Guyana chronicle epaper 10 01 2016

16 homeless SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016

No. 104691

Price: $80

(VAT Inclusive)

‒ 3 houses destroyed by fire at McDoom

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Officers attached to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) brave the blazing fire to complete the obstacle course on Friday during the force’s third quarterly fitness competition which was held at Base Camp Stephenson [Ravin Singh photo]

Phillips credits GDF's successes to leadership team

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Weeping drug addict charged with son’s murder P.8

UG hikes Six in custody for tuition Rio fatal shooting unlicensed guns, ammo fees again ‒found during raid P.4

‒ sparks public outcry

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Little ‘fighter’ needs your help ALTHOUGH five-yearold Alijah LaRose faces enormous life-threatening medical challenges daily and the emotional trauma of learning that a wanted man killed his police father, the West Coast Berbician remains “a fighter.”

“Since as a baby he would have difficulties doing things and it is only recently when we had the latest MRI that we were told it’s a problem with his brain,” his mother Adecia Johnson explained.

Alijah does not permit his brain-related ailment to come between his enormous quests for knowledge; ask him to name Guyana’s President or Prime Minister and many of their Cabinet colleagues and he will shout the correct answer.

Alijah cannot stand or walk and even though he has recently managed to colour, he still cannot write. He moves around by creeping, which makes it difficult for him to play with other children.

He was once a pupil of the No. 5 Village Primary School, which is just across the road from his home, but due to several difficulties there, his mother was forced to transfer him to the Sapodilla School of Excellence, a

Little Alijah LaRose is happy with his wheelchair gift

private school at Hopetown a few villages away.

Johnson describes him as a type of Rock of Gibraltar to the family. She admits though that the stabbing death of his father Leonard LaRose in May this year “was particularly hard on him.”

Sergeant LaRose was killed attempting to arrest a wanted man in the North West District. Alijah’s maternal grandmother, Hannah Fraser, a professional nurse,

said the family first realised something was wrong with Alijah when at three-monthsold he could not balance his head. He was able to do so until the eighth month.

“By eight months he couldn’t do many of the things we look for in children. He did them way after.

So we knew something was wrong, but we weren’t sure what. Now he does things, but long after most children.

He takes a while, but we have seen improvements.

Little Alijah LaRose, with his grandparents Hannah and Burnel Fraser (left), Childcare and Protection Staff and Minister of Social Protection, The Hon Volda Lawrence at his No. 5 Village home

On Saturday for the first time he was able to stand by himself,” Fraser said.

The child’s condition is a financial drain on the family, especially since his mom is now a single parent; she also has sole responsibility for taking care of the rest of the household.

Deepening her financial troubles, Alijah must have

constant changes of clothing for home and school, because of his condition and this too is a steep mountain for his mother to climb. Then there are the monthly expenses for critical medical supplies Alijah needs.

The Ministry of Social Protection gave Alijah a wheelchair to make life a little easier for him. Ac-

cording to his grandparents, they are happy for the gesture, as it would allow his family to take him around easier. Alijah was a premature baby, so from birth he needed extra care as a baby. If you want to help you can contact the family on telephone number 675-3322. (Ministry of Social Protection)

Police did not grant Dataram bail ‒ Top Cop says police not at fault for drug convict’s escape DAYS after self-confessed drug lord Barry Dataram was convicted for cocaine trafficking, it is believed

that he fled to neighouring Suriname, but Police Commissioner (ag) David Ramnarine says the Police

Force is not to be blamed for his escape.

“A lot of collaboration is going on right now, I’ve read statements and seen things in the press; Dataram’s situation is really unfortunate, but not in the sense that law enforcement is indicted. Let’s put this in the proper perspective,

we [Guyana Police Force] didn’t grant him [Dataram] bail,” Ramnarine said at a press conference at his office, Eve Leary, Georgetown, on Friday.

President David Granger has since urged 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 the convicted drug lord 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.

Dataram was charged with his reputed wife, Anjanie Boodnarine, and their friends Trevor Gouveia and Komal Charran, for having 129.23kg of cocaine in their possession on April 16, 2015, for the purpose of trafficking.

However, only Gouveia and Chandan showed up to hear the ruling by Magistrate Judy Latchman recently.

Neither Dataram nor his wife was present at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrate Latchman, however, fined the convicted drug lord $164.2M and sentenced

Wanted: Barry Dataram

him to 60 months imprisonment for being in possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

An arrest warrant was then issued. Dataram, a Guyana-born American, had successfully fought off efforts to extradite him to the United States of America to face drug-smuggling charges.

‘We were leading’

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

...Phillips credits GDF's successes to leadership team

By Ravin Singh IN what he described as three successful years as Chief-of-Staff in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Mark Phillips has credited successes under his watch to the leadership team in the Force, and not just to himself.

Born in a working class

ically challenging, but very necessary for the kind of work military personnel are required to do.

“I literally grew up in the GDF, and I’ve had junior and senior appointments; so I went through the ranks. I served in all the senior positions before (becoming) Chief-of-Staff, so I would have known how the Force operates and what is

Outgoing GDF Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips being briefed by his predecessor, Rear Admiral Gary Best, shortly after being appointed Chief-of-Staff

GDF Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips congratulates Lance Corporal Shannon Ross-Cox on being promoted to the rank of acting Corporal following her “outstanding service” to the GDF

family in the mining town of Linden, Phillips attended the Christianburg Primary School and the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (Multilateral School), where he completed the General Certificate Examination (GCE) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) before joining the GDF in December 1980.

Being 19 at the time, Phillip said, it was a little challenging for him, just as it would have been for any youngster leaving home to work in a new environment. However, he did not let this deter him from pursuing his dream of becoming a soldier.

“I came with an open mind, and I met people in my age group who were going through the same process; so to me it gradually became easier. There might have been a few ripples along the way, but it was a good transition from civilian to military life,” he said.

The outgoing Chief-of Staff described his years in the GDF as mentally and phys-

expected for the Force to move forward.”

Having passed through the ranks, Phillips was fortunate enough to have attended and graduate from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He has held several appointments along the journey, including Colonel (Administration and Quartering) and Colonel (General Staff), Defence Headquarters, during his 35 years of military service.

Phillips has also been Guyana’s Head of Delegation to the Inter-American Defence Board from 2008 to 2009; and was, up to 2011, Guyana’s non-resident Military Attaché to Venezuela.

He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier back in 2013 by then President Donald Ramotar, before he took command of the GDF. He succeeded Rear Admiral Gary Best.

A REWARDING EXPERIENCE “GDF has been good for me. I’ve been here for 35 years and nine months. I came here

as a youth and I can say that all my achievements, both academic and professional, were as a result of my service in GDF. I’ve gained a lot of experience over the years.

“The GDF is an equal opportunity provider. I say that because children of the working class, like myself, are able to, through application and the right attitude, move up through the ranks. I didn’t come from any elite background,” Phillips detailed.

And according to Phillips, during his tenure, he sought to focus on transforming the GDF by introducing the concept of “operation readiness”, aimed at improving the operational readiness of the GDF in the sense of utilising what resources it has to be able to get to any part of Guyana for any situation that requires military intervention.

During this time, he said, the Force intensified training in all departments and at all levels, while at the same time programmes were being executed, such as “Operation Greenheart” last year, which yielded much success. Some 800 military personnel participated in that operation.

Phillips also referred to an internal security exercise known as Exercise Readiness that was held this year, and more recently Exercise Homeguard.

“So we’ve been carrying out these exercises with intense training, not only to define aggression on our borders, but to help us to better work in an inter-agency setting with the Police Force and other law enforcement bodies,” he explained.

The Chief-of-Staff has boasted of infrastructure development on every GDF base.

“Over the three years, we’ve been able to improve the quality of life for persons on the base, and even as far as on the borders. We’ve embraced the Green Economy even before it was announced as a national policy. We have solar electricity on our borders now, and we have interconnectivity in terms of Wi-Fi and so on. And there are other ongoing projects on these bases which have been supported by the Government, all aimed at improving the quality of life for those serving

in GDF.” LEADERSHIP TEAM But interestingly, while listing these successes, Philips humbly remarked that these should not be credited to him in isolation, but rather to a “leadership team” which the GDF has been able to create.

“There were some good times and some challenging times, but what I think happened over the last three years is that we’ve created a leadership team that has

transformed the GDF. Over the years, it was never me who was leading. We were leading; and by that I mean all the senior officers who played their part in helping to strengthen the Force,” he explained.

As such, he says, it is his desire to see the Force continue along its transformative path, in keeping with the pace and rapid advancement of wider society.

Commenting on life after he officially leaves the Force, Phillips said his next move is to take off his uniform and find appropriate civilian clothing, after which he would look for an appropriate civilian-type job to continue to serve the people of Guyana.

He believes that during his three years of service as Chief-of-Staff, he executed his functions to the best of his ability, while keeping his promise to the Guyanese people.

“When I became Chiefof-Staff, I did mention that professionalism (would) be my guide; and today I’m happy to say that I’ve upheld that commitment and promise to the Guyanese people for the last three years,” he declared.

Stolen .32 pistols used in most robberies SOME 80 per cent of recent robberies have been committed with the use of seven .32 pistols stolen from licensed firearm holders, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine disclosed on Friday.

According to the top cop, some licensed holders have exhibited poor levels of responsibility. “You’re approved a personal firearm licence for your personal safety and protection; but in some instances you don’t have to be a professor or someone with a master’s degree to understand that this is a serious matter in terms of the care and level of responsibility exercised -- which has resulted in

the theft of these firearms,” Ramnarine declared.

Between July and September 2016, nine licensed firearms have been stolen; seven of these were .32 pistols, one was a shotgun and the other was a 9mm pistol.

“The irresponsible behaviour of persons who are expected to display a very high degree or level of personal discipline, particularly to have permission to own and use a firearm, contributes not only to the challenges police offices face, but contributes to the general endangerment of the society; since the stolen firearms are now in the hands of criminal elements,” the acting top cop said.

Ramnarine noted that on

one occasion, at 21:00hrs a father was resting upstairs, his daughter was watching television and their door was wide open. The home was invaded by bandits, and in the process the father’s firearm was taken by the robbers.

On another occasion, he said, a businesswoman on the East Coast who was a licensed firearm holder was away from the business and left the firearm in a wardrobe at home. There was a robbery and the firearm was stolen.

The acting Commissioner said firearm holders should understand the seriousness of being granted permission to carry a weapon.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

UG hikes tuition fees again -sparks public outcry

By Ravin Singh LESS than two years after imposing a tuition increase on students attending the University of Guyana (UG), together with an increase of $40,000 in facility fees, the administration of the country’s premier educational institution has again increased the fees by five per cent, and this is payable from next month.

On Friday afternoon, Students Records Management System (SRMS) issued emails to all students informing them of the increase. The email read: “The University administration informs the University Community that the Finance and

General Purposes Committee of the University had approved an annual 5% increase in the tuition fees effective for 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 Academic Years.”

As such, the annual tuition fee for the 2016/2017 Academic Year is therefore $168,000 instead of $160,000; and with an annual facility fee of $50,000, this now takes the total to $218,000.

It is understood that the increase was introduced without consultation with the University of Guyana Students’ Society (UGSS), the representative body for the student population, which currently stands at more than 6000.

“The University regrets

any inconvenience caused, and wishes to advise that all invoices will be amended accordingly. The difference, without penalty, becomes due and payable on or before November 15, 2016,” the statement added.

With this increase, students who would have already paid cash for the academic year 2016/2017 will now be required to pay the difference before November 15.

And this move, which according to students was “imposed” on them, sparked public outcry on social media on Friday, particularly on the University’s Facebook page.

Students have threatened to assemble on Monday morning and protest the

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annually to $50,000.

Students have since decried conditions at the institution, which have not improved despite their having to pay this increase.

The Public Announcement (PA) system has since last week been inoperable in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre, and this has forced the cancellation of classes due to the size of the lecture room.

Additionally, students continue to complain about the deplorable state of washrooms, which the administration had promised the upgrade since the introduction of the new facility fees.

Moreover, this new increase comes at a time when

the administration and the students’ welfare department are facing criticisms for the student body’s elections, wherein less than 10 per cent of the student population voted. This, according to one of the running Presidential candidates, was largely due to the students’ welfare department’s inability to push voters’ education, which resulted in students being disenfranchised. One set that was disenfranchised were first year students who were still awaiting approval for their application.

Current students who switch programmes this year were also barred from voting at this year’s elections.

Teen accused in Black Bush murders attempts prison escape EIGHTEEN-year-old Jairam Chetram, main accused in the Black Bush Polder triple murder, attempted to escape from the New Amsterdam Prison on Tuesday last, and that not for the first time.

According to police sources, an alarm was raised after an on-duty prison officer noticed an individual walking on the prison roof at about 23:00hrs. Alert officers quickly got into action, recapturing the teen and placing him in a different location.

DATE: 28/09/2016

heavy-handed approach by the administration. One student posted in the group: “Those who increase tuition fees once enjoyed free education at UG. Enough is enough let’s assemble Monday morning objective the university administration needs to respect students and provide proper and better facilities. So far UG would have received over $500 million in facilities fees what improvements have we seen in the last two years? #enough #Revolution” But this is not unique to the institution. In 2014, the institution’s council approved increased fees unknowing to students, while the facilities fees jumped from $10,000

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Jairam Chetram attempted to escape from the New Amsterdam prison A closer examination of the area revealed that boards from Chetram’s cell had been

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partially removed and a section of the zinc had been taken out.

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This newspaper was reliably informed that this is not Chetram’s first attempted prison break, as he had tried to escape with other inmates on two previous occasions.

And the three other prisoners who were in the cell with Chetram have also been relocated.

It is believed that Chetram was the trigger man in the slaying of the trio who had gone on a fishing trip in Cocorite Savannah at Black Bush Polder, Corentyne between July 21 and July 22.

(Nafeeza Yahya)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Untimely delivery of medicines still an irritant ‒ despite progress made by USAID Supply Chain Management System Project

By Shauna Jemmott

MINISTER within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings,has said that untimely delivery of medicines and medical supplies is still an irritant to Guyana’s public health sector.

This is despite tremendous efforts by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) project over the years to address this problem.

Minister Cummings made the remarks at an elaborate close-out appreciation ceremony organised by the Public Health Ministry and USAID SCMS to draw the curtain on the project, which was launched here just over a decade ago.

For people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries, cost-effective, reliable, secure and sustainable supply chains can save millions of lives.

For more than 10 years, the SCMS has been saving lives through stronger supply chains.

The SCMS is managed by the Partnership for Supply Chain Management and the project’s joint effort resulted in the establishment of a 26,951 square metres, state-of-the-art Supply Chain Management Complex, which is fully staffed and temperature-controlled with excellent ventilation.

The facility was opened on March 8, 2013, pinpointed by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby on the USAID website, as “a significant step forward on [the] path [to creating an AIDS-free generation], and toward building Guyana’s world-class pharmaceutical-grade operation.”

It was hailed on Friday as the first of its kind which meaningfully involved many of the country’s pharmacists.

Dr Cummings said despite its success, “there still remain a number of challenges at all levels of the public health system.”

She noted that apart from the untimely delivery of medicines and medical supplies, the monitoring of drugs, facilities and dispensaries throughout the sector needs significant improvement in order to ensure quality assurance of goods and efficient delivery to

U.S. Ambassador Perry Holloway delivering remarks at the Supply Chain Management System close-out appreciation ceremony

health units.

“This objective, however, can only be achieved if there are coordinated efforts at all levels to strengthen the overall pharmaceutical systems within the public health sector.”

There is need for strengthening of Guyana’s Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) through improved requisitions, communications and resource management, the minister said.

WORK IN PROGRESS She said Supply Chain Management is still a work in progress and in order for greater value to be added in the public sector, such system must function optimally.

“It is imperative that as we transition this project we strategically focus on how the various components of our supply chain management systems interact with the rest of the public health sector, as well as its external parties to meet the needs of our customers,” Minister Cummings said.

In the areas of procurement and storage and the management and distribution of medicines and medical supplies, significant capacity-building has been realised and through grants from international partners, Guyana has been able to more efficiently procure, store, and distribute medicines and

commodities purchased, to all of Government’s public health institutions.

“With the unremitting support offered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as through the USAID-funded Supply Chain Management System Project, the Ministry of Public Health Materials Management Unit has undergone significant transformational changes,” the minister said.

These changes are timely, presenting themselves when they are necessary to deliver quality and effective healthcare to all.

The U.S. Government has over the years strongly supported Guyana in the fight against HIV/AIDS through a number of initiatives, with priceless benefits.

BUILDING ON SUCCESS Though the SCMS project has come to an end, Minister Cummings said her desire

Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings, addressing the audience at the Supply Chain Management System close-out appreciation ceremony on Friday

is to ensure that the excellent work established continues unobstructed, and is further established.

“There will be ongoing efforts to further strengthen the management of medicines and medical products, along with maintaining their accompanying records. Further, sharp focus on streamlining established processes

and extending their reach to the more remote regions and communities of Guyana will be priority goals.”

The Chain Management Warehouse Complex commissioned in 2013 at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, is one of the most tangible outcomes of the project.

That complex was financed by USAID, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, in collaboration with the Health Ministry through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

It possessed the first fully functional Radio Frequency Warehouse Management System in the Caribbean.

U.S. Ambassador Perry Holloway said the SCMS helped Guyana to strengthen its supply chain and staff development to ensure the availability of antiretroviral medicines and other key HIV/AIDS health commodities.

He said when the SCMS Guyana office was established here in May 2006, Government committed to providing universal access to antiretroviral medicines for all Guyanese living with HIV and AIDS, and has been able to develop systems and technical skills of staff for the delivery of effective service.

Apart from the physical structure, the project revisited the organisational structure of the warehouse, defined departments and sub-departments, roles and responsibilities, reporting, and communication lines for the effective functioning of the facility,” the diplomat said.

He added that significant capacity- development efforts resulted in the training of over 1,000 staff members to improve management, planning, procurement, and distribution of all pharmaceuticals in Guyana.

The project also developed computerised systems for requesting, tracking, storing and distributing all the ministry’s drugs and supplies with the ability to track every product and transaction.

Holloway was pleased with the progress that has been made in the health sector after 10 years of investment here by the U.S. Government.

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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

Linden/Region 10 ripe for development THIS newspaper has been carrying coverage on Linden/ Region 10: its resources, the people’s successes in various fields of endeavour, and their opinions. This region has, within recent years, been in the news for several reasons.

Notably, within the last five years, people have come to associate it with a level of militancy at the political front to advance its self-determination.

In this quest, the people, in 2012, were able to cause the Donald Ramotar Administration to agree to a menu of measures that included developing an Economic Plan specifically to meet the needs of the community; returning the community-based television dish, and addressing the region’s energy needs.

The major communities in Region 10 -- Linden, Kwakwani and Ituni -- where bauxite is produced, have seen socio-economic development -– as did the nation -- with the mining of this mineral. However, significant increases in global fuel prices in the 1970s adversely impacted the bauxite industry, and society at large. The hard decisions made in the industry impacted the workers and communities’ livelihoods. The trade unions and employer were forced to re-negotiate agreements, thereby seeing the minimisation of benefits such as housing, education, and health services.

In the 1980s, the Desmond Hoyte Administration entered into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Programme known as the Structural Adjustment Programme, and identified the main productive sectors -- bauxite and sugar -- to be privatised. To realise this, the Hoyte Administration employed a foreign management company (MINPROC) to prepare the Linden Mining Company (LINMINE) to attract investors.

With the ascension of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to office in 1992, the privatisation of bauxite was pursued to finality, the result of which created another adverse impact on the workforce and communities.

With privatisation came the laying off of 100 percent of the workforce, and an end to the workers’ Pension Scheme and other benefits.

Probably in a show of recognition of the deleterious consequences, the Bharrat Jagdeo Administration talked up the benefit of diversifying the region’s economy, notably that of Government’s intent to make it the country’s industrial corridor. This was never followed through with needed governmental support in infrastructural and other forms of development. In the meantime the region’s economy continued to slide, bringing further negative consequences.

When, in 2012, the Government sought to increase electricity tariff in Linden, the residents challenged it, mainly from the standpoint of non-involvement in the decision-making, the likely impact it will have on the

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Take a stand against ageism Dear Editor,

MY fellow Guyanese, members of the diplomatic corps, and visitors, it gives me great pleasure and joy to address you on the occasion of the observance of the “Month of the Elderly”, observed in Guyana every year in the month of October.

The month of the Elderly observance stems from the 1990 United Nations General Assembly designating October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons. Guyana has adopted the entire month to celebrate and recognize the elderly.

The theme for this year is “Take a stand against ageism.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ageism is stereotyping and discrimination on the basis of a person’s age. Ageism is widespread; it is a negative practice which has harmful effects on the health of older adults.

WHO has also posited

that older people who feel they are a burden may also perceive their lives to be less valuable, often putting them at risk of depression and social isolation. We in Guyana are blessed with several centenarians across the ten regions of Guyana. Indeed, we have been promised long life, good health, and peace beyond measure. We thank the good Lord for keeping the elderly; we thank caregivers of senior citizens’ homes, private homes, relatives and friends, the Government and non-governmental organisations for their care and concern for the elderly.

Care of the elderly has been of major concern to the National Commission for the Elderly. Many of our elderly population are enjoying a fairly comfortable life, while, in the case of others, much is left to be desired. Many elderly people would have worked very hard during their younger age to take care of their latter years. Sad to say, too many of them have to

resort to homes because of circumstances beyond their control.

On the other hand, some of those who remain in the care of children and/or relatives are sometimes abused physically, emotionally, psychologically, financially and spiritually. Life in Guyana has become so cheap that we are too often confronted with the news of unnatural death among elderly persons who are parents, aunts, uncles and so on. Members are killed, buried in shallow graves, locked in rooms to die, and are even sexually abused before death.

As we celebrate the Month of the Elderly, let us bring back the dignity, respect, love, care and concern that have always been associated with elderly people.

However, there are many who give appropriate care to their elderly parents and relatives, and we wish to commend and congratulate them. We also wish to encourage others who are not so inclined to embrace

the commandment given by our Creator: “Honour thy mother and thy father”, and which promises “long life.”

Let us not forget that ageing brings about both opportunities and challenges. Some opportunities include the continued contribution of older persons to local and national life, and the transfer of skills, knowledge and values from one generation to another.

On the other hand, challenges include, among other things, loneliness, depression, frustration, anxiety and exclusion from groups.

In concluding, I would urge us to encourage ourselves to demonstrate our recognition of our senior citizens’ achievements and contributions to our society, and salute them accordingly.

Regards, EVERETTE DE LEON, Chairperson for the National Commission for the Elderly

Berbicians still can’t hear 98.1FM

Dear Editor,

CAN you believe it is 19 years today (October 1) since the establishment of 98.1 Hot FM on NCN Radio? This station has not moved up the ladder to coincide with its number of years of being on the air. Berbicians still cannot pick up its signals, nor can

the online Web streams be accessed.

I’ve written umpteen times about that. From Fuzzy Sattaur to Molly to this present CEO (now also under fire), not one of them has listened to the call to have this station accessible to the entire nation!

What a shame and dis-

community, and the people’s inability to pay. A stand-off between Central Government and the people, supported by the Regional Government, saw weeks of public demonstration that was not without incident. The manner in which the Ramotar Administration initially dealt with the issue, and its treatment of the people, also attracted criticism from the then opposition and wider society.

Apart from bauxite, Region 10 has natural resources such as sand, clay, gold, diamond, an array of springs, and vast savannahs. In the area of human resources, it is known for its large pool of competent artisans. This region, specifically Linden, has always been identified as the gateway to the interior and the path of further access to Brazil; of which the potential for trade should not be ignored, nor should its impact on the regional and national economies, and the strengthening of South-South Cooperation. Evidently, the region is not without resources, and should those be properly utilized, it could redound to the growth and development of its people and the nation as a whole. What is proving to

grace. CEO after CEO has taken the helm of this organization, but none has seen fit to improve the broadcast quality as well as standards of its slew of radio stations.

I daresay NCN radio has become irrelevant, being replaced by more modern-based and higher-quality radio stations over the years.

What is needed perhaps is

a revamp of state radio in Guyana like the revamp of the state-owned paper.

While NCN 98.1 Hot FM remains Guyana’s first and oldest FM station, it has only suffered mismanagement over its nearly two-decadesold history.

Regards, LEON SUSERAN

be absent is the needed financial investment that would see these resources being used for productive endeavours.

The APNU+AFC Administration is placing emphasis on sustainable development by diversifying the economy. This approach to development continues to be met with support from major stakeholders, local and external, who have been calling for such for some time now. Region 10 -- given its resources, access, the capabilities of its people, and present economic deprivation -- is ripe for a developmental model of such a sort. Doing so could only contribute to the much needed economic explosion that awaits the region and Guyana at large.

And given that the 2012 Agreement has the input and support of the required stakeholders, its activation and implementation would not only set a positive precedent in the nation’s politics, but also put Guyana on a sure footing to strengthen and deepen our economic and political democracy.

Observation of the people’s self-determination pursuit leaves no doubt that, once provided the needed support, they can succeed.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Police Force attracting highly qualified applicants

THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) in the past year has been able to attract a number of highly qualified persons into its ranks, a positive development for the force which has been seeking to raise its standards of professionalism.

Between 2015 and 2016, of the number of persons recruited, 56 were holders of between five and eight subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).

In addition, 15 applicants had 10 or more subjects at CSEC, six had diplomas and the same number had degrees, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine told reporters on Friday.

“Today, it is obvious that the force is very attractive; it’s a place where now, people with degrees and diplomas are serving as an encouragement to others who may wish to join later.

The last intake that we have was someone with a degree in law and another with a degree in economics,” he said.

-- acting Commissioner Ramnarine

Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine The acting police commissioner noted that last year, 18 ranks graduated from the University of Guyana -- four with degrees and 14 with diplomas.

Meanwhile, a number of officers and ranks are studying at UG and several are due to graduate soon.

In 2015, Commissioner Ramnarine reported that

36 officers from the rank of cadet officer to assistant commissioners and 17 other ranks had completed various sponsored programmes.

This, he said, will assist in sustaining and maintaining capacity and capability in the Police Force.

The acting Top Cop also noted that in 2016, more ranks from cadet officer to

9 acres of cannabis destroyed by police -3 in custody

Materials which were found during the raid were set on fire by the police on Thursday IN excess of nine acres of cultivated cannabis with about 8,000 plants was discovered by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) during a drug-eradication exercise at Araray Village, Upper Essequibo.

The plants ranged in heights from one foot to 10 feet, while several nurseries with over 3,000 seedlings and two make-shift tents were found and destroyed during the 12-hour exercise.

According to the police force, three males who were found tending to the cultivation were taken into custody and are expected to be charged with cultivating prohibited plants.

A section of the area which was cultivated with cannabis plants

senior superintendent were trained compared to the previous year.

Some 53 junior ranks also received training.

Next month, the force will receive training from four overseas groups that will be visiting Guyana. These groups include The United Kingdom Border Force, Impact Justice Training, Cave Hill School of Business and the Justice Education Society of Canada.

“We are very fortunate to be receiving so much training within the last few years, it is intended to build capacity and capability, it is to deliver a better quality of service to the public. We are extremely thankful and grateful,” Ramnarine emphasised.

He said improvements must be seen, since it is not business as usual.

“The purpose of an education is to ensure that the individual can make right choices, make proper decisions, conduct their lifestyles in a certain way, discharge their duties in an acceptable manner, all to the benefit of the greater society,” the acting Top Cop said

PPP concerned about move to oust Maduro from MERCUSOR presidency Dear Editor, THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has noted with interest attempts by some member states of MERCOSUR to take over the presidency jointly from Venezuela for this coming semester.

The four countries -- namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- in a joint statement, called on Venezuela to speed up ratification of the agreements of the regional mechanism or face the possibility of suspension from the bloc.

The PPP calls on the Guyana Government to state its position on this matter, since Guyana is a member of MERCOSUR. It would appear from the statements released that there are highly coincidental positions taken by certain member states in collaboration with Brazil, who have adopted a more extreme position, threatening the expulsion of Venezuela from MERCOSUR by December 1, 2016.

Such a move would be reminiscent of the expulsion of Cuba from the Organization of American States (OAS) at a meeting of that organization held in 1962 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

It is of interest to note that this concerted action by some member states comes just weeks after the removal of former Brazilian President Ms. Dilma Rousseff in what is seen as a constitutional coup; and similar attempts by the internal and external political forces to remove President Maduro of Venezuela before the constitutionally due date.

Regards, PEOPLE’S PROGRESSIVE PARTY

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Weeping drug Alleged teen bandits on carjacking, armed addict charged robbery charges with son’s murder A FORTY-SIX-year-old man appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul at the Vigilance Magistrates Court, charged with the murder of his son, whom he allegedly stabbed on September 28 over a row for $200 to buy cocaine.

Amernauth Chand of Annandale, East Coast Demerara, was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that on September 28 at Lot 81 Narine Street, Annandale, he murdered 24-year-old Mahesh Chand.

The man wept bitterly while he was in the prisoner’s box; he was unrepresented and was remanded to prison until October 27. The Guyana Chronicle had reported that on the day in question, Chand fatally stabbed his son twice in the stomach after the young man stood up in defence of his mother, who was being beaten for $200.

The incident reportedly occurred about 22:30hrs when the accused requested to borrow some money from his wife who refused to lend him; as a result, they had an altercation which turned violent. The victim who is

Remanded: Amernauth Chand

their son was present and he intervened.

During the altercation, the suspect armed himself with a cutlass and stabbed the young man while he was in bed. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the mother of the deceased, Tajeranie Chowtie, told the Guyana Chronicle that her husband told their son, “You take your mother side and stand up to me.”

The grieving woman re-

Dead: Mahesh Chand

lated 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.

TWO Charlestown teens were remanded to prison on Friday on two counts of robbery under arms by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.

Joshua Collins, 17 and Leroy Forde, 18 were jointly charged for being armed with a gun on September 26 at Bishop Street, Werk-en-Rust and robbing Kendal Short of his $19,000 Blu cellphone.

It is further alleged that on the same day and location, the teens robbed Andrew Nurse of his Toyota Premio motor car valued $2.5M. The

teens did not have legal representation and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police prosecutor Deniro Jones objected to bail, citing the gravity of the charges and also that a gun was used to commit the crime. Bail was refused and they were remanded to prison until October 21.

According to reports, on September 26, Nurse had just stepped out of his vehicle to visit his mechanic in Bishop Street, Georgetown and as he returned to his car, he felt a gun pressed to his head

and he was shoved aside as the two men grabbed his keys and made off with the vehicle.

However on Tuesday last, the police acting on information arrested the two alleged bandits in the East La Penitence area with the stolen car.

The bandits however had changed the number plates of the car but the owner identified his vehicle by the engine and chassis number. The men were also pointed out during an identification parade.

Linden man remanded for alleged marijuana possession THIRTY-ONE-year-old Gladwin Parrish of Block 22 Wismar, Linden, was remanded to prison by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for the possession of 369 grammes of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

The tractor driver was

allegedly caught with the illegal substance on September 29 at Itaballi Landing, Mazaruni River. Parrish denied the allegation while his lawyer, Latchmi Rahmat, made an application for bail on the grounds that the defendant is married and is the

sole breadwinner for his two children.

According to the lawyer, her client was instructed by his employer to drive the tractor to Puruni.

“When Parrish arrived at his employer’s home the tractor was already packed,” the lawyer pointed out. She said that two employees were also travelling with Parrish, who made two stops between Linden and Rockstone.

According to the attorney, her client had picked up a hitchhiker who was also heading in the Puruni area. However when the vehicle was stopped at the Itaballi police checkpoint, a search was conducted and the cannabis was found under Parrish’s driver’s seat.

The lawyer stressed that her client had no knowledge of the drug, since he did not load the tractor and the fact remains that there were other people in the said vehicle.

Meanwhile, Police Prosecutor Corporal Deniro Jones objected to bail, pointing out that the defence failed to raise any special reasons on why bail should be granted.

Bail was refused and Parrish was remanded until October 13; the case was transferred to the Bartica Magistrates’ Court.

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Overpayment continues GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

...audit report cites continued trend in overpayment of contractors

By Neil Marks AUDITOR General Dedoat Sharma, who has over the years pointed to overpayment to contractors and breaches of laws on public spending, on Friday afternoon presented the 2015 Audit of the Public Accounts, saying he has noted a “similar trend.”

The audit is the first to scrutinise spending by the coalition government which came to power following the May 15, 2015 general elections. The audit, which covers the coalition government’s first budget, is for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and reviewed spending by government ministries, departments and the country’s ten administrative regions.

The report was handed over to Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Barton Scotland, at Public Buildings.

The report would be made public when it is tabled in the National Assembly in probably another two weeks, when the first session is held after the Parliamentary recess.

Once presented, the report would have to be duly examined by the Public Accounts Committee, and Mr. Sharma has called on citizens to participate in that process, as the examination of the public accounts is open to the public.

He said: “I would like to remind citizens that the sittings in relation to the examination of the Auditor General’s Reports are open to the public, and (present) an ideal forum for citizens to hear if their tax dollars were spent for the purpose or purposes for which they were intended, and in accordance with the required regulations, procedures and policies.”

While unable to disclose the contents of the report, Mr. Sharma said he had noted a similar trend in the way the public accounts are managed. Specifically, he said that the trend of overpayment to contractors and abuse of the Contingency Fund continues.

He would not be dragged into specifics, but urged an examination of the report when it

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland, is seen receiving the 2015 Report on the Public Accounts from Auditor General Deodat Sharma (Samuel Maughn photo)

has been made public.

Mr. Sharma has said his office has done a comparison on overpayment to contractors in previous years, in relation to the scenario that obtained last year.

“If you see something, say something,” Opposition Parliamentarian Juan Edgehill said. He sits on the Public Accounts Committee, and was the only one from the opposition at the ceremony.

He supported the Auditor General’s call for citizens to attend sittings of the Public Accounts Committee.

“It would be useful for members of the public to show up; because meetings of the Public Accounts Committee, which are always chaired by the opposition, are open to the public; and that’s where the accounting officers -– the Permanent Secretaries, the REOs (the Regional Executive Officers) and heads of agencies -- come and give an account (of how) they would have spent the monies that were appropriated at the level of the Parliament for the purpose of which it was

appropriated,” Edgehill told the Guyana Chronicle.

Edgehill supported the Auditor General’s call for citizens to use the Audit Office’s website (www.audit.org.gy) to be informed about the work of the Office.

“The website can also be used to anonymously report any case of wrongdoing,” he stated.

Edgehill suggested that millions of dollars could be saved if citizens alert the Audit Office to irregularities.

“If you see something, say something,” Edgehill declared.

The Constitution of Guyana and the Audit Act 2004 provides the Audit Office with responsibility to audit the financial statements of all government entities, including all foreign-funded projects. The mission of the Audit Office is to promote good governance,

transparency, and improved public accountability.

In the report on public spending, the Auditor General’s Office found that overpayments amounting to $31.315 million ($31,315,000) were made on measured works on 19 contracts administered by ministries, departments and regions. Further, it was found that significant breaches of legislation occurred, especially relative to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (with 22 ministries/departments being guilty). Thirteen of these ministries and departments breached Section 43, which stipulated that “… any unexpended balance of public moneys issued out of the Consolidated Fund shall be returned and surrendered to the Consolidated Fund”.

In addition, it was found that eight ministries/departments had breached Section

80, which stipulated thus: “The concerned Minister shall, within two months following the receipt of the annual report, present the annual report of each statutory body to the National Assembly”.

Moreover, these ministries/departments did not lay reports in the National Assembly for more than 42 agencies for the year 2014.

Mr. Sharma said Friday that the 2015 report is the seventh consecutive report that was presented by the statutory deadline of September 30.

“Timely reporting is part of our mission, and we have achieved this goal through sheer dedication and hard work,” Sharma stated.

IMPROVEMENTS Parliamentarian Edgehill said the efficiency of the audit office ought to be commended. He said it shows that the capacity of the audit office has been boosted, with there being nothing suggesting that the Auditor General was “complaining because of the necessary staff.” He said that this was “thanks to the reforms over the years” to ensure that the audit office functions efficiently.

In addition to the submission of timely reports, Mr. Sharma said, the mission of his office includes execution of high-quality audits and the provision of cost-effective service by the implementation of the most up-to-date audit practices.

In this regard, he said, the audit office had utilised funding from the Inter-American

Development Bank (IDB) to commence implementation of the Audit Management Software called TeamMate.

“This will assist us immensely in ensuring high quality work is produced on a more consistent basis and in keeping with international standards,” he stated.

He said the software would see automation of the Audit Office’s working paper files, and will real time review of audit work.

“We could be sitting in Georgetown and review work being done in Essequibo in real time,” he said.

Sharma noted that through the continued support of the Guyana Government, the IDB, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Indian Government, the Audit Office has been able to continue its capacity building initiatives with training delivered/planned in areas such as report writing, performance, procurement and information technology auditing, forensic accounting and fraud investigations.

“We have also revised our Strategic Development Plan, which will chart the way forward for the next three years,” Sharma added.

Apart from Mr. Edgehill, the only other Parliamentarians who attended the ceremony for the presentation of the 2015 Audit Report were Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Adams-Patterson; and Jermaine Figueira from the government side of the National Assembly.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Six in custody for Rio fatal shooting ‒ unlicensed guns, ammo found during raid DETECTIVES arrested a total of six persons in connection with the Rio Inn nightclub shooting on September 26 which claimed the life of 19-year-old Ryan Sargeant, called “Harry,” of North Ruimveldt. He was reportedly shot to the head.

This newspaper understands that detectives searched a house Friday morning at Hadfield Street, Lodge, during which two unlicensed handguns - .32 pistol and a .38 revolver along with 15 rounds of ammunition

Ryan Sargeant, called “Harry”

were found.

The police have confirmed that three men and two females were taken into custody Friday and are assisting with the investigation, while another person was held on Thursday.

Detectives were able to positively identify the shooters from video footage provided. Reports are that the entire incident was recorded on surveillance cameras. Jeffrey Ferrell, 35, who was shot to the neck, has also provided the cops with information.

Reports are that the 19-year-old and his friends had got into a heated argument with a group of men at the club over a female. During the argument, a fight broke out and the men were reportedly asked to leave the night spot since they were disturbing other patrons.

According to information, while outside the club, an individual pulled out a gun and opened

The two unlicensed firearms and ammunition found

fire on Sargeant and his friends, resulting in them running for cover. It was while the 19-year-old was running towards his car that he was shot and his friend sustained a gunshot wound.

The young man who was with Sargeant opened fire on the gang members but missed; the men eventually escaped, while Sargeant was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

$114M in drugs seized in Miner charged with breaking past 3 months into home of step-mother THE Guyana Police Force Narcotics Branch has, over the past three months, seized a total of 43kg of cannabis and 102 kg of cocaine, worth some $22M and $92M respectively.

Speaking at a news con-

ference on Friday, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine said that, for both offences, a total of 119 males and 17 females were arrested.

Of the 102kg of cocaine seized, 90kg were found on outgoing passengers at the

Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

In terms of the eradication effort, the Commissioner said, in Linden alone, 21,150kg of cannabis sativa plants were destroyed by burning.

AFTER two years of being on the run, a 20-yearold miner appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan Friday, charged with breaking into the home of his step-mother and carting off several items.

Rondel Richards of Tucville, Georgetown, pleaded guilty to breaking into the home of Savita Harrichan between April 1, 2014 and August 6, 2014 at Port Kaituma Waterfront and carting off several electrical and

household items totalling $762,000.

When asked by the magistrate why he broke into the home, Richards said “Your Worship, I was young and I stole the items to start a life of my own.”

He claimed that he still has some of the items in his possession while the rest was stolen. The chief magistrate ordered that he compensate Harrichan of $200,000 or serve 12 months imprisonment.

According to reports, on

April 1, 2014, Harrichan secured her Port Kaituma Waterfront home and left for Georgetown. On August 6, 2014, she returned and found the house ransacked with the items missing. The matter was reported to the police and the woman had suspected that it was her step-son who committed the crime.

However, Richards managed to evade the police for the last two years and was nabbed last Thursday when he returned to the Port Kaituma area.

16 homeless ‒ 3 houses destroyed by fire at McDoom

By Clestine Juan SIXTEEN persons are now homeless following an early-morning fire which destroyed three houses at 49-50 Middle Street, McDoom, East Bank Demerara.

One of the victims, Onika Welch, lived with her four children and granddaughter at Lot 50 which consisted of an upper and lower apartment, while two houses were in Lot 49.

Welch said that she resided in the upper flat of the building, while the tenants in the lower flat were not at home when the fire started sometime after 01:30hrs on Friday.

The distraught woman said she was asleep when she was awakened by the immense heat and she immediately ran into the children’s room and hurried out of the house screaming “fire.”

Welch said she alerted other residents in the nearby

Onika Welch points to what is left of her home at Lot 50 Middle Street, McDoom [Delano Williams photo]

houses which are situated very close to each other, as they were all asleep. She related that she had no time to save any of her valuables as the fire quickly razed the two houses next door.

Welch is not sure what caused the fire and estimated her losses to be more than $1M. Meanwhile, Welch criticised the response from the Guyana Fire Service, alleging that the fire tenders had no water after showing up some two hours after the fire com-

menced.

“They came without no water and that how the other houses were allowed to burn.”

She said neighbours assisted by throwing water on the burning building. In the meantime, Welch and her children are staying with neighbours and other family members. The other fire victims, which include the Smiths and Josiahs, were not at the scene at the time this newspaper visited.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Former Gov’t Minister Fitz Carmichael laid to rest

President David Granger and Attorney General Basil Williams among others at the funeral service

PRESIDENT David Granger on Friday attended the funeral service of former Regional Minister and Minister of Forestry, Fitz Uriel Alexander Carmichael, who died on September 22 at the age of 81.

The service was held at the

St James-The-Less Anglican Church, Kitty, Georgetown.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, who spoke on behalf of the People’s National Congress (PNC), described the former minister as a staunch member

of the party, which he served illustriously. He recalled his exchanges with Mr Carmichael at past party congresses and said that, “he was always prompted to offer advice in terms of improving the People’s National Congress.”

The late Mr Carmichael was born on August 10, 1935 at No. 28 Village, West Coast Berbice. He was the eldest of four children. He was a trained teacher, who was posted to several locations including Suddie, Hopetown and Port Kaituma.

In 1973, he was elected a member of the National Assembly representing the PNC and served as Regional Minister of the North-West District, Barima-Waini (Region One) and Lethem-Rupununi, Region Nine, until 1981. He was then appointed Minister of Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture.

He leaves to mourn his son Mr Kenwyn Carmichael, his sister Ms Myrtle Stewart and other relatives. (Ministry of the Presidency)

Pall-bearers, led by General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis (left) and brother of the deceased, Sylvester Carmichael (right)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Lack of jobs forces students into prostitution, illegal activities – UNICEF report

By Shauna Jemmott

MANY students in Guyana turn to prostitution and illegal activities after completing school as a result of the unavailability of proper professional and career opportunities, a Situation Analysis (SitAn) report compiled by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said.

The SitAn report was presented by UNICEF’s outgoing Guyana and Suriname Country Representative Marianne Flach to First Lady Sandra Granger and Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence on Wednesday, at Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown.

According to a ‘Voice of Adolescents’ section in the report, “Many of the students upon completing school cannot find proper jobs and they

end up turning to prostitution and illegal activities.”

UNICEF also revealed that many Guyanese migrate to other countries because of lack of job security and availability, which creates devastating social and economic effects and results in broken families, the brain drain and an estimated 8% loss of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The report said despite Guyana’s good GDP performance, taking into consideration the GDP per capita, the country remains the third poorest in the Western Hemisphere, after Haiti and Nicaragua.

“Unemployment is high, and it is particularly concerning for the young population, which represents more than 60% of Guyana’s population.

Since 2002, youth unemploy-

ment has been consistently higher than 30% and is currently estimated to be about 40%.”

CHILDREN ARE IGNORED The UNICEF report also highlighted that the voices of children in Guyana are being ignored and respect for their rights limited, despite recommendations by the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure child participation in local governance, schools, the courts and the family.

UNICEF said they had consulted, both formally and informally, with several children from various parts of the country during the process of developing this situation analysis, and all had one common concern. The children consulted varied in gender, ages, ethnicities and

wealth statuses, and shared various realities, experiences and points of view. “… nonetheless, all had one point in common: they all mentioned not having any space to participate at school,” UNICEF said.

It further noted that while “school is not the only environment where the child lives, it is the space where he/ she spends 1/3 of his/her day, and it is an environment where learning is the main goal. In theory, the school could be the space where participation should be taught and practised.”

“No one has ever asked us what we would like to change about the school. If given the opportunity, we would be glad to share our ideas [and] views and feelings on the areas for improvement in the school,” the report quotes a child as saying.

UNICEF pointed out that so distant was the concept of “participation” that children

hardly knew what the word meant, but the vast majority agreed that they needed opportunities to have their voices heard by management and teachers in schools. The children believe that their participation will become effective,only if teachers are ready to listen and respect their opinions.

“While all the students were receptive to the idea of participation at school, at home, and in their community, they also shared a concern that some adults might not be prepared to listen to their opinions and take them seriously,” the report states.

Back at home, children and adolescents mentioned that only sometimes are they given opportunities to participate, while the majority of the decisions lay with adults.

At community levels, children report that participation is non-existent, and could not recognise any “open spaces” where they could freely interact with the community in order to have their voices heard.

“In practice, according to the UN Committee on the

Rights of the Child (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2013), respect for this right remains limited, with no systematic approach in place for the participation of children and young people in local governance. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child raised that socio-cultural attitudes and traditions continue to restrain children from freely expressing their views in schools, the courts and within the family,” the SitAn report states.

Meanwhile, SitAn recommends that principals and teachers in all schools in Guyana must be trained in the importance of child participation at school and society.

It was also recommended that they develop toolkits for public consultations on national policy development to standardise these consultations at a high level of inclusiveness and participation and undertake programmes and awareness-raising activities to promote the meaningful and empowered participation of all children.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Essequibians benefit from mental health outreach governmental organisations, faith-based organisations and community-based organisations in order to tackle suicide. The ministry can be reached at via email psychdept@yahoo.com and more information can be had on the facebook page of the Mental Health Unit.

The outreach team also concluded a training session at the Richard Fikal Police

Mental Health Director Dr Rajkumar and other members of the outreach team at the Anna Regina Car Park/Market attending to residents on Friday

SCORES of residents benefited from a medical outreach that focused on suicide, drugs and alcohol abuse, depression and other mental health illnesses, when a team of doctors and social workers visited the Anna Regina Car Park/ Market on Friday.

The team was headed by Mental Health Director, Dr Meena Rajkumar, who was satisfied with the work done.

The outreach sought to raise awareness and prevention of suicide and other mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and drug and alcohol abuse.

According to Dr Rajkumar, the public is eager to acquire information on suicide prevention and some residents called for similar initiatives to be held in schools, and other areas of the region.

Guyana reportedly has the highest suicide rate in the world with 44.2 per cent per 1000 persons, three times the global average of 11.2 per 1000 persons.

In Guyana, one person dies in every 25 suicide attempts. Due to information gathered, the Public Health Ministry has launched awareness programmes in Regions Two, Three, Five and Six to battle the high number of suicide cases.

From information gathered, Region Two is most at risk, followed by Region Six, Region Three and Region Five.

Dr Rajkumar urged parents to connect, communicate and care for their children, pointing out that often people, especially children, yearn for attention and affection, which seems to be lacking from parents and family members.

Everyone, she said, needs someone at times who would listen to them.

“We should all be on the alert for them and to look for unusual signs and symptoms that may contribute to suicide and other mental health problems. We should encourage people to open up, be brave and overcome situations that seem to be difficult. There is always a solution other than suicide.

Clinics are being held every fourth Thursday monthly at the Suddie Public Hospital which is being run by herself,” Dr Rajkumar said.

Persons feeling depressed and in need of help can call the Toll Free numbers – 592-223-0001, 592223-0009, 592-600-7896 or 592 – 623-4444 at any time of the day.

The Public Health Ministry is willing to partner and collaborate with non-

Training School at Suddie, which attracted more than 60 persons, including police officers, pastors and non-governmental organisations.

The training was geared to equip the participants to competently respond to handling persons with mental health issues.

Residents are urged to tune in to the Essequibo local television station be-

tween 19:00hrs to 20:00hrs tonight for more information from the outreach team.

The team also comprised Cuban Psychiatrist, Dr Carmen Perez; Cuban Psychologist, Marianela Fonseca; Dr Elizabeth Nickram of the Georgetown Public Hospital and Social Worker Sharron Ramkarran of the Mental Health Unit.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

eGovernment Agency’s IDEAL project advancing ICT in education sector T

HE theme for Education Month 2016 centred on the advancement of education; and in this technological age, the best advancement in this regard lies in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

President Granger has spoken of his wish to see Guyana transformed into an “Education nation” -- a nation in which each child is able to get to school, and has access to the highest quality of education available.

Additionally, every child must be provided with the resources which would allow that child to gain quality education and achieve its highest level possible. The President believes that education holds the key to the country’s overall development, as educating the children means educating the future.

During an address to residents and students at the commissioning of the 10th school bus in Coomacka, Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10), donated under the Five Bs Initiative in June, the President said that education is the best investment Governments can make in preparation for future development of any nation.

“If you want to be something in life, you have to be educated; and the least I could do is to ensure that every single child has access to education, because I believe in equality,” the President said. He added

that education must be driven by innovation and transformation, in order to ensure that Guyana is on par with international standards.

At the 100th Anniversary commemoration of the Berbice High School, the President said Education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is the key to innovation and transformation.

“Guyana’s capacity to compete in global markets will rely on our ability to innovate.

Innovation requires that greater emphasis be placed on education, particularly STEM education. The greatest innovation in (the) global economy is in the scientific and information technology fields,” he said.

President Granger has pledged his administration’s commitment to ensuring that education goes beyond the classroom and includes all aspects of ICT. It is as a result of this commitment that the eGovernment Agency has been busy with the roll-out of its Improving Digital Equity, Access and Learning (IDEAL) programme.

IDEAL involves the provision of an interconnected database for creation of an interconnected e-government network within ministries and their related agencies across the country; as well as the creation of ICT hubs within communities and educational institutions. One of the first phases of IDEAL included

Mr. Roopesh Persaud of the Upper Corentyne Industrial Training Centre gives Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Agency, Mr. Floyd Levi, a closer look at the server that facilitates connectivity at the centre, during his visit to East Berbice/Corentyne (Region 6) working with the Ministry of Education to roll-out the Secondary Schools Internet Connectivity project, which began in August this year.

The eGovernment Agency has thus far concluded this phase with 100 educational institutions being provided with free

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

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

The IT Lab at the New Opportunity Corps will receive a donation of 15 additional computer systems from the eGovernment Agency Internet and WiFi services in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region Three), Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four), Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five) and East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six).

The project is expected to facilitate delivery of the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum; and the schools, ICT hubs and other learning institutions are all being served by 54 towers that have been erected along the Coast and connected to the eGovernment Agency’s 11 LTE sites.

The eGovernment Agency has also conducted several visits to these areas, to provide additional assistance and to monitor the performance of the recently installed systems. On a visit to the Mahaica-Berbice and the East Berbice-Corentyne regions at the initial stage of the project, Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment

Agency, Mr. Floyd Levi, said the initiative comes at an opportune time, as Internet access is a critical resource for students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examinations, especially in light of the new requirement of online submission of School Based Assessments (SBAs).

On their most recent visit to the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region, the eGovernment Team met with several stakeholders, including the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and the Regional Education Officer (REDO), and conducted visits to several schools which have benefited from the project. Mr. Levi said the trip allowed for further recommendations to be made for expansion of the project in the area.

Region Two REDO Ms. Baramdai Seepersaud lauded the initiative, adding that it would aid in research and access of information. She noted that not only is the eGovern-

ment service free, but it is also faster than the existing Internet network in the region.

She added that based on interactions with several of the schools, the service has since been working extremely well.

The trip also allowed for further recommendations to be made for expansion of the project to other institutions, such as the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, the Guyana School of Agriculture, libraries, and other institutions.

“ICT is very important.

Our young minds are all technologically-inclined, so they look forward to it. With the Internet, you can do so many things in your own little space,” Ms. Seepersaud said.

School officials have also expressed appreciation for upgraded IT laboratories, which were provided under the project in many of the institutions; but secondary school students are not the only beneficiaries of this project, as digital equity

means equal access for everyone, including the underprivileged and the at-risk.

The New Opportunity Corps (NOC), the correctional facility for youth in Guyana, is among the organisations that have benefited from the initiative. In addition to providing the WIFI services to the facility, the Agency has provided 15 laptop computers for the institution’s IT Laboratory, while officials from the agency will also fill the gap created by a shortage of teachers to provide training for the juveniles who are resident at the NOC. It was stated that, given equal opportunities and resources, these young people can perform as well as any other set of students. “These students need life skills that can serve them well in the future, and these things form very much a part of that future.

So they have to be prepared that when they leave here they can integrate well into society, and can lead meaningful and

Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Agency, Mr. Floyd Levi (centre), gestures while making a point to Manchester residents about the possibilities of establishing an ICT hub in the Lan-Liv-Man Community Centre (abbreviation for Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester) in Region 6

productive lives,” it was said.

Senior Training Officer of the NOC, Mr. Parasram Singh, has said that the initiative therefore aids in providing a brighter future for the young people, as it would help to foster a better learning process for them even as they remain at the facility.

“It’s a wonderful initiative.

They sometimes feel forgotten…so it is a blessed day for the NOC… We cannot expect anything better than this,” he said.

The second phase of the IDEAL programme also includes establishment of community ICT hubs which would see provision of free Internet services within identified communities. Community Analyst of the eGovernment Agency, Mr. Marlon Pearson, explained that this project involves meeting with key stakeholders to identify communities, and meeting with the community members; installation of systems in identified locations that are acces-

sible by all community members; and engaging with the private sector collaborators for equipping and furnishing of hubs, where needed.

Coming out of recommendations from the Regional Administration in Pomeroon-Supenaam, the communities of Dartmouth, Lima Sands, Good Success, Charity and Aurora have so far been identified for implementation of this project.

During consultations with the Regional Executive Officer of Region Two, Mr. Rupert Hopkinson, the Agency was also able to secure space at the Regional Office in Anna Regina where it can set up a permanent location so as to monitor the eGovernment services in that region.

Mr. Levi has said that the sole aim of the Agency is to transform Guyana into a digital society. It has already been planned to extend this network to communities in the hinterland, and this plan is expected to be executed next year.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

President commissions school bus at Tapakuma

By Ravi D. Mohan

AT a well-attended ceremony on Thursday, President David Granger commissioned another school bus (David ‘G’ School Bus No. 13) at Tapakuma, an Amerindian village in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam). This comes a day before the village hosts its heritage day activities.

The bus is the latest of the 5Bs programme that makes a total of 13 buses distributed nationwide and the first 25-seater bus for Essequibo.

It is designated to transport children from the Mainstay / Tapakuma community to and from schools on the Essequibo Coast.

The bus will be under the control of the Regional Executive Officer Mr Rupert Hopkinson, who is tasked with

providing the driver and fuel.

Speaking at the ceremony was Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally, who stated that the Government is privileged to partner with donor Joe Jagmohan of Innovating Mining Inc to make life easier for children to go to school.

Two boats were already distributed to Upper and Lower Pomeroon River residents to facilitate students attending Charity Schools and surrounding areas. Additionally, 20 bicycles were also donated to successful students of the 2016 NGSA exams in Region Two. Cricket gear, a computer and a printer were also presented on Thursday to the Tapakuma Primary School

by Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock.

These requests have stemmed from Face the Community

President David Granger takes the driver’s seat of the ‘David G. No. 13’ while the children get acquainted with their new ride to school

meetings around the country, where the Government is made aware of the needs of the people.

In his feature address, President Granger said he supports the vision of “Every Child In School” and asked parents to commit to sending their children to school as they are the future of this country. He stated that this initiative came from residents of The Pomeroon, especially Mr Garraway, who was present at the ceremony and Ms Doreen Duncan. He further stated that his government is inclusive when it comes to the needs of the people and will go to every corner of the country to make this happen. Mr Granger also reiterated that he does not blame the parents or the past administration, for quirks in

the system, but underscored that education is the key to development. “Education opens up the doors for employment as such without it, you can’t progress in the world today,” the President told the gathering of schoolchildren, residents and teachers.

He noted that over 4000 students drop out of the school system yearly because many children are not getting the opportunities to attend school. The President said he is also very alarmed about the large number of students who fail the National Grade Six Assessment.

Meanwhile, Mr Granger encouraged the residents to be proactive and create jobs for themselves in the various sectors such as agro-processing for overseas markets, as

well as the fisheries sector.

He urged residents to be entrepreneurs and preserve the fruits rather than having them spoilt. He also urged them to get education, training and equipment that would enhance their product-quality and production.

He noted that Region Two is the rice bowl of the country as it is evident from the amount of lands being cultivated for paddy from Pomeroon to Supenaam. Appreciation for this generous donation was done by Regional Education Officer of Region Two, Ms. Baramdai Seepersaud. The ceremony featured prayers

by Pastor George Frederick and cultural items from pupils including Wapishiana and Vaquero Dancers along with a heritage poem.

President David Granger and Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms Amna Ally are surrounded by students and representatives of Innovative Mining Incorporated.

Donor, Mr Joe Jagmohan, is standing third from left and Regional Executive Officer, Mr Rupert Hopkinson, is at right

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Students to use iPads in classrooms ‒ to access learning materials

IPADS and similar electronic devices will soon be used by secondary school students in the classroom to access learning materials.

Eighty-two secondary schools in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six are now connected to the Government’s E-governance (E-GOV) 4-G LTE infrastructure network and are able to access Wi-Fi and Internet services, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported Thursday.

Head of the MIS (Management Information System) Unit at the Ministry of Education, Yoganand Indarsingh, in a recent interview with GINA, said the connection has been placed in proximity to the Information Technology (IT) laboratories in the secondary schools, allowing the computers in the laboratories to have access to the network and the Internet.

Indarsingh explained that wireless routers in the computer labs would allow students with iPods, iPads and similar electronic mobile devices to access the network.

PART OF THE CURRICULUM He said also that the ser-

vice would be made available to whatever instructional technology is being used within the schools as part of the curriculum and not only for students preparing their School-Based Assessments (SBAs).

The World Bank-funded Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) includes a mathematics pilot project that targets Grade Seven students at a number of secondary schools.

The project also provides electronic tablets for the students and these students would use the e-government connection to access the Internet on their tablets, GINA stated.

ONLY APPROPRIATE CONTENT Moreover, the students would not have uninhibited access to the Internet as systems are in place to filter the content and to ensure it is used only for educational and instructional purposes, Indarsingh noted.

The E-Government Unit would apply the filter to ensure that only appropriate content will be accessed by the schools. The system would be further filtered within the schools, depending on what restriction would be required by the

Saturday, October 1, 2016 - 05:00 hrs Sunday, October 2, 2016 - 05:30 hrs Monday, October 3, 2016 - 05:00 hrs

school itself.

The Wi-Fi and Internet connectivity to the schools are part of the Improving Digital Equity, Access and Learning (IDEAL) Programme.

This programme is in keeping with a mandate given by President David Granger to have all public institutions, including schools, equipped with Internet services to facilitate the transition from tradi-

tional learning techniques to a modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) approach.

Under the Improving Digital Equity, Access and Learning (IDEAL) Programme, all the secondary schools across the country are expected to have access to the Internet and Wi-Fi service before the end of the year, with the primary schools coming on stream in 2017, GINA added.

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Former NC head admits ...

From back page:

Rules of the Elite League.

“This is semantics in the sense that if me and you enter into a written agreement which all 8 clubs signed off on, and the agreement listed all the rules and regulations, the prize moneys, no relegation and promotion until after two years, no expansion and all the other things, which all the parties had to agree upon after several rounds of discussions, it is a contract because they all agreed and signed off.

All the clubs agreed, including Fruta Conquerors which was then headed by Wayne Forde. I am not a lawyer, but if you as the regulatory party and the eight clubs accept the rules

and signed off, that’s a contract. If the GFF wants to breach the contract and they are arguing that it’s not a contract, that agreement exists. The agreement is not a figment of someone’s imagination.

“The GFF has the authority to regulate all football but they do not have the authority to infringe or alter agreements at their own whims and fancies.

These things have to be done in a professional environment where rules, agreements and contracts are respected,” Urling pointed out.

“The GFF needs to be on the offensive and stop being on the defensive on this issue, and all it requires is simple dialogue, negotiating and compromising, the same way the NC did it last year working with all the clubs to complete our mandate.

“We succeeded because of our engagements with the clubs and that was supreme and salient for us – dialogue, negotiating and compromising – going back and forth, even at the last minute, to change some of the rules and agreements that we mutually agreed upon.

And this present GFF administration needs to go back to the past and see that positions where you are butting heads have not resulted in anything good.

It has stagnated the game to the extent FIFA had to intervene and install a NC.

The GFF must have the culture, spirit and willingness to dialogue and negotiate, not to impose their will,” Urling suggested.

Urling thinks the idea of expanding the League is a good move and says he would endorse it once he can evaluate it as being economically viable. He further added it might very well be what the League needs at this stage.

“The expansion could

very well be the most exciting thing for the League and maybe it is the injection to create excitement, but again it comes back to doing it in a professional manner. It must be done constitutionally which would require a Congress.

There are lots of issues to consider and clear out of the way and every MA must be involved in the process.”

Azam hits 120 as Pakistan brush West Indies aside SCOREBOARD PAKISTAN innings Az. Ali c Ramdin b Gabriel 0 Sh. Khan c Narine b Benn 54 B. Azam c Pollard b C. Brathwaite 120 S. Malik c Benn b Narine 6 S. Ahmed c Ramdin b Holder

35 M. Rizwan run-out (Gabriel) 11 I. Wasim b C. Brathwaite 24 M. Nawaz c Holder b C. Brathwaite 19 W. Riaz run-out (C. Brathwaite) 0 M. Amir not out 3 H. Ali not out 2 Extras: (b-1, lb-3, nb-1, w-5) 10 Total: (for 9 wickets, 49 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-82, 3-93, 4-192, 5-211, 6-239, 7-269, 8-269.

Bowling: S. Gabriel 8-0-53-1 (nb1, w-2), J. Holder 7-0-35-1, C. Brathwaite 10-0-54-3, S. Benn 100-46-, S. Narine 10-0-58-1 (w-1), K. Pollard 4-0-34-0 (w-1).

Irish Racing Tips Gowan Park 08:35 hrs Bobabout 09:05 hrs Buachaill Maith 09:35 hrs Grotesque 10:10 hrs Top Of The Town 10:45 hrs Road To Riches 11:20 hrs Tocororo 11:55 hrs Duckweed 12:25 hrs Lieutenant Colonel

12:10 hrs Tiptree

English Racing Tips Newmarket 08:45 hrs Pivoine 09:15 hrs Owaseyf 09:50 hrs Farandine 10:25 hrs Sharja Queen 11:00 hrs Alice Springs 11:35 hrs Sayesse

Ascot 09:00 hrs Mise En Rose 09:30 hrs Kings Fete 10:05 hrs Mehronissa 10:40 hrs Librisa Breeze 11:15 hrs Easy Road 11:50 hrs Shamshon

Fontwell 08:50 hrs Yukon Delta 09:20 hrs More Bucks 09:55 hrs Zarib 10:30 hrs Top Cat Henry 11:05 hrs Affaire D’Honneur 11:40 hrs Unify 12:15 hrs Vancouver

WEST INDIES innings J. Charles c S. Ahmed b Amir

20 K. Brathwaite c S. Ahmed b H. Ali

14 Da. Bravo b Nawaz 12 M. Samuels b Riaz 46 D. Ramdin c Az. Ali b Nawaz 8 K. Pollard c Sh. Khan b Nawaz 9 J. Holder b Wasim 1 C. Brathwaite b Nawaz 15 S. Narine c Wasim b H. Ali 23 S. Benn not out 16 S. Gabriel b H. Ali 2 Extras: (lb-6, nb-1, w-2) 9 Total: (all out, 38.4 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-41, 3-54, 4-89, 5-99, 6-103, 7-125, 8-135, 9-166.

Bowling: I. Wasim 8-0-36-1, M. Amir 5-1-21 -1, H. Ali 5.4-0-14-3, W. Riaz 6-0-27-1 (nb-1), S. Malik 4-0-29-0 (w-2), M. Nawaz 10-0-42-4.

South Africa Racing Tips Vaal 08:55 hrs Duke Nukem 09:35 hrs Lunar Approach 10:15 hrs Silver Class 10:50 hrs Rivarine 11:25 hrs Street Affair American Racing Tips Belmont Race 1 Data Room Race 2 Divine Cause Race 3 Fillet of Sole Race 4 Runaway Posse Race 5 Bustin It Race 6 Flintshire Race 7Wavell Avenue Race 8 Oscar Performance Race 9 A. P. Indian Race10 Forever Unbridled

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Black Caps on top following see-saw day

(REUTERS) - Gutsy fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane helped India reach 239 for seven in the second Test against New Zealand after a see-saw opening day yesterday.

The touring side claimed three wickets in the first session and four in the third, but the Indian duo forged a 141run partnership for the fourth wicket to leave the match evenly poised.

Wriddhiman Saha was unbeaten on 14 with Ravindra Jadeja yet to score when bad light stopped play at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Earlier, New Zealand paceman Matt Henry (3-35) celebrated his Test return with a two-wicket burst to wreck India’s top order and lift the mood in the Kiwi camp.

Beaten comprehensively

Paceman Matt Henry enjoys a fruitful Test comeback with figures of three for 35 on the opening day.

in the series-opener in Kanpur, New Zealand’s bid to level the three-Test series suffered a body blow when skipper Kane Williamson was ruled out due to illness with Ross Taylor taking over captaincy.

India captain Virat Kohli’s decision to bat in his country’s 250th home Test gave the Kiwi pacemen an opportunity to extract whatever life was available from a green-tinged track and the tourists did not disappoint.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan failed to capitalise on his recall to the side for the injured Lokesh Rahul, chopping a Henry delivery on to his stumps to depart for one.

Henry struck again in his sixth over with a beautiful delivery which angled into Murali Vijay (nine)

and seamed away, kissing the shoulder of the bat before nestling in wicketkeeper BJ Watling’s gloves.

Henry had just been warned for running on to the pitch and the change of angle worked well for the bowler.

Trent Boult dismissed Kohli for nine to peg the hosts back further but Pujara (87) and Rahane (77) joined forces to halt the slide, both playing with characteristic caution.

Pujara brought up his third successive fifty in

the series, while Rahane notched up his ninth Test half-century, as they batted through the afternoon session.

Neil Wagner broke the partnership when he had Pujara caught at short cover, ending the right-hander’s 219-ball vigil which included 17 fours.

Jeetan Patel, replacing injured off-spinner Mark Craig, dismissed Rohit Sharma and Rahane. Ravichandran Ashwin made a quick 26 before Henry trapped him lbw.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA 1st innings S. Dhawan b Henry M. Vijay c Watling b Henry C. Pujara c Guptill b Wagner V. Kohli c Latham b Boult A. Rahane lbw b Patel Ro. Sharma c Latham b Patel R. Ashwin lbw b Henry W. Saha not out

1 9 87 9 77 2 26 14

R. Jadeja not out 0 Extras: (b-8, lb-6) 14 Total: (for 7 wickets, 86 overs) 239 Fall of wickets: 1-1 , 2-28, 3-46, 4-187, 5-193, 6-200, 7-231.

Bowling: T. Boult 16-8-33-1, M. Henry 15-6-35-3, N. Wagner 15-537-1, M. Santner 19-5-54-0, J. Patel 21-3-66–2.

Police to review corruption evidence before FA does (REUTERS) - Police have asked to see transcripts relating to an investigation into alleged corruption in English soccer before they can be released to the Football Association (FA), the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.

The newspaper said it still intended to provide the FA with “the relevant transcripts”, as it had stated it would earlier in the week.

England manager “However, the police Sam Allardyce was have asked to review this sacked on Tuesday. information first. The FA and the Premier League illicit payments, for player are aware of this,” the pa- transfers.

Southampton assistant per added in a statement.

The FA had earlier urged manager Eric Black was the newspaper to provide the latest to be named in the “full and unfettered disclo- newspaper investigation and sure of all available material” has denied the allegations.

Stoke City manager from the investigation.

The newspaper’s rev- Mark Hughes told reporters elations have so far led to yesterday that any wrongdoEngland manager Sam Al- ers should be named without lardyce and Barnsley assis- delay.

“If there’s evidence certant manager Tommy Wright tain individuals have been losing their jobs.

The long-running in- involved in things they vestigation by the news- shouldn’t have been, then paper also suggested eight it’s important those guys are current and former Pre- named because if they aren’t mier League managers then everybody else is guilty had received ‘bungs’, or by association by virtue of

being a manager or coach in football,” he said.

Second tier Queens Park Rangers said they were unable to proceed with an internal investigation into the conduct of manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink because of the lack of detailed information.

“We urge The Telegraph to provide full disclosure of all its information relating to the allegations, including video footage and a full transcript of the discussions that took place,” Rangers said in a statement.

“The club believes this information should not be provided selectively, but unedited and unconditionally, in order for the club to view the full context and the sequence of what was said by all parties to include in its investigation.”

The FA said in its statement that it would be meeting with City of London Police next week.

“The FA treats any allegations of this nature seriously and is committed to investigating them thoroughly, in conjunction with any other

appropriate body,” it added Allardyce was sacked on Tuesday after the FA

said he had behaved inappropriately following secret filming that showed him

offering advice to businessmen on how to circumvent rules on player transfers.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

de Kock blasts South Africa Tyson Fury ‘tests to ODI win against Australia positive for cocaine’, could be stripped of titles HEAVYWEIGHT world champion Tyson Fury has reportedly tested positive for cocaine, according to ESPN’s Dan Rafael.

“Fury submitted to a random urine test on September 22 in Lancaster, England, and the results came back positive for the substance benzoylecgonine, the central compound found in cocaine and the marker for a positive test for the banned substance,” The failed test will, adds Rafael, “likely result in Fury being stripped of the heavyweight world title belts he was to defend in a rematch with Ukraine’s Klitschko on October 29 at the Manchester Arena”.

The Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), appointed to oversee drug-testing ahead of the Fury-Klitschko fight, wrote to the British Boxing Board of Control, the United States’ Association of Boxing Commissions and both the Fury and Klitschko camps to confirm the test

Tyson Fury result - ESPN has obtained a been declared medically unfit to fight,” Fury’s procopy of the letter.

The Guardian added moters Hennessy Sports that while Fury could lose said in a brief statement at one or more of his belts the time.

“Medical specialists have before he steps into the ring next, he is unlikely to face advised that the condition is a ban, as cocaine “is not too severe to allow him to prohibited when it is taken participate in the rematch out of competition under and that he will require treatWorld Anti-Doping Agency ment before going back into the ring.” rules.”

The withdrawal Fury, who out-pointed Wladimir Klitschko in No- marked the second time vember 2015 to claim the Fury had pulled out of the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, re-match with the 40-yearpulled out of their October old former champion after 29 re-match having been pulling out of their original re-match due to an injured declared “medically unfit”.

“Tyson has this week ankle. (Eurosport)

SOUTH Africa opener Quinton de Kock hit a masterful 178 runs in a comfortable six-wicket victory over top-ranked Australia yesterday in the first oneday international of the five-match series.

After Australia posted 294 for nine in their innings, South Africa reached their victory target with more than 13 overs remaining.

The 23-year-old de Kock hit 11 sixes and 16 fours in 113 balls to record the second-highest ODI score by a South African batsman after Gary Kirsten hit 188 against the United Arab Emirates at the 1996 World Cup in Pakistan. de Kock flayed the visiting bowlers to all corners in the high altitude batting paradise of the Highveld.

He featured in an opening stand of 145 before Rilee Rossouw was trapped lbw for 63 to the first ball from leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

He then put on another 123 runs with captain Faf du Plessis and was the fourth wicket to fall, caught on the boundary by Travis Head off Scott Boland.

Australia had begun their innings brightly with David Warner (40) and Aaron Finch (33) making good starts while George Bailey top-scored with 74 off 90 balls.

South Africa, however, took regular wickets and kept the run rate under six on the Centurion pitch, which traditionally favours the team batting second.

Quinton de Kock pulls through midwicket during his magnificent innings of 178.

Andile Phehlukwayo, playing only his second ODI for South Africa, took 4-44.

The teams meet next at the Wanderers in Johannesburg tomorrow.

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA innings D. Warner c Phehlukwayo b Parnell 40 A. Finch c Parnell b Phehlukwayo 33 S. Smith lbw b Phehlukwayo 8 G. Bailey c Miller b Steyn 74 M. Marsh c de Kock b Phehlukwayo 31 T. Head stp. de Kock b Tahir 18 M. Wade run-out (Miller) 5 J. Hastings c Behardien b Phehlukwayo 51 A. Zampa c Miller b Steyn 12 D. Worrall not out 6 S. Boland not out 3 Extras: (lb-5, w-8) 13 Total: (for 9 wickets, 50 overs) 294 Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-88, 3-90, 4-131, 5-172, 6-192, 7-271, 8-278, 9-286.

Bowling: D. Steyn 10-0-65-2, K.

Rabada 10-0-63-0 (w-4), W. Parnell 8-0-56-1 (w-1), A. Phehlukwayo 101-44-4 (w-3), I. Tahir 10-0-46-1, F. Behardien 2-0-15-0.

SOUTH AFRICA innings Q. de Kock c Head b Boland

178 R. Rossouw lbw b Zampa 63 F. du Plessis b Boland 26 J. Duminy c Head b Boland 9 D. Miller not out 10 F. Behardien not out 5 Extras: (w-4) 4 Total: (for 4 wickets, 36.2 overs) 295 Fall of wickets: 1-145, 2-268, 3-280, 4-280.

Bowling: D. Worrall 7.2-0-50-0 (w1), J. Hastings 7-0-52-0 (w-2), S. Boland 7-0-67-3, M. Marsh 8-0-66-0 (w-1), T. Head 2-0-16-0, A. Zampa 5-0-44-1.

Cricket in U.S. to get professional league of its own

CRICKET in the U.S. is set to go professional as part of a $70M (£54M) licensing agreement between the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) and Pennsylvania-based Global Sports Ventures LLC. The sport is immensely popular in the U.S., which currently has the second highest cricket viewership in the world behind India. More than 1.4 million people in the U.S. watched the ICC T20 World Cup held earlier this year. The USACA believes the move to make cricket professional is the first step to help grow the game in the country.

“The professional sports

landscape is a notoriously tough market to break into, but we’re confident in the strength of the consumer demand in the U.S. This agreement allows us to grow the world’s second most popular sport right here in our own backyard,” said Jignesh Pandya, president and CEO of Global Sports Ventures, as quoted by Forbes.

According to the terms of the agreement, a franchisee Twenty20 league will be established in a couple of years with talks currently regarding the number of teams, the cities where the teams will be based, the facilities required and also on the creation of clear-cut

contracts for both men and women.

“It’s not something we want to rush. When we put that product together, we want it to be a quality product. We will immediately start to put it in place, but we won’t rush it to the market,” USACA president Gladstone Dainty said.

Cricket was very popular in the U.S. before the Civil War and the rules were formalised by then president Benjamin Franklin. Another president, George Washington, played the sport in 1778 and the first international competition in any sport was a cricket match between the U.S. and Canada.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Noble House sports personality profile

Name: Kaysan Jamil Ninvalle Age: 11 years old Sport: Table Tennis Schools Attended: Chase Academy, Mae’s School

Kaysan Ninvalle

KAYSAN Ninvalle was just 4 years old when he began playing table tennis in 2009, inspired by his older brother, former national junior champion, Khalil Ninvalle. Since then the Chase Academy student has been gradually sharpening his skills in his bid to advance in the sport.

Earlier this year he began to build steam at the National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships where he won the Boys’ Under-11, as well the Under-15 singles. He finished with a creditable second place in the Under-15 singles.

Recently the youngster has been making headlines, following his wins at the Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table Tennis Championship in Jamaica last month.

Kaysan dominated in the Boys’ Under-11 category, walking away with the gold - Guyana’s only gold medal at the regional competition, which was dictated by the Trinidad players, Ninvalle prevailed over Jalen Kerr in an exhilarating five-set match that ended 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7.

Being the only singles where Trinidad did not win made it all the more remarkable. Kaysan left this lasting impression in just his first time representing Guyana at an event.

In other medal wins Ninvalle teamed up with Nirah Bissu to take silver in the Boys’ Under-13 doubles competition, and shared the Under-13 Mixed doubles second place win with Abigale Martin.

Subsequently, Kaysan saw himself on the receiving end of support from several corporate entities that included lifetime membership at Gym 53, operated by famed Guyanese cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan, and was furnished with a spanking new Samsung Galaxy S7 from Gizmos and Gadgets. He also received support from

Dexter ‘Bushman’ Garnett, Colours Boutique and Chase Academy, making Kaysan somewhat of a little celebrity in his own right!

“Every time I’m in the newspapers my teacher would bring the newspaper to school and show the class, and some of the students would congratulate me.” Kaysan said as he smiled.

The backing has helped tremendously to encourage Kaysan, who shared that his older brother actually stopped playing the sport after being frustrated by the lack of support whenever teams needed to go overseas, and would often end up not being able to go.

Kaysan hopes not to follow that path and the strong young man declares that he refuses to let his spirit be broken when things get bad, fully intending to persevere and always hoping for the best as time goes on.

Nonetheless that will be no easy task. As many have learned, being a student athlete is no easy task. First Form student Kaysan trains six days a week, from 16:00hrs to 18:00hrs, Mondays to Fridays and 11:30hrs – 15:00hrs on Saturdays under popular local coach Linden Johnson.

But Kaysan, for the time being, has been doing an admirable job balancing academics and sports, while still managing to enjoy the little things that childhood is all about.

“It’s very, very hard but I just do what I have to do, I come, play then go home do my homework and then maybe try to watch some TV. Sometimes I have a lot of homework and I have to call Mr Johnson and tell him I can’t make it, but then I try to make it the next day.” He said. (tgarnett_sports@yahoo.com)

Everton up to third despite being held by Palace

(REUTERS)-Everton moved up to third place in the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace as Belgium strikers Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku both got on the scoresheet in a battling encounter yesterday.

Benteke headed the equaliser for Palace five minutes into the second half after Lukaku opened the scoring in the 36th and remarkably it was the Everton forward’s first Premier League goal from a direct free kick out of the 65 he has scored.

The draw took Everton to 14 points from six matches before their rivals play this weekend with a top-of-the-table clash that sees leaders Manchester City, who have a maximum 18 points, visiting Tottenham Hotspur in second on 14.

“It’s a good point in the end. We defended set plays and second balls well against a difficult team,” said Everton manager Ronald Koeman. “The team performance was outstanding, although we’d like to create more opportunities.

Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke scores their first goal Reuters / Anthony DevlinLivepic “We’ve had a good start to the season. The position in the table is not everything at the moment and we need to improve, but we’re doing a good job.”

Having lost their unbeaten league record at Bour-

nemouth last weekend, Everton looked hungry to make amends and, propelled by the fleet-footed Yannick Bolasie playing against his former club, they quickly took the initiative.

A Bolasie cross came

close to picking out Lukaku at the far post after 14 minutes before the Belgium targetman did make his mark on the scoreboard 10 minutes before the break.

He bent a superb free kick over the wall after Damien

Delaney was penalised for a high boot on Phil Jagielka, although the Everton defender had handled the ball as he raised both arms to protect himself.

“I have chased the ball and put my head in,” said

Jagielka. “I got a bit scared and tried to protect myself and ended up handballing it.

It is a natural reaction to a high boot. The ref knew that.

It was his decision.”

Alan Pardew thought his Palace side were hard done by with the foul given against them. “I was a bit disappointed that the referee gave the freekick. It was a bit harsh,” he said.

Palace have proved lucky opponents for Lukaku, who has scored four goals in his last five top-flight appearances against the south London side who stay in seventh spot.

However, his Belgium team mate Benteke denied Everton the victory when he powered a header past helpless goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from Joel Ward’s cross.

He has now scored five goals in six games against Everton.

There were nine yellow cards handed out at Goodison Park -- the most in the top flight this season -- but it was more competitive than dirty as both sides battled for points in another of this season’s Friday night matches.

34

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Strong IGG table tennis team named

THE Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has named a strong team to represent the country in the table tennis competition of the multi-sport Inter-Guiana ‘Goodwill’ Games. Players are expected to begin group training from today as they prepare for the October 20-24 event in Guyana.

The team, which comprises six core players and four backup players, includes Boys: Shemar Britton, Elishaba Johnson, Kyle Edghill, Miguel Wong, and Nicholas Romain, while on the distaff side there are Priscilla Greaves, Selenas Jackman, Nevaeh Clarkson, Davonna Best, and Aneka Phillips.

The team is largely made up of players who were selected for the event last year before that hosting of the Games was cancelled. Although the players have all been training individually with

ing academic commitments. They also have to work with the availability schedule of the Gymnasium since other sporting disciplines will be using the facility in their preparations.

Johnson indicated that while the training will be tough for the players, they have all signalled their willingness to make the sacrifice to put in the work

they will come off sometimes at 20:30hrs, after lessons, and these players will train from about 21:00hrs to 23.00hrs.

They are making the sacrifice to do the training,” Johnson said.

The Guyana team will compete with a team from Suriname at the Games, and rumour has it that Suriname is looking to field

Hazeltine National.

Rose and Stenson, who lost 3 & 2 to fired-up American young guns Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the morning, looked to gain immediate revenge as they went 2-up on the same opponents after 10 holes of top-quality golf.

Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera-Bello were 4-up on JB Holmes and Ryan Moore after 10 holes while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Cup rookie Thomas Pieters of Belgium led by the same margin against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, after eight.

The only red number on the board for the U.S. midway the afternoon came from putting maestro Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka, who were 3-up on Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Masters champion Danny Willett of England, after nine holes.

Watched by massive and

largely partisan galleries at ultra-long Hazeltine, Rose and Stenson came from one down after three holes to take control against Reed and Spieth as the Europeans piled up six birdies between them.

Even when Rose made a rare misstep on a breezy afternoon by finding water with his approach at the par-four seventh, Stenson responded by hitting an exquisite second shot to six feet and then calmly sank the birdie putt.

Europe, who have won eight of the past 10 Ryder Cups, will certainly need to maintain their afternoon momentum after the Americans completed their first sweep in an opening session since 1975 at Laurel Valley.

The U.S. have lost the Ryder Cup at home just four times since the matches began in 1927, and are bidding to end a run of three successive defeats in the competition.

Priscilla Greaves

Shemar Britton

their respective clubs, national coach Linden Johnson said that the team will begin training collectively from today at the National Gymnasium.

Johnson hinted that training for the squad will be tough because all the players have press-

a fierce team. Johnson says the Guyana side will not be taking any chances and will be preparing as hard as ever.

“The Goodwill is just around the corner and we want to take no chances with Suriname; also they might be bringing players from Holland, so we have to get our strongest team.

We’re going to be training every day.

It’s a pretty good team, we have a lot of confidence in them as a team. Even though they haven’t been training as a team as yet, they’ve all been doing their individual training, so we stand a good chance,” Johnson commented.

Apart from table tennis, teams from Guyana and Suriname will also compete in athletics, swimming, volleyball, futsal and basketball. Both athletics and swimming have already named their teams for the event. Athletics has a 28-member team while swimming has a 12-member team, as well as two reserves.

needed.

“The training will be effective from tomorrow.

We had to work out the schedule for training because not only table tennis will be training for the Games so we had to make way for other sports also at Gymnasium.

“We will play from 17:00hrs. Some of our players are at school so

Europe fight back against the U.S. at Ryder Cup

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

Kyle Edghill

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Saturday October 01, 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) Babar Azam-101 runs (2) Babar Azam-55 not out

Today’s Quiz: (1) Who took most wickets in the just-concluded T20 series between the WI & Pakistan?

(2) Who had the best bowling figures in a single game?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Holders Europe, badly bruised after being swept 4-0 by the United States in yesterday’s opening foursomes matches at the Ryder Cup golf, were fighting back midway the afternoon’s fourball encounters.

With England’s Olympic champion Justin Rose and British Open winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden setting the tone at the top of the order, the Europeans led in three and trailed in one at a sunny

Justin Rose

Wolf’s Challenge Cup Softball Fixtures for Sunday 2nd October.

Matches being played at Maltenoes Sports Club Ground Pitch (1): 10:00am Floodlights vs Regal Masters.

Pitch (2): 10:00am 4R Lioness vs Enterprise Divas.

11:30am Wellwoman vs Trophy Stall Angels.

1:00pm Blue Divas vs Wellwoman. 2:30pm Trophy Stall Angels vs Enterprise Divas.

35

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, October 1, 2016

Jaguars Franchise League 3-Day Tournament

Clements unbeaten 143 rescues Lower Corentyne

By Rajiv Bisnauth DEVON Clements produced an innings of pure maturity and determination, and it was was the highlight on day one of the sixth round of the Guyana Cricket Assad Fudadin Board (GCB) Jaguars Franchise League Three-day tournament between Lower Corentyne and West Demerara, played yesterday at the Tuschen Community Centre ground.

Displaying his wide array of strokes, Clements rescued his team from a perilous position, and annihilated the hosts’ attack with a dazzling unbeaten 143, which eventually took the visitors to 325.

All told, Clements innings spanned 226 minutes, 229 balls, inclusive 16 fours and five sixes.

In reply West Demerara reached 22 without loss. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Chabriraj Ramcharran will resume on 10 and 8 respectively, and left with much work to do in this must-win

Christoper Barnwell game for the hosts.

Earlier, no such enterprise was envisioned when the visitors slumped to 111-5 at lunch, undermined by a three-wicket burst from clinical Romario Shepherd, who finished with 5-60.

The strongly built seamer started the rout when he had Sharaz Ramcharran caught at gully by Safraz Esau without scoring, off the fifth ball of

Assad Fudadin the innings.

Jonathan Foo joined the other opening batsman Kandasammy Surujnarine and together kept the hosts’ attack at bay for almost an hour, adding 51 runs for the second wicket.

Foo seemed intent on counter-attacking, hitting five stylish fours and two huge sixes.

However, Shepherd returned for his second spell and right away had Foo edging to

Bhaskar Yadram wicketkeeper Kemol Savory for 43. Two balls later, it became 51-3 after Gajanand Singh was never allowed to settle, and was taken by Chanderpaul off the lively Shepherd.

Off-spinner Richie Looknauth (2-34), completed an excellent session for the hosts when he prised out Surujnarine (18) and Royston Crandon (11).

The visitors needed someone to come to the rescue, and

Big wins for LTI, GTI as NSBF matches continue

IN the second weekend of the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF), blowouts were the order of the day in the three matches played.

The first game featured Marian Academy taking on St Stanislaus College in a U-14 matchup, with Marian being the clear favourites from the outset.

Packed with four national players, Marian Academy stormed their way to a 3812 win. Jahleel Young and Jether Harris led the way with 9 points apiece and were supported by Joshua Brazao with 6. For St Stanislaus it was Nicholas Nemas with 4 points leading the way in a losing effort.

The second game saw an U-19 matchup between Linden Technical Institute

Nathan Saul drives to the ring. and JC Chandisingh with LTI dominating 51-26.

For the LTI side it was Tahquille Johnson who led the way with 13 points.

Akinn Wilson and Daniel Lee offered support with 10 and 9 apiece. For JC it was Osafo Profitt who was the lone fighter with 12 points.

The final game of the day proved to be a good game with Plaisance Secondary not backing down to the over-

sized Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI), who were the eventual winners 53-41. For the East Coast side, coaching decisions proved to be the ultimate letdown.

For GTI national guard Nathan Saul led the way with 21 points with Malcolm Dondol turning in 9 points for help. On the Plaisance side, Terrence Daniels, despite being injured, hit 3 three-pointers on his way to

15 points.

The grit of Plaisance kept them in the game up to the 4th minute mark in the 4th quarter. However, Saul would not be denied as he led his team home while throwing down two dunks in the process.

The tournament continues today at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 16:00hrs and is sponsored by Banks DIH, Beharry Group of Companies and Digicel.

Bosai Inter-department football competition tonight THE Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. annual (Inter-Department football competition kicks off this evening with the first game at 18:00hrs and

the second at 20:00hrs at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Four teams will contest the semifinals and the draw will be made ahead of the matches.

The teams are defending champions Plant Maintenance, General Services, Plant Operations and Mines Maintenance.

The final is set for next

Saturday at the same venue with the winners advancing and the losers contesting the third-place playoff at 18:00hrs and the final at 20:00hrs.

Devon Clements Seon Hetymer and Clements battled back after the lunch interval.

With the sun beating down, conditions changed, and batting became somewhat easier. Both batsmen settled in nicely and built a partnership of 90 for the sixth wicket.

However, on 49, Shepherd trapped Hetmyer leg-before wicket, but by then the pair had done the rescue act.

By the tea interval, Clements progressed to 68 in company of Hakeem Hinds.

Clements showed a lot of composure to reach his landmark off 189 balls. However, Hinds (21) was caught at the wicket off Shepherd, at 265-7.

Left-arm seamer Raymon Reifer (3-88) then claimed the final three wickets of Kassim Khan (8), Raun Johnson (0) and Nial Smith (6).

Meanwhile, summarised scores from the other three

games are as follows: At Everest: Upper Corentyne were dismissed for 222 on the back of a shot-filled 92 from Assad Fudadin which came off just 99 balls. Clinton Pestano supported well with 49. Bowling for East Bank Demerara, Steven Jacobs took 4-97, Stephan Harris had 3-57 and Budan Baksh claimed 2-19. East Bank Demerara in reply, were 75-4 at the close of play with Danny Narayan on 30 not out. Eon Hooper has so far taken 2-8.

At Cumberland, Berbice: Georgetown won the toss and batted first, reaching 243 all out, off just 53 overs. Captain Christopher Barnwell topscored with 91, while Dexter Solomon, Sunil Persaud, Robin Bacchus and Andrew Lyght Jr supported with 42, 28, 25 and 23 respectively. Bowling for West Berbice, Keron Fraser took 5-84, Collis Butts 3-36 and A Dutchin 2-32.

In reply, West Berbice reached 103 for 9 off 32 overs, with Andrew Dutchin scoring 36 and Leon Andrews 19.

Christopher Barnwell, Devon Lord, Gajanan Suknanan and Kellon Carmichael have so far taken 2 wickets apiece.

At Imam Bacchus ground: East Coast Demerara made 316 all out with Guyana Under-19 batsman Bhaskar Yadram stroking 118. Kamesh Yadram made 61 and Ameer Khan scored 58.

Bowling for Essequibo, Akinie Adams took 6-53.

Essequibo in reply are 40-2 at the close of play.

One more exit from the GFF

ACTING General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation is the latest to have tendered his resignation at the office of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF).

Mr Meerson Jones, in an invited comment, made it clear that he was forced to resign because of a critical family situation abroad, which he has to attend to immediately. That is the reason he quit his post that he was acting in for the last three months, yesterday “It was a very challenging period and I learnt a lot. I feel committed to the development and once I am here again I would be involved. I must thank the Federation for giving me the opportunity to serve the sport which certainly has a long way to go. I would also like to extend best wishes to the football family,” Jones told Chronicle Sport in parting.

Last week Friday, the chief accountant Christine Jones handed in her resignation as well. Two financial directors and a technical director have also departed for greener pastures since this current executive assumed office last year November. The General Secretary was fired three months ago.

Clements unbeaten 143 rescues Lower Corentyne (See Story on page 35 )

Azam hits 120 as Pakistan brush West Indies aside BABAR Azam’s maiden one-day international century inspired Pakistan to a 111-run victory over West Indies in the first of three 50-over clashes yesterday.

Azam hit 120 off 131 deliveries to send Pakistan on the path to victory, the hosts finishing on 284-9 in Sharjah while the tourists’ reply fell flat.

A floodlight failure shortened the Pakistan innings by an over after a lengthy delay, but West Indies fell well short of their 287-run target - adjusted via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The match got off to a nightmare start for Pakistan, who saw captain Azhar Ali nick behind for a duck off the first ball.

But it was Azar who arrived at the crease to replace his skipper, and the 21-yearold proved an assured presence as he chose his shots well.

Azar got lucky when he survived an lbw appeal off Sulieman Benn (1-46), but he was eventually seen off by a spectacular Kieron Pollard catch off Carlos Brathwaite (3-54).

Pollard was heading over the boundary but hurled the ball back onto the field of play to collect the ball.

Sharjeel Khan had already chipped in with 54 and, while Pakistan’s supporting cast were unable to match those standards, West Indies’ limp response gave them little cause for concern.

Marlon Samuels top-scored with 46 but Sunil Narine (23) was the only other man to surpass 20, with Mohammad Nawaz (4-42) and Hasan Ali (3-14) impressing with ball in hand for Pakistan. (Omisport.com)

Babar Azam soaks in the applause after raising his maiden international century against West Indies in Sharjah.

Former NC head admits to a contract with Elite Clubs ... calls for negotiations and compromises

By Ras Wadada

Former Normalisation Committee head Clinton Urling 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

FORMER chairman of the FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee (NC), Clinton Urling, has dismissed assertions by president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) that there was never any contract between the original eight Elite Clubs and the Federation.

Urling, who is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Sports Management at Colombia University in New York, was head of the NC that initiated the Elite league last year.

In recapping for Chronicle

Sport, via the telephone, Urling insisted that a contract was signed by both parties.

“Chairman of the committee for the Introduction of the Elite League, Tariq Williams and then Technical Director of the GFF, Claude Bolton, met almost weekly with the eight identified Elite Clubs in the initial engagements.

“Ironically, Mr Forde who is now president of the GFF was a part of all those discussions and they mutually agreed in the end to all the terms and conditions of the See page 30 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016