Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 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

ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS!

Had the authorities heeded the complaints of the prisoners and their relatives, the riots which took the lives of seventeen inmates at the Georgetown Prison could have been avoided. Now that seventeen lives are lost, the government has apportioned blame on the previous administration for failing to implement the recommendations from several groups aimed at improving the putrid conditions at the prison. Prison reform which was one of the government’s campaign promises during the election became less of a priority after it took office. By placing it on the back burner, the nation, especially the relatives and friends of the deceased have paid a hefty price. The riots at the prison were awful. It is important for everyone to understand that the rights of prisoners’ matter. Among the core rights are that prisoners must be treated with fairness, dignity and respect; the right to a speedy trial; free from unreasonable delay; to be innocent until found guilty, have legal representation, be informed and to be paroled. The denial of these rights by prison authorities was expressed by several inmates at the Commission of Inquiry. Those who died in the prison riots were sons we raised, fathers we loved, brothers and uncles we cherished and the friends we valued. They broke the law, and even though they were imprisoned, no one can deny the fact that the government was responsible for their security just as it is for the rest of us. After all, they were under the supervision of the government. The anguish wrought from their deaths can only be truly fathomed by those left behind to bear the pain and suffering. As a civilized society, justice is not only done, it must be seen to be done, but the dispensation of justice has over time become disproportionately unfavorable to alleged accusers of a crime. In such circumstances: whither the accusers? It is an irrefutable fact that the prisons in Guyana are primitive, overcrowded and crude. The public is aware of it. Given the limited rights granted to criminals, it is no wonder that many have spent years in jail waiting for a trial. In some instances, the wait is five years or more. Those at the vanguard of protecting the prisoners and upholding their rights have become complicit in a system in which the rights of the prisoners are violated. There is such overwhelming evidence of this practice that prosecutorial procedures and even the laws and the judicial system that one questions, are archaic and have led to poor decisions. The recent pardon of persons by the President who have committed minor offences and, ostensibly, paid their debt to society should have been seen as a good gesture but not for some in society. In a pious and virtuous society, the people are frequently told that they ought to forgive, even if they do not forget. Though there is no specific biblical reference to it, they have been nurtured into believing that it is human to err, but it is divine to forgive. This is true, and the laws and legal practices in the country tend, in many ways, to submit to this abstract. No one except the agnostic will object to the idea of forgiveness. It is something most in society frequently seek for themselves. But unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of sensitivity and similar compassion for prisoners who are asking for forgiveness. It is one of the ironies of jurisprudence that people, especially the poor and the downtrodden who broke the law and act contrary to the rules of society, should not be forgiven. But those with status, wealth and power who operate outside the laws are given the opportunity to seek and claim leniency from the same laws and society.

Eric Philips wants Maxwell to take off his mask DEAR EDITOR; M. Maxwell, can you be a man of integrity and write under your own name. What do you have to hide? What are your special interests, historical and otherwise? What sort of character and coward hides behind a fake name? Why are the media still publishing letters from fake individuals? It’s amazing that in this age of transparency and

honesty that the practice of printing letters of individuals with false names continues. This is especially true in Guyana where this practice has been used by cowards to influence the racial and political divide. This practice is an insult to Guyanese. If Stabroek News and other media want to continue printing letters from M. Maxwell then they should also have the common

dignity to state his correct identity. Identity theft is a crime. I would have to assume that since Editors understand this and that the main reason the practice continues is because it is another way for Editors to state views they agree with. First, Mr. Maxwell has a problem with Africans receiving reparatory justice from the state even though there was an African

Holocaust or MAAFA in Guyana that resulted in the genocide of 450,000 Africans. They were killed so that Guyana could be developed. This criminal enrichment of Europeans is well documented. Africans in Guyana worked free under the brutal conditions of slavery for over 200 years. I doubt M. Maxwell is African because he is (Continued on page 23)

If death penalty is abolished, what then are the deterrents? DEAR EDITOR; Permit me to seemingly throw caution to the wind, or would that be to the typhoon regarding the issue of whether or not the death penalty should be abolished in Guyana. The latest to add a voice to the many others gone before is Sister Judith Schmelz of the Sisters of Mercy of Guyana (Stabroek News, April 1, 2016). Sadly, the death penalty has remained an ongoing contentious issue, wherein most Guyanese hold their own views and stance while the crime rate continues to soar at a blood curdling rate. Not for one moment should we forget that both the death penalty and corporal punishment remain enshrined in the laws of Guyana. On a note of irony, many religions hold their own belief, chief among them being the Catholic religion which repudiates the death penalty. Verbatim stated Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church says: Assuming that the guilty p a r t y ’s i d e n t i t y a n d responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. Plainly and logically put or simply elucidated, the death penalty can and must be utilized when it is the singularly feasible, sensible or workable way to safeguard lives of people against criminals. I do not intend to neither go down the path of loquacious or thoughtconverting parlance, as that

has already been done, exhume inconclusive deterrent statistics nor will I be found culpable of belaboring of points. However, conspicuously absent from the rhetorics of all those who have formerly and presently spoken out against the death penalty is what alternative solution should be instituted, that will restore Guyana to its former peaceful state. Yes, everyone has stated loud and clear, for all to hear, what should not be done, even bringing in the Good Book at times to bolster their claim, but all have neglected to provide the law changers with alternative solutions or recommendations. No, we are not going to hang them; we’ll let them hang around alive a bit longer, and languish within the prison wall awaiting the Master’s call? I dare not think that would be a satisfactory solution to death penalty eradication. Permit me to bring attention to the sagging trend, this issue of death penalty abolition has raised its head in Guyana on a few occasions previously, especially at the Governmental level, but thus far it has only been raised, probably praised but certainly not crazed as evidenced by its present status and lingering presence. Where is the momentum since the last discussion on removing the death penalty? Was there a penalty even before death took place? Has there been a moratorium on the death penalty in Guyana? No end or decision appears to be on the horizon or creeping into v i e w. T h e d i s p l a y e d behavior thus far is making a mockery of the justice and

legal system at best. While the citizens were clamoring for change, a much needed change, why was abolition of the death penalty not on the ballot box? Can it be assumed or even presumed that no one wanted to question those at the helm as to the rationale underlying capital punishment still being in our law books, persons sentenced to death, yet no execution forthcoming for over a decade? It certainly was not for lack of audacity. Collectively, let us ask again, hopefully I am not the solitary voice but instead

representative of voxpopuli, demanding to know what is the real purpose for capital punishment being law, when in truth and effect to date the said law has only been partially fulfilled. Let the pussyfooting come to a startling halt, the government has to be either all the way in or all the way out. Guyana saw its last execution at the Camp Street Jail (of prison fire fame) on August 25, 1997. This noteworthy execution saw the deaths of Michael Archer and Peter Adams, formerly found guilty of the murder (Continued on page 23)

Minister Harmon’s continuation in office should end

DEAR EDITOR; As reported by Kaieteur News, Joseph Harmon, Minister of State had appointed Brian Tiwarie as a Ministerial Adviser on Business Development on Jan. 19, 2016. He was also officially part of Minister Harmon’s delegation which went to China recently on State Business. Mr. Tiwarie’s appointment was not approved by President Granger nor was his Cabinet aware of the “Honorific Title” accorded him as was subsequently reported. During his short tenure as Adviser, Mr. Tiwarie had access to sensitive confidential State information which will no doubt compromised the Government’s business. Further, his appointment was unethical as he is the

largest Govt. contractor with a checkered past as his Company, BK International has outstanding financial obligations with the Govt. for liquidating damages associated with contracts such as the Head Regulator for the Hope Canal and the Supernaam Stelling which he allegedly executed poorly and with large time and costs overruns. President Granger and his APNU+AFC Government were elected to serve Guyanese as anticorruption advocates with transparency and accountability as their hallmark. It is inconceivable therefore that Minister Harmon without the Govt.’s consensus would appoint Mr. Tiwarie who was part of a small cabal during the PPP/C administration which (Continued on page 23)

Tuesday April 05, 2016

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Homesafe Security and Pastor Jeffrey replies Domestic Services replies to a trenchant critic DEAR EDITOR, I am the owner of Homesafe Security and Domestic Services, referred to a letter published in your newspaper News on 4th April 2016. Homesafe provides a quality service to our customers and provide our guards with a fair wage and excellent working conditions. We employ hundreds of Security Guards and I enjoy a close personal relationship with many of them. Those who have worked for as long as the author of the letter purports, refer to me, as many of my friends do, by my middle name only. They are the most important asset in the organization and we have a firm policy that they must be treated with utmost respect almost to the point of deference by their supervisors. There is a chain of command for grievances to be reported. Nevertheless, senior managers have an open door policy for reports to me made directly to us. They are systems for anonymous reporting of problems and no one is punished for doing so. The specific complaints in the letter are without merit. No guard works for 20 hours. We always have redundancies to cater for unexpected absenteeism and where some shifts are extended, guards are free to decline overtime work. If they accept an extended shift, they are paid time and a half. In the context of the size of our workforce and the range of locations we believe this is exceptional. We provide frequent training from a myriad of internal and external specialists, including the Guyana Police Force. The equipment supplied to each location is based on our client’s requirements. Homesafe provides bonuses and cash awards at Christmas but these are merit based. This is not a legal requirement but it is good for employee-employer relations. Insofar as statutory requirements are concerned we work closely with the Ministry of Labour and the National Insurance Scheme to ensure that all obligations are faithfully discharged and any difficulties are resolved speedily. The event where a guard was asked to move from one location to another during a shift is quite true. It is unclear why this third party finds it worthy of comment. An emer-

gency arose and the guard was needed at another location. She refused to change her location and walked off the site she was being relocated from. In the course of an internal enquiry she said the Supervisor who was providing transportation drove off and left her. I do not think this could be true. Even if this was so, the logical thing would have been for her to remain at the original location until her shift ended. She could not explain why she did not do so. She asked to be termi-

nated rather than be suspended. Notwithstanding that she could have been terminated for cause, she was paid the statutory benefits. It is surprising that a reputable media newspaper would publish such scandalous correspondence without first inviting me to respond. I believe it to be an attempt to injure my reputation and that of my business by a former employee who was dismissed for stealing and is now a competitor. Robert Johnson

Dr. Lucheon’s convenient ways of forgetting DEAR EDITOR; On a recent television program held on Sunday 3rd April, 2016 on LRTVS channel 10 named “In Perspective” and hosted by PPP\C MP Zulifikar Mustapha, a lot of misleading information was given to the public by the guest, Dr. Luncheon. Dr. Luncheon seems to be losing his memory as to what is taking place in Guyana and more over about what took place under his corrupt watch and government. He seems to forget that what is taking place now under this new regime is a transformational change from bad and worse to good and accountability. He seems to forget that this almost ten months government has to deal on a daily basis of what the PPP done in the past twenty three years as a government. He informed the viewers that this APNU+AFC government seems to be unaccountable for what they are doing. He blames the state of the sugar and rice industries on the government but yet fail to say that or tell Berbicians that it was the PPP that created the crisis in the industries. He failed to say that his PPP appointed Guysuco CEO

announced in May 2015 that the Industry will be closed and more over the PPP and Roger lied to the people when they were campaigning for the 2015 elections saying the sugar industry have a bright future ahead. Dr. Luncheon needs to remember that the rice industry started to decay under the PPP. Some was getting the right price, while some was underpaid. He failed to tell the people the amount of monies RPA borrowed towards giving to rice farmers but the farmers never benefit from it. Dr. Luncheon needs a memory stick to recount the things the PPP did to stifle the farmers so that they can be the followers of the PPP. Dr. Luncheon failed to tell the people that he was a pensioner that was still hired by the PPP government and that the PPP had many secret deals overseas and local with investors. He failed to say that the PPP promised Berbice an airport since in the days of Dr. Jagan but it never came to reality. He failed to say that his government neglected Berbice especially youths and placed all the investors and employment in other (Continued on page 23)

DEAR EDITOR; When I read the article that Mrs. Verian MentisBaker wrote, titled, WENDELL JEFFREY MASQUERADING FOR MAYOR, I was not at first impressed to respond for her article was riddled with falsities and innuendos. In her missive, written sometime in March this year, Mrs. Menace-Baker claimed that it was an exposure, containing “some very interesting FACTS ,” a dossier of sorts. It was meant to depict me as a lying, twisted, sleazy, crooked snake oil salesman. Rather than the Pastor, Author, Journalist, Criminologist, Prison Chaplain, father and husband that I am. In her article MenaceBaker claimed that I “wanted to run the city of Georgetown” and that I was therefore vying as “a candidate for leadership of the nation’s capital” and that I was seeking to become the “man who would be Mayor.” As I read the article I concluded that Mrs. Baker was either ill informed of my candidacy or she was deliberately trying to mislead her readers. I was running as an independent councilor and not as a Mayoral candidate. She said that I was not a Criminologist nor Prison Chaplain and that I never worked with the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) and she knew that because, “(She) called. (And) The IDOC categorically denies Jeffery’s claims.” However, a simple search of my name (Wendell Jeffrey) in Youtube reveals a list of dozens of video clippings with me either teaching classes, or managing workshops, or conducting spiritual services in the Indiana Prison. This would be the first test to show that Baker was lying when she said she thoroughly investigated me. It is obvious that ‘Menace’-Baker never called anyone at the State De-

partment. This alone proves that she is either a bender of the truth, or a very shallow researcher. Be it known that I was never deported from the USA. Neither was I ever deported from any country in which I have lived or to which I have traveled. And while you might not be able to verify this information from the US Embassy; on whether or not I was deported, you can check with the Guyana Criminal Investigation Department (CID). They have a list of all deportees and the crimes for which they were deported. Your check would find that I was never deported from any country. Again this proves that ‘Menace’-Baker is very disingenuous. As it relates to my being a Pastor here in Guyana, Baker says that she called, “the Seventh Day Adventist Conference, Georgetown to verify if Wendell Jeffrey was ever assigned the title Reverend or Pastor by their denomination.” She continues, “They have all confirmed that Wendell Jeffrey, even if we stick the initial ‘P’ in there, is not a Pastor, Minister or any Divinity official with the Seventh Day Adventist Church anywhere and any assertion by him that he is should be disregarded…” Again, ‘Menace’-Baker proved to be a blatant bender of the truth. The records will reflect that on January 1, 2010, I was hired on as a Pastor of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA). I served as the assistant to Dr. Hilton Garnett at the Central SDA Church, located at Church and Ornoque Streets, Georgetown, and I was responsible for the massive renovations that took place there during my tenure. (I am also a general contractor). The church building stands there, magnificently looking, as a direct testimony

of my stewardship, talents and gifts. Mrs. ‘Menace’Baker obviously did not speak to anyone at the Guyana Conference of SDA. Further, it is commonsensical and elementary to know that a person does not have to be employed by an organization in order to be a pastor, much like a person does not have to be employed by an institution in order to be a doctor. Again this goes to the intellectual level and analytical prowess of Mrs. Baker. After 18 years or volunteer work to rehabilitate prisoners, two books, my ministerial degree, the establishment of an international prisoner rehabilitation programme, dozens of research and articles, and my having travelled the world, the ‘Menace’, Baker still thinks that I should not be allowed to function as a leader in my community. If Baker can be this vitriolic, unforgiving and malicious against someone with my proven caliber and qualifications, imagine for a moment what the ex-offender with fewer achievements would face from her and her kind. And that’s why I work every day to provide a facility and programs for these guys because there are the Verian Mentis-Baker’s out there; who would never find it in their hardened hearts to give these guys a chance. In her summation Baker (Continued on page 23)

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Gov’t will press on with CJIA expansion project - Patterson - despite damning IDB report In the wake of an InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) report that concludes that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) $150M expansion project would not bring the expected benefits to Guyana, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson has stated that the administration has little choice but to press on. He made this comment yesterday, when asked whether the IDB report would cause Government to rethink the project. The IDB report had stated that Guyana has limited chances of developing the traffic necessary to be called a hub. However, in justifying the expansion project, the previous administration had pointed to the current space

constraints and “growing tourism” as the reasons. Guyana’s geographic position at the northern tip of the South American continent had also been touted as ideal as a hub and a link to Asia and Africa. Minister Patterson emphasized that the concept of the expansion came from the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration and was inherited by A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC). He reiterated that while still in opposition the coalition had been highly critical of the expansion project, as no feasibility analysis was ever done to determine its merits. Patterson noted that he

Yarakita teen on murder charge

A Yarakita teenager who allegedly fatally stabbed his neighbour was yesterday remanded to prison for murder when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates Court. Gold miner Ryan Alberts, 19, of Yarakita Village, in the North West District, stood emotionless as the charge was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It is alleged that on March 29, in Yarakita village, in Essequibo he murdered Dalton Emanuel. He was not required to plead. He was remanded to prison and is expected to return on May 18. The men were both miners and neighbours. According to reports on the day in question at 22:00 hours, the now dead Emanuel was involved in a dispute with

the accused. The argument had seemed to have been resolved that evening but it surfaced the following day. The suspect, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, ran into Emanuel and confronted him again. A fight later ensued and the accused pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed Emanuel in his abdomen. Divisional Commander Ravindradat Budhram on April 1, last, said that he had instructed the dispatch of ranks from Mabaruma early Wednesday morning in order to prevent the suspect from fleeing to neighbouring Venezuela. He said that when he was captured, the accused cooperated with the ranks and gave a statement in which he admitted killing Emanuel.

The CJIA expansion project

did not support the concept that CJIA would become a hub through the project, but what he did support was the extension of the run way. According to Patterson, the short runway would constitute a high risk and would be reflected in high insurance rates. The Minister said that Guyana was committed, and that the arrangement had been refashioned to make it more in line with what the country needs. The original components of the expansion was the extension of the runway from the original 7,500 ft to 10,800 ft to accommodate the Boeing 747-400 aircraft; doubling the Aircraft position from four to eight; installing eight Passenger boarding bridges and installing approximately 300 cameras to boost the CCTV system. However, Government had stated that additional expenditures was not made known, including a new car park for some US$2.7M, equipment in the terminal for US$16M, the upgrade and replacement of navigational aids for US$1.3M, the perimeter fences and security lights for US$565,000, among others. Government had, however, announced that this was capped. The original expansion project cost had generated numerous controversies. The US$138M contract with China

Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) had excluded the company from taxes, duties, royalties and fees of all kinds normally imposed by Guyana. The contract was heavily criticized for its numerous concessions to the Chinese Contractor and was inked on November 10, 2011, days before the then president, Bharrat Jagdeo demitted Office. Last year, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, revealed that more than 70 percent of the money for the

project had already been handed over to the contractor and expended. However, it was stated that CHEC was at the time behind schedule. The IDB report, which was done by air transport specialist, Andy Ricover, and released last November, states that based on the lack of infrastructure and scarcity of origin and destination (O&D) traffic at CJIA compared to Guyana’s larger and more connected neighbours like Brazil and Venezuela, it would be unrealistic to think of CJIA developing into a re-

gional hub, notwithstanding the political will. It points out that both Guyana and Suriname have limited options to develop non-stop services to most destinations in South & North America and Europe. In the report, it was explained that there are two kinds of hubs. One works as an entry gateway to the country, distributing passengers to other local destinations. There are also those that work as a connection between two or more international flights, passing by a connecting hub.

Ministry of Health arson suspect further remanded One of the accused arsonists who were to blame for the 2009 Ministry of Health blaze was further remanded yesterday, when he made his second appearance before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Keith Ferrier, 54, of Ruimveldt was not required to plead to the charge that he along with others on July 7, 2009 set fire to the Ministry of Health building. Attorney-at-law Patrice Henry made an application for bail since his client was denied bail on a previous occasion. “I can assure on this oc-

casion he would present himself in court. If given the chance he can report to the police twice a month,” the lawyer said. He added that on the previous occasion when his client was granted bail in 2009, he sought refuge in another jurisdiction because of the various threats to his life. But prosecutor, Inspector Nelville Jeffers, objected to bail on the grounds that the defendant poses a flight risk since he had absconded while on bail in 2009. The prosecutor then added that 39 witnesses are ready to testify. He made an application for the matter to seek advice from the Director of Public Prosecution. The magistrate then noted the fact that Ferrier had failed to turn up in Georgetown and she denied bail. She then approved the prosecutor’s application to the DPP and advised that the availability of the witnesses to be confirmed. The matter will be called again on Wednesday.

According to reports, about 03:00h on July 7, 2009, perpetrators hurled improvised bombs made with channa and fuel into the upper flat of the main building of the Ministry. As a result of the fire, more than 200 persons were dislocated and the entire building destroyed. It was concluded that the fire was an act of arson. Following investigations the Guyana Police Force issued a wanted bulletin for Ferrier, George Lashley, 60, of Lot 187 Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown and others for setting the fire. Clayton Westford, 19, an office assistant of 7 West La Penitence, and 21-year-old Tedena Bagot, a pork-knocker of 32 Second Street, Alexander Village, were subsequently charged for the fire, while Ferrier evaded Police capture after being released on $350,000 bail. Ferrier was nabbed in March, at a business establishment on North Road, Bourda after Police ranks recognised him.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

Prosecutors open probes as world’s wealthy deny ‘Panama Papers’ links

A cameraman is seen outside the Arango Orillac Building where the Mossack Fonseca law firm is situated at, in Panama City (Reuters/Carlos Jasso) (Reuters) - Governments across the world began investigating possible financial wrongdoing by the rich and powerful yesterday after a leak of four decades of documents from a Panamanian law firm that specialized in setting up offshore companies. The “Panama Papers” revealed financial arrangements of global politicians and public figures including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain, Iceland and Pakistan, and the president of Ukraine. While holding money in offshore companies is not illegal, journalists who received the leaked documents said they could provide evidence of wealth hidden for tax evasion, money laundering, sanctions busting, drug deals or other crimes. The law firm, Mossack Fonseca, which says it has set up more than 240,000 offshore companies for clients around the globe, denied any wrongdoing and called itself the victim of a campaign against privacy. Leading figures responded to the leaks with denials or declining comment on Monday as prosecutors and regulators began a review of the reports from the investigation by the U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The U.S. Department of Justice would determine whether there is evidence of corruption and other violations of U.S. law, a spokesman said. A White House spokesman said that “in spite of the lack of transparency that exists in many of these transactions” there were U.S. experts who can find out whether they violated sanctions and laws. Financial prosecutors in France announced the open-

ing of a preliminary investigation for aggravated tax fraud. Germany would also “pick up the ball” in the case, a Finance Ministry spokesman said on Monday. Financial market watchdog Bafin is looking into the matter, said a source close to the regulator, which reports to the ministry. Australia, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands were among other countries which said they had begun investigatin g t h e a l l e g a tions based on more than 11.5 million documents. Banks came under the spotlight over allegations that they helped clients hide their wealth offshore. In Argentina, political opposition parties demanded an explanation from center-right President Mauricio Macri because he served as a director of an offshore company in the Bahamas related to his wealthy father’s business in the past. In Brazil, where a corruption crisis threatens President Dilma Rousseff’s administration, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper said politicians from seven parties were named as Mossack Fonseca clients. They did not, however, include politicians from Rousseff’s Workers’ Party. Brazil’s tax agency said it would verify information about offshore tax avoidance in the documents and could impose fines on undeclared assets in offshore accounts of up to 150 percent of their value. FORTY YEARS The documents, covering a period from 1977 until last December, were leaked to more than 100 news organizations around the world in cooperation with the ICIJ. “I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the ex-

tent of the documents,” ICIJ director Gerard Ryle said. The Kremlin said the documents contained “nothing concrete and nothing new” while a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said his late father’s reported links to an offshore company were a “private matter.” Pakistan denied any wrongdoing by the family of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after his daughter and son were linked to offshore companies. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko defended his commitment to transparency after lawmakers called for an investigation into allegations in the documents that he had used an offshore firm to avoid tax. Poroshenko purportedly moved his confectionery business, Roshen, to the British Virgin Islands in August 2014 as fighting between Ukraine and proRussian separatists peaked. “I believe I might be the first top official in Ukraine who treats declaring of assets, paying taxes, conflict of interest issues serio u s l y, ” Poroshenko tweeted. Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson faced calls for his resignation after ICIJ said he and his wife were connected with a secretive company in an offshore haven. His political opposition filed a no-confidence motion. “I certainly won’t (resign) because what we’ve seen is the fact that, well, my wife has always paid her taxes. We’ve also seen that she has avoided any conflict of interest by investing in Icelandic companies at the same time that I’m in politics,” he told Reuters TV.

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The right to respond should be respected The reports of the ‘forensic’ audits are out. They are being made public on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The publication of these audits suggest that charges are not likely to be laid against anyone since it is unlikely that having made the reports public that the matter will be handed over to the police. The public can judge for themselves whether these audits achieved the purposes for which they were intended and whether technically they can be considered as forensic audits The public is more interested in knowing whether money was stolen, who stole it, where it is and how, if it was stolen, can it be restored to the state. The so-called forensic audits have disappointed many in this area. The audits so far has not revealed any criminal culpability on the part of anyone.

The audits have, however, revealed weaknesses in a number of areas, including management, oversight and procurement procedures. No one has so far been charged with a corrupt transaction in any of the audits done, except in one instance and this related to payments made to Board members. The findings of the audits in relation to the operations and the management systems are not unusual in audits. If you go through, for example, the annual reports of the Auditor General in Guyana, you will find that the same sort of things that are being reported in these socalled forensic audits have appeared in the reports of the Auditor General. It therefore needs to be questioned from a financial point of view why instead of hiring private auditors to un-

dertake the audits, the work as not given to the Office of the Auditor General. In fact, most of these audits could have been conducted without cost to the government by utilizing the staff of internal audit departments within the government. A big disappointment with most of the audits is that persons accused of certain things were not given the opportunity to respond to the charges against them. This should have been done both during the course of the investigation and at the end of the audit. In those cases where this did not happen then it could amount to denial of due process. The Audit Act of Guyana provides for draft audit reports to be submitted to the heads of agencies being audited and for those persons to be allowed thirty days to respond to the find-

ings in the draft report. It is mandatory for the comments provided to be included in the final report. The Audit Act provides for the right to respond but the audit act is not applicable to private audits and to the auditing of entities not covered by the said Audit Act. The right to respond seems to have been applied in the case of the audit of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. This is good. But the same approach was not taken in some other audits whose reports have been made public. This suggests that different standards may have been employed by different auditing agencies and the government did not see it fit to insist that all the audits conform to one standard. It would have in most instances have saved a great deal of embarrassment

had this approach been used. For one, after the GEA audit, the former Prime Minister of Guyana wrote a letter to the media in which he pointed out that contrary to a claim made in the audit of that agency, one individual was not subject to integrity testing and therefore, could not, as the audit report sought to do, be said to have failed the test yet allowed to continue on the job. When an error is pointed out in an audit report, it affects the credibility of the audit especially if the error is a major one and can affect a specific finding. This is why it was important that those fingered in the audits should have been afforded the opportunity to respond to the draft findings. The Head of Guyoil who was sacked just after the socalled forensic audit in to his corporation was made public,

wrote a letter to the media in which he responded to the allegations leveled against him in the audit report. It seems to me that there could be no harm in allowing the head to respond to the allegations against him before the audit report was submitted. The head of GUYOIl came out looking like the victim simply because he was not afforded the right to respond. The government should do the right thing and remove the audit reports from the Ministry of Finance website until such time as all the agencies and affected persons are afforded the right to respond.

Auditors recommend sweeping changes at GuyOil An independent auditor has recommended sweeping changes at the Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil), including how that state-owned company should handle its dealers and creditors. According to the recently released forensic audit report by Nigel Hinds Financial Services, GuyOil will have to implement tougher systems to ensure that dealers adhere to contracts with an annual revision on file. The audit, ordered last year by the new administration of President David Granger, covered transactions for period November 1, 2011 to May 31, 2015. It also recommended strong actions against former Managing Director, Badrie Persaud. Persaud, who was sent on leave mid-last year, was sacked in February after GuyOil’s Board of Directors reviewed the audit report and decided to send him packing. They said he took unauthorised decisions during his time. The report flagged several transactions including contracts to close relatives, like multi-million fuel transportation contract to his brother and a construction one to his nephew. He also approved a gas station in Tuschen, East Bank

Essequibo, for a brother-in-law. The auditors also found a loose procurement system at GuyOil with questions over how companies and individuals were able to purchase fuel on credit. In its recommendations, the auditors urged that a Marketing Manager should be appointed at the stateowned company with the Managing Director no longer performing those duties. “The new Marketing Manager will be a healthy development to ensure controls over evaluation, recommendation and approval of dealers,” the report said. GuyOil owns three bulk terminals placed at Providence, Georgetown; Heathburn, Berbice and Adventure, Essequibo, along with seven service stations. According to the report, GuyOil has 36 dealers for its petrol and Castrol lubricants across the regions, employing over 300 personnel. The company also extends credit to over 700 customers. The auditors want the dealers to be selected on a process that included competitive analysis, impact assessment and market share analysis. There should also be “adherence to the dealer contract” with annual revision

being carried out by the board. It was also recommended that control tests should routinely be carried out on dealer contracts as part of the annual Internal Audit plan. In the new system, calibration tables at the dealers’ stations should be established and monitored by GuyOil as is allowed in the dealer contract. Meanwhile, with 758 creditors, auditors found that GuyOil had a loose system. “An attempt by Forensic Audit to reconcile a sample of 77 of 758 credit customers for the period 01.0110.15.2015 proved difficult since 54,458 transactions did not reconcile with the approved vehicles in customer files.” The auditors recommended that police and procedural steps should be documented and approved by the Board of Directors. “Policy and procedures for credit to customers should be clearly outlined and adhered to. A listing along with a memorandum should be submitted and updated where necessary, showing each credit customer, authorized vehicle/signatory/purchase order sequence/location, authorization date, remarks, prepayment amounts,” the report urged. GuyOil’s management was also asked to review all credit limits and bank guaran-

tees submitted by charge customers. The audit report was a damning one on the former Managing Director. It spoke of a one-man show by Persaud and a Board of Directors that was in place for nine years. With billions of dollars handled annually by GuyOil, the audit report indicated a family affair being run there. Persaud last week defended his tenure saying that the contracts to his relatives helped saved the state-owned company millions of dollars. He did not address the obvious conflict of interest issue raised by the auditors. According to the report, during the period, Persaud awarded transportation contracts worth $62M to his brother, Indarjeet Persaud, and a construction contract for $860,000 to his nephew, Avinash Persaud. The audit found that the brother continued to provide transportation services with the fuel tankers although the contract period had expired. The report recommended that Persaud be disciplined for non-disclosure of conflicts of interest, awarding of contract to his nephew and multiple breaches of GuyOil’s procurement policies. The report also flagged Persaud’s decision to become

Sacked GuyOil’s head, Badrie Persaud a candidate for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic national list for the May 11, 2015 General Elections. With regards to the 30-

odd dealers under the Managing Director’s watch, they were poorly managed, auditors said. They could find no evidence on the files for critical documents like ID, Tax Identification Number (TIN), transport, lease, tenancy agreement, relevant Guyana Energy Agency licences and insurance coverage. In one case, a GuyOil staffer even signed a guarantee that a customer, Mohamed Bacchus, would get a $5M credit limit. The guarantee was signed by Leonard Khan, then manager of the Castrol brand and the brother-in-law of Bacchus. Government has ordered several forensic audits and have released the reports. However, the administration has been coming under pressure to lay criminal charges. Tens of millions of dollars have been paid for the audits.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

The Guyanese public only knows half of what goes on From Saturday onwards I have been bombarded with calls and e-mails on two columns-my Saturday piece on a public speech Raphael Trotman gave in Bartica during the local government election campaign, and my article, yesterday, on Ramon Gaskin. First, I was asked by numerous individuals for a copy of the Raphael Trotman tape. I apologize to readers for the use of the word “tape” in the caption of the article. In common parlance “tape” has a totally different meaning. By having a tape, to the man in the street, has come to be understood by

untold numbers that you have a secret recording or a recording that was made in private and not for public consumption. Mitt Romney’s presidential bid in the US was severely weakened when he was caught on tape saying half of the US population wants hand-outs. He spoke at a private fund-raising event of the Republican Party. An American basketball team owner was secretly taped telling his girl friend not to socialize with team members and used race as the standard by which he judged people. The Guyana Times called

me about a tape I have on what Raphael Trotman said. I will not give the Guyana Times any material and through these words I hope the paper understands that. That newspaper carries very nasty things about me in its letters section and libel writs may soon follow. But I do not have a tape that implicates Raphael Trotman in any scandal. I have a copy of a recording of a public speech given by Trotman in Bartica in front of thousands of listeners. Dozens and dozens of persons were recording it on their smart phones. The APNUAFC that sponsored the meet-

ing recorded Trotman’s speech. There is no need to seek me out to get a copy of the Trotman tape. There is no secret tape on Raphael Trotman. He spoke in front of thousands of well-wishers and he was constantly clapped and cheered on. To put it in the most unambiguous way; there is a public speech out there by Trotman that any journalist can access if he/ she wants to. Several persons contacted me to say they didn’t know about those facts on Ramon Gaskin that I enumerated in my Monday reflections. They want a copy of my November 11, 1993 column on Gaskin in the Stabroek News. A particular lawyer has called me twice for the article. I am typing this column on Monday afternoon and I plan to photocopy the article later in the day. So yes, I can share the Ramon Gaskin column but I cannot share the Raphael Trotman tape because there is no Raphael Trotman tape. I am being journalistically technical. I have a copy of Trotman’s Bartica

speech and I can pass that along. I will meet the requests for both of these materials from Monday afternoon onwards. I was really surprised how much public information goes unnoticed in this country. I was asked if I am not worried Gaskin will sue me for libel for saying that he took a consultancy with the PPP Government to audit the financial records of the City Hall about four years ago. I simply said to that Stabroek Market vendor who spoke to me to go and Google it and he will see all the facts including a bold letter in the Stabroek News by Gaskin defending Carol Sooba in which Gaskin waxed lyrical about her professionalism. You don’t get sued for facts. You get sued for mouthing off fictions. I was losing my patience when I was told that Gaskin would sue me for implicating him with Evan Persaud. There is so much that this country does not know about. Gaskin cannot sue me for any kind of implications with his defence of Evan Persaud. UG charged

Frederick Kissoon Mr. Persaud for saying explicit sexual things in classes over a period of time. At the disciplinary hearing, Mr. Ramon Gaskin was the person who officially presented Persaud’s defence. That lawyer who called me to say that Gaskin will sue because I confused his name, because Gaskin is not a lawyer does not know the facts. I honestly don’t know what Raymond Gaskin is and I don’t care to know but I know Mr. Gaskin was the counsel for Mr. Persaud at his hearing. What is libelous about that? That is a fact. UG will not deny that fact. Vincent Alexander will not deny that fact. Evan Persaud will not deny that fact. Gaskin will not deny that fact. I think this lawyer didn’t know this and he cannot believe it. But it is all factual.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Battle lines drawn in Albouystown over Executions - Commander Hicken says situation under control

Last week’s execution style killings of two men have caused battle lines to be drawn in the volatile community of Charlestown/ Albouystown, with residents hoping that the police will bring the situation under control as quickly as possible. But Police Divisional Commander, Clifton Hicken, is assuring that while the situation is cause for some worry, the police force has things under control. The killings of Guyana Defence Force Lance Corporal, Kevon Payne and that of Gladstone Taylor, called ‘Tuffey’, have been described as a tit-for-tat and there are fears that there will be more retaliation. But Assistant Commissioner Hicken told this newspaper that while he has ranks on the ground in Albouystown on a 24-hour basis, as part of ‘Project Impact Albouystown’, more focus is being placed in the neighbouring community of Charlestown, where the killings occurred. Four persons are still in custody for the killings and several others have been questioned, and Hicken said that it is very likely that charges will be instituted soon in relation to both killings. “We had some confrontations and we have statements. We’re getting cooperation from the community, we’re getting maximum support,” the Commander said. He explained that the presence of his ranks on patrol in Albouystown led to the quick response of the

police in both shootings. However, residents have claimed that the quick police response pointed to their alleged collusion in the shooting of the GDF Lance Corporal and his friend Shaquille ‘Buck’ Wilson. According to a reliable source in the Albouystown area, the killings are definitely drug-related. “The root of the problem is competition (in the drug trade),” the source told Kaieteur News. The source said that the feud started after an Albouystown resident closely linked to Lance Corporal Payne and his brother, Vellon Thorne, established a drug block to rival that of another popular drug dealer in the area, who is said to have links to some members of the Guyana Police Force. This brought about a confrontation during which Thorne physically assaulted the popular drug dealer, who promised to get even. The source said that Lance Corporal Payne, upon hearing of the confrontation, also approached the drug dealer and reportedly threatened him. By now it was clear that the drug dealer, feeling disrespected had put out a “hit” on the two brothers and their associates. According to the source, to facilitate this, he had to get the protection of his legitimate law enforcement “friends”. The plan was executed last week Tuesday night when gunmen opened fire on

Executed: Solider, Kevon Payne

Dead: Gladstone Taylor Lance Corporal Payne as he was sitting in front of his yard, killing him almost instantly and wounding his accomplice Shaquille Wilson. According to an eyewitness, Payne was standing at the side of the roadway with another man when two men on a white motorcycle rode up to Payne and shot him. The eyewitness said that the gunman then walked east up Sussex Street towards a group of policemen in a vehicle. The man reportedly then turned and headed back to where Payne lay, and the police then opened fire. This newspaper was told that some persons managed to identify one of the shooters, who they claimed to be a relative of the now dead Taylor. According to the source, armed with this information, persons close to the murdered soldier vowed retaliation. So when, Taylor was gunned down on Friday night, fingers were obviously pointed at Payne’s relatives. The source said that persons fingered Payne’s

brother Vellon Thorne as one of Taylor’s attackers and he along with another man were arrested and taken into police custody. Thorne’s relatives are however claiming that he was nowhere near the scene of Taylor’s shooting on Friday, claiming that he was at his brother’s wake at the time. Investigators had informed that they would have carried out tests to see if gunpowder residue was present on Thorne’s person. However, up to press time last night, this newspaper was unable to get a feedback from the police. Police had also earlier arrested other persons in connection with the soldier’s death, including the drug dealer who was said to have ordered the hit. But this newspaper was reliably informed that in a surprise move the drug dealer was released last Sunday.

“Since when the police does release murder suspects pon a Sunday?” the source in Albouystown asked, suggesting that there was some connection between the drug dealer and the police.

“Albouystown is divided over the whole story. People vex that the soldier dead because he was not originally involved, but he pick up fire rage fuh he brother,” the source told this newspaper.

Page 12

“It is always a challenge for countries to transition smoothly from internationally funded projects and to sustain them effectively to the benefit of the people…” This is according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings. She recently attended a Global Fund forum for principal administrators within the health sector throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The forum was held in Panama last month. According to Cummings, “Being able to explore ways to identify, reduce and ultimately avoid the risks associated with transition and sustainability, will better position the Ministry of Public Health to practically engage in transparent and accountable actions in the continuity of essential projects.” Moreover, the Minister said that she was very pleased to have attended the forum which was very enlightening and rewarding. Participants engaged each other at the two-day forum entitled: ‘Risk Forum: Effective risk management for sustainable transitions from

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

- dubbed ‘enlightening and rewarding’ by Minister Cummings

The participants of the recent Global Fund forum. Global Fund-financed programmes’. The objectives of the Implementers Risk Forum were to: Dialogue on Global Fund sustainability and transition policy and its integration with risk management; Prioritize risk factors associated with sustainability and

transition from Global Fundfinanced programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC); Share current approaches and good practices among LAC implementers (particularly civil society), Global Fund Secretariat and partners to mitigate

sustainability-related risk factors; Discuss alignment opportunities across partners’ sustainability plans and strategies. The presentations and discussions were focused mainly on Sustainability and Transition: Global Fund Policy and associated processes; Global Fund transition experiences; Risk Management approach and tools to effectively sustain Global Funded financed programmes; Key risks and mitigating actions associated with sustainability and transition. The last session provided opportunities for groups to discuss and agree on the key risks and mitigating actions associated with sustainability and transition. The current investment of the Global Fund in the Caribbean Region for the period 2014-2017 is US$225,141,154 for three diseases. They are: HIV ($156,994,451), TB ($37,381,405) and Malaria ($30,765,707). The forum was convened by The Developing Country NGO Constituency (DCNGO), with technical and funding support from The

Global Fund, German BACKUP Initiative (GIZ), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and in collaboration with the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC). The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing organization that aims to attract and disburse additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Based on information from Global Fund, under the Global Fund financing model, each eligible country is allocated a certain amount of funding for each disease component for which they are eligible - AIDS, tuberculosis and/or malaria - for a threeyear allocation period. Each country’s Country Coordinating Mechanism can submit concept notes to access this funding during any submission “window” during that period. Allocations are approved by the Board of the Global Fund. In the 2014-2016 peri-

ods, the amounts allocated to each country have been based on a combination of disease burden and the country’s ability to pay (income level). These initial amounts have then been adjusted based on a number of qualitative factors, including Previous grant performance, Impact, Increasing rates of infection, Absorptive capacity and Risk. According to Global Fund, countries can make adjustments to show their overall allocation is divided among the diseases if needed, with the approval of the Global Fund. For example, a portion of the allocation for one disease can be used for another disease instead, or for many applicants some of the funding can be used to support health systems strengthening rather than a specific disease. To access the final 15 percent of their allocation, countries must demonstrate increased national funding commitments above and beyond what is required by the Global Fund’s counterpart financing policy. This is also known as “increasing future commitments” and formerly called “willingness to pay.” The amount of funding available for allocation to countries is based on how much money is raised through the Global Fund’s replenishment process. Using the total amount of funding pledged, the Global Fund determines the amount of resources expected to be available over the three-year period. Then, based on the Board decision that a specified percentage of all programme funding should initially go to HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria, the Global Fund will announce how much total funding is available for each eligible country and disease.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Former cricketer allegedly Five foreign companies bid to stabbed over ‘sling’ found repair Region Nine hydro plant under pillow It is believed that former cricket player Abina Parker was stabbed when she confronted her spouse after finding a sling, hidden under his pillow Sunday night as they were about to retire to bed. There are reports that when Melroy Parker, who hanged himself after stabbing his wife, was confronted, he could not provide an answer. He told the woman that he had taken the sling out of his bag. He did not say what he was going to do with the sling. Kaieteur News understands that the 44-year-old woman assumed that her partner was about to do something “fishy” that night with the sling and started an argument. The couple’s son, Curtis, who witnessed the entire ordeal, said that when he reached home late on Sunday, his parents were quarrelling over the “sling.” He explained that his mother called him into her room and showed him what she had found. “I don’t know what it was about this sling, but they were quarrelling and he (Melroy) run to the kitchen and picked up two knives and run back to the room,” the young man recalled. He said that at this point, he and his mother had locked themselves in the room but his knife-wielding father managed to get into the bedroom and stabbed his mother at least three times to the abdomen. Melroy Parker made no attempt to harm his son. After Abina Parker was stabbed, her son managed to get her out of the house and rushed her to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where she was eventually transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. When this newspaper visited the hospital yesterday, she was in the theatre undergoing surgery. Her condition has been listed as stable. Residents of Second Field, Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, were in a state of shock when this newspaper visited the scene. One woman, who resides near to the couple’s home, recalled hearing a scream sometime around 10:00hrs that fateful night. The woman said that after Abina was stabbed, her husband came outside the house and then ran back inside. He locked the door and went upstairs. He then proceeded to the front room where he began preparing a loop to hang himself. “People see he going to hang heself (and) by the light went on, they could see his shadow and dem boys (residents) start hollering on he to

Bidders from CHEA - CentriasHidreletricas da Amazonia LTDA –ME; Torque – EPCM; and McVantage Products during the opening of the tender.

Abina Parker

Five foreign companies have expressed interest in rehabilitating the Moco Moco hydro project, Region Nine. Abina Parker allegedly found a sling looking like the one in the picture under her husband’s pillow stop and to think,” the woman said. She continued that while calls and pleas by residents were futile, a resident in an attempt to scare Melroy Parker, picked up an object and hurled it through the eastern window of the room, shattering the glass. Spots of blood were still visible under the house. The

police have cordoned off the house. Abina Parker represented Guyana in the West Indies senior regional competition, and is a member of the Guyana Police Force cricket club. She captained Demerara in the Inter-county Senior Women’s Tournament. She also plays softball cricket and is a professional umpire.

Teen girls help murder Non Pareil pensioner... From page 13 money” also made investigators suspect that individuals were trying to make them believe that robbers had killed Manikam.They began to focus their attention on two teenage girls and an 18-year-old male friend. One of the suspects eventually confessed. According to reports, the girls who are Manikam's relative alleged that the pensioner had subjected them to years of emotional abuse, including threatening to put them out. The teens reportedly complained to an 18-year-old male friend, and they hatched a plan to kill Manikam.

On Saturday night, the two girls reportedly went into the kitchen and began to make a commotion to lure the pensioner out of his bedroom. When an angry Manikam eventually headed to the kitchen to berate the girls, the 18-year-old boyfriend of one of the teens chopped the pensioner on the head with an axe. They then contacted another male friend, who took the body in a car to the Coldingen Railway Embankment. This has been a year in which police have solved a spate of murders that were staged to appear to be committed by robbers.

Five foreign-based companies have submitted bids for the rehabilitation of Region Nine’s Moco-Moco hydro-power plant. According to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, in keeping with the Government of Guyana’s plans to develop a ‘Green Economy’, it had asked for Expressions of Interest (EoI) from suitable firms for the rehabilitation and operation of the Moco-Moco Hydropower Plant. Under a Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT) structure, power will be supplied to the Lethem Power Company grid under a negotiated and agreed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The EoI was initially published in January 2016 with the submissions opened on Thursday March 31, 2016 at the offices of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA). According to the Ministry, a total of five submissions were received from regional and international companies. These companies are ‘CHEA –Centrias Hidreletricas da Amazonia LTDA – ME’(Brazil); ‘NCGET’ (Russia); ‘Torque – EPCM’ (Barbados) and two from ‘McVantage Products’ (USA). The process, which was

facilitated by Seema Greene, Head of the Administrative and Human Resource Departments of GEA, and Valmiki Ramtahal, GEA’s Internal Auditor, was attended by representatives of three of the bidding companies: CHEA - CentriasHidreletricas da Amazonia LTDA –ME, Torque – EPCM, and McVantage Products. The EOIs will be evaluated by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. In his remarks, Dr. Mahender Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of GEA, expressed gratitude to the bidders for the time and effort that went into preparing the submissions. The 500 kW Moco-Moco hydropower station was built in the year 1999 but went out of operation in 2003 due to a landslide along the penstock

alignment. Government had declared the rehabilitation of the station to be a priority project in order to strengthen the Lethem Power Company supplying the vicinity of Lethem, and to substitute the diesel consumption with renewable energy with the aim of improving performance of the company through cost effective solutions and the maximum possible annual energy production. According to the Ministry, the rehabilitation of the Moco-Moco hydro power station is yet another initiative of the Government of Guyana as part of a holistic approach to sustainable economic growth which demonstrates its commitment to creating a climate resilient economy and the establishing of a green economy.

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 Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves – Contact Nick: 6831312, 627-3206 INNOVATIVE MARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Repairs to LED, Plasma, LCD and all other electronic equipment. Ordering of circuit boards. Abdul Electronics. Call: 225-0391 Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Professional Counselors. Contact Ms Oneika: 670-5759

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LAND FOR SALE 1 Empty land in Tuschen Phase 2, W.C.D -$1.2M, 1 empty land in Tuschen Phase 1 W.C.D -$3M- Call: 642-1252

Two skilled carpenters to work on interior ceiling $7,000 per day. Call: 6526565; 231-4681

Land in Diamond area. Call: 628-0016; 667-2536

DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM

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One shop boy to work in shop in the interior. Call: 6780565

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1 Male or female look after layer birds in the interior. Call: 678-0565

Exist for experienced cooks, cashiers, counter staff, office staff (must be computer literate & have accounts). Call: 226-9000 Cashiers + salesgirls –Call: 624-0033; in store security officer-Call: 680-3863 Welder/ fabricator, Diesel Mechanic, Apprentice, labourer. Apply in person @Technical Services,18-23 Eccles Industrial Site. Sales representative (with license), Mill operators, Labourers. Apply to:jkeshwani.alesie@gmail.comCall:269-0026/269-0058 One excavator operator. Call: 223-5273/4 Security guard & bar needed @ Millenium Mannor Hotel, bring in application to 43 Hadfield Street, near Camp St. Housekeeping staff, male security guards. Call: 2250198 or visit 233 South Road Lacytown.

Parfaite Harmonie -$1.5M, $1.3M, Tuschen -$3M, Eccles -$5M, Sand-pit -$85M, Kitty -$19M. Call: 604-6724

Cook/baker for the Interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020

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PEN PAL EDUCATIONAL Private customs brokerage training certificate course, starting April 12, 2016. Call: 694-8322; 223-1506

PROPERTY FOR SALE

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

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

Transported property @ Grove $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461

Honda CRV (RD5), PNN stick gear -$1.9M negotiable, 2006 Hyundai Tucson, left hand drive, PMM -$4M. Call: 6911198 One Honda CRV PPP series 2003. Call: 674-6480 One IST fully loaded PTT series -$1.6M negotiable, one R6 Yamaha bike, CD series 600K negotiable. Call: 6227201 2006 Kawasaki 650, European Cut, with tilter, teal blue color -$2.2M. Call: 604-1036 1 3Y minibus -$350,000 negotiable. Call: 229-2419 1 Nissan Murano, PRR series, excellent condition. Call: 6280016; 667-2536 Toyota Nadia Automatic, PLL series -$1M negotiable. Call: 626-7626; 442-3156 Toyota Hilux 4X4 Diesel 2L Turbo Pickup, in excellent condition. Call: 648-0111; 6450240

Business spot at Diamond Public Road. Call: 628-0016; 667-2536 New Road- $17M, $6M, $45M, Goedfourtin-$25M, Pouderoyen -$45M, C.I$14M, La Parfaite Harmonie $6.5M, Middle Road-$22M. Call: 604-6724 Transported property, prime, furnished liquor restaurant & bar, 2 freezers, 1 pools table, double lot @ E.C.D$26.5M neg. Call: 600-7228 1 Newly built, concrete 2 storey building 50X30 @ C.I Scheme, W.C.D -$13.5M, 2 Flats concrete house @ Tuschen-$1M-$5.5M, $1M$11.5M. Call: 642-1252 Prime business place, 2 storey concrete structure, 300ft of land, located @ New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, W.C.D -$45M. Call: 642-1252 House 38X20; land 100X200 all fenced @ 635 Kuru Kururu-$5.5M. Call: 6941090; 661-6073 House & land fully furnished, 3 self contained rooms, 1 master bedroom, alarm systems, 9 cameras, 7 AC units. Call: 628-0016; 6672536 Property @ Lot 87 Albert Street- Call: 669- 8701

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. ADORABLE PUPPIES FOR SALE. CALL: 615-0146 One 20 tons dump, one truck tray, one blocks machine, one ZF gearbox. Call: 6179230/269-1406

Land for sale @ Providence Re-migrant Scheme, behind Stadium. Call Lovin: 225-7796 US Citizen seeks single professional Health care female as a partner. Name, age, profession, addressText to 649-3806.

VEHICLE FOR SALE

One experienced computer legal clerk, must be prepared to work overtime and on Saturdays. Call: 624-7087; 258-0213

Landscape Maintenance Vacancy: Hardworking, pleasant, team player, 17-28 years. Contact: 219-0468/ 6212453

Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic. Call: 223-7500, Monday –Saturday between 8:15am-4:15pm

1 General domestic must know to prepare Indian & English dishes to work in BelAir. Call: 227-0373 from 8am4pm

VACANCY RA Soda: male & female workers, bond clerks, accountants, drivers, housekeeper, worker with mechanical idea. Call: 3302399/ 623-5920 Accounts Clerk must have 5 CXC, Maths, English & Accounting. ACCA qualification. Apply rtilak@adamantiumholdings. com

WANTED One cosmetologist with existing clientele. Tel: 6471773 Bill clerk (girls) to work at grocery stall in Stabroek Market, experience is an asset. Call: 226-9800 Sales staff/ assistant, Allrounder for plant shop, Huston, 18 years and over. Must be literate. Contact: 6462108

Tuesday April 05, 2016

TO LET One 2 bedroom apartment $40,000 monthly. Contact Petboy @ Howes Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, between 10:00am-4:00pm

HC 212: alarm, AC, Pioneer deck, good condition $900,000 negotiable. Call: 6177113 Brand new generator-15500 watts. Call: 628-3254

LEARN TO DRIVE

Fast food equipment: food warmer, ice cream machine, juice machine etc. Call: 6176088/ visit 15-16 Croal St.

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

Fast Food furniture: tables, chairs, garbage box, Cummings engine, generator 40KVA. Call: 617-6088/ visit 15-16 Croal St. PS3 with games, XBOX 360 with games. Call or whatsapp: 683-8386

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Dr. Lucheon’s... Eric Philips wants Maxwell to take off... From page 5 regions. It seems that he is on a campaign mode but he needs to remember that everything and all the secret deals are coming to light and people now getting to understand what had took place under the twenty three years rule of the corrupted PPP. People are getting a full taste of what the PPP did and are calling for them to be held accountable for selling out Guyana. He mentioned about the forensic audits and that the government failed to make it public. Well Dr. Luncheon you will soon know about those audits especially at places like Guyoil, NICIL, Public Service Ministry, MMA\ADA and a host of others. Soon those things will be revealed; maybe you forget that things take time. Don’t rush the government to do things and then when it goes bad you will blame them. Dr. Luncheon need to understand that everything in this country was destroyed by the PPP and it will take time to rebuild with lean and clean administration and this gov-

ernment is working towards that. Moreover I heard the host of the program saying that this government is unaccountable for its employment but I have questions for the host. What were you employed as at OP under the PPP? Why were you traveling every day to OP from the Corentyne with tax payers’ dollars paying your bridge toll, driver, fuel, meals, etc but you only appeared at PPP press conferences?. People understand that the government has a lot to do and they are there for almost ten months now. People understand that what the government is doing is to clean up the mess that the PPP left. People understand that it will take time to get Guyana back to its real stage. Guyana will move positively forward under this APNU+AFC government and a little advice to Dr. Luncheon; you need to rest at this age, your memory is going. Abel Seetaram APNU+AFC Regional Councilor Region 5

From page 5 laments, “Whatever Wendell has been doing since his forced return to Guyana, finagling into areas he is neither equipped nor qualified for under the guise of service provision…” Editor, it would be informative to know that over the last 18 years, I have proven my abilities, qualifications and skills in the area of Prisoner Reentry and Rehabilitation. I challenge ‘Menace’-Baker to name for me one, single, person in Guyana with the kind of international exposure and credentials that I bring to the table. I challenge Baker to proffer up any individual who comes even close to replicating my documented body of work and the years of my service in this field.

I have been invited to Barbados, Suriname, Canada, and all across the USA, to consult with Governments, civil societies, churches and groups on how to reduce crime and recidivism. In 2015 I was invited by no less than the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss the concept of my programme for replication. Additionally, I am the most prolific and magnanimous writer on the topic of prison reform and prisoner rehabilitation, in Guyana; not only among my fellow clergymen but across the Country. I dare ‘Menace”-Baker to challenge me on this point. Pastor Wendell Jeffrey Practical Christianity Ministries

Pastor Jeffrey...

If death penalty... From page 4 during a robbery of Berbician, Rasheeda Khan. Sister Schmelz in her closing statement expressed the fact that she like others believed in the Guyanese people, in their wisdom, and their faith in God. A timely reminder of what is quoted in James 2: 14:(King James)What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Faith without works is dead. Calling for the removal of the death penalty is not enough; we must set about finding and implement-

ing effective and constructive ways that serve as formidable deterrents. Life without parole has fallen through the hole. An eye for an eye according to Mahatma Gandhi may leave the world blind but it behooves us a suitable alternative to find. After all call is not all. Yvonne Sam

From page 4 indifferent to this. Perhaps his ancestors were the privileged class as he is today. I hope M. Maxwell is aware that the United Nations has declared slavery and Indigenous genocide as crimes against humanity that necessitate reparatory justice. Anyone who sees social cohesion or is fair would easily understand and support the idea of Africans in Guyana being provided reparatory justice in the form of lands for the “crimes against humanity” committed against them by the State. Second, M. Maxwell tries his three card monte game by arguing I am against Amerindian Nations receiving lands. Anyone who read my first letter would remember these opening words, and I quote: “The Guyana Reparations Committee wishes to extend congratulations to the new Government in accelerating the land titling program for Indigenous Guyanese. Under the auspices of UNDP, and using Norway Funds, this exercise is scheduled to be completed by October this year. It will be a welcome conclusion of the work championed by Stephen Campbell who visited the Queen just prior to Independence with support and advocacy of the Catholic Church and the then Business Community. Today, the Amerindian Act gives our Indigenous Peoples, the 9 Nations that exist, 13.8% of Guyana. The cycle is completed for our 50th Anniversary “. Under a fake name, M. Maxwell is proven to be a liar of the highest order. What I wrote is easy to understand. I don’t know how a privileged lawyer can be so dumb. Deception seems to be his personal reality . Another reason for my letter at this time was to speak to the Wapishana Leadership. Lands have been awarded to the Wapishana Nation as part of the 13.8 % of Guyana has already been given to Amerindian Community of 9 Nations? Why then would the Wapishana Leadership fall into the same trap they fell into about land that made them rebel against the Government and State of Guyana during the Rupunini Uprising against the State of Guyana? The Wapishana should be contented with the lands granted to them in the Amerindian Act and their Leadership should be very

concerned that they are being again encouraged by the same type of individuals that Maxwell seems to represent to grab land again. Having received part of the 13.8%, why are theWapishana Leadership again allowing destructive influences to demand an additional 10% of Guyana? Especially when Brazil is where the Wapishana seems to have spent most of their time prior to the 1700s as they were not here during the period from 1620s to the 1800s when there was slavery and Africans were building Guyana for free. Wapishana leadership needs to be careful about outside influences. Gail Teixeira like M. Maxwell argue I am misusing the CARICOM Reparatory Justice mandate. Here again their lies are obvious. CARICOM’s mandate is about African Slavery and Indigenous Genocide. But both Gail and M. Maxwell know there was no Indigenous or Amerindian genocide in Guyana unlike what happened in other CARICOM territories like St Vincent and the Grenadines with the Garifuna. In Guyana, Amerindians were protected by the Crown and hired to kill runaway slaves and to bring their hands or heads as proof for payment. Quamina is the last most famous example in our history. M. Maxwell even tries to further make the claim for reparatory justice a broader racial issue in Guyana by stating Indentured Servants should receive reparations. But M. Maxwell fully knows that unlike Indentureship, which was contract based( but which was part of the same wicked colonial regime of exploitation) slavery was a criminal enterprise supported by European governments, their Private Sector, the Church and Civil society . Justice is due for both Africans and Indians but one is for a criminal act while the other is based on contract law. Additionally, the difference between the two systems of

oppression can be seen by the genocide of 450,000 Africans during slavery and a relatively small number during Indentureship. M Maxwell has a fixed agenda befitting his unwillingness to use his own name. He keeps arguing Africans should not be granted lands for reparations. He has argued Africans should receive reparations from the British and Dutch. He seems to forget that it was the Sovereign State of Guyana that enslaved Africans and that the Sovereign State of Guyana which gave lands to Amerindians and Indians. M. Maxwell should stop being sleazy by changing the subject M. Maxwell should present under his real name, the reasons why Africans should not receive reparatory justice in Guyana. He should use the true facts of our history. Not a history that has been narrated to deny Africans their fundamental rights in Guyana. Everyone whom has a bone of justice in their bodies knows there can be no social cohesion without economic justice. Perhaps M. Maxwell wants his friends to continue to dominate Guyana’s economic landscape with the historical advantages they have received

from the state of Guyana in the past and most recently true the “greatest transfer of state wealth to an Indian ethnic cabal “ by former President Jagdeo whom had a very clear strategy of enriching his Indian constituency. Eric Phillips EDITOR’S NOTE: As a matter of policy, we do not carry anonymous signatures. There are exceptions. First, people state their real names but request anonymity for fear of victimization. Secondly, when there is a whistle-blower writing on wrong-doings within his/her organization; obviously the paper has to protect its source(s). Thirdly, there is flexibility with persons writing on issues. In such a situation, there is no attack on public officials and known citizens so we tend to accommodate persons who withhold their identities. When it comes to letterwriters fulminating against known people or criticizing them, using false names, we cannot accept such a procedure. In the case of M. Maxwell, even if we want to publish his views under that pseudonym, this letter-writer is not prepared to offer us details of his identity. This we find unacceptable

Minister Harmon’s... From page 4 benefitted handsomely from state contracts which were easily acquired. He has since apparently shifted his allegiance but the underlying motives are evident. There is also the developing GRA/ BaiShanLin scandal and others back door deals for which Minister Harmon may have some answers for President Granger and Guyanese generally. The writing is on the wall and President Granger will have no alternative but to relieve Minister Harmon of his duties since he has crossed the boundaries of good and

responsible governance. After all, the APNU+AFC was elected to serve the people of Guyana and not for party members to use the Govt.’s resources to enrich themselves through shady deals as had been the pattern of the previous administration. Charles Sohan

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Security guard alleges UGSS President criticizes... police harassment ...has video of ordeal

A stillshot of the altercation. La Rose (white t-shirt) and the Police inspector. Andre La Rose, an East Bank Demerara man is alleging police harassment after an altercation between him and a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on Friday last Andre La Rose, a resident of Grove Housing Scheme, is a security guard attached to Single Seafoods, which is located aback of the Ruimveldt Police Station, East Bank Demerara. The man said that he was on duty when a Route 42 minibus approached the driveway sometime around 10:00hrs on Friday. La Rose said that he confronted the driver and in-

quired what his intentions were. “I ask what he wanted, and how long he will park there. I told him that he cannot block the active driveway. The front seat passenger jump out and ask how if I know who the (vulgarity) he is and how the bus can park any (edit) where. “He tell me that he was a police inspector and when I ask he to show me his ID, he didn’t,” La Rose said. “He snatch me by my belt and start pulling me and tugging me and getting on,” La Rose continued that he was just doing his job. He

said that all security personnel were on high alert since just a few weeks ago his employer was robbed of some $20M. “He tugging me and telling me that he was a police officer. He take out he phone and call Ruimveldt (Police Station) and tell them to bring a van for me.” La Rose said that after the “van” arrived, the officers looked at him and smiled then left. He is of the opinion that he was not arrested because the matter was a “li’l breeze” and the police knew that he was not a troublemaker. The man said that he subsequently visited the Police Complaints Authority and made a report against the man who claimed to be a police inspector. The matter was then reported to the Brickdam Police Station. La Rose said that he has a video of what transpired and will not stop at anything until justice is served. “I am afraid to even walk out the street to catch a bus to go home,” When contacted, the ‘A’ Divisional Commander, Clifton Hicken, confirmed that the man was indeed a police inspector. However, according to Hicken, the Inspector said that he was in the bus when he was approached by La Rose who asked how long he was going to stay there. The inspector, according to the commander, said that La Rose became abusive. An attempt was made to arrest La Rose but it was unsuccessful. Hicken stated that the matter is currently under investigation.

From page 17 raising fees instead of raising our standards and improving our welfare?” On that note, he invited President Granger to meet with the society and the students to see the conditions they were being forced to study under. “…See what we see and feel what we feel and deal with what we deal with and if you can't come to us then we will come to you,” he said, adding that he can expect them at his office with those same placards and more students, gaining heckles of “we coming…we coming.” He explained that the UGSS was denied discourse with the President when they had asked for a meeting. “That is not my vote,” someone else heckled in the crowd. “How long more must the students who supported you wait for justice… tell me Mr. Prime Minister we asked to meet you and we have not gotten a response. What about the Berbice Campus that is hemorrhaging? “Minister of Education, tell me why we preach and talk about value in education yet our teachers struggle to get to classes? Where are you minister for our teachers,” he said impassionedly. He questioned if the Minister of Finance knew that the services provided by his student loan agency was so substandard that students were unable to sit their examinations because their loans were not awarded. “We appreciate the fact that now everyone can have student loans but do you know that your service is whack?” he stated, shouting for the government to stop “playing politics with our students…stop playing politics with our education.” One biology student lamented that she was protesting because she paid her facility fees for the erection of a Natural Sciences building and not a single beam was put down. “I don't get my grades on time, the lecturers are very incompetent. I'm here for a higher education and I deserve one and I protest for one. We shouldn't have to go through this kind of stress…” she said. Medical students, on the other hand, cried out that their degrees were not accredited. They stated that they were saddened that the university was stripped of its accreditation, and that it seems as though the Ministry of Education and health were dragging their foot on regaining it. Efforts to re-accredit the UG Medical School are under way after a businessman pledged some $200M to assist in the erection of a building to be used for student in-

struction. This building will be erected in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The UGMS had lost the provisional accreditation it had been granted by Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) in July 2015. CAAM-HP was established in 2003 under the guidance of Caricom to determine standards and to accredit programmes of medical, dental, veterinary and other health professions education for Caricom member states. The local medical school was first granted provisional accreditation in 2008 then again in 2013 after a site visit. The school was required to submit annual progress reports and prepare for a limited survey visit from CAAM-

HP as conditions for the retaining and likely improvement of its accredited status. However, the university failed to submit its annual report in 2015 and the Provisional Accreditation pulled and the school was told to prepare for a full site visit early 2016 if it wishes to regain its accreditation. The outdated nature of the school's curriculum, the functioning of an MoU between the Ministry of Public Health, UGMS, and the GPHC, along with an absence of facilities to support the medical programmes at GPHC and UGMS affected the school being accredited. “We want better because we are paying for this…every year we pay a large facility fee and nothing has changed,” Medical Technology student Donetra Sullivan said.

GFC boss tries to... From page 16 change of ownership/control of these companies. He argued that in the circumstances, the holders of the Timber Sales Agreements should have surrendered their authorisations to the Commission. He emphasized that these companies hold TSAs covering a total of 441,119 hectares. This means that BaiShanLin had access to a total of 627,072 hectares of State Forest. Goolsarran said that since the Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of the Commission, then the five

concessionaires that have transferred such ownership or control to the officials of BaiShanLin should be made to surrender their concessions to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires. Goolsarran also recommended that all state forest owned by the company should be returned to the Commission for reallocation. In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

Haslyn Parris was... From page 19 for Guyana also. We will all miss Haslyn Parris… This very quiet unassuming, always humble, never show off who he is on his sleeve, but an extraordinary Guyanese of modesty and talent at the same time,” the Prime Minister opined. Parris C.C.H. served as Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Commission and a Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission. His career encompassed the positions of Mathematics teacher at Queen's College (1962 – 1963), Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Guyana (1967 – 1969), Chief Economist of the Central Bank of Guyana (1969 – 1971), Chief Executive Officer, Guybau and subsequently Guymine (1971 – 1981), Chairman of Guyconstruct (1976 – 1980), Chairman of the Bauxite Industry Development Company, BIDCO (1982 – 1983) and Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Planning and Development (1984 -1991). On May 1, 1991, Parris

demitted office as Deputy Prime Minister, at the age of 50. He was the recipient of several academic and other awards, the most prestigious being the Cacique's Crown of Honour (C.C.H.) in 1980. He opted to work in the private sector as an author and a consultant. More recently, Parris has been involved in the negotiations leading to the Herdmanston Accord (Jan 17, 1998); the Constitutional Reform Commission of which he was Secretary (1999); the Oversight Committee on Constitutional Reform (1999-/ 2000) as Coordinator; and the Guyana Elections Commission (2001) as a Commissioner. He wrote several books since 1991 – Bunaro (a set of essays on economic development relevant to Guyana); two volumes of thought provoking essays entitled “Some (and then some more) of my favourite heresies”; two volumes of short stories entitled “Ribald tales of Guyana”; and “The Constitution of Guyana – What will it Look Like?”

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

GTU encourages continued research on issues affecting education -stresses importance of technology in education system Continuous research on issues affecting the education sector in Guyana is one that members of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) have been urged to embrace. This notion was emphasized recently by GTU President, Mr. Mark Lyte, at the Union’s recently concluded biennial conference in Bartica. At that forum he disclosed that the limited research undertaken by the GTU is certainly inadequate for the kind of contribution needed for the formulation of relevant and pertinent education policies in Guyana. He, moreover, underscored that having research done in this regard continues to be a challenge that must be reversed. “We cannot leave this up to the Government and Central Ministry. Research is meant to inform on educational trends and practices and therefore must be considered as an important armoury to The Guyana Teachers’ Union. We need to look for topical educational issues to research that affect the teaching/learning process so that best practices can be noted and implemented,” Lyte asserted. According to him too, there is a dire need for the Union to develop a sense of true comradery. He underscored that the Union for too long has been divided by the opinions of pockets of its membership. And over the biennium, he informed, many setbacks were encountered due mainly to the selfish positions put forward by some

GTU President, Mr. Mark Lyte of its members. But according to him, “This Union is bigger that our own self gain and desire and therefore we must not continue to shoot ourselves in the foot. We must stand as one and learn the art of ‘agree to disagree’. The work of this union can be better if we work harmoniously to achieve our goals and objectives.” The Union has 39 branches spread across the country. But, according to Lyte, branches must become more active. He pointed out that there are too many figureheads in the various branches who do not serve the teachers that place them there. In fact, he added, branches are starved of information emanating from General Council Meetings. This, according to him, has led to unfounded speculations by ranking file members who choose to speculate because they do not have the facts. “As we go forward, let us feed the people we represent with information so that their

capacity can be built,” added Lyte. And according to him, “The building of our website will certainly aid the process of dissemination of information. This site is nearing completion and will serve to enable members to get first hand news on GTU, retrieve documents, make applications, etc. We must embrace technology if we are to advance the work of GTU,” added Lyte. Moreover, he added that the Ministry of Education’s move to include Information Communication Technology (ICT) into the system to remain compatible with 21st century practices in Education is a welcomed one. He noted that while this move has taken a long time, “I am sure it is better later, than never.” He added, “Our teachers need continuous professional help organized by the Education Ministry so that they can embrace the decision to take to utilize technology in Education delivery and record keeping.” “Guyana Teachers’ Union certainly welcomes the move where schools can upload students’ data and performances. While GTU embraces this move we are concern that some Central and Regional Education Officials do not share the same objective. They continue to demand paper and hand written reports, schemes of work, etc. The time has come for everyone to be on board with the same objective and mind set,” said Lyte.

Impeachment of President Rousseff illegal, attorney general says RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)— Brazil’s attorney general yesterday blasted impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff as illegal, calling them no more than an attempted coup motivated by a thirst for vengeance by foes of the unpopular leader. In an impassioned defence before the lower house of Congress’ impeachment committee, Jose Eduardo Cardozo said Brazilian law allows impeachment only under very limited circumstances — when a chief of state commits a serious crime. That, he said, is not the case for Rousseff, who is facing impeachment proceedings for violating fiscal laws to mask a budget gap. The impeachment drama comes as Brazil’s is struggling with its worst recession in decades, a sprawling corruption investigation centred around the state-run Petrobras oil company, an outbreak of the Zika virus and preparations to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in

Brazilian Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo August. Cardozo alleged the proceedings against Rousseff were akin to “tearing up the constitution.” The whole process is “absolutely unfounded,” he said. He suggested the push to oust Rousseff, who was narrowly re-elected to a second term in late 2014, was retaliation by the president’s foes, particularly lower house Speaker Eduardo Cunha. The main force behind impeach-

ment, Cunha is facing moneylaundering charges in connection with the Petrobras probe and could be removed from his seat over allegations he lied to a congressional committee. “His Excellency, Speaker Eduardo Cunha, used his power to launch his vengeance and retaliation” against Rousseff because she refused to pledge the support of her left-leaning Workers’ Party in the ethics’ committee proceedings against him, Cardozo said. “In opening the impeachment, Speaker Eduardo Cunha wasn’t aiming to carry out the constitution.” The lower house is to vote on the matter by the middle of the month. Rousseff needs to secure 172 out of 513 votes to halt the proceedings. If she fails — a possibility looking increasingly likely after Brazil’s largest party pulled out of her governing coalition last week — the impeachment process will move forward in the Senate.

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Nigerian Man A Nigerian trader, who allegedly t r a v e l l e d t o Guyana on Easter Sunday, was yesterday pardoned by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan after he pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal entry. At the Georgetown Magistrates Court, Immanuel Innis Derry, who resides in San Paulo Brazil was pardoned and was charged to leave Guyana within 24 hours. It is alleged that on March 27, he entered Guyana by crossing

a land frontier without presenting himself to an immigration officer. Derry, who said that it was his first time in Guyana, pleaded guilty to the offence. According to prosecutor Corporal Dinero Jones, he came to Guyana in a vehicle. Through a thorough check of his passport it was revealed that he did not present himself to the nearest immigration office at Lethem. He was arrested in New Amsterdam and taken to the Caribbean Investigations Department

where he was charged. After hearing this, the defendant claimed that he did not know that he needed to walk with his passport. “I presented myself to the officer and I only had my ID and he said to me you need a stamp on your passport.” On hearing this, the Chief Magistrate ordered that he be returned to Brazil within 24 hours. She then stated the next time should he travel to any country he should be familiar with the laws of the country before entering it.

Order to stand down on BaiShanLin’s vehicles…

Govt. silent on way forward

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan

Embattled Minister, Joseph Harmon

GRA Board Chairman, Rawle Lucas

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

Several attempts have been made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile. The article was first published on Thursday and four days have elapsed and the Minister has not even issued a statement in an effort to clear the air. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that no effort has yet been made to correct Harmon’s wrong by allowing the GRA ranks to successfully complete the exercise that was halted. To confirm this, Kaieteur News contacted Chairman of the GRA Board of Directors, Rawle Lucas, to find out if the vehicles have since been removed. Lucas told Kaieteur News that he is not aware of any development on the matter further to what has been reported in the press. Kaieteur News also contacted the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, to find out about the progress made in an investigation he had promised to launch into the matter. But he chose not to give a comment.

When contacted last Friday, Jordan had admitted that he is aware of the matter. Jordan however declined to give a detailed comment on the matter, except to say, “I am going to investigate the veracity of this allegation.” When Kaieteur News contacted him yesterday, the Minister said, “No, no, no, I am in a meeting at the moment;” subsequent efforts to make contact with Jordan proved futile. Anti-corruption advocates are outraged. David Hinds, Christopher Ram and Anand Goolsarran have all made strong comments on the matter. They all expressed disappointment in Harmon and said Guyana cannot be made to suffer a repeat of what was had under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Goolsarran said, “This runaway train must be halted in its track before it is too late,” as he noted the repercussions of political interference in GRA. Citizens have also been airing their disappointment in the letter pages of Kaieteur News.

It is not clear if the government has made a decision to just ignore the fact that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, has been accused of undermining the strength of one of the most important bodies in Guyana—Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). However, it is obvious that no Government Minister is ready to publicly address the issue. The scandal surrounding the apparent controversial link between logging company BaiShanLin and Minister of State Joseph Harmon continues to cause outrage as it goes unaddressed. Kaieteur News published reports that Harmon halted a seizure operation that was being carried out on BaiShanLin. The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). The vehicles were being seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe. But before the GRA and SOCU officials could carry out the seizures, they received a call from Harmon who instructed that the vehicles must not be removed, that the ranks should leave the company alone, and to walk away from the premises.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

‘Lock the door and leh deh bun’ -tearful prisoner blames Deputy Director for deadly fire By Rehanna Ramsay “Lock the door and leh deh bun,” are words etched in the memory of murder accused, Kenneth Griffith, who recounted the utterances allegedly made by Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels on the morning of the deadly fire at the Camp Street Prison. Samuels was sent on six weeks leave with immediate effect in the wake of the catastrophic fire that claimed the lives of 17 inmates at the Camp Street Prison earlier last month. Following the incident Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that this decision was taken following concerns raised by the prisoners themselves. “Samuels will be on leave for the next six weeks from that environment,” he said. “(This is) for good reason as a result of the perspective of the Director of Prisons, my-

self and also (Minister Joseph) Harmon. We think this is a necessity at this stage.” Yesterday Griffith, an inmate at the Camp Street Prison facility for the past three years, gave an emotional account of the March 3, 2016 occurrence when he testified before Commission of Inquiry, (COI) established to inquire into the disturbance. The Prisoner told Counsel for the Commission, Excellence Dazzell, that he is currently housed at Capital C of the Georgetown Prisons; an area located beneath where the fire consumed 17 inmates. Griffith recalled that on the night before tragedy struck, he was watching television when commotion from outside his cell, drew his attention. He said that from all appearances it was “like dem boys was lighting a fire” in the prison block. However, he said that he remained calm because he knew that “Officer

Pilgrim” would take care of it; he would call in the fire department to contain the blaze. Questioned about fires, the prisoner explained that the inmates would set their mattresses alight to capture the attention of the media. He said that there were occasions that the prisoners would seek to have the media shed light on the problems they were facing behind the walls of the Camp Street Prison. Griffith recalled that he slept peacefully on the night of March 2 but the following morning pandenomuim broke out. He recounted that the prison officers were conducting a search on Capital A of the Prison. The search, he said, was led by Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels. The officers were clad in the prison task force uniforms and formed two lines as the prisoners came out in fives to be searched. Griffith told the commis-

School reopens...

PTA worried about ongoing construction works at Primary school

Deputy Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels sion that Samuels instructed the wardens to search “Collison” and they “snatched,” him but he (Collison) retaliated. The witness told the panel that there was a scuffle and the wardens lifted “Collison and carried him away while the other inmates turned back and went into the cell at Capital A. A tearful Griffith recounted that he saw thick black smoke emanating from Capital A of the Prison block. The witness said that Samuels then inquired whether the wardens had lit the fire and after the officers responded “No” he (Samuels ) instructed them to lock the door and let the prisoners burn. “Well y’all ain’t light no fire? Come down and lock the door… Lock the door and leh deh sk**t bun,” said Griffith as he recalled the instructions of the Deputy Director Of Prisoners. “

Camp Street Prison inmate Kenneth Griffith According to him, Samuels had a gun in his waist which might have prevented the officers from going against his order. The inmate said that as he listened to the cries of “murder,” from fellow prisoners, he pleaded with Samuels to open the door and let the men out. “Where Mr Samuels was standing it wasn’t too far from me. I said Mr Samuels regardless of wuh, is people like yuhself, open the door and let dem man out,” the man stated. He recalled that was only after the Officer in charge of Camp Street Prison, Kevin Pilgrim, was alerted that the ranks made efforts to rescue the men locked in the burning cell. “I don’t know what it is that Mr Pilgrim told the officers but they picked up hose and run up the step,” he recalled. However by this time, the witness said that most of the men were already burnt alive.

He noted that after the fire was somewhat contained and the men were being carried out of the block “their flesh was already coming off the bodies. “ Griffith held that the incident would have played out differently had Mr. Samuels not told the officers to lock the door. While under cross examination by Attorney for the Prison Service, Selwyn Pieters the witness maintained that he had been truthful to the commission. Griffith was not the only prisoner to testify before the three-member COI yesterday. Camp Street Prison inmates Trevor Williams and Collis Collison were also summoned before Commissioners Justice James Patterson, former Director of Prisons Dale Erskine and human rights activist, Merle Mendonca at the Ministry of President Public Service Department to conclude their portion of evidence.

Lack of Gov’t transparency crippling public confidence – J’ca Opposition Spokesman

Construction works were ongoing at the Goed Fortuin Primary school yesterday While yesterday was the designated day for public schools to reopen after the Easter holidays, there are reports that at least one school building was not entirely ready for this occasion. The school in question is the Goed Fortuin Primary School, West Bank Demerara. Reports suggest that when pupils turned up at the school yesterday they were greeted by workmen busily undertaking construction works at a section near the entrance of several classes of the school. Some parents reportedly did not permit their children to remain at school.

Although teachers were also concerned about the ongoing works, they were, however, forced to proceed with their teaching responsibilities based on instruction from the Ministry. In addition to the ongoing works, sections of the school were in an unkempt state. But the Parent Teacher Association (GTA) of the school is not taking the situation lightly and therefore decided to bring the state of affairs to the attention of this publication. A member of the PTA yesterday revealed that reports are that the works at the

school only commenced Saturday rather than when the school closed for the holiday period. “The teachers have to go ahead with this situation but it doesn’t mean that we have to accept it,” said the PTA member who added that “the PTA is concerned about the state of the school and the possible impact it could have on the children.” Attempts were made by this publication to contact officials of the Region Three Education Department but these were greeted with reports that the two officers responsible for primary schools were in a meeting.

Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Peter Phillips says the government’s lack of transparency is having a crippling effect on public confidence. He was speaking at a press conference held by the People’s National Party’s Council of Spokespersons earlier this afternoon. Phillips was critical of what he said was Shaw’s misleading statement at a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica forum last week. Shaw had said he was not aware that the funds which were being eyed for the tax break for people earning up to $1.5 million a year had been diverted to the Consolidated Fund to finance other public expenditure. But, verbatim reports from Parliament indicate that Shaw

had been informed about this late last year by Phillips. Speaking yesterday, the finance spokesman said Shaw’s comments have implications for public confidence. He stressed that as a government minister, Shaw must be circumspect in language and transparent and accurate in action. Meanwhile, Phillips also accused the Government of being silent on its promise to increase in the minimum wage. Phillips stressed that the Opposition Council was determined to ensure that the gains made under the PNP’s watch will not be sacrificed. He said there are some signs of a slowdown of economic activities evident in a slight upward movement in interest rates, reflecting some

Dr Peter Phillips uncertainty and ripples in the retail sector. Phillips also expressed concern that the Estimates of Expenditures is scheduled to presented on April 14, and that Shaw will not be speaking until May 12.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Migrants sent back from Greece arrive in Turkey under EU deal

A ferry carrying migrants arrives at port in the Turkish coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, yesterday The first migrants deported from Greek islands under a disputed EU-Turkey deal were shipped back to Turkey on Monday in a drive to shut down the main route used by more than a million people fleeing war and poverty to reach Europe in the last year. Under a pact criticized by refugee agencies and human rights campaigners, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees who cross the Aegean to enter Greece illegally, including Syrians. In return, the European Union will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with money, visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations. Two Turkish passenger boats carrying 136 mostly Pakistani migrants arrived from the island of Lesbos in the Turkish town of Dikili, accompanied by two Turkish coast guard vessels with a police helicopter overhead. A third ship carrying 66 people, mainly Afghans, arrived there later from the island of Chios. The EU-Turkey deal aims to discourage migrants from perilous crossings, often in small boats and dinghies, and to break the business model of human smugglers who have fueled Europe’s biggest influx since World War Two. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan excoriated European governments’ response to the crisis even as his government cooperated with the EU scheme. “As Turkey, we embraced 3 million Syrian victims, but it is clear who tried to keep them away,” He said in a speech in Ankara. “Did we send our Syrian brothers back? No we didn’t. But they kept these

people out of their countries by putting up razor-wire fences.” EU authorities said none of those deported on Monday had requested asylum in Greece and all had left voluntarily. They included two Syrians who had asked to return to Turkey. European Commission spokesman Margaritas Schinas said the first returns were legal, even though Turkey has not yet made changes to its regulations that the EU said were necessary at the time of the deal. The EU said at the time of the deal that Ankara would need to change asylum laws to give international protection to Syrians who enter from countries other than Syria, and to non-Syrian asylum seekers returned from Greece. MIGRANTS KEEP COMING Altogether, more people arrived on the Greek islands in the 24 hours to Monday morning than were transported to Turkey, Greek authorities said, putting total arrivals at 339. A few hours after the first boat of returnees set sail from Lesbos, Greek coast guard vessels rescued at least two dinghies carrying more than 50 migrants and refugees, including children and a woman in a wheelchair, trying to reach the island. “We are just going to try our chance. It is for our destiny. We are dead anyway,” said Firaz, 31, a Syrian Kurd traveling with his cousin. Asked if he knew the Greeks were sending people back, he said: “I heard maybe Iranians, Afghans. I didn’t hear they were sending back Syrians to Turkey... At least I did what I could. I’m alive. That’s it.”

Two groups of mainly Pakistani men, totaling around 100 people, were also intercepted by the Turkish coast guard on Monday near Dikili, a coast guard official said. Under the pact, the EU will resettle thousands of legal Syrian refugees directly from Turkey. German police said the first 32 Syrian refugees arrived in Hanover on two flights from Istanbul on Monday under the deal. The European Commission said more flights were due in Finland yesterday and the Netherlands today. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Sunday that the “high point of the migrant crisis is behind us”, but migration experts say the pressure to reach Europe will continue, possibly via other routes. PROTESTS A few dozen police and immigration officials waited outside a small white tent on the quayside at Dikili as the returned migrants disembarked one by one, before being photographed and fingerprinted behind security screening. The returnees from Lesbos were mostly from Pakistan and some from Bangladesh and had not applied for asylum, said Ewa Moncure, a spokeswoman for EU border agency Frontex. Two buses escorted by gendarmes took the returned migrants to a “reception and removal” center within a secure fenced compound in the town of Kirklareli near the Bulgarian border. Turkish EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said any Syrians returned from Greece would be sent to the city of Osmaniye, around 40 km (25 miles) from the Syrian border.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

Conte handed job of making Chelsea champions again LONDON (Reuters) Italian Antonio Conte was handed the responsibility of reviving Chelsea’s fortunes and bringing the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge when he was named as their new head coach on Monday. Conte, 46, the head coach of Italy, will move to London on a three-year contract after the June 10 - July 10 European Championship in France. Conte has long been touted as Chelsea’s first choice to succeed Jose Mourinho as their next permanent manager following the departure of the Portuguese in December after Chelsea made their worst start to a top flight campaign for more than 30 years. Dutchman Guus Hiddink has been in charge since Dec. 19 but his second stint as in-

terim coach was never going to last longer than the end of this season. “I am very excited about the prospect of working at Chelsea Football Club. I am proud to be the coach of the national team of my country and only a role as attractive as manager of Chelsea could follow that,” Conte said in a statement on Chelsea’s website (www.chelseafc.com). “I am happy we have made the announcement now so everything is clear and we can end the speculation. I will continue to focus on my job with the Italian national team and will reserve speaking about Chelsea again until after the Euros.” Chelsea’s fortunes have stabilised under Hiddink who took over with the 2014-2015 champions mired in 16th place having won only four of their

opening 16 league matches. Saturday’s 4-0 win at Aston Villa was their 15th unbeaten league match since Mourinho left, but they are still only in 10th place in the table with no chance of retaining their title or winning a trophy this season. Their 13-year unbroken run in the Champions League will also end, and it is very unlikely they will be in the Europa League next season either. Conte will be the fifth Italian to manage Chelsea, following previous incumbents Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo. He played more than 400 games for Juventus and went on to manage the club to three successive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2014.

Tuesday April 05, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You're apt to make a move or experience changes at home. Try to get every one involved; it will help bring you closer together. Let them know what your intentions are. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Your home environment may be volatile if precautions aren't taken. You will need a little competition today. Get involved in activities that will stretch your stamina. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) New emotional connections can be made through business contacts. False information from someone trying to start problems is likely. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Do not expect too much from others. Socializing will be more than just entertaining. You haven't been totally honest with yourself and it's time to review your motives. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your mate may be distressed if you refuse to make a commitment. Turn things around, make sure that they do their share. Be confident in your endeavors and others will believe in your efforts. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Changes at home might come fast and furious. Time spent with family, children, or good friends will be regenerating and positive. You can get ready to celebrate your new direction.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Go to the top if you're being harassed or held back. You will learn a great deal from people with different cultural backgrounds. You will have no trouble getting things to fall into place. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Females may put demands or added responsibilities on you. You will enjoy getting together with friends. Don't take sides if you wish to remain on good terms with both parties. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Moneymaking opportunities will surface. Moves or the possibility of having someone different living with you may be difficult at first. You are best to stick to yourself today. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Take some time out. Opportunities to go out with clients or colleagues will be in your best interest. Plan to visit friends or relatives. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Limitations on the home front can be expected if you have been restricting your mate's freedom. You may find it impossible to get the rest you require. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) If you're in the mood, go out and socialize, or get involved in sports activities. Don't hesitate to take short trips.

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Herstelling beat Agricola to continue... (From page 30) opponents. Herstelling stood firm in defending their advantage and did not allow Agricola to repeat their first half exploits when they came back to equalize. When the final whistle sounded, it meant Herstelling

had upset their more accomplished opponents by a 2-1 margin, a similar score line to their win over Soesdyke the previous week. Sunday’s other match saw Kuru Kururu Warriors walking away with full points by way of walkover over Mocha

Champs. Defending champions Grove Hi Tech will play this Sunday’s feature match against Kuru Kururu Warriors when the league continues with opening play between Mocha Champs and Soesdyke Falcons at 13:30hrs.

‘Marlon told me to just swing... (From page 26) world champions, and then I don’t know...The feeling that got over me, I can’t explain it. Ben Stokes is an absolute legend in his own right. You shouldn’t forget what he has done for England in the past couple of months. Cricket is a cruel game, and a lot of people can be on him, but just remember Stuart Broad was hit for six sixes by Yuvraj [Singh], and his career has gone on the up ever since DID YOU FEELFORA MOMENTTHATYOU SHOULD JUST DEFLECT IT FOR A SINGLE? Last over, in a final, it is always difficult to bring it too far down, but after having done all the hardwork and getting three sixes in three balls, one run off three balls was needed, and I didn’t want to leave it too late. The field was in. In those situations, you can probably try to get a single, someone gets run out, then another good ball is bowled, and we may have a Super Over. My thing was just to get the ball over the infield. Thankfully, it went for six. YOU STOOD SO STILL, KEPT GOING INTO THE CREASE. WERE YOU EXPECTING JUST YORKERSAND KNEW HE WOULDN’T BOWL THE SLOWER BALL OR THE BOUNCER? I backed myself for the length slower ball. If that was the case, I would have backed myself to hit to the long side. But yeah, I knew it was basically two plans he could have used, which was basically the yorker, either wide or straight, or a slower ball into the wicket to try to hit me to the long side. So I was prepared. And from watching the guys scoring runs in the tournament - I like to watch a lot of cricket those guys stay really still, and those guys react well, and I just wanted to stay still, forget the crowd, forget the occasion, and just concentrate on watching the ball. Thankfully, it worked last night. DID THE FIELD SET GIVE IT AWAY TO YOU THAT YOU WERE GOING TO GET JUST THE YORKERS?

In the last over, there are only two plans he could have had - slower balls into the wicket, or full and straight. Knowing England, they pride themselves on being a good deathbowling team, especially with the yorkers. It was very important to get away the first one or two balls and put the pressure back on him. Get the target down to a manageable score. But yeah, the two plans were going to be into the wicket, forcing me to hit into the big side, or yorkers. We don’t think he hit the mark as well as he would have liked to, but I still want to give God thanks for helping me to execute my plan the way I wanted to and get the balls over the boundary. YOU DIDN’T NEARLY HIT THEM AS HARD AS YOU CAN, DID YOU?

I miscued the third one. But a 65-metre six and a 94-metre six are still six runs. YOU HAVE HADANIGHT OF CELEBRATIONS. THE MORNINGAFTER, DO YOU FEELALITTLE FOR BEN STOKES? Yes, Ben Stokes is an absolute legend in his own right. You shouldn’t forget what he has done for England in the past couple of months. Cricket is a cruel game, and a lot of people can be on him, but just remember Stuart Broad was hit for six sixes by Yuvraj [Singh], and his career has gone on the up ever since. To Ben, tough luck last night, commiserations to you and the England team. Wish he has a long and successful career ahead of him.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 05, 2016

RHTYSC, MS to host 26th annual award ceremony on April 17 Former National Under-19 Cricketer Khemraj Mahadeo is tipped to be named Cricketer of the Year when the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club hosts its 26th annual awards ceremony at its Headquarters on the 17th of April. Mahadeo in 2015 was outstanding with both the ball and bat for the Rose Hall Town Bakewell Second Division Team and is expected to head the 43 awardees to be honoured for outstanding performance and service to the Club. Patron of the Club H.E. President David Granger would deliver the feature address and share out the awards. Club President Keith Foster, Secretary/ CEO Hilbert Foster and immediate past Patron Beverly Harper would also be part of the ceremony with Harper been presented with the highest award of the RHTYSC, the Dolphin Award of Excellence for her outstanding contribution over the years.

– F&H Printery and Len’s Craft make contribution

Len’s Craft Supervisor Tayasha Kanhai hands over donation to Hilbert Foster. Among the awardees would be female cricketers Shemaine Campbelle and Erva Giddings along with junior cricketers Kevlon Anderson, Junior Sinclair, Keith Simpson, Brandon Prashad, Chanderpaul Govindan and Slyus Tyndall. Long standing executives, members and

founders of the Club Keith Hicks and Ravindranauth Kissoonlall would also be specially honoured. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster disclosed that unlike the past where over $2M worth of prizes and trophies were shared out. This year’s ceremony would be reduced to one.

Fadil Hakh of F&H Printery hands over cheque to RHTYSC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster.

This is as a result of a management decision to invest most of the Club’s finance into its cricket development programme for youths and the Berbice Say No to Suicide campaign. Meanwhile, Len’s Craft Optical of South Road Georgetown and the Man-

agement of F&H Printery have come on board with financial contributions towards the awards ceremony. Alstair Parris of Len’s Craft and Hakim Hakh of F&H Printery both stated that they are long standing supporters of Guyana’s leading youth and sports organisation and dis-

closed that their companies were pleased to be associated with the National Awardee organisation. Foster expressed gratitude to Len’s Craft and F&H Printery for their support and noted that it would assist the Club to honour its outstanding members and executives.

‘Marlon told me to just swing for the hills’ Carlos Brathwaite on facing that last over, why he chose to finish it off with a six, and feeling sorry for Ben Stokes ESPNcricinfo - Nineteen runs required off the last over of a World Twenty20 final, and a rookie in his eighth T20 international stuns the world by doing it. If that is impressive, wait till you listen to him talk about it. To call it brute hitting would be grave injustice. This was the coolest execution you can imagine in such pressure. It is a typical hot and humid Kolkata afternoon. We are at the Victoria Memorial for the official photo shoot of the champions. Darren Sammy and Stafanie Taylor, the respective captains of the men’s and women’s champions, are dressed in maroon blazers despite the heat. It has been a long night of partying, and they are losing further fluids by sweating under the mid-day sun. We get five minutes with Brathwaite, but in those five minutes, he shows

how clear and smart his thinking was, and how well he reads the game. He displays great sportsmanship, too, in feeling for Ben Stokes, and in respecting Chris Jordan’s bowling. He is, in the truest sense, a “champiyaan”. CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH THE 19TH OVER? ESPECIALLY THE DOT AT THE END. [We] Pretty much knew Chris’ [Jordan] plan. He bowls very good yorkers at the death. For that whole over he wanted to hit that length. [It] forces you to hit through to the off side, to the bigger side of the field. I was trying to get a scoop over extra cover or mid-off to get a boundary and take some pressure off Marlon [Samuels], who was in the 80s by then. It wasn’t to be. Off the last ball of the 19th over, I was hoping

Champion: ‘I knew that the ball went over mid-on, knew we were world champions, and then I don’t know...The feeling that got over me, I can’t explain it’. (Ryan Pierse / © IDI/Getty Images) Marlon could do the job and get a boundary and make it a little easier in the last, but Chris bowled an excellent yorker.

FIRST BALL OF THE LAST OVER… I know in between the overs - we always believe Marlon came down to me and

told me, “Whatever happens, I am running. Just swing for the hills.” Get bat on ball, make sure we use every delivery to get the maximum amount of runs we can get at that point of time. First ball of the last over was a bit down the leg side. I played a little pick-up. I actually looked a little frantically, thinking that I had hit it to the big side. Fortunately, it went over fine leg, which is one of the shorter sides. Marlon was running. I knew there was still a big task ahead. SECOND BALL… Second ball went over long-on. I think he just missed his mark, Ben Stokes. I actually had to bend to get under the ball, but I knew I had to swing. When I looked up and saw that it went for six, there was a little more feeling of ecstasy, knowing we were a little closer to home, but you

can’t take anything for granted. THIRD BALL… Seven off four, again told Marlon, bat on ball and we run. The third one was the best of the lot. It was also a mis-hit, but I think he [Stokes] executed it well. I just got it over, kind of spooned it over long-off. And then, I knew the West Indies are world champions, but I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. One run, and I knew I had to swing for the hills, because again, the field was coming in. I knew if I got it past the field, we were world champions. I watched the ball again, and made good contact. Even though the last ball went for six, until the guys told me four sixes is amazing [I didn’t know where the ball had ended up]. I knew that it went over mid-on, knew we were (Continued on page 25)

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Police makes timely donation to budding youth cricketer The Police Force in broadening its mandate has lent a helping hand in whatever way possible in the various communities. Police in B Division (Berbice) under Commander, Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam recently took time out from their busy schedule to make a significant donation of some cricket gear to budding cricketer, 12 year old Isaiah King. The presentation ceremony was done in the office of the Officer in charge of Sub Division No. One New Amsterdam/Canje East Bank and East Coast Berbice, Deputy Superintendent Guy Nurse at, Couburg Street and Strand, New Amsterdam, Berbice. King, a resident of Canefield East Canje, is a student of the Tutorial Academy Secondary School. He recently joined the Young Warriors Cricket Club which is headquartered in East Canje. King received a bat, a pair of batting gloves, helmet, and

batting pads. Nurse in remarks expressed gratitude on behalf of the Commissioner and Commander and officers and ranks of Police B Division. He stated that the force is extremely pleased to be in a position to hand over the set of gear to young King. He said that it is commendable for King at a young age to be focused on a future career. He stated that from information garnered King has shown tremendous dedication, talent and promise. As such the Police Force had no hesitation in assisting him. Nurse noted that youths are our future and the Police Force will endeavor in every way possible to assist them in their development, as long as it is beneficial to the society. Nurse stated that, “I know how difficult it is at times for young athletes to make it to the top. It is our desire to always assist those who are willing to make a positive contribution to society.” “The gear donated should go

Superintendent Lindon Hyles (right), Deputy Superintendent Marlon Taylor (Left), Deputy Superintendent Guy Nurse and Inspector La Rose, King and his mother at centre and other ranks share the moment. a far way in helping King achieving his goal.” He urged him to, “inculcate good discipline, be smart, listen and place your education first.” King is an all-round player who bats up the order and also bowls off spin.

In responding both King and his mother, who is also a member of the Guyana Police Force, expressed heartfelt thanks to Commander Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam, Superintendent Lyndon Hyles, Deputy Super-

Indian High Commissioner pays Courtesy Call on RHTYSC, MS Inducted as 158th Honorary Member

The Indian High Commissioner poses with RHTYSC members. Indian High Commissioner V. Mahalingam last week paid a Courtesy call on the Management and members of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, MS at the St. Francis Community Developers Head office. The High Commissioner was inducted as the Club’s 158th Honorary member by Organising Secretary Keith Hicks during the visit. Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster led the Club’s delegation which included Assistant Secretary/CEO Franklyn Ross, Organising Secretary

Keith Hicks, Assistant Organising Secretary Ravindranauth Kissoonlall and executive member Lucy Pike. The long serving Secretary/CEO provided a comprehensive update of the Club’s history, achievements, list of activities and plans for the future to the impressed High Commissioner. Mr. Mahalingam noted that areas of cooperation between the Club and the Indian High Commission including assistance of cricket gears, formation of a permanent relationship with

an Indian NGO among others. The High Commissioner expressed his admiration of the Club and its achievements over the years. He expressed the hope that the RHTYSC, MS would uphold the rather high standard it has set itself and congratulated the Club on its historic achievement of receiving the National Award – The Medal of Service from the Government of Guyana. He also expressed gratitude to the Club for inducting him as an honorary member and pledged to work along with the

organisation to make a positive difference. Mr. Mahalingam at the end of his presentation made a financial donation to the work of the Club. Organising Secretary/CEO Keith Hicks accepted the timely donation and expressed gratitude to the High Commissioner, while reassuring him that the funds would be used for the Club’s cricket development programme. Members of the Club also presented the visiting High Commissioner with several gifts.

intendents Nurse and Marlon Taylor and the rest of the Guyana Police Force for assisting with the much needed gear. King in addition stated that he is very thankful for the assistance which will give him a much needed boost in his

cricketing career. He endeavors to do his best and to make it to the top. He is hoping to emulate West Indies U19 captain and villager Shimron Hetmyer who plays for the same club. (Samuel Whyte)

Sammy to be disciplined by WICB St Lucia Daily News - The West Indies Cricket Board has publically reprimanded captain Darren Sammy after his criticism in the wake of his side’s victory over England in the ICC World T20 final. Sammy said in his post-match interview that his team felt ‘disrespected by our board’, referring to the lengthy pay dispute that had put their participation in the tournament in jeopardy. “The President (Whycliffe Cameron) would like to apologise for what could be deemed inappropriate, comments made by the West Indies’ male captain, Darren Sammy in a post-match interview and would like to apologise on behalf of the WICB, to the millions of fans who witnessed (sic),” read a statement. “The President has pledged to enquire the reason and will have the matter addressed.” Cameron had already appeared to take offence at Sammy’s remarks by Tweeting: “When is the last time a critic paid one of your bills? Always remember that when you start to give them your energy.” The WICB, however, also used its statement to reveal it wanted to meet with West Indies players after this year’s IPL – in which many of the country’s World T20 winners are due to play – to seek “common ground” and ensure the stars are more regularly available for international games. “We are fully aware of the financial rewards on offer in the lucrative international T20 leagues, but we believe deeply in the importance of cricket to the people of the region and of West Indies cricket’s place in world cricket. “It is therefore a priority to have all of our players competing and available for selection.” West Indies players will share the entire $1.6 million prize money for winning the men’s World Twenty20 title as well as a portion of sponsorship revenue, the head of the region’s cricket board told Reuters on Sunday. But WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead says his organisation should take some of the credit for the West Indies’ success in India, with the nation’s women’s side also beating Australia in their World T20 final. “All I can say is, it wasn’t by chance that this happened,” he said. “We put in a lot of preparations and spent a lot of time in getting both teams ready for this tournament. “We have a lot more to do and we will just have to intensify those efforts to make sure that those plans are institutionalised and rolled out across the region, so we have the production of good players through the systems we are putting in place.” (SKYSPORTS)

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Tuesday April 05, 2016

Semple is new Malteenoes President By Sean Devers Winton Semple was elected President of the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) when the Thomas Lands club which was founded in 1902, held its AGM last Friday evening at the club’s pavilion. Semple, the older sibling of former West Indies ODI batsman Keith Semple, takes over the Presidency from Neil Barry, a former Guyana player, after Barry had served as MSC Head for the last two terms. Barry is mandated by the club’s Constitution to continue to serve as adviser to the new Executive for one term. The 47-year-old Semple was selected for Demerara at the Under-19 level in 1985 but

The New MSC Executive just after Friday’s AGM. the game was washed out before a leg injury hampered his cricket career but he continued to play a vital role at the first division level during the late 1980s and 90s. Semple played in a period

when former President Claude Raphael had introduced a youth section to the club which grew and played together for almost 15 years and he stated that one of the first things he and his executive

plans to is to improve the youth section of the Club which has produced West Indies players like John Trim, Rex Collymore, Barrington Browne, Indomattie Gordial and Colin Stuart.

Semple said he also plans to work to lift the standards at the club both on and off the field and attract more members to join the club not only cricketers. “We also will plan more

fund raising and other activates for the club like reintroducing things like Dominoes, Whist, Darts and Table Tennis,” Semple promised. The two Vice-Presidents are Deborah McNichol and Jason Joseph with Adrian Smith as the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary/Treasurer is Motilall Mattadin, the Club Captain is Steven Jacobs and the PRO is former sports Journalist Delvon McEwan. The two Committee members are Raquel Greene and Oswald Pearce. The MSC is close to full completion of the renovation of its Pavilion which has been upgraded with new washrooms and a new Bar, while the ground was recently raised to prevent flooding.

STAG ELITE LEAGUE FINALE

Wade’s brace guides Slingerz past Buxton; Alpha hammer Pele Leaders Slingerz FC further consolidated their position at the top of the standings with another flawless performance when they blanked Buxton United 2-0 on account of Dominican National player Julian Wade’s double on Sunday evening last at the GDF ground, Camp Ayangana. The feature game saw Alpha United romping to a landslide 5-0 win over Pele, the latter being reduced to 10men in the 58th minute when Jermaine Fordyce was booked for a second time in the match. Buxton in their clash against Slingerz were also

reduced to 10-men when Rondell Assanah received a straight red card for using abusive language to the Referee. But that did not take away from the performance of Wade and Slingerz. Wade, in ominous form following a hat-trick for Dominica against the British Virgin Islands in that nations 7-0 win in the Scotiabank / CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup Round 1 match last week banged in goals in each half to formalize Slingerz’ win and hold at the top of the table. The lanky Wade scored in the 5th and 58th minute as his team maintained their

unbeaten run in this the FINALE of the league, their 7th in as many matches to sit comfortable on 21 points, 5 clear of their nearest rival, Fruta Conquerors. It was Buxton’s 4th loss of the FINALE. Alpha United notched up their fourth win in a dominating performance against a Pele side which suffered its fourth loss as they continue to struggle. King Solomon Austin, fresh from his first full international match for Guyana against Puerto Rico where he also scored the lone and winning goal, replicated that form when he scored the

opening goal for Alpha in the 34th minute, the first half ending 1-0. While Pele were able to keep Alpha at bay in the first half, the final 45 minutes saw the former National champions blasting the nets on four more occasions. William Europe started things off seven minutes into the half when he scored in the 52nd minute to double the

lead. Colin Nelson in the 64th minute, Delon Lanferman (80th) and Daniel Wilson in the second minute of added on time completed the rout for Alpha United. SEL Round 8 play will kick off on Friday evening at the Leonora Track and Field Facility when Alpha and Conquerors collide in what is anticipated to be a

h u m d i n g e r of a battle. Conquerors will be seeking to hold down the second place as runaway train Slingerz FC seems uncatchable. Slingerz will have the chance to record their eight win in as many matches when they take on the wounded Pele in the feature match at 20:30hrs, the first match kicks off two hours earlier.

Sachin Tendulkar takes on West Indies Cricket Board, stands with Sammy St Lucia Daily News - Following the smashing victory by the West Indies in the World Twenty20 in the Men’s, Women’s and the under 19 sections, Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar calls on the West Indies Cricket Board to support its team and address their concerns. “WI players emerged true champions overcoming challenges on & off the field. West Indian Board should support them & address their concerns,” Sachin tweeted after the match. sachin tendulkar ‘ ý@sachin_rt WI players emerged true champions overcoming challenges on & off the field. West Indian Board should support them & address their concerns. 3:06 PM - 3 Apr 2016 WI all the way!! True champions, be it u19s, women’s or men’s championship! Super stuff by team WI! Brathwaite was breathtak-

ing! #WT20Final West Indies pulled off a sensational run-chase as they thumped England by four wickets in front of an electric crowd at the Eden Gardens to become the first team to lift the World Twenty20 title twice. After the nail biting victory, an emotional Darren Sammy slammed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) branding their attitude as ‘disappointing’. “People were wondering whether we would play this tournament, we had issues with the board, Mark Nicholas called us ‘players with no brain’. But all of us came together, these 15 men put adversity aside and played this type of cricket in front of such passionate fans. It was tremendous. I want to thank the coaching team, Phil Simmons,” Sammy said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Echoing similar sentiments, Dwayne Bravo said

that he along with some other players were being shunned from the 50 over squad by the Board and that the country’s cricket is ‘not in right hands’. “If we look at the calendar, we don’t have anymore T20 matches this year. We are not picked for the ODIs. There’s a series that’s going to happen with South Africa but we will be playing in England (Natwest Blast) whereas we should have been playing for the West Indies. Look at the love we get over here. Even the BCCI does more for us than our board,” Bravo told Star Sports after the match. West Indies cricket has been swarmed with controversies which ranged from politics to bankruptcy and it has often affected the team’s tours and series. However, the region’s performance in the WorldT20 format across all charts is bound to mark a strong difference to the state of cricket in the nation. (India)

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Kaieteur News

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Teams gearing for May 1 start of Mayor’s Cup Football tourney A list of 32 teams have been listed to compete in the A n n u a l M a y o r ’s C u p football tournament, which set to kick off on May 1st at Victoria Ground on the East Coast of Demerara, following the addition of the three Linden teams last week. These teams have begun preparation mode in earnest and the competition promises to be a keenly contested affair. With the exclusion of the Elite League players, the second tier players would

look to impress in this tournament in the hope of advancing their respective careers and the fortunes of their teams. The breakdown of the 32 teams show they re from Georgetown (7), West Demerara (7), East Bank (3), Berbice (2), Linden (3) and East Coast (5) and they will be battling for a first prize of $1,000,000. The other top prizes on offer are $500,000, $300,000 and $200,000 respectively for the second to fourth place finishers.

The Coordinator in former National footballer and Coach Lennox Arthur and he has been behind this event for all of its 22 years. Arthur said that this year’s cup will form part of the 50 Anniversary Jubilee celebrations. The tournament concludes on May 29. Arthur and the organising committee are still looking for corporate support and are encouraging potential sponsors to come on board. Interested persons th

GYO, Third Class register victories Ramdeen, Looknauth slam tons, Rasheed grabs 8, Hossain 6, Peters 5

Javed Rasheed By Zaheer Mohamed G a n d h i Yo u t h Organisation (GYO) and Third Class registered victories when the latest round of matches in the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/Noble House Sea Foods second division two-day tournament concluded on Sunday. Host GYO defeated Diplomats by an innings and 32 runs. Trailing by 94, Diplomats resumed the day on 11 without lost and were skittled for 59 in the first hour off 16.4 overs. Wayne Joseph made 18 as Darshan Persaud grabbed 5-21 and Trevon France 3-11. Scores: (Diplomats 73 all out, Garfield De Roche 540 and 59 all out, Darshan Persaud 5-21. GYO 164 all out, Trevon France 29, Rickford Mohamed 5-23). At GNIC SC, Third Class overcame Sophia by four wickets. Third Class began the final day on 67-5 and managed to tie on first

Trevor Hossain innings as they were bowled out for 156. Keon Bailey scored 43 and Martin Salik 19; D. Vishart had three wickets and Keon Mc Kenzie two. Batting a second time, Sophia were bowled out for 92 with Nicolai Joe scoring 37 and Glenford Stephen 21. Trevon Hussain bagged 6-51 and Bailey 3-19. Third Class suffered some nervous moments before reaching their target in the last hour of play, ending on 93-6. Ricardo Ghisawan made 15 not out while Lenny Pancham and Lionel Mangra got 15 and 13 respectively. Dwayne Peters picked up 556. Scores: (Sophia 156, Nicolai Joe 56, Keon Bailey 3-21 and 92 all out, Hossain 6-51. Third Class 156, Keon Bailey 34 and 93-6, Peters 556). At Everest, the home team and Transport Sports Club played to a draw. Resuming on their overnight first innings scored of 229-4, Everest declared on 327-6.

Marcus Watkins Skipper Khemraj Ramdeen struck 148 (15x4, 1x6) while Richie Looknauth who began on 51 reached an even century (7x4, 1x6). Gavin Sookdeo made 21; Owen Andrews snared 3-62. TSC closed the day on 159-9. Devaughn Nandan scored 42, Sunil Singh 31, Adrian Hinds 28 and Akeem Redman 27. Javed Rasheed bagged 8-49. Scores: (Everest 327-6 dec. Ramdeen 148 and Looknauth 100. TSC 159-9, Rasheed 8-49). At Malteenoes SC, The home team and Guyana Defence Force played to a draw. In reply to GDF first innings’ 241-4 declared, MSC were bowled out just before stumps for 200. Marcus Watkins scored 79 and Floyd Rollins 22 and Rekeem Green 18; Leon Andrews claimed 4-30 and Jeremiah Harris 3-39. Scores: (MSC 241-4 declared, Andrews 115, Qunicy Mc Pherson 77, MSC 200 all out Watkins 79, Andrews 4-30).

or Companies can contact the Coordinator on telephone 626-9351. The games will be of 90 minute duration and if no result is derived after this period then 20 minutes of extra time will be contested. No further result of deadlock will be determined by penalty kicks. Players involved in this tournament must be

affiliated to their respective associations where the invited clubs are drawn. No entry fee is required. The tournament is governed under the rules and directives of the Guyana Football Federation. Players with double yellow cards or red cards will be penalized in accordance with the rules of the competition and the GFF.

The tournament, meanwhile, will open on May 1 at the Victoria Ground with a triple header which brings together Federal Winners versus Be a c o n a t 4 : 3 0 p m , Ann’s Grove play Black Pearl and Golden Grove tackle Police in the nightcap. Listed below is the first half of the tournament: st

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Tuesday April 05, 2016

STAG / EBFA Senior League Sammy and Windies receive Herstelling beat Agricola apology from Nicholas to continue dream run

Darren Sammy and Andre Fletcher pray, England v West Indies, World T20, final, Kolkata, April 3, 2016 ©AFP O m n i s p o r t ( Ya h o o ) J o u r n alis t an d f o r mer batsman Mark Nicholas has apologised to West Indies for his criticism following their World Twenty20 triumph. Nicholas irked the Windies by claiming they are “short of brains” when assessing their chances of recapturing the World Twenty20 trophy ahead of the tournament in India. Captain Darren Sammy revealed the comments were used as inspiration by the Caribbean side, who claimed a thrilling four-wicket victory over England in the final on Sunday. The journalist and broadcaster accepted he was wrong to use the phrase, issuing an unreserved apology to Sammy and his Windies team after their triumphant finish. “The first thing is to

loudly applaud West Indies cricket on a golden day,” Nicholas wrote in his ESPNcricinfo column. “The women were magnificent. The men more than matched them. The finish was a miracle: a thing of devastating power, of a certain beauty, and of destiny. “The second thing is to say that the West Indies cricketers who beat England in Kolkata and triumphantly lifted the World T20 play smart cricket that is both entertaining and hard to resist. “The third is to offer an unreserved apology to Darren Sammy, a man I hold in the highest regard, to his team and to the coaches around them for the throwaway phrase I used in a recent column on these pages.

BCCI gives us more support than WICB: Dwayne Bravo after WT20 title win Hindustan Times - PTI, Kolkata - After skipper Darren Sammy, it was the turn of premier all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to launch a tirade on his country’s cricket board stating that “even BCCI does more” for them than their country’s cricket board. “The country’s cricket is not in right hands. We have not got a telephone call from any of the WICB officials or directors. That’s not a good thing. We know that they did not want or believe that we could win this tournament. It was basically us against them. Even the BCCI does more for us,” Bravo told ‘Star Sports’ in a post-final interview. He also questioned as to how players like him, Gayle and Russell are being kept out of the West Indies ODI side. “If we look at the calender, we don’t have anymore T20 matches this year. We are not picked for the ODIs. There’s a series that’s going to happen with South Africa but we will be playing in England (Natwest Blast) whereas we should have been playing for the West Indies. Look at the love we get over here. Even the BCCI does more for us than our board,” said Bravo. “But it’s nice that the CARICOM people are coming together. Cricket is a way that unites people in the Caribbean,” concluded Bravo.

“I would have made the same apology whatever the results of the day but I do so now in the knowledge that the people of the Caribbean will be celebrating long into the night. “Clearly, the West Indies team is not ‘short of brains’. I wrote this in a piece that was mainly about India and MS Dhoni and, partly tongue in cheek, exaggerated a likely ‘triumph’ - as in the ancient history of the Roman Empire. In picking a winner, I could see no further than the hosts. “I did not say West Indies were “brainless” or had “no brains”, as has been misquoted elsewhere, but I did say something unworthy of the game and disrespectful to a great cricketing legacy. “I regret it and apologise for it.”

Herstelling Raiders have continued their dream run in the STAG / East Bank Football Association Senior League when they recorded yet another upset win when play continued on Sunday last at the Grove Playfield. The Herstelling boys upstaged Agricola Red Triangle 2-1 to move into second place in the points table, a position they have never experienced before. Ijaz Cave, who netted the winning goal in Herstelling’s 2-1 win over Soesdyke one week earlier, set the tone for the win this time around when he netted in the 28th minute.

Damien Bacchus (left) and Ijaz Cave - Herstelling Raiders. But Agricola which finished second to Grove Hi Tech in the previous league and reeling from the two red cards issued to two key players in back to back matches prior to Sunday’s match, fought back to draw even in the 39th minute when Kacy ‘Boombie’ John fired past goalkeeper, Quazim Yussuf. With such an entertaining first half, the final 45 minutes served even more excitement

but it was not in favour of the more experienced Agricola side, it was the Herstelling Raiders that raided Agricola’s barn. Full points were secured in the 55th minute when Damian Bacchus breached Agricola’s defence to nail his shot into the back of the nets past the hapless Shemroy Kendall much to the delight of his fellow players and the dismay of their (Continued on page 25)

Pele holds coaching clinic

From left Ivor “Brazilian” Jones and the recipients of awards. On Sunday last, Pele Masters & founding member Ivor “Brazilian” Jones held a coaching clinic for the less

Privileged in Lodge. The event formed part of their 45th anniversary programme of activities.

Brian Clarke & Mr. Charles Graves of the GFA were very instrumental in this education and sports

project. The initiative was applauded and supported by the parents in the community.

Tuesday April 05, 2016

Kaieteur News

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Stakeholders agree to replay National Basketball Championships Final -FIBA referees to be flown in from Barbados By Edison Jefford The main stakeholders have agreed to replay Guyana’s Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) National Club Championships Final between Georgetown’s Colts U n i t e d a n d L i n d e n ’s Retrieve Raiders on a date to be announced this month. Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA); Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), which are sub-associations of the G A B F, a m o n g o t h e r stakeholders met on Saturday at Cara Lodge for the Federation’s Extra-

Ordinary Meeting where the decision to replay the game was made. “After discussion, it was agreed that Colts showed they were willing to make a sacrifice to have the game played in full with the condition of having FIBA certified referees officiate in the game later this month,” GABF President, Nigel Hinds told Kaieteur Sport yesterday. Hinds said that FIBA referees from Barbados have already been contacted, and are available for the game. “It is definite that the finals will be played in full on either April 16, or 23, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall,”

Hinds confirmed. He informed that the two FIBA referees will be flown in, and along with Lindenbased, Sherwin Henry, who is Guyana’s only FIBA certified referee, will officiate in the game that was plunged into controversy on March 19 when Raiders walked off the Court early in the fourth quarter after the local officials handed out technical fouls. “We are grateful that this matter has been resolved. It shows the importance of having certified referees in games of this magnitude,” Hinds said, adding that patrons will be asked to pay $500 to see the game, which

Our vote for CONCACAF President is as precious as any other The race to fill the vacant Presidency of the beleaguered CONCACAF seems to be a straight fight between three individuals, Canadian Victor Montagliani, Bermudan Larry Mussenden and Antiguan Gordon Derrick. The three men, Montagliani, Mussenden and Derrick, are all current Presidents of the Canada Soccer Association (CSA), Bermuda Football Association (BFA) and Caribbean Football Union (CFU) respectively, with ambitions of returning CONCACAF on course after the corruption scandal that saw previous President Jeffrey Webb and his successor Honduran Alfredo Hawit, who has acted as CONCACAF Head following Webb’s sensational arrest in Zurich, Switzerland indicted by US Department of Justice in the ongoing probe. Guyana as a member of the CFU and by extension CONCACAF, just like all of the other affiliates, will have the opportunity of determining who the next CONCACAF President becomes so therefore our vote could be seen as crucial in choosing the next Head of that Organisation. Traditionally, a country’s vote is in large part premised on the level of support that is promised by the respective candidates vying for the top job, thereby rendering the vote a vital component for collective viability and future development. It also means that those who lead their respective countries associations have a right to seek broad consensus among their General Council to arrive at the best suited candidate in exchange for the vote. It must be noted that in-spite of getting the approval of their General Councils for the candidate of choice is no guarantee for support; a President could feel at ease that in the absence of promised assistance, the choice was not independent, but received broad endorsement. In the past, the act of seeking agreement

GABF President, Nigel Hinds (centre) shake hands with LABA President, Lawrence Simon (left) and Colts President, Michael Singh Saturday night at Cara Lodge. (Sannsport Photo) is half the price when it was first played. According to Hinds, the Federation decided against issuing bans because it was agreed that the relationships between the main stakeholders of basketball in Guyana would be injured. Instead, he said that the defaulting factions will be strongly warned. “All the teams will know that indiscipline will not be tolerated,” Hinds said. Distinguished academic and

former FIBA international licensed referee, United States-based, Jay Mandle had issued a letter last week where he stated that the abandoned championship game should be rescheduled since that is the only way to determine “the better team and the rightful champion”. The W. Bradford Wiley Professor of Economics at Colgate University, who along with his wife, Joan Mandle, also a University

Professor, co-authored ‘Caribbean Hoops: The Deve l o p m e n t o f We s t Indian Basketball’, which has an entire chapter on Refereeing. Mandle and his wife visited Guyana at the request of the University of Guyana and sat down with the GABF President, Hinds and representatives from the LABA, GABA last Thursday morning at the Marriot Hotel to help resolve the imbroglio.

Telford is Pull-a-Rama champ Wayne Forde among affiliates (General Council) was clearly absent considering the overwhelming feedback accumulated. There were examples of those with the responsibility of conveying our vote to Congresses overlooking the General Council and unilaterally declaring their choice of candidate. This should not be since Guyana’s vote is as precious as any other nation and should be guided by the input of all the local stakeholders after meeting with them. It was reported not so long ago in one of the dailies that sitting President of the Guyana Football Federation Wayne Forde was scheduled to meet Montagliani for discussions which is a very good step, but will he meet with the other candidates or is it an early endorsement. Mussenden has already made it clear that he intends to lobby for the approximate US$190 million seized or confiscated by the US Department of Justice to be used for development programmes. Our vote for CONCACAF President is as precious as any other.

Dionne Telford (left) accepts her prize from GDA head Faye Joseph. Guyanese Dionne Telford chalked nine games to be crowned the Pull-oRama (Individuals) champion when the Faye Joseph international dominoes tournament continued on Sunday night at Gauling Place. Andrew Young took the

runner up spot with eight games while Godfrey Samuels finished third on five; both Guyanese. Meanwhile, Phantom have top zone A with 12 points to advance to semi finals while Mix Up 11, Masters 11 and Specialist 11 have also secured their places.

F and H marked 14 points to win zone B ahead of Spartons 13, Thunder 11 and OPKO 11 who have all advance. Unity of the wild cat zone have also booked their place in the semis which will be played on a one-in-two-out basis.

t r o Sp STAG ELITE LEAGUE FINALE

Wade’s brace guides Slingerz past Buxton; Alpha hammer Pele

Devon Millington of Slingerz FC on the move against Buxton United at the GDF ground on Sunday night.

Sammy to be disciplined by WICB

Julian Wade - Slingerz FC.

Sachin Tendulkar takes on West Indies Cricket Board, stands with Sammy

West Indies captains Stafanie Taylor and Darren Sammy with the World T20 trophies, Kolkata, April 4, 2016 ŠIDI/Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar

Sammy and Windies receive apology from Nicholas 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