Guyana chronicle e paper 20 10 2016

Higher wages No. 104710

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016

Price: $80

(VAT Inclusive)

…Cabinet clears new minimum wage for private sector

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Barama gives Lord Canary laid to rest up forest concession

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…but will continue other projects

Dataram used stolen passports to leave Guyana P.10

Costly strike ….one-day strike costs GuySuCo 1,500 tons of sugar P.3

Sons of Malcolm Corrica, bear his casket out of the St Matthew’s Anglican Church, Providence, East Bank Demerara yesterday

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Higher wages

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Lord Canary laid to rest

…Cabinet clears new minimum wage for private sector GOVERNMENT has approved a proposal by the Labour Tripartite Committee to increase the minimum wage in the private sector from $35,000 to just over $44,000.

This decision was taken when Cabinet met on Tuesday, a senior government official has confirmed. General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis told the Guyana Chronicle that the National Tripartite Committee on labour had made a proposal for the increase some time ago. He said this increase was agreed on by the Private Sector.

Back in January Junior Social Protection Minister, Keith Scott had said that Government was in the process of reviewing Guyana’s minimum wage, with a view of raising it, through the law, for private sector workers. The current minimum wage paid to public servants stands at $50 000, while that of private sector em-

ployees is about GYD$35 000. Scott, who has responsibility for labour had said then that the ministry was conducting a countrywide survey to ascertain what the average employees working in the private sector are being paid. He said that this move will seek to regularise wages and salaries.

“There is a clamour out there that people want to feel that if Government’s minimum wage is $50 000, that everybody should have the same. That is something that I feel should happen. I feel that if we take that $50 000 across the board, that we will have a happier work force . . . bear in mind that we do have to measure these increases with the ability to pay, but nevertheless from an economic point of view, it is better to have a happy workforce than a discontented one,” Minister Scott added back then.

Members of the Board of Directors for the National Tripartite Committee

include Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, representatives of the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industries (CAGI), the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG).

Among other things, the committee deals with matters relating to industrial relations, human resource management and labour policies. At the time of its reconstitution Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo had said that, “we have appointed these entities to work along with the Government and this board…very important features of the struggles of the working people of Guyana for trade union recognition emerged from the Trade Union Recognition Act chapter 98:07 of the laws of Guyana, and it concerns the procedures for certifying trade unions and recognised bodies.”

PM hammers Jagdeo for radio licences ‘give-away’ PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has flayed former President Bharrat Jagdeo for justifying giving away radio licences to his party and friends saying, the Opposition Leader’s remarks recently on the issue is a “slap in the face of Guyanese.”

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday, the Prime Minister said, “For Jagdeo to defend the unlawful act of giving away state resources to friends and cronies is a slap in the face of the Guyanese people.”

He stressed that access to public and national resources should not be done in a whimsical fashion and the Opposition Leader’s justification of the act is absurd and against the true intention of the law. “It was never intended by the spirit and letter of the law that the airwaves should be used for political propaganda, or that the party in power ought to abuse the said law to give itself an advantage,” said Prime Minister Nagamootoo.

The Opposition Leader on Tuesday last said he had no apology to make for the radio licences he granted to several persons, including his party. “They talk about

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

the friends and family thing; the broadcast legislation… every time I open the papers I see Jagdeo gave his friends and family stuff…you hear that every single day, friends and family, and of course the PPP got a licence and I don’t mind that one,” he said, while speaking about corruption at the Sleepin Hotel recently. The former President made it clear that he is a politician and “so they can accuse me of that one,” making specific reference to the radio licence given to the PPP. The radio station called Freedom Radio operates out of the PPP’s headquarters, Robb Street.

But Prime Minister Nag-

amootoo has taken note of Jagdeo’s comments and said “what Jagdeo says reinforces his warped concept of paramountcy of the party.” Just before he demitted office in 2011, Jagdeo had granted 11 radio licences and frequencies to his friends, relatives and party supporters. The Broadcasting Bill was passed in the National Assembly on July 28, 2011, and assented to in September of that year and the former president distributed the radio frequencies days before the November 2011 general elections.

Licences and frequencies were given to Telcor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc. owned by Ruth Baljit, sister of former Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, Business man Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, a friend of Jagdeo, New Guyana Company Ltd., publishers of Mirror newspapers, the Little Rock Television Station (Berbice), Hits and Jams, Maxwell Thom, Alfro Alphonso, Haslyn Graham, and Anand Persaud.

Those licences were granted under the colonial Postal and Telegraph Act and announcement of Jagdeo’s distribution of radio licences and frequencies resulted in

President David Granger expressing his condolences to the children of the late Mr. Malcolm Corrica aka Lord Canary (Ministry of the Presidency photo)

“CALYPSO’S Sweetest Voice” is what his grand-daughter called him, and Head-of-State President David Granger paid homage to Malcolm ‘Lord Canary’ Corrica as a great son of the soil.

As tributes poured from politicians, musicians, relatives and friends, three separate services pulled the curtains down on the life of the renowned Calypsonian and former Government Minister Malcolm Corrica, who was laid to rest at a cemetery in St. Matthew’s Anglican Church at Providence, East Bank Demerara, Wednesday.

President Granger paid final respects to the late Corrica, at a viewing ceremony held at the Sandy’s Funeral Home, Georgetown.

The President extended his condolences to the children of the deceased, Mr. Malcolm Corrica Jr., Mr. Jeffrey Corrica and Ms. Pauline Pierre. Lord Canary died on October 10 at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre at the age of 79. He had been suffering from hypertension and other illnesses, which had resulted in the amputation of his left leg a few years ago.

Corrica’s grand-daughter, Iyodele Hamilton, eulogised his life during the service at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church yesterday afternoon, tracing the life of

the singer as he walked the paths of Calypso and politics, while also remembering him as being a family man.

“Loving, creative, adorable” were qualities his own family had recognised in a father, grandfather, friend and more, and according to the eulogy, he was introduced to live musical performances on his very first birthday.

“It is recorded that to celebrate Malcolm’s first birthday Daddy William [his father] organised and hosted a kind of mini-concert for relatives and friends. So it could be said that from one year old Malcolm Corrica was introduced to music, singing and a stage.”

His performances on stages in church and during movie-breaks at cinemas are memorable, and as Corrica broke into the national calypso scene, he joined voices internationally with the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Melody in 1966, and was soon after on his way to the United States of America (USA) performing at Madison Square Garden.

He had been a Champion, a Monarch many times.

But Corrica was more than just a music man. Before he became a politician, Corrica was exposed to small business and entrepreneurship and earned money as he helped his mom Inez create ‘mucra’ baskets to sell

in Georgetown. He sold milk with a bicycle along the East Bank and earned a certificate for cooking curried beef and potatoes at the first Jamboree held by St. Anne’s Club and Scout Troop. He was a master in construction and supervised the construction of the Chinese Bel Lu ClayBlocks Factory on the West Demerara.

His political career began under the Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham administration while he was a member of the People’s National Congress (PNC) party. His song CARIFESTA 72 was theme for the first Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), and he was appointed Member of Parliament from 1969 to 1973. Then between 1973 and 1980, he became Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Minister of State (1980-1985) in the Department of Culture within the Ministry of Education.

Malcolm Corrica was awarded the 1992 Medal of Service “for long service with exceptional dedication in the fields of politics and popular music as a composer and entertainer.”

Corrica was born on March 21, 1937 in Wortmanville, Georgetown, but his family moved to Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara, while he was still an infant.

widespread criticism from several persons, organisations and groups including veteran broadcaster and journalist Enrico Woolford, who had moved to the court to have the distributed licences revoked.

The Guyana Media Proprietors Association and the Guyana Press Association (GPA) had also raised concerns about the manner in which the licences had been distributed and to whom. Of

those denied radio licences were Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, Capitol News, HBTV Channel Nine and CNS Channel Six. The Prime Minister reiterated the need for there to be a review of the licences issued. He said “where it is found that the licences were illegally granted, they ought to be revoked.” He told the Guyana Chronicle that he had hoped that new regulations would have

been in place by now to set standards by which licensees should operate.

The PPP and Jagdeo had argued that in the absence of a Broadcasting Authority at the time the licences were issued, as president, he had the authority to issue the licences. He had maintained that all recipients of the licences and frequencies met the established criteria for same to be granted.

Costly strike 3

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

….one-day strike costs GuySuCo 1,500 tons of sugar THE recent one-day strike by sugar workers cost the Guyana Sugar Corporation some 1,500 tonnes of sugar due primarily to the staling of canes and lost opportunity time.

GuySuCo is reeling from harsh economic times, but the workers unions have given no guarantees of whether they will inform the company when they will take strike action. The workers, through their unions- Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union and NAACIE had been pressing demands for higher wages and better conditions.

Due to the strike action on October 17, 2016, six factories were not in operation. Factories are usually maintained on Mondays.

This operation was affected in all factories, which means that maintenance had to be done on Tuesday October 18, 2016, for grinding to be resumed late on Tuesday, GuySuCo said. According to the company sugar losses across the industry resulting from the one day strike alone was approximately 202 tonnes. This was due primarily to the staling of canes.

However, sugar loss due to total opportunity time, is approximately 1,500 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the corporation said it is disappointed that GAWU is not putting the business first and is not providing the leadership required to encourage the employees to fulfil their roles and responsibilities to

the corporation so that they can obtain the full benefits of this second crop in terms of increased incentives and other benefits.

On Wednesday GAWU and the corporation met on the issue of wages, salaries and fringe benefits for 2016.

In a statement GuySuCo said at an earlier meeting held on September 19, 2016 it made a comprehensive financial, production and marketing presentation on the prospects of the corporation to the union.

Additionally, there was a meeting with the Corporation Executives and all three Unions on September 29, 2016 where the Corporation’s financial and production forecasts up to the year 2025 was presented and

discussed.

The union was informed at those meetings that the Corporation had made a loss of over G$16 Billion in 2015; and that the projected loss for 2016 and 2017 would be almost G$13 Billion and more than G$12 Billion respectively. And in order to cushion the impact of those losses, the Government had provided a subsidy to the tune of G$12 Billion in 2015 and G$9 Billion in 2016. However, the Corporation is seeking an additional G$3.5 Billion in order to sustain its operations to the end of this year.

The Union was also advised that in 2017, the Corporation would require a further subsidy of more than G$18 Billion against a backdrop

of lower production, reduced market prices, resulting in lower revenue.

“In light of the above grim financial challenges, the Corporation informed the Union and its delegation at a meeting today October 19, 2016, that it did not have the monies required and was unable to award an increase on Wages and Salaries for 2016,” the statement said.

According to GuySuCo the union and their representatives raised several matters pertaining to the corporation’s capital investment programme, future diversification plans, and wage increases, among others. The corporation, on the other hand, enquired whether there would be any more strikes, since it was a requirement that the union provided the corporation with due notice of strike action. “This would

allow for better planning by managers to avoid wastage of canes, since if the canes were burnt and not sent to the factory within a specific time period, they would obviously be too stale to grind.” However the union’s response was that the intention of the Union was no business of GuySuCo. “The Corporation finds this attitude hardly one for fostering better relationship between the parties. The corporation is in the middle of the second crop which has been affected negatively by the prolonged dry weather in the first crop. It aims to take full opportunity of the good weather in this crop.

The weather condition for the past few weeks was most appropriate for harvesting. We are now missing a good opportunity for increasing production,” GuySuco said.

Barama gives up forest concession …but will continue other projects BARAMA Company Limited has announced that it will not be seeking to renew or extend its Forest Concession Agreement with the Government of Guyana.

In a statement to the media, the company said its Concession Agreement expired on October 15 and since then government has been informed of that status.

“The company will also not be seeking the renewal of extension of the Investment Agreement that mainly relates to the Forest Concession which expired on Saturday, 15th October, 2016.”

However, the company said it will be continuing all of its other projects here inclusive of veneering, plywood manufacturing and sawmilling. “Barama very much regrets having to make the decision to close our Forest Concession operations after having, over the past 25 years, invested approximately $45B in the development of Guyana’s forestry industry,” the statement added.

Representatives of the company approached government for the first time on

September 2, 2015, with a proposal for both the renewal of the Investment and Forest Concession Agreements.

Since then, the company has been continuing discussions with government on the agreements. The company said too that earlier this year, by virtue of correspondence with government, it had advised that economic conditions influencing the company’s continued investment in the country’s forest industry were not encouraging.

“Barama has , as a consequence, now regrettably concluded that it is no longer viable for the company to continue its forestry operations,” but looks forward to engaging government to explore the continuation of its other operations so as to sustain value-added and job-creation potential here as well as to determine a new Investment Agreement. The company thanked its shareholders for the support given to it over the years.

Meanwhile, last week, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, told reporters at a press conference

that Barama’s contract is up for renewal and noted that the two sides have been meeting over the past 10 months to craft a new contract. He said a draft has been shared with the company for its perusal, so that continued negotiations can continue and an agreement made by year-end.

In September, The Ministry of Natural Resources had refuted statements made by trade unionist Lincoln Lewis that Barama had laid off 70 workers as a result of the non-renewal of their contracts.

The Stabroek Business supplement in its Friday, September 2, 2016 edition,had said that with the impending expiration of Barama’s fiveyear contract this month, and no indication of renewal of same, hundreds of local workers of the company are likely to be laid off. But the Ministry of Natural Resources said the information published by the Stabroek News was inaccurate. In a statement to the media, the ministry said, “The facts are that the Barama Co Ltd has been continuously informing the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana

Forestry Commission about its loss of market share in Asia which is affecting its profitability, and challenges experienced by bad weather conditions. The Ministry of Natural Resources rejects any assertion that the loss of jobs is tied to the renewal of Barama’s contract and calls on the company to set the record straight.”

Additionally, the Ministry of Natural Resources said that at the request of Barama for its contract to be renewed with the government last year, Cabinet gave its ‘no

objection’ to continuing the relationship with the logging company, but called for the establishment of a task force to examine the request.

“This task force was deemed necessary, given the rapacious activities of some foreign companies operating in the forests of Guyana, and some not-so- positive observations that had been expressed about Barama in particular.”

The task force comprised representatives of the Ministries of Business, Natural Resources, Public

Infrastructure and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Guyana Forestry Commission and a legal consultant. The report of the task force was to be submitted to Cabinet for review and approval on September 30. It is unclear whether the report was submitted. Attempts to contact both Minister Trotman and Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, to comment on Barama’s announcement proved futile.

In Berbice...

Constable under investigation ‒ for ‘writing off’ police vehicle A POLICE constable is under investigation after crashing a Guyana Police Force (GPF) vehicle, PTT 5178, into a utility pole in Berbice.

Reports are that the incident occurred while the policeman, who was the driver of the vehicle, and two other constables were escorting a man, who was

arrested on a warrant, from Whim to the Mibicuri Magistrate’s Court.

It is alleged that because of the speed at which he was driving, the policeman, who was going south, lost control of the vehicle when he swerved to avoid hitting a motorcyclist and crashed headlong into the utility pole.

As a result of the accident, the vehicle has reportedly been irreparably damaged, while the prisoner and one of the two other constables travelling with him, who lost most of his teeth, and were admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

The driver, meanwhile, and his other colleague walked away with minimal injuries.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Trump reaches out to Hindu-American community

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attended a glitzy rally of Hindu-American supporters in New Jersey, complete with Bollywood celebrities and catchy music over the weekend. Seema Sirohi in Washington writes on whether this will fetch electoral dividends for Mr Trump.

An estimated 5,000 people gathered in Edison, New Jersey, on Saturday for what was billed as a “charity event” to raise money for the victims of terrorism in India and Bangladesh.

Mr Trump made an appearance in between Punjabi singers and Bollywood dancers to declare that India and the United States would be “best friends” if he were elected.

In keeping with the tradition of coming unprepared for events, he showed predictable unfamiliarity with India, and made equally predictable mistakes.

‘BIG FAN’ He used the word “Hindu” as a synonym for India, the country. “I am a big fan of Hindu; I am a big fan of India,” he said, sparking immediate hilarity on social media.

Mr Trump also mixed up the location of the Indian parliament while mentioning the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and the 2001 attack on the parliament building in New Delhi. He gave a short, rambling speech about how he would take ties with India to a new level.

But these details hardly mattered to the audience; most had come for an evening of entertainment, with Mr Trump as a sideshow.

They faithfully held up placards saying, ‘Hindus for Trump’, ‘Trump: Great for India’, and ‘Trump for faster green cards’ supplied by the organisers, but the passion seen at his other rallies was clearly missing.

“It was political entrepreneurship by a business entrepreneur,” according to

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Devesh Kapur, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, who has studied the Indian Diaspora.

The rally was organised

by Shalabh Kumar, a Chicago-based businessman, in the name of the Republican Hindu Coalition.

Mr Kumar has given close to $1.5M (£1.23M) to Mr Trump’s campaign, becoming one of its largest donors.

In the past, he says he lobbied the Congress to get a US visa ban on Mr Modi lifted, and took three members of the Congress to see development work done by Mr Modi’s government in Gujarat state in 2013.

STRONG RHETORIC Mr Kumar ’s attempt to separate Hindu-Americans from the larger Indian-American community, which includes members of all Indian faiths, is an effort to bring a few minority votes to Mr Trump, whose support base remains pre-

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dominantly white.

He sees an intimate connection between Mr Trump’s strong rhetoric against “radical Islamic terrorists” and attacks against India.

Mr Kumar says the Republican candidate would be the right partner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his fight against terrorism. And he is attempting to forge stronger links between the two, having proved his proximity to both leaders.

And now, by getting Mr Trump to appear at a rally, he has shown his political muscle to both the Republican Party and Modi supporters.

M r Tr u m p , i n d e e d , praised Mr Modi as “a great man” and a “pro-growth leader” in his speech, as the Indian prime minister’s image appeared on huge video screens around the stage.

But Mr Trump pointedly did not mention Pakistan, either from the podium or in separate interviews with Indian media.

FIRST TIME He played it safe on the India-Pakistan question, refusing to get embroiled in controversy at a time of high tension between the two countries.

But the fact that Mr Kumar managed to convince the Republican presidential candidate to appear at an Indian-American event, the first time either party’s nominee has done so, is seen as significant by some analysts.

But, as Mr Kapur says, Indian-Americans are “overwhelming supporters” of the Democratic Party. “And that will not change in this election; no matter what Shalabh Kumar does.”

The Democratic Party’s more liberal positions on immigration, social issues, inclusiveness and justice, appeal to Indian-Americans.

A recent National Asian American Survey showed 67% support for Hillary Clinton among Indian-Americans, the highest for all Asian ethnic groups, ranging from Vietnamese to

Chinese-Americans.

Only 7% said they would vote for Mr Trump.

It is worth noting that Indian-Americans are also the highest earning, and the most educated ethnic group in the United States.

The latest US Census Bureau figures show a median income of $100,547 for Indian-Americans, compared to the national average of $51,939.

A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 70% of Indian-Americans had a college degree and 28% worked in the field of science and engineering.

Mr Kumar, who has fashioned his Republican Hindu Coalition on the lines of the influential Republican Jewish Coalition, says the Republican Party’s avowed adherence to “family values” - political speak for conservative social policies - fits well with conservative Hindu values.

But it may be a forced attempt to create synergy where none exists. (BBC)

INDONESIA could “wipe out” paedophilia with its new policy of chemical castration, President Joko Widodo has told the BBC. He said Indonesia respected human rights, but there would be “no compromise” when it came to punishing such sexual crimes.

Indonesia passed controversial laws earlier this month, authorising chemical castration for paedophiles.

The laws were subject to fierce debate in parliament.

The Indonesian Doctors Association says its members should not be involved, as the procedure would violate medical ethics.

Chemical castration is the use of drugs to reduce sex drive and libido, without sterilisation or removing organs.

“Our constitution respects human rights, but when it

comes to sexual crimes, there is no compromise.

“We are strong, and we will be very firm. We will hand out the maximum penalty for sexual crimes,” President Widodo said, adding:

also known as Jokowi, discussed such topics as the South China Sea, corruption, a recent tax amnesty and the government’s stance on homosexuality.

Earlier this month, an advert for a new youth ambassador position stipulated that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community need not apply.

The government advert said the post was only open to applicants not involved in “sexually deviant behaviour”.

President Widodo said there was no discrimination against minorities, but he added: “We are the world’s largest Muslim nation, and we have religious norms.

You have to remember that, and know that; we have social norms.” (BBC)

Indonesia tries ‘chemical castration’

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President Joko Widodo “In my opinion, chemical castration, if we enforce it consistently, will reduce sex crimes and wipe them out over time.”

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC’s Yalda Hakim, President Widodo,

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Mom grieves to death over son’s murder

... stopped eating, sleeping THE day her son was found murdered two weeks ago, Teresa Liverpool collapsed near the bloody crime scene, and was never the same again.

Family say that she just gave up the will to live, and grieved until her death on Monday night.

Liverpool, a mother of five, had stopped eating and sleeping since her 23-yearold son was found stabbed to death in the bushes off Cap-de-Ville, near Point Fortin.

Two Mondays ago, Keston Jeffery’s white Nissan

B-14 car was found crashed on the roadside near a forested area. The next day, relatives followed a trail of blood through the bushes, and discovered his battered body.

Jeffery, a PH driver, lived with his mother and siblings at North Trace, Cap-de-Ville.

Relatives believe he was hijacked by men who attempted to rob him of his car. Liverpool collapsed at the scene, and had to be carried away after viewing her son’s body. Relatives said she never stopped crying for

after leaving Trinidad

...was headed to Finland

her murdered son.

“She was grieving for her son. After his death, she had stopped eating, sleeping and she even told people she would not make it,” a relative said.

The relative said Liverpool was sitting on the porch with her sister and daughter when she complained of feeling unwell on Monday night.

She suddenly began gasping for breath and was taken to the Point Fortin District Hospital, where she died. (Trinidad Express)

C’bean countries to benefit from new USAID agreement CARIBBEAN countries are expected to benefit from a multi-million dollar agreement signed between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

USAID will provide more than US$31M to improve health in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next five years, and PAHO said the partnership will support

Polish ‘drug mule’ caught

PAHO Director, Ms Carissa Etienne its technical cooperation malaria, neglected infecin its member states in ar- tious diseases, maternal eas including tuberculosis, and neonatal health and

The cocaine-filled rubber pellets that were surgically removed from Wojtczak’s tummy HALF a kilogramme of According to Online cocaine was removed from news reports, the incident the stomach of a Polish occurred on September 4, man who was on a flight and the man allegedly inwhich had departed from volved was Waldemar WoTrinidad and Tobago. jtczak, 45.

The cocaine, wrapped Wojtczak spoke little in 53 small rubber sacks, English, but was able to was removed at Hialeah tell a doctor that he’d inhospital in Miami after the gested the illegal drug, the man collapsed at the Miami articles reported. The artiInternational Airport. cles said that Wojtczak had inequities related to gender, ethnicity and other social determinants.

The agreement also supports efforts to strengthen health information systems, as well as health systems

overall, PAHO said.

“We are proud of the many health achievements that our work with USAID has produced in our member countries, and we are grateful for

nearly died from ingesting the cocaine-filled pouches.

Wojtczak’s health reportedly deteriorated as he was unable to pass the pellets, and emergency surgery was performed to remove them.

“The pellet-sized sacks were immediately handed over to Miami-Dade narcotics detectives, who had donned scrubs and witnessed the procedure inside the operating room at Hialeah Hospital,” the articles stated.

Wojtczak has since recovered, and was on Monday slapped with two charges: Cocaine trafficking, and the rare state charge of using commercial transport while committing a felony.

Through an interpreter, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Polish man had left Trinidad for Miami, from where he was to board a flight to Finland. Wojtczak’s passport records showed that he had previously taken short trips from Poland, the article reported Miami Dade detective Kiriakos Beruty as saying. (Trinidad Express) the opportunity to continue this partnership to build on those achievements,” said PAHO Dominican-born Director, Carissa F Etienne.

(Jamaica Observer)

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Editor-In-Chief

Nigel Williams Editor

Godfrey Wray

Editorial: 227-5216; 227-5204 guyanachronicle.com wnigel10@hotmail.com gnnleditorial@gmail.com

Editorial

No justification

THE view held that one is always right even in the face of evidence to the contrary, or too big to recognise or acknowledge an error in judgement should be of concern.

Guyanese continue to suffer the indignity of public officials, elected and appointed, operating as if they are above being held to account. As the world moves ahead and development takes place in other societies, aspects of our culture that remain stuck in behaviour that science/ evidence debunks will lead to increasing views that Guyana will remain backward and under-developed.

Commitment to bring Guyana into the 21st century and among progressive societies requires doing things consistent with modern thinking, including approaches to governance and management. Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo outside of being a politician once held the nation’s highest constitutional office. Holding office as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Cooperative Republic, it was not unreasonable to expect stellar leadership as guardian of the Laws of Guyana, defender and protector of the people and the nation’s sovereignty. Being leader of a country carries great responsibility and expectation, and even after demitting office some expectations still remain, and it is hoped that Mr. Jagdeo could be mindful of this.

While the Leader of the Opposition and PPP/C has the right to represent and defend its stewardship of the country, the expectation that such be done mindful of certain basic decency is not unreasonable. It requires strength of character to learn from or acknowledge missteps in the face of evidence, including the laws, not determined efforts to justify them. However much Mr. Jagdeo wants to spin it there is no justification in some of the acts committed during his presidency and that of former president Donald Ramotar.

There is no justification in the granting of radio licences outside of the Broadcasting Act that vests the authority in the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority. To seek to justify the act by whitewashing it with race, the most basic of man’s instinct, that of the 10 licences issued six went to non-Indians exemplifies a scourge this society must work to rid itself of. In our racially ultra-sensitive society, a violation of the law does not automatically make it a non-violation because the beneficiaries are of a multi-racial subset.

Evidence of corruption during Mr. Jagdeo’s administration is not a figment of the imagination. It has been proven through forensic audits and abuses noted over the years in the Auditor-General’s reports. Where the APNU+AFC administration is seen as unwilling to act on various reports highlighting discrepancies, and dare it be said to the chagrin of the masses, provides no justification in the boast

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Empathetic communication a viable tool in suicide prevention Dear Editor

AS parents and teenagers usually do, a young lady had an argument with her mother. As the mother proceeded to verbally abuse her daughter (as far too any mothers do in such situations in nations like Guyana) the daughter angrily exclaimed ‘Me feel fuh tek wan dose poison.”

The mother responded, just as angrily, ‘Wait deh me go bring am.”

This exchange exemplifies the communication that frequently takes place in relationships, and often leads to suicide. In effect, lack of empathetic communication is a huge factor in suicide, especially in Guyana.

The fact is that empathetic communication is a great way to diffuse anger, create scope for dialogue and problem-solving and allow for mutual respect, understanding and trust. It enables each partner in a relationship to self-express in a context free from fear, threats and eventual violence.

Empathetic communication is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding and trust.

It enables the listener to receive and accurately interpret the speaker’s message/ words, and then provide an appropriate, non-threatening, affirming response.

Through empathetic communication, the listener lets the speaker know, “I understand your problem and how you feel about it. I am interested in what you are saying and I am not judging you.”

The effects include building of trust and respect; reduction of tension/conflict; free exchange of information and a safe environment that is conducive to collaborative problem-solving.

In using empathetic communication, the listener must be attentive, interested, alert and strive to create a positive atmosphere through non-verbal behaviour, so that the speaker is neither afraid nor hesitant in communication. The listener must not discount the speaker’s feelings, interrupt the speaker unnecessarily, constantly give advice or lecture the person, criticise or condemn, but must display understanding and sympathy and let the speaker know that together the issues will be addressed. Far too often the language used has driven loved ones to acts of violence, especially suicide.

It is time for Guyanese to realise that the right communication is so essential to protecting and fostering relationships and to ensuring that no one is driven to suicide. Whatever the issue, it must be dealt with in an atmosphere of care, concern, understanding and forgiveness.

that past PPP/C administrations were not corrupt. As an aside, it should be said where the present administration is perceived as not wanting to act on recommendations made in the audits, continued taunts by the PPP/C to act and boast of being lean, clean and mean will become the ‘truth.’

The continuation of projects inherited by any incumbent administration is done for several reasons such as practicality given the resources already invested, and as result of modification in management, focus, and so forth. At the same time such prudence gives no rise to justification that the manner in which projects were initially pursued confirms to acceptable standards in pursuit of development.

Mr. Jagdeo in justifying his administration’s decision to build the Marriott Hotel and Specialty Hospital based on the fact that the APNU+AFC pursued these projects may have forgotten these factors.

For instance, opposition to the construction of the Marriott was informed by the secrecy in conceptualisation

Given that the 15 to 25 age group has the highest suicide rate in Guyana and that this age group also is significantly affected by teenage pregnancy, rape, incest, increasing alcohol and drug use and physical and verbal abuse, it is critical that parents relearn use of language that would not alienate their teenagers, make them feel unloved and unwanted, make them act in anger and/or haste or make them feel alone and lonely.

And while parents can and must draw on their own experiences as teenagers to better understand their own teens, they should not impose their views about how things should be, on their teenagers, since the issues parents faced when they were growing up and the environment of that time are not quite the same as what exists today. Most importantly, parents need to feel any pain and agony their children suffer and let them know that with their parents’ love, care and help things will get better, no matter what leads to the pain and agony.

With respect to relationships, especially if pregnancy is involved, parents must reach out for assistance to ensure that their teenagers are safe. The bottom line is that everyone makes mistakes as part of the growing-up process. In fact, even adults continue to make mis-

takes. So when teens make mistakes, parents and loved ones must understand that it’s not the end of the world.

Life goes on and parents must first help their teenagers deal with the consequences of mistakes made, then help them learn from those mistakes and move on in life. And, when necessary, parents must reach for assistance if they feel that they are not fully capable of providing the help needed by their teenagers.

In effect, when that teenager stated that she felt like taking a dose of poison, the mother should have taken a deep breath, rush to hug her daughter and lovingly caution her to never ever say something like that again.

A follow up, “do you know how much we love you” would also have been the right words to add.

Meanwhile, The Caribbean Voice and its partners strongly recommend that a module in empathetic communication be included at the Teachers’ Training College, be offered as an in-service programme for all current teachers, for all who man the social-issues landscape, for all security personnel and all healthcare workers. The cost for doing this is negligible, whereas the benefits would be immeasurable.

Regards Anand Boodram

and execution of the entire project, including the contract that allowed for the hiring of foreign labour when the local market was saturated with the appropriate skills. Shortly after completion the hotel was offered for sale at a significantly discounted price which would have netted a loss to the taxpayers who funded its construction. It may be useful to recall what Mr. Jagdeo finds to deride the government for the same can be said of his party when in the opposition prior to 1992. A notable reminder is the Desmond Hoyte administration Economic Recovery/Structural Adjustment Programme which was condemned, yet maintained primarily in its entirety during the PPP/C administration, producing growth over successive years, albeit earning the reputation of being the longest structural adjustment programme ever implemented in any country.

The growth and development of our nation require of the people rejecting justification for acts that are evidently wrong lest time leaves us behind.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Power woes grow as GPL begs for patience A FAULT along the 69kv transmission line linking the Kingston Power Station to the Sophia Substation (Dispatch centre) resulted in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System shutting down on Wednesday afternoon.

However, service was restored within 30 minutes of the disruptions, the Guyana Power and Light has said.

Power outages have been frequent in recent days.

“Our company offers reassurance to the general public that meticulous efforts and

resources are being directed towards establishing the origin of this occurrence and we plead for patience,” GPL said in a statement.

Across in Bartica, the company said today it will commence effecting repairs to the No.10 generating set at our Bartica Power Station with an expected duration of thirty (30) hours and likely completion on Friday, October 21, 2016 at noon.

These corrective works are necessary to prevent total failure of the generating sets and capacity. Consequently, available generation will be

significantly reduced by a further 800kw as the No. 11 Generator remains offline for major maintenance, thus necessitating an unfortunate outage to the entire township with the exception of customers on First Avenue between 3rd and 9th Streets, from 06:00 hrs on October 20 to 13:00 hrs October 21.

The remaining operational generator (No. 12) with generating capacity of 500kw will remain in service during this period to dispense power within the power station and customers within proximity of the

station for the execution of works. We are urging the citizens of Bartica to prepare amply for this regrettable extended period of outage while we work to restore electricity.

In Essequibo, GPL said customers of Fairfield experienced an extended outage from 14:00 hrs on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday, while emergency repairs were ongoing on the No. 6 Generator.

Meanwhile, a six-hour load-shedding exercise was initiated for customers stretching from Anna Re-

gina to La Union from 06:00 to 12:00 hrs on Wednesday and subsequently rotated to customers from Lima to Charity from 12:00hrs to 06:00 hrs due to the unavailability of the No. 1 Generator for urgent remedial work.

According to the power company, it is envisioned that its Essequibo operations will return to a state of normalcy on or before Friday October 21. “It is with deep regret that our company has experienced a plethora of unfortunate occurrences in these areas

of service delivery. We take this opportunity to reassure customers that we consider our mandate to this nation to be of vast substance and our officers work tirelessly to provide quality service. We remain cognizant of the inconvenience these power disruptions cause and we express sincerest regret. Customers are encouraged to visit our website at www.gplinc. net and GPL Inc. Facebook page www.facebook. com/GPLIncorporated/ for updates as they become available.”

Min. Jordan must be held accountable Dear Editor,

IT would appear as though the David Granger-led Government has set its sight on another constitutional office to bear the brunt of its intimidation and bullyism. The bold, brazen and blazing headline of the State-owned Guyana Chronicle of Tuesday, October 18, 2016, “Jordan Flays Auditor General” captured my attention.

The Minister of Finance is an elected official appointed by the President to manage our financial affairs.

He is part of the executive.

The Auditor-General is a constitutional office-holder empowered by our supreme law and statutes to carry out specific functions and is not subject to the authority,

direction or control of the executive.

This has been so since the early 2000’s when a number of legislative changes were initiated and made by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Administration. Since then, the Ministry of Finance has had absolutely no role in the preparation, finalisation or tabling of the Auditor-General’s report. Minister Jordan remained engaged as a senior official at the Ministry of Finance during the PPP/C’s tenure from 1992 continuously to 2007 or thereabout when he departed. He is fully aware of all the progressive changes that were made to professionalise and make the Audit Office fully independent.

The statements attributed to the Mr Jordan is totally

out of order, insensitive, irresponsible and reeks of a level of arrogance never seen before among government ministers in Guyana.

Some questions must be asked. I call upon the minister to answer the following:1. In this era, touted by the coalition government as a “new dispensation” and “fresh approach,” does the Minister of Finance want to play a role in the editing of the Auditor-General’s report?

2. Did the Ministry of Finance participate in the usual practice of responses and clarification to queries about financial statements of individual budget agencies with the Audit Office?

If it did, what else Minister Jordan requires?

3. Did the Minister of Finance edit the final re-

ports of the forensic audits initiated by the APNU+AFC government?

N.B. The Minister of Finance had control over this process, even by way of sole- sourcing. (Handpicking the auditors for the agencies he wanted them to audit).

4. Does the Minister of Finance believe in public accountability, transparency and good governance? If he does, why the statement that he does not have to give an explanation to the Auditor-General for monies spent from the Contingency Fund?

THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW Perhaps the coalition Government may wish to explain its position on these matters, inclusive of its stance on those state-

The Inter-Guiana Games

and the Guiana Shield Dear Editor,

IT is with pleasure that I note Guyana will be hosting the Inter-Guiana Games from 21st to 23rd of this month. This event, among other lovely ideals, seeks to promote people-to-people contact among neighbouring countries. It is on this point that I wish to focus. Strict-

ly speaking, the Guiana shield is a geographical area washed by the Atlantic and hemmed in by the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers, which are connected by the Casiquiare canal. Thus, it includes large parts of northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela.

With this in mind, it is my view that organisers of future Inter-Guiana Games

should make every effort to include participants from those countries and specifically those regions that fall within the Guiana shield area. This will augur well for the skill levels and competitiveness of all our players, noting the high standard of sport in Brazil and Venezuela, improve people-to-people contact and open new opportuni-

ties for our athletes in these non-traditional disciplines.

In a more fundamental way, we will be making incremental steps towards improved relations among neighouring countries, and step away from old colonial notions of what the concept “Guianas” means.

Regards William John Harris

ments made by Mr Jordan at his press conference.

The citizens of Guyana are aware that the Auditor-General’s report represents the findings of an independent and autonomous constitutional office and should be treated as such. This report will be examined by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament, where every accounting officer from every ministry, every region and every statutory budget agency is afforded

an opportunity to defend their positions and actions.

This recent attack by Minister Jordan is another in a series that openly displays arrogance, insincerity and the level of deception practised by the APNU+AFC government on the people of Guyana.

Mr Jordan must be held accountable.

Regards Bishop Juan A. Edghill PPP, MP

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Linden businesses upbeat …after BOSAI announces tax-free overtime, pay hike

By Vanessa Braithwaite BUSINESSES in Linden are hoping to cash in on the recently announced increase in pay for workers of Bosai Minerals Group Guyana (BMGG) as well as tax-free overtime.

Workers of the Chinese company will receive a 6.5% increase on their salaries.

The workers last week were given a retroactive payment and started to receive their tax-free overtime pay and some clothes vendors and food vendors claim that business boomed over the weekend.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, several vendors posited that things should get better now as money will be circulating in the town. With close to 600 Lindeners being in its employ, Bosai holds the largest employment population in the mining town.

Most of these are men and the breadwinners for their families. According to one junior employee at Bosai, the 6.5% increase along with the tax-free overtime pay will see about $7, 000 added to his salary every week.

According to him, “now you can be able to provide more

for the family and add entertainment to your budget.”

The tax break will mostly benefit 12-hour workers as every hour worked after eight hours per day/ 40 hours per week will not attract tax.

Employees across the board however will benefit from the salary increase which will not be paid until March of 2017, after which another increase should be granted.

Clothes vendor Ronnel Mingo told this publication that since the reopening of school in September, business has slowed down tremendously.

“Sometimes you come out you lucky to sell one socks

or one rag,” she revealed.

She said that during the weekend however things ‘busied’ up after the workers were paid on Thursday. “The weekend was a little nice, we get a good amount of sales and I’m happy for that,” she said, while adding, “I hope that now the Bosai workers getting this increase, things will get better for businesses across Linden.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Shonnette Seaforth, a general store vendor who said, “Last weekend was good, we see more people coming out and buy. I made like $80, 000 Saturday

gone.” Shondell, a food vendor, said that she was always supported by Bosai workers who most times before work, especially in the evenings, would come and purchase their dinner. Many of the workers however “trusted” the food and would pay when they receive either their weekly or fortnightly wages. “What I notice is that since they get this pay-off people paying rather than “trusting” and I’m happy about that because is a food business and everyday you have to get money to turn over,” she said. The bars and drinking hubs in Linden should also benefit from the workers’ increase as during the weekend several night-

spots were filled with the employees.

The increase and tax exemption is not only beneficial to the workers, but will create a ripple effect on the entire economy of Linden. With an unemployment rate of 70% and lack of job opportunities, many persons are seeking entrepreneurship as a means of earning, but were still feeling the squeeze as persons claim that money was not circulating in the mining town. The vendors are also anticipating good business as public servants will this week receive a 10% increase that will be retroactive to January 2016.

Granted bail on fraud charge Justice Kennard heads to A TAXI DRIVER attached to Green Ice Taxi Service was granted $20,000 bail when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday on a charge of fraudulent conversion.

Chaitram Suknandan,

37, of Grove, Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara pleaded guilty to the charge which alleged that on October 10, 2016 at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, while being entrusted with money to pay a mortgage ($90,000

by Shawn Mahadeo), he converted same to his own use and benefits.

The defendant begged the magistrate to give him one week to return the money. He stated: ‘’I would like to pay him back, I don’t want any problem with the court.”

The matter was adjourned for October 20 and transferred to the Providence Magistrate Court.

Raid on ‘drug block’ nets cocaine A 26-YEAR-OLD Bourda Market vendor was on Tuesday released on $100,000 bail for the offence of trafficking cocaine. He appeared before Magistrate Beverly Cheddi at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Night Court.

Michael Ramgobin of Graham Street, Plaisance pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on October 14, at North Road,

Bourda he had 3 ½ grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking.

According to reports, on the day in question police on patrol at the market conducted a raid at an area known as ‘the drug block’ and they saw the defendant throwing an object over a fence. The officers apprehended the defendant and retrieved the object - a black film container with a whitish

bricklike substance inside, which was later confirmed to be cocaine.

Police Prosecutor, Shavon Jupiter strongly opposed to the vendor being released on bail citing the nature and penalty attached to the charge. However Magistrate Cheddi overruled the prosecutor’s objection, granted bail and adjourned the matter until October 31.

Bourda Market being used to traffic drugs A STABROEK Market vendor who was found with marijuana in a black plastic bag by the police on Tuesday appeared before Magistrate Beverly Cheddi, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Night Court.

Marcel Fitzalbert, 37 of Festival City, North Ruimveldt is charged for having eight grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking on October 14, at the Stabroek Market. Fitzalbert denied that charge, while his lawyer Eusi Anderson pleaded with the court for his client to be released on bail. The lawyer

pointed out that the vendor would only make $2,000 per day while also having to provide for his reputed wife and their baby.

Police Prosecutor, Shavon Jupiter made no objection to bail but requested that it be granted at a substantial amount with reporting conditions attached.

Magistrate Cheddi released the vendor on $50,000 and ordered him to return to court for October 31.

According to reports the vendor was arrested during a police raid at the Stabroek Market area during a sting op-

eration. The suspect had several small Ziplock bags of cannabis in a larger bag he was carrying at his side.

Assistant Superintendent of the City Constabulary, Gordon Langevine said that the narcotic was found at the Stabroek Market, two gates from the main entrance. The man had attempted to flee when he observed the officers approaching, but was apprehended by a constable.

According to Langevine, “the elements” use the market to sell and smoke illegal substances. He said, too, that relatives and friends of stall-holders within the market often commit criminal acts and pretend to be vendors.

Region 7 ‒ to meet with police, public CHAIRMAN of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), Justice Cecil Kennard kicks off a two-day visit to Region 7 (CuyuniMazaruni) tomorrow in Bartica, the district’s seat of administration.

While there, the former chancellor of the judiciary will meet with members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

That meeting is set for

13:00hrs at the Bartica Police Station, where he is slated to explain what his role as Chair of the PCA is, and raise with ranks there matters of concern to him.

Later in the day, at precisely 19:30hrs, he is scheduled to be a part of a television programme to again highlight his role, and to answer questions posed by members of the public in that region.

Then on Saturday, he will meet with members of the public at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) boardroom from 09:00hrs.

Over time, Justice Kennard will be paying similar visits to such other hinterland communities as Moruca, Mabaruma, and Port Kaituma in Region One (Barima-Waini), and Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Dataram used stolen passports to leave Guyana THE passports used by convicted drug trafficker Barry Dataram and his reputed wife, Anjanie Boodnarine, were not issued by the immigration authorities but belonged to two men who lost their travel documents recently, acting Crime Chief Hugh Jessamy told the Guyana Chronicle.

The drug lord and his reputed wife had left the country with Guyana passports issued under different names. Dataram used passport–RO376916 under the name “David Persaud,”

Boodnarine and Barry Dataram

which stated that it was issued on April 15, 2013, while Boodnarine’s passport–RO341097–under the

name “Christine Persaud ”stated it was issued on January 15, 2016.

The bio-data pages of both passports were tampered with, along with false immigration stamps. Reports reveal that one of the passports was stolen from a vehicle that was broken into while parked adjacent to the Kingston seawall. The owner, a Grove, East Bank Demerara resident had made a report to the police station that the passport was stolen.

This was recorded by the police in a statement which corroborated his story when interviewed by detectives.

However, the second owner of the passport who hails from Leguan, gave conflicting reports and explanations of why the passport was not in his possession. Police investigations are ongoing Dataram, a self-confessed drug lord, was on September 27 found guilty

by Magistrate Judy Latchman of being in possession of a quantity of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking; but prior to the magistrate handing down her decision, Dataram and Boodnarine fled the jurisdiction while on bail. Boodnarine was found not guilty of the cocaine charges. In his absence, Dataram was sentenced to 60 months imprisonment and fined one hundred and sixty-four million, two hundred and sixty- eight dollars (Gy$164,268,000).

On Tuesday, Dataram was sentenced to 12 months

The passport issued to Dataram under the name David Persaud

The Guyanese passport issued to Boodnarine under the name Christine Persaud

in jail for the forgery offence; 12 months for not presenting himself to an immigration officer and two years for attempting to defeat the administration of the law by leaving the country during his cocaine trial. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning that in addition to his current five years imprisonment for drug-trafficking, Dataram will spend an additional four years in jail.

Meanwhile, the charges read to the duo separately alleged that between September 20 and October 15, 2016, Dataram and his spouse attempted to default the administration of law to avoid the consequences of the matter they had before

the court. It is further alleged that between April 15, 2013 to October 15, 2016, at Camp Street, Georgetown, with intent to commit a felony, he conspired with others to forge one passport in favour of himself, purportedly showing same to be issued by the Central Immigration and Passport Office. The duo was also charged with illegal departure, which stated that on September 20, at Springlands, they departed Guyana without presenting themselves to an Immigration Office. Boodnarine was also charged with forgery of a Guyana passport.

The Ministry of Citizenship on Saturday announced that it was launching an investigation to determine the

circumstances under which Dataram and Boodnarine were issued fake passports.

According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, subject Minister Winston Felix said those found culpable will face the harshest possible action. Dataram and Boodnarine were arrested in Suriname on Friday and handed over to Guyanese authorities.

“The Ministry of Citizenship, which has responsibility for immigration services, inherited a number of challenges related to the integrity of systems when the new administration took office in May 2015, and [has] been working to correct these issues”, the release noted.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

President to attend CI meeting in U.S. PRESIDENT David Granger will be attending the Conservation International (CI) Board of Directors Meeting in Washington, D.C. from October 20-21.

The Head of State was invited to meet with the Board and top officials of CI, as well as address, along with President Ian Khama of Botswana, an official dinner, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency said.

The President will promote Guyana’s push towards

the development of a ‘green’ state and make the case for international support for this goal. Having already committed to bringing a further two million hectares of Guyana’s forest under conservation, President Granger is expected to emphasise its central role to the construction of a ‘green’ state, demonstrating how conservation can form the basis of economic growth and human development.

Guyana’s Head of State

will also meet with former President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson of Iceland and former President Anote Tong of Kiribati, who are attending the meeting.

Conservation International has provided support in the areas of biodiversity, conservation, climate change management, ecotourism, forestry, natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods for the past 14 years in Guyana, the release concluded.

New prices for fuel take effect THE Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) has announced that the price for gasoline will be reduced, but the prices for kerosene and gasoil have been increased by $5.00 per litre.

The price adjustments took effect on Wednesday, seeing gasoline reduced by $2.00 per litre, which will not only have a positive impact on individuals who use their vehicles to go to work and conduct business, but also on the transportation sector.

According to a statement from the oil company, the upward adjustment in kerosene and gasoil prices are directly related to increased acquisition costs from the source, which is consistent with the current trend of upward movement of fuel prices on the world market.

“Guyoil had been absorbing these fluctuations, but recent movements have made these adjustments necessary,” the statement noted.

The company further noted that “As a Guyanese company which is owned and

The old and revised prices for gasoline, gas oil and kerosene

managed by Guyanese and who is a major contributor to the national coffers, Guyoil continues to contribute in a positive way to the overall development of Guyana and remains steadfast in its commitment, as stated in its motto ‘Excellence in Service’.”

Meanwhile, a report from the Wall Street Journal on October 19 indicated that, “U.S. oil prices shot up to a one-year high on another week of draining stockpiles further convinced traders that the longstanding glut

may be waning.”

The report further added that the U.S. crude storage levels have now fallen for six of the past seven weeks, the U.S. And Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Storage tanks had been filled to record highs world-wide, but the U.S. is just one spot where stockpiles have fallen from those highs, a sign for bullish traders that daily supply shortages are starting to eat into that glut.

Sugar workers end strike action SUGAR workers have returned to the fields following two days of strike action in pursuit of higher salaries and better working conditions.

During a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle, President of the Guyana Agriculture and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, indicated that the workers have turned out to work in full. “The workers returned to work since Tuesday following a full day of protest on Monday, which led to GuySuCo agreeing to meet with us,” said the union President.

According to Chand, a delegation from the GAWU met on Wednesday with the sugar corporation to commence discussions on a number of issues affecting workers.

He indicated that the union had met with GuySuCo last week, when they proposed that an eight percent salary increase be granted.

However, this had to be reviewed and further deliberated on by the parties in-

GAWU’s President Komal Chand

volved. GAWU said earlier this week that: “The workers have rightly pointed out that unlike other state workers, who have benefited and will benefit from pay rises in 2015 and 2016, though those increases fell below their expectations, the sugar workers have been excluded and are seemingly being deemed as ‘second-class citizens.”

However, GuySuCo in a statement contended that for many years, one of the areas that have been impacting negatively on the business of sugar is strike

action. “During the last 10 years, strike action ranged between 160 in 2005 to 250 in 2010, and fluctuated slightly during that period.

For six years, the numbers were above 200 annually, and in 2014 and 2015 there was a slight reduction,” the corporation said.

It added that from 2005 to 2015, the total man-days lost to strikes were 813,437, and the highest man-days lost for this period was in 2009 with 130, 171 in 2006 and the lowest being 32,064 in 2014.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Bartica Massacre trial ‘further delayed’

By Michel Outridge

THE High Court trial in the famed Bartica Massacre of 2008, scheduled to start Tuesday, has been further delayed due to pre-trial issues which are being addressed by the prosecution.

A 12-member jury is yet to be empanelled, and more than 30 witnesses are expected to testify in the high-profile murder case which is scheduled to end in late November.

The State is being represented by prosecutors Misses Diana Kaulesar, Tuanna Hardy and Narissa Leander.

The defence attorneys are Messrs Roger Yearwood, Madan Kissoon, Saphier Hussain, Maxwell McKay and Peter Hugh.

The five accused, Mark Royden called ‘Durant Williams’; Dennis Williams aka “Anaconda”; Clebert Reece called “Chi-Chi”; and Michael Caesar and Roger Simon are alleged to have murdered 12 men at Bartica on February 17, 2008.

The five are facing 12 counts of murder, one count of terrorism, one count of unlawful wounding, and three counts of break-and-enter and larceny.

GUNNED DOWN During the February 17, 2008 rampage, nine civilians and three cops were gunned down by a group of heavily armed men, who descended on Bartica at nightfall.

Those who lost their lives were Bartica residents Edwin Gilkes, Dexter Adrian and Irving Ferreira, and Lance Corporal, Zaheer Zakir and

Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne, who were all stationed at the Bartica Police Station.

Also killed in the onslaught were Deonarine Singh of Wakenaam, on the Essequibo River; Ronald Gomes of Kuru Kururu, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway; Ashraf Khan of Middlesex, on the Essequibo Coast; Abdool Yasseen and Errol Thomas of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo; and Baldeo Singh of Montrose, East Coast Demerara.

According to the police, the Bartica Massacre, as well as the Lusignan Massacre of January 26, 2008 were spearheaded by notorious criminal, Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins, who was himself killed during a Joint Services operation on August 28, 2008.

With his death and the arrest and prosecution of the five suspects, it appeared as though the police had closed their investigation.

BACKLANDS FIND A police press release stated that an operation in the Buxton Backlands between Sideline Dam and Middle Walk Dam in 2008 unearthed a .30 Carbine (rifle); 238 7.62×39 rounds; 76 .30 rounds; two spent 7.62×39 shells; two magazines for the .30 Carbine; one AK47 magazine; one fragmentation grenade; one Bible; four camouflage hammocks; one machete; a blue tarpaulin and two black backpacks; two each knapsacks, pairs of boots, and pairs of rubber slippers; one toque; one tin CRC; two jars peanut

butter; two bed sheets; five pants, seven jerseys and two black leather belts; a duffle bag, two pairs of yellow and green slippers and two cellular phones (Motorola and Nokia); a small bottle of iodine, 13 pain-killing tablets, a large bottle of baby oil and three toothbrushes; and a toothbrush holder, three tubes of Colgate toothpaste and two bottles of deodorant.

The release further stated that investigations revealed that the weapon that was found was stolen from the Bartica Police Station on the night of February 17, 2008.

According to the release, the foregoing find was triggered by a Joint Services patrol coming under fire while on duty in the Backlands. The ranks took cover and returned fire, but it is not clear if any of the gunmen sustained any injuries.

BARTICA SIEGE Around 21:45hrs on February 17, 2008, an estimated 15 to 20 gunmen rampaged through Bartica. Reports were that three of the men were left on guard, while more than ten others laid siege to the community in the hour-long attack.

The marauders first stopped at the Police Outpost, where they killed three officers and seriously wounded two others, before taking with them several firearms and ammunition they’d pilfered from two strongboxes.

They next descended upon the CBR Mining Company further up First Avenue and shot 72-year-old security guard, Irving Ferreira even as he attempted to flee.

Once inside the building, the gunmen broke into a safe and removed a quantity of ammunition and 11 guns, six of them were shotguns and the rest .32 pistols.

They also reportedly took with them two safes containing gold, jewellery and cash.

After their deadly strike at the mining company, the bandits next turned their attention to the heavily-grilled home of businessman Gurudat Singh.

Firing their weapons and then using a sledge-hammer, they broke a window and knocked out part of a concrete grill to gain access to the home. Singh said that the gunmen took away two attaché cases.

The Joint Services would subsequently issue a statement on March 7, 2008, revealing that they had unearthed one of the eleven 12-gauge shotguns that had been stolen from CBR owner

Chunilall Baboolall abandoned in a camp at Bucktown, Wismar, Linden.

The lawmen had also retrieved Baboolall’s Guyana passport and his National Insurance Scheme (NIS) card.

The documents were found, along with a quantity of eating utensils, a searchlight, a green tarpaulin; a hacksaw blade, and an empty plastic water container, among other articles.

Cops probe West Dem gun robberies POLICE in ‘D’ Division are probing two separate armed robberies on the West Coast Demerara corridor where a business place and a rice farmer, his wife and daughter were relieved of valuables by two gun-toting men on Tuesday night and on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night at about 19:30 hrs. two gunmen who pretended to be customers robbed the patrons and owner of the Sun Beam Bar located at New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.

The owner, Yodeshwar Chetram reported that two men came into the handout spot and bought cigarettes and soon after brandished their handguns, relieving the patrons of all valuables and carted off with money, and quantity of liquor from the store.

The robbers escaped with the booty which amounted to an undisclosed sum in a waiting heavily tinted 212 white motorcar of which they did not make out the number plate on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, in the other armed robbery which took place at about 11:00hrs on Wednesday two men, one armed with a gun took away several bags from a family, who were in their rice

field at Crane Public Road, West Coast Demerara.

The victims have been identified as rice farmer, Ramkissoon Ramnarine, 57, of Canal No.1, West Bank Demerara, his 56-year-old wife, Indira Ramnarine and their 26-year-old physically challenged daughter.

Ramnarine and an employee were doing some work on the field when two men came up on a motorcycle and one described as a ‘Rastafarian man’ pulled out a gun and came under the makeshift tent they had erected and took away their bags.

Indira Ramnarine, her daughter and an employee were relaxing in hammocks at the time of the incident. The bandits rode off with the bags, which contained important documents, money, and newly purchased medications among other things. The Ramnarines said it is the second such armed robbery they have encountered and the first one left their daughter unable to speak as a result of being tramautised. Police said no arrests have yet been made but the robberies are under investigations.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Indigenous villages being prepped for REDD+ and Opt-in

WWF-Guianas and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), on Monday launched their Opt-in Readiness Project in Annai, North Rupununi.

The project will prepare the nineteen indigenous communities of the North Rupununi to be active participants and beneficiaries of Guyana’s ‘green’ economy, a WWF-Guianas press release said.

Indigenous communities hold title to three million hectares or 16% of Guyana’s 18.5 million hectares of forest. Under the Guyana Norway Agreement, those communities are to be given the opportunity to opt-in and benefit directly from conserving their forests.

The release said further that the project aims to help communities to prepare and two teams of trainers, both headed by indigenous people, will lead the capacity development efforts. The community development team will facilitate a process in each of the communities to create Community Development Plans (CDPs) and provide training in financial management, conflict-resolution, and governance to the village leadership (15-25 people in each of the 19 communities).

INTENSIVE TRAINING In addition, 38 people (28 men and 10 women), two chosen by each community, will receive 11 weeks of intensive training in Community Monitoring Reporting and Verification (CMRV) over the coming year. They will be provided with the knowledge and technology to gather, analyze and report forest cover and carbon (training provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission), natural resource abundance and use, and community health and wellbeing,

including a happiness index.

According to WWF-Guianas, the information will help the communities better manage their natural resources, care for their residents, and foster their community’s development. It will also prepare them to receive annual payments under a new Guyana Norway Agreement or any future payment scheme for conserving Guyana’s forests.

WWF Guianas REDD+ Lead, Chuck Hutchinson, explains: “One outstanding deliverable under the Guyana-Norway Agreement is the development of opt-in – the mechanism intended to open the door for titled indigenous communities to participate and benefit from REDD+ payments for conserving forests on their titled land. Our aim is to facilitate this effort by developing a model that can prepare communities to effectively opt-in and participate in REDD+” The Opt-in Readiness Project is one component of WWF’s wider programme of practices to support Guyana’s green development.

And Aiesha Williams, Country Manager of WWF Guyana, asserted that “With the true participation of indigenous communities, in partnership with the Guyana Government and other stakeholders, and with technical assistance from WWF and others, the green development path our country is pursuing can indeed be achieved and sustained.”

The launch event took place at the Bina Hill Institute in Annai, North Rupununi and was attended by Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, Minister within the Ministry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe; Major General (rtd) Joe Singh, Special Assistant to the President; representatives of the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Office of Climate

Change; as well the National Toshaos Council (NTC), the Amerindian Peoples Association, Iwokrama and Conservation International Guyana, NRDDB leadership, and press representatives.

WWF-Guianas is part

of one of the world’s leading conservation organizations with a mission to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. The Guyana office

is involved in a plurality of site specific objectives, often in partnership with civil society organizations and government institutions.

These range from the protection and management of ecological landscapes,

to educational and awareness campaigns on climate change and conservation.

Persons can learn more at www.wwfguianas.org and follow WWF-Guianas on Facebook www.facebook. com/WWFGuianas.org

Crowd management legislation coming 14

THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) concluded a one-week Mass Casualty Management System workshop on Saturday last.

The workshop which was aimed at strengthening crowd management systems saw 38 participants from 13 organisations learning the internationally accredited mass gatherings management techniques. The Commission has also begun work on drafting legislation to address the monitoring of mass gatherings across the country to mitigate the potential risks involved in crowd management, a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency stated.

Director General of the CDC, Colonel (Ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup noted that critical to ensuring public safety and ensuring that systems are in place to mitigate the risks at mass gatherings, legislation must be drafted.

“We do not have an Act yet but we are working on that to ensure that our people are taken care of. I am hoping that by next year all systems would be put in place

and I am getting support from the European Union for this. We have already spoken to the Minister of State and he has given assurance to this,” he said.

The training aims to achieve a satisfactory level of knowledge transfer, where the participants were taught the principles of mass casualty management in keeping with the PAHO Mass Casualty System. The participants were required to complete a written examination, as well as a practical exercise and achieve the 80 percent minimum pass rate before they are awarded internationally recognised certificates from the PAHO/WHO. Colonel Ramsarup said that the workshop stemmed from the weaknesses, which were observed at recent large-scale, national events.

“When we had the 50th anniversary celebrations, we had mounted an Operations Centre at the back of Durban Park. We recognised that we really needed to put some things in place where there is a mass gathering. I had some discussions with the Minister of State, Hon. Joseph Harmon and I contacted PAHO/ WHO and they agreed to sponsor what we call a Mass

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Medical respondents heading to the scene of the mass casualties scenario, during their practical exercise yesterday Casualty Management Sys- “The Course last week… and other activities so that taken away is that preparedtem. This system is one what it does is it allows the we can be a little safer,” he ness is the most important thing. If you are not prewhere proper organisation instructors trained, to in- said.

Coordinator of the Train- pared, you cannot respond is present and in case there struct these students under is any incident where a mass the guidance of the repre- ing and Preparedness and and save the lives at stake. gathering is, we can take sentative from PAHO. We Response Manager of the We have been taught how steps on the ground,” the are hoping that at the end of CDC, Major Sean Welcome, important it is to be prepared this training, we won’t stop said that the course is fo- and having your plans and Director General said.

It is expected that the here but we will take it to the cused on providing a theoret- knowing how it ought to be executed. We also learnt participants, who are now other regions also because ical and practical approach.

“The practical exercises how important it is for percertified trainers will conduct the other regions have mass training across the country. gatherings, national events are primarily designed to sons to know and understand reinforce what was taught in their roles so that given any the classroom so when they situation, the agency and go out to the fields, they are the individuals would know able to practise things like what is expected of them,” the first triage, the second he said. triage, the third triage and Mr. Winston Clement, the fourth triage. The triage who represented the Civil is the prioritising of victims Defence Volunteers’ Corps, for treatment and preparation said that the workshop clearfor advanced medical care. ly outlined the importance So the participants are able of the collaborative role to go out into the field and disaster preparedness agenthey are also able to practise cies play. the mass casualty system and “The learning experiorganisation,” he said. The ence has been vast as this participants are also taught is a collaborative effort. radio communication and We better understand how field command. to respond to any mass Meanwhile, Mr. Whit- casualty. We learnt that ney Bacchus, a participant, Guyana is not invisible from the Guyana Police even though we do not exForce (GPF), said that the perience certain disasters. workshop is helpful to par- What is impressive is that ticipating agencies, such as at this workshop all of the the Guyana Fire Service, the agencies work together in GPF, the Guyana Defence a collaborative effort and I Force and other related agen- think that these workshops cies in the conduct of their need to happen more often. role at events, where there We must be prepared for are large gatherings. anything of nature. We This group plan their strategy just before commencement of the practical exercise to test what they would “Over the last few days, can’t fight disasters but we have learnt over the last week. one of the things that I have can be prepared,” he said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Gov’t, Islamic Bank discuss plans to finance housing projects OFFICIALS from the Ministry of Communities and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) on Friday met with a visiting team from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) during which a medium to long-term housing programme was presented.

Various interventions relating to the overall direction of the housing sector and the proposed construction of 10,000 housing units were discussed, the Ministry of Communities said in a release.

The engagement took place at the Department of Housing’s Brickdam office, Georgetown. Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, said government recognises housing as a major public policy issue and a key area of focus not only in relation to the provision of shelter, but in the alleviation of poverty. He disclosed that the initial focus seeks to cater for the construction of 5,000 apartment units as part of medium-term plans to deliver 10,000 units

to eligible Guyanese including state employees, low- income earners and youth.

Minister Bulkan pointed out that of the 63, 257 lots allocated in the past 20 years under the previous housing programme, 28, 220 are still unoccupied. This, he said, points to the low levels of disposable income, the inability to access mortgages and the inadequate provisions of basic infrastructure in many of the areas. With 25,000 applications in the system and 17,000 households classified as low-income earners, the Ministry of Communities is examining innovative strategies to provide housing solutions to satisfy the great demand. “The target of 10,0000 units was conceptualised based on an assessment of the current needs,” the Communities Minister said.

He expressed optimism that components of the housing programme will be included in Guyana’s eventual submission to the IsDB. During his remarks, Chairman of the

CH&PA Board, Hamilton Green, stated that housing is an absolute necessity and priority and provides a space for individuals to feel safe and satisfied. Chairman Green noted that when citizens are properly housed, it provides for greater access to education, healthcare, social services, job opportunities and other basic provisions.

He emphasised that adequate and appropriate living conditions are not to be trivialized, adding that the provision of this basic need can assist in mitigating other variables including domestic problems, child abuse and anti-social behaviour.

“We urge you to join us on this major undertaking and partner with us in improving the lives of all Guyanese,” the CHPA Board Chairman said.

Director of Country Programs Department and Special Advisor to the Vice-President, Mohammad Alsaati, in echoing Green’s sentiments, said that persons who have access to adequate shelter can “rule

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, and Minister responsible for Housing, Valerie Patterson, listen as Director of Country Programmes Department and Special Advisor to the Vice-President, Mohammad Alsaati explains the collaboration between Guyana and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)

the world.”

He explained that the desire of the Islamic Development Bank is to work with Guyana in pursuit of its medium to long-term strategy that will match available resources with the country’s work programme.

“The idea is to get the

broad policy outlook of the sectors and more importantly the specific projects that can be undertaken in the near future,” Alsaati outlined. The IsDB executive related that the bank is anticipating “fruitful collaboration” and will work with local stakeholders to

develop worthwhile business opportunities. Proposals from the various government agencies and ministries are being coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, which has responsibility for presentation of Guyana’s development priorities and projects.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Productivity remains the ‘Achilles heel’ of the region’s economies ‒ ECLAC “PRODUCTIVITY remains the Achilles’ heel of Latin American and Caribbean economies,” especially in view of the heavy recessionary bias in the world economy today, said Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Barcena made the statement at the opening session of the first high-level meeting of the OECD Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean and the second meeting of its Steering Group, of which the Commission is a member.

Increasing productivity, advancing social inclusion and strengthening governance are the three priorities of the Regional Programme of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which was launched in June 2016 in Paris to support Latin America and the Caribbean in advancing its reform agenda. Chile and Peru are the first two Co-Chairs of the Programme for the period 2016-2018.

According to the latest

economic projections by ECLAC, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Latin America and the Caribbean will shrink by 0.9% on average this year, while in 2017 it is expected to grow by 1.5%.

“Our region urgently needs an environmental big push to change its development model”, said Bárcena, who called on countries to make strides in industrial and technology policies, focused on investment and innovation, in order to achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Tax evasion, she said, is another weak point in Latin American economies.

ECLAC estimates that, in 2015, non-compliance amounted to 2.4 percentage points of regional GDP for value added tax (VAT) and 4.3 points of GDP for income tax, representing a total of US$ 340 billion (6.7% of total GDP).

Néstor Popolizio, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru; Andrés Rebolledo, Director General for International Economic Affairs (DIRECON) of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Chile; and Gabriela

Ramos, the OECD Chief of Staff, Sherpa to the G20 and Special Counsellor to the Secretary-General also made statements at the opening session of the meeting held at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago.

Alicia Bárcena highlighted the fact that the OECD Programme had brought together organizations that have a long history of multidisciplinary analysis of development in Latin America and the Caribbean and experience in formulating recommendations on policies and tools: ECLAC (since 1948), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, all members of the Steering Group.

A specific example of cooperation between ECLAC and OECD, Bárcena said, is the annual Latin American Economic Outlook report (to which CAF also contributes). She announced that this year’s edition will be launched at the end of October, at the twenty-fifth Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Cartagena, Colombia.

Néstor Popolizio, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to promoting best practices in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to achieve the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. He noted the support that the various international organizations involved are providing to the OECD initiative, citing, for example, “the great wealth of knowledge and statistics that ECLAC has compiled on issues in the region.” Andrés Rebolledo, of DIRECON, said that Chile’s involvement in the

OECD Regional Programme is central to the country’s foreign policy. “We have made a commitment to integration with the region”, said the official from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff, said that “the programme that we are launching is not an attempt to reinvent research on Latin American and Caribbean; rather, it aims to build on progress already made by the Latin American institutions in analysing and understanding the regional situation”, adding that “with the determination, know-

how and desire for good policies, great things can be achieved”.

Attending the meeting in Santiago are Ministers and Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Planning, among other government representatives, and international civil servants, who will examine the challenges related to the three priorities of the OECD initiative and the items to be included in the programme of work 20162018, which is expected to be adopted in December 2016.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Major security forum, expo for Friday LEADING local and international security experts will converge at Duke Lodge this Friday when the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) opens its first Security Forum & Exposition.

The event commences at 15:00hrs and ends at 22:00hrs. Acting Police Commissioner David Ram-

narine and retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips, will make presentations at the event.

In a statement, the GCCI said the event will cover both traditional (physical) and cyber security. At the Expo, attendees will have the opportunity to interact with leading suppliers and

distributors, and learn about security technology and solutions, including video surveillance, safety equipment and accessories, IT and communications, and much more, a GCCI press release stated.

Presenters and exhibitors include Microsoft, Starr Computers, Safeway Security, GEB Security, Gizmos & Gadgets, Professional Guard Service, INFOTrans Guyana, Integrated Security Services, Qualogy Caribbean, RK Security, National Hardware, Paramaribo Security, N-Remote Tech Support, All Technologies Suriname, The Solutions Centre and other enterprises.

Security concerns continue to rank high as a barrier to investment, and in response to this, the Chamber has organised this important event as a means of empowering business owners to be proactive in safeguarding

themselves against criminal threats, the release noted.

The Chamber said further that it recognises the growing need for business owners to gain knowledge on security strategies, and so it has put together an impressive array of notable speakers, industry experts and security professionals who will deliver information-packed presentations on the latest trends within the security industry.

The Chamber had initiated engagement with local law enforcement through a meeting with a high-level team from the Ministry of Public Security and the Guyana Police Force in August. The meeting was held with the objective of discussing how security in Guyana can be improved, and this new initiative is an extension of the Chamber’s efforts to contribute to a safe and secure environment, the release added.

Thursday, October 20, 2016 - 08:30 hrs Friday, October 21, 2016 - 09:30 hrs Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 10:30 hrs

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

South Africa Racing Tips Vaal 08:35 hrs Lily Love 09:10 hrs African Rhumba 09:45 hrs Mambo’s In Town 10:20 hrs Little Tokoyo 10:55 hrs Aerobatic 11:30 hrs Brave Nation English Racing Tips Ludlow 09:00 hrs Inn The Bull 09:30 hrs Bennachie 10:05 hrs After Eight Sivola 10:40 hrs Dominada 11:15 hrs Lillian 11:50 hrs She’s Late 12:20 hrs Cottesloe Carlisle 09:10 hrs Aintree My Dream 09:45 hrs Wilton Milan 10:20 hrs Up And Go 10:55 hrs Ballyben 10:55 hrs Ballyben 11:30 hrs Pashtunwali 12:30 hrs Dubai Angel Irish Racing Tips Thurles 09:05 hrs Prince Of Scars 09:35 hrs Massinis Adventure 10:10 hrs Mega Fortune 10:45 hrs Meadow Cross 11:20 hrs Val De Ferbet 11:55 hrs Cadawill 12:25 hrs Bensachuine American Racing Tips Belmont Race 1 Barrier to Entry Race 2 Dissident Race 3 Quinta Verde Race 4 Well Blessed Race 5 Rediscover Race 6 Debbie’s Tude Race 7 First Service Race 8 Excilly Race 9 Margarita Sunrise

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

de Kock’s tornado overwhelms Australia

QUINTON de Kock became the holder of South Africa’s second-highest individual score in ODI cricket with a career-best 178 as his side eased to a series-opening victory over Australia. de Kock steered South Africa to the third-highest successful chase at SuperSport Park and ensured they drew first blood in a weekend of clashes against Australia.

Sandwiched between ODIs on Friday and Sunday is a Rugby Championship fixture on Saturday. All the matches take place on the Highveld, de Kock’s stomping ground, and on Friday night, he owned it.

None of the Australian bowlers was spared de Kock’s aggression. He took on pace and spin, anything on the pads or overpitched, the short ball and the wide ball. His was an innings that started with impeccable timing and placement and turned into belligerent bludgeoning, especially on the leg side. More than twothirds of de Kock’s runs came in that area, including nine of his eleven sixes and he made Australia’s 294 appear utterly inadequate.

On a fairly flat pitch and a fast outfield, Australia should have breached 300 and, given their start, could have been eyeing many more. Australia were 88 for 1 in the 13th over before Andile Phehlukwayo pulled them back. He took

3 for 16 in four overs and finished with a career-best 4 for 44 in just his second ODI to lead a seam attack whose experienced trio of Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada all had off days.

The South African seamers’ inconsistencies in length suited Australia’s almost-reckless approach. Five of their top six got starts but only George Bailey converted his. He scored a third half-century in four innings and shared in a 79-run seventh-wicket stand with John Hastings, whose fifty was his first in international cricket, to take Australia close to 300 but not close enough to challenge South Africa. de Kock was authoritative from the start. He flicked a Hastings delivery on the legs into the stands and followed up with a flog through point to announce his intention.

South Africa’s fifty came up inside seven overs and Rilee Rossouw, de Kock’s opening partner who filled in for an ill Hashim Amla, had only contributed 17 of those runs.

Rossouw did not remain an understudy for too long.

He plundered three boundaries off each of Mitchell Marsh and Scott Boland to catch up to de Kock and the pair were on 43 each, with the score on 87 after 10 overs. de Kock’s 50 came first, off 38 balls, with a pull off Travis Head. Rossouw’s fol-

South Africa 295 for 4 (de Kock 178, Boland 3-67) beat Australia 294 for 9 (Bailey 74, Phehlukwayo 4-44) by six wickets

Quinton de Kock lowed in much quieter fash- reverse sweep and was trapped ion, a single, but it came off in front. the 36th ball. At 120 without de Kock was on 82 when loss after 15 overs, Australia Rossouw was dismissed and were all but out of the con- had got there by playing the test and they had not even ball late and using deft, albeit introduced their best bowler. powerful touches, but when A d a m Z a m p a w a s Faf du Plessis joined him, he brought on in the 18th over, switched gears. He thumped after Rossouw and de Kock a low full toss from Daniel had destroyed Scott Boland’s Worrall to mid-off, in a rare figures by taking 18 runs example of playing a shot off his fourth over, and had down the ground instead of immediate success. Zampa’s square, and then reached his first ball was a leg-break, Rossouw brought out the

hundred, off 74 balls, with an almighty pull over midwicket.

Zampa came under attack as well and de Kock took three boundaries off his fourth over and three sixes off the first three balls of his sixth, With each one, there was a suspicion de Kock might emulate Herschelle Gibbs’ six sixes in an over.

Gibbs was part of the commentary team, and looked on as de Kock went past his own highest score of 175, by drilling Marsh through the covers. Those were the last runs de Kock scored before holing out, 11 runs short of overtaking Gary Kirsten, who holds South Africa’s highest individual score of 188.

It was left to Farhaan Behardien and David Miller to finish off after du Plessis and JP Duminy were dismissed cheaply. The wickets won’t matter much to South Africa after they won with 13.4 overs to spare. de Kock’s performance completely overshadowed Phehlukwayo, but he emerged as South Africa’s best bowler on the night. He broke

through at a crucial time, when Aaron Finch flicked a short ball to fine leg where Wayne Parnell caught it low down.. Four deliveries later, Phehlukwayo had Steve Smith trapped lbw, missing an attempted glance. And three overs after that, had Marsh caught behind by a diving de Kock.

Imran Tahir, the only other South African to concede at under six runs an over, had Travis Head stumped by a googly and Australia were five-down just over halfway in their innings and in danger of not batting out their overs.

Bailey’s fifty was his third in four innings while Hastings’ was his first against a South African attack that, Phehlukwayo and Tahir aside, struggled for consistency.

That may not be South Africa’s main concern ahead of the Sunday game though. Instead, they will be closely monitoring Steyn.

Although he bowled his full complement of overs, Steyn left the field twice and was seen clutching the shoulder he broke last summer several times.

Three-stage to replace five-stage ‘Ride for Life’ cycle race

THE GUYANA Cycling Federation (GCF) will replace the annual five-stage cycle road race with a three-stage event which is scheduled for November 5 and 6 in Demerara.

According to a source close to the Federation, the event was reduced to three stages in an effort to cut on cost, hence the organisers were forced to drop the stages normally held in Berbice (first stage) and Essequibo (fourth stage).

According to the source, the annual event which was sponsored over the past nine years by the Ministry of Health through funding from the World Health Organisation’s Global Fund had to be cut back to save on cost,

since the world body’s funding is not forthcoming any longer.

It is with this in mind that the Guyana Cycling Federation decided to cut cost by omitting the first and fourth stages.

The event which gets underway from 07:00hrs on November 5 will see Guyana’s top cyclists battling from Georgetown to Mahaicony and back, a distance of 65 miles.

The following day there will be an individual time trial starting on Carifesta Avenue and proceeding to Plaisance for the finish.

From 15:00hrs that same day, there will be a 30-lap race around the outer circuit of the National Park.

At stake is $400,000 and

trophies.

When the event was staged last year using the five-stage format, Colombian Carlos Ospina won the overall event and was subsequently identified to do a drug test. He refused and was therefore denied the overall first prize.

He claimed that the place where the test was being conducted was insanitary.

Apart from Ospina, Guyana’s Alonzo Greaves was also identified to do the test and his results proved positive and he was subsequently banned from all cycle related activities for one year. This ban ends on November 1 this year.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Bernard Hopkins set to enter ring for the final time

… 5 greatest moments of Bernard Hopkins’ career ON THE day that a potential Fight-of-the Year fell out because of a back injury to Orlando Salido, it was announced that the legendary Bernard Hopkins will make his final appearance in the ring.

The former middleweight and light heavyweight champion will face Joe Smith Jr on December 17 at The Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in a bout to be televised on HBO. It was supposed to be a double-header with a sizzling bout between Salido and

Takashi Miura in the other half. But Salido injured his back and needs at least a month of rest, according to Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez.

He said he’ll try to find an acceptable replacement for Salido, but more likely will scrap the fight altogether and add another bout to the card.

But the big news is that Hopkins will end his legendary career a month before his 52nd birthday with a fight that figures to be a challenge.

Smith, 27, is 22-1 with 18 knockouts and is coming

off an impressive first-round knockout of Andrzej Fonfara.

The story, though, will be Hopkins already had a professional bout under his belt before Smith was born.

“He’s been on the fence whether to call it quits or fight one more time,” Gomez said.

“He’s decided he wants to fight once more before he retires. He talked with (Golden Boy CEO) Oscar (de la Hoya) and me, and we agreed that he looks good with guys who attack and come forward and are aggressive. Smith has the right style.

He’s coming off an impressive

win over Fonfara and we all agreed he’s the right guy for Bernard.”

In honour of his last bout – though with Hopkins, you can never say never – here is one man’s opinion of his five greatest moments in the ring: 5. Knocked out Oscar de la Hoya on September 18, 2004: This was the win that really put Hopkins over the top in terms of his profile. de la Hoya was boxing’s glamour boy at the time and Hopkins, despite a lengthy list of great accomplishments, was more well-known as the guy who

Bernard Hopkins

Caribbean Motor Racing Championships Round Four

Three-way battle for two-wheel drive title

By Stephan Sookram

TENSIONS are high with just under a month to go before the final leg of the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) and the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s (GMR&SC) International Race-meet.

The fourth and final CMRC leg will be the championship decider in the Group Four two-wheel drive divi-

sion (2WD) with a keen rift ongoing between Jamaican Peter Rae, Trinidad’s Franklyn Boodram and Barbadian Mark Maloney.

Boodram and his Renault Megane leads the group with 144 points after three legs, while Maloney in his Mazda RX-3 sits second with 118 from two legs and Jamaican Peter Rae with his Mazda Rx-7 third with 108 also from two legs.

However, according to the Caribbean Motor Racing Association (CMRA), the body that manages the CMRC, in the event that there are 4 rounds to the championships in one calendar year, drivers will score points from their best 9 finishes.

Mathematically, for Boodram to increase his points, he would need to finish either first or second or first in all three of the scheduled races. At

best case, (should he finish all three races in first) his championship points would total 177. At worst case, (he finishes lower than second), his points remain the same.

Maloney and Rae, on the other hand, will score points for every race they complete in the top ten. Points are awarded using the Formula 1 scoring system (25 points for 1st, 18 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 8 for 6th, 6 for 7th, 4 for 8th, 2 for 9th

and 1 for 10th).

In a best case scenario for Boodram, both Rae and Maloney would be mathematically out of the battle.

However, at worst case, both would still have valid chances. At worst case scenario; Rae would only need to score a total of 37 points (should Maloney’s points remain the same) to take the title.

Meanwhile for Maloney,

it would only take one race win and a finish above ninth to take the trophy (barring Rae’s points remain the same as well.)

There is interest from Rae and Boodram for the final leg in Guyana while there is still no word out of the Barbadian Maloney.

However, it will be photo finish come November 13 in Guyana where the fastest cars in the group will meet to settle that dispute.

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Michy Batshuayi lined up by Inter Milan

By Joe Prince-Wright M I C H Y B AT S H UAYI isn’t playing regularly at Chelsea following his $40 million from Marseille this summer, so maybe this rumour makes sense.

A report from Corriere dello Sport in Italy states that Serie A giants Inter Milan are lining up a move for Batshuayi, 23, in January as they look to offload Mauro Icardi.

Inter’s captain hit out at his own fans in a new autobiography and with banners of protest against him last weekend, plus Inter’s fans cheering when he missed a penalty kick during the 2-1 defeat to Cagliari it is clear he may need an escape route soon despite being Inter’s leading goalscorer.

Both Arsenal and Napoli have been interested in signing the Argentina striker in the past and Icardi was linked with a move throughout the summer but decided to stay on at the San Siro. Following the latest incidents, it seems increasingly unlikely his future remains in Milan.

As for Batshuayi, the

Michy Batshuayi Belgian has impressed whenever he’s been given minutes by Antonio Conte but with Diego Costa red-hot (and fired up, according to this report) it seems unlikely that he’ll become a regular at Stamford Bridge anytime soon.

Yes, Batshuayi only arrived at Chelsea this summer and seems already to be a fans favourite, but it is obvious he wasn’t their first choice as a new striker with Alvaro Morata coming out and saying Chelsea pushed hard to sign him this summer.

Batshuayi scored three goals in his first three appearances for Chelsea but hasn’t scored in the six since then and he hasn’t started a game in the Premier League. (Yahoo Sports)

MOE to propose more for sport in schools

THE Ministry of Education is proposing to up the ante in terms of budgetary allocation for sport in schools Speaking to the media, Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine says that his ministry is likely to increase the allocation to schools for their various sport programmes.

“Sports is really key to our programme; we really would like to ensure that the programmes in the schools are working because of all the things they can do for us in the country,” Dr Roopnaraine told reporters.

He continued, “It’s not emphasised enough that sports is an area where we can deal with our deeply rooted division and problems within the society and I’m really very much in favour of intensifying our work in sport in the schools and outside the schools.”

Roopnaraine said that they will be no deviation from what applies in terms of budgetary allocation for sports being separate and aside from the education but believes sport should be provided for adequately.

“We don’t need sporadic activity, we need continuous activity, we need sustainable activity and we have to ensure consistency in whatever it is we do. Sport will probably be within education, I have not seen any contrary proposals in relation to that but you have to ensure within education you give sports what it needs,” the minister added.

The national budget for 2017 is expected to be read in December of this year.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

Montreal Impact dispute with Didier Drogba resolved, says club president

DIDIER Drogba’s dispute with Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact has been resolved, says their president Joey Saputo.

The former Chelsea striker, 38, was accused of refusing to play against Toronto on Sunday.

Impact coach Mauro Biello suggested Drogba had reacted badly after being told he would not start the game.

“We met with Didier.

The situation has been resolved to the club’s satisfaction,” Saputo said.

“Didier has accepted to assume the role that the head coach sees fit while contributing to the success of this club moving forward.”

Drogba was absent from the Saputo Stadium on Sunday, when the Im-

Didier Drogba

pact claimed a 2-2 draw to seal a Major League Soccer play-off spot.

Montreal had initially explained his omission by saying he had a back injury.

But Biello said after the

match: “He didn’t accept that he would come off the bench and, in the end, he didn’t want to be in the 18.

“There was tightness in his back, yes, but he was capable of playing.”

Drogba, who left Chel-

sea in July 2015, has been used as a substitute in two of the Impact’s past four games.

The former Ivory Coast international has scored 10 goals in 21 appearances this season.

Barcelona thrash 10-man Manchester City 4-0 in the Champions League

CRICKET QUIZ CORNER

(Thursday October 20, 2016) 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: 163 Majid Khan

Today’s Quiz: How many Test wickets Imran Khan took against the West Indies?

Who is the first Pakistani to take a Test match hattrick?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

Messi scores his 3rd goal against Manchester City.

LIONEL Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona punished 10-man Manchester City in the Champions League on Pep Guardiola’s return to his old club.

City were competitive in the first half, but made far too many errors against a ruthless Barcelona revelling in Messi’s return from injury.

A Fernandinho slip inside his own box put Messi clear for his first

then Kevin de Bruyne lost possession, allowing Andres Iniesta to set up the Argentine for a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.

The evening got worse for the visitors when goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off for handling outside the box and minutes later Messi struck again.

Barcelona were also reduced to 10 men in the last 15 minutes as substitute Jeremy Mathieu was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Raheem Sterling, but by then the damage had been done.

Willy Caballero saved a Neymar penalty - but the Brazilian scored from open play minutes later to complete a comprehensive win for the La Liga side.

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, October 20, 2016

England Women beat WI Women by 5 wickets in 5th ODI

By Brij Parasnath

AN enterprising half-century from all-rounder Natalie Sciver and penetrative bowling by left-arm spinner Alexandra Hartley proved enough for England Women to celebrate a comfortable five-wicket victory over West Indies Women in the fifth ODI contested at Sabina Park, Jamaica yesterday.

Hartley’s guile and variations allowed the English team to restrict West Indies to 155 all out while Sciver smashed West Indian bowlers to all parts to remain undefeated on a brilliant 58, when they sealed victory with 67 balls remaining of the 50-overs-a-side battle for a series win.

With the victory, the English Women moved back ahead of their West Indian counterparts and are currently in second spot on 23 points in the ICC Championship title race.

West Indies started the series in second position but by virtue of losing the three-match series 2-1, finished in third spot with 22 points, two ahead of New Zealand. The first two matches of the just-concluded series did not count for Cham-

… England move to 2nd spot in ICC Championship title race

Natalie Sciver

pionship points. It was level 1-1 before the real battle for points and places in the ICC World Cup next year began in earnest at Sabina Park where England took an early lead by winning the first ODI. And despite West Indies win in the second ODI when the English Women collapsed after they were off to a flying start and a 95-run first-wicket stand, the visitors kept their nerves and exhibited better discipline when their bowlers were

bang on target and prevented the West Indies free-scoring batters from dominating the proceedings.

Too many West Indian players were dismissed to careless strokeplay and cross-batted shots. They offered catches that were spectacularly gobbled up in the outfield and brought about their demise, even when they got a decent start.

WI captain Stafanie Taylor was the only one who applied

herself to the task and was determined to get a big score.

She made a genuine impact with her third half-century of the series and topscored with 57 that included one six and two fours off 101 deliveries.

The 25-year-old featured in mini-partnerships of 21 for the second wicket with Hayley Matthews (22), 37 for the third wicket with Deandra Dottin (15) and 38 for the fifth wicket with Britney Cooper (23) and was the seventh person dismissed with the total at 137 for 7 in 42.3 overs.

Left-arm spinner Alexandra Hartley was England’s find for the series and she set a new record, destroying the West Indies middle-order to finish with an impressive analysis of 10-1-24-4 and carrying her series tally to 13 wickets.

And it was not surprising that she earned the nod to share the series ‘Most Valuable Player’ award with Stafanie Taylor.

Hartley was well supported by new-ball bowler

Katherine Brunt who scalped three wickets for 35 runs from nine overs while skipper Heather Knight took two for 23 from 6.1 overs. Georgia Elwiss was the other wicket-taker with one for 11 from three overs.

Chasing 156 to win, England openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont posted 33 for the first wicket before Hayley Matthews dismissed the attacking Winfield who was caught by StacyAnn King for 12.

Knight joined Beaumont who continued her attacking role as they pushed the total to 56 for 2 when Afy Fletcher accepted a return catch from Beaumont who contributed a solid 34 that included two fours off 50 deliveries.

Knight found another useful partner in Natalie Sciver who dominated all the West Indian bowlers and piloted En-

gland to an impressive victory with 67 deliveries remaining.

Sciver top-scored for her team with an unbeaten 58 that was embellished with six delightful fours off 74 deliveries.

She had lost Knight, caught wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira for 29, Dani Wyatt caught Britney Cooper by Mohammed for 12 and Elwiss, bowled by Dottin for five.

Wicketkeeper Amy Jones, who stumped Shaquana Quintyne off Brunt for one and StacyAnn King off the same bowler for 12, did the final honours of slamming Anisa Mohamed straight back over the infield for the winning boundary that sparked celebrations among the jubilant English team and their supporters, who will return home in high spirits, having conquered the West Indians at home in the Caribbean.

West Indies A trail

West Indies A trail Sri Lanka A by 135 runs in 3rd unoffical test at Dambulla , SL 318; WI 184/4

General Services dethrone Plant Maintenance 1-0 to be new Bosai champions

By Joe Chapman

A new champion was crowned when the BOSAI Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. Inter Department football championship concluded with General Services gaining a 1-0 win over reigning champions Plant Operations last Saturday at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground.

The final was witnessed by several managers of the Linden bauxite operations who were accompanied by scores of their supporting cast from the contesting departments.

Vo c i f e r o u s w e r e t h e y throughout the final as it turned

General Services Team out from the first whistle the destructive looking Delon Charter of General Services started cre-

Scotland Under-16s call up 13-year-old Celtic youngster Karamoko Dembele

CELTIC’S 13-year-old playmaker Karamoko Dembele has been named in Scotland’s Under-16 Victory Shield squad.

The youngster made headlines this month when he made his debut for the Scottish champions’ development team.

Dembele, who also qualifies for England and Ivory Coast, played nine minutes against Hearts Under-20s.

Scotland face Northern Ireland, Wales and Republic of Ireland at the Oriam

Karamoko Dembele centre, near Edinburgh, from October 30 until November 4.

ating havoc for the champions. his many raids did catch the opposing players off guard several

times. But as fate would have it, it was the strike in the 76th minute by Damion Williams that landed the title for the General Services, putting paid to any hopes the defending champions had of winning their fourth title.

After being back and forth in a contest which was befitting a final, and after a scoreless first half, Williams was able to open up himself after the play developed from the right flank through Andrew Breedy. The striker then collected the through pass and in wriggling past his marker unleashed a hard shot that gave the Plant Operations goalkeeper Ricardo Anderson

no chance of saving.

The efforts of the Plant Operations for an equaliser never materialised through the study defense of the new champions as veteran Waynewright Bethune marshalled his troops which include Kerron Fiedtkou and while Kellon Neblett was brilliant in the Services goal.

The Plant Operations did show some fight in spurts and through the efforts of Ryan Noel , Mark Louis, Orin scott but this proved inadequate even though at times they did look like they were going to retain their crown.

In the end Charter was named the Most Valuable Player as his team carted off top honours.

The third place encounter failed to materialise between plant operations and Mines. The third place position was taken by the Plant Operations as Mines failed to show. It was later made known that Mines could not field their best team due to work priority in the Department.

However, their five member side which showed up was still eager to participate so they formed a mixed team including club players who came to watch the game. This Mines team which was led by their Mines Maintenance General Foreman Joseph ‘Sleepy’ Lawrence won 8-0 against Plant Operations.

UG Inter-faculty track & field athletic meet postponed THE University of Guyana (UG) Inter-faculty Track & Field Championship billed for October 19 and 20, 2016 has been rescheduled to Semester II of the current academic year, to coincide with the semester break.

The public is asked to note that the decision to postpone the athletic meet was taken as a result of the un-

availability of a suitable venue. The event was originally scheduled to be hosted at The University of Guyana Turkeyen campus. However, on examination by the Guyana Amateur Athletics Association (AAG), the ground was deemed technically unsuitable, therefore, the required sanction from that Association for the meet would likely

be withheld.

An alternate and suitable off-campus venue could not be secured for the scheduled week of the semester break in the current semester.

According to Ms Lavern Fraser, Sports Organiser, “The UG sports ground is plagued with the perennial problem of flooding which

impedes a regular schedule of maintenance and preparation.

However, the Sports Department, in collaboration with the Administration, will work to ensure that the ground is technically approved for the hosting at the rescheduled time.”

The Administration humbly apologises for any inconvenience.

England Women beat WI Women by 5 wickets in 5th ODI (See Story on page 27 )

Caribbean Motor Racing Championships Round Four

Three-way battle for two-wheel drive title (See Story on page 25 )

CMRC two-wheel drive point leader Franklyn Boodram chases Mark Maloney into Shak Shak (Gerrard Willson photo)

Local wheelsmen sign petition to remove GCF president, other officials … President admits to conflicts

By Michael DaSilva LOCAL cyclists, disgruntled with the way the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) has been operating over the past 16 months since the new executive assumed office, have finally said `enough is enough’ and to this end, 40 licensed riders have affixed their signatures to a petition seeking the resignation of the Federation’s principal officers.

One day after another section of the media

Horrace Burrowes broke the news of the petition, GCF president Horace Burrowes was

contacted and admitted that the Federation had been plagued with internal conflicts at the executive level and that was responsible for the downward spiral of the sport. However, he stated that he was committed to addressing the concerns of the cyclists.

The cyclists, who have signed the petition and who have all been doing Guyana proud at the regional and international

levels, want to see the backs of the president (Horrace Burrowes), secretary (Maria Leung), vice-president (Jerome Allicock) and treasurer (Rosanna Sukhoo).

According to the cyclists, among the reasons for their drastic call is the fact that the officials have shown scant respect for the oath they took to serve and take the sport to another level.

Among the stated infractions are: Failure to hold meetings and/or attend which shows disrespect for their commitment to cyclists; the failure of the president and most of his executives to

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attend the 2016 national championship; the failure of the president to publish the results of the WADA drug test of November 2015; the incompetence of the president in publishing inaccurate information on social media, resulting in the GCF being embarrassed; the president being non-resident, communication is difficult.

However, Burrowes who is resident in the USA, in responding to the cyclists’ petition told another section of the media that he would be in Guyana in another few weeks and he would be meeting with his executives

and clubs to address their concerns.

He said over the past months he had been meeting with other cycling federations with a view of getting technical and other assistance for local cyclists and he was currently in talks with the Mexico cycling body, seeking assistance for the development of Guyanese track cyclists.

He said he also plans to pursue more alliances with the Pan American Cycling Confederation (COPACI) when he attends the COPACI Annual General Meeting fixed for Cuba next January.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016