An 11-year-old Linden boy was the victim of a fatal accident which occurred yesterday at Sir David Rose Avenue, McKenzie.

A police press release stated that around 3.45 pm yesterday, pedal cyclist Akeen Jaipaul, of Redwood Crescent, McKenzie Linden was struck down by a minibus.

Investigations revealed that mini-bus BHH 454 was proceeding west on the southern side of the road while Jaipaul was allegedly heading in the opposite direction on the same southern side of the road.

Reports stated that the pedal cyclist attempted to cross the road and was struck down by the bus. He was taken to the McKenzie Hospital where he died while receiving treatment.

Meanwhile the driver of the mini-bus is in police custody assisting with the investigations.

Dear Editor,
We must be in the land of Oz – for there is precisely where the sugar industry is being placed.
The restructuring of Guysuco’s management hierarchy, however fuzzily reported in the press, goes beyond the realms of naïveté.  It is a highly imaginative effort that does not reflect any understanding of the reality of best practices in organisational development.
If reports so far are correct, then the proposals raise a number of organisational issues, including the following:

The transfer of Guysuco’s Head Office from Demerara to Berbice, is reported to save the industry $100 million per year.  The obvious omission is what this move will cost.

The most critical cost is in terms of the human resources involved.  There needs to be an examination of the categories of skills that are (economically) transferable to Berbice, and of those (mostly unionised) support staff who will be made redundant.  So one has to deal with the cost of redundancy – presumably after discussions with the union/s involved.
Then logically there should be the cost of replacing in Berbice some, if not all, of the middle/junior technical and administrative skills made redundant.

So far as the management levels are concerned there is the small matter of domestic accommodation and related social facilities to be provided; in addition of course to the required office accommodation and related appointments.

How incidentally will local senior staff be compensated for the dislocation of their current conditions of service, as well as possible family dislocations.  Not to mention the disruption of the livelihood of those suppliers of goods and services and products to the Ogle Head Office.
Note has to be taken of human costs, as distinct from the human resources costs.

Then there is the cost benefit analysis to be done of communication between a Berbice headquarters and the Demerara Estates.
It is difficult to conceive of two Regional Directors (a position hardly new in Guysuco) having the combined capacity each to replace those of four General Managers, particularly when it can hardly be affirmed with conviction (at least to many of their colleagues) that the two nominees are the best fits for such wide-ranging responsibilities.  It would be useful to see the relevant job description, and how the position has been evaluated vis-à-vis other Executive Directors, in the first instance.

More important, however, would be the reporting structure, and how accountability       will be apportioned, and to whom.
The notion of corporate centralism is ill conceived.  Not only does it fly in the face of any current management principle in practice, but as a decision-making vehicle it is counterproductive.  It is a curious system in which operational decisions will flow from the directorate level, thus raising the question of who reviews those decisions which will boomerang from time to time.

However mundane it may seem there is the important question of the processing of grievances with the unions in the industry.  As it appears from the media representation, the ‘General Manager,’ formally a part of the negotiation procedure, will be replaced by a ‘Director.’  Presumably the unions have been advised of this new arrangement in particular, and of course, of the whole restructuring process.

At the same time, it is reported that ‘financial’ and ‘industrial relations’ matters will be referred to the Head Office.  Does this mean that the Regional Directors are by-passed in the processing of these matters?  Does one conjure up another layer of authority that supersedes the Regional Directors in these two operational areas, or are the latter regarded as part of the Head Office?  Again as regards industrial relations the unions need to be consulted on the process.

There is clear reference as to the lack of confidence in the management of Guysuco as it currently obtains.  It is difficult to disagree with that perspective.  There is also mention of differences in perspectives, presumably on the reasons for the apparent malfunctioning of Guysuco’s management team.  There is merit in having a different perspective.

With the focus on management, the emphasis on leadership as a priority appears to  have been overlooked. That is one reason why the reported removal of the ‘top brass,’ with the exception of the Chief Executive, makes at least curious reading.

Equally curious is the assertion that former ‘General Managers’ will be offered ‘alternative positions.’  In the absence of a comprehensive board it seems legitimate to ask who will design the ‘alternative positions’; and further what would be the effect on the current compensation packages of the incumbents of those ‘alternative positions,’ if it turns out that not all are necessarily placed at the same level.

If one should step back awhile and examine carefully an exercise, the objective of which is to upgrade performance, but the actual result of which is the diminution of the status of most of the targeted performers, one would appreciate the contradiction – miniaturizing authority (and consequentially capacity) in order to upgrade productivity and effectiveness.  For example one needs to compare the status of the former Human Resources Director vis-à-vis his new position as Regional Director.

The proposed management reconstruction has fundamentally to do with competencies and confidence.  It is unclear at this stage what criteria were used to evaluate the competencies involved to the extent that the incumbents have been diminished hierarchically.

Normally one would expect that there would have been frank and fair discussions between the perceived authorities and the affected parties first, then take into account the fallout on comparable and other levels of management who must wonder if the clear signal of mis-confidence, of which they learn from the press, applies to them also.  This under-estimation, not only of the need for morale and self-confidence, but also for trust in the organisation, may well be reflective of the competencies of the decision-makers.

On this note one wishes to refer to the highly acclaimed book by Stephen MR Covey titled The Speed of Trust, from which a former Chairman of Singapore Airlines, Koh Boon Hwee made the following extrapolation:

“Lack of trust within an organization saps its energy, fosters a climate of suspicion and second-guessing, completely devastates teamwork and replaces it with internal politics.  The end result is low morale and the consequent low standards of performance.” It is hoped that these words of caution would be heeded. Finally, as a committed supporter of the sugar industry, I reject my cynical colleague’s observation that what we now have are the same evaporators and poor juice quality.
Yours faithfully,
E. B. John

Help and Shelter says while its Homestretch Avenue office is undergoing repairs it is offering counselling services from the Guyana Citizens Initiative (GCI) office.

In a press release the NGO said the GCI office is located at 77 Light Street, Alberttown (two doors from Lamaha Street on the eastern side of Light Street). Counselling is available from 9 am to 12.30 pm.  These arrangements will be in place until further notice while the Homestretch office is cleaned and rehabilitated after a recent fire. Help and Shelter said its hotline number is 227-3454.

Dear Editor,
In 1996, six lawyers were appointed Senior Counsel and elevated to the inner bar.  They were Messrs Ralph Ramkarran (now Speaker of the National Assembly), Richard Fields, Charles Ramson (a former Attorney General), Ian Chang (now acting Chief Justice), Moen McDoom and the late Samuel Brotherson.  No women were appointed nor were any appointed before.  Since their elevation, there have been no further appointments of Senior Counsel in Guyana.
Nine lawyers were appointed Queen’s Counsel in Barbados in 2005 (including Guyanese Mrs Maureen Crane-Scott, then Registrar and now a High Court Judge) and in December 2007, a further eleven lawyers (including three women) joined them at the inner bar. I wish to state quite clearly that I am not suggesting the appointment of women ‘silk’ as a form of affirmative action.

The appointment of Senior Counsel is recognition of professional eminence and standing in the legal profession.  The appointment continues to have great significance professionally and such public recognition also serves as an incentive for lawyers to improve and enhance their legal expertise and advocacy skills in order to attain that status, though it has been argued that the ‘criteria’ give undue influence to oral advocacy.

The system of the appointment of ‘silk’ has sometimes been perceived, both here and abroad as rewarding political connections rather than professional merit and community service.  It’s not a transparent process and there does not seem to be any criteria, or publicly stated criteria. In other professions, there is not this opaque process. For accountants, doctors, engineers, academics for promotion or specialist accreditation, there are exams or peer review or clear publicly stated criteria.  The legal profession alone recognises achievement in the legal profession, not from the Bar Association, but from government or with government involvement.

In the United Kingdom, after the suspension of appointments of Queen’s Counsel, a reformed system emerged where appointees through an open competition would not be chosen by the government but by a nine member panel chaired by a lay person, which would include two barristers, two solicitors, one retired judge and three non-lawyers.  The Lord Chancellor therefore no longer makes the appointment. The significance of the institution of silk has not diminished after more than 400 years.  For the public, it is a mark of excellence and of a continuing expectation that an individual will consistently perform to the highest.  Unless there is some expression of recognized distinction or quality, such as the rank of Senior Counsel, it would be difficult particularly for overseas investors to select counsel to act for them.  They are used to relying upon the mark of distinction conferred by the title Senior Counsel or Queen’s Counsel.

If there will be further appointments of Senior Counsel, it ought to be a much more transparent process, so that the stamp of excellence which is put on those professionals, can be seen to be legitimate.

I am confident that Guyana continues to possess some of the best legal minds in the region and if objective criteria are applied based on excellence, integrity, intellectual rigour and success in court, there are many prime candidates truly deserving of that honour. So like the acting Chancellor and acting Chief Justice, those candidates too must wait.
Yours faithfully,
Dawn A. Holder

Dear Editor,
Please permit me a few paragraphs to express my sympathy to the family and friends of Edwardo Bar reios. In my opinion he was one of the best lecturers at the University of Guyana and a great lost to the university. Mr Barreios as he was often called by Social Science students, more so Business Management students, was love and fear in the same breath. His lectures were unconventional − no textbooks, some ABC examples to explain his calculations and his occasional smoke breaks. The debt to Mr Barreios in terms of the subject area in which he lectured was exceptional, whether, it was MNG111 (Business Mathematics) a course  which caused nightmares for a lot of business students, or other courses including Manage-ment Science, Small Business Management and/ Production Management, just to name a few.  They were always challenging to the degree of forcing most students to defer his courses to the summer in the hope of it being easier.

Mr Barreios wasn’t fluent in English but he always managed to explain his calculations even if it meant us laughing at how he pronounced certain words.
His class was one of those classes you never wanted to miss as a student. Rain or blackout you made a special effort to be there. You may try missing other courses and collect notes, but in most cases you would never try that with him. While doing his exams whether an assignment, midterm or final exams, I always felt like this was what a university exam should be like.

Mr Barreios’s exams were very complex and I felt if I could pass his exams I would pass any other. He should be remembered as an eccentric, intelligent and dedicated lecturer who raised the bar of lecturing at the University of Guyana.

Yours faithfully,
Junior Andrew Hercules
Former Business
Management Student

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has expressed solidarity with the people affected by flooding and says it will encourage the government to invest more in drainage.

In a statement yesterday, the ruling party noted the “tireless” efforts of the government to relieve flooding but added that the danger of it recurring is still present because unusually heavy rains are continuing.

“It is clear that the floods experienced in 2005 was not a one-off event. The PPP will therefore encourage the government to invest more in our drainage system to minimize and hopefully to eventually end these episodes of flooding”.

The PPP added that the most affected areas are the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary rivers and “the situation in these places is bad. Farmers have lost a lot and households are seriously inconvenienced”.

On Monday, during a visit to these areas, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that a US$15M canal will be built from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) to the Atlantic Ocean. This is intended to obviate the need for emptying the conservancy into the Mahaica Creek.

The PPP called on its members and supporters to do whatever they can do to help the government in relieving the suffering.

It congratulated the medical teams and those from the Ministry of Agriculture who have been out in the communities daily.

Dear Editor,
Very interesting, Mr Bisram’s letter of January 6 in SN headed ‘Airlines should use a commonsensical approach to screening passengers,’ with the advice that “Passengers would be wise to dress in such a way as not to attract much attention about their religious faith…”  Would that make much difference, I wonder?  After 9/11, I  (a part-Indian 70+ woman) was conscious of being monitored − sometimes very closely − on board airlines with headquarters in North America, although I was dressed in  typical UK mode.

One solution might be to use airlines other than those owned and operated by North Americans.   When I got fed up with on-board rudeness and obvious monitoring, I boycotted those airlines and now travel with the less ‘paranoid’ ones.
I now feel more relaxed and enjoy my flights.

As I see it, an expensive product is being bought and it should be free of defects – ‘of satisfactory quality.’  This assumes, of course, there is a fair choice of airlines servicing the Caribbean.
Yours faithfully,
Geralda Dennison

Generally there have been a marked improvement in the performances of national swimmers over the past year.
Most of the swimmers recorded personal bests in a number of events but the goals of winning team and   individual medals at major regional and international swim meets are still to be achieved.

However, while local swimmers continued to break national records and improve on their own times,  making a consistent mark on the regional scene much less internationally, still eluded the grasp of their collective fingers and feet.

STALLED! Work has been stopped on the above site at Pattensen where the government is in the process of building a 50-metre, state of the art swimming pool boasting a 25-metre warm down pool and the first diving pool in the Caribbean for competition purposes. According to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, piles are required to strengthen the foundation of the facility which will cost around $50m. Dr. Anthony has admitted in media reports that the piles were not catered for in the budget and as a result work on the structure has stopped. (Lawrence Fanfair photo)

Last month, four local swimming clubs, with the help of sponsorship from a number of private businesses, corporations, individuals and through fund-raising efforts, participated in an international invitational swim meet in Trinidad.

The meet, which is organized annually by the Amateur Swimming Associa-tion of Trinidad and Tobago (ASATT) was held at the Marlins Swimming Pool at St Anthony’s College ground in West Moorings in mid-December.

Though Guyana, through its clubs, secured only four medals at the highly competitive event, an indication of the potential to be tapped by the swimmers if only a fraction of the right facilities were made available was very much evident.

The ASATT meet was also probably one competition where the largest number of Guyanese swimmers entered individual events apart from the annual Goodwill games between Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, and T&T.

Their performances would be rated credible given the lack of swimming facilities and time allocated for swimming by the Colgrain Swimming pool and the only acceptable pool that can be used for developmental competitions, the Castellani Swimming Pool.

A total of about 27 local swimmers took part in the four-day ASATT event – eight from Dorado Speed Swim Club; eight from Silver Sharks; seven from Orca; and four from Dolphin which attracted over  300 swimmers from Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and of course Guyana.

Most of the swimmers participate in the ASATT meet seeking qualifying times in a 50-metre pool for regional and international swimming competitions.
Described as one of the largest swim meets in the Caribbean, the ASATT meet had, in the past, attracted participation from all corners of the Caribbean not to mention Miami, USA.

Maybe because of the global financial crisis and high airfares, participation this year was not as extensive as it has been in the past.
Of the four medals three, were won by Ronaldo Rodrigues while the fourth medal was won by Henk Lowe.
Rodrigues of Silver Sharks Swim Club, swimming in the boys 11-12 age group, won two gold medals in the 50 and 100-metre  breaststroke ev-ents and  a silver medal in the 200-metre breaststroke race.

He made the Central American Caribbean games qualifying times in the 200m breaststoke in a time of 2:52:95s and in the 50m breaststroke in a time of 34:96s. He made the CARIFTA Games qualifying times in all three events.

Lowe of Dorado swimming in the boys’ 15-and-over copped a bronze in the 1,500 metre freestyle event.
The two were easily the most outstanding swimmers at the meet although the majority of the Guyanese swimmers did show marked improvement on their entry times which were based on times achieved in the 25-metre pool and then converted.

Rodrigues was also seventh in the 50-metre butterfly and eighth in the 200-metre individual medley while Lowe, competing in the long distance events placed sixth in the 400-metre freestyle and seventh in the 200-metre back stroke events.

Seasoned campaigner Niall Roberts of Dorado, swimming in the 15-and-over age group made qualifying times for the Carifta Swimming championships to be held in Aruba in April.

Roberts was fourth in the 50-metre butterfly event where he qualified for the Carifta games; fifth in the 100-metre butterfly; fifth in the 50-metre freestyle and seventh in the 200-metre butterfly events.

Lowe, Rodrigues and Roberts, who began swimming since their early childhood, have had exposure to competitive swimming at the national competitions and limited exposure at the regional levels at the Goodwill Games held be-tween Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and more recently Barbados; and the St Lucia Annual International invitational.

Rodrigues and Roberts took part in the last junior Carifta swimming championships held in Aruba.
In Roberts’s case, he has also taken part in a number of international meets including regional and international swimming championships held in Colombia, Brazil, Australia and last year’s Olympic Games held in Beijing, China.
They are yet to medal at the highest level.

Guyana has only had one swimmer medalling at the Carifta Games and that was Jessica Stephenson. Stephenson, a member of the Marlins Swim Club in Trinidad and Tobago, has the added advantage of the training facility and a more competitive environment.

Local national swimmers on the other hand, have at their disposal, one 25-yard pool and limited pool time at the 25-metre Castellani Pool, courtesy of the Government of Guyana.

For the majority of the Guyanese swimmers it was the first time at the T&T meet that many of the swimmers were swimming in a 50-metre pool and many have been overwhelmed by the length and width of the eight-lane facility.

The majority of the swimmers have said that because their bodies are conditioned through training to a 25-metre pool they automatically prepare for flip turns at the 25 metre mark thereby slowing them down in the process.

They also train and take part in local competitions without the use of starting blocks and in regional an international competitions starting blocks are imperatives.
Inspite of the handicaps back home, Guyana had 13 swimmers who were among the top eight at the end of a number of events.
Apart from the three already mentioned, Britney van Lange, Athena Gaskin, Telena Smith, Aureyah Payne, Soroya Simmons, Accalia Khan, Jamal Sobers, Serrano Gonsalves, Baele Hasbrouck, Noelle Smith and Allan Lowe were among the top eight rubbing shoulders with swimmers who have at least competed at the junior Carifta swimming championship level and won medals to their credit.

Gaskin, who swam in the girls 11-12 age group, placed fourth in the 200-metre breaststroke, eighth in the 400-metre freestyle, seventh in the 100-metre freestyle, and eighth in the 100-metre breaststroke events.

Payne was fourth in the 11-12 girls 50-metre backstroke event.
The swimmers often describe the transition from a 25-metre pool in Guyana to the 50-metre as a “never ending pool.”
Van Lange, competing in the girls 11-12 age category, was second in her heat but placed sixth overall in the 400-metre freestyle.
She was swimming for the first time in a 50-metre pool, appeared undaunted by the sheer size and  declared at the end of the event that, “We must get a 50-metre pool in Guyana.”

Told that the construction of the pool was underway, she insisted that “we must get it quickly.”

How quickly?
Well, Stabroek Sports understands that there are some engineering design problems which need to be corrected.
The problems, which include the driving of piles and the laying of pipelines, will incur additional costs.
Meanwhile, work has been stalled on the swimming facility, which is expected to be one of the most modern in the Caribbean boasting the only diving pool of international competition standards.

The construction of a 50-metre pool was announced by the government in 2007 and budgetary allocation for the commencement of the pool was made last year.
Work began on a swimming complex last year and it was expected that at least part of the facility would have been completed by the end of last year.
This has not happened.

At present the incomplete dug-out diving pool is filled with water but from the floods currently being experienced due to the current heavy rainfall and inadequate drainage in the city and its environs.

The new swimming facility for Guyana, when completed, is supposed to be one of most modern in the Caribbean equipped with a diving pool, and a 25-metre warm down pool.

“All ah we end up on de road while de car went on until it park on de people veranda” recalled Keith Abel who was thrown from a car along with four others, after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The driver lost control of the car after speeding over a road bump and crashing into a trench near the Friendship Gas Station.

Abel, 30, of 89 Supply, East Bank Demerara, from his bed in the Male Open Ward at the Georgetown hospital said about 10.30 on New Year’s night he and three others were travelling to pick up a friend to attend the football game in Linden when the incident occurred.

He said when the car spun out of control he and the other two passengers travelling in the back seat were thrown through the car’s front windscreen while the driver and passenger in front were flung onto the car’s bonnet and rolled onto the road. The car then rolled into a yard coming to a stop on a resident’s veranda.

Abel said the owner of the gas station then placed the five of them into a car and rushed them to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre. They were then transferred to the city hospital early Friday morning.

Abel said he bore the brunt of the injuries suffering a fractured neck and spinal injuries while the others were discharged with minor wounds.

He said the accident was reported to the police.

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and PNC cannot blame the government for the Trades Union Recognition Bill. The PNC and GTUC say the GTUC is recognised by the Intern-ational Labour Organisation and the bill will make the Federation of Independent Trades Unions of Guyana the recognised federation.
The government says it wants to consult the federation with the most members. Don’t blame the government. Blame the GTUC, Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Guyana Labour Union (GLU) and PNC.

Here’s why. The GLU has joined FITUG. The GTUC President, Ms Burton is affiliated to the PNC and was a candidate in the last elections. The GPSU is not in the GTUC.

Do the maths. GLU plus NAACIE plus CCWU plus GAWU equals most members in FITUG. GPSU and GLU out of the GTUC equals fewer members.

The Trade Union Recog-nition Bill will have no effect if either 1) the GLU leaves FITUG or 2) the GPSU returns to the TUC.

If the PNC didn’t want the bill to pass Mr Corbin should have made sure the GLU did not join FITUG or he could try and make the GLU leave FITUG. If the GTUC doesn’t want the bill to pass Ms Burton would have to persuade the GLU to leave FITUG.

Though the PPP resuscitated FITUG to replace the GTUC the trades union are better off being independent. The PPP already occupies too much space and this is unhealthy for the society.
Yours faithfully,
Roy Ramroop

- Inept batting, faulty catching and error-prone umpiring feature in West Indies’ seven- wicket loss to New Zealand

THE West Indies won only two of their 15 ODIs against credible opposition last year.
They won’t win many more in 2009 if their batting remains as embarrassingly inept and inexperienced, their catching as faulty and the so-called ICC elite umpires as error prone as they were in the seven-wicket loss in the third of the five ODIs against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium last night.
A little basic cricket intelligence in their approach would also be helpful.

Only one of the three genuine batsmen in the team – and no prizes for guessing which one – put together a reasonable score as the West Indies were bowled out for 128 in 41.4 overs, just five more than their lowest in ODIs against New Zealand.

As usual, Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 45 off 77 balls on his return from a hand injury had to be constructed as so-called batsman after batsman again floundered to the variations of left-arm spin from New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, Man of the Match for his 10-3-20-4 spell.

It took the sensible approach of No.9, Nikita Miller, unbeaten 25 off 36 balls, to inch the total past 100 in successive partnerships of 27 with Chanderpaul and the equally judicious last man, Fidel Edwards.

It was clearly inadequate to prevent a series-levelling defeat.
Yet the pitch was fresh enough to encourage the fast bowlers and Daren Powell, in measure compensating for the ridiculous method of his earlier dismissal, shook the home team and a crowd of close to 12,000 with the wickets of dangerous openers Brendon McCullum, caught at third man, and Jesse Ryder, taken low down at cover, with consecutive balls in his third over.

Jamie How went in his next, neatly taken at long-leg by Jerome Taylor, and suddenly, at 40 for three, the West Indies were energised. Anything was possible.
Three quick setbacks doused their enthusiasm and decided the outcome.

A chance to remove New Zealand’s best, most aggressive batsman, Ross Taylor, before he had scored was missed, wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin letting an edge off the West Indian Taylor’s outswing pass, believing it was better for Gayle next to him at slip. The ball dropped short of the captain and sped to the boundary.
At the opposite end, Taylor, on 9, was taken on the glove by Powell for Ramdin to gather a tumbling leg-side catch. The problem was that the umpire, the Englishman Mark Benson, did not detect what the television replays did visually and audibly and was motionless as the West Indies bawled themselves hoarse in appeal.
In the next over, from Taylor, the left-handed Daniel Flynn was dropped low down at cover by Kieron Pollard before he had notched a run.
So, instead of being 53 for five, New Zealand were 53 for three and the contest was as good as over.

Taylor and Flynn made use of the evident West Indies frustration to power their team home with an unbroken stand of 89 from 13.1 overs.
Powell reacted to Benson’s decision in favour of Taylor with a bouncer that flew over Ramdin’s head for five wides, a waste.

Taylor hoisted Fidel Edwards for huge sixes over long-on and cover, prompting another bouncer and five more wides over the keeper’s head.
By the time Miller’s left-arm spin was introduced, it was only a matter of when and by how many. Taylor hoisted him for his third six, into the spectators beyond the cover boundary. He also stroked four fours in an unbeaten 51, an innings described afterwards by Vettori as the best he had seen from his young champion for some time.
The match ended in farce with Gayle himself firing down a bouncer over the keeper’s head that counted for five wides, followed by another that brought three wides.
It has been obvious throughout the tour that the West Indies batting is made up of four batsmen – Gayle, Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan of the old brigade and the newcomer Brendan Nash, aged 30 with the benefit of several seasons in Australian state cricket.

Gayle, bamboozled and bowled by a Kyle Mills’ perfect slower ball for 18, and Sarwan, wildly slashing Tim Southee for a spectacular second slip catch by How, managed only 23 between them after the West Indies were sent in. Nash was not even in the starting eleven.

When the West Indies field a batting order with the left-hander Shaun Findlay, not even a regular in the Jamaica team, at No.5, Ramdin at No.6 and Kieron Pollard at No.7, it is obvious that a collapse is never too far away.
One duly developed.
Findlay, scoreless for 15 balls and with two boundaries his only scoring shots from 25 balls, was simply not good enough to keep out Southee’s incoming yorker.
Vettori, on the other hand, was too good for Ramdin, Pollard, Taylor and Powell until Miller arrived to limit the embarrassment.

Pollard was unlucky with another mistake by Benson, who failed to identify the thick inside edge as he thrust forward in defence. But the manner of Powell’s dismissal typified the West Indies’ batting.

With 20.4 overs remaining and Chanderpaul at the opposite end, he presented an out and out crosshaul, missed and was bowled. As he departed, Vettori’s gesture, head shaking and finger pointing at his temple, told the story in full.

Two matches remain in the series, in Auckland on Saturday and Napier on Tuesday. The West Indies need something special from the few key men to even press opponents playing as a team.

Residents of a section of the Diamond community have complained bitterly about “the improper and illegal disposal of garbage and the deplorable state of the road”.

This vehicle tries to manoeuvre around the potholes on the Great Diamond road.

When Stabroek News visited Section A Block X Great Diamond on Tuesday, there was evidence of garbage having been dumped on the western half of the street.

Residents said the pile of garbage containing plastic bottles and food boxes did not emanate from houses in the area. They are convinced that the garbage is being dumped by persons living outside the area.

Meanwhile, residents say that the deplorable state of the road was owing to the “sloppy work” done by the contractors. One resident pointed out that numberless reports have been made to the NDC regarding the state of the road, but all they get in return are “empty promises.” Another resident stated “this is unfair to us; we pay our rates and taxes and should have proper services in return.”

The pile of garbage - mostly plastic bags, bottles and styrofoam food boxes.

As a result of the condition of the road, some residents are forced to use alternative streets to get to their homes. Residents in possession of vehicles have also voiced their dissatisfaction at the condition of the road stating that numerous repairs have to be made to their vehicles on a regular basis which was very costly.

Residents have also stated that taxis are unwilling to take them into the street because of the state of the road.
The residents are making an urgent call on the NDC to look into these matters.

Four of the six high-profile prisoners who attempted to escape from the Camp Street prison on December 28 with one making it as far as Rasville were yesterday read the charge of breach of the prison when they appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson.

Dennis Williams, Dwayne Archibald, Jermaine Savory and Paul Bagot were not required to plead to the charge due to the absence of Mark Roberts and Sherwin Nero, the other two co-accused, who were at the Sparendaam Court at the time for other matters against them.

It is alleged that on December 28, the six accused broke a window at the Camp Street Prison with the intention of setting themselves free.

From all indications the men sawed a hole in the wall over a period of time. “They had to put back the boards they sawed out during the night so the prison officer wouldn’t see the hole in the day,” one source said.

The police had said that the six accused were on murder and narcotics charges. Five of the escapees were recaptured in the compound while Moses successfully got over the wall and was held in Rasville around two hours later.

Nero was charged with the murder of Guyana Defence Force soldier Ivor Williams and Cove and John resident Kumar Singh. He also reportedly had links to the now dead Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins.

Williams, known as `Anaconda’, was charged in November last with 12 counts of murder stemming from the February 17, 2008 Bartica massacre and Jermaine Savory was charged with the Agricola murder of Melissa Payne.
They are to return to court on January 15.

Dear Editor,
Until such time as GT&T can provide an efficient landline service to customers in Region 2, which stretches from Pomeroon to Supenaam, the monthly rental being charged now should be waived because of the constant defects in the new system. Even after a year since it was introduced, improvements are not much in evidence with much inconvenience being endured by customers who have to pay for a defective service. All along, the same problems keep recurring, while the company has difficulty implementing corrective measures.

On December 9, last, I visited the Anna Regina Exchange where a special team from Georgetown was assigned to deal with customers’ complaints, but it was just useless going there. Since that day till now, only precious time and travelling money have been wasted as no one from GT&T showed any concern about my complaint, probably because of the company’s monopoly here in a can’t-do-better situation. Competition is always good.

Residents in this district are well known for being complacent, with many other customers as well being faced with the same predicament.
Yours faithfully,
Baliram Persaud

This year promises to be another busy year for local golf players even as the Lusignan Golf Club (LGC) looks back at a successful 2008 which saw one of the largest fields of players compete in the prestigious Smirnoff-sponsored Guyana Open championships.

This year, the emphasis will be placed on promoting golf among youths, forging closer ties with other clubs in the Caribbean and North America and continuing to push the membership drive, Club Captain of the LGC Jerome Khan told Stabroek Sport in an exclusive interview.

“Last year was a very successful for the Club, we saw an increase in sponsorship as well as the interest shown by persons who wanted to get involved and play the game. The membership of the Club grew by 20 percent in 2008,” Khan disclosed.

He revealed that most of the weekly tournaments received substantial assistance from the business community and expressed gratitude for their support in helping to popularizing the game locally.
Khan said he was confident that the main sponsors will support the work of the LGC this year even though he recognized the harsh economic times current facing businesses.

“A lot of work was done on the course last year and for this year the emphasis will be placed on the drainage, greens and fairway bringing further improvement to the facilities at Lusignan,” he added.
A record 72 golfers including players from the United States, Canada and Suriname participated in the Smirnoff Guyana Open two-day tournament sponsored by local beverage giants Banks DIH Ltd..
After two days of fierce competition Guyanese players Imran Khan and Christine Sukhram carted off the men’s and ladies titles respectively.

Khan said the current inclement weather has curtailed activities at the Club at this time but as soon as there is a break in the weather competitions will resume.

According the Captain, the LGC was heartened by the fact that it continues to maintain strong links with colleagues in the USA, Canada, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

He would, however, like to see local players compete in more tournaments in the Caribbean.
Another large contingent is expected to travel to neighbouring Suriname to compete in their annual tournament billed for the first quarter of this year.

In relation to encouraging youths to play the sport, Khan said greater emphasis will be placed on that aspect this year.

Last season two teenagers, Joann Deo and Avinda Kishore made their presence felt against their senior counterparts in local competition.

Meanwhile, the Annual General Meeting is expected to be held during the first quarter of this year.
The incumbent president is Mel Sankies with Brian Hackett serving as Vice President and Treasurer.
The Secretary is Ronald Bulkan while other members of the committee are Gavin Todd, Mike  Mangal, Ian Gouveia and Troy Peters.

Director of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) Professor Daizal R Samad has planned month-long meetings with Berbice secondary school students to enlighten them about the importance of tertiary-level education.

A press release said Samad plans to meet with fourth and fifth form students, along with head, deputy and other teachers at the Line Path Secondary and Skeldon High schools today. He hopes to peak students’ interest in higher level education at UGBC by outlining its degree, diploma and certificate programmes, telling them about its modern facilities and developmental plans. Samad will also inform them about entry requirements and application procedures.

According to the release the professor will meet with students of Tutorial Academy and the New Amsterdam Secondary on Monday, January 12; students of the Tagore Memorial Secondary and the Central Corentyne Secondary on Wednes-day, January 14 and Berbice Educational Institute and Berbice High School students on Friday, January 16.

Samad will then meet with Black Bush Secondary students on January 19; Vryman’s Erven and Canje Secondary on January 21; Winifred Gaskin Secondary and Manchester Secondary on January 23; Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary and JC Chandisingh Secondary on January 26 and Port Mourant Secondary and Lower Corentyne Secondary on January 28.

Additionally, Samad will meet with Rosignol Secondary and Fort Wellington secondary students on February 2; Bush Lot Secondary and Mahaicony Secondary students on February 4 and the students of Bygeval and Belladrum secondary on February 6.

Professor Norman Girvan’s speech, on receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Havana last month, tells us lot about the enduring appeal of the Cuban Revolution, now 50.

One of the region’s pre-eminent development economists, he evokes the “transformative” impact of the triumph of the revolution on January 1, 1959 over the venality and brutality of the Batista regime, itself the puppet of a grotesque marriage of Yankee imperialism and mafia exploitation that had prostituted the island.

For the young Girvan and the West Indian Independence generation, the revolution was hugely significant in the struggle against colonialism and foreign domination. You would have had to go back to another New Year’s Day, January 1, 1804 and the proclamation of Haitian Independence, to find a more powerful symbol of freedom and anti-colonial sentiment in the Caribbean.

As Professor Girvan puts it, “the Cuban Revolution was a source of inspiration to many of us on the ability of a small Caribbean country to chart its own course of social justice, economic transformation, and national independence by relying on the will and energy of its people; with a leadership that trusted the mass of the population and refused to bow before threats, economic punishment and counter-revolutionary violence from the greatest military power on the planet.” Indeed, it is this David and Goliath syndrome that has arguably been responsible for the romanticizing of the revolution as a triumph of independence, self-sufficiency and indomitable will against the odds.

Nelson Mandela and his comrades imprisoned on Robben Island drew strength from the revolutionary fervour and defiance of Fidel Castro and his followers. True revolutionaries need that kind of inspiration to maintain the struggle and Mr Mandela and the ANC were ultimately vindicated in their fight against an abhorrent and unjust order.

Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, Michael Manley and Maurice Bishop embraced Cuba and its revolutionary ideology in varying degrees. All did so with near catastrophic political, social and economic consequences. In Guyana, we are to some extent still paying the price for our flirtation with communism and our adoption of cooperative socialism and practices rooted in party paramountcy and central control of the economy.

In Latin America, the radical left has risen again. Hugo Chávez, Rafael Correa, Evo Morales and Daniel Ortega are trying to re-engineer their societies, inspired by the Cuban Revolution and bankrolled by Venezuela’s petro-dollars. But even though the Washington Consensus and neo-liberalism have been proven to be socially and economically bankrupt, there is little evidence that populism and authoritarianism can lead to a viable and sustainable new economic model.

After 50 years, Cuba has moved from being, in Fidel Castro’s words, a “colony of the United States,” through being a subsidized satellite of the Soviet Union, to dependence on Venezuelan largesse. In spite of its well-known achievements in health and education – now significantly eroded some say – Cuba, with its centralized economic model, has been incapable of changing the fundamental structure of its economy to achieve true self-sufficiency. And its leaders have over the decades, in parallel with the US economic embargo, imposed a ruthless internal embargo on plurality of views and freedom of expression, which might just have endowed the revolution with the dynamism necessary to adapt and flourish, rather than stagnate.

Jorge Piñón, a Fellow at the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy, is perhaps more nuanced in his assessment, arguing that the problem is not so much Cuba’s centralized economy, as “inefficiency and lack of strategic planning.
Instead of setting the basic umbrella policy for the economy and bringing in the experts for day-to-day operations, Fidel Castro has always wanted to micro-manage.” Sounds familiar?

But let’s not digress. To be fair, Raúl Castro seems to understand Cuba’s structural challenges and appears inclined towards reform, though still somewhat constrained by Fidel’s massive influence. There needs to be more movement towards macroeconomic policies to stimulate growth, create jobs and raise personal income, but so far, there has only been some cautious tinkering.  Raúl has even allowed some criticisms to surface in the state-controlled, indeed the only, media, but serious dissidents are still being muzzled.
Nevertheless, Latin America and the Caribbean are determined that Cuba should once again resume its rightful place in the hemispheric family of nations. As we have reported, the Rio Group has accepted Cuba into the club and calls are being made for Barack Obama to lift the embargo and for Cuba to be readmitted to the Organization of American States.

This is all well and good. The US embargo is an anachronism and has for too long been a barrier to change in Cuba. It must end. At the same time, Cuba needs to be encouraged to open up politically as well as economically, and to move towards a society based on the observance of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of choice, economic and political.

However, for too long, the dark side of the revolution has been glossed over by those who have found it more convenient to blame the hostility of successive US administrations than criticize the failings of the Cuban government.

It is therefore not sufficient to say, as Professor Girvan does, that the “miracle” of the survival of the Cuban Revolution, in the face of the US embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union, “can only be explained by the practice of a profound participatory democracy in Cuba, with a leadership that explains everything, a people that discusses everything, an economic adjustment that was equitably shared, and a people determined to defend their Revolution and their independence, no matter what the cost.” The Cuban Revolution might justifiably be considered a triumph of equity over gross injustice and of will over reality, but statements such as these constitute a wilful evasion of reality.

Yes, we should be grateful for all the humanitarian work the Cuban Government and people have done for us in the Caribbean, as Professor Girvan rightly points out. The good professor goes so far as to argue in rhetoric borrowed from Fidel that the debt “owed to the Cuban people by the rest of the Caribbean and indeed by all humanity” is “unpayable.”

We beg to differ. The debt is payable and we should repay it by doing all we can to help the Cuban people attain true political and economic freedom. Whitewashing the truth because of ideological sympathies or romantic notions just will not do.

In Guyana, those who, for example, rail against the inaction of Caricom during “28 years of dictatorship,” should readily understand the position of Cuban citizens who must feel isolated as they live their daily struggles and yearn for a little more prosperity, a little more freedom.

Even as we embrace Cuba – a beautiful island with beautiful people, who surely deserve better from their rulers after decades of sacrifice and deprivation – we should encourage Cuba to embrace change, by quietly but firmly reminding Cuba’s leadership of long-held and deeply cherished West Indian principles of freedom and democracy.

The revolution has survived to a battling half-century. It is time to draw a line and move on.

Dear Editor,
The National Commun-ications Network is carrying a message over the airwaves informing listeners of being able to listen to NCN on the internet at www.jumptv.com. However, the last time I checked, Jump TV is still not working.

For over a month now, online listeners have not been able to listen to VOG and 98.1 FM on JumpTV.com. The issue is not with Jump TV, because I am hearing other radio stations from other countries easily, but not NCN’s VOG and 98.1 FM.

I really think NCN should verify and confirm its online broadcasts before telling listeners that their transmissions are available online when, in reality, they are not.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Jameson Suseran

Two of Guyana’s senior players for the first two away games Leon Johnson and Narsingh Deonarine, are  feeling no pressure ahead of the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day cricket competition which  commences tomorrow.

“At the moment, I am looking forward to playing in the competition and getting some runs. Having just returned from New Zealand where I was not selected for the two Test matches, I am now looking at scoring heavily in this tournament, as that’s the only way I can maintain my place in the regional side” Johnson told Stabroek Sport.

“When I did not make the test team, I was disappointed. But I sat down and did some thinking and told myself that when I get back home, I will be looking to get some runs in this tournament. With the England team set to tour the West Indies during the course of this competition along with the absence of the other senior players, I have the perfect opportunity to get a decent score that will ink my name on the minds of the selectors,” he added.

The 21-year-old Johnson, who is a former West Indies Under-19 captain and has a first class average of 33.38, is looking to surpass his highest score of 94 made against the Combined Campuses and Colleges in last year’s tournament at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence with his first century.
“It is a great feeling to score a century in a match and to do it for your country is even better. I am yet to experience that feeling for Guyana at the senior level, therefore when I get out there, I am looking forward earnestly to recording my first century for Guyana.

“Achieving it is not easy. Dedication and application are two important ingredients that are needed if you want to become a great sportsman and of late, I have increased my share in both departments. Therefore, I am anxious to get out there in the middle and get some runs. My confidence is high,” the left-handed batsman stated.

Deonarine, who played four test matches for the West Indies is also looking at a recall to the regional side and knows that the only way he can achieve such, is by scoring heavily, a fact he acknowledged.
“I am expected to perform to the best of my ability and I am looking forward to doing just that not only for my country but also myself following my return to competitive cricket, from a back injury early last year.”

He added: “I am looking forward to some good performance not only with the bat, but the ball as well, as it is my aim to regain my place in the West Indies side. As one of the senior players in the team, I have a clear view of what is expected of me and I am not feeling any pressure.

“With the absence of Shiv (Chanderpaul), Ronnie (Sarwan) and Chatters (Chattergoon), the senior players in Travis Dowlin, Leon Johnson and myself have to step up to the plate. We have to take this team through the first two rounds, with positive cricket.

“The younger players will be looking to us for motivation and our body language at times can send the wrong message, so it is important that we perform to the best of our ability and at times beyond. Even though we did not have any match practice due to the weather, we have been working on our fitness and I know we are at a level to compete as a team, with the other teams,” said Deonarine.

Both Johnson and Deonarine agreed that the other players in the squad are capable  and expressed  confidence in them also.

The Travis Dowlin-led Guyana team will oppose the Windward Islands in Grenada from tomorrow, before journeying across to Barbados where they will take on the Combined Campuses and Colleges in their second round encounter, before returning home following a bye.

“This is de third time I catch he breaking into mey house,” George Cole told Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson about an Agricola man accused of breaking and entering his house.

Twenty-eight-year-old Travorn Denny of 65 Remus Street pleaded not guilty to the charges of break and enter and an attempt to commit a felony when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.  The incident allegedly occurred on January 4, at Remus Street, Agricola.
The prosecution did not object to bail, however, Cole told the court that he was afraid of Denny because “he attacks everyone around him.” He said too the man had verbally abused his wife and that “he even attack a police officer who was in de community on a raid.”

Meanwhile, in his defence Denny’s mother said her son “is a bit mentally challenged and I tek he to de doctor three times.” She later declined to tell the court whether Denny had abused her or her family.

Denny was granted bail in the sum of $50, 000 and ordered to appear at court on March 6.

The quest for democratisation in late 19th and early 20th centuries in British Guiana

By Dr. Mellissa Ifill

This is the first in a two-part series that examines the quest for increased participation and influence in the political process by the two major ethnic groups in British Guiana. This first article will examine the efforts particularly of African Guianese while a subsequent article will examine the efforts of Indian Guianese to seek effective representation of their interests and increase their participation in their own governance.

In Guyana, the opportunity to participate without restraint in the domestic polity did not materialise until the 1953 elections and it is therefore arguable whether the term democratisation is appropriate to use when examining Guiana’s history prior to this period as the franchise was extremely restricted and politics was the virtual preserve of European elites well into the 20th century. Nonetheless, the quest for democratisation goes back to the mid 19th century and that is the focus of this article.

Democratisation in Guiana, a colony of exploitation, expanded because the majority increasingly rejected the colonial state’s embrace of a perspective that contended some peoples were unsuitable for democracy because they were ‘uncivilised’. Such a perspective bolstered and reinforced over three centuries of European rule and disenfranchised the majority until the mid 20th century in British Guiana. Prior to 1796, when Britain acquired Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice, the Dutch constitution held no provision to include or even accept Africans or Indigenous peoples as citizens and this policy continued under the British, even after the emancipation of slaves. Although many Africans had obtained their own freehold properties through the village system, the qualifications needed to vote and to become a member of the legislative bodies were purposely set outside the reach of most propertied Africans.

In 1849 the franchise was extended to men who owned a minimum of three acres (valued at $96 per annum) or who rented six acres (valued at $192 per annum) of cultivated land in the country. Those in the urban areas were required to own property worth $500, or rent property to the amount of $120 per annum. Men who paid taxes on earnings of $600 per annum also qualified for the franchise. As Governor Henry Barkly noted however, the aim of the new franchise arrangement even after this extension of the franchise was to ensure Africans did not constitute a majority of the electorate.

Further, acquiring membership of political institutions was made even more restrictive for Africans. Under the Dutch constitution, the electorate voted for members of the College of Kiezers. The latter was an electoral college whose members were responsible for selecting suitable nominees whenever vacancies arose in the Court of Policy. Members of the legislature then decided who would fill the vacancies. This arrangement was originally aimed at ensuring planter control of the colonial legislature and was used after emancipation to keep Africans out of the legislature. This situation continued until the constitution changed in the early 1890s as only one non-white male gained access into the legislature prior to the constitutional change. This individual was Richard Hayes, an affluent coloured trader and Mayor of Georgetown in the early 1840s. Hayes gained eligibility as a ‘planter’ by purchasing a derelict plantation and persuading the more liberal whites to back his nomination in 1850. In 1855, Hayes was however rejected for re-entry and the loophole that facilitated such a nomination was closed in 1864 when the law was changed to a male holding title to 80 acres of land, of which half was required to be under cultivation.

The College of Financial Representatives was the third political body that comprised the constitutional arrangement in 19th century British Guiana. The members of the College of Financial Representatives were elected by eligible voters, and their mandate was to convene with the members of the ‘Combined Court’ to settle the colonial budget. Membership of the College of Financial Representatives required the same high property qualifications as those needed for the legislature and even the other eligibility criteria of rental property worth $1,440 per annum, or earnings of $1,440 per annum could only be met by a very small minority of Africans and mixed groups after emancipation.

It was this favourable political arrangement that allowed the European planters to dominate the main constitutional bodies in the colony and restrict access and participation to one ethno-class group that gave the planters great advantage in the struggle for supremacy between competing ethnic groups and classes with opposing agendas. The state through successive colonial governors and administrators had played a critical role in ensuring power remained securely in the hands of Europeans and that the division of labour remained ethnicised with the Europeans at the top of the hierarchical labour market. By the late 19th century, educated members and labour leaders of the African and Indian constituencies, particularly the former, had come to the realisation that it would be virtually impossible to effect transformational change in the society, unless they met the franchise qualifications and accessed the colonial state in order to shape socio-economic policies that did not deliberately marginalise their ethnic and occupational group. Ultimately therefore, the quest for self-determination and self actualisation in British Guiana fused with the quest for the franchise.

Brian Moore argues that it was the exclusion of Africans at the political centre that made the issue of governance at the village level even more critical as a battle ground in the immediate post emancipation period. The extent to which the African ex-slaves could control the political bodies in their newly acquired villages was vital for establishing some form of political self-rule for Africans within the colonial state, and could positively strengthen their ethnic identity. On the other hand, the European planter class was intent on regaining its unchallenged supremacy in the colony and along with the colonial authorities acted to destabilise African political autonomy at the local level.

Thwarted in their efforts at establishing an independent life, Africans increasingly acquired and used education as the facilitator for socio-political advancement. Through the acquisition of education, numerous Africans penetrated other non-agricultural employment sectors. Accessing education also stirred the new middle class to push for political rights and representation which they successfully acquired through the 1891 constitutional changes. Education was originally intended by the British parliament, colonial authorities and the planter class as a mechanism of social and behavioural control to be used instead of force after emancipation. In 1835, the British government gave a partial grant to the colony of $9,600 which was supplemented by the planters to be used for education of Africans. Thereafter, public revenues were allocated to the established churches and a dual education system developed and public revenue-supported church schools became the typical model especially at the primary level. Public support of education resulted in a rapid increase in the number of schools and by 1841 the colony had 101 denominational schools.

These schools required teachers and a pupil-teacher arrangement started in 1857 under which Africans were employed as on the job trainee teachers. Under this system, the teaching profession became dominated by Africans. Further, teaching served as a foundation from which Africans moved onto more economically rewarding and socially prestigious middle-level civil service jobs. Africans then further expanded their educational base as both teachers and civil servants seized opportunities to further their studies abroad through government scholarships. Africans also increasingly sacrificed to pay the fees for secondary and tertiary education for their children in the high-status schools located in Georgetown and at foreign universities. As Percy Hintzen noted, it was not long before Africans comprised the majority of the Guianese salaried middle class and dominated the civil and teaching services, and constituted a sizeable percentage of the medical and legal professions.

It was these African middle class leaders who then campaigned for greater political rights and representation and successfully pressured the colonial government to institute small constitutional changes in 1891. By 1915, when enfranchisement was roughly equivalent to an income of $25 per month (lower-middle class status), Africans comprised 42.3 percent of the total adult male population but they were 62.7 percent of the electorate. In other words by 1915, Africans constituted a majority of the electorate and for the first time, non-Europeans had a genuine opportunity to sway political decision-making in British Guiana. The 1927 elections then produced for the first time a legislature in which there was a non-white majority.

Alarmed, Britain determined that political decision making must be returned to the European economic elite in the colony and a Crown Colony government system was introduced in 1928. Governmental tasks were thereafter undertaken by largely nominated Legislative and Executive Councils that advanced European commercial and developmental agendas. Moreover, under the crown colony system, effective authority was held firmly in the hands of the Governor who had veto powers in both Councils. For a moment, democratisation was stalled, arguably had retrogressed, but as seen two decades later, democratisation could not be stopped.