Guyana Chronicle New York Edition 14 10 2016

New York Edition

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Consensus

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President Granger tells Opposition

Page 27

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Manufacturers

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'Lerd^ol Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo makes a point to President David Granger in Parliament Buildings on Thursday. At right is Dr. Barton Scotland (OR). The president said that his legislative agenda would ensure good governance, transparency and a safe country for all.

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

uyana eyes better air travel after ICAO's November visit Guyana has less than a month to finalise preparations that will afford the country's civil aviation sector a decent score toward the improvement of its aviation status when the global body, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), comes around to conduct a local audit next month.

Most import of this point, is Guyana's scores, since this will determine whether a ability to improve its status and open doors country's carrier, or operations out of a spefor easy travel to major ports such as the cific country, is allowed to fly non-stop to United States, in particular. the US. Guyana's low ICAO score has ICAO will be visiting Guyana at the made it very difficult for operators regisend of November to assess the current local tered locally to operate to the US. The US aviation system, which is now being man- is a huge market for Guyanese travelers, aged by retired Lieutenant Colonel, Captain who are sometimes caught between unEgbert Field. Captain Field is the Director scrupulous charter flight operators, hefty General of the country's civil aviation arm ticket fares due to limited airlift and uncarand is a seasoned aviator, having served as ing foreign operators. an inspector with the Caribbean Aviation Guyana will however seek to up its Safety and Security Oversight System position and bring some kind of relief to the (CASSOS) and held a senior position with traveling public. Captain Field told Guyana the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, which Chronicle (NY) that, "We are currently has an 89 percent ICAO compliance rate as preparing for the ICAO audit, (which is against Guyana's below 45 percent compli- scheduled) for the end of November." ance rate.

Field noted that the local body, The higher the ICAO score the easier Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) it is for a country to take advantage of in- had earlier sought assistance from the ternational aviation opportunities. For ex- Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security ample, the United States' Category One Oversight System (CASSOS) in preparastatus is dependent on having good ICAO tion for the international auditors. Inspec-

tors from Jamaica were identified to assist Guyana and since then, two Jamaican inspectors were i ir brought to Guyana to render the necessary assistance to ki local personnel.

Outside of this, the local THALES aviation sector is also looking into the improvement of its security systems. Field said From left to right Lt. Col. Rtd. Lawrence London, Chairthat this type of security in- man, GCAA Board; Hon. Annette Ferguson, M.P, Minister volves passenger screening within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure; Lt. Col. Rtd. procedures and screening of Egbert Field, Director General GCAA; and Mr. Saheed Subaggage. laman, Director, Air Transport Management at ICAO's 2016 With terrorism on the General Assembly increase, other global threats and illegal movement of persons with or tracking system to keep an eye on a larger without contraband, security is a major area percent of the country's airspace. Recently of concern when pertaining to air safety. a single-engine Cessna aircraft was found The need to "really increase staff in various in the country's interior and authorities technical and supporting units" is therefore could not provide information as to who it belonged to, or when it got into the country. being addressed ahead of the ICAO visit.

The ability of Guyana to track aircraft The plane is being investigated as being within its airspace will be a matter for the used for drug movement.

Having a good command of the local aviation body also. Field told the NY country's airspace is said to be an asset Chronicle that by the first quarter of next in the process of improving the local year, the GCAA will expand its current aviation system.

Guyana's 'doing-business' reform agenda hopes to boost opportunities While Guyana has sought to boost local business with special invitations to citizens local and abroad, the Ministry of Business said it has noticed several glitches in the current system and has gone ahead in reshaping the process.

Not so long ago, many persons, particularly the local business community, had complained bitterly about the snail's pace in getting certain business transactions done.

They spoke about the unavailability of basic information that could assist in making simple business decisions and more notably, they spoke to the bureaucracy that characterized getting simple transactions done.

In a public missive, the Ministry of Business said that in the last several months they had been quietly engaging the World Bank International Finance Corporation (IFC) team for assistance in "crafting a doing business reforms agenda" which would see the Ministry taking definitive measures to improve Guyana's ranking in the doing business index. Guyana is currently ranked 137 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business index.

In April of this year, a World Bank IFC team visited Guyana at the invitation of the Ministry of Business, and met with stakeholders of both the private and public sectors. Those engagements led to an Infor-

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The Ministry said that two of the short term recommendations that were implemented involved placing information on the Ministry of Business' website. This information, it was noted, pertained to information concerning the requirements for obtaining building permits and documents required and

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fee schedules for property transactions and for accessing maps of land plots.

Earlier in the year, there was a significant reform where an amendment to the Credit Reporting Act was passed in the National Assembly, the Ministry continued. "It is expected that this will help to make it easier for borrowers with no collateral but a good credit history to access loan financing."

The public noticed said that, "while these reforms may not necessarily change Guyana's overall ranking in the 2017 report, the Ministry of Business is committed to an agenda that will see meaningful progress in the coming years."

"Already the Ministry has received and accepted offers of assistance from several organisations including the World Bank, to assist with reforms in eight of the technical areas measured (starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property; getting credit; protecting minority investors; paying taxes; trading across borders; enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency) in the Doing Business Index."

The Ministry said it is seeking to prioritize those key reforms as they are all pursued in the coming years. Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin has repeatedly stated his intention of making Guyana a business hub with its positioning between the Caribbean, Central and South America.

The country has vast resources and is expecting good things from its recent oil and gas find. This sector along produces many spin off businesses outside of the many sectors, such as ICT and tourism, which Guyana has barely tapped into.

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

3

r: VISmNG GUYANESE MUST INCLUDE A TRIP TO THE p

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INTERIOR ON THEIR NEXT HOMECOMING

Irecently overheard what must be considered at least a very interesting conversation, between a Guyanese and an American.

The American enquired from the Guyanese about places of interest to visit during a planned vacation in Guyana; my countryman could not offer anything more than Kaieteur Falls as the best place to visit. When the American probed further, asking and where else could one go during the two-week sojourn that he intended spending in Guyana; to my surprise — or rather unsurprisingly - the places that the Guyanese recommended were solely popular night spots in Georgetown!

Although I initially registered disappointment that the Guyanese could not offer other worthwhile information other than Kaieteur Falls, it quickly struck me that the hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of Guyanese who make annual treks home either at Christmas, for Mash, or at Easter are merely concerned with doing in Guyana precisely the same things that they do when they are in America. They come here just to lime and imbibe, and very often they end up making themselves look silly by parading and voicing a variety of acquired American accents, practices, and behaviors. All too frequently, also, they foolishly advertise themselves as being wealthy and thus make themselves easy prey for criminal elements.

The various tour operators in Guyana have not yet disclosed whether there was a boom in their sector when tens of thousands of Guyanese returned home for the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations last May. Nonetheless, my guess is that less than 25 percent of those returnees did much more than attend the fetes organized in advance, by overseas-based Guyanese, seeing the same people that they were accustomed to running into on the buses or the subways, and having the same old conversations that they had umpteen times in "the States."

At the end of their visits, they returned to their overseas locations exclaiming about the wonderful time they had in Guyana and vowing that they could not wait to return as soon as possible to repeat the liming and imbibing.

For most of these people, it would be pretty safe to say that prior to migrating many of these countrymen and women had never ventured to the interior to take in the

unspoiled and unique beauty of Guyana. I am referring here with primary focus to the Guyanese who will see this column in New York and in the other American states where this newspaper is distributed.

I do this because I would like to implore my countrymen and women to plan to visit as many places of interest in Guyana as possible on their next trip, as opposed to just spending their waking hours there liming in Georgetown.

azine has stated: "Chances are you'll have the place to yourself; Guyana has yet to make it into the bucket list, in part because it remains, as Surama guide Gary Sway puts it, "the country is blessedly underdeveloped/" How interesting it would be for us to hear Guyanese describe their country to would-be visitors from North America or Europe, telling them of the thrills of birding in Guyana's wild tropical rainforest, climbing and trekking its ruggedly beautiful mountains, exploring the biodiversity of its rare coastlands, and experiencing the multiplicity of ventures emerging in the fascinating savannahs.

Guyana's rich cultural fusion is truly unique and full of energy, life and diversity. The National Geographic Traveler magazine has listed Guyana among the 20 must see destinations to visit, alongside more highly recognized places such as the Nahanni National Park of Canada and the Rocky Mountains National Park in Colorado, U.S.A. This mag-

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South America's Biggest Little Secret: it is an unspoilt, untouched, and pristine natural destination. The real issue about this lack of knowledge is that most Guyanese, even those who have never migrated, do not know what our beautiful country looks like, except perhaps from the occasional pictures taken by foreign photographers.

Please don't for one moment draw the impression that liming and socializing with old friends should not be part of the reason for visiting the homeland. Those are very important pastimes, because we all like to remember our roots and reminisce about the good old days, but knowing what Guyana has to offer to the

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

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L_ The global community is now reaching neighbourhood status and it is all because of this brilliant phenomena called Information and Communication

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Technology (ICT). It is as if no aspect of life has been

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speared the interference of technology and its continuous capabilities. The ICT sector has significantly transformed countries and their economies, bringing about change with

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long lasting impact; improving the quality of life and workings of societies.

ICT has given countries that have seriously adopted its use, an edge in propelling businesses, production, communications, military might and many other areas of nation building.

Since the advent of the computer and the improvement of the IT systems, communication has become a breeze. A person can now send and receive messages instantly.

They can not only phone or send messages, they can video chat through methods such as Skype, Face hook Messenger or other networks. Video messages can also be sent to persons, whereas, just a few years ago, societies were heavily dependent on telegrams, and other postal services. Today the postal service itself is under threat.

The need for such services is significantly dwindling as persons become computer efficient and seek faster and easier ways to communicate and conduct business.

Only recently. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes sought to cushion concerns that pretty soon

there may be no need for the postal service.

In an address in observance of 'World Post Day 2016' she said, "Times have changed, methods of communication have changed .. . we are recalibrating our focus to more efficiently accommodate our people's 21st century needs." The minister assured that "post offices will not become obsolete," but rather adjusted to suit the changing environment.

The concerns of many are justified. The ICT sector is being utilized for its speed, efficiency, availability and in some cases, low cost.

"Postal services in Guyana are already undergoing very dramatic changes, even to the physical amenities and facilities ..." Minister Hughes also said; Since persons worldwide no longer use the local postal systems as a first choice for sending mail, other information and packages, systems are being put in place, in Guyana, for the effects of such changes. In this case, the use of technology is threating many jobs and threatening to leave for example, elderly folks hanging, es-

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Mi j ICT is an investment for the future. pecially those who have failed to accept the new technological way of existence.

Reverend Dr. Raphael Massiah, chairman of the post office board, said that within the next two years the postal service agency plans to hone all the available skills of its human capital, coupled with the maximum use of ICT to offer an improved service with greater efficiency and reliability. This, he hopes will keep post offices relevant, when businesses such as DHL and others are popping up to offer the same services but at a faster and more efficient rate.

Information technology has further restructured communications with the upgrade of output devices such as television and radio. Some of us may remember the period of black and white television sets, now viewers are choosing 3D imaging, high definition and other improving viewing systems.

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Movies are being viewed via internet, radio stations are being aired online and persons thousands of miles away can easily log in and participate as if they were in the country of airing. Technology has also improved what is seen and heard, whether on television or on the radio with better production. An area where Guyana is struggling heavily because of missing copyright legislation, many are not investing.

Technology has brought a great boost in food production. While genetically modified organisms (GMO) or genetically engineered foods for example should never be an item on a healthy eaters' grocery list. One cannot deny the advancement made in creating semi-imitated or imitated foods. With further advancements in technology, laboratories are creating seeds, cross breeding foods and merging them. Some major corporations in developed countries are not only creating new food types, but some are producing foods that cannot reproduce, which means farmers will have to continuously purchase seeds from them to grow foods. Whether this sounds negative or not, it is a product of technological advancement.

One must not forget healthcare, on this note, since technology has also propelled the healthcare services allowing caregivers to assess , detect and address minor and critical illnesses. The operation and management of health institutions have also been boosted with technology.

On the financial front, the first thing to be spoken of is cybercrimes when talking money and technology — because no one would want their money gone in the click of a button, but this sector has been consumed by technology. Not much has to be said about this takeover when one can shop millions of dollars' worth of merchandise with an automated plastic card.

Societies have much to thank technology for the advancement it has made in various aspects of their lives. Guyana is yet to taste this bitter/sweet conquest. The Ministry of Public Telecommunications was created to implement state of the art telecommunication and internet facilities that would address this.

The technological opportunities, large or small, are just waiting to be taken advantage of and help you to grow your business..

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

5

The Handel

Things

That

Bother

Me

Andrews Column I've been observing American Presidential elections for quite some time now and this year's candidates are the worst ever. The reason for this escapes me, since both can-

1

didates attended ivy league colleges and, by any standard, are very successful. Could it be a sign of the times, that they feel the public is too busy going about their daily lives to care about the issues? Or is it a manifestation of the times that celebrates mediocrity? We, the people, must hold the candidates account-

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able. We must demand that they and the media discuss rele-

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vant matters of substance. The issues in this election should be, among other things, about the Supreme Court, The House and Senate and qualities of the candidates.

SUPREME COURT The Constitution of the United States divides the Government into three co-equal branches: Legislative, which makes laws; Executive (President), which carries out the laws and the Judiciary (Supreme and other courts) which evaluate the laws

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HILLARY CLINTON

Court. The next President will be charged with filling the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia.

I am not a lawyer and am prohibited from discussing matters of law. However, I am allowed to discuss matters of fact. My common sense notion is that Justices should base their decisions on facts of law. Sadly, most Supreme Court decisions are based on political ideology and party support.

A case in point is President Obama's plan to shield as many as four million unauthorized immigrants from deportation. A lower court ruling had prevented the program from taking effect. An Appeals Court upheld the decision, ruling that the President had overstepped his authority. Based on ideISSUES ology, the Court was deadlocked 4-4.

This election is important, because if One of the underlying issues of Mrs. Clinton wins, she will nominate a this election is the future of the Supreme liberal, who will in all likelihood break the tie in a renewed challenge. If Mr. %FALL SPEC Trump wins, he will nominate a Conservative , who most likely will vote to upaSI— K hold the Appeals Court decision. ' A E.N.G. Caribbean Vision Center The future of the Supreme Court is also important, because two Justices 1012 Flatbush Avenue will turn 80 by election day and may re(Next door to Radio Shack) -|| ^ 4Q9 8"IS 31 tire soon. The two are Ruth Bader GinsWs Accept Medicaid and burg , a Liberal and Anthony Kennedy, Most Union Insurance Plans an Independent.

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HOUSES OF CONGRESS House of representatives

EXAM

The Legislative branch of the United States comprises two branches — House of Representatives and Senate — known as the Houses of Congress.

There are 435 voting members (congressmen) in the House and an additional 6 non-voting members (delegates). Presently, there are 242 Republicans and 199 Democrats in the House.

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The Senate is the Upper Chamber of the Congress. It is composed of 100 members (Senators), two from each state in the Union. They serve six years.

Presently, there are 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats and two Independents in the Senate.

Articles 1 and 4 of the US Constitution describe the powers of the Lower and Upper Houses. The power to declare and wage war belongs to the Congress. The Congress, by a two-thirds majority vote can override any bill vetoed by the President. The only override of Obama's Presidency occurred recently. Congress had passed a bill al-

DONALD TRUMP lowing September 11 victims to sue the Saudi Arabian government. It was vetoed by the President; but by a twothirds majority vote Congress overrode the veto.

If one supports the Democratic platform in the election, one ought to vote for a Democratic President and Congress. If one supports the Republican platform, one must vote for a Republican President and Congress.

PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE A Party's Presidential candidate is the captain of the Party's ship. Therefore, it is necessary for voters to examine his/her personality and policies. Both candidates are intelligent. Hillary Clinton graduated from Yale Law School, one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Donald Trump graduated from New York Military Academy, Fordham University and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, whose business school is arguably the best business school in the United States. Both have successful careers. If their education and successful careers were the only criteria for being elected President, the Presidential race should end in a squeaker.

However, the qualifications for being President includes trustworthiness, credibility and empathy. Most polls find Mrs. Clinton 64% dishonest and untrustworthy and evenly divided on whether she cares about the common man's problems. Mr. Trump fares no better and he increases his negatives by his crude behavior. In any other season, these two candidates would never have made it so far. However, these are times when newscasts have become opinion pieces, analysis is based on personal feelings not facts and the public is conditioned to accept this state of affairs.

Having said this, I recognize that voters should make a choice between the better of the two evils. Arguing that the choice is unfortunate is rhetorical.

Making a choice is one's civic duty.

One thing you cannot do, is stay home.

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016 New York Ed Won iftni'.iiui, Highly

erroneous

I'ditor-ln-tlliicf ...Gov't debunks SN 'Cabinet asks AG to explain...9 story Nigel Williams Editor Godfrey Wray Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guy a n ach ron ic I exum wnigcl 1 O^'hutrnuiLcum gn nl cd i tori a I ^'g mail xom For All Publishing and Advertising in New York consult our New York Representative: Dennis A. Nelson dennisnelson.nychronicle@yahoo.coni Tel: 917-379-6590

Cbitorial

The

UK

and

Colombia THE electorates' rejection, via the ballot, of the positions held by their leaders for maintaining and improving human relations, though of dissimilar background, have striking similarities and serve as teachable moments.

In the instance of the United Kingdom (UK), it was seeking the support of the people in remaining in the European Union (EU). The issue of whether to remain or exit had in large part to do with reservations by sections of the society, including leading politicians, that the UK was losing its sovereignty as it were, and its citizens' lives were being adversely impacted by a welcoming migration policy.

While then British Prime Minister David Cameron had supported the country remaining in the EU and having listened to the public's outcry against it sought to have the matter resolved via the ballot, he probably felt secure that opinion polls kept showing the British were in favour of remaining. On Election Day (23rd June) it proved otherwise.

The vote found a divided UK. with England and Wales voting to leave, as Scotland and Ireland voted to remain.

This divided position prompted Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon.

First Minister of Scotland to say that country would examine having a referendum to leave the UK. since the decision to exit did not have Scottish support. The resulting effect, though there exists some remorse by exit voters, saw the resignation of Cameron and the EU's reaction in calling on Britain to proceed soonest under Article 50 of the Treaty to ensure its exit. The consequence of the action of some, in what evidently was influenced by some degree of ignorance of the implications of the vote and understanding of the issues that influenced their vote, time will tell the impact such will have on internal UK relations and its economy which enjoyed preferential treatment and access to commerce being in the union.

The fact that since the exit the pound sterling fell to its lowest since 1985 and market stocks plummeted not only signalled some measure of economic volatility in the British economy, but also uncertainty by investors as the future of the economy. Newly-appointed Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this month said Britain has every intention of leaving the EU and will move ahead in accordance with established legal procedures.

On the other hand, in Colombia. President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono aka "Timochenko." leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signing of a Peace Agreement on 26th September to move

THE government has described as false, an article in the Stabroek News on Wednesday which said that a decision was taken at Cabinet on Tuesday to have Attorney-General Basil Williams prepare a report to explain the compulsory acquisition of two plots of land at Carmichael and Middle Streets belonging to High Commissioner to Canada Clarissa Riehl and the Beharry Group of Companies.

"It is highly erroneous, false and mischievous, no such decision was taken at Cabinet. The matter was not even discussed." Williams told the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday. Noting that the article in the privately-owned Stabroek News is a "total fabrication." Williams said too he was not even at Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, but was able to confirm that the matter was not an agenda issue and never came up for discussion. The Guyana Chronicle was also able to independently ascertain from three other Cabinet members that the matter was never discussed.

CLEARED BY PARLIAMENT Williams maintained that this matter was fully ventilated at the level of Cabinet months before and was also a subject of scratiny in Parliament during this year's budget when the sums proposed for the acquisition of the lands had come up under his ministry's estimates. "I do not know what report Cabinet will now ask for. when Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance and the Parliament have all dealt with this issue." Williams said.

Williams had told a news conference last week that the move to acquire the tw o plots of privately-owned lands for public purposes was actu-

5 .A

Attorney General, Basil Williams ally initiated by the former PPP/C administration which is now decrying the decision.

Government recently issued the order to acquire the east quarter of Lot 92 Middle and Carmichael Streets under The Acquisition of Lands for Public Purposes Act. The Official Gazette of September 24. described the lands as follows: "East quarter of Lot numbered 92 ...Middle and Carmichael Streets .. .with all the buildings and erections thereon, save and except the building and erections situate on sub-lot lettered 'A' part of the said quarter lot the property of Patrick L. O'Dowd. and save and except the said sub-lot 'A' as shown and defined on a plan by Sugreen A. Nehaul.

Sworn Land Surveyor, dated 19th June 1947. and deposited in Deeds Registry on 26th June. 1947. transported to the said Patrick L. O' Dowd on 23rd May. 1960-No.910."

Since then, former Minister of Legal Affairs under the PPP. Anil Nandlall. has decried the move, stating that it has "sent chills down the spine of right-thinking Guyanese, especially property owners." The former AG reasoned that because of the "obvious, draconian nature" of this power to acquire land this way. and the sanctity accorded to private property.

the country in a different direction and work together, was rejected by the electorate. As with Britain, opinion polls prior to the election showed significant support for the agreement. On October 2. those who voted non-support for what is widely considered a historic deal betw een rivals of 52 years argued that the government was giving away too much to rebel FARC who they felt did unforgivable things to the people and society. Conversely, those who support the pact wept that such a move, which had the support of the United Nations, presented the possibility of improving relations and moving the country forward, was rejected.

Unlike Britain that has taken a decision to respect the referendum, inasmuch as there was a petition to have a referendum on the referendum and the EU's call on the country to proceed with the exit procedure, in Colombia

it is a power that is used on the rarest of occasions and in the most exceptional of circumstances. "It is always an option of last resort." he said.

Nandlall went on to suggest that Government should not acquire these lands via the "compulsory acquisition" mechanism, but that they should utilise one of the numerous Government buildings and empty plots of State lands scattered all across the city.

INHERITED Williams on Wednesday again insisted that this was a move initiated by the PPP during its time in office.

"The nation should know that when we [APNU+AFC] entered Government. I inherited that proposal by the PPP to acquire those said lots.

And the staff that I inherited recommended those lots."

The AG explained that when he entered office, he began making attempts to establish a permanent law reform commission and a law-review unit, but that the current premises could not accommodate those units.

As such, he opted to rent a building to house those units, and expressions of interest for that rental had been received. Subsequently however, he was made aware that attempts had already been made by the former Government to acquire the plots. "So the issue of the compulsory acquisition was something inherited from the PPP. So perhaps the problem Mr Nandlall has is that he didn't get to do the transaction," Minister Williams said.

He recalled too that Nandlall had raised the issue in the National Assembly during consideration of the budget and he (Williams) had responded, saying that the evaluation was done by the Chief Evaluation Officer of the Government. The project

was then approved by the Ministry of Finance and Cabinet. after which it was passed and approved by the National Assembly. Williams said too that if the PPP had remained in office, they would have paid $560M more than the current government for the same two plots of land. "He [Nandlall] indicated to me that those tw o small plots are worth $600M. So in telling me that, my impression is that if he had been able to do that transaction, then it would have cost the government $600M when it is costing us $40M ~ $20M per lot." the AG said. Nandlall has since denied ever telling Williams these things.

LEGAL ACTION Stabroek News also reported that the Beharry Group has retained an attorney to deal with the issue and hinted at possible legal action. Williams said that he is not sure on what grounds the owners of the lands are going to challenge the decision. He said the legal action taken by government is called compulsory acquisition and unless there is evidence of a breach in procedures, he does not see on what grounds the decisions would be challenged. Williams reminded the Chronicle that the PPP during its term in office had compulsorily acquired several lands, including a large portion on Water Street to facilitate vending.

Williams also revealed that a charitable organisation, the Berbice Bharati Saywa Sangha, which operates senior citizens homes in Berbice, had their lands compulsorily acquired by the PPP/C administration in 2000. He said that the former administration had acquired the lands to construct the University of Guyana Tain Campus.

Santos and Londono even after the loss communicated their commitment to proceed with enacting the accord.

According to Londono, who lamented the defeat, the Agreement was already dispatched to Geneva. This demonstrated a conviction by the leaders that the people were supportive, or they were apparently blindsighted by predictions of the opinion polls. The scenarios give rise to the premium held in respecting the will of the people through the ballot, whether sufficient work was done prior to the referendum to provide needed information,and address fears and concerns. Only time will tell what impact any decision moving forward in the two instances will have on the people, but what is does communicate in the final analysis is the importance of not taking the people for granted.

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

7

A view from New York xr WITH MICHAEL DEREK ROBERTS robertsconsulting@gmx.com * (347) 279-6668

1

r

Now I don't know about you but I am just about tired of the constant hypocritical hyperbole that is directing the national political discourse. Much 1

was made of Hillary Rodham Clinton referring or characterizing Donald Trump's supporters as a bunch of "deplorahles." I happen to think that she was right on that score but no sooner than the media got hold of her statement, news anchors, commentators and reporters jumped all over it as if she'd just committed the worst sacrilegious act imaginable.

The fact of the matter is that Trump's supporters are a bunch of angry, tantrum-prone, whiny, crybabies afraid of everything. And for all their mouthy yelling about fairness, change and supporting "an outsider" and "nonpolitician," they are a set of disaffected and delusional, mostly white people, pining for a modem-day Messiah who will create their warped, racist version of a "new America." Unlike Trump who simply uses their fears and anxieties in hopes of winning the White House, they are a fragile, tenified bunch of people stubbornly fervently clinging to old and outmoded bygone social and political constructs.

I can say without fear of contradiction that Trump's supporters possess a fractured white (mostly male) ego, a confused understanding of American Democracy, with its flaws and all, and scared as hell of a rapidly changing nation, and the fact that they are powerless to stop that change. So they lash out and whine, gripe, and demonstrate a deliberate political blindness when it comes to their "champion Donald Trump" who "speaks their language" and is not a "corrupt politician."

But Democracy is something that grownups and sane people have to deal with and is not at all suited for whiney kids afraid of their shadows. It's definitely not for thumb-sucking infants that balk at every and all challenges and prefer to hunker down in tribal bunker communes, excluding all "others" who don't look or behave like them. So unable to find their place even in the Republican Party they have high jacked the 2016 United States presidential elections and turned it into a depressing political circus with clowns and all.

Buttressed and buoyed by a supine and compliant media, acting like an uneducated sex worker, Trump's voters have been treated, as parents would handle an errant child screaming and yelling during a Count Dracula movie.

Trump and company, rather than try and convince the scared kid that monsters do not live under the bed, and Dracula is just a made up monster, like

stupid parents they simply offer a glass of warm milk and a cookie without addressing and offering a genuine solution to the problem. Indeed, this election is more about the degree of anger percolating in the American populace and the emotionally charged climate that this has spawned. Plain and simple: it's about the long-churning emotional conflicts present in the body politick.

It is the struggle between legions of dangerous juveniles exhibiting the "Chucky Syndrome" dredged with a large dose of cowardice, unfounded, irrational fears, and political myopia, against political courage and a campaign of real, pertinent issues and concerns. Both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns demonstrated that they are comfortable with change and embrace the growing and dynamic diversity of and in American democracy. For all her faults, Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she's the adult in the room who has to battle with a spoiled petulant brat and his just as spoiled supporters.

She clearly understands that America is not the world's "lone ranger" anymore and cannot go it alone but must work with other nations (partners) in a world increasingly becoming interconnected and where nations are dependent on each other. In this regard, the grownup position is that America in this century will have to function, not just as a superpower pushing the notion that its "either my way or the highway" but as a wealthy and powerful nation leading the way in constructive integration and cooperation with other nations.

Hillary Clinton and her supporters get this. Trump and his supporters would close our borders, tear up contracts and agreements with other nations and thumb their noses at international law.

Trump's legions, composed primarily of white people, exist in a state of self-induced panic, made more acute by the delusional ramblings of their "champion." They arc in a knotted fetal position on immigration, United States international trade arrangements, guilty

Ik apOA/rtt-D V UlLl. rHi*D wo(UO coo*iT«y Beware — Let your vote be counted on Election Day of manufactured hate against Mexicans, completely ignorant about Islam and Muslims, crime in the United States, and national protest movements against police brutality. Trump's supporters and voters see changes taking place in the United States and the world and arc so scared of this natural process

that they hang on to the incoherent ranting of their anointed political messiah who offers imaginary and illusive solutions to manufactured problems. His solutions expose and demonstrate for all to see - except his loyal blinkers-on (continued on page 25)

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

EMPHASIS ON TRAVEL AND T0URIS

ILEY, SECRETARY GENERAL FGH

STATEMENT BY HUGH R

|KSI

THE CARIBBEAN TOIURISM ORGANIZATION

HUH

ON THE EFFECT OF HURRICANE MATTHEW w

'£v

n-esi

(CTO) is deeply saddened by the tragic

business.

loss of life and the extensive damage in-

tropical storm it inflicted loss.

For the worst affected countries the impact, both physical and psychological, will be long-lasting. We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives and to those who are grieving their loss, and we assure our support to those who are touched in one way or another.

Our prayers are with the Government and People of Haitim, where the death toll has soared to more than 900 and where there is still not full recovery from the destructive earthquake of 2010.

We also express our prayers and concerns for The Bahamas — which still has not received the all-clear and which has been recovering from last year's Hurricane Joaquin. We await a full assessment of the damage in The Bahamas, as well as in St. Vincent and the Grenadines where a young man lost his life when Matthew struck as a tropical storm.

Several other CTO member countries, including Cuba, Dominica, Jamaica and Saint Lucia have been impacted by the storm; and while we are thankful that there was no loss of life in those countries, we are conscious of the fact that they have suffered some level of damage. Still, we are

It is evident that in the aftermath of / the storm the immediate challenge is to alleviate suffering and provide the necessary support. In the days and weeks ahead we at the CTO and throughout our member countries in the Caribbean will work with our private sector partners the Caribbean Hotel and IVIINERVA TRAVI Tourism Association and Accesible Travel Specialist others, to do whatever is CLIA/IATA 0SSN/SATH APTA/PATA TPOC/IGLTA M/W/DBE CERTIFIED necessary to offer assistance and to coordinate Elaine Henry, cta, mcc V relief efforts.

Travel Consultant We have immense 1053 E 40th Street Tel: 718-377-2071 confidence in the Brooklyn, NY 11210 Fax: 718-377-1291 strength and resolve of email: minitravel@hotmail.com our people to prevail. www.minervatravel. net

flicted on our member countries and neighbours by the dangerous Hurricane Matthew, described as the most powerful storm to hit the Caribbean in a decade. Even in its weaker form as a

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Gafoors -

fire rips through bonds

By Svetlana Marshall THE owners and employees of Gafoors complex at

He said that, at about 18:301irs. the Fire Service first received reports of smoke and fire at Gafoors. and units at

9

n

was speaking with a manager, another employee brought him the devastating news.

At that time. Gafoor said, the entire complex had closed operation for the day. He

f

were among the materials stored in the two bonds.

Asked about a possible sabotage. Gafoor said only the investigator could make that determination. "Can't

â&#x2013;

Firefighters battle to put out the blaze that started in the company's Houston Complex, East Bank Demerara bond Monday evening (Samuel Maughn photo)

Houston, East Bank Demerara watched on in shock on Monday evening as fire ripped through newly-constructed bonds which had replaced those destroyed in a fire five months ago.

As he busied to put out the blaze, an angry Fire Chief.

Marlon Gentle, expressed frustration at having to confront another fire at the same location. "This place just had a fire, and we are dealing with the same crap all over again." he told the Guyana Chronicle as he tried to direct a number of firefighters on the ground.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the bonds which were engulfed in flames contained "a lot of combustible stuff", and "due diligence" was not done in ensuring that fire prevention measmes were in place.

West Ruimveldt and Alberttown were dispatched. When it became clear that a major fire was underway, reinforcement was sent in.

A short distance away from where the firefighters were battling to contain the raging fire, proprietor of Gafoors Houston Complex.

Sattaur Gafoor. sat quietly in a chair as family members. friends and employees watched with much disbelief.

When approached. Gafoor. clearly in a state of shock, repeatedly said: "I really don't know." to the initial questions put by reporters.

However, it was not long after that the popular businessman opened up to the press. According to him. he arrived at the Houston Complex from Land of Canaan at around 19:00h, and while he

-v

explained that the manager was awaiting his arrival for a brief meeting before exiting the premises.

It is unclear where the fire started; however, up to press time, it had managed to consume Bonds Five and Six of the Houston Complex.

"I can't believe it." the distraught businessman said, while noting that he is at a loss to figure out what could have caused the blaze.

"Because of the last fire, up to now there is no electricity there. There is no combustible material there. So I am wondering what could have caused the fire. It is very difficult, very difficult; and we would have taken a lot of precautions to ensure that nothing goes wrong." he told reporters.

Tiles and sanitary ware

ames say it is sabotage...only investigators can say that." he posited.

Following the first fire, in May 2016. the Guyana Fire Service had furnished the management of the Houston Complex with a menu of recommendations, which according to Gafoor were implemented.

He. however, acknowledged that the sprinklers were not installed.

"We ordered the sprinklers. They should be here shortly. They are not available in Guyana, so we had to import them. It takes four (to) five months to get them." he posited.

The livelihood of some 80 employees has now been affected by the blaze, but Gafoor hopes that no one will be out of a job. He is asking all employees of the Houston Complex to report for a meeting today at the said location.

Though saddened by the situation. Gafoor said the

Fire Service's response was "excellent".

"Excellent! Can't get better... I want to say that Mr. (Compton) Sparman (the Officer-in-Charge of Operations at the Guyana Fire Service) and Mr. (Winston) McGregor, they personally involved here and doing an excellentjob."

The police were also out in their numbers to allow for traffic control and to ensure that the Fire Service could do its work with minimum interference from curious members of the public who flocked the scene.

One employee told the Guyana Chronicle that workers had on Tuesday begun stocking the bonds which were built in place of those destroyed by a major fire on May 9. In that fire, the company had lost millions of dollars, and six firefighters had been injured while trying to put out that blaze.

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60-17 Elliot Aven

Maspeth Queens, NY 113

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- ^ A distraught Sattaur Gafoor speaks with reporters on Monday (Samuel Maughn photo)

10

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Difficult

to

hide

a

Guyanese

- Greenidge tells consultation on Witness Protection Bill notion of citizenship, and there is need for people who hold both public and private offices to be held accountable for their actions.

He reminded that the Commissioner of Information has been entirely silent for a prolonged period, and pointed to there being a "multiplicity of mechanisms" that lack the human capacity to be properly addressed.

He spoke of the need for a single Rights Commission with sub-commissions, as opposed to several Human

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, speaks to participants at the public consultation SEVERAL concerns were raised on Monday during a public consultation forum on the Witness Protection and the Protected Disclosures (Whistleblower) Bills 2016, held at the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

Notwithstanding the handful of participants at that public consultation, the issues of confidentiality (non-disclosure), the state of inquiries, the lack of a political framework, consultative processes, and transparency were among the topics discussed.

Mike McCormack. co-president of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA). said that, for the year, that entity had participated in three public consultations prior to Monday's;

and noted that each piece of legislation focuses on mechanisms that are to be introduced, but not political framework that can assess the usefulness of the legislation.

He spoke of past approaches to public consultations. which resulted in a "consultation paper, or green paper" being presented.

Based on the responses to the legislation, amendments would be made, and those would be taken to Cabinet on a white paper, after which the bills would be submitted to Parliament for approval.

Speaking on the issue of corruption, the GHRA co-president said there is no vigorous public procurement process that can speak to strict accountability. He said the bill does not address the major need to revitalise the

lack of gender neutral language as "offensive".

More needs to be done at the level of stakeholders to ensure that instances of corruption are rooted out. said McCormack.

Chief Parliamentary Counsel Cecil Dhurjon accepted the many observations and comments made by the GHRA head, describing him as "enlightened". The Senior Counsel noted, too. that the drafters of the legislation would bear in mind

but important", and called on the drafters, the Attorney General's Chambers and the Ministry of Legal Affairs, to "pay attention to the point being made by Mike Mc Cormack".

Minister Greenidge said it is obviously true what Mc Cormack had referred to as public conformity and private descent. He said it is a fact that, to a large extent, the failure to enforce the laws has caused this state of affairs. He opined that perhaps the process by which consultation and decision-making is made needs to be more open

He said no matter how much a person's name and background are changed, people can still be identified.

"It is rare that you can take a Guyanese and carry them in a community and they won't be recognised." he said, while noting that there are both advantages and disadvantages in the witness protection programme.

However, he said, the option exists for those in the programme to be relocated to other CARICOM jurisdictions as a means of protecting their identities. Like

r

a

r

r N m A section of the audience at the public consultation on the Witness Protection and Protected Disclosures (Whistleblower) Bills 2016, at the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown Rights Commissions. Moreover. he is of the opinion that the country needs to have a Commission of Ombudsmen, as opposed to one Ombudsman.

Speaking specifically to the Witness Protection Bill.

McCormack said there is "the continued resistance to gender neutral language in the bills." He described the

all concerns raised and try "to enrich" the legislation accordingly. It is not too late to take into consideration the concerns highlighted at the public consultation, he said.

Similarly. Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge. in brief remarks, alluded to the concerns raised by McCormack. He described the two bills as "complex

and extensive.

He believes that institutions need to be put in place to allow for "a more realistic dialogue", rather than the public's unwillingness to express their views and concerns without being harassed.

The minister noted the challenges small societies like Guyana face in trying to tackle witness protection.

those who spoke at the public consultation. Greenidge said the issue of information and confidentiality is important. but information is always in the public domain.

He said there is no easy or definitive solution to that problem. "I don't expect that the legislation drafted can solve that problem," he remarked.

Williams-Stephen is new Region 6 RED 'Lord

Canary'

POPULAR Calypso singer Malcolm Corrica, called 'Lord Canary', died on Monday at the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital, EBD, where he had been hospitalised after suffering a stroke.

Family members confirmed that Corrica died on Monday afternoon while undergoing treatment. He had been suffering from diabetes, and had one of his legs amputated some years ago.

Corrica once served as Minister of Culture, and was also a Member of Parliament in the Forbes Burnham Administration.

passes

•A

Malcolm Corrica, aka 'Lord Canary'

on

In his book 'The Lord Canary', it was written that as a member of the second Parliament - 1969-1973 — Corrica, a former member of the People's National Congress Youth Organisation, forerunner of the YSM, was assigned various projects under the aegis of the Ministry of Works. One of his proudest achievements was overseeing the completion of the Bel-Lu Clay Brick Factory on the West Bank of Demerara.

This was Prime Minister Burnham's trademark local project, and it was a virtual pioneering brand.

NEWLY-APPOINTED Regional Executive Officer (REO) of the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Kim Williams-Stephen, has promised to bring a high level of efficiency, knowledge and competence to the post.

In a release. Williams-Stephen said greater emphasis would be placed on results-oriented service.

The new-REO has 30 years of experience in the public service. 28 of which were spent at the Audit Office of Guyana in the capacity of acting Audit Manager for Regions Five and Six. She possesses a wealth of knowledge in the area of regional auditing, having also performed auditing functions for Regions Five.

Seven and Nine.

r* /■ New Region 6 REO, Mrs. Kim Williams-Stephen Coincidentally. Williams-Stephen started working in 1986 as a typist clerk at the very RDC. and was subsequently transferred to the Audit Office in 1988.

She is a strong advocate for good governance, transparency and accountability, and is also a firm believer

in quality service to others.

"It's an honour and privilege for me to have been given the opportunity to serve in this capacity." she said. "I give the praises and thanks to God Almighty, because without him this would not have been possible."

Williams-Stephen noted that her main functions as REO would include the provision of service to the community in the areas of health, agriculture, infrastructure and education, and to ensure that resources are expended for their intended purposes.

"My aim would be to ensure that these essential community services are delivered in a cost-effective manner, bearing in mind that quality is the most important Turn to page 27 ►

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016 Cyher espionage is alive and well says Dan Tehan An ollicial report revealed mise other Australian government networks. on Wednesday that the ASD identified evidence of the adversary searching for and copying an unknown Bureau of Meteorology's quantity of documents from the Bureau's system was under attack from network. This information is likely to have malicious software that stole been stolen by the adversary," the report unknown number of docu- said.

"Apart from demonstrating a savvy unments. It is also to be noted that the Meteorology bureau is derstanding of social media and exploiting the internet for propaganda purposes, terrorlinked to the defence depart- ist cyber capabilities generally remain rudiment. Initial reports came in mentary and show few signs of improving 2015 and reports linked China significantly in the near future," it added.

According to the report, ASD responded to the cyber attacks.

However, China is no new player. It was to 1,095 cyber attacks on government syspreviously accused of breaking into U.S. tems between lanuary 1 and June 30, 2016.

Tehan said, "Cyber security is something based firms' and government websites and also managed to steal top-secret blueprints that we as a nation have to take very seriof Australia's new intelligence agency head- ously; as a government, as business and as individuals. And what we want to do is conquarters in 2013.

Even Australia's census website was tinue to be more transparent about what is hacked and shut down by cybercriminals in going on in this area and that's what this report is about."

August this year.

However, that was just a small part of the The Australian Cyber Security Centre has however refrained from naming any country cyber security breach in Australia.

Surveys suggest that almost all the comin this regard.

"We don't narrow it down to specific panies in the corporate world have been countries, and we do that deliberately. But compromised at least once but they are what we have indicated is that cyber espi- hardly reported in the media as it can ruin onage is alive and well," said Dan Tehan, the companies' reputation.

In spite of newer technologies and platCybersecurity assistant of Prime Minister forms coming up each day to avert attacks, Malcolm Tumbull.

The report suggested that Australian Sig- cyber security departments around the world nals Directorate (ASD) had identified the have still failed at putting a stopper on such presence of Remote Access Tool (RAT) and attacks. WADA-medical files hacks and other malware associated with cyber-attacks Sony pictures-hack were just two examples of the serious threats cybercriminals pose. in Meteorology bureau's system in 2015.

Caribbean News.Net "The RAT had also been used to compro-

11 Lighte \

'//

4 \

iu

*

o

r The Box

Why not?

One day long ago, a man and woman got married. The man told the woman that there would always be a box under the bed but to never look into it. So they were married for 40 years and the woman never looked in the box.

On the morning of their 40th anniversary, the wife looked in the box. In the box, there was about 300 dollars in small bills, and 3 empty beer bottles. At dinner that evening, the woman just had to ask. So she did, she asked "what are those beer bottles for, you know, in the box under the bed?" The man said, oh no, you looked. OK, Every time I've been unfaithful to you, I chugged a beer and put it in the box.

The wife says, well for forty years, that's not so bad. At night, the woman was having a bad nnight, she could not get to sleep, and something was bugging her. Then she remembered. Sshe shook awake her husband and asked, what was the money for? though. The guy says, what? The wife says, you know, the money in the box.

The guy says, well, every time the box filled up, I took it in and got money for the bottles.

Apoliceman pulls over a driver for swerving in and out of lanes on the highway. He tells the guy to blow a breath into a breathalyzer.

"1 can't do that, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm an asthmatic. I could get an asthma attack if I blow into that tube."

"Okay, we'll just get a urine sample down at the station."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a diabetic. I could get low blood sugar if I pee in a cup."

"Alright, we could get a blood sample."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a hemophiliac. If I give blood I could die."

"Fine then, just walk this white line."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm drunk."

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Manufacturers

waivers

on

get

tax

The

facts

about

imports CLC

and

the

By Lincoln Lewis *

t â&#x20AC;&#x201D; *â&#x2013;

GMSA members meeting with representatives of the GRA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 7, 2016 LOCAL manufacturing companies which had been faced with the enforcement of import duties on raw materials that appeared on the list of ineligible items have been granted suspensions of import duties through the CARICOM Secretariat, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) has said in a release.

The manufacturers were last April made aware of the enforcement regulation by the Guyana Revenue Authority. The list of ineligible items was developed in the late 70s early 80s. and was designed to protect the CARICOM region. Many of the items were available in the region at that time, and as such, their importation had attracted import duties, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association

PNCR

(GMSA) said.

According to the GMSA. the list of ineligible items is enshrined in the tax laws of Guyana, and is also part of The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. The GMSA is pleased to have been informed by its membership that, with the necessary support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CARICOM Secretariat, their applications for suspension of import duties on the raw materials had been successful.

The companies identified were Twins Manufacturing Chemists; Edward B. Beharry & Company Limited; Sterling Products Limited; Umami. & Toolsie Persaud Limited. Of the five (5) companies that had applied, four (4) have been granted full suspension, while Sterling Products Ltd has been

reaches

granted full suspension for five (5) of the six (6) items that company had applied for. The single item rejected was soya bean oil. based on an objection by Roberts Manufacturing in Barbados on the ground that that company is presently producing soya bean oil.

This fulfils the shortterm goals as reported previously by the GMSA. The long-term goal of the GMSA is to work with the relevant agencies to have these ineligible items, along with many others, removed from the list, since many of them are no longer available in the region.

The GMSA wishes to thank the relevant ministers, government agencies and the CARICOM Secretariat for the support received in bringing relief to its Manufacturers.

out to

small

- will help them understand contractors bidding process THE People's National a release. remains committed to. and Congress Reform (PNCR) The PNCR said it is aware would work towards ensuring has said it would facilitate that small contractors need as- that all have a 'good life'. training for small contrac- sistance to be able to compete "A good life to us is about tors and individuals who and win bids for Government removing inequalities and providing opportunities for may not be fully conversant projects. with the prequalification "The party is committed every citizen to be the best requirements and other to putting resources in place that he or she can be." the matters pertaining to the to assist the small contractor. PNCR. dominant party in bid process.

The PNCR is committed to the coalition government, The parly gave this com- managing the economy in has said. mitment following concerns such a way as to produce Meanwhile, the PNCR has raised by delegates at its wider entrepreneurial and said it was agreed by consen19th Biennial Delegates Con- job opportunities and more sus at the recently concluded gress. held recently. equitable outcomes. The party 19th Biennial Delegates Con"Delegates to our Con- will work to ensure that the gress that it must continue gress raised questions and bulk of the generated income to engage vigorously in all expressed concern about the and wealth accrues to the political discourse, especially Procmement Act 2003. They populace as a whole, and not where the lives of the ordinary opined that the procurement only to a very small elite." the man is impacted. process seemed skewed in parly said.

The PNCR has vowed favour of already established On a day and date to be to never give up the fight big businesses, and mandated announced shortly, a minister for workers, as it celebrates that (the PNCR). as a member of the Government would, on 59 years of service to the of the six-party coalition in a weekly basis, be at Congress people. "As we look forward Government, (should) seri- Place to meet with the public. to our Diamond Jubilee next ously and speedily address The PNCR Public Rela- year, we remain committed those areas of the law that tions Department would be to national unity and the restrict or make it difficult for responsible for posting the building of bridges to all new persons (especially small ministerial schedule online communities and groups contractors and new start-ups) and broadcasting it to the which are interested in the to enter into and be success- other mainstream media and well-being of the people and ful in securing Government the public. the progress of our councontracts." the party said in The PNCR has said it try," the party has said.

American diplomat, academic and politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan is credited for the statement, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Reading Peter Havnes' last week column "GTUC and CLC: Transparency is needed" brings to mind Moynihan's sobering statement.

The position advanced by me against Government's desire to look into the entire accounts of the Critchlow Labour College (CLC) as pre-condition for releasing the state grant is grounded in universally acceptable principles and the Laws of Guyana. The CLC is a private institution registered under the Company Act. Chapter 89:01. Accounting for its operations is done under this law and our records are submitted to the Company Registry which is housed in the High Court building. The money given to the CLC by the state from its inception (1968) was always kept in a separate account and audited every quarter by the state auditors.

During the Bharrat Jagdeo presidency he sought to have the state auditors audit the entire accounts of the CLC and was advised by the Auditor General that the law does not permit such an act.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC). which is the owner of the CLC . in holding steadfast to the principle of refusing to allow the state to audit what it is not required to do by law is upholding the law and its civic duty.

The GTUC did not ac-

Bajan

is't

/ General Secretary of GTUC, Lincoln Lewis cept the effort to violate the law under the Jagdeo government. and will not now accept violation under the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo government. In the seven years the CLC received no money from the state, the state's account at the CLC has no money to be audited for. Haynes' position that the government be allowed access to all the college's financial record (i.e. state and non-state accounts) on the "possibility" that more funding may be made available is not only being lawless but also defying of logic. By extension it could be said that accessing the CLC's nonstate account can also create the "possibility" of the state giving less or no money. The trade union, as a constitutional stakeholder in society, plays a role in partnering with the state to provide workers training and education. For us workers represent past, present and future participants of the labour force. From the inception of the CLC (1968) it has discharged such responsibility and our alumni can be found all over the world engaging

nabbed

cocaine POLICE on Sunday arrested a Barbadian national at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport with a quantity of cocaine wrapped in undergarments strapped to his legs.

A police statement detailed that the 22-year-old Barbadian national was an outgoing passenger destined for Barbados when, at about 13:15h on Sunday, he was found with 914 grams of cocaine strapped to his person; thus police ranks at the airport arrested him.

in

Gov't in productive endeavoms. of which many were not members of any trade union.

Making known that the CLC provides education to persons, approximately 80 percent of whom are not affiliated to the GTUC is a statement of fact, not "an attempt to castigate the government Education programme."

Had Haynes sought to so an fait himself he would have also found that the CLC's Mission Statement expressly states the college provides trade union and worker education.

The GTUC in requesting a meeting with any minister of government or the President of Guyana would be doing so consistent with the right and responsibility of the trade union as outlined in Article 38 and 149C of the Guyana Constitution and the role of representative government in society.

There is no favour being granted in GTUC making such a request or accepting a request made by the government or vice versa. The preference for gut feeling analysis in lieu of facts guiding analysis to advance a position is not only deceitful and reckless but smacks at the quality of reportage the Guyana Chronicle became known for in the not too distant past. It was said quality that earned it the sobriquet "rag sheet" and the late Desmond Hoyte calling on the people to stop reading and purchasing it.

The GTUC, CLU and I are not opposed to alternative or dissenting views of our functions and stewardship.

It is expected however in the attempt to do so such must be buttressed bv facts.

with

underwear

The garments where the cocaine was stashed

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

13

UN to deliver food for 180,000 people in hard-hit eastern Cuba 12 October 2016 — The United Nations World Food Progranune (WFP) is working with the Cuban Government to provide food for 180,000 people in hard-hit eastem areas of the island as they cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.

"We estimate that we will need $4 million to assist 180,000 people during the next six months, and my call now is to the donor community to help us mobilize funds to assist the most vulnerable people affected by the hurricane in Cuba," said Laura Melo, WFP Representative in Cuba, adding that the agency is working closely with national authorities to provide help to people most affected by the disaster.

According to the release, WFP"s primary response will include using the food stocks that are already in the country to help

people that are most in need, followed by providing supplies to vulnerable groups " such as children between six months and three years of age, pregnant women and adults over 65 in affected areas such as Caimanera, Manuel Tame, Yateras, and Moa in Flolguin province.

WFP also stated that it is aiming to improve nutrition of the vulnerable groups by delivering a corn and soybean fortified cereal compound to pregnant women, and micronutrient powder to children between the ages of 12 and 23 months.

The assessment of damages caused by Flurricane Matthew continues in Cuba, while significant food losses and damage to agriculture, homes and infrastructure have already been reported.

Flurricane Matthew hit Cuba on 4 October with winds over 200 kilometres per hour. It has been the most powerful storm, classified a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Flurricane Wind Scale, to strike the island in nearly a decade.

Caribbean News.Net

"I

DID NOT

/

WANT TO LEAVE" ¥or District Attorney Ken P. Thompson

My family and friends, 1 did not want to leave, just that my work on earth is done my dearly bereaved!

It was a worthwhile short run and a heavy burden to share.

Kenneth P. Thompson worked for justice, lived tor peace and cared.

Mv loving parents, it's sad to leave ;ind to say goodbye.

Remember, G(xl is in charge and all your needs he'll supply.

I am the recipient of your love and the treasure of \mir heart, just know* that we'll meet again never to parr.

My dear Kennedy, my dear Kenny, 1 did not want to leave.

You can grieve today but just believe!

That God who told die oceans where to start and where to end.

The same God who holds the stars in space, knows your name - He is l ather, brother and friend.

The love of mv life, mv loving wife, Io Shawn Benbow-Thompson.

I did not want to leave, I know you're flabbergasted and stunned.

Mv lose for you will never die.

I did not want to leave, I know you're wondering why?

Dear Brooklyn, New York and beyond. "liberty and justice for all" is our bond.

"Then when till of life is over, and our work on earth is done" "And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there"

I l •szSS. -

My

Poem by: James C. Richmond • October I2th.2016 —-

Tor my friend - District Attorney, the late Kenneth p Thompson

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14

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

(

The

- making waves in and out of the pool

By Daniel Haynes In the world of Guyanese aquatics, where most swim-

degree in Medical Rehabilitation. specializing in physiotherapy. at the University of Guyana.

constantly had her head in a book, since from a young age. her mother always read to her. All that changed.

â&#x2013;

(T

w

Soroya, centre, at the recent Maracas Bay Open Water Swim meet mers take the plunge into sprint swimming, at the age of 20, Soroya Simmons is finding her niche in long distance and open water swimming.

Additionally, the long distance swimmer, who has a penchant for sarcastic humor, is one year from going the distance in completing her

UG

By Svetlana Marshall THE University of Guyana will soon be expanded to include a new location outside of the Turkeyen Campus, according to Vice Chancellor Dr. Ivelaw Griffith.

The move is an attempt to address the accommodation issues facing the close to 8.000 students of the Uni-

\

sensational

Standing at just over 5"4. she is witty, sarcastic, driven, and loves life.

Soroya Amanda Simmons was bom June 28. 1996. and adamantly holds to the fact that she falls under the Zodiac sign of Cancer - something you would not argue if you valued your life.

Born an only child, she

however, when she was seven-yearsOold. Her mom had taken her along to meeting she had at the Tower Hotel Poolside.

"I decided that the best thing to do was jump into the deep end of the pool while no one was looking." Soroya recounted. "It was learning to doggy paddle, making it to

scouts versity.

Dr. Griffith made the disclosure during a recent lunch meeting with reporters at the Herdmanston Lodge. University Registrar Dr. Nigel Gravesande; Deputy Vice Chancellor of Philanthropy.

Alumni and Civic Engagements. Dr. Paloma Mohamed; Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Dr. Fitz-

the wall and climbing out of the pool that I remember feeling accomplished about...! learned to swim out of sheer need to survive." she added, laughing.

It was this experience that would shape her life for the next 13 years. After the "incident" she was enrolled in summer swimming classes tw o weeks later, giving her an activity to do during the August holidays.

"After the holiday I just continued swimming and as I started going to training more regularly I was enrolled in a club and starting doing more competitions and it just progressed from there." she added.

The former Marian Academy student was always an academic and is by definition another one of the "Marian babies."

She attended Marian Academy for 13 years of her life, from the nursery, to the primary level and finally graduating after completing the high school level. She eventually left the school to attend neighbouring Queen's College for one year of sixth form.

"I actually got passing marks for QC when I wrote common entrance, but I didn't want to go there." said Soroya.

"It was a sense of familiarity. I didn't want to leave Marian. Marian was all I knew and I just couldn't tear myself away and look I ended up right back at QC for sixth form so it worked out." she laughed.

Being the bookworm, she took to subjects like English and Literature like a fish to water, and those were tw o of

new

gerald Yaw; and Director of Estates Management. Danny Khudu. were also present during the meeting.

According to the Vice Chancellor, three locations have already been identified, and one is being seriously considered. "We have identified several locations, (but) we are pursuing one vigorously that can give us the

Soroya Simmons

m

&

the subjects she excelled in.

She counts herself an academic but is very much aware of the subjects she is weak in.

"I'm obviously gifted at some stuff than others; English and Literature were two of my best subjects due to my love of reading. I loved the poems, and I didn't mind writing all the essays since I loved writing." she stated.

"I disliked math, and I absolutely hated physics but I just loved Biology."

Soroya was one of the students in the science stream and in fourth form at the time of streaming, she had no idea what she wanted to do. She just felt that from the science stream she could do practically anything.

It wasn't until the swimmer was in fifth form that she stumbled on physiotherapy. something that would become her passion. And did it happen in the most ironic of ways! The future physiotherapist had her first major swimming injury and had to attend therapy sessions as part of her recovery.

"I had always known physiotherapy; it was just at that time when I got that injury, that I fully understood what was wrong and how it was being fixed.

"I guess from there my interest grew and I fell in love with it." she recounted.

It certainly did not hurt that Soroya's grandmother was a physiotherapist and she had

location

maximum one stop shop." he explained.

The locations under consideration and their capacities were not disclosed by Dr. Griffith, who committed to providing full disclosure once an agreement has been met.

"What we are doing currently is a business plan as part of pre-discussions with the owner (of the main prop-

erty of interest)." the Vice Chancellor posited, while noting that if or when the business deal is consummated. he would be in a better position to disclose the income-expenditure component of the plan.

However, he made it clear that the push to have a new location for the University of Guyana will not result in

abandonment of the Turkeyen Campus.

Asked whether the university's administration is considering the establishment of a campus in Linden, the Vice Chancellor responded in the negative.

On a daily basis, hundreds. if not thousands of students from Linden, travel more than 65 miles to access

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Soroya

Guyana multiple times. She has travelled to Suriname.

French Guiana. Barbados.

Trinidad. Araba. Curacao and Mexico-the last country being her favourite trip thanks to the culture of Mexico.

There is more to Soroya than academics and athletics and she is actually an avid reader with some of her favourite books being the Harry Potter series and the timeless classic of Jane Eyre. She is also a comic book fan. fa-

15

Simmons

vouring the Marvel Universe with her favourite character being Tony Stark's Ironman.

It is not wise to pick a fight with her when it comes to her comics. Her interest also extends to the world of Japanese comics called manga. She is also capable with a compound bow and arrow and learning Japanese in her spare time.

When it comes to swimming accomplishments, she holds records across the

15-17. and 18 and over age groups in the 50.100 and 200 metre back strokes, something she is extremely proud of. However, admittedly, most of her notable accomplishments have come in recent years since figuring out what her niche is.

"For me. I've always been better at longer distances and that's where I found my niche. I started experimenting with open water swimming last year since my cousin in

Trinidad had been inviting me for years to do the Maracas Bay Open Water Swim meet and I finally decided to give it a try. I did the 2650km and found I loved it." she stated.

This year Soroya did the same Maracas Bay Open Water Swim in the 5000km distance and finished 4th overall for females. "I entered the race with much trepidation but once I hit the water all my fears just faded away." she

stated. "Once I hit the first lap and started the second lap I definitely felt I could do this and I did."

Now back home and continuing her focus on open water swimming, she is looking towards the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and hopes to represent Guyana. Her biggest motivation comes from her determination and drive to make an impact in the Guyanese sporting community.

"I want to responsible for some sort of change. Guyana has such great potential in sports but our professionals don't stay and as an athlete I see everything. There's so much that can occur if only there was support for our athletes and I want to be someone whose name is in the conversation years down the line.

"I want to sit back and say. yes I played my part."

Those are lofty goals that perhaps the young Soroya. who spent most of her time in the slice of heaven carved out in Moraca miming trails, swimming in ponds and lakes and enjoying being free, did not even forecast.

With her ambition, determination. drive and passion, and the supporting cast of Dorado Swim Club -the club she is a part of- her swimming goals are definitely attainable.

She credits the attitude of Dorado towards swimming as well as their understanding of her academic interests as part of the support system she can rely on.

Soroya embodies what her favourite Harry Potter house Slytheriu stands for: Determination, ambition and the will to succeed.

academic year, the centre at Linden was able to provide programmes that permitted students access to allow them to matriculate into full degree programmes, and we admitted 42 students from Linden who othenvise did not reach the matriculation requirements."

Dr. Gravesande posited.

He is of the opinion that greater emphasis and focus must be placed on programmes that allow students to matriculate into degree programmes while consolidating the skills-based programmes that create opportu-

nities for economic empowerment.

The University will be resubmitting its budget proposal to the Finance Ministry. That proposal has been pegged at $5.2B: $3B for its recurrent programme and $2.2B for its capital programme.

Increase wages and salaries for lecturers and other staff, infrastructure enhancement and development, a new library and a new Centre for Communication Studies are among the plans outlined in the proposal.

mm an example to emulate.

"I want to get my Master's in Physical therapy and go along the lines of Sports Therapy, so it's really a Master's in Sports Science I'm going after." she finished.

Soroya has excelled in the classroom, performing well in both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC)and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). The only reason she did not do the second unit of CAPE was that she did not need the second unit to enter into the Medical Rehabilitation programme at UG. Like any National Athlete. the swimmer has had her fair share of tours for the country and has represented the University's Turkeyen Campus, while others have no other choice than to migrate to Georgetown and neighbouring communities to reduce the financial burdens and fatigue associated with travelling.

Residents of Linden. Region 10. are not the only ones calling for a campus; Essequibo residents are doing likewise. Dr. Griffith said there must first be significant improvements on the campuses at Turkeyen. Tain and Johns, along with those at the nine Institutes of Distance

. . â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x2013; -

Soroya during a practice session this week

and Continuing Education (IDCE).

"We have got to show the students at our main campus that we are making appreciable improvements in their facilities and in their quality of life, before we go making request for new campuses." Dr. Griffith said. He noted that for this reason he would not even commit to conducting a feasibility study in Linden.

The Registrar, in offering his contribution, told reporters that greater provisions are being put in place for Lindeners. "For the 2016/2017

UG Vice Chancellor Dr. Ivelaw Griffith

16

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

IImii critlcistt Republicans for iMi lliip - 'Doesn't mki seise11 NORTH CAROLINA, U.S. - U.S. President Baraek Obama addressed a crowd of more than 9,000, mostly African-Americans, on Tuesday night in a bid to drum up support for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Greens- casino developer at the time. "I don't know boro, North Carolina, Obama slammed Don- how that happens." ald Trump over the 2005 taped footage which Obama repeatedly compared Clinton and recently surfaced in which Trump is heard Trump's stand on various issues, including entalking about how he groped women. vironment, economy and transparency.

"Now, you find a situation in which the "You've got everything to lose," he told guy says stuff that nobody would find tolera- the crowd, "All the progress we've made these ble if they were applying for a job at 7- last eight years is on the ballot," pushing the Eleven," Obama told the crowd, referring to crowd to vote for Clinton. "If it makes you the convenience store chain. mad", the president said, "then you say In his first public remarks since the 'That's not somebody I want representing the recording, Obama said, "You don't have to be United States of America.' You can do somea husband or a father to hear what we heard thing about it. North Carolina," urging the just a few days ago and say that's not right," crowd to back the Democrat candidate on Noadding, "You just have to be a decent human vember 8. being to say that's not right."

Obama also chose to openly slam those Clinton is leaving nothing to chance, es- Republicans who continued to support Trump pecially when it comes to black voters, who despite criticising him on various issues. are not as enthusiastic about her as they are "The fact that now you've got people about Obama. saying: 'We strongly disagree, we really disClinton needs black voters to turn out in approve... but we're still endorsing him.' They high numbers to replicate Obama's win, espe- still think he should be president, that doesn't cially in swing states like North Carolina, make sense to me."

Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and has He also expressed disbelief at those from brought in Obama in an attempt to boost her Trump's party who believed he could change. numbers.

"What did you think? He was going to transThe U.S. president, who was not in the form himself? I mean, I'm 55 and it's hard for mood to spare Trump, also brought up the Re- me to change. I know at 70 it's going to be publican candidate's tax returns, pointing to a harder."

New York Times report that showed he There was some disturbance during the claimed a nearly billion dollar loss in one year rally, but the U.S. president remained calm on his taxes in the 1990s. when a group of anti-Hillary Clinton protest"They say the house always wins," ers threatened to disrupt the gathering. "Those Obama said mocking Trump, who was a folks are auditioning for a reality show,"

Obama said jokingly alter two protesters wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Bill Clinton Rapist" interrupted his speech.

They were escorted out by Secret Service agents, but it did not end there.

A few minutes later, a third protester rushed toward the stage while shouting "Bill Clinton is a rapist," who was also taken away.

"You know what, here's the deal — try to get your own rally!" Obama President Obama responded to loud cheers and applause. "See, if you can't get your own rally, don't come mess up somebody else's, hit the Republicans, since he might drag the Republican-controlled Senate and House of right? We got work to do here."

Donald Trump in the last presidential de- Representatives down along with him. The bate had attempted to deflect some of the at- Republicans have controlled both chambers tention from himself over the taped recording since the 2014 midterm elections.

The Senate was always going to be hotly by repeatedly referring to Hillary Clinton's husband and former U.S. President Bill Clin- contested in this campaign. But the House has been considered safe for the Republicans. It ton's sexual indiscretions.

After the last protester was escorted out, might now, however, be up for grabs.

Earlier, House Speaker Paul Ryan chose Obama went back to chastising the Republito distance himself from Trump's campaign. cans, "Now I hear then some people saying, Donald Trump retorted saying he did not 'Well, I'm a Christian so I'm all about forgiveness because nobody's perfect,"' Obama said. care for his support. Arizona Senator John "Well, that is true. I am certainly not per- McCain — the 2008 presidential nominee — fect. .. and I, too, believe in forgiveness and re- also withdrew his endorsement over the demption, but that doesn't mean I'm going to weekend following the release of the controversial video. elect the person president."

And after denouncing his Republican The tape could be the Republicans' undoing, with the Democrats, who are trying to mates on Twitter, Tramp turned his ire on retake the House and the Senate, releasing Clinton at a rally in Florida.

Tramp seized on the hacked emails of two ads in at least two House races as well as the hard-fought New Hampshire Senate con- Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, test. Several GOP Senate candidates in top- that were made public by Wikileaks this tier races, including New Hampshire, already week, accusing the Obama administration of announced over the weekend that they were colluding with the democratic nominee over its investigation into her use of a private email pulling support from Trump.

With latest polls revealing that Donald server.

Caribbean News .Net Thursday 13th October, 2016 Trump's numbers are falling, the fallout could

Despite Apple's regular updates, concerned Theresa . V .

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LONDON, U.K. - Amidst incFeasing fears of hacking - government officials across the globe are tightening the noose on possible leaks that could wreck political parties and damage economies. Case in point: U.S. Presidential Elections.

Now, the fear of hackers penetrating safeguards and firewalls, has led the United Kingdom to ban digital devices in top secret governmental meetings.

In a first. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May has banned ministers from wearing Apple Watches in cabinet meetings, believing that wearables can be used as listening devices - over fears of being hacked by Russians.

In the past, other Apple products such as iPhones and iPads had been banned from such meetings.

The fear, partly emerges from recent reports that highlighted the issue of remote hacking of audio on an Apple Watch.

Apple, however, claimed that it had rectified the issue through improved memory handling.

Denying concerns about the watch's security. Apple has also listed investigations and updates related to the watch software. It also sends regular software updates for wearables.

Although there is no known incident of Apple watches being hacked since the fix. running on iOS makes it vulnerable. May believes.

While China and North Korea are new kids on the block. Russia has always been suspected of breaking into foreign governments, companies and other organisations in the U.S. and its western allies.

The most recent accusations came when after months of indirect claims. U.S. formally ac-

cused the Russian | government of hacking into U.S. presidential campaigns.

The hacks were reported to be a brainchild of the Russian government and other separate groups within the country. Recently. World AntiDoping Agency also became prey to Russian hackers that led to mm leaks of thousands of medical documents of top athletes including Venus Williams and Simone Biles.

The Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security in a joint statement had said.

"The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organisations. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S. election process."

Although May, who has been known for her aggressive government surveillance policies, has hit the panic button in the case - disconnecting the devices from Wi-Fi would simply help in avoiding hacks.

However, with mounting intelligent hack reports surfacing every day. Apple watch is the latest addition to the list of banned devices in a government meeting.

For now. May wants her people to go analog!

Caribbean News.Net Wednesday 12th October, 2016

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

17

Emphasis or Real Estate, Taxes and Business & TAXES The Edgar Henry Column ■ You can 'twist it' or 'turn it' as much as you like; and no matter what's our station in life, at some time or other in our daily routine we are all strapped for immediate cash. Some of us have reserves while others have practically no way to turn in the event of an emergency. Given the present economic climate, with the US General Elections less than a month away, we at times find ourselves in this difficult cash flow predicament. Where do we turn and what do we do?

Most people have a reserve fund stacked away under a mattress or a favorite hiding place in their homes - at times unknown to their spouses - or in a safety deposit box, or by simply raiding the kids' piggy bank with a promise to repay them at a later date. Others spend every dime and are natural predators, not because they are spendthrifts but simply because the economy warrants necessary spending to satisfy basic needs.

Sickness and repairs to homes are unexpected expenses that pop up out of the blues these days especially if you have young children. Speaking of children, as they grow older, they move out of your home, to be on their own or probably got married. One would think that one's financial support is over now that they are gone?

Wrong! Not so. At times it is as if they are still around the house. After all they are your kids and you should try not to neglect them.

Here are a few unexpected experiences that pop up. Funeral arrangements for immediate or a close family member, additional school fees for the kids, a sudden busted water pipe, accidental cuts while cooking, automobile woes and a number of unforeseen nuances emerge without warning that have to be addressed forthwith. In a perfect world, you could easily cover such surprise expenses by dipping into your emergency fund if you have one.

Where do you unearth that extra cash?

Odds are, in an emergency, most people would be scrambling for cash.

Let's look into some options to get the extra cash you need.

w s

a recognized car that is in good shape and the resale value is high, this may be a great possibility to secure that extra cash.

USING CREDIT CARD CHECKS Save those credit-card balance transfer checks that show up in your mailbox. Most issuers will allow you to simply write out a check to yourself and cash it for any need you may have.

The catch with balance transfer offers is in the fine print. Most tack on a processing fee of about 3% of the amount you borrow. While some cards cap the fee at $75 or so. That's another $150 owed right off the bat if you borrow $5,000. Low interest rate offers can be deceptive, too, especially if you already carry a balance.

Your payments are going to be credited toward the lowest interest rate balance first. So while you pay down your 0% transfer, your other card purchases will continue to accrue interest

O.G.

at the regular 13.42% (or higher) rate.

Even if you don't carry a balance, there's no grace period on balance transfers. From the second that check clears, you're paying interest.

Before you sign that check, it's worth putting in a call to your creditcard issuer to ask if the rate you have is the best it can offer you. Cash advances have all the same pitfalls asbalance transfers, but they carry interest rates as high as 25%, as well as hefty

SHIPPING

&

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DIP INTO YOUR 401(K) Make no mistake: Tapping your 401(k) is a loan of last resort. Essentially, you're making a low-interest loan to yourself and paying it back over a five-year period. Employers make dipping into your account before retirement deceptively easy, with most offering a maximum loan of $50,000 (continued on page 26)

BUSINESS

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18

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Guyana

sitting

undiscovered

on

much

wealth

- say geologists; mapping exercise to uncover precious minerals

By Ariana Gordon WITH Government's announcement of the discovery of lithium, geologists are on track to complete a mapping exercise over the next three years to uncover some of the other types of precious minerals here.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, tw o geologists told Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday that lithium was first discovered in Guyana approximately five years ago.

According to them, other minerals were also discovered at the time of exploration.

Columbite-Tantalie (ColTan). Rare Earth Elements (REE). PGE group of elements. which includes platinum. palladium, and iridium are just a few of the minerals discovered by the local geologists over the years.

"Outside of the traditional gold and diamond there are many other minerals... the Geological Services Department of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has been charged with the question of endowment," said one of the geologists.

According to the expert. Guyanese are sitting on much wealth unknown to them.

"There is a lack of

knowledge of what minerals can be found in Guyana. We need to go out...map the country and in tw o or three years we will be able to say clearly all of the resources that are here... the quantities and values."

Referencing an article published in the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper last Sunday on the discovery of lithium here, the geologist said. "We are at the first stage" while noting that "we can't as a small nation rely on a one crop economy... we need to get an understanding of all of our minerals... the Geological Services Department discovered lithium about five years ago... this was far ahead of time before this company (Guyana Strategic Minerals) is going to roll out this project."

While lithium is a chemical element that is derived from stones and is used in rechargeable batteries found in Mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles, the other minerals discoverable would have significant value.

Lithium has been discovered in northern Guyana in mining districts One. Three.

Four and Five but it demands deeper exploration.

The geologists disclosed that they are currently using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) Point Interpolation

Crewmen OMADATT Basdeo and Mahesh Singh, who returned alive from a fishing expedition without two of their colleagues, are blaming each other for the tragedy as police investigations intensify.

Samuel Dabideen. the 43-year-old captain of the vessel, and his 23-year-old son Arjohn Persaud are reportedly missing at sea.

The men are from De Willem. West Coast Demerara.

Omadatt Basdeo. 32. called "Budha". lives on the West Coast of Demerara; and Mahesh Singh. 35. lives at Cummings Lodge.

East Coast Demerara.

Basdeo on Sunday gave police a statement in which

clash

i

VT ÂŤ Geologists examine a map during an exploration exercise in Guyana method to uncover the hidden minerals.

It was explained that the IDW method examines the value of the mineral. The assigned values to unknown points are calculated with a weighted average of the values available at the known points.

The geologists argued that with more exploration, discovery in large quantities is likely. They believe that the "future is bright"

and called for there to be equal amounts of focus being placed on other areas in the extractive industry.

"The extractive industry is not only about gold and diamond and now oil as we are made to believe. It is about precious stones, and other minerals that are rich in the earth ...all minerals are equally valuable." said the geologist.

The geologists reminded of the mandate given to the

over father,

he blamed Singh for the disappearance of the father and son. but Singh is reportedly not accepting blame and is saying that Basdeo should examine himself.

Reports are that the men left on the fishing expedition from the shores of Ruby. East Bank Essequibo on September 27.

2016. Relatives were told that the captain and his son went missing on September 29. but they received the information from the owner of the vessel only on Tuesday last.

Relatives said they were told that once on the high sea. Singh was left on the larger vessel to over-

V

son

GGMC by President David Granger when he took office and said, "it is our responsibility to unlock Guyana's mineral potential."

The Geological Services Department has put forward its many projects it intends to work on in the near future. all of which have been approved by the Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, in an invited comment. Minister within the Ministry of Natural Re-

disappearance

* r r

ML Feared dead: Arjohn Persaud look the three men. who ventured out in a smaller boat with a 1.000-pound seine to catch fish. Singh

sources. Simona Broomes told Guyana Chronicle that much work is being done in the extractive sector to ensure all Guyanese benefit.

She said it is with great pride that the GGMC. under the stewardship of her Ministry has continued exploration operations to discover the country's wealth.

She explained that while there is need for much more exploration to be done by geologists, she is confident that Guyana will continue to shine in the extractive sector.

"I have said this before, there are many other miners apart from gold, diamond, bauxite and now oil...if we become knowledgeable about these untouched resources we have and what they can be used for. you could imagine the benefits that will be accraed."

Minister Broomes stressed that in the future all Guyanese would be able to benefit from the country's resources.

She is of the belief that with the mapping exercise to be conducted, there is room for many surprises.

"We are looking to work with investors to develop these minerals... this would really push the entire extractive industry and the country's economy," Broomes who was a miner told Guvana Chronicle.

Feared dead: Samuel Dabideen

Omadatt Basdeo

eventually lost sight of the men. and decided to search the waters with the vessel.

He gave up the search two

days after the men went missing, and decided to return to Guyana, where the owner of the vessel was contacted and told what

at sea

had occurred.

Basdeo claimed that the boat he and the two others were in capsized, and he swam three miles before reaching the shores of Trinidad, where he sought the assistance of the police and coast guard there.

Relatives say they have obtained a letter from the Ministry of Public Security to send to Trinidad to assist with the search for the missing men.

"We would like all the neighbouring countries to assist in reporting any sighting to the relevant authorities in Guyana, so we can know exactly what is happening," one relative said.

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

19

Guyana

shaping

ties

Islamic

Develnpment

By Neil Marks KEY executives of the Islamic Development Bank are on their first visit to Guyana and the government here expects to shape a financing partnership by the time discussions are over in the next few days.

"We want to be offering the full package of development assistance, including finance, but not exclusively financing." said Mr Sayed Aqa. Vice President of the Bank. He is leading a delegation for talks with the government and the private sector.

"The Bank's objectives and priorities coincide with ours and our development agenda, so we are excited in trying to develop this partnership agenda as quickly as possible so we could get projects to excite the bank and have them financed."

Winston Jordan, the Finance Minister said Wednesday evening.

Guyana acceded to membership of the Islamic Development Bank in March this year. It was seen as a signal development as the country attempted to join the

Y*

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XV

Minister of Finance Winston Jordan shakes hands with Mr Sayed Aqa, Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank at the Guyana Marriott Hotel Wednesday evening (Delano Williams photo) Bank ever since it became a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1998. as this is a prerequisite to joining the Bank.

Speaking ahead of a welcome reception for the executives of the bank at the

Courts

By Ariana Gordon THE long-anticipated night court will begin today at the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts starting at 15:00hrs and ending at 20:00hrs daily.

In a notice published in the daily newspapers by acting Chancellor of the Judiciary. Carl Singh, the public is being advised that "there will be additional sittings of the Magistrates' Courts in Georgetown."

Regular sittings in the court will continue from 09:00 hrs to 14:30 hrs.

"Persons with queries or needing assistance with locating their court, can contact the help desk, prominently located on the ground floor of the Georgetown Magistrates' Court." the notice said.

The move to have night court is aimed at easing

Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. Minister Jordan said that Guyana is excited about the partnership.

He said this was especially so since it comes at a time when access to concessionary resources is

begin

overcrowding at the country's prison facilities, as well as significantly reducing the huge backlog of cases which have kept several inmates on remand for years.

Prior to the March 3 prison riot. Government had discussed plans to commence night court in an effort to ease the prison overcrowding which eventually claimed the lives of 17 inmates; however, the move to have the night court started was fasttracked by this situation.

It is believed that with the start of this court, opportunities exist for those placed before the courts to appear before a magistrate and pay their fines without having to be absent from work.

President of the Guyana Bar Association. Christopher Ram had said the

becoming more difficult and membership to the Bank will afford Guyana an alternative source of financing to highly concessional resources, including grants and interest free loans.

"We have to be excited

with

Bank

because we are aware of what the bank does, we are aware of what the Bank has done in our neighbouring country Suriname... and we are hoping that we can have similar or greater things."

Minister Jordan stated.

The areas of intervention of the Islamic Development Bank include human development. rural development and food safety, infrastructural development, trade among member countries, as well as private sector development, research and development.

Guyana is the second country in the Americas to join the Bank, following on after Suriname.

In April this year. Suriname announced that it would benefit from a US$1.75 billion loan from the Islamic Development Bank and was first intended to be used to finance imports of social merchandise, such as basic goods and medicines and fund infrastructural and agricultural projects.

Mr Saifullah Abid. Senior Country Manager responsible for Guyana said that the country has a lot of potential, and he sees

night

sittings

â&#x2013; -

M A 11,1 II

1

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Georgetown Magistrates' Court association supports and will continue to support initiatives that will accelerate the judicial process.

He had expressed some concern about the number of judges and magistrates that are available to facilitate night court.

"We have to ensure that

there are enough judges and magistrates to do the night job because we cannot have the same people working during the day working in the nights."

Ram said.

From all indication, it appears as though Government's focus will be at the

potential particularly in the agricultural sector.

He said this would be ideal because Guyana can help meet the world demand for food and agricultural industries can create jobs for Guyanese.

"We hope we can have some modest contribution to the development of Guyana, building on the lessons we have learnt in Suriname. and other member countries." said Mr Aqa. "We hope to link Guyana to other member countries so they can benefit from them as well, in addition to the financing." he added.

The Bank was established in December 1973 and officially opened its doors for business on October 20. 1975. with Headquarters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It also operates through regional offices in Kazakhstan. Senegal. Malaysia and the Kingdom of Morocco.

The Bank was established with the purpose of fostering economic development and social progress in member countries and Muslim communities.

level of the Magistrates' Court but the President of the Bar Association said "ideally they should do both the Magistrate and High Courts because there is backlog at both levels."

On March 16. the Prime Minister led a Government team to a meeting to dis-

cuss the backlog of court cases with a team from the Judiciary, headed by Chancellor Singh.

Public Security Minister. Khemraj Ramjattan and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.

Basil Williams were part of the Government team.

On the Chancellor's team were Chief Justice Yonnette Cummings-Edwards; Director of Public Prosecutions. Shalimar Ali-Hack; and Chief Magistrate. Ann McLennan.

That meeting was deemed a success by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister described the meeting as "very successful", adding that there were "wide-ranging discussions aimed at trying to get trials speedily held, to clear the congestion in the prisons".

20

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Nagamootoo

conferred with

honorary

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; accepts award in honour of Tamil ancestors THE BHARATH University has conferred Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo an Honoris Causa Degree (Doctor of Letters) on October 5, 2016 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister was honoured at a special convocation during his visit to Tamil Nadu, where he attended an Economic Conference.

Earlier, on October 4, the Madras Development Society presented to the Prime Minister its highest award, the Crown Jewel of Tamils, for his outstanding achievements in public life.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo was hailed as the first person with Tamil ancestry who lias been elevated to the post of Prime Minster and First Vice-President.

In his acceptance address at Bliarath University, Prime Minister urged that education should be accessible to all and that academic excellence should be put to the service

*

A fully garlanded Nagamootoo at the special convocation ceremony of the people for their social elevation.

He also noted that education should not be a connnodity and must not be done for profits but as a service to humanity.

He explained that for education to be of any worth, those who enter public life should serve as a duty and not for self-interest and personal rewards.

Prime Minister Nagamootoo explained that he had refused previous offers of both university and national awards, but was persuaded to accept an award from an institute of

lugher education in Tamil Nadu as a tribute to his ancestors who left the port of Madras in 1847 for the then British Guiana.

For a mile leading up to

the university entrance, huge banners were draped on lamp posts and in other public places, acclaiming the Guyanese Prime Minister who was greeted at the university by a large crowd waving Guyana and India hags.

Prime Minister was presented with ceremonial shawls and bouquets and a garland that measured some five feet.

The Honorary Doctor of Lehers Degree was presented by the founding chancellor of the university Dr Jagathrakshakan. in the presence of Dr Awi Natarajan, Chancellor of the University; Dr M Punnavaikko, Pro-Chancellor and President of the University Council; and Dr Sundeep Anand.

Accompanying the Prime Minister was his wife Mrs Sita Nagamootoo, who was recognised by the university for her role as an educationist.

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Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and wife Sita Nagamootoo at the special convocation hosted by the Bharath University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Guyana, Suriname take steps to safeguard agrl sectors SENIOR officials of agriculture-related institutions in Guyana and Suriname have agreed to create an agricultural risk map and disaster risk management system aimed at reducing climate risks to their respective agricultural sectors.

The officials made the pledge at the end of a threeday workshop on agriculture risk-mapping, facilitated by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IIC A).

The workshop, held in the Ministry of Agriculture Boardroom, conclud-

ed last Wednesday. During the interaction, there was a unanimous agreement that risk-mapping was the way forward to ensure sustainable agriculture and food security i y. in the tw o countries, given v n the threats posed by natural VI, disasters such as flooding and drought.

It was agreed that climatic change in the Caribbean presents significant challenges for disaster response and agriculture management.

Officials noted that data is jJhpJ essential to determine the probability of such occurrences. as this information Guyanese pose with their Surinamese counterparts at the can be used to develop early warning systems to reduce conclusion of the three-day risk-mapping workshop

vulnerability and increase resilience to hazards.

During the workshop. the specialists were trained to use specialised software to produce step-bystep workflows for creating geospatial risk maps that pertain to impacts and hazards that are encountered both by Guyana and Suriname.

The local Ministry of Agriculture has a very comprehensive plan for Agriculture Disaster Risk Management (ADRM), and the Surinamese have agreed to work with Guyana to learn how they can put together an ADRM.

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

21

African Holocaust Day observed

CDA

makes

case

for

reparations

By Svetlana Marshall Afro-Guyanese paid floral tributes to their ancestors as they observed African Holocaust Day (MAAFA Day) on Wednesday.

For over 400 years, more than 15 million men. women and children were the victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, the United Nation (UN) has said, describing it as one of the darkest chapters in human history.

In fact, the African Holocaust is the greatest continuing tragedy the world has ever seen. It was also the most impacting social event in the history of humanity.

It is a Holocaust which is constantly denied, mitigated and trivialized.

At a libation ceremony at the Seawall Bandstand in Georgetown, the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) joined with other African-centered Organisations globally to observe African Holocaust Day under the theme "Reparatory Justice for African Holocaust through Development."

In his message. ACDAs Director. Dr. Eric Phillips called on his African brothers and sisters to know their history, positing that contrary to the history books.

Africans were the first to have arrived in this part of the world.

He said "Luzia." the skeleton which was found in Lapa Vermelha. Brazil in 1975 was proven to be an African woman who lived 12. 000 years ago. pointing out that the Indigenous People crossed the Bering Strait 10.000 years ago.

"We must stop saying that we were not the first people because we are...

If we are going to demand reparatory justice, we have do it on the basis of truth and this is the truth." Dr. Phillips said.

The ACDA Director also rabbished the argument put by historians that only 15 million Africans were victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

"Europeans keep telling us that 15 million people were brought to this part of the world. What they forget conveniently to tell us is that

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Afro-Guyanese pay floral tributes to their ancestors whose bones were scattered across the Atlantic Ocean during the Transatlantic Slave Trade "Mi -v..

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An Afro-Guyanese woman performs an African ritual at the seawall in observance of Holocaust Day

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" hi lii'iLi ACDA Director Dr Eric Phillips calling on Afro-Guyanese to know the truth about their history

in the year 1650. both Europe and African had a 100 million people, and by 1850.

200 years later. Europe's population grew from a 100 million to 265 million and Africa's population shrunk from a 100 million to 95 million." he explained.

According to him. 170 million Africans were affected. "Let us stop buying into this injustice of saying that only 15 million people were brought here. The numbers are a 170 million.

They say it is 15 million because they want to reduce the reparation they have to pay and we have fallen into that trap." he contended.

Zooming in closer to home. Dr. Phillips said Africans laboured tremendously for the development of Guyana. and should be compensated.

"Of course you know what we did. We drove back the sea. We cleared 15. 000 square miles of Guyana or 18 per cent of Guyana.

We humanized nine million acres of land. We installed 2.58 million miles of drainage. We built the seawalls and 2176 miles of river defense, and our ancestors dug a 100 million tons of earth with their bare hands and 450. 000 of them died doing that." he pointed out.

He said the Indigenous People were given reparation and so should Africans. "If they can get 13.8 per cent - and we blessed their hearts, it's theirs - we who died in large numbers.

450. 000 of us. and who were enslaved for 200 years, shouldn't we get 18 per cent of Guyana? That is justice."

He said all Afro-Guyanese should join the movement for reparation. However. he said Afro-Guyanese must become self-reliant and create their own economy while demanding equality of access.

Director of the Museum of African Heritage Jenny Daily, in offering brief remarks. said the crime committed against their African ancestors is an opened wound.

"We cannot rest until there is justice. But there is a justice we can do for (our) self. Do not be dis-empowered. do not be uneducated and do not be economically weak, do not destroy family and do not disunite." she encouraged.

"But every time we drop out of school, do crime, disrespect our history and our culture, we are doing an injustice to their memory. We are confirming to the legacy of slavery." she added.

ACDA, in a statement, pointed out that October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus ventured into this part of the known world, starting the unbridled discrimination of indigenous peoples and cultures. According to ACDA, it was Columbus' discovery that ushered in chattel slaverv.

22

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

British

tour IN June 2015, David Nicholas was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in his hometown in the United Kingdom. The accident resulted in his left leg being amputated. It was a wake-up call for David and his partner Kerry that they really needed to travel the world.

Today they are in Guyana, exploring the beauty of the country's rich flora and fauna and the hospitality which they described as "beyond what we expected." Their aim is to travel within ah 10 adnunistrative regions of the country.

The couple, who are parents to three grown sons, left England in July this year for Brazil. At the end of September, the Guyana Chronicle encountered the British couple in Nickerie. Suriname. and after several days in the Dutch-speaking country, they crossed over to Guyana.

Their journey started in late July when they travelled to Rio in Brazil. They said that they subscribed to Airbnb network, a privately-owned online marketplace that enables people to list. find, then rent vacahon homes for a processing fee. The network has over 2.000.000 listings in 34.000 cities and 191 countries. It was founded in August 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco. California.

While in Brazil, they stayed at the homes of several persons for several weeks and even checked out the Rio Olympic Games while there. They also visited the Paralympic Games and David's aim at that event was to find a technical official to assist him in adjusting his prosthetic leg. At the time also. Kerry was given an opportunity to volunteer as a teacher to persons who could not speak English. Most

couple

on

explores of her work was done at the "favelas". the depressed areas on the hillsides of the busy city.

But their plan to travel the continent was on their minds, hence they planned, at the time, to travel as far north as possible, which would lead them to these shores.

According to the couple. Venezuela was never really in their tourism plans as they cited the economic situation there. As time progressed. they decided to move on to Suriname and were able to move around the country as they learnt about the Maroon tribes there through an acquaintance.

They visited a Maroon village. Pikien Santi. outside Paramaribo. They spent several days with the Maroons before moving west to Nickerie. the border district on the edge of the Corenlyne River. While there, they encountered this publication and noted their interest in travelling to Guyana.

"We heard about Guyana and someone said don't go to this place or that place in Georgetown, but we find it totally different."

Kerry said of the capital city. The couple explained that persons advised them of the "depressed areas" in the city: but according to them, they are eager to find out what Guyana has to offer.

"We went to the city, downtown by the bus terminal, someone took us to Demerara House (Demico House) and we love the architecture of the city." said David, adding "we found out that the Route 32 buses take you to Parika. so there you go".

But the couple plans to explore the country and this weekend they were set to travel to Lethem in the Rupununi by air and move on to the Smama village before settling for a few

world

Guyana

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Kerry and David pose with a Maroon chief , Boisa Pinas Suriname days at the Iwokrama Centre.

The couple noted that they were anticipating an informative and exciting trip to the Rupununi . and they are expected to travel back to the city by road several days later.

"We want to see what it's like by road." said David, noting that they've worked hard over the years. They both agreed that life is not only about working.

Once in the capital city, the couple plans to head north, and their trip would culminate at

during their visit to

Momca in the North West District. They will then leave Guyana and return to Brazil where they are expected to spend Christmas.

Now in their mid-50s. for years they always had big plans to travel the world and see what other countries have to offer tourists.

David's accident was the start of their move and as time goes by, they expressed the hope that they can tell their grandchildren stories of people who live in other countries, including Guyana.

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s ■ Maroon descendants washing their clothing at the riverside

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Lithium,

smart

By Ariana Gordon LITHIUM has been discovered in Guyana and the Ministry of Natural Resources is engaging the Guyana Strategic Minerals, an entity that is responsible for prospecting for the mineral.

Lithium is a chemical element that is derived from stone. It is used in rechargeable batteries found in mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, electrical vehicles, pacemakers, toys and clocks.

"The company has been here doing work... they have been engaged with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)...they have been here for a while and they are currently exploring land-related matters with the GGMC." Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resomces. Simona Broomes. said on Saturday.

Oftentimes, the extractive sector refers to gold and diamonds. as well as oil. but precious stones are never mentioned. Additionally.

Lithium carbonate or lithium salt is also used as a mood-stabilising drag.

The minister disclosed that former Minister of Public Works under the People's Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration.

Robeson Benn. is a consultant to Guyana Strategic Minerals.

UN

dubs

THE mining town of Linden has been categorised as a prospective World Tourism Destination by a representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The announcement was made at a recently held World Tourism Summit in Chonqing, China that was attended

by Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland and Regional Chairman Renis Morian.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle. Mayor Holland said that he was amused to see Linden's rich scenic beauty and natural picturesque landscape and majestic sandy hills being featured in the presence of international leaders.

The city of Chonqing is now on the verge of twinning with Linden, to not only develop its untapped tourism gems. Also high-

used

in

phones,

"Lithium is one of the strategic minerals in electronic appliances - cell phones and other micro- electronic applications- space explorations. capsules.

"Guyana has a possible occurrence or associated or geologic provinces for its discoveryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there is a network to deliver it and an intensive search to â&#x20AC;&#x201D;to find a resource that is exploitable in Guyana." Broomes stated.

Minister Broomes said the discovery of other minerals gives hope to miners.

She said while the majority of Guyanese are focused on oil and gold, she believes that there is much more to the extractive industry that can provide significant benefits to Guyana.

"People need not give up hope." she declared as she stressed, "the industry is not about gold alone."

'We are not educated about some of these stones... I want people to appreciate the extractive industry for all of what it has to offer, not only one or tw o minerals."

The Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources said globally, there is a growing demand for lithium.

"We are looking to work with investors to develop many of these minerals... this would really push the entire extractive industry."

Broomes told the Guyana Chronicle.

Meanwhile. Broomes. who worked as a miner be-

Linden

a

23

for

discovered

here

number of women involved in the system.. .It can be easily done.. .dredge licences are renewed annually, likewise land and other related mining licences."

Meanwhile, the minister believes that with a comprehensive database and the strengthening of systems within the GGMC. many of the processes that take long periods will be significantly shortened.

"The system is too prolonged. GGMC must have specific timelines to which they would use to deal with miners...an investigation should not take years...and persons should not always have to come to the central office; information should be available at all locations."

Broomes remarked.

Since taking office as Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources with specific responsibility for mining. Broomes said she has seen little improvement in the operations of the GGMC and its officers. She strongly believes that with proper management, things would gradually be where they ought to.

"There is little improvement within the operations of GGMC.. .but while it has not been significant. I have noted the changes that have taken place. On the ground, the mindset of officers has changed and they are acting differently and we are seeing results."

She sought to assure the public that while blame has been placed on the GGMC as the body responsible for regulating the mining sector.

Broomes said "there are good persons out there... some of them really work hard and try to do their jobs the right way...not all of them are to be blamed."

Notwithstanding her position. much work needs to be done.

/p

.I

fore becoming a parliamentarian and minister of government. said a request has been made of the GGMC to create a database of miners.

She said having an up-todate database will ensure that GGMC. the regulating authority according to law. is in a better position to monitor miners.

DATABASE While the minister wants there to be specific focus on women miners, a group that has grown significantly over the years, she believes that a thorough database of miners and mining activities will prove beneficial to all.

"I would like for the da-

tabase to be done before the end of the year; by the New Year. 2017. we should have a system in place...it is not hard, it is not something you have to go to university for." she added.

The minister has stressed that a database of women miners in a male-dominated industry is also critical. She said over the years, women have been looked upon as inferior in the industry, but have shown that their strength and resilience are not inferior.

"When I founded the Guyana Women Miners Association (GWMA). there was a serious gender problem in the industry... It still exists.

It is time that we know the

prospective

lighted were the natural rock springs that are located in China and used to captivate tourists. There are several of these natural springs available in Linden and Mayor Holland is looking to take a pattern of the way China developed their springs as a means of bringing in revenue through tourism. "China utilised those natural springs as one aspect of their tourist attractions. If you examine the natural springs, they have the limestone rock that contains chemicals to clean your skin, and they have built a pool around it and persons would pay just to go in there and bathe, so that is one way we can utilise and promote our springs because we have many, even better than those in China that we can turn into such spots." Holland explained.

With Linden's vast sandy

batteries

World

Tourism

Jffecr â&#x2013; ;y ' * 4 10V 301

hills and splendid clay mountains. the Mayor is looking to invest in these areas via air car operations, where tourists and visitors can pay to fly over, for a view of what has been left after decades of bauxite mining. The air cars will overlook the beautiful blue lake and surrounding scenery that are often used for photo shoots and local movie shoots. The municipality is also communicating

with a Guyanese Hollywood actor to sell Linden's touristic scenes to Hollywood for movie shoots.

Also available for tourism are several jungle trails where tourists can get a glimpse of the various species of exotic flora and fauna. Communities such as Buck Town.

Rockstone and Malali can also be developed as tourism destinations. With Region 10 being the only region with

SAFETY The minister wants more to be done to ensure that both miners and GGMC officers are safe in the hinterland regions (mining districts).

She said safety must be made a priority for miners. As a former miner, the minister said she has walked the hills and valleys of Guyana and she has seen many issues relative to safety. She believes that oftentimes, miners are so caught up in consuming large portions of alcohol and 'having a good time.' that they party every night and go to the mining pits "drank or high on alcohol or marijuana."

"That is dangerous! Safety should not only be seen as technical, but practical." she said, pointing to the prevalence of Kaimoos in mining communities as a contributing factor. "These shops are usually about prostitution, drinking and smoking.. .we need to have regularised shops in the mining industry." she added.

Destination

the three main rivers passing through. Holland is of the opinion that these tranquil waterways in addition to the black water creeks and springs can also be used to develop tourism. "We have beautiful waterways. If you look at the Demerara river at nights you would see the beauty of that river. We are looking for someone to invest into a boat that could be used for cruises. Persons would pay and have food and music at nights, like a mini cruise, so that is what we are looking to develop for the river." the Mayor said.

The municipality is also mulling the establishment of a heritage site where Linden's rich history and heritage will be showcased.

"The heritage site will form part of our tourism package where persons can flock in the thousands to take pictures

and to indulge in our rich history and attraction of the waterways. Persons must be able to find that connection with their heritage." he said.

Holland revealed that the city of Chongqing has also committed to assisting in whatever way so as to have these goals materialize.

With Linden being easily accessible from the city and interior locations; with its low crime rate, hospitable residents, adequate accommodation and a plethora of choices to indulge in nature, Holland is of the opinion that with local and international support to develop Linden's tourism potential, Linden in a few years can become a member of the World's Tourism Cities Federation. This way, Linden will not only be attractive to tourists but to investors as well.

24

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

New York Chronicle Horoscope AMES (Mar. 21 - April 20) Take a short business trip if possible. Someone you care about may not be too pleased with you. You are better off visiting friends or relatives than entertaining at home. Be inquisitive about unfamiliar circumstances. Your lucky day next week will be Saturday.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) You could lose a good friend because of it. Be willing to listen, but don't be fooled. You can make money if you concentrate on producing services or goods that will make domestic chores easier. Things may not be as they sound. Your lucky day next week will be Thursday.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) You will get along well with your colleagues this week. Minor accidents may occur- if you don't concentrate on what you're doing. Problems with your- boss could lead to unemployment. Exhaustion combined with overindulgence could result in minor health problems. Your lucky day next week will be Friday.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) Don't be shy; show your abilities! You will gain knowledge through your adventure. Unfortunately, your personal life may suffer from a lack spare time. Your ability to put a deal together will surprise others Your lucky day next week will be Wednesday.

tlfrr

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Do not get upset about situations you cannot change. Business partnerships should turn out to be quite lucrative. Do not let in-laws upset you. You can have quite the romantic ad venture if you take time to get to know your mate all over again. Your lucky day next week will be Monday.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 23) You are best not to confide in anyone right now. Socializing or travel will lead to partnerships. Your relationship is undergoing some changes. You may find that your family responsibilities are piling up .Your lucky day next week will be Wednesday LIBRA (Sept 24 - Oct. 23) You may be in an extremely passionate mood this week. Avoid purchasing expensive items. Go out with friends who are positive and supportive. You can make gains if you look at long-term investments.

Your lucky day next week will be Saturday.

ISSUE18 CROSSWORD ANSWER A V I VHr A f L III ■O P I PAL SMC DP I N KUA 1 18 19 20 GOATEE E T H A L ■ U R NH EDGE 21 22 23 24 EDG E MU 1 25 27 26 sTe r v P T 28 29 30 31 T'R Y N G S E ■ 32 33 35 36 TEN ■ " 37 EOS EIS CAROLE 38 39 40 M I S ■ G MEN T R U ■ 1 ■ 41 42 45 S P Y A R YEAS • ■ 5. Speedy steed 16 47 48 6. Like Capp's Abner 1 30 51 53 54 55 52 7. "Enterprise" doctor ■ 8. Contour 36 57 58 9. Take the chin ■ 39 60 61 (2 wds.) i _ 10. Half a round of golf ACROSS 40. Director Lupino 11. Origin 1. Lowe or Everett 41. Taxing agency 17.

-Porridge Hot" 5. Charitable gift (abbr.)

19. Actress Adams of 9. Election winners 44. Dreary "Enchanted" 12. Sonny of Sonny & 46. Class that teaches 21. Pickle herb Cher sewing (2 wds.)

22. Garfield's pal 13. Sumptuous 49. Natalie Cole's dad 23. Was carried 14. Equal score 50. Baker's flavoring 27. Pea's place 15. Broadcast 52. Stadium shouts 29. Well-groomed 16. Chicago gangster 56. Aunt or uncle (abbr.) 30. Actor Alan (2 wds.)

57. Just the Two " 31. Actual 18. Chat (2 wds.)

33. Cloud regions 20. Unzipped 35. Sorrow 58. Military group 21. Scale start (3 wds.)

59. Stag's mate 39. Soccer player Hamm 24. Affirmative reply 42. Transplant 60. Tilts 25. Groom's response 43. Time travel genre (hyph.)

61. "Goodness!"

(2 wds.)

(2 wds.)

45. Play a guitar 46. Unyielding 26. Bark sharply DOWN 28. Asterisk 1. "Ghost Whisperer" 47. Butter substitute 48. French lass (abbr.)

32. Tupperware tops network 34. Thumbs-down votes 51. Saucer's mate 2. Gardener's tool 53. Take your pick 36. A Gardner 3. Actress B. 54. That guy 37. Onionlike vegetable Davis 55. Barnyard home 38. Beaver barrier 4. Evade CROSSWORD 2 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 ■1 12 |" 1 15 17 "

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SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) You need to spend some time with individuals who have more experience than you. Hidden matters are likely to surface. Attend trade shows that will allow you to look at new products. Relatives may play an important role in your social activities. Your lucky day next week will be Wednesday.

SAGITTAMUS (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) Relationships will become stronger. Talk to someone you trust in order to see the whole picture. You'll look guilty if you don't lay your cards on the table. Turn things around, make sure that they do their share. Your lucky day next week will be Monday.

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CAPMCORN (Dec 22-Jan. 20) Don't second guess yourself, just go to it. this week will be rather hectic on the domestic scene. You may feel that someone at work is holding you back. You can change your living arrangements.

Your lucky day next week will be Thursday.

AQUAMUS (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) Romance will unfold through business trips. You will have a great day if you just say what you feel. Real estate should be lucrative for you. It will do you some good. Your lucky day next week will be Sunday.

PISCES (Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) This is not the best time to take a risk, to gamble or spend money you really can't afford to part with. Your willingness to help others can and will lead to fatigue if you don't learn to say no. Most partner problems are a result of both people not living up to their promises. Your lucky day next week will be Saturday.

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Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

COUNCILMAN

25

WILLIAMS

ON PASSING

OF KEN

STATEMEN n

THOMPSON

BROOKLYN, NY: Council Member Jumaane D. Williams

(D-Brooklyn), released the following

statement following the death of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. Thompson joined his an-

f

cestors on Sunday at the age of 50, five days after he revealed he was battling cancer.

"I am shocked, stunned and saddened by this sudden lost.

Anyone who looks back at his entire body of work will find a successful and impressive man who was committed to social justice; from seeking justice for Abner Louima to exonerating dozens of innocent men, he has proven his resolve to equity. My prayers for peace and comfort go out to his family, friends, coworkers and all who was touched by his life or work.

M

"There are no adequate words I can offer that can come close to soothing the wound that comes from losing a loved one. His death will leave a permanent void.

"I have no doubt that in the coming weeks and months there will be many occasions where we celebrate his life and work. I pray that God grants his family and friends strength in this period of mourning.

Democracy (from page 7) supporters - the pervasive and transparent ignorance of issues in general, and his adversarial relationship with the truth in particular.

From time to time both Democrats and some Republicans, afraid of Trump's angry legion, have summoned up the courage to point out the fact that Trump routinely gives simple, sound bite answers to complex questions. Observe: "Listen, folks.. .1 will not only knock out ISIS but I am going to do it fast." And, "we should have taken the oil and ISIS would never have happened." Of course, these bombastic, bully-tinged statements never questioned or challenges by the children in Trump's comer who believe everything that "Daddy says." They have distilled and boiled down ALL of Trump's positions into one easily remembered catch phrase: "Make America Great Again." No wonder "their man" communicates with them via Twitter using 140 characters or less. Maybe that the extent of their attention or what their little brains can manage.

Still, this is indicative of a far deeper and worrisome problem in American politics today. The 2016 presidential elections are driven by a culture of fear and anxiety. Spearheaded by a 24/7-cable news cycle, the media has helped to entrench this crippling fear in the American society. Constant and unrelenting "Breaking News" brings daily mayhem, international chaos, and gory visual effects that per-

Is

KEN THOMPSON

Not

petuate and instill fear in the American society - right into millions of living rooms that is the domain of the gullible.

Many of these crises are manufactured, packaged and presented and last for exactly 7 days. Today, the word "terrorism" has been so thoroughly, constantly and unrelentingly milked, abused, and misused, by the mainstream media so as to be the "catch all" descriptive blanket used to describe any act of violence by individuals or groups.

Trump and the Republican Party's "law and order" mantra are all about preying on these unfounded and created fears. To be sure there is crime, drugs and violence in American society but they certainly will not bring the country closer to the proverbial Armageddon, no matter how many media commentators shriek and yell about them, or how many involuntary convulsions the voters experience. The end result of these constantly publicized media embellished crises is that today in America 1 of every 9 people takes an antidepressant drug, a way too high percentage is pamnoid and are anxious about everything under the sun. Since September 11, 2001, Americans now see threats around every street comer, and are suspicious of their neighbors, who do not look like them, speak a language other than English, and worship differently than "good Christians."

This is what drives the success of Donald Trump. He offers more dark prescriptions to the fear s and anxieties of his followers rejecting and ignoring funda-

For

Children

mental facts that prove the opposite. For example, nationally crime is down and illegal immigration is at a 13-year low, with the undocumented accounting for just 3.5 percent of the American population. Yet, ignoring these facts, Trump is determined to build a wall, a "yuge wall," to keep the monsters from out of his children's closets or under then- little beds. Moreover, the likelihood that an American will be killed in a terrorist attack here in America is about 1 in 90 million. But for Trump and his followers "we're under attack."

The United States has had 78 consecutive months of steady job growth and nationally poverty, despite a long way to go still, is at its lowest rate since 1968. But listening to Trump and his warped logic America is a "Third World country" in dire and desperate need of "someone who can make deals" and "bring jobs back to America." Much to the delight and addictive suffering of his tone-deaf supporters Trump's America is the kind of thing that Alfred Hitchcock would love to write about. He presents America as a post-apocalyptic thriller, where cannibals and killers roam the streets, and scary Asian and Arab villains with long black beards extinguish innocent lives from far off palaces.

He's been successful with promoting this mode of thinking not because it resembles reahty but because it resonates and grows in the confused fever-afflicted minds of his supporters. Trump speaks at a fifth-grade level. He seems incapable of anything more sophisticated. But his

juvenile vocabulary offers stylistic enhancements to the worldview he sells, and his constituents embrace it with gusto. It is the worldview of the very petrified child. You see, facts cannot compete with feelings - especially angry feelings. Informed, educated discourse is now utterly pointless in this presidential campaign thanks to Trump and his supporters who view America and the world in simplistic terms.

For them everything is a disaster.

It's the fault of the "global elites," hiding in the shadows, hatching then- diabolical schemes. In America they have "rigged" the system against those who love Trump. Like their leader, they are not responsible for themselves, their actions, or their own problems. No, it's the Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims and the Chinese to blame. When things go wrong Trump and his minions simply pick a scapegoat and fall back on the then- tried and true messaging - "it's the Washington elites, Hillary Clinton is crooked and yep, "I'm going to make America great again."

Finally, Trump did not really make an incoherent mess or complete ass of himself in his debate against the much smarter, more mature, and better prepared Hillary Clinton: Nah. Not my fault.

The microphone was "defective" and the moderator's questions were "unfair."

And in unison Trump's children nodded and asked with tears in then- eyes: "Daddy these arc the bad guys?

26

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

October 12,2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; While Haiti is still counting its dead and assessing the damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the powerful Category 4 storm that battered the tiny island nation last week, a senior United Nations peacekeeping official today reported that significant headway is being made clearing the roads to facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid.

"As soon as the hurricane moved on, one of the first assessments we made was the very poor state of the roads " which were never fantastic to begin with " and we focused on opening [them] up to allow aid to reach the population," Mourad Wahba, Deputy Special Representative for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) told reporters in New York via videoconference from the capital, Portau-Prince.

He said that thanks to the efforts of MINUSTAH engineers and local authorities, the roads have been cleared and there is now access from the Portau-Prince, the site of the country "s airport and where most of the aid is offloaded, all the way to areas in the southwest of the country, including Les Cayes and J"r"mie, where the hunicane made landfall on 4 October.

"From Les Cayes we have opened the roads to J'V'mie; and from Le Cayes we arc also opening the roads ["] up along the western coast of Haiti. But what remains [is to clear-] secondary roads, where quite a few people are in need of support, and its urgent that we continue moving there," said Mr. Wahba.

As such, MINUSTAH significantly boosted its engineering capacity in Les Cayes and J'V'mie, and is also providing security for humanitarian convoys, he said, emphasizing: "As you can imagine, populations along some of

Need

the routes that have not been reached are angry, they are looking for food, and we need to ensure that [this relief] is secure so that it gets to its destination."

On related issues, he said the Mission is reviewing police stations, while also distributing water purification systems to limit the spread of diseases.

Yesterday, a convoy of 26 trucks left Port-au-Prince with non-food items and the same number of trucks left today with food and non-food supplies along with a massive water purification system donated by the French Government. "All this requires access and it requires security," he reiterated.

Haitian authorities oversee the division of food supplies around the westem town of Jeremie.

Photo: UN/MINU S TAH/Logan Abassi Mr. Wahba went on to say that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is coordinating the work of a number of UN agencies on the ground in Haiti. In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are using Le Cayes and J'V'mie as the bases from which they are working to reach hard-hit areas, and MINUSTAH is trying to facilitate that access.

"We should pay tribute to the capacities of the local authorities in Haiti," he noted, as they have been pushing preventive action, wishing to be more involved than they had been in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. In-

deed, he said, the decision by local authorities to evacuate some populations had saved lives.

Responding to questions, Mr. Wahba said that at last count, the storm had left some 473 people dead in its wake, "but the central emergency authorities are working to identify every W--J; .VA death [and] I believe I'-i' â&#x20AC;˘ this will rise, but I believe it will be in the hundreds, not UN in Haiti the thousands."

"The Government is very con- people are today in shelters," he stated, scious of the confusion much of it mo- responding to another question, but tivated by extremely good intentions " noted that there are also many people in the aftermath of the 2010 earth- who have not left their homes though quake," he said, and with that in mind, the structures themselves were dethe authorities are trying to centralize stroyed in the storm. Tarps, household all requests in Port-au-Prince and to equipment and hygiene kits are being have two coordination hubs " Le Cay made available for those who did not and J'V'mie " where offers of support, want to leave their homes, he added.

As a result of the hurricane, septic requests for transport and various sector trenches had been flooded, leading to needs are assessed. focal contamination of clean water As for preparations ahead of the hunicane, he said the UN and MINUS- sources. "There wasn"t much in the TAH had been working with the national way of available clean drinking water authorities to develop the disaster risk in many of these areas, but now even management system and, "to the extent that has been contaminated and there that we do have an emergency response are hundreds of cases of diarrheal discentre, that is due to the work of the UN eases," explained Mr. Wahba. and international cooperation in general."

"Some of these are cholera and Before the hurricane, UN assess- some are not, but because of the lack of ment teams had been deployed to help [our] presence in the field, we are not the government put its preparedness sure," he said, but added that perhaps system and its emergency communica- 500 cases of diarrheal disease had been tions system in place. He said the UN treated. "This is why we are rushing in had also worked to prep-position stocks chlorination kits as a priority, and we in the region, including food items, tar- have just received the news of one milpaulins, hygiene kits and water purifi- lion cholera vaccines that will be decations tablets. ployed to these areas soon," he stressed.

"There are perhaps some 175,000 Caribbean News.Net

Some Extra Cash?

Here's how what kind of repayment terms you can ally taking turns by "throwing hand" as accessing capital when traditional (from page 17) afford to offer. Be specific about how the partners call it. They pay a specific lending is not readily available at speor half your account balance, much you can pay back, and how often amount of money in one hand when it cific times depending on individual whichever is less. But raiding your - and offer to pay interest. Lending you is collected to a person. Each month, needs.

401(k) is hazardous to your financial money shouldn't be a total loss for every person in the group will collect GARAGE SALE future, even if you're diligent about them. Finally, make sure to document a sum of money until the next time, Clearing out clutter in your paying yourself back. the terms of the loan, and have every- when another susu is thrown. The congarage can make you some fast cash on BORROW FROM FRIENDS OR one involved sign off demonstrating cept of a susu is used throughout the web sites like eBay. The auction giant FAMILY the seriousness of the transaction. world and has over 200 different permits listings of as little as 24 hours, names that vary from country to counThere's no lender more sympaas well as three - and five - day incresusu try such as Partner in Jamaica and Box thetic to your financial woes than the ments. Cash is King.

Susu is an informal means of col- Hand in Guyana.

Bank of Mom and Dad. Before you "It is always better to have inforlecting and saving money through a It is basically a savings club mation and not need it than to need it show up with hand outstretched, detersavings club or partnership. It is usumainly used as an alternative means of and not have it." mine exactly how much you need, and

Guyana Chronicle New York Edition Week-ending October 14, 2016

Consensus

27

door

open

President Granger tells opposition

By Ariana Gordon DESPITE the Oppositon boycotting his address to the National Assembly on Thursday, President David Granger said there are plenty of avenues for the government and opposition to collaborate, asserting that the two sides of the house have not always disagreed and at times found common ground.

The People's Progressive Party boycotted the President's address in support of accused fraudster. Carvil Duncan who was suspended on Monday from holding constitutional offices.

In his address the head of state said that as Guyana celebrates its fiftieth anniversary of Independence this year.

"We are celebrating the Year of Renaissance; We owe it to future generations to use the remaining months and days of this year to build bridges across the abyss of discord.

The two sides of this House have not always disagreed.

They have found common ground in the pursuit of the common good at times." the Guyanese leader said.

He told the assembly that the avenues for compromise and consensus remain open.

"Guyana is pursuing a people-centered 'green agenda".

This agenda can become a platform for increased political cooperation. Our legislative agenda is evidence of the scope for consensus."

According to the President his administration's aim is to

develop a cohesive society in which confrontation is replaced by cooperation. "The removal of inequalities based on geography and ethnicity will lay the foundation for a better 'quality of life' for everyone. We will work to reduce prejudice and violence.

We will fashion a multi-cultural society characterised by tolerance and mutual respect." the head of state said.

AFTERTHOUGHT In a swift response to the President's address Opposition Leader. Bharrat Jagdeo said: "We have heard this, it is almost like an afterthought.

So you are all criminals, you left us with a bad economy, your environmental policy was terrible. Then he repeats all of what he believes are original ideas, they are not. they are our policies, and then says I still think there is room for us to work, he said this many times, it is all rhetoric.

Has the President ever done anything significant to move this forward? He has this Social Cohesion Ministry that is more partisan than anything else with Amna Ally. Amna Ally is a partisan person.. .In fact they are using it as a slush fund, for people to travel and do party work. He does not mean it." Jagdeo vented.

GOOD GOVERNANCE Meanwhile, touching on the issue of governance.

President Granger said his administration is committed to this, adding that they are committed to reforming the

Williams-Stephen factor." the REO explained.

Recognising that the human resource capacity of any organisation is its most valuable asset. Williams-Stephen said it is imperative that the dedication of all levels of staff be acknowledged and appreciated. This, she said, will provide the requisite motivation needed to complete the delegated tasks.

Trained overseas in performance management.

Williams-Stephen said her intention would be to ensure that each member of staff has a thorough understanding of his/her importance to the collective goal, and is aware of his/her individual role and responsibility.

"Each person must know that they have a vital role to play. We need to first under-

Constitution and will, in this regard, convene a Consultative Constitution Reform Commission in 2017. "We have demonstrated our determination to ensure that local government elections are held. We will, without fail ensure that elections are held every three years as required by the Constitution. Citizens' right to elect the representatives of their choice at free and regular elections will not be suspended again. Public policy will be undergirded by an inclusionary political process. The empowering of local communities through the holding of the historic local government elections of 18th March 2016 created a platform for government to be brought closer to the people and for authority to be exercised through their own elected representatives."

According to the President the derailment of public policy marked by the PPP's.

"Bizarre determination not to conduct local government elections by uprooting neighbomhood democratic councils and by imposing a perverse form of dictatorial on local government organs has been brought to an end." He said the previous administration's disrespect shown to the public service by abandoning the principle of collective bargaining with the Guyana Public Service Union demorahsed the Service. "The arbitrary imposition of salary increases damaged the Service's professional ethos undermining the careers of public servants

is...

stand that we are working for a common good, and so we have to put our political differences aside. The main objective is to ensure that when we provide a service, it must be done to the best of our ability." she pointed out.

Williams-Stephen related that she would also strive to build on the strengths of the council, and create awareness that the provision of service must be undertaken for the sole purpose of improving the livelihood of those in the community.

"Our service must come from a place of humanitarianism. We must not have the attitude that whether we perform or not we will still be paid at the end of the month." she posited.

A wife and mother of

four children whose ages range from 23 years to 15 years. Williams-Stephen has also ventured into the arena of teaching, having served as part-time lecturer at the Berbice High School. She is also a local preacher at the Central Methodist Church, and prides herself in being a "lover of Christ".

"I came from humble beginnings, and I always believe in the biblical principle that those who humble themselves shall be exalted."

Williams-Stephen said.

Her appointment is in keeping with the Government's thrust to utilise from the available human resource pool persons with the adequate knowledge base to ensure effective deliverv of services.

through the appointment of political permanent secretaries.

The President also spoke about the projection of Guyana's national interest abroad, noting that this will ensure the protection of our interests at home. "This requires a professional Foreign Service to ensure that the national interest is advanced internationally.

Our principal foreign policy objective is the safeguarding of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Our diplomats will be aggressively pursuing increased trade and investment."

He said Guyana will assume the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community in January 2017 and will use that opportunity to continue the process of the strengthening of the pillars of regional integration and advance the development of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). "We adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of which the 17 Sustainable Development

Goals are compatible with Guyana's social agenda. The 2017 National Budget will reflect the harmonisation of the SDGs with our national development plans, particularly in the social sector. The 2017 National Budget will be laid in this House in a few weeks' time.

CONSULTATIVE PROCESS Meanwhile, the President said the reparation of this year's Budget started several months ago and has been characterised by an inclusive and consultative process. He said it will be designed around a results-based format and will be guided by the objectives of fiscal sustainability. institutional sustainability and environmental sustainability.

"Budget measures will include renewable energy generation and improved energy efficiency-key initiatives of our green agenda."

The President said Guyana's future is linked to renewable energy genera-

tion and increased use of energy-efficient technologies. "We will graduate our economy increasingly towards greater renewable energy use across all sectors of Guyana. Government buildings will be powered, eventually, by renewable energy sources and will utilize energy-efficient technologies. Incentives will be offered to the private sector to follow the government's lead." The 2017 National Budget will evince measures aimed at developing a more diversified and climate-resilient agricultural sector. "We will: -promote agricultural expansion further inland by introducing mega farms in the Intermediate and Rupununi savannahs; promote the expansion of non-traditional agricultural production such as coconuts, fruits and spices; and promote the increase of aromatic rice production which will add to the crop production in the rice sector at a higher end of the value chain."

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New York Edition

GFF

introduces

Technical THE Guyana Football Federation (GFF) yesterday officially introduced its new Technical Director, Ian Greenwood, to the media.

Greenwood, an English UEFA-qualified professional coach, who has over ten years of experience with English clubs, has promised to improve Guyana's football.

The 31-year-old Greenwood was the chosen one for the GFF from among 13 applicants and. according to the former Leeds United Development and Academy coach, his desire is to establish a solid foundation in a new structure.

"A national philosophy from the age of five right up to the national team. We must understand, as a Nation, how we want to play. How we understand football to be and how we coach. We need to have a clear stracture of philosophy as a country and as a football nation that we understand how we want to play. We need to develop a Guyana style of play."

The former defender/defensive midfielder predicts that there will be massive changes for the sport ahead, but cautioned that it will not

new

Director

i

h

l -(B

m

if: GFF's new Technical Director, Ian Greenwood, addresses the media yesterday at the Federation's boardroom.

President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, and PRO Debra Francis are also in picture. be overnight.

"We want to build it from the foundation so we want to make sure that everything is in place ... we want to make sure that the structure and everything geared towards being successful are in place.

It's going to take time, but I feel with the Executive of the GFF and the technical staff we can do it." Greenwood stressed.

Greenwood's four-year contract with the GFF began last Saturday and already he has been in discussions with the Federation's Technical Officer. Lyndon France, to

Pakistan

top

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vs

review the progress made under the past TD Claude Bolton.

"Over the next couple of days we will be assessing what things fit and what things don't fit. Over the next

few weeks I will be meeting with the key stakeholders." the new TD stated.

"My main role will be focusing on youth development. grassroots and developing coaches. My be-

lief is that if we can get the foundation correct, so that if we have Coaches/Education in place and then we have correct youth development programmes and grassroots programmes, over a period

of time that will improve the overall football infrastructure in Guyana and improve both the national male and female teams." Greenwood promised.

President of the GFF. Wayne Forde. in his welcoming remarks said that he was optimistic about the future of the sport. "We are very pleased to welcome Mr Greenwood to Guyana. We are excited about the work that Mr Greenwood is going to be doing to develop football in Guyana over the next couple of years. The emphasis of course will be on youth development and coaching/ education.

"We are very confident that we made a good choice and I am very optimistic about the future of Guyana's football," the football boss declared.

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W.I.

THE FUTURE of the opening Test of the Haier Cup looks 'pink' for Pakistan, as they dominated the West Indies on the opening day of the second-ever day/ night Test match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

A record opening stand of 215 between Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali left the West Indies limping at the end of the day. as Pakistan closed on 279 for one. Ah was unbeaten on 146. while Aslam made 90 and Asad Shafiq not out 33.

The West Indies cricketers were made to chase the pink ball for the entire afternoon and into the night, as the experiment of playing the longest format of the game from 15:30hrs looked promising.

How they must

have felt! m Special Guests! Former National footballers (L to R) Earl O'Neal, Godfrey Poulis and Rudolph 'Chow' Hunte were special guests of the GFF at last Tuesday night's game between the Reggae Boyz and the Golden Jaguars. The three were members of the Guyana side that defeated Jamaica 2-1 at the GFC ground in 1973 when the Quadrangular Series, that also included Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, was staged. The now visually impaired Poulis and Hunte netted the goals on that occasion, which was the last time Guyana defeated Jamaica at an international competition.