Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_08_16_2019

FRIDAY 16th August, 2019

' No.105731

CJ statement on NRR not an order

…AG says PPP sought similar order at CCJ and was refused SEE STORY ON PAGE 9►

…maintains GECOM can compile a register as was done in 2008 CAPE top performer Shanomae Milling

230,000 registered PAGE

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... as GECOM awaits CJ's written ruling to decide way forward on elections

PPP gives up …says will not contest chief justice's ruling on house-to-house registration

St Rose’s girl is CAPE top student PAGE

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PAGE

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…EDUCATION MINISTRY ACKNOWLEDGES MIX-UP

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

GECOM still to decide

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…awaiting written High Court ruling before deciding on way forward -over 230,000 persons registered so far, training of elections officials to begin

By Navendra Seoraj THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is awaiting the written High Court ruling before it decides on a way forward regarding the ongoing houseto-house registration.

“The question on the way forward, in some regards, was not determined…in the main because we are still not recipients of the written decision from the judge,” said Government-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander, following the first meeting of the commission with their newly-appointed GECOM Chairperson, Retired Justice, Claudette Singh on Thursday.

Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George-Wiltshire ruled that the ongoing house-tohouse registration, being undertaken by GECOM, is within the confines of the Constitution, and is therefore legal.

The Acting Chief Justice, on Wednesday, delivered her judgement in a case challenging the constitutionality of house-to-house registration brought before the High Court

by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, in which GECOM, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield, and Attorney-General Basil Williams were the named respondents.

Despite the ruling being public knowledge, Alexander said there are some members of the commission who prefer not to rely on reports and third hand information. In that regard, the commissioners have agreed to await the decision and convene a meeting shortly after, which would, hopefully, be before Tuesday.

“If we receive the decision on Friday, we would need a day to consider it, so I guess we would probably meet on

Monday,” said Alexander.

With a decision on the way forward still pending, Alexander said in his mind, house-to-house registration is still the available way to clean the Official List of Electors (OLE).

“I emphasised this because one could look to see, as we have done in the past, if there are other mechanisms that could provide for cleaning the list,” he asserted, adding that Claims and Objections do not provide the opportunity to clean the list.

Going forward, if the commission is to discuss other possibilities, Alexander said they would need to review the legal framework, but he contended that the legal framework always intended that persons who died should not continue to be on the list. He also said that persons who are not residents should not be on the list, since it is mentioned in Section 40 of the National Registration Act. The Chief Justice, however, ruled that persons who were previously registered, even if they now reside overseas, cannot be removed from the National Register of Registrants unless they are deceased or have been disqualified. As such, persons cannot be deregistered if they fail to register during the ongoing House-to-House Registration and should be allowed to vote in the area or district for which they have been registered. When asked about his thoughts on that part of the ruling, Alexander said he has not read the court’s decision and will not comment further.

With a lot to discuss, he said the commission is going to have a discussion on an elections plan the next time they meet. “We sat today and decided that the CEO (Chief Elections Officer) will come to us with scenarios that could

be used for the delivery of the election and it will include house-to-house registration, among other things.

as a result of House-to-House Registration. GECOM, he said, would have to decide whether it will appeal that

GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander

“I am not sure if it is going to be new…we had a problem in the past where there was a refusal to discuss certain things, but I think we are now in the mood of discussing and we are putting everything on the table,” said Alexander.

Attorney-General Basil Williams, in commenting on this issue on Wednesday, said: “The important thing about this is that overseas voting was abolished in Guyana, and that’s why the qualification of residency was an additional one that was facilitated under Article 159 (2) (c), which spoke about additional qualifications, could be arrived at by the passage of act of Parliament, and that’s why the National Registration Act and also the Representation of the People Act contain provision for residency,” the Attorney-General explained.

He added: “Residency is a very important aspect because that is the only way you can locate someone for voting.” Williams maintained that Article 159 (5) states that GECOM can compile a register as was done in 2008 when a new register was compiled

section of the ruling that addresses the removal of persons from the list.

“But what is very important is that House-to-House Registration is not unconstitutional; no date was ever fixed by the CCJ and she (Chief Justice) wouldn’t fix a date either, nor no election ought to be held within three months as they had contended and generally there was nothing that was asked for by the applicant that was successful,” the Attorney-General summarised.

For his part, Roysdale Forde, the attorney that represented Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, in association with Senior Counsel Neil Boston, told reporters that the elections body would have to decide its next move. “Subject to further instructions, of my own opinion at this present time, I believe that there is a serious ground, a serious flaw in the decision to that extent and I would advise my client to appeal. The issue was never raised as part of the pleadings in the document. You heard that the court dismissed every application filed,” Forde told

Sherima had highest rainfall- Hydromet Service

PARTLY cloudy and sunny skies are to be expected throughout Guyana with a few early morning passing showers in some coastal areas, with afternoon thundershowers likely over inland areas, according to the weather forecast for Friday, August 16.

Also, winds, with maximum temperatures of 30 ºC – 32ºC on the coast and 32 ºC – 35 oC in the hinterland, are also predicted.

Meanwhile, the highest rainfall of 50.0 millimeters was recorded

at Sherima in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), when rainfall data for 24 hours, measured at 08:00hours on Thursday August 15, 2019, were available for most of the stations.

This is according to information supplied by the Hydrometeorological Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, which also noted that High Pressure Ridge controlled the weather pattern over Guyana. It stated also that localised heating had given rise to thundershowers over some inland areas.

A review of Thursday’s weather

noted that sunny skies were observed throughout Guyana with isolated thundershowers over some areas in Regions Seven, Eight and 10.

Today, above normal high tides measuring 2.95 metres will occur at 04:29hours and again at 16:52 hours when it will reach a height of 2.79 meters.

Meanwhile, citizens are advised that the above normal high tide advisory is still in effect and will continue until Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

reporters outside of the courtroom. GECOM’s Attorney, Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus also indicated that he will be guided by the Elections Commission’s decision.

230,000 REGISTERED As the commissioners wait to deliberate on the way forward, the house-to-house registration process, which started on July 20, 2019, will continue. The commissioners were updated by the secretariat on how the process has been going. And, according to Alexander, the commissioners were told that over 230,000 persons have been registered so far.

With the registration process going smoothly, the commission is set to commence training of elections officials from this weekend.

The GECOM commissioner said that training will be conducted in Georgetown at 20 centres and after this weekend it will go beyond the city. It was reported that Justice George-Wiltshire ruled that the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana provide for the conduct of house-to-house registration as a form of verification – a position that was argued by the Attorney-General and the attorneys that represented the Chief Elections Officer – Senior Counsel Neil Boston and Roysdale Forde.

As such, she ruled that the June 11 Order published in the Official Gazette by the then Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson was in compliance with established laws.

The order paved the way for the house-to-house registration exercise to be conducted from July 20, 2019 to October 20, 2019 – a period of three months.

The order, cited as the National Registration (Residents) Order 2019, stated:

“Persons to whom this Order applies shall, in accordance with Section 6 of the Act, be registered under the process of house-to-house registration with reference to October 31, 2019 and the registration shall begin on July 20, 2019 and end on October 20, 2019.”

It also applies to all persons qualified to be electors and all who, on the qualifying date of October 31, 2019, shall have attained the age of 14 years old.

While the constitutionally mandated deadline for the conduct of elections subsequent to a No-Confidence Motion has passed (March 21, 2019), Chief Justice George-Wiltshire pointed to the fact that, to date, there is no date fixed for which General and Regional Elections would be held. She reminded the parties in the matter that Article 106 (7) of the Constitution includes a proviso through which the National Assembly, by a two-thirds majority of all elected members, could extend the period for the conduct of elections.

Nonetheless, with an election pending, the Chief Justice said the House-toHouse Registration could be affected in part. “The speed and timeframe within which House-to-House Registration may have to be conducted may be affected but it does not eliminate it as a verification process,” the Chief Justice explained while iterating that by virtue of Article 162 of the Constitution and the National Registration Act, house-tohouse Registration is not unconstitutional.

Five arrested in connection with Angoy’s Avenue robberies FIVE persons were arrested by ranks attached to the Criminal Investigation Department, Central Police Station, New Amsterdam, on Thursday in connection with a series of robberies in Berbice.

Guyana Chronicle has been reliably informed that among the five arrested, three are related while two others are said to have kept the stolen articles from rob-

beries committed. Several items, including jewellery and cellular phones were recovered from the men.

The gang identified themselves by the name “Scare Dem Crew”.

Last week, about five robberies occurred in Angoy’s Avenue. One person has since confessed to the robberies as police continue their investigation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

Israel bars two members of US Congress Israel is blocking two US Democratic lawmakers, who are prominent critics of the Israeli government, from visiting.

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were due to visit the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem next week.

Both have supported the boycott movement against Israel, but Israeli law allows supporters of the campaign to be banned from visiting.

President Trump earlier tweeted it would show "great weakness" if the pair were allowed entry.

Omar described Israel's move as "an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation".

Earlier on Thursday, Trump had taken to Twitter to urge that the two lawmakers be blocked from visiting,

adding that "they hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds".

Omar and Tlaib have both been criticised for their stance on Israel - but have denied charges of being anti-Semitic.

Israeli law blocks entrance visas to any foreigner who calls for any type of boycott that targets Israel - either economic, cultural or academic.

The law attempts to suppress the "boycott, divest, sanction" movement, which has drawn growing support across Europe and the US. Israeli officials had earlier said they would make an exception for the elected US officials, before backtracking.

According to US media, their trip was meant to begin on Sunday, and would include a stop at one of the most sensitive sites in the region - a hilltop

Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (left) and Ilhan Omar

plateau in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

They also planned to visit Israeli and Palestinian peace activists and travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Hebron. The trip to the West Bank was planned by Miftah, an organisation headed by Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi. Tlaib was planning to stay for two extra days to visit her grandmother, who lives in a Palestinian village.

WHO ARE THEY? President Trump, who has a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has frequently feuded with the lawmakers and in remarks widely condemned as racist, told them to "go back" to the countries that their families were from. Tlaib, a Palestinian American, was born in Michigan, and Omar is from Minnesota but was born in Somalia.

After the Democratic-led House of Representatives vot-

ed against the boycott against Israel movement in July, Tlaib criticised the country as "racist".

"I can't stand by and watch this attack on our freedom of speech and the right to boycott the racist policies of the government and the state of Israel," she said.

The House also voted to condemn hate speech in a move directed at Omar for her criticism of US support for Israel.

"It's all about the Benjamins baby," Omar had tweeted in a reference to the US $100 note, leading to allegations that she was using a negative stereotype for Jews. She later apologised, and said the tweet was meant to criticise lobbyists, not Jews. She also thanked "Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes".

A statement from the Israeli Interior Ministry confirming the ban said it was "inconceivable that those who wish to harm the state of Israel while visiting would be granted entry".

But only last month Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer said the two Democrats would be permitted to visit "out of respect for the US Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America".

In a statement on Thursday, Netanyahu said "there is no country in the world that respects the US and the American Congress more than Israel."

"However, the itinerary showed that the congresswomen's sole intention was to harm Israel."

WHAT'S THE REACTION? The US ambassador to Israel said in a statement that the US "supports and respects the decision of the Government of Israel to deny entry".

Israel "has every right to protect its borders against those activists in the same manner as it would bar entrants with more conventional weapons," wrote Ambassador David Friedman.

16 August, 2019 - 05:00hrs ~ 06:30hrs

Saturday August 10, 2019

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August 9, 2019

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0, 3, 0

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

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British woman Natalie Crichlow set on fire in Barbados

A British woman has died in Barbados after being doused in a flammable liquid and set alight while in bed.

Natalie Crichlow's "shocked and devastated" family are raising funds to repatriate her body.

Ms Crichlow, 44, of Colindale in London, was in Barbados to look after her disabled brother when she was attacked.

The mother of three had survived cancer twice and had two strokes in the past decade,

according to her niece.

Ashley Best said her aunt suffered 75 per cent burns to her body in the attack in Christchurch on 28 July. She died in hospital on 6 August.

Ms Best said: "The intruder broke in the house, then strangled her and then set her alight.

She went into hospital and died of her injuries.

"I do not understand why it happened and we are all in a state of shock."

Ms Crichlow, who was born in Luton, has three children aged 10, 20 and 26 who are "devastated" and want to get her back home to Britain for burial.

They have set up a crowd-funding page in an attempt to raise £8,000 to bring her body home.

Her niece said the family are concerned the Royal Barbados Police Force is not treating the death as a murder

investigation.

A spokesman for the local police told the Press Association no arrests had been made.

Ms Best said of her aunt: "For someone who had battled through so much to just be taken in this way and lose their life is just beyond understanding.

"She said she wanted to live life to the fullest because her life had nearly been taken from her."

Family friend Mitra Wikes

said Ms Crichlow was "a true survivor and warrior who endured so much in life but always kept going and had a true passion for living life to the max no matter what she had gone through".

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Our staff are supporting the family of a British woman following her death in Barbados, and are in contact with the Barbados police force." (BBC)

Ms Crichlow died of her injuries after being choked and set on fire while in bed

Blank-page book on Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro goes viral A 190-page book on why Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro "should be respected and trusted" has gone viral on social media after it emerged 188 of its pages are blank.

The author said it was a "protest" to force people to "come up with their own answers" on the controversial leader.

In a few hours more than 200 reviews were posted on the book's Amazon page.

Most of them praised the initiative but a few said they had been misled. The author said nobody had bought the book.

After it went viral online, a warning saying "Attention: satirical book" was added to its description on Amazon and the

man, has not commented on the book.The author, 30-yearold Willyam Thums from the southern city of Porto Alegre, described the book Why does Bolsonaro deserve respect and trust? as an "answer to the question that hasn't silenced Brazil".

"It's a protest," he told Veja São Paulo website (in Portu-

There have been protests against Mr Bolsonaro but he still is very popular among his supporters

book was listed as unavailable, O Globo newspaper reports (in Portuguese).

Mr Bolsonaro, who came to power in January, is a deeply divisive figure who has made racist, homophobic and mi-

sogynistic remarks. In recent weeks, he has been internationally criticised for the increasing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

The president, a former army captain and congress-

guese). "The idea is to not give any answer as I think Bolsonaro doesn't deserve anything."

On the two pages where there is text, Mr Thums describes the book as the "result of countless hours of work" offering an "exclusively impartial" view about the "undeniable merits" of Mr Bolsonaro.

He said he was inspired by a similar book about US President Donald Trump.

The book had gone unnoticed until Wednesday, Mr Thums said, when it began being widely shared on social media. Most of the reviews posted on Amazon supported the initiative.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

The fleeing informal economy

F

INANCE Minister Winston Jordan, on Wednesday, challenged the private sector to produce evidence to support a decline in business activities here and also a slowing down of the economy. At the time he made the challenge, he was releasing figures from the Mid-Year Report which shows a 4% growth in the economy, coupled with expansion in the construction sector and other areas.

What is also instructive based on the report, despite its four-year-long lament of a slowing down in the economy, the private sector here has increased its credit by 5.7 per cent to a total of $238.8B for the first half of this year.

Jordan made the call at a press briefing at his Main Street, Georgetown, office on Wednesday. “The PSC has a habit of trotting out statements and I have had a number of meetings with budgets sessions where statements are trotted out and they are hardly backed by figures, it’s just statements they throw out there about the economy is in decline; but where is the evidence of this and people will continue making statements,” the finance minister said. He continued: “Until people bring credible evidence, like the Bank of Guyana report, or the IMF report or Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report stating that there is a downturn, then they will just be statements. As far as I am concerned, they are irresponsible statements. Show me that your

sales have declined; you use to make $500M every month but now I am down to $350M, that is the first evidence, but then we have to get the numbers.”

It is public knowledge that for years Guyana’s economy saw two forces at work-the formal and underground. The extent to which the latter was allowed to hold sway in the society has been debated, though not refuted. The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government has always denied the presence or significance of the underground economy. To the average man and woman, the construction of massive buildings around the country and the opening of businesses, where the latter in some instances never see heavy customer traffic, contradicted any denial.

Professor Clive Thomas, in his several writings on the criminalised state—a term he used to describe Guyana under the PPP/C-has pegged the underground economy at around 60 per cent. In a 2014 interview with Kaieteur News, he said, “The phantom economy is what I call it…is being driven by three forces – tax evasion, evasion of regulatory oversight in terms of those agencies like the gold board, for example, and it is also driven by criminal forms who thrive on businesses that seek to generate gains for themselves in terms of theft from certain activities.”

Even those who deny or want to think Thomas’s figure is high, something has to be amiss in any society where government

would allow illicit economic activities and seek not to eliminate them. There was a time in this society when none would have doubted the influence of drug lords in the economy and state, with a forcible reminder being the infamous Saheed “Roger” Khan.

Aside from Khan’s questionable wealth, some of which could have been used in the purchase of assets, there was the full-page newspaper advertisement taken out by him admitting that he played a role in supporting government in crime-fighting. Crime-fighting is the purview of the state and where Khan was bold enough to make such a claim, which was not refuted by the PPP/C government, lends to further evidence of forces that were at play in undermining the legitimacy of the state and the safety of the people.

There can be no credible denial that the Guyana Revenue Authority, though conscious of the presence of illegal money, seemed constrained or reluctant to go after questionable characters. Ostentatious wealth was flaunted in the face of the state, whose government seemed unwilling to investigate and hold persons accountable to the law. Another factor in our polarised society is that those who dared to address the problem were dismissed, verbally assaulted, or accused of being envious of the questionably ‘industrious.’

Evidently, what may have been the appearance of legitimate business and investment might have well been funded with questionable (laundered) money propping up

the formal economy. The acknowledgement of this, however, does not ignore the cyclical nature of economies, where features of growth and the slowing down of growth are evident, or the need for corresponding acts to manage same.

Reservations by the international community -- governments, institutions and businesses -- have also been expressed, evident in the pressure brought to bear by the International Financial Task Force and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, to make Guyana compliant with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism standards. And whereas the PPP/C government sought ways and means to avoid tackling bad money in the system, apparently to lend perception of buoyancy, that the APNU+AFC government has taken this bull by the horns, is commendable. Sourcing the integrity of it, the persons involved, and the authentication of residency in money transactions, banking and otherwise, have formed part of the new regulatory system.

The fleeing informal economy had left many believing and to lay blame on the current government for the slowing down of economic activities, instead of regulating the economy to weed out the underground economy, which brings with it not only a false sense of prosperity, but many social ills unleashed on the society over the past few decades.

City Council urges citizens to adhere to city building regulations Dear Sir,

P

lease permit me the opportunity to address an important issue related to the City‘s building regulations. The fact is the construction industry is on the rise in the City. Hence, the Council is encouraging prospective builders to ensure that they observe the building regulations enshrined in the Municipal and District Council Act Chapter 28:01.

It must be noted that before the commencement of any construction within the in City, whether it is residential or commercial the builder should secure written permission; this comes in the form of a letter from the City En-

gineer. This is consistent with the Municipal and District Council Act 28:01 Georgetown Building by Laws (4) which states that: 4 ( 1)No person shall erect a new building or alter or add to any existing building or execute any structural works to any building unless he shall layover with such notice a plan of the new building or of the alteration or addition to the existing building or of the structural work for approval by the City Engineers.

(2)Also, every approval by the City Engineer of a plan shall be in writing at the foot of the plan approved. ( a) It shall state the purpose for which the building is intended to be used;

(b)It shall be drawn in ink on drawing paper or trace lines of good quality to scale of not less than one inch to every eight feet. (c)It shall show the ground position and outline of the new building, the elevation and dimension thereof and the distance of the walls from the boundary lines of the land on which it is proposed to erect the same and from every other building or erection on that land and, in the case of a new building of several storey thereof. (d)It shall show the position and dimension of every water closet, gully, drain or other house connection on the land; (e)In the case of alteration or addition to an existing

building, it shall show the position, outlined and the dimension of every part of the alteration or addition intended to be made to the existing building and also comply with the requirements of subparagraph( a)(b) of this by-laws; Before a plan is approved, the City Engineer checks the plan to ensure that it is consistent with the building by-laws.

The prospective builder is required to submit to the City Engineer’s Department; Three(3)copies of a building plan, certified copies of the ownership( Transport, Title, and Lease), current general rates receipt, geo-technical and design report and a processing fee of five thousand

dollars which is payable to the City Treasure’s Department.

It must be noted that the City Engineer’s Department is not the only entity that checks plans for conformity.

If the construction falls within a sewage area for example; Wortmanville, Bourda or Lacytown; the officers of the Guyana Water Inc. has a critical role to play in ensuring that the construction does not compromise sewage chambers located within the specific site.

Also, if the building is to be used for commercial purposes the Central Housing and Planning Authority is responsible for providing land use clearance.

However, what has been

observed is that some persons submit plans without the necessary prerequisites. There are cases where others have not met the requirements and would sometimes submit documents, and proceed without the written approval of the City Engineer.

The City Engineer's approval is vital, as it stays in accordance with the building codes, which falls under Chapter 28:01. The Council encourages prospective builders to visit the City Engineer’s Department so that they can be properly guided on the application process before proceeding with construction.

Regards Debra Lewis Public Relations Officer

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

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ABR proposes changes to Guyana’s tax structure Dear Editor

T

he African Business Roundtable (ABR) supports the idea of having the income tax structure of the country adjusted in a phased approach over the next five years.

The tax structure consists of the various taxes that are used to collect revenue on behalf of the government. The taxes include the income tax levied on individuals and businesses, estate and inheritance taxes, property taxes, production and consumption taxes, the trade

and travel taxes and the various miscellaneous taxes. The ABR specifically recommends that the personal income tax be phased out for Guyanese workers while the tax rate for businesses, especially agricultural and manufacturing businesses, be reduced significantly, if not eliminated altogether.

The ABR believes that it is the correct thing to do and the time is right to do so given the anticipated surge in government revenues from the oil and gas industry and the favourable capital formation achieved by the country within the last few

years.

Assessments and the most recent announcements continually show that the oil and gas industry will dominate the economy by the end of the upcoming “five-year” budget cycle. On Wednesday July 24, Dr. David Pollard, in a lecture on the “Impact of Oil Revenues on Guyana,” affirmed this viewpoint. The surge by the oil and gas industry could have a catastrophic impact on the much needed agricultural and manufacturing sectors as investments and resources shift away from them to take

advantage of the burgeoning revenues of the nascent oil and gas industry. Incentives specifically designed to allow for higher and faster profitability in the agricultural and manufacturing industries would help to nullify the possible disastrous impact that the oil and gas industry could wreak on those two sectors.

Based on recent World Bank data, the period 2016 to 2018 has seen a higher increase in the productive capacity of the country than during the period 1998 and 2015, setting the stage for even higher and faster eco-

nomic growth. The ABR also believes that now is the time for government to make the necessary changes in the tax structure since delaying action would only make it difficult for Guyana to enhance its food security and remain a net exporter of food in this oil-driven climate.

The removal of the personal income tax and the lowering of the tax rate significantly for businesses would also facilitate the continual growth in private capital formation that can support additionally a transition to a green economy. The special

incentive to workers and the agricultural and manufacturing sectors could also attract more persons to the labour force and the entrepreneurial class, thereby increasing further the prospects for economic sustainability, lower unemployment and an enjoyable lifestyle.

Regards Leon Roberts Business Development and Liaison Officer African Business Roundtable

Show a little kindness to seniors Republic Bank Dear Editor

I

am a senior citizen who has been a loyal customer of Republic Bank since it was Royal Bank.

I opened my first bank account in 1975. Over the years, my business relations with the bank have allowed me to interact with most of the Loan Officers and I have always been treated with respect. One loan officer in particular – Mrs Serene C. Persaud, has always given me sound guidance. In

light of the excellent service I have received over the years I never saw the need to go to any other banking institution to access loans or any other financial services. All my financial needs are well taken care of at Republic Bank, and I have introduced many friends, family members and business colleagues to Republic Bank.

However, a recent experience has left a somewhat ‘bad taste’ in my mouth. During the month of July 2019, my wife and I went into the bank

to service our loan and as we have done over the years, we went upstairs to complete this transaction. When we got there, we were told that they could not accept our loan installment because the new management had made a decision prohibiting the receipt of monies on that floor, and that we will have to go downstairs to pay the loan installment. We were very perturbed to hear this because the ground floor was full of people and there was nowhere for pensioners to stand, much less sit.

My wife and I left the bank without completing our transaction. We returned a week later only to find the same situation – the ground floor filled to capacity. We went upstairs once more and voiced our concern over the situation and were allowed to pay the loan installment through the kindness of the supervisor. What is upsetting to me is that no prior notice was given of this new management decision and nothing was put in place to accommodate customers like myself who

have a long history with the bank, especially with the Loan Department. This situation caused me to reminisce on the time when Mr. John Alves was CEO. He was so approachable and concerned about excellent customer service, that I could have spoken to him about any sudden change that was adversely affecting customers and he always ensured the situation was remedied.

I was informed that the gentleman who is now at the helm is also a very nice person

and approachable person. If that is indeed the case, I am asking that he re-examines the decision that was made to disallow loan repayments being made upstairs, since having to utilise the ground floor facilities is very uncomfortable for customers, especially seniors.

Arthur Taylor Loyal customer

GNBA REFUTES ALLEGATIONS OF CENSORSHIP Dear Editor

I

n response to accusations of censorship by the leader of the Opposition, Chairman of the GNBA Board, Mr. Leslie Sobers in a recent interview stated categorically that the Authority does not censor, neither does it “terrorise , intimidate or

harass broadcasters” as was claimed. However, the Authority monitors the airwaves and engages broadcasters on breaches to the Broadcasting Act and the generally accepted guidelines on broadcasting, which can be found on the GBNA website.

The GNBA Chairman indicated that through their licenc-

es, broadcasting entities have an obligation to comply with the Broadcasting Act and the laws governing their assigned frequency. He added that if GNBA finds stations committing infractions, “we call, we write, we invite them to discussions, we try to encourage them to desist; because our job is to help develop the broadcasting

Access road to Yaya pontoon crossing needs repairing DEAR EDITOR,

I

would like to bring attention to the deplorable condition of the access road for the Yaya pontoon crossing at the Essequibo River. This is a critical piece of road infrastructure for gold miners, loggers and other Guyanese who depend on access to Omai, 72 Miles, Issano, in between and beyond for their livelihoods. The condition of this access road has worsened in the last year, exacerbated by increasing movements of log trucks and protracted rainy seasons.

Concerns over their own safety–and that of their vehicles and cargo have forced some truck operators to consider suspending their operations

until this eight mile stretch of road is restored to a safe and acceptable condition. The poor condition of this road costs time and money when vehicles are stuck or need to be repaired. This, in turn, affects the profitability of operations and further, their viability. In previous years, the Mekdeci Mining Company – which has sole control of this crossing (and others nationwide) – has honoured its responsibility to maintain the ingress from Yaya turn off to the crossing, and the egress from point of disembarkation up to Issano Road turn off. However, there has been close to zero effort to conduct any maintenance in the last year.

At least 4 vehicles can cross with the Mekdeci pontoon

leaving every hour between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and at a cost of between $9,000 for a pickup truck, to $45,000 for a double axel truck, and upwards for Lorries and other equipment. Surely, some of this income can be set aside for maintenance of the roads which bring vehicles to their crossing.

The necessary directive must be given by the government agency which governs the Mekdeci pontoon operations, for regular maintenance to resume immediately and much needed relief brought to the Yaya road users. The livelihoods of hard working Guyanese depend on it.

Sincerely, Jahar Rohit

sector, not to destroy it”.

With respect to Press conferences, if something is said that runs contrary to the Broadcasting Act or Guidelines, broadcasters are expected to deal with that in an appropriate manner before broadcasting such content.

The Chairman made it clear that the contention that

GNBA favours the government is ludicrous. “We are not the PR for the government”. The Chairman also noted that Government broadcasting stations have also been warned. For instance, the National Communications Network (NCN) has been called in and warned for several infractions, as per the procedure of GNBA.

The GNBA continues to function as an independent, impartial and professional entity, with its power vested through the Broadcasting Laws.

Regards Joel Ally Public Relations Officer Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA)

8

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

Health and wealth are companions Op-Ed -but the greatest asset of a nation is healthy citizens

By Margaret Burke BETTER healthcare services from coastland to hinterland for all Guyanese have been a major concern of the APNU+AFC coalition even before taking up the reign of office in 2015.

Evidence is there to show, time and time again, even while in opposition, how cases were presented and fought at the highest level on behalf of the people.

But even as the coalition was seriously fighting for the cause of the people, they were also busy making plans for the future. This government promised to provide an inclusionary healthcare service and they have stuck to their promise. In the course of action, they committed to expand and/or improve every hospital and medical centre within Guyana, with no distance being too much for them to reach.

Additionally, the government is making sure that money invested is being put into new equipment, expand-

ed facilities and an increased emphasis on improving women’s health; quite unlike the previous administration when billions of dollars were wasted on bureaucracy and shady deals that did not deliver for the Guyanese people.

Additionally, there was the lack of access to specialist medical treatments as hospitals and clinics, especially those in rural communities and hinterland, were allowed to decline. At the same time, there were shortages of life-saving drugs, while disease prevention, nutrition and maternity survival, especially in the urban, rural and hinterland areas, were neglected.

All these occurred even as malaria reached endemic levels in some regions.

In 2013, towards the end of the PPP’s time in power, the number of doctors and nurses dropped to 9.5 and 15.3 per 10,000 respectively.

This was happening at a time when Guyana had unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality. A report by the World Health Organisation

(WHO) found that maternal mortality rates for the period 1990 to 2013 rose from 210 deaths in 1990 to 250 deaths in 2013. Cervical cancer was at an all-time high, 46.9 per 100,000.

Impressive record However, since 2016, the coalition has provided funding of $91.5B to ensure all Guyanese have access to good quality healthcare, with a further $35.9B allocated for 2019. Simultaneously, the government deployed increased numbers of medical personnel across the administrative regions. This has now resulted in over 13 doctors and 36 nurses per 10,000 of the population. In relation to a new drug procurement system that was introduced, it is anticipated that there will be increased stock rates from 65 per cent to 95 per cent to stop shortages. Even as this continues, there are now greater financial and technical support for preventable diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Also, during this same

four years, there has been an increased availability of retroviral treatments for HIV and as a result, infection rates remain stable at 1.7 per cent of the population. Malaria cases have reduced from 17,599 reported cases [in] 2014 to 11,000 cases in 2018.

Vaccination against Tuberculosis increased from 90 per cent in 2015 to 98 per cent in 2018. This has led to a fall in rates of tuberculosis from 93 to 86 per 100,000 from 2015 to 2017. Moreover, vaccination coverage has increased to 90 per cent as a result of efforts to tackle Diphtheria, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, and Polio.

Reports from all of the main government hospitals in Guyana are now showing a reduction in infant and neonatal (newborn) mortality rates. At the same time, there has been a 50 per cent reduction in maternal death.

Generally, maternity care has expanded in Georgetown, Leonara, Port Mourant, and New Amsterdam, among others.

541 house lots distributed in five regions in first half of 2019 — 459 more to be allocated in second half

ADDRESSING the backlog of housing applications, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) in the first half of 2019 distributed 541 house lots. The house lots were distributed in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Nine, which represents 54.1 per cent of the target number for 2019.

This was revealed in the Ministry of Finance’s 2019 Half-Year Report for CH&PA. H use lots were allocated at Onderneeming, Onderneeming phase two,

Onderneeming phase three, Rechht Door Zee, Zeelugt phase one, Eccles, Providence Gardens, Section C Block X Golden Grave, Section A Block X Great Diamond, Mon Repos, Lowlands, Enmore , Experiment, Plot B Herstelling, Perseverance, Prospect, Providence (115), Parcel 123 Providence, Culvert City and Tabatinga.

Another 459 lots are expected to be allocated in the second half of 2019. The CH&PA are also slated to develop 4,000 new house lots in 12 areas for $700M. Distribution of those lots will begin

in 2020. CH&PA intends to develop house lots in Mabaruma, Meter-MeerZorg Vigilance, Annadale, Mon Repos, Foulis, Hope/Experiment, Ordance, Fortland, Cummings Lodge, Kwakwani, Ameila’s Ward and Bur-Jag. The 2019 National Budget saw $300.7Billion allocated to the Ministry of Communities. Among the priority areas catered for were the core sectors of water, sanitation and housing. In particular, with a focus on increased access to affordable housing units and increased occupancy.

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Up to the current time (in 2019 alone) there were 22 new medical facilities commissioned. Added to these are greater specialist qualifications now available including Radiology, Paediatrics, Neo-Natal, Anesthesia, Gynaecology, and Cardiac Intensive Care. Then there was the passage of the Tobacco Control Act in Guyana. New water ambulances were commissioned in Bartica and Linden, while there were increased dental clinics made available for the people of Guyana. There was also the establishment of the National Mental Health Unit; the opening of the first public health cardiac intensive care unit in Guyana; upgrading of the physical infrastructure of hospitals and health clinics.

Generally, there has been an increased access to public health services for young people, especially teenagers.

Coupled with this, a more robust system was put in place to ensure health per-

sonnel and facilities reach every community in Guyana.

There is now deployment of medical personnel across the regions, with mass campaigns to prevent filaria and cervical cancer launched. In case of the latter, a national programme to immunise children against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was also launched.

Medical outreaches are now designed to bring health care directly to citizens. Vaccination coverage is now above 90 per cent, while there has also been the introduction of a new drug procurement system.

The Cuban Medical Brigade also worked hard to help save 7,462 lives and provided 436,269 consultations in 2018 alone. Guyanese deserve “the good life” and at this particular time when they are hoping to experience the manifestation of that ‘liquid gold’ – oil and gas-- they should get nothing less. Good health could be an assurance of a good life.

Timehri residents call for more police patrols POLICE officers held a community outreach at Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) where they interacted with the residents on Wednesday.

Deputy Superintendent Lonsdale Withrite, along with several other ranks, conducted the outreach in Grant Sand Road, Bunkin Sand, Adams Road and Timehri North, respectively.

According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), during the walkabout, the residents were vocal and raised a num-

ber of issues such as the many young persons who are involved with drugs, noise nuisance and petty thieves, among other problems. They called for more police patrols in the areas.

According to the Police Force, the issues were all addressed by the team and parents were advised to have their children join the police youth groups in the various communities so that they can stay away from the “many ills of society”.

Timehri residents interacting with two police sergeants who were part of the visiting team

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

CJ statement on NRR not an order …AG says PPP sought similar order at CCJ and was refused

…maintains GECOM can compile a register as was done in 2008 ATTORNEY General, Basil Williams said the statement

by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire regarding the removal of persons from the National Register of Registrants seems more like a suggestion to the Guyana Elections Commission as the very issue was raised at the Caribbean Court of Justice and the order sought in relation to it was refused.

Williams also said that chief justice herself had insisted that she would not give directives to elections body and other constitutional actors.

G e o rg e - Wi l t s h i r e o n Wednesday in her ruling on the house-to-house registration case said that Guyanese previously registered and residing overseas could not be removed from the National Register of Registrants. She said unless the persons change their addresses through a new house-to-house verification process or by registering at a district office, they would have to vote in the district in which they were registered.

The Opposition has taken wholesale the statement to suggest that the ongoing registration exercise was useless.

CCJ REFUSED SIMILAR ORDER However, Williams reminded that the issue of registration was raised and dealt with extensively at the Caribbean Court of Justice and

the opposition had even asked in their consequential orders proposals for the court to order GECOM to use the expired NRR to arrive at the Official List of Electors, which was refused by the regional court.

to be held on the basis of the Official List of Electors in existence on March 21, 2019,” Mendez submitted. But by virtue of its decision that only the President, the National Assembly and GECOM can

Attorney General, Basil Williams

Chief Justice (ag), Roxane George-Wiltshire

At the CCJ the Opposition Leader through his lawyer, Senior Counsel Douglas Mendez submitted to the Court that it was not necessary for the Elections Commission to proceed with House-to-House Registration – a process that results in a fresh and credible List of Electors. According to him, the expired list can be used. “…It is respectfully submitted that in order so far as possible to ensure compliance with the constitutional mandate to hold an election no later than March, 2019, the election which must now be held, ought to [be] ordered

set out a timeline for hosting of elections, the CCJ had also rejected that line of argument by the Opposition Leader and his battery of lawyers.

“So the Learned Chief Justice just in the same way she upheld the res judicata principle would want to apply it in this matter,” Williams said.

Justice George-Wiltshire had ruled that the notice of application by the Attorney-General was correct in urging that the issue is res judicata. The Attorney-General and the Solicitor General Nigel Hawke had repeatedly argued that the issues raised in Christopher

PPP gives up

Ram’s Fixed Date Application were Res Judicata for ‘Issue Estoppel’- meaning that the matter has already been settled by a judicial decision, in this case, the CCJ. As such, the Chief Justice ruled that she could not grant the order sought by Ram. “So given all that I have mentioned I respectfully suggest this issue of not removing persons from the list amounts to a suggestion by the court for the consideration by GECOM. This is not an order. The Learned Chief Justice couldn’t intend to direct GECOM,” Williams told the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday.

He argued that like the CCJ, Justice George-Wiltshire maintained that she could not set timelines and deadlines and give directives. He said the opposition lawyer, Anil Nandlall never asked for such an order in his application to the court “and certainly we never had the opportunity to address this issue.”

The opposition, through Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, had asked the court for several declarations aimed at blocking and invalidating the national registration exercise as well as compelling GECOM to hold elections on or before September 18, 2019.

All these orders were denied.

“All that the applicant asked for, the court refused just as in the case of the CCJ, and of course the court accepted that

of persons during the ongoing house-to-house exercise.

The PPP also maintained that elections should be held on or before September 18, 2019.

The acting chief justice delivered her judgement in a case challenging the constitutionality of House-to-House Registration brought before the High Court by Ram, in which the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM); Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield; and Attorney-General Basil Williams were the named respondents.

Justice George-Wiltshire ruled that the Constitution and the Laws of Guyana provide for the conduct of House-to-House registration as a form of verification – a position that was argued by the attorney-general and the attorneys that represented the Chief Elections Officer, Senior Counsel Neil Boston and

ABOLISHING OF OVERSEAS VOTING “The important thing about this is that overseas voting was abolished in Guyana, and that’s why the qualification of residency was an additional one that was facilitated under Article 159 (2) (c), which spoke about additional qualifications, could be arrived at by the passage of act of Parliament, and that’s why the National Registration Act and also the Representation of the People Act contain provision for residency,” the attorney general explained.

He added, “residency is a very important aspect because that is the only way you can locate someone for voting.”

Williams maintained that Article 159 (5) states that GECOM can compile a register as was done in 2008 when a new register was compiled as a result of house-to-house registration.

GECOM, he said, would have to decide whether it will appeal that section of the ruling that addresses the removal of persons from the list.

“But what is very important is that house-to-house registration is not unconstitutional; no date was ever fixed by the CCJ and she (Chief Justice) wouldn’t fix a date either nor no election ought to be held within three months as they had contended and generally there was nothing that was asked for by the applicant that was successful,” the attorney general summarised.

For his part, Roysdale Forde, the attorney that represented the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, in association with Senior Counsel, Neil Boston, told reporters that the elections body would have to decide its next move. “Subject to further instructions, of my own opinion at this present time, I believe that there is a serious ground, a serious flaw in the decision to that extent and I would advise my client to appeal. The issue was never raised as part of the pleadings in the document.

You heard that the court dismissed every application filed,” Forde told reporters outside of the courtroom.

GECOM’s Attorney, Senior Counsel Stanley Marcus also indicated that he will be guided by the Elections Commission’s decision.

Elderly man charged with possession of drugs remanded PRINCIPAL Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Providence Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, remanded a 66-year-old man to prison for cocaine trafficking.

…says will not contest chief justice’s ruling on house-to-house registration

THE Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said it will not appeal the decision of acting Chief Justice, Roxane George-Wiltshire, who, on Wednesday, ruled that house-to-house registration is legal.

“In the circumstances, after a more mature consideration of the chief justice’s decision and after conferring with my client and other counsel involved, including Senior Counsel, it is our considered opinion not to appeal the decision of the learned chief justice. Needless to say, we may reconsider our position should appeals be filed by the other parties in the proceedings,” the PPP said in a statement.

The party said the legal proceedings filed by chartered accountant Christopher Ram, achieved its principal objective, which is, barring de-registration

the matter was res judicata, they were re-litigating before her,” the attorney general told reporters outside of the courtroom, shortly after the judgment was handed down on Wednesday afternoon.

He stressed that the issue of sanitising the NRR did not form part of the application filed by Ram nor was it a declaration sought, and as such, the government, through him, nor GECOM, had the opportunity to contest that specific element.

Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall, speaking to reporters outside of the courtroom. His client, Christopher Ram, pays keen attention

Roysdale Forde.

As such, she ruled that the June 11 Order published in the Official Gazette by the then Chairman of the Elections Commission, Justice (Ret’d) James Patterson, was in compliance with established laws.

The order paved the way for the House-to-House Registration exercise to be conducted from July 20, 2019 to October 20, 2019 – a period of three months.

The chief justice iterated that there was nothing stopping the Elections Commission from carrying out its functions, and more so, a decision it had taken before a No-Confidence Motion was put before the Na-

tional Assembly, and before the CCJ delivered its judgement in the consolidated No-Confidence Motion cases and the GECOM Chair appointment matter.

“I do not see how a House-to-House Registration exercise violates Article 106 (6) and (7). The CEO and GECOM have no role in the implementation of Article 106 (6) and as regards Article 106 (7), GECOM could conduct the House-to-House Registration or any other verification process, for that matter, in the context of the peculiar circumstances that are extant following the NCM,” the chief justice ruled.

Roderick Andrew Chase

Roderick Andrew Chase pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that, on August 13, 2019, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, he had 290 grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Chase was represented by attorney-at-law George Thomas who made an application for

bail. The matter was prosecuted by Police Corporal Shawn Gonsalves.

According to the facts presented, on August 13, 2019, Chase was an outgoing passenger on a flight for JFK airport, New York and was bound for Brooklyn.

However, the elderly man checked in at CJIA and went through the scanner. Ranks attached to the Police Narcotics Branch stationed at the airport observed two strange objects on the scanner monitor, which showed that the defendant had two parcels ‘stashed’ in his shoes.

Chase was contacted by the ranks and his shoes were searched. The two parcels, which were wrapped in black tape, were tested positive for cocaine and the elderly man was arrested.

The prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendant citing the seriousness of the charge.

The Magistrate ruled in the prosecution’s favour and remanded Chase to prison until August 30, 2019.

10

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

Vibrant debates on second day of Youth Parliament WALKING up the stairs of the Parliament, persons would have believed that the National Assembly was in session because of the vibrant and articulate debates which were coming from the youths who sat in the place of the Government and Opposition.

Students of the University of Guyana visibly impressed former Foreign Affairs Minister and Parliamentarian, Carl Greenidge, and other officials who were sitting on the sidelines on day two of the fifth annual Youth Parliament, on Thursday While there was seriousness in the debates, the UG students did not fail to add humour to the session which was called to order by Speaker of the sitting, Chelsea Pearson.

Students debated the use of sovereign wealth fund, migration policy, youth participation in governance, and amendment of Article 155 1 (A) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

There was a lot of sensitivity and emotions during the debate on youth participation in governance. The motion was moved by Social

Cohesion Minister, Orlando Belle, who led the discussions on a topic which caught the interest of all the young people who were present.

“We the members on this side of the House recognise the need for youth participation and representation in government; as such we seek to amend the Representation of the People’s Act to ensure that young adults be placed on the list and be given a chance to represent us in government,” said Belle.

The amendment is in keeping with the National Youth Policy 2015, which states: “young people must have representation on Parliamentary Committees”.

The United Nations (UN) believes that participation is a fundamental right and believes that young people are agents of social change, technological advancement and economic growth.

“It is my responsibility as minister of social cohesion to ensure that this mandate is carried out. If we are to analyse the last three sessions of the National Assembly, we would understand the need for such an amendment,” said Belle.

The youths set the stage for an excellent round of debates on the second day of the Youth Parliament (Samuel Maughn photo)

NOT ACCEPTABLE In the ninth sitting of the National Assembly, youths below the age of 35 years accounted for less than 10 per cent. The situation was the same in the 10th and 11th Parliament.

“How can a group that accounts for close to 70 per cent of a country’s population be represented by less

than 10 per cent? This is a perfect example of why we need concrete and legitimate systems in place to protect our young people,” said Belle.

He argued that the intention of the bill was not to manipulate the electoral system but to ensure that representation is offered to all Guyanese.

Shadow Social Cohesion

Minister, Aurielle Melville supported Belle’s position, noting that the Opposition believes that youths should be adequately prepared for the task at hand, once given the opportunity.

She, however, contended that government’s motion limits youths to just governance when they should be well knowledgeable and well-rounded.

“Meaningful youth participation in leadership require that young people have opportunities, capacities and benefits from an enabling environment, evidence-base programmes and consistent at all levels, not just one,” said Melville.

With the points laid out, the other four speakers built on what was said and set the pace for an excellent debate.

On the opening day of the Youth Parliament, Education Minister, Nicolette Henry said the forum was a good opportunity for young people to get exposure and a better understanding of the practices of the National Assembly.

Henry also said that the annual event gives young people a platform to let their opinions be heard on matters relevant to the country and youth population.

“A lot of time you get a lot of good ideas being birthed out the Youth Parliament and I think it’s a really good initiative and one that I endorse and that I have been associated with for the past three years and I look forward to more engagement at this level,” the minister noted.

India observes 73rd Independence anniversary couragement and institutionalised culture of curiosity, especially in the classroom.

“Let us listen to our children – for through them the future whispers to us. I say this with the confidence and belief that India will never lose its capacity to listen to the feeblest voice; that it will

never lose sight of its ancient ideals; that it will forget neither its sense of fairness nor its sense of adventure,” he stated.

Dr. Srinivasa continued: “We Indians are a people who dare to explore the moon and Mars. We are also a people who persevere to create

a loving habitat for three of every four wild tigers on our planet, because it is characteristic of Indianness to empathise with nature and with all living beings.”

The Indian envoy said over a hundred years ago, the inspirational poet Subramania Bharati gave voice

to India’s freedom movement and its expansive goals in the following lines in Tamil: “We will learn both scripture and science; We will explore both heavens and oceans; We will unravel the mysteries of the moon; And we will sweep our streets clean too.”

High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa during his address (Samuel Maughn photo)

THIS spirit of cooperation is what India seeks in its diplomatic endeavours as the country shares its experiences and strengths with partner countries in every continent, at home and abroad, in domestic discourse and in foreign policy.

This is according to High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa during his address at the 73rd Independence Day of India Ceremony held at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre Bel Air on Thursday.

Reading from a speech that was issued and read by

the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of Independence, the high commissioner said the uniqueness and magic of India cannot be hidden.

“We are a young country, a society increasingly defined and shaped by our youth. The energies of our young are being channelised in so many directions – in a quest for excellence from sport to science, from scholarship to soft skills. This is heartwarming,” the high commissioner said.

Nevertheless, the envoy said the greatest gift the young and upcoming generations can receive is the en-

A section of the gathering at the ceremony to mark India’s 73rd Independence anniversary at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Bel Air, Georgetown (Samuel Maughn photo)

11

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Guyanese expectation of oil sector high – preparation for 2020, beyond needs to be intensified, says mid-year report

THE coming on stream of the petroleum industry has increased the expectations of the Guyanese people with regard to the potential for improving lives and transforming the economy, but the resource curse must be avoided.

This is according to the Ministry of Finance 2019 Mid-Year report.

The report noted that experiences across the world have shown that resource availability alone is not sufficient to effectively deliver on these expectations.

“The resource curse and the potential for conflicts are evidence of the need for robust regulatory frameworks and exceedingly strong institutional capacities in the effective management of the national patrimony. As such, government has consistently prioritised preparedness prior to first oil, expected in 2020,”

the report stated.

As such, the mid-year report stated that an Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on Petroleum (IMTCoP) was established in 2017 to coordinate the various public sector actors who have a role to play in the industry and in capacity building.

Since then and commendably, the report stated that Guyana is one of the few countries in the world that has established a sovereign wealth fund (entitled the Natural Resource Fund) prior to receipt of oil revenues.

However, government recognises that given the varying performance of Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIP) and the inadequacy of the public education system, among other factors, the efforts to prepare for 2020 and beyond need to be intensified.

As such, the report noted that a key focus and mandate for Budget 2020, is accelerating institutional strengthening in preparation for first oil and oil revenues.

“Institutional strengthening for oil and gas will have at least two facets: 1) capacity building for public institutions in the discharge of their regulatory role within the petroleum industry, and 2) strengthening of public institutions to effectively

Crime chief, senior officers visit mother of dead presidential guard

Senior police officers in conversation with the bereaved Loraine Peters

A TEAM of police officers comprising acting Crime Chief, Senior Superintendent Michael Kingston visited the East Ruimveldt home of Loraine Peters, the bereaved mother of Presidential Guard, Winston Cooper, who died on Wednesday.

Cooper was found unconscious opposite the National Gymnasium by first responders of the Guyana Fire Service at about 05:30hrs on July 1, 2019 and was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital

Corporation.

Other senior officers who visited the family included the Traffic Chief, Senior Superintendent Linden Isles; Traffic Officer ‘A’ Division, Superintendent Dennis Stephens; and Divisional Detective Officer ‘A’ Division, Assistant Superintendent, Chabbinauth Singh.

During the visit, words of condolences were offered on behalf of the Guyana Police Force to Ms. Peters and her family while the Crime Chief (ag) promised a thorough investigation into the circum-

stances surrounding her son’s death.

Ms. Peters described her son as an easy-going and considerate individual who was always punctual.

President David Granger had called for a thorough investigation into the death of Police Constable 2045, Winston Cooper of 761 East Ruimveldt, Georgetown after learning of his death on Wednesday morning.

A post-mortem examination is scheduled for today.

utilise anticipated increased resources in the future. For the former, institutions such as the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Department of Energy and the Civil Defence Commission must focus on building capacity for cost audits, designing and negotiating production sharing agreements and oil spill management and preparation, respectively, among many other areas,” the report stated.

Through the IMTCoP, it was noted that government has identified more than 70 areas for strengthening across nine institutions, so far.

The imperative is to ensure that Guyana’s institutions are sufficiently equipped so that resource extraction delivers the maximum allowable benefit to the country, while assuring the safety of the environment and citizenry.

Failure to do so, the report noted, could result in revenue leakages and other externalities, to the detriment of Guyana’s current and future generations.

The second critical aspect of institutional strengthening, the report added, is to ensure that public institutions are equipped to effectively spend additional revenues expected from oil.

“Government is continually cognisant of the need to effectively manage public funds and, given the varying performance of the PSIP and the unremarkable health and education outcomes in recent history, recognises that institutions must be reformed and improved significantly to ensure that revenues are not wasted,” the report stated.

The report further stated: “Proposing increased allocations for drugs and medical supplies when procurement is

inefficient, increasing teacher wages without commensurate increases in education outcomes and a direct linkage to performance and budgeting to expand national public infrastructure without a sufficient engineering corps and quality control, are all recipes for wastage of public funds.”

As such, it was noted that all sectors are mandated to prioritise institutional strengthening so that they attain the capacity to effectively deliver expanded public programmes and services, with a focus on achieving the results and ambitions set out in the Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040, which incorporates the SDGs. Otherwise, revenues from oil would be for nothing.

Jagdeo claims TT investors paying bribes for lands in Guyana …business group mulls response

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Aug 14, CMC –The Trinidad and Tobago private sector is currently discussing a response to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who criticised Trinidadian investors seeking to do business in Guyana.

A spokesman for the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that “the matter is currently being discussed.”

Jagdeo, speaking at a news conference last Thursday, referred to the foreign investors as “carpet baggers” adding “there are quite a few coming in from Trinidad and Tobago”. He said just recently he was speaking to an unidentified person “who was unguarded and he said he yesterday signed up to get some land from Go-Invest and he is going to get free hold title”.

The Opposition Leader in dismissing statements made by the country’s Finance Minister Winston Jordan about the influx of foreign investors and the four per cent growth of the local economy, said land which had been earmarked for a specialty hospital under the previous

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

People’s progressive Party (PPP) administration, had also been sold to Trinidad and Tobago investors.

He said Trinidad and Tobago investors were also entering various areas of the local economy including car rental and movie businesses.

“The Trinidadians are coming in and getting a ton of land here and a lot of them are paying bribes. I don’t have a problem with Trinidadians coming here and investing. Let me make that clear, but not in this period.

“The carpet baggers are coming,” he said, noting that a team which had recently travelled to Trinidad for an investment conference “has been brokering these

arrangements. “So they meet with the people, they have to give donations over there in Trinidad and they were offered land here now”. Jagdeo warned that Guyanese would soon become marginalised as a result of the influx, adding “I see all of the taxi companies coining in here from abroad…. There is no local content policy.

“I don’t have a problem of people from Trinidad coming here, I believe they have a lot of expertise in the oil and gas sector, you need skill people etc, but they must come in transparently and Guyanese must have the opportunity to access the same resources that they are getting.

“Almost every piece of land that has been divested from GUYSUCO (Guyana Sugar Corporation)…is on the chopping block,” he added. Guyana is being ranked among the world’s most prospective, underexplored offshore basin, with an estimated 13.6 Bbbl of oil and 32 tcf of natural gas yet to be discovered.

ExxonMobil, along with its junior partner Hess Corp., will bring first oil online by 2020, providing the country with much needed revenue.

12

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Guyana already reaping benefits of oil …Mid-Year report records $3.9B growth in withholding tax …largely reflecting payments from companies within the oil and gas sector

WITH oil production only months away, the country is already benefitting in the form of increased economic activity and significant taxes generated by the booming sector.

The Ministry of Finance’s 2019 Mid-Year Report records that for the first half of the year, withholding tax grew by $3.9B, or 65.9 per cent, largely reflecting payments from companies within the oil and gas sector.

“Personal income tax collections grew by $2B, or 16.4 per cent, when compared with the same period in 2018.

Companies operating in the oil and gas sector accounted for $1.2B, or 61 per cent, of the collections.” At the same time, the increased economic

activity meant VAT from domestic goods rose by $2B, primarily due to higher payments from the manufacturing, distribution, services and oil and gas sectors.

The report also noted an expansion in foreign direct investment (FDI), of 60.5 per cent to US$826.4M. The significant increase in FDI was largely supported by oil and gas activities, which accounted for US$354.6M of the amount. Imported capital goods increased substantially, from US$155.2M to US$423M, primarily attributed to a substantial expansion in mining machinery, again, supported by oil and gas activity.

Activities directly related to the oil and gas sector

also contributed to growth in many sectors including finance and insurance activities, transportation and storage, and other service activities. There are also numerous spillover effects on other sectors such as construction, where there has been an increase in construction of commercial and residential properties to service the oil and gas sector. The rebasing of the GDP, which is currently underway and expected to be completed before the end of the year, will better allow for a quantification of the impact of oil and gas activities on economic growth.

Guyana is on the verge of becoming the world’s newest petro-state and potentially the richest, Bloomberg said in an

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan

article on Tuesday.

“In 2015, Exxon Mobil Corp. made what one of its executives described as a ‘fairytale’ discovery in the vast Stabroek exploration block off the Guyana coast.

Since then, it’s found so much oil that by the mid2020s Guyana, with a population of about 778,000, will probably produce more crude per citizen than any other country,” Kevin Crowley wrote in his article ‘The World’s Newest Petrostate Isn’t Ready for a Tsunami of Cash.’

Alluding to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Bloomberg noted that Guyana’s reserves would make it OPEC’s 12th-largest member after Angola. At the time of

the compilation of the report, US oil giant ExxonMobil had projected that there were 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent resource in the Stabroek Block based on the finds to date, however, that figure that has been upgraded to six billion barrels. Based on 2018 statistics, Venezuela has the largest barrels of oil reserves with 302.8 billion followed by Saudi Arabia with 267 billion barrels and Iran with 155.6 billion barrels.

Bloomberg noted that at Exxon’s Investor Day meeting at the New York Stock Exchange last March, Guyana took centre stage.

“It’s not hard to see why.

Senior Vice-President Neil Chapman – the exec who’d once described the Stabroek

find as a “fairytale” – pointed to a chart featuring estimates from Wood Mackenzie Ltd., an Edinburgh-based energy consulting firm. It showed that Exxon’s Guyana wells will be the most profitable of all new deep-water projects by major oil companies,” it observed.

Guyana’s economy, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.63B, a growth rate of 4.1 per cent in 2018 and 4.6 per cent in 2019, is expected to further grow by 33.5 per cent and 22.9 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively. This is according to the NASDAQ Stock Market, which is an American stock exchange.

It is the second-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalisation, behind only the New York Stock Exchange located in the same city. NASDAQ said, with a per-capita income of $5,194, Guyana is a middle-income country and is covered by dense forest.

It is home to fertile agricultural lands and abundant natural resources. Gold, bauxite, sugar, rice, timber and shrimp are among its leading exports.

Guyana raked in US$459M in foreign investments last year

–– ECLAC reports GUYANA took in US$495 million in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2018, which was more than double what it had received in 2017.

This is according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its report on Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019.

The steep upturn was driven by investments in the hydrocarbons sector, which accounted for 77 per cent of total FDI, much of which was channelled into the development of the oil fields discovered by ExxonMobil in 2015. In the first phase of this venture, the Liza oil field is expected to begin producing up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day by early 2020. The company estimates these oil reserves at 5.5 billion barrels.

The Economist had reported that in a decade from

now, Guyana could become the second-largest oil producer in Latin America and the Caribbean, after Brazil. FDI inflows to sectors other than the oil industry, accounting for nine per cent of the total, also grew.

As one example, the firm Movie Towne, of Trinidad and Tobago, has invested US$50M in an entertainment centre which opened in 2018.

Guyana, over the years, averaged FDI flows of US$135M between 2005 to 2009; 2011 US$247M; 2012 US$294M; 2013 US$214M; 2014 US$255M; 2015 US$122M; 2016 US$58M and 2017 US$212M. According to ECLAC, FDI flows to the Caribbean totalled US$ 5.623B in 2018.

This reduction of 11.4 per cent relative to 2017 was chiefly due to a poor showing in the Dominican Republic.

That country accounted for 44 per cent of the sub re-

gion’s total FDI followed by the Bahamas with 18 per cent, Jamaica 14 per cent and Guyana nine per cent, which marked up a 20-year high in FDI inflows.

The Guyana Chronicle reported on Thursday that despite claims of a slowdown in the economy the private sector here has increased its credit by 5.7 per cent to a total of $238.8B for the first half of this year, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan said in his MidYear report on Wednesday.

The Private Sector Commission and its other surrogate organisations such as Georgetown Chamber of Commerce have been painting a picture of slow spending and a decline in the economy since the Coalition Government took office. Many persons have criticised these organisations for allegedly parroting the positions of the opposition.

Minister Jordan said the TURN TO PAGE 14 ►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

St Rose’s girl is CAPE top student

-- Education Ministry acknowledges mix-up

By Tamica Garnett WITH nine grade ones and two grade twos, St Rose’s High student, Shanomae Milling, of North Sophia was on Thursday officially announced as Guyana’s top performer at this year’s Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

She was not named as the top student when the results were originally announced on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) on Thursday issued an apology after it was discovered that Milling was completely left off of the list of 2019 top CAPE performers. Queen’s College students Michael Bhopaul and Leonardo Gobin, both with eight grade one passes were initially named as the top students.

“The Ministry of Education wishes to announce that the 2019 top student for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in Guyana is Shanomae Milling of St. Rose’s High School who wrote 11 units and achieved nine grade ones and two grade twos.

The Ministry of Education congratulates Ms. Milling on her outstanding achievement. We do apologise for the anomaly regarding the top position. However, this should not distract from the excellent and historical performance by our students this year at both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and CAPE assessments,” a statement from the ministry said.

Though heartbroken when her name was not mentioned on Wednesday, by Thursday morning, Milling was happy when she got the honour she deserved.

THANKFUL “I think that they handled it in a good way. They apologised and clarified the issue so I’m thankful for that,” Milling said.

Another student of St Rose’s High Jerron Jarvis, is also contending that he was omitted from the list of the top 15 performers in the country, which contained students who attained up to six grade one passes. According to his results, Jarvis has six grade ones, three grade twos and a grade four.

“It seems like they completely forgot about St Rose’s, they just ignored us. The fact that students that did less made the list and I didn’t, I felt bad, I felt disrespected. But it’s not really a big deal for me,” the 19-year-old noted. He is unsure if he will be making an official report about the issue.

Though the MoE announced the results on Wednesday, CAPE students have been able to access their results via an online portal since Tuesday.

Through checking her results, Milling had known since then that she had attained nine ones and two

she recalled. She related the situation to one of her fellow students who had made the list, and encouraged her to have it rectified.

“I messaged Diego [Bennett], I sent him my results and I said I was just going to let it go because I’m a calm person, but he said ‘no you

Guyana’s 2019 top performer at CAPE, St Rose’s High student Shanomae Milling (second from right) with her mom, Drusilla Wilson (left); aunt, Lizzani Brown (right); and sibling Shaneka (Alva Solomon photo)

twos, and expected that it would put her at the top of the country’s list, so it was with an eager excitement that she awaited her name on Wednesday as Education Minister, Nicolette Henry, was announcing the results.

DISAPPOINTED But when it was all said and done, her name was nowhere to be heard or seen.

“Everyone was just looking at the live stream to hear my name and I felt a little disappointed. I felt sad that it wasn’t called. At first I was at a loss for words, I was looking at my computer screen; I was shocked because I expected it to be heard. My family, my friends, my teachers they were all waiting,” Milling recalled.

The 18-year-old was left heartbroken and pondered what could possibly have happened to have her name left off the list of top performing students.

“When I got home, she greeted me with tears,” said Milling’s aunt, Lizzani Brown, with whom Milling lives.

“I said what happened?

She said: ‘look, look what going on here, the two top students have eight grade ones, and they have a top 10 list and my name is not on the list’. So I said don’t cry we will look after that tomorrow.”

Milling questioned if perhaps the mix up was with her results.

ENCOURAGEMENT “I had to check it over, I count the ones again, I just checked it over and over,”

can’t do that honour should be given where honour is due’. After that I called up my aunt and my teachers and they advised me to go to the MoE and clarify and that’s when I went [Thursday] morning.”

An Upper Six Form student, Milling attained grade ones in Physics Units one and two; Applied Mathematics Unit one; Pure Mathematics Unit one; Chemistry, Biology and Physical Education and Sports, all in Unit two; Environmental Science Unit one; Caribbean Studies Unit one; she got a grade two in Communication Studies and Applied Mathematics Unit two.

Milling said when she first learned of her results, she was surprised.

“To be honest, some of those exams were really tough, I was looking in the sky for answers, so I thought that I did horrible, and when I opened and I saw my results I was just relieved, particularly at chemistry.

Just seeing all the grade ones there, I was just so relieved I did so well and this whole year didn’t just go to waste,” Milling said.

Milling’s aunt and mother, Drusilla Wilson, were, however, not surprised by the results.

“I must say I am overwhelmed. My daughter, she made me proud, she made me a very proud mom,” expressed Wilson She added: “I know she had the potential because of the passes before, at CAPE last year, she topped her school, and at CSEC she topped her school; so I know

she always had the potential.

Since at five, I started with her. After she went to live with my sister, she continued.”

Milling is an aspiring doctor. Her 11 passes add to the passes in seven other units that she already wrote last year, passing with three ones and four twos. She now plans to take a year off studying to travel and volunteer at her alma mater before she begins pursuing studies in medicine at the University of Guyana from next year.

The online view of the CAPE results of top performer Shanomae Milling, who attained nine grade ones and two grade twos

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

School of Nations records 86% pass rate at IGCSE THE School of the Nations has recorded an 86 per cent pass rate at the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations.

According to a press statement from School of the Nations, Cambridge University released the results of IGCSE and A Level for more than one million students from 136

countries worldwide.

At School of Nations, 58 students wrote the IGCSE exams, including seven Form Four students who wrote Mathematics. Almost one third of every exam written in Fifth Form earned either a distinction, an A or B. Among the outstanding performers at the IGCSE exams were Jae Anya Amsterdam

with two distinctions, six As and one B; Aliah Mohamed with 3As, 4Bs and 1C; Leianna Chung with one distinction, one A and five 5Bs; Nekeshia Clementson with 2As and 6Bs; and Raven Dos Santos, who secured one distinction, 3Bs, three Cs. According to Nations, 100 per cent passes were obtained in Additional Mathematics,

Environmental Management, Spanish and English Literature.

The pass rate for Biology was 96 per cent, English 96 per cent, Chemistry 95 per cent, ICT 92 per cent and Mathematics 90 per cent.

In the first year of Sixth Form, students sat the AS exam. Some 265 exams were sat at the AS Level. There were 100 per cent passes in Environ-

mental Management, 93 per cent passes in Sociology, 88 per cent passes in Business, 78 per cent passes in History and 75 per cent passes in Psychology.

The top achievers in the first year of Sixth Form were Sachin Ramroop with A in Accounting, A in Business, A in Economics and C in Mathematics; Eleesha Sanasie with an A in Business, A in Law and B in Psychology; Puran Subramanie with A in Chemistry, A in Physics and B in Mathematics; Shania Smith with A in Mathematics, B in Biology, B in Chemistry and B in Physics; and Mikayla De Freitas, who obtained A in Psychology, B in English Language and C in Biology.

In the second year of Sixth Form, the students sat the Advanced Levels (A levels).

Some 165 examinations were sat at the A Level.

There were 93 per cent passes in Sociology and in Mathematics, 88 per cent passes in Psychology and 73 per cent passes in Business.

Among the top achievers were Brian Jagmohan - AICE Diploma (Distinction), 1A distinction and 3Bs; Keshini Digamber, 1A distinction and 2As; Stephen Lewis, 3As; Shreveda Tewari, 1A distinction, 1A and 1B; Samita Paul, 1A, 1B and 1C; Ying Yang Zhong, 4Bs; and Aliyah Hassan, 3Bs.

Brian Jagmohan

Anusha Doodnauth

Chameli Dhaniram

FROM PAGE

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Guyana raked in US$459M ... evidence in the report tells a different story from what the private sector has been saying.

According to the mid-year report, at the end of the first half of 2019, net domestic credit of the banking system grew by 14.1 per cent over the same period last year, to $33.4B, supported by an expansion in both private and public sector credit. Total credit to the private sector increased by 5.7 per cent to $238.8B over the review period, faster than the past three years.

With a vibrant oil and gas industry on the horizon, Guyana’s economy will start growing by double digits from next year.

This was according to a top source, who said that Guyana’s economy will be thriving on the success of various sectors and the advent of petroleum. The country’s potential and acceleration was also proven when the Nasdaq Stock Exchange had reported that Guyana has the fastest growing economy in the world.

The New York-based stock market, the second largest in the world, made note of Guyana’s projected growth rate of 16.3 per cent during the four-year period 2018-2021 in its report.

It said that with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) size of $3.63 billion (2018 Rank: 160), a growth rate of 4.1 per cent in 2018 and 4.6 per cent in 2019, Guyana’s economy is expected to grow by 33.5 per cent and 22.9 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

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Web developers ‘train the trainer’ programme aims to make ICT more accessible to PLWD - For inclusivity in the technological world

TWENTY-EIGHT Guyanese Web Developers are now on the right path to inclusivity in the technological world, after they have completed the “National Capacity Building programme on Web Accessibility and the online Design and Development of Accessible Websites” programme.

The programme is one of the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications under the theme “internet for all.”

The 28 developers have been engaged in a week of training sessions aimed at equipping them with the knowledge and skills to make ICTs more accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The simple ceremony, which was held at the Colgrain House for the presentation of certificates on Thursday, was attended by the Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, who shared that the Ministry is doing its part to ensure that Guyana has citizens who are capable to meet the demands of the new global and digital world that exist today.

Hughes highlighted Sustainable Development Goal Nine, which speaks on human’s access to the internet, which she describes as “almost a human right”, noting, “so it is in that context that the Ministry of Public Telecommunications really got involved with ensuring that we look at how we can use technology to better the lives and to improve accessibility for persons living with disabilities.” “Information and data, they say, in today’s world is the new oil. It is extremely valuable and so we do underservice any person when we lock out any person from being able to access the worldwide encyclopedia we call the internet,” Minister Hughes pointed out.

According to Hughes, the ministry is hoping to train more Web developers in Guyana and will also be targeting the media and private entities that posses websites.

“In the future we want to see the private sector and regular websites being constructed and enabled to reach not just what we would call the average Guyanese or the

Jaime Skeete, Web Coordinator at the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, as he gave an overview of the programme

average person overseas, but we want to make sure it’s enabled so that persons with disabilities can access and share the information,” she pointed out.

“I look forward to the day when every ordinary website would be enabled for accessibility for this important sector and persons in our society. We don’t want to leave anybody out,” she added.

According to Jaime Skeete, Web Coordinator at the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT), the “train the trainer” initiative is an ongoing one for the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, aimed on making Information and Communications Technology (ICT) more accessible for persons living with disabilities.

Skeete noted that the programme is in line with the ITU’s Resolution 2000’s 2020 agenda for global telecommunications and ICT development and also the ITU’s Goal Two of inclusiveness target which aims at enabling environments and ensuring accessible communications for all.

The goal also states that ICTs for persons with disabilities should be established in all countries by 2020.

“With the implementation of this programme under the guidance and push of our minister Catherine Hughes, I can proudly say that Guyana is well on the way to fulfilling its part in the ITU’s resolution,” Skeete noted.

Giving closing remarks at the event was Leroy Phillips, volunteer at the National Commission on Disability (NCD)who expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Public

Telecommunications on behalf of the NCD. “The commission wants to encourage all the participants to take skills into their homes, communities and work places because this is where it will all go into something big and better in the coming weeks, months and years,” he encouraged.

Participant of the programme and Head of the Computer Science Department at the University of Guyana, Penelope DeFreitas, stated that the programme would have helped her to think about ways in which the Computer Science Department can improve its curriculum and how it can be inclusive of a wider audience, including persons living with disabilities.

She stated that the department is constantly making changes because it aims to improve its overall system, and as such, the department intend to create courses which will aim at teaching persons in the area of Web Development, amongst others. Lecturer in the Computer Science Department of the University of Guyana, Girendra Persuad, is also the owner of GX Media which built over 100 websites for companies in and out of Guyana.

Persuade noted, “For us it really equips us with the knowledge to be able to build our websites in a way that are accessible for the general public. The programme was enlightening and educating in showing you exactly how to use these tools that are already available to be able to make your websites more accessible.”

Leroy Phillips, Volunteer at the National Commission on Disabilities giving the closing remarks

Certificated Web Developers with minister Hughes

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

ARMS maintains good reputation at CSEC THE Anna Regina Multilateral School (ARMS), located at Cotton Field, Region Two, continues to perform well at the Caribbean Secondary School Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

This year, Riana Toney copped the top position in the country with 19 grade ones while Charrandat Narine came in third with 18 grade ones and a grade two.

According to Regional Education Officer, Nicola Matthews, the Anna Regina Multilateral School continues to set the bar for the region.

Having received the news that Region Two secured the top position at the CSEC examinations, Matthews said she was speechless. The regional education officer said the Region Two has seven students in the national top 100 and commended the teachers of ARMS and Abram Zuil Secondary.

She said the two schools continue to perform well at the examinations. The regional education officer said she is satisfied thus far with the results; however, she is anticipating the matriculation results.

For her, it is important

Regional Education Officer, Nicola Matthews

ARMS Headmaster, Lalljeet Ruplall

for the students in the region to excel in Mathematics and English. She said Region

Two has been consistently outshining the other administrative regions. Last year,

Abram Zuil Secondary School top performer, Ushanna Mohan

Shakira Bhola was placed second in the country.

She said the Department of Education will continue

are met.

Headteacher of the Anna Regina Multilateral School, Sir Lalljeet Ruplall, said he is very pleased with the school’s performance and congratulated the staff for their dedication. Last year, the school managed to produce the second top performer for the country, Shakira Bholo, who achieved 21 subjects at the examinations.

“In 2001, for the first time, the school made its name with student David Gooray topping the country at the examinations. In a gap of seven years, Safraz

Students of the Anna Regina Multilateral School who excelled: Riana Toney, Charrandat Narine, Premchand Rampersaud, Renuka Persaud and Begum Baksh

to work with all secondary school teachers to mold the nation’s children. The department has moved the “subject committee” to the schools, involving heads of departments and ensuring that all teachers work together in the best interest of the children.

A mathematic specialist has also been working with teachers from the various secondary schools. These changes, Mathews said, has contributed to the region’s success.

The department has also created ‘Whatsapp’ groups where teachers from various secondary schools can communicate and provide solutions to issues facing them.

Matthews said although the Abram Zuil Secondary School will soon be under construction, she is confident students within the region will continue to perform well.

She also said the government through the Ministry of Education has been investing heavily in the education sector ensuring children’s need and social environment

Sharief topped the country then Rahul Lall maintained the schools’ position in 2008 and Zimeena Rasheed in 2013. In 2008, Rahul Lall was named the best Tech VOC student for the Caribbean and in 2013, the now deceased Yogeeta Persaud received the best overall outstanding achiever award for the Caribbean. In 2013, Zimeena Rasheed was also awarded the Best Tech VOC student and in 2015 her sister, Aliyah Rasheed, maintained the title for the school,” the headmaster said.

The top performers for Region Two include, Riana Toney with 19 ones; Charrandat Narine with 18 grade ones and a grade two; Premchand Rampersaud with 15 grade ones and three grade twos; Ushanna Mohan with 15 grade ones and a grade two; Begum Baksh with 13 ones and four grade twos and Renuka Persaud with 12 grade ones and two grade twos.

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Parking meter group now agitating for early elections A PEACEFUL protest was held on Thursday in front of the Ministry of the Presidency on Vlissengen road by the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) under theme “Disrespect for the constitution=Disrespect for Guyanese”.

According to one of the protestors, Johnathon Yearwood, the purpose of the protest was to ask the government to honour and respect the constitution, which is the supreme law of the land. He said having lost the no-confidence motion the government has not yet abided by the constitution.

Yearwood believes the government has done everything but adhere to the constitution, since he noted

Some of the protestors with placards in front of the Ministry of the Presidency (Adrian Narine photo)

that the government stated recently they will not be resigning. He explained that

resignation is one of the conditions of the constitution, when a no-confidence mo-

tion is lost; the government, president and cabinet must resign until the new election

is held.

Carlos Gonzales, a colleague of Yearwood ex-

pressed disappointment with the very little support received at the protest, seeing that is was a peaceful one.

He noted that for too long Guyanese have had a culture of silence especially about issues that every Guyanese should be focusing on since it pertains to the development of the country. Many Guyanese, Carlos believes lack the will to do so. He said, “we rather sit back and let other people do it, I have decided for myself this has been happening for too long and I personally from now on will take a stand with my colleagues”.

Suriname holding out as Canawaima remains grounded …revenue losses for Guyana pegged at $70M TODAY, August 16, 2019, marks 79 days since the M.V. Canawaima, the ferry vessel that plies from Moleson Creek on the Guyana side to South Drain in Suriname, was pulled from service after it had been experiencing mechanical difficulties for some time.

The vessel had, for 20plus years, been providing a vital service for several businessmen and women, who ply their trade between the two countries, as well as tourists and others.

But with `no light seen in the horizon’ as it relates to the two countries meeting to arrive at a solution, the resumption of operations of the ferry vessel remains in limbo.

Meanwhile, both Guyana and Suriname, having entered into a joint-venture arrangement for the ferry vessel on November 6, 1998, continue to lose much-needed revenue.

According to a source close to the operations, the suspended service has seen Guyana losing approximately $70M in revenue while pointing out that the months, June and August, are considered peak periods when much

revenue is collected.

This publication understands that Guyana’s Transport and Harbours Department Inc. (T&HD Inc.) and Sheepvaart Maapshappij NV of Suriname (SMS), the representative bodies for the Canawaima Ferry Service Inc. (CFS Inc.) are at loggerheads over the use of the ferry vessel.

Suriname wants the vessel to undertake the journey aided by a tug boat, but Guyana remains adamant that the Canawaima must instead be placed into dry dock for overhaul maintenance, with the T&HD’s vessel-- the MB (Motor Boat) Sandaka-- operating as the replacement in its absence.

For three days, May 31 to June 2, 2019, after the M.V Canawaima was suspended, the M.B. Sandaka assisted in transporting passengers and their goods. It had operated then with a defect which was corrected within a week and was available to resume full operations on June 9, 2019, the source related. However, the arrangement hit a snag with a disagreement between Guyana and Suriname in

The M.V. Canawaima ferry

relation to payment for chartering the vessel and then the vessel remains moored and remains idle, even as costs are being incurred.

It was pointed out that when the vessel is operational, the charter cost is US$1000 per day and US$500 per day when idle.

The non-operation of the ferry service, in addition to the loss of revenue, is also of great inconvenience to those businessmen and women who trade goods between the two countries, as they now have to reluctantly use the ‘backtrack’ service, which is not relatively safe.

According to the source,

Guyana’s T&HD Inc. and SMS of Suriname are part of the Canawaima Management Company (CMC) of the Canawaima Ferry Service Inc. (CFS Inc.) and, according to the agreement, all revenues collected should be deposited into a fund managed by CFS Inc. Also, on a monthly basis, CFS Inc. will disburse a subvention into the respective T&HD Inc. and SMS account.

Meanwhile, expenditure for minor and major maintenance of the vessel, which was registered in Suriname, is incorporated in a budget prepared by the management

companies and ratified by CFS Inc., with the money coming from the consolidated fund.

It was noted, however, that while Guyana from the inception opened and has been maintaining a fund, this has not been done by its Suriname counterpart which instead has been utlising the revenue it collects as it chooses.

And, going against the goodwill of the agreement too, the source said that Suriname has reportedly been putting works for tender, ordering spares and up-keeping no docking list, without Guyana having an input.

“Guyana is not involved in anything that Suriname is doing with respect to the M.V Canawaima, they have even gone ahead and selected a company of their choice to undertake the docking,” the source revealed.

In January 2018, the ferry service was suspended for nine days when the vessel developed mechanical problems. With the Guyana/ Suriname ferry service out of operation, persons travelling to and from the neighbouring country via the backtrack route have been urged to present themselves to immigration officers for process-

ing, as failure to do so can result in prosecution.

Processing of the documents can be done at immigration offices that are located at Republic Square, Springlands or at Port Moleson Creek.

The ferry service between Guyana and Suriname was officially launched on November 6, 1998. It is a joint venture and the financial and other arrangements for defraying operational expenses are outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Government of the Republic of Suriname on the Formation and Operation of the Joint Ferry Service between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Surname (1998).

According to the agreement, the maintenance of the ferry is to be shared equally. This has not occurred. In a bid to reduce the hardships to passengers and businesses using the service and in order to give the neighbouring state time to meet its obligations, the Government of Guyana has been funding most, if not all, of the maintenance works on the ferry over the years.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Kwakwani residents battling widespread flooding …Region 10 RDC dispatches health, assessment teams

By Vanessa Braithwaite REGION 10 officials are monitoring widespread flooding in Upper-Berbice community of Kwakwani, which at this time is affecting approximately 300 residents.

The affected communities are Lamp Island and Kwakwani Waterfront. Regional Vice-Chairman, Elroy Adolph, related that the water began to rise since last week but while there was hope that it will subside because August was deemed a dry month, much to their surprise, heavy rainfall continued to occur and the water level kept rising.

Areas closer to the river he said are flooded about six feet high while most of the other locations are under about three feet of water.

The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) was notified on Thursday and is expected to visit the community soon. The Region 10 health officials will be journeying into Kwakwani on Friday, to investigate the environmental health impact the flood is having on residents.

Adolph related that the access roads into the central

location of Kwakwani are currently impassable and residents are currently using boats as their means of transportation. The main concern for the residents at this time is food supply and Adolph is hoping that they are given relief in this regard. The VC is also concerned that if the situation does not improve, the affected residents will have to find shelter in schools and this would pose as a problem, since the new school term starts in two weeks.

Resident of Kwakwani Water Front, Cort Simeon related to this publication that the water level is rising faster than expected and all of the communities that are normally flooded yearly, are already under water. Residents of Lamp Island currently have to depend on rain water for domestic use because their taps are already inundated.

Residents can still access food with their boats but the main barge that is managed by the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), is currently not working because of the flood and trucks bringing food supplied and other amenities, cannot be transported via the river into Kwakwani at this time. He is

hoping that the water reaches a level at least by tomorrow so that the trucks can be transported and shops in Kwakwani can be restocked.

The flooding situation in Kwakwani occurs yearly and has been occurring for many decades. The residents took up lodging in an unregulated area, close to the Upper Berbice River and while efforts were made to relocate them, many explained that it would be challenging to do so, because they would have already built a life there.

Meanwhile, in a release the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Region 10 said it has dispatched a medical team to Lamp Island Sub

Floodwaters have covered some parts of Lamp Island

Another section of Lamp Island that is flooded

A section of the flooded area

Region Two, Upper-Berbice to assess the situation there as floodwaters continue to rise. The floods have caused residents to express fear and concerns. Regional Chairman, Renis Morian said over 220 persons reside in Lamp Island. He said while the region, over the years, has been informing residents about the dangers of living

there, residents have ignored the warnings.

He said that recognising that they are part of Region 10, he and his council have sought to provide whatever support and assistance to them in ensuring their safety.

Morian said that the residents are concerned and equally is his council is interested in the safety and health of the

residents there. He said that with the initial reports that he has received, he ordered the Regional Health Services Department under the Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Pansy Armstrong and the Regional Medical Committee, to dispatch a team to the area first thing today to access the situation there.

Morian, in commenting

on the situation, said that his RDC is closely monitoring the situation, noting that they are prepared to take whatever action needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents. “We have noted that the water in the Berbice River continues to rise significantly and in the interest of residents’ safety and health we are sending a rapid response team to Lamp Island with medical supplies.

While there, they are going to objectively assess the health and social conditions there, so that the RDC can take appropriate and most importantly, timely actions,” the regional chairman said.

Morian stressed that he and his councillors are continuing to monitor other areas within Region 10, declaring that they are standing by to take appropriate actions to ensure that communities affected by floods as a result of continuous rainfall can be protected.

CARICOM concerned about mass shooting in US The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said it is deeply shocked and saddened by the recent mass shootings that took place in El Paso, Texas, and Day-

ton, Ohio, in the United States, and which resulted in the loss of 31 lives.

“CARICOM condemns in the strongest terms these heinous at-

tacks which have deeply shaken the affected communities. The Community extends its deepest sympathies to the relatives and friends of those who lost their lives

and wishes a full and speedy recovery to the injured,” a release by the Caricom Secretariat said.

The Community also extends its deepest condolences and

stands in solidarity with the Government and People of the United States and of Mexico whose citizens were among the victims of these horrendous events.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

Hong Kong residents visit injured reporter, call for end of violence HONG KONG, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 of Hong Kong residents came to the hospital on Wednesday, where a reporter assaulted by violent protesters last night at the Hong Kong airport received treatment, voicing their support for his bravery and strong opposition to escalating violence in Hong Kong.

Fu Guohao, a journalist from Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper, was seized by a group of masked protesters when covering the situation at the airport on Tuesday night. He had been assaulted and detained before finally rescued by police as protesters flooding the airport refused to let him and firstaid personnel go.

During demonstration at the Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday, radicals intensified their sit-in to massive blockades, causing chaos at one of the world's busiest airport. Most outbound flights were canceled as the airport terminal was occupied

and travelers were prevented from departing. Many had been stranded for days.

A video clip showed Fu was besieged by a large group of protesters and later he was tied with his hands behind his head, slumped down on a luggage trolly and closely surrounded by blackclad crowd.

"I support Hong Kong police. Now you can beat me," he said told the crowd.

The video clip quickly went viral on the internet and drew condemnation of violence by the radicals.

"He spoke out what Hong Kong people want to say. We remained silent for more than two months. People in Hong Kong need peaceful and stable lives, and need a better Hong Kong," Raymond Lam said.

Lam, 35, brought with Fu fruits and moon cakes, the signature traditional desserts for the approaching Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on Sept. 13 this year.

He asked for a leave from his boss and took a one-and-

(Fu Guohao (R), a journalist from Global Times, a Beijing-based newspaper, leaves Princess Margaret Hospital in south China's Hong Kong, Aug. 14, 2019. )

half hour ride to the Princess Margaret Hospital, a general hospital in south Kwai Chung, along with several friends.

"The gifts carry my wish that he can recover soon, and I also want to tell him he has support of so many Hong Kong people," Lam said.

"Protesters stepped across the line, and ordinary people would not do that."

Lam said what the rioters

China's Ambassador to UK condemns terrorism in Hong Kong China's Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said China's central government hopes the Hong Kong situation will end in an orderly way.

The Ambassador reiterated at a news conference that Hong Kong is part of China and no foreign country should interfere in

Hong Kong affairs.

"We would never allow anyone to harm the rule of law and sound development in Hong Kong. We would never allow anyone to undermine 'one country, two systems' at any excuse.

President Xi hails Sino-Brazilian ties on their 45th anniversary President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he stands ready to make joint efforts with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to lift the comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level to benefit the two countries and their people. He made the remark when exchanging greetings with Bolsonaro on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.

Since their diplomatic ties were forged 45 years ago, the China-Brazil relationship has grown stronger as time goes by, with fruitful achievements in all areas,

bringing concrete benefits to people of the two countries, Xi said.

China and Brazil have set a good example of unity, cooperation and shared development between developing countries, he said. Xi said both countries are now at a critical period of national development, and bilateral cooperation has huge potential and a promising future.

Bolsonaro said in a message that his nation is proud that the two countries have been adhering to the goal of mutual development and bilateral cooperation.

That cooperation has

become mature and diversified since the two countries established diplomatic ties, he said. Two-way trade and mutual investment between Brazil and China have been growing continuously and the two countries enjoy good cooperation in strategic fields such as space, which fully reflects the mutually beneficial nature of the Brazil-China relationship, Bolsonaro said. The Brazilian president added that he is willing to work with Xi and jointly plan for further development of bilateral ties to benefit the nations' people.

did to Fu last night has trampled all over the bottom line of civilization and even embodied elements of terrorism.

A citizen surnamed Lee wore a T-shirt printed with Fu's words and held a bouquet for him. "I think he is a hero. I am here to show support and I oppose recent violent incidents caused by some young protesters in the name of freedom and democracy."

Many Hong Kong cit-

izens gathered outside the lobby of the hospital and some held banners, calling for measures to punish attackers, oppose violence and safeguard rule of law.

"I think he is a real man and I want to cheer him on," said Dicky Yip said.

"We, all Chinese people, should have the backbone like him," said the 46-yearold man.

Working as a tourist guide for years, Yip said the escalating violence by the radical protesters have cast a spell on Hong Kong's tourism industry as he has received no group tourists at all since July.

"The radical protesters are ignoring our livelihood.

I hope the violence can be ended as soon as possible, giving us back a prosperous and beautiful Hong Kong," he said.

Fu was discharged from the hospital at Wednesday noon and still looked pale and weak, with obvious swelling and bruise on the face of the 28-year-old.

"I obeyed all the requirements for citizens in Hong Kong and did not do anything illegal or disputable," Fu said during a brief interview at the hospital, with a bunch of flowers, the gift from visitors, in his hand.

"I should not be treated violently," he said.

"When I said I love Hong Kong at the airport. It was natural response and I meant it," he added.

Similar to Fu, another traveler was also held and assaulted by protesters at the airport. The man who fell unconscious was sent to hospital at wee hours Wednesday.

A spokesperson of the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Wednesday severely condemned these violent acts, saying they were outrageous and had overstepped the bottom line of a civilized society.

Hong Kong police will take relentless enforcement action to bring the perpetrators to justice, the spokesperson added.

Foreign officials, experts condemn lawbreakers' violence in Hong Kong, support actions by gov't BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Foreign government officials and experts have recently expressed their condemnation of the violence perpetrated by radical demonstrators in Hong Kong.

Emphasizing the significance of "one country, two systems" for the development of Hong Kong, they also voiced their support for the legitimate actions taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and Hong Kong police to restore order.

Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Pakistan understands the actions taken by the Chinese central government and the HKSAR government to uphold national sovereignty and maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.

Hong Kong's affairs are completely China's domestic affairs, Faisal said, noting that all nations should abide by basic norms and international law to avoid interference.

Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam said during an interview with local media that there has been a

breakdown of law and order, which any government will have to deal with.

Helen Sham-Ho, former deputy president of the Legislative Council of New South Wales in Australia, said Hong Kong is favored by tourists and investors as the Pearl of the Orient, but the current chaotic situation there is damaging its prosperity.

There is no doubt that the priority is to resume order, and the police have the right to uphold law and order, she said, adding that police have behaved quite patiently.

In reference to the recent attacks on Hong Kong police and the blockade of Hong Kong International Airport by some radical demonstrators, Abdulaziz Alshaabani, Saudi Arabia's expert on Chinese affairs, said such radical acts seriously undermined the rule of law, hindered economic development and harmed the interests of the people of Hong Kong.

If violence deteriorates further, Hong Kong's prosperity and stability will suffer a severe blow, undermining its due international image and status, the expert said, adding that Hong Kong should get back on track as soon as possible and restore

social stability.

The continued chaos in Hong Kong, apparently created by anti-government protesters and encouraged by foreign influence, must be quickly stopped, Wilson Lee Flores, columnist of The Philippine Star newspaper, told Xinhua.

Strong measures should be taken as the chaos is not only bad for Hong Kong's economy and tourism, but also disadvantageous for the prosperity of the East Asian region as Hong Kong is an important finance and trade center, he said.

The deteriorating situation will not only bring no benefits to Hong Kong itself, but harm the surrounding regions and the world at large, warned Kim Jin-ho, a professor of politics and diplomacy at South Korea's Dankook University.

"They should solve the problem through close communication and legal procedures, instead of using violence and illegal measures, which is really dangerous," Kim said.

"Dialogue and communication is the fundamental way to produce win-win outcomes."

GUYANA CHRONICLE, Friday August 16, 2019

23

Public Debt Management Bill to be finalised GOVERNMENT is in the process of finalising a draft Public Debt Management Bill, which, when passed, will guide borrowing and investment and ensure debt is managed in a manner deemed fiscally sustainable.

This is according to Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, in his 2019 Mid-Year report released on Wednesday.

The report noted that despite Guyana’s stability with respect to its outstanding debt, which is rated as moderate risk of debt distress, the country faces new challenges due to the reduction in concessional financing and the lack of adequate capacity and institutional framework to facilitate domestic debt instruments.

According to the report, the credit market has improved considerably and the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans has declined compared to the last two

years.

As such, the mid-year report stated that further efforts within the financial system are required in order to minimise this portfolio, especially given the recent increase in borrowing across all sectors.

The Bank of Guyana will continue to undertake stress tests of the financial system to ensure it takes appropriate actions to promote resilience.

Notwithstanding the projected growth for 2019, it was underscored that the attainment of revised targets could be undermined by domestic and external risks.

Further, the report noted that the pace of implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIP), the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans, political uncertainty, and the influx of immigrants, represent some critical internal threats.

However, at the same

the government, despite the increase in capital expenditure in the first half of the year, as bottlenecks in project execution and implementation still exist,” the report underscored.

Notwithstanding the improvements to public in-

time, a slowing global economy amid weak investment, exports, and consumption are among the major risks coming from outside Guyana’s borders.

“Other risks include, but are not limited to, climate change, enforcement of key legislation, and data availability and quality. The implementation rate of the PSIP remains a concern for

PAHO warns of the complex situation of dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns of the complex situation of dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean, a Region that is currently experiencing a new epidemic cycle of the disease after two years of low incidence.

According to the latest PAHO epidemiological update, published on August 9, during the first 7 months of 2019, more than 2 million people contracted the disease and 723 died. The number of cases exceeds the total number of cases reported in 2017 and 2018, although so far, it remains lower than the number recorded in 2015-2016. “The Region is experiencing a new epidemic cycle of dengue, with a notable increase in cases,” said Dr. Marcos Espinal, Director of PAHO’s Department of Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Health. The climate, environmental management and the mosquito’s capacity to adapt may have caused the situation to increase in complexity.

Another characteristic of the current epidemic is that children under the age of 15 appear to be among the most affected. In Guatemala, they represent 52% of total cases of severe dengue, while in Honduras, they constitute 66% of all confirmed deaths. According to Dr. Espinal, this may be due to the fact that their age means they have been less exposed to the virus in the past and may therefore lack immunity.

Dengue is caused by a virus that has four different, but closely related, serotypes: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4, all of which circulate in the Americas. When a person recovers from the infection, he acquires lifelong immunity against that particular serotype. However, subsequent infections caused by other serotypes increase the risk of acquiring more severe forms of dengue. Serotype 2 is one of the deadliest and is the one currently affecting children and adolescents. The ten countries currently most affected by dengue, in terms of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, are Nicaragua, Brazil, Honduras, Belize, Colombia, El Salvador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela. Honduras and Nicaragua have already declared national-level

epidemiological alerts this year to expedite the response.

Given the situation, PAHO has already urged the entire community and all sectors of society to work together to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, particularly those around the home. “Dengue is a domestic and community sanitation problem,” said José Luis San Martin, PAHO’s Regional Advisor on Dengue. “The most effective way to combat it is to eliminate its breeding sites in order to prevent the mosquito from reproducing because without mosquitoes there would be no transmission of dengue,” he said. According to San Martin the community as a whole must get rid of all unused objects where water can accumulate, such as drums, old tires, cans, bottles and vases. Domestic water tanks must be hermetically sealed to avoid them becoming hatcheries. “Eliminating hatcheries would hit the mosquito hard by interrupting its breeding cycle, therefore reducing the mosquito population,” he said.

Priority: saving lives PAHO has also called for health professionals to be trained to diagnose and adequately manage patients with dengue and other arboviruses such as Zika y Chikungunya. “The proper management of patients is a priority that can save lives, said San Martin, urging the population to avoid self-medicating and to instead visit a health system early when experiencing symptoms of the disease.

The most common symptoms are high fever (40 °C), severe headache, pain behind the eyeballs, and joint and muscle aches. Warning signs of dengue that require urgent medical attention include severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding from the mucous membranes, fatigue, irritability and presence of blood in the vomit.

There is no specific treatment for dengue (or severe dengue), but timely detection, access to medical care and proper management of the patient can reduce complications and disease progression. Death from dengue is almost always avoidable.

vestment management, the mid-year report stated that government is cognisant of the varying institutional capacities across the public sector.

In light of anticipated additional revenues, the report noted that the increased

economic activity and wider regulatory and service delivery demands present a risk to ensuring effective growth.

Government, as a result, has mandated all budget agencies to accelerate institutional strengthening, going forward.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

GCF’s Burrowes grateful to all as Guyana stood tall in hosting 13th JCCC

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) Horace Burrowes is showering praises on all and sundry for combining efforts which saw Guyana host its first major cycling championships ever.

August 10-11 has gone down in history as the dates when the 13th edition of the Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships (JCCC) was hosted here with 15 nations making the memorable trip to the Land of Many Waters.

Burrowes, in an invited comment said that what makes the event even more memorable is the fact that it was also the first time that such a huge event was held outside the confines of the Capital City.

Burrowes stated that Bartica and its Mayor, His Worship Gifford Marshall, stepped up in a massive way to ensure that it was a win-win situation for all as they undertook the expenses for hosting everyone in Bartica.

The GCF was responsible for all other expenses outside of Bartica.

“This event I can assure all Guyana was a massive breaking point for Guyana and not just our federation in that it has shown the rest of the Caribbean that we have the capacity to host such events even though it took some time in reaching our shores.

All the participating nations expressed satisfaction and were happy that they made the trip to Guyana.

They complimented Mayor Marshall and the people of Bartica for their hospitality and promise to be back.”

Burrowes stated that despite the challenges faced in terms of sponsorship, the federation, with the help of some companies and individuals pulled out all the stops to ensure that Guyana made its mark and came out with flying colours.

“I am really gratified with the level of commitment shown by many of our cyclists who would have made the trip and volunteered their services as officials manning the race route among other areas which all added up in

Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys & Juniors Boxing

Guyana’s 16-member team charged with flying Golden Arrowhead high WHEN the bell rings tonight at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) to signal the beginning of the Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Boxing Championship, a 16-member team will be charged with flying the Golden Arrowhead high and will be looking to defend Guyana’s title for a fourth consecutive year.

The 16-member team which comprises 14 boys and two girls will be led by captain Isaiah Moore (Youth Flyweight). The team manager is Lennox Daniels and the coaches are Sebert Blake and Clive Atwell.

The championship was birthed in 2016 and is the first of its kind in Latin America and has provided a platform for the region’s best Under-16 and juniors to test themselves against each other.

Guyana has been crowned champion of all three tournaments held so far.

The countries that are scheduled to participate in this year’s edition are: Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Maarten, St Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the US Virgin Islands.

Among the sponsors are Hand-in-Hand Mutual Insurance, E-Networks, Massy Distribution and COURTS Guyana, Asso-

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ciated Packers Industry of Sheriff Street, Power Producers and Distributors Inc., Secure Innovations and Concepts, Bounty Farms Limited, Maggie’s Snackette, National Sports Commission, Ministry of Social Cohesion, Department of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs and Cevon’s Waste Management.

The Championship is set to commence at 18:00hs daily and ringside tickets cost $1 500, stands $500 and season tickets $4 000.

BOYS: Age 12-14: Thierry Moore, Sean Graham, Wayne Castello, Jaqwan Milo 15-16: Travis Inverary, Mark Crawford, Alex Butcher, Emmanuel Pompey Juniors (17-18): Richard Howard, Isaiah Moore, Jerron McKenzie and Fitzroy Heywood GIRLS: 13-14: Alesha Jackman Juniors: Abiola Jackman Race 2 Olympic Village Race 3 Overboard Race 4 Lookbothways Race 5 Blue Belt Race 6 Promise Me Rosaes Race 7 Ratajowski Race 9 Another Miracle South Africa Racing Tips Fairview 08:30 hrs Jay’s Hawk 09:05 hrs Mangrove

making the event a success.”

The GCF is also very thankful to the Caribbean Cycling Federation, COPACI and UCI for their efforts and assistance as well as the event Commissars, Henny Bonafacio and Ms Clotilde Vicente.”

Appreciation is being extended to the Mayor and Town Council of Bartica, Industrial Safety Supplies Inc., Universal Auto Supplies, Humphrey’s Bakery & Farm Products of Ketley Street Charlestown, Clear Waters, Mr Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Chin Chan Bike Shop, Professional Key Shop, Showers of Blessing Bus Service, Kennard Lovell, Jeffrey Yearwood, Sasha Persaud, Dexter Sealey and Joseph Britton.

The competing nations were Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Curacao, Anguilla, Barbados, United States Virgin Islands, Grenada, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, St Martin and the host.

Industrial Supply Guyana supports 1320 Heat INDUSTRIAL Supply Guyana (ISG) has come on board in support of the upcoming International Drag race event called 1320 Heat.

The 1320 Heat drag racing event is being run off by the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) with the club proclaiming that this will be its largest event of that kind.

In a release, the club stated that “ISG has been on board for a lot of our circuit racing events and their venture into this international Drag race meet

is welcome.”

“We feel that companies such as ISG are not often given the recognition that they deserve and we want to say thank you to the management of the company” “Industrial Supply of Guyana Inc. became a subsidiary of MACORP on the 1st March, 2003 and is the Sole Distributor of National Petroleum products,” the release stated.

“We at GMR&SC look forward to more fruitful partnerships with ISG especially given the popularity of its Ultra Lubricants,” the

release concluded.

Apart from ISG, the other event sponsors are DEL CO ICE, R. Kissoon Contracting, Deryck Jaisingh Trucking Service and Machinery Rentals, Mohamed’s Enterprise, BM Soat, Prem Electrical, E-Networks, Trans-Pacific Auto Sales, Cyril’s Taxi, Blue Spring Water, Choke Gas Station, Miracle Optical, Tropical Shipping and Hand-inHand.

Adults’ tickets for the August 25 event are $2 000 while children’s tickets are $1000.

CWI president pays tribute to late Reggie Scarlett ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt has praised late former Jamaica and West Indies leg-spinner, Reg Scarlett as a “true stalwart” who gave his all to cricket.

Scarlett, who played three Tests on England’s tour of the Caribbean in 1960, passed away Wednesday in England after battling illness.

He was one day short of his 85th birthday.

“Reg was a true stalwart who never stopped loving West Indies cricket while he lived in England,” Skerritt said in a statement.

“He served the game

selflessly, both on and off the field, until he retired in Grenada several years ago and continued to make his input into cricket development.”

09:35 hrs Spoils Of War 10:10 hrs Spirit Of Song 10:45 hrs World Radar

11:35 hrs Star In The Making 12:05 hrs Saikung

English Racing Tips Newbury 08:50 hrs Ottoman Court 09:25 hrs Baba Ghanouj 09:25 hrs Baba Ghanouj 09:55 hrs War Brigade 10:30 hrs Al Raya 11:00 hrs Point Of Order

Reggie Scarlett

Following his playing career which included 17 first class matches for Jamaica, Scarlett spent 15 years coaching in England where he settled, while also playing

Chelmsford City 12:40 hrs Collette 13:10 hrs Cool Sphere 13:40 hrs Furious 14:10 hrs Corinthia Knight 14:45 hrs Niclaus 15:15 hrs Herculean 15:45 hrs Rainbow Jazz 16:15 hrs Muraaqeb

minor league cricket.

Similar coaching stints followed in Jamaica and England again, before he finally returned to the region to become CWI’s first director of coaching, and played a key role in the setting up of the now defunct Shell Cricket Academy at St George’s University in Grenada.

“On behalf of the board of directors, management and staff of CWI, we extend sincere condolences to his wife Trish and immediate family and may the care and love of those around them provide comfort and peace to get them through this difficult time,” Skerritt said.

Irish Racing Tips Curragh 11:40 hrs Yulong Voice 12:10 hrs For The Trees 12:45 hrs Lil Grey 13:15 hrs Master Of Reality 13:45 hrs Sir Dragonet 14:15 hrs Bellepower 14:50 hrs Whatharm 15:20 hrs Zodiacus

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Paul & Sons 15-over final set for tomorrow … Rems, Enmore aiming for consecutive titles

By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada - After

carting off last weekend’s Caribbean Sensation/Nirad Lall-sponsored 10/10 Division

One championship, Rems will be aiming to make it two straight titles when they clash

with Mercenary in the Paul & Sons-sponsored 15-over final tomorrow at the Ashtonbee number two ground.

Meanwhile, the Division Two final features Enmore and Carr Tec at the Ashtonbee number one ground in what is a repeat of last Saturday’s 10/10 final, with the latter not only endeavouring to turn the tables on their opponents but also reversing last year’s finish when they had to settle for the runners-up spot to Good Success.

tracks in the regular season (20 overs) tournament, giving them somewhat of an added momentum entering tomorrow’s final.

Rems will also be hoping that their top-order which includes the likes of Chien Gittens, Richard Dias, Krishna Deosaran and Ian ‘Russian’ Baldeo, hit form since apart from Surujpaul Deosaran, who hit a top score of 29 last weekend, the rest of the batting failed to get going.

Their bowlers, led by

captain’s contribution, the batting hinges around Shauan Deonandand, Munniram Karran, Yadram Bogh and all-rounders Aftab Shamsudeen and Avinash Sookdeo.

Support will also come from bowlers Rabindra Diaram and Bolanauth Sukhu.

The Division Two final, featuring Enmore and Carr Tec, is expected to be brimful of interest. Undoubtedly, Carr Tec were the favourites to win last week’s 10-over contest

Surujpaul Deosaran

Aftab Shamhudeen

Terry Mathura

Incidentally, both of last year’s winners – Sunshine in Division One and Good Success in Division Two - are out of contention for varying reasons, Sunshine opting to pull out of the league and Good Success losing to Carr Tec in the semi-final.

On the Division One consolation final Rebels will trye to take home another winners trophy when they battle with last week’s losing championship finalists GT Bannas, on Ashtonbee Reservoir number one while Bacchus Ruff Ryders and Ramblers square off at Ashtonbee Reservoir number two.

While Rems made light work of GT Bannas in the 10/10 final, the showdown with Mercenary is expected to be far fiercer and a keener contest is definitely on the cards.

It will be recalled that Rems were responsible for Mercenary’s exit from the 10/10 tournament at the semi-final stage and also stopped them in their

Steve Ramdass

Yoodhanlall Sukhlall, were simply superb against GT Bannas and will be looking to replicate those performances.

Regular season leaders Mercenary had high hopes of making a clean sweep of the Division One titles but their expectations have already been shattered. Apart from wanting to “settle the score” with their opponents, bragging rights are also up for grabs in this highly anticipated contest.

Skipper Looknauth Ramsuchit is extremely confident that Mercenary will come out on top. Apart from the

after playing unbeaten in both the regular and knockout tournaments. However, they were brought down to earth by a spectacular performance from Enmore who outduel them in all facets of the game.

Led by fine innings from man-of-the-match Abdool Azeez and former Guyana youth player Steve Ramdass, Enmore were by far the better team on the day and fully deserved their triumph.

Carr Tec will once again be pinning their hopes on former Guyana youth batsman Ravendra Mandolall, who was a ‘no-show” as far as getting among the runs last week. A surprising element in Carr Tec’s play last week was the experienced Terry Mathura who bowled only one over, in which he conceded nine runs and claimed two wickets.

Following the conclusion of the 15-over final, the battle will resume for regular-season (20 overs) supremacy.

8th annual Osmond Cummimgs Memorial football extravaganza on Sunday COME Sunday, the 8th annual Osmond Cummings Memorial football extravaganza will be staged at the Silvertown All Stars ground.

The annual event is organised by the Botofago Football Club and sponsored by the Cummings Family out of New York, This has been a yearly combination of specially arranged football competitions in honour of Osmond Cummings, who was a prominent football player of Botofago and at one time its president, before he passed away.

His brother Nigel ‘Mice’ Cummings and the rest of the Cummings family have set out

to recognise his contribution to football in the area where they grew up before migrating and as such are determined to let his memory live on.

In light of this ‘Mice’ Cummings who was inspired by his late brother and played for Botofago his entire career as well as for the senior national team is back in Guyana with his family for this special occasion.

Four teams will be contesting an Under-15 tournament with hosts Botofago.

Rickland Hutson Leadership Academy, Eagles United and a representative team from Buxton will engage each other

for the top honours.

There will be a female exhibition game between the Botofago team and a rest of Linden side while the big clash of the day is between the Botofago Under-23 taking on the Capital FC from 16:00hrs.

The Under-15 tournament will start things rolling from 10:00hrs and the female exhibition game will commence at 14:00hrs, to be followed by the Botofago versus Capital FC Under-23 clash.

There will be other attractions at the venue which is behind the Wismar Post Office. Admission is free.

(Joe Chapman)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Australia seize control as England wilt at Lord’s

By Ed Osmond LONDON, England (Reuters) - Australia picked up four wickets in the afternoon session to take control of the second Ashes Test as England laboured to 201 for six at tea on the second day at Lord’s yesterday.

The hosts crumbled from 76 for two at lunch after being sent in to bat, Rory Burns making 53 in the only innings of substance and Josh Hazlewood taking three wickets to put Australia in a strong position as they bid to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

The first day was washed out by rain but the skies were clear on a blustery morning when Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and Hazlewood struck two early blows.

Jason Roy lasted three balls, flashing wildly at his first before edging a lifting delivery to wicketkeeper Paine for nought.

Captain Joe Root survived a few testing overs and twice

drove Pat Cummins sweetly to the extra cover boundary before, on 14, he was trapped lbw by Hazlewood with a delivery that jagged back and kept low.

Burns, who made a patient century in the first Test at Edgbaston, dug in to play the anchor role again but he was given a life when he drove loosely at a wide ball from Peter Siddle and Usman Khawaja spilled a sharp catch at gully.

Hazlewood, recalled to the side in place of James Pattinson, bowled two probing and accurate spells in the morning, conceding only 14 runs in 10 overs to lift Australia’s quest to win the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.

Burns slog-swept spinner Nathan Lyon, who extracted a bit of turn, for four to bring up England’s fifty and the left-hander was 34 not out at lunch with Joe Denly unbeaten on 27.

As has happened regularly in Denly’s fledgling Test career, however, he failed to capitalise

Van Dijk, Messi and Ronaldo vie for UEFA Player-of-the-Year award

Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo in action (TT News Agency/Erik

Simander via REUTERS)

(REUTERS) - Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil Van Dijk have been shortlisted for the UEFA Player-of-the-Year award, the sport’s European governing body said yesterday.

While Ronaldo, a three-time winner, has been ever-present in the final three since the award was created in 2011, centre back Van Dijk makes his first appearance after helping Liverpool win the Champions League title last season.

Van Dijk was voted both the Premier League Player-of-the-Season and the Players’ Player-of-the-Year, and was instrumental in the Merseyside club’s sixth European Cup triumph.

Two-time award winner Messi was the leading scorer in both La Liga (36 goals) and the Champions League (12 goals) last season but his Barcelona side fell in the semi-final stage to Liverpool, who overcame a three-goal deficit in the second leg to advance.Ronaldo, who has won five Champions League titles, did not fare too well in Europe in his debut season with Juventus, the Italian side losing in the quarter-finals to Ajax Amsterdam.

However, he helped Juve seal their eighth successive league title with 21 goals and was voted the Serie A’s ‘Most Valuable Player’.

For the women’s award, treble-winners Olympique Lyonnais made it a clean sweep with striker Ada Hegerberg, right back Lucy Bronze and midfielder Amandine Henry shortlisted. Hegerberg was the first recipient of the women’s Ballon d’Or last year.

The awards will be presented during the Champions League group-stage draw ceremony, in Monaco on Thursday, August 29.

on a solid start.

The right-hander added three runs before he nibbled at a full-length Hazlewood delivery and edged another routine catch to Paine.

Burns, dropped again by the keeper, completed his third Test fifty, off 119 balls, and he was the victim of a brilliant reaction

catch by Cameron Bancroft at short leg as the batsman looked to turn a short delivery from Cummins off his hip.

Jos Buttler made 12 before he hung his bat limply at a wide delivery from Siddle to nick it to Paine and Ben Stokes missed a straight ball from Lyon to depart lbw for 13 with

Josh Hazlewood celebrates his first Test wicket in seven months (Getty)

England reeling at 138 for six.

Jonny Bairstow (36 not out) and Chris Woakes (25 not out) steadied the ship with an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 63 in bright sunshine at the

home of cricket.

With rain forecast to disrupt day three, however, England face an uphill task to level the series and boost their hopes of regaining the Ashes.

SCORECARD ENGLAND 1st innings R. Burns c Bancroft b Cummins 53 J. Roy c Paine b Hazlewood 0 J. Root (c) lbw b Hazlewood 14 J. Denly c Paine b Hazlewood 30 J. Buttler c Paine b Siddle 12 B. Stokes lbw b Lyon 13 J. Bairstow c Khawaja b Lyon 52 C. Woakes c Paine b Cummins 32 J. Archer c Khawaja b Cummins 12 S.J Broad b Lyon 11 M. Leach not out 6 Extras: (b-12, lb-5, w-6) 23 Total: 258 (all out, 77.1 overs) 258 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-26, 3-92, 4-116, 5-136, 6-138, 7-210, 8-230, 9-251.

Bowling: P. Cummins 21-8-61-3, J. Hazlewood 22-6-58-3, P. Siddle 13-2-48-1, N. Lyon 19.1-2-68-3, S. Smith 2-06-0 AUSTRALIA 1st Innings CT. Bancroft not out 5 D. Warner b Broad 3 U. Khawaja not out 18 EXTRAS: (b-4) 4 TOTAL: (one wkt, 13 overs) 30 Fall of wickets: 1-11.

Bowling: S. Broad 5-0-13-1, J. Archer 6-3-10-0, C.Woakes 2-0-3-0

New Zealand’s Patel restricts Sri Lanka with five-wicket haul

(REUTERS) - New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel carved through Sri Lanka’s top order and took five wickets to even the odds for the visitors after the second day of the opening Test in Galle yesterday.

New Zealand were bowled out for 249 in the first session but Sri Lanka struggled to get going during Patel’s spells and finished on 227-7, trailing by 22 runs.

Openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne patiently saw off the new ball attack of Trent Boult and Tim Southee before Patel was introduced

as early as the 11th over in spin-friendly conditions.

The Indian-born left-armer, who finished with 5-76, struck in his first over to have Thirimanne stumped. Karunaratne was next to go with a similar delivery that trapped him leg-before with the score on 66-2.

Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews built a 77run partnership for the third wicket before Mendis (53) was dismissed the very next ball after bringing up his 10th half-century just before tea.

After a middle-order

Ajaz Patel grabbed five for 76

collapse, where three batsmen added only six runs, wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella (39 not out) and Suranga Lakmal (28 not out) wrested back control with an unbeaten 66-run partnership to keep the Test evenly poised.

Earlier Ross Taylor, unbeaten on 86 at stumps on Wednesday, fell to the very first delivery he faced, miss-

ing out on his 19th century after edging fast bowler Lakmal to the wicketkeeper.

After Akila Dananjaya picked up five wickets on the first day, Lakmal (4-29) quickly cleaned up the tail.

The two-Test series, with the second match set for Colombo, is the first for both teams in the newly launched World Test Championship.

SCORECARD NEW ZEALAND 1st innings J. Raval c de Silva b Dananjaya 33 T. Latham c Dickwella b Dananjaya 30 K. Williamson c Karunaratne b Dananjaya 0 L. Taylor c Dickwella b Lakmal 86 H. Nicholls lbw b Dananjaya 42 B. Watling lbw b Dananjaya 1 M. Santer lbw b Lakmal 13 T. Southee run-out (de Silva/Dickwella) 14 W. Somerville not out 9 T. Boult c Perera b Lakmal 18 A. Patel lbw b Lakmal 0 EXTRAS: (lb-2, nb-1) 3 TOTAL: (all out, 83.2 overs) 249 Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-64, 3-71, 4-171, 5-179, 6-205, 7-216, 8-222, 9-249.

Bowling: R. Lakmal 15.2-5-29-4, C. Kumara 10-1-37-0, A. Dananjaya 30-3-80-5, D. deSilva 6-0-20-0, I. Emdueniya 22-1-81-0.

SRI LANKA 1st innings F. Karunaratne (c) lbw b Patel

39 H. Thirimanne stp. Watling b Patel 10 B. Mendis c Taylor b Patel

53 A. Mathews c Taylor b Patel

50 M. Perera c Santner b Boult 1 D. de Silva c & b Patel

5 N. Dickwella not out 39 A. Dananjaya c Taylor b Somerville 0 R. Lakmal not out 28 EXTRAS: (lb-1, w-1) 2 TOTAL: (seven wkts, 80 overs) 227 Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-66, 3-143, 4-144, 5-155, 6-158, 7-161.

Bowling: T. Boult 13-3-24-1, T. Southee 7-3-17-0, W. Somerville 20-2-78-1, A. Patel 29-6-76-5, M. Santer 11-0-31-0.

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Super Cup fatigue will not faze Liverpool, says Hasenhuettl Liverpool celebrate their Super Cup over Chelsea on Wednesday

(REUTERS) - Liverpool are still dangerous opponents even if their squad is suffering from fatigue after their penalty shootout win in the Super Cup, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuettl said yesterday.

Liverpool’s Super Cup game against Chelsea in Istanbul on Wednesday went into extra time and penalties and a number of players looked tired after 120 minutes on the pitch, with manager Juergen Klopp admitting that it was a demanding game.

“I heard the message from Juergen that he thought we would celebrate, (that) ... they were playing longer,” Hasenhuettl told reporters ahead of tomorrow’s game.

“I was happy, but mostly because of the reason I have more pictures to show my players. Last year Liverpool I think played 13 times in the week and, in the 13 times they played at the weekend, they won 11 and drew two.

“This team has so much quality, and Juergen tries to put out maybe a little bit of an excuse for the fitness from his players. It’s not a problem for them after 120 minutes on the Wednesday to come here and make a good game.”

Southampton lost 3-0 at Burnley in their Premier League opener last weekend and Hasenhuettl said they had a “busy intense week” ahead of the European champions’ visit.

“We have worked very hard in the last two days,” the Austrian manager added. “Today we had a lighter session; they were a little bit tired today because we have worked hard but no injuries so far.

“So far we have not (got any injury concerns).”

While the transfer window for incoming players is closed for the Premier League, the European window is open until September 2 and Hasenhuettl said he expects players to leave the club as they trim the squad.

“There are still a lot of possibilities for the players,” he said. “Most of them may be on loan but I think the best thing for the players and us would be something permanent because that helps both sides more.

“There is still a way to go in the European transfer period. The most important thing is what is best for us and the players. If we find the best package for all three sides, as it has to suit the other club, then a transfer can happen.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Lyon savours ‘special moment’ as he equals Lillee’s tally of 355 wickets NATHAN Lyon conceded it felt special to match Australia great Dennis Lillee’s haul of Test wickets as the tourists again took control against England in the Ashes.

Following their rampant 251-run win at Edgbaston in the series opener, Australia asked England to bat at Lord’s and wasted little time getting among their opponents after a first-day washout.

Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon

Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow offered the most telling resistance with half-centuries, but three wickets apiece from off-spinner Lyon and seamers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood saw England dismissed for 258.

Bairstow was the last man out, caught by Usman Khawaja on the midwicket boundary – a moment that moved Lyon on to 355 scalps alongside celebrated paceman Lillee.

“I have always said I’m not about personal milestones or personal achieve-

ments, it’s about winning Test matches for Australia,” Lyon told reporters after his side reached 30 for one at stumps, with Stuart Broad once again accounting for David Warner.

“I wasn’t actually aware of it. I struggle to see myself up there with the likes of Lillee, [Shane] Warne, [Glenn] McGrath.

“To me they’re greats of the game and I’m just some guy trying to bowl off-breaks.

“It’s a special moment and hopefully a few more will come.”

The recalled Hazlewood and Cummins, the latter who peppered England’s batsman with a ferocious spell of short bowling after lunch, turned in performances that would undoubtedly have won Lillee’s approval.

Burns was dropped by Khawaja, and Lyon felt Australia could have been in an even more commanding position.

“I don’t think we have had our best day, we dropped a few catches,” he said.

“But if we are batting at the end of the day we are pretty happy. We want to be a team that, no matter what we do first, we are competing and playing a positive brand of cricket.”

Guyana Karate College to host 2019 Caribbean Karate Cup THE Guyana Karate College (GKC) will host the IKD Guyana Caribbean Karate Cup from August 23 to 25 at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

To date, over 100 athletes from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela confirmed their participation, while Guyana, according to a release, will field approximately 100 karatekas.

The regional karatekas

will compete in individual events like kata, which is a choreographed pattern of movements, as well as kumite or sparring.

There will also be several team events, including kata, kumite, along with bunkai (formal application of kata) and enbu (practical applications of bunkai fighting techniques) events. Participants will compete for medals, and the country with the highest gold medal count will win the coveted Caribbean Cup trophy.

Speaking about the upcoming tournament, Guyanese Shuseki Shihan (World Karate Master) Frank Woon-A-Tai, 9th Dan, M.S., head of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) organisation with 70 regions in 50 countries worldwide said, “This will be another milestone in the history of traditional karate in Guyana and the region. Several eighth and seventh dan masters will be attending to support fair

judging, and competition will be fierce.”

“However, I respectfully appeal to all competitors and spectators to remember that the aim of the Art of Karate is not in winning or losing, but in the development of the character of all participants. We teach discipline and the strongest karate along with moulding good citizens - Character, Sincerity, Effort,

Etiquette and the Most Important Rule - Self Control,” Woon-A-Tai noted.

Admission is $500 and the GKC expects the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to be packed to full capacity. The action begins at 09:00hrs. on Saturday, August 23, with all kata, enbu and bunkai events. Beginning at the same time on Sunday, August 24, will be kumite events along with bunkai and enbu demonstrations.

The opening march-on ceremony will also take place on Sunday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, August 16, 2019

Gayle: I didn’t announce any retirement CHRIS Gayle’s ODI career may not be over as the West Indies opener stated he “didn’t announce any retirement” after blasting a quick-fire half-century in the defeat to India on Wednesday.

Gayle raised his helmet on his bat and shook hands with India players as he left the field in the final match of the series in Port of Spain, where he smashed 72 from only 41 balls.

The 39-year-old was given a standing ovation following what was thought to be his last international innings in the 50over format.

Yet, in a brief clip posted on the Windies’ Twitter account, Gayle later declared: “I didn’t announce any retirement”. He then added that he would be around

Chris Gayle acknowledges the crowd at Queen’s Park Oval

“until further notice”.

Windies captain Jason Holder confirmed there had been no word on Gayle quitting ODIs. “To my knowledge, he hasn’t retired,” said the skipper, whose opposite number Virat Kohli saw the tourists home with a second successive century.

“But today was an example of his career. The knock he played was outstanding. He got us off to a really good start.

“He was entertaining, he showed presence, and that’s just what people have come to expect of Chris Gayle over the years.”

On Sunday, Gayle broke Brian Lara’s record for both ODI appearances and runs in the second match of a series which India won 2-0.

(Sportsmax)

Brampton to get state-of-the-art cricket stadium ...BEDCL president Persaud elated over news

By Frederick Halley TORONTO, Canada – Guyanese-born Praimp Persaud is considered more than a household name whenever cricket is mentioned in Canadian cricket circles, after dedicating more than half of his life to the sunshine game.

Persaud, who is the long-standing president of both Brampton Etobicoke District Cricket League (BEDCL) and Cricket Ontario, played a pivotal role in the just-concluded staging of the second edition of Global T20 Cricket Canada.

It was through his initiative and the unequivocal support of the Mayor and City Council of Brampton that the CAA Centre was chosen and upgraded for use during the tournament.

Persaud has also been able to convince Mayor Patrick Brown and his executives of the need for a cricket stadium and this will indeed become a reality in the nottoo-distant future.

In a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, Mayor Brown gave the assurance that “with the ever-changing demographics of our city and with the enthusiasm I have seen during this tournament (Global T20), we have decided Brampton will be the capital of cricket in Canada.’’

According to Brown, the

realisation that the country needs a world-class facility was driven home during the second Global T20 League.

Reports in the Toronto Sun indicated that in order to stage the Global T20 Canada at the CAA Centre, “turf was transported from Indianapolis for a new wicket and a plush new field laid out in less than three months at a cost of US$3M,

is being committed. That was one of the promises made by our Mayor Patrick Brown.

Cricket is again on the horizon following in the tracks of a very successful GT20.”

Persaud descried the decision as “fantastic news and a great development for the sport of cricket in the City of Brampton. He pointed out that “GT20 clearly defines the need

mand far exceeds the current facilities”.

Persaud further acknowledged that there’s a huge demand for cricket facilities in Brampton and every other city across Ontario and Canada.

Persaud has served the sport of cricket, both as a player and an administrator for the past 45 years and

BEDCL president Praimp Persaud (left) with former Canadian national player, Pakistani-born Faro0q Kirmani and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown at the Global T20 Canada final last Sunday

and according to Gurmeet Singh, owner and CEO of Bombay Sports Club of the GT20 League, these annual costs could be utilised in other areas if a stadium is built as soon as possible”.

Persaud was understandably elated over the news, and according to a post in his Facebook page, he pointed out that “Brampton roars again as another milestone

for a state-of-the-art cricket facility in our country, as all other mainstream sports have one and despite the fact that cricket is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada, it does not (have one).”

Persaud posited that “it is more deserving in the city that has the largest cricket league in Canada and aptly defines it as being the fastest growing sport in our city, where the de-

continues to do so at various levels. “I have contributed to its growth, development and visibility in the two Canadian provinces: Montreal Quebec, Canada for almost 10 years and the Province of Ontario, Canada – mainly in the Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto, Etobicoke and other cities and districts for the last 35 plus years and counting.”

Holder says players need to take ownership for results

West Indies captain Jason Holder PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Captain Jason Holder has urged that his players need to “take ownership” for getting West Indies over the line, after the Caribbean side slumped to a six-wicket defeat to India in the third One-Day International here Wednesday.

West Indies posted a competitive 240 for seven in a contest at Queen’s Park Oval reduced to 35 overs per side due to a three-hour rain break.

However, after reducing India to 92 for three in the 13th over, they failed to take advantage of the position and the visitors recovered to comfortably reach their revised target of 255 with 15 balls remaining.

“You can say that for the entire series, from the T20s straight here to the last ODI,” Holder said, ruing his side’s continued inability to capitalise on strong positions.

“We’ve played some pretty decent cricket in patches and it’s just a matter of bringing it together, more often than not. That’s where we’ve fallen down in the past and continue to let ourselves down.”

He added: “We’ve just got to find ways. I think it’s a situation once we convert once, guys will be able to understand it more and be able to do it more often than not.

We just have to get across that hurdle.

“It’s a situation where we haven’t gotten across that hurdle in a long while in terms of seizing those crucial moments in games. We have to sit down and take ownership.”

West Indies appeared to have done enough when Chris Gayle lashed an entertaining 72 off 41 balls to underpin their innings, after they won the toss and chose to bat. He put on a swift 115 off 65 balls for the first wicket with fellow left-hander Evin Lewis whose 43 came from 29 balls.

India captain Virat Kohli then spearheaded his side’s run chase with an unbeaten 114 – his second successive ODI hundred and 43rd of his career – while Shreyas Iyer, in only his ninth ODI, made a crucial 65.

Kohli was dropped on 11 by wicketkeeper Shai Hope off seamer Keemo Paul, a chance which proved costly.

“I felt we were always in the game (at the half-way stage). We didn’t execute as well as would have liked to (during India’s run chase),” lamented Holder.

“We’ve got to hold our chances, we didn’t hold them (on Wednesday) and he (Kohli) made us pay for it. Credit to him, he batted really well and he won the game for India in the end.”

Holder said Gayle and Lewis had been among the bright spots for West Indies despite the defeat, while the bowling had been disappointing in Wednesday’s outing.

“There were lots of positives. The way Chris played … Evin Lewis showing a lot of form too. I thought the bowlers had a reasonable time too; in the last game we bowled really, really well. (Yesterday) we were probably off a little bit but generally I think the bowling has led us in the last couple games.

“As I keep saying, it’s a matter for us to really seize the key moments in the games and play those key moments a little bit better than we have in the past.”

Holder said much of the ongoing challenges being experienced could be traced back to the regional first class level.

“There’s a lot of work still left to be done. At the level below there’s still a lot of work left to be done there in terms of getting players to understand the context of cricket and where world cricket is going,” he contended.

“If you look at our scores in regional cricket, they’re still not up to par to where world standard is. We have to take a closer look at the level below and try to get guys into the modern-day format of cricket.”

GCF’s Burrowes grateful to all as Guyana stood tall in hosting 13th JCCC Page

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The juvenile racers just before the start of the road race last Sunday morning.

Guyana’s 16-member team charged with flying Golden Arrowhead high Page

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Guyana’s team manager Lennox Daniels Steve Ghisiawan of ISG hands over his company’s sponsorship to Mikhail Budhram of GMR&SC

Industrial Supply Guyana supports 1320 Heat 27 Page

Travis Inverary will be looking to make his mark and make Guyana proud at this weekend’s Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys & Juniors Championship Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2019