Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

It’s a question of money The government is not happy that former Finance Minister and opposition shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, has moved to the courts to block the government from spending monies that accrue to this country either by way of loans or as grants.

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon has reminded that Guyana is a developing country that depends on the International Financial Agencies like the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. It is also benefitting from loans and grants through bilateral arrangements with India and China.

Indeed, Guyana has been looking increasingly to India and China, two countries that seem willing to help Guyana; India through its drive to link with its people in the Diaspora, and China as it seeks to assert itself as the world financial power with the decline of the United States as the economic giant it once was. With the international financial institutions there is rigid oversight. There are inspections and monitoring of projects to be undertaken with money from them. With the two major bilateral aid donors it is not so much as supervision because those countries have had the experience of borrowing from the world powers.

Being a developing country, money is never too much and in recent times Guyana has been pursuing money from every available source. It latched on to the Petro Caribe deal because it was getting concessionary loans by not having to pay immediately for whatever oil it took from Venezuela.

China came to these parts with billions of United States dollars on offer for development in the region and Guyana pounced on the opportunity to access some of that money.

The government wants to do many things, some of which it dared not contemplate because it simply could not fund those projects. Now the opportunity is there and it wants to leave its mark on the land.

There isn’t too much that the government has to show for its more than two-decade stint in power. There is the Providence National Stadium and not much else by way of new structures. Of course, there is the soon to be commissioned Marriott Hotel and the Berbice River Bridge.

The Skeldon Sugar factory is an embarrassment for the kind of money spent on it and given its near inability to produce.

The previous administration headed by the People’s National Congress, against which the government measures itself can boast of the Bank of Guyana, the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway, the Corentyne Highway, the West Demerara Highway, the East Demerara Highway the Demerara Harbour Bridge, the University of Guyana and small projects like the secondary and multilateral schools.

Now the government wants to really make its mark. It is talking about a new Demerara Harbour Bridge, a deep water harbor, the Amaila Falls hydroelectric project, a bridge across the Corentyne River, a heightened communication experience and a country that is technologically savvy.

To undertake these things calls for money and China seems more than willing to provide the funding. But there is a fly in the ointment in the person of Carl Greenidge, a former Finance Minister. He says that he does not trust the government with money that the people have to repay simply because of all the talk of corruption. He says that he has also seen the wealth that people suddenly acquired soon after they became holders of public office.

He therefore wants to monitor the spending of the money coming into Guyana. But the government sees this as a humbug.

Dr. Luncheon says that there is nothing in the constitution to stop the government from spending money. And he has threatened that Greenidge would have to go to the courts a lot.

Indeed, the law allows a government to perform its duties until it leaves office. But there is the risk that contracts entered into the government could be ignored by the new government. For this reason, there is often a moratorium on new projects ahead of elections. But since it is not illegal for the government to spend money it acquires or borrows, then Greenidge’s attempt to bell the cat may be so difficult.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Letters... Where your views make the news

Dr. Surujbally’s explanation is not sufficient DEAR EDITOR, The accuracy of the current list of electors raises several concerns. The current list of electors shows that 76% of the total population of Guyana can now vote! It would be irresponsible for citizens, party leaders and civic society not to voice alarm and concern.

GECOM Chairman Dr. Steve Surujbally, answering recent questions about the accuracy of the list by APNU+AFC leader Brig. David Granger, said that he had already explained the jump of nearly 95,000 new electors since 2011’s list.

Dr. Surujbally has stated that the increase can be explained by citizens who have died and emigrated since the 2011 list was finalized. That is not acceptable. Dr. Surujbally also said that citizens had returned from abroad, registered, then returned overseas.

He also stated that the increase in voter registrations included a sizable number of young people who became eligible to vote since 2011.

While Surujbally’s explanations

may seem reasonable to some, shouldn’t these factors also have affected the lists for 2011, 2006, and 2001? How does one explain the net reduction of about 16,000 voters for the 2011 list compared to the 2006 list, versus the surge of about 95,000 voters for the 2015 list versus 2011?

For context, in 2001, the list of electors was 59% of the population (2002 census). In 2006, the list represented 68% of the population (2012 census). In 2011, the list reflected 63% of the population (2012 census).

Surely, it is not therefore unreasonable for citizens to be concerned about a 2015 list that reflects 76% of the population (also 2012 census), especially when population distribution information from the cia.gov website, for example, suggests that Guyana’s voting age population is around 65% of the population, maximum.

Editor, I respectfully ask Dr. Surujbally to indulge these questions and concerns because, as stated by most commentators, the population is

decreasing. Also, even though a number of young citizens may have become recently eligible to vote, members of that group are also affected by emigration, premature death, and political apathy. So, why should one assume that 100% of these newly qualified citizens would register to vote?

Finally, it would be helpful for the Bureau of Statistics to release all of the census statistics including data on the age distribution of the population, the ethnic makeup of our population, and all of the variables which were released in the 2002 census, so that Guyanese citizens would have a reasonable understanding of the changes taking place in our country.

Tax dollars paid for the census, and taxpayers are entitled to see the work for which they have paid. Having those data in the public domain would help to answer questions about these issues.

Karen Abrams, Director, Human Equity Ratings Organization, Inc.

A Pressing Need - A Registry of Sex Offenders DEAR EDITOR, Sad to say, but even in the midst of the present swirling political turmoil in Guyana facing not only the masses but also the classes, I strongly feel that it’s time for a serious rethink on a pressing issue of grave concern.

What are we going to do with the sex offenders now that there is an ever increasing number of babes being forced into the world of intimacy before their sexual organs are even properly shaped?

At the selfsame time my thinking pales in wondering what has come over the Guyanese males that have forced them to the abyss of pedophilia and hebephilia? Surely they cannot be advancing the theory that a prepubescent child can grant them equal or greater sexual pleasure than an adult.

Okay! Go tell it to the Marines! They may be more apt to listen and believe.

In Act 5 Scene 2 of the famous play Troitus & Cressida, the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare quotes thus: “Ah, poor our sex!

This fault in us I find. The error of our eye directs our mind. What error leads must err; O then conclude, Minds swayed by eyes are full of turpitude”.

I unshakably remain of a firm conviction and wish to state for the record that the time has come for the Guyanese Government to give careful and prompt consideration to the setting up of a Registry of Sex Offenders.

Such a move is not only a step in the corrective direction, but an extremely significant one in ensuring that the vulnerable of the country are safe and protected from such predators.

Recently David Evans was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for having carnal knowledge of a ten-yearold, and in July 2014 Gavin Nero was sentenced to thirty years for raping a six-year-old.

These two individuals are among a growing list of sexual offenders, with grossly age-misdirected sexual satiation.

Once released from prison there are currently no programs in place, (not even pharmacological castration) geared towards fostering rehabilitation, thereby leaving the offender to reoffend.

Neither the mental nor the sexual aspect of his behaviour has been addressed during his imprisonment.

Any sane thinking and moralistic citizen would be correct in reaching the conclusion that rape of a minor is tantamount to murder.

The current statistics of rape cases with younger and younger victims only shows that present day Guyanese society is full of very sick minds and that it is time for serious action against rape. The exhibited behaviours of the males, besides being shocking, is symptomatic of serious moral decay, which needs prompt attention and intervention.

No one typology fits all sex offenders, because they are a heterogeneous group of people, and do not possess a set stereotype.

They can be anybody, and to be exact the offender(s) is most likely to be someone that the child knows and trusts, and who also has access to the child.

The idea of having a sex offender registry is based on the idea that registries through notification would greatly assist communities in better protecting themselves from sex offenders.

This idea is based on the assumption that sex offenders are more likely to recidivate than other offenders, thus the community should be on guard from these individuals, and rightfully so.

Initiation of a publicly accessible registry can be viewed as a way for neighbourhoods to be empowered through knowledge.

By knowing who the individuals in the community are who have a history of sexual crime(s), communities may protect themselves and their young.

A registry is also thought to reduce sex crimes because the public is able

(and more likely) to report suspicious behaviour by sex offenders. In the United States of America, sexual offenders registries have been in effect since 1991, with the state of Minnesota being the first to start the ball rolling.

Now most of the states generated laws for sex offender registration and notification after the passage of Megan’s Law in 1996.

Our time has finally arrived and we must take full advantage of it, no pun intended but we must beat the iron while it is hot. Let there be no escape for rape and other sexual-related crimes, after you have done the time you’ll reside in a different clime.

The registry will provide full accounting of those that have been convicted of child rape to those guilty of indecent exposure.

The registry will provide a list of the criminal’s name, as well as his most upto-date address and the nature of his crime. On account of the registry being a matter of public record, those living in neighbourhoods know exactly who is living around them.

The registry also allows parents with small children to know before they move into a home whether sex offenders, particularly those with offences against children, are living in the vicinity.

To be truly effective the registry also calls for proper and prompt recordkeeping and reporting by law agencies.

I am in no way implying that the initiation of a registry will in any way shape or form prevent all child sex crimes, but instead stating that it is one tool that parents and guardians alike can use to arm themselves with information regarding sex offenders in their neighbourhood, as well as people who have regular unsupervised contact with their children.

So to the Guyana Government I do say give it some thought and for our young let’s do as we ought. We know the acts, and have seen the facts.

Yvonne Sam

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

The President’s comments about Courtney Crum-Ewing must be denounced by all right-thinking Guyanese DEAR EDITOR, Recent comments made

by President Ramotar regarding Courtney CrumEwing must be rejected, denounced and condemned by all right-thinking Guyanese. It is one thing for a man to be assassinated, but to attempt to vilify him and assassinate his character amounts to killing him twice.

According to a KN report dated 3/25/2015 and captioned “Crum-Ewing was more a nuisance than a threat – President Ramotar” the president is reported to have made a number of comments, which I believe are insensitive and inflammatory.

Those of us who have been monitoring the PPP/C’s reactions to situations of this nature would find Ramotar’s comments consistent with what can be considered an instituted and preferred strategy by that party to discredit the character and names of young black men wantonly gunned down in the streets. We have seen this strategy played out to its

fullest during the infamous 2002-2004 crime spree, where almost every black victim slain by the death squad was either labeled a criminal or connected to the underworld enterprise. Unfortunately, Mr. Ramotar and the PPP have not learned the lessons of the past.

With respect to CrumEwing, the world knows that he was assassinated while he was in the community of Diamond urging people to become involved in a most democratic undertaking, that is, to ensure they turn out and vote in the May 11 elections.

The fact that he was urging them to vote for the APNU+AFC coalition is immaterial; it was a legitimate expression of his democratic right. The point that we must never overlook or take for granted is that Courtney CrumEwing, this brave patriot, was assassinated as he was pursuing a very noble cause.

He was slain by cowards and agents of the enemy of democracy while he was encouraging Guyanese to exhibit great citizenship by

engaging in the local political process. So, for Mr. Ramotar, the President of Guyana, to claim that Crum-Ewing was a nuisance for promoting participatory democracy is very disrespectful to the intelligent people of this country, the family of CrumEwing, and the memory and legacy of this fearless young soldier.

Mr. Ramotar ought to be ashamed of the fact that his government or his party, the PPP, did not have the decency to offer words of sympathy to Crum-Ewing’s family or show respect for democracy by turning up at his funeral or to one of the many public events held in his honour.

Let us not forget that this brilliant young man once served as one of our own military officers who took a pledge to serve and protect us. He has given valuable public service and died in service.

For this any government should be grateful.

The president must, therefore, be called out for attempting to liken Crum-

Ewing to criminals. Criminals whom this regime has been incapable of keeping in check. Crum-Ewing’s only crime seems to have been that of promoting democracy and protesting the unbecoming behaviour of the Attorney General, Anil Nandlall.

If these are the things that make him a criminal then I say to Mr. Ramotar that he and his party belong on another planet.

For Ramotar to also equate the “Blackie” funeral scenario to that of CrumEwing’s exposes the attitude of the PPP towards the slaying of black men. For those who might have forgotten, Blackie was shot while he had his hands up and was surrendering.

According to the law, a man is innocent until proven guilty. Yes, there were a number of allegations against Blackie, however the law requires that those allegations be proven in a court of law. Those in authority had the opportunity to take Blackie into custody and bring all the charges necessary against him, but

they chose to execute him.

According to some, this was done to remove the likelihood of information coming out which might have implicated the government of the day in many of the schemes Blackie was alleged to have been involved in. So, Blackie might have been killed to protect the regime that ordered he be killed rather than captured.

The late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte, SC was right to point out to the nation that Blackie had a right, under the law, to a fair trial, but instead he was slain by the state even as he surrendered. Even the most notorious of terrorists have this right.

For the government to stick to a pattern of claiming that every young black man executed or assassinated, in the streets of Guyana, is a criminal is as racist as this regime can get.

I wonder how the other AfroGuyanese members in the PPP and government feel about this situation.

What do they say about the continued perpetuation

Swift policy action will be necessary from the next Govt.

DEAR EDITOR, Guyana’s real potential growth rate is 8 percent plus.

Unfortunately since the death of Cheddi Jagan, Guyana has not seen growth rates anywhere near these levels. As a nation, since 1997 we have averaged a growth rate at about 3.2 percent. To really grow the nation out of poverty, we have to be growing at above 5 percent.

Thus, the Jagdeo/Ramotar era remains a very disappointing one for the working class.

The next Government faces significant challenges.

They have to revamp the way decisions are taken. The PPP standard of hogging all the deals for a small cabal has to cease and the pace of implementation of projects has to be accelerated. The gold standard has to be transparency in actions and decisions. Unless that is done, we will not be able to attract the quantum and kind of investments necessary to grow Guyana’s economy at the desired rates.

What is vitally necessary from a Granger/Nagamootooled Government is bold policy steps being taken early. Big wins in the first 100 days such as incentivizing the Berbice Bridge Company to reduce the tolls, establishing the

Procurement Commission, immediately releasing a 10 percent across the board increase for all classes of workers, halting all mega procurement of goods and services and capital projects for urgent review is mandatory.

It is hoped these reviews will be able to cut out any acts of waste and squander-mania as practiced under the Ramotar administration, with a clear aim of restarting the relevant projects within 100 days of May 11th. In the grand scheme of things, in the first 100 days, they have to firmly establish the guidelines to reshape Guyana’s economy.

There will be no time for more speeches after May 11th, just concrete policy action. After all, judgment days from the electorate will be five short years away and in a turnaround environment that time will fly like a rocket and the PPP will still be cashrich five years from now waiting in the wings of power to capitalise on any shortcomings of the incoming administration.

Along with the economic and human development agenda items, there will be political agenda items like constitutional reform that will be running parallel along with

the socio-economic agenda such as police reforms, etc.

But key issues for consideration in the first year would be tax reforms, police reforms, reforms within the main economic sectors to progress the idea planted by Granger that as President he wants a value added economy – no more raw rice, raw sugar, raw gold, raw bauxite, raw logs. All the economic sectors will have to be reformed to ensure they are prepared for legitimate foreign and local direct investments.

No sector should be the forbidden areas of Guyana

anymore. No exclusive contracts for medical supplies anymore. No secret deals that allow export of thousands of raw logs out of Guyana through the back door with no scope for wood processing or furniture manufacturing. Bartica and Mahdia must be developed into Free Trade Economic Zone that drives a thriving jewellery manufacturing

industry, rather than the export of raw gold. Sugar has to be reformed to ensure that all the upstream value added products can be produced and marketed to claim a greater share of the value chain for Guyana.

In the final analysis, swift policy action will be necessary from the next Government.

Sase Singh

of this racist narrative? Do they share this view or do they denounce it? How can a society rid itself of ingrained prejudices and stereotypes when those who sit at the helm of leadership make such utterances?

Why must any peace loving Guyanese vote for a party that continues to promote this? Why must young Guyanese who are clamoring for unity vote for a PPP/C government which seems to embrace a policy of divide and rule? Why must anyone support a party which appears to use race as its only political weapon?

Why must Guyanese sit and vote for a government which deems a man who was promoting democracy a nuisance to society. Why must we subscribe to such lunacy?

Recent comments by both Presidents Ramotar and Jagdeo must ignite in each of us a passion, sufficient enough to cause us to get out there and urge everyone to take to the polls on May 11 and ‘VOTE LIKE A BOSS’ for a government that will respect each and every one of us.

I await to see whether President Ramotar will do the decent thing and retract his out-of-place comments regarding Courtney CrumEwing. May the memory of this courageous soldier live on; may his soul rest in eternal peace. I thank his family for sharing him with all of Guyana. He has certainly made his mark in the history of our nation. Let none attempt to denigrate his character.

Lurlene Nestor

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Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

National TB/HIV co-infection rate sees decline The co-infection rate of Tuberculosis (TB) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) continues to be a challenge for the Ministry of Health’s National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS). However, according to NAPS Programme Manager, Dr. Shanti Singh, this state of affairs is not unique to Guyana as it obtains in many other countries.

She however noted that what is significant for Guyana is that there has been a reduction of TB over the years. Although unable to give precise figures in this regard, Dr. Singh was confident enough to disclose that there is evidence to support particular reductions over the course of 2013 and 2014.

The parallel outcome, she added, was a 22 per cent TB/ HIV co-infection rate in 2014 down from 25 per cent in the previous year. “It may seem

as if it is an insignificant drop but for us this is a really significant drop…to move from 25 to 22 per cent in a oneyear period,” asserted Dr. Singh.

According to her, in order to make such a conclusion, efforts would have been made to observe the downward trend over a period of time. “We have seen that downward trend of the TB/ HIV co-infection rate and while it might not be major, it still qualifies as a downward trend because it is a really difficult area to work in,” said Dr. Singh.

This, she noted, is in light of the fact that many TB patients also have social issues to contend with thus, putting them at greater risk.

These social issues can range from homelessness to substance abuse which can be compounded by the fact that the disease, even today, attracts a great deal of stigma and discrimination.

- NAPS Prog. Director

NAPS Programme Manager, Dr. Shanti Singh Nevertheless, the NAPS Programme Manager related that fervent and consistent efforts are being directed towards the reduction of the TB co-infection rate.

Currently, the Ministry is embracing some strategic

tactics to help with this process, according to Dr. Singh. She alluded to the use of prophylaxis and infection control which she described as “very big for us.”

The prophylaxis approach is one that NAPS is undertaking in close collaboration with the National TB Programme.

“That is going to be another important undertaking in this year, whereas, before we would have administered Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) on persons to determine if they have the TB infection and then work to rule out active TB,” explained Dr. Singh.

However, the protocol under consideration right now, is to see whether or not these patients have TB without doing a TST. Once this protocol is implemented, efforts can be made to rule out

TB and a patient can be automatically placed on prophylaxis.

The Ministry, according to her, has in place an Infection and Control Department that comes under Standards and Technical Services and that Department is tasked with working along with the TB/HIV programme in terms of strengthening infection control in both the TB and HIV Clinics.

Dr. Singh moreover noted that as part of the efforts to strengthen infection control, efforts are being made to give attention to some very basic things that can help to reduce the transmission among the HIV positive patients population.

Guyana’s report on HIV/ TB at a time when the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health

Organisation (PAHO/WHO) has observed that although there continues to be significant progress in reducing the burden of TB, along with HIV/AIDS, it continues to be one of the region’s leading infectious causes of death.

According to PAHO/ WHO, some 17,000 people in the Americas died of Tuberculosis (TB) complications in 2013 and these were among the more than 285,000 infected with TB. In fact PAHO/WHO has declared that that 31,800 people (in the Americas) with HIV also developed TB. In fact it was disclosed that countries in the Americas reported 220,500 new cases of TB cases in 2013 of which 5.3 per cent (11,379) were children. Accounting for the largest proportions of the Region’s cases were Brazil with 33 per cent, Peru with 13 per cent, Mexico with 8.8 per cent and Haiti 7.4 per cent.

Canada affirms confidence in GECOM’s effectiveness for upcoming elections Canadian High Commissioner, Dr. Nicole Giles, has affirmed her country’s confidence in the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) ability to deliver “free and fair” elections.

The Canadian Official’s confidence in GECOM was expressed at the Easter Concert of the Clemsville Music Ensemble, in the Chancery of the High Commission of Canada, Young Street, Georgetown, Tuesday last.

It was noted by Dr. Giles that her country will continue to work in partnership with sections of the Guyanese society to ensure the peaceful execution of this year’s

Regional and General Elections come May 11.

“We will continue to work with all our partners – the Government, all political parties, the private sector and civil society – to support free, fair and peaceful elections,” said the Canadian Official.

This vote of confidence from the Canadian representative is reaffirmation of her country’s position in GECOM’s handling of the electoral process. Canada has supported GECOM in strengthening elections management through their provision of over 100 laptops to the electoral agency earlier this year.

This is despite concerns raised by members of political

parties on GECOM’s preparedness.

During her address at the musical presentation, the High Commissioner posited that music and democracy share vital similarities as elections approach “Both require a structure, rhythm, teamwork, a conductor to provide leadership and mutual respect for other players,” explained Dr. Giles.

She further noted that if such traits were to be ignored, in both art and democracy then music as an art form would “cease to be beautiful and democracy cannot thrive”. With elections approaching ever closer, the High Commissioner regarded Tuesday’s Easter Concert as

Clemsville Music Ensemble performing at Canadian High Commission

a culmination of both artistic and democratic elements at play.

“As Guyana prepares for elections, its democracy is working within a structure, developing a rhythm, building teams, selecting leaders, and building mutual respect. From the structural perspective, Canada has confidence in the Guyana Elections

Commission’s ability to deliver free and fair elections,” said Commissioner Giles.

Tuesday’s concert, according to the High Commissioner; exhibited Canada’s continued support in the skills and talents of the Clemsville Music Ensemble, along with classical music in Guyanese culture.

East Ruimveldt woman remanded for ‘weed’ found in shop ceiling An elderly woman made an appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday after it was alleged that she stashed marijuana in the ceiling of her shop.

Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry read the charge to Melroy Hopkinson, 53, of 489 East Ruimveldt. It stated that on March 24, at her home she had 64 grams of marijuana in her possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Hopkinson’s Attorney, Jed Vasconcellos, strongly contested for his client to be released on bail. He contended that the defendant lives in a range house and the (continued on page 23)

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Investigators hope cockpit tape will explain Airbus crash (Reuters) - Investigators have retrieved cockpit voice recordings from one of the “black boxes” of the German jet that crashed in the Alps, killing everyone onboard, and they expect a preliminary read-out of their content in days, an official said yesterday.

The development came as French President Francois Hollande, Germany’s Angela Merkel and Spain’s Mariano Rajoy traveled to the crash site in a remote French Alpine region to pay tribute to the 150 victims, mostly Germany and Spanish.

However, while Hollande promised that authorities would not rest until the causes of the crash were known, France’s BEA air incident investigation bureau said it was still far too early to draw meaningful conclusions on why the plane, operated by the Germanwings budget arm of Lufthansa, went down.

“We have just been able to extract a useable audio data file,” BEA director Remi Jouty told a news conference at the agency’s headquarters outside Paris.

“We have not yet been able to study and to establish an exact timing for all the sounds and words heard on this file.”

Jouty expected the first basic analysis in “a matter of days” but warned this readout could be subject to errors and that more work would be needed for a full interpretation. Although he said “words” had been heard on the tape, Jouty would not confirm whether that meant the Airbus A320’s pilots were conscious and he gave no details of the recordings.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve earlier said a terror attack was not the main hypothesis. Jouty said, however, that no theory could be excluded yet.

While stressing it was too early to form a clear picture, he ruled out a mid-air explosion and said the crash scenario did not appear to be linked to depressurisation.

In what seemed an accelerated push to extract as much early information as possible from the cockpit tapes, BEA officials worked late into the evening at their offices. Officials did not rule out calling a new news conference quickly if there are concrete developments to report.

Jouty said the second, data black box had not been found and said he could not confirm Hollande’s remark that its casing had been discovered.

Among the new details, he said the airliner had flown in a straight line directly into the mountain, but would not say whether that seemed to be at the hand of a pilot or auto-pilot.

Germanwings said 72 Germans were killed in Tuesday’s crash, the first major air passenger disaster on French soil since the 2000 Concorde accident just outside Paris. Spanish officials said 51 Spaniards were among the victims.

As well as Germans and Spaniards, victims included three Americans, a Moroccan and citizens of Britain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Iran and the Netherlands, officials said.

However DNA checks to

identify them could take weeks, the French government said.

Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said the airline had never lost a plane during the cruise stage of flight.

“It is inexplicable this could happen to a plane free of technical problems and with an experienced, Lufthansatrained pilot,” Spohr told reporters in Frankfurt.

Hollande, Merkel and Rajoy thanked search teams and met residents in the village of Seyne-les-Alpes, where the salvaging operation has been set up.

“Dear Angela, dear Mariano, rest assured ... we will find out everything,” Hollande told Merkel and Rajoy, pledging to get to the bottom of what caused the crash. “France stands by you.” Merkel replied: “It feels good that in a difficult hour like this that we’re standing so closely together in friendship.”

“INEXPLICABLE” A tribute ceremony took place on a site with a view in the distance of the mountain against which the Airbus crashed.

Lufthansa said the 24year-old plane had just on Monday had repairs to the hatch through which the nose wheel descends for landing. A spokeswoman said that was not a safety issue but that repairs had been made to reduce noise.

Police and forensic teams on foot and in helicopters investigated the site about 100 km (65 miles) north of Nice where the airliner slammed into mountains after what aviation officials called a sharp descent but not freefall.

French President Francois Hollande (centre), Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (right) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) walk on a field near the crash site of Germanwings Airbus A320 near Seyne-lesAlpes ahead of an international tribute to the 150 victims (Reuters photo)

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Thursday March 26, 2015

Thursday March 26, 2015

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PERSONS SHOULD NOT BE MALINGERING OUTSIDE THE POLLING STATIONS GECOM can be the real spoiler in this year’s elections.

While all eyes are being cast on the political parties and their role in any possible disturbance both during and after the elections, it is important to make the point that if the elections are competently administered, it will reduce the possibility of disturbances.

Is GECOM ready? There is some amount of unease, judging from the comments of both the PPPC and the APNUAFC coalition, over the state of readiness by GECOM to undertake General and Regional elections.

The diplomatic community has had their briefing with GECOM. From reports they seem satisfied with the plans that GECOM has. But caution has to be taken with GECOM because it has blundered in the past and it can blunder in the future.

The international community has over the years put a great deal of resources into the running of elections in Guyana. It therefore has an interest to safeguard and it should ensure that the monies that it injects are used in a manner that would lead to a credible and efficiently administered election, and not one marred by challenges.

Yesterday, I examined one possible area that could lead to challenges.

That area has to do with the fact that the voters’ list comprises some 567,000 names and this along with the increase in the number of polling stations can open the possibility to mass fraud in the elections unless there is close oversight by both independent and party polling agents.

Today, I want to deal with two other possible areas where controversy can be generated within the election machinery. The first has to do with the attitude of polling day staff and the open intimidation of voters at polling stations on Election Day. During the last elections, there were incidents involving the polling officers at certain polling stations. At one polling station, there was hostility to one presidential candidate. This should never have happened. When someone goes to vote, the process should be smooth and hassle free. It is important therefore, that polling stations are staffed by qualified and capable personnel who should discharge their duties without fear or favour.

It is important that if there is a problem at a polling

Dem boys seh ...

Jagdeo pajama front open You need a sense of humour to work in a nursing home … that’s for sure! You does put up wid nuff things when de day come. And you need a straitjacket to keep you hand off Brassington and Jagdeo!!!

De other day dem boys hear that Jagdeo lef he mansion fuh go and live in a nursing home because he shame. De week before he tell de nation that he living like how Cheddi use to live. Of course after he seh suh he had to run to a nursing home. De whole nation jump down he throat.

While in de nursing home one day he look very sad and depressed. Nurse Shadick, called Bibi, asked him if there was anything wrong.

‘Yes, Nurse Shadick’, said Jagdeo. ‘My Private Part died today, and I am very sad.’

Knowing that her patients were a little forgetful and sometimes a little crazy, she replied, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Jagdeo. Please accept my condolences.’

The following day, Mr. Jagdeo was walking down the hall with his Private Part hanging out of his pyjamas. He met Nurse Shadick, called Bibi.

‘Mr. Jagdeo’, she said, ‘you shouldn’t be walking down the hall like that. Please put your Private Part back inside your pyjamas.’

‘But, Nurse Shadick, called Bibi, I can’t’, replied Mr. Jagdeo. ‘I told you yesterday that my Private Part died.’

‘Yes’, said Nurse Shadick, called Bibi, ‘you did tell me that, but why is it hanging out of your pyjamas?’

‘Well,’ he replied, ‘today is the viewing.’

Nurse Shadick called Bibi, smile. Then she said, “Jagdeo this is de tenth viewing you got fuh de same thing. Since you was a junior Minister you always seh how you private part dead.

Talk half and pray fuh de dead.

station and communication can be established with senior GECOM personnel the problem can be quickly resolved.

During a previous election there were some problems at one polling station and the person involved was fired on the spot. The quality of the staff employed is therefore of upmost importance.

There has been a call for polling day staff to be properly screened. This is most important because a polling officer that is hostile to voters can lead to problems. If there are multiple polling officials, then these

problems can multiply and unravel the credibility of the elections.

All the parties should cooperate in the process of vetting GECOM staff and GECOM in turn, should see the value of vetting polling day staff.

In some communities more than one polling station is housed within one compound. Thus, for example at certain schools used for polling stations there may be three or four polling stations established.

It is usual in these situations for persons to assemble in numbers and to

be physically present within the compound even after they would have voted. Some political party activists used these compounds as monitoring stations to mobilize their support bases.

This invariably leads to problems. At one such location during the last elections, there was a massing of APNU supporters at a school.

Their boisterous presence intimidated persons who were going to vote.

Persons who were suspected to be supporters of the ruling party were given a hard time by these elements who were

malingering around the place.

GECOM has to be firm on this. Once someone votes that person should leave the precinct of the polling station.

On the other hand, if you are not voting, you should also be discouraged from hanging around the polling station. In this way a non- hostile environment will be created.

Persons will not be intimidated when they go to vote. Persons will not be also fearful of going to vote.

Guyana/Venezuela oil exploration conflict…

Guyana pleased at CARICOM support As conflict between Guyana and Venezuela continues over offshore oil exploration in disputed waters, Guyana has expressed satisfaction at the solidarity shown by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn RodriguesBirkett, told reporters yesterday that there have been no major changes in the matter.

However, the Foreign Affairs Minister expressed pleasure at CARICOM’s solidarity with Guyana on the matter.

“We’re very happy too that CARICOM has continued their strong solidarity with Guyana on this matter and I’m advised that the Commonwealth has also just issued a statement in support,” Rodrigues-Birkett said. She continued, “It’s very good that we have the international support on this issue.”

She said, too, that the issue should be resolved soon while expressing Guyana’s willingness to

- hopes conflict is resolved soon

Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett engage with Venezuela.

“Of course, we’re always open to speaking with Venezuela; it’s our neighbour.

We would like to see this issue resolved. It has been a long time and certainly I wouldn’t like to see this burden being there for the next generation. I think that we should have it resolved,” the Minister said.

Ms Rodrigues-Birkett said that her Ministry is reviewing its options that could be made available to the Secretary General of the UN. She said that a number of options are being considered.

In the meantime, the exploration work continues.

The Minister said that Guyana is hoping to see good results coming out of the oil explorations. She added that there have been no complications thus far.

Venezuela had previously indicated that it was prepared to take actions following the recent start of oil drilling activities by the US

exploration firm, ExxonMobil.

The designated drilling area, known as the Stabroek Block, is just offshore of an area Venezuela claims as its own.

Venezuela had also warned ExxonMobil not to drill for oil in the area.

However, ExxonMobil ignored this warning, instead insisting that an agreement had been struck with Guyana and not Venezuela. The drilling company subsequently commenced activities in the Stabroek Block.

Similarly, Guyana stood firm to its own claim of the area (continued on page 21)

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Would President Ramotar kill his own party activist?

If this country allows itself to be bullied much further by the PPP, its opposition, free press, human rights activists, and independent civil society have no reason to open their mouths any longer. It is best they become pliable sycophants of Mr. Jagdeo and company.

When opposition critics point to political orders in the assassination of Courtney Crum-Ewing, they were told that unless they have evidence of governmental input, they would be guilty of

inciting. Dr. David Hinds was single out by the police.

Now we have a new twist to the assassination of Courtney Crum-Ewing.

President Ramotar insinuated to a Blairmont audience that the opposition may have killed Crum-Ewing. No matter how poor is your grammar or knowledge of semantics, the following words of Ramotar has only one interpretation.

“I would say that he was a

pawn that was sacrificed for (the opposition’s) own political ends.”

Ramotar is saying that in order to blame the PPP the opposition sacrificed one of its own by killing him. Here is where logic comes in.

And you have to be a monumental fool to think that only Americans kill their spouses or only Jamaican kill their spouses. What I am saying is that no race or nationality or particular organization has a monopoly on violent behaviour. What I am saying is, if party A can kill one of its activists and blame party B, why then can’t party B kill one of its own and blame it on party A? So let’s follow the thought pattern of Donald Ramotar. He is positing that the conspiracy of the opposition is killing CrumEwing and putting the blame on the PPP in order to get political mileage. It follows logically then, that the PPP can kill one of its main activists and put the blame on the opposition to garner electoral sympathy.

It would be interesting to hear Ramotar’s response. If he says the PPP will never do that then he means that only the opposition has a devious mind. So I guess we can extrapolate from that reasoning that only certain people are prone to violence. So only Russians are capable of killing their dissidents and only the British are capable of killing animals when hunting.

Of course any little ten-yearold would know that if Ramotar denies that his party could murder one of its names to blame the opposition, then he is talking miasmic nonsense. Homo sapiens is endowed with the instinct of killing, it doesn’t matter which country or race or religion or culture they are from.

If the opposition can plan a murder so can the PPP, which brings us to a Mephistophelian pathway. Did the PPP kill Walter Rodney to blame the Government so that the Burnham presidency would weaken and fall? If PPP propagandists say no, then why would the opposition kill Courtney Crum-Ewing?

Let’s look at another

dimension of Ramotar’s foolishness.

So the opposition sacrificed CrumEwing in order to get political profit when the blame falls on the PPP. But why would the opposition select one of their finest to sacrifice? Courtney Crum-Ewing was a highly trained former officer in the army and a courageous man whose valour and bravery the opposition needed.

We will say no more on this asininity of Donald Ramotar except to wonder what will be the response of the police to Ramotar’s exclamation. The police asked David Hinds for his evidence in his announcement that Crum-Ewing’s assassination came from the corridors of power.

Where is Ramotar’s proof that the opposition removed CrumEwing?

What the opposition needs to do is to inform the Guyana Police Force that during the election campaign, it expects its members to conduct themselves professionally and not to act as if they are surrogates of politicians.

One cannot expect a senior officer to reject an illegal demand by a powerful politician but he/ she has to understand that in an existentialist world we live in, we are solely responsible for

Frederick Kissoon our action that hurts other people. The victim has a right to redress.

I went to Brickdam police station on Monday and interviewed the officer who threatened Courtney CrumEwing. He denied it. But Courtney pointed him out to me.

Grove policemen were demanding that a coalition driver and activist take a breathalyzer test. This happened soon after a coalition public meeting was over. Policemen have removed drunken persons making noise at PPP public meetings but stand immobilized when the same thing happens at coalition meetings.

I had to ask the police to intervene at Providence when inebriated hecklers were disrupting the chairman of the event. Maybe they were sent.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

Greenidge ‘barking up the wrong tree’ with love for court action - Dr. Luncheon

By Kiana Wilburg Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon sharply criticized yesterday, A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge for his recent legal challenge aimed at prohibiting the government from accessing external financing and pursing developmental projects.

At his press conference at the Office of the President, Dr. Luncheon asserted that Greenidge is clearly, “barking up the wrong tree.”

The Presidential Advisor noted, that Guyana as a developing country has a progress agenda which is significantly dependent on extra-budgetary financing.

This has to do with monies provided outside of the country’s annual budget.

Those external sources, he said, have traditionally been the domestic and the foreign investors who have made contributions to Guyana’s development programs at the cost of accessing finance.

Dr. Luncheon asserted

that the second and perhaps the lesser expensive sources have been the Inter-American Bank, the World Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank, among others as well as the country’s bilateral partners. He mentioned that these bilateral partners include India and the People’s Republic of China.

These two Asian countries, he said, have provided Guyana and other developing countries with grants and loans. Loans, he said, have been given at concessionary terms which include lower interest rates compared to the commercial borrowing rates the government would occasionally resort to.

He added that other concessionary terms include “pretty long” repayment periods and generally, a moratorium on the first payments.

The Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that external funding is not a recent development or invention of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) administration.

Dr. Luncheon added that

Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon

APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge

he finds it unbelievable that Greenidge, who served as the Finance Minister under the People’s National Congress (PNC), has decided to engage the court in litigation to prevent Guyana from accessing external funding through loans.

The rationale as Cabinet understood it, was that, there is no authority for the PPP/C administration in the absence of a sitting Parliament to engage in loan approvals and inherently in developmental

works.

Dr. Luncheon alluded to the irony of Greenidge’s actions in approaching the court when he would have done the same during his time as Finance Minister under the PNC. The Cabinet Secretary said, “The current shadow Finance Minister is contending that there wasn’t and there isn’t provision for such. Cabinet noted that this resort to the courts flew in the face of two realities; the more

obvious one is that this has been done and continues to be done by past executive governments.

“So one can go back even into the PNC period and show under similar circumstances when there was no Parliament and Mr. Greenidge was involved with the donor community on the same purpose, that today, he is taking the PPP/Civic administration to court.”

The second reality he spoke to was the fact that the Constitution has nothing which expressly forbids the executive government from pursuing developmental projects and engaging in loan agreements during this period.

This, Dr. Luncheon said, is what Cabinet has been legally advised on.

He said that the Constitution actually provides for the executive , in the face of the Parliament not sitting, to preserve its powers which include access to financing, as well as those other functions that have been provided for in the Constitution and by statutes for the executive government.

Dr. Luncheon asserted,

“The feeling is that Mr. Greenidge is barking up the wrong tree. And no doubt, with the interest of the administration in pursuing development in Guyana, he may be in the courts a lot.”

Greenidge had earlier this month, filed a writ at the High Court to prevent the government from accessing a US$17M loan it recently received from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB). The defendants in the case are Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall.

According to the writ filed by Greenidge’s lawyer, Roysdale Forde, the plaintiff is asking that the proceeds under the Loan Agreements signed between Dr. Singh and the IDB be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

The politician is also asking that there be no withdrawal of the proceeds of the said Loan A g r e e m e n t s except by an Appropriation Act as directed by Article 217 of the Constitution.

His lawyer also asked the (continued on page 24)

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Creditinfo Guyana, GWI implement fiscal partnership

(From left) David E. Falconer, Manager, Sales & Business Development, CreditInfo, Jeannette Thomas, Customer Services Manager, GWI, Hakon Stefansson, CEO, Creditinfo Iceland and Judy Semple Joseph, CEO, CreditInfo Guyana.

Creditinfo Guyana and the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) recently shook hands to mark the implementation of a historic partnership, driven by their shared concerns and mutual support for the financial development of Guyanese and the economy of Guyana.

Through the Creditinfo Partnerships Initiative, GWI collaborated with the credit bureau to help consumers when they approach banks, microfinance institutions and other lenders for loans and other forms of credit.

Information on the payment patterns of individuals from the utility was not available to third parties until the Creditinfo Partnership between GWI and Creditinfo.

According to GWI’s Public Relations Officer, Timothy Austin, this information can be a very useful tool to help in determining the character and credibility of a potential borrower. The information is included in the various credit reports that are now used by banks throughout the sector as an indicator of eligibility for funds.

Further, lower rates of interest on loans and faster approvals are also now possible, making the whole application process with lenders faster and easier approvals more likely.

“Creditinfo Guyana is both pleased and proud to publicly acknowledge Guyana Water Inc’s outstanding leadership,

corporate responsibility and outstanding efforts on behalf of their customers as demonstrated by their unstinting support for the credit bureau programme.”

Austin noted, “Throughout the world, studies have shown that the presence of a credit bureau in the market is always followed by a vastly improved climate for lending and credit access for consumers. It is exciting news that this is now available in Guyana, for Guyanese.”

Creditinfo Guyana Inc. is the second regional presence of the Creditinfo group of companies, a well-respected Icelandic conglomerate with credit bureaus and subsidiaries in over 16 countries worldwide.

Manslaughter accused gets 3 years for ganja possession

After pleading guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter on March 10 in the High Court and awaiting sentencing, wife-killer Rudolph London was on Tuesday, sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge.

London, 43, pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on March 2, at the Camp Street Prison, he had 8 grams of cannabis in his possession.

Magistrate Fabayo Azore also ordered that he pay a fine of $10,000. He initially pleaded not guilty to the offence, but decided to change the plea after telling the court he was already in prison for another offence.

London is currently serving a six month sentencing for having three and a half grams of cannabis in his possession. He was

Demerara residence of her in laws on January 1, 2011.

He is expected to know his fate today when he appears before Justice Franklyn Holder.

The matter against him was put down for a two-week period pending a probation report, which was requested by his lawyer, Adrian Thompson.

Page 21

Linden town week gets franchise holder The Linden Town Week Secretariat which is responsible for hosting the community’s Town Week activities has franchised out the activities. It is also attempting to clear the air on misconceptions and negativity surrounding the Town Week franchise.

According to the Social Development Committee Chairman, Winston Caesar, there was an advertisement requesting proposals and bidders. No response was obtained.

That advertisement was on television for one month.

The deadline for proposals was then extended and at the end of the extension, when the committee was pressed for time and had set about to put together the event, a proposal was received from an entertainment group called “Vybz Entertainment”.

Caesar said that the proposal was very impressive. He said that it was presented to the IMC Statutory Meeting and the IMC Chairman had indicated his unpreparedness to hold a special meeting to discuss the subject.

Because of the time constraint, the discussion on the proposal could not have been postponed for the following Statutory meeting of IMC in another month, Caesar said. The franchise was given to the Entertainment Group for one million dollars. It was the first occasion the money was paid before the event, Ceasar added.

“The committee now has the responsibility to ensure that what is in the proposal is done and acceptable and we

are looking forward to that in a big way.”

Caesar noted that the committee and the Entertainment group have been in constant contact.”

We work with the entertainment group, we keep regular meetings and cooperate to ensure this situation is put to rest,” he said.

Caesar told media operatives that the main reason the committee is seeking the help of the media is to let the corporate community, the public and the Diaspora know that the town week is on despite all the negative things some councilors and the IMC Chairman are saying and “it is on in a big way.”

Vice Chairman of the Social Development committee, Fern Mc Koy; and Chairman and senior councilor Charles Sampson; were very vocal in saying that the very councilor who is against the young entertainment group, was responsible for managing the Town Week activities in 2013, but failed. To date no financial report has been received, likewise in 2014, so they don’t see why the Chairman should be criticizing the franchise disbursement.

McKoy noted that Town Week coincides with the town’s founding and she is confident that this town week would be one of the best ever.

Senior councilor Charles Sampson claimed that since 2010 the council had been trying to get Kashief and Shanghai to buy the franchise once more, but to no avail.

Both Sampson and McKoy are upset that the

Guyana pleased at CARICOM ...

From page 9 and called on Venezuela to be respectful of the age-old boundary award which gives Guyana the right to explore its economic potential.

Late February, Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also wrote to a number of organisations, informing them about Guyana’s objections to the offshore drilling. In the dispatched

Note Verbale, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Venezuela of engaging in actions which stymied the development of Guyana.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela desist from taking any actions that could only result in the stymieing of the development of Guyana and

Skeldon set for disastrous first ...

Rudolph London found with the illegal drug on November 23, 2014 at the Camp Street prison.

London is accused of killing his reputed wife Shundell Warrick. The woman was allegedly beaten with a cutlass while she was visiting the Best Village, West Coast

From page 16 that an unrealistic US$0.35 per pound for which sugar is being produce could not compete on the market. GuySuCo is actually selling for an average US$0.25 per pound, meaning that it was losing big time. In other words the industry, because of efficiency, remains unsustainable in the current situation.

To realistically compete

IMC Chairman has publicly expressed doubts about the success of 2015 Town Week.

“If the IMC Chairman is expressing doubts it raises some serious concerns with members of the community and sponsors,” Sampson said Sampson claimed that the franchise holder “Vybz Entertainment” was given a three-year contract because they are off to a late start.

They need more than one year.

Sampson said the committee has the confidence that Vybz Entertainment will execute their responsibilities effectively and efficiently. He added that if they make mistakes along the way, the committee has older folks there to correct and guide them along. Town Week would not improve if people keep criticizing.

“Give the young people a chance”, Sampson added.

He said the terms of agreement provide for one million dollars for the first year, $1.25M for the second and $1.5M for the third year, while the group would do community projects.

Two of the projects the franchise holders have undertaken are - The construction of a boat to transport school children from the riverain areas to and from school and the installation of garbage bins around the town.

According to Devin Sears, the CEO of the Entertainment group, they have already received the drums to facilitate the garbage component of the agreement, compliments of BOSAI.

with the rest of the world, Guyana must bring down its production costs to below US$0.20 per pound.

GuySuCo's officials has asked Opposition Parliamentarians for patience, saying that Guyana will have to wait until 2017, as part of its strategy to turn the fortunes of the industry around, to bring production prices to about US$0.27 per

pound. That would still not be enough.

An attempt to use a $3B loan from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission earlier this year to help GuySuCo, failed after the Opposition objected to its legality.

Sugar had been recording consecutives lows in the last couple of years.

Almost 16,000 persons are employed in the industry.

its people and that would be in contravention of international law,” the Guyana Ministry said.

In response, the government of Venezuela said that the accusations leveled against it were unacceptable and unjust and emphasised the bilateral cooperation between the two nations for decades as testimony to the promotion of development in Guyana.

Just last week, CARICOM backed Guyana in the dispute and reiterated “its firm, longstanding and continued support for the maintenance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana and for the unhindered economic and social development of all of Guyana”.

ExxonMobil plans to invest $200 million in exploratory drilling off Guyana in the Liza field, which is part of the Stabroek Block.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

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One RZ Bus, in Good condition – Contact: 6773177 or 678-5887

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1 RZ PJJ Series, tip top condition - $875,000 negotiable – Tel:679-1813; 682-5540

Toyota Prado, Price$4.7M Neg. Call: 643-2403

2005/6 Premio, Spacio and 2007 Belta, never registered.

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One Toyota Tundra in excellent condition, mag rims – Contact: 650-8289

One V6 Toyota Four Runner, left hand drive, good condition, price negotiable – Call:623-3231; 259-0953

VEHICLE FOR SALE

ACCOMODATION Inner Retreat Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Retreat Road Parika. Indoor /Outdoor bar in Picturesque setting – Phone: 260-4504 Saturdays & Sundays after lunch @ Inner Retreat Hotel Parika: Bar-B-Que & games: pools, darts, table tennis etc – Phone: 260-4504.

Toyota Tacoma 2010; Price $4.5M negotiable – Call: 672-7709 Hilux Surf – Tel:695-8113 or 688-3925 Unregistered 2003 Toyota Spacio front & back camera, TV/ navi / CD player 52000 KM - $2.250M – Contact: 682-5117 Unregistered Toyota IST fully Loaded - $2.1M – Call: 657-1796 Continued on page 23

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Dr. Rodney wanted to bomb buildings...

From page 17 her that he was a member of the party but at the time she did not probe it because at the time it didn't matter to her.

Wagner said that it was after the fateful night that her brother further discussed his membership with her.

Most of which she said was documented in notes Smith made during his lifetime as well as the manuscript he later handed over to her on September 30, 1999 for her to write the book. Pilgrim questioned Wagner, too, on the aircraft that had transported her brother, asking whether she knew to whom it belonged but the woman could not answer.

She said while she knew that there was not many aircraft in the country at the time, she did not focus on politics as she was more concerned on what he had endured.

On Monday when Wagner offered her evidence in chief, she said that after the incident her brother was deployed to Kwakwani, a mining community in Berbice, then moved onto Trinidad by boat before returning to Guyana. Later, he was smuggled to Cayenne, French Guiana.

This, she said, was orchestrated by the WPA. Her brother, she said, felt abandoned by the WPA when he arrived in Trinidad. When he later made it back to Guyana, he went to the house in Alberttown and the names of the “brothers” that he met there were documented in the book, as written by Smith.

She told Commissioners

that in writing the book she was afraid and didn't interview anyone or research who those men really were. “I didn't really do any research to attract any attention to me…He told me they were WPA operatives.” Smith's passport was submitted before the Commission and it came under scrutiny by the Rodneys' lawyer.

A trip by Smith to Guyana in 1982 was highlighted by Pilgrim. She said in it wasn't until 1987 that she found out that her brother had ventured to his homeland five years before. She said that her brother knew how worried of him she had been and withheld that information from her.

“When he told me he

Jagans' granddaughter...

From page 14 advice in a decision that requires serious personal thought and evaluation. I am fully aware that some people seek my perspective simply because of the inherent trust that comes along with bearing the name that I so proudly carry.” She recalled her grandfather's belief in a unified country undivided by race, religion or other barriers and to remember his continued fight in the face of adversity.

The Jagans' granddaughter went on to condemn the perpetuation of racism which continues to plague Guyana.

In her post Vrinda also urged Guyanese to consider the in-

terest of the working class when deciding which party will best serve their individual interests.

“I encourage everyone to look at all sides of the political race, do your research with due diligence, find out which candidate will better serve your interests and that of the working class (the majority class), and then decide which side you would rather see serve you,” stated Vrinda Jagan.

The US-based Jagan concluded her post by calling on Guyanese both at home and abroad to continue to work for racial and class unity in Guyana; “the vision that fueled my grandfather until he took his last breath”

East Ruimveldt woman...

From page 6 marijuana was allegedly found in a shop. He added that other persons have access to the shop, which is located some distance away from her home.

Corporal Bharrat Mangru related the facts of the matter to the court. He explained that ranks went to the home of the defendant and conducted a search. He further told the court that the drug was found in the ceiling of the woman’s

shop, which can only be accessed from the inside.

The Prosecutor objected to bail stating that the special reasons provided by Counsel did not satisfy the court.

Subsequently, the Magistrate upheld the prosecution’s request and remanded the defendant to prison.

Hopkinson will make her next appearance before Magistrate Judy Latchman, on April 14.

went in 1982, I almost died…I was worried because of what he had gone through. By 1987, you know how many attempts he had on his life? I almost died when he told me,” she said.

The passport showed that Smith had purportedly left Guyana on June 19, 1982 for Guyana and returned to his Cayenne residence later that month. Despite being questioned that it was during that period that Smith got his “new identity” in form of a birth certificate, but the witness insisted that the identity of “Cyril Johnson” was given to him when he received a package with the documents, passport and birth certificate included, from Brother Fowler and “some guys” the night they took him to the airport for Cayenne.

Pilgrim also questioned the view that Smith and Rodney were friends.

The 72-year-old woman told Commissioners that she drew this conclusion not only from conversations with her brother but also after speaking with Holland “Jomo” Yearwood, her brother's interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), newspaper articles, the stories she heard on the radio and conversation with his spouse.

Her brother, she told the Commission, was very selective about the friends he kept.

WPA lawyer, Christopher Ram commenced cross-examining Wagner yesterday and will continue when she returns to the stand today.

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997

(From page 22)

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Call: 227-7714; 223-3448, 2310951 (no calls on Sunday)

Parfaite Harmonie, West Minister, Onderneeming, Cornela Ida, Tushcen, etc Contact: Pacific Development Inc # 2236035; 231-8480 Business property located at Mc Doom Public Road, newly renovated, huge bond for restaurant, spare parts etc – Tel: 622-5721 Property @ Lot 63 West Ruimveldt, Estate Housing Scheme Georgetown – Contact Mark: 618-9744 3 Bedrooms property @ Good Hope E.C.D – Contact: 621-1722 One business on residential property located on the E.B.D, Friendship, Public Road, 120X46 - $19.5M – Tel:693-6304

Internet Café attendant, send application & CV to future2zone@yahoo.com or call: 642-2028

One 3 bedrooms 2 storied concrete house @ Parfait Harmonie; size 25X57 feet – price: $13.5M negotiableCall: 622-1782; 658-5803; 269-0642

Floor Supervisor, Bond Supervisor, Delivery Clerk, apply with written application & passport size picture @ Survival, 173 Sheriff St., Campbellville –Tel: 227-5286-9 One 1 office clerk starting $60,000 per month and real estate agent (commission paid) please text: 618-7483

1 Person to operate a super bet machine – Tel: 618-3575 TO LET Eccles: Large two storey concrete building with all conveniences – Call: 641-2939

LAND FOR SALE 50 Acres titled farm land @ The Belle, Upper Dem, River Front - $100M Negotiable, serious enquiries only! Tel: 669-8152 Blankenburg, 3 lots 75X76 each, $15M, all 3 lots, Parika, Peter Street, lot size 38’X150' - $7.9M-Contact # 650-0402/ 260-4988

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PROPERTY FOR SALE Flat concrete house for sale in Grove with land spaceCall: 679-3913

VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Pit-bull 2008 Model BSS - $3M negotiable, TV, Navigator, A/C, excellent condition – Tel: 690-4373; 639-4165 Toyota Hilux Vigo GSS series.

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Page 24

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

Four charged with murdering motorcyclist After months of diligent investigation with the police virtually starting from scratch and working against the odds, four men have been charged with murder committed on a motor cyclist on a lonely New Forest, East Canje Road.

The men, brothers, Mahendra Samaroo called “Labba” 30, Lakeram Samaroo, called “Kettle Boy”, 26, both cane harvesters of Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice; Ameer Khan, called “Buddo” Manson, of Fort Ordinance and overseasbased Guyanese, Jaipaul Datt, called’ Vickram, 34, of Betsy Ground, appeared on Wednesday in the Reliance Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus. They were not required to plea to the indictable charge of murder.

They are accused of murder on October 21, 2014 at Suni Turn New Forest, East Canje, to have murdered Vickram Sohan, called ‘Robby’, 20, a cane cutter of Betsy Ground, East Canje Berbice.

The men are all being represented by Attorney at law Ramesh Rajkumar.

Rajkumar, addressing the packed courtroom court, asked the magistrate for a speedy trial. He told the court that the matter was being investigated for some time

Killed: Vickram Sohan

now and the DPP has already given her advice on the matter. Prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Sheriff is presenting the state’s case.

The man’s death which was first thought of as a motor cycle accident that lead to Sohan’s death, eventually turned out to be more than that when an eye witness came forward and reported that the young man was actually murdered.

Sohan was found lying in an unconscious state in a clump of bushes at New Forest, East Canje Berbice on September 14, 2014 with motor cycle CD 5091 on top of him. He was picked up by relatives and rushed to the NewAmsterdam Hospital before being transferred to the

Georgetown Public Hospital on September, 15,. He was subsequently discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital on October 15, and returned to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

His relatives took him to the Woodlands Hospital on October 16. He died on October 21, 2014.

The report to the police was made on November 22, when a teen who was with the quartet was taken to the police station by the father of the deceased and gave what he termed was a sequence of events that took place.

The 17-year-old stated that he was collected by the four men ‘Vickram’, ‘Labba’‘Buddo’ and ‘Kittle Boy’. He stated that he was not told where they were going, but on their way to New

Schoolgirl’s nude body found ...

From page 3 on Ali's body but investigators believe that they were caused by it being slammed repeatedly against the boulders. They are awaiting the results of a post mortem examination to determine the cause of her death.

Her mother told Kaieteur News that she is not aware if her daughter had any friend who might have lured of her to the location where her body was found.

“We will have to check with some of her school friends to see if they can provide us with any clues.

Ali's body was the second to be discovered on the seawall within the past week.

On Sunday last, police also discovered the battered body of 29 year-old, Ramesh Katarnauth, on the rocky seaside of the Kitty seawall.

Investigators are unsure how the body surfaced on the seawall, but disclosed that a number of bruises were on the victim's face and upper body.

A subsequent post mortem revealed that he was beaten, strangled and thrown overboard. Last month, the decomposed body of a 40year-old fisherman was fished

out of the Atlantic Ocean, in the vicinity of Ruimzeight, West Coast Demerara.

The dead fisherman has been identified as Sadeia Sanchara, a father of four of Lot 176 Seawall Road, Montrose, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

His badly decomposed body was discovered 10 days after he allegedly fell from the fishing boat that was carrying him and five other crew members. The fisherman reportedly fell overboard in the vicinity of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Global community to blame for ...

From page 18 term it could be disastrous…We have other lands that can be used for these projects and we will not cut our forests for plantationlike agriculture,” Ramotar said.

Ramotar further said that the government has demanded that all large scale forest utilization projects are done in keeping with the relevant legislation, “inclusive of the requirement of a publicly transparent environmental assessment.”

“As Guyanese, we value our renewable forest resources with an intensity many others cannot understand. It is our lifeline, one

that we have become totally dependable on,” Ramotar added.

“It is hallow territory to us, especially for us indigenous sisters and brothers and we as responsible and mature Guyanese will do nothing to jeopardize the many necessities and values that others may take for granted.”

Interestingly, Ramotar's words are at odds with the recent Bai Shan Lin controversy featured in recent months in this newspaper.

Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese company with a growing presence in Guyana, had been accused of wholesale logging,

contrary to a national policy geared to discourage the export of logs.

It is believed that the company, through joint ventures and other means to disguise the true extent of its activities, exported hundreds of containers of logs in just a few months. The company has been here for more than six years.

Not only had there been growing evidence that the administration helped facilitate the way for the logging company to conduct exportation, but the sheer number of logs being harvested had been staggering in its very proportion.

Charged: Lakeram Samaroo

Charged: Mahendra Samaroo

Forest they notice Sohan was riding in the opposite direction, on his motor cycle.

He related that as the car was about to pass Sohan, ‘Labba’ took a wood and struck Sohan behind his head. The men turned the car around before disembarking. He said that they then parked the car by a sluice and started to beat Sohan who fought back. He reportedly cuffed ‘Buddo’ in his eye.

The teen recalled that the men then held on to Sohan and Labba struck him across his chest. ‘Buddo’ then struck him a couple of times across his head.

He said that ‘Kittle Boy’ and ‘Buddo’ then pulled him to where the motor cycle was and ‘Kittle Boy’, ‘Buddo’ and ‘Labba’ then lifted the bike and placed it on top of Sohan.

All the time ‘Vickram’ was folding his arm and laughing.

The teen said that the men then returned to the car placed a knife at his throat telling him to put his tongue under his teeth.

The car then drove away.

He said he was actually held hostage for the rest of the time.

He was collected in the morning and held by the men who threatened him that if he talked they would cut his throat or shoot him.

During the tedious investigation the family had complained that they were not satisfied with how the investigation was going.

However, the Guyana Police Force had expressed shock with the family’s revelations. They had stated that they were working diligently on the matter

and if anyone was to be blamed, was the relatives who are making the accusations.

The police had stated that they were not notified of the incident until more than a month after. They had stated that even when the man died the relatives never came forward to report the incident. It was the doctor who instructed them to inform the police and the incident was reported as an accident.

It was almost a month after the man was buried that the family reported their suspicions and brought forth an eye witness.

Commander of Police Berbice B Division, Assistant Commissioner Brian Joseph, had stated that in a matter like that diligent investigation had to be undertaken. Especially when the incident occurred sometime ago and no report was made to the police.

The police have to retrace the entire scenario and get reports from all the parties involved including the hospitals, compile a report and then seek advice from the Director of Public Prosecution.

The Commander commended his ranks led by Detective Superintendent, Terrace Paul, for cracking the case. The post mortem examination which was performed on October 28 revealed that he died from massive head injuries, a fractured spine and Bronchopneumonia.

His chest and under his arms were also red and swollen.

The men charged are some of Sohan good friends whom he used to hang out with. The family has concluded that he was murdered because his wife was previously friendly with the overseas based Guyanese and the man got annoyed because the woman was now in loved with Sohan.

Major power outage hits Essequibo Corporate businesses and domestic businesses as well as residents on the Essequibo Coast (Pomeroon/Supenaam) were affected as the Region suffered over nine hours of blackout on Tuesday.

The entire Region was without electricity from 8:30 hours to 17:30 hours as a result of a mechanical problem. Region Two Chairman, Parmanand Persaud, said that an official from the power company, at Anna Regina, had informed him about the situation and noted that the problem was “mechanical.”

One businessman said the blackout affected him gravely and he was unable to get any work done on Tuesday.”All my phone dead. I couldn’t

have contacted any of my clients.”

The businessman added that efficient electricity is vital for the Region, since a lot of Essequibians have to date ventured into operating their own businesses.

Another man said that the engines have since exceeded their twenty years lifespan and applying pressure on them in the interest of having to facilitate the entire Region, compounded by serving new Housing Schemes is detrimental.

He said that the engines cannot carry the load even with many people owning basic electrical appliances. He said unless the Region has efficient power supply, blackouts would be frequent.

Greenidge ‘barking up ...

From page 12 court to hear and subsequently grant a Conservatory Order to ensure that the Minister of Finance and any of his agents cannot spend or permit such as it relates to the loans, pending the hearing and determination of the case.

Following this action, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn expressed that one can only hope that the recently commenced US$47M road project is not subjected to delay or obstructed by the Opposition’s affinity for court

action. Benn made those among other comments during the launch of the West Coast Demerara Road Improvement Project, where he also expressed disappointment with the challenges faced by the government during the Tenth Parliament.

Despite Benn’s hopes for the project to be spared legal challenge, Greenidge maintains that if the Minister and the government wish for the road to be continued unhindered, “they have to live within the law. That simply

means that no new projects should be started at this stage.”

However, Dr. Luncheon said yesterday that while President Donald Ramotar’s recent return from India saw the formal agreement to build the bypass road along with concessionary financing being provided, he will in the meantime, wait patiently to see “how the likes of Mr. Greenidge will engage the administration and the citizenry” regarding the funds for that developmental project.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Pilot locked out of cockpit in crashed plane PARIS - As officials struggled Wednesday to explain why a jet with 150 people on board crashed in relatively clear skies, an investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in.

A senior military official involved in the investigation described “very smooth, very cool” conversation between the pilots during the early part of the flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf.

Then the audio indicated that one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter.

“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer,” the investigator said. “And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.”

He said, “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”While the audio seemed to give some insight into the circumstances leading up to the Germanwings crash on Tuesday morning, it also left many questions unanswered.

“We don’t know yet the reason why one of the guys went out,” said the official, who requested anonymity because the investigation is continuing. “But what is sure is that at the very end of the flight, the other pilot is alone and does not open the door.”

The data from the voice recorder seems only to deepen the mystery surrounding the crash and provides no indication of the condition or activity of the pilot who remained in the cockpit. The descent from 38,000 feet over about 10 minutes was alarming but still gradual enough to indicate that the twinengine Airbus A320 had not been damaged catastrophically. At no point during the descent was there any communication from the cockpit to air traffic controllers or any other signal of an emergency.

When the plane plowed into craggy mountains northeast of Nice, it was traveling with enough speed that it was all but pulverized,

Rescue workers and security officers guard the makeshift morgue prepared for the 150 victims who died in a Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps killing the 144 passengers and crew of six and leaving few clues. The French aviation authorities have made public very little, officially, about the nature of the information that has been recovered from the audio recording, and it was not clear whether it was partial or complete. France’s Bureau of Investigations and Analyses confirmed only that human voices and other cockpit sounds had been detected and would be subjected to detailed analysis.

Asked about the new evidence revealed in the cockpit recordings, Martine del Bono, a bureau spokeswoman, declined to comment. “Our teams continue to work on analyzing the CVR,” she said, referring to the cockpit voice recorder. “As soon as we have accurate information we intend to hold a press conference.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Marseille, who have been tasked with a separate criminal inquiry into the crash, could not immediately be reached for comment. Brice Robin, the Marseille prosecutor, is due to meet this morning with the families of the crash victims.

At the crash site, a senior official working on the investigation said, workers found the casing of the plane’s other black box, the flight data recorder, but the

memory card containing data on the plane’s altitude, speed, location and condition was not inside, apparently having been thrown loose or destroyed by the impact.

The flight’s trajectory ahead of the crash also left many unanswered questions.

Rémi Jouty, the director of the French Bureau of Investigations and Analyses, said at a news conference that the plane took off at around 10 a.m. local time from Barcelona and that the last message sent from the pilot to air traffic controllers had been at 10:30 a.m., which indicated that the plane was proceeding on course.

But minutes later, the plane inexplicably began to descend, Mr. Jouty said. At 10:40 and 47 seconds, the plane reported its last radar position, at an altitude of 6,175 feet. “The radar could follow the plane until the point of impact,” he said.

Mr. Jouty said the plane slammed into a mountainside and disintegrated, scattering debris over a wide area, and making it difficult to analyze what had happened.

It often takes months or even years to determine the causes of plane crashes, but a little more than a year after the disappearance of a Malaysian airlines jetliner that has never been found, the loss of the Germanwings flight is shaping up to be particularly perplexing to

investigators.

One of the main questions outstanding is why the pilots did not communicate with air traffic controllers as the plane began its unusual descent, suggesting that either the pilots or the plane’s automated systems may have been trying to maintain control of the aircraft as it lost altitude.

Among the theories that have been put forward by air safety analysts not involved in the investigation is the possibility that a pilot could have been incapacitated by a sudden event such as a fire or a drop in cabin pressure.

A senior French official involved in the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the lack of communication from the pilots during the plane’s descent was disturbing, and that the possibility that their silence was deliberate could not be ruled out.

“I don’t like it,” said the French official, who cautioned that his initial analysis was based on the very limited information currently available. “To me, it seems very weird: this very long descent at normal speed without any communications, though the weather was absolutely clear.”

“So far, we don’t have any evidence that points clearly

to a technical explanation,” the official said. “So we have to consider the possibility of deliberate human responsibility.” Mr. Jouty said it was far too early in the investigation to speculate about possible causes.

“At this moment I have no beginning of a scenario,” Mr. Jouty said. However, he said there was not yet any evidence available that would support either a theory of a depressurization or of a midair explosion Speaking on the French radio station RTL, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Wednesday morning that terrorism was not a likely “hypothesis at the moment,” but that no theories had been definitively excluded. He said the size of the area over which debris was scattered suggested that the aircraft had not exploded in the air but rather had disintegrated on impact.

The French Bureau of Investigations and Analyses, which is leading the technical inquiry into the crash, sent seven investigators to the crash site on Tuesday. They have been joined by their counterparts from Germany, as well as by technical advisers from Airbus and CFM International, the manufacturer of the plane’s engines.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

Allies of Yemen Houthis seize Aden airport, close in on president (Reuters) - Houthi militia forces and allied army units seized Aden airport and a nearby air base yesterday, tightening their grip on the outskirts of the southern Yemeni city after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled his residence for a safer location.

The United States said Hadi, holed up in Aden since fleeing the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa last month, was no longer at the compound he has been using as a base.

It offered no other details on his movements.

“We were in touch with him earlier today,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing in Washington. “He is no longer at his residence. I’m not in position to confirm any additional details from here about his location.”

Residents later said looters had entered the residence hours after Hadi vacated it in mid-afternoon for an unknown location. Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen and Hadi’s aides said Hadi remained in Aden, in a safe place, without elaborating.

Local officials said troops loyal to Yemen’s ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a powerful ally of the Houthis, had captured Aden airport in late afternoon but that clashes with Hadi supporters were continuing in the vicinity. The airport was closed and all flights were canceled.

Earlier the Houthis and their allies took al-Anad air base 60 km (37 miles) north of the city before continuing their southward advance.

Yemen’s slide toward civil war has made the country a crucial front in mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Shi’ite Iran, which Riyadh accuses of stirring up sectarian strife through its support for the Houthis.

Sunni Arab monarchies around the region have condemned the Shi’ite

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi

Houthi takeover as a coup and have mooted a military intervention in favor of Hadi in recent days.

U.S. officials say Saudi Arabia is moving heavy military equipment including artillery to areas near its border with Yemen, raising the risk that the Middle East’s top oil power will be drawn into the worsening conflict.

Saudi sources said the build-up, which also included tanks, was purely defensive.

Soldiers at Aden’s Jabal al-Hadeed barracks fired into the air to prevent residents from entering and arming themselves, witnesses said, suggesting that Hadi’s control over the city was fraying. Five people were killed and 12 wounded in shooting at the barracks, medical sources said without elaborating.

Earlier, unidentified warplanes fired missiles at the Aden neighborhood where Hadi’s compound is located, residents said. Anti-aircraft batteries opened fire on the planes.

While the battle for Aden is publicly being waged by the Houthi movement, many there believe that the real instigator of the campaign is former president Saleh, a fierce critic of Hadi.

Saleh was the force behind Aden’s previous humiliation in 1994, when as president he crushed a southern secessionist

uprising in a short war.

Unlike other regional leaders deposed in the Arab Spring, Saleh was allowed to remain in the country.

HOUTHIADVANCE Army loyalists close to Saleh yesterday warned against foreign interference, saying on his party website that Yemen would confront such a move “with all its strength”.

Diplomats say they suspect the Houthis want to take Aden before an Arab summit this weekend, to preempt an expected attempt

by Hadi ally Saudi Arabia to rally Arab support at the gathering for military intervention in Yemen.

The Arab League will discuss today a proposal by Yemen’s foreign minister, who called on Arab states to intervene militarily to halt the Houthi advance, the regional body’s deputy secretary general said.

The Houthi advance was taking its toll. The bodies of fighters from both sides lay on the streets of the outskirts of Houta, capital of Lahej province north of Aden, residents said.

In Houta, storefronts were shuttered and residents reported hearing bursts of machine gun fire and saw the bodies of fighters from both sides lying in the streets.

Witnesses said Houthi fighters and allied soldiers largely bypassed the city center and traveled by dirt roads to the southern suburbs facing Aden.

Heavy traffic clogged Aden as parents brought schoolchildren home and public sector employees obeyed orders to leave work.

Witnesses said pro-Hadi militiamen and tribal gunmen were out in force throughout the city.

“The war is imminent and there is no escape from it,” said 21-year-old Mohammed Ahmed, standing outside a security compound in Aden’s Khor Maksar district, where hundreds of young men have been signing up to fight the advancing Shi’ite fighters.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Sri Lanka police want Rajapaksa sibling for quizzing Sri Lankan Police are looking for Basil Rajapaksa, the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for questioning in a corruption probe.

Basil Rajapaksa is wanted in a probe about a fund under the Ministry of Economic Development, Assistant Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekera said.

Rajapaksa was the key advisor to Mahinda Rajapaksa during his nineyear rule. After Mahinda Rajapaksa’s defeat in the January 8 election by current president Maithripala Sirisena, a number of antigraft cases were registered against him and his family members.

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa is also facing a probe for allegedly running “death squads” and ordering the murder of a high-profile newspaper editor, Lasantha

Basil Rajapaksa Wickrematunga.

Basil Rajapaksa, along with his wife, had departed for U.S. immediately after the polls. Last week, the government alleged that he was no longer in the U.S. and was now residing in Vietnam.

He is looking for a country

with which does not have an extradition treaty with Sri Lanka, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ajith Perera said. The government has stated that they will seek Interpol assistance to probe the former Minister on corruption charges.

U.S.-led coalition, Iraqis pound Islamic State in Tikrit (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition warplanes launched their first airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Tikrit yesterday, officials said, coming off the sidelines to aid Iraqi forces fighting alongside Iran-backed Shi’ite militia on the ground.

The decision to give air support to the Tikrit campaign represents the biggest collaboration so far by the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed paramilitaries, and opens a new chapter in the war.

It also appeared to represent at least a tacit acknowledgement by Baghdad that such airpower was necessary to wrest control of the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from Islamic State fighters, after its attempts to go it alone stalled.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi forces would prevail with the support of “friendly” countries and the international coalition, including arms, training and aerial support.

“We have opened the last page of the operations,” Abadi said on state television.

Reuters first reported the U.S.-led coalition’s expected entry into the Tikrit campaign, disclosed by Iraq’s president in an interview and later confirmed by a U.S. official. It has been carrying out strikes elsewhere in Iraq since

August. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said American warplanes and aircraft from allied nations were striking up to a dozen targets in Tikrit, selected after coalition surveillance flights.

In language that appeared to intentionally omit the Iranian-backed militia, Lieutenant General James Terry, the senior U.S. commander of the U.S.-led coalition, said the strikes were aimed at enabling “Iraqi forces under Iraqi command.”

“These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure,” Terry said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

As coalition aircraft entered the fray, Iraqi forces pounded Islamic State positions in Tikrit, resuming an offensive that had stalled for almost two weeks. Two military officers in the city confirmed Iraqi forces were shelling the militants.

“Military operations in Tikrit started at around 9 pm local time by pounding Islamic State positions with artillery, mortars and Katyusha rockets,” said provincial council member Hadi alKhazraji.

More than 20,000 troops and allied Shi’ite paramilitary groups have been taking part

in the offensive and have suffered heavy casualties on the edge of the city, 100 miles (160 km) north of Baghdad.

The Iraqi military had lobbied for U.S.-led coalition air strikes while Shi’ite paramilitary forces opposed such a move. One militia leader, Hadi al-Amiri, boasted three weeks ago that his men had been making advances for months without relying on U.S. air power.

The mainly Sunni city of Tikrit was seized by Islamic State in the first days of their lightning strike across northern Iraq last June.

If Iraq’s Shi’ite ledgovernment retakes Tikrit, it would be the first city wrested from the Sunni insurgents and would give Baghdad momentum for a pivotal stage of the campaign: recapturing Mosul, the largest city in the north.

Still, the offensive raised thorny questions for American war planners, who have long sought to distance themselves from the acknowledged risks that heavy involvement of the Shi’ite militia on the ground could heighten sectarian tensions in the Sunni city of Tikrit.

It also raises questions about whether the U.S.-led coalition can maintain the extent of operational control of the battlefield that it needs with so many Shi’ite militia on the ground.

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Kaieteur News

UG Career Day slated for April 17

Thursday March 26, 2015

Post Mortem results of five month baby are inconclusive … blood samples taken for further testing

(Flash Back) One of the many scenes from Career Day Under the theme “Building Blocks for a Stronger Foundation” the University of Guyana will be hosting its 2015 Open/ Career Day on April 17, 2015.

This event usually attracts a wide cross-section of the country’s secondary school students and parents. Many organisations, within both the

public and private sectors, collaborated with the University to host the event at the University’s Turkeyen campus. The various organisations usually inveigle students with displays and information that offers potential employment.

At the event students can visit the exhibition booths

presented by public and private sector agencies and note the link between UG programmages and career opportunities. In addition, the occasion offers the opportunity to tour the campus facilities and get firsthand information about programmes, services and cocurricular.

Woman fined after assaulting friend over rumours Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry ordered a twenty three-year-old woman to pay a fine of $25,000, or spend two weeks in prison after she pleaded guilty to assaulting her friend.

Akezi Thompson, who

was unrepresented, admitted that she assaulted J o a n n e Va n S e r t i m a o n Regent Street, so as to cause her actual bodily harm.

Thompson explained to the packed court room that she and Van Sertima had been

having a feud for some time.

She said that the woman has been spreading rumours about her and she became annoyed about the situation.

She further added, that she approached the woman on the day of the incident and cuffed her, which led to the woman cuffing her back.

Corporal Bharat Mangru told the court that the two parties are friends. He said on the day in question at around 18:00hrs, the defendant accused the victim of talking her name. An argument ensued and the defendant dealt the woman several cuffs about her body. As a result the woman received injuries, the matter was reported and the defendant was arrested and charged.

Police Corporal Bharat Mangru prosecuted the matter and he provided the court with a medical certificate highlighting the victim’s injuries.

The mother of five-month old Kevin Critchlow yesterday indicated that the post mortem results of her son are inconclusive. She said that a sample of the child’s blood was taken for further testing by experts to determine whether it died from an unknown illness or if the brain hemorrhaging was caused by the administration of the a wrong vaccine.

Early Monday morning the family of the now dead five-month-old, joined by Social Activist Mark Benschop, staged a 45minute protest outside the Plaisance Health Centre. The aggrieved and peeved family is seeking justice for the baby who died less than 24 hours after visiting the health facility to have his fourmonth vaccine.

The family is insisting that the baby died as a result of being administered a wrong injection, despite preliminary post mortem result, on Thursday, last, indicated the child died of brain hemorrhage.

The family is claiming that the officials at the health facility had summoned them to keep silent on the matter and are attempting to cover up. “It’s murder and they are going to try everything to try and cover up the matter,” said the distraught mother, Suemede Critchlow.

She said that she was told by officials at the health centre that the matter is being investigated by the Health officer that is in charge of the region. The family is now

awaiting a feedback on the investigations. Speculation is that nothing will become of the matter, and the family is said to be going “the mile” to get justice for the untimely death of the child who was in good health before his visit to the health facility Wednesday, last.

Benschop, yesterday, said that he is in support of the family. He said, “Such incidents are becoming too frequent and need to be addressed.” “A four-monthold baby cannot just die under questionable circumstances and the matter be swept under the rugs.”

Benschop, the Presidential candidate of the Independence Party, is known for his social work. He is calling for the justice of the young baby. He opined that more than protests need to be done; the relevant officials need to meet with the family.

Prison officer Stayon Paul, who is currently serving a six months sentencing for conveying eight packs of cigarettes and a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card into the Camp Street prison, was further sentenced to four years imprisonment yesterday.

Paul, of Lot 1, Bent Street, Werk-en-Rust, was also ordered to pay a fine of $36, 000, by Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan, after he was found guilty of having 30 grams of cannabis in his possession for the purpose of trafficking at the Camp Street jail on January 12.

He first appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, on January 15 and denied the accusation.

Presenting the facts to the court on his first appearance

Police Prosecutor, Corporal Bharat Mangru explained that on the day in question the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cameron conducted a search on Paul .The ASP found one pack of Bristol cigarettes in his rightside pants pocket and another in his right-side shirt pocket, while six packs were stashed in his crotch.

Mangru said that the ASP also observed a transparent bag under Paul’s left arm which when checked, contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be marijuana.

The Prison Officer was arrested and subsequently charged.

On his earlier appearance Paul told the court that he has been working at the prison for a while and claimed that he would from time to time

Kevin Critchlow

He added that the death of the child might have been the result of a mistake, but the family needs justice and the person responsible should be held accountable for the demise of the baby.

He further emphasized the need for justice and also suggested that the family be compensated for their loss, despite no amount of compensation can bring the infant back to life.

Last Wednesday, Suemede Critchlow, took her healthy, now dead baby boy to the Plaisance Health Centre for a normal clinic visit.

She said that maybe the nurse had mixed up her son’s injection, with that of his fiveyear-old cousin who bears the same surname and was scheduled for injection that day. “My son was supposed to get the vaccine for fourmonth-old, and his cousin had to get the 39 injection…

They both name Critchlow, and I don’t know if she mix up the medication,” the aggrieved mother explained.

The family is bent on leaving no stone unturned until justice has been served as cases of such nature has become frequent in Guyana and is being brushed under the carpet.

This is the second instance in two weeks, where a family is alleging medical malpractice. On March 3, last, the family of Akeela Benons pointed fingers at the doctors at GPHC. The hospital has since dismissed those claims, by outlining the pre-existing complications of Benons’s case.

Prison officer jailed for four years

PRISON OFFICER: Stayon Paul observe the Officer-in-Charge taking cigarettes into the Prison and distributing to prisoners while they were in the yard. Hence, questioning why he was being charged.

The Chief Magistrate explained to him that it is wrong to do so. She also listed other prohibited articles which included drugs, tobacco and tools.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Overseas trio eager to Defending champions RHT Gizmos... play for Golden Jaguars

By Zaheer Mohamed Fresh from a 2-0 victory over St. Lucia, Guyana’s Golden Jaguars are currently preparing for their next engagement against Grenada on Sunday at the National Stadium, Providence.

The squad has been boosted with the inclusion of three overseas based players Left back Matthew Briggs, goalkeeper Anthony Whyte and midfielder Neil Danns.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sport after the team’s training session Tuesday afternoon at the stadium, the trio expressed delight of being part of the team.

Briggs, who arrived in Guyana on Sunday last and is currently on loan to Co-Chester United FC from Millwall FC in England, said he is very excited and this is a proud moment for him. “I am very happy to visit the home country of my grandmother. I received a warm welcome from the players and coaching staff,” he added.

Briggs stated that he wants to help Guyana qualify for the World Cup. “It’s good to play at the international senior level. One of my aims is to help the team progress,” he stated.

When quizzed as to what he expects from Grenada on Sunday, the left back said he expects them to be strong and quick, but feels the Jaguars can come out successful and he is looking forward to the game.

Twenty-year-old Whyte is whose father hails from Guyana, said it is a privilege to be part of the team. “I am excited to be here and I want to help the team advance and open opportunities for my self,” he posited.

Whyte who plays for Sigma FC in Toronto, Canada, arrived on Sunday last and is eager to play for the Jaguars. “The team spirit is high and the players are respectful,” he noted.

Whyte, who studies medicine in Florida, had a training stint with Ajax Amsterdam FC and Fayenoord FC in Holland two years ago.

Danns, 32 of Bolton Wanderers FC indicated that he wants to contribute positively to Guyana’s football and is looking forward to playing with the team. “The players made me feel comfortable, I had a good first session, but it’s important that I acclimatize quickly,” he pointed out. Danns feels he will adapt better as he continues to train.

He wants to help the team get to the World Cup and is satisfied with his career at the moment. “My career is going well; I am playing with a good club and also focusing on the Jaguars. I am keen to play in front of the home crowd,” he said.

Danns informed that he is looking forward to a good relationship with the people here and wants to contribute meaningfully to Guyana’s football. He said that he is willing to get involved in coaching the youths.

Sunday’s game kicks of at 20:30 hrs.

Thursday March 26, 2015 ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19): Your abundant energy is evident for everyone to see; you’re determined to visit greener pastures. *************************** TAURUS (APR 20 MAY 20): A powerful sexual attraction transforms your life from drab to fab. It may be impossible to keep your mind on work, because you’re so busy thinking about your next meeting. *************************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUN 20): If you’re single, be sure to go out for a night on the town with your friends. You just might bump into somebody who turns your whole world upside down. *************************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Finding new, improved work methods will help you up the ladder of success. *************************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): Exploring unknown territory could inspire a creative masterwork. It doesn’t matter whether you take a walk in another part of town or travel halfway across the world. *************************** VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): Becoming more resourceful is as simple as making a list of your true priorities. If you want to buy a house or retire early, you can set plans in motion today.

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Incidents you haven’t thought of for years could come flooding back. *************************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): Powerful friends and group associations can help spread the word of your expertise. *************************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): A strong drive to succeed prompts you to find new ways to boost your bank balance. Whether you come up with a brilliant marketing campaign or develop a new product line is immaterial.

From page 26 overs respectively. Butts enjoyed an exciting debut by outfoxing the West Berbicians with his flight and variations.

At the Albion Community Centre ground, the home team won the toss and decided to bat first against Tucber Park and found themselves in early trouble when openers Kandasammy Surujnarine 5 and Balchan Baldeo 6 were sent back by pacer Mark Jackman, leaving them at 17 for 2 in the 4th over.

West Indies pacer Tremayne Smartt then dismissed Berbice Under-17 Captain Adrian Sukwah for 18 at 42 for 3 but national player Jonathan Foo and Berbice Under-19 David Latchya added 130 runs in 27 overs for the 4th wicket.

Foo top scored with an impressive 86 (6x4), while Latchya supported with 59

Exciting SixWeek Golf...

From page 30 held every successive Thursday starting on March 26, 2015, for six weeks. (iv) Teeoff time is 3:30 p.m. (v) Competition played under the Medal Play format. (vi) Front Nine holes would be played. (vii) Winners are determined by golfer’s total performance over the 6 weeks. (viii) No player will be awarded more than one prize. (ix) Prizes will be awarded to the 1st and 2nd Best Net and 1st and 2nd Best Gross scores. (x) If there are more than 20 participants a third prize will be added in each category. (xi) Golfers’ weekly scores will also be held on a tally sheet on display in the Club House.

Penalty and Disqualification: (i) More than 2 absences disqualifies the golfer from further play in the League. (ii) For each day’s absence, a penalty of +5 points (strokes) is awarded to the golfer. (iii) If the Executive considers any golfer’s conduct relating to play inimical to the interest of the Club, it may disqualify the golfer from this League.

Spectacular semi-finals...

From page 31 been the mainstay of the team so far and once again he is expected to play a leading role if they are to advance, while support should come from Wayne Murray, Travis Biardis and Toquan Clarke, all formidable players.

Scouts and fans are being reminded not to miss today’s action which commences at 14:00 hrs.

(3x4) before both were dismissed by off spinner Joemal La Fleur in the 35th over. Ritesh Umrao 01 and Sharaz Ramcharran 08 were unbeaten as Albion ended on 205 for 6 off 40 overs.

Tucber Park then found themselves struggling at 36 for 4 in 14 overs as Leon Williams 1, Hackeem Hinds 22, Joemal La Fleur 0 and Joel Seetaram 0 fell cheaply. Former Berbice Under-19 player Damon Vantull and skipper Anthony D’ Andrade then added 67 for the 5th wicket with D ‘Andrade scoring 23.

Vantull then played brilliantly to top score with a

brutal 60 (3x4 3x6) but was dismissed at 144 for 7 in the 34th over by off spinner Sharaz Ramcharran. Tucber Park were then bowled out for 153 off 39.3 overs; Ramcharran ended with 3 for 44 from 8 overs, while West Indies Under-19 player Gudakesh Motie claimed 2 for 27 from 7 overs.

The final, which will be contested in late April under lights at the Albion Community Centre, would see the winner taking home $100,000 and the Busta Cup, while the losing finalist will pocket $50,000. It will be broadcast live on NCN Radio.

Guyana Cup Fever...

From page 28 Guyana Bred three year old colts, mares and fillies has now been restructured to cater for those I and lower horses for a total prize package of $560,000 and trophy over 1200M. The ‘I’ class event has been dropped.

The final race will be for animals classified J2 and lower and Guyana bred colts, fillies and mares for a total purse of $375,000 over 1200M. A number of added

attractions and giveaways and incentives including free kites will be given away on race day.

The events will be held under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority.

Interested persons can contact Chandu Ramkissoon (624-9063 or 232-0633), Romel Jagroop (624-1798), Irshad Mohammed on 664-1650.

Nazrudeen “Jumbo Jet” Mohammed Junior is the coordinator. Race time is 12:30hrs. (Samuel Whyte)

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

Edward B. Beharry commits to RHTY&SC

By Franklin Wilson The excellent humanitarian work of Guyana’s leading youth and sports club continues to get better with each passing day.

With a mandate to reach out and help to shape the lives of the youth and elderly in a positive way, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) in association with one of Guyana’s most conscious corporate entity, Edward B. Beharry & Co., has embarked on a massive project that will see 25,000 students in Region six being targeted.

The initiative – Yes to Sports/Education and No to Drugs/Suicide campaign -

- 25,000 students targeted in Yes to Sports/ Education and No to Drugs/Suicide campaign which forms part of the club’s Silver Jubilee Anniversary celebrations will see Edward B. Beharry & Co. undertaking the costs for printing 1000 youth information booklets, 1000 full colored posters and 30 5’x3’ multi colored canvas banners.

According to RHTY&SC Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, the youth information booklet is a 40-page book that would include information on drug abuse, importance of discipline, suicide, personal hygiene, public manners, choosing friends, importance

of education, importance of religion and the role of a sports ambassador as well as information on Guyana that every youth should be aware of. Speaking at yesterday’s press conference, Edward B. Beharry & Co. Marketing Manager Mrs. BeharryStrand expressed elation at being approached noting that the decision to support was easy given the fact that they firmly believe in giving back. “We do a lot of sponsorship from rugby to habitat for humanity because one of the things we value is

that we invest in Guyanese.

It’s extremely important because without the support for these youths we don’t have a future in Guyana, they emigrate, they will make lives abroad. If we invest in our children here and now, we have a wonderful opportunity to create a long lasting bond to Guyana.”

Mrs. Beharry-Strand also highlighted the fact that while a number of kids go to school, many others don’t.

“After school they take to the streets, they buy drugs, they drink alcohol and they are not children. These programmes allow these kids to do something, to turn to sports to showcase their talent, to invest their energies and have a different outlook on life, to have hope.”

While committing to the continued support of the programme, Mrs. BeharryStrand challenged Foster to explore the possibility of extending the programme to the City.

“I think it is also needed here and thank you for the opportunity for allowing us to come on board, it’s an honor and a pleasure.”

Students in every primary and secondary school in the Ancient County would receive a copy of the booklet free of cost. Thirty (30) schools including the GUYSUCO Training Centre would be presented with a banner that would have the name of the institution inscribed on it.

Being displayed on the banner would be the images of the club’s four West Indies

Mrs. Beharry-Strand presents the sponsorship cheque to Hilbert Foster at the entity’s Charlotte Street Office.

players, Erva Giddings, Shemaine Campbelle, Royston Crandon and Assad Fudadin; it would also feature the Yes to Sports/Education and No to Drugs/Suicide message.

Foster also hailed the fact that for the first time in the Ancient County, every classroom in each primary and secondary school, technical institute and sports club would have an 11" x17" poster with information on drugs, education and suicide being displayed.

Foster commented: “The Edward B. Beharry &Co. and Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club project would be one of the largest youth projects undertaken no a nongovernmental organization.

Almost every school and child in Berbice would be exposed to the message and we’re quite confident that each one of them would stay in school to obtain a solid educational background and would also get involved in sports like cricket, football, basketball and others so that they use their spare time

usefully. Most importantly, they would reject satan and his evil world of drugs, crime, and suicide.”

On behalf of the club, Foster expressed gratitude to Edward B. Beharry 8 Co. for investing in such a vital programme which would be coordinated by the club’s cricket teams (Farfan & Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 & Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 & Intermediate, Metro Female and Gizmos & Gadgets First Division & Under-21) along with their education and sports development committees.

Special thanks were extended to the company’s Marketing Director Mrs. Beharry-Strand and Marketing Officer, Mr. Vishal Hemchand for their commitment, confidence and support.

Foster also disclosed that the programme would be launched with a huge rally and day of sports at the Area ‘H’ while promising that it would achieve all its projected objectives.

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 31

Champions Guyana Jaguars return home

By Sean Devers The victorious Guyana Jaguars cricket team, minus Narsingh Deonarine who stopped off in Trinidad where he now resides, touched down at the Ogle International airport yesterday afternoon with their first Regional FirstClass trophy since they shared the title with the Leewards in 1998.

This was the first time Guyana had won sole ownership of the title in 22 years after Roger Harper led them to championship honors in 1993, putting Leon Johnson on the list of only four others to have captained this Country to a Regional First-Class title.

The 27-year-old Johnson, who has two fifties in his four Tests, proudly stated that it’s an honor to represent his Country and a privilege to be among those who have led Guyana to a Regional title.

Decked out in his yellow travel shirt and black trousers with blue sunglasses, Johnson was fairly satisfied with his personal performance which has earned him a place in a 20-man training squad for next month’s three-Test series against England.

“I would love to retain my place on the West Indies and although I would prefer to bat in the middle order I am prepared to bat anywhere in the order to help the team.

The Guyana Skipper scored 465 runs from eight matches with two halfcenturies in the tournament after missing a couple of games due to West Indies

Four team members in WI 20-man training squad commitments in South Africa.

Shiv Chanderpaul finished as Guyana’s leading scorer and made a century in the final round in Dominica to take his runs tally to 539 from eight matches with two tons and four fifties. Chanderpaul was also Captain 17 years ago when Guyana won its last title at this level.

Johnson joined Rohan Kanhai (1973), Clive Lloyd (1975 & 1983), Harper (1987 & 1993) and Chanderpaul (1998) on the list of Guyanese Regional First-Class winning Captains although Carl Hooper won the 2002 Busta International Shield which was a First-Class title but not a regional one.

The Albion spin twins, left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (67) and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (61) shared a whooping 128 wickets between them, the most by any two bowlers from the same team in a single tournament. They both bettered the record for most wickets in a tournament of 60 taken by Ryan Austin in 2009.

The 29-year-old Bishoo has 40 wickets from 11 Tests but last played at this level since April 2012 against Australia, but his showing has earned him a call-up to the West Indies training camp as did Permaul, who played the last of his four Tests in December of 2013 in New Zealand. Bishoo disclosed

that this was by far his best year at the Regional level and was not too surprised at his selection in the 20 based on his wickets this season.

“When I was going through a rough time I never give up and worked my way back to my best form and I have been rewarded with success,” Bishoo informed.

Permaul was elated that he is back in West Indies contention of not being selected for the 2015 World Cup. “I have put in the hard work and I am delighted that I am the bowler with the most wickets in one tournament,” Permaul stated.

Only former Test leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo (50 wickets in 2002) has ever taken 50 wickets in a tournament for Guyana before Permaul and Bishoo’s record breaking feat this year.

The 24-old Anthony Bramble enjoyed his best season behind the stumps and effected 41 dismissals, one less than the record set in 2004 and 2009 by the unrelated Barbadians Courtney & Patrick Browne, and had 21 more dismissals than Shane Dowrich of Barbados.

Narsingh Deonarine (514) is the only Guyanese apart from Chanderpaul and Rajendra Chandrika (525) to reach 500 runs and his two tons were the most by a Guyanese in the tournament.

Vishaul Singh (479) had a

NBS sponsored BCB 2nd division cricket competition commences The 2015 New Building Society Limited Second Division Cricket Competition for teams in Berbice commenced last weekend.

Results from two matches so far show, Fort Canje Warriors and Young Warriors Cricket Club emerged winners.

At the Rose Hall Community Centre in East Canje, the home team won the toss and batted first against Young Warriors Cricket Club. They struggled to 123 all out in 33 of their allotted 40 overs. Andre Grant top scored with 30 after being hit in the chest by pacer Jermin Henry. He was supported by Kristoff Bahadur and Khemraj Dyal with 20 and 18 respectively.

Bowling for YWCC, Jermin Henry took 3 for 24, Berbice under 17 all rounder Kassim Khan 3 for 25, and veteran former Berbice all rounder Anil Beharry 2 for 30, all off 8 overs.

Young Warriors in reply also struggled to the target losing 7 wickets reaching there in 34 overs. Mortimer Fraser batted through the innings to be unbeaten on 56 consisting of 1 four and 1 six. Rose Hall captain Ameer Rahaman took 3 wickets for 20 runs off 8 overs. Over at the Cumberland ground, Guyana Eagles CC lost to Fort Canje Warriors by 6 wickets. They won the toss and made a

challenging 161 all out in 39 overs. I. Ramsarran topscored with 38 and was supported by R. Fredricks with 27 and C. Grimmond 26. Bowling for Fort Canje, former national youth all rounder Linden Austin took 4 for 24 off 8 overs. Royden Phil took 2 for 27.

Fort Canje in reply scored rapidly to reach their target in 28 overs with former senior national player and veteran Hubern Evans 42 n.o with 6 fours. Royden Phil returned to score 41 off 16 balls (6x4 and 2x6) and former national youth player Balram Samaroo 30. C. Grimmond took 2 for 22.

Summarized scores: At Rose Hall, Young Warriors defeated RHCC by 3 wickets. RHCC 123 all out in 32 overs. Andre Grant 30, Kristoff Bahadur 20 and Khemraj Dyal 18. Jermin Henry 3 for 24, Kassim Khan 3 for 25 and Anil Beharry 2 for 30. YWCC 126 for 7 off 34 overs. Mortimer Fraser 56 n.o. Ameer Rahaman 3 for 20.

At Cumberland ground, Guyana Eagles CC 161 all out in 39 overs. K Ramsarran 38, R Fredericks 27 and C Grimmond 26. Linden Austin 4 for 24, Royden Phil 2 for 27.

YWCC replied with 164 for 4 in 28 overs.

Hubern Evans 42 n.o, Royden Phil 41 and Balram Samaroo 30.

consistent season and scored a top class century against T&T, while Chris Barnwell (471) showed he is developing into a genuine allrounder by getting a ton in the final game to compliment his seam bowling.

Deonarine and to a lesser extent Barnwell and Bramble were surpringly not selected in the 20 since Chanderpaul, Johnson, Permaul and Bishoo are the only Guyanese in picked for the training camp.

Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Anand Sanasie, who had called on the team to finish with a victory prior to their departure for Dominica, lauded them for fighting through the initial tough periods in the match and completed a thumping victory. He went on to express his satisfaction with the team’s dominant and consistent performance throughout the Tournament.

The Secretary also congratulated Permaul, Bishoo, Chanderpaul and Johnson for being called up in the West Indies 20-man camp for the England Tour and encouraged those who were not selected to continue working hard and their time will come as their on-field performances cannot be ignored forever.

GCB President Drubahadur congratulated the team for bringing the title back to Guyana after a long time, noting that they have set the bar extremely high for competitions to come. He noted that the GCB has excelled this year starting from the Under-15 right up to the senior teams. He thanked the Executives of the GCB for their commitment and the management of the Guyana

Record breaking spins twins Veersammy Permaul (right) & Devendra Bishoo with the C/ship trophy.

Jaguars who is an extension of the Board.

Team management and staff expressed their gratitude to the Guyana Cricket Board and Cricket Guy Inc. for the support given to the team and pledged to continue to work hard for future success regionally. In addition to the GCB officials, family and friends of the players were

also present to welcome the victorious team. It was however very disappointing that the Sports Minister or anyone from his Ministry turned up at Ogle yesterday.

The team, which won nine of their 10 games to dominate the other teams, will take a one-week break before joining the Academy Jaguars for training.

Lawsuit against Simmons...

From page 33 she threatened to go public with their romantic affair.

The Port of Spain advertising account executive is seeking substantial damages from Simmons for breaching the common law principle of confidence.

Simmons is with the West Indies team expected back in the Caribbean soon, after they were knocked out of the

International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup at the quarter-final stage.

However, his attorney Ken Wright as well as Ho and her attorney Christian Chandler were at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain.

The 30-year-old cricketer has denied ever being involved with Ho, but admitted they had a brief singular sexual encounter.

Busta Champion of Champions final...

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS RHT Gizmos & Gadgets to meet Albion Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets (RHTG&G) and arch rivals Albion will square off in the final of the 11th Busta Champion of Champions cricket tournament organised by the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club.

Both teams last weekend easily won their semi-final matches. RHTG&G brushed aside West Berbice by 77 runs at the Area ‘H’ ground, while Albion easily disposed of Tucber Park (formerly Bermine) at the Albion Ground.

Watched by a sizeable home crowd, RHT Gizmos & Gadgets won the toss and elected to take first strike and were without the services of

senior players Assad Fudadin, Akshay Homraaj, Eon Hooper, Dominic Rikki, Clinton Pestano and Jason Sinclair due to overseas commitment.

They were bowled out for 170 off their allotted 40 overs.

Skipper Shawn Perriera led with 45, Khemraj Mahadeo 25, Delbert Hicks 24, Collis Butts 21 and Brandon Prasad 20.

Butts and Perriera added 43 crucial runs for the 8th wicket after they found themselves in a spot of trouble at 120 for 7 in the 30th over.

Perriera struck four boundaries in his innings, while Butts on debut for his new club, struck two

boundaries and a six. Bowling for West Berbice, off-spinner Cort Griffith took 5 for 38 including three in the last over of the innings.

Medium pacer Rennis and Mitchell supported with 3 for 28 off seven overs each.

Needing 171 to win off 40 overs, West Berbice were bundled out for 93 in 25 overs as only Keyron Fraser 22, Titus Webster 13 and national pacer Reon Johnson 11 reached double figures.

Orchestrating the demise of West Berbice were Perriera, 2 for 4, Butts 4 for 7, Troy Mathieson 2 for 9 and Sherain Murray 2 for 12, off three (Continued on page 29)

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Thursday March 26, 2015

Guyana Cup Fever gets hot as over 55 entries on board Strom Bird, who has been in excellent form will look to continue its dominance in the three year old category.

Organised by the Port Mourant Turf Club in collaboration with the Jumbo Jet Business Enterprise, the Annual Guyana Cup Fever meet is getting hotter by the day. The event is the richest on the horseracing calendar for the year so far with over $10M up for grabs including cash, trophies and other

goodies with seven action packed races listed on the programme. Over 55 of the top horses in the country have taken entry with the major stables already on board.

With confirmation being made that the feature event will now be for horses classified A1 and lower with the likes of Score’s Even and

C.P Got Even set to renew their rivalry with Curfew Tower, Jack In My Style and Run Nana Run, Lady Budapest among others, preparations are getting hotter.

Word from the organiser also is that the record breaking Diplomatic Cat, which suffered flight problems and could not be in Guyana in time for the ‘Clash of the Titans’ race meet last week end, will definitely be here.

According to Inshan Bacchus of the Bacchus stable, who has acquired the horses, twice the animal went to the airport and boarded the plane in Trinidad and was ready to travel when the plane developed mechanical problems and could not make it. It will definitely be here this time and Score’s Even and C.P Got Even and all the others will be in for a rough time.

The feature A1 and lower event will be going over a distance of 1800M for a whopping $1.2M and trophy.

Many turfites were not too convinced in the way Score’s Even won the event with some saying if it was not for some spectators on the track C.P Got Even would

Over 100 entries expected in $10M Easter Sunday horserace meet at Port Mourant have won. Those questions and more will be answered on Easter Sunday.

The D1 and Lower event will now be classified D3 and lower over 1600M for a winning take of $800,000 and trophy. Turfites are also eager to see this event again. With the speed shown by Tiz a Holiday one week ago and the likes of the speedy Spit Fire,

Just Call Me Boss, Unsettled, last race winner Swing Easy and introducing for the first time Big Man Boss, turfites will be in for a double treat.

The other equally impressive events listed on the programme are - The F1 and lower 1200M event which will also feature animals classified three year old West Indies and Guyana

bred, colts, fillies, mares and up for a total prize of $ 940,000 and trophy.

The G3 and lower event will also feature West Indies and Guyana bred colts, fillies, 3 yrs old and up. The distance is 1200M for a combined purse of $750,000 and trophy.

There is an event for West Indies and Guyana bred three year old animals including colts and fillies also for a total prize of $940,000 and trophy over 1500M. The event for (Continued on page 29)

Lewis has been bright light for CSU TENNIS Gavin Lewis (left) and members of the CSU team. (CSU website)

CSU website - BALTIMORE – With this being the height of “March Madness” across the country, we can be excused for using a Dick Vitale-like pun when describing the talents of Coppin State freshman Gavin Lewis, a true “diaper dandy” on the men’s tennis team. Lewis enjoyed a memorable week by winning two matches at No. 3 singles.

He defeated Loyola’s Tim Dowd (7-5, 7-5) and North Carolina Central’s Jamal Hoyte in a three-set tiebreak thriller (6-3, 1-6, 10-8) last Friday.

His two-match win streak was stopped by Howard’s Myron Davis (6-2, 6-2) on Sunday.

His victories highlighted a pair of Coppin State setbacks. He has been a shining light during a tough start to the Eagles’ season.

“The first two matches I played this spring, I got creamed,” Lewis said. “It was a great feeling to win my first collegiate match. At first, I wasn’t too satisfied and I felt like I could have played much better, but in the end, I won and I guess that’s what counts. I have gotten more confident in myself.”

Lewis, a criminal justice student from Georgetown, Guyana, has slowly adjusted to the demands of playing Division I tennis and the intense training required to compete at a consistently high level.

“The training here is tough compared to what I received back home,” Lewis said.

“There have been times that I can’t walk and (Coppin State head) coach (Diwani Lewis) says we haven’t done anything. He says ‘this

is just a warm-up.’ The transition has been tough to take in.”

Fortunately, Lewis has been surrounded by nurturing teammates David Ogan, Reginald Robinson and Patrick Thomas. They have all made Lewis feel like a welcomed member of the team. “Everyone on the team encourages and motivates you to do better,” Lewis said.

“I am not used to that. Back home, if you have a bad day, nobody encourages or says anything to you. We have a good relationship off the court and it helps as a team.”

Coppin State (0-4 overall, 0-1 MEAC) is home for a three-match MEAC homestand against Hampton (Wednesday, 2:00 p.m.), Maryland Eastern Shore (Friday, 3:00 p.m.) and Norfolk State (Saturday, noon).

On the women’s side, the Eagles have dropped matches to Loyola and Howard this season. Lewis’ performances this season have been a welcomed sight to Coppin State head coach Diwani Lewis also of Guyana.

“Gavin has surpassed my expectation of him thus far this season,” Lewis said. “Being that it is his first season, I wasn’t really expecting much, only for him to gain some valuable experience at this level. However, given his performance I had to re-evaluate my initial thoughts of him. He has stepped up on every occasion and competed well. He has shown no signs of freshman jitters, but only that of a seasoned player. I am very excited about his recruitment and I am confident that he will only get better.” (Rob Knox)

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Shanomae Blackmore laid to rest

Administrative Secretary of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Shanomae Blackmore was laid to rest yesterday afternoon following a moving ceremony at a filled to capacity St. James-the Less Parish, David Street, Kitty.

Blackmore passed away suddenly on March 18 following a brief illness. She

was 34. At the time of her death, she was also Secretary of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) and Boyce & Jefford Track and Field Classic.

Apart from her sterling contributions to sports, Blackmore also made significant contributions to civil society groups, organisations and church.

Hundreds from all walks of

Lawsuit against Simmons to be heard in September PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) - West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons is facing a legal battle with advertising executive Therese Ho over intimate pictures of her he is accused of releasing on social media.

A lawsuit filed by Ho will be heard on September 28, a date set by Justice Frank Seepersad, who presided over the case by way of video conference on Monday.

Seepersad was one of thousands affected by Monday’s “total policing” exercise which led to major traffic gridlock in Port of Spain.

Ho claims that she had a brief sexual relationship with Simmons which ended when she learned he was engaged to be married. She is accusing him of releasing intimate photos of her, without her permission, via social media and instant messaging networks and claims he was seeking revenge after (Continued on page 31)

life flocked the Sandy Funeral Home first then the Church for the Funeral Service.

There was more than an hour and half of tributes at the Church from many distinguished persons and Organisations. Formerly on the progamme, GOA Secretary General, Ivor O’Brien, extended an appreciation for the contributions of Blackmore.

According to O’Brien, Blackmore was an invaluable asset to sport.

“We at GOA will continue to miss Shanomae for the warmth and professionalism she displayed,” O’Brien said as many visibly fought to hold back tears in the congregation.

The late Blackmore’s brother, Anthony Blackmore, read the Eulogy cracking up in parts before a stirring Sermon from Reverend Canon, Evan Semple. Anthony informed his congregation among other things that his sister always had a passion for sports.

GOA’s Charles Corbin (left), Garfield Wiltshire, Ivor O’Brien and Noel Adonis (in that order, right) among others, including brother, Anthony Blackmore, bear the casket, including the body of the late Shanomae Blackmore yesterday on the way to burial in the St. James-the-Less Parish Cemetery.

“From a very young age, Shanomae developed a passion for sports. She was a member of Rising Star Athletics Club under Coach, Cornel Rose. She was also an official, where she worked in all events and could have

quoted the IAAF Rules for each,” Anthony expounded.

Reverend Semple called on all to remember Blackmore as if she was alive since in her life it was obvious that she made significant contributions to

many sections of society. In an emotional and well articulated message, the reverend indicated that Blackmore’s life was lived in contrast to the unfaithful.

She, he said, was a believer and servant of God.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Buxton, Melanie ‘A’ and ‘B’ and Plaisance ‘A’ lead top contenders INTO KO PHASE

Guinness Greatest of de Streets’ Buxton, Melanie ‘A’ and ‘B’ and Plaisance ‘A’ maintained their unbeaten run at the conclusion of the preliminary phase of the East Coast segment of the Guinness Greatest of de Streets’ Competition which continued on Tuesday evening, at the Haslington Tarmac.

Defending champs Melanie ‘A’ warmed up for the latter stages with a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Ann’s Grove Punters.

Playing without their inspirational striker Dwight Peters, Shermon Fraser put them ahead after five minutes following a swift counter attack that saw him release a cracker into the goal. Three minutes later, Tyrone Liverpool, who had come on as a substitute

Players from Melanie ‘A’ and Ann’s Grove Punters fight for possession of the ball in their encounter on Tuesday evening at Haslington Tarmac. received a floated pass from the right side and he volleyed into an empty goal to make it 2-0 at the half.

Fraser then gave them added cushion when he exchanged passes with one of his teammates to finish

FINAL STANDINGS Group-A Team Buxton (Q) BV-A (q) Plaisance-B Haslington Group-B Team Melanie-B (Q) Paradise (q) Church Yard Utd GG Superstars Group-C Team Melanie-A (Q) BV-B (q) Ann’s Gr Punters Mahaica Group-D Team Plaisance-A (Q) Nabaclis (q) Victoria Eagles Mahaicony Utd

Thursday March 26, 2015

GP 3 3 3 3

W 3 2 1 0

D 0 0 0 0

L 0 1 2 3

GP 3 3 3 3

W 3 2 1 0

D 0 0 0 0

L 0 1 2 3

GF 2 5 3 0

GA 0 1 4 5

GD +2 +4 -1 -5

Pts 9 6 3 0

GP 3 3 3 3

W 3 2 1 0

D 0 0 0 0

L 0 1 2 3

GF 6 4 2 1

GA 1 1 5 6

GD +5 +3 -3 -5

Pts 9 6 3 0

GP 3 3 3 3

W 3 2 1 0

D 0 0 0 0

L

GF 7 5 3 2

GA 0 4 5 8

GD +7 +1 -2 -6

Pts 9 6 3 0

0 1 2 3

GF 0 3 1 0

GA 0 0 2 2

GD 0 +3 -1 -2

Points 9 6 3 0

Part of the action in the clash that featured Buxton and BV ‘A’ on Tuesday evening. past a scrambling defender after twenty minutes and the scoreline stayed that way until the final whistle sounded.

Former champions Plaisance ‘A’ was another team that exhibited sublime skills in this format after cruising past Victoria Eagles 2-0. Kester Greene gave them a positive start in the sixth minute with a neat right footed shot into an empty goal after the advancing defender was left stranded attempting to intercept a pass.

Plaisance ‘A’ dominated possession and had a chance to stretch their advantage after being awarded a penalty which was signalled by the referee after the final defender was caught within the foul area by an initial strike. Plaisance ‘A’ talisman Warren Gilkes stepped up to take the spot kick, but unfortunately his effort went wide. However, Gilkes was

able to make amends two minutes after when he hit a well placed shot into the left corner of the goal after weaving past a defender.

IN OTHER RESULTS: Nabacalis secured their place in the knockout (KO) phase with a 3-1 win Mahaicony United with Carlos Kingston leading the way with a brace in the first and second minutes of play, while Kevin Glasgow found the back of the net in the 22nd minute. On target for the losers was Fitz Chester in the sixth minute.

Plaisance ‘B’ squeezed

past host Haslington 1-0 through a Kevin Richards 16th minute strike.

Melanie ‘B’ beat Paradise 2-1 on penalty kicks and BV ‘B’ never broke a sweat after Mahaica failed to take the pitch thereby giving them a walkover.

Church Yard United make it to the next round after Golden Grove Superstars did not show up, while Buxton edged BV ‘A’ 21 on sudden death kicks after regulation time ended 0-0.

Quarter-final action is slated for tomorrow at the same venue.

Exciting Six-Week Golf League ‘putt’ for Lusignan A 9-Hole Golf League to begin today, an innovation

by Golf Club President, David Mohamad to promote more frequent competitive golf play and to enhance the performance of golfers in Guyana, tees-off at 3:30 p.m. at the Lusignan Golf Club.

Dubbed “The President’s 9Hole Golf League” the new 6-week series is expected to produce much stronger competition and an even higher standard of golf play on the weekend 18-hole competitions.

In addition, the League will serve as a tournament filler keeping golfers continuously competing each week even if there is no sponsored tournament at a weekend. It is proposed that the League will be conducted in each quarter of the year – subject to observation of other Club activities in the last quarter.

The Executive is responsible for the Competition

LGC PRESIDENT, David Mohamad Committee.

Golfers are asked to note the following specifics concerning the League. (i) Participation is confirmed by League fee of $4,000 paid before the first competition starts. (ii) League fee is nonrefundable as long as golfer plays in one competition. (iii) Competitions will be (Continued on page 29)

Thursday March 26, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Spectacular semi-finals predicted today U-20 SCHOOLS FOOTBALL COMPETITION

By Rawle Welch Reigning champions Lodge will have to improve immensely to stand a chance of defending their title when they face Dolphin in semifinal action of the Nestle Milo Under-20 Schools Football Competition today, at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue.

In the other semi-final, Morgan Learning Centre tackle Chase Academy and

this encounter too has all the trappings of a riveting contest with a winner proving difficult to pick.

Champs Lodge have shown some inconsistency on occasions in the tournament, but they are known to be a resilient unit, a characteristic they demonstrated in their quarter-final matchup against a disciplined St. Mary’s side that forced overtime, before the mercurial Ryan Hackett put some space between himself and two defenders to hit a cracking left-footer into the far corner.

He was a model of consistency and bother to the

opposition throughout the afternoon, but was not afforded the room to be a real threat in the penalty area, before a lapse in concentration allowed him to deliver the dagger and send his team into today’s last four engagement.

However, Dolphin is a big step up in class and they will have to create opportunities very early to wrest the ascendancy.

Apart from Hackett, Jarel Grannum, Shemar Dover and Keoma Crawford will have to regain the kind of form that typified their play throughout the

Ryan Hackett of defending champion Lodge (right) battles for possession in their quarter-final game against St. Mary’s last week.

competition, but which eluded them against a much disciplined St. Mary’s unit if they stand a chance of making it to the championship game.

Big field expected for opening Drag Meet

Some of the competitors pose with GMR&SC staffers Desiree Lee (3rd left) and Tina Morris (right) for a photo op yesterday at the entity’s Head Office.

H

aving seen the Toyota Supra of Rondell Daby dominate the last Meet, competitors confirmed for this Sunday’s Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club Drag Race Meet are vowing a more competitive day of racing.

Yesterday Kaieteur Sport caught up with some of the competitors four days before race time and they all said that preparations have been moving apace and they expect the day’s events to provide spirited showdowns when the green light flashes.

Among those confirmed to be at the starting line are Nazin Gafoor, Rondell and Peter Daby, Pierre Singh, Anand Ramchand, Rajesh Panday and Budhram Heeralall.

According to Race Secretary Desiree Lee, drivers are coming in to register and fans could expect a fully subscribed

field to represent Guyana against the anticipated Suriname invasion.

Lee urged fans of drag racing to get to the South Dakota Circuit on Sunday and witness some of the fastest machines on a straightway go at each other to clock the fastest time over the prescribed distance.

Additionally, race fans will have the opportunity to witness the Porta Tree Timing System which is equipped with specialized starting lights that allow quarter mile speeds to be recorded.

Races commence at 09:00 hrs and admission for adults is $1000, while children are $500 and vehicles free.

M e a n w h i l e , G T & T, Universal Communications, Carlsberg Beer, Rent-a-Tent, AR. Jiwanram, Fanatix Designs, T&R Seafoods and Ganesh Parts and General Store are among the major sponsors.

On the other hand, Dolphin has looked to be amongst the most consistent team in this year’s tournament and will definitely be no pushovers.

They cruised past a good North Ruimveldt side, displaying admirable pace and skill and they seemed disciplined as well so getting past them could be an arduous task for the champs.

Leon Richardson and Joshua Brown were the marksmen on target in their previous victory and obviously they will be tasked with the responsibility of leading their side to the final.

Kester Grant is another player who will have to bear some of the duty in ensuring that they get over the line.

If you think that the first game was enough for one afternoon then your guess was wrong since the Morgan Learning Centre versus

Chase Academy has the potential to upstage that one.

Both teams have begun to peak at the right time and are expected to treat a turnout that is anticipated to be a large one to a fantastic feast of skills.

Chase Academy over the past year have benefitted from the acquisition of a few top players in Marlon Nedd and Shemar Barrow and they’ve now linked up with the likes of Isaiah Reddy, Jeremy Garrett, Kareem Knights and Simeon Moore, making them the most potent strike force in the tournament.

On the other hand, Morgan Learning Centre have gone through the competition without much fanfare, but has been dispatching teams with consummate ease.

Ronaldo Dover, a former national youth player has (Continued on page 29)

t r o Sp

OVERSEAS TRIO eager to play for Golden Jaguars

Neil Danns (left) and Matthew Briggs during training session with the Jaguars.

Anthony Whyte

CHAMPIONS GUYANA JAGUARS RETURN HOME CHAMPIONS GUYANA JAGUARS! Skipper Leon Johnson flanked by GCB President Drubahadur (right) and Secretary Anand Sansei shortly after the team returned home yesterday.

U-20 Schools Football Competition...

Spectacular semi-finals predicted today

Guinness Greatest of de Streets’ Competition

Buxton, Melanie ‘A’ and ‘B’ and Plaisance ‘A’ lead top contenders into KO phase

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