Guyana Chronicle E -paper 4-29-2019

MONDAY 29th April, 2019

Rethink Opposition boycott calls No.105622

–– prime minister urges Region Three residents

––– hundreds attend outreach, cash in on gov’t services

PAGE

11

Labour unions to join forces 02 on Labour Day PAGE

Paruni to get health centre by year-end 16 PAGE

Sympathy, not honour 03 PAGE

Hundreds turned out at a government outreach in Region Three held at the Leonora Track and Field Centre on Sunday (Samuel Maughn photo)

–– Kadir’s motion aimed at directing sympathy to family

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Some improvements at City Hall –– but much more work to be done, say new councillors

By Telesha Ramnarine THE relatively-new councillors sitting around the horseshoe table feel that there is greater unity and cooperation at the council, but some are hoping that certain senior officers would get around to doing a better job.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Councillor, John Vanveen, a representative of Constituency 11, lauded the cooperation among councillors, but said he does not see any unity between them and officers of the municipality.

“We’re not working as a cooperative body as yet. I don’t see any unity here between the officers and the councillors.

Blatantly, there is a type of pushing around that’s going on here, especially when work is to be done in the various constituencies,” Vanveen told the Guyana Chronicle recently.

Councillor for Constituency Nine, Shonelle Smith-Daniels, made a similar point, but said she felt that if the officers hand more tools on hand, they would be more inclined to do more work.

“I think the officers have been accustomed to not doing

Councillor Shonelle Smith-Daniels

Councillor John Vanveen

Councillor Bishram Kuppen

anything for so long… now that a group of young people are here, they are not moving.

We are trying to change things a bit. It’s a task, but we’re trying. Officers might be willing to work with us, but I think the problem is having the necessary tools,” Smith-Daniels expressed.

She believes that the Public Relations Department is “dead” and said councillors are working to see how they can better that department.

Councillor for Constituency 14, Denroy Tudor, has noticed that since the new

council came into existence earlier this year, councillors have been proactive in getting certain things done.

He pointed out how the council has since put three new committees in place, namely the Audit Committee, the Tender and Procurement Committee, and the Solid Waste Management Committee.

“We’re trying our best to see how we can generate funds in a legal manner, but despite political affiliation, I believe that all the councillors want to see better for the City,” Tudor expressed.

People’s Progressive Party

(PPP) Councillor, Bishram Kuppen, also acknowledged that attempts are being made to correct some of the deficiencies at the City Council. “But they have a long way to go. The council has not really changed; it’s still at the same place. They’re still broke, they still owe billions of dollars, employees are still owed, the credit union is still owed, the power company, GWI,” Kuppen told the Guyana Chronicle.

He said he does not believe that imposing new taxes will solve the problems. “They should be making efforts to collect the billions owed in

Councillor Ivelaw Henry property taxes, but at the same time, some citizens are reluctant to pay because they’re claiming that they are not receiving any services from the City Council,” Kuppen offered.

He is hoping that the recommendations which came out of the Commission of Inquiry into City Hall’s affairs would be fully implemented.

“I think the young councillors have come with a new perspective and they’re asking the right questions, but sometimes you get the feeling that they don’t push too hard because of political considerations,” the

Councillor Denroy Tudor

councillor said.

Councillor Ivelaw Henry, representing Constituency Seven, told this publication that based on his observation, both the APNU/AFC and opposition councillors are working together in the interest of the City.

“I’ve seen it. It’s better than it was in the previous council, and we are working on basic things. The various committees have been meeting and that auger well for development. All things being well, I think this year we’ll do better than last year,” Henry offered.

Labour unions to join forces on Labour Day THE Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), two of the leading voices of nation’s workers, will once again observe Labour Day 2019 under one banner.

In keeping with tradition, Labour Day will be celebrated with a march that commences at the Parade Ground, winding its way through several streets of the City to the National Park where a joint rally will be held, the unions confirmed in a statement.

Speakers from both the

FITUG and the GTUC are in the line up to address the hundreds of workers who will converge at the National Park.

“Our trade union bodies are again heartened to celebrate Labour Day – a day with a history filled with landmark events, sacrifices and victories for the working-people.

This day will be celebrated in an atmosphere of unity and togetherness,” the unions said in a joint statement.

They said the unification augurs well for Guyana’s workers, and the country as a whole. “In more recent times, our bodies have heightened

our co-operation and collaboration in the interest of the nation’s workers. Our speaking with one voice not-toolong ago on the struggles of the bauxite workers and then before on the battle of the nation’s teachers, saw those contingents of the working-class attaining their reasonable and justifiable demands. Indeed, we go forward in the future optimistic that the bonds we have developed will be consolidated,” they stated.

This year’s Labour Day March is being commemorated under the theme “A long journey for Social Justice

– Together we can achieve”.

Today, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Public Buildings from 16:00hrs.

On Wednesday May 1, 2019, the march will move off from Parade Ground at 08:00hrs. The rally will follow at the National Park at 11:00hrs.

“Labour Day, this year, for us, has taken on even greater importance as we observe the centennial anniversary of the Trade Union Ordinance of British Guiana, which allowed for trade unions to be registered as legal entities. We will recognise that over the last one hundred years, the work-

ing people have realised several successes in their march towards betterment and social justice. Today, though pleased about those worthwhile and notable developments, our movement cannot ignore, at the same time, that challenges have appeared and attempts, whether below the surface or otherwise, are being furthered to roll back the real triumphs of our nation’s workers. Undoubtedly, the need for solidarity cannot be underscored at this time as we seek to advance the just causes of our workers,” the unions stated.

Preceding the Labour

Day activity, the Trade Union Movement will pay tribute to the Father of Trade Unionism, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow.

As done in the past, the movement will gather on Sunday, April 28, 2019 to lay wreaths at the statue of Critchlow at the Public Buildings.

“Our bodies will also pay tribute to the yeoman work of Critchlow who, history has recorded, faced great adversity and daunting challenges in his efforts to establish the first workers organisation in the British Colonial Empire,” they stated.

Sympathy, not honour 3

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

–– Kadir’s motion aimed at directing sympathy to family –– similar resolution honoured PPP’s Gajraj, Bashir

CONTRARY to reports, the National Assembly did not pass a motion to honour the life of the late Abdul Kadir, but rather to recognise his contributions to the Parliament of Guyana while he served as a Member of Parliament, and to sympathise with his grieving wife, children and relatives.

In a clear attempt to misrepresent the fact, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) said the National Assembly, Guyana’s highest decision-making body, was on Friday April 26, 2019 used to ‘honour ’ Kadir, a convicted terrorist. Though it is a fact that Kadir died in a US prison while serving a life sentence for plotting to blow up the JFK Airport, the PPP/C insinuated that through the motion, the National Assembly honoured Kadir’s entire life, which would also include his link to acts of terrorism. But the motion, in its resolve clauses, recognised a specific period of Kadir’s life.

T h e m o t i o n re a d : “Be it resolved, that this National Assembly records its deep regret on the death of Mr. Abdul Kadir, on June 28, 2018, and pays tribute to his dedicated service to the Parliament of Guyana as a Member of Parliament where he served in the Eighth Parliament, from April 17, 2001 to May 2, 2006, and to the people of Guyana.”

ESTABLISHED NORMS Weighing in on the issue, Veteran Trade Unionist, Lincoln Lewis, said the House’s recognition of Kadir’s contribution as an MP, is in keeping with the well-established custom and practice in Guyana’s Parliament.

He explained that this acknowledgement is given whether the member at the time of death, was serving, retired, resigned, expelled or left the Assembly for whatever reason.

“As a people, we must acknowledge that being a Member of Parliament (MP) in any capacity, in any

Ronald Gajraj country, is a distinguished achievement whether or not the performance is similarly distinguished. Abdul Kadir is one such distinguished Guyanese among several who have served this country in the National Assembly,” Lewis said. He reiterated that Parliament’s move to recognise Kadir’s service is consistent with the norms.

“It cannot be disputed that Kadir, during this period – April 17, 2001 to May 2, 2006, had an unblemished record as a MP, citizen of Guyana and the world. During the period under review, it cannot be denied that this man exemplified himself in his career, family life, academics, other achievements, and service to his community.

Nothing can erase the fact of those contributions to society’s development,” the trade unionist said. Kadir, born under the name Michael Seaforth, was a chemical engineer by profession having graduated from the University of Guyana.

ANGER AND SHAME Though acknowledging Kadir’s contributions to society, Lincoln did not shy away from the fact that Kadir, later in life, found himself engaged in activities for which he was convicted in 2010 under the United States’ terrorist laws.

“I am sure the family, friends, people who loved him and the people of Guyana, in spite of his outstanding service and contributions to our country, were affected when he was accused and convicted of terrorism. Without a doubt,

Abdul Kadir it brought shock, disbelief, shame, condemnation, dismay, anger and other emotions to his loved ones and countrymen,” Lewis said. He, however, observed that in keeping with the typical response to every issue where political mileage can be sought, passage of the motion has become an issue for partisan political wrangling and excessive rhetoric. This, he said, will only further divide the nation and denies the country an opportunity to acknowledge the truth, even sometimes in a bitter state. “The fact that Kadir was so honoured in the Assembly for the period which he served, and which is consistent with this body’s protocol, puts no stain on Parliament...” The PPP/C, in its statement, accused the People’s National Congress (PNC), a partner within the coalition government, of having a history of honouring and exonerating violent criminals. But Lewis warned against misinformation and cherry picking.

“And to the issue of crime, we as a nation must remember that all crimes are bad – white collar, blue collar, corruption, executive lawlessness, public sabotage, domestic or international terrorism, and even those not convicted in a court of law due to technicality or other reasons. We cannot cherry pick or see justification in one as against the other or turn a blind eye to those who commit same because they are of us.

Society functions better where truth and accountability applies to all,” he said.

KILLING SQUAD While the PPP/C has

Isahak Bashir condemned the move to acknowledge Kadir’s contributions as a MP, it was only recently that the said National Assembly paid tribute to former minister and ambassador of the PPP administration, Ronald Gajraj.

Prior to taking up his post in India as Guyana’s ambassador there, the former minister had resigned from the PPP Cabinet after reports had surfaced, linking him to the “Phantom” death squads led by convicted drug kingpin, Shaheed “Roger” Khan. During the crime wave which occurred after the 2002 ‘Mash’ Day, Camp Street jailbreak and which spanned the years when Gajraj served as Home Affairs Minister, a number of unexplained deaths had occurred. Several young men remain missing today.

The existence of the death squad was first mentioned by former Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, during his weekly press briefings at the time. Later, information in the form of telephone records surfaced linking Gajraj to former hit man, the late Axel Williams. Williams’ firearm upgrade on Gajraj’s recommendation raised several eyebrows at the time when men were being killed almost wantonly at the hands of the death squads, which was made up of mostly former policemen. Gajraj was then made the subject of a presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) set-up by Jagdeo to investigate the minister’s ties to the death squad. Former acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang, chaired the three-member body.

Retired Major-General and former chairman of the Po-

lice Service Commission, Norman McLean, also sat on the body which later exonerated Gajraj from links to the death squad. One victim of the death squad was Kwesi Williams, who was shot and killed by a group of men in full view of the public on the tarmac of the National Cultural Centre. The men had abducted Williams earlier and attempted to take him into the forested area aback the Botanical Gardens. It was in that area that the skeletal remains of the victims of the crime wave were dumped, allegedly at the hands of the death squad.

Eyebrows were also raised when it was discovered that wanted man, prison escapee, Dale Moore, and another man, were shot dead a few doors away from the home of Gajraj in Lamaha Gardens at the height of the crime wave.

This and a string of other mysterious occurrences during his term as Home Affairs Minister remain unsolved.

TEIXEIRA’S ALLEGATIONS Top executive of the P e o p l e ’s P ro g re s s i v e Party (PPP) and former Home Affairs Minister, Gail Teixeira, had also told the United States back in 2005 that Gajraj was corrupt and was involved in visa racketeering with another senior official, whom she was forced to sideline.

After being forced to resign under international pressure for his alleged involvement in a “death squad” here, Gajraj was posted to head Guyana’s mission in New Delhi. This revelation was made in a cable dated December 28, 2005 and written by then Charge d’Affaires at the US mission here, Michael Thomas. The cable is one of several that whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, has released. Headlined, “Teixeira struggling to control Home Affairs Ministry,” the cable detailed a conversation between Teixeira and senior officials of the U.S. Embassy here on December 23, 2005, during which

she requested a consular briefing on trends in fake Guyanese civil documents detected by the Consular Section. During the meeting, the cable said, Teixeira acknowledged that there “is quite a lot of corruption in the immigration division.”

She was also quoted as saying that she had tried to deal with it by firing many employees in the ministry, but that her greatest fear was that these corrupt former employees will sell their knowledge of the system, and ability to forge documents.

She was further quoted in the cable as saying that former Home Affairs Ministry Security Policy Coordinator, Sultan Kassim, “is very closely linked to a number of networks, particularly the Chinese,” and describing a slush fund financed by Brazilian fees for work permits that Gajraj and Kassim had run.”

HURLING BOTTLE AT SPEAKER Additionally, Isahak Bashir, who was also honoured on Friday, was expelled from the National Assembly for hurling a glass bottle at the then Speaker, Sase Narine.

In an interview with this newspaper back in June 2017, Bashir had related that in 1976, he accepted an invitation from then PPP leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, to serve as a parliamentarian at a time when the PPP was engaged in extra-parliamentary struggles. Bashir related that during that time, there were many dramatic incidents in Parliament, some of which he orchestrated without any serious reprimand.

But he was eventually expelled in 1991, after he hurled a drinking glass at then Speaker of the House, Sase Narain, who was trying to prevent Dr. Jagan from speaking on a motion to prolong the life of Parliament.

Dr. Jagan, at the time, was gaged for unbecoming parliamentary conduct.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

Spain election: Socialists win amid far-right breakthrough

(BBC) Spain’s ruling Socialists are heading for victory in the third election in four years, but have fallen short of a majority, early results say.

PM Pedro Sánchez’s party is to win almost 30% and would need the support of radical left Podemos and nationalists to form a government.

For the first time since military rule ended in the

1970s, a far-right party is set to enter parliament. Vox opposes multiculturalism, feminism and unrestricted migration.

According to the early results the Socialists are set to win 131 seats while their former coalition partner Podemos would have 39.

That would leave the two parties short of the necessary 176 for a majority, and requiring the support of Cata-

street protests across Spain for years and more politicians than ever are courting women’s votes.

Vox, however, has spoken out against what it calls “radical feminism”, saying that it “criminalises” men.

Leading players: Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), Pablo Casado (PP), Albert Rivera (Ciudadanos), Pablo Iglesias (Podemos), Santiago Abascal (Vox)

lan pro-independence parties and Basque nationalists.

The Popular Party (PP),

Monday 29, April, 2019

which ruled Spain until it was dumped from power in May 2018 in a no-confidence vote,

is heading for its worst election ever, with just 65 seats.

That would leave the PP far short of forming a coalition with centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) and Vox. Almost all votes are expected to be counted by midnight.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES? The highly polarised campaign was dominated by issues including national identity, gender equality and the future of Catalonia.

The semi-autonomous region held an independence referendum in October 2017 and declared its independence from Spain weeks later. A dozen of its leaders have since gone on trial in Madrid, facing charges including rebellion and sedition.

Analysts say support for Vox has been boosted by widespread anger at the independence drive. The party fervently opposes any concessions to the secessionists.

Women’s rights have also been a key campaigning topic. Gender-based violence has provoked debate and

01:30hrs.-03:00hrs.

14:30hrs.-16:00hrs.

WHAT THE LEADERS SAID Speaking after casting his vote at a polling station near Madrid, Prime Minister Sánchez said he hoped for stability.

“After many years of instability and uncertainty, it’s important that today we send a clear, defined message about the Spain we want. And from there a broad parliamentary majority must be built that can support a stable government,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Albert Rivera, leader of the centre-right Ciudadanos, renewed calls to oust Mr Sánchez as he cast his vote in Barcelona.

“These are not any normal elections. At stake is whether we want to remain united, if we want to continue being free and equal citizens, if we want a Spain that looks to the past or the future, a country of extremes or of moderation,” he said.

Pablo Casado, who took over the leadership of the conservative Popular Party after it was dumped from power in a no-confidence vote in May 2018, said he wanted to see a “stable government” to avoid the “failed legislatures” of the past two years.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal said many Spaniards were voting “without fear of anything or anyone”.

Saturday 27, April, 2019

03 09 17 20 21 28 12

26, April, 2019

K

01 02 05 17 18

03, 10, 14, 15, 21

1, 6, 7

7, 8, 4

01, 02, 03, 11, 13

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

T&T: ‘CJ BIASED’ (TRINIDAD NEWSDAY) The Opposition UNC has filed an application to set aside a Court of Appeal judgment on the ground of the apparent bias of the Chief Justice.

This comes more than two years after the party’s original legal challenge to PNM wins in six parliamentary constituencies was dismissed, Lawyers for San Fernando West voter Dr Shevanand Gopeesingh a UNC member, have filed a 514-page application complaining of allegations against Chief Justice Ivor Archie, who sat on the panel of judges which dismissed the election petitions in October 2016.

The UNC had previously challenged the results in the constituencies of San Fernando West, Tunapuna, St Joseph, Toco/Sangre Grande, Moruga/Tableland and La Horquetta/Talparo. All the challenges were dismissed.

Gopeesingh said had the petitions succeeded on appeal, the litigation had the potential to alter the election results by unseating the PNM. The party won 23 of the 41 seats in the Lower House in the September 7, 2015 general election.

In the application, Gopeesingh alleges that the allegations against Archie, which he said the latter was yet to fully address, “gives rise to real and substantial concerns of apparent bias and or apparent unfairness in relation of the Honourable

Chief Justice’s participation in decisions affecting the election appeals.”

The application urged the court to take the “exceptional course” of reopening proceedings, as the final arbiter of electoral petitions – which are of pivotal political and legal importance – to determine a complaint of bias against any of the judges who participated in its earlier ruling. Election petitions cannot be appealed to the Privy Council.

The UNC has been given a June 5 date for the hearing of its complaint. Gopeesingh is represented by Anand Ramlogan, SC, Gerald Ramdeen, Douglas Bayley and Che Dindial.

UNC’S ARGUMENTS FOCUS ON HDC REQUEST The 516-page application included newspaper reports of the allegations against Archie; the Law Association (LATT)’s report on its own investigations, which has since been sent to the Prime Minister to consider invoking impeachment proceedings against the CJ; and interview notes of a meeting with the LATT committee and the Trinidad Express journalist who wrote the stories outlining the allegations.

It focused on one particular allegation, that Archie recommended 12 people to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for lowcost housing, and a claim that that convicted felon Kern

Romero had been taking money from people allegedly on the basis that he had contacts with the CJ, who could in turn influence the HDC. It also included press releases and responses by Archie to the LATT as well as Gopeesingh’s lawyers, in response to a pre-action protocol letter sent to him in February.

The application pointed out that the HDC was part of the government “in the sense that it is part of a state enterprise and is ultimately under the direct control of a government minister.”

The application also included allegations that the CJ not only referred names to the HDC but also contacted the Prime Minister by WhatsApp seeking to have him fast-track those applications.

“Thus,” it argued, “the allegations have now become that, between 2013 and 2015, the Honourable Chief Justice had been seeking to persuade the HDC to grant housing to certain named individuals, including by seeking favours from the Prime Minister and a senior HDC state employee.

“There is evidence suggesting that he did this because his (criminal) friend had asked him to do so.”

These recommendations, it pointed out, would have been pending in 2015 and 2016, during the election and thereafter, during the hearing of the UNC’s election petitions and the subsequent appeal. It complained that as a result, the real risk, to the fair-minded and informed

observer, was “that, either during the hearing of the petition appeals or shortly beforehand, the Honourable Chief Justice may have been seeking favours from the government of the day in respect of HDC housing applications.

This, it argued, gave rise to “ real and substantial concerns of apparent bias and or apparent unfairness in relation of the Honourable Chief Justice’s participation in decisions affecting the election appeals.”

FURTHER CLAIMS OF APPARENT BIAS Gopeesingh’s complaint said it was “particularly concerning” that the CJ wrote to the managing director of the HDC on June 26, 2015, after the general election date was announced, to recommend persons for housing.

“If the People’s Partnership administration did not expedite these requests to ensure that they were granted before the general elections, then this could, in the applicant’s view have led the Honourable Chief Justice to think that it was not as co-operative and supportive as he had hoped or expected or worse yet, that the failure to ensure that his recommendees were granted housing before the general election amounted to a ‘snub’ or some form of disrespect.

“If the Honourable Chief Justice followed up and pursued his recommendation with the newly elected People’s National Movement

Pope donates $500,000 for migrants stranded in Mexico

(BBC) Pope Francis has donated $500,000 (£387,000) to help migrants stranded in Mexico as they try to reach the US border, the Vatican said.

The money comes from the Catholic Church’s Peter’s Pence fund, from church collections around the world.

A statement said vital aid for the migrants was falling as global media coverage of the crisis decreased.

The Pope has previously criticised US President Donald Trump’s aim of building a wall to keep migrants out.

The US has put pressure on Mexico’s government to stem the so-called caravans of people from Central America heading north.

“In 2018, six migrant caravans entered Mexico, for a total of 75,000 people.

The arrival of other groups was announced,” the Peter’s Pence office said.

“All these people were stranded, unable to enter the United States, without a home or livelihood. The Catholic Church hosts thousands of them in the hotels within dioceses or religious congregations, providing ba-

sic necessities, from housing to clothing.”

Many of the migrants say they are fleeing persecution, violence and poverty in their home countries. Last week officials detained nearly 400 migrants travelling through Mexico’s southern Chiapas state trying to reach the US. “Media coverage of this emergency has been decreasing and as a result, aid to migrants by the government and private individuals has also decreased,” the fund added.

“In this context, Pope Francis donated US

$500,000 to assist migrants in Mexico. This amount will be distributed among 27 projects in 16 dioceses and among Mexican religious congregations that have asked for help in order to continue providing housing, food and basic necessities to these our brothers and sisters.” In March, the Pope criticised political leaders who tried to erect barriers to keep migrants out.

“Builders of walls, be they made of razor wire or bricks, will end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build,” he said.

administration then the applicant believes that there is a real risk that he could have been biased in favour of their successful candidates whose elections were the subject of challenge via the election petitions in anticipation of a more favourable response,” the application said.

“The conduct of the CJ gives rise to real and substantial concerns of apparent bias and/or apparent unfairness in relation to his participation in decisions affecting the appeals, in favour of the government.”

How Archie responded In his response to Ramdeen in February, Archie said he lobbied no one for the people he recommended for state-subsidised housing and, having since changed his phone, he was unable to access messages or communications on the device.

He did disclose a letter to former HDC manging director Jearlean John in which he told her “from time to time needed employees or clients of the court” seek his help in obtaining housing “without understanding that the Judiciary as a separate arm of the Government, has no role or authority in directing executive agencies in matters of this nature.”

Nevertheless, he wrote, “I am always happy to assist worthy applicants in any way that I can if I discern that there is a genuine and justifiable need.” Archie had told John, “without prejudice,” he was forwarding to her the list of people who had applied

Chief Justice Ivor Archie

for HDC housing, and he “would be grateful for any appropriate assistance” she could provide.

UNC: ARCHIE’S LETTER “VERY TROUBLING’ Gopeesingh’s application said the timing of Archie’s letter to John was very troubling, and questioned several of his statements, adding that the fair-minded observer would be driven to conclude that the HDC was being asked to accept the CJ’s recommendations on his say-so. It accused the CJ of inadequately responding to the allegations, saying he instead chose to do so in a “vague and unspecific way,” while acknowledging, however, that it was up to him to respond or not.

It added nevertheless that the allegations were serious and his silence had reflected adversely on both the office of the CJ and the Judiciary.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

The war against terrorism LAST week, the National Assembly approved a motion to convey its sympathy to the sorrowing family of former Member of Parliament and terror-plot convict, Abdul Kadir.

This motion has generated the kind of reaction from the opposition which has come to define their behaviour in and out of office.

There have also been wild accusations that the coalition administration’s senior partner, the PNC/R, has a history of exonerating criminals when the record would show that it was the PPP who in 2015 refused to back the anti-terrorism bill and has repeatedly attacked reforms in the security sector both in and out of office.

There could be no doubt that government has had a zero-tolerance and an uncompromising approach to the fight against terrorism. One of its early acts on coming into office was passage of the anti-terrorism bill, which the PPP opposed and abstained from voting for it, after raising questions about the “draconian” bill, including the inclusion

of the death penalty for 14 offences.

In piloting the bill, Attorney General Basil Williams had said some of the provisions were mandated by the global anti-money laundering body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Unsurprisingly, only earlier this month the United States recognised this country’s efforts in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In fact, the US Department of State in its recent report on Guyana noted that this country has made significant progress on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism; and though it urges more investigations and successful prosecutions are needed, it concluded that President David Granger’s government has shown the political will to tackle this scourge.

In a further demonstration of this commitment, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, said that cognisant of the challenges and risks it currently faces in the fight to combat this scourge,

Guyana recently appointed a new assistant solicitor-general with responsibility for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

Additionally, back in December, 2018, it was widely reported that Guyana had performed well to rank 128th on the Global Terrorism Index moving from 117 the previous year 2017.

Guyana’s score on the index, where lower is better, went from 0.154 in 2017 to 0.076 in 2018, a more than 50 per cent improvement. On a list of categorisations, where 8-10 is listed as Very High and 0.000 is listed as No Impact, Guyana’s risk of terrorism was listed as very low, the best of any CARICOM state and the second best in South America, behind Bolivia, which poses no terrorist threat or contribution to terrorism.

The global war against terrorism continues to be waged and Guyana has been playing its part in these efforts.

Man’s security is being challenged ev-

eryday. The level of sophistication of those bent on terroristic acts requires vigilance by all. At the same time, no longer can persons depend on government to put a foolproof system in place to protect them as citizens.

As society evolves, values change and the one-size-fits-all approach, is not delivering across the board.

Consequently, leaders, researchers and thinkers need to return to the drawing board, examine what may have gone wrong, and seek to put corrective action in place. Strong military hardware (bombings and shootings) have not delivered the peace and tranquility in and across countries and regions, as the terrorists seem to be a few steps ahead of the formal security system. In the circumstances, it would be more beneficial for the opposition to join the administration in the fight against terrorism, rather than seeking political mileage from the motion that sought to sympathise with the relatives of Kadir.

Society functions better when truth and accountability apply to all

Dear Editor,

LAST Friday a motion was brought before the House that: “Be it resolved, that this National Assembly records its deep regret on the death of Mr. Abdul Kadir, on 28thJune, 2018, and pays tribute to his dedicated service to the Parliament of Guyana as a Member of Parliament, where he served in the Eighth Parliament, from 17th April, 2001 to 2nd May, 2006, and to the people of Guyana.” This motion was debated and passed.

It is a well established custom and practice that in our Parliament the House takes time off from regular business to acknowledge and recognise a deceased member’s contribution to the country at the highest decision-making level of government. This acknowledgement is given whether the member at the time of death was serving, retired, resigned, expelled or left the Assembly for whatever reason. As a people we must acknowledge that being a Member of Parliament (MP) in any capacity, in any country, is

a distinguished achievement, whether or not the performance is similarly distinguished.

Abdul Kadir is one such distinguished Guyanese among several who have served this country in the National Assembly. As such, Parliament’s move in keeping with norms to honour his service is consistent. It cannot be disputed that Kadir during this period, 17th April 2001 to 2nd May 2006, had an unblemished record as a MP, citizen of Guyana and the world. During the period under review, it cannot be denied that this man exemplified himself in his career, family life, academics, other achievements, and service to his community. Nothing can erase the fact of those contributions to society’s development.

That Kadir somewhere along the line found himself engaged in activities for which he was convicted in 2010 under the United States’ terrorist laws is a fact that is indisputable. I am sure the family, friends and people who loved him and the people of Guyana, in spite of his outstanding service and contributions to our country, were af-

fected when he was accused and convicted of terrorism. Without a doubt it brought shock, disbelief, shame, condemnation, dismay, anger and other emotions to his loved ones and countrymen.

In keeping with the typical response to every issue where political mileage can be sought, passage of the motion has become an issue for partisan political wrangling and excessive rhetoric, which further divides this nation and denies us an opportunity to acknowledge truth, even in sometimes bitter state. The fact that Kadir was so honoured in the Assembly for the period which he served, and which is consistent with this body’s protocol, puts no stain on Parliament, the use of the parliamentary resolution, Guyana or democracy. Kadir’s record in the House is indelibly written in the Hansard of Guyana.

It would have been helpful to the national discourse had the media stated the normalcy surrounding recognition given to deceased MPs in the National Assembly. Unless this norm is changed by the members themselves, every person who

served will be honoured after death and this includes Charrandass Persuad, whose name is presently the subject of heated national debate for breaking ranks with his coalition colleagues in supporting the opposition to unseat them.

It is inopportune that some seek to ignore these aforesaid, stated fundamentals and find the issue more favourable to be a weapon for partisan gain. And to the issue of crime, we as a nation must remember that all crimes are bad--white collar, blue collar, corruption, executive lawlessness, public sabotage, domestic or international terrorism -- and even those not convicted in a court of law due to technicalities or other reasons. We cannot cherry pick or see justification in one as against the other, or turn a blind eye to those who commit same because they are of us. Society functions better when truth and accountability apply to all.

Regards Lincoln Lewis

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

Labour Day 2019 to be celebrated in unity Dear Editor,

THIS year, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) – two of the leading voices of our nation’s workers – will once again observe Labour Day 2019 under one banner. As has been the case, Labour Day will be celebrated with a march that commences at the Parade Ground and which will wind its way through several city streets, to the National Park where a joint rally will be held.

That rally will see speakers from both the FITUG and the GTUC addressing the workers gathered. Invitations have been extended to both the government and the opposition to nominate representatives to deliver remarks to the workers of Guyana as well.

Our trade union bodies are again heartened to celebrate Labour Day – a day with a history filled with landmark events, sacrifices and victories for the working people.

This day will be celebrated in an atmosphere of unity and togetherness. We firmly hold that this coming together being displayed augurs well for our nation’s workers and the country as a whole. In more recent times, our

bodies have heightened our co-operation and collaboration in the interest of the nation’s workers. Our speaking with one voice not too long ago on the struggles of the bauxite workers and then before on the battle of the nation’s teachers, saw those contingents of the working-class attaining their reasonable and justifiable demands. Indeed, we go forward in the future, optimistic that the bonds we have developed will be consolidated.

This year’s event is being commemorated under the theme, “A long journey for Social Justice -- Together we can achieve.” The wreath-laying ceremony is Sunday 29th April at Parliament Building, starting at 4:00 p.m. The march and rally is Wednesday, 1st May, with the march moving from the Parade Ground at 8:00 a.m., and rally held at the National Park at 11:00 a.m.

All are invited to participate Labour Day this year, for us, has taken on even greater importance as we observe the centennial anniversary of the Trade Union Ordinance of British Guiana, which allowed trade unions to be registered as legal entitties. We well recognise that over the last one hundred (100) years, the working-people have realised several successes in their march towards betterment and social

justice. Today, though pleased about those worthwhile and notable developments, our movement cannot ignore, at the same time, that challenges have appeared and attempts, whether below the surface or otherwise, are being furthered to roll back the real triumphs of our nation’s workers. Undoubtedly, the need for solidarity cannot be underscored at this time as we seek to advance the just causes of our workers.

Preceding the Labour Day activity, the trade union movement will pay tribute to the Father of Trade Unionism, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow. As we have done in the past, the movement will gather on April 28, 2019, to lay wreaths at the statue of Critchlow at the Public Building. Our bodies will also pay tribute to the yeoman work of Critchlow who, history has recorded, faced great adversity and daunting challenges in his efforts to establish the first workers’ organisation in the British colonial empire.

Incidentally, our Critchlow activity comes on World Occupational Safety and Health Day. Indeed, when we consider the times of Critchlow to now, we will recognise that much advancement has been scored and our workers today enjoy greater protection from occupational hazards. In as much as

that may be, we also cannot ignore that workers, day in and day out, continue to face dangerous, and sometimes life-threatening situations at work. We recall several workplace accidents which have led to serious injuries and in some cases, death. This is a disturbing feature of our times, especially recognising the hardships that sometimes can be created by such incidents. Undoubtedly, we must, once more, reiterate the need to redouble our efforts regarding such matters, especially recognising that the newly established oil-and-gas production industry should be fully operational in the not-toodistant horizon.

As we march and rally together on Labour Day, the FITUG and the GTUC will continue to seek to work together on other matters which are of concern to our nation’s workers. We recognise that they are still many pressing issues that remain unresolved and which continue to affect our working-people and their families in one way or another.

We take this opportunity to wish all Guyanese a Happy Labour Day 2019!

Regards, GTUC, FITUG

CCJ dismissal represents a serious chastisement and rebuke Dear Editor, These are indeed desperate times, given the manic political environment that a collective of power-hungry desperados have attempted to create, with the aim of fulfilling their aim.

Politically affiliated to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and willingly, in their employ, is a category of legal practitioners, all well known. Their frantic legal efforts, wholly premised on influencing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), and

attempting to embarrass the coalition government, continues to see them bring legal jurisprudence to its lowest levels.

The first example of Christopher Ram’s utterly ridiculous and failed legal challenge against the government over the latter’s right to adjudicate on contracts over $15M is a perfect example of glaring attempts at seeking to misinterpret the Court of Appeal’s ruling which verdict restored the government to its status quo and its right to function.

But desperate times are indeed producing desperate persons, as these “extraordinarily

brilliant legal minds” have shown; this time, in the person of Sanjeev Datadin, in his filings to the CCJ, seeking its approval to halt the resumption of the National Assembly.

One wonders on what grounds, he thought that such a hopeless legal non-starter would have succeeded?

Emphatically, it is a case of total disrespect for the court, and an insult to its collective integrity, particularly the judicial intellectuality of its distinguished panel of judges. No doubt that the language used in its dismissal of such a rude request, registered

great disdain, when it stated in its judgement, “…it would be imprudent in these circumstances for the court to take the most unusual step of restraining the National Assembly from sitting as urged by the applicants.”

For any attorney, such language is indeed a serious chastisement and a rebuke, justifiably given because of the brazen attempt to achieve an aim that has no legal basis.

Regards, Earl Hamilton

Do something about this man

Dear Editor,

Imagine for a moment you are either of the parties I will speak of, or both. You are a man in mid-60s, somewhat recovered from a stroke and more or less helpless and you have an old wife to take care of. Or, let’s imagine you are the mother of two baby girls (ages 3 &12) and you have a hardworking husband, who works at three jobs to make ends meet.

Now imagine there is a roguish, absolutely vulgar and disrespectful man in your village, who

attacks your family on a daily basis, whether by pelting large stones at you and your home or by religiously jumping your fence and threatening to sexually abuse all the women in the house. Imagine having to keep all your doors closed and constantly be alert.

What peace or freedom is there?

There is a man (name provided) who has almost 30 reports lodged against him at the Parika Police Station. He has molested and chased two families out of their homes and left a house that was built with so much sweat and tears deteriorated. No one is

willing to come out and speak up and the only person who has innocently defended himself against this man’s attack was arrested and served time in jail.

It’s been over a year since my family has been under severe pressure from his attacks. Our three-year-old reacts to the least of noises by running, screaming in fear and hiding. Our 12-year-old hardly talks or focuses. It seems too much for her to take.

My old parents can barely do for themselves and even sleeping is difficult knowing a man is dedicating a major part of his day to

just come around their house and torment them.

No one else understands the effect his actions have on our lives.

And although no one else would speak up, my family and I are pleading with the Guyana Police Force to do something more about this situation. Will it take another broken home or injured people to help get this nuisance to society the care he needs? We have no disagreements or involvement with this individual, and we surely don’t deserve to be having sleepless nights and constant torment.

Whether or not he feels he’s

above the law and he can get away with his threatening actions, why should he not face the consequences? Please, if there is anything the Guyana Police Force can do for us apart from the little they have done, we would be grateful.

To the wider public, perhaps your voices would make a greater difference than ours.

We desperately need a solution here; we need to sleep without fear and be able to leave our home freely too.

Sincerely, Joyanne Ramnauth

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

New Minister of Business ready to work with Private Sector NEWLY-appointed Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar has vowed to work with the private sector and residents throughout Guyana. Rajkumar was at the time speaking at the opening of the third ‘Agro’ Trade Fair Exhibition held at the Anna Regina Com-

munity Centre Ground last Friday.

He said that with his new position as the Minister of Business, he has intentions of working with businesses in moving the sector and the economy forward. He also urged businesses to continue to explore the opportunities

that are available within the Small Business Bureau and Go-Invest.

Minister Rajkumar told the audience at the Trade Fair that he will be available anytime to listen to business suggestions and recommendations. Rajkumar replaced Minister Dominic Gaskin.

Region Two Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikarran used the opportunity to congratulate Minister Rajkumar on his new posting, and pledged the Regional Democratic Council (RDCs) support in working with him.

Director of Tourism, Donald Sinclair, who was

present at the Fair, also congratulated the minister, and said he looks forward to working with him.

President of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms. Suean Sewnaryan also wished Minister Rajkumar all the best in his new post.

Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar

Guyanese nabbed in ‘Feds’ sting operation AN unusual sting operation set up by U.S. federal authorities led to the arrest of Guyanese Marcia Sunita Pestano, and charges of illegally bringing a boatload of undocumented foreigners from the Bahamas to Miami, according to a Miami Herald article.

Pestano, 44, was granted a $250,000 bond on Friday, as an alternative to detention before trial in the Miami Federal Court. Her arraignment is set for May 7, and her defence attorney, Marshall Dore Louis, has declined to comment on the case.

According to the Mi-

ami newspaper, Pestano was arrested earlier last week after Homeland Security investigators coordinated an undercover operation targeting her. She was suspected of directing “alien-smuggling ventures from various third countries through The Bahamas to the United States,” according to a criminal complaint.

Executing such a sting in a human-smuggling investigation is uncommon.

On April 14, Pestano met with an undercover agent in The Bahamas to smuggle seven undocumented migrants from Freeport to

Miami, the complaint says.

She paid $24,900 in U.S. currency and an additional $6,100 in Bahamas dollars to the agent for the illegal trip.

The following day, Pestano arranged for the seven migrants to travel by boat to Miami — although she was unaware that the vessel was “surreptitiously operated”

by Homeland Security investigators, the complaint says.

When the boat arrived in Miami, it was stopped by federal authorities and 12 undocumented migrants were on board — including the seven whose passage was arranged by Pestano. It was

Guyanese Marcia Sunita Pestano

unclear from the complaint why there were 12 passengers on board.

At the Coast Guard Station in Miami Beach, U.S. Border Patrol agents interviewed the dozen people from Caribbean and Latin

American countries, who were then transported to the Border Patrol Station in Dania Beach.

The article added that between April 16 and April 22, Pestano contacted another undercover agent who was posing as a corrupt government official. “She sought assistance (from the agent) to get the (seven undocumented aliens) out of immigration detention, so that she would not lose the money she was supposed to earn for arranging for them to be smuggled to the United States,” according to the complaint.

Pestano, who went by the name “Julie,” also asked the undercover agent to assist with her own travel to Miami, so she could obtain the people’s release from the vessel.

Last Monday , the agent

arranged for Pestano to travel from Nassau to Miami and set up a meeting between her and two Indian nationals at a hotel in Doral, “for what they believed would be an exchange” of money for their release, the complaint says.

Homeland Security investigators then detained Pestano and the other two Indian nationals, who were not identified. After her arrest, investigators found she possessed $13,000 in U.S. money and an additional $26,000 in Bahamas and Guyana currency, the complaint says.

The Indian nationals had about $33,950 on them.

Pestano was charged with conspiring to encourage and induce aliens to enter the United States in violation of federal law, the Miami Herald article added.

Ramjattan to address complaints against Wales cops PUBLIC Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has said that he was embarrassed to have listened to the many complaints he received from members of the public during a community outreach in Belle West, West Bank Demerara on Sunday.

The minister made the comments while presenting closing remarks at the conclusion of the event, which was shared by Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs Sydney Allicock, Divisional Commander Edmond Cooper, and other officials from the Ministry of Public Security.

“You know I am really very, very embarrassed to have heard all of this here today,” the minister remarked.

At the meeting, resi-

dents raised a number of concerns which generally affected their community, but it was those concerns which touched directly on the security sector that have dominated the meeting.

The issues included, but were not limited to, non-responsiveness by the police to reports, inactiveness, failure to do follow-ups, overloading of public transportation, noise nuisance, and lethargy by ranks working at the Wales Police Station.

Following the airing of their concerns, the minister, at the end of the comments by the residents, asked them which police station they were referring to as it relates to the various matters, and on each occasion they said it was the Wales Police Station, which has command responsibility for the com-

munity where the outreach was being held.

“Why are we having all these problems coming from the Wales Police Station?”

Minister Ramjattan asked.

He then instructed the commander of the division, Senior Superintendent Edmond Cooper to initiate a process so that the Police Office of Professional Responsibility can look into the matters taht were raised.

Motorcyclists traversing the community at high rates of speed, obstacles along the roadways, including loads of sand, and the destruction of government infrastructure were also raised with the minister.

Issues pertaining to the agriculture, citizenship, housing and infrastructure ministries were also raised at the meeting.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

Fishermen’s families hopeful for justice – one year after deadly pirate attacks in Suriname

Tillacknauth Mohabir

By Nafeeza Yahya “WE gone from waking up hoping to see him home, to the realisation he’s never returning,” said Jennel Jones, sister of Glenroy Jones, called ‘Alkaline’ and ‘Joshua’, who disappeared during a brutal pirate attack one year ago.

Glenroy’s body was among 10 Guyanese who were never found after the gruesome attack between April 27- 28, 2018 at Wai Wai, Suriname. The onslaught was reportedly carried out by fellow fishermen.

“My mom now returning to her old self, but she still cries often, and whenever she talk is about him,” Jennel said as her family tries to recover from the painful loss.

At around 18:30 hrs on April 27, 2018 the first of four boats, each of which had five crew members, was hijacked. Later that night, the others were hijacked.

The terror ended early the next day. In total, 20 fishermen, many of whom were the sole breadwinners of their families, were mercilessly attacked; the majority did not survive to tell the tale.

Their catch was looted, and engines and boats destroyed. They were beaten, shot at, chopped, burnt with hot oil, sprayed with gasoline and told to jump overboard or be burnt alive. Some were weighted with heavy objects, such as boat anchors and batteries, and thrown overboard.

In the aftermath of the incident, four bodies washed ashore, five miraculously survived, and 11 were never seen again. The youngest victim was 20, while the oldest was 63.

Following the incident, the Governments of Guyana and Suriname sprang into action, with Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan travelling to Suriname

Deonarine Goberdan

with high-ranking officials from the Guyana Police Force. There, the top law enforcement officials met and shared intelligence.

Their investigations led to the capture of the alleged mastermind, Nakool Manohar called, ‘Fyah’, and his alleged head henchman, Premchand Persaud, called ‘Sinbad’. Both men are on remand in Guyana, along with another.

Investigators believe that the motive behind the attack was revenge, reportedly over an incident which occurred on March 30, 2018. According to reports, Nakool’s brother, an alleged pirate named Somnauth Mahonar, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting, reportedly at the hands of other fishermen.

Over in Suriname, nine persons remain in custody facing charges, including relatives of Manohar.

According to the Guyana Chronicle’s sources, Surinamese prosecutors are requesting a minimum 25-year sentence for those who were accessories to the murder, and 35 for those who carried out the attacks. Locally, the matter is still engaging the court, and some 33 witnesses have given statements to the police.

Dharamdeo Persaud

HELP Since the incident, the Guyana Government has given one-off $100,000 compensation to some of the families of the victims to help them return to normalcy.

While the cash was appreciated, the families believe that much more could have been done. They say that they are still haunted by the incident, and are still struggling to move on.

Tarmattie Ibrahim, called ‘Kavita’, now a single-parent of two, has been a nomad since the incident. She has moved from one place to another, as she tries to provide for herself and two children, ages three and five. It took her almost an entire year before she was able to explain to her children that their father will no longer come back home.

“This is the hardest thing I had to do; they still don’t understand, and every time they keep asking when daddy coming home. Easter, everybody with their families.

This is hard, really hard,” she said. Her husband, Danesh Persaud, called ‘Vicky, 27, was the captain of ‘Shifanie’, the last boat believed to have been attacked sometime after 01:00 hrs on April 28, 2018, a Saturday morning.

Sherwin Lovell

His crew members were Ralph Anthony Couchman, called, ‘Brunham’, 22; Glendroy Jones, 20; Gowkaran Outar, called ‘Gavin’, and ‘Longhair’, 33; and Sherwin Lovell, 35. Lovell was the lone survivor, after drifting for over 18 hours at sea before reaching land, where he wandered for four days before finding other fishermen who notified the police.

The other survivors are Deonarine Goberdan, called ‘Patar’, 47, a father of 17; and captain of the ‘Romenia’, Dharamdeo Persaud, called ‘Achieboy’ and ‘Creature’, 63. He was the captain of the ‘Joshua’, along with two other survivors, who asked not to be named.

The victims identified in the attacks were Tillacknauth Mohabir, called ‘Caiman’, 51; Bharrat Heeralall, called ‘Cool Record’; Mahesh Sarjoo, called ‘Vishal;, 35; Ramesh San-

Vicky Persaud with his wife, Taramattie Ibrahim and kids in happier times

chara, called ‘Ravo’; Ramnarine Singh, 49; Looknarine Persaud, called ‘Klune’; and Rajendra Bissessar.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Mark Lall, head of the Surinamese fishermen co-op society, Vissers collecttief, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

“We, as Vissers Collecttief,” he said, “mark the incident as a dark day in the history of our hardworking fisherfolk, and would like

to wish the families of these fishermen that never came back from sea, strength and comfort, knowing that their loved ones were out at sea, doing what they loved and cared for,” he said.

From their Surinamese home, the relatives of Mahesh Sarjoo told the Guyana Chronicle that each day that goes by, they pray that justice prevails.

They related that Sarjoo is missed, and will always be remembered.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

Adults who steal childhoods A RECENT story in the news told how a wellknown Jamaican businessman is to stand trial for allegedly sexually abusing his daughter over

a nine-year period. A similar story came out of Jamaica in 2009, when three sisters accused their father of sexually abusing them. In the latter case,

when the father heard his daughters were bringing charges against him, he left his well-paid job in America, where he had settled with his family and

flew back to his homeland, Jamaica, where the abuse allegedly began.

When one of the three daughters, told her mother about the abuse, her mother

answered, ‘it has already happened, what would you like me to do?’ which is the classic case of a mother turning a blind eye. Some women who are unperturbed by sexual abuse may have suffered abuse themselves as children. Others harbour twisted views about their girlchildren’s involvement in the act. But no child would choose to be sexually abused. Child sexual abuse is undeniably the act of a depraved, narcissistic adult.

These mothers refuse to take responsibility for not protecting their daughters in the first place. Then for reasons only known to them, they sit by and allow the abuse to continue, instead of reporting the crime.

Ironically, both the aforementioned cases involve fathers in their 70s and daughters, in their 40s.

These cases were being brought to trial decades after the alleged abuse took place. This is a poignant reminder of the lasting effects that sexual abuse can have on a victim. No doubt, the ‘fathers’ had their ‘pleasure’ and thought it was a thing of the past, whereas their daughters are still reliving the trauma of what was done to them and are now, even after so much time, still feeling the need to seek justice.

There’s an adage that goes, who feels it knows it. It is also a phrase made famous in a Bob Marley song, where he goes on to sing that ‘you can’t run away from yourself.’ Many people try to downplay the effects that sexual abuse has on the victim, but only those who have endured it can expound to what extent it has damaged their lives.

Childhood is meant to be about children participating in childish things, not adult things like sex. Children understand the concept of their parents being there to love, nurture and protect them. Therefore, being sexually abused (by anyone, let alone) someone who is meant to protect you; and who you love and look up to, is utterly confusing for a child. And as an adult, it no doubt brings about a variety

of emotions, including anger at the remembrance of a childhood that is lost forever, because an innocent child was sexually abused by a selfish fiend.

In the case of the three sisters, people asked them of their father, ‘Why would you want to send him to prison now; the man is old and blind.’ And one sister retorted, ‘I was born with a hole in my heart and I have asthma, but that did not stop him from raping me.’

As you read these lines, no doubt, there are children right here in Guyana who are systematically being sexually abused by adults.

Some mothers know of the abuse and turn a blind eye, while others, like the perpetrators, do not see or care about the harm and damage that the abuse is doing now, or the effects it will continue to have on the victims, in the future.

These cases should be a lesson to every adult who feels that child sexual abuse does not have repercussions. These women are living proof that justice can still be served decades after abuse has taken place.

They are putting their old decrepit fathers through shame and embarrassment at a time in their lives when they should be ‘throwing back’ and enjoying their twilight years.

But why should these old men have that liberty when it is evident that the trauma suffered at their hands, when these women were girls, has not gone away and vanished into thin air? It is still with them.

For them the pain is real.

If you suspect that a child is being sexually abused, please do your duty and report it to the Childcare and Protection Agency. Perpetrators of child sexual abuse are breaking the laws of Guyana and must not be protected. If you are concerned about the welfare of a child call the Childcare and Protection Hotline on 227 0979 or write to us at childcaregy@ gmail.com A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF SOCIAL PROTECTION

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Rethink Opposition boycott calls –– PM urges Region 3 residents

–– hundreds attend outreach, cash in on govt services

By Lisa Hamilton

CITIZENS must be able to examine the intentions of their regional leaders, and determine who their leaders’ encouragement to boycott Central Government activities stand to benefit.

This was the strong advice of Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan on Sunday to residents of particularly Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

Bulkan made the remarks during the government’s multi-ministry outreach to the Leonora Track and Field

influences of regional officials continue to affect the way in which certain areas receive maximum support.

He said funds are given to the various regions for specific projects, but some regions suffer by being controlled by the Opposition, which has ulterior motives.

Nagamootoo said that oftentimes, leaders elected to meet the needs of citizens in certain regions spend less time assisting and more time opposing the efforts of the government to help.

“They have millions and millions of dollars that they’re not spending on the welfare of our people. In the NDCs, the things that

However, the negative actions of NDC leaders result in a ‘top-down effect’.

Nonetheless, he noted that Central Government will continue to push development, despite the challenges, and will lobby for such destructive political influences to end.

“The role of the Opposition is not simply to oppose but to partner in promoting the welfare of all the people,” Minister Nagamootoo pointed out.

CANNOT ONLY OPPOSE “We can’t afford this old-time politics of an Opposition opposing for oppo-

Members of the audience at the Tuschen Primary School (Samuel Maughn) Centre, and Nagamootoo, later on at a community meeting at the Tuschen Primary School.

Bulkan and Nagamootoo noted that on their way to the exercise, there was a group of protesters against the government, while Regional Democratic Councils (RDC) heads intentionally boycotted the event.

At his Tuschen engagement, the prime minister explained that such negative

they should look after, they haven’t been doing those things. You have an NDC in the area, and I’d be surprised if you find any of the leaders of the NDC here,” the prime minister said.

He explained that the government’s decentralisation efforts mean that systems such as RDCs and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) have been set up to bring power closer to the people.

sition sake; making noises to embarrass your country and to embarrass your people, and to see that they continue to be neglected,” he said.

Commenting on the same issue earlier at the multi-ministerial outreach, Minister Bulkan said that similar to all other outreach exercises, he wrote the regional chairperson about the exercise but did not receive a response.

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo speaks to Tuschen residents about the ills of negative representation by the Opposition (Samuel Maughn) “I wrote to the regional chair informing him of this exercise, and encouraging him to take full advantage of it to participate in a meaningful way. I was certainly not taken by surprise at his reluctance to engage the Central Government, but I’m disappointed,” Minister Bulkan said, adding: “How can you stay out of the process and hope to represent people? I do not understand that. You have to sit with Central Government who are the ones who are in control of the government’s resources; who make budgetary allocations. And it is through a process of engagement that we can understand which areas are to receive funding.”

He noted that the leaders of the region also stayed away from the Regional Agriculture Commercial Exhibition (RACE) on Saturday evening, which event was meant to empower farmers, agro-processors and micro-entrepreneurs.

“What is even more reprehensible,” he said, “is that they encouraged farmers and key constituency not to

participate in this exercise which is self-defeating.

“You cannot properly represent persons if you encourage them to boycott or stay away from initiatives and activities of the Central Government that are designed to benefit those persons.”

Some of the most recent actions of the Opposition not benefitting the people they represent Minister Nagamootoo said, was the boycotting of Friday’s sitting of the National Assembly and the commissioning of the 5.4 MW power plant in Essequibo.

Regarding the group of protestors referred to earlier, Minister Bulkan said it is the government’s hope that they, too, would have been proactive by taking advantage of its presence, after publically highlighting their concerns.

He stated that the government will not be abandoning these activities, and encouraged residents of the region and citizensin general to not allow themselves to be negatively affected by the political motives of their leaders.

“Sit in your quiet mo-

ments and ask yourselves what is the value or the benefit of not engaging Central Government,” he said, adding: “If you have issues and concerns, you must be able to put pressure on your elected leaders, and ask them how this approach is beneficial to you, your welfare, your family and your interest.”

Meanwhile, over at Tuschen, the prime minister said that their outreach activities also serve to re-educate certain populations about the government’s true intentions.

“We decided that part of our outreach is to inform you [of achievements and plans], because we cannot depend on those who are bent on bringing our government down to tell you the truth,” the prime minister said, adding: “We are trying to build a partnership.

There are some trying to confuse the message, but we are here to set the message right, and to tell you as it is, from the heart.

Our government cares.”

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Labour Week 2019 kicks off

By Wendella Davidson

ONE hundred years ago, in January 1919, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, OBE, dubbed the father of the trade union movement in Guyana, successfully established the British Guiana Labour Union; yesterday, representatives of the various trade unions in this country laid wreaths in his honour at the bust of a monument sited in the forecourt of Parliament Building.

The wreath-laying ceremony organised by the Guy-

ana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Guyana (FITUG), was held under the theme, “A long journey for social justice -- Together we can achieve,” as observances for Labour Week 2019 began.

The highlight of the celebrations will be the traditional Labour Day March and Rally on Wednesday, May 01, which will be observed as a national holiday. Among those present were Minister within the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Keith Scott; President of the GTUC, Coretta McDonald; General-Secretary

of the GTUC, Lincoln Lewis; President of the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union, Sherwood Clarke; President of FITUG, Carvil Duncan and overseas-based Guyanese John Seales, Vice-President , 1199 Service Employees International Union.

In his feature address, veteran trade unionist and former president of the GTUC, Norris Witter, urged his trade union comrades to “recapture the spirit of solidarity and restore the trade union movement to its rightful place in society and lead.” `

We must constantly interrogate ourselves, we must constantly criticise ourselves, we must constantly do that self-introspection as we question, are we doing as good as we can… the time [is] long past when we should, day in and day out, be condemning and lamenting about our situation. It is critical for us to know and understand our history, because life is about a continuuim.

Noting that there is need to focus on the now, the present , he said it is what will define who we will be tomorrow, whether as individuals or col-

lectives, as an organization, or as a nation state.

Alluding to Minister Scott’s address, in which Scott noted that Guyana may be on the cusp of great economic prosperity , Witter said that while all Guyanese will wish for that, he cautioned against considering those enormous oil discoveries as the panacea for this great prosperity of Guyana.

Touching on the events of December 21, 2018, Witter opined that given those events , Guyana has not been as divided and as polarised as it is now , since independence.

On this note, he likened that as the great divider of people and the labour movement as the great unifier; he added that somewhere along the way, the trade union movement ‘dropped the ball’ and the politicians picked it up and ran with it.” We have to seek to recover our ball,” he contended.

Witter also endorsed an aspect of GTU President Correta Mc Donald’s brief remarks in which she mentioned that ever so often the life, work and struggles of the male gender are highlighted, but that hardly any mention is made of the females, as if they do not exist.

But, like the speakers who preceded him, the veteran trade unionist recalled that in the strike involving the Rusal workers, it will go down in history that it was the women who were at the forefront of that struggle and never flinched.

To this end, he said that in the social, economic and political transformation in societies, women have played more than a passing role, but their efforts are seldom recognised.

Minister Scott in his address noted that the theme for Labour Week reflects the mindset and agenda of the trade union movement. The Ministry of Social Protection, however,in the face of empirical evidence, grapples with the statement, “Whither the Trade Union Movement.’

The latter, he said, is an expansion of the legacy of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, this country’s first national hero.

According to the minister, management relations which are always shaped and conditioned by the prevailing national and international socio, political and economic circumstances, are continually evolving.

As such, it is necessary, that unions recognise that the familiar landscape and platform on which they operated decades ago , have been replaced by a new business ethos which seeks to alienate workers on an ever-increasing scale and in clandestine ways.

As a consequence, the class struggle identified by Marx and Engels 170 years ago, continue to impact the lives of millions of workers universally, while the presence, roles and functions of trade unions diminish.

Scott drew attention to the fact that the Trade Union

Act, Chapter 98:03, provides that every trade union, without exception, is required to submit an annual return to the Registrar of Trade Unions, which should allow membership levels to be accurately determined.

“It is unfortunate that the available records show that unions have not been complying with this law, thus making it impossible for the levels of union membership to be accurately determined.

To this end, the minister urged that trade unions address this deficiency if they are to exert social, economic and political influence, in much the same way as Critchlow did in the past. He also urged that as Labour Week is celebrated, the movement must reflect on the gains which the working class has achieved.

Also, they must commit to ensure that not only lip service is paid to the name of Critchlow, but do all in their power to advertise, and epitomise his greatness, so that the working class can have a good life.

Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow was born in Georgetown on the 18 December, 1884. His father, James Nathaniel Critchlow, had emigrated from Barbados and was employed as a wharf foreman by the Booker Group of Companies, while his mother, Julia Elizabeth Critchlow, born Daniels, was originally from the Essequibo Coast.

During the strikes in 1917, he represented the interest of waterfront workers in collective bargaining, and by then was regarded as the leader of all waterfront workers. He became even more popular when he helped to secure increased wages for them.

In the 1917-1918 period, Critchlow led a petition for an eight-hour work day. He was pressured by the Chamber of Commerce to withdraw his name from the petition, after all the other petitioners were forced to do so, but he obstinately refused. He was immediately fired from his job and blacklisted from obtaining employment; he had to depend on assistance from close friends for sustenance.

Critchlow was employed on a full-time basis by the union, and he never stopped being a spokesman for the workers; he publicised their grievances and demanded improved working conditions and better wages for them.

Preceding the laying of wreaths was inspection of the guard-of-honour by GTUC President,Coretta McDonald, who took the salute from female members of the Guyana Police Force on Brickdam , in front of Parliament Building.

Chairman of the proceedings, which was livened up by patriotic songs by the Guyana Police Band, was Leslie Gonsalves of the GTUC; Pancham Singh, also of the GTUC, delivered the vote of thanks.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Monday April 29, 2019

Guyanese film-maker returns to share experiences

By Telesha Ramnarine GUYANESE award-winning producer and director Ryan Singh, who has spent most of his life in Canada, is happy that he decided to invest in a trip back to his homeland this month in a bid to pass on whatever skills and talents he could.

Singh, son of local poet, writer and producer Leon Saul, landed in Guyana earlier this month and has been able to successfully host two workshops for the benefit those interested in the local acting fraternity, and even for those who would have already made their mark here.

Singh, 41, was born and raised in New Amsterdam, Berbice, and was about 16 years old when he left the country to pursue his dreams. Having spent some 25 years in the film-making industry- 10 professionally - he always wanted to come back and help with capacity building in the local industry.

Speaking with this publication on Saturday, Singh said since arriving in Guyana, he has been enjoying a new-found respect for the country’s cultural treasures and its natural resources.

“There are so much [sic] rich raw materials, that, if processed, can showcase our country and talents as a beacon onto the world,” he observed.

Singh has had the opportunity, through the Volunteer Youth Corps, to work with dozens of youths recently as they camped and shared a three-day retreat on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

Singh has been able to contribute to local capacity-building

His New Amsterdam workshop, which was held at the Frasers House in Coren-

house as a backdrop… participants captured both photographic and audio-vi-

for an impromptu short-film shoot,” he explained.

NO REGRETS Notably, Singh has invested his own money into these workshops, and doesn’t for one moment, regret doing so. “This has been a necessary investment that could no longer be diverted. For several years, I have been trying to return to Guyana to begin this work. Guyana…has begun to actively promote shooting here with such attractions as the Rupununi Rodeo, our falls, savannahs, rainforests and other beautiful sceneries. But locale alone is not enough. That is the reason I have seen it as an oppor-

After spending 25 years in the industry so far, Singh wanted to return and share his knowledge and skills with those interested in the acting fraternity

tyne, was an especially “spectacular” experience for him. “Participants were exposed to the process of storytelling. Using the estate’s quintessential 102-window

sual images as they began the process of documenting the estate. The afternoon evolved from reading and dissecting individual stories to adapting one of the stories

tunity to directly invest in helping to build the local capacity,” Singh expressed.

He has been working with other Caribbean countries over the years in-

Ryan Singh during one of his workshops here in Guyana

cluding Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, Martinique, and others; he now hopes to be able to contribute to helping Guyanese artists.

Meanwhile, Singh’s first plays, ‘Zenrick and Cleopatra’ and ‘Asylum Wedding,’ were both written and directed by his high school teacher, now prominent New York attorney, Vivian Williams. He eventually pressed on to making award-winning documentaries and short films, while acting in major productions.

Singh has worked as an actor on ‘Downsizing’ and was the behind-the-scenes videographer on ‘The Breadwinner’ (Nominated for one Golden Globe, six Canadian Screen Awards, and a bevy of Annie Awards).

He has also been a producer on Rasta: A Soul’s Journey (2011), Housekeeping, IRL: The Series (2016) (TV show and Web Series), Fried Bakes and

Dumplings (2014), Mom (2013), Graffiti Alley (2016) and The Black Experience Project Report (2017). He directed Mom, Fried Bakes and Dumplings and Graffiti Alley.

Apart from being behind the scenes, Singh has also acted in ‘Conduct Unbecoming’ directed by Sidney Furie, ‘11 Blocks’ that was co-directed by Matthew Bennett and Sasha Moric and ‘Mr. Crab’ that was directed by Faisal Lutchmedial.

In `The Breadwinner’, produced by Angelina Jolie, Singh worked as a videographer, capturing the actors as they voiced their performances. The footage was then used to add to the visual animation developed for each character as they tell the story of a young girl who must become a boy to feed her family in war-torn Afghanistan.

On stage, through his company ‘Ryan Singh Enterprises’, he has produced and performed in more than eight stage productions, including, “For Better…

For Worse,” “Make Love, Not War,” “Fools in Love,” “Curse of Ham,” “Sweet, Sweet Karaila,” and “Sex, Relationships and Sometimes…Love.”

He was the ‘Best Documentary under 40 Minutes’ Winner for ‘Mom’ at the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival CTIFF 2013; and winner of the ‘Audience Choice Awards’ for ‘Fried Bakes and Dumplings’ Greater August Town Film Festival GATFFEST 2016, in Jamaica.

Guyana highlights NSDI modernisation efforts at Vietnam confab COMMISSIONER and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Mr. Trevor Benn, led a small delegation to the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Working Week conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.

FIG Working Week is a conference that brings together the international community of surveying and spa-

tial professionals to discuss key challenges within the surveying profession.

Benn utilised the opportunity to highlight Guyana’s efforts to modernise its National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) in support of national growth.

The NSDI is a digital and open-data geospatial information system, which facilitates communication among different sectors and enhances the decision-making

processes.

The GL&SC has worked in tandem with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to bring an NSDI action plan to fruition.

Mr. Benn told the conference that he was extremely pleased with the development of the action plan. This action plan, he reminded, sets out the priorities for improving cooperation in data and information management.

Explaining why NSDI is critical and much-needed in Guyana, Mr. Benn told the delegates, “The NSDI helps different sectors to combine their information and database to create one map, so that all sectors can make decisions together.” He added that, “It will enable the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to interact better with other agencies and have better information to support farmers, the agriculture

sector, the Guyana Police Force and all other critical agencies.”

Only last week, the commission informed a number of local stakeholders about progress made on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Action Plan for Guyana.

While in Vietnam, Commissioner Benn also met with the Chairman of the Vietnam Natural Resources and Environment Corporation, Mr. Le

Xuan Dung, at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam, to discuss areas of cooperation for Guyana’s successful implementation of the NSDI. The commissioner was accompanied by Mr. Veit Mendonca, Senior Land Administration Officer and Mr. Joel Trotman, Land Use Planner.

The conference began on April 22, and concluded on April 26, 2019.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Essequibo Agro-Trade Fair open with a bang in Anna Regina

N E W LY- a p p o i n t e d Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar, in declaring open the Third Agro and Trade Fair exhibition held at the Anna Regina Centre ground on Friday April 26, said that Essequibo has the potential to spur business opportunities and the

government, as well as the private sector, has a role to play in developing Guyana’s economy.

Explaining further, he said the private sector has a role to generate wealth, create jobs and generate revenue for the country.

He, therefore, took the opportunity to thank the

President of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry for organising the event and getting businesses onboard.

He also assured of government’s support in assisting small businesses through the Small Business Bureau, in helping to nurture their busi-

nesses. He urged participating agencies, as well as patrons, to use the opportunity to meet and network.

NETWORKING Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikarran, said the Essequibo Agriculture and Trade

Expo is a powerful platform for the region to showcase its potential and value to the rest of Guyana. He therefore used the opportunity to congratulate the ECCI for hosting the activity.

“It is an important night in the life of the region…the third of its kind… it’s a time for us to reflect where it came from and where the ‘expo’ is going. Activities like these allow participation from the private sector as well as encourage consumers,” Jaikarran said.

He also pledged the Region Two Administration’s support to local businesses.

He also announced that the administration is currently conducting a business consultation with the ECCI and all businesses are welcomed to come onboard to give their views on the region’s budget.

STANDARDISATION Meanwhile, President of the ECCI, Ms. Suean Sewnaryan, said the ‘expo’ is held under the Theme “Essequibo means Business”, with particular focus on “Raising our Standards, Enhancing our Competitiveness.”

The president of the ECCI said it is important for businesses to raise their standards in an effort to remain viable in a competitive economy.

“Expos like the one staged here offer unique opportunities for businesses in and out of the region to showcase products and services that stand the test of domestic and global acceptance and competitiveness… it is such expos that spur greater trade and investments that are important in triggering Guyana’s growth,” Ms. Sewnaryan said. She also took the opportunity to thank her hard-working team in helping to organise the fair.

After the fair was declared opened by the Minister of Business, the Regional Executive Officer,

Minister of Business, Haim Chamber of Commerce Ms. S

Coconut farmer, Mrs. Vil

The Institute of Applied Scien locally-made products

Workers attac

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

mraj Rajkumar, along with President of the Essequibo Suean Sewnaryan being briefed about the IAST products

lma Da Silva, showcasing her Henvil coconut water

nce and Technology booth displaying all of the Institute’s

ched to NAREI displaying their products

along with the President of the ECCI, took the opportunity to interact with participating agencies. During the interaction, Minister Rajkumar was impressed with the items produced by the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST) – particularly, the ‘Morning Glory’ rice cereal that is manufactured in Region Two. Also on display were Sundried Tomato Ketchup and Sundried Tomato Salad Dressings, Rupununi Essence Facial Cleanser and SAK Drink.

All these products are currently available at super-

markets and retail outlets countrywide.

Henvil Coconut Water, owned by leading coconut farmer Ms. Vilma Da Silva, was also on display.

Ms. Da Silva said while she has been farming coconuts for 39 years, she has been bottling coconut water for 10 years.

Attending the Expo also was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Business, Rajdai Jaggernauth, and Director of Tourism, Mr. Donald Sinclair. Over 60 booths were occupied at this year’s Agro-Trade Fair.

Minister of Business, Haimraj Rajkumar, declaring the Agro-Trade Fair opened

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Paruni to get health centre by year-end –– to bolster efforts to tackle malaria in Reg. 7

REGIONAL Chairman of Region Seven, Gordon Bradford, has said that a health centre will be constructed in Paruni by the end of 2019, as part of efforts to tackle malaria in the region and provide better access to health services.

“Paruni landing [is] the area that is said to be the hotspot where malaria in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni is concerned,” the chairman noted.

He also highlighted that Paruni is the second largest populated area in Region

Regional Chairman of Region Seven, Gordon Bradford

A normal scene at the Paruni Landing, which is a populated transit point for interior locations (Vishani Ragobeer photo) having to travel all the way Seven, only to Bartica, to Bartica or to Georgeand that there are perhaps town to receive the services thousands of persons who that you should receive,” traverse the area because he lamented. Additionally, the landing is a transit point he noted that even if mafor other interior locations laria cannot be eradicated M a l a r i a i s a v e c - completely, efforts can be tor-borne disease, which fostered to minimise it as means it is spread by mos- much as possible.

“That is in keeping with quitoes. The disease is our regional vision of takcaused by micro-organing health services, regardisms that attack the body’s less of if it’s malaria or systems, often resulting in whatever, to the people and death. This is after causing not establishing the service fever, vomiting, tiredness, somewhere and having aches and great discomfort the people to travel all and disability. And Region the way to some centre,” Seven has been identified as one of the endemic re- he said. “We’re fulfilling gions for malaria, where its our mandate in terms of large mining population is taking healthcare delivery to every area in Cuyunisusceptible to the disease.

“In our regional budget Mazaruni.”

Regional Malaria 2019, we have been givCoordinator, Dr. Dexter en the funds to construct Browne, providing exact that health centre at Paruni figures, shared that 13,390 landing,” the chairman shared. And he posited that smears were done in the rethis health facility should gion in 2018, which found be ready before the end of 3, 405 positive cases of malaria. the year.

This was an increase “It’s not an easy thing to the 2,774 cases recordto come down with malaria ed for 2017. in an interior area and then

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

‘Forty under forty’ young people awarded FORTY young, local entrepreneurs were awarded on Thursday, April 25, under the Brand, YOUth inaugural Forty Under Forty Entrepreneurial Awards.

The event was held at the National Cultural Centre, under the theme: “Building Bridges, Passing Batons.”

“It strengthens me when I see young Guyanese entrepreneurs today. I am encouraged that young people are taking personal responsibility for saving themselves; creating their own work,” Founder of Brand YOUth Selwyn Collins, said: “What Guyanese youths deserve is respect and recognition for their efforts in entrepreneurship and making sure Guyana gains global recognition through sports, music, technology, and innovations.”

Mid last-year, Collins related that he took a break from his weekly web broadcast. This was to enable him to work on his vision to see the end of poverty in Guyana, to get rid of hunger, realise gender equality, and because of its natural

nese can rise to any occasion, compete with the best internationally, and raise their standards to the highest levels of excellence,” he affirmed.

Brand YOUth is a movement rooted in excellence, u n i t y, c o m m u n i t y a n d self-empowerment, and is a Conversation with Selwyn (CwS) initiative. Conversations with Selwyn is a New York- based webTV broadcast that was created by author, broadcaster, motivator and mentor, Selwyn Collins,

Some awardees of the inaugural Forty Under Forty Entrepreneurial Awards. resources, to see Guyana become the bread-basket, and ‘Silicon Valley’ of the Region.

In so doing, he encountered many of the young entrepreneurs who were honoured and was filled

with hope that all 40 of the awardees would continue their work in ensuring that these goals are achieved.

“We are seeing more and more how, when given the opportunity, resources, and support, young Guya-

Model farms being used to attract youths to agriculture

By Telesha Ramnarine ONE of the long-term objectives of the model farm at Fort Wellington, Region Five, (Mahaica/Berbice) is to assist cash crop farmers to process their produce instead of having them go to waste.

The problem with achieving this, however, is that the region would need money, Regional Executive Officer, Ovid Morrison, told Guyana Chronicle in an invited comment recently.

Speaking at the recent government outreach in Berbice, at which various ministers of government were on hand to interact with members of the public, Morrison observed that getting into processing means that the farmers would not have to struggle to obtain a market for their produce, especially when they have an excess.

He recalled that the intention of the model farm is to bring a “consciousness” to the young people in the region, “to remove from them this stigma that agriculture is the last grade”.

He said the region had proposed to do this by teaching agriculture in a scientific manner. “That is, teaching them land selection, crop selection, crop rotation, waste

consolidation, etc.”

Morrison said the farm is not intended to ‘kill’ the cash crop farmers in the region but to assist them. He pointed out how the region helps the farmers to find a market for their produce outside of the region. “If the cash crop farmers have an excess, we take it and sell it off to other regions and bring back the money to them.”

Speaking about the benefits of the facility, Morrison pointed out: “You would find that people in agriculture… what can go to market, they send to market; what cannot go, they dump about the place. If we can teach them how they can consolidate the waste, it would help them.”

Meanwhile, despite vehement protests by squatters, the regional administration of Region Five went ahead with the establishment of the farm, which demonstrates best-farming and integrated farming practices.

Morrison had said that the project occupies 30 to 35 acres of the 49.7 acres of the land in the area and was in response to a charge by President David Granger for the Region to craft a Plan of Action for Regional Development (PARD).

The intention is that interested residents and farmers, as

well as senior school children in the region or even further afield, can visit and learn about the application of modern concepts in the production of crops, livestock and fish.

Morrison had highlighted that integrated farming eliminates the need for many expensive inputs typically associated with conventional agricultural production, such as feed and fertiliser.

The Model Farm, he said, was intended to demonstrate the use of integrated farming systems such as those in which waste products from animals can serve as fertiliser or feed for fish and such water can be used as fertiliser for crops in a sort of cycle which makes a small farm almost completely self-reliant in the required inputs for cheap but highly productive agricultural production.

The region had also intended to assist senior students who are enthused by the technology of the Model Farm, in obtaining land from the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), which is the Regional Land Administration agency, so that they can get involved in developing efficient and profitable systems of crops, livestock and fish production.

in 2012. This CwS platform invited young people to appear on the programme every Sunday afternoon to share their stories.

In 2016, a five-part series, Guyanese Youth in Business, and late 2017, a seven-part series, Guyanese Youth in Review, was produced.

“It is from those series that Brand YOUth evolved out of a vision to see an end to poverty in Guyana, eliminate hunger, realise gender equality and see Guyana rise to its full potential to become the breadbasket

and ‘Silicon Valley’ of the Region,” a release from Brand YOUth highlighted.

“Most of the 40 being honoured would have appeared on the CWS platform,” the release also noted.

Attending the event was Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams; Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes; Opposition Member of Parliament, Gail Teixeira; and Canada’s High Commissioner, Lilian Chatterjee; among others.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Cattle rearers must stop bullying cash-crop farmers –– Region 5 REO

By Telesha Ramnarine

AN age-old issue between the cattle rearers and cash crop farmers of Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), in which the former allegedly bullies the latter for use of land, has still not been settled, Regional Executive Officer, Ovid Morrison said.

Morrison spoke with the Guyana Chronicle at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Compound during a meeting last Thursday.

The issue of land security came up as Morrison attempted to explain some of

the difficulties being faced by farmers in the region.

“There was this ‘wild-west’ attitude of people going and taking up land just like that, and you find yourself in conflict; I take up and then I want to bully you to get another piece,” he explained.

The Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) had attempted to settle the issue in the past by stating that the front part of a plot of land is to be used the cash crop farmers, whereas, the back portions are to be occupied by the cattle rearers.

“The cattle farmers are not prepared to obey the decision. The cattle farmers want to bully the cash crop farmers to use the front land, and that is where government needs to intervene,” Morrison observed.

He posited that the Ministry of Agriculture, along with its agencies such as Lands and Survey, needs to look at regularisation. “Regardless of who doesn’t want to move, the law must make them move.”

Morrison acknowledged, too, that the previous administration had encouraged some “slackness” that is not working out in the best interest of the farmers today.

ROLE OF NDIA The REO said he is not satisfied with the role that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is playing in the region.

“We can do much more if the money that is being given to NDIA for drainage is given to the region. I am sure we would double the amount of production in terms of drainage works and helping the farmers.”

Morrison recalled that on many occasions, the regional officers had to rescue rice farmers who were experiencing difficulties when not receiving water. “I am not supposed to be doing this, but many times we have to go to rescue them when

water is not getting down to them. I see it as if it will affect the national economy and therefore I make myself available and spend money in that area.”

Morrison added that if the money given to NDIA is diverted to the region, he is certain that a better job would be done.

Meanwhile, Morrison recalled that the administration has made a policy decision that come 2020, there must be no mud roads or mud dams; that they must all be either asphalted or crusher-run. “And we are going speedily towards that objective. We are sure we are going to achieve that.”

“If we follow the history of this region, in 2012-2014,

Region 5 REO Ovid Morrison flooding was a constant condition in this region. Now, you would see that the problem has been resolved. That is because we concentrate heavily on the drainage and irrigation system,” he said.

The REO further pointed out that Region Five is the first region to have set up farm to market roads. So far, the region has in excess of 20 such roads, and is moving to construct more.

Region Three to get capital town –– Minister Bulkan

By Vishani Ragobeer MINISTER of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, has said that Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West DEmerara) will soon get a capital town as part of gov-

ernment’s drive to promote economic development at the regional level and bring easier access to public services for citizens.

“This administration was elected on a pledge and promise to breathe new life

into local democracy and to put local democracy at the front and centre of our development,” Minister Bulkan told a gathering of Region Three residents.

In so doing, he highlighted that budgetary allocations to all regions were increased equitably; this forms part of a public pol-

icy of decentralisation and local empowerment, aimed at enabling local issues and challenges to be addressed by local persons.

“This is designed to remove decision-making from Georgetown -- a misplaced and dated approach to managing our resources and economy-- which in the past has produced much poverty, unemployment and under-employment,” he posited.

The minister reminded that Mabaruma, Bartica, Mahdia and Lethem were upgraded to capital towns since the APNU+AFC government assumed office and brought back focus to local governance. And in so doing, he noted that the communities have since received a “tangible, rapid transformation” of the landscape.

“Lest you are wondering, we have not forgotten the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara region. Soon your region will also be able to boast of its own capital town, with its own mayor,” he shared.

This, he said, is a move that the government is using to confront issues that the regions face by “handing the decision-making power

back to the people where it belongs, as envisaged by the crafters of our constitution.”

“We will be examining possible locations in consultation with the regional administration, the Chamber of Commerce and industry and you, the residents, for the capital for your region,” Bulkan noted. “Whether it will be Vreed-en-Hoop, Parika, or somewhere in between, it will be an area with development potential.”

He also noted that it is the aim of government to continue empowering and building the capacity of regional and local governments to take responsibility for creating growth and business opportunities for the constituents of the areas.

President David Granger had highlighted that it was his vision to have a capital town in each region to promote economic development and enhance the delivery of public services in each region.

As such, Bulkan related: “We believe that each of our 10 administrative regions can be rich and deliver to each of its citizens enhanced services, whether it is health, education, etc, which will improve the quality of life of citizens nationwide.”

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan And in keeping with the government’s mandate to focus on regional development and promoting a better life for citizens, another leg of the massive government outreach programme, dubbed “Bringing Government to the People,” will be held on Sunday at the Leonora Track and Field Centre in Region Three.

This event is specifically to address the concerns of citizens residing in Region Three, and will provide them with the opportunity to interface directly with their ministers and other public officials.

The event begins at 10:00hrs and citizens are advised to bring along extra copies of all documents related to the matter they intend to discuss with their ministers.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Sol maintains commitment to manatee ponds

ABOUT 50 staff members of Sol Guyana joined hands to ‘fix up’ the holding area of the manatee pond at the Guyana Zoo on Saturday.

According to a release from Sol Guyana, the manatee population is declining for a number of reasons, including the encroachment on their natural habitat, human pollutants and collisions with watercraft.

“Sol’s annual gesture helps to call attention to these gentle giants by making their holding area more aesthetically pleasing and therefore more inviting for visitors,” Sol’s General Manager Liz Wyatt said in the release.

Operations Manager, Felino Florendo, said the gesture is just another way the company has been giving back to communities.

Gov’t tables Customs (Amendment of Schedules) Bill THE Customs (Amendment of Schedules) Bill, intended to replace all the Schedules to the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01, was read for the first time in the National Assembly on Friday, as Guyana moves to be compliant with international obligations.

Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, presented the bill on behalf of Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, who was absent from Friday’s sitting.

The updated Schedules will reflect the current Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System referred to as the Harmonised System or HS. “This bill will introduce the 2017 version which will ensure that Guyana is compliant with international trade obligations and will ensure consistent laws to facilitate trade and protect Guyana’s revenues,” the explanatory memorandum stated.

HS is a multipurpose six-digit international commodity classification system used by governments, international organisations, and the private sector, as a basis for customs tariffs, international trade statistics, freight rates and production statistics. It is applied worldwide by over 180 countries which, together, roughly represent 98 per cent of goods in international trade.

“The six General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonised System are, in fact, the most important legal text and constitute the backbone of this commodity classification. Whether users realise it or not, all commodities are classified according to these rules which ensure that a product is classified in only one heading or sub-heading to the exclusions of any other with justifiable legal interpretation. Rules one to five applies to classification in Headings, while Rule six applies to classification in the Subheadings,” a section of the bill explained.

It was also noted that the rules give the framework used to determine the classification of goods presented to a customs administration.

The Customs and Trade Single Window System Bill 2019 was also read for the first time in the National Assembly on Friday. The bill will establish the Customs and Trade Single Window System – a single decision-making facility for customs inspection, clearance, and release of cargo, enabled electronically. It would allow for a single submission of data and information, and a single and synchronous processing of data and information.

“The Single Window System shall serve as a single entry point for parties involved in trade and transport to lodge documents electronically, for processing and approval; and make payments electronically for fees, levies, duties and taxes due to the government, on goods which are imported or exported,” a section of the bill explains.

Clause Four of the bill provides for the technical aspects of the Single Window System while Clauses Five and Six, provide for its security, and the registration of uses of the system respectively. When enacted, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will be responsible for the management and implementation of the Single Window System.

It will also pave way for the establishment of a unit which will fall under GRA and an oversight committee.

“Alot of the staff here are passionate about giving back to the community and this is but a small part of what we do on a wider basis,” he said, adding: “This is not just our corporate way of giving back to the community but as staff, this is our way of giving back to the community.”

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Staffers of Sol Guyana pitching in to ‘fix up’ the manatee pond at the zoo (Delano Williams photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

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Aguero strikes as nervous City hold firm for win at Burnley

By Simon Evans

BURNLEY, England, (Reuters) - It was nervy and scrappy but a 1-0 win at Burnley on Sunday was enough to return Manchester City to the top of the Premier League and keep them on track for back-toback titles.

to see Guardiola take off two forwards in the latter stages and replace them with central defenders and while the City boss joked that he was “trembling” at the end, his counterpart Sean Dyche claimed the Spaniard had been yelling for his team to get the ball in the corner.

Burnley were fortunate to escape a penalty appeal when a drive from Bernardo Silva appeared to strike the arm of Burnley’s Ashley Barnes.

Heaton did well to keep out another fierce drive, this time from Bernardo Silva, before City finally took the lead.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

‘Candy Man’ Hardy to face Carlos Monroe Jr for WBA FEDELATIN Middleweight title

GUYANA’s Simeon ‘Candy Man’ Hardy will step into the ring against American, Carlos Monroe Jr, on May 11 for the WBA FEDELATIN Middleweight title, in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I’m excited about this fight,” the 31-year-old Guyanese boxer told Chronicle Sport in an exclusive interview.

The New York-based Hardy also added that the “chances are good and a title is on the line. It’s short notice and I’ve been expecting something like this, so I was working with the intent of a call which eventually

came and I took it without second thoughts… Carlos is a young strong undefeated prospect and I’m going to beat him. I’m excited and looking forward to this fight.”

In his 16 professional bouts, Hardy, a former WBC CABOFE Champion, came out victorious 14 times, winning 11 by TKO. He however, he was defeated twice. In his last fight, ‘Candy Man’ won via a first round TKO over Brandon Baue.

Monroe is a 24-year-old undefeated fighter, who won 11 of his 14 fights by knockout.

Hardy’s first blemish on his record came against Armenian Vito Gasparyan, where he suffered a Unanimous Decision loss, despite a good showing in the ring.

Before migrating, the Sophia native had kayoed Iwan Azore to win the vacant CABOFE welterweight title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Hardy’s last fight in Guyana was against Howard Eastman in 2012, when he picked up a Majority Decision win after out-boxing the former Commonwealth middleweight champion.

‘Green Machine’ goes back to the drawing board

Burnley’s Matthew Lowton in action as Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (not pictured) scores their first goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates

S e rg i o A g u e r o ’s 63rd-minute goal at Turf Moor moved City onto 92 points, restoring their onepoint advantage over Liverpool at the summit with just two games remaining.

Pep Guardiola’s side now need to win their final matches at home to Leicester City and away to Brighton and Hove Albion to retain the title and break the hearts of second-placed Liverpool who have tracked them all the way.

The victory was the 12th win in a row for City, who have shown no signs of giving Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool, who have lost just once all campaign, the slightest opening.

Yet the afternoon did provide some encouragement for those in Merseyside following the match, with City frustrated until the second half when they broke through with an uncharacteristically scrappy goal.

Aguero’s shot was chested out and cleared by Matt Lowton on the goalline but technology ruled the effort had crossed — a minor compensation for Guardiola after a VAR video review had led to his team’s elimination from the Champions League.

It was an unusual sight

City had enough possession and chances to have put the game to bed well before the tense final minutes, but even if Burnley created very little attacking threat, Guardiola was leaving nothing to chance.

“In the first half we didn’t create too much but of course it is what it is,” said Guardiola, who pointed the finger at a dry pitch and what he viewed as long grass for his side lacking their usual slickness.

“Ninety-two points is incredible - it is in our hands, we must win our next two games and our next one against Leicester.”

“We didn’t concede one shot on target or one corner, we are a small team but we are smart, in the first half the pitch was so dry and it was slow but in the second half we knew we had to score our goal.

“In the last minutes anything can happen, always it is difficult if you cannot close the game,” he said.

FIERCE BLAST The visitors struggled to get into their usual rhythm in the first half but came out strongly after the break and Burnley keeper Tom Heaton did well to keep out a fierce blast from Sergio Aguero at the near post.

Raheem Sterling went close to a second but Burnley defender Ben Mee produced a wonderful goalline clearance to keep the Clarets in the game.

B u r n l e y, h o w e v e r , pushed hard at the end with Guardiola bringing on John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi as City held firm to claim the three points.

“It’s fantastic for me to see Pep screaming ‘Get the ball in corner’ - that was pleasing for me... that’s quite amusing,” said Dyche.

Yet the biggest smile at the end of the game belonged to Aguero, City’s record scorer, who set another milestone with his latest goal.

The Argentine became only the second player to score 20 goals or more in six different Premier League seasons.

Only Alan Shearer, who managed seven seasons, has done it more often, and only Thierry Henry can match Aguero’s record of scoring 20 or more in five consecutive campaigns.

“I am so very happy for the win,” he said. “I think it was over the line. I am very happy with the goal because the first half we had chances. I was happy for the technology,” he said.

GUYANA’s downward spiral continues in the sport of Rugby, more so, in the 15s format, since, following Saturday’s 5-19 loss to Guadeloupe at the National Park, the ‘Green Machine’ is searching for a win since 2017.

Guadeloupe capitalised on Guyana’s silly mistakes to win their first-ever Rugby America’s North (RAN) title (South

Zone), with Guyana’s head coach, Kenneth Grant-Stuart, telling reporters that now, it’s time to head back to the drawing board.

“I think our decision making was very poor. Guadeloupe didn’t play much but they deserved to win based to our poor decisions.

It wasn’t fitness (on our part) and we had many opportunities to score. We got to

regroup and come again,” Grant-Stuart said.

With the win, Guadeloupe will now play RAN’s North Zone Champion, Bermuda in May for the over-all title.

All eyes will now be on the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) and how well the Peter Green-led organisation will proceed in reaffirming Guyana’s dominance in RAN.

Fernandes continues Endurance dominance THE day was different but the result the same, as Endurance Championship round two ended with team wreckers Adrian Fernandes atop the leaderboard.

The second round of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club Endurance race meet at the South Dakota Circuit ended just before twilight with Davin Panday second and Dawalu Harper third.

Fernandes completed 81 laps to Panday’s 79. Details In tomorrow’s edition

Imperious Kipchoge wins in London again as Kosgei upsets favourites

By Peter Hall LONDON (Reuters) - Eliud Kipchoge ran the second fastest marathon time ever to clinch his fourth London Marathon title on Sunday, ahead of Britain’s Mo Farah who struggled in fifth, while Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei impressed to win the women’s race.

Kenya’s Kipchoge made it an incredible 11 marathon wins from 12 races, leading from start to finish to come home in a time of two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds — 58 seconds off his own world record set last year in Berlin.

The women’s race got off to a slow start, but reigning champion Vivian Cheruiyot ran a fast 15th mile, before Chicago Marathon champion Kosgei took the lead and strode to her first London title with a time of 02:18:20.

Kipchoge was expected to be challenged by Farah, but hav-

ing kept up with the imperious Kenyan early on, Farah struggled in the latter stages.

He finished over three minutes behind the winner, who is regarded by many as the greatest athlete of all time.

“It feels strange to be considered the most successful elite man in racing, it’s really good and I’m very, very happy to have won four times,” Kipchoge said.

“I know how to win this race and I was confident and didn’t feel it was in doubt at any point.”

Farah’s pre-race preparations were marked by a dispute with fellow distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie.

However, the multi-Olympic, world and European champion over 10,000 and 5,000 metres said the dispute did not act as a distraction ahead of his third London Marathon.

“I didn’t think the fuss affected my run and I wasn’t distracted by the build up,”

Farah said. “It was all about London today and so I put my head down, did my best.

“I don’t regret anything I said and I respect the race.”

In the women’s race, threetimes winner Mary Keitany was the favourite with the field going for the women’s only record — without the aid of male pacemakers — set by Keitany in London in 2017.

Keitany, however, never troubled Chicago Marathon champion Kosgei and last year’s winner Cheruiyot out in front, finishing down in fifth, 2:38 slower than Kosgei.

Kosgei broke clear of Cheruiyot to win having ran the fastest second half of a marathon ever.

“To smash my personal best is all I could to ask for,” Kosgei said. “I always get tempted to go with the leaders, but now I run better in the second half so I held back and that worked for me.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Russell wins Pandya duel as Knight Riders end losing streak

ANDRE Russell was in the runs again as Kolkata Knight Riders overcame Hardik Pandya’s onslaught for Mumbai Indians to end a six-game losing streak in the Indian Premier League.

West Indies all-rounder Russell blasted 80 from just 40 deliveries to help the Knight Riders reach 232-2 the highest score posted by any team in this season’s competition so far.

Shubman Gill made 76 as he combined with opening partner Chris Lynn (54) to put on 96 for the first wicket, laying the ideal platform for Russell, who came out to bat at number three.

Kolkata smashed 75 runs from the final five overs of their innings and appeared set for a comfortable victory when they reduced their opponents to

58-4 in reply.

Pandya made them work for the win by plundering 91 in a hurry hitting nine sixes in his 36-ball knock - before he was caught by Russell, who capped a fine display by also taking 2-25 with the ball.

Sunil Narine and Harry Gurney also claimed two wickets apiece as Mumbai finished up on a respectable 198-7, leaving the final margin of victory at 34 runs.

ANDRE’S GIANT HITTING Russell had called for Kolkata’s management team to be flexible when it came to his batting position and he was duly given the chance to impress with a promotion up the order.

After managing a single

from his first four deliveries, the Jamaican blasted back-to-back sixes at the end of Rahul Chahar’s spell as he quickly moved through the gears.

Andre Russell has now reched the landmark of 50 IPL sixes in 2019.

He also took a liking to Lasith Malinga in the closing stages, smashing the Sri Lankan paceman for

20 runs in the final over of the innings to post his best score in a highly productive campaign.

Russell has now reached the landmark of 50 IPL sixes in 2019, while his tally of 486 runs means he sits only behind David Warner (611) in the top-scorers list.

Mumbai lost Quinton de Kock for a four-ball duck as they struggled in pursuit of such a huge target. Gurney trapped Rohit Sharma lbw for 12 and Russell won the battle with West Indies team-mate Evin Lewis, who edged behind to depart for 15.

Pandya arrived at the crease following the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav (26) and, together with Kieron Pollard (20), added 63 for the fifth wicket.

Boston Celtics pull away to crush cold-shooting Bucks, 112-90 (REUTERS)-Al Horford and Jaylen Brown hit 3-pointers in a 12-point, third-quarter flurry Sunday afternoon that erased a momentary deficit and propelled the visiting Boston Celtics to a 112-90 victory over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the opener of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinal playoff series.

After beating the Bucks just once in three tries in the regular season, the fourth-seeded Celtics will look to go up 2-0 when the clubs tangle again in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

The Celtics led most of the game, but found themselves down 56-54 after Robin Lopez nailed a 3-pointer in the second minute of the third quarter.

Boston responded with its 12-0 run, which Horford capped with his 3-pointer for a 66-56 lead with 7:37 left in the period.

Jaylen Brown

The Celtics went on to lead by as many as 19 in the quarter, and gradually pulled away in the final quarter after the Bucks rallied within 12.

Milwaukee’s comeback

effort was handcuffed by the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo shot just 7-for21 in the game. He nonetheless managed to lead the Bucks in scoring with 22 points.

Kyrie Irving was the game’s top scorer with 26 points, completing a double-double with a game-high 11 assists for the Celtics, who swept Indiana in the first round.

Horford made three 3-pointers to account for almost half his 20 points, while Brown finished with 19, Gordon Hayward 13 and Terry Rozier 11.

The Celtics outshot the Bucks 54.0 percent to 34.8.

Horford also had a double-double for Boston, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

Khris Middleton registered a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Bucks, who were held under 100 points just five times during the regular season before scoring 119 or more in all four games of their firstround sweep over Detroit.

The 22-point margin of defeat was Milwaukee’s largest of the season.

Nikola Mirotic was a third scorer in double figures for the Bucks with 13 points.

M i l w a u k e e ’s b e s t stretch of the game came just past the midpoint of the second quarter, after it had fallen behind 40-25.

Mirotic had a pair of 3-pointers in a 15-0 run that drew the Bucks even, although the Celtics were able to reclaim a 52-50 lead by halftime.

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Capitals beat Kohli’s RCB to seal IPL play-off place SHIKHARr Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer blasted half-centuries as Delhi Capitals beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 16 runs to seal an Indian Premier League play-off place.

Dhawan and Iyer made 50 and 52 respectively off 37 balls to set the Capitals on their way to an imposing total of 187-5 at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground on Sunday.

Shikhar Dhawn

Parthiv Patel (39 off 20 balls) and Virat Kohli (23 from 17) got RCB off to a flyer as they chased a fourth consecutive win, but the Capitals stuck to the task and got their rewards.

Kagiso Rabada and Amit Mishra took two wickets apiece to put RCB on the back foot and they fell short on 171-7.

Victory for the Capitals put them top of the table and guaranteed a top-four spot with two matches of the regular season to play, becoming only the second team to qualify along with Chennai Super Kings.

RCB stay bottom as they pay the price for such a poor start to the tournament.

Dhawan and Iyer laid the foundations for the Capitals with a second-wicket stand of 68 after Umesh Yadav snared Prithvi Shaw caught behind for 18 in the fourth over.

The powerful Dhawan used his feet superbly, scoring freely on both sides of the wicket and bringing up a third consecutive half-century off 36 balls before he was caught at short fine leg off Yuzvendra Chahal.

Iyer came down the track twice to loft Chahal for six for a 50 of his own, with Sherfane Rutherford (28 not out off 13) producing some late fireworks after Washington Sundar removed the captain.

Patel and Kohli put on 63 for the first wicket in a promising start to the run chase before Rabada saw the back of the former with the penultimate ball of the sixth over.

The excellent Axar Patel claimed the big wicket of Kohli - caught in the deep - and AB de Villiers fell for 17 to leave Bangalore 103-3 in the 12th.

Spinner Mishra (229) then dismissed Heinrich Klaasen and Shivam Dube in the 13th over to make it very much advantage Delhi.

Gurkeerat Singh cut loose with a flurry of boundaries to leave RCB needing 36 to win from three overs as the nerves jangled.

Rabada (2-31) conceded only six runs from the 18th with some great variation and Gurkeerat (27 from 19) fell caught behind in a brilliant penultimate over from Ishant Sharma.

RCB needed 26 off the last to win it and that was never going to be likely with Rabada charging in, the South Africa quick claiming the wicket of Sundar before a huge six from Marcus Stoinis (32no off 24), which was struck when the game was all-but over.

Chelsea draw at United to boost top-four chances after De Gea error MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) - Chelsea bolstered their top-four hopes with a 1-1 draw at Manchester United after the home side’s Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea gifted the Londoners an equaliser in the Premier league on Sunday.

United led through Juan Mata’s 11th minute strike, but just before halftime the visitors were level when De Gea weakly parried an Antonio Rudiger shot into the path of Marcos Alonso.

With two games remaining, the result put fourth-placed Chelsea on 68 points, two clear of Arsenal who are fifth and

still three ahead of sixth-placed United in the race to earn a Champions League berth for next season.

“A draw is a good result ... Now we now have two games, one at home (Watford), one away (Leicester city), and we will try and be in the top four,” Chelsea’s Eden Hazard told Sky Sports.

“Chelsea have to play in the Champions League every year. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. And for myself too, I want to play in the Champions League.”

After a stunning start to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign as United manager, his side have

run out of steam, winning just two of their last 10 games in all competitions.

UNCHARACTERISTIC ERROR The hosts dominated the first half, fully deserving to take the lead when marauding left back Luke Shaw latched onto a chip into the area from Romelu Lukaku and passed across the goal for Mata to score against his old club on his 31st birthday.

But De Gea, whose form has dipped in recent weeks with a string of uncharacteristic errors, failed to deal with Rudiger’s shot and Alonso

pounced to steer the ball home from a tight angle and bring Chelsea level in the 43rd minute.

Mata said the United play-

Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso scores their first goal as Manchester United’s David de Gea looks on REUTERS/Phil Noble

ers were down but fully behind their 28-year-old Spain keeper De Gea. “It is difficult when you have the top four so close. We have done an incredible job over the last months to get there. We will try until the end, but obviously we needed to win today,” he said.

“David is unquestionable for me. His level has been fantastic for this club. He has been the best player over the last years,” he added of his compatriot.

“We all have good and bad moments in our careers, the important thing is how we react. I have 100 percent confidence in

him, we all have. He will save many goals in the next games.”

United began Sunday’s match full of zest and attacking threat, having lost 2-0 at home to title-chasing Manchester City in midweek, while Chelsea looked more resolute than in a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Burnley in their last game.

However, after trading blows in the first half at Old Trafford, the second period was largely disappointing with neither side on top, although United nearly won it at the end when defender Marcos Rojo’s header was cleared off the line.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

Mercedes make Formula One history Albion into final of Rafeek Construction/BCB 100-ball with fourth one-two in a row

second-division competition

ALBION Community Centre Cricket Club whipped the Fyrish Cricket Club by 59 runs on Saturday to book a place in the final of the Rafeek Construction, Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), 100ball second-division cricket competition.

In the semi-final clash at

Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas celebrates winning the race with Mercedes mechanic Stuart Green, second placed Lewis Hamilton and third placed Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on the podium REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

BAKU (Reuters) - Mercedes added another first to the Formula One record books on Sunday as the only team to win the opening four races of a season with a perfect four one-two finishes.

Ferrari had six successive one-twos in 1952 but the second round of that season was officially the Indianapolis 500, which they did not enter.

Teams in the 1950s also had more entries than today’s two cars, with Ferrari filling

the top four places in the 1952 German Grand Prix.

Williams started the 1992 season with three successive one-twos, and went on to win the first five races that year with Nigel Mansell.

Mercedes themselves had 12 one-twos in the course of the 2015 season, but were beaten by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the second race in Malaysia.

“It’s amazing that we

can break a record in our sixth year, trying to push the boundaries and really trying to stay both feet on the ground and not being too self-confident,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “I’m happy for that, it’s fantastic.”

Five times world champion Lewis Hamilton and team mate Valtteri Bottas both have two wins and two second places each, with the latter ahead by one point thanks to the fastest lap set in Australia

in March.

Bottas won in Baku on Sunday, denying Hamilton a third successive win after Bahrain and China.

“Valtteri’s really, clearly stepped up this year and is really happy in the car and really delivering and driving fantastically,” said Hamilton.

“So it’s going to take some really great performances from both of us to out-perform each other.”

Durant helps Warriors dispatch Rockets 104-100 in Game 1

(REUTERS)-Kevin Durant scored nine of his team-high 35 points in the final 5:35 and Stephen Curry buried a back-breaking 3-pointer with 25.9 seconds remaining Sunday afternoon as the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Houston Rockets 104-100 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals in Oakland, Calif.

The second game in the best-of-seven between the top-seeded Warriors and fourth-seeded Rockets is slated for Tuesday night in Oakland.

In a tight game that featured poor 3-point shooting and turnovers, the Warriors found themselves in an 8989 tie with six minutes remaining before Durant took

charge.

His two free throws with 5:35 left gave Golden State the lead for good, and his three subsequent free throws and two field goals seemingly put the Warriors in command at 100-95 with just 1:26 to go.

But a three-point play by James Harden got Houston back within two, before Curry countered with his 3-pointer that proved to be decisive.

A dunk by Harden with 21.3 seconds to go kept the Rockets alive, and when Chris Paul stole the ball from Durant, Houston had a chance at a tie.

But Paul was pressured into an awkward pass and Eric Gordon stepped out of bounds while retrieving it, allowing the Warriors to hold on.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019)

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) Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderbaad (March 31) (2) Kagiso Rabada (Delhi Capitals) TODAY’S QUIZ: (1) How many wickets Rashid Khan took in IPL 2019?

(2) How many runs Chris Gayle recorded in last season’s IPL?

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

Paul thought he was fouled on the play and argued the non-call, for which he received a second technical foul and was ejected from the game with 4.4 seconds left.

Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant

Curry made the foul shot to complete the scoring.

D u r a n t s h o t 1 2 - f o r15 from the line during his 35-point outing for Golden State, which won despite committing 20 turnovers.

Curry (18 points), Andre Iguodala (14), Draymond Green (14) and Klay Thompson (13) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who are attempting to win a third consecutive NBA title.

Green also contributed nine rebounds and nine as-

sists to the win.

Harden matched Durant’s 35-point total, but shot just 4 of 16 on 3-pointers and was 9 of 28 overall. He made 13 of his 14 free throws.

Eric Gordon had 27 points and Paul 17 for the Rockets, who are playing the Warriors in the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

The Rockets shot just 29.8 percent on 3-pointers, making 14 of 47.

The Warriors led 85-76 in the first minute of the fourth quarter after a pair of Shaun Livingston free throws, before the Rockets took advantage of Curry’s foul trouble to draw even at 89.

Two free throws by Nene at the 6:00 mark finally got Houston even, setting the stage for the late heroics by Durant and Curry.

The Rockets took advantage of 13 Warriors turnovers to forge a 53-53 halftime tie.

Houston shot just 9 of 28 on 3-pointers in the half, but managed to stay even by shooting 12 of 13 on free throws, as compared to Golden State’s 2 of 4, and getting off one more field-goal attempt despite the large foul-shot discrepancy.

Adrian Sukhwa led Albion with 49.

the Fyrish Ground, the visitors won the toss and opted to take first strike on a two pace track.

From their 100 balls they raced to an imposing 160-8.

Adrian Sukhwa led the attack with 49, while Ramesh Kasinauth supported with an unbeaten 33.

Y. Chinapen and R. Ramcharran finished with 2-23 and 2-31 respectively for the home team, who struggled in the middle. In the end, they only mustered 101 before they were bowled out in 15.2 overs.

Chandradat Roopnarine led the attack with 28, while Munilall Shivdyal supported with 24.

Bowling for Albion, Beesham Surujnarine and Devendra Latchman finished with three wickets each.

Surujnarine grabbed 3-14 and Latchman 3-26. Sharaz Ramcharan supported with 2-14.

Australian Polosak to become first woman to umpire men’s ODIs MUMBAI (Reuters) - Australia’s Claire Polosak will become the first woman to officiate in a men’s one-day international when Namibia play Oman in the final of the World Cricket League Division 2 in Windhoek later on Saturday.

The 31-year-old never played cricket but blazed a trail in 2017 when she became the first woman to stand in a men’s top-level match when New South Wales played a Cricket Australia XI in a oneday match in Sydney.

“I am thrilled to be the first woman to stand in a men’s ODI and how far I have come as an umpire,” Polosak told the International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of Saturday’s match.

“It really is important to promote women umpires and there’s no reason why females can’t umpire in cricket. It’s about breaking down barriers, creating awareness so more females can come into the role.”

Polosak has officiated in 15 women’s ODIs, the first one in November 2016 between Australia and South Africa, and has also taken field in the semi-final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2018 between England

and India and four matches at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

Namibia and Oman both secured ODI status after finishing in the top two positions of the table in the ICC World Cricket League Division 2.

Claire Polosak to become the first woman to officiate a men’s one-day international.

“Congratulations to Claire for this fantastic achievement of becoming the first woman umpire to stand in a men’s one-day international,” said Adrian Griffith, ICC senior manager – umpires and referees.

“It is one thoroughly deserved and a result of her hard work and perseverance. She is a role model for women who want to get into officiating and proves how successful they can be once they are on the right path and get the opportunities.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, April 29, 2019

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Guyanese cycling trio head into Pan American U-23 action on Wednesday

Jamual John will compete in the Time Trials on Wednesday.

THE Pan-American U-23 Elite Road Race Cycling Championships will pedal off in Mexico on Wednesday (May 1) and Guyana will be represented by the trio of Jamual John, Romello Crawford and Briton John.

The trio has been in Mexico since April 19 in order to get adequate acclimatisation. The trio is expected to be joined by

GCF president, Horace Burrowes, despite mandatory federation elections being almost a month over the March 31 deadline.

John will be the first to get into action on Wednesday in the Time Trials which will be 33km (3 laps) on the Circuit Río de la Avenidas.

Jamual John is the only rider that will compete in the Time Trials. Meanwhile, Briton John

CWI facing serious financial difficulties: Skerritt PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) – The financial situation of Cricket West Indies (CWI) is much worse than previously thought, says newly elected president Ricky Skerritt.

up to date with most of our obligations to our creditors,” Skerritt disclosed.

“We have as a result begun to undertake a financial review and in the meantime, we are continuing to raise funds where the funds can

and Romello Crawford will contest the U-23 Individual Road Race on Saturday (May 4).

That race is set to be a distance of 132.3km (9 laps) around the Circuit Ciudad del Conocimiento, Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo.

Should any of the Guyanese cyclists manage to finish in the top 10 in the road race, they will be eligible to compete at the World Champi-

BCB trims squad to 14 for U19 Inter-County competition

onships set for September in London.

The Elite-Sub 23 Pan-American Road Championship is a collaboration among the Government of Mexico, the State of Hidalgo, the State Cycling Association and the Mexican Cycling Federation, with the Pan-American Cycling Confederation playing a pivotal role.

THE Berbice Cricket Board, yesterday, released the names of their 14-member squad, who will look to defend their U19 Inter-County titles (three day and one-day) when action bowls off this week in the capital city.

The defending champions have a strong unit, with half of the squad returning from last year.

These include Guyana U19 cricketers, Kevlon Anderson, who served as vice-captain last year; Kevin Umrao, Alex Algoo and Junior Sinclair.

One of the top junior

batsmen, Anderson, and solid left-arm spinner, Umrao, were also called up for the WI U19 training camp late

Alex Algoo, who scored a century (111) in last year’s three-day competition, will look to dominate again.

Romello Crawford.

last year.

The other returning players are Leon Swammy, Christopher Harry and Garfield Benjamin.

The full team reads: Alex Algoo, Junior Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Leon Swammy, Gevon Shultz, Garfield Benjamin, Kevin Umroa, Chanderpaul Govindhan, Shamar Angel, Dorasammy Mahadeo, Nigel Deodat, Seon Glasgow, Jetindra Outar and Christopher Harry.

The standbys are Carl Gilgeous, Melvin Singh, Nicholas Lawson, Fawaz Gafoor, Aaron Beharry and Deonauth Persaud.

‘Circuit of Champions’ cycling meet to light up Linden on Labour Day

CWI president Ricky Skerritt

Skerritt, who took over the post after defeating Dave Cameron in elections on March 24, has revealed that due to a lack of resources CWI has not been able to honour all of its financial obligations.

He said however, that the organisation was moving swiftly to address the problem.

“It’s worse than you think. I’m not in a position to speak to numbers, all I can tell you is that we have a significant shortfall in working capital and that is why we have been not

be raised and we think that within the next couple of months or so we should be in a much better position than we are now.”

When asked if consideration was being given for a forensic audit to be done on the handling of finances by the previous administration, the president would only say that a financial review was being done.

“We are doing a financial review but I won’t bother to use any terms other than that,” Skerritt noted.

THE roadways of Linden will play host to the ‘Circuit of Champions’ cycling meet on Wednesday (May 1), Labour Day, when Guyana’s top cyclists will match pedals with Linden’s best, in a bid to claim top honours and prizes.

The race, which is a part of the Linden Town Week Event, is being organised by the Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club this year, after a five-year hiatus. In the past, it was usually an annual event; however, due to circumstances beyond the club’s control, they were unable to host the race since 2014.

Fortunately, this year, the club was able to able to garner the support of sponsors, who ensured that the meet will be pulled off.

Fans will be treated to thrilling action throughout 15 events, with races being contested in the Veterans, Seniors, Juniors, Juveniles, Mountain Bikes, Females and BMX categories respectively.

According to information reaching Chronicle Sport,

the club will be using “a new exciting race course” – the ‘Wismar Circuit’ in which the cyclists will have to climb one of the steepest hills in Linden. Aptly described by the organisers as a “short stinging hill of under two hundred meters”, the circuit

also includes a lazy descent.

The circuit will span almost 2.5km. The race will pedal off at 10:00hrs on Labour Day. The main sponsors are Stronghold Metals Inc., Clear Waters, Visual Auto Toy Store, Namilco, Beepats and Star Rentals.

Guyana’s top cyclists will compete for top honours and prizes at the ‘Circuit of Champions’ on Labour Day in Linden.

Imperious Kipchoge wins in London again as Kosgei upsets favourites

‘Candy Man’ Hardy to face Carlos Monroe Jr for WBA FEDELATIN Middleweight title

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Simeon ‘Candy Man’ Hardy

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei celebrate winning the respective men’s and women’s elite races with the trophies as they pose with Britain’s Prince Harry REUTERS/Paul Childs

CWI 27 Fernandes continues Endurance dominance 24 facing serious financial ‘Green Machine’ goes back to the drawing board difficulties: 24 Skerritt Page

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Adrian Fernandes took the chequered flag at the end of the two-hour endurance race at the South Dakota Circuit yesterday.

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Guyanese cycling trio head into Pan American U-23 action on Wednesday 27 Page

Part of the action between Guyana and Guadeloupe at the National Park. Guyana lost 5-19 and handed the RAN South Zone 15s Title to Guadeloupe.

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MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019