Thursday April 09, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Chilean president rocked by corruption allegations against family members (theguardian) Amid a series of political corruption scandals which have upended the Chilean political establishment and delivered a critical blow to her popularity, President Michelle Bachelet yesterday dismissed rumours that she is considering resigning. “I haven’t resigned and am not even sure what the process would be,” a bemused Bachelet told reporters. Bachelet insisted that “corruption in Chile is not widespread” despite stating that an investigation into powerful businessmen and her “family member” were under way. The president’s comments came as Bachelet’s son Sebastian Davalos was to be questioned by prosecutors yesterday about his role in a controversial and possibly illegal real estate transaction. Davalos and his wife, Natalia Compagnon, stand accused of using their political connections to obtain a $10m bank loan which they allegedly used to flip a property in order to earn millions of dollars in a matter of weeks. Last month, Chilean prosecutors seized computers, cellphone records and $4m as they continued to
investigate the business dealings of both the president’s son and her daughter-in-law. While Compagnon testified yesterday, Davalos cancelled his appearance on the advice of his lawyers, fueling speculation that he has something to hide. The Davalos case is focused on a proposed change to municipal zoning that would have sent real estate prices soaring. But the suspicion that a Bachelet family member was involved in illicit business has come to symbolize a widespread malaise in the Chilean body politic. In February, Davalos was forced to leave his government job directing the president’s sociocultural agenda. While Bachelet denies any knowledge or involvement in the real estate transaction, a majority of Chileans don’t believe her. Public opinion polls in March showed the president’s approval ratings fell to 31%, down drastically from the 84% with which she finished her first term in 2010. Over the past year the percentage of Chileans expressing disapproval with Bachelet’s leadership jumped
President Michelle Bachelet
from 20% to 61%. Long a champion of Chile’s poor, Bachelet is now battling to maintain her ambitious social reform agenda amid massive public criticism. “There is an important crisis of confidence,” the president said, “But it is a tremendous opportunity to fill the legal loopholes so this doesn’t happen again.” Over the past 12 months, Bachelet has had multiple legislative victories, including an increase in corporate tax rate to finance free or heavily discounted higher education for tens of thousands of
students. The president, a pediatrician, is also pushing to build thousands of free day care centers throughout Chile. The collapse in public support for Bachelet has been trumped by an even more spectacular fall by Chile’s rightwing UDI party – the nation’s largest – with an approval rating that fell to 11% in recent months. But Bachelet’s government crisis has been accompanied by wider public discontent centered on highprofile financial scandals, in which powerful businessmen have been caught laundering
money or donating to political candidates. Soquimich, a billion-dollar Chilean mining company run by Julio Ponce Lerou, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s former son-in-law, is facing multiple criminal charges after tax authorities found the company used fake invoices to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians across the political spectrum. Soquimich is now facing intense scrutiny from Chilean prosecutors and several dozen US law firms are preparing to file lawsuits against the publicly traded company. The amount of money in the Soquimich political campaign cases is thought to be less than a million dollars, minuscule when compared to corruption scandals in Argentina and Brazil where hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds are alleged to have been siphoned off by corrupt officials. “We can’t shut our eyes, corruption has arrived,” said Ramiro Mendoza, the Chilean comptroller general on Tuesday while stressing, “We have institutional measures to prevent the growth of this scourge.
Half of countries miss 2015 goal of primary schooling for all: UNESCO
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Only half of countries have achieved a global target of getting all children into primary school by 2015, some 58 million youngsters are still getting no education at all, but more girls are going to school, the United Nations said today. Just one-third of countries have met a 2015 deadline for six key educational goals agreed by governments in 2000, the U.N. educational arm UNESCO said in a report. Niger, Chad, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ethiopia are among those which are way off target. Three-quarters of countries have also failed to reach the target of halving illiteracy, UNESCO research showed. An extra $22 billion a year is needed to ensure countries reach new education targets now being set for 2030, according to the UNESCO report, Education for All 20002015, which showed 50 million more children are enrolled in school today than in 1999. Countries singled out for
praise include Afghanistan, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Tanzania and India. Nepal has achieved universal pre-primary and primary education, despite recently emerging from a conflict in which schools were attacked. It has also made huge strides in getting girls into class. Afghanistan was considered the worst place in the world for schooling in 2000 following years of civil war and a ban on girls’ education by the hardline Taliban then in power. But by 2012 the country had boosted the proportion of girls in primary school from 4 percent of the total to 87 percent. It has also seen one of the biggest rises in secondary school enrolment. Government initiatives to increase the number of female teachers and build schools in remote areas have been instrumental in this success, UNESCO said. By contrast, Nigeria has the highest number of children out of school and one of the world’s worst
education systems thanks to a combination of corruption, conflict and lack of investment. “We know when we work together and invest in the future the sky is the limit for young people,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said before the report was launched. “Let us harness the power of education to build a better future for all.” TEACHER SHORTFALL The Education For All (EFA) goals are the best indicator of progress toward educational targets set as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which also have a 2015 deadline. The greatest progress has been in getting girls into school, but child marriage and early pregnancy continue to hinder progress, UNESCO said. Gender parity will be achieved at primary level in 69 percent of countries by 2015, but only 48 percent will reach the goal at secondary level. The report shows 52
percent of countries achieved universal primary education, which is also one of the eight MDGs. Ten percent are close, but 38 percent have a long way to go. It also reveals that almost 100 million children who start primary school do not finish. UNESCO called on governments to make at least one year of pre-primary education compulsory and ensure education is free.
It also urged the international community to help meet the $22 billion annual shortfall needed to pay for new schools, teachers and text books. Some 4 million more teachers are required to get all children into school. The report will feed into discussions on new education targets under the Sustainable Development Goals which will replace the MDGs.
U.S. soldier killed in possible Afghan insider attack
(Reuters) - An Afghan man dressed in the uniform of local security forces opened fire on U.S. soldiers in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing one American and wounding several more before the shooter himself was killed, a U.S. official said. Many details surrounding the incident were still unclear. The Pentagon and U.S. State Department only confirmed an exchange of gunfire between U.S. and Afghan forces, saying an investigation was ongoing. “I can confirm that one American soldier was killed today,” Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. Asked whether this was an insider attack by an Afghan soldier turning his weapon against NATO forces, Warren said: “It’s a little early to tell. Indications are leaning that way.”
(From page 22)
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The PPP does not embrace... From page 4 governance. Threats to life and limb know no boundaries, as the Freedom House gang stripped the people of their naked rights to speak out and protest against wrongdoing. They have coveted the country’s best lands, actually gave the nation’s resources to their rich friends, sold state properties to their relatives and friends at far below the market value, pawned Guyana’s pristine forests to foreigners and destroyed the sugar and rice industry. They seek no interest other than to devour the wealth of the land to which they owe no allegiance or loyalty whatsoever. Despite the devastating and horrifying attacks and criticism heaped upon the leaders of the opposition by the delinquent cabal, the people have conscientiously and lovingly embraced Granger and Nagamootoo and the change they seek if elected to office on May 11. As the poor masses cry out for salvation, the feet of wisdom, understanding, intellectualism and integrity shall lead them graciously to the Promised Land. It is time for change. Asquith Rose Chandra Deolall Dr. Merle SpencerMarks