Guyana Chronicle Epaper 30 06 2017

NGSA results today Page 2

No automatic funding No. 104959

FRIDAY , JUNE 30, 2017

Price: $80

(VAT Inclusive)

–– EU says money for sugar industry possible only on Gov’t request

Keep your jobs Guyana –– GuySuCo urges Wales workers

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eyes Cuba rice market

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Dr Singh avails himself to SOCU Conservancy Dam farmers counting their losses Page 5

A passionate worker makes a point to GuySuCo Communications Officer Audreyanna Thomas at the Wales Community Centre meeting on Thursday (Adrian Narine photo)

Govt assesses status of public sector investments

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Maths pass rate triples –– well-placed education sources

By Vishani Ragobeer AS the nation anticipates the release of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) today, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson has confirmed that pupils have performed better this year.

Well-placed sources related to the Guyana Chronicle that there have been significant improvements in the results of Mathematics and English Language with the pass rate for the latter moving from the lowly 14 per cent in 2016 to close to 50 per cent and the former recording a pass rate of over 50 per cent.

Newssource on Thursday reported that the overall performance in Science has also increased, but the results for Social Studies remained just about the same.

This year, some 13,657 students wrote the NGSA , a drop from the 14,386 candidates who sat the examinations last year.

Hutson attributed the improved performance in Mathematics to “many things,” with government’s $48M injection into an emergency intervention aimed at strengthening the

teaching capacity of Mathematics at the Grade Six level in public schools last year being chief among them.

Another, he said, was the creation of the NGSA Practice Exams app this year, which caters for this increasingly digital and tech-savvy generation by providing past examination papers for students to practise, along with other practice tests and video lessons on the material.

Students across the country have been struggling for years with Mathematics and the APNU+AFC Government had deemed this a crisis which needs fixing immediately.

President David Granger had mandated former Minister of Education, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine last year to meet with technical officers and staff of his ministry to find solutions to address the issue.

Over the years, Guyana has failed to achieve acceptable pass rates in Mathematics, a critical core subject. This year the Ministry of Education has contracted the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) to conduct the examination for the Grade Six students here and it was discovered that

the different assessment illustrated the deficiencies in the system.

Dr Roopnaraine had presented his report to Cabinet with several recommendations, including the training of teachers in content and methodology; facilitating fortnightly cluster meetings in all regions; the recruitment of Mathematics coordinators and monitors; the training of officers and school administrators to supervise the teaching of Mathematics; the preparing and administering of a diagnostic assessment of pupils in the hinterland regions before training; the enhancement of public relations, parental involvement in the education of the children and the acquisition of support materials for the students.

“Having had a very thorough discussion on the matter, Cabinet app ro v e d t h e p ro p o s e d plan and agreed to the allocation of a sum of $48, 682,690 for the expenditure and strategy that will deal with the issues before and up to the end of December 2016 and the allocation of a further sum to be spent on the strategy in 2017 and going forward,” State Minister Joseph Harmon had said.

No automatic funding

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

–– EU says money for sugar industry possible only on Gov’t request

By Alva Solomon

IT IS possible on the request of the Government, that Guyana can receive funding from the European Union (EU) to assist in reviving the country’s sugar industry.

This was noted on Thursday when Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videtic and other EU officials hosted a press briefing at the organsiation’s office at Sendall Place, near Brickdam in the capital City.

The EU officials were asked whether the body has received requests for assis-

tance from the authorities here regarding the production of plantation white sugar.

According to the EU, for technical assistance projects, such as those relevant to the sugar industry, funding is provided on a request basis.

In theory, it was noted that it is possible that the EU can assist once the request comes from the Government; however, it was noted that no such requests were made.

The decision by the EU to cut sugar quotas from the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) countries was made in 2005.

Ambassador Jernej said that between 2006 and 2017, the EU provided a total of

GY$348.5 billion in budgetary support to Guyana to compensate for the cuts in preferential market price.

The EU ambassador noted that the last payment which Guyana received in October 2016 came after a holding period, noting that certain eligibility criteria were not met prior to the disbursement.

He said the EU has been supporting the sector here.

However, such support was not geared for policy design which he noted is the sole responsibility of the Government.

The sugar industry has encountered its fair share of

financial and other setbacks, requiring over $38 billion in annual bailouts since 2012.

This has seen tax revenues being diverted away from critical social and infrastructural development projects, even as the demand for sugar on the global market continues to diminish.

The government has pledged to ensure that effective actions are taken to address the difficulties of the ailing industry and foster the best solution for all stakeholders and the country as a whole.

In 2013, the Caribbean suffered a major blow with the announcement by the EU, which is the largest importer

of sugarcane – that it would abolish its quota regime at the end of September 2017.

The EU’s quota regime is a structure which allows countries of the ACP countries, of which Guyana is a member, to sell sugar at two to three times the world market price.

Without these preferences, sugar export revenues would decline significantly.

This move leaves sugar producing countries in the Caribbean in a further weakened position, as they would need to become more competitive by reducing costs, adding value to their sugar industries or diversifying into other crops.

In April 2015, the ACP expressed concerns for the impending quota abolition, which it believed was responsible for a sharp decline in global sugar prices.

While urging the EU to extend the quota regime to the year 2020, the ACP said that it has warned Europe that the abolition of sugar production quotas in 2017 will lead to drastic price reductions and major market instability.

The ACP noted that the move will undermine the substantial investments in the reform and adaptation processes of the sugar industries of member states, including Guyana.

State of the $56B PSIP

Gov’t assesses status of public sector investments … says preparations for new budget cycle well underway ASSESSMENTS, adjustments and achievements in relation to the public sector’s work programme were the main focus at a special Ministerial Conference as the Government commences preparations for the new budget cycle.

The Conference, which was convened on Thursday at State House, also saw the participation of Permanent Secretaries, Heads of various agencies and high-level technical and financial officers in a bid to assess and review, ministry by ministry, the status of Public Sector Investments Projects (PSIPs), the Ministry of the Presidency said in a release.

In a brief comment to

the Press and Publicity Unit, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon explained that given the fact that the fiscal year is already at the half-way point, it is necessary to take stock of what currently obtains, particularly as it relates to the $56B, which was allocated for PSIPs, so as to plan efficiently and prudently for 2018.

“The Finance Minister pointed out that in the absence of enhanced spending by the private sector, it is the Government’s spending that will drive economic growth… We needed to ensure that the moneys were spent so that the economy will be driven in a specific way… The Minister of Finance gave us some pro-

jections for the rest of 2017 and an outlook for 2018.

He had his entire team of technical officers from the Ministry, so we have a very good sense of where we are now and what we need to do to complete these projects by the end of the year,” Minister Harmon said.

With regard to the 2018 National Budget, the Minister informed that the ground work has already commenced. He noted that since this is the Coalition Government’s third budget, since it came into Office in 2015, they are now in a better and more informed position to identify and analyse areas of expenditure and to chart the way forward in terms of expediting public sector projects.

President David Granger, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at the head table of Thursday’s Ministerial Conference held in the Baridi Benab at State House (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

Minister Harmon also took on the Opposition Leader, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, with regard to his criticisms of the Government’s move to have the budget presented in Parliament in November.

According to a Guyana Times report, Mr. Jagdeo said that there are many downsides to having a budget presented early. Minister Harmon described the Opposition Leader’s remark as “disingenuous”, noting that as a former Minister of Finance himself, Mr. Jagdeo would understand the value of an early budget in so far as planning and execution of Government projects are concerned.

“An early budget allows you an entire year to actually spend moneys where as a late budget would not give you a complete year. In the previous administration, the budget came out in February, sometimes in March. So after you go through all of the Government processes, you really can’t start spending until sometime in April or May. What this meant was that in the first quarter of the year, you are spending one-twelfth of what you would have receive in the previous year,”

the Minister explained.

He added that the presentation of the budget in November allows for spending for the fiscal year to commence in January of that year, since budget debates and consideration of estimates are likely to be completed by the end of the preceding year. “I believe that this is a good thing.

In fact, in most civilised

countries of the world the budget is finished by November… It is the certain level of competence and efficiency that we have brought to the process that is allowing us to have a budget so early.

This is really what efficiency is all about and I think he (Mr. Jagdeo) is running from that,” The Minister of State said.

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Keep your jobs

By Shauna Jemmott

THE Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has revealed that employees who have not reported for work during two consecutive crops will have their services automatically terminated with the corporation and will lose all their benefits.

The corporation hosted a community outreach programme at Wales Community Centre Thursday to convince those still employed within the disbanded Wales Sugar estate to lend their services to Uitvlugt Sugar Estate as part of the estate’s improvement programme, and to meet its target of producing 40,000 tonnes of sugar by 2020.

The atmosphere was one of chaos at various points in the meeting, as many of the workers called for severance pay instead of accepting work the company offered them at Uitvlugt Estate some miles away.

But even after a massive improvement plan for Uitvlugt was unveiled by Estate Manager Yudhisthira Mana, the majority who attended the

Some of the employees of the disbanded Wales Sugar Estate interacting with GuySuCo Industrial Relations Manager Deodat Sukhu during consultations facilitated by the corporation at Wales Community Centre, (Photo by Adrian Narine)

meeting still asked that their services with GuySuCo be severed instead.

Guysuco Communications Officer Audreyanna Thomas said the corporation is concerned not only about filling the labour need at Uitvlugt, but is also concerned about giving social considerations to those in its employ.

“It’s a business decision

that the company has to make.

Do you terminate the services of your employees while you have over 400 vacancies just a few miles away at another location? Additionally, there are some social considerations also. Severance is a one-off payment, but keeping the employees in our employ ensures that they have a secure employment,” Thomas told reporters after the meeting with the workers

She said on reaching their production target, workers usually receive a Weekly Production Incentive (WPI) and receive other benefits as well.

Workers continue their call for severance pay instead of accepting employment at Uitvlugt, but Thomas said that in order for them to be paid severance, GuySuCo must first terminate the services of the employees.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

--GuySuCo urges Wales workers BENEFITS “… Whereas, if they get the one-off payment they would not necessarily get all of these benefits. In addition to that, if they remain in the employ they get free medical services for them and their families… the transportation is free.”

Meanwhile, GuySuCo Industrial Relations Manager, Deodat Sukhu, said based on the agreement between GuySuCo and the employees, if the employees continue to refuse work they are liable to terminate their own employment and lose severance pay as well as all those benefits.

“The employees themselves are fully versed of the agreement. The agreement informs that if you work certain amount of crops and you don’t work, what happens. If you don’t work two consecutive crops you self-terminate your service. They have since not worked one crop. They have this last crop to give consideration to themselves, else they would have self-terminated their service,” Sukhu told the press.

He explained that GuySuCo has already severed 389 of the 1118 sugar workers and has kept in its employ 301 employees of Wales Estate and 374 cane harvesters at Uitvlugt.

After consultations with

both workers and the union previously, the workers agreed to remain on the Wales Estate payroll and be transported to Uitvlugt for work.

“Low and behold, the following Wednesday they had a meeting with a political activist or a politician who indicated to them that the current government must pay them off and they seek re-employment.

That is what driving them right now,” Sukhu said.

He explained that the total years of service the workers had at that time averaged only about 13 years, while their average age is 43, leaving them with an additional 17 years’ working life.

“If they get paid severance, if they get paid severance, we consider severance to be 38 weeks’ pay, which is less than a year’s pay. And you have 17 years working life… it will be preferable for them to work.

We severed 389 persons from this location... The harvesting reps for the company, we have not terminated their services, because we need them at Uitvlugt. We have vacancies at Uitvlugt for 406 persons, which include 375 harvesters,” he said.

Sukhu stated that only 51 of the harvesters from Wales Estate joined the team at Uitvlugt and worked for an average of $4,200 per day for 68 days during the last crop.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Dr Singh avails himself to SOCU

FORMER Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on Thursday through his attorney Anil Nandlall, has notified the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of his willingness to cooperate with the unit and investigators on any impending investigations relative to him.

In the letter addressed to head of SOCU, Sydney James, and copied to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, Nandlall said, “Although my client is out of the jurisdiction, he always was and remains accessible, ready, able and willing to provide all or any information at his disposal which your unit may require.”

The letter concluded, “In the circumstances, feel free to contact me for any information you may require from, or questions you may wish to ask my client.”

Nandall’s submission to SOCU on behalf of Dr Singh follows, former National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) head Winston Brassington’s letter published in the Stabroek News indicating that he had notified SOCU of his availability and willingness to cooperate fully with any investigation being conducted.

Brassington’s letter was published earlier this week and also follows an article carried by the said newspaper

headlined “SOCU actively seeking Brassington, Ashni Singh.’

In his letter, the former NICIL head said he finds it strange that SOCU has made no effort to contact him, while adding that on April 14, 2016, a letter was dispatched to SOCU and the commissioner of police by his attorneys indicating that despite being out of the jurisdiction, he is available to fully cooperate with any investigation, and provide evidence by affidavit or video conference as is necessary to facilitate inquiries.

Brassington’s missive directed James to his counsel Mark Waldron. However, according to him (Brassington) neither he, nor his attorneys, had received any request from SOCU. “Please also note that further to my letter of resignation in January 2016 to NICIL, the Board of NICIL confirmed acceptance of my resignation, thanked me for my 20 + years of service to NICIL/PU and paid me my remaining benefits. Since that time, NICIL has sought assistance from me on various matters via email, to which I have assisted by responding as best as I could,” said the former NICIL head.

He said too that in 2015, responses were provided to preliminary forensic audit reports and noted that in December 2015, he had hosted a

Former Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh

press conference on matters related to NICIL and its operations.

REGULAR AUDITS “I pointed out that NICIL was audited every year under my watch, and clean audit opinions issued. I recall even attending a shareholders’ meeting of NICIL in 2015 under the current Government, where the 2013 audited accounts were approved.

“Suffice to say, it would be nice if due process was followed on matters of interest to SOCU involving myself.

I believe that any questions not already answered in prior audit responses or the various publications issued over the years, can reasonably be responded to,” said Brassington.

Meanwhile, Nandlall told the Guyana Chronicle that his client resorted to dispatching the missive on behalf of the former finance minister, because of regular media pub-

lications which are believed to paint his client as avoiding investigators.

“It was sent because of regular media publications falsely, maliciously conveying the impression that my client is evading, eluding and avoiding certain investigators and investigations,” said the attorney.

“My client has always remained accessible and was always willing and ready to offer his assistance in whatever way he can to any investigation as is his lawful duty. No attempt was ever made to contact my client, either through him directly or through his family who are in Guyana,” continued Nandlall.

The attorney described articles published in the media about Singh as “defamatory” and noted that they suggest his client is a “fugitive of some kind.”

MISAPPROPRIATION Both Dr Singh and Brassington were part of management of NICIL under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration and former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran, in his findings of a forensic audit into the management of NICIL, had said there was the misappropriation of some $26.8B

by NICIL between 2002 and 2014.

In the audit report handed

over to the APNU +AFC government in October 2015, Goolsarran said the action of the management of NICIL was in violation of Article 216 of the Constitution, which says that all revenues or other moneys raised or received

by Guyana (not being revenues or other moneys that are payable, by or under an Act of Parliament, into some other fund established for any specific purpose or that may, by or under such an Act, be retained by the authority that received them for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that authority)shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.

He said too that there were also breaches of sections of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act and recommended that disciplinary action be taken against those found to have breached Articles 216 and 217 of the Constitution, including the Board of Directors of NICIL, the minister of finance and the previous Cabinet as provided for under the following sections of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act:(a) Section 48— Misuse of public moneys; (b) Section 49-Liability for Loss of public moneys; and (c) Section 85—Liability of Official.

NICIL had contested Goolsarran’s recommendation and held that it had “clean”

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audit opinions from 2002 to 2013, noting that the current auditor general does not deem the entity to be in violation of the aforementioned constitutional provisions.

In 2001, NICIL said it received advice from Ram and McRae that “clearly showed, that NICIL prior to 2002, had violated the Companies Act and its financial statements were not prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards”.

Ram and McRae the press release added: “Assisted NICIL is preparing its accounts in proper accounting form, after which it received a clean audit opinion. At no time, did NICIL receive advice that it had to deposit all of its revenue into the Consolidated Fund.”

NICIL had said that if it had contravened Articles 216 and 217 then “all state-owned entities would be similarly guilty” as it operates like any other company under the Companies Act. Also, NICIL stressed that there is no legal precedent or court ruling that suggests that NICIL “is obliged to deposit its revenues into the Consolidated Fund or that Articles 216 and 217 are applicable to NICIL.” Goolsarran in the preliminary report recognised that from 1991 to 2001, NICIL transferred $3.415 B to the Consolidated Fund.

Iraq declares end of caliphate after capture of Mosul mosque After eight months of grinding urban warfare, Iraqi government troops on Thursday captured the ruined mosque at the heart of Islamic State’s de facto capital Mosul, and the prime minister declared the group’s self-styled caliphate at an end.

Iraqi authorities expect the long battle for Mosul to end in coming days as remaining Islamic State fighters are bottled up in just a handful of neighbourhoods of the Old City.

The seizure of the nearly 850-year-old Grand al-Nuri Mosque -- from where Islamic State proclaimed the caliphate nearly three years ago to the day -- is a huge symbolic victory.

“The return of al-Nuri Mosque and al-Hadba minaret to the fold of the nation marks the end of the Daesh state of falsehood,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement, referring to the hardline Sunni Muslim group by an Arabic acronym.

The fall of Mosul would in effect mark the end of the Iraqi half of the IS caliphate,

although the group still controls territory west and south of the city, ruling over hundreds of thousands of people.

Its stronghold in Syria, Raqqa, is also close to falling.

A U.S.-backed Kurdish-led coalition besieging Raqqa on Thursday fully encircled it after closing the militants’ last way out from the south, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

These setbacks have reduced Islamic State’s territory by 60 per cent from its peak two years ago and its revenue by 80 per cent, to just $16 million a month, said IHS Markit.

“Their fictitious state has fallen,” an Iraqi military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, told state TV. However, it still occupies an area as big as Belgium, across Iraq and Syria, according to IHS Markit, an analytics firm.

Islamic State fighters blew up the medieval mosque and its famed leaning minaret a week ago as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces started a push in its direction. Their black flag

death or injury, and many buildings have been ruined.

Members of Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service sift through the ruins of the Grand al-Nuri Mosque at the Old City in Mosul, Iraq June 29, 2017 (REUTERS/Erik De Castro)

had been flying from al-Hadba (The Hunchback) minaret since June 2014.

Much of the mosque and brickwork minaret was reduced to rubble, said a Reuters TV reporter who went to the site with the elite units that captured it.

Only the stump of the Hunchback remained, and a green dome of the mosque supported by a few pillars

which resisted the blast, he said.

The mosque grounds were off limits as the insurgents are suspected to have planted booby traps.

Abadi “issued instructions to bring the battle to its conclusion,” by capturing the remaining parts of the Old City, his office said.

The cost of the fighting has been enormous. In ad-

dition to military casualties, thousands of civilians are estimated to have been killed.

About 900,000 people, nearly half the pre-war population of the northern city, have fled, mostly taking refuge in camps or with relatives and friends, according to aid groups.

Those trapped in the city suffered hunger, deprivation and IS oppression as well as

ARDUOUS TASK Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) troops captured the al-Nuri Mosque’s ground in a “lightning operation” on Thursday, a commander of the U.S.-trained elite units told state TV. CTS units are now in control of the mosque area and the al-Hadba and Sirjkhana neighbourhoods and they are still advancing, a military statement said.

Other government units, from the army and police, were closing in from other directions.

An elite Interior Ministry unit said it freed about 20 children believed to belong to Yazidi and other minorities persecuted by the jihadists in a quarter north of the Old City which houses Mosul’s main hospitals.

A U.S.-led international coalition is providing air and ground support to the Iraqi forces fighting through the Old City’s maze of narrow alleyways.

(Reuters)

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Editorial

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

New ranking

THE news this week that Guyana had joined countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom whose governments fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards was welcomed by many after years of being condemned to lower tiers.

Hardly would anyone forget this country’s experiences over the years from being on the Tier 2 watch list to the then administration lashing out at the United States for its yearly assessments. Fighting human trafficking like any other crimes requires among other things the political will, which is often measured by the resources made available to tackle the scourge and the deployment of those resources -- both human and material -- to address the issue.

Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Amna Ally, in reacting to the report said that this classification is testament to the hard work that the Government has been doing to delink Guyana from the notoriety associated with being a known source and destination country where men, women and children are subjected to sex-trafficking and forced labour. She said this work, “particularly the Ministry of Social Protection, has resulted in Guyana being placed in the bracket of countries that fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, making it only the second Caribbean country to reach this milestone.”

The Bahamas is the other Caribbean country in the Tier 1 classification.

Her predecessor at the ministry, Volda Lawrence, said that the report vindicates the Government and is proof of the political will to fight this scourge. “We have made great strides in addressing TIP since we came into Government and, as I said last year, it is the political will that is needed to address this issue. This is not a Guyana issue.

It is a worldwide issue and, hence, it is the political will

that will help to bring this particular form of what they call ‘modern-day slavery’ to an end,” Minister Lawrence said.

To its credit, the report pointed out that Guyana’s list of achievements include: approving the 2017-2018 national action plan for combating TIP; increasing the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions; and identifying and assisting more victims for the second year in a row. Additionally, the Ministry of Social Protection’s Anti-Trafficking Unit (ATU) added three new officers responsible for planning and executing the unit’s site visits and victim-extraction exercises. The government’s inter-ministerial task force coordinated a number of successful police operations, which resulted in a number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions. Since last year, more stringent penalties were enacted for the traffickers. These ranged from three years to life imprisonment and were commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offences such as rape. The ATU, in coordination with the Guyana Police Force, also developed identification procedures that field officers used informally during the reporting period, pending their formal review and approval from the taskforce. These procedures allowed for the identification of 98 trafficking victims in 2016 (80 for sex-trafficking and 18 for labour- trafficking), compared with 56 in 2015. The government signed a MOU with an anti-trafficking NGO during the previous reporting period and committed public funding to the NGO-run shelter for the provision of enhanced psycho-social services to adult female-trafficking victims referred by the government.

These achievements have clearly shown that government has not only talked the talk, but has delivered Guyana from the depths of ignominy to one where its leaders and citizens can indeed celebrate the achievement. It now has to maintain this new ranking and take steps towards cor-

recting the deficiencies that remain.

These include boosting protection and services for victims outside the capital or providing adequate protection and shelter for child and male victims; channelling funding into specialised victim services, including those offered by NGOs and continuously investigate and prosecute sex and labour-trafficking cases and hold convicted traffickers, including complicit public officials accountable, by imposing sufficiently stringent sentences. Some of these recommendations have been made over the years by various persons and groups including a TIP hero who is in government, Simona Broomes, Junior Natural Resources Minister. Significantly too, the report states that “Guyana continues to be seen as a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex-trafficking and forced labour. Women and children from Guyana, Brazil, The Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Venezuela are subjected to sex-trafficking in mining communities in the interior and urban areas.” This is certainly a label Guyana would not want to carry for much longer and we can only hope that these recommendations would be seriously taken on board, even as efforts are being made to move this country to a place where we can eliminate trafficking-in-persons activities here.

Low sugar prices will be used to close estates Dear Editor THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has taken note of a press statement by the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo), regarding the world market price of sugar. Our union believes that the ‘sad story’ statement will be used as another sordid justification to launch further assaults on the sugar workers in an effort to whittle away their gains won by several generations of workers and which resulted from their struggles.

The GuySuCo statement, maybe conveniently, fails to tell the sugar workers and the Guyanese people that the world market is a residual market and is far from being reflective of true costs of production globally. The world market price remains what it is because every sugar-producing nation offers their respective producers some form of State-support which tends to lend to some over production. Such Government assistance is premised, among other things, on the employment directly and indirectly supported by those industries. It seems only in

Guyana that we have failed to recognise this noteworthy fact.

Furthermore, GuySuCo’s sales to the various markets are contractual and negotiated between the corporation and the respective buyers. We understand that earlier this year, GuySuCo received between US$495 and US$550 per tonne of sugar it sold to Tate and Lyle, through the European Union (EU) arrangement.

Prices to the U.S., Caricom and local markets are even higher than what obtains in the EU. While GAWU accepts that the EU reforms

will pose some difficulty, the corporation is also well aware of other remunerable markets that it could exploit.

Moreover, the recent registration of the Demerara Sugar and Demerara Molasses as Geographical Indicators and work to secure the protection of the brand in Europe offers the corporation good opportunities for higher prices.

The volatility of the sugar markets also calls to attention the need for the corporation to diversify its operations into other areas such as electricity, alcohol, packaged sugar and refined sugar as recommended by the Sugar

Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and shared by our union and others. We found it interesting that while GuySuCo is shedding crocodile tears, we see on news-website Demerara Waves an article about the interest of several “reputable” companies who are considering investing in the sugar industry. It is indeed a strange coincidence that both stories appeared not too long after each other. Maybe it is just coincidental or maybe it is a case of there being more than what meets the eye.

The contrasting sentiments between the GuySuCo statement and the

Demerara Waves report gives credence to the notion that the wool is being pulled over our eyes. All is not lost in sugar as demonstrated by the investors’ interest, it is far from it. We ask if private owners can do it, why can’t GuySuCo? Every day it is becoming clearer that politics and not economics is guiding the approach to sugar and the thousands who depend on its operations.

Regards Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Urgent need for the WPA to reassert itself in the political life of Guyana

Dear Editor,

IT is no secret that the WPA as a party and its leadership – the executive committee - have been subjected to public and on occasions, very hostile criticisms for what our detractors have interpreted as our silence in relation to the coalition government’s actions and/or inactions on important matters affecting Guyana and its citizens.

These criticisms have also been directed at the executive from members of the party and supporters, both at home and abroad. The recent action by President David Granger to remove WPA Co-Leader, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, from the Ministry of Education without consulting the party and the announcement of his decision during

the party’s annual - June 13th - commemoration of the assassination of Comrade Walter Rodney have only served to add fuel to the “fire.” The President’s actions, whether deliberate or not, have “objectively” shifted the balance of forces in the WPA and weakened the present leadership. The consequence of this development for the APNU, the wider coalition and the country, is at this time, difficult to predict.

What is undoubtedly true at this juncture in the party’s life is that its present leadership, which I am part of, is on trial both in and out of the party. I believe that it is pointless for us in the leadership to engage in the blame game. We must accept that it is our own inaction, tactical or whatever, that has led to this state of affairs in

the party. In confronting this issue, we must bite the bullet and do what we have always done in the past. Our forte over the years resides in our ability to indulge in criticisms and self-criticisms and then move forward. This we have done both privately and publicly and will forever be an important part of our political culture. Now is no different.

Over the two years of the life of the APNU+AFC government we, in the WPA have acted with caution in relation to matters of the coalition and government, in the interest of the nation. In doing so we are accused of betrayal of the party’s historic principles, and its commitment to the working people, the poor and powerless in the society, and the Rodney legacy. While I do not agree with that interpretation of our politics, these

serious accusations cannot be ignored. Politically, we in the WPA are now in a situation where if we don’t assert our right to independent thought and action, we will in (2020) face the damning accusation of bringing nothing to the fortunes of the APNU+AFC coalition.

We have to be mindful that in the present construct of the APNU, there is no objective way to determine the electoral or political strength of the smaller parties in the alliance. These parties are at a disadvantage, since there is no way to determine what votes they bring to the collective. Small parties are regulated to our last known election performance. Added to this difficulty, we operate in a political culture which shows little value for “ideas.” In this cultural paradigm, politics is simply about votes, and big money.

These are erroneously seen as the only tools for victory in elections.

Given this reality, the WPA has to return to activism in the communities as it used to do in the early days, and become a visible political force on the ground, acting in its own name. This in no way means abandoning our commitment to the APNU and the APNU+AFC coalition. The engagements between the parties which were involved in the discussions that led to the formation of the APNU recognised the right of parties to independent lines of action, even as they remain members of the APNU. In my view, there is no other way out for the party at this point in its history. We also have to be cognizant of the fact that the backward

Dear Editor,

and cleaning. If these trenches had been dug deep and were properly maintained, then we would have had no flooding. To avoid flooding we need deep tranches for land movement and the smaller trenches leading to the big trenches must be maintained properly. I also noticed that residents in Agriculture Road built a lot of structures on the government reserves to do businesses and to also use as playgrounds, thus making it impossible for the NDC to clean these trenches. I wonder if it is not the NDC that give these residents permission to build business structures on the government reserves, if not, who gave them permission to construct businesses on the Government reserves?

I have travelled this entire nation everywhere and I see nasty trenches full of trees and bushes.

My sister called me from Port Mourant last week, she told me her yard is over three feet in water and there is no pump to pump out the water.In my travels, I notice most pumps and kokers are not working.

Why are we paying rates and taxes to NDCs that have no interest in the citizens.In the news I see Minister Patterson, Holder and Mr Flatts trying to help the situation that’s not far from the 2005 floods, but my questions are the same.

Why try to build a toilet when you need to ease your bowels? Why try to learn to start a pump only after you are flooded? Why try to bring a drag-line on a slippery muddy dam to work when these jobs could have been done earlier in the dry season? What are we paying taxes

political culture prevailing in the society and the logic inherent in this culture are unlikely to change in the near future. In concluding, it is my contention that the need for the WPA to reassert itself in the political life of the country is becoming more urgent and should, for its own survival, and for the success of the APNU+AFC coalition in the 2020 General and Regional elections, be given a high priority. In exercising its right to independent thought and actions, it will change the public’s perception of the party and its leadership. More so, it would be addressing the often asked question, Is the WPA dead?

Regards Tacuma Ogunseye

RDC Councillor on $15,000 bail Flooding is caused by human incompetence for assault, threatening language Dear Editor, This letter is not about politics, it is about exposing the lack of virtues of those who hold public office and still have the audacity to criticise others. While most public figures avoid putting themselves in embarrassing situations, a few are known to thrive on reckless behaviour that contributes to their own self-destruction and fall from grace. Such is the case with the APNU+AFC Region Five RDC Councillor, Abel Seetaram.

While I have been using adjectives like “despicable” and “bad-boy” to describe Abel Seetaram’s general demeanour in my letters, I am doubtful that the AFC Leader, the Hon. Raphael Trotman, knows the character of the person who represents the Alliance For Change (AFC) in Region Five. I am equally convinced that Minister Trotman will not condone such behaviour. Seetaram’s latest scandal is so gross that had he not been arrested, charged, and placed on $15,000 bail, there are some in the APNU+AFC leadership who would have denounced my condemnation of his behaviour as purely political and may choose to ignore it.

On Saturday, June 3, 2017, the APNU+AFC Region Five

RDC Councillor was taken to the Fort Wellington Police Station on charges made against him the night before by his neighbour, Mrs. Meenawati Jainauth for threatening behaviour and indecent exposure.

In a letter that was published on May 30, I wrote that Seetaram was put in charge of the Enhancement Workers at the RDC, who slash public space and roadsides. I also reported that some of those enhancement workers were seen slashing the yard of his private residence at Number 11 Village/Woodley Park, using government resources for private use.

The night of June 2, Seetaram allegedly got home drunk and launched a verbal assault on his neighbour, accusing her of snitching on him. After reading my letter, Seetaram was apparently convinced that his neighbour was the one from whom I had gotten my information and got into a tirade with her. This is unfortunate for I had never met this lady nor knew who she was until a few days after this incident was brought to my attention by a reliable source.

But during an interview, she recounted how terrified she was that night by Seetaram’s vulgar and threatening behaviour. She accused him of

indecent exposure.

The neighbour said she made a report at the Fort Wellington Police Station shortly after midnight, and Seetaram was brought in to the station the following day for questioning. When the case was first called on June 14th at the Fort Wellington Magistrates Court, Seetaram was a no-show. The magistrate threatened to have a warrant made out for his arrest, and scheduled the next court date for Wednesday, 28th of June. It is not clear whether he was arrested or he just “smell the rat,” but he showed up for his court hearing to answer charges on two counts of assault and threatening language.

He was placed on $15,000 bail and has to return to court on July 12. Seetaram was not charged with the more serious offence of indecent exposure or endangering the welfare of a minor. I wonder who is watching over him.

In his letters to the editor, Abel Seetaram portrays himself as a hard-working, dedicated APNU+AFC RDC Councillor, whose sole objective is to faithfully serve the people of Region Five.

But in reality he exploits his position for selfish gains.

Regards HARRY GILL PPP/C Member of Parliament

THE existing flooding in Guyana is not only caused by heavy rainfall, but also by human negligence from the NDCs and those responsible for drainage and irrigation. Last week Thursday it rained very heavily all day; I was in my room reading and had a wedding to perform at 5 PM; my wife called and told me our downstairs was flooded. I left my studies and ran downstairs: the water was under my entire house, my neighbour’s kitchen was ducked and my front bridge was covered. I had to leave for 4:15pm and was worried as to how to get over my front bridge.

I needed an urgent boat to no avail.

My concerns are many where I live here in Agriculture Road. I note with interest the water from the trench runs back into my yard.

This trench is full of bushes and huge trees and snakes from Fibre Tech Industries. The BV/Triumph NDC is responsible for digging this trench, but it was never dug; if this trench was just six feet deep my yard and residents’ yard would have never come under floods.

This is the trench on the right- hand side of the road.

I always pay my rates and taxes on time early in January, I have never owed a cent, yet I cannot get the services from the BV and Triumph NDC. The other trench over by NAREI that over-flows into the NAREI compound and is now a threat to their stock farm too, is another trench that needs digging

for? We should be asked not to pay taxes again until 2020 to recover our losses, or residents should sue these NDCs for compensation.

I really want Mr. Patterson and Mr Holder to come into Agriculture Road to see these business structures that hinder work for these trenches to be cleaned and to have access to these weed trenches that are filled with trees as well.I really want them to see this potholed road repaired that’s a human disgrace to the Guyana School of Agriculture.

All these floods can be avoided if we have deep-cleaned trenches with proper palls in some areas. It will take money, but lots of money are wasted on things like Mash, Carifesta, and Independence, but we need to maintain this nation from constant flooding. Right now millions of dollars are lost in the rice and agriculture sector; those areas need to be protected. Millions are lost in livestock and residents lose millions in their household assets. We need to study this country during the rainy season and act early before it’s too late.

In my observation, this flooding could have been prevented if trenches, drains, kokers, sluices and pumps were properly managed and maintained; we need more competent people at the NDC’s and NDIA. Only prayers can help us now. This flooding hinders our now Green Economy. Maybe our current administration will blame God now for the rains.

Regards Rev. Gideon Cecil

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Conservancy Dam farmers counting their losses

–– say flooding due to NDC negligence

By Navindra Seoraj FARMERS and residents of Conservancy Dam, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD), have suffered losses of cash crops and livestock due to inundation caused by heavy rains over the past few days.

When Guyana Chronicle visited residents of the community on Wednesday, they were counting their losses as they wait for the accumulated water to fully recede. Sonja Khan, a resident, said she has been living in the community for just over a year with her husband and two children and during that period, they have lost a lot when it rained.

“Since we moved here a year ago my husband and I have been farming cash crop and poultry, but as soon as it rains we lose everything or left with very little,” Khan said.

Farming, she said, is her

livelihood and it would be a challenge to restart.

Added to that, because the land gets swamped, they are forced to relocate their livestock or else that too would perish.

Deonarine Persaud and his wife, Somintra Persaud lost their livestock because of the flood. The couple, who have been living in the community for over three decades, said they have suffered significant losses over the years.

The recent loss they suffered was however minuscule in comparison to what they have lost over the years.

“We tried making drainage channels but this don’t work because the trenches that link to the canal run over… The thing is, is not just one trench, we have one in front and one behind us, so we are boxed in,” said Deonarine, who noted that it was suggested to the authorities to have a sluice door built so

as to limit the flow of water into the trenches.

This suggestion, he said, seemed to have fallen on deaf ears and famers have no choice but to replant and hope for the best after a flood.

Another farmer, Rakesh Ragnandan, shared similar sentiments.

On average, he said it takes over two months for their land to be ready for cultivation after a flood.

Their main problem is not with the cultivation of their farm, Rakesh said, but the alleged negligence of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Canal Numbers One and Two. Residents complained that over the years, whenever there is a flood, no one approaches them to render assistance.

“Nobody comes to check on anything whether flood or not,” resident David Singh said, pointing out that this is

Farmer Rakesh Raghunandan thinking what next destroyed by water accumulation so despite farming being their is working with a budget of livelihood. $20M for both Canals.

Many other accusations Parbhu nevertheless said were levelled against the they have been doing their NDC, one being its alleged best to ensure that the dams failure to maintain the front are maintained. and back dams, among other It was pointed out that things. they are currently awaiting a NDC Councillor, Mahen- feasibility study on the possidra Parbhu said some of the bility of building a road that claims made by residents are will run below the level of the unfair. He said the Council dam.However, residents have

as he looks at his crops criticised the effort because they fear their land will be compromised.

In relation to the maintenance of the canal and trenches, the councillor said the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the Water Users Association (WUA) are the authorities tasked with that duty.

CSI interested in setting up office here

By Rabindra Rooplall

Gargie Sukhan showing the Guyana Chronicle vines of bora that were destroyed due to inundation (photos by Samuel Maughn)

This farmer transformed his bus into a sand carrier to fill a broken dam aback the community

CRIME Stoppers International Foundation (CSI) is interested in setting up an office in Guyana as part of its global network against illicit activities and crimes.

This is according to Darrin Carmichael, Director of Crime Stoppers Trinidad and Tobago, who was at the time speaking at an Anti-illicit Trade Regional Conference at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday.

The Crime Stoppers programme began in the 1970s as an innovation to solve crimes that were committed with no witnesses and few leads for police investigators.

The main goal is to produce televised re-enactments, offer rewards and promises of anonymity for information leading to an arrest.

Carmichael explained that Crime Stoppers is an effective crime-solving organisation worldwide, with the primary objective of the community, media and law enforcement working together to solve crimes.

He said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is

signed in countries where the agency has an office, since Crime Stoppers has built an effective worldwide system

Crime Stoppers Trinidad and Tobago Director Darrin Carmichael built on integrity and trust that works.

Carmichael said that tackling crime effectively cannot be done by law enforcement alone as the support of the public is important, and that is where Crime Stopper International bridges the gap.

“Police can be provided

with information and tips which they may not otherwise receive which could be vital in bringing criminals to justice, no matter where they attempt to hide,” he said.

The agency operates in 24 countries in seven regions around the world and serves over 500 million people.

The agency tackles illicit trade in the region since a large percentage of illegal profits are derived from the trade of tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, gold, fuel, household items, personal care items and automotive parts.

Carmichael said the information provided on these illegal activities is passed on to law enforcement and other investigators in such a way that the tipster remains anonymous at all times.

“When you report to Crime Stoppers your identity will never be exposed.”

He said the agency will be hosting its 38th Annual Crime Stoppers International Conference from October 15-18, 2017 in Panama City, Panama, under the theme “Taking action against multinational crime.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Guyana, EU to sign multi-billion dollar contracts

By Alva Solomon

CITING 2017 as a crucial year, the European Union (EU) is expected to sign five contracts with the Government of Guyana, all aimed at improving livelihoods and development of the country.

On Thursday morning, Head of the European Delegation to Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videti? told reporters at a press briefing at the EU’s offices at Sendell Place, Geogetown, that the contracts worth billions of dollars show the EU commitment to Guyana.

“It’s about people, improvement of their livelihoods and for us, the citizen is at the centre of attention,”

Ambassador Videti? said.

He described the EU/ Guyana partnership as one which is “dynamic” and “successful,” noting that it provides “real change” for citizens.

He said the partnership addresses the direct needs of citizens.

For several of the five project areas, some of which are on-going, the EU and the Inter- American Development (IDB) will jointly fund the projects in which the funds provided by the former will be made in the form of grants.

Those areas are sea defence, civil society, the forestry sector, energy support, the water sector and administrative reform.

In outlining the financial

allocations which the EU will fund, Ambassador Videti? noted that a sum of $22B has been allocated for the sea defence sector.

He said that the drainage and irrigation systems within the city are working, given the heavy rainfall the country has been experiencing. A sum of G$278M will be spent on issues such as addressing the challenges which people living along the coastline experience, including those in the fishing industry.

Civil society projects will receive funding to the tune of $2.B. Ambassador Videtic noted that the EU is a main promoter of human rights and anti-discrimination matters.

He said the impact of support is “very visible”, noting that awareness in several

IMF pins Guyana’s growth on oil, public sector investments THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted that with the development of oil resources here coupled with public investment, Guyana’s economy will continue to grow.

In its Article IV consultation report, the IMF noted that economic growth is projected to hover around 3½3¾ per cent during 2017–19 and will be driven by an increase in public investment, continued expansion in the extractive sector, and a recovery in rice production.

“This assumes that oil production starts in mid-2020 at 100,000 barrels per day for up to 8 years, before gradually declining. The prospects of the other fields (Liza-2, Payara and Snoek) are still in the exploration stage and could substantially increase oil production and proven reserves,” the report stated. The IMF was quick to point out that the long-term outlook hinges on the government’s ability to improve the business climate and use the oil windfall to increase potential growth through productivity-enhancing reforms and economic diversification.

It was noted too that inflation is expected to be around 2½-3 per cent over the medium term. “The external outlook remains broadly favorable, and will improve with the start of oil production. A current account deficit of 3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected for 2017, with low oil prices and increased gold exports continuing to offset weak sugar exports.”

That deficit is likely to widen to 5 percent of GDP by 2019, as import growth

outpaces export growth and will be financed largely by investment inflows and donor-supported investment.

The start of oil production in 2020 will swing the current account into a persistent surplus, boosted by a significant increase in exports, the IMF report stated. As such, it is expected that there will be a significant increase in official reserves.

Meanwhile, continued expansionary fiscal policies will increase the public debt. The non-financial public sector (NFPS) deficit is projected to increase to 7.2 percent of GDP in 2017 (due in part to delayed capital spending from 2016), and to gradually narrow to 4.3 percent by 2022.

The baseline outlook includes continued spending in the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) sector, including 1½-2 per cent of GDP per year on subsidies to GuySuCo, while financing needs will remain relatively high, which may raise borrowing costs. The public debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to increase from 49.6 percent in 2016 to about 61 percent in 2019 and gradually decline with oil-related revenues, the IMF added.

“As Guyana grows richer, it could lose access to grants and concessional financing, which are projected to taper off with the start of oil production,” the IMF noted while FSAP stress tests show that some domestic banks are vulnerable to severe downside risks.

High profitability and capitalization levels support the banking system’s ability to withstand adverse

shocks. However, their role as a cushion is undermined by inadequate provisioning, high related-party lending and loan classification issues, the report stated.

“Under an extreme stress scenario, some institutions would require recapitalizations of up to 4.5 per cent of 2016 GDP. Banks’ large holdings of CARICOM securities (about 30 percent of the banking system capital) could also account for significant valuation losses in the event of fiscal stress in the region.”

All in all, the report noted that “risks are tilted to the downside in the short-term but to the upside over the medium to long-term”. Losses of CBRs continue to be a concern, which could impact the economy through trade finance and remittances, and increase the financial stability risks in the affected banks.

Weak global growth can weigh on commodity prices.

However, it is believed that a strong US dollar can erode external competitiveness in the absence of greater exchange rate flexibility.

Lower energy prices would also provide further relief to Guyana’s oil import bill, but could delay the development of its oil fields, the IMF report noted.

The report noted that among the domestic risks are the contingent liabilities from Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), the ailing sugar industry, undercapitalized banks and the National Insurance Scheme.

Over the medium and longterm, risks are tilted to the upside, given the potential for further oil discoveries.

Head of the European Delegation to Guyana, Ambassador Jernej Videti? (right) looks on as another EU official makes a point during Thursday’s press briefing areas, including LBGT rights, domestic violence and child protection among others.

The EU and the IDB will jointly provide support for the upgrade of the energy network here. The EU will contribute $4.7B, while the IDB will add a similar amount.

The water sector will receive funding to the tune of $2.3B from the EU, while

the IDB will provide a similar amount.

Ambassador Videtic also noted that more than $1B was spent on administrative reform here. He said two weeks ago the EU and the authorities here signed a technical corporation facility programme.

The reform brings improvement in procedures,

modernisation of laws and more legal certainty in conformity with international as well as adaptation to modern times and a globalised world with better services for citizens. “ A l l i n a l l , w e a re strengthening the capacity of the Guyanese administration,” Ambassador Videtic noted.

Guyana eyes Cuba rice market

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POSITIVE indications coming out of Cuba show great potential for that country to become another major market for the local rice industry.

It is expected that in the coming weeks, a report would be given on those consultations.

This was disclosed Wednesday during outreaches to flood-affected farm lands in the East Berbice Region Six location.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder met with farmers who were very concerned about the welfare of the crops during this persistent rainy season. The minister said that Cuba is one of the more recent locations that have expressed interest in Guyana’s rice.

In the coming days and weeks, more would be disclosed about the ongoing negotiations. The agriculture minister said Guyana currently exports rice to 35 countries, and should Jamaica, and the more recent, Cuban market be included, that would take Guyana up to 37.

Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Allison Peters said reports out of Region Six show that 15,000 acres of rice is under floodwaters, with some amounts of the grain already lost.

In some cases, farmers have managed to immediately sow. Peters said that in terms of rice markets, Guyana is doing well, with Region Six paying the highest per bag of paddy

countrywide.

Recognising complaints about paddy payments, Peters related that to her knowledge, the region is doing well, but opted to have one-on-one conversations with affected farmers.

She noted however that Guyana has a few new markets coming and this will improve payments for farmers, once the grain is exported and revenues collected.

In relation to Cuba, Peters said a rice farmer from Region Six was instrumental in connecting the large Cuban market which could soon come on stream.

Guyana has started to move into the Mexican market and they are interested in the aromatic brand

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

also. Peters said about four years ago, Guyana bred the aromatic brand of rice which one major company is producing locally for export.

A visit was made to Mexico by authorities earlier this year, and it was there that the rice council expressed interest in the Guyana aromatic grain.

“So we hope the aromatic brand will pick up in the years to come and expand on that aspect,” said Peters, who noted that a larger shipment of regular rice is however due to leave for Mexico soon.

The Panamanian market, Venezuela, Jamaica and The Bahamas are among some of the non-traditional rice markets that are growing

closer to the local rice industry.

Three shipments have already been sent to Panama for the year and another is due next month, Peters related.

A private exporter has delivered some 4000 tonnes to Venezuela, while larger amounts are expected to be taken from the rice board.

Some amount of rice has also been sent to The Bahamas, along with a visit from local authorities for the purpose of expanding in that area.

Peters said that Guyana is producing nearly a million tonnes of rice and must be able to export as much as possible after deducting what is needed for local consumption.

Agriculture Minister Noel Holder Wi t h s u c h p o s i tive indicators in the i n d u s t r y, M i n i s t e r Holder said the rice industry could move to the future with confidence.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

IMF: Economy to grow 3.5 per cent

THOUGH non-performing loans remain high, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during its recently concluded Article IV consultation with Guyana has projected the country’s growth at 3.5 per cent this year, while “real economic activity expanded by 3.3 per cent” last year.

Subdued agricultural commodity prices, adverse weather and delays in public investment weighed down on activity, while large increases in gold output helped support growth, the report said.

Consumer prices increased by 1.5 per cent in the 12 months ending in December 2016, as weather-related shocks to food prices reversed the deflationary trend.

Meanwhile, according to the IMF’s Executive Board, Guyana’s overall non-financial public sector deficit widened to 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2016 from 0.2 per cent in 2015.

Despite slower-than-expected economic growth, fiscal revenue increased owing to improvements in tax administration and higher mining royalties, the report stated, while adding that the total expenditure increased by 2.8 percentage points of GDP, but the increase was lower than budgeted due to delays in capital expenditure.

The current account moved from a 5.7 per cent of GDP deficit in 2015 to a 0.4 per cent surplus in 2016, driven by the large increase in gold exports and improved terms of trade.

Gross international reserves stood at 3.6 months of imports at end-2016.

Additionally, the IMF reported that bank capital adequacy ratios appear comfortable (averaging 25.4 per cent as of end-2016).

“But non-performing loans remain high, at 12.9 per cent of total loans at end2016 from 11.5 per cent at end-2015 and provisioning remains very low (45.8 per cent at end-2016).”

In a statement issued on its website, the IMF noted that progress in strengthening the financial stability framework was assessed in detail during the Article IV consultation as part of the IMF’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which analyses financial sector soundness and associated policies.

The FSAP’s findings are summarised in the accompanying Financial Sys-

tem Stability Assessment (FSSA).

POSITIVE As such, it was determined that the macroeconomic outlook is positive for 2017 and the medium-term.

“Growth is projected at 3.5 per cent in 2017, supported by an increase in public investment, continued expansion in the extractive sector, and a recovery in rice production.”

Moreover, 12- month inflation is expected to remain low at around 2.6 per cent by year-end, while the fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 7.2 per cent of GDP in 2017, due in part to delay in capital spending from 2016.

“The shares of current and capital spending in GDP are projected to increase by 0.6 and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Tax revenue is projected to remain stable at about 21.5 per cent of GDP. The current account deficit is projected at -3 per cent of GDP, financed by investment inflows and donor-supported investment. Net international reserves cover is projected to remain stable at 3.6 months of imports at end-2017,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, the executive directors in their assessment welcomed Guyana’s “continued economic growth, the improvement in its external position, and its positive medium-term outlook, which is supported by the expected start of oil production in 2020.”

They underscored the importance of preserving macro-economic and financial stability, while making growth more broad-based and inclusive while noting that the economy is vulnerable to external shocks and domestic challenges remain.

The executive directors also welcomed the plans by authorities here to establish a comprehensive framework for managing oil wealth and stressed the importance of having a transparent and rules-based framework in place before oil production starts.

“Most directors supported staff’s recommendation for a moderate fiscal consolidation to slow debt accumulation and safeguard against adverse shocks before the onset of oil production. A few directors considered a more gradual consolidation appropriate in light of the country’s development needs.

More generally, directors recommended moderating the growth of current expen-

ditures and moving ahead with the reform of public enterprises, notably the sugar and electricity companies, while providing a safety net for those affected by these reforms,” the report said.

Additionally, it is believed that the issuance of longer-term domestic debt instruments could provide a stable source of financing which can be used to settle the government’s negative balance at the Central Bank and help develop domestic capital markets.

WARNING Guyana was however put on warning that a significant increase in domestic debt could drive up borrowing costs.

“In this regard, directors commended the authorities for continuing to refrain from non-concessional external borrowing. Regarding Guyana’s ongoing negotiations with bilateral non-Paris Club creditors, a few directors reiterated the importance of preserving comparability of treatment across official bilateral creditors.”

Moreover, the executive directors welcomed the “recent increase in exchange rate flexibility” and encouraged the authorities to allow the exchange rate to play a stronger automatic stabiliser role going forward.

The IMF establishment of a clear communication strategy is important in this regard and encouraged the authorities to auction foreign exchange when conducting official transactions to help improve price discovery and transparency in the foreign exchange market.

That aside, the directors have also agreed that the current monetary policy which has been described as “accommodative” is appropriate

but stressed the importance of remaining vigilant for possible inflationary pressures and being ready to tighten monetary policy as appropriate.

Importantly too, the IMF noted that the banking sector appears “resilient to severe shocks”, and welcomed the authorities’ plans to continue bringing the supervisory and regulatory frameworks in line with the 2016 FSAP recommendations.

Steps to reduce the stock of non-performing loans, and higher provisioning to

account for slow collateral recovery, unrecorded related-party exposures, and loan misclassifications were encouraged, as the directors also called for the amendment of the Financial Institutions Act to operationalise the crisis management framework and establish an emer-

gency liquidity assistance framework.

Additionally, local financial authorities were commended for exiting the Financial Action Task Force follow-up process and encouraged the further strengthening the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism framework, drawing on the recent National Risk Assessment.

Progress made with respect to correspondent banking relationships were noted and

continued vigilance was suggested.

The need for further improvements to the business climate, diversification efforts, and structural reforms of key economic sectors are needed to support more broad-based and inclusive growth.

The next Article IV consultation with Guyana is to take place on the standard 12-month cycle. The 2016 consultations concluded on May 24, 2017.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

ERC nominees likely to be approved

CHAIRPERSON of the Committee on Appointments, Social Cohesion Minister, Dr George Norton will next Friday move a motion for the approval of nominees to be appointed to serve on the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC).

Nominees include, Dr. John O. Smith for the Christian community, Sister Rajkumarie Singh representing the Hindu bodies, Roshan Khan, the Muslim community, and Norris Witter for the labour movement.

The private sector organisations will be represented

by Major-General (Ret’d) Norman McLean; Youth by Deodat Persaud; Women, Ruth Howard; Cultural and Ethnic bodies: Afro-Guyanese Barrington Braithwaite, Indo-Guyanese Neaz Subhan and Indigenous or Amerindian bodies will be represented by Ashton Simon.

The aforementioned nominees have been nom- Social Cohesion Minisinated in accordance with ter, Dr George Norton Resolution No. 17 of 2003 and Article 212 B (1) (a) of the Constitution to be appointed members of the ERC. According to the Order Paper for the 67th Sitting of the National Assembly to be held on Friday, July 7, Dr Norton will present the motion for adoption of the third report of the Standing Committee on Appointments to address matters relating to the nomination and appointment of members to the ERC. Under Article 212 of the Constitution, the ERC advocates equality of opportunity among persons of different ethnic groups; promotes the elimination of all forms of ethnic-based discrimination; and discourages persons, institutions, political parties and associations from indulging in discriminatory practices.

According to Article 212A, the ERC shall consist of no less than five nor more than 15 members nominated by entities, by a consensual mechanism determined by the National Assembly, including entities, representatives of religious bodies, the labour movement, the private business sector, youth and women, and after, the entities are determined by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all elected members of the National Assembly.

Additionally, the Constitution mandates that the ERC promote educational and training programmes and research projects which provide for and encourage ethnic peace and harmony; encourage and create respect for religious, cultural and other forms of diversity in a plural society, promote arbitration, conciliation, mediation and like forms of dispute resolution in order to secure ethnic harmony and peace.

The ERC is also required to recommend to the National Assembly, criteria to be considered for the purposes of deciding whether any person has committed acts of discrimination on the ground of ethnicity; investigate complaints of racial discrimination and make recommendations on the measure to be taken if such complaints are valid, and where there is justification, refer matters to the Human Rights Commission, or other relevant authorities. The commission also has to monitor and review all legislation and administrative acts or omissions relating to, or having implications for ethnic relations and equal opportunities among others.

The ERC is derived from recommendations of the Herdmanston Accord, signed on January 17, 1998, between then President Janet Jagan and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte. Brokered by a CARICOM mission, the Accord sought to provide a peaceful solution to the political impasse that had gripped the country after the contentious December 1997 Regional and General Elections.

The first members of the ERC were appointed in 2003 in compliance with the new constitutional provisions.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

NDIA takes over drainage responsibility from GuySuCo THE National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will be assuming responsibility of drainage duties that were once under the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

This move is expected to significantly reduce the load of unrelated tasks on the loss-making entity, while improving the nation’s capacity to quickly remove water from the land after heavy rainfall, and in some cases, prevent flooding where possible.

Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, during an outreach to flood affected residents and farmers in the East Berbice region told farmers that they would soon have some amount of relief in relation to flooding as GuySuCo will no longer have the responsibility for drainage in their community.

GuySuCo is burdened with the number of extraneous things that should not be the company’s responsibility, Holder said. He said that included drainage and irrigation in residential areas.

The minister noted that the NDIA will now take responsibility for the communities because they have more pumps, facilities and engineers that can better cater to the issue of flooding.

He said NDIA is the agency dedicated to this feature so they will be taking over the matter of ensuring pumps are strategically placed and in working order.

“So I think you are going to see over the next year or so an improvement, because GuySuCo will no longer be burdened with that kind of concern. Their job is to produce sugar economically, not to drain water,” the minister insisted.

Holder told residents that GuySuCo has billions of dollars in assets to maintain, while trying to produce sugar at a profit and keeping its extraordinary commitments to residents.

At the Skeldon Estate alone, the minister pointed out, GuySuCo caters for 20,000 acres of drained and irrigated land, which include 217 miles of drainage canals, 750 miles of navigation and irrigation canals, 190 miles of access lands, 80 bridges, 21 aqueducts and 3847 drainage tubes.

This massive infrastructure is expensive to maintain, the Minister Holder noted.

“If you did nothing, if you don’t plant a single acre of cane, just to maintain that massive infrastructure in this area, will cost Skeldon $400million.”

He continued that apart from having to maintain structures such as the one described at Skeldon, the world market sugar price had declined tremendously over the years and the commodity is not very profitable, especially when Guyana is producing sugar at a national average of 38 cents per pound and the world market price is 15cents.

Also, while the national average cost to produce sugar is 38 cents, it costs the refurbished multi-billion dollar Skeldon factory 60 cents per pound to produce sugar.

With occurrences such as those and others taking place in the company, Holder said the nation cannot continue to hold GuySuCo with their massive infrastructure, loss-making production and extraneous responsibilities.

Hosted by the representative of the Prime Minister’s Berbice office, Gobin Harbhajan, Minister Holder, his NDIA team, GuySuCo, Guyana Rice Development Board team, among others, also visited the Region Six location of Fyrish Wednesday. It was noted that three important GuySuCo pumps were down and efforts were being main to rectify the problem.

Deonarine Arjune, one of the largest poultry farmers in the country, urged relief from the constant flooding during heavy rains and high tide.

The farmer plucks and packages some 60,000 birds a week and employs close to 400 persons. His farm land is heavily inundated. He said that because of GuySuCo’s failure to get off the flood water on their estate, it breached the dams that separate the community.

Excess rainfall and swelling of the Canje Creek compounded the situation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Higher taxes will fuel illicit cigarette trade –– British American Tobacco Caribbean

By Rabindra Rooplall

HEAVY taxation on tobacco products will allow the illicit cigarette trade to increase exponentially, resulting in a dramatic decline in legal cigarette volumes which means less government revenues in a declining legal market.

This was the view of Brit-

held at the Marriott Hotel.

Recent estimates by Global Financial Integrity places the total at US$650 billion for goods and US$2 trillion, if illicit financial flows are included in the illicit trade.

Agurcia said Guyana statistics have shown that the illicit cigarette trade has increased over the years and

the illicit economy has seen unprecedented growth and has etched its way into all aspects of society, which is a cause for serious global concern.

The illicit economy affects businesses, governments, civil society and individuals.

Underscoring that illicit trade involves money, goods

British American Tobacco Caribbean Senior External Affairs Manager, Cesar Agurcia, addressing the conference at the Marriott Hotel ish American Tobacco Caribbean (BATC) Senior External Affairs Manager, Cesar Agurcia who was at the time speaking at the Anti-illicit Trade Regional Conference

the ongoing transfer of volumes from the legal to the illegal trade is due to affordability issues stemming from the hikes in excise.

The senior manager said

or value gained from illegal and unethical activities, Agurcia said over the last few year the illicit cigarette trade has grown tremendously.

He said in some countries

the illicit trade is responsible for 70 per cent of consumption, making the legal markets unprofitable.

Adding that illicit trade is a national security issue, Agurcia said the profits from such trades go towards organised crimes.

“The real profit of this business is going into dangerous hands,” he said.

Noting that government lose millions of US$ in taxes because of the illicit trade, Agurcia said not only tobacco industries are suffering from counterfeit products flooding many markets, but all sectors of commerce.

It is estimated that there are over 200 different brands of illicit cigarette in the global market, many of which come from China and India.

The senior manager said the smuggling of goods is often linked to smuggling of weapons, people, sex slaves, drugs and counterfeit products and contraband.

He explained that another major danger is the counterfeit and poor quality products with no government regulations or standards. This, he said, places a higher health risk on consumers rather than the legal cigarettes.

Adding that cigarettes are the most commonly traded products on the black mar-

Magistrate to rule in GGMC engineer murder

CITY Magistrate Judy Latchman will Today rule on whether a prima facie case has been made out against four men who are accused of killing Guyana Geology and Mines (GGMC) engineer, Trevor Abrams.

Principal Magistrate Latchman is presiding over the matter which is being done by paper committal.

When the matter continued on Thursday, Police Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Vishnu Hunt was expected to lay over his submission to the court.

Steven Prescott

However, Magistrate Latchman adjourned the matter to June 30, at 13:30hrs for Hunt’s submission, after which her ruling will follow.

Orin Arthur, 29 of One Mile Wismar, Linden;; Steven Prescott a/k ‘Assassin’, 46, of Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara; and Yori Varswyk, 28, of Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara are jointly charged with the engineer’s murder.

According to reports, Abrams, 32, of Lot 131 Samatta Point, East Bank Demerara, was riddled with bullets on February 26, 2015, at Little Diamond, East Bank

Orin Arthur

Demerara, after heavily armed men ambushed him and opened fire on his vehicle.

In November 2015, Arthur and Varswyk were committed

by City Magistrate, Fabayo Azore to stand trial at the High Court for the murder of Security guard, Wilfred Stewart during a raid at the Sterling Products Limited (SPL) offices at Providence in 2014.

Another man, Rayon Paddy, was also charged with the crime but perished during the March 3 Camp Street Prison fire, which claimed the lives of 17 inmates.

Stewart, of Graham’s

DEAD Guyana Geology and Mines (GGMC) engineer, Trevor Abrams

Yori Varswyk

Hall, ECD was on duty when a gang stormed the SPL compound. After fatally shooting Stewart and wounding Mario Gohill, an Indian national working as a chemist at SPL, the invading bandits made their way to the accounts department at the SPL Providence complex.

However, they were met with a locked safe and decided to abort the robbery and flee the compound.

British American Tobacco Caribbean Head of Legal and External Affairs, Christopher Brown ket, Agurcia said the profits and relative percentage of remain high while penalties illicit trade in cigarettes that remain low. are sold within the CaribHe explained that there is bean and Central America,” need to increase penalties for Brown said. such crimes while creating He explained that the illicit a special unit to enforce and trade is organised and transnatackle all illicit trades. tional in nature, and as such, it BATC Head of Legal and has the power to corrupt many External Affairs, Christopher border collection and revenue Brown said the illicit trade of security processes. cigarettes has received internaBrown said modern tional attention in all spheres. tools and systems are being He said Guyana, Surina- used to smuggle the illicit me and Trinidad alone are cigarettes beyond borders. responsible for US$300M of He contended inter-customs illegal inter-country trade in collaboration is needed beillicit cigarettes. tween countries in order to “Suriname, based on cur- track and confiscate illegal rent trends, is second to Pan- products at their ports of ama in the quantity, value entry.

Mocha man gets bail on larceny charge A TAXI driver was placed on $150,000 bail when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with simple larceny.

Twenty -three-year-old Troy Griffith of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, denied the allegation that he stole a quantity of items from his relative’s barber shop. The case was presided over by Magistrate Sunil Scarce.

The charge stated that between June 21 and 22, 2017, he stole one television set worth $ 220,000; a cellphone and hair-cutting machines worth $ 230,000 and a quantity of alcohol beverages worth$ 15,000, property of Kurt Douglas. Police Prosecutor Preston John objected to bail being granted to the defendant, saying that Griffith also has three other pending matters. He also objected to bail on the nature of the matter and the fact that the defendant is facing a pending matter of robbery under arms.

However, Griffith was granted bail and the matter was adjourned to July7.

Man gets bail for beating woman A CONSTRUCTION worker was placed bail on $60,000 bail on a charge of assault when he appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Thirty-nine-year-old Neil Garraway denied the charge which alleged that on February 22 at Mocha, East Bank

Demerara, he unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm on the virtual complainant Indra Kissoon. Police Prosecutor Preston John had no objection to bail being granted the defendant and the facts of the matter were not stated.

The magistrate then granted bail and the matter was adjourned until July 7.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Region Two Education, Health Departments get boats, engines

THE Region Two Administration on Tuesday donated five boats and engines to representatives of the Health and Education Departments of the region as it continues to execute its mandate in providing quality service to residents.

During a simple ceremony, Regional Executive Officer (REO), Derrick Persaud, advised that the

beneficiaries make full use of the resources and ensure that they remain custodian of the operation and maintenance of the equipment.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Mr. Deodath Persaud, District Educational Officer, as well as Regional Health Officer, Dr. Afarah Khan, who were both present.

Three boats and engines were given to the Depart-

ment of Health and will serve in the Pomeroon districts of Hackney, Karawab and Marlborough.

According to the Regional Health Officer, Dr. Afarah Khan, the availability of the equipment will improve the quality of service to the Riverain communities, including providing anti-natal and post-natal services to mothers, as well as provid-

REO of Region Two, Derrick Persaud, handing of one of five boats and engines to District Education Officer, Deodath Singh, in the presence of the Regional Engineer, Latchman Singh

ing emergency referrals of patients to the coastland.

The other two boats will serve in the vicinity of Bethany Annex and Dredge Creek and according to the District Education Officer, Deodath Singh, will immensely improve the attendance of students and their grades. He thanked the Administration for placing significant emphasis on education and in particular, in the hinterland communities.

Meanwhile, the boats and engines for the Education department will serve in the areas of the Bethany Annex and the Dredge Creek District and according to the District Education Officer, Deodath Singh, the availability of transportation will improve the attendance and performance of students, many of whom have had to abstain from school because of financial constraints.

According to the REO the boats and engines have cost over five million dollars.

Among those attending the ceremony were the Regional Health Officer, Dr. Affarah Khan; District Education Officer, Deodath Singh; Se-

nior Superintendent of Works, Saywack Persaud; Social Cohesion Officer, Audrey Garraway; and Regional Engineer, Latchman Singh.

Suspected hit-and-run driver still on the run POLICE in ‘D’ Division are hunting for the vehicle and driver who fled the scene of what they suspected to be a fatal hit-and-run accident at Orangestein Public Road, East Bank Essequibo on Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

The lifeless and bloodied body of fisherman, Krishna Sattie called “Toney” of Lot 35 Alliance, Canal Number 2 Polder, West Bank Demerara, was found lying on the roadway.

The police were summoned to the scene and they observed that the fisherman’s head was crushed.

Police surmised that Sattie was struck down sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning and left for dead.

A post-mortem is expected to be performed on the body on Friday.

According to traffic headquarters statistics, thus far in 2017, 46 road accidents have been recorded in which 49 persons died, including a child.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

Funds needed for minor repairs –– city Deputy Mayor

THE Markets Public Health Committee of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has called for the Council, through the administration, to implement a contingency fund that would cater for

minor repairs to the municipal markets.

Just recently, Deputy Mayor Lionel Jaikarran accused Town Clerk, Royston King of dragging his feet on the issue and issuing the committee several ex-

cuses when the matter comes up at their meetings.

“This fund would be used to do minor things-- repair the roof, replace lights bulbs, instead of running to the town clerk, ‘Oh we

Lionel Jaikarran

need a zinc sheet and seven lights bulbs.’ We can do this; it’s within our scope,” Jaikarran told the Guyana Chronicle.

According to what he has in mind, the Markets Committee will not be handling any of the cash.

“But we tell them who to write the cheques

to and that’s it. Completely above board,” he said, adding: “It’s designed to take some of the headache away from the town clerk and City engineer and to leave them to bigger matters; not a piece of wood falling to hit someone.”

Jaikarran has made this proposal since January.

Police hunting Parfaite Harmonie robbers

THREE days after gunmen invaded a grocery shop and home of a family of four at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, Commander of ‘D’ Division, Leslie James, said diligent efforts are being made to bring the perpetrators to justice.

He related that sleuths are pursuing some leads, have enhanced images obtained of the alleged bandits and it is just a matter of time before they are apprehended.

The commander added that detectives have been doing some intelligence gathering and they know who they are looking for.

On Tuesday after the armed robbery, police reported that crime scene investigators have retrieved several latent prints and spent shells from the crime scenes.

The robbery occurred at the White Shop at Lot 4137 La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, a landmark grocery in the community.

During the morning hours, while the business was opened, three men walked in and asked for 2lbs of plantains but before the owner Saroj Singh could tend to them, they ordered all to be silent.

The robbers then escaped with $400,000, two gold chains valued a $1M, two gold bands valued $60,000, two gold rings, two cellphones and other items but not before shooting one of their victims and gun-butting another.

Stun gun, ammunition for municipal abattoir THE Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) is not satisfied with the manner in which the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is slaughtering animals, and Mayor Patricia Chase-Green has since threatened disciplinary action to those who may be culpable.

At the statutory meeting earlier this week, Chase-Green said the GSPCA has voiced their concerns that the M&CC is not slaughtering in the correct manner at the moment.

She said should the organisation have reason to go out and protest this, those who are guilty will be disciplined.

By the end of July, she said, the stun gun and ammunition should be in place at the municipal abattoir, failing which disciplinary action will also be taken.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

National Hip Hop and Poetry Slam returns this month

IT was a big hit, with sold out nights, last year, well now the three-night National Hip Hop and Poetry Slam returns to 704 Sky Lounge, with the preliminary nights on July 7 and July 14, and the finals on July 21.

Today is the last day for hopeful entrants to register to be a part of the lucrative competition that will see $150,000 going to first place, $90,000 to second and third, and $60,000 to third.

Additionally, all of the finalists will again receive $15,000 for making it into the finals. But hold up, it gets better: entry is free. Well technically all it will cost to enter is the less than $10 that entrants will spend to text their full name and stage name to 660-7197.

It doesn’t get better than this, and entrants can thank sole sponsors of the event - the Ministry of Education Department of Culture, Youth and Sports - for that.

Once all of the contestants are in, they will be split into two groups, with each group being screened on one of the preliminary nights, having just one chance to perform and show that they have what it takes to make it into

the finals on July 21. The poets and hip hop artistes are all competing against each other in the same competition.

Like last year, the event is organised by Black Gold Entertainment headed by Franale Holder, who is head over heels excited to see the event return, and she just can’t wait to see what the artistes are going to bring this year.

All of the contestants have to perform original work. They do not necessarily have to write their own songs or poem, but it must be an original piece that was never used before.

“It’s more to showcase your talent as an artiste, if you say you’re an artiste we want to see what you’re capable of. The ame goes for the poets, we basically give them guideless, but in general it’s totally wide, you could write about anything, social issues, patriotic pieces, anything,” Franale explained.

Last year the event had 47 entries, with 23 of them making it to the final night, but when it was all said and done it was well known makeup artiste and designer Clinton Duncan, who rose above them all.

Duncan prevailed as the

best after his performance of his original poem “Labels”, poet Edan Corbin gave a riveting eight minute performance of his poem “Black Skin” that captivated the audience and brought him second place; while Randolph Critchlow’s performance was a patriotic appeal and saw him finishing third.

Franale thinks that last year the hip hop artistes may have been a little intimidated by the poets, but she’s hoping that they come better this time around.

“I’m just urging all of the singers and the rappers not to be as scared as they were last year because you know fear tends to cripple some people? They were so scared that they kind of didn’t perform to the best of their abilities. I’ve seen them do way better at my shows but when they came that night it was like they were so scared.

But it’s a leveled playing field because it’s based on your performance, your lyrical delivery, everything,” Franale remarked.

This year Franale is not really looking to do too much to change up the event as she is not about to fix something

Last year’s winner, Clinton Duncan

that isn’t broken, however, she does hope that it can be more diverse, where the contestants are concerned.

“I’m just trying to make it more diverse this year, and we hope to attract more young talent, especially more singers and rappers,” she

said.

“We had a really good turn out last year, we had full houses. Even though the second preliminary night was a rainy night we had a packed house then too, so it’s pretty good. We’re not really aiming for it to be different in the format we’re going to use,” she related.

Last year’s competition had attracted talent from all across Guyana, with poets from as far as Lethem, and Linden, and rappers from as far as Essequibo.

The event all got started last year to fill a gap that Franale thought needed to be filled, and now she’s looking to keep it going as an annual event.

“I saw that it’s very much needed. I wanted to show that there’s more to Guyanese artistes than meets the eye. It’s not just about singing some Soca or some calypso, we can do so much more and every time people come out and they see it, they are often in awe of what these young people can do. That’s why I decided to do it this year.

It’s lucrative for teenagers out there. Cash helps them to do what they need to get done,” Franale said.

Vanilla’s ‘Till we meet again’ sparks ‘blow’ debate At a time when the local hit ‘Blow’ by Blaze Antonio is heating up the airwaves, Soca Queen Vanilla’s newly released hit has somehow been interpreted by fans as promoting ‘blow’ culture, but she assures that it is not.

The song is a feel-good tune that essentially speaks of a woman and a man – both of whom have their significant others- who meet at a party and get wrapped up in each other on the dancefloor. But when the party is over at 02:00hrs, they part ways, with the singer simply stating in the hook: “Till we meet again”.

So does that constitute infidelity? Vanilla says ‘no’.

“According to the dictio-

nary, infidelity is the action or state of being unfaithful to a spouse or other sexual partner. So does it mean that if I go going out and party and have a good time with someone else that I’m being unfaithful? My thing is that, once I don’t violate my partner’s expectations and trust then how is it I’m being faithful?” she said.

Vanilla released the song via WhatsApp some weeks ago, and she said that since she has, persons have continually interpreted its lyrics to mean that the subject is cheating. “They have said to me ‘Eh Vanilla, you do a blow song too?’ and I can’t see why people seem to think that, when all I’m talking about is that

one night I decided to go out and party and leave my boyfriend alone. Men do it all the time. So as soon as a woman does it, it’s blow or infidelity? Oh, come on.

We live in the 21st Century.

People just need to learn to live a little and be honest with their partners,” she said.

She stated, instead, that the song, which was written by writer and producer, Burchmore Simon, is instead intended to speak about the fact that women can still have casual encounters without leading further.

This is the third track for the year from Vanilla, having been preceded by ‘We run things’ and her fireball track ‘Mash up the

place’ which was a major hit during Mashramani. These songs are all part of her album ‘Who I am’ which is scheduled to be released before the end of 2017 Vanilla has been among the local artistes who have called on radio stations to play Guyanese music more often. Asked whether she felt that this situation has changed, she stated that some stations and DJs seem a bit more open to playing Guyanese music these days, but there is still some way to go in that regard. “When you take into consideration the amount of locally aired music in total, to the same amount you use to hear when the government had their two stations, it seems

as though we’ve moved one step forward and five backward,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate all the radio stations and DJs who play the music, but the fact remains that there is still too little air time given to local content.”

However, she praised the stations and DJs in Linden, who she said are well known for supporting their own artistes. “You see when you are in Linden, if you never knew a new artiste from there, you better believe before you leave you’ll catch the name of that artiste or remember a piece of their song before you leave. I often wish the rest of Guyana would adapt the attitude of Lindeners in

terms of supporting their own. Whether it’s locally produced food, music craft or any other product,” she said.

Nevertheless, Vanilla is thankful to her own supporters who have been behind her throughout her career.

That includes those DJs and radio stations who continue to support her music. “I’m also thankful to my fans who never give up on me, my label Kross Kolor Records, my family, friends and Corporate Guyana. As I continue on my journey I hope that you continue to support in my endeavours,” she said.

Persons interested in finding out more can keep updated at vanillagy.com.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

HOW THE ARTS SHAPED THE MEMORY OF HUMAN CULTURE What went wrong in Guyana?

SO you want to make a movie or paint the romantic scene of a significant historical event or period in Guyana. But where do you begin? You have a script; you know where and when it occurred, so you’re ready to go to the location. Then it occurs, upon arriving there, that the biographer in the aged or reprinted book you read mentioned that he sat in the shade of a cork tree off the main bridge on the public road, opposite the small koker after drinking some water in the nearby canal. Now you’re in trouble, because there is no cork tree, neither is there any small koker, though the over grown weed in the trench and a closer look reveals unchecked erosion, which are indications of the mentioned pristine canal with its then drinking water.

A check with the village office does not help, though the oldest villagers recall with a nostalgic smile, what you describe. The reality is there is no visual help available. The fact is that we have not cultivated the habit of chronicling our landmarks, whether they rest in Georgetown or across the towns and villages in this country, and those landmarks that remain will soon vanish if at the local Government level, laws do not exist that instruct that a record in film and precise rendition be made of any landmark. For example, the old train station office in the village cited for renovation to locate the new village office. Old buildings will eventually be replaced, but those buildings identified for demolition belong to a special space in our cultural archive, that our ancestors lived in. Posterity is why museums exist.

So, in the event of creating the edutainment flash back, records must or should exist to reconstruct the authentic atmosphere of the day in question. Because whether it be stage drama, film, graphic magazine or fine art painting, you

can’t have Hubert Nathanial Critchlow talking to the British Governor of the day on his cell phone in a serious portrayal of those events.

The historic Methodist Church of Victoria built by slaves is also gone, surely another building could have been attached, and a significant artefact of the East Coast preserved.

More than two years ago, I notified an authority of the National Trust about the existence of a water vat built in 1837 at the back of a colonial building on Middle Street. The building was

advertised for sale. The architecture that replaces these buildings are usually ultramodern and more suited for the temperate atmosphere from where they are copied from almost verbatim. Many look like the Normandy pillboxes on June 6, 1944.

The colonial building is demolished; the fate of the vat when last seen was suspended in the moment.

We know what the ancient Africans in Khemet [Egypt] Kush and Benin wore and looked like; what the Indians and Afro Asians of Harappa and Mahen-

jo-Daro and North Indians look like and how they dressed a thousand years ago; and the Europeans of Greece and Rome and the citizens of China B.C, Cambodia and Mesoamerica can be partially constructed in their space of time because of Art and of recent, the ‘Sciences of archaeology ’.

We know that the Sahara was once fertile because of 11 thousand year old rock art that portrays savannah animals and strange enough drawings of humanoids that suggest ‘Aliens?’. The Artist preceded the palaeontologist by tens of thousands of years, but together they are today revealing aspects of the burning human curiosity

on the compelling question about our origins.

But let’s not stray too far and try to keep it local, though a glimpse at the global ordinary can inspire and direct relevant initiatives for gaps that must be filled locally. We have experienced enough of where we have gone wrong in comparison to the corrective things that have been done right to enhance the national ethos.

By ‘we’, I mean politicians and practitioners in relevant fields and citizens with interests towards preserving landmarks that archive our history. It cannot be disputed that cutting down all the silk cotton trees in Saint Phillips Church compound has

obliterated an era and should not have been allowed. One of the oldest buildings in Georgetown that harkened to a Dutch design lay opposite Brickdam Police Station but it’s now gone. Is there a pictorial record made by City hall? If not, then, the very consciousness of managing this City from an archival perspective has not been cultivated, thus, the thinking does not exist.

With Independence the euphoria of becoming a new country blinded the realisation that regardless of how uncomfortable the colonial past might have been, it envelopes our history and is relevant to posterity. I can understand back then the conflict that existed with the neo-colonial classes of British Guiana, and their pretentions and racisms.

But they too are encased in a period of who and what we were, like the eccentric character who upon being taunted and called ‘ Walker de nigger’ shouted back furiously to our boyhood taunts, ‘ British you fool !’.

He too is a periodic symbol, especially when the time comes that the story of early Stabroek/Georgetown has to be featured as the backdrop to some drama whether visual or literary. We have lost important sections of this city (Tiger Bay for reference) without visually recording it, those men who possess the memory of our Townships will pass on with the biographic literature too obscure to easily arrest.

I have endured this on several projects, that required a fanatical loyalty not to fill gaps with the borrowed similar, rather than the recorded authentic, which also leaves much in description to the dependency that what the Dutch did in Suriname should be similar to what was done in Guyana. Much of our visual history, plans and graphic plates are in private hands across Holland and England and even the United States, but what is still available here has to be preserved. As the saying goes, if you lose your History you will soon forget who you are.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Final showing of ‘Nothing to Laugh About 10’ set for Tower Suites

‘NOTHING to Laugh About 10’ will be held again tomorrow night at the Tower Suites Poolside, formerly known as the Tower Hotel on Main Street.

The show, directed by Maria Benschop and K o j o Mc Pherson, will be staged again on account of the public’s appeal. When the show was held earlier this month, almost all of the nights were sold-out and hence many were not afforded the opportunity to see it.

It was for this reason that the organisers decided the show would be held over. Tower Suites, however, bought the show and so it will be held at their location instead of the usual, National Cultural Center.

The show, with limited seating capacity of only 500, will begin at 21:00hrs and tickets are $3,000.

The team will begin its Road Tour at the end of Au-

Michael ‘Inspector Credit’ Ignatius in a scene with Leza ‘Radhika’ Singh

gust, taking the show to Berbice and Linden. Sometime in November, it will travel to Bartica and Essequibo.

Taking the show out of town, however, is quite challenging to the team in terms of expenses and other factors. They are therefore calling on those in the relevant communities, especially the businesses, to share in sponsoring the show.

This cultural comedy show has become such a hit that the organisers are thinking of increasing the number of days that it is usually held on by next year. It originally started with two nights, then moved to three and four.

Lyndon Jones Michael Ignatius

Director Maria Benschop and Lyndon Jones

It’s going be ‘Straight Outta Texas’ - the Ultimate AmericanIndependence Celebration in Georgetown

The Global Friendships Foundation in collaboration with American Expats living in Guyana are promising an urban picnic at ‘Straight Outta Texas’ the Ultimate American Independence Celebration in Georgetown which will be held at the Umana Yana on Monday.

The largest public American Independence celebration to be held in Guyana, it’s looking to be the kind of party that every foodie dreams about, as the lay out a wide array of all

American classics like the cheeseburger, hot dogs, pulled pork and so much more showcasing the bounty and delectable culinary culture of the United States.

The beverage bars are going to be working hard with the theme: “Make America Drink Again”, stocking all of the popular American cocktails, beer, sodas, and wines. There’s also expected to be live musical performances featuring popular American hit music and other cultural

items.

Children attending this red, white and blue Texas themed party can have their faces painted and participate in a number of games such as hotdog and watermelon eating contests all as part of the celebrations.

Attendees are also encouraged to wear their American Western outfits as there will be prizes for the best dressed Cowboy and Cowgirl.

The public is invited to come out in their numbers and enjoy this novel event.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

BRACE yourselves people, it’s another three-day weekend, and my, oh my, it is jam packed with things you can do around town! There are just so many ways to prep for this CARICOM weekend, you can “leh go” at Antonio’s or get tipsy at Club Privilege, or maybe you’re thirsty? Then it’s Tower Suites poolside for you.

TODAY

Club Privilege will be teaming up with some of the hottest names in entertainment to make you ‘TIPSY’! Ladies come out and party to the best mixes from DJ Energy, DJ Shizzle, Selector Carl, DJ Gully Ras & Selector Diamond!

Do you have a ‘License to Wine’? Then the District Ultra Lounge at the Giftland Mall is where you need to be tonight, as Pulse Entertainment presents ‘License to Wine’, the ultimate Soca party! Let your hair down and dress to fete as it goes from “Thank God It’s Friday” to “Thank God It’s Fete”! There’s going to be the best soca hits all night long from DJ Ryan & DJ Country! Pay on entry.

Forget about TGIF, it’s “Leh Go Fridaze” at Antonio’s Grille! Lime, Dine and Unwind and enjoy delicious platters!

It’s time for Thirsty Fridays – after work lime presented by Hoocorona! Kick off the CARICOM weekend at Tower Suites Poolside with Corona Bucket Specials all night, with happy hours between 17:00hrs and 19:00hrs TOMORROW

Palm Court presents the ultimate dance party “Ultra Dance”! Music by DJ Ryan, DJ Anisah and Selector Diamond! Everyone free before 23:00hrs, $2,000 after!

The Ramada Princess Hotel is having a “Caribbean Night Dinner Buffet”! Enjoy a night of Caribbean dance and culture! Enjoy a casual evening of great Caribbean flair and music as Ras Como performs live for your musical enjoyment at the poolside. Reservations must be made by noon, tomorrow.

Start the CARICOM weekend with laughter as Tower Suites presents Nothing To Laugh About 10! The Tower Suites poolside will be transformed into a theatre under the stars! Tickets: $3,000

Get ready to rave like never before! It’s finally time to be truly free at “Dreamscape” being held at The Other Place! Head out and chill to the mix of EDM music! This event is to help in improving EDM in Guyana and to raise funds for upcoming events. Ladies free before 22:00hrs. Door: $1,000

All the front runners in Guyanese gospel music, along with an amazing team from the USA are going to be at the Theatre Guild for the third edition of “Our Amazing God” Praise and worship concert! Concert starts off at 18:00hrs.

City Sky and Golden Smile presents “Anything Goes: CARICOM Jam” on the National Park Tarmac! From Jamaica, its Banky Hype, while from Guyana, Determined Family, and many others will bounce you along the CARICOM Waves! Early bird tickets are just $1,000! The night is going to be memorable!

SUNDAY

It’s going to be an evening of Kingdom Arts and Entertainment at the “Gospel Fantasia” at the National Cultural Centre. Including performances from Gospel sensation Saiku!

Time: 19:00hrs; Tickets: $1,000

The “Give Another Chance Foundation” is hosting “Fashion For Charity” and Family Fun Day at the Promenade Gardens. Come and get a chance to see dazzling designs from various local fashion houses and Little Trendsetters while your kids get to enjoy the fun zone!

All proceeds will benefit children country wide through the establishment of The Mindful Kids Club!

The First Pool Party of the summer begins at Aracari Resort with their “All White Pool Party”! DJ Jermine, DJ Skinny Hype and Platinum, and Black King Sounds will be providing the vibes from 15:00hrs! Tickets: $1,000 The District Lounge (Giftland Mall) is going to be transformed into the ultimate glow party! Get creative with your glow accessories and bring that hype party energy! Party the night away with the best selection from DJ Ryan and DJ Country Boy and a special performance

by Trinidad’s PStar Perry!

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday June 30, 2017

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Strong GDF win nine of 11 fights; six via stoppages

By Michael DaSilva BOXERS from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) proved too strong for their opposition when the second night action of the Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) Andrew Lewis National Novice Championships continued on Wednesday at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

The soldiers won nine of their 11 contests with five stoppages and one other where the opposition abandoned the contest.

Winners for the Army whose contests were halted by the referee within the distance were; Delroy Murphy whose 52kg fight against Orin Rodrigues of the Republican Boxing Gym (Rep) was stopped at two minutes 22 seconds (2:22) of the second round; Delroy Garraway caused the referee to stop his 64kg contest against Quami Cumberbatch (Rep) at 2:30 of round two; Joel Peters whose 81kg division fight against his gym mate Joseph McKenzie was stopped by the referee at 1:42 of the third round; Aubrey Headley who also caused the referee to stop his 91kg division contest against his GDF gym mate Brian Tappin at 2:59 of round three and Anthanio Williams who forced the referee to call a halt to his over 91kg contest against Carryl Boxing Gym’s Ejad Allie at 2:57 in round one.

In the other over-91kg contest that night, Emerson Farley, also of GDF, was too strong for Oswald Yaw (Rep) and at the completion of the second round, Yaw realised that

he had enough and abandoned the fight.

Other winners for the defending champions of the Champion Gym award (GDF) were: Kevin McKenzie who secured a points decision against his gym mate Darnel Jessimy in their 64kg contest, Toney Gillis who defeated Travis Stewart (Rep) in a 69kg bout and Okimey Baker who secured a walkover victory from Nikel Ames (Rep) in a 75kg bout.

Boxers from the Republican gym won three of the nine fights they were scheduled to contest. They were Trevor Williams with a walkover from Ishaun Khan of Harpy Eagles.

Khan, who knocked out GDF’s Jason Mickle at 2:26 of the third round during their 56kg bout on Tuesday night, failed to show up for the weigh-in on Wednesday morning for that night’s engagement and so was disqualified from further participation in the championships.

The other Republican winners were: Jamal Leitch who won by points over his gym mate Mark Chester in their 69kg contest and Germain Williams who beat Damieon Johnson on points in their 91kg contest.

The Vergenoegen Boxing Gym (VBG) won their only Elite contest on the night’s card as Kelvin Moore scored a points decision win over Clinton Clarke (GDF) in their 56kg contest.

There was one fight in the Youth category and this was won by Christopher Moore (VBG).

He defeated Ryan Albert (Rep) in a 60kg contest.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Lanning’s 152* trumps Atapattu 178* as Australia Women win THIS was a mismatch on paper. Sri Lanka were ranked eighth. They had never beaten Australia, the defending champions, in eight previous meetings.

Chamari Atapattu, however, showed cricket isn’t played on paper, but out on the field.

By smashing the third-highest score in women’s ODIs - an unbeaten 178, two more than Sri Lanka’s previous highest of 176 against Australia - she gave them more than a shout of pulling off a mighty upset with a score of 257 for 9.

But, as was the case against New Zealand, poor fielding and catching let them down, and the defending champions broke open the deadlock and raced to an eight-wicket win in Bristol.

Nicole Bolton should have been out on 4 when wicketkeeper Prasadini Weerakkody fluffed a straightforward chance in the third over.

Bolton made Sri Lanka pay by going on to make 60 - her second successive fifty-plus score of the tournament. While she couldn’t carry on, Meg Lanning, scratchy to begin with - scoring runs off edges - recovered

from early rust to bring up her 11th hundred, the most in women’s ODIs. That meant Australia didn’t even have to flex their muscle to kill Sri Lanka’s

day with the ball - conceding 52 off her eight overs - made up by backing the captain in an unbeaten 124-run stand.

She remained unbeaten on 39 as Australia, who won with

Meg Lanning goes over the top in her unbeaten 152.

hopes halfway through the chase. Lanning fittingly finished it off with a six, ending on her personal ODI best of 152 not out.

Lanning and Bolton exposed Sri Lanka’s one-dimensional spin-based attack during the course of their 133-run second-wicket stand.

Ellyse Perry, who had an off

37 balls to spare, hauled themselves to the top of the points table thanks to a superior net run rate after two rounds.

The manner in which Lanning asserted her authority early against spin, particularly off Shashikala Siriwardene, was the hallmark of her effort. Where Atapattu was all belligerence, Lanning

CASA Juniors officially launched

By Tamica Garnett

THE anticipation and excitement of Guyana clinching a historic 13 consecutive Junior CASA Championships has been building and was evident in the speeches and expressions of those who made remarks when the event was officially launched yesterday at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street.

The Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) will officially start here in Guyana on Sunday, with the individual competition, where team captains Taylor Fernandes and Benjamin Mekdeci among others will be chasing titles.

But it’s the team competition, and Guyana’s hunt to continue their stronghold on the team title that has everyone buzzing.

“There has been so much work and preparation going on, on and around the courts.

We’re ready,” remarked Guyana Squash Association president Robin Lowe.

Guyana has a whopping 21 overall team titles in the history of the competition, with the last 12 titles coming in consecutively.

Guyana’s closest and keenest rivals, Barbados, have only six team titles in the competition’s history, including a shared title with Guyana in 1993. They have continued to try, and con-

tinued to fail, to snatch that seventh title, as Guyana keep them on their toes.

However, this year’s competition brings another opportunity, but the general consensus from the Guyanese side is that though 13 is usually associated with bad luck, it’s going to be a number that Guyana will be proud of at the end of this year’s competition.

“We’re very prepared this year to showcase Guyana, showcase our talent. I think we have number 13 in our vision.

But we won’t be able to do all of this, however, without out sponsors,” Lowe said.

The competition was made possible by a number of big sponsors, including DIGICEL, Banks DIH, Ansa McAl, Exxon Mobil, Bounty Farm Ltd and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).

Representatives of several of the sponsors were present at yesterday’s launch to share their pride and elation to be part of such a prestigious competition where Guyana have such a remarkable record.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this. When the Guyana Squash Association came to Exxon Mobil and presented this opportunity, and said: Do you want to be a part of squash in Guyana? I said, 12 years running as Champions? Yes, sign me up, I’m on board. We want to get on board

with something like this. We want to support youth, we want to support you the players,” said Exxon Mobil’s Kimberly Brassington.

Banks DIH Troy Peters and Ansa McAl Sean Abel shared Brassington’s sentiments in their addresses.

Also making remarks were the team captains, Fernandes and Mekdeci.

“I stand very proud to be this year’s captain because I’ve seen how hard my team have worked and I can see how committed they are and I’m really excited to see everyone participate in this tournament,” said Fernandes, who will be playing her last year in the competition, as she will be aging out of the junior category.

The same goes for Mekdeci, who did his training over the past few months, in the USA where he’s currently studying at Drexel University.

Being away from the team over the past few months, Mekdeci said he was happy to see since his return how the players have developed.

“I can see the growth that each player has made and I couldn’t be more proud of every single junior here,” he shared.

After its start on Sunday, the competition will run straight through to July 8 and will be held at the courts of the Georgetown Club and the National Racquet Centre.

punctured the bowling softly.

She used her feet well to get to the pitch of the ball and drive inside-out, and put away anything in her driving arc on a surface where Australia’s spinners exposed a hint of grip if tossed up.

Bolton slipped into the role of an accumulator, but was equally punishing against the long hops that came in routinely.

This meant there was no pressure on Australia for most of the chase, not even when Sri Lanka finally got a breakthrough with Bolton’s wicket in the 26th over.

Yet, for its sheer audacity, Atapattu’s third ODI century was the standout innings of the game. During the course of her 143-ball vigil, she effortlessly showed different elements of her

game - timing, ability to rotate strike and muscle in the end overs.

She laid down the marker early, off Perry, who was getting the ball to bend back in to the left-hander. She followed a streaky top edge to fine leg with two glorious drives on the up. But her partners didn’t help one bit by throwing away wickets, some to injudicious shots: the cream of the top order was out sweeping to full deliveries.

Lanning and Australia were briefly caught off guard by Sri Lanka’s fightback in the form of a 52-run stand for the fifth wicket between Siriwardene and Atapattu, before Sri Lanka lost two wickets in the space of four deliveries.

At 130 for 6, Atapattu had no option but to go for broke.

She lined herself to play the pull on demand and, on a flat deck, Australia were guilty of feeding her short balls, which she nonchalantly pulled. She hit 22 fours and six sixes in all to make up for close to 70% of her team’s runs, a record.

The other batsmen combined to make 60 off 157 balls, and it was perhaps there that Sri Lanka, despite Atapattu’s heroics, lost the plot.

Sri Lanka’s best chance was to make early inroads and expose the middle order against the new ball, but that wasn’t to be.

It wasn’t quite a mismatch, yet Australia’s utter dominance exposed the gulf that exists between both sides, who were at opposite ends of the points table early in the tournament.

(ESPN Cricinfo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Double-header to bounce off 3rd Rock Entertainment basketball tournament

By Joe Chapman

Nicholas Fraser of the Education Ministry’s Allied Arts Unit interacts with a few of the participants.

Child Protection must be everybody’s business – Speede

By Rajiv Bisnauth DUBBED Child Protection as everybody’s business, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) commenced a series of Cricket West Indies (CWI)/UNICEF Child Protection courses, yesterday at the GCB’s boardroom.

Intended to target individuals who interact with children on a regular basis, a number of Cricket Guyana Inc.-contracted and academy players, along with current national coaches and assistant coaches/ managers were present.

The facilitators for the session were Taaliba Speede of the Child Care and Protection

Agency and Nicholas Fraser of the Education Ministry’s Allied Arts Unit.

In an invited comment after the session, Speede emphasised that the safety and welfare of children must be everybody’s business.

To this end, she called on the participants to contribute towards the protection of children and the creation of a safe and secure environment, which is everybody’s responsibility.

“The Ministry of Social Protection – Child Care and Protection Agency is fully aware that Child Protection must be everybody’s business, and so having this initiative in getting the Child Care and

Protection Agency involved in cricketing, which is very good.

We will be able to enhance and empower the cricketers and coaches with the skills and knowledge in terms of dealing with children during different circumstances,” Speede said.

Speaking on behalf of the GCB, Territorial Development Officer, Colin Stuart, pointed out that the knowledge of the Child Protection Coaching modules is a prerequisite for those seeking to obtain a CWI coaching certification.

In this regard, Stuart indicted that the GCB may from time to time require the use of individuals from organisations

to conduct Child Protection seminars relevant to the goals and objectives of the CWI coaching certification standards.

The former West Indies fast bowler stated that the aim is also to assist custodians of children by enhancing their capabilities in making children aware of the expected behaviours of those who manage their welfare during their learning process.

Child Protection courses will also be conducted in Berbice on July 10, West Demerara on July 11, GCB’s boardroom on July 12, Upper Demerara on July 13, and Essequibo on July 14.

Defending champions and second seed Victory Valley Royals and fourth ranked Amelia’s Ward Jets are placed in separate encounters when the 3rd rock Entertainment third annual championship bounces off tomorrow night (Friday) at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court as the top ranked Retrieve Raiders gained a bye to the semifinals of this club championship.

Seven clubs are contesting this year’s tournament like last year and the6y are placed in groups where one group has Royals, Block 22 Flames and Pistons where the winner from the round robin play will advance to the semifinals against Retrieve Raiders, who gained a bye to that round. Then the other group has Half Mile Bulls, the 2015 champions and the second seed, joining Falcons and Jets in a playoff to determining which two will play in the seminal on the other side of the draw.

To hype more interest in the championship this year the organizers have made provisions for one guest player per club who has to be a member of a recog-

nized club affiliated with an association under the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation which must give its blessings for the release of that player.

On Sunday, the tournament fixture is Flames against Royals at 7.00pnm and at 20.30hrs jets face Bulls.

Several incentive prizes are at stake and the package will be disclosed tonight (Thursday) at the tournament launch at the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) Boardroom from 17.00hrs.

Clubs should complete registration of their fifteen players with the association and pay the entrance fee of $6,000 to the organizers before the start of the team briefing.

The only concerns for the organizers have been the current state of the MSC bleachers which are in dire need of repairs for which the association and the MSC are seeking to have rectified in time for the opening whistle tomorrow night. The LABA has joined forces with the MSC to see how best the accommodation of the facility can be enhanced for the starting of the championship as planned.

New captain Root can draw on Eleven British sports bodies call for funding changes team mates’ experience - Bairstow (REUTERS) - Joe Root can count on the experience of several of his teammates as he embarks on his journey as England’s Test captain, stumper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has said ahead of the home series against South Africa.

Root, who replaced Alastair Cook as skipper in February, will take charge in the four-Test series starting at Lord’s on July 6.

“It will be a very proud day for Joe, and he has a lot of good and very experienced people around him to bounce ideas off,” Bairstow told reporters.

“We have players with more than 100 Test caps in the team,” he said, referring to the likes of Cook and paceman Stuart Broad, who is racing against time to recover from a heel injury to play the Lord’s Test.

“Joe himself has got fifty or so and I’m one of the guys

with 30-odd Tests now.”

“It’s exciting, and I am sure Joe will be putting his own stamp on the job and his own authority on it, while we as a side will be looking for-

“Gaz’s (Ballance) form is second to none,” Bairstow said.

“He’s scored a serious amount of runs this season for Yorkshire, just as he’s

Joe Root

ward to playing under him.”

Bairstow also pressed the case of Gary Ballance’s return to the Test side after the Yorkshire skipper scored 815 County Championship runs at an average of 101.87 this season.

scored a serious amount of runs over a long period of time.

“We don’t know what the (England) selection is going to be, but Gaz is a serious player and a class act.”

(REUTERS) - The national governing bodies of 11 Olympic and Paralympic sports issued a joint statement yesterday calling for Britain to abandon a “twoclass system” of funding fixated on medal success.

The sports, which include archery, badminton, fencing and weightlifting, have been left without National Lottery and government funding ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“We’ve been thrown under a bus,” Adrian Christy, the Badminton England chief executive whose sport came home from last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a bronze medal, told the BBC. The ‘Every Sport Matters’ joint manifesto said the existing approach had reaped plenty of medals but disenfranchised elite athletes with a system that “runs counter to Olympic ideals”.

“Currently, athletes in sports deprived of Lottery

funding will find it almost impossible to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics,” it added.

“Even athletes with recognised medal potential created by Lottery funding have now been completely abandoned by the system.”

UK Sport’s focus on medal potential has produced record returns, with Britain second in the Rio Olympic standings with 27 gold medals and 67 in total.

In 1996, Britain was 36th in the medals table with just one gold among 15 medals.

However, there has also been criticism of the win-atall-cost approach.

“There is too much of a culture of medal winners and non-medal winners which is unhealthy and doesn’t speak well for us as a sporting society,” UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner told reporters in May. Yesterday’s manifesto urged Katherine Grainger, the five-time Olympic rowing

medallist who takes over as chair of UK Sport next week, to instigate a thorough review.

“We urge UK Sport to recognise that medal targets alone should not be the sole criteria for its funding,” it said.

Grainger acknowledged the call but indicated there could be no quick fix.

“I will of course listen to these sports’ concerns, and UK Sport will go out to consultation again on its investment strategy for the 2024 cycle,” she said in a UK Sport statement.

“But as things currently stand, as ever with finite investment, we simply cannot reach the sports who are furthest away from medal success.

“UK Sport runs a lean operation ... so to take the approach these sports are suggesting would mean taking away funding or expertise from athletes with greater chances of medal success.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Guyana Beverage Company confirmed sponsorship package for cycle road race WITH preparations moving apace for Monday’s 60 miles open cycle road race, the Guyana Beverage Company (GBC), under its Tampico brand on Wednesday confirmed their sponsorship package for the event.

General Manager of the business entity, Robert Selman, officially handed over the sponsorship package to second vice-president of the Flying Ace Cycling Club (FACC), and former national champion Neil Reece.

The event is organised by the FACC in observance of CARICOM Day, and is billed for the Corentyne Highway in Berbice.

The race will pedal off from in front of the beverage company’s Berbice office at Palmyra, at 10:00hrs, proceed to the No. 51 Police Station and back to the starting line.

Speaking at the handing-over ceremony Selman noted that Berbicians have given the company excellent support since its establishment 14 years ago in the

Ancient County.

“This gesture is a small way of giving back to the

to tell the people of Guyana and Berbice ‘thank you for your support over the years’,”

noted that the objective is to try and keep youths off the street.”

the FACC, calling it a professional organisation and one of the best cycling clubs

General Manager of the Guyana Beverage Company, Robert Selman, hands the sponsorship package to Neil Reece. Organiser and coach Randolph Roberts pose with other executives of the FACC, staff of the GBC, cyclists and parents as they share the moment.

community from where we garner our support, especially in the field of sport and education. This is one way

Selman said.

He added, “The Company doesn’t spend its money on alcohol and parties. He

Selman was high in praise of the work of the FACC and its founder, coach Randolph Roberts. He praised

in Guyana.

Roberts thanked Selman and the Guyana Beverage Company for their support.

He noted that the gesture by the Company should serve as an example for other businesses to follow.

Prizes will be awarded to the first ten finishers overall, first four veterans, first three juveniles, first three 12-14 and first three females. The first two club cyclists will also be rewarded. There will also be ten sprint prizes up for grabs.

The juvenile riders will pedal off from Nand Persaud and Company Limited on the Corentyne to the finish line. The 12-14 riders, along with the females, will pedal from Tain UG Campus to the finish line.

There will also be races for 9-12 and 6-9 BMX riders. They will be riding from the Berbice Bridge to the finish line.

All the top cyclists are in the country and are expected to participate.

The event will be started

by Patron, former Mayor and prominent businessman Errol Alphonso and Selman.

Windies women go down by seven wickets to India TA U N T O N , E n g l a n d (CMC) – West Indies Women’s misery at the ICC Women’s World Cup continued unabated when they tumbled to a seven-wicket defeat to India Women in their second match here yesterday.

Once again, the Caribbean side struggled with both bat and ball to slump to second loss in four days and extend their losing streak on tour to seven straight including warm-up matches, leaving their campaign at the crossroads.

Sent in at County Ground, the Windies rallied to 183 for eight off their 50 overs with Hayley Matthews top-scoring with 43, Afy Fletcher hitting an invaluable unbeaten 36 and Shanel Daley, 33.

At one stage, they were slumping at 121 for seven in the 40th before Fletcher at number nine provided late resistance with bold striking.

India’s slow bowlers turned the screws on West Indies with off-spinners Deepti Sharma (2-27) and Harmanpreet Kaur (2-42), along with leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (2-19) the main

wicket-takers.

In reply, India stormed to their target courtesy of a superb unbeaten hundred from left-handed opener Smriti Mandhana who ended on 106

Stafanie Taylor bowled Sharma for six at 33 for two in the eighth, the game became wide open as a contest.

But 20-year-old Mand-

toss from off-spinner Matthews to Fletcher at mid-off in the 34th over, Mandhana combined with Mona Meshram (18 not out) in an unbroken 45-run, fourth-wicket

Smriti Madhana makes her second successive century at Taunton.

not out, while captain Mitahli Raj chipped in with 46.

The Windies struck with the fifth ball of the innings when fast bowler Shamilia Connell had Punam Raut caught at the wicket of a top edge without a run on the board.

And when off-spinner

hana carved out her second one-day hundred, hitting 13 fours and two sixes in a 108-ball knock, as she put on a match-winning 103 for the third wicket with Raj whose innings came from 88 deliveries and included three fours.

When Raj mis-hit a full

stand which saw India to their second straight win.

They lie second on four points in the eight-team standings behind defending champions Australia Women who are also on four points, with West Indies languishing sixth without a point – along with Sri Lan-

ka Women and Pakistan Women.

Hoping to turn the page on a tame batting effort in their opener against Australia last Monday, the Windies managed only more of the same.

Rookie Felicia Walters scratched around 27 balls for her nine before nicking a swish at a wide delivery from left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and going caught behind at 29 for one in the seventh over.

Matthews, who looked in fine touch, then dominated a 40-run second-wicket stand with captain Taylor who made 16, as West Indies eased to 69 without further loss.

The right-handed Matthews struck seven delightful boundaries on both sides of the wicket in an attractive 57-ball innings before perishing in the 19th over to a tame return catch off Sharma.

With her gone, West Indies lost their way as five wickets crashed for just 22 runs. Taylor and Deandra Dottin (7), both appearing in their landmark 100th ODI, never looked the part and

each soaked up a plethora of deliveries without hitting a single boundary.

Taylor faced 42 balls before going run-out by Mandhana’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end in the 21st at 70 for three and Dottin laboured for 48 deliveries before picking out long-on with Yadav in the 34th over, with her first shot in anger at 91 for five.

In-between, Merissa Aguilleira missed a charge at Yadav and was smartly stumped for six at 80 for four in the 28th over.

When Kaur removed both Kyshona Knight (5) and Chedean Nation (12), the Windies were in strife at 121 for seven but Daley and then Fletcher arrived to rescue the innings.

The left-handed Daley struck five fours off 37 balls while the brave Fletcher faced just 23 deliveries and cracked five fours – three of which came in the final over off Kaur which leaked 18 runs.

West Indies have little time to turn their form around as they take on South Africa in Leicester on Sunday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

Confederations Cup …

Goretzka double helps Germany reach final

Germany’s Timo Werner (L) celebrates scoring their third goal with Lars Stindl (C) and Leon Goretzka (R). (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)

(REUTERS) - Germany’s Leon Goretzka scored two expertly-taken early goals to set them on the way to a thumping 4-1 win over Mexico in a dramatic, endto-end Confederations Cup semi-final yesterday.

Mexico had more chances and more possession but their defence left wide open spaces which were ruthlessly exploited by Germany’s young, experimental team.

Goretzka struck twice

in the first eight minutes before Timo Werner and Amin Younis added two more in the second half, though Marcio Fabian’s 89th minute goal for Mexico was the most spectacular - a viciously swerving drive from 35 metres.

Germany, whose starting team had an average age of just under 24, will meet Chile in Sunday’s final in St Petersburg, having progressed despite resting players such

as keeper Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos.

Mexico’s elimination will leave the fans wondering about their chances at next year’s World Cup if, as expected, they qualify, and of ending a run of six successive last 16 exits.

There was controversy after the break when Werner appeared to be pushed in the back as he broke into the penalty area but the referee

waved play on without asking for a video replay.

Germany went ahead after six minutes when Benjamin Henrichs burst down the right and Goretzka swept his low pass into the net from the edge of the penalty area It took one minute 49 seconds for Germany to double their lead as Werner slipped the ball through an open Mexico defence to Goretzka who clipped it over keeper Guillermo Ochoa.

Doris qualifies for World Championships at Golden Spike NATIONAL record holder Troy Doris became the latest Guyanese to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in August, after he cleared 16.80m at the 56th Ostrava Golden Spike on Wednesday in Czech Republic.

Doris’ jump was exactly on the qualifying mark to make it to World Championships in August. He now joins Winston George, Brenessa Thompson and Kadecia Baird as Guyana’s qualifiers for the meet.

George, also a nation-

Troy Doris

al record holder, has already qualified in the men’s 400m, while Thompson and Baird made the time for the women’s 200m.

The jump saw the 28-year-old finish in second place behind World number one USA’s Christian Taylor.

Twenty-seven-year-old Taylor lunged to a win with a 17.57m leap, his second best jump of the season.

Latvia’s Elvijs Misans was in for third covering 16.74m in his best attempt.

This leaves Doris at number 32 in the current world ranking.

Seventh Annual Malta Supreme 11-race programme set for National Park tomorrow CYCLE coach Hassan Mohamed will tomorrow be conducting an 11-race cycle programme around the inner circuit of the National Park beginning at 09:00hrs.

The activity is being sponsored by beverage giant Banks DIH Limited under its Malta Supreme brand and the company’s Outdoor manager Mortimer Stewart, along with Malta Supreme brand manager Clayton McKenzie and Errol Nelson, are expected to present the winners of the respective categories with their prizes.

The feature event will see schoolboys, novices and invitational riders battle over 35 laps and the top six finishers will be rewarded for their efforts.

The defending champion is Team Evolution’s Michael Anthony who won the event last year in a time of one hour 19 minutes 25.27 seconds.

The winners of the other categories last year were: Romello Crawford who had won the juveniles 10-lap race, Junior Niles the veterans Under-45 years five-lap race who will be seeking to make a successful defence of that title, Sean Bourne the mountain bikers’ five-lap race and Whitney Poyer who is the defending champion of the boys-and-girls’ three-lap race.

However, Crawford is currently in the United States and so a new champion will be crowned.

Other races on the card will be open to veterans Over45 years (five laps), BMX boys nine to 12 years over three laps and BMX boys six to nine years over two laps.

Riders will be in action tomorrow (July 1) at the inner circuit of the National Park, the venue for the seventh annual Malta Supreme 11-race programme.

Set to start at 09:00hrs, the day’s activities will cater for all categories of riders.

Organised by national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed, the event will be witnessed by top officials of sponsor Banks DIH Limited, Mortimer Stewart, Clayton McKenzie and Errol Nelson.

Michael Anthony is set to defend his title in the feature 35-lap Schoolboys and Invitational, while the other category winners from last year were Romello Crawford (10-lap juveniles), Junior Niles (5-lap veterans Under-50), Sean Bourne (5-lap mountain bikes) and Whitney Poyer (3-lap 12-14 boys and girls).

Anthony’s winning time in 2016 was recorded as one hour 19 minutes 25.27 seconds. Mohamed is urging riders to come out and be part of the race, as he continues to provide an avenue for them to test their competitiveness.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Friday June 30, 2017) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Jess Cameron (AUST) (2) Suzie Bates (NZ) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who struck the first century in the Women’s World Cup

2017?

(2) Who faced the first ball in the Women’s World Cup 2017?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

31

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, June 30, 2017

National Race of Champions

Palm Court supporting four racers on July 2

By Stephan Sookram LOCAL business Palm Court has come on board to support four racers in their quest for glory at the second National Race of Champions billed for Sunday at the South Dakota Circuit.

The entity yesterday handed over sponsorship to two superbike racers, Raveiro Tucker and Kevin Persaud as well as two car racers street tuner competitor Sharima Khan and Group Four racer Mark Vieira.

Events Manager Sasha Lewis contended that the company is involved in the development of athletes locally, whether it be football, cricket or even motor racing.

“Why not go all out.

There are young racers that want to excel, both Raveiro and Kevin. They want to excel, you know. They want to go higher so why not let Palm Court sponsor them and support them.”

She noted that the young people are the future, adding, “On race day, I will be cheering for those under the Palm Court banner and I can ensure you that those riders and drivers will be giving 100 per cent.”

“These guys have been practising, they have been going to the track a lot. I must commend Sharima. She is a very good racer. Kevin, he has been practising a lot and Raveiro, he is new to

(L-R) Superbike Rider Raveiro Tucker (left) poses for a photo opportunity with street tuner competitor Sharima Khan, Palm Court Events Manager Sasha Lewis and fellow rider Kevin Persaud. (Delano Williams photo)

the team and im sure they are going to do their best,” Lewis said.

Meanwhile, each of the racers contended that he was thankful for his sponsorship.

They promised to do their best, come Sunday.

Action gets going from 08:30hrs with 22 races carded for the day including bikes.

The event is sponsored

by Ansa McAl, Prem’s Electrical, B.M. Soat, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Ready Mix, Special Auto, Japarts, Ticket Master, Palm Court, KGM, MAC Batteries, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction, L Mahabir and Sons Cambio and Choke Gas Station.

Desperate Windies searching for victory to halt the rot

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Struggling West Indies face powerhouse India in the pivotal third One-Day International here today, desperately needing a victory to halt the rot and make an actual contest of the five-match series.

They enter the first game of the double-header at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium 1-0 down following their 105-run defeat in the second ODI in Trinidad last Sunday, and another defeat here will allow India to put one hand on the series trophy.

That defeat at Queen’s Park Oval – after the first game was rained out – highlighted perfectly the gulf between the two teams. In a game reduced to 43 overs per side because of rain,

India piled up 310 and West Indies stuttered and stumbled their way to 205 for six in reply.

especially from his bowlers.

“We’re only 1-0 down after the first game was rain-interrupt-

Kyle Hope (left) chats with his younger brother Shai during a practice session in preparation for the third ODI. (Photo courtesy CWI Media)

With much left in the series to play for, however, captain Jason Holder urged improvement

ed. It’s just obviously a situation where we need to tighten up a bit more on our bowling,” the

Warner begged English FA for JFF debt forgiveness FORMER CONCACAF president Jack Warner requested that the English Football Association (FA) clear a US$233 500 debt owed by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) as a means of sweetening the country’s bidding process for the 2018 World Cup – the Garcia Report alleges.

According to a section of the 350-page report, Warner, also a former FIFA vice-president, was approached in 2010 by a Neville Pennant, who requested that the official use his influence to get the debt for the cash-strapped administration cleared.

“Jamaica owes the English FA US$215 000 and another US$18 500 to a private English firm. You are one of the most powerful men in football and the English FA were at our CFU Congress. Mr Warner, is it possible for you to ask the English FA to waive Jamaica debt. This is an emergency,” the report quotes Pennant as saying.

Warner, who was banned for life from the sport in 2015 after

resigning from his world football post in 2011 in the wake of the infamous cash-for-vote scandal, is said to have forwarded the message to then Football Association chairman, Lord Triesman and England 2018 Director of Campaign Operations Jane Bateman.

Jack Warner

“I crave your kindness and understanding in having the debt of the JFF to your FA be written off in the Jamaican Federation’s efforts at survival.”

Triesman seemed to respond favourably to the request. “I can understand the problem and it does need a solution,” he responded. “I’ll see our people

next Monday and talk through possibilities, so please forgive me for not responding faster.”

The document, however, goes on to state that it was uncertain whether Warner’s correspondence with the FA had anything to do with the debt being eventually cleared.

Then president of the JFF Captain Horace Burrell had announced in 2012 that the debt was cleared following “a fruitful meeting” between the parties, which had included FA chairman David Bernstein.

The FA had previously extended the loan schedule in 2008 when it agreed to defer collection until after the South Africa World Cup 2010.

The debt had been incurred during a two-match tour of England back in 2006 when the-then Crenston Boxhill-led administration failed to turn over its agreed portion of sales from 9 118 tickets allotted to sell to Jamaican fans for the June 3, 2006 friendly international game at Old Trafford.

25-year-old all-rounder said.

“Obviously chasing 300-odd in 43 overs is a tough ask. You need to be getting off to a much better start than we did in the last game. We were never able to get off to the good start we were looking for and hence we kept losing wickets in the middle and never got the momentum going into trying to chase 300-odd.”

In an attempt to turn around their fortunes, West Indies have made two changes to their 13man squad from the Trinidad double-header, calling up the uncapped pair of Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris at the expense of the out-of-form duo of Kieran Powell and Jonathan Carter.

Opener Hope, the 28-yearold brother of Windies star Shai Hope, could make his

debut in Powell’s absence and Holder would be an asset to the side.

“He brings youthful exuberance, he’s an energetic fielder and obviously a very good player,” Holder pointed out.

“He’s done well for us in domestic cricket for a number of years; he’s playing a lot of cricket in Trinidad, being a part of that franchise. I played a lot of youth cricket with him …. and he’s always been a phenomenal scorer.”

Ambris, too, has scored heavily in both the first class and one-day competition this year, making it hard for selectors to ignore him.

Nevertheless, they join batting line-up that struggled in the three-match Afghanistan series

earlier this month and which need a significant boost in order to start producing in the series.

Jason Mohammed, the Windies’ most consistent batsman this year, has had lean returns of recent with just nine runs in his three outings and Evin Lewis has gotten starts but still not passed 33.

With every defeat, West Indies’ chances of an automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup diminish even further, as they need to be in the top eight in the ICC rankings by September 30.

They are currently ranked number nine after winning just three of their last 16 ODIs, and a series loss will just about write off their chances of an automatic berth.

Desperate Windies searching for victory See page to halt the rot 31 GBA’s Andrew Lewis National Novices Championships

Strong GDF win nine of 11 fights; six via stoppages See page 26

VBG’s Kelvin Moore (left) connects with a left cross to the head of GDF’s Clinton Clarke during their 56kg contest at the National Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

Kevin McKenzie (right) connects with a perfect straight right to the head of his GDF’s gym mate Darnel Jessimy during their 64kg contest at the National Gymnasium on Wednesday night. (Photos

by Adrian Narine)

CASA Juniors officially launched … Guyana looking to make it lucky 13

See page 27

The contingent of junior squash players who will be participating in the Junior CASA, along with various representatives of the sponsors and GSA vice-president David Fernandes (Tamica Garnett photo) Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017