Guyana Chronicle E-paper 10-01-2019

TUESDAY 1st OCTOBER, 2019

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IT’S OFFICIAL! No.105777

...President Granger issues proclamations for general, regional elections on March 2, 2020 SEE STORY ON PAGE 04

PRESIDENT David Granger has proclaimed March 2, 2020 as the day on which an election of members of the National Assembly and the election of members of the Regional Democratic Council (RDCs) shall be held.

A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency indicates that the two proclamations are in keeping with the power vested in the President by Article 61 and Article 60 (2) of the Constitution. The Constitution, at Article 61, states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

SN pockets $200M in gov’t ‘ads’ …DPI exposes paper’s ‘sideline’ claims

STABROEK News, for the first nine months of 2019, received the second largest amount of state advertise-

$8M in 2015. Already for 2019, the newspaper has cashed in on approximately $51.7M in ads from the

cut back on advertising in that newspaper. Dubbing Stabroek News’ articles on the matter as “wholly erro-

Stabroek News.

“DPI has paid a total of $177,114,612 in newspaper advertisements payments to

from $8million in 2015 to a whopping $57.3million in 2018,” he pointed out, while explaining that “Stabroek

the newspaper which refused to take government advertising,” Khan further clarified.

ments, when compared to the other three daily newspapers in the country. In fact, the records show that the privately-owned newspaper raked in $57.3M in state advertisements in 2018 when compared to

government.

The Department of Public Information (DPI) made the startling disclosure on Monday, as it rejected allegations by Stabroek News, that Government, in an attempt to muzzle it, has significantly

neous, misleading and mischievous,” the Department of Public Information, in keeping with a commitment made, made public detailed information on the placements of ads in the local newspapers with focus on

the four daily newspapers for the period January 1 to September 19, 2019. Of this amount Stabroek News received $51,780,354 and the state owned Guyana Chronicle received $43,753,162,” the Director of Public Information, Imran Khan, detailed. It was noted that Stabroek News has already received 29 per cent of the payments made for newspaper advertising for 2019.

“For 2019, Stabroek News received $8,027,192 more than Guyana Chronicle in payments,” Khan was keen on pointed out.

Though Stabroek Newspaper has complained that it has experienced a shortfall in state ads placed in its newspaper, the record shows that since the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government took office, that newspaper has seen a significant increase in state ads The Director of Public Information detailed that for the period June 1, 2015 to September 19, 2019, the Government Information Agency/Department of Public Information (GINA/DPI) paid more than $816.380M in newspaper advertising to the four daily newspapers.

Of this amount, Khan said, Stabroek News received payments of $196.121M or 24 per cent.

“Under the Coalition Government GINA/ DPI advertising payments to Stabroek News moved

News was on course to an even higher figure for 2019 until it interrupted the flow of government advertising by imposing a blockade starting June 1, 2019.”

“Stabroek News impaired its own ability to receive government advertising. At no time did DPI advise Stabroek News in any manner of any intention to reduce or cease booking of advertising with the newspaper. It was

SN-IMPOSED BLOCKADE The Director of Public Information made it clear that it was Stabroek News that imposed blockade on Government advertisements.

DPI, he maintained, was conducting business as usual with Stabroek News without any issue, until May 22, 2019 when it received a letter from TURN TO PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

‘You don’t have to migrate’ …President promises first-class education system …says significant percentage of oil revenues will be pumped into sector

By Svetlana Marshall THE A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government will build a first-class education system, President David Granger

their satisfaction.

The revenues that will stream from the Oil and Gas Industry from 2020 and beyond will not only be injected into the Natural Resources Fund, President Granger said, adding that a significant

nately, some of our boys and girls in the hinterland have to

under its ‘One Laptop per Teacher Initiative.’

President David Granger

Sections of the thousands of students and teachers that attended the Education Exposition at D’Urban Park (Photos by Delano Williams)

said as he assured the nation’s children, that, from 2020, there will be a re-introduction of free education from nursery to university in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana.

His pledge was met with loud cheers from the thousands of students and teachers who gathered at D’Urban Park, on Monday, to witness the opening of the Education Ministry’s Education Exposition, held under the theme – ‘Education the key to national development.’

The students and teachers were drawn from more than 100 educational institutions from across the country. “You don’t have to migrate; you don’t have to go away. We are going to build a first-class education system. Every Guyanese child will be educated on all four levels – nursery, primary, secondary and university at State expense- it is your entitlement,” the Head of State assured the students much to

percentage will be pumped into the Education Sector to allow for its advancement.

The transformation will take place during the ‘Decade of Development’ which will be launched in 2020.

“Many of you sitting here today, students and teachers, will be the beneficiaries of that decade of development.

Ten years from now, your lives will be transformed because you would be exposed to the best system of education,” the Head of State told those present.

It is anticipated that advancements within the Education Sector will result in a positive domino effect.

Those advancements would lead to the development of a highly qualified and skilled workforce, and ultimately the expansion of the economy.

However, as the country forges ahead with its developmental agenda, it is important that there is equality and equity across all regions of the country. “Unfortu-

Granger said the nation’s educators are being paid better

Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry

Pupils from North Georgetown Primary, South Ruimveldt Park Primary and St Pius Primary performing a guitar rendition

travel long distances to get to school, sometimes they don’t have the best facilities so we are trying to ensure that the education system, regardless of everything else, is also going to make Guyanese children more equal. Wherever they live, Port Kaituma or Port Mourant they must get the same education. There must be an A grade school in every region of this country,” President Granger said.

But even ahead of the launch of the ‘Decade of Development’ in 2020, the nation’s teachers and students are already experiencing a positive shift in the Education Sector. The annual budget has now increased by 64 per cent from 2015, with the Education Sector accounting for more than $52B on an annual basis. Since October, 2016, the Government, with support from the Chinese Embassy here, has equipped 9,000 teachers with laptops

Additionally, the Education Ministry is working in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications to introduce Information Communication Technologies in schools. To date, more than 175 schools have internet connection. Major emphasis is also being placed on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

President Granger noted that under the Public Education Transportation Services (PETS), more and more children are able to attend school. To date, through the programme, there are 40 buses transporting children to school at no cost to them. Added to that, 4000 bicycles and 12 boats have been distributed where they are needed the most, thereby alleviating the transportation difficulties children face in their quest to attend school.

Turning his attention to the teachers, President

salaries. “We will do everything possible to make the teaching profession one of the best professions to enter in this country. That is why the trainees at CPCE know that their stipends have been increased from what it was in 2015 and we are going to increase it again next year. This year the stipend increased to 66 per cent from what it was in 2015,” he said.

Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry, in her address, said undoubtedly, education is the most important tool that symbolises growth in any nation. Here in Guyana, she said it is helping to reduce the challenges faced by society, and her Ministry will continue to provide educational opportunities for all in a push to realize the ‘good life.’

“It is with confidence that I put before today the irrefutable fact that education in Guyana is revolutionizing

from Nursery to tertiary.

Gaps of disparity are being bridged everyday whether by technological advancement or enhancing of professional training and skills. And I sincerely promise you this is merely the beginning,” Minister Henry told the students and teachers at D’Urban Park.

The Education Ministry, she added, is committed to strengthening its education system to better prepare students with the skills, knowledge and opportunities needed for them to succeed.

“Today’s students need twenty-first century skills like critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and use of digital technologies. In this regard the Ministry of Education is currently focusing on reforming the curriculum to aptly prepare and equip our students with these and other skills relevant for the twenty first century. Our 2019 -2030 Education Sector plan is being designed to bridge the disparity that exists between the hinterland and the coast, the implementation of new technologies for the delivery of education, provision of vocational and technical training for out of school youths, thereby giving them a second chance among other critical aspects of educational growth,” she detailed. With the Petroleum Industry on the horizon, Minister Henry said her ministry will also be implementing programmes in oil and gas at the tertiary, technical and vocational levels, so as to adequately prepare young people for the budding sector.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland; Vice President and Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings and Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Hutson were among the officials present at the exposition.

The Education Exhibition created a platform for the ministry to showcase the various education opportunities available to the public, development within the education sector, vision of the Education Ministry and the outstanding creativity of the education fraternity.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

IT’S OFFICIAL! ...President Granger issues proclamations for elections on March 2, 2020

PRESIDENT David Granger has proclaimed March 2, 2020 as the day on which an election of members of the National Assembly and the election of members of the Regional Democratic Council (RDCs) shall be held.

A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency indicates that the two proclamations are in keeping with

the power vested in the President by Article 61 and Article 60 (2) of the Constitution.

The Constitution, at Article 61, states: “An election of members of the National Assembly under Article 60 (2) shall be held on such day within three months after every dissolution of Parliament as the President shall appoint

President David Granger

01 October, 2019 - 05:00hrs ~ 06:30hrs

Saturday September 28, 2019

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by proclamation.”

Meanwhile, Article 73 (2) of the Constitution states: “Elections of members of Regional Democratic Councils shall be held, and the councils shall be dissolved at such times as, subject to paragraph (3), the President may appoint by proclamation.”

The two proclamations follow the President’s announcement on September 25, 2019 that the earliest possible date for the holding of

6, 2, 3

General and Regional Elections was Monday, March 2, 2020.

His announcement followed discussions with Chairman of the Elections Commission (GECOM) (Ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh and with his Cabinet. It also came one week after Justice Singh advised the Head of State, on September 19, 2019, that the Elections Secretariat will have all systems in place to facilitate free, fair and credible elections by the

3, 6, 3

end of February, 2020.

The Head of State also met Justice Singh on September 25, and discussed the statutory timelines for the upcoming General and Regional Elections. After being sworn in as GECOM Chair on July 29, 2019, Justice Singh took up office within 72 hours, in keeping with one of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)’s June 18, 2018 ruling that the previous chair’s appointment was flawed.

From then to recent times, sometimes thrice a week, the seven-member Commission met to deliberate on a timeframe for which credible elections can be held, in light of a validly-passed no-confidence motion. The commissioners, who are split on how soon elections could be held and what means should be used to sanitise the voters’ list, saw their discussions come to an end when Justice Singh communicated to the President, on September 19, 2019 that credible elections could be facilitated by late February 2020.

UNWELCOME NEWS This news did not sit well with the Opposition, which had first called for elections to be held by March 21, 2019 [the Constitutional threemonth period], prior to the Court of Appeal’s invalidation of the motion.

They later called for elections to be held by September 18, 2019, three months from the CCJ’s ruling. However, in the weeks leading up to the Chair’s announcement, the Opposition and Opposition-nominated commissioners had contradicted the September 18 deadline by pushing for elections to be held by November 2019.

This is the case, as all parties

involved had long come to the realisation that the Commission was incapable of holding elections by the said date due to administrative and statutory restrictions.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has said that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), though disappointed, will work towards the March 2, 2020 date which President David Granger has named. However, while the Constitution provides for an extension of the three-month period to cater for such a scenario, the extension requires the vote of the Opposition.

“The Government of Guyana must, as a consequence, return to the National Assembly to request an extension. The National Assembly reconvenes on 10th October, 2019. The President is required to both dissolve Parliament, as provided for in the Constitution at Article 70 (2), and the ten Regional Democratic Councils, as provided for in the Constitution at Article 73 (2),” President Granger had stated in his September 25 address to the Nation.

Yet, the Opposition is, thus far, sticking to the position that it will not be returning to Parliament to grant the required extension. Nonetheless, the President has told the nation that it can now look to the Elections Commission to conduct credible elections within the timeframe that has been prescribed. “I engaged the Elections Commission from February 2019 repeatedly. I’ve insisted that credible elections be held at the earliest possible time. Credible elections are essential to representative democracy,” President Granger said.

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September 27, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

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Trump impeachment: Lawyer Rudy Giuliani subpoenaed for documents (BBC) Democrats have demanded records from the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in the next step of an effort that could remove Mr Trump from office.

Mr Giuliani has admitted to asking Ukraine to investigate corruption allegations - widely debunked - against former vice-president Joe Biden.

Lawmakers issued a subpoena for those communication records from Mr Giuliani.

Rudy Giuliani

A phone call between President Donald Trump

and the president of Ukraine was flagged by a

T&T: Off-duty cop shoots robbery suspect (TRINIDADNEWSDAY) A MAN is in police custody while another is receiving treatment for a gunshot wound he received after confronting an off- duty policeman at the latter’s Tunapuna home on Sunday morning.

Police said the bandits robbed a man of his cellphone and $3,300 while he was walking along St Augustine Circular Road in Monte Grand, Tunapuna, at around

8.30 am. The bandits then ran across the Priority Bus Route into the Tunapuna Market.

Passers by who saw the robbery, called the police and officers later chased one of the bandits and arrested him.

Minutes later, the off-duty municipal policeman was at his St Vincent Street, Tunapuna home when he heard a noise outside.

He armed himself and on

checking, saw the second bandit holding a cutlass. The intruder ran towards the policeman but was shot.

Police were called and the wounded man was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre where he was treated for gunshot wound to his right forearm. Investigations are continuing.

whistleblower.

A rough transcript emerged last week of that call between Mr Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The transcript shows the US president urged him to investigate the discredited allegations against Mr Biden, a 2020 Democratic frontrunner, and his son.

The call is now at the centre of an impeachment inquiry by Democrats - an effort that could see Mr Trump expelled from office, but doing so would require members of his Republican party to turn against him.

What just happened?

Three chairmen of key House of Representatives committees - Intelligence,

Foreign Affairs and Oversight - sent the subpoena notice to Mr Giuliani on Monday.

The subpoena was expected, as Democrats had earlier said they wanted to question Mr Giuliani, a central figure in the saga.

On the phone call, Mr Trump asked the Ukrainian president to co-ordinate with his lawyer on any inquiry into Mr Biden and son Hunter.

During a 19 September appearance on CNN, Mr Giuliani confirmed he asked Ukraine to “look into the allegations that related to my client, which tangentially involved Joe Biden in a massive bribery scheme”.

In their subpoena letter, the chairmen said:

“In addition to this stark admission, you stated more recently that you are in possession of evidence - in the form of text messages, phone records, and other communications - indicating that you were not acting alone and that other Trump Administration officials may have been involved in this scheme.”

The chairmen have demanded all relevant communications be submitted by 15 October.

Mr Giuliani and the White House have not yet responded to the subpoena, though on Sunday, Mr Giuliani told ABC News he “wouldn’t co-operate” with Mr Schiff.

T&T: Retiree found murdered at home (TRINIDADNEWSDAY) POLICE are investigating the murder of a 60-yearold man after his body was found in the kitchen of his Princes Town home earlier this morning.

Police said a passerby was alerted to a foul stench emanating from the home of Azard Ali, along the Mandingo Road, at around 7 am.

The man called the police who later found Ali’s body on the floor of the kitchen, with his hands and legs tied. Investigators said Ali’s red Nissan Sylphy car was not at the home and they suspect he was the victim of a home invasion and robbery.

Ali was a retired supervisor and investigators said he was a known drug abuser

and was last seen on Friday.

Police said up until press time a district medical officer had not visited the scene and could not determine Ali’s cause of death. More as this becomes available.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

Continuing the fight against child sexual abuse ONCE again, we have concluded the observance of Child Protection week under the theme, “Promoting social change to stop the violation of children”, with the focus, as is only to be expected, on child sexual abuse and other forms of abuse which now form the daily life of so many children in Guyana and across the globe.

Children’s rights include the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living, and to be protected from abuse and harm.

Non-discrimination means that all children have the same right to develop their potential in all situations and at all times.

Like never before, so many of our children’s daily existence as human beings with the right to life and enjoy an incident-free childhood and experience the joys of childhood have become perilous, from neglect, physical and emotional, and that, for so many varied reasons, add to a further confusing mental state of these wonderful beings.

In every sense, children are innocent beings; it is an undeniable fact that observ-

ing a gathering of children, whether at play in their homes, school yards or in public spaces, is always a reminder as to the ideal that this world ought to be.

But for millions of children around the world, inclusive of Guyana, this is not the ideal, for their innocence is being made into a living hell and nightmare, because of the cruel, exploitative and pedophilic adults who surround them and control their young lives.

Simply put, child sexual abusers, of any hue and shade, are very sick people; they are monsters in human form. In the least, they are inhuman and fall outside the pale of human decency. And we need not repeat this problem that exists in Guyana, as evidenced by the numerous felons who have been receiving the condign sanctions of the judiciary, by way of draconian sentences, since their deeds had reached what is sadly epidemic proportions, as reported in the media, and the Child Care and Protection Agency(CCPA) Director Ann Greene, who disclosed that a total of 2532 cases of child abuse were recorded in Guyana between

January and August 2019, and that that number was only the tip of the iceberg.

But Guyana has not been lapsing in the battle to combat this well-known sexual scourge and predatory behaviour that continues to be committed by a type of male whose moral perceptions of himself has become dangerously distorted. Apart from what could be described as the most comprehensive collective legislation, on any social issue, in Guyana, as a result of the nation-wide Stamp-it-Out consultation paper, the Sexual Violence Bill, the Juvenile Justice Act to ensure perpetrators are brought before the courts and prosecuted, which also covers sexual abuse and other related felonies, there have also been the commissioning of three specialised courts, since 2015, which have resulted in the speedy dispensation of justice, bringing satisfaction, even if not complete closure, for the many victims, even as the rate of conviction, since 2015, has risen from a 10 per cent conviction rate to over 60 per cent since its.

There is, however, the need for a sustained, public

education as to what is really child abuse, since the still popular perception and understanding among some Guyanese is that child abuse is about sexual and indecent acts committed on the child. **Dr. Astell Collins, speaking last Tuesday at a parenting education session hosted by Blossom Incorporated, underlined the fact that “Sexual abuse has its own connotation of stain, and it’s very damaging. Beyond that, verbal abuse is prominent in child and parent relations.”

It is a position with which we concur, as many parents and guardians, even teachers, are known to inflict emotional and psychological harm on children without realising the harm they are doing, and by extension the offence they are committing, such as calling a child names, just for the sake of it, or administrating disciplinary measures.

For example, there is what Dr. Collins referred to, which we interpreted as going home, perhaps against a background of varied challenges/circumstance, and “letting go on the people we love”. Some of the more well-known forms of abuse

include refusing a child food, and asking the child to leave the home, and are all forms of child abuse that have evolved out of custom and practice, and further accepted as the correct manner of bringing a child to ‘subjection’. Just recently, a mother inflicted a horrendous beating with a piece of wood on her teenage daughter, while a male held the child down and a female recorded the action for posting on Facebook, all the while egging the mother on to inflict more abuse on the hapless child.

Absolutely, they are disciplinary relics of a dark age, which would have brought so much harm to young children, which they still bear even in their adult lives. It is time that such anti-children/ inhumane practices cease; they have no place as part of the understanding of bringing up our children today.

Child sexual abuse is still a major social issue in our society; a scourge, to be more precise. The government’s CC&PA and organisations such as Blossom Incorporated must be congratulated for being part of the national process, bringing awareness through their

country-wide programmes on “child education”, “sexual abuse and violence”, “signs and symptoms”, and how to engage children in such a grave situation. But others must also be part of this national crusade, such as religious bodies, human resource departments and their staff, and other social hubs, since incidents of child sexual abuse and offenders have been found to cut across every social line, and can only be confronted in a holistic manner.

We should all embrace the fight to protect the rights of our children, and to ensure that child sexual abuse is not tolerated. Often the victims are females, but we must understand that in many cases, males are also victims.

Parents and guardians must stop the practice of sweeping these matters under the carpet. Instead, address the issue and remove the mental and emotional trauma that that child will live with for years.

It is important for every Guyanese to be vigilant and have a listening ear to safeguard Guyana’s children from sexual and all other forms of child abuse.

Sugar workers must also benefit from pay increases Dear Editor,

THE GAWU saw recently in an article appearing in the September 24 the Guyana Chronicle, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan promising workers in the public sector a pay rise this year. The Chronicle quoted Minister Jordan as saying “[public servants will get a salary increase this year and a bigger increase in 2020…” For the beleaguered public servants, hard-pressed by the circumstances of contemporary life in Guyana, the promised increase must have been welcome news.

How much the increase will be able to alleviate the dif-

ficulties of life that public servants find themselves is an entirely different question altogether.

The Minister is also reported to have said that the specific increase would be a product of collective bargaining between the Administration and the GPSU. However, we saw only recently GPSU President Mr. Patrick Yarde questioning the sincerity of the Administration’s commitment to collective bargaining. It also did not escape our attention that the minister did not hesitate to say that if the ongoing discussions “…do not come to a decisive conclusion, the administration… will pay something”. It goes to show

that a tiger can never lose its stripes.

From the article, our Union also noticed that the minister said the Government was concerned about “…providing a viable, livable wage…” But while the minister speaks about giving employees in the State sector a pay rise, a move we do not oppose, he and his colleagues in the Government have decided, without any remorse, it seems, not to give the workers of the Stateowned sugar sector a rise in pay since they took office.

Today, the nation’s sugar workers, the GAWU must reiterate, are essentially working for 2014 pay, though times and circum-

stances have changed dramatically since then. We need not remind the nation of the several measures implemented by the APNU+AFC that have heightened the cost-of-living. We need not remind, too, that under the Coalition Administration, longstanding benefits and other conditions of work enjoyed by sugar workers were simply ignored or suspended altogether. It was, for the GAWU, not surprising, though saddening, to see that between 2014 and 2017, sugar workers were taking home some $284,000 less per annum. That is nearly $24,000 less per month, or $6,000 per week. Given the situation nowadays, it is neither hard

nor difficult to imagine what that has done to the well-being of the sugar workers and their families.

So, today, while the minister boasts about a living wage, a concept our nation should embrace, he forgets, unashamedly, that during his time as a national leader, he and his colleagues, by their actions, have pushed workers near to, or beyond, the poverty line. He fails to mention that they have been treated like stepchildren; not deserving of equal treatment and pay.

Today, the promises heard about 20 per cent increase that was shouted out

by nowadays Government officials during the 2015 elections

campaign

ring

hollow. Today, they and their families are forced to pinch every dollar as they struggle daily to make ends meet. Today, the workers of the sugar industry have retrogressed rather than progressed under the ‘Good Life’ Government.

Regards SeepaulNarine General Secretary

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

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Civil liberties have been restored, observed & upheld --since the ‘Coalition’ took office

Dear Editor,

PLEASE permit me a space in your newspaper to respond to a letter published in the September 25, 2019 edition of the Kaieteur News, titled “Cuddling Dictatorship”

by Shane Lindie, where he states, “I watch this illegal president and his illegal bunch of government officials tour this country amidst protests after protests by thousands of dissatisfied citizens.”

Every time I see a letter from one of the PPP’s sycophants, I am amused and sometimes wonder where these folks were living in the last 10 years. This same President, who they preach is “illegal”, is being criticised and demanded by the protestors, by these very preachers of illegality, to appoint a date for General and Regional Elections. Can legality come out of illegality? I quote from the learned

attorney at law Maxwell E Edwards who posited in the newspapers that, “Political sensationalism blinds us to logic and common sense.

Illegality cannot be cherry picked; illegality is not severable. In our constitutional architecture and scheme, an opposition exists only when, and if, there is a government and Parliament. If there is no President; there is no Parliament, and by a logical step in the argument, no opposition.

Because, if there is no President; there is no National Assembly, as there can be no National Assembly if there is no President, who is, a constituent part of Parliament; the other constituent part being the National Assembly. If the President is “illegal”, then, so is the Parliament and Leader of the Opposition and all the Opposition MPs incurably tainted with such illegality.

The APNU/AFC government has demonstrated the respect for Guyanese and the

Constitution by respecting the Article, (106 (6) and (7) which cannot undermine or subvert Article 177 (6) entrenched in our Constitution at the second deepest level.

It is also respecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

I can recall as a young Guyanese growing up under the PPP/C government, I was afraid to speak out on issues involving the PPP/C government.

My memory is clear; on numerous occasions, there were Guyanese who were penalised for speaking out, and even would end up in prison. For example, Oliver Hinckson, who was jailed for speaking about what Bharrat Jagdeo felt was dissent against his government.

Since President Grang-

er won the Presidency after the 2015 elections, every day on Freedom Radio 91.1FM there are programmes that speak critically and many times disrespectfully against the president and the government. To date, no action has ever been taken against the station or the presenters, unlike during the PPP/C reign, when CNS CH 6 and HBTV CH9 television stations were undemocratically shut down.

In addition, just as a quick reminder: Gordon Mosley, a local journalist, was blocked from entering the Office of the President. These are clear examples of suppression of freedom of speech, and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 in comparison to the APNU/AFC respect for Guyanese rights to freedom of speech/ opinion.

Editor, Shane Lindie should be ashamed to even talk about freedom and democracy because of what obtained under the PPPC. Did the nurses in Guyana and sugar workers not have

rights to speak out to ask for better wages, for example.

Under the PPP/C, the police shot nurses for protesting for better wages and conditions of work, and the sugar workers from Wales Estate were teargassed and shot with rubber bullets. People were shot and killed multiple times under the PPP/C, with pellets being fired into a political protest; one that was simply marching down Brickdam.

A young man was arrested for showing a middle finger to Jagdeo’s passing presidential convoy; others were badly beaten and hauled to the Brickdam lockups.

It is my considered opinion that President David Granger is leading/steering Guyana in the right direction. I have even recognised the respect that was shown by the ‘Coalition’ for all Guyanese citizens, even to the PPP/C protesters on September 19 outside of Pegasus.

Shane Lindie, given the examples above, it is non sequitur that you can state,

“I am totally embedded with the struggle for freedom and democracy in Guyana.” The horrifying days of the authoritarian PPP/C rule have been relegated to the annals of dark Guyanese history, when civil liberties were denied, and human rights were violated with impunity. **We cannot continuewith the old trickery and violations we were facing in the last 12 years under the previous administration. Freedom and democracy have been restored in Guyana under the APNU+AFC. As a Guyanese who is under 25 years, I really needed that change. There is no need to struggle for freedom and democracy, those civil liberties have been observed and upheld since the coalition assumed office in 2015.

Regards, Ceion Rollox

PPP MPs are still shamelessly receiving their salaries Dear Editor, I CONTINUE to follow developments in my Dear Land of Guyana and seek just a small space in your newspaper to air a grievance that has been irking me for some time as the political silly season heats up.

For most, if not all of the period since the December no-confidence vote, Opposition Members of Parliament

have not been attending any sittings of the Parliament, or have they any plans to do so.

But what disturbs me most, Mr. Editor, is the fact that these very MPs are shamelessly still collecting their parliamentary salaries and allowances, despite not attending any sessions; not representing the people who elected them.

Researching the situation before penning this letter, I

came across a point made by trade unionist Mr. Lincoln Lewis. He argued on May Day that workers who take strike action are not paid when they do, so why should MPs be allowed to still draw down on their salaries and allowances? I wish to state that I totally agree with him.

I also read that Mr. Jagdeo says he has no qualms whatsoever about collecting his emoluments, despite the

fact that he has not attended any session, or plans to do so before the House is dissolved perhaps later this year. I am advised that the MPs are in their rights to still collect salaries while boycotting sessions; that they are covered

by House statutes. To me, this provides yet another opportunity for policymakers to revisit laws concerning parliamentary attendance and conduct, regarding rep-

Kudos to Marian Academy Dear Editor, BROWSING through a more recent edition of the Marian Academy School’s yearbook, I came upon a most interesting article contained therein, which featured an educational exchange visit paid by a group of their students to the Far East and North America recently, an initiative which I consider to be both fascinating and ground- breaking.

Such resourcefulness, imagination and originality

by the Principal and her students for conceptualising, successfully planning and effectively executing this forward- thinking, valuable and meaningful undertaking, clearly demonstrates why this school has such an enviable record of success and achievement. Although such international field trips are frequently undertaken by and between educational institutions from developed countries, such ingenuities to such far reaches of the globe have never before been ventured

into by our local schools, and thus the reason I congratulate Marian for their boldness, prudence and farsightedness.

Clearly, from the information contained in the report, the participating youths not only made their school proud, but all of Guyana, as they performed admirably as young ambassadors of our country, whilst at the same time facilitating the further strengthening of the relationship that exists between their school and the one in

the People’s Republic of China. With the significant technological and other advances occurring, and the new career paths being developed across the globe, such an opportunity would have given the participating students the chance to compare and contrast their experiences with those of real people; people they can communicate and identify with, and not just rely on text books for information.

It is my sincere hope that more schools in Guy-

resentation offered to electors.

I also think I remember calls by the PPP when it was in government for PNC lawmakers not to be paid during periods when they had boycotted sittings, so I am quite surprised now that they are unscrupulously collecting theirs. Going forward, I pray dearly that something is done about this in a non-parti-

san manner, meaning that new rules would have to be obeyed by all sides, as each takes similar action whenever they are in opposition. The time for such approaches has expired. A new one is needed.

ana, both private and public, would emulate such sensible creativities in order to give more of the youth of Guyana a fuller appreciation of the world in which they live, and of how they can contribute to making it a better place. I believe that the enrichment benefits from initiatives such as this, to both students and teachers, shall be of a cultural, moral and social nature, and consequently it is my earnest anticipation that Marian as a pioneer of bringing international education to life in Guyana, will ensure that this initiative is undertaken on an annual or biannual basis to allow as many students as possible from their school to benefit.

I say again, ‘Hats off, Marian Academy’! And I ask that you develop the existing, and create new, twin school partnerships that are meaningful, reciprocal, sustainable and long-term in nature.

Congratulations to the hardworking Principal and her team of professionals for producing, over the years, well-rounded students from this very prestigious learning institution in Guyana.

Regards, Milton Saunders Richmond Virginia

Regards, Ravindra Thakur

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

ESSO hosts open-house on Payara Development

EXXONMOBILl’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) hosted an Open House discussion on Monday on the environmental implications of its third oil development project called Payara in the Stabroek Block.

Members of the public and students of the University of Guyana (UG) were made aware of the upcoming Payara Development Project and how Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is working to maximise safety and environmental protection.

The Open House event which saw scores in attendance was held at the Pegasus Hotel on Monday and took the form of several booth displays dealing with matters from oil spills to production and operations.

They engaged with both local and international experts on key topics at different booths regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that was done for it. It was also revealed that there is potential for a third Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) to be used during production which would be named ‘Prosperity’ at the event. Speaking with the gathering ExxonMobil’s Country Manager, Rod Henson said, “We want to give you a chance to learn a little bit more about the studies that are being conducted for this Payara project as well as answer questions and discuss

the topics that might be of interest to you.”

Additionally, ExxonMobil’s Guyana Senior Director of Public and Government Affairs, Deedra Moe told the newspaper that she was pleased with the number of persons who turned out to the event.

“To me, it’s an opportunity for everyone to learn a little bit more about the industry in general; this particular project that we’re working on; potential impacts and how we plan to mitigate and take care of the environment during the project. I think it’s a great opportunity for that and it’s important for us to engage stakeholders at all levels, particularly students who are up and coming and wanting to learn more,” she explained.

Exxon explained that it welcomes all questions and commentary from citizens as it relates to the Payara EIA and revealed that he will soon be visiting other Regions to ensure that others in the country can receive the same updated information on the project. Back in September, EEPGL submitted its Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the Payara Development Project to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The project, located in the eastern half of the Stabroek Block, will see the drilling of up to 45 development wells which could take up to five years, with drilling beginning in 2020 and initial production by early 2023.

The Environmental Ad-

visory Board and other government agencies will consider the Payara Development Project, before deciding whether, and under what

block offshore Guyana. The proposed development is targeting 180,000 to 220,000 barrels of oil per day with anticipations to produce ap-

in the employment of some 600 persons during development well drilling; some 600 persons at the peak of the installation stage and up to

stallation and operation of subsea, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines equipment; installation and operation

Students from the University of Guyana and members of the public engage experts on the Payara Development Project and its planned operations. (Delano Williams photo)

conditions, EEPGL’s application for environmental authorisation for the project can be granted. The project marks EEPGL’s third development field in the Stabroek

proximately 5,700,000 to 6,600,000 barrels of crude oil per month.

Oil production from the project is expected to last at least 20 years and to result

140 persons during production operations.

Its concept is similar to that of the Liza Phase One and Phase Two projects and will include the in-

of a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in the eastern half of the Stabroek Block and ultimately, project decommissioning.

After-flood cleanup shuts down business at Stabroek Market BUSINESS came to a halt on Monday for shoppers and stallholders of the Stabroek Market after the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) embarked on a cleaning exercise after the over-topping of the Demerara River caused severe flooding there on Saturday.

When the Guyana Chronicle visited the market on Monday morning, all the gates to the normally busy shopping centre were locked, except for one which was being manned by a Council official.

The M&CC subsequently issued a release saying that on Monday, they will only be allowing stallholders, and not members of the public, access to the market, by way of the middle gate located at the southern entrance of the

facility.

Apologising for the inconvenience, the M&CC said in the release, “The Georgetown Municipality sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused, and wishes to assure the general public that the Council is working assiduously to restore normalcy to the operations of the Market.”

In a brief interview by telephone on Monday, City Mayor Ubraj Narine, who described the situation as “an act of Mother Nature,” said it was he who passed the order earlier in the day not to open the market, since it was inundated with slush and mud caused by the flooding on Saturday.

He also said that should there be another high tide, the market may have to be closed

The Guyana Fire Service lends a hand to the exercise by supplying water Persons being allowed to leave the market early on Monday

for a few days.

Melissa Griffith, one of the few persons to have been allowed access to the market on Monday, told this newspaper that although she is a stallholder, she only learnt that the facility will not be open for business that day when she arrived to open

her stall.

She explained that she was allowed in to her stall to retrieve some items she had to get and was heading back home. The woman- a clothes vendor said only a few of her goods was damaged by the flood.

Stallholder Melissa Griffith calls it a day on Monday

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

PPP MPs not ready to give up salaries …Bishop Edghill says ON one hand, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) is thundering to its supporters that there is “no Parliament” due to an “illegal government” but, on the other hand, its Parliamentary Members refuse to give up the stipends and benefits being offered through the government.

On Monday, Member of Parliament (MP) Bishop Juan Edghill could not state whether members of the Opposition, a part of the National Assembly, would be protesting against the issuance of these salaries or benefits given their position.

“I am not sure that there will be a protest or not a protest,” he said. “The President needs to dissolve the National Assembly and make a proclamation. At the time of the dissolution of the National Assembly there are administrative things that need to be

done which would also entail the stopping of payment of non-ministers [or] MPs. That should be the normal thing.”

While Edghill stated that these “peculiar circumstances” prevent the Opposition MPs from refusing their salaries, the PPP appeared to be more open to refusing unwanted monies in 2017.

Shortly after taking office in May 2015, the current government had announced an increase in salaries for all ministers as well as MPs as a means of preventing them from “putting their hands into the cookie jars”.

MPs without a designation received a 20 per cent salary increase which increased their annual salaries from $2,002,116 to $2,402,532.

However, the Opposition refused to accept the increase.

Back in 2017, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo told

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament (MP) Bishop Juan Edghill

the Stabroek News that the additional money was being deposited into commercial bank account.

“I can’t tell you exactly how much money is in the bank account but it is a requirement that I know that our MPs are deducting the money and sending it to that bank account…not a cent has been spent from the time the increase was paid out,” he said.

Though it is unknown what became of this money supposedly deposited, the PPP MPs did not indicate that similar measures will be taken in this case which they hold much more serious.

While the opposition continues to parade around deeming the government as illegal, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) had pointed out in September that: “The Leader of the Opposition forms part of the Executive as per the Constitution (Chapter X). Ipso facto, if the government has caretaker/interim status likewise is the status of the said office and its holder. Good sense must prevail. Any political and constitutional act, inaction or uncertainty they must be held to account in equal measure.”

Furthermore, Edghill and fellow MP Nigel Dharamlall are still serving in capacity as Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which comes under the National Assembly.

Since January 2019, fol-

SN pockets $200M ... that newspaper advising that as of June 1, 2019 it will “cease all ad placements.” In support of his statement, Khan made public the letter that was sent to DPI. “This was unprecedented and effectively resulted in Stabroek News, by its own action, and of its own free will and volition blocking government advertisements from its newspaper. DPI did not complain at the time, complied with the Stabroek News blockade and advised all government advertisers of Stabroek News’ position,” he said.

The action taken by Stabroek News is now being viewed by DPI as “high-handed, irresponsible and malicious.”

“It is now enormously strange that Stabroek News seeks to make the case that it is the government which has miniaturised advertising in the newspaper. It was the newspaper itself which stopped and blocked government from

advertising in it. The reason provided by Stabroek News for blockade against government advertisements is spurious.

The newspaper claimed that it was blocking government advertisements because of outstanding payments. This is ludicrous as the newspaper’s account at the time ($22,118,485) was not unusual and other newspapers have routinely had larger outstanding amounts. No newspaper has ever imposed a blockade on government advertising as a result,” the Director of Public Information said.

It was further explained that DPI effects payments to the newspapers for advertisements as monies are received from the various government ministries that use DPI to book advertisements. It was noted that the majority of the ads placed by DPI are done so on behalf of ministries and not funded from department’s budget.

“DPI served merely as

a booking agent. There is a cyclical flow of payments and the accounts from time to time build up as a result of cash flow and other factors. These backlogs are cleared once funds are available and there is hardly ever a lengthy backlog of payments,” Khan further explained.

He noted too that the privately-owned newspaper also receives large volumes of advertising from some government ministries, agencies and departments that do not book advertising through DPI. Upon receiving its payments, Stabroek News then wrote DPI advising that it will resume acceptance of orders for government ads, however, by that time, DPI had already began to explore alternative avenues to placing state ads such as the use of digital media and radio advertising.

“To compensate for advertising which Stabroek News blocked, DPI began advising ministries to place and increase

advertising placements with various radio stations and digital media outlets along with television stations. DPI believes that given the vast reach of both digital media and radio government is receiving greater value on these platforms,” Khan explained.

Added to that, as a result of Stabroek News’ blockade, DPI has reviewed the placement of newspaper advertising and has been advising ministries that based on all the available information, advertising in all four daily newspapers is not a mandatory or legal requirement. The requirement favours advertisements in only two print media.

ROTATIONAL PLACEMENT OF ADS “DPI has advised ministries that advertisements would be placed in two newspapers - Guyana Chronicle (as the state-owned newspaper) and on a rotational basis with one of the other newspapers

lowing the passage of the no-confidence motion which was being contested in the courts, the Opposition has refused to attend the Sittings of the National Assembly but some nine months later still receive their salaries and benefits. “…the parliamentary Opposition is of the view that the business that is scheduled to be considered by the National Assembly on the 3rd January, 2019, is not in compliance with Article 106(7) of the Constitution. Therefore, any sitting of the National Assembly that is not in compliance with this article is a violation of the Constitution. Thus, the parliamentary Opposition will not participate in undermining the Constitution, and, further recommend that this sitting should not be held,” PPP Chief Whip Gail Teixeira was quoted as stating in the Guyana Times newspapers.

On the contrary, Article 106 (7) of the Constitution states: “Notwithstanding its

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9

defeat, the government shall remain in office, and shall hold an election within three months, or such longer period as the National Assembly shall, by resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the votes of all the elected members of the National Assembly determine, and shall resign after the President takes the oath of office following the election.”

To date, the Guyana Elections Commission has named a timeframe on its readiness to facilitate the General and regional elections and President David Granger has named the date, March 02, 2020. However, the Opposition, thus far, refuses to return to Parliament on October 10, 2019 to grant the extension required in the Constitution.

Despite their obstinance, President Granger has assured that the Elections Commission is committed to doing all in its powers to meet the March 2, 2020 elections date.

02

along with television, radio and digital media. There is a diversification of government advertising to include all media, not just newspapers. This system has commenced and as the newspaper with the widest daily circulation Kaieteur News has received the bulk of the rotation thus far. Stabroek News is included in the rotation and has been receiving advertising as outlined above,” the Director of Public Information explained.

He iterated that DPI views the actions taken by Stabroek News as a heightening of the newspaper’s campaign against the government. Its regular attacks against the administration is known, he said, while alluding to the fact that Stabroek News has previously refused to accept advertisements from the Ministry of the Presidency unless the newspaper was paid up front.

“DPI has also confirmed that the newspaper had advised the Ministry of the Pres-

idency that it is not the policy of the newspaper to publish press releases from MOTP, even though the newspaper is known to routinely publish press releases from other entities and sometimes do so unedited and in full,” Khan further pointed out.

DPI is assuring the public that there is no removal of government advertising from any newspaper. It is also maintaining that there is no evidence to support the allegation that government has been attempting to stifle the free press. “Any claims to that effect are erroneous, malicious and self-serving,” Khan stated.

He noted that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, upon receiving a letter from the privately-owned newspaper, requested an explanation.

That has since been provided, and has been made public.

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Gov’t ministries, agencies make emergency intervention at Mahaicony GOVERNMENT has mounted an emergency intervention to block several breaches along a four-kilometer stretch of sea defences at Mahaicony, Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) which occurred on Sunday causing damage to homes and household equipment and widespread destruction of crops and livestock in at least two villages.

In response to a crisis situation, several Government agencies including the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) Ministry of Agriculture, the National Drainage and

the flood waters recede.

The GLDA, on the ground, mobilized feed for livestock, had veterinarians on standby and helped to move livestock away from the flood-affected areas to higher ground.

NDIA sought to assist rice farmers by empoldering areas.

Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Mr Frederick Flatts, said that the NDIA machines in the area were engaged in trying to protect rice fields from the salt water.

He said that he intends to meet with the Sea Defence Agency today to determine how else the NDIA can assist

istry will meet several contractors today and assign them to block the breaches as soon as the spring tide wane.

“There will be several contractors and one will be assigned to each breach so that

mate rip rap defence,” he said.

He told the residents that the final resolution could have a price tag of over $3B. Meanwhile, farmers at Cottage Village, east of hard-

farmers, reported loss of poultry, sheep and cash crops .

Rice fields north of the public road, closer to the Atlantic, bore the brunt of the flooding.

Those south of the public road became affected when the salt water crossed over via the drainage channels and then entered the rice cultivations there.

Ms Donna Alphonso lost six ponds in which she had been rearing fish. She said that some twenty heads of sheep were suspected lost because they had been trapped in the flood on the northern side of the village.

ter started to invade their yards early Sunday morning during the high tides.

The situation worsened during the afternoon.

“The waves were high and then the entire section of the sea dam gave way and the water came in very rapidly.

“I looked round in my house and everything was sailing on the water, one resident, living in a bottom flat, said.

She tried to store household items on shelves and other high places but had to abandon the effort and wade her way to

Minister Patterson with residents of Highdam yesterday

Floodwaters at a homestead at Highdam

Irrigation Authority (NDIA) , the Guyana Livestock Development Agency (GLDA) the Civil Defence Commission, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and the Department of Public Health visited the area and provided assistance to the hard hit residents of Dantzig and Highdam villages.

The flood waters forced the closure of the Carlton Hall Primary and Nursery schools yesterday and due to the depth of the flood waters, they are likely to remain closed for today, a Regional Official disclosed.

This newspaper was told that members of some of the hardest hit homesteads have been offered shelter but all had declined saying that they preferred to stay at relatives until the spring tides are over and

in alleviating the situation.

Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson, met with residents yesterday and told them that the Ministry will find a safe staging area for the off-loading of boulders and then transfer them to the sites of the breaches via a smaller barge using the Bellamy Canal.

He said that a new staging area is necessary due to the turbulent nature of the Atlantic Ocean in the affected areas along its coastline.

He said that the immediate need would be to stop the breaches, get the salt water off the land and then look at a long term and more permanent solution such as the installation of a rip rap defence for the four-kilometer section of the coast where erosion had been most rapid.

Patterson said that his min-

Evacuation of livestock to higher ground, assisted by GLDA

At Belmont Mahaicony

Displaced residents at Highdam, Mahaicony

the work gets done faster while we simultaneously try [to] get the salt water off the land.”

He noted that sea defence work had been ongoing in the area since early this year but what had been discovered was that the wave action had been eroding areas around those which had been fortified with boulders. “The attack was so relentless: we had to be moving from one critical area to the next; all that was happening was stop gap.

So we have to move to get a solid stretch of boulders in the first instance and then the ulti-

hit Dantzig and Highdam villages, said that a section of the sea dam was about to collapse.

Minister Patterson asked his staff to send an excavator to the village within twenty four hours to seal a potential breach there.

However, the hardest hit villages were Dantzig and Highdam where hundreds of acres north and south of the public road were inundated with salt water leading to widespread destruction of rice and cash crop cultivations in these areas.

Residents, who are mainly

Acres of rice under salt water at Dantzig

Cattle farmers reported the loss of animals trapped on that same side of the road while some, who were quick in response, managed to save parts of their flock and bring them out to safety along the roadway.

Staffers of the Ministry of Agriculture visited homes in the villages and collected information from them on the nature and extent of their losses due to the flooding.

This information, it was said, will be used as a means of arriving at relief for those affected.

Cullis McGarrell of Highdam was forced to abandon his home after he woke and found it waist deep in water Sunday night.

He fled with only the clothing on his back.

Residents said that the wa-

safety after the level became dangerously high.

Regional Health Officer for the Department of Health in Region Five, Dr Desmond Nicholson, said that the Department had issued advisories to residents via its Facebook page and had printed and handed out pamphlets to them which advised them on how to operate during flood conditions.

The Department had also diverted necessary medication for flood-related diseases and will monitor the situation on a daily basis.

The spring tide is expected to last until October 2nd and residents were last night bracing for another onslaught.

Another hard hit homestead at Highdam

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

More Guyanese return from storm-ravaged Bahamas A THIRD Guyanese family from the hurricane-ravaged island of Abaco in the Bahamas arrived in Guyana on Sunday evening welcomed by Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix and a representative from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

Arriving at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport were Cecil and Olive Simon who commended the Government of Guyana for doing its part in looking out for its citizens no matter where they are.

“I think what is commendable is that the Guyana Government did really play its part irrespective of the criticisms and all of that, government played its part.

You have the Guyana-Bahamas Association, everybody came together…it’s good to see Minister Felix and a member of the CDC. I think they played a very good role in making this possible.

Cecil and Olive Simon along with Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix (first left) (DPI photo)

Without them, it would not have been possible,” Olive Simon said in a release from the Ministry.

The Simons are the third batch of persons to return home, bringing the total to

12 persons, after the island was ravaged by a Category Five hurricane. They were overjoyed to be back, and told the media that the entire experience has taught them valuable lessons.

Olive Simon said: “It is an experience whereby it teaches us that material things don’t matter at all. We come into this world with nothing. We leave with nothing, so irrespective of what

we had; the loss is nothing compared to the fact that we have life…I always use to tell myself that Bahamas, as far as the building codes are concerned, they are second to none …that Category Five hurricane is something totally unprecedented. We didn’t bargain for that, but it happened.”

On Sunday, September 22, Guyanese Ms. Vanessa Tate, her Bahamian husband, Mr. Stevie Cooper and their three children; Stevie Jr. age 5, Steven, age 3 and 3-monthold Steve arrived on a Caribbean Airlines flight. Mr. Orin and Mrs. Sholme Grimmond and their children; Seraphine age 7, Angeline, age 2 and two-month-old Kemuel arrived on Sunday, September 15.

Minister Felix said initially, 28 persons had indicated an interest in returning, however, the majority have since decided to remain on the island.

“By the time we started to make arrangements, we were able to confirm that 12 really wanted to return…

Others who are interested in coming may have to do so on their own steam because this marks the culminating point of Government’s intervention to return Guyanese home.

It cannot be an open-ended arrangement,” he said.

He stressed that the Guyanese survivors were given every opportunity to decide if they wanted to return.

“We … took time to ensure that the word got around to all the persons in distress and they were given an opportunity to decide whether or not they’re willing to return. Those who have returned are the ones [whom] we were sure were willing to be removed…The others apparently, have found some way to make out while the situation in The Bahamas is being normalised,” he stated.

CARICOM Health Ministers meet over packed agenda in Washington CARICOM Ministers of Health met on Monday in Washington DC to discuss a number of critical issues on the regional public health agenda.

Among items on the agenda were the work of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the strategic planning process of regional health cooperation.

Within the framework of the 37th Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), health ministers are discussing intersecting trade and health issues in the prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

A proposed framework for the treatment of cancers; the challenges with curbing the high rate of heart attacks in the Region; and triangular cooperation among CARICOM, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and countries within the hemisphere are among other matters on the packed agenda.

The meeting is being convened on the side-lines of the 57th Meeting of PAHO’s Directing Council.

COHSOD officials met over the weekend for preparatory discussions and recommendations to guide the ministers’ decisions. According to Programme Manager for Health Sector Development

within the CARICOM Secretariat Dr. Rudolph Cummings, the meeting is expected to receive a preliminary report on CARPHA, from its inception in 2012 to present, to see whether it has achieved its initially identified functions. A consultancy group, which was commissioned earlier this year to conduct the review, will present that preliminary report to COHSOD. **CARPHA’s Board has dedicated an afternoon session to digesting the report, and its recommendations are also expected to guide COHSOD’s decisions. Dr. Cummings said the meeting will be informed of the upcoming consultative meeting between the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and COHSOD, scheduled for mid-November.

The 2014 evaluation of the landmark 2007 Declaration of Port-of-Spain, ‘Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic NCDs’, had uncovered a number of implementation deficits in multi-sectoral actions, including mainstreaming health and trade issues in NCD prevention. In the wake of that discovery, a number of interventions followed, including a mandate from the 43rd COTED for the CARICOM Secretariat to convene a Meeting of Ministers of COTED and

COHSOD to discuss Health and Trade matters related to NCDs, such as: Tobacco Policy, Sugar consumption and Responsible use of Alcohol.

The use of taxes and health laws critical new approaches to NCD prevention are expected to the scrutinised when COTED and COHSOD meet in November.

In Washington on Monday, the ministers of health were slated to receive for adoption the New Regional Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS the Pan Caribbean Partnership on HIV and Aids has just completed. Time will be devoted to looking at the elimination of mother-tochild transmission of HIV, as well as measles.

MIGRANTS AND RIGHTS The plight of migrants, including matters related to their rights, are also on the meeting’s agenda. The Oncologist and Hematologist Association of the Caribbean has prepared a paper on the treatment of cancer, which it hopes to present as a framework to the COHSOD. Dr. Cummings said the Caribbean Cardiologist Association will also interact with CARICOM health ministers in a discussion on challenges with curbing heart attacks in the Region.

COHSOD will also discuss matters pertaining to

triangular cooperation among PAHO, CARICOM and countries within the hemisphere, including Argentina and Chile; and regional representation on governance bodies, including the Global Fund, PAHO and UNAIDs. Particular focus during this discussion will be on ‘Triangular Cooperation Project on Strengthening National and Regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Detection and Surveillance.’ The roll-out began last week in Guyana, and will be phasedin in the other 14 CARICOM Member States over the next two years.

CARICOM health ministers are also expected to track the progress of, and see where governments can further streamline, the regulation of pharmaceuticals entering the Regional market. Dr. Cummings said that the Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) uses a “unique methodology” to assess the credibility of pharmaceuticals being offered to CARICOM by manufacturers. He added that Regional health officials are hopeful there will be “a greater uptake” in the products the CRS recommends as being fit for sale and consumption in the Region. That uptake, he said, will create the incentive for those recommended manufacturers to sell pharmaceuticals in the relatively small

regional market.

Among the other matters for health ministers’ attention is a Travellers’ Health Policy, which CARPHA has prepared and will present for their approval.

He said that part of this discussion will be how the policy can be fully utilised in CARICOM Member

States. During their engagements in Washington over the weekend, CARICOM health ministers participated in a Call-to-Action by the Health Coalition Caribbean on specific issues related to obesity in children.

(CARICOM Secretariat)

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

AG urges swift hearing of challenge to non-residents on voters list …as GECOM revokes requirement for voters to verify registration

ATTORNEY-General Basil Williams has said that now that the Guyana Elections Commission has rescinded its order for persons to visit their offices to verify their identity before being placed on the voters’ list, it is incumbent upon the Court of Appeal to expeditiously hear the Administration’s challenge to the Chief Justice’s ruling that the removal of persons from the voters’ list is unconstitutional, and that residency was not a requirement to be on the voters list.

Attorney-General Williams has said that by virtue of Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 1991 Act No. 3 of 1991, the Legislature removed non-resident voting in Guyana, and that the Preliminary List of Electors should only include an Ambassador or High Commissioner; the wives and children of the Ambassador or High Commissioner; a member of staff of an embassy and their family in order to be registered as an elector.

On Monday, GECOM removed the necessity for every person whose name appears on the Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) to visit

the registration office with their National Identification Card to verify their registration record. The move was intended to ensure that all eligible persons are included on the Official List of Electors (OLE). An Order Document on Monday stated that the previous National Registration (Residents) Order No. 70 of 2019, dated September 26, 2019 had been revoked. The new Order now only applies to all Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation or registration, 18 years or older, or will attain the age of 18 by 31st December, 2019, and persons whose name appears on the Central Register in coming into operation of the Order.

NO OTHER CHANGE No other details have been changed in comparison to the first Order issued by the Commission.

It remains that the period of Claims and Objections (C&O) for the upcoming elections will commence on October 1, 2019 and end on November 18, 2019.

The exercise provides eligible electors the opportunity to gain entry to the List of Electors, or make transfers,

changes or objections to particulars in the Preliminary

The attorney-general, in appealing, in part, the deci-

Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams

List of Electors (PLE). It is to be conducted following publication of the PLE at the registration offices/sub-office.

“Over the next few days, the Commission will set up temporary offices and mobiles countrywide to aid the efficient conduct of the exercise, and will publish the full list of those offices to ensure applicants or registrants can access the office within close proximity to them to have their transaction done,” the Commission had informed the public in a previous release.

sion of Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, had asked for an interim stay of execution of part of the judgment handed down by Justice George-Wiltshire on August 14, 2019 until the Fixed Date Application (FDA) is completely heard and a determination made.

He is maintaining that the Chief Justice erred when she ruled that it would be unconstitutional to remove persons from the National Register of Registrants, unless deceased or disqualified, pursuant to Article 159 (3) and (4).

OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE The AG noted that the issues in the matter touch and concern matters of national importance pertaining to general elections in Guyana, and the composition of the National Register of Registrants from which the Preliminary List of Electors is extracted.

He said that the only non-resident Guyanese that could be on the Register of Registrants are Ambassadors or High Commissioners, their wives and children and staff and their wives and children. All other non-resident Guyanese are excluded from the list. Williams said this underscores the requirement for residency during the qualifying period as contemplated

by Article 159 of the Constitution.

He said, too, that under the principles of International Law, embassies, high commissions or consulate offices would be deemed to be the sovereign territory of Guyana and it would be as if the high commissioner or ambassador, family and staff would be voting in Guyana.

Additionally, he said that with the introduction of overseas voting in 1968, a

reasonable inference is that residency in Guyana could not have been part of the 1980 Constitution as opposed to the 1966. The inclusion of residency in the 1970 Constitution was a clear oversight on the part of members of the Legislature, Williams has contended.

He said, too, that by virtue of Constitution (Amendment) No. 4 of 1991, the residency requirement for voting in Guyana was reinstituted, and became a necessary requirement. According to the Explanatory Memorandum for Constitutional (Amendment) Bill No. 36 of 1991 which was the Bill pertaining to Constitution (Amendment) No. 4 of 1991 prescribes: “The amendment to article 159 provides that from the 26th March, 1991, (the date when the Electoral Laws (Amendment) Act 1991, Act No. 3 of 1991, came into operation), a citizen of Guyana, who is not a diplomatic agent or member of staff of a diplomatic mission or the wife or child of such person, must be resident in Guyana in order to be qualified to be registered as an elector for elections.”

Hundreds flock inaugural Education expo HUNDREDS of students from across Guyana converged at Durban Park on Monday to participate in the inaugural Education Exposition - a platform that provided them with the opportunity to access firsthand information on the projects and programmes within the Education Sector.

Spread across Durban Park were more than 68 booths, highlighting programmes and projects, that are already into schools and some that are to be implemented by the Ministry of Education.

During the Exposition, students visited the different booths and were amazed by some of the learning projects that are not yet in their

schools. These projects are being tested for implementation in the school system.

The publication visited several booths at the event.

During an interview with the Management Information System (MIS) Unit of the ministry, representative Ruel Simon said “we are trying to move from the standard two dimensional (2D) printing which is the black and white paper, to actually bringing the object to reality.”

The 3D printer can be used in classrooms by various departments for each subject such as history, mathematics, technical drawing, electronic engineering among others.

The special needs children will also be benefiting from this newfound technology; they will be able to build

letter blocks and shapes so it will be easier to feel and identify.

Edward Cort, a lecturer at the Leonora Technical Institute displayed the ‘Chevrolet Cobalt’ machine, and explained ways in which motor vehicles can be tested and how cars work in general. He believes that by bringing his knowledge to the institute, it will help the youths to be independent and become entrepreneurs.

Kevin Alleyne, also from the Leonora Technical Institute, displayed a Welding Simulator which acts as a safety net for students and it gives them a ‘hands-on practice’ experience before they do the actual welding.

“Many students are afraid of the sparks, the heat, and

Dennata Evans a lab technician of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) displaying the different parts of the human organs.

fume from the welding machine so this simulator will help them get accustomed,” Alleyne said.

Firefighters were also on hand to bring awareness to the students on fire safety and displayed their upgraded protective gear.

The Guyana Fire Service representative also provided information on the reestablishment of the emergency medical service of the unit.

Ruel Simon (left) of the Ministry of Education showcasing the new 3D printer.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

PPDI urged to undertake mentorship programme for hinterland power plant staff EVEN as the state-owned Power Producers and Distributer Incorporated (PPDI) boasts a creditable performance record over the past two years since its establishment, the company has been urged to expand its wings to undertake a mentorship programme for Hinterland power plant staff.

On Monday at the PPDI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s boardroom in Wight’s Lane, Minister David Patterson said that in 2018 , the young company

of Guyanese professionals assisted the ministry in developing and operating the power supply units at various outlying locations under the Hinterland Electrification Programme.

Patterson said that there was an incident recently at the Mabaruma Power plant in the North West District in which a staff member started the generating set without ensuring the machine had oil.

This resulted in a breakdown and reports are the situation led to a prolong interruption of the town’s power supply.

Although there were specu-

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson (right) listens as chairman of the board of the PPDI, Mark Bender makes a point at Monday’s annual general meeting. CEO of PPDI, Arron Fraser is at Bender’s left while company secretary, Ronald Burch-Smith is seated next to Fraser.

lations regarding the actions of the staff, Patterson noted that competency is the issue at hand. He urged the PPDI to consider a mentorship programme for operating staff in outlying areas, and he suggested a three to four weeks hands-on exposure of the PPDI operations here in the city.

Patterson also noted that the PPDI has a good record regarding its corporate social responsibility and he urged the company to consider the establishment of a scholarship programme. He elaborated that the ministry is

experiencing a staff retention issue but he noted that it is not tied to remuneration but rather the prospects of the oil and gas industry. He said in the advent of oil, to avoid retention issues such as those being experienced by the ministry, the PPDI may find it challenging to retain staff and as such, he suggested the scholarship programme.

Meanwhile, PPDI was urged to work with the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to improve electricity supply across the grid. Patterson said that it is no secret that the TURN TO PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Guyana on top of fight against narco trafficking – Ramjattan - Says CANU officers must have high level of professionalism, ethics

GUYANA has been improving in the fight against the drug trade and although there is an allure to power and money behind the narco trade, law enforcement officers must be ethical and professional in their duties in order for continued results.

This is according to Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, during his address at the opening ceremony of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) training exercise 2019, held on Monday at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street.

The event saw the participation of over 120 CANU ranks under the theme “stemming the flow of Narcotics through capacity building and Inter Agency collaborations.”

Minister Ramjattan told the gathering that unless they can capture the global context of the drug trade, only then the training will have merit.

He said agents must look at all activities surrounding narco trafficking as something disastrous for the world.

Ramjattan said building capacity to counter the trade and its negative effects is essential and such can be done with the right training in leadership, professionalism, interviewing techniques, immigration examination, forensic awareness, customs examination amongst others.

The Minister challenged the participants to absorb all that will be taught in order to remove the drug scourge from society.

“I want to tell you it corrupts governments, it corrupts the commercial sector of a

society, it corrupts the law enforcement, the people behind it also do not care as to the consequences of what happens to young children and even adults that become addicted, all they care for is the profits,” Ramjattan said.

He said that the drug trade also distorts the economy and in Guyana there are statistics to prove such because the economy appears to look better with illegal gains.

“It disincentivizes investors, it creates lots of violence in society because drugs have

Public Security Minister said.

He said the principles of a society, where wealth is accumulated because of working, is discarded and youths are focused on the big pay and drug runs.

Ramjattan said all his research indicates that the drug trade is not easily contained as seen in the U.S.A Where presidents continue the war on drugs.

He explained that the drug empire is run like a business corporation with a CEO controlling many different units.

children, the frequent mule profile, a prospect of US$5,000 for one drug run to the U.S.A offers a promise that no local opportunity can match. Those that are involved are hard to identify because they hide in plain sight,” the Public Security Minister said.

Minister Ramjattan said Guyana has been improving although there is an allure of power and money behind the drug trade.

“This is now a cultural value where people tell themselves, ‘alright I might one day Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan

A section of the CANU agents pay attention to Deputy Head Leslie Ramlall during his address.

the capacity to get the real bad guys in society doing the dirty jobs of the big dealers and Mafioso bosses; it also has a cultural negative about it, the young people see them as heroes of society because the drive around with these big BMWs and fancy cars with lots of girls, young people are influenced by this and want to live the same lifestyle,” the

“This spawns a variety of other criminalities, such as trafficking in persons.”

Underscoring that serving as a human courier for drugs now is attractive, Ramjattan said traffickers know that a proportion of traffickers is caught. Such risk is then accepted as a cost of doing business.

“For single women with

get catch, so I might as well enjoy this life’ and this has change society’s pattern, some people see it as better to enjoy whatever couple days they have rather than work the elongated way of going through their years and aging well and doing all the things that are legitimate, but no, many want the quick money that comes with drugs,” he said.

He explained that government has done well in providing resources, structures and vehicles in order to ensure the law enforcement operate to its fullest capacity.

Adding that all stakeholders are working more closely with their US counterparts, Ramjattan said the US has a strong cooperation with Guyana in addressing the mutual threats of the drug trade.

He noted that CANU officers have done lots of overseas training that have enhanced Guyana’s capacity.

“Over 28 of our CANU officers have gone overseas for training in various areas,” he said. “In 2015 we had 610 kilo of cocaine seized; in 2016 there was 66 kilos; 2017 it was 290 kilos; 2018 it was 161 kilos; and in 2019 it’s 115 thus far.”

He said that persons who are supplying heroine, ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine are also being investigated.

“We have borders that

are long and you will find drug traffickers utilizing those borders. It is important then, that, knowing the challenges and difficulties, you undergo the training and apply same in your work by ensuring that you behave ethically………………….You have to know that people are going to come and temp you to do things because the money is big, but, if you love your country and you love yourself and you love your family, you certainly will have to ensure that you are not tempted just for a quick buck,” Ramjattan said.

He said Guyana suffers as a result of corruption facilitated by the drug trade and law enforcement officers must be professional.

Ramjattan advised the CANU ranks to read a book titled ‘Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats are hijacking the global economy’ by Moisés Naím.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Trial of triple-murder accused continues today THE trial into the 2012 murders of Anna Catherina liquor store owner Jennifer Persaud and her sons Afridi Bacchus, six, and Jadon Persaud, 18 months, during a home invasion, continued on Monday, September 30, 2019.

Police Detective, Sargent Singh, testified that he took a caution statement from murder accused Abishai Caesar, who is before Justice Brassington Reynolds and a mixed 12-member jury at the High Court.

Caesar denied the charges which stated that, between September 21, 2012, and September 22, 2012, at Sea View Anna Catherina, he murdered 41-year-old Jennifer Persaud, called “Jenny”, and her sons Afridi Bacchus, six, and Jadon Ernest, 18 months.

Police Sargent Singh on Monday read the caution statement of Caesar which was taken by him on April 23, 2016.

Caesar, in his caution statement, explained that he lied to his wife about killing Jennifer and her sons.

He told Singh that it was a “Spanish man, red man and

another man” who went into the woman’s home and committed the murder.

According to Caesar, after the men finished looting Jennifer’s home, Spanish man went over to his yard, and handed him a pair of gloves, a knife and $3,000 to

“Abishai said to me that he was going over to Jenny to get some money because he was broke,” Phillips had told the court during her first appearance.

The couple then went into the lower flat of their

their house and gained entry into their neighbour’s yard through an opening in the zinc fence.

Phillips told the court that her neighbour had clear glass windows and she was able to see Caesar in the woman’s

asleep.

However, she was awakened by the sound of a woman screaming and sat on her bed. Thirty minutes later, Caesar called for her, and she went downstairs into the kitchen and opened the back

Abishai Caesar

throw away the evidence.

Caesar, in his statement, admitted that he lied to his then reputed wife, Zoey Phillips, about killing Jennifer and her two sons.

Phillips had earlier testified that she lived with Caesar and Persaud was her neighbour.

Jennifer Persaud, and her sons Afridi Bacchus, six, and Jadon Ernest who was 18 months old at the time

home, into the kitchen, where Caesar armed himself with a wood-handle knife, a pair of green gloves, while being clad in a 3/4 pants.

The witness said that Caesar went to the back of

home by peeping through the louvre window in her bedroom.

After seeing Caesar as he went up the step in Persaud’s home, Phillips claimed that she went to bed and fell

door for him.

According to Phillips, Caesar had a small cardboard beer box in his hands, and told her that that was all he got from raiding Jennifer’s home.

The box contained a number of $20 and $100 bills which amounted to $3,000.

He also came back with the pair of gloves and a knife, both of which had what appeared to be blood. There was also what appeared to be spots of blood on his pair of pants.

The witness disclosed that her reputed husband told her that Jennifer awoke and saw him inside of the home and he killed her because she saw his face and knew him well.

Caesar, Phillips explained, told her that, while he was stabbing Jennifer, the older son woke and saw him.

This caused him to kill the older son plus the baby.

The couple then went to the seawall, where Caesar threw the knife into the river.

Then they went into the street and Caesar threw the gloves and pants into some bushes.

The witness explained that they went back home and into bed where they slept.

The trial continues today.

Wash-bay owner accused of drug Three lindeners fined for marijuana possession trafficking released on bail A 23-year-old businessman, charged for having a quantity of marijuana in his possession for the purpose of trafficking, was arraigned before Principal Magistrate, Faith McGusty, on Monday, September 30, 2019.

Jose’ Singh of Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and denied the charge which stated that, on September 27, 2019,

he had in his possession 53 grams of cannabis with intent to traffick.

Singh was represented by Attorney-at-Law Gordon Gilhuys, who, in a successful bail application, stated that the said marijuana was found in a hammock in his client’s wash-bay where several other persons were present at the time.

He added that, at the time when the search was conducted, his client, who is the sole breadwinner for his

family, was nowhere near the said hammock.

The police prosecutor stated that, on the day in question, ranks of the Linden Police Station conducted a raid in the area, when Singh, upon seeing the officers, dropped a plastic bag and attempted to run away.

He was then apprehended and the said plastic bag containing leaves, stems and seeds believed to be marijuana, was retrieved by ranks.

PPDI urged to undertake ... provision of constant, reliable electricity remains an issue. After Wartsila’s contract ended, PPDI has been contracted since December 2016 to operate and maintain four of GPL’s power plants: Garden of Eden (22 MW), Kingston Number One (22mw), Kingston Number Two (36.3 MW) and Vreed-en-Hoop (26.4mw), being responsible for ensuring 106.7 megawatts of power is supplied to the grid.

Patterson said that although PPDI boasts a 98.82% plant reliability record, he noted that the customers should benefit from the figure. “So, somehow or the other, we have to work with GPL”, he added.

PPDI’s board Chairman, Mark Bender told the gathering that in 2018, the company’s performance was stellar and surpassed the benchmarks established in 2017. He said the company was able to complete

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its maintenance mandate planned for 2018, adding that eight major over-halls were completed. Bender said that the goal of becoming an independent power producer remains “an important strategic objective” of the PPDI but in the interim, the company is focusing on becoming the operations and maintenance service provider for all state-owned power generating facilities.

The police prosecutor made no objection to bail and Singh was released on $60,000 bail.

Singh is expected to appear at the Linden Magistrates’ Court on October 16, 2019.

THREE residents of Mackenzie Linden, on Monday September 30, 2019, were arraigned before Magistrate Faith McGusty.

Travis Hazel, Calvin Persaud and Enol Jenning, all pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that, on September 27, 2019, at Mackenzie

Linden they were each found with one gram of marijuana.

According to information presented in court, ranks of the Linden Police Station were conducting a raid in the area, when the said marijuana was found on the men.

Magistrate McGusty fined the trio $5000 each.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

2018 audit report handed over to House Speaker

THE 2018 Auditor-General’s report was submitted

by Auditor-General Deodat Sharma to Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland on Monday.

Its contents are expected to be made public after being laid in the National Assembly on October 10, 2019. The Audit Office of Guyana (AOG) is responsible for scrutinising the expenditure of public funds on Parliament’s behalf.

Financial audits conducted cover publicly-funded entities, donor-funded entities, local government agencies and trade unions in Guyana.

During the hand-over, the Auditor-General thanked the staff of the Audit Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant- General and heads of budget agencies for their cooperation. “The presentation of this report marks the ninth consecutive occasion the Audit Office has been submitting its reports by the statutory deadline of September 30 following the close of the fiscal year. This achievement reflects the realisation of the office’s objective of timely

reporting of the results of its audits to the legislature, and ultimately the public,” he said.

National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs; members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC);

Auditor-General Deodat Sharma (right) handing over his report to House Speaker Dr. Barton Scotland on Monday (Photos by Carl Croker)

Also present for the handing over were Clerk of the

Advisers of the PAC; and staff of the Audit Office. The

Auditor- General also thanked the Government for its efforts to strengthen the Audit Office, as well as donors and partners such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF), Global Affairs Canada, the Audit Office of British Colombia, and the High Commissioner of Canada.

He noted that the Audit Office underwent a Supreme Audit Institutions Performance Measurement Framework (SAI PMF) with consultants from the IDB, and was found to be “in compliance with the relevant auditing standards”, and were ranked “above average”.

Meanwhile, while the contents of the report are expected to be made public after being presented to the National Assembly, members of the Opposition have said that they want access to the document, even though they have no plans of returning to the House on the said date.

“We have a particular matter of interest in the absence of the Sitting of the National As-

PAC Members and Opposition MPs Juan Edghill and Nigel Dharamlall

sembly, and where we in the Parliamentary Opposition do not envisage any sittings that we will be participating in or any sittings taking place whatsoever, because, in our view, the Parliament has expired, we would like to ensure that this report is not ducked and hidden for the next five months, where the country would be kept in suspense as it relates to its contents,” PAC Member and Opposition Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill said.

“Our demand,” he said, “is

that this report, in the absence of a sitting when October 10 and the recess is over, must be circulated to all members, whether they are sitting or not sitting… We will not allow just wanting to get a copy of the report to force us back to Parliament.”

He was supported by PAC Member and Opposition MP Nigel Dharamlall.

While the Opposition members have expressed their expectations, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs told this newspaper in an invited comment that there are no provisions for a presentation of the Report before it is laid in the National Assembly.

“Yes, it has to be laid,” Isaacs said, adding when questioned whether it could be accessed beforehand: “As far as I’m concerned, the answer is ‘no’.” He added that the MPs cannot make special requests to the Auditor-General for an earlier release.

Nappi residents overjoyed about first-time water access in homes TWENTY additional homes are now benefiting from a newly-drilled well and water supply system in Nappi, Region 9.

Toshao of the Village, Mr. Guy Fredericks, told Guyana Water Inc during a visit to the village last Friday that he is elated to have a water service connection reach his home for the very first time, the water company said in a release.

His father, Mr. Vincent Mano, was also overjoyed to have potable water in their yard after 71 years living in the village. As a result, they were able to construct their very own Do-it-yourself (DIY) shower.

The sanitary block at the nursery school and the school's kitchen are also getting direct access to wa-

Teacher washes dishes at Nappi Nursery School

A shower constructed by a resident in Nappi

ter. A trestle is expected to be constructed, which would allow the community a 24hour water supply.

In neighbouring villages, Parishara and Hiawa, residents also expressed their satisfaction with the work carried out by GWI to improve their water supply. In these areas, residents and key facilities such as the health centres, schools and hot meal buildings are benefiting from the water supply system.

At the water supply system in Parishara, solar panels are now connected to the existing pump and storage tanks, then to a C2 filter, after which it is distributed to the community.

Residents there are now benefitting from 24 hours service. Over in Hiawa, the pump and discharge lines were installed on the well and the solar panels.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Cocaine trafficking quadrupled in Caribbean within eight years –Deputy CANU Head - Guyana sees reduction OVER the last eight years, the amount of cocaine flowing through the Caribbean region has more than quadrupled, increasing from 35 metric tonnes in 2010 to 184 metric tonnes in 2018.

This is according to Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit’s (CANU’s) Deputy Head, Leslie Ramlall, during his address at the opening ceremony of CANU Training Exercise 2019.

The event saw the participation of over 120 CANU ranks under the theme “stemming the flow of Narcotics through capacity building and Inter-Agency collaboration.”

He said the demand for narcotics continues to increase, along with unprecedented seizures and increased

intelligence-sharing with local and international partners.

Ramlall said the agency destroyed several laboratories within the last three years, which indicates that the use of synthetic drugs is a new and rapidly expanding phenomenon in the region.

“And it leaves us to ponder what should be our approach to such a trend,” he said.

In addressing the situation locally, the Deputy Head said efforts of the counternarcotics agencies, collectively, have been rewarding, over the last year.

“Not only have we seen a reduction in the flow of narcotics, but also a great reduction in the amount of persons attempting to smuggle narcotics through our

CANU Deputy Head Leslie Ramlall

airports, especially during the July/August period and the decreasing number of Guyanese being arrested at the more popular airports overseas,” Ramlall said.

He said that Guyana’s efforts are paying dividends in three categories: government support, increased intelligence sharing and, thirdly,

a strategic and robust plan in ensuring that narco-traffickers and their networks are dismantled and assets confiscated.

“While we are tempted to smile and commend ourselves on these successes, it was disheartening to know that it was during this last year we also saw an increase

in the use of synthetic drugs, particularly, ecstasy in our beautiful country,” the Deputy CANU Head stated.

He said that greater inter-agency collaboration will ensure that the young generation is not lost, and much work continues to be done by law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to educate the nation on the dangers of narcotics.

Ramlall quoted Nelson Mandela and stated, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

He said CANU will continue to reduce the flow of narcotics through the seizures, prosecution of traffickers and forfeiture of assets while working with the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and the Financial Investigative Intelligence Unit to aid in money laundering

investigations.

“We remain dedicated to taking the profits out of narco trafficking in order to ensure that our people can continue to live a fruitful and productive life,” he said.

In February, 2018 a private school educator was sentenced to three years in jail, after he pleaded guilty to trafficking ecstasy pills.

Larry John Adams, 20, admitted to the charge that, on February 20th, 2019, at Princes Street, Georgetown, he had eight MDMA pills for the purpose of trafficking.

MDMA is Methylenedioxy?methamphetamine, which is known commonly as ecstasy.

In 2018, 532.8 grammes of ecstasy were seized by CANU officers.

Superbet wins challenge HIGH Court Judge, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, on Monday, September 30, 2019, ruled in favour of the Guiana Holding Inc., in the civil challenge filed against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Gaming Authority, (GGA.) The company, which operates Sports-betting giant SuperBet had listed GRA and its Commissioner-General, GGA and its Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Moore as its respondents in the matter.

Guiana Holding Inc. had taken the GRA and GGA to court after they refused to grant them a betting licence in Guyana and imposed the requirement of good standing certification as a pre-condition.

Justice Barlow granted three orders in favour of Guiana Holding Inc. The first order issued and directed to the GRA and its Commissioner-General, that the decision made during the month of January, 2018, requiring Guiana Holding Inc, a Certificate of Good Standing, as a condition precedent to the issuance of a Betting Shop Licence under the provisions of the Tax Act, Chapter 80:01, is ultra vires, capricious, arbitrary, unlawful, illegal, influenced by irrelevant considerations, null, void and of no effect.

The second order issued

demanded that the applicant obtain a Certificate of Good Standing as a pre-condition to being issued with a Betting Shop Licence as it is required outside of the law.

The Court noted also that the respondents received and

Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall

and directed to the GRA and its Commissioner-General, compelling them to process, in accordance with law, Guiana Holding Inc.’s application for Betting Shop Licences for the years 2018 and 2019.

The third order issued and directed to the GGA and its Chief Executive Officer quashed the decision to impose a requirement of a Good Standing Certificate, as a condition precedent to the applicant obtaining a Betting Shop Licence under the provisions of the Tax Act, Chapter 80:01, on the grounds that the said decision was ultra vires, arbitrary, unlawful, illegal, influenced by irrelevant considerations, null, void and of no effect.

L a s t l y , J u s t i c e B a rlow ordered that GRA and its Commissioner-Gen-

eral pay Guiana Holding Inc. costs of $200,000 while GGA and its Chief Executive Officer were ordered to pay $300,000.

The Court noted that, in her oral judgment, delivered under the Tax Act, the legislation under which the applicant is licensed to carry on business, the Act makes no provision, expressly or by implication, for the applicant to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing as a pre-condition to being issued with betting shop licence.

Likewise, the AML/CFT Act also makes no provision for the applicant to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing as a pre-condition to being issued with betting shop licence.

Therefore, both the GRA and the GGA acted unlawfully and illegally when they

unlawfully and illegally in the manner in which they have treated the applicant.

During the proceedings, an application filed by the Attorney General Basil Williams to join the matter was refused.

Guiana Holding Inc was represented by the Chambers of Mohabir A. Nandlall & Associates- Anil Nandlall, Manoj Narayan, Rajendra R. Jaigobin and Anuradha Deodasingh.

The GRA and the Commissioner-General were

Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall explained that as a result of this ruling, Superbet should now be issued with its licence for the years 2018 and 2019 by GRA, especially since its Affidavit before the Court, GRA intimated that Superbet had satisfied all the legal requirements to be issued with this licence.

“This ruling also would constitute a conclusive basis for the dismissal or discontinuance of all pending criminal charges against the agents of the Superbet in the Magistrate’s Court.” Nandlall said.

In an affidavit supporting acted upon poor legal advice his application, Superbet’s in demanding that the ApGeneral Manager, Shrikant plicant obtain a certificate of Kisoensingh, stated that “Sugood standing from the GRA perbet” has been operating in and Gaming Authority before Guyana for over seven years being issued with a Betting and his application to the represented by Judy StuShop Licence.

GRA for betting licences had This poor legal advice art-Adonis. always been granted, once the relevant fees were paid.

Since 2012, SuperBet has established 170 locations countrywide.

He is also claiming that since the company is operating in Guyana, it has been adhering to the tax and gamGuiana Holding Inc. which operates ing laws.

Sports-betting giant SuperBet Kisoensingh stated that The Gaming Authority for the years 2012, 2013, applied more to the Gaming Authority than the GRA as it and the Chief Executive Offi- 2014 and 2015, the relevant was the 2nd time in 2 years cer of the Gaming Authority, fee was $2,000,000 annualthat the Court had ruled that Lloyd Moore, were repre- ly, while noting that it was the Gaming Authority acted sented by Senior Counsel increased to $3,000,000 for Rex McKay and Neil Boston. 2016 and 2017.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Sea defence breach at Danzig causing trouble for Reg. 5 residents -NDIA moves in to address it, gov’t sends in other tangible support FARMERS and the average resident of communities within Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) are affected by flooding which was caused by a breach in the sea defence at Danzig.

“My house get water, my garden in shambles, my livestock deh all over the place…I bin plant meh lil garden and meh lil pepper gone too,” said Gavin McGarrell, a resident of one of the flood-affected villages, Rebecca’s Lust.

McGarrell, who has been living in Rebecca’s Lust for over 20 years, said his community has never been flooded to that extent before.

The floods are as a result of above-normal high tides predicted at approximate-

never see this place flood like this,” said Ramcharan, adding that he also lost his livestock in the flood.

Aside from the loss he suffered from the rice crops, he averaged his other losses to be about $3-$4 million.

“This thing only happening for two days now and I done lose so much I ain’t want think what would happen if it continues,” said the farmer.

A resident of Rebecca’s Lust, Annika Bissoon, shared similar sentiments, noting that the flood was unexpected so persons were unable to save most of their things.

Bissoon was joined by a group of farmers who all expressed their concern about what was going on.

Carlton Hall Primary School’s compound on Monday (Photos by Rony Rogers)

of the contractor because farmers and residents were suffering.

NDIA MOBILISED Another high tide was predicted for Monday, but the NDIA had started to mobilise machines to fix the breach.

This was according to a reliable source, who said NDIA had started working on the breach early in the day, but deployed additional machines in order to get the work done faster.

As the authority worked to fix the breach, other authorities such as the GLDA

water and food supplies.

It was reported that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) had deployed a five-person team to the communities of Danzig, Columbia, Glazier’s Lust, Fair Field, High Dam and Propect to assess the situation and render much-needed assistance.

“A rapid assessment in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council, Region Five, was conducted across the communities and found that seven families experienced floodwaters in their homes. It was noted

The state of Annika Bissoon’s yard on Monday

ly 3.31 meters. About 300 metres of the sea defence has been compromised so water is continuously flowing through.

“We never see nothing like this before…everything gone…although meh got it bad, those farmers got it worse because some of them lose everything,” said McGarrell in an invited comment on Monday.

He said water started flowing over the structure two days ago and because of the heavy inundation not much could have been done to fix it immediately.

A farmer from Danzig, Sahadeo Ramcharan, said he lost acres of rice and most of his land was damaged by the salt water.

“I cannot plant back rice anymore because of the salt water…everything finish… all me years living here, I

Residents and farmers had an opportunity to talk about their losses with officials of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and others.

Government Member of Parliament (MP), Jennifer Wade, said Government was aware of the situation and systems were being put in place to deal with the effects of the breach.

“Although we are now working to alleviate the problem, we were aware of the situation before and we had put systems in place, but the contractor did not do the work urgently so the unfinished work got caught with the high tide.

“I am very perturbed by

Sahadeo Ramcharan, a farmer, points to a plot of his land which was inundated because of the breach

what is going on…we had made the money available but the contractor could not finish the work,” said Wade.

She said it was a great disappointment on the part

provided tangible support to farmers. The authority distributed 500 bags of chicken feed to farmers. Residents also received support in the form of cleaning supplies,

that several small scale subsistence farms, livestock, including poultry, were severely affected. Further, over 10 rice cultivated plots were inundated with saltwater,”

the CDC Director-General, Kester Craig said as he gave a synopsis of the situation on the ground.

The CDC, he reported, provided the seven families with cleaning hampers to ensure that they were able to clean and return their homes to normalcy after the high tides. With the above normal high tides to continue for the next two days, the commission and local authorities have provided residents with sand to create sandbag barriers.

Cognizant of the effects floods could have on the health of communities and villages, the Ministry of Public Health issued an advisory on Sunday calling on citizens in the affected areas to take precautionary measures, and pay keen attention to their health, personal hygiene, vector control, food and water safety to avoid any waterborne illness.

“If you are living in flooded areas, stay out of the floodwater as much as possible, as it can greatly reduce your chances of contracting diseases such as skin irritation, skin infection, Leptospirosis, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases,” the Public Health Ministry urged.

It explained that direct contact with floodwaters can expose persons to several germs that can lead to any of the named diseases.

“Keep children especially out of the water as they are most at risk of contracting diseases. Avoid swimming in canals and trenches. During the rainy season and floods, these become contaminated by both human and animal faeces and can make you sick,” it further warned.

Use of protective gears is key for those persons who are required to venture out into floodwaters, the Ministry said. These gears include long boots, gloves and eye protection.

“Prepare a foot bath of ½ cup of bleach to one bucket of water and wash your feet before entering the house.

Apply Vaseline or oil to your skin as it forms a barrier and provides some protection from the dirty salted water,” the Public Health Ministry advised.

It also called on families to sleep under mosquito nets, use mosquito repellents and coils to prevent being bitten by the insects that could lead to Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya.

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Peerless Warriors seal top spot with eighth straight win

GUYANA Amazon Warriors extended their perfect 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign to eight wins from eight matches with a 19-run win over defending champions, Trinbago Knight Riders, at the Queen’s Park Oval despite Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo briefly threatening to pull off an outrageous heist.

The Knight Riders appeared dead and buried at 91/4 with just six overs remaining and still needing 95 more to overhaul the Warriors 185/6.

But Pollard and Bravo went on a ferocious sixhitting spree that almost dragged the unlikeliest of wins out of the fire for TKR. They came up short, though, with Keemo Paul’s 19th over in which only singles came from the last five balls, easing the Warriors’ fraying nerves before Tahir bowled Pollard for a sensational 71 from 38 balls with three balls to go and 21 still needed to finish the contest. The final winning margin of 19 runs also highlighted the significance of Romario Shepherd’s late cameo with the bat in the Warriors’ innings – he smashed 32* from 13, with two sixes and a four to finish it off as 25 came from Chris Jordan’s closing over. Yet another win for the Warriors means they have now guaranteed themselves top spot in the regular season with two games to spare, while the Knight Riders still have work to do to secure their own place in the top two and the safety net of a place in Qualifier 1. One win from their two remaining games will do it. Having muscled their way to 185/6 despite a troubling mid-innings wobble, the Warriors then strangled the Knight Riders top order through their battery of spinners.

Chris Green once again led the way, bowling his four overs off the reel at the top of the innings, removing the dangerous Colin Munro and Lendl Simmons, and returning figures of 2/18. Imran Tahir did for Mark Deyal and Shoaib Malik had Denesh Ramdin caught in the deep off a slog-sweep to leave TKR reeling at 53/4. Not even Pollard could rescue the Knight Riders from there, although he gave it a real crack. He shared a swashbuckling 125run stand with Bravo, who himself cleared the ropes six times in a 46-ball 58 not out, but the required rate continued to climb throughout the

partnership; even when 57 runs were plundered in four overs from the 15th to the 18th. Paul’s nerveless 19th over was ultimately key, and across the 40 overs the Warriors were deserving winners. A 98-run second-wicket stand between Chrandrapaul Hemraj and Shimron Hetmyer, then Shepherd’s late fireworks, lifted the Warriors to their commanding total. After the early loss of Brandon King, falling straight after taking Khary Pierre for 10 runs in two balls to start the third over, Hemraj took stock and then took charge. Only 35/1 was on the board after the powerplay, but the boundaries started to flow – for Hemraj in particular, who smashed four Hero Maximums and reached a 34-ball half-century with back-to-back fours off Jordan. When Hemraj was caught behind off a wide Javon Searles yorker for 66, Hetmyer exploded into life in thrilling, yet, sadly for the Warriors, all too brief fashion. Searles’ next over started with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran and ended with that of Hetmyer slicing to Pierre at deep point. In between came 17 runs as Hetmyer flayed two fours and a gorgeous six carved high and handsome over backward point. The failed attempt to repeat the dose saw Hetmyer depart the scene furious with himself and two short of a half-century. The Warriors innings threatened to subside at that point in the face of some fine bowling from Ali Khan (1/23) in particular. From 111/1 and 136/3, the Warriors found themselves 143/6 when Malik and Sherfane Rutherford fell to catches in the deep having added just a single between them. But Shepherd ensured the Warriors would get up past not just 160, but also 180. He flayed a couple of early boundaries through the offside, but it was the two Hero Maximums and one-bounce four with which he finished the innings – 25 in all coming from Jordan’s closing over – that would ultimately take the Warriors out of Pollard and the Knight Riders’ reach.

(CPL)

Old Fort upstage GCC to take U-20 hockey league title YMCA Old Fort Ballerz upstaged defending champions, GCC Pitbulls, with a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon in the final clash of the Solo Beverages Boys’ U-20 Outdoor Development Hockey League at the St. Stanislaus College (SSC) ground, on Carifesta Avenue. Old Fort Ballerz had given themselves a chance, by scoring a whopping 6-0 against SHC Storm on Saturday afternoon with Shaquon Favourite firing a hat-trick. Although Old Fort were within striking distance and had a superior goal difference (22-12), the Pitbulls just needed to draw their clash to retain the title.

Both teams had chances early and GCC enjoyed a fair share of attacks, but then the Ballerz got into their zone and with the combination of

Omar Hopkinson and Luis Adams in defence, they were able to keep the GCC attacks at bay. On the stroke of half time, a pass by Hopkinson to Favourite beat the goalie, which handed the Ballerz a slim lead. GCC came out attacking in the second period and had a few chances, including a disallowed goal, due to an infraction and a shot from deep, which darted through the defence and struck the right side of box only to ricochet away from the goal-mouth. The exchanges continued until the last few minutes of the game, when Old Fort attacked in numbers and had managed to bring the goalie off his line, which left a clear shot on goal, but it was well protected by the defence.

The ball was, however, not cleared and a slick move by Theodore Thierens,

which saw him delivering a backhanded shot, with the slimmest of opening, into the goal, carrying the side two up. GCC did not give up and answered one minute after when Rahim Oliver found himself on a one-on-one with the goalie. In the last minute, the defending champions had two chances, one of which should have been converted.

Unfortunately for them, the final whistle blew with the score at 2-1. Kareem McKenzie, from the GCC Pitbulls, was named the Most Valuable Player, while the Ballerz’ Paul D’Andrade copped the Best Goalkeeper’s award and Yonnick Norton, from the YMCA Old Fort Generals, the Most Promising Player.

Favourite also won an award for finishing with 12 goals, the most in the league.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

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Organisers blame late starts, working week for empty athletics stadium

By Brian Homewood DOHA (Reuters) - The embarrassingly low attendance at the world athletics championships was blamed on late start times and a blockade of the country by other nations in the region by the event’s organisers on Monday.

Athletes, pundits and global TV audiences have widely criticised the poor turnout at the Khalifa Stadium over the first three days of competition.

The 48,000-capacity venue was barely half full for the men’s 100 meters final on Saturday. But on Sunday, when the women’s 100 meters headlined the action, it was almost completely empty. The local organising committee said in a statement

Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - 9 General view of empty seats in the stadium REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

that attendances on Friday and Saturday were “solid” but were “down on our expectations” on Sunday, which they said “coincided with the start of the working week in Qatar.”

“The challenge we face with a competition schedule that is geared to support global TV viewership, is that some finals are not starting until the late evening,” it said. “This impacts on the number of spectators remaining until the end of the session.” The LOC said it was “confident with our additional communications (that) we will see more attendees for longer periods.”

It then mentioned the boycott which has been imposed on Qatar by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, who accuse the Gulf state of supporting terrorism, which it denies.

“Our vision was for a first world championships in the Middle East. An IAAF World Athletics Championships that would welcome the world and connect to new fans. Despite facing unique challenges as hosts, in terms of the political blockade, that ambition remains,” it said.

The statement added that the athletes competing at the Khalifa stadium have “relished the experience.”

“The controlled temperature conditions on the track have been ideal and fitting for world-class performances and will remain so,” it said.

FIFA rules Cardiff must pay first instalment of £5.3m to Nantes CARDIFF City have been told to pay the first instalment of 6m euros (£5.3m) to Nantes for £15m striker Emiliano Sala.

FIFA ruled Cardiff must pay the sum “corresponding to the first instalment due” in the transfer agreement.

The Argentine, who was 28, died in a plane crash in January while travelling from France to join his new club. Cardiff have argued they were not liable for any of the full £15m fee because Sala was not officially their player when he died. The

club refused to make interim payments, claiming the deal was not legally binding.

BBC Sport has learned that the second instalment of the £15m fee agreed for Sala is due to be paid in January 2020. A statement issued by FC Nantes’ lawyers, Jerome Marsaudon and Louis-Marie Absil, read: “We welcome this decision by Fifa. Cardiff must respect its commitments and the rules of sports law.

“Beyond the human tragedy that affected the entire sports community with the death of Emiliano Sala, Fifa has

just reminded that the legal security of the commitments made by clubs in the context of player transfers must be respected. “It is not a surprise, it confirms the position that FC Nantes has held for the last nine months: Emiliano Sala signed with Cardiff; his contract with Nantes was over; the international transfer contract (ITC), delivered by Fifa, states that on the day of the accident Emiliano was indeed a Cardiff player.” Cardiff believe the transfer was null and void, saying the Premier League had rejected certain clauses requested by Nantes in the

original contract and that Sala never had a chance to review or sign the final version, meaning their record signing was not registered as a Premier League player. A statement from FIFA read: “Cardiff City FC must pay FC Nantes the sum of 6m euros, corresponding to the first instalment due in accordance with the transfer agreement concluded between the parties on 19 January 2019 for the transfer of the late Emiliano Sala from FC Nantes to Cardiff City FC. The plane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, crashed

Emiliano Sala played for Bordeaux before joining Nantes in 2015

in the English Channel on 21 January, two days after the players’ transfer was announced. The footballer’s body was recovered from the wreckage, but Ibbotson, from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, has still not

been found.

Sala was exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide prior to the crash, a report later revelaed.,(BBC Sport)

Russian anti-doping chief calls for dismissal of state sports officials Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber DOHA (Reuters) - The head of Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA has called for a full overhaul in the country’s sports management that would include the dismissal of state officials involved in an ongoing doping scandal, a letter seen by Reuters shows.RUSADA finds itself on the brink of suspension for the second time over alleged manipulation of antidoping laboratory data which has sparked concern that the country’s participation in next year’s Tokyo Olympics could be at risk. In a six-page open letter dated Monday, RUSADA Director General Yuri Ganus said the situation around Russian sport was tragic and that major changes

Yuri Ganus, Director General of Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA),

in management were needed.

“Our sport deserves full membership in the international

sports family, but first we need to remove the unacceptable approaches, methods and

people who have driven it into a dead end and discredited it in the eyes of the world,” Ganus wrote, without naming the officials he would like to see dismissed. RUSADA was reinstated by the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) last year after having been suspended since 2015 over evidence it was enabling drug cheats in athletics rather than stopping them. But last week WADA said it had uncovered inconsistencies in data from the Moscow antidoping laboratory that had to be turned over as a condition for RUSADA’s reinstatement.

It gave Russia three weeks to explain. Ganus said the situation showed Russian sport had been betrayed by those meant to reform it. “We

were betrayed, we were taken away the right to be on the side of truth,” Ganus wrote.

“It was taken away by those responsible for getting sport out of the doping crisis.” The laboratory data, which is not under RUSADA’s jurisdiction, is needed to open doping cases from major events including the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where anti-doping officials said Russian authorities took part in an elaborate scheme to cover up doping tests. Russia has denied running a state doping programme but has acknowledged that officials were involved in covering up doping cases. Ganus said the approaches and methods used

by Russian sports authorities are “weighing down on the situation”. “We must urgently

change them by carrying out the replacement of all those who were involved in this,” he wrote. Ganus has previously called for the dismissal of sports officials, including the head of Russia’s athletics federation, to ensure the country’s track and field athletes can compete at next year’s Tokyo Games, but this has not resulted in any management changes. [nL5N22P73Z] Russia’s athletics federation has been suspended since 2015, but some athletes have been cleared to compete internationally as neutrals after demonstrating that they train in a doping-free environment.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

India’s Rohit auditions as opener as South Africa face spin test

By Sudipto Ganguly

MUMBAI (Reuters) Limited-overs batting stalwart Rohit Sharma will have another chance to resurrect his stop-start Test career, but this time as an opener, when India kick off their three-match home series against South Africa at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. India axed struggling opener KL Rahul after he went 12 Test innings without a 50-plus score and struggled on the recent tour of West Indies where India won both the matches to top the World Test Championship table.

Rohit, 32, has cemented his place at the top of the batting order in the Twenty20 and 50-over formats and finished with most number of runs in the World Cup in England recently. The

India’s 15-member squad for the series. While opening is the only shaky spot in an otherwise settled Indian batting order, the top-ranked test side in the world were dealt a body blow when their pace bowling ace Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the series with a stress fracture in his back.

Rohit Sharma

only player in the world with three double hundreds in one-day internationals, the right-hander bats in the middle order in the longest format but has never really flourished as a test batsman.

Despite his World Cup exploits he was not able to break into the side as a middle order batsman during the two tests in the Caribbean, leading former players and local media to

clamour for Rohit to be tried as an opener in tests. With regular opener Prithvi Shaw, who is currently serving a doping ban, not available for selection Rohit is all set to walk out to open the innings on Wednesday with Mayank Agarwal in his 28th Test for India. “We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Ttests,” chief selector MSK Prasad had said after naming

India will also have to choose between experienced wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who was recalled after being out injured for more than a year, and the young Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper’s role. While Saha is considered a better glovesman, Pant has been earmarked as the successor in all three formats to Mahendra Singh Dhoni but has been short of runs with his temperament and shot selection under the lens.

SPIN ATTACK The onus will be on India’s slow bowlers to deliver the goods on spin-friendly tracks for the hosts with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and his left-arm colleague Ravindra Jadeja expected to inflict maximum damage on the South Africa batsmen.

Ashwin and Jadeja took 54 wickets between themselves in India’s 3-0 win in the fourTest series the last time the Proteas toured the country.

The South Africans, who spectacularly lost at home 2-0 to Sri Lanka in their last series, will have to find a way to handle India’s spinners if they are to make a strong start to their World Test Championship campaign. “It’s a tough start... playing India in India but I don’t think the South Africans would have wanted

it any other way ... take the big dogs in their home ground,” experienced fast bowler Vernon Philander said. “All of us are looking forward to this challenge and there are a lot of playerto-player challenges as well.

Can’t wait to get going.”

The Faf du Plessis-led side have included three uncapped players - paceman Anrich Nortje, wicketkeeper Rudi Second and all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy - in their squad as they begin life without retired veterans Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla.

The touring side will have interim team director Enoch Nkwe in charge after the decision not to renew the contract of West Indian coach Ottis Gibson following a disappointing World Cup campaign for the side.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs in second ODI in Karachi

PAKISTAN beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the second day-night international on Monday as Karachi staged its first ODI for 10 years.

Pakistan hit 305-7 in their 50 overs with Babar Azam notching a brilliant 105ball 115 and Fakhar Zaman scoring 54. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 238 in 46.5 overs with Usman Shinwari taking 5-51, giving Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The Green Shirts had won the toss and opted to bat first against the visitors. After

starting strong, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the 15th over, when Imam-ul-Haq (31 off 41) was trapped leg before wicket by Wanindu Hasaranga. Fakhar Zaman (54 from 65) was next to go, getting caught by Isuru Udana off Hasaranga in the 21st over. Haris Sohail (40 off 48) became the casualty of a run out off Nuwan Pradeep’s bowling in the 40th over. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was run out after scoring eight runs and

Babar Azam, who smashed a 105-ball 115, was caught off Lahiru Kumara in the 46th over. Imad Wasim was caught out after contributing 12 runs and Wahab Riaz (2) was run out at the nonstriker’s end on the last ball of the innings. Pakistan thus finished their batting with 305-7 at the end of the 50 overs. The long-awaited first ODI between the two sides was called off due to heavy rain in the metropolis on Friday.

The second

ODI, which was originally scheduled for Sunday, was rescheduled for today and the third match will be played on Wednesday. Monday’s match was the first ODI played in Karachi after a yawning gap of exactly 3,901 days, equivalent to 10 years, eight months and six days.

The two teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Lahore next month.(AFP)

Babar Azam notched a brilliant a brilliant 105-ball 115.

Samoa stung by Scotland defeat but still fighting, says coach

By Peter Rutherford KOBE (Reuters) - Samoa’s hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals suffered a body blow on Monday when they were beaten 34-0 by Scotland but coach Steve Jackson says his side are still in with a shout of advancing from Pool A. Scotland scored two tries in either half, the latter two coming when referee Pascal Gauzere judged Samoa had illegally impeded the Scots’ progress to the line and awarded them two penalty tries.

Samoa, blanked in a World Cup game for the first time in 30 matches, also lost winger Ed Fidow to a red card after the referee pulled him up for being the offender in both incidents.

there’s going to be risk and reward,” he said. “We don’t teach them to go and get yellow cards, by no means to we coach or train that.”

While Samoa had delivered a sub-par performance Jackson was full of praise for Scotland, who had opened their World Cup campaign with a woeful 27-3 defeat to Ireland.

Jackson, barely audible at times due to the celebrations in the nearby Scottish dressing room, said his team’s pride was dented.

“One changing room is singing and the other one is pretty sombre,” he added.

“They are hurting and so they should. No one likes losing and no one likes scoring zero.”

Samoa head coach Steve Jackson

The sending off of winger Fidow presents Samoa with fresh selection problems after the three-game bans handed out to centre Rey

Lee-lo and hooker Motu Matu’u for high hits in the Russia game.

“You try to stop tries,

“We’ve got to give credit where credit is due.

They came out tonight and wanted it more and executed everything that they did.

They showed great skill and they moved the ball well.”

A game against tournament hosts Japan, who top the group on nine points, was a good opportunity for Samoa to “get back on the horse”.

“We’re one win from two games — both Scotland and Ireland are exactly the same,” he added. “If we get the result against Japan we’re right back in it.

“By no means do we think we are down and out after this game.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

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United held by Arsenal as both struggle to shine

By Simon Evans

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal on Monday in a Premier League game which was a poor imitation of some of the past classic clashes between the clubs PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s 58th minute goal, given after VAR review, cancelled out Scott McTominay’s well-struck opener on the stroke of halftime but it was a game which highlighted the weaknesses of the two teams. The result leaves United in 10th place with just nine points, their worst start after seven games for 30 years and they have won just one of their last six league games. Arsenal are in fourth spot on 12 points but their nine-point gap with leaders Liverpool illustrates just how far away they are from being

Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - Manchester United’s Scott McTominay heads the ball at goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates

real contenders. This fixture is part of the folklore of the Premier League era, producing some epic battles between Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger’s title-winning sides, physical clashes between Roy

Keane and Patrick Vieira and the highlights reel of past encounters is also full of skill and flair. And while there is certainly a retro feel to Old Trafford under the lights and in the rain, the only throwback on

the field was some of the heavy and late challenges. There are multiple weaknesses in both teams but what stood out when they faced each other was the utter lack of class and quality in midfield. Arsenal look

lightweight and lacking any real spine while United, despite having Paul Pogba back from injury, were short of attacking options and creativity. United keeper David De Gea pulled off a fine double-save in the 44th minute, pushing out a low shot from Bukayo Saka and then doing well to keep out Matteo Guendouzi’s followup. Moments later, United had the lead when Marcus Rashford found McTominay on the edge of the box and his slightly deflected shot towards the top corner beat the motionless Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno. Arsenal got back on level terms in controversial circumstances in the 58th minute with a goal from Aubameyang. United leftback Axel Tuanzebe gave the ball away to Saka who threaded through to Aubameyang but the linesman raised his flag well before the Gunners striker put the ball past De Gea. VAR

review correctly showed that Harry Maguire had played Aubameyang onside and the goal was then given but United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared furious that the linesman had flagged when recent practice has been for the flag not to be shown until the end of a move. McTominay then missed a glorious chance to secure the three points and his growing reputation when, from an Ashley Young corner, he headed over the bar from close range, having lost his marker.

Leno then made two good saves to keep Unai Emery’s side on level terms, diving to deny Maguire’s effort from the edge of the box and then reacted well to keep out Rashford’s stoppage time free kick.

NBS 40-over

Waldron and Andrews lead GDF to emphatic win

-wins also for GYO and GNIC DAMIAN Waldron and Leon Andrews did damage with bat and ball to lead the Guyana Defence Force to a comprehensive victory against Third Class in the New Building Society (NBS), Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Second Division 40-over competition on Sunday at the Police Sports Club ground.

Although both cricketers played their part, Waldron excelled as he spun his way to five wickets after he had blasted 75 runs.

Andrews, who is also an offspinner, finished with four wickets after he had made 44 runs.

Elsewhere, the Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO), led by an all-round effort from Trevon France, was able to overpower Diplomats, while GNIC defeated newcomers, Bel Air Rubis II. In their match against Third Class, the army won the toss, batted first and reached 197, before they were bowled out in the 33rd over.

Waldron and Andrews added 84 runs for the third wicket.

Both batsmen ran well as they littered their innings with numerous singles and doubles.

Andrews was particularly aggressive against Ricardo Ghisiawan

in his first over, hitting him for three consecutive sixes.

The spinner later returned and captured four middle and lower order wickets to lead his team’s bowling attack (4-37 in 4.3 overs). Support came from Teekaram George who took 2-65. In reply, Third Class could not get on top of the GDF bowling and succumbed for 69 in 19 overs. Waldron, who got a wicket off his first ball, finished with 5-13, while Andrews, who bowled four maidens, finished with 4-25.

Also producing an all-round performance was France, who scored 70 (4x4s, 5x6s) unbeaten runs against

Diplomats at the Everest Cricket Club ground after GYO were asked to take first strike. The eventual winners posted 233-9 from their allotted overs. Along with France, Darshan Persaud (36), Trenton Liverpool (25) and Joshua Ramsammy (23) also contributed to the score.

Bowling for Diplomats A, Foster finished with 3-40, while R. Gill and skipper Rickford Mohamed grabbed two wickets each. Diplomats, in reply, were routed for 114 in 26.2 overs, with France spinning his way to 3-13 and Liverpool 3-11. Martima King, who hit a six and two fours, finished with a top

(Damian Waldron took five wickets and blasted 75 runs for GDF.

score of 25. Meanwhile, at the DCC Ground, GNIC won the toss and batted.

They reached 224-8 in their allotted overs with Marc Nicholson hitting 70 and Sean DeSouza 34. Bowling for Bel Air II, S. Budhu, A. Duke and A. Gainda picked up two wickets each. Bel Air, in reply, lost by 33 runs

GYO’s Trevon France spun his way to three wickets after scoring an unbeaten 70.

after they were bowled out for 191.

Archer Duke led the attack with 76 (9x4s, 7x6s), while Budhu added 31. GNIC also shared the wickets as J. Benjamin, R. Bourne and J. Champagne finished with two scalps each.

GFF to upgrade Henrietta ground as main football venue in Region 2 PRESIDENT of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Wayne Forde, visited Region Two last Friday and inspected several grounds on the Essequibo Coast. In the process, he paid a courtesy call on Regional Executive Officer, Region Two, Mr. Denis Jaikaran (Snr) and initiated discussions between the GFF and the Pomeroon/ Supenaam Region to upgrade the Henrietta ground as the main venue. The intention is to equip it with lights, bleachers

and training facilities.

Currently, the ground is in a deplorable condition and left to be occupied by stray animals.

The GFF president expressed the Federation’s policy of at least enhancing one ground initially to a football venue.

The initiative was supported by the Administration and the REO took the opportunity to thank the Federation and also to inform Mr. Ford of the progress made in upgrading several grounds across the Region to multi-purpose

facilities. Mr. Forde was accompanied on his visit by the President of the Essequibo Coast/Pomeroon Football Association, Ms. Maxine Steward. She was also high in praise of the fact-finding mission led by the GFF President and the decision to have a primary football facility, which she said will greatly improve the skill and development of the region’s players.(Errol Stephney)

GFF President Wayne Forde (at left) shakes hand with Region 2 REO after visiting the Henrietta ground..Other Regional Officials looks on

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

SCA Blues cart off Under-17 title

TORONTO, Canada – Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Blues made light work of Action Zone when the final of the Under-17 tournament took place at the L’Amoreux ground here recently. Led by Arjuna Sukhu, whose father hails from Guyana, SCA Blues registered an emphatic nine-wicket victory over their opponents after limiting them to 59 for seven and then knocking off the required total in 8.3 overs. Due to early morning showers, the final was reduced to 16 overs and SCA Blues took full advantage of the playing conditions after winning the toss and asking Action Zone to take first strike.

Action Zone innings were in immediate ruins with 14-yearold Nigel Ramsaroop, a tall lanky fast-medium bowler and Kyle Karran, son of popular

softball player, Munniram Karran, making inroads as they slipped to seven for three after four overs. Action Zone never recovered from their precarious start with wickets falling at regular intervals and managed a paltry 59 for seven when their 16 overs expired.

Aditya Manjrekar was the only player to reach double figures with 17.

Ramsaroop ended with two for 13 from four overs, skipper Sukhu two for 12 from three and Karran one for six from three. Apart from the excellent bowling efforts, the fielding was of an exceptional quality.

SCA Blues skipper Arjuna Sukhu (right) collects the winner’s trophy. Manager Vish Jadunauth is at left.

Eight Under-18 basketball clubs invited to contest 7th Brushes Classic in Linden

Tests clear Brathwaite’s bowling action again

THE 7th biennial Brusches Basketball Foundation Classic invitational tournament will commence on Saturday, 26th October and conclude on Saturday, November 2, at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court in Linden.

Unlike previous years, the tournament will be played for Under-18 clubs and not the regular rivalry involving senior clubs from around the country.

According to Cloyde ‘Fatman’ Brusche, the organiser of the tournament which is played in honour of former national players: brothers Mike, Clifton and James Brusche , “We are seeking to strengthen the club structures, particular in Linden, since the sport has suffered due to several reasons, which includes the absence of proper playing facilities recently in the mining town of Linden.”

The Clubs will be chosen from around the country and will compete for cash prizes, which will include

SCA Blues rushed to 61 for one in 8.3 overs with Sashwat Negi smashing four fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 34 while Eaton Gibson, son

of former Canadian Over50 World Cup player, Rudy Gibson, was also not out on 17 (one four, one six). Arjun Thuraisingam took the lone wicket to fall for nine runs and was adjudged the Most Valuable Player for the losing team. Negi got the nod for SCA Blues.

SCA long-standing executive member, Vish Jadunauth, who served as manager of the SCA Blues and is also the junior coordinator, praised the juniors for their brilliant all-round performance and their sportsmanship throughout the season.

He also extended kudos to coach, Calvin Alexander, and the parents who came out to support the players.

(Frederick Halley)

Afghanistan appoint Lance Klusener as head coach

Lance Klusener was part of the South Africa side to reach the 1999 World Cup semi-finals.

Kraigg Brathwaite has best bowling figures of 6-29 against Sri Lanka in 2015 Clyde Brusche

trophies and medals amounting to $600,000 with the main sponsor being Guyconstruct. It is being played on a knockout format with clubs from Kwakwani, Georgetown, Berbice, East Coast, Mackenzie and Wismar.

The clubs are Victory Valley Royals, and Junior Kings of Linden, Kwakwani Ballers, Bartica Rangulars, Rosehall Jammers, Pepsi Sonics and Plaisance Guardians. Playing dates are October, 26, 27, November 1 and 2. (Joe Chapman)

WEST Indies opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite has been found to have a legal bowling action.

Brathwaite, who has 18 Test wickets in 58 matches with his part-time off-spin, was reported during the Windies’ recent 2-0 home Test series defeat by India.

He was assessed in Loughborough on 14 September and the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level permitted.

Brathwaite, 26, made his Test debut in 2011 and has scored eight centuries.

Six of his 18 Test wickets came in a remarkable spell of 6-29 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2015.

Two years later, his action was reported after the first Test against England at Edgbaston, but another independent assessment at Loughborough less than a fortnight later found his action to be legitimate.(BBC Sport)

AFGHANISTAN have appointed former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener as the team’s new head coach.

Klusener has previously been a batting coach for South Africa and Zimbabwe.

He replaces Trinidadian Phil Simmons, who stepped down after Afghanistan failed to win a match at the World Cup in July, where they finished last.

Klusener, 48, said: “I am extremely excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to work with some of the best talent in world cricket.”

He added: “Everyone knows the fearless brand of cricket Afghanistan play. I am confident that with some hard work we can become one of the best sides in the

world.

“I am really looking forward to working with the Afghanistan team and helping them take their cricket to the next level.”

Afghanistan Cricket Board chief Lutfullah Stanikzai added: “Lance Klusener is a renowned name in the cricketing world. It will be great to see our players benefit from his vast experience both as a player and a coach.”

Klusener appeared in 417 internationals between 1996 and 2004 and was part of the South Africa side to reach the 1999 World Cup semi-finals.

Afghanistan will contest three T20 and One Day International matches against West Indies in November. (BBC Sport)

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

39

Felix takes 12th world title as U.S win first mixed relay

By Brian Homewood

DOHA (Reuters) - Allyson Felix won her 12th world title, and her first since becoming a mother, as the United States claimed the inaugural world championship 4x400 meters mixed relay on Sunday. In doing so, Felix, who won her first gold in 2005, overhauled Usain Bolt’s record of 11 world titles. Felix ran the second leg as the U.S. team also featuring Wilbert London, Courtney Okolo and Michael Cherry won in three minutes 9.04 seconds -- a world record for the new event -- to finish ahead

of Jamaica and Bahrain. The team draped themselves in U.S. flags as they celebrated their win but, with barely any spectators in the Khalifa Stadium, went straight down the tunnel instead of completing a lap of honor.

Seven of the eight teams chose to run the first and

fourth legs with men while Poland went for men in the first two legs and women in the last two. That meant the Poles finished the second leg with a healthy lead which was cut back in the third leg and obliterated within the first 100 meters of the fourth as Justyna Swiety-Ersetic

was overtaken by Cherry.

Poland eventually finished fifth. Felix, 33, has also won three world titles in the women’s 200 meters, one in the 400 meters, three in the women’s 4x100 meters relay and four in the women’s 4x400 meters relay.

Ramdhani wins silver medal in Canadian U-19 Allyson Felix helped set a new world record in the 4x400m mixed relay Credit: Getty Images

Edris retains 5,000m world title in thrilling finale

competition

GUYANA’S number one ranked female badminton player, Priyanna Ramdhani, finished with a silver medal over the weekend when she competed in the Yonex AJC Silver-Airdrie Junior U-19 competition, which is a part of the Yonex Alberta Junior Circuit.

In the three-day event in Airdire, Alberta, Canada, the 17-year-old, who played in her first competition since winging out for Olds College and Broncos Badminton team, got past Roya Mehri of the Goa Badminton Tao Club 21-10, 21-5 and Chole Crump of Edison Badminton

Centre 21-8, 21-6 in the group stages.

The teen, who is still adjusting to the cold weather, then battled past Emilia Hayland of the Glencoe Club 21-9, 21-6 in the semi-finals, before she lost to Goa Badminton Tao Club’s Tia Clarke 12-21 and 20-22 in the championship clash.

The Guyanese would be playing again this weekend in the YONEX Alberta Series #1 at Sunridge in Calgary in the ladies singles, and ladies doubles with Mary Smith and mix doubles with her brother, Narayan Ramdhani.

Priyanna Ramdhani won a medal in her first Yonex Alberta Junior Circuit competition.

Windies to host Ireland in full limited overs series

Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris celebrates after winning gold ahead of Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega who finishes in silver REUTERS/ Aleksandra Szmigiel

By Brian Homewood DOHA (Reuters) Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris won a thrilling battle over the last 200 metres to retain his title in the 5,000 metres at the world championships on Monday. The 25-yearold, roared on by a noisy contingent of flag-waving fans, outsprinted compatriot Selemon Barega to win in a season’s best 12 minutes 58.85 seconds as the Ethiopians were rewarded for a team performance with gold and silver. In a physical final lap which saw plenty of jostling, Mo Ahmed took the bronze to win Canada’s firstever world championships

medal over the distance.

There was a wide open field in the first 5,000m final not to feature Britain’s Mo Farah, whose run of three successive titles was ended

by Edris in London two years ago. In contrast to the deserted arena which marred Sunday’s events, the race took place in a raucous atmosphere, boosted by the Ethiopian contingent, and with the stadium more than half full. Apart from the Ethiopians and Kenyans, the 5,000m also featured the three Ingebrigtsen brothers from Norway — Henrik, Filip and Jakob.

With nobody prepared to make a break, the race was still up for grabs with two laps

to go. Ahmed attempted to push the pace then Jakob Ingebrigtsen tried to break clear at the bell as the runners jostled for position. But the 19-yearold Norwegian ran out of gas and was overhauled with 300 metres to go and finished fifth. Barega went ahead but Edris came bursting through to make a mockery of those who had questioned his form, while Telahun

Haile

Bekele,

previously the fastest this year, was fourth.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – West Indies will host Ireland in a full limited overs series for the first-time ever, when the two teams clash in three One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s next January. The tour, which runs from January 7-19, will see Kensington Oval in Barbados hosting the opening two day/night ODIs, with National Cricket Stadium in Grenada hosting the final ODI in a 9:30 am start.

Grenada will also be the venue for the opening T20 while Warner Park in St Kitts will stage the last two matches. “It’s going to be a great start to the New Year to welcome Ireland and their fans to the West Indies for this six-match series,” said Cricket West Indies’ commercial director, Dominic Warne. “It will be an exciting contest on the pitch as the West Indies play at home for the first time in five months. Off the pitch, we know that two of the most colourful and noisy sets of fans in world cricket will come together to create a great atmosphere for both the Colonial Medical Insurance One Day Series followed by the T20I Series.” West Indies currently hold the advantage in the head-to-head matchups, having won seven of the nine ODIs and two of the four T20Is against the Irish.

They also beat Ireland in their last three ODI meetings during the Tri-Nations Series in Dublin earlier this year. The Windies suffered a memorable upset in the 2015 World Cup, however, when Ireland chased down 305 in Nelson. Ireland, who secured Test status along with Afghanistan in 2017, have been in good form of recent, sweeping Zimbabwe in a three-match series last July in Belfast. West Indies are ranked ninth in the ICC ODI rankings while Ireland are two places lower.

West Indies set to play Ireland in full limited overs series.

ITINERARY: Jan 4: Warm-up match Three Ws Oval, Barbados, TBC Jan 7: 1st ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados – 1pm (day/night) Jan 9: 2nd ODI, Kensington Oval, Barbados – 1pm (day/night) Jan 12: 3rd ODI, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada – 9:30am Jan 15: 1st T20 International, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada – 1pm Jan 18: 2nd T20 International, Warner Park, St. Kitts – 6pm Jan 19: 3rd T20 International, Warner Park, St. Kitts – 6pm.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday October 01, 2019

Peerless Warriors seal top spot with eighth straight win 34 PAGE

The Amazon Warriors celebrate their eighth straight victory at the Queen’s Park oval last night.

Old Fort

upstage GCC to take U-20 hockey league title 34

Abrams advance to

Women’s 400m semi-finals Abrams, competing in Heat 4 of six, clocked 51.73 seconds to finish fourth behind winner, Galefele Moroko, of Botswana (50.59 seconds), Jamaica’s Stephanie-Ann McPherson (51.21 seconds) and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili (51.51 second).

PAGE

Abrams’ PB in the 400m is 51.13 seconds; Aliann Pompey is Guyana’s National Record Holder in the women’s 400m.

Pompey’s time of 50.71 seconds was set at the 2009 IAAF World Championship in Germany.

The YMCA Old Fort Ballerz were elated to have won the championship trophy.

Aliyah Abrams (right) and current National Record Holder in the women’s 400 metres, Aliann Pompey in Qatar.

GUYANA’s Aliyah Abrams will compete in today’s Women’s 400 metres semi-finals

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in Qatar, as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics continue in Doha, Qatar.

With both Emanuel Archibald (long Jump) and Quamel Prince (men’s 800 metres) failing to make it to the qualifying stage of their respective event, all eyes will now be fixed on Abrams who will attempt to hand Guyana that elusive World Championship medal.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2019