Guyana chronicle epaper 05 14 2017

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The

Century single-mother ► Page

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– Young, vibrant, wearer of many hats

Careful study No. 104912

Stacy with her three children

SUNDAY MAY 14, 2017

Price: $140

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–– of nominees to chair GECOM, says President Granger

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CCJ ruling …

A major victory for Guyana Page 8

‘Arch symbolises our destiny’ – President Page 9

Mother and Daughter Pageant Lisa Nicholas and her daughter Breana Nicholas were among several contestants who took part in the Mother and Daughter Pageant at the National Cultural Centre on Saturday evening. The pageant is held annually and showcases the unique talents of the mother and daughter. (Delano Williams photo)

Guard chopped to death in Potaro Page 2

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Man guarding sluice box chopped to death in Potaro A MAN guarding a sluice box was chopped to death in the wee hours of Saturday morning at BK Old Road Backdam, Potaro River. This is the 11th murder in the region.

Dead is Damon Scipio, 56, called “Rastaman”, a miner of Moco Moco Village, Central Rupununi.

Homicide detectives are making stringent efforts to quickly apprehend a co-worker, who is the prime suspect for the murder.

Public Relations Officer of the GPF,Superinten-

dent Jairam Ramlakhan, said the murder occurred between 23:00hrs Friday night and 06:00hrs Saturday morning. He said investigations so far have revealed that the victim who was employed by a small-scale mining company at 111 miles Madhia, was performing duties at the company’s watch camp, guarding a sluice box with two gold mats, when he was fatally chopped three times to his head and once to his left wrist..

The gold mats were taken away.

Careful study

SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

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–– of nominees to chair GECOM, says President Granger

THE nominees for the post of Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) are being “carefully” studied by President David Granger.

Granger confirmed that he has received Curricula Vitae (CVs) of the nominees from the Leader of the Opposition Bharat Jagdeo and is in the process of studying them carefully.

In an invited comment on the sideline of the com-

missioning of the East Coast Demerara Arch on Saturday, the President said that a date of announcement is still to be determined, because the list is being reviewed.

Jagdeo had submitted the new list of nominees on May 2, 2017. ‘The six nominees are: Justice of Appeal BS Roy (ret’d); Justice William Ramlal (ret’d); Ms Oneidge Walrond-Allicock, attorney-at-law and a former magistrate; Mr Kashir Khan,

attorney-at-law; Ms. Nadia Sagar, attorney-at-law and Mr. Gerald Gouveia.

Prior to the submission of the new list, Jagdeo’s first list had been rejected by the President, who justified his action by stating that the six nominees were not qualified according to the constitutional requirements.

During one of his weekly recordings of ‘The Public Interest’, the President had revealed that the Constitution

was clear on the required qualifications and it is obvious that what the drafters of the document had in mind was someone who had arrived at the position of a judge. The President made the comments after he had deemed “unacceptable,” a list which the opposition leader had submitted.

The Ministry of the Presidency quoted Article 161 (2) of the Constitution, which states that “…the

Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held office as a Judge of a Court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a Court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court, or who is qualified to be appointed as any such Judge, or any other fit and proper person, to be appointed by the President

President David Granger from a list of six persons, not unacceptable to the President, submitted by the Leader of the Opposition after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental political parties represented in the National Assembly.”

US$21M in medicines donated to MOPH THE GUYANA Medical Relief (GMR) Inc of Los Angeles, California, has sourced and has supplied US$20,861,594 worth of medical supplies to the Ministry of Health.

Chief Operations Officer of Guyana Medical Relief, Sharir Chan last week disclosed that the medicines requested by the Ministry arrived in Guyana by air on April 20 last.

He said: “Guyana Medical Relief has made this consignment to the Ministry of Health in the light of shortages being experienced locally. The Ministry will distribute to the various Administrative Regions as needed.”

Chan explained that the GMR Inc. is a 32-year-old

he said.

Chan disclosed that in addition to supplying medi-

In picture, Sharir Chan, GMRs Chief Operations Officer, in pink plaid shirt hands over to staff of the Materials Management Unit (MMU) of the MOPH a previous shipment of medicines destined for Suddie Hospital. Also in picture are members of the Humanitarian Assistance Program of the US Embassy, Georgetown

Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) that is dedicated to assisting the health sector in Guyana.

GMR Inc.has over the past 32 years donated med-

icines to Guyana as needed and as supplies are available.

“This time, thanks to our partner, Direct Relief, we were able to quickly source these requested medicines for Guy-

ana. We are delighted to be able to serve our people and to assist as we can. Guyana Medical Relief looks forward to sending more shipments of pharmaceuticals if requested,”

cations and medical supplies over the years, GMR has built Turn to page 8 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Trump pledges to move quickly to name new FBI director President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will move quickly to nominate a new FBI director, after he sparked a political firestorm by firing the man investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign.

Trump told reporters he might even be able to make his decision on who should succeed James Comey to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation before he leaves on his first foreign trip on Friday.

“Even that is possible,” Trump said, speaking on Air Force One before departing for Lynchburg, Virginia, where he delivered a commencement address.

“I think the process is going to go quickly,” he said, adding that the candidates under consideration were mostly well known.

“They’ve been vetted over their lifetime essentially. But very well known, highly respected, really talented people.

And that’s what we want for the FBI.” Critics have assailed Trump for abruptly dismissing Comey, who was leading the agency’s investigation into alleged Rus-

US President Donald Trump

sian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and possible ties between Moscow and the Trump presidential campaign.

Russia denies the claims and the White House says there was no collusion.

Trump made the remarks to reporters prior to speaking to about 50,000 people at Liberty University in Lynchburg, where he did not mention Comey or the controversy his dismissal on Tuesday caused. It was Trump’s first public event outside the White House since Comey’s ouster.

A White House official has said 11 people are under consideration to replace Comey

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as FBI chief, a position that requires confirmation by the Republican-led U.S. Senate.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Republican Senator John Cornyn, New York Appeals Court Judge Michael Garcia and former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher were scheduled to be interviewed on Saturday, an administration official said.

In addition, FBI special agent Adam Lee and U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson were expected to be interviewed, the Washington Post reported.

The FBI Agents Associa-

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tion, which claims more than 13,000 active and retired agents as its members, on Saturday endorsed another candidate: former Representative Mike Rogers, who had also worked as an FBI agent.

At Liberty, the nation’s largest Christian college, Trump peppered his remarks with the kind of anti-establishment rhetoric that fueled his maverick presidential campaign, telling graduates to challenge “entrenched interests”. He thanked the crowd for their support and repeatedly invoked his own unlikely election victory.

“Relish the opportunity to be an outsider,” Trump said.

“The more that a broken system tells you that you’re wrong, the more certain you should be that you must keep pushing ahead.”

He also had strong words that seemed aimed at his critics.

“No one has ever achieved anything significant without a chorus of critics standing on the sidelines explaining why it can’t be done,” Trump said. “Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic, because they’re people that can’t get

North Korea fires unidentified projectile: South Korea military

North Korea fired on Sunday an unidentified projectile from a region near its west coast, South Korea’s military said.

The nature of the projectile is not immediately clear, a South Korean military official said by telephone.

Yonhap news agency reported the projectile launched appeared to be a ballistic missile.

The launch took place at a region named Kusong located northwest of the capital, Pyongyang, where the North previously test-launched its intermediate-range missile it is believed to be developing.

The launch, if it is confirmed to be test-firing of a ballistic missile, is the first in two weeks since the last attempt to fire a missile ended in a failure just minutes into flight.

The North attempted but failed to test-launch ballistic missiles four consecutive times in the past two months but has conducted a variety of missile testing since the beginning of last year at an unprecedented pace.

Weapons experts and government officials believe the North has accomplished some technical progress with those tests.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned in an interview with Reuters in late April that a “major, major conflict” with the North was possible, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute over its nuclear and missile programmes.

The launch is the first since a new liberal president took office in South Korea on Wednesday saying dialogue as well as pressure must be used to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and stop the North’s weapons pursuit. (Reuters)

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eign trip - one that will take him to the Middle East and Europe - also will deliver the commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

the job done.”

Liberty’s president, Jerry Falwell, Jr., was a key early supporter of Trump during his campaign and helped rally support among religious conservatives.

Trump, who has been preparing for his first for-

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Grandparents protest in Venezuela President Maduro’s term ends in January 2019

Thousands of elderly Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas and other cities to protest against the government of Nicolas Maduro amid a worsening economic crisis.

Police blocked access to a main road in the capital and used pepper spray to try to control the crowd.

Protesters threw punches and demanded respect from police.

Venezuela is facing a

shortage of many basic items, including medicines and medical equipment.

Many feel that elderly people have been particularly affected by the crisis in the health system.

In another development, Maduro has sacked his health minister after she released official figures showing a sharp rise in child mortality and maternal deaths over the past two years.

Antonieta Caporale, a gy-

“No more repression” reads a banner held during the “Grandparents March” in Caracas

naecologist, had been in the post for only four months and was replaced by the Vice-Minister of Hospitals, Luis López.

“I’m here to defend my grandchildren, to defend my country,” 78-year-old Rafael Colmenares told Reuters news agency during the demonstration in Caracas.

“Respect the elderly,” many demonstrators shouted.

A university town, Merida is used to student protests. But

on Friday, a steady stream of pensioners marched to the public prosecutor’s office.

One elderly man summed up their grievances: “The government is killing us in three ways. We’re dying of lack of food, we’re dying of lack of medication and they’re killing us at the protests.”

Another woman held up a sign reading: “Today I’m turning 60 and for the first time I don’t have enough for a cake.”

Riot police used pepper spray to try to disperse the crowd

Florentino Montilba, 75, said he was taking to the streets because “this is the last option they’ve left us with”.

“If need be, we’ll die here on the streets,” he said.

The march was diverted but it eventually reached the office of Venezuela’s ombudsman, where the protesters accused the security forces of brutal suppression.

At least 39 people have been killed since the current wave of protests began six

Colombian rebels rejoin civilian life

Twelve rebels from Colombia’s Farc group have been reintegrated into civilian life, after becoming the first group to complete a UN-monitored disarmament process.

The 12 men received certificates from the UN

mission at a ceremony in Bogota.

Thousands of rebels have handed over their weapons since the Farc signed a peace agreement with the government last year.

The deal put an end of more than five decades of

Thousands of rebels gathered in 26 transition camps across Colombia

conflict.

Some 7,000 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are still at demobilisation zones set up across Colombia, waiting to be registered so they can rejoin civilian life.

Friday’s event marked the beginning of “a con-

tinuous process begins to certify the Farc members who are making the transition to civilian life after laying down their arms,” the UN said in statement.

The historic peace accord was reached after four years of negotiations held in the Cuban capital, Havana.

The 12 rebels became the first to formally complete the individual disarmament process

Under its terms, all weapons should have been handed over by 1 May, but the UN says there have been delays.

For his efforts to reach peace with the Farc, President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize. (BBC)

weeks ago.

The unrest was triggered by a Supreme Court attempt to take over powers from the opposition-controlled National Assembly on March 29.

It reversed its decision a few days later, but by then the opposition had seized the momentum.

To maintain pressure on President Maduro, opposition leaders have begun organising themed marches.

Last Friday, they urged women to take to the streets.

There was a candle-lit march.

And Friday’s protest was dubbed “The Grandparents March”.

The government responded with a rival march to show support to Maduro, with thousands of pro-government elderly people taking to the streets of Caracas.

The opposition is calling for fresh presidential elections.

Maduro says they are trying to create unrest to unsettle his democratically-elected socialist government and seize power. (BBC)

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Editorial

SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Caring for the elderly GROWING old for many is inevitable and with it comes concomitant concern and attention treating with the elderly. The cliché that the greatest measure of a society is how it treats its elderly is not without merit. This demographic has rights, which include privacy, protection from abuse, access to quality social services, and to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment. Where societies today see greater movement of people, such impacts the elderly and by extension the environment in which they live and the services at their disposal.

The family structure continues to be impacted -- creating new ones -- even as it brings new meaning and importance to the nuclear and extended units. The extended family, a featured characteristic of our society, is taking on new forms.

Where parents have migrated, leaving their children in the care of grandparents, aunts and uncles to follow

later, their parents are often left behind.

Where parents do not want to follow their adult children, preferring to stay in their original homes, such pose challenges to their offspring meeting their pyscho-social needs. Where parents, having either migrated with their children or have their children follow, and want to re-migrate, very often this results in having to leave their children and grandchildren behind.

There exist other challenges, such as children being unable to provide the needed care for their elderly parents and are left with the option of having them re-migrate or move into nursing homes or retirement communities. In Guyana, where the elderly reside alone or are sent to either of the named facilities, there exist the options of the state-owned Palms or non-governmental institutions.

Elderly care has become a lucrative business. This market (product and ser-

vices) is projected to reach U.S. $ 512.7 billion in 2020.

Gone are the days when to leave an elderly loved one in the care of ‘strangers’ was considered abandonment. This demographic has unique needs and where it is recognised that trained professionals (nurses, doctors, social workers, etc.) are better able to satisfy these, invariably at a cost, persons are favourably rethinking placing loved ones in the care of others.

The elderly care business is growing in Guyana.

Where factors such as safety, cost and climate are dictating the elderly returning, they create the need to provide a service. Recently, a facility was opened at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast of Demerara, providing similar services and environment to what obtained in developed societies at competitive rates. Then there is the young female re-migrant entrepreneur, recognised by the Barack Obama administration, for the home-care services she

provides for the elderly.

Where competition and choice exist, such brings with it not only comparative analyses, but also expectations that service will meet an acceptable baseline. One such is that the elderly semblance of dignity would be maintained, irrespective of financial wherewithal. This includes respecting them as human beings, deserving to be treated with respect.

Non-state competition or presence will also impact on and put pressure on state services to operate at comparative levels in the provision of basic services, treatment and environment.

For instance, engaging in activities that would keep the cognitive skills of the elderly active, such as through games, outings and other social activities. The concept of shut-in, leaving the elderly alone or un-involved, has been found to be undermining their quality of life and longevity.

Advocates for the elderly have argued-- not with-

out merit -- of the need for strong laws, including oversight agencies and services that would ensure this population continues to enjoy the highest quality of life possible, in an environment where dignity and respect are considered important factors. It needs to be said that to the extent where their appearance-physical and environmental -- and treatment are healthy, such add living to their lives.

Dignity requires the elderly not being made to feel that having given of their best years, that at this vulnerable phase of life’s journey they do not deserve to be treated as discards.

To be fair, sometimes such

treatment is not the result of the absence of love, but absence of knowledge caring for this demographic and in the presence of limited financial resources.

Shifting thinking and corresponding action is a process that requires nurturing, which would come through lobbying to shape positive rethinking, realise the establishment of policies, programmes and laws. The advantage to the society where private services are increasing, is that seeking to establish these consistent with international standards and expectations, it would gently be nudging the society in the right direction.

Set up a special commission on protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity and natural resources Dear Editor: IN testimony yesterday (Thursday) before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearings on the firing of FBI Director James Comey and possible Russian interference in last November’s American elections, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo, said that the current unrest and political situation in Venezuela present a threat to the countries of South America.

Later in the hearings, the CIA director was asked about the possible majority ownership by Russian oil companies in American oil-refining capacity. These hearings are beginning

to bring to the fore what could well be a carefully orchestrated plan between the Russians and certain powerful elements within the U.S. administration not only to attempt to influence if not hack elections in “strategic” countries, but to access and control the resources of these countries for personal gain.

Guyana has emerged as a strategic country given our declared oil reserves so far, and with the prospects of additional finds.

Venezuela is a neighbour with a claim to our maritime space and five- eights of our territory and has indicated that it may not agree to this claim being finally addressed through the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

So, what might be some of the serious threats which the current situation in Venezuela presents to South America, and more particularly Guyana? The mass movement of Venezuelans into neighbouring countries would be one, but of course there are many others, some of which the Guyana government and scholars of international relations might not be able to anticipate without the necessary intelligence. Against this backdrop, I would hope that Guyana would, if it does not already exist, set up a Special Commission on the protection of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and natural resources that would be politically bipartisan, and that would include members of civil

society and others with the ability to contribute to the work of this commission, particularly for intelligence-gathering and analysis. This commission could assist the government and more particularly the foreign ministry in the collection and analysis of intelligence and information.

As an emerging oil-producing country with significant reserves, Guyana could well be a target of international banditry that would seek to compromise the privacy of our national institutions and elected officials, interfere with our internal processes and ultimately impact negatively our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This is not an attempt

at scaremongering. What is being alleged to have happened and is happening regarding Russian involvement in U.S. policy and its link to the conduct of the relations between and among states, must not be underestimated. Imagine the U.S. president meeting with the Russian foreign minister and barring the American presidential press corps, while allowing the Russian media into the Oval Office? As simple an issue as this would seem, it should not be taken lightly in the context of the relationship between some powerful people and the Russians.

Some may feel we are too small a player in global politics and finance to be a target of

the objectives of those inclined to be involved in international banditry. Others may feel that even if this is so, there is little or nothing we could do about it. This would be foolish thinking. The U.S. political system and institutions provide for a certain degree of transparency, as well as checks and balances, which expose corruption and other wrongdoing, even on the part of its highest officials. Guyana’s diplomatic efforts must include establishing good working relations with those good and honest officials in the U.S. Further I say no more.

Regards WESLEY KIRTON

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Why the deafening silence?

Dear Mr. Editor:

WE, the undersigned students of the University of Guyana’s Environmental Economics class of 2017, hereby seek space in your newspaper to request clarification on whether a feasibility study was done on the proposed on-shore facility at Crab Island. Additionally, has ExxonMobil committed to make use of the Crab Island facility by way of an agreement or will this initiative be another ‘white-elephant’?

The proposed shore house no doubt will provide a series of services to the emerging oil and gas sector, presumably starting with Exxon Mobil’s ongoing exploration activ-

ities in the Stabroek Block.

According to the Minister of National Resource and the February 8th edition of the Kaieteur News, the Government of Guyana is either investing or facilitating the investment of US $500M in this facility. If a feasibility study was done, we are keen on being apprised of the significant findings of the investment/ cost-benefit analysis.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are a number of unanswered questions, which still linger, to which we respectfully seek answers: Is this venture going to be a pure public or public-private investment initiative? To what extent has the private sector been engaged in conceptualising this project, given their

vast experience in negotiating and handling business transactions?

Our class has some broader concerns. Has Guyana already determined to take royalty payments as profit oil as opposed to money? Is the profit sharing agreement going to allow Exxon Mobil to recover 75% of its cost? We understand that the 50/50 split of profit oil was negotiated a while back. Has this split been renegotiated since the major discovery and if not what will it be? Will Exxon pay taxes from their share of profit oil as is done in other Profit Sharing Agreements (PSAs).

What exactly was granted to Exxon Mobil in the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks over the period 2016/2017? Was

consideration given to a public auction of the Kaieteur and Canje Blocks prior to Exxon obtaining exclusive rights to explore? We wish to bring to the fore an existing model of this auctioning scenario, where not so long ago, the UK conducted auctions in their Oil & Gas sector and was able to get value for money by extracting top dollar/Sterling pounds for their oil fields.

This having been said, is there a plan for a public auction of other blocks in the future?

Our Environmental Economics instructor, Doctor Thomas Singh, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics at University of Guyana, had attempted to engage Exxon Mobil (Guyana) to discuss ways in which citi-

zens can be engaged as more than just mere on-lookers in the emerging oil and gas sector. Unfortunately, Ms. Kim Brassington of Exxon Mobil (Guyana) has thus far been non-responsive and this begs the question, why the deafening silence?

In furtherance of transparency however, we verily do believe that our national patrimony is at stake in this venture and it behooves us to request that the entire PSA be made public so its contents can be scrutinized.

A major contention of ours is whether all the information regarding this deal has been placed in a central repository available to the general public and if not how soon can we expect

such a move? Finally, while the GGMC website and elsewhere offers valuable information, is this all the information available on the deal? We sincerely doubt it is!!!

Signed: University of Guyana’s Environmental Economics Class of 2017 STUDENT NAMES: NALINI PERSAUD MAHESH MAHIPAUL SEAN HARMON ARIELLE HARSINGH RYAN GOBERDHAN THAMESHA WATSON AUDWIN ANTHONY DAVARSHINI DOOBAY DIQUAN LEWIS ARUNA JAINARINE KHAMINI RAMLAKHAN

I am proud of our Government’s achievements Dear Editor:

PERMIT me a space in your daily newspaper to express my deepest appreciation over the achievements of my government on this their second anniversary. The water was definitely not smooth upon their assumption of duty, given that Venezuela suddenly decided to reclaim Essequibo, closure of the PetroCaribe deal, GUYSUCO demanding another bailout and of course the high crime rate, disrespect for law and order, coupled with the disloyalty for country that was present.

Nonetheless, the achievements are numerous and for that I am extremely proud.

First, public servants received over the two-year period significant salary increases with a $75000 Christmas bonus.

The increase in the income tax threshold saw 68000 persons exempted from income tax and the reduction in PAYE allowed persons to have more disposable income at hand.

There was a 38 percent increase in minimum wages. The old age pension and public assistance were both significantly increased in the space of two years. A reduction of the Berbice River Bridge toll happened when we were once told that it cannot happen; and free transportation for our schoolchildren is finally a reality, all because of the many buses, bicycles and boats donated by supporters and well-wishers of this government.

Secondly, close to 1000 scholarships were awarded to Guyanese students in an effort to further educate this nation so as to lift it from the night-

mare this government received it in. GUYSUCO received a $33 Billion dollars bailout, the establishment of 51 new ICT hubs all across Guyana is now a reality, hence, folk from rural Guyana can be informed in a timely manner of what is happening in urban Guyana.

Radio Mabaruma is on air, Radio Lethem is on air, Radio Aishalton is under construction, Radios Bartica, Mahdia and Orealla are also under construction. Georgetown is no longer the garbage city, but is being restored as the garden city and no longer do floodwaters take days to be drawn off, it happens now in a matter of hours, fundamentally because major canals and trenches were desilted and excavated.

Thirdly, in an effort to improve the quality of water supply across beautiful Guyana, $5.6 Billion was put toward water-treatment plants and areas that never saw GWI water are finally smiling, because this basic need was provided them by the APNU+AFC Government.

Editor, space will not permit me to expound on the other achievements such as the establishment of three new towns, holding of local government elections after 22 years, lower crime rates, less blackouts, 4G internet, passage of the telecommunications bill, the abolishment of political victimization, the restoration of press freedom, better roads and streets, especially in Leguan and Sophia, reduction in VAT and more zero rated items, the passage of the anti-money laundering bill, street lights in a number of communities, the establish-

ment of Regional Passport Offices, the introduction of the ferry service from GT to the North West District, the provision of 8060 laptops to our teachers among so many other achievements, combined with the many, many achievements regional administrations boast boldly about. Therefore, as a reminder to the people of Guyana, this government is two years old and of all the ministers, only two have served in previous governments; therefore, it is my belief that not only do we have to collectively embrace our government and give them the support they need so as to achieve the desperately needed social cohesion, but also be proud and honest about the remarkable achievements, for again it has been only two years. My President, your President, our President has done well in restoring some degree of law and order and I am certain in the near future complete law and order will be restored. In 2010, a politician friend of mine said publicly that Guyana can with visionary leadership be lifted from the nightmare it finds itself in and today my dear readers, we are seeing before our very eyes that visionary leadership. Let’s embrace and support, so that our children and grandchildren can inherit a proud country.

Don’t let us be distracted by the very forces that divided and destroyed us. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS. Regards GANESH MAHIPAUL

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

CCJ ruling …

A major victory for Guyana

– in SM Jaleel & Company case, says Attorney General THE CARIBBEAN Court of Justice’s (CCJ) decision in the SM Jaleel & Company Limited, Guyana Beverages Inc case is a major victory for Guyana, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams has said.

According to Williams, taxpayers will no longer have to bear “the full burden of the lawlessness” of the previous administration.

In handing down its judgment on Tuesday in the case – SM Jaleel and Guyana Beverages Inc. v the State of Guyana – the CCJ ordered Guyana to pay a collective sum of Environmental Tax for the period

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams SC March 7, 2011, to August 2015, together with four per cent interest per annum.

Ahead of the judgment, the companies had argued that Guyana had breached the principles of trade liberalisation and free movement of goods envisioned by the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) – the treaty which established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

As such, they were claiming a refund of the environmental taxes imposed on the companies during the period January 1, 2006, to the date of repeal of the Act in August 2015.

Williams said when the APNU+AFC Government assumed office in May

2015, it inherited the unpaid judgment of over US$6M or GY$ 7.2 Billion awarded against the PPP/C Government by the CCJ. In other words, Guyana was destined to reimburse S.M. Jaleel a similar sum of over US$6M. He said for the two defences argued by the Attorney General on behalf of Guyana , two points were noted that S.M. Jaleel & Company Limited/ Guyana Beverages Inc had passed on to the consumers the Environmental Tax and for the country to reimburse them, would be to unjustly enrich them.

In addition, it was noted that on the issue of “Laches,” the companies had sat

on their rights and failed to challenge Guyana’s collection of the said tax at the earliest opportunity, and were therefore barred by ‘Laches’ from maintaining any claim.

The recent ruling would see the Trinidadian company obtaining only reimbursement for four instead of nine years -- a sum which would be subject to Corporation Tax of 40 per cent -less than half of their claim.

“The court finds that a period of five years is neither too long nor unduly short for a claimant to commence proceedings.

The court considers that this time limit will protect states from being vexed by claims relating to long-past incidents about which their records may no longer be in

existence and as to which their witnesses may well have no accurate recollection,” the CCJ explained.

Surinamese entity, Rudisa Beverages, had taken the PPP Government to court over the “discriminatory” Environmental Tax a few years ago.

The company had argued that there was an imposition of $10 on every disposable container imported into Guyana.

They eventually won the case, by arguing that a similar tax was not imposed on local distributors such as Banks DIH and Demerara Distillers limited.

“All of this happened because of the ineptitude of the PPP Government,” Williams said of the recent CCJ ruling.

Banks DIH, Police fete mothers MOTHERS in Berbice were treated to a pre-Mother’s Day appreciation ceremony hosted by Banks DIH Limited and ‘B’ Division of the Guyana Police Force on Friday at the Banks DIH branch on Main Street.

The Guyana Police Force military band under the baton of the force’s first female director of music, Superintendent Charmaine Stuart provided an evening of entertainment while gifts and special hampers were presented to mothers, including Superintendent Stuart.

Ian Amsterdam, Commander of ‘B’ Division said that the programme was organised to show appreciation to mothers in the community and also to

promote the band’s visits to divisions around the country.

“The military band has embarked on visits to police divisions around the country to organised concerts and we are happy that they are visiting us today,” the Commander said.

Reginald Matthews, Banks DIH Limited Berbice Branch Executive said the ceremony was organised to show appreciation to mothers ahead of Mother’s Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday.

“The event was well attended despite the inclement weather and we must thank the Guyana Police Force for partnering with us in this activity,” he added.

‘Arch symbolises our destiny’

SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

– President

TOURISTS and Guyanese will now be graced by the site of a gigantic arch which symbolises the eastern gateway to Georgetown and the border between the city and the East Coast of Demerara (ECD).

The $20M arch, which was donated to the country

by Trinidad trading giant, AnsaMcal, was commissioned on Saturday by President David Granger and Executive Chairman of the company, Norman Sabga.

President Granger described the arch as a depiction of Caribbean engineering talent, which is an acknowledgement of the innovativeness of the Region.

Construction of the arch was done by Engineer Marcel Gaskin and Industrial Fabricators Inc. “This is an extension of our infrastructural development…it sends a signal that the Caribbean economy is vibrant,” said the President,

NOTICE

THE general public is hereby notified that Contractor STAIN MASTERS SERVICES AND PRODUCTS summarily withdrew its cleaning services from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on the 12th May 2017 at 16:30 hours.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIAC) considers this as a fundamental breach of contract.

Consequent upon the breach, the CJIAC is in the process of undertaking alternative arrangements and in the meantime we ask all our Customers, Passengers and Suppliers to bear with us during this period.

By order of Management

The plaque being unveiled by President David Granger (second right), Chairman of AnsaMcal, Norman Sabga (second left), Managing-Director of AnsaMcal Trading Guyana Ltd, Beverly Harper (first left) and Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson (first right).

The arch was donated to the country in recognition of its 50th anniversary of independence and was unveiled a few weeks before Guyana celebrates its 51st anniversary on May 26.

Officials of AnsaMcal share a moment at the bottom of the arch. who underscored that the arch also symbolises the friendship between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana and by extension the cooperation among CARICOM countries.

It was pointed out that the construction of arches began when Guyana gained its independence in 1966.

Those arches were used as landmarks in towns and villages across the country,

said Granger.

Speaking about the arch at Brickdam, the President said that it represents the integrity of the nation, diversity of origins of the six ethnic groups and the unity of the three Dutch colonies-- Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara -- which were combined in 1831 to form British Guiana.

“It symbolises our destiny… and the model at Brickdam has been one for other monuments in other parts of the country,” he said, while pointing out that Banks DIH had donated the arch which stands at the southern entrance to Georgetown, Agricola.

And citizens of Georgetown are grateful for the new arch which defines the boundaries of the capital city.

The arch was also defined as a signpost which defines the frontier of a fast-growing commercial and residential zone.

Aside from what it defines, the President also highlighted that the arch was reflective of Guyana’s “green agenda,” because it is powered by solar energy.

The arches however received criticism, especially during the phase of erection which caused a huge build-

up of traffic along the ECD and in parts of Georgetown.

Minister of Infrastructure David Patterson, during his remarks, accepted full responsibility for the traffic disruption on Thursday, but said that the arch is indeed necessary despite criticisms, because it is an enhancement of Guyana’s history.

“No one remembers a road… persons will not remember the individual roads, instead in the case of a monument, they will know and appreciate the effort to preserve the uniqueness of the Guyanese culture.

A year of hard work has become a reality but, the need for public/private partnerships does not end here,” said the minister, but urged investors to invest in Guyana not just for personal gains, but for the country.

Sabga followed up on the minister’s comments and noted that the arch is their way of giving back to the country after operating here successfully for 25 years.

The chairman of the company also apologised for the inconvenience caused, but noted that they will continue to work towards partnering with the government and creating employment for Guyanese.

US$21M in medicines donated...

Visualization in Acetic Acid (VIA) clinics at Mahaicony, Bartica and Charity Hospitals to combat the spread of cervical cancer among Guyana’s women.

VIA is a relatively inexpensive way to detect the presence of lesions that can lead to cervical cancer. If positive signs are indicated during such tests, treatment is provided to the patient on the spot.

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In 2015 Guyana Medical Relief completely refurbished the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Port Mourant Hospital in Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) , thus providing the community with a modern unit. This organization has also donated ultrasound machines to the Port Mourant Hospital,the health care facilities at Baramita in Region 1 (Barima/Waini) and the Mahaicony Hospital in

Region 5(Mahaica/Berbice) respectively.

GMR has also to date provided 250,000 pairs of shoes to children in communities throughout Guyana, especially in the hinterland communities,focusing on Regions 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni) and Region 9 (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo).

“We also recognize the need for collabora-

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tion amongst like-minded NGO’s and as such we have partnered with outreach missions, such as The Canada-Guyana Outreach Mission (CanGo), based in Toronto which is doing work in the Region 1 and Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam), and the mission led by Dr. Cort of Fyrish, in Region 6, to bring professional assistance to Guyana’s rural population,” Chan disclosed.

Aneka Edwards Head, CEO Secretariat Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation Timehri, East Bank Demerara Contact info: (Office) 592-261-4255/3071

(Mobile) 592-613-5117

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Bob Marley and the Caribbean that made him

By Dr. David Hinds

MAY 11 marked the 36th anniversary of Bob Marley’s untimely death. He was just 36 years old when he died of cancer in 1981. Since then, he has grown in stature and is viewed by many as a cultural prophet. In today’s column, I pay tribute to this Caribbean icon whose music still inspires our Caribbean civilization.

Bob Marley was first and foremost a political singer: he used his talents to articulate and convey political messages. Reggae music is by definition political music; its birth and evolution were a response to the dynamics of political independence in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

But while reggae artistes have concentrated on mild political messages, Marley and a few others have stuck to the hard core direct political messages. Here I define politics in its broader sense to include a

plethora of themes such as justice, freedom, empowerment, resistance, liberation, emancipation, human rights, struggle, revolution, self-reliance and nationalism.

To properly appreciate Bob Marley’ music, therefore, one has to understand the political developments of Jamaica and the Caribbean from the 1940s onwards.

Marley was born in 1945, just as Jamaica was entering the period of decolonisation – the transition from colonial rule to independence. He was a teenager when Jamaica became independent in 1962. Hence, he was a child of independence who came of age during the period of decolonisation and the first two decades of independence.

The coming of independence to the Caribbean brought with it a spirit of freedom which was manifested by a heightened sense of national pride. That nationalism was especially strong among the

African-Caribbean section of the population, which had been victims of both slavery and colonial domination. The experience of slavery has had a lasting influence on their identity— an identity which was largely shaped in the crucible of that system.

Coming from Africa against their will as members of different tribes or ethnic groups, slavery, in effect, forced upon them pan-African identity. In the process of surviving and resisting enslavement, they created new ways of life that married retentions of their African cultures to the realities of the Caribbean. This creolisation would become a central tenet of Caribbean identity.

The Caribbean narratives, therefore, are grounded in memories of slavery and colonialism. These systems of domination had undermined the creative energies of the victims; their creative imagination was not allowed free rein. Insofar as they expressed

themselves, it was done within prescribed limits. The coming of independence, therefore, saw a release of these energies in the forms of cultural and intellectual expressions.

In Jamaica, Ska music, a pre-cursor to reggae, burst on the scene. It was a music full of energy and celebration that came out of the lower classes of Jamaican society and captured the imagination of the entire society. In Trinidad and Tobago, the steelpan was born -- a musical instrument that also came from the social bottom of the society. All over the Region the calypso, the mother music of the English-speaking Caribbean, became the national music.

Caribbean writers began to publish books about the Caribbean for Caribbean audiences. Caribbean scholars, educated in the Caribbean both at the University of the West Indies and abroad, began to teach and advocate for the Caribbean revolutionary transformation in a united Caribbean. The national sport in the Region, cricket, was being transformed as the regional team begun to dominate and for the first time was led by a Black player.

By the end of the 1960s, the Caribbean political landscape witnessed the convergence of Black Power ferment, anti-imperialist advocacy and leftist revolutionary critique and activism.

This radical political mixture would characterise the Region’s politics throughout the 1970s, when Bob Marley was at the height of his artistic production. In Jamaica, this was the period of Democratic Socialism advanced by the Michael Manley-led People’s National Party (PNP) government, which was swept to power in 1972 by the radical politics referred to above.

Although he himself was not a radical activist, Manley’s anti-imperialist and nationalist rhetoric caught the imagination of the poor and the radical youth. His democratic socialism centred on the empowerment of the poor and marginalised sections of the society, including the hitherto maligned Rastafarians.

This is the Caribbean in

which Bob Marley comes of age and begins to hone his craft. His generation was politicised by these developments. A collective national consciousness and Black consciousness gripped Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.

In such an atmosphere, art was not divorced from politics and nationalism. In fact, artistic expression was itself a driving force in the shaping of the consciousness of the period.

Marley’s lyrics in many regards were the products of the politics of this period and in turn helped to further radicalise particularly the youth and the poor. His songs covered a range of political topics from poverty and war to slavery and imperialism –- topics that were very much part of the political discourse in the Region. While his lyrics did not directly reference local, politics and politicians, his general critique of the elites and the powerful in the society was enough to indict him.

Although he was not affiliated to any of the political parties or groups, his songs were utilized by especially the left- leaning political formations. Despite his distance from formal politics, he was seen by many as a fellow traveller of the political left.

The titles of his albums, such as Catch a Fire, Confrontation, Uprising and Burning captured the revolutionary language of the time and some of his songs such as Revolution, War, Get Up Stand up for Your Rights and Redemption Song, echoed the rhetoric of the revolutionary leadership.

One cannot get to the larger meaning of Marley’s music outside of his personal experience. We have already discussed his struggles with his racially mixed identity in a society that had become ideologically Black in a manner that rejected the former White European order. Jamaica had recovered its Black African heritage with the coming of independence. Bob Marley, through his musical advocacy, had overcome the initial rejection and rose to the pinnacle of the Black world. He had made a definitive choice where he stood racially. The society in turn had embraced him as the

true son that he always was-- a genuine love affair between the nation and its child.

But the fierceness of the politics would test that affair.

The Cold War, coupled with the very political legacy of colonialism, had constructed an adversarial political plurality which privileged party loyalty over national commitment. The working class, the sufferers -- Marley’s primary constituency -- had divided their loyalty between the left-of-centre People’s National Party (PNP) and the right-of-centre Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). In the context of the Cold War, the USA intervened on the side of the JLP. By the mid-1970s, partisan violence had reached fever pitch.

Bob Marley’s musical rhetoric of justice for the poor, Anti Imperialism and Black Power, despite his own practise of political neutrality, placed him on the side of the leftists. His acceptance of an invitation by the PNP government to do a concert for the people was interpreted as support for that party. Whereas Marley saw the government as above the partisan divide, others did not make that distinction. He was attacked and shot in the dead of night by gunmen believed to be affiliated to the JLP. A shocked Marley would go into exile from Jamaica for 18 months.

He viewed the attack on him in both personal and political terms. He felt betrayed by a people he loved. His period in exile afforded him the opportunity to reflect on his own mortality and his own role in the struggle. He returned to Jamaica and recommitted to his crusade for justice and equality. He resumed his critique of the status quo, but he constantly referenced the shooting, both as a reminder to Jamaica of its errant side and as an example of personal and collective overcoming.

More of Dr. Hinds ‘writings and commentaries can be found on his YouTube Channel Hinds’ Sight: Dr. David Hinds’ Guyana-Caribbean Politics and on his website www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com. Send comments to dhinds6106@aol.com

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Two years after, nothing on the Linden/Region 10 Agreement THE APNU+AFC government must now take full responsibility for the non-implementation of the 2012 Agreement signed between central Government and the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council. The struggle that succeeded in bringing the PPP/C government to the table was marked with the lives, blood, sweat, tears, and economic sacrifices of the people. The depressed state of the region is not the result of a people being lazy or content to sit on their “fanny,” as Minister of Finance Winston Jordan in a meeting recently in Linden told them not to.

The proud history of this mining community’s development was the result of a people’s resilience, hard work and determination. By their own volition, having arrived in the area they tamed the forest, removed millions of cubic yards of overburden to reach the precious bauxite mineral, worked 24 hours a day in the mines and plants, and established neighbourhoods with all its services and amenities.

In many regards, this community was a trail blazer in the development of this country.

The present economic state of the region did not occur overnight and history will show efforts made by the people over the years to halt and reverse the decline. The PPP/C government’s decision in 1993 to reduce calcined bauxite production from approximately 483,000 metric tonnes to 250,000, put the community in a tailspin it is still to recover from. Then government went further to economically dispossess the people by handing out the industry’s support services to their friends and comrades.

The marketing of bauxite was never a problem; the problem was being able to meet production to satisfy the market, which the government saw to by reducing production. Efforts by bauxite workers and their unions to save the industry, including their over $2.5 billion Pension Plan, from the PPP/C’s destructive policy were all rejected.

In 2001, Leader of the Opposition Desmond Hoyte and President Bharrat Jagdeo signed an agreement to address the plight of the Depressed Communities, among which Linden was identified. The Jagdeo government refused to implement the agreement and continued its policy of economic

marginalisation and trampling on the rights of the citizens/workers. This policy position had caused me to accuse the PPP/C government of executing a programme of economic genocide in the African community, consistent with the United Nations Declaration on Genocide.

As an aside, for calling it for what it is, the Jagdeo government took away the subventions (i.e. grants) from the Guyana Trades Unions Congress and its attendant arms, the Crithclow Labour College and the Women’s Advisory Council.

The APNU and AFC, in opposition, supported the people’s efforts to achieve the Agreement and bore witnesses to the signature of Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds on 21st August, 2012. The group campaigned in 2015 to honour and implement the agreement. In July 2015, Minister Joe Harmon is on record as saying such will be done. This is May 2017, almost five years to the date of the agreement, of which nothing has been done yet, a government minister saw it fitting to ride into the community and dress down the people.

The 2012 Agreement included the establishment of an Economic Committee. For economic development to take place it has to be structured and its genesis indigenous.

It was the people’s representatives that proposed to the government the development of an economic plan indigenous to the needs of the region. The below was agreed to: 2) Economic Programme The two parties agreed to establish an Economic Committee with the following Terms of Reference: a) Examine all studies, all plans, all sectors and their resources in use, new resources and human resources and develop a sustainable development plan for Linden and Region 10. b) Review all initiatives, including LEAP and LEN, with the aim of gleaning the lessons to be learnt from these initiatives and make recommendations for new initiatives. c) Review Linden and Region 10 facilities and capacity for food self-sufficiency and to the extent feasible, develop a plan for self-sufficiency as part of the Regional Development Plan. d) Examine the employment situation of Linden in particular and Region 10 in

general and make appropriate recommendations. e) Review the existing framework within which private investment is attracted to Linden and Region 10 and make the appropriate recommendations. f) To identify the issues as they relate to policies, administrative capacity, skills development, investment climate etc., which need to be addressed in order to make the new development plan successful. g) Assess the availability of funding from grants, donors (bilateral and multilateral), the private sector and the diaspora and make the relevant recommendations for the funding of the Regional Development Plan. h) To hold consultations with the residents of Linden and Region 10, as well as specific interest groups, such as the business, religious farming communities, women and other civil society organisations. i) To consult with the relevant ministries and agencies such as GO-INVEST to ascertain the present plans and potential avenues for further expansion of the economic base of the region with specific regard to agriculture, information-based technology, value-added manufacturing and the services sector.

The Economic Committee will have the

benefit of the existing institutional arrangements and the expertise of the Regional Democratic Council and relevant ministries in the discharge of their functions. The Economic Committee will also give priority to development projects, which will bring the fastest benefits to the community.

The Economic Committee will report to the two sides monthly and present its final report within 90 days.

The Economic Committee will comprise seven persons, three persons nominated by each side and an agreed-on chairperson. The names will be submitted by the two sides within seven days and subsequent to that, the chairperson will be appointed by the two sides within three days.”

While the PPP/C government initiated the programme of economic genocide, that the APNU+AFC government is failing to lift it by its refusal to honour and implement the 2012 Agreement that the people fought for and signed with their blood, this government cannot escape being held accountable for continuing a programme the people fought against. I dealt with the non-implementation of this agreement before. I return to it today, given Minister Jordan’s statements, and I shall continue to periodically return until the agreement is honoured in full.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Close sugar estates now–economist

FORMER presidential advisor and outspoken economist, Ramon Gaskin has once again urged government to quit their wait in making immediate steps to resuscitate the ailing sugar industry, by closing operations before year-end.

Gaskin, who has been steadfast on the issues of the loss-making entity, has reiterated statements for the subsidies currently being pumped into the struggling Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), be immediately redirected into reorienting and training workers that are expected to lose jobs as a result of the industry shrinking operations.

During his presentation

on government’s State Paper on the future of the sugar industry in Parliament last week, Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder stated that GuySuCo would move to produce 147,000 tonnes of the sugar annually. Three sugar estates, Albion-Rose Hall, Blairmont and Uitvlugt-Wales will work to meet this quantity, which will be adequate for local and regional demand, while the other estates will be transformed into other productions to be determined by the ministry and GuySuCo. Minister Holder told the Chronicle later, that a corporate plan is expected by month-end, detailing what will be done with an

estimated 10,000 sugar workers.

Previously, talks of aqua-farming, and crop-rearing had emerged as alternate jobs, but Gaskin is adamant that there are several other industries that Guyana should be looking into, that would cost way less than the billions of dollars used to subsidise GuySuCo every year.

“What about factories: furniture workshops, automotive, and even bakeries? The thing is, we don’t think big,” Gaskin charged. He opined that bread from Georgetown is making its way into communities in Bartica, Berbice and other far-flung places, when

these communities could have their own bakeries, Gaskin charged that, poultry, pig tails and salted fish make up some foreign items in supermarkets, when Guyana can produce these very items instead of having just a hand- full of large producers or very few small-scale producers.

Gaskin posited that as much as $25M could be expended on a pig-rearing project, and as little as $5M toward poultry in communities such as Wales and even Buxton.

All this contributing to government’s “village economy” initiatives, he opined.

The economist continued that Guyana must now become industrial, increasing its production, while expending finances on training and educating.

If GuySuCo closes its targeted estates now, Gaskin indicated that, “that same money [subsidies] could be used to train and finance new industries.”

This too will help with foreign exchange. He said that being able to provide for local needs, limits foreign dependency, helps lower external debts, creates jobs, and improves the work force through training and specialisation.

On a broader note, Gaskin suggested that government through its Education Ministry review the certification regime to include an all-inclusive certificate akin to America’s GED, for adults in Guyana who left secondary school without their CXCs. It would have some equivalent to secondary school training and would assist young adults particularly, in finding work. The GuySuCo matter Gaskin opined, should open the government’s eyes to the broader need of restructuring the country’s internal finance-generating layout, rather than making financial and governing determinations on, “a macro-view,

exchange- rate stability, debt to GDP ratio etc.”

Within 18 months of taking office, the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (AFC) government had expended some $18B in subsidies to GuySuCo. By year-end, it’s expected to have consumed some $18B more; notwithstanding the billions of dollars already subsidised by the then People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government over the years.

Gaskin has however commended the government for not buckling under opposing pressure in doing what was necessary for GuySuCo. Gaskin has stated repeatedly that the sugar workers’ union, GAWU, has played a negative and divisive role in partnering for the betterment of the industry.

GAWU’s membership could significantly dwindle when workers head into different industries.

Lethem kids make vases for Mother’s Day AFTER school and lessons, approximately 12 kids met with senior Library Assistant of the Lethem Library, Mrs. Desiree Boston to participate in a short training course in vase-making.

Mrs. Boston, together with another staff member Ms. Andrea Charles, taught the children, who frequented the Library, to make the vases so that they could surprise their mothers with them today (Mother’s Day).

In an invited comment on Saturday, Boston told the Guyana Chronicle that the children of Lethem and St. Ignatius Primary Schools were taught the art by using paper from an old telephone directory and also from old magazines.

According to her, just recently, they also taught the children how to do tiedye, a training session that yielded much success.

Mrs. Boston (with glasses) and Ms. Andrea Charles with some of the kids, who participated in the vase-making exercise

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Would GTT meet the challenge?

SOME weeks ago, GTT and Digicel, our two telecommunication providers, exchanged words in the media as competitors are sometimes expected to do.

As consumer advocates we avoid getting involved in such exchanges or appearing to take one side or the other. Our interest and concern are simply to ensure consumers are provided with a quality service, wherever they are, at as reasonable a price as possible and in a more general way to ensure, as far as we are able, that the Government of Guyana is not in any way short-changed by transnational companies.

At this time, also, we are particularly anxious that the telecommunications liberalisation process proceeds quickly and smoothly without any persons or companies trying to distract government’s works towards liberalisation.

Over the last few years, GTT has been attacking government for not closing down the Internet cafes which had been providing consumers with cheaper international calls. GTT’s attack on government was that the Internet cafes were conducting an illegal business since they allegedly infringed GTT’s monopoly and Government allegedly lost millions of dollars in revenue. Similar attack has been made on Government for not acting on Digicel for allegedly transmitting data through Suriname.

Consumer people, and also many persons in Governmental circles have been pointing out that GTT has no proprietary rights on technological advances and that such advances could not be prevented from coming to Guyana. And secondly, if GTT feels that internet cafes and Digicel’s Suriname link were illegal operations, they should’ve gone to the courts instead of calling upon Government to fight their case.

The GCA, both publicly and in memoranda to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) have been pointing out that the GTT monopoly contract is void since GTT had long and continuously breached its contract in very substantial ways, adversely affecting consumers.

GTT could have tested or affirmed their contract in the courts if they had acted against the Internet cafes and Digicel.

Many consumer people have mentioned to us that GTT recent attack on Government and on Digicel is really an attempt to distract Government and the consumer communities attention from the liberalisation process and to delay it as much as possible.

GTT’s apparent hesitancy over a quick liberalisation contracts with their position when the Liberalisation Bill was passed in Parliament in July last year.

On that occasion, GTT ran full-page newspaper advertisements with Banner Headline “LIBERALISATION” with three exclamation marks under which was a photo of GTT staff jubilantly welcoming liberalisation. And in prominent green, GTT announced: this means: Lower International rates; Faster Internet; Better Customer Services; Wider Range of Products… With the promise of four such improvements in favor of the consumers, Government would be unlikely to delay liberalisation.

GTT are trying to preempt liberalisation by trying to have higher consumer rates established so that when liberalisation becomes a reality, higher rates will already be there delaying the working of market forces. The consumer would, of course, suffer from such action.

GTT recent attempt to raise landline rates is an example of this. GTT was established in Guyana as a landline company. The

overseas call rates were set artificially high so that these international rates would cross subsidise the landline rates. Of recent years, international rates have been falling over the world and all telephone companies including GTT have been experiencing this. Almost all telephone companies have updated their technology to adequately or successfully meet the new competition but GTT, comfortably resting on its monopoly and high rates, did not bother to update technology. They, as a result, have seen their international usage diminishing.

Instead of doing what other telephone companies have done in updating technology, they concentrated on the highly profitable cellular and DSL services. And now, though contractually obligated to cross subsidise the landline rates, they are calling on the landline consumers to pay high rates rather than honoring their contractual obligation by using a small percentage of the non-regulated services massive profits, to do the cross subsidisation.

In any case, the GCA has pointed out that the income which has been earned by the landline could pay to keep the landline a float without any cross subsidisation. Such Income would have been the interest on the US$ 60,000,000 used to establish the cellular business and the rental of approximately US$ 2,000,000 per annum to be paid by the cellular business for the use of the landline copper and fiber optic wires to transmit cellular traffic.

The landline is also due for its share of income from its contribution to financing the US$ 30,000,000 on the seacable.

GTT has taken to neglecting the landline: they have been taking an unconscionable time to do landline repairs or have not done so at all; they have

failed to supply landlines to the large numbers who are in need of them such as the new housing areas build by Government and private enterprise. And in other ways, they have failed to honour their contract as for example their failure to supply annual Telephone Directories. The Directories were to be of no cost to the consumer and have been so for the last 25 years.

The Directories were also of no cost to GTT since it was paid for by the advertisements. Not to publish

Directories is anti-consumer action. Talk of putting the Directories online is a cost to the consumer- he has to have a computer and to subscribe to GTT’s DSL and anytime he wants to find a number he has to use electricity. The PUC must insist that GTT produce its annual directory.

The GCA has always thought of GTT being able to be the flagship telecoms company of Guyana and even at this juncture it could still rouse itself to earn that status and accolade despite

frittering away the consumer goodwill which former CEO Yog Mahadeo had earned for the company.

It could earn that status by quoting consumer goodwill, resuscitating the landline, and bringing greater efficiencies on its all-round services and avoid the temptation of trying to earn revenue by petty schemes such as clandestinely inserting voicemail on the landline without consumer agreement. Would GTT rise to the challenge?

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Tap business opportunities in Cuba –– GCSM President urges Guyana

NORMAL relations between Cuba and the U.S. will change the Caribbean, and Guyana should seek avenues and invest in Cuba’s new and emerging market, Guyana-Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) President Haleem Khan has said.

Recently, Saint Lucia’s leading manufacturing company, Baron Foods (St. Lucia) Limited has been exporting its world-class products

to Cuba.

Khan said the Cuban government wants to promote small private businesses. The number of Cubans registered as self-employed has jumped from 144,000 in 2009 to 535,000 in 2016.

Underscoring that tourism on the island is booming, Khan said Cuba welcomed a record four million visitors last year, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year.

He said based on the island’s Tourism Ministry, this year, with new cruise and airline service coming on stream, it could be another record-breaker. Cuba is expecting an additional 100,000 visitors to the island in 2017.

Giving an example of the influx of visitors, Khan said from Miami International Airport alone, 588,433 passengers departed for Cuba in 2016, compared to 444,667

the previous year.

Included in the count are Cubans returning to the island after making U.S. visits.

He opined that developments in Cuba could act as a catalyst to economic activity in the Caribbean and CARICOM should be seriously courting Cuba.

The importance of an agreement for products and tariff preferences between Cuba and Caricom was discussed during the Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM

in February.

“The agreement includes 349 Caribbean products with free access to the Cuban market, while CARICOM will grant preferences to 86 Cuban products,” Khan said.

He emphasised that Cuba is a country in transition.

Cognisant of the need to be fully integrated into the global financial system and to attract massive inflows of capital through investment, the Cuban government has agreed on a series of adjustments or “reforms” to provide for private local and foreign participation in the economy.

Meanwhile, Khan earlier this month attended an event held by the Cuban Medical Brigade to observed Cuba’s Labour Day observance in Guyana.

Being unable to attend the event in Cuba this year, the GCSM President said he

was set to give an address before 60 other countries that were represented, but due to unforeseen circumstances he was unable to attend.

He explained that Cuba remembers the act of solidarity and courage shown by Guyana and three other independent countries in 1972.

It has consistently forged and strengthened relations with Guyana through cooperation agreements in the areas of health, education, culture, sport and agriculture, among others.

Guyana has been receiving Cuban medical personnel since 1978. The Cubans have provided healthcare and services to Guyanese at home and to those who have travelled to Cuba for specialist treatment at little or no cost.

Guyana has the largest contingent of scholarship students from CARICOM studying in Cuba.

Man dies after crashing into parked truck A 27- YEAR-OLD West Berbice motorcyclist died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation Friday night,24 hours after an accident with his motorcycle on the Golden Gove public road on Thursday night.

The dead man was identified as Michael Persid , a rice farmer of Tempie Village, West Coast Berbice.

Reports stated that Persid was riding his motorcycle west along the southern carriageway of the Golden Grove public road on Thursday night when he lost control and crashed into the rear of a parked lorry.

Reports indicate that he suffered severe head injuries on impact.

Michael Persid He was picked up in an unconscious condition and taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital from where he was first referred to the New Amsterdam Hospital and subsequently the Guyana Public Hospital Corporation where he died without regaining consciousness.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Slush and garbage along Sussex Street

FOR a number of days since the Sussex Street Canal was cleaned, slush and garbage from the canal has remained on the parapets, causing Mayor Patricia Chase-Green to summon City Engineer, Colvern Venture to have it removed.

The mayor referred to the unsightliness caused by the situation when she was addressing city councillors at a recent statutory meeting. She also noted that it did not auger well for citizens of the area between St. Stephens Street and Cemetery Road.

The City Engineer, in response, said that the works were done by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and that Minister David Patterson has since undertaken to

Sunday, May 14, 2017- 05:30 hrs Monday, May 15, 2017 - 05:00 hrs Tuesday, May 16, 2017 - 08:30 hrs

The ‘spoils’ from the Sussex Street canal remained on the parapets up to Saturday afternoon speak with his engineers to have the ‘spoils’ removed.

Venture disclosed that during his telephone conversation with the minister,

he also raised the issue of other works being done in Georgetown that the City Council is not aware of.

The situation has also

resulted in a narrowing of the Sussex Street road, resulting in difficulties for both motorists and pedestrians.

Minister Allicock presented ‘a glamour gift’ to mothers of Moraikobai

Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Sydney Allicock sharing a moment with some of the mothers of Moraikobai MOTHER’S Day is a celebration honouring mothers, where motherhood is celebrated.

Mothers around the world are shown appreciation on a designated Sunday in May each year.

The same appreciation was shown to mothers of Moraikobai by Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs Sydney Allicock

during a recent visit to the Moraikobai community in Region Five.

The Minister in wishing the mothers of the community happy Mother’s Day in advance also contributed the sum of $20,000 towards making the day a bit more special. “My staff and visiting team would like to wish all the mothers of Moraikobai a very, very happy Mother’s Day

and I am certain that you would enjoy that day”, the Minister joyfully expressed.

The money was received by mothers present at the gathering and will go towards doing something glamorous for the mothers.

The mothers were all delighted and expressed gratitude for the Mother’s Day gift from Minister Allicock.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

‘Green Machine’ rout Barbados 34 – 26 at RAN 15’s Championship GUYANA’s National Rugby team, more popularly known as the ‘Green Machine’, defeated Barbados 34 – 26 yesterday at the Garrison Field to make a successful start to their Rugby Americas North (RAN) South Zone title.

The Guyanese entered the game as heavy favourites, but the team’s head coach,Kenneth Grant-Stuart, prior to their departure last Friday, had told Chronicle Sport that the ‘Green Machine’ will not be taking their ‘Bajan’ counterparts lightly.

Vice-Captain Richard Staglon was the star of the day, scoring three tries,

while Vallon Adams had two (tries) and Ahmed Isaacs scored a try on his debut. Rickford Cummings scored two conversions.

Meanwhile, following yesterday’s game against Barbados, Guyana will play host to longtime rivals,Trinidad and Tobago at the National Park Rugby Field on June 10, in a rematch of last year’s South Zone final.

The ‘Green Machine’ is the current runners-up to Mexico in the Regional RAN 15’s Championships as well as Current RAN 7’s Caribbean Champion.

Squad: Ryan Gonsalves (Captain), Richard Staglon (vice-captain), Avery Corbin, Peabo Hamilton, Ronald Mayers, Godfrey Broomes, Dwayne Schroeder, Sean Phillips, Vallon Adams, Ahmed Isaacs, Rondel McArthur, Jason Tyrell, Allain Crawford, Kevon David, Jamal Angus, Troyton Braithwaite, Patrick King, Joseph Rahaman, Cyon Kitt, Toby David, Osie Mckenzie, Rickford Cummings and Blaise Bailey.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

The Cricket Administration Act prohibits any GCB president from being a WICB director WE recently viewed a most derogatory and disrespectful letter penned by Mr Claude Raphael and published by the KN and Guyana Chronicle on May 10, 2017 in the sports pages of those dailies, headlined ‘Drubahadur must publicly account for his GCB Stewardship”.

The Board has also noticed other letters popping up ever so often in the media spreading blatant lies and hate propaganda against our officials. The Board views this situation as very troubling, especially when the media displays such poor journalistic skills in publishing these very caustic letters verbatim without any attempt to authenticate the veracity of its contents.

The Board had issued an advisory last month regarding the resignation of its president, Mr Drubahadur and had duly provided the reason for Mr Drubahadur’s resignation in that release. Mr Drubahadur had also provided his public comments to the media on this issue and has since moved on.

The Board wishes to state quite categorically that it is very proud of the tenure of Mr Drubahadur and the great strides that were made in our development during this period.

If Mr Raphael is so much interested in learning about the stewardship of Mr Drubahadur and the GCB, perhaps he can stop by the GCB’s office anytime to uplift the most recent copy of ‘The Guyana Cricketer’ magazine which outlines the achievements and successes of the Board and its various representative teams. Previous copies of the magazine are

also available online for his perusal.

As a former executive of the GCB, it is rather disappointing that Mr Raphael continues to spew such hate, bile, disrespect and rancour against its officials in public without any justification whatsoever.

The Board is of the firm opinion that Mr Raphael is certainly entitled to his own opinion and is free to have his own views on different circumstances, but surely he is not entitled to his own facts. The facts cannot change to suit the whims and fancies of anyone.

It is public knowledge that Mr Raphael and his team desperately pleaded with the Judge prior to the Board holding of the GCB’s AGM in July 2011, which was statutorily due since January 2011.

The reason for this delay was the intervention/investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Mansoor Nadir, into the operations of the GCB under the Friendly Societies Act. The Rupert Foster report is there to prove the witch-hunting that took place for six months in 2011. The court eventually removed the GCB from the control of this Act since the rules of the Friendly Societies Act, dictate that all entities should have a minimum of seven members and GCB only had three members. This AGM went ahead as planned on the Sunday following clearance from that court hearing by the Honourable James Bovell-Drakes.

It is again public knowledge that this AGM was video-recorded, for obvious reasons, where all three members of the GCB were

present.

The then president, Mr Chetram Singh, ruled that the Demerara Cricket Board should not participate in the meeting since there was a cloud of uncertainty over its status.

The Essequibo Cricket Board was present with its full complement of nine delegates and the Berbice Cricket Board was present with five delegates inclusive of its president, vice president and secretary, which formed the quorum of 14 delegates at that meeting.

The BCB even moved motions at this AGM. It really boggles the mind that Mr Raphael, a supposedly respected person, would continue to spread such blatant falsehoods in the public domain with his constant reference to this AGM being illegal.

The GCB would, once again, wish to recognise that the Cricket Administration Act of 2014 (CAA) is the law of the land and continues to operate within its confines even though we hold the view that the Act is deeply flawed so much so that we have challenged same in our legal system.

The WICB had adopted some of the recommendations contained in the “Wilkins Report” that it had commissioned which called for the distinct separation of the Directors and the Shareholders of the Board. The CAA, obviously, did not recognise that change in the governance structure of the WICB and thus only dealt with the historical structure of that Board in the revised constitution foisted upon the administrators in Guyana.

The Select Parliamentary Committee and a spe-

cial PPP Government Panel headed by Mr Jagdeo/Mr Anil Nandlall, met with the stakeholders prior to the drafting of the Cricket Bill and totally disregarded the submissions of the GCB and the DCB, but chose to follow verbatim the dictates of Mr Raphael and his misguided team; hence, the lopsided and contradictory clauses contained in the CAA. The current constitution of the GCB enshrined in the CAA clearly states that GCB shall be represented by the President and one other (namely the Chairman of the Senior Selection Panel or the Chairman of the Cricket Development Committee) at General Meetings of the WICB. For those who are not familiar with the GCB, Mr Raphael held both positions when he was an Executive, quite conveniently.

The CAA makes no provision for the Directors of the WICB but it is clear that the GCB president cannot serve as a director since the Cricket Administration Act stipulates that this individual must be a shareholder representative. Mr Drubahadur had always represented the GCB at the AGMs of the WICB until his resignation.

Perhaps, Mr Raphael with his supposedly vast legal knowledge would care to comment on whether any amendments can be made to the GCB’s constitution contained within the said Act. The GCB continues to ensure that the next generation of cricketers will be prepared to continue in a successful pathway. We are also well aware that a lot of armchair administrators are envious of our success.

(Official Release of the Guyana Cricket Board).

need 297 ...

Continue from back page and Misbah-ul-Haq (2), who were given standing ovations as they departed.

But they too struggled to score on a day when the bowlers were on top, with only a lower-order revival setting up a declaration on a 304-run lead.

The Windies then made it to 7-1 at the close, needing another 297 runs for victory.

Even the return of Roston Chase, forced off injured on Friday after being struck on the hand by a Mohammad Amir short ball, failed to spark West Indies into action.

Chase resumed his innings on 60, adding just nine runs before Abbas bamboozled him with a yorker, the ball cannoning off his pads and onto his off stump.

The tone was set with the early dismissal of Shane Dowrich (20), leaving Jason Holder (30) as the last man standing at the end of an innings that simply collapsed.

Pakistan initially strug-

gled to press home their advantage, first-innings centurion Azhar Ali out for three after slashing a short and wide one into the hands of substitute fielder Jermaine Blackwood.

Babar Azam departed without scoring to leave the tourists on 8-2, but Younis helped to steady the ship, although Shan Masood (21) did not stick around with him for long.

D e p a r t i n g h e ro e s Younis and Misbah received emotional goodbyes from a receptive crowd, with both falling before tea.

That left it to the remaining few batsmen to take Pakistan’s lead over 300, with Amir (27) and Yasir Shah (38 not out) making particularly valuable contributions.

T h e Wi n d i e s ’ a t tempts to chip away at the victory target saw Kieran Powell claimed

by Yasir for four, bringing an end to a day in which 14 wickets fell.

(Omnisport).

SCOREBOARD PAKISTAN 1st Innings 376 West Indies 1st Innings (overnight 218 for five) K Brathwaite c wkp Sarfraz Ahmed b Yasir Shah 29 K Powell c Azhar Ali b Yasir Shah 31 S Hetmyer c wkp Sarfraz Ahmed b Yasir Shah 17 S Hope c Misbah-ul-Haq b Azhar Ali 29 R Chase b Mohammad Abbas 69 V Singh lbw b Mohammad Abbas 8 +S Dowrich b Mohammad Amir 20 *J Holder not out 30 D Bishoo c Younis Khan b Mohammad Abbas 0 A Joseph b Mohammad Abbas 0 S Gabriel c Babar Azam b Mohammad Abbas 0 Extras: (b4, lb2, w5, nb3) 14 TOTAL: (all out, 115 overs) 247 Fall of wickets: 1-43 (Powell), 2-69 (Hetmyer), 3-97 (Brathwaite), 4-152 (Hope), 5-189 (Singh), 6-218 (Dowrich), 7-239 (Chase), 8-239 (Bishoo), 9-241 (Joseph), 10-247 (Gabriel) Bowling: Mohammad Amir 2712-32-1 (w1), Mohammad Abbas 25-7-46-5 (w2), Yasir Shah 40-4126-3, Hasan Ali 17-4-22-0 (w2, nb3), Azhar Ali 6-1-15-1.

PAKISTAN 2nd Innings Azhar Ali c sub (J Blackwood) b Gabriel 3 Shan Masood lbw b Gabriel 21 Babar Azam c Hetmyer b Chase 0 Younis Khan c Powell b Bishoo 35 *Misbah-ul-Haq c wkp Dowrich

b Bishoo 2 Asad Shafiq c & b Joseph 13 +Sarfraz Ahmed c wkp Dowrich b Joseph 4 Mohammad Amir c Bishoo b Joseph 27 Yasir Shah not out 38 Hasan Ali not out 15 Extras: (lb5, w7, nb4) 16 TOTAL: (8 wkts decl, 57 overs) 174 Did not bat: Mohammad Abbas Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Azhar Ali), 2-8 (Babar Azam), 3-57 (Shan Masood), 4-65 (Misbah-ul-Haq), 5-72 (Younis Khan), 6-82 (Sarfraz Ahmed), 7-90 (Asad Shafiq), 8-151 (Mohammad Amir) Bowling: Gabriel 10-1-24-2 (nb2), Joseph 15-3-53-3 (w3), Chase 9-0-31-1, Holder 9-4-7-0, Bishoo 14-2-54-2 (nb2) WEST INDIES 2nd Innings (target 304) K Brathwaite not out 3 K Powell c Shan Masood b Yasir Shah 4 TOTAL: (1 wkt, 6.3 overs) 7 To bat: S Hetmyer, S Hope, R Chase, V Singh, +S Dowrich, *J Holder, D Bishoo, A Joseph, S Gabriel Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Powell).

Bowling: Mohammad Amir 1-02-0, Mohammad Abbas 3-1-3-0, Yasir Shah 2.3-2-2-1.

Position: West Indies require a further 297 runs for victory with nine wickets intact.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Thompson claims Shanghai win KKR let top-two chance slip away against Mumbai with 2017’s fastest time (REUTERS)-Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson set the fastest time in the world this year when she won the women’s 100 metres at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting on Saturday.

The Jamaican left the rest of a quality field in her wake to finish in a time of 10.78 seconds, almost three tenths of a second clear of American Tori Bowie with Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast in third.

“I was happy with my preparation and the way I executed the race today,” said Thompson, the 100 and 200 metres gold medallist at last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

I made a great start and I was able to bring it home. I am pleased with the time.”

Omar McLeod saw off a stellar field to win the 110 metres hurdles in 13.09 seconds, with the Olympic champion finishing ahead of Orlando Ortega, while Noah Lyles equalled the

Elaine Thompson of Jamaica competes.

REUTERS/Aly Song

fastest time in the world this year in the 200 metres as the 19-year-old stopped the clock in 19.90.

Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo from Jamaica set the fastest time of 2017 in the women’s 400 metres when she demolished the opposition to cross in 49.77, finishing almost a second ahead of second-placed Natasha Hastings.

World record holder and double Olympic and world champion David Rudisha finished fourth in his first race since September as Kipyegon Bett, last year’s world junior champion, won the men’s 800 metres in 1 minute 44.70.

“I’ve had a different build up with not running in Australia this year and it was my first race of the season,” said Rudisha. “I ran a 1:45,

which shows me where I’m at and it is something to build on. I hope to put some things in place to improve for my next race.”

South Africa’s Luvo Manyunga claimed the men’s long jump with a Diamond League record leap of 8.61 metres while Hellen Obiri recorded the quickest time in 2017 for the women’s 5000 metres when she blew the field away to finish in 14 minutes 22.47.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won the women’s 1500m in 3 minutes 59.22, the fastest so far this season, to finish more than a second clear of Ethiopian Dawut Seyaum in a commanding early season display.

Bershawn Jackson claimed the men’s 400 metres hurdles in a time of 48.63, a new meeting record, to leave a strong field including double Olympic gold medallist Kerron Clement and world champion Nicholas Bett trailing.

KOLKATA Knight Riders(KKR) threw away a toptwo finish in the Indian Premier League as they fell to a nine-run defeat at the hands of table-topping Mumbai Indians.

Victory would have guaranteed at least second place and therefore two chances in the end-of-season play-offs to reach this year’s final.

And, with 25 needed from the final three overs and Manish Pandey well set on 33, KKR were clear favourites to prevail at Eden Gardens on Saturday.

But Pandey fell to the first ball of the 18th over, his teammates only able to add another 15 runs as they finished 164-8 in reply to Mumbai’s 173-5.

Pandey’s run-a-ball innings represented the hosts’ best effort, whereas earlier in the piece Saurabh Tiwary (52 from 43 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (63 from 37) had given Mumbai the impetus they needed.

Mumbai finish the regular season with 10 wins from their 14 outings, and will en-

joy the comforts of familiar surroundings at Wankhede Stadium when they face either Sunrisers Hyderabad or Rising Pune Supergiant in the qualifier on Tuesday.

KKR, by contrast, will have to go through an eliminator before they can think of facing the loser of the qualifier for a place in the final.

Tiwary showed few signs of rust in his first outing of the season, striking nine fours in his stay before he was run out

by Umesh Yadav.

By that stage he had already added 61 with Rayudu, who thrashed six fours and three sixes - one of which, a flick over square leg off Trent Boult - brought up his fifty.

In reply, KKR failed to gain any real momentum with Chris Lynn, Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Colin de Grandhomme all getting out in the 20s and, after Pandey departed to Hardik Pandya (2-22), KKR fell away to leave their playoff campaign looking much more complicated.(Omnisport)

Sorry Lions set unwanted Rampant Manchester City stroll record in IPL farewell to maiden women’s FA Cup title THE worst collapse in Indian Premier League history is not what Gujarat Lions would have had in mind for their last ever match.

Gujarat Lions whimpered rather than roared in their final Indian Premier League match on Saturday, producing the worst collapse in the competition’s history, before David Warner and Vijay Shankar clubbed Sunrisers Hyderabad into the play-offs.

The Lions will make way next season when Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are readmitted to the tournament following two-year suspensions.

Gujarat will sadly be re-

membered for the wrong reasons, having crashed from 111 without loss to 154 all out at Green Park.

Sunrisers skipper Warner strolled through the subsequent run chase, such as it was, with 69 not out off 52 balls faced, as his team recorded an easy eight-wicket victory, secured with 11 balls remaining in Kanpur.

He had a willing ally in Shankar, who notched 63 from 44, both men finding the boundary nine times each, to make sure of a spot in the top four.

Having been put in to bat, Dwayne Smith (54)

David Warner remained unbeaten on 69 to see Sunrisers Hyderabad to victory.

and Ishan Kishan (61) added rapid runs for Gujarat early on, before the former departed lbw attempting to pull Rashid Khan (3-34).

The loss of Ishan, who top-edged Mohammed Siraj (4-32) to wicket-keeper Naman Ojha, two overs later sparked a landmark calamity for the home team.

Big guns Suresh Raina (2), Dinesh Karthik (0) and Aaron Finch (2) all followed in quick succession, as Gujarat slumped from 111-1 to 123-5 in the space of just seven balls.

Ravindra Jadeja (20 not out) provided some token resistance and remained unbeaten at the crease, but saw potential partners come and go with barely a pause.

Pradeep Sangwan, Ankit Soni and Munaf Patel all made ducks, with James Faulkner (8) and Praveen Kumar (1) faring only slightly better.

That underwhelming return left Sunrisers with a simple task, the loss of Shikhar Dhawan (18) and Moises Henriques (4) in one Kumar (2-22) over doing little to delay the inevitable.

(Sportsmax)

Carli Lloyd (left) headed Manchester City 3-0 ahead inside the opening 32 minutes at Wembley

(REUTERS)-Manchester City Women won their first FA Cup title with a rampant 4-1 victory against Birmingham City Ladies at Wembley on Saturday.

City started the match as favourites and blew Birmingham away in the first half with three goals inside the first 32 minutes in front of a record crowd for a women’s FA Cup final.

First Lucy Bronze scored with a cute header in the 17th minute, Isobel Christiansen doubled the lead nine minutes later before Women’s World Footballer of the Year Carli Lloyd nodded home a third after 32 minutes.

Birmingham City pulled a consolation goal

back when substitute Charlie Wellings scored with a superb low strike in the

73rd minute but Jill Scott’s 80th minute effort sealed the victory.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (SUNDAY MAY 14, 2017) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & the City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) Dennis Atkinson-219 & Faoud Bacchus-250 (2) Anil Jumble-4/16 (RCB vs DC, 2009) Today’s Quiz: (1) Shai Hope recently made 90 in the second innings of the

second WI/PAK Test in Barbados. How many deliveries he

faced? How many fours & sixes he struck?

(2) Which two have never won the Man of the Tournament Award

in the IPL?

Anil Kumble; Sunil Narine, Adam Gilchrist, George Max

well, Kieron Pollard ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

BCB launches Universal DVD 50-over - 12 teams to first division cricket tournament take part

By Rajiv Bisnauth

WITH the aim of recapturing its glory days and return Berbice’s cricket to the upper echelons, the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) under its new leadership took another step forward yesterday to launch the Universal DVD, sponsored 50-over first division, round robin knockout tournament.

The simple, but significant ceremony was held at the Port Mourant Cricket Club Pavilion.

The tournament will feature 12 of the ancient county’s first division teams and is scheduled to bowl off early next month, providing favourable weather conditions.

The participating teams identified by the BCB Competitions Committee are: Albion, Port Mourant, Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, Yo u n g Wa r r i o r s , P o -

BCB Competitions Committee member, Godwin Allicock, who also represented the sponsor, hands over the winning trophy to National Under-15 coach, Julian Moore. Also sharing the moment is acting BCB executives along with club representatives.

lice, Tucber Park, Upper Corentyne, Skeldon, Blairmont, West Berbice, Rose Hall Canje and Bush Lot.

Acting president of the BCB Dhieranidranauth Somwaru hailed the launching of the tournament as another

red letter day in the development of cricket in Berbice.

He noted that cricketers at all levels in 2017 will be

involved in cricket as never before since the board intends to dominate cricket at all levels locally.

“We at the BCB will continue to ensue cricket is being played at all levels, despite the difficulties we faced, with regards the access of funds the BCB has,” the acting president told the various club representatives yesterday.

Somwaru also hailed Universal DVD for coming on board with the sponsorship in these difficult economic times and pledged that the tournament will be well organized and all funds accounted for. He also assured that the standard of play would be high. Moreover, he cautioned all teams that indiscipline would not be tolerated.

Finally,Somwaru expressed his confidence in the ability of the board to host a successful tournament.

Acting Secretary of the

BCB, Vickram Seubarran indicated that the tournament will definitely expose new talents, which will ultimately benefit the game, not only in Berbice, but nationally as well.

Secretary of the BCB Competitions Committee, Godwin Allicock mentioned that the winner of the tournament will received $100,000;while the runner-up will pocket $50, 000.

The tournament will be played with colour clothing and white-ball, with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) playing their part in providing balls for the entire tournament.

The two semifinals are expected to be played at Skeldon and West Berbice respectively, with the final under lights at Albion.

The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club was the only club absent from yesterday’s launching ceremony.

Wiltshire downs Cheeks Agree terms or CA won’t pay you - Sutherland in Woodpecker squash THE Guyana Squash Association (GSA) is holding its second junior tournament for 2017, the Woodpecker Products Ltd Junior National Squash Championships,at the Georgetown Club Inc courts.

Play continued on day three with fixtures in nine of the ten categories that are up for grabs. There were several noteworthy performances by all juniors but especially those in the younger age groups.

Shomari Wiltshire

In the highlight of the evening Shomari Wiltshire had to come from behind to defeat Alex Cheeks by three games to one score.

Shomari had two games in the first set but Alex won the game 13 – 11. Alex then moved to 9 – 6 in the second game and it seemed as if Shomari was in a lot of trouble but he held his nerve and won the next five points to take the second game 11 – 9. Alex then seemed to tire and Shomari comfortably won

the third game 11 – 3 and then the fourth game by the identical score 11 – 3.

In the girls Under-15 category Abosaide Cadogan had a straight-set victory over Kirsten Gomes. Abosaide won the first game 11 – 4. The second game was extremely close but Abosaide won it 13 – 11 and then took the third game 11 – 8.

In today’s matches, Christiana Fernandes defeated Isabella Ramjohn 3-0 in the girls’ U-13 action while for the boys, Mohyryan Baksh overcame Dhiren Persaud 3-0 with the same score line applying when Louis Da Silva beat off Persaud.

In the girls’ U-13,Paige Fernandes and Kirsten Gomes each beat Haley Carpenter 3-0 in their respective clashes while in the Boys class, Ethan Jonas retired to give Demetrius De Abreu the win while Michael Alphonso beat James Mekdeci 3-0; Nicholas Verwey defeated Liam Carpenter 4-1 and De Abreu beat Liam Carpenter 3-0.

Lucas Jonas was also in the winner’s circle of the boys U-15 as he beat Jason Gomes 3-0 with Samuel Ince-Carvalhal beating Domininc Collins 3-0 as well.

Wiltshire also registered a 3-0 win over Gianni Carpenter with Carpenter then turning around to beat Osmond Mack and Wiltshire advancing past Mikhail Persaud.

Matches continued last evening.

AUSTRALIA’s players have been threatened with unemployment by the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, in what amounts to a declaration of war on the Australian Cricketers Association.

In a letter forwarded to all male and female contracted players on Friday and seen

by ESPNcricinfo, Sutherland stated that the board and state associations plan to present contract offers to CA and state players before the expiry of the current MoU on June 30.

Terms of the contracts are to be in line with the current pay proposal, which was rejected by the ACA two weeks ago.

Should no MoU agreement be reached by the deadline, Sutherland wrote, the board will not be offering payment to players under any alternative model, whether it be a rollover of the current MoU or the use of tournament-by-tournament contracts.

Delivered to the ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson on the same day its president Greg Dyer requested independent mediation to end the present standoff, Sutherland’s message constitutes a major escalation of the conflict between the board and the players, heightening the likelihood of industrial action.

Australia are scheduled to tour Bangladesh and India, prior to next summer’s Ashes series, after the MoU expires.

“In the absence of the

ACA negotiating a new MoU, players with contracts expiring in 2016-17 will not have contracts for 2017-18,” Sutherland wrote. “Players with existing multi-year State or BBL contracts that expire after 2017 will be required to play in 2017-18 and will be paid the retainer specified in their contract, regardless of whether a new MOU is in place; and in the absence of a new MoU, the Australian Women’s World Cup Squad will be paid in advance of the June/July World Cup and will be employed until the end of the

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland

event.

“To be very clear, in the absence of a new MoU, CA is not contemplating alternative contracting arrangements to pay players beyond 30 June if their contracts have expired.”

Also attached to the letter is a list of CA rebuttals of the ACA’s alternative pay proposal, which featured a “win/win” split of the game’s revenue with 22.5% to go to the players, 22.5% to go to the game’s lower levels, and the remaining 55% left to

CA to run the game. Sutherland wrote the ACA response “seeks to inappropriately expand its role as a players’ representative body into that of a de-facto administrator”.

In maintaining CA’s view that the current MoU model is outdated and limiting the board’s ability to adequately fund the development of the game around Australia, Sutherland also claimed that some players have expressed unease about the ACA’s unwillingness to look more closely at the new pay offer. On Thursday, fast bowler Mitchell Starc stated that none of the nation’s top players would contemplate a contract offer until an MoU deal is reached.

“In its defence of the status quo, the ACA’s narrative about the history and supposed sanctity of the existing pay model has unfairly placed current players in a difficult position,” Sutherland wrote. “I understand that some have been made to feel that accepting the relatively minor but necessary changes to the existing pay model, while being paid more, would somehow be ‘letting the side down’.

“This is nonsense. Nothing decided by today’s players binds future generations, just as nothing decided by past players should govern current players’ decisions concerning their own careers and welfare.

Future players will have their own opportunities to negotiate an MoU that suits them and the circumstances of the game

at the time.”

Relations between the board and the ACA have been deteriorating for some years, dating back to the 2014 departure of the former chief executive Paul Marsh to take up the equivalent role with the AFL players association. The AFL is set to announce its own pay deal, placing pressure on cricket to reach a similar point of agreement.

“For at least five months, Cricket Australia has been unambiguously clear that the twenty-year old pay model needs to be adapted in the next MoU to reflect the changing landscape of the game,” Sutherland wrote. “In particular, CA has identified the need to significantly boost funding for grassroots cricket.

“CA firmly believes that the proposal is a fair deal for all players. It is therefore surprising and regrettable that the ACA is yet to engage in negotiations on any element of it. Instead, the ACA spent weeks developing a response which merely seeks to defend and entrench the status quo.

“It is clear to me that the only way forward is for the ACA to engage in focused and constructive negotiations based on the proposal put forward by CA in March. With 30 June now only weeks away, the ACA is fast running out of time to engage with CA’s proposal and optimise the outcomes for players.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

Second Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors’ Boxing Championships

T&T, Barbados and Jamaica share the spoils on opening night

- bulldozing Guyanese suffer two losses

By Michael DaSilva

GUYANA is supposedly the `Power House’ of amateur boxing in the English speaking Caribbean, but this fact did not manifest itself on the opening night of the second edition of the Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors’ championships which got underway on Friday evening at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

In fact it was Trinidad and Tobago that stole the spotlight with two victories from as many encounters, while Jamaica registered one victory from two bouts and Barbados one win from one fight in the international category.

It is the view of some boxing enthusiasts who witnessed the four international bouts from ringside including this reporter, a former amateur boxer and successful coach,that the locals – Shemar Morrison and Akeel Mounter – did not have a fight plan going up against up against opponents that are taller and have longer

Referee Richard Braithwaite raises the hand of Barbados’ Tevin Brewster (right) after his split decision win over Guyana’ s Shemar Morrison at the National Gymnasium on Friday night

reach than them (Guyanese).

In the Morrison’s 63Kg (senior category) fight against Barbados’ Tevin Brewster, Morrison tried throughout the three rounds to get close to the Bajan and on many occasions tried to connect with wild combinations to Brewster’s head which was way above his (Morrison), rather than work on his opponents body which would have resulted in

Brewster’s head dropping and then use the opportunity to attack the head.

In the end, Brewster was adjudged the winner by a split decision, a verdict that the small number of spectators on hand did not rant or rave over.

In the 75Kg Youth Category between Mounter who hails from the Essequibo Coast and Trinidad and Tobago’s Nickel

Nickel Joseph (left) connects to the face of Guyana’s Akeel Mounter during their 75Kg Youth contest in the Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior’s tournament at the National Gymnasium on Friday night (Photos by Cullen Best-Nelson).

Joseph, referee J. Bennett of St. Lucia had cause to call a halt to the proceedings at two minutes four seconds of the third round after Mounter received three standing eightcounts during the final round.

After trailing on points during the first two rounds, which saw Mounter bulldozing his way against a taller boxer who was simply

doing just that – boxing – against an aggressive fighter, Mounter came out in round three looking for the `kill’ but instead, he was tagged by a series of 1-2 well executed combinations and within a 30-second period, was issued three standing eight-counts and referee Bennett called a halt to the proceedings.

In the other two international fights, Blessing Waldropt of Trinidad and Tobago earned a split decision victory over Jamaica’s Maslichi Baker in their 57Kg Junior category bout, while Baker’s countryman Jerone Enniss forced the referee to stop his 75Kg Youth Category fight against St. Lucia’s Jwevel Matty at two minutes 32 seconds of the third round.

In other results, it was all Guyanese in the Schoolboys category and the first bout on the night’s card saw Sean Graham securing a walk over win against Moses Oxford in a 32Kg contest;while Sequancy Wright won his 37Kg contest against Malichi Jones by a unanimous decision; Travis Invary won his 42Kg contest against Jakeel Cadogan by a split decision and Dwane Baptiste secured a unanimous decision win against Dwayne Castello in their 40Kg division fight.

The championships end this evening and fight time is 19:00hrs.

Curtains to come down on STAG Elite League tonight Dwayne Bravo expects to be ready for Hero CPL THE curtains of the Stag Elite League will come down tonight with a triple-header at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Ground, Camp Ayanganna.

A Victoria Kings versus Monedderlust clash at 16:00 hrs will kick off the day’s proceedings, followed by Top XX tackling Buxton United, while the final game of the evening brings together the home side (GDF) and rivals Fruta Conquerors.

The GDF by virtue of their superior points (27 points) were already crowned champions of the league, which means the outcome of their clash with Fruta Conquerors (22) game will not change the present standing of the top two teams.

This leaves the two top teams playing for their pride with GDF wanting to maintain their unbeaten run and Fruta Conquerors wanting to prove that Army men are not unbeatable.

However, in games one and two, there is a lot to play for since should Victoria Kings (11), lose to Monedderlust (3) and Top XX (4)lose to Buxton United (12), there will be a change at the bottom of the table with Monedderlust FC

moving to fifth place and Top XX FC to the bottom of the table.

Should Victoria Kings win against Monedderlust and Top XX defeat Buxton United, then there will be a mid-table change with Victoria Kings moving into third place and Buxton United to fourth. The table will remain the same if both Victoria Kings and Buxton United win their respective games.

GFF’s Competition’s Director – Ian Alves

In summing up the second installation of the STAG Elite League, Guyana Football Federation’s Competitions Director,Ian Alves believes “the newly-added clubs demonstrated improved play as the

league progressed. However, there were some challenges with the condition of venues which resulted in venue changes to at least two matches.”

This final match-up of the season will also signal the top four teams which will advance to the ‘Big Four’ tournament.

The bottom two teams will find themselves in relegation zone.

The Stag Elite League is the senior league of the GFF and seeks to, among other things, provide a space for consistent and competitive engagement of footballers while facilitating disciplined players of a high technical and tactical ability to be identified and or selected for national duties.

Meanwhile, a release from the GFF stated that patrons will be given a chance to win fabulous prizes including family meals,compliments of Church’s Chicken;jerseys and caps,compliments of Jialing, and cash vouchers and Gilette hampers compliments of Ansa Mc Al. The grand patron prize will be a JIALING 250cc motorcycle,compliments of Automobile Power Products.

Admission to the venue is GYD$500.

THE Hero Caribbean Premier League will be the next time Trinidad and Tobago allrounder Dwayne Bravo suits up for a professional outfit.

According to the former West Indies One Day International captain, while surgery on a torn hamstring last year in Australia’s Big Bash League was successful, he will not rush to return to professional cricket.

“I want to give myself the best chance of coming back and playing the way I usually play, which is give 100% and do all the crazy things I do. I am not going to rush into anything. My target is to keep training and get my entire body in shape,” said Bravo.

The all rounder, who signed with the Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League but could not play because of the injury, said he will play in an ex-

hibition game on Friday but will be careful to see where he is in terms of his recovery.

“I’ll bowl two overs, maybe, just to see how it is getting back. International cricket is different,” he said.

According to Bravo, the signs are good though and he is much closer to beng the player he was before the injury.

“I have improved a

lot. I am closer to playing now than I was threefour months ago. The surgery itself was successful. It’s just a matter of continuing my rehab programme. I don’t want to rush things, it’s a very severe injury. I want to make sure I am feeling good and comfortable in my mind,” he said.

Bravo plies his trade in the CPL for the Trinbago Knight Riders.

Trinidad and Tobago allrounder Dwayne Bravo

SUNDAY CHRONICLE May 14, 2017

31

T&T, Barbados and Jamaica share the spoils on opening night See page 30

Fourteen wickets tumble on day four

Windies need 297 for victory on final day as Pakistan chase history

MOHAMMAD Abbas claimed a maiden five-for in his debut Test series as West Indies were skittled out cheaply before the hosts saw Pakistan’s tail wag to set up a commanding declaration.

The Windies resumed on 218-5 – 158 runs behind – on day four in Dominica, but offered scant resistance to Pakistan’s relentless attack, with Abbas posting figures of 5-46 in the third and final Test.

His superb spell, which saw Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel sent packing without scoring a run, ensured the Windies added just 29 runs to their overnight score to slump to 247 all out.

Pakistan’s innings featured the final Test outings at the crease for Younis Khan (35) Mohammad Abbas picked up his maiden five-wicket haul.

Turn to page 27

‘Green Machine’ rout Barbados 34 – 26 at RAN 15’s Championship

Richard Staglon scored 15 of Guyana’s points in yesterday’s win.

See page 26

The victorious Guyanese ruggers following their 34 – 26 win yesterday against Barbados.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE, MAY 14, 2017