said his government remains committed to preserving its relations with Guyana and the region.

“I feel very confident after that meeting. What he [Shannon] said last evening was reassuring; that there is no intension on the part of the new US administration to alter its relations with Guyana” President Granger told reporters. He said that both the Caribbean and the US are interested in “consensual and

peaceful outcomes,” and at present, he does not believe there is any threat to the stability of the Caribbean.

“I don’t think at present there is any threat to the stability of the Caribbean. I feel that anything that happens in

see the Caribbean speaking with one voice when we speak to the US administration. I’m very confident that anything which could be described as uncertain will be clarified by the end of the year.”

sult of changes in its administration, is uncertain; UK policy, owing to its resolve to exit the European Union, is uncertain; EU policy, after the expiration of the Cotonou Accord, is uncertain and AU policy, within the African,

President David Granger engages US State Department Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Thomas Shannon, on the sidelines of the 38th Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Grenada on the evening of July 5. the US will have an impact on the Caribbean and vice versa. Over the last 25 years we have had closer relations with the US and we feel that the present President, or we hope, he will have an engagement with us” the President said.

President Granger who is the immediate past Chairman of CARICOM, stated too that the regional bloc sees the US as a “trusted partner,” even at the bi-lateral level. Further, he stated that: “We want to

During his speech at the opening of the summit, President Granger said that Caricom was erected purposefully on four pillars -- integration, human and social development, foreign policy coordination and security. The Community could collapse if these pillars are shaken, he said noting that Caricom finds itself in an international situation today that is replete with uncertainty and complexity. He stated then that US policy, as a re-

Caribbean and Pacific group, will be driven by the continent’s collective interests, different from CARICOM, and is uncertain.

“The Community has vital strategic interests to protect and promote in its international relations. It is imperative that it engages foreign states to preserve its interests. The Community also must ready itself for negotiations with the UK, EU and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of

States.

The emergence of these groups of states will play a prominent role in international relations in the twenty-first century, just as the seaborne empires dominated the nineteenth century and the rise of independent states characterised the twentieth century.

The Caribbean Community cannot cling to an obsolete model of insularity in light of these international changes. The mirage of fifteen airlines, fifteen cricket teams, defence forces and fifteen embassies in the capitals of the world might mesmerise a few sentimental romantics but could deplete the treasuries of our states.”

According to the President the Community, challenged by the constantly changing international situation must redouble its efforts to ensure a more safe society for its citizens, more stable economies for its countries, deeper solidarity and a more secure hemisphere.

Guyana and the US share strong bilateral relations.

Guyana has one of the highest diaspora population, per capita, in that country according to the US State Department. On the economic side, US-based oil giant ExxonMobil is among the largest companies operating in Guyana. That company is currently drilling for oil just offshore Guyana.

Only recently, the US released its strategy for engagement with the Caribbean, via a report titled: “Caribbean 2020: A MultiYear Strategy to Increase

the Security, Prosperity, and Well-Being of the People of the United States and the Caribbean”. That report outlines the US’s strategy to engage the Caribbean in the areas of security, diplomacy, business, energy, education, and health.

In addition, earlier this year, Latin American and Caribbean exports returned to a path of growth after four consecutive years of contraction.

In the first quarter of 2017, the value of goods exported increased 17 percent yearon-year, having contracted 2.9 percent in 2016. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in a report had said that for this incipient and unstable recovery to become sustainable, factors that have been generating uncertainty in the global economy must be reversed. Further, it pointed out that real growth in the US, China and the European Union (EU) could sustain the export recovery in the next trimester.

Meanwhile, CARICOM has raised concerns with the US about the withdrawal of correspondent banking from the region – a move which many believes could potentially cripple regional economies. Up to earlier this year, CARICOM Secretary-General (SG) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque informed reporters that while the region has made its case internationally, it is still awaiting a response and resolution to the issue from the US and those banks involved.

Task force created to tackle noise nuisance

AN Inter-Agency Task Force on noise nuisance has been established by the Ministry of Public Security to ensure that citizens live in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, and free from undue discomfort.

On Thursday, the ministry in a statement said it has collaborated with stakeholders to ensure a

greater enforcement of the laws and regulations governing noise nuisance so as to reduce the discomfort caused by noise pollution country-wide.

Coordinator of the task force, Deonarine Ramaroop, said too that the other objectives of the Task Force is to enforce silent zones, eliminate the proliferation

of loud music in public transport vehicles, recommend amendments to laws that allows the use of available technology to establish, and measure noise levels for the purpose of compliance and prosecution, curb random and spontaneous open air and roadside “boom boxes”, examine complaints made from

industrial noise and take necessary action as deem fit to eliminate or reduce the level of noise discomfort.

Ramaroop noted too that with the enforcing of the existing laws, there may be a need to create new rules governing codes for all buildings that caters to the use of amplified sound equip-

ment.

The task force comprises of representatives from the Ministry of Public Security – (Coordinating Agency), the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Com-

munities, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown and the Guyana Revenue Authority.

Members of the Public are being urged to ensure that the environment is free of noise pollution.

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Woman in Liliendaal fatal crash gets bail

A CAREGIVER was placed on $500,000 bail after she was charged for causing the death of Debra Pompey of Belle West, Canal #2, West Bank Demerara (WBD) by dangerous driving.

Twenty –seven- year- old Tecona Welcome, of Austin Street, Campbellville appeared in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Alisha George.

It is alleged that on June 24, 2017 at Lilliendaal Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD), Welcome drove motor car PSS 7195 in a dangerous manner causing the death of 36-year-old Pompey, a former employee of Medicare Pharmacy.

Welcome who was represented by Attorney-at-law, Nigel Anthony, is expected to make her next court appearance on August 4, 2017. Recently, Welcome was also charged for having her blood alcohol level above the legal limit of alcohol consumption. She was placed on $20,000 bail for a driving under the influence of alcohol charge and will report to court for that matter on June 29, 2017 The accident, which rendered injured the five other occupants of the ill-fated vehicle, among them the driver, reportedly occurred at around 23:40hrs on June 24.

According to the police, motorcar PSS 7195 was proceeding west along the embankment when

Welcome, lost control of the wheel.

Among those injured when the car crashed into the southern rail of the westernmost of the two bridges at Liliendaal were 20-year-old Rodlyn Grace of Blygezeight Gardens; 18-year-old Shameica Martin of Beterverwagting, ECD; the deceased 26-yearold sister, Tushana Hubbard; and 30-year-old Saskiya Boyer of Lodge; Welcome, suffered a fractured left arm, was discharged and is assisting with the investigation.

The girls were returning from a bridal shower celebration at Giftland Mall along with her five other friends when tragedy struck.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

Two to stand trial, two freed for Emancipation Day murder TWO men allegedly involved in the Emancipation Day execution of former murder accused Orin David were on Thursday committed to stand trial in the High Court.

Both Howard Rambarose,25; and Jermaine Jeffers,24; were committed to the High Court by Magistrate Judy Latchman after the court found that a prima facie had been made out against them.

They are expected to stand trial in the next sitting of the Demerara Criminal Assizes. Regus Lamazon and Samuel McIntyre were also two alleged suspects involved in the murder of David, also known as Malik, but following a Preliminary In-

quiry into the murder case, Magistrate Bess ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to link the duo to the crime, he discharged the matter and told the men that they were free to go.

It is alleged that Rambarose and Jeffers, on August 1, 2016, at Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, unlawfully murdered Orin Malik David. According to reports, 33-year-old David, a former murder accused and father of five was shot and killed during a heated argument he had with some men over money. The man then left and returned with others, piercing the now deceased with bullets as he moved towards the vehicle of the alleged

suspects. The injured man was then rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

David, who is no stranger to the Police, was freed back in February 2015, after spending five years in prison for the murder of a Mahaica woman, Lakhram Bishundial in 2010. Bishundial was shot and killed during a robbery at Hope Turn, East Coast Demerara.

In addition, David was on July 12, 2015, charged with unlawful possession of firearm after he had allegedly thrown a gun in a trench nearby, during a Police patrol exercise in July 2015.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Good Officer process proposed to solve Venezuela’s crises

By Ravin Singh in Grenada

AMIDST unprecedented economic and political crises in Venezuela, Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have agreed to propose the Good Officer process to solve those problems.

This announcement was made by Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, at a press conference on Thursday evening at the Radisson Hotel in his home country Grenada.

The press conference followed the 38th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, which was held at the same location from July 4-6.

“CARICOM Heads of Government offered the Good Officer to facilitate this dialogue. CARICOM heads of government mandated the chairman of the conference to communicate with the parties concerned in Venezuela, about this offer,” Dr Mitchell told regional journalists.

During the two-day deliberations between the heads, the chairman noted that there was a reaffirmation of the guiding principle to the rule of law, respect for human

rights and democracy, as well as for the fundamental principle of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of states.

He said that the regional bloc remains concerned about the difficult political, economic and social situation in Venezuela, in particular the increase in violence and polarisation between the government and opposition, and its effects on the people of Venezuela. “…recognising the urgent need to find a solution to the present situation, that this had to be sought internally. CARICOM heads of government call for all parties to commit to engage in a renewed dialogue and negotiation,” the chairman said.

He added that this is being done with the intention of developing a comprehensive political agreement with established timetables, and concrete actions and guarantees to ensure its implementation for Venezuela.

Meanwhile, immediate past Chairman President David Granger also weighed in on the neighbouring country’s crises, offering that “we are obviously quite concerned with the situation in that country.”

The President expressed

that both Guyana and CARICOM are happy that the conference took a “principled position” on the situation.

“We are interested in a peaceful outcome to the troubles in Venezuela and we will continue to work as a community and we will continue to work within the framework of the OAS [Organisation of American States] to ensure that everything possible is done… to get a peaceful outcome; one that satisfies the people of Venezuela and one that keeps the region a zone of peace,” he said.

In April of this year, Venezuela signalled its intention to leave the OAS. The notice begins a twoyear exit process from the Western Hemisphere bloc that had become a forum for its neighbours to exert pressure on Venezuela.

Venezuela is in the midst of unprecedented economic and political crises, marked by severe food and medicine shortages.

Critics of President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, are contending that Venezuela’s economic woes are the fruit of years of economic mismanagement, while Maduro’s supporters are blaming falling oil prices and the country’s

“corrupt” business elites.

The CARICOM region has benefited tremendously from an oil arrangement with Venezuela over the years.

In 2015, the oil-producing country opted not to renew its arrangement with Guyana, due to an ongoing border controversy.

Venezuela is claiming two-thirds of Guyana’s land space, including maritime space where oil deposits have been found.

Shot Lindener on drug possession charge A 27-YEAR-OLD resident of Linden on Thursday appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Leann charged with drug possession.

It is alleged that on June 27, 2017, Glen Mc Curdy of Canvas City Wismar, Linden was found at the Omai Landing having in his possession 350 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

According to Attorney at Law, Glen Hanoman, Mc Curdy was shot in his back with a high-powered weapon by a police officer, leaving a bullet hole in his client’s upper buttocks. The Attorney also stated that Mc Curdy was taken to the Mackenzie Hospital on the night of the

incident, where he was given treatment. The day he was discharged the police contacted Mc Curdy’s mother giving instructions that she take him to the Eve Leary Police Station where he stayed up until July 6, 2017.

According to the Prosecutor, a police rank had seen Mc Curdy with a bag in a suspicious manner and decided to approach him. Mc Curdy then took a cutter out and attempted to chop the police officer. Mc Curdy continued to advance and the police officer then shot him in his right abdomen. The police checked Mc Curdy’s bag and uncovered 350 grams of cannabis. It was then shown to the defendant and lodged at the police

station. The injured man was then taken to the Mackenzie Hospital for treatment.

The Attorney stated that there are special reasons why his defendant should be granted bail, since his wife died two years ago and he is the sole provider for his six-yearold daughter, but the primary reason being his medical condition. The father of one was told that his wounds should be cleaned every day or the wound can be infected.

However, bail was opposed by the prosecutor and denied by the magistrate.

The father of one will be under police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital and is expected to return to court on July 18, 2017.

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Editorial

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

Changing our society ONE of the consequences of allowing a society to descend into a state of disrepair is that when a decision is taken to tackle the problem, the will to do so is often lacking.

This may well be the case with Guyana. The change of government in 2015 brought a new sense of patriotism and purpose among sections of the society. We witnessed a spontaneous outpouring of civic engagement which was highlighted by the clean-up campaigns around the country. It is easy to point fingers at the political directorate for its failure to harness and steer that new energy to a place of hope.

But our problems run deep in national veins. The last three decades of structural adjustment, imposed from outside and administered locally, have taken their toll on the country.

President David Granger has called it right when he some time back that the damage done to this country during the ‘decades of troubles’ is most manifest in the demoralisation of the public and security services, the erosion of public trust and the lowering of the ‘quality of life.

The rapid rise of unbridled individualism, accompanied by a decline of collective commitment to community and country, has produced a changed society in which the very rule of law has been compromised and national values have been discarded. Partying is now a notional priority, even as patience with reflection has waned. Young people opt out of organised national endeavours when they do not discern

individual gains and older citizens have retreated to their narrow confines.

One just has to look at the way we use the roadways; it is difficult not to conclude that civility and regard for the community are no longer part of our national consciousness.

From the minibus drivers to the commuters to the drivers of private cars, we seem to have signed on to a destiny of disorder and disregard for life and limb. As the frequency of road fatalities rise, reckless driving has become more entrenched.

What is worse is that nobody seems to care. There are more law enforcement offices on the streets, but they appear to be helpless in the face of the anarchy around them.

While we quote statistics to show a decline in crime, one cannot help but take note of the gruesomeness of the murders -- such as the one on the Corentyne on Wednesday, when a teenager slit the throat of a taxi driver and other forms of violence that are in our faces every day.

Life has somewhat lost its value in Guyana; the threat of the sanction of the law is no longer a deterrence to crime.

We seem to have given up as far as ensuring that our society graduates citizens whose respect for life is paramount.

The recent attempted robbery on Republic Bank with young men being involved must alert all of us to the urgency of now, to quote Dr. Martin Luther King. The stories of these men, their jobs and their families compel us to act now.

Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, has promised to deal

with this issue at an upcoming event. He however commented that: “It is not a nice scene and pretty negative to know that people who graduated will be the masterminds for crime.”

Ramjattan said too: “These are bright kids,” lamenting they have done their parents wrong by attempting to rob a bank.

This act, he said, was one of greed and showed immaturity.

Amid the despair the recent results of the National Grade Six Assessment exams gave us hope that our country is slowly being rebuilt. It is time that our politicians on both sides of the political divide come to grips with the fact that Guyana needs repair work beyond political rhetoric. While our leaders spar about macro-economics and politics, our nation is dying at its very soul. But it’s not only our politicians who must take responsibility for our condition; the citizenry at large has to find its collective soul again. Something drastic and intentional has to be done to pull us back from the brink.

What an error! What damage to be undone!

Dear Editor, I WANT to acknowledge what a great relief it was when the EU office admitted that its recent statement about its assistance for the sugar sector was in great error; that assistance was not G$ 348 billion as first asserted but just G$ 34.8 billion!

There had been a decimal point error! Former Presidents Ramotar and Jagdeo had been correct in their expressions of hurting consternation about that first asserted figure. No doubt that error provided fertile ground for speculations about a further, over G$300 billion of allegations about massive corruption.

OK, to err is human. I recall myself at one time being uneasy about a number reaching me but under time pressure I let it go, only to be determined soon thereafter that there was an embarrassing decimal error. To err is human, but much damage

was done over the more than 120 hours that this error stood, damage not only to us the PPP/C, but to Guyana to our national reputation and to increasing the bitterness between our peoples. What is to be done to have this damage undone?

Our Minister of State, Joe Harmon, had gone to town wondering where the PPP/C had diverted the additional over G$ 300 billion intended for sugar workers.

He sounded like he had become the lawyer for GAWU and our sugar workers. Honourable man that he is I am expecting that at his next press conference he would acknowledge how mistaken he was, and undo the impression that there is another G$ 300 billion unaccounted for.

Some say that it is a particularly ill event that doesn’t bring some good, and this event shows how easily allegations of corruption could be mistaken. As former President Ramotar has been acknowledging, recognizing

that we, PPP/C, are but humans he could not and would not assert that there was no corruption, but he would assert that the allegations of corruption were grossly exaggerated. As PU/NICIL and my colleagues, the former Finance Minister, Ashni Singh and the former CEO of PU/NICIL were put into the news again, recently.Let me say again that I see intense policy differences, the completion of the Mariott Hotel against Motions passed in Parliament, as the motivation for the allegations against them. It needs no saying – I stand with them.

We have had two years of the forensic audits and very little has come of them so far. In the early flushof excitement of the change in Government and the natural excitement of making discoveries, it seems like many were carried away in what they said and what others understood them to say. Every two or three weeks the public

has been told that someone is about to complete his advice and charges will be laid soon. How much is there really that merits charges. The antics associated with the charges of theft of law books against former Attorney General, Mr. Anil Nandlall should give everyone cause to pause and wonder. SOCU and our Police have found themselves being made to look foolish, explaining that they were pursuing a warrant to search for ‘Law Reports of the Commonwealth’ not ‘Commonwealth Law Reports’.

Even so, my school books would urge me to wonder why would such allegations of corruption find appeal? Firstly, we were not perfect as former President Ramotar acknowledged, coupled with the human inclination to try a change (after 23 years) and, at times, to accept any excuse for the change. Secondly, some political adroitness of our

opponents, our present Coalition Government (they have our best propaganda man). Perhaps we made our accomplishments appear too easy, not wanting others to know about the difficulties and uncertainties we faced.

Our Honourable Finance Minister told our GMSA a week or two ago that there is no investment money for constructing a hydropower station in Guyana, (in addition to misrepresenting the recommendations of the latest Amaila report). However, we, PPP/C, had put together a good project for the greening our people and country and can do it again.

Perhaps if we could have brought our people into the confidence of our difficulties, then perhaps they would have shared in the achievement of bringing a Marriott to Guyana and not engage in the ill-founded pursuit and persecution of my colleagues and friends, Ashni

and Winston. Perhaps if our then young President Jagdeo, in the bitterness of the violence flowing subsequent to our PPP/C win at the 1997 elections, could have not let drop his early, open, welcoming invite to all and sundry, “I need your help”; perhaps if our 2011 jingle about ‘all the roads and buildings we building’ did not end, “dem ah watch we” but “come and join we”; then maybe there would not have been that urge to deny, pull down and belittle us and our achievements and grab at any allegations of massive corruption, no matter how far-fetched. After two years and seeing how questionable are the allegations of wide spread corruption, let us bury that hatchet and get back to developing our people and country.

Regards Samuel A. A. Hinds Former Prime Minister and Former President

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7 2017

We the youth need to Ban on lewd music in public save our generation Dear Sir,

Dear Editor

GUYANA is a beautiful country inhabited by beautiful people, however, that does not negate the fact that we have mountainous issues.

What I have noticed with time is we as a people continuously fail to confront these mountains for varying reason. Instead, we talk around these issues, cast blame and somewhere along the line we expect things to materialize by our mere utterances or expectations.

The youth make up on average 60% of our populace and have the unenviable task of dealing with these mountainous issues. We are also the ones who turn a blind eye to those issues and slum into a place of dependency as if we cannot confront them. We are also the ones who contribute to making issues mountainous.

We’ve set up elite organizations that require CVs and other stringent application processes inclusive of interviews for a simple a task of being a

volunteer, automatically saying to a large demographic you are not qualified to be here.

What’s even worst is that our programming does not facilitate the development of the demographic we shun; instead we give handouts and provide little solutions. How can one justify giving one hundred dollars to a homeless person when what he really needs is a roof above his head.

We have failed to have a strong single or united advocate, settling for the status of being the silent majority.

Individually we are strong and may voice our concerns and disapproval but together we are stronger and our voice can never go unnoticed. Many of us are muzzled and in some cases spew hate and cause strife because of party affiliation, but to what end? To maintain a divide or to keep a job? We must come to the understanding that our very decisions impact the lives of others; we need to determine if the impact is negative or positive.

We as youth must learn

to celebrate, support and encourage each other, we must create the environment that we want to live in and not be dependent on politicians to do so. We must forge relationships beyond the racial spectrum and be exemplary before those who are coming after us. We are more powerful than we can imagine. We are the movers and shakers of this nation, the engine of growth and development.

We can break cycles even though racism, violence and crime among our youth will probably exist long after we are gone. History can show that we are the ones who grabbed the bull by the horn and made strides that have never been made before. For the love of our people and the love of our dear mother land, we the youth need to save our generation and pave the way for generations to come. Let’s confront these mountainous issues now.

Regards Clayon Halley

ON 21st June, while watching television, I heard Dr. Barton Scotland make a call for a ban to be placed on the playing of lewd music in public. I write to support Dr. Scotland on this issue.

I ride the buses dai-

ly on my way to work. I am very disturbed by the lewd music that is played on some of the buses. The music contains obscene lyrics. More disturbing is the sight of teenagers boarding these buses in order to go home. Some of the teens are forced by the conductors into these buses. I hope

that Dr. Scotland and others will be able to use their influence to place a ban on the playing of lewd music in public. It is offensive to people who are not accustomed to that genre of music.

Regards Rev. Arlene Munro

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Young men under pressure –– because of culture of greed, says sociologist

By Rabindra Rooplall THE get-rich-quick environment and the need for men to always satisfy the requests of the opposite sex with expensive gifts are motivating factors in criminality, sociologist Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth has said.

“Boys would tell you that their girlfriends want brand name things which are very expensive, even on occasions of Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and whatever the occasion is, people are dissatisfied whether it is women or men, unless the gifts are those shiny and expensive things that lots of money can buy.”

Her comments come in the wake of the daring attempted robbery of the Republic Bank Water Street branch on Tuesday by Elton

Wray, 24, and his accomplices identified as Jamal Haynes, a Republic Bank staff member and Keron Saunders.

Wray was killed in the incident and soon after it was revealed that he had recently secured a loan from the said institution to purchase his Nissan Juke automobile, which he had parked in South Ruimveldt while attacking the bank.

He had studied in China on a government scholarship, obtaining a degree and worked at the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) as an agronomist.

Reports indicate that Wray was planning to visit his girlfriend in the U.S., but he did not have sufficient funds to make the trip.

Sheerattan-Bisnauth, who is also Executive-Director of

the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), said sometimes a personal dream does not coincide with their reality, and the way to a better life is hard work.

She stressed that focusing on self-development and becoming a better person is way better than having a huge mansion and a fancy car from ill-gotten gains.

Making reference to Tuesday’s incident, the sociologist said generally, core values and ethics are lacking in the education system, pointing out that “We need to further analyse what is happening in our society.”

Noting that she does not have specific information on agronomist Wray and his accomplices, Sheerattan-Bisnauth said there are many motivating factors that can contribute to a person deciding to choose crime.

The most popular she said, is greed, which she noted is dangerous with or without a degree or education.

GET-RICH-QUICK SYNDROME “When you want to get rich very quickly which happens among many youths, there is no focus on anything else, especially on growth and expansion of oneself. Everyone wants a job where they earn huge amounts of money. It’s a get-rich- quick environment where we are living and that is what the youths and many children are living by,” she said.

Youths molded in values and ethics will be less motivated to involve themselves in criminal activities, she said, and noted “This is lacking in our education system core values.”

Emphasising that the world economic order pushes many people into competition and greed, the sociologist said “What we are finding in Guyana with a lot of young persons is that they want to get rich quickly, and

they want to have all those things peddled on social media, the fancy cars, the fancy houses and fancy things in general.”

Sheerattan-Bisnauth, who is also a pastor, said even children when asked what are their wishes and dreams for their future, relate the very extravagant and expensive things, instead of the simple things that usually bring about happiness.

She said society is flooded with extravagance and opulence and many do not want to work very hard to attain such a lifestyle and persons with higher education and degrees attached to their names are not exempted from any form of criminality.

“It happens in high offices in all spheres and field, not only government, but a wide arena where people are driven by greed and plans are always made to obtain a heist in relation to where they think they may find that sum.”

Sheerattan-Bisnauth also pointed out that children are raised on many occasions where values clash with what “we want to see in society,

Sociologist Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth many times children steal and bring home things and they are applauded for such actions. It’s all about not getting caught; parents also do similar and related things.”

She contended that crime and deviance occur mostly when society provides little moral guidance to individuals and when there is a strain between society’s socially approved ‘success goals’ and the opportunities available to achieve these goals.

Crime, she noted, occurs when individuals still want to achieve the success goals of society, but abandon the socially approved means of obtaining those goals.

Police seek extended detention of suspected bank robbers THE Guyana Police Force has made an application to the High Court for permission to further detain the suspects involved in the Republic Bank Limited (RBL) botched rob-

robbery and died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

He recently secured a loan from the same bank to purchase his Nissan Juke car, which he

It was reported that on Tuesday morning, the three armed men entered the Republic Bank, Water Street Branch before it was opened to the public.

The alleged robbers wore

Dead: Elton Wray

Keron Saunders

Jamal Haynes

bery on Tuesday for another 72 hours.

Bank employee, Jamal Haynes and his gang members, Elton Wray (now dead) and Keron Saunders, were reportedly planning on getting their hands on the night deposits since it was a three-day weekend and companies would have deposited millions of dollars in cash.

Wray, a 25-year-old agronomist who went to China on a government scholarship and who was employed at the National Agriculture Research Extension Institute (NAREI), was shot in the chest during the

had parked in South Ruimveldt prior to attacking the bank.

Reports indicate that the robbery on the bank was planned three months before and the men even hijacked a car the night before.

Jamal Haynes of Norton Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown, was treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for gunshot wounds to both legs and is in police custody.

Haynes and Elton Wray were best friends and lived together in Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

masks, gloves and carried handguns. They opened fire on the RBL personnel inside the building. Professional Guard Service security personnel, who were on site, immediately raised an alarm and Armed Response Teams proceeded to the location.

Arriving shortly after the alarm had been raised, the teams assessed the situation and took up defensive positions with their police counterpart. Police said three firearms, including two 9 MM handguns and one .40 gun were found at the scene.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Guyana signs CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty

By Ravin Singh in Grenada

DESPITE an apparent push to intensify efforts to achieve deeper integration in the region, 10 of the 15 Caribbean Community

38th meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM at the Radisson Hotel, in Grenada. Of the 15-member states, a mere five signed on to the Treaty which was ratified in Georgetown earlier this year. The other countries

year later in 2009. Up to last year, only Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and Surname had signed the treaty.

According to the CARICOM Secretariat, the objective of the Treaty is to es-

President David Granger, on behalf of Guyana, on Thursday signed on to an agreement which seeks to establish the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CREEE). The other countries which signed on to the agreement were: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname (CARICOM) members failed to add their signatures to the regional Arrest Warrant Treaty when it was presented to them on Thursday.

The Treaty was brought before regional leaders at the

which signed on were: Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and St Lucia.

The Arrest Warrant Treaty was first opened for signature in 2008 and the first stage of ratification agreed on in Trinidad and Tobago a

tablish within CARICOM, a system of arrest and surrender of requested persons for the purposes of conducting a criminal prosecution for an applicable offence; or executing a custodial sentence where the requested persons

Pensioner fished out of Mocha trench THE body of a 65-year-old woman was on Thursday morning discovered floating in a trench at North Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Almost two days after she went missing, Rita Fredericks of Barnwell, North Mocha, EBD bloated body was found by her neighbour.

A post-mortem is expected to be performed as the body was taken to the Lyken Funeral parlour.

Reports indicate that Tuesday afternoon, Fredricks was seen intoxicating

herself with her husband at their home.

“When they collect their lil pension they does take a drink,” one neighbour said.

When Fredricks’s husband awoke Wednesday morning and saw her missing, he immediately began inquiring of her whereabouts from neighbours,but to no avail.

A group of persons then started a search in the village, but she was not found until Thursday after her husband had made a report at the police station.

have fled from justice after being sentenced for an applicable offence.

However, political offences and matters under military law are not provided for under the treaty. The Treaty is one of the regional security instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime and to reduce the complexity, cost and delays in the existing extradition arrangements inherent in the region.

Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell shared in an invited comment that more than five countries signed on to the treaty. “I think it was more than five”

he said, adding that he could not recall exactly how many countries signed on at the meeting. Based on information received by the Guyana Chronicle however, only five countries were listed as signatories to the Treaty.

What was acknowledged by the Chairman though, was the fact that not all 15 CARICOM countries signed on to the Treaty at the end of the 38th meeting of CARICOM leaders. Asked why this was the case, and if this shows some amount of reservation in terms of commitment from leaders, Dr Mitchell offered that: “Many of the countries had internal issues relative to the law itself to ensure that they dot their Is and cross their Ts.”

Given this circumstance, the Chairman said that the regional body gave these countries the chance to adjust their legal framework to match that of the Arrest Warrant Treaty before any attempt was made to sign on.

Meanwhile, President David Granger, on behalf of Guyana, also signed on to an agreement which seeks to establish the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CREEE).

The other countries which signed on to the agreement during the CARICOM meeting were: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Security guard found dead

POLICE are investigating the murder of a security guard at Hai Matadi Ishant Variety Store at Lot 16 Robb Street, Georgetown, in the vicinity of the Guyana Lottery Company, Thursday morning.

Dead is Sammy Prowell, 55, of Mocha, East Bank Demerara.

The body of the father of three was found with his throat slit and in a pool of blood outside of his workplace. It was taken to the Lyken’s Funeral Home and is awaiting a

post-mortem.

The deceased who was clad in yellow jersey and blue pants had a gaping wound to the right side neck.

His employer Mark Samuels said he worked with the Transportation and Protection Security Agency and was only on the job for about three months.

He said just after 07:00hrs, he received a phone call about the incident and rushed to the scene where he saw the gruesome sight.

Samuels, who described

the situation as unfortunate, ruled out robbery as a motive.

He described the deceased as a very rough person who had several arguments with drug addicts who frequented the area.

“I talked to the man about making friends instead of creating enemies on the job,” he said, adding that “This looks like something personal because there was no attempt to break and enter the store.”

Samuels said his company will take steps to assist the family with funeral arrange-

Workers attached to the store and investigators at the crime scene Thursday morning ments and will also offer sup- ment Security Service passed ing, police said that about 05:45hrs, an employee of port to Prowell’s three children Prowell on duty. since he lost his life on the job.

At that time there was a Cevon Waste Management Police said reports indicate female who sported dreadlocks made the discovery and that at about 23:00hrs on July standing about 45 feet away alerted the security at the General Post Office and the 5, 2017, another security guard from him on a cell phone. attached to Federal ManageOn Thursday morn- police were summoned.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Way cleared for term limit appeal to CCJ

THE Court of Appeal on Thursday granted leave to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in the term limit case.

In February, the Court of Appeal by a two-one majority upheld the High Court ruling that the presidential term limit is unconstitutional and void. Now retired Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Carl Singh, and Justice BS Roy upheld the High Court ruling handed down by former Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang’s, while Chief Justice (ag) nor Chancellor (ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards had disagreed.

Immediately after the ruling was handed down both Williams and Trotman, indicated that they intended to appeal the CCJ within 30 days of the hearing, and expressed confidence that their arguments will stand strong at the CCJ. Williams had filed a notice of application in March, requesting leave to appeal to the CCJ pursuant to section 6 (c) and 7(a) of the CCJ Act, Act No.16 of 2004.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal also ordered that the Attorney General lodge with the Registrar of the Supreme Court the sum of $750,000 as Security for costs within 90 days from the aforementioned date and that Williams satisfy the requirements of Rule 10.6 (2) (b) of the amended CCJ rules by providing to the proper officer within a period not exceeding 90 days, a list of the documents which he proposed to be included in the record of appeal. On Thursday, Williams was rep-

resented by Solicitor-General Kim Kyte and Trotman by Attorney Roysdale Forde.

Just before the May 2015 General and Regional Elections, Cedric Richardson, a resident of Georgetown had challenged the amendments made to Article 90 of the Constitution that were enacted in 2000 following a bipartisan Constitutional Reform Process. Chang later ruled, among other things, that the presidential term limit was unconstitutional without the approval of the people through a referendum.

Richardson contended that the term limit infringes on Articles 1 and 9 of the Constitution wherein Article 1 states that “Guyana is an indivisible, secular, democratic, sovereign state in the course of transition from capitalism to socialism and shall be known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana” and Article 9, states that “Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives and the democratic organs established by or under this Constitution.” It was as a result of the former Chief Justice’s ruling in July 2015 that the Attorney General and then Speaker of the National Assembly appealed against the ruling.

Meanwhile, Justice Cummings-Edwards in her dissenting judgment said Act #17 of 2000 did not require approval by referendum and noted that there is no dispute that it was validly passed and thus “I uphold the constitutional validity of Act No.17 of 2000.” She said too that insofar as Act No. 17 of 2000 purported to amend article 90 of the Constitution as former Chief Justice Chang ruled, the amendment was not un-

Truck driver gets one year for causing death charge A TRUCK driver who was charged for causing death by dangerous driving was sentenced to one year imprisonment by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

It was alleged that Zafar Khan on May 3, at Fifth Street, Section ‘A,’ Block ‘Y,’ Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, Khan, 28, drove GFF 9553 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Keturah Dalgetty.

Khan, a driver for a chicken-processing farm, pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read to him on his first appearance in the city court of Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who set bail at $500,000.

According to police reports, on the day in question, the driver was reversing his vehicle on the road when he hit Dalgetty, who fell and he rolled over her.

When the driver realised what had happened, he placed her in a taxi and took her to the Diamond Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Flashback: Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams (R), speaks with Attorney Roysdale Forde (L), following the handing down of the decision of the Court of Appeal on the presidential term limit case in February

constitutional but validly done.

Justice Cummings-Edwards cited Article 1 of the Constitution and questioned which aspects of the amendments have affected the country’s indivisible, secular and democratic nature, as well as sovereignty by the imposition of a term limit of two terms to the presidency.

“The answer is obvious from the ruling; Article 9 provides that sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it through their representatives and democratic organs established by or under this Constitution.

Clearly, the people of Guyana in whom sovereignty lies, no doubt exercised their sovereignty through their representatives, Parliament and local democratic organs. Richardson is being represented by attorney Shawn Allicock.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Body of missing man found in rice field

THE decomposed body of a man who was reported missing since June was found in a rice field on the Number 19 Village, Berbice highway on Thursday morning.

The body of Balraj Chaltu, called “Suraj or Raj”, 42, of Warren Village was discovered by a search party on Thursday morning after he was last seen alive on the 29th June 2017. According to the dead man’s sister Savitree

Chaltu, Balraj was last seen alive on the 29th June 2017 by persons in the area. A search party was formed for the man and after not finding him for a few days an official missing person’s report was made on the 2nd July 2017.

Speaking via telephone with the Guyana Chronicle from the United States, sister of the dead man, Savitree Chaltu called Leena, said she last heard from her brother on June 18 when she spoke

to him for Father’s Day. “I usually talk to him every day, and I talk to him of Father’s Day, but when I stopped hearing from him I became worried and called around to find out if anyone saw him after a few days, but they all told me no; that’s when I realise something may have happened, because even if he usually picks up and go anywhere he come back in two or three days.”

Leena said while she did

not hear from him she assumed he had gone out on a trip as he usually does for a few days, but she said she was told he was last seen alive on the 29th by a neighbour. She said her brother who lives alone suffered from epilepsy and was visually impaired which prevents him from getting jobs and earning. As such, he is taken care of by his relatives who resides overseas.

Further, she noted that Balraj Chaltu he had had a bout of malaria sometime back and his neighbour cooks and cleans for him. When quizzed on whether she knows of anyone who would want to hurt her brother, she said no, but noted that he had an incident sometime back in January with someone. “I don’t know if anyone would want to hurt him, but I know he was living home with someone and they had some domestic issues and a restraining order was filed against her.”

Lena further told this publication that a team of seven which included Chaltu’s father, brother and sister along with other relatives had already booked flights to come to Guyana to help with the search for

her missing brother. “Seven of us including my mother, sister and brother and some cousins were coming to Guyana on Saturday morning to help search for my brother, but this morning I got the news that they found his body,” the woman told this publication amid sobs.

“I was hoping that he was still alive, but they confirmed it was him, nevertheless we are still coming on Saturday to get more details and get to the bottom of how he died.”

Meanwhile, Commander of ‘B’ Division, Ian Amsterdam, said a post- mortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death. The commander continued that while the body was badly decomposed and partially eaten by fishes, there were no visible marks of violence at the time of discovery but investigations are ongoing to determine what may have led to the death of Chaltu and the post- mortem would be able to give a clear picture as to how he died.

Chaltu was a resident of the United States, however, he was deported in 1996 and had been living at Warren village since then.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Suspects in ex-serviceman murder released FOUR persons were detained for questioning by the police in ‘C’ Division for the murder of ex-serviceman of Sophia, Trevor Dublin, 49, have been released.

Commander of ‘C’ Division Calvin Brutus told Guyana Chronicle that based on their probe, the persons held were not responsible for the crime, and as such, the police had to release them.

He said the police have to locate the person(s) responsible and the investigation continues.

Brutus is encouraging persons with information to come forward so that the killer (s) who stabbed Dublin to death can be brought to justice.

The body of Dublin, who was employed at BK International, was found on ‘C’ Field Access Road about 22:15hrs on Sunday night by members of a police mobile patrol.

Murdered: Trevor Dublin The body bore a single stab wound to the left side chest.

A knife and a toque were found in proximity to the body and a resident of ‘E’ Field, Sophia was arrested.

A post-mortem performed on the body of Dublin by government pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh gave the cause of death as perforation to the left lung.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Guyana set to boost coconut industry by 5000 acres

GUYANA’S push to grow the coconut industry will see at least 5000 more acres being put under the plough in the near future.

This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr. Oudho Homenauth, who also announced upcoming plans to reveal a second phase of activities for the promising coconut sector.

He recently seized the opportunity to encourage cashcrop farmers in East Berbice, during an outreach there, to consider doing coconuts instead, since the constant floods in the region were making life difficult for them.

He said that with the proposed expansion of the industry by 5,000 acres, the total acreage of land under coconut cultivation countrywide will soon be 30,000.

Their biggest supply, Dr Homenauth said, comes from the Pomeroon, on the Essequibo River, where some eight to 10 acres of land are strictly dedicated to coconuts.

“We anticipate, based on our records and what we have at the moment, that within another two to three years we will see another 5000 acres in the Pomeroon,” he said.

And with good going, he told one East Berbice cashcrop farmer who seemingly has an interest in going coconuts, the same strategy may very well apply to Region Six. The farmer at reference, who seemed to be well informed, spoke authoritatively of the benefits to be derived from experimenting with hybrids and soil types, and employing planting techniques practised in Mexico.

Dr Homenauth said that he is well aware that farmers have been concerned about planting materials and other crop-related issues, and that is why they have been allowed to bring in planting materials from places like Brazil, and to some extent Mexico and Sri Lanka. Particular planting styles observed in Mexico have been said to increase quantity, and improve crop success.

Dr Homenauth said it is understandable that for the first, farmers would have to start small, but the coconut sector is one where they could comfortably become involved.

One farmer said that with the favourable prices coconuts are fetching on the overseas markets, Region Sixers have nothing to lose if they too dedicate 5000 acres of land to the cultivation of the fruit as the Pomeroonians have done.

Dr Homenauth couldn’t agree more, as the industry is open to anyone who cares to invest in it. “We do have a plan for coconuts as an industry,” he said.

On the subject of plantains, farmers at Crabwood Creek, on the upper Corentyne, were encouraged to continue growing it, as the area is one of the largest plantain producers in the country.

Dr Homenauth said that thanks to the many government interventions to improve production, the commodity has seen its highest production ever of in excess of 78,000 tons.

He said the emphasis is not squarely on plantain chips as a by-product, but noted that a breakthrough could be made in this industry, since many varieties of the commodity by foreign producers, continue to flood the local market.

The NAREI head said this should not be the case in Guyana, pointing to the country’s very own ‘Kaieteur’ plantain chip brand which is currently in the trial stage in local supermarkets.

Homenauth said that feedback is being sought on the item which is being sold at $140 per packet.

Apart from plantain chips, other products are being looked at, Homenauth revealed. “So you won’t have an issue with plantains in terms of marketing.” He said this could be achieved in the shortest possible time, hence the reason for emphasis being placed on the crop.

Guyana, for the first time, held its coconut festival last October and which was hailed as a great suc-

–– prospects also look good for plantains cess. Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin had stated possibilities surrounding the “new and non- traditional”

engagement. He said that coconut was ideal as there seemed to exist a “seemingly endless market.”

A plantain chip factory was also set to be opened in Leguan to encourage local production and con-

sumption of the product.

The factory is expected to commence operation this month.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Guyana better prepared to tackle cyber crimes THE Guyana Police Force has re-commissioned the ZARA Computer Training Centre to tackle cyber crimes which have emerged of late.

Among them are social media bullying, sharing of unapproved nude pictures and hacking of the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) mainframe software.

The computer training centre is now renamed the ZARA Cyber Security Centre and Detective Sergeant Julio Jonas, who benefited from cyber training through “Red Track” in Jamaica and Interpol courses held in The Dominican Republic, said Guyana is better prepared against crime threats.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has heeded the calls for a hands-on approach to fight cybercrime, and as such,

Detective Sergeant Julio Jonas with his international certification in cyber security they have been training ranks in the areas of cybercrime investigation.

Jonas said among other things, the training covered techniques in battling hacks, how to deal with cyber crime-related issues such as data recovery, covert and overt operations, intelligence-gathering and dark web, to name a few.

“The training I received has helped me to better understand the offences of cyber crime, the sources of the attacks and the way the perpetrators of these attacks think,’’ Sergeant Jonas said.

He explained that in today’s developing, technologically advanced society, there are remedies for dealing with emerging threats.

Other ranks who were also trained in Jamaica are Assistant Superintendent Mahadeo Singh, Sergeant Rodwell Serrabo and Inspector Dellon Elexey.

Jonas also underwent training in Dominica with Assistant Superintendent of Police Singh and did a certified Interpol Instructor follow-up course in Curacao.

He explained that the commissioning of the ZARA Cyber security Centre cements the force’s plans to battle cyber crimes in Guyana.

Sergeant Jonas is enthusiastic to share his newly acquired knowledge with members of the force, who will be selected for upcoming cyber security courses.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Blossom Inc on warpath against child sexual abuse … seeks additional funding as programme expands

DESPITE its need for additional financial support, Blossom Inc. has expanded its fight against Child Sexual Abuse to remote areas of the country.

Established in 2014 with support from the Child Care and Protection Agency, Blossom Incorporated is the only known NGO dealing with child sexual abuse cases in Region 2 through a Child Advocacy Centre. The Region is one of the most affected in the country.

“Child rape and incest transcend race, class, ethnicity and geography. It occurs on a daily basis and not too few of us dare to speak out especially when it involves family members and close loved ones,” the NGO said in a statement on Wednesday.

Despite the need for more finances, Blossom Inc. said it has been collaborating closely and effectively with the Police in ‘G’ Division - Sex-

ual Offences Unit, Childcare & Protection Agency, Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs and the Regional Democratic Council to raise awareness in outlying areas such as Bethany, Tapakuma, Capoey, Mainstay, Kabakaburi, Wakapoa, Akawini, Mashabo, Karawap and others. Child victims of sexual abuse are also being rescued through the organization.

“But the bugbear remains funding, as there is never enough to go around. The hope is that a greater number of public and private sector agencies will come on board in the coming months to forge a multi-sectoral approach to this issue as the little that’s available to us is drying up fast, especially when we move to tackle interior and remote locations,” the organisation said.

The work in the outlying communities stemmed from meetings Blossom

Inc. Managing Director Ayo Dalgety-Dean and Child Counsellor Bibi Barakat had with Toshaos from Region 2. There is reportedly an ever-growing issue of child sexual abuse in the region.

“They asked the organisation to visit their communities as they needed guidance, help, support and training in tackling the issue of child sexual abuse,” Blossom Inc said.

The outreaches to the outlying communities sought to enhance the villagers knowledge on the legislation relevant to children such as the Sexual Offences Act, Marriage Act, Sexual Reproductive Act, Disability Act and the Protection of Children Act. Child Abuse Prevention Watch Groups are being initiated which will see community members come together and devote themselves to preventing child sexual abuse and promoting child well-be-

ing.

The organisation said that without community participation, primary prevention programs cannot be successful.

Therefore, community members are best placed to know the community’s strengths and aspirations, vulnerabilities and needs. The organization also sees active community involvement as essential in developing genuine long-term capacity and sustainability.

“Life skills will be offered to community members in the form of Parenting Workshops, which will be delivered using an evidence-informed programme which empowers parents to meet their children’s core emotional needs. It offers a step-bystep guide for parents to learn how to raise emotionally healthy children and hence build emotionally healthy communities. This

will mitigate the risk factors that increase children’s vulnerabilities,” Blossom Inc. explained.

In June 2017, Blossom Inc. Programme Manager, Shaundell Shipley, participated in a multi-disciplinary team, which conducted child abuse prevention outreaches in Region 9. This included engagement with community members in two of the five districts and other stakeholders in the region. As part of the response, the team met with representatives from the Regional Democratic Council, Ministry of Public Hearth, Ministry of Education and the Guyana Police Force. The National Protocol for Child Advocacy Centres Multi-Disciplinary Team was shared with the Regional Health Officer and the Officer in Charge at the Lethem Police Station.

Blossom Inc. staff also oriented the officers of the

Sexual Offence Unit on the use of the protocol. Specialise sexual abuse medical examination, the single interview approach that is child friendly and developmentally appropriate and the responsibility of reporting child sexual abuse cases were discussed at length.

“A notable observation in the region is while there are systems in place for the reporting of child sexual abuse cases, it is not being followed,” the organization said. It is believed that this may have been as a result of the absence of a child protection officer in the region or lack of follow-up by reporting professionals in the region.

During the community engagement leaders were identified for the establishment of a Child Abuse Prevention Watch Group in South and North Rupununi.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Second paddy shipment off to Mexico … ambassador touts Guyana’s rice strands one of the best

THE second shipment of 17,000 tonnes of paddy destined for Mexico left Guyana Thursday afternoon and Mexico’s Ambassador to Guyana, Ivan Roberto Sierra, is optimistic that the strong relations between the two countries will continue to grow.

In an invited comment, Ambassador Sierra lauded the efforts of the Guyana Government in ensuring that all the requested requirements of Mexico were met in the shortest possible time.

“It is remarkable that from the business forum held in Mexico in March of this year systems were fast-tracked, allowing for the start of trade in a matter of mere months.

Thanks to the efforts of the players in both countries,” he said.

The ambassador singled out the role of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) in ensuring that all the necessary paperwork and general requirements of

the Mexican market were finalised with the local producers. He added that the two countries have started out on what will be a very fruitful relationship. The trade in paddy and rice could be just a start of a long range of products that could be sold on the Mexican market.

Asked about the possibility of Guyana’s producers selling packaged rice in Mexico, Ambassador Sierra said plans are already in the pipeline as he has been meeting with local producers of packaged rice and has provided them with samples of packaged rice sold in Mexico.

“I have showed them the quality of packaged rice on our market shelves in Mexico and I have told them that once the quality matches that which is sold there, then I see no reason why local producers cannot access that lucrative market,” he said.

The Mexican Ambassador has just returned from

Mexico’s Ambassador to Guyana, H.E Ivan Roberto Sierra a trip home during which he facilitated the fast tracking of paper work with the Panamanian authorities, relative to the next shipment of rice from Guyana to Panama which was today handed over to the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB). “The Mexican Embassy takes very seriously its role as a facilitator, but not only between the Governments of Guyana

and Mexico, but also other partnering states as is with the case of Panama in the rice trade,” the Ambassador noted.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder has welcomed the comments of the Mexican Ambassador, especially as it relates to the imminent opening up of the rice trade, which will be more lucrative than

the paddy deal. He reminded local producers that the 150,000 tonne limit gazetted by the Mexican Government is opened to all paddy producers in the region on a first- come-first-served basis. It therefore means, that if Guyanese producers are the first to apply for the entire 150,000 tonnes, then it is a win-win situation for the industry and Guyana as a whole.

According to the ministry, producers are allowed to apply for three tranches of 10,000 tonnes each. The first contract signed allows for a total of 60,000 tonnes to be shipped. The start of paddy shipments to Mexico, comes at a time when Guyana’s rice industry recorded paddy production of half a million metric tonnes for the first crop this year. The industry continues to hold strong inspite of the challenges facing rice farmers across the country.

Guyana last Friday commenced loading 17,000

tonnes of paddy for export to Mexico following that Government’s decision to allow tax-free importation of 150,000 metric tonnes of paddy and rice products from outside of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member states. The value of the contract is US$17.7M, the equivalent of approximately G$3.8B. Witnessing the loading of the first shipment of rice to be sent under the Guyana/ Mexico rice agreement, at John Fernandes Wharf, was General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Allison Peters. She said the contract to export the paddy is between two private companies, although the government-to-government export to the Mexican rice council is pending.

“We are due to visit them sometime later in the year with the hope of expanding on our exports,” she said.

Lethem flood victims get relief

THE Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Nine is providing relief to residents affected by flooding due to heavy rains and an increase in water levels of the Branco River (Rio

Branco) in Brazil’s Roraima State.

The increase in the water level of the river is preventing the Takutu, Ireng, Rupununi and other rivers in the region from draining,

resulting in flooding in the township of Lethem and other areas.

A release said the RDC took a decision to utilise its resources to bring about relief to the people. To this end, the Emergency Management Committee was established to manage and coordinate the disaster response operations, with technical support from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

Two emergency shelters have been established at Arapaima Primary and Culvert City Nursery Schools; these shelters have a total of 12 households (43 persons).

The floods have displaced a number of persons in Lethem and its environs and affected farms in all five sub-districts in the region.

Roads and bridges were also negatively impacted by the floods, resulting in the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force

A flooded area in Old Lethem between the Lethem Power Company and the Regional Guesthouse using their boats to shuttle people (commuters) between Lethem and St. Ignatius.

The Main Access Trail to Lethem is also affected by flooding, resulting in some areas being cut off and vehi-

cles becoming stuck.

The RDC through its Regional Emergency Operations Centre (REOC) is conducting ongoing assessments in the affected areas.

The findings of these

assessments will be used to plan and conduct relief operations and currently, the RDC is distributing treated water to affected residents.

The provision of other aid began on Thursday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

Wales Primary to accommodate differently-abled students

A SECTION of the Wales Primary School has been renovated to accommodate differently-abled students and is expected to open in September, National Special Education Needs (SEN) officer, Savvie Hopkinson said.

“Region Three is taking the lead and setting the pace in Special Needs Education.

You have become the third region, after Region Seven and Georgetown to establish a Special Education Needs (SEN) classroom/unit… you are therefore a leader and catalyst,” Hopkinson said.

Though Hopkinson dubbed the move as a little step in the journey towards improving the results of the education system, she, nonthe-less posited that it is of major significance.

“When our country accepted the principle of the fundamental right of all students to a suitable education and the persuasion that all children can learn, although differently, it was clear that the SEN population would be given priority so that every child could attain the curriculum goals,” she said.

The section of the Wales Primary School that has been renovated to accommodate the differently-abled students In this regard, the Education Ministry expects that special accommodations and modifications within the educational framework of student goals will be made and such plans are expected to drive the educational system.

Hopkinson made it clear too that “the Ministry has

not placed the responsibility of special education entirely on the shoulders of teachers”.

Aside from the available resources accessible by teachers, the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the University of Guyana now graduate teachers who are exposed to

special education modules.

“Today we must be convinced that while the task of educating the students with special needs is challenging, it is not insurmountable.

The resources and help that schools need reside in the region, as each region will soon have a resident SEN officer as part of the Region-

al Education Department,” Hopkinson announced.

While addressing the parents, students, teachers and regional officials, Hopkinson did not fail to highlight the work done by teachers around the country to ensure their special needs students get the education they deserve.

“These teachers know that surrendering to the challenges students present is not an option and they believe that blame-casting is not a game they can play. To them education is a co-operative endeavour and success comes through collaborative work,” she stated.

Hopkinson articulated that while these efforts do not always culminate with all students progressing to attain top schools, it always results in the production of rounded and better citizens; equipped to adequately discharge their responsibility to society and lead fulfilling lives.

Regional Education Officer, Penelope McIntosh in her remarks noted that this is a proud moment for the region, as they can now deliver a holistic education

in the region.

This sentiment was endorsed by Regional Executive Officer, Dennis Jaikaran, who disclosed that the region will not only have a SEN Unit but a contract will be signed shortly for the construction of a SEN School at Schoonord.

Jaikaran added that there are many teachers in the region who go the extra mile to ensure that children with special needs are catered for in the classroom.

The realisation of the SEN Unit at Wales Primary and the ultimate realisation of the special school will advance the steps taken by teachers, he noted.

While addressing the gathering, the REO commended the parents, headteachers, teachers and students for their outstanding performances at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) which saw Region Three being recognised as the second best performing region.

He added that a number of the students in the top one per cent are also from the region.

Some relief for Black Bush cattle farmers … as NDIA activates plan to release water through Torani Canal

By Nafeeza Yahya CHIEF Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Frederick Flatts, has said that based on the assessment from their engineers, they have put into action a plan that will see water being released out to the sea via various non-orthodox methods which should bring much-needed relief to the Cookrite Creek Savannah farmers as well as residents.

Flatts explained to this publication that the water level of the Canje Creek is the highest it has been since sometime in the 1960s that has led to the current situation. “What we are doing is essentially reversing the roles of the various canals in an effort to drain not only the lands and affected, but essentially we are draining the Canje because they are all [at] the same level right now; this is the highest it has been since 1960.

Even with the regulators closed on the Torani canal the water is overtopping the doors.”

The head of the NDIA explained that he and a team of engineers were in the area all day and managed to convince the farmers to allow them to release the waters into the irrigation canals then flush them out into the drainage canals and ultimately out to the sea. “We had a hard task at convincing

the farmers to allow us to let the water pass through the irrigation canals, because that could lead to flooding of not only their lands, but to the residential areas as well. However, given that this solution will also aid them, they have agreed and we have put into motion a plan which will bring relief to those affected.”

He explained that their team is working around the clock and by today they will have five pumps on the ground at five outfalls to drain water when the sluices are closed.

He said there will be a pump each at Adventure, Number 46, Number 49 and two at number 52 villages. Each pump has the capacity to drain at least 120 cubic feet of water per second. Further, he has deployed three excavators to different locations to put down several 30” HDPE tubing to allow the water to transition into the irrigation and drainage canals as well as clean the Fowler Canal in Black Bush Polder.

Flatts explained that works have already commenced on the HDPE tubes and by this morning at least four would be in position.

In addition, there are structures that are being rehabilitated to accommodate the excessive amount of water and allow for better control. “In addition, we are manning the various

sluices and pump stations and have people on the ground to monitor the situation real time, it will take some time but the people will get relief soon.”

Flatts further explained that the Torani Canal is also being used at this time to drain the Canje creek into the Berbice River. The Torani Canal was constructed to be used as an irrigation canal to top up the Canje creek during periods

he managed to bring out approximately 350 heads of cattle since the flooding and can now look to bring out more, since the prime minister has advised the stray catchers to pause their operations.

Deonarine explained that in order to bring out his cows, he has to walk them approximately six miles in the flooded conditions and place them 10 each in a boat and ferry them

A farmer tries to assist his cow that is trapped in mud when the water level drops, but due to the magnitude of water in the Creek, the role of the canal has been reversed.

350 SAVED Meanwhile, Seonarine Deonarine, a cattle farmer with over 700 heads of cattle in the Cookrite Creek Savannah, said

to the Black Bush pump where he uses a tractor and trailer to bring them to an area to load into trucks before transporting them to his home in Kilmarnock Village on the Corentyne.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that he has lost at least 150 thus far and expects to lose at least 15 more by weekend, based on

what he saw Thursday. “Me see it get at least eight big ones that sick that nah guh mek it and about nine more smaller ones that just waiting on time to die, I can’t do anything to help them, I just gotta try to see how best we can get the rest out before I lose more,” Deonarine related.

Deonarine said he understands that it was due to nature that they are in the current situation and is not blaming anyone, but would be thankful for whatever assistance they can receive at this time, since everything counts. “Me get about 350 heads at home and glad that stray catchers nah guh really bother me, because the space limited and some might roam, but me manage to walk a couple over six miles and get them to Black Bush and then bring them out with a trailer, but if them can open the main sluice door at Johanna me can hire a bigger boat and bring out them ones wah look weak and try fuh save them. Them other farmers can use the same boat and we can save a lot of them.”

He further suggested that a pontoon can be used to go through the Canje Creek and take the animals to New Forest or Gangaram where the creek is closer to the road to be transferred into trucks. He explained that with that method more

animals can be transported in a shorter period of time. He is also calling on the authorities to see if they can further assist by making available some molasses and bran to feed their animals. Over the past few weeks, over 1200 heads of cattle have been lost due to flooding caused by the overtopping of the Canje Creek; this has taken a toll on the farmers and they met with the prime minister on Wednesday, who called for an immediate assessment and action plan to remedy the situation.

After the meeting, several technical teams were deployed in the area and the NDIA has put into place an action plan to bring relief to the farmers. Further, the REO will lead a team to Baracara,Canje Creek, which will also include medical personnel into the affected area today to take supplies and provide medical aid to residents who may be affected by the water that is littered with carcasses of the animals. This newspaper was informed that the water level remains the same and more animals are getting sick daily.

The farmers have estimated their total losses to be over 100 million in the past few days and are grateful for whatever assistance can be provided for them.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

She rocks Feed the Flames’ Josi to launch solo album

IF YOU have never heard local singer, Josi, belt out one of her original tracks, picture Adele’s emotion and pitch mixed in with the sultry, jazzy style of Amy Winehouse.

And if that doesn’t give you enough to work with, then perhaps you’d need to listen to her songs yourself. And it’s worth the listen indeed.

This 19-year-old singer with the soulful sound and heavy vocals is relatively new on the market, but is ripe with potential for her ability to bring a new sound to local music, particularly in the Guyanese rock industry.

Having been one of the vocalists and the only female member of local rock band, Feed The Flames, since 2015, however, Josi, whose real name is Josephine Mitchell, is now about to explore the solo route and is working on her debut album, which is yet unnamed, scheduled to be released by year-end.

“I started singing professionally at the age of 16, but I have been singing for much longer than that; for as long as I can remember,” Josi told The Buzz.

The young artiste, who hails from Linden, met Gavin Mendonca from Feed The Flames, then later met the other members of the band at the 2015 Rupununi Music and Arts Festival. Soon after, she joined the band and has been making sweet music

with them ever since.

The band recently returned from playing at the Skyy Rock Festival in Trinidad and Tobago. While there, Josi performed her original single, Forgive which was well received by the crowd.

Apart from being the only female to perform at the two-day event, Josi was also the only artist to receive an encore from the audience. “The experience in Trinidad was an experience of a lifetime.

It is something I wish I could rewind and do again; it was amazing,” she said, adding that she is also grateful for the exposure the event has given her, even as she continues to work on her album.

“Forgive is about a relationship where two persons started losing feelings for each other and wanted to get back to where things were. It speaks about real issues that we experience. I write most of my own lyrics, but sometimes the band helps me,” she said.

Other songs in the making for her album, she said, are centred on love and other everyday experiences. She added that she recently also penned a track speaking out against suicide, a prevalent issue in our local society.

As the only female member of the band, she admits that they are extremely supportive of her and give her the respect that she desires. “I really enjoy working with the

band; they are all great, and all the boys are like brothers to me,” she said.

To help prepare her audience for what they can expect when her album drops, Josi has launched a YouTube Channel, Josi Music LIVE. The channel will feature videos of her performances, including at the Skyy Rock Festival, as well as other appearances that she will make in the future.

As she moves forward, she hopes that the listening public will be open to her new sound, and will share in her journey and her growth as she strives to place Guyanese music on the map.

‘Josi’ of Feed The Flames

Josephine Mitchell, aka Josi, performing at the Skyy Rock Festival in Trinidad in April

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7 2017

Bush tea and bush medicine --Our ancient heritage THROUGH the traumas of slavery and colonisation, much has fallen away from the memory of the ages that once maintained the normalcy before them.

Attempts to rewrite a false memory have worked for a while with damning results not in our interest, but some things have pierced the severe facades with a pounding resilience.

One such inherited capacity is the twin ability that found kinship from one tropical world to another, and afforded us the simple comforts of life.

In the hardships of social marginalisation, when the standards of doing well on the shopping list of manufactured products like Milo, Ovaltine and even tinned Coco beverage could not be always afforded, the knowledge of lemon grass, hyssop [tulsi] and chocolate stick tea with either cow’s or coconut milk more than sufficed.

Carrilla bush was a favourite cleanser of the old folk, not of the young victims, and yuh had fuh eat de pawpaw seeds, cause it good fuh yuh.

Today, we lament that our young people are weaker because they catch colds quicker. We also attribute this to global warming and a more severe sun. Both may have some truth to them, but few parents, with mothers in the workforce, have the time for corn flour ‘pap’ in the morning with ‘boil- and-fry’.

No baked bread either. Instead, it’s commercial bread with too much preservatives, and, in some cases, coloured brown to look like whole-wheat.

Nor are there the candy bottles [imitations on sale today are extremely inferior] with fruit set to prepare Vitamin C-rich fruit drink for sun-drenched young bodies after school.

The knowledge of the good and bad of the herbal world have served our survival effectively. When there wasn’t enough money to supply the tribe with new tooth brushes: No problem!

Blacksage stem did the job!

And the tiny fruits tasted good too! That is, if you could beat the birds, who also relished the blacksage fruit.

The calypsonian of old, ‘Bill Rogers’ created the national anthem of our ‘Bush Sellers’, and it’s time for his son to commence a remix of that national classic.

Much of today’s bottled medications sold in pharmacies [incidentally, the Greek word Pharmakeus refers to a Sorcerer, and is the origin word of Pharmacy] were stolen from ageless formulas created by genuine “bush medicine” practitioners throughout the ages.

But of course, there are also “bush medicine” quacks, hustlers who suddenly appear and offer “bush healing” for every ailment.

They, as well as some doctors, need to be in prison.

Doctors who will prescribe a chest of expired drugs as a placebo, knowing full well that the headache is due to dehydration and not hypertension because the patient had drunk “sweet-drink” or beer instead of water when thirsty. Thus, some knowledge is needed when confronting either “bush medicine” or pharmacy.

THE ‘BUSH DISPENSER’ Throughout the ages, there is much more to be said about the “bush dispenser”.

Modern medicine evolved out of the trials and errors of “bush doctors”, shamans and mystics who dabbled in primitive laboratories over thousands of years with herbal and fusion-formulas to heal, enslave, excite and to murder.

We do need to have a perspective of the vast world of “bush medicine”, and some simple awareness. Like, for instance, that “tea bush” is not boiled but drawn; meaning that any bush has to be first examined for blithe, insect’s eggs or any other not-supposedto be-there presence, then washed, and when the water is boiled and taken off the stove, then the washed bush

is placed in the pot to draw: That is, to get what you need to use and nothing else; no other not-recommended properties that the plant may have.

There’s lots of room for exploration outside of what we have inherited. For instance, I can remember my mother and even my God-mother discussing separately a formula for washing one’s hair that consisted of ochro leaves, and, I think, the vegetable itself, and commenting how great this person looked after the process.

Disinterest, and the fact that being male at that age, prohibited me from even considering enquiring about that formula, which was exclusive to the female realm.

These are the formulas that the First World eagerly steal, explore, repackage and resell us with other non-organic ingredients that quickly lead so many women to the wig club industry, having lost age-old safer techniques linked to herbal knowledge.

Most elements of the practices that revolve around the term “people do yuh” that are superstitiously linked to the spirits are in reality packaged through the knowledgeable manipulation of herbs, roots, barks of trees and mushrooms, at times with animal organs added.

Our collective ancestors inculcated dual formulas as old as the Sphinx, and those said to be ministered through the mystery systems by the resurrecting goddess, Aset [Isis] millennia ago.

I can remember a conversation I had with Clarence Young who heads the Phoenix Recovery Project-Drug Treatment & Rehabilitation Programme on the invasion of artificial marijuana concerning substance abuse, and artificial farming methods and its destruction of our vegetables first, then our herbal teas and folk medicines [couldn’t understand how his facility didn’t get State support recently] which means that our vigilance has to be proactive in recognising and protecting the usage of our cultural botanicals.

Historically, looking at “bush medicine”, because all knowledge is balanced

between the intent of good and evil, I believe that the purpose of the European inquisition was directed at the culture perfected by mainly female herbalists to gain control, through the use of aphrodisiacs and poisons that both killed and disabled mentally, over collaborating men of means.

Thus, they were branded witches and ritually murdered. Exploring that complex pool of human activity

will, however, require an article on its own.

In a past column, I recommended as good reading the local book, ‘Uses of Medicinal Plants in Guyana’ an Evergreen Club booklet. I do not withdraw from that recommendation, but I do suggest to its publishers that some specifics and disclaimers be added to the “Folk Medicines” section, because we live in a world where the tip of the scale rests with the

ignorance of the multitude and the legion of “tricksters” that incessantly prey on them.

I do admit that until I have the space to grow my own lemon grass, hyssop and nutmeg etc, I will engage the brethren and sisteren of the “bush stand” for affordable herbal teas and familiar cleansing bush to put in the same bag with my selected bottled supplements.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

‘One Voice’ can make a difference

--says Joelly Valentine

TWENTY-three-year-old Joelly Valentine knows she’s just one person, but she hopes that she can use her voice to inspire others, and in her goosebumps-inducing performance of her original song, “One Voice”, she said as much.

The song was writen by Joelly in just one day, as she sat down trying to put her thoughts together and come up with something to take to the Miss Guyana World talent segment.

“I was inspired by the Miss World Guyana journey I had embarked on. I wanted to give a piece of myself to the world, and I wanted the message to reflect my true emotions at that point in my life,” she said.

“I wrote the song within five to seven minutes during the month of May. My emotions made the flow easy,” the Mahaicony native told The Buzz. “’One Voice’ is about a person making a decision to do something to make the world better by first questioning their

own motives and contributions, and encouraging others to join the movement to create an ideal world for us all,” Joelly added.

The song asks, “What is my story? Do I walk my talk?”

And the simple answer is: “I am just one man, but I can move a mountain; just one voice, but one voice can make a difference.”

Even if the song doesn’t make you sit up and do some soul searching, hearing Joelly perform it makes you sit up and realise that this young lady has some serious chops; a beautiful voice for one pretty young lady.

The piece was produced by DP Records, headed by Darrell Pugsley, the man who put the music to the words. He was even instrumental in helping Joelly come up with a name for the song.

But “One Voice” isn’t the first song that the University of Guyana undergrad has ever written; it, however, marks a turning point in her life, in terms of giving some serious thought to a possible career in the music and song writing

on 98.1FM on June 7, Joelly gave an angelic performance when she did the piece for her MWG Talent Night contribution at the Tower Suites poolside, fittingly decked out in a two-piece Randy Madray ensemble.

“I really didn’t consider myself a singer until now,” remarked the former Mahaicony Secondary School student.

“I would just sing in church every other Sunday. I sang

industry.

Writing poetry since she was six years old, Joelly just always knew that she was meant to be artistic. But it wasn’t until she was around eight that she first began singing publicly; song-writing would come naturally some time later during her teen years.

But it took entering in the Miss World Guyana pageant earlier this year for her to decide that it was now or never.

After launching the song

in school whenever we had special occasions, and once I sang back-up in a Calypso performance for a Mash costume competition.

“At the beginning of my MWG journey, I felt inspired to write and sing, so I called Darrell and told him what my plans were.”

Though she did not win the Miss World Guyana pageant, Joelly has already shaken that off, and has been off promot-

ing the song since she released it earlier last month. And, of course, the reviews have been rave.

“I’ve received an influx of positive messages and calls.

Kids recognise me easily and call out to me, or point me out to their parents,” she said, adding: “I’ve witnessed people cry when they listen to it.

Whenever I go home, people ask me to sing. And I do.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7 2017

The National Hip Hop and Poetry Slam returns to 704 Sky Lounge, and starts tonight with the first preliminary round!

It’s Latin Night with Desperados Tequila Beer Specials at the Vintage Wine and Cheese Lounge! Get two Desperados Tequila Beers for $1000!

TOMORROW GuyanaPalace.com presents ‘Let It Rock Party’ at The Other Place!

Unite once again and rock the place senseless. DJs will make your adrenaline levels hit new peaks by dishing out track after track of ear-pounding, head-banging music.

Can you handle it? Admission: $500 all night.

IT’S time to weekend again people! And you can get the ball rolling from tonight, with quite a few happenings around town!

It’s all about that hookah-and-corona vibe over by the Tower Suites poolside, while there’s a Latin ambiance over at The Vintage Wine and Cheese Lounge on Lamaha.

There’s a Georgetown Grand Prix going down at the GMRSC on Saturday. And if you’re looking for that perfect summer forbidden fantasy, check out Palm Court.

Or you could just go unwind over at The Strip and enjoy some cold Guinness.

On Sunday, there’s a viewing party at the 704 Sports Club for the Australian Grand Prix.

TODAY

Hocorona presents Corona Friday After Work Lime at Tower Suites poolside! Enjoy Corona Buckets and finger-licking platter specials.

For one night only, the Timehri Film Festival will be hosting a special screening of “A Bitter Lime” by Max Orter at the Dutch Bottle Café!

The film is an Australian-American-Guyanese Independent feature film, which begs the question: “What if your dreams came true?”

Are you ready to have your hottest summer fantasies brought to life?

Pulse Entertainment presents Taboo “My Forbidden Summer Fantasy” at Palm Court!

For One Night Only, Guyana’s #1 Night Spot will be transformed into the sexiest night of summer with music by the best DJs, and drinks to put you in that Party Mood.

Ladies Free Before 22:00h. Tickets $2000. Pay more at the gate.

Enjoy pure suspense and fast-paced action at the Georgetown Grand Prix at GT Motorsports, located at Albert & Thomas Road (GMRSC)!

Go out and witness young and top competitors like Elliot Vieira, Matthew Pang, Jeremy Tenpow, Emma Vieira and many more compete for the top position, taking their best skills to the track! Races start at 18:00h!

Admission: Adults $1000, Children $500, VIP $4000 (includes finger foods and refreshments).

It’s “Guinness on the Strip” at The Strip Hookah Lounge Restaurant at the Giftland Mall, with juggling by DJ King Keev and DJ Reality!

SUNDAY

Experience the Austrian Grand Prix at 704 Sports Club this Sunday.

Breakfast specials will be available!

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday July 7, 2017

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

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SCOREBOARD WEST INDIES innings E. Lewis c Kohli b Pandya 9 K. Hope c Dhawan b Yadav 46 S. Hope c Rahane b Mohammed Shami 51 R. Chase lbw b Yadav 0 J. Mohammed c & b Jadhav 16 J. Holder c Dhawan b Mohammed Shami 36 R. Powell c wkp. Dhoni b Yadav 31 A. Nurse c Kuldeep Yadav b Mohammed Shami 0 D. Bishoo c wkp. Dhoni b Mohammed Shami 6 A. Joseph not out 3 K. Williams not out 0 Extras: (lb-1, w-6) 7 Total: (9 wkts, 50 overs) 205 Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-76, 3-76, 4-115, 5-163, 6-168, 7-171, 8-182, 9-205.

Bowling: Mohammed Shami 100-48-4, Umesh Yadav 10-1-53-3 (w-3), Pandya 6-0-27-1 (w-2), Jadeja 10-1-27-0, Kuldeep Yadav 10-0-36-0, Jadhav 4-0-13-1 (-).

INDIA innings A. Rahane lbw b Bishoo 39 S. Dhawan c Lewis b Joseph 4 V. Kohli not out 111 D. Karthik not out 50 Extras: (lb-1, w-1) 2 Total: (2 wkts, 36.5 overs) 206 Bowling: Joseph 7-0-39-1, Holder 8-1-35-0 (w-1), Bishoo 8-042-1, Williams 8-0-40-0, Nurse 4-0-34-0, Powell 1-0-6-0, Chase 0.5-0-9-0.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

DIGICEL Schools football, Region 6 leg

Skeldon High inflict 9-0 thrashing on CCSS

By Colin Bynoe SKELDON High inflicted a crushing 9-0 defeat on Central Corentyne Secondary School (CCSS) as action in this year’s DIGICEL nationwide schools football championship resumed on Wednesday at Burnham Park.

The championship took a two-week break, as coordinator of the championship Mr Peters rescheduled matches due to the inclement weather and other factors.

Play in the lone encounter for the day brought together CCSS and a starting seven-man Skeldon High.

The lads from Upper Corentyne went on a goal-scoring frenzy - goals coming at regular intervals. Early goals from Javon Angel in the 6th

Skeldon High School goalscorers.

minute and Lester Reynolds in the 14th minute gave Skeldon High full control of the match from the beginning.

It suddenly became a one-sided affair when two late goals came off the boot of Mark Matthews in the 20th minute and Oswald Gewan in the 36th to close off the first half. The score read 4-0 at the halfway stage in favour of Skeldon High.

The final period was a riot as a nine-man Skeldon High hit home five more goals, three of which came from Steiner Peneus in the 38th, 44th and 60th minutes, which secured a lop-sided win to propel them to the other round.

The championship resumes today at Burnham Park.

Winifred Gaskin battle Corentyne Comprehensive High at 15:30hrs.

Female inter-county U-19 T20 bowls off today

DESPITE the unfavourable weather conditions, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) female inter-county Under-19 T20 tournament is set to commence today, with two matches at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

According to information, the tournament concludes on Sunday, with two matches each day.

In the opening round, Essequibo will take on Demerara at 09:00hrs, while Berbice play the President’s XI at 13:30hrs.

On Saturday, the President’s XI will face Demerara at 09:00hrs, with Essequibo playing Berbice at 13:30hrs.

On Sunday, the President’s XI will play Essequibo, while Demerara face off with Berbice at 13:30hrs.

The tournament is the benchmark used to select the Guyana team for the upcoming regional tournament.

Kittel bursts through to win Tour de France stage six

By Julien Pretot TROYES, France (Reuters) - Marcel Kittel once again had too much power for his rivals as he burst through to win a bunch sprint at the end of the sixth stage of the Tour de France yesterday.

The German sprinter looked to be struggling as the leaders roared towards the finish in Troyes but ended up winning the sprint by a bike’s length for his 11th Tour stage victory.

The Quick-Step Floors rider, who also won the second stage, crossed the line in front of Frenchman Arnaud Demare and fierce rival Andre Greipel.

Kittel and Greipel are now tied for Tour stage wins, but Kittel has been looking in ominous form on this Tour and he will be the favourite again for today’s seventh

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stage that takes the peloton over 213.5 km through the vineyards from Troyes to Nuits Saint-Georges.

a good wheel to follow in Demare, and then I had to go on my own from 250m. I feel good at the moment, and for

Quick-Step Floors rider Marcel Kittel of Germany reacts after winning the stage. (REUTERS/ Benoit Tessier)

“I’m proud of my team, they did a great job because it was a very different finish to Liege,” Kittel said after the 216km ride from Vesoul.

“The last kilometre was a little bit freestyle, but I had

sure I have (the green jersey) in my focus.”

In the points classification, Kittel trails Demare (FDJ) by 27 points, after Peter Sagan, who was targeting a sixth consecutive green

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jersey, was kicked out of the race for sending Mark Cavendish crashing in the finale of the fourth stage.

Sagan’s team, Bora-Hansgrohe, appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but sport’s highest court rejected their request of having the world champion reinstated.

Race leader Chris Froome finished safely in the pack to retain the yellow jersey, 12 seconds ahead of his Sky team mate Geraint Thomas with Italian Fabio Aru (Astana).

“This was one of my most relaxed days on the Tour de France,” said Froome.

The GC (general classification) contenders will return to proper action on Sunday for a stage featuring three out-of-category climbs and a dangerous descent into Chambery.

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Brilliant Kohli condemns Windies to another series loss KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – West Indies were overpowered by a dazzling unbeaten hundred from India captain Virat Kohli, as they slumped to another series defeat with a heavy eight-wicket loss in the decisive fifth One-Day International here yesterday.

Entering the contest at Sabina Park on a high following their sensational victory in the fourth ODI five days ago, the Windies were brought down to earth by Kohli’s high-class 111 not out which helped the Asian powerhouse to overhaul their target of 206 in the 37th over and clinch a 3-1 series victory.

The century was Kohli’s 28th in ODIs and a record 18th in run chases, and he provided the ideal finale for the series after he had struggled with failures in his previous two innings.

He struck 12 fours and two sixes in a 115-ball knock and put on 79 for the second wicket with opener Ajinkya Rahane who made 39 off 51 balls before adding a further 122 in an unbroken stand with Dinesh Karthik, who stroked an unbeaten 50 from 52 deliveries.

West Indies had earlier failed to capitalise on a strong start as their batting collapsed yet again and could muster only a hugely disappointing 205 for nine off their 50 overs.

The increasingly dependable Shai Hope gathered a top score of 51 off 98 balls while his older brother Kyle Hope chipped in with an authoritative 46 off 50 deliveries.

Captain Jason Holder slammed a frenetic 36 from 34 balls and all-rounder Rovman Powell, 31 from 32, but none of the top six carried on to three figures.

Seamer Mohammed Shami claimed four for 48 while new-ball partner Umesh Yadav picked up three for 53 with his pace.

Opting to bat first on a good surface, West Indies appeared to be riding on the momentum of their recent win when they took the attack to India’s bowlers at the start.

Kyle lashed nine fours in an attacking knock, dominating a 39-run opening stand with lefthander Evin Lewis (9) before adding 37 for the second wicket with his younger brother.

Lewis never found his touch and lofted the 20th delivery he faced to mid-off where Kohli took the offering off seamer Hardik Pandya, but Kyle put the Indians on the back foot with a pair of off-side boundaries in the fifth over off Umesh and another pair off Shami in the 10th over.

His gusto got the better of him in the 16th over when, after taking two consecutive boundaries of Umesh, he attempted

a third and was taken at short mid-wicket by Shikhar Dhawan off a sharp pull at 76 for two.

Roston Chase lasted one ball, plumb lbw to Umesh and Jason Mohammed added 39 for the third wicket with Shai Hope before slapping an innocuous delivery back to off-spinner Kedar Jadhav to perish for 16 at 115 for four in the 31st over.

Going at a run rate of well under four, the Windies were in need of impetus and got it from Holder, who slammed four fours and six in a 48-run fifth-wicket stand with Shai Hope.

The pair were wresting back control of the innings when Holder’s ambition cost him dearly, holing out to an excellent running catch at long-on by Dhawan off Shami in the 40tj over.

His dismissal triggered a slide from which the Windies never really recovered as four wickets fell quickly for just 19 runs.

Shai struck five fours en route to raising his third half-century in the 38th over but skied a heave at Shami and watched as Rahane took a superb tumbling catch at mid-wicket in the 42nd over at 168 for six.

Shami quickly cleaned up Ashley Nurse without scoring and Devendra Bishoo for six, leaving Powell to slam a pair of sixes at the end to get the Windies past 200.

West Indies then got the early breakthrough they needed when the left-handed Dhawan tamely drove seamer Alzarri Joseph to Lewis at short cover to fall in the first over of India’s reply for four with five runs on the board.

But the hosts squandered the chance at another wicket in the fourth over when Bishoo put down Rahane on five at point off Holder. The miss proved costly as the righthander combined with Kohli to put the innings on solid footing, in a knock that contained five fours.

By the time he played around a straight one from Bishoo and was lbw in the 19th over at 84 for two, India were well set and Kohli used the platform to plunder the Windies bowling.

He brought up his half-century off 67 balls with a cover-driven boundary off off-spinner Nurse in the 22nd over and then required only another 41 deliveries to reach three figures.

The right-hander stroked seamer Kesrick Williams to the wide long-on boundary to bring up the landmark before clearing the ropes at long on with off-spinner Chase to take his side over the line.

See scoreboard on page 25.

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

GABA League to begin on Sunday

By Stephan Sookram BASKETBALL fans and players will have six months of continuous indoor and outdoor action, as the Georgetown Basketball Association (GABA) officially

launched its League yesterday at Banks DIH Thirst Park.

The tournament will feature 10 teams competing in first, second and Under-23 divisions with game days set for Saturdays and Sundays

as well as Wednesdays and Thursdays.

According to GABA president Adrian Hooper, “We have started the league outdoors due to the unavailability of the Sports Hall but we are going to finish (the tournament) at

From L-R: Kester Gomes VP of GABA; Adrian Hooper, president of GABA; Clive Pellew, Brand Manager for Rainforest Waters; Banks DIH PRO Troy Peters and Outdoor & Events Manager Mortimer Stewart (Delano Williams photo)

the Sports Hall.”

He added, “What we would have done to boost the competition is to add second division back to the league.

It’s been out for a while so my team, what we have done is we have added back to the competition, to have everybody playing basketball.”

Hooper noted that the plan is to have a resurgence of bas-

ketball in the capital city with more teams and fans coming out to show support for the sport.

Meanwhile Brand Manager of Rainforest Waters, Clive Pellew contended, “Banks DIH is proud to be a part of this event under our Banks Malta, Powerade and Rainforest Waters brands. On behalf of Rainforest Waters, we’ve

been in the business for 20 years and opportunities like this we are proud to be associated with.”

The tournament will feature the Colts, Ravens, Kobras, Guardians, Pepsi Sonics, Nets, Knights, Trojans, Pacesetters and Eagles.

Bounce-off time is 18:00hrs on Sunday at the Burnham hard court.

28

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

GUYANA FOOTBALL FEDERATION INC. (GFF)

Extra Time

Althea Austin – I fell in love with defending…

After seeing her cousin enjoying the beautiful game of football approximately four years ago, Althea Austin wanted to join the fun and became a footballer. That road has been interesting having begun her game playing among boys then eventually joining the Foxy Ladies Football Club before moving on to the Fruta Conquerors Football Club.

In explaining how she became a defender, the soft-spoken Austin said, “As a defender, you see the game from behind…I tried midfield and every position of

the game and I fell in love with defending. My coach also told me I could be a defender.”

Austin said she is happy to represent Guyana in female football and looks forward to even more growth in her game. “I feel good as it’s the first time so much emphasis is placed on women’s football and I want to be a part of it.

The males often think that girls cannot play football so I’ll prove them wrong.”

The aspiring Judge and football coach who hails from the Georgetown GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centre (ATC) said her ATC has aided the development of

her speed and dribbling skills while her national training camp experience has instilled the need for discipline.

Austin will be among national women footballers who will participate in the 2017 CONCACAF Women’s U17 Qualifier from the 9th – 13th August in Guyana at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora. Group D comprises Guyana, Barbados and Cuba.

This is the first major tournament for the women’s national Team, commonly known as the ‘Lady Jags’ and will be used as a developmental activity for the said team. In preparation for the tournament,a national training camp was held in May 2017.Other camps will also be held The tournament will feature 18 countries in five groups including Group A: Trinidad and Tobago, US

“I feel good as it’s the first time so much emphasis is placed on women’s football and I want to be a part of it. The males often think that girls cannot play football so I’ll prove them wrong.”

muda, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba Group D: Guyana, Barbados and Cuba and Group E: St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & Nevis and Jamaica.

This will serve to decide the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup; three teams will qualify for the World Cup

Virgin Islands, Grenada and Curacao; Group B: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Anguilla and the Bahamas; Group C: St. Lucia, Ber-

GAME SCHEDULE FOR GUYANA: • Wednesday, 9th August – Guyana vs Barbados • Friday, 11th August – Barbados vs Cuba • Sunday, August 13 – Guyana vs Cuba Match times will be confirmed

CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION OF FUTSAL CLUBS IN GUYANA Given the current interest in Futsal locally, the Guyana Futsal Association is stepping up its registration of clubs all across Guyana.

The Guyana Futsal Association is a registered affiliate association of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), which was established t o e x c l u s i v e l y s p e a rhead the professional development and administration of Futsal in Guyana. The Guyana Futsal Association is managed by a team of elected office bearers comprising a President, Vice President, Secre-

ities 5. Contribute to the development of Futsal in their communities and Guyana as a whole

tary and Treasurer.

Registered clubs have the following privileges and benefits: 1. Become familiarized with Futsal as a discipline of the Global Football industry 2. Receive technical assistance from the Guyana Futsal Association so that they can become formalized 3. Engage in tournaments and competitions organized and approved by the Guyana Futsal Association 4. Attend training workshops, retreats and other educational activ-

Interested individuals, club owners and executives can contact any of the Guyana Futsal Association's Executives as follows: A. President (a.g) Kenrick Noel 687-4680 B. 1st Vice President (a.g) Mark Young 6211313 C. Secretary RawleAdams 623-3323 D. Treasurer Aubrey Major 691-5460.

Local U15 national team engaged in a futsal game

PRODUCED BY THE GUYANA FOOTBALL FEDERATION INC. (GFF) AND DESIGNED BY THE GUYANA CHRONICLE

For further Information or should you have questions/comments , please contact: General Secretary Guyana Football Federation (GFF) 17 Dadanawa Street, Section “K” Campbelville, Georgetown TEL: +1 592 227 8758 ext. 102 FAX: +1 592 225 2096

e-mail: gff@networksgy.com WEBSITE: www.gffonline.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/GuyanaFootballFederationInc INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/guyana_football_federation_inc/ SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/guyana-football-federation-inc LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/guyana-football-federation-inc TWITTER: @GFF_Inc_

29

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

Root hits unbeaten 184 on captaincy debut

By Ed Osmond LONDON, England (Reuters) - New England captain Joe Root rode his luck to make a battling unbeaten 184 and lift the hosts to a commanding 357 for five on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s yesterday.

Root, dropped twice, and Ben Stokes (56) shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 114 to dig England out of a deep hole after they had stumbled to 82 for four at lunch having won the toss in excellent batting conditions.

The skipper reached his 12th Test century by sweeping spinner Keshav Maharaj for three, raising

Today is closing date for RSTC’s six-race horse race meet

HORSE race owners and trainers have until 16:00hrs to register their animals for participation in the Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) meet. In collaboration with the Guyana Women’s Police Association, the RSTC will be staging a six-race oneday meet at the club’s facility, West Coast Berbice on Sunday, beginning at 13:00hrs.

The activity was originally planned for June 25 but was postponed to Sunday due to the inclement weather that prevailed around that time of the year.

According to reports, with the improvement of the weather conditions, the track is currently in excellent condition and the organisers are eagerly awaiting the start of the first event.

Six races are on the card and over $3M in cash and trophies are up for grabs.

The feature event will see horses classified `G’ and Lower battle over one mile for the $300 000 first prize. The second-place finisher will receive $150 000, while the third-place animal will earn $75 000.

Other events on the day’s programme will feature `I’ Class and Three-year-old Guyana-bred horses `K’ Class and Lower, `J1’ and Lower animals, `L’ and Lower and `L2’ and unclassified horses.

Among the top animals already registered for the day’s programme are: Settling Star, Appling Harvest, Got to Go, T&T, Cat Messiah, Bird man, Chelsea, Red Jet, Red Regent, Something Special, Bridal Stone Corner, Party Time, Puppy Tail, Richie Poo, Seven Dust, Little Star and Untruly.

Local marksmen continue to impress ahead of WIFS Championship LOCAL marksmen continue to show encouraging progress ahead of the Guyana National Rifle Association’s (GNRA) 150th Anniversary and the West Indies Fullbore Shooting (WIFS) Championships set for the Timehri Rifle Ranges.

Last Sunday, Lennox Braithwaite dropped just two points each at the 600- and 1000-yard ranges in wrapping up the latest GNRA record shoot at the Timehri Ranges on another rainy and overcast day for rifle-shooting Braithwaite topped his peers at the 300 and 1000 yards ranges which included a possible at 300, while Sherwin Felicien won the 600-yard range, shooting a possible.

Braithwaite recorded an overall score of 118 points and 14Vs. Felicien was next overall with 116 points and 8Vs including his possible of 35. 4v at 600 yards.

The winner of the last recorded shoot, Dylan Fields was third with 115 points which included 12Vs. Fullbore captain Mahendra Persaud did not participate due to a minor injury to his hand.

Joe Root celebrates a century in his maiden Test as captain. (Getty Im)

his bat to all corners of a sun-kissed home of cricket as a packed crowd rose to applaud him.

Root emulated the feat of the last three England Test captains, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss, in scoring a hundred in his first game in charge but his day had not started well.

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander dismissed openers Alastair Cook (three) and Keaton Jennings (eight), forcing Root to stride out to the middle with his team reeling at 17 for two.

The 26-year-old struggled to find his usual fluency against a disciplined South Africa pace attack and, on 16, he was dropped at gully off Kagiso Rabada shortly after offering a much more difficult chance to fine leg.

Gary Ballance made a scratchy 20 before he

was trapped lbw by Morne Morkel and Jonny Bairstow fell lbw to Philander for 10.

Root and Stokes batted watchfully in the afternoon session, accumulating runs with careful placement.

Stokes did advance down the wicket to lift Maharaj over long-on for six but the firebrand all-rounder also enjoyed a stroke of luck when he was bowled by a Morkel no-ball.

Root reached 50 off 89 balls and slowly began to find his usual sweet timing as the South African bowlers tired in the warm conditions.

Stokes got to his half-century shortly before tea but he fell soon after the interval, nicking a bouncer from Rabada through to de Kock.

After passing his century, Root lit up the ground

with crisp punches through mid-wicket and square drives but he had another reprieve on 149 when he was stumped off a no-ball from Maharaj.

He struck 26 fours and one six, sharing an unbroken partnership of 167 with Moeen Ali, who finished on 61 not out, as runs flowed in the evening sunshine with England on top at the start of the four-Test series.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings A. Cook c de Kock b Philander 3 K. Jennings lbw b Philander 8 G. Ballance lbw b M. Morkel 20 J. Root not out 184 J. Bairstow lbw b Philander 10 B. Stokes c de Kock b Rabada 56 M. Ali not out 61 Extras: (lb-2, nb-13) 15 Total: (for 5 wickets, 87 overs) 357 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-17, 3-49, 4-76, 5-190.

Bowling: M. Morkel 16-1-64-1 (nb-6), V. Philander 16-2-46-3 (nb-5), K. Rabada 23-4-94-1 (nb-1), K. Maharaj 22-1-107-0 (nb-1), T. de Bruyn 5-1-30-0, T. Bavuma 5-0-14-0.

Horse racing dates for the remainder of the year finalised THE nine-member interim body, which was set up to run the affairs of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA), met recently and finalised the racing dates for

the remainder of the year.

According to information received, dates for the eleven races, including the 2018 New Year’s Day race meet, were confirmed.

DATES

Four racing stables were identified, with Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) set to host four races. The other three racing stables are the Kennard’s Memorial Turf

Club (KMTC), Sky Plus (Nand Persaud), and Budhan’s Memorial Turf Club (BMTC).

See below the finalised dates and venues.

RACING TRACKS

Sunday July 30, 2017

Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC)

Sunday August 13, 2017

Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC)

Sunday August 27, 2017

Sky Plus (Nand Persaud)

Sunday September 24, 2017

Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC)

Sunday October 8, 2017

Sky Plus (Nand Persaud)

Sunday October 22, 2017

Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC)

Sunday October 29, 2017

Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC)

Sunday November 26, 2017

Budhan’s Memorial Turf Club (BMTC)

Sunday December 10, 2017

Sky Plus (Nand Persaud)

Tuesday December 26, 2017

Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC)

Monday January 1, 2018

Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC)

30

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

Windies Women crash to fourth World Cup defeat TA U N T O N , E n g l a n d (CMC) – West Indies’ misery at the ICC Women’s World Cup increased yesterday when they produced yet another docile performance against New Zealand Women to lose by eight wickets and crash to their fourth straight defeat.

In what has become the norm during the campaign, the Caribbean side meekly surrendered for 150 all out off 43 overs after being sent in at Somerset County Ground and then watched helplessly as the Kiwis stormed to the target in the 19th over.

Veteran opener Rachel Priest slammed the fastest-ever Women’s World Cup fifty en route to a stroke-filled 90 while Suzie Bates struck an unbeaten 40, to take their side to five points and fourth

in the eight-team standings.

West Indies, meanwhile, continued bottom without a point with virtually all hope extinguished of making the final four.

Once again, their batting proved shambolic. Kyshona Knight, batting at number seven, top-scored with 42 while tail-ender Afy Fletcher finished on 23 not out and captain Stafanie Taylor and wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira both got 20.

They were undermined by off-spinner Leigh Kasperek (3-17) and seamer Lea Tahuhu (3-39).

West Indies’ promises of an improved showing came to nothing as they slumped to 10 for two in the fifth over with Tahuhu removing both openers cheaply.

Left-hander Kycia

DIGICEL Schools Football Championships

Four teams register victories in latest round of matches ACTION continued in the DIGICEL Schools Football Championships yesterday with Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary, Friendship, St Cuthbert’s Mission and Bladen Hall all registering wins.

Over at Dora ground, St Cuthbert’s railroaded Dora Secondary 3-1 thanks to strikes from Mark Clenkian (3rd), Elroy Dundas (7th) and Paul Henry (13th) while Dora had Jahmal Harris on target in the 23rd minute.

In Berbice at the Burnham Park ground Corentyne

Comprehensive Secondary wasted no time in downing Winifred Gaskin 5-0. Issano Fields’ hat-trick, (28th, 45th and 60th), coupled with Quinton Andrews (14th and 21st), led the way.

Meanwhile Bladen Hall had no trouble edging Bygeval 2-1. Shamar Adams and O’Neil Hamilton were responsible for the triumph yesterday while Bygeval had Nigel Mansfield on target in the 70th.

Action at Grove saw Friendship Secondary beat Camille Institute 3-0.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (FRIDAY JUNE 07, 2017) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Mahendra Singh Dhoni (IND) (2) Smriti Mandhana (IND) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who top-scored for the WI in the fourth ODI of the current

WI/IND series?

(2) Who top-scored for the WI Women in their match against

South Africa in the current World Cup? ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

Knight, who only arrived earlier this week as one of two injury replacements, had a miserable start to her campaign when she edged a low

The right-handed Taylor, without a significant score in the series, struck four fours in 32 balls at the crease while Nation hit three boundaries in

the next over, Nation’s vigil ended when she clipped leg-spinner Amelia Kerr to short mid-wicket where Amy Satterthwaite took a simple

Opener Rachel Priest smashes 90 off 55 balls as the Kiwi women race to victory.

catch behind without scoring in the third over.

And the in-form Hayley Matthews followed with one run added, top-edging a pull back to the bowler to depart for nine.

Taylor and Chedean Nation (17) then revived the innings with a 43-run, third-wicket stand but the partnership required 71 deliveries and put the Kiwis under little pressure.

a 43-ball knock.

Kasperek returned to trap Taylor lbw, sweeping at the first delivery of a new spell and her dismissal triggered a slide where West Indies lost three wickets for no runs in the space of eight deliveries.

Deandra Dottin’s horror run continued when she drove the very next delivery back to Kasperek to perish for a first-ball duck. In

catch.

Tottering on 53 for five in the 18th over, Kyshona Knight and Aguilleira combined in a 38-run stand to stablise the innings.

The left-handed Kyshona, Kycia’s twin sister, looked composed in an innings lasting 60 deliveries and including seven fours while Aguilleira, in her 100th ODI, struck two fours and a six off 30 balls.

The former skipper had just cleared the ropes at mid-wicket with Kasperek when she was unfortunately given out stumped off the next delivery even though replays showed her foot was grounded behind the line.

Her dismissal signalled the end of the last bit of resistance. Shanel Daley missed a heave at off-spinner Satterthwaite and was bowled in the 33rd over for her second consecutive duck. Kyshona perished in the 40th over, bowled by pacer Holly Huddleston also missing a wild swing at 135 for eight.

Fletcher struck four fours in her 37-ball innings but Anisa Mohammed (5) and Akeira Peters (0) failed to stay with her.

In reply, Priest raced to her ninth half-century off a record 29 balls and all told belted 17 fours and two sixes, as she put on 120 for the first wicket with Bates who counted five fours off 43 deliveries.

The right-handed Priest was in sight of her third career hundred when she picked out Daley at cover with a firm thump off off-spinner Mohammed in the 15th over.

Kallicharan, Bishop hand Young Windies victory DURBAN, South Africa, (CMC) – Kirstan Kallicharan stroked an aggressive unbeaten half-century and left-arm spinner Joshua Bishoo claimed a six-wicket haul, as West Indies Under-19s defeated Kwazulu-Natal Coastal Academy by five wickets in a warmup game here Thursday.

Chasing 196 for victory at Hammond Field, the Young Windies motored to their target in the 29th over with the right-handed Kallicharan top-scoring with an unbeaten 87 off 57 deliveries.

Opener Kegan Simmons supported with 45 while Jeavor Royal ended unbeaten on 33.

Thula Ngcobo (2-26) and Mlungiseleli Gcado (2-48) finished with two wickets apiece.

Bishop had earlier claimed six for 17 from six overs as the hosts reached

Rahman added 56 for the first wicket with Sithabiso Zungu (10) before putting

Kirstan Kallicharan … top-scored with a robust unbeaten 87.

194 for nine off their 30 overs after opting to bat first.

Opener W Rahman topscored with 80 from 66 balls with seven fours and four sixes while Joel Veeran made 35 and Jason Wagner, 32.

on a further 55 for the fourth wicket with Veeran.

When Rahman was dismissed in the 20th over, Veeran and Wagner came together to post 42 for the fifth wicket before Bishop helped run through the tail.

In reply, the Windies Under-19s were struggling on 52 for three in the 13th over before Kallicharan arrived to blast them to victory.

He struck five fours and six sixes and posted 49 for the fourth wicket with Simmons who faced 59 balls counted four boundaries.

When the Caribbean side lost Simmons and Alick Athanaze (4) in the space of 14 deliveries, Kallicharan combined with Royal in an unbroken 73run sixth wicket partnership to see their side home.

Royal faced a mere 18 balls and struck four fours and a six.

West Indies Under-19s take on South Africa Under-19s in the first of five Youth One-Day Internationals on Sunday at Chatsworth Oval.

31

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 7, 2017

Guinness National finals begin tomorrow in Linden … West Bank, Georgetown legs next week

From L-R: Outdoor Events manager Mortimer Stewart stands with Banks PRO Troy Peters as Guinness Brand manager Lee Baptiste hands over a ball to Colors representative Prianna Damon in the presence of Referees coordinator Wayne Griffith.

By Stephan Sookram THE best 16 teams in five zones will meet inat three different destinations as part of the 2017 National finals of the Colors/Guinness Greatest of the Street Football tournament set to begin shortly.

The finals, a three-night affair where the best of the best meet, will begin in Linden on July 8 then head to Pouderoyen for the second night on July

14 and then move to Demerara Park the following evening.

According to Guinness Brand manager Lee Baptiste, the idea behind this is to ensure that everyone gets a piece of the pie.

“Over a three-period, the public will witness the best of the best battle to see which team is made of more in the National Championships,” Baptiste said.

“This shows Banks DIH’s commitment under the Guin-

ness brand to spread community development through sports; hence the special efforts made to take the National Finals to different parts of the country,” he added during yesterday’s press conference.

Baptiste said that this year featured the most teams in the tournament so far, with teams becoming more organised as the competition rolls into their zones.

Four Georgetown teams will join three each from Lin-

den, East Coast and West Coast of Demerara, two from Berbice and one from Bartica in the National Finals.

They are New Amsterdam Kings, Swag Entertainment, East Bank Gunners, Tucville, Plaisance B, Show Stoppers, the Money Team, Back Circle, Melanie B, Buxton Diamond, Dave and Celina all Stars, Silver Bullets, Broad Street Ballers Riverview, Sparta Boss and Hustlers.

DIGICEL Junior Squash Championships

Guyana Boys seal 5-0 win over T&T, Barbados beat Cayman Islands 4-1 THE Guyana Boys team followed up a 4-1 triumph against Bermuda on Wednesday, by sealing a 5-0 against Trinidad and Tobago, while Barbados ended with their second 4-1, playing the Cayman Islands this time, as the team competition in the DIGICEL Junior Caribbean Squash Championships continued yesterday at the courts of the Georgetown Club, Camp Street.

Bermuda boys bounced

back from their Wednesday loss, by sealing a 3-2 victory against Jamaica.

Trinidad almost picked up a match yesterday, when it seemed almost lost for Rithew Saywack, when he was down two sets against Jonathan Blanc. Despite taking the first point of the match and putting up a good fight to hold Blanc at bay, Saywack still came up short, and Trinidad had him 9-11, 5-11.

The Guyanese was not about to just throw in the

towel, however, and romped his way to owning the next three sets 11-6, 11-8, 11-4.

Team captain Benjamin Mekdeci had a quick one against Nicholas Caddle, dealing the Trini another 3-0 loss (11-4, 11-3, 11-6), similar to their fight earlier this week in the Boys’ Under-19 singles.

After a harrowing battle against Bermuda’s Taylor Carrick on Wednesday night, Daniel Islam, deserved the easy 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 win

that he got against Joshua Poon.

The Guyana Boys were next scheduled to take on the Jamaican Boys last night, while this afternoon they will play the Cayman Islands, and then it will be between them and the Bajans as the event concludes tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Guyana Girls will face their Trinidad counterparts this morning, and as it comes to an end, they match skills with Barbados as well.

Guyana Schoolboys team wing out for Sir Garfield Sobers International Cricket Tourney

By Anthony Layne A GUYANA schoolboys’ team will leave today for Barbados to participate in the annual Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament from Sunday, July 9 to Sunday, July 23.

The team comprises players from St Joseph High School, St Stanislaus College, North Georgetown Secondary, and St John’s College and will be led by 17-year-old Kennard Moonsammy with Timothy McCalmont as his vice-captain.

Moonsammy is a right-handed opening batsman who represents the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) in the second-division competition, while his deputy is also a right-handed batsman who bats at number three and has represented Guyana at the Under-15 and Under-17 levels.

Captain Kennard Moonsammy

Speaking with Chronicle Sport during the team’s final practice session at D’Urban Park, Moonsammy said himself and vice-captain apart, he expects strong performances from Quinton Sampson, an Essequibian and middle-order batsman who has represented Essequibo at the Under-19 level and Nkosi Beaton, an off-spinning all-rounder who plays for the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC).

Moonsammy is also confident that his team can create history by being the first local team to win the prestigious tournament in its 32-year history. Said he, “It’s a very good, tightly knit squad and the players are very excited and eager to be the first Guyana team to win the tournament.” Team coach Terrence Newton is also optimistic of his young charges “bringing home the bacon”.

“We have a very good chance of winning the tournament, since we have been in training since January; team spirit is very high, because we have been encamped for some time. We’ve had some difficulties with sponsorship, which has made the team even more determined to succeed; the hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory.”

While up to the time of writing they were still experiencing sponsorship woes, they are nevertheless appreciative

of assistance received from the Ministry of the Presidency; Giftland Mall (the first to come on board); Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company; the board of the St Joseph Parent/Teachers Association; the Troyer and Moonsammy families; the Ministry of Finance; the Guyana Revenue Authority, which has waived all taxes; and Nand Persaud and Company Limited, rice millers and exporters of Corentyne, Berbice.

The full squad is: Kennard Moonsammy (captain), Timothy McCalmont (vice-captain), Nkosi Beaton, Elian Whyte, Amir Singh, Stephan Wilson, Andsuegga Rodrigues, Tuen Hicks, Anthony Hetsberger, Euan Blair, Javed Troyer, Odida Douglas, Dodi O’Selmo, Chad Shivrattan, Stephan Nelson, Jeremiah Scott and Adrian Hackett.

Since 1986, the tournament has given schoolboys the rare opportunity of playing in an international tournament. Matches are of 40 overs duration and are played under rules governing 40 overs cricket.

The tournament attracts schools from most Test-playing cricket countries, but the majority of participating schools come from the UK. The tournament is now sanctioned by the West Indies Cricket Board and recently there has been greater interest from overseas teams, especially from South America and Africa.

Vice-captain Timothy McCalmont

During the tournament, a Masters coaching class is usually held by West Indies cricket legends such as Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Wesley Hall, Charlie Griffith, Seymour Nurse and Joel Garner., To date, the tournament has groomed the likes of former West Indies captain Brian Lara, Daren Ganga, Roland Holder, and several English and South African Test players.

The Guyana team will assemble at St Joseph High at 11:00hrs and travel to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport for departure at 14:10hrs.

Chronicle Sport takes this opportunity to wish the glory-seeking youngsters a happy and successful tournament.

Guinness National finals See begin tomorrow page 31 in Linden

… India captain hits 28th ODI ton and a record 18th in run chases See page 26

Virat Kohli lets out a roar after getting to his 28th ODI ton at Sabina Park.

Brilliant Kohli condemns Windies to another series loss 32nd South American FESUPO Championships

Guyana rake in 16 medals with 11 gold on day three

Winston Stoby stands tall with his four gold medals and the Golden Arrowhead, as the Guyana National Anthem is played in Florida.

GUYANA excelled once more at the 16th North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) and 32nd South American Powerlifting Federation (FESUPO) Championships being contested in Orlando Florida.

During the third day of the competition and the first day for the equipped category, Team Guyana raked in a total of 16 medals: 11 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.

Kicking off the day’s competition were young sub-junior power-lifters Britny Mack (47kg

class) and Tineisha Toney (57kg class) who scored four medals, two each.

Mack copped two gold medals after excelling in the NAPF sub-junior and FESUPO sub-junior equipped categories for her weight class. She amassed a total of 267.5 points from a 117.5kg squat, 35kg bench press and 115 deadlift.

Toney, on the other hand, proved to be a warrior who fought valiantly to cop her gold medal in the sub-junior category and silver in the FESUPO

sub-junior category. She garnered 247.5 points from her 75kg squat, 62.5kg bench press and her 110kg deadlift. She was bettered by Jane Krueger (USA) who scored 416 points.

The team continued to fire in the men’s equipped category with Arif Immamdeen (66kg class), Nairanjan Singh (83kg) and Winston Stoby (74kg), each earning four medals.

Immamdeen collected 542.5 points after his 210kg squat, 117.5kg bench press and his 215kg deadlift. The young Guy-

Arif Immamdeen is decorated with two of his three gold medals. anese scored two gold medals in the FESUPO and NAPF junior, gold in the male open and bronze in the NAPF male open.

Nairanjan battled through, earning 382.5 points and was able to score gold in the FESUPO Masters 4, two silver medals in the FESUPO open and NAPF Masters 4 open and a bronze in the male open.

He squatted 105kg, benchpressed 117.kg and deadlifted 160kg - breaking the national, Pan American and South American record for his 160kg deadlift

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in the 83kg Masters 4 category during his second deadlift attempt. During his third and final deadlift attempt, he tried to break this record again by lifting 170kg but just could not muster the strength.

Stoby fired too, garnering 615 points after his 235kg squat, his 130kg bench press and his 250kg deadlift. In the end, Stoby walked away proudly with four gold medals, beating all his competitors in his 74kg weight class, in the Masters 2 and open categories

for both NAPF and FESUPO competitions.

The day’s competition showcased the diversity of the Guyanese contingent with the youngest lifters on the team: Mack and Toney (both aged 17) and Nairianjan and Stoby, as the much older folks.

In total, Team Guyana have amassed 26 medals so far - 15 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze.

The team will seek to continue along their journey of success as Day Four of the competition continues today.

FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017