Guyana Chronicle Epaper 06 22 2019

SATURDAY 22nd June, 2019

NATIONWIDE PROTEST No.105676 No.105670

… Gov’t supporters across Guyana picket GECOM offices

…as calls grow for house-to-house registration

03/11&15

Barticians turned out in their numbers to protest

A section of the large gathering outside of GECOM, Georgetown office

Moruca residents were not left out during Friday’s countrywide protest

Two youths of Linden joined the protest to be included on the voters’ list

GRA urges Jagdeo to honour tax obligations … says LOO sheltering under presidential immunity

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Gov’t commissions $161M medical annex at Diamond

–– plans in the pipeline to further expand facility

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NGSA results on July 3 15 PAGE

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GNBA denies refusing radio licence to Stabroek News THE Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has refuted claims that it did not want to grant a radio licence to the Guyana Publications Incorporated (GPI), the publisher of the Stabroek News newspaper.

Stabroek News had reported that, Shaleeza Khan, General Manager of GPI, has been treated unfairly by the GNBA, which recently denied the company’s application for a primary zone radio licence.

“I want to deny that allegation and reiterate that we operate at a professional level and we would not purposefully deny them the right to broadcast,” said Chairman of the GNBA, Leslie Sobers, during a press briefing at the GNBA office on Friday.

Sobers said Stabroek News was notified that no more frequencies were available in the primary zone, that delineated area being Georgetown, Region Three up to the Essequibo River, all of Region Four and Region Five and east of Region Four to the Abary River. He said there are still spots Chairman of GNBA, available in the secondLeslie Sobers ary and tertiary zones, which include areas such as New Amsterdam and Anna Regina.

GPI had initially applied for a radio licence in February 2016 but the current board of the GNBA was not in place at that time.

As a result of the amendment to the Broadcast Act in 2017, companies were required to reapply. GPI, however, applied in November 2017, after the board of the GNBA would have met and decided on the granting of licences.

“Although they had applied, Stabroek News did not satisfy the criteria and only became fully compliant on October 6, 2018,” said Sobers, adding that by then, all the frequencies in the primary zone were already allocated.

He reiterated that it was a not a case by which the company was denied a licence but, they just could not get a frequency in the primary zone.

Sobers said GPI’s application was tabled at the level of the Legal and Licence Committee of the GNBA, which suggests that the committee recommended that the company could get a licence.

“As I said if they want, they can have a frequency in the secondary or tertiary zone…but we only grant licences for person to broadcast on those frequencies, they are distributed by the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU),” said Sobers.

According to Stabroek News, the issue was raised after Khan received a letter from the GNBA informing her that the company’s application for a radio licence for the operation of a station in the primary zone, which includes Georgetown, could not be processed.

The letter, which is dated May 7, 2019, and signed by the GNBA’s Board Secretary, Rianna Bowman, acknowledged that in 2018 the company applied for a Radio Broadcasting Licence to operate a radio station within the primary zone.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Sophia, Kingston substations connection to reduce power outages – GPL –– US$2.5M IDB loan for expansion works

THE Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) plans to construct a transmission line between its Sophia and Kingston Substations to reduce power outages.

This will be done to duplicate the link between the two stations to make the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) more resilient.

This was disclosed during a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) meeting with GPL to review the 2018 Operating Standards and Performance Targets of the state-owned power company on Thursday.

GPL has also secured US$2.5M in funding, through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, to construct five kilometers of transmission line, in addition to expansion works scheduled for 2020.

According to GPL’s Divisional Director of Projects Ryan Ross, GPL has one single transmission line [between the substations] and if that line fails, “what effectively happens is that there’s a separation and this separation would likely result in a complete system shutdown.”

The GPL official reasoned that the Kingston power plant is the company’s most important power plant, generating 58 megawatts of electricity.

He explained that should there be a disruption in the current transmission line at the Sophia substation, this would affect consumers as far as

GPL’s Divisional Director of Projects Ryan Ross Berbice. Hence, the project to come on stream is of critical importance.

Plans are also in the pipeline to construct a transmission line from Vreed-en-Hoop to Wales.

Afterwards, Ross said a substation will be constructed at Wales, from which another transmission line will connect Wales to Garden of Eden. These plans, under GPL, are being actively explored to achieve redundancy in its transmission system.

Meanwhile, for 2018, GPL said there was a 1.86 per cent reduction in losses in comparison to 2017.

This translated to an overall 27.74

per cent reduction, while 2017 had a record of 29.6 per cent.

According to GPL’s presentation, the reduced losses were attributed to the replacement of 30,000 smart meters, detection and energy recovery from electricity diversion, installation of a more secure network to safeguard against electricity diversion, load balancing on low voltage and primary network, and the upgrade of approximately 300km of low voltage and primary network.

With this in mind, the power company rolled out measures this year to improve its performance.

These include the upgrade of additional low voltage and primary network under GPL’s Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP).

Moreover, GPL continues to work towards the upgrade of its network to aid in the reduction of electricity diversion.

In relation to the measures implemented to improve performance for its large customers, GPL, in its presentation, outlined plans to complete a field audit of all maximum demand and small business installation.

With respect to meter reading, plans are afoot to complete the field audit of all meter reading routes. This will be done to improve customer account records and bring estimated billing to an all-time low.

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‘House-to-house is a must’

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

… gov’t supporters demand fresh registration ahead of elections

By Svetlana Marshall

IN a nationwide protest on Friday, supporters of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government demanded that house-tohouse registration be conducted ahead of General and Regional Elections.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is in the process of preparing for house-to-house registration. However, with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) ruling that the no-confidence motion against the government is valid, the opposition is now demanding that the registration process be halted, and elections held in three months. But this is not a proposition that supporters of the President David Granger Administration is willing to accept.

At the junction of Avenue of the Republic and Lamaha Street, a short distance from GECOM’s Headquarters in Georgetown, scores of supporters held a peaceful demonstration, demanding that house-to-house registration be conducted before General Elections.

“House-to-house registration is a must!

House-to-house registration is a must! Our youths must vote,” they chanted peacefully – majority, dressed in the colours of the coalition. With the Official List of Electors having been expired on April 30, the government supporters are of the view that only house-to-house Registration, at this stage, could produce a credible list for the conduct of credible elections.

Varune Mahadeo, a coalition supporter, said failure to conduct house-to-house registration would be to suppress and disenfranchise thousands of young people, whose names are not, on the now expired, Official List of Electors. He therefore rubbished the suggestion that elections could be held using the expired list, once there is a period of claims and objection.

Mahadeo, who was heard chanting, “Our youths, must vote,” said the government is not afraid to face the electorate but simply wants a process that is credible, free and fair. “Once we have new registration, then we could have an election. We are not running from the fact that an election has to be held,” he told the Guyana Chronicle.

Alliance For Change Executive Member and Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington, was among supporters demanding a process that would result in credible elections.

“I have no problem with the declaration of the CCJ, but I would like to see young people given a chance to vote and all those dead people off the list,” Carrington said. Reports suggest that there are approximately 200,000 dead people on the now-expired Official List of Electors.

The Parliamentarian said that while Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, is calling for a halt to house-to-house registration, such a move would disenfranchise thousands of young people, while leaving on the list, the names of thousands of dead people.

The Elections Commission has in place a central register of all residents of Guyana entitled to vote, in addition to persons age 14 and above. A preliminary list of electors is extracted from the central register taking into account all persons 18 years and older.

However, MP Carrington said while registered persons can be added to the Electors’ List upon attaining the age of 18, many young people have never been registered. Using his daughter as an example, Carrington said she once went to get registered and was told that registration was not being done at that time.

The young lady, who resides on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway, has never registered since.

“If we have thousands of persons not registered, we need to have them registered before the elections,” he maintained.

The MP said there is no reason why GECOM should halt the process of house-tohouse registration now, when it has already been initiated using funds approved by the National Assembly. Added to that, he said elections cannot be conducted using an expired list.

“The list expired since in April, and legally, if the list is expired, you are supposed

Former Deputy Mayor and Executive Member of the AFC, Sherod Duncan, told reporters that this new round of national registration will ensure that all eligible persons are given the opportunity to get registered, enabling them to vote whenever the elections are held.

“The list that expired on April 30 that list was not credible in the first place, and we cannot go to the polls with it. We need a new list to reflect all Guyanese who are eligible.

We need the list to be transparent and clean, we need all the dead folks off the list, and so it needs to be sanitised,” Cynthia Rutherford said as she added her voice to the cause.

Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Wil-

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings, took time off from her very hectic schedule to lend solidarity to the government’s supporters

Cynthia Rutherford liams told reporters that there is no Voters’ List in place, and elections cannot be held without it. “We have decided as a govern-

ment, there must be credible house-to-house registration in order to have credible elections. We do not have a Voters’ List, it was expired since April, and we all know that the list is corrupted,” Minister Hastings-Williams said as she joined in on the peaceful protest.

The Minister of State made it clear that government is not in support of elections using an expired list.

On Monday, the CCJ is expected to make a number of consequential orders pertaining to the appointment of a new chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, and the vote of no-confidence against the government, but the State Minister said it is not for the CCJ to direct the affairs of this country.

“CCJ cannot rule. Guyana has its own See page 8

‘Our youths must vote’ Varune Mahadeo chanted as he joined his fellow APNU+AFC supporters in the call for house-to-house registration to have new registration done. So we are not asking for nothing else, we are asking for what we had voted in Parliament for, in terms of passing monies for registration, and for us to have a new list,” the parliamentarian explained.

This, he told reporters, is no delay tactic by the government and its supporters, explaining that since 2018, the National Assembly approved over $3B for the Elections Commission to facilitate house-to-house registration.

National Registration was last conducted in 2008 – some 10 years ago.

Brittany Eversley told reporters that GECOM would be committing “elections fraud” if it fails to conduct National Registration. Eversley said the Voters’ List is outdated, and with thousands of dead people on it, it creates room for the elections to be rigged.

‘House-to-house registration is a must! House-to-house registration is a must!’ he repeatedly chanted as he stood in the heart of the protest, demanding that GECOM be given the opportunity to carry out its work plan (Photos by Delano Williams)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

US-Iran: Trump says military was 'cocked and loaded' to retaliate

(BBC) President Donald Trump has said the US military was "cocked and loaded to retaliate" against Iran, but he changed his mind 10 minutes before planned strikes.

Attacks on three sites were planned in response to the shooting down of a US unmanned drone this week.

Mr Trump said he had called off strikes after being told 150 people would die.

He tweeted: "10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone."

The late reversal was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday night. The newspaper said the operation had been "in its early stages" when Mr Trump stood the US military down.

"I am in no hurry," Mr Trump said on Friday. "Our military is rebuilt, new, and

ready to go, by far the best in the world."

Mr Trump said Iran had downed the drone on Monday, despite an earlier US military statement that the incident happened at 23:35 GMT on Wednesday (04:05 Iran time on Thursday).

On Friday, the president told NBC News that he decided not to give final approval to the planned strikes because of the predicted death toll.

"I didn't like it. I didn't think it was proportionate," he said.

Tehran says the unmanned US aircraft entered Iranian airspace early on Thursday morning. The US maintains it was shot down in international airspace.

Tensions have been escalating between the two countries, with the US recently blaming Iran for attacks on oil tankers operating in the region. Iran has

announced it will soon exceed international agreed limits on its nuclear programme.

Last year, the US unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear activities.

"Iran can NEVER have nuclear weapons," Mr Trump said in his tweets on the aborted strikes - also revealing that increased economic sanctions against Iran were "added last night".

The US has now asked the United Nations Security Council to meet on Monday to discuss Iran, Reuters news agency reports.

What had been planned?

In its initial report, The New York Times said that as late as 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Thursday, US military and diplomatic officials had still expected the strikes to take place on agreed targets,

Caption: Iranian TV published pictures of what it says was the wreckage of the US drone

including Iranian radar and missile batteries.

"Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down," the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed senior administration official.

But Mr Trump refuted this report on Friday, telling NBC that no planes were in the air.

The strikes had been set to take place just before dawn on Friday to minimise risk to the Iranian military or to civilians, the New York Times report added.

Tweeting on Friday, Mr Trump said three sites had been targeted.

The Associated Press quoted a US official as saying the strikes had been recommended by the Pentagon and had been among options presented to senior administration officials.

According to the New York Times, top Pentagon officials warned a military response could result in a spiralling escalation with risks for US forces in the region.

The operation was called off after President Trump spent most of Thursday discussing Iran with his national security advisers and congressional leaders, AP reports.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton had pushed for a hardline stance, but congressional leaders urged caution, the agency says.

Separately, Reuters quoted

two Iranian officials as saying Tehran had received a message from Mr Trump through Oman overnight warning about an imminent US attack.

That report was later denied by a spokesman for Iran's national security council, who said there was no truth to it and no message was sent.

What does Iran say?

An official warned that "any attack against Iran will have regional and international consequences".

"When you violate Iranian territorial space, then we defend," Seyed Sajjadpour, one of Iran's Deputy Foreign Ministers, told the BBC. He also said it was clear that there were members of Donald Trump's administration who were intent on overthrowing Iran's government.

What other reaction has there been?

In the US, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said America had no appetite for war with Iran, while the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Joe Biden, called Mr Trump's Iran strategy a "self-inflicted disaster".

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a war would be a "catastrophe with unpredictable consequences".

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order on Thurs-

day evening prohibiting US airlines from operating in an overwater area of Tehran-controlled airspace nearby in response.

Airlines from other countries, including Britain's British Airways, the Dutch carrier KLM, Emirates, and Qantas of Australia, have also said they will re-route their flights to avoid parts of Iran.

President Trump's decision to order – and then abort – an attack still sends a powerful message to Tehran.

The two countries came to the brink of direct conflict. But in this complex game of signalling, just what message will the Iranian leadership receive?

It, after all, had sent a significant warning of its own by downing an unmanned US reconnaissance drone.

Mr Trump initially appeared to play down the incident – but then apparently came the orders for a US retaliatory strike. That was followed by a last-minute change of heart.

The danger now is that Iran receives mixed messages that convey uncertainty and lack of resolve. This might encourage some in Tehran to push back at the Americans even harder.

There appears to be no diplomatic "off-ramp" in this crisis.

US economic sanctions are hitting home. Tehran is under pressure. Escalation remains an ever-present danger.

Wednesday June 19, 2019

06 05 01 11 18 24 13

Friday June 14, 2019

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9 11, 14, 7, 2, 24

7, 8, 8

3, 2, 3

3, 10, 14, 15, 16

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Honduras protests: Military deployed after violence (BBC) Honduras has deployed the military across the country after violent anti-government protests left two dead.

Shops were looted and government buildings attacked in the capital, Tegucigalpa.

Some roads were blocked with barricades and burning tyres.

Protests against President Juan Orlando Hernรกndez have been building in recent weeks, sparked by proposed health and education reforms.

The conservative leader is also accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

The president, who enjoys the staunch support of the US administration, was re-elected in 2017 after changing the constitution to stand for a second four-year term. The election was heavily criticised by opponents and international observers.

Thousands of people

have fled Honduras - as well as its neighbours El Salvador and Guatemala - to the US in recent years because of violence and economic instability.

Speaking at the presidential palace after meeting senior security officials, President Hernรกndez said the army and the military police would keep roads open and protect private property and the public.

At least 17 people suffered bullet wounds as a result of violence, and two of them died at the HEU university hospital in Tegucigalpa, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Several people have been detained, Efe news agency reports.

There was widespread unrest on Wednesday evening, after members of a riot police force withdrew to their quarters to pressure the government for improved

benefits.

Protests continued on Thursday even after the announcement of a deal between the government and truck drivers, whose strikes in pursuit of higher rates for moving freight had affected fuel distribution.

Anger has been building in recent weeks over proposals to restructure the ministries of education and health. Opponents say that the changes are the first step towards the privatisation of education and health services.

The government denies that the reform will lead to privatisation and layoffs, and says the changes will provide savings of more than $300m (ยฃ231m) which will be invested in primary education, the construction of two hospitals and the improvement of neonatal care.

Anger has been building in recent weeks over the proposed reforms

Ministry outlines health services to non-nationals (TRINIDAD NEWSDAY) THE Ministry of Health in a release has outlined the healthcare services afforded to non-nationals within its policy for the provision of public health care services.

This policy, the ministry said in a press release, speaks to the healthcare services which will be afforded to all non-nationals in: emergency medical services including: initial treatment, stabilization and discharge for acute medical conditions such as accidents, injuries, asthma, heart attacks, stroke, diabetic coma; and relevant diagnostics for acute care (using the Canadian Triage & Acuity Scale (CTAS) I-V which is currently the standard assess-

ment tool used in all public health Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments); All Population and Public Health Services including: immunization and treatment of communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and other high-risk infectious diseases (eg Malaria).

The ministry said that based on long-established policy, people who have been to Central or South America are excluded from donating blood for a period of six months, due to the circulation of certain endemic diseases within these territories for example Malaria and Chagas Disease.

The ministry assured of its commitment to safe-

guarding the health of the population and the provision of the best possible service to the citizenry.

TT Health minister Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Leadership matters

IN POLITICS, leadership matters. Unfortunately, here in Guyana, we have not been blessed with the most persistent, enlightened political leadership.

While we would not readily admit it, our admiration for our respective leaders is grounded more in ethnic insecurities than in measurable leadership attributes. Yes, one cannot separate assessment of leadership qualities from our ethnic reality, but it should not be the only criterion. Many of us wonder in frustration why the younger generations are not

own niches. Rodney inspired hope for an alternative niche.

Good leadership, like good music, must cut across the generational divide.

The truth is they may have been victims of the decline of the charismatic Caribbean leader, whose god-like relationship with the masses ensured an almost uncritical hero-worship. Today, that exists mostly in the nostalgia of the older generations or the party faithful. That charisma, while serving the function of good-feeling, was, in the final analysis, not transformative;

the intent may have been noble, but the legacy is far from noble. At some point, that would have to soak in.

This brings us to the present. President David Granger is a new type of leader, who is not cut from the new technocratic cloth that seems to dominate Caribbean leadership these days. Although a military man by training, his politics do not flow from that authoritarian mindset. If ever there was a pragmatic Guyanese leader, Granger is that one, or comes closest to the ideal. In policy terms, he is not deeply ideo-

logical. Despite being the party boss, he is not a party man by inclination. His initial ambivalence about partnership politics did not stand in the way of his emerging as a champion of this new politics.

To understand the essence of Granger, the politician, one, therefore, has to grapple with the challenges of contemporary Guyanese and Caribbean politics. Our society begs for order in our persistent chaos.

It dreams of a leadership that tries to understand our inherent complexities. In many respects, it constructed the

Granger way, perhaps in spite of Granger. One cannot help but admire his optimism and patience, whether it is with his partners in the Coalition or with the rampant Bharrat Jagdeo. But this was complemented with a sure-footed poise as he confronted the Maduro challenge to our sovereignty.

Are we in the embryonic stage of a new model of leadership? Time will tell, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Did the CCJ overreach?

Chairman was “flawed”. His Excellency President David Granger went to great lengths to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution, despite being provided with “flawed” and unacceptable lists by the Opposition Leader on three separate occasions.

If there was any flaw in the process, it would have to be in the lists provided by the Opposition Leader, which left President Granger with no option but to appoint the Chair in his own considered judgement which he is fully entitled and empowered to so do under the Constitution.

President Granger acted entirely within the ambit of the

constitutional requirements, and gave the Opposition Leader repeated opportunities to provide a list of names which was not unacceptable but the Opposition Leader failed to do so.

Now, in its ruling, it would appear as though the CCJ has gone beyond its remit and accorded unto itself the powers of the legislature by recommending a new process for which the GECOM Chairman should be appointed, that is, that the list of six names must be discussed and agreed upon before the list is submitted. The CCJ has no such remit that I am aware of, and is therefore transgressing

on the domain of the legislature. This is disturbing to me, and I am certain to other Guyanese as well. I note with some concern as well that only three of the five judges bothered to present themselves for the decision. I see this as a form of disrespect to the people of Guyana.

In a case which is the most important before the court, two of the judges did not attend.

Dear Editor,

I HAVE taken note of the rulings of the Caribbean Court of Justice with reference to the matters relating to the events of December 21, 2018 and the appointment of the Guyana Elections Commission Chairman, Justice James Patterson. Editor, I note as well, and commend, the Government for its position that it respects the rulings and will abide by them.

as enamoured of our political titans of old. Does that tell us more about the quality of leadership than of the quality of younger people?

This is not to say that we have not had potentially good leaders who, from time to time, have stirred the imagination of our nation, or parts of it.

We have had the Burnhams and Jagans and Rodneys who, in their separate ways, have left their individual marks on our segmented consciousness.

Burnham and Jagan led the children out of bondage, and in the process carved out their

There is no further recourse, as the CCJ is Guyana’s final court of appeal.

It has been widely agreed that these matters are the most important that have ever been before the CCJ. From a layman’s perspective, however, the rulings appear to be over-reaching and bordering on being irresponsible. First, the matter of over-reaching. The learned and erudite judges sitting on the CCJ appear to be introducing elements into the

Constitution which are not there. This is particularly obvious with regard to the process for identifying the Chairman of GECOM. The CCJ owes the people of Guyana a detailed explanation on how it arrived at such a directive. To state the case as mildly as one could manage, it is unusual.

Secondly, in ruling that the appointment of the GECOM Chairman, the CCJ ruled that the process which arrived at Justice Patterson as

Regards, Aditya Panday

It was the Speaker who referred No- Confidence matter to the courts Dear Editor,

I REFER to the recent publication of several statements in the print media ridiculing the government’s recourse to the court to settle issues in relation to the motion of no confidence. These include statements attributed to Mr. Christopher Ram equating government to “autocrats, dictators and bullies”; a Mr. Rakesh Rampertab who accused the government of “abusing the judicial process...seeking to undermine the electoral process”; and those of a Mr. Ronald Singh who claimed that the President ‘tries a thing’.

It is disappointing that these letters were not accompanied by a note from the editor correcting/distancing the publication from assertions of this nature, which are erroneous and possibly malicious. It would be recalled that when the National Assembly met on January 3, 2019 to consider the consequences of the vote of December 21, 2018, the Hon. Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland indicated that he had “received information, both solicited and unsolicited, supported by Case Law and Practice emanating from other jurisdictions which has raised doubts as to whether the No-Confidence Motion was carried.”

The Speaker then suggested that as a result of the issues, “over which many have expressed concern, final determination was needed”. He also noted that while it has been his preference to resolve

any issue that arises without the intervention of a third party “Full, final and complete settlement of these issues by a Court of competent jurisdiction will place beyond doubt any question which may exist and serve to give guidance to the Speaker and to the National Assembly for the future.”

It was, therefore, at the invitation of the Speaker, while declining to utilise his prerogative at that stage to reverse his previous ruling which he stated he possessed, that the government proceeded to exercise its right to final determination. Notwithstanding, now that the final appellate court has pronounced definitively on all of the issues that were in dispute, the President and government have made the commitment to abide by the constitutional consequences which flow from this determination.

It is said that truth is the first casualty in war, and these individuals are definitely employing the technique of repeating a lie with the expectation that it would eventually be accepted as the truth.

Editor, make no mistake, we are in a titanic struggle; a struggle which acquired a new and totally different dimension with the discovery of mammoth oil-and-gas reserves offshore Guyana. The scramble to control these resources began in 2015, days before the elections, when oil blocks adjacent to ExxonMobil’s concession were handed out to individuals possessing no expertise in ultra-deep-water

exploration and presumably, ability of their own to exploit.

Let us not delude ourselves, what we are in the midst of now is not what these travellers would make us believe by professing to be champions of democracy and the rule of law, but who will control these resources. We are in a state of undeclared war, and the No-Confidence Motion was a preemptive strike to force premature elections with a voters list that is irretrievably flawed, and to which tinkering with cannot correct; an expired list which may hold as many as 200,000 incorrect entries. This list is dead, and there is no procedure that can bring it back to life.

My colleague, Winston Jordan said at a public meeting on Tuesday last that is ‘war break’, It is actually our opponents, some obvious and some not so obvious, who have declared this war; one that we have now joined. Editor, the referees are the Guyanese electorate who will shortly have the ultimate say with regards to who they entrust stewardship of these resources: David Granger or Irfaan Ali. Regards, Ronald Bulkan Minister of Communities

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Enough of your sermonising, Mr Green Dear Editor, A RECENT letter in the press captioned ‘Statement by GECOM Chairman is ludicrous’, which is purportedly authored

by Hamilton Green, is the most self-serving, sanctimonious, and flawed missive I have come across in quite a while.

Mr. Green starts off by lauding the President for his willingness to respect and abide by the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Jus-

tice, calling this act that of a Statesman. This is frightening. Is he suggesting that the President of a democratic society, whose responsibility it is to take care that the laws of the country are faithfully adhered to by all, can do otherwise? Mr. Green seems to be suggesting that the President has an option to ignore and disregard the rulings of the final court of appeal that there is to protect the rights of Guyanese. Clearly, Mr. Green is from times past when ethics and oversight

were eliminated by those who wanted absolute power.

He then, whilst accusing others of preaching and pontificating, proceeds to sermonise and expound on the unattainability and unreasonableness of having elections within two or three months, citing his vast experience in the electoral matters of Guyana.

My, my! Mr. Green should be the very last person in Guyana to lecture us about elections. The rigging of the 1968, 1973, 1980 and

This article should be drawn to the attention of all educators Dear Editor THE article in the Guyana Chronicle of June 21, 2019 titled ‘Talking Culture: Our Creole, ours to preserve’, is incisive, beautifully presented and relevant.

In our extant environment, such writings, if read by our youths, educators and parents would make a significant contribution to ensuring the stability of our society, and help to secure the integrity of our Nation State.

They say, ‘One, one dutty build dam’.

This effort contributes to our wholesomeness, and its author, Barrington Braithwaite deserves our commendation and gratitude.

I hereby ask you, Hon. Minister, that the article be drawn to the attention of all Educators.

I also suggest that Media Managers make use of its content, of course, observing the appropriate protocol.

Kind regards, Hamilton Green

1985 elections, from which Mr. Green is boasting that he got his experience, has been fully documented and is well known. Indeed, some sort of restraining order or protective order needs to be obtained to prevent this gentleman from having anything to do ever again with elections in Guyana.

His sudden acceptance of the comity of nations and the need for our business to be everybody’s business is very odd when one remembers his disapproval and

disapprobation for the Carter Center to be involved in the 1992 elections. Mr. Green speaks of his predisposition, and views that the Chairman of GECOM should have graciously demitted office, because the writing was on the wall. Sir, you are missing the point, and and your track record of voluntarily demitting office has not been an exemplary one either, whether as Prime Minister, Mayor, or Chairman of the Central Housing and Planning Authority.

Mr. Green, we understand the need for you to sing for your supper. We understand your fear of what might happen to the perks and largesse that you are receiving should there be a change of government, but you don’t have to go over the top to prove your loyalty and gratitude.

Regards, Kwasi Sanderson

Indigenous and forest-dependent stakeholders consulted on Draft REDD+ Strategy INDIGENOUS and forest-dependent stakeholders of Regions One, Seven, Eight and 10 have made their input into the development of Guyana’s draft REDD+ Strategy and Strategic Social and Environmental Assessment (SESA).

These are all key REDD+ readiness activities included in the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Project of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Winrock International in partnership with Conservation International Guyana is leading a group of consultants commissioned by the ministry in April 2018, to deliver the final

version of the draft Strategy and SESA by October 2019.

During the past two weeks, the consultants presented Draft II at Mabaruma, Kamarang, Paramakatoi and Linden, where stakeholders discussed the six scenarios outlined to reduce drivers of deforestation and forest degradation.

These included improved governance and cross-sectoral coordination; making mining and forestry operations more sustainable; and coherent land use planning and policy enforcement. These inputs will feed Draft III of the strategy, The FCPF facilitated the Chairman of the Nation-

al Toshaos Council (NTC), Mr Nicholas Fredericks; Ms Laura George of the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) and Mr Michael Williams of the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), to observe the consultations with Indigenous communities. Both Mr Williams and Ms George suggested that there should be further regional engagements.

Engagements on the Draft REDD+ Strategy will continue with key stakeholder groups drawn from Indigenous non-governmental organisations, private sector, civil society and government.

Wanted bulletin issued for suspect in 2018 Boxing Day murder A WANTED bulletin was, on Friday, issued for 22-year-old Samuel Chase of John Lewis Street, Angoy’s Avenue, Berbice in relation to the murder of 25-year-old Karl McDonald, known as ‘Karlie’ or ‘Donno’.

McDonald succumbed at the New Amsterdam Hospital shortly after he was stabbed to his abdomen during a fight which ensued between his cousin and the suspected assailant

at High Dam, Angoy’s Avenue. It is alleged that the fight ensued over a young lady.

The incident occurred just after 18:00hrs on Boxing Night, 2018, as residents of that community were celebrating the festive season at a nearby Barbecue and Lime.

According to the mother of the deceased, Lorraine McDonald, one of her nephews had a relationship with the suspect’s

WANTED: Samuel Chase

ex-lover and as a result, there was an argument between the two on Christmas Night.

“My second son went to talk to the boy [suspect] whom he hit. The boy went away and returned up at the Barbecue. He saw my nephew with the girl and he fired a chop, but my nephew ran away. He then go to my second son, but that one ran away too.

Karlie, my eldest boy, then chucked him, telling

him to rest he self. It was then, he fired a chop with the cutlass, sending Karlie backwards into a nearby trench,” the woman related.

By the time public-spirited persons pulled McDonald out of the trench, his entrails were protruding and he was gasping for breath. Although he was quickly rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital, doctors told family members that despite their best ef-

forts, he succumbed as the injuries were complicated.

McDonald was described as a quiet person who was never involved in fights during his school years. However, his mother is of the opinion that because the attacker did not get her nephew or her second son, he retaliated and attacked her eldest child.

GPF finally breaks silence on alleged corruption THE Guyana Police Force has finally broken its silence on the issues which were raised in the press and on several social media platforms pertaining to alleged corrupt practices within the Force, which, from all indications, involve a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

On Friday, a direct question was posed to the police by

a member of the press on its apparent silence on the issues raised by a number of whistleblowers within the Force.

The Force, just after 20:00hrs on Friday then issued a statement saying that the matters are under investigation by the Police Office of Professional Responsibility.

However, the whistleblow-

ers, according to previous media reports, have stated that they were more comfortable with a probe into the allegations being done by external sources as against agents of the Force, for fear that the investigation would be compromised.

Over the last few weeks, police ranks have been engaging media operatives, whereby

they have been detailing alleged corrupt practices by their colleagues who have been allegedly receiving protection from very senior police officers within the Guyana Police Force.

The matters range from the reissuing of a weapon to a policeman who was reprimanded and removed from front-line duty after he had an ongoing

matter involving a firearm but managed to be sent back to front-line duties and reissued a weapon despite his ongoing investigation.

There was also the claim that numbers for several police officers were found in the mobile phones of three bandits who were killed by the police during a shootout, and where a

number of mobile phones, cash, police gear and other items were recovered.

The police have denied that the telephone numbers of serving members were found in those phones.

Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan had also called for the claims to be investigated thoroughly.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Republic Bank scales up security … following fraudulent activities regarding customers’ accounts

REPUBLIC Bank Limited (Guyana) in a statement has confirmed that customers having difficulty in processing online transaction and being required to call customer care is as a result of additional security measures that the bank has implemented in collaboration with VISA due to a “brute-force” attack, which resulted in the fraudulent activity that the bank has been experiencing.

In May, Republic Bank issued a statement confirming that some customers were affected by “fraudulent activity” via their international Visa One ATM cards. Subsequently customers have found that they are not able to do online payments with the Visa service, and are required to call customer care to “activate” online payment. RBL says the bank is working on putting a toll free number in place.

“Customers who experience difficulty in attempting online transactions using their VISA OneCard are therefore asked to contact Customer Support using the following numbers: 1-800-271-4725 or 1-868-625-1200. Efforts are being made to obtain a toll free number in the shortest possible time frame,” the bank explained in a recent statement. The measure is said to have been implemented since June 8, according to a source. The activation

process sees persons being required to notify the bank of whatever online transactions they wished to engage in and provide details of the website where these transactions were being made. After doing so, customers would have to wait for one hour for the local main office to give an ‘all-clear’ before proceeding with the transactions. The activation lasts for 24 hours, and customers are required to call to re-activate the service every day.

“It could be challenging for persons who have certain businesses that need to do things over a longer period of time, it can be stressful to have to call in to them daily to get this thing removed from the card. That’s a challenge, that’s all I can say about my experience,” noted one affected customer who recently had need to activate her card to do an online transaction. “What you find is that the number aren’t toll free, and especially during certain hours like during the middle of the day or during the afternoon time you waiting there for like 10 – 15 minutes and you can’t get somebody on the other side to pick up.

When they pick up they only clear you for online transaction for just 24 hours.”

RBL says the measure is temporary.

“The Bank sincerely apologises for this temporary inconvenience and seeks your

continued understanding as we work towards a permanent solution with the safety and security of our valued customers being foremost in those considerations,” the bank’s statement read. “As earlier advised, this unusual activity was detected by the Bank’s monitoring systems, and in order to reduce the opportunity for fraudsters to continue the attack, the Bank in collaboration with VISA implemented additional authorising measures. These temporary measures have resulted in some legitimate online transactions being blocked.”

Some customers questioned why the bank never notified customers of the situation, with customers not becoming aware until they are unable to make their payments. “[Friday] morning I put money on the card and tried buying some stuff and the card kept getting declined so I went into the bank. I just asked what’s going on and they said they have put a hold on the card, I said so why wasn’t I notified that y’all put a hold on the card, because they call me when they have to get stuff or when I have to pick up stuff so it’s not like they don’t have my information or haven’t contacted me before. They didn’t answer my question. The guy just write down a number and told me call it and he said it would only be open for 24

‘House-to-house ...

From page 3

institution. Guyana is an independent country with its own independent laws,” the State Minister said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings told reporters that she met with the European Union (EU) and will be meeting with other members of the Diplomatic Community to explain the reason behind government’s call for house-to-house registration.

Attorney-at-Law, James Bond, said government has “right a lot of wrongs” and has made tremendous progress over the past four years. “We feel if we allow a list that is so bloated to tarnish and hamper that progress that we have been able to achieve, then we would do the Guyanese people a disservice,” Bond told reporters. He said in order for government to fulfil its mandate, a credible list must be in place.

The attorney said the opposition leader must be cognisant of the fact that no one can dictate to GECOM how it ought to conduct its operations. GECOM, he reiterated, approved the conduct of house-to-house registration, and must be allowed to carry out its functions.

“GECOM is a constitution agency.

Attorney-at-Law James Bond GECOM has every power and right under the Constitution to decide how they proceed and if they say look we need three months, four months, six months, nobody could come and tell them, they need one month or two months,” he explained. As an attorney, Bond said he does not believe that the CCJ will dictate when elections should be held.

Bond told reporters that government has

Republic bank hours,” commented another customer.

RBL is Guyana’s largest bank. The Trinidad-headquartered bank is scheduled to own approximately 51 per cent of both assets and deposits of Guyana’s banking systems following the announcement last year November that the bank was buying over the operations of Scotiabank in Guyana, and nine other countries. That sale is still to be finalised, as it is being investigated by the central bank. The bank is said to have already begun repaying customers who had money deducted from their account for unauthorized online shopping a payments caused by the “brute-force” attack. The bank reported that over $5 million has already been dispersed.

“Brute-forcing” is con-

sidered a common security risk that most institutions that offer international debit and credit cards can usually protect against, however it is possible for cases to slip through the cracks.

Brute-forcing is a trial and error method where by continually using changing sequence of numbers hackers can try to guess your bank card information - such as your account number, card expiration date, and the CVV number – all the information necessary to make an online payment, and with enough tries they can eventually correctly guess anyone’s bank card information leaving just about anyone exposed to fraud.

By developing means of making hundreds of guesses simultaneously, hackers can have all of someone’s bank

learnt from the two recent land mark cases, and have not lost in no way.

“That’s a word you never use, lose. How could you say we have lost cases in the CCJ when the position is clearer? Knowledge is power, and learning is power….and we have learnt now that this is how we must do things, do things this way, do things that way, and we have learnt as a country,” Bond said.

He said Guyana won, and it is now on the right track. Alluding to recent international reports, Bond said the country is making significant process and the world is taking note.

card information within seconds. Republic Bank Limited (Guyana) says this was the case in its most recent situation. “Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited recognizes that over time, customers have come to depend on and trust the convenience of its international VISA OneCard in meeting their online and other banking needs. Recently however, there was what is described

by VISA as a Brute-Force attack.

Once that information is obtained, the fraudsters attempt numerous transactions at online merchants globally. While many of these attempts failed, some were also authorized resulting in those customers’ accounts being debited,” a statement from the bank explained,” the bank said.

“The only people are crying out are those disgruntled few at Freedom House. CFATF is happy with us. The UN is happy with us. The (anti) Trafficking in Persons (organisations), they are saying never before we have seen so many successes in this country, the DEA is happy with us…the only people [who are not happy], [are] them down at Robb Street,” Bond told reporters.

Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, was among the City Officials who joined with the government supporters to call for house-to-house registration.

Supporters of the APNU+AFC calling for GECOM to be given the opportunity to continue the process of house-to-house registration ahead of elections

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Hydromet Dept. launches new climate data reading service

IN an attempt to provide reliable and readily accessible climate data at high resolution to decision-makers across Guyana, the Hydromet Department launched its “Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS)” initiative on Thursday at the Herdmanston Lodge.

ENACTS is led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and is an exclusive, multi-faceted initiative designed to bring climate knowledge into national and regional decision-making by improving availability, access to, and use of climate information. ENACTS provides strong climate data, targeted information products and training that is relevant to user needs, enabling them to apply climate information to decision-making with confidence.

With ENACTS, users will be able to understand natural variability in temperature and precipitation over national, regional and district scales and assess the impacts on development outcomes. They will also comprehend climate sensitivity to map populations and systems at risk of climate variability and change.

In addition, users will be able to improve the timing and scale of climate-sensitive interventions and design early-warning systems.

Giving brief remarks at the event, Chief Hydromet Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings, said that the event marked a significant milestone for Guyana in the provision of climate services.

“The products and tools now being made available have the potential to improve the access to a wide array of climate information and will also, hopefully, boost public confidence in locally generated products from the hydromet service,” he noted.

to be informed by Climate Services.

Cummings indicated that since the National Consultation four years ago, the Hydromet Service has been “taking steps in addressing the barriers which prevented the service from delivering under the bias of our stake-

Chief Hydromet Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings According to Cummings, the quality of data that the Hydromet Department is now capable of providing suggests that there will be an improvement in the quality of products and services that they generate. He added that over the past months, significant work has been done in training the Hydromet Department’s staff to utilise the tools that are provided under the ENACTS initiative.

He noted that the Hydromet Department has been able to take steps to improve the ability, access to, and use of climate information and services, through the work that is being done under the initiative. “Over the past months, we have been able to control climate data, rainfall and temperature, from stations across the country and to merge quality ground data, satellite and [re-analyse] products to produce greater rainfalls and temperature data across Guyana,” Cummings explained.

Early this week, the Hydromet Department was able

to expose a number of stakeholders to ENACTS and it is their hope that time they would have a large number of people utilizing the tools and products that are becoming available.

According to Cummings, the Hydromet Department hosted a National Consultation on climate services in 2015 which brought together representatives of key climate-sensitive sectors including agriculture, Public works, organisations involved in disaster reduction, the Guyana Energy Agency, the University of Guyana, the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

The main goal of the consultation was to identify gaps between the Climate Information and Services provided

by Hydromet. The National Consultation on climate services aimed to facilitate the gaps between hydromet, the user organisations, the climate research community, decision makers and planners in key sectors, where decisions and practices need

A section of the attendees at the Hydromet Department’s “Enhancing National Climate Services” launching ceremony

holders, but also, significant effort has been directed towards the provision of the basic services expected from a National Hydromet Service.”

He indicated that in order to address the gaps, Hydromet, with the support of national, regional and international partners, have

invested in training staff in numerous areas, including weather forecasting, water resources management and hydrological forecasting, hydro geology, water quality monitoring, public communications, seasonal forecasting and the provision of climate services.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

GRA urges Jagdeo to honour tax obligations … says LOO sheltering under presidential immunity

COMMISSIONER General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godfrey Statia, has called on Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Bharrat Jagdeo to honour his tax obligations.

“He should also honour his tax obligations like every other citizen. He is reminded that contrary to his earlier statements in the press that

he is not required to, he has an obligation to file his tax returns and declare his income from all sources rather than sheltering under the veil of presidential immunity,” Statia said in a letter to the media on Friday.

He was responding to claims by Jagdeo that the GRA was involved in irregular practices. Statia specifically

referred to the Friday, June 7, 2019 edition of Kaieteur News, and more recently in the June 17 edition of the Guyana Times, where Jagdeo stated that the GRA seized and disposed of hundreds of luxury vehicles that never made it to the register for want of entry, were never auctioned, but were fraudulently transferred and found their way into the

Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Godfrey Statia hands of people sympathetic to the government or “given to family and friends” resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue. He specifically alluded to two land cruisers with Venezuelan registration numbers, and stated that he has and will supply the evidence.

Referring to Jagdeo, Statia said Section 13 of the Income Tax Act clearly states that only his official emoluments shall be exempt from taxes. “I have said it before and I repeat, politicians need to refrain from statements which impugn the character of public servants and agencies that serve the public under the guise of purported parliamentary privilege.

Mr. Jagdeo as the opposition leader has a moral and legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others and follow the laws of Guyana by not encouraging officers of the GRA to break their strict duty of confidentiality. I will not delve into the Kaieteur News article as to his imported vehicle since I honour the laws that the GRA administers, and I adhere to the strict doctrine of confidentiality.”

According to the GRA Commissioner-General, he is usually dissuaded from responding to statements in the press when made by politicians, and especially those whom “I deem to be leaders, or previous leaders who held the highest positions in government, and had direct influence and responsibility over the administration and the laws that govern the authority.”

However, Statia said when such statements are misleading, filled with innuendos and allegations of fraud, create public mischief, and are meant to tarnish the efforts at rebuilding the reputation of the agency that he heads, he is forced to respond.

SALE OF LETHEM VEHICLES On the issue of the sale of vehicles, Statia said the Guyana Revenue Authority confirms that two vehicles

– manufactured over eight years ago – were duly seized from a repeat offender in mid-December 2018, and not in May 2019 as alleged

by Mr. Jagdeo. “They were forfeited in February 2019 in accordance with section 225 of the Customs Act for failure to produce the pertinent customs declarations and supporting documents.”

The GRA boss quoted Section 225(2) of the Customs Act which states that, “all seizures lawfully made under the customs laws or any other law shall be deemed to be taken and condemned and may be sold or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the comptroller may direct.”

The two motor vehicles, because of age, location and condition with exposure to elements of weather, had deteriorated significantly which may have caused mechanical and electrical damages and rendered same unserviceable, Statia said, adding that to prevent a total loss of revenue, the GRA found it prudent to invoke the relevant provisions of the Customs Act and disposed the motor vehicles accordingly.

“The authority will not disclose any additional information in relation to this subject, since it has strict duty of confidentiality and must adhere to those rules in accordance with the provisions of the Revenue Authority Act, Chapter 79:01. The process of registering motor vehicles is fully automated and cannot in any way be manipulated and ‘backdated’ as alleged.”

VEHICLE DISPOSAL Further explaining the process of disposing of vehicles, Statia said there are generally two categories of vehicles disposed of by the Guyana Revenue Authority – Want of entry vehicles and seized motor vehicles.

Want of Entry vehicles are disposed of, by way of sealed bids, after the said vehicles are placed in the official gazette and subsequently advertised if claims were not made during the mandated claim period.

He said sealed bids were introduced in late 2016 for the very reason of collusion and revenue loss.

According to him, interested bidders are given the opportunity to examine the assets before submitting the actual bids. The award goes to the highest bidder once the bid is equal or above an amount sufficient to pay all duties, expenses, rent and charge.

However, Statia explained if he/she fails to honour his/ her obligations as the award-

ee, the motor vehicles may be re-advertised or the Commissioner-General may dispose of same in accordance with Section 90 (4) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01 which provides that “If any goods on being offered for sale as aforesaid cannot be sold for a sum sufficient to pay all duties, expenses, rent and charges, the same may be destroyed, or otherwise disposed of as the Commissioner-General may direct.”

On the issue of Disposal of Want of Entry or Seizures, Statia said these are done, at all times, in a fair, impartial and transparent manner with the Internal and State Auditors playing their respective roles. Consequently, the GRA welcomes any audit by the Auditor General who audits such transactions on a yearly basis, and reports his findings to the Public Accounts Committee.

Regarding disposal of seized motor vehicles, under sections 218 and 224 of the Customs Act, the Commissioner-General may, given the nature of the offence, allow the individual in question to pay a fine in lieu of court proceedings or he may dispose of the seizure as he deems fit accordingly.

The GRA head said in some instances, seized or Want of Entry motor vehicles are disposed of by way of assignment to other state entities such as the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Ministry of Health and other departments that require resources for its effective functioning.

This has always been the practice and the exercise of such discretion and is not unique to Guyana.

Notwithstanding the wide powers given to the Commissioner-General to dispose of seized vehicles as he sees fit, such disposals are done in a fair and consistent manner to ensure maximum collection of revenues by the State, Stattia underscored.

He said despite the numerous assignments to government agencies, the revenue collection for such seizures and want of entries increased over 2013 to May 2019 which allowed for increases in the total collection of the Enforcement Division as follows: 2013 – $154.5M; 2014 – $185.7M ; 2015 – $210.3M; 2016 – $268.5M; 2017 – $349.2M; 2018 - $646.2M. 2019 to date – $750.1M. “Let the public be the judge of where the billions went and to whose family and friends benefitted from 2013 to present,” the letter concluded.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Lindeners call for credible registration … mount peaceful protest at Mackenzie “CREDIBLE registration for credible elections!,” was one of the chants of scores of Lindeners who held placards in front of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Mackenzie Office, before marching through the streets of Mackenzie as they intensify their calls for house-tohouse registration to be held, before elections are called.

The protest was organised by Member of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira, who in a passionate address, affirmed the government’s position, that house-to-house registration must

opposition’s presidential candidate and more so, the government is eager to go to the polls, since there is certainty that the confidence of the people has been restored. “How can you compare a general to a Private, a man who is imminently qualified with legitimate certificates to a candidate whose details are questionable? The government has done a lot to gain the confidence of the electorate to go back in office,” he said.

The protestors also stressed on the point that youth must be given a chance to vote.

This was also affirmed by the many youths

A section of the protestors with placards in front of GECOM’s Mackenzie Office be completed before elections are called.

He reiterated that contrary to the opinion of many, the APNU-AFC Government is not afraid of early elections, but it must not be done, disenfranchising, particularly the youths, from exercising their democratic right to vote. “We want you to understand very clearly, that your government, that your President, is not afraid of elections, we have never been afraid of an elections, matter of fact, we have gone to the polls on many elections, knowing that the list was padded, now that we are in a position of good governance, the President has stated unequivocally, that there is a need for credible registration,” he said to loud applause.

President Granger, he said, outmatches the

who were part of the protest. They said they are enforcing the notion that they must vote at the polls. One youth who has reached eligibility status, Doron Duggan, said that his name is not on the list and he must vote at the next elections. “I came out because I want my voice to be heard, I think all youths should take it seriously and do the same.

Another protestor, Dolores Gibbons said, “We cannot have elections without houseto-house registration, we have thousands of dead people on the list and the list must be sanitised,” she said.

The Lindeners joined hundreds of other protestors across Guyana who also expressed the notion that registration must be held, before elections are called.

A section of the crowd protesting in Linden on Friday

MP Jermaine Figueira leads the march along with another Lindener calling for new registration

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Broadcasting, publishing victims’ identities in sexual offence cases attract $2M fine – judge warns

By Rabindra Rooplall MEDIA operatives can be charged for publicly broadcasting, transmitting or reporting the identity of a witness or complainant in a sexual offence case, and if found guilty, a fine of $2M will be ordered by

the court.

This was disclosed by High Court Judge, Justice Joanne Barlow, during a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) media sensitisation forum on the coverage of domestic abuse and sexual offences.

The event was held on Friday at Parc Rayne, Rahaman’s Park, Houston, East Bank Demerara.

The judge noted that if the court and the police are vigilant, media operatives can be charged and placed before the court for not complying with the Sexual Offences Act 2010.

She said the media must ensure that the witnesses and

High Court Judge Justice Joanne Barlow complainants remain anonymous in the news reports and unnecessary graphic details ought not to be disclosed.

“Every attempt must be made to avoid unnecessary graphic details. Sometimes even when you are reporting at the beginning, not the sentencing, something happens and the first news item comes out, and the details are revolting,” the judge said.

Justice Barlow said that no victim or survivor wants the public to know of his or her trauma and terror experienced during any ordeal, to be placed in the public domain.

“You didn’t name her, or identify her, but she reads that article, and she knows that the unnecessary details concern her. Members of the media, I know sensational juicy stories sell, but at the end of the day, we have to make it easy for the witnesses, and the complainants to feel that they can come forward and tell their story, and not have to live with a stigma,” the judge said.

She explained that a sexual offence is one of the things that never die and no one wants anyone to know such has happened to them.

In giving an example, Justice Barlow said “imagine your child going to school and your daughter mashes somebody’s toes, and

she goes home and tells her mother, and her mother says ‘tell she don’t mash your toe when she was small her father raped her’. If we want people to feel comfortable, to come forward and tell their story, then reporting has to be [done] in a way to assist us all in keeping as much of the details out of the public domain.”

Meanwhile, Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George said the media need to adopt guidelines for the reporting of domestic violence cases, particularly the homicide cases.

She said it is important that there is fair, accurate and sensitive reporting of sexual offences and domestic violence cases.

“These are deeply personal cases that have traumatic consequence not only for victims, but their families, especially children. And in this era where stories are online and maybe in the cloud forever, these stories can lead to longer term trauma for persons as they can be more easily retrieved and rehashed, not only by journalists, but by all and sundry whether for positive or negative reasons,” the Chief Justice said.

According to Justice George, responsible reporting is important because it raises awareness about such issues and how persons should address them.

“It gives courage to victims to report and seek assistance without the fear of sensational reporting,” Justice George noted.

The judge noted that the fear of public embarrassment and ridicule for victims is very real, and laws will have to be enabled in the future to seek in camera hearings of criminal cases that are domestic-violence related like the provisions in place for sexual offence cases.

However, during the interim, the Chief Justice said responsible reporting should be practised around; accountability, dignity, accuracy, equality, images and sensitivity to different cultures and religions.

She explained that the report should focus on the

Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George perpetrator and speculative, sensationalist and trivialising language should be avoided.

Underscoring that fatal domestic homicides are crimes of control and not crimes of passion as suggested by the media, Justice George said at the end of such stories, information on where a victim could receive help should be added.

Justice George said media guidelines are a training tool and reference point to new and upcoming journalists on best practices.

The Sexual Offences Act 2010 was enacted, placing special emphasis on women and children, who are most vulnerable, and are usually the most likely victims of sexual abuse. With this bill, all offences that are in violation of the law are clearly spelt out, as well as the penalties for such crimes.

According to the Act, a sexual offence is any sexual violation on an individual that includes rape, and any other form of sexual assault, such as touching or causing the complainant to touch a third party in a sexual way.

Also in attendance at the event were UNICEF representative to Guyana and Suriname, Sylvie Fouet; Principal Magistrate, Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus; and Professor Paloma Mohamed.

A section of the gathering at the event (Adrian Narine Photo)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Gov’t commissions $161M medical annex at Diamond –– plans in the pipeline to further expand facility

By Navendra Seoraj THE days of renting facilities to store medical drugs and equipment are coming to an end. At the commissioning of the extended Supply Chain Management Complex at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, said that the facility will be further expanded.

“We recognised that we need to make an investment, so we said why not have our

to store drugs and medical supplies.

The extended area is expected to reduce the number of “offsite locations” for the storage of supplies and drugs.

“As part of our commitment to SDGs, we have to take care of the wellbeing of our people and give consideration to bridging the gap of limited storage,” said Minister Lawrence, adding that the administration recognised that there is need to take a leading role in providing funding for the extension of

government’s need to ensure proper storage at a primary location, but also because the ministry has been expanding the medical services which are offered to citizens.

Over the past few years, every hospital has been able to have specialised services, which means that they also required additional supplies of medicine to fulfill the services offered.

In that regard, Minister Lawrence believes that the commissioning of the bond

Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence and other officials cut the ceremonial ribbon to officially commission the facility (Adrian Narine photo) own place by investing in a building where we can provide these services, since the renting of buildings has been a fiasco,” Minister Lawrence said, while making remarks at the ceremonial commissioning of the annex at Diamond on Friday.

After recognising the need to build capacity, government invested some $161M to ensure that there is additional space and capacity

the Materials Management Unit (MMU) of the ministry.

Speaking about the facility, the minister said the government now has a warehouse with greater storage capacity, which can increase the procurement of drugs and medical supplies, a move deemed intrinsic to the delivery of healthcare.

According to Minister Lawrence, the expansion of the facility is not only tied to

is an attestation of the government’s commitment to providing access to safe and quality medicine.

“Even as we expand, I trust that other regions will take seriously, the building of storage facilities within the regions so that they can also collect their quarterly supplies and store it in the regions so that distribution can be timely in the far-flung communities,” said the min-

A section of the new annex (Adrian Narine photo)

ister.

While making forward steps in terms of storage, government has already initiated talks of further expanding the MMU facility.

Minister Lawrence said the current expansion is just the first step for the MMU bond and in 2020; the aim is to get more funds to have

additional space in order to meet all the necessary requirements.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, Colette Adams, said the MMU facility was constructed in 2010 and commissioned in 2013, She said the facility was the first state-of-the-art drug

storage facility in the country. It occupied the space of 2,442 square metres and accommodated 1,493 pallets, 13 refrigerators and other items.

With the expansion, the facility now has 428.5 square metres of space and can accommodate a further 284 palettes.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Gov’t intends to ‘heed’ recommendations of US 2019 TIP report –– Ramjattan cites ‘good work’ of ministerial task force

CITING the “good work” of Guyana’s ministerial task force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP), the authorities here will be acting on recommendations made by the United States Department of State in its 2019 TIP Report.

This was noted by Chairman of the Task Force, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan.

The US Department of State on Thursday lauded the efforts of the government to increase funding

for TIP victims, as well as its ability to identify and assist more victims for the third consecutive year, citing Guyana’s ability to demonstrate “serious and sustained efforts” in combating the issue.

The report also pointed

out that the Government of Guyana met fully, the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

On Friday , Ramjattan, in remarks, noted that the Government of Guyana is pleased to acknowledge the release of the report and that the task force accepts the Tier One placement, with the belief that “it is testament to the work of the task force, Guyana’s anti-trafficking units, non-governmental organisations, the general public through increased reporting, and significant contributions made by partners beyond the shores of this Cooperative Republic, including the United States Department of State itself.”

It is the third consecutive year Guyana has ranked in Tier One, and Ramjattan noted that it signals that the country’s efforts to combat the crime have been so recognised.

He called on ‘john public’ to continue to report instances of the crime.

Ramjattan said that the report included a number of recommendations for improvement and to this end he said that the APNU+AFC government intends to “heed these as it has done for recommendations in past reports.”

He said that recommendations in the report focused on victim services outside the capital and for males and children; increased investigations and prosecutions; finalisation of victim identification procedures; more training in anti-trafficking for stakeholders, including diplomats; additional victim protection; and, case monitoring.

In this regard, he said that the task force and other anti-trafficking entities locally will incorporate these recommendations in their 2019/2020 work plans.

Ramjattan said that the Ministry of Social Protection’s Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit – a key Task Force member agency – has since established a Victim Care Facility out-

side the capital along with a space for males to go along with already existing children spaces.

While providing a breakdown on the efforts of the authorities, Ramjattan said that more investigations and prosecutions occurred with the Guyana Police Force’s Trafficking in Persons Unit – another key Task Force member – just about doubling its activities from the previous year (2017).

He said it should also be noted that in the first half of 2019, two individuals have been convicted on a combined number of eight charges – two for trafficking in persons, two for unlawfully withholding identification papers, which is another offence under the TIP Act, and the other four for related offences.

Ramjattan said the period under review in the 2019 report also saw 16 local training courses and sessions on trafficking in persons held with assistance from other task force member agencies and other key anti-trafficking stakeholders.

He said those training courses benefitted a total of 446 local anti-trafficking officials, inclusive of frontline officials, diplomats, interpreters, community advocates, educators, civil society, and medical practitioners, among others, combined with the numerous awareness campaigns to increase the available information as regards trafficking in persons in Guyana.

Of note, he said, is that “steady strides” have been made regarding the finalisation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) due to a collaborative project with the International Organisation Migration (IOM) and efforts to increase the level of security provided to victims while investigations and prosecutions are underway. He said calls to the hotline continue to be responded to, managed and recorded

Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan by the Ministry of Social Protection’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons Unit.

Ramjattan detailed that the member agencies of the Task Force include the Ministry of Social Protection; the Guyana Police Force – Investigations, Immigration and Intelligence; Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, who also launched a Trafficking in Persons Unit in 2018, as well as the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In addition, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs; Ministry of Communities; Ministry of Natural Resources; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Legal Affairs; Indigenous Peoples’ Commission; Food for the Poor; Help and Shelter; and Guyana Women Miners Organisation are members of the body.

“Each of these agencies has played a part in ensuring that Guyana maintained its Tier One status and the task force is very grateful for their commitment,” he said.

In order to report suspected occurrences of trafficking in persons, members of the public can call the TIP Hotline numbers – 227-4083/623-5030.

Ramjattan also encouraged the public to go out in numbers to trafficking awareness activities which would be held in commemoration of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – July 30, 2019.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Bartica joins countrywide call … scores picket GECOM office for new registration

By Gabriella Chapman

THE township of Bartica on Friday joined the countrywide calls for new registration before the conduct of the impending general elections.

On Friday, residents turned out in their numbers for a peaceful protest exercise in front of the Guyana Elections Commission office on First Street and Fifth Avenue, Bartica. The protest comes on the heels of the recent Caribbean Court of Justice ruling, declaring that the no-confidence motion against the government in Parliament last December was validly passed, and as such, elections should be called within 90 days.

However, it is the stance of the government and many other members of society, primarily the young people, that house-to-house registration must be conducted before elections can be held.

Scores of people from Itaballi, Byderabo, Agatash, and Batavia, ranging from the ages of 18 to 40, all braved the weather and joined in with residents of the township to demand their democratic right to fair elections.

Leading the protest were several officials including Mayor Gifford Marshall, Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford and Holbert Knights. The protesters marched around in a circle with their placards held high, chanting, ‘credible registration for credible elections’, while others shouted ‘no registration, no elections’.

Marshall told the Guyana Chronicle that the people of Bartica believe in the principles of a democratic government. “We have seen firsthand, the fruits of democ-

racy when local government elections were restored after 20 plus years. Bartica became a town, our infrastructure was significantly improved, and vital services are now available to the people. As a consequence, we stand firm and call for a clean voters’ list. A list that gives every eligible voter an opportunity to elect a government of their choice.

Therefore, we are here today, demanding from GECOM, house-to-house registration, which will pave the way for credible elections. Credible registration, for credible elections,” Mayor said emphatically.

YOUTHS DISTRAUGHT Speaking with some of the young protestors, they all expressed how distraught they would be if they are not able to vote at the next elections.

One vocal 19-year-old young woman said that she believes it would be robbery to many young people, if elections are called without registration being conducted first. “I believe it would be total robbery to not be allowed to vote for the first time in my life. I am very much excited to cast my vote and contribute to the development of my country, and if registration does not occur, they are taking away my chances and my right as a young woman.”

The young woman said “I know there are many others like myself, who turned 18 since the last elections. They all would be deprived the opportunity to vote because our names will not be on that current list.”

Another youth, from the Byderabo village, said that this demand and protest

movement is not a partisan one, but rather, it is a cry for every youth of the country and every eligible voter who may be deprived of the chance to vote.

“I’m out here today, not with any party affiliation, but just a young member of society, resident in Bartica, who was always looking forward to be old enough to give my vote. In May of 2015, I was 17 so I was not able to vote.

Last week I turned 21, and being able to vote is what I was looking forward to. Now if elections are to be held without any registration happening, it means I will have to wait another five years to vote. I am not here marching as a party member, but I am crying out as a youth, and speaking on behalf of other youths, that we need registration before any elections,” the young Byderabo resident said. Speaking with other residents who were not present at the protest, many of them voiced the same sentiment. Residents are prepared to continue their protests until directions are given to have the house-to-house registration conducted.

President David Granger, earlier this week, said it is now clear that the Guyanese people need certainty about the future and a way forward.

“I want to outline a clear path. It is essential that we hold fair, free and credible elections. We cannot proceed on the current list of voters.

It is outdated and corrupted. It may hold as many as 200,000 incorrect entries.

What’s more, those who have reached the age of 18 years since the last election are not on it.”

According to the President, the Constitution entitles all citizens over the age of

A section of the protesters in Bartica yesterday

Mayor Gifford Marshall leading the crowd of Barticians in the peaceful protest in front of the GECOM office 18 the right to vote. “It is a democratic imperative that house-to-house registration be completed swiftly so we can have an election at the earliest opportunity. The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Patterson, has previously informed me that the Commission will be ready to hold elections in November 2019.

This will be after the completion of house-to-house registration. I now await a recommendation for a specific date from GECOM and I will then issue a proclamation.”

He noted that the country will be heading to the polls and there is going to be a crucial choice for our citizens. “A choice to decide the future of our country and, most importantly, the future with regard to jobs, living standards, and education for our children,” President

Granger said.

He alluded to the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Guyana in which the fund indicated that the government was on the right path in respect to management of Guyana’s oil resources.

“Guyanese will be given

the choice to elect a government they trust to continue on this path, to keep Guyana moving forward, to secure a better life for every family with the united APNU+AFC coalition, or risk our future by returning to the past,” the Guyanese leader said in his address

NGSA results to be announced on July 3 THE Ministry of Education is set to announce the 2019 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results on Wednesday July 3, 2019.

Pupils who wrote those examination on April 17 and 18 will be anticipating the results, since it will decide their placement in a secondary school from September this year.

This year, 14,715 pupils wrote the NGSA exams compared to 14,551 pupils in 2018. The pupils wrote four subjects, namely English Language, mathematics, social studies and science.

Prior to the examinations, Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, said teachers had employed several innovative teaching techniques to ensure that all pupils are adequately prepared for the NGSA. “We would have realised that the pupils had certain shortcomings, especially in mathematics, science and social-studies, and what we did, we went on a trial and error basis to see if we would’ve covered and get the children back in order,” she explained.

In 2018 results in English Language climbed to a 60 per cent pass rate, but mathematics, which made a significant come back in 2017, declined from 42 per cent to 38 per cent.

In the case of social studies and science, 46 per cent of the students who wrote the examinations gained 50 per cent or more.

The Guyana Chronicle was told that all of the administrative regions recorded improvements in English Language with significant results in Regions Two, Seven, Nine and 10.

Government had injected $48M into emergency intervention to strengthen the teaching capacity of mathematics at the Grade Six level in public schools in 2016.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Itaballi to get ICT Hub in two weeks

AFTER making requests for an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Hub, and other initiatives to help the youths in their community, the residents of the river front community of Itaballi, in the Mazaruni River, were elated to hear about plans that are already in place to have a facility erected in the community.

The residents were also promised two weeding machines and a supply of footballs to aid in sports in the community. Minister of Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, on Wednesday happily related to the gathering of residents at the Itaballi Community Centre that officials from the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) had already visited and assessed the area to have

Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally. Also present was Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall.

The visit to the community was a wider part of the government’s “Meet the Public” event which was held on Tuesday at the Bartica Cenotaph Square. Realizing that not all residents would’ve been able to attend the Bartica event, the government did a wider outreach, visiting a number of outlying communities in the CuyuniMazaruni region.

One of the issues raised by residents was the need for more to be done for the youths in the community.

One particular resident noted a number of school dropouts in the area and called for the need for a vocational education institute to be established in the community.

activities.

“We’re happy that they come and look into the needs of the community,” commented Alicia London, a mother of six. “We have issues with the young people, with the shops encouraging the young people, selling them alcohol and have them going at the nightspot drinking and sporting. You have a lot of people here selling drugs, illegal drugs to the young people. I’ve never seen it, but people would talk and you have people using it because we would see them smoking all over the place.”

Aside from the need for the ICT hub, the residents called for other infrastructure, including stable electricity, and to have the roads done.

However, with the area being a mining community, with many heavy-duty trucks de-

Minister of Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, speaks with residents of Itaballi during a community outreach on Wednesday. Looking on at the head table is Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Incorporated, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles; Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally and Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon. the hub created.

The hub is expected to be installed in as little as two weeks, while the minister also committed to returning with a number of electronic tablets to hand over to the children in the community.

“This government is making sure that the hinterland communities are connected. And we have a special project where we are going to create more of these ICT hubs.

There is a big and bright future for us but you have to take these opportunities and use the opportunities,” Hughes said.

She was at the time speaking to the gathering of residents who came out to listen to what was said and air their concerns to a delegation of government officials, which, aside from Hughes, included Director General at the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon and

Hughes noted that while a vocational institute can be the goal in the long term, with the coming on stream of the ICT hub youths in the community will be able to do online courses. She noted that her Ministry, just a few weeks ago, was in discussion with a notable local company that is offering internationally recognized online courses in heavy duty machine operation and repairs.

“In the area of education and connectivity, I have seen how we’ve used technology to bridge the gap, and how it can be applicable in a place like Itaballi. We were already looking to some of the training modules and programmes and those we can bring to Itaballi,” Hughes noted. Residents noted that they very much welcome the initiative, fearing for the youths who they say are beginning to turn to a number of negative

stroying the roads; this too would have to be addressed.

One young lady called for the need for more scholarships to be offered to the children in the community.

Herself a scholarship student, the young lady wanted to see the same opportunity afforded to her fellow residents. On that note, Harmon noted that all scholarships offered to citizens of the country are open to residents of the Itaballi community, and measures will be put in place to ensure those youths desirous of applying are afforded the opportunity to do so. “Those issues that you’ve noted about scholarships we will address them. I would like you to follow that up and get that information to us and we will make the necessary information so that people can get that information,” Harmon told the young woman.

Minister of Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, in the Itaballi community on Wednesday “We have over 100 scholDespite free transportaarships for Guyana School tion being provided to take of Agriculture, so if there secondary school children are people here with that in the community across the yearning for tertiary educa- river, it was noted that there tion, get that information to were some issues with the us and we will ensure that boat. Community Developthose opportunities are given ment Council Chairperson, to our young people.” The Collen Singh, noted that as promised weeding machines it relates to the boat, it was are expected to go for use at an issue with errant captains, the Itaballi Primary School; and though they have been teachers also had other com- written to, they have been plaints, and a list was imme- uncooperative. “Yes, we are diately supplied to Mayor grateful for the school boat, Marshall, who was charged we are thankful under the with addressing the issue. President initiative and reMarshall noted, however, that ceived the boat. We are very many of the issues raised are grateful to this administraconcerns that are supposed to tion. But we have some probbe addressed by the regional lems with the captain and administration of the Cuyuni how they operate. Sometimes Mazaruni. He urged residents they overload the school boat to not shy away from putting for their own personal reathe pressure on the regional sons, we recommended that administration to perform they use the wharf, which their functions. is why we built it. I wrote a

is welcomed by learners letter to say we would like the boat to go there but they’re not paying heed. They must respect that and not take things for granted,” Singh noted.

Towards the end of the visit, Minister Hughes shared that she was very happy with the engagement , saying “It gave us an opportunity to see Itaballi and have an opportunity to interact with the residents and get first hand what are the challenges that they face. It gave us a chance to analyse these challenges and look for solutions.

Like most hinterland communities, in some respect they are locked off from some of the bigger city and towns in Guyana and they have very specific needs in terms of access to education, infrastructure in terms of roads,” she noted.

Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, greets a resident during his visit to the Itaballi community on Wednesday

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Man jailed for pretending to be his brother in order to obtain passport A 48-year-old man was, on Friday, jailed for three months for making a false declaration in order to obtain a Guyana passport.

Michael Sookraj of Friendship Public Road, East Bank Demerara, confessed that, on June 20, 2019, at the Central Immigration and Passport Office, Georgetown, for the purpose of procuring a new passport, he signed a written document stating that he was Lloyd Sookraj.

The man appeared before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Police Prosecutor, Ceon Blackman, told the court that Sookraj received his first passport and went to the island of Curacao.

However, the defendant

overstayed for three years and was deported to Guyana earlier this month. His passport was blacklisted and he was given a three-year ban from entering Curacao.

On June 20, 2019, the defendant went to the Central Immigration and Passport Office and applied for a passport with the name ‘Lloyd Sookraj, who is his brother.

Blackman noted that Sookraj was nabbed after he produced his brother’s documents and the immigration officer realised that he was not the owner of the documents.

He was arrested and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters and while there, he cooperated with investigators.

The defendant told the

magistrate that he was living in Curacao for the past three years and had a child with a woman. However, when he was deported to Guyana, the mother of his child died and the child was left in the care of his sister.

Since his passport was blacklisted, Sookraj said he decided to “tek a chance” and used his brother’s identity to get a passport so he can travel to Curacao to look after his three-year-old son.

“You know it was wrong and you attempted to do it,” Magistrate McGusty told Sookraj as she explained that he had other options rather than committing a crime.

“It was a chance I was willing to take for my son,” Sookraj said in his response to the magistrate.

Michael Sookraj The magistrate told Sookraj that based on his honesty and the fact that he did not waste the police and the courts’ time, he would be sentenced to three months imprisonment along with a fine of $25,000.

Mahdia minibus driver remanded for trafficking $14M in cannabis in spare wheels A ROUTE 72 minibus driver, who was busted with $14M worth of cannabis which was stashed inside two spare wheels on his minibus, was, on Friday, remanded to prison on a drug trafficking charge.

Seon Bakker called ‘Akbar’, of Wismar, Linden, appeared before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Particulars of the charge alleged that, on June 15, 2019, at Mabura, Upper Demerara River, Bakker had

Seon Bakker 28.148 kilograms of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

According to the police statements presented in court

by Police Prosecutor, Gordon Mansfield, ranks at the Mabura Police Outpost intercepted minibus bearing registration BNN 7872 which was being driven by Bakker.

The minibus was searched, along with the two spare wheels which were strapped on the roof of the vehicle. The wheels were inspected by the police and suspicions were raised since it seemed bulky.

The police decided to cut them with an electric saw and several packets of com-

pressed cannabis fell out.

According to the prosecutor, when Bakker was arrested, he told the police that while in Georgetown, a man named ‘George’ asked him to deliver the two wheels to a man named ‘Greg’ at Madiha.

Mansfield objected to Bakker being released on bail, citing the seriousness of the charge. The magistrate upheld the prosecutor’s objection and remanded Bakker to prison.

The matter was transferred to the Linden Magistrate’s Court for July 10, 2019.

Murder accused deemed fit to stand trial … following psychiatric evaluation AFTER being on remand for the past two months for the murder of an 18-year-old footballer, Shamar Harvey, was recently deemed fit to stand trial following a psychiatric evaluation.

Harvey, 21 of King Edward Street, Albouystown, was charged for the murder of Christopher Mansfield also known as “Gully Bop”, at Cooper Street Albouystown on March 31, 2019.

During his second ar-

raignment, Harvey’s attorney, Ashley Henry, had told the court that her client was a patient at the Berbice psychiatric hospital and was released days before Mansfield’s’ murder.

The attorney requested that a psychiatric evaluation be done on Harvey.

The request was granted

by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.

Recently, the psychiatric report done by Dr. Bhairo Harry deemed Harvey mentally fit to stand trial.

When the matter was recalled on Friday, June 21, 2019, the Chief Magistrate set July 9, 2019, for the commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Mansfield.

The matter is prosecuted by Inspector Neville Jeffers and a total of 16 witnesses are expected to be called.

According to police reports, the victim and the accused had a misunderstanding in the area on the day in question. As a result,

Shamar Harvey Harvey and another male pursued the victim and shot him while he was on his way to play football. The victim sustained severe injuries which led to his demise.

Investigations were further carried out which led to the arrest of Harvey.

Kitty man who stole bicycle to rob senior citizen gets bail A 25-year-old man, who stole a bicycle to rob an elderly woman, was on Friday released on bail after making an appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Akeem Kurt called ‘Keron Williams’of William Street, Kitty appeared before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly, to answer to robbery and larceny charges.

Particulars of the first charge alleged that Kurt, on June 19, 2019, at William Street, Kitty, stole a bicycle valued $15,000 from Jamal Cummings.

It is further alleged that on the same day, also at William Street, Kitty, Kurt, with the use of personal violence, robbed Joan Bailey of a $1,000 handbag, $600 cash along with an umbrella worth $1,000.

According to the police statements presented in court by police prosecutor, Sanj Singh, Bailey is a 64-year-old woman and on the day in question, after Kurt allegedly stole the bicycle, he rode up to the woman and snatched her handbag.

Singh explained that Kurt pushed the woman to the ground and rode away. The elderly woman raised an alarm and public-spirited person managed to nab Kurt with the items in his possession.

The magistrate released Kurt on a total of $65,000 bail with the condition that he report to the Kitty Police Station every Monday.

The matter is adjourned until July 26, 2019.

Man jailed for six months for stealing friend’s phone CHIEF Magistrate, Ann McLennan, on Friday, June 21, 2019, sentenced a 22-year-old man to six months’ imprisonment for stealing a man’s cell phone.

Akeem Bennett of Supply, East Bank Demerara was first arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for the simple larceny charge on April 18, 2019.

Particulars of the charge read that on April 14, at Seawall Road, Georgetown, Bennett stole a Samsung cell phone valued $85,000, from Travis Ramphal. Bennett denied the charge and was later released on $10,000 bail, which was paid by Ramphal.

Since that hearing, Bennett was not attending court which caused the Chief Magistrate to issue an arrest warrant for him.

On June 20, 2019, the police arrested Bennett at a location at Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and he was brought to court the next day.

When Bennett appeared before the Chief Magistrate, he opted to change his plea and told the court that he was hiding because he was unable to find a job to repay Ramphal.

Police Prosecutor, Gordon Mansfield, in his address to the court, explained that when the police arrested the accused at Soesdyke, it was revealed that he goes by another name – Morvin Maikou – and not Akeem Bennett.

The name Akeem Bennett, Mansfield explained, is the name of the defendant’s former employer and an investigation is expected to be conducted into him giving false information to the police.

The Chief Magistrate told the defendant “Your smartness outsmarted you… speak the truth and the truth will set you free.”

The man was handed a six-month jail sentence and the Chief Magistrate said to him, “In sentencing you I am still being lenient because you’re a young man and I don’t want to make you into a criminal.”

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Malinga punishes England

(ESPNCRICINFO) - LASITH Malinga conjured a vintage spell, part-time off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva struck three times in nine balls, Angelo Mathews scored a stubborn 85 not out, and Avishka Fernando made a rollicking 49 to shock tournament favourites England and give Sri Lanka enough reason to dream of a spot in the semi-finals.

There were other heroes as well for Sri Lanka. Nuwan Pradeep bowled some mean inswingers with the new ball and then returned for the last over to have No.11 Mark Wood feathering behind to deny Ben Stokes, who remained unbeaten - and heartbroken - on 82 off 89 balls.

Isuru Udana backed up his excellent pace variations with two sharp catches - one off his own bowling and the other at the edge of the boundary. Kusal Mendis (46), like Mathews, had produced his highest score of the tournament to haul Sri Lanka to a scrappy 232 for 9. All of this resulted in Sri Lanka admirably defending that meagre total against a mighty England side that had topped 300 in eight of their last nine ODI innings. This occurred despite some late monster blows from Stokes.

He threatened a jailbreak even after England were reduced to 186 for 9 in the 44th over. He farmed the strike and teed off, violently carting

on with him. Had he safely negotiated that ball from Pradeep, England would have only had to deal with the change bowlers, with Malinga having bowled out too.

An upset did not seem likely when Root was un-

Lasith Malinga celebrates the wicket of Jos Buttler as Ben Stokes looks on. (Getty Images)

Udana for back-to-back sixes and then hitting the returning Pradeep for back-to-back fours. Stokes found a single off the fifth ball of the 47th over and Wood needed to see off just one ball.

However, it wasn't to be as Pradeep's near-perfect full ball in the channel grazed the thinnest of outside edges and capped a remarkable comeback for the ragtag, seemingly down-and-out team.

Malinga had struck with the second ball of the chase to pin local lad Jonny Bairstow lbw for a duck and, not much later, sent James Vince back caught at slip. He returned though, to whip up some old magic, dismissing the other local boy Joe Root for 57 and Jos Buttler for 10 in successive overs.

While Root was late onto a glance and was snaffled down the leg side, the ball that bested Buttler was a Malinga special: an inch-perfect leg-stump yorker that burst

under his bat and had him lbw.

Just as Sri Lanka were ramping up the pressure on England, Jeevan Mendis bowled a half-volley and a dirty long-hop that was smoked into the stands by Stokes. Enter Dhananjaya.

Exit Moeen. The batsman had just aerially slog-swept an off-break just away from the reach of deep midwicket, but he still ventured another big blow off the next ball. He was deceived in flight and picked out Udana at long-off, for 16.

Then, in his next over, Dhananjaya took down both Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid to leave England at 178 for 8. It became 186 for 9 when Udana tricked Jofra Archer with his back-of-thehand variation.

Stokes then went bang, but Wood, who had hoped at the halfway mark that England might not need him with the bat, couldn't hang

Zverev tumbles out of Halle quarters after defeat by Goffin

(REUTERS) - WORLD number four Alexander Zverev’s quest for a first title at the Halle Open came to a grinding halt, as the two-time runner-up was stunned 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) by David Goffin in the quarter-finals yesterday.

Belgium’s Goffin saved seven of 10 break points to overcome the tournament’s second seed and home favourite in two hours and 16 minutes, to set up a semi-final clash with Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who beat third

seed Karen Khachanov 6-2, 7-6(4).

Although Zverev fired 14 aces in the match, his erratic serve was on display at the Gerry Weber Stadion as the 22-year-old made nine double faults to lose to Goffin for the first time in three meetings between the two.

Goffin had a chance to seal the match in the third set at 5-4, but Zverev saved two match points to take it to a tiebreak, where the Belgian triumphed after winning all his service points.

Later, Roger Federer survived a mid-match scare to get past Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and reach the last-four at Halle for a 15th time as he chases a 10th title in the tournament.

Up next for Federer is Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert who progressed after defending champion Borna Coric was forced to retire from their quarter-final, after dropping the opening set 7-5 due to a suspected back injury.

flappable in the early half of the chase, playing percentage shots on a slow, grippy Headingley pitch. He got cracking with a serene punch behind point, but Malinga and Pradeep didn't allow him to keep going with similar

fluency.

Root, though, soldiered to his fifth 50-plus score in six innings this World Cup. However, it was his dismissal that triggered a full-blown collapse.

28

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Ferrari fail in Vettel Penalty appeal (BBC) - FERRARI'S attempt to overturn the penalty that cost Sebastian Vettel victory in the Canadian Grand Prix has been rejected by Formula 1 officials.

The team met with race stew-

ards at the French Grand Prix yesterday to argue for a right to review the incident. But stewards found that Ferrari had presented "no significant and relevant new elements which were

unavailable to the parties at the time".

The decision means Ferrari are still waiting for a victory in 2019.

Vettel said that he was: "Disappointed. Very disap-

Sebastian Vettel removes the boards after the Canadian GP

pointed. For myself, for the team, for the sport and the fans.

Just a disappointment.

"It was not just the decision - so we felt we had a chance but the FIA (the world governing body) didn't share that opinion."

Ferrari presented a number of what Laurent Mekies, their deputy technical director, said were "quite overwhelming" new evidence.

This included analysis of telemetry from Vettel's car, onboard camera views from both cars; a camera facing towards the German's face during the race; GPS analysis of the cars' trajectories; and a witness statement from the driver himself.

One piece of evidence submitted by Ferrari was television

analysis by former F1 driver Karun Chandhok, an unusual step for a team to take in such a situation.

But stewards ruled that all of those were available either before the end of the race, or were not new and significant.

Vettel had been found guilty of rejoining the track in an unsafe manner and forcing Hamilton to take avoiding action.

The German was given a five-second penalty, which promoted Hamilton to victory after a race-long battle between the two cars.

The verdict overshadowed yesterday at the French Grand Prix, which Mercedes dominated, Hamilton leading team-

mate Valtteri Bottas in the first session and the positions reversed in the second.

In the afternoon session, Hamilton had a spin on what should have been his fastest lap and ended the session 0.424 seconds behind his team-mate.

But the two were well out of reach of the rest, led by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was 0.649 secs off the pace and 0.079 secs ahead of team-mate Vettel.

McLaren's Lando Norris was an impressive fifth fastest, ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who had a difficult session.

Golden Jaguars hunting three...

FROM PAGE 30

beating from fans, especially on social media, for the team he fielded, since many believe that he had better players on the substitute bench.

Asked about what Guyana’s line-up will look like in today’s crucial game, Johnson confirmed, “There will be one and two changes.

I think, you don’t want to make wholesale changes. As a positive we did well, and anything that you did well in, you don’t want to make huge changes.

Yes, there will be a few changes and some tweaking to be done. We spoke to players one on one where they probably could’ve done better, but there wouldn’t be wholesale changes.”

DON’T COUNT US OUT! Following the team’s 4-0

defeat at the Allianz Field in Minnesota, some Guyanese were harsh on Golden Jaguars, some warranted, while some were just out of pure ignorance. However, most persons had written Golden Jaguars off from advancing out of a tough ‘Group D’.

Asked what his message to fans back in Guyana would be, especially those who don’t see Guyana progressing, Johnson simply said,, “Don’t count us out.”

“This group of players are used to be written off, they’re used to this underdog mentality. We know where we are.

Panama probably think they’re going to stick five or six past us. The U.S. probably thought that even at 4-0 they’re disappointed because they didn’t stick nine or ten, so we’re realistic.

“We’re a realistic group, but we can’t get wrapped up in the comments and what the people say. What we will do is do everything possible within our means to make sure that we’re competitive and that we are ready for Panama and we will give our best.”

Guyana could still advance if they win against Panama (and not concede many goals) and hope that the USA beat Trinidad and Tobago tonight.

This will put Golden Jaguars on three points with Panama and the USA will have six points.

A draw against Panama tonight means that they will still have to hope the USA beat Trinidad and Panama and that will set up a MUSTWIN game against the ‘Soca Warriors’ on June 26 in Kansas City.

29

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

Hope and Pray!

West Indies seeking to avoid elimination (CMC) – WEST Indies are hoping “frank discussions” will trigger the turnaround in form necessary to upset unbeaten New Zealand in today’s critical encounter at Old Trafford, and keep alive their already fading hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup. The Caribbean side have managed only a single win in five outings and with just three points in their column and four games left in their campaign, a positive result against New Zealand has now become imperative if they are to avoid early elimination.

And captain Jason Holder told reporters here yesterday the significance of the contest was not lost on the team, pointing out they were focussing on improving their execution following their last defeat against Bangladesh on Monday in Taunton.

“I think we still have a possible chance to qualify for the semi-finals, but we’ve just got to take it game by game,” said Holder.

“This encounter with New Zealand is very important. We all know what’s at stake and we just have to come and bring our A game. It’s as simple as that.”

He continued: “I don’t think it’s a situation where you’ve had to be tough. We’ve had a few frank discussions within the dressing room to find ways in which we can improve ...

I think all teams would get themselves in that situation at some point.

Jason Holder’s West Indies will be seeking redemption when they take on New Zealand.

“We’ve had some pretty good discussions over the last couple of days and tomorrow is just a day to deliver.”

West Indies have not delivered since their opening game against Pakistan three weeks ago at Trent Bridge when they crushed the Asian side by seven wickets, after blasting them out for a paltry 105 with hostile fast bowling.

Since then, they have lost three of four matches as their strategy of aggressive short-pitched bowling has backfired.

Not only that but their much vaunt-

ed batting which piled up a mammoth 421 against New Zealand in a warm-up game in Bristol last month, has also failed to spark.

Criticised by several great former West Indies players earlier this week for their “one-dimensional” approach, Holder acknowledged his side needed to be more adaptable in responding to game situations.

“It’s just a situation where we’ve just got to play smarter cricket.

We’ve just got to seize the crucial moments in the game – I don’t think we’ve done that well enough here in this tournament so far,” Holder lamented.

“I don’t think the ground would pretty much hamper us thinking it through a lot better. We’ve got to be a little bit clearer as to our plans, make sure we make adjustments on any given day if our plan A doesn’t work.”

He added: “I think the only thing we can do is come and play a solid game of cricket … against New Zealand. I think there’s been enough talk going around for quite some time.

“And we’ve just got to play cricket now. I think we’ve done enough talking as a group. It’s just a matter for us to deliver.”

West Indies will need to conjure up a special performance against a New Zealand side yet to falter in the tournament and against whom they have lost six of their last seven ODI meetings.

They will, however, take confidence

from their warm-up contest against the Black Caps when their batting group produced an awesome glimpse of their capabilities in a 91-run win.

Pointing to the performance, Holder said it remained a template for West Indies going forward.

“It just shows what we can produce.

It’s a situation where we’ve just got to pull on those resources, remember the things that we did in that game,” the all-rounder noted.

“And it just shows that when we’re at our best what we can produce. I just think the guys just need to be clear, need to be calm and just execute their plans.”

New Zealand are second in the standings on nine points, one point behind leaders and reigning world champions Australia.

SQUADS: WEST INDIES – Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.

NEW ZEALAND – Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi, Henry Nicholls, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Jimmy Neesham.

Russell not fit for New Zealand match (CMC) – INJURY-plagued all-rounder Andre Russell is expected to sit out West Indies’ do-or-die World Cup encounter against New Zealand today.

Included in the squad despite a chronic knee injury that has tormented him in recent years, the 31-year-old has struggled throughout the tournament and has failed to last a single game.

Yet again, Russell was in visible pain during West Indies’ seven-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in Taunton last Monday, and Holder told a media conference yesterday he was unlikely to suit up.

“We’ve still got a few niggles within the group. We’re trying to manage niggles the best we possibly can,” Holder said.

“I think one guy who probably may be definitely out tomorrow is Russell. I don’t think he’s fit enough to go tomorrow, but everybody else should be good to go.”

Russell is viewed by West Indies management as a match-winner but his lack

of fitness has been palpable, leading to questions being raised about his continued inclusion in the side.

He has bowled only 19 overs in four matches and taken five wickets, and his batting has also failed to live up to expectations, yielding a mere 36 runs from three innings.

Russell has been one of several fitness concerns in the Windies camp with fast bowler Shannon Gabriel and opener Evin Lewis also sidelined with injury early in the tournament.

Holder acknowledged there were a few fitness issues ahead of the New Zealand encounter but none was serious enough to rule players out of contention.

“It’s a situation where we’re trying to manage them as best we possibly can,” he explained.

“I think it’s normal for every cricket team to have lots of niggles going around, but we have quite a few of them, and we’re just trying to manage them as best we can.”

Injury-plagued West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell

30

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday June 22, 2019

Rutherford returns to 2019 Global T20 … Keemo Paul to make debut for Montreal Tigers

By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada – All-rounder Sherfane Rutherford, who fashioned a masterclass unbeaten 134 to lead Cricket West Indies (CWI) B to an unlikely victory over pre-tournament favourites Vancouver Knights in the first qualifier of the inaugural Global T20 Canada, will be donning colours for Edmonton Royals when the 2019 version gets underway here on July 25.

The draft for the second season was held yesterday in Mumbai, India and according to the organisers, defending champions Vancouver Knights will take on home team, Toronto Nationals, in what promises to be a thrilling opening encounter.

Rutherford is joined by his fellow Guyanese and Delhi Capitals teammate Keemo Paul who will be making his debut for Montreal Tigers.

Rutherford’s bound-

ary-studded innings, which earned him the man-of-thematch award and heaps of praise from those who witnessed the superb knock, which included 10 sixes and 11 fours, almost singlehandedly swung the game CWI B’s way after early inroads from Vancouver Knights bowlers.

Other Guyanese-based players drafted include Dilon Heyliger who has been retained by Montreal Tigers, Mark Montfort and Jeremy Gordon who will be turning out for Toronto Nationals and 17-year-old Mathew Nandu (Vancouver Knights), son of former Guyana Under-19 leg-spinner Arjune Nandu, reportedly the youngest player in the draft.

With last year’s runners-up West Indies B opting out of this year’s tournament, their place has been taken by Brampton Wolves, whose mayor Patrick Brown recently boasted that the city has the biggest cricket fans

Keemo Paul

Sherfane Rutherford

in Canada.

The tournament has been shifted from the Maple Leaf Cricket Club (MLCC) ground in Mississauga to a new venue in Brampton but the exact location is still to be determined.

The inaugural draft had three rounds where each team’s retained marquee players were announced.

Toronto Nationals, retained Brendon McCullum, India’s

hard-hitting left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, and the aggressive West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard.

Vancouver Knights retained the universally famous West Indies players, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, along with former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

Montreal Tigers have

Saint Anne’s are champions

SAINT Anne’s won the AL Sport & Tour Promotions’ National Sports Commission Region 4, 22nd annual end-of-schoolyear ‘Edward Cobenna Memorial’ Primary Schools Windball Cricket Champions trophy tournament played at the National Gymnasium and organised by Sports Officer A. Munroe.

In the Region 4 Finals: East Coast champions Clonbrook batted first and scored 88-1 with Tyrone Marcs hitting 28 (4x6), Prince

Lewis 18 and Kevon Aiggle 18.

East Bank champs Saint Anne’s then reached 92-0 with player-of-the-tournament Emmanuel Lewis hitting 76 (10x6) and Brandon Narine 14 to record the victory.

The 3rd place game saw Supply rattle up 121-0 with Kenutte Salvador 57 (6x6) and Christopher Goriah 55 (7x6).

Mahaica, in response, fell short at 39-3. Darrell scored 14, Lawrence Frank 10 and Azara Franklin 10.

Upper East Bank Zone

finals: Supply scored 127-0, Player-of-the-final L. Salvador made 76 (8x6) and Kelvin Davis 43.

Hauraruni hit 94-1 in reply, with Jedediah George 46 (5x6) and Josiah Ross 22.

Hauraruni’s Isaiah Ross received an award for the most promising player.

East Bank Finals: – Supply 92-0, Kenitte Salvador 42 (6x6), Kelvin Daniels 28.

Saint Anne’s 95-0, E. Lewis 56 (6x6), B. Narine 28, to claim the victory.

for Winnipeg Hawks, and Phil Simmons for Brampton Wolves.

According to chairman and promoter of Global T20 Canada Gurmeet Singh, “The inaugural GT20 season received great appreciation from players and fans alike and we hope to make it an even better tournament this time around.

We are bringing in even more exciting talent and it promises to be an awesome second season.”

Defending champions Vancouver Knights, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Edmonton Royals and Winnipeg Hawks are the other teams vying for the US$500 000 first prize.

The tournament will comprise a total of 22 matches, including the three playoffs games. The final is scheduled for Sunday, August 11.

Golden Jaguars hunting three points against Panama tonight

By Rawle Toney in Cleveland (compliments of Let’s Bet Sports)

Saint Anne’s students collect the winners’ trophy.

former Australian captain George Bailey, West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera as its marquee players.

Edmonton Royals continue with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, current South African captain Faf du Plessis, and all-rounder Ben Cutting.

Winnipeg Hawks retain Australian cricketer Chris Lynn, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and off-spinner J.P. Duminy while Brampton Wolves have former WI captain Darren Sammy, Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and New Zealand’s Colin Munro.

In addition to the players, the host also announced the coaches of the respective teams, integral to the players and the team. Toronto Nationals have Geoff Lawson, Donovan Miller for Vancouver Knights, Tom Moody for Montreal Tigers, Stephen Fleming for Edmonton Royals, Lalchand Rajput

THE defeat to the USA (4-0) is behind coach Michael Johnson and his troops, and tonight at the FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, the Golden Jaguars will go hunting for three points against Panama in their second game of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Panama got off to a successful start against Trinidad and Tobago, beating the ‘Soca Warriors’ 2-0 in Minnesota, but they too will be approaching today’s contest, which gets going at 17:30hrs, as a must-win, which makes the game with the Golden Jaguars very intriguing.

Today’s clash marks the first official international encounter between Guyana and Panama, since the Golden Jaguars had played the Central Americans in an unofficial friendly back in 2012, during their (Guyana) preparation for the penultimate round of the CONCACAF 2014 FIFA qualifier tournament Speaking at the pre-match

press conference, Johnson said that he’s looking forward to the game against Panama, adding, “I mean after the defeat against the USA, we obviously take a lot of pride and a lot of positives from that game. You know, it’s been really great listening to the world of football over the last few days, some of the comments from international managers and premier league.

“It’s been really positive, particularly about the first hour and hopefully we move forward with those positives and it will help us as we play against Panama.”

Speaking more specifically to the game, Johnson believes that the playing field today will be closer than that of the game against the USA, telling Chronicle Sport, “It’s not going to be level by all account (because) this is a team that played in the FIFA World Cup last year, so they have a lot of experience and their team composition will show you that, a large number of their team have the most caps for Panama but this is a Cup final for us and this is an oppor-

tunity for us to do something.”

Johnson spoke of Pamana’s physical style of play, but noted that it will be a plus for Guyana, given the fact that most of the team play their football in England, which is a given style.

Some changes will be made In the game against the USA, Johnson went with what some pundits are calling “an experimental line-up”, playing Emery Welshman as his lone striker, while Callum Harriot and Brandon Beresford (mostly defensive) played the wings.

Neil Danns was the distributor in the game, playing in the centre midfield position, while Keanu Marsh-Brown and Elliot Bonds played just behind.

Matthew Briggs started in the left-back position, Liam Gordon (debutant) played next to him, while Terrence Vancooten was the central defender, and in the right-back was debutant Jordan Dover. Akel Clarke started in goal.

The 45-year-old former Jamaican International took some TURN TO PAGE 28 ►

31

GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

ExxonMobil U-14 Girls National Cycling Championships this action commences today weekend despite GCF conundrum

THE female aspect of the ExxonMobil U-14 Secondary Schools football tournament will commence today at the Ministry of Education ground.

Four matches are carded in the event which is also sponsored by the Ministry of Public Health, under the Chronic Disease Unit, and Demerara Distillers Limited under the Pepsi Brand.

Fixtures: Girls U-14 10:00hrs Ann’s Grove vs Tucville 10:00hrs Lodge vs New Campbellville 10:50hrs East Riumveldt vs St Stanislaus 10:50hrs St Mary vs Charlestown Boys U-14 12:00hrs Dolphin vs St Stanislaus College 12:00hrs Carmel vs Marian Academy 12:50hrs President’s College vs Uitvlugt 12:50hrs Brickdam vs Golden Grove 13:40hrs Cummings Lodge vs Charlestown 13:40hrs St Mary vs North Ruimveldt (Multi) 14:30hrs Plaisance Orphanage vs Annandale 14:30hrs Richard Ishmael vs Ann’s Grove 15:20hrs New Campbellville vs Lodge 15:20hrs Kingston vs East Riumveldt 16:10hrs Tutorial vs St John’s 16:10hrs Queenstown vs Tucville

Action in last weekend’s round of the ExxonMobil U-14 Schools Football tournament

… Defending national champions to boycott event

By Michelangelo Jacobus

ALMOST three months have passed since the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) was due to call its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and executive elections. The deadline mandated by the federation’s constitution was March 31.

However, the embattled president Horace Burrowes just last month (May 22 to be exact) revealed that Guyana would host the Caribbean Junior Cycling Championships in August.

At the time, Burrowes was questioned about the legality of the federation and the issue of whether or not elections would be called - questions that he blatantly refused to answer in front of Bartica Mayor Gifford Marshall and National Sports Commission’s (NSC) Director of Sport, Christopher Jones.

Now here we are, a month exactly from that announcement, still no elections, still no resolution in sight, but the GCF’s National Cycling Championships will pedal off today, beginning with the time trial (TT) events in the Masters, Male, Female Senior, Junior and Juvenile categories in the orfer.

Races continue tomorrow with the respective road races.

However, last year’s defending TT champions, Raynauth Jeffrey and Claire Fraser-Green, have opted to boycott the National Championships.

In a joint statement on social media just yesterday, the

National TT Champion Raynauth Jeffrey has decided to boycott this year’s National Cycling Championships.

All set for official practice THE lights are green for today’s official practice session of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) Drag race meet.

According to president Rameez Mohamed, yesterday, the club underwent the final phase of track preparation work in anticipation of tomorrow’s event.

“What we did is a little bit of (drag) strip work to ensure that the final phase of preparation for tomorrow’s event (is covered). We also added a few more crowd control measures as well, as we get ready to host the event.”

“All in all, I think we are going to have a great event on our hands. From what we have been hearing in the press and on the road people are really excit-

ed.”

“In addition to that, the White GTR is expected to be in competition. The guys had some issues last time around but it was up here today (Friday) and it was running well.”

The GMR&SC head reminded that all persons competing tomorrow must walk with the relevant safety gear before they are allowed to participate.

“You, the competitors need to understand that even though you might be registered, you still need to come with the right safety gear - that’s helmets, and what’s not. We are serious about this and we will not allow you to race without it.”

Admission to the June 23 event

stands at $500 for kids and $1 000 for adults with action beginning at 10:00hrs.

Other sponsors are Platinum Car Show, Supreme Bets, R. Kissoon Contracting Services, Deryck Jaisingh Trucking Service and Machinery Rentals, Del Ice Co., Mohamed’s Enterprise, B.M. SOAT Auto Sales, Prem’s Electrical, E-Networks, Motor Trend, Nexus Machine Shop, Power Line, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales, WindJammer Hotel, Cyril’s Taxi, A&R Jiwanram Printery, Blue Spring Water, Choke Gas Station, Special Auto, First Class Auto Spares and Sales, GT Tuners, West Coast Customs Washbay, Tropical Shipping and Imran Autoworks.

National female Champion Claire Fraser-Green duo announced their decision to the cycling fraternity, citing disappointment at the lack of transparency and organisation of the GCF and called for the holding of elections as soon as possible.

The statement read; “As the current double National Champions, we Raynauth Jeffrey and Claire Fraser-Green have made the difficult decision not to attend this year’s championships”.

It continued; “Whilst we acknowledge that this may be deemed disrespectful to the annual institution, we see no other way to express our grave concerns about the lack of transparency and consultation in all aspects of the running of the GCF. We are dismayed that the GCF is refusing to be held accountable.

“We stand with, and are grateful to those who are working hard to ensure a better future for cycling in Guyana. We urge the current GCF administration to hold elections as soon as possible. We wish all cyclists who take part this weekend all the luck in the world, and look forward to racing against them all again next year.”

Despite Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) boss, K. Juman-Yassin indicating that the entity would look into the GCF’s failure to call elections, nothing has yet come to fruition.

One can only hope that a timely intervention into that federation’s affairs will happen and the sport can move forward into a brighter future for the young athletes and cyclists.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Saturday June 22, 2019) 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) David Shepherd-46 matches (1983-2003) (2) Clive Lloyd (1975); Viv Richards (1979)

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Which WI has scored most World Cup runs without a century? How many?

(2) How many times England have played in World Cup finals? When?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Hope and Pray!

West Indies seeking to avoid elimination PAGE

29

Jason Holder’s West Indies will be seeking redemption when they take on New Zealand.

Don’t count us out!

Golden Jaguars hunting three points against Panama tonight

Team Mohamed’s/Magnus GTR being offloaded before practice today. (Car Culture/Neilon Dias photo)

PAGE

30

Coach Michael Johnson, Technical Director Ian Greenwood and Assistant Coach Charles ‘Lilly’ Pollard at the FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland at the team’s final practice session before their game against Panama

All set for official practice SEE STORY ON PAGE 31 ►

Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limited, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 226-3243-9 (General); Editorial: 227-5204, 227-5216. Fax:227-5208

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019