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OPPOSITION EXPOSED No. 104156 SUNDAY APRIL 12, 2015 GUYANA’S MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED NEWSPAPER

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– Hundreds at Bartica told about ‘nature of the beast’

Body of girl found on WCD seashore

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Dead: 17-year-old Davkumari Ramadar

CARICOM welcomes Obama $68M plan for young entrepreneurs 9

President Donald Ramotar is regaled by supporters at the Bartica rally last evening

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SEE INSIDE

Jagdeo defends bright young

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

people on PPP/C list of candidates Page

Marriott Hotel defies odds to open doors this week Page

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The Marriott Hotel, all lit up

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

– Hundreds at Bartica told about ‘nature of the beast’

By Vanessa Narine “CAN we trust them?”

This was the question posed by President Donald Ramotar to hundreds of Barticians gathered last evening for the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) second national rally.

According to the PPP/C presidential candidate, the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has undertaken a “deliberate” effort to expose Guyana and the Guyanese people to harm.

“They expose our country to numerous dangers that did not happen accidentally, but was a reThe crowd gathered for the PPP/C rally at Bartica last evening

sult of what they set out to do in a deliberate way…. these are serious times, these are the people who want to get your vote…the last three years have not been easy,” he said.

On that note, he voiced another question, “How were we able to advance our country in these difficult circumstances, having an Opposition that is deliberately destructive?”

The answer, according to President Donald Ramotar, is seen in the efforts made by the current Administration to improve the lives of all Guyanese people.

Still, he bemoaned the fact that Guyana is plagued by the non-passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and the Countering of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill, as well as many unanswered questions that are hanging over the heads of the political Opposition.

QUESTIONS OVER THEIR HEADS It is these unanswered questions, according to him, that expose the political Opposition.

“Their hands are stained,” the President stressed.

At the top of his list were the 155 missing Guyana Defence Force (GDF) weapons, the disposition of APNU+AFC to the current Administration’s development thrust, particularly as it relates to the major flagship infrastructure projects, and the political Opposition’s demonstration of a thirst for power, as opposed to an interest in welfare of the Guyanese people.

Mr. Ramotar noted that the missing guns turned up in the hands of criminals during the crime wave of the 2000’s, while budget cuts diminished his AdTurn to page 11 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

APNU+AFC promises ‘hollow and opportunistic’ – Prime Minister says PPP/C has delivered

By Vanessa Narine THE political Opposition was called out last evening by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds for peddling “hollow and opportunistic” promises to the Guyanese people.

Addressing a gathering of several hundreds of supporters at the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Bartica rally, he underscored the fact that there is “danger ahead” and pointed to the promises of the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).

“Their promises are hollow, they can be seductive, but they

are hollow and opportunistic,” the Prime Minister said.

He acknowledged the community’s challenges, particularly in the area of electricity, but stressed that the incumbent party has delivered.

“You, like me, can be satisfied with the progress we have made…we have delivered on our promises. Today Guyana is greatly transformed, but there is a danger, and at the next elections we have to ensure that the PPP/ C is returned to Government,” he said.

According to him, there are many undertakings that could have been made were it not for the anti-development disposition of the political Opposition.

Speaking of the Amaila hydro project, he said, “We could have had this going at least two years ago, we would have been halfway along…it would have come at a good time with the fall in gold prices….Amaila would have provided 2,000 jobs,” he said.

In the absence of a renewable energy source, however, Hinds stressed that investments have continued to be made to move power generation from 10 megawatts to over 100 megawatts to service far over 100,000 people.

“In Bartica we have asked the RDC (Regional Democratic Council) for proposals for a new power station location in Bartica…our focus has been to

move development from stage to stage…we are going to build a new and large power station for our citizens in Bartica,” he committed.

The Prime Minister underscored that there is more to do and for this to happen, the ruling party needs the support of all Guyanese.

“We have been bringing improvements in the quality of life to Bartica,” he said, stressing the point of equitable development across the country.

“We have seen Bartica grow and develop,” Hinds posited.

Opportunities for improved lives, advances in social programmes and police, particularly in the areas of education, health

and housing, and support for the general development of Bartica were plugged by the Prime Minster as the PPP/C vision for the future.

“We come to you to say that we have been good stewards… we have been the good stewards for every person in Guyana…you just have to look around at where we are today and reflect on where we have come from. The PPP/C has the plans to keep going,” he concluded.

The PPP/C last Sunday made excerpts of its manifesto, Guyana 2.0, which details the plans, programmes and legislative agenda intended to realise its vision for the next five years.

Barticians urged to look at Gov’t-sponsored development AT PPP/C BARTICA RALLY…

AS the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Bartica rally got under way, Public Service Minister, Jennifer Westford told residents that, “only if you are wearing wooden spectacles like the Opposition then you will not see the progress and development Guyana has achieved under the PPP/C Government.”

Chairing yesterday’s proceedings, Minister Westford urged Barticians to look at the development the Government has brought to this community, “you now have nursery, primary and secondary education for all the children here in Bartica; and only recently your community had one of the CXC top students.”

Westford related too that “one of the most modern hospitals was constructed here in Bartica.” She noted that you can now have certain surgeries done right here in Bartica, you have a dental surgeon here also.

“We know that they can’t run this country; we know the truth and you know the truth we have to work hard to make their lies catch up with them,” she told the residents.

The minister addressed the recent attacks on prime ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper, and Clinton Urling, contending that the Opposition thought that they would have joined them, but now that they have not they are criticising them. She

urged the residents to come out on May 11 and vote unanimously for the PPP/C. Edward Skeete related to the residents of Bartica: “I am sure all of you want to continue to enjoy this good life you have under the PPP/C, then on May 11 vote PPP/C nationally and regionally.” He urged them that “we need to look at the past, present and on May 11 you need to look at your future.”

Speaking specifically to the youths in Bartica, he emphasised that “you the youths need to compare what you had in the past and now in the present and what you need for the future.

“The Opposition have changed their faces so many

times that they are trying to confuse the public,” Skeete said, as he continued to highlight the progress the country has experienced under the PPP/C. He made specific mention of the housing sector in Bartica, where he noted that during “the People’s National Congress (PNC) Administration, this sector was not even alive and now under the PPP/C Government today they have made housing schemes and they have established [systems] enabling people to have access to loans.”

He assured the residents that “when the PPP/C gets back into office on May 11, this party has plans to develop all sectors of this commu-

nity.”

Steven Bell, also a resident of Bartica and a member of the PPP/C, noted that “we are at the crossroads right now and I am asking you take the direction of the PPP/C.” He highlighted the corruption that took place here in Bartica prior to 1992: “We found numerous discrepancies and those people were living off the people of Bartica. The market did not have light or water and they said they made $300,000 in revenue and now we make $1M a month to offset expenses.

“We have a plan to develop this country; do we want to go back or do you want to [go] forward?” he asked and with a unanimous answer

from the crowd, “we want to move forward.” With this he urged them “then on May 11 you know what you have to do, vote PPP/C.” Patricia Matthews, a resident from the riverine area, explained that she has lived the progress. Matthews related how her parents had punished, but with the assistance of the PPP/C Government her family was able to come out of poverty and today she can enjoy the benefits.

She explained that even though the Opposition cut the budget for the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project, the PPP/C Government found a way to deliver electricity to her community via solar panels.

Transformation present everywhere under PPP/C – Minister Robeson Benn tells Barticians “UNDER the PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/ Civic) our Amerindian people are no longer an invisible people,” was the stern word delivered by Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn.

Speaking at the Bartica PPP/C rally yesterday, Min-

ister Benn related to the residents that the development of this community is visible, “we can see the transformation that is present all over Guyana under the PPP/C Government.”

He continued by explaining that come May 11, “We need every one to come

out, and for those who have not voted with us before, we need you because we believe we have the clearance and the vision to take this country to continued progress.

“I have been following the development since 1973 and it pleases my heart to

see the development in Bartica and we can only get better,” he assured residents.

Reminding the crowd that gathered, Benn pointed out some of the history that the Opposition would like us not to remember.

“We talk about a faithful choice, the Opposition is saying that they are not the old PNC (People’s National Congress) but take warning:

when the PPP/C Government gets the majority win on May 11 all this will be changed. They don’t want to talk about the past; they want to talk about moving forward. We need to ask them, why not talk about the past?”

“We were thrown out of office after 100 days in 1953 and then we took it back like in 1964 we took it

back in 1992, and after this Guyana began to progress,” Benn noted.

“Granger has told us that the people of Guyana are jaguars and the country was being led by a pack of jackasses. The only retort we have to that, with the same amount of people, we have an economy that is five times better than it Turn to page 11 ►

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Obama pushes Latin America US Capitol Hill on lockdown as shots fired on rights as he courts Cuba (BBC News) THE US Capitol is on lockdown in Washington DC after s h o t s w e re f i re d o n Saturday afternoon.

A statement from Washington police said the suspected shooter had been “neutralized” but the area was being locked down as

a precautionary measure.

Police are also investigating a suspicious package found on the lower west terrace of the Capitol

(Reuters) - PRESIDENT Barack Obama challenged Latin American leaders on Saturday to improve human rights and democracy even as he works to end decades of hostility between the United States and communist-run Cuba.

Obama has won praise across much of Latin America for seeking to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and he shook President Raul Castro’s hand in a

U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro met briefly on Friday

The area around Capitol Hill has been locked down as a precaution

show of the detente on Friday night, but he took a tougher line on Saturday in a speech at the Summit of the Americas in Panama.

“I believe our governments together have an obligation to uphold the universal freedoms and rights of all our citizens,” Obama told other leaders from across the Americas. “The voices of our citizens must be heard.”

Responding to other leaders’ criticism of past U.S. policy in Latin America, including its support of military coups and dictatorships during the Cold War,

building, the statement said.

Local media quote police as saying the shooter committed suicide.

Congress is not in session, so there are few lawmakers in town.

However, the sunny weather and the annual Cherry Blossom festival a t t r a c t e d c ro w d s o f tourists.

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Obama said Washington’s record was far from perfect but that it has changed and he would continue to push for greater democracy.

“I just want to make very clear that when we speak out on something like human rights, it’s not because we think we are perfect but it is because we think the idea of not jailing people if they disagree with you is the right idea,” Obama said.

Waving his hands for emphasis, Castro

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condemned the United States for its attempts to topple communist rule on the island but he praised Obama as “an honest man” and said he was not to blame for U.S. policies during the Cold War. “I apologize to President Obama, because he is not responsible for any of this,” the 83-year-old Castro said.

Obama and Castro were expected to meet later on Saturday to discuss progress in their goal, announced by both men in December, of restoring full diplomatic relations and freeing up trade and travel between the two countries.

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Kamla boasts of local energy vigour PRIME minister Kamla PersadBissessar trotted out some big figures Friday as she sought to show the Seventh Summit of the Americas this country might be old in the energy game, but will not soon lose its vigour as a producer and exporter of oil and gas.

Persad-Bissessar was the first speaker at the summit, addressing the Chief Executive Officers’ Conference at the Riu Plaza Hotel in Panama, with a speech headed “Energy: Fuelling America’s Growth”, according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Courting investors and expressing hope of a brighter future for traditional energy products and a rise in energy prices, Persad-Bissessar said this country’s energy industry remains one of the most sophisticated in this hemisphere.

Over the past two decades, Trinidad’s largely oil-driven economy has evolved into a natural-gas based economy, Persad-Bissessar said, with an eye on an economic diversification programme.

But as of December 2011, calculations indicated this country could be looking at up to 17 years of extraction at a rate of 30 million barrels of crude oil a year, according to industry measurements, Persad-Bissessar said.

“Our total crude oil and condensate reserves as at December 31, 2011, therefore amounted to an estimated 508.4 million barrels,” she stated.

Persad-Bissessar said recent hefty investments by big names in the energy industry have validated this country’s current position for an “energy re-birth”.

For the period 2011 to 2013, an estimated US$5.8 billion was spent on developing energy assets in T&T, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector is expected to register an additional $US2 billion in 2015, PersadBissessar said.

BP and BG are the companies at the forefront of these investments, with BP’s capital expenditure for 2015 into 2016 focusing on the Juniper project, for which the fabrication of the platform has commenced at La Brea.

“This is a US$2.1 billion project and will spread itself over approximately two and a half years,” Persad-Bissessar said, adding this is “the largest capital outlay for upstream development in the history of Trinidad and Tobago”.

BP is also working on its next major developments, Angelin and Savannah, both of which will be drilled next year and at BHP Billiton, a seismic programme is under way with its partners.

This will be the largest seismic survey ever conducted by an international oil company in the history of the oil and gas industry, Persad-Bissessar said.

“These investments have come at a time when we have turned the sector back to a positive trajectory,” she said.

Airport escort: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, left, is escorted by Panama’s Minister of the Environment, Ligia Castro de Doens, on her arrival at the Tocumen International Airport last evening. The Prime Minister arrived from Jamaica, just ahead of US President Barack Obama. —Photo courtesy the Office of the Prime Minister

Coup plotter heads London mosque (Trinidad Express) JAMAAT-AL-MUSLIMEEN leader Yasin Abu Bakr was taken by surprise Friday when told his former second-in-command in the 1990 attempted coup, Hassan Anyabwile, had been elevated to the position of head imam at a terror-linked mosque in London, England, following the murder of its imam, Abdul Hadi Arwani, on Wednesday.

Other local Muslim groups also expressed surprise.

When given the information by the Express t h a t w h e e l c h a i r- b o u n d Anyabwile, 53, was now leading the An-Noor Mosque in Acton, West London, according to an online report, Abu Bakr said he knew nothing about the issue since all contact was lost with Anyabwile when he migrated to England in 2005.

… Abu Bakr surprised

A Mail online investigative report published yesterday stated: “Abdul Hadi Arwani, 48, was found slumped in a Volkswagen Passat on We d n e s d a y m o r n i n g i n Wembley. The imam, described as ‘the most peaceful man you could ever wish to meet’, had gun wounds to the chest.

He was said to have been embroiled in dispute with his former workplace, the An-Noor Mosque in Acton, where he had been replaced by Hassan Anyabwile from Trinidad and Tobago.”

The report stated: “Anyabwile was involved in attempted coup in 1990, Parliamentary report found.

He belonged to a local radical Islamic group called Jamaatal-Muslimeen. He moved to the UK after being given amnesty in exchange for surrender.

“He denied any dispute between the west London mosque and Mr Arwani.

The mosque has refused to answer questions over Mr Arwani’s time there. Counter terrorism police are now leading the investigation into his death.”

According to the report: “The An-Noor Mosque, where Mr Arwani used to be one of the main imams, has a reputation for hosting fundamentalist speakers. It became notorious in 2013, when a terror suspect went there and changed into a burqa in order to escape surveillance then went on the run.

“Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed has been missing for 16 months, and was last seen entering An-Noor dressed as a man before leaving in a full-length

covering designed for women which obscured his identity.

“He was subject to a Te r r o r i s m P r e v e n t i o n and Investigation Measure, which restrict the movements of people

suspected of involvement in terrorism. Other extremists linked to the mosque include Uthman Mustafa Kamal, the son of hate preacher Abu Hamza, who has regularly led prayers at An-Noor.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Editorial Guyana

The ‘good woman’ behind Rickey Singh THAT the saying “Behind every good man there is a good woman” has become clichéd is undoubted; and in many instances a fallacy; but in the case of veteran Guyanese journalist, Rickey Singh, and his devoted wife of 56 years, the late Patricia Singh, aka Dolly, this is manifest in the partnership of a lifelong union that began when the couple were mere youths embarking together on an unknown journey.

That journey took them to several countries, the last place of their abode being Barbados.

In Guyana, during the years of the PNC dictatorship, Rickey Singh was

uncompromising in his journalistic ethics and was severely penalised for his unswerving commitment to factual reporting, which did not sit well with the Administration and he paid a bitter price for his integrity.

Forced to migrate to neighbouring Trinidad, Rickey Singh did not face his travels and travails alone, but was accompanied every step of the way by his wife and companion in struggle.

Survival was a perpetual struggle as the couple tried to create homes in the various Caribbean islands in which they were domiciled until they finally settled in Barbados, where Rickey finally found a secure niche where he

and his wife could raise their children in safety and comfort for approximately 30 years.

This unique marital bond was severed last Wednesday in Barbados, as Rickey bade farewell to his faithful companion of 65 years, who succumbed to her mortality after a brief illness.

Yesterday, this newspaper reported that Patricia was just 19 when she married the 20-year-old Rickey at the Assemblies of God Church in Georgetown. According to the report, her husband credits her for holding together the family of six children through tumultuous working years in Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados.

The funeral service for the devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother will take place this Friday at her church, The People’s Cathedral, Bishop’s Court Hill, followed by burial at Coral Ridge. Despite being domiciled in another country, Rickey Singh retained strong ties and loyalty to the country of his birth and the Guyana Chronicle.

The Board-of-Directors, management and staff of GNNL and the Chronicle newspapers extend condolences to the bereaved Singh family as they mourn a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

The PNC-APNU-AFC In this silly season, besmirching the forestry sector continues to sidestep IT is evident that the political season is here, which gives some people the right to be silly. I note the recent letter penned by Timothy M. Jonas which was titled what measures have been put in place to ensure loggers adhere to the law, and which was published in the April 11, 2015 edition of Stabroek News.

Editor, I am integrally involved in the Forest Sector and I can confidently say that it is one of the most regulated sectors, despite the politics some individuals and newspapers might want to play in besmirching the work of this well regulated sector.

The information contained in the letter penned by Timothy M. Jonas is nothing more than what has been regurgitated over and over by some known critics of the forest sector and which has constantly been rebuked and clarified by the Guyana Forestry Commission.

Mr. Timothy M. Jonas, as a voter, requested in his letter that political parties discuss several issues pertaining to the sector; these same questions have been

asked on numerous occasions and were clarified. Mr. Jonas is not really interested in the development of Guyana as he may want people to feel, but he has been spurred by his handlers to once again cast aspersions on the forest sector.

It would have been wise for Mr. Jonas to first seek clarification before publishing his missive, which only served to expose his ignorance of the forest sector and how it is being managed. For reference, I would recommend that Mr. Jonas visit the Guyana Forest Commission’s website at: http://www.forestry.gov.gy/news.html which I do very often to keep updated on developments as a stakeholder within the sector.

In closing, it is evident that Mr. Jones is either new to this long exhausted debate of the management of the forest sector, or he has been set up by his handlers to propagate their propaganda. As such, I would urge Mr. Jonas to first get his facts before exposing himself.

TERENCE WILLIAM

and disrespect women … and says ‘It’s not a big issue’

THE law is very clear... for a political party to be eligible to contest a general election; onethird of the persons on the party’s list of candidates must be women.

Accordingly, the total number of females on any party’s lists for geographical constituencies shall be at least one-third of the total number of persons on those lists taken together, for the geographical constituencies in which that party is contesting.

A senior official of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) confirmed that the coalition A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) submitted a list of 75 candidates of

which only 14 (they needed at least 25) were women on Nomination Day, Tuesday April 7. Later, in order to satisfy the constitutional requirement, the PNC-APNU-AFC was forced to include other female members, thus increasing the list to 96 candidates. But the damage was already done. It was clear that the PNC-APNU-AFC Leader David Granger had no intention of elevating the women in his Party to positions of leadership if he could have gotten away with it. When Chief Scrutineer, Amna Ally, was asked to comment, she told Demerara Waves Online News that “It is not a big See page 7

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

DPP states its Office is independent

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… in answer to Kaieteur News article yesterday

PURSUANT to a published article titled, “DPP’s recommendation to retry PM’s son smacks of Govt. interference,” in the Kaieteur News’ edition of Saturday 11”th April, 2015, the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions wishes to categorically state that this Office is an independent Office, and all legal advice is given in accordance with the Laws of Guyana and the Facts contained in police files received from the Guyana Police Force.

In direct relation to the matter of Samuel Hinds Jr., the facts of the case are

that one magistrate heard the evidence in the trial and convicted the defendant, but did not sentence him. The issue in this case therefore is whether one magistrate can hold a trial, hearing the evidence and convicting the defendant, and a different magistrate sentence the said defendant.

This issue is addressed in section 35 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act, Cap: L0:02 which states: (1)The court shall, at the conclusion of the hearing or within six weeks thereafter, at a subsequent sitting, give its decision in the cause, either by dismissing the complaint or by making such

order against the defendant as the case requires.

(2) Where before the court gives decision, the magistrate ceases to exercise jurisdiction in the magisterial district or to hold office, it shall be lawful for him, within six weeks of the conclusion of the hearing, to lodge with the clerk of the court his written decision. The court shall read the decision at the earliest opportunity after notice to the parties and the decision when read, shall be deemed to be the decision of the court.

This section clearly states that the

magistrate who hears the matter shall give the decision. This means that one magistrate cannot hear the matter and another gives the decision. Decision has been interpreted by the Courts in judicial precedents to mean a final adjudication, which includes a verdict and a sentence. As such, since there was no sentencing prior to the departure of the trial magistrate, the mere verdict cannot be deemed a final adjudication of the matter; and most importantly another magistrate who did not hold the trial cannot sentence the defendant.

This is contrary to the law.

The PNC-APNU-AFC continues to sidestep ...

From page 6

issue.” Really Ms. Ally? No wonder you were so callous in your defense of the accusations made against you by former APNU Parliamentarian Africo Selman. As a woman yourself, you ought to be ashamed of siding with Granger to retard the development of progressive women in the PNC-APNU Party.

Editor, Women in Guyana need to be recognised and celebrated for their tremendous leadership skills, and be placed in positions of authority where they can make a more meaningful contribution to nation building.

I n t e r e s t i n g l y, w h e n a d d r e s s i n g women’s forums or when trying to win the women vote, David Granger echoes these very sentiments. But when given the opportunity to practise what he preaches, he falls disappointingly short of all expectations. While on the hunt to win over women’s groups prior to the 2011 general election, Kaieteur News reported (June 23, 2011), “Brigadier Granger has said that his first preference would be a woman, and that is not only good politics but it would be good for the nation.” Then Granger went on to name Rupert Roopnarine as his running mate.

In February, 2012, the late Dr. Faith Harding resigned from the Central Executive Committee of the

People’s National Congress because she was sidelined by David Granger.

She accused him of being a stranger to truth, and claiming she was “locked out, sidelined and treated unfairly”.

“How could you answer a lie,” Dr. Harding said at the time, arguing that no offers were made to her for any postings, either within the ranks of the PNCR or the APNU. This highly respected, educated woman, with two master’s degrees and a doctorate, added that she “refused to be part of a movement that is delinked from its membership and micromanaged by a few males”. She had long made public her concern that there are not many women leaders in society, starting at the helm of the PNC-APNU. S a d l y, D r. H a r d i n g , a f o r m e r G o v e r n m e n t M i n i s t e r, e d u c a t o r, women’s rights activist, community worker and psychotherapist, died earlier this year after a period of illness. Guyana mourns the loss of a true patriot.

More recently, APNU Member of Parliament Africo Selman quit the party and harshly criticised David Granger for his alleged “anti-woman” stance.

Selman accused Granger of using the hard-working women within his party as a front to give the impression that the party respects women and has a plan for their overall development and

upward mobility; but in reality, Granger wanted to relegate them to subservient roles. Now the outspoken Selman said she experienced the worst forms of emotional, verbal and psychological abuse within the PNC-APNU camp.

Like Dr. Harding before her, she exposed the hypocrisy of the men at the helm of the PNC-APNU who constantly sideline women and young ladies with dissenting, independent views, who wanted to be promoted to senior postings on the basis of meritocracy.

She calls on Guyanese to denounce the “window dressing” of women in the PNC-APNU camp, and to take a stance against the abuse, misuse and maltreatment of women in politics...

“They are saying one thing and doing another. They are using women as a front and they are ill-treating and sidelining them behind the scenes...

They want to just keep us barefoot and pregnant.”

In a facebook comment, women’s right’s advocate and Minister of Education, the Hon. Priya Manickchand, had this to say, “Not only do they place their active women in the back seat just before they exclude them altogether from their party’s leadership, a la Vanessa Kissoon; and not only do they abuse and denigrate their women leaders a la Africo Selma, but they also unlawfully

try to circumvent the law that has been in place for many years now, that at least one third of the list of candidates must be women. The reason for this law is clear.

Women need to be in high political office if the cause for gender equality (and all its resultant benefits) is to be advanced.

Yet APNU-AFC submits a list that is woefully unlawful with less than half the number of women required on it. Their explanation? “It is not a big issue...” which incidentally just about sums up the way the Opposition views women and their rights.”

As we approach E-Day in May, Granger has the audacity to solicit votes from our womenfolk to put them in office when he has chosen yet another male as his running mate. But judging from Moses Nagamootoo’s uncouth and unwarranted attacks on the PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate, Elisabeth Harper, it would appear that the PNC-APNU-AFC Leader has found someone that’s truly compatible with his views on women who dare to enter the political arena.

Granger and Nagamootoo... two peas in the same pod that I predict will be cooked on Election Day by the same women they disrespected.

Vanessa Kissoon included.

HARRY GILL

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

PPP is critical for Guyana’s Development

By Keith Burrowes LAST week, I wrote an article on the issue of public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s), and promised a follow-up, something I have completed in this week’s article.

To recap, the basic model of what constitutes a public-private partnership is, to quote the EU, “a contractual agreement between the public and the private sectors, whereby the private operator commits to provide public services that have traditionally been supplied or financed by public institutions. The ultimate goal of PPPs is to obtain more ‘value for money’ than traditional public procurement options would deliver.”

In the third installation of this series, I am going to take a look at

how liberally we can interpret terms like ‘public services’ — as a means of opening up the basic concept of PPPs — but for now, we need to look at the foundation of any good public-private venture, the policy environment.

Looking at the research I’ve done over the past week or so on the issue of P3s, I’ve discovered that Asian countries in particular seem to have gone the furthest in the developing world in instituting workable P3 programmes, although – as we might expect – it is the developed world, the UK being the foremost example, which has made public-private partnerships into a high science.

P3s are increasingly recognised as crucial to development. As a Japanese ministry report, cited below, states: “Carrying out infrastructure construction projects efficiently using PPP can also be evaluated from the perspective of contribution to poverty reduction. In the joint study report (conducted by a Japanese ministry), ‘inclusive development’ means that poverty reduction and infrastructure construction are regarded as a pair of wheels; infrastructure construction drives economic growth that leads to poverty reduction, while promoting the supply of public services such as electricity and transportation, which will contribute to improving people’s living standards.”

In terms of a policy statement for the Asian model of PPPs, this implies a clear mandate for development in which the PPP venture – infrastructure construction projects – is arguably as incidental as it

is correlative to poverty reduction, something to take note of, since it bears on what I’m going to posit in next week’s article. On the point of regional policy, there has been some recent focus to put this in place at the level of the Caribbean Community. A few months ago, at the opening of CARICOM’s 19th Council on Human and Social Development (COHSOD) meeting right here in Guyana, Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington, directly linked the creation of a P3 policy framework to sustainable development in the Region: “Policy coherence in human and social development no doubt makes it imperative for labour to be mainstreamed into the social and economic strategies of the Region. Among other things, this… means establishing a vision of the parameters of growth and development that are directly linked to the human resource requirements as a main prerequisite of development.

But these cannot be achieved without a concerted effort to harness sustainable public-private partnerships, strengthen institutional capabilities and create the enabling environment for human resource development.”

The perennial problem, however, with regional initiatives such as this, is that they often do not go beyond the specific donor-funded conference. True, this typical failure to launch often has an associated element of lack of funding; developing economies often do not have the capital to invest in the sort of trial-and-error conceptual development process that results in working

practical programmes. That said, innovation often costs less than people make out.

And in this case, the groundwork has largely been done already, with supporting information easily available as it should be in this age of the Internet. The Seoul Declaration on Public-Private Partnerships in Asia was actually built upon extensive work undertaken by the United Nations, and enshrined in several declarations and other policy documents, beginning with the Millennium Declaration of September 2000.

What has happened is that this has in turn spawned numerous other studies, reports and policy documents on P3s in Asia, undertaken by multilateral agencies, government agencies and ministries, non-governmental organisations and – as one should expect considering the issue – private companies.

Within these documents is a wealth of useful information on P3s from a regional perspective, as well as national ones. For example, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry issued a report on the Asian P3 Study Group (2004) which makes for useful reading from an investor’s point of view, considering the increasing influence of Asia – Japan and China particularly – in the Region. The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) has published a seminal discussion paper, “Infrastructure Challenges in South Asia: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships”, written by Geethanjali Nataraj, which makes a sobering case of both the usefulness as well as limitations for P3s

Part II

in Asia, usefully pointing out that while such partnerships will not replace state financing of large-scale projects, they free up state agencies to focus on their core mandates while still adapting to the changing infrastructural needs of the specific country. The international legal firm of Norton, with an office in Singapore, has its own publication on P3s in Asia, inclusive of opportunities for investment as well as country-specific risk assessments.

In short, the resources to at least begin the establishment of a P3 policy framework, as touted by CARICOM’s Secretary-General, are already well within the public domain and accessible by anyone willing to dig. Therefore, the available information can certainly provide direction and serve as the basis for the regional embrace of the public-private partnership policy.

Next week, presupposing that we can build on the experience of the Asian experience in PPP policy formulation, I am going to take a look at how we can transform such policy into workable, practicable projects that are relevant to the development of the Region.

My sincere gratitude and thanks to all those persons who have been sending me e-mails and text messages about my articles, they’ve been very useful.

I’ve been asked about dealing with critical related issues in light of the upcoming elections by our leader and I will deal with that at the appropriate time. However I wish to continue dealing with general non-partisan issues in my article.

Greenidge using IDB loan challenge as political football – Dr. Luncheon POLITICAL football is being played with the issue of public expenditure and management, according to Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon.

He added that the Opposition’s players are fully aware of the facts, yet persist in playing their game – albeit a losing one–for the sake of scoring cheap political points.

Dr. Luncheon’s comments were in reference to a legal challenge advanced by executive member of the po-

litical coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Mr. Carl Greenidge, regarding a loan agreement inked between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Guyana (GoG).

The challenge being advanced seeks to have proceeds under the loan agreement between the GoG and the IDB paid into the Consolidated Fund. This, Dr. Luncheon maintains, was done.

The challenge also seeks

to ensure that those moneys may not be withdrawn without the authority of an Appropriations Act. This, D.r Luncheon stressed, has not been done, because there is evidence to support this.

The challenge further seeks a Conservatory Order restraining the Minister of Finance from spending the proceeds of the said loan until the substantive matter is heard and determined.

Dr. Luncheon contends that the latter is moot, given

that what is being called for has been done.

The loan in question relates to the IDB’s approval of two applications which will see Guyana benefiting from a total of US$32.16M (Gy$4.4B). One of those loans is aimed at supporting Government’s security programme, and the other is aimed at supporting the country’s environmental initiatives.

Greenidge formally filed the proceedings on March

20. Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Mr. Anil Nandlall, and Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh are the named defendants in the matter.

Both ministers have maintained that the challenge is without merit.

Dr. Luncheon insists that Greenidge and his colleagues are aware of the facts, and he explained that the loans are different from regular loans in that they are Policy-based loans, and Guyana is benefit-

ing from monies as policies and programmes to action those policies are put in place.

Greater details in this regard, he added, will be provided by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh.

“The facts have not changed,” Dr. Luncheon stressed.

The legal challenge remains before the High Court, and Acting Chief Justice Mr. Ian Chang, SC, is presiding over the matter.

(Vanessa Narine)

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Are people doing better?

By Dr. Prem Misir GUYANA’s next statutory General and Regional Elections would have been due in 2016, until the machinations of personal political ambition and greed for political power disrupted this schedule. Incidentally, this is not the first time that the PPP/C experienced a loss of its full tenure in office.

The first time was in 1964, when the British and American imperialist forces worked in unison with the PNC to remove the democratically-elected leader, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, and the PPP from office. The second time was the institution of the Herdmanston Accord in1998; and of course, now in 2015, triggered through the non-parliamentary debate of the AFC’s one-liner no-confidence motion that read, thus: “Be it resolved that this National Assembly has no confidence in the Government.”

The AFC’s main reason for bringing this no-confidence motion related to the Finance Minister’s use of $4.5 billion unapproved from the 2014 National Budget by the National Assembly.

These funds were largely utilised for state sector employees; the school uniform voucher project; GPL to contain any increase in the electricity bill; Amerindian Development Fund; rehabilitation of hinterland airstrips; University of Guyana student loan funds, among other public service pro-

grammes.

And Article 219 (3) affords the Minister the prerogative to spend if the funds under the Appropriation Act are inadequate, or if some need exists not covered under the Appropriation Act; and also Article 221 allows the Minister of Finance to withdraw from the Contingencies Fund if there is need for this expenditure and that no other funding source exists to meet such need. In addition, Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, in a High Court ruling on January 29, 2014, determined that the National Assembly has no authority to cut the budget.

It, therefore, seems to me that the Constitution of Guyana through Articles 219 (3) and 221, and the 2014 High Court ruling, clearly shows that the AFC’s no-confidence motion has no merit. If it wished, AFC possibly could have further engaged the courts if it were dissatisfied with the High Court ruling, and not engineered premature elections, depriving the PPP/C of its statutory tenure, and now for a third time. Undoubtedly then, deprived of constitutional and judicial backing, the AFC’s only reason for its no-confidence motion has to be self-serving.

Another view out there, possibly, is given that the one-seat parliamentary Opposition APNU-AFC’s expectations of using this majority to function as a de facto government did not materialise, its next active option was

“For this reason, in this election campaign, a clear and intelligent presentation of the PPP/C Government’s record and its impact on people’s lives will crush any APNU-AFC’s political ammunition.” the ‘no-confidence’ motion route.

So here APNU-AFC coalition presents an ‘election’ threat to the Guyanese people, pushing them to the premature polls.

For me, the developing conventional wisdom in this 2015 Presidential race for a PPP/C’s victory may require constant exposures of the culture of political deception in the conception and delivery of the no-confidence motion, constructed by both APNU and AFC. I place both APNU and AFC as designers, because while on paper the AFC may be the architect of the no-confidence motion, APNU was the foundation for its short-lived strength. And their constant and outright dis-

missal of the PPP/C Government’s business in the National Assembly is testimony to their parliamentary teamwork. I can think of the many capital projects (Amaila hydropower project; modernisation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, etc.) languishing by the wayside and in some cases terminated, and which could have positively impacted employment in this country.

Unmistakably, immediately after the declaration of the 2011 election results, a de facto APNU-AFC coalition was put in place, due to the parliamentary majority as a sweetener. And so, the coalition’s culture of conspiracy and its engines of resistance

became the number one priority to bring the PPP/C Government to its knees.

Obviously then, APNU-AFC coalition forged a cozy relationship long before Valentine’s Day. For this reason, in this election campaign, a clear and intelligent presentation of the PPP/C Government’s record and its impact on people’s lives will crush any APNU-AFC’s political ammunition. But the PPP/C’s election campaign must have a vision of ‘people having a better life’, for this is a ‘go one better’ election.

(Here are Dr Misir’s blog site and e-mail address:liberalmusingspost.wordpress.com / musingsgy@yahoo.com)

CARICOM welcomes Obama $68M plan for young entrepreneurs

By Fareeza Haniff in Panama City [ w w w. i n e w s g u y a n a . com] Secretary General of Caricom, Irwin LaRocque has lauded the proposed $68M education/training programme for young entrepreneurs in the Caribbean Region by US President, Barack Obama, who made the announcement on Thursday while attending the CARICOM Heads of Government summit in Jamaica.

During an interview with the Guyanese me-

dia at the Riu Hotel in Panama City, just before the VII Summit of the Americas, LaRocque described the programme as a “significant one”, pointing out that CARICOM conducted several small entrepreneurial programmes which were funded by the UNDP and USAID. “The programme he has announced is extremely important for us.

The youth are the future of our nations, we need to create jobs, we need for the youth to create their own jobs, become entrepreneurs, particu-

larly in the field of ICT which is one of the areas that he mentioned,” the Secretary General said.

He further noted that during a discussion with the US President, CARICOM leaders raised the issues of youth and unemployment and the need for leaders to focus on ICT as a means of creating wealth in the Region.

This year, two dozen young entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cuba, will get the opportunity to participate in a pilot programme in the US under the just-

launched Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI).

The initiative is part of a wider education, training and employment thrust which the US is financing and will be expanded to include 250 young people in 2016 and every year after that.

“We’re going to seek out the most innovative young entrepreneurs in civil society in the Caribbean and Latin America and give them a chance to earn a substantial continuum of the training resources, and connections, networks and cap-

ital that (will make) a difference,” the US President said.

He explained that the programme will help young people expand their commercial and social connections through business incubators and other means. The participants will have access to virtual resources, training, mentoring and platforms to extend their linkages.

YLAI is intended to build on the President’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative, which was designed to increase the number of

Secretary General of Caricom, Irwin LaRocque during an interview with the Guyanese media at the Riu Hotel in Panama City [iNews’ Photo]

educational exchanges between the United States and countries in the Region.

10

Our future

By Shaun Michael Samaroo

HOW we see ourselves, how we write and design the Guyanese story, that’s what matters for us to design the future of our nation. And we’ve already embarked on that futuristic road.

Since we gained independence five decades ago, our nation experienced two phases: first, we saw a catastrophic national experiment crush crucial ideas like democracy, development and the design of our national institutions, an experiment that left us devastated in our socio-economic well-being.

We fought and sacrificed enormously, including the tragic political assassination of Dr Walter Rodney and several of our outstanding citizens, to re-align ourselves to the true meaning of these ideas of democracy, development and designing our State structure to serve citizens.

Since we gained free and fair elections, the second phase of our Guyanese nation’s coming into being started with real effort, in a massive repairing and recovery drive that we now see bearing real fruits.

Although former late President Desmond Hoyte launched the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) in 1985 after the demise of President Forbes Burnham, Guyanese could not re-align ourselves to the real meaning of democracy and development until we had repaired the broken political structure of Government, with free and fair elections.

Carl Greenidge, as Finance Minister who managed the ERP, saw how devastated Guyana had become by 1985, and reported thus to Parliament. Under Greenidge’s macro-management, we saw the divestment of high-profile State assets under reports of rotten, questionable deals, and even foreign investments, like the Omai gold enterprise and the Barama timber deal smelled of gross irregularities.

In fact, the new daily newspaper, Stabroek News, reported extensively on the State corruption so rampant under Greenidge’s tenure. Such corruption saw Greenidge’s Ministry okay the purchasing of a power barge from Miami for around US$2 million. However, the actual cost of the barge, which never worked after docking at Garden-of-Eden, was closer to US$100,000. This sort of wild corruption explains why Guyana had plunged to total bankruptcy, under a severe debt burden, by 1985.

Greenidge officiated as Finance Minister when massive corruption clouded Guyana’s gold sales, whereby a Canadian-Guyanese businessman got monopoly rights to buy all the gold, refine it and forward revenue to foreign missions.

Such stories show how far we’ve come as a nation, how much rottenness we had to eradicate and how much of the broken structures we’ve had to repair, such repairing taking over two decades, with more to be done.

Under Greenidge’s management, reports abounded of several State businesses that got sold off to friends and influential persons of the Hoyte Administration, in deals that stank of rotten corruption, and grotesque accounting practices.

Under the massive liberalisation programme of Greenidge and Hoyte, corruption ran rampant across the society, with the secretive nature of corruption under the Burnham regime coming out in the open, and we saw the Police Force, the Private Sector and the Public Sector exhibit blatant corruption. Corruption, our nation realised, had become an entrenched socio-economic culture, with the cross-border smuggling of two pounds of flour mushrooming into a massive national crisis, where enterprising “business” people smuggled everything.

When the free and fair Government took office in 1992, new President Dr Cheddi Jagan set out to heal our society of the chronic devastation that had crippled our national soul.

But Government’s effort to clean up Customs, where corruption drained State coffers of vital revenue, and to clean up the Police Force and the Public Sector met with

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

hostile and aggressive push-back: the corruption culture had become too entrenched, too embedded.

In high-profile court cases, the corruption that had eaten into the heart of the Justice system turned ugly, with corrupt officials who got dismissed not only reinstated into their positions to continue their corrupt practices with immunity, but these unconscientious beasts sued the State and were rewarded millions of dollars.

Government saw this first effort broken in its first big push to repair the long fall our nation took from independence to 1992. After rigged national and regional elections, socio-economic experimentation, and party paramountcy, whereby the People’s National Congress (PNC) ran Guyana like their own toy-house, Guyanese were happy to see the back of Greenidge and his seven-year experiment with the ERP.

history. With President Donald Ramotar, we know we harbour a President of utmost humility and service to the nation. His heart of service is second to none in the political arena at this hour.

We’ve repaired a huge portion of our socio-economic structural alignment, and we’ve cultivated a national atmosphere where every Guyanese owns his or her life. We’re a full-blown meritocracy, open to the world, with full freedom of thought and freedom of expression and freedom of movement.

We connect to the global village with smartphones and wifi and internet access. We’ve become a global nation, with a far-flung Diaspora showing keen interest in the homeland.

Here we stand today, and the future is wide open for us to write and design and build.

We want to see today our leaders rise up as visionaries, dreamers, enlightening our consciousness with what’s possible for the Guyanese nation in the 21st century.

We want to hear from our Parliamentarians and artists and writers and thinkers and university professors and scholars and academics and our sons and daughters in the Diaspora, ideas, concepts, blueprints for how we could elevate ourselves as a people to the pinnacle of our potential.

We want to write and design our future.

We must be radically careful that we don’t fall back into our default future. Our default future saw us divided, with a

And irony upon irony, our nation saw that five-year rigged Government extend itself for two years, as against the cutting short of the freely and fairly elected Government of President. Such ironies relate a telling story, of how we resort to our default way of being, to self-destruct, rather than create the path forward that really works.

We turned an important corner, with free and fair elections.

Where that leaves us today becomes a matter for profound contemplation.

We cannot allow our nation to fall back into the socio-economic culture that cripples the Guyanese soul.

We must write our future, design our way forward, create the path that would take us to the Guyana Dream, our national potential, invent the Guyanese way of being that immunes us from what happened to us when that long fall started in 1964.

Whoever forms the next Guyanese Government after May 11 next, we citizens must guard these ideas – democracy, development, the design of our public space – with sober reflection, always remembering our history, even as we design the future.

We face two possible futures as a Guyanese nation: a default future, where we keep repeating our history; or a created future, where we write and design into being the Guyanese nation we aspire to and dream of and that aligns with our noble potential, a potential so legendary it goes back in literature to Sir Walter Raleigh’s idea of El Dorado.

Today, we stand at a beautiful place in our Guyanese

wall wedged between us, perpetuating a stifling dichotomy in how we understand critical ideas like democracy, development and the design of our social landscape.

Where do we go from here? We write a new national vision, design a new Guyanese blueprint, build on the foundation we’ve laid down over the period of our recovery over the recent decades.

We’ve got to be sober-minded about these two phases our nation experienced since independence. We cannot afford to fall back into our default schism of division and breaking away, as happened when Forbes Burnham pulled away from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Instead, we must continue to build on the road we embarked upon since we started respecting free and fair national elections, collaborating with each other, cultivating a spirit of participatory democracy, forging this solid political-civic cooperation pact as we together write the future of the Guyanese nation.

Opposition folks perpetuate a Guyanese landscape that sounds depressing and demoralising, because the story these folks write of us is filled with negativity and pessimism.

When we re-write such a national consciousness, they call it propaganda and Government public relations stunts, as they did with the Rodney Commission.

Thankfully, today we see the Government of Guyana open and willing to write a different story of our nation: a story filled with promise, hope, magnanimous dreams and ground-breaking projects like the Amaila Falls hydro-project and a 21st century international airport.

11

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

OPPOSITION...

From page 2

Supporters are all smiles as they crowd President Donald Ramotar at Bartica last evening

ministration’s ability to deliver on all of its promises to the Guyanese people.

He noted too that negations to ink an agreement for an alliance focused on positions, rather than issues affecting the Guyanese people.

“Granger (APNU leader Brigadier (rtd) David Granger) and Moses Nagamootoo have voted to endanger our people and they come to you now and talk about what they will do for you,” he said.

Mr. Ramotar contends that the political Opposition is dishonest and as such cannot be trusted.

“This is the nature of the beast,” he said, adding

that the plans, policies, programmes and legislative advances to take Guyana forward are what is at stake.

AT STAKE President Ramotar committed to universal secondary education and other advances in the social section, the positioning of Guyana to take advantage of rapid global developments by exploring new frontiers, including Information Communication and Technology (ICT), attracting new investments, the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and advances in the oil and

gas sector, which could see Guyana becoming an oil and gas producer.

“This is not all….we have opportunities to do much more…with our vision, we will open possibilities for thousands of people…there are huge possibilities for us,…this is the future we are preparing for,” he assured.

The PPP/C presidential candidate made it clear that the PPP/ C has proven itself to be a Government that cares about the Guyanese people.

A CLEAR CHOICE C o n s e q u e n t l y, h e stressed that the choice is clear, come May 11.

“We are here tonight because we will be facing an election on May 11. Elections offer us an opportunity to examine our record, look at our achievement and offers us the opportunity to look ahead and decide on the direction we want to take.”

According to him, the record of the PPP/C is second to no political party in Guyana. “The PPP/C has taken Guyana from the abyss to one of the most rapidly developing countries in the Caribbean.”

He h ig h lig h ted , in particular, the economic progress over the last

Transformation present... has ever been. Then we will continue to be the jackasses and do the jackass work and move this country forward.

We want to continue the donkey work to develop our country,” Benn stressed with much passion.

He noted that the joint Opposition sat in Parliament

and cut the budget from some of the most critical sectors. The minister noted that they “cut out the money from the airstrips, cut the Amerindian development funds which were slated to improve the lives of the people who are at risk and live in the interior locations.

Do they have any legitimacy to rule in Guyana?”

Benn continued explaining that the Opposition rejected the budget for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project which would have assisted development of the tourism sector and created more

two decades – progress that was built from the ground up after the disastrous stewardship of former finance minister and current APNU executive, Carl Greenidge.

“They don’t have a record to compare with ours…there is so much more we can do…we want to build…this is the direction we are headed in,” the President said.

He added, “What is at stake on May 11 is extremely important… the Guyanese people have to judge who can take the country forward, you have to compare records and char-

acters.”

The several hundreds of supporters who were attracted and enthused by the pulsating rhythms of several campaign tunes and the energy brought to the platform by the Region 7 (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni) representative, Jennifer Westford.

The massive gathering also received well the curtain call issued by the incumbent PPP/C presidential candidate. “The PPP/ has stood with you and tonight I ask you to stand with us, stand by me on May 11,” Mr. Ramotar urged.

From page 3

jobs for our young people.

“They also cut the Amaila Falls Hydro Power project which would have produced 165MW of renewable power and the monies saved would go towards bettering the different sectors,” he noted.

“We have provided opportunities for our young

people everywhere in Guyana and it is no longer a hopeless situation; and this is because we have a strong economy,” Benn said.

The minister concluded his remarks by urging residents to be vigilant, because the “greatest hindrance in our country today is the

coalesced APNU+AFC (A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change).

“Progress under President Donald Ramotar and prime ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper, come May 11 vote for [the] PPP/C”, he urged.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Jagdeo defends bright young

people on PPP/C list of candidates …never mind they’re related to party officials, he tells press conference in Toronto TORONTO, Canada – GUYANA’S Former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has stoutly defended the inclusion of relatives of party officials in the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) list of candidates, while blasting those coming out of the A Partnership for National Unity (APU)/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC).

Addressing a press conference at the Radisson Hotel here on Friday, prior to the evening’s fund-raising dinner and dance, Dr. Jagdeo lambasted the Opposition critics for their take on the composition of the PPP/C slate for next month’s General and Regional Elections.

Describing the APNU/ AFC lists of candidates as uninspiring and worn out, Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that “they have been around for ages, don’t have any ideas and are negative about our entire future.”

Contending that Opposition presidential candidate, David Granger ’s daughter and son-in-law are part of the APNU/AFC list, Jagdeo observed, “We have about twenty/thirty young kids on our list, if we have eight of them, say Navin Chamderpal’s son, who is a young engineer, are we saying that this young engineer who has been doing party work all the time should not have an expectation and he should not be on the list because his father is PPP? About Dr. Roger Luncheon’s daughter inclusion, Jagdeo said she’s a medical doctor. “Are we saying she shouldn’t be on the list simply because her father is there? These are young people with a future; they have to inherit the country.”

Assuring that the PPP/C list comprises people of calibre, Jagdeo said, “Contrast that with their list, Dr. Harold Lutchman is in his 80s, and I don’t want to say

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo addresses invitees at the Radisson Hotel

much about old people because old people can make contribution; but you have to encourage young people too. Granger is in his 70s, Nagamootoo probably touching 70. Look at their list…all of them in that era, they haven’t come with any fresh names.”

According to Jagdeo, “I would prefer to put a young engineer or a young doctor to serve our people than to provide some fossils who never made a contribution to the country and say everything bad about Guyana. They are stuck in that mindset, so I think if you look at the calibre of the people, although they may have relatives in the party, they are young bright professional people.”

Touching on allegations that several PPP/C members are enjoying unprecedented rich life styles under the present Government, Jagdeo cited the cases of Glenn Lall, Chandra Narine Sharma and Badal, who are opposed to the PPP/C, but have however flourished under its ruling. He posited that Lall was a shoe vendor in the Stabroek Market and now owns a media empire. C.N Sharma, on the other hand used to do refrigeration, now he owns an entire bloc in the city.

In Badal’s case, the entrepreneur used to sell rice in Jamaica, “waiting in front

of my office, now he owns Stockfeed, Pegasus and NEOCOL.” Questioned on the influx of foreigners in Guyana, including Chinese, Brazilians, Indians and Russians, Jagdeo also criticised Granger for his take on the issue. Alleging that the Opposition Leader advocated that he would chase them out of the country while addressing a public meeting at Kwakwani, the former president said Granger conveniently omitted mentioning Indians while speaking in Queens, New York, a predominantly Indian-dominated city.

Jagdeo disclosed that the reality is that the foreigners make money. “These are the newly emerging economy; these are the most dynamic part of the world. We should maintain ties with North America and Europe and expand our relations with these countries. They are the most dynamic countries in the world. Everybody is trying to have relationships with them. If they didn’t invest in the bauxite company in Linden, when it was to be shut down, then today you wouldn’t have had 500 jobs there; and when ALCOA walked away from the Berbice River, we managed to get a Russian company and maintained jobs there so that Kwakwani and these

Guests at dinner at the Radisson

areas can still be viable today.”

Jagdeo posited that, “if we are preserving 99.5 per cent of our forests, that is our agreement with Norway and the others, how come we are going to allow the Chinese to fetch away all our logs? They fetch logs up to .5 and still we can cut more logs in the .5 of those forests and grow the amount of logs that we export. It’s silly. The people are going to finance the hydro, so you want to chase away the investors, but want them to come and finance the hydro. It’s policies grounded in a different era, the 70s, that’s why I keep saying he (Granger) keeps remembering that period fondly.”

Jagdeo alluded to the fact that “these people are coming to Guyana and Guyanese sometimes say they are coming to take our jobs.

I have to remind people that we go abroad and we expect people to treat us well. If we treat people badly who come to live and work in Guyana, and we need people to come and work, how are we to demand that they treat us with respect when we go to the Caribbean islands or elsewhere when we ourselves are xenophobic about people coming to work in Guyana. We can’t have double standards.”

Jagdeo asserted that the

upcoming elections are “crucial and are very important for our future. We are going to campaign on our record of achievements which have been substantial. We have taken a bankrupt country and restored its economic viability. Today it is the most vibrant economy in the Region, experiencing nine years of continuous growth. No other country in the Caribbean has that record.

“We have taken a macro economic situation that was considered a basket case and today we have probably the most viable macro frame-work. When we assumed office, 94 per cent of revenue went to service external debts, today it’s down to four per cent, the best figure in the entire Region.

“On the social sector, we have seen huge transformation in education and health, and these are mirrored in growing standards of achievements at exams by our students. We’ve seen more people own assets and a growth in the middle class in Guyana…”

Jagdeo described the housing boom as the largest anywhere in the Region, with thousands of houses being built, and the Government’s programme to allocate cheap mortgages, “as well as to give particularly low-income people lands at

preferential rates have paid huge dividends in people fulfilling their dreams.”

Pointing out that the PPP/C has restored freedom to Guyana, Jagdeo declared, “We have made Parliament viable and working, the judiciary has become truly independent. We have the most progressive Constitution anywhere in the hemisphere. We have departed radically from the past.

“We have a proud record of growing income, reducing poverty, people have better education and health care and we think that people will vote for this record of achievement and vote for us. We also have what we think is the most viable plan for the future. We have outlined in great detail what we plan to do in each sector and how this relates to better standard of living for our people.”

Jagdeo is accompanied by Minister of Housing and Tourism, Irfan Ali, while Guyana’s Consul General in Toronto, Sattie Sawh, was also present at the press briefing which was chaired by Manny Singh, a member of the Association of Concerned Guyanese (ACS).

The visitors were guests of honour at a fund-raising dinner and dance, hosted by the ACS at the Elite Banquet Hall here on Friday night.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

APNU+AFC is a vulgar equation – Dr. Singh …denounces attack on young professionals

By Tajeram Mohabir FINANCE Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh has dismissed the A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) alliance as a vulgar equation, which is yet to evolve into an entity capable of respecting the democratic rights of the people.

According to Dr. Singh, the genesis of the alliance is not one rooted in a vision for a better Guyana, rather it is steeped in its interest to obtain political power, even if it requires acting conveniently and then pretend to be convincing.

Their selling point, he said, is all about promises, promises of everything under the sun, even some of the things that they had voted down in the 10th Parliament.

Speaking at a recent rally at De Abreu Street, Kitty, Georgetown, Dr. Singh said the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) is not about making false promises, but it is about doing what is realistic and building on gains made.

Big promises by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which controls the APNU+AFC alliance, he said, are nothing new for them, pointing out it was used as a means by the party to get by when it was in Government.

The minister told the Kitty gathering that when the PNC was in Government, they hardly showed any interest in the people. And during the 10th Parliament, under the guise of APNU, they hardly did. This he said was evident by their voting down of projects which would have benefited the people, create jobs and improve livelihoods.

He said the AFC was their pawn during the 10th Parliament, and it is no surprise that they agreed to formalise their relationship.

These are the people, he said, who showed little concern for the welfare of the people during the 10th Parliament, but now, given that it is close to elections, they found it fit to make big promises and rush to the electorate to get votes.

The people, he said, have to be mindful and careful about the alliance, contend-

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh

ing that the story told by APNU+AFC Deputy Leader Moses Nagamootoo at the formalisation of the relationship is laughable as much as it is implausible.

The Kitty gathering was told that Nagamootoo had liked the alliance Leader Da-

PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate Elisabeth Harper

got 12 seats in Parliament, among other things, but there was not a single strategy of what they will do for the people.

Taking a swipe at Nagamootoo, Dr. Singh said the APNU+AFC deputy leader

PPP/C Member Africo Selman

would have been the first to put up his hand.

But Nagamootoo, he said, had to eat humble pie, and was forced to settle for a “cheaper pric,” that is, the man who will be guided by PNCR/APNU Leader David Granger.

Government says bringing the Hydro Project on stream remains a top priority

vid Granger since he was small, but only decided to marry when they got tall.

And after the marriage, David and Moses emerged in “tight embrace,” declaring that they have a covenant, and it is called the “Cummingsburg Accord.”

DEFICIENT COVENANT According to Dr. Singh, the covenant was not a master plan to improve the gains of the Great Land, but it was all about who and who will be put in prominent positions.

He related that Granger gets the leadership post, Nagamootoo becomes his deputy, there were three positions for vice -presidents and the AFC

seems to be the ultimate opportunist.

He told the gathering that when Nagamootoo did not become the presidential candidate for the PPP/C, he left the party and tried to become the presidential candidate in the AFC, but failed.

And even while he was in the AFC, he tried to become the presidential candidate for APNU during the “secret talks,” but also failed.

Describing Nagamootoo as an “aggressive shopper,” the Finance Minister said given the enthusiasm shown

by Nagamootoo, it seems as though if any party were advertising for a presidential candidate, Nagamootoo

Deeply partisan He also slammed the alliance for attacking enterprising leaders who joined the ruling party.

The minister said months ago, when young businessman Clinton Urling was expressing his views on what he sees as shortcomings in governance; he was hailed and highly praised by members of the alliance.

But when Urling, after examining the programmes of the PPP/C and APNU+AFC, and decided that he will choose the PPP/C, members and supporters of the alliance tried viciously to make him the object of scorn and ridicule.

It was the same with Africo Selman, he said. Selman had complained that she was viciously abused by the APNU leadership for expressing differing views on various matters.

This, she said, forced her to “cut and run” from the coalition, since the torrent of verbal abuse might have led to her being physically assaulted.

In the case of prime ministerial candidate Elisabeth Harper, Dr. Singh said they have now concocted a scandal to besmirch her integrity.

Mrs. Harper, he said, was a public servant of exceptional quality, worthy of serving in an APNU+AFC Cabinet, if they are victorious at the May 11 polls.

He said Harper, Selman, Urling and the many others, many of whom are young leaders; their sin in the eyes of APNU+AFC was to join the PPP/C. This is how the alliance regards persons who have made their free and democratic choice, he said, contending that they believe certain people are their personal properties.

This is their behaviour in Opposition, Dr. Singh said, telling the gathering that one would least want to know what they will do if they get into power.

He said the APNU+AFC alliance should not be trusted, as Granger too seems to see nothing wrong in speaking from both sides of his mouth.

At one time, Dr. Singh said Granger had given the assurance that if the APNU+AFC gains power there will be no witch-hunting, but after making the pronouncement, he said if the alliance wins the May 11 Elections, the current commissioner of police and the auditor general would not have their jobs.

Granger, he said too, supported the voting down of the Amaila Falls Project, but yet at a Guyana Manufacturing Services Association (GMSA) dinner, he said if elected to Government he will bring the project on stream.

NATIONAL SERVICE But in all of this, he said Granger wants to bring back National Service. According to Dr. Singh, the mandatory

service was discriminatory as it was designed to benefit only a select few.

A devout Muslim or Hindu, who wanted to complete their studies at the University of Guyana, had to go through National Service, which did not cater for their traditional customs.

Regardless of their religious beliefs, he said, if the menu was beef and pork, the Hindu brother had to eat the beef and the Muslim the pork, or starve.

And this was not all.

He said many bright Indian young ladies did not bother about an education at UG and many were forced to abandon their studies there when it was time to attend National Service, to escape the horrors of defilement.

Today, he said, the PPP/C Government has opened a new book, and is focusing on attracting new investments, building a modern Guyana by bringing hydro-power on stream, building a deepwater harbour and creating a thriving Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector. These, he said, are being done to open up more job opportunities and raise the standard of living of all Guyanese.

The PNCR-controlled APNU, now APNU+AFC, he said will make promises, including big promises, but they had a woeful track record when in Government.

And worst yet, regardless of what they say, Dr. Singh said, they haven’t changed.

Their 2014 Congress at the party headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, he said is a good example. The Congress was marred by shooting and allegations of rigging.

The allegations were not made by the PPP/C; it was made by top PNCR leaders, namely spokesperson on Finance, Carl Greenidge; former PNCR General Secretary Aubrey Norton; and former PNCR Member of Parliament (MP) Clarissa Riehl.

Urging all to come out and vote, Dr. Singh said a vote for the PPP/C on May 11, is more than a vote in support of the ruling party, stressing that it will be a vote to ensure the continuation of progress.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Marriott Hotel defies odds to open doors this week

…VIPs, Executives, President carded for grand ceremony

By Gary Eleazar T H E p ro v e r b i a l f i n a l countdown is on, since in a matter of days Guyana will open the doors to the first ever internationally branded Marriott Hotel—the realisation of one of Government’s flagship development projects— accomplished Opposition in cohort with a pliable media.

The Marriott Hotel will be officially declared opened on Thursday, by Head of State, Donald Ramotar, after which there will be a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion.

The Guyana Chronicle understands a number of Marriott executives and VIPs are carded to arrive for the grand opening ceremony.

Conceived during the mid-2000s, the project will serve as a catalyst for the evolving Tourism Industry, now seen as another pillar of the modern Guyana Economy.

PRESSURE TEST Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle ahead of Thursday’s opening, the Marriott General Manager, Mr. Roberto Grissi said he is very confident, more-so in the staff that has been trained.

He recalled that one of the key challenges faced was employment. According to Grissi, the majority of the more than 3,000 persons interviewed did not have any experience in the hospitality industry neither were they qualified in the field.

A decision, he said, was taken to employ and train the young Guyanese—a decision which now bears validation.

Ahead of this week’s grandeur opening, Grissi told the Guyana Chronicle that already the facility was put through what is called a “pressure test.”

Some 100 of the hotel’s rooms were put into full operation, utilising the trained staff to test the facility. He said a similar test is slated to be conducted last evening.

PREPARATION The 10-storey edifice which sits on seven acres of ocean-front property, was a hive of activity yesterday.

Employees from Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) and a number of local sub-contractors in addition to the more than 220 being trained in anticipation of the hotel’s opening this week were all engaged in some aspect of preparation.

All perimeter lights have been installed with a number of testings being undertaken yesterday. Employees were observed by the droves cleaning, polishing and putting final touches to some of the intricate designs ornately adorning the building.

This includes the golden rotund rigs float on the ceiling of the lobby hovering above the uncontaminated pearl-white petals that seem to make their virtual ascension downwards to their life-preserving translucent visitors.

At nights, the petals are illuminated to provide a sublime, nocturnal terrestrial ambience.

GREAT ROOM With the Marriott signage and lighting in place, a visitor to the facility is greeted in the lobby by the expansive Great Room in the yonder.

Envisioned as one of the social hubs of the facility, the Great Room has as its backdrop the Atlantic Ocean behind the massive pool area, complete with the accompanying Caribe Boardwalk.

A huge international bar beckons in plain view in the Great Room, promising drinks of a higher quality and flair from around the world.

Boasting the largest and most elite of its kind in the country, the hotel’s general manager was quick to point out that in addition to the Presidential Suite, Family Suites or Standard Rooms, guests of the hotel have at their disposal the State-of-

The Marriott Hotel, all lit up

the-art Fitness Centre, again with the accompanying ambience of the Atlantic Ocean, Conference Rooms, Pool Facilities and a number of dining restaurants.

TECHNOLOGY Technology is a big feature of the Marriott Hotel, according to Grissi. The hotel features a number of digital display screens across the property and according to the general manager, these will be used to complement a varying number of services right down to advertising promotional activities at the facility.

Even the television experience has been customised

by Marriott. All feeds have been consolidated before being bunched and delivered to its customers. In addition, each television in each room of the Marriott Hotel is programmed to interact with guests, again making all services and facilities, available at the touch of a button.

Key cards for hotels and digital orders may be a common feature of hotels across the world, but when The Marriott opens its doors in Guyana checking in, checking out and ordering most any service available, could be made using your cell phone. Yes, there is an app for that too.

LOCAL CULTURE As the facility prepares to open its doors, the hotel’s general manager, also used the opportunity to disclose that The Marriott is looking to fully immerse the facility into Guyana’s culture.

Apart from the large conference rooms which have been named after Guyanese landmarks such as the Mazaruni and Potaro, Guyanese artworks are on display throughout the facility—even in the Executive Lounge alongside a strong brew of coffee and truffles.

According to Grissi, in the future, The Marriott will be looking to host art exhibitions at its facilities for local sculptors and artists.

He said too that another aspect of Guyanese culture that will be incorporated into The Marriott experience is music.

Grissi told this publication that already a number of local performers have been auditioned and Marriott is actively looking to see how they will be incorporated into the live entertainment routine.

PARTNERS The Marriott, he said, has also been looking to partner with local farmers and producers where all of

its supplies, in terms of food, can be sourced locally.

According to Grissi, seafood and meat such as pork and beef, whatever can be sourced locally will be a priority.

The general manager said too, in future the hotel will be looking to supply farmers with the seeds of what it will require, but is not grown locally. This, he said, would allow The Marriott to inherently aid in the creation of new local industries for Guyanese, while at the same time addressing its needs.

The Marriott, he said too, is also taking its corporate social responsibilities seriously. According to Grissi, while the hotel will not just hand out cash grants hoping it would be spent getting some value, the hotel itself will take on projects.

According to Grissi, very shortly The Marriott will be looking to have some work done at a local orphanage as part of its Community Outreach.

STAFF PREPARED There are currently 221 staff employed with The Marriott Hotel, each having received just about 300 hours of training thus far and according to Grissi, by the time the Entertainment

Complex comes on stream the hotel will employ another 250 persons.

In recent months, he said that close to 100 additional staffers were recruited daily, but this was primarily to forge ahead with the finishing of the construction of the hotel.

Perfectly blended into the serene background that is Guyana’s tropical, turquoise-blue skyline dotted with puffs of white, floating cotton cumulus, visitors and guests are greeted at the entrance of this edifice with a palm-lined driveway with parking on the seven- acre property expected to cater for at least 200 vehicles.

Workers were up to late last evening abuzz, transforming the beachfront into a picturesque tropical experience through landscaping.

The Marriott, this publication was told, will be t a rg e t i n g p r i m a r i l y t h e business clientele and according to Grissi, the facility has already been booked to host an event to cater for about three hundred persons.

This, he said, is in addition to the numerous bookings already con firmed for this week when the hotel officially opens its doors.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Substantiate allegations against ‘errant’ PPP members and action would be taken – says Dr. Luncheon

By Vanessa Narine “ANYONE from our party (People’s Progressive Party/ Civic) who uses that sort of language (racially divisive), we will kick them out. This is our approach.”

That’s was the commitment of former president and PPP/C Executive, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo.

And Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, made it clear that substantiated reports of any such acts would be the subject of review, and action would be taken in this respect by the ruling party.

CALLED OUT Luncheon’s reaffirmation of Dr. Jagdeo’s pledge came on Friday during a news conference held at the Office of the President, after he was questioned on his rationale in

calling out the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) for concluding that comments made

by Jagdeo himself on March 8 were “racially divisive.”

On the day in question, at an event at Babu Jaan last month, Dr. Jagdeo had said: “They shout about racism of the PPP, but they practice racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections, they went to some of the Afro-Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 O’clock in the morning and say ‘let us throw out these coolie people. Get up, go out and vote; throw out the coolie people!’

That’s the kind of language they use.

“Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out.

This is our approach.”

Dr. Luncheon maintained that, all considered, Dr. Jag-

‘The data, the information, with the facts that you apparently have, I think representation can be made; and, if sustained, you should be satisfied that the full action of the People’s Progressive Party could be brought against the errant comrade.’ – HPS Dr. Roger Luncheon unacceptable,” Dr. Luncheon said.

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

Dr. Roger Luncheon

deo was at the time stressing that there is no place for divisions in the Guyanese society along racial lines; and, in doing so, he had pointed to an example of what was done during the 2011 General and Regional Elections –as reflected in the controversial comment.

Consequently, he reiterated that the commitment given

by Dr. Jagdeo stands.

“What the former president said is that when you transgress the rules on politically correct behaviour, particularly in the context of elections…, your place in the People’s Progressive Party is not assured. I would concur with the sentiments he (Dr. Jagdeo) sought to create, that such kinds of behaviour is

PRODUCE THE EVIDENCE The somewhat ‘grand terms’ by the HPS were met by queries on noted ‘transgressions’ on the popular social media site Facebook

by Ms. Rima Rohee, the daughter of Party General Secretary Clement Rohee.

Dr. Luncheon said, “The data, the information, with the facts that you apparently have, I think representation can be made; and, if sustained, you should be satis-

fied that the full action of the People’s Progressive Party could be brought against the errant comrade.”

He added, “The facts, I don’t believe you would think that it would take an allegation by someone -- even a member of the media -- to be the basis for the implementation of those disciplinary procedures against errant party members. It is the supply and the provision of the facts of the matter (that count in this regard).”

The HPS was emphatic that the rules of the PPP apply to every party member.

Nude body of girl found on WCD seashore

– police detain two boyfriends, last seen in company of one

By Leroy Smith TWO men who reportedly have been fighting for some time to claim ownership of a 17-yearold girl were arrested by the police and remained in custody up to late last evening after the teen’s nude, decomposing body was found on the La Jalousie foreshore.

Dead is Davkumari Ramadar, a store clerk of Lot 59 Bella Dam, West Bank Demerara, whose partly nude remains were found at mid-morning on Saturday on the foreshore by persons who were passing in the area and were drawn to the site by a stench.

Ramadar went missing two Saturdays ago when she stormed out of her Water Street, Georgetown workplace after a misunderstanding with her employer and another employee.

According to relatives, the young lady was then picked up by one of her two

Dead: 17-year-old Davkumari Ramadar

boyfriends who took her to Diamond to look for a job.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday afternoon was Jagranie Omadat, the dead teen’s mother who explained that she was at home when one of the employees of the store called and informed her that her daughter and the boss man had a misunderstanding and she took off.

The woman said that she tried calling her daughter repeatedly, but was not getting her on the mobile phone until after sever-

Davkumari’s mother and father as they left the Vreed-en- Hoop Police Station yesterday

al unsuccessful calls, the girl finally answered. According to her, during that conversation her daughter asked her to go to her workplace and uplift her bag; she said too that her daughter told her that she was heading to Diamond with Richard (one of the two boyfriends) to look for a job and that she was

coming home shortly and warned her mother against going to the police or calling anyone; the mother complied.

When the teen did not return home, the mother then finally went to the police and made a report.

She said that she last saw her daughter on Saturday morning when the child

kissed her and a younger brother before she left for work. She was at the time clad in a purple top, blue jeans, sliver sandals and was carrying a brown bag.

When her remains were discovered yesterday, her top was rolled up to her face and she was not wearing any underwear, pants or footwear; her bag and mobile phone were not found on her person nor anywhere near the crime scene.

According to Jagranie Omadat, for some time now her daughter has been trying to choose between two boys, Richard, whom she was last seen with two Saturdays ago and who resides at Diamond and another man whose name was given as Raj, from Canal No. 2.

The is the fourth body of a person to be found battered on the foreshore over the past month and in all cases, the bodies were trapped between the boulders which form part of the sea defence.

During last month, the

first body to be discovered on the seashore was that of a Kitty resident and the police are yet to charge anyone for the death of the man which they are treating as a homicide.

The second was that of the teenaged girl of Cummings Lodge, whose nude, battered remains were found on the Turkeyen seashore. While several persons have been questioned in connection with that murder, there have been no charges so far. The case of the clothes vendor was also another gruesome discovery that shocked the nation as the dismembered remains of a Buxton woman was found sprawled among the boulders at the Annandale seashore. For that crime one man was charged and two others remain in police custody and are likely to be charged also. They reportedly confessed to the killing of the woman and told investigators that their motive was robbery.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Venezuela’s letter to ExxonMobil an attempt at intimidation

–says Dr. Luncheon

– assures that relations remain ‘sound’

By Vanessa Narine VENEZUELA has issued a missive to the local focal point for ExxonMobil, Mr. Jeff Simon, making clear that that country will not accept ‘the raid’ or any interference from any transnational company in sovereign affairs, particularly those related to the territorial dispute between Guyana and itself.

The letter, dated April 8, follows earlier exchanges between the Foreign Ministries of Guyana and Venezuela relative to the latter’s claim to the Essequibo region.

The latest bone of contention is the current Administration’s decision to give the USA-based ExxonMobil a concession to drill an exploratory well for oil in Essequibo coastal waters.

The exchanges considered, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, told the Guyana Chronicle that the letter is an attempt at intimidation.

“Our reaction is basically one that responds to these as more intimidation than anything else… It reflects intimidation. The Venezuelan response, the State’s response, has essentially been to attempt to intimidate the operators of the rig and get them to withdraw from their exploration in Guyanese waters,” Dr. Luncheon said.

Asked about Guyana’s response to the intimidation, Dr. Luncheon explained that a response mechanism is in place and is functioning.

“I don’t believe that each specific episode calls for a specific type of response. There is a response mechanism,” he said.

The HPS assured that, outside of this issue, indeed, Guyana and Venezuela enjoy sound bilateral relations.

He said, “This is an issue, but we don’t believe it has been brought to that stage where it affects our good bilateral relationship. These are threats, and we have a mechanism to diffuse the situation that is currently

President Donald Ramotar

“We cannot allow our country to be stymied by issues of this nature. We have to continuously work towards resolving issues that have cropped up recently, given the historical premise.” – President Donald Ramotar being undertaken by our respective foreign affairs ministries.”

Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez

“The actions of (Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd.), with its intention to carry out unauthorised operations within the maritime territory adjoining Venezuela contradict public international law and show its intent to subvert it.”

- Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez.

“Our reaction is basically one that responds to these as more intimidation than anything else…

It reflects intimidation. The Venezuelan response, the State’s response, has essentially been to attempt to intimidate the operators of the rig and get them to withdraw from their exploration in Guyanese waters.” – HPS, Dr. Roger Luncheon

STRONGLY-WORDED The strongly-worded letter to Mr. Simon, the Country Manager of the Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. Company, was signed by the Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez.

Her letter accuses ExxonMobil of carrying out “unauthorised” operations in disputed waters off Guyana, and linked (the operations) to Washington’s recent diplomatic steps against Caracas.

“The actions of (Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd.), with its intention to carry out unauthorised operations within the maritime territory adjoining Venezuela, contradict public international law and show its intent to subvert it,” Rodriguez said.

The Venezuelan Minister added that the actions of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd must be viewed in light of President Barack Obama’s executive order in March declaring Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”, and handing down sanctions against seven officials.

“Venezuela reaffirms that there is no demarcation of the marine and submarine areas of the territorial space of the reclamation zone, and that the existing agreement providing for non-incursion in these spaces remains fully valid,” she said.

The standing contention of Guyana is that a deepening of ties will be affected by Venezuela’s “threats and

Dr. Roger Luncheon

actions against local investors wishing to operate, and those already operating” in Guyana.

STRONG CASE The territorial integrity of the Essequibo region, historically, was pronounced on by the 1966 Geneva Agreement, signed by both countries.

The agreement took note that Venezuela was disputing the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award. While it did not take any position in relation to Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo, it committed that country, as well as Britain and Guyana, to ensure that “any outstanding controversy…should [be] amicably resolved in a manner acceptable to both parties.”

Asked about a resolution that moves from this base, the President expressed confidence that Guyana would be able to make a good case. “We feel that we have a strong case, a very good case,” he said.

Additionally, under the leadership of Venezuela’s late former president, Hugo Chavez, and Guyana’s former president, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, bilateral relations had advanced on the basis that specific mechanisms are in place to ensure that the controversy does not impact unnecessarily on fruitful bilateral relations.

Incumbent President Donald Ramotar has, on several occasions, made it clear that in addition to ensuring that bilateral relations are not affected, Guyana would ensure that its development and progress are not stymied.

“We cannot allow our country to be stymied by issues of this nature. We have to continuously work towards resolving issues that have cropped up recently, given the historical premise,” he said.

ExxonMobil started exploratory drilling at the Stabroek Block off Guyana in early March in a US$200M investment.

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

The Middle East: Iran is Back

By Gwynne Dyer

THIS (Arab) nation, in its darkest hour, has never faced a challenge to its existence and a threat to its identity like the one it is facing now, said General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the ruler of Egypt.

And you wanted to say: Not the Crusades? Not the Mongol invasion? Not even the European conquest of the entire Arab world between 1830 and 1920? You really think the gravest threat ever to Arab existence and identity is a bunch of tribal warriors in Yemen?

Sisi was addressing the Arab League summit in Cairo last week that created a new pan-Arab military force to confront this threat, so overheated rhetoric was standard issue, but still....

The air forces of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours are blasting Yemen from the air, and there is talk of

Saudi Arabian, Egyptian and even Pakistani troops invading on the ground, but it all smells more of panic than of strategic calculation.

The panic is due to the fact that the status quo that has prevailed in the Middle East since approximately 1980 is at an end. Iran is back, and there is great dismay in the palaces of Riyadh â especially because it was Saudi Arabia’s great friend and ally, the United States, who finally set it free.

It was the agreement in Lausanne last Thursday between Iran and the Group of 5+1 (the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) that marked the end of the status quo. It was about ending the various trade embargoes against Iran in return for ten to fifteen years of strict controls on Iran’s nuclear power programme, but it will also let Iran out of the

jail it has been confined to since the 1979 revolution.

Initially. that revolution was quite scary for Iran’s Arab neighbours, because Iran’s example in overthrowing the local pro-Western ruler and taking a stronger stand against Israel was very popular in the Arab street. The solution was to paint Iran as a crazy terrorist state and isolate it as much as possible from the rest of the Region.

The other tactic that the conservative Arab states deployed was to stress the religious gulf between Iran (which is 90 percent Shia) and the Arab countries (whose people are at least 85 percent Sunni). The doctrinal differences are real, but they do not normally make ordinary people see one another as natural enemies unless somebody (like state propaganda) works hard at it.

Those measures worked for twenty years, assisted by some really stupid Iranian actions like holding US embassy personnel hostage for 444 days, but by the end of the 20th century they were losing credibility.

What saved the quarantine policy in 2002 was the discovery that Tehran had been working on nuclear weapons design.

The work was a revival of research that had been started during the US-backed Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980-88 (when Saddam Hussein certainly was working on nuclear weapons), and was shut down afterwards. It was restarted in 1998, almost certainly in response to the nuclear weapons tests

by Pakistan, Iran’s eastern neighbour. It was Iran being stupid again, but it was probably never about Israel.

The alleged Iranian nuclear threat provided the basis for another decade and more of political quarantine and trade embargoes that have crippled Iran economically and isolated it politically. All that came to a sudden end last week with the agreement in principle in Lausanne (unless the Saudi Arabian and Israeli lobbies in Washington manage to torpedo it in the next few months).

Iran has about the same population and GDP as

Egypt, the biggest Arab country by far, but it is far closer both to the Arab Gulf states and to the Sunni-Shia battlegrounds in Iraq and Syria (both of whose governments are closely linked to Tehran). That is what Sisi was really talking about when he spoke of an existential threat to Arab existence and identity. However, he’s still talking through his hat.

Arab existence and identity are nowhere at risk, and Iran has no need to paint the Sunni Arab countries as enemies. The Iranian regime may be losing its support among the young (or maybe not), but it has absolutely no need to inoculate them against the attraction of Arab political systems and foreign policies by promoting an Arab-Iranian confrontation.

They hold no attraction whatever for young Irani-

ans.

As for the notion that the Houthi militia that now controls most of Yemen is really an Iranian tool (which is the main justification for the military intervention), it is nonsense. The Houthis, like the Iranians, are Shias, but they have their own local interests to protect, and Iran has no plausible reason to want some sort of strategic foothold in Yemen.

It is a safe bet that there is not now even a single armed Iranian in Yemen.

If the United States could send troops into Iraq in 2003 in the delusionary belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, then Saudi Arabia can believe that it is fighting Iranians in Yemen now. No country has a monopoly on stupidity, and Riyadh will probably have ample opportunity to regret its mistake.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Cruise ship Sea Adventurer docks at GNSC

– captain receives token of appreciation from GTA

GTA President Indranauth Haralsingh hands over tokens of appreciation to the Sea Adventurer’s Captain, Peter Glouskin

THE former Clipper Adventurer, now the Sea Adventurer cruise ship docked at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation’s (GNSC’s) wharf yesterday, as tourists from around the world grace Guyana’s shores as part of their tour to various destinations around the world.

Greeting the captain of the ship on behalf of Minister of Tourism, Irfaan Ali, President of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Indranauth Haralsingh, expressed his elation at having the

ship docked on Guyana’s shores.

“I am very happy to have this ship here, as it has replaced the Clipper Adventurer which has been in Guyana many times,” he said.

According to Haralsingh, it is part of their strategy to have ships such as this one here, because these are the ships that are ideal for our waters; they have a draft of about 4.5 metres which is ideal for Guyana’s very shallow and silk-leaning rivers- and they are also customised for soft adven-

A frontal few of the Sea Adventurer

tures.

TOURS He added that during their stay the tourists on board will be going on tours around the city which will include bird-watching… and then will continue their voyage up the Essequibo River, then to Baganara resort and lastly the Kaieteur Falls.

Haralsingh highlighted that this is the third ship in the first quarter of the year, noting that the M&S Hamber was the last to visit Guyana.

Meanwhile, in showing appreciation for the visit by the vessel, Haralsingh on behalf of the Tourism Ministry handed over some brochures displaying Guyana’s rich eco-system and also a plaque which portrays a layout of Guyana and its bordering countries.

Meanwhile in brief remarks, Captain of the Sea Adventurer, Peter Glouskin said that “this has been the nicest welcome they have ever gotten thus far and they would really love to come to Guyana more often.”

When asked about their voyage, Glouskin pointed out that their next destination will be Trinidad and Tobago followed by Europe.

Members of the media were given a tour of the vessel, where all the safety mechanisms and other features of the ship could be seen. Some of the main features of the Sea Adventurer included its lounge, its dining room, library, outer deck, and all the various safety mechanisms which cater for every passenger on board.

NACTA: Electorate racially Polarised T H E o n g o i n g N A C TA track-polling exercise that began in mid-February has found that voters are as racially polarised for the May 11 General and Regional Elections as in earlier elections. Very few voters, primarily some Indians, Mixed, and Amerindians, show they are breaking from the old habit of traditional voting patterns that began in 1955 following the racial split of the original PPP. According to the poll’s findings, almost every African is voting for the APNU+AFC alliance, unlike Indians who are splitting their votes to benefit the Opposition alliance complaining that the PPP has neglected them in favour of PNC supporters. But the bulk of the Indians are voting for the PPP to prevent the return of the PNC to office. In terms of racialised voting, the PNC is getting a much larger proportion of Africans than the

PPP is getting from among Indians.

According to the poll’s findings, the APNU+AFC alliance, though comprising several (paper) parties and prominent Indians from the AFC, is viewed by a majority of the population as the PNC disguised under a new name.

Also, some Indian supporters of the alliance are of the view that they are not voting for the PNC but for the AFC faction of the Opposition alliance, saying they can’t bring themselves to vote for the PNC because of the history of abuses they suffered under its rule. The Indian supporters of the Opposition do not view the alliance as PNC and feel convinced that in voting for the alliance their support is going to the AFC and not the PNC. While these AFC supporters are opposed to their party’s partnership with the APNU (that most voters equate with the PNC), they do not want to break with their

support for AFC. They say they want to punish the PPP for neglecting them and for the perceived arrogance of some officials. Hence the reason for supporting the AFC and the alliance.

The findings also reveal that some Indians, primarily those who have broken away from the AFC for partnering with the PNC, are supporting United Republican Party (URP) of Vishnu Bandhu.

Voters of mixed races are splitting their votes with the bulk of them going for the Opposition alliance and some returning to the PPP, because they feel that the AFC has betrayed them by linking up with the PNC (APNU).

A large majority of the Amerindians are supporting the PPP with a quarter supporting the Opposition. Most of the Amerindians fear a return of the abuses they suffered under the PNC should the Opposition become victorious in the

elections.

The findings of the poll were obtained from interviews with 1300 voters (42% Indians, 31% Africans, 17% Mixed, 9% Amerindians, and 1% other races) from mid-February through now.

The findings reveal traditional supporters of the PNC want a change in the Government, saying they no longer want to be ruled by the PPP that they define as “Indian or coolie rule.” They say they want to be governed by their own party and their own leader. Analogously, traditional supporters of the PPP are fearful of a return of Burnhamism should the PNC win -- the discredited past practices (contraband goods, national service, racism, lining up for goods, victimisation, persecution, dictatorship, kick-downdoor banditry, and the like) that were associated with the PNC when it governed Guyana. Nevertheless, the findings

show that PNC-led alliance has a very good chance of gaining control of the Government because of the division in support among the PPP base and strong racial unity in the Opposition camp. The opposition PNC has an excellent ground organisation of volunteers of former military and police officers convincing voters to support the alliance.

Africans are voting almost exclusively for the PNC-led alliance, APNU+AFC, and not splitting their votes. The Indians, on the other hand, are splitting their votes, the major reason being complaints of perceived neglect by the PPP especially by their “local officials,” enhancing the alliance’s chances of capturing power.

The supporters of both sides square off in what is likely to be a close outcome.

The PPP is praised for racial healing and for efforts at uniting the nation. Pro-PPP supporters describe their

choice in this election as being between a party that would take them backwards, ban basic goods and practise racial discrimination, against a party that would look to build on the economic and social progress of the last two decades. They added it is a choice between a party that is national in scope and policies and that is reflective of the varied races (promoting racial and religious harmony and tolerance) versus one that took the country to the brink of an abyss of racial divisiveness and underdevelopment during its 28-year rule. Pro-opposition (APNU+AFC) supporters, on the other hand, while grudgingly giving credit to the PPP for the progress of the last two decades, say they have had enough of the PPP and want change. They make no bones of their desire about having someone of their own ethnic background govern them.

Daring, challenging

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A GINA Feature by Shanta Gobardhan THE brave, the adventurous, and those enticed by the wondrous vistas of G u y a n a ’s i n t e r i o r to have first-hand experiences are today a satisfied batch!

They have not been disappointed! They have

open, and shared stories around camp fires! These scenes were replicated in other areas where they overnighted.

A very young participant, Neeraj, who was travelling with his sister and father, was overwhelmed, and this was reflected in his testimony that, “The trip was fun, terrifying, excellent,

Convoy traversing through some rough terrain witnessed the majestic landscapes, taken in the awe-inspiring panoramic scenes, and engaged in activities that have only brought them immense joy.

In 26 vehicles, the eager adventurers who came from as far as G e r m a n y, t h e U n i t e d States, London, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and Brazil, crossed rivers, drove through thick forests, uphill, downhill, and on smooth roads and rugged, rough terrain!

But, they won’t trade their several days’ journey on the 13th edition of the Pakaraima Mountain Safari for anything!

Leaving Georgetown on March 29, the convoy that included two trucks and forming the largest convoy yet, took off on the 529-mile journey that ended at the breathtaking Orinduik Falls in Region 8. Participants on the return journey were afforded another exhilarating experience, the Rupununi rodeo.

Their first night on the safari was spent in the beautiful Amerindian village of Karasabai, where the safarians camped under the stars, cooked in the

road was great and the weather was excellent...we would like to encourage Guyanese, and anyone, the view was marvellous and beautiful ...you have to be here to see it.”

L o n d o n e r, L e n n o x Gibson, said it was adventurous, especially the driving, “... it was good, I didn’t expect it to be as good. It was an experiment that was positive... I enjoyed the villages.”

This journey took its nature loving, and courageous participants through some of the most pristine and beautiful sections of Guyana.

Having crossed the river at Kurupukari, the convoy traversed savannah lands, then onto the mountainous areas of Karasabai, Tiperu, Rukomoto, Moraibaiko, and Yurong Paru, in Region 9.

While these areas are beautiful, those in Region 8 are simply mesmerising and the safarians were able to inhale the freshness of the mountainous areas such as Monkey Mountain, Paramakatoi, Kato, Tuseneng, Kurukubaru, and Itabac, where the

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Nature spent eons of time to create every piece of the work of art that the visitors beheld!

For young Ms Luckram, the trek was, “very exciting, rough, a lot of experience... it was beautiful, lovely, mountainous views and scenery, and the waterfalls, the trip was great!

Magnificent! ” Overseas participant, Bryan confessed that, “I really like the Safari; I came all the way from Germany to do this. It is quite amazing to see the beautiful landscape, all the friendly people here and the driving was real fun.”

One of the most amazing things was the smooth road that the convoy experienced from Karasabai to Monkey Mountain! This $600M road has made the safari travelling less challenging, and also it has made life a whole lot better for residents of Region 8, who are now finding it easier to get to the busy hub of Lethem in Region 9. But, to maintain that the safari is a challenging journey, Coordinator of the event, Frank Singh, said the safarians were

Fixing one of the vehicles that had broken down on the safari exciting, it had one and two rough spots, but we made it through... it has been a wonderful experience, and I hope to come back here next year with lots of friends and family.”

Another enthusiastic safarian, Peter Fung, pointed out that, “It has been fantastic and an extremely great trip, the

scenes are picturesque, and where the mountains appear to be painstakingly hand carved. The beauty there is simply indescribable, and the safarians couldn’t have enough. The road, flanked by undulating mountains, dipping deep down or climbing upward, seemed to indicate that Mother

taken through some of the old trails that were used last year, such as the ‘Tuseneng bush’, where there were rough patches, and vehicles were stuck in the ruts and had to be assisted by others.

Singh said that due to the good road, “we have like two days extra now, because you’re driving on

a highway now, you do not get so fatigued, so we (are) looking at extending more villages into the safari for next year”.

Singh took time out to recognise the inputs of the many sponsors, including Guyoil/Castrol and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph, and extended gratitude to them for making the venture a success.

Pakaraima Mountains, on the Ireng River, never fail to amaze those who behold its magnificence. Nature reigns supreme; gushing, clean water tumbles over steps of red jasper rocks that are engraved by nature’s own hands - it was a wonderful landscape to view!

No safari would be complete without the

Cooking out in the open Speaking of challenges, Singh said most of the new drivers had to learn to drive on the trails and some of the vehicles encountered mechanical problems, but this did not deter anyone, as the safari had experienced mechanics and electricians along, “so if any vehicle had a problem, we all came together and assisted, and if we needed to source parts from Georgetown, we contacted the airline and found out the available flight and then they fly those into the village closest.”

Incorporated into the trip are visits to Amerindian villages, a novel experience for visitors, who come bearing gifts for villagers, such as books, pencils and other school related items.

A lot of the safarians found the visits to be an amazing experience, as they were greeted by special songs, welcoming them to the villages. For the very young villagers, they viewed the visitors with much curiosity.

At every village the convoy stopped, the visitors presented goodies and in turn purchased items from the villagers.

The Orinduik Falls found at the edge of the

participants being able to delight in the waterfalls.

It was definitely what they all needed after a long drive, and their eagerness was too evident not to discern. Many described the falls as amazing and like nothing they had ever seen.

They simply couldn’t resist the temptation to savour the fresh cascade of the 25-metre high fountain, Orinduik, found close to the border with Brazil. Along the journey, there were other smaller waterfalls that the safarians visited and enjoyed their cool waters.

All of the vehicles were driven by men, with the exception of one, a Tacoma. Petite, 32-yearold Cindy Gomes became the second woman to have driven the entire 529 miles to successfully complete the safari. Cindy said she took up the challenge after she learnt that only one other woman had driven the trail. She even drove for 14 hours in a single day! Nevertheless, she said it was a challenge she enjoyed, and would definitely be returning on next year’s safari as she found the trip to be exciting and nothing like she has

but simply fantastic!

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

I want to see too, this curious child seems to be saying as the safari convoy stopped at her village

ever experienced before.

Feroze Khan, who was on his first trip, informed that he was once a race car driver, and “the experience I have gained on this safari I have never had it in my career as a driver, the driving experience was enormous and I promise that I will be here next year.”

Another participant from Parika said indeed the event was exciting and ‘yes (I’m) coming back next year definitely!”

Exuding much enthusiasm, several others promised that they are definitely returning on the next edition of this adventure in nature’s wild.

Having had their fill of adventures, magnificent scenery, and enjoyed their fill at Orinduik and Chiung Falls, the safarians, on their way back, stopped in at the Rupununi Rodeo,

The head teacher of the Tuseneng Primary School receive some items for the school’s children from two Safarians

A young Safarian takes a dive into the pool as others enjoy one of the waterfalls in Region 8

where the atmosphere was charged with the energy of vaqueros, both males and females, and hair raising rides as bulls and horses ditched their riders and even sought to attack them.

It was a fitting end to a fantastic 10 days of challenge, fun, experience and bearing witness to Guyana’s inexpressible b e a u t y. I n e s s e n c e , the 13th Pakaraima Mountain Safari could not be described as anything else but ‘An Adventure of a lifetime’!

The testimonies repeat that chorus!

Vacquero ditched by the bull which then seeks to attack him at the Rupununi Rodeo

Cindy Gomes, the second woman ever to have driven the entire 529 miles of the Pakaraima Mt Safari journey

Young Safarians about to enjoy the cool waters of the beautiful Orinduik Falls

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

St Joseph Hospital:

Celebrating

70 years in health care

THIS year the St Joseph Mercy Hospital will celebrate its 70th anniversary. The institution has made tremendous strides over the years, overcoming challenges, such as a fire in 2011, to become an even better health service provider.

The hospital, with its 24-hour services, boasts a highly specialised team of doctors, nurses, therapists and caregivers that make it second to none in health care in Guyana.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Vivakeanand Bridgemohan, said the institution has been working tirelessly over the years to become the premier health institution in the country, in keeping with its mission to deliver quality care to people in Guyana.

“In the revised plan, we are looking to secure a sustainable future existence of the hospital with improved quality and spectrum of services and therefore we are improving the hospital and empowering not just as a hospital, but as a Ministry of the Catholic Church to heal all people regardless of your religion.

As a Catholic institution, we serve everybody. That is our mission,” he pointed out.

Recognising that the health system is becoming increasingly competitive in Guyana, Dr. Bridgemohan knows that Guyanese have become more conscious about what it really means to receive quality care, and as the country develops, this means that medical institutions will have to continuously improve their standards.

“Since the fire in 2011, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital has been embracing development and welcoming into the departments new diagnostic and therapeutic

A St Joseph Mercy Hospital team conducts a surgery

CEO of St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Dr Vivakeanand Bridgemohan

tools, with high levels of skilled and professional health care workers to effectively and efficiently produce on each occasion, high-quality care service,” he said.

SPECIAL SERVICES “Mercy Hospital,” as it is widely known, is now the only institution in Guyana to have 24-hour Radiology Imaging Services with an on-site radiologist living at its Parade Street location. This allows CT scans, MRIs, Ultra Sounds and other such tests to be done on a 24-hour basis with a specialist on standby for further assistance.

“According to American Stroke Policy, a person would need to have a CT scan done in cases of stroke-related sickness, in less than one hour, and we are the only facility in Guyana that can produce that in less than one hour on a 24- hour schedule, complying with that requirement,” the CEO

pointed out.

Cognisant that cancer continues to be a major concern, the hospital is also offering specialised care in this area. Highly qualified and experienced surgeons specialising in cancer pathologies have been installed.

“The hospital laboratory will be set up to do pathology tests so that women who require procedures such as pap smear and cytology testing can have these done at the hospital,” Dr. Bridgemohan said, adding, “chemotherapy is offered for breast cancer, cervical cancer and general gynaecological cancer.”

The hospital has also been placing much emphasis on women’s health.

The facility has retained a female gynaecologist who is highly qualified and has proven to be very effective.

“We have answered the call for women who prefer to see a female gynaecologist, so for over many years the hospital

has installed a female gynaecologist who is highly qualified, pleasant and has proven to be very good.

Many persons have spoken of their satisfaction of the services they have been receiving,” the CEO indicated.

Further expanding on the hospital’s specialties, Dr Bridgemohan said: “The other area which we have developed is Neuroscience...now the hospital has a neurosurgeon on staff and we have also been conducting neurosurgery.

We are connecting to a network called the JIPA Network which connects us with over 200 facilities including physicians, very good neurologists like Dr. Nedd and neurosurgeons such as Dr. Crandon from Jamaica.”

The JIPA Network collaborates with medical experts, with state-of-the-art technologies and services, in order to provide patients with access to health care, critical medical services and elective procedures.

While invasive neurosurgery is conducted at “Mercy Hospital,” there may be instances where ad-

ditional medical treatment overseas is required. In this regard, Dr Bridgemohan said patients are efficiently moved through the JIPA Network for fast and affordable care elsewhere and can access after-surgery physiotherapy at the rehabilitation centre located at “Mercy Hospital.”

The facility also boasts a well-staffed Paediatric Nursery. “We have probably the most qualified paediatricians in Guyana, including our lead paediatrician, who, besides being a paediatrician, holds a Masters Degree in infections in children, and a post- graduate Degree in ICU for children, with over 20 years’ experience,” the CEO said.

EMERGENCY CARE The emergency unit works 24 hours per day, inclusive of holidays and weekends and is always staffed with experienced, qualified nurses trained in Basic Life Support and advanced cardio-life support and trauma.

Nurses are supported by physicians who are always on site, so there is

never an instance where emergency doctors have to be called in.

“Every doctor has at least five years’ experience. The Emergency Room is supported by two operating theatres that work on a 24-hour basis.

Of the two theatres, one is the largest that exists in Guyana,” the CEO stated.

FUTURE PLANS A special facility for the elderly, under the management of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital is set to be commissioned before the end of 2015. It is envisioned that at the facility, persons with special conditions such as schizophrenia and dementia can be treated and properly cared for.

The facility is being built to accommodate some 50 persons.

Dr Bridgemohan said while “we are not God and we can’t resolve everything,” rest assured that at “Mercy Hospital,” patients receive expert medical care and services and the highly trained staff do all that is humanly possible to ensure issues are resolved.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

CIIP provides equal employment opportunities – women and differently-abled persons gainfully employed

CIIP Field Auditor Alethea Puranram; CETL of Hogstye/ Lancaster NDC, Bonita Leitch; CIIP Project Coordinator Karen Roopchand; and CETL of Fyrish/Gibraltar, Ms. Chandrawattie Chandranauth, following a Team Leaders’ Workshop in Region Six

By Rebecca Ganesh NO longer a victim of domestic violence, Corentyne resident Bonita Leitch now contributes to the development of communities in the Hogstye/Lancaster Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of Region Six through the Community Infrastructure Improvement Project (CIIP).

A domestic dispute in 2007 resulted in Leitch’s left hand being severed, and subsequently depression and hopelessness had engulfed her. But being a mother of five boys, those feelings had to be fought, as providing for her children was now the priority.

Today, thanks to Government’s non-discriminatory employment policy, Leitch is a member of the staff of the Ministry of Housing and Water. Stronger, independent and confident, she is a proud Community Enhancement Team Leader (CETL) supervising an all-male team of Community Enhancement Workers (CEWs).

A hallmark of CIIP is the equal employment opportunity it offers to residents within the various NDCs, targeted municipalities and village councils in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six. CIIP commenced in August 2014, and over 700 persons are employed with the project. Women and persons living with disabilities, two traditionally marginalised groups, are now given the opportunity to work in a male dominated labour intensive work environment.

Employees work the same hours, and are paid equally for their labour.

They engage in cleaning and clearing of internal drainage networks, parapets, and burial grounds, and execute minor routine repairs to infrastructure.

Leitch said that finding employment as a differently-able person is challenging, and she is grateful to be a part of the CIIP. “Some of my relatives assist me financially to send

(one of my sons) to UG, another (son) to the Guyana School of Agriculture, and two more to school… The money I earn also helps in a big way to pay my bills…

“I feel independent knowing that I am not a complete burden to my relatives,” Leitch said.

The independence Leitch feels is not isolated. For Garfield Jacobs, a resident of Stewartville North/ East H o u s i n g S c h e m e , We s t Coast Demerara, being employed with CIIP is fulfilling.

Observing Jacobs handling a rake or cutlass, one would see a strong young man who is dedicated to his job, and one would never guess that he is hearing impaired.

Jacobs is a Community Enhancement Worker, providing labour services to the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida NDC. His team members communicate with him using actions to indicate tasks to be done, and they do not by any means regard him a liability to the team.

In fact, team members describe him as an alert, dedicated and willing worker, who is always in a good mood.

“Sometimes we working in an area and bees might be there. Jacobs is the first to spot the bees, and he would alert us by making noise to tell us something dangerous is around… We have no problem working with him…he is a good worker,” Moses John, a CEW,

Sunday, April 12, 2015 - 11:00 hrs Monday, April 13, 2015 - 12:30 hrs Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - 13:30 hrs

said.

Though he cannot express himself verbally, Jacobs’s younger sister believes he is happy to be employed and be able to earn.

The feeling of satisfaction that comes with being able to provide for oneself and family is one Dhanwanttie Ramdeholl cherishes.

Ramdeholl, a single parent, is the Community Enhancement Team Leader of Anna Regina Town Council, Region Two. “This job provides me with an income to provide for my children, and I am thankful to be employed with this project…. It is not demanding, and allows me

the time to see my children off to school, and when they get home from school; for that, I am happy,” she said.

Another important aspect of CIIP that appeals to Ramdeholl is the project’s objectives of improving, accessing and beautifying communities, and promoting safer and healthier communities.

Wi t h h e r c h i l d r e n ’s well-being in mind, she gives 100 percent of her energy to being a CETL. Being a supervisor allows her opportunity to ensure that CEWs execute tasks properly to make their communities cleaner and healthier.

Equal employment and

respecting labour laws are priorities of the Ministry as it implements CIIP. The Local Government and Regional Development Ministry (MLGRD) is pleased that this project could touch the lives of so many persons who have different circumstances.

Their individual dedication and collective energies poured into making communities better are truly valued.

It is because of the workers that CIIP is a reality, and citizens could enjoy cleaner communities.

Some districts need additional workers, but in due time that void would be filled.

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PRESS RELEASE

By Charles Ramson

THE APNU+AFC and their media operatives have identified eight (8) persons out of the list of some 150 national and geographic candidates as being family members of “past and present” senior PPP officials. Illogically, the APNU+AFC and their media operatives expect the public to accept their spurious view that the off-

spring of the PPP should never get involved in the political struggle for national development. The illogicality of the view is definitive by analogy, since it would mean that the child of a senior officer in a business/company would never be able to work in that business/company.

The reality is quite the opposite: most parents who own businesses have at least some degree of ex-

pectation of their children assisting in that business.

Further, closer examination of the identified persons would reveal that the identified persons are young, qualified professionals e.g.Ranvir Gajraj – a medical doctor; Thandi Luncheon – a medical doctor, Charles Ramson – an attorney–at-law; Rabindranauth Chandarpal – an engineer.

Also, if it were a case of nepotism, then why would

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

the national top-up and geographic lists of some 150 plus persons contain only these eight children of past and present senior officials of the PPP? Are they trying to also say that all the PPP past and present leaders have been able to produce only eight children over the course of some 65 years of existence?

The accusation of PPP/C nepotism is a red herring, in an attempt to deflect questions from the APNU+AFC list of candidates which contains some persons of a criminal nature, some of whom have been arrested and charged and brought before the criminal courts or who have had court orders against them for libel.

It is also a red herring in an attempt to deflect from the fact that the APNU+AFC list does not represent the youth and future that is claimed to be their platform for this 2015 election. Almost 50% of the PPP/C’s list of candidates are under the age of 45 and over 25% are under the age of 35.

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the Guyanese public that the Honourable Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has received a formal apology from her Surinamese counterpart His Excellency Winston G. Lackin, regarding the incident that took place at the Guyana Embassy in Paramaribo on April 1, 2015.

In the same communication, the Surinamese Foreign Minister gave the assurance that the Government of the Republic of Suriname has initiated a thorough investigation into the incident that involved two Surinamese policemen seeking to execute an arrest of a staff member on the premises of the Guyana Embassy; and which led to the assault on the person of the Ambassador of Guyana to the Republic of Suriname. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett was also assured by her Surinamese counterpart that appropriate remedial measures will be taken by Suriname and action will be taken to avoid a recurrence in the future.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains committed to the continued deepening of the relations between the Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname and is satisfied that both countries have been addressing the incident under reference in a mature, friendly and good neighbourly manner, which is testimony to the strong ties of friendship between both Governments.

The ministry wishes to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Guyana Embassy in Paramaribo for firmly defending the applicable rules of the Vienna Convention during the incident.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs April 11, 2015.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

RICE DEVELOPMENT A LAUDABLE SUCCESS STORY

No validity in what is being peddled –Minister Ramsammy AGRICULTURE Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has debunked detractors amidst their levelling raging criticisms of the rice industry when he expounded on the success of the sector, tracing the amazing recovery of the rice industry under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government all the way to its present status.

PPP’S EARLY SUCCESS NOT MAINTAINED

BY PNC During a recent interview on the National Communications Network, the minister first recounted how early post-Independence Guyana fared well in the rice sector. He declared that 200,000 tonnes were achieved in 1964; and, for the first time, 100,000 tonnes were exported in that same year. And that was during the 1957/1964 PPP Government!

According to Dr. Ramsammy, there was a drop from this lofty height, and Guyana did not again produce 200,000 tonnes of

rice until 1995. And indeed, “we only reached 100,000 tonnes in export once between 1964 and 1992,” he said.

In other words, the minister’s clear portrayal was that rice crumbled under the People’s National Congress (PNC), and Guyana managed to export 104,000 tonnes only in 1978.

VARIOUS BRANDS OF GUYANESE RICE However, barring this lone bright spot, the PNC allowed the rice sector to become virtually dead; but since 1992, “rice has just parachuted upwards, and we now have a production of 635,000 tonnes last year”, Dr. Ramsammy said.

“That is a number that, just ten years ago, people said was impossible for Guyana; and so far for this crop of 2015, when we have so far harvested 25 per cent of the crop, if the production continues to the end of this first crop, we will produce more than 350,000 tonnes of rice, which is more in one crop than we did (at) any time in the period before

1992!” Dr. Ramsammy declared.

IRREFUTABLE SUCCESS In January of this year, 45,000 tonnes of rice were exported; which is more in this first quarter than had been exported at any time in any year between 1964 and 1992, and is irrefutable evidence that the industry is flourishing. Overall, in 2014, the country exported 501,000 tonnes.

Dr. Ramsammy elaborated that, in Essequibo, Guyana is producing more rice now than at any previous time in its history.

Figures show that, by 1990, “we were only cultivating about 30,000 acres; but now we are cultivating in Essequibo (alone) around 38,000 hectares!” (One hectare is 2.47 acres) Minister Ramsammy detailed that after the figures had been compiled, growth of more than 100 per cent had been realised. He also mentioned that the success is more than in numbers, as, in Essequibo before 1992, more than half of the rice pro-

duced was by one entity - the Kayman Sankar Group of Companies. Today, 100 per cent of the production in Essequibo comes from thousands of farmers. This takes the success of rice into a new dimension, where monopoly and exploitation have been erased.

This important dimension, he said, is sometimes missed by the Opposition; but, he challenged, “People (should) take a step back and recognise that, indeed, before 1992, we had very few mills in the country, and

that production was not there to support the mills.”

He recapped that, at this juncture, there was little to show in terms of infrastructure, but today there are large mills; and whether it’s Essequibo, Regions Three, Four, Five or Six, there are mills that produce quality rice that could enter any market in the world.

Referring to the Venezuelan market that excites everyone, the minister declared: “If we had this market in 1992, we could not sell to Venezuela, because the quality

of the mills that we had could not process paddy to produce the rice that Venezuela buys.”

He added that virtually all of the paddy that is produced in Essequibo can meet the quality that is required, and in every way whatsoever.

GOVERNMENT’S ROLE Minister Ramsammy rubbished the Opposition’s idea that ‘the Government should step aside’, and that ‘rice is a private sector business.’ He poignantly Turn to page 26 ►

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No validity in what is... queried: “Will the farmers invest in all of this?”

He made it clear that Government has a responsibility to accommodate growth of the rice

industry, and if it were to remove the investments it is making, then rice would die again.

He cited a situation that obtains during the dry season,

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015 From page 25

when the irrigation pumps have to provide the farmers with water as a public good.

He pointed out that the pumps which had been estab-

lished by the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan in 1957 and 1964 had either been disabled or were malfunctioning during the tenure of the PNC; but, he said, “The PPP/C Government did resuscitation work, and so today, even in an extreme dry season, we may not be able to give the farmers

all the water they want, but we meet their demands so that the rice industry is not destroyed.”

Government is presently building a pump station at Lima, he said, and even though a pump station had been installed at Three Friends, a new one is being budgeted for.

The minister added that not only the ‘pump inputs’ but also the main canal linking the conservancy had to be seriously worked on, as “this was almost non-functional, and all the head regulators were disabled.”

Dr. Ramsammy mentioned that, under an Inter-American Development Bank loan, this Government replaced all of the head regulators, and has maintained the main canals even as “those very maintenance activities are continuing to be an issue with the Opposition.”

MARKET AVAILABILITY Before 1992, Dr. Ramsammy said, Guyana sold rice to only a few European countries and some Caribbean states. He tied this reality to the fact that, during these years, Guyana did not need more (markets) because the production was low, sufficing for the few markets.

Conversely, the minister declared, the market size then could not take up even half of a crop of current production.

Today, the minister detailed, production and market are in great equilibrium, and now “we export to more European countries than we have ever done before. We export to more Caribbean countries, because some Caribbean countries were buying rice from the US and are now buying from Guyana. We export to more South American countries -- Brazil, Chile, Colombia: we export to Central America, which we never did before, and not just Panama: we export to Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador. And as we speak, we are at the (stage of concluding) arrangements with African countries.”

Minister Ramsammy noted that the business and economic sides of this kind of large-scale export are well taken care of, and that “draft contracts are available for these new countries, and we are looking at the banking arrangements to make sure that we get paid.”

The minister explained that the expanded market means that “all our eggs are not in one basket”, and that Guyana has to always be prepared that, if something should go wrong in one place, the industry will not crumble.

VALUE-ADDED RICE Minister Ramsammy paid tribute to the Government’s prudence in regard to the rice sector, in that there were calculated moves to ensure that both quantity and quality, as well as variety, be amalgamated.

From 1995 to now, the country has produced 14 new varieties of rice, paddy for Guyana, and recently, “we introduced GRDB 14, and in 300 acres, where it is now on farmers’ plots, including in Essequibo; and the average is between 55 and 60 bags per acre.

“GRDB 13 is the aromatic rice; and GRDB 12, 11, 10 are

still very popular across Guyana.”

In sharp contrast, the minister noted, before 1992 this was not possible. He recalled the Rustic (the extra-long grain, high quality locally-developed rice variety) that was developed by an Indian scientist in Guyana.

He said this contribution under the then PNC Government was short-lived, as the PNC revoked (the developer’s visa) and sent him home.

NO VALIDITY PEDDLED Minister Ramsammy advised that when there are criticisms from the Opposition, stating that “we have high production but no markets, they ignore the fact that last year we sold 501,000 tonnes and we had 33 countries”; and therefore there is no validity to what is being peddled.

He further elaborated that people need to realise that rice is one of the most common commodities in the world, but many of these markets demand high-quality rice, and that means that millers must ensure they are sending the best quality of rice, or their reputation will be affected.

This, he said, is what recently obtained with Alesie, having shipped substandard rice to Chile; and that circumstance had a huge negative impact on Guyana’s reputation.

He singled out Mr. Turhane Doerga as “having done Guyana a disservice by jeopardising that particular market, and now we have to go and make sure we do everything; so we are starting back this year from scratch, and we have to go and make sure we bring rice into Chile and show them that Guyana has high-quality rice, and they should not nurture an image in their mind that Guyana’s rice is just bricks, wood and chips.”

The minister also recalled that Mr. Doerga had a questionable entry into the rice sector. He said that under the PNC, Anna Regina, Somerset-and-Berks, Black Bush Polder, Wakenaam, and in fact the entire major mills except Kayman Sankar, were owned by the Government. At this juncture Mr. Doerga came to Guyana, and “Mr. Desmond Hoyte literally handed him over the rice industry, and I don’t know how much he paid, I don’t know if he paid, but he afterward kept borrowing money, and “I think the amount of money was around US$34M.” This irresponsible and spendthrift approach, he said, led to a 2006 litigation against Mr. Doerga in Florida.

“He was taken to court because he had not paid back his money, and that court decision was an interim judgment for $8M. And then, in 2013, there was another court judgment for another $12M plus interest; and later, in 2013, an order from the judge was for the arrest of Mr. Doerga anytime he appears in Florida.”

In wrapping up his arguments, Minister Ramsammy appealed to Guyanese -- and rice farmers in particular -to be careful of persons who spread all kinds of stories and confuse their minds.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Fernandes guides GCC ...

From back page loose and capitalised on the chances given, as Gavin Singh 36 (5x4) and Martin Pestano-Belle 64 (5x4, 1x6) added 93 for the first wicket, with both batsmen hitting boundaries off Ross, who finished with 2 for 45.

When Singh was bowled by Hoyte (1 for 38), Pestano-Belle and Fernandes added 71 for the second wicket, before Fernandes and Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed (18) added an additional 51 for the fourth wicket.

Some lusty hitting from GCC’s skipper Devon Lord (18, 2x6),

who has been the man at the helm on all three occasions his team won the tournament, steered the Bourda side to their eventual total with Joshua Wade (12) being the last wicket to fall.

Batson took 3 for 48 for TSC, who in their turn at the wicket were rocked

by Ali-Mohammed (3 for 13) the national Under-17 pacer who sent back Ryan Hemraj (02) and Sunil Singh (00) in one over, while Deonarine Seegobin (3 for 24) accounted for Charwayne McPherson (06), leaving TSC on 21 for 3.

Batson (07) and innings topscorer Devaughn

Nandan 19 (2x4) added 22 for the fourth wicket, the best partnership in TSC’s innings, but despite Shaun Massiah 17 (3x4) and Azim Azeez 15 (2x4) appearing aggressive in the depth of their team’s response, the run rate and discipline bowling was two hurdles too high for the Thomas Lands based TSC team to cross.

Both Lord and Ali-Mohammed finished with 3 for 13, while Seegobin had 3 for 24 for GCC who collected a trophy, 15 medallions and $100,000 as their spoils, leaving TSC to be contented with the second place prize of a trophy, 15 medallions and $60,000.

Guyana loses to T&T ...

From back page French Racing Tips Longchamp 08:30 hrs Territories 09:08 hrs Landym 09:40 hrs Vedouma 10:10 hrs Hawke 10:45 hrs Quest 11:15 hrs Alforrocho 11:55 hrs Aracacha South Africa Racing Tips Kenilwortth 08:45 hrs Fly By Night 09:20 hrs Captain Bagg 09:55 hrs Brutal Force 10:30 hrs No Resistance 11:05 hrs Imperial Guard English Racing Tips Ffos Las 09:00 hrs Aldborough 09:30 hrs Lord Fox 10:05 hrs Tanerko Emery 10:40 hrs Farbreaga 11:10 hrs Molly’s Diva 11:45 hrs Expanding Universe 12:15 hrs Premier Bond Market Rasen 09:15 hrs Alto Des Mottes 09:45 hrs Hassle 10:20 hrs Flying Li9ght 10:55 hrs Warden Hill 11:25 hrs Cape York 12:00 hrs Light The City 12:30 hrs Yes I Did Irish Racing Tips Leopardstown 09:10 hrs Zannda 09:40 hrs Portage 10:15 hrs Legatissimo 10:50 hrs John F Kennedy 11:20 hrs Fog Of War 11:55 hrs Vitally Important 12:25 hrs Unsinkable Tramore 09:20 hrs Flaviana 09:55 hrs Bothermenot 10:30 hrs The Mad Well 11:00 hrs Urano 11:35 hrs Hop In 12:05 hrs Killtilane Rose 12:35 hrs Childrens List

the half – Australian-based Kevin McKenzie collected a perfect pass and took off for the zone – Guyana’s first 5 points on the board.

Captain Ryan Gonsalves took the kick, but it wasn’t converted. It would be a bad day for him – he missed four attempted to add eight points on the board. He was however better on the run.

Trinidad would add to their seven point cushion, when they forced a try from the right flank through Johnason 17-5 in the 60th minute.

Avery Corbin cut the deficit for Guyana in the 64th minute with a try; again no conversion 17-10. On 69 minutes, TT further extended their lead with a breakaway run from Andre Caberra in the 69th minute, but the fight was not taken from the Guyanese.

The ever dependable Staglon with the backing of his team, and their formation, one head at a time hit the touch line 15-22 in the 72nd minute.

McKenzie added his second try, again, breaking away with a pass and barrelling down to the touch line down the left flank 20-22. With the team hoping for the conversion and levelling of the scores in the 78th, Gonsalves again came up short.

From the half-way line, Guyana made a final push in the final minute for a try and the win, but when the ball was knock out-of-bounds, Australian referee Alistair Robertson blew the game off, some 20 yards out from the touchline; giving T&T the win, the title of Southern Zone Champions and the opportunity to face Mexico on April 25 in the finals.

After the game, an upset Guyana Rugby Football Union President Peter Green said he was not too pleased with the refereeing of the game. He was upset at the try that was disallowed by the referee in the first half.

Coach of the team and player Theodore Henry said his charges played well.

With a chuckle he said “we gave up I would say one soft try in the first half, I would say the referee made a blunder on a few calls resulting in them scoring two tries and it really took the game away from us.”

Team captain Ryan Gonsalves said the focus is now on the NACRA 7s.

“It could have gone anyway today (Saturday), that’s how sport goes, you don’t win everything.”

Of the refereeing, Gonsalves said “I was disappointed in some of the calls. It was hard towards us but that’s how it goes. Referees don’t see everything and you just can’t blame them.”

The Team returns home today.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Sports view

By Neil Kumar

UNDER the PPP/C Government, which won the leadership of this country in 1992, both the physical and organisational sports’ infrastructure have improved exponentially over the years.

As a direct result, Guyanese athletes were given greater opportunities to excel in their various disciplines; this is most evident in the unprecedented improvement in our athletes’ international performances.

The colonial masters’ approach to sports ensured that only the socially and/ or financially privileged could excel in sports, and reap the benefits of athletic success on a national or international scale.

The former administration displayed a very similar attitude towards sports in Guyana. As a result, there was almost no tangible improvement in sports infrastructure or athletic performance in Guyana.

The PPP/C Government, recognising the importance of sports, immediately set about correcting these deficiencies which existed over the decades.

This Government demonstrated its commitment to our athletes when the National Sports Commission was established under the National Sports Commission Act No.23 of 1993.

The PPP/C Government’s dedication to improvement of Sports in Guyana clearly manifested itself in the construction of: The Guyana National Stadium which is definitely one of the best in the Caribbean.

The International 50M swimming facilities which include a Warm up/Warm down 25M Pool. This public facility is second to none in the Caribbean. Acres of idle land were converted into a world class facility. Today, the Aquatic Centre is a State of the Art facility that will attract World Class Swimmers.

The Synthetic 400M track and football facility is a reality and Guyanese are indeed proud of their multi-purpose facility at Leonora.

An international Squash facility, again this facility is the best in the Caribbean and will produce World Class Squash Players.

A state of the Art National Sports Resource Centre. Development is not only the erection and maintenance of facilities, but requires institutions for education.

Our people will and must be trained in all facets of the various sports disciplines.

The commissioning of the National Sports Resource Centre marks a new beginning for sports in Guyana. This important and necessary facility will create the opportunity for athletes and other sports personalities to be exposed to information, via print and electronic media, which will take them and the various sports disciplines to the highest level.

The aesthetics and educational facility is expected to give guidance and certification to the stakeholders in sports – athletes, coaches, umpires, referees, scorers, journalists, managers, chaperons, technical persons and even the general public.

The facility houses a library, with books covering various sports disciplines which will guide all involved in modern

methods of preparation and effective management, a section for online researching and a conference room which will be used for theoretical training and presentations.

The National Sports Resource Centre is, however, simply the foundation of the PPP/C Government’s vision. It is meant to be the forerunner for a National Sports Institute which is crucial to furthering the performance of Guyanese athletes on the international stage.

MAINTENANCE OF FACILITIES Over the years, hundreds of millions of dollars were expended to keep these facilities to acceptable standards so that training and competitions (national and international) could be accommodated.

Director of Sport Neil Kumar Just a few examples – the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall was nowhere near to where it is today. A rubberized floor, of international standard, was laid at the National Gymnasium; Refurbishing of the Colgrain Swimming Pool; and Upgrading of the Tennis facility.

The maintenance of these facilities has generated an enormous rise in interest and significant improvement in athletic performances. Our athletes demonstrate this with their constantly improving performances at regional and international competitions.

Community Grounds and Centres Millions of dollars were spent in the rehabilitation, construction and maintenance of community grounds and centres throughout Guyana, thus ensuring that athletes in every area have access to proper facilities.

In some cases, these facilities are multipurpose and accommodate classes in Information Technology, academic classes, and other skills training.

NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS In keeping with its mandate, the Government has annually rewarded Sportsmen and women, Associations, Sports Officials, Officials of the Media and Regional

Sports Organisations for their outstanding performances in their respective sports disciplines. The National Sports Awards Ceremony is the best approach to say thank you and express our genuine appreciation to our top achievers in sports.

FOREIGN COACHES Via bilateral agreements, the Government has secured a number of qualified coaches from various countries in the field of boxing, table tennis, swimming, etc.

INTER GUIANA GAMES After an absence spanning many years, the Inter Guiana Games were resuscitated among French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and a state of Brazil.

The IGG which is a 19 and under competition includes sports, cultural and educational activities.

Many athletes who participated in the IGG went on to represent Guyana at the junior and senior levels.

Representing our Country in the Annual Inter Guyana Games has now become a great aspiration to many students in Guyana.

DAYS OF INTERACTION These activities are collaboration between the National Sports Commission, Regional Administrations, Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, and Amerindians Councils; and are held in every region of Guyana.

Thousands of athletes from many communities participate in various sports disciplines. The Days of Interaction, engage communities across the country to highlight the importance of exercise, a healthy lifestyle and to promote the spirit of peace, unity, co-operation and cohesion.

WORLD CHALLENGE DAY World Challenge Day is a ‘Sport for All Movement’ in benefit of health. It has as its objectives to introduce a positive attitude towards activity by encouraging citizens to break their daily routine and practice any kind of physical activity for at least 15 minutes. Guyana is committed to participating in this annual international event and joins with the rest of the world under the theme – “Fitness for Life”, attracting thousands of school children and teachers to be involved in various exercises and physical displays and demonstrations.

TEACH THEM YOUNG SUMMER CAMPS The Teach Them Young Programme is used to encourage children and young people to be physically active during the August Vacation. The programmes are designed to provide early learning to beginners and motivate others to compete in sports. Other than practical sessions, a number of other subject areas are taught – culture and basics of sports, physical and mental preparation, recent techniques and rules, discipline and fair play, nutrition, drugs, HIV/AIDS prevention and a healthy lifestyle. Our Teach Them Young Programme exposes the very young to sports disciplines so that they can develop a posi-

tive attitude and genuine interest in sports.

EDUCATION IN SPORT It is important and necessary that our athletes and officials have sound knowledge of all aspects of sports. As a consequence, many sports educational programmes were organised including: Sports Development for children Sports Management (with Grace Jackson and Ato Boldon) CHILD PROTECTION SEMINAR Level ll FINA certificate course (with Rick Powers Anti Doping Workshop for coaches and team managers FIFA Rop Programme and Referee Workshop Workshop on Workplace Injuries and Prevention and Practice (with Dr. Sharmilla Roopchand Martain) ITTF levels 1 and 2 Coaching Certification Programmes (with Ortegga Montes) First ever Lifeguard Programmes – 6 Guyanese were internationally certified Visits to sports facilities and workshop, and practical Demonstrations for athletes and coaches during a visit by USA specialist Indoor Hurdler, Kristi Castalin.

Because of the interest, commitment and dedication to sports and its development shown by this Government, our athletes over the decades have risen from the un-encouraging levels of performances to successes at the various levels of sports.

More of our athletes have participated at the highest levels of their respective sports disciplines, including the Olympics.

With the vision of the Government and its positive actions, many more athletes will successfully represent this country at international games and events.

The vast majority of sports disciplines in Guyana have shown tremendous improvement – Table Tennis, Basketball, Boxing, Swimming, Cycling, Track and Field, Chess, Badminton, Rugby, Cricket, Martial Arts, Weightlifting, Body Building, Rifle Shooting, Motor Racing, Squash, Football, among others.

Physical Education and sports have been integrated as a structured part of the curriculum in schools. Sports Education is also offered at the tertiary level via the Cyril Potter College of Education. Teachers in training have the opportunity to sign up for Physical Education on a two year programme.

Sports for Life! Sports must be facilitated from the cradle to the grave. Even after death we must emulate our great achievers. To the extent, that even during pregnancy our mothers must exercise and eat appropriately to ensure that the baby is born healthy.

The PPP/C Government has a vision of a healthy lifestyle for all Guyanese.

Amateur and Professional Sports MUST inspire sports for health, leisure, entertainment. Sport must become an integral part of our society and all Guyanese MUST support the Government’s vision for the future of sports in Guyana!

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Grand National glory for Many Clouds

By Ian Chadband LIVERPOOL, (Reuters) Jockey Leighton Aspell and owner Trevor Hemmings celebrated Grand National history yesterday as the Oliver Sherwood-trained Many Clouds courageously triumphed in the 168th edition of Aintree’s famous steeplechase.

Aspell could hardly believe it as he became the first jockey for 61 years to win the National on different horses in two successive years following his victory on Pineau De Re last year.

The 79-year-old Hemmings, one of Britain’s biggest leisure tycoons and owner of Preston North End Football Club, was equally astonished as Many Clouds became his third different National winner, equalling a century-old record.

The 25-1 shot took up the running with four fences remaining but horse and jockey had to dig deep to hold off runner-up Saint Are (25-1) as they prevailed by one-andthree-quarter lengths after nearly four and a half miles of racing.

There was to be no fairytale farewell for the sport’s greatest jockey Tony McCoy in his record 20th and final ride in the race before his retirement when, following a promising outing on Shutthefront-

Many Clouds ridden by Leighton Aspell celebrates winning the 4.15 Crabbie’s Grand National Chase.Reuters / Darren StaplesLivepic.

door, he faded from second to fifth after the final fence.

Aspell’s story had its own touch of fantasy as the 38-year-old, who retired in 2007 only to come back 18 months later when it dawned how much he missed it, became the first jockey since Red Rum’s pilot Brian Fletcher in 1974 to win two years in a row.

He was also the first since Bryan Marshall in 1953 on Early Mist and 1954 on Royal Tan to triumph in consecu-

tive years on different horses.

Hemmings, owner of Hedgehunter (2005) and Ballabriggs (2011), became the first owner since Charles Assheton-Smith in 1913 to win with three different horses.

“It’s wonderful. He is all heart and gave me the best ride I have ever had over these fences,” Aspell told reporters of Many Clouds.

The best news was that for the third year running there were no fatalities

among the 39-strong field though Balthazar King needed medical attention behind screens after falling at the Canal Turn.

The fence had to be bypassed on the second circuit and the horse was taken to equine hospital for treatment.

Only 19 completed the course including the sole woman rider, Nina Carberry, who was badly hampered on First Lieutenant on the first circuit and ended up 16th.

Arsenal beat Burnley to stay in title hunt

By Toby Davis

LONDON ,(Reuters) - Arsenal’s improbable late run at the Premier League title gained further momentum with a 1-0 win over strugglers Burnley yesterday, an eighth straight success that moved them four points behind leaders Chelsea.

Arsene Wenger’s side did not have to be at their best to overcome an organised Burnley, who stay second from bottom in the table, but scored early through Aaron Ramsey and then eased through largely unthreatened.

While Chelsea, who play Queens Park Rangers today, have two games in hand, Wenger’s side host the leaders in two weeks.

At the other end of the table, Aston Villa took another step towards safety after Christian Benteke’s goal secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur as manager Tim Sherwood enjoyed a winning return to his former club.

Villa, who moved up to 15th on 32 points, are six clear of the relegation zone.

They are a place and three points above Sunder-

land, whose own battle to avoid the drop suffered in a stinging 4-1 home defeat

by Crystal Palace with Yannick Bolasie completing a 12-minute hat-trick for the visitors.

The relegation battle remains a congested dogfight with bottom club Leicester City continuing their escape bid with a 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion as Hull City missed the chance to put clear water between themselves and danger.

Hull lost 2-0 to Southampton to stay 17th, while R o n a l d K o e m a n ’s s i d e

moved up to fifth on 56 points, above Liverpool and five behind fourth-placed Manchester City who take on local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford today.

Stoke City’s Marko Arnautovic scored in the 90th minute to snatch a 1-1 draw with West Ham United and Swansea City equalled their highest ever points tally (47) in a Premier League season following a 1-1 draw with Everton.

Caption: Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff

Bishoo credits hard work and changes to bowling action for recent success NORTH SOUND, Antigua, (CMC)- Guyanese leg-spinner spinner Devendra Bishoo, has credited hard work and changes to his bowling action for his recent success in regional first class cricket.

Bishoo, one of the leading bowlers in the recently concluded WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL), also enjoyed a six wicket haul as a member of the West Indies training squad preparing to play against England.

“Over the years I was struggling a little bit and but I DEVENDRA started feeling more confident. I was BISHOO feeling good. I was working hard. At the end of the day hard work always pays off,” said Bishoo.

“I made one or two adjustments with my bowling action and stuff like that .I am more comfortable now. Everything is going well and I am so happy. I think I am smarter when it comes to bowling and I am pretty confident in whatever I am doing. This is my best first class season”.

The 29-year-old leg-spinner took 61 wickets to help Guyana Jaguars win the inaugural PCL Four-day Tournament.

Bishoo made his debut for West Indies in 2011 and was that year named the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year. He played 11 Test matches but lost his place in 2012.

“I’m very happy to be back in the West Indies camp,” he said.

“I was out of the team but I knew I was good enough to make my way back into the team. I made some changes to my action and now I would say I’m bowling the best I have ever bowled.”

The three Test Matches matches will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua; Grenada National Stadium; and Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Notable Dates THE year 1948 was a tough one for Clifford Matthew Anderson. The featherweight boxer engaged in nine fights during that 12-month period and came away with only two victories. He had three draws and four defeats. One of the losses occurred on April 12 in Newcastle, United Kingdom.

Anderson was out-pointed by Tommy Burns in a 10-round contest. It was the Guyanese’s third fight for the year and his second defeat. Anderson would have another lean period leading up to his retirement from the ring.

He entered the ring eight times between June 1952 and May of 1953, but was only able to scrape one victory and one draw. The six defeats were by points.

It was the worst period for the man who had started professional boxing in February 1940 and, may have played a pivotal role in him deciding to quit the sport.

Anderson fought 87 times and boxed 603 rounds in the 13 years he remained pro. He won 48 bouts, lost 28 and drew 11. He died in 1998 and the National Sports Hall was renamed in his honour.

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

McCullum century sets up big win for Chennai BRENDON McCullum’s second IPL century, his first for Chennai Super Kings, set up a big second win for the hosts.

His 100 not out off 56 balls featured hits into the deserted disputed stands of MA Chidambram Stadium, two ramps for sixes over the keeper’s head, and scarcely believable reverse-pull to take him to 99 after IPL debutant Trent Boult saw he had shaped up for the ramp and bowled a slower bouncer.

(Scores:Chennai Super Kings 209 for 4 (McCullum 100*, Dhoni 53) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 164 for 6 (Warner 53) by 45 runs) McCullum was helped along by a domineering 53 off 29 from MS Dhoni, who was more at home coming in at 135 for 2.

Even through David Warner scored a fifty, Sunrisers Hyderabad never really got going against the Super Kings bowlers, who used the variable bounce to their advantage showing up a pretty insipid bowling effort from the visitors.

Then again when McCullum is going hard at you, it is not easy to stick to your plans. He drove for four the second ball he faced, and his intent meant the Sunrisers bowlers forgot

about using the new ball and the bounce. They were forced to bowl yorkers early in the piece,

BRENDON McCullum

and with no wickets taken in the first four the others were under pressure too.

Ishant Sharma made a good start, but he bowled four no-balls, which ruined his figures.

Two of the free hits went for sixes, one for four, and the fourth for a single. Take the 17 runs off his figures and his three overs for 29 look decent.

Boult, chosen ahead of Dale Steyn, was neutralised by the immense pressure the openers put him under. Karn Sharma’s flat legbreaks were now just cannon fodder.

Ravi Bopara, chosen ahead of Eoin Morgan, slowed them down a little with two tight overs that also featured two run-outs. Dhoni, not in the best of touches, promoted himself and prodded along to 4 off 8.

This was a moment where Sunrisers would have fancied coming back in. In the next over McCullum cut Bopara in the air, but sent it in front of square because of the slow pace. The other IPL debutant, Kane Williamson, ran in from deep cover, but dropped him. That was the end of the mini comeback.

Dhoni took almost all of the strike, and to devastating effect. The bowlers neither had the pace to bounce him nor the accuracy to bother him. Over the next 22 balls Dhoni added four

sixes and four fours to eight sixes and six fours that McCullum had already hit. By the time he fell in the 20th over, Dhoni had taken Super Kings to 198, and had left McCullum four balls to go from 89 to 100.

The first ball was taken by Jadeja, who was run out but managed to turn the strike over. McCullum then sent the first - a low full toss - over the keeper’s head, and then the slower bounce over short third man to reach 99. The single off the last ball brought the packed house to its feet. The few that weren’t already, that is.

Super Kings bowled a lot of cutters and bouncers to exploit the abrasive surface.

Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul both fell to slower balls from Mohit Sharma, Warner was kept quiet by the lack of pace on the ball, and Sunrisers showed they had got their plans wrong, sending Williamson to bat in the 15th over.

He came in at the fall of Warner, who had just reached his fifty, and was the only hope with the asking rate having reached three runs a ball. There was going to be only one winner from thereon. (ESPN Cricinfo)

Gayle sizzles with 96 as KKR beaten by three wickets CHENNAI, India, (CMC) – T20Superstar opener Chris Gayle narrowly missed out on a hundred, upstaging West Indies teammate Sunil Narine who again went wicket-less, as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets here yesterday Opting to bowl first, RCB restricted Knight Riders to 177 for six from their 20 overs, and then successfully chased down their target with six balls remaining, with Gayle smashing 96 from 56 deliveries.

(Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 179 for 7 (Gayle 96) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 177 for 6 (Gambhir 58,

Russell 41*) by three wickets) The left-hander, who ruled himself out of the Test series against England because of fitness issues, hammered seven fours and seven sixes, to guide the RCB run chase.

He was one of only three batsmen in double figures and one of two to pass 20, as South African AB de Villiers hit 28 from 13 deliveries and Gayle’s opener partner, captain Virat Kohli, got 13.

In fact, RCB struggled with partnerships, with the highest being a seventh wicket stand of 38 between Gayle and Harshal Patel (9 not out).

Gayle, however, dropped on 33 in

the 12th over and again on 63 in 16th, reached his half-century off 37 balls before finally perishing via the run out route in the 19th over.

For the second straight game, Narine proved economical conceding just 26 runs but was ineffective in the wickets column.

Earlier, West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell blasted an unbeaten 41 off just 17 deliveries with six fours and two sixes, as KKR rallied to their eventual score.

Captain Gautam Gambhir top scored with 58 from 46 balls in an 81run opening stand with Robin Uthappa who scored 35.

Chris Gayle waited for the middle overs to explode and struck boundaries regularly even as wickets fell around him

The words of Richie Benaud, the ‘voice of cricket’

‘Ball of the Century’ or simply ‘The Ball’, Mike Gatting is bowled by Shane Warne

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Richie Benaud, Australia’s celebrated former cricket captain and commentator, died on Thursday at the age of 84.

Here are a selection of quotes from the man who came to be known as the ‘voice of cricket’ during a 40-year career behind the microphone.

On his approach to cricket commentary: “Put your brain into gear and if you can add to what’s on the screen then do it, otherwise shut up.”

On captaincy: “Captaincy is 90 per cent luck and 10 per cent skill. But don’t try it without that 10 per cent.”

On the media: “Media were never allowed into an Australian dressing room until I became skipper. I changed that and invited them in at the close of play each day, thereby confirming for many administrators they had appointed a madman as captain.”

On Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne’s 1993 ‘ball of the century’ which bowled

England batsman Mike Gatting on day two of the first Test of the Ashes series at Old Trafford: “What a cricketer, what a match-winner, what a ball. Gatting has absolutely no idea what has happened to it. Still doesn’t know. He asked (umpire) Kenny Palmer on the way out, Kenny Palmer just gave him a raised eyebrow and a little nod.”

On the infamous under-arm bowling incident, when Australia captain Greg Chappell had his brother Trevor bowl under-arm to New Zealand’s Brian McKechnie with the final ball of a one-day match in Melbourne in 1981: “Let me tell you what I think about it, I think it was a disgraceful decision by a captain who got his sums wrong today.

“I think it should never be permitted to happen again -- we keep reading and hearing that the players are under pressure and they’re tired and jaded and perhaps their skill is blunted.

“Well, perhaps they might advance that as an excuse for what happened out there today, (but) not with me they don’t. I

think it was a very poor performance, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen done on a cricket field. Goodnight.”

On Australia’s iconic cricketer Don Bradman: “I once said to (Australia all-rounder) Keith Miller how disappointed I was to have made my debut in the same year as Bradman finished. How wonderful it would have been to have watched him play at the SCG in 1940 and then been able to bowl at him on the same ground.

“Nugget (Miller) looked at me and remarked drily that everyone has one lucky break in a lifetime and that may well have been mine.”

On his skin cancer: “When I was a kid, we never, ever wore a cap. Not the flash ones ... Nugget Miller never wore a cap, so I didn’t.

“I wish I had. You live and learn as you go along.

“I recommend to everyone they wear protection on their heads. Eighty-fouryear-olds don’t seem to mend as well as they used to.”

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SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Second round Raj Singh U-19 Inter-county action bowls off from today ––Paul and Hetmyer expected to bolster teams

By Calvin Roberts FOLLOWING their impressive showing in the first round against Demerara, perennial whipping boys Essequibo should be brimming with confidence over the next three days, when they take on the National Under-17 lineup in the second round of the Guyana Cricket Board/Raj Singh Insurance Under-19 Inter-county three day tournament commencing from today at the Demerara Cricket Club ground.

At the same time, Berbice, who defeated the national colts by 10 wickets inside two days in their first round fixture at Wales, will oppose Demerara at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, with both matches set to commence from 10:00hrs each day, unless otherwise stipulated.

In their first round fixture which was contested at the Everest Cricket Club ground, left arm orthodox spinner Keanu Harry took 7 for 66 to bowl out Demerara for 261 and even though the Essequibians fell short by 35 runs, it was impressive to see them bat for 96 overs, with several batsmen getting starts.

According to reports, the team had a two week encampment period prior to the start of this tournament and judging from the performances seen to date, such

a gesture by the Essequibo Cricket Board must be commended.

With the expected return of talented all-rounder Kemo Paul from the West Indies Under-19 camp in Barbados, the Travis Drakes led Essequibo unit will certainly be licking their lips at the opposition, whom they are expected to defeat and bolster their chances of finishing within the top two of the tournament.

Apart from Harry, Looknauth Chinkoo and Akini Adams was impressive with the ball, while the new ball pair of Neiland Cadogan and Jadewnel Hartman, can set tongues wagging on the DCC track, which can offer tremendous assistance to the fast men who are prepared to work hard.

Along with Drakes and Paul, there is Parmesh Parsotam and Sachin Persaud, who can all chip in heavily with the ball if needed by the Vibert Johnson coached side, even though Harry who plies his trade at DCC, would be expected to do the bulk of the bowling in partnership with Chinkoo, on his home track.

It was exciting to see wicketkeeper/batsman Nathan Persaud launch into the Demerara team bowling in the second innings when presented with a target of 216, and along with Paul, Harry, Parsotam and David Williams, should be a threat

to the opposition for this second round fixture.

With that in mind, Nat i o n a l U n d e r- 1 7 c o a c h Garvin Nedd will not be too pleased with the returns shown by his charges in the first round loss, especially since they are using the tournament to prepare for the Regional Under-17 tournament.

Cricket fans can see the return of Nedd’s son in national Under-15 left arm spinner Ashmead Nedd, who is budding into an impressive all-rounder, for the National Under-17 lineup which will be led by Ronaldo Ali-Mohammed.

Bhaskar Yadram, Raymond Perez, Joshua Persaud, Adrian Sukhwah, Kevin Sinclair, Steve Deonarine, Sylus Tyndall and Ramnarine Chatura, all have impressive performances for their respective clubs at levels higher than the Under-17 team they are representing.

But why they put on such a pathetic batting display against the team from the Ancient County, gifting their wickets away with reckless shots is unknown, but certainly Nedd would be on their backs like another layer of skin, for a much improved performance against Essequibo.

At GCC, Demerara who will be led by Travis Persaud will oppose a Balchand Baldeo led Berbice team who like Essequibo

Fist pumps and roars as Woods turns back clock

By Larry Fine AUGUSTA, Georgia, (Reuters) - THE ferocious fist pump was back and the roars echoed around Augusta National once again for Tiger Woods, who turned back the clock during his first nine in the third round of the Masters golf yesterday.

Woods, returning from a two-month hiatus from competition, and a two-year absence from Augusta due to back surgery last year, was his old self in a rousing, four-under-par charge in his first nine holes that took him to six-under.

The 39-year-old American was hitting pin-seeking approach shots that gave him tap-ins for birdies, and chipped up close for other chances to the delight of his huge gallery.

The four-times Masters winner ran off three successive birdies from the second hole in a charge reminiscent of the heyday of the 14-times major champion. He had four birdies without a bogey on the front side.

“I’m starting to get my feel back, my distance control on my shots,” said Woods, who had two more birdies and two bogeys on the back nine to post 68 for a 210 total, 10 shots off the pace.

“I missed a couple of shorties on six and seven, and I had my chances to make this a really special round today,” said Woods, who bogeyed the last after hitting into trees on the right off the tee.

“If I made a couple more putts the score realistically should have been six or seven (under par) today.”

KEANU HARRY

KEMO PAUL

SHIMRON HETMYER

is expected to be further strengthened with the return of pugnacious opener Shimron Hetmyer to their lineup.

Selecting a winner between these two teams is very hard despite their contrasting first round results, but what is certain is the side which play the better cricket consistently and display the will and discipline to win, will come out victorious be it on first innings or outright.

Both Baldeo and Hetmyer were members of the Guyana Under-19 team which completed the historic double in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional Under-19 tournament held here last year, with Brian Sattaur being the man at the helm.

They are expected to lead from the front, even though the Ancient County team is filled with players who have already donned their respective team’s first

division cap and did so with incredible performances.

Leon Andrews, Ritesh Omroa, Samuel Kisnasammy, Brandon Prashad, Kassim Khan and Daniel Lewis, are all expected to support both Baldeo and Hetmyer with the bat, while Grisean Grant will control the new ball and remove the sheen, so that Baldeo, Khan, Lewis and Kisnasammy can do their stuff with spin.

With a lineup that includes Tevin Imloch, Shurfane Rutherford, skipper Travis Persaud, Ronaldo Renee, Malcolm Hubbard, Akshaya Persaud, Daniel Basdeo, Tariq Dharamlall, Vivian Albert, Carlton Jacques and Ershad Alli, no one would expect Demerara to perform poorly in this tournament.

But cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty, as was evident when Essequibo had them rocking on 42 for 4 in their second innings and

the above mentioned list of players have within them, the ability to bat and score heavily, since they would have done it on numerous occasions for their clubs at levels higher than this Under-19 tournament.

Jacques and Basdeo are the men tasked with taking care of the new ball, but except for the second innings against Essequibo, they both looked ordinary and out of sorts and were it not for the efforts of Rutherford, Hubbard and Akshaya Persaud, the Essequibians would have piled on the runs in their first innings and even surpass Demerara’s total.

The toss in both encounters will be an important factor, since it may or may not dictate the outcome of the contests, but what is for sure, two exciting second round fixtures arer on the cards, weather permitting.

Notable Dates MICHAEL Anthony Parris would retire from boxing without adding a Commonwealth title to his list of achievements.

Parris saw his second attempt at a Commonwealth crown go up in smoke when Neil Swain won by TKO in the second round.

The battle for the vacant super bantamweight title was held on April 12, 1995 in Wales, United Kingdom and Parris was at the `ripe’ age of 37.

The Guyanese had first made an attempt at the Commonwealth belt in March 1989. Coming up against Bahamian Ray Minus, Parris went the full 12

rounds but lost via Unanimous Decision.

The diminutive but skillful orthodox boxer created history in 1980 when he won a bronze medal at the Moscow Olympics. The medal remains Guyana’s lone at the Games. Parris made his professional debut in November 1982.

In a 13-year career he fluctuated between the bantamweight and featherweight divisions.

He was crowned national bantamweight champion in November 1983 and would have epic battles with Ronald McBean, Darius Ford, Wayne Smith, Vincent Howard and Anthony `The Pearl’

MICHAEL PARRIS Andrews, all of whom be fought twice. Glenn Forde is the only opponent he met three times.

Parris had two more fights after meeting Swain then departed the sport. His record includes 17 victories, 10 defeats and two draws.

38

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Ansa McAl/Carib Beer on board GCA T20 tournament THE Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) first division T20 Cricket tournament recently received a corporate boost from Ansa McAl under their Carib Beer brand.

Set to bowl off later this month, the tournament will see nine teams competing for the lucrative purse, and a simple presentation held at Ansa McAl’s Beterverwagting Headquarters. The company has expressed its delight at being the tournament’s major sponsor.

D a r s h a n i e Yu s s u f , Ansa McAl’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) noted that they (Ansa McAl) “have always had cricket at heart. You can see that we are committed to all sport at any level. This is the cricket season and we are happy that the GCA has given us a chance to help develop our cricketers to reach the next level.”

This is fourth time

GABF names provisional male and female teams for CBC championship

By Rawle Toney

Carib Beer Brand Manager Nigel Worrell (right) hands over the sponsorship cheque to GCA President Roger Harper. that Ansa McAl and Carib Beer are forming an alliance with the GCA, whose president Roger

Harper, pointed out that the company’s involvement and partnership with the Association has

helped tremendously in the growth of the sport since it brings out new talent each year.

Husbands wins eighth Sovereign Award

Jockey Patrick Husbands poses with trainer Mark Casse

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (Sunday April 12, 2015) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market &The City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & AUDREY’S TASTY SNACKETTE-176 Charlotte Street, Georgetown (Tel: 226-4512)

Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

Mark Boucher (RCB vs MI, 2008) 17 sixes; 13 fours

Today’s Quiz:

How many IPL games Sachin Tendulkar played?

What is the highest individual score made in an IPL final?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

TORONTO, Canada, (CMC) – Outstanding Barbadian jockey Patrick Husbands won his eighth Sovereign Award when he was voted Canada’s Most Outstanding Jockey on Friday night.

The 41-year-old collected 145 votes to be the overwhelming winner at the Awards ceremony, easily beating out challenges from fellow Woodbine-based riders Luis Contreras and Eurico Rosa da Silva, and the Northlands Park champions, fellow Barbadian Rico Walcott.

Contreras picked up 48 votes, da Silva 42 and Walcott, 24.

Husbands’ success was reward for capturing his seventh Woodbine title and first in five years, in a stellar 2014 season that saw him record 170 victories to top the colony.

The Toronto resident also claimed 123 seconds and 107 third place finishes, along with nearly CAN$10 million in earnings.

For Husbands, Friday’s success was his similar triumphs in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

One of Husbands’ leading clients, trainer Mark Casse, meanwhile marched off with his sixth Sovereign Award for Best Trainer for his 93 wins from 476 starts.

The highlight of Casse’s season was when Husbands carried Lexie Lou to victory in the prestigious million-dollar Queen’s Plate. For Casse, it was his first-ever Queen’s Plate.

For that success and her win in the Woodbine Oaks, Lexie Lou was voted Canada’s Horse of the Year and also captured the honour of top three-year-old filly and top turf female horse.

There was disappointment, however, for Barbadian jockey Damario Bynoe who missed out on Canada’s Top Apprentice of the Year, losing out to the Woodbine-based rider Sheena Ryan.

Bynoe was impressive in his first season outside of Barbados, landing 45 wins to finish fourth in the colony at Northlands Park.

The Woodbine season kicked off yesterday with Husbands down for four rides on the 10-race programme.

This year’s meet will feature 133 race days.

WITH Guyana stepping up preparation for their 2015 Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) campaign, the Guyana Basketball Federation (GABF) announced their provisional male and female teams, which have already begun training at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The women team, being coached by Julian ‘Pumpkin’ Haynes, will have their tournament from June 8 – 12, while Coach Darcel Harris’ troops will feature from June 15 – 18 at the British Virgin Island (BVI) hosted event.

Last year, Guyana’s men team finished in 5th place, while the women side came in at the bottom of the cellar and failed to win a game in the tournament.

In a release from the GABF, President Nigel Hinds said that both squads will be boosted during the training sessions with the addition of overseas based players, who will be coming to Guyana to try out for selection on the respective teams.

Last year, Guyana’s male team saw the inclusion of overAKEEM KANHAI seas based players; former Indian Pacers and Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Rawle Marshall and Japan based Gordon Klaiber, while the women’s side went with an all local squad.

While the men’s team hosted Bermuda in a three game series and were able to play undefeated, the women’s side are yet to see any action since returning from the 2014 championship.

Practice sessions are currently underway at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19:00 hrs to 23:00 hrs and on Sundays from 08:00 hrs to 12:00 hrs.

National men’s squad: Randy Richardson, Neil Wills, Kevin Emanuel, Denyson Fraser, Akeem Kanhai, Terron Welch, Neil Marks, Aminiki Archibald, Shane Webster, Chris Williams, Harold Adams, Keon Cameron, Stephan Tappin, Dwight McKinnon, Dominic Vincente, Travis Burnette, Ryan Stephney, Nikolai Smith, Jason Squires, Rodwell Fortune, Stefon Gillis, Tyrone Hamid, Ryan Gullen, Royston Siland, Jermaine Slater, Rudy James, Kurt Elias, Drumson McCaulley, Fabian Johnson, Dave Causway and Shelroy Thomas.

National women’s squad: Kristy Roberts, Natasha Andrews, Kean Andrews, Timike Joseph-De Rouche, Lowquantor Gibson, Aleea Caesar, Sheeneeza Atwell, Natoila Primo, Amera Alphonso, Ginelle Ifill, Shenne Subrattie, Renika Prince, Jenessa Waithe, Kemika France, Suripa Swamy, Rhonda Fraser, Althea Mingo, Sonia Rodney, Tamara Hunter, Latoya Rodney, Necosia Mitchell, Kenesha Lecock, Jenelle Belle, Shanna Chester and Nichola Jacobs.

39

SUNDAY CHRONICLE April 12, 2015

Ambrose backs ‘team man’ Simmons to move Windies team forward

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Bowling consultant Curtly Ambrose (left) makes a point to Head coach Phil Simmons.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) – West Indies bowling consultant Curtly Ambrose has given his full backing to new head coach Phil Simmons, describing him as a “team man” who he expects to bring a new dimension to the regional squad.

Simmons, the former Ireland coach, was appointed to the vacant position following the conclusion of the ICC World Cup last month.

“I know for sure, Simmons is a team man. I’ve never worked with him as being a coach, but I know as

a team person he will bring something different,” Ambrose told Observer Radio’s Good Morning JoJo Sports Show recently.

“Working with him for the last four days – because we had a management meeting and he laid out his plans – I’ve been very impressed with what he has to offer and I can see that there will be some changes going forward.

“I believe good things are going to happen because Simmons is a serious man.”

Simmons, who played with Ambrose during his

26-Test and 146 one-day career, was named to replace former West Indies seamer Ottis Gibson who was axed last August after four years on the job.

A former opener who also bowled medium pace, Simmons’ first task will be to oversee the three-Test series against visiting England before also preparing the side to face the mighty Australians in June.

However, with West Indies still languishing at number eight in the world Test standings, Sir Curtly warned that the road back

would be long, difficult one.

“Even before I joined the West Indies team, it used to frustrate me … because I was part of the best team in the world so I know what it means to Caribbean people.

Now that I am a part of it, I am going to do the best I can to try and get the cricket forward,” Ambrose said.

“When I joined the team first, people talked about getting back to number one but I am a realist.

We are so far away from number one, my job is to try and get us into the top four first because you can’t leave from number eight to number one just like that.

“It’s not that easy … we can’t think about number one as yet, we have to be real about this thing.”

Ambrose was quick to praise the current group of players, pointing out they had been responding to his methods.

“I have to be patient because it is not going to happen overnight. I have no problem working with the guys,” the Antiguan said.

“They give me the fullest of respect, I do the same to them and sometimes I get a little aggressive with them when things aren’t going well, but they understand that it is for their benefit.”

West Indies face England in the first Test starting here tomorrow.

Alpha United boosted with Grenadian forward Kithson Bain

GRENADIAN forward Kithson Bain has returned to Alpha United in time for Wednesday’s opening Group One game of the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship. It has been reported that the Grenadian touched down in Guyana last Friday.

KITHSON BAIN

Alpha United will play the first match of the competition on Wednesday at the Providence Stadium. The local side comes up against nemesis Inter Moengotapoe of Suriname and is yet to defeat the top Suriname club in their last five meetings.

Alpha’s Coach Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover said Bain’s arrival is a boost to his side as finishing has been a main area of worry in recent times.

The leading local club has been in a crisis for close to three weeks since dependable forward Dwight Peters was injured in the Kashif and Shanghai competition.

The absence of Peters resulted in nippy Gregory `Jackie Chan’ Richardson having to take control of the strike line. It is expected that Bain would share the forward work load with Richardson. Meanwhile, the overseas clubs participating in the Caribbean tournament start arriving tomorrow.

Inter Moengotapoe is scheduled to arrive in Guyana tomorrow afternoon while Central Football Club of Trinidad and Tobago is due on Wednesday.

The Trinidadians and Surinamese face each other on Friday while Alpha clashes with the former on Sunday. All matches would be played at the Providence Stadium.

The Guyana Defence Force, the other club from Guyana participating in the CFU competition, will have their first match on Wednesday at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago. The soldiers collide with Trinidad’s Direct TV W Connection. On Friday they play Waterhouse of Jamaica and finish off action in Group Two on Sunday with a game against Sap Football Club of Antigua.

Trott says he can cope if selected for first Test JONATHAN Trott is “confident he can cope” with the demands of playing for England if selected for the first Test against West Indies tomorrow.

The 33-year-old batsman is poised to win his 50th Test cap and his first since quitting the 201314 Ashes Tour with stress-related problems.

“I’ve been tested on and off the field and had to go through the ringer to get here,” said Trott.

“So, yes, I feel really confident I can cope and do really well.”

West Indies have named a 14-man squad for the Test including two uncapped players 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope and fast bowler Carlos Brathwaite.

Trott is expected to open alongside captain

Jonathan Trott is poised to win his 50th Test cap Alastair Cook in Antigua which starts a run of 17 Tests in the next nine months for England, including the Ashes series against Australia in July.

Since making his return from his illness, Trott has scored heavily for Warwickshire and enjoyed a successful tour of South Africa with England Lions earlier this year, including an unbeaten 211 against South Africa A. “I didn’t know if I was going to be selected but I had to get my head down and push my case forward and that’s all I could do. - I’m really glad,” he said.

“It’s been a little bit frustrating being stuck on 49 [Test caps] all that time, but I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved so to get a 50th cap would be great.”

West Indies have also included leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who played his 11th and last Test three years ago, in their squad and will be captained by Dinesh Ramdin.

West Indies squad for first Test : D Ramdin (c), K Brathwaite, S Benn, D Bishoo, J Blackwood, C Brathwaite, Da Bravo, S Chanderpaul, J Holder, S Hope, K Roach, M Samuels, D Smith, J Taylor.

England squad : A Cook (c), J Trott, G Ballance, I Bell, J Root, B Stokes, J Buttler (wkt), C Jordan, A Rashid, S Broad, J Anderson, J Bairstow, A Lyth, J Tredwell, L Plunkett, M Wood.(BBC Sport)

Sport CHRONICLE

The Chronicle is at http://www.guyanachronicle.com

Ambrose backs ‘team man’ Simmons to move Windies team forward see story on page 39

Fernandes guides GCC to third NBS 40-overs title

We are three time champions! The victorious Georgetown Cricket Club team strike a pose with officials from the New Building Society and Georgetown Cricket Association, after claiming their GCA/NBS 40 overs second division title for the third successive year. At extreme left is NBS Director Kenneth Joseph.

-Lord is best bowler; Fernandes named Man-of-the-Match

By Calvin Roberts MIDDLE- order batsman Ellon Fernandes capitalised on the chance given to him

by Transport Sports Club (TSC) before he had scored,

to hit a topscore of 72 which guided two-times defending champions Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) to 267 for 6 off their 40 overs.

This was after they won the toss and opted to bat first

in the final of the Georgetown Cricket Association/New Building Society (NBS) second division 40 overs competition, which was played at the Malteenoes Sports Club ground yesterday.

Fernandes struck five fours and three sixes after being put down by TSC’s best bowler Oslyn Batson off the bowling of Clyde Hoyte, as TSC had a very ragged day in the field,

putting down nine catches when GCC batted, while none of their batsmen passed 20, as they were bowled out for 108 in 30.2 overs in reply.

When GCC, who has contested and won every GCA/NBS second division finals since its inception three

years ago, decided to bat first, veteran right arm spinner Kevin Ross who started TSC’s bowling attack, kept things in check with a maiden first up.

But the defending champions’ batsmen cut Turn on page 33

Guyana loses to T&T in NACRA 15s ... GRFU president upset over refereeing calls

By Leeron Brumell in Trinidad & Tobago THE conditions were right. Glorious sunshine a dry turf and a healthy unit, but at the end of 80-minutes, Trinidad and Tobago would come out the winners of the NACRA 15s game against the defending Champions Guyana.

The win gives them the title as Southern Caribbean Champions and they now advance to the finals against Mexico on April 25.

Playing at the Fatima College ground in PortOf-Spain, the Guyanese came out looking to score on every run. And they briefly threatened the TT defence on two plays, but they would lose the ball.

T&T after 22 minutes of play scored their first

try (5pts) through James Phillips – Blaise Bailey charging but not stopping Phillips’ run. There was no conversion.

On 37 minutes, Samuel Roberts put the homeside up 10 points and Felician Guerra added his name to the score sheet with two points for the kick (conversion) 12-Nil at the half it would be.

Dwayne Schroder in the first half had a clear-cut try disallowed, but there was no appeal.

Some colourful language during the break from Wing Forward Richard Staglon spurred the Guyanese on in the second half.

With the team now settled, two minutes into Turn on page 33

First Half action in the Guyana & Trinidad & Tobago clash at the Fatima College ground.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015