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: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

When do we stop on order? When DelRea Good sped in the opposite direction past a county cop in Portage Township, the officer immediately clocked her for speeding and made an abrupt U-turn. Porter County Sheriff’s Department patrolman William Marshall pulled up behind Good’s car along County Road 500 West and activated his siren and flashing lights. Good was busted for doing 54 mph in a 35 mph zone, police said. But here’s the catch. The 52-year-old registered nurse from Portage didn’t stop her car, not at that spot anyway. That stretch of road just south of U.S. 6, also known as Airport Road, is unlit at night and it was 11:21 p.m. on March 20 when Good passed the police car. Instead, she slowed her car, activated her emergency flashers and rolled down her window to wave at the officer, acknowledging his presence. Then she kept driving. “I was scared for my safety,” she told me. “It was a very dark road and I wanted to get to a safe, well-lit place.” Good drove north less than a mile to the Kohl’s store parking lot on U.S. 6, where she stopped her car. “I felt safer there,” she said. Good claims Marshall was visibly angry when he exited his car and approached hers. “He told me to stop talking and to get out of my car,” Good said. “He turned me around and put me into handcuffs.” She was arrested and charged with a felony count of resisting arrest, police said. She was taken into custody and transported to the county jail. Not a word was spoken in the cop car, Good said. These circumstances are what intrigue me about this issue. What would you do in this situation? What would you tell your wife, mother or daughter to do under similar circumstances? Good insists she did nothing wrong, let alone illegal, after getting pulled over. “I was in total darkness and no one was there to protect me if something goes bad,” Good said. Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds understands her safety concerns, and agrees that every law enforcement agency in the country will recommend similar actions. His other suggestion is to call 911 at that point and ask the dispatcher if a legitimate cop is behind you. “If you don’t have a cell phone, then drive to a safer place,” Reynolds said. Good had a cell phone, but in her purse. She didn’t reach for it while downshifting her stick-shift car and seeing bright lights in her rearview mirror. “If I started reaching for my phone, it could look like I was reaching for something else,” said Good, who has never been in this sort of stressful situation. “I never had a plan in mind for such a scenario. It was just instinctive. “This all happened in just a minute or two, and with less than a mile of driving,” she said. “Hindsight is 20/20 for anyone who didn’t go through this.” Reynolds defended his officer, noting his department’s officers conduct 13,000 traffic stops a year. He described this as an unfortunate incident, which has since attracted national media attention and viral social media posts. It’s the last thing any sheriff’s department wants, considering the rising mistrust of police officers across the country. Reynolds has already retrained his officers to deal with such sensitive scenarios, he told me. “People trust Porter County officers and the professional work they do,” Reynolds said. “This is one lady who didn’t trust the police in a fully marked Crown Victoria patrol car, and who chose to not pull over immediately. But when does it stop?” There is a bigger picture here, one much more troubling than this “one isolated incident,” he said. Should every motorist be allowed to disobey an officer’s command to stop immediately? How far should a motorist be allowed to drive to feel safe? One mile? Five miles? Only at night? Only on dark roads? Only for women driving alone?

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

You spend billions to build the Marriott, but couldn’t spend millions to modernize the University of Guyana DEAR EDITOR, I was in Alexander Village to attend a wake of a friend two evenings ago which coincided with a meeting of the PPP/C held at the head of the street in which I grew up. I dropped in on the meeting at a point at which President Ramotar was speaking. I heard him tell the community, which enjoys not a single public space for its hundreds of children to play, about his party’s plans for a world class high-tech industrial park covering

hundreds of acres; a community which for years has endured potholes at both points of entry, of his party’s plans for an international hub for trans-Atlantic airlines to facilitate South African Airways. He told them of his government’s decision to expend billions on a five star hotel but not why it deprives the country’s only national university of basic requirements for teaching and learning. And of the building of the Berbice Bridge, but not of the discriminatory

tolls Berbicians are made to pay. He told them too about of all the food items banned by Burnham, but not the unbanning by Hoyte. No, such truth would destroy the party line. He told them of what the party has given the country but not that it is taxpayers’ money that the party in Government has spent, and as often as not mis-spent. Or worse, what the party leaders have taken for themselves and their friends. He boasted of his party’s democratic credentials but

the Villagers know that they have been deprived of local democracy since 1997. He boasted too about integrity, but did not tell his audience that Villagers have been cheated of their investment in New Guyana Company Limited, the party controlled company. He boasted about procurement, but not his party’s failure to establish the Public Procurement Commission for fourteen years. It was a case of everything good being the (Continued on page 6)

Sunday April 12, 2015

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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox This surge for change must not be taken for granted by those who seek political office DEAR EDITOR, In 1905 when Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow mobilised city workers to challenge the merchants and ruling class, it was because the citizens wanted a change in the way business was conducted and how they were treated. It was the period when there were no universal right to vote and the International Labour Organisation and United Nations were nonexistent. It was a time when the world did not advocate universal liberties and freedoms, yet the 21-year-old Critchlow had the foresight to recognise the importance of these to the development of humankind. This is the foundation of modern Guyana that we cannot and must not run

away from. The trade union movement preceded the political movement. In 1926 it was this movement that started the march for one man one vote that many today is using to ride on the backs of workers, the under privileged and the not so privileged. This vote is taken seriously by the Guyana Trades Union Congress and its affiliates, and citizens are urged to recognise that there is power in their vote, and this power must be used wisely. The vote must not be used to allow persons to ride our backs. As such we need to stand up, embrace universal principles and advance a cause. The cause today is for a better way of life for every Guyanese, sharing in our national patrimony and

building a foundation for our children and their descendants. We live in an era of representative democracy where elected officials under this system ought to be the people’s servants and be accountable to the people. The monarchical system has gone forever and no one, regardless of how loyal we are, should be loyal to any individual who is elected to public office. Loyalty must be to universal principles and not an individual and it is for this reason whatever is being done leading up to 11th May

and after, must be seen and practiced through these lens. Acts that we condemned during the Forbes Burnham government, the Desmond Hoyte government, the Cheddi and Janet Jagans governments and our expressed intolerance of the mismanagement and abuse of the Bharat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar governments, those who offer themselves for leadership must not practice what they condemn. The yardsticks used in measuring the behaviours of other governments must also be applied to the opposition. The current campaign has

seen an upsurge in the voices for change. This clamouring is strong as the waves that broke the seawalls and flooded the coastland. The change that persons are advocating must not be misconstrued by any political leader that this is love for him or her. It must be recognised for what it is, this is a grassroots movement by the people to save Guyana by

removing it from the reckless control of the Jagdeo/ Ramotar leadership. This is a people’s march to create a fair and just society where all can dwell and elected officials respect us as the real masters of our destiny. This must be heeded. This surge for change must not be taken for granted by leaders who seek political (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox The Forestry sector is one of the most regulated DEAR EDITOR, It is evident that the political season is here which gives some people the right to be silly. I note the recent letter penned by Timothy M. Jonas which was titled what measures have been put in place to ensure loggers adhere to the law?, which was published in the April 11, 2015 edition of Stabroek News. Editor, I am integrally involved in the Forest Sector and I can confidently say that it is one of the most regulated sectors, despite the politics some individuals and newspapers might want to play in besmirching the work of this well regulated sector. The information contained in the letter penned by Timothy M. Jonas is nothing more than what have been regurgitated over and over by some know critics of the forest sector and which have constantly been rebuked and clarified by the Guyana Forestry Commission. Mr. Timothy M. Jonas as a voter requested in his letter political parties to discuss several issues pertaining to the forestry sector, these

same questions have been asked on numerous occasions and were clarified. Mr. Jonas is not really interested in the development of Guyana as he may want to portray, but has been spurred by his handlers to once again cast aspersions on the forest sector. It would have been wise for Mr. Jonas to first seek clarification before publishing his missive which have only serve to expose his ignorance of the forest sector and how it is being managed. For reference I would recommend Mr. Jonas visit the Guyana Forest Commission’s website at: http://www.forestry. gov.gy/news.html which I do very so often to keep update on developments as a stakeholder within the sector. In closing, it is evident that Mr. Jones is either new to this long exhausted debate of the management of the forest sector or he has been set up by his handlers to propagate their propaganda. As such, I would urge Mr. Jonas to first get his facts be3fore exposing himself. Terence William

You spend billions to... From page 4 PPP while everything bad is the fault of the PNC. And the reason suggested by the President for his party not getting the credit it deserves is because of the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News, for whose publisher he reserved some choice language, and - pointing directly at Gerhard Ramsaroop and me in the audience – those “misguided” individuals who malign the record and character of the PPP. Many years ago political meetings in Alexander Village used to allow for questions. Not so any more. So, at the close of the meeting I ap-

proached Mr. Ramotar and asked him directly whether he thought verbally targeting individuals in an audience would help him to win over misguided individuals. He could offer no response. More sinisterly and dangerously, there could be another consequence to Mr. Ramotar’s action: party supporters may feel a duty to rid the Party of meddlesome, misguided individuals. Thankfully, Alexander Villagers are more responsible than that. They are also polite to visitors, even those who visit them only at election time. Christopher Ram

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Even Putin of Russia, a power hungry leader, never placed family members in governance DEAR EDITOR, I was flabbergasted when I read that the PPP nomination list contained the names of sons, daughters and wives of the ruling class and most importantly, the obvious dynastic implications to the Guyanese public. In no country on this planet, except Guyana, can the ruling class claim the sole distinction of cementing on their electoral lists, family and friends, to rule, obviously in

perpetuity. Only Saddam Hussein did that and thank God that President Bush threw him out of power ; even Putin of Russia, a power hungry leader, never did place family members in governance. Examine the record and one will see that I never got a job, received any land nor house, never got free-bees nor governmental largess when Jagan was in power; and I was never placed on any elections list either. Jagan

always railed against dynastic politics and nepotism in governance and would never would have put me in any position and he never did. Many times, as I grew up in his household, I heard him dismiss any suggestion that he guide his only son to take over from him, as different people over the years suggested to him. As a matter of fact, I never joined the PPP when Jagan was alive because he felt that

would create wrong impressions in the peoples’ minds; unfortunately, the rulers of Guyana today mean to perpetuate family control over our political processes as long as they can manipulate the traditional PPP voters into voting for “Cheddi’s party”. The PPP leadership claims to be following President Cheddi’s beliefs but the question is: who buys it? Cheddi(Joey)Jagan(Jr.)

For Jagdeo, a PPP victory would herald a further five years of unbridled lust for power DEAR EDITOR, Bharat Jagdeo remains the luckiest man in the history of Guyana. Plucked from obscurity by the Jagans, this man has overseen the most corrupt and venal regime in the history of the Englishspeaking Caribbean and has emerged even more powerful than at any time during his official presidential reign. He desecrated the sacred Hindu marriage vows and for that and for his vindictive treatment towards his “wife” he should have been

hounded out of office. Instead thanks to the servile and craven nature of the party’s core supporters this modern-day Caesar has grown and continued to feed on that meat which makes him so great. The media, the opposition, even the foreign governments have given him a free pass on so many of his atrocities. Now, in the latest campaign he has been a virtual unguided missile in his racist epithets and scurrilous remarks. In his utter contempt for the Guyanese

the man had the temerity to trash the legacy of his benefactors. And not so much as a scent of protest came from Rohee, Ramotar, Luncheon, Teixeira, all of whom owe their very political life and good fortune to Cheddi and Janet. Remarkably he is yet to face a debate and will probably leave public life without so much as a mea culpa. This election is entirely about Jagdeo. A victory would cement his legacy and herald a further 5 years of unbridled lust for power and

fortune. The spoils of victory would redound incredibly to the Jagdeo faction with a smattering of crumbs to their loyal supporters. Defeat and Jagdeo would be banished forever from the annals of the PPP, blasted back to the obscurity to which he richly deserves and justifiably derided as the single solitary reason for the PPP’s ejection from power. His fate, and that of the nation lies, literally, in the hands of the people. Krishna Manjrekar

This surge for change must not be taken for... From page 5 office. Leaders ought not to see themselves as the movers of the people’s struggle for a better way of life, and as such they can use their privileged position to trample and deny citizens and communities their rights. The movers of this struggle are the ordinary man and woman, the rank and file. Gone are days when struggles were centred around charismatic and visionary leaders. Today the struggle is centred around universally acceptable principles and the faster the leaders come to recognise and accept that this is what the tidal wave is built on, it will make their job easier and the desire to hold office

realisable. Coming from the bowels of the trade union, let me remind this nation of three incidents: 1) Charles Carter, a trade union leader in the Linden community at the height of his popularity was seen riding in a company’s vehicle to where the striking workers were gathered after the union and management signed Terms of Resumption. Carter was never given the opportunity to deliver that agreement; he was confronted with a noconfidence motion on the question that the workers have lost trust in him. It was the period when there was total lack of trust among citizens, foreign capital and colonial authority; 2) In April 1966, Winston Mc Kinnon Verbeke, President of the Guyana Mines Workers Union, turned up at Cuffy Square in McKenzie to present to workers an agreement negotiated with DEMBA. This agreement enraged workers who reacted by placing a rope around Verbeke’s neck; 3) In 1961, popular trade unionist, James Downer in Kwakwani failed to carry out a position mandated by the workers, and he was removed at a membership meeting by a vote of no-confidence.

These examples are given for those leaders who live away from the mining community to step back, examine and appreciate the culture of this community when it comes to issues that border on rights and selfdetermination. The bauxite communities are also known for challenging decisions they disagreed with. During the Burnham and Hoyte governments even though the supported the party the challenged their governments and the success of these gentlemen in the bauxite communities is premised on their response in giving comfort to the people’s outcries. The failure of many leaders today is their refusal to be guided by history and this is contributing to a process of stymying the mobilising and galvanising of the young brigade in their quest for change and betterment. Every person affected by the intransigence of the national leaders who incidentally are leading the march for change must not only condemn their wrong doings, but as citizens who are committed to change while we passionately guard the principles, we must pursue with vigour the

achievement of the cause, which is making Guyana a better place. We can only do so if we come out in our numbers on 11th May to conduct that referendum on the Jagdeo/Ramotar leadership. The trade union movement was there before every mass-based political organisation. The trade unionists were there before the local politicians. The trade union movement and unionists will not go away since we have a responsibility to every community within which we operate. Our right to involvement are enshrined in international, regional and local declarations, conventions, charters and laws. Every worker is stipulated to spend 8 hours at the workplace, the remaining 16 is spent within their community. Ours is the responsibility to protect them, on and off the job. The trade union shall hold everyone accountable for respecting universal principles, citizens’ rights and the rule of law, regardless of the party of association. This is the change we want to see and this is what it ought to be. Let us collectively continue our campaign for this change. Lincoln Lewis

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

Regulator, GT&T at odds with rate hikes rejection An application by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) to hike rates for a number of services has resulted in regulators now contemplating an investigation to determine the true value of the assets of the Telephone company. GT&T had applied to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for an increase in rates for some services it provides; a net reduction in outbound rates and the setting of a tariff for certain services for which there had been none. In its ruling last month, PUC said that it had difficulty in arriving at a decision favourable to GT&T and as such dismissed it. “The Commission wishes to inform that in view of doubts relating to the true value of GT&T’s asset base it may consider having an investigation carried out in this regard,” PUC’s Chairman, Justice Prem Persaud and Commissioners Badrie Persaud and Maurice Solomon said in the ruling. On Friday, GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer, Radhakrishna Sharma, said that the PUC order is an outright rejection of its effort to adjust rates – including lowering long distance rates and introducing new and enhanced services for customers – to reflect changes in the market since the last comprehensive rate review over a decade ago. “It’s an unfortunate outcome for consumers, who would have received lower rates and enhanced services, and it’s a lost opportunity to remove a roadblock in the path towards liberalization.” The executive said that GT&T has filed an appeal and will continue to work for changes that allow for the adjusting of rates to reflect today’s market realities and provide more services to consumers. The reason for the application, according to PUC, was that GT&T wanted to give effect to a minimum of 15 per cent return on capital dedicated to public use. The 15 per cent return is provided for under the terms of the licence which provides that GT&T shall be entitled to a minimum rate of return of 15% on capital dedicated to public use. Making contributions to the public hearings on the application were Guyana Consumers’ Association

(GCA), Leonard Craig- a consumer advocate and Valmikki Singh, Chief Executive Officer of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU). According to PUC, GT&T claimed that it suffered a deficit of $738 million and it will need that extra amount to maintain its 15 per cent. PUC said that it was “invariably” told by GT&T that the finances were commingled and separate accounts were not available. The regulator said that its job was not complex- it had to determine whether the company was getting a minimum of 15% which must be calculated on the plant, machinery, among other assets of the company. QUESTIONABLE FIGURES PUC said that GT&T did not submit separate financial statements. “All the revenues and expenses are merged so we do not get a true picture what it costs, say, for the regulated sector to function. We do not have an idea what machinery and plant, and what percentage of them is used for the non- regulated sectors.” PUC said that the Telephone company claimed that in October 2014, it was making a 10 per cent rate of return. “We do not know how much of that is from each sector. The GT&T tells us that anything earned in excess of 15% is permissible—even if they earn 40-50 per cent.” PUC said that the agreement in which GT&T relies to extract their minimum 15 per cent, dated June 18, 1990 provides that GTT establish facilities permitting telephone service along the entire coast from Crabwood Creek to Suddie and in the interior at several locations within three years. “Many persons are not the recipients of the telephone service. GT&T explains that it is awaiting the grant or release of spectrum to provide the service. GT&T has been in operation, by way

of monopoly, for the past 24 years and yet cannot fulfill that obligation which it undertook when the agreement was signed.” The regulator pointed out that there was no condition for the provision of spectrumand being a monopoly for the land line service they choose to ignore the requests of potential consumers, blaming it on “spectrum”. 8,000 LANDLINE APPLICATIONS Craig, the consumer advocate, argued that, among other things GT&T’s landline software had space for expansion but the company has 8000 applications that it is not fulfilling. PUC said that it was pointed out that GT&T could have earned more if it activated those landlines. “GT&T, however, responded that activation of all inactive models would generate only an insignificant income. Even so, such activation would enhance services to consumers.” PUC said it was of the opinion that GT&T was proceeding with its application on the basis that it has a “guarantee”, come hell or high water, to collect its “no less than 15%”. PUC was critical of the fact that thousands of citizens who request and require the land line service do not get it yet millions of US dollars are expended by the company without a business plan in place. “We are not certain of the financial implication if all the unserved consumers were supplied with the service: We urge that the company take steps to fulfill the expectation of all potential consumers in the shortest possible time.” The regulator expressed concern over the US$30M fibre optic cable brought from Suriname a few years ago by the telephone company. PUC said that GT&T was unable to provide details.

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PPP/C PM CANDIDATE EXPOSED FOR $700M Five years ago, the price of gold was beginning to rise and many investors were positioning themselves to cash in on the expected boom. At the time, Guyana was poised for the takeoff. One such investor was a female Canadian Gemologist of Indian origin. She had saved up a few hundred thousand United States dollars and since Guyana was primed for foreign direct investment, the woman immediately jumped at the options available. She travelled to Guyana, which is known for its vast reserves of gold and diamond, with the aim of investing her money even if it meant partnering with a local gold mining company. She met with Prime Minister Sam Hinds who directed her to the executive of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. Hinds also reportedly recommended Reagan Pollard, whom he described as a diamond and gold exporter. “He (Sam Hinds) told me he thought that he (Pollard) was credible,” the woman told this newspaper. She did not question Sam Hinds’s recommendation of Pollard since an official of the GGMC had mentioned him along with a few others during a previous discussion. She also learnt much later that his mother, Elisabeth Harper, was also a senior Government official. She said that she invested US$300,000 and her US partners invested US$2.5 million for a total of US$2.8 million. Coming from North America, where corruption is not the norm and where the rule of law is one of the hallmarks of life, the investors were optimistic that their

- PM Hinds misled foreign investors

Regan Pollard investment would be safe. Their dreams were eventually shattered after the business arrangement with Pollard went sour. It is worthy to note that Reagan Pollard was highly recommended. Now penniless and frustrated, the North American investors are engaged in a legal battle to recover their investments. To make matters worse the person who introduced them to Pollard, Sam Hinds, refused to help them recover their investment when one of them met him in April 2013. Now they are desperately trying to get her to agree to keep the matter out of the media. The saga began in May 2010, when the woman met with Pollard and discussed her idea with him. She must have been convinced that he was the right man to deal with, and after that initial meeting she returned to Guyana on several occasions to meet with him to sort out the arrangements. She even managed to convince some of her business associates in New

York (a hedge fund) to join her in investing in the project. “I told them about Pollard, that he seems to be an honorable guy,” the woman said. As if they needed further convincing, the investors were taken on a trip to the interior where Pollard showed them an operation of dredges in the Puruni River, which he claimed he and a partner owned. The investors were also told by Pollard that he had 19 kilometers of river mining concessions and 17 land claims. The investors were impressed. Pollard advised them that they would need US$3 M to get two dredging operations going. For the purpose, the investors set up a company which they called Puruni LLC, incorporated under the laws of Delaware, USA, with a registered office in New York. According to court papers, on April 17, 2012 Puruni LLC formally entered into a joint venture agreement with Pollard and his company, Reflex Mining Company Inc. for the purposes of operating a dredge or dredges on Pollard’s mining claims. They began wiring money to Pollard and over eight months, they had sent US$2.8M. The money was reportedly wired from Chase Manhattan Bank in New York to a local bank account Pollard operated. While collecting the funds Pollard kept informing the investors that progress was being made, and they waited patiently for their returns on the investment. But eventually they kept

receiving excuses after excuses about why the operation was not producing any gold or diamonds. “It was excuses like, the river was flooded; the generator broke and other things,” the Canadian investor. Sensing that something was amiss, the investors insisted on hiring their own local Accountant to look into the financial aspect of their operations here, however they were never able to be privy to the details of how their money was spent. “Reagan never showed us the books,” the woman told Kaieteur News. Eventually, after two years had elapsed and no significant returns on their investment were forthcoming, the woman and her overseas partners got fed up and began pulling the plug on Pollard. In the court documents, the investors stated that Pollard failed to comply with his obligations under their agreement despite repeated requests made to him. Not wanting to get into a court battle initially, the Canadian woman, who by now was feeling embarrassed for dragging the other investors in, decided to visit Guyana in 2013 to meet with officials to arrange an amicable settlement. She told Kaieteur News that when she told Pollard that she was travelling to Guyana to meet with Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who had recommended him to her in the first place, Pollard allegedly threatened to “make her disappear”, forcing her to seek the assistance of the then Continued on page 64

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Dem boys seh...

Two greedy woman mislead Kwame A store that sells New Husbands has just been opened on Sheriff Street. There a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how this new store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper goes up the stairs. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! Dem boys hear the first day it opened de solid waste woman, Kwame and Gail went to the Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs. This tickle dem mind, but dem continue to the second floor, where the sign reads: Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids. ‘That’s nice,’ dem seh, ‘but we want more.’ Suh dem continue upward. De third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.’ Wow,’ all of dem shout, but again dem ain’t satisfy suh dem feel that dem must keep going up further. Dem end up on de fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help with Housework. ‘Oh, mercy me!’ Kwame cry out. ‘I can hardly stand it!’ Still he follow de solid waste and Gail to de fifth floor and the sign reads: Floor5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak. Kwame was tempted to stay but dem other two wasn’t satisfy and went on looking fuh more. Kwame walk and keep looking down de stairs because he did want to stay there. But Gail holler pun he and seh “Come on. Better upstairs.” Dem reach de sixth floor where the sign reads: Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women and gays like Kwame are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. PLEASE NOTE: To avoid gender bias charges, the store’s owner opened a New Wives store just across the street. The first floor has wives that love sex. The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beers. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited. Talk half and watch how Kwame trying fuh get in back pun any floor except Number 6.

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A fair Judicial system, accountability Presidential and Prime Ministerial can curb violence - Obama candidates agree to public forum By: Kiana Wilburg reporting from Panama City USA President Barack Obama told some of his Presidential colleagues on Friday that part of the problem in dealing with violence is not combining strong security measures with transparency, government accountability and a fair judicial system. These utterrances were made during a sit-down discussion and question and answer segment with InterAmerican Development Bank officials, members of the business community across the world and other distinguished delegations at Hotel RIU in Panama City. The opening of the CEO Summit of the Americas was held there. Obama, during his remarks to the business community touched on the issue of governance and its relationship in providing solutions to deal with violence, a subject which was raised by Panamanian President Juan Varela. While it still remains a problem in many parts of the world, Obama said that “a lot of it has to do with lack of opportunity.” “But part of it also has to do with the difficulties of establishing strong security if we also are not combining that with transparency, with G o v e r n m e n t a c c o u n t a b i l i t y, w i t h a criminal justice system and a judicial system that is perceived as fair and legitimate.” The US President said that work has begun in that regard as he cited that the USA, Brazil and Mexico, are working on “an Open Government Partnership.” This Obama said, makes sure that records are available, and taxpayers understand how their government is spending their money, how contracts are granted and ensuring also that the laws are followed. He told his audience that

USA President Barack Obama this does not only give countries more tools to combat violence, but it also, “…makes investors a lot more interested in investing in a country, if they know what the rules are and they have certainty, and political risk is reduced.” The USA President said that the achievement of this would require Regional cooperation as opposed to the nations working independently on those matters. “The narco-traffickers don’t distinguish between borders…that means we can’t either. And fortunately, we have some outstanding partners who’ve been working together. “Panama is one of our best partners. (Mexican) President Peña Nieto has been doing outstanding work with us and seeing how we can coordinate more effectively. But issues of personal security, reducing corruption, governance - those are economic agendas. Those are not simply security agendas,” Obama stated. The USA President also alluded to his continued commitment towards improving trade between the States and the Latin American Hemisphere as he pointed to the increase in exports by 50 percent since he assumed office in 2009. Obama who seemed proud of this accomplishment , given that the nations were

facing enormous, economic global challenges at the time, noted that the increase in trade is not only an indication of the recovery that was initiated, “…but also the continuing integration that’s going to be taking place in this hemisphere as part of a global process of integration.” He then pointed to some trends surrounding the growing trading market which he believes are inevitable. One he highlighted was technology. Obama expressed that “technology is going to be disruptive.” “But what’s important to recognize is that it’s not just companies like Apple and Google and Facebook that are being transformed by technology. Traditional industries are being changed as well. Small businesses are being changed as well. How we buy, sell, market, all that is shifting. And that’s not going to go away. He said too, that technology can become man’s friend. Obama then spoke briefly about a programme called “100,000 Strong” which seeks to improve the exchanges between students in Latin America and the United States. He said that companies can play an important role in ensuring this is achieved as he also believes that publicprivate partnerships will make these kinds of investments more effective. Another custom he believes the world leaders need to adapt is nations working together to improve infrastructure. “I came from SICA, the meeting of Central American leaders. Their energy costs are typically three times higher than what we pay in the United States. It’s a huge impediment to their development. “To the extent that we can create a single regional energy market, then the costs of production, of transmission, distribution of energy becomes cheaper for all the countries involved, and you get certain economies of scale. “And so part of what a Summit of the Americas can accomplish is to try to work on a regional basis around some key infrastructure projects that will help us all grow,” said Obama. He then spoke to the need for countries to close the widening gap between the rich and the poor. While this exists even as economies continue to grow, Obama said that this is not good for social stability, opportunity, and for business.

The Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates for the two major political parties have agreed to participate in a public forum hosted by the Guyana Women’s Roundtable (GWR) and the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC). According to the organisers, the forum is aimed at allowing the candidates from both the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) and A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, to address youth and women issues. Each political party will have separate days to address the forum at the Theatre Guild, Parade Street, Kingston. The general public will be allowed to participate by pre-submitting questions via email to gnycteam@gmail.com or the GNYC Facebook page by noon April 13 and April 15, respectively. Dawn Stewart, a GWR representative, also explained that all questions will be vetted and compiled so as to avoid repetition at the forum. A handful of persons will also be allowed to ask questions during the forums. Tomorrow, APNU+AFC Presidential candidate, David Granger and Prime Ministerial candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, will have the chance to answer attendees’ questions from 18:00hours. Meanwhile, the PPP/C Presidential and Prime

PPP/C Presidential candidate, Donald Ramotar

APNU+AFC Presidential candidate, David Granger

Ministerial candidates, Donald Ramotar and Elisabeth Harper are set to address the Theatre Guild forum on Wednesday for the same two hours. Each candidate will have the chance to briefly present the visions for Guyana with relation to its human capital. Additionally, discussions will surround a number of topics including crime, justice and violence, health and healthcare, entrepreneurship and employability, education and the inclusion of youth and women in Governance and Democracy. “At the end of the Forum, Candidates will be asked to sign a pledge of commitment to take action on the highlighted issues within the first six months of being in office,” a joint release indicated. GWR has stated that after a political body has been elected to serve Guyana, the organisation plans to

arrange a system where they are able to meet with the newly elected members of Parliament. This will serve to reevaluate projects and continue to educate the public on civic participation and empowerment of women. While this initial forum will have participants from the two main competing parties, Dr Dawn Stewart, event organiser from GWR, revealed to this publication the group is open to include the smaller parties in future forums. “We are operating in accordance with GECOM’s (Guyana Elections C o m m i s s i o n ) recommendation,” said Dr Stewart when asked why other Political parties were not involved in the forum. She said that once the final list of party candidates are confirmed the GNYC will continue with further forums to include outlying parties.

Govt. objects to UNDP engaging GECOM over elections disputes Government has issues with the procedure taken by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to facilitate a highlevel panel of eminent persons, to assist with mediation and electoral disputes resulting from the May 11 General and Regional Elections. Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon explained Friday that whilst the initiative is not without merit, UNDP should h a v e b e e n s e eking to engage central government instead of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to get buy-in for the initiative. “The procedure ought to be UNDP’s approaching Central Government on these matters, instead of an independent original foray to GECOM; furthermore the administration contends that this is not exactly GECOM’s cup of tea.” According to a

Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon Government statement, Dr. Luncheon during his weekly press briefing pointed out that GECOM is constitutionally charged with managing elections and this venture into mediation of

possible conflicts arising during or as a result of the elections “is not GECOM’s business.” ”So where the eminent personalities or eminent persons’ initiative is concerned, the PPPC Administration contends that it is misdirected to GECOM in the first place and should be brought to Central Government with whom UNDP should and must engage,” he said. According to Dr. Luncheon, historically this is the way it has been, and that any stakeholder approaching Central Government on initiatives of this sort would then be visited with some sort of response and on the basis of that response would then proceed with its proposed initiative.

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APNU+AFC now suffering from Jagdeo’s unfair gifting of radio stations Former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s controversial approval of radio licences to especially close friends and party members in 2011, is coming back to haunt the Opposition, big time. The first report of the elections watchdog body, the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), for the period of March 1 to March 31, 2015 is out. Coverage by the new radio stations monitored, revealed that they were overwhelmingly in favour of the Government and the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Four radio stations were monitored- NTN 89.1 FM owned by Anand Persaud; IRadio 90.1 Love FM owned by the sister of Minister Robert Persaud; 93.1 Real FM owned by Maxwell Thom and the Government-owned NCN 102.5FM. MMU did not explain, in its report, why it did not monitor Radio Guyana Inc. (RGI) 89.5/87.5 FM, a radio station owned by Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, and accused of being heavily biased in favor of Government. The first three stations were the ones approved by Jagdeo. According to the MMU

Bharrat Jagdeo

Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’

Anand Persaud

Bibi Shadick, Chairperson of the Broadcasting Authority

report issued this week, NTN 89.1 radio news gave Government and the PPP/C more than 75 percent coverage with only a small portion going to the Opposition’s A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC). Its general programmes were 100 percent positive for Government during the period March 1- March 31. With regards to IRadio 90.1FM, its general programming was 97 percent coverage for Government and PPP/C with three percent coverage, all negative, for the APNU+AFC. That station while its newscasts gave Government and the PPP/C some 70 percent coverage, did allow some amount of positive for the Opposition - 10 percent.

The talk shows/ interviews were more positive to the Opposition, giving them 39 percent positive coverage and 26 percent negative. Government and the PPP/C received 19 percent coverage. The general programming of Thom’s 93.1 FM gave Government full coverage, with nothing for the Opposition. Its news gave Government 60 percent positive coverage with the Opposition the rest. The state-owned 102.5 FM news saw Government and the PPP/C receiving 70 percentage of the coverage with APNU+AFC receiving 22 percent negative. The station’s talk shows and interviews did not include the Opposition. Only

14 percent of the content were deemed negative to Government. In term of 102.5 FM general programmes, some 88 percent of them concentrated on Government issues with 12 percent considered negative coverage for the Opposition. The issue of new radio stations was an embarrassing one for the Donald Ramotar administration after revelations that Jagdeo bypassed a standing agreement with the Opposition and unilaterally granted several radio and cable licences to not only his friends but also to close party members and even to the ruling PPP newspaper, The Mirror. It was widely seen as part

of a bigger plan by Jagdeo to gain control of the airwaves. Several prominent media houses were ignored by Jagdeo, leading to condemnation locally and internationally, and to protests. Among those granted approvals for radio licences were Telcor & Cultural Broadcasting Inc, the former owner of IRadio 90.1 FM, the company closely linked to Minister Persaud. Also granted five frequencies were Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Jagdeo’s close buddy. He was allowed also to buy over a television Channel (28) from its former owner Tony Vieira under controversial circumstances. The Mirror, owned by the

Former Army Chief, Gary Best, endorses APNU+AFC In what is being considered a bombshell announcement, former army chief, Rear Admiral (rtd) Gary Best has endorsed the Opposition coalition for the upcoming May 11 polls. It will be one of the biggest catch for the A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) front. In a statement, Best said that the coalition is the best choice to manage Guyana. “I wish to go on record as endorsing the APNUAFC coalition as the best political party capable of managing the affairs of our country now and in the future. This is indeed an ATeam. Each of these two political parties worked vigorously, though independently, to put an end to division in our country.” He said that the parties’ bold decision to work together is not only manifest of a deep commitment to unity politics, and unity

Former Army Chief, Rear Admiral (rtd) Gary Best leadership, but also the beginning of a movement for unity in everything Guyana will do as a nation. “We should all join in this effort. In this context, the expressed intentions of the APNU-AFC coalition in governing Guyana under the rubric of Transparency, Unity, Equity, Security, Youth Development and Women Empowerment accord with my own socio-political and

nationalistic views, as a citizen, in this country.” He said that he has every confidence that Presidential Candidate, Brigadier David Granger will act fairly, justly and equitably in handling the affairs of the nation. “Equally too, is my confidence that Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo will be transparent, fair and compassionate in the day-today management of our nation’s business. I wish the APNU-AFC coalition success at the 2015 elections and urge every voter to vote APNU-AFC. It is time for change.” Best is an attorney-atlaw also who graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School, University of London and University of West Indies. He worked for over three decades with the Guyana Defense Force, rising to become Chief-of-Staff for six years before retiring in September 2013.

PPP, was also granted five frequencies through Dharamkumar Seeraj, a senior member of the ruling party. Single frequencies were granted to Thom, singer Rudy Grant, Hits and Jams, and NTN, among others. The approvals came two months after signing the Broadcast Act in September 2011. It was not until months later that the regulatory Broadcast Authority was appointed and even then, it was lined with government MPs, and other party officials. The granting of licences has been roundly condemned by media associations. Several media houses like HBTV, Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, RBS Channel 13, CNS Channel 6, MBC Channel 46, WRHM Channel 7, GWTV 2 and Capitol News, were among those that complained about being sidelined by Jagdeo. The Opposition had expressed alarm over the licences, saying that the stations will be used as propaganda weapons against them. Since those approvals by Jagdeo, Government has not issued any other radio licence, with the Broadcasting Authority continuously saying it is considering new applications.

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MMU urges reporters not to allow politics to trump their professionalism As it published its first report on coverage of the 2015 elections campaign, the Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has taken at least three print media houses to task over their reportage over the past month. The report, released last Tuesday, came just over a month before General and Regional Elections and noted the imbalances between the negative and positive coverage offered by various media houses in the lead up to May 11. The political entities covered in the recently released document are the government, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) and A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC). According to the report, a cursory sweep of the more serious infringements of the MCC committed by media houses over the duration of this reporting period showed that the violations included, but were not limited to the following: peddling of unsubstantiated information, misrepresentation/distortion of facts, and publication/ airing of language that was inflammatory, racially divisive/inciting. In this vein, the MMU urged reporters to not allow the politics of the day to trump their professionalism. In the print media, citations were the order of the day for the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper for the publication of two editorials that were “blatantly inflammatory” and a letter that was deemed racially divisive. The Guyana Times, which has long been touted as a progovernment entity, also came under fire for an inflammatory article. The newspaper was also accused of a distortion of facts and the publication of a “racially divisive and distorted” article. The MMU based its criticisms on a self-regulatory

…roasts Guyana Times, Chronicle over publications

Media Code of Conduct (MCC) that media houses earlier this year signed on to guide reporting of political, social, governance and electoral issues, in the run-up to and after the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections. GUYANACHRONICLE The Guyana Chronicle, Guyana’s state-owned newspaper, came under criticism for its progovernment slant in its editorials and articles. The MMU stated that neither the government nor the PPP/C came in for any negative comments from Guyana Chronicle. On the other hand, APNU+AFC received a large dose of negative publicity by the newspaper’s editorial writers. The MMU made specific reference to the newspaper’s March 10 editorial captioned, “Make the right decisions on May 11”. The MMU took issue with the editorial department of the newspaper for the “general tone of the editorial, the unsubstantiated allegations made therein, and its unmistakably inflammatory nature.” “For starters, it did not miss our attention that in a somewhat devious ploy to justify what came after, the

editorial started off by making specious and unsubstantiated allegations of a violent nature against the Opposition political parties, namely APNU and AFC,” MMU stated in its report. The body went on to say that the writer then conjures up a dismal future for Guyana should the coalition accede to Government. It said, too, that the staff members of the MMU are of the collective opinion that the editorial measured by any journalism standard, much less the MCC, was politically extremist and telegraphed a pernicious and sinister intent to create unnecessary fear, tension and insecurity in the country. “In every respect also, it was antithetical to good order, peace and stability – the pre-requisites for a smooth and trouble-free elections process,” the MMU said. The newspaper’s March 14, 2015 editorial captioned, “Participatory leadership” was also accused of being blatantly negative towards the opposition. The unit said it observed that the writer penned a discursive narrative touching on a number of issues. It noted that for the most part it was scathingly critical of the PNC and AFC on one hand and highly praiseworthy

of former president, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and the PPP/C, on the other. Nothing, it said, is wrong with that. Commendably, the writer, in the latter paragraphs of the editorial, provided examples where the PPP/C and the Opposition political parties worked together in the best interest of the country. “However, inexplicably, it all fell apart in the final paragraph, where it was written, ‘The hardcore veterans whose charter includes utilization of all the Machiavellian strategies contained in the diabolical X-13 Plan are making the nation cry rivers of blood while the voice of reason has been silenced in the thunder of the canons that devastate the nation’s hope for a brighter future.’” The MMU said that it tried in vain to figure out the connecting thread between the preceding paragraphs in the editorial and the gist of the final one as quoted. “For us, the last paragraph represented a quantum shift by the writer, from keeping within the bounds of propriety to bizarrely nose-diving into the pits of the unsubstantiated and inflammatory,” the MMU said. The body also found the language used in the final

paragraph disturbing. It is expressed in the present tense, giving the impression as it is, that the country is currently in some kind of dystopian state of internal upheaval spawned by bloodletting (“…the nation cry rivers of blood…”), when, in fact, such a scenario is far removed from reality. “The Unit further noted that there was an uncanny similarity with the view expressed in the final paragraph of the editorial and the ‘Cry river of blood’ theme imbedded in the newspaper’s March 10, 2015 editorial.” It said that it gives one the ineluctable impression that the newspaper’s editorial writer(s) has/have a fiendish fascination, nay, obsession, with extolling narratives of societal mayhem and gore, unmindful of the potential negative consequences of such indelicate penmanship. “And in light of this observation, we asked ourselves the question: What does the management of the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper hope to gain by sanctioning the publication of editorial views/opinions intended to drive fear of a violent kind into the minds of citizens?” The Unit concluded that the editorial, or more specifically, the highlighted part thereof was spurious, unsubstantiated, and inflammatory, and should have been excised from the leader in keeping with Section B 2(C) and E (2) of the MCC, which separately forbid publication in the media of inflammatory language and unsubstantiated statements. The Guyana Chronicle also came under scrutiny for a letter published in the Friday, March 13, 2015 issue of the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper captioned: “In support of Mr. Jagdeo’s comments at Babu John” written by someone using the nom-de-plume of “Concerned Guyanese”. Analysing the contents

of the letter, the MMU’s deconstruction of this artifice in letter-form, led us to the informed conclusion that the letter as published, was unsubstantiated, inflammatory, and racially divisive, and its publication in the Guyana Chronicle Newspaper contravened Sections B (1), B 2 (C), and B (4) of the MCC. GUYANATIMES Observing that the Guyana Times had offered mostly positive coverage to the PPP/C, the MMU said its attention was drawn to an article it published on March 6, last captioned “Granger pushes envelope on incitement.” It said that in the article, which featured on page 14, it is alleged that the leader of the Opposition Coalition told a large rally in Linden on March 14, 2015 that it was the PPP/C that had killed exsoldier, Courtney CrumEwing. The MMU said that after carefully going through the article in its entirety, the Unit found three instances where Granger was directly quoted by the newspaper. The first and second quotes states “I feel hurt. I feel wounded… Courtney was the first to fall” and “He was killed because he had a bullhorn in his hand…was executing his constitutional rights and was silenced.” While the third quote read that Granger said he was deeply hurt over CrumEwing’s murder and pointed fingers directly at the governing party for the man’s execution as he told the persons gathered that he was convinced Crum-Ewing’s death was the result of the actions of the “rulers of darkness.” [Emphasis MMU]. “The Unit found in the above evidence that the reporter who wrote the article fallaciously construed the term “rulers of darkness” allegedly used by Mr. Granger Continued on page 61

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Useful steps for dealing with animal bites By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Animal bites are a health hazard worldwide. The impacts of animal bites are dependent on the type and health of the species, the size and health of the bitten person, and accessibility to appropriate care. Domestic pets are involved in most incidents. Dogs are more likely to bite than cats. Cat bites, however, are more likely to cause infection, because they are usually puncture wounds and can’t be thoroughly

More madness is going to occur. A gunman who is paid to attack people is going to attack a city resident who will escape. However, the public will conclude that there is more on the mortar than in the pestle. The victim will refuse to comment on the attack, leaving people to conclude that he is into something that is much larger than he anticipated. ** Road accidents appeared to be on the decline, but with the death of two young

cleaned. Bites from nonimmunized domestic animals and wild animals carry the risk of rabies. Rabies is more common in bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes than in cats and dogs. Rabbits, squirrels and other rodents rarely carry rabies This week we will focus on bites from non-venomous animals, especially those that are kept as pets. The most common complication from an animal bite is wound infection. Infected wounds can become septic if untreated and can lead to loss of life.

Knowing what to do if you are bitten may prevent unnecessary complications from a bite. The following steps should be helpful in case you or someone you know gets bitten. COMPRESS IF BLEEDING If the site of the bite is bleeding continuously, then there is a higher probability that a blood vessel was damaged. Compressing the actively bleeding wound will prevent unnecessary blood loss until you can access medical attention. WASH THE WOUND

children one would suddenly remember that children are the vulnerable ones. Another child will become a victim because of youthful

impatience. The child will attempt to cross the road, unaware of the speeding motorist who cared nothing other than to get to his destination. ** A fraud investigation that had been simmering for a long time will suddenly hit the spotlight. Two prominent people would be fingered and the public would then say that many people suspected that this was happening, but they all said nothing.

Animals are known to have large amounts of bacteria in their saliva. These bacteria can cause serious infections. It is therefore best to wash the wound with soap and water to minimize the bacteria presence. Avoid exploring the wound and wash with clean running water. Use at least 24 litres. USEANTIBIOTIC CREAM/OINTMENT Application of over-thecounter antibiotic creams/ ointments will help minimize the chances of infection developing. GETATETANUS VACCINE If you haven’t had a tetanus vaccine in the past 10 years then you are at a higher risk of acquiring tetanus from the bite and you should get a tetanus vaccine at your nearest Health Centre. Persons are required to have a tetanus booster vaccine every 5 years. YOU SHOULD SEEK MEDICALATTENTION WHEN… • The wound is a deep puncture or you’re not sure how serious it is. • The skin is badly torn and bleeding significantly • You notice increasing swelling, redness, pain or oozing, which are warning

signs of infection. • You have questions about your risk of rabies or about rabies prevention. If the bite was caused by a cat or a dog, try to confirm that its rabies vaccination is up to date. If the bite was caused by a wild animal, seek advice from your doctor about which animals are most likely to carry rabies. • Your immunization is not up to date. • There is weakness or numbness to the area distal to the bite wound. • Your wound is contaminated with dirt/debris • You have underlying conditions such as HIV, diabetes, sickle cell disease, etc. • There is excessive pain, swelling and/ fever after being bitten. • There is excessive bleeding from the wound causing dizziness, weakness etc. As we continue to share our space with both wild and domestic animals, we will continue to put ourselves at risk of being bitten. Knowing how to manage an episode of animal bite can prevent lifethreatening complications. If you do get bitten and you’re not sure of the outcome, your best chance of improvement lies with seeing a doctor.

Dr. Zulfikar Bux (Dr Zulfikar Bux is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Vanderbilt Uinversity and Medical Center and holds the position of Head of the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.)

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Sunday April 12, 2015

The hairdresser, the husband and the ‘hit-man’ By Michael Jordan Joseph Cummings awoke to a woman’s screams of ‘rape’ and ‘murder’ at around one o’clock on Sunday, May 9, 2010. The screams and a tumbling sound were coming from the apartment of his neighbours, 23-year-old Bibi Rafeena Saymar, a hairdresser, and her 55-year-old reputed husband, Dennis Persaud. Nothing unusual there, Cummings thought; just one of the couple’s usual fights. But when he peered outside and failed to see the husband’s vehicle, he realised that Saymar’s spouse was not at home. An intruder was attacking the hairdresser. The screams eventually subsided and Cummings then saw a man coming down the steps. It definitely wasn’t Saymar’s husband. This man was dreadlocked, slim, and, in Cummings’ estimation, about five feet seven inches tall. The stranger headed east before disappearing from view. After the man had left, and convinced that something was terribly wrong, Joseph Cummings emerged from his home and told his neighbours that “something happen to the girl upstairs.” One of the neighbours was Shereena Madramootoo, who lived in the flat below Bibi Saymar’s. She called the police. Saymar’s husband arrived about fifteen minutes later in his pickup. Cummings would later state that he stopped Dennis Persaud and told him: “something happen to your wife.” Persaud reportedly said: “What? What?” and Cummings again said: “Something happen to your wife!” Persaud reportedly then parked, locked the vehicle and put on the alarm before heading to the couple’s apartment. But shortly after, he ran back downstairs and shouted: “Y’all come, she on the floor.” Cummings and other neighbours accompanied Persaud back to the flat. There they saw Bibi Rafeena Saymar lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was still alive and was groaning and pleading for help. Despite her injuries, she managed to describe her attacker by ancestry. The neighbours then took the badly injured woman outside. By then, the police had arrived, but their vehicle got stuck in a ditch. Neighbours helped to put Saymar in her reputed husband’s pickup and he took her to the Leonora Cottage Hospital. The police eventually returned with the reputed husband in their vehicle and told the neighbours that the woman

Freed: The husband, Dennis Persaud had succumbed. A post mortem would later show that she had sustained at least eleven stab wounds. From that point, things became decidedly strange. Almost from the onset, police suspected that this was more than just a violent home invasion. They believed that Saymar’s reputed husband, a Canada-based Guyanese businessman, had plotted her death. Investigators received reports that the victim had endured an abusive relationship. They immediately placed the husband in custody. Their theory was that Dennis Persaud had provided himself with an alibi by hiring someone to kill his wife. And it appeared that the investigators were on the right track. The following day, detectives detained a young Charlestown resident in the vicinity of the Demerara Harbour Bridge. They alleged that the 22-year-old man, identified as Troy Green, had gone there under the impression that he would have met Dennis Persaud, and would have collected a sum of money from Persaud for killing the man’s wife. Police later claimed that Green gave a statement, in which he confessed to killing Bibi Rafeena Saymar. A few days later, the husband and his alleged hit-man were charged. Dennis Persaud smiled that day as he entered the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court. He smirked, even as they accused him of murdering his wife. I watched him, still smiling, as they ordered him remanded, while Troy Green, the man they said he had paid to do the job, sat

Freed: Alleged hit man, Troy Green

Dennis Persaud’s attorney, the late Vic Puran nearby looking lost and dejected. I thought that it was all bravado, a show for us onlookers, and I thought that Dennis Persaud’s smile would

vanish the minute he stepped through the gates at Camp Street Prison and rubbed shoulders with his newfound companions within its confines. Now I think I know why Dennis Persaud smiled that day. Maybe he’d known, even then, how this case would play out. By January 28, 2013, I had quite forgotten about the murdered hairdresser. Then I got a call that shocked me: Dennis Persaud had been released from prison. It didn’t seem possible. I couldn’t call Persaud’s attorney, Vicramadictya ‘Vic’ Puran. He had died in a quite bizarre accident. I decided to check with the lawyer ’s daughter, Mishka Puran, who had represented Troy Green. She confirmed that Persaud was no longer in prison. What had happened was that after Persaud and Green

Bibi Rafeena Saymar: Was a hit-man hired to kill her? were committed to stand trial in the High Court, Persaud’s attorney, ‘Vic’ Puran, filed a motion with Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang to have the case quashed on the grounds that the court lacked sufficient evidence to charge his client. The Chief Justice ruled in favour of Puran and the accused husband was released. Persaud immediately high-tailed it back to Canada. But what of the accused hit-man, Troy Green? Mishka Puran, who was his attorney during the preliminary hearing, was no longer representing him. The alleged hit-man was left to face

the music. And he couldn’t afford an attorney. He had one, slim life-line: Chief Justice Chang had also ordered that Green be subjected to a new preliminary inquiry. This was held at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court, and the magistrate hearing the matter eventually ruled that the State had a case. That meant that Green’s case would be heard before a judge and jury in the High Court. Green still couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer. The state appointed Attorney-at-Law Peter Hugh to represent him. In his testimony, Joseph (Continued on page 30)

Bibi Saymar was butchered in this house

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Civilization in Guyana is deeply disturbing One of the most sickening feelings that ever came over me in my entire life occurred last week in Guyana. And trust me, I have seen deeply disturbing aspects of human nature. I was once caught in the middle of a war with the American invasion of Grenada and saw dead bodies literally yards away from where I lived. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever Homo sapiens are inherently flawed. But I cling to the faith of human redemption tenaciously. I guess Jean-Paul Sartre would say what else have we got to believe in. But no matter how optimistic we are about the Human Condition, there are times the angst permeates your psyche and you are left devoid of hope. I read in the newspaper where one of the Caribbean’s richest families, right here in Guyana, bought a certain business operation for twenty-five million American dollars. That would be about five billion, 50 million Guyana dollars. This is a small family that is luxuriating in wealth. It was reported in a letter in the media about the way this wealthy family treats workers. The employees have to pay for the toilet paper and hand-sanitizer that are used in the washrooms in their business place. I made mention of this horrible practice twice in my columns

and not one member from the government side or the opposition or the trade union movement or civil society even attempted a half comment much less a condemnation. The vendors of Bourda Market complained to me of what a cheap devil two of the members of this rich family are. She and her sister would question the price of everything they want to buy. It is an experience beyond imagination to see how these two cheap creatures haggle over the price of fruits and vegetables. One day I was lucky to arrive at one of the stands just after one of the sisters left. The lady vendor was all in a rage about how she kept insisting on a reduction. The poor seller said to me, “Mr. Kissoon, we don’t make anything on these fruits.” In 2006 when I was building my home, I didn’t know which dimension of screws I had to get for a particular job on the interior of the construction. My wife’s cousin was directing the operation but he was a full-time manager at the Hotel Tower, so he was not always around. I went to the store of this family and asked to have two different types of screws. Fortunately the head man of this family was at the counter. I told him I was just hopping over to the Hotel Tower to show my cousin the

two screws so he can select the right one. Brace yourself for how disturbed is civilization in Guyana. He agreed for me to take the two screws and return, but he said I must leave twenty dollars with him. Each screw was worth about one dollar. I gave him a hundred dollar bill. I guess it was his right to insist that I could not take two screws from his place. I guess the two sisters have a right to haggle over the prices they pay the vendors. But trade union laws require employers to provide a hospitable working environment. I

haven’t done the research, but I believe it is a nasty trade human violation for employers to coerce workers to pay for soap and toilet paper for use on the premises. Many times I would see the patriarch of the family on the seawall and when we get close to each other, I would turn my face. Just as it is his right to refuse to loan me two screws, it is my right to determine which human being I find to be guilty of living a flawed life. The trouble with this country is how lost it has become. It is as if civilization

no longer exists in this place. Not one voice was ever raised about this toilet paper scandal. That would not occur in any other country. Not one of my friends called me to mount a picket against this family business. I am still at a loss to understand how unconcerned were the leaders of our trade union movement over this violation. So this family just bought a business operation for twenty-five million American dollars but the workers in their business place have to pay for the toilet paper they

Frederick Kissoon use in the store. And we Guyanese will continue to patronize that retail trade of this family. Really, what kind of Homo sapiens occupy a piece of land on Planet Earth called Guyana.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday April 12, 2015

The miracle of motherhood (This is a modified version of the article that was first published on May 12, 2013) It is a modern-day miracle that many mothers manage their families on their meagre earnings in the face of massive impediments in Guyana today. Mothers’ wellbeing is under serious stress. Measured against five indicators –poverty level, cost of living, household income, children’s formal schooling and children’s post-schooling employment – the quality of life of many mothers and their families can be described as low. Poverty is growing. The number of homeless and destitute persons continues to rise. The People’s Progressive Party Civic administration, instead of introducing measures to reduce poverty, seems bent on increasing the number of institutions to house the poor. These include building drop-in centres for street children, night shelters for the

homeless and, most recently, the Venezuelan-funded ‘Centre for Rehabilitation and Integration’ for the destitute. Poverty impacts significantly on the wellbeing of mothers and babies across the country. It is a well-known fact that children born to mothers living in poverty – among whom are mothers who head single-parent households are prominent – face the greatest challenges to everyday survival. Poverty reduction ought to be an important measure to lift the living standards of women and children in the poorest communities, but this has not been an important feature of PPP policy. The cost of living continues to soar. The PPP administration, however, has rejected the demands of A Partnership for National Unity for across-the-board salary increases to public servants – many of whom are women and some of whom can still be described as “the employed poor.” The administration has also refused to reduce the rate of

the value-added tax and raise the threshold for personal income tax. The reduction in the tax rate to 30 per cent might benefit a few middleincome earners, but will have no impact on poor people’s pay packets. The cost of caring babies and children consumes most poor mothers’ monthly wages. Little is left for medical and other emergencies and nothing at all for savings. The decrease in public sector employment where women account for over half of the total workforce; the increase in casual, marginal low-paid work – as cleaners, domestics, security guards and waitresses and the proliferation of street vending – has worsened women’s position in the labour market. Women, moreover, tend to live longer than men. They are most likely to spend a great part of their lives as pensioners today. The miserly increase in old-age pension at a stage of life when medical costs are highest, will ensure that they will be more likely

than men to live in poverty in their mid-60s and beyond. Women, mostly mothers, are also daughters and are liable to get stuck in an intergenerational rut between husbands and children on the one hand and elderly parents on the other. Women are more likely than men to feel obliged to give up work to look after aging or disabled parents. Guyana’s population is aging and, with more persons living beyond 70 years, the need for caregivers will grow, not shrink. The PPP-administered primary health care system is failing women, children and the aged. The primary health care system is meant to promote equity and social justice. All Guyanese - whether they live on the coastland or in the hinterland, in town or village or whether they are poor or rich – should have access to good health care. The PPP, however, seems unable to solve the problems facing health administration. It is now freely admitted that Guyana’s targets to achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals - MDGs- Four and Five, which concern the reduction of both maternal and infant mortality rates, are unlikely to be met by 2015. A plethora of problems plague the national primary health care system. Administrative incapacity is the severest systemic impediment to the delivery of health care. The Minister of Health lamented, “We are

somewhat alarmed at the level of Cabinet about the maternal mortality deaths…” The Cabinet Secretary added cynically, “I think we will have to prepare ourselves to obtain a report from this expert group [on a recent maternal death] in an ‘untimely’ way. We won’t get it tomorrow or next week… That is where our dissatisfaction lies.” Many women cannot find jobs in Guyana’s peculiar economy, which the government claims is growing, but where employment opportunities are shrinking. Young mothers in increasing numbers have been travelling to the Eastern Caribbean in search of work. Their contribution of ‘remittances’ to support their families and as an element in the gross national income is substantial, but is also a symptom of social issues which could have an adverse, long-term impact on their children’s upbringing. Young school leavers might have been given academic education, practical skills and a social orientation. The economy, however, does not provide employment opportunities for them. The problem of the relatively high rate of teenage pregnancies aggravates the ‘motherhood’ problem. Schoolgirls who become pregnant and bear children are likely to find it more difficult to get good jobs and to rear their offspring. The jobs crisis is real and is only getting wider and

deeper. Working mothers, once they receive their wages, have to stretch and spread their earnings thinly just to afford food as expenses rise. A poor mother is obliged to return to work soon after her baby is born in order to retain her job, but doing so risks impairing the child’s prospects in later life. Children of poor mothers or in single-parent households are more likely to do worse at school and to become involved in juvenile delinquency than youngsters whose mothers are comfortable enough to be able to stay at home to bring them up. They are more likely to drop out of primary and secondary school and will be at greater risk of unemployment as young adults after their partial or interrupted schooling. It is no wonder that the Director of Prisons disclosed that young people comprise 75 per cent of the prison population. Guyana is cramming its prison with hundreds of young inmates. Magistrates compound the problem by incarcerating several young mothers convicted of minor marijuanarelated offences. The cost of ignoring the issues of motherhood today will be an expensive social catastrophe in the not too distant future. Guyana, perhaps, has become one of the worst countries in the Caribbean for poor mothers. Getting by is really a miracle!

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

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MY COLUMN

There are still many monsters in our midst There was a time when parents simply let their children go out and play without worry; well not all the time, because back in the 1960s there was a serial killer who operated as a handyman while he kept an eye out for an unattended child. While he was operating, parents began to keep an eye on their children. Great police work led to his capture, but not before he had killed seven children across the country. A colleague reminded me of a saying that a vampire cannot enter your home unless you invite it. Of course, my colleague is into things supernatural, so that observation would not have been far from his mind. The nine-year-old was said to be going to fly his kite when the monster tripped him up and abducted him. I will not go into the sordid details of the child’s last moments, but I can say that whoever effected the capture did the society a great favour. Yet this monster is only one. I was in office when a reporter showed me photographs of a burn victim. The woman was so badly burnt that the doctors have concluded that she cannot live. Her eyes were burnt out of her skull and there was no part of her body that was not destroyed. On Friday, I was

surprised when the reporter told me that she spoke. The initial reaction was that the woman had set herself on fire. Immediately, I concluded that she had to be a mad woman. I was wrong. When the woman spoke on Friday she said that her paramour was the one who set her alight. I am not a violent person, but immediately I wished all kinds of horror on the beast who could do that to any human being, much less a woman who shared his bed and was prepared to bear his children. The man is in custody and he is going to be treated humanely because the United Nations Human Rights Convention so dictates. Society is going to give him the chances he never gave the woman. And I will be among those who will be paying for his comfort. The most vivid example of the vampire being invited was reflected in the case of the Buxton woman who was dismembered. This woman actually invited her killer into her home and had him doing work around the place. She provided him with food and shelter. The society is still stunned. Decency prevented the media from displaying the grisly sight that the killer left. In any case, sometimes I conclude that there are

people in the society who are farces. They want to pronounce on cruelty, but they refuse to see the extent of the cruelty. The jurors who are going to pronounce on the killer will never see the scene that caused the man from being taken before them. And to think that the police were hunting this man. His photograph was never posted to alert people. It was the same with the Kaneville killer who managed to flee to Berbice to live a normal life until he died in a car accident. He too was living among people who never suspected that he was a wanted man. Of course his relatives would have known, but as my mother would say, “Every hen cares for her chick.” The mother would not have given up her dearly beloved son who was a borderline saint in her eyes. I am left to wonder if she would bury him. And no more than a month ago someone killed a 14-year-old girl and left her

naked body on the Kitty foreshore. At 14 a child has not even begun to appreciate the joys of youth which one writer said, is wasted on the young. There have been other cases of cruelty that were so shocking that people were actually able to push the information from their minds. During the crime wave, there was the case of gunmen chasing a man who sought to go up the stairs of a woman he didn’t even know. Suffice it to say, the woman did not know him and did not open her doors. The gunmen caught up with this fellow and killed him. We had the case of bodies being burnt in a car trunk. This was so shocking that people did not talk about it until someone would remind them a few years later. There was the man, who for what he called love, brutally killed some people including the man who was said to be sleeping with his

estranged wife. This man killed a little girl by severing her head; he killed her grandmother, and he narrowly missed the woman because despite being severely injured, she kept her cool and hid under a step while the killer stood above her looking into the darkness for her. When one thinks of such cruelty one is astounded that people could descend to such levels. There is another matter before the courts but I cannot help but comment. There was this man who had a problem with his wife who left home to go about her business. The man become so incensed that he whipped out a cutlass and slaughtered his children as they slept. Even as I write I shudder, because I have children of my own, and at no time when I saw them sleeping was there anything but love in my heart. I got news that the prisoners exacted some

Adam Harris revenge on this man when he joined them in Camp Street. While there has been no word, I am certain that the man who killed the nine-year-old has either got his dose or will soon, no matter what. And what makes matters even scarier is that there are still many monsters in our midst. Two men had their throats slit on the seawalls. Their killers are still at large despite the passage of some years. And we wonder why people hasten to leave this land which can offer so much, but for the absence of protection.

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Sunday April 12, 2015

Teenage Pregnancy can be controlled By Sheba Thomas Youths For Change It is estimated that about 16 million girls between the ages of 15 to 19, and some one million girls under 15 years, give birth every year, with most of them coming from low and middle income countries (World Health Org). According to the State of the World Population 2013 report, Guyana has the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in both the Caribbean and South America with 97 out every 1000 girls between the ages of 15-19 giving birth. Nearly all teen pregnancies are unplanned. That is, teens say they did not want to get pregnant or cause a pregnancy. That alone is reason enough to care about

preventing teen pregnancy. But, it is also the case that teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social issues - poverty and income, overall child well-being, outof-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood, health issues, education, child welfare, and other risky behaviour. There are also substantial public costs associated with adolescent child-bearing. Consequently, teen pregnancy should be viewed not only as a reproductive health issue, but as one that encompasses all of the aforementioned. It is therefore necessary to understand the associated risk and preventative factors in order to appropriately implement prevention efforts, as these factors occur in multiple domains.Teen pregnancy can

result in a number of negative consequences such as; teen mothers are more than likely to drop out of high schools than females who delay having children, resulting in social isolation from their peer group. Only 41% of teens who gave birth before age 15 graduate from secondary school as compared to the 61% who delayed childbirth. With an incomplete education teenage mothers may lack necessary job skills and are more likely to live in poverty which can lead to a cycle of poverty for that child. Teen mothers are more at risk for increased exposure to domestic abuse and violence. Children born to teenage mothers are at greater risk for abuse and neglect, increased risk of developmental delay and learning disabilities, and

are less likely to receive early and continuing cognitive and social stimulation, resulting in underdeveloped intellect and lower rates on academic achievement. Girls born to teenage mothers are 22% more than likely to become teenage mothers. By preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy, we can significantly improve other serious social problems including poverty (especially child poverty), child abuse and neglect, father-absence, low birth weight, school failure, and poor preparation for the workforce. Under an APNU+AFC government, teenage women of Guyana can look forward to better livelihood as we will put measures in place to eradicate poverty and rebuild morals by improving the lives of young people and strengthening communities to better understand and cope with reducing teen

pregnancy. An APNU+AFC government will ensure and secure the health of our young people, especially our young women, by making sure our health care system is more youthfriendly and appropriate. The coalition will guarantee educational opportunities are provided to all women from primary to secondary by establishing remedial programmes for women with special focus on literacy, numeracy and matriculation. An APNU+AFC government will ensure the school curriculum addresses specific issues related to sex education, women’s rights and family planning to better combat teen pregnancy. An APNU-AFC administration will provide economic empowerment to young single teen mothers by establishing and conducting skills training programmes and match those trained with private and public employers, and by providing child benefit allowance per month. The APNU+AFC alliance will move beyond paying lipservice to taking practical measures to ensure our young women can realize their full potential. Reforming our education system to bring it in line with developed countries is our objective. It is only by educating our

Sheba Thomas people that we can hope to raise this country out of the abyss into which it has sunk. The reform of the education system would have to consider ways of matching technology with the demands of our schools. In this context, the APNU+AFC Government would look at utilizing audio-visual aid to bring expert teaching to our children, especially in the hinterland and riverain communities. This process of addressing teen pregnancy requires every Guyanese to recognize the need to protect our young women and wellbeing of our society by providing better opportunities for our youths to make wiser choices. Let us therefore secure the future of Guyana, and the future of our youths, by electing APNU+AFC for government.

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

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SUNDAY SPECIAL DISMEMBERED BODY…SUSPECT ADMITS BEHEADING WOMAN AT SEAWALL The killers of US-based Guyanese, Samantha Benjamin, were trying to buy time by dismembering her to delay her identification. This piece of information was given to investigators by the prime suspect in Benjamin’s murder. The man detailed how the woman was bludgeoned to death for her money when she put up a fight. The suspect reportedly detailed how he and his two accomplices first cut off the woman’s limbs and then carried her body to the Annandale foreshore where they decapitated it. BOY, 9, BOUND, FOUND FLOATINGNAKED The bound and partially decomposed body of nineyear-old Shaquan Gittens was Saturday fished out of a trench in the backlands at South Ruimveldt, three days after he went missing. His bloated body, minus his trousers, was found floating in the trench around 15:35 hrs. He was clad only in a green jersey. The shocking discovery was made by a farmer who was heading into the backlands. When his body was pulled from the trench, a strip of cloth was seen hanging from both hands. Investigators believed that the lad was bound and sodomized by person(s) who lured him into the lonely area, which is approximately half a mile from the nearest house in South Ruimveldt. MONDAYEDITION GOVT. IS A SET OF DRUNKEN SAILORS WITH TAX DOLLARS - “COURT HOUSE $46M PRICE TAG IS TOTALLY RIDICULOUS” – HARMON A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition has yet again expressed disappointment in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government for its “irresponsible” utilization of tax dollars. The grievance is now with the amount of money used to construct a flat building to house the No. 51 Village Magistrate’s Court. While the coalition has no problem with the construction of a courthouse, it believes that way too much money, some $46M, has been spent to construct such a building.

During an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News Sunday, one of APNU+AFC spokespersons, Joseph Harmon said that the amount of money quoted for the construction of the building is totally ridiculous. Harmon said that the quotation of that exorbitant amount surely represents yet another scam being pulled off on Guyanese. “The PPP/C has been taking advantage of the electorate and will do so even more now that Parliament has been dissolved. It is a scandalous act…This government is like a set of drunken sailors with the taxpayers’ monies.” PPP PLANS TO INJECT $20B MORE INTO AILING SUGAR INDUSTRY IF ELECTED Despite the direction the global market is taking and reports showing that the sugar industry has been burdening the local economy, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) says it will pump at least $20B more into the local sugar industry should it be re-elected to govern. As Regional and General Elections inches closer, the ruling party Sunday released excerpts of its manifesto captioned: “Our Vision: Guyana Version 2.0”, which reveals the multi-billion dollar plans for the struggling sugar industry among other key sectors of the local economy. In the excerpt, the party said that it will support the sugar sector with a “minimum investment of G$20B.” This money, it said, will be used for the continued viability of the industry, to invest in refinery and distillery capacities and increase production of packaging and specialty products. TUESDAYEDITION JAGDEO BYPASSED EXPERIENCED INDIAN FIRM FOR CHINESE -PAYS EXTRA US$30M TO BUILD SKELDON FACTORY Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, looking for a contractor to build a modern, stateof-the-art sugar factory at Skeldon in the 2000s, made a strange move.

He chose an inexperienced Chinese contractor that had no history of building such a sugar factory over an internationally recognized Indian firm. The government had announced that two tenders were received for the Skeldon sugar factory- one from Walchandnagar Industries Limited (WIL), of India, and the other, China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) – which was known more for importing vehicles into China. The decision to go the way of CNTIC was taken by Jagdeo. The Indian company’s bid came in US$30M cheaper than that of the Chinese firm. The Chinese exceeded the construction deadline by almost three years, completing the project in 2009. The project cost, under the Chinese firm, escalated from US$112M to over US$200M. The monies to finance entire project including the factory and field expansion, under the direction of Jagdeo, came from the World Bank US$56M; Export/Import of China - US$32M and US$25 from the Caribbean Development Bank. But even then the factory was not working as it should. Government accepted the malfunctioning Skeldon factory in August 2009. Months later Jagdeo gave the same Chinese company another major contract. This time it was the US$40M-plus to install the new transmission power lines along the coast.

of them questioning who could be so sick, mentally, to kill a woman and then dismember her. Well the sick mind is that of notorious Berbice gang member, Imran Ramsaywack, who masterminded the entire operation that led to the brutal murder of United Statesbased Guyanese trader, Samantha Benjamin. The woman’s dismembered body was discovered on the Annandale foreshore, East Coast Demerara, two Thursdays ago and it took investigators close to a week before they could solve a piece of the puzzle, thanks to the help of the woman’s relatives. On Tuesday last they arrested a young man, who was occupying the house in which Benjamin spent her last days. The suspect, who gave his name to investigators as Kevin Jones, claimed that he was a labourer who was hired to rear chickens on the said premises. No one questioned why he had left his home in Berbice to come to Buxton to work on a small chicken establishment. But he remained there for four months, playing the role of an innocent labourer, before his true colours came shining through. It turned out that the “innocent labourer” could not resist the temptation to go back to the criminal lifestyle he tried to leave behind in Berbice when Benjamin moved into the house in which he was staying.

DISMEMBERED BODY… BUXTON BUTCHER IS NOTORIOUS WANTED CRIMINAL FROM BERBICE

WEDNESDAYEDITION

The brutality of the act has registered itself in the minds of many people, most

NOMINATION DAY 2015…LARGE CROWDS, HIGH SPIRITS, SCATTERED DRIZZLESAND POLICE FACE-OFFS The overall number of

those who assembled at City Hall Tuesday must have been somewhere in the tens of thousands. It was Nomination Day and citizens made no qualms to turnout in support of the Political party of their choice. Occasional confrontations between police and politicians, police and supporters, supporters of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and supporters of the Coalition and a few scattered drizzles characterized the scene in the vicinity of City Hall. Executive members of the PPP/C as well as Party supporters marched down the streets in their numbers and assembled at City Hall. PPP had a good turnout and the party’s theme song seemed to one well liked by supporters who jived to the music. PPP representatives waved their tshirts and other party paraphernalia in the faces of some coalition supporters, but it was all taken in good fate as coalition supports just waved back. After a few minutes outside City Hall, incumbent President Donald Ramotar entered the compound accompanied by top ranking Party officials. APNU+AFC arrived in style with crowds simultaneously pouring in from different directions. Guyana’s songbird Lisa Punch led the coalition youth to City Hall. THURSDAY EDITION DRUGADDICT CONFESSES TO RAPING, MURDERING BOY, 9 A 22-year-old drug addict has reportedly told police that he abducted nine-year-old Shaquan Gittens, then bound, sodomised, mutilated and killed him in a desolate stretch

of backlands in South Ruimveldt. The suspect, who is also from South Ruimveldt, then accompanied detectives back to the area where he had allegedly committed the crime. According to police sources, the suspect claimed that he had seen Shaquan Gittens walking at night on Caneview Avenue, South Ruimveldt two Wednesdays ago. He said that he walked near to the child and caused him to ‘trip’. After Gittens fell, the suspect said that he dragged him to an area, which is approximately half a mile from the nearest house in South Ruimveldt. He allegedly then tied the child’s hands and sodomized him. The suspect alleged that he was choking the child while sexually assaulting him. “He said the lil boy didn’t wake up so he dragged him under a tree and both of them slept there. The next morning (April 2nd) when he (the suspect) wake up, he notice the lil boy ain’t moving,” a police source said. According to the police, the suspect said that he then sliced off his victim’s private part and sodomized him again, after which he dumped the lad’s motionless body in a trench. Government pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh Wednesday gave the cause of death as manual strangulation and drowning. MAN, 21, REMANDED FOR DISMEMBERED BODY After one week in police custody, 21-year-old Imran Ramsaywack made his first court appearance Wednesday, to answer a charge of murder resulting from the brutal death of 45-year-old Samantha Benjamin. Ramsaywack, who was unrepresented by an attorney, appeared before Magistrate Zamena Ali-Seepaul at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and was promptly remanded to prison. Smiling throughout the brief hearing, the accused appeared relieved to be let out from the cold concrete of the Cove and John lock-ups, where two other suspects in the woman’s murder remain. Samantha Benjamin was killed in a house at Middle Walk, Buxton, on March 25, last, and her body was dismembered and subsequently dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. It was discovered the following morning, sparking outrage in the village which had not seen such brutality since the days of the crime wave a decade ago. Ramsaywack, who hails from Adelphi Village, Canje, Berbice, was detained on (Continued on page 45)

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Sunday April 12, 2015

Police response timing and all those defective vehicles By Dale Andrews Significant questions are being raised about the Guyana Police Force (GPF)’s capability to realize President Ramotar’s ‘15 for 2015 plan’, not least is his wish for a faster response time to 911 emergency calls. One gets the impression, though, that His Excellency might not be as wellacquainted with several factors when he speaks about police response to calls for assistance. In addition to the 911 emergency number, police response to calls for assistance may be initiated by calling a station directly; or by personal report at station. First of all, one wonders if Office of the President is aware of the dismal state of police vehicles that daily traverse our country’s roadways, and which are in themselves safety hazards to the police occupants, transported suspects, and other road users. DEFECTIVE VEHICLES AND NONCHALANT RANKS Almost every day, citizens behold police vehicles without rear lights, broken bumpers and fenders rattling merrily along seemingly without a care about appearances or any consideration to setting a law-abiding example. One morning, a few weeks ago, one police motor car was being driven on a flat tyre along the East Coast, another shameful example is PFF 9126 which can be seen being driven nonchalantly along, with its occupants oblivious to the derisive comments of members of the public. And therefore the

question must be asked – does the Auditor General at the behest of the Ministry of Home Affairs conduct an audit of the police vehicles’ state? If yes, when last was one such inspection done? The impression gained is that as long as the top brass are quite comfortable that their personal transport needs are met using official vehicles allocated to them, then it is every man for himself when it comes to performing in service to the Guyanese people. In other words, there is no real concern about making the Force more responsive to calls for assistance, since the accepted lame excuse is that vehicles are not available. The fact must be faced that claimed unavailability of police vehicles belies the public utterances of high officials who are not slow to highlight the vehicular allocations that the GPF receives through capital expenditure. Another issue is the practice of contracting out police vehicles for repairs and servicing while maintaining a staff of qualified mechanics, welders and bodywork specialists on the payroll. This situation is further aggravated by the possibility that the administration may be forced to hire privately-owned vehicles during this elections season. It goes without saying that transport is a key logistical support and plays a fundamental role in assisting police forces the world over, including the GPF, to deliver their services to the public. In that regard, it is essential that the correct quantity and quality of

properly maintained vehicles be available if there is to be any significant positive impact on the effectiveness of the police to respond to 911 calls. The information with respect to the number and types of vehicles allocated to the various police stations, divisional headquarters, and general headquarters was not available, but that does not preclude the expectation that managing the vehicles assigned to the various areas should be done so as to ensure maximum efficiency. The Guyanese people rightly need to know whether the force is getting value for money. MONITORING AND ANALYSIS This brings us back to the imperative of ensuring the provision of quality service in keeping with citizens’ expectation of a reasonable response time to 911 calls for assistance. As alluded to earlier, several factors should be considered when setting time response targets, and these include: average number of calls; terrain to be covered; distance to be travelled; priority given to particular emergency types; number of vehicles available for patrols and emergency response; and competing demands and deployment strategy. However, just as important is the mechanism which is established to monitor and analyse the performance in individual station districts and divisions. If appropriate and effective performance measurements are not in place, then there is no way that the GPF will be able to assess if its performance is

efficient, effective and economical. Furthermore, a comprehensive needs analysis, planning or consultation should be done prior to the procurement of police vehicles to give meaning to any thrust of improved police response. Just as importantly is the fact that the Police Force, which relies heavily on transportation for its function, should have a system in place to ensure the efficient use of its vehicle fleet including the monitoring of fuel use and mileages. Anecdotes abound about senior officers abusing their position for private benefit in this regard. Fuel analyses should be conducted monthly to ensure authorized, efficient and economic use of force vehicles and their fuel consumption. Police response times are also negatively affected by the practice at some stations where official vehicles are used to transport off-duty ranks, thereby putting additional strain on stations, especially those allocated with only one vehicle. The situation is compounded when official vehicles are used to transport the families of officers on personal errands, including marketing. There is also no evidence that force drivers are required to re-certify or upgrade their driving skill, which could lend to a greater degree of comfort among the citizens who are expecting a rapid response by efficient and qualified drivers. It is unacceptable that police ranks should be injured while on duty because of defective vehicles. It might also be recalled that in a July 2011 incident, a driver lost control of a police

vehicle and fatally injured 67year-old Shantranie Sookdeo, at Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara. COMMANDERS SHOULD BE HELDACCOUNTABLE Commanders should be held accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of police response in their area of administrative and tactical responsibility albeit with differences in geography, in demand and supply conditions, resource availability and workload. But just as importantly in responding to calls, the central principle ought to be the appropriateness of the response to the circumstances. That is all the more reason why response times should not be confused with timeliness of response. If personal safety is at risk or a serious crime is in progress, an urgent police response is critical. However that should not be taken to mean foolish and irresponsible rushing into a dangerous situation without adequate information and tactical support, as probably occurred in the Middle Street shooting. Indeed some calls may not require a police presence at the same time, or on the same day, or at all. Therefore it is imperative that the GPF administration provide response-grading guidance with respect to calls for assistance where (i) an urgent response is mandatory for life-threatening situations; (ii) an immediate response is necessary for a matter which may become life-threatening or cause serious disruption to the public; (iii) there is a delayed response which says in effect ‘respond as soon as possible’; (iv) there is a routine response for ‘routine

matters’ and finally where no police response is necessary. Taking everything into consideration and in all fairness to the police, the public might be unaware ranks performing duties in divisional operations rooms might have to monitor calls involving other emergency services, security firms, electronic security devices on government and commercial buildings as well as armed robbery alarms at banks while remaining in contact with police vehicles on patrol. A STRATEGIC RESPONSE TIMES PLAN For the GPF to find its way out of its current predicament the incoming government must insist that the force formulate and present a strategic response times plan for improving response overall, before committing to major new capital investments in this area. The strategy should clarify accountabilities throughout the response system, and develop a framework of indicators and standards to help the administration and the public monitor response performance. However, for these to be sustainable the GPF should also consider (i) developing a fleet management plan to assist in determining its optimal operational vehicle strength; (ii) adhering stringently to a rigid maintenance schedule; (iii) monitoring vehicle usage; (iv) performing life cycle cost analysis to determine optimum operational service and replacement. These are but a few of the sensible actions that can lead to a better response time and ultimately to citizen satisfaction.

US and the Caribbean: brief... From page 20 rescue through the part payment-part loan scheme of Petro Caribe. Without that scheme the economies of many of them would have collapsed. Further, the scheme is still beneficial to all its participants who still enjoy long and low interest terms for their part payments. In these circumstances, for as long as Venezuela continues the Petro Caribe arrangements, no participating CARICOM country will turn away from it. At the Energy meeting in Washington last January, the US – now a leading producer of natural gas – promoted “a natural gas strategy for the Caribbean” with support from the Inter-American Development Bank. Clearly, the US thinking was two-fold: first, it could break dependence on Venezuela and re-

duce Venezuelan influence in the region, and second, US companies could benefit commercially from selling natural gas and the structures for its delivery in Caribbean countries. To promote this idea, the US undertook to encourage the multilateral financial institutions to provide concessional financing to Caribbean countries for energy and climate projects. This is a huge departure from the per capita income criteria used over the years by multilateral financial institutions to deny CARICOM countries cheaper financing because they are regarded as middleincome states. Undoubtedly, CARICOM countries would welcome such an energy initiative by the US; it would allow them to diversify their energy sources and reduce dependence on any supplier. But, until the

initiative is realized, they are hardly likely to abandon the benefits of Petro Caribe while it continues. Nonetheless, the US government should be taken at its word and every encouragement given to it to deliver on its undertaking. The brief meetings between the US President and CARICOM leaders are neither satisfactory nor enough. The Kingston encounter should at least serve to advise both sides that what is required is a structure for regular and meaningful discussion between high level officials to follow-up on their general policy guidance. (The writer is a Senior Fellow at London University and a Consultant on International Affairs) Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

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Regional carriers say two-pilot policy already in place After it was determined that the co-pilot who flew the Germanwings aircraft into the French Alps last month, killing all 150 people on board, may have done so intentionally, a number of airlines immediately put in place a ‘two pilot in the cockpit at all times’ policy. European and Asian airliners were among those to quickly follow suit and it was required that airlines operating in these countries must have the rule in place. However, the policy seems to have already been instituted by prominent regional carriers, Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) and Fly Jamaica. This was established during a special interview of representatives of both companies by the Jamaica Observer. Two of Fly Jamaica’s senior captains - Paul Reece, also a principal shareholder and executive chairman of the Airline Company, and Neil Savory, the chief pilot, outlined important aspects of the company’s safety protocol to which pilots and cabin attendants are bound, once airborne. The series of steps are designed both to ensure that no pilot is ever left alone inside the cockpit, and to prevent unauthorised passenger intrusion into that critical space. The strengthening of cockpit doors to withstand gunfire and even grenade blast and the companion requirement for at least two persons to be inside the

cockpit of commercial aircraft at all times were introduced by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in America. “We have an established system of passwords to gain access to the cockpit,” Reece said, in confirming that his airline has been following the US regulation ever since it began serving the region in 2013. “The password is set daily.” Fly Jamaica’s two carriers, are American registered, and regulated not just by the US FAA, but also the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority

(JCAA), given that it is domiciled there. While civil aviation authorities across the globe mandate that commercial planes are fitted with virtually impregnable cockpit doors and that they remain closed for the duration of each flight, most countries up until the incident in March did not adhere to the two-pilot policy. Former members of CAL’s in-flight team confirmed that the Trinidad-owned airline has an identical safety routine to Fly Jamaica’s. Patrick Barnes, president of Jamaican Airline Pilots Association and a former Air

Jamaica pilot, said that the once national carrier introduced the policy of locked cockpit door after the 9/11 attacks. Fly Jamaica’s Savory said that legal mandate aside, the policy that no pilot is to be alone inside the cockpit represents “a best practice regulation and for safety”. He added: “It could be a health problem, and you want to avoid a pilot being incapacitated and alone in there.” For airlines that adhere to this policy, the safety protocol is triggered the moment the pilot or co-pilot

expresses a desire to leave the cockpit for whatever reason. He alerts the purser via the in-flight intercom system, and she in turn seeks the assistance of another member of the cabin crew to position the drinks trolley across the passageway immediately leading towards the cockpit. The purser uses predetermined code and password to alert the pilots of her presence at the door and will gain access once the pilot activates an electronic buzzer. Upon entering, she closes the door behind her and sits on a jumper seat. Only then is the pilot allowed

From page 22 held at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court, and the magistrate hearing the matter eventually ruled that the State had a case. That meant that Green’s case would be heard before a judge and jury in the High Court. Green still couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer. The state appointed Attorney-at-Law Peter Hugh to represent him. In his testimony, Joseph Cummings, who had lived next door to the couple, told the court that on hearing loud screams coming from the apartment, he peered through a window and saw someone leaving the residence. Cummings said that he subsequently learnt the

suspect’s name was Troy Green. Under crossexamination by defence attorney Hugh, Cummings said that he could not recall exactly what the suspect was wearing, since the incident had left him traumatized. Cummings nonetheless maintained that he saw the man coming down the stairs which led to Bibi Saymar’s apartment, since there was nothing to block his line of vision. He also said that lights affixed to various parts of the building gave him a clear view of the suspect. Cummings said that he was certain that Green, the accused, was the person whom he had seen leaving the murdered woman’s apartment.

The witness recounted that Saymar’s husband, Dennis Persaud, arrived sometime after the police, but “took his time to park his vehicle and go upstairs.” Another witness, Shereena Madramootoo, said that when Saymar’s reputed husband arrived, she related to him what had happened, but the man took a long time before he ventured upstairs to check on his wife. Madramootoo said that when she went upstairs, she found her neighbour lying in a pool of blood. She said that the woman was still conscious and had responded to her, but her husband hardly seemed concerned about his wife’s condition. “He was just shaking his head and walking up and down the house and telling the police that the house get rob and he lost a lot of stuff.” One of the main state witnesses was Detective Sergeant Paul Wintz, who was stationed at the Leonora Police Station at the time of the murder. He recalled that he

obtained a statement from Troy Green after cautioning him in accordance with the law. Wintz said that no form of inducement or force was used against the accused while obtaining the statement. Reading the statement in court, Wintz said that Green had told police investigators that he was paid US$1,500 to kill the hairdresser. In his caution statement, Green identified the victim’s husband, whom he said he had known for five months, and another man, as also being a part of the plan. The other man implicated in the crime was identified as Shane Simon, whom the accused said transported him to and from Bibi Saymar’s home. Green said that Simon had picked him up from the East La Penitence area and transported him to Hague, West Coast Demerara. According to the statement, Dennis Persaud called Green on his cell phone and offered him US$1,500 to go to his home with Shane Simon. Simon allegedly picked Green up in a white car

and took him to Persaud’s home, where Green “stab up Persaud’s wife several times.” According to the detective, Green said that after committing the act, he placed a knife and sheet in the trunk of the vehicle, which brought him back to Georgetown. The witness said that he subsequently held a confrontation with the accused and the two men. According to Wintz, during the confrontation the victim’s husband admitted to paying Green some money, but said that he did not tell the accused to kill his wife. Simon, however, denied transporting the accused to the home of the murdered businesswoman. Green’s state-appointed attorney, Peter Hugh, had tried to have the statement disallowed, on the grounds that his client was beaten to sign the confession. Despite that confession, and an eyewitness placing him at the scene, on January 23, 2015, the jury unanimously found Troy Green not guilty of the murder of Bibi Rafeena

The Germanwings plane was smashed to pieces when the pilot crashed it into the mountain side

to make his exit. When he is ready to reenter, the pilot on the outside alerts the cockpit and follows the same procedure used by the purser to gain entrance. She has the option of using the peephole to verify that an authorised person is on the other side of the door before disengaging the locking mechanism to allow him/her inside. It was noted that not every airline takes the additional precautionary step of using the serving trolley to block the passageway between the galley and the cockpit, but Savory believes the additional layer is prudent. “The trolley is just another barrier. We use it to make it more difficult for someone wanting to force his way into the cockpit,” the Chief pilot noted. Another safety practice is a requirement for flight attendants to check on the pilots periodically, especially on long-haul flights to ensure that all is well with them. It was pointed out that pilots on US carriers have been fired for taking unscheduled naps while at the control. Last month’s accident forced several airlines to now sign onto the safety protocol of having two pilots in the cockpit at all time. Twentyseven-year-old Andreas Lubitz crashed the flight from Barcelona in Spain to Dusseldorf in Germany by locking the pilot out of the cockpit after he exited. Lubitz was known to have suffered from depression.

The hairdresser, the husband and the...

Saymar. Justice Navindra Singh informed Green that he was free to go. Green uttered a quiet ‘thank you, Sir’ and hastily left the courtroom. In the end, without the alleged mastermind, and with just a confession statement, there just wasn’t enough to make the murder accusation stick. Writing this story now, sure in my heart that I know who carried out and orchestrated that foul deed five years ago; remembering Dennis Persaud smirking in court, I can’t help hoping that Bibi Rafeena Saymar ’s screams haunt her killers till judgment time… If you have information about an unusual case, you can contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location. We can be reached on telephone numbers 225-8458, 2258465, 225-8473 or 225-8491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email a d d r e s s : mjdragon@hotmail.com

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EPA says new anti-litter legislation effective ...refutes Deputy Mayor’s comments By Zena Henry The isolation of City Hall’s administrative arm from its executive remains one of the biggest challenges for the agency, and with the Litter Prevention Regulations 2013 which clashes with Municipal Act and District Council powers, the situation is only tearing the body further apart. This is because while state agencies such as the Local Government Ministry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are making personal contact with the Council’s administrative staffers to deal with environmental issues around the city, the executive is sometimes unaware. Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green highlighted this issue last week during an interview with the media and it prompted a response from the EPA, after it was mentioned that the environmental agency was not making contact with the Council over litter issues. The Deputy Mayor reiterated that

for litter measures to be effective, the fine must be increased from $10,000 which is the fine stipulated by the Municipal and Districts Act. The issue was first raised early last year when the new EPA regulations emerged, effectively sharing with the city oversight body, City Hall, authority over the environmental affairs of the capital, but having stronger environmental laws. One of the arguments was that instead of the government strengthening the age-old Municipal and Districts Councils Act with stricter measures and fines, the power was given to the EPA. The Deputy Mayor had told the newspaper then that, “while Chapter 28:01 of the Public Health Act gives the authority to the Council for littering, a fine of $10,000 payable to the Court - which we don’t collect - we understand that litter wardens have the authority to arrest and fine up to $50,000 in Georgetown.” Fines from those culpable persons are

The severe litter situation may have subsided, but remains very much an issue in the city not paid to the Council, but it is understood that this new law “overrides” that of the Council, she had stated. However, disagreeing with the Deputy’s utterances, the EPA, while providing “clarification” on the issue, noted that the Litter Prevention Regulations 2013, under the Environmental Protection Act No.11 of 1996 provides for “several offences and penalties and provides for Litter Wardens

with authority to enforce these Regulations and with special powers of court on convicting offenders.” The agency, on the matter of communication with the Council, charged that the agency continues to collaborate with several stakeholders including the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), “specifically the Town Clerk, the Chief

Constable of the City Constabulary, the Director of Solid Waste, and the City Engineer.” The EPA missive explained that in April last year, the body commenced its activities with the establishment of a Litter Enforcement Unit at the EPA. To show the effectiveness of the new law, it stated that, “The Litter Regulations outline several offences and penalties and provide for Litter Wardens with authority to enforce these Regulations and with special powers of court on convicting offenders. Under ‘offences’, “A person who, without reasonable excuse, deposits litter in or on any public place… is guilty of an offence”. Also, persons who deposit litter from a moving vehicle unto a public place will be considered an offender.” “If the person who committed the offence cannot be determined, then the driver of the vehicle will be held responsible. Consequently, any individual found guilty of any offence will be liable to a fine of $50,000, while a corporate body will be issued a fine of $100,000.” The EPA said it is also an offence not to provide a receptacle for litter in public transportation. “It is expected that the owner of every vehicle for hire provides within his/her vehicle, a receptacle for the collection of litter. Failure to satisfy this regulation would result in a penalty fee of $15,000.” The Regulations also outline the institution of increased penalties for persons found guilty of repeat offences. “If a person is found guilty of committing a litter

offence, the litter prevention warden may instruct that person to place the litter in the nearest receptacle or “remove the litter to the nearest approved site”.’ According to the Litter Enforcement Regulations 2013, “where any person is convicted of an offence under regulation three (Special Powers of Court on Convicting Offenders), the court may, in addition to imposing a penalty, order the offender…to clean up and remove such litter deposited in such public place within such period specified in the order”. The Regulations allow for the appointment of Litter Prevention Wardens by the EPA, and by virtue of their office, Officers of the Guyana Police Force, Local Authority, Ministry of Health, Harbour Master, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, and the Guyana Forestry Commission, among others, are deemed Litter Wardens for the purposes of implementing the Regulations. Persons with such authority “may summarily act to prevent the deposit or attempted deposit of litter in any public place in which they are authorised to act”. The EPA insisted that during the lead-up to the actual implementation of enforcement activities, the EPA consulted all relevant bodies and was “advised” that the City Constabulary Officers can bring charges against offenders under the new regulation. The EPA has highlighted a number of arrests around the city and published the name and in some cases the pictures of polluters which include business owners and individual persons.

We are life savers, you should be one too! Donate blood today!!!

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

The Internet and some common... From page 40 been sent a survey that requests your input. Why not participate? Unless you've specifically requested to be on a survey mailing list, what you're getting is nothing but spam. When you click on the link to take the survey, malicious spyware or malware is installed on your computer. Once this occurs, cybercriminals can spy on every move you make on your computer, collecting passwords, bank account information, and more. Still another irritating scam is the online credit card/banking scam. At first, you may really believe there's something wrong with your PayPal account, as you will receive an email that appears to be from PayPal with a warning message such as, “Act now, or your account will be deactivated,” or “Security breach on your account.” This can cause you to panic, open the email, click the link, and log in to your account. The problem is that you're not really on PayPal's website, but rather a false website designed to look identical to PayPal. The secret shopper (or mystery shopper) scam has several different variations, but all are designed to steal your money, your information, or both. This common workfrom-home scam attempts to suck you in with an email featuring a subject line promising you a large income, simply by working as a mystery shopper. You need no experience or education, and you can make hundreds of dollars a day doing just what you love: shopping! Sounds too good to be true, right? It is indeed. Instead of being paid to shop, here are the two ways in which you can be swindled: The money looks good, but in order to get your “training materials,” you must send the company money via PayPal or with a personal cheque. You send the money and wait for a package that never arrives. You receive a fraudulent cheque. This one is even worse. You provide the false company your address, and are sent a fraudulent cheque in the mail as your first payment. However, you are requested to send some of the money back to cover your study materials. You cash the cheque, wire the requested amount of money, and then discover that the cheque you deposited has bounced. You're responsible for thousands in fraudulent cheque charges, plus overdraft fees. If you didn't apply for a job, you won't be offered a job. They don't just fall out of the sky. Furthermore, if you're ever asked to spend money upfront for materials, you are

likely being scammed. Another one of the more common email scams is the Nigerian check scam. If you are subject to this scam, you receive an email from a royalsounding person with the name of “Sir Arthur Von-Monsoon,” or “Barrister Frank N. Stein” with a request to help recover large sums of money from an overseas bank. As a reward, you'll receive a handsome cut of the cash. Nice, huh? Unfortunately, there's always a catch. It seems like a win-win situation, so you respond with your willingness to help. You are told the money will be transferred to your bank account; therefore, you must provide your bank account information. Also, there are transfer fees involved, and you have to pay those as well. Once you pay a couple hundred dollars, waiting for your huge windfall, you receive another email stating there has been some type of holdup, and you must send a bit more cash. This continues until you, the unsuspecting victim, realize that money is only going one way: out of your bank account. Thanks to social networking sites, you can connect with friends, relatives, and even celebrities all over the world. The problem? You can also connect with a wide variety of cybercriminals who specialize in online hoaxes. HIJACKED Then there are instances where persons' accounts like on Facebook have been hijacked and they ask for assistance as they are stuck somewhere in Timbuktu. Perhaps the most irritating one would be the suspicious photo scam. This is one of the most common ways online con artists obtain login information to hijack an account. One of your friends, whose account has been hacked, posts a link on your page with a message

such as, “OMG! Is this a naked picture of you?” This causes you to panic and you click the link, only to find yourself back at the Facebook login page. You figure it's just one of Facebook's many glitches and login again. By doing this, you've just disclosed your Facebook (or Twitter) account login information. Now, some cybercriminal is out there using your profile to attempt to scam your friends. Then there is one called the sick baby scam. This one is sick alright. The sick baby scam works like this: A “friend” posts a photograph of an ill baby or young child with a caption beneath it that reads, “Little Jimmy has cancer. Click this link to donate $1 to help him and his family. Every little bit counts!” Your heart goes out to this helpless little baby, and you click on the link, whip out your bank card, and donate some money. What you don't realize is that the money isn't going to help some dying child – it's going straight to the bank account of a con artist. Also, remember that shares don't equal donations. Often, instead of sending money to help the “sick baby,” you're asked to share the photo with everyone you know because each share supposedly earns a small amount of money. However, Facebook, nor any social networking website, will donate money based on how many times something is shared. This is almost always an attempt to phish for personal information. Bottomline, do your research, don't send money to anyone you don't know and don't click on anything suspicious. Enjoy the weekend, be safe on the roads. School starts again tomorrow. Please do continue to send your emails to gildarie@yahoo.com or call weekdays on 225-8491.

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Spiritual interlude on the... From page 38 were stretching, some just ambling about, a few were in conversation, and one man was cleaning his teeth. They were readying themselves for the business of getting on with life. The river and the sun were just the preamble to another hustle-bustle, care-filled day. Soon, I too would join the rat race that day. But even as I did, I knew that I would pause,

and contemplate some aspect of nature along the way. I knew that I would never forget that brief interlude of romance between river and sun. I knew I would thank God for more moments like that, and I knew I would not be disap-

pointed. I have never found that kind of experience anywhere else but in nature. And as the great Italian poet, Dante, declared, “Nature is the art of God”. That's my kind of spirituality.

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

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Non Pareil murder/suicide still fresh in family’s mind …as one year anniversary draws near By Desilon Daniels Simone’s screams pierce the silence of the Non Pareil community; beside her, her mother Latchmie is frozen with shock, staring down at the motionless body of her other daughter, Nandanie. A few feet away a man hangs suspended from the ceiling, clearly dead. On the evening of April 27, 2014, the body of Nandanie Mohan, 27, was found by her sister Simone and her mother Latchmie in the Non Pareil home she shared with her reputed husband, Vickram Ramdin. Ramdin was also found dead that very evening in what was apparently a murder/suicide. Nandanie had been a mother who had dedicated her life to her two young children and had primarily been supporting them by working as a salesgirl in a snackette. Days after her murder, Nandanie’s story had been on the lips of numerous persons, particularly those of the residents of her home village, Mon Repos. Nonetheless, her name quickly faded and has become yet another statistic in Guyana’s long and bloody history of domestic violence. However, her memory still lives on with her relatives who struggle daily with coming to grips with her premature death.

Nandanie Mohan Nearly one year after Nandanie’s death, her mother Latchmie maintains that the murder is still a difficult one to comprehend. Latchmie had been forced to bury her child and is now tasked with taking care of her daughter’s offspring. The woman explained that her daughter’s children have been living with her since the murder, a living situation she admitted is sometimes difficult to handle. Omardat is an energetic 12year-old boy while his sister is 8-year-old Sabrina. “It’s been hard providing for them; my husband is doing guard work three days a week and I’m a housewife. My daughter had helped so much in providing for us and her children and now she’s gone. But wha’ me gon’ do?” Latchmie questioned.

Each weekday, Latchmie said she would wake up long before sunrise to prepare lunch for the two children. Already exhausted, she would then wake them up and help them prepare for the day ahead. “It’s hard, starting back with dealing with young children at this age. I never expected I would have had to do this, especially under these circumstances,” the 49year-old woman said. She continued, “You know how at this age they’re mischievous, but I can’t give up on them; I got to try.” Fortunately, she said, the children are often helpful and would assist as much as possible in the home. She said too that though things had been slowly improving, it had been a long journey filled with highs and lows. Latchmie explained that Sabrina had suffered a setback in school last year following her mother’s death, but was slowly improving. Omardat had also suffered similarly but had been aided by a teacher in the area who had sympathized with the family. The young boy recently wrote his National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and is preparing for high school. Latchmie said too that the children would still sleep with her and her husband each night.

The relatives of Nandanie Mohan including her mother and two children, Omardat and Sabrina

“We used to hear Sabrina talking a lot in her sleep and jumping out of bed,” Latchmie said before adding, “Anthony [Omardat] used to get up and call out for his mother. One time he tell we that he dream she and how she tek him to get his pictures taken,” she recounted sadly. “There’s really nothing we can do but hug him up and try to help him through it,” the grandmother said. The woman said that questions also still persist, even a year later. “They would ask we, ‘wha side we mommy and daddy gone?’ and I could just tell them that they mother gone to Heaven.” ‘THAT IS NOT THE DAUGHTER I RAISED’ After Nandanie’s strangled body had been found by her sister and mother last year and word had spread of her death, rumours surfaced almost immediately. These rumours included claims of infidelity on the dead woman’s part. However, Latchmie maintained that the rumours were not true and were contrary to the daughter she knew and loved. “It got some people who

seh that he shouldn’t ah kill she, while it got some others who saying how she had other man and thing,” Latchmie related. “It makes me feel so bad because I never hear anything like that in all the years my daughter grew up; that is not the daughter I raised, so I don’t believe it,” she added. Latchmie further said that the rumours have made coping even more difficult. She said she has finally gotten around to clearing her daughter’s items out of the home in which she died and is hoping to rent the home out to supplement her family’s small income. “It’s so hard having to go through all of the stuff; it’s like living it through all again,” Latchmie admitted. The relationship with her daughter’s in-laws is also now fraught with tension. Though both sides of the family had known each other for more than a decade since Nandanie and Vickram met in high school, the murder/suicide had understandably driven them apart. “Dem two [Nandanie and Ramdin] done dead already but now the two sides suppose to come together and make things

better for the children, but is like they don’t want that,” Latchmie lamented. As her daughter’s death anniversary draws nearer, Latchmie is adamant that the family must remain positive and celebrate her life. She also cannot imagine her life now without the two children nearby to remind her daily of her daughter. “I get so used to having them here now so I don’t know what I would do if they weren’t here anymore,” Latchmie said. She continued, “Me miss her loving ways. She used to always call me and gaff with me. Any time she had any problem she would complain to me about them.” She also remembered her daughter as very hardworking. “She made sure she worked hard and though it wasn’t a lot of money, she would put all of her money into dem children,” Latchmie said. She continued, “She was also a good mother; the children never gave a single complaint to me about their mother.” “When she came around she would bring life and light with her. I will always miss that.”

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Murder rate up by 11 percent, but armed robberies down Forty-two people have been murdered between January and the end of March. This is an eleven percent increase from the same period last year, when 38 murders were recorded.

Kaieteur News’ statistics for the period between January and April of this year shows that guns were used in at least 15 of these murders, with eight of these homicides being execution-style killings.

Police have only solved one of these execution-style homicides, with three suspects in the murder of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) engineer, Trevor Abrams,

expected to appear in court this week. The Police Public Relations Department also stated on Friday that at the end of March 2015, the Force recorded a six percent increase in serious crimes in comparison to the same period in 2014. Aside from murder, the Force’s list of ‘serious crimes’ includes robbery under arms, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape, and kidnapping. But police said that at the end of March 2015, robbery under arms had decreased by 19 percent, in comparison to the corresponding period in 2014. The statistics indicate a decrease of 24 percent in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms; and a seven percent decrease in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used. The Police Traffic Department recorded 28 road fatalities from 19 accidents at the end of March 2015, in comparison to 28 fatalities from 26 accidents for the same period in 2014. Twelve motor vehicle passengers, ten pedestrians, five drivers and one pedal cyclist have lost their lives. Nine of the year’s fatalities were as a result of speeding. Police recorded 105 serious accidents between January and March this year in comparison to 63 for the same period in 2014; 122 minor accidents in comparison to 105; and 163 ‘damage’ accidents in contrast to 147 for January to March, 2014. Traffic ranks made 15, 807 cases against errant motorists at the end of March 2015. Of this number, 6,325 cases were for speeding, 433 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 176 for using cell phones while driving and 465 for failing to wear seat belts. To date, there has been only 1 road fatality for April 2015, compared to 3 for the same period last year. “In continuing efforts aimed at crime prevention, the Guyana Police Force continues to forge ahead with its police-community partnership programme along with social crime prevention interventions in the Policing Divisions,” the release said. The community projects recently conducted in “A”

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

Beepat Taijram

Samantha Benjamin

Alicia Ali

Shaquan Gittens

Division (Georgetown/East Bank Demerara) included the commissioning by the Commissioner of Police of the Agricola Community Centre Ground, which was rehabilitated by the Guyana Police Force with assistance from the corporate community; the launching of a Police Youth Club at Hauraruni, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, during which three senior citizens were presented with food h a m p e r s; and a multipurpose court for recreational purposes was commissioned by Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner Clifton Hicken at Rasville, Georgetown. In “B” Division (Berbice), the police held a fun day in the community of Bath, WCB, and along with residents of the Savannah Park community, rehabilitated two bridges to the Savannah Park Nursery School, New Amsterdam. In “D” Division (West Demerara/East Bank Essequibo) under their police community C-PETS Programme, the administration launched a Police Youth Club at Tuschen, EBE; and donated sports and school supplies to the” Save Our Kids Children’s Home” and the” Prabhu Sarran Children’s Home;” conducted a Health Seminar for police ranks and members of the community; and in addition, nine women were able to improve their culinary skills through a six-week attachment to the Madina’s Halaal Restaurant, De Willem, WCD, and twenty- three youths are on apprenticeship

attachments w i th contractors in the Division in skilled areas such as welding, machinery, masonry, bondstocking and the servicing of motor vehicles. At Linden in “E” Division, educational talks on issues such as domestic violence and HIV/Aids were held with youths of several Police Youth Clubs including the Wisroc Youth Group, the Victory Valley Youth Group and the Blueberry Hill Youth Group. Fabric Painting Sessions were also held with the youths. In addition to the community projects, Divisional Commanders also held community outreach meetings in various communities within their respective Division, where they interacted with residents on issues of mutual concern. In another crime prevention initiative, the Cops and Faith Community Network which treats juvenile first offenders for minor crimes as a preemptive intervention to the New Opportunity Corps, during last month March 2015 there was a total of nine interventions supported by the religious community. The Cops and Faith Community Network was launched on September 12, 2013, and unto March 31, 2015, there has been a total of 144 such interventions. In all cases, the youths were counseled by the religious leaders and following the involvement of parents/guardians, and the victims where necessary, the majority of them were warned and sent away.

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

Jennifer Webster (From page 27) March 31, after relatives of the dead woman began making inquiries into her disappearance. GUYSUCO DEMANDS RESPECT FROM KAIETEUR NEWS …BUT FAILS TO ADDRESS BURNING ISSUES Following a number of reports on the state of affairs at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the Corporation through its hired public relations expert, Kit Nascimento, has issued a statement attempting to clear the air. However, GuySuCo steered clear from a number of burning issues including the decision to spend more US$30M to hire a Chinese contractor over an experienced Indian firm for the troubled Skeldon factory. GuySuCo also did not address the fact that more than five years later after the factory was handed over by the Chinese contractor, it is badly underperforming, requiring more than double the cane needed at other, older factories to produce sugar. GuySuCo did not say how much it is producing a tonne of sugar for, or how much it is making when it sells the sugar. It did not also address questions in a subsequent article on Friday as to why the contractor, despite failing on the Skeldon factory, was handed another contract in excess of US$40M to run new power lines along the coast and why no one has been held responsible for the troubles at US$200 Skeldon modernization project. Kaieteur News, as part of its responsibilities to inform Guyana, was asking a simple question - What is the average price of production of sugar at GuySuCo and what is being sold at. FRIDAYEDITION CRIMINAL CHARGES FILEDAGAINST JAGDEO Former President Bharrat Jagdeo has been summoned

to appear before the courts to answer criminal charges over racially divisive statements he reportedly made at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant last month. Jagdeo, who had served as President from 1999 to 2011, is slated to appear at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on April 20, on the charge which was filed by Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram yesterday. The former President is being accused of making statements to the public at large, at a public meeting held in Babu Jaan, Corentyne, Berbice, on March 8, last. The charge reads that the comments “can result in racial or ethnic violence or hatred among the people.” A summons was issued by recently appointed Magistrate Charlyn Artiga for service on Jagdeo. He will be required to appear personally in the court and plead to the criminal charge. Jagdeo came under fire after his delivery at a Memorial Ceremony held for former President and founder-leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Jagdeo had said “…consistently, they shout about racism of the PPP, but they practice racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections they went to some of the Afro-Guyanese villages and beat some drums at 6 o’clock in the morning and say let us throw out these coolie people”. ”Get up, go out and vote; throw out the coolie people. That’s the kind of language they use. Anybody from our party who uses that sort of language, we will kick them out. This is our approach.” PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE SAYS SHE IS BEING BLACKMAILED People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Prime Ministerial candidate, Elisabeth Harper, has come out in support of her son who is embroiled in a bitter court battle over the alleged embezzlement of $700M given to him by foreign investors. The money was to be in-

vested in the local mining industry, but the investors never received the agreed returns from Harper’s son, Reagan Pollard, who was their local partner. According to reports, repeated requests by the foreign partners for their share of the profits were met with several excuses from Pollard. This continued over two years. The investors, who hail from Canada and the United States of America, moved to the High Court in November last year. In a statement issued yesterday, the PPP Prime Ministerial candidate expressed the belief that she is a victim of extortion and blackmail. ”Ever since I have been appointed as the PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate there have been attempts by a known individual, tantamount to blackmail or political extortion regarding a legal dispute between my 36-year-old son and his former business partners,” Harper said. According to Harper, her son is engaged in his own business enterprise and she is aware that he and his former business partners have been in court in Guyana since November 2014 to settle a dispute that has arisen. SATURDAY EDITION HUMAN SERVICES MINISTER RESIGNS Government has announced the resignation of one of its top ministers. Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, was not included in the lists that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) submitted on Tuesday during Nomination Day at City Hall. Yesterday, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, said that Webster has been ailing for some time now and opted not to continue with her duties after this month. The topic was specifically addressed by the spokesman yesterday during his weekly press conference at the Office of the President. He said that during a recent Cabinet Ministers’ meeting, President Donald Ramotar “advised” that he has accepted the Minister’s submission of her notice of resignation effective April 30. “The President disclosed that in her submission, the Minister indicated a lack of significant improvement on her health situation while conducting the fairly rigorous demands of a Minister of Government, particularly of the sector of Human Services and Social Security.” Dr. Luncheon insisted that it was a deliberate decision made on account of her health. She wanted the issue to be addressed and this led to her decision to resign.

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Bedsores (pressure sores/ulcer) By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj Bedsores or pressure sores/ulcers are injuries to skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin. Bedsores most often develop on skin that covers bony areas of the body, such as the heels, ankles, hips and tailbone. People most at risk of bedsores are those with a medical condition that limits their ability to change positions, requires them to use a wheelchair or confines them to a bed for a long time. Bedsores can develop quickly and are often difficult to treat. COMMON SITES OF PRESSURE SORES For people who use wheelchairs, pressure sores often occur on skin over the following sites: · Tailbone or buttocks · Shoulder blades and spine · Backs of arms and legs where they rest against the chair For people who are con-

tailbone · Heels, ankles and skin behind the knees WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR Whenever you notice early signs or symptoms of a pressure ulcer, it is important to change your position to relieve the pressure on the area. If no improvement is seen in 24 to 48 hours, you need to contact your doctor. Seek immediate medical care if you show signs of infection, such as fever, drainage or a foul odour (smell) from a sore, or increased heat and redness in the surrounding skin.

Dr Kumar Sukhraj fined to a bed, common sites include the following: · Back or sides of the head · Rim of the ears · Shoulders or shoulder blades · Hip, lower back or

Please feel free to send an email to kumarsukhraj@yahoo.com or call 6228032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important in the prevention and management of any disease condition. Please look forward for a continuation of the discussion on diabetes in the next publication.

Ebola still global emergency despite big drop in cases: UN Decline in cases appears to be real (CBCNews) - The World Health Organization says the year-long Ebola outbreak in West Africa still qualifies as an international emergency even though the number of cases has plummeted. Last August, the U.N. health agency declared the epidemic of the lethal virus to be a global emergency after the deaths of nearly 1,000 people, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. At the peak last year, hundreds of new cases were being reported every week. In an update this week, WHO reported there were 30 confirmed cases last week in Guinea and Sierra Leone; the last case in Liberia died on March 27. Dr. Bruce Aylward, who is leading WHO’s Ebola response, said the decline appeared to be real, rather than just “a pothole on the bumpy road to get to zero cases.” During a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, Aylward said WHO’s Ebola emergency committee believes the risk of the virus spreading globally appears to be dropping even though officials still don’t know where the virus is spreading in most cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone. “We are still not controlling the epidemic,” said Brice

Sunday April 12, 2015

Combating malaria and the associated challenges (From the Desk of the Vector Control Director, Dr Reyaud Rahman) Malaria has been dramatically lowered throughout Guyana in the past few years. We have used innovative and proven methods to meet our Millennium Development Goals, and moreover ease the disease burden in our country. We have however encountered a few problems with the compliance of the affected population namely miners and loggers. We have mainly gotten persons non compliant with taking blood smears and also the use of malaria medicines according to the prescribed dose. It is common practice for some miners to collect the malaria tablets and use a few of them and keep the rest for another time. The most serious problem which we are battling occurs when our health care workers travel for hours and hours to camps and the occupants refuse to take a malaria blood smear. This is not only a waste of resources but it is a dangerous practice for the persons in these areas, as many times the same persons that are noncompliant and do not take a malaria blood smear are the ones who become very sick with malaria and later develop severe malaria. When this occurs, they not only cost their mining camp owners money but they cost the country money. The owner of the camp would have to take the individuals to a hospital, health centre or health hut for specialized medical help and many times this means that the owner of the camp will bear the brunt of the cost to do so. When the individual is brought to the health facility if he or she is in a severe state, a decision would be made if

Dr. Reyaud Rahman evacuation to Georgetown is in his/her best interest and if this occurs, it comes at a high cost to charter an aircraft to do so. When the individual arrives in Georgetown he/she would be transported to our premier medical institution (GPHC) where he/she would be treated by the best physicians and medication in Guyana which also comes at a high cost, and which the State again covers. This entire situation could be avoided if some individuals in the malarious areas simply take a malaria blood smear when offered. This would save all parties involved a considerable amount of money and time. We have tried to reach all at-risk persons in all malarious endemic regions, however the public needs to also help the situation and comply with what is expected. To make testing easy, we have just started our Ogle International Airport testing site. This site will ensure that individuals coming from malaria endemic regions are tested and it is done in a convenient and efficient manner.

We have created a specific unit which deals with all vector-borne disease training. This unit ensures that all training is done in a standardized manner which is in accordance with the World Health Organization best practices and standard operating procedures. Currently, there is malaria microscopy training in Region One for new Microscopists and we are undertaking refresher training for Miroscopists already in the system. Besides building the vector control capacity throughout Guyana, we are also ensuring that medication, insecticides and materials are available to the public at all times. Without the public buying in, our dreams cannot be realized to drop malaria cases even further. We have procured high quality Leishmaniasis medication and would be able to treat even more Leishmaniasis patients. In the coming weeks we will be conducting fogging in Region Eight and have offered chemicals and training to regional staff to ensure that they will become self-sufficient in the future.

Being overweight ‘reduces dementia risk’

de le Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, who noted past lulls in the outbreak have often been followed by surges in cases. He said the designation of Ebola as a global emergency is also necessary to speed up paperwork for the ongoing experimental drug and vaccine trials in West Africa. Other experts agreed it’s too early for WHO to downgrade the status of the biggest-ever Ebola outbreak and warned the recent fall in cases

may be deceptive. “It is just that we are used to [seeing] large numbers of cases and deaths,” said Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on WHO’s Ebola emergency committee. “These numbers should still frighten us.” Tomori said that though cases have fallen dramatically, it is too soon to relax. “The three countries had declared themselves [Ebola-free] at one time, only to find dead bodies all over the place later,” he wrote in an email.

(BBC) - Being overweight cuts the risk of dementia, according to the largest and most precise investigation into the relationship. The researchers admit they were surprised by the findings, which run contrary to current health advice. The analysis of nearly two million British people, in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, showed underweight people had the highest risk. Dementia charities still advised not smoking, exercise and a balanced diet. Dementia is one of the most pressing modern health issues. The number of pa-

tients globally is expected to treble to 135 million by 2050. There is no cure or treatment, and the mainstay of advice has been to reduce risk by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Yet it might be misguided. ‘Surprise’ The team at Oxon Epidemiology and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analysed medical records from 1,958,191 people aged 55, on average, for up to two decades. Their most conservative analysis showed underweight people had a 39% greater risk of dementia compared with being a healthy

weight. But those who were overweight had an 18% reduction in dementia - and the figure was 24% for the obese. “Yes, it is a surprise,” said lead researcher Dr Nawab Qizilbash. He told the BBC News website: “The controversial side is the observation that overweight and obese people have a lower risk of dementia than people with a normal, healthy body mass index. “That’s contrary to most if not all studies that have been done, but if you collect them all together our study overwhelms them in terms of size and precision.”

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

230 cars were harmed during the making of Fast & Furious 7 (The Guardian) - Fast & Furious 7 has sped to a $500M total at the worldwide box office in under a week and will become the highest-grossing film of 2015 in a matter of days. But the success comes at a cost: the Wall Street Journal reports that 230 cars were destroyed during James Wan’s shoot in Colorado, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi. The destroyed vehicles included several black MercedesBenzes, a Ford Crown Victoria and a Mitsubishi Montero. Around 20 to 30 damaged cars were removed from the shooting site and crushed by Colorado firm Bonnie’s Car Crushers to ensure they would not end up back on the market. The much-discussed street racing sequel, which features the final performance of the late Paul Walker, will pass the £526.8m haul taken by Fifty Shades of Grey this weekend. With James Wan’s film still due to open in China and Japan, the world’s second and third largest film markets, it is well on course to pass the magic $1B mark globally and could end up breaking into the all-time top 10. The new episode should easily surpass the $789m made by 2013 installment Fast and

Furious 6, the saga’s previous biggest hitter. Fast & Furious 7 enjoyed the fourth biggest worldwide launch ever at the weekend, behind the last Harry Potter film ($483.2m), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($394.4m) and Avengers Assemble ($392.5m). That figure has now been revised upwards to $392.3 and the film is expected to make around another $60m in the US alone this weekend. Series regular Walker had not completed all his scenes for Fast & Furious 7 when the limited-edition Porsche he was travelling in crashed in

Valencia, California, in November 2013. Production was immediately halted, but Walker’s brothers Cody and Caleb ultimately doubled for the 40year-old actor, with CGI also used to complete the movie. Interest in exactly how the film-makers would overcome shooting difficulties, and in catching Walker’s final performance on the big screen, appears to have significantly helped boost box office figures. While Fast & Furious 7 opens in Russia this weekend and China on Sunday, it has already been showing locally.

Jaden Smith steps out in a dress (dailymail.co.uk) - Jaden Smith has always taken interesting fashion risks what else do you call zebraprint harem pants and plaid print belts? But the 16-year-old actor’s new move is one of his most daring. The son of actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith wore what appeared to be a black woman’s dress over a pair of distressed denim shorts during an outing in Calabasas, California on Thursday. Jaden - who has been linked to both Kylie, 17, and Kendall Jenner, 19 - donned a long sleeve little black dress which he styled with a white crocheted sleeveless top. Underneath his eclectic frock were dark colored cutoff jean shorts for a unique androgynous look. The older sibling of Willow Smith accessorized his getup with cheetah print high socks, black and white Nike Flyknit sneakers and a black backpack over his

shoulders. He appeared to be in good spirits as he sported a beaming smile on his face. Jaden proved that he is expanding his wardrobe closet to include women’s wear when he shared a photo of himself wearing yet another Tshirt dress. ‘Went To TopShop To Buy Some Girl Clothes, I Mean “Clothes”,’ he captioned a mirror selfie on his Instagram account on Wednesday. In the snap, Jaden is wearing a long sleeve striped dress over dark harem trousers at a gym surrounded by exercise machines and a track. ’That Moment When Your Wearing A Dress With No Pants And You Swerve Way To Hard,’ he wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday. While Jaden was showcasing his one of a kind street style, his young Hollywood friends are soaking up the desert sun for the Coachella Music Festival this upcoming weekend. Close pals Hailey

Jaden Smith Baldwin and Justin Bieber shared swimsuit-clad phot o s o f t h e mselves with Jaden’s rumoured girlfriend Kendall Jenner on their social media pages on Thursday.

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Jay Z pulls album Reasonable Doubt from Spotify after launching Tidal (independent.co.uk) - Jay Z has pulled one of his most popular albums from Spotify after launching artist-owned streaming service Tidal last week. The rapper’s 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt is no longer available in the US and Canada although the rest of his catalogue currently is, and it remains unknown whether he plans to “do a Taylor Swift” and remove all his songs. The album can currently still be streamed in all other territories, including the UK. Tidal is backed by a host of high profile artists including Madonna, Kanye West, Beyonce, Daft Punk, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Deadmau5. Beyonce and Rihanna both released exclusive music on the service over the weekend in a bit to entice new subscribers. Jay Z owns his record label Rocnation and as such, is free to distribute his tracks as he pleases. Most musicians do not have this liberty, making it unlikely that other Tidal backers’ songs will disappear from Spotify in the foreseeable future. Jay Z insists that he does not intend to “sink” Spotify with Tidal, but “strike an honest blow” and shape the music industry to better benefit both artists and fans. “I know everyone thinks “new company, main business competitor is Spotify” but we’re really not here to compete with anyone, we’re actually here to improve the landscape,” he said at a Tidal Q&A at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. “If just the presence of Tidal causes other companies to have better pay structure, or to

Jay Z

pay more attention to it moving forward, then we’ve been successful in one way. So we don’t really view them as competitors. As the tide rises, all the boats rise.” Spotify is staying silent on Jay Z’s decision to remove Reasonable Doubt but promises to “keep working with every artist to ensure all your favourite music is on Spotify”. Interestingly, Taylor Swift’s albums, with the exception of 1989, have appeared on Tidal. Swift said last year that she was “not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment [Spotify] that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of music”.

’Uptown Funk’ Ties for 2nd-LongestLeading Hot 100 No. 1 of All Time (billboard.com) - Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars’ smash leads for a 14th week, equaling the second-longest reign in the chart’s history. Plus, Wiz Khalifa blasts fast and furiously into the top 10. Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Bruno Mars, ties for the second-longestleading Billboard Hot 100 ever, ruling the chart for a 14th week. The smash also ties for the chart’s longest command this century. While “Funk” holds atop the Hot 100, the gap between it and the runner-up closes. “Funk” is down by 3 percent in overall activity, while the No. 2 song (for a fourth week), Maroon 5’s “Sugar,” gains by 6 percent. “Sugar” holds at No. 2 on Radio Songs (140 million, up 5 percent); drops 2-3 on Digital Songs, but with a 2 percent gain to 147,000; and rises 4-3 on Streaming Songs (10.5 million, up 11 percent). On the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart, “Sugar” backtracks 1-2 after a week on top but with a hefty 17 percent increase to 4.7 million streams. Chart Highlights: Maroon

5 Rides ‘Sugar’ High, Hits No. 1 on Pop Songs As previously reported, “Sugar” crowns the Pop Songs airplay chart, where it’s Maroon 5’s eighth No. 1, the most among groups. The band doubles the sum of the nextclosest group: Boyz II Men (four No. 1s). The song additionally passes 2 million in sales to-date. Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” returns to its No. 3 high on the Hot 100 after five weeks at No. 4. The Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack single pushes 5-4 on Radio Songs (127 million, up 7 percent) and descends 5-6 on

Streaming Songs (8.7 million, down 3 percent) and 4-7 on Digital Songs (118,000, down 4 percent). From the same hit movie, The Weeknd’s “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” rises to a new Hot 100 peak (5-4), adding top Airplay Gainer honors for a third week. On Radio Songs, it holds at No. 6 but racks a robust 21 percent gain to 104 million. “Earned” (still looking like a contender for No. 1 on the Hot 100 …) climbs 6-4 on Streaming Songs (9.8 million, up 10 percent) and keeps at No. 6 on Digital Songs (125,000, up 17 percent).

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

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MMU urges reporters not to allow politics to trump... From page 12 to mean the PPP/C, because nowhere in the article is Mr. Granger quoted as saying in direct language that the PPP/ C killed Courtney CrumEwing. “Based on all that has been outlined, the Unit’s conclusion is that the headline of the article was deliberately sensationalist, misleading and inflammatory. Further, it was obvious that in the accompanying story, Granger’s remarks were ingeniously distorted to fit the agenda of the article, which to all intents and purposes, was to deceive from the ‘getgo,’” the MMU said. The body added that the publication of this article violated Section I of the MCC, which states that, “The media acknowledge that the deliberate distortion of reality so as to lead the public to a

particular understanding of events and issues, without regard for reality, can poison the processes of democracy and therefore should not be done.” KAIETEUR NEWS The MMU took issue with the banner headline carried on the front page of the March 10, edition captioned “Rohee endorses Jagdeo statement that PPP is a ‘coolie people’ party.” The body said that at first glance, the headline conveys the impression that former president, Bharrat Jagdeo made a quotable statement that the PPP is a ‘coolie people’ party. It said this impression is further buttressed by the third paragraph of the article, which states that, “Jagdeo made this statement on Sunday when he spoke at the memorial service held in

honour of former President and founder member of the PPP, the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan at Babu Jaan, Corentyne, Berbice.” The Unit said that it is in possession of an unedited recording of the referenced speech, and despite playing and re-playing it on several occasions, it did not hear anywhere in his speech the comments attributed to him. “In light of our investigation of the reported statement attributed to Dr. Jagdeo by the newspaper, we found in the first place, that the headline as prominently displayed on the front page of the newspaper, was sensationalist, deliberately deceptive, and racially divisive. “The Unit also found that there was a glaring disconnect between the caption of the story and the

PPP targets APNU+AFC coalition... From page 7 voter said he didn’t want to hear “…them reflecting on a period when the People’s National Congress was in power and how they failed.” “What do I care about what happened umpteen years ago? I want to know what they plan to do for me, not what the PNC under Burnham did,” added the young man. President Ramotar after confidently assuring his audience that his Government will see to the fruition a number of projects, including the realization of secondary education and the further embracing of technology to fast track education, wasted no time in slamming the opposition for undermining too many developmental projects initiated by his Government and even chasing away investors. He boasted of his party’s ability to cater to the needs of the population from health to housing and even shared with his audience, some of them children at play, that he was not able to own his own home until he was 48 years old. This is, however, a thing of the past he noted since his government is making the availability of house lots, and by extension homes, to all. He, as at previous rallies, slammed the tactics of the opposition while in Parliament to stymie evident development projects including the Amaila Fall Hydro project which, he said, has the potential of benefiting all Guyanese. Benefits will be realized, the President explained, since electricity cost can be reduced by some 40 percent if Government doesn’t have to subsidize the Guyana Power and light’s operation,

a process that must continue without the Hydro Project. He, in turning his attention to the country’s importation of fuel bill admitted to the people that this is by far the highest importation cost incurred by Government. This, he noted, can be easily solved with the fruition of the Hydro project. “We will build Amaila,” said the President to an elated audience. He insisted, “We will make Guyana a power house.” And given the “realistic” plans that the PPP/C has on its agenda for Guyana the fervent call was for supporters and even nonsupporters to vote for the

PPP/C come May 11. Again slamming the APNU+AFC, the president warned the gathering that it is only “criminals, scamps and vagabonds” who choose to change their names. He however added that the acceptable ‘name changers’ are young women who desire to get married. According to Dr Westford in her appeal for votes to be directed the party’s way on polling day, the PPP/C is prepared to welcome all into its fold. “Come aboard we will welcome you with open arms; we won’t call you grasshoppers,” said Dr Westford as she appealed to non-supporters yesterday.

supporting content, which suggests that it was the overriding intention of the newspaper to misrepresent and distort,” the body said. What the MMU found troubling too was the “obvious agenda of the headline, which to all intents and purposes was crafted and tailored to generate feelings of racial alienation, disgust, and ill-will amongst Guyanese towards the PPP, and to generally sow further ethnic discord in the society.” Notably, the MMU did not comment negatively on any content in Stabroek News over the period monitored. As part of its general observations, the body said that generally it’s monitoring of the media over the past month, revealed that adherence to the standards set forth in the MCC was, and

might well remain in the foreseeable future, a herculean challenge for reporters, editors and publishers. “Still on the issue of news reporting, it was most disturbing to observe that opinionated news-reporting is now the new norm,” it said. The body reminded that according to the code of conduct “News and comment must be clearly identified to avoid confusion amongst readers, viewers and listeners.” “By highlighting this adjuration, the Unit hopes that from henceforth the stricture is complied with in letter and spirit by those responsible for news dissemination to the public, and that they do not allow the politics of the day to trump their professionalism,” the body said.

It said, too, that in the in the interest of goodwill in this report period it did not go the full length of publicly identifying those media houses that were overtly guilty of engaging in the practice. It said, however, that if the habit continues unabated, the body will not hesitate in our next Report to name media houses and provide the evidence of their deviant behaviour. There were numerous other breaches of the MCC by media houses during this first month of our reporting. The 2015 MCC was signed-off by twenty-three media-related organizations in the country. GECOM’s Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) was fully endorsed as the sole entity to superintend the implementation of the Code.

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Sunday April 12, 2015

A confident Donald Ramotar talks of his plans for his second term By Ralph Seeram While many are predicting the demise of the PPP with the “Time for Change” campaign, incumbent President Donald Ramotar has plans in the works. He can’t wait for elections to be over so he can implement his party’s plans to move Guyana even further in his second term. A confident Ramotar is looking not only to get over the 50 per cent mark but hoping to get substantially more. I caught up with the President on his visit to Florida this past Easter weekend, and took the opportunity to interview him. One of the main charges of the Opposition against the PPP administration is corruption, so naturally the first question I asked is what his administration will do to fight corruption at all levels. His government, he said, will establish a “Special Investigation of Corruption Body” with powers to investigate corruption and

prosecute crimes of corruption. The PPP will fight against all levels of corruption in Government and society by instituting mechanisms for transparency and accountability. In addition, it will appoint a Public Procurement Commission with Parliamentary support. Asked why voters should reelect him and the PPP to government come May 11, the President cited the progress the country has made since the PPP assumed office in 1992 after 28 years of PNC dictatorship. From a totally bankrupt economy in 1992 the country reserves today are nearly US$700M. Before the PPP assumed power the country’s debt repayment required over 100% of the revenues. Today Guyana’s debt repayment is just four per cent of the GDP. Guyana’s economy has experienced an average growth of four per cent over the past years. This has been verified by the World Bank reports. The World Bank has

predicted positive growth for the Guyana economy. In the field of education, President Ramotar said that Guyana has achieved Universal Primary Education status. This means that the country has a net enrollment/ survival rate of over 90%, a remarkable figure. Guyana is also on the verge of achieving Universal Secondary Education status, at nearly 90% enrollment/survival rate. Full status will be achieved next year. The PPP leader boasted that his government is spending over $24B on education which is 23 times the amount spent when the PPP took office. The Education sector accounted for more than 4.6% of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) and has an allocation of over 15% of the National Budget. President Ramotar drew attention to the fact that Guyana has consistently been producing top students in the Caribbean over the years. Boasting again of the PPP success in the field of education he noted that in the Global Report 2014/15 Guyana ranked 37th for Quality of Primary Education, 31st for Secondary Education Enrollment (gross %) #54 for Quality of Education System. The country is also ranked 54th for Maths and Science Education. In addition to free primary

and secondary education the PPP government has subsidized school uniforms and transportation costs. Guyana’s budgetary allocation is one of the highest in the Caribbean and Latin America Citing more success under the PPP Government, Ramotar turned to the Housing Industry where approximately one in five Guyanese own their homes or house lots. His government has distributed over 100,000 house lots to residents. His government’s success in housing can be seen all over Guyana, not only in residential housing but also in commercial buildings, in Georgetown and throughout the country. Guyanese have seen multiple shopping Mall Complexes constructed throughout the country, a sign of the confidence the Business sector has in the economy. Unlike the days of the PNC government when consumer goods were nonexistent and basic food items were in short supply, today stores are flourishing with goods. Many youths today take for granted what they see in stores; they may not know these goods were nonexistent during the PNC government. This is all due to the PPP government success in managing the Guyanese economy over the past years. Today not only more and

younger Guyanese own homes at a younger age than their parents, but more young people own their own cars at an early age. Guyana has been registering an average of over 20,000 vehicles per year over the last few years. This could have never happened under the PNC regime, Ramotar explained. Because of the boom in the construction industry, today fewer Guyanese are seeking jobs now in the Caribbean countries. While the President boasted of the success of his government I asked him about some “bread and butter” issues that affect the everyday life of Guyanese. Like why people from as far as Essequibo and Crabwood Creek on the Corentyne have to travel to Georgetown for passports. It’s time consuming, expensive, and very inconvenient for applicants. President Ramotar promised to look at decentralizing the system so applicants in Berbice and Essequibo do not have to travel to Georgetown for passports and certain other documents. On old age pensioners, it was the PPP government that increased the pensions to nearly $14,000 and this should be over $15,000per month next year. Also, some 24,000 pensioners have subsidized water rates and other benefits. High on the President’s agenda for his new term are Transformational Infrastructure, which includes completing the Amaila Falls

Hydro Project, the new Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and a new bridge across the Demerara River. Paving of the Linden/Lethem/ Brazil Road Corridor, commence construction of the Georgetown bypass road from Mocha to Ogle and pursue the development of a Deep Water Harbour are also on the cards. On the Economic front the president plans to review and simplify the impact of taxes and other factors on the Cost of Living; establish a National Rice Support System to ensure rice farmers are paid on time, liberalize the Telecommunications sector to reduce the cost of Voice and Data services, facilitate the development of three large gold mines as well as gas and oil explorations. Of course this column cannot cover all the PPP plans or achievements, but the President said Guyanese need to know, what the state of the economy was under the PNC, which now leads the APNU/AFC coalition, and the state of the economy today. President Ramotar feels that the PPP has a very good record to run on and the Guyanese people realize that their quality of life and standard of living have improved vastly under his Government and Party. He is confident that the Guyanese electorate will return his party to power, based on its performances over the years. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com and Facebook

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 -DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL. COM VACANCY Work from home: Earn $5,000 - $20,000 daily, 9am - 5pm, Monday to Saturday - Call: 233-6517/ 638-0595 or www.jobfairworldwide.com SECURITY GUARDS, CANTER DRIVERS, SALESMEN, MARKETING ASSISTANT with Drivers Licence. Accommodation Available. Tel. 266 4427 ACCA qualified accountant: 5years experience, salary $200,000-$300,000- Call:6735475. Email: Kevin@express truckingcorp.com Exists for female bartender $20,000 weekly. Waitress $18,000 weekly @ Sports bar located @ East Bank Demerara- Call:693-6304 Accounting clerk- C.A.T qualified. Office located @ Wales, W.B.D- Call:6735475. Email: Kevin@express truckingcorp.com Security firm requires a female for office work, must be computer literate -2535yrs- Call: 689-6225

WANTED Senior Accounts Clerk, 5yrs experienced, CAT or equivalent. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com Business/Economics Writer, email application to snow198390@hotmail.com 1 Caretaker (male), 1 bartender (male), apply @ Cotton Club, 44 Public Road Kitty-Tel: 231-1908; 231-1912 DRIVER FOR FAST GROWING FOOD IMPORTER/DISTRIBUTOR, NEED POLICE CLEARANCE, REFFERNCE/ APPLICATION. AGE 3045 FOR INTERVIEW. CALL: 231-8344 1 OFFICE ASSISTANT: Must have motorcycle, car/ van license, able to work flexible hours, from E.B.D. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com Farm workers, 1 male clerkCall: 265-3586 1 mechanic to work in the interior must know about 6BT Cummings and Perkins –Tel: 691-6260

GME Recruiting agency for miners or workers, register now! Mr. Beeram-Tel: 6959054; 231-7805

Need worker to work in Trinidad, 1 office clerk, 1 domestic - text or call: 868755-1990 or 868-683-1528

Plumbers needed for a construction site, Class A, Class B and Plumbing apprentices-Call: 592- 6172960

Porters to work in Grocery Stall, experienced is an asset @ Stabroek Market – Tel: 2269800

Salesgirl + porter boys, apply in person with application @ Daswaney’s (Sharon’s Building) 154 King Street Lacytown – Tel: 225-8036 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 695-9880; 669-4755 One cosmetologist and cleaner required – Call: 2274799

1 Male, 3 female general workers @ Land Of Canaan E.B.D – Tel: 225-6337 Salesgirls wanted – Tel: 2276817 Cashier – Floor Staff need to work in supermarket on East Coast, Cashing experienced is Plus- Call: 601-3679 SALESPERSON (MALE) BETWEEN 25YR & 35YR. MUST HAVE EXPERIENCED IN SELLING HARDWARE & EVERYTHINGABOUT IT – TEL: 231-8529 One domestic cleaner E.C.D Tel: 644-9802; 603-5416 Live- in waitress $60,000 monthly. Live- in domestic $70,000 monthly (must know to cook) - Call: 610-3974

EDUCATIONAL Phonics, Reading, Spelling Classes for children of all ages, limited space available Tel: 675-4379 First AID/CPR course, St. John Headquarters, 110 Cowan Street, Kingston, Georgetown. Tel: 225-9082, between 9:30- 15:30

Receptionist to work at Xenon hotel, must be between the ages 35-45 contact 223-5273/4

SALON

FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

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

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc -Call: 225-9032, 647-2943

PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL: CARS & SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 2193900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security – Tel: 698-7807

WANTED Live in waitress age 20 & older with Secondary Education @ Diamond Gate Liquior Restaurant, Lot 18-19 Belmont Mahaica - Tel: 2285013 Manager for 704 Contact 223-5273/4 Two Cleaner -Age 16-18yrs. Referable from Eccles to Diamond - Tel # 600-5253 1 Female attendant for internet café (26-35yrs) computer literate, 3 CSEC Subjects - Tel: 227-0867 between 5:00-7:00, MondayFriday. Urgently needed land to buy in Fort Ordinance & Glasgow (Berbice) & Rosignol –Tel: 675-7292; 611-7223 Urgently needed land to buy in Parfaite Harmonie, SchoonOrd, Eccles & Herstelling - Tel: 675-7292; 611-7223 One Welder, with gas welding knowledge, age 1830@ Fat Man Welding Shop, 21 Broad St. G/Town - Tel: 643-9125; 223-5595 One DAF 55 truck with mechanical skills, preferably from the Land of Canaan area –Tel:592-227-5585 Minibus driver living in G/ Town for relief on SundaysTel: 687-8728 Contract cars @ Classic Ride Taxi Service; Nandy Park, EBD –Tel: 233-5227

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Advertisements; Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building visadocumentsgy@yahoo.com Call : 225-6496, 662-6045 Mahadeo Construction for all construction, carpentry, masonry, pluming, painting etc. Free estimates and plan Contact # 669-7376 Accounting & Taxation Services: tax returns, compliances, financial statements. Avinash Persaud Tax Consultancy, 163 Parika, EBE - Call: 260-4762. GIVE YOUR RIDE THAT SHOWROOM FINISH! PAINT CORRECTION TO REMOVE SWIRLS, SCRATCHES, WATER SPOTS, WAX - TEL: 6107108

Great Deals on video games and all gaming consoles – Call: 672-2566; 265-3232 Lot 1, 2 bathtubs, bathroom fittings & fixtures & toilet set, shower fittings -$150,000 & 1 Dell Desktop, computer & HP Scanner - $25,000 – Call: 6015285 Cosmetologist is migrating and is selling out her salon equipments- Call:681-2500 Invertertec Automatic back up power home/businesses batteries included & remote alarm systems that will call owner. Call: 226-2646 6X6 TM with free maintenance schedule includes accessories for logs & fuel –Contact: 670-6521; 680-3154 IRIDIUM SATELLITE PHONE, MOTOROLLA 9505, WATER AND DUST RESISTANCE. 800+MINS, MAKE CALLSANYWHERE -$300,000 – CALL: 6485281 Male Enhancement - Tel: 642-6664 X-Box 360 slim 4GB or 250GB with 5 original games and 2 wireless controllers- cheap!Call:683-8386 Dredge engines 1 6 cylinder German deutz, 2-3 cylinder Perkins on bed, 5" housing & bearing block, 8"-6" razor blade pump. Tel:666-6618; 615-5925

Your Dream Yard Today! Stunning designs, Assortment, colourful plant choices, Professional Landscapers Tel: 219-0468/ 648-1821

Complete 6" dredge with Honda ATV and Pickup (24CYL – deutz engine) -$5.5M negotiable - Tel:666-6618; 615-5925

We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar: 2310655, 683-8734

Foreign used Yamaha outboard engines 15HP, 225HP and spare parts Yamaha 4 stroke jet ski – Tel:666-6618; 615-5925

Balloon decorating for birthdays, weddings, anniversary etc, make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664 Eagle’s fridge re-gas - $8,000 & washing machine repairs. Phone: 697-2969, 646-0966

MASSAGE

REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIRCONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES, FREEZERS- CALL:6294946 OR 225-4822

The Gents Spa: Beautiful sophisticated masseuses, massage done by Tiffany – Call: 657-5979

BrianMoe@642-3543; Computer Technician; FB:Brian.Moe.165; Home and office visits at your comfort!!

1 Graphic artist, 1 office clerk between 30-40 yearsTel:233-2725 Attractive live in waitress – Tel:228-5129; 604-8277

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1 Mini marine tanker capacity 11,500 Gallons – Tel:227-1744 or 657-9237 One complete cabin Cruise – Tel: 684-3786 1-4 pieces suite, 1 wardrobe, 1 vanity, 1-4 burners gas stove, 1 double bunker & single bed with mattress – Contact Bibi: 664-3454 1- Salon sink and chair, 1 massage table, a quantity of salon cosmetics & a quantity of cake stuff - Contact: 664-3454 1 Exhaust box, 600 amp automatic, change over switch –Tel: 627-7835

Super custom RZ BSS series, alarm, TV Deck, reverse camera, fog lights & remote start - $1.9M - Tel: 615-5784 AT212 Carina PJJ series good condition, recently sprayed - $1,150,000 negotiable Tel: 666-6618; 615-5925 Deals! Deals! Deals! Venus Auto Sale, new model Toyota Spacio, front and back camera/TV/CD/Navi – Call: 682-5117 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 New Model Allion $3.300, 2004 Spacio $2.050, Registered Spacio $1.7M Call: 655-3400 Toyota Voxy to be registered in “B” series - $2.1M & ‘G’ series - $1.7M - Tel: 617-2891 Toyota AT212, AT192, AE100 Sprinter, EP-71 Starlet, Hilux 4 Runner, RZ Mini bus, Yamaha R6 - Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom, Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 Blow Out Sales @ Star Cars Auto Sale- Premio, Spacio, Bluebird, IST, Benz, Alteeza, free alarm- Tel: 679-3140 Toyota Premio 2003 $2.350M, Toyota Spacio 2004- $2.150M – Contact: 227-5950; 681-7117 1 Toyota Tacoma pickup in need of repairs, GJJ series, price negotiable –Tel:6190256 (8:00am-8:00pm) 3000GT sports car, 3000cc 5 speed, 18 mag wheel & alarm. All $1.2M cashCall:621-4000 Toyota BB 2007, 40,000km only, auto start, 18" rims, triple TV system, back-up camera $2.2M- Call:621-4000 Dodge stealth sports car, 3000cc, automatic, fully powered $1.1M neg- Call: 621-4000 Mercedes Benz S300, fully armored, fully powered, leather, 19"rims & more $1.3M- Call: 621-4000 Nissan maxima, need some repairs but selling “as is” with documents $140,000Call: 621-4000 Blow Out Sale!!! Unregistered Toyota IST - $2,150,000Bodykit, TV, Spoiler, Fogs,Alloy Wheels, Crystal Lights &Alarm – Call: 643-6565, 226-9931 Continued on page 64

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Kaieteur News

Sunday April 12, 2015

PPP/C PM CANDIDATE...

(From page 63)

SERVICES For tree & hedge trimming, weeding, clearing & spraying of land- Call:6109187, 648-9750 & 685-5425 For your (NIS) National Insurance Needs – Call: 6096952; 682-7879

PROPERTY FOR SALE Property @ Lot 63 West Ruimveldt, Estate Housing Scheme Georgetown – Contact Mark: 618-9744 Two storied concrete house, two bedrooms upstairs, two bedrooms downstairs $20Million @ Block “8” Mon Repos, E.C.D- Tel:625-1514 Prime commercial property, located on corner of Cummings & Middle Streets, Alberttown, Georgetown, 2 Lots, 2 Buildings - $105M negotiable – Phone: 621-4000

VEHICLE FOR SALE One (1) Flat Bed Leyland Truck, One (1) Cement Mixer Truck- Contact # 650-0402/ 260-4988 Toyota Ipsum, automatic, fully loaded, A/C, sunroof, etc, excellent condition $1.350 negotiable – Tel: 6122258 Truck GNN5366, Car PMM 755 – Contact:613-5212

One concrete and wooden house and land in Pigeon Island (single lot)- $3.5M – Tel: 621-4000 2 Lots with house @ Pigeon Island, large land, $7 Million cash– Tel: 621-4000 Double Lot, 2 Zeelught E.B.E with concrete house -$8M Cash– Tel: 621-4000. Two storey; 2-3 bedrooms apartment at Tuschen H/ Scheme East Bank Essequibo – Contact: 6502982 Concrete house at Lot 203 Diamond/Grove New Scheme –Call: 693-0318; 600-1519

FOR SALE Stamp collection selling out, rare stamps, coins, documents, comic books, LP records, etc - Contact: 227-6817; 226-5183; 624-7141 Computer paper, American locks, transformers, door exit device –Tel: 233-2725 1 Toyoto Passo (Green) & 1 Toyoto Premio (White). Excellent condition. Owner leaving country. Tel: 6455056 1 Leging machine, 1 Front binding machine, all heavy duty, 1 generator - 5,000 watts – Tel: 220-4670 One Touch Diabetic tests strips, whole sale & retail, 25 vials – Call: 669-8872; 695-6604

LAND FOR SALE Vacant land space at Supply East Bank Demerara –Tel: 227-1744 or 657-9237 Parfaite Harmonie -$1.3M, $1.4M, $1.5M, Ankerville Port Mourant -$1.5M, $2M –Tel:675-7292; 611-7223 Blankenburg, 3 lots 75X76 each, $15M, all 3 lots, Parika, Peter Street, lot size 38’X150' - $7.9M-Contact # 650-0402/ 260-4988 50 Acres titled farm land @ The Belle, Upper Dem, River Front - $100M negotiable, serious enquiries only! – Tel: 669-8152 Concrete fenced land in high income area in Continental / Republic Park –Phone: 2330570; 629-7426 Professional Realty: we buy/ sell/rent/value your real estate –Call:694-3875; 6490535; 654-6198

WOOD: USED T-SHORE AND 3/8 PLYWOOD, TO CAST DECKING, ONLY USED ONCE @ HALF PRICE – CALL: 648-5281. Cummings complete genset generator 4CYL 30KVA, 2011 Ducati 1198’s superbike, pearl white, CH series original – Tel: 684-2838 Electric stove, dryer, 2 VHS/ DVD player/recorder, 2 VHS player, 2"X2" tables, 2 wall oven , 800 DVD movies & 7 Disc burner –Tel: 683-5234 Taylor (Triple head), 240V 3Ph soft serve cone machine, Belshaw donut machine , Bunn Coffee maker& 3 draw flasks-Tel: 683-5234.

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 1- 95X50 business place for rent located at Mon Repos Public Road E.C.D –Tel: 6276789; 656-0602 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, , JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE - CALL: 675-0767, 627-5098 One 2 bedrooms apartment @ 35 Howes Street- Contact Pet Boy Shop, between the hours 11am-6pm - $45,000 monthly 1-One bedroom apartment to rent at Lyng street Charlestown $35,000 per month- Call: 670-7171 1-Two bedroom apartment to rent at 23B Lyng street Charlestown $50,000 per month- call: 670-7171 Two bedrooms apartment to rent @ 1881 Parfaite Harmonie W.C.D -$30,000 – Call: 645-0489 Apartment for rent-Contact: 625-8605 Church to rent @ 180 Charlotte Street - $150,000 negotiable -Contact: 2276817; 624-7341

TOURS Suriname tour return May 1st -5th, sightseeing of dolphins; shopping –Tel: 639-2663; 644-0185; 665-5171

1 Miller Bob Cat, Welding generator 225 amps –Tel: 6165424; 680-0378 LEARN TO DRIVE Shalom Enterprise @ 2 Croal Street, enquire about on internaton drivers permit “join us on face book” –Tel: 622-8162; 227-3869

PEN PAL Guys & Dolls; meet your match single only! 1 Hour link –Tel: 592-223-8237; 648-6098; 8:30am-5pm (both phones same hours)

TO LET Alberttown (Apt) - $55,000, Light Street (Business) $65,000, Campbellville (house) US1000- Diana: 2272256; 626-9382 Kitty two bedroom apartment, Cable TV, parking, Internet, Security Cameras -$100,000 monthly –Tel: 645-0247 Furnished 2 bedroom apartment with AC Available for long/short term rental- Call: 665-2548 Rooms - Tel: 225-3234 Nandy Park house $600USD, South -$35,000, Winter Place -$80,000, Diamond, Kitty -$80,000, E.C.D furnished - $500USD Tel: 231-2200; 618-7483 One bedroom lower flat apartment prefer working couple or single person $35,000 – Tel: 672-3699 Eccles furnished apartment includes cable, internet, etc Call: 233-2770

From page 9 Canadian High Commissioner in Guyana, David Devine. This newspaper has seen several pieces of correspondence from the woman to the High Commissioner requesting help. Upon arrival in Guyana, she sought an audience with the Prime Minister and after repeated requests, she was eventually able to meet him and begged him for his help. But instead of getting assistance, the woman said that the Prime Minister told her to take the matter to court as it was a commercial dispute. She even tried meeting with Elisabeth Harper, who held a high ranking position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But her efforts failed. Devastated, the woman returned to Toronto with the sad story to tell her North American partners. A few months later Pollard travelled to New York and met

with the investors who agreed to amend their previous agreement and settle the matter by turning their investment into a loan that Pollard agreed to repay. This was after the investors threatened legal action against him. A document purporting to be some kind of promissory note was then prepared and signed by Pollard and his mother, Elisabeth Harper, agreeing to honour the commitment to repay the $700M loan with interest, beginning October last year. But up to November, Pollard had only repaid $6.3 million. The investors were now left with no other alternative to move to the court to compel Pollard to honour his obligation. The lawsuit was filed last December and was set for a first hearing in February. According to the investor, they recently learnt that Pollard’s mother Elisabeth Harper was named as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the PPP/C and they were incensed. Apparently not wanting the matter to derail her Prime Ministerial ambitions, Harper and her son have reportedly been desperately trying to contact the angry investors to come to an amicable solution. “We want our investment returned. My life has been completely broken by this mother and son. I have no life, no place to live. Even my hedge fund partners are angry with me because I had introduced them to Regan,” the Canadian-Indian stated.

Sunday April 12, 2015

Kaieteur News

T&T to host conference on problems facing Caribbean PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — A threeday conference aimed at identifying the challenges to Caribbean development and identifying strategies for securing a sustainable future gets underway here on May 5. The forum on the “Future of the Caribbean” is being cohosted by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Trinidad and Tobago Government in collaboration with United Nations System and regional intergovernmental partners as well as the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat. According to the organisers, the participants, including Caribbean heads of Government and policymakers, civil society and business leaders, and academic experts, will confront existing development paradigms through innovative, disruptive thought. “This is aimed at producing models for research, policy development and transformative action to support an equitable, sustainable Caribbean society in the post-2015 period and for generations beyond. “They will challenge each other to consider persistent development problems in new ways and identify approaches directed at widening opportunities and improving living conditions for all Caribbean citizens,” the organisers said in a statement.

Sir Hilary Beckles

Winston Dookeran

The three-day conference will focus on poverty, inequality, and resource mobilisation, as well as the specific vulnerabilities of small - often high and middle income - Caribbean states. “Business as usual cannot possibly meet the complex challenges of poverty, inequality and funding we now face in the region. We need disruptive thinking and bold action if we are to create a resilient and international Caribbean future. I believe we need to accelerate regional convergence and new models of diplomacy in a global setting and the Forum provides us a real opportunity to do just that,” Trinidad’s Foreign Minister Winston Dookeran said. ViceChancellor Designate of The University of the West Indies

Sir Hilary Beckles said the forum should provide an occasion for renewing “our commitment to the fine tradition of public-minded academic research” at regional university. “After 50 years of concerted effort Caribbean post-colonial development paradigms have climaxed and yielded poor to moderate results. This forum is an opportunity for the region to dig in, unearth, and emerge with the energy required to structure new options and different approaches to economic growth and social empowerment,” he said. The UNDP Resident Representative in Trinidad and Tobago, Richard Blewitt, said he was optimistic the forum “will trigger transformative academic research and public policy.”

Nicolas Maduro

Rafael Correa

America is being removed.” The last time US and Cuban leaders met was in 1956, three years before Fidel Castro came to power. US officials said Obama and Castro would likely talk about the negotiations to

restore diplomatic ties as well as lingering disagreements. Cuba has demanded to be removed from a US list of state sponsors of terrorism before embassies can reopen, noting that this has blocked the country’s access to bank credit.

Leaders herald new era at Americas Summit

Panama City (AFP) - US President Barack Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro opened a new era of relations yesterday as they both addressed a landmark Summit of the Americas ahead of historic one-on-one talks. Sitting around an oval table with some 30 other regional leaders in Panama City, Obama and Castro spoke one after the other in an unprecedented public exchange between the leaders of the Cold War-era foes. “This shift in US policy represents a turning point for our entire region,” Obama said. “The fact that President Castro and I are both sitting here today marks a historic occasion.” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos summed up the mood, saying “an old obstacle in relations between Latin America and North

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Sunday April 12, 2015

Castro says Obama is an honest man …leaders vow to pursue new future for US, Cuba

President Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro shake hands as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, looks on, before the inauguration of the VII Summit of the Americas, Friday in Panama City. REUTERS/Panama Presidency/Handout PANAMA CITY (AP) — President Barack Obama yesterday declared his refusal to refight the Cold War battles while Cuban President Raul Castro rallied to his defense, absolving Obama of fault for the U.S. blockade in a stunning reversal of more than 50 years of animosity between the United States and Cuba. “In my opinion, President Obama is an honest man,” Castro said - a remarkable vote of confidence from the Cuban leader, who praised Obama’s life and his “humble background.” Turning the page on the longstanding U.S. policy of isolation, Castro and Obama expected to meet yesterday on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas - the first substantial meeting between a U.S. and Cuban president in more than five decades.

The flurry of diplomacy, which kicked off Friday evening with an historic handshake between Obama and Castro, was aimed at injecting fresh momentum into their months-old plan to restore normal relations between their countries. “The Cold War has been over for a long time,” Obama said. “And I’m not interested in having battles frankly that started before I was born.” Castro, in a meandering, nearly hour-long speech to the summit, ran through an exhaustive history of perceived Cuban grievances against the U.S. dating back more than a century - a vivid display of how raw passions remain over American attempts to undermine Cuba’s government. Then, in an abrupt about face, he apologized for letting his emotions get the best of

him. He said many U.S. presidents were at fault for that troubled history — but that Obama isn’t one of them. “I have told President Obama that I get very emotional talking about the revolution,” Castro said through a translator, noting that Obama wasn’t even born when the U.S. began sanctioning the island nation. “I apologize to him because President Obama had no responsibility for this.” Speaking just before Castro, Obama acknowledged that deep differences between their countries would persist. Ye t h e s a i d h e w a s uninterested in getting bogged down in ideology, instead casting the thaw in relations as an opening to create “more opportunities and resources for the Cuban people.”

BRAZIL PROBES $5.4B SAAB FIGHTER DEAL BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian prosecutor is investigating possible corruption in Brazil’s $5.4 billion purchase of 36 Gripen fighter planes from Sweden’s Saab AB. A spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors’ office in Brasilia said on Friday the civil and criminal investigation will seek to determine whether there were “possible irregularities” in the contract, negotiated last year. The spokeswoman confirmed Brazilian media reports that the prosecutor was looking at a $900 million difference between the price in Saab’s initial proposal in 2009 and the final price agreed upon in October. The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) chose the Gripen NG fighter over Boeing Co’s F-18 Super Hornet, and the Rafale, made by France’s Dassault Aviation SA. The first Gripens should be delivered to Brazil in early 2018, Saab has said. The air force said in a statement that the

price difference was due to exchange rate fluctuations and additions to the contract, including flight simulators and a wide-area display cockpit panel, or WAD. The air force denied irregularities in the purchase and said it was ready to provide any clarifications needed. Globo’s G1 news service reported that the latest-generation WAD screen chosen by the air force is only used in U.S. F-35 fighters today and will be manufactured in Brazil by AEL Sistemas, a Brazilian avionics company based in Porto Alegre that is a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. Prosecutor Anselmo Lopes has requested documents from Saab, the air force and AEL, including copies of contracts, financial reports and emails related to the fighter deal, G1 reported. Lopes has one year to complete his investigation.

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PPP targets APNU+AFC coalition at Bartica rally “They are here to win our votes,” said 26-year-old Sankar, as he awaited the start of the People’s Progressive/ Civic Party rally at the Didi Ramnauth Square yesterday. The young man who operates a Trucking service at First Avenue Bartica, Region Seven, intimated during an interview with this publication that “they have to come good to get my vote.” According to the young man, he was not too enthused about the rally since he has seen politicians in the past make promises only to fail to live up to these. “Since Donald Ramotar came into power he didn’t come and talk to we, the Bartica people; (Clement)

Rohee never come and discuss security with us,” said the young man as he emphasized the dire need for security in the Region that links the Mining area. “They need to stop talking about each other and talk about the real issues, the developmental issues...fix our roads, give our young people jobs, that’s what young people need,” said the evidently riled-up young man as he voiced his optimism that politicians will one day “stop making empty promises and actually do what they say they will do during elections campaign.” Sankar ahead of the rally said that he was keenly looking at the A Partnership

- youths want issues, not personality to be addressed for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU +AFC) coalition. He believes that the party has a plan that could help move Guyana forward. This publication was however unable to locate Sankar after the more than three-hour long rally to ascertain if he had a change of heart. Romain Downer on the other hand was prepared to vote “PPP/C” even before the start of the rally. This Party, he said, has shown that it has the stamina to continue Guyana along a progressive path. He however observed that there is need for more

Body of another teen floats up at foreshore The search for 17-year-old Daviekumarie Ramadar, of 59 Bella Dam, Pouderoyen ended dramatically yesterday afternoon when her body was discovered on the Blankenburg foreshore. According to reports, persons were passing on the seawall at approximately 14:30 hours when they detected a foul odor. Upon further investigation they discovered the body among the boulders. According to reports, the body, was identified after persons contacted the missing girl’s grandfather, after they noticed that the mauve jacket on the body matched the clothes the girl’s parents were describing throughout the week to residents during their search for Ramadar. The girl’s grandfather subsequently identified the body as that of Ramadar. The former employee of Parsaram Discount store, on Water Street, had gone missing since April 4. She reportedly had a dispute with her employers and walked off her job. That was the last time anyone saw her. The mother of the teen, Jajranie Omadat, was grief stricken even as she tried to make sense of what had happened. “She left Saturday morning to go to work and she kiss she brother and she gone. And then she call me and tell me she going to town to get this bag and bring home. But I didn’t know she had any problems at work place. When me reach home Samantha (a co-worker of teen) call me and tell me how she had problems.” According to the mother, she was told that Ramadar had problems with her boss and someone named Raj. She said she was told that her daughter had just left the store and that

- fourth body to surface in recent weeks at seawall locations

Daviekumarie Ramadar she should try to contact her. Omadat said that she immediately tried calling her daughter and eventually found the girl who told her not

to panic. “She say Mommy, ‘Don’t go station, don’t go nowhere, I am going to come home. She will look for some work at Diamond, Richard carrying she to look for some work, then she will come home. And that was it.” According to the woman, Richard was her boyfriend. At the time the teen left her home on Saturday, she was reportedly dressed in the mauve top, blue jeans, silver slippers and a brown bag. When the body was recovered, she was dressed only in her top, along with a few items of jewelry. Her jeans, bag and cell phone were nowhere to be found. Two persons of interest are currently in custody assisting with investigations. The body is at Ezekiel Funeral home.

“paying” jobs for our young people. “People must be able to get a salary that they can live on and save some too,” said Downer who operates a boat service and supplements his income by driving a taxi sometimes. He lashed out at some campaigning politicians who he claims “keep fighting each other down. I don’t like to listen to stupidness. One calling one an ‘anti man’ and calling names is not what I want hear from the leaders,” said Downer as he alluded to a political meeting held in Bartica last week. The rally last evening, which is arguably the smallest PPPC rally yet for the 2015 campaign, was attended by hundreds, some of whom opted to listen from a distance. It all started with a lively procession, characterized by

the flag-waving and dancing supporters, along First Avenue. They were accompanied by an equally jubilant First Lady Deolatchmie Ramotar, Ministers of Government, including Dr Jennifer Westford who chaired the proceedings. They were joined by President Donald Ramotar, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, PPP General Secretary and Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee. They, save Rohee, were among the speakers of the rally. Minister or Public Works, Robeson Benn and other Regional officials including Edward Skeete, Stephen Belle and Patricia Matthews, were the

others. In attendance too were Presidential Adviser, Odinga Lumumba and Minister of Labour, Dr Nanda Gopaul, among other regional officials. In their quest to appeal for the Barticians’ votes, the PPP/ C representatives as they took to the podium, sought to take jabs at the coalesced APNU+AFC. There were even some verbal assaults from President Ramotar directed at both the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News as he sought to solicit his audience’s votes. A main focus from most of the speakers of the evening was to do exactly what one young Continued on page 61

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GNRA/IPSC to host 1st level one match... (From page 74) stage, with gun holstered and the chamber empty, on the start signal from the Range Officer, the shooter will turn and engage all targets as they become visible. The No Shoot penalty targets will be a challenge, when hit, means that 10 points is deducted from the shooter’s score. All this shooting must be done while moving down a small rectangular shooting box. On this stage the competitor will be shooting a minimum of 32 rounds. The second stage “Up Down” is simple, where shooters will start at either side of an inverted “V”, with three targets on either side and two at the top of the “V”. With a round chambered, safeties on, on the start sig-

nal, the competitor will then move down a chosen side, then move back down the other side, while engaging the 10 IPSC certified targets. Though seemingly simple, it will also test the competency of the competitors. All ten (10) IPSC targets MUST be shot with the unsupported strong hand only. On this stage the competitor will shoot two rounds per target, a minimum of 16 rounds for 10 points. The Third stage, “Do It” will consist of four (4) IPSC certified targets placed 25 feet from the first box, the second box will be 21 feet away from the targets. Targets will be 2 feet apart and the shooter MUST shoot a minimum of two shots from either box. Course of fire is, hands in above shoulders, gun loaded,

safety on, facing away from targets at the start line. On the start signal, shooter will turn, step into first box and engage targets. Eight (8) rounds minimum, maximum of 40 points. The newly appointed Regional Director, will be unveiling and using his IPSC/ USPSA, STI made, 2011, 9mm Semi-Automatic, which was Custom built by Shay Akai of AC Customs of the USA. The 2011 is a high capacity 9mm firearm, adapted from the renowned Colt 1911 pistol. This custom made firearm is capable of holding 22 rounds of 9mm, 115 grain full metal Jacketed or hollow point ammunition and still fit in the IPSC box, which is 225 mm x 126 mm by 45 mm deep. Firearms such as Glock,

Sunday April 12, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Some time alone with a special person is definitely called for today, Aries. The social whirl of recent weeks has put you in touch with a lot of old friends and enabled you to make new ones.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Money may be coming your way through a contract of some kind. This is a positive development. Make sure you read every word in the document before you commit to anything.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) The possibility of moving out of your neighborhood may have occurred to you before, Taurus, but events today might have you finally making up your mind to do it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Are you sometimes afraid of appearing silly in front of people, Scorpio? The fear of failing in the eyes of others might be holding you back from real progress.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Today you might be pleasantly surprised to realize that you're in far better financial shape than you thought. You could discover a hidden talent for money management that you didn't think you had.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You usually like to think of yourself as being a scientific, logical person, Sagittarius, but today you may think more like a mystic. Your intuition is more active than usual, and you might come up with the same words as someone close to you.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Today you might decide to sequester yourself at home, catch your breath, get your thoughts together, and recall the events of the past several days. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Taking care of chores around the house might bring some home matters to your attention that need to be taken care of, Leo. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Tying up loose ends may take up much of your time today and keep you busy, Virgo. Don't forget to take a little time for yourself. You are your first priority!

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Social invitations or opportunities to participate in group activities should come your way for a few weeks, Capricorn. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You're thinking about your future career development, Aquarius, and you aren't happy with your current situation. Advancement is on your mind. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today is a good day to take time out for the small, sensual pleasures. Perhaps this is a day for dessert, particularly chocolate or cheesecake.

Smith & Wesson, CZ-75, CZ75 Tactical Sport, Taurus, Sig Sauer and the Bul of Israel will be used at this shoot. Names such as Ghost, Double Alpha, Ernie Hill Speed and Guga Ribas will be some of the speed holsters visible at this shoot. All members of the Guyana NRA, Security Services, all law enforcement agencies, licensed firearm holders are invited to take part in a supervised bull eye competition, where competitors will shoot 10 rounds of their ammunition to a target 10 meters away from their shooting stations for a maximum 100 points. The winners will receive trophies for their efforts. There will be a special supervised media shoot out,

the winners will also receive trophies. Regional Director, IPSC Guyana, Harold Hopkinson, is the Match Director, Murtland Smith, Chief Range Officer, he will be ably assisted by the National Handgun Captain, Dale Hing and Vice-Captain Gordon Richards. Assistant Secretary Treasurer, Mr. Hemant Narine, will be in charge of the Statics and Scoring using the IPSC certified Programme. Persons that will be shooting hoping to achieve Speed, power and Accuracy includes Dale Hing, David Dharry, Ray Beharry, Dr. Johan Da Silva, Harold Hopkinson, Gordon Richards, Murthland Smith, Rajiv Latchana and Randy Sarjoo.

Sponsors for this Level 1 competition are General Marine Company Limited, Queensway, Hakeem Mohammed licensed firearm dealers. Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc. Guyana’s Première Aviation Security Specialists and firearm Dealer and Dr. Karen Persram Optometrist. A team of Guyana NRA members led by the IPSC Regional Director, Guyana will be departing for Aruba, on Wednesday 29th April 2015, to participate in the Caribbean Cup 2015, hosted by the Aruba Practical Shooters Club. Over 68 shooters from 12 countries will be participating in this IPSC sanctioned Level 3 match.

What does Guyana’s 4-day... (From page 70) hardly looked threatening at that level. Has domestic batsmen challenged his bowling faults that were exposed in test cricket? Caribbean batsmen are appalling at playing spin – seven of the top 10 wickettakers were spinners. Poor Ronsford Beaton or any of the many talented young quicks in the region. Bowlers like Miller and Permaul thrived on just nagging accuracy. But at the international level, the top batsmen are only troubled by a spinner that turn the ball significantly, and as such, Narine and Shane Shillingford (although he chucked) have proved to be better picks for West Indies. Deonarine looks like another Stuart Williams/Devon Smith type player, always scores runs domestically – but never looks the part at the

Bishoo credits hard... (From page 75) 2012. “I’m very happy to be back in the West Indies camp,” he said. “I was out of the team but I knew I was good enough to make my way back into the team. I made some changes to my action and now I would say I’m bowling the best I have ever bowled.” The three Test Matches will be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua; Grenada National Stadium; and Kensington Oval in Barbados. The West Indies continued their preparation for the Series with training sessions yesterday afternoon and this morning at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

highest level. Leon Johnson’s outside off-stump technical flaws were glaringly exposed by the South Africa pace attack recently – did he have the fast bowlers or the pitches to work on the deficiency since his return, to gauge his improvement? Only Bishoo, the 2011 ICC Emerging player of the year we can safely have confi-

dence in because realistically he never lost anything. He already proved himself at international level, but was just ridiculously over bowled under the Darren Sammy test captaincy tenure and his then small frame struggled with the workload. Now that he is stronger – I would expect him to be a threat at the highest level again. Colin Benjamin

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“West Indies vs. England Test Series – Chance for both teams to improve!” Colin E. H. Croft The three-Test series that begins tomorrow (Monday) at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium between West Indies and England is extremely important for both teams, especially after such underwhelming efforts by both teams in the recent World Cup. WI supporters should not care much about what happens to England’s cricket development, but the poor recent efforts, even if only in ODI’s, should make England and WI want to redeem them-

selves immediately in these three crucial Tests. WI has done little recently in Tests too to appease critics. Therefore, this situation is simple for Denesh Ramdin’s men. Nothing short of a WI victory would be acceptable! Late in 2013, WI lost 2-0 to New Zealand, in NZ, in a 3Test series. Return fixtures in the Caribbean in 2014 saw NZ beat WI 2-1 (3 Tests). WI did beat Bangladesh 2-0 (2 Tests) in 2014 in WI, before losing 20 (3 Tests) to South Africa, in SA, in 2014/15. In recent Test series, WI has fared even worse than

Denesh Ramdin (flickr.com)

ODI failures, so, with that record, WI’s players should not need incentives to perform well. But if WI needs those to perform well, then one, openmouthed, ready-made, has already been provided, an audible kick in the backside, by England & Wales Cricket Board. By now the team must have heard that incoming ECB Chairman Colin Graves has publicly suggested: - “I expect WI team to be mediocre!” If that insult is not incentive enough for WI to destroy England, then nothing can be! This could well be that elusive dawn of a new era for WI too, with newly-appointed Head Coach Philip Simmons at the helm, anxious to get off to a positive start. Fraught with problems on and off the field, WI will hope Simmons can provide much needed leadership and stability on, even off the field of play too. Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Lendl Simmons are unavailable for varying reasons. Thus, it will be left to veterans Ramdin, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Sulieman Benn, Jerome Taylor and 40 year old Shivnarine Chanderpaul to use experiences and know-how to keep WI together, then expansive

enough to beat England. Younger guns called into WI training squad, players eager to play and show off their skills, also have a great opportunity to emphasize that they really do belong and want their inclusions to be permanent. Carlos Brathwaite, 26 year old Barbadian fast bowler, has only six international games for WI; four ODI’s and two T20-I’s; but his 1st class returns have been creditable. Another Barbadian, 24 year old Miguel Cummins, was not selected in the final squad for Test No. 1, but his speed could yet bring him opportunities in the future. Compatriot 21 year old Shai Hope gets the nod ahead of yet another Barbadian, 23 year old Shane Dowrich. Both, interestingly, also wicketkeepers, have had good 2015 1st Class seasons, each having made one century, the former a double too. Guyanese orthodox leftarm leg-spinner Veerasammy Permaul will, strangely, have to wait for Benn to fail, despite Permaul’s magnificently successful 2015 1st Class season. That other Guyanese s p i n n e r, t h o u g h , r i g h t armed leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo gets his return, after bowling brilliantly; 61 wickets; to help Guyana win overall in 2015. His return could be very in-

teresting indeed. For England, the soap-opera continues as the Kevin Pietersen saga seems neverending, while many questions remain over captain Alastair Cook’s form, function and effectiveness, perhaps his very a u t h o r i t y . Under-pressure opener Cook’s last Test century, v New Zealand, was two years ago. If he fails again here, his tenure as captain and place in the team before the big Ashes 2015 series will come under more intense scrutiny. Pietersen will be watching this series with great interest, as, having seemingly been offered an olive branch by ECB Chairman Graves, the controversial batsman appears intent to get back into England’s Test fold, electing to play for Surrey in County Cricket. This distraction cannot be good for England. For their own benefits, they need to draw a line under this situation sooner rather than later. Jonathan Trott is also back. His output can be ultraimportant to England’s hopes in the Caribbean and especially for that later Ashes series against Australia. Gary Ballance too will be under the microscope, as he seems to be heir-apparent for all things great in English batting. Also expect James Ander-

son and Stuart Broad, England’s normal opening bowlers, but who looked so jaded during CWC 2015, to be re-ignited, firing on all cylinders, having enjoyed sea, sand, sunshine and great Caribbean food in St. Kitts and Nevis. Pitches in Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada and Barbados are expected to be batsman-friendly, with runs plentiful, except perhaps at Kensington Oval, where it should be more bouncy. Pitches could play their own parts as to which team triumphs. The teams last met in the Caribbean in 2009, WI surprisingly taking that close series 1-0, but so much has changed since then, for both teams, that this series could be won by either team. The stakes are extremely high. Rally, West Indies! Maybe! Enjoy! E-mail address = c.e.h.croft@gmail.com

Letter to the Sports Editor Carib Beer sponsors GCA T20 Competition What does Guyana’s 4-day triumph

Distribution giant, Ansa McAL under its Carib Beer brand, has sponsored Georgetown’s Cricket Association (GCA) T20 Competition, with the company alluding to its now firm grip on support for sports across the board. The first division tournament is slated to bowl off later this month with nine teams competing for the top prize. “We have always had cricket at heart you can see that we are committed to all sport at any level,” Ansa McAl’s Public Relations Officer, Darshanie Yussuf boasted. “This is the cricket season and we are happy that the GCA has given us a chance to help develop our cricketers to reach the next level,” she continued, adding that she is pleased with the work of association at a simple handing over ceremony at the company’s Beterverwagting Headquarters, East Coast Demerara.

mean for West Indies Cricket?

Ansa McAl’s Brand Coordinator, Nigel Worrell (right) hands over the sponsorship to President of the GCA, Roger Harper at Ansa McAl’s Headquarters, Beterverwagting. President of GCA, Roger Harper, thanked Ansa McAl, and the Carib Beer brand, for the support, stating that the company has a long relation-

ship with the association. Harper informed that 2015 marks the fourth year of such partnership for the tournament.

Dear Sports Editor, The year was 2001. South Africa were about to arrive on their first full tour of the Caribbean since readmission, as the West Indies returned home from being whitewashed by Steve Waugh’s mighty Australian team. That 2001 also marked the year Carl Hooper returned to cricket after an almost two year hiatus, which resulted in him leading Guyana to then Busta International Shield Final versus Jamaica and later becoming Windies captain. Hooper’s Guyana XI for that final vs Jamaica read: A Haniff, S Chattergoon, T Dowlin, R Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, C Hooper, M Nagamootoo, N McGarrell, V Nagamootoo, C Stuart and R King. Considering the career form many of that XI were in at the time, in my estimation

that was the strongest Guyana team seen this millennium in any format. Thus when comparing that 2000/01 season Guyana team to the team that won the fourday title for the first time since 1997/98 a few weeks ago – I am left with some puzzling cricket questions. Can we conclusively say that Guyana who failed to win a single game last season really improved – or has our rivals declined? Evidence suggests the latter, considering that traditional regional giants Jamaica and Trinidad lost their final round games to regional whipping boys – Leeward Islands. This was quite notable for Jamaica who won six of the seven regional titles from 2007 to 2014. Curiously, Jamaica has achieved all this with minimal input from their most highprofile players - the likes of

Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor. But why has this island’s dominance failed to noticeably benefit West Indies? In the last two decades of Caribbean cricket, a decline in the standard of the domestic first-class scene has coincided with the regional team’s weakness in the international arena. Jamaica, in my view, has been best at exploiting the mediocrity of their opponents in the four-day game, rather than being a great team in their own right and unfortunately Guyana season victory followed a similar trend. It’s hard to seriously say that guys like Permaul, Johnson and Deonarine are international standard. When former chairman of selector Clyde Butts inexplicably dropped Sunil Narine from the test squad a few years ago to give Permaul some tests, he (Continued on page 69)

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Slingerz FC harbour ambitions of more glory By Santokie Nagulendran Last Sunday, in what will surely be known as one of the most famous victories in the history of Guyanese football, Bakewell Slingerz FC, a club founded only two years ago, defeated powerhouse Alpha United in the final of the 25th Kashif and Shanghai tournament. The victory capped a fine few months for the West Demerara side, who a won the Banks Beer Cup in January, and then the Mayors Cup in February, where they defeated Western Tigers 5-0 in a one-sided final. With such success achieved in a small space of time, many football

fans are now wondering whether Bakewell Slingerz FC are indeed the best club side in Guyana. Javed Ali, owner of Bakewell Slingerz, has always had a passion for football in Guyana: “I always used to visit and support local tournaments since the days of Franklin Wilson being President of the West-Demerara Football Association. When Kashif and Shanghai had their big year-end tournaments in Linden, I was always there,” Ali, an Indo-Guyanese Muslim, proudly proclaimed. Indeed, it was the famed K&S tournament that inspired Ali to set-upSlingerz FC: “As I looked around the venue (at K&S) and saw the

energy in the crowd and the intensity in the game as both teams searched for a win, I thought to myself why can’t football in Guyana be like this right through the year? Because after that tournament ends football goes dead again until the next year-end tournament and you don’t see that high level of turn out to games, so I thought why not invest in football and get a team to host at least 2 tournaments a year and keep the football playing all along, so in that way players and coaches and everyone else associated with the football will benefit. I see football as a business that has potential in Guyana.” It was this ability to see

Formed only two years ago, Javed Ali’s club Slingerz FC have rapidly become one of the best teams in Guyana.

potential in Guyanese football that led to Javed Ali launching Slingerz officially in February 2013. “My initial plan and ambition was to help revive interest in football for the people of West-Demerara and East-Bank Essequibo by making it more competitive and allowing both players and coaches to benefit with more exposure to football.” The club also received support from current National team Coach Jamaal Shabazz, who in turn helped the team recruit star players from the National team. “At the start we already had a few Golden Jaguar players in our team such as Dwayne Jacobs, Ronson Williams and Kester Jacobs, but then we decided to invite Mr Shabazz to see the club and he immediately fell in love with what he saw. He subsequently introduced us to players like Vurlon Mills, Charles Pollard and Colin Nelson,” Ali said. Vurlon Mills, one of the club’s star players, explained why the team has been so successful: “Slingerz success has to do with the hard work and dedication of both the players and coaching staff that worked with us throughout our existence (such as Gordon Braithwaite and Charles Pollard). Each of the coaches provided a different ingredient to the club, and all we needed was a chef in the form of Javed Ali to complete the pot.” Mills has credited the team

with raising the competiveness of football in Guyana but would like more help: “I think more businesses should come on board in sponsoring teams, because this is the only way the sport can get to a higher level and raise the level of competition. Slingerz FC have shown that there can be more than one dominant team in the country.” With Mills, Colin Nelson and Joshua Brown all making the National Team for recent International friendlies, the club is certainly benefitting the Golden Jaguars, and even veteran National stars such as Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams and Devon Millington have reinvigorated their careers at the club, with Millington scoring both the goals in their historic win over Alpha last Sunday.However, the road hasn’t been smooth for Ali and the club, as he says, “There were instances where comments were made, and we were denied from entering leagues, which almost killed us, as the team was not playing any form of football for around six months, but everybody stuck together, and since the Normalisation Committee have come to power, things have improved for the better.” As an Indo-Guyanese Muslim, Ali has had to overcome obstacles to prosper in a sport which has tended to

Santokie Nagulendran be dominated by AfroGuyanese males, but says, “I grew up with the belief to not let comments regarding race or religion keep me from achieving what I want.” Furthermore, Ali wants to encourage more people to enter football: “It’s a great sport! It’s fun, it’s exciting just like cricket ,basketball and most sports, but it’s a great way to get people together and help to keep the youths in the community to stay out of trouble, teaches them discipline to be responsible and to work together as a team to achieve success.” Ali finished by saying that he has major hopes for his club over the next few years: “Our next objective is for the club to enter our first National League, eventually compete in the CFU Championships, and make Bakewell Slingerz FC one of the best teams in the region!”

Gayle 96 guides wobbly RCB to win ESPNcricinfo - Royal Challengers Bangalore kept losing wickets at one end. Chris Gayle kept hitting fours and sixes at the other. Even as Royal Challengers threatened to implode at 133 for 6 in a chase of 178, Gayle turned down a few singles and hit a few more sixes. Four short of a hundred, and with seven needed for victory, the man who prefers not to run ran himself out scrambling and diving for a rare second. Royal Challengers still got home with an over to spare, such had been the impact of Gayle’s seven fours and seven sixes in his 96 off 56. Gayle was put down twice; the first was a tough chance for Morne Morkel diving forward at deep square leg with Gayle on 33. The second was a much simpler catch for the same fielder at the same position with Gayle on 63. Yusuf Pathan was the bowler to suffer on both occasions.

Before he dropped the match, Morkel had worked up testing pace and bounce to take out Gayle’s opening partner Virat Kohli on the pull for 13. Morkel and Sunil Narine kept Gayle and Kohli quiet at the start, and the Kolkata Knight Riders spin army started to take toll on a helpful surface. Dinesh Karthik and Mandeep Singh fell trying expansive strokes against Pathan to leave Royal Challengers 56 for 3. AB de Villiers came in and targeted Knight Riders’ newest mystery spinner KC Cariappa. The South African had already cracked five boundaries in 12 balls and Royal Challengers appeared to be back in the game when he walked past a flatter one from Cariappa. The asking-rate was almost 12 when Shakib Al Hasan’s flight lured Darren Sammy to his fall in the 15th over. Gayle had gone about his innings in typical fashion till

now. He had been troubled by Narine’s offbreaks, he had mishit a few, but he had also swung some deep into the stands. The over after Sammy fell, Gayle pulled and lofted Pathan for successive boundaries. It was the same over in which Morkel was to put Gayle down decisively. Uncharacteristically, Gayle now started to push for twos. Abbott was run out off the first such attempt. Gayle responded by turning down singles off the next two balls, yorkers from Shakib. Forty-four needed off 21. Shakib missed the yorker twice in succession. Six, and six more. Gayle was properly cruising now. Narine was pulled and swept for consecutive fours and two runs taken off the third. With seamer Harshal Patel on strike for the last two balls of the over, Gayle pushed him to try and hit at least one for six. Harshal succeeded on the

second attempt. Gayle could have reached his century two balls later off Morkel had Manish Pandey not managed to jump at deep midwicket and throw a flat hit back in. He saw what had happened in the deep and tried to regain the strike but could not beat Pandey’s throw. He had done enough to ensure, though, that Royal Challengers beat the defending champions. That had looked improbable with the way Royal Challengers had gone in their season opener. Misfields, missed chances and overthrows in a nervy fielding performance had helped Knight Riders gallop to 177 for 6. Gambhir and Robin Uthappa put on 81 upfront inside 11 overs, with the Knight Riders captain making it successive fifties at the start of the season. Knight Riders were jolted by the fall of Suryakumar Yadav and Pandey off successive deliveries in the 17th over

Chris Gayle hits out on his way to a 56-ball 96, Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2015, Kolkata, April 11, 2015 ©BCCI but Andre Russell blasted an unbeaten 41 off 17 to propel them to what they thought was a good enough total. However, probably no score is sufficient in this format if Gayle lasts as long as the 19th

over of a chase. Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 179 for 7 (Gayle 96) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 177 for 6 (Gambhir 58, Russell 41*) by three wickets.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday April 12, 2015

Lens Craft Optical/EBFA U-13 League

Herstelling, Agricola, Mocha take full points on first day Shoran James maintained his consistency in the final third to register the lone goal that earned full points for Herstelling Raiders over Grove Hi Tech; Agricola Red Triangle’s Leon Moore netted the competition’s first hattrick while a double came from teammate Shamar Morrison; the highlights of the opening day of the inaugural Lens Craft Optical/ East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Under-13 league. All the action took place at the hub of football on the East Bank, Grove Playfield also taking full points but without working up a sweat was Mocha Champs whose opponents, Craig, failed to put in an appearance. In the main game, rivalry between Herstelling Raiders and Grove Hi Tech was renewed and it was the same script but a different play. Shoran James it was who scored the lone and winning goal against Grove in the Under-11 Pee Wee game a few weeks ago and was in repeat mode yesterday. Playing 11v11 using the full length of the pitch, both sides approached the game

positively and the action ensued from end to end but with five minutes left to play in the 30 minutes a half allocation, James tucked in the opening and winning goal from a goal mouth scrimmage. Opportunities were very limited in the encounter but Herstelling had the chance to double their lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute but the ball was punched away by second half goalie Safwan Cordis. Grove were desperate to pull one back and switched their Under-11 most prolific goal scorer Devon Padmore from duties between the uprights to the forward line. Their efforts however were all nullified by solid defending from Herstelling. In the day’s opening match, Agricola, another emerging side, trounced Diamond United 7-0 on account of the league’s first hat-trick off the boot of Leon Moore and a brace from Shamar Morrison. Agricola’s intent to hunt goals was shown to their opponents very early. They could have very well

Agricola Red Triangle (green & black) battles Diamond United at the Grove Playfield yesterday.

opened the scoring much earlier than the 20th minute were it not for a missed penalty from Kerwayne Lyte, his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Teon Forde who was summoned to open field duty in the second half. It was another penalty that opened the scoring for Agricola, this time, Leon Moore made no mistake in hitting his shot past Forde.

Five minutes later the score was doubled when Shamar Morrison netted the first of his brace and on the stroke of half time, it was a 30 advantage to Agricola compliments of Lyte’s goal as he made amends for his earlier missed chance from the spot. The first two goals after the break came off the boot of Moore, he scored in the 37th and 39th minutes.

Morrison was at it again in the 40th minute as Diamond just could not find a way to break down the Agricola defence. Sealing the deal five minutes to full time was Jared Corrica who came on as a substitute one minute earlier, his header sailed into the back of the nets to complete an exciting 7-0 win for his side. Mocha Champs were

gifted two goals and three points as a result of Craig’s no show. The competition will continue on Saturday at the same venue with Diamond taking on Kuru Kururu Warriors from 10:00hrs to be followed by a game between Grove Hi Tech and Agricola Red Triangle, the feature game brings together Herstelling Raiders and Craig.

Lewis Hamilton makes pole record in Chinese Grand Prix BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat teammate Nico Rosberg to pole position as Mercedes dominated qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton has looked imperious all weekend but Rosberg closed the gap to just 0.042 seconds on his final run. The world champion joins Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio in being the only drivers to score five or more poles at one track. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third but nearly a second off the pace. Williams’ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas beat Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to take fourth and fifth as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was seventh. There is no sign as yet of Ferrari being able to repeat their surprise victory in the heat of Malaysia two weeks ago. Vettel and Raikkonen are expected to be closer to Mercedes on race pace than they were over one lap, but Mercedes’ advantage appears significant enough to make them strong favourites for victory. The ambient conditions are much cooler in Shanghai than they were in tropical

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain (C) waves after taking pole position next to team mate Nico Rosberg (L) of Germany and Ferrari Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany following the qualifying session of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix at the Shanghai... Reuters/Aly Song Malaysia. Rosberg entered the weekend determined to try to do something about a run of success for Hamilton, who the German has beaten only once since last season’s Italian Grand Prix in September. His frustration at missing out by such a small margin in the end was clear. After being

informed by his engineer Tony Ross of the margin, Rosberg said over the radio: “Oh, come on, guys.” Hamilton was 0.324secs ahead after their first runs, but failed to improve on his second lap, allowing Rosberg to close in. Hamilton said: “We have

a tough race ahead of us - the Ferraris are strong on long-run pace - so it is not over by any means.” Rather than challenge Mercedes, Ferrari were left to hold off a revived challenge from Williams. Vettel was 0.267secs ahead of Massa, who beat Bottas by

0.189secs. Raikkonen had a disappointing final run and was 0.545secs off his teammate. The German said: “Hopefully we can race them tomorrow. It is a long race and tyres are important. We hope to do well and get a lot of points.” Outside the top 10,

McLaren’s Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were 17th and 18th, failing to get into the second part of qualifying by just over 0.2secs. That was a disappointment after improved form this weekend. “The car didn’t feel bad so it’s interesting when you find a good balance but the lap time is not there,” Button said. “We’ve made good improvements this weekend but qualifying just wasn’t for us. I’m relatively happy with the balance. “Hopefully we’ll be racing the cars in front, but we hoped to be competing with them in qualifying as well.” However, it marked another major step forward for McLaren - they were 1.7secs off Vettel, who set the pace in Q1, which marks substantial progress after being 1.5secs off the next slowest team in Australia at the start of the season. Button was 0.004secs quicker than Alonso, who missed all of final practice when an engine problem stranded him out on track on his first lap out of the pits. Will Stevens beat teammate Roberto Mehri by 0.8secs as both Manors qualified for the race.