Kaieteur News

Page 04

Kaieteur News

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

EDITORIAL

A question of viable enterprises The recent budget announcement that GuySuCo will be the beneficiary of a $6B subvention, raises a very troubling issue regarding the viability of certain public enterprises. One would think that as an agency outside the regular bureaucracy of government the corporation has a board capable of providing the management with the necessary guidance for efficient and effective performance of its mandate. This - it is assumed— would include having the authority to make independent financial, personnel, and administrative decisions in discharging their managerial responsibilities. After all the success or failure of GuySuCo or any public enterprise must be judged by the purpose(s) it was created to serve, and whether it is achieving its purpose in light of the stipulated special privileges and/or obligations. The legitimate question to be asked is whether a public enterprise is making a profit or operating at a loss, especially when a comparison is being made with private enterprises in the delivery of goods and services. This aspect is of signal importance in a free and competitive market economy where public enterprises face no advantages or constraints that are not experienced by the private sector. The question of accountability is raised even though the public enterprise enjoys relative autonomy so as to achieve a public purpose. The public enterprise must be accountable, subject to rigorous monitoring, and an appreciable degree of control since it is established to produce goods and/or services in the execution of government policies and programmes. However, it is not unknown that the evaluation of some public enterprises on the basis of overall profit and loss even with stipulations of purpose and method of operation, are difficult, misleading and at times may even be irrelevant. A typical example may be the public utility or transport service provider which is conceived as a public service first and a money-making operation second. A public bus company may be required to operate routes on schedules to serve some special social or development purpose even though it is anticipated that the company will lose money. The argument has been made locally that public road transport did not rematerialize as a public enterprise in Guyana because of considerations of prospective private profit by influential public figures. This effectively ruled out any serious consideration of a transport subsidy in the face of losses which would have had to be borne by government. The point is that citizens have a right to enjoy a subsidised public transport system similar to the privilege accorded the sugar industry in principle. There has been talk about establishing a development bank but based upon our past experiences of constituent politics, this could end up serving the needs of a particular sector of the economy e.g. agriculture or a selected segment of the population which is important for electoral advantages, but may not be the best investment of money from the limited view of profit and loss. The appropriate avenue in a country where there is equitable distribution of the national good would be to address the needs of depressed areas where the opportunities for large economic returns are low, but where the need to alleviate poverty is high. These are issues of purpose which should be decided by policy makers for each of its public enterprises and which then become the basis of evaluation. However intervention in policy issues should be limited to conditions and methods of operation aimed at influencing performance and modification of standards by which they can be judged. In other words there should be no bureaucratic and political involvement in the affairs

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Letters... Where your views make the news

Ralph Ramkarran has said what Guyana was afraid of voicing DEAR EDITOR, Guyana is at the crossroads and it is decision time. Over the last few days, Kaieteur News was following a story in which the Guyana Times newspaper reportedly carried a poll, supposedly initiated by the Opposition. We now know that the poll was fake and only existed in minds of a few persons who wanted to propel Jagdeo back into power. The Guyana Times insisted that Jagdeo is more popular than President Ramotar. The few persons behind this campaign had to be powerful, because they had so much reach in their desperate campaign that they even were in position to order the Guyana Chronicle, a paper that belongs to taxpayers, to carry the same story. How this happened is a serious slap in the face of Guyanese and gross disrespect to the sitting President. President Ramotar should immediately take stern action, sending home the editors and have those responsible for giving the instructions to carry the article in the Guyana Chronicle, fired or sanctioned. Surely this instruction came from higher up. Surely the editors had to know this was a disrespectful piece designed to undermine the President. The issue also speaks volume of the abuse of power by some in Guyana and

what Jagdeo’s ambition has reduced the ruling PPP to. Mr Ralph Ramkarran, who we now know was sidelined and silenced under the Jagdeo administration, has over the weekend placed into words what many Guyanese know and were afraid to say. In a campaign for a third term for the 2011 elections, a billboard had Jagdeo depicted as a man of vision, courage and achievement. Yes indeed…he had the vision to engineer a takeover of the media landscape; the courage to pull down the PPP party and chase away many supporters; and his achievements included strategically placing his friends and family in positions to make billions while poor people were sidelined. The present Government would do well to call in the FBI, Interpol and even the Swiss-based anti-money laundering body to investigate what played out and whose friends and families stole and even hid billions under the former administration. The President could even begin to think of an ambitious 75% win at the poll if he starts at the grassroots, wooing the likes of Ralph Ramkarran, Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo, and work with them to lead this country forward. We can no longer bleed. Maybe even think of giving Ramjattan and Nagamootoo a ministry each. A different way of thinking for us,

perhaps? It is not unheard of. Our country is bleeding. There is nothing stopping corruption. The Government has taken the easy way out asking for the people to give evidence. This is gross disrespect. Is that our job? The evidence is there. How come a minister in just a few years could own a mansion? Today we read of China seizing almost US$14.5B from its ex-chief security officer. We read of other countries, even neighbouring Trinidad in which a woman, yes a woman, has shamed her regional colleagues by sending home or letting go 12 ministers under her tenure. Unheard of. We are now seeing how one man ambitiously set about putting a plan together to remain in office, even at the even expense of our country and his party. He sidelined patriotic, good Guyanese in the process and broke many hearts who believed he was sincere. As Mr Ramkarran so clearly said, unless the grip on the throat of the party and Government is loosened, Guyana will go down the road of no return. It is time we take back Guyana. Incidentally, if Mr Jagdeo currently has an office in the Office of the President, as it is being bandied around on the road, then perhaps the President may consider asking him to leave. Cobeer Persaud

HOW IS SUFFERING MEASURED TO ENDORSE SLAVE RELIEF?

DEAR EDITOR, It’s true that millions of slaves faced horrific brutality and the din to be compensated has its merits. I have no problems with that. But Mr. Eric Phillips’s letter in the KN of 3-29 -14 titled ” To e q u a t e reparations for the genocide of millions with Wismar (1964) is not the divisive path to follow” is insensitive , completely wrong and most unacceptable. For 1600 innocent IndoGuyanese to be premeditatively massacred and brutalized for no other reason other than their race in the civilized 20th century makes it more despicable and inhumane. How is suffering measured to endorse and bring relief

for some but at the same time does not apply to others? Neither their religion nor humanity absolutely made any difference. Any good reason why the PNC held their party pioneering congress in that area, so confident those foreign interests had guaranteed their electoral victory with PR or later still, select that dreadful 26th May in 1966 for Guyana’s independence? What path would Mr Phillips recommend to be followed in regards to the above? The entire Caribbean real estate – lock, stock and barrel - was handed over to slave descendants and all emerging Caribbean black governments became the new primary gatekeepers for

of public enterprises like GuySuCo which extend beyond the major intervention issues relative to the conduct of authorized program activities under already sanctioned policy in the area of management. However, the framework still requires formal approval from the monitoring body for certain kinds of financial decisions involving new investments for expansion and recapitalisation, but not for regular continuing operations and maintenance. In the extant GuySuCo loss-making and low productivity scenario government should provide complete reports to parliament to aid in determining the costs of peripheral and uneconomic functions in order to arrive at a fair assessment of the values and justification of the proposed subsidy.

all when the colonials departed. Did automatic right of complete ownership ensue? What elevated governmental control had done was to lend initial courtesy to the myth of complete Afrocentric inheritance with subsequent total entitlement claims under the rule of law. An evident ethnocentric scale arose which casually allowed such empowerment to define and decide who suffered more i.e. native Amerindians, Portuguese, Chinese and lastly Indians, but with Africans always impoverished by race, unlike the others. M r. P h i l l i p s a g a i n commits the same entitlement mistake by his dismissal of Wismar ’s atrocities as a “small village incident” because the quotient numbers killed, he has decided, is not enough. Will we remain mired in a problem that has no immediate solution, especially being subjected more so by its media hypergraphia or more instigated Lindens andAgricolas? How fair is Guyana’s continued pursuit of justified closure and atonement for the brutalities of slavery to

dismiss the recent modern brutalities at Wismar in 1964? Distribution of reparations to significantly remedy and improve the Afro-Caribbean dilemma should be speedily clarified, since Caricom’s mission is funded by all taxpayers, in effect a subsidy only to benefit one race, excluding all others. Nowhere in Caribbean history has any other ethnic or race group operated on a similar praxis. Wrong is wrong regardless. The Indo Guyanese descendants of the 1964 Wismar massacre must get their due compensation from the slave reparations. Necessary justice by the same principle is what governs the inquiry surrounding the assassination of Dr Walter Rodney. The offspring of exslaves who would have legitimately secured their monetary compensations sometime in the unknown future will certainly have much by which to be happy. In the meantime Federalism, not shared governance or even partition can best serve our divergent aspirations. Vassan Ramracha

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 5

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

This reluctance to provide a coordinated response to domestic violence must be explained DEAR EDITOR, The cartoon in the Sunday Stabroek of 30 March, 2014 highlights the inability of the Government to fulfill its commitments to dealing with domestic violence. The interview with Ms Benn of the Women’s Studies Unit of UG in the same edition of Stabroek News also speaks to the failure to have a coordinated national response. Many NGOs and community organisations are doing their part in raising awareness at different levels. Many work to provide

support services. There is a limit to that work since the Government is responsible for ensuring that there are appropriate responses from the police and courts, the health system and the social services. While training is necessary, it would be useless if there are no policies to ensure that those who are trained are actually doing what they should do to support persons who decide to get out of abusive relationships and to ensure that perpetrators can do no more harm.

We can only think of the young girl running to the police to ask them to come because her father was threatening to burn down the house and kill them, and the apparent lack of urgency on the part of the police to help her. The irony is that the police by now would have gone through the domestic violence training which is supposed to be part of the standard Guyana Police Force training. The other issue is that some kinds of activities like training and seminars are easy-to-fund one-off events...

but the recurrent costs for accessible counsellors and support advocates is not easily available as any of the NGOs will report. The recurrent costs for monitoring to ensure that all persons are doing their jobs with the appropriate resources have to be provided. The failure of the Government, especially the Ministry of Human Services, to ensure that the State is accountable is demonstrated by a listing on the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security website (http://www.mlhsss.

gov.gy accessed 31 March, 2014 and which has some current items). The website lists the National Domestic Violence Committee Policy Committee and the first member is “Hon. Minister Priya Manichand [sic], M.P- Minister of Human Services & Social Security” . The current Minister of Human Services has not bothered to reconvene the National Domestic Violence Committee or to provide a Domestic Violence Unit. The last policy which was launched in July 2008, and which was not implemented,

has expired in 2013. The Ministry might want to take refuge in ‘writing another policy’ as cover for not doing anything to actually ensure that the state agencies do what they are supposed to do. The Minister of Human Services and her colleagues must explain their reluctance to provide the coordinated response to domestic violence. The last National Domestic Violence policy provides an excellent framework from which to start. Vidyaratha Kissoon

Mr. Kissoon ducks the issues when an intellectual threat is perceived DEAR EDITOR, Does Freddie Kissoon think that readers are so obtuse and inane to accept his pretext for not addressing pertinent issues that particularize his daily missives? Does he think that even his friends will go for this subterfuge? Listen again, folks:

Among the reasons Mr. Kissoon gave for not responding to letter writers are: (1) They do not have his respect, (2) They will “not be read by others”, and (3) They do not contribute to a healthy debate on isssues. For Mr. Kissoon’s information, ever since Minette Bacchus wrote her

letter, “Kissoon finds a cover not to embarrass himself on the Rodney affair in a judicial setting” (KN, 24-03-14), readers have been waiting anxiously for a reply. Ms. Bacchus’ letter was well written, and the poignant question regarding Mr. Kissoon’s apparent selfconfessed knowledge about

A most spirit-lifting two hours DEAR EDITOR, I have had the pleasure of visiting the Science, Mathematics and Technology Fair which was recently hosted by the Georgetown Department of Education and held at Queen’s College (QC), under the Mission Statement of “Providing Solutions for the 21st Century”. The QC Principal, Ms. Benn, was kind enough to allow the exuberant Biology and Environmental Science teacher, Mr. Elroy VanKannie to accompany me through the exhibition. One could not help but be impressed by the students from several Secondary Schools in the Georgetown area. Their lucidity of argument, boldness of presentation and selfconfidence were indeed admirable; and also spoke volumes about their teachers who guided them in their projects, which dealt with a wide palette of current problems in need of solutions. These included initiatives associated with water purification systems, addressing climate change, combating pollution, organic replacement for chemical fertilizers, recycling, flood reduction methodologies, land reclamation techniques, multiplicity and versatility of usages of our

indigenous plants and materials, etc. I was particularly fascinated (perhaps for obvious reasons related to the transmission of electoral results) by the use of electronic procedures to evaluate students’ test scripts; unfortunately, one can only use this method in grading answers of multiple choice questions. A special mention must be made about, the ‘Green Vehicles Revolution’, the concept of which may not be new, but which was thought-provoking, not only because of the possibility of usage in Guyana, but because of the creativity and enthusiasm exuding from students Elliot and Faria. Actually, the only shortcoming was that Corporate Guyana did not find it necessary to expose itself to interesting ideas, some of which could possibly find applications in their own enterprises. Executive Officers of Companies that need scientific inputs have a chance to see Guyana’s best young innovators exhibit their prowess in Anna Regina during April 22-25, 2014. Finally, I must thank the organizers for affording me a most spirit-lifting two hours at the fair last Friday. Dr. Steve Surujbally, AA.

Burnham’s role in Walter Rodney’s death. As the prolific daily columnist who mouths off on every political and civic subject, Mr. Kissoon has a moral responsibility to respond to Ms. Bacchus’ peeve. It is also particularly slipshod for Mr. Kissoon to dismiss Harry Gill as one who simply seeks a stage, wanting attention. Mr. Gill is an acute observer and magnificent

writer. And it is a shame that Mr. Kissoon tries to duck the crux of the matter in Mr. Gill’s letter which is the venom that emits from the columnist’s daily missives – full of aspersions, blame, calumny, condemnation and criticism. You would think that the columnist would have responded to Mr. Gill’s viewpoint - that he (Kissoon) “lives in a very big house in an affluent neighbourhood,

has an income, drives a vehicle, and abuses the very freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution and protected by the same people he libels: The President and Ministers of his Government.” Instead of facing the facts like a man, Mr. Kissoon scampers like a frightened mouse in his hole when an intellectual threat is perceived. Devanand Bhagwan

Page 6

Kaieteur News

PPP says 2014 Budget geared towards the masses The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in response to A Partnership For National Unity’s (APNU) pronouncements that budget 2014 is not forward looking or geared towards development has announced that the 2014 Budget which was presented by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh is one that is geared for the people. This pronouncement was made by the General Secretary (GS) of the PPP Clement Rohee who in substantiating his claim made pronouncements of different allocations within the 2014 budget that will be of benefit to the populace. According to Rohee the 50 per cent increase in electricity tariff assistance to senior citizens and the five per cent increase in pensions in this year’s budget are most welcomed. He said that the “new electricity tariff assistance of $30,000 per year for pensioners is complemented by the subsidy provided for their water rates which was implemented some time ago.” Rohee said that the introduction in Budget 2014 of the public school student cash grant to $10,000 per child is an effort to provide additional support to parents with children in nursery, primary or secondary schools, he also made mention of the free school uniform and school feeding programmes that are already in place. “Similarly, the $1B allocation which is intended to encourage and promote more aggressively the emergence of entrepreneurial ventures in rural communities will result in job creation for young people, and continue to raise the quality of life throughout villages,” said Rohee.

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee The Party, he said, welcomes the measures contained in Budget 2014. These measures are geared to promote investments and tourism. “The $1B allocation for hinterland road development, including the Linden to Lethem road; the $800M allocation to establish a hospitality institute to build capacity in the tourism sector and the $100M allocation to dredge the mouth of the Demerara River, are visionary initiatives to attract investments, expand the economy and to create more jobs.” According to Rohee, Budget 2014 also sees government continuing to prioritise resource allocations to the security sector with $19.5B budgeted, an increase in $2B from 2013. “This is to increase human capital and to adopt more modern technology so as to strengthen capabilities of security sector institutions and communities alike with the underlying aim of maintaining law and order. “This year, significant sums will be spent on training for the SWAT Unit and Joint Services ranks, training and equipping of Community Policing Groups countrywide

and for the completion of the Forensic Laboratory and the upgrading of physical infrastructure. These allocations continue to vindicate the emphasis our Party-led government places on the nation’s security,” he outlined. The General Secretary added that $700M was allocated for agriculture to increase competitiveness and resilience in the rice industry and for agricultural diversification “are indicative of our Party-led government’s dedication to assist farmers through various mechanisms across our country.” Rohee mentioned that $3.7B has been allocated for capital expenditure support for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). Without this, he said that consumers would be forced to pay higher electricity tariffs. “The fact that there has been no increase in rates over the last seven years is demonstrative of our government’s efforts not to bring to bear additional burden on our people. The $3.2B subsidy to electricity consumers in Linden is noted and is evident of the government’s efforts to insulate citizens financially.” APNU has since criticized the 2014 Budget citing that the budget will only be approved with significant amendments. Leader of APNU, Brig David Granger has said that the 2014 budget has “provided no solid plan for the poverty reduction, employment and social protection among other critical deficiencies.” Among some of APNU’s concerns were the widening income disparities of the rich and the poor which Granger posited has become more evident in this current dispensation and is further

compounded by the escalating cost of living. Granger said that the 2014 Budget offers “no relief to the plight of the poor and vulnerable who include the aged and young unemployed men and women.” Granger also said that the 2014 Budget makes no provisions for realistic job opportunities “for the thousands of school-leavers including dropouts and the large numbers of underemployed poor and rural dispossessed. Levels of pay and conditions of work for public servants, including nurses, teachers, defence and security personnel, must be reviewed. Economic changes have occurred but unemployment persists.” He said that greater reform is needed for the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to prevent a deeper crisis and a collapse of the scheme. “There should also be special attention to providing a ‘living pension’ for the socially vulnerable including old-age pensioners. The proposed level is inadequate.” The opposition leader added that the 2014 Budget proposes another massive transfer of funds to public corporations such as the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and Guyana Power and Light (GPL). “This will be resisted. There must be bipartisan agreement on appropriate reform and restructuring proposals in return for these transfers,” said Granger. Rohee spoke of the opposition’s criticism of the Budget. He said that “the criticisms levelled against the budget by APNU [A Partnership for National Unity], is unsurprising. Our Party does not expect the Opposition, given their actions over the years, to commend anything that is meaningful towards the development of Guyana. “Their unconscionable budget cuts of transformative projects and their attempts to cut jobs are hallmarks of their hypocrisy and their lack of concern for Guyanese.”

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Govt, opposition disagree on budgetary allocations

Irfaan Ali

Keith Scott

Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, hailed the work of Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and his team for presiding over eight consistent years of growth in the economy. He argued that the investment in the sugar industry will secure the livelihoods 194,000 people who benefits directly or indirectly. “They must be supported and deserve any subsidy…We understand the importance of the sector, we not saying that we not look at industry in holistic manner but we have to look at the mechanism in place” The Minister further sought to castigate the political opposition for making their public pronouncements in the media, when there is a parliamentary mechanism in place to seek the answers they desire. He was pointing to the Economic Affairs Committee before which GuySuCo has appeared in the past. According to Ali, the Finance Minister has presented a budget to make Guyana a better place “and make our lives better.” Responding to former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge, of A Partnership for National Unity, that the

figures in the Budget were doctored, he queried, “Where are your numbers and analysis. We are referring to independent reports, international reports and national reports generated by competent staff.” In defending Guyana’s economic performance over the years, the Housing and Water Minister pointed members to a study by Kari Grenade and Denny LewisBynoe entitled “Reflecting on Development Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of Barbados and Guyana,” This report, he said, assessed the performance of the Guyana economy after 2000. The authors concluded that the growth rates in Guyana are catching up with Barbados due in part to sound macroeconomic management, institutional strengthening and deeper social cohesion. According to Grenade and Bynoe, said Ali, the success of Guyana provides good policy examples for other countries in the Caribbean to replicate. While the opposition speaks of the need for development and job creation, it shuts down the government programmes that aim to do just that, he added. He made reference to the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion and the Specialty Hospital. “How can the opposition present moral authority to speak on job creation when the investments being made by Government are being denied?” questioned Ali. APNU’s Keith Scott, in his presentation questioned how exactly the government can ask the opposition to endorse the budget “when we had no hand in crafting it. How can you expect us to not attack you?” He suggested that rather than giving money for a (continued on page 9)

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 7

Russian prime minister angers Ukraine by visiting Crimea (Reuters) - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev flaunted Russia’s grip on Crimea by flying to the region and holding a government meeting there yesterday, angering Ukraine and defying Western demands to hand the peninsula back to Kiev. The Ukrainian government denounced the visit, a few hours after the latest round of crisis talks between Russia and the United States ended inconclusively, as a “crude violation” of the rules of diplomacy. Russia said it had pulled some troops back from near Ukraine’s eastern border, a move that could ease tension in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. The Defence Ministry said a motorized infantry battalion was being withdrawn from the region. A battalion numbers between 300 and 1,200 men. However, Medvedev’s visit taunted Western leaders by underlining their inability to force President Vladimir Putin to relinquish Crimea, seized after the overthrow of Russian-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and annexed on March 21. Accompanying Medvedev, outspoken Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin -

targeted by Western sanctions - left no doubt about the symbolism of the trip, saying on Twitter: “Crimea is ours. Basta!” Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed by telephone ways of stabilizing Ukraine and another former Soviet Republic, Moldova. A Kremlin statement quoted Putin as calling for a comprehensive solution that would a “blockade” on Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdniestria. Soon after landing in Crimea’s main city of Simferopol with many members of his cabinet, Medvedev held a government meeting attended by Crimean leaders and outlined moves to revive the region’s struggling economy. “Our aim is to make the peninsula as attractive as possible to investors, so that it can generate sufficient income for its own development. There are opportunities for this - we have taken everything into consideration,” he said, sitting at a large desk with Russian flags behind him. “And so we have decided to create a special economic zone here. This will allow for the use of special tax and

customs regimes in Crimea, and also minimize administrative procedures,” he told the meeting, broadcast live on Russian state television. In comments that made clear Russia had no plans to give back the region, he set out moves to increase wages for some 140,000 state workers in Crimea, boost pensions, turn the region into a tourism hub, protect energy links, end reliance on Ukraine for water and improve its roads, railways and airports. The visit appeared aimed to cement and celebrate Moscow’s acquisition of Crimea, which has a narrow ethnic Russian majority and was transferred from Russia to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954. NOAGREEMENT AT TALKS Ukraine sent a protest note to Moscow over Medvedev’s trip, declaring that “the visit of an official person to the territory of another state without preliminary agreement is a crude violation of the rules of the international community.” Medvedev landed in Simferopol hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris late on Sunday and reiterated that

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev chairs a government meeting in the Crimean city of Simferopol, March 31, 2014. (Credit: Reuters/ Ria Novosti/Alexander Astafyev/Pool) Washington considered Russia’s actions in Crimea “illegal and illegitimate”. Kerry said resolving the crisis over Ukraine depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders. The United States has put the number near the eastern border at up to 40,000. Russia has described the troop buildup as part of war games. Ukrainian MajorGeneral Oleksandr Rozmaznin, told journalists in Kiev that the number of

troops near the border had been reduced but that might just reflect a scheduled rotation of conscripts. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the slight reduction in troop numbers was a small signal that the border situation was becoming less tense. The United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on Russian officials since a March 16 referendum in which Crimea voted for union

with Russia. The West says the vote was a sham as Russian forces had taken control of the region. Russia has shrugged off the sanctions, though the absorption of Crimea and its 2 million residents creates a new financial burden as Russia struggles with slow growth, rising inflation, a weak currency and unusually high capital flight this year. Medvedev indicated he hoped Crimea, which he said had “colossal prospects” for tourism income, would become self-sufficient. A senior local economic official said the impoverished Black Sea peninsula hopes for an economic leap forward with large-scale investments, state subsidies and tax breaks from Moscow. “We have underdeveloped infrastructure and poor people. Now all this has just come to an end and we will finally start dynamic development,” Rustam Temirgaliyev, Crimea’s First Deputy Prime Minister, told Reuters. The Crimean economy generates some $4 billion a year but is highly dependent on energy supplies from Ukraine and suffered widespread blackouts last week, which Temirgaliyev denounced as a plot by Kiev.

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 9

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE FATIGUE FACTOR? Everyone is entitled to change his or her mind. Even when it comes to the reasons why the PPPC failed to gain a majority at the November 2011 general elections! It was said that the PPP/C lost because of the syndrome known as incumbency fatigue. In other words, people got tired of the same old faces and decided to change course; well, at least a small number of people because the PPP/C fell just shyly short of a majority and who knows, if those results from the nineteen polling stations in Region Three had been added to the count, the PPP/ C may have ended up with its

majority. But everyone is quiet about those charges made by of all people, a Commissioner of the Guyana Elections Commission. Even the PPP/C is not saying anything but it had hinted after the elections that it was robbed. The theory of incumbency fatigue was never taken seriously because the PPP barely failed to gain a majority. If incumbency fatigue was a major factor it would have seen far more persons either staying away from the polls or a far more precipitous decline in the votes cast for the PPP. The second explanation

Dem boys seh ...

Kamla willing to help Donald Life is about learning. It is about looking at past leaders and elders and learning from dem. When you learn you got to apply the principles to suit you conditions—not air condition. De atmosphere in which you live is wha dem boys dem talking about. England had an Iron Lady and she straighten up de place. Trinidad got another Iron Lady. That woman learn from de original Iron Lady. De other day she knock off a Minister who mek he hand fast wid an air hostess. He did threaten to fire she. Dem boys don’t know if he did mean set she ablaze. But fuh sure he get de fire. Another one get fire yesterday. He beat he lady in public. She tell him send in he resignation in five minutes or she will have the cause to set him ablaze via e-mail. De boys seh that now men got to be extremely careful when dem got a woman as a boss. Kamla promptly fire this one, mekking 12 since she tun Prime Minister. Guyana is a special case. Before 2011 dem boys seh that Guyana didn’t have a real man fuh a leader. Now dem ain’t certain wha dem got because this one nah got action or inaction. Until dem boys see one or de other dem can’t put a label to wha Guyana got. Everybody know that you can only identify somebody by dem action or label somebody by dem inaction. Perhaps this one do things secretly but dem boys seh that he got to act publicly. He got to empty out he whole Cabinet and if he got a worry about who fuh put dem boys seh that he can put he buddy, he sissy, he grandchildren, he great grandchildren, he outside pickney if he got any, and he dog. He got to do some house cleaning. He got to get rid of that Jagdeo, regime that he got. When he do that dem boys gun start describing he action and label him. Of course dem boys would like to see him come out standing tall like a man. All Guyana willing to help he clean out de Cabinet once he seh that he want de help. Dem boys prepare to help he every hour. Once he start a clean up campaign he ain’t gun need an election to get another term. It gun come automatic. Talk half and start cleaning fuh de second half.

that was offered just after the results were announced was that the PPP had neglected to do the ground work, had failed to keep active on the ground and as a result, lost support. The evaluation of the results indicate more complacency since in many areas where they won comfortably the voter turnout was lower, meaning that even in their support bases where work was done on the ground, voters stayed away. This could be because of complacency since many presumed that the PPP/C would have won by a larger majority. One of the mistakes that the PPP/C made after the elections was not to undertake an exit poll to determine just why large numbers of their supporters did not vote. If it had done a poll, it would have been able to investigate the reasons for thousands of their supporters staying away. The PPP/C seemed comfortable with an analysis which had identified incumbency fatigue, voter apathy and complacency as

some of the main causes for the PPP/C’s failure to secure its usual parliamentary majority. These days, new reasons are emerging. It is now being said that extravagance on the part of a named party leader helped tilt the balance in favour of the opposition. Other reasons have been added to the melting pot. These include cuss-bird politics, cronyism, antisocialist policies including attack on sugar workers and neglect of the party’s support base. Big rallies were also cited as another reason. But the big rallies have been around since 1997. It did not prevent the PPP from winning comfortably then, nor did it do so again in 2001 and 2006. And in 2011, the PPPC held more community and road-corner meetings than its political opponents and in fact far more than in any other campaign in the past. These meetings were ineffective in bringing out the voters. Despite this, there may be may be truth in all of the reasons that are now emerging. It may be true that

the construction of a big house led to problems. But it is most likely that this mansion rallied the opposition supporters back into the opposition camp. It may be true that persons were turned off by cuss-bird politics. But such politics may have angered moderate opposition supporters who in the face of this aggravation decided to vote for the opposition parties. It may be true that the PPPC neglected its support base and particularly the problems in the sugar industry hurt the party at the polls. But if one really needed to accurately determine why the PPP/C failed to gain over 50 per cent of the total votes cast, a more detailed analysis of the results needs to be undertaken as well as a poll to investigate the reasons why supporters did not turn out in their usual numbers and why the AFC did so well in areas which traditionally were considered strongholds of the ruling PPPC. This is what needs to be done. Instead what is being

thrown in the public domain are convenient truths, things that are not without perhaps some grain of truth but which are self serving reasons being advanced. But what is difficult to understand is why this theory of incumbency fatigue is being abandoned by those who trumped it as the main reason for the decline in the votes cast for the PPP/C during the last general and regional elections. But in all the opinions that are being given as to why the PPP underperformed, very little attention is being given to an important consideration: that the opposition for the first time outworked the PPP/ C both during the campaign proper and especially on Election Day. This is angle which should not be ignored in any analysis of the 2011 election results.

Govt, opposition disagree on budgetary ... From page 6 hospital “that is not ours why not put money for a lighted (Soesdyke/Linden) Highway?” The budget, he said, has provided no relief for the poor and advocated for a return to the bargaining table so that a livable wage can be paid to public servants. He suggested that the monies being spent on Amaila and CJIA should in fact be channeled towards workers. Scott also lamented the sugar bailout which he says has now become the mantra for that industry. He also questioned the need for a bailout of the rice industry. “How can I give bailout to a profitable institution? Unless you talk to us you might find yourself guilty of given away tax payers dollars.”

According to Scott, rice with a guaranteed market gets $500M, and asks, “Are we that rich to give handouts to places like GPL and rice while we refuse to give a living wage?” He lamented that none of the proposals that have been put forward to Government in the past have been taken on board. Scott repeated that the bailout for the sugar industry is throwing good money after bad and called for the appointment of competent board of directors, along with the depoliticizing of the entity. He also sought to rebut Ali’s and said that he “regaled us with numbers and give the illusion that employment is being created but why then the Americans say there is 49 percent of youths are unemployed.”

Referring to the more than $3B earmarked for the Guyana Power and Light and reminded that the Company is yet to provide the details on how the previous bailouts were used and what subsequent benefits “we cannot support any bailout for this entity.” Government Speaker, Reverend Kwame Gilbert, said that it is a visionary budget, one that takes cognizance of present circumstances and points to the future. He called it a “bold an ambitious road map to take us from where we are to where we need to be.” According to Gilbert a budget should not be seen in isolation but rather a continuity of an agenda, “a road map that moves a country.” According to the reverend, “anyone who dares

to diminish or cut the budget is saying to Guyanese you do not deserve more you deserve less…there were no reductions, in every sector we have seen incremental increases in ever sector that is intended to address the immediate and future needs of our people.” According to Gilbert the 2014 budget is not a panacea but it is a visionary roadmap that points to a future that is pregnant with potential.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

It was a sad, sad thing to see Last week after another session of the Jagdeo libel trial, Leonard Craig asked me to accompany him to the bottom level of the High Court, a place Guyanese dread, a forbidding place where if you don’t have a contact and if you don’t like to use contacts, then you must accept that Guyana is a hell hole and endure the semicivilized life. That site is the Deeds Registry. We entered and there were about a hundred persons sitting. I told the security that

I needed to pee and if I could be shown the washroom. She said there was none but that there are several in the courtyard. In the courtyard, there are five facilities for females, five for men plus a urinal for males. All were locked and an employee indicated that they are reserved for the employees of the Deeds Registry and the High Court in general. I had to do without peeing. I reentered the Deeds

Registry and was informed that Craig wanted to see me and he is in the Chief Accountant’s office. There was a heated disagreement in progress between Craig and the Chief Accountant. The issue was that Leonard was contending that he was in the line with two cashiers in service but only one was working. The Chief Accountant’s explanation was the two cashiers performed different roles and maybe the nonfunctioning cashier had completed her tasks. What was shocking was that in the Chief Accountant’s office was a young lady about twentytwo writing out hundreds of receipts with the carbon copy. You had to feel for this young girl. She was a thin-boned human being whose hand had to buckle under that pressure. This was in the year 2014 when computer printed receipts are perhaps used by sea creatures under the world’s oceans for their transactions but in a Caribbean country in the 21st century that boasts it will soon have a five-star Marriott

Hotel, we have hand-written receipts. This poor girl will spend hours and hours, daily writing receipts because of the nature of the work at the Deeds Registry. It was a really sad thing to see So I turned to the Chief Accountant who was pleasant and professional at all times and told her that this very receipt-writer will never come back to Guyana if she goes abroad and sees how receipts are issued. The thought of coming back to primitive Guyana will daunt her. And this explains Guyana’s huge exodus. Make no mistake, young people are running from this country not only because of its politics and poverty but at the shocking level of its technical, technological and scientific backwardness. People die in this country at the Georgetown Public Hospital from injuries that would be considered minor scratches on the battlefield in war like being shot in the buttocks. Yes, there was one such case at the hospital. In which country in the

world could a pension book or a NIS life certificate only be signed by a medical doctor, secretary of a trade union, justice of the peace, commissioner of oaths or a senior police officer? Surely that narrow list started over two hundred years ago and in 2014, it is still the convention in Guyana. Surely, the people who run such a country and accept these primitive, foul-smelling sores must know that they are unfit to be administrators in the 21st century. Something is deeply wrong in this country where people in public service employment have to retire at age 55; where to obtain a legal divorce the law stipulates one of three explanations must be offered- suppose none of the three is the truth; where women cannot wear sleeveless tops to enter most public offices; where you cannot wear denim jeans to sit in the public gallery at Parliament; where you cannot wear denim trousers to attend shows at the National Cultural Centre; where policemen and policewomen who hardly possess five CXC certificate

Frederick Kissoon are the sole arbiters at the High Court on what constitutes a sober colour. It comes as no surprise that it is in Guyana that a Minister can boldly get up and announce; “We will not change the laws on marijuana.” I refer to Clement Rohee. And while we expect that from Rohee who will never learn anything about life, make no mistake many of his colleagues share his anachronistic, ancient mentality. It is called “colonial genes.” “Colonial genes” refer to the permanent psychological destruction of the “colonial subject.” One day, we will wake up and find Guyana empty. Gone to Europe and North America. That would be good. The colonial genes don’t survive in civilized, modern countries.

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 11

No clear explanation how GuySuCo’s $6B will be spent - AFC’s Exec Member The debate on the 2014 National Budget is ongoing with lots of fireworks expected. At least one Opposition party has expressed unhappiness with the consultations, or lack of, involved in the preparation. Last week, the Alliance For Change (AFC), which has seven of the 33 seats in the Opposition-controlled National Assembly, walked out before the budget speech by Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) has also said it was looking at several of the estimates, including for a number of projects. The $220B budget includes a large chunk for the education sector and a number of measures, including subsidies, for seniors and students of public schools. However, there have been criticisms that the budget is missing any real measures for the working class and for the business community. AFC financial analyst and executive member, Sasenarine Singh, believes that a significant reduction on the Corporation Tax on the noncommercial sector, currently set at 30 percent, would be a welcome measure to put more life in the economy. While the Value-Added Tax (VAT) has been raking in billions of dollars every year and is a good tax, the current 16 per cent rate is just too oppressive on the disposal income of those at the bottom of the economic ladder, says the executive. Another area that holds a lot of potential for Guyana’s economic development is the development of the Linden/ Lethem road. With thousands of residents dependent on the

AFC’s Executive Member, Sasenarine Singh roadway and with growing trade between Brazil and Guyana, actions to ensure that the road is paved will have to be fast-tracked. “ (There could be) an incremental paving of the road between Linden and Lethem to a standard similar to the Linden Highway, even if it is four miles per year. We are tired of all these studies…let us run the studies but get down to action immediately.” The project will have significant benefits and reduce poverty across the hinterland, Singh said. Another measure to improve the lives of Amerindian villages will be targeting agricultural production, helping with market access. “We in the AFC recommend production audits in the Amerindian villages and using those results to actually help those villagers with technical assistance. Then they can easily invest in a Sky Van that

can provide subsidized transportation to the market. The hinterland people do not want handouts; they want to produce, earn and live a life of dignity like any other human being.” Also missing from the budget is a clear explanation of how a $6B cash injection will help to turn the fortunes of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) around. “Clearly the request for $6B should have come with a line-by-line detailed expenditure sheet with justification. A clear plan with details on the funding on how to pull Guysuco out of this financial and operational mess it has found itself in because of weak political leadership at the time when the Skeldon Sugar Factory was imposed on the nation.” According to the AFC official, the reality is that GuySuCo cannot tell the nation how and when they plan to reduce the cost of production from 39 cents a pound to at least 21 cents to profitably supply the EU market. “Thus it is quite irresponsible of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) to call for $6B without an action plan but we know this is a political gimmick to trap the Opposition for political reasons. They want to run to the people of Guyana to say that the Opposition is taking bread from the sugar workers’ mouths.” Singh insisted that the new Chinese-built Skeldon sugar factory is burning cash like it is “cane husk”. “But the Opposition has to get their message out into the sugar belt. I would like to hear more from the Government on the plantation-type agricultural

plots they promised to develop with the Trinidadians.” AFC said it is also looking for a $15,000 per month pension and more social assistance for the elderly and the socially vulnerable. “I would have wanted to

see a clear statement that the workers would be getting a 10 percent wage increase at Christmas. I would have wanted to hear about a Youth Employment Project that is geared to deliver trained employees in less than three years after leaving school.”

The AFC official also pointed out that the budget is glaringly missing measures that would directly impact on the lives of the poorest in depressed communities like Plastic City, Toopoo, Pigeon Island, Zeelugt Squatting area and even in Linden.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Probe into Sooba’s alleged Combined opposition playing football with sugar - says Rohee misappropriation of funds continues General Secretary (GS) of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, has accused the combined opposition of being hypocritical and doublesided where GuySuCo (Guyana Sugar Corporation) is concerned. Clement Rohee during his weekly press briefing yesterday announced that the combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC), has always publicly proclaimed their interest to curtail sugar. The main objective he posits, is to weaken the PPP’s support base. According to Rohee, the combined opposition has now “backpedalled” from that position of wanting to shut down GuySuco and cripple sugar but it is his contention, however that APNU and the AFC, are still intent on shutting down GuySuco. Rohee said, “Just as the PPP/C Government supported the bauxite industry and believes that Guyana has a future in bauxite, in the same way PPP

PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee is of the view that there is a future for sugar in Guyana and more importantly it still has much to contribute.” He quoted Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh. “The industry is still of sufficient systemic importance to the national economy and to the livelihoods of so many rural communities and has such deep forward and backward linkages with suppliers and distributors nationwide that no effort must be spared to ensure i t s l o n g t e r m v i a b i l i t y, competitiveness and profitability.” Rohee said that his party is aware that there are challenges “which the sugar industry faces, challenges both internally and externally; nevertheless the Party is confident that the initiatives which have been embarked upon, will over the next few years return GuySuCo to a sound financial position.” According to Rohee, it is

in this regard that “the PPP welcomes the allocation of $6 billion announced by the Finance Minister in Budget 2014 for the mechanization of the sugar industry. “The Skeldon factory, the Enmore Packaging Plant and investments in mechanization are all initiatives which the PPP/ C Government has implemented to ensure that we protect an industry which will continue to be important to the socioeconomic development of our country.” General Secretary Rohee said that they “know that the opposition is fond of playing political football with sugar and is hell bent on withholding its support for financial assistance to the industry in the 2014 budget. “Let them be warned that they are playing politics with the lives of tens of thousands of h o n e s t, hardworking Guyanese.” APNU had previously said it would be wise to move in a most systematic way from relying on cane production and make moves towards ethanol production and aqua farming since sugar was suffering and the government subsidies to bailout GuySuCo were increasing with no turn around for the industry in sight. This position was shared by the AFC. Both parties have expressed interest in curtailing in the 2014 Budget, significant amount of public funds being pumped into GuySuCo.

Almost three months after allegations surfaced over the misappropriation of half a million dollars by Town Clerk of Mayor and City Council (M&CC) Carol Sooba, the Auditor General’s (AG) office says that investigations are ongoing into the matter. The AG, Deodat Sharma, told Kaieteur News that agents of his office are continuing their investigations, but no final report has been submitted on the matter. This newspaper understands that a request was made for Sooba to explain the basis under which she allegedly used the Council’s money for her own purposes, but it is unclear what her response has been. However, according to the Council’s records, a January 8 (last) payment voucher #A114 was made payable to a named attorney in the amount of $500,000 as legal fees, “for professional services rendered” in relation to a court matter brought against Sooba’s appointment as Town Clerk by the Council’s Public Relations Officer Royston King (Action #103-M). The document was prepared and signed by the Council’s Finance Chairman Junior Garrett and Councilor Kamla Devi Ross. Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green contends however, that once the Council did not authorize any transaction, “no councilor can authorize payments without the fiat of the Council, even if that councilor were the Chairman of the Finance Committee.” Chase-Green had written the AG calling for an investigation

TC Carol Sooba into the action, since the Council had been readily accused of corruption and has continuously expressed a cash-strapped position. Assistant Chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee, Mr. Oscar Clarke, had told Kaieteur News that he was unaware that money was being paid for legal services although he and the Finance Chairman are the persons authorized to approve expenditures for the Council. He said that another member of the Finance Committee would sign off on Council spending only if the Chairman or Assistant Chairman is ill or absent, and, ‘I (Clarke) was none of the above.” He added also that signing off on Council expenses occur only if Council approves the funds; which was not the case. The Council has stated also that the Town Clerk was not named as a party in King’s court case despite the fact that she could be directly

affected as a result of the court’s outcome. Councilors had stated that any part that she (Sooba) wished to play in the court matter should have been facilitated with her personal funds, and not the rates and taxes of citizens. Late last year the Local Government Ministry advertised for the position of Town Clerk. Four persons, including Carol Sooba applied for the position and she was subsequently appointed despite the fact that the interview panel had deemed her the least qualified. King engaged the court against the Local Government Ministry, which on three occasions requested additional time to explain how Sooba won the post. It is possible that Chief Justice Ian Chang may pronounce on the matter this week. The Council has maintained however, that they are facing grave difficulties (continued on page 23)

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Region Five making fervent strides to sustain development – Regional Chairman With a hands-on approach and a desire for continued development, Region Five’s Regional Chairman, Bindrabhan Bisnauth, together with other officials charged with managing the Region, are prepared to take on the challenges of 2014 and make them into very noticeable victories by year end. This aspiration, which is designed to build on the achievements of the past years, will see fervent efforts being directed to every developmental sphere of the Region. KEY FOCUS Bisnauth, during a recent interview with this publication, disclosed that one of the priority areas for the Region is education, a sector that has been prioritised on a national scale given the $32.3 billion allocated to it in the 2014 National Budget. And it is the hope of the Regional Chairman that after the budget debates would have ended that “good sense will prevail with regards to the budgetary allocations.” Once passed, Bisnauth is confident that sufficient funds will be available to execute a number of rehabilitative works to a number of educational facilities in the Region.

Speaking to the evolution of education in Region Five, he recounted how it was only last year the Region was for the first time afforded ‘A’ list schools in recognition of the quality performances they were producing. Bisnauth disclosed that ahead of this undertaking “most of our better students had to be traversing either to Region Four or Region Six.” Moreover, he expressed appreciation for the move by Government to upgrade both the Bygeval and Rosignol Secondary Schools to ‘’ lists, which are situated at the two extremes of the Region. Region Five spans the distance east of the Mahaica Bridge and west of the Berbice River. The Region is home to 31 nursery, 30 primary and 10 secondary schools. While Guyana as a whole has been able to ensure that at least 85 per cent of nursery aged children are in school and universal primary education has been attained, it is still working towards achieving secondary education. In alluding to the vision of Government to achieve universal secondary education this year, Bisnauth disclosed that Region Five in its own quest to aid this objective recently launched two additional secondary

Bindrabhan Bisnauth Regional Chairman Region Five schools – Woodley Park and Novar. These educational institutions were previously primary tops which accommodated students after they would have completed their primary education. With the Region’s budgetary allocation for education, Bisnauth is confident that funds will be thrust into expansion and rehabilitative works intended to ensure that the recently elevated schools have in place the relevant facilities for the properly delivery of secondary education. HEALTH CARE The Region has also been

channelling significant resources into its delivery of health care in the quest to prevent the continuance of a number of challenges. And one of the primary challenges Bisnauth said, has been that of electricity supply at one of its main health facilities – the Fort Wellington Hospital. “We have always had difficulties at the Fort Wellington Hospital in terms of electricity supply and in our 2014 budget we have budgeted to complete rewiring works to ensure that we have free and genuine flow of current to the hospital’s equipment...the health equipment are very sensitive and we cannot allow fluctuation of current,” Bisnauth informed. Although unable to speak to the sum slated to be expended towards health care, the Regional Chairman did disclose that substantial funds will also be utilised to purchase a new x-ray machine for the Mahaicony Diagnostic Hospital. This is particularly important, Bisnauth noted, since the machine currently in use has been malfunctioning for some time now and “it doesn’t seem that we will be able to refurbish it, so we are buying one.” Additional monies will go towards the installation of air

Albouystown man freed of murder Albouystown murder accused, Carl Bennett, was freed of the indictment after he was found not guilty by a mixed 12-member jury last Thursday. After five years of incarceration, Bennett walked out of the courthouse a free man. He was facing a retrial for the murder of Marvin Boston, called “Jess”, which occurred on October 24, 2009 in Albouystown.

Bennett, of Lot 148 Cooper Street, Albouystown, and his brother had allegedly stormed into Boston’s home at King Edward Street, Albouystown, and challenged his cousin to a fight. Boston went to the aid of his cousin and was stabbed several times about his body. He sustained internal injuries and succumbed while being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Bennett had appeared before Justice James BovellDrakes, charged with the murder, last August, but was ordered to face a retrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case. As such, the matter came up before Justice William Ramlal and the 12-member jury panel. Several witnesses were called upon by State Prosecutors Natasha Backer and Mercedes Thompson.

However, Defence Attorney, Hukumchand Parag, submitted that there was insufficient evidence before the court to prove that his client was guilty of the murder. Last We d n e s d a y, Justice Ramlal overruled the lawyer’s no case submission, which made way for Bennett to lead his defence. Bennett simply told the court that he was not guilty of the crime.

conditioning units at a number of health centres in the Region. There are 15 operational health centres in the Region and while most of them have already been air conditioned, Bisnauth said those remaining will be addressed this year. This move is important, the Regional Chairman said, since it will help to safeguard stored pharmaceuticals. “You have to have the right conditions, the right temperature,” said Bisnauth for the storage of pharmaceuticals. ECONOMIC STRENGTH And even as efforts are being directed towards allround improvement, Bisnauth assertively informed that the Region has long been leaning on agriculture as its main economic source. In fact, he disclosed that the Region can today boast of being the largest producer of rice in the country. However, he intimated that although yields continue to be laudable, the income in this regard leaves much to be desired. “Right now the industry is taking a little beating...the markets are there but the pricing is the problem,” informed Bisnauth. Although t h e r e a r e existing challenges being faced in the rice industry, he disclosed that the Region has also been competing with other Regions in terms of its production of cash-crop and even aquaculture which is now becoming a tradition. “We are self-sufficient in terms of food production; we have a sizeable population that does farming, rice, cattle (rearing), cash crops,” disclosed Bisnauth, who also related that a major source of income for many residents is the provision of labour at various business entities. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has

also been benefiting from the services of many in the Region too, Bisnauth said. It is for this reason; he divulged that “we will be supporting all initiatives Government is taking to ensure that GuySuCo keeps going.” In fact, the Regional Chairman disclosed that the sustainability of the entire Region is premised on the caring approach that has over the years become a norm. “We go out every day; we visit some community or the other every day...once somebody calls my office, the Deputy Regional Office or Vice Chairman’s offices we go out and have one on one interaction with individuals and groups and I think that has been the driving force in this Region,” Bisnauth intimated. It was such involvement in the communities, the Regional Chairman noted, that were instrumental in devising a strategy to cater to the sustainability of the Region’s thoroughfares. “We have always had a big problem with roads, not only in Region Five but across the country...these roads are designed just for a limited amount of traffic but as usual our residents misuse them,” observed Bisnauth. As such he noted that in its 2014 budget, allocations have been made for the rehabilitation of the communities’ roads with some added features. These, according to him, will include engineers designing roads complete with barriers, weight limit signs and even the strategic placement of speed humps, particularly in school zones.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

PROPERTY FOR SALE House & land for sale $15M negotiable - Tel:2653586 FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

FOR SALE Toyota Forklift - Excellent condition, 4,000lbs capacity, 117" Lift, Solid Wheels, Automatic Transmission, 4 Cylinder LPG Motor. Call: 604-6108.

Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203 One Perkins 6-Cylinder, 1Perkins 4236, 1 Berkeley 8-6 Pressure pump, 1 Cummings 6-cylinders, 1–Perkins Roll Royce 330 HP – Tel:650-5040 Fishing boat, 5" nylon Seine, 40 Hp Yamaha - $1.6M - Tel: 267-1563; 691-3501 / 4162667627

One 210 Hyundai Excavator with one complete 6" Dredge and also 4" Dredge Contact: 650-2391

Tractor Massey Ferguson: MF135 - $1.3M, MF165 $1.9M, MF265-$2.1M, MF285 - $2.5M & Ranger Pick-up - $1.7 M – Call: 6825230; 628-9596 1 Black Lexus 470 SUV Tel:656-0878; 225-5334 One Mobile Food Caravan Contact: 675-5448

Top Quality concrete spindless, post, crowns, etc, etc. No weak mixture Call:621-2200 Land with foundation, Curb walls, infill and columns @ Tuschen, Middle Income, H/ Scheme E.B.E - $7M – Call:682-7220; 602-0268 Premio – Price: $2.5M, Carina AT212 – Price: $2M – Tel:2265473 Beverage cooler, industrial oven, hot dog machine, coffee dispensers - Call:2239719 or 227-1028 Energy Saver Bulbs, Tacoma/ Tundra, lights and parts, power tools & 1 Toyota Funcargo Van - Call:680-6374

1 Stall @ Stabroek Market – Tel:658-0115; 718-757-8031 1 Canon Image runner #2525 – Contact: 652-0709 Cooler chest/fridge 15 cubic, good for shop use $100,000Call:683-4803, 225-9871 Barge 200ft in length as is – Call:623-4045 Household Items: Stove, bed, sofa, dishwasher, antique tables, wicker chairs, closet, dresser – Call:2239719 or 227-1028 One unregistered – 65 CF 210 flat bed, one 50 160 Recovery DAF- Contact:615-9332; 6410932; 695-0023 Plough - New 2 pan dish plough; Made in India; excellent quality. $220,000 (neg). Call 257-0212 or 6288487. DAF Engines, Cummings engine, axles, springs, gear boxes, etc - Contact:6159332; 641-0932;695-0023

Property for sale.Call:6275416 Double Lot with house - Tel: 220-9961 Sophia ‘C’ Field - $3M - Call: 618-7483; 665-3499 Prime Business property, huge land space, 200'X50', next to Police Outpost @ Mc Doom 233-0570 One 2 Storey property for sale at Covent Garden Island Call: 265-3586 3 Bedroom two storey Concrete House Parafaite Harmonie $16M. Contact 622-1782, 264-0042 or 6585803.

LAND FOR SALE House lots in Friendship. Tel: 692-8513 3 Acres Land @ Parika Backdam E.B.E Call: 617-4837

. TOURS Lethem Rodeo - Tour to Bonfin Moco-Moco Falls 17th to 21 April - Call:639-2663;6440185; 665-5171;227-8290

TO LET Wings Two bedrooms apartment - Tel: 643-1131; 225-3234 One bedroom apartment at Vreed-En- Hoop 3 houses in from the junction - Call:6610162 Fully furnished apartments - $4,000-$6,000 per night - Call:223-0994 One two bedrooms bottom flat at Grove Public Road, E.B.D. Call:648-9726 1 - 3 Bedrooms bottom & top flat front house near hospital vicinity @ East Street, fully grilled, AC, parking - Call:2253756; 678-1913

Two pools table (slate) $850,000, bar stool, disco lights, fridge, freezer, etc. Owner leaving country – Call:601-8083 EDUCATIONAL

One RZ minibus - BJJ Series Call: 667-6045 Parts by order: Tundra, Titan, Tacoma F-150 Tel:226-5473

Practical Electronic courses begining 7th April @ Abdol Electronics - Tel: 226-6551; 225-0391

Toyota 4-Runner grey. Great condition – Call:227-1028; 223-9719

Join our continuous class in cake decoration - Contact: 698-9075.

FOR RENT

VEHICLE FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

1 Toyota Hilux Single Cab 4X4 solid Axle pickup -$2.7M Tel: 658-5193; 638-2525; 6484374 1- 2007 Toyota 4X4 Tacoma for sale Call: 670-3328 for more information.

Toyota Hilux Solid axle pickups, gasoline & diesel. Unregistered, excellent condition - Call:691-2077

Salon Station to in Vreed-EnHoop W.B.D – Contact:6783077 House in Diamond/Grove Tel:692-8513 One upper flat @ 6th Street Cummings Lodge ECD - Call: 622-3580 One Semi furnished apartment to rent at Industry ECD - Tel: 222-6001 One four bedrooms house located at Grove, EBD Contact:682-4493, 646-1403 House at Lot 109 Block AA Eccles Fully Furnished with A/C, 4 rooms, yard space. Good Price. Call:671-7687; 622-2531 Three Bedrooms upstairs, 1 Self-contained: Newly renovated: Yard space: Located in Diamond H/ Scheme- Call: 613-0028 Secured Concrete bond 87’X32’, lots of yard space suitable for CarMart Public Road McDoom: Tel: 233-0570

One house lot in Parafaite Harmonie – Call:682-1205 Loo & Madewini creek $7M, Queenstown -$25M Call: 231-2199; 618-7483

CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental - Call: 225-7126/ 226-3693 dollys autorental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com

Tuesday April 01, 2014

MASSAGE Neisha Massage Therapy Services – Call:674-8147

One Ford F 150 GRR 7452, Year 2009, immaculate condition - Call: 227-3728 or 618-3712 1- AT 192 Carina (Private) automatic, fully powered, mags, A/C - Price$1.2M Contact Rocky:621-5902 or 225-1400 1 Freight liner hauler with sleeping cab, 1 -48ft trailor with treated wood – Call: Rakesh 613-6979 1 DAF 4X4 Bush Truck Winch - $3.8M - Tel:658-5193; 638-2525; 648-4374 1 Toyota Raum, excellent condition, PNN series, price:$1.150M negotiable – Call:646-9417 or 646-6440 One registered Allion 2003. Colour: Silver, In excellent condition - Call: 665-4529; 652-3820 Smart Choice Auto Sales: Unregistered: Premio, Allex, IST, Spacio, Allion - Call: 652-3820; 665-4529

Toyota Hilux Solid axle pickups, gasoline & diesel. Unregistered, excellent condition - Call:691-2077 CHEAPEST: - Pitbull, Manual Buses, IST, Allion Tel:616-7635 One Extra Cab Toyota Hilux. Call: 685-6199 P&A Auto Sales: Premio, Spacio, Raum, Rush, IST, AT 212. Call:661-9651 or 6818474 Spacio- Body kit, TV/DVD, camera, dark interior, unregistered, price starting $2.1M - Call: 617-2891 One 8,000 Ford Tractor, one 450 Ford Towing Truck & one pair 38 Tractor Wheel Contact Floyd: 694-5599 Toyota Tundra 4X4, Clean $2.450M – Call: 662-6024 Unregistered Toyota Raum - Year 2004 – Tel: 617-5536 Pit bull 19 seats Grand Cabin $3.8M - Call: 652-5668

One RX-8 Mazda fully air conditioned, stick gear, wheel lights, fog lamps, power windows - Tel: 653-2477

LEARN TO DRIVE

One Toyota Allion, in excellent condition - Price: $2M negotiable, with CD deck & mag rims - Call:682-3600

Ultravoilet Driving School. Contact: 2312372; 602-2583;658-4015

BKK Minibus, stick gear in good working condition Call:693-2174; 234-0706

Shalom Driving School @ 2 Croal street. Fee $16,000Call:227-3869

One New Model Toyota 212 with A/C, Mags, alarm, remote start - Call:648-0494

Alleyne’s Professional Driving School @ 651 East Ruimveldt, Best Prices. Call: 226-9181; 613-0223; 668-9331

1 AT 212 Carina (private) automatic, fully powered with AC, alarm - New Model Price:1.3M. Contact Rocky: 621-5902

Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 WANTED Graphic Artists, Layout Artist, Typesetters & Proof Readers, great pay & good working hours - Call:6221957 Monday-Friday, between 9am-5pm DRESSMAKING Jean is Offering courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral and cake decoration Contact:670-2653 or 618-1706 VACANCY DRIVER TO DELIVER COOKING GAS IN GEORGETOWN AND SECURITY GUARDS FOR LAND OF CANAAN, A C C O M M O D AT I O N AVAILABLE. 266 4427

We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154 1 Toyota Will VS fully loaded, drop springs, etc. 1 Toyota Auris Fully loaded Call: 623-2999 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 1 Toyota Verossa 18” Chrome rims, excellent condition, low milage Price:$3,000,000 - Tel:6823396; 665-7206

VACANCY Semi-skilled or skilled joiners to work in Trinidad. Call: 868-738-8419 Vacancy exists for a Pharmacist and a Pharmacy Technician. For Enquiries Call: 644-6077 Experienced Cashiers to work @ supermarket on the East Coast. Must have Point of sale Knowledge. Age:2545 - Call:629-8469 1 Security guard, between ages 35-45, police clearance @ Status Int’l Hotel, 102-109 Sandeman Place & Croal St. Stabreok - Tel:227-7616 Sales clerks / Casheirs, commitment to customer services required. Apply : Kards Plus Gift Centre @ City Mall, Camp St. Call:227-1846 Vacancy for Sales Representative in a vehicle /spare parts company. Apply Within Nagoya Trading 137 Grandsville Park B.V. 220-2104 Vacancy for two farm workers to work on farm Tel: 265-3586 Experienced carpenters, masons/welders. Must be 25yrs and older -Tel:2653586 Continued on page 23

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 23

‘It’s worrisome to hear about elderly murders’- Minister Webster By Latoya Giles Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, yesterday expressed shock and dismay at the recent murders of two senior citizens. She said that this sort of violence is worrisome. Minister Webster, in her budget presentation, said that it was “worrisome” to know that one of the victims is reported to have been raped. She said that as leaders in society, they must send the signal that this type of violence must not be tolerated. The minister said that the National Commission on the Elderly will continue its work during 2014. Webster told the House that this year the Ministry, in collaboration with the National Commission, will conclude the formulation of minimum standards for all homes and

facilities providing care to the elderly. She said that the Ministry will work to ensure that the Palms Geriatric Home, a model for elderly care, with focus on establishing best practices, seek to build the capacity of patient care assistants. She said that there is a plan to partner with site based organizations to establish centers for the elderly in various communities across Guyana. On Saturday, the partly decomposed body of a 75year-old woman who was identified as Yvonne Adams was found in her Amelia’s Ward, Linden home with an electric cord wrapped around her neck. On Wednesday, police found Joyce Lewis, another 75-year-old, dead in her North Ruimveldt home. She was also strangled. She lived alone. Webster also pointed

to instances of elderly persons who are abandoned by relatives at public health facilities and others who are abused at the hands of family members and pensions taken away. Webster said that although Trafficking in Persons is a “global phenomenon” and it’s the second largest criminal activity in the world, Guyana has a very “low prevalence” of this act. She told the House that repeated assessments have revealed a low prevalence of trafficking in persons in Guyana. The minister said that the potential impact of trafficking in persons on the safety and human rights of citizens has driven the government and its partners to develop strategies and programmes aimed at combating it. Minister Webster

explained that initiatives aimed at combating trafficking in persons have been undertaken under the guidance of the ministerial task force on trafficking in persons which comprises of representatives from government and nongovernmental agencies. In the area of Gender Equality she noted that at the recent 58th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which was in March, Guyana reported on the progress made to reduce hunger, increase access to social services and benefits. She said that Guyana by virtue is adopting a peoplecentered development approach. Webster noted that it has come a long way towards mainstreaming gender equality and the empowerment of women in national policies.

DPP initiates move to re-open murder... From page 14 is now the Acting Commissioner of Police, had told members of the media that the power resides in the Director of Public Prosecutions to order that the Rondy Jagdeo murder trial be reopened. Persaud explained to Kaieteur News that in this instance, the “key” witness, a civilian, failed to turn up in court on several occasions. He said that civilian witnesses have a “moral obligation” to come to court and give evidence. He added that there's little

that the Police Force could do, unless the court, through the Magistrate, issues an arrest warrant for that witness. “That witness would be arrested and held until the matter is completed.” When questioned further about the possibility of the case reopening, Persaud said that it is the Director of Public Prosecutions who decides on reopening the matter. “The DPP can cause action to be taken; the DPP can instruct the Magistrate to reopen the inquiry,” Persaud said. And that is exactly what

the DPP is contemplating at the moment. However, it is widely believed that Jagdeo has already left the jurisdiction, since he had done so immediately after the murder. It would not be the first time that a murder matter has been reopened long after it was discharged in the Magistrate's Court. A similar course of action was taken against beauty queen Carolann Lynch who is presently facing the court for a second time in connection with the murder of her husband Farouk Razack.

The same was done in the case of cricketer Carlyle Barton who was charged with the murder of Shawn Nelson. Despite the shooting being captured on camera, Barton walked away a free man after key prosecution witnesses were a no show. Although the DPP in accordance with Section 72 (2) (ii) (a) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, 10:01 had directed that the case be reopened, Barton remains at large having disappeared immediately after he was granted his freedom.

Probe into Sooba’s alleged misappropriation... From page 12 since Sooba refuses to follow their instructions and makes decisions on her own. Last Monday at the Council’s Statutory Meeting councillors walked out after Sooba refused to answer simple questions relating to dangerous buildings around the city. Even

councillors who are usually in support of Sooba became enraged when she refused to let the City Engineer respond to the councilors concerns. Minister within the Local Government Ministry Norman Whitaker told Kaieteur News the following day that he was unaware of the ‘walk out’ and

would not speculate. While the Town Clerk and the Council remains split, the Government has however engaged her office and the City Engineer in its half a billion dollar plan to revitalize dilapidated Georgetown. Mayor Hamilton Greene and Councilors have spoken

extensively on the Government- initiative being a political gimmick and part of continuous strategies to undermine the Council. Stakeholders and Opposition parties have reiterated calls for the holding of Local polls which were not held for almost 20 years.

From page 22

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 6472943 COOL TECH: Repairs Services & Installation of all types of home appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration units - Tel: 233-2008; 675-4959 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 6626045 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) If You are interested in a professional DJ for the Interior/Bartica- Contact: 6700387, 226-2467 or email: anthonywillpower@gmail.com HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000CALL:694-9843/227-2766 B R I D G E WAT E R CONSTRUCTIONS - CO: NEWHOMESREMODELING, NEWBATHROOMS,TILE& M A R B L E INSTALLATION, FREE ESTIMATES- CALL: 6606935; 676-9660; 269-094 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar

WANTED One professional costmetologist to work in Eccles - Tel: 639-7672; 658-4429 One pastry maker, must be able to cook and work in the interior – Call: 664-5199 or 675-7043 Cook & female bouncers. Apply in person @ El Club Latino, during 4:00pm6:00pm (Tues – Sat) @ 57 Hadfield & Lime Streets, South Cummingsburg Salesgirls & Porters. Apply with written application at Lot E Dennis & Middleton Street, Best Buy Food Supplies. CHAINSAW LUMBER: Kabukalli, Shibadan, Silverballi, Simarupa, etc – Tel:653-9752 One live in Domestic between age 40-60yrs - Call: 220-9873 Live in waitress- Call:6439007/ 697-2978 Shop Assistant to work in the Interior. Salary - $80,000 Call: 664-5199 or 675-7043 Urgently needed live in waitresses to work in Bar. Offering reasonable salary. Tel: 259-0574 1 general domestic to cook, experienced cashier, counter servers, pastry makers, handy-boys Apply @ Hacks Halaal, 5 Commerce St. Live out domestic & live in babysitter: Call: 225-0188 or 225-4492, Monday Saturday (8:15am-4:15pm) One Domestic – Call: 6144358. Live in waitress. Must be honest & courteous, with free boarding and lodging $50,000 per month - Call:6105043 One hire car driver, 35years and older, preferably from W.B.D or W.C.D – Contact:616-0111 Sales representative for the distribution of groceries/ beverages. Send application to Maya @ Lot 24 Saffon Street Charlestown One Trained Carnegie/ Home Economics Cook. Four (4) times per week - Call: 6144358

Smart Tech Solutions: Security cameras, computer repairs, maintenance, sales & installation – Call: 652-5668

One Handyman to work in the Interior - Call: 681-6044

Technicians available for appliance repairs - washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc - Tel: 6190793; 218-0050

Research Analysist, Models & Singers, great pay & good working hours - Call:6221957 Monday-Friday, between 9am-5pm

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Dr. Anthony announces Film School for Guyana “Is it possible to reach across party lines for the good of our people? They are weary…They are tired with the politics of frustration…They are tired with cutting and chopping.” Those were the words of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, when he made his plea for the passage of the 2014 Budget yesterday in the National Assembly during the debates. According to the Minister, “Guyanese are watching what we do in this House…They are paying attention to how we conduct ourselves. What will they see? What will we tell them? What will we show them?” The Minister told the members of the House that it is clear that there is something for everyone, in the Budget, “whether you are young or old whether you are school age or middle age, whether you are from the hinterland or the coastland, whether you are employer or an employee.” According to Dr. Anthony, there is no doubt that a great deal has been achieved but to consolidate the gains made, and to build upon the foundation that was laid “we have to invest more, especially in our young people.”

…tells House people are tired of the politics of frustration He said that Government must be commended for its multi-sectoral approach, and pointed to the fact that this year there are substantive increases in education, health, housing, sanitation and water. “All of these investments will benefit our young people in a direct or in an indirect way.” The Minister told the House that under the ‘youth portfolio’ of his Ministry they will continue to run their traditional programmes providing educational support to young people that need a second chance at education. According to Dr. Anthony, the residential programmes at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre and the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) and, the non-residential programmes at Sophia and Vryman’s Erven, have trained hundreds of young people and have apprenticed them at job sites. He said too that the President Youth Award Programme (PYARG) and the Youth Volunteer Platform continues to offer young people an opportunity to be positive role models and both of

programmes are growing. Dr. Anthony reported that the PYARG is expanding with the formation of new units and this year the pilot volunteer programme will be expanded to more schools. In addition, he said, the Ministry would move towards recognizing successful young people who have played a positive role in their communities. Later in the year, “we will start the National Youth Award Scheme.” He reported to the House that during 2013 and into 2014 extensive consultations were held to formulate the National Youth Policy. A policy steering committee was formed to guide the process; a stakeholder group was formed comprising a representative sample of young people to bring the views of their peers. Dr. Anthony said that after extensive consultation a first, a second and now a final draft will soon be completed. The Minister also used the debate to announce that the Second Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition under the patronage of President Donald Ramotar will take place in

Sophia hanging Mother says child incident… was horsing around Onica Cumberbatch, the mother of the 10-year-old boy, who was found hanging on Saturday, is refuting reports that her young son had attempted suicide. The woman instead claims that her son was playing with the belt, when he almost “accidentally hanged himself.” “My sons were playing in the yard and I was inside cleaning up, when my older son come and tell me to come and see what his brother doing… I went and found him hanging with his tongue out his head and froth coming out his mouth. It scared me

because there is no explanation for it. But my son loves to climb and apparently hung the belt on the lines to create a loop, he hook it around his chin and swinging on it when the loop tightened… “I am thankful that his feet wasn’t far off the ground,” Onica Cumberbatch explained. “I am quite upset because no one from the media ever really spoke with me. I would have liked to have my say to explain properly.” Cumberbatch, a housewife and mother of four, from North Sophia, said that she quickly took her son to seek medical attention the

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC). “When, I arrived at the hospital, I made a statement to the police and I also went to the Prashad Nagar Outpost to make another statement. I was really scared but I am thankful that my son is doing much better now. “He is not talking much but we are awaiting the report from the probation office before everything returns to normal.” He is currently a patient of the Paediatric Ward at GPHC. The Child Care and Protection Agency, CCPA are conducting investigations into the matter.

Man fined, jailed for 3 years for drug peddling A man who, earlier this year was busted with marijuana hidden in his crotch, was yesterday sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a city Magistrate after he was found guilty of drug trafficking. Orlando James was charged in February for trafficking 25.5 grams of cannabis. Yesterday, he appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court, where he was told that coupled with his sentence, he will also pay a

fine of $10,000. On February 6, James was apprehended on Freeman Street, East La Penitence, by police ranks on cycle patrol. They had seen him on his pedal cycle behaving in what was described as a suspicious manner. State Prosecutor, Corporal Aduni Inniss, explained that the ranks stopped and searched him. During the search, they found a black plastic bag hidden in the front of his pants. It contained a quantity of leaves, seeds and

stems. She explained that within that bag, there were several smaller Zip-lock bags with the said substance. Inniss said that that man was told of the offence, cautioned and arrested. The substance was then weighed and charges were instituted against him. On February 10, he appeared before the courts and pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him. However, the trial concluded and he was found guilty of the crime.

November this year. “We expect that this would be one of the highpoints in our cultural calendar for 2014.” The Minister reported too that the National Music School has expanded its intake fivefold; “We currently have an enrollment of 109 and despite the expansion we continue to enjoy 100 per cent pass in the external exams.” The Ministry has expanded the school steel band programme which is currently in 13 schools, “We partnered with the Guyana Music Teachers Association to host the biennial Guyana Musical Arts Festival.” According to the Culture Minister, later in the year, the Ministry with various stakeholders will launch a programme to teach filmmaking in Guyana. “We recognized the need to tell our own stories, by producing our own films…We are hopeful that this programme will eventually grow into a full fledge film school. He noted too that apart from the film programme, “this year we will be working closely with the Catholic Community to host the Loyola documentary film

festival…We intend to develop this into a premier film festival for local films.” As it relates to works the Walter Rodney National Archives, “Over the last year our focus has been on digitalizing our archival holdings.” He said that there are two projects that are ongoing concurrently; one to create a searchable digital database with all the indentureship immigrant records and the other is to take a digital image of the records. Dr Anthony reported that these would then be merged and eventually taken online. He said that, “this year we have budgeted monies to continue this database development, to buy equipment to create the audio archives and to start a paper conservation lab.” The Minister of Culture Youth and Sport also reported on the works of the Caribbean Press which he said continues to publish books about Guyana both past and present. To date the press has published 68 books about Guyana and has another 45

listed for future publications. This year, Edgar Mittleholzer would have been 105 years, and Dr. Anthony reported that to celebrate his work the press will publish a number of his works. According to Dr. Anthony, the Ministry is serious about developing the creative sector in Guyana and as such last year partnered with MASHAV and the Young American Business Trust to offered training to cultural entrepreneurs. “It is encouraging that these cultural practitioners can now benefit from three new affordable financing facilities that are offered to small and micro enterprises (SME)…In addition Ministry has contracted prominent Jamaican professor Dr. Denis Howard to assist us in formulating a strategy for the development of the creative industry.” He said too that an initial consultation workshop was held with persons from various cultural fields and a draft document will be produced and during the year the Ministry will work to finalize the plans and work on the implementation of the recommendations.

IDB sustainability lending hits $2.8 billion in 2013 The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) committed $2.8 billion in 2013 for projects that address climate change, sustainable energy and environmental sustainability, according to its annual Sustainability Report, a detailed overview of its progress in investing in and safeguarding sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean. That sum accounted for 20 percent of the Bank’s overall lending last year, and puts the IDB on target to meet its goal of 25 percent by 2015. The Sustainability Report is issued on the side of the IDB´s Annual Meeting, which this year is taking place in Costa do Sauipe, in Brazil. The report provides data and context on the IDB’s efforts to invest in and safeguard sustainability by integrating environmental and social considerations throughout its project portfolio. For example, of projects with high environmental and social risks, 87 percent rated satisfactory in the implementation of safeguard measures in 2013, exceeding the Bank’s goal of 85 percent by 2015. Additionally, the report examines the challenges of the rapid urbanization of the region and the Bank’s

strategies to address them, including a newly approved Infrastructure Strategy and advances in its Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative. A sustainable and efficient infrastructure—the buildings, roads and services necessary for a modern society to operate smoothly—is essential for improving the quality of life for people in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean region face major challenges in protecting its environment and tackling climate change. Demand for electricity is expected to double by 2030 and annual damages from natural disasters total $3.6 billion. The new Infrastructure Strategy balances environmental, social and fiscal concerns, and new guidance on agriculture and natural resources, urban development and housing, is

consistent with existing Bank strategies including the Climate Change and Clean Energy Strategy. In the past year, more than one million people have gained access to low-carbon forms of public transportation. Sixty percent of the power generated by IDB projects was from low carbon sources. The report also features the accomplishments of the region’s people and environment. The case study of Mar del Plata, Argentina, shows the value of environmentally and socially inclusive infrastructure planning. In Brazil, the people of Serra do Mar offer an inspiring look at how community spirit and participation have improved lives and the outcome of a project to restore the natural environment. The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for the region.

President fails to keep... From page 13 ensure that the board of directors is a competent board, that management aren't twitching and jumping to the imperatives and preoccupations of the government itself.” According to Greenidge there are a variety of areas in Budget 2014 which indicate that the Finance Minister Dr.

Ashni Singh “and his colleagues may have sat in a room and decided to allocate monies randomly in different areas without any support polices. “We don't expect that these expenditures by and large will have any beneficial or significant impact on the well being and welfare of Guyanese as a whole.”

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Family may have overlooked signs of mental problem

Children poisoned at Mahaicony… Relatives of Awena Rutherford believe that they may have overlooked crucial signs of a serious mental problem. The mental problem may have eventually led to the young mother taking the lives of her two children. The 21-year-old allegedly fed poison to Jabari Cadogan, 16 months, and to four-yearold Odessa Cadogan last Thursday at her at Perth, Mahaicony home. She also ingested some of the pellets and is in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. “I’m not saying she right to do something like that and God will deal with her for that; but there is lot people would not know,” the relative told Kaieteur News. One relative told Kaieteur News that as the family was trying to fathom what caused Rutherford to do something so drastic, they began putting the pieces together. The relative explained that Rutherford started to experience panic attacks, accompanied by seizures at the age of 13. “If anyone would like fatigue her or so she would get a seizure,” the relative told Kaieteur News. Several months after Rutherford

developed this “unexplained” sickness, relatives said she began seeing the man who would eventually become her reputed husband. At the time, she was just about 14 years old. The relative explained that a majority of the family did not know that Rutherford was in this relationship which was allegedly accepted by her now deceased mother. Kaieteur News was told that the family eventually learnt of the relationship when Rutherford became pregnant. “Her mother had bad parenting skills and the family would always talk against that.” At 15 years old relatives said that the teenager was forced to drop out of school. Then she became pregnant. Throughout the pregnancy the relative said that Rutherford would continue to experience dizziness and sweating which they thought at the time was due to her condition. “Now looking back at those things, we completely missed that something may have been really wrong with her” the relative told Kaieteur News. The relative remembered

- Relative one clear instance of Rutherford’s “unexplained” behaviour when the father of the children started to attend the Guyana Technical Institute. However, she was denied the opportunity because of finances. “After she was told that she could not get to further her studies…she became very annoyed and had a seizure” the relative said. The relative claimed that they received no medical explanation about the Rutherford’s condition. After her mother died, the relative said that things became “rough” with Rutherford. Although the child’s father was still present Rutherford had to be “braced” by relatives many times. When Rutherford became pregnant with the second child, the reputed husband migrated to the United States and things reportedly became even harder for Rutherford. Kaieteur News was told that Rutherford on many occasions “would talk off her head and act on impulse at anything that annoyed her”. The relative told Kaieteur

U.S. ambassador to India resigns after diplomatic row (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to India has resigned and will return to the United States after less than two years, the embassy said in a statement yesterday, following a diplomatic row that strained relations between the world’s biggest democracies. The statement did not give a reason why Ambassador Nancy Powell had resigned, saying only that she was retiring from the foreign service after 37 years, “as planned for some time”. Powell is a career diplomat who has held several postings in South Asia and became the ambassador to India in 2012. Last month, she ended a decade-long boycott and brought Washington’s policy in line with other major powers by meeting Narendra Modi, the opposition candidate who is favourite to become India’s next prime minister after elections that end in May. But her tenure was marred by a row over the arrest and subsequent strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York. Indian took retaliatory measures against the embassy, including removing some of the ambassador’s travel privileges. Trade relations have also deteriorated over the past two years. She will return to the United

Nancy Powell

States before the end of May, the deadline for a new Indian government to be formed. The United States revoked Modi’s travel visa following allegations he did not do enough to prevent some 2,000 deaths during a spasm of Hindu-Muslim violence in 2002 in the state that he governs. Modi has not yet been granted a visa, but earlier in March, Nisha Biswal, the U.S. assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said he would be welcome to visit the United States if he became prime minister.

News that family members would “try with her,” but she would act out at the slightest thing. When contacted yesterday relatives of the young man refused to speak to Kaieteur News. A woman who identified herself as the man’s mother told Kaieteur News that her “son did not have time with that and he didn’t want to speak to anyone” Rutherford’s reputed husband, who lives overseas, had reportedly called his

mother earlier in the day and had asked her to keep the children at her Ann’s Grove, East Coast Demerara residence. Some time in the afternoon, Rutherford reportedly went to collect the children. The aunt handed the children to their mother, unaware that she had purchased pellets of ‘carbon tablets’ earlier in the day. Rutherford then took the children to her Perth, Mahaicony home, after telling the aunt she “had a

surprise for them”. On arriving at Mahaicony, she allegedly fed the children the ‘carbon tablets’ and also ingested the same poison. Someone later informed the aunt that Rutherford had poisoned the children and that they were at Mahaicony Cottage Hospital. By the time relatives arrived, little Jabari Cadogan was already dead, while his sister succumbed at the GPHC. Rutherford’s condition is listed as stable but critical.

Linden senior citizen murder….

‘Boyfriend’ still in custody, cash sent from overseas missing The ‘boyfriend’ of slain 75-year-old Yvonne Adams remained in custody for a third day as close friends of Mrs. Adams speculated that she was murdered for money she recently collected from overseas. A close friend of the victim told Kaieteur News that an overseas-based relative had sent some $30,000 to Adams, which she collected last Wednesday. Kaieteur News understands that Mrs. Adams’s 68-year-old ‘boyfriend’ admitted that he had visited her home that same Wednesday. He reportedly told detectives that he had gone there to grate a coconut for a meal of ‘metem’. The close friend, who also found Mrs. Adams’ body, said that a purse containing $6,000 was in the house. However, the money that the victim had received from overseas was missing, as well as two gold rings and a gold chain. Sources close to Mrs. Adams believe that the ‘boyfriend’ is the same individual that a neighbour claimed to have seen rapping at Mrs. Adams’s front door around midnight on Thursday. Mrs. Adams reportedly opened the door for the male visitor, who was said to be wearing khaki pants. According to reports, other neighbours last saw

Dead: Yvonne Adams Mrs. Adams alive around 19.00 hrs on Thursday. Kaieteur News was told that Mrs. Adams “had a lot of friends and liked to drink.” She would often spend Friday nights at a popular bar near the Linden Market. She had suffered a stroke some time ago and the friends would help her to get taxis to her home after her excursions. Close friends became concerned when Mrs. Adams failed to show up at a queh queh on Friday. They became

even more worried when the elderly neighbour repeatedly failed to answer her landline and mobile phones. Around 13.00 hrs on Saturday, on the urging of his wife, a male resident, who had known Mrs. Adams for years, decided to check on her. The resident told Kaieteur News that he climbed up into the verandah and, on peering inside the house, saw what appeared to be a body in a passageway. A young boy then removed a few window panes, entered the premises and opened the front door. The resident then entered the house, “and there she was in the passageway, with blood running from her mouth and an electrical cord around her hands and neck,” the man said. He said that Mrs. Adams’s wedding ring, gold chain and a ‘Lodge ring’ were missing, but the house did not appear to have been ransacked.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Israeli court convicts ex-PM Olmert in bribery case TEL AVIV (Reuters) - An Israeli court convicted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday of accepting a sixfigure sum in bribes linked to a real-estate deal, probably ending any prospects of a political comeback. Olmert, a centrist credited internationally with working towards a peace settlement with the Palestinians, had denied wrongdoing in the Holyland apartment complex deal, which took place while he was in his previous post of Jerusalem mayor. Two years ago, the veteran politician was acquitted of most of the major charges brought against him in separate cases involving his links to a U.S. businessman - corruption accusations that forced his resignation as premier in 2008. After what was the first bribery conviction of a former head of government in Israel, Olmert, 68, could face up to 10 years in prison. A former president, Moshe Katsav, has been serving a seven-year prison term for rape since 2011. Olmert will appeal the verdict, said his spokesman, Jacob Galanti. No date was immediately set for sentencing, and the appeals process is likely to take months to run its course. According to a summary of Monday’s 700-page verdict provided by the Justice Ministry, Judge David Rozen found Olmert guilty of two bribery charges and said he accepted 560,000 shekels ($160,000) from developers of the Holyland project. Prosecutors had alleged he received more than 800,000 shekels, but he was acquitted on two other corruption charges. Handing down the

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

verdict in Tel Aviv District Court, Rozen said the case “exposed governance that grew more corrupt and rotten over the years”, with bribes paid to public officials. NETANYAHU CRITIC In recent months, Olmert has been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies toward the Palestinians and confronting Iran’s nuclear programme, fuelling speculation he intended to return to politics. A lawyer by profession, Olmert began his political career in the 1970s as a legislator who targeted organised crime in Israel. He served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003 and as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, staying in office in a caretaker capacity until after a general election that brought right-winger Netanyahu to power. As prime minister, Olmert waged war against militants

in Lebanon in 2006 and the Gaza Strip in 2008. He claimed significant progress in talks with the Palestinians aimed at securing a final peace deal, offering an Israeli withdrawal from much of the occupied West Bank. But no agreement was reached. Current U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Netanyahu government and the Palestinians have faltered, with Washington struggling to keep negotiations going beyond an original April 29 target date for a deal. Olmert was among 13 defendants in the Holyland case, which revolved around the construction of a hulking, hilltop housing project widely regarded as Jerusalem’s worst eyesore. One of the accused, Shula Zaken, was Olmert’s former long-time aide who last week offered to turn state’s witness against him.

North, South Korea trade artillery rounds into the sea: Seoul (Reuters) - North Korea fired more than 100 artillery rounds into South Korean waters as part of a drill yesterday, prompting the South to fire back, officials in Seoul said, but the exercise appeared to be more saberrattling from Pyongyang rather than the start of a military standoff. The North had flagged its intentions to conduct the exercise in response to U.N. condemnation of last week’s missile launches by Pyongyang and against what it says are threatening military drills in the South by U.S. forces. North Korea also accused the South of “gangster-like”

behavior at the weekend by “abducting” one of its fishing boats and threatened to retaliate. The South said it had sent the boat back after it drifted into its waters. More than 100 North Korean shells out of 500 or so fired landed in South Korean waters, prompting marines from the South to fire back with more than 300 rounds into the North’s waters, defense officials in Seoul said. Seoul also scrambled F15s on its side of the maritime border, they said. “We believe the North’s maritime firing is a planned provocation and an attempt

to test our military’s determination to defend the Northern Limit Line and to get an upper hand in SouthNorth relations,” South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said. In Washington, the White House called North Korea’s actions “dangerous and provocative” and said the country’s threats and provocations only isolate it further. “We remain steadfast in our commitment (to) the defense of our allies and remain in close coordination with both the Republic of Korea and Japan,” White (Continued on page 27)

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Australia PM vows to continue hunt for missing Malaysia plane (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had no time limit, despite the failure of an international operation to find any sign of the plane in three weeks of fruitless searching. A total of 20 aircraft and ships were again scouring a massive area in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) west of Perth, where investigators believe the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people came down. “I’m certainly not putting a time limit on it,” Abbott told reporters after meeting flight crews at Pearce airbase in Perth. “The intensity of our search and the magnitude of our operations is increasing, not decreasing,” he said, adding that searchers owed it to grieving families of passengers to continue the hunt. Some families have strongly criticized Malaysia’s handling of the search and investigation, including the decision last week to say that, based on satellite evidence, the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean on March 8. Abbott rejected suggestions his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, had been too hasty to break that news, given that no confirmed wreckage from the plane has been found and its last sighting on radar was northwest of Malaysia heading towards India. “No, the accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” he said. Najib will travel to the western Australian city of Perth, the base for the search, tomorrow, to see the operations first hand, Malaysia’s government said. Malaysia says the plane,

which disappeared less than an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was likely diverted deliberately far off course. Investigators have determined no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers or the 12 crew. China has also been critical in Malaysia’s handling of the case, but in a sign of softening, the official China Daily said it was understandable that not all sensitive information could be made public. “Although the Malaysian government’s handling of the crisis has been quite clumsy, we need to understand that this is perhaps the most bizarre incident in Asia civil aviation history,” the editorial yesterday read. “Public opinion should not blame the Malaysian authorities for deliberately covering up information in the absence of hard evidence.” MORE FLOTSAM Dozens of items have been spotted since Australian authorities moved the search 1,100 km (685 miles) north after new analysis of radar and satellite data, but none has been linked to Flight MH370. Several orange items recovered on Sunday turned out to be fishing equipment, a spokesman from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said. “Yesterday’s finds were nothing of note, nothing related to the plane,” he said. A multinational air search team and 10 ships, including seven Chinese vessels, two Australian navy craft and a merchant ship, were searching the area yesterday. A Malaysian frigate arrived at HMAS Stirling naval base near Perth for briefings on the search area, AMSA added. The new search area,

North, South Korea... From page 26 House National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Lalley said. The Northern Limit Line, a maritime border that wraps itself around a part of the North’s coastline, has been the scene of frequent clashes and in 2010, four people were killed when North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. “It’s up to the two militaries either to recognize or reject their own claimed line, and challenge the other’s. This goes back and

forth, so this is probably another episode of that,” said Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group. Earlier in 2010, a South Korean naval vessel was sunk close to the line by what an international commission said was a North Korean torpedo, although the North denies involvement. The line was drawn up at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War and North Korea does not recognize it. The two sides are still technically at war as the conflict ended in a mere truce, not a treaty.

while closer to Perth and subject to calmer weather, is also closer to an area of the Indian Ocean where currents drag all manner of flotsam and rubbish. “I would say the search area is located just outside of what we call the garbage patches,” Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales said. “However, there is much more debris there than in the Southern Ocean. Debris from Western Australia that ends up in the garbage patches will have to move through the search area.” But the greatest problem remains the vast search area, roughly the size of Poland or New Mexico. “If you compare this to Air France Flight 447, we had much better positional information of where that aircraft went into the water,” U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews said on Sunday, referring to a plane that crashed in 2009 near Brazil and which took more than two years to find. Among the vessels due to join the search in the coming days is an Australian defense force ship, the Ocean Shield, that has been fitted with a sophisticated U.S. black box locator and an underwater drone. That equipment cannot be used until “conclusive visual evidence” of debris is found, U.S. Navy spokesman Commander William Marks told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. If no location is found, searchers would have to use sonar to methodically map the bottom of the ocean, he said. “That is an incredibly long process to go through. It is possible, but it could take quite a while,” he said. Time is running out because the signal transmitted by the black box will die about 30 days after a crash due to limited battery life, leaving investigators with a vastly more difficult task. Malaysia’s acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said he would discuss the deployment of “more specific military assets” during a regional defense ministers’ meeting with the United States in Hawaii that he is attending from today. “I shall be discussing with the United States, and our other friends and allies, how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep sea search and recovery,” said Hishammuddin, who is also Malaysia’s defense minister.

Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Twelve gone now! - Another Minister dropped from T&T Govt.

T&T Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

FIRED: Tourism Minister Chandresh Sharma (Trinidad Express Photo). Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday afternoon disclosed that she had accepted the resignation of her Tourism Minister Chandresh Sharma. The following is the statement issued to the media shortly before 3 p.m yesterday Statement by the Honourable Prime Minister, Kamla Persad- Bissessar, SC, on the revocation of the appointment of Honourable Minister of Tourism, Chandresh Sharma: I have advised the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, His Excellency, Anthony Carmona, of the decision to revoke the appointment of the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Chandresh Sharma. This advice follows my decision to accept the resignation earlier submitted by Minister Sharma. There has been some discussion on the number of times changes have been made in my Cabinet. I say that is a measurement of my commitment to maintaining the high ideals upon which

we were elected. I am not swayed by any other consideration other than that which is right and honourable. Each member of my administration must be mindful that we are held to different, higher standards than ever before, even by those who are our most bitter critics. There is no privileged escape, no allowance for arrogance, no forgiveness for indiscretion. Those days are gone, such compromise has expired. The responsible leadership which we promised to usher in a dawn of a new era is the new political currency. My leadership isn’t formed in the mould of loud and angry politicians who feel that shouting and attacking everything is the best way to be heard. But my decisions and policies speak even louder of who I am and what I expect of those around me in government. The government is stronger than ever because of the tough decisions taken and the population can breathe easier today, confident in the knowledge

House to resume reparations debate (Jamaica Observer) KINGSTON, Jamaica — The House of Representatives is to resume debate on the motion from Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry, seeking reparations from Britain for Jamaicans who are descendants of the victims of the African slave trade. This was indicated by Leader of the House of Representatives, Phillip Paulwell, as he sought approval last Tuesday for the debate’s suspension until the

next session of Parliament, which begins on Thursday. It is expected that Minister of Youth and Culture, Lisa Hanna, will table the report of the revived Reparations Commission, chaired by Professor Verene Shepherd, which has already been approved by the cabinet, when it resumes.A reparations commission appointed by former minister of culture, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, was chaired by Professor Barry Chevannes until his death in November 2010.

that value based leadership will never be compromised. I take this opportunity to recognize Minister Sharma’s contributions and service to the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago. On Sunday, Leader of the Congress of the People (COP) and Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar had called on Sharma to resign. He said that if Sharma did not resign, then Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar should fire him pending completion of police investigations into allegations of assault on his former girlfriend Sacha Singh, the managing director of AMS Biotech Security Concept and AMSure T&t Ltd. Singh reported the incident, which allegedly took place at Grand Bazaar on March 12, to St Joseph police last Friday. This is the 12th minister to have been removed from the Cabinet since the coalition People’s Partnership government came to office in May 2010.

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Progress Too Slow:

Jamaica PM laments pace at which women advance in politics (Jamaica Gleaner) Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller says not enough progress has been made to increase the number of women involved in parliamentary decisionmaking since adult suffrage in 1944, arguing that the pace at which they are being integrated leaves much to be desired. “We cannot sit back and feel comfortable because a few women have been able to break through the barriers and create history,” Simpson Miller said. In the 70 years since adult suffrage, only 35 of the 362 persons elected to Parliament have been women. “Women’s voices must be heard more and louder anywhere that public choices are being made that affect our lives.” Simpson Miller, who became Jamaica’s first female prime minister in 2006, said the ascension of women to leadership positions around the world is being advanced by many to support the argument that women are making strides in politics. “We are used as proof that there is little to complain about since they say that progress is being made. I say, not enough progress in this area,” the prime minister said. Simpson Miller was speaking at a ceremony in recognition of her 40 years of service to Jamaica as a parliamentarian and being the country’s first female prime minister at the 27th meeting of the executive committee of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA) women’s network at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay on

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller Sunday. A motion for the temporary enactment of a quota system to boost the number of women in the Parliament, which was brought by government senator Imani Duncan-Price, has reignited the debate about women in politics. SEX QUOTA Duncan-Price is proposing that no sex occupy more than 60 per cent of the seats in the Senate, and that a minimum 40 per cent of candidates for national elections be of either sex. Some 35 per cent of the seats were contested by women in the 2011 general election, but only 12.7 per cent were elected. Women now comprise 20 per cent of the Cabinet and 28.6 per cent of the Senate. Simpson Miller said many persons will point to the eight female members of parliament, six female senators and three women mayors as evidence that progress is being made in politics. “My answer to the

argument that progress is being made in this regard - and to those who believe there is no need to complain - is that an aircraft is in the sky making progress, so, too, is a cart on the ground. The difference is in the pace. Yes, progress is taking place, but the matter of pace is of critical consideration,” the prime minister said. Meanwhile, the prime minister steered clear of addressing the issue of quotas, but made it clear that women should get a fair opportunity to make decisions. “It is well known that women are underrepresented at the level of political decision-making. The under-representation of women in politics is seen worldwide. Yet, whenever the subject is raised about women and the need for us to have our fair share of participation of higher levels of decisionmaking, invariably, fingers are pointed to the few of us as women in top positions,” the prime minister said.

T&T poised to be regional leader in aviation (Trinidad Guardian) With the recent signing of a collaboration agreement with US-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corportation, T&T has moved one step closer to becoming a regional leader in the aviation industry. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp, announced the signing during the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) in Santiago, Chile, according to a release from industry site Helihub. Sikorsky provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. Under the agreement,

Sikorsky’s participation may include providing expertise in maintenance training and technical know-how, including “train-the-trainer” proficiency, as well as exploring future partnerships with operators for student internships and on-the-job training. “A centre of excellence in the entire Caribbean and Latin America, the Trinidad and Tobago Aviation Institute will offer our students, and those throughout the region, an opportunity to fulfill their aspirations for a career in aviation. Our vision is to make Trinidad and Tobago the regional hub of Aviation,” said Fazal Karim, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills

Training. On March 10, Karim’s ministry celebrated the start of construction for the country’s first aviation institute, which is scheduled to open in September. According to Helihub, eight Sikorsky S-76 rotorcraft currently operate in T&T, with plans for expansion in the near future. This includes Sikorsky’s newest commercial helicopter, the S-76D aircraft. T&T’s National Helicopter Services Ltd. (NHSL) flew the first-ever revenue service flight for this type of aircraft in February. NHSL, formerly the Air Division (Helicopter Unit) of the Ministry of National Security, is a joint venture between the T&T government and the

National Gas Company. Adam Schierholz, Sikorsky Deputy Regional Executive for Latin America, said: “Sikorsky is proud to have been a part of Trinidad and Tobago’s helicopter operations for more than 30 years. We have a tremendous partner in National Helicopter Services, and we are extremely pleased to be able to further explore with them this exciting new chapter in the country’s continued development of its aviation industry. This Institute will provide expert training of technical personnel in the areas of maintenance and engineering, and Sikorsky is eager to discuss the potential opportunities for support.”

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 29

NBA Roundup: Bulls... AAG names nine athletes From page 30 off a furious rally by Stephen Curry and the Warriors in the closing minutes. Curry scored 32 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 2:42 remaining. But he missed from long range in the final minute and also had a pass stolen by Raymond Felton on Golden State’s final possession. New York (31-43) is a game behind fast-fading Atlanta, which has lost six straight, for the final playoff seed in the weak Eastern Conference. LAKERS 115, SUNS 99 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Kaman had 28 points along with 17 rebounds while starting at center for the vertigo-stricken Pau Gasol, helping the Los Angeles

Lakers end the Phoenix Suns’ six-game winning streak. The undermanned Lakers shot 53 percent from the field, avoiding what would have been Phoenix’s first season sweep over them since 200405. The Suns won the first three meetings by an average margin of 13.3 points, including a 117-90 rout on Dec. 23 at US Airways Center. The 25-48 Lakers, returning home from a 143107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, beat a team with a winning record for only the eighth time all season. Gerald Green scored 22 points off the bench for the Suns. TRAIL BLAZERS 105, GRIZZLIES 98 PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge

scored 28 points in his third game back from injury as the Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to three games with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Reserve Mo Williams added 17 points and Wesley Mathews had 15 for the Blazers, who had five players score in double figures to avoid a three-game series sweep. Portland opened a twogame lead over Golden State for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff race and pulled within 2½ games of No. 4 Houston with seven games remaining. Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Marc Gasol had 20 points for the Grizzlies, who dropped a half-game behind idle Dallas for the West’s final playoff berth.

Tuesday April 01, 2014 ARIES (MAR. 21-APRIL 20) You can develop your creative talents if you take the time to practice your art. Your changing attitudes may be causing concern for your partner. It might be best to work on your own; if possible, do your job out of your home today. TAURUS (APR. 21MAY 21) Secret affairs may be tempting, but keep in mind that they will damage your reputation if you decide to indulge. Catch up on correspondence. GEMINI (MAY 22-JUNE 21) Art investment will pay big dividends in the long term. Be honest with yourself before getting involved with someone who is likely to lead you on. Problems with your mate will develop if you don't let them have their way. CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) Money problems will get worse if your partner hasn't been playing by the rules. Your outgoing, aggressive nature will attract someone you've been eager to meet. LEO (JULY 23-AUG 22) Helping children may be rewarding and challenging. You need a break from your daily routine. Opportunities to make advancements through good business sense are apparent. VIRGO (AUG. 23 -SEPT. 23) Don't upset elders in your family who don't understand your present situation. Stubborn about making changes around your home.

LIBRA(SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23) Limitations at work might set you back. Try not to be too harsh with loved ones; there will always be two sides to an Issue. Ask others to help, or you may feel that a burden is weighing you down. SCORPIO (OCT. 24 NOV. 22) Try to keep an open mind. Abstain from getting involved with married individuals. Communication must be open, precise, and honest. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 -DEC. 21) You will reap the rewards for your kind actions. You should want to feel good about yourself and your goals. You will meet new romantic partners if you get involved in seminars or travel. CAPRICORN (DEC 22.JAN. 20) Spend time with your lover today. Your involvement in groups will be favorable for meeting new and exciting individuals. Try to get out and socialize. AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 FEB. 19) Someone you work with could have a personal interest in you. You should regain some of your self esteem if you get involved in organizational functions. Your ability to communicate with ease will win the hearts of those you are in touch with today. PISCES (FEB. 20-MAR. 20) Do not blow situations out of proportion. New relationships could evolve through group activities. Arguments may flare up in your home.

for CARIFTA Games - 2013 bronze medalist, Mitchell not included By Edison Jefford The Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) has named nine athletes for the upcoming CARIFTA Games in Martinique, April 19-21, with 2013 Under-18 Girls’ bronze medalist, Tirana Mitchell, being left out of the team after probably failing a fitness test. The AAG did not give a reason for Mitchell’s omission, but Kaieteur Sport knows from reliable sources, as reported in our story on Saturday, March 29 ‘Final CARIFTA Games team to surface this weekend’, that Mitchell was being considered for the Games. Mitchell along with Avon Samuels was reportedly asked to do medicals ahead of last weekend’s final selection. Mitchell won the U18 Girls’ 100m at the AAG trials comfortably, but struggled for form in her strong event, the 200m, finishing fourth. Samuels has been named on the team to compete in the U-18 Girls’ 200m and 400m after finishing second to sprint ace, Jevina Sampson in both events. Sampson has also been included in the team as expected. Natricia Hooper has been named to compete in the U18 Triple Jump, while Cassey George will run the U-18 Girls’ 1500m and Open 3000m. Samuels, Sampson, Hooper and George will run in the U18 Girls’ 4x400m race as well. In addition, AAG has included United States-based athletes, CARIFTA bronze and World Youth silver medallist, Kadecia Baird to compete in the 200m and 400m U-20 races while Brenessa Thompson, daughter of former sprint champion, Brenon Thompson, will compete in the 100 and 200m races in the same age category. Along with the six females are three males. Last year’s bronze medalist, Jason Yaw returns to the fold, rounding off a list of four athletes from Running Braves Athletics Club on the team. Yaw will compete in the U-18 200m and 400m races. Sprinter, Kevin Abbensetts was rewarded for his recent form and 10.4 seconds 100m race at the trials, which effectively obliterated his opponents. He will also run the 200m while Kade Pearce will compete in the triple and high jump events. Running Brave Athletics

Club Coach, Sham Johnny was named as Head Coach of the team with Mayfield Taylor-Trim was identified as Manager. Baird’s previous Coach, Shawn Dietz, and present Coach, Matthew

Martin and Glenton Pantlitz were named as Assistant Coaches. In addition, Stabroek News’ Emmerson Campbell was named the media representative on the official list.

Teams battle for last... From page 28 in any of the three games. He is playing his fourth World T20 and all have been quiet, with bat and ball. PITCH AND CONDITIONS With sunshine predicted through the day, the Mirpur pitch is expected to remain dry but it gets sluggish in the evening. The dew hasn’t been a factor in the last three matches but Pakistan have been training with the wet ball recently to get used to it. West Indies might retain their winning line-up from the Australia match. Pakistan too have no reason to change their winning combination. In the

previous match, Pakistan brought in the experienced bowler Sohail Tanvir. West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo said; “It is very difficult to predict how the teams will play but I know it will be a nail-biting game. Come that game, we will be aware of what exactly we need to do. We need to play well to get out of this group of death and look forward to playing in the semi-final.” Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez commenting on the contest noted; “The team that plays spinners well will win the match. We know that it is a match where we can’t make a mistake.”

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Stag Beer/EBFA Div. 1 League NBA Roundup: Bulls beat Celtics 107-102 Grove Hi Tech and Timehri

Panthers are latest winners

Chicago Bulls’ D.J. Augustin (14) drives past Boston Celtics’ Jerryd Bayless in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Sunday, March 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) (Associated Press) BOSTON (AP) - D.J. Augustin scored 15 of his career-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Chicago Bulls held off the slumping Boston Celtics. Augustin was perfect from the foul line on 10 attempts and was 10-for-14 from the floor, including a 3pointer late in the period to break a 96-all tie and give Chicago the lead for good. He followed that with six straight free throws to help the Bulls close out the Celtics. Joakim Noah finished with 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who tried for a three-game season sweep against the Celtics on Monday night in Chicago. Rajon Rondo had 17 points and 11 assists for Boston, which has lost four straight and nine of 10. KNICKS 114, TIMBERWOLVES 99 NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Pierce scored 22 points as the Brooklyn Nets moved to the brink of a playoff spot by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-99 on Sunday for their club recordequaling 13th straight home victory. Pierce scored 16 in the first quarter, two nights after putting up 17 in the period, and didn’t miss a shot in either. Joe Johnson added 19 points for the Nets, who would clinch a playoff spot if the New York Knicks lost to Golden State later Sunday. Brooklyn equaled the longest home winning streak in the NBA this season and the best in the history of the franchise. Corey Brewer and Kevin Martin each scored 21

for the Timberwolves, who had won two in row and were coming off the highestscoring game in the NBA this season, when they scored a franchise-record 143 points in a rout of the Lakers on Friday. CAVALIERS 90, PACERS 76 CLEVELAND (AP) - Dion Waiters scored 19 points and Luol Deng added 15 as the Cleveland Cavaliers kept their playoff push going with a 9076 win over the Indiana Pacers, who are losing their grip on the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Tristan Thompson had 16 rebounds as the Cavs snapped a nine-game losing streak against Indiana. Cleveland came in three games behind slumping, idle Atlanta for the conference’s final playoff spot. With seven games left — six against teams with losing records — the Cavs still have a chance. The Pacers, meanwhile, are falling apart. They lost their fifth straight road game and now lead Miami by one game for the East’s top record and home-court advantage. Paul George scored 15 and David West 14 for Indiana, which fell behind by 21 in the fourth quarter. THUNDER 116, JAZZ 96 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant had 31 points and nine assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz. Durant scored at least 25 points for the 38th consecutive game, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it in 40 straight games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1986-87 season. Russell Westbrook scored

19 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Caron Butler added 15 for the Thunder, who have won six of seven. Oklahoma City shot 55 percent from the field and made 11 of 18 3-pointers and 23 of 26 free throws. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four in a row. RAPTORS 98, MAGIC 93 ORLANDO, Florida (AP) - DeMar DeRozan had 28 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors escaped with a victory over the Orlando Magic. Trailing 96-93 with 8.9 seconds to play, the Magic had the ball and an opportunity to tie the game. But coming out of a timeout they failed to inbound the ball, turning it over on a 5-second violation. DeRozan was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to provide the final margin. The win was the Raptors’ third in a row and seventh straight over the Magic. Toronto swept the season series 3-0. Nik Vucevic led the Magic with 22 points and 10 rebounds. KNICKS 89, WARRIORS 84 OAKLAND, California (AP) — J.R. Smith scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 19 points and nine rebounds as the New York Knicks moved within one game of the final playoff spot by beating the undermanned Golden State Warriors. The Knicks outscored Golden State 34-12 in the second quarter to go ahead 56-44 at the half, and then held (Continue don page 29)

Timehri Panthers have taken over the lead of the Stag Beer/East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Division One League once again following a solid 5-1 win over Herstelling when play continued with a double header on Sunday last at the Grove Playfield. Sunday’s other match saw home team Grove defeating Kuru Kururu Warriors 4-1 to overtake them on the points table having played one game less. Netting a hat-trick to guide his team to their second win of the season was the consistent Dominic Garnett who found the back of the nets in the 27th, 37th and 64th minute. Lloyd Matthews converted the other goal for the home team. Grove’s win keeps the title race interestingly poised as no team to date has a clear cut edge for the first prize of $400,000. Kuru Kururu Warriors it was that took the early lead through a 9th minute goal off the boot of Ryan Scott. While they kept the home team at bay for some time, the Linden Soesdyke Highway based unit found the task much more challenging as the game progressed. In the day’s opening fixture, points leaders Timehri Panthers found bottom of the table Herstelling a handful as they not only conceded their first goal of the season but it was also the first for Herstelling compliments of Devon Winter in the 40th minute. Winter’s strike evened the score since the Panthers took the lead five minutes before through the first of a double from Lawrence Steele. At the half way mark the game was nicely poised at 1-1. No doubt, pressure was now on Timehri to keep Herstelling at bay whilst finding more goals to separate Teams Timehri Panthers Agricola Grove Hi Tech Kuru Kururu Soesdyke Falcons Diamond Mocha Champs Herstelling

Played 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3

Timehri Panthers marksmen from right, Lawrence Steel,Collis Messiah and Rommel Myles

Lloyd Matthews (left) and Dominic Garnett the two. The Soesdyke boys were able to do just that, find goals and that they did in rapid succession. Lawrence was back in scoring mode in the 54th minute to seal his double; proceedings were then turned over to Collis Messiah who netted a brace of his own in the 62nd and 66th minute. The game was put further beyond the reach of

Herstelling when Rommel Myles rocked the nets in the 69th minute. While it was another defeat for Herstelling, they have been showing encouraging development with every game and with more football forecasted for the remainder of the year on the East Bank, their continued development is assured and they will come of age one day.

LATEST POINTS STANDINGS Won Lost Draw GF 4 0 0 11 3 0 0 15 2 1 0 10 2 2 0 7 1 2 0 9 1 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 1

GA 1 1 6 7 9 4 7 19

GD Points +10 12 +14 9 +4 6 0 6 0 3 -2 3 -7 0 -18 0

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 31

World Twenty20 2014:

Sri Lanka bowl out Dismal England New Zealand for 60 lose to Netherlands BBC Sport - Sri Lanka bowled New Zealand out for 60 to book their place in the World Twenty20 semi-finals with a 59-run win. Chasing a seemingly modest 120 in Chittagong to reach the last four, the Kiwis slumped to the second-lowest World T20 total. Slow leftarmer Rangana Herath claimed remarkable figures of 5-3 and off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake 2-3. Sri Lanka, as Group One winners, will play West Indies or Pakistan in the semi-final in Mirpur on Thursday. As England demonstrated in losing to Netherlands on the same ground earlier in the day, what appeared a straightforward chase proved anything but. Herath, overlooked for Sri Lanka’s first three group games,

SL SA NZ Eng Ned

P 4 4 4 4 4

exploited a dry pitch superbly to return the second best figures in the tournament’s history. He also had a hand in two run-outs as New Zealand’s batsmen floundered under the pressure of what was effectively a quarter-final. Only Kane Williamson, with 42, showed the technique required against the turning ball. None of his team-mates managed more than five. “Credit to Sri Lanka they blew us away,” said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum. Fittingly, Herath completed the rout by having Trent Boult taken at slip as New Zealand - for whom the injured Corey Anderson was unable to bat - were shot out in 15.3 overs.

FINAL GROUP ONE TABLE W L Pts R/R 3 1 6 +2.233 3 1 6 +0.075 2 2 4 -0.678 1 3 2 -0.776 1 3 2 -0.866

Herath did the damage in his first three-over spell, luring Brendon McCullum down the pitch, pinning Ross Taylor in front, bowling Jimmy Neesham and trapping Luke Ronchi lbw in the space of 10 deliveries to reduce New Zealand to 29-5. Nathan McCullum chipped tamely to mid-wicket two overs later, and even Williamson’s innings could not carry them to respectability. The Kiwis’ disappointment would have been more acute given that they had bowled Sri Lanka out for 119 after asking them to bat. Boult, omitted for New Zealand’s first two games, claimed the first three wickets to fall en route to figures of 320, and Neesham sparked a collapse from 65-3 to finish with 3-22. It was nothing compared to New Zealand’s capitulation with the bat. Scores: Sri Lanka 119 (Boult 3-20) beat New Zealand 60 (Williamson 42, Herath 5-3).

T&T U-19 pacer Tevin Robertson dies ESPNcricinfo - Tevin Robertson, a member of the Trinidad &Tobago Under-19 team, has died in a car crash. Robertson, 19, was driving on a highway near Gasparillo, a town in southern Trinidad, at about 5am on Saturday, when his car crashed into a fence.

He died on the spot. Robertson was a left-arm fast bowler who had played for the T&T U-19s at the regional tournament in Barbados last year. Prior to the accident, he was part of a training camp for the T&T squad. His mother, Rhea St

Tevin Robertson (West Indies Cricket)

John, told West Indies papers that he was a keen cricketer from an early age. “He had a passion for cricket,” she said. “Since he was three years old he told me he was going to play with the West Indies team and that he would build a big house for me with a swimming pool.” West Indies ODI captain Dwayne Bravo said: “I knew him as a young boy around the Trinidad & Tobago national team. He was very friendly, very polite, and had a good work ethic and it is just sad to hear he is gone. When I got the news I was stunned. He had a bright future ahead of him. He was a talented young bowler and we all had high hopes for him.” Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath said Robertson was a “disciplined and talented young man, who had a bright future in the game”. Team manager Manohar Ramsaran also mourned Robertson’s loss. “The loss of Tevin Robertson will be felt by the local cricket community. He played an important role coming up the ranks and was called by the national selectors for trials. Tevin was a consistent performer who had a bright future ahead.”

BBC Sport - England ended their winter of discontent on a new low as they were beaten by minnows Netherlands at the World Twenty20 in Chittagong. With neither side able to reach the semi-finals, the Dutch raced to 84-1 in 11 overs before Ravi Bopara’s stint of 115 limited them to 133-5. In reply, England were all out for just 88 as Bopara topscored with 18. England’s 45-run loss echoed the four-wicket reverse they suffered at the hands of the Dutch at Lord’s in 2009. If 12 defeats in 13 matches against Australia on the Ashes tour was difficult to explain, a comprehensive thrashing by a part-time team who do not play Test cricket was even more difficult to fathom. It was certainly difficult viewing for interim coach Ashley Giles in his quest to be given the job on a permanent basis. “Today was pretty

embarrassing, it was a poor, poor performance,” Giles said. “I still believe I can do the job for England, it’s for other people to decide whether I can or not.” In their first afternoon match of the tournament - and so with dew less of a factor England opted to field first and were still guilty of three dropped chances of varying degrees of difficulty. The Netherlands, who lost by only six runs to South Africa, made an impressive start with six fours in the first three overs as they rattled up 32. Jade Dernbach, who conceded 26 in his final over against the South Africans, was omitted in favour of leftarm spinner Stephen Parry, but the Lancastrian was also expensive, conceding 15 from his opening six balls. With England’s bowlers beginning to restrict the scoring, Chris Jordan produced a moment of magic when he ran back from midoff and nonchalantly caught

the ball in his left hand, before pouching his dislodged sunglasses with similar panache in his right. But though only two fours and a six were scored in the final nine overs, that catch proved to be the solitary highlight for England. Against innocuous medium pace bowling, the batting disintegrated. Of the three players to reach double figures, only Jordan scored at a run a ball. Alex Hales, a matchwinning centurion as England beat the top-ranked T20 side Sri Lanka last week, missed with an attempted pull and was bowled in the fifth over as England fell to 42-5 at the halfway stage. Hopes rested with Bopara but he was caught in the deep in the 16th over, another England batsman powerless to prevent defeat. Scores: Netherlands 133 for 5 (Barresi 48) beat England 88 (van Beek 3-9, Bukhari 3-12) by 45 runs.

Saqlain: Windies in my heart

Saqlain Mushtaq (centre) is flanked by Sunil Narine (left) and Samuel Badree (WICB) DHAKA, Bangladesh — Saqlain Mushtaq, the legendary Pakistani off-spinner, will face his own country when West Indies take on Pakistan in the ICC World T20 2014 today. Saqlain is West Indies’ spin bowling coach and said that he wears the West Indies logo on his heart and hopes his team crosses the line tomorrow. The winner of today’s game will then take the second spot in the Group 2 of the Super 10s, making their way into the semi-final. Speaking to the media ahead of the crucial clash Saqlain said: “From a religious point of view, I can’t predict anything: Who will win tomorrow or what will happen tomorrow? But, we can say that the team that will play well, that will win. You can’t predict anything. Obviously, my wishes are with my team and my team is West Indies. This is a part of my faith and belief: I have to be honest and I will be honest.” Saqlain then went on to point to the West Indies logo on his jersey and said that this should not only be worn on the body, but on the heart. He has found a space in the West

Indies dressing room. “It is a great opportunity for me and it is an honour for me that I am working for a great team. When I was little, I admired them (West Indies) because of the great players like Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers. “When I had a call from the head coach and Director of Cricket of the West Indies, I thought it is a great opportunity for me. The shirt is not on my body, the logo is not on my body, it should be on the heart,” Saqlain said. Saqlain is a leading proponent of the art of doosra, as he introduced the innovation to cricket. When asked about Saeed Ajmal and whether the West Indies batsmen consult him, Saqlain said, “As you know, Saeed Ajmal has been playing for Pakistan for quite a few years. So, technology is already evolving. Obviously, when the batsmen come to me, and they want to ask anything about Saeed Ajmal, obviously I have to speak about him, what he does, how he bowls the off-spin or whatever. “That is the part of the job. But the thing is, if you see the technology, that tells you everything. So, there is nothing hidden,” Saqlain said.

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

FOUR CHANGES MADE! Crandon feels lack of confidence & negativity contributed to Guyana’s poor performance By Sean Devers Four changes have been made for Guyana’s next match in the 2014 Regional Four-day cricket competition against the Leeward Islands in Antigua. Test players Narsingh Deonarine, Devendra Bishoo and Shiv Chanderpaul along with West Indies t20 player Christopher Barnwell have been replaced by pacer Ronsford Beaton, who returns from injury, offspinner Zaheer Mohamed, opener Trevon Griffith and West Indies under-19 lefthanded batsman Shemron Hetymer who could make his First-Class debut this season. Deonarine took seven wickets for 179 runs but had a nightmare with the bat with scores of 0 & 38, 0 & 0, 0 & 38, and 19 & 0. Barnwell did not deliver with the bat. He had scores of 34 & 14, 2 & 4, 13 & 4, and 22 & 11. He captured one fourwicket haul against Windward Islands (4/54) but nothing substantial in the other matches, while Bishoo had mixed fortunes with a total of 13 wickets for 366 runs. He captured one fivewicket haul (5/71) against Barbados but struggled to get

Ronsford Beaton

Shimron Hetmyer

batsmen out after that. Chanderpaul opted to leave the team to play in the English County Championships. After returning from injury he played two matches but did not flourish with the bat as many would have expected. He had scores of 26 & 18, and 8 & 26. While Barnwell’s omission has raised a few eyebrows, major changes to the struggling team were not surprising and Guyana’s Coach Esaun Crandon feels that several reasons contributed to the team’s poor showing in their first four

matches. “There were many reasons why we did not perform to our best against Jamaica, Barbados, the Windwards and CCC and I am hoping that those selected for our next match from Friday in Antigua play for pride and our country. We are the only team with someone who has not scored a century and this is a great opportunity for one of our batters to put his hand up and get a century for himself and his country,” a disappointed Crandon said. The 32-year-old who has 90 wickets from 38 First-Class games, lamented a lack of

Pakistan v West Indies, World T20, Group 2, Mirpur

Teams battle for last semi-final spot ESPNcricinfo - It is a knockout scenario for both teams, with the winner going through to the semi-finals. They have the same number of wins (two) and points (four) but the defending champions West Indies enjoy a higher net run-rate, +1.223, against Pakistan’s +0.893. In the event of a washout West Indies will go through on their higher net run-rate, but the forecast is for clear weather. Pakistan batted first in their last three games but they are yet to be tested chasing a target. West Indies, on the contrary, have defended and chased targets in the group stage. Hence, the toss could be a decisive factor for Pakistan. Both teams have quality spinners and are capable of posting big scores. Both lost their opening matches to India but bounced back strongly to register successive victories against Australia and Bangladesh. The contest today will be their first ever meeting in a World T20. They have played just three T20s in two bilateral series since 2011, with Pakistan winning their last two encounters in 2013. IN THE SPOTLIGHT Though he has scores of 34, 48 and 53, Chris Gayle hasn’t exploded in the manner he is known for. He was unusually cautious against Bangladesh, scoring a run-a-ball 48. However, bowlers like Saeed Ajmal cannot be complacent against him and will have to guard against a backlash from Gayle.

confidence, players playing for their positions, a general lack of urgency by most of the batsmen while not turning over the strike, having to play ‘catch-up’ cricket most of the time and not enough control by the bowlers were among the reason for Guyana only being able to amass 17 points among three losses and draw. “After a while I felt the guys lost confidence and began playing for their positions more than for the team. We did not make a bigger effort to score quicker and rotate the strike because they didn’t want to take too many risks and get out,” the former fast bowler opined. “We batted too slowly at the top in the first innings and this put pressure on the batsmen to come which meant we were always playing catch up cricket. Our plan was to bat five sessions. If we had done and scored at a reasonable rate we would have made over 400 runs and gotten some batting bonus points,” the Berbician explained. Crandon said he was expecting more from the spinners since most of the other spinners in the competition tied down the Guyanese batsmen. “Although (Veerasammy) Permaul has the most wickets (27) in the competition he also conceded the most runs in the tournament and released the pressure on the batsmen at crucial times. Bishoo had the second most wickets for us but he bowled too many bad balls,” Crandon disclosed.

Anand Sanasie

Esaun Crandon

Crandon was quick to point out that while the bowlers, especially the new ball attack against CCC were taken apart by Shacaya Thomas, the bowlers tried but too many times the Guyana first innings score was so small that we could not maintain attacking fields for long. “The pacers did not pick up early wickets often enough and the opposition batsmen jumped on us,” Crandon added. “I know the people in Guyana are very disappointed with us right now but if we can win our next two games for the people and if a few of our batters, especially the young ones, can make a century or two I believe a few people will be happy even if we can’t win the tournament anymore,” Crandon continued. When asked if Shiv Chanderpaul was ever asked to bat higher in the order, Crandon informed that Skipper Leon Johnson did so and the veteran left-hander said the younger players should be allowed to bat before him. The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) put everything in place to ensure that the team was

well prepared and the Executives are very disappointed with the team’s results and the selfish attitude of some of the players. “We (GCB) held a meeting with the team management and we are of the view that they (Guyana team) were playing as individuals and not as a team. We have made some major changes and at the end of the tournament we will do a post mortem and try to devise plans for the way forward,” GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie revealed. Sanasie said that he was hoping for an improved performance in the remaining games since the Board invested heavily in the team’s preparation this year. The team, which departs today for Antigua reads: Leon Johnson (Captain), Assad Fudadin, Amir Khan, Trevon Griffith, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Zaheer Mohamed, Ronsford Beaton, Anthony Bramble, Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Raun Johnson, Keon Joseph, Chanderpaul Hemraj. The Coach is Esaun Crandon and the Manager is Alvin Johnson.

Football fixed for Walton Hall ground on the Essequibo April 12

Malik is yet to fire and he hasn’t been utilised with the ball © BCCI With every passing game, Shoaib Malik’s role in the side comes under the scanner. He has scores of 18, 6* and 26, and hasn’t bowled (Continued on page 25)

Football fans on the Essequibo Coast and Moruca, Region One are filling with expectancy as the annual floodlight football competition is scheduled to commence at the Walton Hall ground, on the 12th of April. Popular businessman and Organizer, Wayne Moore said preparations are unfolding smoothly as a lot of prospective footballers continue to show interest in the upcoming games. Moore explained that while twelve teams would be competing in the games with an inclusion of two female teams, Essequibo footballers are being engaged in a football league currently with the expectancy to have teams

Businessman Wayne Moore from the Region to be registered. Games are scheduled to kick off at 3:00PM after the opening ceremony which will

see the march past of teams. The games are expected to be graced with the presence of the President of the Guyana Football Federation, Christopher Matthias, Regional Chairman, Parmanand Persaud and the commander of “G” Division, Mr. Adonis. Moore said the games promise to be exciting with a lot of spectators expected. The businessman also indicated that sponsorship for the event has been already garnered. On board are Banks DIH, Original Juice Center in Charity, The W.D Mall at Charity and another business entity from Georgetown. Moruca are the reigning champion.

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Alpha MMA/Rising Sun Judo Hats off to Dojos hold in-club tournament Nestle Milo

The outstanding performers take timeout for a photo after the competition. Sister clubs Alpha MMA and Rising Sun Judo and JiuJitsu held their first in-club competition for the year on March 30 and revitalized old rivalries within the two clubs. Reigning national

Judo champion Randy Phillips, former national champion Raul Lall, Tidiane Ba among others, all seemed sure to please the small crowd and overcome each other, but as the news broke

that the formats for both men and women would be contested as opens, everyone knew that it would ultimately come down to good application of techniques and experience.

However, even as certain things seemed inevitable, young heavyweight prospects Kiefer Robin and Reeaz Khan seemed hell bent on upsetting the big guns and cementing their place among the more established fighters by producing creditable performances. Randy Phillips and Raul Lall have now met each other in three finals, with the latter seemingly now attempting to square everything up. Norissa Yong pipped her younger sister Celina to claim the women’s open. The results were as follows: Men’s open- gold medal- Raul Lall, silver medal- Randy Phillips, 1st bronze medal-Tidiane Ba, 2nd bronze medal- Kiefer Robin. Women’s open- gold medal- Norissa Yong, silver medal- Celina Yong. The organisers would like to thank sponsor International Technical Supplies for helping to make the event possible.

PPYC wins Relay Championships

Police Sports Officer, Deputy Superintendent, Colin Boyce (left) presents the winning cheque to Police Progressive Youth Club on Sunday at the Police Sports Club, Eve Leary. The Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) won the Relay Championship they hosted at Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary on Sunday. The Club amassed 116 points to win the event ahead of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), which finished second with 88 points and Christianburg/ Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) that ended third with 78 points. Olympian, Winston George put on a show for his Police Club, leading his team to wins in the 4x200m win in 1:31.7 seconds and 4x400m in 3:27.7 seconds. In the 4x200m, GDF was

second in 1:33.0, while CWSS was third in 1:39.9 seconds. The same order ensued in the 4x400m as GDF finished second in 3:36.2s, while CWSS was third in 4:00.3s. Police also captured the Female 4x100, 4x200, 4x400 and Medley Relay events in 52.1s, 1:47.6s, 4:14.3s and 1:52.5s respectively. Meanwhile, in the Hits and Jams Entertainment-sponsored schools’ event, St John’s College won overall with 74 points while Kingston High School was second with 43 points and

Tutorial High School third with 35 points. Queenstown Secondary finished fourth with 26 points. St John’s was completely dominant with wins in the male and female medley, male and female 4x400m, the male 4x100m and the male 4x200m races. PPYC Coach, Lyndon Wilson thanked their sponsors which included, GuyOil, MaCorp, Digicel, Wartsila, Hits and Jams Entertainment and former Commissioner of the Police, Leroy Brummell for their support in hosting the annual competition.

Anyone attempting to compare the standard of play witnessed last year and what is being exhibited in the current competition would immediately distinguish the rise in technical and tactical skills between the two editions. Thanks to Nestle under its Milo brand, schools within the Georgetown environs have been afforded a great opportunity to not only keep certain students in their respective institutions, but more importantly it has provided some students who’re not academically inclined with another option to make a positive mark in their lives once an enabling environment is sustained. Milo, whose association with the Petra Organisation is well established and known, must be commended for its foresight and care in honouring its social responsibility in giving back to the society. Through its sponsorship dollars, the level of the game has risen within Georgetown and while the company has not been the sole entity to assist in this regard, its role should never be ignored. The admirable attendance at the games, the interaction between the schools and players, the opportunity for scouts to spot talent and the advice

being offered by aficionados are all valuable, but would not be possible without the support from Milo. This weekend when the competition is scheduled to culminate, all the participating schools, teachers, Petra Organisation, fans and all the other related stakeholders should take their hats off and salute Milo for once again fulfilling its c i v i c d u t y, b u t m o r e importantly playing a significant role in the development of our young aspiring ball weavers. The tournament has helped to build friendships, create an environment to foster teamwork, a much needed ingredient in team sports and most of all enhance the skills of the players. The tournaments to follow will certainly benefit immensely from what Milo has done and what comes next, especially during the upcoming Digicel competition, will be a gratifying spectacle for the fans and scouts. The players have r e s p o n d e d t o M i l o ’s extended investment which is extensive and no doubt Saturday’s final and third place playoff will be sufficient compensation for the sponsor ’s trust in supporting a quality product.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 01, 2014

“From Mecca to Mackenzie” Basketball Playoff continues momentum - GABF President

FLASHBACK! MVP of the finals, Dominic Vincente (left) during the Final at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on March 23. Vincente will be in action in Linden Saturday night taking on Dwight McKinnon (#7) and others from Retrieve Raiders.

F

ollowing the successful hosting of the National Basketball Club Championships at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in

Georgetown, the six best teams in the competition will relive the euphoria Saturday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Court in Linden.

Labeled ‘From Mecca to Mackenzie’ Basketball P l a y o ff s , t h e G u y a n a Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) has sanctioned the one-night

contest on Saturday, stating that two notable developments are expected to emanate from the competition. “Two positives are noted from the scheduling of this event: (1) Those who reside in Linden will have an opportunity to see the very best clubs from Georgetown play premier basketball clubs in Linden,” GABF President, Nigel Hinds said in giving the event his blessing. According to Hinds, the Linden clubs will have “home advantage”. The Georgetown Clubs will travel to Linden to take on Linden’s best. The aim is to give Linden an opportunity to support its teams in entertaining rematches, similarly to the way the Georgetown teams were supported at the Sports Hall. “From Mecca to Mackenzie Basketball Playoffs” will build on the positives and the momentum achieved during the “Road to Mecca” National Basketball

Stoby and Morian-Callender win GKRS Fun Run

Club Championships held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall,” was the other positive Hinds highlighted. Popularly known as the Mecca of local basketball, the Sports Hall, the fame shifts to MSC for an enthralling night of competition that features the National Championship Game rematch, Ravens taking on Linden’s Retrieve Raiders in the final game of the night. The night’s proceedings is scheduled to start at 7pm with Linden’s Kings coming up against the Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters, which will be a battle among the number one ranked teams in Linden and Georgetown, according to both Leagues. However, Kings and Pacesetters finished outside of the Final Four, losing in the quarterfinals of the N a t i o n a l C l u b Championships. What a game to start the night! Rivalries from the get-go with two familiar foes

Registration ongoing for GSCL Inc. Independence Cup

R

Marketing Manager of Western Union Mrs.Natheeah King-Mendonca (centre) poses with Men’s and Ladies champions Reuben Stoby ( at her immediate right) and Adel Morian-Callender (her immediate left) and second and third place finishers on Sunday.

R

euben Stoby representing the Media and Adel MorianCallender from Guyana Power & Light Company easily won their respective categories when Grace Kennedy Remittance Services (GKRS) held its Stakeholders Fun Run over 1600 metres on Sunday from Sherriff Street and Rupert Craig Highway to the Seawall Bandstand. Stoby and Morian-Callender led home a fair-sized field of starters over the finish line to cart off the gold medals and hampers which were presented to them by Marketing Manager Natheeah

King- Mendonca on behalf of the Company. In the men’s segment, Stoby beat into second place Akeem Bowen of Guardians Basketball Club and Akeem Johnson, while for the Ladies MorianCallender held off Tonia Marks and Ninia Benjamin respectively. Also taking to the starting line were individuals from Private and Public Sector entities along with fitness enthusiasts. According to a release from GKRS, the aim of the Run, which was the first of its kind to be hosted by the company,

was to engage stakeholders in a fun, but meaningful and healthy way, adding that when persons choose to live healthy lifestyles, they will be more effective and efficient at work. The release encouraged individuals to adapt healthy eating habits and exercise daily so that they can make a valuable contribution not only to their respective organisations of work, but to the wider society. The company in the past had hosted cricket and football matches and dominoes competitions and games night as part of its stakeholders event.

renewing an old grudge that dates back to years. Following that game, Georgetown’s Colts take on Amelia’s Ward Jets in a replay of the third place game from the National Championship; the game is scheduled for 8:30pm as the main encounter comes up at 10pm between Ravens and Raiders. As part of the policy of the Guyana Basketball Officials’ Council (GBOC), all games will start on time with teams being asked to be at the venue an hour before. Failure to comply with GBOC rules could result in teams forfeiting games. Comedian, Chow Pow will host the halftime shows with the “GABF taking this opportunity to wish Sports Management Inc. (the group hosting the event) a successful venture.” $50,000 will be up for grabs in each of the three games, winner-takes-all. The big question will be: Can Georgetown beat Linden in Linden?

egistration for the inaugural Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL Inc) Republic Cup is currently ongoing. The tournament, which will see teams battle in three categories; Masters, Open and Female, is set for May 3, 4 and 5, at various venues in the city, culminating with the finals at the Everest Cricket Club. Teams are reminded that registration can be done through Assistant Secretary/Treasurer of the GSCL Inc Russell Jadbeer on 225-4802, 226-4205 0r 626-8228, while the launching of the tournament will be held at the GNIC Sports Club on a date and time to be announced. The final is expected to be broadcasted live on NCN radio and teams desirous of competing in the Open and Masters categories are asked to pay an entrance fee of $110, 000 and $100 000 respectively, while the GSCL Inc. is looking at accommodating six female teams which are asked to pay an entrance fee of $25,000 each. Among the teams expected to battle in the open category for a top prize of $800, 000 and a trophy are Regal XI, Wolf’s Warriors, Trophy Stall, Memorex and Speed Boat; the runners-up will receive $200 000. In the Masters division, the winners will take home $500, 000 and the runners-up $200, 000, while the female winners will receive $100, 000 and the losing finalists $50, 000. The GSCL Inc. will be providing the Supreme balls to be used by teams competing in the Open and Female categories, while for the Masters category the big ball will be utilized, even as round hand and wrist bowling will be tolerated. Some of the grounds identified to be used for this tournament, which promises to be an annual affair, are Demerara Cricket Club, Ministry of Education, Carifesta Sports Complex, Muslim Youth Organisation, Guyana National Industrial Corporation, St Stanislaus and Everest.

Tuesday April 01, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 35

GCB/Igloo ice cream Inter-County 2-day U-15 tournament...

Rain helps President’s X1 draw with Demerara RAINS RUINS 2-day Inter-County U-15 cricket

Christopher Campbell cover drives during his 50 for the President’s X1 at DCC yesterday.

By Sean Devers A heavy shower helped the President’s X1 to a draw against Demerara at DCC yesterday on the second and final day of their Igloo IceCream under-15 two-day cricket contest which was called off just after Lunch with the home team in a commanding position to force an innings victory. Scores: President’s X1 (71 & 97-7), Demerara (235-4). In 55 minutes available yesterday, the President’s X1 lost four wickets while adding 60 runs as the visitors were led by a quick-fire 57 from overnight batsman Christopher Campbell from 90 minutes, 71 balls and nine fours as he provided an entertaining period for the handful of spectators. Off-spinner Sagar Hathiramani was again the architect of destruction with 3-17 to finish with match figures of 8-28 and leaving the visitors still 67 short of avoiding an innings defeat with just three wickets to fall. Joshua Persaud was named Man-of-the-Match for his magnificent century for Demerara. The President’s X1 resumed on 37-3 in murky conditions and quickly lost Chandradat Veerasammy for a duck when he was bowled by pacer Colin Barlow at 414. Khemchand Hardyal and Christopher Campbell added 33 for the fifth wicket before Hardyal sacrificed his wicket for the well entrenched Campbell and was run out for four at 74-5. The left-handed Campbell from GNIC

looked technically correct and was especially severe on medium pacer Bhojnarine Singh, caressing him delightfully through the covers and savagely pulling him to the mid-wicket boundary. An elegant whip off his legs reached the ropes in a hurry and climaxed an entertaining over which cost 13 runs. Campbell repeated the dose in Singh’s next over which cost 12 and his third boundary of the over brought up Campbell’s 50 from just 46 balls with nine fours. Just when he seemed set for a big score under dark, angry skies, Campbell, who began the day on 19, was removed at 95-6 by first innings destroyer Hathiramani who again tormented the batsmen with his clever off-spin. Shivnarine Chattergoon was caught at mid-on for a duck as Hathiramani struck again without addition to the score before the skies opened up two runs later at 10:31hrs and sent the players dashing for cover. Mark Ramsammy was unbeaten on 11, while Brandon Corlette was yet to score with their team still needing 67 to make the defending champions bat a

Man-of-the-Match Joshua Persaud. second time. Demerara collected six points for achieving a first innings lead while the draw ensured the President’s X1 got three points. Under the bonus points for fast bowlers taking wickets instituted by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Demerara

Georgetown to hold U-19 trials I

n preparation for the upcoming Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) under-19 tournament, thirty three Georgetown players are invited to a two-day training session to be held at Demerara Cricket Club Ground from 15:00hrs today and tomorrow. Gavin Nedd, the former national off spin bowler will be conducting the training sessions which include several national under-19 players. The list of players: Michael Shalim, Kemol Savoury, Cleon McEwan, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Sherfane

Rutherford, Clitus Johnson, Sunil Singh, Joshua Ram, Keon Moriss, Carlton Jacques, Tariq Dharamlall, Yekini Favourite, Gavin Sookdeo, Shaquille Moseley, Dale Mendonca, Steven Sankar, Nomechandra Persaud, Javadev Mana, Daniel Manohar, Julia Ferreira, Raju Sookdeo, Robendra Rooplall, Manny Forde, Travis Marcellino, Keiron Hetsburger, Akeem Redman, Christian Husbands, Zochery Hamer, Bilal Jabar, Omar Abdel, Amit Ally and Ryan Fung. For more information players can contact Coach Nedd on telephone number 617-9381.

added another four points to their tally for taking four wickets with pace, while the President’s X1 got an additional point for their lone wicket to pace. According to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Competition’s Committee Chairman, Colin Europe, it was decided by the GCB to award one point for every wicket taken by a fast bowler instead of the .5 awarded at the Regional level. This was done to minimize confusion among the public. Coach Julian Moore said it was unfortunate that rain spoiled the match but was grateful for the points gained by his team for the draw. “We had only one practice session together while the Berbice side was together for a while. You must remember that our team comprises of players from all three Counties which compounded the problem,” said Berbician Moore. He however feels that his side has a good chance of winning the tournament since he has seen an improvement in the second innings which shows the youths are capable of competing although they were those who could not make their county sides. “There is talent in the team and we have to work with them on a one-on-one basis and let them understand what it takes mentally to be successful as they go higher in their career. But that takes time and we don’t have that luxury in such a short tournament,” said Moore. The tournament continues tomorrow and Thursday when the President’s X1 face Berbice at Wales and Demerara and E s s e q u i b o f a c e - o ff a t Enmore.

POSSIBLE B’CE VICTORY Steven Deonarine collects his man of the match prize from match referee Reon King.

By Zaheer Mohamed Berbice were in a strong position for an outright victory against Essequibo before play was called off due to rain on the second and final day of the first round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Igloo Ice Cream U15 2-day inter county tournament yesterday. Trailing by 70 runs, Essequibo were in trouble at 20-5 off 11 overs when the rain came at the Everest Cricket Club in the opening session. Opener Shane Wong (00) was the first to go, the right hander was run out when he took off for a single after cutting a delivery to point and his partner Arnold Adams failed to respond. Darshanand Indar struck two fours before he was bowled by medium pacer

Junior Williams at 14-2. It soon became 15-3 when Orlando Jailall (01) flashed at a wide delivery and was taken at second slip off left arm pacer Stephen Kamaledeen. Kamaledeen then trapped Shamar Dusraj (00) LBW at 19-4, while Williams had Joshua Jones (00) caught and bowled before the showers came. Adams was left not out on four and Vishal Singh yet to score. Kamaledeen ended with 2-9 off six overs and Williams 2-4 from five. Steven Deonarine, who top scored for Berbice in the first innings with 44, was given the man of the match award. Berbice gained six points and Essequibo three. Scores: Essequibo 124 all out in 38 overs and 20-5, Berbice 194-7 in 38 overs.

EDFA U-17 tourney...

Buxton Utd. and BVTU to clash in final on Saturday

B

uxton United and BV Triumph United will clash on Saturday to determine the Under-17 champions of the East Demerara Football Association (EDFA) at the Buxton Community Centre Ground from 16:00hrs. This game will be preceded by the third place match-up between Ann’s Grove United and Golden Stars from 14:00hrs. In semi-final play, BV Triumph United needled Golden Stars, while Buxton United hammered Ann’s Grove 4-0. The EDFA in an effort to ensure that they are successful in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Inter Association competition, which is scheduled to start shortly, says it will be approaching Ansa McAl Trading to sponsor the team.

t r o Sp

Pakistan v West Indies, World T20, Group 2, Mirpur

Sri Lanka bowl out Teams battle for New Zealand for 60 last semi-final spot The Sri Lankans gather to celebrate a stunning win. (Getty Images)

Rangana Herath had figures of 5 for 3. (Getty Images)

DISMAL ENGLAND lose to Netherlands AAG names Will Chris Gayle explode in a major way today. (zimbo)

nine athletes

Netherlands are elated with the run-out of Tim Bresnan. (Getty Images)

for CARIFTA

Games

- 2013 bronze medalist, Mitchell not included

Kadecia Baird

Brenessa Thompson

Jason Yaw

Jevina Sampson

Mudassar Bukhari roars after dismissing Michael Lumb. (AFP)

PPYC wins Relay C/ships

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