Guyana chronicle epaper 12 11 2016

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Care for coconut seednuts in nursery essential

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No. 104762

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2016

Price: $140

(VAT Inclusive)

RUSAL, union hold talks ‒ Gov’t pushing for early settlement of bitter dispute Page 3

Spreading good cheer! Santa Claus spreads joy to 12-year-old Mekyla Belgrave, who is blind, and her brother Micqual, 8, at Rahaman’s Park. [Delano Williams photo]

Ogle Airport officials ‘put down’ dogs from interior

Page 13

The “Otter Lady” passes away at 84 Page 9

Wales estate workers receive $80M in severance pay Page 12

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Rice production to increase in 2017 ‒ Holder

MINISTER of Agriculture, Noel Holder, has revealed that rice production is expected to increase by 1.3 percent in 2017. Minister Holder, during this contribution to the budget 2017 debate, explained that rice production declined during 2016 by 12.7 percent to 600,000 metric tonnes due to El Nino weather conditions.

Also,Minister Holder pointed out, a number of farmers had also exited the

industry due to the loss of the high-priced Venezuelan market, but explained that 3,311 hectares were lost out of the 76,717 hectares sown, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA).

It was reported that production for 2015 was 1,058,129 tonnes which was equivalent to 687,784 tonnes.

That was 80,840 tonnes or 8.27 percent higher than the production of paddy for 2014. The research station at Burma continues to work dil-

igently to improve rice varieties being offered to farmers, Minister Holder explained.

The Agriculture Minister stressed that to achieve an improved rice variety; the rice industry requires improved management practices, seeding rates, sowing methods and disease management. Government is diligently employing various technologies in the effort to reduce the impact of severe weather.

According to GINA, the government is pursuing diversification to specialty rice varieties, with increased emphasis on the development of value-added production such as the rice/ wheat flour blend, rice noodles, pasta and pre-cooked rice products for 2017.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Suriname frees Guyanese fishers AUTHORITIES in neighbouring Suriname have freed 45 Guyanese fishermen who were arrested last week for not having their passports and other relevant travel documents. The fishermen have each been made to pay a fine of US$100.

Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-op Society, Pameshwar Jainarine, told this newspaper that the owners of the nine fishing vessels, whose crews were arrested between Sunday and

Wednesday last, have paid the fines, and their crews are back at sea to ply their trade.

“The owners of the boats went over to Suriname and paid the money for the men who were arrested. They were released late (on) Friday, and have gone out to sea to fish,” Jainarine said in an interview with this publication.

He added that prior to the release of the men, the owners of the fishing boats assured the Surinamese authorities that upon arrival in Guyana, they would make every effort to have the men secure the necessary documents to avoid a recurrence of the problem.

“The owners had to promise the Suriname authorities that they gon get the passports for their

crew and ensure they get it stamped. The people don’t have a choice; they either get the passports and get (them) stamped, or they would have to stop fishing,” Jainarine said.

He is also calling on the relevant authorities to assist the fisher folk in any way possible to get their passports and put in place a system where they can get it stamped hassle-free.

“Most of the fishermen are poor people…their parents did not register them at birth. When we make attempts to get them registered, they don’t have birth certificates,” Jainarine said.

In an earlier interview, Jainarine had deemed as “harassment” what the Surinamese authorities had done.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

RUSAL, union hold talks ‒ Gov’t pushing for early settlement of bitter dispute

By Svetlana Marshall AFTER years of strained relations top officials of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc/Russian Aluminium (RUSAL) and the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU) were expected to meet over the weekend to craft a way forward in resolving an eight-yearold industrial dispute.

This decision was taken after close to two hours of deliberations with the Government and the company executives on Friday at Parliament Buildings. The meeting Guyana Chronicle was told is for the union and company to work out their differences. Minutes after the closed-door meeting ended on Friday at the Public Buildings, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection with respon-

sibility for Labour, Keith Scott, told media operatives: “There is light at the end of the tunnel,” as he alluded to the issue which continues to infringe on the rights of Guyanese workers attached to the bauxite company operating here in Region 10.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, was also at the meeting. In 2009, more than 50 employees of the Russian-owned bauxite company had their services terminated following strike action for increased wages and better working conditions. The company’s decision was, however, met with major objection by the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union (GB&GWU), which had garnered the support of then opposition parties, primarily the People’s National Congress/ Reform (PNCR) and the Al-

liance For Change (AFC).

But instead of adhering to calls by the GB&GWU to have the workers reinstated, the company took a decision to terminate the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) with the GB&GWU, and has since de-recognised the union.

Though the battle has been long and hard-fought, the union continues to maintain its position that the company is operating in violation of the labour laws of the country and the rights of workers.

The problem resurfaced just recently when the company refused to sign on to an agreement crafted by the Social Protection Ministry, because the document had given recognition to the union as a signatory to the pact. The agreement would have paved the way for the bauxite workers to benefit

from tax-free overtime.

Instead of signing on to the agreement crafted by the Social Protection Ministry, RUSAL drew up its own Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and dispatched a copy to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, thereby disregarding the Minister with responsibility for Labour. However, Minister Jordan did not respond to the RUSAL letter. “I told them that they did not show me the necessary respect by giving me that letter,” Minister Scott told the Guyana Chronicle.

NO FAULT OF GOV’T Minister Scott said RUSAL workers had complained that while workers attached to Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Inc. (BMGGI) are enjoying tax-free overtime, they are yet to benefit. But the minister said this is no

fault of the Government.

He explained that it was the union which had refused to sign on to the agreement.

The tax-free concession on overtime work was implemented in 1988. This concession was enjoyed by workers up until 2007, when it was taken away by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration in a move that had adversely affected the earnings of bauxite workers from Linden and Kwakwani, and was viewed by critics as a punitive act for not supporting the PPP. In addition to agreeing to meet with the union, RUSAL is requesting a meeting with the Finance Minister to determine the way forward. However, although agreeing to the meet with the Bauxite Workers Union, the Russian-owned company is requesting that another poll be conducted to possibly give rise to another union representing the workers.

That new body would need

RUSAL executives meet with Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams, and Minister with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, in the presence of Russia’s Ambassador Nikolay Smirnov

the votes of 40 per cent of the workers attached to the company in order to defeat the traditional bauxite workers’ union.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that during the meeting, the Attorney General, while advocating for the matter to be resolved, made it clear that the APNU+AFC Administration will not allow any disrespect for the labour laws governing the country, emphasising that workers’ rights must be respected.

The Attorney General reportedly made that statement in response to RUSAL’s refusal to recognise the Bauxite Workers Union.

No stranger to the labour issue, having represented GB&GWU in court when the issue had initially erupted, Minister Williams reportedly advised that RUSAL put its proposals forward on how the matter could be resolved.

He reportedly contends that there is no need for the company to engage in a backand-forth of who is right and wrong.

While the Guyana Chronicle was able to solicit a comment from Minister Scott, Minister Williams was unable to provide a comment; the executive members representing RUSAL declined to speak to the media, explaining that written questions must be submitted first before a response is granted.

The RUSAL executives were accompanied

by Russia’s Ambassador to Guyana, His Excellency Nikolay Smirnov.

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Law Reform Commission coming

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

-Williams unveils packed agenda for AG Chambers

THE much-touted Law Reform Commission is expected to come on stream next year as well as a policy on alternative sentencing, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams has announced.

He was at the time making his contribution to the 2017 budget debate in the National Assembly last Thursday. Government earlier this year had used its majority in the National Assembly to pass the Law Reform Commission Bill 2015, which seeks to establish a permanent Law Reform Commission to reform and modernise Guyana’s laws.

“The laws of Guyana are long overdue for review, as the majority were inherited from our colonial masters and have not been subject to reform since their inheritance,” Williams had said during the debate on the Bill.

“Many are archaic and irrelevant to our society,” he add-

ed, while emphasising that a permanent Law Reform Commission will work continuously to ensure that Guyana’s laws are fair, relevant and effective in serving and protecting the interests of the people. The bill, along with several amendments tabled

by Williams, was passed despite pleas from opposition speakers for it to be referred to a parliamentary Special Select Committee for review. Williams had said then that in the past, approaches to law review in Guyana has mostly been reactive and the legislation will remedy what was an inefficient, piecemeal approach to law reform. He said the commission will comprise no less than three and no more than seven commissioners with a chairman to be elected by and from the members of the commission. The bill, he said, provides for commissioners to be appointed by the President acting after consultation with the Minis-

ter of Legal Affairs.

IDB LOAN Meanwhile, during his presentation in the House on Thursday, Williams disclosed that pending the approval of an Inter-American Development Bank Loan: Support for the Criminal Justice Sector Project, the Ministry of Legal Affairs intends to implement the Alternative Sentencing Policy, Establishment of a Permanent Law Reform Commission, and Needs Assessment for the Probation Department, Ministry of Social Protection and Study for Pre-trial detention. “To achieve these activities a project execution unit will be set up to spearhead implementation and monitoring,” said the Attorney General.

Additionally, the Ministry of Legal Affairs has secured Regional Technical cooperation on cybersecurity for the development

of a National Cyber Security Strategy and training and support for personnel through the IDB. As a result, a team from the IDB which includes a specialist consultant on cybersecurity will visit Guyana to conduct a scoping exercise and to meet with all relevant stakeholders; namely, Ministry of Public Security, E-Governance, Ministry of Legal Affairs and Ministry of Public Telecommunications.

On the ministry’s agenda for next year is the recruitment and selection of appropriate professional staff to fill vacant positions currently existing in the Attorney General’s Chambers to accommodate the increase in workload. He told the House that 2017 will also see the training, coaching and a quality control system for the police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and Magistrates in Crime Scene

Investigation, which falls under a grant by the Canadian Government which seeks to strengthen the Guyanese Criminal Justice System. Criminal Case Investigation, Forensic Video Analysis and understanding of trial management technique, will also form part of the project.

HOSTING CFATF Meanwhile, Williams said too that Guyana would be hosting a conference of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in November.

Williams during his budget debate presentation told the National Assembly that there has been much obfuscation by the Opposition on Guyana’s position on the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. He said his ministry was very successful in 2016 with regards to the particular

issue and noted that when the APNU+AFC Government took office in May 2016, it “met Guyana, a threat to the international financial economy, it being in Third Round Mutual Evaluation.”

Wi l l i a m s c i t e d t h e CFATF follow-up process, the CFATF/ International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) process and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)/ ICRG process noting that it was an “unprecedented position for any country in the CFATF 26 -member community.”

The Attorney General told the House that based on the political commitment made by President David Granger to FATF, he along with his compliance team took approximately one year to “remove Guyana out of its pariah-state status, again unprecedented, that is out of FATF’s See page 5

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

$250M drug bond earmarked for Kingston

By Ariana Gordon

THE SUM of approximately one billion dollars ($1B) has been allocated for capital expenditure for the Ministry of Public Health (MPH); and $250M of this amount have been earmarked for the construction of a drug bond in Kingston, Georgetown.

The Ministry of Public Health has, over the past few months, been subjected to criticisms over its decision to rent a building located on Sussex Street, Charlestown from Linden Holdings Inc., owned by businessman Larry Singh, to be used as its secondary storage facility for pharmaceutical supplies.

Pharmaceuticals are also stored at the Government’s primary storage facility at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton had in August told reporters that Government sought to lease the Sussex Street property from Singh as it felt that the amount paid to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (NEW GPC), which was utilised in the past, was too exorbitant. That lease, according to the minister,

amounted to $19.2M, while the Sussex Street location is being leased at $12.5M monthly.

Refuting Government’s statements, the New GPC had said that the company had stored pharmaceuticals for the Government free of charge at its 70,000-squarefoot warehouse.

Following the controversy over the drug bond, a Cabinet Sub-Committee was established to assess the contract for the rental of the Sussex Street bond.

That sub-committee recommended, among other things, that Government make efforts to secure its own storage facility in the City, and that every region should have its own storage facility.

President David Granger had said that the move by his administration to source the Sussex Street bond was done out of necessity, and was not “by any sort of perversity”.

Meanwhile, $6M have been earmarked for construction of a furnace at Kwakwani, Region 10; $25M for the provision of an elevator at the Linden Hospital Complex; and $10M for the rehabilitation of the old hospital building in Linden,

during his budget presentation that among the retention projects would be the extension and remodelling of the Kwakwani Hospital to house the operating room unit and the rehabilitation unit and a larger nurses’ rest room.

Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton to facilitate psychiatric, renal dialysis and chemotherapy services.

Additionally, funds from the overall capital expenditure will also be used to complete the Port Kaituma Hospital as a rollover project, while $23M will be used to complete a doctor’s quarters at the same institution.

“Other rollover projects are: $34.3M for the upgrading of the Diamond & Leonora Diagnostic Centres, and the construction of a nurses’ hostel in Region 1 for $12M,” said Dr. Norton, who told the House

Law Reform Commission ...

From page 4

Compliance Document and CFATF’s Public Statement.”

Guyana was cleared by CFATF less than one month after successfully exiting the FATF regime. In May 2014, CFATF handed Guyana over to the FATF due to the country’s failure to meet the agreed timelines in its action plan. However, significant progress was made resulting in the country being removed from the watchlist in October.

Williams outlined a number of key projects for his ministry last week during the debate on the 2017 budget, noting that 10 consultations

will be held in the new year.

Last year, consultations were held on the draft Cybercrime Bill 2016, the State Asset Recovery Bill 2016 and the Witness Protection and Protected Disclosures Bill 2016.

Additionally, he said there will be country-wide sensitisation workshops on the State Assets Recovery Bill which targets agencies and Semi-Autonomous Agencies.

tance from the government towards their tuition. Williams reminded the house that his government inherited the uncertainty which beset law students who were unsure of whether they’d be able to enter HWLS to complete their legal education.

The former PPP/C administration had not offered students scholarships or financial assistance. President Granger intervened and obtained the assistance of the Heads of Government of CARICOM to enable the

–– President Granger LAW STUDENTS Additionally, the AG said Guyanese students attending the Hugh Wooding Law School will continue to receive financial assis-

WORTHY INVESTMENTS Some $15M will be used to purchase a fully equipped ambulance for the Kwakwani hospital; $3.5M for the purchase of two dialysis machines; $3M for the procurement of A DC 3600 Hematology analyser for the Linden Hospital Complex; and $50M will be used for the purchase of autoclaves, analysers, ECG machine, defibrillators, dopplers and monitors, among other equipment, the Public Health Minister disclosed.

Meanwhile, district hospitals in hinterland regions will soon be equipped with specialised staff and equipment so that residents in those communities can benefit from better quality services.

Under the heading “Programme 4– Regional & Clinical Services”, the of Public country’s 25 law graduates to gain entry. “In 2016, a steep increase in the fees for the HWLS and the upfront payment scheme, added to the problems of our HWLS students. Again, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs intervened on their behalf and helped to alter the payment requirements to facilitate them.”

Cabinet has since approved 25 per cent of the total annual fees payment to the HWLS for 2016 to 2018 as a contribution, pending the exploration of establishing a law school in Guyana. “Mr. Speaker at the Council of Legal Educa-

Health Minister noted, the objective of the project is to ensure that regional and clinical services are provided consistently and adequately in all of the country’s regions.

Speaking on Thursday last during the 2017 budget debates, the Public Health Minister said far-flung hinterland regions: Regions One, Two, Seven and Eight, seemed to have been forgotten by the previous People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Administration.

According to Dr. Norton, $57M have been allocated for equipping district hospitals in hinterland regions with specialised staff and equipment. This, he said, will vastly reduce the need for, and cost of, medical evacuations, which had cost the MPH as much as $48.4M for 2016.

The minister lashed out at the Opposition for the alarm raised when it was disclosed that a CT Scan Machine was earmarked for Bartica.

“This speaks volume (about) the regard the PPP small C has for the hinterland regions. Why not Bartica? Why does it have to be West Demerara or Suddie?

tion meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, September, 2016, Guyana was able to enter into a new Revised Collaboration Agreement for three years. Mr. Speaker, 25 Guyanese Law Graduates are guaranteed automatic entry to the HWLS up to 2019, and we are grateful for this success,” said the Attorney General.

Besides, Bartica is central to so many hinterland and riverine communities of not only Region Seven, but also is readily accessible to communities of Region Three, Eight and 10,” he said.

According to Dr. Norton, the Bartica Public Hospital has become one of the most efficiently run institutions, with an operating theatre functioning 24-7 and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit available.

“It can boast of having a staff of 16 doctors, including eight specialists of Obs and Gyn, Orthopaedics, Pediatrics, Dermatology, ENT, Cardiology, Anesthesia and General Surgery. The hospitals in Lethem, Mabaruma and Mahdia are all going in that same direction. I can assure this Honourable House that the CT Scanner that was sent to Bartica and the one that was sent to New Amsterdam Hospital are technically and physically well stored in AC containers, and it was certified by the visiting engineers that the storage conditions were acceptable.”

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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

President-elect Trump politics

DONALD Trump continues to go against the grain of what has come to be generally expected of the United States’ (U.S.) president and president-elect.

Some see him as a blank slate on issues and nuances of governance and politics, but seemingly comfortable in such state. Others see his approach as a strategy to dumbfound his critics and shut the media out, which though considered important to democracy, he relishes having an adversarial relationship with. His inner circle and Republican hierarchy are often found feeling it incumbent upon them to defend him or skirt the contentious issues he generates.

There is no denying Trump is a consummate salesman, who relishes his showmanship, and loves the mainstream media but only on his terms. Consequently, he attacks media houses and personnel he considers has given him unfavourable coverage, and continues to cultivate greater reliance on social media to get his message out. The media, recognising this, are also sourcing their news about him and his politics from his tweets.

Whereas Barack Obama capitalised on social media to create a movement on hope, change, and belief in persons’ abilities to change their circumstances for the better by working together, Trump has found a different use for it.

With a Twitter following of millions, Trump has not been idle. He has attacked and insulted those he is cross with, would make promises, comment on issues, discuss the work of his transition team and likely candidates to fill positions, spread misinformation and stretch the truth. An incredulous person he is, but to what end and for what purpose, people are still trying to figure out. As he continues to confound by the things he says and does, and where the president, of what is considered the world’s most powerful nation, has always held a certain aura and respect, uncharted waters are being treaded here.

In a tweet ,Trump called on Boeing to “cancel” its developmental programme for the presidential carrier, Airforce One, claiming it costs over US$4B. This call was greeted with much support, though information revealed the cost was grossly exaggerated. In his ‘Thank You Tour,’ at a rally stop, Trump informed his audience that he saved 1100 jobs by asking Carrier not to take its business overseas. This claim was refuted (the actual figure is 700) but was met with swift reaction from Trump, who took to Twitter to attack the union leader who made it public.

In the U.S., constitutionally there is only one president at a time. Trump remains president-elect until he takes the Oath of Office as President on 20th January, 2017. To those paying attention it seems as though this fact may have escaped him as he seeks and hosts meetings with world leaders, almost as though there are two presidents.

This departure from established protocol has also created raised eyebrows.

Constitutional authorities are expressing concerns for the integrity of the Office in calling for the isolating of any possibility that the incoming president is engaged in

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Men are the enablers for gender reform Dear Editor,

WE are coming down to the end of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence and I want to add my voice to this campaign. It is difficult to obtain a complete picture of gender-based violence in Guyana because it often remains hidden.

A person who is being abused may have been a victim for a long time before seeking support, while some survivors never tell anyone about the abuse.

A person who is abused may endure it before seeking help, while others may never tell anyone or have the opportunity to speak out.

Some psychologists are of the view that persons who are being abused may be reluctant, unable to talk about, or report abuse for many different reasons, including having a strong emotional attachment to the abusive partner; having a strong belief about keeping their relationship or family together and paramount of them all is the economic situation of the woman.

It is no secret that women are approximately three times more likely than men to report being sexually assaulted, beaten, choked, or threatened with a gun or a knife by their partner or ex-partner in the previous five years (34 per cent versus 10 per cent).

According to reports from the Ministry of Public Security, just under half (45 per cent) of female victims of abuse were harassed by a former intimate partner, while an additional six per cent were abused by a current intimate partner.

Conversely, 23 per cent of male victims were abused by either a former or current intimate partner.

Some researchers have noted that women also experience higher levels of certain types of emotional abuse. Compared to men, women: * Were four times more likely to report being threatened, harmed, or having someone close to them threatened or harmed; * Were four times more likely to report being denied access to family income; * Were more than twice as likely to report having their property damaged or their possessions destroyed; * Reported a higher incidence of

being isolated from family and friends; * Reported a higher rate of name-calling and put-downs.

The principal impulse of an abuser is to have control over the victim. Most abusers use strategies such as isolation, threats, and occasional indulgences, demonstrations of omnipotence, degradation, and enforcement of trivial demands. These tactics prevent victims from leaving abusive relationships.

Mr. Editor, we need a robust campaign to address the cycle of violence that traps women in abusive relationships and cultural beliefs about gender and sex roles.

In his paper titled, Feminism Against Science, Professor Steven Goldberg argues that the cognitive and behavioural differences between men and women are established through their respective physiologies, and that society and gender are a reflection of biological realities.

Advocates of Biological Determinism have argued that men and women are the same in aptitude, skill, or behaviour and that biological reality reveals a comparative relationship of sexual asymmetry. The argument raised by Goldberg is allegedly based on solid scientific findings. However, these ‘findings’ and results are often filtered and manipulated to strengthen the denigrations of abuse.

Debates about gender equality refer to the asymmetrical power balance experienced between men and women due to differences in their gendered identities. On this, Anne Sisson Runyan in her Global Gender Issues in the New Millennium contends that: ‘… the social construction of gender is actually a system of power that not only divides men and women as masculine and feminine, but typically also places men and masculinity above women and femininity and operates to value more highly those institutions and practices that are male-dominated and/ or representative of masculine traits and styles’.

This is a contemporary analysis of modern gender constructs and the relations between the sexes, yet the idea of gender equality has been a major international principle of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I believe progress towards achieving

any conflict of interest, given Trump’s corporate interests, domestic and global. Though he continues to be called on to put his business into a blind trust, he has responded with ambivalence.

Some of his current meetings with foreign leaders are with those countries in which he and/or his family has business interests. One such instance was a meeting with him and daughter with the Japanese Prime Minister. When the media, who were shut out, questioned him after about the nature of the meeting, he refused to divulge information.

His campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Health Care Act (aka Obamacare) on day one of his presidency sees the majority of Americans wanting it to remain.

A repeal of this Act would automatically uninsure 20 million people, with likely negative consequences and public outcry.

And whereas Trump won the presidency, recent polls show a majority of people disapprove of him.

Though the aforementioned are matters the people of the U. S. will have to deal with and as the global community takes note, it too has its interests to attend. These include Trump’s presented disregard for climate change and what such may mean for the 2015 Paris Agreement given the U.S. role and committed support. He has called global warming

gender equality has failed to substantially materialise, and that there still exists an unambiguous gap between formal commitments to the equal rights and responsibilities of men and women and against discrimination and subordination based on sex of gendered realities of women’s lives.

Gender is an organising principle of social life, and change towards equality will require exceptional institutional and gender identity reform. Realising gender equality is strongly weighted on the contribution of males, because the very gender inequalities in economic assets, political power, cultural authority, and means of coercion that gender reform intend to change (ultimately) mean that men control most of the resources required to implement women’s claims for justice.

It is no doubt that men are the indispensable enablers for gender reform.

Masculinities and male stereotypes must be studied and deconstructed in order to effect change in how men relate to women. Stereotypes, or gender profiles, play an important role in the discussion of gender equality. They attribute certain characteristics to whole segments of society with the intention of presenting perception as truth. In relation to gender, stereotypes form the basis of how society believes men and women should act.

I have strongly believed that men who exhibit the traits of traditional masculinity and are considered to possess hegemonic masculinity are a major contributing factor for gender-based violence. These social classifications that include power/strength, rationality, risk-taking, dominance, strong leadership, control, and repression of emotions are nothing more than negative masculinity that continue to promote gender-based violence.

In closing, let me say this again that engaging men, adolescents and boys to play a role in preventing violence against women must be recognised as a critical component of preventative efforts. Men and boys can promote positive masculinities and help shape respectful, gender-equitable attitudes and behaviours among peers and friends.

Regards, ADEL LILLY

a hoax, though him and daughter held a recent engagement with former Vice-President Al Gore, who is considered an authority on the subject.

Most world governments desire improved U.S./Cuba relations and have remained hopeful there would be continued reversal of the anti-Cuba policy, and ultimately an end of the trade embargo. Trump has created cause for concern with his venomous tweets and statements at the passing of Fidel Castro.

Franklin D. Roosevelt during the U.S. Depression used his frequent radio broadcasts, aka “fireside chats,” to communicate his government’s development policies, unite the nation, reassure an anxious populace, and by extension gave the world hope. Trump is using his tweets, frankly, to create opposite effects. Whether this is his intent, only time will tell.

In the meantime, societies such as ours have to, in the organisations we are members of, devise strategies to ensure relations with the U.S. Government to advance our interests. These include honouring the Climate Change Agreement, lifting the trade embargo, and maintaining the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Guyana.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Smoke and mirrors: duplicity and the apologists for serial white collar crime

Dear Editor,

THE Working People’s Alliance (WPA) offers its full and unqualified support to Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, our Member of the National Assembly, Cabinet, and Minister of Education, regarding the contrived attacks on him regarding the Durban Park Development Project. This project was established to support the celebration of Guyana’s

Golden Jubilee.

The President had indicated early this year that the police and fire departments had cautioned against the ceremonial activity, which was likely to attract around 30,000 participants, being held at either the National Stadium or the National Park venues for security and safety reasons.

Consultations were held with residents of the Durban Park community before it was chosen. The

works at the Durban Park Project were executed in a phased manner, with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure helping to complete the latter stages of Phase I. There is no evidence whatsoever of Dr Rupert Roopnaraine failing to fulfil his duties as a representative of the Government on the board of the company established to initiate these works. The President himself had indicated this

saying: “Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine was chosen as the Government’s representative on the company’s Board.” He therefore held a fiduciary responsibility to the Government as a shareholder.

The usual partisan band of sanctimonious, duplicitous, dishonest and self-promoting political parties, groups and individuals who vigorously and obsessively give knee-jerk support for serial white collar crimes

of all types, are hinting at public malfeasance and misfeasance by Dr. Roopnaraine. In doing so, they shamelessly ignore that their own behaviours, ethics, and characters, as perceived by the public at large.

The WPA feels confident that the public at large has seen through these detractors for what they truly represent, despite the virtues they preach presently to the public.

They are living em-

bodiments of serial apologists of serial white-collar crimes. And their actions lead to the suspicion that in attacking Dr Roopnaraine and others, at heart they are defending their real self-interest, of sustaining unchallenged, white collar infractions against the public at large.

Regards, WORKING PEOPLE’S ALLIANCE

Gov’t should re-establish National Service in small fronts Dear Editor, I WISH to commend Claudius Prince on his article titled: “Ways to achieve the entrepreneurial spirit” published on Sunday, 4th December, 2016 in the Kaieteur News. I have always had great respect for Claudius Prince dating back to his days as a senior official in the Guyana National Service (GNS).

At that point, I served as a “trainee inspector”, I was taught to work with cattle, clean fish without using instruments, cotton-production, how to plant watermelons, beans, vegetables etc. Further, I worked in the poultry farm and while I found this disgusting (coming from a family that liked to be clean-skinned), it taught me to work hard and to respect all the backgrounds of people.

Claudius Prince was always very professional. In his letter, he does not attack nor target people of any ethnic background, but he simply showed the process that Indo-Guyanese went through, which is respon-

sible for their successes in business. I would recommend his article for reading, since it is very instructive and incisive.

However, I do not think that there was a conspiracy to undermine Afro-Guyanese in business. I believe that our former colonial masters knew that they would eventually depart from our shores and they were preparing the liberated Africans to take up leadership in the civil service, administrative regions and town councils.

At that time, the civil service looked very appealing, since they were well paid and most importantly, well dressed.

While this modification took place, many Indo-Guyanese (and Afro-Guyanese) remained in the rice-fields and large-scale planting of ground provisions was done in part by the Africans. At this point, Indo-Guyanese had become very envious due to the fact that the Africans became lawyers, doctors, nurses, customs officers, mid-wives and engineers.

I do not think that the

aim was to marginalise them from business, but to prepare them for administration subsequent to the complete departure of the British Crown.

As a young man growing up, Indo-Guyanese were not encouraged to work in such particular professional fields. Our colonial masters at this time had recognised the importance of keeping a strong labour force in the production of food.

Persons like former minister, Mrs. Yvonne Harewood-Benn, Mr. Boston, Mr. Peters, Mr. Ross, Mrs. Ross, Mrs. Timbell and my kindergarten teacher, Miss Tom (an influential figure who helped with the development of my personality and character), were masters of education.

I will forever be grateful to all of them as they guided my accent, style of dress, style of speech and intellect.

Without a doubt, together they touched the lives of thousands of people. These professors were professional, endearing and passionate.

Those were all fruits that the colonial masters saw.

I do not believe that any group is superior to another

whether in farming, business or public service. I wish to agree with the view of Claudius Prince that due to the fact that Indo-Guyanese were left on the lands, they were taught how to face hard times. Growing up, I observed the way my stepfather, mother and my neighbours supported each other, which I would refer to as unofficial cooperativism. I also recall as a young lad throwing paddy into the field after the plowing. However, it was not this easy, heavy rain and floods had devastated months of planting and preparing for me and my family in Corriverton. Following this, my mother had bought yard fowls to get food and we began planting crops to supplement the loss of income.

My stepfather also became a labourer, working on trucks. I believe it was situations such as these that Claudius Prince was referring to in his letter. These times made us tough and strong, giving us the ability to handle devastation and hardships.

I remember during that period, most Africans in the

community did not go to work as labourers. However, some did go to work on the lorry or trackers or even as cane-cutters in the field. I reminiscence on a wonderful and most loving gentleman, he was a peasant farmer who was an entrepreneur himself, but was geared towards having his children go into the public sector instead of going into his business.

Because of this clean and dressed idea, I had never thought about farming or business, but instead, I wanted to be like those in the civil service with a tie wrapped around my neck.

From this, I developed an appetite to become a security officer and specialist which I ended up achieving. Although this happened, I had a penchant for the rice field.

Up to this day, I plant crops and fruit trees in my yard for myself and family to utilise.

I never had an ambition to become a businessman.

My advent to the business world was accidental. Again, Claudius Prince was brilliant in his deliberation, many businesspeople like myself faced jealousy and ridicule.

Mr. Prince is hitting an important point, referring to the difficulties that we went through.

My stepfather at some point had bought an old truck, GL408, and he would use it to transport paddy and general produce for people.

When he made a profit, he bought a better truck then after a new truck until he ended up owning a fleet of trucks. I wish to support Mr. Prince on a brilliant essay.

The Guyana National Service (GNS) had produced many business minds. My electrical engineer is also a product of the GNS which helped to create skill and discipline.

I will encourage the Government of the day to establish the National Service in small fronts in the city and out of the city where persons can travel, discover, learn and engage each other, even in the remote parts of the interior. Once again, thank you Claudius Prince for reminding us.

Regards, ROSHAN KHAN

ExxonMobil CEO ‘may be US Secretary of State’ [BBC] - EXXON Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has met President-elect Donald Trump amid growing speculation that he is being considered for US Secretary of State.

NBC News quotes sources close to Mr Trump as saying that Mr Tillerson is

likely to be named next week.

Former UN ambassador John Bolton will serve as his deputy, NBC adds.The news comes as Mr Trump’s team challenged the accuracy of intelligence reports that Russia intervened to boost his election prospects. Veteran Republican Mitt Romney is

among others who have also also been linked to the role of secretary of state.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani withdrew himself from consideration for the post last week. Mr Giuliani’s foreign business dealings had raised questions over his suitabil-

ity. Mr Tillerson, 64, has extensive experience in international negotiations and a business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He has been a critic of the international sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea. Meanwhile, Mr

Trump’s presidential transition team took issue with CIA assessments that said Russia had attempted to assist Mr Trump during the November election by releasing hacked emails harmful to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

In a statement, the

transition team said the officials making the assessment were “the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction”. And spokesman Sean Spicer said there were “people within these agencies who are upset with the outcome of the election”.

8

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Reflections on our Guyana: Roopnaraine, Hetmeyer and Chanderpaul revived my hopes I CAME of age politically when the PNC government of the 1970s was firing on all cylinders. During that time, I learned politics the hard way — on the streets, far away from the exercise of political power.

Ours were the politics of protest and questioning and pushing the limits of formal resistance allowed by the regime. I would later learn that in the process of resisting, the resisters add something to what they met, and in turn create something new to pass on to later generations. That something is often manifested in a new political culture and praxis, which would become useful even to those whose intransigence was largely responsible for their birth.

By the time the PPP came along in 1992, my cynicism about the Guyanese elite political culture was well entrenched. While I was glad to see the PNC go, I had very little expectations of anything transformational coming from the PPP, even under Dr. Jagan. The doctor lost me when he turned his back on a Government of National Unity to replace the PNC. Once Dr. Jagan opted for a one-party government to replace the authoritarian regime, we in the WPA sensed that he had set Guyana on a path of continued distress. The history of the next two decades proved our reading to be correct.

Enter the Coalition in 2015. Despite misgivings about the extent to which the PNC had shed the core values of its past stewardship of government, and the AFC’s lack of commitment to any nationalist ideological outlook, I supported the APNU+AFC Coalition. In fact, I went further by allowing

myself to believe that the Coalition government would facilitate some minimum transformation in the society.

It has turned out to be one of the biggest miscalculations of my political life. I expected the Government to overhaul the way government works: to be open to criticisms, to be more consultative than its predecessors, and to witness for the poor in real, tangible ways.

To my mind, the Government has not come even close to satisfying those expectations; nor has it given any serious hints that it is headed in that direction. My misplaced optimism arose from the fact that the WPA was part of the Government, that David Granger’s integrity and newness would be a pivotal factor, and that no government that looked at the tears of joy which came in the morning could be unmoved. Sadly, I was wrong.

The WPA remains on the margins of decision-making both within the APNU and the Coalition government. Individual party members may have some influence because of their formal office, but the party as an entity plays no formal role in influencing policy and decision-making. The experience of the last 19 months has shown that the leader can maintain his integrity and political capital while his government stumbles every two mornings.

And what is most dramatic is that the Government has been unmoved by the tears of its supporters and the vulnerable citizens at large.

It is remarkable that it took less than six months for me individually to be branded

an enemy of the Government and state. Not because I tried to overthrow the Government, but simply because I dared to publicly criticize Government action. As a result of that sin, I am persona non-grata in the halls of power.

I have heard that I am accused of doing the work of the PPP —- the usual defence of governments against self-criticism. As a political person, I am open to criticism and I have my partisan moments; but I would never surrender the right to be critical of Government, including one that I support.

Government must, by its very nature, be constantly watched, scrutinized and critiqued.

Experience and the study of history and philosophy have taught me that.

Yet, for all my misgivings, I still support the Government, largely based on the adage that a quarter of a loaf is better than none. I am acutely aware of the difficulty in governing a country like Guyana, with its plantation history, its ethnic cleavage, its post-colonial authoritarian experience, and its immediate past conversion into a criminalized state. At least this Government has not turned the guns of the state on the poor, the dissident and the opposition.

But all is not well. The debate over the current budget this past week bears this out. That debate was worse than a drunken argument at a street-corner. I have never known a budget that an opposition party has liked, or one that a Government has not liked. But Guyana takes that formulation to the extremes. Is it not possible to oppose the overall policy thrust of a budget but support elements of it? Is it not possible to support the overall budget but oppose aspects of it? As political people and party members, our parliamentarians are devoid of political courage. Where is the critical analysis that is so central to human dignity? How can we expect our schoolchildren to learn critical analysis when our leaders in the public halls engage in the worst form of intellectual subservience to something called the party?

I am so ashamed of our National Assembly; it has been turned into an intellectually and politically dead institution. It is nauseating to watch member after member line up like sheep to the slaughter to either cuss down the budget or slavishly defend it. Where is the dignity, the backbone, the learning, the sense of history? Where is the soring rhetoric and the righteous defence of the poor? The PPP parliamentarians’ political dishonesty is now a national joke, and the uncritical behaviour of the other side is not far behind.

From my standpoint, there is plenty in the budget to like and dislike; that’s the essence of budgets. Every cent of relief that comes to

the poor is vital to their survival. And only a mean-spirited party hack would deny that there is some relief for the poor in the budget.

What about the generous allocations for education and health care? Who benefits from that mostly? What about the investments in infrastructural improvement? Don’t they provide jobs for the poor and affect their lives positively?

But yes, the seeming over-taxation is a problem. I am not against taxation, but they should be levied based on the ability of tax payers to pay. The rich and powerful must pay their fair share of taxes; they can do so.

But even as I say so, I am wary of a strategy that over-relies on taxation for two reasons.

First, to over-rely on taxes to pay for Government programs is a risky undertaking.

Second, the other uplifting aspects of the budget get buried in the fear of taxes.

Finally, I am partly swayed by the argument that even within the context of taxing things like water and electricity, there is still something for poor people. However, I am concerned when they, the poor, must search deep within the budget to find their relief.

For me, if the ideological orientation begins with the upliftment of the poor, then their benefit must be unambiguously evident in the budget.

It was quite sobering to see a call on my political leader to respond to attacks on his integrity, with the “Open Word” being transformed into an attack on him and the Government. As I stated in my missive, I was confident, even without talking to him, that Dr. Roopnaraine had not engaged in any of the suggested improprieties. But I believe the nation was owed a direct explanation from him. That he chose the halls of Parliament to give that explanation to the country, not the PPP, gladdens me. By that very act, Dr. Roopnaraine has set for elected individuals a new standard that I hope will be emulated by his colleagues on both sides of that poisonous aisle.

At moments of despair, it is the ordinary folks who always give hope to continue. I took the opportunity to go to the Stadium to watch the cricket game between Guyana and Barbados. The audacity of young Hetmeyer and the quiet assurance of our elder statesman-batsman Chanderpaul revived my hope in Guyana. With much love and in our great Caribbean tradition, the cricket field still holds an important key to unlocking our shared abilities to overcome.

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

Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

9

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

The “Otter Lady” President fetes Region Two children passes away at 84

By Alva Solomon THE Karanambu Ranch in the Rupununi on Saturday announced the passing of its founder, conservationist, Diane McTurk. She was 84.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ms Diane Valme McTurk, who passed peacefully this morning after a brief illness,” the ranch said in a statement on the passing of one of Guyana’s famous conservationists known as the “Otter Lady.”

McTurk’s funeral and burial will be held at Karanambu on December 17 and her remains will be laid alongside those of her mother. According to the ranch, a formal memorial to celebrate her remarkable life will be planned for 2017 at a date to be announced.

“In tribute to her and her beloved beasts, we ask friends and followers to share photos and memories of her in the coming days in tribute to the great joy and inspiration that she brought to so many the world over #Karanambu Lodge #OtterLady #GuyanaGirl,” the lodge said.

Earlier this year, relatives told this publication that 2016 is especially important to the family as “Aunty Di”, as she is called in family circles , returned to Guyana from the United Kingdom to be part of the independence celebrations and to be , in her words, a part of the new Guyana.

“So it is also a celebration for our family, as it marks her decision to return full time to Guyana and determined the path that her life took there after which resulted in her tireless work to preserve Karanambu and the Giant Otters for which she has become so famous,” a relative related via email.

According to the Ka-

President David Granger surrounded by the children of Region Two

The “Otter Lady” in her element with her pets,the giant otters

ranambu Trust website, McTurk is the visionary behind both the Trust and the Karanambu Lodge. The North Rupununi was her home, it said.

She was born at Karanambu soon after her pioneer father, Tiny McTurk, established a cattle ranch there. Tiny was also a naturalist and Diane learned to appreciate the region’s extraordinary flora and fauna at an early age.

After attending the Wychwood School in Oxford, England, she moved to London to work in the hospitality business for the Savoy Group.

In 1966, Diane returned to Guyana to celebrate the country’s independence. She subsequently became the press officer for The Guyana Sugar Producers Association.

Later, she would move back to England briefly and worked in corporate public relations before returning to her Rupununi roots in 1976.

Like all the cattle ranches in the area at the time, Karanambu had suffered from

a series of misfortunes: epidemics of diseases had decimated the herds, and there were difficulties protecting the cattle from rustlers.

As a result, Diane looked for alternatives to make a living. Karanambu was well known for its wildlife and spectacular fishing, and had always been a welcome rest stop for unexpected visitors.

As such, in 1983, she opened her home to eco-tourists. Diane also offered refuge to injured or orphaned wildlife. Sadly, the animal that appeared most often was one of the most endangered: the Giant Otter.

“By necessity, Diane became a world expert on the care and rehabilitation of this species,” the body said on its website.

The woman has reared over 40 orphaned otter cubs, returning most of them to the wild for a chance at freedom.

In 1997, Diane, with the support of the McTurk family, established the Karanambu Trust as a private charity.

PRESIDENT David Granger said that children and their well-being are at the centre of the Government’s development programme for the country, simply because they are the ones who will inherit our national patrimony.

He was at the time speaking at a Christmas party, where hundreds of children of Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), received toys and goodies at the Anna Regina Multilateral School. The President was accompanied by Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms. Amna Ally, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency noted.

“Christ came into the

Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms. Amna Ally, whose ministry organised the party, is warmly greeted by a young girl who was there to enjoy the festivities

McTurk with students of the village of Yurupukari in the Rupununi (Karanambu Ranch photo) President David Granger gives this little girl a 50th Anniversary Commemoration coin just before his departure from Region Two

world as a child and we in the Government feel that we must celebrate children.

The best thing we can do is make our children happy, because our children have to take over this country and we have to prepare you to do so,” the Head of State

was quoted as saying by the Ministry of the Presidency.

He said that in keeping with its commitment to improving the lives of the children of Guyana, his Government has initiated the Boats, Buses, Bicycles + Books and Breakfast (Five Bs) programme, the idea for

which came from residents in the Pomeroon. This programme is today benefiting children from every region in Guyana; providing transportation to and from school free of cost, thereby lessening the financial burden on parents.

According to the release, he explained that Christmas is a season of peace and goodwill and that is why it is celebrated by people of all races and religion. He also called on citizens of the region to continue to live in unity and amity, which is the main message of this festive season.

Meanwhile, Minister Ally informed the children that in the new year their region would see a lot of developmental works and programmes, which will translate into a better standard of living for them.

Regional Executive Officer Mr. Rupert Hopkinson and APNU+AFC’s Region Two parliamentarian, Mr. Hemraj Rajkumar, also wished the children well for the holiday season and assisted with the distribution of gifts.

10

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Towards a Good Life in a Green Economy Determining climate change adaptation finance …for small developing states: (Part 2)

WE BEGIN the second part of this two-part series by looking at the theory of constructivism and its influence on climate change adaptation finance (CCAF). However, in order to maintain ideational consonance, we repeat the problematic.

THE PROBLEMATIC Notwithstanding decades of conferences and summits, embedded financial provisions in conventions and pledges, small developing states (SDS) have, as a whole, been unable to access sufficient CCAF to meet their climate change adaptation (CCA) needs. In the result, their nation states and economies have become more susceptible to sea level rises and vulnerabilities, exacerbating their economic, social and environmental development.

The world is socially constructed.

According to Reus- Smit (2009), constructivism is characterised by the constitutive relationship between agents and structures, emphasising the significance of normative and material structures, and how identity contributes to shaping political action by states and international organisations.

Hence constructivists argue that systems of shared ideas, values, interests and beliefs possess structural characteristics that influence social and political action (Finnemore and Sikkink; O’Neil).

Consequently, these collective concepts allow the generation of identities through international interaction (Reus-Smit).

Methodologically, constructivists reject the supremacy of a single scientific method used in the generation of knowledge, adopting instead a plurality of approaches and interpretive strategies. Therefore, ontologically, they emphasize the social construction of actors’ identities and the importance of identity in the constitution of interests.

Epistemologically, they question positivist approaches to knowledge, criticizing attempts to formulate objective, empirically verifiable truth statements about the natural and social world (Reus-Smit).

Mr. Gary A. R. Best is a retired Rear Admiral and former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. He is an Attorney at Law and is the Presidential Advisor on the Environment. He is a PhD. candidate at the University of the West Indies. He holds a BSc in Nautical Science (Brazil) and Masters Degrees from the University of the West Indies and the University of London. He is also an alumnus of the National Defence University and the Harvard Kennedy School.

His research areas include climate change governance, climate change finance, international relations and environmental law.

What we wish to emphasize at this early juncture is the importance in Guyana articulating an international approach to financing the greening of its economy through generating understandings of international inter subjective behavior, based on a well formulated interest and identity based foreign policy.

INTERPRETATIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING PHENOMENON O’Neill (2005) posits that agency depends on the actorness of the agents in the production of definitive results, irrespective of the anticipation of such results.

For Adler (1997), constructivism is about occupying the middle ground between rationalist and relativist interpretive approaches to understanding international relations. In his view, constructivism is more about the manner in which the material world shapes and is shaped by actors’ normative and epistemic interpretations.

Viotti and Kauppi, on the other hand, offer four key perspectives of constructivism. First, they argue that constructivists seek to problematize the identities and interests of states, arguing that identities and interests are not givens (see also Wendt), and interests go beyond agents to include international and transnational organizations. Second,

constructivists view the international structure as a social whole comprising norms, rules and laws capable of influencing the identities and interests of agents, and even international results. Third, constructivists see the world as a project under construction, getting there, but not yet there. And finally, constructivists dispute the belief that pure objectivity exists, given the subjective nature of the human being.

Given the Guyana green economy context and the nature of international capital flows, identity and norms generated in the international arena do influence the conduct of all parties as a collective during negotiations dealing with areas such a climate change financing. But we must be able to set ourselves apart from the international whole in order to study the identities, interests and norms that may impede our green economy pathway. This should be a nationally driven regional approach!

THE ROLE OF IDENTITY Finnemore and Sikkink argue that constructivism provides a framework for analysis of social reality and interaction, leading to an understanding of how, over time, social facts change and influence politics. Wendt argued that the formation of collective identities ‘among states could emerge endogenously at the systemic level, [generating] cooperation and transforming systemic anarchy into an international state (Wendt 1998: 384, Moisio, 78-95). Epstein (2004), distancing himself from Wendt’s (1999) essential state paradigm, argued that discourse provides an opportunity for open analysis in studying identity. It also avoids the influence of assumptions about the actors’ selves in studying

identity and explaining agency where the concept of the essential self assumes that what works at the individual level also works at the state level.

Schopflin (2001), on the other hand, argued that expansion into the non-material sphere threatens our identity. For him, identities are constructed around a set of moral values, and there is a hierarchy of norms which requires actors to be judgmental in condemning or approving types of behaviour.

Consequently, we take refuge in our ‘collective’ identities to resolve our individual fears, without knowing whether collectives -- meaning groups of states -- will impose their own identities on the weak ones.

Context here is important. At the outset, our role in CARICOM is critical to greening Guyana’s economy, since, as a regional body, CARICOM forges identity, rules and norms upon its own members in order to advance its interests.

Guyana’s identity, interests and norms generated in pursuit of its green economy ought to be in such character as to influence that of CARICOM, because together they should be seen and operate as a mutually constitutive whole, chasing a regional green economy pathway.

NORMS AND NORM DIFFUSION Payne (2001) argued that persuasive communication is critical to norm –building. In practise, however, norm entrepreneurs, using material levers, often create ‘issue’ frames for their benefit and those who control power, in order to promote a specific norm or norms. In somewhat similar terms, Acharya (2004) argues that agents, in diffusing norms, reconstruct foreign norms to fit with their cognitive

priors and identities. Congruence, as opposed to persuasive communication, thus becomes the key to norm acceptance.

Mandelbaum (2006), in contrastingly different terms, argued that norm diffusion, such as the invocation of international norms domestically, takes place within the context of state identity, identity crises, and how secure that particular state is about its own identity.

This means that norms may matter differentially, depending on the state’s identity and the extent of its resources.

I find that Payne, Acharya and Mandelbaum underscore the importance of regional support for Guyana’s green economy pathway so as to buffer the tendencies of the power approach to norm formation that benefits only the powerful. In particular, deconstructing international norms and domesticating them into acceptance within small states such as Guyana suffer from what developed states call ‘capacity deficit’.

But is it really capacity deficit on the part of states such as Guyana? Or is it not a norm diffusion that forces the developed state’s identity upon a small state? Therefore, I would contend that a middle ground for norm diffusion should be established which certifies that the norm and identity have been deconstructed in such a manner that it meets the capacities of states such as Guyana a la CARICOM. Krook and True (2010) posit that diffusion of international norms affects policy and political behaviour.

They view norms as dynamic processes of adoption and implementation, and they hold that a discursive approach is best suited for theorizing and analysing life cycles of international norms. Bjorkdahl (2002), on the other hand, argued that norms are a useful and lasting tool in analysing international relations, because states rely more on norms, ideas and values as opposed to the traditional ‘think’ about distribution of power.

In the result, this mutual constitutive relationship between norms and interests serves to provide states with opportunities to pursue their preferences.

11

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

The police ‒ our unsung heroes THE highlights that the society is being fed of the Guyana Police Force are mostly negative. Our failure to understand that this force is made up of Guyanese, a majority of whom come from within the ranks of working-class families, is to take them for granted and ignore how important they are to our safety and well-being.

The force is a reflection of our society and the aspirations of its people and we need to take time out to understand the members’ behaviour and what may have led to them not only joining the service, but also the misconduct of some that rightly attracts our condemnation. Ever so often, we hear pronouncements from the Commissioner of Police and management staff demanding certain behaviours from their subordinates that would make headlines in the news. These include being disciplined, turning up promptly at crime scenes, doing

professional investigations, and eschewing behaviours that would discredit them and bring disrepute to the force. All of what these senior functionaries are calling for are attributes that are important in delivering service and protection to the society.

Over recent times, we have also heard the commissioner informing the nation about the technical support that is forthcoming from friendly countries. This is commendable, provided these demonstrate respect for our sovereignty and laws. In the presence of the force moving to improve its technical competencies, what remains absent is equal call and attention to the conditions of employment of its workforce. From the commissioner on down to the constable, conditions in pay, benefits, and working environments are less than desirable.

For example, a constable who

receives a monthly salary of approximately $70,000, has to meet expenses such as travelling, health, food, rent/mortgage and utilities. If that police constable has a family, in addition to the independent expenses, he has to cater for his children’s education and other welfare.

This policeman is also expected to set aside savings to meet emergencies and other circumstances. If the constable is transferred outside of where he lives, it brings with it additional expenses of having to maintain two homes. Should this rank-and-file officer choose to do another job or create an investment to supplement his income, based on the Police Standard Practice such has to be approved by the commissioner. Whenever there is an emergency or adjustment in the force’s activities, the policeman has no choice but to conform and place his supplementary source of income on the back-burner.

The call for prudent and acceptable behaviours by police officers, at various levels, is acceptable in every society. This call must be buttressed with corresponding responsibility of the principals consistently addressing and reviewing the conditions of employment. Taking a bribe is wrong and where such is known the recalcitrant policeman should be dealt with, consistent with the rules and laws. Conversely, those demanding that the law be applied across the board carry the responsibility to address the conditions of employment of the officers, but are failing in their duties.

The decision-makers need to be told that taking a bribe is the effect of their failing to address low pay, poor benefits and working conditions. Taking a bribe and being involved in shakedowns by the police will continue, though some will opt to turn a blind eye, until such

time that clear efforts are made to change the policy on how the police are treated. The country cannot continue to pay unattractive salaries and benefits and expect that every police officer would remain honest to their oath of office. Yesterday, a policeman stopped me on the East Coast and said: “Mr. Lewis, in the past we received the equivalent of one month’s pay as year-end bonus.

Last year it was reduced to $50, 000, this year it is $25,000, and it looks like next year we will get $10,000.” This officer went on to say that it seems to him that the good life is for some, not all.

We look forward and expect the police to protect us regardless of the circumstances. It is heroic when persons place their lives on the line for the security of ours.

Our policemen and women do this every day and deserve to be treated better.

GTT prepares for transition to liberalised telecoms sector GOVERNMENT through the Ministry of Public Telecommunications on Friday began discussions with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) and its parent company Atlantic Tele- Network International (ATNI) in preparation for the transition to a liberalised telecommunications sector.

In July, the APNU+AFC coalition Government passed the Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2016, which paved the way for liberalisation of the sector.

That legislation was first introduced in 2011 and was revised in 2013 under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration.

The Telecommunications Bill had been placed before the Special Select Committee in the 10th Parliament and was near completion when former President Donald Ramotar prorogued Parliament in 2014.

Government was represented by subject Minister Cathy Hughes, Vice-Pres-

Minister Hughes greets the Telecoms team

ident and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge and ministerial advisors on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Telecommunications, while GTT/ATNI was represented by GTT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Justin Nedd and ATNI’s Vice-President, Government and Regulatory Affairs Doug Minster and other company executives.

“These discussions come on the heels of Guyana’s landmark telecommunications legislation, which is aimed at ending the exclusivity of fixed line, international voice and data services, and attracting

investments to the ICT and telecommunications sector, thereby increasing affordable Internet access,” the statement said.

According to the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, the discussions were cordial, positive and productive, with both sides expecting the talks to conclude “as soon as possible” to each party’s satisfaction.

Meanwhile, during her 2017 budget debate presentation, Minister Hughes disclosed that of her $1.58B allocation in the budget, $114M has been allocated for the provision of proper Internet access to over 600 Government buildings across the country.

These public Internet access points, she said, will increase the opportunities and channels through which thousands of Guyanese would be able to access online resources, in keeping with the Government’s aim to reduce the digital divide and to improve interconnection and association with Government.

She disclosed that several post offices will be transformed into ICT hubs providing much-needed internet access to citizens, while making access to Government services easier.

Another $ 90M will be used to provide ICT access

for the hinterland regions as well as far and remote areas across Guyana, and according to Hughes, there is a plan to expand the reach of Government services to the hinterland; and community ICT hubs will be established in Annai, Lethem, Waramadong, Paramakatoi, Aishalton, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Bartica, Mabaruma, and Kwakwani, to name a few.

“The aim… is to improve the livelihoods of persons and to reduce the digital divide that exist between the coast and the hinterland, the haves and the have nots.”

Additionally, another 30 pilot community ICT hubs serving approximately 60,000 residents will be established in Regions Two, Four, Five and Six while Regions One, Seven, Eight, Nine and 10 are being considered for similar development.

“All of this would be accommodated through the e-government network; therefore maintaining and expanding the reach of this network is of critical importance,” said Minister

Hughes.

Some $435M has been allocated for this activity, while $70M was budgeted for the expansion of the network into unserved areas including Timehri, Amelia’s Ward, and Diamond among other locations.

Earlier this year, when the Telecommunications Bill was passed, Hughes described the legislation as “a breakthrough legislation,” which represents a significant and tangible indication of her Government’s commitment to the advancement of Guyana.

Above all, the Minister of Public Telecommunications made it clear that the telecommunications sector will become competitive and flexible to meet the needs of a modern and rapidly evolving technological world.

It is expected that when the sector becomes fully liberalised, it would attract new market entrants as well as investors, thereby providing more choices, better quality service and lower prices to consumers.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Wales estate workers receive $80M in severance pay

By Ariana Gordon

WALES estate sugar workers who opted not to continue working following the merger of that estate with Uitvlugt estate earlier this year have received $80.1M in severance pay following the withdrawal of the injunction filed by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU).

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo made this disclosure on Friday during the wrap-up of the 2017 budget debates.

GAWU had, on May 6, 2016, filed an injunction blocking the payment, which was to be made by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

Government and the sugar company had decided earlier this year that in view of efforts to restructure the industry, the Wales factory would be merged with Uitvlugt. That decision resulted in widespread criticism from both workers and the unions that represent sugar workers across the country. Notwithstanding the protests, GuySuCo had committed to paying severance to those affected by the merger, but was barred from doing so after GAWU filed an injunction blocking the payment, which was to be made on May 13.

The Prime Minister told the House that the workers met him following the submission of a petition and after several protests, and he noted that after speaking with them,

GAWU withdrew the injunction on September 26, 2016.

“On October 14, 2016, ninety-three workers got $80,155,000, and the union went silent,” said Nagamootoo, who accused the union and the PPP of using workers as voting machines who pay “union dues to the labour bureaucrats”.

GuySuCo has been operating at a loss for a number of years, as a result of the world market price for sugar; and as such, a macro approach was taken in relation to the Wales Estate. Billions of dollars have been plugged into the sector, which in the past contributed significantly to the country’s economic stability.

With Government’s decision to close the Wales factory and merge the Wales

Business community mourns passing of GMSA President THE Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the wider business community are mourning the loss of the entity’s President, Eon Caesar, who passed away on Friday in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

Caeser died in the twin-island republic shortly after he was medivac-ed to a specialty hospital there, the GMSA said in a statement on Saturday. He reportedly died from a lung infection, weeks after his condition worsened. According to the GMSA, at a very youthful age of 43, Caesar has left behind an entity which was beginning to benefit from his expertise in Business Management and his passion for Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

He was elected to head the GMSA in March this year and had previously served as Vice-President since 2013, holding specific responsibility for Security and Governance. Professionally, the GMSA said Caesar was the Managing-Director of the electronic security services company, Safeway Security, which the body said has an excellent reputation for providing technological security components and services.

Over the past six months, Caesar had spearheaded the design and led the early im-

Dead: Eon Caesar

plementation of a proactive Strategic Plan to align the GMSA even more closely with industry stakeholders, among other ideas.

“Eon Caesar’s passing is a shock, the after effects of which will linger for a very long time. We especially regret the fact that he will not be able to implement the new measures he had designed to enhance the effectiveness of the GMSA, and to participate in the nation’s drive to digitize our businesses, services and civil society as a whole,” the GMSA said in its statement.

The body said that its Board of Directors and members have joined the long queue of persons “who will miss this cool, dedicated patriot who still had

so much more to give.”

According to the GMSA, at no other time has the body been more acutely aware of the old saying, “Tomorrow is promised to no one.”

We take this opportunity to publicly convey our deepest condolences to his dear wife Saudia, and children, the staff of Safeway Security, his many friends and associates”, the GMSA said.

Meanwhile, President David Granger, also extended his condolences to the family and friends of the Caesar.

According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, “Mr. Caesar, who was an Electrical Engineer by profession and whose company was established in 2006 soon after he graduated from the University of the West Indies, will be remembered for his passion for the development of the Information and Communication Technology sector and his ability to find quick solutions to the most challenging of problems.”

According to the release, “This passion had earned him a reputation for a high standard of electronic solutions for domestic and public sector security and saw him heading the GMSA’s Security and Governance Sub-committee since 2013, before being elected to serve as President last year.”

and Uitvlugt estates, there is hope that the Uitvlugt factory would operate at 100 per cent capacity.

Government had announced that feasibility studies are being conducted in the areas of cattle rearing for dairy purposes, orchard crop cultivation, and aquaculture, to name a few activities proposed to be undertaken at Wales.

And the Prime Minister has addressed insinuations made by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) that it is the intention of the APNU+AFC Coalition Government to cast the sugar industry aside and close all estates.

“They say that this APNU+AFC Government is killing sugar. How do you

kill a patient if you inject into the patient $12B in 2015?

How do you commit economic genocide if you inject another $11B months after, in 2016? How do you destroy the livelihood of sugar workers if you throw out a new life-line of $9B in 2017?” asked the Prime Minister, who asserted that his administration is not anti-sugar.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo described the coalition Administration as a “caring doctor” who continues to “treat the sugar patient, “which we found shackled to a death bed with an $85B debt chain”, allocating $32B to that patient’s care.

Instead of criticising Government’s push to diversify the industry, the Prime Minister said, the opposition

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

should have proffered suggestions that would ensure the advancement of the industry.

“Now, same story: not a single suggestion or new ways!” declared the Prime Minister amidst loud thumping of desks from the Government side of the House.

It’s Christmas at NCN!

Santa Claus being held at gunpoint during a dramatic skit. (Cullen Bess-Nelson photo)

THERE was hardly an empty seat on Friday night at the National Communications Network (NCN) Christmas Jubilee celebrations at the company’s headquarters on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown.

Parents and children of all ages were out in their numbers flocking the network’s compound for the annual concert and Christmas tree light-up, which was also attended by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Nicolette Henry, and Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes. Hughes took a moment from the schedule to deliver an address to the night’s patrons.

First Lady, Mrs Sandra Granger, was also scheduled to appear but was unable to do so. Nonetheless, she was determined not to let the night go by without sending out a heart-felt message to the multitude and gave a speech by way of pre-record-

ed video, which was played from a projector.

Chaired by Wendell Badrie and former Ms. Universe Guyana, Ruqayyah Boyer, the night saw an impressive line-up of acts including performances by former Ms. World Guyana, and Rising Star contestant, Lisa Punch, as well as Gavin Mendonca and Calvin Burnett. There were dances by 21-year-old Koreena Seecharan of the Nrityageet dancers. Outfitted in a striking traditional Indian outfit, Seecharan performed a number called “Ringing in Christmas.” There was also a performance by dancers of the National School of Dance.

The night started with the National Anthem being performed by gospel singer Mariam Corlette-Williams, accompanied by her son Jeremiah Williams. The night catered to patrons of all ages with acts ranging from songs performed by the folk arm of

the veteran Korokwa singers to performances by the The Success Elementary School Choir, which did a lovely rendition of Emmanuel, while well outfitted in their school uniforms.

Also on the younger end of things was the performance by young singer Jovinski. Roy Stewart delivered a calming saxophone instrumental of “That Name Jesus.” And no Christmas-related event could go without an appearance of the big man himself – Santa Claus. Santa and his friends took part in a hilarious skit which had the crowd roaring.

The Police Band, led by recently appointed band leader Superintendent Charmaine Stuart, was also accounted for. Of course, there was also the first lighting of the Christmas Tree, which will be on display in front of the NCN compound for the rest of the Christmas season.

(Tamica Garnett)

Diplomacy will prevail 13

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

‒ as Guyana robustly defends territorial integrity against Venezuela DESPITE the many challenges in resolving the border controversy with Venezuela, Guyana will allow diplomacy to prevail, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge told the National Assembly on Thursday as he stood to debate the 2017 National Budget.

He said the Foreign Affairs Ministry has sought simultaneously to maintain a robust programme in defence of Guyana’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity, and to promote Guyana’s developmental agenda internationally.

“Members will not be surprised that one of the ministry’s first and most important pre-occupation over the last 12 months has been our relations with [The] Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It has been a year in

which we have been actively engaged with the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in his very personal endeavours to find a way forward in our controversy with Venezuela,” the Foreign Affairs Minister told the House.

“The way forward,” is the title given by the outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki moon, for the menu of proposals he had made for the resolution of the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.

Minister Greenidge told the House that while Guyana continues to cooperate with the Secretary-General, Venezuela continues to pose a challenge.

“Guyana cooperated fully with the secretary-general and made every effort to bring his proposals to fruition

Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, Venezuela did not do likewise and in the end I dare say frustrated the secretary-general’s best efforts. “The way forward proposals envisaged a conclusion at the end of the year…”

In the developments sur-

rounding the border controversy, the Government had ensured that the representatives of the Opposition and representatives of civil society were apprised and consulted in the preparation and pursuit of the country’s case with the UN. Similarly,

he said, when the decision is made by the UN, both parties will be briefed on the decision.

Nevertheless, he said notwithstanding the limited finances and human resources available to the ministry, it has successfully maintained a high level of success, especially in terms of garnering support for Guyana’s position on the matter of the controversy, Minister Greenidge said.

“We have also coordinated Guyana’s response to the development and challenges globally and regionally, and continue to seek support for the promotion of a better life for all Guyanese,” he added.

It was explained that this level of success was achieved through a structural realignment of the organisational structure of the ministry,

which placed great emphasis on areas central to the promotion of the ministry’s economic diplomacy programme and the safeguarding of the country’s national interest.

“I would like to say that the purpose of the realignment was not only to ensure value for money in the deployment of human resources, but to enhance the realisation of the ministry’s strategic objectives,” Minister Greenidge noted.

In 2015, the ministry started the process of recruiting ambassadors, and while that process has since been completed, there has been increased emphasis on economic diplomacy and the need for the acceleration of trade and investment during its training programmes.

But training in the area of economic diplomacy must be fast tracked, he said.

Ogle Airport officials ‘put down’ dogs from interior …cite lack of proper animal health documentation

By Alva Solomon SEVERAL passengers who travelled on domestic flights to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport in recent weeks have expressed shock at the action of authorities there who have euthanised and burned several dogs brought to the port from hinterland locations.

A passenger reported several days ago that the airport authorities “cruelly” killed and burnt three dogs which were brought out from the border location of Eteringbang to Ogle.

Reports are that the passenger had presented the relevant documents which indicated that the animals had been inspected across the border in Venezuela, but the officials at Ogle informed the passenger that there was no other option but to “put-down” the animals. The action was taken since the papers presented were written in Spanish and

could not be translated and the passenger was informed that the documents were not issued by a veterinary doctor at Eteringbang. It remains unclear if there are any such health inspectors at any hinterland airstrip, including those near the country’s borders.

“They also said the dog couldn’t go back because it would have to land in Venezuela,” the passenger’s relative reported. Two weeks ago, a similar situation had occurred; this time the animals were reportedly brought from another Region Seven aerodrome. The owner of the animal was upset that the airport officials took a decision to euthanise his dog which was raised in the interior location. The animal was later burnt.

It is unclear whether there is an operational animal health quarantine unit at the Ogle Airport and calls to the numbers provided for airport officials and Ogle Airport Inc which

One of the dogs which were euthanised (put an animal to death humanely) last week

manages the airport, went unanswered in recent days.

On Saturday, officials at the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) on Robb Street expressed surprise at the information. It was noted that the “cruel” measures

adopted by the management of the airport did not conform to a 72-hour time period within which the owner of domesticated or terrestrial animals are given to provide the necessary documentation on the health status of animals. In that

time period, the animals are expected to be quarantined.

According to the Animal Health Act 2011, under Import Permit and Border Inspections, upon inspection by an authorised officer, where he/she is satisfied that the import of the shipment would result or is likely to result in the introduction or spread in Guyana of a vector or a prescribed disease, or where the documentation accompanying the shipment fails to meet the prescribed requirements, several measures are implemented at the expense of the importer.

These include the taking of samples for submission to an official laboratory for analysis, transfer of the animal to a quarantine station or any other location identified by the Authority for testing or disinfection, return to the country of origin; or destruction.

The Act also states that by order of an authorised officer, any terrestrial animal (any mammal, bird or bees) may be placed under quarantine in a quarantine

station where the authorised officer suspects that the animal is suffering from a prescribed disease.

In addition, the Act states that every terrestrial animal which is imported, unless exempted by virtue of regulations or subject to a different order of the Authority shall upon being landed be placed in quarantine for such period and be subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

Animal rights activists told this publication last week that the enforcement of the Act appears cruel, with no measures being in place to test the animals or to translate documents brought by travelling passengers from hinterland locations near the country’s borders. It was noted too that with the absence of veterinary personnel at hinterland airstrips, the passenger is placed in a disadvantaged position. In addition, the lack of a public awareness campaign on the implementation of animal health measures was also raised.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Greater commercial relations needed with Cuba ‒ Gouveia tells sister CARICOM countries

GUYANESE entrepreneur Captain Gerry Gouveia wants CARICOM member countries to match their economic and commercial relations with Cuba to that of their political ties.

Speaking on behalf of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) of Guyana at a reception in Cuba on Thursday to mark the 44th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba on the part of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, Gouveia hailed the bold step taken by these

countries in the height of the Cold War. But Gouveia, Chief Executive Officer of the Roraima Group of Companies, said that the changing global environment requires that Guyana and other CARICOM member states “create an enabling environment that would facilitate easy access to doing business, thereby generating jobs for the people of Cuba and CARICOM.” Noting that “Barriers still remain within CARICOM to the free movement of goods

and services, not to mention people, I urge CARICOM Governments and the Cuban authorities to look at those policies which inhibit trade and other aspects of the huge potential that exists for doing business and to take the necessary steps that would allow the private sector to transform that potential into jobs for our people,” Gouveia said.

He pointed out that an encouraging sign was the significant CARICOM presence at last month’s Havana International Fair (FIHAV)

and the discussions and negotiations which took place during that event.

Gouveia headed the Guyana private sector delegation to that fair.

He said his company has recently teamed up with a Honduran airline, Easy Sky, to facilitate a daily air service between Cuba and Guyana, which is now providing for Cuban entrepreneurs to travel to Guyana for the purpose of conducting business.

Thursday night’s reception was hosted by the Guyana Embassy in Cuba at the

Captain Gerry Gouveia

residence of its ambassador Halim Majeed and was attended by regional and international diplomatic envoys, senior officials of the Cuban Government and participants in an annual Cuba/Caribbean conference held at the University of Havana Among the speakers were Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Ambassador June Soomer, and former Cuban Foreign Minister and President of the National Assembly, Ricard Alarcon.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Mazaruni Prison to accommodate 500 more ‒ President Granger

IN AN effort to ease overcrowding at the Georgetown Prisons, the Mazaruni Prisons will be expanded to accommodate an additional 500 prisoners, President David Granger has said.

Speaking on his weekly television programme The Public Interest, the President said the prison infrastructure in Guyana is of the Victorian era, while the Georgetown and New Amsterdam Prisons were built in urban areas with no space for expansion.

Noting that prison officials live on Mazaruni with their families, the President said the area is almost like a little village.

“We are going to develop the farm, so that the Guyana Prison Service becomes more reliant on its own produce.

We will develop the workshop so that prisoners can be rehabilitated. We are going to

President David Granger

have more secure facilities, so the likelihood of riots in the future will not be a big concern,” the Head of State said.

He said a permanent solution is being sought to address the overcrowding problem, and he noted that the sentencing policy will also be examined, as minor offences will be addressed without incarceration.

“We are aware of the problem, and the solution is not to build more prisons, but to consolidate what we have and spend on Mazaruni,” he said.

Acknowledging that the Ministry of Public Security has challenges, the President said the police, prisons and fire services have taken up a lot of the budget, as financing in these sectors is important to provide citizens with the security and comfort they need.

Long-term, hardcore prisoners will be incarcerated at Mazaruni, he disclosed.

“I would say [the] Georgetown Prison ought not to have more than 500 prisoners, but sometimes it goes up to over 900 prisoners. It is incumbent on the administration to provide accommodation for 500 more prisoners at Mazaruni. We don’t want to increase the Turn to page 18 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

CDB team expected in Guyana …to ink agreement for Linden/Mabura road

By Alva Solomon

THE Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will be responsible for overseeing the paving of the Linden/ Mabura road and a team from the bank will be in Guyana this week when the formal agreement on the project and others funded by the bank, could be finalised.

This was disclosed on Thursday evening by Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, during the 2017 Budget debate. He said that the bank officials will be in Guyana from December 12-15.

The project, which is the first in a step to pave the critical economic link between the coastland and the Rupununi, will be undertaken through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said soon after pre-

Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson

senting the budget late last month.

Jordan stated also that in 2017, the government should be in a position to commence the multimillion dollar project paving the way for the other stretch from Mabura Hill to Lethem to be

upgraded.

“Once we get that road finished, we could get con-

nectivity throughout Central America (and) South America. You can probably leave

Guyana and drive straight to the United States once you could have that connectivi-

ty,” he posited. When asked about the amount of money

Turn to page 18 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Mazaruni Prison to accommodate...

From page 15

prison population, but, at the same time, we want to make sure that persons who commit serious offences are not let loose on the public,” he said.

The 2015 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report said a total of 963 prisoners were in the Georgetown Prison, whereas that facility was designed to hold 550 inmates.

“Overcrowding was in large part due to a backlog of pre-trial detainees, who constituted approximately 11.3 per cent of the total prison population,” the report detailed.

Overall, the report stat-

ed that the Guyana Prison Service reported that, as at October 2015, there were 1,944 prisoners in five facilities which had a combined designed capacity to hold 1,640.

Following prison unrest in March of this year, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo led an executive ministerial delegation to meet with representatives of the judiciary, including (acting) Chancellor Carl Singh; Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan, and Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack, to find ways to address the backlog of cases.

CDB team... needed to execute the project, the Finance Minister said full disclosure will be made when an agreement has been reached.

“We have an idea how much it will cost, but we don’t want to excite anybody or pre-empt the donor… some of these negotiations are delicate,” he said. However, it was noted that part of the money will be acquired through a grant and the other part through a loan. During his budget presentation, the Finance Minister said the country has waited for over five decades to bridge the coastal and hinterland divide, and for the creation of national and hemispheric inter-connectivity via the Linden to Lethem corridor.

Despite criticisms by Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo that the road should not be paved at this point in time, executive member of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo, said the paving of the road from Linden to Lethem was among requests on the PSC’s wish list.

“The Linden to Lethem road is a huge priority for the private sector. We see that road as one which will generate economic activities through the length and breadth of Guyana,” Dookhoo told the Guyana Chronicle.

On Thursday evening, the Minister of Public Infrastructure told the National Assembly that the CDB will oversee another project, which is the construction of a

From page 17

bridge across the Kurupukari River, called the “Kurupukari Crossing.”

The bank will also fund a number of other projects in the new year, including funding for the improvement of a section of roadway from Vreed-en-Hoop to Hydronie, West Coast Demerara, approximately 30.7 km long.

Patterson said that at the end of November, the project was 58% completed with its completion date set for December 2018. He noted that the 2017 budget has provisions of $2.335B for completion of these works.

The Barbados-headquartered CDB will also fund sea defence projects here in 2017.

Patterson explained that the Sea and River Defence Resilience Project outlines the various project components programmed for implementation during the period 2017 – 2018.

He said that the project had commenced in the last quarter of 2015, when all the requisite pre-conditions were met.

“The envisaged benefits include flood-protection infrastructure; capacity- building within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure; and community awareness and education,” he explained.

Sea defence works will be conducted in Regions Two, Three, Four, and Six. According to Patterson, the budget allocation for continuation of the sea defence project is $980M, with its completion date slated for December 2018.

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Rohee wants more done to tackle crime SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

FORMER Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has challenged his successor, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, to create new programmes that are geared at tackling crime here.

As opening speaker on Friday during the conclusion of the 2017 budget debate, Rohee told the House that the “budget lacks imagination,” even as he chided the APNU+AFC coalition Administration for failing to develop new programmes that would see an enhanced security sector.

Rohee told the House that the Integrated Crime Information System, the expansion of the Mazaruni Prison, and many other aspects budgeted for under the subject ministry were all started under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) Administration.

“What appears, Mr. Speaker, is old oil in new bottles, in keeping with the much-touted fresh approach,” said Rohee, who noted that Government has failed to budget for the purchase of an aircraft for the police to patrol the country’s porous borders, as well as money for the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) to monitor the vast borders.

“Mr Speaker, it does not matter how many billions you pump into the security sector; what matters is how many lives are being saved, and that people’s safety (is) being protected day and night,” the Opposition MP stated, as he reminded the House of the number of criminal activities that have taken place over the past few weeks.

“The question, Mr. Speaker, is (this): Is the Guyana Police Force capable of delivering? Can the Force deliver, given how it is currently structured and oriented?” he asked.

Rohee said there is too much indiscipline within the Guyana Police Force, and he believes that officers are not being disciplined. How can the Force deliver when infighting and backstabbing are taking place at the highest level of the organization, he asked. What example are they setting? How can they guarantee order in society?

Rohee, the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), was Minister of Home Affairs in the PPP Administration. Under his watch, there were three massacres: at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek, as well as a number of prison breakouts; and generally, a troubled security climate prevailed during his tenure as political head of the Po-

Opposition Member of Parliament, Clement Rohee

“Mr. Speaker, we have heard that the money allocated in 2016 would go to good use, and that significant progress had been made in the area of public security… The security sector is no better off!” Declared Rohee, who called on Minister Ramjattan to state whether he is losing the war on crime. “Are we getting value for money?” he asked.

Additionally, cautioning that there is a need to strike the right balance between strong law enforcement and the human rights of citizens, Rohee called on Government to reconsider its plan to revoke firearm licences from some holders.

INTER-PERSONAL VIOLENCE Rohee noted that many inter-agency bodies have been established, namely on social cohesion, education and natural resources; but, he said, there is none to address inter-personal violence.

Turning his attention to the ‘green economy’, Rohee opined that the green pathway about which the coalition Administration speaks will remain elusive “if the people who produce do not feel safe and secure, and (continue to) see crime as a threat to life, limb and property.”

“Guyana is up to its ears in crime,” he declared.

“Criminals are becoming bolder and braver with every passing day, (and) criminals seem to have better intelligence than law enforcement,” he said as he noted that criminals are making the lives of citizens miserable.

lice Force.

CONSTANT REVIEW In his budget presentation, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said Government would “continue to keep our crime prevention and reduction strategy under constant review”.

He noted that a menu of measures would be implemented to prevent and respond efficiently to

crimes against persons and property. As such, he said, Government proposes to recruit 20 per cent more police officers; equip the GPF with vehicles; expand patrols in critical areas with the aim of deterring crime; re-establish the 911 service, to restore public confidence; strengthen the Integrated Crime Information System to ensure the sharing of information; strengthen

the Office of Professional Responsibility to deal with rogue cops; and expand surveillance through closed circuit television cameras at both airports.

He also announced that, for the first time ever, a Port Georgetown fireboat will be added to the fleet of fire vehicles at a cost of $250M; and that $29.1B have been budgeted for the security sector.

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UDFA GT Beer football ...

Kwakwani beat Milerock 2-0, Botafago blow out Blueberry Hill 3-1 KWAKWANI Strikers struck back to remain in contention by beating Milerock 2-0 while Botafago got their campaign rolling with a second defeat of Blueberry Hill with a 2-0 score, when play in the Upper Demerara Football Association’s (UDFA) GT Beer Christmas football championship entered day three Thursday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

Following their opening loss against last year’s runner-up side Silver Shattas, Kkwakwani showed their experience against the Milerock team, with goals coming on either side of play, when Keshawn Phillips netted in the 18th minute and Kurt Simon in the 53rd minute in their group game.

The second game ended with Botafago scoring a 3-1 win as Kellon Primo got a double in the 19th and 56th minutes and the other goal being scored by Jevon LeFleur in the 71st minute.

The experienced Renee Gibbons, coach/player for the Blueberry Hill team showed his poise to get their lone goal in the 21st minute.

The championship continues tonight when Winners Connection, the defending champions who began their three year defence with a 3-0 blotting out of Blueberry Hill,comes up against Hi Stars. Hi Stars are a confident bunch, having won their first match 3-1 against Amelia’s Ward Panthers

ENGLISH RACING TIPS Carlisle 08:00 hrs Bubsy Burbidge 08:30 hrs Halcyon Days 09:05 hrs Above Board 09:35 hrs West Of The Edge 10:10 hrs Gevrey Chamberlain 10:40 hrs Palm Grey 11:15 hrs Miss Tynte SOUTHWELL 08:15 hrs The Jugopolist 08:45 hrs Kitchapoly 09:20 hrs Undisputed 09:50 hrs Goodnitesweetheart 10:25 hrs Late Night Lily 10:55 hrs Laser Light 11:30 hrs She’s Late IRISH RACING TIPS Punchestown 08:25 hrs Lion In His Heart 08:55 hrs Champagne Classic 09:30 hrs Sub Lieutenant 10:35 hrs American Tom 11:05 hrs Space Cadet 11:40 hrs Come To Me CORK 08:35 hrs English Pale 09:10 hrs Woods Well 09:40 hrs Screaming Rose 10:15 hrs Douvan 10:45 hrs Listen Dear 11:20 hrs Orchard Road SOUTH AFRICA RACING TIPS Scottsville 08:20 hrs Pippin 08:55 hrs Hallowed Spring 09:25 hrs Monte Christo 10:00 hrs Run Rhino Run 10:35 hrs Mr Winsome 11:10 hrs Charisma

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Sublime Virat Kohli, GDF marches Murali Vijay put India on to the top of Elite ... ahead against England From back page

(REUTERS)-INDIA captain Virat Kohli maintained his red-hot form as he and Murali Vijay struck fine centuries to help the hosts overtake England on day three of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday.

The hosts, leading 2-0 in the five-match series, reached 451 for seven at the close, 51 runs ahead of the touring side.

Captain Kohli was unbeaten on 147 at stumps with Jayant Yadav on 30 not out.

The 28-year-old Kohli brought up his 15th test hundred and second of the series and celebrated with a leap in the air, bringing the 22,000

13 off Moeen Ali before part-time off-spinner Joe Root picked up the wickets of Parthiv Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin in four balls.

India, who were comfortably placed on 262-2, were reduced to 307-6 before Kohli and Jadeja propped them up. Jadeja was out to Rashid for 25.

The hosts could have been in more trouble if Rashid had held on to a return catch from Kohli, then on 68. Root also dropped Yadav on eight off James Anderson, compounding England’s problems.

Yadav was reprieved again on 28 when replays showed he had edged Moeen to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow down the

Virat Kohli roars on reaching his 15th Test hundred against England in Mumbai on the third day.

Murali Vijay went to his eighth Test century on the third day in Mumbai. crowd at the stadium overlooking the Arabian Sea to their feet.

Kohli batted majestically, rarely looked in trouble, and hit 17 fours with sublime stroke-making.

He shared crucial stands with the lower-order batsmen - 57 with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket and an unbroken 87 with Yadav.

England successfully reviewed the umpire’s not out decision to dismiss Karun Nair lbw for

leg side but England did not have any reviews left to challenge the umpire’s not out decision.

Resuming on 146 for one, the hosts suffered an early jolt when Cheteshwar Pujara (47) was bowled by the second ball of the morning shouldering arms to paceman Jake Ball.

However, it proved to be the only success for the English bowlers in the morning as Vijay and Kohli flayed the attack.

Vijay reached his sec-

ond century of the series with a single against off-spinner Moeen and hit 10 fours and three sixes in his knock.

He was given out lbw

to Rashid on 116 but managed to overturn the decision on review as replays suggested he got an inside edge before the ball struck his pad.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings 400 (K. Jennings 112, J. Buttler 76, M. Ali 50; R. Ashwin 6-112, R. Jadeja 4-109) India 1st innings (Overnight: 146-1) L. Rahul b Ali 24 M. Vijay c&b Rashid 136 C. Pujara b Ball 47 V. Kohli not out 147 K. Nair lbw b Ali 13 P. Patel c Bairstow b Root 15 R. Ashwin c Jennings b Root 0 R. Jadeja c Buttler b Rashid 25 J. Yadav not out 30 Extras (b-5 lb-7 w-2) 14 Total (for 7 wickets, 142 overs) 451 Fall of wickets: 1-39 L. Rahul,2-146 C. Pujara,3-262 M. Vijay,4-279 K. Nair,5-305 P. Patel,6-307 R. Ashwin,7-364 R. Jadeja To bat: B. Kumar, U. Yadav Bowling : J. Anderson 15 - 5 - 43 – 0, C. Woakes 8 - 2 - 34 - 0(w-1), M. Ali 45 - 5 - 139 – 2, A. Rashid 44 - 5 - 152 – 2, J. Ball 14 5 - 29 - 1(w-1) B. Stokes 8 - 2 - 24 – 0. J. Root 8 - 2 - 18 – 2.

equally attacking but the score remained 1-1 at the interval.

Both sides kept up the tempo after the break in search of breaking the deadlock as the two Coaches went to their respective benches in pursuit of the winner. The Army looked more fluid and confident in midfield and at both ends of the pitch there was resolute defending as the minutes ticked away.

Just when it looked like the Army would have to share the points with the home side, the League’s top marksman, Sherwyn Caesar took centre-stage with a 2-minute explosion that pushed his season tally to six goals and the GDF to the top of the 6-team table on a maximum 12 points.

The solidly built Caesar capitalised on a quickly taken free-kick about thirty five metres out as he ran away into the box past a now tired defence and beat the advancing Selwyn Jack.

The goal took the spirit and fight away from the combative Monedderlust and within two minutes Caesar raced unto a ball squared across the goal from the left side to beat Jack as he left his line again.

While the Army celebrated, some angry home fans on the touchline cried off-side while surrounding the assistant Referee in a threatening manner, forcing the game to be held up for seven minutes.

After all was brought back to order referee Dwayne Johnson continued with the remaining four minutes and at the final whistle the score was still GDF 3, Monedderlust FC 1.

The opening match-up was delayed by an hour and 39 minutes due to a poorly marked penalty area at one end of the pitch, but at the end the two newcomers to the Elite League, Victoria Kings and Top XX played to a dull 1-1 draw.

Kings took the initiative in the 7th minute when Kenroy Alfed fired a right-booter from the top of the area which Jamal Caster failed to grasp properly as the ball rolled across the goal line. As though motivated, the Linden unit started to make several raids on the Kings goal but poor finishing by Terrence Aaron let the East Coast side off the hook.

Aaron atoned for his misses when he headed home the equalizer at the far post from a right side cross four minutes after the half time break. Thereafter neither side could create a goal scoring opportunity as they were content on just kicking the ball away from danger for the remainder of the contest.

Kings moved to 5 points while Top XX earned their first point in a game from which they should have taken maximum points.

The final three games of round one will be played at the Buxton Community ground tomorrow where unbeaten leaders, GDF tackle the only other unbeaten team, second placed Fruta Conquerors in the first game at 16:00 hrs.

The second match-up will feature Monedderlust against Kings and in the ‘night cap’, home side Buxton United do battle with Top XX.

26

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Arsenal go top as West Ham Rebuilding drop into relegation zone Kiwis punished

By Alan Baldwin LONDON,(Reuters)-Arsenal shoved Chelsea off the top of the Premier League, if only for a day and by the slimmest of margins, after beating Stoke City 3-1 yesterday while results elsewhere plunged troubled West Ham United into the drop zone.

With Chelsea hosting West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, when third-placed Liverpool also host West Ham, the Gunners had a golden chance to take the lead on goal difference but they had some nervous moments on the way.

A rash challenge by Granit Xhaka on Joe Allen gave Charlie Adam the chance to put Stoke ahead from the penalty spot, on the Scot’s 31st birthday, after 29 minutes and he despatched it without fuss.

Goals either side of halftime by Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, who netted with a rare header, put Arsenal back in front against a side that had never taken a point off them at the Emirates.

Walcott stabbed in Hector Bellerin’s low cross for the equaliser three minutes before the break and Ozil’s looping

header made it 2-1 five minutes after the interval.

Substitute Alex Iwobi then ran through to give Arsenal the two-goal victory they needed to top the table on goals scored, with the London teams tied on

West Ham dropped into the bottom three without kicking a ball after Swansea City won 3-0 at home to Sunderland in a battle at the bottom.

The defeat ended Sunderland’s run of three wins in four games and sent them

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil scores their second goal Reuters / Clodagh Kilcoyne Livepic 34 points and the same goal difference of 21.

Arsenal have scored 36 goals to Chelsea’s 32.

Manchester City, with 30 points, can move up to third place ahead of Liverpool later yesterday if they win at champions Leicester City.

back to the basement on 11 points while Swansea clambered clear on 12 and ahead of the Hammers on goal difference.

Swansea’s goals came courtesy of a Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty in the 50th and a brace from Fernando Llorente.

The win was Swansea’s second under American Bob Bradley, the favourite with British bookmakers to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job, and made it back-to-back victories at the Liberty Stadium for his team.

Hull City, who drew 3-3 at home to Crystal Palace, are second from bottom.

That match was Alan Pardew’s 300th as a Premier League manager and the Palace boss could crack a smile at the end with Fraizer Campbell grabbing an 89th-minute equaliser to ease the pressure on him.

Hull, who came from 2-1 behind with goals from Adama Diomande in the 72nd and Jake Livermore six minutes later, had been looking good for a win that would have taken them out of the bottom three.

Burnley scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes to beat Bournemouth 3-2 at Turf Moor in the first Premier League meeting between the sides, ending a run of three defeats in a row for the home side.

In the early kick off, Watford beat Everton by the same scoreline for their first victory over the Merseyside team since 1987 in any competition.

Australia regain confidence for Pakistan series

By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE,(Reuters)-Lacking context, suspense and crowd enthusiasm, the Chappell-Hadlee series between Australia and New Zealand may not have generated the returns projected by its commerce-minded organisers.

The home side, however, enjoyed a windfall of confidence from the 3-0 series win which captain Steven Smith hopes will be banked for the tests against Pakistan starting this week in Brisbane.

Scarcely 20,000 fans turned up to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday to watch the finale against New Zealand, a year after more than 90,000 packed the stadium for the World Cup final between the same teams.

With New Zealand’s batsmen skittled for 147 in 36.1 overs, Australia won by 117 runs, bringing an unloved tournament jammed between two test series to a premature conclusion.

Former players and pundits have long bemoaned the proliferation of one-day tournaments that jam up the international calendar and tend to offer little more than bragging rights to the winning team and revenues to the hosting cricket board.

The International Cricket Council (ICC is weighing proposals to inject relevance to the format, including making bilateral series serve as qualifiers for the quadrennial World Cup. “There’s been a few proposals that have come up and you want as much relevance for every series as possible,” Smith told reporters after the Melbourne win.

Australia enjoy the top ranking in one-day cricket but selectors have often been loath to field their strongest teams.

They sent an under-strength squad to South Africa, resting frontline pacemen Mitchell Starc and

Josh Hazlewood, who were duly hammered 5-0 Local media blamed the whitewash in South Africa in part for the humbling 2-1 Test series loss at home to the Proteas.

The South Africa oneday tournament was another that lacked any meaningful context, but Proteas captain Faf du Plessis said his side’s victory gave them an edge ahead of the highly anticipated Test series.

Smith will hope for the same spur against Pakistan, who they play in the first day-night test at the Gabba from Thursday.

“Obviously it’s going to be different in Brisbane against the pink ball and against a quality opposition like Pakistan, so we’ll have to be at our best if we want to score some runs at there,” he said.

“It’s been a great series for us and great for our confidence as well.

Winning is a lot better than losing and it becomes a bit of a habit as well. Hope-

fully we can keep up this habit for the rest of the summer.”

Since being humiliated in Hobart to lose the South Africa test series with a game to spare, Smith’s side have bounced back with four straight wins, including the dead rubber test in Adelaide with a re-jigged side.

While in-form opener David Warner was man-ofthe-series with two centuries against New Zealand, the return to form of pace spearhead Mitchell Starc is ominous for Pakistan.

The left-armer was in full flight at the MCG, capturing three wickets and two with a pair of almost unplayable inswinging yorkers.

“I think he’s got better with every game he’s played (and) I think he’s getting back to his best,” said Smith.”When he’s (bowling yorkers) we know he’s going pretty well, so hopefully we can see a big series against Pakistan

for ‘trepidation’ - Hesson

(REUTERS)-NEW Zealand’s rebuilding one-day international side played with “trepidation” against a resurgent Australia and their lack of intensity in the field contributed to a 3-0 series whitewash, Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said.

Australia, fired by another match-winning century from opener David Warner, completed the sweep with a 117-run rout of the touring side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

That followed a pair of stinging losses for the Black Caps in Sydney and Canberra, magnifying a steep decline since Brendon McCullum’s team contested the World Cup final against the same opponents last year.

“The first couple of games I’d describe them as a passive performance, especially in the field and with the ball,” Hesson told reporters.

“There were some good signs (in Melbourne) with a more c o m p l e t e p e r f o rmance with the ball and in the field but we weren’t able to back that up with the bat.

Black Caps coach “The energy and Mike Hesson intensity in the field is something we’ve really instilled into whoever has come into the group and those first couple of games that was the most disappointing, that we didn’t offer as much as we needed to in the field and didn’t back up our bowlers enough.

“We haven’t played well at all. We’ve played a side with a little bit of trepidation. It’s exposed us in some areas that we knew a little bit about but it’s shown us we’ve got plenty of room to move.”

With Ross Taylor scratched from the tour to have eye surgery, opener Martin Guptill and all-rounder James Neesham were the only New Zealand batsmen to excel with the bat in Kane Williamson’s team.

Opener Tom Latham, BJ Watling and all-rounder Mitchell Santner had dreadful series, all averaging under 12.

Pace spearhead Trent Boult battled hard for his six wickets but had precious little support until Melbourne, where left-arm spinner Santner and Colin de Grandhomme made belated contributions.

“We’ve lost 10 players from our side from a year ago and we’ve got some players there who are trying to find their feet in international cricket,” said Hesson.

“They’ve played against a very good side and some have shown glimpses and others have been found a little bit wanting in areas where we thought they’d be better in.”

New Zealand take on a newly-confident Bangladesh in another three-match one-day series from Dec. 26 in Christchurch before three T20s and a two-Test series against the same side in January.

27

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Reid still hoping for another spell of his gifted leg-spin

By Elroy Stephney HE hasn’t had a rip of the five-and-a-half ounce of red leather for almost fifteen years, yet the multi-talented leg-spinner reminisces of still having the wizardry to deceive any batsman.

Ray Reid, the former national youth cricketer remains as one of Essequibo’s most successful bowlers. He initially began his career as a fast bowler while representing his school and club.

His athleticism, height and natural left-handedness proved as ideal artilleries for him to extract swing and bounce. The wily and supremely fit former player hails from Richmond Essequibo, attended the Cotton Field Secondary School and represented Gunners Sports Club during his local sojourn.

While he enjoyed bowling fast and was fascinated by doing so, his occasional resort to bowling spin as the ball became rough, caught the attention of his mentor.

Emotionally, he recalled that it was the late Courtney Gonsalves who had decisively transformed his career and along the path of becoming a spinner.

He attributed his success to Gonsalves who died in Canada in 2014 as well as key guidance from Alfred Maycock and former national coach Albert Smith.

Reid enjoyed bowling and as part of his daily training, he would run for several miles on the rugged Essequibo road at least four times a week.

Ray Reid - former Essequibo and Guyana Under-19 leg spinner.

The champion long distance runner also turned in intensive hours of practice each day, improving on his flight, trajectory, control and temperament which served to enhance his confidence before each game.

He was a genuine wicket-taker with a penchant for bagging five-wicket hauls once he had the ball.

As captain in 1997, he

claimed 5-62 against Demerara at Everest - his most memorable figures during his Under-19 inter-county career.

He replicated similar performances against Berbice and remains the most prolific wicket-taker for Essequibo at that level.

It was no coincidence therefore when he proudly boasted of rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Travis Dowling, Azeemul Hanif and Vishal Nagamootoo among others.

Reid represented Guyana during the Under-19 Northern Telecom Regional tournament in 1996 in Jamaica and 1997 when it was hosted in Guyana; both years of which Guyana won the championships under the captaincy of Vishal Nagamootoo and Ramnaresh Sarwan respectively.

Reid also distinguished himself when he took 21 wickets in 1997 as he claimed then, to have been on top of his game and should have made the West Indies Under-19 team for the World Cup in South Africa that same year.

He was not hesitant to express his disappointment while acknowledging that he was devastated and had become frustrated about his future in the game.

His best bowling figures in that tournament was a match-haul of 7 wickets

against Trinidad and Tobago at the Everest ground.

Despite his emotions to quit, he defied his fears and subsequently made his senior inter-county debut against Demerara in 1998 at Bourda.

However, he had moderate returns and soon after he left in pursuit of economic opportunities instead. The father of one then travelled to the interior where he spent several years as a ‘jet-man’.

Like so many other promising Essequibians, his talent didn’t blossom beyond the bloom of his youthful days.

Reid also encountered other social challenges which affected his life and ultimately his allegiance to the game.

Now at age 38 and back in the Region, the nephew of the late Berchmore Reid promises to reignite some of his old magic by bruising his fingers once again.

He still remains as fit as ever, trains in the morning and lives a simple life at his family home. He intends to once again represent his former club Gunners in a final hurrah before officially calling it a day.

Given his desire and re-marriage’ to the game, batsmen should be purposely prepared for another gruelling spell from the intelligently gifted leg-spinner.

Windies Test players could miss out on CPL SOME members of the West Indies Test team could miss out on a chance to play in the Hero CPL next year as the league is likely to start in August when the regional side will be on tour in England.

According to Peter Russell, CPL COO, the decision to start the league at a later date was made with the intention to attract the best available talent for the rapidly growing twenty20 league.

Russell made the revelation Thursday while addressing media at the Queen’s Park Oval, explaining that he foresees the CPL getting started in early August and concluding during the first week of September.

“We will have the same teams and we will play a total of 34 matches, just as we had this past year. Where we start and where the finals are to be played is still to be worked out,” he said, also indicat-

ing that he is thinking that the finals will be held in Trinidad and Tobago.

“We would love for T&T to host the finals because it is our number one venue,” he said.

“We love the energy of the finals here with the packed ground and stuff, so that will be great.”

Russell said officials of the CPL have already visited the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba and talks will be held as to the possibility of hosting matches

at the venue.

He also indicated that the CPL would be in the United States.

“We are definitely going back to US because it was hugely successful.

We had 30,000 fans attending the six games there and this was a record for cricket at Broward. It is brilliant for the people of America as they showed by their attendance that they want cricket there.”(Sportsmax.com)

Race horse owners/ trainers have seven days to register for KMTC’s Boxing Day race meet

–– Metro Office and Stationary Supplies to sponsor $1.2M first prize for feature event WITH the Kennard Memorial Turf Club’s (KMTC) Annual Boxing Day meet fast approaching, race horse owners/trainers have a mere seven days (December 18) to get their animals registered for the much anticipated meet.

The eight-race meet is scheduled for December 26 at the KMTC’s facility, Bush Lot farm, Corentyne, Berbice, beginning at 13:00hrs.

For the seventh year, proprietors of Metro Office and stationary Supplies (The Kharag family of New York, USA) ) will be sponsoring the first prize of the feature event which is a nine-furlong race for horses classified `B’ and Lower with the winner receiving $1.2M and a trophy.

The second, third and fourth place finishers will earn $600,000, $300,000 and $150,000 respectively.

Two seven-furlong races are also slated to be contested, with the first being for horses that are West Indian bred maidens and Guyana bred H and Lower horses.

The winner will earn $250,000, while the other top three finishers will take home $125,000, $63,000 and $32,000 respectively.

The other seven-furlong race is opened to horses classified `G and lower’ and the winner will earn $280,000, while the second, third and fourth place finishers will receive $140,000, $70,000 and $35,000 respectively.

An `L class’ six-furlong race for non-winners will also be contested and the winner will receive $130,000, while the other top three finishers will earn $65,000, $32,000 and $16,000 respectively.

There will also be a Five-furlong race for another set of `L rated horses, but this will be in the open category and the same prize structure as the first five-furlong race will be in effect.

A six-furlong race for horses classified `E’ and Lower is on the cards and the winner of this event will trot home with $500,000, while the second, third and fourth place finishers will earn $250,000, $125,000 and $63,000 respectively.

Two-year-old Guyana bred maidens will compete in a six-furlong event as well and the winner will earn $220,000 while the other top three finishers will receive $110,000, $55,000 and $28,000 respectively.

The final race on the day’s card is opened to horses classified `J and Lower and Two-Year-Old Guyana bred horses.

The distance is six furlongs and the winner will receive $180,000, while the second place horse will earn $90,000. The third and fourth place finishers will receive $45,000 and $22,000 respectively.

The races are being conducted under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Interested trainers and owners can contact the following persons for more information; Roopnarine Matadial (325-3192), Ivan Dipnarine (331-0316), Justice Kennard (623-7609, 225-4818 or 226-1399) or Fazal Habibula (657-7010).

28

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Welcome back to Vardy and ‘the true Leicester’

(REUTERS)-Former England striker Gary Lineker, Leicester City’s most famous and perhaps favourite son, wondered aloud last week whether last season’s Premier League triumph had all been a crazy dream, so dismal had their defence of the title been.

The collective will seemed to have long evaporated, along with Jamie Vardy’s goals and Riyad Mahrez’s magic. Yet on Saturday, on a rainy December night, the King Power Stadium was transported back to those balmy, wonderful May days.

Mahrez looked like the player of the year again with his exquisite assists, Vardy scored his first-ev-

er hat-trick for the Foxes and Claudio Ranieri’s men seemed to be infused with their old spirit as they beat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-2.

When Vardy returned to the dressing room afterwards, Ranieri smiled that he had told his key striker who had not scored for the club in 16 matches: “Oh, welcome back!”

He could have been speaking to the entire team whose performance, so redolent of the steel and style that had earned them the title, made a mockery of their unwanted possession of the worst record of any defending English league winners since Ipswich Town

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy with the match ball at the end of the match after scoring a hat-trick Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine Livepic

in 1962-63.

“It was the true Leicester today,” Ranieri said proudly.

On Wednesday, albeit with a second-string squad, Leicester had been appalling in their record 5-0 thrashing

by Porto in the Champions League and Ranieri admitted he and the players had thrashed out the problems for an hour after the game.

So it was that a new-look Leicester should emerge, looking very much like the old Leicester: not worrying about lack of possession but striking quickly and inventively on the counter and defending resolutely.

“The big champions react at the right moment,” Ranieri enthused. “We know

when we play well we can win. Today they made an effort for the team. That is what I love.”

The victory, which also featured a goal for old favourite Andy King, offered the tantalising prospect that Leicester could now go on and produce the sort of performances they had hitherto saved largely for Champions 0League nights.

“The next matches are very important until Christmas because we are in a battle for relegation,” Ranieri added, with his side still only four points above the drop zone.

His old smile was back, though. “I said I need warriors and they showed me what I wanted to see,” he beamed.

GRFU hosts successful schools Rugby Festival APPROXIMATELY 200 pupils and students,along with their teachers,participated in the Guyana Rugby Football Union’s end of year Tag Rugby Festival.

With brilliant sunshine, the pupils from the Primary level were introduced to the game of rugby while students at the secondary level exercised their knowledge of the game through competition.

Competing in the boys under 14 categories were Covent Garden Secondary, North Georgetown Secondary, Tucville Secondary, St. Georges Secondary, Dolphin Secondary and Campbeville Secondary.

North Georgetown Secondary claimed victory over Tucville Secondary in an exciting final. St. John’s College defeated North Ruimveldt Multilateral Secondary in the under 16 category,bringing the day’s activities in the National Park to an end.

Students of the GRFU

Basketball has seen improvement this year says GABA President

By Daniel Haynes WHEN the calendar year of 2016 began, few would have imagined that Guyana’s basketball would end the year in the position it is in.

That position is a good,so says National coach and president of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Association (GABA)Junior Hercules. There were 10 tournaments played in total at both the senior and junior level with the shining moments of the year coming from the Junior side of local basketball.

The first noteworthy improvement Hercules mentioned was in the table offi-

JUNIOR HERCULES ciating.

“Our table official pool has increased, we’ve seen a more diverse pool with new

faces and that is good,” stated Hercules. However,he added that there is a needed for improvement in refereeing.

“Refereeing has to improve;it is not an attractive field so there is a lot of recycling of officials so there hasn’t been much improvement.”

His recommendations included paying more attention to the field and not just talking about the deficiencies of the referees.

Other signs of growth came from the Junior players. There were 8 junior tournaments played this year versus two senior tournaments. The reality check however came when junior players outplayed

the senior players in the two senior tournaments. Stanton Rose was named MVP of the Road to Mecca 3 club tournament.Rose,along withTerron Welch,were the leaders on the senior team that travelled to Jamaica in November.

“Our Under- 23s have definitely shown improvement by virtue of level of competition through school or GABA enhancement,” Hercules stated. He added that Guyana’s second place performance at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) U-16 Championships was an indicator of growth.

“Our second place at such a high level shows what can

be achieved when adequate preparation is done, also our juniors have grown as a result of the international and regional exposures they have gotten.”

On the senior side,he stated that there had only been two tournaments for the year,so an adequate assessment could not be given.

For Hercules, a blueprint was set this year as to where basketball should go. “We need to make sure our school program is connected to clubs and our national programs, the framework is there, so the future looks promising.

We’ve gotten more players exposed from around the country to basketball and

that is a good sign” He added that what is needed is a coming together of will power and resources in addition to a coming together of decision makers that would definitely push basketball into the future. “We need a body to come together from the level of the Sports Commission;yes,the federation and association is there but we need better infrastructure and investments need to be made.”

He finished by stating that Guyana has the potential to be at the level of other countries in terms of basketball development but the incentives just need to be present.

29

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Gold and Broze for Guyana at the North American Table Tennis Championships AS the 2016 North America Teams Table Tennis Championships concluded, two of the teams representing Guyana finished with bronze and gold medals. The tournament was held in November at the Gaylord National Resort,Maryland,in the United States.

Guyana was represented by a 37-member delegation comprising 28 players in different age categories. The players were accompanied by parents and Coach Idi Lewis and departed Guyana on Fly Jamaica on the 23rd November to compete in the prestigious championships.

The team of Thuraia Thomas, Krystan Sahadeo, Colin Wong,Raul John (Linden) and Caribbean Pre Cadet bronze medalist Dhanesh Persaud secured gold in Division 8, im-

proving on a bronze won last year in the same event.

In Division 6, Guyana’s junior players Kaysan Ninvalle, Isaiah Layne, Terrence Rausche, Niran Bissue, and Ty Dixon secured a bronze medal.

Other Guyanese teams narrowly missed out on medals.

The players were Elishaba Johnson, Miguel Wong and Sunil Logan of Linden. Also on the team were Maurice Cummings (Linden), Sheldon Atherley (Bartica), Priscilla Graves and Navendra Persaud.

Tyriq Saunders, Nicholas Romain, Brandon Jaikarran,Jamal Nicholas, Selenas Jackman and Aneka Philips also missed out on medals.

The US Open team table tennis championship is one of the signature tournaments on the Guyana Table Tennis As-

sociation (GTTA) calendar of events given its developmental nature. It is one of the biggest team championships in the world, with over 300 teams and

1000 participants.The format of the competition /championships exposes participating players to both higher and lower ranked players with an

One of Guyana’s US open team

Smith, Warner pivotal players in pay talks AUSTRALIA's captain Steven Smith and his deputy David Warner have chosen not to enter into a public debate ahead of the next round of meetings in pay negotiations between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association(ACA).

Having been wined and dined by CA board directors in Melbourne on Wednesday night, Smith and Warner elected only to make conciliatory noises after the end of the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand. Their words were in contrast to the more urgent tone taken by others, including the ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson and the former Australian international Simon Katich.

"For us it was a good opportunity to meet the board and have a nice dinner with them and a good chat," Smith said of the dinner, the sort of courtesy that was not offered to Nicholson, among others.

"They took our points of view, we listened to them and it was nice to see everyone on the same page and trying to get the best for our game moving forward."

Sitting alongside Smith, Warner chimed in to say: "Dinner was nice."

While CA declined to comment publicly on the

Steven Smith and David Warner met CA board directors on Wednesday to discuss the future of player contracts © G

MOU negotiations, there is a wide expectation that the board will seek to break-up the revenue sharing model that has been fundamental to Australian cricket since 1997.

Under that model, Australia's players get around 26% of Australian Cricket Revenue, a selection of the money generated by the game that is decided upon

by CA. The ACA is seeking the retention of the model while also hoping to expand and "future-proof" the sources of revenue. This is partly designed to cater for the inclusion of more expansive women's pay in the next MOU, at a time when the game is expanding in professionalism and prominence via the Women's Big Bash League.

Smith, Warner and other

extensive amount of matches.

Last year,Guyanese teams exceeded expectations and won three gold medals and two bronze medals in the team

senior Australian players are critical to negotiations because it is believed that CA will try to tempt them into accepting considerable individual pay rises in exchange for the revenue sharing model being stripped away.

In this, the model would be similar to that presently in use for the women, who are paid separately by CA without a wide range of conditions and benefits open to the men via their longer standing MOU agreements.

Another key figure in the debate is the former captain Mark Taylor, who forged a middle path between the players and the board when a pay dispute in 1997 was defused by the adoption of the revenue sharing model and the founding of the ACA itself. Now a board director, Taylor is also known to be

a mentor of Smith, and a proponent of the move away from revenue sharing.

The CA chairman David Peever was previously the managing director of the mining giant Rio Tinto's Australian operations and an outspoken critic of union involvement in the workplace.

In a 2012 mining conference address, Peever had outlined his views on "third party" involvement in negotiations between employers and employees.

"Direct engagement between companies and employees, flexibility and the need for improved productivity has to be at the heart of the system," he said at the time. "Only then can productivity and innovation be liberated from the shop floor-up, and without the competing agenda of a third party constantly seeking to extend its reach into areas best left to management."

CA's negotiating team is being led by the executive general manager of strategy and people, Kevin Roberts - himself a former board director. The ACA is expected to seek the advice of the former players association chief executives Tim May and Paul Marsh at various points of the process. (ESPN Cricinfo)

events.

According to a release by the GTTA, “Guyana will play host to the 2017 Caribbean Junior and cadet table tennis championships and this engagement would serve to commence our team’s/players preparations for this event among other international tournaments.”

The GTTA would like to thank the parents, sponsors, Fly Jamaica and its General Manager Mr. Karl Bowen.

Also worthy of thanks are the United States Embassy, the Government of Guyana , members from the diaspora, the players and coaches , Sydney Christophe , the organisers of the US Open and all who played a role in ensuring that 28 of the next generation of players were given much needed exposure.

Langer to coach Australia for T20s against Sri Lanka JUSTIN Langer will take charge of coaching Australia for three Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka in February, while Darren Lehmann is with the Test squad in India.

Langer, the coach of Western Australia, has previously stood in for Lehmann, guiding Australia to victory in the one-day international tri-series against South Africa and West Indies in June while Lehmann took a break.

The scheduling of the three T20s against Sri Lanka - in Melbourne on February 17, Geelong on February 19, and Adelaide on February 22 - so close to the first Test against India, which begins in Pune on February 23, means entirely different squads will be required.

"We are delighted that Justin has agreed to undertake the role of acting head coach for the Twenty20 international series against Sri Lanka," Pat Howard, Cricket Australia's executive general manager of team performance, said. "We would also like to thank WACA for their support in releasing Justin.

"He did a terrific job in the Caribbean in June when he stepped in for Darren Lehmann during the successful tri-series and so is already familiar with the working environment around the Australia team.

"He brings a wealth of experience as both a player and a coach and his record in helping the Perth Scorchers to a sustained level of success in the KFC Big Bash League means he fits the bill in all ways."

Justin Langer said: "I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with the national side in the Caribbean earlier this year and so I am excited and very grateful to get this opportunity to do it again, this time with the Twenty20 International squad against Sri Lanka.

"Twenty20 international cricket is the one format in which Australia is yet to win a global tournament so every chance we get to play it and develop our skills is very significant. That means these three matches will be hugely important.

"The advantage myself and the players will have is that the series will come just over two weeks after the KFC Big Bash League wraps up so we should all still be in Twenty20 mode.

"And with several senior players set to be in India ahead of the Test series, it really will give players an added incentive to perform in the upcoming KFC BBL to put their names forward for selection in the Sri Lanka series."(ESPN CRICINFO)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Miller-first bowler to claim 400 regional wickets … wrecks Red Force with career- best nine for 41

Nikita Miller became the first bowler to take 400 regional wickets.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) – Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller became the first bowler in the history of the Regional Four-Day Championship to reach 400 wickets, as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force slumped to their second loss of the competition inside three days here yesterday.

Set a challenging 338 for victory at Sabina Park, the visitors could only muster 205 in their second innings, crashing to a 132-run defeat at the hands of a rampant Jamaica Scorpions.` Captain Miller wrecked the innings with a career-best haul of nine for 41 – his 25th five-wicket haul in first class cricket.

Opener Imran Khan top-scored with 52, Kyle Hope got 35 while Yannick Ottley hit 30 and Yannic Cariah, 27, but Red Force collapsed from a promising position of 103 for one, to lose their last nine wickets for 102 runs in quick time.

Miller, in his 84th first class match, finished with match figures of 12 for 94 – his seventh ten-wicket haul in first class cricket.

Scorpions had earlier been dismissed for 229 in their second innings, after resuming the penultimate day on 148 for four.

Test batsman Jermaine Blackwood added just one to his overnight 80 while all-rounder Rovman Powell struck 39 and Devon Thomas, 23, as Scorpions lost wickets steadily.

Leg-spinner Imran Khan finished with five for 50 while off-spinner Jon-Russ Jagessar picked up three for 78.Red Force looked to be making a run at the target with when Khan and the in-form Hope put on 76 for the first wicket. On 38 without loss at lunch, the visitors pushed on afterwards with Khan hitting eight fours and a six off 80 balls and Hope facing 49 balls and counted four fours.

When Hope perished, Khan and Isaiah Rajah (8) put on a further 27 before the first collapse set in as Red Force lost three wickets for 20 runs.

Stumbling on 123 for four, Ottley and Cariah made a last ditch effort to save the innings from total ruin by putting on exactly 50 for the fifth wicket.

Ottley faced 50 balls and struck three fours while Cariah lasted 55 deliveries also counted three boundaries.

Once Ottley fell, however, the final collapse set in. Roshon Primus smashed a cameo 25 from 30 balls to delay the inevitable but Red Force lost their four wickets without adding a run.

SCOREBOARD

SCORPIONS 1st Innings 314 Red Force 1st Innings 206 Scorpions 2nd Innings (overnight 148 for four) J Campbell lbw b Jagessar 9 S Thomas c wkp Katwaroo b Richards 4 J Blackwood lbw b Jagessar 81 A McCarthy lbw b Khan 28 B King run out 14 D Thomas lbw b Jagessar 23 R Powell c and b Khan 39 D Jacobs lbw b Khan 0 D Green c Hope b Khan 6 N Miller c Richards b Khan 4 R Leveridge not out 8 Extras (lb2, nb6, pen5) 13 TOTAL (all out, 59.3 overs) 229 Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-21, 3-104, 4-130, 5-153, 6-201, 7-202, 8-210, 9-220, 10-229.

Bowling: Jagessar 19-3-78-3, Richards 11-0-53-1, Primus 6-1-27-0, Cottrell 5-1-14-0, Imran Khan 18.3-3-50-5.

RED FORCE 2nd Innings (target: 338 runs) Imran Khan c wkp D Thomas b Miller 52 K Hope c Campbell b Miller 35 I Rajah c Campbell b Miller 8 J Mohammed b Miller 9 Y Cariah lbw b Miller 27 Y Ottley c Campbell b Miller 30 S Katwaroo c S Thomas b Miller 6 R Primus lbw b Jacobs 25 M Richards lbw b Miller 0 S Cottrell c Leveridge b Miller 0 J Jagessar not out 0 Extras (b8, lb4, nb1) 13 TOTAL (all out, 56 overs) 205 Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-103, 3-112, 4-123, 5-153, 6-173, 7-178, 8-205, 9-205, 10-205.

Bowling: Leveridge 6-0-38-0, Jacobs 20-4-79-1, Miller 22-5-41-9, McCarthy 6-1-25-0, Green 2-0-10-0.

Points: Scorpions 18.2, Red Force 5.4.

Man-of-the-Match: N Miller.

Hurricanes fight back but Volcanoes hold edge ROSEAU, Dominica, (CMC) – A record 10th wicket stand gave Windward Islands Volcanoes the advantage but half-centuries from Jahmar Hamilton and Montcin Hodge helped Leeward Islands Hurricanes fight back in their fourth round, Regional Four-Day contest here yesterday..

Resuming the second day on 186 for eight, Volca-

tien faced 162 balls in 218 minutes and counted eight fours while Johnson added ten to his overnight 46 to post his second first class half-century.

noes flourished through a last wicket partnership between captain Liam Sebastien who finished unbeaten on 80 and Mervin Matthew who blasted an aggressive 73 – his maiden first class half-century.

Delorn Johnson also made 56 while veteran fast bowler Gavin Tonge finished with five for 56 and Test pacer Alzarri Joseph, three for 65.

In reply, Hurricanes were

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday December 11, 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) Dhaka Dynamites & Rajshahi Kings (2) Dhaka Dynamites

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Who was declared Man of the Match in the BPL final 2016?

(2) Who was voted Man of the Tournament at the end of the BPL 2016?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Matthews’ innings was the turning point, however, as he lashed six fours and six sixes in off a mere 53 balls to frustrate Hurricanes.

SCOREBOARD Jahmar Hamilton … unbeaten on 77. languishing at 69 for four before Hamilton struck an unbeaten 77 and Hodge, 76, to stabilise the innings in a 116-run, fifth wicket partnership.

The right-handed Hamilton has so far faced 107 balls in 2-¾ hours and counted ten fours while Hodge was more patient, facing 271 deliveries in an innings lasting 291 minutes and including five fours.

Sebastien, who claimed three for 50 with his off-spin, broke the stand when he had Hodge caught at leg slip by

Johnson Charles.

Former West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford has picked up two for 75.

Earlier, Sebastien had held the innings together by anchoring half-century stands for the ninth and 10th wicket.

Unbeaten on 59 at the start, he extended his overnight ninth wicket partnership with Johnson to 70 before adding a further 95 for the final wicket with Matthew – a record in the history of the modern competition.

The left-handed Sebas-

VOLCANOES 1st Innings (overnight 186 for eight) D Smith c Taylor b Joseph 4 T Theophile lbw b Tonge 2 J Charles c Hughes b Joseph 6 J Robinson c wkp Hamilton b Joseph 2 S Ambris c wkp Hamilton b Tonge 23 T Gabriel c wkp Hamilton b Tonge 1 L Sebastien not out 80 K Mayers c Hodge b Tonge 2 S Shillingford b Cornwall 22 D Johnson c Cornwall b Tonge 56 M Matthew c Hughes b Walsh 73 Extras (b6, lb3, w4, nb7) 20 TOTAL (all out, 64.2 overs) 291 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-8, 3-11, 4-22, 5-43, 6-44, 7-48, 8-126, 9-196, 10-291.

Bowling: Joseph 17-5-65-3 (w4, nb4), Tonge 11-2-56-5, Cornwall 197-79-1, Walsh 11.2-2-34-1, Taylor 2-0-28-0, Powell 2-0-9-0, Bonner 2-0-11-0.

HURRICANES 1st Innings K Powell c Mayers b Matthews 2 M Hodge c Charles b Sebastien 76 A Saunders c Charles b Shillingford 1 C Hughes lbw b Shillingford 20 N Bonner hit wkt b Sebastien 5 J Hamilton not out 77 R Cornwall lbw b Sebastien 18 Extras (b6, nb4) 10 TOTAL (6 wkts, 74.5 overs) 209 To bat: H Walsh Jr, J Taylor, A Joseph, G Tonge.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-12, 3-48, 4-69, 5-185, 6-209.

Bowling: Johnson 11-3-20-0, Mayers 10-3-27-0, Matthew 9-3-15-1, Shillingford 26-6-75-2, Sebastien 15.5-4-50-3, Theophile 3-0-16-0.

Position: Hurricanes trail by 82 runs with four wickets intact.

31

SUNDAY CHRONICLE December 11, 2016

Barbados Pride reaches 48-2 on rain hit day 2

The Guyanese players celebrating the dismissal of Anthony Alleyne.

By Rajiv Bisnauth THE Guyana Jaguars dealt two early blows with the new ball, to leave Barbados Pride 48-2, last evening on the second day of the Day/Night fourth-round Regional Four-Day Championship fixture, at the Guyana National Stadium.

With the first 90 minutes of play disrupted by rain,

and the remaining sessions washed out, the visitors are 263 runs behind the Guyana Jaguars first innings total of 311.

When play eventually commenced at 16:30hrs, Kraigg Brathwaite stroked the first ball of the day firmly through the cover off the front foot off Keon Joseph (1-13),and then fellow opener Anthony Alleyne

Smalta Girls Pee Wee Football competition…..

St Angela’s and St. Pius move into semis

‒ West and South Ruimveldt also advance

By Stephan Sookram THE semi-finalists for this year’s Smalta Girls Pee Wee schools’ football competition have been decided following action yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground,Carifesta Avenue.

In the first of the quarter-final games, enterprise surrendered to South Ruimveldt 2-0 with strikes from Raven Jacobs (17th) and Shania Sealey (26th).They will be joined by St Angela’s who prevailed over St. Stephens 1-0 through Nikosi St. Jules.

Game three was keenly contested between St Pius and North Georgetown with eventual winners St Pius opening the scoring through Donna Lowe (5th) minute and then doubling the lead in the 20th through Kerry Boyce.

North Georgetown scored its consolation goal through Alicia James in the 26th and seemed to be on course for a tie when time ran out on them.

West Ruimveldt, in game four booked their spot in the finals,compliment of an own

goal by St Agnes in the 19th while Amanda McPherson sealed the deal in the 29th.

In the semi-finals billed for tomorrow, South Ruimveldt will take on St. Angela's while West Ruimveldt does battle against St. Pius.

In the 9-16 section, F.E Pollard overcame Redeemer 2-1 with a brace from Talia Wharton (5th and 8th) while the consolation goal came from Oldacia Wilson (13th) while Winfer Garden won via walkover against St. Gabriel.

Game three saw another walkover, this time for Tucville over Stella Maris while Smith’s memorial won via the same route over St. Margaret's Also carded for tomorrow is the 13-16 Section where St. Margaret's plays St. Gabriel and Stella Maris takes on Redeemer. In the 9-12 match, Smith Memorial opposes Winfer Gardens while Tucville plays F.E. Pollard In the 5-8 class, Enterprise is carded to play St. Stephen’s while North Georgetown laces up to face St. Agnes.

punched Raymond Reifer (1-20) through extra cover on the back foot for consecutive boundaries in the next over.

However, the pacers gave the hosts the early breakthroughs to put the Barbadians on the backfoot at 17-2 inside the five six overs of the day’s play.

Reifer removed the left-handed, Alleyne (8) in the fourth over with a trademark left-arm pacer’s line.

It was a wide ball outside off-stump, and Alleyne’s eyes lit up and he slashed it hard with an angled bat to

Rajendra Chandrika at gully.

Brathwaite (6) was sent back by Joseph in the fifth over with a peach of a delivery. The well-directed bouncer saw the West Indies Test vice-captain go for a hook shot which he gloved and was taken by wicket-keeper Anthony Bramble.

Shai Hope and Shamarh Brooks joined forces and showed some early signs of discomfort, but they then settled down and played sensibly to steady the innings, with Hope playing a couple of sumptuous shots for fours.

The extent of their as-

surance took the visitors to dinner at 18:00hrs, with Hope unbeaten on 20, while Brooks had ten.

However, no play was possible thereafter, and play was called off at 21:20hrs.

SCOREBOARD BARBADOS PRIDE 1st innings (Guy Jaguars 1st innings 311) K Brathwaite c wk Bramble b Joseph 6 A Alleyne c Chandrika b Reifer 8 S Hope not out 20 S Brooks not out 10 Extras: (nb-4) 4 Total: (for two wickets; 19 overs) 48 Fall of Wickets: 1-15, 2-17, Bowlings: K Joseph 5-1-13-1, R Reifer 5-0-20-1, Barnwell 5-1-13-0, Permaul 4-3-2-0

GDF marches on to the top of Elite League

By Ras Wadada THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) maintained its perfect run in the GFF-Stag Elite League with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Monedderlust FC, last Friday night, to take pole position at the top of the points table after the completion of the last two matches in the fourth round of competition.

The Number Five Village home side, urged on by the several hundred fans on hand, did not disappoint as they took the attack to the Army from the start and in the 8th minute took the lead, much to the delight of their supporters. A well-executed ‘one-two’ combination pass, just outside the area on the attacking left, between Teron McDonald and Kevin Cottoye, caught the Army’s defence flat-footed and caused goalkeeper Enoch Carmichael to leave his line.

The diminutive and speedy Cottoye then calmly rounded the advancing keeper before

GDF private is Caribbean bantamweight champion

...Top XX earns 1st point

Caribbean bantamweight champion,Clairmont ‘Kartel’ Gibson,after his victory Friday night.

The Army on the attack as a Monedderlust defender stumbles and is down and out confidently scoring from inside the box into an open goal.

It was the first time the Army trailed in a match this season and for the first time their defense looked lame and they somehow survived a three-minute onslaught by the hosts.

First it was Athlyne B a i l e y ’s t h u n d e ro u s right booter from the

penalty arc that rocked the cross bar, then Teron McDonald’s rifled effort went inches wide of the left post before Carmichael was forced to dive low and full-stretch to his left to brilliantly tip around the post a powerful right-footed shot from Henry Watts, from the top of the box, that had goal written all over

Custodian Jamal Caster of Top XX gathers cleanly while players from both sides watch on anxiously.

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

it.

The soldiers militantly and, luckily at times, soaked up the pressure before mounting their raids on the Red shirts’ defence ably marshalled by Norde and Alvin McDonald.

The fast-paced game was brought to a sudden hush in the 26th minute when the Army’s lanky central defender, Aubrey Greene towered above all in the box to silence the home fans as he buried his header in the ‘onion bag’ from a free-kick just outside the area on the attacking right.

The setback did not daunt the aggressive intent of Monedderlust, led by the speedy Cottoye, while the all-green with yellow and black trimmings Army unit, spearheaded by Eusi Phillips in midfield, were See page 25

TEAM Guyana continued its dominance of the second Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament being held in Barbados and ended up being ungracious guest by roughing up the host.

Reports from the island state that Guyana Defence Force (GDF) private Clairmont Gibson put himself in line for promotion when he snatched gold in the bantamweight division.

Gibson, for the second time this year overpowered Barbadian Ajayi Jones to be crowned Caribbean bantamweight champion. The brutal three-round brawl saw the Bajan being floored and the referee raising the Guyanese hand after the final bell.

Later that night Akel Mounter added Guyana’s fourth gold medal when he defeated Curlan Robinson of Anguilla in a youth light heavyweight contest.

Guyana found El Dorado on Thursday when junior boxer Isiah Moore (son of Leon Moore) stopped the host country’s Rashawn Holder in the first round. Olympic prospect Kevin Allicock then added gold number two with the destruction of another Barbadian,Stephan Harding,also in the first round.

Colin `Superman’Lewis and Desmond Amsterdam, both members of the GDF, Jason `AK 47’ Barker, Christopher Moore, Kevin Allicock and Joel Williamson were down to battle for gold medals last night.

Team Guyana is expected back home tomorrow.

The local team almost didn’t make it to the tournament due to a lack of sponsorship. However, president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle undertook a grueling one hundred mile walk which realized the funds.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2016