Guyana chronicle epaper 09 29 2016

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Meet needs of children No. 104689

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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‒ UN Children's Fund urges equitable, measurable budgeting

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Region Four students benefit from Career Fair

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Students of the Hope Secondary School, East Coast Demerara, set up a solar water system for display at the Region Four Education Department’s Career Fair, Wednesday (Samuel Maughn photo)

Illegal plane CoI...

Information-sharing among security forces to be queried 2 P.

100 institutions connected to eGovernment network 3 P.

Policeman charged with rape of young relative P.10

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Illegal plane CoI...

Information-sharing among security forces to be queried FORMER Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Brigadier Edward Collins was Wednesday sworn in as a Commissioner to investigate, examine, advise and report on all the circumstances under which the foreign aircraft, which was discovered near the village of Yupukari,Region Nine, Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu on September 13, entered the country. The simple ceremony took place before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and Brigadier Collins was expected to start his work immediately. Brigadier Collins, who also serves as Presidential Advisor on National Security, told the media that this was not the first time an illegal aircraft had been discovered in Guyana, since

there had been several reports in the past. Stressing the importance of the Commission, he said “it speaks to the question of securing our airspace and the coarseness of our borders.’’ He said the Commission could subpoena witnesses, especially those in the hinterland who are involved with the investigation. One of the 13 terms of reference states, “Whether it can be concluded from the information available and the relevant evidence and witness testimony that the agencies of the State acted in a manner consistent with security responsibly.” The commission will report and advise President David Granger on the operational effectiveness of the various agencies of the State and the adequacy of the existing human resources, technology and equipment

Retired Brigadier Edward Collins receives his instrumnent of appointment from Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan

in the Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu areas. Commissioner Collins is expected to tender his preliminary report to Minister of State Joseph Harmon on October 17 and the final report, findings and recommendations to President Granger on November 16.

The inquiry will be conducted continually at Lethem and Yupukari, Rupununi (Upper Essequibo-Upper Takutu), Region Nine and in such places as the Commissioner may determine. The Commission will also have to decide “Whether

the passage of information between the security forces was timely and whether there is need for review of the process, having regard to the national intelligence system.” According to the terms of reference, the Commission shall exercise discretion in relation to the scope and intensity of the investigation as it considers necessary and appropriate. The Guyana Chronicle previously reported that the police and army have already spoken with nearby residents who reported “suspicious activity,” such as the presence of motorcycles frequenting at midnight in the area. Reports had also indicated that the area where the aircraft was found was under the radar for the illegal drug-trafficking trade. There were also reports that the abandoned aircraft had previously been sighted circling the area on numerous

occasions in the past. The plane, bearing registration number N767Z, was first brought to the attention of officials on September 13 by a resident of the area. The following day, a joint army and police team, inclusive of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), was dispatched to the location to conduct a full investigation and it was later revealed by Minister of State Joseph Harmon that the United States registration was bogus, since there is another active aircraft in the U.S. with the same registration number. During a search of the aircraft, several pieces of communication equipment were discovered. These have been secured to be further examined for any potential leads.

Plans moving apace to restore Stabroek Market clock THE iconic Stabroek Market clock will soon be rehabilitated thanks to the United States (U.S.) Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Representative of the

U.S. Embassy in Guyana, Mr. Albert Razick, visited the City Council last Monday to inform councillors of the plans that are in store for the clock. Speaking before the full council, Razick said this

project, which was chosen by the U.S. Ambassador himself, has been ongoing since the previous Council and has now reached its final stage. “We put together a proposal with the engineer that we thought would be attractive to the folks in Washington,” he said. According to Razick, they were in the past trying to get approval to restore City Hall’s roof, and to have some dialects in the Amerindian

community upgraded and written. But these projects were not approved. “This is a project that the ambassador chose himself. He went to the top of the Stabroek clock and he said, “This is it. This is going [to] be our project.” Razick observed that the view from the clock is spectacular and he said the hope is to restore it, so that a nominal structural fee could be implemented for those who wish to

go up there. He said the intention is also to upgrade the system from a mechanically operated one to an electronic one, inclusive of a solar-powered system. “It will look the same; it will retain the same charm, but it will have a new system inside. It will work more efficiently and if it breaks down, it will be easier to fix.” Further, there will be the installation of a lighting

system to the four faces so that the clock could be visible at night. Some of the stairs, too, need repairing.

The Stabroek Market clock

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29 2016

100 institutions connected to eGovernment network THE eGovernment Agency has completed the first phase of the Improving Digital Equity, Access and Learning (IDEAL) Programme, which provided for 100 institutions to be connected to the eGovernment network along the Coast. This was stated by Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Agency, Floyd Levi on Tuesday during a visit to Pomeroon-Supanaam (Region Two) where the Agency conducted assessments at the 11 institutions which benefitted from the initiative in that Region. To this end, the CEO said that the Agency is now embarking on the second phase of this project. IDEAL, according to a statement from the agency, includes the provision of a database for the creation of an interconnected e-government network within Ministries and their related agencies across the country. It also provides for the creation of ICT Hubs, within communities and the now completed educational institutions. The first phase of IDEAL was the Secondary Schools Internet Connectivity Project, and this included the installation of free WiFi Services in educational institutions in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region Three), Demerara Mahaica (Region Four), Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five) and East Berbice-Corentyne

(Region Six). The installation of these institutions began in August and took approximately one month to complete. According to the statement, during the visit on Tuesday, officials met with the Regional Education Officer Baramdai Seepersaud, who said that based on interactions with several of the schools, the service has since been working extremely well and will certainly aid in research and access to information. The agency reported too

Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Agency, Mr. Floyd Levi meets with the Regional Education Officer, Mrs. Baramdai Seepersaud (centre) to discuss the progress of the Secondary Schools Connectivity Project, which is part of the IDEAL programme

A student of the Johanna Cecilia Secondary School uses a computer in the school’s lab which is equipped with eGovernment’s 4G LTE Internet service

that the trip also allowed for further recommendations to be made as to the expansion of phase one of the project in the Region. Visits were made to Abram Zuil Secondary School, Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School, Charity Secondary School,

Cotton Field Secondary School, Johanna Cecelia Secondary School, Aurora Secondary School, Essequibo Technical Institute, the Region Two Regional Education Office (REDO), Eight of May Secondary School, Cyril Potter College of Education and New Opportunity Corps

(NOC). Also, during a visit to the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), the Agency was able to commit to the provision of 15 computer systems for the institution’s Information Technology Laboratory. Here, the CEO said that the Agency will seek to fill the gap created by a shortage of teachers to provide training for the juvenile-residents at the NOC. He said too that just like other students, the juveniles at the NOC deserve an equal opportunity. “These students need life skills that can serve them well in the future and these things form very much a part of their future. So they have to be prepared that when

they leave here they can integrate well into society and can lead meaningful and productive lives.” Meanwhile, the second phase of the IDEAL Programme includes the establishment of Community ICT Hubs, which will also see the provision of free internet services within identified communities. In addition, the agency said that this project also involves; meeting with key stakeholders to identify communities and meeting with the community members; the installation of systems in identified locations that are accessible by all community members; and engaging with the private sector collabora-

tions for the equipping and furnishing of hubs, where needed. To this end, Levi said that following meetings with the Regional Administration, several villages have been identified for the implementation of this project. These include; Dartmouth, Lima Sans, Good Success, Charity and Aurora. Also, during consultations with the Regional Executive Officer of Region Two, Mr. Rupert Hopkinson, the Agency was able to secure space at the Regional Office in Anna Regina, where it set up a permanent location so as to monitor the eGovernment services in the Region.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Analysis on state of children, women to guide plan of action By Shauna Jemmott

MINISTER of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, has once again registered the government’s commitment to improve the lives of children and women and has undertaken to use a specialist report on their status to do so. Minister Lawrence Wednesday received the Guyana Situation Analysis (SitAn) of Children and Women, at Herdmanston Lodge, Georgetown. She said the government will invest in capacity building for the support of vulnerable children and women and honour the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to empower Guyana’s children and women. “Our sustainable development goals call for the empowerment of our children

and women and we will invest our efforts and resources to engage in capacity- building for the prevention of violence and support for our vulnerable children and women. “We need to re-examine our family structure and values. We have to reinforce our training and knowledge base – our curriculum – and look at alternative ways of dealing with our children who are in conflict with the law.” She said the SitAn proposes that government takes into account the social norms and social and cultural practices of its people, and assured that government will use the document for the elimination of violations against Guyana’s children and women. The SitAn document presents relevant statistical data to highlight the prevailing social issues affecting

“The document portrays the Guyanese situation from the perspective of women and children and adopts a life-cycle and equity-based approach… There is connectivity to the SDGs, the goals that need to be vigorously pursued to enable Guyana to achieve sustainable social and economic development.” Despite efforts to address the problem, violence against women and children still occurs at alarming rates in some communities with regular reports presented in the daily media. Minister Lawrence acknowledged that such soMinister Lawrence receives a copy of the Situation Analysis on cial ills contribute to loss of Women and Children from UNICEF Country Representative Marianne human resource and expertise essential for development. Flach. (Aubrey Odle/Ministry of Social Protection photo) She said however, the new women and children, and face and sets the way fordocument is one that gives velopment Goals.” make recommendations for ward for the development With its focus being on government a clearer underaddressing such issues. and implementation of strapossible causes of problems standing of the situation and The minister told the tegic development plans and along with an assessment of as a result, government can gathering that of all the is- programmes with the vithe data, and the bottlenecks act with more precision. sues underlined, poverty is sion of advancing the rights “We have an overall, and barriers, the minister said the “prime enemy.” of Guyanese children and the SitAn is already being vivid picture of the situation She said the document women - particularly the used as a guide for crafting as it is presented in each presents a “comprehensive most vulnerable and their strategies and enhancing the category. With this informaassessment of the struggles families - within the framewell-being of children and tion and the demographics that women and children work of the Sustainable Deoutlined therein, we have women. She said its recommenda- directives that can give us tions will also be considered and guide us to those areas in the ministry’s recommen- that need to be emphasised dations for considerations in in order to make significant government’s 2017 budget inroads,” Minister Lawrence said. presentation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Driver in Nismes fatal accident in police custody

The driver of the route 31 minibus which was involved in Monday’s fatal accident at Nismes Public Road, West Bank Demerara (WBD) is in Police custody. Roger Waldron, 30, of Goed Intent, WBD, a minibus tout, was killed in the accident. Waldron had reportedly hitched a ride on mini-bus BTT 9167 driven by Rhon Amsterdam, who reportedly requested that Waldron do duties as the bus conductor while on the way home. Some 30 passengers were reportedly in the bus at the time of the accident. The bus driver, Amsterdam was arrested and taken to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station where he is assisting the police with their investigation. The post-mortem on Waldron’s body is scheduled for today. According to reports, the bus had, at about 19:30hrs on Monday, dropped off a passenger at Nismes when the driver drove off and failed

The bus involved in the accident on Monday night

to see a pile of mud on the roadway. A passenger who was in the bus told the Guyana Chronicle that the driver tried to stop, but the slippery mud caused the bus to topple several times before it came to a halt in front of the Gafoors establishment on the Nismes roadway. The witness further related that because the bus

was overloaded the conductor was sitting in front of her and during the accident, she felt him squeeze her hand. “The bus landed on Jerry side and we saw him lying stretched out on the roadway, vomiting blood,” the woman said. Waldron reportedly died before being taken to the hospital. The bus

Dead: Roger Waldron

Cuban woman, 61, robbed, shot on Regent St.

A SIXTY-ONE-year-old Cuban woman was on Wednesday around noon shot and robbed opposite City Hall, Regent Street, Georgetown. The woman has been identified as Maria Elena Puig, who resides in Laluni Street, Queenstown, when in Guyana.

According to a police source, the woman was shot in her right arm and robbed of a handbag, which contained G$5,000. The robbery occurred in front of Stan’s Variety Store on Regent Street, north of City Hall. The gunmen made good their escape on a

motorcycle. Puig was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and later discharged. No arrest was made up to late Wednesday afternoon. The police were unable to identity the perpetrators from surveillance cameras.

driver along with 12 passenger were treated at the West Demerara Regional Hospital and sent away.

Two hijackers to face court today

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TWO men who held a driver at gunpoint and relieved him of his car on Monday are expected to be charged today, police said. Reports revealed that the men were nabbed in the Alexander Village area on Tuesday afternoon with the stolen car. According to reports, the driver of the car had just stepped out of his vehicle on Monday afternoon to visit his mechanic in the city when the incident occurred. After returning to his vehicle, he felt a gun pressed to his head and he was shoved aside as the two men grabbed his keys and made off with the vehicle. The driver made a report to the police. Ranks then alerted stations within the city and the vehicle was spotted with the two bandits. They were immediately arrested and the owner of the car was contacted and he positively identified the men.

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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

Colombia’s peace deal after 50-year war THE Government of Colombia and the guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Monday, 26th September signed a peace deal. The deal signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and leftist rebel leader Rodrigo Londoño aka Timochenko, comes after 52 years of hostility between the two sides based on various perceptions, one of which is, the latter’s feeling of exclusion from mainstream policies and decision-making. Alienation can contribute to doubts and suspicions by those who considered themselves to be marginalised. In the specific case of FARC -- which has its genesis in the communist party – it had attracted peasants and the poor to pick up arms and carry out a military struggle against the establishment. While it may have been the longest guerrilla war in Latin America against a government, it is synonymous with the wars currently being fought in the Middle East by those who consider they do not have a voice and are mistreated. War has its genesis in the resistance to domination and marginalisation. With changing global outlooks to politics, where human rights are considered an important pillar in governance, such is bound to impact and influence the behaviour of leaders. On both sides of the political divide, in the changing landscape, persons are bound to step back and question the wisdom, acceptance and rejection of their actions, which would have been influencing factors. In recognition of the gravity of the problems in Colombia, the scars created on humankind and impact on relations, the deal has been given the blessing of the United Nations (UN) and the United States (U.S.). Witnessing the signing were UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, which symbolised support for effecting change through peaceful means. FARC, which is an organisation on the U.S. terrorist watch list, saw Kerry saying after the signing that the country would consider removing the group from the list. The significance of the event was not lost on the hundreds of participants who attended the signing deal who were decked in white, a symbol of peace and a new beginning. In the streets, while some expressed cynicism and rejected the deal, there were tears of joy that the time has come to give peace a chance. This deal, which came with four years of hard work done mainly in Havana, Cuba, comes with concessions and forgiveness on both sides and requires commitment on the part of government, FARC, society and stakeholders, internal and external, to see it through. Londoño, in moving forward committed, “Our only weapons will be our words.” In what can be considered a

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Urgent call for police patrols and street lighting in Ogle Dear Editor, IN the light of recent events in Ogle, I write to you with high hopes that my letter catches the eyes of the relevant authorities who will work with residents from this area to restore Ogle back to a safer, secured community. First, let me express how disturbing it was to learn of a neighbour being robbed in broad daylight by armed men posing as customers. This is where I stress the need for police officers to be a little more active and given the fact that Sparendaam Police Station is within five minutes, by the time police arrived on the scene, the gunmen were long gone. Why was this? I’m still pondering reasons why it took

them so long to arrive, but I’m here to highlight the need for their presence both in the day and night. As someone who grew up and has lived in Ogle for well over 15 years, surely, I can say that safety has deteriorated, thus I am calling for heightened security and very quickly too. It is not out of the ordinary to have persons lurking, strange vehicles and motorcyclists driving up and down pretending to live there when in truth they are scouting the area. These so-called imposters are who pose a threat to our community, raising uneasiness and fear for women, especially single-parent moms. To know that you can’t risk walking to the shop should you run out of an item and or coming home from

work at night, or your children from school raise many safety concerns. If we can get our police officers onboard with us to cut back on these regular incidents by patrolling the streets and its environs consistently with spot checks during the day as well as night, there would be no invitation to lurk. Additionally, I’d like to address the issue of street-lighting. If there’s no lighting in smaller streets such as Temple Street, then there’s the problem of not enough street lamps on main roadways as in the case of the Railway Embankment where some corners are lit and others are not. For instance, after crossing over the Railway Embankment bridge, streets on either side are without lights. The

same is true at night for Airstrip Road leading into the Eugene F. Correia airport. Now this is where I emphasise that being the second main airport of the country, don’t you for the most part feel a need for safety upon entering and or exiting the only road accessible to and from the airport? Further, imagine a tourist or an airport employee working an odd-hour shift, coming off from work and having to walk that road alone in complete darkness, given that public transportation don’t always run and taxis aren’t always available at that hour of night. Crime prevention is everybody’s business. Regards, LARRAINE LEE

Billions being spent for sports development Dear Editor THE government of Guyana recognises the importance of sports and, therefore, has “pumped” billions of dollars towards the development of sports in all forms. This includes the upgrading of our sporting facilities, and the training of our sportsmen and sportswomen in their particular disciplines. One of the several facilities that were upgraded is the Cliff Anderson Sports

Hall, which is now of international standard. Also, three (3) scholarships were awarded to Owen Adonis, Emanuel Archibald and Alque Stanley respectively to the tune of five million dollars ($5M). Two more scholarships will be awarded during the course of this year. A lot more will be done during the remainder of the year and will continue during the ensuing years. Our eyes are on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The sports budget for

gesture to bring healing and provide leadership at this critical juncture, he went on to say, “In the name of the FARC I ask sincere forgiveness to all the victims of the conflict and for all the pain we may have caused in this war.” Under the accord, FARC vowed to sever all ties with the drug trade, hand over all its weapons and convert into a political party. There will be the establishment of a special tribunal to try war-related crimes. It goes on to say that those who confess to their crimes against humanity will serve alternative sentences which do not entail jail time. Conversely, the government commits to widen opportunities, including the development of programmes and addressing gross inequalities in the country’s rural communities, which it admitted has been neglected, from which FARC formed its base.

the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for 2015 amounted to $ 503,244,000 with Current being $ 291,588,000 and Capital $ 211,656,000); for 2016 ,$ 726,053,000 with current being $ 414, 099,000 and c a p i t a l $ 3 11 , 9 5 4 , 0 0 0 ) ; a n d f o r 2 0 1 7 $ 1,578,149,000 with current being $ 548,260,000 and capital $1,029,889,000. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has pledged its continued, unstinting support to the de-

velopment of sports in all its forms and to ensure that our athletes are properly trained, so that they will be able to represent the country at the highest level . It is also anticipated that other sports fraternities will throw in their lot so that we can produce athletes of calibre. NICOLETTE HENRY Minister within the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture Youth and Sport

On Monday, 3rd October, Colombians will go to the polls to express their approval or disapproval for the deal. At the time of writing, polling shows a majority will vote yes. As participants seek to implement the menu of measures, such could also be used by political leaders across the spectrum and in nations, to seek to avoid what happened in Colombia from occurring in their countries. The global refugee and migrant crises which were given priority attention at the just concluded UN General Assembly made spirited appeal to address conflicts of such nature that are forcing persons to flee from the land of their birth or fight back in resistance to domination and marginalisation. Monday’s deal is testimony that in spite of differences and past animosity, people can come together for their common good, i.e. survival, growth and development.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Region Two RDC micro-managing Amerindian villages Dear Editor, IT is a general impression that the R.D.C, through its agent(s) is/are micro-managing the affairs of some of the local Amerindian communities in Region Two. Members of our little villages are at odds because of this disgusting situation. Who is the actual head of our communities? With whom should he/she consult in the management of the village? How should the head of a village communicate with his fellow

councillors? Given the circumstances, editor, one must be very mindful of imposters in our communities who are hiding behind their own agendas. Partisan politics is a hindrance to Amerindian village development, playing a divisive role more than anything else, causing some of our communities to be left dozens of years behind others who are thriving and basking in their success. Others are doomed to failure simply because of personal self-interests being

held as priority. You see, Mr Editor, some persons are more interested in how many votes their party will receive at the next General and Regional Elections than uniting the people for the better. What a shame! They are even beginning to galvanize support to see the eviction of persons from their own communities, communities where they had been residing for more than 14 years. Those being targeted are branded “mischief-makers” all because they won’t give

support to the “big politicians.” Shame! The highly anticipated visits to our communities of His Excellency the President Brig.(rt’d)Hon David A Granger, cannot be more timely as we all have a number of concerns to share with him. As we celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month, we the Indigenous people should cast aside, as of now, all partisanship, cast aside ill will, cast aside suspicion for one another and put our communi-

Several in acting positions at GECOM

Dear Editor

PLEASE permit my letter to show the authoritative behaviour the CEO of GECOM Mr. Keith Lowenfield displays. In the field offices that are situated across Guyana, they are

staff ranging from Registration Officers to Registration Clerk II, who have been acting in these respective positions for a number of years now without being confirmed. This is by law illegal, because according to the labour laws of Guy-

ana, a person should not be acting in a position for more than a specified period of time. Secondly, during the last GECOM exercise, the field staff worked from 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs Monday to Friday and 10:00hrs to 14:00hrs

on Saturdays and were not paid any overtime whatsoever. I am calling on the appropriate authorities to please correct these wrongs that are happening at GECOM. Regards CHRIS SINGH

ties first, and so be wise enough to identify the real enemies of our underdevelopment.

Regards JOSEPH ATKINSON (Resident)

Pregnant DR woman charged for overstaying time

A TWENTY-NINE- year- old pregnant Dominican Republic national was placed on $20,000 bail after she appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for overstaying her time in Guyana. Joselina Osaria denied the allegation that between April 21, 2015 and May 20, 2015, in Georgetown, she failed to comply with conditions granted her, permitting her to stay in Guyana for one month. According to Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers, Osaria arrived in Guyana legally at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on April 24, 2015 and her passport was stamped by immigration officials for a month’s stay. Jeffers added that on September 26, 2016, the defendant visited the Agricola Police Station to make a report. However, she was unable to communicate with the officers there in English and was asked to produce her passport. It was then discovered that the pregnant Osaria had overstayed her time in Guyana. Osaria is expected to return to court on October 7, 2016.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Two charged Linden Highway in need of ‒ NAREI employee with murder urgent repairs dies in latest accident of Gafsons’ manager By Vanessa Braithwaite

Murdered: Terry Lakhan

TWO men were Wednesday charged with the murder of Gafsons’ manager Terry Lackhan, who was found dead in his wardrobe on July 21 last. David Outar and Patrick Ross, who have been jointly charged for the murder, made their appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and were remanded to prison on Wednesday by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It is alleged that the two killed Lackhan in his Herstelling, East Bank Demerara home. Outar, of Lot 369 Foulis, East Coast Demerara and Patrick Ross, of Lot 107 First Street, Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, were

not required to plead to the capital charge, which alleged that they murdered 55-year-old Lackhan on July 21 during the course of a robbery. According to the prosecution’s facts, Lackhan was a manager at Gafsons Industries Limited and he was found dead in his wardrobe with a rope tied around his neck shortly after a male was seen exiting the home with several bags. Several bottles of tablets and photographs of his family members lay nearby, as the killers tried to make the man’s death appear as a suicide. The two accused are expected to reappear on October, 25, 2016.

SEVERAL Linden stakeholders are calling on the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to conduct urgent repairs to the Soesdyke-Linden Highway which has been deemed a death trap. This is a result of three road fatalities that occurred on the same spot within months. On Tuesday afternoon, 38-year-old employee of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Abeola Gomes, of Long Creek,Soesdyke- Linden Highway, was instantly killed after being hurled out of the toppling Honda CRV vehicle PTT 1325. According to reports, driver of the vehicle Tyrone Phillips, also an employee of NAREI, lost control after the vehicle ended up on a slope on the road in close proximity to Bamia. Another passenger of the vehicle, Latisha Lindore, was admitted to the Mackenzie Hospital but was discharged on Wednesday.

Two other persons died in a similar manner after the vehicle they were in toppled at the same slope. Taking this into consideration, Commander of’ E’ Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus, on Wednesday called on the relevant authorities to conduct urgent repairs on the road since the slope is the main cause of accidents. Additionally, President of the Region 10 Road Safety Organisation, Antonio Hackette, said the Regional Democratic Council has already requested from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for road signage to be made available for the Bamia area where there is a depression on the road. Hackette said the signs, if placed, will notify drivers of the slope in the road, thus guiding their judgment. “When these signs are made available we will install them at the RDC because this is the third accident within months at that direct spot and we need to do something fast about it,” Hackette said. Also calling for urgent repairs on the highway, are

Latest accident victim Abeola Gomes

drivers plying the Linden to Georgetown route. William Babb, a car driver, told this publication that the slope in the road is very dangerous and if a driver is not cognizant of the road, he or she has a high chance of toppling. “That hole on the left side of the road at Bamia there, if you ain't know it there it would topple yah vehicle especially at nights, they need to do something about the hole,” Babb lamented. Regional Councillors at

September’s statutory meeting also made calls for the highway to be repaired, and to be provided with signage, road markings and lights. The councillors described the highway as a death trap, especially while driving at nights. Councillor Charles Sampson declared the highway a crying shame that needs urgent attention. “You see the Soesdyke-Linden Highway? It’s a shame; the road ain’t got nothing! If it’s raining and you coming through that highway in the night, it’s just God’s mercy that does bring you through that highway!” The Soesdyke-Linden Highway, which connects Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) to 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), was constructed to the tune of close to US$17M in 1966, but was formally opened in 1969. It was rehabilitated on several occasions, but a recent feasibility study has shown that the noticeable number of lumber trucks that traverse it on their way to the interior has weakened its foundation.

Two in custody for murder of Berbice cattle farmer

TWO men are currently in custody for the murder of Gangaram, East Canje cattle farmer Ramnarine Itwaru. According to police sources, the men are being questioned since they were seen in the area where the crime was committed. The body of Itwaru, 38, called “Bill” was discovered lying on Ring Road, Estate Road at around 15:45hrs. His body bore four gunshot wounds and he was still

clad in his working gear. His lifeless body was discovered by two fishermen who were making their way out of the dam. Shortly before he was killed, Itwaru imposed a “no trespassing” policy on his private lands where he rears his cattle. Sharada Hemraj, a sister-in-law of Itwaru explained that recently Itwaru lost several cows and had placed some information on the Internet. This she noted may have

Dead: Ramnarine Itwaru

triggered the horrific crime committed on her brother

in law. Itwaru’s father-in-law, Prabalall Hemraj, 63, related that Itwaru left home around 13:00h to cut grass for his cattle, as he would do on a daily basis. Mr Hemraj said that his son-inlaw recently invested some $1.2 million to develop the land to use for rearing his cattle. According to information, the two men who were arrested are also cattle farmers.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29 2016

Nagamootoo on state visit to India …Greenidge sworn in to perform his functions PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo departed Guyana on Wednesday to participate in the “World Tamils Economic Conference” which is to take place on Sunday October 2nd to Tuesday, October 4th, 2016, Tamil Nadu, India and the 29th Convocation of Bharath University, which will be held on Wednesday, October 5th, 2016. Prime Minister Nagamootoo, in response to the invitation of participation, said that he “Looks forward to forging stronger ties between Guyana and the World Tamil community, especially entrepreneurs and industrial leaders of Tamil Nadu. Guyana has an open-door policy that welcomes all investors and economic partners.” The aim of the World Tamils Economic Conference is to bring together the Tamil and Indian communities in the world, in order to foster

Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo

cooperation and tap the vast human and material resources for collective growth. The Prime Minister was also selected by the Award selection committee to receive an Award to honour Outstanding Personalities from the Tamil community. The title of “Crown Jewel of World Tamils” Award will

be conferred on October 4th, 2016. The Prime Minister also accepted an invitation to be the Chief Guest of the 29th Convocation of Bharath University, to award the degrees and to deliver the convocation address. The Prime Minister considered the invitation “An honour on his first visit to Southern India from where his ancestors migrated to Guyana almost 170 years ago.” He is pleased to be associated with the “prestigious university, which provides high-quality graduate and post-graduate education to nearly 10,000 students from around the world.” Bharath University offers graduate and post-graduate research programmes in the Faculties of Engineering & Technology, Medical & Health Sciences, Dentistry, Management, Law, Arts, Science and Humanities. Prime Minister will also trav-

L-R: Minister of State Joseph Harmon, President David Granger, Minister Carl Greenidge and partly hidden is Director of Protocol, Ministry of the Presidency, Col. Francis Abraham

el to New Delhi to participate in a “Delhi Tamil Advocates Association” programme scheduled for Thursday October 6th, 2016 at the “Plenary Hall, Indian Law Institute (Deemed University), Supreme Court Campus,

New Delhi. Prime Minister Nagamootoo is accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo and OPM Chief of Staff Mr. Omar Bissoon. The Honourable Carl Greenidge, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Second Vice-President,

was sworn in on Wednesday to perform the functions of Prime Minister. Prime Minister Nagamootoo is expected to return to Guyana on Wednesday, October 12, 2016.

Rice farmers eagerly await Mexican market By Ravin Singh THE rice deal between Guyana and Mexico which is currently being hammered out is one which is eagerly being awaited by farmers who anticipate increased prices and production of their paddy. After losing the Venezuela rice market last year, Guyana, through efforts made by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, was able to secure commitments by the Mexican Government to buy some of this country’s rice. Speaking at a reception to observe Mexico’s 206th Independence Anniversary last week, Mexican Ambassador Medel said relations between Guyana and Mexico continue to be strong, especially in the area of food security. He noted that Mexican officials are working hard to ensure certification is ready in order to begin importation of local paddy. “The Mexican food inspection authority SENASICA is working jointly with NAREI [Guyana’s National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute] to make sure phytosanitary certifi-

Essequibo rice farmer Prem Das speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday Rice farmers examine paddy stalks in a rice field at Mahaicony

cation is ready, in order to begin the commercialisation of Guyanese paddy,” Ambassador Medel disclosed. Mexico, which imports some one million tonnes of rice annually, has since signalled its intention to fast track a paddy deal with Guyana, even as the prime minister continues to seek other markets for local producers. Against this backdrop, farmers have expressed their anticipation in accessing

these markets which will lead to benefits for them and by extension, Guyana. One such person is Prem Das, a rice farmer from Essequibo, who explained that when Guyana had the Venezuelan markets, farmers had seen a significant increase in prices and it benefited farmers tremendously. He noted that at one point, they had been able to sell a bag of paddy for $5000 to $5500. After losing the market however, he said that prices dropped,

and at this point in time farmers are being offered about $2300 or thereabout for a bag of paddy. “So of course, any market Guyana is able to access, farmers would more than welcome it, because this means better prices for the paddy and eventually an increase in production. Once farmers can get a market to serve in the long term, they would be more than happy,” the farmer said. He further explained that

at the end of the day, farmers look at the prices they are being offered and once they get a solid market to take this rice, in this case the Mexican market, it means farmers will get better prices than what is being offered now. Therefore, he said, once good prices are being offered, then most naturally, farmers would be inclined to produce more paddy, since they would be able to make more money on it. “So it is all about getting more bags of paddy per acre of land at good prices,” he

added. Chaitman Jorree, another rice farmer from Mahaicony, expressed his desire to see Guyana sending rice to Mexico. “I feel very good about this not just for me, but for other farmers because I know what they have been going through. The rice industry has been facing many challenges and for us to be able to access any market at this point in time would be great for the farmers,” he said. Jorree said presently he is selling a bag of paddy for almost $3000, but that it was higher than this in previous years. And he believes that once an agreement has been reached between the two countries, prices are likely to go up, which will have direct and indirect benefits for all. The farmer revealed too that after prices had dropped, he reduced the amount of rice he was producing and used the land for cattle-farming. And with an impending agreement, he said that not only him, but other farmers are likely to use these lands which were converted into pastures, to replant rice.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Guyanese woman fatally Policeman stabbed by husband in charged with rape Brooklyn home of young relative ‒ granted bail

AN Inspector of Police was Wednesday charged with indecent assault and sexual activity with a young child when he appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrates’ Court and was granted bail. Marc Anthon, 46, of Lot 50 Stanleytown , New Amsterdam , Berbice , and of Eteringbang Police Station in ‘F’ Division, appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore, who granted him a total of $150,000 bail. In addition, the magistrate stipulated that the policeman’s travel documents be lodged with the Clerk of Court.

Particulars of the charge said between January 1 , 2003 and April 30, 2010 at Liverpool Village, he indecently assaulted a female child. Further, it was stated that between September 1 and 30, 2012 at Lot 41 Stanleytown , New Amsterdam, he engaged in sexual penetration with a child. Police Corporal Winston Poliah, prosecuting , said the policeman who has 23 years of service , allegedly inserted his finger into the vagina of the female child while the minor and him shared a home at Liverpool Village, Corentyne. With respect to the other charge, it is alleged that whilst he lived at a relative’s

home at Lot 41 Mudflat , Stanleytown, he would buy various items for the minor and would later ask the child to repay him. However, whenever the virtual complainant informed him that she did not have money, as she is unemployed , he would demand sexual favours. He is represented by Mursulene Bacchus, however ,Ms Tania Clement Warren held the brief, as the senior lawyer was out of the jurisdiction. With respect to the indecent assault case, the matter was transferred to the Whim court and is set for hearing on October 24, while the other case will be recalled at the New Amsterdam court on October 20 for statements.

The man accused of murdering Hannah Donald (KEN MURRAY / NY DAILY NEWS)

[New York Daily News] - A HUSBAND who was kicked out of the house two months ago returned home Monday and stabbed his Guyanese wife to death, police said.

Hannah Donald, 47, was rushed to Kings County Hospital with multiple stab wounds to her chest, neck and arm just before 18:00h after an argument turned vio-

lent inside the woman’s home on E. 17 St. near Dorchester Rd. in Flatbush, police said. She later died of her injuries. A dishevelled man identified by friends as Donald’s 58-year-old husband was taken into custody at the Cortelyou Rd. Q train station around 21:30h, witnesses said. Friend Izafet Colok, 57, who works at a nearby laundromat, said the husband had harassed the victim after she kicked him out. “She tell me, ‘He’s coming to bother me.’ I told her just change the locks. Every time I tell her,” Colok said. “She’s a quiet lady, so nice. She always help everybody,” he added. “He’s drinking, he’s not nice, he comes to my laundry and complains. I know he’s like a bum.” Charges were pending against the estranged husband early Tuesday.

City to prosecute businesses draining faeces in drains

Town Clerk Royston King

TOWN Clerk Royston King has said that serious public health problems will arise should city businesses fail to connect their soil pipes to the sewerage system instead of to the city’s drains and alleyways. He explained that many times, Council workers are confronted with human faeces as they clean City Hall’s drains and alleyways on a daily basis. “What they are doing is allowing raw faeces to enter into drains, and that is totally unacceptable!” Speaking at City Hall’s statutory meeting on Monday, King said businesses in Georgetown were warned over and over again to fix

the situation, but have continued to ignore such warnings. “Those people have been warned before verbally and through the statutory notices. We have spoken to them over and over again. Their soil pipes should be connected directly to the sewerage system,” King maintained. He said they have been given 14 days to remedy the situation which represents the statutory amount of time that is given to those who are in breach. “It’s totally unacceptable in any city. We will prosecute these persons by taking them to court.” Meanwhile, in an advertisement that the City Coun-

cil placed in the media, King said the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will begin a campaign on October 5, 2016, to prosecute all property owners who have their soil pipes and other related (pipes leading from water closets, baths and sinks) flowing into city drains. “This is against the Georgetown Building Construction Public Health Provision Regulations, Section 19: Every new building shall be provided with such number of water closets, urinals, sinks, bath wastes or other sanitary conveniences in accordance with the Georgetown Sewerage Regulations, as may be required by the City Engineer,” said King. He said the M&CC will also be moving to prosecute all property owners who have their roof gutter downpipes draining directly into street drains and alleyways. “This is against the Georgetown Building bylaw Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01. Property owners, who are in breach of these regulations, have 14 days to correct this negative public health situation,” King said.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29 2016

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Family of slain watchman seeking justice IT has been five months since a 53-year-old watchman was hacked to death and his relatives are calling on the Commissioner of Police to speed up investigations into the incident. Abdul Sattaur Kadir, of 380 Ninth Street, Foulis, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was chopped to death on April 27, 2016 when he was confronted by two men who had entered his workplace at Best Buy Hardware Store at Bladen Hall, ECD. The father of three died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Police said the security guard was alone on duty when he challenged

two men who had entered the large compound from the back. During this time, he was attacked by the men who dealt him several chops about his body with cutlasses and escaped. According to his wife, Maureen Kadir, the police have not been in contact with the family since the murder occurred. “The story just died just like that, and every day that goes by it hurts us that he was just killed while doing his job,” she explained. Police had obtained images that were captured on surveillance cameras mounted at the back of the hardware store on the night Kadir was killed. However, a police source noted that the images obtained are not of good quality and cannot be enhanced to provide detectives with a chance to positively identify the men.

Dead: Abdul Sattaur Kadir

The source said that Kadir’s killers appear to know the compound, since they switched off the lights in order to make it difficult for the surveillance cameras to pick them up clearly. Investigators had disclosed that after chopping the watchman, the killers made no attempt to break into the hardware store, nor did they take anything from the compound.

Man granted $100,000 bail for attempted murder TWENTY-THREE-yearold Mikhail Punch appeared before Sparendaam Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul charged with the offense of attempted murder. The unrepresented defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge, and was released on $100,000 bail. It is alleged that on April 3, at Graham Street Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, with intent to commit murder, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded

Kwame Herod. Police Prosecutor David Goodridge told the court that, on the day in question, the victim was attacked by Punch who was armed with a cutlass. Goodridge noted that two other persons were also previously charged with the same offence. The accused was ordered to report to the Sparendaam police station until completion of the trial. The matter was adjourned to November 18.

Mikhail Punch, following his appearance at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29 2016

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Guyana keen for start of EU-funded forest governance project GUYANA highlighted the need to wrap up negotiations on the EU-FLEGT agreement when the regional seminar opened on Wednesday under the theme: “Sharing Regional Lessons on FLEGT VPA processes: Transitioning from Negotiations to Implementation.” In March 2012, the Government had formally entered into the process of negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU) under its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. That plan was established in response to the problem of illegal logging. Since then a Guyanese National Technical Working Group (NTWG) has been spearheading consultations on the pending agreement. As such, the regional forum, which is being held at the Pegasus Hotel here in Guyana, seeks to promote the exchange of experience and lessons learned from countries that are in the implementation phase. In delivering brief remarks during the opening ceremony, Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources Ministry, Joslyn McKenzie said the conclusion of the negotiation is critical to the advancement of the Forestry Sector. “In the 2017 work programme of the Ministry of Natural Resources, we see the conclusion of this negotiation as a very critical element towards the overall development of the sector,” Mckenzie. As such, he said the Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has tasked the Chair of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Board of Directors, Jocelyn Dow and the Forestry Commissioner, James Singh “to do whatever it takes to facilitate” a successful conclusion of the negotiation. Singh also underscored the importance of wrapping up the negotiation. In making his case that Guyana stands ready to implement the FLEGT VPA, Singh pointed out in 2014 the country’s annual rate of deforestation and degradation was a mere 0.065%. “As a heavily forested country, optimization of benefits of our natural resources sector is needed for national development. However, as an

environmentally conscious nation we recognise that this must be in keeping with environment and social-economic best practices,” he posited. Reiterating the country’s strong support for the EUFLEGT Action Plan, the GFC Commissioner said the “imminent finalisation of the Guyana-EU-FLEGT VPA represents a step in the right direction.” He said it is a fact that Guyana’s Forestry Sector is being governed by a robust system of forest legality and sustainable forestry management guidelines. Pending the conclusion of the negotiation, Singh said the Commission welcomes the establishment of a local FLEGT Facilitation Support Office, which is providing much needed support. The Acting British High Commissioner, Ron Rimmer, in offering brief remarks, reinforced the UK’s commitment to the development of Guyana. He said FLEGT VPA is critical to the process of governance, noting that it strengthens sustainable forestry management and promotes trade and eco-timber in both domestic and export markets. The chair of the GFC and the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Guyana and Suriname, Christof Stock, were among other officials present at the opening. However, participants and speakers hailed from Government, Civil Society, the Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and Academia from Guyana, Suriname, Honduras, Guatemala, Indonesia, Liberia, Ghana, and the United Kingdom. The Georgetown FLEGT seminar is the second such event held in Guyana and was organized by the National Technical Working Group and the FLEGT Facilitation Support Office (Guyana) in collaboration with GFC and Iwokrama International Centre. The organisers are also receiving support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the European Forestry Institute, European Commission, UK Department for International Development (DFID), Amerindian Peoples’ Association and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources Ministry, Joslyn McKenzie (second from right) delivering brief remarks, in the presence of GFC Chair Jocelyn Dow (on the right) and (from left to right) FC Commissioner James Singh, Acting British High Commission Ron Rimmer and Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation in Guyana Christof Stock

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Meet needs of children - UN Children’s Fund urges equitable, measurable budgeting

human capital is the key to a sustainable future. Before, our concern was quantity (how much is spent on children and on what), now our concern is also quality (how well the money is spent and to what extent it produces results for children). UNICEF encourages and stands ready to support the Government of Guyana, to ensure equitable and measurable budgeting for children,” Flach said. Recent data gathered for the SitAn highlights different groups of vulnerable children and women, and has inspired UNICEF in highlighting and addressing critical areas in the design of its new Country Programme. “UNICEF will also support efforts to increase children’s access to the First Lady, Mrs Sandra Granger receives a copy of the report on justice system, in partic‘Situation Analysis (SitAn) of Children and Women by UNICEF ular, developing and imGuyana Representative Ms. Marianne Flach (Aubrey Odle/Ministry plementing targeted preof Social Protection photo) vention programmes for By Shauna Jemmott first ever Guyana ‘Situation when “data has become our juveniles considered at risk Analysis (SitAn) of Chil- way of life”, telling our sto- of being in contact with the UNITED Nations Chil- dren and Women’ done by ries and being taken as the law. We will also support dren’s Fund (UNICEF) the UNICEF, Flach said the “rule by which we play”. the alignment of juvenile Guyana Representative, key to a sustainable future Meanwhile, Flach told justice procedures with Ms. Marianne Flach said lies in government’s invest- the gathering, which in- international standards,” the international organ- ment in its human resource. cluded First Lady Sandra Flach revealed. isation will push for eqUNICEF Monitoring Granger and Minister of SoShe said too that the uitable and measurable and &Evaluation Special- cial Protection Volda Law- programme also considers budgeting, which will ist, Michael Gillis in his rence, the Analysis docu- education, early childhood ensure that the lives of welcoming remarks said it ment will enable govern- development and the efGuyana’s children are is the first time the organ- ment to better understand fects of climate change as improved, even as govern- isation had launched a sit- issues that affect children vital areas of focus. “… ment builds its platform uation analysis in Guyana, throughout the country, and particularly the provision of on sustainable develop- a document which gives a guide stakeholders to effec- equitable and inclusive early ment. “very true picture” of situ- tively implement programs childhood services... We will Delivering an address ations faced by our women and cater for their develop- also continue to advocate at a ceremony for the hand- and children in Guyana. He ment in budget allocations. for positive discipline and ing over to Guyana, the said this is the global season “Investing in a country’s inclusive education for all

children and adolescents... Climate change is also mainstreamed in our new country programme, with emphasis on Climate Change Education, and addressing issues such as the availability of clean water, and mitigating health risks…” Health risks posed by infectious vector borne diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika – which results in serious implications for pregnant women and their babies – to be addressed, Flach said. Flach disclosed that the UNICEF Country Programme for Guyana for 2017-2021 considers ‘Safety and Justice,’ ‘Life-long learning,’ and ‘Social inclusion and child rights monitoring’ as priority areas to be addressed, and will partner with Government over the next five years to support the country’s National Strategic Plans and Programmes, with emphasis on equity, and on reaching the most vulnerable children and families. “For instance, we will scale up our focus on Child Protection, to ensure that violence, abuse and neglect of children is sufficiently addressed, by promoting a multi-sectoral approach to violence prevention, and strengthening child protection systems. Particular attention will be given to children with disabilities and children from indigenous groups.” She said the organisation

engaged the extractive sector earlier this year during a conference on child rights and business and as a result will create partnership with extractive businesses in addressing child protection. “We will look at creating partnerships with extractive businesses, as they are key stakeholders in addressing issues such as child protection, and can also play an important role in addressing environmental issues such as Mercury contamination which affect children more severely than adults,” Flach pointed out. She said the allocation of resources to all sectors will ensure sufficient, equitable and efficient investment in children which is “crucial for the full realisation of children’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.” She said only last week in Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of the Child launched General Comment 19 on “Public budgeting for the realisation of children’s rights,” which clearly sets out the obligations for Member States to properly budget and manage expenditures to realise children’s rights. According to Flach, UNICEF is committed to “ensuring that all children can grow up safe, healthy, and have every opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute to the sustainable development of their communities, their nation and their world.”

UNICEF report highlights impact of migration on families

A REPORT compiled by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) revealed that mass emigration of Guyanese due to failures in the job market creates devastating social and economic effects and has resulted in broken families, brain drain and an estimated 8% loss of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The report on the 2016 Guyana Situation Analysis of Children and Women (SitAn), a document compiled through a cooperative effort between UNICEF and Gov-

ernment of Guyana, was handed over to First Lady Sandra Granger and Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence at a special ceremony at the Herdmanston Lodge Wednesday. The report was prepared with the objective of supporting the new government in its development and implementation of national strategic plans and programmes. The goal of the report is to “advance the realization of the rights of development of Guyanese children with a strong equity focus on the most vulnerable children and

their families.” The report noted that 422, 000 Guyanese live in other countries and while this relocation contributes to the country’s economy through the influx of remittances, such high emigration is influenced by “lack of internal economic opportunities, indicating failures in the job market.” “On one hand, the influx of remittances is an important factor for the country’s economy and represents an informal safety net for many families. On the other hand, high emigration is influenced

by lack of internal economic opportunities, indicating failures in the job market. On the economic side, this brain drain creates losses of around 8% of the country’s GDP. On the social side, emigration breaks families and force children to live far from one or two parents.” The report said despite Guyana’s good GDP performance, in taking into consideration the GDP per capita, the country remains the third poorest in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti and Nicaragua. “Unemployment is

high, and it is particularly concerning for the young population, which represents more than 60% of Guyana’s population. Since 2002, youth unemployment has been consistently higher than 30% and is currently estimated to be about 40%.”

The country’s last official poverty measurement was done in 2006, even before the world was hit by economic crises in 2008, and according to that report, some 36.1% of the population was living in poverty and 18.6% were

living in extreme poverty.

“Poverty is higher in the interior of the country, and for those families living in the rural areas … Poverty in Guyana has a child’s face. Similar to previous measurements, the poverty number from 2006 shows that younger age cohorts have a significantly higher poverty headcount than older ones.” It also disclosed that 33.7% of young people between ages 16-25 lived in poverty in 2006, and 47.5% of children below the age of 17 were poor.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Region Four students benefit from Career Fair

A solar water system display was the centre of attraction at the fair. (Photo by Samuel Maughn) THE Department of Education in Region Four Wednesday hosted its second annual Career Fair at the Hope Secondary School under the theme: “Youths! Our future depends on them.” Declaring the Career Fair open was Regional Chairman Genevieve Allen, who expounded on the importance of a sound education. “Our future depends on you. School is where we learn the necessary skills for life. School is an opportunity to learn wherever you are,” Allen said. Speaking with this publication, the Acting Regional Education Officer (REDO) of Region Four, Ms Tiffany Harvey, explained, “It’s our second annual career fair which caters to the secondary schools within the Region Four districts, so a number of invitations were sent out to several agencies to be a part of this event. I am extremely pleased with the agencies who responded to our invitation. “Some of the agencies which responded were the Guyana Technical Institute, the Guyana Defence Force, the Cyril Potter College of Education, the Ministry of Public Health, the Red Cross, the Guyana School of Agri-

culture,and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission among many others,” said Harvey. The Acting REDO also explained that the fair was held to also observe 40 years of nursery education in Guyana; as a result, there were several nursery schools within the Region Four district exhibiting what happens within the nursery school system. “There is also a craft centre exhibiting hand-made craft; with this we are hoping to boost craft and home economics as careers for a number of our students,” said Harvey. Scores of students gathered at the Guyana Defence Force’s booth where there were free medical tests being done. Second Lieutenant Cleveroy Patrick explained that “The GDF was invited by the ministry to be a part of the fair; we are displaying the advantages and the benefits of being in the Guyana Defence Force, since we are always recruiting. The students

seem more interested in the technical department of the booth.” Many students from President’s College, Annandale, Diamond and Golden Grove Secondary Schools said the fair would help them to make a decision regarding a career. However, some felt differently. A student of Hope Secondary, Yogeshwar Boodhan, said, “My plan is to be a teacher. I think the fair is very educational since a lot of stuff on display and are very informative. Hailing from the same school, student, Omefa Gillis explained, “I want to be a family lawyer, but I don’t really think the fair caters to my field, but I find the fair to be very interesting.” Many teachers from the various schools in Region Four saw the event as an informative one. Education Month 2016 is being celebrated, under the theme, “Each Child Matters: Stakeholders Unite for the Enhancement of Education. (Crystal Stoll)

GDF Lab Technician Guide, Nicola McRae does blood tests for students. (Photo by Samuel Maughn)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Stories and photos by Vanessa Braithwaite

Linden doctors on scholarships for specialised training

THREE doctors from the Mackenzie Hospital in Linden recently left for China to pursue specialized training in the field of medicine. Martha Singh, Allan Outridge, and Sean Huston are pursuing courses in orthopedics, cardiology and anaesthesia respectfully. They were granted scholarships from the Government of Guyana and the Government of China after it was concluded that the hospital was in dire need of specialised clinics and resident doctors to man those clinics. According to Chairman of the Regional Health Committee Gregory Harris, the three doctors returned from Cuba in 2013 after studying general medicine for seven years but were sent to pursue speciality as most of those doctors were visiting doctors who came on a routine basis. The three doctors will be spending three to four years overseas. The call was made at the recently held public consul-

Allan Outridge tation with Junior Minister of Health Karen Cummings in Linden. After the Minister learnt that the hospital was in need of specialised doctors, she urged the general practising doctors to pursue speciality training as scholarships were available. “We have persons who have just written CXC, encourage

Martha Singh them to go into the health field. Maybe we can have a neurologist coming from Linden, encourage the younger ones to come into the field so that you can have your own specialists in Linden,” articulated Dr. Cummings. She boasted that it was the Ministry’s mandate to provide specialized services not only at

the Linden Hospital Complex but countrywide and therefore there was a call for persons to pursue post graduate training in medicine in an effort to foster continuous medical education. Director of Regional Health Services Dr. Kay Shako also commenting on the issue said that nurses should

Sean Huston also consider the offer as they can use the opportunity afforded them to serve their communities. “We would want nurses from the direct location to be trained so that they can give those services back to their community so we will be looking for persons from their specific location,” posited Shako.

The Linden Hospital Complex currently has 50 doctors and six specialised units that hold specific clinics on a weekly basis. The hospital is looking to increase this number as many patients seeking various speciality services are often transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Disabled man gifted with motorised wheelchair IT IS THE INNATE desire of any man to be able to work so as to adequately provide for his family. When such a privilege is taken away from him because of unforeseen circumstances, he would most naturally feel frustrated, unable to fulfill his purpose as a family head. Such was the feeling of Godfrey La Rose of Constabulary Compound, Linden who lost his legs as a result of uncontrolled diabetes. La Rose was pitched into a state of depression. The former employee of Guymine who for many years served in the capacity of Security Constable began suffering with severe diabetes and lost his right foot to the disease 1n 2012 - below the knee. He then got an artificial foot which allowed him to

move around normally. “I was walking normal and nobody knew it was a false foot,” La Rose revealed. He then became an employee of Banks DIH, Linden

Branch but unfortunately, three years after he lost the other foot above the knee. That became the end of his working career as he was now confined to a manual wheel chair.

This confinement pitched La Rose into state of depression as he was always the bread winner of his family. Despite these trials he tried to rely on the strength of God to

Happy in his new motorised wheelchair

go by and his faith has been opening doors as his family is always taken care of. He also thanked his wife that has been there for him through thick and thin even when his frustration was at peak. “Regardless of your faith sometimes you do get frustrated and stressed because when I sit down on my verandah and I see people passing going to work, I feel a sense of worthlessness.” His latest blessing was that of being gifted with a motorised wheel chair from the USA arm of the Ex Guymine/ Linmine Constabulary Organization. The chair was presented at a simple ceremony at the Constabulary Hall. The organization recently held a reunion where it was noted by

members in the Diaspora that La Rose was in dire need of the wheel chair. Member of the organization John Domer told the audience that the organization was a newly-formed one and the gesture was only a fraction of what was in store. La Rose was in high spirits when he received the chair and continued to give God praise and thanks. He said, “This thing is about faith that no matter what happens you do not give up. There is a true and living God. You have gotta be with God to know that there is God.” Though he would not be working, he said he would now be moving in fine style.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

MHS scores big in Maths and English

WHILE THERE was a significant decline in the overall passes in Mathematics at this year’s CSEC results, the Mackenzie High School in Linden has booted in exceptional grades in Mathematics and is seeing this as an achievement to be noted. Though the overall pass rate for the school is 84%, the analysis of the results shows that the lone High School in Region 10 has done very well despite facing several challenges. A total of 25 students received grade ones in Mathemtics while the overall pass rate stands above 70%. English A pulled in a total of 39 grade ones with an overall pass rate of 90%. The school also ranked

Ornissa Gordon

in 100% passes for Agricultural Science, Building Technology, Clothing and Textile, EDPM and Food and Nutrition. Over 90% of the students in the 2016 batch passed Economics and English A, while 80% passed Biology, Caribbean History and Geography.

The school has also copped 8 of the 10 spots for the Region’s top 10 with the top business student gaining 7 grade ones. Not only is the CSEC results remarkable but the Carribbean Advance Proffiency Examination (CAPE), also saw noticeable success with 100% overall passes in several subjects. These include Agricultural Science, Caribbean Studies, Chemi s try, C o m m u n ic a t i o n Studies, Environmental Science, Geography, Law Unit 1, Management of Business, Mathematics Unit 1 and 2, Physics and Sociology Unit 1 and 2. The top CAPE student is Ornissa Gordon who is now pursuing her degree in Economics at the University of Guyana.

Asher Marks Newly- retired Head Master Gary Roberts expressed elation over the results achieved just before he gave up his post. “I feel good, elated because we had an improvement over the last couple of years, we kind of set new records, for the first time we had

that amount of grade 1’s in Mathematics and since I was coming off I was even more happy, I would have left a kind of legacy....I think I am more than elated,” he said. Top CSEC student Asher Marks who hails from the business stream told the Guyana Chronicle that his achievement of 7 grade ones and 4 grade twos can be deemed the fruit of hard labour. The lad cedited his performance to his ability to balance his time, attending a lot of lessons and studying hard. “I’m very happy that I have been able to accomplish this. This was a result of hard work and now I can prepare for the next road which is 6th form. He plans on returning to MHS to pur-

sue business subjects in the Caribbean Advance Profienciency Examination. The top student gave foremost thanks to God for bringing him through the journey. “I would like to thank God, my family, my teachers and friends for helping me through this journey,” he said. He encouraged the students now approaching 5th form to master the art of balancing time in addition to working hard and being determined to succeed. Other top students were: Tiffany Thomas also achieving 7 grade ones; Sheralyn Vangenderen; Risa Retemyer; Daycia Ceasar; Caleah Barker; Tricia Hutson; Myranda Johnny; Williamson Moonique and Kyresse Chapman.

Woman abuse directly linked to child abuse

Minister Lawrence pledges to stamp out sexual violence against children A PROMINENT member of the corporate community in Linden and astute Muslim Dennis Mohammed has urged Linden men to stop abusing women. He is of the view that this could help in eradicating child abuse in the mining town. Mohammed was at the time addressing the audience at the recently held rally against child sexual abuse and exclaimed that for us to get to the root of the problem of child abuse we must first strive to eradicate woman abuse. Mohammed firmly believes that the abuse of the child is directly linked to the abuse of the woman and since Linden was suffering from child abuse, it basically meant that domestic violence abuse figures were also high. “If we don’t stop the abuse of our beautiful women, we can never fix the abuse of the child….the

two greatest people in a man’s life is a mother who gives life and a wife who gives continuity of life.” Mohammed urged men to have more respect for their wives and in extension all women because such respect is paramount for a child to return that love to the man. “If I, as a man, fulfils all the duties towards my child and my child came home one night and sees me hitting on his mother, will that child love me still? So you can do all you can for your child, if you don’t show love to the mother, that child wouldn’t love you back,” Mohammed concluded. This type of abuse he said does not only encapsulate physical abuse but verbal as well which spiral into emotional and mental abuse. He said everyone should be involved in the eradicating process as it takes an entire village to raise a child.

Minister Volda Lawrence According to a study linking domestic violence to child abuse by the South Michigan University, there is a direct link between woman abuse and child abuse. According to the study, children may be victimized and threatened as a way of punishing and controlling the adult victim of domestic

violence or they may be injured unintentionally when acts of violence occur in their presence. The study went on to say that even when children are not directly attacked, they can experience serious emotional damage as a result of living in a violent household. “Children living in this environment come to believe that this behaviour is acceptable,” the study pointed out, revealing that the estimated overlap between domestic violence and child physical or sexual abuse ranges from 30 to 50 percent. “Neither domestic violence nor child abuse is an isolated event, both occur with some regularity, often increasing and becoming more serious.” According to Director of Child Services Ann Greene, the statistics show that Linden from January to July recorded 52 cases of child

sexual abuse while statistics coming out of E’ Division (Region 10) Head Quarters reveal that there were 44 cases of domestic violence for the year 2016 in Linden. With the belief that these figures are way too high, Minister Volda Lawrence pledged to stamp out sexual violence against children in Linden. She described the situation as urgent with the Child Protection Department having serious business to take care of. The Minister did admit that the Regional Office and the Ministry have shortcomings that she was trying to remedy. She said that there are far too few officers to deal with the many cases coming out of Region 10 but the Ministry was in the process of strengthening the Regional Office and to collaborate with NGOs and other stake holders. Workshops will be done with the NGO’s and other bodies to

train individuals to serve the abused professionally. Earlier in the month she also revealed that plans were in store for the establishment of a home to rescue abused women and children. Staff of the Child Services branch in Linden told the Guyana Chronicle that the move to have a children’s and women’s home will be much appreciated as there is currently no home in Linden to accommodate these individuals. In the eventuality of a child having to be placed into the custody of Child Services, the staff would place that child in the care of a responsible relative or in temporary foster care. The next alternative is to transfer that child to a children’s home in Georgetown. The same procedure occurs when a victim of domestic violence needs to be taken into custody.

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GOA conducting Anti-Doping workshops IN ITS bid to bring more awareness to the issue of doping in sports, the Guyana Olympics Association (GOA), which has been hosting anti-doping education sessions every Saturday for the past five weeks, yesterday held a special session for media operatives at Olympic House on High Street. The sessions are part of a continuous effort to get all stakeholders in the sports arena involved in the fight against doping in Guyana, even as the one-year ban on Guyanese cyclist Alanzo Greaves is about to end in November. The sessions are being conducted by Doping Control Officer (DCO) Charles Corbin and Guyana’s Caribbean (Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) Board member Dr Karen Pilgrim, and include informative segments such as ‘What is Doping’, ‘Why Athletes Dope’, ‘Why Doping is Banned’ and the ‘Challenges faced in bringing about Anti-Doping Awareness’. Persons attending the sessions are also given a walkthrough of how the doping tests are conducted and the rights that athletes have when a test is being conducted on them. Doping tests are carried out on urine samples taken from the athlete in the presence of a chaperone or DCO. The athletes themselves deposit and seal the containers in which the sample is transported to the lab where the tests are conducted. The samples are marked by a number and no information about the athlete is known to those who conduct the test.. Guyana currently has four DCOs certified to conduct

doping tests. Apart from Pilgrim and Corbin, there are Dr Clive Bowman and Dr Navin Rambarran. Doping tests can be conducted in and out of competition, and is usually conducted on all national teams leaving Guyana to participate internationally. Thus far, Pilgrim noted a total of 90 persons from varying sporting disciplines across Guyana have attended the workshops on Saturdays, where two sessions are held - one at 11:00hrs and another at 12:30hrs. Each session lasts only one hour. Pilgrim noted that some sports fraternities have been more responsive than others, but in the effort to ensure awareness is as widespread as possible, the sessions will continue as long as is necessary. Though the cases of doping in Guyana are few and far between, it has always been the opinion that more awareness and education needed to be done since ignorance of the law is no excuse; so athletes taking banned substances unknowingly will not be spared. Greaves was handed down the ban, which runs from November 1, 2015 to November 1, 2016, by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), after one of his urine samples tested positive for testosterone, a well-known banned substance. Greaves case followed that of Gumendra ‘The Golden Boy’ Shewdas, Guyana’s first Under-18 Sub-Junior World Powerlifting gold medallist, who in January 2014 was banned by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) after failing an in-competition doping control test conducted in August 2013.

South Africa Racing Tips Vaal 08:20 hrs Fearless Fred 08:55 hrs Burundi Bush 09:30 hrs Cannes 10:05 hrs Wukkin’Up 10:40 hrs Wind Chill 11:15 hrs Rose Water

09:10 hrs Mister Blue Sky 09:40 hrs Sincil Bank 10:15 hrs Sun Lover 10:50 hrs Cartwright 11:20 hrs Mon Beau Visage 11:55 hrs Soundstrings 12:25 hrs Intense Starlet 12:55 hrs Indastar Irish Racing Tips Clonmel 08:55 hrs Crazy Queen 09:25 hrs Little Folke 09:55 hrs Lasoscar 10:30 hrs Festive Day 11:05 hrs Chief Of Panama 11:35 hrs Not For You 12:10 hrs Where’s Me

English Racing Tips Brighton 08:50 hrs Rebel Heart 09:20 hrs Akkadian Empire 09:50 hrs Barren Brook 10:25 hrs Barnaby Brook 11:00 hrs Highlife Dancer 11:30 hrs Open The Red 12:05 hrs Plauseabella 12:35 hrs Burauq Warwick 09:00 hrs Peter The Mayo Man 09:30 hrs Bubba NSqueak 10:05 hrs Charlie Mon 10:40 hrs Barman 11:10 hrs Ready Token 11:45 hrs Quebec Newcastle

American Racing Tips Belmont Race 1 Zoo Yorker Race 2 Littlemissperfect Race 3 Kraken Glacken Race 4 Carnevale Race 5 Enduring Warrior Race 6 Otto Race 7 Tizanillusion Race 8 Coniah Race 9 Piazza Del Campo

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, September 29, 2016

Australian cricket legend Max Walker dies after cancer battle

MAX Walker, the former Australian Test cricketer and commentator, has died at the age of 68. He died overnight following a twoyear battle with cancer, it was reported yesterday. Ian Chappell, Walker’s former captain and co-worker, told 3AW he had found out only days ago that Walker was “in bad shape”. Commentator Kerry O’Keefe tweeted that he was a “gentle ... decent ... respectful” man: ‘Vale T Foot!’ In a statement on behalf of Cricket Victoria, chief executive officer Tony Dodemaide said: “It is with great sadness that we learned of Max’s sudden passing today. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Walker family and their friends at this difficult time.” “A gentlemen of his era, Max Walker captures the prized wicket of Tony Grieg, clean-bowled Max was able to be part of for 18 in the Centenary Test. some moments that will be en, the Opposition leader. Walker was a “strapping statement on behalf of CA. cherished forever in cricket “A humble servant of the paceman whose convoluted “The cricket world will history and will continue to game he loved.” wrong-footed action ... was be deeply saddened to hear inspire future generations.” Walker made his Test imitated in backyard games of Max’s sudden passing. Dean Jones, the former debut in 1973 and took across the country”. As a cricketer, with ball or Test batsman, said he was “so 138 wickets in 34 Tests Walker’s performances bat in hand, Max was always sad” to hear of Walker’s passas a medium-fast bowler. in the 1972-3 tour of the fiercely competitive. He was ing: “What a great cricketer, His unconventional bowl- West Indies, when he took a genuine crowd favourite author and storyteller. Ripper ing action – which he de- 26 wickets to help win the wherever he played – and bloke whose smile lit up a scribed as “right-arm over series 2-0, and in the sixth nowhere more so than at his room!” Jones signed off with left earhole, legs crossed Test of the 1974-5 Ashes beloved MCG, where he had the hashtag “#263” – Walker’s at the point of delivery” – series in Melbourne, when also played senior football baggy green cap number. earned him the nickname he claimed 8 for 143, are prior to his Test debut. C o m m e n t a t o r D re w ‘Tangles’ or ‘Tanglefoot’. widely regarded as career “On behalf of everyone Morphett tweeted that “Against a good player, highlights. at Cricket Australia, our Walker was “everyone’s you might only get one or Cricket Australia (CA) deepest sympathies go out mate”, while former two chances in an innings,” CEO James Sutherland also to Max’s family, friends and all-rounder Tom Moody said he told ESPN’s CricInfo paid tribute to the former all those in cricket who had he was a “wonderful man magazine. “Once you’ve star. “Max was an outstand- the pleasure of dealing with who gave so much colour to shown him what you’re ing cricketer who played an him. He was a great charall our lives”. going to do, it’s all over, important role in the emer- acter, with a big smile and “An unmistakable bowlyou have to come up with gence of successful Aus- positive approach to life. He ing action, presence and something else.” tralian cricket teams in the will be sadly missed.” voice,” tweeted Bill ShortGideon Haigh wrote that 1970s,” Sutherland said in a After retiring from

… The former Test cricketer, whose unconventional bowling action earned him the nickname ‘Tangles’, had battled cancer post-retirement playing, he became a cricket commentator, media personality and bestselling author, including a stint as co-host of Channel Nine’s Wide World of Sports programme. He was a member of the Nine Network’s commentary team between 1986 and 1991, and worked with the network until 1999, hosting the AFL Sunday Footy Show between 1993 and 1998 and presenting sport for Nine News in Melbourne. “At Nine and across the game we have lost a genuine hero of Australian cricket with Max Walker’s sad passing,” said Hugh Marks, CEO of Nine. “He was a terrific bowler as his Test record shows, but an even better bloke. He will be missed by the whole Nine family. “Larger than life on and off the field, a huge character with that laconic, laid-back approach to sport and life. Just a big, cuddly colourful bloke whom everyone really liked – his opponents just as much as the rest of us. Max leaves an indelible signature on Australian cricket and its culture. He will be profoundly missed.” Former fast bowler Rodney Hogg said Walker should still be considered among the greats. “It should be (Dennis)

Lillee, (Jeff) Thompson and Walker because he complemented Lillee and Thompson to a huge degree by operating accurately and tight, and picking up a lot of Test match wickets with those two at the same time. “So it’s really the trio that should be remembered.” Nine director of sport Tom Malone said: “Max was a pioneer of the industry, making the transition from elite sportsman to television host seamlessly. He was a true Aussie character, whose enthusiasm and love for life was infectious. He will be sorely missed. Max was and will always remain, a treasured member of the Wide World of Sports family.” Walker was named a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to cricket and the community in 2011. He was born Maxwell Henry Norman Walker in Hobart, Tasmania, on September 12 1948. He qualified as an architect in 1973 with a fellowship diploma in architecture from RMIT, and went on to practise for 10 years. He also played 93 matches in six years of VFL football with the Melbourne football club, before giving up the winter game at the age of 22 to focus on cricket and his architecture career.

Stanikzai, Nabi stand proves crucial for Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN withstood a nervy ending to defeat Bangladesh by two wickets with just two balls remaining and level their threematch one-day international series at 1-1 yesterday. Debutant Mosaddek Hossain was Bangladesh’s top scorer with 45 in their 208 all out and continued a dream bow with a wicket from his first ball in ODI cricket to dismiss Hashmatullah Shahidi in Mirpur. But Asghar Stanikzai

Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai clips one to the leg side during his knock of 57.

(57) played a brilliant captain’s innings and his stand of 107 with Mohammad Nabi (49) proved crucial as Afghanistan reached their target despite Bangladesh slowing down their lower order in the closing overs. Bangladesh were ticking along nicely at 45-0 before Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar (both 20) fell in quick succession. A third-wicket stand of 61 between Mahmudullah

(25) and Mushfiqur Rahim (38) lifted the hosts, but the loss of four wickets for 30 runs halted their momentum – Mosaddek’s knock, which included four fours and two sixes, helping to lift them beyond 200. Shakib Al Hasan (4-47) tore through Afghanistan’s top order to leave the visitors reeling at 63-4 and staring down the barrel of a series defeat. But Stanikzai and Nabi restored calm and frustrat-

ed the hosts’ attack, the former playing a measured innings in which he faced 95 balls, while the latter was more attacking and scored three fours and two sixes in the 61 deliveries he faced. Stanikzai’s dismissal left Afghanistan on 174-6 in the 41st over, and it took them until the third-last ball to limp over the line with Dawlat Zadran securing the win with a four. (Omnisport.com)

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‘Silly’ Allardyce says error of judgement led to shock exit By Alan Baldwin LONDON, England (Reuters) - An emotional and apologetic Sam Allardyce headed for the airport yesterday, blaming entrapment for his shock exit as England manager but recognising that an error of judgement had led to his downfall. The 61-year-old, who told reporters outside his home in northern England that he was going abroad “to chill out and reflect”, refused to rule out an eventual return to soccer. Blasted by the media for hubris and greed, Allardyce was shown the door by England on Tuesday for seeking a lucrative sideline role while talking to undercover reporters from Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

Former England soccer manager Sam Allardyce speaks to media as he leaves his home in Bolton, Britain, yesterday. (REUTERS/Chris Neill) The paper said it had hundreds of pages of transcripts from the meeting in which ‘Big Sam’ had discussed a deal worth £400 000 ($520 000) to represent a Far East

firm seeking advice on the transfer market. Allardyce, an old-school manager famed for helping unfashionable clubs avoid relegation, said it had been

a “silly thing” to do but he had been trying to do a favour for someone he had known for 30 years. “Unfortunately it was an error in judgement on my

behalf. I have paid the consequences,” he said. “Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that. I’ve apologised to (the Football Association) and all concerned.” Allardyce, who replaced Roy Hodgson after England’s dismal Euro 2016 campaign, said it had been a great honour to be appointed in July. The former centre half recognised in an earlier statement that he had made comments which had caused embarrassment to the FA and others. A glance at the morning’s newspapers would have given him little comfort, with scant sympathy and lashings of scorn for a manager that ex-FA chairman Greg Dyke said had been ‘grubbing around’ for

money. “I didn’t think England could stoop any lower than what happened in the summer at the Euros,” commented former England striker Alan Shearer. “Now here we are, a laughing stock of world football.” Allardyce won his only game in charge of England, a World Cup qualifier in Slovakia earlier this month, by 1-0. He will be replaced by Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate for the next four matches as the FA searches for a successor. “I’m going to go away and reflect on it. I’d like to wish all the England lads, Gareth, and the staff all the very best,” he said, telling reporters that he could say no more due to a confidentiality agreement with the FA.

Champion trainer Mullins to lose 60 horses from Gigginstown House Stud IRISH champion trainer Willie Mullins and the Gigginstown House Stud have parted ways. Mullins will lose about 60 horses as a result, including Don Poli, third in this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase runner-up Valseur Lido. “I put up my fees for the first time in 10 years and Gigginstown chose not to pay

them,” Mullins told At The Races. The horses will be split between Gordon Elliott, Mouse Morris, Joseph O’Brien, Henry de Bromhead and Noel Meade. Elliott told the Irish Independent he was likely to train about 20 of them, including Don Poli, Apple’s Jade and Blow By Blow. Gigginstown said the de-

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Thursday September 29, 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) Shoaib Malik-43 not out (2) Imad Wasim (PAK) Today’s Quiz: (1) What was the result of the recent 3-match T20 series between the WI and Pakistan? (2) How many times the WI & Pakistan have now contested T20 International matches against each other? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Willie Mullins (left) will lose horses including Don Poli, Apple’s Jade and Outlander

cision had been made with “considerable regret”. It added: “We hope that an agreement can be reached at some time in the future which will allow Willie to resume buying and training more graded winners for us.” The stud is owned by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. Mullins said: “There’s a fantastic team of horses going to whoever’s going to get them, I don’t know where they are going to go. “It’s all only been in the last few hours that this has come about. I wish them the best. It’s the way it is. We just move on, I think.” (BBC Sport).

Former Kenyan officials charged with theft, fraud

(REUTERS) - Three former officials of Kenya’s disbanded Olympic committee were charged yesterday with theft and fraud offences relating to this year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro. The east African nation bagged its biggest-ever haul of medals in Brazil but doping allegations and organisational problems plagued preparations for the event.

A charge sheet seen by Reuters showed two of the officials - Francis Paul and Pius Ochieng - are accused of failing to declare uniforms donated by sports goods manufacturer Nike between June and July. A third official, Stephen Arap Soi, was charged with two counts of theft involving more than $252 000 and other related offences.

Part of the money was meant to meet accommodation costs for officials accompanying the Kenyan team in Rio de Janeiro. All the officials pleaded not guilty during a court session in Nairobi and were released on bail of 200 000 Kenyan shillings each. The trial will start on October 24. The officials were arrested

on their return from Rio at the end of August over their roles in the alleged mismanagement of the Kenyan team’s preparations for the Games The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) was disbanded on August 25 following public pressure and a directive from President Uhuru Kenyatta for the situation to be investigated.

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‘Terribly embarrassing’ if WI don’t get automatic WC qualification - Dujon

JEFF Dujon, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, has said it would be a “terrible embarrassment” if West Indies were unable to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup. West Indies are currently jostling with Pakistan for the final automatic qualification spot in the one-day rankings ahead of the series in UAE, which starts tomorrow. If Pakistan can repeat their 3-0 scoreline from the T20 series in the ODIs, they will jump ahead of West Indies into eighth place. The cut-off for qualification is September 30, 2017, with the ODI nations who sit outside the top eight then joining the qualifying tournament which is currently scheduled to take place in Bangladesh. West Indies missed out on a place in next year’s Champions Trophy after being pipped for the final berth by Pakistan and Bangladesh. “It would be a terrible embarrassment for West Indies to not automatically

qualify,” Dujon, who played in the 1983 and 1987 World Cups, told ESPNcricinfo. “It would be damaging for any team who have tasted what it’s like to be in the top echelon of world cricket. “As someone who played in a very successful era, it’s very embarrassing but it has to be an indication of exactly where we are at and something needs to be done. It hurts. “We can’t be fooled by the fact that we’ve just won two tournaments - the World T20 and the U-19 World Cup - the fact we are still struggling to qualify shows we shouldn’t get carried away with that.” On the eve of travelling to the UAE, Phil Simmons was sacked as coach - less than six months after West Indies won the World T20 - with the WICB citing “differences in culture and strategic approach.” Dujon does not believe a satisfactory explanation has been given for Simmons’ departure, despite the strained relationship he had with the board following comments about one-day selection last year.

“The sacking of Phil Simmons was a surprise. I’m not sure we have the real reasons, reasons we were given were a bit sketchy,” he said during a visit to London for a Lord’s Taverners event honouring wicketkeepers. “It’s disappointing for me that we haven’t been able to find a settled situation in the coaching area which would give the team some direction. It’s a setback. Jason Holder as captain also still has a lot to prove so things are in a pretty unstable situation now.” Simmons’ last engagement was the Test series against India where, although West Indies lost 2-0, there were moments of encouragement, particularly with Roston Chase’s match-saving maiden Test century in Jamaica and the promising returns of young quicks Miguel Cummins and Alzarri Joseph. “The talent is still there, it’s a matter of who is going to work with them to help

them develop,” Dujon said. “We are still in a situation where we are trying to solve the problem from the top down rather than the bottom. “A promising move recently is that it seems we are going to have more A-team tours which is vital for development. They are meaningful when you go and play in countries who are better than you, it gives you a better gauge of where you are at. That has to be the focus, as expensive as it may be, and hopefully we’ll have a better quality of player coming through to the top level in the next four or five years. Right now, some of the players who have come to the top level are not the complete article.” The Lord’s Taverners is the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to give disadvantaged and disabled young people a sporting chance.(ESPN Cricinfo)

Gayle to join BPL’s Novices Table Tennis Developmental Challenge Chittagong Vikings Linden juniors edge East Bank THE Linden East Bank Novices Developmental Challenge, held over the weekend at the Mackenzie High School auditorium, has been deemed a success by organiser Shavin Greene. Greene, who is also the General Secretary of the Linden Table Tennis Committee (LTTC), said it was his idea to pit the two camps together as a means of developing the skills learnt over the last few weeks. According to Greene, the tournament’s aim was to give the locals exposure against players from another area in a competitive environment in order to build the players’ character and to truly measure and evaluate their progress. The competition engaged over 49 students from East Bank and Linden who had participated in summer camps held recently in Linden and East Bank Demerara A tenacious East Bank

Former West Indies wicketkeeper Jeffrey Dujon

The winners pose with their prizes. team, coached by ITTF Level One coach Candacy McKenzie, ventured up to Linden along with some parents, courtesy of a bus provided by Director of Sport Mr Christopher Jones, following a request of the LTTC. The talent level was truly high and competition for medal positions was immensely fierce. It was truly a joy to see the level of natural talent and

potential displayed. In the end Linden emerged victorious. Despite the Linden players dominating the proceedings the tournament was a success for all players and the sport of table tennis. Coach Candacy McKenzie indicated that she would be coming stronger to avenge her loss to Linden in the near future. She felt that the Linden players had a little edge due to

their longer period of coaching. Coach Shavin Greene had other ideas as to his team’s success. All in all the concept was a great one. The committee plans to continue engaging players who participated at camps as a means of developing a core group who will become representatives for Linden and ultimately at the national level.

WEST Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has signed up with Bangladesh Premier League’s (BPL) Chittagong Vikings for the 2016-2017 season. Gayle, who previously played for Barisal Bulls, will, however, not be available to play for the team until the latter half of the tournament. The Vikings, who finished last season at the bottom of the points table, have done major retooling for the new season. In addition to Gayle the team has added Dwayne Smith and Shoaib Malik, both of whom played for Comilla Victorians last season, and Rangpur Riders’ Chaturanga de Silva and Mohammad Nabi. Gayle scored a total of 139 runs for Barisal last season. Smith has, however, not played in the tournament in 2013, while de Silva finished as the leading wicket-taker in this year’s Dhaka Premier League.

Chris Gayle Mahela Jayawardene, meanwhile, is set to join his teammate Kumar Sangakkara at Dhaka Dynamites, who also signed up Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Bopara. Jason Holder, Lendl Simmons, Ryan ten Doeschate, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Grant Elliott, Ahmed Shehzad and Herschelle Gibbs will be the other star attractions at the players’ draft. (Sportsmax.com)

Gayle to join BPL’s Chittagong Vikings (See Story on page 27 )

Chris Gayle

Elite teams absent from meeting with GFF … another tentative kick-off date set

GFF president Wayne Forde

NAMILCO Football returns to Grove Playfield this weekend

… Grove/Diamond NDC assists with ground preparations

COMPETITIVE football action is set to make a grand return to the East Bank of Demerara this weekend when the ongoing GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Intra-Association Under-17 League resumes following almost three months of inactivity due to rain which rendered the field unplayable. But, thanks to the efforts of the Grove/Diamond NDC who worked closely with the East Bank Football Association and the Grove Hi Tech Football Club, the Grove Playfield is now set to host matches again. Saturday from 10:00hrs Diamond United will play their first match of the league against Soesdyke Falcons who blasted Herstelling Raiders 11-0 in their first match which was played on June 4. The feature clash on Saturday will see Grove Hi Tech, 4-1 winners over Agricola Red Triangle also on June 4, taking on Herstelling Raiders from 12:00hrs. On Sunday, Agricola Red Triangle would be aiming to notch their first win of the competition when they engage Yarrowkabra Jaguars, the newest club on the East Bank, but who have already shown they are up to the task of competing with a come-from-behind 3-3 draw with fellow Linden Soesdyke Highway side, Kuru Kururu Warriors on June 5. The main attraction from 12:00hrs will see Mocha Champs match skills with Kuru Kururu Warriors in what is anticipated to be a keen contest. Players have been eager to get back into competitive action and fans and supporters can look forward to a weekend of entertaining action.

IN ITS bid to bring more awareness to the issue of doping in sports, the Guyana Olympics Association (GOA), which has been hosting anti-doping education sessions every Saturday for the past five weeks, yesterday held a special session for media operatives at Olympic House on High Street. The sessions are part of a continuous effort to get all stakeholders in the sports arena involved in the fight against doping in Guyana, even as the one-year ban on Guyanese cyclist Alanzo Greaves is about to end in November. The sessions are being conducted by Doping Control Officer (DCO) Charles Corbin and Guyana’s Caribbean (Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) Board member Dr Karen Pilgrim, and include informative segments such as ‘What is Doping’, ‘Why Athletes Dope’, ‘Why Doping is Banned’ and the ‘Challenges faced in

bringing about Anti-Doping Awareness’. Persons attending the sessions are also given a walkthrough of how the doping tests are conducted and the rights that athletes have when a test is being conducted on them. Doping tests are carried out on urine samples taken from the athlete in the presence of a chaperone or DCO. The athletes themselves deposit and seal the containers in which the sample is transported to the lab where the tests are conducted. The samples are marked by a number and no information about the athlete is known to those who conduct the test.. Guyana currently has four DCOs certified to conduct doping tests. Apart from Pilgrim and Corbin, there are Dr Clive Bowman and Dr Navin Rambarran. Doping tests can be conducted in and out of competition, and is usually conducted on all national teams leaving Guyana to participate internationally.

Thus far, Pilgrim noted a total of 90 persons from varying sporting disciplines across Guyana have attended the workshops on Saturdays, where two sessions are held one at 11:00hrs and another at 12:30hrs. Each session lasts only one hour. Pilgrim noted that some sports fraternities have been more responsive than others, but in the effort to ensure awareness is as widespread as possible, the sessions will continue as long as is necessary. Though the cases of doping in Guyana are few and far between, it has always been the opinion that more awareness and education needed to be done since ignorance of the law is no excuse; so athletes taking banned substances unknowingly will not be spared. Greaves was handed down the ban, which runs from November 1, 2015 to November 1, 2016, by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), after one of his urine samples tested

Slingerz FC manager Colin Aaron positive for testosterone, a well-known banned substance. Greaves case followed that of Gumendra ‘The Golden Boy’ Shewdas, Guyana’s first Under-18 Sub-Junior World Powerlifting gold medallist, who in January 2014 was banned by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) after failing an in-competition doping control test conducted in August 2013.

GOA conducting Anti-Doping workshops

Doping Control Officer, Charles Corbin, during one of the presentations on Anti-Doping at yesterday’s workshop. Sitting is Guyana’s Caribbean RADO Board Member, Dr Karen Pilgrim. (See story on page 24)

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016