Guyana chronicle epaper 09 30 2016

Bring him back No. 104690

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Price: $80

(VAT Inclusive)

…President urges all-out effort to capture Dataram

P.3

Father slays son …during P.2

drug-money fight

Children with cancer being schooled in hospital Centre

Mother of 3 missing

‒ family fears the worst

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Gold to surpass production target P.5

Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence consoles one of the female inmates of the New Amsterdam Prison during a visit to the facility on Thursday

GNNL driver assaulted by tenant 10 P.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Father slays son …during drug-money fight By Michel Outridge In a drug-induced rage, a father of five fatally stabbed one of his sons twice in the stomach on Wednesday night when he stood up in

defence of his mother, who was being beaten for $200 to buy cocaine. Dead is 24-year-old Mahesh Chand, a porter who worked on a truck,of Lot 81 Narine Street, Annandale,

East Coast Demerara. In a statement police said that investigations are being conducted into the alleged murder, which occurred at about 23:30hs onWednesday.The alleged perpetrator,who is the victim’s father,subsequently fled the scene but has since been apprehended and taken

Grieving mother, Tajeranie Chowtie

into custody. Enquiries disclosed that the suspect had requested to borrow some money from his wife who refused his request. As a result they had an altercation which turned violent. The victim, who is their son,was present and he intervened.During the altercation the suspect armed himself with a cutlass and inflicted a wound to the chest of the victim, who ran and collapsed. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, the police statement ended. COCAINE CRAVING Meanwhile, detailing the event on Thursday morning, mother of the deceased, Tajeranie Chowtie, told the Guyana Chronicle that it was about 10:30 hrs. on Wednesday when her husband, Amernauth Chand,began his usual demands for money to buy cocaine and cannabis sativa (marijuana). She stated that she was in bed with her

Murdered: Mahesh Chand

husband when he got up and began pacing the house, demanding she give him money while her son, Mahesh,was asleep in the same bedroom. As usual, the woman said he started to hit her and it was then Mahesh got up in her defence and it infuriated the man. She said her husband told their son, “You take your mother side and stand up to me.” The grieving woman related that there was a scuffle between the father and son after which the elder Chand armed himself with a cutlass from the kitchen. It was at this stage that Mahesh reportedly told his father that: “I big now,you can’t beat me anymore.” Guyana Chronicle was told that the elder Chand became angry and attacked his son,even after the young man had gone back to his bed. The woman said when her husband attacked her son she fled the house in fear and went to hide in the yard in some bushes. The other two teenage children also went into hiding. Chowtie told this

newspaper that her husband usually works as a handyman around the area and he had given her $2000 earlier in the day and they made some purchases of things needed for the house and just $400 had remained. She said her husband was aware of that and he wanted the money to buy drugs. He stole the money and even got $200 more from Mahesh just to leave her alone. The woman said that after the stabbing her son was left bleeding on the bed and then they heard when he fell from the bed;but they were afraid to go to his rescue because Chand would, from time to time ,threaten to kill all of them. She said that after her husband left the house she went to her son and saw him panting for breath. The woman said she called out for help after which the neighbours came but by then Mahesh had bled out. It was about half hour later when he was transported to the GPHC,where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Amernauth Chand was later apprehended and is in police custody. ABUSE Chowtie told the Guyana Chronicle that she suffered years of abuse at the hands of Chand and whenever she tried to leave him he would beg her to take him back. She said that because of the five children she always returned;but he never changed. The woman stated that because of fright two of her sons,ages 20 and 23 years old ,do not live with them, but rather at her sister in the same yard but in a house at the back. She noted that Mahesh,who is her eldest child,was the breadwinner of the home. Her two younger children,a 15-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter,alTurn to page 3 ►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Bring him back …President urges all-out effort to capture Dataram PRESIDENT David Granger is urging members of the local law-enforcement community to work with their counterparts in neighbouring countries and to use every possible legitimate avenue to locate and transport convicted drug lord, Barry Dataram, back to Guyana. According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, President Granger said that while he will not lay blame at the feet of any agency or individual, Dataram’s flight from Guyana was something which could have been avoided. In the recording of the Ministry of the Presidency’s weekly television programme, The Public Interest yesterday, President Granger told journalists that information suggests that Dataram is not a Guyanese and might have absconded using a

passport not issued by the government of Guyana. The President assured the media though that the police commissioner has been asked to make every effort to locate the suspect. “…so my information is that he is not travelling on a Guyanese passport. So after his disappearance, and we weren’t aware of his disappearance, we continued to work with our partners in the Caribbean to bring him to justice. If he is in Suriname as is suspected, the commissioner of police has been instructed to try to ascertain his whereabouts in neighbouring countries, but he is not using a Guyana passport, that much we know,” the Head of State said. The self-confessed drug lord was found guilty of being in possession of a quantity of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking by

Father slays... so reside with her in their one-bedroom wooden house. Chowtie said since she met her husband he has always been hooked on drugs,but back then he only used to use marijuana,but years later he began using crack cocaine. She told this newspaper that her husband did not drink alcohol, but abused drugs and had to get it 3 to 4 times a day- a habit she supported by giving him money out of fear of being beaten. The woman said too that when the children were younger he used to beat them and there was nothing she could do because he would beat her even more. Chowtie disclosed that her husband beat her a lot

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and even chopped her a few times.She wanted to see him go to jail, but was always afraid of the repercussion.One time she got very close to having him charged but her medical report was bloodied and the police did not accept it. She tried to get a new one but had the royal run-around and gave up. She reported too that when the neighbours tried to help her and the children,her husband would verbally abuse them. “My husband always used to tell Mahesh he will chop him because he does stand up for me when I getting beat and I never thought he would actually

Convicted drug trafficker Barry Dataram

Magistrate Judy Latchman earlier this week. In his absence, he was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and fined GYD$164,268,000. However, the charge was dismissed against his common-law wife, Anjanie Boodnarine, Kevin Charran and Trevor do it but everyone was afraid of him because he is very violent.” She said Mahesh and his father fought before and whenever he is hitting her,he (Mahesh) would step in to save her from being badly beaten. NEIGHBOURS On the streets,neighbours were livid, some of whom told the Guyana Chronicle that violence and loud quarrels were the norm whenever the elder Chand needs a ‘quick fix’ of drugs. They said he would often beat his wife for money to buy drugs and when the woman refuses he would throw a tantrum. Villagers said that when they heard Chand quarreling on Wednesday night,it was nothing new,but when the

Gouveia. Arrest warrants have been issued for Dataram and Boodnarine, who failed to turned up at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on September 20 and September 23. They have not been seen or heard from since; they were on bail pending the outcome of the case. “Mr. Dataram is a person of interest. He is a wellknown character in Guyana and I would expect that even though the judicial branch is separate, there should be a greater level of alertness on the part of the magistracy, in the judiciary, in matters like this and I don’t regard it as a failing on the part of law-enforcement agencies, but it is definitely an error which ought to have been avoided. The danger posed in having somebody who is now a convict out there, out of the jurisdiction is going mother began screaming for help they realised something had gone wrong. They expressed shock since they described the man as being normal when he did not ‘smoke’ but when he was under the influence of drugs, he would become violent. Residents said the man would do work for them by cleaning their yards and do other odd jobs but he was not a responsible person and hardly gave any of his earnings to his wife and he did not contribute to the home. As a result of the hardships, the children had to come out of school, and began working at a young age. They reported that Mahesh was the quiet one, who contributed to the home and looked after his siblings and mother.

to be harmful to our national interest; so I would urge the law-enforcement agencies to alert their counterparts in neighbouring states. “Even though Mr Dataram might have a foreign passport, it might be a forged passport. I would urge all law-enforcement agencies to use every legitimate measure to bring him back into this jurisdiction so that he can serve his sentence,” the President said. According to the release, the President observed that while more could have been done, it must be noted that the resources currently available to law-enforcement agencies are not sufficient to patrol every kilometre of the country’s borders and ports. The release further noted however that the government is currently acquiring the equipment necessary to aid the fight against narco- trafficking and other forms of illegal activity. “It is physically impossible to control every kilometre with our present resources. We are working on the acquisition of surveil-

President David Granger

lance aircraft, we are placing mounted police in wide open areas, we are acquiring ATVs and surveillance equipment,” he said. On April 16, 2015 at Dataram’s house located at 661 Silver Dam, Fourth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, 33 parcels of cocaine were found in an upstairs bathroom, 180 pieces in a blue baby tub and 92 pieces in a black garbage bag in the downstairs dining room, and 142 pieces in a freezer with shrimp in the outer yard area. The cocaine amounted to 129.230 kilograms, which is equivalent to 284 pounds.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

One dead, dozens hurt

A WOMAN has been killed and 108 other people injured, some of them critically, after a commuter train crashed into a railway station in the US state of New Jersey. The train reportedly went through ticket barriers and into the reception area of Hoboken Station. Images show extensive damage to the train’s carriages and station, with part of the building’s roof caved in. Witnesses described a scene of horror at the station. A huge emergency services operation swung into action following the crash, with firefighters and transport staff helping people from wrecked carriages. ACROSS THE RIVER Hoboken is across the Hudson River from New York City. Many commuters use the busy station to travel into Manhattan.

--in New Jersey train crash New Jersey Governor Chris Christie confirmed there had been one fatality. She has been identified as Hoboken resident, Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, aged 34. Mr Christie said she was struck by debris while standing on a platform. Governor Christie said the train’s driver, later identified as Thomas Gallagher, aged 48, was in serious condition and being treated at a local hospital, but was co-operating with investigators. “We have no indication that this is anything but a tragic accident,” he added. Mark Cardona was on the platform at the time. “The runaway train missed me by 10-15 feet (3-5m),” he told the BBC. “There was absolutely zero

chance to react,” Mr Cardona said. “It went full speed into and then through the building. “I froze. People were screaming; the ceiling started to collapse. I ran for my life.”

Ben Fairclough, a witness who was at the station, told the BBC: “I wasn’t on the train, but I arrived just after it happened. There was water coming down off the roof, and people climbing out through the windows. “There were people sit-

ting down with blood coming from their head. There were lots of injuries.” Governor Christie said officials had no estimate on when the NJ Transit section of the Hoboken Terminal would re-open. The structural integrity of the part of the building used for PATH commuter trains has been deemed safe, and was expected to resume service later yesterday.

Vice-Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Bella Dinh-Zarr, said the agency would be looking into whether there were any similarities between yesterday’s crash and one at the same station in 2011 that injured 34 people. An NTSB investigation found excessive speed to be the main cause of the 2011 accident. (BBC)

Clinton accuses Trump of Cuba embargo breach HILLARY Clinton says presidential rival Donald Trump appears to have violated US laws, after a report said he broke a trade embargo with Cuba. Newsweek reports that Mr Trump’s company secretly conducted business in Cuba, violating the US trade embargo against the country. The company allegedly spent at least $68,000 (£52,300) in Cuba in 1998. Mr Trump’s spokesman,

Kellyanne Conway said the money was not paid, and that he was against deals with Cuba. Mr Trump has also repeatedly said he had rejected offers to invest in Cuba. The Newsweek report says Mr Trump’s company funnelled the cash through a US consulting firm to make it appear legal. Mrs Clinton said: “We have laws in our country, and the efforts that Trump was making to get into the Cuban market, putting his business

interests ahead of the laws of the United States and the requirements that businesses were operating under with sanctions, shows that he puts his personal and business interests ahead of the laws and values and the policies of the United States of America.” “This is something they’re going to have to give a response to,” said Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American senator from Florida, who has endorsed Mr Trump. “I

mean, it was a violation of American law, if that’s how it happened. “I hope the Trump campaign is going to come forward and answer some questions about this, because if what the article says is true -- and I’m not saying that it is, we don’t know with 100% certainty -- I’d be deeply concerned about it,” he told a podcast hosted by ESPN and ABC. (BBC)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Lawrence on visit to NA prisons

MINISTER of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence on Thursday took a first hand look at the facilities at the New Amsterdam Male and Female Prisons during which she interacted with inmates and held discussions with the authorities there. Among those concerns are the need to upgrade the kitchen; renovation to the roof of the female prison, some of the structures and the dining hall; and improve the water facilities. Female prisoners also sought intervention to minimise the heat in the building and make accommodation for skills training. However, the facility lacks the necessary space to conduct such, according to Assistant Superintendent Olivia Cox and Mr. Paul James Acting Superintendent of Prisons, who accompanied the Minister on the tour of the facilities. In a release, the Ministry of Social protection said that at present one prisoner teaches fellow inmates to knit, while another teach them to sew. They requested raw materials to support these initiatives. During a tour of the kitchen, it was found that there is no nutritionist on staff, the release added, noting that inmates also re-

Minister Volda Lawrence and other staff of her Ministry and the New Amsterdam Female Prison these are the People of Worth Entrepreneurial Requested that the prison be sources (POWER) and the outfitted with a gym, as there Women of Worth (WOW) is no space for recreational Programmes. The POWactivities. ER offer micro credit to Lawrence, the release statcouples and male single ed, committed to seeking parents in difficult circumsupport for repairs to the roof, stances. The loan amounts the kitchen and dining hall upwill range from $100,000 grades and procurement of a - $200,000 for expansion suitable water pump to supply of their small business the facilities with potable waventures, at an interest ter. She also agreed to discuss rate of 6 percent. The loan other concerns they have with period is 12-24 months her colleague, the Minister of and the Guyana Bank for Public Security. Trade and Industry (GBTI) Minister Lawrence used is the lending institution. the opportunity to inform Through WOW female inmates about empowerment single parents could access programmes they can access loans on concessionary through the Ministry when terms at (GBTI), as well as they would have been reunder similar conditions. leased from prison. Among

“When you leave here, we want to help you get back on your feet and we can do so through these programmes, so when you get out, you can come to the Ministry for assistance. Many of you in here may also require assistance for your children and we can look at that,” she offered. Over at the male prison, officials voiced concerns about the physical conditions of the buildings. Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels said that monies are placed in successive budgets for repairs, but the resources available cannot cover all the needed repairs. Nevertheless, he said requests for several upgrades were submitted for the 2017 budget to improve facilities at the various prisons. The Minister’s visit coincided with Prison Week being observed at various prisons across the country and she was treated to a rendition of songs by female inmates who are rehearsing for the upcoming “Prison in Concert”. Among those accompanying the Minister to the prisons was Member of Parliament John Adams, President of the St. Francis Community Developers, Alex Foster, Regional Executive Officer (ag) Claude Henry.

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Gold to surpass 2016 production target

GOLD declarations are 94 per cent more than it was at this time last year, and remains on track to surpass the 555,000 ounces projection set at the start of 2016. The Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday quoted Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, as saying, “In mining, we are doing relatively well,” in that gold declarations for the first quarter of the year stood at 161,942 ounces, and that the figure could very well reach 600,000 ounces. Trotman also said that the sector has been making positive developments in reducing the incidence of gold smuggling, but that the public will learn more about this later in the year. In addition, the sector has been making strides in eliminating the use of mercury in gold-mining. “There is some resistance, but at the same time I would say that a majority of miners are willing to comply,” Trotman reportedly said. The elimination of mercury from mining is part of modernising the technologies used in the extractive sector. The government has been working on an action plan aimed at minimising and eventually eliminating the use of mercury in mining. Meanwhile, for other minerals, the minister said that bauxite continues to improve in production when compared to last year. However, the mining of stones has been problematic. Trotman said he will be making a statement on this next week.

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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

Rethinking protocol and Guyana’s image PROTOCOL in government is defined as “The official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions.” A country’s protocol defines it in the image of self and others. Whereas some countries place a high premium on adherence, others treat protocol with varying degrees of apathy. Independent Guyana emerged from a tradition of British customs and practices which have held significant sway in shaping our protocol that has incorporated an admixture of indigenous flair. Such approach is not uncommon to countries around the world that have had British influences. Taking note of evolving trends in Guyana, it is not untrue to say that for some time now the premium placed on protocol has been relaxed. During previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administrations, the argument used to justify deviation was one of partisan politics, with apparently little or no regard for the consequences such posed to Guyana’s image, local and external, and the erosion of acceptable standards. Unfortunately, this relaxing led to the falling of standards by public officials and in the public sphere, including Guyana’s interaction with foreign dignitaries that presented embarrassing situations to those who know otherwise. It was not unusual to find a protocol official standing flummoxed or with resigned countenance when faux pas occurred. Another feature is that with the miniaturising of importance came the miniaturising of knowledge, in written form, as to what protocol constitutes, more so a local blueprint. In this Information Age when other nations have taken to the Internet and electronic communication to ensure citizens and other interests are aware of its protocol on various aspects of state, Guyana stands out as not exploiting these media. Few are aware of Guyana’s protocol system and where it can be accessed. This is something the Department of Public Information may find worthy of attention. Within this year issues surrounding occasions such as the flag-raising ceremony and State Dinner for the 50th Anniversary, and dress codes in government offices have attracted spirited debates. These two issues have bearing on protocol. In common, they revealed the level of knowledge pertaining to handling the issues, their relevance to state and nationhood, and ensuring the maintenance of a particular image. In the former it has to do with the Government executing State events consistent with established procedures and rules, though how many are aware of these left very little doubt. In the latter, while there is need to revisit the dress codes members of the public are asked to conform to when doing business at offices, such should not come at the expense of ensuring held propriety and decorum of our

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

President must take action to bring economic, social benefits to all Dear Editor

I RESPECT Dominic Gaskin very much, since I think as Treasurer of the Alliance For Change (AFC), he ticked all the right boxes in running a tight financial ship in the 2011 elections campaign unlike a totally clueless General Secretary in David Patterson. He was extremely consistent in his demands for full accountability from all the field staff then. So in 2011, I was proud of his work. But clearly, as Minister of Business, Dominic has lost his way. I speak specifically to the fact that he proudly declared in the local press that “no new investment proposal has yet borne fruits” after 16 months under his watch. To add to that pitiable performance, he then went on to cement why this is the case by saying that “due to the contractual agreement between the Government and CHEC (the Airport Contractor), the state cannot prevent the contracting firm from importing 300,000 tons of stone.” I say this is too much malarkey from Minister Gaskin. Here is another situation where the Granger administration is clearly out to lunch on the big developmental issues. So the children of Guyanese taxpayers will be asked to pay back a loan to China in the future, but that same loan is working to create many new

jobs in Suriname rather than Guyana, in an industry where we have a core competence locally. Minister Gaskin is making these statements in an environment where the Granger administration has not delivered on its promise to create new jobs for young people. When will this national burden subside, where we continue to create too few new jobs all because of the overwhelming occurrences of deformity in strategic thinking in the public service. We compound this mess, we continue to receive some asinine and reckless public statements from most of our ministers with very few exceptions. Can you imagine that the biggest contract that is being implemented under Team Granger that was incubated under Team Jagdeo is working to serve the State of Suriname rather than the State of Guyana? And we talk about territorial integrity? This STONE SCAM is one of the greatest give aways of our wealth. This decision to sign such a weak contract for the people will destroy our internal wealth-creation capacity by lifting all of that potential into a foreign land? This is nothing but developmental disparity; we pay and Suriname plays. What the Granger administration has done with this airport contract was to have kept TEAM

GUYANA on the bench as spectators to the game, when by right, we have the talent, the materials and the ability to produce every stone needed for our national airport. This now raises the important consideration: was there any financial kickbacks to orchestrate this anti-national and anti-patriotic move to disregard the Guyanese stone industry and its workers? I do not believe the legal and procurement thinkers in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure are that stupid to allow this state of affairs to happen naturally. Thus I am considering the position that there may be a revolting situation of financial skulduggery on this project. Have the contractors gotten to the key players in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure? This situation demands a forensic audit and even a project audit from the Office of the Auditor General since “something may be rotten in the state of Guyana,” if I am permitted to paraphrase the line spoken by Marcellus in the Shakespearean masterpiece Hamlet. Well sorry Minister Gaskin, you are wrong. This contract is a frontal attack on the Guyanese private sector. But because of this adulterated legal agreement that was modified under the Granger administration, the people in the quarry and construction sector will clearly not be your allies.

If one interrogates the two premier government reports at this time, (the Minister of Finance Mid-Term 2016 Report and the Bank of Guyana 2016 Half Year Report), one can find evidence of the fall-out from stupid decisions like this one to procure stones from a foreign country. In the first half of 2016, activities in the construction sector declined by 8% and this was attributed to in these government reports to “weaker investments in private construction.” Who would not hide their money in such an environment of great economic uncertainty? One can also look at the credit disbursed from the local banking sector to the construction sector, which is a good proxy to assess the investment appetite of the local quarrying and contracting community. Credit to the construction sector declined by 27% during January– June 2016. Now with all this information at the disposal of President Granger, let us see what he will do? Ignore the reality and throw the Guyanese people under the bus by allowing the status quo to continue or take Presidential action to bring economic and social justice to the Guyanese people Regards SASE SINGH

The documentary film on Walter Rodney Dear Editor

I RECENTLY attended the screening of a documentary film titled W.A.R. Walter Anthony Rodney produced by Clairmont Chung. The film was screened as part of the Kwame Toure Memorial Lecture Series during the Emancipation Day celebrations in Port of Spain in August this year. After viewing the film, I became more convinced

that the academic and politician, Walter Rodney, was very concerned about African people in the Caribbean and Africa, as well as in his own African culture and identity. He must be highly commended for embracing his ethnicity and not denying it as his political colleague, Rupert Roopnaraine. I had expected that Roopnaraine would have complemented Rodney by having the same interest in Indian

culture, which in the first instance have informed the rules. Similarly, established dress codes should apply to public officials in the workplace and when attending official events. The image of Guyana by Guyanese and foreigners is usually formed foremost by our visionary sense. And where this sense plays an important role in laying first impression in shaping perception of a people, their environment, the manner in which they conduct business, and how they should be treated, the importance of protocol cannot be ignored or downplayed. Further, there is a difference between the protocol of popular culture vis-a-vis the protocol of formal culture. The two ought not to be conflated for they serve different purposes and have their time and place. While the protocol of popular culture tends to be more casual and even resistant to formal

people, their traditions and identity. I was disappointed in Roopnaraine who did not learn a thing from his guru Rodney. The documentary featured interviews with Rex Nettleford, Eusi Kwayana, Clive Thomas and Rupert Roopnaraine. Former Indo-Guyanese WPA front-liner, Moses Bhagwan, was not interviewed in the film. The film depicted Rodney as being preoccupied with the African Liberation Struggle.

Was Roopnaraine involved in any Indian Liberation Struggle in Guyana or elsewhere? Rodney was either affiliated to, or had established, the Black Writers Congress, Black Arts Movement and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Was Roopnaraine either affiliated to, or had established any Indian literary group or See page 7

etiquette, formal culture does not have that latitude and such ought not to be imposed on it. Formal culture comes with established rules of etiquette for state/officialdom. For instance, in the popular culture, revellers’ treatment of a country’s flag do not necessarily abide by formal requirements. And whereas this can be excused given the nature of the event, in a formal setting similar treatment reflects contempt for the symbol of sovereignty, nationhood, and those who have struggled to make it possible. It helps the society to be discerning. Where Guyana has deviated Government may find it timely and appropriate to seek to return the country to its rightful place among nations that treat and regard protocol with deserving respect, aware of its implications. While the past cannot be undone the past can serve as lessons of what not to continue.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

PPP must allow local democracy to work Dear Editor,

OVER the years that the PPP was in office we saw dictatorship at all levels from local governance (NDCs) to central government. We saw and heard ministers and top PPP officials dictate what should or must happen at various levels. They did not allow the right procedures to take their course. Now that they are in opposition they are still forcing to be dictators, as to what should be happening at the levels they control. I can recall that the minister who was heading the then Ministry of Local Government made an order for NDC Overseers to be transferred to different NDCs to work. The reason given to the Guyanese people was that the overseers cannot function properly because they are not living in the area they are serving. But this wasn’t the case. The then minister wanted control of all the NDCs and municipalities, so he put his PPP personnel as overseers

and town clerks at the opposition-controlled entities. We saw during that time when the overseers and town clerks were transferred that developmental works started to fall in the community\villages. This is because of poor knowledge of the area they served and mostly because many of them have to do what the then PPP minister had said. Today in Berbice, both Regions Five and Six we are seeing the dictatorship that the PPP is portraying within the NDCs and towns that they control. They are directing their overseers and town clerks what to do. That is to stop or undermine all developmental works that should be happening within their areas of control. I would like to remind Mr Anil Nandlall, who on his weekly TV programme here on NTN in Berbice, is telling officials of the NDCs and towns that they do not have to listen to central government or the subject minister. But can do what they want because the PPP

The documentary ... From page 6

Indian social movement? In 1966, Rodney lectured in African History at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Was Roopnaraine ever interested in teaching Indian history or literature in Guyana or in the Indian Diaspora? The documentary highlighted Rodney’s classic How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972). I would have expected that Roopnaraine would have complemented Rodney’s research with a book on the Unspoken Story of the Indian Holocaust: the history of manmade famines in India during nearly

two centuries of British rule (1757-1947) when 1.8 billion Indians died mainly of starvation. Why Indian leaders and intellectuals are like Roopnaraine afraid of, and always running away from, their own shadow? Roopnaraine is now the Minister of Education. He is now in partnership with a party that reportedly assassinated Rodney, his close friend and colleague, in 1980 when President Forbes Burnham was in power in Guyana. Regards DR KUMAR MAHABIR, San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago

put them there. Mr Nandlall should know that this is not the time to play with the local development of our people. This is the time for us to work towards a better Guyana. Under the PPP money was spent like sand, yet not a single street stood the test of time. Not a playground was properly built. Not a proper drainage system was put in place. Bush was all over the street corners and workers from the Community Enhancement Programme were used to clean places for PPP rallies and meetings. They were used to build stages and transfer all types of things for the PPP public meetings throughout Berbice. In Region Five and I say this without fear that the PPP should be ashamed to bring a man who has no support in his own region to run Region Five, PPP and Freedom House affairs. That is not my concern. But what bothers me is the insult the PPP is showing to the people of Region Five, especially those that are their supporters, by telling them they are not qualified and fit to run the PPP’s affairs in the region. Isn’t this an insult to the many youths who say they love the PPP?. This shows total disrespect and the dictatorship they are involved

in at the local level. This brings me to the point where this said PPP supervisor called a press conference a few days back. At the press conference he had several members of PPP-controlled NDCs in the region talking about works not being done in their areas. One of the NDC officials from Bush Lot mentioned the flooding and whereas machines were deployed but none was deployed into Bush Lot to assist. Well I was ashamed to hear this gentleman saying this on national television, because it’s far from the truth. During the recent flooding in #30 to Golden Grove area, the Bush Lot area wasn’t under severe flooding, but those areas were. Over the years that the PPP was in power they did nothing to assist the residents of those areas, knowingly it’s a low-lying area that can be flooded easily. The machines weren’t deployed to clean drain after drain, but to clean the main outfalls canals\drains in the area and to assist in getting the water to recede through the Trafalgar and Bush Lot outlets\sluices. The advice to this gentleman who sits on the NDC is for him to ask those people in

his area that are blocking the small drains not to do so. If anyone had visited the Bush Lot area they would know of the poor drainage system that this government inherited from the PPP in that area. So that gentleman needs to educate himself as to who are the ones responsible for the poor drainage maintenance over the past 23 years of his PPP party in power. This now brings me to another matter that was highlighted by the vice-chairman of the Bath\Woodley Park NDC. The gentleman said that works in the area could not be done due to the fact that the NDC subvention is not being given for the year 2016. Now this is another PPP-controlled NDC that works with what the PPP and the foreign party supervisor say to them. Since this government came into being this NDC seems to always have 100% problems, no solution. It seems as if the subvention is a big thing, but it’s far from truth. This NDC collects rates and taxes like all other NDCs. This NDC collects rent from the Bath Settlement daily market, also rent from the vendors that sell every Friday on the tarmac opposite the Bath pay office.

They collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from rental of the Bath Community Centre Ground since they took office. I can speak about this NDC more because I live within this NDC. The management of the NDC sees it fit to place street barriers for millions of dollars, but yet the streets are being destroyed. Why, because instead of blocking the main access streets, they decided to block streets that the people have no use for. I call upon the managers of the NDCs to do the work they ought to do and to remember that the PPP did not put you there but the people. Stop undermining the developmental process and allow your community to benefit from development. The people in the villages are not stupid, they know that development is not taking place within, because the people they put there are listening to politicians that have to run from their own region because of non-support. Regards ABEL SEETARAM APNU+AFC Regional Councilor

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Art, the threshold of all human science I BELIEVE that the arts are the threshold of the scientific imagination, a belief I have advocated before and featured in this column on December 13 and 27, 2015. I came across a letter by Rosh Khan, MD, titled ‘Arts education is a key to creativity’ in the June 30, 2016 edition of the Stabroek News. This was one of the rare letters addressing this subject of the arts having a direct impact on scientific curiosity, so I have come to revisit the nexus between the Arts and Sciences. The indisputable fact that we need to enhance our deeper attention to scientific reasoning in Guyana is agreed. But it is naïve to think that this process will morph outside of the naturally inclined few, within a supportive environment, as against the broader human borders where self motivation stands alone. In the social science of Politics, the Arts, specifically comic books, have commanded an important part abroad; and in Guyana, artistic renditions have enforced the cultural and ethnic positions of the colonial period. And many of those falsified images are still

saturating our consciousness today. ARCHIVAL NECESSITY As a young nation, we have not understood the archival necessity of capturing visual periods. In the pre-independence tension and violent years, I was a young child, yet the definition of Communism that carried me to my early teens was based on a comic book distributed by the United Force; or so I was told. This comic book, which had images of a peasant woman attempting to vote, were intercepted by an aggressive soldier to see who she was voting for. It was about a clash between two knights: A bad red knight, and the good white knight. I did not then know that Afro-Americans, during those same years, were not allowed to vote in most states in the USA. That I can still recall imagery from a political comic book from over 50 years ago outlines the impact the graphic image has on the psyche. Sad to say, I have been unable to put my hands on a copy of that book.

The National Geographic is a favourite illustrated magazine-journal of millions worldwide, including me. Its scientific and anthropological-archaeological content is excellently presented, but not above criticism when it comes to the imagery of Africans in antiquity: Khemet, the Olmecs, etc. But I crossread; and First World countries have such incredible museums, they make ours look like an antique variety shop. So, their period costumes and maps are exceptional. I just eliminate the 18th Century narratives when I come across them, and mentally convert the imagery to the current data. NOVEL PRESENTATIONS Recent editions of the National Geographic have used novel, state-of-the-art graphic presentations to illustrate science articles with ‘dummies’ like myself in mind. This is a progressive upgrade, but not new to science magazines such as Discover and Science Illustrated. The problem with Guyana is that respective ministries are not poised in a commercial mode; and in a small country forced to compete with nations light years ahead of us, we have to accelerate and embrace initiatives; gauging from external experiences and applying results relative to our needs. This requires embracing new thinking and reliable expertise and in a timely manner; because, with public authorities, urgency or lines of communication seems not an essential spark. To teach art in the schools would be a plus, in keeping with the groundbreaking return of music into the school curriculum. But there is need for external impetus to cultivate the attention that the youth in my early school years paid to the ‘Look and Learn’ tabloid magazines that spiked our curiosity then, which, despite TV and computers today, can have a meaningful impact. Art and Music education alone will not create the intended atmosphere, as long as science remains exotic and imaged as an external entity with no cultural-psychological umbilical connection to the world of the intended group. Scenarios and imagery cannot

be transplanted verbatim without leaving a cultural vacuum. YOUNG ‘NATURE BOY’ When I worked at the GRB (Guyana Rice Board) in the 70s, there was a janitor named Mr Prescott, or ‘Nature Boy’; he lived in Campbellville. His son was a welder, but he had an incredible talent for engineering, within the scope of his limits. He constructed combat tanks and other vehicles out of scraps of metal; and his creations were animated. He made the newspapers. And that was it! The ancient world was ahead of us in managing specific expertise; they developed guilds for blacksmiths, sculptors, weavers, stone cutters, healers, etc. They ensured that techniques were passed on. These guilds had their own representatives, and progressed and endured from their tribal kingdoms; they are the foundation of our current scientific and industrial development. I can recall Ras Tom Dalgetty, a chemist by profession, explaining to me how political intellectuals failed to heed technical advice and vision at Linden in its heyday, thus sadly preventing the development of what could have been a vibrant ceramics culture. From where we are in Guyana today, the lessons of the past are a vibrant motivation, because, to bridge the chasm, a lot of things have to be done simultaneously. And yes! The arts are a practical and proven conduit!

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Plan launched to improve research capacity of UG nursing programme THE Guyana Nurses Association in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Guyana (UG) launched the Gwen Tross Research Foundation on Thursday, which is an improvement plan for students and nurses from the Health Science Faculty to achieve more than a Bachelor's degree in their field of study. This is done through a research process in which persons are asked to complete topics relating to health, such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Cancer among a few. After a research is completed, the Tross Foundation provides a communication team to analyse the research thoroughly in order to assess its worth. If it is found that the research was well developed, the student is granted financial assistance from the Foundation or a scholarship from the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO)

a Foundation, since she was not granted the opportunity to forward her education abroad. It was noted that initial funding will be offered to nurses who are interested in reaching their full potential of studies. However, the nurses were urged to arrange fund-raising exercises in order to build

Founder of the Gwen Tross Research Foundation, Gwendolin Tross

to further their studies in the required field. Meanwhile, at the launching, founder of the Foundation, Gwendolin Tross expressed her love for research, revealing that she was motivated to start such

New PPP City Councillor sworn in

PEOPLE’s Progressive Party (PPP) representative, Mr. Khame Prakash Sharma, was on Monday sworn in as a new city councillor at City Hall. Mr. Sharma is replacing Mr. Tameshwar Boodhoo who resigned recently to pursue academic studies. A former Biology teacher at North Georgetown Secondary School, Mr. Sharma has obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Education. Apart from being an educator, he is also a pharmacist.

Khame Prakash Sharma

and contribute to the success of the programme. According to Mrs. Tross, “not everyone that plans to be a part of the foundation will be funded to complete the programme,� as the funding process depends on the quality of work being presented. A committee will be set up in order to grade the research and the best ones will

be selected to continue their studies with the assistance of the foundation. Those persons selected, will have strict guidelines on their quality of studies, while demonstrating that they have a passion for the nursing profession. Coordinator of the BSC Nursing Degree Programme, Afesha Marshall urged students to take up

the opportunity, as she believes that they can excel in the research process which will move them from where they are today to a more secure foundation. Lecturers are also advised to use the foundation as a learning opportunity so that they can better their skills while at the same time better those of the students.

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Mother of 3 missing ‒ family fears the worst A METEN-MEER-ZORG, West Coast Demerara family is in distress after a mother of three disappeared on September 15 and has not been seen or heard from since. Missing is 26-year-old Nadira Persaud, who left her mother’s 173 Railway View, Meten-Meer-Zorg home to go shopping in Georgetown and never returned home. Persaud has left her

husband and three children – ages 7 months, 6 and 7 -behind and calls to her cellphone have not been answered. Her distraught mother, Babita Harripersaud told the Guyana Chronicle that the children have been left in her care and are constantly asking where their mother is. “The father took the little baby to live with him in Wakenaam because we don’t know where she is and the

other children keep asking for her. We tell dem’ she deh in the hospital and she will come back soon,” Harripersaud said. Relatives have already checked the Georgetown Hospital and other health facilities, fearing the worst. According to Harripersaud, the young mother has never disappeared before and prior to September 15, she did not act in any way that would be deemed unusual. The mother said she is not aware of any marital problems between

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

her daughter and the husband, who is a mason by profession. “People know she missing and we search all by we family them and nobody see she or hear from she. We are very worried; we just want to know that she is ok. The children miss she a lot,” the

Missing: Nadira Persaud

distressed mother expressed. A missing person report has been made to the Leonora and Vreed-en-Hoop Police Stations. Persons who may have information on Nadira Persaud are urged to contact her mother on telephone number 2751007.

GNNL driver assaulted by tenant

Ronnie Rogers awaiting medical attention at GPHC

A SENIOR driver attached to the Guyana National Newspaper Limited (GNNL) was lashed to the neck with a hammer during a dispute with one of his tenants. The incident took place on Thursday at around 11:30h at Lot 69 Durban Street Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown. After reporting the matter to the Brickdam Police Station, the GNNL employee, Ronnie Rogers, was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). While waiting to do an x-ray to the neck, Rogers told Guyana Chronicle that the incident stemmed from a confrontation which took place Wednesday night. He explained that a neighbour had contacted the tenant’s girlfriend Wednesday night, informing her that electrical sparks were seen in the lower flat of the two-storied building. After some hesitation, Rogers said that the tenant, who still has keys to the premises although he no longer lives there, arrived to check out the claims. “He eventually turned up and the neighbour explained what was going on…He then went into the premises and turned off the main switch with the neighbour,” Rogers said. While standing in the yard, he reportedly asked the

tenant for his rent. “I asked him for the balance of the rent that the court asked him to give to me and he cuss up and verbally abuse me,” the GNNL employee said. The man reportedly owes the driver $250,000. Rogers said on Thursday, while working he decided to visit the premises after receiving a call from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), informing him that they were about to conduct further investigation. “When I reached there I saw him (the tenant) emptying the downstairs, so I took out my cell phone, to take out the pictures to send it to my lawyer, so he could see what was being done.” Rogers said it was then he was attacked physically. “He rolled a pink table on me, so when he rolled the table to me I jumped back with my cell phone and he took a yellow hammer, a metal hammer and lash it to my neck,” he recalled. Rogers reportedly fell in a nearby drain and lost consciousness. “When I catch myself two GPL employees were picking up me from the gutter,” he said. A report was subsequently made to the police and the driver was transported to the hospital by one of his colleagues. He remains a patient in the public hospital as the police conduct their investigation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Container fee implementation

Gov’t demands financial statement from City Hall TRIPARTITE meetings among the government, City Hall and the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to discuss the implementation of a container fee in the city, have been delayed due to Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan’s request for a financial statement from the City Council. A source told this newspaper on Thursday that Minister Bulkan has assured some officers involved that the delay in convening a meeting was not due to a lack of commitment or resolve on government’s part. Rather, he said he saw the need for a perusal of the financial state of the municipality in order to enable proper decision-making. Minister Bulkan has reportedly said that such a statement is especially important, given that it is felt that it is revenue-expediency that drove the “vexed” initiatives of the parking meters and the container fees. According to the source, the minister was provided the statement by Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, and he has since concluded that the City Council is not in a financial crisis that the public is led to believe. City Hall has time and again cited the need for the said projects to come on stream in order to provide critical services to citizens. In the case of the container fees, City Hall has said that the money is needed to repair roads which the containers have damaged over the years. City Hall had decided to reduce the container fee from $25,000 to $5,000 following a meeting on August 5 with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the PSC. It was

on the issue, a source at the PSC, who requested anonymity, told this newspaper that this is not the first time that the mayor has sought to attack the commission.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan

agreed that the reduction would be an interim measure and that the fees would be collected at the various ports and wharves from August 1. The $25,000 container fee which City Hall had sought to implement attracted much criticism from members of the business community and the PSC. Some businessmen had also resorted to the courts, accusing the City Council of illegally implementing such a fee. The court had ruled in favour of the businessmen. Meanwhile, some time ago, the mayor had criticised the PSC for being slothful in addressing the cost for the contentious container fees issue, declaring that she was not sure if the delay was a means of stalling the work of City Hall. “Even though we are collecting the $5000 retroactive from August 1, in the interim I don’t want to have an interim of five years. I need to have that interim period completed as early as possible, so that we can move forward with our by-laws as regards container fees,” ChaseGreen had told city councillors. Meanwhile, when contacted for a comment

Nurses shut down Sophia clinic after robbery THE health centre in ‘C’ Field, Sophia was again robbed on Wednesday, causing nurses there to put up a “closed until further notice” sign. The last time the facility was robbed, the nurses had vowed not to work there any longer until something is done about the spate of robberies there. A resident in the area told the Chronicle, on condition of anonymity, that the nurses are very scared to work at the centre having been robbed several times in the past. “This is bad for the community because this is the only health centre around,” the resident lamented.

The gunman, who went to take a patient for medical treatment, waited until they went in to the nurse to stage the robbery. The patient’s details, and the car number that took him and the robber to the centre were handed over to the authorities, the resident informed this newspaper. According to him, there is a female security officer at the site who is incapable of dealing with this situation as the robbers are armed. “These are young men ages 15-19 and no older,” said the resident. No major damage was done this last time as the nurses quickly raised an alarm, causing the

robber to escape. During a previous robbery, a gunman pretending to be suffering from severe back pain, robbed a doctor and four nurses of their personal belongings at the said centre. While he was inside the medical centre, an accomplice was on the lookout in the waiting area. The doctor was with a patient when a nurse entered the room and informed him about the patient with the back pain. The bandit then rushed into the room and pulled out a gun, robbing the doctor of his gold band and chain. The nurses were also relieved of their cellphones.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Youth unemployment remains high ‒ 2012 census

Youth unemployment remains relatively high in Guyana,although showing signs of a marginal decrease when compared to statistics taken in 2002. According to Compendium Three (3) of the 2012 Population and Housing Census issued recently by the Bureau of Statistics, an analysis of unemployed persons indicates that there is a ‘very high’ incidence of youth unemployment. The statistical report indicates that 10,326 or 37% of the 17,571 Guyanese between the ages of 15 and 19 are unemployed. In 2002, the unemployment rate for this age group stood at 38%. Additionally, 16.8% or 6,485 of the 32,107 persons that fell within the 20-24

age group had no jobs. Back in 2002, the percentage for this category stood at 18.1%. However, with increasing age, the unemployment rates decline, as such only 3,370 of the 31,726 Guyanese between the ages of 30 and 34 are unemployed. In putting the statistics into context, the Bureau explained that the high incidence of unemployment among young people is nothing new in developing countries,particularly those between the ages of 15 and 24,due to the fact that many of them have no work experience. “Unemployment levels for them therefore are usually high, and this is also evident in Guyana. The 1519 years age-group for both

sexes has unemployment levels that are almost four times as high as the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups. For the 20-24 years age-group, unemployment levels are high, but only twice as high as for the older ages,” the Bureau explained. Overall, the unemployment rate in Guyana is approximately 12.5%, according to the census taken in 2012. According to that census, Guyana has a working-age population of 504,325,of which 279,799 persons make up the labour force, which includes the total number of persons 15 years and over who were actually employed or seeking employment. But not everyone in the work force is making a con-

tribution to the economic development of the country. In fact, approximately 34,964 persons living in Guyana at the time of the census were unemployed while 244,835 or 87.5% had managed to secure employment. “Accordingly, the results reveal that 87.5 percent of persons participating in the labour force in 2012 had jobs;the others, approximately 12.5 percent were unemployed. Interestingly, using the same twelve-month timeframe for 2002 labour force data, the results also indicate that the unemployment rate in the country had remained practically unchanged during the ten-year period,” the Bureau pointed out. It was noted that the variations of unemployment among males and females are always noticeable, but the socio-economic factors associated with these disparities are still very much unclear in Guyana. As such, while the national employment and unemployment rates remained the same over the intercensal period, there was variation in the rates for males and females. “Of the women in the labour force in the 2012 Census, 83.3 percent were employed and 16.7 percent unemployed compared to 2002

where there was a marginal difference of 83.7 percent employed and 16.3 percent unemployed respectively. This compared with males in the labour force who had 89.2 percent employment rate and 10.8 percent unemployment rate in 2002, improving marginally to 89.4 percent employment rate and a 10.6 percent unemployment rate in 2012 census,” the Bureau explained. Notably, two-thirds of the women in the working-age group were not in the labour force because a substantial number of them were doing ‘home duties.’ On average, 27.7 percent of the working-age population was involved in home duties, 7.6 percent attended school, 7.0 percent retired, 1.8 percent had some form of disability, hence could not work, and a combined total of 0.3 percent comprised ‘other reasons’ and ‘not stated.’ It was said that the historical variations in the principal economic activities between males and females of working age continued in 2012. According to the statistical report, for the males who comprised 49.1 per cent of the total working-age population, 77.2 percent

was recorded economically active (working or looking for a job). Of the remaining 22.8 percent who were economically inactive, 7.3 percent were still attending school, 6.9 percent were retired from active participation, 6.1 percent performed home duties and 2.1 percent was disabled. In contrast, females comprised the greater proportion of the working age population (50.9 percent),yet only 34.6 percent was economically active and 65.4 percent economically inactive. In those inactive categories, home duties dominated and accounted for 48.6 percent, while of the remaining categories, students accounted for 8.0 percent. Approximately 7 percent of the others were retirees. “On average for the entire country, 44.5 percent of the persons of working-age population were not engaged in any economic activity, thus implying that the national average is heavily weighted by the number of women of working-age who are still performing home duties,” the Bureau stated. Guyana has a population of approximately 747,000 persons. However,only 504,325 are of working age.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Teachers pay talks not tied with GPSU’s

– President Granger

PRESIDENT David Granger on Thursday said that the proposed salary increases, which has been put forward to the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) for 2016, is not the same for the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU). The President said that the two negotiations are separate. “It is not my view that the GTU negotiations were part of the negotiations with [the] GPSU. I would have expected a separate arrangement to be made and I would say that the actual agreement between the Ministry of Education and Guyana Teachers Union should be something which should be kept separate from the GPSU negotiations. We, as the government accept, we acknowledge [and] we observe the collective bargaining agreement and that is how the GPSU agreement was arrived at in the first place…,” President Granger said. The President said that the payment, when made, is simply a preliminary one, even as the negotiations between the unions and the Government continue. “Even with regard to the GPSU the agreement, it’s not a final agreement. The Government of Guyana is still in engagement with the GPSU, so if it’s not final for GPSU, it can’t be final for GTU,” he said. During the recording of the Ministry of the Presidency’s weekly programme, ‘The Public Interest’, earlier today, the President in response to questions on whether he had received correspondence from the Guyana Teachers’ Union on the matter and whether he had engaged the union, said that he had indeed received the union’s letter, but he believes that the union should first engage at a ministerial level with the ministers in the Ministry of Social Protection. “As far as the trade union is concerned, yes, I have received a letter and I have a Ministry of Social Protection and I would urge that the trade unions engage the ministers first. It would be imprudent for me to overrule or override or try to deal with the unions without first giving the minister responsible [a chance to engage]; and they are two ministers in that ministry. So it is important for the trade unions to engage her first and of course, the minister who has specific responsibility for industrial relations,” the Head of State posited. President Granger said that conciliation was not necessary at this time, as he noted that talks between the union and the government were not discontinued. He cited the fact that there is a menu of measures which have not yet been exhausted. He noted that because of Government’s preparation of the 2017 Budget, talks between the unions and the Government needed to have reached a certain point by September, so that a budget could be prepared, civil servants could get what’s due to them in terms of retroactive pay and talks could have been continued. “Nobody discontinued the talks. What we did was in response to the mandate by [the] GPSU, we put an offer on the table; there are other things [the] GPSU is asking for, like the debunching and review of the allowances. These things have not been completed as yet. Looking at the pace of discussions, we were not confident that the discussion would be completed in time to allow the government to pay attention to the budget for 2017. So the GPSU is fully aware that these matters are still on the table and the discussions are continuing. It is not a final offer; it is an offer which allows the government to get on with its business and allow the public servants to enjoy the increase in pay to which we feel that they are entitled. We are still talking to the union; there’s no reason for conciliation at this stage because we are still engaged, it is not as though the talks are deadlocked, but we are willing to move ahead and we can’t have the public servants suffering because of the slow pace of negotiations,” President Granger assured. (Ministry of the Presidency)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

GNBS clears Woodlands, Mercy hospitals labs The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) Tuesday recertified two medical laboratories after audits revealed that they continued to meet the requirements of the Guyana Standard (GYS 170) – General requirements for the operation of a laboratory. Renewal certificates were

presented by Ms. Tashi Melville-Browne, Technical Officer of the GNBS,to the Management and Laboratory Personnel of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory and the Woodlands Hospital Laboratory, respectively. Through its National Laboratory Certification programme, the GNBS determines whether

laboratories involved in conducting testing, measurement and/or calibration activities are satisfying the criteria outlined in the standard. GNBS’ Public Relations Officer, Lloyd David,said laboratories which conform to the requirements of this standard are provided with formal recognition that they

Tashi Meville Browne of the GNBS presents certificate to Dr. Neville Gobin of the Woodlands Hospital

have implemented a laboratory management system, thus providing quality assurance for customers as they select

reliable testing services to meet their needs. GNBS also carries out surveillance and monitoring activities during the period of certification to ensure that laboratories are maintaining the system. He explained that the recertification of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory and Woodlands Hospital Laboratory has kept them among the group of certified medical laboratories in Guyana which includes Eureka Medical Laboratories, Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital Laboratory, Medical Arts Centre Laboratory, Georgetown Medical Centre Laboratory, Quest Medical Centre

Laboratory and Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Laboratory. Both of the newly recertified laboratories indicated that they are aspiring to move to the higher level of accreditation to the ISO 15189 Standard – Medical Laboratories – Requirements for quality and competence in the not too distant future. Uncertified laboratories that are interested in becoming certified to the National standard can approach the GNBS,which is always ready to offer technical assistance to any laboratory desirous of implementing a management system for certification.

Children with cance THE Ministry of Education, with support from the Periwinkle Cancer Club, is helping children suffering from cancer to continue their education by providing two teachers who work with cancer patients in the Children’s Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. The Government Information Agency (GINA) reported Wednesday that Chief

Education Officer (ag) in the Ministry of Education, Marcel Hutson, said recently that this intervention is among several that the ministry is undertaking to ensure children with special needs are educated. Hutson said further that there is a unit at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) that addresses Special Education Needs (SEN). The unit provides testing for

Bandits kick down door at Herstelling 17

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

‒ escape with $1.6M in cash, jewellery

The wooden door which was kicked down by the bandits

The house where the robbery took place early Thursday morning

A FAMILY of three is tramautised following an early morning armed robbery at their Lot 463 Fourth

Street, Herstelling, East Bank Demerara home, where four men kicked down their front door and

carted off money and jewellery. Speaking with this newspaper,Vidyawattie Harrinath

er being schooled in hospital dyslexia and also provides instructions on the needs of these students and what support the ministry can give. EARLY SCREENING In addition, GINA said, the Education Ministry has also been working with the Ministry of Public Health to screen students at an early age for hearing and seeing disabilities that may hinder their performance in the school system.

According to Hutson, the ministry has been supplying the spectacles and hearing aids to children who need these aids. The ministry has also provided the David Rose School for the disabled with a bus to take the students to and from home to school. The Education Ministry has been working also to ensure that children with various disabilities have equitable access to education. “These

children have the potential, it is just that they have some mitigating circumstances. That does not mean that an avenue or outlet should not be provided for them to be successful in life,” Hutson said. Meanwhile, the government has been working to reform the education system so as to better prepare them to play an active role in Guyana’s development, GINA added.

said it was about 02:00 hs Thursday when they heard the glass of the front window shattered followed by the banging of the rear door. She related that at the time,they were on the ground floor of their two-storey house and they dropped to the ground in fear. By then, the wooden door was kicked down and four men entered their house and when asked why they were there,one said “Is the police, we come to search.” The 22-year-old reported that one bandit held her and her mother, while three others took her father upstairs after demanding money and jewellery.

The victims pointed out that they were told to keep their heads down and not look at the faces of the criminals.She was struck behind the head with a gun when she began screaming. She stated that the men spent about 20 minutes inside the house. Vidyawattie said the bandits ransacked the house and found the jewellery which amounted to about $1M and the cash they had which totalled $640,000. She disclosed that during the home invasion the robbers hit her father repeatedly on the shoulder, stomach and back with a cutlass and a gun. Meanwhile, Command-

er of ‘A’ Division,Clifton Hicken,told the Guyana Chronicle that they have obtained footage from a neighbour and they are in the process of enhancing the images to identify the licence plates of the two cars used in the commission of the robbery. He added that they are also enhancing the images to identify the four robbers, two of whom were armed with two guns. While the victims were not pleased with the police response, Hicken said the police responded in a timely manner and searched for evidence. However, no arrest has been made.

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Duplex and condos to replace '1000 Homes' project THE Government is redeploying land previously identified for the 1000 homes project, to the construction of apartment buildings, duplexes and condominiums. When questioned about the decision to discontinue the 1000 homes project, Minister within the Ministry of Communities with respon-

sibility for Housing, Valerie Adams-Patterson said, a major contributory factor to the decision is the number of applicants and the fact that there are no available house lots. “We have recognised that one family per house lot with approximately 23,000 applications within the system is not possible for the govern-

ment, not even in the next five years. … so we have decided that with the land that we have, we can accommodate more families if we provide housing units instead of a house lot, especially given that only about fifty-five percent of lots allocated has been occupied,” Patterson told the Government Information Agency (GINA) in

an interview at her office, recently. “This Government is not going to continue that 1000 home project in its current form. In our refocusing, we are looking at apartment buildings, duplexes, condominiums, three and four levels. From our design, the condo will have eight apartments on each floor, so we

Valerie Patterson, Minister within the Ministry of Communities, with responsibility for housing

do two bedrooms and three bedrooms,” the minister said. The 1000 homes project, also known as the Turnkey project, was officially launched at Providence in 2014. However, despite being allocated, several of the almost 50 completed houses remain unoccupied because of poor construction and finishing coupled with structural faults. “The first phase was 200. 141 are currently under construction. The 59 that are already occupied, they currently have problems with

curb wall cracked, windows dislocated and, in some cases you have verandas moving away from the building,” Patterson said. The housing authority has since hired a new project manager, Kennard Dazzel, who to date has visited the housing development, analysed the situation and made recommendations on the steps necessary to correct the defects. “On the first of September we hired a project manager specifically for that project. Works have begun on the homes, and six of the houses have already been completed and handed over to the owners. The remaining 141 houses, which are currently under construction, will be completed by December 15,” Patterson said. A condominium is one of a group of housing units where each home-owner owns their individual unit space, and all the dwellings share ownership of areas of common use. A duplex house is a dwelling having apartments with separate entrances for two households. This includes two-story houses having a complete apartment on each floor and also side-byside apartments on a single lot that share a common wall. (GINA)

Foster parent of seven loses home in fire The Ministry of Social Protection would be assisting Ms. Gloria Downer, a foster mother of seven, who lost her home in a fire last weekend. In a release,the ministry said that Mrs. Downer, who lived at No. 78 Village, Corriverton, Region Six,said that she is unaware of the origin of the fire, as she was not at home at the time it started and only noticed her house engulfed in black smoke on her way home from the market. At present she and her foster children are staying

at a neighbour’s house since she lost everything in the fire. According to the woman, her neighbours have been assisting them with food and clothing, but she needs support to procure supplies for the children to return to school and to provide a home for them. Minister Lawrence committed to helping the woman and noted that she will work with the Ministry of Housing to see how best Mrs Downer’s housing need could be accommodated.

The home of Gloria Downer that was destroyed by fire

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Samantha vows to do Guyana proud --at inaugural Mrs. India Worldwide Pageant

AN HONOUR In an interview with the Buzz, Samantha explained that it is more than an honour to have been chosen from among many other beautiful and qualified applicants to represent Guyana at this event. Moreover, she is thrilled that she is also the first ever Mrs. India Guyana. A born businesswoman, 34-year-old Samantha co-founded and currently runs ‘Cellular Plus’, a cell-phone store and authorised Digicel dealership which has four locations in Georgetown. She also manages two other businesses, and is currently working on establishing an Online boutique. But business is more than what she is about. Speaking about her aspirations while holding the title, Samantha said that she sees this opportunity as a stepping stone; one which will help her to not only be seen as “Mrs. India Guyana”, but to set a legacy and to make a difference. “I don’t want to live by labels; I want to break stereotypes, especially with regard to women empowerment, in terms of building bridges not walls amongst ourselves,” Samantha said.

Brittany Singh, Miss India Guyana 2016 (Photos courtesy worldwideageants.com) LOCAL entrepreneur Samantha Singh was last Thursday night named the first ever Mrs. India Guyana at a coronation ceremony held at the Altitude Bar, Pegasus. The local beauty will go on to represent Guyana at the international Mrs. India Worldwide Pageant, scheduled for October 3-9 in New Jersey, USA. This is also the first time such an event will ever be hosted, as the idea is to attract more mature delegates who may not fit the criteria for other pageants. Mrs. India Guyana is being hosted under the aegis of the Miss India Guyana Organisation, which acquired the franchise in August this year. National Director of the organisation, Uma Bux, said that given the short time in which to prepare for the upcoming pageant, a local one could not be held. Instead, invitations for applications were advertised for married women of Indian descent who may or may not have children. “The pageant gives more mature women who may not have been able to follow their pageant dreams while single the chance to do so, even though they may be married with children,” Uma said. Following the receipt of applications, she noted that the stunningly beautiful Samantha was chosen after a vigorous shortlisting process, having been a well-known businesswoman and who is beautiful in and out. “Samantha represents the Miss India Organisation Motto, ‘Radiantly beautiful inside and out’, so we are happy to have her represent this inaugural title,” Uma said.

GENDER EQUALITY Gender equality is also high on her agenda. “I believe it’s not our place to judge, but rather we should show humility, respect and compassion to others’ choices and status and stature,” she said. Acknowledging that her post will no doubt bring great responsibility, especially since as the first with this title, she will be expected to set a standard, Samantha said that she certainly intends to embrace those responsibilities. “This platform is my stepping stone in joining forces with NGOs and other entities... As one woman, I know I can make a difference; but with joined forces, we can also change the world…It is our duty to teach our children to make the world less cruel and heartless,” she said. Going forward, the Miss India Organisation intends

Samantha Singh, Mrs India Guyana 2016 to create a mentorship programme, where Mrs. India Guyana delegates will work closely with Miss India Guyana delegates in an aim to provide guidance through experience. Uma added that the Mrs India Franchise therefore brings about the opportunity to show the vastness of women empowerment and womanhood. The recently crowned Miss India Guyana, Brittany Singh, will also compete from October 6-9 in New Jersey in the Miss India Worldwide Pageant.

The Weeknd releases ‘Starboy’ video

THE Weeknd has released a cinematic, action-packed clip for his new single and collaboration with Daft Punk, “Starboy.” The song is the title track off the R&B singer’s upcoming album. Grant Singer, a longtime collaborator of Weeknd’s, directed the video, which was previewed on Tuesday with a pulp-horror-inspired film poster. In the video, a version of the singer from the height of his Beauty Behind the Madness era is initially seen tied up by a masked man wearing a diamond-encrusted cross around his neck, who strangles his captive. It’s later revealed

that the man is actually the new Starboy-era version of the singer who enters the record company to destroy all evidence and history of his

past, including numerous trophies and posters. He drives off with a black panther at the end. The Weeknd debuted the

song, and announced Starboy last week, sharing the official album cover and revealing that the LP will be released on November 25. The iTunes pre-order track listing only revealed the title of one other song, titled “False Alarm”. This weekend, the Canadian singer will perform at New York City’s Meadows festival alongside Kanye West, J. Cole and Chance the Rapper. He will a lso ret urn to Saturday Night Live as the season premiere’s musical guest, alongside host and Suicide Squad star, Margot Robbie.

The race is on

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

--as trio battles it out for ‘Spotlight’ wild card

By Tamica Garnett IT happened Tuesday night on Facebook for Jamal LaRose, Connor Holder and Rogeria Michael who are battling it out for the singular wild card entry into the E-Networks/Red Entertainment talent show “The Spotlight”, where 15 other contestants are already vying for the $2.5M grand prize. Truth be told, none of the singers particularly wowed, but each in their own right had their good moments, and hit a few good notes during their performance that reminded you that they are all very good singers. With voting set to close last night at 19:00hrs, the judges were expected to tally the number of votes for each performer, and the winner will eventually return to compete in the competition as things proceed. Facebookers could’ve voted for the favourite by

Connor Holder typing either #votejamal, #voteconnor or #voterogeria in the comments section of the video on the “E-Networks The Spotlight” page. Each person was only allowed to vote once, and only votes under original video counted. Up to yesterday, the video had already garnered over 7000 views, generated almost 1500 comments, and shared almost 200 times. The video went live on Facebook punc-

Jamal LaRose

tually at 19:00hrs Tuesday, and started off with hosts Faizal Khan opening the floor to LaRose and his assigned judge, Alanna Seebaran. ONE HIT WONDER LaRose took on the task of doing the best display he possibly could of Gnarls Barkley one-hit-wonder, “Crazy”. Decked out in a cute yellow bow tie and plaid shirt,

he emanated a boyish charm as he reminded his audience of what a powerful voice he has. Next up was Holder with a cover of Keith Sweat’s “Nobody”. The sultry R&B song was not an altogether bad choice, but Connor just seemed to be going at it a little too hard; given the type of song it is, he would’ve done well to relax a little. Connor was coached by judge Chris-

Rogeria tian Sobers in his preparation for Tuesday night’s face-off. Last, but definitely not least, was Rogeria, who did a cover of American Idol alum, Mandisa’s “God Speaking”. A Brazilian married to a Guyanese, Rogeria, at the end of her video, threw out an appeal to her Portuguese-speaking kindred in her native tongue. Once the singing was over, it was then on the part

Michael where the contestants go out and solicit their friends, associates, acquaintances, and even strangers to help vote them back into the competition. The judges are expected to release the name of the wild-card winner later in the competition, which first airs next Wednesday (October 5) on E-Networks’ Channel E1 from 20:00hrs.

HJ’s ‘The Sisterhood’...

‘Gritty, funny, relevant!’

LADIES looking for that perfect local show that gives an upbeat take on everyday issues that women deal with can look no further, because HJTV’s “The Sisterhood” is here to cater to that need. The new show, which debuted on September 18, is co-hosted by HJ Water World Manager, Leslyn BobbSemple; HJ PRO and current Ms. Universe Guyana, Soyini Fraser; Children’s Counselor, Katina Benn; and well-known broadcaster, Feliz Robertson. Guest hosts include Ashaka King of Pieces and Things, and songstress Timeka Marshall. Host Feliz sat down with The Buzz to give us a little insight into what the show is all about. “The show is gritty, funny, relevant, and most of all, it’s infused with great women who are impeccably dressed and made up. Who wouldn’t want to watch that?” Feliz said, adding: “It’s about women’s is-

sues; we deal with topics that women talk about. It can be anything; from health, to relationships, to faith. You name it; we will discuss it. “The show wants to give women of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to see regular women like them-

selves discuss the things that matter to them. It aims to empower women to do what is best for themselves at all times.” As she further explained, “Season One is a ‘Girl Code’type format which focuses on each girl giving their answer

to the same question, one at a time, while Season Two could be seen in a panel-like discussion. You will have to keep watching to find out.” It was actually Feliz who came up with the idea for the show, originally doing it for radio; but due to its huge popularity, HJ Executive Director, Kerwin Bollers decided to make it into a TV show as well.

THEIR OWN PIZAZZ Each of the hosts brings their own pizazz to the table, allowing the show to touch base with a versatile audience. Said Feliz of her fellow co-hosts: “Leslyn: She brings that funny, ‘don’t care what you think’ vibe to the show; her maturity surely stands out, since many of her responses are well thought out and dissected. “Soyini: She is a brilliant young woman who is hip and happening; her eloquence is unsurpassed, and her honesty is palpable.

“Katina: She is level-headed and balanced in her thinking. She spends a lot of her time observing the people around her, and the questions asked before responding; and this is what makes her such a smart and valuable member of the panel.” And then there’s Feliz herself. Being a mother, broadcaster, and women’s advocate is a combination that makes her passionate pleas hilarious, yet pertinent. Additionally, growing up in a Christian home allows her to appeal to other women of faith, but her many mistakes also make her relatable to lots of women from different walks of life. RAVE REVIEWS The inaugural episode addressed a sure-fire hot topic: Cheating! And the show has already begun to trickle in a few good reviews, on Facebook and Twitter. “Saw it. Not bad ladies, not bad at all. Kudos!” said

one Facebook commentator, obviously impressed with the show. “#sisterhood giving me life”, tweeted another fan. Others are already suggesting a spin-off with a guy version. “Amazing, really enjoyed the show would like to see the brotherhood,” said yet another. Said Feliz, “The feedback on that show has been phenomenal; people have messaged and phoned in their suggestions, and many of our supporters have congratulated us on picking the right people for the show. “In the upcoming shows, you can see us discuss things like: Sending nude pictures, sexual taboo, love, parenting, how women should behave at work, beauty and so many other topics.” A new episode of the show airs every Sunday at 18:00hrs, with rebroadcast at different times throughout the week as well.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

‘You’re never too young to follow your dreams’ –11-year-old Master Drummer, Ricardo Primo Fingers’ school in years to come. And when asked what he thinks about this possibility, Ricardo replied, “Of course!” His two aunts, Icena and Melinda, who help take care of him are both extremely proud of him, as is the rest of his family. “It feels really good, knowing that he’s young and he has so much talent,” Icena said. “He can take that with him anywhere he goes; I am really proud

Young Ricardo Primo

YOU’VE heard of Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo, member of the local group X2, three- time winner of the Carib Monarch Competition and Mashramani Road March King. You may have even heard of Orlando and Kurt Primo, certified drummers, and founders of the ‘Majek Fingers Drumming School’. But out of this artistically talented lineage comes the youngest talent yet, in the form of Ricardo Primo, and 11-year-old genius on the drums, who is proudly and successfully following in his uncles’ footsteps.

Music is deeply embedded in the family’s genes, so when, at the wee age of four, Ricardo started showing an interest in the drums, it was his uncle, Orlando, who took note and began to train him. Ricardo has over the years shared the spotlight with more experienced drummers than himself, but has certainly held his own, having participated in concerts, school Mashramani competitions, Emancipation and other events. M o r e r e c e n t l y, t h e young drummer was the youngest member of the three-person troupe that

provided live music for the local production of Derek Walcott’s Ti-Jean and His Brothers held at the National Cultural Centre in honour of Education Month. “I practise every day; I actually look forward to coming home and practising,” Ricardo told The Buzz. But he doesn’t let it get in the way of school, he said. In fact, he ensures he does his home-work first. Ricardo, who attends Central High, is seen as being so talented with the instrument, that his family expects him to be the successor of the ‘Majek

of him.” Melinda said Ricardo holds the family record of being the youngest to start playing the drums, and she looks forward to seeing him get better as the years go by. “His entire family supports him, and he is well aware of how talented he is. We continue to encourage him in his dreams,” she said. As is the old saying, ‘Out of the mouth of babes

cometh wisdom’. Well, this ‘babe’ is encouraging his peers to never let their age limit them from pursuing what it is they want to do. “You are never too young to follow your dreams; you can do anything, but you have to be serious and follow your dreams wisely,” he said. In years to come, it will be a pleasure seeing what Ricardo and his talent both grow into.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Buzzing this weekend

LOOKING for maximum sound during your party experience? Then ‘Here comes the Boom’ will give you just that. No, it’s not going to

be that loud. But you’ll get the best music from all your favourite DJs from HJ 94.1 BOOM FM, since they will be in one place: At the Palm Court! Tonight! Party starts at 20:00hrs. Ladies free be-

fore 21:30hrs. TOMORROW Forget the theatre! Come and enjoy ‘Movies Under the Stars’ at the Promenade Gardens from 16:00hrs

to 23:00hrs. Get your blankets and picnic food ready! This event is brought to you by the Rotaract Club of Stabroek’s Finance Committee. For more information, call the Treasurer on 614-

Bolt gets ‘serious’ USAIN Bolt is now in a serious relationship with his girlfriend, Kasi Bennet, so all that post-Rio activity wasn’t cheating. It was just a few weeks ago that the sprint legend was photoed in bed with a Brazilian female, and caught kissing another female in a club in Rio. But shortly after making tabloid headlines, Bolt returned home and rekindled things with Kasi before whisking her off for a vacation in Bora Bora. Speaking with PEOPLE, Bolt opened up about his relationship with the Jamaican bombshell and what he has planned for the future. “She’s happy, I’m happy!” Bolt said. “We just got really serious; we are taking it one step at a time.” Bolt also spoke about marriage and having kids. “In time, it will come,” he says. “Now I’m thinking about my career, and getting everything right for the future. I definitely want a

--wants three kids

family, though. For me, over the years, I’ve waited because I want to make sure it’s the right person.” But the track-andfield legend says he is not rushing things, because

he wants to make sure everything is right. He also revealed that he wants to have three kids, despite their potentially being a handful. “I want to take my

Kartel’s ‘KOTD’ tops Billboard VYBZ Kartel’s latest album, “King of the Dancehall” is currently the top-selling reggae album on Billboard. In the era of music streaming, album sales has seen some steep decline, unless you are among an elite group of artists like Drake, Rihanna, Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and others. “King of the Dancehall” was released on June 10, and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard reggae chart. But over the past weeks, the album sold 93 copies in comparison to Alkaline’s “New Level Unlocked”, which sold 26 copies over the last week. Kartel’s album is currently at No. 19 on the Billboard Reggae Chart. Elsewhere on the reggae chart, Beenie Man’s new album, “Unstoppable” debuted at No. 5, while Ziggy Marley’s self-titled album climbed two places this week to No. 8. Vybz Kartel is currently incarcerated on a life sentence for murder. The “No Games” deejay is appealing the conviction.

kartel

time to make sure everything is perfect,” he said. “I’ve always said I want three kids. The other day I hung out with my buddy who has three kids, and it was crazy. I was like, ‘Hmmmm! Do I really want three kids?’ But yes! Yes I do! I’m sure of it!”

7089 and/or Finance Director on 625-8188.

event goes from 09:00hrs to 14:00hrs.

Feel like shopping in style? Then come on down to the Tea Party and Show Room at the Silhouette Restaurant. Enjoy a display of the latest fashion, while enjoying the snacks and beverages of a traditional tea party. Tickets cost $1,500;

SUNDAY It’s that time of year: Racing season! Come and see who will be crowned King of Dragz at the South Dakota Circuit. Event starts from 21:00hrs to 18:00hrs.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Gaskin, George twins spearhead IGG Swimming team OLYMPIAN Hannibal Gaskin and Goodwill Swim Meet medallists, Jadyn and Danielle George, lead the list of twelve swimmers who will be representing Guyana at this Inter-Guiana ‘Goodwill’

Games, that will be contested later next month in Guyana at the National Aquatic Centre in Liliendaal. Gaskin leads the Boys’ team which also includes Goodwill Swim Meet 2016 silver medal-

list Phillip DeNobrega, bronze medallists Nathan Hackett and Omar Adams, as well as Antonio Rodrigues and Alex Winter, while Daniel Scott will be on standby. The George twins will be

joined on the female team by fellow Goodwill Swim Meet medallist Kenita Mahaica, Lian Winter, Anna Isaacs and Amy Grant. Acting as a standby for the girls team is Nikita Fiedtkou. The team will come up against a powerhouse team from Suriname, where the swimmers are likely face many swimmers whom they competed against at the regional Goodwill Swim Meet that was held last month. Team manager, Leon Seaton, is confident that the team of swimmers will give of their best, and utilise the exposure to push themselves, competitively. He did, however, disclose that a few swimmers are way below the 19 years celling that the competition allows, while it is expected that many of the Suriname swimmers may be much older and have an advantage over Guyana. “I would say we are going strong for a good competitive competition and our swimmers will be prepared by coach Shyka (Gonsalves), taking into consideration that most of our swimmers are very young. They

have not reached the age of 19 years, except for Hannibal and Omar. “I am of the view the competition will give our younger ones the exposure they need at this time, and they will do their best.” Seaton said in an interview with this publication. Nonetheless a lot of the swimmers on this year’s team can be considered proficient in their own right, with at least moderate experience under their belts. Gaskin, by far is the most experienced one on the team, having performed at numerous events both regionally and internationally. He most recently returned from participating at the Rio Olympics where he set a new national record of 58.57 seconds in the men’s 100m butterfly. The George sisters were Guyana’s most accomplished swimmers at this year’s Goodwill Swim Meet where Jadyn won three gold and Danielle three silver medals, though in the much younger Girls 11-12 category. Also performing well

earlier this year at the same meet were Phillip DeNobrega, Hackett, and Kenita Mahaica. Meanwhile earlier this year, in June Adams captured bronze medal at the Aquatic Centre International Invitational swim in Barbados. It remains to be seen if the team can push hard enough and take the competition away from Suriname. The team is currently undergoing vigorous training at NAC in preparation for the meet. They train Mondays through Saturdays, except for Tuesdays, with sessions in the morning and again in the afternoon. Guyana had finished third in the swimming at IGG when the annual competition was last held in 2014, and had also included a delegation from French Guiana. This year’s event goes on without the participation of French Guiana at the multi-sport event. Swimming is one of seven disciplines that will be part of the competition, the others being volleyball, basketball, futsal, table tennis, athletics, and badminton.

There was never a contract... From back page

gone about expanding the league, but Forde again was dismissive in his reaction to their reasons and gave a historical background. “The executive committee feels satisfied that the process was very inclusive. About two months ago we called all eight Elite clubs to a meeting where we shared with them some of the ideas we had: the management of the league and the changes we want to make, including the inclusion of two more clubs. The clubs decided at that meeting that we should put all the ideas as well as what

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was discussed at the meeting into a plan. “The Secretariat then spent two weeks putting together the plan with all the changes and rules. We then sent the completed plan to the members who had two weeks to study it after which we convened another meeting on September 9 where all objections were discussed so as to put the final plan together. “So to say that the process was high-handed really bothers me because we did have some level of engagement. I was on the other side of the fence when the League was being

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planned and I can say that what this present executive is doing is much more inclusive, and that’s a fact,” Forde declared. “Even if members have a different opinion on how the League is built and developed, we, the executive, were elected to do these things. So you can have a strong opinion that differs from the executive, but you have to give us the opportunity to run the sport and this is the principled argument here. “We are convinced, after checking, of course, and being guided by FIFA, that we are the legal authority to adjust the rules of any tournament, even when it is being played. If we feel that there is something injurious to a tournament we can stop the tournament and change the rules. FIFA does it and we are also empowered to do so,” Forde stressed. When quizzed about a letter of apology being demanded by the same six clubs concerning his behaviour at a meeting with the Elite teams, the president replied, “As head of the GFF I always seek to take a posture of humility. I am not above the game and never will I be. “If there is a legitimate case where the president needs to take some action that is considered a form of restitution for something done, I would be more than willing to do it for the sake of football. However, I feel satisfied this is not the case.” The football boss feels that the positive way forward is for the Elite football family to come together and resolve their differences, while hinting that firm decisions will be made in going forward.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Kohli reveals India’s DRS rethink (REUTERS) - India Test captain Virat Kohli remains sceptical on the accuracy of ball-tracking technology but hinted India might be ready to finally embrace the Decision Review System (DRS). The influential Indian cricket board (BCCI) has been a staunch opponent of the DRS system, which aims at reducing umpiring howlers by detecting edges and predicting ball

Virat Kohli

trajectory to get correct catch and leg-before decisions. The BCCI does not allow DRS in bilateral series involving its team but Kohli said they had been discussing the issue for a while. “We want to definitely think about it but it’s something we have had discussion on and certainly look to probably introduce it in future,” Kohli said on the

LMA calls on newspaper to disclose evidence of bungs (REUTERS) - The League Manager’s Association (LMA) says it is “deeply concerned” with allegations of corruption involving some of its members and has urged the Daily Telegraph to forward evidence to England’s football authorities. The newspaper, whose investigation led to England manager Sam Allardyce leaving after 67 days in charge, made claims against Barnsley assistant manager Tommy Wright and Queens Park Rangers’ manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on Wednesday. Wright has been suspended by the second tier club while QPR said an internal investigation would be carried out. Both deny any wrongdoing. Yesterday the LMA accused the Daily Telegraph of withholding further information. “Following further revelations by the Telegraph and a follow-up LMA meeting with the FA this morning, the LMA remains extremely concerned about allegations made against a number of

managers and individuals in the game,” a statement said. “Alongside The FA, and the other principal stakeholders in the game, we want to

Sam Allardyce fully investigate any and all substantive allegations of corruption, quickly and comprehensively. “Very disappointingly, this process is being delayed as the Telegraph is yet to provide to The FA, as requested, full and complete unconditional disclosure of all information it has.” “We urge the Telegraph to provide full disclosure of all its information relating to the allegations, including all recordings, transcripts and full details of how the infor-

mation was obtained, to The FA, immediately.” On Wednesday the Daily Telegraph said it secretly filmed Wright accepting a cash ‘bung’ of £5000 after agreeing to help a fake Far Eastern firm which wanted to profit from transfers. The allegations were published 24 hours after Allardyce left the England job for “inappropriate” conduct following secret filming that showed him offering advice to businessmen on how to “get around” rules on player transfers. The Football Association, Premier League and Football League issued a joint statement about the allegations. “English football takes the governance of the game extremely seriously with integrity being of paramount importance,” it read. “Any substantive allegations will be investigated with the full force of rules at our disposal.” The statement added that any evidence of criminality would be referred to law enforcement authorities.

Guyana Softball Cup confirmed for November 4-6 VICE-PRESIDENT of the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA), Ricky Deonarain has confirmed yesterday that the sixth annual Guyana Softball Cup will be staged here from November 4 to 6. The three-day event is the largest softball event locally, and will once again attract the best softball teams, both locally and overseas. As was the case over the years, the event will be com-

Ricky Deonarain peted in Open and Masters categories.

Approximately 24 teams from Guyana and North America are expected to participate in the tournament. Deonarine indicated that all plans are currently being looked at in order for another successful and fun fill tournament. Regal XI and Regal Masters are the reigning champions of the Open and Masters categories respectively. The tournament will be officially launched on Tuesday at the Demerara Cricket Club pavilion.

eve of the second Test against New Zealand at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. “These are the things we have had meetings on. There were areas which we felt can be debated ... specially the ball-tracking and the Hawk-Eye.” “We won’t take (erroneous umpiring) decisions too hard because we in the first place decided that we won’t use DRS. For us to say then that umpires made an error and it’s going against us, it’s not logical. “Once DRS is in place, once DRS is up and running for us as well, then you can say what are the grey areas.” Addressing media in place of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who is down with a bug, opener

Tom Latham vouched for technology. “I suppose we’ve had it in the past back home and it is a good system that tends to work,” the left-hander said. “It gets rid of that decision that probably isn’t out or is out, that major decision that is called incorrectly. We enjoyed it back home, if (India started using it) that’d be great.” Williamson skipped training but would be available as the tourists seek to level the series after losing the series opener in Kanpur, Latham said. “Kane is a little bit ‘crook’ today so he won’t be training. There is no discomfort, he is just down with a bug. Nothing too major, he is just resting up and getting

right for tomorrow.” Kohli confirmed off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed half the Kiwi wickets in Kanpur despite bowling with a corn on his middle finger, was available for the match. The India captain did not rule out off-spinner Jayant Yadav making his Test debut in a three-pronged spin attack. “We felt adding an off-spinner, because they have five left-handers in their batting line-up, would help us at a stage where possibly we are looking to play three spinners,” Kohli said. “The whole idea was to bring in another guy who can bowl at the lefthanders.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

WI, Pakistan begin World Cup 2019 quest By Rajiv Bisnauth

WEST Indies have already failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, and the declining fortunes of the regional side can further slide if they fail to automatically qualify for the 2019 World Cup. The disqualification from the Champions Trophy is the first time that the two-time World Cup winners have failed to qualify for any global cricket tournament. However, they begin the quest for the final automatic qualification spot today when they play Pakistan in the first of three ODIs in the UAE. The West Indies, champions in the first two World

West Indies will hope to avoid a 3-0 defeat against Pakistan.

Cups in 1975 and 1979, need to avoid a clean sweep to maintain their current eighth spot, while Pakistan, the 1992 champions, need to win the series 3-0 to rise one place from ninth. Restricted to the world’s top eight-ranked sides, the cut-off time for the automatic qualification is September 30, 2017. After which, the bottom four teams in the one-day rankings will be joined by six Associate sides in a 10team qualifying round in 2018 from where two teams will qualify. Both Pakistan and West Indies will also play in three one-day matches in the Caribbean next March.

Pakistan also have a tough five-match series in Australia early next year but West Indies will be hard-pressed to play England and India before the cut-off date. The West Indies had shown recent form, having beaten South Africa twice and world number one Australia once in a tri-series on home grounds in June before losing the final. Shockingly, they were beaten 3-0 in the recent T20 series by Pakistan. Once the most dominant force in world cricket, West Indies have struggled in recent years, plagued by chaotic mismanagement among other issues.

White-ball players benefit from England contract revamp BATSMAN Joe Root is set to earn about £1M a year as part of a revamp of England’s central contract system. The shake-up has been designed to better reward one-day and Twenty20 international players. Previously, contracts were geared towards Test players and white-ball specialists would only receive partial contracts. Yorkshire’s Root is one of four men to be awarded both contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The others are Warwickshire pace bowler Chris Woakes, and all-rounders Moeen Ali (Worcestershire) and Ben Stokes (Durham). The way financial packages will be calculated will also see Root, 25, benefit.

To decide how much players will earn, the ECB will rank them based on their performances on the pitch, “as well as a number of other factors, including off-field contribution, fielding and fitness”. “For Root on the most senior grade, which also now reflects off-field contribution, fielding and fitness, this means an income from the ECB in the vicinity of £1M a year,” BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said. The new 12-month contracts - 10 of which have been given to Test players, and 11 in white-ball cricket - come into effect from October 1. The ECB said it was making the changes in recognition of how limited-overs cricket was increasing in

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Friday September 30, 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) 3-0 (PAK) (2) 7 matches Today’s Quiz: (1) Who struck most runs in the recent T20 series involving the WI & Pakistan? (2) Who hit the highest individual score in the series? Answers in tomorrow’s issue

popularity. “I think the central contract system, it’s great that it’s taking white ball cricket seriously,” England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler told BBC Sport. “Andrew Strauss has said that he wants to treat the two games as equals and the results are starting to show from that change of mindset.” Director of cricket Strauss added: “We believe the restructure of the central contract system will recognise the increased focus of the shorter format and the importance that we place on this.

“It is undeniable that the introduction of central contracts in 2002 has greatly benefited the fortunes of the England Test team. During this period, the team has consistently performed well against the other Test nations around the world. We hope that continues over the next few years.” Batsman Ian Bell, who last played for England in November 2015, is the only player with a full 2015-16 central contract to drop off the new list completely - meaning that his county Warwickshire must now take over his salary. The restructuring is de-

signed to emphasise the ever-growing importance of one-day cricket, with the Champions Trophy to be staged here next summer and the World Cup in 2019. Central contracts have revolutionised English cricket, at times causing friction with the counties as players are rested. Surely key to this structure will be the availability of players for the proposed city-based Twenty20 competition. Test contracts: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire); James Anderson (Lancashire); Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire); Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire);

Alastair Cook (Essex); Steven Finn (Middlesex); Joe Root (Yorkshire); Ben Stokes (Durham); Chris Woakes (Warwickshire); Mark Wood (Durham) White-ball contracts: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire); Jos Buttler (Lancashire); Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire); Eoin Morgan (Middlesex); Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire); Joe Root(Yorkshire); Jason Roy (Surrey); Adil Rashid (Yorkshire); Ben Stokes (Durham); Chris Woakes (Warwickshire); David Willey (Yorkshire).(BBC Sport) Increment contracts: Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)

NSBF Games continue following successful first weekend

THE Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) continues today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The festival saw a successful opening ceremony last weekend with exciting action and intense rivalries formed. This week, fans look to see more of the same with today featuring three games - two in the U-19 category and one U-16 game. In the U-16 matchup, Saints will take on Marian Academy at 16:00hrs while the U-19 games will start at 17:00hrs with Linden Technical Institute taking on J.C Chandisingh. The final game of the night will see Georgetown Technical Institute come up against Plaisance Secondary, who recorded a blowout win last weekend in an

Scenes from last weekend U-19 matchup. Tomorrow there will be four games - one U-16 game and three U-19 games. In the first game of the day, Tutorial High will face Kwakwani Secondary in the U-16 category at 16:00hrs. The Kwakwani side, under coach Ann Gordon, will be looking

to follow up the big win the U-14 had last weekend in the U-19 category, Mackenzie will take on Berbice at 17:00hrs. The third game of the day is perhaps the most anticipated, with Saints looking to take out perennial powerhouse New Amsterdam Multilater-

al Secondary, led by Centrobasket coach Willon Cameron at 18:00hrs. The final game of the day will feature St Rose’s versus Queen’s College at 19:00hrs. The tournament is sponsored by Digicel, Beharry Group of Companies and Banks DIH Limited.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 30, 2016

Jaguars Franchise League 3-Day tourney reaches penultimate stage

… Young Chanderpaul hungry for more runs By Rajiv Bisnauth

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

WEST Demerara opening batsman Tagenarine Chanderpaul says he is hungry for more runs as the inaugural Jaguars Franchise League Three-day tournament approaches the final two rounds. The 20-year-old was the shining light with the bat for West Demerara in the last round, where he produced a fabulous effort to register his first hundred in the tournament, 187 against Georgetown. The left-handed batsman’s superb concentration and insatiable appetite for batting have made him West Demerara’s most consistent batsman. Chanderpaul (449) is

Australia’s Starc says leg slashed to bone in grisly accident

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) - Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc said he could see all the way to the bone as he detailed the gruesome extent of his leg lacerations after a freak training accident. Starc, 26, suffered deep cuts after colliding with training equipment at a Sydney ground earlier this month and needed nearly three dozen stitches to his left leg. The left-arm pace spearhead sustained two gashes just below his knee and was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the damage. “Unfortunately, it was a training accident that should have been avoided,” Starc told Cricket Australia’s official website yesterday. “We were doing high catching out of a ball machine and unfortunately I slid into the metal plate at the base of the stumps.

Mitchell Starc “In the process it took some large chunks out of my leg and needed about 30-35 stitches.” Starc -- who took the catch, despite the collision -was cleared of any structural knee damage and has been wearing a restrictive leg brace during his recovery. “I looked down and there’s a big hole in the pants, (I) saw a flap of skin and threw my hand on it to try and stop

anything that was going on. I couldn’t see much,” he said of the mishap. “I didn’t quite know the extent until I was in the back of the ambulance when the doctor was explaining how bad it was. “You (could) see a couple of bones. I didn’t want to look at it at all. They numbed it pretty quickly so I couldn’t feel too much.” But Starc also said his recovery was on track and he was working towards playing in Australia’s first Test against South Africa in Perth, starting on November 3. His first target is to play for New South Wales in their opening Sheffield Shield match against, starting on October 25 under lights at Brisbane’s Gabba ground. The left-armer was Australia’s leading bowler on the recent tour of Sri Lanka, taking 24 wickets at 15.16 in the 3-0 Test series defeat.

just 16 runs behind Jonathan Foo, who is the leading scorer with 465. He is also one of five players to have registered a century after five rounds of the eightteam tournament. Sherfane Rutherford, Kevon Boodie, Keemo Paul and Foo are the others to have achieved that milestone. Foo is the only batsman with two hundreds. “I am feeling confident, and at the same time hungry for more runs,” Chanderpaul told Chronicle Sport yesterday. On the other hand, leftarm spinner Kassim Khan leads the wickets tally, with 29. The tournament continues today with four matches

countrywide. Table toppers Lower Corentyne and West Demerara will clash at the Tuschen Community Centre ground. Lower Corentyne have played unbeaten in the eight-team tournament so far, and in the process have accumulated 86.1 points, 22.5 points ahead of West Demerara. Other matches in the penultimate round will see West Berbice play Georgetown at the Young Warriors ground in Cumberland, Berbice; Essequibo host East Coast Demerara at the Iman Bacchus ground while East Bank and Upper Corentyne clash at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

The points standings for the remaining teams read: Georgetown (59.3), Upper Corentyne (34.8), Essequibo (30.5), West Berbice (29), East Bank (25.1) and Georgetown (24.4). Apart from the Threeday competition, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) also has in the pipeline a Jaguars 50-over League and the Jaguars Premier League T20 tournament. Replacing the traditional Inter-county competition, the leagues will be streamlined to feed into the WICB’s Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-day competition and the Regional Super50, as well as the Caribbean Premier League T20.

Local wheelsmen on a high in Tobago Cycling Classic

LOCAL cyclist Jeban Crawford and Andrew Hicks registered victories in their respective categories when the 2016 edition of the Tobago cycling classic got underway in the Twin Island Republic last Tuesday. Also taking podium positions on the opening day were Raynauth `Obeah man’ Jeffrey and Romelo Crawford. According to reports, Jeban Crawford who hails from the Ancient County of Berbice and who represented Trinidadian club, PSL/BBC Cycle Club, won the Division Two Elite Male 21-year-old age-group category five-lap (60km) race with a time of one hour 25 minutes 8.225 seconds. Hicks, on the other hand, clocked one hour 25 minutes 35.898 seconds in winning the five-lap race for Division Two junior cyclists ahead of his countryman Romelo Crawford who is also representing a Trinidad and Tobago club, where he is currently training and competing on the Trinidad circuit. Jeffrey, representing Team Coco’s had to settle for second spot in a five-lap event on a larger circuit for Division One riders under 25 years of age. His time was two hours 27 minutes 16.66 seconds. This event was won by Colombia’s Sebastian Caicedo

… Crawford; Hicks in winners’ row

Jeban Crawford in two hours 27 minutes 16.39 seconds. J e f f r e y ’s t e a m m a t e

Hamza Eastman finished 7th in the same event in two hours 31 minutes 47.31 seconds, while other Guyanese riders, Stephano Husbands and Jamal John placed 8th and 13th respectively. Meanwhile, Guyana’s only professional cyclist, Geron Williams, contested the Division One 10-lap race and had to settle for 9th place from a field of 44 riders. Chronicle Sport was told that Williams developed a mechanical problem early in the race, hence his 9th place finish. His time for the event, which was dominated by cyclists from the Netherlands, was two hours 27 minutes 17.79 seconds. Riders from Colombia, Germany, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Sweden, Venezuela, France, Antigua, Cuba, Martinique, Canada, Jamaica, Argentina, USA, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Denmark are participating in the annual event. Yesterday was the third leg of the event which will conclude tomorrow.

Jaguars Franchise League 3-Day tourney reaches penultimate stage (See Story on page 31 )

Holder backs Windies to bounce back in ODI series

W

EST Indies captain Jason Holder is expecting a much better showing against Pakistan when the teams face off in three One-Day International (ODI) matches beginning today. The Windies have had a disappointing start to their tour of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) so far, as they were whitewashed in their three-match T20 series. With more time to adjust to the conditions in the ODI format, Holder expects the visitors to provide much stiffer competition. “They (Pakistan) did well in the T20 series but, having said that, there is more time with this format. Batsmen have more time to give themselves a chance to set themselves,”

Darren Bravo bats during a West Indies training session at the Sharjah Cricket ground. WICB Media Photo/Philip Spooner.

Holder said at a pre-match press briefing at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday. “It is important for our top four batsmen to bat as deep as possible and lay the foundation for the middle and lower order guys to come and be powerful. As I said, you have more time to assess the conditions and play yourself in and get a score and lay a foundation. If we can do that more often, we can get a very good total,” he added. The series could be of importance to both teams with 9th-ranked Pakistan potentially being able to leapfrog the 8th-ranked West Indies in the rankings with another 3-0 win. The game bowls off at 3 pm (7 am Eastern Caribbean time).

SQUADS: PAKISTAN – Azhar Ali (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, S arfraz Ah med (wk ), Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Khan. WEST INDIES – Jason Holder (captain), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels.

There was never Gaskin, George twins spearhead IGG Swimming team a contract signed,

says football chief

(See Story on page 28 )

Wayne Forde By Ras Wadada

Twin sisters Jadyn and Danielle George at Goodwill Swim Meet in August 2016

Olympian Hannibal Gaskin

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde is refuting claims by some Elite Clubs that the present executive is in breach of their contract with the inaugural eight teams of the Elite League. “It is misleading to hear some members say publicly that we have breached a contract. I

can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was never a contract signed for the inaugural Elite League tournament. “What is being referred to, and I could be wrong, is the rules of the tournament which did, in fact, state that after two years we would then entertain Relegation and Promotion. However, the Constitution of the GFF clearly states that the Elite League is the product of the GFF. “The constitution also says that we have the authority to regulate and control when we are entering a new season,” Forde explained to Chronicle Sport. Six of the inaugural Elite teams – Alpha, Slingerz, GFC, Pele FC, GDF and Monedderlust FC - according to one of the managers, are not pleased with the manner in which the GFF has

See page 28 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016