Guyana chronicle epaper 09 25 2016

Not suitable No. 104685

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Price: $140

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...Norton wants to ‘bulldoze’ National Pyschiatric Hospital

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Risky ride

Heading up and down this rickety ramp is the daily chore for the children and head-teacher of the Dora Primary School, located up the Demerara River. Up until about five years ago, the children could have walked to school, but the track was blocked off by large sand mining operations in the area. And so their only option is to use a boat, which is tied to a tree stump after they get off. Sometimes, especially when the river rises, one of the boys would have to get into the river to haul the boat in. No one remembers the last time the “stelling” was fixed. (Samuel Maughn photo)

Five Haitians New High Border controversy arrested in Commissioner to assessment in Linden India takes up post ‒ were without legal travel documents November P.2

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‒ UN Secretary-General

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Five Haitians New High Commissioner to India takes up post arrested in Linden ‒ were without legal travel documents LINDEN police have arrested five Haitians who were travelling to Lethem in a minibus on Friday.

The Haitians were apprehended by police at about 23:00h in a vehicle at Wisroc Junction, Wismar, Linden, Press Officer Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan confirmed.

Not in possession of legal documents, the Haitians were taken into custody and later transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department at Eve Leary, Georgetown for charges to be laid.

Commander of the Lin-

den Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus, told the Guyana Chronicle that the Haitians do not speak English and therefore it was difficult to ascertain why they were in the country illegally, or why they were travelling to Lethem.

Ramlakhan said the men reportedly entered the country via the Suriname back track route at Springlands, Berbice, and were en route to neighbouring Brazil when they were detained.= Between July and September 2016, more than

10 Haitians have already been charged and deported to their homeland. This, however, was the first time for 2016 that illegal immigrants were apprehended in Linden.

Police nab two in separate drug finds THE police, on Friday, arrested two persons in separate incidents in which illegal drugs were confiscated.

In the first instance, a male who was under police surveillance was reportedly nabbed with cannabis at about 17:00h on Friday afternoon.

The suspect was walking with a bag on First Avenue, Bartica when ranks of the Guyana Police Force stopped and searched him, and found in his bag in excess of 28 pounds of compressed cannabis wrapped in several taped parcels.

And an intelligence-led operation in ‘D’ Division resulted in the arrest of another male with narcotics. At about 08:00h, police ranks searched a house at East Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD and found 229 grams of cocaine and 114 grams of cannabis.

Pranab Mukherjee, President of India (left), accepts letters of credence accrediting Dr David Pollard as Guyana’s new High Commissioner to India

GUYANA’S new High Commissioner to India, Dr David Goldwin Pollard, Wednesday presented his

credentials to the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.

According to the Guyana High Commission in India, Dr Pollard is Guyana’s sixth High Commissioner to India since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on May 26th, 1966.

At the accreditation ceremony, President Mukherjee centred his remarks on the advancement of Guyana/ India bilateral relations over the last 50 years.

“He highlighted the similarities between the two countries that were once colonies of Great Britain that have now become republics, collaborating to increase the development of both their nations and peoples.

“The President expressed his Government’s intention to foster relations between Guyana and India and in so doing, hopes that Guyana’s new High Commissioner will continue to enhance relations, especially in the areas of trade and investment,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

High Commissioner Pollard, in his response, voiced the Guyana government’s intention to focus on economic and commercial diplomacy and to continue to build on the solid and friendly ties that exist between Guyana and India.

The Indian President extended best wishes to Dr Pollard for a successful tenure.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

...Norton wants to bulldoze National Pyschiatric Hospital

By Vishani Ragobeer MINISTER of Public Health Dr George Norton has expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the National Psychiatric Hospital at Fort Canje and has begun discussions with Cabinet towards rectifying the situation.

“It is my fairy godmother’s wish to bulldoze that structure,” Dr Norton told the Guyana Chronicle in an interview. He contended that the hospital is one “you wouldn’t want to put anyone in” due to its deplorable state.

From visits to the hospital, he found it to be “filthy, damp, humid and just unfit.”

Dr Norton asserted that the condition of this hospital is “scandalous.”

He also noted that it is his desire to have the Psychiatric Hospital removed from “that particular spot,” but has revealed that it will remain in Region Six at the request of a few Region Six officials he met recently.

During an informal trip to Berbice recently, the officials showed him an “open land space right in New Amsterdam.” This land space, he noted, is suitable for the construction of a new psychiatric hospital.

The minister said he is “making every effort to correct this issue” and not just criticising.

He said he has taken the matter to Cabinet already and has engaged in a few discussions.

Although there is little epidemiologic data from Guy-

The National Psychiatric Hospital at Canje

Dr George Norton

ana, disease burden estimates have recognised the neuropsychiatric disorders as making a larger contribution to the burden of disease than HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, the draft National Mental Health Strategy 2015-2020 states.

The 200-bed mental hospital is organizationally integrated with mental health outpatient facilities and the number of beds has not changed in the last five years.

None of the beds at the National Psychiatric Hospital are reserved for children and adolescents only. The patients admitted mostly include those with schizophrenia and delusional disorders, The draft strategy noted that there is no forensic psychiatric facility and no desig-

nated forensic mental health beds in Guyana. However, within the correctional facilities there are designated areas where inmates suffering from mental disorders reside.

Forensic cases are sent to the national Public Health Hospital where they are ad-

are provided assessment and acute stabilization treatment and are then discharged to the prison system.

The same strategy in a synopsis of Guyana’s 2014 mental health burdens noted that there are 10 to 15% of Guyanese with a mental disorder at any one time. This means that 78,000 to 114,500 Guyanese are suffering from a mental disorder and require

“It is my fairy godmother’s wish to bulldoze that structure” – Dr George Norton mitted to the general wards on order of the court for psychiatric assessment and treatment. As the hospital is not equipped to provide secure facilities, forensic cases admitted on order of the court

some level of mental health care service. In addition, it was noted that an average of 20,000 Guyanese suffer from severe mental illness.

Unipolar depression is the fifth greatest contributor to the disease burden in Guyana, and

suicide, a major mental health issue, is a leading cause of death here.

Norton’s latest statements regarding the hospital comes with a commitment by the Ministry of Public Health to improve on the provision of mental health services, and have such services at the community level.

Minister with the Ministry of Health, Dr Karen Cummings recently identified the need for a review of the current mental health legislation that does not allow for extensive mental health care.

One of the reasons for improving the provision of mental health services in Guyana is the alarming rate of suicides.

“Several risk factors contribute to the high suicide rates in Guyana. The most common risk factors identified are acute emotional distress and depression. This

factor accounts for 36.6 % of all cases,” Minister Cummings was quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying on August 12 last.

“The care of the mentally ill is provided under the legislative framework of the Mental Health Ordinance of 1930, which is antiquated and fails to make provision for the protection of the rights of people with mental disorders,” she added.

According to 2012 statistics, Guyana, a developing country with less than a million people, is faced with a staggering suicide rate which has landed the country atop the list of countries with the highest suicide rate.

The last suicide study completed on Guyana indicates that there were 667 reported cases for the period 2010-2012, resulting in an average of 222 per year.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Brazil Supreme Mexican president Court OKs probe into says Trump allegations citing Temer visit sparked minister’s exit (Reuters) Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said the resignation of his finance minister and trusted aide Luis Videgaray was prompted by Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico last month, which led to widespread condemnation of the government.

The sudden meeting of the U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Pena Nieto on Aug. 31 sparked outrage in Mexico because of Trump’s verbal attacks on Mexicans and his threats to build a border wall and tear up trade deals with Mexico.

Videgaray, widely

viewed as the most influential member of Pena Nieto’s inner circle, was identified by diplomats as the architect of the visit, and a week later, he resigned.

“The visit caused significant wear and tear on Luis, and obviously he was involved in the arrangement we made with the Trump candidate’s campaign team to hold this meeting,” Pena Nieto told local radio in an interview broadcast on Thursday.

“This wear and tear prompted me to take the decision, and accept the resignation he submitted,” Pena

Nieto said.

Reacting to Videgaray’s departure, Trump first cited it as evidence of “how well (he) did” in Mexico, before making what appeared to be a u-turn, saying on Twitter that Mexico had lost a “brilliant finance minister and wonderful man.”

Trump’s threats to impose punitive tariffs on Mexico, deport millions of migrants and ditch the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if he cannot recast it in the United States’ favor have caused major concern south of the border.

During his visit, Trump toned down his aggressive rhetoric against Mexico. He said there was a need to keep manufacturing wealth in the region and that a “strong, prosperous and vibrant Mexico was in the best interest of the United States”.

As soon as he was back in the United States, he told a crowd in Arizona that Mexico would pay for his massive border wall “100 percent.”

(Reuters) Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday approved a preliminary investigation into plea bargain deal allegations from former Transpetro head Sergio Machado that President Michel Temer had solicited campaign donations in 2012 that had illicit origin.

Brazil Supreme Court Judge Teori Zavascki approved the probe that also cites Senate President Renan Calheiros, among others, the court said.

Transpetro is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleo Brasileiro SA , also known as Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company ensnared in Brazil’s largest ever corruption scandal.

Brazil’s Supreme Court revealed in June that parts of Machado’s plea bargain testimony alleges that the campaign contribution requested by Temer was made legally by engineering group Queiroz Galvao but resulted from a kickback on contracts with Petrobras.

Temer has denied ever having requested any dona-

Brazil’s President Michel Temer reacts during launch ceremony of the ‘’New School’’ (Novo Ensino Medio) at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

tions to Sao Paulo’s 2012 mayoral campaign run by Gabriel Chalita, then a member of Temer’s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). His press office said would not comment on Friday.

Prosecutors in charge of the preliminary investigation will decide, based on what

they find, if they will press charges against Temer and the other politicians cited in the probe.

Temer was formally sworn in as Brazil’s President three weeks ago after months of political turmoil that led to the impeachment of his leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Fun Day ends activities for Child Protection Week

Dancers finish their performance during the Child Protection Week Fun Day at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday (Photo by Delano Williams)

FOLLOWING a series of activities across Guyana in observance of Child Protection Week, the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) closed off the observance with their annual Family Fun day and Concert.

The week’s activities wrapped up at the Botanical Gardens where scores of persons, most of them children from different homes and orphanages, made full use of the games and entertainment available. Patrons were treated to performances ranging from dances to dramatic pieces and songs.

Child Protection Week was from September 18th to 24th under the theme, “Children’s Safety and Security Our Priority” to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of preventing and reducing child abuse and neglect in our society.

Speaking with the media at the event, Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, explained that her ministry has been working rigorously since last September to reintegrate children in state care back with their relatives or place them in foster homes.

Minister Lawrence further pointed out that foster care is now growing in Guyana since more persons are more aware of the service.

One of the week’s main activities was the “Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual

Abuse Rally” which was held at Wismar, Linden Child Protection Week is observed in over 120 countries around the world,

but at different times of the year under various themes.

Child Protection Week has been observed in Guyana since 2004.

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Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Editor

Godfrey Wray

Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guyanachronicle.com wnigel10@hotmail.com gnnleditorial@gmail.com

Editorial

Stamping it out

SEPTEMBER 18-24, Guyana observed Child Protection Week under the theme : “Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual Abuse.” The Ministry of Social Protection hosted the event that saw various activities throughout the country.

Child Protection as a matter of rights, laws, policies and programmes is an everyday event, starting in the home and extending to the wider society. Our children need protection from violence, exploitation and abuse.

This protection is the collective responsibility of society, one that ought not to be ever let up on and should see continuous work through institutional strengthening and deepening.

A recent survey conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Guyana found that 18 percent of our children between the ages of five and 17 are engaged in child labour. This figure in a small such as ours is relatively high and stamping it out requires concerted efforts on the part of Government in tandem with society. The denial of the child’s right to a normal childhood, whether it may occur out of ignorance, power play, or socio-economic circumstances, must not be condoned.

In addition to continued and intensified public education on what constitutes child labour, socio-economic depravities have to be addressed, and the full brunt of the law must be brought to bear, including making the penalty prohibitive enough to serve as deterrence.

Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence during the week’s event spoke extensively about the need to be intolerant to child sexual abuse. This strong message has to be reverberated throughout the society. Additionally, this institutional strengthening such as expanding the Child Protection Agency and equipping it with proficient staff should be treated as priority.

Ours is a society born out of historical experience that to spare the rod is to spoil the child. Consequently, children have been whipped if they engaged in what the parent or responsible adult considers bad behaviour. This in many instances is born out of wanting the best for the child. This form of discipline is also incorporated in the school system, known as Corporal Punishment. Today such is considered violent and abusive. As national conversations on this issue flare up ever so often, including from teachers, as to whether this form of discipline is

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Mindfulness & mental well-being Dear Editor, U N T I L n o w, c o n v e r s a t i o n s around mental health have focused on depression, but a University of Cambridge report published in the medical journal, Brain and Behaviour, suggested anxiety could be a much bigger problem. People with anxiety tend to be hyper-vigilant to negativity and worry excessively about the future; whereas, those with depression tend to dwell on bad things about themselves.

It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Paying more attention to the present moment – to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you – can improve your mental well-being. Some people call this awareness “mindfulness.”

Sarah Stewart-Brown, professor of public health at the University of Warwick in the UK and a well-being expert, says: “Feelings of contentment, enjoyment, confidence and engagement with the world are all a part of mental well-being,” as are self-esteem and self-confidence, a feeling that you can do the things you want to do, and good relationships, “which bring joy to you and those around you.”

Of course, good mental well-being does not mean that you never experience feelings or situations that you find difficult. But it does mean that you feel you have the resilience to cope when times are tougher than usual. It can help to think about “being well” as something you do, rather than something you are. The more you put in, the more you are likely to get out.

“No one can give well-being to you. It’s you who have to take action,” says Professor Stew-

art-Brown. Reminding yourself to take notice of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and the world around you is the first step to mindfulness. “Even as we go about our daily lives, we can notice the sensations of things, the food we eat, the air moving past the body as we walk,” says Professor Williams.

“All this may sound very small, but it has huge power to interrupt the ‘autopilot’ mode we often engage in day to day, and to give us new perspectives on life.”

Pick a regular time – the morning journey to work or a walk at lunchtime– during which you decide to be aware of the sensations created by the world around you.

Trying new things, such as sitting in a different seat in meetings or going somewhere new for lunch, can also help you notice the world in a new way.

You can practise mindfulness anywhere, but it can be especially helpful to take a mindful approach if you realise that, for several minutes, you have been “trapped” in reliving past problems or “pre-living” future worries. As well as practising mindfulness in daily life, it can be helpful to set aside time for a more formal mindfulness practice. Mindfulness meditation involves sitting silently and paying attention to thoughts, sounds, the sensations of breathing or parts of the body, bringing your attention back whenever the mind starts to wander Five things that, according to research, can really help to boost your mental well-being: * Connect – connect with the people around you: your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours.

Spend time developing these relationships.

appropriate or not, the fact is once it remains on the statute books it is legal.

It may be opportune therefore for teachers, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Protection and other stakeholders to examine corporal punishment in our laws.

Discipline is important to a child’s growth and development as it is to every individual. However, it becomes necessary to revisit appropriate forms of discipline that will not constitute abuse.

Our children are getting education from different sources and in unrestricted environments which can be unhealthy. With technological advancement, Guyana has to develop its Code of Standards that will protect the type of information children are exposed to, and explore ways of aiding the family in ensuring so. In addition to the type of movies children watch, it may be helpful to seek to work with television stations in determining the type of shows shown at certain hours.

There is the issue of cyber-bullying which is becoming

* Be active – you don’t have to go to the gym. Take a walk, go cycling, play a game, draw, sing... find any activity that you enjoy and make it a part of your life. * Keep learning – learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and a new confidence.

So why not sign up for that cooking course, start learning to play a musical instrument, figure out how to fix your bike or repair broken furniture or torn clothing? * Give to others – even the smallest act can count, whether it’s a smile, a thank you, a kind word, helping an elderly person cross the road, carrying bags for a pregnant woman or stopping to chat with a lonely person. Larger acts, such as volunteering at your local community centre, school or hospital can improve your mental well-being and help you build new social networks. * Be mindful – be more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

One theory for the rise in anxiety is that whilst we are digitally connected, we are less connected to each other that people used to be a couple of decades ago. Daily life is also less communal and collaborative as more and more people are becoming individualistic, particularly when compared with life in the past. And yet, we all want to be accepted and liked.

Being excluded from a group to which we want to belong is a real terror for many people today. Whether the result of fear of missing out or fear of being left out, anxiety can be seriously life-limiting and that’s no fun at all.

THE CARIBBEAN VOICE

ever prevalent. The internet is also a haven for paedophiles, unrestricted flow of pornography, recruiting for terrorist acts, and other forms of exploitation, violence and abuse.

Ways have to be found to insulate our children from such a toxic environment, even as they are taught that their bodies are private, what constitutes safe space, how to deal with those who seek to violate them, and appropriate sex education.

In the field of education, children learn what is to come into contact with their senses. Adults have to be mindful of the things they say and do because children often take their cues. Leaders in society must not only speak to the issue of abuse in forms of intolerance, but must also be seen demonstrating that level of tolerance. While children may not be of the intellectual growth as adults, they are very discerning and perceptive.

Stamping it out requires collective approaches and actions. Our children are depending on us.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Recommendations for salvaging GuySuCo

Dear Editor,

I AM submitting our recommendations for salvaging GUYSUCO. Mind you, the thinking of the top executives reached saturation point many years ago, when their only thoughts were about the production of ethanol, electricity from bagasse, etc.

They have created and presided over the demise of a once profitable industry, and if they were worth their salt, they would have diversified the industry decades ago. Now they are still in place to give the final rites to the industry, and they are touting the cultivation of rice at Wales. What a shame! Or are they now washing their shame and drinking it?

Any action taken as regards this industry must consider that we are dealing with human beings and human happiness. Below are our suggestions for treating this man-made disaster: 1: First and foremost, replace all those top executives who presided over the deterioration of the corporation over the years, and whose thinking has been embedded in ethanol production, sugar packaging, aquaculture, cattle rearing, etc. They have all outlived any useful purpose they might have, and are just warming

seats and accumulating enormous fat in their pockets.

2: Sell some of the troubled malfunctioning/non-functioning Skeldon Factory units as scrap metal to Chinese and others in the recycling business, so that this national festering sore can be excised from GUYSCO. 3: Appoint an Executive Chairman and restructure the Board of Directors, appointing the General Manager/CEO of each estate as a Board Executive Director. In this way, the Board will gain hands-on information on the happenings of each estate at any point in time.

4: Appoint one non-executive director from the sugar unions.

5: Urgently, keep politicians in dark rooms, where they can dream dreams and see visions.

Hold the Board of Directors accountable for the Corporation’s performance.

6: Have each estate execute staff succession plans. Implement and audit these each year.

7: Pursue relationship marketing at functional and strategic levels.

8: Develop strategic partnerships with companies, businesses, etc that produce value-added products using sugar and its by-products.

9: Cease all colonial-type services offered

to Executive Staff at each estate -- free housing, guard services, school children transportation, payment for utilities, etc.

10: Sell or rent to Executive Staff members the houses they occupy, or sell them to members of the public.

11: Integrate the medical centre at each estate with adjacent government hospitals and clinics.

12: Redesign all offices with cubicles so that high borders are removed. Have managers type their own correspondence, bag their own letters, etc. and reassign support staff to relevant productive sectors.

13: Employ more multi-skilled staff at all levels, and redesign jobs to cater for these changes.

14: Employ retired experienced employees at lower-level jobs as training facilitators, advisors, etc.

15: In a civilized culture, one generation must replace another. Therefore, stop putting retired persons in substantive positions and let there be succession.

16: Start diversifying agricultural production on low-yielding land.

17: Lease or sell uncultivated lands to

farmers for cultivation of non-traditional crops, giving first preference to former field operations staff.

If GUYSUCO is serious about doing better, all matters should be put in the public domain, and it must be recognized that no one has a monopoly on wisdom. As such, people with relevant knowledge and technical know-how must be invited to contribute their two cents to treating the man-made diseases affecting the Corporation.

Moreover, Government should appoint more competent and experienced people to oversee agricultural activities at GUYSUCO and the country as a whole, for there are too many misfits masquerading in the industry.

Hence the decision of rice cultivation at Wales is simply adding insult to injury. If the present top executives have any decency at all, they would leave the industry instantly.

How much more hogwash must we take as a people?

Regards, DOODNAUTH SINGH Executive Chairman, Jan and Joy Carew Education Centre

The SWAT Unit is sound and focused Dear Editor, I RESPECTFULLY respond to the letter purportedly written by a concerned citizen: “Swat Team is not being treated or utilized properly”, and featured in the Kaieteur News of September 22, 2016 at page 5.

As the members of this elite unit have all, each and every one, distanced themselves from this expose, it seems rather strange and significant that an unknown of the affairs of this Unit could peddle so much mischief and untruth; but this is the reality of the times. However, the need to respond is above and much more compelling, in the light that the public, all citizens and key stakeholders, need to and will appreciate that the SWAT Unit is too important and valuable, particularly as a part of a holistic crime fighting strategy, in the main.

Please be assured that the SWAT Unit of the Guyana Police Force is mentally and physically sound, under very good administration, focused, and ready to effectively respond in fulfilment of its role and functions. This Unit is not idle and inactive. In fact, it has successfully completed two (2) training engagements of an operational nature; one (1) in collaboration with the

Joint Services in January, the other during POLICE DAY at Durban Park in May this year. These aside, it continues to engage in the training of all the divisional anti-crime patrols in the country.

Additionally, on several occasions, the SWAT Unit provided security for VIP’s, performed high profile escorts, and played a leading role in collaboration with over fifty (50) other officers and ranks during a major anti-crime operation on the East Coast of Demerara, some two (2) weeks ago. So they are really very active.

The issue of personal firearms has always been the Achilles heel of certain members of the Force, as much as it is with the average public. Police officers are expected to be brave, courageous, dispassionate, and unmoved in the face of threats to personal safety; for policing is not for the faint of heart. The Force has a policy which provides guidance on the issuance of firearms full time to its members, and it is serving the Force quite well.

Sometime soon, in fact in about six (6) weeks’ time, the Force will see a spanking new state-ofthe-art gymnasium, and all through the rank and file are expected to benefit, SWAT included. The mat-

ter of fitness for the role is oftentimes a personal choice these days, though by requirement it is expected that members of the Force keep themselves fit and ready to respond adequately, even though this will come at a cost, since some choose to be a member of a name brand gym instead of doing simple exercises that are devoid of financial consideration.

In terms of the upkeep of the SWAT Unit, much has been done already.

Unfortunately, when those in direct command of subordinates neglect to pay much needed attention to little but important details of personal and habitation hygiene, the resultant situation can be depressing. However, as a call to order, and based on the elite nature of the SWAT Unit, and to maintain this eliteness, the commanding officer and the officers below him have been reminded to pay constant and more direct attention to the daily administration of this important Unit. To say that the external environment is an unsanitary one is far from the truth, even though it is a fact that due to the rehabilitation of an important unit infrastructure in close proximity, a level of discomfiture was envisaged, and is being minimized. But alas, where is much needed patience in

these matters? Improvement has challenges and consequences.

Finally, rest assured that there is no crime situation in Berbice at this time of the type which will necessitate the SWAT Unit’s presence therein. ‘B’ Division is currently experiencing a thirteen percent (13%) decrease overall in serious crimes when compared with the same period in 2015. The only serious crime that has increased is murder, with twenty-three (23) cases this year, against seventeen (17) last year.

How do you really prevent a murder/homicide, which is the killing of a human by a human being?

Maybe this concerned citizen has useful ideas. But is he/she interested in being a part of the solution?

Serious crimes such as robbery under arms involving the use of firearms, robbery under arms involving the use of other instruments; rape, break and enter and larceny, burglary and robbery with violence have all been reduced by twenty-five (25), five (5), thirty-six (36), seventeen (17), twelve (12) and seventeen (17) percent respectively.

Regards, D. RAMNARINE, DSM (ag) Commissioner of Police

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Time the gov’t faces reality I WROTE this column as I listened to the remarks of the speakers at the opening ceremony of the Museum of African American History and Culture. This landmark representation of the black experience in America was opened in a week when two human beings were gunned down in the public space simply because they were black.

The dehumanization of blackness is still a fact of life; both the museum and the lynchings in Tulsa and Charlotte are vivid reminders of this fact. Let nobody tell you that anti-black racism is not normal; it is normal wherever the sons and daughters of Chattel Slavery reside, including in our own country, Guyana.

I have been thinking about the mounting criticisms of the Government -- both in the public sphere and away from the glare of the media. The political opposition does what political opposition in the Caribbean sees as its principal job, and the society expects of it — opposes the Government as an end in itself. So it is another type of critique of Government that I am thinking about — the critique by the masses of people, particularly those who voted for and support the Government.

It is by now no secret that many supporters of the Government are unhappy with its stewardship of the country these last sixteen months. That unhappiness may be surprising to some, but it is real. It has to be real, because we live in a country and a region where government represents power. So, in the minds of citizens, their quest for the freedom promised at Emancipation in 1838 and Independence in 1966 is largely imagined against the backdrop of who governs.

When, in 1992, we had our first change of government since independence, the hope in some quarters was that after the grave mistakes of the first decades of independence, Government would cleanse itself and become what it was meant to be — a medium of empowerment and freedom for all Guyanese, particularly the sufferers.

Alas, that 1992 Government turned out to be a colossal failure; it took government further away from the people and trans-

formed it into a medium of enrichment for a few comrades and their friends, a trafficker of fear and force, and a source of ethnic domination.

It is against this ugly background that this Government came to power last year. It is by no means a truly representative government, but its rise to power represents a rebuke of the architects of the two governments it succeeded. All new governments rise to power with burdens of expectations, but this one in Guyana and similar ones in the wider Caribbean come with particular burdens. After 50 years of Independence, the Caribbean invariably asks itself some very serious questions, the most serious one being, “Are we, as a people, capable of governing ourselves in a state of freedom?”

Here, in Guyana, we have not governed ourselves in a state of freedom during our first 50 years of Independence. It is not that government has not attempted positive policies and our leaders did not demonstrate vision during this period, but they did so within a context of authoritarianism. And our experience has shown that vision and uplifting policies are not sustainable in conditions where freedom is absent.

So we come back to the current Government and its critics. The criticism by its supporters must be seen within the context of what they perceive to be the role of government in contemporary society.

Clearly, after living under a government which for 23 years enriched itself from the public purse, they could not want their government to give itself a giant salary increase in its first months in office. Clearly, after open plunder of public resources, they do not want to hear that Government has the evidence but it can’t prosecute the plunderers.

Clearly, they don’t want to see the fat cats who became the mega-rich under the previous government being given prime contracts, prestigious jobs, and high status in a government that campaigned against the giveaway of the country to the powerful few. Clearly, they do not want to hear a government they elected to look out for them telling them that Government cannot create employment for them.

While that assertion makes neo-liberal economic sense, it is inconsistent with the mass perception of the meaning of government, which is grounded in a Caribbean tradition of government as a source of economic security for the poor.

Clearly, they don’t want to hear their government tell them that they can’t make a living in the public space because they are nasty. Clearly, they don’t want to be chased up and down the streets of Georgetown by a king who is out of control.

Clearly, they don’t want to be told that their Government cannot pay them more than a 10% pittance; and they don’t want to see their union being bullied to take the pittance and murmur not. Clearly, they don’t want to be lectured on IMF-neoliberal economics by their leaders; that kind of economics has, from slavery to the present, underdeveloped our people. Plantation economic praxis cannot correct the wrongs of the plantation and empower the victims of ‘plantationhood’.

I have said before that this Government has done some good things since coming to office, but it is unable to articulate its successes for three major reasons. First, its mistakes have tended to mask its successes; the mistakes are too blatant and numerous.

Second, the Government has failed to articulate an overriding vision of change and transformation. This means that its policies and actions appear to be random and eclectic. Third, it has not done anything for the people at the social bottom that is big and has direct effect on their day to day lives.

The current wage negotiations offered them a golden opportunity to do that, but they blew it. I guarantee that if the Government gave workers across the board a wage increase that makes a difference in their lives, they would forgive the mistakes that have been made. But the refusal to budge from the 10% only serves to illuminate the other transgressions. And the situation is compounded by politically insensitive declarations from ministers, such as that’s all they can afford and that Guyanese workers earn more than workers in most countries.

From a purely subjective standpoint, I would not want to see the return of the PPP

to power in one-party government. I think such a government would be bad for Guyana, since the PPP has been unrepentant largely because its personnel are convinced they did nothing wrong. But that does not lead me to be uncritical of this government, sections of which are extremely hostile to criticisms.

In the end, I have an obligation to balance support for the Government with loyalty to, and defence of, the people; particularly the poor and the powerless. My critiques are partly meant to get the Government to heed the cries of its supporters to change course. A glance across the Caribbean landscape would show that people have low tolerance for governments; the one-term syndrome is commonplace.

There may be a thinking in Government circles that dislike of the PPP and ethnic loyalty would work in its favour at the next election. I caution against that thinking; African Guyanese have traditionally demonstrated a dual political culture of “independent-loyalty” that allows them to vote for their ethnic party and simultaneously search for and empower alternatives to their ethnic status quo. Both the WPA and the Trotman-led AFC benefited from this culture.

The APNU+AFC government was not elected for its officials to be CEOs and managers; it was elected to lead a renewal of government and politics. It was not elected to advance the 400-year economic globalization thesis that has brought social death to Guyana and the Caribbean. It is time the Government realizes that because of its “government as usual” approach, it does not enjoy the full confidence of its supporters and the society at large. Its survival depends on its ability to address this growing problem. Failure to do so in short order could be disastrous. I, for one, would hold the Coalition responsible if it delivers Guyana into the hands of the PPP in 2020.

More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com.

Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Alternative views and dissent are features of growth and development AS THE world continues to change, it is to persons’ advantage to be positive influencing participants of this aspect of nature. In 2002, Desmond Hoyte famously said, “Change is as necessary a part of politics as it is of life. Those who do not change become dinosaurs, irrelevant and eventually extinct. If we do not adapt to new circumstances, new challenges and new responsibilities we cannot survive, much less overcome.”

Undoubtedly, this was a feature that influenced his politics.

In the mid-1980s, the political division that had sustained the Cold War was beginning to show cracks to the advantage of the West.

Hoyte’s response to this change was politically appropriate to the time. He steered Guyana from one political era to another, and though he had the option to resist change and emerge weakened after, astute politics carried the day.

Simultaneously, the global media landscape was changing, and tools of technology were becoming more accessible and affordable.

Western powers had always maintained a strong influence in our media culture to retain their foothold in the region during the Cold War. People were travelling and sharing experiences on what was happening outside of our borders. In this environment Hoyte opened the media, which saw the advent of Stabroek News and television stations owned by Anthony Vieira, Rex McKay and C.N. Sharma.

Accepting that, outside of our homogeneous species, we have common and diverse interests would cause us to recognize that inherently alternative and dissenting views would be part of our interaction. Astute recognition would inform that one cannot run from the inevitable. Shrewd leadership would

acknowledge that running from the inevitable carries consequences.

As Guyana continues to make further advancement in embracing modern technology, the people’s dissent and alternative views would become more pronounced.

Government, political groups, organisations (including the trade union) and individuals who ignore the inevitable do so to their peril.

As a trade unionist, I am guided by the goal to see the creation of a just society. It was in pursuit of this that the masses revolted against a system that would have preferred to keep them in servitude and trample their inalienable rights. The trade union is birthed out of conflict in pursuit of equal rights, justice, and fair play to bring about growth and development in citizens/workers’ lives, in the workplace, and in wider society. Inevitably, we would be agitators, advocators, dissenters and supporters of issues that impact or threaten our goal.

The trade union began in the 20th century the process to advance the right to self-determination, which includes a gamut of issues.

Some are the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining in the workplace; the right to internal self-government and sovereignty in the wider society. Trade unionists would therefore agitate and advocate to have these upheld. We dissent with those who threaten them; and if it becomes necessary, agitate and advocate for the removal from office of those who threaten them -- through the ballot or other legitimate means.

The trade union did not do the hard work and lay the ground work (one man one vote, etc.) for self-government to allow itself to be shut out from the processes to deepen and strengthen same.

Self-government for us means

involving in acts that take on board the rights and opinions of the collective in defining and executing the national agenda.

On the issue of sovereignty, the trade union remains committed to Guyana maintaining its lands and water zones as at independence. In the 1980s, when the Guyana/ Venezuela border issue was taking an ugly turn, the trade union agitated in the Caribbean and secured the support of the regional labour movement. The Guyana Trades Union Congress took this matter to the Inter-American Regional Organisation of Workers (ORIT), who joined with Guyana in calling for peaceful and expeditious settlement of the controversy.

Trade unionists that refuse to settle for less when better can and must be done in the achievement of our principal goal would be unafraid to exercise their constitutional rights and freedoms in pursuit of same. The right to freedom of expression (Article 146), protected in the Constitution, includes dissenting and expressing alternative views. The role of the trade union in the nation’s economy, outlined in Article 38, and our involvement in the management and decision-making processes that impact citizens/workers, as specified in Article 149C, are not expected to see abrogation of responsibility on our part.

It is not lost on me that trade union activism would attract the wrath of the political establishment. Equally, I am aware that a smart opposition would seek to represent the values the trade union stands for, impress on the society its commitment to citizens/ workers’ well-being; and, from a political standpoint, seek to aid its chance of getting into office.

Similarly, a smarter government recognises that the trade union would not be

contained or silenced in advancing its goal, and would avoid engaging in acts of transgressions, violations and mismanagement which, as a matter of duty, would not be supported by the trade union.

The trade union is here to stay. Once there is injus-

tice and inequity in society, our voices will be heard.

There may be moments when our voices can be considered not strong enough, but rest assured, our voices shall never be stilled. The values that birthed our existence in 1905 are still rele-

vant, and even moreso now that the world is clamouring for, and moving towards, good governance. Hoyte is not among us today, but the principle that informed his navigation of an ever changing landscape remains eternal.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

AFC commissions Region 10 office THE Alliance For Change (AFC) on Saturday commissioned an office in the mining town of Linden.

The office is located on Burnham Drive, Wismar.

At the simple commissioning ceremony were Minister of Business, Dominique Gaskin; Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford; Chairman of the Regional Management Committee, Norman Federicks; Deputy Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell; Head of GINA, Beverly Alert; and other executive members of the AFC. Minister Gaskin, in his short address, commended the regional members for materializing the initiative of decentralizing the functions of the party by having an

office available.

“It is a sign of stability, and we hope that it would be the beginning of a new membership drive and that it would be a home for Youths for Change and Women for Change to meet and to do party business,” he said.

Gaskin said he was extremely pleased about the development, and would give full support to the Region’s contributions to the overall development of the party.

Deputy Mayor Waneka Arrindell told the audience that the AFC arm of the coalition government is indeed important, and the AFC Councillors on the municipality, Devin Sears and Derek Collins, have made positive contributions to the

functioning of the municipality.

Chairman of the Regional Management Committee, Norman Federicks, said the driving force behind the opening of the office is the interest displayed by many Lindeners, who often ask about a central location in which they can get involved and join the membership.

“Persons sharing the AFC ideology can come and join and become a member of the party,” he said.

According to AFC Executive Member and Chairman of the regional Youth For Change group, Devin Sears, the facility will be used as a multipurpose complex. “The important thing about it all is that we took it to Wismar

because Wismar has the largest population, and there is a lot of work in terms of training and so that we have to do over there; so there will be various training, youth initiatives, and so on,” Sears pointed out.

Party members holding prominent positions in the Region are Regional Vice Chairman Elroy Adolph and Regional Representative of the Prime Minister, Vladimir Glasgow. The AFC Office is expected to commence operations on Monday. This will be the AFC’s third party office in Linden. A Partnership for National Unity and the People’s Progressive Party already have functioning offices there.

Regional Management Committee Chairman Norman Federicks cuts the ribbon with his little daughter to officially open the AFC Region 10 Office

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Towards a Good Life in a Green Economy

Climate change, sustainable development and the good life

By Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Gary A. R. Best Presidential Advisor on the Environment Mr. Gary A. R. Best is a retired Rear Admiral and former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. He is an Attorney at Law, and is the Presidential Advisor on the Environment. He is a PhD. candidate at the University of the West Indies.

He holds a BSc in Nautical Science (Brazil) and Masters’ Degrees from the University of the West Indies and the University of London. He is also an alumnus of the National Defence University and Harvard Kennedy School. His research areas include climate change governance, climate change finance, international relations and environmental law.

LCDS, which is a payment for ecosystems services (PES) plan to raise revenue to finance its adaptation to climate change.

However, at the regional level, vulnerability became the small nations’ anthem at successive annual and special climate change conferences, to attract international attention of the special nature of SIDS and SDS.

UNDER the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the two responses to climate change identified are: mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and enhancing sinks and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In fact, GHGs from most developing states are relatively low, and consequently they are required to adapt to climate change; while developed nations are required to mitigate climate change due to high emission rates. Further, under the UNFCCC, developed countries agreed to transfer technology to, and fund, the cost of adaptation for developing countries.

At the regional level, Caricom Heads of Government expressed concern about the global impact of climate change, and advanced a global solution which required the reorganization of all climate change funding to incorporate a vulnerability index, in order to enable small island developing states (SIDS) and small developing states (SDS) to access international financial resources. The Heads established the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) as the region’s implementation agency, and recognized the Guyana Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as a tool for harmonizing climate change mitigation and economic development (Liliendaal Declaration, 2009).

It should be noted at the outset that Guyana’s blueprint to adapt to climate change was through a mitigation instrument, the

A WIDER RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE Two recent developments are worth noting in the context of Guyana’s wider response to climate change. Firstly, the Paris Agreement to the UNFCCC provides for all countries to be legally bound to voluntary reductions of GHGs (Article 2:1(a); Article 4:2; Article 6:4). Secondly, Guyana’s decision to adopt a green economy pathway as it development model represents a multi-sectorial approach to climate change solutions, widening its blueprint to adapt to climate change. The LCDS and vulnerability concerns are now subsumed within the green economy, and are expressed under two of its pillars -- sustainable harvesting of natural capital, and economic prosperity and social cohesion.

Let’s look at this wider response to climate change in the context of adaptation and sustainable development. According to a recent report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the key challenge now is how to respond to climate change. In the minds of those panellists, two benchmarks should be met in order to mitigate climate change - stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gases, and maintenance of economic growth.

Towards this end, Beinhocker et al. suggested that there should be no doubt that economic growth must go hand in hand with climate change mitigation efforts.

According to Patterson, there is also a real fear that, because the main response to global warming has been through mitigation characterised by carbon sequestration,

renewable energies and energy efficiency, biodiversity conservation may become a casualty. This is a possibility that Guyana’s green economy pathway must avoid.

However, Gurney and Raymond doubt that the current system of limiting deforestation through reduced fossil and industrial emissions and percentage reduction targets is the appropriate model. Instead, countries are urged to consider a national target relative to the amount of untouched forest identified for preservation, and the required changes in deforestation rates necessary to get there.

Consequently, within the wider climate change solutions via Guyana’s green economy pathway, emissions’ reductions capture, measurement and necessary by-laws become prime activities for our national agencies, particularly the Guyana Energy Agency.

There are also issues with adaptation.

In this context, Jones et al (2009) points out that while adaptation costs are high, costing sea level adaptation, for example, shows that it will range between 5% and 10% of GDP, whereas if no adaptation is undertaken, the cost can be as high as 14%.

According to Agerup et al, ‘Sustainable development can only come through the adoption of institutions that enable people to engage in economic activities that create wealth and lead to technological progress’.

Writers such as Jones et al are more forthright; they posit that sustainable development and climate change are inextricably linked through the requirements of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

Perhaps, the greatest challenge to sustainable development is the inability to generate wealth due to poverty. Guyana’s goal must be to reduce poverty and avoid any type of environmental crisis. Contrastingly, Matthew et anor, submits that the environmental effect of the unsustainable consumption practices of the world’s rich is displaced amongst the world’s poor de-

spite all the hype and money being spent on mitigating climate change, preserving biodiversity, and promoting ecosystems services. If this is true, then greening Guyana’s economy must be balanced, and result in reducing inequalities and creating an equitable space for wealth generation for all citizens.

The green economy must therefore generate wealth through jobs and industries.

Even though this is the case, Jones argues that climate change efforts at the international level are dominated by negotiations for mitigation through emissions’ reduction, leaving climate change adaptation on a very narrow front and the wider goal of sustainable development inadequately addressed.

Contrastingly, Agerup et al suggested that ‘Policies intended to mitigate climate change through restrictions on atmospheric carbon are almost certainly unsustainable; they are costly, would have little impact on the climate, and will most likely perpetuate poverty, making it more difficult for the poor to adapt to change’.

They also argue that sustainable governance by developing states is plagued by the absence of open trade and good governance.

To this initiative, Jones et anor (2009) adds that the areas of emphasis in the context of adaptation identified to enable sustainable development adaptation include strategies to effect and enhance agriculture and forestry production and services; understanding that water resources management is critical to maintaining wetlands which mitigate climate change; development of coastal zone management and protection plans; and identifying health issues as derivatives of climate change.

There is a lot of learning here for us in Guyana, as these adaptation measures reflect the multi-sector approach that the green economy presents. If we agree that climate change and sustainable development are inextricably bound up, then we can also agree that the green economy pathway is a sustainable development initiative within the sustainable development paradigm. And in that context, greening Guyana’s economy should be seen as a climate change solution grounded in innovative actions, nationally developed plans and investment packages, ultimately leading to the good life.

(Comments can be sent to towardsagoodlife@gmail.com)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Mabaruma Town Council meets for the first time A SILVER lining appears to be on the horizon at the Mabaruma Town Council, as members from the government and opposition sides met for the first time last week.

And the council plans to address several issues in the North West District’s first town, including approaching the Central Government to address the

Members of the Mabaruma Town Council following their first meeting as a council on Wednesday

dire state of the roadways there.

Mabaruma was commissioned as a new town following the March 18 Local Government Elections this year, but a split in the number of councillors who were elected to serve on the 12-member body resulted in the council being placed in a handicapped position.

The Government and Opposition PPP/C each share 6 seats on the council, and while Henry Smith was elected to serve as the town’s mayor, his position remains one on paper, since the opposition PPP/C had moved to the courts in April to challenge Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan’s decision to appoint a mayor after the tie in the number of seats.

The 12-member council reportedly met at Mabaruma on September 21st, and discussed a host of issues, including the state of the road network, electricity, and water supply.

This publication understands that the council meeting was chaired by PPP/C councillor Vibert Emmanual.

While the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is not in a position to finance the town council, the latter body is planning to approach the Government to address the issue.

Mabaruma and neighbouring communities receive electricity from

17:00h to 23:00h and from 05:00h to 07:00h daily.The town council plans to address the supply schedule with the aim of improving the hours.

The water network has not been functioning properly. One councillor told this publication on Saturday that plans are in train to improve the current situation as well.

This publication understands that the town council would be working to establish its office from where it will carry out its mandate. A site and building has been identified in that regard.

Through its member Zulficar Mustapha, the PPP/C had, in April, filed proceedings in the court, blocking Smith and Astrille Gamell from performing the functions of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Meanwhile, following the September 21 meeting, several council members expressed optimism that the council would be able to function with a mayor and deputy mayor in the near future.

A councillor told this publication on Saturday that development of the town has been recognized as a priority, and, “in spite of our differences, things will happen”. Former Region One Chairman Barringtown Ward is working alongside the council in the capacity of Town Clerk.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Mother of baby with fractured skull demands disciplinary action against nurses - GPHC says nursing administration investigating

NYESHA Hamilton, the 21-year-old who recently delivered on the floor of the Georgetown Hospital resulting in her baby having a fractured skull, is calling on the hospital administration and by extension the Guyana Nursing Council to take disciplinary action against those responsible.

On August 21, 2016, Hamilton gave birth to her second child on the floor of the Maternity Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital after she had repeatedly told the nurses on duty that she was in labour, but was made to walk to the Delivery Room in the absence of a wheelchair. It was while she was being forced to walk from a Prenatal Room to the Delivery Room that she stooped and delivered the baby in the process. The

infant suffered a fractured skull after hitting the floor.

“I told them over and over I was ready, that the baby was coming, but I was still forced to walk to the Delivery Room, why, because they didn’t have a wheelchair. Someone has to be held responsible,” Hamilton said. She wants to see disciplinary action taken against the nurses with whom she had come into direct contact in the lead- up to and during her delivery.

The 21-year-old said no other pregnant woman acquiring the services of the GPHC’s Maternity Unit should have to endure such an experience.

Hamilton, who resides at Lot 223 Paradise Housing Scheme on the East Coast of Demerara, said she is also considering taking legal

Nyesha Hamilton and her son Ricardo Hamilton, the injured infant action against the public bleeding, but when I met hospital for the injuries her with [doctor] on Tuesday child sustained, and the pain [last], he said they may have and embarrassment the hos- made a mistake and it was pital caused her. just external bleeding and “Before, they had men- a fractured skull. He said tioned to me that my son it will heal up within six was experiencing internal weeks,” Hamilton said.

“I am not satisfied with that explanation [that the injuries will heal in six weeks], because he really can’t say what will happen in the long-run,” she reasoned.

Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Hospital, Michael Khan, on Saturday told the Guyana Chronicle that the nursing administration has launched an investigation and is expected to deliver a report on its findings early next week.

Khan said when the matter was brought to his attention, he with both Hamilton and the neurosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, and it was explained that the child was not in danger.

The outcome of the investigation will determine the next step to be taken by the hospital administration.

When the Guyana Chronicle broke this story last week, Executive Director of the Guyana Nurses Association (GNA), Grace Bond, had said the incident should have never happened.

Bond said while the Midwives Association is known for conducting workshops to enhance the skills of midwives, it was not a matter of skill, but of attitude.

“To me it is more about attitude and not the skill of the midwife that is in question here. The whole attitude of nurses is unbecoming,” she contended.

Bond said nurses and midwives must do more for their clients. “Many times when I am speaking to nurses, when I go to the classroom and I speak with nurses and even here at the GNA, I would always remind them that they must put themselves in the client’s place. If they are a patient, what they would want for the nurse to say or do for them, how would they like to be treated?”

The GNA Executive Director is also of the opinion that stern action should be taken against nurses who fail to execute their mandates in keeping with the Florence Nightingale Pledge.

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Birding gets big boost ‒ thanks to CATS initiative

By Zena Henry THE dream of one day making the East Coast Demerara village of Mahaica a premier local bird-watching destination is closer to being realised with the recent acquisition of a key means of transportation.

Last Friday, the community was presented with a brand new boat and engine costing U.S.$37,000, courtesy of the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) through its regional programme, the Caribbean Aqua Terrestrial Solutions (CATS).

GIZ, as its name suggests, is a German-sponsored initiative that focuses on the adaptation of rural economies and natural resources to climate change, and the

management of coastal resources and the conservation of marine biodiversity.

The vessel was officially handed over to a group of tour guides drawn from Mahaica and neighbouring villages by Head of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr Indranauth Haralsingh, and local CATS Project Officer, Ms Annette Arjoon-Martins.

SPECIAL TRAINING The GTA head said guides had been privy to special birding and tour guide training sessions, courtesy of the same CATS initiative more than a year ago.

During the ceremony, Haralsingh seized the opportunity to commend the training programme’s facilitators as well as its participants for

staying the course and forging ahead with their plans to boost not only the economy of the community of Mahaica, but also for preserving its natural environs.

He also commended the community proper, as well as the GIZ/CATS team for the sterling effort they have been making to protect the mangroves in their neighbourhood.

As Dr Horst Vogel, who is heading the CATS programme on behalf of GIZ, observed that the new boat is expected to assist in improving the lives of persons in Mahaica, while helping to protect the area’s natural environment through tour-guiding initiatives.

THE TOUR Officially, the Mahaica Birding Tour is some three hours long, and goes several miles into the Mahaica

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

GTA’s Mr Indranauth Haralsingh (right) and CATS’ Ms Annette Arjoon-Martins (second right) hand over the vessel to two members of the Mahaica Birding Tour operations

River.

The tour costs as little as US$50, which includes transportation to and from the city, or U.S.$35 for the river leg of the tour only.

The Mahaica birding tour comes after the recently established horse-cart tours, which was kicked off in another East Coast community to bring tourists closer to

country life and its culture.

The river-top tours have, however, been diversified since persons, especially outside visitors, have boosted the game-fishing activity.

The birding tour, however, affords visitors the opportunity of viewing some 50 different species of the 150 birds living within the mangroves.

These birds include the national bird, the Canje Pheasant, which is on proud display in the early morning and late afternoon hours.

Howler monkeys, Red Cap Cardinals, White Collar hawks, Otters and caimans are among numerous intriguing animals that can also be seen in their mangrove habitat.

The preservation of mangroves is a major concern for local and foreign-based conservation workers.

Mangroves not only protect inland areas from rising sea levels, but also provide breeding grounds for a wide variety of animal and plant life, and a great place for bird-watching.

Water-top tours and sport fishing are just some ways of promoting the importance of mangroves, in a bid to ensure their survival.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE SEPT 25, 2016

Border controversy

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assessment in November - UN Secretary General SECRETARY-GENERAL of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Saturday said he would make an “assessment by November” on the way forward with

ed Nations’ Headquarters in New York, the Ministry of the Presidency stated.

President Granger accepted the timetable and committed to providing

impressed with the seriousness with which you have approached the problem and your own sincerity...

We have been personally convinced that you want to

“We support the process. We are confident that this process will lead to a conclusion that is satisfactory.”

Also attending the meeting on behalf of Guyana

in 1966 between the United Kingdom, on behalf of the then British Guiana and Venezuela; and Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Audrey

President David Granger and Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon pose for an official photograph at UN Headquarters Saturday.

(Ministry of the Presidency photo) regard to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

He gave the undertaking during a meeting with President David Granger at Unit-

any additional information, which Mr Ban may need in order to complete that assessment.

“We have been very

bring closure to this matter,” the President said to Mr Ban. In a brief, invited comment, following the meeting, President Granger added,

were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge; Sir Shridath Ramphal, who was present at the signing of the Geneva Agreement

Waddell.

It was on the eve of Guyana’s independence some five decades ago that Venezuela claimed the 1899

arbitral award which defined the two countries’ borders was null and void. An agreement signed in Geneva in 1966 provides for the secretary-general to take action to bring a resolution to the contention by Venezuela.

Following statements and actions by Venezuela, President Granger indicated to the United Nations Secretary-General that the process of talks has worn out and that Guyana was interested in a final legal settlement to Venezuela’s claim that the arbitral award is null and void.

Guyana has accused Venezuela of a series of acts of aggression, starting with a presidential decree of June 1968. The border controversy flared early last year when American firm ExxonMobil announced that it had made a “significant” oil discovery.

After threatening the company, the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a decree on May 26th, 2015, seeking to extend Venezuela’s land claim to also annex the country’s maritime space.

Three years ago, the Venezuelans sent a naval ship into Guyana’s waters and seized a U.S.-chartered oil survey ship and escorted it to Margarita Island.

In September last year, Guyanese authorities also said that the Venezuela army had travelled up the Cuyuni River.

In October, 2015, Canada-based mining company Guyana Goldfields said it had received an “unfounded” notification of possible legal action by Venezuela over its operations in Guyana.

President extends condolences on death of former Forestry Minister PRESIDENT David Granger has extended heartfelt sympathy to Mr Kenwyn Carmichael and the other relatives of the late Mr Fitz Uriel Alexander Carmichael, who passed away on Friday.

Carmichael had

served as Regional Minister of Regions One and Nine before he bec a m e M i n i s t e r o f F o restry during the Presidency of Forbes Burnham. Before his ministerial appointments, Carmichael had been a teacher and principal at the Burnham Agricul-

tural Institute (BAIT) at Port Kaituma in the North-West District Carmichael collapsed on Thursday in the vicinity of Camp and Robb Streets, Georgetown, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corpo-

The late Fitz Carmichael

ration (GPHC).

He was 81 years old.

His son Kenwyn Carmichael hailed him as “a man who was the pillar of strength, support and discipline [and] whose love for family was never questioned.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE SEPT 25, 2016

$31M park for Bartica’s West Indian Housing Scheme

An artist’s impression of the Green Park in the West Indian Housing Scheme at Bartica

Bartica’s first “green” recreational park is expected to be completed

by October 31 at a cost of $31M. According to Bartica Mayor Gifford Marshall, the project is moving apace. When completed, the much-anticipated recreational facility, which will be powered by solar e n e r g y, i s e x p e c t e d t o enhance the general aesthetics of the West Indian Housing Scheme, provide a source of revenue, and improve community relations among residents.

Upon completion, the park will be managed by a financial committee in order to ensure its sustainability and maintenance.

“This entire area was a swamp, and at first persons were critical of the project. They were questioning our reasoning behind such an initiative; but now many persons are beginning to see what we have in mind,” the Mayor said.

The park will feature a three-tier fountain and there will also be a playground with walkways, benches, benabs, arched

(kissing) bridges, and a green space for trees.

The water for the fountain will be sourced from a natural freshwater spring that was found at the backlands, and a waterfall concept will be created.

The park will also allow for spaces where res-

al Improvement Project (CIIP), Karen Roopchand, said the intention was to create a space where people can exercise, relax, and also use for recreational purposes. “ We w a n t t o e n s u r e that there are green spaces, so we will factor in the landscaping with

Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall

idents can hold barbeques, receptions, weddings, anniversary celebrations and other public events.

Coordinator of the Community Infrastructur-

trees, flowers and plants,” Roopchand said.

She disclosed that the park will increase the value of properties in the area, and will also serve

the purpose of beatifying the environment, creating a green space, improving the aesthetics, and providing an income stream.

However, Karen Bishop, a resident of Bartica, in a recent letter to the editor, not only complained about the “attitude” of the mayor, but questioned the decision to construct the multi-million-dollar park.

According to Bishop, no proper consultation was done with residents before the Council decided to move ahead with the project. “We, the residents of West Indian Housing Scheme, Bartica, are not engineers, technocrats or persons with the ability to manage major construction; but from our own common sense, it could have been observed that the undertakings of the Municipality is without any proper consultation with person(s) of engineering skills and governmental expertise,” the resident said.

Bishop is contending that the project will affect residents with “values to properties worth hundreds of millions.”

In responding to concerns raised by Bishop, Marshall said on Saturday that the park will enhance the value of properties in the West Indian Housing Scheme.

“Before, it was slush; people were dumping garbage in the area, the place was infested with mosquitos. Now it will be transformed into a green space, the values of properties will more than likely go up,” he told this newspaper.

It was explained that when the scheme was developed in the early 1990s, provision was made for a park in the area. As such, he said, the Council is only fulfilling the plan that had been started more than 15 years ago.

“If you look at the map for that area, you will see that there is spot designed for a community park,” he posited.

The project is being managed by three engineers, one employed by the contractor, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction Services, and two within the employ of the Government.

The Mayor also denied the claim made by Bishop that consultations were not held. It was explained that when the project was initiated by the Council, consulta-

tions were held with the residents, during which the Mayor and one of the councilors, Karmel Williams, discussed the many benefits to be derived from the project.

Williams had subsequently returned to the community and held additional talks with residents.

Turning his attention to the “issue of attitude,” the Mayor explained that when Bartica was hit with floods on August 7 and S e p t e m b e r 11 , h e h a d made contact with several residents, and Bishop was among those contacted on August 7. According to Marshall, when Bishop was contacted via the telephone, she was “obviously upset,” and as a result he called her later that day.

When the second call was made to Bishop, the Mayor said, she became very abusive and began to issue threats, resulting in him terminating the call. He said that while residents have concerns, those concerns ought to be conveyed in a respectful manner.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Equality Forum observes International Day of Peace The Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) Sunday last commemorated International Day of Peace with their second annual “Peace Day Sunday Fun Day” in which five teams from various civil society and youth groups competed in eighteen activities, including novelty games and sports.

International Day of Peace was celebrated under the theme “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace” which supports the GEF’s mandate of human rights and equality for all Guyanese since gender equality, quality education, good health, reduced inequalities, peace and justice are all sustainable development goals (SDGs), a release from the organization stated.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the event, the new United Nations Resident Coordinator for Guyana, Ms. Mikiko Tanaka pointed to the link between peace and the Sustainable Development Goals.

She was quaoted by the GEF as saying that numerous studies have pointed out that poverty, hunger, unemployment, competition over natural resources such as land and water are factors that contribute to conflict.

“Education and wellbeing, including living in balance with our natural environment and mitigating risks from disasters, are important drivers to sustainable development and peace,” she stated.

Speaking of equality, she said that “peace can only be appreciated if we are all equal, despite our gender, race, sexual orientation, spoken language, religion or which part of the country we are from.”

The local UN Coordinator noted that the 50th anniversary of the Guyana’s independence offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress and remaining tasks towards achieving the vision of the “Land of Six Peoples, United and Free.”

“The work of the Guyana Equality Forum and

er choice to hold a day of sports to commemorate and celebrate peace because sports is an activity that draws people from all walks of life.

“Sports unites people. It does not discriminate against gender, ethnicity, religion or status – people of all ethnic groups, genders and ages come together as one,” she said. She expressed “Guyana does not belong to any

UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka

its members is extremely important in this regard,” she said.

“The GEF was formed as a collaborative response by local civil society to addressing human rights abuses against sexual and gender minorities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups in Guyana.”

“The SDGs are building blocks for peace. Peace is not just about putting weapons aside. It is about building societies where people share the benefits of prosperity on a healthy planet. Peace is not an accident.

“Peace is not a gift.

Peace is something we must all work for, ever day in ever country. These goals are essential for lasting peace and both depend on human rights,” the UN official concluded.

The GEF’s “Peace Day Sunday Fun Day” sought to promote positive health and well-being, encourage youth participation, civic engagement and the advancement of human rights and equality. The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) won the games, while Duquan Cumberbatch of the Guyana Trans United (GTU) copped the award for most outstanding athlete; Come Alive Network Inc. (CANI) won the Dance Pass.

Giving the Closing Remarks, Director of Youth, Melissa Carmichael, on behalf of the Minister within the Ministry of Education, highlighted that it is a clev-

particular ethic group or combination of groups. It is important that all Guyanese observe and respect human rights and uphold our motto of “One People, One Nation, One Destiny,” she added, expressing hope that the activity fosters bonds and social cohesion that will help to make Guyana a country of peace and stability.

“Good relations, peaceful co-existence and cohesion

among communities are a key ingredient for sustainable development and growth,” Carmichael stated. “No country in the world can develop if it does not build on peace; if it does not experience peace.

Peace therefore can be seen as one of the pillars on which nations prosper economically, socially and politically.”

She concluded by giving a charge to the athletes to appreciate diversity, have

respect for each other’s culture, religion and beliefs, and nurture harmony and peaceful coexistence between persons of different genders, ethnicities, religions and social classes.

The GEF’s 2016 Peace Day Sunday Fun Day was supported by the High Commission of Canada to Guyana, Sentinel Security Inc. and the Guyana Girls Guide Association.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Sunday September 25th, 2016 - 13:30 hrs Monday September 26th, 2016 - 14:30 hrs Tuesday September 27th, 2016 - 14:30 hrs

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Region Three schools football champs decided …

Den Amstel and Uitvlugt crowned champions DEN Amstel Primary school and Uitvlugt Secondary school were yesterday crowned Champions of Region Three when the Primary and Secondary schools round-robin football tournament climaxed at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground, West Coast Demerara.

Led by a hat-trick of goals from Captain Stellon Nelson, Den Amstel brushed aside Parfait Harmonie 4-0 in the final of the Primary division. Que Robinson netted the other goal to complete the rout in the one-sided affair.

In the 3rd place play-off in the Secondary division, Alex Edwards produced an extra time goal in the first period to give West Demerara victory over a stubborn Good Fortune unit by a 4-3 margin.

The sides were deadlocked at 3-all when the

referee blew his whistle to signal the end of regulation time. Also on the score sheet for the winners were, Esan David, Gary Newlake and Denroy Duncan.

For the losers, Steadroy Lee netted a double while there was one for Stephon Fraser.

The feature game of the afternoon resulted in triumph for Uitvlugt as they overcame Vreed-en-Hoop 3-1. Germaine Jacobs opened the scoring in the 20th minute to give Uit-

vlught a 1-0 lead at the break.

After the resumption,Deon Prince made it 2-0 before Floyd Peters pulled one back for Vreed-en-Hoop. Daniel Floyd then regained the two goal cushion to ensure his side lifts the Secondary division Champion’s trophy.

Ten teams participated in each of the two divisions of competition which was sponsored by the Ministry of Social Protection and coordinated by Joel Gibson.

(Ras Wadada)

Dominant Pakistan ...

From back page

only four runs on the board when Sharjeel Khan (2) played on to Samuel Badree in the third over of the match.

H o w e v e r, a l t h o u g h Badree (1-24) and captain Carlos Brathwaite (1-24) kept things tight, Pakistan were able to post a healthy total.

Latif provided initial momentum by dominating a 54-run stand with Babar Azam (19), who holed out to long-on from Brathwaite’s first delivery.

Having been put down

by Nicholas Pooran at deep backward square on 22, Latif was run out in the 12th over, but Sarfraz and Shoaib shared 69 in quick time prior to the latter falling to Dwayne Bravo (1-38) in the final over.

West Indies soon found themselves in deep trouble on 19-3, Johnson Charles falling cheaply to Wasim before Tanvir struck in successive overs to remove Evin Lewis and Marlon Samuels.

Only 45 runs were on the board at the halfway stage of the innings, by which point Bravo had also departed to Mohammad Nawaz.

Andre Fletcher (29) and Kieron Pollard (18) briefly rallied, but their dismissals in the same Hasan Ali (349) over signalled the end of West Indies’ hopes.

Five boundaries from Narine, including a six off Hasan, came too late in the day and the Windies’ top scorer was out to the final ball of the match. (Omnisport.com).

SCOREBOARD

Sharjeel Khan b Badree 2 Khalid Latif run out 40 Babar Azam c Pollard b Brathwaite 19 Shoaib Malik c Pollard b Bravo 37 Sarfraz Ahmed not out 46 Umar Akmal not out 1 Extras (lb10, w5) 15 TOTAL (4 wkts, 20 overs) 160 Did not bat: Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Hasan Ali. Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Sharjeel Khan, 2.2 overs), 2-58 (Babar Azam, 8.1), 3-85 (Khalid Latif, 11.4), 4-154 (Shoaib Malik, 19.2) Bowling: Badree 4-0-24-1 (w1), Taylor 4-0-28-0 (w2), Narine 4-0-36-0 (w1), DJ Bravo 4-0-38-1 (w1), Brathwaite 4-0-24-1.

WEST INDIES J Charles c Umar Akmal b Imad Wasim 10 E Lewis c Sharjeel Khan b Sohail Tanvir 3 A Fletcher b Hasan Ali 29 M Samuels c wkp Sarfraz Ahmed b Sohail Tanvir 1 DJ Bravo b Mohammad Nawaz 18 K Pollard c wkp Sarfraz Ahmed b Hasan Ali 18 C Brathwaite c Umar Akmal b Hasan Ali 8 N Pooran c Mohammad Nawaz b Sohail Tanvir 4 S Narine c Umar Akmal b Wahab Riaz 30 J Taylor not out 10 Extras (w7, nb6) 13 TOTAL (9 wkts, 20 overs) 144 Did not bat: S Badree.

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Charles, 2.3 overs), 2-15 (Lewis, 3.4), 3-19 (Samuels, 5.3), 4-45 (Bravo, 10), 5-82 (Fletcher, 14.2), 6-83 (Pollard, 14.5), 7-89 (Pooran, 16), 8-119 (Brathwaite, 18.2), 9-144 (Narine, 20) Bowling: Imad Wasim 4-0-18-1, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-13-3 (w1), Mohammad Nawaz 3-0-19-1, Shoaib Malik 1-0-3-0, Hasan Ali 4-0-49-3 (w2), Wahab Riaz 4-0-42-1 (w4, nb2).

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

India surge clear after Black Caps collapse in Kanpur

By Amlan Chakraborty KANPUR, India

(REUTERS)-Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin made the most of a turning pitch in Kanpur to rip through New Zealand as India racked up a commanding 215-run lead on day three of the first Test yesterday.

Jadeja claimed his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests and Ashwin dismissed four frontline batsmen as New Zealand squandered a strong start, losing their last five wickets for seven runs to be all out for 262 and concede a 56-run first- innings lead.

India scored freely to consolidate their position in the first match of the threeTest series, reaching 159 for one at stumps with Murali Vijay (64) and Cheteshwar Pujara (50) at the crease.

Opener Lokesh Rahul (38) fell to Ish Sodhi just before tea, but Vijay and Pujara registered their second individual fifties of the match.

The pair added 107 runs for the second wicket and never looked in trouble against New Zealand’s threepronged spin attack, cutting with control and pulling with

panache.

“The four wickets that fell in the morning session was the real game-changer,” Jadeja told reporters.

“On a turning track,

(against Tom Latham) and wickets started tumbling.”

Home captain Virat Kohli opted for spin from both ends to start the third day and New Zealand were

M Vijay struck his second fifty of the Test as India batted themselves into a strong position by the close of play. whenever a new batsman walks in and discovers footmarks, it normally unsettles him. He can’t defend confidently.

“All we needed was one wicket and luckily in the morning, Ashwin got that lbw

soon robbed of the slight advantage they held after resuming on 152 for one in reply to India’s 318.

LATHAM BREAKTHROUGH Off-spinner Ashwin pro-

vided the breakthrough by drifting one into Latham’s (58) front pad for an lbw decision to end the lefthander’s 124-run partnership with his captain Kane Williamson.

Jadeja struck in the next over, dismissing Ross Taylor lbw for a duck with a delivery that appeared to be sliding down the leg side, but there was no such doubt when Ashwin bowled Williamson (75) with a ripper three overs later.

India’s premier spinner pitched it slightly short and considerably outside the off-stump, prompting Williamson to rock back in an attempt to punch it through the covers but the ball spun spitefully to breach the right-hander’s defence.

Luke Ronchi (38) added 49 with Mitchell Santner (32) but fell to a debatable leg before decision after Jadeja trapped him with a dipping delivery which may have been missing off-stump.

Jadeja dismissed Mark Craig and Sodhi off successive deliveries.

The left-arm spinner could not complete a hat-trick but claimed a third wicket of the over

when he dismissed Trent Boult.

Ashwin caught BJ Watling (21) off his own bowling to end New Zealand’s resistance.

“It was a tough day,” Watling told reporters.

“There was definitely a

bit more turn. They have two quality spin bowlers and we lost wickets in clumps.

“We talked about that, we know it’s tough to start in these conditions and we’ve definitely got to do that better in our second innings.”

SCOREBOARD INDIA 1st innings 318 (M. Vijay 65, C. Pujara 62) New Zealand 1st innings (Overnight: 152-1) M. Guptill lbw b U. Yadav 21 T. Latham lbw b R. Ashwin 58 K. Williamson b R. Ashwin 75 R. Taylor lbw b Jadeja 0 L. Ronchi lbw b Jadeja 38 M. Santner c Saha b R. Ashwin 32 B. Watling c&b R. Ashwin 21 M. Craig lbw b Jadeja 2 I. Sodhi lbw b Jadeja 0 T. Boult c Ro. Sharma b Jadeja 0 N. Wagner not out 0 Extras (b-8 lb-5 nb-2) 15 Total (all out, 95.5 overs) 262 Fall of wickets: 1-35 M. Guptill,2-159 T. Latham,3-160 R. Taylor,4-170 K. Williamson,5-219 L. Ronchi,6-255 M. Santner,7-258 M. Craig,8-258 I. Sodhi,9-258 T. Boult,10-262 B. Watling Bowling: M. Shami11 - 1 - 35 – 0,U. Yadav 15 - 5 - 33 – 1, R. Jadeja 34 - 7 - 73 - 5(nb-2),R. Ashwin 30.5 - 7 - 93 – 4, M. Vijay 4 - 0 - 10 – 0,Ro. Sharma 1 - 0 - 5 – 0.

INDIA 2nd innings L. Rahul c Taylor b Sodhi 38 M. Vijay not out 64 C. Pujara not out 50 Extras (lb-7) 7 Total (for 1 wickets, 47 overs) 159 Fall of wickets: 1-52 L. Rahul To bat: V. Kohli, A. Rahane, R. Sharma, R. Ashwin, W. Saha, R. Jadeja, U. Yadav, M. Shami Bowling: T. Boult 5 - 0 - 11 – 0,M. Santner 13 - 5 - 33 – 0, M. Craig 11 - 1 - 48 – 0, N. Wagner 8 - 3 - 17 – 0, I. Sodhi 7 - 2 - 29 – 1, M. Guptill 3 - 0 - 14 – 0.

Barcelona close gap as Real draw at Las Palmas (REUTERS)-Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga yesterday.

Karim Benzema had given Real a 2-1 lead in the 67th, three minutes after coming on, but the hosts spoiled the visitors’ night with Araujo’s 85th minute goal.

Barca, playing without the injured Lionel Messi for the first time this season, won 5-0 at 10-man Sporting Gijon earlier in the day. Neymar scored twice while Luis Suarez, Arda Turan and Rafinha also hit the back of the net.

“I’m disappointed with the two goals we gave away,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We had the game under control but we had a lack of concentration at the end. We deserved to win this game.”

Real, who saw their record-equalling 16-game winning run in La Liga halted in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal, took a deserved 33rd-minute lead.

Marco Asensio headed in the rebound after goalkeeper

Javi Varas was unable to hold onto Nacho’s powerful strike.

The hosts equalised five minutes later when Raphael Varane’s poor clearance from Momo’s cross fell to Tana and the Spanish forward slotted the ball in from 10 metres.

Benzema replaced Asensio in the 64th minute and

the Frenchman scored after Cristiano Ronaldo’s powerful shot was kept out by Varas.

Zidane took Ronaldo off after 71 minutes with the Portugal captain, who had failed to score on Wednesday, having endured another disappointing performance.

“He always wants to be on the pitch but we have a

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez (R) scores past Sporting Gijon’s goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

game on Tuesday and I felt he needed to rest,” Zidane said referring to their Champions league match at Borussia Dortmund.

Marko Livaja nodded the ball into the path of Araujo, whose first shot was saved by Kiko Casilla but he reacted quickly and scored on the rebound.

Real are top with 14 points while Barcelona climbed into second place after Sevilla lost for the first time this season, 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao, and fell to fourth.

Barca made a slow start at El Molinon before Suarez broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, rounding Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to tap in the opener.

Rafinha then headed in Sergi Roberto’s cross at the near post for the second three minutes later.

Sporting lost captain Alberto Lora to a second yellow card for a late challenge on Sergi Roberto in the 74th.

In the final nine minutes, substitute Paco Alcacer hit the crossbar but Neymar pounced on the rebound to tap in, Turan headed Barca’s fourth then Neymar got his

second.

“The right-back position was new to me but I’m growing to like it more and more,” Sergi Roberto, who has switched from a midfield position, told reporters after laying on two of Barca’s goals.

Athletic Bilbao recorded their fourth successive league win at San Mames

to climb to third.

Sevilla’s Samir Nasri cancelled out Mikel San Jose’s opener before Mikel Balenziaga scored his first goal in his 270th career game to put Athletic ahead.

Aritz Aduriz earned a late penalty after being elbowed by Sevilla goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, who was sent off, and converted for his team’s third.

ENGLISH RACING TIPS Epsom 09:10 hrs Mutahaady 09:40 hrs Medieval 10:15 hrs Power game 10:45 hrs King’s Pavillion 11:20 hrs Guns Of Leros 11:55 hrs Aldrin 12:25 hrs Black Bess

IRISH RACING TIPS Curragh 08:50 hrs Finn Mc Cool 09:20 hrs Eziyra 09:50 hrs Gordon Lord Byron 10:25 hrs Capri 10:55 hrs Udogo 11:30 hrs Soie D’Leau 12:05 hrs Forgotten Rules 12:35 hrs Jaqen H’Ghar

MUSSELBURGH 09:00 hrs Hot Hannah 09:30 hrs Scots Piper 10:05 hrs Vimy Ridge 10:35 hrs War Department 11:10 hrs Lil Sophella 11:45 hrs Al Sacienne 12:15 hrs Thornaby Princess

SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS Scottsville 08:45 hrs Littleblacknumber 09:20 hrs Deep Down Rebel 09:55 hrs Asstar 10:30 hrs Miss Minver 11:05 hrs Florrick

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Manchester City make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola

By Neil Robinson (REUTERS)-Leaders Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola, including six in the Premier League, as they recorded their best start to a top-flight campaign.

City’s victory was the perfect riposte to the Spaniard’s old rival Jose Mourinho, who earlier saw his remodelled Manchester United sparkle without the dropped Wayne Rooney, thumping Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1.

On a day of 29 goals in eight games, both Manchester sides were outscored by Liverpool, who crushed Hull City 5-1 to take their tally to 24 in the past eight games.

Arsenal enjoyed the goal fest too, helping Arsene Wenger celebrate his 20th anniversary as their

manager with three firsthalf goals sweeping aside London rivals Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero scores their first goal Reuters / Rebecca Naden Livepic

Manchester City’s victory owed much to Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, who scored twice to take his tally to 11 in six games in all competitions.

With Raheem Sterling adding a superb third goal, City increased their lead at the top of the table to four points, although an injury to Kevin De Bruyne took some gloss off their day.

Everton’s unexpected 1-0 loss at Bournemouth meant Tottenham Hotspur moved into second place, on 14 points, after Son Heung-min scored both goals in the 2-1 win at Middlesbrough.

The Korean striker has now scored four times in three games to equal his tally for the whole of last season.

Arsenal are third on 13 points, ahead of Liverpool and Everton on goal difference Manchester United moved into sixth on 12 points but Mourinho will not be looking too closely at the table just yet after going into the early kick-off under unexpected pressure following back-to-back league defeats.

His response was to drop Rooney, who cut a slightly bemused figure on the sidelines as United, and Paul Pogba, in particular,

made light of his absence.

The world’s most expensive footballer was at the centre of most of United’s best moves, heading his first goal for the club on 42 minutes and starting the move that set up Juan Mata, Rooney’s replacement, for another.

Three of the goals came via Danny Blind corners from the left as Leicester plunged to their third defeat, as many as they suffered in the whole of last season.

BIG PLAYER Although Mourinho said Rooney was “happy” after the game, it is hard to see how England’s record scorer, who came on as a late substitute, will force his way back into the starting lineup.

“Of course, he is as happy as I am,” Mourinho told reporters. “His team won.

He is a big player for me, for United and for this country. I trust him completely.”

Liverpool went one better than United at Anfield where Adam Lallana, James Milner (two penalties), Sadio Mane and a trademark special from outside the area

by Philippe Coutinho brushed aside a Hull side demoralised by the first-

half dismissal of Egyptian winger Ahmed Elmohamady for handball.

Wenger, who has suffered plenty of pain against Chelsea in his two-decade reign, could hardly have imagined an easier anniversary waltz as Arsenal wrapped it up before the break with goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil.

Chelsea, hamstrung by alarmingly feeble defending and toyed with in embarrassing fashion at times after the break, suffered their worst defeat to their neighbours in 19 years as Wenger and his men were rewarded with a standing ovation at the Emirates.

There was late drama at Stoke City, where West Bromwich Albion forward Salomon Rondon rescued a point for Tony Pulis in his 1,000th game as a manager, whose opposite number Mark Hughes was denied a first league win of the season.

With October not yet arrived, it is already looking tough at the bottom.

Another injury-time strike, this time by Christian Benteke, completed a remarkable comeback for Crystal Palace as they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Sunderland, who are now in last place.

LBW glut puts New Zealand on back foot in Kanpur

By Amlan Chakraborty KANPUR, India, (Reuters)-With six lbw dismissals cluttering up their scorecard, New Zealand clearly did not put their best foot forward in the first Test against India yesterday.

India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja frequently beat the bats and hit the pads of the New Zealand batsmen, the hosts coming close to equalling the record of seven lbw dismissals in a test innings.

“They were trying to play the sweep shot and we knew if an odd ball keeps low or an odd ball spins, there were always changes of an edge or an lbw,” Jadeja, whose five-wicket haul included four leg befores, told reporters.

“Ashwin and I stuck to the stump line. So if you play shots against those deliveries, you expose yourself to being

leg-before or bowled.”

Jadeja said the lbws could be a result of New Zealand’s dilemma on a pitch where the odd ball spun viciously while others went straight.

“Batsmen who are not familiar with Indian or Asian conditions often cannot make up their mind which ball to defend and which one to attack,” Jadeja said.

“By the time they got a hang of it, they had lost six-seven wickets.”

BJ Watling was one of the few Kiwi batsmen not to perish that way and he conceded the pitch at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium had had his team guessing.

“Sometimes the ball spins here and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.

“It’s about the lines w e p l a y a n d w e ’ re working on that every day, trying to figure it out.”

While the Kiwis prepared to tackle the spin, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi were

trapped lbw by deliveries that did not really turn.

A couple of leg-before decisions - especially those of Luke Ronchi and Ish Sodhi - were debatable but Watling was not complaining about the umpires.

“They have to make a call. It’s the game of cricket, if they think it is out, it is out,” he said.

Jadeja exploited the rough to keep the New Zealand batsmen on their toes and the 27-yearold credited head coach and former spinner Anil Kumble for his input.

“He told me when bowling to the lefthander, there was this rough where you’d have the sixth stump. He advised me to create an angle and deliver from wide of the crease.

“He said I should bowl as much as possible into that rough.

After pitching there, some balls were going straight and some were turning. It put doubts in the batsmen’s mind.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Guyanese players speak of Chess Olympiad experience THE 42nd Chess Olympiad was held in the Baku, Azerbaijan from the 1st -14th September 2016. The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), in keeping with the aspirations of bringing chess back to life in our country, sent a delegation of 12 persons to this event.

The newly crowned WFM Maria Varona-Thomas considered this Olympiad a phenomenal one. Although this was her second Olympiad, it was her first time playing in the women’s division. Thomas ‘felt at home’ playing in this section, and is still thrilled about her achievements.

For Sheriffa Ali,the 42nd Chess Olympiad was definitely an unforgettable experience. She talked about the kindness and warmth of the people,and meeting chess players from all around the world. “I was honoured to play in the tournament representing my country. The best part of it was returning home with my new title Woman Candidate Master (WCM).”

The Clementson sisters spoke extensively about their amazing experience

at the Chess Olympiad;one that was filled with the awe of Baku’s breathtaking aesthetic, the camaraderie shared between teammates,and even the competence of team management.

Although there were some disappointments, the efforts put in place by the Baku officials and the warmth offered by other teams provided great consolation. To Jessica and Julia, this Olympiad was their first in many respects;including their first big international tournament,and being a part of the first female team to represent Guyana in chess

(on such a platform).

Team member Yolander Persaud had this to say: “The 42nd Chess Olympiad was the most challenging tournament I’ve ever participated in. Upon self-evaluation, it made me realize that I needed more training and tournament experience. The female team was given the privilege and opportunity to be guided by a Grand Master during the Olympiad, and for that I would like to thank FIDE,and GM Georg Mohr for the patience, understanding and support extended to us during his tutelage.”

Another team mem-

Newly crowned Woman Fide Master (WFM) Maria Varona-Thomas

The team poses for a picture outside the playing venue

Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Sheriffa Ali

ber Roberto shared his thoughts: “My journey to the Chess Olympiad was filled with trills, and was definitely considered a life learning experience. I was able to tour and transit a lot of countries I never thought of going to. The people in Baku were very friendly. Concerning my performance, I was a bit disappointed,since I was hoping to at least earn a Candidate Master’s title.

Despite this letdown, I was happy that I met the U.S.A champion and the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Thank you to the Guyana Chess Federation

for the experience of a lifetime.”

CM Ronuel Greenidge was happy to be on the national team again. “Things didn’t work out for me in the tournament as planned and I will be making the necessary adjustments (to) come back stronger. I thank God and the Sponsors who made it possible for our team to play in this prestigious tournament.”

Haifeng Su,another team member,said, “ My experience at the Chess Olympiad was rather comforting, rather than seeing as another tournament. The comfort lies

in the way everyone puts their differences aside just to play the simple sport:Chess. I’m privileged to be a part of this event, an event I can call a milestone. If I were to do it again, I wouldn’t hesitate to represent my home Guyana.”

Taffin Khan also shared his view: ‘My experience at the 2016 Chess Olympiad was very enjoyable.

It was one of the hardest tournaments I ever participated in. I met a lot of new and interesting people from different parts of the world. Baku is one of the most beautiful cities I ever saw and I would love to go back there someday to play chess.”

The GCF and the players who participated in the event would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to every sponsor, well-wisher and the media houses who supported their cause. Our sponsors included the National Sports Commission, Courts Guyana, E-Networks Inc., Kings’ Jewelry World, ECI Construction, Dr SenGupta & Associates, Fix- It Hardware Depot, Eastern Airlines, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales,and Attorney-at-Law James Bond.

30

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Big wins for Rose’s High and Mackenzie in YBG/NSBF on day 2

By Daniel Haynes THERE were big wins, upsets and heartbreaks as the second day of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) concluded yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Four games were played on day two, with two in the U-16 category, one in the U-14,and one in the female game.

In the first game of the day,Mackenzie High School took on Bishops’ High School and beat them 27-13 in a blowout game where Bishops’ High School looked complacent.

For Mackenzie, it was Shamar Savory and Kobe Tappin who did most of the scoring for the team from the bauxite town. Rasheed Liverpool and Jeremiah Nurse scored 8 and 7 points respectively. For Bishops’, it was Duwon Younge who top scored in a losing effort with 7 points.

In the Girls match-up,Berbice females also took down the females of Bishops’ High School in a close matchup that finished 15-12.

Mackenzie jumped ahead to an 8-point lead at

Action in the Rose’s and Bishops’ High encounter. the half-way point with the scores at 4-12. However, Bishops’ battled back into the game to draw within 3 pts, with the scores 13-10 with under a minute to go.

It was a crucial lapse in defence by Bishops’that led to Mackenzie scoring and extending their lead to 151,and eventually winning the game.

Tandica Bouyea finished with 6 points for the Berbice side,while Kesann Charles also finished with 6 pts for the Georgetown side.

The third game was scheduled to be a U-16 matchup between Bladen Hall andQueen’s College.

However,Queens College

failed to show up with the required five players,thereby conceding a walkover to Bladen Hall.

The final game of the day saw a complete domination by St. Rose’s U-16 over Bishops’ High School, 36-18. Once again,Bishops’ looked lackadaisical and devoid of fighting spirit as St. Rose’s had their way when it came to scoring.

Whether it was a shot inside or outside the paint, Rose’s got what they wanted. Led by national player Kwesi Roberts,they finished the first half 18-10.

In the second half,it was more domination and Rose’s simply turned on the jets to the finish.

Roberts finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds and was supported by Anthony Yansen who also had 14 points in the performance.

After the game,Roberts commented on the win stating “We just have to keep getting better as the competition goes on”. The youngster stated that he felt no pressure to be the leading scorer on the team since it was a team sport and getting the win was what counts.

Action continues today at the same venue with four games to be played after the opening ceremony at 15:30 hrs. The tournament is sponsored

by Digicel, Banks DIH,and Beharry.

Completion of National athletes’ database extended to October

By Tamica Garnett D I R E C TO R o f S p o r t , Christopher Jones, has said that the National Sports Commission (NSC) is still awaiting data from several sport Associations/Federations, even as he remains hopeful that the initiative could be completed by October month end.

According to Jones,information has already been inputted into the system, but while information has been forthcoming from some sporting fraternities it has not been easy with others.

There are a few disciplines that have this information at the click of a finger.

However, there are others that we’re still collecting data from.” Jones shared with Chronicle Sport.

This new deadline comes after it was previously hoped that the initiative would have been completed by the end of last month, August. . The athletes’ database is a long-awaited project that is expected to complement things like the even longer awaited National

Sports Policy. The NSP is a document that had previously been promised by the People’s Progressive Party, Civic (PPP/C) from as long

Director of Sport Christopher Jones back as 2008.

Speaking on the athletes database, Jones describes the realisation of this initiative as ‘ground breaking”.

“We’ve never had one.

That in itself is ground breaking, there is no data that one could go to a computer, click a name and that persons profile comes up and his or her achievements over the

years comes up. There is nowhere [in Guyana] where that is had, so this is ground breaking.”

During the reign of the PPP/C administration,former Minister of Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony, back in 2010, had hinted at the setting up of such a facility, but he too spoke of coming up against a brick wall in sourcing information from sporting bodies.

Jones, for his part, had first began to speak of his aim to set up the facility last year, sometime after he was first selected to run the NSC, when the APNU/AFC government took over. Jones, back then, noted the great tool that the database will be,saying that, “The essential idea behind the database is to pool all our national athletes into one database of which the National Sport Commission will keep a tab on those activities and their progress in whatever region they exist.”

He pointed out that the database will greatly assist athletes from far flung areas in Guyana who are rarely seen at prominent local

events,save for once or twice a year, and often times never heard of again.

The database would rectify this anomaly by helping the NSC to keep track of the athletes and ensure that they are afforded the same opportunities that those in central locations are given.

Primarily, athletes entered into this database will be tracked and trained with the 2020 summer Olympics in mind, according to Jones.

The database is also expected to see preferential medical treatment for athletes, and facilitate in the awarding of scholarships to athletes.

The NSC has already done consultations with E-governance towards the setting up of the database.

According to Jones, the NSC will be looking to make some of the information open to the public, with the hope of having an independent website set up for the NSC, where persons can go and easily access information on Guyana’s athletes across a wide number of sporting disciplines.

BCCI chief rules out resumption of India, Pakistan cricketing ties BOARD of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur has ruled out resumption of cricketing ties between arch-rivals India and Pakistan claiming that no cricket will be played with them till the time Pakistan sponsors terrorism.

Thakur’s statement comes after 18 Indian soldiers were killed when several heavily armed militants attacked an army base in Uri, situated in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, on September 17. The intruders reportedly entered the base via Pakistan which has led to a strain in India-Pakistan relations.

“There are no Tests or bilateral matches scheduled for this year with Pakistan and the question of playing against Pakistan today does not arise.

We have defeated Pakistan in three wars and all the world cup BCCI president cricket matches. We can Anurag Thakur still maul Pakistan. But it is important to isolate it globally.

Every Indian wants that the Indian government exposes Pakistan at the international level and India has succeeded in sidelining and exposing Pakistan at the international level”, Thakur was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

The two countries have not played a bilateral series since Pakistan toured India for a short One Day International series in December 2012. However there was talk that there could be a bilateral series between the two but that got shelved as the two boards could not come to a decision regarding the location and venues.

The series was said to consist of three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) scheduled for December 15 to January 4 or December 19 to January 4, but the series never materialised.

(Yahoo Sport).

India are currently in the midst of their 13 Test home summer, where they are hosting New Zealand in the first Test match at Kanpur while Pakistan are playing West Indies in the second T20 at the United Arab Emirates on 24 September. (Yahoo Sport).

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday September 25, 2016) COMPLIMENTS of the Trophy stall-Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) 5 players (2) 2 players (Darren Sammy & Marlon Samuels)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Where and when was the first ever T20 International game played?

(2) What was the result of the game?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE September 25, 2016

Jaguars Franchise 3-Day Tournament …

Young Chanderpaul hits brilliant 187 off GT bowlers

By Rajiv Bisnauth

TAGENARINE Chanderpaul stole the limelight on day two of the fifth round Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Jaguars Franchise League, Three-day tournament between West Demerara and Georgetown, yesterday at the Lusignan Community Centre ground.

Displaying his wide repertoire of strokes, the 20-yearold decimated the Georgetown attack with a scintillating 187, his first ton in the eight-round tournament.

His 347-ball innings took West Demerara to 357, an overall lead of 187.

In reply, Georgetown were left with much work to do, after West Demerara successfully chipped away with the wickets of Robin Bacchus (4), Andrew Lyght Jr (23) and Sunil Singh (32) during the final session.

When play ended, Georgetown were 62-3, still facing a first innings deficit of 113 with seven wickets remaining.

Jahran Byron and Christopher Barnwell will resume

today on seven and four respectively.

Starting the day’s play with the aim of out batting their opponents, West Demerara batsmen did exactly that.

West Demerara’s batting performance extended through two sessions of play on day two to put them in complete command and on course for victory.

First-class opener Chanderpaul,and Akshaya Persaud showed a lot of composure in ensuring their team took complete control of the game.

Resuming on 96, Chanderpaul reached his hundred, while Persaud got to his fifty. Both batsmen reached their respective landmarks within the first 15 minutes of play.

Chanderpaul was certainly the hero of the innings with his first hundred in the tournament.It was decorated with two boundaries and five huge sixe and ended when he was nearing his double century.

The pair seized the advantage and took the score to 203. In the process they put together 163 runs for the

Jamaica open defence of Caribbean Cup against Suriname on October 5 JAMAICA will play Suriname on Wednesday, October 5, at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex in Kingston as it begins the defence of the Caribbean Cup. Match time is 20.00hrs.

Suriname emerged as the fourth best runner-up from Round 2 of the qualifiers that began in March.

In this, the third round of the competition, Jamaica will play Suriname and Guyana in Group 1. Following the opening match, Jamaica will depart on October 9 for Guyana, who will host them at the National Stadium in Providence on October 11.

Group 2 action will see Haiti play French Guiana and St Kitts and Nevis while in Puerto Rico. Antigua and Barbuda and Curacao will play in Group 3. Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic and Martinique will play in Group 4.

The four group winners will qualify for the Caribbean Cup to be played in June 2.

fourth-wicket while taking the attack to the opposition bowlers.

However, off-spinner Gajanan Suknanan (3-89) pro-

ara had consolidated their lead to 74. Chanderpaul was on 134 in company with Romario Shephard on two.

Resuming after lunch,

TAGENARINE CHANDERPAUL vided the City team with the vital breakthrough when he trapped Persaud leg before wicket for 72.

West Demerara then lost Yetesh Dhanpaul (5) off the bowling on Ronaldo Alimohamed. Kemol Savory was removed by Suknanan for seven, while Travis Persaud was bowled by left-arm pacer Andre Stoll (2-50) without scoring, at 235-6.

By lunch, West Demer-

Shephard was bowled by Devon Lord for seven, while Richie Looknauth was removed by Christopher Barnwell for five.

However, Chanderpaul continued his superb knock, and together with Mahendra Dhanpaul, added 69 for the ninth wicket to further put their team in total control.

Howerer, both batsmen fell just before the tea interval, to medium pacer Kellon Car-

michael (2-35). Chanderpaul’s innings spanned 414 minutes, inclusive of eleven fours and seven sixes.

Meanwhile, summarised scores in the other three games are as follows: At Port Mourant: Essequibo,resuming on their overnight score of 99/4 in reply to Upper Corentyne’s 206/9 declared, were eventually dismissed for 165. Former West Indies Test batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul top scored with 55. Bowling for Upper Corentyne, Eon Hooper bagged 5/30.

Upper Corentyne,in their second turn at the crease,were then dismissed for 201. Clinton Pestano top scored with 47, Kevlon Anderson made 40, Eon Hooper also made 40 and Jason Sinclair chipped in with 20. Kemo Paul (4wks), Anthony Adams (3wks) and Ricardo Adams (2wks) were the main wicket takers.

Essequibo,requiring 243 for victory,are 0/1 with Rayon Fredericks the batsman dismissed.

At Enterprise: West Berbice declared at their over-

night total of 407/9,with Keyron Fraser on 120 not out and Collis Butts 34 not out.

East Bank Demerara,in their reply,reached 275/8 with the consistent Danny Narayan scoring 72 and Tevin Imlach making 70. Bowling for West Berbice, Keyron Fraser has so far taken 3/41 while Kevin Jawahir has 3/59.

At Albion: The home team, Lower Corentyne, were bowled out for 193. Seon Hetmyer made 54 while Surujnarine Kandasammy and Jonathan Foo contributed 46 and 37 respectively. Bowling for East Coast Demerara, Amir Khan bagged 5/69 while Paul Wintz had 3/44.

East Coast Demerara were then pegged back by Lower Corentyne who claimed 7 East Coast Demerara wickets for just 97 runs before close of play.

Bowling for Lower Corentyne, Kassim Khan has so far taken 3/20 while Royston Crandon has 2/10.

Ramnarine Chatura made 23 and Bhaskar Yadram contributed 21 for East Coast Demerara.

Niles dominates Laparkan Holdings 35-lap feature cycle race VETERAN cyclist Junior Niles continued his dominance of cycling on the local scene when he won the feature 35-lap race of the 12th annual Laparkan Holdings sponsored 11-race cycle programme which was organised by cycling coach Hassan Mohammed,and staged around the outer circuit of the National Park yesterday.

Niles, who along with Mark Harris, Brighton John and Paul ChoWee-Nam,broke from the group after two laps and established a sizeable lead.However,after the 20th lap, John dropped back while Harris, Cho-WeeNam and Niles continued to lead.

John,before being outpaced, had captured one of the eight prime prizes that were up on offer for the event With six laps remaining in the fast-paced event, Cho-Wee-Nam, Harris and Niles were mixed with the stragglers and stayed with them until there were two laps remaining.They then surged ahead of the chasing pack and while heading for the finish, Niles outsprinted his rivals and was never really challenged.Harris,who finished second and Cho-Wee-Nam who settled for third,both put in creditable performances.

Niles,who won one of the prime prizes,clocked one hour,18 minutes

and 53.81 seconds in winning the race.

Cho-Wee-Nam and Harris won two prime prizes each.

In the race for the other top three places, Hamzah Eastman outsprinted Shaquille Agard to take fourth.Agard finished in fifth while Kemuel Moses came sixth.

In other results from the day’s activity, John was the first to cross the finish line in the 10-lap race for juveniles. Second was Jaheel Jackson while finishing third was Raphael Leung.

The three-lap race for mountain bikers was won by Oziah McAulley,ahead of Stephon Gobin, while John Niles won the two-lap race for BMX boys and Girls 6-9 years old.

Jeremiah Harrison was the winner of the BMX boys three-lap race. Second was Shay Sue-Hang and finishing third was Zab James.

Theran Garbarran won the three-lap race for boys and girls 1214 years old, while Kennard Lovell was the winner of the five-lap race for veterans over 50 years of age.

Second was Linden Blackman.

Lennox Jackman won the five-lap race for veterans under 50 years of age,ahead of Junior Niles and ralph Williams,respectively.

Prior to making the presenta-

JUNIOR NILES tion of prizes to the respective winners, Human Resources Manager of Laparkan Holdings Limited,Lynette Shiwlochan,thanked cycling coach Hassan Mohamed for organizing the event and also congratulated the participants.

Shiwlochan,who has been the company’s Human Resources manager for the past three years, expressed Laparkhan’s commitment to sponsoring the programme for years to come.

Mohamed thanked the company for staying on board and noted that all the participants were winners, even though some may not have secured podium places.

Young Chanderpaul hits brilliant 187 off GT bowlers See story on page 31

Dominant Pakistan secure T20 series

ANOTHER below-par batting display from West Indies enabled Pakistan to open up an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match Twenty20 international series with a 16-run victory in Dubai.

The World T20 champions were skittled for just 115 in Friday’s opening T20, Imad Wasim’s five-wicket haul setting Pakistan on their way to a comfortable triumph.

Twenty-four hours later, Pakistan were invited to bat first and posted 160-4 as Khalid Latif (40), Shoaib Malik (37) and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (46) made useful contributions.

West Indies then slumped to 89-7 in reply and some late defiance from Sunil Narine (30 off 17 balls) provided little consolation as the tourists finished on 144-9, Sohail Tanvir returning outstanding figures of 3-13.

Pakistan made a slow start themselves and had

Sohail Tanvir completed 50 T20I wickets and finished with 3 for 13 in four overs as Pakistan beat West Indies in 2nd T20I in Dubai, yesterday. © Getty Images

See page 26

Cuba pip Jamaica Den Amstel and Uitvlugt to CFU Under-17 final Region Three schools football champs decided…

crowned champions See story on page 26

John Adams, Member of Parliament Region Three presents winning trophy to captain of Den Amstel Primary, Stellon Nelson.

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216.

JAMAICA’s Under-17 Reggae Boyz had their dreams of Caribbean Boyz domination shattered in the 59th minute of their semi-final encounter against Cuba yesterday at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.

Brian Savigne was the man to pour the misery atop the heads of the young Reggae Boyz, bringing Cuba some revenge for the reverse they suffered two years ago at the same stage.

The Jamaicans have continued to fall short at the Under-17 level, as Haiti got the better of them last year in a 2-1 affair.

Injuries were one of the culprits in Jamaica’s demise as Kaheem Parris, who had been the man from whom all things creative had sprung thus far in the tournament, was out injured.

Cuba did not look much better than their Jamaican rivals and also

Coby Atkinson (centre) of Jamaica being challenged by the Cuban pair of Carlos Alberto Molina (left) and Ronaldo Rosette during their Caribbean Football Union Championship semi-final inside the Ato Boldon Stadium. (Photo: Dexter Philip/Trinidad Express) struggled to get anything going offensively.

Until Savigne, Cuba’s captain, made no mistake in punishing the Jamaican back line for allowing space in front of goal.

In fact, so colourless was the encounter, that the only other real action in the game, came in the 54th minute when Jamaica goalkeeper, Tajay Griffiths, was forced into making a fine save from Carlos Ibar-

ra’s shot.

Five teams from the tournament, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Curacao, and Suriname, have already booked their places in the CONCACAF round of World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Panama next year.

Cuba will face Haiti in the final not long from now after the latter got the better of Curacao in a 3-1 affair.(Sportsmax. com) SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2016