Guyana chronicle e paper 02 25 2018

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Gov’t rushes aid to Plaisance No. 105196

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2018

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...remains of elderly man found in rubble after Friday blaze O3 PAGE

Dancers of the Dharmic Nritya Sangh captivate a well-attended gathering with a series of elegant and energetic performances at the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s annual Phagwah Mela held at the Dharmic Kendra, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown on Saturday (Adrian Narine photo)

President out of CARICOM confab ...Min Greenidge to lead delegation

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GWI 08 tackles meter tampering PAGE

Street Pastors tackle social ills

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

Toronto-based Guyanese observe President out of CARICOM confab 48th republic anniversary ...Min Greenidge to lead delegation

By Frederick Halley

WHILE Guyanese at home were celebrating their country’s 48th republic anniversary in grand style on Friday, an atmosphere of serenity pervaded Guyana’s Consulate in Toronto, Canada, as their counterparts joined in the historic observance during an eventful evening.

Outgoing Consul-General (acting) Candida Daniels, in her featured address, urged invitees who included several members of the Caribbean diplomatic corps and prominent Guyanese residing in Toronto to reflect on Guyana’s growth as a nation.

Daniels called on Guyanese living in the diaspora to resolve to re-dedicate their energies “to continue to support the course that has been charted for the further

According to Daniels, “occasions such as this, provide us with the opportunity to not only celebrate, but reflect on the history of our beloved country, Guyana, that first led to the attainment of independence in 1966 and then the declaration of republican status on February 23, 1970. Becoming a republic was another auspicious occasion in the history of a young, independent Guyana, as it signified the severing of our final official link with colonial rule.”

The acting consul-general, who departs Toronto in June, commended the members of the large Guyanese diaspora in Toronto for maintaining ties to their homeland, as well as the commitment of the many diaspora groups and organisations for contributing and assisting to the further devel-

President David Granger

Consul-General (acting) Candida Daniels addressing the audience

PRESIDENT David Granger will not be attending the 29th Inter-sessional Meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to be held in Haiti next week, the Ministry of the Presidency announced Saturday.

In a statement to the me-

dia, the MoTP said President Granger regrets his absence, but has opted to “remain in Guyana to focus on domestic issues at this time.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, who is also performing the duties of prime minister, will lead a three-person delegation to Haiti.

The Inter-sessional meeting is being hosted in Haiti from Monday, February 26 to Tuesday, February 27, 2018.

Haiti’s President, H.E. Jovenel Moise, assumed the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from January 1, 2018. He takes over from immediate past Chairman, Dr Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada.

Top Cop set to retire in April

A section of the audience at Friday’s function

development of our beloved homeland in the spirit of our national Motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny”.

opment of Guyana.

“Please be assured that the Government of Guyana is appreciative of all your ef-

forts and is actively looking at ways in which engagement with the diaspora can be further enhanced.”

Daniels also took the opportunity to formally introduce An Yin Choo as the new consul-general in Toronto, while expressing her deep appreciation for all the support given her during her tenure as acting consul-general.

“I ask that you give the new consul-general the same level of support. Please join me in welcoming our new consul-general!” she said.

In brief remarks, Choo said she’s excited to be in Toronto and looks forward to her first stint in North America.

Daniels thanked those

present for joining in the National Day reception in observance of the 48th Republic Anniversary of Guyana.

“On behalf of the Government and people of Guyana; as well as the staff of the Consulate General of Guyana here in Toronto, I wish to extend warm greetings to all Guyanese and well-wishers gathered here, as we celebrate Guyana’s attainment of republican status.”

The evening’s occasion, which was chaired by long-serving consular employee Clyde Gulliver, saw renditions of Guyana and Canada’s national anthems by president of the Guyana Ex-police Association John O’Dell.

AFTER serving the Guyana Police Force for more than 30 years, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud will retire in April.

The GPF will hold a farewell parade in his honour on February 28, 2018 at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary at 16:00hrs.

Persaud, who has served as Crime Chief and Commissioner of Police, will go on pre-retirement leave this month after returning to office following a lengthy period of annual leave which lasted for several months. He was on leave from July 10, 2017 until November, 2017.

The country’s 31st commissioner of police is officially set to retire in April 2018.

Assistant Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine was acting as top cop in Persaud’s absence.

Commissioner Persaud, who hails from the Essequibo Coast, will complete 33 years as a member of the Guyana Police Force upon retirement.

He served most of the

Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud

time in the Criminal Investigations Department.

He headed the Police Anti-Narcotics Unit (Drug Squad) for 10 years and served as the country’s lead detective (Crime Chief) for another seven years. During his career, he worked on the coastland as well as in the interior.

A Commission of Inquiry report into an alleged assassination plot against President David Granger had recommended Persaud’s removal or dismissal.

Ramnarine is currently on leave and he is due to resume duty on March 1, 2018.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

Gov’t rushes aid to Plaisance

...remains of elderly man found in rubble after Friday blaze THE charred remains of an elderly man suspected to be James Johnson of lots 40-41 Victoria Road, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD) was Saturday afternoon discovered by firefighters as they attempted to oust smoke from the location.

Johnson is believed to have perished in the fire which started at approximately 14:19hrs on Friday in an apartment complex at the said location. The apartment complex reportedly housed some 16 persons, most of

sides in Plaisance. But the man, commonly called “Puri man,” had not been seen by residents for a few days.

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, distributes much-needed supplies to the victims of Friday’s fire (Adrian Narine photo)

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, looks at the destroyed interior of a house located on Victoria Road, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. The minister is accompanied by a fire victim (Adrian Narine photo)

whom were not at home at the time of the fire.

According to reports, the fire which gutted three buildings, one of which housed an old hotel which was converted to an apartment complex, left approximately 30 persons homeless.

It is believed that the fire started in the lower flat of the apartment complex as residents indicated that they saw smoke coming from the bottom flat before it quickly spread to the top and nearby buildings.

Residents described Johnson as a peaceful and friendly person.

“He would laugh and talk with everybody,” one resident said. The Guyana Chronicle understands that Johnson suffered from breathing problems and was not agile and as such, might have been trapped by the fire which spread quickly.

Another recalled that he was not always at his apartment, noting that he also stayed at his daughter’s home in Agricola, East Bank Demerara.

“He spent a few days by his daughter and returned here about two days before the fire,” the resident stated.

“My door is parallel to his door. Why I didn’t call on him yesterday morning is because I know he was sleeping and when he gets up he would leave his door half open… so I just had a bath and left for Mash, because I was a reveller.”

The elderly man is said to have a son who also re-

ASSISTANCE Meanwhile, Ministers of Natural Resources and Finance, Simona Broomes and Winston Jordan respectively, visited those affected

by Friday’s fire and committed to providing assistance through government programmes.

Minister Jordan was seen comforting one of his staff, whose house was destroyed by the fire. The woman, Ronette Hetsberger-Murray, who is a Senior Economic and Financial Analyst at the Ministry of Finance, told reporters she was at home completing her chores Friday when she smelled smoke.

The woman said she checked the back of her house to see if one of her neighbours was burning bush or garbage, but did not see any evidence of that.

Firefighters stumble on the charred remains of an elderly man Saturday afternoon (Adrian Narine photo)

She said upon her return to the front of her home, she looked through the window and saw smoke emanating from the neighbouring apartment complex.

“I can’t put a figure to it… the building was built by my father and I would have extended it… it was built years ago,” she said, noting that she was able to save a few things.

“When I saw the fire coming from the roof, I tried to get the kids out, got the important documents, the car was in the yard, I removed it and I went back and tried to pick up what I could,” said Hetsberger-Murray.

The distraught woman told reporters that she lived in the upper flat of the concrete house with her husband and five children, while the lower flat was occupied by her brother, his wife and a cousin.

The interior of the house was completely destroyed, but the external structure was scarred and windows shattered.

“I am not thinking straight, but I know that there is God and he will make a way,” she said, as she contemplated starting over.

Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, committed her government’s support to the fire victims, even as she donated much-needed items to the victims. The items, some of which were provided by members of the business community, were handed over to the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Turn to page 8 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

Bollywood superstar Sridevi dies

BOLLYWOOD superstar Sridevi Kapoor has died after a heart attack, her family says. She was 54.

The actress known simply as Sridevi passed away in Dubai, where she was attending a family wedding.

From the age of four, she had worked in films in the Tamil, Telugu, Malaylam, Kannada and Hindi languag-

es.

She was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box office success without the support of a male hero.

Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi were with her when she died, reports say.

She debuted as a lead actress in a Bollywood film

in 1978, soon becoming one of India’s biggest film stars.

Over five decades, she starred in more than 150 films, including such Bollywood classics as Mr India, Chandni, ChaalBaaz and Sadma.

The versatile actress decided to take a break from the film industry after the release of Judaai in 1997.

She made a comeback

in 2012, starring in English Vinglish.

In 2013, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri - the fourth highest civilian honour.

Social media sites are being flooded with condolences, with many users expressing shock that the actress died still relatively young. (BBC)

Sridevi was one of India’s biggest film stars

Diplomatic luggage cocaine plot foiled

ARGENTINA’S security ministry says it has foiled a plot to use the Russian embassy’s diplomatic courier service to smuggle cocaine

to Europe.

Police seized nearly 400kg of the drug from diplomatic luggage in an embassy annex after being told

about it by the Russian ambassador in December 2016.

They then mounted a sting operation, replacing the drugs with flour and adding

tracking devices.

The operation has led to arrests in Argentina and Russia, officials say.

Argentine Security

Minister Patricia Bullrich said the cocaine found in the Buenos Aires embassy was worth 50 million euros ($62m; £45m) and was of very high purity.

She said it was destined for Russia and probably also Germany.

In Russia, the foreign ministry spokeswoman said it had been established that the bags had belonged to

a former member of the embassy’s “technical staff” whose posting had already ended.

She said suspects from both countries had been arrested and are being investigated.

She dismissed as untrue media comments that the cargo would have been shipped using diplomatic channels.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

Colombia extradites top drug suspect A man accused of smuggling more than 250 tonnes of cocaine over the past decade has been extradited to the US from Colombia.

Prosecutors say Washington Prado Álava, an Ecuadorean national, was a drug lord with operations across the Americas.

He is also accused of ordering the murders of judges, prosecutors and police officers in Ecuador.

Mr Prado Álava was known in Colombia as Ecuador’s Pablo Escobar, the infamous Medellín Cartel leader killed in 1993.

In Colombia, he tried to join the ranks of the Farc leftist rebel group before it signed a peace agreement in

2016.

The Colombian prosecutors say his intention was to take advantage of a transitional justice system, which was agreed between the government and the Farc to deal with crimes committed by the rebels during five decades of conflict.

“Washington Prado Álava is considered one of the biggest capos [bosses] in recent years and became a top target for the United States,” the prosecutors said in a statement.

Mr Prado Álava allegedly operated in Ecuador and on Colombia’s Pacific coast.

Prosecutors said his fleet of speedboats was used to make regular cocaine deliv-

eries to Central America and Mexico, and, from there, the drugs were shipped over the border into the US. Mr Prado Álava was arrested in April 2017 as he travelled to visit family in the Colombian city of Cali.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency provided the Colombian authorities with key intelligence that led to his arrest and that of three other alleged gang members.

On Saturday, he was taken from a prison where he was being held in the capital, Bogotá, and put on a plane to face justice in the US. Fifty agents took part in the extradition operation, Colombian authorities said.

(BBC)

ECUADOR says the country’s latest efforts to negotiate the departure of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from its London embassy have failed.

Foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the UK was unwilling to take part in talks about his release.

A UK Foreign Office

spokesman said Mr Assange should “leave the embassy to face justice”.

Mr Assange, 46, has been staying at the country’s London embassy since 2012 where he was granted political asylum.

Last week, the arrest warrant against him was upheld meaning as soon as he leaves the embassy he will be detained.

Ecuador’s foreign minister said: “On the issue of mediation, I have to say very honestly that it has not been successful because two parties are needed to mediate. Ecuador is willing, but not necessarily the other party”.

She said her country would “continue looking for mechanisms” to end the stalemate.

But a spokesman from the

Prado Álava was arrested in Colombia in April 2017

Ecuador says Assange talks at impasse UK Foreign Office said: “Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice” Last December, Mr Assange was granted Ecuadorean citizenship in a move which the country hoped could give him immunity in the UK. But the UK does not recog-

nise Mr Assange as a diplomatic agent and continues to insist he should “face justice”.

There is no extradition treaty between the UK and Ecuador so he cannot be arrested inside the embassy.

Mr Assange breached bail conditions when he sought refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy six years ago.

He faced questioning over sexual assault allegations in Sweden, which have since been dropped.

Previously, Mr Assange has justified his decision to break bail conditions arguing if he faced the Swedish authorities he would be extradited to the US over the publication of classified documents. (BBC)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

The 1763 uprising and our quest for full nationhood FEBRUARY 23 is the date in 1970 when Guyana declared itself a republic.

The leaders of the government chose that date as recognition of the Berbice Slave Uprising of 1763, which began on that date. Today the leader of that uprising, Cuffy, is a national hero and the uprising he led is etched in the annals of our country’s living history. Historians have grappled with the dynamics of the uprising and have picked apart its various parts to tease out its immediate and larger meanings. There have, in the process, been various interpretations of the actions taken by the rebels and the plantocracy of the day and the outcome of the uprising.

Suffice it to say that there is consensus that , that uprising represents one of the most important blows against slavery in the Americas. It came before the most famous Black uprising, the Haitian Revolution. It also occurred before the American and French Revolutions, which are celebrated by the West as the great revolutions of that time. Our 1763 uprising, therefore, occurred in an age of revolutions when oppressed peoples took

their destinies into their own hands and struck definitive blows for freedom.

Some scholars have concluded that the uprising was a failure, because the rebels were not able to hold on to the territory they had captured and because there were divisions within their ranks.

But such a narrow reading ignores the significance of the very act of resistance against an entrenched system. Resistance by its very definition is not sprinting—it is more like long-distance running. That the rebels held the territory for as long as a year and that they forced the powers that be to send for reinforcements was itself a massive victory. The signal was sent to the plantocracy that henceforth all would not be well; that the enslaved would not accept their condition of bondage.

For us in Guyana, the 1763 uprising represents independent nationhood. One can argue that what we today call the Guyanese nation took root in 1763. Our fore-parents who participated in that 1763 uprising knew what they wanted.

The ultimate demand of Cuffy and his

followers was the right to self-determination. The proposal to the plantocracy that the rebels be allowed to set up their own free and independent State in southern Berbice is testimony to this thesis. They wanted their freedom to determine their own destiny. They had left Africa as free peoples and they were determined to restore that freedom. Slavery therefore was not only about the brutality of the slaveowner, but equally important, it was about the resistance and heroism of the enslaved in the face of the worst form of degradation.

By 1823, the space we now call Guyana would again be the site of another groundbreaking uprising—the famous 1823 uprising in Demerara. This was one of the largest slave rebellions in the world as once again, the power of resistance was felt in a massive way. Over 10,000 enslaved Africans emulated their forebears of 1763 as they moved for freedom from bondage. Again, the plantocracy responded with gruesome force as they randomly killed approximately 250 rebels and summarily executed another 27

But by the time all was over, emancipation was closer. In 1834, The Emancipation Proclamation was proclaimed and in 1838 slavery was formally ended in Guyana and the wider Anglophone Caribbean. That today Guyana is a free republic with the formal right of self-determination is in no small way a direct legacy of the brave warriors and martyrs of 1763 and 1823. That fact should be a national mantra, for presentism often separates peoples from their own history of achievement.

History could be tedious and historical memory could invoke sharp emotions, but nations are products of their history. And we are no different. Thanks to those who ensured that the symbols of our history of resistance have become part of our living narrative. It is up to our present and future generations to use that memory in constructive ways as we continue to defend our freedoms from myriad challenges.

The journey to true and unfettered freedom is an ongoing process, but the example of 1763 remains a definitive reminder that the struggle for our collective humanity has very deep roots.

Mr. Ramson’s letter confirms worrying pattern by Bar Association

Dear Editor,

ON February 23, 2018, Stabroek News published a letter from Mr Charles S Ramson, captioned “Burke’s statements included falsehoods.”

The letter refuted contentions in my February 21 letter denouncing the Guyana Bar Association’s (GBA) February 20 attack on President David Granger. Matriculation does not translate to intellectual grasp or proficiency. Mr Ramson’s letter contained nothing but impetuous trash. If the GBA derives its counsel singularly from persons with the paucity in substance reflected in Mr. Ramson’s letter, it is in a sad state.

Mr Ramson said he is “unfamiliar” with my “vast work of distinction” or CGID’s “large mass of members” which gives me liberty to make public statements. Mr Ramson should check his effrontery and audacious liberty with which he attempts to dictate participants in our national dialogue. His political party does not have a monopoly on free speech. Moreover, my work is uniquely focused on ensuring that Guyana never slides back into ethnocratic dictatorship and fighting for justice for the victims of extrajudicial and death-squad murders during the PPP regime.

CGID does not claim mass membership. We claim effectiveness. When the GBA was silent on constitutional abuses, torture, political assassinations and extrajudicial and deathsquad killings, CGID was campaigning for justice in the U.S. Congress, United Nations and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. Our effectiveness led the Jagdeo regime to send intelligence officers to surveil CGID members in New York.

Mr Ramson’s letter is a hodge-podge of fabrications and PPP talking points stringed together as a refutation by a GBA representative, but constitutes an aberration of the truth and fact.

(I) He alleged that I falsely stated that “President Granger affirmed a desire to appoint substantive office-holders as the country cannot be without a Chancellor and Chief Justice, and that he will be guided by his legal advisers on his constitutional options.”

He selectively cited an irrelevant quote Demerara Waves attributed to Minister Joseph Harmon to justify his claim. RESPONSE: Here are the facts. On February, 17, Stabroek News published an article titled “Granger still awaiting legal advice on Chancellor, CJ,” which quoted President David Granger as saying “I have to be advised by my Min-

ister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General.

We cannot be without a chancellor and chief justice and right now two persons are acting and I had hoped that we could have moved forward by having a substantive or a full-time appointment agreed, but this has not happened and the constitution requires me to await the approval of the leader of the opposition. That hasn’t come, so I would have to depend on legal advice and make sure that the courts continue to function.”

(II) I’m amazed that Mr Ramson, like the GBA, has ignored the factual statements

by President Granger himself, but selectively based his pronouncements on hearsay and third-party reportage to support his indefensible allegations. The PPP made the exact, incredulous GBA allegations the following day.

But even Mr Ramson’s convenient cockedeyes cannot escape the irrefutable facts -- the President’s own words. The indispensable fact is that the GBA cannot preemptively attack the President over a decision he has not yet made. That is tantamount to impermissible, pre-emptive self-defence.

(III) Mr. Ramson also said my statement that “Since 2005, the nation has been without a substantive Chancellor and Chief Justice,” is also false. RESPONSE: in 2005, Justice

Carl Singh, while occupying the office of chief justice, was appointed acting chancellor, when Chancellor Desiree Bernard was elected to the CCJ. Justice Singh functioned in both capacities until Justice William Ramlal declared the conflation of the two positions unconstitutional on November 16, 2007. The corpus of Justice Ramlal’s ruling is that a permanently acting chancellor cannot also perform the duties of chief justice. Hence, since 2005, there has been no substantive chief justice or chancellor. As an attorney, Mr Ramson should avail himself of the facts before making ignorant public statements.

(IV) In response to my assertion that “If the GBA has a genuine concern about the President’s fidelity to the constitution, it should have met or written the President on the matter, Mr Ramson claimed that the GBA did just this. He cited utterances

by Justice Denis Byron, President of the CCJ and Mr Teni Housty, vice- president of the GBA, as evidence. RESPONSE: Only a deranged mind could surmise that the referenced comments constitute a reasonable substitute for the GBA’s failure to meet, or formally corresponding, with See page 7

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

Can CARICOM survive the CSME?

By Peter Richards

WHEN it was established in 1989, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME) was intended to deepen the regional integration movement and to better respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by globalisation.

The architects of the initiative were of the view that while a primary focus of the common market was on liberalising trade in goods among the member countries, the single market and economy (SME) was intended to expand the process to include services, free movement of capital, skilled labour and the freedom to establish business enterprises anywhere within the 15-member grouping.

But as the regional leaders gather in Haiti for their inter-sessional summit on Monday and Tuesday next week, they will certainly be aware that the much heralded CSME may prove to be a stumbling block and could possibly lead to a fracture of the efforts towards a deeper regional integration movement.

At the centre of such fears is the report of the Commission to Review Jamaica’s Relations within the CARICOM and CARIFORUM Frameworks, commonly referred to in Kingston as the “Golding Report” given that the 17-member Commission was headed by the former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that his administration had established the Commission in June 2016 to review the effectiveness of existing arrangements within CARICOM, as well as to explore the strengthening of strategic partnerships within the CARICOM and CARIFORUM Frameworks. “I tasked the Commission with the important work of conducting an in-depth examination of CARICOM’s performance, while identifying those aspects of our regional engagements within the Community that have not met their intended objectives, in line with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to advance the regional integration process,” he said as he tabled the report in the Jamaica parliament last month.

“Additionally, the Commission was charged with evaluating the effects of Jamaica’s membership in CARICOM on the country’s economic growth and development, with particular reference to trade in goods and services, investment, international competitiveness and job creation,” Holness said, making it clear that the review was not intended to seek an exit from CARICOM and from various regional arrangements, such as the CSME. The Commission met with a number of people, including the incumbent CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque, his predecessors, Edwin Carrington and Roderick Rainford, Sir Kenneth Hall, the former CARICOM assistant secretary general, Sir Shridath Ramphal, the former Commonwealth secretary general, UWI Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles, the former Barbados Prime Minister, Owen Arthur and Dr. Keith Rowley, the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, who on attaining office in 2015, expressed his frustration with the lack of action on the CSME saying, “I get the impression that all we are willing to do is talk this issue to death.

“We cannot expect to get the benefits of medication if we refuse to swallow the medication,” Rowley, then the newest kid on the prime ministerial block told his colleagues at the 38th Regular Meeting of CARICOM leaders in Grenada.

Sir Hilary believes that Jamaica under-

took the review because of its “anxiety and frustration” with the attainment of economic growth and the non-implementation of the CSME, forcing Kingston to establish the Commission to look into its future.

“This report is about economic growth and Jamaica’s anxiety with attainting it and the commitment of the Jamaican state to achieve economic growth against this background,” he told a UWI Forum last week discussing the Commission’s report. The report contains 33 recommendations with Dr. Damien King, a Commission member, indicating that 32 of these recommendations “don’t have to do with Jamaica’s relations. “It has to do with CARICOM and CSME,” King, the co-executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute told the UWI Forum, noting that “it is not an ultimatum, it is a recommendation that says we have two choices.

“We can decide…to finally at last make a serious attempt at true integration for a single market and economy and here is what it takes to do that. “But if you are not prepared to do that then not only Jamaica but everybody should stop pretending. Our choices are to do it or stop pretending, but the continued pretence is not one of the options. That is what the report is about,” King insisted.

Golding said economic imperatives were not the only factor in the Commission’s work, making reference to the “serious cultural and political issues as well. Caricomme“It is certainly my view and shared by other members of the Commission…that at the root of the problem is that lurking insularity, a parochial mistrust and jealousy of each other and it is all neatly wrapped up in some inward looking…concept of sovereignty,” said Golding, who served as prime minister from 2007-2011. He said there is a feeling of betrayal in the region “by embracing too tightly (to) something that is multi-national or regional.

“I found this to be paradoxical because that same notion of sovereignty is quite prepared to submit itself to broader international rules and norms,” Golding argued, noting “we are bound

by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. “We are quite happy to observe binding resolutions that are carried by the United Nations, but we are not prepared to submit that sovereignty to the regional integration movement,” he said, suggesting there may be a reason for this attitude. We may be fearful of the consequences if we don’t (implement international rules) and the isolation that we would suffer, but we are not prepared to do that at the regional level and part of the reason for that is that we have not made CARICOM into the kind of institution where the benefits are so obvious and significant….”

Golding said the Commission had “clearly detected a reluctance” on the part of all the member countries “some more than others” to embrace the challenges of the CSME. “All of them are not willing to say so publicly but there is a feeling that it is too high a price to pay.

There is a feeling that the risk outweighs its promise of benefits and none will say let’s abandon it. “What they will say is somewhere in the future, maybe, we will get to that stage, but right now we can’t take the risk,” Golding said, noting that what has occurred in the region in the 25 years since the “Time For Action Report,” as presented by the West Indian Commission, “is a constant ‘cherry-picking’ of these elements of the Treaty of Chaguaramas” where certain “CSME requirements that we feel we can work

with because we think we can get something out of this (are implemented) and finding clever ways to avoid others, “We are at a stage where we have picked off all the low hanging fruits, but we are not willing to climb the tree where there is an abundance of fruit,” Golding said. The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat has noted that while the implementation and operation of the SME is being undertaken by a number of stakeholders, there is progress, pointing to the continued work on standardization and harmonization in areas such as anti-dumping measures, banking and securities, competition policy, consumer protection, customs, intellectual property rights, food and drug regulation and labelling, standards and technical regulations, manufacture and trade in goods regulations as well as regulatory and institutional and administrative procedures in member state to enable efficient intra-regional trade in keeping with established regional trading arrangements.

It has noted that in 2016, for example, major emphasis had been placed on the development of model laws and regulations to make CSME member states more compatible with CSM obligations as well as providing technical assistance and training to strengthen capacity and improve capabilities of governmental bodies in the 15-member grouping to operate the CSME. But despite that, the Commission in its report recommended that “there needs to be a clear definitive commitment now from each member state to a specific time bound, measurable and verifiable programme of actions to fulfil all its obligations and complete all the requirements for the single market and economy to be fully established and operational within the next five years’”.

Failing this, the Commission is advocating that Jamaica withdraw from “the single market and economy” even while seeking “to retain its position as a member of CARICOM in a status similar to that of the Bahamas”. But Rainford disagrees, saying that Jamaica, instead of proceeding with the recommendation to withdraw from the CSME, should consider the alternative of reciprocity.

“In other words deal with each of your fellow CARICOM member state on a reciprocal basis based on what they have completed,” he argued, having earlier said he was pleased that many of the decisions taken by regional leaders to deepen the regional integration movement had not been implemented over the years. “Because to my mind, the decisions that have been made over the years had lacked what I called tests of financial feasibility, the tests of political feasibility, the tests of technical feasibility, tests of administrative feasibility”, said Rainford, who served as CARICOM Secretary General between 1983-1992.

Holness said he is looking forward to discussing the report with his CARICOM colleagues and to receiving their feedback as well as the feedback from the CARICOM Secretariat, insisting that “the region must boldly reposition itself within the global context for greater economic cooperation to our mutual benefit as a collective force. “I am confident that in completing our collective review of the Report …we will be able to make the right decisions, and take the necessary actions to ensure the advancement of the region through CARICOM and continued cooperation with CARIFORUM States within the framework of the ACP Group of States,” Holness said.

The next CARICOM summit will be held in Jamaica in July.

Mr. Ramson’s letter confirms worrying ...

From page 6 the President. Mr Ramson cannot obfuscate this issue. I insist that instead of engaging in partisan politics, the GBA should have written directly to, or met with the President on the instant matter. Had it done so, it would have been more effective and credible.

(V) Mr Ramson said it is false to contend that the GBA can raise hell and sue the President to overturn any substantive appointments without the agreement of the leader of the opposition, as required by the constitution. RESPONSE: Mr Ramson’s refutation of this option is laughable. I sympathise with his inability to grasp this concept of the GBA being an amicus civil society arbiter with an obligation to promote fidelity to the constitution and to seek judicial intervention to enforce the constitution and preserve the integrity of the judiciary. His real problem however, is that he is beleaguered by the GBA’s complicit silence on constitutional abuses by the PPP government.

(VI) Mr Ramson disputed that the GBA was silent on constitutional and human rights violations by successive PPP administrations, but has now suddenly found its voice to criticise the Granger administration.

He again cited personal letters from Messrs Brynmor T I Pollard, Teni Housty and Nigel Hughes. RESPONSE: I respect and admire these men immensely, but their individual opinions do not constitute that of the GBA. Mr Ramson struggled to cite one example where the GBA, as the regulatory law body, denounced or passed a resolution condemning PPP excesses, because it never did. Furthermore, Mr Ramson is a wrong messenger to refute claims of a pattern of association with the views of the PPP. Apart from being a member of the opposition, his very letter was a regurgitation of PPP talking points, and therefore confirms the said worrying pattern.

Yours sincerely, RICKFORD BURKE President, Caribbean-Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

Cooperation and unity must prevail – Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe tells Morucans in Republic Day message MINISTER within the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe Thursday evening witnessed the hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead as Guyana celebrates its 48th Republic Anniversary.

The Golden Arrowhead was hoisted on the stroke of midnight in Sana Rosa, Moruca sub-district, Barima-Waini, Region One, which is the village with the largest indigenous population to date.

Delivering the featured address, the minister reminded residents of the significant contributions and strides this nation has made since becoming a republic, while recognising the contributions of our forefathers.

“As we hoist the Golden Arrowhead tonight, may all of our minds acknowledge their contributions with profound gratitude. We are being carried on the backs of the legacies that they have left for us all…. The decisions we make, and the actions we take, will determine how fast we develop and the greatness of our legacy. That is why we must appreciate, more than ever before, the concepts of cooperation and unity,” the minister noted.

Staying committed to the promise of a “Good Life for All”, the minister said for this to be achieved, Guya-

nese must maximise the use of the country’s land and other natural resources, coupled with evolving to a level where all can think and work together with much more commitment and discipline.

“Our Republic achievement is meant to further strengthen our sense of self-sufficiency. We need to represent our independence and continue to demonstrate innovations and collective talents -- all towards real development and not just dependency and handouts.”

Speaking to significant economic and social strides made, Minister Garrido-Lowe pointed out that “we have embarked on a developmental model that puts the highest premium on the conservation and preservation of our diverse eco-system. This model is known as the Green State Development Strategy. It is geared and designed to ensure that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, are achieved through environmentally friendly means.”

WE WILL PREVAIL Speaking on the current Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, the minister said we are at a juncture when our sovereignty is at threat and noted that, “The strength and faith of the Guyanese nation is put to

the test, but we have always been a strong people, and your government is confident that good faith will prevail, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeing this decades-old controversy put to rest, once and for all”.

The Moruca sub-district came in for high praise from the minister for the soonto- be-established “modern shopping mall you are building -- and I congratulate all the businessmen and women who have both thriving businesses and small, fledgling ones -- I congratulate you because I know how hard you have worked to achieve your dreams and are still working to do so.”

Further economic developments that are imminent for the area is the soon-tobe- constructed Kumaka – San Jose bridge, which will further boost economic activities there and the minister assured that “in order to reduce the information gap between the coastland and the hinterland, your government has been establishing radio stations in hinterland communities across the country.

“Saturday gone, Radio Aishalton was launched by President Granger, and discussions are taking place to establish Radio Moruca, sooner than later.”

Meanwhile, in wishing residents a happy republic

Good job!

anniversary, Minister Garrido-Lowe thanked them for the patriotism shown merely by their presence during the evening’s activities.

Meanwhile, winners of the just concluded Regional Mash Calypso competition held in the region also received their prizes and Minister Garrido –Lowe said “you are truly exceptional”.

Before the Golden Arrowhead was hoisted, Moruca’s very own talent was on display with skits and songs, including appearances from winners of the Calypso competition.

Lady Paloma, Minica

DaSilva, copped 4th place; 3rd place went to Crazy Appachie- Sherwin Govaorus; 2nd place, King Harpie ,Terrence Domingo, while Lady Devotie comfortably walked away with the Regional Calypso Crown.

Minister Garrido-Lowe presented prizes to the winners.

Also in attendance was Toshao Sherwin Abraham, AREO, Ms Renita Williams and police officers who performed a splendid march-past along with the girl guides of Santa Rosa.

In the meantime, activities will culminate on

Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe

Republic Day with a float parade and lots to eat and drink.

GWI tackles meter tampering CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Dr. Richard Van-West Charles has warned customers that tampering with water meters would not be condoned and legal action will be taken if necessary.

In the past, persons would be warned after being caught tampering with meters and they would have to commit the offence several times before being penalised, said Dr. Charles during a recent interview with reporters.

“We have to look at applying the law with respect to tampering… the situation I met before I took office involved first, second and third offences… tampering is tampering and we should apply the law properly,” he said.

The CEO said that anyone who is caught tampering would be taken to court. He explained that his staff was also urged to gather suffi-

GWI CEO, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles

cient evidence to provide to the court.

Tampering in most instances could lead to damage to the quality of water supplied to residents who might be legitimately utilising the services, he said.

In addition to tampering, the CEO highlighted that some persons did not have water meters and were benefiting from the services for free.

“People are calling in

to report tampering and so forth… only recently on the East Bank we found 75 families who were getting free water for 15 years,” he lamented, adding that they also found people in Georgetown who benefited from free water for 10 years.

It was reported that GWI discovered that meters were installed almost 10 years ago but were not in the system.

In order to correct the situation, GWI had started a progamme to ensure that every household is metered.

“We want to be fair and just, so once you are metered, you pay for what you used,” said Dr. Charles.

He also pointed out that GWI has not been looking at regulations alone but also ways to improve their service. A potential improvement would be the increase in the pressure of water that reaches each household, he said, noting that persons should ensure that they have the right pipes to take the pressure.

Gov’t rushes aid... for distribution.

Refreshing: The first time in a very long time the parade routes of Mashramani were clean the very next day after the celebrations. These areas along Vlissengen Road, like other areas in the City, were cleaned early Saturday morning much to the delight of passersby. The robust clean-up campaign was executed by Cevon’s Waste Management Inc and the Mayor and City Council of Geoegetown (Anthony Layne photos)

GOV’T CARES “Your government cares… your government will work with you… we are here for you through good times and bad,” said Broomes, who also warned against exploitation. She urged the fire victims to take up temporary accommodation at the four centres established through the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the NDC. “The Ministry of Social Protection is working on solutions – you have councillors here,” the minister stated,

while noting that the representatives of the RDC will meet with Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally Monday to discuss the way forward.

Minister Broomes also announced that those who have lost their documents: TIN Certificate, National ID cards, birth and marriage certificates, driver’s licences and passports will be assisted with regaining same.

Similarly, Regional Vice-Chairman, Region Four, Earl Lambert, said the RDC has been working tirelessly to provide assistance to the victims of Friday’s fire. He said

From page 3

the RDC has a list of victims, and though not complete, is working to ensure that all affected can benefit from relief.

“We would have made provision for accommodation, lodging and food. We have the overseer and party representative coordinating things,” he said, noting that donations should be made to the NDC as proper records of the donated items must be kept.

The Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Police Force are continuing their investigations into the cause of the fire.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

‘Embrace your brother, your neighbour’ – Minister Broomes charges Lindeners MINISTER within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes has assured Lindeners that the mining town “will not be oppressed anymore,” at the annual flag-raising ceremony in the mining town Thursday evening.

As Guyana celebrated 48 years as a republic, Broomes gave a message of social cohesion, unity, peace and

prosperity to the residents of Linden.

“Linden, your government has recognised that you a few years ago were forgotten, we recognised that you were oppressed, we recognised also that within your struggles you stood your grounds and because you stood your grounds we are here and I am here as a minister of government,”

she noted.

Broomes highlighted that since the change of government, Region 10 has been given the largest budgets ever in 25 years.

“You don’t only have beautiful black water creeks and vines and sand and springs, but you have talented people, you have the people in Linden that will take this country to the 50th and

The Region 10 regional choir performing at the flag-raising ceremony

the 60th and the 70th and the 100th year of a Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” she stated.

She added that a few years ago, Linden had moved from a balata settlement to a township headed

by Burnham.

“It took 23 years before a government came back to continue what had started then. I say that the Linden Highway that was built then will be resurfaced now under this government…

Linden before 2020, everything that was promised by your government and His Excellency will be delivered to the people of Linden, Broomes added.

She added that the town’s bridge will be rebuilt. “The kind of development and infrastructure I am talking about was the kind of development that took place under the right government…,” she said.

“As we celebrate 48 years, let it be a turning point for Linden. United we stand, divided we all fall.

We must stand and we must stand together. We cannot preach unity outside and we are not united inside. Don’t embrace the Honourable Minister who comes from

Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources Simona Broomes, giving her remarks at the Linden flag-raising ceremony on Thursday evening

far, you must first embrace your brother, your neighbour who lives next door,” Broomes charged.

The Linden flag-raising ceremony, which was held at the Linden-Georgetown Bus Park, also heard brief remarks from the Chairman of PNCR Region 10, Deron Adams, Mayor Carwyn Holland and Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian.

Morian reflected on 1970 when the Jaycees Republic Celebrations Committee was led by Basil Butcher, but due to him being selected to tour Australia with the West Indies cricket team, Jim Blackman

was appointed the deputy to carry on. “Right within Linden we thought long and hard to come up with a name for a particular programme that we will celebrate in Linden and in extension, the entire Guyana. We contacted Mr Allan Feidtkou who went and had discussion with his grandfather for a fitting name that would bring people together and his grandfather gave him that name -- Mashramani,” Morian recalled.

Cultural performances were also done at the ceremony which ended with the raising of the Golden Arrowhead.

‘Clean’ fun for Phagwah, Dharmic Sabha urges

By Navendra Seoraj PRESIDENT of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr. Vindhya Persaud has called on Guyanese to have “clean” fun during Phagwah, the Festival of Colours, which will be celebrated on March 2.

“There has been a trend over the past few years where there is lawlessness creeping into Phagwah… people take off their clothes and act in all kinds of lawless ways… these things are not associated with Phagwah,” said Dr. Persaud on the sidelines of the Sabha’s Phagwah Mela at the Dharmic Kendra on Saturday.

She called on Guyanese to respect the Hindu culture while celebrating the festival.

Phagwah, also known as “Holi” is celebrated on the full moon day falling in the month of Phalguna (FebMar). Various colours and powder are thrown on each other, amid loud music and drums to celebrate Holi.

The festival also marks the arrival of spring. Known widely as the Festival of Co-

lour which takes place over two days, and is a celebration of fertility, colour, and love, as well as the triumph of good over evil.

This year, like many others, the Sabha has decided to give Guyanese a prelude to the festival with its annual Phagwah mela and bazaar called “Rang Rasiya” (colours).

Although the colour was not applied to the skin, the performances were colourful and eye-catching, especially the cultural dances and Taan singing- a skilful technique used in the performance of

President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr. Vindhya Persaud welcomes the audience to the annual Phagwah Mela (Adrian Narine photo)

a raag at the extreme level of emotion in Hindustani classical music.

The melodious tunes from popular local singers like Mona Gowkaran and Vidya Ram coupled with the elegance and energy of the dancers of the Dharmic Nritya Sangh were too much to resist, as persons were seen tapping their feet and shaking to the vibes.

And like any good event, it would not have been complete without delicious food.

Some of the popular Indian delicacies that seemingly tantalised the taste buds of

the people were pholourie, samosa and a wide variety of sweet meats.

Dr. Persaud said the Sabha did its best to ensure persons had a memorable experience. The Sabha has been hosting the mela for over 35 years.

“The fun does not end here though… we invite all of you to come out on March 2 to our Phagwah celebrations at the Everest Cricket Club ground,” she said, adding that persons should come out and celebrate together as one people.

A section of the audience on Saturday evening

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

Post-withdrawal robberies and police reform

SINCE my column last week more people have been trailed, ambushed and robbed after making bank withdrawals. I remain convinced that the nation’s top banking executives are backward, primitive and repressive in their approach to banking. There are two banking associations--one for all banks, including foreign owned and one exclusively for locally owned banks. They operate a cartel, they spend more time introducing exploitative fee structures and restrictions for access to service than they do finding real solutions. Because banking policies are so restrictive and repressive, people are incentivized to use cash and end up being seriously maimed or killed.

THE World Health Organization (WHO), along with its various international partners, continues to place great emphasis on the importance of universal access to health care services in saving lives and ending extreme poverty.

Our goal at the Ministry of Public Health is to ensure that these goals are realised maximally.

One of the important programmes promoted by the WHO that has gained significant attention and international support, is the Blood Transfusion Safety Programme. This programme is particularly designed for countries to establish and maintain self-sustaining national blood systems, to ensure timely access to safe and sufficient supplies of blood and blood products, as well as to develop good transfusion practices to meet patients’ needs.

Many studies have revealed that blood transfusion saves lives and improves the overall health of donors.

However, many patients requiring blood do not have timely access to safe blood.

The absence of blood can be life-threatening for someone.

Providing a safe and adequate supply of blood should

On the political front, we know that the PPP is also responsible for the current cash culture in Guyana. Guyana was allowed to flourish as a narco-state where movement of large sums of cash is an enabling factor. Ultimately, the buck for the entire financial sector stops at the Finance Minister. Three years may not be enough to settle in and dismantle a decades-old broken system, but it is sufficient time for tangible and concrete policy reforms to begin to manifest; if anything is being done it is a closely guarded secret. The Minister must act swiftly to bring the banks to the table and hammer out practical solutions.

Understandably, this type of crime presents a formidable challenge for law enforcement, but hard questions

should be asked of the security apparatus. The Minister of Public Security and the Commissioner of Police (COP) should give assurances that concrete measures are being implemented to thwart the spate of trail and rob.

I now shift my attention to police reform. At the recent police conference, President Granger was almost lyrical about Police reforms.

I don’t doubt that there are reforms going on, but the wheels of change seem to be grinding painfully slow. For example, it has been over two years since the President announced plans for introducing a regional command structure and possible sub-regional commanders in Region #4; no movement has been seen, we do not know if there is an executive change

of heart.

In a recent letter to the press, former Prime Minister Sam Hinds admitted that when the PPP had executive control, the security sector was practically left for dead to the point where a crime fighting “counter force” was employed. It is no longer a secret that the head of the infamous “counter force” was notorious drug kingpin Roger Khan. Open confessions recorded by HGPTV’s Travis Chase and available on YouTube, allegedly shows Sean Hinds confessing that he was part of a “counter force” which reported directly to then Minister of Home Affairs, Ronald Gajraj, and guns were obtained from the police to undertake “death squad” operations. Policemen are currently before

the courts for every crime in the book including murder, gun-running, drug-trafficking and bank robbery.

After such penetrating compromise of the security apparatus, one would have expected a more radical police reform process. Serving officers should face a presidential tribunal or Integrity Commission to account for their wealth accumulation.

The whole structure, regular strength and training regime of the force should be reviewed. All non-policing elements should be staffed by civilians. The executive may even want to consider whether the immigration section should be delinked from the Force. The whole system of police prosecutors should be brought to an end; it should be the exclusive domain of the DPP whose structure and operation should be tweaked to accommodate field offices in every police division.

The University of Guyana may want to consider adding specialist courses in modern policing.

The system of promotions begs for serious review, some of the unbridled and arbitrary powers of the COP should be tempered by process. At some levels, officers should be required to take standardized examinations for promotions. These exams should be administered by a civilian-staffed exams division. All officers who desire to be promoted up to the rank of senior superintendent

(Minister within the Ministry of Public Health)

Give blood today and save a life! be an integral part of every country’s national health care policy and infrastructure. The Ministry of Public Health recognises and acknowledges this significant need. As a consequence, I am very pleased to say that here in Guyana, we have our National Blood Transfusion Centre – a modern facility that utilises international best practices.

Maintaining a stable and reliable supply of safe blood depends on the availability of a committed base of regular voluntary blood donors.

Today, I want to take time to recognise all those persons who continue to donate blood to our Blood Bank.

I salute you. I thank you. I want to encourage you to continue to make your very significant donations to the Blood Bank and encourage

others to do the same.

I would also like to urge those who have never donated blood before to get involved in the practice. It is safe. It is healthy. And most importantly, it is life-saving.

WHY GIVE BLOOD? The common question asked by many persons is why should someone be part of this phenomenal life-changing act. Why become a voluntary blood donor? A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that participants between the ages 43 to 61 years who donated blood every six months had fewer heart attacks and strokes. This finding clearly highlights that giving blood can contribute to the preservation of cardiovascular

health.

It also reduces the risk of haemochromatosis, which is an excess iron build-up.

The excess iron build-up in the blood has been linked to some cancers. After giving blood, one’s body works to replenish the blood loss.

This activity stimulates the production of new blood cells, which in turn helps to maintain good health.

Another very important benefit is that the process of screening before donation can be considered as free health assessment. This screening exercise usually includes checking for a wide range of infectious diseases.

In addition, important vitals such as blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and haemoglobin levels are checked.

While there are several physical benefits to donat-

ing blood, another powerful benefit is arguably in the psychological realm. Donating blood means that someone (or up to three persons) somewhere will be getting the help that they desperately need. It is important to note that, despite advances in science and medicine, the only source of blood remains the donors; there is absolutely no substitute or replacement.

While giving blood is good for the health of donors, it can be a life-saving gesture for the person or persons in need of blood. The absence or presence of blood at the crucial moment means life or death for a patient.

Blood is used for elective surgeries (hysterectomies, mastectomy, etc.) as well as emergency surgeries, (especially in motor vehicular accidents and for victims

should apply for promotion, having met an eligibility requirement. Annual police promotions should be shelved in favour of more regular promotion cycles.

There are many recommendations for reforms from several CoIs and reports from several overseas experts; there is serious institutional resistance from police topbrass. While working as a senior MoPS officer, I observed firsthand, less than subtle resistance from the leadership of the Force to implement a crime reporting software intended to significantly reduce police inefficiencies and improve accountability and transparency. Similar observation must have reached the desk of the president who took obvious aim at police leadership when he stated that he will “resist any effort to derail police reform.” The reform process may include the restart of the British funded Security Sector Reform Plan which was shelved by the PPP Administration.

Finally, the toothless Police Complains Authority(PCA) should be upgraded from an opinion-giving agency to a full-fledged investigative and prosecutorial agency. As it currently stands, the police investigate complaints, the PAC merely review complaints and make comments. If the PCA is allowed to continue in its current form, it is useless and should be scrapped. of crime). It is required for treating patients suffering from cancer, bleeding disorders, chronic anaemia associated with cancer, sickle cell anaemia, and other hereditary blood abnormalities.

Blood is also life-saving in the maternal and child health department for complicated deliveries, in certain infectious diseases; and the list goes on.

So please, remember that when you decide to roll up your sleeves and sit down in that chair to give blood, know with certainty that you are making a major difference in your life and most importantly in the life of a patient. This noble, unselfish and altruistic act is priceless.

To those undecided persons who may need some additional motivation to begin the honourable and humane gesture of donating blood, be assured that it is a safe exercise that is mutually beneficial.

Apart from its obvious medical benefits, giving blood gives one a general sense of well-being, knowing that your contribution of blood will allow another human being a fighting chance to further live and enjoy life.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

Air and fire

JAMES Madison, one of the key architects of the US Constitution, once said: “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires.”

Local constitutional reform is an issue to which I have been close for a few months and will address on a few occasions in these columns, culminating in my upcoming book which addresses the question (amongst others), in a detailed way, entitled The Behemoth. This title mirrors that of political writer Thomas Hobbes’s work, but today I want to focus on his most notorious book, sister text The Leviathan.

I think understanding elements of the true spirit of democratic intent, as articulated

by Madison and framed in The Leviathan, will help make clear the difference between constitutional reform that plays politics and constitutional reform that is about sustainable governance. Former speaker Ralph Ramkarran often urges reform in his column and RISE is a civil society group dedicated to advocating on behalf of reform, but advocates don’t often acknowledge that mixing politics with the reform process seriously hampers it.

Further, politicisation obscures the true motivation for reform, instead, fuelling the perception that the process is an implicit indictment of whatever administration is in office. As a result, it seems only to be when a party is in the opposition (and this serves their political purposes) that reform is advocated. No wonder we have had review after review, idea after idea, and hardly observed any changes at all.

But it is also in the interest of whatever party is in power to have the constitution run smoothly, and this is what is just not coming out of the reform debate. And so this is not to condemn current reform narratives, because there is certainly something noble in standing up for the best possible system -- rather, we must recognise that carrots are just as useful as sticks.

Constitutional reform should neither be a lightning rod for ethical governance grievances, nor a forum for shared-governance talks. Both solutions misunderstand that the constitution’s purpose is not to make those holding the reigns of power good, caring, sensible, sharing people. The constitution assumes that politicians are ambitious, even greedy, and so it attempts to harness that greed toward the public good. This is one of the core elements of democratic thinking we are completely missing.

I’ll draw on a somewhat unlikely hero for democratic reform to clarify this critical political science ideal, Octavian, Julius Caesar’s heir. After Caesar’s death, the conditions he faced were much the same as those described in The Leviathan -- chaos.

Hobbes labels the absence of any standing government authority to enforce law and order “the war of all against all,” and with Caesar’s death, no one really knew who held authority in Rome.

Rival factions began to develop, each group vying for both survival and maximum authority. Hobbes would say this is to be expected, as is conflict between these groups.

But what Octavian seems to recognise right away is that this system is extremely unstable. It requires a Leviathan, or overwhelming power, to unify authority again so that there can be peace.

As a result, he helps destroy the most anarchic group -- the Senators -- who murdered Caesar, and forms an alliance with two of Rome’s generals, Mark Antony and Lepidus.

But this too is unstable because there are really no rules facilitating peaceful competition and each man is of course ambitious; so Octavian over time defeats each, consolidates power and finally ends the violence.

This is the first half of the puzzle -- that ultimate authority must be vested in the state, so no citizen or faction is in fear of tyrannical chaos. The second element, however, comes from Madison, who (and again this is the key) assumes politicians are always ambitious.

In the Federalist Papers he relates that even if there are many factions led by politicians desperately vying for power, once those factions compete with each other through peaceful means, they will eventually be forced to compromise on a reasonable solution to whatever issue, benefitting all groups.

This does one better than Octavian because not only does it serve the collective good, it allows for compromise and merit-based governance, rather than relying solely on absolute authority.

And so the question we should really be asking ourselves about our constitution is not how it can produce good politicians, but

what about its current structure slows down or inhibits the natural, useful process of competition amongst ambitious politicians.

This misunderstanding has clouded the central argument that at the end of the day, constitutional reform will make our nation’s politicians not weaker but stronger, not less authoritative but more authoritative and not less effective but more effective. It is thus not an antagonistic issue, but one that can be framed to harness the very factor Madison embraces -- local leaders’ own ambition.

The subtle, key lesson from Octavian’s gradual take over of Rome is this -- at least for a moment, his natural hunger for power was exactly in line with what the Roman political situation required. As a result of this complementarity, sustainable peace was established, and the Roman Empire flourished.

Octavian is said to have related that he met Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. Achieving that level of complementarity in our democratic institutions is the true goal of constitutional reform.

In my following articles, I will elaborate on reform ideas that have been somewhat obscured thus far, but which this fresh approach to looking at reform illustrates are of the greatest value. The first will be a brilliant suggestion made by a leader of RISE that seems to have been unfortunately subsumed due to this lack of clarity.

It accomplishes by itself what multiple national constitutional review processes might miss, that is, it facilitates both air and fire.

63-year-old man found dead in drain at Montrose THE body of 63-year-old Sanchara Kawall, better known as “Broge” and “Basil” of Montrose, East Coast Demerara, was fished out of a small drain next to his makeshift house on Friday mid-day.

The man lived alone on a dam near the seawall where he had constructed a small wooden shack. He was said to be a heavy drinker, who consumed alcoholic beverages almost on a daily basis.

According to the man’s daughter, Samantha Mahabal, a neighbour who resides near to her father’s shack, contacted her to say that his body was in the small drain.

Mahabal went to the scene and her worst fears were confirmed when the police showed up and pulled the body of Kawall from the

green waters of the drain, which is just next to his shack.

She related that since her mother died of cancer 31 years ago, her father was never the same person and took to the ‘bottle’ and moved away from her and wanted to be alone.

She told the Guyana Chronicle that her father used to be a fisherman years ago but quit and would assist a friend who sells in the Plaisance Market.

Mahabal added that although her father drank heavily, every Wednesday he would be sober and would visit her home for prayer service and to collect his meals.

Mahabal described her father as a very ‘good person’ who kept to himself and was fond of listening to his radio

Dead: Sanchara Kawall and riding his bicycle.

She is of the view that her father met his demise after he got too intoxicated sometime Thursday night when he was observed sitting on the grass close to the drain and she surmised that he tried to get up and maybe slipped into

the drain where he reportedly drowned.

Mahabal does not suspect foul play, since the body bore no visible marks of violence when he was pulled from the drain.

He was observed missing on Friday morning when a neighbour visited his shack to take his meal and saw his door open, his bicycle inside and he was nowhere to be found.

The neighbour, Mohan Lall told the Guyana Chronicle that he observed on the dam an empty bottle of rum, a hat and a radio which belonged to Kawall and right away he knew something was not right, since kawall would always have his radio with him.

Lall said he then began to search the area and he noticed

The wooden shack in which Kawall lived and in the background is the small drain next to the shack from where his body was removed. a piece of cloth in the drain and decided to take a closer look. It was then he saw the body and summoned the police and the man’s daughter.

A post-mortem is expected to be performed on the body on Monday after which a funeral will take place later in the week.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

‘Street Pastors Guyana’ aims to tangibly meet people’s needs

AS their way of assisting the less fortunate and ministering to people, a group of religious leaders from the various denominations on Thursday night launched their project titled “Street Pastors Guyana” at the Assemblies of God Church at Thomas Street, Kitty.

Coordinator of the programme, Pastor Shane Moses told the Guyana Chronicle that their project consists of about 32 pastors who were recently trained to go out on a walk-about to meet people and try to cater to their needs.

He said, “We go out into the streets and meet people and after hearing their stories, we try to meet their needs. Say, if a drug addict wants to be

The group of trained “Street Pastors Guyana” religious leaders reformed, we can approach an institution and enrol him or her; or if a person needs a hot lunch, we provide that as well; or if someone needs a pastor to talk to, we

counsel people too; and if a street dweller needs a footwear or clothing, we assist in this regard.”

Pastor Moses related that they try to help in a

tangible way and reach out to the less fortunate and anyone else who needs assistance.

He related that “Street Pastors Guyana” is an inter-denominational network of Christian charities operating across the UK and worldwide.

“Street Pastors Guyana” is an initiative of Ascension Trust. Individual street pastors are Christian adults with a concern for their community, who undergo 12 days of training in order to voluntarily patrol the streets of towns and cities at night, helping and caring for people in practical ways, he said.

Pastor Moses added that the initiative began in

the United Kingdom and is now being operated in other countries, including Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago.

He stated that street pastors wear a blue uniform, with the term ‘Street Pastor’ visible in white and work closely with councils and police in their local areas but maintain an operational independence.

Pastor Moses pointed out that the Street Pastors programme seeks to maintain confidentiality as far as is legal, and does not have any powers of enforcement or arrest. Street pastors are expected to provide services unconditionally.

He said the aim of

“Street Pastors Guyana” is not to proactively preach or evangelise, but to provide a neutral and reassuring presence in local communities.

Pastor Moses noted that individual street pastors are Christians, over the age of 18, committed to a local church for at least one year, who pass an enhanced CRB check and who have a positive reference from their church leader, stating that they would be suitable to be a Street Pastor and are leading a Christian lifestyle.

They must complete 12 training sessions spread over a year, covering subjects including conflict management, counselling and basic first-aid.

Street Pastors is also supported by ‘Prayer Pastors’, who do not patrol but who provide support to street pastors by praying for them and sometimes keep in touch with them by mobile phone.

Pastor Moses said a number of inter-denominational Christian churches from Georgetown participated in a 12-day training session on becoming Street Pastors.

The training was conducted at the Catholic Life Centre conference room.

‘Nations’ to host educational leadership forum in April THE School of the Nations is set to host a Caribbean Educational Leadership conference at the institution April 5-6, 2018.

According to a press statement from the school, prominent speakers from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America (USA) and countries within Africa have confirmed their attendance.

“In addition to the conference, there will be a series of workshops on each afternoon… we are hoping for 250 participants from throughout the Caribbean,’’ said the press statement.

School of the Nations highlighted that the Conference will be hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the British High Commission.

In addition to the conference, on April 9, 2018, ‘Nations’ will be hosting an International Education Fair in its compound where universities from the UK, the Caribbean and North America will promote their various programmes.

Chairman of the institution, Dr. Brian O’Toole will also launch his book “Educational Leadership: a Guyanese perspective” at the event.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE February 25, 2018

Young, Gifted and Black Panther

By Sherod Duncan BLACK Panther, the pre-blockbuster season blockbuster, hit the local theatres last Thursday.

Guyanese poured into theatres. I read just enough online to keep an open mind about the film. I wanted not only to watch the much-talkedabout and highly praised film which had social media lit up for weeks before it premiered here, but I wanted to observe its effects on other movie-goers as well. And when CNN Money stated that even the non-traditional music produced for the film, “could change the music industry”, my interest peaked, yet I tried to quell my excitement, temper my anxiousness.

With a largely black cast in powerful roles, young black director Ryan Coolger, 31, led a big-budget project to even bigger success at the box-office. Yet being able to identify, if only in geography, with members of the cast, Guyana-born, Letitia Wright (actress), Brazil-born Jamaican, Nabiyah Be (actress), Trinidad & Tobago, Winston Duke (actor), Bahamian-born, Jason Elwood Hanna (stunts), was a huge draw for many. It’s a line-up which caused my LinkedIn connection Natalie Dookie to remark, “Never underestimate the power of the Caribbean diaspora - they are everywhere and in every sector and in most every country of the world. “ I planned to see the Black Panther after the crowds thinned, then decided to go early instead.

It was a gamble that as it opened, with Thursday being a normal work and school day, the theatre wouldn’t be too crowded.

I got tickets on the spot for the first show. The risk paid off. And, I went

again yesterday, this time wearing a white longsleeved shirt designed and gifted by Sonia Noel.

It was the closest thing to “African wear” I had to connect with the film as other movie-goers are wont to do. A fad which caused my friend Savita

to expect from Marvel movies -- a good storyline, its heroes and villains, with more than a few good lines, a love story or two and the other stuff which drives persons like me of the male gender to theatres, lots of “action”: guns going off

Sherod Duncan Balkaran to muse, “If we dressed culturally to see the movie, ‘Black Panther’, does that mean we should do the same for, ‘Fifty Shades Freed’?”.

Something else to think about.

I sat in the theatre early, thinking, watching people file in and fill the seats. There was a throng of youths, among them some students from School of the Nations by their t-shirts, then girls in hijabs with faces radiating sunlight, a nurse came in with a huge bag of popcorn. Then a familiar face with that distinct voice, Russell Lancaster, and with him a different complexion in the audience, his contemporaries and mine.

Black Panther had everything you have come

and things blowing up. I thought too about structure and form, and language-use; the marriage of themes, though I will be the first to admit that as far as movie franchises like Marvel and DC go, I am absolutely unfamiliar with all the intricacies of the connected universes.

Black Panther offered much more than the usual, as my pal Christopher France said succinctly on Facebook, “It was refreshing to see a movie where the black characters weren’t just “the funny best friend” or “the wise spiritual black” or “the nerdy black sidekick” or “the angry black woman”. In Black Panther, black people were ALL of those things, but fully realised characters who were more than just

a stereotypical one-off.

There were characters that black boys and especially little black girls could look up to and be like: “I wanna be like that”. That kind of thing is a big deal because representation matters.”

I sat spellbound for the duration of the film in appreciation of the cinematic mastery of art imitating life, great fiction, yet revealing something universal about ourselves. I thought about Mahadhi Das’ “Call me the need of rain”, and Martin Carter, “fleeing the oppressors hate and scorn of myself” and Fred D’Aguiar, ‘The Longest Memory’ and how “memory is pain trying to resurrect itself”. And I thought about those larger issues which were the focus of that seminal text, ‘Themes in African-Guyanese History’.

Sitting in that theatre seeing the future of Guyana walk in and sit down side by side, young people from all hues, I thought of our Guyanese experience, our long struggle. Black Panther’s gift of inclusivity is

gratifying, that even with superheroes who save the day, whether our individual mission is to “serve” or “save” the country we each have great roles to play. And leadership matters. Governments still have a function in protecting the people; alleviating suffering by putting in place adequate, relevant policies in areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths. Black Panther is a celebration of all this, and it’s a celebration of our humanity. Regardless of race we have a purpose, our lives matter and together we can change the

world.

The Black Panther’s wisdom and T’Challa’s words were profound and poignant as they were honest and hopeful in this post-Obama age and Guyana’s new dispensation.

He was right, “Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers.

We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.” #wakandaforever

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

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Salah scores again as Liverpool thrash West Ham

By Neil Robinson (REUTERS) - Mohamed Salah was inevitably on the scoresheet as Liverpool took full advantage of the inactivity of their top-four rivals, to thrash West Ham United 4-1 at Anfield and provisionally move into second in the Premier League.

With leaders Manchester City facing Arsenal in the League Cup final today, when Manchester United host Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur travel to Crystal Palace in the league, Juergen Klopp’s free scorers topped 100 goals for the season in their 40th match.

Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane also netted in another Liverpool goalrush that moved them 15 points behind Pep Guardiola’s City.

At the bottom of the table, the future of West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew looks increasingly bleak after their 2-1 defeat at home to relegation rivals Huddersfield Town.

Swansea City crashed 4-1 at Brighton & Hove Albion and Bournemouth came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Newcastle United.

Liverpool’s win was not quite as routine as the scoreline suggested with West Ham occasionally threatening on another nerve-tingling Anfield afternoon although David Moyes’ long wait for a first win at the ground continues.

Salah scored for the sixth successive game in all competitions and his goal took him level with Harry Kane at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with 23 this season.

But Can was equally influential in Liverpool’s win, heading the opener and laying on a superb through pass for Firmino to score Liverpool’s third before Mane chipped in with a fourth goal in two

games.

“It is difficult to be top, Manchester City are too far away, but of course we want to finish second,” said the German, whose six league goals represent the best haul of his Liverpool career which could be in its final season as his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

PRESSURE ON PARDEW Elsewhere, West Brom’s defeat will add to the pressure

at Brighton but Lewis Dunk’s own goal proved academic with the home side already 3-0 up. Dutchman Juergen Locadia’s goal on his Premier League debut completed the rout as Swansea dropped back into the relegation zone, just ahead of Stoke City, who drew 1-1 with Leicester City.

It would have been better for Paul Lambert’s side had keeper Jack Butland not parried the ball into his own net when under no obvious pressure, a howler made all

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Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal. (REUTERS/Peter Powell)

on manager Pardew whose side are now seven points off safety.

Rajiv van La Parra and Steve Mounie scored for Huddersfield, whose win moved them three points up the table, one point ahead of Newcastle.

Rafa Benitez’s side looked to be guaranteed backto-back victories for the first time since September after Dwight Gayle ended his recent goal drought by scoring twice before the interval.

Yet Adam Smith and former Newcastle midfielder Dan Gosling completed an astonishing comeback by one of the league’s never-say-die specialists.

“It’s another point that nudges us towards where we want to be - every one could be vital at the end of the season,” said Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe.

Swansea also scored late

the more embarrassing by the presence of former Stoke, Leicester and England legend Peter Shilton in the stands.

Manager Lambert refused to criticise his keeper, whom he described as “the best in Britain” although such an obvious howler will do little to help Butland secure the England jersey for the World Cup. At Turf Moor, Southampton’s Manolo Gabbiadini scored a 90th-minute equaliser as the visitors secured a nerve-jangling 1-1 draw at Burnley, who still await their first win of the year.

Everton remained in ninth place but still only seven points above the relegation zone after a 1-0 defeat at Watford who moved up to 10th in a tangled bottom half.

Troy Deeney scored Watford’s late winner at Vicarage Road.

Top horse race action today at PMTC

WITH entries topping the 60-horse mark, an exciting day of racing is anticipated when the Port Mourant Turf Club, in collaboration withh the Guyana Association of Women Police, hosts its grand one-day horserace meet today.

According to organisers, most of the country’s top race horses have confirmed their participation and among those horses on show are: Perfect Return, Red Jet, Ready, Plain Land, Release The Heat, Touch Gold, Puppy Tail, Red Regent, Secret Escape, Big

Forty years on,...

Man In Town, Not This Time, Cresending Cat, The Final Line, Princess Shoma, Irish Boy and Ready To Romance.

Today’s race meet will see a total of seven races with over $2M on offer.

The G Class and Lower will be the feature race of the day, being competed over a distance of eight furlongs with the winner collecting $350 000.

There will be a Threeyear-old Guyana-bred race over a distance of 1200m that will offer a first place cash prize of $240 000.

The J Class and Lower, which will be sprinted over a distance of seven furlongs, will attract a $200 000 first prize.

The K Class and Lower and the L Class Open will both cover a distance of six furlongs with the winning stable set to receive $160 000 and $140 000 respectively.

Meanwhile, the L Class division two and the Unclassified will both be battling over a distance of five furlongs.

The rules of the Port Mourant Turf Club will be in effect at the meet.

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It should be pointed out that for 37 years between 1972, when Amiss recorded his 103 and 2009 only four players achieved the feat.

On the contrary, as batsmen became more aggressive especially with the advent of the T20 format, nine others have joined the band in the eight years between 2009 and 2017.

After the initial effort of Amiss, it was then the 22-year old West Indian opener’s moment to launch his international career with his punishing hundred against the Aussies in front of 13 000 jubilant fans in the Antigua sun.

The Australians were ravaged with the mass signing of their top players to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and were being led by the former opener and captain, Bobby Simpson, who had retired from the Test team a decade earlier. By far, the only other cricketer of pedigree in the party was the ‘demon’ fast bowler Jeff Thompson.

Theirs was a young, inexperienced squad coming up against a full-strength West Indian outfit, led by the now seasoned Clive Lloyd and which included the batting bombshells Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards and Alvin Kallicharran, the long-standing wicketkeeper Deryck Murray, and the exciting and effective fast bowlers Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Joel Garner.

The teams were set to contest five Tests and two ODIs stretching over a 10-week period commencing with the first ODI at the ARG on February 22 and ending with the fifth Test in Jamaica on May 3.

In Haynes’ maiden ODI game, the West Indies were without the ebullient, left-handed opener Roy Fredericks - a prominent signee for World Series Cricket - who had retired from international cricket at the end of Pakistan’s visit to the Caribbean in 1977 having played 59 Tests and 12 ODIs. The selectors were, therefore, looking for someone to partner Greenidge at the top of the order and three candidates were identified to fill the role based on performances in the regional Shell Shield tournament and against touring teams - Haynes, the Jamaican off-spinning all-rounder Richard Austin and the Guyanese stroke-maker Faoud Bacchus.

All three were in the final eleven with Haynes and Austin given the opportunity to start the innings while Bacchus batted at number five in the order after Richards and Kallicharran. In the absence of Clive Lloyd, who had not yet arrived in the region from his overseas assignments, Murray led the side for the first time.

Haynes had sound credentials having cracked a shot-filled 136 for his native Barbados against the Pakistanis at the Kensington Oval a year earlier and in the Shell Shield tournament in 1978 he had scores of 79 against the Combined Islands, 66 and 17 not out versus Trinidad and Tobago, along with 79 and 51 against Jamaica.

At this stage of his career he was an attacking, aggres-

sive player, who had all the shots but was guilty of gifting his wicket away, when seemingly well set, and lacked the fortitude to bat for long hours.

Batting first, the West Indies quickly lost Austin (8), Richards (9), Kallicharran (7) and Bacchus (0) and soon found themselves slipping from 56 for one to 78 for four as the bustling medium pacer Trevor Laughlin, Ian Callen and Wayne Clarke got among the wickets.

Bacchus’ second-ball exit -‘hit wicket’ as he essayed a big shot - was no doubt the most spectacular of the dismissals even as Thompson bowled at top speed without any success and was hampered by a series of no-balls.

Amidst all of the action, Haynes started off shakily and was troubled consistently

by Thompson’s pace but he weathered the initial storm to play a tremendously magnificent innings.

He took on all the bowlers and was later severe on Thompson, first adding a crucial 43 with the Dominican Irving Shillingford (24) for the fifth wicket, but when he (Shillingford) departed at 121 for five the West Indies were at the crossroads.

However, Murray used his years as an international cricketer to great effect and combined with him for a vital sixth-wicket stand of 126 before the debutant was bowled

by Thompson for a punishing 148 with the score 247 for six.

Haynes had faced only 136 deliveries and had pounded the boundary boards 16 times and had gone over them twice in a truly astonishing display.

The fact that he is one of only two debutants with centuries, having a strike rate at better than a run-a-ball tells its own tale.

With the aid of Murray’s 51 the West Indies closed at 313 for nine in their allotment of 50 overs as Thompson 4 for 67 and Laughlin 3 for 54 took the bowling honours.

The Aussies’ response was affected by rain and the target was adjusted to 226 from 36 overs. They reached 181 for seven with only the hard-hitting Gary Cosier putting up any notable resistance with a robust 84 from 78 balls with the assistance of 11 fours and a six, to give the Windies victory by 44 runs and a 1-0 lead in the series.

Based on his tremendous batting display, Haynes was catapulted into the Test team immediately and eventually had an illustrious career, forming one of the great opening partnerships of all-time with Greenidge in both Tests and ODIs. He finished with 116 Tests which produced 7 487 runs at an average of 42.29 with 18 centuries.

In the ODI arena he was involved in 238 matches and accumulated 8 648 runs at 41.37 with 17 hundreds, 16 of which carried the West Indies to victory.

Haynes has served in various capacities at the level of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

GCB/Dave West Indian Imports U-15 tournament

Berbice eye consecutive titles

By Rajiv Bisnauth UNSTOPPABLE throughout the preliminary round, Berbice would be aiming for a second consecutive title when the Leslie Solomon-coached side square off against an equally formidable Demerara in the final of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/ Dave West Indian Imports Inter-county Under-15 tournament today at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda.

So far, it has been a collective performance from the defending champions as every member of the

squad has contributed to the team’s success in one way or another.

To their advantage, the Ancient County side played unbeaten in the tournament, including whipping Demerara handsomely in the second round.

However, Solomon informed Chronicle Sport yesterday that his players remain confident ahead of today’s clash.

“We had a break between the final round and tomorrow’s (today) final, but what I can say, is that the boys are all confident ... they are eager to come out victorious and to win the

Latchman Yadram

title for the second time,” Solomon said.

Demerara, on the other

Leslie Solomon

hand, would be desperate for revenge after their big loss to the Berbicians in the

preliminary round.

After that one bad day, Demerara have bounced back strongly to make it to the final which signalled that they have upped their game which clearly indicates that they will definitely give Berbice a tough fight.

Coach Latchman Yadram pointed out that his players are ready for today’s clash, adding that once they do the basics right, they could come out as champions.

Play is expected to commence at 09:30hrs.

The Demerara squad reads: Mavindra Dindyal, Nicholas Rajpat, Zachary

Jodha, Rivaldo Phillips, Rommel Datterdeen, Chandrapaul Rajpat, Shemar Yearwood, Krishna Singh, Inderjeet Nanan, Alex Alli, Thaddeus Lovell, Shafeek Khan, Darius Andrews and Vishal Persaud.

The Berbice squad reads: Vettorie Lathman, Rampertab Ramnauth, Mahendra Gopilall, Tomani Caeser, Zeynol Ramsammy, Antoine Alexander, Jonathon Rampersaud, Darius Joseph, Jeremy Sandia, Isia Thorne, Latchman Dhanna, Matthew Pottaya, Pavanand Ganesh and Boodram Lakeraj.

Jonker shines but India still seal T20 series

INDIA ended their tour of South Africa on a high in Cape Town, as a seven-run victory in the deciding Twenty20 international secured a 2-1 series triumph.

Despite the absence of skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the game due to a back problem, the visitors posted 172-7 before holding their nerve with the ball in the closing stages.

Home captain JP Duminy top-scored with 55 but his decision to bowl first after winning the toss backfired, despite debutant Christiaan

Jonker’s late blitz taking the game down to the wire.

David Miller laboured to 24 after being promoted to open the batting, while Heinrich Klaasen, who had starred with the bat in South Africa’s six-wicket win at Centurion on Wednesday, made just seven.

South Africa slipped to 114-5 midway the 17th over before Jonker (49 from 24 balls), revitalised his team’s faltering chase, the right-hander dominating a sixth-wicket partnership worth 53 with Farhaan Be-

India secured a tense seven-run win over South Africa in the final Twenty20 in Newlands to clinch the series 2-1.

(BCCI photo)

hardien (15 not out).

However, a final-over target of 18 proved too much for the pair, Bhuvneshwar

Kumar (2-24) dismissing Jonker with the last delivery of the game to see South Africa’s valiant victory bid

South Africa name two uncapped players for Australia Tests JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - Uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder were named in South Africa’s 15-man Test squad yesterday for the first two of the four-match series against Australia.

Klaasen proved swashbuckling with the bat in both the one-day International and Twenty20 series against India over the last month and selector Linda Zondi said, “We firmly believe he can become just as good a player in the five-day format.”

The 26-year-old has

played four ODIs and two T20 matches for South Africa.

“The selection of Mulder continues our strategy to expand our pool of all-rounders against top quality opposition,” added Zondi in a Cricket South Africa statement.

“He is a batting all-rounder and his selection will depend on how we decide to balance our starting XI.” Mulder, 20, represented South Africa in an ODI against Bangladesh in October last year.

The two take the places of Chris Morris and Andile

Phehlukwayo in the squad that beat India 2-1 in their recent three-Test series.

The first Test against Australia is in Durban, starting on Thursday with the second in Port Elizabeth from March 9 to 13.

Squad: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungisani Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada.

All-rounder Wiaan Mulder

finish on 165-6.

India lost stand-in captain Rohit Sharma early in their innings at Newlands - the opener trapped lbw

by Junior Dala for 11 - but Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina added 65 for the second wicket.

Pushed up the order with Kohli sidelined, Raina made 43 from 27 balls before lofting Tabraiz Shamsi to Behardien in the deep.

Dhawan, meanwhile, was more circumspect while out in the middle, eventually falling for 47 from 40 deliveries

when his decision to take on Dala’s arm resulted in a direct hit by the fielder from the deep.

Hardik Pandya (21) and Dinesh Karthik - who hit three fours to make 13 in a hurry - added useful late runs for India, despite Dala returning figures of 3-35.

Their total turned out to be just enough in the final reckoning, securing India - who thrashed their opponents 5-1 in the one-day series - a second trophy at the end of a long and taxing trip.

CPL expects 50 per cent increase in overseas player participation THE 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) draft is expected to experience a 36 per cent increase in overall player participation, tournament organisers have reported.

In addition, the figures reveal an expected 50 per cent increase in the number of overseas players taking part in the tournament. Last year a total of 258 players participated in the competition, with a total of 151 of those cricketers coming from abroad.

This year the players will come from 18 countries already registered for draft day, with the most coming from Pakistan (53) and Sri Lanka (32). There are also cricketers from England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland, Canada, USA, Oman, Hong Kong, Scotland, Nepal, UAE and Kenya.

“We are delighted with the response that we have had to the Hero CPL draft this year. Every year we have seen an increase in the standard of players who want to be part of the Biggest Party in Sport, and 2018 is no different,” Hero CPL COO Pete Russell said.

The tournament is scheduled to take place between August 8 and September 16, with the draft scheduled for March 1 in London. (Sportsmax)

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

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Batting coach looking to improve middle period of Windies batting HARARE, Zimbabwe (CMC) – Batting coach Tony Radford says emphasis will be placed on improving the middle period of the West Indies innings, as they seek to justify their ‘favourites’ tag and win the ICC World Cup Qualifiers starting here this week.

In recent years, the Caribbean side have struggled to build or sustain momentum during the middle overs, leading to bungled run chases or average totals when batting first.

Radford said with the big hitters in the squad, once the Windies rectified this aspect of their batting, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

“When we look at our 50-overs cricket over the last year, maybe more than a year, we tend to get good starts,” the Welshman said.

“We have a lot of powerful hitters at back end and

I think the big thing for us - and we keep talking about it and it’s an area we really want to be good at – is that middle period.

“If we get a good start, (we want to) maintain the run rate, knocking the ball around, running well between the wickets, to allow our bigger hitters later on in the innings to clear the boundaries.”

West Indies are one of 10 teams vying for the last two World Cup spots at the March 4-25 tournament, and enter as the highest-ranked side and as the odds-on bets to qualify.

They open their Group A campaign on March 6 against ICC World Cricket League Division Two champions, United Arab Emirates, before facing Papua New Guinea (March 8), Ireland (March 10) and the Netherlands (March 12).

Two-time former World

the importance of it, and that we come here and stamp our authority from ball one and play the way we know we can play.”

He continued: “The key thing is getting used to the

Windies batting coach Tony Radford

Cup champions, West Indies have featured at every World Cup to date, and Radford said qualification for the showpiece in England next year was of paramount importance to the unit.

“It’s hugely important.

We want to put up a really good show,” he stressed.

“We obviously want to qualify and we want to be at the World Cup next year so I think everybody knows

Archer’s incisive spell hands Gladiators opening win

Jofra Archer bags three for 23 from his four overs

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CMC) – Barbadian fast bowler Jofra Archer continued to prove his worth in gold, producing an incisive spell to hand Quetta Gladiators their first win of the Pakistan Super League here yesterday.

Opting to bowl first at the Dubai International Stadium, Gladiators restricted Lahore Qalanders to 119 for nine off their 20 overs, with New Zealand star Brendon McCullum top-scoring with 30 and West Indies player Sunil Narine getting 28.

The pair put on 46 off 21 deliveries for the first wicket and even when the

left-handed Narine sliced pacer Rahat Ali to point in the fourth over, Qalanders still managed to get up to 60 for no further loss.

However, Archer then scythed through the innings with three for 23 from his four overs as Qalanders lost their next eight wickets for just 46 runs.

In reply, Gladiators motored to their target with six overs to spare, behind Australian Shane Watson’s 66 off 42 deliveries, to pull off an uncomplicated nine-wicket victory.

Meanwhile, Darren Sammy’s Peshawar Zalmi also notched their maiden win of the tournament when

years. We just played a Test series before Christmas down in Bulawayo which tends to be a little bit slower and spins a bit more.

“I think the pitches in Harare have a little more bounce

they beat Andre Russell’s Islamabad United by 34 runs at the same venue.

Sent in, Zalmi rallied to 176 for six off their 20 overs with Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal hitting 53 and Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal scoring 39.

Former Barbados and West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith smashed 30 from 21 deliveries.

In reply, Faheem Ashraf struck 54 from 30 deliveries but Islamabad could only muster 142 for nine.

Both Russell and his fellow Jamaica and West Indies teammate, Chadwick Walton, scored 11.

Veteran Marlon Samuels enters the tournament in good touch.

pitches here. We’ve actually been in Zimbabwe a couple of times over the last two

… I think it is about players getting used to the pitches.”

West Indies enter the

tournament match-ready especially with the players coming off their domestic 50-overs competition. Veteran Marlon Samuels, along with rookies Evin Lewis and Shai Hope, recorded hundreds, to strike form ahead of the international campaign.

Radford said the finishing touches would be put on the Windies preparation over the next week.

“The mood’s good. A lot of guys have just come fresh from the Regional Super50 back in the Caribbean and being in decent form so they’ve been playing a fair bit of cricket, playing pretty well and we’re just about to start our preparation really for this competition,” he explained.

“We’ve been in the gym doing a bit of fitness work over the last couple of days and I think everyone is just looking forward to getting into the nuts and bolts of the competition.”

Vietnam Formula One race looks likely, says Ecclestone

By Alan Baldwin LONDON, England (Reuters) - A Formula One race in Vietnam could be on the calendar by 2020, according to the sport’s former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

“I think you’re going to get a race in Vietnam,” the 87-year-old told reporters invited to his private offices in central London to talk about various issues ahead of the new season starting next month.

The billionaire Briton, who was moved aside into an undefined ‘emeritus’ role in January last year after U.S.-based Liberty Media took over, said a street race in Hanoi looked likely.

Ecclestone, who remains employed by Formula One on a multi-million pound salary, said the Vietnamese government was willing to pay a significant amount to promote the South-East Asian country by hosting a grand prix.

“They haven’t made a contract yet as far as I know.

But if they have, it’s at least two years away isn’t it?” he

said.

The Malaysian Grand

Former Chief Executive of the Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone

Prix dropped off the calendar after last year’s race but Formula One bosses have talked about expanding in China.

There have also been talks with Thailand, which came to nothing, but Vietnam is already an important emerging market for some of the sport’s global sponsors such as Dutch brewer Heineken.

Ecclestone told Reuters last year that he had talks with the Vietnamese while he was running Formula One but decided, despite the money on offer, against taking the

sport there because he felt there were enough races in that part of the world.

He also recalled Liberty’s criticism subsequent to their takeover of his decision to go to Azerbaijan, a country without a racing history but willing to pay handsomely and whose race was rated the most exciting of last season.

The Briton warned, however, that uncertainty over the sport’s future was something any local promoter should consider.

The current agreements between teams and Formula One mostly expire at the end of 2020, with glamour team Ferrari already threatening to leave if they do not like the direction things are headed.

There is also plenty of debate about what kind of engine to use after 2020, with the current V6 turbo hybrids criticised as too expensive, complicated and quiet.

While some see Ferrari’s threats as empty ones, with Formula One central to their image and history, Ecclestone repeated his view that the president Sergio Marchionne was to be taken seriously.

22

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

Johnson wraps up Ministry of Education/ NSC Table Tennis coaching clinic in Linden

By Joe Chapman NATIONAL Sports Commission (NSC) table tennis, Lynden Johnson, has termed his short coaching stint last week in Linden “a plus for table tennis in Linden” and felt that things look bright with regard to the development of the sport in Region 10.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport shortly after completing his final session at the Mackenzie Primary School, Johnson stated that “this programme is a plus. As a matter of fact, this programme was to have happened ever since last year, but because of examinations and other stuff that had been going on in schools, we had to push back the date to early 2018.”

The Ministry of Education/NSC conducted the Schools Development Table Tennis Coaching Programme from last Monday through Wednesday where targeted students between ages 6 and 11 years. Only 24 students were allowed from each school (12 boys and 12 girls). The two venues used were the Mackenzie High School auditorium and the Mackenzie Primary School.

The broad objectives of the programme were to: develop and improve the level of table tennis in schools, help students with the basic skills and to be better prepared for future tournaments, train a nucleus of students to be prepared for CXC exams, increase the number of participants involved in table tennis by 25%, identify play-

Regina Primary School trainees with coach Howard James in back row.

ers for future tournaments, create an integrated coaching programme that will incorporate coaching education and player’s development, and motivate and encourage

Four matches on today in Milo Schools Football

schools and players to join forces and work in partnership.

Each school was entitled to one session of one and a half hours and those schools

invited were: St Aidan’s, Wismar Hill, Christianburg, One Mile, Watooka Day, Coomacka, Amelia’s Ward, Regma and Mackenzie Primary.

“I feel the turnout and

support was really great because we had about nine schools participating and each school had about 24 students, twelve boys and twelve girls as planned. I think it was a plus for table tennis in Linden,” said Johnson.

According to the longstanding table tennis coach, who is also an accredited International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) high ranking coach, “The coaches involved were Linden’s ITTF Level One Howard James and Shavin Green and we also had two candidates, Maurice Cummings and Ron Inniss who have to complete their practical hours to obtain their Level One Certification.”

Season-opening Georgetown Grand Prix set for Saturday

Part of the action in Wednesday’s Milo School Football encounter (Adrian Narine photo)

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday February 25, 2018)

COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & the City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Roston Chase-433 runs (Barbados) (2) Chadwick Walton-169 vs Windwards (Jamaica) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who took most wickets in the preliminary round of the CWI Regional Super50 Tournament 2018?

(2) Who had the best bowling figures in the preliminary round?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

FOUR matches are on today in the Milo Schools Football tournament at the Ministry of Education ground.

The tournament, which is into the second day of the third round, will feature Friendship against Carmel Secondary in the opening game at 12:00hrs. At 13:30hrs, South Ruimveldt take on Buxton Youth Development with Queen’s College and Queenstown Secondary clashing in game three.

In the final game of the afternoon which begins at 16:30hrs Masters Academy will take on Lodge Secondary School.

The 125cc Junior class is expected to be a keenly contested battle. (GTRidez photo)

By Stephan Sookram KARTING is back in action next weekend when GT Motorsports hosts its first instalment of the Georgetown Grand Prix in Georgetown.

Under the auspices of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), the first of the four-round championship will take place on Saturday following the Holi celebrations.

According to information, a number of Trinidadian drivers are expected to be

on show including Kristian Boodoosingh and Zachary Boodhram.

Meanwhile, there have been several class changes for the 2018 season with last year’s Easy Cup Light and Heavy merged into one category dubbed the Easy Cup Super.

This retains the fourstroke Honda-powered engines with the Easy Cup ‘Rookie’ going unchanged.

The 125cc class will also benefit from the addition of a Masters category for drivers over 30 years old or over

205lb, while Juniors (12-15 years old) and Seniors (15+) remain the same.

The 60cc class has been split into the IAME Micro Swift for ages 6-10 which features a restricted 60cc engine while the IAME Mini Swift features an unrestricted version of the same engine and is for ages 8-12.

The Mini also allows for a maximum weight of 245lb as against the Micro which features a maximum weight of 225lb.

The Pro Cup Shifter class also remains the same.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE, February 25, 2018

23

GFF partners with Fruta Kool Kidz to launch grassroots community programme

By Rawle Toney

IN a show of continued progress at the youth level, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will be partnering with SM Jaleel and Company and local distributors Guyana Beverages Inc. (GBI) under their ‘Kool Kidz’ brand, to stage its community grassroots programme.

At the launch yesterday, GFF president Wayne Forde, along with Technical Director Ian Greenwood and visiting FIFA Regional Director Marlon Glean, spoke profoundly of the importance of the programme for the development of the game in Guyana.

The launch was held at the Federation’s Section ‘K’ Campbellville headquarters.

Commercial Manager of Guyana Beverages Inc., Samuel Arjoon, told a gathering of the media and children from various communities in Georgetown, that “Guyana is a land full of potentials and many times we tend to refer to those potentials as only our natural resources.”

Arjoon further pointed out, “We often ignore the po-

tential of our human capital, particularly in sports and arts.

At the GBI one of our core values is the development of Guyanese human capital and as such the GFF grassroots programme is a perfect alignment of our values.”

around the Caribbean where everybody is scampering to start the programme and I’m happy to be here at the launch. Guyana is one of the first countries in the region to start the grassroots programme and it’s commend-

Commercial Manager of Guyana Beverages Inc., Samuel Arjoon, (right) makes a presentation to GFF president Wayne Forde.

Referring to the importance of programmes like this one in the region, Glean, who is visiting Guyana for the first time, positively stated his excitement in seeing the programme being rolled out, stating the initiative is in line with FIFA’s mandate for its Member Associations.

“In fact, all of the top (football) countries in the world focus greatly on grassroots football! I’ve been

able,” Glean boldly said.

Glean emphasised, “There’s no Messi, there’s no Ronaldo, without grassroots football. I want to thank Fruta and the Guyana Beverages Company for the foresight and the vision and the president of the GFF for bringing it together, so that everyone in Guyana could get the opportunity to play football.

Grassroots football is where

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) launches its ‘Kool Kidz’ Grassroots football programme.

the dream starts.”

Ian Greenwood explained that part of the programme which commenced a few weeks ago in Albouystown will feature for the capacity development of community coaches as well.

Greenwood pointed out that the programme will also help to increase the playing population of the game, and will also play the role of a ‘feeder system’ to the already established programmes in the Academy Training Cen-

tres.

According to Greenwood, “The grassroots programmes will be going into the communities starting with male and female players with ages three, four and five.”

Meanwhile, Forde explained that the Federation is already running its Scotiabank academy training centres, “which are held weekends at various venues in all of our member associations,” adding, “but we felt the need to carry football to the people

in addition to having the people come to football.

In the first week at Albouystown, over 100 kids signed up for the first day of activities. Although these kids have no formal training, it was exciting to see their level of ball weaving.”

Forde referred to the Guyana Beverages Inc. as the “steadfast investor in sports in general across Guyana”, stating that their investment in this regard is invaluable.

Ryan McKinnon wins P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants Practical Pistol Shoot

THE Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation’s Practical Pistol Section commenced activities for 2018 on Saturday, February 17, when they hosted the 3rd Annual P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants-sponsored Practical Pistol Match at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Yarrowkabra Range.

The event saw local practical shooters test their skills in four dynamic stages setup by the Match Committee. Shooters competed for the top 3 prizes in two divisions based on their firearm setup, in accordance with the rules of the United States Practical Shooting Association USPSA Handgun Rules, in the Production and Limited Division.

Opening remarks were made by recently-elected president of GSSF, Ryan McKinnon, who reminded participants of the safety rules and the match was declared open by Match Director David Dharry.

On the cool, sunny Saturday afternoon, shooters were placed in two squads and the match commenced. In the first of two stages designed by Mr. Dharry, called ‘Daily News’ and ‘Hello from D Other Side’, the competitor started, seated at a table reading a book with only their unloaded handgun placed on a table. Upon start signal, competitors were required to load the handgun and then en-

gage the targets all while in the seated position.

‘Hello from D other side”

make the gun ready then engage targets there were situated in front of the opposing starting

gage this paper target so as to beat the clock and register good hits to score.

Prize-winners 2018 of the P&P-sponsored GSSF’s Practical Pistol Match. From left: Mrs Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon, Dr Johan DaSilva, Mr Ryan McKinnon, Mr Rajiv Latchana, Mr Andrew Phang and Mr David Dharry

saw shooters start by standing in any of two specifically defined areas set out on the course of fire, and were required to face up range while holding a mobile phone against the ear on the same side where their firearm is holstered. Upon start signal, shooters had to turn,

area defined then run to the other area and engage targets situated on the other side.

There was a single paper target on this stage which needed to be engaged anywhere outside of the two defined “boxed” areas. The shooters came up with various strategies to en-

The other two courses of fire were designed by Rajiv Latchana. The 3rd stage called ‘Step In” consisted of 7 paper targets and 7 no-shoot targets immediately in front of them.

Competitors were required to move along the defined shooting area (marked by a fault

line) and engage the targets as they became visible from behind several screens. Competitors deliberately slowed their rate of fire in this stage as the presence of no-shoot targets posed a penalty factor of double the highest score per shot, a whopping negative 10 per shot.

The 4th stage for the afternoon called ‘Both Ends Now” consisted of several paper targets placed at varying angles, distances and heights with their direct visibility also obscured by screens. This stage proved to be the most challenging for the day as it caused shooters to move to various spots on a single fault line covering both ends of the stage to shoot at these targets comfortably. Several shooters were seen warming up for the sprint that was needed to cover the distance in as short as possible time.

There were several speedy reloads on the move, as the frequent sound of double taps pierced the afternoon ambiance on the Timehri Ranges on this final stage of the match.

Scoring for practical shooting is done by recording the competitor’s time with an electronic device which ‘hears’ the shots and records the time from the audible beep which signals the start to the sound of the last shot fired. The targets are then checked, recorded and the total score gained is divided by the

time recorded for that competitor, the result of which is termed a Hit Factor. The highest HF will win the stage; the total match points are an accumulation of all of the competitor’s stage points.

All scoring at GSSF pistol events are computed using scoring software specifically designed for the discipline; since this is done atomically it aids in efficiency. Ultimately the scoring in practical shooting rewards the winners who can have a balance of accuracy within the shortest possible short stage times as against other competitors within the division.

The Stats Officer for this match was Mrs. Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon, who released the results in agreement with the Match Director. The prize order was as follows: Limited Division 1st – Ryan McKinnon – 235.5987 points 2nd – Johan DaSilva – 197.7184 points 3rd – Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon – 105.0355 points Production Division 1st – Rajiv Latchana – 180.0000 points 2nd – Andrew Phang – 169.9061 points 3rd – David Dharry – 133.5190 points

GFF partners with Fruta Kool Kidz to launch grassroots community programme 23 PAGE

GBA/McDonald’s Patrick Forde Memorial Open boxing c/ships

‘Superman’ Lewis ready to crash the St Lucian Ferrari

By Michael DaSilva

AFTER exchanges of words and threats over the past two months, the verdict will be known tonight when the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), in collaboration with McDonald’s Promotions, stages the inaugural Patrick Forde Memorial Open Championships at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, starting at 19:00hrs.

Tonight’s 14-fight card will see action in the Youth, Juniors, Female and Open categories and will feature boxers from Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and St Lucia taking on their local counterparts.

Having suffered a firstround knockout loss to Guyana and the Caribbean junior welterweight champion, Colin `Superman’ Lewis, in December of last year, St Lucia’s light welterweight Nathan Ferrari yesterday promised to avenge the loss in similar fashion.

Speaking at a press conference at the Tower Suites, the St Lucian declared `war’, stating that the fight will not go the distance (three

St Lucia’s Nathan Ferrari (left) squares off with Guyana’s Colin `Superman’ Lewis yesterday at the Tower Suites. (Adrian Narine photo)

rounds) as he will `terminate’ the `Spider’ before the final bell.

However, Lewis responded, saying he will stop the

`Ferrari’ from working in the same manner he (Lewis) did last December at the Caribbean championships.

Ferrari said unlike what is

being promoted as a grudge match, tonight’s fight is no grudge. “I hope to achieve what I’ve come here to achieve and that is to win

tonight.”

Ferrari acknowledged that Lewis is as good a fighter as he is and so an interesting battle will unfold tonight.

The St Lucian thanked the organisers for the opportunity to face Lewis in a rematch and promised that the fight will surely be an entertaining one.

Lewis said he does not have much to say to the press since all questions will be answered tonight when he finishes his business with the St Lucian. “I went to St Lucia in December to take care of business and I did, now I’m at home and will continue taking care of business as usual,” Lewis stated.

Ferrari has spent the last two weeks in Trinidad and Tobago preparing for tonight’s fight and is said to be in terrific condition going into the `square jungle’ tonight, but according to Lewis’ camp, the Guyana and Caribbean champion is ready for anything that Ferrari has to offer.

There will be two bouts involving females from the Savannah Boxing Gym of Rupununi and Georgetown.

The weigh-in for tonight’s card will be held at the Tower Suites, beginning at 09:00hrs.

Admission for the card is $1 500 for ringside and $1 000 for stands.

Forty years on, Des Haynes’ ODI Debut Record Still Intact

By Edwin Seeraj

Desmond Haynes (left) still has the highest score of any batsman on ODI debut.

ON February 22, 1978 the young Barbadian jet-propelled opener, Desmond Haynes, made his One Day International debut for the West Indies against the visiting Australians at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) in St John’s and blazed his way to a blis-

tering 148.

Forty years on, and after 3 880 matches, it still remains the highest individual score by any player in his maiden ODI game and the only century by a West Indian player on his debut in this format - way ahead of the 62 made by Jamaica’s Everton Mattis against England at Arnos Vale, St Vincent in 1981.

Haynes was only the second player to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of the Englishman Dennis Amiss who compiled 103 against the Australians at Old Trafford, Manchester in 1972 in only the second ODI game ever.

Andy Flower (ZIM), Saleem Elahi (PAK), Martin Guptil (NZ), Colin Ingram

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

(SA), Rob Nicol (NZ), the late Phil Hughes (AUST), Michael Lumb (ENG), Mark Chapman (Hong Kong) (the only person from an Associate cricketing nation to do so), Temba Bavuma (SA) and Imam-ul-Haq (PAK) are currently members of this elite club.

Turn to page 19 ► SUNDAY FEBRUARY, 25, 2018