Kaieteur News

Page 04

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

A changed media landscape It took just over two weeks before Minister of State Joseph Harmon broke his silence in the face of accusations that seemed to threaten his political career. The first criticism came when the news broke that he had appointed businessman Brian Tiwarie an advisor. The outcry was such that President David Granger immediately rescinded the appointment. Minister Harmon said nothing amidst the clamour that he explain what happened. The din had not even died down when the disclosure came that he had intervened into the operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority, halting a seizure of some vehicles that the logging company, BaiShanLin, had imported. The issue was the non-payment of the relevant duties. Again, in the face of the questions, Harmon said nothing. His silence only served to fuel the media aggression. Harmon’s ministerial colleagues would only say that they were aware of the issue and that methods were being adopted to address it.In the end, President David Granger announced that he had instituted measures to ensure that no other Minister get involved into the affairs of another Ministry. The loudest criticisms came in the wake of the publication of a photograph of Harmon seated in a private jet in China surrounded by the owners of the embattled Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin. The media concluded the worst; not least that Harmon was involved in corrupt transactions. The dust is now settling; answers have been provided at last. It would seem that not much could have been said because of sensitive negotiations. The nation has also learnt that a new company is moving to take control of BaiShanLin operations. One must assume that the government has learnt a valuable lesson. Indeed, the previous government did pretty much the same things but escaped criticisms because the population had been beaten into submission. The government rarely deigned to offer explanations and when it did, it left more questions than answers. It could have been some fear on the part of the media to go all out and criticize the previous administration. Indeed, Kaieteur News sought to expose every shortcoming, but the government simply reacted as though the newspaper was little more than a nuisance. When the situation became a bit more serious, the government relied on the state-controlled media and those closely aligned to the government to launch counter attacks. Knowledge about the construction of the Marriott Hotel came from a newspaper publication in Jamaica. It was same with the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Again, news of the project was first published overseas. The launch of the hydro road leading to the Amaila Falls was similarly secretive. Contrary to what ensured these past few weeks there was no media frenzy. It simply means that the word is that no other government would be allowed to get away with what the Jagdeo administration did. This speaks to a new day in media freedom and transparency. Yet there are those in the society who would not condone any criticism of the government. The nature of the politics is such that people are either for or against a political party, regardless of what that party does. The nation saw the picketing exercise outside Kaieteur News when the newspaper continued its reporting of the perceived ills of Mr Harmon. There was one interesting observation. The criticisms came from those media agencies that were equally critical of the People’s Progressive Party government. Those that were loyal to that government did not join in the attack against Harmon. And this could be understood. They got information that the rest of the media never got until two days ago. The companies that are operating in Guyana came at the invitation of the PPP government. There is still that contact with the leaders of the PPP and it would be some time before these companies deal exclusively with the present administration.So the Harmon issue is heading for the archives but one must now wonder whether the government would hesitate to answer questions.

Fifteen points in the argument for ancestral lands DEAR EDITOR; M. Maxwell continues to promote the economic genocide of Africans that has resulted in today’s glaring economic inequalities among the various ethnic groups in Guyana. This is the main reason he cowardly hides behind an ethnic mask and promotes the continuation of a historic process of racial thinking, injustice and discrimination most Governments of Guyana have implemented against Africans in Guyana. President Jagdeo oversaw the “greatest transfer of wealth from a sovereign state to an ethnic group in the modern era of Latin America and the Caribbean”. He did this by affirming his Indian constituency while denying the Africans equal access. Maxwell has never said anything about this criminality. As Professor Clive Thomas highlighted over a decade ago: “There is the existence of a cabal or coterie of persons comprised mainly, but not exclusively, of selective crime

bosses, state officials, security personnel, elements of the criminal justice system and political bosses, advisors and other insiders. The combination is unique and derives from the particular historical antecedents as well as social, economic and political circumstances in Guyana. This group as identified wields enormous power as well as commands considerate economic wealth. As the ruling elite this group has placed itself above the reaches of domestic law while at the same time leading the political charge in Guyana for law, order, public safety and human security”. M. Maxwell knows very well what he is doing and whose interests he is promoting. He is indifferent to the genocide of 450,000 African lives to build Guyana. He is totally indifferent to the 200 years of enslavement in what the UN describes as a “crime against humanity.”These figures are clearly grounds for reparatory justice. Maxwell is unrepentant in his quest

to deny Africans reparatory justice through land or equal access to government procurement which has been another area of African economic genocide practiced by the last government. The inequality of Africans in Guyana is because they have not been given justice. But all others groups have. The inequality of Africans is the result of centuries of discriminatory practices by Governments of Guyana, both during colonialism and after Independence. Discrimination underpinned by ethnic supremacy and the practice of racism which as Dr. Kean Gibson has correctly defined “is itself a political system, a particular power structure of formal and informal rule, socioeconomic privilege, and norms for the differential distribution of material wealth and opportunities, benefits and burdens, rights and duties”. Maxwell now has a new guise. He argues, quite unconvincingly that the justifiable claim for land by Africans in (Continued on page 23)

Linden television battle rages on DEAR EDITOR; Each day that public officials, elected and appointed, continue their rambling whenever they are brought to account, confirms public opinion that within this group are the ill-informed, arrogant, and those lacking of understanding of their roles, functions and responsibilities. Leonard Craig, the Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), in his response to my statement that it was not within his remit to advise the Linden Television Trust how it should be composed, confirms my position. This is his admittance that “…it is true that the GNBA cannot dictate the size and the structure of the Directorate of the Linden TV outfit…” Yet it is the composition of the Trust that is the issue being used as the reason to delay the issuing of the licence in order that the station can be up and running.

In Craig’s letter (13th April, 2016) what has been outlined is his interest in using political manoeuvring to determine whether to issue the licence or not. While he correctly acknowledges the GNBA can mediate conflicts among licences, the Trust does not have a licence. Thus, as Chairman he cannot get involved in any conflict, perceived or real, as to who sit on the Trust. His is the responsibility at this stage to ensure the Trust confirms to the law in its establishment in order to be granted the licence. The Trust in its present composition is considered a legally constituted body and has therefore met that requirement aspect for a licence. And given that Craig’s utterance in the media, where he has ascribed to himself the authority that unless the Trust goes by his advice in its composition of the board in order to be in receipt of a licence, such conduct is

misplaced and misguided. The other elements of his letter have no bearing to the extant issue and shall not be addressed. What it reinforces however is a lack of knowledge of role and responsibility of several members of state boards. Many are labouring under the misguided belief that they have the authority to flex muscles and subject persons to conditions that are in conflict with the law. The time has come for the Prime Minister, who has responsibility for broadcasting, to ensure the law is followed to the letter and the Linden Television Trust receives its licence consistent with the 21st August 2012 Agreement between Central Government and Region 10 Regional Democratic Council. Persons have to stop playing games with a matter that resulted in the loss of lives, injuries suffered, and dislocation. Lincoln Lewis.

Tobacco kills even non-smokers DEAR EDITOR; Tobacco is the single greatest preventable cause of death in the world today. Tobacco not only harms the smoker but exposure to second-hand smoke also causes illness and death in non-smokers as well. The tobacco epidemic affects the economy by placing significant burden on the public health care system to treat the chronic diseases it causes. Further, we cannot attribute a monetary cost to the pain, loss and suffering faced by individuals and families affected by the tobacco epidemic. The tobacco epidemic disproportionately affects the poor and places socio-economic burdens on families for generations. All of this is preventable with the implementation of effective legislation, policies and programmes to fight the tobacco

epidemic. Guyana acceded to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) on 15 September, 2005, but has not executed any of its obligations. The objective of the WHO FCTC is the protection of the right of every person to the highest attainable standard of health and, to this end,the Convention establishes legislative and other evidence-based measures aimed at reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption and exposure to second hand smoke. Tobacco control has also engaged the attention of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). In the Declaration of Port of Spain 2007, Member States committed to pursue immediately WHO FCTC-compliant

legislation. Since then, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Suriname, Jamaica and Cayman Islands all enacted tobacco control legislation. In the meantime, Guyana has no tobacco control legislation and the WHO Global Youth Tobacco Survey which tracks tobacco use among youth in countries across the world, shows that the prevalence rate of youth tobacco consumption in Guyana was at 20.9% in 2010 – only better than Dominica (25.3% in 2009) and Jamaica (28.7% in 2010) among all CARICOM Member States. The proposed Tobacco Control legislation seeks to protect individuals from the effects of second-hand smoke in all indoor public places, indoor workplaces and public transportation, and in specified outdoor public places (Continued on page 23)

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 5

Juridical option for solution to the border issue DEAR EDITOR; Just after the conclusion of the conference of Commonwealth leaders in Malta, Guyana’s President David Granger on November 29, 2015 declared that the ongoing process by the United Nations could resolve the border controversy with Venezuela in three years’ time. While some may regard the president’s outlook as optimistic, Guyanese everywhere surely will want the Venezuelan claim to their territory to be rescinded with immediate effect. However, Venezuela is not expected to satisfy this yearning Guyanese desire, and it continues to rely on the UN Good Office to find a solution to the long existing controversy over that country’s claim of nullity of the arbitral

award that delineated the territorial boundary in 1899. Venezuela’s reliance on the Good Office process seems to be an adamant position, even though that course has failed to produce any tangible result since its implementation twenty-five years ago. It is obviously because of the failure of this means that Guyana decided to request the UN Secretary General to choose the juridical avenue to find a lasting solution to the controversy. Venezuela, on the other hand has objected to Guyana’s proposal, insisting that the activity of the Good Office must continue. For his part, the Secretary General himself does not seem to be enthusiastic over the snail-like movement of the Good Office procedure, and this is evidenced by the fact

that he has not expressed interest in naming a successor to Dr. Norman Girvan, his last “Good Officer” who died two years ago. Since July 2015, Venezuela had asked him to name a new appointee. But since it was the practice in the past for both Guyana and Venezuela to first agree on a nominee, this definitely will not occur since Guyana is no longer interested in what it regards as a failed route. The UN Good Office method The Good Office method had certain advantages since it acted as a liaison between the two countries and the Secretary General’s representative (the Good Officer), with no powers to mediate, undertook periodic visits to both capitals to hear opinions on the issue from high level gov-

DEAR EDITOR; The only victory we think the entire country may posture now is that a determined struggle yielded the setting up of an inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Walter Rodney, the completion and tendering of the report to the President and the imminent official release to the public of the Report. The Head of State, Hon David Grainger who had the benefit of possession of the report has registered the Presidential disaffirmation of the report, it appears without prior consultation with his coalition partners. It remains to be seen whether on further consideration he will modify his severely critical position or even it remains immutable, he may help to create an environment accommodating differences so that we can rescue something positive out of it. When we read the report and see the evidence we too can try to arrive at our own commonsense conclusion. We would also have to see if the Commissioners did it the right way and were consistent in applying the tools to the consideration of the evidence. We also should not ignore the performance of the lawyers appearing before the Commissioners. They in particular bore the responsibility in examination

and cross- examination of witnesses to help the Commissioners to determine the veracity and credibility of witnesses, bearing in mind that a witness who is not challenged or weakly challenged, or the failure to advance evidence refuting statements and evidence given by witnesses or supporting their interpretation of the events, could have telling consequences. There is no evidence that during the hearings that the lawyers’ rights were in any way abridged. We refrain now from commenting on the findings until we have had the opportunity and time not only to read but to digest the report. The public should be wary of political opportunism that will flow unrestricted in the reaction to this report and the agenda of spin doctors. The Inquiry could not gather all the facts and could not include all the first hand experiences of those of us who lived through the period under review. The Inquiry is also vitiated to the extent that the protracted delay from the period and events under review to the first day of hearing would make recollection of important events dim and many witnesses could for any number of reasons not have been available for the hearings. We will have to consider too that the Commission

barely survived a persistent effort to abort the hearings and in the end important witnesses were not heard or did not complete their evidence. The Commissioners bear no responsibility for this. Associates of the WPA have all witnessed at least some if not all the events to which they can swear or affirm. Victims can be found among all sections, classes and races of Guyana. And the degradation permeated all facets of our culture and society. For (Continued on page 23)

The WPA is awaiting the Walter Rodney Report

ernment leaders. The Good Officer, if he was present, also presided at meetings of the “facilitators”the officials appointed by the two countries-to ensure that the discussions had clarity and focus. He looked out for any raised issues requiring an input from him or the Secretary General and volunteered his assistance where appropriate and was expected to investigate possibilities of assistance. In the end, he summed up the discussions and defined the conclusions and the tasks to be accomplished, if any, until the next meeting. But there were times when the Good Officer did not fully understand his role. For instance, the late Oliver Jackman, the Good Officer from 1999 to 2007, felt that he was a “mediator” until he was told by the Secretary General’s office that such a task was not in his portfolio. In May 2003 at a meeting in Barbados with the facilitators, Ralph Ramkarran (appointed by Guyana in 1993) and Luis Herrera Marcano of Venezuela, Jackman, in an unusual request, asked them to explain the Good Office process to him, and to jointly prepare a short paper for his edification on his role. Both facilitators, who had met separately from Jackman a month before in order to restrict his tendency to mediate, subsequently prepared for him a document detailing his role as the Good Officer. Actually, the meetings of the facilitators formed the

more successful part of the Good Office approach, but they were rarely held more than twice annually. There was a lasting cordiality between the two officials and they freely shared their views and made suggestions without any animosities. This was an “easy” course of action since the two countries, particularly up to early last year were enjoying very amiable relations despite two shooting deaths of Guyanese and the destruction of Guyanese dredges on the Cuyuni River by the Venezuelan military. However, even though in July 2010 Venezuela named Ambassador Roy Chaderton as its new facilitator, there is no report of any meeting between him and Ramkarran. And actually, the last time the Good Officer, the late Dr. Girvan, met with the Guyanese and Venezuelan foreign ministers was in October 2013 during their meeting in Trinidad following the arrest by the Venezuelan navy of the Guyana-contracted survey ship, the RV Teknik Perdana. The juridical option Even though Venezuela had displayed aggressive tendencies during the last year of the PPP administration by its actions against Guyana’s off-shore oil surveys and exploration, a more hostile approach developed after the new APNU-AFC coalition took power in May 2015. That month, President Nicolas Maduro issued a decree claiming most of

Guyana’s offshore waters and the Venezuelan navy was commanded to defend that claim. Subsequent parliamentary elections in Venezuela saw an overwhelming victory for the opposition coalition which in September 2015 declared its preference for mediation of the border issue. As Guyana has now opted out from the Good Office procedure, it is obvious that the facilitators’ meetings are now abolished. The focus is now of how the Secretary General will proceed with respect to choosing a method of solution listed in Article 33 of the UN Charter. The proposal by Guyana for juridical action lies before him, and no doubt the separate meetings between the Secretary General and the Guyanese and Venezuelan presidents in New York and visits by UN senior representatives to both capitals (earlier this year) engendered discussions on this aspect. American and British roles Even though the border controversy is purely a problem between Guyana and Venezuela, both the British and American governments can have influential roles in prodding the UN to move forward to a juridical solution. Actually, the 1899 arbitral award was of a juridical (Continued on page 23)

Page 6

Kaieteur News

1,200 sign petition for removal of Region Nine REO Approximately 1,200 persons residing in Region Nine, Upper Takatu, Upper Essequibo, have affixed their signatures to a petition requesting the removal of their Regional Executive Officer (REO), Carl Parker. This was revealed at Thursday’s press conference hosted by the main Parliamentary Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown. The Party’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, told media operatives that there have been a number of complaints from Regions won by the PPP with regard to the performance of elected Regional Executive Officers. These include the call by residents to have the Region Nine REO removed. Copies of the petition, she said, have been sent to President David Granger, the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and to the PPP/C. The Chief Whip stated that the residents have listed 14 points to the President with

regard to Parker’s performance. These points, she said, include sexual harassment, discrimination against Amerindian staff, meddling in the affairs of the Amerindian Village Councils, total disregard for the Regional Democratic Council by overriding decisions by the Regional Democratic Counci, failure to provide requisite financial reports and interfering with the duties and functions of the Regional Chairman’s office etc. “This is a rather important development in the sense that the communities are obviously reaching levels of total frustration, “Teixeira said. Kaieteur News was informed that the number of signatories was a little over the 900 mark however, when Carl Parker was contacted yesterday afternoon, he told this publication that the number was actually 1,200. Asked to comment on this issue, Parker replied, “I have no comments for the time being, until I would have spoken to a lawyer”.

Some School Boards function outside of authority - GTU The management of some School Boards continues to be a bother to the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU). This was one of the pressing issues deliberated on when the Union convened its recent Biennial Conference in Bartica. Speaking on the issue, GTU President, Mark Lyte, shared the Union’s belief that “some Boards are counterproductive to the delivery of quality education in Guyana.” As such he related that this situation remains a serious concern to the GTU. He qualified the Union’s view by sharing that “Head teachers and teachers continue to report breaches in the operation of some School Boards. In fact, some Boards have no idea as to what their mandate is and therefore function outside of their authority.” He vocalised his conviction, “It is about time that the School Boards’ policy be reviewed so that a more effective way can be chartered for education in Guyana. We must evaluate the work of School Boards in Guyana and work to either enhance or eradicate them.” While the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) is tasked with appointing, promoting and disciplining the majority of teachers in the

public education system, there are School Boards that play a similar role to a lesser extent. School Boards are appointed by the School Board Secretariat which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Education. And Lyte disclosed that on most occasions persons are selected by the Ministry. He had previously told this publication that School Boards comprised political appointees. “Generally they do nothing for the schools.” He therefore reiterated his belief that the operations of School Boards should be reviewed or even possibly become a thing of the past. He disclosed last year that during the lead-up to the May 11, 2015 elections, Head Teachers were asked to identify persons to comprise the Boards. But according to Lyte, finding the ideal people, who are interested to volunteer a great deal of their time to the uncompensated work of the Board, is not always an easy task. “These people are not given a stipend for their travelling or anything,” said Lyte of the School Boards members. He added that they may not have the schools’ interest at heart. According to Lyte, the need for a revision of the

School Boards Secretariat and by extension, School Boards has long been an issue gaining the attention of the Union. “This has been something that we have asked for a long time because we find that there is a lot of conflict. People who do not necessarily understand education are placed on School Boards based on their political affiliations,” said Lyte. Ahead of the call for Headteachers to identify potential Board Members, Lyte said, “Persons were selected from external places based on their affiliation to be a part of Boards, and many of them did not know education policies so they could not make informed decisions.” Another shortcoming of the Board highlighted by Lyte is that, while teachers of nonboard public schools are appointed by the TSC, those at Board Schools are appointed by the respective School Boards. This translates to some variances. For instance, while TSC requires a teacher applying for a Head Teacher position to undergo an evaluation complete with the writing of an essay, this is not required by the Board. There are currently about 30 Board Schools and according to Lyte, “It is simply not a level playing field.” He is convinced that a school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) together with its administration could offer more efficient management than the School Boards.

Saturday April 16, 2016

NGSA layout changes...

Nothing sinister in new format - Chief Education Officer The changes by the Ministry of Education that require the children writing the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), to write their names as opposed to the traditional candidate numbers on examination papers, have resulted in a few raised eyebrows. Recently, members of the parliamentary opposition weighed in on the issue. Former Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, cited the change as a chink in the integrity armour of Guyana’s education system. With a name instead of a number, Manickchand said that it will pave the way for subjectivity when it comes to the marking of the local aspect of the paper. Chief Education Officer (CEO), Olato Sam, when contacted yesterday said that one of the reasons for the change is to provide proper tracking of the papers in the event that a candidate number should be written incorrectly. Adding that there have been issues of this nature in the past, this change is a more efficient means that has been adapted, Sam stated. “Administratively, it is to track students in the event that a candidate number would have been written in incorrectly, or any of those potential issues emerge. “We’ve had issues like that in the past. This is a more efficient means that has been adapted; to provide proper tracking of the papers, has nothing to do with marking. “So in the event for example, someone writes a six and it looks like a zero on the candidate number, without the name, we have no way of reconciling any issues in relation to those papers,” Sam said. Manickchand has also raised concerns about the alleged path of secrecy taken by the Ministry to make these changes while adding that subjectivity and discrimination were most likely to derive from the local markings of these examination papers. The Government Information Agency (GINA) later yesterday issued a release quoting the CEO, Olato Sam, stated that there is “nothing sinister” in the Ministry’s move to change the format of the NGSA. Sam told the media that the officers of the Ministry of Education are professionals that “do not get themselves involved in sinister and secre-

Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam tive processes.”Sam explained that in changing the format of the examination, the Ministry consulted the premier assessment entity in the region, (which is the Caribbean Examinations Council). GINA stated that Sam told media operatives that the Ministry adopted the new format and measures because “they are more efficient and will be more effective in preserving the integrity of our assessment in Guyana and that is our primary concern.” “It is not my place to get involved in any of the other things, but I can assure all of the public that our assessment process is going to be conducted with the standards and the expectations, that are not just local, but are regional,” Sam was quoted by GINA. “We have certainly ensured that all of the expectations that are actually enshrined in the assessment processes that have international standards are now being brought to bear on the local process,” he added. The Ministry is currently crafting a broad-based response to public concerns raised over the new format for the examination. This is in addition to a press release that the Ministry would have already sent out outlining clearly, that the new requirements are administrative functions that will in no way affect the marking process of the examinations. The release stated that the each of the four subjects written in the National Grade Six Assessment has two papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2) and as it relates to candidate information, the two papers require different sets of infor-

mation. For paper one, the answer sheets will have the candidate information—candidate name and identification number-already printed or ‘pre-slugged’. “The candidates are required to write/sign their names as a mechanism to ensure that the candidate for whom the paper was prepared is actually the one who answers the questions. This will have no implications for marking, because these answer sheets are all marked electronically,” the release stated. With the paper two, the cover page of the answer sheet is “bifurcated and perforated”. The Test Code, Subject, and Candidate Number are required on both sides. The Test Code and Subject will already be printed, while candidates will be required to write in their Candidate Number - this information is provided for them on the timetables given to every candidate. In addition, on the right half of the paper only, candidates are also required to write in the name of their school, their full name, date of birth and gender. The right side of the sheets are all detached prior to the commencement of the marking of paper two and retained for administrative purposes only. The information that would be evident during the marking process would be the Test Code, Subject, and Candidate Number only. “These are administrative mechanisms that will have no bearing on the marking process whatsoever,” the release concluded.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

New J’ca Govt. to introduce raft of legislation in 2016/17 fiscal year - Removal of Queen as head of State, fixed election date and term limit for PM on agenda (Jamaica Observer) - The Government has signalled that it intends to make good on its promise to sever colonial ties with Britain by bringing a Constitution amendment bill to Parliament to have the Queen of England Elizabeth ll, replaced with a nonexecutive president as head of state. This would do away with the governor general as the Queen’s representative here, and make Jamaica a republic. A non-executive president, like the governor general, would still be a symbolic leader and perform a representative and civic role but with no powers to make policy. But he or she could use discretionary powers for extraordinary political intervention, based on the Constitution. Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, in the 2016/2017 Throne Speech to mark the opening of the new session of Parliament, announced the plan to move to republican status, while outlining a raft of other measures that are now on the legislative agenda. The new Administration appears set on doing what former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in her inauguration speech following her party’s victory in the 2011 general election, had proposed to do. Simpson Miller said then that as Jamaica celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, the Government would “initiate the process for our detachment from the Monarchy to become a republic with our own indigenous president as head of state”. Also on top of the agenda is legislation for fixed election dates (local and general) and term limits for the prime minister. Sir Patrick announced, too, that a National Human Rights Institute (NHRI) is to be set up in law and the Office of the Public Defender “enhanced to incorporate the NHRI”. The Government in 2014 started dialogue with the Commonwealth Secretariat to set up the body in compliance with a set of guiding standards adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993. The promised Impeachment Bill is also to be brought to the House. The law will allow for criminal proceedings to be brought against corrupt public officials and parliamentarians. Among the other pieces of legislation are: the Bill to

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen arrives for the ceremonial opening of Parliament, where he delivered the Throne Speech, outlining the Government’s plan for the new fiscal year. amend the INDECOM Act; a bill to amend the Constitution to address the judicial review of the director of public prosecutions; and the Criminal Justice Amendment Bill to provide for reduced sentences on guilty pleas. Additionally, the Governor General said the Government has proposed that the Dangerous Drugs Act is to be further amended to “give full legislation” for marijuana to be used for specified purposes. Lawmakers are also expected to carry through other pieces of legislation that are already in train. These include the Integrity Commission Bill; the Arbitration Bill; and the

Judicature (Resident Magistrate) (Amendment) Bill; the Law Reform (Notice of Alibi) Bill, which stalled in the House years ago when members of parliament protested the provisions; and the Mutual Assistance (Criminal Matters) (Amendment) Bill to allow for the introduction of evidence by closed circuit television link and video-recorded evidence. Changes are also slated for the Trafficking in Persons Bill to give the court powers to prosecute offences under the Act without a jury, while legislation to govern judicial accountability for performance and behaviour in office, is also expected to feature during the year.

Page 7

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Vagrant gets 6 months for burglary Raucous Rousseff impeachment process begins in Brazil

A vagrant was on Friday sentenced to spend the next six months in prison for breaking and entering the St. John’s Association compound when he appeared at the City’s court. City Magistrate Annette Singh ordered Mahase Sarjoo to spend six months in jail when he saved the court’s time and pleaded guilty to a break-in and entry charge. The burglar who told the court that he had no fixed place of abode admitted that at Cowan Street, he broke and entered the building and stole two blankets, three stand fans, six drinking glasses and

Mahase Sarjoo one Tex gas cylinder, around 19:00 hrs. Police said that a Mr Edghill suspected the perpe-

trator on the day in question when he was about to make his second routine check of the premises. It appeared that the northern door of the building was forced open and through checks he noticed that items were missing. The defendant, prosecutor Michael Grant said, was later spotted trying to exit the building with a bulky bag over his shoulders and the gas cylinder in his hand. Edghill called the police and the defendant was apprehended with the items and escorted to the Brickdam Police station where he was charged for the offence.

$200,000 bail for malicious wounding A labourer was granted $200,000 bail, yesterday, after he denied two charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. The prosecution’s evidence was that on April 10 at

Tabatinga in the Central Rupununi District, he unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm on Linden West. He is also said to have committed the offence on Amanda Campbell at the same place. But the 23-year-old who

said he is a labourer in Lethem, denied the allegations. The facts were not read in court and there were no objections to bail. Baird was granted $200,000 bail and the matter was adjourned until May 30. Chris Baird, of Parika, East Bank Essequibo, chose to have his matter tried in the Magistrate’s Court where his penalty would be less as opposed to the High Court when the Magistrate applied the administrative justice act (AJA).

Congress yesterday, as it opened a raucous three-day debate on whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff on charges of manipulating budget accounts. Pro-government demonstrators took to the streets in several states as the debate began, according to local media. Major trade unions and landless peasant movements planned bigger, nationwide protests tomorrow, when the debate is set to culminate with a vote that Rousseff is widely expected to lose. The government lost a last-ditch appeal on Thursday before the Supreme Court to halt the impeachment p r o c e s s , w h i c h could bring further instability or even chaos to L a t i n A m e r ica’s largest economy. Rousseff is accused of manipulating budget accounts in 2014 to secure her re-election. She has strongly rejected the accusation, branding the impeachment process “a coup.” The president, a former leftist guerrilla, was to address the nation in a televised speech later on Friday, a presidential source told Reuters, As lawmakers called for her ouster, Attorney General José Eduardo Cardozo addressed the house in

Lower house members who support Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment demonstrate during a session to review the request, at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, Brazil yesterday. Rousseff’s defense, calling the impeachment process a “violent act with no parallel against democracy.” “History will never forgive those who broke with democracy,” Cardozo said, as ruling lawmakers shouted: “There won’t be a coup.” While the budget violations alleged against Rousseff are serious, she has not been accused of committing any crime or participating in the massive corruption scandal engulfing state-run oil company Petrobras. But she is highly unpopular and more than a million protesters called for her impeachment in protests last month. The move is widely

seen as a vote of no-confidence in a leader who has presided over the country’s worst recession in decades. After several allied parties abandoned Rousseff’s coalition in recent weeks, the opposition is expected to gain the two-thirds of votes in the 513-seat lower house to send the process to the Senate. If Rousseff is ousted, it would end the 13-year rule of her leftist Workers’ Party, which has lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty and is overwhelmingly supported by the poor. One of the authors of the impeachment filing, former justice minister Miguel Reale Jr., opened the debate by saying the process to oust Rousseff reflected the will of the people. Polls show that roughly two-thirds of Brazilians support impeachment. “She was extremely irresponsible and knocked out the country,” Reale Jr. said. Adding to Rousseff ’s woes, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported on Friday that engineering company Andrade Gutierrez [AGIS.UL] made undeclared donations to her 2014 reelection campaign, in an article that could bolster calls for new elections if she wins Sunday’s vote. If her impeachment is approved by the lower house, the Senate must then vote on whether to go ahead with putting Rousseff on trial for breaking budget laws. If it agrees to do so, in a vote expected on May 11, Rousseff would automatically be suspended and replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, pending a trial that could last six months. Temer, who would serve out Rousseff’s term until 2018 if she is ousted by the Senate, has little popular support. He would face a daunting task restoring confidence in a country where dozens of political leaders, including his close associates, are under investigation for corruption.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 9

THE AFC HAS BECOME A SIDEKICK PARTY The AFC has become too cozy with its main coalition partner, APNU. It is operating more like a sidekick rather than a party which was able to extract 40% of Cabinet and parliamentary seats for bringing no more than 10% of the votes to the joint coalition. The only reason the AFC gets away with being a sidekick is because it has no strategy to mobilize important sec-

tions of middle class support, none whatsoever. The PPP does not have any reach within the professional and intellectual class and therefore the AFC is not being pressured by loss of middle class support. After the 2011 elections, which the AFC contested as a party and not as part of any coalition, the AFC, with great euphoria announced that it

held the balance of power in the National Assembly. How did it exercise that balance of power? It did at times take a position independent of APNU but for the main part it was not interested in standing as an independent force. It connived with the APNU to frustrate the PPP government and then tried to pass a no-confidence motion which would have forced

Dem boys seh...

Prisoners got life in London in Camp Street De tail wagging de dog is a saying that people does use when dem see a situation in which de boss end up tekking order from he subordinate. That is wha happening now inside de Camp Street jail. Is like wha dem old people does seh —‘Cat nah deh, rat tek over. From de time Rum Jattan go inside de prison and cry in front dem prisoners after a group of dem did bun up demself, de whole situation inside de place change. De prisoners decide that dem is now de boss. Dem boys hear dem had a cricket match wid de Condemn Block playing de Remand. Nobody didn’t want to umpire because every player had he jukka. If de bowler appeal and de umpire seh not out, is jook de umpire getting jook. If he seh de batsman out is jook he getting jook. De game play okay. Wheh de prisoners get de ball from nobody don’t know. De bat was plenty, ever since de riot when dem

knock out some of de wall. De next day dem play football. Everybody does play friendly matches. This set start off friendly and it never get to finish. But is de cooking that really going on. De prisoners tekking orders just like a catering service. Yesterday, dem provide an order of egg sandwich fuh de Salvation Army. De problem was that de prisoners couldn’t send it outside and de Salvation Army couldn’t pick it up. Dem prisoners feast. Dem boys seh that when something start in one place it does spread. Dem other prisoners watching to see wha gun happen in Camp Street fuh try de same thing. Life in Camp Street different from life outside. Outside people does sleep wid dem house lock up. In Camp Street wheh dem got more thief man than anywhere else people sleeping wid dem cell door open. And dem prison warden crying. Talk half and wait till de ration run out.

elections within three months. The AFC did not generally operate as an independent party. After pledging that it would never enter into an alliance with either the PPP or APNU, it went and did exactly that thereby discrediting itself as a third force in Guyana. It signed an agreement with the APNU that has been honored in the main in the breach and the AFC is now effectively a rubber stamp in the government. This is the cause of the frustration within the AFC camp. There is only so much that the AFC supporters can stomach and this sidekick role that the AFC is playing is of real concern to its supporters. The AFC has no power in the government. The most important aspect of the Cummingsburg Agreement which relate to the powers of the Prime Minister being given powers over all the Ministers has not been honored the way the supporters of the AFC expect it to be honoured. The Cummingsburg Accord specifically stipulated that the Prime Minister would be drawn from the AFC and would be responsible for domestic affairs. This means, in practice, that all Ministers should report to the Prime Minister. This is not happening. This provision was negotiated so that it could provide the comfort to nonAPNU supporters that they

would not have to fear an APNU government because the Prime Minister would have substantial powers. The AFC was also to be given the Minister of Home Affairs position. It was given this position, again in order to assure supporters of the PPP that their security concerns would not be neglected under a coalition government. This has been honoured but the former as it relates to domestic affairs and the Prime Minister has not been honoured. The AFC has been downgraded within the coalition. It should have seen this coming since the swearing in of the President. The Prime Minister should have been sworn in minutes after but instead there was the announcement that someone would be appointed Head of the Presidential Secretariat and that the Prime Minister would be sworn in after the members of parliament would have been sworn in. This position was reversed later but by that time everyone knew where the power lay and it did not lie in the hands of the Prime Minister. To make matters worse, the office of the Prime Minister has now been moved under the wing of the Presidency thereby further emasculating that office. Yet, the AFC sits and accepts that. This is why the eye pass happened during the local government election

when the 60-40 formula seems to have been dispensed with. The AFC waited until the elections were over to cry foul. It should have done so when the various candidates were being selected and it was obvious that the AFC was being shafted. The AFC draws a great deal of support from the middle class. This class is hurting. The economy is hurting. Business has slowed but yet there are no answers to this crisis and the reason is because once gold does good the economy will grow. But while the grass is growing the middle class is being devastated. The AFC cannot therefore continue in the same vein. It has asked for the reorganization of government, not the reorganization of the powers of one Minister. The diminution of the powers of a Minister will not make that Minister less powerful. It will just mean less work for him or her. The AFC has to operate as an independent force with the government. It has twelve seats, it holds the balance of power in parliament and it should ensure that that balance of power in the government reflects that influence.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

The former President has taken over the role of Champion of Foolishness from Clement Rohee. The nation knows that Guyanese cynically referred to Mr. Jagdeo, when he was President as Champion of Dirt given the way he left Georgetown to die in dirt even though he was awarded an international title of Champion of the Environment. Mr. Jagdeo, as Opposition Leader, has announced a policy whereby his party will be compiling a list of illegal edicts issued to state officials

by the governmental leadership. The document will be used in evidence against the APNU-AFC leaders should the PPP regain power. Only the self-destruction of the current government can bring Jagdeo back in power At first glance you laugh when Mr. Jagdeo spoke his nonsense. And the laughter was automatic because here was a politician when he was governor, committed egregious, repugnant and culturally debasing things, an enumeration of which should land him, as what we are seeing in

Latin America, before a court of law. Let’s discuss the damning edicts of the Jagdeo’s administration. Wasn’t there a similar compilation when Jagdeo was the hegemon of Guyana? Who did it and who has the list? Well I know about some items on the list. We start with the Chief Justice. On the High Court verandah, in front of Chris Ram, I told the then Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang, that I knew he wrote the President for the President’s intervention after his request to the GRA for his duty free car was turned down with instruction that the application be made through the Chancellor of the Judiciary rather than directly from the Chief Justice himself.

The Chief Justice was quite happy to discuss the issue in front of Mr. Ram. Jagdeo must answer if he interfered with the work of the GRA in this context. Who in the civilian government gave the police the order to charge Mark Benschop for treason when Benschop was three corners away when demonstrators invaded the Office of the President? Who gave the police the order to arrest army officer Bruce Munroe, his wife and the Munroe family friend, Mr. Wharton for treason? These three accused were freed at the preliminary hearing after the only piece of evidence was a contorted, distorted, inaudible cassette in which the hardly discernible voices of the three are heard having an informal conversation. Who gave the order to CANU that failure to pass a polygraph should be the basis of dismissal? Nine persons suffered that fate which was not backed by law. The same illegal direction was taken at the Guyana Energy Authority where there were multiple terminations after the polygraph failure. Did President Jagdeo order this illegal test?

Connected to this depravity was the fact as revealed in the recent audit of the Energy Authority that there were retentions among those who failed the test. One can only conclude that Jagdeo ran a cowboy government in that, the rule of law was ignored and the state was administered through the moods of Jagdeo. Who gave the order to allocate land at Sparendam behind the police station at far below market cost to Mr. Jagdeo and his acolytes and subordinates? The site is now facetiously nicknamed Pradoville 2. Who instructed Lands and Survey to do the paper work? Who mandated the then Ministry of Works to do the landscaping of the area and the removal of the NCN transmitters that were on the land? Who instructed GWI to lay pipelines and GPL to install electricity? Does Bharrat Jagdeo know anything about these transactions that could lead to his prosecution? The publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall, told me that I can quote a conversation we had in his office. He related to me that even though Jagdeo was not the

Frederick Kissoon President, it was through the i n s t r u m e n t a l i t y o f M r. Jagdeo that GRA pursued him on evasion charges on two vehicles. If Mr. Lall is correct not only was Jagdeo the de jure President giving orders to state officials that were in clear violations of Guyana’s laws, but he also continued with that abomination when he was de facto President under Donald Ramotar. Readers ought to know that the brief enumeration here of Jagdeo’s violations is not even the tip of the i c e b e rg . A s P r e s i d e n t , Jagdeo ran this country as a typical 19th century Latin American oligarch. I close on a personal note. I know Jagdeo, de facto President in 2012, had given the order to terminate my UG contract. So who has the list of Jagdeo’s illegalities? I do.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

GAWU was aware of LBI closure since 2011…

Page 11

Ministerial appointments...

One Berbice factory GECOM has the power to produces more than resolve ‘illegal’ appointments two Demerara estates issue - PPP Chief Whip

The decision to cease the remaining operations of the LBI sugar estate and consolidate it at Enmore, East Coast Demerara, started five years ago, with the unions very much aware, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) said yesterday. GuySuCo’s claims come amidst objections by the two unions, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), over an announcement Tuesday by GuySuCo during a meeting. The unions said that the closure of the LBI operation would result in more than 800 workers being deployed to Enmore estate. The corporation, at the meeting, informed the two unions that the company has decided to have the operations of the Field Workshop, Mill Dock, Field Lab, Stores, and Administrative Offices that are based at LBI Estate merged with similar operations at Enmore Estate during this year. The unions claimed that in 2011, when the LBI factory was closed and its workers were transferred to Enmore factory, both unions were assured by a member of the current Interim Management that there will be no closure of any other department after the closure of the factory. “Thus, it was never expected that the corporation under the same management could decide to dismantle the costly buildings at LBI Estate, and end the operations which it approved about five years ago.” However, GuySuCo is claiming something else. The corporation said that earlier this month, on April 5, at a meeting at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estate

GuySuCo’s Finance Director, Paul Bhim between GuySuCo and GAWU, the unions was informed of the need for the two parties to meet to discuss the completion of the integration process. “A date was agreed upon, hence the meeting on April 12, last. Officials of GuySuCo met with representatives of the two unions on the ‘Finalisation of the Integration of East Demerara Estates’ on April 12, last.” GuySuCo explained that since 2011, the unions and the corporation had met with each worker in the LBI factory over a five-day period to discuss the closure of the LBI factory and their re-deployment. “The factory was then closed in the same year and workers were re-deployed to other positions within the Enmore Estate. In some instances, the authorized manning levels were exceeded to accommodate the workers,” GuySuCo said. The corporation insisted that GAWU was fully involved in that process. “Yet, the integration progress was not completed, since there are still two Mill Docks, two Field Workshops, two Field Laboratories, two Field Offices and two stores,

GAWU’s General Secretary, Seepaul Narine

NAACIE’s General Secretary, Kenneth Joseph within the East Demerara Estates operations at LBI.” Tuesday’s meeting was to discuss the process of completing the integration which will see the Finance and Human Resources Departments moving to Enmore, the consolidation of the mill dock, the field workshop, the stores and the field laboratory from LBI with similar operations at Enmore. “It should be noted that the full integration process should have been completed (Continued on page 24)

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is maintaining that the appointments made by the Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, in areas where there was an equality of seats, were illegal. At a press conference hosted by the party - the main parliamentary opposition’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, told media operatives that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has the power to resolve the issues. It should step in to make sure that the laws are maintained. The PPP/C took to the courts to reverse the decision by Minister Bulkan to “illegally” appoint Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Chairmen and Vice Chairmen. Teixeira said that the move was also made to prevent the Town Clerks and Overseers from ‘further illegalities’ and to have them comply with the electoral laws, which she said, require that the Town Clerks and Overseers name the date(s) for a run-off election. Since being “served” by

the courts, “none of these have proceeded to name the dates for these elections.” The Chief Whip continued that GECOM’s role in conducting the elections is not over until the elections of the tied Local Authority Areas are concluded. Teixeira said that GECOM has to ensure that the elections are completed in all the 71 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) and to ensure also, that the Town Clerks and Overseers comply with the relevant sections of the Municipal and District Councils Act and the Local Authorities Election Act. “GECOM is well aware of the laws. These persons are in violation of the electoral laws and therefore, using the constitutional mandate they must ensure that they comply. GECOM cannot wiggle out of its constitutional responsibilities for the conduct of the elections and to uphold and ensure impartiality, fairness, etc,” the Chief Whip stated. Teixeira also spoke of a

proposal made by the PPP/C to the government requesting that the top positions in the tied LAA’s be rotated on an annual basis. However, this proposal was shot down and a counterproposal was made. The counter-proposal, the Chief Whip explained, was that each party takes the two top positions for the three LAA’s where they had plurality for until the next Local Government Elections. If this counter-proposal was not accepted by the PPP/ C, the Minister of Communities, will proceed to appoint, Teixeira said she was told. “I advised that the law made no such provisions for the Minister to do so at this stage...I believe that GECOM can resolve the issue, and has power to be able to step in and ensure that the laws are upheld in relation to the electoral process in order to end this situation and to complete the electoral process 2016, Local Government Elections.” Teixeira said.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Farmers challenge President’s Basic medication absent at GPHC revocation of leased lands Three constitutional motions have been filed on behalf of rice farmers in Region Five challenging the revocation of leases by President David Granger. The three farmers, Phillip Johnson, Rawle Miller and Rupert Blackman of Seafield, West Coast Berbice, had been embroiled in legal battles over lease lands, used for rice cultivation in the area. The farmers had initially taken court action against Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) after the board revoked their lease last year. The group of independent rice cultivators through Attorney at Law, Anil Nandlall, contended that MMA/ADA’s revocation of their leases had been discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious. The leases were issued under the hand of former President Donald Ramotar. Former Chief Justice Ian Chang subsequently quashed the MMA/ADA’s decision. In a ruling, the Chief Justice noted that if the MMA/ ADA was aggrieved by the Presidential grant, “the MMA/ADA or any aggrieved person could have taken proceedings in court, not against the President but against the Attorney General challenging the legality of the grant made by him.” Yet the farmers faced a separate legal challenge to occupy and cultivate the land. This challenge was filed by the Seafield Cooperative

President David Granger

Anil Nandlall Land Society (SCLS) a group that claimed to have been cultivating rice on the said lands for more than 100 years. But despite the court action it was uncovered that President Granger had revoked all the leases granted to farmers in that area. The rice farmers had initially argued that the revocation of the leases had hampered with their livelihood and jeopardized the investment in the cultivation process. Once more through their Attorney, Anil Nandlall, the farmers have moved to the High Court to challenge the revocation of their leases. In three separate constitutional motions filed on Wednesday, the farmers are now seeking a declaration that the decision of the President to cancel Lease of State Land for Agriculture Purpose issued under Section 3(b) of the State Lands Act, Chapter 62:01, and in accordance with the Mahaica/Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority is contrary to and in violation of Article 142 of the Constitution of Guyana, is unlawful, null, void and of no effect.

The three farmers, Phillip Johnson, Rawle Miller and Rupert Blackman The applicants want a declaration by the court that the decision of the President cancelling Lease of State Land for Agriculture Purpose issued under Section 3(b) of the State Lands Act, Chapter 62:01, and in accordance with the MMA/ADA in respect to the plots of lands amounts to the compulsorily acquisition of their leasehold interest thereof without the prompt payment of any or adequate compensation as is guaranteed by Article 142 of the Constitution of Guyana. Additionally, the applicants are each claiming damages to the tune of $5 million for breach of their fundamental rights and freedoms as

guaranteed by Articles 142 and 153 of the Constitution of Guyana and special damages in excess of 692,500. They are also asking for a Conservatory Order prohibiting servants and/or agents of the MMA/ADA, a public statutory authority or any other Officer of the State from entering upon, remaining, occupying or in any manner whatsoever interfering with the Applicant’s quiet and peaceful possession, occupation and enjoyment of Lease of State Lands for Agriculture Purpose issued under Section 3(b) of the State Lands Act, Chapter 62:01, and in accordance with the Mahaica/ Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority Act for the said plots of land. Attorney General Basil Williams and MMA/ADA have been named as respondents in the matter scheduled to be heard at the High Court.

Patients are being asked to purchase basic medications due to the shortage of critical drugs at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). These medications range from panadol, aspirin, and lanoxin injection to 70/30 insulin among other critical drugs. According to reports, the hospital has been without these basic drugs for more than three weeks. It is unclear when these medications will be back in stock at the facility. One woman said that she went to the hospital last Friday and the doctor prescribed pain medication for her, including panadol. She claimed that when she turned up at the pharmacy, she was informed that she had to purchase the tablet since it was out of stock. “We are poor people going to the hospital and then we have to line up and wait only to be told that they don’t have panadol,” the woman lamented. Another person called this newspaper and claimed that she has been going to the hospital to collect insulin but is being told to return at another time. Kaieteur News was unable to make contact with the Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton. Norton, in the past had lambasted the then administrator of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for drug shortages at the institution.

He claimed that the hospital was out of the basic and necessary drugs such as painkillers. In one interview, Norton who was then the Head of the hospital’s Eye Clinic, said that there is a belief that only when the media gets involved then officials at the health institution tend to fulfill their mandate towards patients at the facility. He related one instance where a baby was taken to the hospital from Corentyne, Berbice and needed antibiotics but none was available. ”Imagine, this baby came all the way from Berbice and couldn’t get antibiotics. What are we doing?” he had pointed out. This newspaper was told that in 2014, the previous administration had dumped $84M in expired drugs while in 2015, the coalition government had to send back $600M in drugs from the Regions to the central government. Last March, Cabinet granted no objection for medical supplies worth $136.5M. The supplies were set to be acquired through the method of sole sourcing. Also, on March 1, there was a tender for the supply of drugs under the national Tuberculosis (TB) programme. The highest bid was to the tune of $79M. In addition, there were massive bids for pharmaceutical supplies, with the highest reaching $260M. This happened on April 5, last.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Code of Conduct for Govt. officials’ need more public feedback In an effort to ensure a thorough and comprehensive Code of Conduct which benefits from the widest possible input, the Integrity Commission has been asked to assist in the process of acquiring further comments and recommendations. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has noted that feedback has been received from the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Human Rights Association among others. “We have received some recommendations from two bodies so far, but we have asked the Integrity Commission to help us in the process of getting more submissions, more criticisms, more observations or more additions; so that we can make the Integrity Code of Conduct if I may call it that perhaps one of the best in the world, we want to learn from best practices from other countries,”said Prime Minister Nagamootoo. The Prime Minister encourages citizen and stakeholder’s participation in the process leading up to the final version of the Code which is intended to promote professional, exemplary and

responsible conduct by senior government officials. He said that it is meant to engender and reinforce public confidence in the manner in which senior government officials perform their duties in service to the people. The Prime Minister explained that he recently commissioned a subcommittee comprising the Governance Department together with representatives from the Guyana Legal Aid Committee, the body dealing

with professional conduct and discipline of practitioners’ in the legal profession and also some representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources. “The Code of Conduct emanated from the time when Minister Trotman was Minister of Governance. He is chairing the sub-committee to receive and review all recommendations, and when that process is through the code will then be given to us for us to decide whether it should be merged with the integrity legislation visions or it should be taken to parliament as legislation by itself.” Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo restated that “whatever the best practice would be around the Caribbean and the rest of the Commonwealth in particular we would want to follow those practices.” The Code of Conduct is based on ten principles – Accountability, Dignity, Diligence, Duty, Honour, Integrity, Loyalty, Objectivity, Responsibility and Transparency – and is a Coalition Government manifesto promise.

passport, observed that they had breached the conditions under which their permits were granted. They were each ordered to pay a fine of $15,000 with an alternative of serving a five-day prison sentence. In another case, a Cuban National who had overstayed for one year and four months was fined $20,000 after he was brought before the Chief Magistrate. Pedro O’Donis, who resided in the interior, was granted a permit to stay from October 10, 2014 to November 11, 2014. But on April 10, 2016, it

was discovered that he had overstayed. Prosecutor Jones said that O’Donis arrived in the country on October 10, 2014 and was granted a one month stay. He said that the Cuban was arrested at Moleson Creek after officers checked his passport and observed that he had overstayed his time. Attorney Paul Fung-a-Fat added that his client was arrested while en route to Suriname since he thought his passport was in order. Failure to pay the fine will see him being jailed for four weeks.

PM Moses Nagamootoo

Suspected sex workers fined for overstaying

Three suspected sex workers from the Dominican Republic were fined a total of $45,000 after admitting to overstaying their time in Guyana. They claimed that they liked the country and wanted to explore it more. Yolanda Hernandez, 25, Valarie Montano, 26 and Jafrez Cordeiro, 26 all failed to comply with conditions of their permits. They were permitted to stay in Guyana from February 12 to March 13, but remained until April 11. The women who spoke to the court with the aid of a Spanish interpreter, all claimed that they liked the country and wanted to spend a little more time site seeing. Attorney Paul Fung-AFat appeared on behalf of the women and told the court that they came here seeking a better life. Police Prosecutor, Corporal Deniro Jones, said that the trio came to Guyana on March 14 via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and were granted a one month stay. He said that on April 11, police went to a hotel in Bartica after receiving information that sex workers were residing there. Jones said that police, upon checking the women’s

Page 21

Security service provider named new head of GMSA

Some of the new members of the GMSA Board of Directors: From Left: Autamaram Lakeram, Brian James, Shyam Nokta, Eon Caesar, Clinton Williams, Clement Duncan and Mohindra Chand. In keeping with its Articles of Association, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association held its two-part Annual General Meeting (AGM) for fiscal year 20152016 and unanimously elected chief of Safeway Security, Eon Caesar, as President. Ramsay Ali, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling Products Ltd, was re-elected First Vice President. Shyam Nokta, CEO of Environment Management Consultants, was named Second Vice President with responsibility for the Services subsector, while Autamaram Lakeram, of NAMILCO retained the finance portfolio as the 3rd Vice President. GMSA said that Caesar, in his acceptance remarks, said that his main objective this year is to reboot the association’s Strategic Plan which will strengthen relationships between the board and member companies. “More precisely, the Strategic Plan will engender more frequent one-on-one engagements which will in turn, deliver better business services to members. He added that the revised plan should also encourage stronger partnerships with stakeholders including the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). Board member Ramesh Dookhoo stated that the

GMSA’s preference for development of a value-added industry with local primary products is in consonance with the Government’s thrust. According to national projections, value added production and sales are expected to grow the GDP by three per cent in 2016. Caesar, GMSA said, is an Electrical Engineer by profession. His company, Safeway Security, an electronic security service provider was established in 2006 soon after he graduated from the University of the West Indies. He has been heading the GMSA’s Security and Governance sub-committee since 2013. Outgoing GMSA president, Major General (rtd) Norman McLean, in remarks delivered at the AGM, outlined some of the GMSA achievements in 2015 which included the Oil and Gas Sym-

posium held last September, and the association’s continuing advocacy for Government to intercede in a dispute between local exporters of Greenheart wood and the United Kingdom Environment Agency (UKEA). In 2015, the UKEA placed an import restriction on Guyana’s Greenheart. Their contention was that the wood is harvested from unsustainably managed forests. The GMSA, GFC, the FPA and several operators in the private sector have since combined their resources and conducted a scientific grid analysis (a detailed on-theground assessment) that resulted in a document titled: “Sustainable Management of Greenheart”. It was presented to the relevant government ministries to bolster the intervention with their UK counterparts.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 647-1773/660-5257 SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Building Construction: house plans & estimates, floor sanding, lacquering & painting, boat for Santa Mission –Call: 650-4362 INNOVATIVE MARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045 Repairs to LED, Plasma, LCD and all other electronic equipment. Ordering of circuit boards. Abdul Electronic- Call: 225-0391

One experienced; legal computer clerk. Call: 624-7087; 258-0213

One porter boy to work & clean vehicles in the interior. Call: 678-0565 One shop boy to work in shop in the interior. Call: 678-0565 1 Male or female look after layer birds in the interior. Call: 678-0565 Canter Driver & Porter to work on water truck on W.C.D $5,000 per day. Call: 684-8231 Contract cars and taxi drivers (salaries paid). Call: 231-0002; 231-0316 Wanted Accounts Clerk and Pump Attendants. Call/Text or Whatapp: 627-2550

R e p a i r s a t a f f o r d a b l e Porters wanted to work @ prices: fridge, a i r Grocery Stall in Stabroek c o n d i t i o n e r, w a s h i n g market, experienced is an m a c h i n e s , d r y e r s , T V, asset. Call: 226-9800 microwaves & freezer-Call: Security officers, age 30 to 610-5846 or 661-8158 45yrs, serious enquiries only. Rupo Arch Welding, Call: 225-0125 Fabrication & Construction Services @ Soesdyke E.B.D We seriously pay cash for – Call: 658-4334 or 603-9633 land on La Parfaite Harmonie, for genuine & reliable service Eccles, Herstelling, Uitvlugt, Farm, Zeelugt. Call: 603-9224; 611-7223 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665

West Demerara Cabs: Base # 1- Tel: 253-3600; 656-3872; Base #2 – New Road V/Hoop. Tel: 254-0578; 696-6709

TOURS Suriname Tours: Labour Day Weekend April 29, 2016- May, 2nd 2016 & Indian Arrival Weekend May 5th-8th, 2016. Call: 663-5171; 692-7270; 6392663; 223-0056

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Newly built lower flat two bedrooms fully secured, unfurnished apartment @ Block 8 Mon Repos. Call: 628-5055

EDUCATIONAL I.A.E Classes for CSEC January/June 2017: Mathematics, English A, Business & Science Subject for Students, Adults & repeaters. Call: 683-5742 Earn a Diploma in Computers, 9 Courses @ Cybertron Technology, Vreed-EnHoop. Call: 264-3057 Computerized Accounting: 4 Courses Excel 2016, Qickbooks, Peachtree, POS, Cybertron Technology Vreed-En-Hoop. Call: 2643057

One Honda 150cc motorcycle; One LN 170 Hilux manual, gasoline –Call: 650-7501, 682-6111 1-80CC Yamaha (Chappy) $200,000 negotiable. 1-5L RZ minibus -$1.2M negotiable. Call: 642-7555; 220-6385 Wholesale pork for sale. Call: 684-0926 4 Commercial treadmills refurbished, suitable for gym or home used etc- Call: 6842119 or 680-2377

Apartments for rent @ Nandy Park with free WiFi, recently renovated, 2 bedrooms$70,000. Call: 641-3318

24ftX8ft & 250HP Yamaha Engine with turn system. Parika to Supernaam, excellent condition- $5.2M. Call: 683-8989

New Grandville Park furnished from bedrooms house to rent, all modern amenities. Call: 332-0115; 6639289

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc. Call: 225-9032;647-2943;6045198

One prime business place to rent at Mon Repos Public Road. Call: 220-6168; 6181754; 681-1508

Sheep! Sheep! A flock of sheep (Texana), foreign blood line. Call: 699-6499; 665-2139; 442-0299

1-2 Bedrooms bottom flat apartment located 1 Nouvelle Flanders W.C.D. Call: 6744929; 662-0187 Two bedroom apartment $40,000 monthly -Call: 6873017

Mazda RX8, in immaculate condition -$2.8M negotiable. Call: 602-6024 (11am-5pm)

3 Bedrooms house @ Diamond New Scheme, upstairs @ Grove Second Bridge & grill. Call: 223-6765/ 661-3234 (anytime)

CAR RENTAL

TAXI SERVICES GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 225-7878 (24HRS)

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. 9 Stalls 64 to 72 (47feet long x 7 feet wide) @ La Penitence Market Albouystown, Also 80 Mannequins @ $800 per pieceCall: 663-1597; 218-4837

WANTED One experienced larry driver (water truck). Call: 678-1234

1 Female to work in snackette & bar. Must know to cookbetween ages 20-35 -Call: 6477432/ 223-5798 Experience carpenter, masons & Construction Foreman. Pacific Development Inc 3 Church street, Georgetown. Tel: 2236035

Saturday April 16, 2016

DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807

Semi automatic stationary hydraulic hollow block & paver machine. Specification- hydraulic pump, vibrator conveyer belt. Call: 220-6168; 618-1754; 681-1508 Mining equipment: excavators, engines, pumps, tanks, camp equipment etc. Call: 610-0001 33.6 Acres farm land @ Linden Soesdyke Highway; one garden tiller. Call: 6791151; 225-7794 One queen size air bed with built in pump- Call: 655-1341; 647-9596 New and used clothing for sale- retail & wholesale. One turbo deluxe refrigeration Call: 655-1341; 647-9596 French Muscovy Ducklings. Call: 670-2608 Magic Chef, gas stove, and like new kitchen aid, toaster, cuisinart food processor. Call: 658-1097

Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up rental- Call: 690-6494

Clothes and shoe for sale. Call: 682-2858

Reliable rentals: Cars, SUV – low rates & security deposits, special rates for long term. Call:227-2322;601-2622

One XE limited vintage sprinter, very good condition, female driver. Call: 223-0654

VEHICLE FOR SALE Smart choice Auto: 08&06 Premio, 08&06 Allion, 212, Runx, IST, Fielder. Call: 6523820; 665-4529

PROPERTY FOR SALE Flat house in Grove, (corner property) 1 Block from main road, price negotiable. Call: 1905-626-2572

Unregistered bluebird 2007 model: TV, reverse camera, dark interior, burgundy -$2.3M negotiable. Call: 655-3400

House for sale @ 638 Kuru Kururu. Call Gary: 664-2576

One Toyota IST 2007 Model, PRR series, female driven, in excellent condition. Call: 6736250 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BRR, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 Seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 Seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 AT192 Carina PGG9034, very good condition. Call: 685-5594

Haslington, E.C.D: Building ‘A’, concrete/timber modern 2 storeys, 7 bedrooms, grilled & fenced. Building ‘B’, 3 apartments, fenced -$18M negotiable. Call: 255-3437; 694-4473 Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities –Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 4 Bedroom property @ Enterprise, 3 bathrooms, 2 garage, pressurized system, overhead tanker, generator, etc- Call: 600-6195

Toyota Hilux Surf 3Y fuel injected automatic transmission. Call: 600-6195

Property @ Diamond, junior staff compound 100X100 and Bel-Air 60x90. Call: 6781575; email: wynettebritton @hotmail.com

One Toyota Hilux 4X4 pickup 2L diesel engine, in excellent condition. Call: 6480111 or 645-0240

Property @ Cummings Street; 4 storey building, club, 8 self contain rooms. Call: 628-0016; 667-2536 House for sale in West Ruimveldt -$9M & South Ruimveldt Park. Call: 662-4975 Transported property @ Lot 12 Vergenoegen East Bank Essequibo. Call: 639-7903

CAKES & PASTRIES Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery; also edible images and Wedding dresses for sale. Call: 670-0798 TO LET 4 Bedrooms House @ Bel-Air Gardens with modern conveniences- $3,200USD monthly .Call during working hours: 231-7839; 227-2322. No agents 3 Bedrooms house @ Bel-Air Park with modern conveniences -$2500 USD monthly- furnished. Call during working hours: 2317839; 227-2322. No agents 4 Bedrooms house @ BelAir Park with modern convenience -$2500USD monthly furnished. Call during working hours: 2317839; 227-2322, No agents. 2 Bedrooms apartment in Eccles, Short & Long term. Call: 225-3234; 698-7807 Executive apartments @ Queenstown -$1000US; Prashad Nagar -$1000US, LeRessouvenir -$2300US, office spaces. Call: 225-1017; 623-6136 PEN PAL US Citizen seeks Single professional Health care female as a partner. Name, age, profession, addressText only to 611-9970

2 Storey property: 4 bedrooms (1 master), grilled, toilet (both flat), concrete fence @ Q68 Guyhoc Gardens, Ruimveldt. Call: 231-9174 Transported property @ Grove $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Brand-new flat house @ Republic Gardens: 3 bedrooms self-contained, selling as is -$22M negotiable, owner migrating, quick sale. Call: 639-8182 Buddy’s House Scheme E.B.D: 6 six bedrooms $36M, Diamond A.A -$27M, New Hope, Swimming Pool -$35M-Call:225-1017;623-6136 Two storey concrete building @ Schoonard, owner migrating within 3 weeks (42X26). Call: 6254052; 617-5004; 643-8069 PEN PAL Afro-Guyanese seeks 4044yrs single, adventurous, woman, desirous of exploring, remote places. Call/Text: 672-8844 LEARN TO DRIVE Cybertron BeReady Driving School: $20,000 2 weeks @ Vreed-En-Hoop. Call: 2643057 Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (Continued on page 23)

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Fifteen points in the argument for ancestral... From page 4 Guyana will undermine CARICOM’s claims from Europe. It shows how little he knows or understands about the CARICOM Reparations Movement which is now a global movement. The UN Human Rights Commission recently called for reparations in the USA. Bernie Sanders just did a few days ago. One of the TORs from CARICOM is “Linking past discrimination to today’s inequality”. The Guyana Reparations Committee found the 15 reasons and all were driven by the State. Here are the reasons why Africans are unequal in Guyana. 1. The criminal enslavement of Africans in Guyana from the 1600s to 1838. Dutch and British Governments passed laws to legitimize and institutionalize slavery which

the UN has defined as a “crime against humanity”. Governments did this for their own criminal enrichment and for the criminal enrichment of their Private Sector, the Church and even ordinary citizens. 2. The complete denial of the human rights of Africans for over 200 years during enslavement. 3. The purposeful creation of the institution of racism to justify slavery. This is one of the greatest negative legacies of slavery. Racism was systematically created by Western philosophers, clergymen and scientists to give credence to their criminal enrichment. 4. The annihilation of African culture as a complementary and historical strategy to slavery. 5. The creation of African Guyanese pauperism through free forced slave labour for

Tobacco kills even... From page 4 including minibus parks’, playgrounds and parks, spaces for sports or performance, and spaces for the service or consumption of food or drink. The Draft Bill also proposes a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship which will significantly lower the initialization of use of tobacco products by minors who tend to take up smoking because it is portrayed as ‘cool’, ‘macho’ or ‘rebellious’. In the absence of a complete ban, the tobacco industry will shift its vast resources to promotional means that are not banned. The Draft Bill also seeks to prohibit misleading tobacco packaging and labelling and provides that tobacco products must bear prescribed health warnings and images. Fifty per cent of countries in the world require a minimum of fifty per cent of any tobacco product package to bear health warnings and images, including our regional

and continental neighbours – Trinidad and Tobago (50%), Suriname (50%), Brazil (50%), Jamaica (60%), Venezuela (65%), and Uruguay (80%). Contrary to claims made by the Demerara Tobacco Company in the media, the draft Tobacco Control Bill does not propose to raise taxes on tobacco products; nor does it propose to prevent persons who have worked in the tobacco industry from obtaining government employment. The Draft Bill proposes that where someone seeking a government job has a tobacco related conflict of interest that person cannot be employed in that capacity (for obvious reasons). For example, such a conflict of interest would arise if someone who was recently employedin the tobacco industry were to seek a government job related to tobacco control. Kesaundra Alves Former Legal Officer, Tobacco Control, Ministry of Public Health

over 200 years. 6. The British Government’s denial of justice and reparations to freed Africans in 1838 while empowering the 2,761 British owners in Guyana through a reparation payment of £4. 281 million of the £20 million awarded to 46,000 British slave owners. Freed Africans in Guyana therefore accounted for 21.8% of the total compensation to all British slave owners. Incidentally, this sum paid for free Africans in Guyana, in today’s value, multiplying by the objective factor of 839, amounts to £3.59 billion. 7. The refusal to pay freed Africans fair wages after Emancipation and hence destroying their ability for generational wealth creation. 8. The importation of indentured servants to break the economic backs of freed Africans. Had there not been indentureship, Guyana at Independence would have been owned by Africans and Amerindians and the existing racial economy of today, which gives preferential treatment to Indians, would not have materialized. 9. An unrelenting attack on the Village Movement by the British Crown (Govern-

who employed a team of renowned scholars to determine by diligent research where Venezuela’s eastern boundary with Guyana should run. (All the commission’s reports and research documents were later given to the Venezuelan government to form part of its evidence before the arbitral tribunal.) The US Secretary of State, Richard Olney, was also involved in high level diplomatic exchanges with Lord Salisbury, the British Prime Minister, and these eventually led to an agreement

torically intact relationships or processes for Africans in Guyana to obtain products, finance, trading arrangements and business networks from Africa. 14. The British and Guyanese governments did not offer lands to Africans at Independence but promoted and ensured Amerindians received lands. Today, Amerindians in Guyana own 13.8% of Guyana’s land mass regardless of the fact, the , Wapishana, Machusis and the WaiWais were not in Guyana during enslavement and only came her from Venezuela and Brazil in the 17th and 18th century. This is a gross injustice. The State therefore owes Africans lands as a form of reparatory justice Africans Are due lands as reparatory justice in Guyana. All other groups have been paid. We in the African community are not surprised by Maxwell’s views of Africans. We are also not surprised that Stabroek News has not published his name. We in the African community see this as an attack by Stabroek News on our community through the corrupt practice of proving a platform for a racial entrepreneur Eric Phillips

The WPA is awaiting the...

From page 5 us, centrally located in the circumstances of pervasive repression we experienced in that period, have been repeated violations of the right to human life culminating in the assassination of Walter Rodney. The failure to take action to bring those responsible to justice in a court of law by the agencies of law led to this Inquiry. And to the lasting ignominy of the powers that be an attempt was made to blame the killing of Walter Rodney on his brother, Donald Rodney, while the principal suspect, Gregory Smith, against whom there was direct evidence of involvement,

Juridical option for solution... From page 5 nature and this action was the result of American intervention on the side of Venezuela in 1895. The American government threatened war on the British if they did not decide to arbitrate. And acting on the request of President Grover Cleveland, the US Congress approved the establishment of the “United States Venezuelan Boundary Commission headed by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court David Brewer and including prominent diplomats and jurists

ment) to destroy African Guyanese wealth. 10. The granting of free lands to Indentured Indians in Guyana and not granting any to freed Africans whom had worked free for over 200 years. This “land” wealth gap and the multiplier effect still exists today. 11. The purposeful financing and nurturing of Indentured Indians into the rice industry while burning the rice fields of Africans whom were in rice decades before Indians arrived in Guyana. Wealth was therefore encouraged for one good but destroyed for the other. 12. The forcing of Africans by the British Crown to sell their produce at low prices to the Portuguese who would then re-sell to the British at great profit. Portuguese merchants, who were financially helped by Madeira and the British crown, were granted licenses to operate in African Villages, whenAfricans were not. 13. The splitting of Africa among European powers in 1885 at the Berlin Conference and the subsequent Colonisation of Africa for more than 100 years. Unlike Indians and the Chinese who can easily network with India and China, there are no his-

signed on November 12, 1896 between the United States and the United Kingdom by which the latter agreed to arbitrate the border between Venezuela and Guyana (then British Guiana). The terms of this agreement formed the basis of the Treaty of Washington signed by Venezuela and the United Kingdom on February 2, 1897, by which the two parties agreed to the composition of the arbitral tribunal to bring about “a full, perfect, and final settlement” of the then existing territorial dispute. Dr. Odeen Ishmael

was afforded state resources to flee the jurisdiction, protection and immunity. For a new administration that could bear no responsibility for the state terror of that period nor for the unexplained and under-investigated killing spree allegedly masterminded by elements of the security forces and in the ruling political directorate in the last two decades, the inquiry fortifies the moral base for intensified investigations and/ or another inquiry. Our focus too is to aim at constructively bringing powers and authorities and political organisations and civil society into a positive intervention to help guide the nation to peace, safety, security

and stability, reconciliation and strengthen and safeguard the institutions of justice and the observance of human rights guaranteed under the constitution. Apart from the intrinsic merit of the process, the Commission would have accomplished something valuable for us as a nation if that is where the report leads us. In any event the Commissioners Sir Richard Cheltenham, Queens Consul of Barbados, Senior Consul Seenauth Jairam of Trinidad and Tobago and Queens Consul Jacqueline Samuels-Browne of Jamaica and all those who contributed to the Inquiry deserve our gratitude Desmond Trotman

From page 22

VACANCY Cook/baker for the Interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 Exist for 1 entertainment manager to work @ Club on Essequibo Coast, must have PR skills. Call: 226-9768 Security guards to work with a mining firm in the Interior must have military background. Call: 226-9768 1 Cook to work in Kitchen in Trinidad, able to cook Indian & English dishes. Call Selwyn Persaud: 001868-680-2083 1 Female cleaner apply @ Technical Service 18-23 Industrial Site, Eccles. Exist for cashiers and sales clerks at Nirva Supermarket. Apply in person with written application. Call: 227-5771 Experienced bartender and cleaners. Call 225-8572 between 7am-9am Admin assistant, CXC Grades 1-3 Computer literate. Apply @ HR Supervisor, Survival 173 Sheriff Street, C/Ville, GT. 1 Female creek -$25,000 weekly. Call: 231-8053 1 Female receptionist -$25,000 weekly. Call: 231-8053 1 Male office assistant $20,000 weekly. Call: 2318053 One male wash bay worker needed @ J.Ville Car Wash, Tucville. Call: 672-0352; 6895830

LAND FOR SALE 1 House lot in Crane Housing Scheme & 1 house & land in La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 626-4841 Land at La Grange Race Dame W.B.D 37’X780’. Call: 661-9111 Highway land at Hararuni, Close to the highway, give away prize -$4M negotiable per acre. Call: 692-8216; 233-5539 La Parfaite Harmonie $1.2M, $1.3M, $1.4M, & $3M, Eccles -$5.5M, Herstelling Cornerlot (100ftX50) -$3M. Call: 6036224; 611-7223

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Bandit caught after One Berbice factory... supermarket robbery, two accomplices on the loose Quick action by the police on the West Coast Demerara, led to the capture of a bandit hours after he and his two accomplices robbed a supermarket at Cornelia Ida on Wednesday night. The bandit was positively identified partly by the clothes he was wearing after surveillance camera footage was reviewed by the police as well as the owner of the supermarket, Mohamed Alangir Hossain, a Bangladeshi national. Police in a press statement said that at about 19:00 hours on Wednesday Hossain, 39, was in the process of closing his supermarket when he was attacked by three men, one of whom was armed with a firearm. The men held him at gunpoint and took away $4,000 and a laptop computer and escaped. The police said that its ranks responded promptly to the report received and arrested one of the suspects in a minibus at Cornelia Ida.

Speaking with this newspaper yesterday, Hossain said that he was about to close his business which is popularly known as Bangladesh supermarket, and which is situated in the bottom flat of his house when three men walked in. He explained that at the time there was still one other customer in the establishment. His wife was on her way downstairs to assist him in closing up. According to Hossain, the three men, who posed as customers picked up a bottle of Topco juice and a box of mosquito coil and approached him as if to pay for the items. He said that as soon as they were close to him, one of them pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. “It look like a play gun and I tell him it’s a play gun. He say he go shoot me and he scramble me. I fight with he,” said the businessman. During the scuffle, he was struck in his head and over his eye with the gun, which he still felt was a toy. In the meantime, another bandit jumped over the counter and grabbed the cash and the laptop computer before running out with the third bandit. “When the one I fighting with see them run out, he get

frighten and he too run out the supermarket,” Hossain told Kaieteur News. By this time neighbours who were alerted by the screams of Hossain’s wife, had contacted the police, who responded swiftly. They were given a description of the men and they immediately went after them. It was only then that Hossain realized that he was wrong about the “toy gun” and was lucky that it was not used on him. “I hear they fire at the police,” he said of the escaping bandits. Hossain said that a few minutes later the police returned with a man who fitted the description of one of the bandits that had attacked him. The ranks again reviewed camera footage which convinced them that the captured man was indeed one of the bandits. “He had on the same clothes,” the businessman said. This was the first robbery attack on Hossain who set up shop six years ago. But despite the attack, the Bangladeshi businessman said he is not scared since, “I know it happen steady. This is a normal thing in Guyana.” Police hope to identify the two remaining suspects with a view to eventually capturing them.

The LBI and Enmore estates combined are not producing more than Albion, Berbice, GuySuCo says. From page 11 since 2011 but this was not done, to the further detriment of the economics of the EDE,” GuySuCo said. “This state of affairs must be compared with Albion Estate which produces more than twice the amount of sugar as produced by the East Demerara Estates and operates efficiently with one Mill Dock, one Field Workshop, one Field Laboratory and one Mill Dock.” GuySuCo said that interestingly, the unions have requested further information and have committed to work with GuySuCo to finalise the

integration process over the coming weeks. “Therefore, GuySuCo finds it strange, that having been a part of the integration process over the years and having made commitments to see the process to completion at recent meetings, the unions would now issue this contradictory statement to the press.” On Thursday, GuySuCo’s Finance Director, Paul Bhim, noted that LBI factory has been closed for a number of years now. “The factory is already closed. We are consolidating the field and other administrative operations with Enmore where the factory is. The fields required to grow canes will still be doing that.” GuySuCo, a state-owned company, has fallen on hard times and facing financial difficulties. It has for over a decade been falling behind production targets with consecutive Governments being forced to plug billions of dollars annually to keep it afloat. The David Granger

administration had sacked the entire board and its boss, Dr. Raj Singh, when it took office last year May. The industry managed to reach its annual target for the first time in a decade, at the end of 2015. This year, as part of the cost-cutting measures, GuySuCo has announced plans also to consolidate and close its oldest factory, at Wales, and shift operations to Uitvlugt. However, the unions have been against the closures and have held protest actions and vigils. “Our unions are wary and concerned about the fate of the LBI workers. GAWU and NAACIE are hopeful that the unsavory and oppressive situation at Wales is not repeated, and call on GuySuCo to revisit its decision on the full closure of LBI. “The unions reiterate their commitment to stand by the workers and will defend their rights that are protected by local and international labour laws,” the statement said yesterday.

Baby born with an... From page 19 the support being provided by the Champion for Change organization. She said she works as a salesgirl at a store and earns $14,000 per week. “My son needs special care but I have to go out and work or else he won't have anything to eat. I have to put him in a day care and all day I would wonder if he is doing okay. I know that there are a lot of mothers out there with disabled children but it still pains me a lot to see him so young and suffering,” she lamented. The young mother stated that it would hurt her to see him accidently touch the brain and start crying. “It causes him so much pain,” she said. Melvin explained that

Emmanie was unable to see from one of his eyes because of the section of the brain pressing on the eye. She reiterated her hurt to watch her son suffer. “He is all I have,” she added. “And all I'm asking is for the public to help me...Just please help me. I just want my son to see properly. I don't mind taking care of him but I don't want to see him suffer like this. I'm a mother and if you are a mother you would know how it feels to not be able to help your child. I don't earn a lot to do the surgery on my own,” she said impassioned. The public is asked to make their donations to account number: 95410100008249 at Bank of Baroda.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Accused in Haslington murder US Ambassador pledges trial maintains innocence assistance with city clean-up

Accused murderer, Kevin Rankin has told the court that he has nothing to do with the death of his two year-old niece, Kamini Phillips. Phillips was allegedly sodomised to death by the accused at Haslington, East Coast Demerara, (ECD) on October 21, 2013. Rankin called “Lil Man,” of Lot 46 South Haslington South, ECD was later arrested and charged for the murder. Yesterday, he told the court, that he did not harm his niece in any way. The accused in an unsworn statement claimed the two-year-old was taken to a relative’s home to play when she became sick. He said that the child complained about chest pains and became unresponsive. The accused said that the child was not breathing and his cousin, Kimani Primo, administered Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on her. He further claimed that the statement he gave to the police contains the same infor-

Murder accused Kevin Rankin mation. Initial reports had indicated that the toddler was left in the care of her uncle (Rankin) when she passed away. According to reports, Diane Graham, the mother of the accused had left him at a relative’s home with the toddler, while she conducted errands. The woman returned some time later and learnt of the baby’s demise.

Pickpocket jailed A man accused of picking another man’s pocket was remanded to prison on Friday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Vishal Jose, of Zeeburg, Essequibo, maintained his innocence yesterday at the City court. He claimed that he was beaten by members of the public following theft allegations. Jose denied the charge which said that on April 13 at Alexander Village, Georgetown, he stole $57,000 from the person, Hiralall Ramgopaul. Evidence indicated that at 13:00 hours the victim went to the Houston Fisheries wharf to seek employment and he sought to speak with the accused, who was on a

boat. It was reported that the defendant offered to introduce the man to his boss. However on the way there the defendant dug his hands into the victim’s shirt pocket and grabbed his money. He later tried to escape with the pilfered cash but was caught by public spirited persons. “Dem man proppa beat me bad” he said, while stating that he was wrongfully accused. He was later handed over to the police and after investigations were conducted, he was charged with the offence. Magistrate Annette Singh refused the defendant bail and the matter was adjourned to May 9.

The child was initially taken to the CC Nicholson Health Centre at Nabaclis, East Coast Demerara, before she was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. On Tuesday, State Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh revealed that an autopsy carried out on the body of the two-year-old indicated that she had suffered sexual penetration to her anus. He said that Phillips had fresh blood in her rectal area, in addition to abdominal trauma inclusive of internal bleeding to her liver and spleen. According to Dr. Singh, the toddler also suffered concussions to the head and neck which are consistent with a hit or fall. He noted that the child could have been pressed down, which restricted her breathing and the flow of blood in her chest cavity. However under cross examination by defence counsel Sandil Kissoon, the doctor admitted that the anal penetration could have been done by a penis or any other object. Dr. Singh also admitted that he received no test results of the samples which were taken from the toddler’s body. The Pathologist also agreed with the suggestion that the damage to the infant’s chest cavity could have been caused during administration of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by an untrained individual. Seven witnesses were called to testify in the trial by State Prosecutors Narissa Leander and Tuanna Hardy. On Thursday, Justice Priya Sewnarine–Beharry overruled a no case submission presented by Rankin’s lawyer. The case has been adjourned to Monday.

US Ambassador, Perry Halloway, paid a courtesy call on recently elected Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, yesterday morning. During his visit to the Mayor, Ambassador Halloway offered assistance to the new administrators of City Hall. He said that the US Embassy is willing to get on board with the clean-up campaign by way of providing bins. He also said that vandalism and theft of the bins need to be addressed as well. The Ambassador stated that every year the Embassy can apply for funding to inject into development projects through an entity known as the AMBASSADORS FUND. He intimated that Georgetown is going places in the near future and

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green the US Embassy wants to be on board. Halloway also expressed an interest in the restoration of the Lighthouse; one of Guyana’s most historic buildings, that has been neglected

and seemingly forgotten. He also commented on assistance in the proper training of the City Constabulary. Proper training of Constabulary ranks and City Hall staff has long been a cause for concern; this is heartening news for the citizens of Georgetown. Mayor Chase-Green has since announced that the City Constabulary is going to be reintroduced to the streets in the near future. Ranks are currently being trained in several areas, more notably Environmental Protection. Ms Chase-Green said that the ranks will be sworn in and that they’ll have the power of arrest when reintroduced. They’ll be monitoring littering as well as tackling illegal parking and stopping, two key areas that need to be addressed.

Police nabbed drug dealer The police at Reliance Police Station, East Canje, were able to take another drug dealer off the street after a lively chase along the East Canje Public Road. Acting on information, around 17:00 hrs on Thursday that a known drug dealer was in the place and plying his trade, the cops responded immediately. However before the cops could have reached the location they noticed the man and an accomplice riding on the Goed Bananen Land Public Road. The men rode past the cops who were in an unmarked vehicle. The cops turned around and drove past the men stopping a little way ahead. Alighting from the vehicle the police signaled for the men to stop. While one man obeyed the drug dealer picked up speed and rode

past the cops. What the drug dealer did not cater for was the fitness of the police. A few of the young policemen immediately gave chase on foot. The sprinting cops soon gained ground on the drug dealer on his bicycle. Seeing that he was being overtaken the man made a sudden dash through a street even as he disposed of a bag he was carrying in a nearby trench. His sudden right angle turn into the street sent him sprawling on the ground as the police pounced upon him. The man, Leonard Ramoutar, 21, of Betsy

Ground, East Canje resisted arrest. He tried his utmost to escape the grasp of the cops. It took the efforts of about five police ranks to subdue him. The haversack was retrieved from the trench, opened and checked. Inside was found a black plastic bag which contained zip locks bags with what appeared to be leaves, seeds and stems of the marijuana plant. The contents were tested and weighed and turned out to be 30grams of marijuana. Ramoutar is in custody and is expected to be charged soon.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Second big quake hits southern Japan, people flee onto streets

Hotel guests gather at the lobby after another earthquake hit the area in Kumamoto, southern Japan. (Reuters/Kyodo) (Reuters) - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck southern Japan early today, killing at least three people, injuring many more and bringing down buildings, media reported, just over a day after a quake killed nine people in the same region. The authorities warned of damage over a wide area, as reports came in of scores of people trapped in collapsed buildings, fires and power outages. Residents living near a dam were told to leave because of fears it might crumble, broadcaster NHK said. Today’s tremblor triggered a tsunami advisory, although it was later lifted and no irregularities were reported at three nuclear power plants in the area, a senior government official said. People still reeling from Thursday’s shock poured onto the streets after today’s quake struck at 1:25 a.m. (1625 GMT). A fire erupted in what appeared to be an apartment building in Yatsushiro city, while some

people were trapped in a nursing home in the town of Mashiki, according to NHK. NHK reported three deaths and nearly 400 people treated in hospitals, but that figure included “people who don’t feel well”, so it was not clear how many serious injuries there were. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said nearly 80 people were believed trapped or buried in rubble. Extra troops would be sent to help, with up to 15,000 due on Saturday, as well as more police, firefighters and medics, he said. “We are making every effort to respond,” Suga said. Troops fanned out to search ruined houses as dawn broke. The epicenter of the quake was near the city of Kumamoto and measured at a shallow depth of 10 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The entire city of 730,000 was without power. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arriving at his office, told

reporters the government was making every effort to determine the extent of the damage, carry out rescue and recovery, and to get accurate information to citizens. “It’s possible that there may be damage over a wide area,” Abe said. The region’s transport network suffered considerable damage with one tunnel caved in, a highway bridge damaged, roads blocked by landslips and train services halted, local media reported. SHOCKS AND AFTERSHOCKS The earthquake on Thursday evening in the same region was of 6.4 magnitude and experts said the two tectonic events could be linked. “Thursday’s quake might have been a foreshock of this one,” Shinji Toda, a professor at Tohoku University, told NHK. Several aftershocks rattled the region, including two of nearly 6 magnitude, and experts warned of more.

‘In’ leads by a whisker in latest Brexit poll from YouGov (Reuters) - The “In” camp holds a one-point lead ahead of Britain’s June 23 referendum on whether the country should remain in the European Union, according to an online opinion poll by YouGov released yesterday. The poll found support for “In” stood at 40 percent, while 39 percent intended to vote “Out”, 16 percent were undecided and 5 percent did not intend to vote. The poll of 3,371 people was conducted between April 12 and 14 and the results were similar to those seen in other recent YouGov polls. The previous one, conducted on

April 11-12, found “In” and “Out” were tied on 39 percent with 17 percent undecided. YouGov said that the average from its polls in the last six weeks was a two-point lead for “In”. Online polls have tended to produce results suggesting the race is very tight, while telephone polls have tended to find “In” ahead by more comfortable margins. Experts have suggested explanations for the discrepancy but there is no wide agreement on which set of polls, if any, is correct. The latest YouGov poll, for ITV’s “Good Morning

Britain” programme, also found that when those surveyed were asked how sure they were of which side they would back, the proportion who were not completely decided rose to 42 percent. YouGov also asked those interviewed how they would vo t e i f l e a v i n g t h e E U meant Britain’s standard of living would fall and people would be worse off by an average of 100 pounds a year. In response, 45 percent said they would vote to remain, 36 percent to leave and 14 percent said they were undecided.

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Volleyball Extravaganza West Berbice league kicks off with matches today and tomorrow and fun day set for today The Berbice Volleyball Association in its continued drive to keep players active and spread the game throughout the county and at the same time unearth new talent, has organised a one day volleyball extravaganza for today at the Port Mourant Community Centre all weather court. Action is expected to serve off at 09:00 hrs and all the top teams in the county are expected to be in action. Over 300 players are set to take part in the day’s activity with 10 courts being used. A number of teams are expected from the Orealla/ Siparuta area which are expected to field teams in the

male, female and junior categories, Defenders and Rollers are expected to make their return, Three Door Strikers, Port Mourant Training centre 1, 2 and 3; Corriverton Jets, Black Birds, Jemini and Strikers of B l a c k B u s h P o l d e r, Albion United, Port M o u r a n t J a g u a r s , Ta i n Humanitarian, No 52 Survivors, Berbice High School, Skeldon Line Path Secondary. Two new teams in NO73 village and Kendall’s/ Union of No 19 are also expected to participate. A number of the teams will be represented by senior junior and female players.

According to BVA president Levi Nedd an official programme will be unveiled for the day which will include prayers, various forms of volleyball, poetry and dance. At the same time the activity will be used to shortlist and finalise the selection of teams to represent the county in upcoming tournaments both locally and overseas. Teams will be shortlisted in the junior males, senior females, U23 males and B division categories. At the end of the activity prizes will be given to the outstanding performers. (Samuel Whyte)

Saturday April 16, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Opportunities to show your worth will enhance your reputation and bring possible advancement. Love and romance are evident. New methods and innovative technology will make your job far easier than you anticipated. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Spend time getting into physical activities with your lover. Expect to have problems with the ones you love. You will feel better about yourself and you may also meet potential lovers. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Hide your cards and learn to say no. You're ready to take action and take over. Hard work will bring rewards. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Watch for empty promises that may give you false hope. Unpredictable events will disrupt your routine. Try not to hurt your partner's feelings. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Entertain those who can provide you with valuable information and knowledge. You will learn a great deal from people with different cultural backgrounds. You are best not to discuss your personal life with others. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Your emotional state could leave you vulnerable and confused. Think twice before you volunteer information. Your ability to relate will close the generation gap.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Be aware of any emotional deception. Do not sign legal contracts or documents today. Property investments, insurance, taxes, or inheritance should bring you financial gains. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Too much talk might lead to hassles. Unexpected events may upset your routine. Concentrate on yourself or your work. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Offer good conversation and a nice soothing lunch. Try to bend but by no means should you give in completely. Accept the inevitable, and opportunities for advancement will follow. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Your ability to relate will close the generation gap. You must use discretion when talking to others. Gambling should not be an option. Put your energy into learning new skills or picking up valuable information. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your partner will blow situations out of proportion. Romance is likely if you can bring yourself to go out with friends. You will have a tendency to exaggerate, which will lead to major confrontations with loved ones. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Opportunities to expand your circle of friends will result in possible new romantic encounters. You may want to stay in the background today.

In an effort to keep senior football alive in Berbice, and with no sponsor, the Berbice Football Association (BFA) with its members agreed to organize a league in a selffunding manner, where the teams cover the cost. In order to reduce costs, there will be three leagues; the West Berbice League, the New Amsterdam League & the Corentyne League. The winners of each league will meet in a round robin play-off to determine the overall Berbice Champion. Action in the West Berbice League 2016 started last Saturday 9th April with

Mahaicony F.C., newcomer to the BFA, taking on the newlyreformed Paradise Invaders FC at the Mahaicony Sports Ground. Paradise Invaders FC won the game 2 – 0 with goals from Vaughn Williams (41min) & Javell Fraser (64min). The action continued on Sunday 10th April at the Rosignol Ground, aka Dead Valley, where home team, Rosignol United FC took on the other newcomer to the BFA, Hopetown United Rangers FC. The spirited newcomers were no real match for the once champion of Berbice. Rosignol United FC won the game 6 – 1 with goals from

Shane Gangoo (8 & 17min), Marlon Nicholson (25 & 38min), Cornell Taylor (48mim) and Gladston Green (penalty) (70min). Action continues today at Mahaicony Sports Ground from 16:00hrs. Mahaicony FC play Hopetown United Rangers FC. Tomorrow at Rosignol Ground from 16:00hrs Rosignol United FC tackle Paradise Invaders FC. Admission at the gates is only$500. More information on the tournament can be accessed by contacting Mr. Keith Ojeer – President, Berbice Football Association (617-8496).

Guyana / Canada May 15 Friendly... (From page 27) not only prepare Guyana for the ongoing CFU tournament; it will also strengthen the local programme. ”When a team in CONCACAF plays a Caribbean opponent in a friendly match it shows that they understand how we build and how we work together because many times, even among the Caribbean teams who are not high up right now when they ask other Caribbean teams who high up right now, they don’t want to play.” Shabazz posited that the gesture by Canada in the nature of brotherhood shows vision and understanding that in CONCACAF we have to grow together. All the players Shabazz noted have shown interest in wanting to be on the squad. He expressed gratitude to the government of Guyana for including football as part of the celebratory activities for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary (Golden Jubilee); Mr. Pierre Giroux, President of the Canadian Soccer Association Mr. Victor Montagliani, Canadian Soccer Hall of Famer Mr. Alex Bunbury and President of the GFF, Mr. Wayne Forde for their combined efforts towards making the game a reality. Alleyne in brief remarks said he was speechless noting that is a great opportunity for him and teammates as it is a dream come true. ”I never thought that I would be playing at this level against a team like Canada. I want to thank everyone, thank God for life, strength and everything. Right now I am at eh peak of my career and I just want to make this exciting.” The GFF had indicated before their wish to have Guyana’s most successful team, the ‘Lady Jags’ play here also but Forde stated that logistic challenges among others put paid

to the idea. Lady Jags Head Coach Mark Rodrigues had informed whilst the team played in the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Texas in February, that he had initiated talks with Argentina. ”You know, that is a heightened period when they are a lot of visitors coming into Guyana, so there are many logistic issues in terms of hotels, accommodation, there are

several issues that we were unable to overcome to have the Lady Jags be part of the Independence activity,” Forde informed. Men’s EXCEL U-23 side will suit up for the match which the CSA said would serve as an important step in accumulating experience for some of the nation’s young, exceptional players, all with an eye towards Canada’s Men’s National Team and the road to Russia 2018 and beyond.

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Mishra, de Kock hand Kings XI a thrashing ESPNcricnfo - A fine cocktail of experience and youth delivered Delhi Daredevils their first victory of the season. The old boys - legspinner Amit Mishra, featuring in his 100th IPL match, and captain Zaheer Khan - led the way with the ball, smothering Kings XI Punjab to 111 for 9. Then the youngsters took over as Quinton de Kock and Sanju Samson put on a 91-run partnership to seal Daredevils’ first points of the season. While Zaheer gave his team the early spark after choosing to bowl on what he called a “slow surface”, Mishra pierced through Kings XI’s top and middle order with dip, turn, and sometimes, even a lack of turn. Mishra had Shaun Marsh stumped off his first ball, then dismissed David Miller and Glenn Maxwell in his second over to break the opposition’s spine. Three of Kings XI’s heaviest scoring batsmen were dismissed in the space of 16 balls, leaving the score at 52 for 4 in the ninth over. Mishra’s bowling was envenomed by Zaheer, who placed a slip and at times, a short leg to capitalise on the

nervous batsmen. Daredevils built on the double-strike and sent down six boundaryless overs between the ninth and 14th overs. It was during this phase that Mishra rattled Manan Vohra’s leg stump with a wrong’ un to claim his fourth wicket in three overs. Kings XI were reeling at 59 for 5 in the 11th, but Zaheer did not call on Mishra to bowl any further. Kings XI’s struggles were not restricted to spin though. Zaheer, who had conceded he had “tried too much” in the first match against Kolkata Knight Riders, found swing right away. His first delivery moved back in and had the extra bounce to rap M Vijay on the thigh pad. That meant the balls that went on with the angle across the righthander became more effective. Zaheer teased the outside edge regularly in his first spell but he had to wait till his second for a reward. In the 18th over, bowling a mix of slower balls, Zaheer had Mohit Sharma caught at midoff. Chris Morris did his part as well, bowling some good yorkers in the slog overs and

Edward ‘Screw’ Richmond Memorial Football C/ships

LFSC trounce MCEI 5-0; LTI needle WSC On match day four of the Edward ‘Screw’ Richmond Memorial Football Championships, Linden Foundation Secondary School (LFSS) trounced MC’s Educational Institute (MCEI) 5-0, while Linden Technical Institute (LTI) defeated Wisburg Secondary School (WSS) by the lone goal of their encounter. Omar Webb led the victory bid with a double in the 3rd and 47th minute with one each from Mark Benjamin (27th), Omally Castello (29th) and Aaron Chance in the 32nd minute. Deon Welcome was the star for LTI; his lone and winning goal was converted in the 69th minute. Mackenzie High School leads Group A with 6 points from two games, while the ‘Multi’ boys are currently second two points back from their two matches. If New Silvercity Secondary, currently third on a single point are desirous of advancing, they need to win their next match by at least 9 goals while hoping ‘Multi’ loses or draws as well. The Group B leader is LTI

Deon Welcome with a perfect 6 points from 2 matches while Linden Foundation and Wisburg are both on 3 points each after 2 games. The final set of group matches will be contested next Tuesday when the remaining qualifying spots will be on the line. In the first game, Mackenzie High and Multi will face off while game two brings together Wisburg and Linden Foundation. Kickoff time is 14:45hrs.

Amit Mishra claimed figures of 3-0-11-4 on his 100th IPL match © BCCI hustling the opposition with his pace. Offspinner Jayant Yadav strung four quiet overs together, benefited by the Kings XI lower order not knowing whether to attack or defend. Kings XI made life easier for Daredevils in the chase. De Kock was reprieved twice - Vijay dropped him at deep

square leg on 7 before Wriddhiman Saha botched a stumping chance on 22. De Kock, who was rather subdued in the Powerplay, hit rhythm when he cracked three fours off Axar Patel in the eighth over. Samson came out at No. 3 when Shreyas Iyer was adjudged caught behind despite the Snicko picking up noth-

Quinton de Kock gets in position to play the paddle sweep, Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2016, Delhi, April 15, 2016 ©BCCI ing. Samson took nine balls to get off the mark, via a risky pick-up shot off seamer Sandeep Sharma. He was 9 off 18 balls when he charged out to Pardeep Sahu’s legspin and launched a full toss over the long-on boundary. Samson then welcomed Maxwell with successive fours while de Kock raised his half-century

off 38 balls. Axar bowled Samson for 33 in the 13th over, but de Kock and Pawan Negi saw Daredevils home comfortably. Scores: Delhi Daredevils 113 for 2 (De Kock 59*, Samson 33) beat Kings XI Punjab 111 for 9 (Vohra 32, Mishra 4-11) by eight wickets.

Federer knocked out by Tsonga in Monte Carlo (Reuters) Roger Federer was knocked out of the Monte Carlo Masters when he slumped to a 3-6 6-2 7-5 defeat by local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals on Friday. The Swiss third seed,

back in action this week after a 10-week layoff, started brightly as he breezed through the opening set but Tsonga, targeting Federer’s forehand, played tighter and leveled with a strong display in the second. The Frenchman broke in

Sawpit, Players SC, Zeeburg and All Youths record quarterfinal victories Sawpit, Players SC, Zeeburg and All Youths CC recorded quarterfinal victories when then West Demerara President’s Cup T20 tournament continued on Sunday. Sawpit defeated host Cornelia Ida by four wickets. Batting first, Cornelia Ida managed 191-7. Ashkaya Persaud slammed 56, while Ravindra Seeram made 30 and Richie Looknauth 23; Ravindra Ramnarine bagged 4-13 and Satnarine Jodha 334. Sawpit replied with 192-6 in 19.5 overs. Ravi Ramnarine got 52, Zaheer Khan 30 and Avinesh Rameshwar 31. Persaud and Shameer Khan took two wickets each. At La Grange, Players SC overcame Independence SC by four wicekts. Independence SC took first strike and scored 180-8. Safraz Esau led with 55 as Navindra Ramnauth and Imran Khan took two

wickets each. Players SC responded with 181-6 in 18.4 overs. Khan scored 66 and Terrence Singh 50; Jevon Hector had 2-25. At Wales, Zeeburg beat Cultural CC by 67 runs. Zeeburg took first knock and mustered 163-8. Safraz Karim got 37 and Amrit Rai 32; Feroze Karimullah had 4-25 and Anthony Ifill 2-21. Cultural CC were limited to 96-9 in reply. Narendra Persaud made 28; Madanlall Doodnarine captured 4-8 and Balbindar Shivpersaud 2-6. At Wales, the home team went down to All Youths by four wickets. Batting first Wales got 141-7. Danraj Singh made 41 and Roger Henry 30; Jagdesh Persaud snared 4-18 and Anthony Carrington 2-33. All Youths scored 142-6 in 18.4 overs in reply. Patrick Edward made 31 and Jermaine Ramroop 28; Randy Yankhana had 3-32.

the 11th game of the decider with a passing shot winner and he closed it out on serve on his first match point to set up a meeting with either compatriot Gael Monfils or Spain’s Marcel Granollers. Earlier, there were glimpses of the formidable Rafa Nadal as the eight-times champions swept aside French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 6-1 6-4. The Spaniard, who set a tournament record of 46 wins in a row in the principality from 2005 to 2013 when he finished runner-up, will take on Andy Murray for a place in the final. World number two Andy Murray raced into last four

with a 6-2 6-0 demolition of Canadian Milos Raonic. Opening proceedings on center court, the Briton, who struggled in the previous round, was never bothered by 10th seed Raonic in a one-sided match. Murray, who hit 19 winners and did not face single break point, was beaten twice by Nadal in the semi-finals of the first claycourt Masters of the season. The fifth-seeded Nadal, who broke decisively in the ninth game of the second set, has yet to win a title this year. “It’s exactly what I need, it’s what I’m looking for, it gives me confidence,” Nadal said.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (L) shakes hand with Roger Federer of Switzerland following their match. (REUTERS/ERIC GAILLARD)

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 31

RHTYSC, M.S Awards Ceremony

Starr Computers, Sterling Products, Goodwood Racing Service, Fitness Express on board Several more companies are on board for the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS 26th annual awards ceremony that would be hosted on Sunday 17th of April at the St. Francis Community Developers Training Centre. A total of 40 Club members and executives would be honoured for outstanding performance between the periods January to December 2015. Among the players to be honoured would be Brandon Prashad, Slyus Tyndall, Khemraj Mahadeo, Shawn Perriera, Keon Sinclair, Shemaine Campbelle and Erva Giddings. Starr Computers, Sterling Products, Fitness Express, Goodwood Racing Service, Sueria Manufacturing, Ansa Mcal, Retired Judge Cecil Kennard, Apex Insurance and Obyssey Travel Service are the latest sponsors to come on board for the Award Ceremony, where over $1M in prizes and trophies would be shared out. Starr Computers

donated an electronic notebook, while Fitness Express, Goodwood Racing Service, Justice Cecil Kennard and Sterling Products Ltd made financial contribution. Apex Insurance, Ansa Mcal and Sueria Manufacturing donated hampers, while Obyssey Travel Service donated 30 scorebooks to assist less fortunate Clubs. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster expressed gratitude to all the donors and noted that all plans are in place for the successful hosting of the Awards Ceremony. President David Granger, Patron of the RHTYSC, MS would deliver the feature address while Immediate Past Patron Beverly Harper would be among six awardees of the Club’s highest award, the Dolphin Award of Excellence. Fifteen individuals would be inducted as Honorary member of the RHTYSC, MS while four retired teachers, eight out-

RHTYSC, M.S Asst Organising Secretary Ravin Kissoonlall receives a financial donation from Mr. Ian Rogers of Fitness Express. standing teachers in the Lower Corentyne area and six Berbice ‘B’ Division police officers would also be honoured under the Club’s Tribute to Heroes programme.

The battle rages on in Golyn 10/10 latest round The Golyn 10/10 countrywide softball cricket tournament organized by the Guyana Softball League and sponsored by the Golyn and sons, Trophy Stall and Miss Love trading (West Coast) saw the battle continuing as the winners produced some convincing displays to move on in the West Coast Zone. The East Bank saw one team dominating even though the detailed scores were not available in Amit XI. In Linden the matches were put back for this weekend as the ground was soggy and unplayable. The results are as follows: At Leonora Ground: Mighty Lions gained a walkover from Omesh XI: Omesh XI were not able to take the field as they only had six players available at the start of the match and gave the Mighty Lions a much needed two points. Ruimzeight XI defeated Maracs XI by 4 wkts: Maracs XI took first strike and were limited to 75 all out in 7.2 overs; Zaheer Khan 20 (3x6); Chris Singh 2-6 from 2 overs; Shaffiul Hack took 217 from 2 overs. In reply Ruimzeight XI breezed to 766 in 9.1 overs with Duhkraj Singh continuing where he left off slamming 29 (3x6;1x4)

off 10 balls to lead his team to victory. Rohit Khan took 2-3 and induced some excitement for the losers. Superstreet XI mauled Exclusive XI by 56 runs: Superstreet XI took first strike and rattled up 131-8 in 10 overs with Boodram scoring 34 (5x6) off 9 balls to lead the way. Ricky Persaud took 2-32 bowling for Exclusive XI. In their turn Exclusive were bundled out for 76 in 10 overs with Nehemiah John scoring 20 (1x6). The bowling was tight with Seepersaud Persaud taking 2-14 as all the other bowlers shared the spoils. Vipers XI destroyed Power XI by 97 runs: Vipers XI won the toss and batted scoring a mammoth 176-2 in 10 overs with Vikash Totaram 75 (9x6;2x4) off 20 balls and Aftab Hussain 64 (5x6;2x4) off 30 balls in a partnership of 156 runs that totally dominated the opposition who seem to be clueless in stemming the flow of runs. In their turn they were under pressure from the onset to score quickly and were never in the hunt as the run rate climbed beyond them and they ended on 81 all out in 10 overs with only Ravi Lalldeo with 25 (3x6) from

14 balls staying around to offer some opposition. Omar Mohamed took 3-9 from 2 overs to be the best bowler with Akram Hussain supporting with 3-12 from his 2 overs. Crossbreed Warriors cruised to victory over Amazon Warriors XI by 73 runs: Crossbreed Warriors batted first and made a challenging 165-7 from 10 overs with Tariq Gansham with 53 not out (8x6) off 16 balls being the top score. Mark Grant supported with 20 (2x6; 1x4). Feroze Rohoman took 3-16 from his 2 overs and Imran Hack supported with 230 from his two overs. In reply Amazon Warriors XI found the going tough and were limited to 92 - 4 in their 10 overs with Sham Singh blasting 39 (4x6; 1x4) off 17 balls to top score. The wickets were t a k e n b y Narine Shaw with 2-14, while all the bowlers chipped in with one apiece to add to their tally. Meanwhile, Vickram Singh copped a cell phone in the one ball Manto as he defeated all to move into the next round. The tournament continues next weekend with several other areas commencing.

The long standing Secretary/CEO expressed gratitude to all of the donors and make special mention of Mr. J. McDonald of Fitness Express, Chetram Singh of Goodwood

Mr. Majeed, General Manager of Starr Computer hands over the Notebook to Mark Papannah of the RHTYSC, MS. Racing Service, Ronald Williams of Apex Insurance, R. Majeed from Starr Computer, Ramsay Ali of Sterling Products Ltd, Frank Sanicharra of Sueria Manufacturing, Troy

Khan of Obyssey Travel Service and Retired Judge Cecil Kennard for their continued assistance to the RHTYSC, MS and the honouring of the Club’s heroes.

Guyana / Canada May 15 Friendly Int. Launched By Franklin Wilson The historic May 15 friendly international match between Guyana’s flagship senior team, The Golden Jaguars and Canada’s Olympic Under-23 team was officially launched yesterday in the Board Room of the Guyana Football Federation. Sharing the head table at the simple but significant occasion were the Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mr. Pierre Giroux, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Mr. Wayne Forde, Golden Jaguar Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz and Golden Jaguar Midfielder, Eon Alleyne. Ambassador Giroux in expressing excitement about the match informed that the two nations are also celebrating 50-years of Diplomatic relations this year which makes the game ideal. ”This game fits very well with the series of events were doing with the Guyanese people to commemorate the very long relations, the very intense relations we’ve had historically.” Giroux stated that more than 200,000 Guyanese have made Canada their home which helps Canada maintain

a very strong people to people relationship. ”This game that will occur will actually be the expression of this long term relationship and friendship that exists between our two countries. So I am very happy to associate myself with this game and I do hope that it will be successful and exciting so I am looking forward to see all this.” Forde in giving a brief background in relation to organizing the game informed that it is a partnership between the GFF and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) with support from the other stakeholders involved. “It doesn’t impose any financial burden on the Guyana Football Federation.” The GFF boss said that he was very pleased when the Government of Guyana contacted him to express a desire to have football as a key part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. ”To me that was an expression that football as a unifying force was recognised by the government of Guyana as a very important staple in our national sports diet.” Forde informed that the GFF’s International Sports Ambassador, Mr. Alex

Bunbury was then contacted and informed of the Government’s intention and the GFF’s desire to play Canada. ”He {Bunbury} immediately reached out to the Canadian High Commissioner and they had some conversations and the rest is history, here we are today.” ”I want to use this opportunity to rally the Guyanese society around this game; this is a very important game. The Canadian U-23 team has qualified for the Olympics and that is no simple accomplishment. They are a very, very worthy opponent and they are going to be putting us to the test.” Forde expressed gratitude to Ambassador Giroux for his efforts to date in facilitating the match whilst noting that he is looking forward to an exciting and competitive match on May 15, next. Shabazz said his squad is very excited for the match which will provide a great opportunity for them to test the work that has been put in over the past couple of months against a formidable opponent, one of only three teams in CONCACAF to qualify. The long standing Coach also noted that the game will (Continued on page 25)

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

Hand-in-Hand three-day Inter-County U-19 Cricket

Demerara crush U-17s by 7-wkts as 13 LBW appeals upheld By Sean Devers Demerara U-19s registered a crushing seven-wicket victory in their opening round match against the National U17 Select at Wales yesterday to take an early lead in the four-team GCB’s Hand-inHand three-day U-19 cricket tournament joining Essequibo in winner’s row. Twice on the final day the U-17s seemed to launching a fight-back on what was a difficult track to bat on in sultry conditions. But they could not sustain their periods of dominance and older and more experienced U-19s were let off the hook in a match that saw 13 LBW appeals upheld. A 69-run seventh wicket stand between the resolute Kurt Lovell (22) and lefthanded National U-17 offspinner Sagar Hatheramani (44), whose batting has improved tremendously, spearheaded the first phase of the fight-back which helped the U-17s to 160 all out. Leg-spinner Ershad Ali (448 from 20 overs) and off-spinner Keshram Shabodan (4-16 from 18 overs) utilized a sluggish track with plenty turn to share eight scalps between them.

Set 61 to win, National U17 Left-arm spinners Ashmead Nedd and Kelvin Umroa took three wickets in the space of six runs to have Demerara reeling on 26-3 but once again they could not produce the knock-out punch and the hosts reached 64-3 with Nedd finishing with 2-25. Scores: U-17s (90 & 160), Demerara U-19s (190 & 643). The U-17s, 100 runs in arrears, began their second innings on 58-3 with Night Watchman Anthony Antonio and Kevin St Clair at the crease. After batting for over an hour, Antonio, who looked organised with the bat, was LBW to Ali to leave the U17s on 82-4. Shabodan trapped St Clair LBW for 26 from 44 minutes with four fours without addition to the score before Alphius Bookie (6) was bowled by Ali, who took four of the first five wickets to fall as three wicket fell for eight runs. At 90-6 the home team must have harboured thoughts of a win before Lunch but Lovell was joined by Hatheramani who played with contrasting styles and by lunch the partnership had

progressed to 69 with Hatheramani taking the attack to bowlers under blue skies. The news that Berbice had been asked to follow-on in the other game at Enterprise and the knowledge that only two sessions were left to complete a victory seemed to inspire the Demerara bowlers. Surprisingly, Ali, who had the opportunity to take eight wickets, did not bowl a ball after the interval. Skipper Renaldo AliMohamed brought himself into the attack to bowl in tandem with Shabodan and tactic worked perfectly. Shabodan struck in the first over by having Lovell LBW at 159-7 and had Hatheramani LBW at 160-7, while Ali-Mohamed (2-21) got rid of Nedd and Colin Barlow for ducks to LBW decisions as the last four wickets tumbled in 10 minutes for one run. Demerara began their response in t20 fashion with Raymond Perez (15) cover driving Antonio for four before stroking Nedd for a boundary, while Ronaldo Renee (5) hammered Barlow gloriously for four. Perez was LBW to Nedd at 20-1 while Sherfane Ruth-

Sargar Hatheramani scored a confident 44 in a losing cause at Wales Yesterday. erford slapped Nedd for a one-bounce four over point. He played recklessly to St Clair on the mid-wicket boundary and was dropped off Umroa at 26-1. Umroa had Perez LBW next ball while Rutherford (5) played a senseless drive off Nedd to St Clair on the cover boundary when all that was needed was to hit the ball into the gaps. Malcolm Hubbard (26*) and Shewpersaud (12*) snuffed out the U-17s enthusiasm by taking their team to victory without further loss. Hubbard used his feet

EDFA Jubilee U-17 Tourney

Buxton and Paradise clash in today’s final The battle lines will be drawn today when Buxton Stars Football Club, the only unbeaten team so far and Paradise Football Club clash in the final of the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) Jubilee Under-17 tournament at the Golden Grove ground from 15:30hrs. Buxton’s quest to end with an unblemished record in lifting the championship trophy will rely on the likes of the skilful Shemar Scott, Religah Quintyn, Glenford Osborne and Isaiah Lewis among others. Paradise’ challenge will centre on Te s h a w n St e w a r t , D i o n Austin, Charles Ingram, Colin Hendricks and Shamar James. Preceding the final will be the third place match between arch rivals Golden Stars of Golden Grove and Victoria Kings at 13:30hrs. The winning team will receive a trophy donated by

Buxton Stars Football Club Under-17 Team. Trophy Stall, while the teams placing second and third will receive trophies donated by the Ministry of Education Department of Culture, Youth and Sport. First to third place medals have been donated by the Guyana Football Federation

(GF F ) w h i l e i n d i v i d u a l prizes will go to the Most Valuable Player, Highest Goal Scorer and Best Goalkeeper. The competition attracted nine clubs from the association namely; Plaisance Panthers, BV Triumph United,

Buxton Youth Developers, Ann’s Grove, Mahaica Determinators and the above named four. Teams were placed into three (3) groups with the respective winners and best second place finisher advancing to the semi-finals.

and smashed Umroa down the ground before sweetly caressing another boundary past cover. Shewpersaud’s confident boundary off Umroa eased the pressure, while Hubbard delightfully drove Umroa for four to post the 50 in 11.2

overs before finishing the contest 35 minutes before Tea with a massive six. Demerara face defending Champions Berbice at Everest, while the U-17s battle Essequibo at DCC and both matches are scheduled to start tomorrow at 10: 00hrs.

Letter to the Sports Editor

Objection to Caribbean Premier League government subsidy Dear Editor, I would like to register my strong protest with the not so secret multi-million, multi-year subsidy of the Caribbean Premier League cricket tournament. I have been informed this subsidy exceeds One Hundred Million dollars per annum and will escalate annually under the current agreement. This obscene payment of subsidy for four cricket matches to CPL (owned by DIGICEL) cannot be acceptable at a time when all of our Nation’s sporting bodies are in dire need of financial assistance to carry out sporting programmes. The Amazon Warriors and its billionaire owner, Dr. Bobby Ramsaroop needs no further subsidy from our nation’s coffers. The need for sport in our nation has never been more than now, our youth need the benefits that sport provides, discipline, work ethic, camaraderie, team work lessons to mention a few, various Ministers have pronounced on the need for the balance between academics and sport in our schools to be restored, talk is cheap, urgent action is needed for this to become reality.

I serve as President of the Guyana Baseball League and we did receive a grant of nine baseball gloves ($40,000 value) from the National Sports Commission recently for which we are grateful, these were added to a few other items and given to one of the accredited coaches to begin a programme in Queen’s College. We look forward to a day when we can receive hundreds of gloves to fulfill our demand from other coaches in schools throughout the country, I am sure that similar situations exist in all other sport bodies in Guyana. I would ask that the Minister responsible for Sport to meet with the umbrella organization for sport administration, the Guyana Olympic Association and chart a way forward as a matter of great urgency. As to the subsidy of CPL, I would ask that any existing agreement be made public. Cricket fans must bear the cost of attending matches without subsidy at the expense of our youth. I look forward to the correction of this imbalance. Robin Singh President Guyana Baseball League

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Inniss on familiarization visit to EBFA Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Executive Member with responsibility for the East B a n k F o o t b a l l A s s o c i a t i o n ( E B FA ) , Dion Inniss on Wednesday last met with the association’s Executive and General Council at the Park View Hotel, Farm, East Bank Demerara. Inniss, a former FIFA Referee and goalkeeper informed the members that he was pleased to have been appointed to oversee the association which he noted has been very proactive especially in the area of youth development. The Caribbean Airline Marketing Executive informed the association that he was there to work along closely in advancing the further development of the association in a holistic manner. Work has already begun in this regard as a Referees Beginners Course has already been organised with

GFF Executive Member Dion Inniss (left) hands over one of the tops to EBFA President Franklin Wilson in the presence of fellow Executive and General Council Members. about 10 persons from the EBFA set to participate. Association President Franklin Wilson gave Inniss

an overview of the a s s o c i a t i o n ’s w o r k programme indicating that the Ralph Green sponsored

Under-11 concluded recently with Agricola Red Triangle emerging the winner over Craig Primary

School in the final. Wilson also informed that the Stag Senior League is ongoing while the

association will kick off its Under-13 in early May. Inniss commended the association for its continued efforts at the grassroots level noting that this focus will impact positively at the national level, ultimately. Discussions were also had in the areas of Coaches, Administrative and Female Development. Also President of the Guyana Football Referees Council, Inniss presented v a r i o u s s e t s o f F I FA Grassroots tops that have been passed on to the affiliated clubs of the association as well as Craig Primary and Friendship. Meanwhile, the Technical Advisor to the EBFA Mr. Winston Benons will be running off a Goalkeepers session for Under-11 and 13 players tomorrow at the Farm Community Centre Ground from 10:00hrs. All clubs are required to ensure their goalkeepers in the targeted age groups attend the session along with their coaches.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Saturday April 16, 2016

KK Warriors get support from New Looks Barber Shop, Comfort Villa & Eldon Sobers The continued rise and consistency of the Kuru Kururu Warriors Football Club (KKWFC), based at Kuru Kururu on the Linden Soesdyke Highway has been recognized by the corporate community in the village as well as an individual. Currently competing in the inaugural Corona Beer sponsored Guyana Beach Football Association, Beach Soccer League which will conclude on Sunday and holding down the second place in the points standings and to date the only team to beat defending champions Grove Hi Tech in the STAG sponsored East Bank Football Association Senior League, their dedicated work has not gone unnoticed.

The New Looks Barber Shop, Comfort Villa and Mr. Eldon Sobers have collectively presented the club with two sets of uniforms to ensure that they present themselves well at all times. KKWFC President Mr. John Woolford and his executive committee on behalf of the players have expressed sincere gratitude to the donors for supporting the club at a timely juncture in their continued quest to bring glory to the community. The club noted that the donations will impact t h e i r y o u t h development initiative in a positive way in the c o m m u n i t y o f K uru Kururu and it is their fervent hope that the vision and support of the New Looks Barber Shop, Comfort Villa and Mr.

Vice President of Kuru Kururu Warriors FC Dale Roberts (right) receives one of the tops from Mr. Eldon Sobers in the presence of other club members. Eldon Sobers is emulated by others in the community as they continue to work towards shaping the

lives of the players in a positive way. KKWFC also noted that previous donations were received from

persons outside of the community which makes this donation even more gratifying. Any entity or

individual wishing to contribute to the club can do so by calling telephone #s, 675-4923, 668-1422 or 624-6093.

E’bo thump Berbice by an innings and 60 runs Chinkoo grabs 5 Essequibo romped to an innings and 60-run victory over Berbice when the opening round of the Guyana Cricket Board/Hand-in-Hand inter county U19 three-day tournament concluded yesterday at Enterprise. Apart from steady bowling by the Essequibians who were smartly led by Keemo Paul, poor shot selection and the lack of eagerness to occupy the crease resulted in Berbice being bowled out for 93 in both innings.

Akenie Adams Off-spinner Looknauth Chinkoo was the main destroyer- he picked up five second innings scalps to finish the game with 8-74. In reply to Essequibo

Asif Ally first innings total of 248, Berbice began the final day on 71-5 and lost their remaining wickets for 22 runs in the first session. Matthew Hardial added one to his overnight score before he was caught by wicketkeeper Nathan Persaud off Akenie Adams for 33. Paul then bowled Seenarine Sookdeo (01) while Chinkoo sent back Ritesh Umroa (04) and Nicholas Seenarine (00) before Paul uprooted the stumps of Sylus Tyndall (02) to give his team a lead of 153. Paul bagged 4-13, Adams 3-14 and Chinkoo 3-39.

Looknauth Chinkoo Essequibo decided to enforce the follow the on, and fifteen year-old fast bowler Reyaz Khan (1-9) who impressed with his pace provided his team with the breakthrough when he induced Adrian Sukwah (06) to nick one behind- Paul standing at third slip completed the catch after the ball rebounded from the keeper. Ritesh Umroa got to 11 before he was run out in a terrible mix up to leave Berbice at 32-2. Chinkoo then trapped Hardial lbw for three while Brandon Prasad (00) lofted the said bowler to mid off as Berbice went to

Keemo Paul accepts his man-of-the-match prize from Hand-in-Hand Marketing Representative Chandranie Karran. lunch at 36-4. After the interval the pacy Paul disturbed the stumps of Joel Seetaram who played across to a good length ball; he went for 18 (2x4). Chinkoo, Adams and man-of-the-match Paul then combined to bowl out Berbice well before tea. Only Tyndall (11) of the remaining batsmen managed double figures as

Chinkoo grabbed 5-35, Adams 2-12 and Paul 1-18. Scores: Essequibo 246 (Keemo Paul 85, Akenie Adams 32, Siddique Mohamed 21* Asif Ally 488, Brandon Prasad 2-25, Joel Seetaram 2-63). Berbice 93 all out (Mathew Hardial 33, Paul 4-13, Adams 3-14, Chinkoo 3-39) and 93 all out (Seeteram 18, Chinkoo 5-35, Adams 2-12).

Saturday April 16, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Scrabble Association WIFBSC Short Range C/ships 2016 – Antigua in last GASP effort to Banks DIH maintains support resuscitate the sport

of Caribbean’s top shots

James Krakowsky Internal issues had brought the activities of the nation’s scrabble players to an unceremonious halt and that situation had prevailed for approximately two years despite the efforts of a few conscientious players to rectify the situation. D u r in g th at p er io d several attempts have been made to have the situation reverted to a semblance of normalcy, all to no avail. It seems as though the administrators of the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) have reached an amicable solution and after a lengthy hiatus, plans are underway to recommence activities. Efforts to resuscitate activities will coincide with the GASP 20th anniversary celebrations and will be dubbed ‘GASP 20th Anniversary Fun Day’ at Herdmanston Lodge, 65 Peter Rose & Anira Streets, on Sunday, April 24 from 15:00-20:00hrs. Meanwhile, during the period of inactivity, top rated players, Yvonne and Carlton Murray, had held informal sessions at their Nandy Park residence where a few players congregated at least once a month to engage in sessions. These activities will continue tomorrow afternoon when those players will convene at the Nandy Park venue for that tournament. The players had shared the spoils but veteran player, Ulric Harris, had rebounded to capture the trophy at the last tournament. The other players, the likes of Carlton Murray, Michael Benjamin and Maurice Munru will be keen to clinch the spoils. Yvonne has also been in the forefront to initiate a secondary school scrabble programme and had made

Yvonne Murray

Abigail McDonald remarkable progress towards its realization after conducting orientation sessions among teachers at the Carmel School, Charlestown. Officials of GASP have lauded such efforts and have committed to embrace them during the new dispensation. One of the senior players, James Krakowsky, related that the new executives will examine ways of broadening and popularizing the sport, “Additionally we will be encouraging the formation of local clubs under the umbrella of GASP and eventually a secondary school Scrabble programme,” he intimated. Further, plans are also underway to recommence the weekly informal gettogethers and frequent scheduling of competitions. O f f i c i a l l y, A b i g a i l McDonald is the national champion after defeating Moen Gafoor, some three years ago, in a showdown after these two players had emerged as the best after the GASP had staged its National Championships. McDonald has represented Guyana twice at t h e Wo r l d S c r a b b l e Championships in Malaysia and the Czech Republic in 2014.

Beverage giants Banks DIH Limited has maintained and increased its sponsorship to the Guyana National Rifle Association (GuyanaNRA), fullbore shooters ahead of their defence of the Short Range and Individual Titles at the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championships set for Antigua and Barbuda, next month. Public Relations Officer of Banks DIH, Troy Peters in presenting the cheque to GuyanaNRA Secretary Ryan Sampson reminded that the company is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year and they have remained steadfast in its support of one of the oldest sports associations i n G u y a n a ; t h e GuyanaNRA is set to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2017 with a gala championship which will see a number of the world’s powerhouses on the range competing. ”Banks DIH Limited has been a major sponsor of rifle shooting over the years and we are extremely happy to be supporting the local shooters in their quest to retain championship honours.

Banks DIH Limited PRO Troy Peters (2nd right) presents the cheque to GuyanaNRA Secretary Ryan Sampson. At right is association Treasurer Terrance Stuart with Caribbean Individual Champion Lennox Braithwaite also sharing the moment. We know that the team will make Guyana proud in Antigua,” Peters stated. Sampson in response expressed thanks to Peters and Banks for their continued commitment to the association not that their unflinching support has allowed Guyana to be the reigning Short and Long Range as well as Individual champions of

the Caribbean. ”We at the Guyana NRA are eternally grateful to Banks for their committed partnership with us for as long as I can remember. No doubt you have continued to add the necessary drive for us to succeed and this year will be no different. As champions we will endeavor to continue the

tradition of being the Caribbean’s best on the ranges.” Lennox Braithwaite is the reigning Individual Champion for the past three championships. The GuyanaNRA has a budget of 4.6 million for the 10member team to this y e a r ’s c h a m p i o n s h i p s set for Antigua and Barbuda from M ay 1622.

t r o Sp Hand-in-Hand three-day Inter-County U-19 Cricket

Demerara crush U-17s by 7-wkts as 13 LBW appeals upheld

Kurt Lovell top edges a sweep off Ershad Ali (4-48) at Wales yesterday in his 69 run stand with Sagar Hatheramani.

Guyana/Canada May 15 Friendly Int. Launched

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mr. Pierre Giroux (2nd right) shares yesterday’s press conference with, from right, GFF President Mr. Wayne Forde, Golden Jaguar Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz and Golden Jaguar Midfielder, Eon Alleyne.

E’bo thump Berbice by Banks DIH maintains support an innings and 60 runs of Caribbean’s top shots Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210