Guyana Chronicle Epaper April 26 2018

THURSDAY 26th April, 2018

No.105256

DPP nixes second set of PPP charges

PAGE

13

02 Wales woman ‘We’re fighting for you’ …RUSAL workers assured of govt’s backing PAGE

strangled by partner

PAGE

10

GEA seizes 9,000 gallons of illegal 12 fuel in first quarter PAGE

Guyana moves up 09 press freedom ranking PAGE

RUSAL workers fully engaged during Wednesday’s meeting with ministers of government (DPI photo)

Modern arbitration laws crucial

…AG tells international commercial conference 03 PAGE

2

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

‘We’re fighting for you’ …RUSAL workers assured of govt’s backing

By Vanessa Braithwaite RUSAL workers are upbeat after meeting with top government officials regarding the fallout from the US sanctions on their company, and the Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources is to head a task force to iron out matters relating to the issue.

On Friday the workers said they felt better about the future of their jobs following the meeting with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and Minister Simona Broomes as well as Region 10 Members of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira and Audwin Rutherford.

Over 100 workers attended the meeting at the company’s Aroaima location in Region 10 and were told that a task force led by Minister Broomes will be established to deal with the issues relative to the recent US sanctions on the parent company and the subsequent pulling out of transhipment company, Oldendorff, which is expected to end operation on June 5th.

Workers who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle following the meeting expressed their appreciation to the Government for fulfilling its promise to meet with them during the week as well as meet their union-Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union. (GB&GWU).

“It is a great relief that the

Managing Director of BCGI, Valerii Vinokurov

General Secretary of GB&GWU Lincoln Lewis

ministers took time out of their busy schedule to come up here to deal with the issue because we were like ‘fish out of water’, not knowing what tomorrow holds because we weren’t told anything by Management since this whole thing bus out,” one worker said.

Another worker, Elymawell Barkoye, posited that the meeting was a fruitful one and he left satisfied knowing that things will get better now and that the government has their best interest at heart. “I believe that things will sort out itself now and get back to normal. The ministers met with us and we got to voice our concerns and they listened and hopefully things will get better for us,” Barkoye said.

The ministers would have met with Union representatives on Monday and said that matters arising out of that meeting will be taken to cabinet. The workers also revealed that all operations at Rusal are back to normal but the company is still facing a challenge purchasing fuel with Guyana currency, since it was always done with US currency. The good news, however, is that the US reduced the sanction on RUSAL after realising that it will also affect thousands of workers such as the 500 working in Region 10.

The US Treasury Department also extended the period during which companies could keep trading with RUSAL by almost five months. The Government also announced that there are other companies interested in replacing Oldendorff.

Saving jobs Meanwhile, Trotman is quoted by the Department of Public Information as telling the workers: “We are here to assure you that we are not

Minister Raphael Trotman addressing BCGI workers

Simona Broomes engaging workers

going to see your jobs just go aside. We are going to be fighting.”

He announced that a task force headed by Broomes will be leading this effort. A proposal was made to Cabinet on Tuesday to establish the task force which would address the “crisis that could come” and address general company work-

ers relations. Last week the United States Treasury Department announced the sanctions against RUSAL which would effectively ban the company from conducting business in American currency. The sanctions were to take effect in June but this week the Treasury Department announced it is pushing back the deadline to October 23 to give American companies time to wind down business with RUSAL. The task force is a cautionary measure and includes Finance Minister Winston Jordan; Members of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira and Audwin Rutherford; General Secretary of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), Lincoln Lewis; and the Department of Labour.

“Rusal, the company, the management and its workers have to find a way to work together to save this industry. The government of Guyana has a duty to stand and work with you to save your jobs,” Minister Trotman said.

Minister Broomes also gave assurances to workers that the task force will work in their best interest. “Just know the reason for the task force is not[to just] sit down and take information, but to come with

solutions,” Minister Broomes said.

GB&GWU’s General Secretary, Lewis, echoed the calls for collaboration between workers and the company to further the task of the force’s work. “It is for you to give the government the mandate as to the way forward. The government representatives … have made the point that the government is not prepared to leave you in the wilderness but to stand with you,” he said.

Managing Director of BCGI, Valerii Vinokurov, explained that the mining operations had halted operations following the announcement of the sanctions. Rusal Guyana will now resume work after being stalled for some 10 days. He added that contractor, Oldendorff Carriers, will also continue its work with the company.

Additionally, BCGI is working with the Bank of Guyana to open accounts in Euro currency to continue operations, “I want to assure you there is nothing to be afraid of. Rusal company is not going anywhere; we will continue to work and produce here in Guyana,” Vinokurov assured through a translator.

3

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Modern arbitration laws crucial …AG tells international commercial conference

By Ariana Gordon GUYANA in preparing itself for an overwhelming increase in international transactions is creating a legal climate that is conducive to economic trade and investment, something Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, believes is crucial now.

In light of Guyana’s upcoming oil and gas production here, Williams said the time is ripe to “promulgate modern arbitration laws to meet internationally acceptable standards.” He was at the time speaking at the third annual International Commercial Arbitration Conference being held for the first time in Guyana.

“The International Community’s growing attraction to Guyana and the bourgeoning interests of investors in the oil and gas sectors demand that our standards are tested and raised against the highest of benchmarks and the best standards of the international legal, business and dispute resolution community,” said the Attorney General.

He noted that arbitration has traditionally been the preferred and accepted mode of resolving international disputes. “International Investment and commercial transactions alike generally favour the use of arbitration with the power of autonomy over process, the ability to negotiate your own clause and tailor the procedure of the arbitration as against the strict and often lengthy and costly court proceedings,” he explained.

Williams made it clear that countries which have a strong legal framework have always attracted investors while adding that with Guyana with its new found resource is no exception. As a result, he believes there is the need for greater capacity building while creating a legal environment that is “sound and investor friendly”.

“Nonetheless, this by no means alienates the role of the court in the arbitral process as ultimately, the court acts as gatekeeper for guaranteeing the integrity of the process,” Williams stated at the historic opening of the first ever international arbitration conference in Guyana.

The conference which is hosted by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in collaboration with the University

of Guyana; the Caribbean International Chamber of Commerce; the International Center for the Settlement of Disputes; CARICOM; and the Dispute Resolution Center, saw participants from across the region and further afield.

“This conference marks a historic day in Guyana, most importantly for the strengthening of our legal and structural framework in the area of dispute resolution and in the development of conflict resolution as a whole.” Participants over the next few days will deliberate on ADR measures, Adjudication, Mediation and Arbitration, along with the fact that Guyana has court-assisted Mediation.

Williams said Guyana welcomes the pursuit of other elements of alternative dispute resolution.

WILLPOWER OF GOVERNMENT The Attorney General stressed that the will-power of his government to create the right legal framework is the need to equip the Bar, State Counsel and business communities on the ability to effectively draft arbitral agreements and respond to the disputes that are often inevitable. He said too that the conference represents the first of many new beginnings and noted hopes that it fosters greater collaboration and training to develop human technical capacity in arbitration. Each stakeholder, Williams said, plays a critical role in ensuring that the needs of the country are best served.

MODERNISE ARBITRATION FRAMEWORK Meanwhile, President

President of the CCJ, Sir Dennis Byron

of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Sir Dennis Byron called upon legislators to modernize Guyana’s arbitration framework in light of heightened commercial activities coming here with the impending oil and gas sectors.

He posited that the “benefits the country will derive from this new development will depend to a large extent on whether the laws of the country can facilitate this development or not.”

The CCJ President said the hosting of the conference in Guyana is timely because of the oil and gas industries and the anticipated “explosion of international commercial activities” here which are a necessary consequence of the development of those industries. Sir Byron who was invited to give the keynote address during the lunch break, noted Guyana’s efforts to join the family of arbitration communities within the Caribbean, but urged that across the region

there is need to focus on the importance of timeliness, and the efficiency in arbitration proceedings.

“I have been pushing the fort in our Region that the use of technology has to be at the heart of dispute resolution processes,” he stated while noting that arbitration is an area of dispute resolution where the access to justice is important.

The CCJ president stressed too the importance of developing resources and processes that would aid in boosting the standard of efficiency in the delivery of justice through the use of technology. The Judge pointed to the electronic filing of cases and case management and noted that the role of Advanced Performance Exponents (APEX), an agency sponsored by the CCJ to promote and advance standards and efficiency in the administration of justice in the Caribbean Community and specifically to help to utilise technology to improve justice delivery process.

Holding events like this which facilitate training and information dissemination strengthen the benchmarks of the region and promotes a healthy level of respect for the processes of arbitration across the region.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY In response to a question posed by Guyana Chronicle on the use of court technology, the CCJ president said court technology over the years has become an important element in improving the quality of justice delivered globally. “I have been interested in promoting increased efficiency in

Attorney General, Basil Williams

all judicial administrative and I have thought that important tools to achieving that is the use of technology, case management…I was making the point that arbitration proceedings should also benefit from the same standards of efficiency, using appropriate management techniques supported by technology.”

Justice Byron said one of the important benefits of the arbitrary process is that it provides an opportunity for the timely and efficient dispute resolution of matters. CARICOM, he said, has been working assiduously on the development of modules for modernizing the law which could be replicated in each member state. He noted that the idea of arbitration and having international arbitration centres is catching on in the Region, while noting that there is need for the harmonization of laws which ought to be adopted across the board. “Commercial International arbitration is commercial international arbitration,” he remarked while highlighting projects being conducted by

IMPACT Justice and representatives of OHADAC, The Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in the Caribbean.

OHADAC is a project on the harmonizing of business law in the broader Caribbean which is aimed at reducing legal constraints and consolidating economic integration. “I think it might be interesting for our practitioners and experts and academics in the Commonwealth Caribbean to see to what extent cooperative relationships could be enhanced.

I can assure you that at the CCJ we have tried to set the example and we have signed a cooperative agreement with OHADAC,” the CCJ president stated as he referenced calls for one regional arbitration centre.

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) is a leading professional membership non-profit organisation which represents the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners worldwide. It has over 15,000 members located across 133 countries supporting the global promotion, facilitation and development of all forms of private dispute resolution worldwide. The Caribbean Branch of the Institute was formed in 2006 and is chaired by Shan Greer.

It is committed to promoting acceptance and the use of Arbitration and ADR throughout the Region. An international arbitration centre is to be launched in Barbados soon. Several experienced arbitration academics and practitioners are participating in the three day conference being held at Duke Lodge, Kingston.

Participants gathered at the International Commercial Arbitration Conference Wednesday (Adrian Narine photo)

4

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

Macron attacks nationalism in speech to US Congress French President Emmanuel Macron has used his speech to the joint houses of the US Congress to denounce nationalism and isolationism.

Mr Macron said such policies were a threat to global prosperity. The speech was widely interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on President Donald Trump’s America First agenda. Mr Macron also raised differences on global trade, Iran and the environment, seemingly in contrast to the warm bonhomie of his visit so far. The French president was given a three-minute standing ovation as he took his place in the chamber for his speech.

He hailed the “unbreakable bonds” of the US and France, forged in “liberty, tolerance and equal rights”.

He has developed a strong relationship with President Trump, and is in Washington as the first foreign leader to be afforded a US state visit by the Trump White House.

But the French president’s comments showed that the pair do not agree on all subjects. Mr Macron said isolationism, withdrawal and nationalism “can be tempting to us as a temporary remedy to our fears. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. It will not douse

but inflame the fears of our citizens”.

He added: “We will not let the rampaging work of extreme nationalism shake a world full of hopes for greater prosperity.” Mr Macron said that the US had invented multilateralism and now needed to reinvent it to create a new 21st Century world order. He said the UN and the Nato military alliance might not be able to fulfil their mandates and assure stability if the West ignored the new dangers arising in the world.

On trade, Mr Macron said that “commercial war is not the proper answer”, as

it would “destroy jobs and increase prices”, adding: “We should negotiate through the World Trade Organization.

We wrote these rules, we should follow them.” Mr Trump has in the past said that trade wars are good and easily won. He has taken on Europe and China with new tariffs, saying the US has suffered from unfair trade practices.

On another issue of difference, Iran, Mr Macron said his country would not abandon a nuclear deal with Tehran that was agreed by world powers when President Barack Obama was in office but which Mr Trump has

branded “terrible”.

Mr Macron said: “This agreement may not address all concerns, and very important concerns. This is true. But we should not abandon it without having something more substantial instead.” But he added: “Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not now. Not in five years. Not in 10 years. Never.”

On the environment, he said by “polluting the oceans, not mitigating CO2 emissions and destroying biodiversity we are killing our planet. Let us face it, there is no Planet B”.

Donald Trump last year withdrew the US from the

Paris global climate accord, another landmark Obama achievement, saying it was a “very bad deal for the US”. The accord, signed by nearly 200 countries, aims to cut damaging emissions. Mr Macron’s wide-ranging address highlighted numerous political and cultural links, citing American Revolutionary War officer Marquis de Lafayette, writer and feminist Simone de Beauvoir, Abraham Lincoln, author Ernest Hemingway, the founder of French romanticism François-René Chateaubriand and both Presidents Roosevelt. (BBC)

North Korea test site could be unusable after collapse – Chinese scientists Chinese scientists have concluded that North Korea’s nuclear test site has partially collapsed, potentially rendering it unusable.

The test site at Punggye-ri has been used for six nuclear

tests since 2006. After the last, in September, a series of aftershocks hit the site, which seismologists believe collapsed part of the mountain’s interior. On Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

announced he was suspending his country’s nuclear and missile tests. The surprise declaration came ahead of historic talks with South Korea and the US. The latest research from

the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is due to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, in the coming days. It concluded that

Kim Jong-un and senior officials confer over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme in late 2017

eight and a half minutes after September’s test, there was “a near-vertical on-site collapse towards the nuclear test centre”. The Punggye-ri site is situated in mountainous terrain in North Korea’s north-east, and tests have taken place in a system of tunnels dug below Mount Mantap.

A one-page summary of the research on the USTC website concluded: “The occurrence of the collapse should deem the underground infrastructure beneath mountain Mantap not be used for any future nuclear tests.” But those words do not appear in the final peer-reviewed paper. It instead says that the “collapse in the test site calls for continued close monitoring of any leaks of radioactive materials”. Prof Wen Lianxing, the lead author of the study, told the Wall Street Journal that the conclusion about the test site’s viability would not be included in the published paper, but

Thursday, April 26, 2018 – 13:30 & 2:30hrs

did not say why.

The research echoes similar findings by a team from the Jilin Earthquake Agency, published in the same journal last month. That team concluded that the explosion “created a cavity and a damaged ‘chimney’ of rocks above it”, leading to a collapse. The earlier paper did not offer an opinion on the viability of the test site in the wake of the collapse.

A possible tunnel collapse at Mount Mantap has long been suspected, with Chinese scientists expressing concern soon after September’s large-scale nuclear test. The US Geological Survey recorded a second seismic event about eight minutes after the test, which it assessed as a “collapse” of the cavity. Two aftershocks were detected as late as December, prompting concerns about the stability of the surrounding mountains. (BBC)

DATE: DATE: 26/11/2016 25/4/2018

B 11 14 15 14 18 7 19 12 16 26 02 3 27 12 N

26/11/2016 25/4/2018

06 19

13 13

14 1

21 11

24 15

25/4/2018 26/11/2016

04 8

07 6

03 0

26/11/2016 25/4/2018

05 9

04 4

01 1

26/11/2016 25/4/2018 02 2 0917 104

11 1 313141410 18

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

5

TT Govt holds talks with UN on Venezuela deportation issue The Trinidad and Tobago government Tuesday held talks with senior United Nations officials in a bid to “correct the misinformation in the public domain’ regarding the deportation of nearly 100 Venezuelan nationals over the last weekend.

A statement issued by the Ministry of National Security said that National Security Minister, retired Major General Edmund Dillon and Attorney General, Faris Al Rawi, met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator Richard Blewitt and Protection Officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ruben Barbado.

“The purpose of the meeting was to correct the misinformation in the public domain, with respect to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s handling of the voluntary repa-

triation of the 82 Venezuelan nationals to their homeland on Saturday, 21st April 2018.”

The statement said that both Dillon and Al Rawi “took the opportunity to once again emphasize the fact that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago respects the human rights of any person who seeks asylum in Trinidad and Tobago. “Additionally, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago respects the right of any foreign national to voluntarily return to their country of nationality.”

The United Nations has expressed concern that a number of Venezuelan nationals who had sought asylum in Trinidad and Tobago had been deported to the South American country over the last weekend. The United Nations system here Monday said it was concerned for the welfare of the Vene-

The St. Kitts-Nevis government Wednesday said it would host a major international conference on the controversial Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programme next month.

Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris told a news conference that regional and international delegates would attend the high-level discussions on issues affecting the sector, as well as exploring opportunities for further growth of the CIP

during the Caribbean Investment Summit 2018.

zuelans, some of whom had reportedly sought asylum here. and Blewitt had indicated that they were in “contact with the appropriate authorities in Port of Spain to ensure that any person in need of protection will get it without fail”. The Living Water Community (LWC), a religious based organisation

that works with the UNHCR said that it too had received reports of Venezuelans being deported.

Amnesty International in an open letter to Prime Minister Dr. keith Rowley also expressed concern at the situation. “Amnesty International has received information that

suggests that those returned did not do so voluntarily, contrary to the Minister’s claims, but were presented with papers to sign, in a language they do not understand, stating that they would return voluntarily,” it said. ““If indeed those deported were forcibly returned without an individualised assessment or having the opportunity to challenge or appeal their deportation orders, without having their legal options explained to them in a language they understand and without access to their lawyers or UNHCR, the actions of your government have undermined due process, your government’s own policy on asylum, and your country’s international human rights obligations. This cannot be repeated,” Amnesty International said.

But the statement Tues-

stakeholders in various fields such as banking, due diligence, risk management and cyber security, cryptocurrency and real estate will also be in attendance.

Under the CIP, several Caribbean countries provide citizenship to foreign investors in return for making a significant financial contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.

The government said that the summit will discuss new

technology for better CIPs; responsible conduct for service providers; key approaches to sustainable development and collaboration for a common cause.

Harris said the summit will be held under the theme “Unity in the Age of Division, Emerging Trends of CIPs in an Uncertain World,” reflecting the changes in the industry.

“Never has there been a better time to unite. As CIPs proliferate across the globe,

we urge the world to remember where it all began – right here in St. Kitts and Nevis in 1984 and we ask them to recall that with age comes wisdom.

“As the market continues to grow amid political and economic tensions, the industry must take a holistic approach to ensure its longevity, and in doing so, must provide the appropriate fora to engage and stimulate the growing numbers of industry participants,” Prime Minister Harris told

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon (center) chairing meeting between government and United Nations officials

day reiterated that “the repatriation exercise” was strictly carried out on a voluntary basis, in collaboration with the Ambassador of Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago, Coromoto Godoy Calderón. “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago also expressed its commitment to treating all persons humanely and fairly and to upholding its international obligations,” the statement said, noting that “at the end of the very cordial meeting, both parties agreed to continue the ethos of collaboration and cooperation. “The Government remains cognizant of its responsibility, to look after the national security interests of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” the statement said. (CMC)

reporters.

Harris said that the twin island Federation maintains the longest-running and one of the most trusted CIP globally and in January this year, the Caribbean island was ranked the top country within the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) by a quality of passport index survey conducted by the international firm, Henley & Partners.

(CMC)

St. Kitts-Nevis to host major summit on Citizenship by Investment Programme CIP Harris Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris speaking at news conference The summit, which will be held May 16-19, will also be attended by representatives from CBI units in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia and Grenada.

Harris said the summit will also be attended by other

Prime Minister confirms CCJ referendum by year end Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchel Wednesday confirmed that a second referendum on whether the island will join the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will be held before yearend.

“The CCJ is not just about Grenada alone. It’s about the Caribbean man and woman and we felt it defines us as a people more than any other bill on the table, the other was

more specific Grenada and Grenada is part of a wider family, the Caribbean family and it makes sense that the wider family must get its act together, and therefore we felt that the CCJ must be the first one to bring back before the people,” Mitchell told reporters.

The CCJ was established in 2005 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court. But

while Barbados, Guyana, Dominica and Belize are members of the Appellate Jurisdiction, no other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has done so even though most are members of the Original jurisdiction.

The CCJ also serves as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15 member regional integration movement.

In the November 2016 referendum, Grenadians voted against accepting the CCJ as their final court by a margin of 12, 434 to 9,492 votes.

The CCJ was among several other measures that the voters rejected, including the mandatory appointment of an Opposition Leader and a term limit for prime ministers.

Mitchell said then that he regretted the defeat for the CCJ, noting that he should

have done more to encourage voters to accept the CCJ as the island deepens its political independence from Britain.

In his first news conference since winning the March 13 general elections, Mitchell said that Cabinet had agreed on re-starting the debate on Grenada joining the CCJ because it’s an important regional institution impacting on the lives people in the region.

He told reporters that the

2016 referendum had too many bills and this might have confused the voter.

Mitchell said that a chairman for the committee is yet to be decided on but at present the process is being spearheaded by the Attorney General Dr Lawrence Joseph. The former committee was headed by constitutional lawyer and former attorney general, Dr Francis Alexis.(CMC)

6

Editorial

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

Harnessing our human capital WITH approximately twothirds of its population being 40 years and under, Guyana has a wealth of human capital to tap into and propel the nation’s growth and development.

Harnessing our human capital for production and productivity requires having policies and programmes that can be accessed by all across the country. Failure of previous governments to implement a National Development Policy that includes programmes for the youth continues to adversely impact the people and country’s development.

Present programmes such as the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and a promised National Youth Policy are

laudable and deserve to be expanded through learning and benefiting from the past, looking at the opportunities presented in the world today, thinking big, and acting outside the box.

Guyana has vast forest.

It should not only be seen as offering eco-tourism and economic opportunities for foreign businesses, but to be policed, peopled, and developed for the benefit of the people. The young can be tapped in to meet these goals. The forest creates work opportunities for those who are willing and able to work. The presence of a legitimate workforce protects our land from drug trafficking, destruction of the forest, and illegal entry.

The threat to our borders can

be managed by creating opportunities for the young to solidify our boundaries, such as effective border patrol.

In order for Guyana to be competitive and relevant in the 21st century, we need to prepare our youth to get caught up, starting now; or we can fall way behind in comparison to other countries. The best way of doing this is investing in our people, which means that we need to invest in the current and upcoming generations.

The youth remain our best and greatest resource. Their potential is limitless because they are more informed and more educated, but need guidance and a sense of purpose. It is at this stage in human growth that people are very optimistic, progres-

sive, and have limitless energy. Also, with the inherent less emotional attachment to a specific means -- job or career -- they tend to take greater risks and are also more entrepreneurially-minded.

There are, in the world, more millionaires and billionaires under 30 years old than ever in human history.

We are in the technological age, which allows the individual to flourish; unlike the industrial era, which allowed for industries and companies to flourish. In the information age, we have an exponential increase of access to wealth and information; there are no boundaries, borders or time limits to making money. The young generation is brought up and

built for this age.

Guyana has the resources and land space to be a rich country, which requires focus with the aim of living up to our potential of being the breadbasket of the Caribbean. We have everything that we need, but what we need to do is invest in the raw talent that is being left idle or underutilized and exported to countries, to aid the development of other lands.

People are never too young to learn. The more persons are deprived of mentorship and leadership opportunities, the more errors we will have, given that that generation will be ill-equipped to govern.

If this generation of

leadership does not allow the next generation to develop in the ranks of leadership, our country will have a void of leadership in the next generation. The consequences borne from not being given opportunities to develop in the leadership rank will mean that, with the lack, the young will suffer in terms of preparation for what the future holds for them-when the time comes, persons would be incapable of performing. Mentorship to take over leadership means preparation to lead, and this reduces the chances of leadership being placed in bad hands.

Some pointers to tackle corruption Dear Editor, FOR quite some time there has been constant public discourse and accusations about bribery and other corrupt practices taking place at some of the entities that make up the public sector.

It would be safe to point out that corruption is a problem all over the world and not only at the Public Sector level but at the Private Sector, the International inter-governmental organization, the international development organization and the non- governmental organization levels.

Research has shown that the following industries rank very high on the Corruption Indexes as per the United Nations Classification. #1. Extractive re: mining, Oil and Gas. #2. Construction re: in-

frastructure projects that are awarded via a bidding process or single sourced. #3. Transportation and Storage re: at the enforcement level and # 4. Information and Communication re: suppression of or access to, information is money and acting on non-public information.

In this general statement, I would like to highlight by a brief rough note item#1, because of its current status in our country re: the extractive industry; the industry covers mining (gold, diamonds and other minerals) and the drilling etc etc for the winning of Oil and Gas. It is a historical and current perception that because of the nature of the business, it lends itself to corruption.

Companies (local and international ) search for valuable deposits all over the world and they then set out

getting the permits from various governments and officials at the national, regional and local levels to explore and develop the deposits or blocks; the officials at the various levels can make the getting of the deposits or blocks more or less difficult.

Research has shown that whenever it becomes difficult to obtain the permission, a number of companies (local and international) seeking to obtain the permission may choose to pay bribes in order to access the deposits or blocks. There is also a feeling that the bribes paid would turn out to be only a small fraction of the expected profits and hence it makes economic sense to do it.

Please note that the opportunity to pay bribes also presents itself at the activity of extraction.

In addition to the discourse and accusations about

bribery and other corrupt practices, there is a very strong feeling in some quarters (local and international) that there are significant gaps in the management of corruption risks (bribery/ corruption, etc, etc ) and this situation has existed at the public sector and other levels because there is a lack at most entities of an anti- bribery / anti-corruption policy ( AB/AC ) and its companion, an Anti- Corruption Compliance Program (AACP).

In any well-regulated society, it is a generally accepted principle that the policy makers, the board of directors and the senior management of the entity are responsible for the design of an anti-bribery /anti-corruption (AB/AC) policy and it's companion, an Anti- Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP) and for conveying a very strong message that

corruption will not be tolerated.

There are a number of entities that make up the public sector, a great percentage of these entities provides valued ($) services to companies, etc ( local and international ) that operate in those industries that rank very high on the corruption indexes and in order to give these entities a chance to put in place systems to manage its corruption risks, I would like to suggest that the policy makers, the board of directors and the senior managers set about to consider and do the following. #1. The design and implementation of an AntiBribery / Anti- Corruption Policy (AB/AC ) which should outline acceptable and non- acceptable behavior and it shall be based upon the requirements of our local laws ( Integrity Commission

Act ; Fiscal Management and Accountability Act ; the Audit Act and the Criminal Law Enforcement Act ); The USA Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ( FCPA ); The UK Bribery Act 2010 (UKBA); The Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development (OECD ) " Good practice guidance on internal controls, ethics and compliance "and Canada's Corruption and Foreign Public Officials Act ( CFPOA ).

The Laws emanating from (FCPA, UKBA, OECD and CFPOA) are extensively used by organizations (governmental and non-Governmental ) throughout the world as standards for the development of their AntiBribery /Anti-Corruption Policies ( AB/AC) # 2. Design and put in place an AntiTurn to page 7

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

7

Sea sluice at Bush Lot, WCB, being resuscitated

By Clifford Stanley THE resuscitation of a sea sluice at Bush Lot Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB) at a cost of $15M, is on schedule.

This sluice will add to the capacity of the drainage infrastructure in WCB to discharge floodwaters in vulnerable areas

in that part of the coast, a National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) official said.

It is the fourth sea sluice from the colonial era to be resuscitated by the NDIA from last year to date.

Discharge sluices at Nos.28 and #29 Villages and Golden Grove /Lovely Lass Villages

in the heart of the flood-prone area known as GLUTT, were completed and commissioned last year.

A third sluice, resuscitated at No.12 village, was not commissioned, but will be operationalised in time for the expected May-June rains.

Bids for the sluice at Bush

Lot were requested by the Ministry of Agriculture for the supply, delivery and testing of hand-operated winches.

A reliable source disclosed that labour for the resuscitation of the Bush Lot sea sluice will be carried out by the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/

Political witch-hunting and frivolous charges

Dear Editor,

IT appears that Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo is in a world all by himself. I came to this conclusion while watching local television news this week. I heard Mr. Jagdeo alleging political witch-hunting against the leadership of his party.

To be fully transparent, I am an avowed supporter of the Coalition, so it is no surprise that I am able to quickly and contextually recall some of the massive problems the PPP has left the current administration with

and by extension, Guyanese taxpayers.

I recall the CCJ’s judgement in favour of SM Jaleel and Company, which I learned, owns Guyana Beverage Inc. This current government was recently ordered by the CCJ to pay this company more than six million American dollars for an unfair environmental tax that the PPP had imposed on it during its time.

The fiasco with lands owned by Toolise Persaud Limited, but taken away again by the PPP and sold to Movie Towne Theaters

on the lower east coast, is also yet another disaster that this administration has to correct--a massive holdover from the PPP. The Guyana courts have ordered the cabinet to pay Mr. Persaud more than a billion Guyana dollars for that wicked deed by Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP to illegally take away the lands and give to the party’s friends at Movie Towne.

As Minister Harmon has said, the PPP has left the Coalition in some very dark holes and as time goes by, taxpayers will learn more about what is in these deep,

dark holes.

My mind immediately runs to SARA and Mr. Clive Thomas. As it continues to investigate past misdeeds, additional problems of this nature, having to do with state assets, will surface. And Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP leadership will again allege that they are being charged frivolously, harassed and witch-hunted.

I am confident that time will determine which concept is correct.

Some pointers to ...

Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP). In order for this to be done, one should evaluate the corruption risks of the entity. This is essential because an effective compliance program should be tailored to the entity's specific activities and risks associated with those activities; to evaluate the corruption risks a corruption risk assessment should be undertaken; the identification and analysis of risks through a risk assessment activity adds both efficiency and creditability to an organisation’s program. In addition, it is felt that if it is done professionally and properly, that the findings could be used to allocate scarce resources to the most urgent risks. The guidance for designing the Anti- Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP ) should come from the corruption risks assessment and the broader Anti- Bribery / Anti- Corruption Policy (AB/ AC).

The compliance program should be part of the entity's overall internal control system. The internal control system should cover accounting procedures; transactions review and approval; controls around bank accounts; approval of vendors; tendering ,evaluation and awards; procurement and the payment process; There should also be increased focus and scrutiny

on the high corruption risks areas ( divisions, departments and sections ).

The internal control system should include a mechanism for employees and the public to report actual or suspected misconduct or violations of the Anti-Bribery/ Anti- Corruption Policy (AB/ AC) . This should be done on a confidential basis without fear of retaliation. These reports should be handled appropriately and should include formal written standard statements. They should be lodged into a reporting system, assigned, investigated, closed and reported to the head of the entity--the policy makers and the board of directors re: ( whistle blowing system/ whistle blowing laws) To facilitate the work and examination of the internal control system, the entity should have an internal auditing section staffed with qualified internal auditors, accountants, etc. The internal auditors, accountants, etc, would have to be trained in certain particulars of the local laws as per Integrity Commission Act ; Fiscal Management and Accountability Act ; The Audit Act and The Criminal Law Enforcement Act ) . They would also have to be familiar with and have a sound working knowledge of the USA Foreign Cor-

rupt Practices Act ( FCPA); the UK Bribery Act 2010 ( UKBA ); the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) " Good practice guidance on internal controls, ethics and compliance" and Canada's Corruption and Foreign Public Officials Act ( CFPOA ) It is expected that the entity would have a legal department or have the ability to buy in legal services because the application of laws, etc, would be an integral part of testing the compliance of various elements of the compliance programme.

In addition to the training of the internal auditors, etc, it is essential for all policy makers, directors, managers, senior officers and employees to receive training on the elements and the intended workings and application of the Anti-Bribery / Anti-Corruption Policy (AB /AC).

All managers and officers engaged in high-corruption risks areas (divisions, departments and sections) should receive dedicated and focused training on compliance as it relates to Anti- Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP).

As part of the Internal Control System, the entity should design and put into place a Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct should reference the Anti-Bribery /

Regards Earl Hamilton

ADA) using local labour with funds provided by the NDIA. The official disclosed that the two sea sluices recommissioned in WCB last year in addition to the one previously existing at #28 and 29, had performed exceedingly well during the rainy season of November/ December 2017.

He added that the introduction of the resuscitated sluice at Bush Lot will reduce the probability of flooding in areas in WCB during the upcoming May/June rainy season and beyond. PIX: A recently resuscitated sea sluice between Nos. 28 and 29 Villages, WCB.

GUYOIL will not discuss Whaul’s departure from company in the press Dear Editor, THE Guyana Oil Company Ltd (GUYOIL) has noted articles in the press on subject of the former Marketing and Sales Manager of GUYOIL, Eric Whaul’s departure from thecompany.

Please be advised that this is an internal matter and any issues will not be resolved in the press. If Mr. Whaul feels aggrieved, he has avenues available to him through which he can seek redress.

Mark Bender, Chairman, Board of Directors, GUYOIL

From Page 6►

Anti-Corruption Policy (AB/ AC) and the Anti-Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP). The Code of Conduct should apply to all employees, directors, contract employees and private contractors who provide services to the entity Since the Code of Conduct references the Anti- Bribery/Anti- Corruption Policy (AB/AC) and the Anti-Corruption Compliance Program( ACCP) they should be included and defined in the Code the following: (A). Bribery, Corruption, Kickback.

(B). Facilitation Payments.

(C). Conflict of Interest.

(D). The Protection, Care and Use of the Entity's Assets.

(E). The Treatment of Confidential Information.

(F). The Giving and Acceptance of Gifts, Entertainment and other Favours and (G). The Use of Computers and other Electronic Resources to commit crime.

The Code of Conduct should address the question of violations of the standards as set out in the Code and should have clear guidelines for appropriate discipline of such violation.

There should be periodic statutory internal auditing of the internal financial controls and other control systems.

These statutory audits are

very important because they are intended to test the compliance of activities with various elements of the compliance program and also to uncover new corruption risks that might have been overlooked or would have developed since the last risks assessment.

The communication of the Anti- Bribery / Anti- Corruption Policy (AB/AC ) and the Anti-Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP) to all employees and the public is an important internal control activity because it assists with enhancing awareness and understanding of the policy and the program. It is felt that in making the information available, it would assist in more effective monitoring.

As a general rule, the policy and programme are of no use unless they are effectively communicated and accessible throughout the entity and the wider community ( local and international ).

In a nut shell, what I have attempted to do is to outline some of the necessary activities that the policy makers, the board of directors, the senior officers and managers must consider if they want to put in place systems to manage its entity corruption risks.

In our country, I believe that we have a number of entities in the public sector that provide services that are high in

dollar value to companies ( local and international) that operate in industries that rank very high on the Corruption Indexes and we must therefore try to manage the corruption risks associated with the provision of services.

If the policy makers, the board of directors, the senior officers and managers are desirous of developing and putting into place at their entity an Anti- Bribery/Anti-Corruption Policy ( AB/ AC) and it's companion--an Anti-Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP)--and they do not have the in-house expertise, then I would suggest that they go out and hire in the services; I believe that some of entities may be able to obtain funding from an international development organization to undertake such a project Finally, I hope that this letter generates discussions as to how the policy makers, the board of directors, the senior officers and managers would go about evaluating their entities corruption risks and developing and implementing an Anti-Bribery/ Anti-Corruption Policy (AB/ AC) and its companion--an Anti-Corruption Compliance Program (ACCP ).

Regards Dunstan Barrow AA; MBA (Hons); BSc (Hons)

8

Op-Ed:

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

Protecting intellectual property …incentivising economic growth, creativity, and progress

By United States Ambassador Perry L Holloway EVERY year on April 26, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day to learn about the role that patents, trademarks, and copyright play in promoting innovation, creativity and progress. As we celebrate this year under the worldwide theme, “Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity,” we recognise the ingenuity of women around the world, who are bravely using their ideas, designs, and products to shape a brighter future for us all.

Our recent event on the role of copyright protection in promoting local content and business development in

Guyana reflected that theme, from an opening speech by Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes to the inclusion of remarkable women artists that added a wealth of depth to our panel and audience.

Through their voices and the insight of all our panellists, we came to one conclusion: to honour content creators around the world, we must consider how we can protect their work from theft. Only this will ensure they receive the credit and financial reward to enable them to keep using their creative talents to better themselves, to better their craft, to better Guyana, and ultimately to better the world.

The protection of the creativity and hard work of

writers, artists, musicians, and others makes prosperity and progress possible. During my time as U.S. Ambassador to the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana, I have seen first-hand that Guyanese are hardworking, intelligent, and resourceful. The ingenuity and ability of Guyana’s artists and entrepreneurs are daily proof of it.

I consider them and their creations as part of the social fabric and cultural patrimony of Guyana, highlighting the true extent of this country’s wealth beyond its already vast natural resources. As representatives of Guyana’s country brand domestically and overseas, writers, artists, film-makers, fashion and textile designers, mobile and web application coders and

creators, and inventors in all sectors send a strong signal to the rest of the world about Guyana’s values, traditions, and knowledge. Protecting their creations and their intellectual property rights (IPR), is the right thing to do.

It’s not just individuals who benefit. Research shows that robust legislation to protect IPR encourages the development of the arts and breeds innovation in science and technology.

Many people assume protecting people’s IPR only helps high-income countries, where companies spend large amounts on research and development (R&D).

However, economists have learned that improving patent, trademark, and copyright protection helps

economic development in countries at all economic levels. This is because a strong IPR framework aids open trade, which in turn creates greater trust between trading partners, helping to increase economic prosperity. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s international index found a strong link between robust IPR protection and increased technology transfers and exchanges, access to foreign direct investment, and employment. Even countries without large – or even visible – R&D sectors benefit from a strong IPR regulatory framework, because it gives them more access to new partnerships, technology, and knowledge. As

the Government of Guyana prepares to take up the pen on copyright legislation, I commend the ministers, advocates, and content creators that have been and will continue to champion an improved framework of IPR protections in the country. They are the visionaries that see, today, how legislation, treaties, and outreach will ultimately benefit the people and the economy. Today, on World Intellectual Property Day, I salute them and encourage all of us to support local content creators – from artists to inventors to software engineers–by purchasing their work through legal means and by applauding those advocating for change.

High court sets aside $179M arbitration award against state AN arbitration award against the state through the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) totalling $179M to Falcon Transportation and Construction Services (applicant) owned by Azad Meerza of Meten-MeerZorg, was on April 20, 2018, set aside by High Court Judge Navindra Singh.

Justice Singh ruled that the arbitration award made in 2017 was improperly procured, having been determined by an improperly formed or appointed arbitration in contravention of the Arbitration Act Chapter 7:03 of the Laws of Guyana.

Meerza under his trading name Falcon Transportation and Construction Services, had entered into a contract in 2009 with the MoA (respondent) to perform construction works stipulated.

The contract provided for the settlement of disputes by an adjudicator and stated that in the event the adjudicator’s decision was not accepted by both parties to the contract, then the dispute ought to be settled by arbitration.

In 2011, a dispute arose

between the parties and the adjudication process was employed, but the MoA did not accept the decision of the adjudicator. As a result, the parties agreed to have the disputes settled by arbitration and an arbitration tribunal was appointed on March 28, 2013 by agreement. That tribunal which consisted of Chairman George Howard and members Paul Sarran and Clairmont Marshall, proceeded to examine evidence, but before a decision was made, Howard resigned on October 10, 2014.

After his resignation, Falcon Transportation objected to Sarran being a member of the tribunal and on November 25, 2014, Marshall appointed Edward Gonsalves as a member of the tribunal; the MoA did not nominate a replacement. Marshall and Gonsalves proceeded to adjudicate on the claim without further participation from the MoA and awarded the applicant the sum of $176, 285, 299 .55. As a result, Falcon approached the High Court seeking leave of the court to enforce the award as a judg-

ment pursuant to section 13 of the Arbitration Act. That application was refused by Justice Franklyn Holder, who found that the arbitration panel was not properly constituted at the time of making the award.

Falcon Transportation then instituted High Court action, seeking an order of the High Court pursuant to Section 6 of the Arbitration Act to appoint an arbitrator for the respondents, to constitute the full complement of three arbitrators as agreed by the applicant and respondents, which consisted of Marshall and Gonsalves, to consider disputes arising out of a contract executed on August 6, 2009, between Falcon Transportation and the MoA, pursuant to the Agricultural Export Diversification Programme.

Despite the specificity of the relief sought on April 12, 2016, Justice Rishi Persaud had ordered the applicant and respondents to nominate an arbitrator of their choice and that the arbitrators present themselves on April 22, 2016, with a view to nom-

inate a third arbitrator or court-appointed arbitrator.

The said day, Falcon Transportation presented Edward Gonsalves and after further hearings, the court appointed Leon Rutherford as the second arbitrator in default of the respondent presenting a nominee.

Gonsalves and Rutherford then met and appointed Maurice Veecock as the third arbitrator and chairman of the board of arbitrators and that tribunal proceeded to consider the claims of the applicant and awarded the sum of $179, 946, 850 in February 2017. Thereafter, the applicant applied to the court for leave to enforce the award as a judgment.

The MoA represented by the Collene Liverpool and Utieka John of the Attorney General’s Chambers, argued that Gonsalves having served on the previous arbitration tribunal which made an award against the respondent, could not properly be considered to be independent and impartial.

The attorneys asked the court to set aside the award

under section 12 of the Arbitration Act CAP 7:03. In considering the facts of the case, Justice Singh noted that Justice Holder having ruled that the arbitration tribunal constituting Marshall and Gonsalves was improperly constituted, by extension invalidated the award made by the tribunal. He noted that in keeping with the contract, the parties to the contract were required to sit and determine whether they were going to again attempt to have the dispute settled by arbitration and in those circumstances proceed to, or at least attempt to appoint another arbitration tribunal.

“However, instead of doing that, the applicant made an illogical and ill-advised application to have the court appoint a third arbitrator to an arbitration tribunal that had already handed down its decision. That application could not legally have been granted, for the obvious reason that arbitration tribunal’s tenure had come to an end.

They ought to have been dismissed,” Justice Singh stated.

The High Court judge

said too that despite the aforementioned, the court continued to entertain the action, as an application to appoint a new arbitration tribunal despite the fact that there was no such application made in the action, nor any evidence that the parties consented in any manner or form to designate the court the appointing authority to appoint an arbitration tribunal. There was no order of the court specifically appointing Edward Gonsalves as an arbitrator.

The judge noted that neither the MoA nor the respondent (State) participated in that process.

“It is noted that the rubric of this action embodies an application for appointment of an arbitrator. In these circumstances, the court finds that the arbitration tribunal that made the award was improperly convened and therefore any award by that tribunal is consequently invalid,” Justice Singh ruled. Falcon Transportation and Construction Services was represented by Gary Ramlochan.

9

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

AG slams PPP ‘deplorable’ attacks on justice sector THE recent attacks by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) directed towards the justice sector and the Caribbean Court of Justice was on Wednesday described as “deplorable”

by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC. The Attorney General was at the time responding to reports by the Opposition that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has been comprised, following the recent dismissal of charges against Ministers Volda Lawrence and Dr. George Norton.

The AG said it is surprising that, “the people who have put Parliament in a state

where it was dysfunctional for a year, who had allowed gangsters to advertise in the newspapers…who have had the greatest killings ever in the history of this region under their watch and if you talk about corruption, they were the leading government for corruption in this hemisphere,” are making such comments.

He expressed confidence that the charges filed against Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson and Minister of Public Service, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine will also be discontinued, since they are unsupported by any investigation. “The DPP has given reasons, that

in the interest of good governance that they didn’t file their complaints or took any evidence to the established investigatory authorities, which will then go to her if it has any merit,” he said.

Minister Williams clarified that it is unnecessary for the government to tender any formal request to the DPP, noting that, “I outlined the powers of the DPP, noting that she had to be proactive.

Why would the DPP have all those powers over all prosecutions in the country?”

The Attorney General noted that it is within the remit of the DPP to also choose to continue or discontinue charges that were not instituted by her office,

“so, no one has to ask her to do that, she should be proactive. I think my admonition to her was to patrol the corridors of justice.”

The recent charges brought against the five government ministers come on the heels of criminal proceedings filed by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) against Former PPP Finance Minister, Ashni Singh and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington for “misconduct in public office: contrary to common law” as it pertains to the sale of three plots of state land. (DPI)

GRA, GPF working to have persons renew vehicle licences …vehicle numbers to be published THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is working along with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to get persons who have motor vehicle licences but have not renewed them for years, to take appropriate action to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02.

Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia told reporters Tuesday that there are about “40,000 vehicles that have not taken out their licences.”

“The truth is, some of them have not taken out their licences since 2012,” he said, noting that the authority has placed advertisements in

the newspapers calling on persons to contact GRA’s Licence Revenue Office.

“What we have done, we have put a notice in the newspaper and we are going to see how the persons are going to respond. We have given those numbers to the police and then we are going to publish those numbers.

We aren’t going to publish names,” Statia said.

In an advertisement placed in the Guyana Chronicle, the revenue authority said that it has observed that there are a number of motor vehicles for which licences have not been renewed for years.

“Motor vehicle own-

Commissioner-General GRA, Godfrey Statia

ers are therefore given an opportunity to present their motor vehicle registration along with their Taxpayer

Identification Number (TIN) to the Motor Vehicle section of the Licence and Revenue Division to have their motor vehicle licence information updated and any outstanding payment settled.”

The authority has also advised that if the motor vehicle has been destroyed or rendered permanently unserviceable, owners must inform the GRA and submit the original registration certificate for cancellation.

“We are working along with the police to get those persons to come in and regularise themselves and that failing, we know what the police should be doing,” the GRA head assured.

Honouring our administrative professionals In Honour of Administrative Professionals Week, management of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited hosted a luncheon for all of its secretaries. In photo, top management of the company, inclusive of General Manager (ag) Mrs Moshami Ramotar (fourth from left and next to her at left) Editor-in-Chief, Nigel Williams pose with the administrative professionals and other managers at the ceremony held in the company’s boardroom (Adrian Narine photo)

Guyana moves up press freedom ranking THE Guyana Press Association in a statement said it notes the elevation of this country on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index by 5 places.

Guyana is now at 55 compared to 60 in 2017. “We welcome this improved ranking with some reservations.

This may seem somewhat of an achievement, but in reality there are still significant hurdles to be crossed before Guyanese can feel that an improved ranking really matters,” the GPA said.

Among the issues the GPA wants to be tackled are: the removal of existing criminal defamation laws in line with globally accepted standards; the deletion of offending sections in the Cybercrime Bill that could result in further entrenchment of criminal defamation; the amendment to the Broadcasting Act to remove direct intervention in the programming schedule of radio and television stations, except in cases of emergencies; political interference in the state-owned and privately-owned media by government and the opposition and the removal of columnists from the state-owned Guyana Chronicle, a situation that appeared not to have bothered government and its professed commitment to

press freedom and freedom of expression.

The GPA said it hopes that the various actors associated with the above-listed observations will take remedial action to further enhance Guyana’s ranking on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index in 2019.

Meanwhile, according to the report, ranked second (but more than 10 points worse than Europe), the Americas contain a wide range of situations.

Violence and impunity continue to feed fear and self-censorship in Central America. Mexico (147th) became the world’s second deadliest country for journalists in 2017, with 11 killed. Thanks to President Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian excesses, Venezuela (143rd) dropped six places, the region’s biggest fall. On the other hand, Ecuador (92nd) jumped 13 places, the hemisphere’s greatest rise, because tension between the authorities and privately-owned media abated. In North America, Donald Trump’s USA slipped another two places while Justin Trudeau’s Canada rose four and entered the top 20 at 18th place, a level where the situation is classified as “fairly good.”

Scotiabank and PROPEL Project donate books to the GSA The Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) is strengthening its capacity to deliver a number of courses with a recent donation of several critical text books valued at CD$2, 153.

Scotiabank and the Government of Canada funded and WUSC Caribbean (Guyana) Inc. implemented PROPEL project (Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages) presented the texts last Friday to GSA during a simple ceremony held at the school in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

The initiative will aid GSA to pioneer the establishment of an Agribusiness Incubation Centre that maximizes the success quotient of start-up enterprises by offering them best opportunities with minimum risks. Agribusiness incubation represents a new resource to promote enterprise development in agriculture and facilitate business among agri-preneurs.

This will promote young entrepreneurs in agribusiness through skills and services based opportunities (shared facilities and equipment, business development, technology, finance, mentoring and networking).

Marissa Lowden, WUSC Caribbean (Guyana) Inc.’s

Country Coordinator noted, “We are happy to collaborate with Scotiabank and the Guyana School of Agriculture on this capacity building initiative which will help to accelerate the learning process of the school and contribute to the establishment of the Agribusiness Incubation Centre.” “With the PROPEL project in its final year of implementation, it is commendable to see private sector lending the much needed support to these educational institutions, and it is anticipated that this partnership will continue even after the end of PROPEL.” GSA Principal Dr. Dindyal Permaul thanked Scotiabank for the timely donation, noting that it was encouraging to see the Bank expanding its support to education in the agriculture sector. Scotiabank Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani indicated that the Bank is willing to partner with reputable organisations on projects that benefit youths in the areas of education, health and social well-being.

She noted that this donation is just the beginning of the partnership with PROPEL and the GSA and the Bank will be exploring other options to support the GSA’s programmes.

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Wales woman strangled by partner

By Leroy Smith AFTER years of alleged abuse by her reputed husband of four years, 42-yearold Dianne Hernandez was strangled by the “quiet” man early on Wednesday morning.

It is alleged that the suspect, 39-year-old Nigel Glasgow, strangled the woman during an argument and later attempted to take his own life by slitting his throat.

There were no other marks

Dianne Hernandez

of violence on the woman’s body.

Detectives found the body of the woman lying in the man’s one-bedroom house located at Humphrey Street, Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The man, who works at an abattoir, also killed three dogs which he owns.

Persons in the area related that Glasgow, after strangling the woman, stormed out of the house in a rage and killed the dogs before attempting to torch the home of a woman

who lives next door. Reports are that the neighbour was a friend of Hernandez and for reasons unknown, Glasgow was of the view that the woman knew things about his reputed wife and did not share such information with him.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that the argument between the couple began sometime around 03:00hrs on Wednesday. The couple was spotted entering the house on Tuesday afternoon and everything seemed quiet. According to reports, Hernandez had been enduring constant abuse at the hands of her reputed

The house where the incident occurred

Inside, the home of the couple appeared ransacked

husband but not many persons were aware, since it was being done silently and the man, who is described as being very reserved and quiet, never appeared to have relationship issues.

Persons close to the couple however were aware of what was happening, but it is unclear if anyone had tried to offer the duo any help. One woman related that at one point, the man had informed the woman that she should move on with her life, however, she reluctantly stayed. Persons at the scene related that the woman was in love with the man and found it hard to leave the abusive relationship, although the man was willing to let her go.

During a visit to the house before sunrise on Wednesday morning, the Guyana Chronicle observed that the house was ransacked and blood stains were evident on the mattress which the couple shared. From all indications, it appears that there was a struggle and evidence of a fight in the couple’s bedroom.

After committing the act and killing the dogs, the man reportedly retreated to the house and attempted to lock himself inside. However, that was thwarted by the police who were patrolling in the area and were alerted to the de-

Curious onlookers gathered at the scene of the murder

velopment at the couple’s home. It was at that point that the suspect attempted to slit his throat, but was prevented from doing so.

Reports are that during the commotion inside the couple’s home, Glasgow telephoned the mother of his two children from a previous relationship and asked her to take care of herself and the children. The woman became suspicious and immediately left her home and raced down to the location where she encountered the murder scene.

The police confirmed that Glasgow is not in a critical state and that he was receiving medical attention under guard at a public health facility.

Hernandez is the third woman to have been killed at the hands of a partner over the past month.

On Saturday, March 31, travel agent Reona Payne, a mother of three, was killed by her reputed husband for-

mer army Captain Orwain Sandy, who pumped several bullets into the woman at First Street, Alexander Village, Georgetown. He has since been remanded to prison for the offence. The matter was further adjourned to May 2, 2018, when it is expected that a psychiatric evaluation would have been completed and a report compiled.

Last Thursday, Darmattie Persaud, 23, also known as ‘Kalvina’, a housewife of Belmont, Mahaica, was fatally stabbed by her reputed husband who later committed suicide. A few weeks prior to the incident the couple, who bore two young children, had a misunderstanding and after being abused by the man, Persaud decided to move out and leave her children and their father behind.

She was killed after the man telephoned her and asked her to collect the children.

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Over 9,000 gallons of illegal fuel seized – reminds all licence-holders of timely in first quarter – GEA renewal of requisite documentation IN the first quarter of 2018, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) visited 3,191 sites and collected 8,339 fuel samples and seven discoveries of illegal fuel were recorded, with over 9,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel seized.

This, the agency noted, is an achievement of 22 per cent and 24 per cent respectively for its annual target.

Additionally, the GEA noted that there have been two convictions so far and three matters are ongoing before the court.

According to Public Communications Officer Taiwo Williams, in 2017 GEA’s inspectors visited 12,882 sites and collected 33,891 samples, which resulted in 29 discoveries of illegal fuel and the seizure of over 11,000 gallons of illegal gasoline and diesel.

She said this was supported by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard (GDFCG) and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs.

It should be noted, Williams said, that the percentage of sites found with significant dilution in at least one tank continues to be no more than three per cent since 2010, with two per cent being recorded in 2017.

Apart from Georgetown, it was noted that the GEA continues to operate out of bases on the Essequibo Coast, Bartica and Linden.

Further, routine and intelligence-based operations continue to be done in various areas across the country as needed.

For 2017, the GEA recorded six convictions.

Compensation was accepted

from four individuals under GEA’s legislation in the sum of $1,237,000.

The communications officer wishes to remind all licence-holders in the business of transporting, storing, retailing, wholesaling or importing petroleum and petroleum products of their licensing obligations under the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Regulations 2014 and requirements for timely renewal, through submission of requisite documentation.

Further, she said that the obligation of conformity through the licensing process supports the GEA’s rigid stance in stamping out fuel-smuggling through proper monitoring, enforcement and compliance.

Adding that the Legal & Licensing Division of the GEA serves to execute a primary function of the agen-

Bankers’ association lauds move to national payment system THE Guyana Association of Bankers (GAB) has commended the Bank of Guyana (BoG) for its efforts towards the improvement and modernisation of the country’s National Payment System Development Plan.

This was communicated through a press release whereby the GAB acknowledged that upon completion, the new system would allow efficient, safe and sound means for the transfer of funds between participating entities.

The plan, being spearheaded by the BoG, will tackle the state’s current

challenges in the areas of electronic payment systems; infrastructure; legal and regulatory frameworks and more.

It was launched earlier this month by Minister of Finance Winston Jordon during a press conference.

The release stated: “The Guyana Association of Bankers embraces and supports this initiative, which will benefit all users of the financial system.”

Recent efforts by this newspaper to determine the public’s expectation of this plan resulted in several citizens indicating their interest in the reformation of the

remittance market.

This would see them receiving money sent by relatives and friends through much safer and fasters means.

The BoG intends to pass a National Payment System Act with supporting legislation in the National Assembly, which will additionally seek to address issues of the legality of electronic signatures for e-payment.

The plan is set to be fully implanted by the year 2030, while a 20172021 medium-term action plan will serve as the first phase towards this realisation.

Jumped fence and stole carpet LEONARD Shaw, 30, appeared on Wednesday before Magistrate Fabayo Azore on a simple larceny charge – that of stealing one carpet valued at $25,000.

According to the report given in court by the prosecutor, on April 24, 2018, the defendant jumped the virtual complaint’s fence and stole the black carpet. When he was arrested he was found with the carpet in his possession.

The man, who resides at

Lenard Saw

Carmichael Street, pleaded guilty to the charge.

The magistrate asked him if there was anything he wanted to say to the court before being sentenced. Williams told the court: “I glad if I can be set free.”

The magistrate took into consideration that he hadn’t wasted the court’s time and he was fined $25,000 or he would have to serve three months in prison.

cy through ‘monitoring the performance of the energy sector in Guyana, including the production, importation, distribution and utilisation of petroleum and petroleum products’ (s. 5(2)(c) GEA Act cap 56:05), Williams said this is further regulated and guided by the provisions of the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Regulations 2014, permitting the issuance of licences of the various categories.

These categories include: import, wholesale, retail, bulk transportation carrier, storage, export and consumer installation. This also surrounds site and vehicle inspections to ensure safety and environmental compliance.

GEA publishes annually in the Gazette, a list of all licences issued in accordance with the Petroleum and Petroleum Products Regulations. These numbers and licence holders are therefore a matter of public record.

These licences are re-

quired for the conduct of different types of activities concerning petroleum and petroleum products. Petroleum and petroleum products include diesel, gasoline, kerosene, aviation fuel, lubricants and LPG. At December 31, 2017, the following summarises the various classes of valid licences:13 Import and Importing Wholesale Licences for importation of “fuels” that is; diesel, gasoline, kerosene, and aviation fuel and 22 Import and Importing Wholesale Licences issued for the importation of either lubricants and/or LPG only. The agency noted that persons with information relating to fuel-smuggling and possession of illegal fuel can contact the agency at 226-0394 or 629 3391 to assist its efforts in combating smuggling.

On Tuesday, Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia, said that fuel-smuggling

continues to be a problem despite efforts to thwart it.

He blamed the challenges faced by his entity on the lack of sufficient resources, given the number of persons granted fuel import licences by the GEA. He alluded to a Memorandum of Understanding between the two entities to work together. “There is no use the GEA grants an import licence and GRA doesn’t know or things are not in place for us to actually check the fuel,” Statia said, pointing to the fact that fuel exempted from taxes and destined for Mabaruma and other hinterland locations have found its way into Georgetown and some parts of the Essequibo. “We have to be extremely vigilant. It will always happen as long as there is cheap fuel at our border regions…people will always try to buy that cheap fuel and try to bring it into the country,” Statia noted.

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Sexual offences forum seeks to change narrative about gender roles MEMBERS of the public and other organisations, through an awareness and action forum, were sensitised on sexual misconduct in institutions and how each individual can increase the fight against such occurrences.

The Ministry of Social Protection in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the University of Guyana (UG) organised the forum, which took place at the Pegasus Hotel on Monday under the theme, ‘Respect Due: Voices against Sexual Misconduct in Institutions’.

Members of the diplomatic corps, the public, government and non-government organisations were all in attendance.

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a real and widespread issue, as well as a broad and ambiguous subject which research shows is under-reported in Guyana.

This is according to Gender Specialist at the Gender Affairs Bureau, Adel Lilly, who told the audience that Guyana’s interpretation of gender roles continues to affect the way many see sexual misconduct in the society.

“Persons still see it as a means of saying ‘a man must be a man and a woman must be a woman’. But we must address those stereotypes, we must address those cultural norms and understand that everyone must have his or her space and feel free to operate…without being harassed,” he said.

He stated that silence does not translate into consent and all employees have the right to report incidents of sexual misconduct and the obligation to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner, according to established rules.

“The Ministry of Social Protection and by extension the Government of Guyana, takes all allegations of sexual harassment seriously and is committed to providing information, resources and a clear direction to all members of society, so together we can address and end this misconduct,” Lilly said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Guyana, Paolo Marchi, said that UNICEF continues to work along with

The panellists from left are: Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire; Gender Specialist at the Gender Affairs Bureau, Adel Lilly; Neuropsychologist and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of the West Indies, Katija Khan and Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ann Greene (Photo by Delano Williams)

the government for the drafting of important policies that protect such individuals.

These policies being drafted will help to ensure effective gatekeeping and family-based care for children, resulting in smaller numbers in orphanages.

Marchi highlighted studies which showed that children in orphanages are more vulnerable to acts of sexual misconduct and need the support of the public and all forms of institutions and organisations.

“It is not just up to the ministries or universities… we all share the responsibility... we really need to ensure that in our workplace, in our families, in our communities, sexual misconduct and abuse are not tolerated and are condemned,” he said.

Following these opening remarks, professional actors from the Theatre Guild portrayed various scenarios on sexual harassment and vulnerabilities in institutions.

The enactments took on sexual abuse and misconduct in orphanages, schools, homes and late-night institutions such as hotels, hospitals and security services.

Discussions followed each of the performances through four panelists, which included: Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire; Gender Specialist at the Gender Affairs Bureau, Adel Lilly; Neuropsychologist and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of the West Indies, Katija Khan and Director of the Child

There were also discussions on women in those cases who are later sent to prison only to face similar acts of sexual harassment.

George-Wiltshire acknowledged that both topics are difficult ones which can affect both men and women; and the common mentality that rape or sexual assault in prison is a suitable repercussion for wrongdoing, should be shunned.

The chief justice (ag) said that prisoners and guards should be made aware of the places and persons they can go to for help in such cases.

She said that through synergies of interrelated agencies, including the prison service and the government, should facilitate the reporting of these occur-

Members of the audience listen to the tell-tale signs of sexual harassment (Photo by Delano Williams)

Care Protection Agency, Ann Greene.

The panellists noted that sexual misconduct can occur in the workplace through a boss who uses his or her authority for manipulation and sexual advances, in return for favours and inappropriate comments and requests.

According to Chief Justice George-Wiltshire, sexual harassment can sometimes be subtle and as such, one must be fully aware of what constitutes the behaviour and how to spot it.

“This is something we have to educate employees about, that sexual harassment can come in any shape or form and it does not have to be a frontal, brutal, attack on a person,” she said.

As such, Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ann Greene, stated that there must be policies in place in the workplace which govern the way employees conduct themselves.

Topical discussions

also arose on the ‘battered-wife-syndrome’, whereby women kill violent partners in response to cumulative abuse.

rences.

When it comes to the involvement of children in situations of sexual miscon-

duct, the panellists identified that they can be coerced or forced into sexual activities by guilt trip, shaming and threatening.

Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Katija Khan, told the audience that the Caribbean is replete with stories of sexual harassment and rape and it is time to change the way we teach children to protect themselves.

“Stop forcing children to kiss and hug strangers, grown-ups and relatives.

When we do that we rob children of their agency and their ability to consent.

“We need to start investigating about calling strangers ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’ too because ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’ is a term [sic] of endearment for family members, people who you trust. But when we start calling everybody ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’, not everybody is going to treat you [likewise],” she explained Meanwhile, Greene addressed cases where some children, after reporting acts of sexual abuse to guardians, are beaten and taken back to the abuser because of the guardians’ disbelief.

“You have to readily believe the child…we have found that children, it’s difficult for them to tell a lie, particularly on people that they trust,” she told.

In addition, Lilly commented that there ought to be child-protection policies which govern the way detention is handled in schools with regard to which individuals are expected to be present.

Security guard accused of ‘falling down on the job’ A security guard on Wednesday appeared before a city magistrate on a simple larceny charge It was alleged that on April 20, 2018 at Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Shaquan Williams while being employed at Neil and Massy, stole $4,390, property of the

company.

The 28-year-old man who resides at Mocha pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Bail was granted by Magistrate Fabayo Azore in the sum of $100,000 and the matter was adjourned to April 30, 2018.

Shawn accused of stealing female clothing SHAWN Burch appeared on Wednesday before Magistrate Fabayo Azore on a simple larceny charge.

It was alleged that on April 23, 2018, at Oronoque Street, Queenstown, Georgetown, Burch stole a quantity of female clothing worth $20,000 and one table

worth $11,000, all being the property of Marcel Yandair. The 35-year-old man who resides at Princes Street denied the charge.

Bail was granted by the magistrate in the sum of $10,000 and the matter was transferred to another court.

13

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

DPP nixes second set of PPP charges THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, has discontinued private criminal charges instituted against Ministers of Finance, Public Infrastructure and Public Service, Winston Jordan, David Patterson and Dr Rupert Roopnaraine respectively, for the offence of Misconduct in Public Office, contrary to the Common Law. The DPP in letters dated April 23, 2018 and addressed to Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and copied to People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Member of Parliament(MP) Juan Edghill said, “in pursuance of the functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions vested in article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Guyana, I hereby inform you that the charge [s] instituted shall not continue against Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine (Winston Jordan and David Patterson) for the offence of Misconduct in Public Office, contrary to the Common Law.”

On Monday, three charges were filed against Minsters of Finance, Public Infrastructure and Public Service, Winston Jordan, David Patterson and Dr Rupert Roopnaraine. Jordan and Patterson were accused of “wilfully misconducting themselves in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification,” when they paid or authorised to be paid the sum of $906,000,000 to Homestretch Development Incorporated and contractors engaged by the said company for works done at Durban Jubilee Park without any procurement process.

On the other hand, Dr. Roopnaraine was accused of wilfully misconducting himself in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification by acting as a Director of Homestretch Development Incorporated, when the said company received $906M for works done at Durban Park. On Monday, too, the DPP dis-

Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack

continued private criminal charges for the offence of Misconduct in Public Office, contrary to the Common Law instituted against Ministers of Public Health and Social Cohesion, Volda Lawrence and Dr. George Norton, respectively.

In a statement to the media, the DPP said the charges ought to have been reported to the police first for an investigation to be launched,

First Lady meets with ‘She Leads It’ Co-Founder – discusses the future of women in ICT First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger, on Wednesday met with Co-Founder of “She Leads It”, Ms. Nicole Pitter Patterson, to discuss building opportunities for women in the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as well as identifying areas of possible collaboration.

‘She Leads It’ is a social enterprise that focuses primarily on empowering women and young girls, particularly in the areas of business and ICT, globally. The meeting was held at the First Lady’s State House office.

Ms. Pitter Patterson, in an invited comment, explained that her organisation is interested in exploring the initiatives that the First Lady is currently spearheading in the area of girls in technology. Highlighting the significance of women in the ICT field, she said that “Girls in ICT is so important because it is well established and indicated that one in four jobs over the next twenty years will be lost for men in the regular work force and that is one in twenty for women. So what we’re very excited to be doing, in terms of working with girls, youngsters and those at the university level too, is to collaborate with them, in terms of what they are doing and opportu-

First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger on Wednesday met with Co-Founder of “She Leads It”, Ms. Nicole Pitter Patterson

nities that they can have, so that they can become part of that pipeline of young women in technology and go into working in the tech field,” she said.

‘She Leads It’ has organised a number of hackatons and technology labs across the Caribbean. Last year alone the enterprise engaged approximately 350 young women in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad in hands on activities using mobile apps, games and

other technology based tools to contribute to their regional Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This year will see over 800 girls and women being engaged in hackaton activities in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In Guyana, GeoTech Vision will be leading a technology lab and hackaton focusing on web development and conducting webinars. (Ministry of the Presidency)

then advice sought from her office. The charges were discontinued by the DPP by way of Article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

“These charges concern a grave issue under the criminal law in relation to two serving ministers. In the interest of good governance in the State of Guyana, such allegations ought first to have been reported to the Guyana Police Force for an investigation to be launched and the advice of the DPP sought,” the DPP stated. The private criminal charges were filed last Thursday by former attorney general under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration, Anil Nandlall, on behalf of that party’s Members of Parliament Juan Edghill and Vickram Bharrat.

The two parliamentarians had alleged that Lawrence, while performing the duties of Minister of Public Health between January 16 and February 16, 2017, “wilfully misconducted herself in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification, when she authorised

or caused the unapproved single-sourcing and purchase of drugs and medical supplies for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, in the city of Georgetown from ANSA McAL Trading Limited… for the excessive sum of $605,962,200”. Lawrence was cleared of any wrong-doing by the Public Procurement Commission (PPC).

On the other hand, they alleged that Dr. Norton while “performing the duties of Minister of Public Health of the Government of Guyana, June 1, 2016… wilfully misconducted himself in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification, when he authorised or caused the rental of the property known as and situated at 29 Sussex Street, Albouystown, in the city of Georgetown from Linden Holdings Incorporated … for the sum of $12,500,000 exclusive of VAT, per month, by way of a written Agreement of Tenancy at an excessive rate of rental.” Dr. Norton had served as Minister of Public Health prior to Lawrence.

The private crimi-

nal charges, filed against the government ministers, followed charges instituted against former Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and former Head of NICIL, Winston Brassington, by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for Misconduct in Public Office, Contrary to the Common Law. The duo is to appear before the court on May 7, 2018 to answer charges relating to the sale of state lands at prices below what they were valued. Government has since described the move by the PPP as malicious and represented political grandstanding.

On Wednesday, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams, SC had predicted that the DPP would have discontinued the charges against Jordan, Patterson and Dr. Roopnaraine as she had earlier set a precedent in how charges are to be laid. “They would all go the same way; the precedent was established by the learned DPP. In law we act on principle and precedent,” Williams stated.

14

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

DEMTOCO, Public Health Ministry to meet on tobacco regulations

By Svetlana Marshall DEMERARA Tobacco Company Limited (DEMTOCO) – a subsidiary of British American Tobacco Group – has secured a meeting with the Public Health Ministry on the Tobacco Control Act and its accompanying regulations.

According to DEMTOCO Managing Director, Maurlain Kirton, that meeting could happen within the next two weeks. “The intention of that meeting is to ensure that Demerara Tobacco remains a very strong and reputable corporate citizen, continues to exist, adapts to the legislation that is there, but the legislation needs to be enforceable,” Kirton told Guyana Chronicle on the sideline of DEMTOCO’s 84th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Pegasus Hotel on Tuesday.

Kirton said the tobacco company has six main areas of concern with respect to the Tobacco Control Act which became law in August 2017 after the bill was passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President David Granger.

According to her, Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence has agreed to meet with DEMTOCO

through a third party. “We have supplied her with an agenda, and we are hopeful that the meeting happens very soon. In another two weeks we are prepared to sit down and have an engagement,” she posited.

Part VI of the Act addresses the issues of advertising, promotion and sponsorship. According to Section 19 “All advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems are prohibited.”

It was stated that the prohibition includes tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship that promote or are likely to promote the tobacco industry, directly or indirectly.

PAHO/WHO National Consultant, Attorney-at-Law Kesaundra Alves, had explained that the comprehensive ban of all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship is in keeping with Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), noting that it was critical to block all loopholes the local tobacco industry may want to use to its advantage.

“The tobacco epidemic is one that is not spread by infection but by promotion and advertisement. Tobacco

Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence

Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) glamorises tobacco use by associating the use of tobacco products with positive social and personal images,” Alves said.

According to her, stamping out all forms of TAPS is the only way to eliminate the tobacco epidemic.

DEMTOCO managing director said while the tobacco company will comply with the legislation, there are going to be some consequences.

“There is going to be an increase in illicit trade. It is at about 25 per cent of the total consumption, so while Demerara Tobacco continues to pay their fair share of revenue on taxes, a group of import-

ers are not doing that, so the illicit trade is a problem and will continue to be a problem.

From an industry’s perspective we believe that there is not strong enforcement and for the illicit trade not to grow at its current rate we need strong enforcement,” Kirton emphasised.

According to her, if good sense does not prevail and there is no compromise, Government can lose revenue from a legitimate company while the illicit trade increases.

In echoing similar sentiments, DEMTOCO Chairman Marcus Steele told Guyana Chronicle that implementation of regulations without

consultation can be disastrous for both Government and the industry but he admitted there has been dialogue in the case of Guyana.

“I must say that they have been very open to listen to us,” he said.

While addressing the AGM, Steele disclosed that DEMTOCO’s management is currently instituting measures that would allow the company to smoothly transition into the new regulatory environment.

“These measures will certainly impact the way we have operated our business and so we take this opportunity to urge the Government to provide the requisite clarity and to exercise the comprehensive public education and raise awareness which is required to minimise dislocations and anxiety during the enforcement of the Act,” Steele told shareholders at the AGM. In addition to the total ban on advertising and promotion, the Act provides for a ban on smoking in indoor public places, indoor workplaces and public transportation, and also in specified outdoor places including the premises of schools and health facilities, and places for the commercial service of food and drinks.

The Tobacco Control Act regulates where persons can smoke tobacco products in order to protect others from exposure to dangerous second-hand smoke, but it does not ban smoking.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Health’s Public Relations Officer Terrence Esseboom told this newspaper that the regulations that will go hand-in-hand with the Tobacco Control Act are still being drafted.

According to Esseboom, the draft regulations, when completed, will be submitted to DEMTOCO, after which consultation on the implementation of the Tobacco Control Act and the accompanying regulations will commence. The regulations are expected to guide the sale, packaging, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, the health official explained.

The Tobacco Control Act took effect on December 11, 2017 following the issuance of a commencement order by Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence. However, the initial focus is on the tobacco industry.

Gov’t to appeal TPL $1.7B award

GOVERNMENT on Wednesday indicated it will be appealing the decision of High Court judge Brassington Reynolds to order the state to pay over $1.7B in damages to Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL) after losing its challenge to that company’s ownership of land at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Part of the land in question houses the MovieTowne Cinema and Shopping Mall.

“There is no way we are going to allow that $1.7B judgment to stand without scrutiny,” said Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams.

Williams told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the 3rd annual International Commercial Arbitration Conference being held at Duke Lodge, Kingston that the TPL case mirrors that of DIPCON Engineering Limited which was inherited by the APNU+AFC coalition government. In the latter case,

which the state was ordered to pay DIPCON $446M for contractual works done, Williams said his office was unaware of the matter until the period allotted under the rules of the Court of Appeal had expired.

“Further to that, there was no evidence of the file of the AG’s chambers – it is a new AG and it wasn’t until February at the Budget that I was informed by the Leader of the Opposition about the case,” the Attorney General had said in response to the November 2017 CCJ ruling.

Similarly, in the TPL case, he told reporters, “The Toolsie Persaud case is just like the DIPCON case. My chambers had no knowledge of the case, there is no file in the chambers …we are surprised that we are represented by the old regime under Mr Nandlall.”

The state was represented

by Ashton Chase. “We are investigating it now and of course we will appeal it,”

Attorney General Basil Williams

he assured, noting that his office had requested a list of cases outstanding from the Chief Justice and the Court of Appeal as well as certain practitioners. Williams said it is unusual for the state to outsource a case and not have any record of same. He told Guyana Chronicle that while he received responses from the Chief Justice, Court of Appeal and the practitioners asked, none made mention

of the case.

“Yes, but no case like that. We weren’t told they had the case … we have to examine now, look at it and read the records. If you had a case since 2008, weren’t you supposed to bring in the case?”

Williams said the Crime Chief was asked to probe cases where attorneys recruited to act on behalf of the state, in turn represented the intended opponent. This, he said, was done since the DIPCON case last year. He could not state whether the Crime Chief followed through on his request but noted, “I haven’t heard from him since.”

It is expected that within the next six weeks, steps will be taken by the state to appeal the ruling.

Meanwhile, TPL had argued that it never denied there was a 1987 agreement through which land was purchased from then People’s National Congress (PNC) government.

TPL had purchased several

plots of lands in the Turkeyen, ECD area. However, the state argued that TPL had repudiated the contract after applying for prescriptive title, thereby relinquishing ownership of the lands. The state’s argument did not find favour with the court.

According to a Stabroek News report, Justice Reynolds said the State is barred from compulsorily acquiring from TPL which TPL has owned for more than 12 years. The judge said by applying for prescriptive title, TPL was exploring another avenue of retaining the lands through a process which can be afforded after 12 years would have passed.

It was noted that the state failed to enquire from TPL during the said 12-year period the status of the 1987 agreement, which was still in effect. Justice Reynolds held that based on the agreement, the lands belonged to TPL and never ceased to belong to the entity. He made it clear

that in order for the contract to be considered frustrated and the subject of non-performance an interrupting act must be done which results in a drastic change to the contractual agreements.

The court held that the contract between the state and TPL was never frustrated and the state erred when it attempted to retrieve lands after it had been sold. The government and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) were ordered jointly and severally, to pay to TPL damages to the tune of $1,745,203,346.

The state was also ordered to pay interest at a rate of 6 per cent per annum from the filing of the writ in 2008 to Friday, April 20, 2018. Additionally, interest of 4 per cent per annum was ordered to be paid from the date of judgment, until full payment.

The court also awarded TPL court costs in the sum of $500,000.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Thursday April 26, 2018

15

Agriculture exporters association established EXPORTERS and the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) have committed to establish, normalise and sustain a successful exporters’ association in Guyana.

Towards this end, the Guyana Non-Traditional Agriculture Exporters Association (GNTAEA), has resuscitated its body with the recent election of new members, which was conducted at the Central Packaging Facility, Sophia Exhibition Centre.

This was a result of having multiple meetings to discuss its resuscitation.

The management committee includes: Wyette Amsterdam, President; David Aparisio, vice-president; John Benneth, secretary; Romesh Singh, treasurer; Petal Lampkin, assistant secretary/treasurer; Ms. Celestine Butters, trustee; Mathew Persaud, trustee; Amanda Singh, committee member; Henry Wickham, committee member and Howard Thomas, committee member.

In June,2010,the Guyana Non-Traditional Agriculture Exporters Association was registered as a specially authorised society under the Friendly Societies Act, Chapter: 36:04.

This association however became non-operational and

President of GNTAEA, Mr. Wyette Amsterdam (centre), Ms. Pearlina Gifth (fourth from right) and other members of the management committee

was never fully revitalised, even after two attempts were made, the first being in 2014 and thereafter in 2016.

One of the objectives of the association is to work with farmers to produce high-quality produce that meets local and international standards, amongst other activities.

Mrs. Ida Sealey-Adams, general manager of the GMC, noted that she was indeed excited to see the association resuscitated and urged the members not to be impatient, since they are procedures that must be followed at the Min-

istry of Social Protection’s Cooperative Department.

Further, she said the corporation will continue to support the association and is committed to providing technical assistance as far as is practical to ensure the association remains active.

The general manager extended best wishes to the new members on behalf of the board of directors, management and staff of the corporation.

Wyette Amsterdam, exporter and president of the association encouraged exporters, potential exporters

and even farmers to join the association.

This, he said, will surely benefit farmers in expanding their production and improving their quality. He further asserted that in so doing, Guyana will be the breadbasket of the Caribbean and countries farther afield.

Celestine Butters, packaging facilities manager, who was instrumental in pioneering the resuscitation of this association, in an invited comment stated that “the non-traditional agriculture export sector is critical to Guyana’s economic develop-

ment and earning of foreign exchange.”

She expressed happiness that election of the exporters association members has been realised.

Adding that the next process is registration of the association which is in progress, Butters said, “In the agriculture sector, we seek to improve on efficiency and product quality, as the global market is a highly competitive place and by participating in this marketplace, we need to become equally efficient and quality conscious.”

She continued: “It is gen-

erally the case that successful exporters are also very successful in their home markets, because of their heightened efficiency and focus on product quality. With the association, we can see that exporting is one way of increasing our sales potential; it expands the ‘pie’ from which one earns money, otherwise we are stuck trying to make money only out of the local market. Exports help to put idle production capacity to work, an association works as one body.”

Amanda Singh, general manager of Interisland Healthy Choice, commented that “This resuscitation will benefit the exporters and farmers significantly, by providing a united platform to resolve the usual challenges of satisfying a global marketplace.”

She thanked the Guyana Marketing Corporation and the Ministry of Agriculture for facilitating this process and is looking forward to a future “where non-traditional products are easily exported to the most challenging markets, benefiting the economy of Guyana and the livelihoods of numerous farmers and their employees.”

Guyana to participate in China International Import Expo

By Rabindra Rooplall GUYANA will participate in the China International Import Expo and Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin is urging all businesses willing to participate to have a clear understanding of the market with a sense of purpose of what China needs and what businesses can deliver.

Minister Gaskin was at the time speaking at the China International Import Exposition Awareness Session and cocktail hosted at the Guyana Pegasus Wednesday evening. In 2017, Guyana exported US$18M in supplies to China.

The Guyana Office for Investment in collaboration with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China have dispatched detailed packages to the private sector bodies, encouraging participation at the International Import Expo which will be held

in Shanghai, China, during November 5th – 10th, 2018.

“I know we have a vibrant business community that is eyeing the rest of the world, because the reality is that the Guyana market is not a really large market, so if you want to expand your business, if you have great ideas and ambitions, then you would know that Guyana cannot provide an infinite market as the rest of the world,” Gaskin said.

He said the event in China will open business people’s eyes to their competition on an international scale.

“The Chinese are long-term thinkers, they are not a fiveyear or two-year thinkers…

When Chinese speak people listen, because their culture is a can-do culture. China has done some amazing things over the last 20 years, whether it’s in infrastructure, technology, manufacturing or whatever it is,” the Minister

China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Cui Jianchun, shares a book on governance of China with Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin at the cocktail reception (Rabindra Rooplall photo)

of Business said.

Noting that China has over a billion people, Minister Gaskin said the country will always have a market for food and such a market will always be open for agriculture and seafood. “We have always been an agricultural economy and therefore we should carefully consider

how to sell more food, not to just to China, but the rest of the world, but certainly China has the appetite for whatever we can produce,” he said.

The minister encouraged businesses that are interested in expanding their export potential, especially in the Asian markets, to consider

the potential of attending the exposition.

China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Cui Jianchun, said there is a recipe for Guyana’s development in five “I’s” and five “T’s” initiative.

He explained that the first is infrastructure, which is needed to open the economy; the second is Information and Communication Technology (ICT); thirdly is nvestment; fourthly, there is need for a value-added Industry and finally there is need for integration.

Further, the Chinese envoy said the five “T’s” start with Thought in all levels of society; secondly Talent which is important to development; thirdly Trade; fourthly Tourism and finally, Technology.

“I am thinking how can I find the opportunity to make this five “I” and five “T” a reality, so I am working hard and talking to the ministers, business peoples on how can

we find a way,” His Excellency Jianchun said.

The envoy noted that the expo represents the important measure that China has taken to further open up its market to the world, and it will increase imports.

He explained that China has a large-sized middle class and will become the world’s biggest consumer market in a few years. If China increases imports from other countries, it will help many nations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative share in China’s rapid growth.

The first import expo will showcase two exhibitions, one on the Belt and Road countries’ trade and investment, including their goods and services, tourism, and featured products, and the other on varied business sectors, including consumer electronics, auto, clothing, food, medical equipment, service outsourcing and education.

16

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

17

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Dallawalla to lead food security – return to former glory with drive in Region 10 help of RDC, NDIA

One of the pastures in Dallawalla with just a few cows remaining, where once there were hundreds

By Vanessa Braithwaite IN years gone by, it was sort of the bread basket of Linden; one of the bauxite town’s agricultural hot spots, so to speak.

But those days are long gone! Or so one would have thought, as the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in collaboration with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is hell-bent on returning the community of Dallawalla, located approximately 60 miles up the Demerara River, to its former glory; to revitalise farming in the community, in an effort to push food security in Region 10.

On Tuesday, Regional Chairman Renis Morian and a team from the RDC, as well as NDIA Chief Executive Officer Frederick Flatts and a team of engineers paid a visit to Dallawalla to assess the situation there, and found scores of abandoned farms, some still with crops ready to harvest.

Morian said that because the area was neglected by the former administration, the farmers abandoned their homesteads many years ago, when a particulary bad flood threatened to wipe them out.

Today, the NDIA is willing to help those farmers put the past behind them and make a fresh start.

And the RDC is not too far behind, as it will be making a public call for all those farmers who once worked the land in the area to return so as to benefit from all the help it has to give.

Summing up the situation, the regional chairman said: “Today, along with the NDIA, we are here to look

at the main issues, one of which is that nothing was done with drainage and irrigation over the years...

“So we are looking to see what we can do to resuscitate, from the level of the RDC; we will call a meeting with those farmers who once farmed in that area to see who are willing to go back, because they have suffered losses.

“The last farmer there in 2016, lost about 400 loads of plantain and banana as a result of flooding, because there was no drainage and irrigation.”

GETTING THERE Dallawalla can either be accessed by boat through the Demerara River, via the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, or the Blue Berry Hill Housing Scheme “Buck Town” access road.

The community was once a thriving one, thanks to the presence of Omai Gold Mines, which had a small operation and wharf there. A few families and farmers still reside there today.

Sadly, not only has Dallawalla been affected by a scaling down in farming, but so too have other agricultural hots spots in the region.

Morian explained that the RDC is pursuing various avenues, and looking into other communities in an effort to restore agricultural development in Region 10.

But for this to be effective, the process has to start from the ground level.

There has always been the issue of food security in the region, a matter that needs serious attention since 70% of its demand for food is being supplied by other regions.

In addition to establishing proper drainage and irrigation in agricultural hot spots, the RDC is also looking at rendering assistance with seeds,tools and technical support. “NAREI would have indicated that they are lending a 100% support to agriculture in Region 10, and NAREI produces quality seeds,” Morian said. “So, with NAREI involved, we see that kind of support coming on board.”

FOUR-PRONGED APPROACH While the RDC has four programmes that have been budgeted for, these being Public Works, Education, Health and Administration, Morian is calling for agriculture to be added to the list, so that greater financial and technical support can be given to the development of this important sector in the region.

With reference to the famed 2005 flood, where the other regions were unable to meet Region 10’s demands, Morian said even the region itself was unable to meet that demand, which caused food prices to spiral, and surprisingly affected not only the lower class but the middle class as well.

But alas, since then, he said, very little has been done to remedy the situation and as such, he is afraid that were a similar national disaster to occur, the region would be left in the same boat.

And that’s why it is of paramount importance to him that much more is pushed into agriculture from the level of the RDC. “We are petitioning the government, the Minister

One of the abandoned farms in Dallawalla

of Agriculture, the Minister of Communities to have agriculture to come as a programme within the Regional Democratic Council budget for 2019,” he said, adding that the RDC will be working with farmers to plant continuously, so as to build the confidence of res-

idents. Systems will also be put in place, he said, to have a farmers’ market adjacent to the Wismar Municipal Market on Burnham Drive on weekends,as a start to gaining the residents’ confidence.

“If we can get a steady flow of food every weekend,

that will help to build the residents’ confidence that they could look internally for that food supply,” he said.

He is also calling on all stakeholders and local leaders to come on board to holistically push agricultural production in Region 10.

18

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Administrative professionals urged to maintain professionalism OVER 300 administrative professionals from the private and public sectors were encouraged by ministers of government to maintain the highest level of professionalism as the country braces for significant development.

This call came during the 23rd annual Administrative Professional Seminar hosted

by Zoywins Consultancy and Training Institute at the Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday, on the occasion of Administrative Professionals’ Day. The conference took the

theme, ‘Become a Valued Administrative Professional’ and saw the congregating of agencies from several regions countrywide.

Invited to speak at the opening ceremony were Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

Meanwhile, some of the attending organisations included the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Police Complaints Authority, the

Guyana Veterans Legion and several others.

Zoywins Consultancy has been training staff, supervisors and middle managers since 1992 and has provided this service to agencies in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada.

The institute offers training in the areas of customer care, professional and social ethics, supervisory management, interpersonal management skills and conflict resolution to name a few.

Seated from left are: Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zoywins Consultancy and Training Institute, Mavis Benn (Photo by Adrian Narine)

Administrative professionals from around the country during the seminar held at the Pegasus Hotel (Photo by Adrian Narine)

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zoywins Consultancy Mavis Benn, in her address to the gathering, said that the seminar will assist participants to develop a “mindset for success” as they practise professionalism in their workplaces.

She pointed out that it was the first time that representatives from Region Nine were in attendance at the conference and encouraged all to take advantage of the numbers present to form chains of networking.

In her special greetings, Social Protection minister Amna Ally referred to administrative professionals as the “backbone of their organisations”, working hard towards ensuring smooth-running businesses.

She commended the work of the institute, saying that as the world becomes even more interconnected, there is a greater need for individuals who can professionally manage the day-to-day operations of all kinds of businesses.

“The Government of Guyana intends to equip the workforce with the skills required for the job of today and those of tomorrow that will contribute to the national growth and sustainable development of Guyana.

“Therefore, we will continue to make substantial investments to ensure that our human capital, especially employees within the public service, possesses the skills, knowledge and resources they require to perform their functions to the highest level of professionalism,” she said.

Meanwhile, in the feature address, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that administrative professionals are the first line of contact of businesses and that they oftentimes do not get the recognition they deserve.

He added that they help to form public opinion and perception of what an agency is about and hence, the hosting of regular training is important to guard against stymied development.

“Your presence here today is an indication that you are taking your career development seriously… I therefore take this opportunity to urge you to invest in development, invest in developing yourselves -- personally and professionally -- on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Harmon said, too, that investing in the human capital of the country is one of the government’s highest priorities and therefore commended the institute’s inclusion of

administrative professionals from hinterland communities.

As more international companies commence investments in Guyana, he advised that persons must begin to develop the necessary skills to meet this challenge as the government intends to utilise its own citizens.

“Several companies from overseas have been coming to Guyana every single day… everybody wanting to invest in Guyana. But there is one element of that investment which we must insist on and that is that the local content of that investment must be front and centre.

“The people of Guyana must be first and foremost in everything that is done… administrative professionals will find themselves being a sought-after commodity [and] we will not allow or tolerate these companies to bring into Guyana skills which already exist here,” he told the gathering.

At the conference, three agencies were presented with awards for their long-standing partnership with the institute which included the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Ministry of Public Health and the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI).

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

19

20

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

21

22

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

South Africa Racing Tips Vaal 08:50 hrs Casual Wear 09:25 hrs New Zealand 10:00 hrs Viburnum 10:35 hrs Trip To Paradise 11:10 hrs Written American Racing Tips Gulfstream Race 1 Luckbe Tanya Race 2 Gold Shot Race 3 R Paper Chaser Race 4 Flashing Diamond Race 5 Tender Value Race 6 South Of France Race 7 Wildcat Saint Race 8 Toni Ann’s Miracle Race 9 Fillerup Irish Racing Tips Punchestown 10:40 hrs Park Paddocks 11:15 hrs Sunsetstorise 11:50 hrs Auvergnat 12:30 hrs Penhill 13:05 hrs Folsom Blue 14:15 hrs Glens Harmony 14:45 hrs Rio Vivas English Racing Tips Beverley 008:30 hrs Bogart 09:00 hrs Piccothepack 09:35 hrs Mont Kinabalu 10:10 hrs Swiss Belle 10:45 hrs Liquid Gold 11:20 hrs Bob Maxwell 11:55 hrs Trading Point 12:25 hrs Wind Storm Warwick 08:40 hrs Mystical Clouds 09:10 hrs Roll The Dough 09:45 hrs Schnabel 10:20 hrs Sister Sibyl 10:55 hrs Cresswell Legend 11:25 hrs Copperfacejack 12:00 hrs Easter Gold 12:35 hrs Oakley Perth 08:50 hrs Casa Tall 09:55 hrs The Compeller 10:30 hrs Ballyarthur 11:05 hrs Tiquer 11:35 hrs Sun Cloud 12:10 hrs Henry’s Joy h

23

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Ninvalle brings peace to Judo feud

ock now … D a r r e n E lc t Guyana cleared to represen

DARREN Elcock, a Guyanese world-class Judo athlete, can finally put to rest his years-long battle to represent Guyana on the international stage in the sport, thanks to Steve Ninvalle, president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA).

Unrelated to Judo, Ninvalle, though being at the helm of the fistic sport in Guyana, felt that he could serve as a mediator between Elcock and president of the Guyana Judo Association (GJA) Raul Archer.

The Canada-based Elcock recently held a press conference and related his frustration at the way in which his request to don the colours of the ‘Golden Arrowhead’ on the world stage had been blocked by the GJA; something Archer had later refuted.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport yesterday, Ninvalle, who

is also the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Social Cohesion, related that after learning about the public back-and-forth between Elcock and the GJA, in his personal capacity he contacted both parties for mediation.

Ninvalle met with Archer late last week and on Tuesday was able to bring the two parties together for frank discussions aimed at removing hurdles. Following the meeting, the two sides agreed to bury the hatchet and an agreement was reached resulting in the GJA endorsing the 22-year-old Elcock.

“It’s about putting Guyana first. If any sport is hurting then the logical thing would be to find a remedy.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the president of one organisation. If you could step in to help another and bring some resolution to an issue then you

should, because oftentimes, those issues hurt the athletes, not the administrators.

“When the elephants fight the trees get trampled. So this was me, in my personal capacity, reaching out and attempting to assist in resolving this problem in Judo,” Ninvalle said.

“I just feel relieved that this is over and I can now focus on representing Guyana,” Elcock told Chronicle Sport when contacted.

“I want to say thanks to Mr Ninvalle who acted in a very mature, professional and organised manner. I must also extend gratitude to the president and executive of the Judo Association,” Elcock added.

Elcock who holds a Cadet, Junior and Senior Canadian title, said he can now truly focus on competing on the International Judo Federation (IJF) tour, and begin his journey to the 2020 Olympic Games in

Japan.

The 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games will be held in Barranquilla, Colombia from July 19 to August 3, and Elcock made known of his desires to feature at the event, adding, “Something I would love to do, and will actually begin the way forward to see how that could be possible.”

“I think this is important and huge for the sport of Judo, because I know that I could represent this country (Guyana) with pride and can give them recognition in the sport as well. As I said, I’m relieved, so now we can actually focus on competing,,” the young judoka declared.

With several notable international acclaims to his name, Elcock could very well be one of the highest-profile athletes to represent Guyana in the sport which had its origin in Japan, in 1882.

Guyana beat Brazil 6-3 for third consecutive win at World Mixed Curling Championship

By Rawle Toney

RAYAD Hussain and Farzana Hussain, representing Guyana at the Wo r l d M i x e d C u r l i n g Championship in Sweden, won their third consecutive game at the event, beating Brazil 6-3 in their latest Group E round-robin action.

Behind the Hussain sib-

lings, Guyana is making an international debut in the sport and the pair won their first game at the event against Austria then followed up that victory with an impressive 11-4 whipping of Ireland.

The Guyana team then showed that despite being a tropical country, they belong on the international Curling arena when they outclassed the Brazilian

duo of Aline Goncalves and Marcio Cerquinho (6-3).

After the game, Rayad Hussain told reporters, “I was really nervous for the whole game. Probably didn’t play my best game but really, really happy we won. I mean, it’s history right. And who wouldn’t want to make history? I think now we have more of an appreciation of what it’s like playing in an

arena. Hopefully for future years we’ll use this as a learning experience and get better.”

Sitting fourth behind leaders Canada and second-place Korea in their group and eyeing qualification to the knockout stage, Guyana will next face the Czech Republic (currently third) in a bid to keep their historic run alive.

Vryman’s Erven ground to be developed into a regional football facility ... GFF boss conducts preliminary visit

THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on April 10 last was granted a 30-year lease of the Vryman’s Erven municipal ground in New Amsterdam by that municipality’s Town Council for the federation to develop the ground.

This came following a visit to New Amsterdam by president Wayne Forde, where he met with Mayor Winifred Haywood and Councillors and conducted a preliminary visit to the venue.

The visit was in keeping with the GFF’s Strategic Plan 2017-2021 and GFF’s intention to “invest in at least one all-weather field for each of the nine Regional Member Associations (RMAs).”

“Establishing football-specific venues in each

of the GFF’s RMAs is of critical importance to the

GFF president Wayne Forde presents memorabilia as some councillors look on.

implementation of the National Football Strategy,” said Forde. “The GFF intends to construct an all-weather facility in each RMA, which will be used as a home for the Academy Training Centre and will create revenue-generating opportunities for the association.”

The facility will be used for football development in the Region and will be similar to the GFF National Training Centre, in purpose, that is, to “produce consistent level of highly competitive and exciting football that is a force to be reckoned with regionally and internationally.”

During the visit, the president presented some GFF memorabilia to the Mayor and Councillors of the municipality.

Holder sees Windies upcoming ODI series as preparation for 2019 World Cup BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Captain Jason Holder has underscored the importance of several one-day series leading up to next year’s World Cup in England, stressing it was vital West Indies used them to gain confidence, momentum and a settled line-up for the global showpiece.

In preparation for the May 30 to July 14 event in England and Wales, the Windies will play home and away ODI series against Bangladesh later this year, tour India for another five matches before hosting England early next year.

“For many of us it will be another opportunity to play a World Cup; for some of us it will be the first opportunity so it’s definitely something we’re all looking forward to,” Holder told reporters here at Kensington Oval.

“But we’ve got four series leading up to the World Cup and we’ve got to handle those series first; think about those series and try a few combinations in terms of the make-up of our final squad.

“This year is obviously very important for us. If we can do well in these one-day series we have leading up to the World Cup, improve our ranking and gain some confidence.”

The Caribbean side missed out on automatic qualification but secured one of the two spots up for grabs by finishing second in a 10-team qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe last month.

Favourites at the start, West Indies played unbeaten in the preliminary round, lost one match in the Super Six second stage before clinching their spot in the final against eventual winners Afghanistan.

While the Windies’ participation in the tournament – which involved the likes of Nepal, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea – was widely regarded as somewhat belittling for the two-time former World Cup winners, Holder said it had been a blessing in disguise.

“Playing in the World Cup qualifiers was not all bad in a way. I think it was an opportunity to come together as a side, get some wins under our belt, play some of the Associate nations and some of the nations which qualified as Full (Member) nations,” explained the 26-year-old, who led the Windies at the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“It gave us some momentum, it gave us a feeling (of) winning again – we’ve won quite a few games in the World Cup qualifiers – and everybody got some performances in here and there and it wasn’t one or two individuals that really stood out in every particular game.

“It was a situation where a different individual put up his hand in every game.”

Despite their stature, West Indies did not have things all their way in the competition. They never got the measure of the Afghans and lost to them twice – once in the Super Sixes then in the final.

In the preliminaries, they watched a decent United Arab Emirates side post 297 without being dismissed in pursuit of 358 then survived a scare against PNG, crashing to 58 for four chasing 201 before recovering through Holder’s unbeaten 99 to win comfortably.

Holder conceded the campaign had been made difficult by the unfamiliarity with opposition players as well as the conditions.

“It was challenging. It was challenging from the aspect that we had not played against many of those teams before.

We didn’t know many of the players and it was a chance for us to see what we were coming up against,” he said.

“When we plan, I try to focus on us and not focus on the opposition. I think once we handle our part of the plot, I think the rest of it would have taken care of itself.

“The conditions made it difficult as well (but) I think the conditions also levelled the playing field in terms of the opposition. If you check, many of the games were very, very close and there was some entertaining cricket played in Zimbabwe.”

He added: “I am glad that we did qualify for the tournament and it’s just a situation for us to build on that, get some more wins under our belt leading up to the 2019 World Cup.”

24

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

49 days to go …

FIFA secretary-general reported to ethics chiefs over World Cup bid

FIFA president Gianni Infantino last month challenged anyone to find a more transparent or fairer bid process than that for the 2026 World Cup.

ONE of FIFA’s most senior executives, Fatma Samoura, has been reported to the organisation’s powerful ethics committee.

Samoura, who was appointed secretary general of football’s world governing body by its president Gianni Infantino in 2016, is accused of alleged breaches of its ethics code relating to “duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting” and “conflicts of interest”.

The claims stem from allegations relating to Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup. The North African country wants to host the tournament but is up against a North American joint effort comprising Canada, the USA and Mexico.

Members of a FIFA World Cup evaluation taskforce which recently visited the bidding countries - are said to have discovered an undeclared family link between Samoura - whose full name is Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura - and the former Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf, who is working in an ambassadorial role for the Moroccan bid.

Both Samoura, 55, and Diouf are from Senegal. They are both now the subject of an ethics complaint.

A senior FIFA source has told BBC Sport the allegation is “tenuous”, while Samoura said she is “fully aware of this upcoming complaint” and has “a good idea who is conveying this message”.

She added: “The whole country of Senegal will laugh at FIFA Ethics ... because everyone in my country knows the origin of El Hadji Diouf.”

The same senior source, who wishes to remain anonymous, also alleges Infantino “encouraged” the evaluation taskforce to find evidence that could block Morocco’s candidacy.

It is claimed Infantino was motivated to do this as he favours the rival North American bid given the enormous financial advantage it has over its African rival.

FIFA’S RESPONSE

In response to the allegation a FIFA spokesperson told BBC Sport: “The bid-

generate around $5B (£3.58B) in economic activity and $2.1B (£1.5B) in ticket revenue alone.

The Swiss-Italian could yet face the prospect of being placed under an ethics investigation himself concerning the allegation he attempted to interfere in the 2026 bidding process although there is no evidence that a complaint has been made.

FIFA TROUBLED PAST

Fatma Samoura spent two decades working on humanitarian projects for the United Nations before joining FIFA in 2016.

ding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been designed to evaluate the bids against objective criteria and so avoid a return to the secret and subjective decisions of the past. The process is as fair, objective and transparent as it can get, as demonstrated with the

ment is guided by clear and objective criteria and its report will be made public to guarantee full transparency of the process. The FIFA president is not involved in this process and he will not take part in the vote of the congress. These are facts and not ‘maybe’ or gossip.

to learn from this and leave no room for any doubt or subjectivity.

Anyone criticising this approach should be able to say if they would prefer a return to the old ways.

Allegations of a defamatory nature are unacceptable, especially when they come

This is Morocco’s fifth attempt to host the World Cup after making bids for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 finals.

publication of the bid books, all bidding documents and the scoring system.”

“The taskforce’s assess-

FIFA has been heavily criticised for how it conducted the selection of hosts in the past. It was our obligation

in a middle of a bidding process when calm, sense of responsibility and respect should prevail.”

IS THE MOROCCO BID BEING UNDERMINED?

The FIFA 2026 bid evaluation taskforce - which recently visited North American and Moroccan cities - includes Samoura’s two deputies, Marco Villiger and former AC Milan player Zvonimir Boban.

Some Morocco bid supporters have suggested they are Infantino allies, and that that raises questions over the taskforce’s impartiality and independence from the FIFA administration.

There are further concerns over claims the Morocco bid team were only told of some eligibility criteria hours before their bid document had to be submitted, potentially weakening their submission.

The bidding process comes with FIFA facing a financial shortfall, following years of dealing with expensive legal bills resulting from a US Department of Justice investigation into corrupt executives. It has also struggled to attract major sponsors to this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

In light of this, it is believed Infantino wants the North American bid to win, given organisers’ claims it will

The revelations come as the governing body is attempting to reform following a series of damaging political and financial scandals.

It culminated in police dawn raids at a luxury Zurich hotel in May 2015, the extradition of FIFA executives to face trials in the US and the eventual deposing of Sepp Blatter as the organisation’s long-serving president.

The decision over whom to award the 2026 World Cup could also be plunged into doubt following the claims.

The 2026 tournament is set to be the first World Cup to be allocated since the controversial decision to grant the 2018 edition to Russia and 2022 to Qatar.

Those choices have been mired in controversy ever since and are the subject of several ongoing criminal investigations - for example, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 tournament before the vote took place.

FIFA radically overhauled its voting procedures as a result of the Russia/Qatar process, taking power away from a small number of leading executives and placing it in the hands of its 211 member associations. It also promised enhanced clarity, transparency and fairness when awarding its marquee event.

Morocco’s 2026 bid is gathering pace and is thought to stand a serious chance of winning the necessary 104 majority votes needed for victory.

A vote is scheduled to take place in Moscow on June 13 at FIFA’s annual congress, with the North American countries and Morocco the only contenders.

25

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Spurs, Heat eliminated as Celtics go up 3-2

By Mitch Phillips LONDON, England (Reuters) - South African Caster Semenya’s long and controversial reign as the queen of middle distance running looks set to be ended this year not by a track rival but by a new hyperandrogenism rule that will stop her from running 800 and 1500 metres races.

The IAAF will publish new rules today to prevent women with the condition, which produces higher than normal levels of testosterone and is deemed by the governing body to give them an unfair advantage, from running distances from 400m to the mile.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) would allow them to compete at international level only if they took medication to reduce naturally occurring levels of testosterone.

Semenya, double Olympic and triple world champion over 800m and who completed the 800-1500 double at the Commonwealth Games this month, has always been a controversial figure in the sport as its authorities have sought a solution that respected her rights while also providing a “level playing field”.

The 27-year-old’s powerful physique and deep voice, followed by the revelations of her hyperandrogenism, left some rivals complaining that they faced an impossible and unfair challenge.

The IAAF’s previous at-

tempts to regulate the issue fell foul of a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in 2015, following an appeal on behalf of Indian athlete Dutee Chand, who had been banned from competing because of her testosterone levels.

The IAAF Council announced last month that following a review of available evidence it would revise its regulations, with the changes coming into force on November 1.

FEMALE CLASSIFICATION Media in the UK and South Africa yesterday published sections of the report ahead of its official release, revealing that the new hyperandrogenism regulations would include a separate female classification to be known as an Athlete with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD).

“Experts consulted by the IAAF have gathered and reviewed all of the published

Caster Semenya of South Africa.

(REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

“All testosterone, either naturally occurring or artificially inserted into the body, provides significant performance enhancements,” IAAF head Seb Coe said at the time, while also going out of his way to stress that nobody was suggesting Semenya had done anything wrong.

“We were asked by CAS to provide evidence of the magnitude of the advantage, which we now have,” he said.

evidence and data, which indicate that increasing the level of circulating testosterone from the normal female range to the normal male range leads to increased muscle mass and strength and higher hemoglobin levels,” the report, which has not been seen by Reuters, is reported to have said.

“The result is these new regulations, which seek to facilitate the participation in the sport of athletes with DSDs

on terms that preserve fair and meaningful competition in the female classification.

“The significant over-representation of DSD athletes in certain events, and their success in those events, provides further indirect but strong corroboration of the above.

“In addition, the IAAF has gathered observational data about the difference in performance levels of DSD athletes depending on whether or not their testosterone levels are suppressed.”

The IAAF’s medical advisers have suggested the advantage held by DSD athletes is far less pronounced in short sprints or longer distance endurance races, leaving the door open for Semenya to move up to 5 000 or 10 000 metres if she desires.

The South African began raising eyebrows when she won the world junior championships in 2008 and the senior world title the following year, with dramatic improvement in her times.

The IAAF made Semenya take a sexual verification test, which was initially kept secret but revealed by the media in 2009.

Since then virtually all of Semenya’s performances have been followed by questions about her sexual and physical status, but she has long stopped answering them.

REUTERS yesterday sought Semenya’s response to the IAAF’s decision through her manager but he did not immediately reply.

‘World class’ Salah threatens Ronaldo-Messi grip on Ballon d’Or LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s virtuoso display in the 5-2 win over AS Roma on Tuesday brought his side to the brink of the Champions League final and posed a serious threat to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s grip on the Ballon d’Or award.

The Egyptian scored two brilliant goals in the first half against his former club to set Juergen Klopp’s side on their way to victory in the semi-final first leg at Anfield.

He set up two more in the second half to cap a thrilling evening.

Salah’s importance was further demonstrated by the fact Roma scored the two goals that give them a slither of hope of turning the tide

around after he had been substituted.

The Egyptian’s strikes brought him to a remarkable 43 goals in all competitions this season, keeping him at the front of the list of top scorers in Europe, one ahead of Real Madrid’s talisman Ronaldo and two ahead of Barcelona’s Messi.

The Spain-based duo have had a stranglehold on the prestigious Ballon d’Or award since 2008, each winning the trophy for the world’s best player five times. But Salah’s decisive performances are threatening to break that hegemony.

Since signing from Roma last season, the 25-year-old has already equalled the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season

with 31. He also recently pipped Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane and David Silva of runaway champions Manchester City to the PFA Player-of-the-Year award.

WORLD CLASS His manager Klopp encouraged reporters to stake Salah’s claim as the best in the world while admitting he faces serious competition.

“If you think he’s the best in the world, write it or say it,” said Klopp.

“He is in outstandingly good shape, in world-class shape, 100 percent. To be the best in the world you need to do that over a longer period, I think. There are a few others who are not too bad.”

The Ballon d’Or has gone to a winner of the Champions League for

the last four years and Liverpool may have to lift a sixth European Cup in Kiev if Salah is to usurp double holder Ronaldo, whose Real side face Bayern Munich in the other semi-final.

Messi could also stake his claim to win the award for a sixth time with an influential performance for Argentina at the World Cup. But Salah will also be in Russia, the leading light of an Egypt team making their first appearance in the tournament for 28 years.

If Salah leads Egypt out of Group A and steers them towards the quarter-finals, he will be able to make an even stronger case to prise the highly coveted individual award from the two greats of the game.

THE Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 104-91 behind 27 points from J.J. Redick to win their NBA playoff series 4-1 on Tuesday.

While the final game was as hostile as all the others this series, this was about Philadelphia taking the next step.

“We play the way we want to play, and that’s sharing the ball,” Joel Embiid told reporters. “We’re the best defensive team in the league. We feel like we’re unstoppable.”

In Boston, the Celtics claimed a highly contested 92-87 win over the Bucks to go up 3-2 in the series. The Celtics desperately needed to win as the home team have won all five games in the series and the matchup heads back to Milwaukee today.

Game five marked the return of Marcus Smart, who had not played in a game since March 11 after recovering from right thumb surgery. Smart wasted no time in making an impact as he was diving for a loose ball almost immediately, but he also had a critical assist late in the game which put Boston’s lead out of reach.

In Oakland, the Spurs hung around as long as they could, but the Warriors were just too much in a 99-91 win to seal a series victory at 4-1.

Klay Thompson showed up to play from the beginning as he led all scorers with 17 points in the first half. He finished with 24 and also became just the third Warrior in history to hit 600 postseason field goals, joining Rick Barry and Stephen Curry. Golden State will now face off with the Pelicans in the Western Conference semifinals.

OLYNYK, EMBIID SHINE Heat forward Kelly Olynyk had 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block off the bench.

Embiid posted his second straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Al Horford had 22 points and 14 rebounds and a key bucket in the final minute. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Khris Middleton also had 23 points for the Bucks.

LaMarcus Aldridge did all he could to get the Spurs a win with 30 points, 12 rebounds and a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line. Draymond Green had 16 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists for Golden State.

WHITESIDE BATTLES Heat centre Hassan Whiteside went 0 for four from the floor with two points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes of play as he was in foul trouble early once again.

ELECTRIC WARRIORS Green and Andre Iguodala ran a fast break to perfection in the Warriors’ win.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS Boston Celtics 92-87 Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers 104-91 Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors 99-91 San Antonio Spurs.

WIZARDS AT TORONTO, PACERS AT CAVS These two series have been intense already and they only look to get more heated down the stretch as they come down to best-of-three.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their first goal against Roma on Tuesday.

(Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine)

26

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

Dhoni, Rayudu star as Super Kings down RCB in thriller AMBATI Rayudu and MS Dhoni starred as Chennai Super Kings produced a thrilling run-chase to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by five wickets in the Indian Premier League.

AB de Villiers’ electric 30-ball 68, as part of a century-stand with Quinton de Kock (53) helped RCB to an imposing 205-8.

The Super Kings were reeling in reply at 74-4, but Rayudu (82) and Dhoni (70) launched a stunning counterattack to reduce the required run rate.

It looked as though they would fall short when Rayudu was run-out at the end of

the 18th over, but some poor death-bowling from Mohammed Siraj – including three straight wides – left the visitors needing 16 off the last over.

Dwayne Bravo landed 11 of those before the ice cool Dhoni launched the final six in what was a record for maximums in an IPL match, to seal the most dramatic of wins and put the Super Kings top of the table. de Villiers was certainly in the mood, launching eight sixes in his knock including three in a row off Shardul Thakur in the 13th over, as he and de Kock put on 103 for the second wicket.

We did it, skipper! Dwayne Bravo rushes in to celebrate with Dhoni after the win was achieved in the last over. (BCCI)

Bravo eventually broke the stand, perplexing de Kock with a slower ball that was chipped back into the bowler’s hands.

And then Imran Tahir removed the danger-man, de Villiers, who was tempted into a leading edge to sweeper cover, before snaffling Corey Anderson (2) with the next ball.

Bravo had the ball in hand for the last over when Colin de Grandhomme (11) and Pawan Negi (0) were run-out, before the West Indies star forced Umesh Yadav (0) to hole out to Sam Billings at deep midwicket.

A tall order was made even more difficult when Shane

Watson (7), Suresh Raina (11), Billings (9) and Ravindra Jadeja (3) failed to make an impact.

But Dhoni played with typical class, while Rayudu anchored a sublime century-stand with eight sixes and three fours. Rayudu’s knock came to an end with a brilliant run-out from Umesh Yadav despite a desperate dive.

However, Siraj’s jitters at the end hampered RCB and in the final over Bravo edged Anderson for four and lofted one over the covers for six.

Dhoni then put the finishing touch with a smack straight over the cow corner ropes.

(Yahoo Sport)

Real Madrid snatch 2-1 comeback win at Bayern Regal Masters win Malone birthday cup MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Holders Real Madrid came from a goal down to snatch a precious 2-1 victory at wasteful Bayern Munich yesterday and carry a considerable advantage into their Champions League semi-final second leg in Spain.

Real, eyeing a third straight title, needed a 44th-minute equaliser by Marcelo against the run of play to cancel out Joshua Kimmich’s opener after Bayern, chasing three trophies this season, had missed a hatful of chances.

A quick break allowed Real substitute Marco Asensio to beat Sven Ulreich with a fine effort and grab the winner in the 57th minute.

There was more bad news for Bayern with Germany defender Jerome Boateng suffering a suspected adductor muscle injury that could rule him out for the final part of the season and the World Cup. The result was identical to last year’s quarter-final first leg between the teams before Real won the return game as well on the way to the first successful Champions League title defence.

“We are satisfied with the result but this does not count for much,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane told reporters.

“You can never feel absolutely safe in football.

“We won tonight and I think we played well; we got a good result after a hard game.”

Liverpool crushed AS Roma 5-2 in the other semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Bayern, who had lost only one of their last 22 home

games in the competition, had only themselves to blame and were punished for their profligacy.

They almost scored after 25 seconds when Real defender Dani Carvajal failed to clear properly in a furious and physical start to the match.

The hosts’ game plan seemed to go out the window after eight minutes when speedy winger Arjen Robben was forced off with an ankle injury.

Marcelo a minute before the break as the Brazilian full back added to his goals against Paris St Germain and Juventus in previous rounds.

The Spanish side, who have had a disappointing domestic campaign, then caught the Germans napping after a defensive blunder as Asensio raced clear to score their second goal.

“It was a curious game,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said. “We gifted Madrid two goals through our mistakes.

Regal Masters played unbeaten to win the title.

Real Madrid’s Marcelo celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

PRESSING GAME They were undeterred by Real’s early tight pressing game, however, taking the lead when Kimmich slotted home after a superb through ball from former Real player James Rodriguez.

Another setback was when Jerome Boateng went off with a thigh muscle injury, with chances falling to Franck Ribery, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller.

But it was Real who struck against the run of play with a low drive from

We had really good chances and we did not use them. One should not be surprised that we lost.

“When you have that many chances and you don’t score then you cannot win.”

Bayern struggled to recover from the blow and despite having nearly 60 percent of possession they could not find an equaliser.

The defeat snapped Heynckes’s 12-game winning streak in the competition stretching back to 2013.

THE most decorated Masters softball team in the country, Regal Masters, added another silverware to their collection when they won the Ramo Malone birthday trophy on Sunday, April 15.

In the final of the six-team one-day tournament played at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground in Queenstown, Georgetown Regal Masters beat Wellman by 30 runs due to some powerful hitting from their top order batsmen.

Regal Masters took first strike and got to 145-8 from their allotted 15 overs with Eon Abel striking six fours in 34 at the top of the order that set up the winning total.

He was supported by a Throy Kippins cameo of 33 (6x4) and a flamboyant 21 (2x4, 1x6) from Rudolph Baker. All of the Wellman bowlers were roughed up, but Latchman Kallicharran with 2 for 24 and Greg DeFranca 1 for 24 were the most successful.

Wellman, who beat Albion Masters in their semifinal had a crack at the target and the title but were turned back by some good bowling from the eventual champions.

Saheed Mohamed picked up 2 for 16 from his three overs and was supported by Mahendra Hardyal (1-13), Kippins (1-23) and Parsram Persaud (119) to restrict Wellman to 115 for 5 from their 15 overs. Only Lloyd Ruplall with 41 (3x4, 2x6) and Eon Lovell 21 (1x4, 2x6) showed any fight against the good bowling in good conditions for softball cricket.

On their way to the final, Regal Masters beat Fishermen Masters by the wide margin of 58 runs in the semifinal.

In their turn at the crease, Regal Masters tallied 131 for 6 from their 15 overs with Mahesh Chunilall hitting the top score of 36 (2x4, 2x6)

while Baker with 25 not out (3x6) and Mohendra Arjune 21 (4x4) supported aptly to post the winning total.

For the Fishermen, Unis Yusuf snared 2 for 16 from his three overs before coming back with the bat to top-score with 29 (2x4, 3x6) in the run chase.

In the end it was Regal Masters’ bowling that came to the party. Kippins led with 4 for 16 with support from Laurie Singh 3 for 12 and Saheed Mohamed 1 for 8.

The other teams that were part of the day’s action were Savage Masters and Ariel Masters who were knocked out at the preliminary stage of the competition.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Thursday April 26, 2018) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) 5 (2) David Warner-126 (SH vs KKR) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who is the first player to be involved in 100 IPL games?

(2) In which IPL season did Sachin Tendulkar claim the Man

of the Series Award?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 26, 2018

OMSCC creates history at 2018 AGM committee d on executive te c le e n e m o w o w T …

By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada -- History was created when the Ontario Softball Cricket

Clubs (OMSCC) held its Annual General Meeting last Saturday at the Scarborough Civic Centre here.

For the first time in its 19-

year history, the entity has two stalwart women among its seven-member executive committee.

Shanta Persaud and In-

OMSCC executive members: Standing (from left) are umpires coordinator Dickey Singh, president Azeem Khan, treasurer Khem Singh, vice-president Feizal Bacchus and Over-50 coordinator Paul Jaman. Sitting (from left) are secretary Shanta Persaud and web content administrator Indira Singh.

dira Singh, long-standing supporters of the OMSCC were elected secretary and web content administrator respectively, joining Azeem Khan who was retained as president, new vice-president Feizal Bacchus, former secretary Khem Singh who takes over as treasurer, Over-50 coordinator Paul Jaman and umpire coordinator Dickey Singh. Bacchus, who served previously as treasurer, continues as the webmaster.

In their acceptance remarks, both Shanta Persaud and Indira Singh pledged to play key roles in the furtherance of the OMSCC. Reflecting on the 2017 season, president Azeem Khan referred to the many challenges faced by the body but acknowledged that it was still a very good one. “For sure, we had a few challenges but when you think about the positives, they obviously outweighed the negatives.”

Among the challenges, Khan said, were complaints

about pelting, umpiring, disciplinary matters, permit infractions, shortage of volunteers and sponsors, and the level of appreciation shown to the board members for their voluntary work, time and efforts.

Khan listed some of the highlights as having a new website which he pointed out is running smoothly, alluding to the fact that numerous data and statistics are being captured in a very timely manner. “The new website is being operated on a cost recovery, based on advertisements and we’ve become more cashless with the use of e-transfers.”

The long-standing OMSCC executive member also boasted about the success of Toronto Cup 2 while pointing out there was still room for improvement.

“Testament to a good showing came primarily from the United States and Guyana who have expressed an interest in our hosting of the tournament every

year.”

Khan urged officials and players to work with the board, to make constructive suggestions which are in the best interest of the league and not just their individual teams and to make a real effort this year in giving some of their personal time to strive for improvement of the league.

The incumbent president further pledged to work with players, team management, umpires, sponsors, parks and school boards officials, international tournament organisers and his board members to continue to enhance the image and the integrity of the OMSCC. Khan also showered praise on the several sponsors, his fellow executive members and the volunteers who assisted over the last year. The 2018 OMSCC season is set to kick off on Saturday, May 26, with the Over-50s going into action while the Over-40s square off the following day.

FIBA Americas regional Referee Training Camp hailed a ‘success’ Windies to open 2019 World THE recently concluded FIBA Americas regional Referee Training Camp is being hailed as a “success” by the participants, including aspiring FIBA referees from Guyana, Grenada, The Bahamas, Barbados and Suriname.

The training programme, which was held for a period of one week in Guyana, saw referees and table officials, from several regional countries in the Caribbean being guided by FIBA elite referee Roberto Vázquez (Olympic Games 2016 and World Cup 2014) and Frederick Brown, FIBA Americas National Instructor.

The programme was facilitated by the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (Practical) and at Palm Court (Theory) Over 18 persons attended.

Participants were taught the FIBA Basketball Rules, more so elaborating on the Travel Violation, Unsportsmanlike Foul and Contact Criteria using the FIBA Basketball Rules Official Interpretations.

The FIBA Americas Regional Training Camp was designed to improve the Officiating Team in the FIBA

National Federations, and identify possible potential prospects at National Level to be future FIBA Referees in order to support Licensing 2019 and facilitating 2-6 years planning to scout National talents in time.

regional officials on the FIBA Referees’ list, and as such, systems are being put in place by basketball’s world governing body, to ensure that the pool of officials is big enough to give the Caribbean an opportunity to expand the

and I hope they now go back to their countries and share the things they were taught.”

President of the GABF, Nigel Hands, said his Federation was happy to play a part in the programme and said

Participants and facilitators of the recently concluded FIBA Americas Regional Referee Training Camp

“I thought it was really welcoming to see the participants all eager to learn, and the way everyone was ready to be engaging, tells me that the future of officiating in the Caribbean seems bright,” Brown told Chronicle Sport at the conclusion of the programme.

The well-respected Bahamian stated that currently, there are very few active

game.

Meanwhile, Vázquez, one of basketball’s top referees, also echoed those sentiments of the FIBA Instructor, adding, “I was impressed with the commitment of the participants, and it shows that they have always been eager to learn, but never had this kind of training. I know I will see them on the FIBA list

the information handed to the Guyanese officials who participated, will certainly help lift the standard of basketball in Guyana.

Patrick Haynes - GABF General Secretary and CBC Vice President along with Michael Singh – GABF Vice President were also present on the programme’s final day and assisted with the presentation of certificates.

Cup quest against Pakistan

LONDON, England (CMC) – Two-time winners West Indies will open their 2019 World cup campaign against nemeses Pakistan, in their bid for a third title in the International Cricket Council’s premier 50-overs showpiece.

While the world governing body is set to officially unveil the full schedule of the event today, the fixtures were leaked yesterday for the May 30 to July 14 tournament in England and Wales.

West Indies will take on Pakistan in Nottingham on May 31, having not beaten the Asian side in a bilateral series in 27 years, and winning just four of the last 19 ODIs against them.

The Caribbean side will clash with world champions Australia on June 6 also in Nottingham before facing South Africa four days later in Southampton.

Jason Holder’s side will then do battle with hosts England on June 14 also in Southampton and take on Bangladesh in Taunton three days later.

The Windies will lock horns with New Zealand (June 22) and India (June 27) in two Manchester fixtures, battle Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street on July 1 before wrapping up their preliminary campaign on July 4 against Afghanistan in Leeds.

All 10 teams will play each other in the preliminaries with the top four progressing to the semi-finals carded for Manchester and Birmingham on July 9 and 11.

West Indies will not play a single game at the historic Oval in London, where most of their traditional Caribbean support can be found. However, the ground will be the scene of the tournament opener between England and South Africa.

The Oval will be one of 11 venues utilised, with Lord’s, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge, Headingley, Old Trafford, Taunton, Bristol, Chester-le-Street, Southampton and Cardiff all hosting matches.

West Indies missed out on automatic qualification for the World Cup for the first time, after finding themselves outside the top eight in the ODI rankings at the cut-off date of September 30 last year.

They sealed their spot at the tournament, however, after finishing second behind Afghanistan in last month’s 10-team qualifier in Zimbabwe.

Ninvalle brings peace to Judo feud … Darren Elcock now cleared to represent Guyana See Page

Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo brings out his celebratory jig after dismissing Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Quinton de Kock. (See story on page 30). ©(BCCI photo).

Holder sees Windies upcoming ODI series as preparation for 2019 World Cup

Stev

e Nin

Darren Elcock

Guyana beat Brazil 6-3 for third consecutive win at World Mixed Curling Championship

See Page

Captain Jason Holder says Windies need to pay attention to series leading up to World Cup.

valle

Rayad Hussain and Farzana Hussain in action against Brazil at the World Mixed Curling Championship in Sweden

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

See Page THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018