Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_08_21_2019

WEDNESDAY 21st AUGUST, 2019

No.105736

Registration

climbs to 270,000 …as GECOM set for key meeting today

Aspiring lawyers attending the Hugh Wooding Law School and the University of Guyana on Tuesday hailed the decision by government to offer scholarships to eligible Guyanese desirous of acquiring their Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Trinidad-based law school (Adrian Narine photo)

HEYS making a difference in the hinterland 08 PAGE

…MP says project bringing needed change to indigenous communities

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Law students hail 02 scholarship offer PAGE

…as tuition fee increases from TT$98,366 to TT$101,066

Tullow oil find shows that more oil is out there -says British High Commissioner

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Bauxite union rejects RUSAL’s 3% pay hike …writes Labour Department 14 to begin conciliation PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Law students hail scholarship offer …as tuition fee increases from TT$98,366 to TT$101,066

ASPIRING lawyers attending the Hugh Wooding Law School and the University of Guyana, on Tuesday, said the decision to offer scholarships to eligible Guyanese desirous of acquiring their Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Trinidad-based law school was most welcomed.

Ahead of a meeting with the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams at his Carmichael Street Office, the budding lawyers told reporters that the scholarships were being made available at a time when Guyanese students attending the Hugh Wooding Law School continue to face extreme financial difficulties in their pursuit of their Legal Education Certificate.

Olivia Best, Vice President of the Guyana Jurisdiction Committee (GJC) – a group that represents Law students at the Hugh

Wooding Law School – told reporters that the Government’s offer was being made at a time when the annual tuition fee for first year students has jumped from TT$98,366 to TT$101,066 – more than three million Guyana dollars. The annual fee coupled with living expenses create a major financial burden for students pursuing their LEC, Best said.

“Added to that (the TT$101,066), you also have the living expenses. Let’s talk about your rent, the average Guyanese student in Trinidad and Tobago will pay between TT$2,500 and TT$3,000, when you convert that to Guyana’s rate that would be around $90,000 a month…Apart from that you still have to consider the living expenses as a student, and on average, a student spends between TT$1,500 and TT$2,000 per month; you flip that into Guyana dollars, that would be around $45,000 to $60,000 a month.

Vice President of the Guyana Jurisdiction Committee Olivia Best (Photos by Adrian Narine)

So when you total all of the expenses for one year, it is nothing less than GUY$5M and that is just for one year,” the GJC Vice President detailed.

Over the two-year period during which the law programme is completed, students are estimated to spend

approximately GUY$10M. “I know countless persons who have cried tears because they could not find the money to pay for Hugh Wooding Law School because it is not an easy task,” Best added.

Though many Guyanese students excel at the Trinidad-based Law School, the GJC Vice President said there are times when they are unable to function properly because of the financial struggles they experience.

The issuance of scholarships, she believes, will ease the financial burden, if not for most students, some students, and for that, the committee is thankful. “I am grateful that the ministry, along with the Attorney General, they are here and they are willing to hear our

pleas and hear our cries because this has been going on for many years. So I am very thankful for that and I am also thankful for the scholarships,” Best told reporters while sitting in the presence of her colleagues and the Attorney General.

Best and the majority of the other students that met with the Attorney General on Tuesday are entering their final year of study at the Trinidad-based Law school.

It was on Sunday, that the Government, through the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Public Service, announced that it will be offering a limited number of scholarships to eligible persons desirous of acquiring their LEC at the Hugh Wooding Law School for the period 2019/2020.

Ahead of the meeting with the students, the Attorney General said while the announcement was made by the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Public Service, it was he, who had been pushing for scholarships to be offered, adding that Government is cognizant of the challenges students face.

He, however, declined to disclose the exact number of scholarships to be offered to eligible Guyanese desirous of acquiring their LEC. In order to be eligible for this scholarship, an applicant is required to have a Bachelor of Law Degree with a

minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.3. However, while a Bachelor of Law Degree is a requirement, it must have been obtained within the last five years by persons 35 years old or younger. Applicants are also required to have an offer of acceptance from the Hugh Wooding Law School for the 2019/2020 academic year.

“Present students at the Hugh Wooding Law School must have passes for the first year of studies with at least three courses passed with grade A,” the ministry further detailed.

This is the third major intervention the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government has made for law students since taking office in May, 2015.

Minister Williams said though there have been some hiccups with the payment of the 25 per cent economic costs for students at the Hugh Wooding Law School for the period 2018/2019 because the Ministry’s Principal Assistant Secretary (Finance) failed to pay it, other payments were made since the approval was granted in 2016. He was keen on pointing out that the 25 economic costs for all Guyanese students attending the Hugh Wooding Law School have already been paid for the period 2019/2020.

NMWUG wins poll to represent AGM workers AFTER years of fighting, the National Mine Workers Union of Guyana (NMWUG) was, on Tuesday, officially declared the recognised union of rank and file workers at the Aurora Gold Mines (AGM), owned by Canadian company Guyana Goldfields Inc. The Union gained 52 percent support from workers in a recent union poll conducted at the company. “This is a victory not for the NMWUG or me but the workers of AGM,” NMWUG Founder and President Sherwayne Downer expressed following the poll. “I have been fighting since 2015 for AGM employees, so after four years of hard work and perseverance I have made it. It's an extraor-

A section of the Aurora Gold Mine in Region Seven

dinary feeling because coming up against the country's largest mining company with all their financial and human resources and influence, I feel that weak me have defeated the strong.”

The company Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, Jacqueline Wagenaar, in an email response on Tuesday Turn to page 03 ►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

GECOM to possibly discuss way forward today --over 270,000 persons registered so far COMMISSIONERS and Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Retired Justice Claudette Singh, are expected to discuss the way forward during a statutory meeting which is set for today.

According to information from a credible source, the meeting, which is usually held on Tuesdays, was rescheduled because the Commission did not receive the written High Court ruling on the legality of GECOM’s house-to-house registration exercise.

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

The Acting Chief Justice 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.

It was not confirmed whether GECOM received the written ruling, but if they did receive the document, the commissioners will be meeting with Justice Singh to decide on a way forward regarding the ongoing house-to-house registration and preparations for elections.

Persons were anticipating a decision last Thursday during the first meeting between the commissioners and Justice Singh, but Government-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Vincent Alexander said: “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.”

Despite the ruling being public knowledge, Alexander had said

there are some members of the commission who prefer not to rely on reports and third-hand information.

In that regard, the commissioners had agreed to await the decision and convene a meeting shortly thereafter.

“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 houseto-house registration, among other things,” Alexander said.

“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,” he added.

Although a decision is yet to be made, the house-to-house registration, which started on July 20, 2019, has been ongoing.

Public Relations Officer of

GECOM, Yolanda Ward said that on August 18, the commission recorded 270,282 registrations. She said the process has been going smoothly so far.

The countrywide exercise is in keeping with a decision of the Commission on February 19, 2019, and in accordance with Order No. 25 of 2019 dated June 11, 2019.

“Registration is a legal requirement according to the National Registration Act, Chapter 19:08, therefore, all eligible persons are mandated to register,” GECOM said.

House-to-house registration is a new registration exercise, and all eligible persons must register, even if they were previously registered, the elections management body stated. Upon conclusion of this exercise, a new National Register of Registrants Database (NRRDB), which is reflective of the current Guyanese population, will be created. Subsequently, the Official List

of Electors (OLE) will be extracted for the purpose of conducting General and Regional Elections.

Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation or registration, 14 years and older by October 31, 2019 or a citizen of a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for a period of no less than one year, preceding the qualifying date, are all eligible for registration.

Residents are urged to have the relevant documents required for registration ready and be on the lookout for GECOM’s registration officials in their area.

“These documents include an original Birth Certificate, a Valid Passport, Naturalisation Certificate, Certificate of Registration, Adoption Certificate and Deed Poll or Marriage Certificate (if applicable),” said GECOM.

Melynda Smith crowned Emancipation Queen MELYNDA Smith, 24, was adjudged Miss Emancipation Queen 2019 over five other delegates at the National Cultural Centre on Saturday evening.

It was a night of empowerment for people of African descent, as the young women delivered with confidence and highlighted uncelebrated aspects of the African history.

This year, the pageant was themed “Recolouring culture in all shades” and the delegates were tasked with presenting an original spoken word on colourism, in addition to the other competitive segments such as the African business wear, evening cultural gown and on-stage interview on African history.

The delegates this year

were an exceptional career-driven bunch who delivered a show that will be remembered; one that promoted the African culture and made efforts to stomp out colourism in society.

It was a challenging job for the judges to cut down to the top four as Marissa Scott, Denita Prowell, Shanelly Lashley, Alieca James, Alicia Joy Boodie and Melynda Smith brought the heat.

However, Prowell won the prize for the best project and became an automatic entry into the top four. She was followed by her People’s Choice Award partner, Scott, then Boodie and Smith followed in the top four announcement.

After being asked the final two-part question, the judges deemed Smith the

were beautiful and very intelligent.

Her entering the pageant was as a result of the foundation her family set.

Smith said her family always instilled in her that it is a blessing to be African and she grew up with the confidence and proudness of who she is.

To this end, she believes that she can make a tremendous contribution to empowering people of African descent in Guyana, with her From left: Third runner-up, Marissa Scott; first runner-up, new title.

Denita Prowell; Queen Melynda Smith; and second runSmith plans on using her ner-up, Alicia Boodie platform to bring light to African history, and try to comoverall African Queen.

In conversation with the bat challenges of colourism, The first runner-up spot queen, she told the Guy- starting from the home. was given to Prowell; the ana Chronicle that she feels It is also within her agensecond runner-up place went honoured and blessed to da, to collaborate with the to Boodie while Scott was have been chosen as queen, Ministry of Education to placed third. since, she said, all the girls reform the history aspect of

NMWUG wins poll to ... afternoon, however, noted that the company had not yet been informed of the decision. “To the best of our knowledge, the process to determine if there will be a union representing workers at AGM has not been completed by the Government of Guyana. The Government of Guyana has not communicated such a decision to us and our understanding is that the process is still ongoing and will take some time to complete. AGM abides by all labour laws and regulations in Guyana and has been actively engaging with workers and the Ministry of Social Protection’s Labour Office and will continue to do the same going for-

ward,” Wagenaar said.

Downer however is moving ahead with his plans to represent workers even as he awaits their certificate of recognition from the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TUR&CB) before moving towards establishing concrete agreements and arrangements with the company. In the interim he plans to begin engaging the company.

“In the meantime I will be approaching the company for permission for a visit to AGM and Buckhall locations for a familiarisation visit. The workers are demanding that in light of this announcement,”

Downer explains.

The recognition decision was handed down by the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TUR&CB) following a meeting at the Department of Labour (DoL) on Tuesday morning. The TUR&CB requires that a union garner at least 40 per cent of the workers’ votes to be eligible to represent the workers at a particular company or in a particular category.

Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, who is also TUR&CB Secretary, confirmed the Union’s win by 52 percent.

“They got 52 percent so they got through with the recognition

certification. The Union now has to submit proposals to negotiate a procedural recognition agreement,” Ogle related.

It was in July that the call, by employees of the company, for a Union poll was heightened after workers downed tools, on July 2, over a dispute on severance pay, which aggravated an already strained situation between the employees and the company.

In March, Guyana Goldfields signed a mining agreement with Peruvian company, STRACON, a move that would see mining employees being transferred from being employees of Guyana Gold-

the education system.

“I plan to get the school restructure how they teach African history. Have them not start our history from slavery, but rather from the Egyptian, Moors’ and Malian civilisation. So that we can let the young people know that their ancestors were kings and queens, and that education comes from Egyptian civilisation. Let them know, that to be Black, is an honour only few of us are given,” the queen said.

Smith has a Diploma in Communication from the University of Guyana, and is currently pursuing her degree in the said programme. She also has certificates in youth empowerment and business administration.

FROM PAGE 02 fields Inc. to being employees of STRACON. The employees are contending that since they are leaving Guyana Goldfields Inc. and starting as new employees of STRACON, they are entitled to severance pay from Guyana Goldfields. The changeover was expected to take effect from July 1, so when that date passed and the employees still were not told about their severance payments, despite queries, they became frustrated. This resulted in the strike. The employees returned to work on July 5, after the Department of Labour stepped in to pacify the situation.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Pompeo warns of ‘new turmoil’ if U.N. arms embargo on Iran lifted in 2020 UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed the international community on Tuesday to work out how to stop Iran from being “unshackled to create new turmoil” when a United Nations arms embargo on the country and a travel ban on the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force expire in October 2020.

Speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Middle East peace and security challenges, Pompeo called for greater cooperation in the region to produce “fresh thinking to solve old problems,” citing problems including the Libyan and Syrian conflicts and a rift between several Gulf states and Qatar.

He also singled out Iran.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since President Donald Trump’s administration last year quit an international deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and began to ratchet up sanctions.

“Since the U.S. declared our intention to bring all Iranian oil purchases to zero in April, the Ayatollah has gone all-in on a campaign of extortion diplomacy,” he said, calling out Iran for breaching caps imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, test-firing a ballistic missile and seizing tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Under the Iran nuclear

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

deal, a U.N. arms embargo on the country and a travel ban on Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani are due to expire next year. The Quds Force is the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). Pompeo said the U.S. State Department had put a clock on its website that was counting down to the removal of the measures.

“The international community will have plenty of time to see how long it has until Iran is unshackled to create new turmoil, and figure out what it must do to prevent this from happening,” he said.

Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Majid Takht Ravanchi, accused the United States of causing insecurity and instability with its military presence and “unbridled flow of American weaponry into this region, which has turned it into a powder keg.”

“While we are not seeking confrontation, we cannot and will not remain indifferent to the violation of our sovereignty. Therefore, in order to secure our borders and interests, we will vigorously exercise our inherent right to self-defense,” he told the Security Council.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019/ 05:00hrs.-06:30hrs.

COUNCIL ACTION UNLIKELY At a Security Council meeting in December, Pompeo urged the 15-member body to prevent Iran from working on ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, carrying out test launches and establish “inspection and interdiction measures, in ports and on the high seas, to thwart Iran’s continuing efforts to circumvent arms restrictions.”

The council has not, and is unlikely to take any action on Iran. European powers have been scrambling to salvage the nuclear deal, while diplomats say Russia and China - which are council veto powers along with the United States, France and Britain - are likely to shield Iran from any action.

The U.S. special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, signaled earlier on Tuesday that the United States would not try to trigger a return of all international sanctions on Iran through a dispute resolution process agreed under the nuclear deal and enshrined in a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution.

Although the United States quit the nuclear deal, some diplomats have questioned whether Washington might still spark a so-called snapback of sanctions on Tehran at the Security Council because the U.N. resolution still names it as a party to the deal. “We’re no longer in the deal and so the parties that are still in the deal will have to make their decisions with respect to using or not using the dispute resolution mechanism,” Hook told reporters in New York. “There’s no question that Iran is in breach of the Iran nuclear deal.”

Saturday 17, August 2019

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

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Haiti Legislators to resume debate on impeaching President Moise

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Aug 20, CMC – The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Gary Bodeau, says legislators will seek to resume their attempt on Wednesday to debate a motion aimed at impeaching President Jovenel Moise after a second attempt last week failed to materialise.

At least 21 deputies had filed the motion accusing Moise of high treason, claiming that he had violated the Constitution and was leading the country to

“the edge of the social explosion”.

The first attempt at debating the matter earlier this month failed after the majority of the deputies, most of whom are aligned to Moise’s party, said that it was up to those who are accusing to provide evidence of violations of the Constitution. When the matter came up for debate last week Monday, only a few deputies were present at the start forcing an adjournment to later in the

day when the quorum was obtained with 60 deputies present. However, soon after announcing the start of the session, Bodeau, spoke of the security situation outside the Parliament building where more than a 100 opposition supporters erected barricades of burning tires in front of the building.

Following discussions with the presidents of the three parliamentary blocs, Bodeau said that a new date would be set for the debate.

Bodeau also announced

Barbados says it remains committed to peaceful solution to Venezuela crisis BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Aug 20, CMC – The Barbados government says while it remains committed to hosting talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela it has no intention of making any official statement on the deliberations.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Dr. Jeorme Walcott, said the Mia Mottley government “remains committed to hosting the negotiations between the representatives of the principal political actors of Venezuela.

“With regard to recent media reports on the matter, Barbados confirms that it does not issue statements on the negotiation process facilitated by the Government of Norway.

Official announcements relating to the process are communicated by the facilitator or by the parties themselves,” Walcott said in a statement.

The two sides began meeting here in July and earlier this month, Norway confirmed that representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and Opposition Leader, Juan Guaido, had met here and had “reiterated their willingness to

advance in the search for an agreed upon and constitutional solution”.

But media reports on August 7 quoted Maduro, whom the United States wants out of office, as ordering his representatives not to travel to Barbados for scheduled talks with the political opposition after blaming Washington for the impasse.

Washington had ordered a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the US and barred transactions with its authorities.

Guaido said the sanctions are “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery”. In the brief statement, Walcott said that “Barbados reaffirms its full support for a negotiated solution to the situation in Venezuela”.

Prime Minister Mottley, who has welcomed the talks said it supports the efforts by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for dialogue to end the crisis. CARICOM leaders who have in the past adopted a position of non-interference and non-intervention in the affairs of the South American country, had during their summit in St. Lucia in July re-affirmed that position.

that the ratification session for Prime Minister Fritz William Michel will take place on Friday. Earlier this month, Moise called on Parliament to approve the nomination and government of Michel, describing him as “a brilliant civil servant who has devoted his entire career to serving the people

of Haiti”. Michel, a former executive in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, became the fourth prime minister of this French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, since President Moise became the head of state in 2017. He has since named an 18-member Cabinet, equally divided

President Jovenel Moise

between men and women and is waiting to present his general policy statement to parliament.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Civic responsibility EVERY Guyanese wants to live in a perfect society, and this is all well and good, because, as human beings, we deserve to, and are capable of making it possible.

Oftentimes Guyanese compare and seek after societies considered as having a better standard of living, where their people are courteous and orderly. Even as comparisons are made, understandably, along with reasonable critiques, we need to recognise our responsibility to put the requisite systems in place.

Recognition and acknowledgement of failings ought not to be seen as belittling, but necessary engagements in self-critique so as to address human frailties as a pre-requisite for growth and development. There are two sore issues on which citizens, irrespective of politics, are united in their daily concern. These are the constant road accidents and the state of our physical environment.

There is unanimity on the subject that the number of road accidents and the causalities thereof make road usage a stressful encounter for the law-abiding within our midst. Yet there will continue

to be persons who use the roadways without regard for the traffic laws and fellow road users. Such an attitude may speak to the daredevil in some of us; a disregard for law (i.e. traffic regulations), and the lack of courtesy towards others. Road casualties will not be reduced unless strong penalties are put in place, inclusive of swift justice to serve as a deterrent. Every life is precious, and if others do not want to treat theirs as such, they have no right to deny others the right to life and limb.

The continuous attention to the callous use of our roads is being done in the hope that courtesy will be manifest among road users, and the traffic laws will be obeyed, or stringent measures will have to be put in place to halt what is evidently becoming cause for grave concern.

As we bemoan the state of our physical environment, there continues to be trash strewn every which way: Drainage clogged with food boxes, bottles and so forth; yards and parapets overgrown with weeds; and the risk of mosquito infestations and communicable diseases. Poor environmental practices aid in creating the unsightly environment we rightly be-

moan and condemn, yet these bad practices continue unabated. In other societies, such acts carry heavy penalties, with the aim of serving as a deterrent.

Guyanese will leave these shores and visit other countries and instantly comply with maintaining the environment and observing the laws. This, in part, is due to their loved ones nudging them to do likewise, aware that they will face the consequence of the law should they deviate; or they are impressed by the orderliness, courtesy and aesthetics, and feel incumbent to act accordingly. Conversely, as soon as they return to these shores, they fall back into disreputable practices.

What ought not to be lost sight of in such societies is the sense of responsibility borne by citizens and visitors to conform to the rules/laws, lest they suffer the consequences. In short, these societies don’t leave it up to the people to act in a certain manner; laws are put in place to ensure conformity.

No society, whether the systems or the people, functions in an orderly way and engage in productive activities without the input of its people shouldering

their civic responsibilities. It is also true that human beings can be self-serving; cruel to each other, and disregard conditions that are necessary for the collective good, so laws are put in place to curb such tendencies.

And even as governments and corporate entities exercise such responsibilities, making laws and providing social services and community supports, citizens, too, have their responsibilities. These responsibilities, outside of the paying of taxes, require obeying the laws, treating each other with courtesy, and taking pride in one’s surroundings for the public good.

At the same time, it should be said that there exists a tendency in our culture to focus more on building with little attention being given to enforcement and maintenance. Where such attention is not given equal priority, things will fall apart and create dire consequences. The responsibility for attaining the perfect society we rightly yearn for, rests with us as citizens through our actions, whether as individuals, government, or corporate entities.

Guyanese are not foolish; we can see through their lies Dear Editor, While it is known and understood that officials of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will continue to spread lies in their desperate attempt to regain political power, and get their untrustworthy, greedy hands on oil-money which belongs to all Guyanese, one needs to point out those lies, and set the record straight.

One of the falsehoods that the PPP continues to peddle is the lie that crime has gotten worse since the APNU+AFC was elected to office. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, telling the truth is not one of the attributes for which the

dishonest PPP officials are known. In fact, it appears that dishonesty is in the PPP’s DNA; which honest political party would select a man with 19 criminal charges, who has been banned from travelling to Canada, to be its presidential candidate?

One recalls that under the PPP, Guyana was known as a narco-state. One remembers that the PPP regime handed over responsibility for Guyana’s security to a drug runner named Roger Khan. One recollects the extra-judicial killings, the trafficking in persons, the piracy attacks on fishermen, the skyrocketing numbers of suicides. How can anyone forget those horrible days, and who in their right mind would want to return to

those horrific conditions?

The fact is, crime has declined sharply since the APNU+AFC was elected. According to statistics from the Guyana police force, in recent years, there has been an average of a 19 per cent decrease in serious crimes. A 13 per cent decrease in robberies where no instruments were used was also observed; a 50 per cent decrease in robbery under arms where instruments other than firearms were used; a 50 per cent decrease in robbery with aggravation; a 50 per cent decrease in larceny from the person; a 24 per cent decrease in rapes; a 52 per cent decrease in burglaries; a 9 per cent decrease in break and enter and larceny and a 45 per cent de-

crease in robbery with violence. Those are not manufactured figures; they represent the statistics of the premier anti-crime agency; the Guyana Police Force.

While it is to be expected that the dishonest PPP will try to fool citizens with false propaganda, Guyanese are not foolish; we can see through their lies, because we have endured the reign of the PPP, and we can remember how terrible a time it was. Now that we have emerged from those dark days, why would anyone even think about going back?

Regards Mark DaCosta

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

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Irfaan Ali amateur night is over: Time for the professionals Dear Editor In an attempt to bolster his economic credentials, The People’s Progressive Party’s Presidential Candidate, Mr. Irfaan Ali, has shared his views on this year’s Mid-Year Report.

However, upon reading his analysis of this report, The Guyana Business Council believes that Mr. Ali’s time is better spent bolstering his academic credentials.

Mr. Ali stated that over the last five years (2015 to 2019) the country’s midyear economy has underperformed. However, how can the current administration, which was elected in mid2015, be responsible for the performance of the economy in the first half of that same year? Therefore, it is sophomoric for Mr. Ali to attribute the 2015 mid-year economic performance to the policies of the current administration.

The reality is that the last four mid-year reports (2016 to 2019) describe an economy that grew by an average of 3.25% compared to a midyear average of 2.65% from 2012 to 2015. Furthermore, in June of this year, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) described Guyana’s medium-term economic prospects as favorable, its public finances as improved and its economy as broad-based. The last two mid-year economic performance of 4.5% and 4.0%, respectively, has been the strongest since 2011.

Therefore, it perplexes The Guyana Business Council that Mr. Ali would claim that Guyana’s economy is underperforming.

Mr. Ali has attributed the “poor performance” of the economy in the first half

of 2019 to a “notable contraction” in sugar, livestock, fishing, bauxite and other mining items. Indeed, Mr. Ali correctly highlights that these subsectors have weakened during the first half of 2019. In fact, in the first-half of 2019, these five subsectors contracted -5.3%. Most of this economic weakness occurred in the livestock subsector, owing to a shortage of chickens and in the fishing

subsector, where the sargassum seaweeds have negatively impacted the fishing industry. These subsectors are important to the economic viability of many Guyanese and they continue to play a pivotal role in Guyana’s development. However, it is professional malpractice for Mr. Ali to focus on the struggles of five subsectors that collectively contribute less than 10% of the nation’s

ticipates that the country’s Debt to GDP ratio will continue to decrease, owing to the country’s exponential GDP growth rate and its declining sovereign obligations.

economic activity but ignore the successes of the five main drivers of the nation’s economy. These five subsectors: wholesale & retail trade, construction, transportation & storage, gold, and information & communication, collectively contribute close to 53% of Guyana’s economic activity and during the first-half of 2019, averaged a robust 5.5% GDP growth rate.

Balance of Payments Mr. Ali accurately points

out that during the first-half of 2019, the current account deficit increased 50% to US$866.8M compared to the same period last year.

However, Mr. Ali neglects to focus on the underlying reasons for this increase and how it would impact the economy.

The significant increase in the current account deficit is attributed to a 41% increase in non-fuel & lubricants imports. Without obtaining the details of Guyana’s import-

When does it end with persons using sports arenas to protest?

Dear Editor In a democratic society, I do support freedom of speech and a right to protest, but there is a time and place for everything.

I grew up with American television to my disposal and became a sports fanatic

in many disciplines and my journey will end loving the Olympic Games. Unfortunately I wasn't gifted with any sports talent competitive wise, but it has always been a joy for me to witness talented human beings worldwide all competing in one arena, the unity among nations, and the

new addition for refugee athletes to have an opportunity to compete under the White Olympic Flag or persons who are stateless.

I will never support any government of the day to boycott any Olympic Games or any other International Sports event. The same ap-

plies to anyone using the sports arena/podium to showcase any act of protest. A podium at any sports arena or venue is not the place for anyone to use for any type of protest.

Two American Athletes at the just concluded 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru

ed goods and services, The Guyana Business Council cannot determine if the significant increase in imports is a sign of economic strength or competitive weakness. For instance, if the lion’s share of the increased in imports came from products that compete with domestic products, this is a clear sign of competitive weakness. Alternatively, if most of the increase came from products such as construction and mining equipment, that contribute to the economic development of Guyana, this is a clear sign of economic strength.

In the first-half of 2019, the capital account surplus increased 66% to US$795.2M, owing to a 67% net increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) compared to the firsthalf of 2018. Remarkably, net foreign direct investment totaled US$803.5M, the largest amount ever recorded during any six-month period. While, Mr. Ali is busy crying wolf, the international investors are busy investing in the Guyanese economy.

CONCLUSION The Guyana Business Council has full confidence in Guyana's economy and it is our duty to enlighten Guyanese on the true nature of our economy. No politician, sitting or in the opposition, who truly cares about our country should gaslight the Guyanese people by painting an untrue picture of gloom and doom.

The Guyanese people deserve better. They need accurate information to help them make the intelligent financial decisions so that they can position themselves to capitalize on our nation’s economic boom.

We implore our fellow Guyanese to don’t blinding listen to what our politicians are feeding us but do your own research, look at the changes occurring in front of your eyes. Ask yourself, why are so many foreigners suddenly attracted to Guyana? Why are companies such as MovieTowne and Giftland setting-up shop? Why is Pegasus Hotel expanding?

Why are international airlines clamouring to establish a route to Guyana? Why are our ports the busiest that it has ever been?

These activities do not reflect an anemic economy but rather one that is on the verge of a sustained economic boom.

FISCAL POSITION Guyana has a strong fiscal position. According to the IMF’s 2019 outlook, Guyana is the 4th least indebted CARICOM nation and the multilateral organization an-

Regards Rennie Parris, CFA President of The Guyana Business Council Yonnick David Vice-President of The Guyana Business Council

used the podium to protest their cause and it was disgusting and disgraceful. I wish if there was a penalty attach to such conduct of athletes.

American President Donald Trump is currently one of the most hated human being on earth for many reasons and as much as I am not too much of a big fan of his, he makes me laugh with his eccentric behaviour and I have always said he is mentally un-stabled and needs urgent medical help. No

one seems to be taking me serious on this situation.A podium is not the place to exercise any protest against the gentleman. Perhaps Sports Guyana should seriously consider addressing this situation before we have to witness athletes taking a similar route and using the sports arenas/podium to protest any cause.

In layman terms, don't ever entertain such behaviour.

Regards Trevor Pemberton

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

HEYS making a difference in the hinterland …MP says project bringing needed change to indigenous communities

“IT was very refreshing to see the change that had occurred after 24 months of the HEYS programme in 215 communities across 10 regions in Guyana,” Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Member of Parliament, Mervyn Williams has said.

The project at reference is the innovative government-led Hinterland, Employment and Youth Service, more popularly known by its acronym, HEYS. Speaking specifically to the change he’s witnessed in a matter of two years or less since HEYS has been implemented in the various hinterland regions for which it was intended, Williams said: “This was evident with newly-erected structures at strategic locations in communities.”

He said that besides training some 3941 participants over the two-year period, some 2500 businesses, of 58 different types, were established by the end of 2018.

And that, to him, Williams says, is tangible enough proof “that the

HEYS programme has achieved its objectives and more.”

According to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, under whose aegis the programme falls, HEYS is “an intensive peer learning and exchange programme where persons, through adult facilitatory practices, teach, discuss, learn and exchange experiences and knowledge from a virtual repository of information, in order to improve their standard of living and contribute positively to the development of their communities.”

DELIVERING ON A PROMISE It came about because of a promise President David Granger made Toshaos at the 2015 National Toshaos Conference that he will see to it that the Hinterland is as developed as the Coastland or even better, and while it initially targeted 2000 youth in 106 communities across Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (CuyuniMazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni)) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo),

Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Member of Parliament, Mervyn Williams

by Williams’ reckoning, it has now surpassed that figure by some 1941.

In terms of the kind of economic stability it has given the various regions and villages, Williams said: “Each youth received a stipend of $30,000 for 12 months, and a small grant of $50,000 to commence a business. This is a total of $410,000.00 per youth per year.” That is in addition to the two facilitators who are being paid $65,000.00 per month for seven months per year.

Jamaican, Guyanese woman arrested in 27kgs marijuana find OVER 60 pounds of marijuana was seized by ranks of the Police Narcotics Branch during a search operation at an apartment building at Eccles Housing Scheme on Monday.

Reports indicate that the officers found the several parcels of compressed marijuana in a travelling bag in a bedroom occupied by a Jamaican and a Guyanese woman.

The duo were arrested, questioned and taken into custody.

The compressed marijuana was weight and amounted to more over 27kgs.

The compressed marijuana that was seized

owner of the business facility, Nahar Sukhram related that Alexander was seen on Sunday last when he reported for work. However, when they arrived on Monday they did see him. The woman recalled at approximately 15:00hrs, while workers were checking the fuel tanks at the back they noticed the lifeless body of a male floating head down in the trench located at the side of the business.

The workers quickly notified the owner who contacted the police. After the police arrived at the scene and began their investigation, the body was then positively identified as that of Alexander by workers. Police sources indicated thus far, no marks of violence were seen on the deceased. The body is currently awaiting a post mortem examination.

VIABLE FAMILY BUSINESSES According to Williams,

“Many parents assisted in building shops and pens to help their children. These businesses eventually became family businesses, where fathers and mothers played a meaningful role.”

Even the single mothers were able to cash in on the deal, Williams said, as a significant number of them made up the 68% of females the programme initially attracted.

Most of them, he said, took advantage of the training the project provided which empowered them to not only become independent, but take better care of their families. What would have also helped tremendously, he said, were the courses they would have had in Life Skills, Conflict Resolution and decision-making.

In terms of fostering social cohesion, Williams said when the programme first started, some youths were found to be introverted, but as time passed, they became more sociable. Today, they’ve now become adept at organising social events such as sports, pageants, women groups and youth clubs.

Congratulations to the students and the stakeholders for the successes at the 2019 CSEC examinations

Dear Editor

Body of man found in trench POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was discovered in a trench at Adventure Village, Corentyne Berbice on Monday afternoon.

The man has been identified as Aubrey Alexander 71, a security guard who has been working with the Sukhram’s Gas Station for close to two years.

Speaking with the media,

This means that a village of 20 participants and two facilitators would have received a total of $9.1M per annum.

This is bearing in mind that in some communities, there are only a few government-employed persons who receive a salary.

And when coming to governance and leadership development, Williams said: “It was very invigorating to see a new breed of leaders emerging through the HEYS programme,” thanks in no small measure to the Capac-

ity Building Modules in use, which incorporates leadership skills in its curriculum.

“Evidence of transformation,” Williams said, “were seen in the villages where new leaders were emerging as Toshaos, village councilors and leaders of youth clubs and women groups.”

Business-wise, it’s said that during the incubation period, many youths were motivated to make the necessary adjustments, in that those who were doing poultry soon came to realise and accept that that it would take six weeks before they can actually earn an income. In the interim, many of them started other businesses to help bring in a daily income, and today now have three and four businesses.

One such youngster is Rachel Simon of Silver Hill, who, though she operates a snackette at the Silver Hill Primary School, has also built a shop at her home and bought a second-hand car on terms so she could drive and sell on weekends.

INEWS (August 14, 2019) quoted the Chief Education Officer as saying that, “Guyana is on a developmental trajectory.” It should be noted that Guyana’s performance (73%) juxtaposed with that of a few Caribbean countries, reveals that we are several percentage points below their performance e.g.s. St. Lucia-76.85% and Jamaica 89.3%. It is hoped that this trajectory aforementioned will soon arrive at that stage where it will receive a blast from a Rolls Royce engine that will catapult it to reach the orbit phase, where it can soar above the performance of the other Caribbean countries.

In passing, the average Guyanese can predict with a high level of accuracy that

the top performers at the CSEC examination in the public schools will come from those secondary schools which receive the top performers at the NGSA. These students are high achievers and they must be celebrated. However, what about those secondary schools that receive students from the lower and lower-median quartiles of the NGSA, but yet their teachers (Miss and Sir Rumpelstiltskin), who by their yeoman’s service, are able to produce notable results, based on the caliber of students that they receive?

Should not a minute or two be taken at the announcement of the national results to recognize those schools?

If the response to this is that it will be too much for one person, then delegate another official to assist with the announcement.

Another response could be, well, we congratulate everybody so let it be done at the graduation ceremony of the schools or at the Regional Awards Ceremony; but the focal point here is national recognition.

Let us be realistic, it takes lots more work to prepare students who are low achievers for examinations compared to those who are high achievers. The overwhelming majority of high achievers will perform creditably anyhow. So let us give credit where credit is due. Let us not underestimate what the mention of the names of these schools and their achievements at the national level can do for the psyche of the stakeholders of those schools.

Regards Bernel L.H. Wickham

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

President Granger urges ‘Bethel’ AoG Church to support education

Members of the Bethel Tabernacle Assembly of God Church: Mr. Leslie and Eartha Gonsalves, Dr. Virginia Sealey, Dr. Cynthia Bankston, Apostle James Thomas, Ministers, Rawle Rollins, Seon Rodney, Roxanne McFarlane, Alana Labistide, Lance and Carol Cave, and Rashieda Tompson. Other members of the visiting team were: Dr. Shellyann Cole, Sister Dianne Hermonstine, Marcia Adams, Isola Whyte, Howard Osborne, Brenda Samuels, Michelle Summer, Dr. Sidonia Osborne, Dwayne Cole, Maureen John, Chillion John, and Pastor Ann Duke

PRESIDENT David Granger, Tuesday afternoon, received a courtesy call from members of the Bethel Tabernacle Assembly of God Church, Linden, Upper Demerara-Berbice (Region 10) at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Bethel Tabernacle Assembly of God Church is this month celebrating its 60th anniversary and has a visiting delegation of approximately 25 persons from Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America, most of whom are Guyanese by birth. Reverend Clavis Duke, thanked President Granger for accepting the church’s request to meet him. He noted that the Church wants to support the President’s initiative of enhancing the lives of young people, primarily children, across the country. “We are here to give you support and to help you. We are ready to work with you,” Rev. Duke said.

Dr. Wedlan Sealey said the visiting group has noted the President’s Public Education Transport Service (PETS) programme which is aimed at ensuring children have equal access to education across the country. “We are willing to be supportive to this country. We are

grateful and have not forsaken Guyana...we have endorsed your vision for education,” Dr. Sealey said. The overseas chapter of the church has been involved in charitable works in Region 10 for a number of years.

In response, President Granger spoke of the role the church plays in moulding the nation’s youth and urged the members of the Bethel Taberna-

President David Granger makes a point to members of the Bethel Tabernacle Assembly of God Church this afternoon

cle Assembly of God Church to ensure that every child has an opportunity to access education.

Explaining his vision for ‘an education nation’ the President said, “It is our obligation to educate the next generation… the best thing you can do for children is to get them into school... Education is the gift everyone

President David Granger (seated centre right), Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Mr. Joseph Harmon (left of the President) and members of the Bethel Tabernacle Assembly of God Church at the Ministry of the Presidency this afternoon

should give. Today, I look to the church to extend itself beyond the pews, beyond the church building into the avenues, valleys...hinterland and into those communities that do not have easy access to education.” President Granger was accompanied by Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Mr. Joseph Harmon, while the visiting delegation included Leslie and Eartha Gonsalves, Dr. Virginia Sealey, Dr. Cynthia Bankston, Apostle James Thomas, Ministers Rawle Rollins, Seon Rodney, Roxanne McFarlane, Alana Labistide, Lance and Carol Cave, and Rashieda Tompson.Other members of the visiting team were: Dr. Shellyann Cole, Sister Dianne Hermonstine, Marcia Adams, Isola Whyte, Howard Osborne, Brenda Samuels, Michelle Summer, Dr. Sidonia Osborne, Dwayne Cole, Maureen John, Chillion John, and Pastor Ann Duke. (Ministry of the Presidency)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

$15B spent to bolster security sector ― 2019 Mid-Year Report

SOME $15B of $35B budgeted has been spent thus far on the security sector at mid-year as government continues to place emphasis on providing law and order, protection of the populace and safeguarding of Guyana’s borders.

This is according to the Finance Ministry’s 2019 Mid-Year Report.

“During the first half of 2019, the sum of $6.1B was expended towards a number of activities to further strengthen the Guyana Police Force’s objective to deliver the highest standard of professional police services, and to serve and protect citizens by preventing and detecting all forms of crime in the maintenance of law, order and the preservation of the peace,” the report stated.

Through various interventions, the report stated that serious crime declined by 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2019.

Some of these interventions include training of 124 ranks in basic forensic bloodstain pattern recognition; forensic video analysis; advanced crime scene photography; scene draw-

ing; and community-based crime prevention strategies in 10 communities.

Further, it was noted that of the nearly $700M that

$78.2 million was expended as at the end of June 2019.

Designs for police stations and divisional headquarters at Golden Grove,

was budgeted for the construction and improvement of police stations, the sum of

Fort Wellington, Mabaruma and Mahdia have been completed and construction is

anticipated to commence in the second half of the year.

Further, the report stated that of the $0.5B budgeted for vehicular and marine fleets, canine and mounted branches, and equipment for GPF, approximately $84.8 million was expended at the end of the first half of 2019.

In addition, the Finance Ministry’s report stated that during the same period, the Guyana Forensic lab was equipped with DNA and gun residue testing machines to conduct DNA analysis to aid in solving crimes.

Meanwhile, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) spent $165.1M of the budgeted sum of $350M in the first half of 2019.

“During this period, a total of 112.9 kilogrammes of cocaine, 186.2 kilogrammes of cannabis, 36 grammes of ecstasy, and 590 grammes of unknown substances were seized,” the report stated.

SAFER PRISONS Additionally, the Guyana Prison Service, in delivering its mandate of ensuring safe custody and effective rehabilitation of inmates, was allocated approximately $4B towards the maintenance and improvement of the

Decentralised governance good for Guyana

MINISTER of Communities, Ronald Bulkan on Monday emphasised the importance of local governance and the stance of government to ensure Guyana reaches its fullest potential.

Decentralised governance, he said, is a main plank of government since the government believes it will take the country forward.

The minister said Guyana’s Constitution states that Local Government Elections (LGE) should be held no later than every three years.

“It is my belief that this decentralised model of governance that is located in our Constitution is the product of those internal struggles the first set of our post-colonial leaders would have inherited,” Bulkan said.

There is no ambiguity in the Constitution that outlines

the importance of LGE, he said. “But rather, it contains piercing precision as to the role of LGE in the government’s architecture,” he explained.

However, even though the model of governance is clearly outlined in the Constitution, Bulkan pointed out that the previous administration completely disregarded it. LGE, he said, became akin to a foreign language to Guyanese, prior to 2015, which stifled the growth of the country.

“The approach to governance, the records are there to show that our predecessors were wedded to a centralist approach to governance, as opposed to a decentralised approach to governance. It was essentially, and in its simplest form, a desire to hold power.

A desire for power to reside at the centre, and on that ba-

sis, govern Guyana from the capital and to make decisions for far-flung areas of our country… six consecutive local government elections were not held as legally due. And that in itself is ample proof and testimony, to the mindset of our predecessors, that they saw little or no relevance to disperse power, but rather to concentrate it at the centre,” Bulkan stressed.

He said it only resulted in insufficient attention being paid to local issues. However, he pointed out that in 2015, in efforts to restore the commitment to the Constitution, the government placed LGE on their parliamentary agenda.

“It is my belief that President Granger recognised the failings coming at the end of a long and illustrious career in public service, of being wedded to the centralist approach,

and that the crisis in our communities was as a result of adherence to that failed model.

This is why I believe he made this one of the government’s principle planks. We no longer have to depend heavily on the voice from the centre,” Bulkan said.

Even though LGE has been restored, the minister said it will take a few electoral cycles for persons to fully grasp

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan

prison environment across the country.

“Designing the reconstruction of the New Amsterdam Prison will commence during the second half of this year. Some components for the rebuilding of the Camp Street Prison, including steel cells, have already been procured, with works to begin in the second half,” the report noted.

The expansion of the Mazaruni Prison is ongoing and the project remains on track for completion in the second half of 2020. These upgraded facilities are intended to alleviate the overcrowding situation across the prison system.

The Finance Ministry report stated that the procurement of equipment intended to improve the safety of officers and inmates, including body scanners, has commenced and is expected to be concluded in the second half.

“To ensure that the prison service is staffed with qualified and competent officers, with the necessary skill set to allow them to effectively manage this complex environment, 24 new recruits were trained

in the areas of supervision, correctional emergency response, leadership, and emergency medical procedures, among others. The recruitment drive in the first half of 2019 brought the size of the service to just over 500 officers, still short of the required 601,” the report stated.

Additionally, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) continues to work assiduously to ensure that it fulfills its mandate of protecting life and property.

The report noted that the award for the procurement of five new ambulances, one airport rescue and firefighting vehicle, and two new water tenders were made in the first half of 2019 and delivery is scheduled before the end of the year.

“The recent establishment of a maritime firefighting section of the GFS, which will address emergencies on Guyana’s waterways as well as support onshore firefighting operations, is expected to be fully operational by August 2019. Some 60 trainees are expected to join their ranks in September,” the reports stated.

― Minister Bulkan its role.

“It will take a few electoral cycles for persons to understand that there is a huge difference between voting for a President and who controls your community. Politics should be taken out of that equation and the focus and emphasis should be on the community-minded persons who have a capacity to be able to put the interest of residents in those respective communities first, and to put politics aside,” he alluded.

The minister also mentioned that not only was the government committed to restoring authority, but expansion of the areas covered under local government.

In particular, the townships: Mabaruma, Bartica and Lethem. He said that initiative represents the largest municipal extension in almost four

decades.

“So in keeping with the agenda of decentralised governance and stronger regions, those areas being the administrative centres of their regions, the hinterland regions, were the first to have their status upgraded to township status. So that they can play a lead role, in the development of their respective regions,” Bulkan said.

He added: “This was not merely a paper transaction.”

But huge investments were made. Placing power within the hands of community leaders, he said, showed a sense of ownership being acknowledged by the people. Now, the people are being empowered and several parts of Guyana would have experienced a dramatic physical transformation.

All this, he attributed as the effects of local governance.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

11

Houston residents express grave concerns - objecting to any proposal to have a chemical warehouse set up at Houston - though assured by company that all safety mechanisms would be in place

By Svetlana Marshall RESIDENTS of Houston Gardens and neigbouring communities railed into Nalco Champion on Tuesday, suggesting that it should take its proposed chemical warehouse facility elsewhere, though the international oil and gas company assured them that if its facility is established at the proposed site at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, strict safety measures would be adhered to.

During a public consultation session organised by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Nalco’s Global Business Development Manager, Mike Knippers, and its Project Manager, Willie Miller, while addressing residents at the Houston Secondary School, made it clear that no chemical would be manufactured at the site.

In fact, the Global Business Development Manager said, though described as a warehouse, it is really a modernised shed where chemicals will be transferred from one chemical tank to another for transfer to the FPSO vessels offshore Guyana.

While admitting that the construction of the shed had commenced, he said the project has been placed on hold until approval is

fore it is shipped out. “What we really be doing is chemical transfer, so we will be bringing this large container in, and we will pump the (chemical) into another container and then that will fill up either of the smaller containers,” Miller explained.

He said mechanisms would be in place to ensure that there is no spillage or leakages.

Miller, in his bid to con-

management company.

“This operation involves bringing finished products from our US base; all we are doing is transferring and filtering products into smaller containers…and transfer them onto the vessel where needed,” he summarised.

According to him, Nalco Champion has a positive safety culture and leadership.

Civil, Geotechnical and Groundwater Hydrology

Residents present during the consultation session organised by CH&PA (Photos by Carl Croker)

ment of the various facilities erected in the Industrial Site location.

In response, a city official explained that permission was granted for some of the facilities erected in the area of concern. Stepping in to respond to the series of questions posed by Ceres, the CH&PA Chief Development Planner, Germene Stewart, said the authority, without consulting residents, could have simply granted its approval, but in the interest of democracy, it thought it best to consult residents and other key stakeholders like the Guyana Fire Service, the Guyana Office for Investment, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Stewart disclosed too that approximately five years ago CH&PA granted approval to John Fernandes Ltd. for the operation of an industrial warehouse facility at the Industrial Site.

the area operated by John Fernandes comes as a major surprise. Like Ceres, he too complained that the property value would be dropped in the Houston Gardens area.

“Nobody is against development, this is something that is absolutely necessary, so the problem is the location,” he iterated.

Phillips while questioning why the chemicals must be filtered inland before going offshore, said Guyana has no shortage of land space, and as such the proposed facility could be erected further up the Demerara River.

“If you go about 30 miles up the Demerara River, you will find wonderful land that you could go on the western bank and you can set up a plant that, if something happens, it is not going to affect anybody,” he reasoned.

Ceres went one step further and suggested that the proposed facility can be set up at Wales, Region Three. “I am going to ask, why wasn’t

Nalco’s Global Business Development Manager Mike Knippers

The company has applied for ‘Environmental Authorisation’ from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for the operation of a chemical warehouse facility at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal and for the transportation of chemicals from the Inland Terminal to John Fernandes Water Street Port. The chemicals would thereafter be transferred to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore Guyana. In addition to the application before the EPA, the company has turned to CH&PA for clearance, and in an effort to receive buy-in from the neighbouring communities, the public consultation was organised.

During that consultation, Knippers said that, unlike Nalco’s Champion Sugar Land manufacturing facilities in Texas, there will be no manufacturing of chemicals at the proposed site.

granted from the relevant authorities. However, he assured the residents, that, if approval was granted, the operations would have little or no impact on the environment or residents within neighbouring communities of the facility.

“There will be no blending; there will be no reactions; no permanent storage tanks; no buried chemicals; and no vapour clouds, no emissions coming out of that facility,” Knippers told the residents.

His colleague, Miller disclosed that the four Guyanese who will man the facility are currently in the U.S undergoing training. Clarifying the use and functions of the proposed facility, the Project Manager said “it is only a facility to store, filter and repack product.”

Like Knippers, Miller explained that the chemical would be transferred from one container to another be-

Civil, Geotechnical and Groundwater Hydrology Engineer, Charles Ceres, a resident of Houston Gardens

vince residents that Nalco Champion’s operation would be safe, emphasized that it would be strictly a storage and container facility which will have a range of safety features including the presence of 20- and 25- pound fire extinguishers.

He was keen on pointing out that it would have protective frames, pressure safety valves and internal safety shut-off valve, adding that every two and a half years, the facility, which would be ISO certified, would be inspected. Nalco Champion Project Manager also informed the residents that there would be a Spill Emergency Response Plan in the event that there is a spill. In such a case, he noted that the contaminated soil will be removed and disposed of by a certified waste disposal

Engineer, Charles Ceres, a resident of Houston Gardens, while objecting to the facility being set up at the Industrial Site location, questioned CH&PA’s authority to facilitate the consultative session.

Ceres, while asking CH&PA to point to the section in the Town and Country Planning Act which authorizes the facilitation of such a process, said when residents were invited to the meeting there was no indication that Nalco Champion would be delivering a presentation.

He questioned whether CH&PA is prepared to compensate residents if there is a drop in the property value or a chemical spill. Ceres, who is no stranger in Guyana, called on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council to indicate whether permission was granted for the establish-

Kent Phillips

Another resident, Kent Phillips, who also lives in Houston Gardens, made it clear that neither he nor the residents of his community will support the establishment of the facility at the proposed site.

“Let us be clear, we don’t have a problem with people coming into this country and making it a better place; we don’t have a problem with the facility, it is the location, and the manner in which this was done,” Phillips said.

He told the Nalco Champion Officials and Phillip Fernandes, who represented John Fernandes Limited, that when he purchased his land in 2010, it was clearly stated on the transport that there should be no factory, shop or commercial activity of any kind conducted in the area. As such, Phillips said news of a change in use of

a place like Wales thought of as a place for the facility, and I have the Ministry of Finance and Go-Invest here also. The reality is the people in Wales have been set asunder because of the closure of the estate, if they give people this land in Wales they can build infrastructure in front for housing, and they could have this facility at the back,” he suggested.

Ramesh Dookhoo, who lives in D’Aguiar Park, called on the company to disclose whether Chemicals such as methanol, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) would be stored at the facility. In response, the company officials indicated that chemicals would include Xylene but made it clear that such chemicals are found in substances used on a daily basis.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Young Omaiah Hall on mission to eradicate self-hate

AS part of her ‘BeYOUtiful’ campaign, 17-year-old Omaiah Hall, a student of the Bishop’s High School, held an empowerment seminar on Monday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, to teach the concept of loving and believing in oneself.

This initiative is part of Hall’s project as a contestant of the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant slated for September 7, 2019.

The young woman told the Guyana Chronicle that prior to her entering the pageant, she was at her lowest, as it relates to her self-esteem and how she viewed herself.

She subsequently overcame her habit of harbouring negative thoughts about herself and reached the brink of empowerment.

“I started surrounding myself with the right people and tried to empower myself and I came to the realisation that I am enough, and I wanted people to also realise that they are enough, and that is how this whole ‘BeYOUtiful’ idea came about.

In order to be truly beautiful,

Omaiah Hall, 17

you need to be yourself, and love yourself for who you are and what you look like,” Hall said.

The seminar took the format of an interactive session, where Hall shared her story of evolving into a confident young woman. Other motivational speakers also shared their stories to the group of attendees.

M i s s Wo r l d G u y a n a 2019, Joylyn Conway and creator of Guyana Animation Network, Jubilante Cutting, were two of the guest speakers.

Hall said the experience

A section of the attendees at the seminar on Monday

Omaiah Hall and her mother

thus far in the pageant has made her experience significant self-growth. The project she has aligned herself with, is also serving as a ways and means of adding to her development as a young woman.

“You would usually see Omaiah as the girl out there singing but I would have never been on a platform talking about my story and this pageant has given me the opportunity to share so much. I’m also meeting some amazing people that share

my same goals and values, and this is a very amazing experience for me,” the young woman said.

Her mother, who was present at the seminar, said that Hall was always a very outgoing child.

Omaiah as a child, always thinks out of the box, always dare to be different.

“So from early we knew this child was going to do great things. From small we always used to be saying ‘oh you’ll be the next Miss Guyana’, and so on. From early there were certain things that we said to her, so I guess this is as a result of us speaking positive things into her life and saying to her that she can become whatever she chooses to be. And I always tell her, whatever she chooses to do, I’ll support her. Once you do the right thing, and bring the grades,” her mother said.

Attendees deemed the seminar empowering and inspirational, as the stories shared were touching and motivational. They were also gifted with merchandise that Hall prepared for them.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Tullow oil find shows that more oil is out there -says British High Commissioner THE British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, has said that the Tullow oil find is good for Guyana because it demonstrates that there is oil outside of the Stabroek Block, which is operated by US oil giant, ExxonMobil.

Tullow Guyana B.V – a subsidiary of UK-based oil company Tullow Oil plc, had made its first oil discovery offshore Guyana at Jethro-1 well in the Orinduik Block.

Though the data from the Jethro-1 discovery is being analysed, the company’s spokesman, George Cazenove, told the Guyana Chronicle that it is likely that the well exceeds Tullow’s pre-drill estimates of 100 million barrels of recoverable resources.

“This demonstrates that there is oil outside of the Stabroek Block, which shows that Guyana’s potential is far bigger than that block,” said Quinn during a press briefing on Monday.

He said the find brings in a whole new set of companies, countries and opera-

tors. And the more operators, countries and companies which are involved in the oilfields, the better, he said.

Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark

Dr. Bynoe noted, too, that the discovery offers significant potential for the diversification of Guyana’s hydrocarbon production base.

“The Department of En-

British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn

Bynoe had said that the discovery in the Orinduik Block is another major development for Guyana. Like Tullow Oil, he believes that the discovery adds to the further de-risking of the deep and ultra-deep zone.

the nation.

Dr. Bynoe said the new discovery demonstrates the vastness of the country’s natural resources, and assured that all Guyanese stand to benefit significantly from the oil discoveries.

Overall, Tullow Oil has

President of the GCCI, Nicholas Boyer

ergy (DoE) is encouraged by the prolific rate of discoveries in Guyana and will continue to work assiduously and conscientiously to extract optimum value from these resources for all the peoples of our country,” he assured

injected US$80M into the drilling of the three wells offshore Guyana.

With U.S oil giant ExxonMobil putting its gross recoverable resource estimate to more than six billion barrels of oil equivalent in the Stabroek Block, Cazenove

said is cognisant of the country’s potential.

According to a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed between the Government of Guyana, Tullow Guyana B.V and Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc, the country could benefit from as much as 60 per cent in oil profit, including a one per cent royalty once the explorations are successful and the companies start pumping for oil in the Orinduik Block.

Article 15:06 of the Petroleum Agreement indicates that a one per cent royalty is included in the government’s share of profit. “The government’s share of profit oil specified in Article 11 includes royalty payable by the contractor at the rate of one per cent of crude oil produced and sold, and delivery to the minister, pursuant to Article 14 of his share of profit oil equivalent to royalty shall constitute payment of such royalty in kind,” the agreement states.

When asked to comment on the agreement between Tullow and the Government of Guyana, Quinn said the terms of the contract is for the government and the company to talk about since it is a

commercial contract.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Nicholas Boyer, in his take on the contract, said there is need for a Petroleum Commission and Local Content Commission, which are insulated from political control. “If you notice with Exxon and Tullow you have varying terms… we need to move management of oil industry out of direct control of political actors and make it transparent,” said Boyer, adding that it is a position which he has always believed in. It was reported that Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has called on stakeholders to submit nominees to be part of the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, which would be tasked with ensuring that there is transparent spending of public funds.

Local companies to take part in major oil and gas conference in Scotland -GCCI says lots of networking opportunities to be explored, MoU to be signed FIFTEEN Guyanese companies are set to travel to Aberdeen, Scotland for the upcoming Offshore Europe, oil and gas conference and exhibition, which will run from September 3 to 6, 2019.

Founded in 1973 as Offshore Scotland, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Offshore Europe is a biennial conference and exhibition that takes place in Aberdeen, Scotland.

The event focuses on upstream oil and gas production and has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in Europe. The event attracts visitors and exhibitors from around the world, 108 coun-

tries were represented at the 2015 event.

Guyana will, for the first time, be part of the prestigious conference, said President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Boyer during a press briefing on Monday. The trip will be facilitated by the GCCI and the British High Commission.

He reiterated that 15 companies have confirmed their participation and from those companies, there will be a total of 20 delegates. “With the British High Commission and our high commission in the UK (United Kingdom), we worked with Valiant Media and we came up with a way

to represent Guyana there…It was a bit of a logistical challenge to fly to the UK, but it is good to see interest from Guyanese companies despite the logistics and cost to get there,” said Boyer.

In addition to the conference and exhibition, Valiant Media and both high commissions have arranged events which will give local companies the opportunity to network. According to Boyer, foreign companies often try to research on Guyana but there are no industry reports and other information which can be accessed, so the GCCI will provide information through networking.

“For networking when you

get face-to-face interaction, companies can directly ask you questions…we will build the relationships so that companies can say they want to provide their product and service to Guyanese,” said the GCCI president.

Networking will also give Guyanese companies an opportunity to pitch their products and services to foreign investors.

British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn echoed the sentiments of Boyer, noting that the expectation is that the relationship between Guyana and the UK will jump to another level.

The relationship between

Guyana and Scotland is already strong, particular the relationship between the GCCI and Aberdeen. Last November a mission from Guyana, which included public and private sector stakeholders, visited Aberdeen. Discussions coming out of the visit were focused mainly on education, trading and skills development. The effort was reciprocated when Lord Provost, Mayor of Aberdeen; Barney Crockett and Scotland’s Energy Industry Council visited Guyana. “The trip to Scotland is the latest step in what has been a relationship which was built over the last few months,” said Quinn.

Outside of the initial in-

tention of the upcoming visit to Scotland, the GCCI and the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber Of Commerce will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Boyer said the signing of the MoU will demonstrate the commitment to building a stronger relationship.

“We don’t want to disclose anything about the MoU, we will save it until the launch…we do not want to preempt anything,” he said. The GCCI has similar MoUs with the Federation for Indian Export Organisation, the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba and the Chamber of Commerce of Ghana.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Bauxite union rejects RUSAL’s 3% pay hike …writes Labour Department to begin conciliation

By Tamica Garnett THE Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU), has rejected a proposal for a three per cent pay increase from the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), owned by Russian company RUSAL, and has written the Department of Labour (DoL) for deliberations to move to conciliation.

BCGI Union Branch Secretary, Leslie Junor, confirmed that the company made a proposal to the union on Tuesday afternoon and it was immediately rejected. “We had made an offer to them, they send back a counter proposal saying that they can only afford four per

GB&GWU General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis

1.1 [percent] and I’ve been here five years,” commented an aggrieved employee.

He passionately denounced the three per cent proposal, saying it pales in comparison to what Guyana’s other bauxite company, BOSAI, is offering its em-

Working conditions at RUSAL/BCGI bauxite mines

cent and out of the four per cent they already give us one per cent, which we strike [because of] earlier in the year.

So they are saying now that the one per cent is being discounted and they are giving us three,” Junor said.

The workers are maintaining that the company can afford more. “We are not going for that. We have engaged the union officials and they will make the necessary arrangements to follow up on the matter on their end because BCGI/RUSAL can afford more than three per cent, three per cent is a gross insult it’s like they giving us the same one per cent. So right now we have engaged Mr. Lincoln Lewis,” Junor explained.

Workers are also questioning a component of the company’s counter proposal where they claim that from 2009-2019 workers were given a total of 46 per cent in salary increases across the period. “The company said that from 2009 they have paid us 46 per cent, so for this year they could only afford 4 percent. But questioning the employees that were here since 2009 they can’t make their calculations reach 46 [per cent], how they come to 46 [per cent]?

Because since I am here it’s only been a 1.2 [per cent] and

ployees. “Three per cent to me is a disrespect, due to the conditions here three per cent can’t happen, can’t happen at all,” the employee affirmed.

“Alongside with the bauxite company BOSAI, three per cent is nothing.

Because BOSAI rate is far over our own and we are in the interior location whereas BOSAI is actually in a town where most of the workers go home to their family when we have to wait 14 days.”

GB&GWU General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis, subsequently informed workers that the union had written the DoL requesting conciliation. Lewis declared that if conciliation does not work, the union is ready for the deliberations to move to arbitration. “This union is prepared to go the distance, even if it requires going to the end of the earth. We shall pursue justice on behalf of our members and the workers employed by BCGI,” Lewis affirmed.

LEWIS CALLED THE PROPOSAL “UNACCEPTABLE”.

“We have received from BCGI a proposal that we consider unacceptable, Turn to page 20 ►

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

15

Court denies injunction against Trial of murder Jagdeo, Guyana Times, Kaieteur News accused commences today A MIXED 12-member jury was, on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, empanelled before Justice Brassington Reynolds, at the Demerara High Court, for the trial of two men accused of the 2014 murder of two sisters and their father.

Ganga Kishna called ‘Buddie’ and ‘Scientist’, a 74-yearold businessman, formerly of North Road, Bourda, Georgetown and his assistant, Avishkar Bissoon, 26, of Sheriff Street, Campbellsville, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the three charges.

Two charges stated that, on November 17, 2014, at Lot 65 King and Robb Street, Georgetown, the men murdered Clarissa, 14 and Tressa Rozario, 11 in the course or furtherance of an arson on their dwelling house.

The last charge stated that, on December 21, 2014, the men murdered 63-year-old Hilrod Attlee Thomas also called Rudolph Thomas.

The two accused were represented by Attorneys Mursaline Bacchus and Dexter Todd, while the state was represented by prosecutors Seeta Bishundial and Lisa Cave.

The prosecution is contending that, on November 17, 2014, at about 02:00 hours, Clarissa and Tressa Rozario were peacefully asleep at their Lot 65 King and Robb Street, Georgetown home along with their father, Thomas. It is alleged that while they were asleep their house was set afire, and they died in the inferno.

Their father managed to jump through a window to escape the flames but he sustained second and third-degree burns. On December 21, 2014, he succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The prosecution is claiming that Kishna was the mastermind behind the fire, while Bissoon acted as his assistant.

The Guyana Chronicle had previously reported that investigations in this matter took the police two years, then a drug addict reportedly confessed that he was offered money to set fire to the disputed building.

Police believe that the building was torched to drive out individuals who were also claiming ownership of the property by prescriptive rights.

The trial is expected to commence today (Wednesday, August 21, 2019) and a total of 19 witnesses are expected to testify.

MANAGING Director of Ground Structures Engineering Consultants (GSEC), Charles Ceres and his wife, Ndibi Schwiers, have been denied their injunction restraining Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, Kaieteur News, and the Guyana Times from publishing/ making further defamatory statements against them.

The matter came up before Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln at the High Court on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, where it was held in chambers.

Following the hearing, Attorney Anil Nandlall, one of Jagdeo’s legal representatives, told reporters that the Judge ruled that the defendants, having pleaded justification and because it

involves freedom of speech which is a constitutional right, she is constrained from granting an injunction at this stage.

Nandlall explained that the law states that once a defendant in a libellous matter pleads that he will justify the statements made in the interests of freedom of speech and the interest of a democratic society that encourages free discussion, then an injunction should not be granted and a person much be allowed to speak freely.

Given all the circumstances, he said that the judge denied the claimants’ request for the injunction.

The case will now proceed to trial.

Charles Ceres and his wife Schwiers, Director of the Department of Envi-

Managing Director of Ground Structures Engineering Consultants (GSEC), Charles Ceres (Delano Williams)

ronment at the Ministry of the Presidency, are seeking damages in excess of $200M from Jagdeo for the publishing of the unsubstantiated and defamatory statements

via the People’s Progressive Party’s social media channels.

Additionally, the claimants are also seeking another $200M each from the two news outlets for publishing articles based on Jagdeo’s claims that the couple obtained the said lands by immoral, improper, illegal and criminal means.

The two parties were also asking the Court to consider granting an injunction against the newspapers to prevent them or their servants from publishing further defamatory statements. In addition to the millions worth in damages, the Claimants are also seeking retractions and apologies from the two news outlets.

The couple is represented by attorney-at-law Darren Wade.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Capoey women want to establish their independence --express an interest in shade-house farming, poultry-rearing, block-making

By Indra Natram THE women of the Amerindian community of Capoey were only too happy to see Minister within the Minis-

try of Agriculture, Valerie Adams-Yearwood when she paid the Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) community a visit recently, so they could share with her

their innermost desires.

And foremost amongst those desires is their zeal to become independent, by getting into such activities as shade-house farming, poul-

try-rearing, and block-making.

So serious are they that they elected a spokesperson in Ave White, who is also a member of the Capoey Village Council (CVC), so she could communicate to the minister what it is they want of her.

According to White, there are approximately 35 women in the community who are interested in getting into projects that will sustain their livelihoods, and given that agriculture is the mainstay of the community, what better way to supplement their earnings than by pooling their resources and investing in a shade-house project.

She said that the village

Ave White pleading the case of Capoey women at a recent meeting with Minister Adams-Yearwood

Capoey women turned out in full force to meet with the minister

already has a shade-house; all it needs is a little repairs.

“We need something to do; we need to assist in the home,” White said. “If we women in the community can come together and do projects, then we will be able to support our home financially. If the shade-house project comes to reality then we can supply the school feeding programme,” she implored the minister.

She also told the minister that those of the women who

are not good at farming can do other things, such as poultry, since the Mission Top and Lake Top women have different projects in mind.

The ice having been broken, that’s when the other women who were at the meeting chose to speak up, and some expressed an interest in learning block-making.

After hearing from the women, Minister Adams-Yearwood committed to engaging the relevant agencies to assist them in devel-

oping those projects that are closest to their hearts.

She promised that she will ensure that they receive the necessary training in animal husbandry and poultry rearing, and that she will also be getting someone from the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) to train them in block-making.

Man on drug possession charge granted bail ON Tuesday August 20, 2019, a 27-year-old man, on a drug possession charge, was released on 70,000 bail,

by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Particulars of the charge stated that, on August 17, 2019, at Mahdia Arcade, Osafo Bess of Potaro Mahdia was found with 43 grams of cannabis, with intent to

traffic.

Bess was represented by Attorney at Law, Ronald Daniels, who noted that, on the day in question, several young men were ‘drinking and smoking’ at the shop adjacent to where his client was, when a police patrol approached the area. The young men ran away.

A member of the patrol then approached Bess and

accused him of disposing of a black plastic bag, which, when retrieved by the police was found to have contained cannabis.

The lawyer also noted that the item was not found on his client but in questionably circumstances.

Magistrate McLennan adjourned the matter until October 15, 2019.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

17

‘With Oil and Gas we will have a Law School’ – AG ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on Tuesday, vowed that, despite the setbacks and pushbacks, Guyana, with the coming of oil, will one day build its own Law School.

Speaking to reporters at his Carmichael Street Office in the presence of a number of law students, Minister Williams said it has always been his vision to establish a law school here but his attempts to do so since taking office in 2015 have been met with major objections from the former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, and the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams (Adrian Narine Photo)

liams, on Tuesday, assured the law students and reporters that, despite the moving goal post, a law school will be built here. “…So the goal

An artist’s impression of the proposed JOF Haynes Law School

He recalled that it was in January 2017 that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government announced the project for the establishment of the Joseph Oscar Fitzclarence (JOF) Haynes Law School of the Americas, after some two decades of lobbying for an alternative to the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas.

But the announcement was met with objection from the former Attorney General who contended that the CLE never granted or initiated discussion on the proposed school but when documents surfaced indicating that the matter was of active discussion, Williams said there were more stumbling blocks.

In 2018, the CLE indicated that the feasibility study submitted on the school was not in compliance with the treaty under which it was established. It was explained that the CLE does not provide for third parties, and the model proposed by the Guyanese Government was by way of a Public Private Partnership with the Law School of the Americas and the University College of the Caribbean.

Since then the project has been stalled but Minister Wil-

post keeps shifting but fortunately, I am not sure that you can shift oil and gas, that have already been identified. So we will have a school, one way or the other,” he told reporters.

With the coming of oil, it would be easier for Guyana to have its own law school, he said while positing that the necessary resources would be available. “With Oil and Gas we will have a Law School,” Minister Williams iterated.

He suggested that Guyana could model its law school after the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas, explaining that during the early years of the school it operated independent of the CLE, and during that period, Bahamian lawyers practised in The Bahamas until the school was placed under the aegis of the CLE. “So perhaps, if you have a Law School built in Guyana and Guyanese lawyers are graduated, they practise in Guyana. I don’t know that they need to go anywhere else to practise because here is where the money will be and opportunities, and of course, like the Bahamas, CLE overtime will be glad to embrace us,” the Attorney General reasoned.

Under the current agreement with the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Council of Legal Educa-

tion (CLE), only the top 25 Guyanese graduates from the University of Guyana are given automatic entry into the Hugh Wooding Law School on a yearly basis. This has resulted in hundreds of other graduates being left out in the cold though successfully completing their Bachelor of Law Degree.

However, with the coming of oil and the country’s push to become a green state, the Attorney General is almost certain that Guyana will no longer have to limit itself

to approximately 25 lawyers per year when in Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica more than 250 lawyers graduate from the Hugh Wooding and Norman Manley Law Schools annually.

The February 2018 Final Report on the Survey of Legal Education in CARICOM Member States, which was conducted by the Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) and funded by the Canadian Government, underscored the need for Guyana to have

its own law school. In that report, it was recommended that law schools should be established as part of Utech in Jamaica, UG in Guyana and possibly in Antigua and Barbuda.

According to the report, the establishment of additional regional law schools in the three jurisdictions under the CLE would provide an easy mechanism for addressing the unsatisfied demand for access to practise law by the many persons who are holders of

non-University of the West Indies (UWI) LLB degrees.

The Attorney General said Guyana is in support of the report’s recommendation that the CLE should be an accreditation body and not one that manages the affairs of the law schools.

He said this very important recommendation will likely come up for discussion during a meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee of CARICOM and at the level of CARICOM Heads of Government.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Guyana Society for the Blind pleased with its CSEC performance Naomi Marshall AT a press conference held on Tuesday, at the Guyana Society for the Blind, Ganesh Singh, a commissioner on the National Commission for Disability (NCD), announced that the Society for the Blind has gained an impressive pass rate of 95

percent at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) Examination due to the programme it (the Society) executes.

The programme is tailored for persons who are blind or visibly impaired.

However, over the past years, the programme has been opened to persons with phys-

ical and learning disabilities.

“These are students who, in most instances the education system failed because they never had an opportunity to write CSEC, or even if they did, they were not really catered for in an inclusive manner that they could have excelled, so this is a quick fix and it’s giving persons

a second chance,” Singh explained.

“I can tell you that, because of this programme, most of their lives have been transformed and they now can look forward to a better future, be optimistic of the outcome of their life and it’s all because of them passing through this programme,”

Faith Greene

he added.

Securing the top position at the Society for the Blind CSEC programme 2019 was Faith Greene who gained one grade one, three grade two passes and two grade three passes.

The subjects Greene secured passes in are English A, Social Studies, Principles of Accounts, Human and Social Biology, Principles of Business and Office Administration.

The 18-year-old stated that she was filled with excitement when she heard of her results.

Greene who is a resident of Tucville said that preparation for the examination was challenging; however, the help and motivation she gained from her friends and teachers made things better for her.

Greene is visually impaired. However, she is not allowing her disability to stop her from becoming one of Guyana’s Journalists.

Greene who enjoys writing is planning to commence Communication Studies at the University of Guyana, come September 2019.

“Just don’t give up.

Know what you want in the future, have a plan for your future and you will get to pursue anything,” is Green’s advice to persons living with disabilities that may want to further their studies.

Also celebrating his accomplishment was 37-yearold Omesh Jhagroo, who attained passes in English A, Social studies, Human and Social Biology, Office Administration and Principles of Business.

The 37-year-old who is blind, expressed that he was very proud of his achievement since he wrote CSEC when he was younger and

Omesh Jhagroo

Sachi Harrichan

had sight but did not obtain any passes due to the many “struggles” he encountered during his school life.

“I am very proud to know that I have lost my sight and I can be able to do something that I can be proud of because if someone who is able enough can do it, it makes me who have a disability feel like I can do it too, it don’t make a difference, as long as you put your mind to it, you can make it,” Jhagroo stated.

Jhagroo lost his sight at age 25 due to a disease called Uveitis. However, he added, “even though I lost my sight, I am still comfortable with life. To this point I have achieved and I think I can go more too.”

Jhagroo intends to pursue studies in the field of Social Work at the University of Guyana in the near future because he has a major love for counselling.

“I love doing counselling, I love to advise persons and give persons confidence as well because since I have lost my sight there have been so many weird questions coming to me so in this Social Work area I can clear a lot Turn to page 19 ►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Young brothers critical after burns Man charged for discharging firearm remanded -SHEA foundation raising funds to medevac victims FOUR-year-old Ghansham Sohan and his one-yearold brother, Besham Soham, are critical after being burnt.

According to information from the Saving Hands Emergency Aid Inc (SHEA) Foundation, the boys’ mother lit some materials to drive away mosquitoes, but she turned away for a minute and her older son threw dry grass into the fire, causing it to flare up.

“It flared up and caught their clothes…they were badly burnt,” said a representative of SHEA, Sita Sugrim in an invited comment on Tuesday.

The family rushed the children to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where they remain patients. Besham

is on life-support and his older brother is very critical. “Unfortunately, the advanced medical treatment they require is not available in Guyana; therefore, they must be urgently transported via medevac to the United States for life-saving treatment,” said SHEA in a post on its Facebook Page.

The organisation received an urgent request to assist with arranging for medical assistance in the US. According to the organisation, the cost of the air ambulance is US$45,000 and depending on the length of the follow-up treatment, it can range from US$7,500 to US$15,000 each trip and due to the severity there will be at least four follow-up trips.

“We need to pay for air ambulance, housing, meals FROM PAGE 18

Guyana Society for ... of the questions and I can be able to help persons too,” he noted.

In addition, Jhagroo thinks that the government should do more to make persons living with disabilities feel more included in society, especially in the schools so they could feel motivated to achieve their education.

“If you can put things in place for them (persons living with disabilities), it can make them feel more confident in going ahead and doing the subjects they have to do and it can give them motivation because of the environment that they would be in. I think the government can do a lot more to make them feel comfortable in doing the subjects,” he added.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sachi Harrichan who wrote CSEC for the first time secured passes in four out of the five subjects he wrote.

“It was very challenging because of my disability, and there were times when I felt as though I couldn’t have made it but I pulled through, I made it, I feel very pleased to know that I have CSEC examination subjects and that I wrote and I got through with my subjects,” he expressed.

The aspiring entrepreneur stated that he will be writing Mathematics at the Society for the Blind in the near future since the subject is needed to become an entrepreneur and when entering the field of Information Technology.

Meanwhile, Singh stated that the programme commenced in 2014 and, to date, has seen 42 students living

with disability participating in CSEC, of which, 47 percent would have been enrolled into tertiary level education, while some were employed.

With the use of digitized textbooks and handouts, amongst others, students are taught each subject four times a week, and have timetables tailored to the availability of the students and tutors.

Singh pointed out that the institution is hoping to expand its service to Linden, Region 10. However, tutors and a space are needed to host classes.

He is therefore requesting that persons, interested and willing to donate a space for the institution to host classes, make contact with him on 652-8975.

“We will retrofit it (the space) with whatever is necessary to ensure that the students are comfortable so that we can transmit the classes to students in Linden because there are a lot of persons there who are visually impaired and blind who want to be a part of the programme but because of the prohibitive transportation cost to travel from Linden to Georgetown, they can’t make it,” the commissioner added.

Singh also expressed gratitude to everyone who helped the institution, especially the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Presidency, Department of Public Service for the contributions they have made, and are making, to the institution.

and other logistical expenses so we are calling on persons to make a donation… Please help us to help these children, by making a donation towards their medical expenses and medical air transport,” said the foundation.

Persons who are interested in donating can visit the following link https:// savinghandsemergencyaid.org/Gansham-and-Beham-Sohan or contact SHEA on Facebook.

CHIEF Magistrate Ann McLennan on Tuesday August 20, 2019, remanded a twenty-five-year-old man to prison for discharging a firearm at a rank of the City Constabulary.

Kevin Allicock of James Street, Albouystown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated that, on August 15, 2019, at Orange Walk Bourda, he discharged a firearm at City Constabulary rank, Brent Walcott, with intent to maim, disfigure or cause bodily harm.

Attorney-at-Law Euclin

Gomes, who represented Allicock, requested the court to grant his client bail, since, at the time of his arrest, he was not found with any firearm.

Gomes added that Allicock had a matter pending at the high court that was not related to the present charge and his client was in custody for six days.

Police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield objected to bail being granted to Allicock and told the court that, at the time of the incident, Allicock was seen attempting to scale the fence of the Bourda Market. Walcott raised an alarm and Allicock jumped from

the fence and pulled a gun from his waist and fired three rounds in Walcott’s direction.

Mansfield also told the court that the rank was armed at the time and returned fire but Allicock made good his escape. Shortly after the rank received information about Allicock’s whereabouts, and a party of City Constabulary ranks went to Hadfield Street, found him hiding under a bridge and arrested him.

City Magistrate Ann McLennan refused bail and remanded Allicock to prison until September 11, 2019.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Teen mom bounces back with six ones at CSEC PASSING all ten subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination, with six of those being Grade Ones, Toneisha London, student of the Institute of Business Education (IBE), is a living testimony of the Guyanese adage, 'a woman only falls if she wants to.' While scores of students share the same level of success as London hers was special given the peculiar challenges she faced and overcame as a teenage mother.

London's story is one written in tears. She did fall, but with determination to be edu-

cated and with the motivation from her aunt, Angela London, she got up seven times stronger. In 2017, Toneisha became pregnant and made the decision to drop out of the Hope Secondary School. She was already in the Fifth Form and was preparing for CSEC. Her aunt was determined that Toneisha attended private lessons, even in her pregnant state and write at least four subjects. That she did, but was not as successful as she wanted to. "For me I think I didn't do so good, because I was tired most of the times because I was pregnant and I didn't think I was focused enough. Then, two months be-

fore the examination, my daughter was born, so the stress of being a first time mother also made it challenging," she related. In addition, taunts and gossiping from her school mates, given the discrimination that is still attached to teenage pregnancy, also played its role, but Toneisha said she didn’t allow that to get the best of her, as she had an aim and that was to make her aunt Toneisha London and her proud. teacher, Jamain Hatton Her satisfactory performance was not the had the ability to excel and end of the road. Knowing she being able to better handle

motherhood, with the encouragement from her aunt, she enrolled at IBE and signed up for ten subjects. Toneisha secured 6 Grade Ones, 2 Grade twos and 2 Grade threes. She was the third highest performer at her school. "I feel proud of myself, and I am happy that I made myself and my aunt proud," she said. "I didn't go back to fail, I went back to get my subjects because I have a child and I want to be able to get a job and take care of her.

Toneisha aspires to become a midwife and is hoping to attend nursing school in September. The preparation process for the 19 - year- old mother was tedious, but she kept her eyes on the prize and she pulled through. "I had to be at school from Sunday to Sunday. I had to wake early and study, go to bed late at nights and still had my daughter to take care of, but it was worth it." Again, she expressed gratitude to her aunt for playing a pivotal role in assisting her with her daughter- a role she did not have to take on, but because of selfless love, she did so with the only condition, that Toneisha excels. She said her aunt took her daughter to school, collected her after and did babysitting duties free of cost so she can study.

The teenage mother hopes her success story reaches the ears of the many other teenag-

ers who are battling with negative thoughts, demotivation and lack of empowerment to make the best of their situation. "I would advise them that getting pregnant in your teens is not the end of the road, it is all about you, once you are willing to pull through and remain focus, you will make it, no matter what anyone says," Toneisha posited.

The Coalition Government has reintegrated over 800 teenage mothers back into learning institutions throughout the 10 administrative regions. Of this amount, 500 have been placed in the technical and vocational studies and the others chose to attend secondary schools. Last month, Minister of Education Nicolette Henry said amenities such as daycare facilities were also provided for the teenage mothers.

This move, she noted is in keeping with the policy of reintegration of adolescent mothers into the education system, as this is seen as paramount to the development of women and girls in Guyana. Minister Henry stressed that, by sending girls back to school, they will be better equipped with life and other skills. She believes that investing in girls’ education is investing in the development of a nation.

Bauxite union rejects ...FROM PAGE 14 we did not expect better from them and it is for that reason that we advised that we will be proceeding to conciliation. We have today dispatched a letter to the Labour Department requesting conciliatory procedures. We expect that within the week we shall have a response from the Chief Labour Officer [Charles Ogle] advising to a date for the conciliation. Understand that any failure at conciliation shall proceed to arbitration,” Lewis said.

Over the weekend union officials had indicated that this week would see the expiration of the timeline whereby a response was expected from BCGI on a Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) and salary proposal that was submitted by the union since early May. BCGI Union President, Ephraim Velloza, said the workers are willing to follow the union, and like Lewis said, go the distance. “Whatsoever they do we are prepared, we are not taking anything less than what we’re bargaining for and that will send them a clear message. If we said we want that, we know and we work out the stats and we see that it is lucrative enough,” Velloza conveyed. He cautioned however that any action taken will be within the confines of the law.

WORKERS PREPARED TO GO DISTANCE “The workers are hyping up, the guys are done prepared

for anything. But we don’t want to do nothing out of our constitutional rights so we’re taking it one step at a time, because these things could get very drastic. Remember school coming and people ain’t seeing no money coming and these kind of stuff, and the conditions haven’t improved at the camp, every day they trying to take us by storm. So we are waiting on the government intervention and for the company to reconsider their offer,” he said.

Over five months have passed since employees ended a five-week strike, and the company agreed to recognise the Union, work on a new Collective Labour Agreement, and address salary and other concerns of workers. In early May 2019, a proposed CLA was submitted by the union to the company but nothing has been forthcoming from the company since.

The strike had started on February 15, after the company imposed an arbitrary one per cent pay increase on employees, three days later some 61 employees were fired and the Department of Labour (DoL) summoned the company. Sometime later another 30 employees were laid off. The strike officially came to an end on March 21, and all terminated workers were reinstated.

The workers complained that since then, the conditions at the mines have not improved.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Local body art, fashion steal spotlight at CARIFESTA XIV

On of the body art designs done by the Bravo Arts team (Vishani Ragobeer photos)

By Vishani Ragobeer CLOTHING designs done by local fashion designer Maxi Williams and Body Art done by ‘Bravo Arts’ took the spotlight on Monday Night at the fashion square of CARIFESTA XIV. In the fashion scene at CARIFESTA, Maxi has been making himself quite known with his ‘tall man’ costume elaborately designed with the colours of the Golden Arrowhead. On Monday night, however, he gained recognition as his designs brought the curtains down on the fashion segment of the fashion show held at Grand Market at the Queen’s Park Savannah, in Trinidad.

Following Maxi’s clothing display, there was a body art display by ‘Bravo Arts’. The well known local creative arts group painted the skins of members of the National Drama Company to illustrate mythical and futuristic creatures.

The Bravo team included Mr. Bravo himself and Steven Douglas, alongside Guyanese artists Cassandra Chu and Mala Mohabir. Trinidadian artist, Dahlia Davis also joined the group.

The Bravo Team’s art was on display on the stage at the Grand Market in the Savannah and then at the end of the fashion show later that night.

The mythical and futuristic body art designs done by the Bravo Arts team

Some of the fashion designs done by Maxi Williams on the runway at Queen’s Park Savannah on Monday Night

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Back-to-school shopping heats up in city

By Mya Kendall COMMERCIAL activities on the busy city streets are picking up as parents, and guardians alike, gear up to send their children off to school for the new academic year. On Monday when Guyana Chronicle ‘took a walk’ down Regent Street and its adjoining streets, vendors were busy cashing in on the sales with their exciting chants and calls.

“A lot of people have been passing and asking for school stuff and so on” said, Leonard Mayers, who was assisting his mother with her stand. He conveyed that sales at his mother’s stand had been, “going ok” and that, “Normally, it wouldn’t be as busy as now, so we get extra customers before school starts until Christmas.” He added that his mother had been there since she was young and the extra business

always helped in bringing in more finance.

Mr. Rohan, an “all kind of bag, any kind of bag” vendor, had not been selling on Regent Street for very long but said that business for him and his wife had been “going well” and expected business to grow as the end of August nears.

“For me, great, excellent, I can tell you I do the best on Regent Street, nearly one hundred sales a day!”

expressed Jermaine Johnson as he avowed his appreciation for the Back-to-School shopping season. Jermaine is an undergarments vendor, found opposite the Regent Plaza, who only sells during the Christmas, Easter and back-to-school seasons as those accumulate the most profits. The vendor said that his customers would recommend new customers to him Turn to page 23 ► Bellies and his boots

Donald showcasing his products

Jermaine assisting Jenny with her options

Leonard selling this customer an item

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

CJIA working to improve passenger experience

THE authorities of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) are working to improve passengers’ experience at the airport.

This was said by CJIA in response to a letter, which was published in the Stabroek News on Sunday, titled: “suggestions to improve passengers’ experience at CJIA.”

“We wish to thank the letter writer for these useful suggestions. Online and selfcheck-in processes are currently available for departing passengers,” said the CJIA in a press statement.

According to the authorities of the airport, a new contract was recently signed for the upgrade of a Common Use Terminal Systems. This

Back-to-school ... because of his great quality and customer service.

“I wholly believe in customer service” he said. Jermaine mentioned that this season usually benefits him financially, and that putting a smile on someone’s face always makes him happy.

Mr. Donald Gouveia had been selling since 1978, and said, “For me, my composition books sell the most”, as he points to his almost empty table. Gouveia stated that he usually has good business, however, his profits are looking really ‘bright’ this year.

Conrad aka Bellies, who has been selling on the corner of Regent and Wellington for over 20 years, said that, “Business has now started picking up.” This boots vendor said that everybody knows him and he is very popular for his boots, therefore when the back-to-school season reaches it benefits him financially.

On the flip side Anita, also a shoe vendor said, “Business is not going like before, it’s going very slow, sales have dropped right now, you see this road, look at it, empty,” as she gestured towards the sidewalk. “We

FROM PAGE 22

invested and we’re waiting till next week to see how it goes” she said. She did not believe that anything will change because apparently, most of the shoppers came the week before and were choosing to go to wholesale stores instead of the retail vendors.

On the other side of the spectrum, many parents were seen with their children shopping for back-to-school items.

Shonelle Bernard was found at Anita’s stand shopping for her daughter. She said that her shopping was going fine and all the backto-school prices were manageable and that she was finding everything she needed easily.

“It all depends, some places expensive and some places cheap and I know where to look for the best quality items”, said Jenny Luke, as she was shopping with her daughter for tights, socks, shoes and a book bag. Jenny expressed that she chose to buy from vendors along the roadside because they had better prices with good quality.

Anita and husband at their stall

Some of Rohan’s bags

project will see the introduction of additional check-in counters as well as four selfcheck-in kiosks.

These features will significantly reduce passenger check-in queuing times.

Also, the airport corporation is in the process of procuring an In-line Baggage Handling System. This system will comprise a high-resolution Computer Tomography Explosive Trace Detection Machine which will be used to screen passengers’ checked luggage.

Flashback: CAL passengers checking in at the CJIA (Minister Annette Ferguson photo)

This new system will automatically identify anomalies and send those bags for secondary screening.

This new equipment will see higher baggage throughput rates and will further reduce the time passengers spend before clearing security.

“Similarly, we are in the process of acquiring several modern walk-through metal detectors and hand luggage Turn to page 24►

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cubans should be allowed automatic six-month stay in Guyana – GCSM President IN the aftermath of a Cuban being fined $20,000 or in default eight weeks in imprisonment recently for overstaying his permitted time in Guyana, calls are being made for Cubans to be given an automatic sixmonth stay here.

This is according to President of the Guyana-Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM), Halim Khan.

Khan explained that Cuba should also be added to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and benefit from the free movement of skills/labour under Article 46 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

“We cannot promote tourism in Guyana if we disregard the way treatment is meted out to persons visiting, there should always be simple solutions and respect for persons visiting the country,” Khan noted.

The GCSM President explained that many Cubans who decided to spend several months in Guyana apply for work permits and are contributing to the economy as sales representatives, taxi drivers, construction workers and food vendors.

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) indicates that as of March last, 17,978 Cubans visited Guyana as opposed to 18,146 between January and March, 2018.

According to the GTA, some 74,209 Cubans visited Guyana in 2018.

Khan explained that because of prices for commodities, hospitality and freedom in Guyana, Cubans return to the country and many also visit to apply for US visas.

“Many Cubans opt to return because they enjoy doing business in Guyana, we need to give them an automatic six months since they are also contributing to the development of businesses,” the GCSM president noted.

The Cuban national Eulices Marquez Echevarria,

GCSM President, Halim Khan

43, appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court recently.

The charge read to him stated that between July 14, 2019, and August 15, 2019, at Georgetown, he failed to comply with conditions subject to a permit to stay in Guyana between June 14, 2019 and July 13, 2019.

When asked what his plea was, the defendant said, “Guilty but I didn’t know I overstayed in the country.”

Chief Magistrate McLennan asked the defendant why he came to Guyana and he respond saying, “I came here to work as a cook and I also want to see the country.”

However, on August 14, 2019, the defendant was on the route to Brazil when he was stopped by the police at the Mabura checkpoint.

An immigration officer then asked him to present his passport and upon examining the defendant’s passport, it was observed that the defendant overstayed his time in Guyana.

Marquez was arrested, an investigation was launched and he was later charge for the offence.

“I did go to get my extension at the registry but I didn’t do it and I was on my way to Lethem, not Brazil,” Marquez told the court.

After paying his fine, the defendant would then be taken to the nearest port of exit or serve the time.

CJIA working to ... scanners for the various access control points,” said CJIA. The recommendation regarding the completion of arrivals and departure records from a paper-based system to an online system is currently being pursued. CJIA is also working closely with the Ministry of Citizenship to implement the Automated Immigration Clearance Systems.

This new system will allow for qualifying, arriving passengers to self-pro-

FROM PAGE 23

cess and clear immigration upon arrival into the country. Other projects the airport will embark upon to improve the passenger experience include more choices in food and beverage as well as duty-free shopping. “We remain committed to improving the passenger experience and will continue to work closely with our stakeholders and airport users to ensure this is accomplished,” said CJIA.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Man to stand trial for 2015 murder

BRIAN Mohan was, on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, committed to stand trial at the High Court for the 2015 murder of Christopher Wharton, who was gunned down, execution style, in front of his North Ruimveldt home.

Mohan, was committed

by Senior Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court following the closure of the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the matter.

The capital offence alleged that Mohan, on November 18, 2015, at Festival City, North Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown, murdered Wharton called “Taps” or “Chrissy.”

The Magistrate ruled that a sufficient case was made out against Mohan for him to be tired at the High Court.

He will go on trial at the next practical sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that Wharton was shot-execution style-on the stairs of his North Ruimveldt home in what police believed to be a drug-related crime.

The murder, which was captured on CCTV cameras, was carried out by two men who rode up to the house on bicycles. Wharton, who was shot three times about the

Brian Mohan

body, including once to the abdomen, succumbed within an hour of being taken to the hospital. His son, fiveyear-old Nashan Wharton, who was seen exiting the house and running down the stairs seconds after his father was shot, received a gunshot wound to his foot.

Meanwhile, Mohan is still before the court charged for the possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to the allegation, on March 3, 2017 he had in his possession one .32 Taurus pistol, while he was not the holder of a firearm license.

The other charge stated that, on March 3, he also had 10 live rounds of .32 ammunition, while he was not the holder of a firearm license.

Trial of attorney to continue September 3

Attorney-at-law Ryan Crawford

THE trial of Attorney-at-law Ryan Crawford, who is charged with a series of traffic-related offences, including verbally assaulting a police officer, commenced on Monday, August 19, 2019.

The matters are being presided over by Magistrate Marissa Mittelholzer at the Mahaica Magistrate Court.

The charges reportedly stem from an altercation between Crawford and a young policeman during a routine “Stop-and-Search” exercise on September 13, 2018, on the Yorkshire Public Road, in Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.

The confrontation was captured on a video that went viral on social media, showing Crawford verbally abusing the policeman who was requesting to see his documents.

Crawford was subsequently hauled before the court on five charges, namely: Prohibition of Tinted Glass; Failure to Produce Driver’s Licence; Driving an Unfit Motor Vehicle; Use of Obscene Language; and (5) Riotous Behaviour.

He is currently out on self-bail after denying all of the charges. The matter was adjourned until September 3, 2019.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Legend Lara hoping to make a difference in mental approach

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Batting legend Brian Lara has identified the mental aspect as a critical area of focus for West Indies, and believes he can play a significant role in strengthening the Caribbean side in this regard, as they prepare to face India in a two-Test series starting here tomorrow.

The former West Indies captain is part of the ongoing preparation camp which started last Friday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, where he has been lending his vast experience to the cadre of young batsmen.

Lara said while the technical skills and work ethics were present in the squad, a key area to address was the mental

approach.

“What I’ve seen in the camp is intense practice which is good. I think the intensity I’ve seen in this camp is very good. The young players are working hard, Floyd Reifer and his team are actually putting things together pretty good,” the 50-year-old Lara said.

“Where I feel I can make an impact is their mental approach to the game. I feel as if I was to strike on one thing that I was decent at was mentally where I prepared myself strongly and I think something might be missing.

“The practical side is there for the young players but I feel, mentally, they can grow a little bit and learn a little bit more.”

West Indies face India in the opening Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, hoping their wretched record against the visitors which has seen them without a single Test win in nearly two decades.

However, they will be hoping to build on their success in their only Test series this year when they stunned world number one England 2-1 in a threeTest series in the Caribbean.

Lara, who plundered 11 953 runs from 131 Tests during an illustrious career, said that a series win was an excellent foundation on which a turnaround could begin.

“I decided to join the camp simply because I feel this present crop of West In-

dies players, especially in the Test arena, is the right group of players,” said Lara, who remains the record-holder for the highest Test and first class scores.

“The talent that’s within is there. The performance against England to win a series at home, I think is the start of something really good for us.

We must lay the foundation at home first before we travel abroad in foreign conditions to sort of take command of situations.”

Lara has been joined in the camp by another West Indies captain and stroke-maker, Ramnaresh Sarwan, who also worked with the Windies side ahead of the Ireland Tri-Nations Series in April.

Together, it is hoped they can inspire the current Windies batting group in what will be a difficult series against a world class bowling attack.

Lara, a formidable opponent during his playing career, said it was important to see the young batsmen develop their obvious potential.

“I’m hoping that I can impart some type of knowledge, some of my experiences in the past to the young batsmen we have in the team, to see if we can get a little bit more out of them because it’s necessary,” he said.

“It’s a good group of young players, we just have to get them thinking in the right way.”

Gold for Jeffrey, Khalil at Senior CASA THERE was a gold rush for Guyana’s Kristian Jeffrey and Jason Ray Khalil as the 2019 Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) continued at the Georgetown Club.

The duo snapped up gold in the Men’s Doubles competition at the Georgetown Club Squash Courts yesterday.

The doubles segment, an inaugural feature of the senior CASA, ensured that Guyana continued to show their dominance on the regional court.

The Jeffrey/Khalil combination lost the first set to Barbadian players Khamal Cumberbatch and Shawn Simpson 3-11, but rebounded well to win the remaining

games.

With limited practice as a unit, the two senior Guyanese flowed well on the court to win 11-8, 11-10.

Meanwhile the Women’s pair of Taylor Fernandes and Ashley Khalil lost to their Bajan counterparts, Meagan Best and Amanda Haywood 5-11, 9-11.

Strive as they did, they were unable to cope with the fitness of the Bajans - putting up a good fight nonetheless.

The tournament continued last evening with the thirdplace singles playoff which featured the Guyanese pair of Taylor and Mary Fung-aFat and the male third-place

with saw Richard Chin (Guyana) and Joe Chapman (BVI) clash.

Megan Best of Barbados was up against Guyana’s best in Nicolette Fernandes for the female final while Christopher Binnie of Jamaica played Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands in the male final.

STEVE Smith has been ruled out of the third Ashes Test in Leeds having failed to recover in time from the concussion he sustained at Lord’s.

Coach Justin Langer confirmed the news two days out from the third Test on a cold Tuesday morning at Headingley, with Smith appearing understandably downbeat around his teammates.

As the squad huddle disbanded to begin practice, Smith received a pat on the shoulder from vice-captain Pat Cummins before Langer wrapped his arm around the right-hander as the squad warmed up without him.

Langer and Smith then walked out to the middle to inspect the pitch as the rest of the group limbered up and jogged laps around the outfield.

Team doctor Richard Saw was seen chatting to Smith near the centre square and he had the final say on Smith’s involvement in the match, as per Cricket Australia’s concussion protocols. Smith requires the approval of Dr Saw before he can resume playing.

Smith was in a race against time to be fit for the third Test after he was struck by a searing Jofra Archer bouncer on day four of the Lord’s Test.

Smith was the first player in international cricket to be substituted out of a match following the scary blow to the neck from Archer.

While he was keen to bat on, following the blow, Dr Saw removed Smith from play as a precaution, and after passing a series of concussion tests resumed his innings.

But after waking up groggy and with a headache on the morning of day five, Smith was subbed out for Queensland’s Manus Labuschagne, who starred

on Sunday with 59 to ensure Australia drew the second Test and preserved their 1-0 series lead.

Labuschagne appears to be the favourite to take Smith’s place in the XI for the clash in Leeds.

Smith now has two weeks to be ready for the fourth Test in Manchester, which starts on September 4, with a three-day tour match in Derby from August 29 to 31.

For Smith to have been cleared to play in Leeds he would have needed to show no symptoms of concussion, gradually return to full activity, pass routine concussion assessments and face fast bowling in the nets

to ensure his reaction speeds had not waned.

Smith has been in imperious form during the Ashes, scoring 142, 144 and 92 in his three innings so far.

His prolific form has seen him rise to No.2 in the ICC Test batting rankings, just nine rating points behind India captain Virat Kohli.

While he watched his teammates train, Smith enjoyed a long chat with former Australia captain Mark Taylor, who captained Australia to a win at Headingley in 1997.

Australia require just one more win in the series to retain the Ashes.

(Cricket.comau)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

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Manchester United condemn online racist abuse of Pogba after penalty miss (REUTERS) - Manchester United are working on identifying individuals who racially abused Paul Pogba online after the midfielder missed a penalty in Monday’s 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Premier League club said yesterday.

Pogba won a late penalty but had his effort from the spot saved by Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio. The draw cost United top spot in the Premier League standings, leading to a handful of supporters racially abusing the Frenchman.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba during the match

(Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine)

“The individuals who expressed these views do not represent the values of our great club and it is encouraging to see the vast majority of our fans condemn this on social media also,” United said in a statement.

“Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our #AllRedAllEqual initiative.

“We will work to identify the few involved in these incidents and take the strongest course of action available to us. We also encourage social media companies to take action in these cases.”

Defender Harry Maguire termed the abuse “disgusting” and called on social media companies to verify user accounts to prevent supporters from abusing players anonymously.

“Social media need to do something about it,” Maguire said in a tweet. “Every account that is opened should be verified by a passport/driving licence. Stop these pathetic trolls making numerous accounts to abuse people.”

Forward Marcus Rashford also stood in solidarity with his teammate.

“Manchester United is a family,” he said in a tweet.

“Paul Pogba is a huge part of that family. You attack him you attack us all.”

Last week Chelsea boss Frank Lampard also urged social media companies to take stricter action after 21-year-old striker Tammy Abraham was the target of racist abuse after his missed penalty in the UEFA Super Cup loss to Liverpool.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Waugh labels pacer Jofra Archer a talent like no other

By Andrew Ramsey in Leeds

HAVING batted in the era populated by some of the most feared fast bowlers the game has known, former Australia captain Steve Waugh is well placed to pass early judgement on England’s new Test spearhead Jofra Archer.

Archer offers a different challenge to most other quicks of the present day and recent past.

Waugh cited the 24-yearold Barbadian-born speedster’s uncomplicated bowling action which allows him to maintain laser-like accuracy and to complete lengthy spells, as well as the speed he generates from such a

Test, where they had the better of a rain-affected draw after suffering a hefty 251-run defeat in the series opener at Edgbaston a fortnight earlier.

In his first Test series against the-then mighty West Indies in 1988, Waugh found himself facing Malcolm Marshall, Patrick Patterson, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

He also locked horns with South Africa’s Allan Donald, England’s Devon Malcolm and Pakistan pair Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar.

Waugh told The Unplayable Podcast after the second Test when asked how he assessed Archer’s highly anticipated Test debut.

“He sort of ambles in and gets very close to the (stumps), makes the most of his height, and he’s got a simple action.

“In a lot of ways, not a similar action to Glenn McGrath but very repeatable.

“I can’t see too much going wrong with it and his control was very good for that reason, because he just bowls in a direct line and he’s close

ure as Test skipper, which yielded a success rate of 71.93 per cent that remains unsurpassed by any men’s captain to lead in more than 10 matches, he could bank on the game-changing talents of record-breaking leg-spinner Shane Warne.

However, Waugh was also blessed with a couple of genuinely fast bowlers – Jason Gillespie then Brett Lee – to complement McGrath, and to whom he could turn if seam and spin weren’t able to create problems for opposition batters.

Jofra Archer celebrates the wicket of David Warner in the second Test. (Getty)

Steve Waugh is with fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in 2000. (Getty)

And from what Waugh observed, perched on the players’ balcony at Lord’s in his role as mentor to the current Australia men’s Test team, he admits that

seemingly easy approach as reasons for his effectiveness.

Archer proved a decisive factor in England’s changed fortunes in the second Ashes

But while Waugh found some similarities between Archer and Australia’s most successful Test quick Glenn McGrath - largely due to the purity of their respective, albeit different bowling actions - he found little else in England’s strike bowler to compare with other new-ball weapons he’s seen.

“I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone bowl quite like that,”

to the stumps.

“He’s very upright, makes use of his height, he’s got that deceptive pace and, as we know, a pretty wicked bouncer.

“That’s something our team has got to analyse and work out how to play that because it was pretty effective in this (Lord’s) Test match.

“He is a very impressive bowler, for sure.”

Throughout Waugh’s ten-

It was Archer’s capacity to find something in the Lord’s pitch that others could not, and do it with the worn ball after it had lost its sheen and hardness that helped propel England to a position of final-day dominance, after so much of the Lord’s Test was lost to rain.

And as Waugh noted, the threat posed by the debutant whenever he had the ball in his

hand, coupled with his remarkable economy rate of barely two runs per over across the 44 he sent down, makes for the sort of strike power every captain wants to be able to call upon.

“It gives you that X-factor,” Waugh said.

“As a captain, you really want that bowler in your lineup when you know you can intimidate the opposition, you can make things happen when it’s a seemingly flat pitch and potentially get wickets in clumps.”

“HE’S A REAL ASSET TO ENGLAND” Waugh also said he was interested to see how the young bowler, who sustained a side strain during England’s successful World Cup campaign but had no trouble completing spells of up to eight overs in his maiden Test, coped with the workload of five-day cricket.

The remaining three Ashes Tests at Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval will be crammed into just 26 days, and given Archer’s most recent first-class fixture prior to the Lord’s Test in September last year, Waugh believes his stamina and resilience will be challenged.

“If he plays four Test matches in a row, that will test him out,” said the ex-skipper, whose tenure as team mentor concluded after Lord’s but who may yet return to the role later in the series. “ S o f a r h e ’s c o m e through with flying colours. “(He bowled) forty-four overs and each over was probably as quick as the previous one.

“It was a very impressive debut, but I know Test cricket.

“It’s about longevity and how you back up and how you handle different conditions. From England’s point of view, so far so good.”(Cricket.com.au)

UK sports minister tells England VAR could take ‘10 years to perfect’ after Premier League drama fans to stop booing Smith FOOTBALL’s video assis“They have taken their “Do we really want to

(REUTERS) - Britain’s sports minister Nigel Adams has described the booing of Australian Steve Smith during the Ashes series as “distasteful” and says the batsman has served his punishment for his part in last year’s ball-tampering scandal.

Smith and David Warner served 12-month bans for their roles in the scandal during the Test series in South Africa last year. Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months.

Smith received a standing ovation for a fighting 92 at Lord’s despite being struck on the neck by a Jofra Archer bouncer - which ruled him out of the rest of the match due to delayed concussion - but there was also a smattering of boos.

“The vast majority of the Lord’s crowd were on their

Australia’s Steve Smith walks after losing his wicket (Action Images

via Reuters/Paul Childs)

feet applauding Steve Smith after his innings but a small amount of booing from a tiny element of the crowd has made the news,” Adams told Sydney Morning Herald here “It’s distasteful and we have to remember that the Aussie players who got themselves into trouble have been punished and done the time.

“Smith, in particular, is a brilliant batsman and whilst of course, I don’t want him getting too many runs ... he’s mesmerising to watch and as genuine sports fans we should be applauding him, not jeering,” Adams added.

Australia, who won the opener at Edgbaston, lead the five-match series 1-0 after the second Test ended in a draw. The third match begins tomorrow at Headingley.

tant referee (VAR) system could take 10 years to perfect, according to the body that introduced the new laws.

The International Football Association Body (IFAB) secretary Lukas Brud warned the system will require patience after a turbulent introduction to English football.

The opening Premier League weekend saw several instances where VAR overruled the on-field referee.

On the second weekend, reigning champions Manchester City were denied a last-gasp win against Tottenham after a handball was discovered in the lead-up to their late goal.

And amid the drama and controversy the system has caused, Brud stated only time will help iron out the initial flaws of the system.

time to use it and wanted to see how it works,” Brud said of the Premier League’s decision to introduce VAR. “The VAR concept is still at the beginning. We talked to other sports and everyone told us this is a 10-year project until people really understand how it works.”

In the opening weekend alone, noise issues with the system delayed the restart of Liverpool’s 4-1 demolition of Norwich.

The following day, Raheem Sterling was ruled marginally offside, as one goal was disallowed before another was granted by a similar margin.

This drew criticism from a number of quarters including Former England and Liverpool star Danny Murphy, who suggested the VAR has a negative impact on the game.

see goals disallowed for an offside that’s an armpit ahead of another armpit by four millimetres?” Murphy told TalkSPORT. “He might be offside by four millimetres by the letter of the law. But it’s an entertainment business, isn’t it? “if you gave me the choice I’d knock VAR on the head” But Brud reiterated that VAR isn’t there to ruin the and its introduction has been managed well: “The Premier League was observing the development of VAR for a long time because it is one of - if not the - most important league competition in the world and the most viewed competition in the world.

“They didn’t want to be part of the experimental phase and wanted to avoid being a guinea pig.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

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GAPLF Raw National Championships Fast bowler Sreesanth’s ban reduced to seven years to lift off this Sunday … to end in September 2020

Indian fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth

The GAPLF Raw National Championships will lift off this Sunday.

THE Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation will have their Raw National Championships on Sunday (August 25) at the auditorium of St Stanislaus College on Brickdam.

At the competition the athletes will be lifting with little or no additional equipment during their lifts.

Participating athletes for Flight A are required to be at the venue for 08:00hrs in order to be weighed. Weigh-in will go no later than 09:30hrs, so athletes are urged to be there on

time. The competition will begin at 10:00hrs and the entrance fee is $1 000.

Persons who are interested in competing for Raw Nationals are required to submit their applications and pay their fees.

The forms and cash can be submitted to Championship Secretary, Martin Webster. A screenshot of the filled-out registration form, along with the deposit slip to the GAPLF Bank Account #6552194, will be accepted as well.

Rain saves Bermuda, U.S. edge Cayman HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) – Rain rescued Bermuda from a heavy defeat against favourites Canada after Guyana-born Dillon Heyliger ripped the home side’s batting apart on day two of the week-long quadrangular ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier Americas final on Monday.

In the second game at the National Sports Centre’s North Field, the United States bounced back from Sunday’s six-run defeat against the hosts by easing to a 10-run win over the Cayman Islands on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern as showers returned late in the day.

Medium pacer Heyliger, 29, snapped up four for 16 from three overs as Bermuda struggled to 82 for nine, from their reduced 16 overs after early showers and Canada had raced to 40 for no wicket from four overs when rain returned to frustrate their victory charge.

One more over was need-

ed to constitute a match, but having waited until at 14.50hrs, the cut-off point, match referee Reon King, the former West Indies fast bowler, declared a no-result, giving each team one point.

Rizwan Cheema

Pakistan-born Rizwan Cheema, 41, had ripped into the Bermuda attack, striking three sixes and a four in his unbeaten 25, while his opening partner Rodrigo Thomas was

unbeaten on 13 when the game was halted.

Earlier, wicketkeeper Okera Bascome, who topscored with 23, and Kamau Leverock (11) put on 27 for the first wicket, but their hopes of a decent total faded when Sussex all-rounder Delray Rawlins, whose half-century set up Bermuda’s upset win over the United States, fell to slow-left bowler Saad Bin Zafar for six.

The U.S. restricted the Cayman Islands, who lost their opener against Canada by 84 runs, to 68 for eight and were in sight of victory at 60 for five with five overs remaining when rain returned.

Pick of the Cayman attack was 18-year-old UKborn Luke Harrington-Myers, who had earlier topscored with 17 not out, the slow left-arm bowler accounting for former West Indies Test batsman Xavier Marshall for 12 and Steven Taylor for 17 in his two for 13 from three overs.

(REUTERS) - Indian fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth’s ban for alleged spot-fixing has been reduced to seven years, with the sanction period coming to an end on September. 13, 2020, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court of India set aside the life ban imposed on Sreesanth by the BCCI and asked the board to reconsider the length of any fresh ban.

“Bearing in mind, all these factors, I am of the view that banning Mr Sreesanth from participating in any kind of commercial Cricket or from associating with any activities of the BCCI or its affiliates, for a period of seven years with effect from 13.09.2013, i.e. the date from which, the period of ban imposed by the Disciplinary Committee had commenced, will meet the ends of justice,” the BCCI ombudsman DK Jain said in a statement.

Spot-fixing involves the manipulation of individual incidents within a match which may not affect the outcome of the contest.

Sreesanth, along with his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi police on suspicion of spot-fixing during the sixth edition of the IPL in May 2013.

The BCCI followed the arrest of Sreesanth with their own charges against the player relating to the match against Kings XI Punjab, played on May 9.

Sreesanth has maintained that all the charges against him are false. He has played 27 Tests, 53 one-day internationals and 10 Twenty20 internationals, claiming a total of 169 wickets.

England Women’s World Cup-winning coach Robinson steps down (REUTERS) - Mark Robinson has resigned as England women’s national team cricket coach two years after taking the side to World Cup glory with a victory over India in the final at Lord’s.

Robinson departs after four years in the role and following a 12-points-tofour Women’s Ashes series defeat to Australia earlier in the year with England victorious in only one of the seven matches played across all formats.

Assistant coach Alastair Maiden has taken temporary charge of the side as they build towards the ICC Women’s Championship series against Pakistan in December.

“It’s been exciting to watch so many players grow and to watch so many records broken, but it feels the right time for me to take on

a new challenge and to allow a different voice to come in before the next T20 World Cup in Australia,” Robinson said in a statement.

director of women’s cricket, Clare Connor, said she agreed with the timing of his departure.

“It is important that we

England coach Mark Robinson

Having won two men’s County Championship titles with Sussex, the 52-year-old has previously suggested he could return to the men’s game.

E n g l a n d a n d Wa l e s Cricket Board managing

give Mark’s successor time to shape the team’s future direction and to begin to develop strong relationships with the players as we plan for the next phase of our international calendar,” she said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Holder, Dottin dominate WIPA/CWI annual awards JASON Holder was the biggest winner at the West Indies Players’ Association/ Cricket West Indies (CWI) annual awards night, held on Monday night in Antigua, scooping up the Player-of-the-Year as well as the Test Player-of-the-Year awards.

Shai Hope was named the ODI Player-of-the-Year for a second successive time while seam-bowling all-rounder Keemo Paul was recognised as the T20 Player-of-theYear.

All-rounder Deandra Dottin also won big, securing the women’s T20 and ODI Player-of-theYear awards. Meanwhile, 22-year-old tearaway Oshane Thomas was named the Emerging Player-ofthe-Year. Performances between April 2018 and March 2019 were taken into consideration.

In February this year, Holder became the first West Indies player to become the top-ranked Test all-rounder

since Sir Garfield Sobers in 1974 and claimed 778 rating points, the highest by any West Indies bowler since Courtney Walsh in 2001.

the period.

Hope amassed 757 runs in 15 innings in ODI cricket at an average of 63.08, including three hundreds and three

ing the No.1 all-rounder in women’s T20Is, Dottin dominated the awards for women, taking back the Women’s Player-of-the-Year award.

onship Player-of-the-Year while star all-rounder Andre Russell was adjudged Caribbean T20 Player-ofthe-Year.

Test player of the year-Jason Holder

ODI player of the year-Shai Hope

Women’s ODI player of the year Deandra Dottin

T20 player of the year Keemo Paul

And in January, Holder had made an unbeaten 202 - the third-highest score batting at No. 8 or lower in Test cricket - against England in front of his home crowd in Barbados. All told, Holder hit 565 runs in eight Test matches and claimed 40 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls, during

fifties, during the period.

After being plucked out of the CPL, Thomas made his international debut for West Indies in Guwahati in 2018 and added a cutting edge to the seam attack, the highlight being the maiden five-for against England in Gros Islet.

Six months after becom-

In ODIs during the period, Dottin made 207 runs in six innings in addition to taking 15 wickets with the ball. In T20Is, she bagged figures of 5 for 5 - her best in this format.

Off-spin-bowling all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall, who recently broke into West Indies’ Test squad, was named the Champi-

Nineteen-year-old leftarm spinner Joshua Bishop, who was snapped up by Barbados Tridents in the CPL draft in May, won the Under-19 Player-of-theYear award.

AWARD WINNERS ■ Test Player-of-theYear: Jason Holder

■ ODI Player-of-theYear: Shai Hope ■ T20 Player-of-theYear: Keemo Paul ■ Emerging Player-ofthe-Year: Oshane Thomas ■ Women’s T20I Player-of-the-Year: Deandra Dotin ■ Women’s ODI Player-of-the-Year: Deandra Dottin ■ First-class Team-ofthe-Year: Guyana ■ Championship Player-of-the-Year: Rahkeem Cornwall ■ Super 50 Player-ofthe-Year: Yanick Ottley ■ Caribbean T20 Player-of-the-Year: Andre Russell ■ Under-19 Player-ofthe-Year: Joshua Bishop ■ Under-19 Team-ofthe-Year: Trinidad & Tobago ■ Umpire-of-the-Year: Joel Wilson ■ Player-of-the-Year: Jason Holder ■ Women’s Player-ofthe-Year: Deandra Dottin

Lewis - temporary replacement Over 30 registered for Sunday’s 1320 Heat drag meet for Marshall in Tallawahs squad THE Jamaica Tallawahs have announced a temporary replacement for USA player Xavier Marshall who will be unavailable until September 14 due to international commitments.

Marshall was drafted as the Tallawahs’ ICC Americas player, but draft rules allow for him to be replaced by a Caribbean or overseas player.

Marshall will be replaced by Jamaican batsman, Kennar Lewis who played nine times for the Tallawahs last season.

His standout performance last year was his Man-of-the-Match winning-49 against the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Sabina Park.

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Wednesday, August 21, 2019)

COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL- Bourda Market & The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD- 83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158)

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY’S QUIZ:

(1) (2)

India 2, WI 0 (I NR) Virat Kohli (IND)

(1)

(2)

What was the result of the first Test of the current SL/NZ series?

Who was voted Man of the Match?

TODAY’S QUIZ:

ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE

Some of the racers during a mandatory competitors’ meeting on Monday evening

Kennar Lewis

Lewis will be joining a star-studded Tallawahs squad which will feature fellow Jamaicans Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.

The team will get their campaign underway against the Trinbago Knight Riders on Friday September 6 at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

Their home matches will take place between September 12 and 19 with all five of those games taking place at Sabina Park in Kingston.

OVER 30 competitors have been registered so far for the 1320 Heat drag race meet set for Sunday, August 25 at the South Dakota Circuit.

Confirmation from the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s (GMR&SC) office yesterday confirmed that just over 30 persons had been registered.

According to the club, competitors are now coming in to register ahead of this weekend’s event.

Club vice-president Hansraj Singh contended that “we had a meeting on Monday night to make the guys aware of some of the stuff

that we are doing for the race meet.

“After that, we were able to register some of the guys for the event and more keep coming in. We estimate over 50 cars on the day turning up to the event.”

In addition to the cars, we also have bikes that are being registered, those guys have already asked us to set aside time for them as their category might have around 20 bikes.

“So all in all, we expect a really packed day of racing. We just need competitors to turn up early so we can run on schedule and

everything could be onstream.”

Singh is urging the remaining competitors to get registered as quickly as possible, with the club looking to close registration by Saturday.

Sponsors include ISG, 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, Cyrils Taxi, Blue Spring Water, Choke Gas Station, Miracle Optical, Tropical Shipping and Hand-in-Hand.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, August 21, 2019

43

Guyana finish fourth at Goodwill Swim Meet GUYANA finished fourth overall after amassing a whopping 28 medals, eight of which were gold, over the course of three days at the Goodwill Swim Meet, which concluded on Sunday night in Paramaribo Suriname.

dos (237.5), French Guiana (235.5), Curacao (120) and St. Lucia (29).

Of the 28 medals, 23 (six gold, five silver and 12 bronze) were won via the individual route and five (two gold, a silver and two bronze) were won through

at their best and we can only get stronger and faster from here. They all deserved to be welcomed and praised for their hard work.”

On Friday night the side, which included 39 swimmers, won seven medals while on Saturday the

freestyle races, while he also helped Guyana to the two overall relay gold medals.

in the 4x100m Medley and the 4x400m.

In the 4x400m relay,

The national 13-14 Girls won bronze in the 4x50m freestyle relay. From left: Nikita Peters, Giselle Crane, Maiya Ifill and Amber De Goeas

According to the overall points table, Team Guyana finished on 582 points, behind overall winners Trinidad and Tobago (1470), Jamaica (986.5) and Suriname (940.5), but ahead of the Bahamas (414), Barba-

relays.

Coach of the side, Shyka Gonsalves, lauded the national swimmers for their outstanding performances. “The overall performance was great. I am so proud of the swimmers. They performed

young swimmers won 12 medals and a nine more on Sunday.

Jaleel Anderson finished with the most gold medals for Team Guyana. He won two individual medals in the 11-12 Boys’ 50m and 100m

Hull City signs Golden Jaguars defender Elliot Bonds

Elliot Bonds after he signed with Hull City

GUYANA’S Elliot Bonds recently put pen-to-paper on a one-year deal – with a Club option of a further year – with English Football League (EFL) Championship side Hull City.

The 19-year-old defender will suit up for the club’s U-23 side with the hope of breaking into the 2014 FA Cup Finalists - the Grant McCann-coached - first team.

Bonds, who has six international caps for the Golden Jaguars, after mak-

ing his debut against French Guiana in November 2018, hails from the London Borough of Brent and began his youth career with spells at Brentford and Reading, before signing professional terms with Dagenham & Redbridge.

He made six appearances for Dagenham in all competitions, including five whilst still a second-year scholar in 2017-18, and enjoyed a loan spell at Southern Football League Premier Division

side Farnborough last term in which he made 18 appearances, scoring once.

“I’m very happy and proud to join Hull City. It’s a new chapter for my career and I just can’t wait to get going,” Bonds said after inking his new deal with Hull City.

“I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead this season. I want to progress in training, work hard and focus on developing all areas of my game as a Hull City player,” Bonds added.

Athalcy Hunte led the Guyanese Girls at the meet woth two gold medals, including one on the final day

In the relays, Anderson, Vladimir Woodroffe, Stephen Ramkelawan and Elliott Gonsalves teamed up to win gold

the quartet stormed to first place in 4:58.62. That time was almost nine seconds ahead of Suriname, who

finished second.

On the final day, Athalcy Hunte won her second gold medal. The 12-year-old, who won gold in the 11-12 100m backstroke on Friday evening, added gold in the 50m backstroke. Hunte also won a bronze in the 200m freestyle, while her age division mate Monique Watson won a bronze in the 50m backstroke.

Meanwhile, Gonsalves, who had won gold in the 200m IM on Saturday, added two silver to his medal tally on the final day, when he swam in the 11-12 Boys’ 200m freestyle race and the 100m butterfly.. The 100m backstroke gold medal winner Woodroffe also gained a silver medal when he swam in the 50m backstroke.

The boys (Anderson, Woodroffe, Ramkelawan and Gonsalves) swam their way to a silver medal in the 4x50m 11-12 Boys’ category, while the 13-14 Girls (Maiya Ifill, Giselle Crane, Nikita Peters and Amber De Goeas) won a 4x50m relay bronze.

Shareefah Lewis also copped a medal on the final day, when she finished third in the 50m backstroke in the 9-10 age division.

Jamaica to kick off Nations League Group stage against Antigua THE Reggae Boyz will kickstart their Nations League group stage effort on Friday against Antigua and Barbuda at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on the island’s north coast.

The game will be played on September 6, leaving the Reggae Boyz, who last played in the Gold Cup, ending their campaign in the semi-finals, with little turn-around time before their game against Guyana on September 9.

The team will leave the island September 7 for that fixture.

Coach of the Reggae Boyz, Theodore Whitmore, is under no illusions about how important these games are, expressing those sentiments to key executives of the Jamaica Football Federation just recently.

“It is important that that then edn of the group phase the country finishes in the top six in CONCACAF in order to be in the best position entering the World Cup qualifiers in September 2020,” he said.

Whitmore was appealing to the executive members for support in the next few months, saying even after that, all international fixtures took on significance.

“Even after finishing in the top six in November 2019, it will be important to maintain that position through other FIFA international match dates down to June 2020, so I am urging total focus and support through the next couple of months in the first instance,” he said.

against the team that finishes fourth from the top-six.

That game will be played in a home-and-away format and will determine another fixture of the same nature against a team from another region. Those two will then play for a World Cup berth.

The Reggae Boyz will kick off the Nations League aginst Antigua

Rule changes in the region, mean that only the top six teams will be allowed to play in qualifiers for a direct place in the World Cup. The teams finishing outside of that top six will play for FIFA’s half-spot, meaning they will play against each other for the right to play

The hexagonal will feature 10 games for each team, beginning in September.

There will also be games in October and November this year, before a restart in March of 2021. The games conclude in September of 2021, just over a year before the World Cup. (Sportsmax)

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Batting legend Brian Lara chats with interim West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer during the ongoing camp

Legend Lara hoping to make a difference in mental approach Smith ruled out of Gold for Jeffrey, Khalil at Senior CASA third Ashes Test Page

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Coach Justin Langer (at right) tries to cheer up his star batsman, Steve Smith, who has scored 378 runs in three innings this series. (Getty Images)

Double Trouble! Kristian Jeffrey and Jason Ray Khalil snapped up gold in the doubles division of the the 2019 Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) (newsroom photo)

Waugh labels pacer Jofra Archer a talent like no other 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

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2019