Kaieteur News

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Millions of dollars in belongings went up in flames yesterday when a fire of an unknown origin destroyed a six-bedroom two-storey residence at L27 1021 Latchmansingh Street, Tucville, a little after 16:00hrs .

The property belonged to Simone Beckles, a senior manager of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA),

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whose 16-year-old son, Shaquille Munroe, was the only occupant at the time.

The young man was asleep in his bedroom, but was awakened by stifling smoke and intense heat from flames that quickly engulfed the building after he narrowly escaped.

Firefighters, with the use of water from a tiny gutter nearby, were able to contain

the blaze to the solitary building, although another house to its west was slightly damaged.

Young Munroe, dressed only in boxer shorts, said that he was resting in his bedroom when smoke began to fill the surroundings. After making checks, he said he noticed that the smoke was coming from the front bedroom, the one which his

mother occupied.

The teen said he then began to call out for his neighbours before dashing for safety. One neighbour, Christopher Munroe, who lives to the north of the burnt-out building, said he was in his home reading newspapers when he heard breaking noises.

“I was looking at some papers when I hear like glass breaking next door… like somebody breaking up a car windscreen. I thought was a quarrel or a row, but then I hear loud talking and when I pull the blind I see smoke coming from the front room.”

Christopher Munroe said that within minutes the whole house was in flames.

The neighbour recalled that persons began to call out for the boy (Shaquille Munroe) inside the house, but they got no answer. He said that neighbours became confused and frightened

Wednesday April 11, 2012

since they could not locate the teen. It was not until numerous calls were made for the young man that he emerged from the house, some five to six minutes after the smoke was seen emanating from the building.

Another neighbour, Lennox Robertson, whose house suffered damage from the heat, said he was alerted

by Shaquille Munroe that his home was on fire. The man said he was sitting in the bottom flat of his house when the teenager came over. Robertson said he quickly summoned the fire service who responded approximately 20 minutes later.

Robertson said he along with other males in his company contemplated entering the house to see what they could have salvaged, but the fire developed so quickly that it would have been an exercise

in futility.

He opined that the teen made it out of the house in the nick of time. All the windows on the side of Robertson's house facing the burnt building were broken as a result of the heat while the paint work was also affected.

Shortly before the fire was extinguished, the owner of the home, Simone Beckles, was seen heading towards her neighbour's residence. While being comforted by the gentleman, a tearful Beckles lamented that “my whole life's work has gone up in flames.” A number of GRA employees were also present.

Shaquille Munroe said that to his knowledge everything in the house was turned off, except for a fan that he was using in his room. The teen said that it was a shock to witness the devastation. Fire officials are investigating.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

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Budget debate…

AFC wants transfer of $35B from NICIL - slashing of bloated Ministries The Alliance For Change (AFC), which holds seven seats in the National Assembly, yesterday called for government to transfer billions of dollars, said to be held by the controversial state-controlled National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to the Consolidated Fund.

According to Moses Nagamootoo, senior executive and AFC Parliamentarian, there is an estimated $35B that is supposed to be in the custody of NICIL, which handles sale proceeds of government assets.

He was at the time addressing the National Assembly as the week-long debate began on the 2012 National Budget.

Nagamootoo also called for government to re-examine the budget, to “comb it for waste” and to find a way

the rental of Caterpillar generators for GPL when it could have been bought; the controversial Marriott Hotel in which US$21M of taxpayers’ money is slated to be spent in yet unclear circumstances; the Amaila Falls Hydro project, the cost of which is still mounting and the recently a n n o u n c e d s a l e o f t h e 2 0 % shares government has in GT&T to a Hong Kong company for US$30M. “No mention was made of this sale in the budget, though our coffers have been getting some $500M annually from our GT&T shares.”

According to Nagamootoo, the sale of the GT&T shares has raised some troubling questions, including whether the deal was a good one. The AFC MP pointed out that Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh is “intimately” involved as

“We have to use the cutting knife on salaries of the over-bloated Ministerial bureaucracy, on travel on first-class tickets, and allowances to stay at five-star hotels. We must end the travesty of producing champions in globe-trotting whilst our pensioners go without bread”- Moses Nagamootoo where moneys could be found to help disadvantaged workers, pensioners and other vulnerable groups.

“We have to use the cutting knife on salaries of the over-bloated Ministerial bureaucracy, on travel on first-class tickets and allowances to stay at five-star hotels. We must end the travesty of producing champions in globe-trotting whilst our pensioners go without bread.”

According to Nagamootoo, a former senior executive of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) who joined the AFC shortly before elections last November, the administration continues to be saddled with one controversy after another, including contracts for drugs, the US$15.4M Amaila Falls road project, computer and book scams, and host of other damning allegations.

CORRUPTION Nagamootoo also cited the $300M Hydroclave waste disposal system for the Georgetown Hospital which cost appears unusually high;

Chairman of NICIL’s Board, and he should ensure that proceeds of the US$30M (G$6B) be paid to the Consolidated Fund, which is the central account that controls all government funds.

“It is in the interest of all working people that all funds held in special accounts like NICIL and the Lottery be paid into the Consolidated Fund, since the reasons that have been advanced year after year for wage restraint, was lack of affordability.”

Nagamootoo insisted that the intention of any budget should be to reduce poverty, but this was not reflected in what was presented.

ACUTE POVERTY “Yes, I agree that our economy has grown…but notwithstanding the boasts of achievements, there is still acute poverty in Guyana.”

Nagamootoo slammed the “princely” increase of $600 monthly for old age pension from $7,500 to $8,100 and social assistance - by $400 to $5,900 - as totally inadequate. “Indeed, the

AFC MP Moses Nagamootoo meagre pension and social assistance is not a lifeline, but a suicide belt.”

The AFC executive insists that it is a glaring indictment of failure by government that it admits 19% of Guyanese lived in extreme poverty in 2006 while another 36% exists in moderate poverty…the more serious impact being felt in rural and hinterland communities.”

“The budget has failed to provide any innovation in new agricultural schemes and industrial zones that would reduce joblessness and prevent the housing revolution from becoming a bubble.

“Instead, we continue to pour large sums into capital infrastructural projects, mostly with borrowed moneys. The latest is for a new international airport for airbuses and jumbo jets, when we don’t even have a national carrier or own a domestic airplane. I am afraid this is a Panday-like Piarco project, the likes of which got him into all kinds of troubles that have attracted criminal charges.”

Nagamootoo also stressed that Guyana has, with a population of 750,000, one of the highest per capita debts in the world. “Each child born in the Jagdeo/ Ramotar era would henceforth carry a debt tag at birth of $333,333.”

Five Venezuelan nationals were yesterday sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to five counts of robbery under arms when they appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The men had been accused of robbing a number of persons at gunpoint while in the Wenamu River, Cuyuni.

Josau Medina, 19, Jhosmel Jose Eurealuces, 18, Jhon Marcano Munoz, 20, Ramon Bermudez, 18, and Jonathan Benitez, 20, were charged jointly for the crime.

The charge stated that on April 4, the accused with the use of a gun robbed Racquel Lopez, Frank Lopez, Gena Hernandez, Hector Martin and Mohan Lall.

It was established that the victims were travelling to Eldorado, Venezuela, when the attack occurred. The police claimed that Mohan Lall was the driver of a power boat that was taking the other persons to their destination, but during their journey, in the vicinity of Tamarind Island, the boat ran aground and stopped next to some rocks. The five men emerged from bushes on the island and attacked the victims with a shotgun, cutlasses and knives.

Prior to the joint charges being read, a separate charge was read to Josau Medina, who pleaded guilty to having an illegal shotgun and three 12-gauge cartridges of ammunition in his possession. The police said that based on information received, the GDF and GPF ranks went to the scene of the crime and the gun and ammo were recovered in the youngster’s possession.

The lawmen however had their work cut out because it was soon discovered that there was a mix-up with the names. It was eventually revealed that the wrong man had been sentenced on the gun charge. The wrong name was written on the case docket although the correct man had answered to the charge. He explained that in

The five Venezuelans in the compound of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court

his country, he was licenced to carry the gun. He however had no licence for Guyana.

Medina was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment along with a $10,000 fine each for unlawful possession of arms and ammunition.

During the robbery, the men took from Racquel Lopez, a BlackBerry cell phone and charger and US$8 totaling $61,600. From Frank Lopez - four and half ounces of raw gold, a bottle of perfume, $18 Bolivian currency, one gold scale and a BlackBerry Torch, all to the value of $1,774,940.

The men took from

Hernandez a quantity of artificial jewellery valued $150,000. Martin lost 10 pennyweight of raw gold valued $160,000. Lall also lost a quantity of raw gold (6 ounces), and a cell phone and charger, a total value of $2,312,000.

After the men had relieved the victims of their valuables, they tied them up and made good their escape in the bushes. The police said one of the victims was able to escape, and subsequently (Continued on page 7)

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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

INDIA: To be or not to be (a superpower) Following the BRICS meeting last month in India, there was some buzz about the latter nation becoming a superpower.

Interestingly around the same time, the London School of Economics (LSE), which has been extremely influential in exBritish colonies, issued a report that posed the proposition in the form of a question: India: the Next Superpower?

The report is an explicit riposte to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s unequivocal statement when she visited India in 2009: “I consider India not just a regional power, but a global power.” Following the success of economic liberalisation in the 1990s, which generated growth rates in excess of 8%, its cultural dynamism and a rising middle class, expectations have grown that India might become a superpower, particularly in a West that sees in India’s democratic heritage the potential for strategic partnership.

But was Clinton’s statement justified?

While acknowledging the above pluses, the report concludes that these are nullified by its structural weaknesses, widespread corruption, poor leadership, extreme social divisions, religious extremism and internal security threats.

India, it argues, still faces too many “developmental challenges” to qualify for “superpower” status, or to be considered a serious “counterweight” to China, a role sought to be thrust on it by some in the West. Some of the report’s authors wonder whether India should even aspire to be a superpower, given its institutional weaknesses and social and economic divisions.

The report notes that additionally, “India has tripled its defence expenditure over the last decade to become one of the top-ten military spenders. But plunging the knife into Indian ambitions, the report says: “Still, for all India’s success, its undoubted importance and despite its undisputed potential, there is cause for caution in assessing India’s claim to superpower status. India still faces major developmental challenges. The still-entrenched divisions of caste structure are being compounded by the emergence of new inequalities of wealth stemming from India’s economic success.

India’s democracy may have thrived in a manner that few ever expected, but its institutions face profound challenges from embedded nepotism and corruption. India’s economic success continues to come with an environmental cost that is unsustainable.”

These problems are compounded by India’s “pressing security preoccupations” arising out of “insurgent violence” affecting large parts of the country and long-festering crossborder disputes. The best that India can hope for—the study offers as a consolation— is “to continue to play a constructive international role in, among other things, the financial diplomacy of the G20”.

There was one intriguing retort which answered the LSE’s Report with another question: Who says India wants to be a superpower? A superpower, the analyst noted, should have the ability to both exert influence and exercise power in its areas of interest, wherever that may be across the globe.

Today, that area has extended into the realms of outer space.

Some even believe that true superpower status is reflected in a willingness to engineer regime changes to protect your own way of life or interests, or even to pursue altruistic agendas of “keeping the world a safer place to live in.”

The author is convinced that “No Indian in his right mind, leave alone policymakers and strategists, could ever dream of subscribing to such fanciful ambitions.” Outlining India’s historical rejection of foreign excursions, he reasons that modern India, ravaged for two centuries by colonial exploitation, is still a nation in the making, benignly looking outward in recent times, primarily to seek energy resources and develop its vast human capital.

On the question of ‘hard power’ in relation to “superpower status”, he points out, “Capability is never equal to power unless it is backed by intent and willingness to use the power in pursuit of national interests. And concludes, “India’s development of force projection capability has always been governed by an overarching strategic direction of responsibility, restraint, resilience and respect for sovereignty.

This has meant that deterrence has always occupied pole position, with coercive and expeditionary capabilities taking a back seat.”

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Letters... Where your views make the news

Attacking Justice Chang is a most shallow activity

DEAR EDITOR, Since the decision of Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang on March 29, 2012 in which he granted orders of certiorari and prohibition and in the process staying the recommendation to charge Commissioner Greene for rape, the press has been inundated by social and political commentators attacking Justice Chang personally more than the decision handed down. This is unacceptable and ought not to be permitted to continue.

Stabroek News chose to reprint, yesterday, an article

by Dana Seetahal SC from Trinidad and Tobago first published in Trinidad. It followed up today (Tuesday) with its own commentary using Ms. Seetahal’s opinion and that of politician/lawyer, Priya Manickchand as though it reflects a government of Guyana position.

It is well known that Ms Seetahal has an axe to grind.

Chief Justice Chang had criticized her textbook Commonwealth Caribbean Criminal Practice and Procedure, so much so that she has had to correct her

publication that was being marketed about as the most seminal work on criminal law practice and procedure in the Caribbean.

Rather than being grateful she threw a hussy fit and now thinks it is the appropriate time to get her pound of flesh...

Aside from the polemics it must be first be remembered that judicial decisions are based on the evidence and the application of the relevant principles of law.

Whether a judicial decision is right or wrong does not at all depend on the level of popular support it receives.

A judicial decision may be wrong even though it receives a high level of popular acceptance and may be correct even though it receives a low level of popular acceptance.

Moreover, the opinions of members of the general public cannot render a judicial decision flawed. Only an appellate court of law or a superior court of record can set it aside, and only on proper legal grounds, not on public sentiment. Not even a referendum can render invalid a judicial decision.

Secondly, Judges in

Guyana are not elected to office. They have no obligation to render decisions on the basis of the level of popular support their decisions may be likely to receive. Their role as judges is to make decisions on the basis of their objective and dispassionate assessment of the evidence and the application of the relevant law even if the heavens fall.

The question must therefore be asked as to why there is so much effort being made in the public domain by certain social and political organizations to disparage the decision of Justice Chang in the Henry Greene application.

To me the answer is obvious.

These organizations have their own extra-legal agenda in society to which the decision of Justice Chang seems to run counter. They are not merely seeking to criticize the decision but to solicit popular support for their criticism of the decision as if the legal validity of the decision rests on the result of a referendum.

They must know that they are merely making empty noises by beating their drums in the public and doing nothing

more than undermining public confidence in the court system and in the rule of law.

Of course, justice is not a cloistered virtue and judicial decisions can be the subject of critical constructive comments. But comments which are not constructive and which have the tendency of bringing the court or the administrations of justice into disrepute are impermissible.

When public confidence in the courts is eroded, the fountain of justice dries up and those who thirst for justice will have nowhere to go to quench their thirst. It is a recipe for anarchy and the rule of the mob.

Those who are adverse to the decision of Justice Chang can publicly make critical comments of his decision if such comments are constructive. But they are not free to lobby for public support for their position.

They can comment without lobbying for public support.

Thirdly, a judicial decision cannot be made “a whipping horse” for social or political agendas by social and political organization. Some have gone so far as to launch ad hominem attacks on the Continued on page 23

DEAR EDITOR, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago continues to reap the benefits, particularly within the sporting spectrum as a result of the State’s decision to fund and maintain lighting facilities at several grounds across the country.

This initiative has also enhanced community cooperation since it is the residents’ duty to protect and operate the lights when they are needed —to be turned on and off. While there are other significant benefits that can be attributed to the lights their relevance to today’s increasing nocturnal activities cannot be ignored.

It has therefore become necessary for the government to establish at least one permanent lighting facility in all three counties that will provide a great degree of pleasure and satisfaction to the increasingly workaholic population, some of whom, otherwise do not enjoy the luxury of time during the day.

While my bias may be for cricket and to suggest that the lights should be strategically placed at Everest, Albion and the Anna Regina Community Centre

Ground; their positive effect on the other sports will also be tremendous. I was particularly heartened when the Legendary Clive Lloyd who is currently the Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) for cricket in Guyana acknowledged the necessity for same to be done, in a quest for our players to be equipped with the challenges of night cricket.

I am hopeful therefore that with his influence and foresight, the foreseeable

future will be bright at [nights].

It is my hope, therefore, that the government will respond in due course,so that the social and economic integration of our society can be further enhanced. There is now an increase in sporting activities that relish the serenity of the evening and which unfortunately cannot consistently survive without the accompaniment of those spectacular lighting plants.

I can see the permanence of such facility doing

wonders for the residents of Essequibo who are starved of quality entertainment and otherwise proper preparation of our athletes who cannot train under lights because there are none.

Instead the evening becomes the retirement of the residents and the bad habits go to work. Societies can successfully strive with properly planned evening activities and the installation of flood lights is part of the answer.

Elroy Stephney

Government should install flood lights in all three counties

Sexually Active Men, Women In Public Office! It Is all About Ethics DEAR EDITOR, Without stated and acceptable ethical guidelines, it would be very difficult to hold Public Officials accountable for their sexual activities outside of legal marriage, for acceptable public behaviour.

If you are a married man or woman, it is naturally expected that you behave in such a manner befitting that role, and the obligation expected from you to maintain proper moral behaviour.

Of course, if you are Muslim, you may feel that

your religion allows you to have several wives or mistresses, and may conflict with Christian values or morality.

Therefore, if you are Muslim, and subscribe to the view that having several wives or mistresses is what you believe and subscribe to, let it be known publicly, or before accepting an elected Public Office.

No one should be held accountable to the public if he/she is unfaithful to his/her spouse. That matter is strictly personal and

private. But if word gets out to the media about this, it should be declared by the alleged party that such matter is private, and will not be entertained publicly.

However, if an elected Public Official’s personal behaviour interferes with his/ her Public Duties or functions, then the norm is that we MUST ask that he/ she be relieved of his/her duties, pending an investigation or resignation.

Derryck NYC

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

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

The Budget reveals a case of discrimination The composition of the DEAR EDITOR, The hypocrisy of the PPP/C regime has again been exposed. President Donald Ramotar and his Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh would have the nation believe that they thought of the entire nation when the Budget was prepared.

The Capital allocations to the ten regions tell a different story. They paint a picture of discrimination and political favouritism.

The administration has been true to form with its discriminatory tactics. It has shown favour for the regions it controls and has set out to punish those it does not. This policy has continued unabated.

The figures above show quite clearly that the highest allocations are to the regions controlled by the PPP. Like the Bourbon Kings the PPP has learnt nothing and has forgotten everything.

The most populous region in Guyana is Region Four which APNU won in the 2011 elections. This has 310,320 inhabitants but has been allocated $194.5M. In contrast,the regions won by the PPP, for example, Regions Two, Three, Five and Six with a combined population of 328,437 people are allocated $345.9 million, $280.5 million, $267.1 millionand $361.7 million respectively.

This means that these four

Parliament committees

TABLE

PPP controlled Regions were allocated a total of $1,255,250 billion or $3.821m per person compared toRegion four where it$626,772 per person.

APNU controlled Region Seven and Ten. To rub salt in the wounds these regions have been allocated the derisory sums of $126 million and $221.8 million, respectively.

Region Eight which is controlled by the AFC and APNU has been allocated $142.263m.

This is not the end of the matter. Under the Jagdeo Administration the PNCR had to protest the discrimination in the allocations of financial resources and their inadequate nature. APNU is now confronted with the same situation and will have to protest in a robust manner.

But the PPP’s shady

tactics do not end here. It seeks to appear as a Godsend in APNU controlled regions by descending on them and doing Capital works in a way that makes it appear as if the PPP Government has to come to therescue of the people of the region.

The aim is to undermine the political leadership in the Region hoping thereby to portrayAPNU as being unable to take care of its own supporters.

Through the use of this Machiavellian policy, the PPP hopes that it will get support for its Government. This approach is a clear manifestation of bad governance, the hallmark of successive PPP Administration.

After every Budget, it becomes more evident that we cannot continue with this discriminatory system of

allocation of resources. There is need for objective criteria in determining the allocation of resources for the Regions and to end the policy of discrimination.

In the case of Linden in Region Ten the negative impact will be much more severe because jobs are not being created and the government has made poor decisionsas it relates to electricity generation. In fact, the Ramotar Administration is now seeking to impose an exorbitant and unconscionable increase in the cost of electricity on the people of Linden.

Put simply, the government is depriving the people of Linden of an earning capacity and then exacerbates the situation by increasing the economic burden on the people.

Aubrey C. Norton

A commendation for a job in progress DEAR EDITOR, It is with much praise that I commend your newspaper for investigating many of the larger cases of corruption in the current administration when many watchdogs whose job it is to detect these wrongs, are totally silent.

Take, for instance, the Auditor General Office. The job of this entity is to do what you are doing but it is as silent as the cemetery. One wonders if they are actually doing what they are paid to do. The reports coming out from the Auditor General Office are related to activities from bygone years and even then do not point out corrupt contracts which are numbering in the hundreds.

They are only giving general opinions and not specific cases of embezzlement like what we are reading daily. I am just wondering whether their jobs are confined to past eras and not current affairs.

Secondly, it is in the interest of the opposition parties to be able to detect corrupt activities in a timely manner, like the most recent in the Ministry of Health where a shed cost $20m as per your newspaper. Yet these

parties rely on a newspaper to highlight these jailable offences, then they add a few comment to satisfy their supporters.

It is a shame! It is the primary duty of these parties to detect these wickedness first before any media house. Shame on all these parties who stole, and those who fail to know about what, when and who stole.

I think all those organisations mentioned above whose job this newspaper is doing should pay for this service of

detecting and highlighting the thieves. In fact the inability of the watchdogs to perform their legitimate duty might be contributing to this escalation of thievery.

We do not want them to blast our ears in only denouncing the thieves when they are discovered by this paper, but we also

want them to have a mechanism to know about the thieves in a timely manner just like how this newspaper is doing it.

Once again I want to thank this newpaper for doing the jobs of at least 10 entities ( I didn’t mention the rest) which are supposed to be in their interest.

Name withheld

DEAR EDITOR, In his argument against 4-4-1 (PPP-APNU-AFC) with respect to the composition of selection committees in the 10th parliament, the Hon. Attorney General alluded to the 26,000 voters that the PPP gained more that the APNU as justification for the APNU not having the right to an equal number seats on these committees as the PPP. In my opinion he is making basic common sense. But where he has erred in his arguments is the alternative formula of 5-41 (PPP-APNU-AFC) to cater for the popular will of the people and in compliance with the principles of proportionality.

This proposal does not cater for the will of the 8,663 voters (combined APNU+AFC votes in excess of the PPP votes).

His proposal totally ignores that the facts that these 8,663 voters denied the PPP that 33rd seat to give it the right to a formula of 5-4-1 (PPP-APNU-AFC). Don’t they also have rights to be granted coverage under these same principles of proportionality?

The decision of Justice Ian Chang will have huge implication for Guyana since the precedence will be set that will permanently chisel a course for our future as to whether our courts are about the preserving the rights of each and every citizens or more focused on pandering to special interest.

Democracy is not only about the popular will; we know that through European experience. The German Government of Hitler was elected popularly and they went on to do terrible things. Democracy is also not only about the wishes of the party with the biggest block of votes; it is about protecting the fundamental human rights of all Guyanese especially those 8,663 voters. Democracy is about making sure you cannot do certain things to individuals such as those 8,663 voters who denied the PPP that 33rd seat.

Thus, upon giving it much deeper thought and after much debate with a learned colleague, I have changed my opinion.

I am no longer in support of 4-4-1 (PPP-APNU-AFC). I believe that to properly represent the wishes of those 8,663 voters who have changed Guyana forever, the formula for the select committees should be changed to 4-3-2 (PPP-APNU-AFC).

This proposal gives the PPP the most seat on the committees but still the minority (APNU+AFC =5). Isn’t that what we all voted for in November 2011; to give the PPP the biggest block of votes but the overall minority? This formula is also in full compliance with the principles of proportionality.

Sasenarine Singh

Page 6

By Jason Henry NASSAU, the Bahamas A brand new $35 million stadium opened in the Bahamas a few weeks ago (Feb. 25), a gift from the Chinese government The tiny island nation of Dominica has received a grammar school, a renovated hospital and a sports stadium, also courtesy of the Chinese.

Antigua and Barbuda got a power plant and a cricket stadium, and a new school is on its way. The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago can thank Chinese contractors for the craftsmanship in her official residence.

China’s economic might has rolled up to America’s doorstep in the Caribbean, with a flurry of loans from state banks, investments by companies and outright gifts from the government in the form of new stadiums, roads, official buildings, ports and resorts in a region where the United States has long been a prime benefactor.

The Chinese have flexed their economic prowess in nearly every corner of the world. But planting a flag so close to the United States has generated intense vetting — and some raised eyebrows — among diplomats, economists and investors.

“When you’ve got a new player in the hemisphere all of a sudden, it’s obviously something talked about at the highest level of governments,” said Kevin P. Gallagher, a Boston University professor who is an author of a recent report on Chinese financing, “The New Banks in Town.”

Kaieteur News

Most analysts do not see a security threat, noting that the Chinese are not building bases or forging any military ties that could invoke fears of another Cuban missile crisis. But they do see an emerging superpower securing economic inroads and political support from a bloc of developing countries with anemic budgets that once counted almost exclusively on the United States, Canada and Europe.

China announced late last year that it would lend $6.3 billion to Caribbean governments, adding considerably to the hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, grants and other forms of economic assistance it has already channeled there in the past decade.

Unlike in Africa, South America and other parts of the world where China’s forays are largely driven by a search for commodities, its presence in the Caribbean derives mainly from long-term economic ventures, like tourism and loans, and potential new allies that are inexpensive to win over, analysts say.

American diplomatic cables released through WikiLeaks and published in the British newspaper The Guardian quoted diplomats as being increasingly worried about the Chinese presence here “less than 190 miles from the United States” and speculating on its purpose.

One theory, according to a 2003 cable, suggested that China was lining up allies as “a strategic move” for the eventual end of the Castro era in Cuba, with which it has

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Ambassador Hu Shan officially handing over the facility in June 2011 to Cabinet Secretary Anita Bernard (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay) strong relations.

But the public line today is to be untroubled.

“I am not particularly worried, but it is something the U.S. should continue to monitor,” said Dennis C. Shea, the chairman of the U.S.China Economic and Security Review Commission, a bipartisan Congressional panel. But, he added, “With China you have to be wary of possible policy goals behind the effort.”

This archipelago, less than a one-hour flight from Florida, has gotten particular attention from the Chinese.

Aside from the new stadium, with its “China Aid” plaque affixed prominently at the entrance, Chinese workers here in the Bahamas are busy helping build the $3.5 billion Baha Mar, one of the region’s largest megaresorts.

Beyond that, a Chinese state bank agreed in recent weeks to put up $41 million for a new port and bridge, and a new, large Chinese Embassy is being built downtown.

The new stadium here, Bahamian officials said, was in part a reward for breaking ties with Taiwan in 1997 and establishing and keeping relations with China.

It is one of several sporting arenas that China has sprinkled in Caribbean and Central American nations as gratitude for their recognition of “one China” — in other words, for their refusal to recognize Taiwan, which Chinese officials consider part of their country.

“They offered a substantial gift and we opted for a national stadium,” said Charles Maynard, the Bahamian sports minister, adding that his government could never have afforded to build it on its own.

In this enduring tug of war with Taiwan, others have switched, too, with a little financial encouragement.

Grenada ended relations with

Taiwan in 2004, and it is now in talks with China about getting a new national track and field stadium. The parting has not been entirely amicable; Taiwan and Grenada are now locked in a financial dispute over loans that Grenada received to finance the construction of its airport.

Determined not to be sidelined, Taiwan is seeking to solidify its existing relationships with countries like Belize, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia — which in 2007 broke relations with China in favour of Taiwan — with a bevy of projects, many of them agricultural, including an agreement signed with Belize in recent weeks to develop the fish farming industry there.

Still, Taiwanese diplomats in the region conceded that they could never keep up with China’s largesse but continued to make strategic investments in the Caribbean.

There are some commodities in the region that China wants. In August, a Chinese company, Complant,

bought the last three government sugar estates in Jamaica and leased cane fields, for a total investment of $166 million. Last year, Jamaica for the first time shipped its famed Blue Mountain Coffee to China.

The Jamaican government has also received several hundred million dollars in loans from China, including $400 million announced in 2010 over five years to rebuild roads and other infrastructure.

“In order to be prosperous you need to build roads first,” said Adam Wu, an executive with China Business Network, a consulting group for Chinese businesses that has been making the case for China in several Caribbean countries.

Several analysts in the Caribbean say they believe that China eventually will emerge as a political force in the region, with so many countries indebted to it, at a time when the United States is perceived as preoccupied with the Middle East and (Continued on page 11)

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Enmore man’s body found in canal

- Relatives suspect foul play

Relatives and residents surround the man’s body which was covered with a sheet after it was pulled out from the canal.

The body of a man was discovered floating in a canal in Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) yesterday.

The man was identified as Yoyodan Handersan called Krishna of 93 Logwood, Enmore.

According to his sister Linee Hardath, her brother was missing since 18:00 hrs

on Monday.

She explained that the man had left his home to visit the seawall but never returned to his place of abode.

“We made reports to the station and we went searching for him on the seawall.”

Adding that her brother was last seen with a black t-

Venezuelans jailed for armed...

(From page 3) reported the matter. A party of Guyana Defence Force and Police ranks then proceeded to the location of the robbery and arrested three of the five defendants who had some of the stolen articles in their possession.

On the following day, police prosecutor Gordon Mansfield continued, investigators went back to the scene and the other two accused were handed over by ranks of the Venezuelan National Guard. Subsequent to that revelation, the prosecutor said that it must be mentioned that during the robbery and the time of the arrest, three of the thieves were also dressed in Venezuelan National Guard uniforms.

It was obvious that the men planned to take a particular course of action.

With giggles and laughter they encouraged each other to plead guilty to all the charges. It was not so funny

when it came down to sentencing. The court warned the five accused that for a crime like this, the maximum penalty was life imprisonment.

When asked if they had anything to say, relating their information via a translator, the men asked whether they would be deported back to Venezuela. All signs of smiles further disappeared when the court informed them that that would be done after they had served their sentences.

Magistrate Wilson then sentenced the men to three years imprisonment on each of the five charges, resulting in a 15-year jail sentence. They will however serve only three years since the jail term will run concurrently.

shirt and blue jeans, Hardath said that she along with relatives decided to “check Company Dam which leads to the sea wall to see if he was anywhere there.”

She explained that her brother’s boots were seen floating in the canal and they discovered his body face down in the canal, several feet away.

“When we see he, both of he boots been on opposite ends where he body been and they had marks of violence on hebody,” the woman claimed.

She lamented that she was also told that Monday evening her brother was intoxicated and was gambling “Chic Chic” which later led to him being bullied, causing an altercation that may have led to his demise.

The father of three who resided with his two brothers was described by residents as “a helpful and good man”. Relatives are c a l l ing on the police to investigate the circumstances of the man’s demise since they believe that the man’s death was not of natural causes.

Page 7

Increasing pension, cutting taxes hilarious - Nadir Government has dismissed as hilarious, calls by the Alliance For Change (AFC) for increases in pension and public servants’ wages and salaries and the cutting of taxes during yesterday’s Budget debate in the National Assembly Budget.

Government’s position was highlighted by its Member of Parliament, Manzoor Nadir, who described AFC Member of Parliament Moses Nagamootoo’s presentation as “hilarious and confusing”.

Nadir stated that it would not be beneficial for Guyana to increase spending on areas such as pension and cut back on taxes which generate income. Pensioners are already benefiting from waiver on their water bills, he said.

To take his argument further, Nadir challenged Nagamootoo, “To run his business, to run his household as he is asking this government to run the country by eating less, using less light, using less technology… cutting all those things and paying his workers better and don’t have greater income because he is cutting taxes, and let us see how he would rally out.”

Nadir asserted that this year’s budget aims to keep Guyana on course and has opportunities for another year of positive growth.

In the budget, Government has earmarked the establishment of a Small Business Trust Fund to impact in excess of 40,000 small businesses, which in turn is expected to create about 800 direct jobs.

Like Government’s Women of Worth programme, the Small Business Trust Fund would be a guarantee facility for operators without collateral to access credit.

This initiative could also benefit persons in the hinterland communities who are unable to utilize their lands as collateral at a bank.

“There is more money allocated to the Competition

and Fair Trading Commission and more money allocated to the Small Business Bureau…

These are the sectors that would bake this bigger economic pie that would be cut up into larger slices for our people,” Nadir said.

He noted that while Government is putting policies and programmes in place to see the development of the economy with micro enterprises, it is also embarking on big projects such as a Marriott brand hotel and the modernization of Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Defending the erection of a Marriott brand hotel in Guyana, Nadir said this investment is not about closing businesses but expanding opportunities for all.

“While some people may want to knock the Marriott on one side of the House, it’s only protecting those who endorsed a particular party

and funded that party. The Marriott is not about closing businesses but about expanding opportunities for all businesses.”

“One of the challenges in the tourism sector has been get a sector-leading brand in Guyana and that is what the Marriott is going to get. We are not preparing in Guyana for the same level of tourism.”

Government has also justified the expansion of Guyana’s main port of entry as an avenue to improve the tourism sector. Nadir pointed out that there is nothing such as poverty tourism and he stressed that tourists from the first world countries want to have first world facilities wherever they go.

“The world tourism and travel index are projecting growth in Guyana because Government is investing in infrastructure to make it better for people to come to Guyana,” he noted.

Murder suspect surrenders The prime suspect in the brutal murder of Lord Edward called Junior or Rastaman, of Edinburgh Village, East Bank Berbice and formerly of King Street, New Amsterdam, has given himself up.

The suspect, who hails from Coburg Street, New Amsterdam, and was in hiding after the incident, gave himself up at the Central Police Station just after 16:00 hrs yesterday in the company of his lawyer, Attorney at Law Mursaline Bacchus.

Edwards, 43, was brutally murdered last Thursday morning last at Edinburgh. The victim, who was said to be mentally unstable, was found dead in a yard not too far from where he resides. He was found lying in a pool of blood.

According to information, Edwards allegedly had an altercation earlier in the morning with a taxi driver who had taken his car to a mechanic workshop in the village. An argument had ensued between the two men during which time Edwards allegedly went into his yard, picked up a piece of metal, and charged the driver who sought refuge in the mechanic shop. It is understood that the driver also had a knife. The deceased was reportedly attacked by a group of men who entered his yard and slashed, stabbed and severely beat him.

Investigators are still hunting for several other persons.

It is understood that some persons were questioned earlier and released.

The victim is said to have suffered injuries to his neck, forehead, chest and rib cage among other parts of his body.

A post mortem examination performed yesterday by Dr Vivekanand Brijmohan at the New Amsterdam Hospital gave the cause of death as shock and hemorrhage due to multiple injuries. The investigation is continuing.

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Venezuela tries drug kingpin The trial has begun behind closed doors of alleged Venezuelan drugs kingpin Walid Makled on charges of moneylaundering, trafficking and murder.

Mr Makled, who is also wanted by the US, was arrested in Colombia in 2010 and extradited to Venezuela last year.

His case took on political overtones in Venezuela when he alleged in interviews from prison that he paid millions of dollars to senior officials.

The government said his claims were an attempt to avoid prosecution.

Mr Makled was a successful businessman in Venezuela whose family owned an airline, a transport company and several

Walid Makled warehouses.

He went into hiding in 2008 when his brothers were arrested after large quantities of cocaine were found at a family ranch. He was arrested in Colombia in 2010.

Colombia sent him back to Venezuela a year later, in a move seen as a sign of

improving ties between the two countries.

The US authorities say he was one of the biggest drug traffickers in the world.

Mr Makled, who is also accused of two murders, has always denied the charges, saying the authorities framed him in order to seize his businesses.

hospital in the northern Chaco region.

But she said when she and her husband visited the morgue 12 hours later and opened the coffin, they found their daughter was breathing.

They have named her Luz Milagros - which means miracles - because of the way she came into the world.

The incident in the city of Perrando happened a week ago, but has just been made public by local health officials.

Chaco province undersecretary for health Rafael Sabatinelli called the case “disgraceful” and promised a full investigation.

“Every member of the team that was involved has some responsibility, so they will have to answer for this,” he told local media.

Ms Bouter was just six months pregnant when she went to give birth at the Perrando hospital in the city of Resistencia.

She says medical staff told her the baby showed no sign of life when she was born.

“That night I went with my husband to where the coffin was and he opened it up,” she told reporters.

“Immediately I heard her cry”.

The baby did not need resuscitation and is reported to be in good health.

Still-born baby found alive in mortuary

A premature Argentine baby has been found alive in a morgue, 12 hours after she was pronounced dead, reports say.

Mother Analia Bouter was told her baby was stillborn after she gave birth in a

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Poor nursing education highlighted in Nat’l Assembly The poor quality of nursing education, resulting in an 80.5 percent failure rate at the Georgetown School of Nursing, was roundly criticized in the National Assembly last evening by A Partnership for National Unity member, Dr. George Norton.

Norton, in his budget debate presentation, pointed out that in Guyana, nurses, assistant nurses and midwives are not mandated to present credits for their reregistration, they only have to pay a fee every two years.

“The Nurses and Midwives Ordinance legislation is dated sometime in the 1950s and it is time that the Minister of Health stops talking the talk and brings a draft Bill to the National Assembly to correct this situation,” he stressed.

Norton expressed hope that the over $450M that is earmarked in this year ’s budget for Health Sciences Education and training would be sufficient to take the human resources capacity to where it is supposed to be, especially in the services provided by nurses.

Though there is need for more nurses in the public health sector, the quality of nurses that is being churned out is worrisome.

Norton noted that while the health sector is preparing for its greatest influx of nurses, with just fewer than 1,000 in training; the Guyana Nurses Association believes that Guyana is creating weapons of mass destructions.

He pointed out that calls by the Nurses’ Association to halt the nursing programme until the necessary issues are properly addressed are being ignored by the authorities.

However, the Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran intends to start a new batch soon.

“In 2009 a total of 255 professional student nurses were taken in, plus the Nurse Assistants, for all these students there are 11 tutors, four of them are retirees for many years,” Norton said.

While the student ratio at its highest should be one tutor to 25 students in the classroom there are as much as over 250 nurses in various

classes.

He added that there should be one tutor to 12 students in the clinical setting and one tutor to eight students in the critical areas, but many times there are no instructors to guide students in the wards.

Norton also pointed out that the Association has been critical of the inadequate facilities and deplorable environment students have to operate in. The Association had linked those conditions and the fact that many non-nursing persons in authority are making decisions, to the poor performances of the students.

He said, “They are convinced that the quality of nurses in Guyana was at a higher level in years gone by and they would really like to bring it back to where it once was, before it is too late.”

Students’ lack of interest, abusive outbursts and drug use also contribute to low performances, he noted.

Norton also stressed that the inability of the Nursing School to discipline students is a matter of concern.

Pensioner freed of murder charge The preliminary inquiry into the murder of 70-year-old rice farmer Chinta Persaud called ‘Roy’ of No 48 village, Corentyne, ended yesterday at the Springlands Magistrate’s court with the accused being set free after the matter was discharged by Magistrate Krishndat Persaud.

This was following a nocase submission put forward by defence counsel Attorney at Law Mursaline Bacchus.

Persaud, a remigrant Guyanese, was on trial for murdering his common-law wife Hansranee ‘Sharda’ Sewdat, 39, on October 14, 2011. Sewdat was found dead on the floor of her Number 48 village residence, with her throat slit and a pair of women’s tights wrapped around her neck.

The prosecution’s case was that on the day in question, the accused had left the couple’s sprawling home at No. 48 village with their nine-year- old daughter for his cultivation at the No.48 backdam. It was stated that during the day he left his daughter and his workers at the back and returned home and committed the act, before returning to the backdam sometime later.

In his submission, defence counsel Bacchus stated that there was not sufficient evidence for a prima facie case to be made out

against his client. Mr. Bacchus stated that although there was evidence that his client left the backdam during the day there was no evidence that he returned to the house. He added that the evidence put forward as circumstantial, was not enough for a prima facie case to be made out.

Bacchus cited several authorities to support on what constitutes a prima facie case.

He stated that there must be enough evidence that a jury, properly directed, may be able to lawfully convict.

The prosecution had pitted its case on the evidence presented.

During the Preliminary Inquiry, the prosecution called 12 witnesses including Assistant Superintendent Gary Mc Alister, a crime scene expert, and Government Pathologist Dr Vivekananda Brijmohan.

The Preliminary Inquiry was conducted at both the No. 51 and Springlands Magistrates’ Courts.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

It is important that when government ministers and representatives of the ruling party make their presentations during the Budget debates that they do not just stick to the script, but also ensure that the script is well prepared.

The opening presentation from the government side was below par, way below par, and simply will not suffice, considering the strong presentation made from the AFC bench as the Budget debates kicked off.

It was obvious from listening to the presentation of the Honourable Minister of Housing and Water that better preparation and delivery will be needed if the government is going to be able to counter the AFC. It is not good enough for those on the government side to simply stand up and make points.

They have to assemble an argument.

It is also advisable that individual presenters stick to a few areas. The fact that one person in particular was

Kaieteur News

addressing all manner of issues which fell under the portfolio of other ministers suggests that not only was there a need for better preparation, but also improved coordination.

There should have thus been a general meeting of the members of the government, and a clear strategy should have been designed to determine how best to sell this Budget and how to negate the arguments that are likely to be made.

The Budget debates are also important in that they provide the opportunity to go beyond the numbers.

They allow the various representatives on the government side to deal with the policies and plans for the year, so that everyone has a clear understanding of what to expect this year.

The Budget debate provides the ruling party with an opportunity to give some of its backbenchers a chance to address the House. Many of them never get the chance to speak in the National Assembly, and therefore the

Budget debates allow for the blooding of new talent.

There has obviously to be a time limit as to how long one person can speak. In this regard, the government is now at a major disadvantage in these debates. In the absence of a parliamentary majority, their time is going to be limited.

They should not expect from the opposition, the same courtesies that were extended when the PPP had a majority. In that period, the ruling party was always willing to allow an opposition speaker additional time to wind up his or her presentation.

The opposition side of the House has demonstrated that it can be ruthless. And, therefore, the government speakers may not have the liberty of being granted extensions to speak. This is something that they may not have catered for, and another reason why the presentations should have been carefully planned.

It is thus important that the government side not waste any time on political

Dem boys seh

De Maker reaching out to de corrupt

When de government got a project it does advertise, but of late dem boys don’t see any advertisement. Dem does only hear that somebody win de award.

Wid de hydroclave dem only know ‘bout de thing when it come. When dem ask bout advertisement, Keith de Borrower tell dem that dem didn’t advertise in Guyana because Guyana don’t mek dem machine.

Well dem boys want to know why dem does advertise fuh drugs in Guyana. We don’t mek dem in this country. And dem boys also want know why we does advertise fuh people wid skills. We stop making dem in this country. Is only when de police advertise fuh a wanted man that dem boys know wha we really mekking.

Dem boys seh that Keith better watch heself. De Maker already put he hand pun he because he don’t like evil. All who do bad things does suffer. Brazzy and Irfaat got fuh watch demself too. De Irfaat done pass Brazzy in size and is only one place he heading. And wid size it hard fuh people fetch. People know wha dem boys mean.

Some of dem worried because dem know that de Good Book talk ‘bout beating people wid many stripes fuh not doing the right thing.

That is why Brazzy want run

out de country. He deh under nuff pressure fuh lef, because people in he own house telling he that he should pack up.

He sell land to a coffee shop from India. Dem boys expect Guyana fuh become a big coffee producer. De company shipping out wood.

Dem boys want know since when people does mek coffee from wood. Well if that is a coffee shop dem don’t want see de timber shop. That was another thing that dem didn’t

advertise.

De thing that bother dem boys is that decent people get so fed up that dem now telling dem boys fuh “lef dem people”. When things meet that stage is time fuh dem other decent people fuh get worried. It mean that dem don’t understand how dangerous de thiefing is; how dangerous corruption is fuh de country. Dem position frightening.

Talk half and worry ‘bout de rest.

Page 9

grandstanding. They do not have that liberty. They should make their presentations short, forceful, and to the point. They should prepare their arguments in such a way that it will be persuasive when presented.

What may look good on paper does not always sound good when presented already there has been one presentation where a government representative has been jumping from one issue to the next: from the GPL subsidy to social assistance to the one laptop per family project. This is exactly the sort of wide sweep that will take away from detailing specific sector policies.

The government therefore needs to get its act together, otherwise it is going to be embarrassed, not only because of the haphazard nature of the presentations, but also by the poor elocution of the presenters.

There is no need, when in the National Assembly, for speakers to be shouting as if

they are on a political platform. There is a need for modulation to ensure a modest tone.

The other disturbing feature is that there have been instances where the Speaker has been trying to urge members to allow the person who has the floor to speak.

While the Speaker was intervening, there were persons still heckling. This is not in keeping with parliamentary decorum. The rule is that when the Speaker speaks everyone should be silent.

In the days ahead, it is important that the government outline its policies for the year. The respective MPs must tell the Guyanese people what each ministry will do and how this will help the people. They must explain their plans to the Guyanese people as well as what they have done over the past year.

The opposition parties are going to have a field day against the government unless the government side

gets its act together and begins to better coordinate presentations.

The government side no longer has in its ranks those parliamentary veterans who were experienced in parliamentary debates. Those veterans took their presentations seriously because they understood one thing: whatever is said in parliament becomes part of the official record of parliament, which will be there for future generations to scrutinize.

All the more reason why there should be better preparation on the government side, and why they should choose their words carefully, because when future researchers go through the Hansard, they must feel that they are examining the words of learned men and women.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Who is the happiest man in the world?

Moses Nagamootoo is that person. Moses got a tremendous Easter gift from the only daughter of Cheddi and Janet Jagan. Actually the present was there before Easter but the Guyana Times, also known as the Beacon of Truth and its gutter partner, the Chronicle, chose not to let Moses know what Nadira Jagan-Brancier said about those that have succeeded in the hierarchy of her parents’ party.

Nadira Jagan hit out at the corruption and philistine behaviour of those that lead her parents’ party today, in front of a Berbice crowd in the Jagan heartland – Port Mourant. It was the very cabal that she denounced that invited her to speak. They didn’t suspect the woman

was carrying a psyche pentup with anger.

She let loose, even displaying massive irritation at the fact that the vultures in the PPP go to their rallies invoking the name of her father, even though they have betrayed what he stood for in the most barefaced fashion.

But the Beacon of Truth and the Chronicle failed to give Nadira even a paragraph.

Moses’s gift had to be given to him by this newspaper. It was KN that published the trenchant condemnation by Nadira Jagan of what the PPP has become.

It was a big lash to the present cabal that deceived, harassed and ousted the Guyanese biblical personality.

In Guyanese lingo we say that

“Nadira dig a jumbie lash in the PPP.” No one took any notice of her brother (commonly referred to by the boys on the streets as “Red Eyes.”) when he carped every week on CNS Channel Six for five years on how the “Gang of 8” wrecked his parents’ party.

Lacking credibility and image, it was unwise for APNU and AFC politicians to quote him. In fact, it was counter-productive to have him in their midst. For this reason, he got no invitation to join the their campaign Nadira Jagan is a totally different prospect. Unlike her brother, she has no baggage and her name is not associated with any political outlandishness. What she had to say is now for Moses

Nagamootoo to use to open the eyes of the inhabitants of the Jagan heartland. The consensus among political observers is that Nagamooto was crucial in weakening the PPP’s locomotive in Region Six. There are those who felt that Dr. Ramayya and attorney Charrandass Persaud did play a not insignificant role in the AFC’s Berbice campaign. But it was the Guyanese biblical man that did it for the AFC. The rallies in his hometown were strong proof that Berbicians were listening to him. In the end, only 53 percent of the Region Six voters went to the polls and Moses hit the winning run.

He campaigned on a recurring theme – the present PPP leaders failed Cheddi Jagan, and the PPP as it is today is not the organization that Jagan founded sixty years ago.

Nadira Jagan’s tirade has given Nagamootoo a priceless gem. When he goes back to Berbice (and even

Regions Two and Three) all he has to do is to hold up the front page of this newspaper with the large photograph of Nadira Jagan. Moses doesn’t have to speak even a word.

The picture paints a thousand words.

The use of photographs in the just-concluded general elections was a winner for both APNU and AFC, but it was not to be – money wasn’t there.

This writer had advised both opposition parties that a photographic campaign would have devastated the PPP. Hold up a picture of the mansions in Pradoville 2 to the crowd at the rallies in Berbice and juxtapose them with the ubiquity of poverty throughout the land, and decent voters had to be emotionally moved at the depravity of Cheddi Jagan’s protégés.

Hold up a photograph of a young Minister who joined the Cabinet with no visible material wealth but now owns a mansion with a swimming pool and a pool house that

Frederick Kissoon cost more than any working class home. It didn’t happen.

APNU and AFC simply didn’t have the financial power to mount a photographic show during the election campaign.

Moses Nagamootoo should do it. Now that Nadira Jagan has spoken, the snap poll may be dead. What answer will the Freedom House vultures give Berbicians and East Indians countrywide when Moses circulates Nadira’s photo and speech? It would seem that Nadira Jagan has finally put to rest the snap election possibility.

Whether there are local government elections or not, Moses is the happiest man in the world at the moment.

GT&T shares buyer linked to Chinese military China’s Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group has been identified as the Hong Kong-based buyer of 20 per cent of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).

The name had remained obscured as a result of the confidentiality agreement which was entered to in early 2011 with the Guyana Government.

Another of the Chinese Companies associated with G u y a n a ’ s telecommunications industry is Huawei Technologies Ltd. This is the company that has been contracted to undertake the Guyana LTE network which comes with the Government’s fibre optic cable and both Chinese telecommunication providers have been linked to the Peoples Liberation Army - the Chinese military.

Both companies had raised eyebrows in October 2011 when a US Pentagon report fingered both companies as being linked to the Chinese Military and as a Chinese Government ‘Espionage’ Ministry.

According to a 2011 Washington Times Publication, “A U.S. intelligence report for the first

time links China’s largest telecommunications company (Huawei Technologies Ltd.) to Beijing’s KGB-like intelligence service and says the company recently received nearly a quarterbillion dollars from the Chinese government.”

At the time of the report the Huawei Technologies Ltd was attempting to break into the US market and had been blocked on three previous occasions.

See Washington Times report http:// www.washingtontimes.com/ news/2011/oct/11/chinesetelecom-firm-tied-to-spyministry/?page=all The report by the CIAbased Open Source Center stated that Huawei’s chairwoman, Sun Yafang, worked for the Ministry of State Security (MSS) Communications Department before joining the company.

Huawei’s links to the Chinese military have been disclosed previously. The Open Source Center (OSC) report provides the first details of its links to Chinese intelligence, which U.S. officials have said has been engaged in a massive effort to acquire secrets and

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economic intelligence from government and privatesector computer networks around the world.

The co-presidents of Huawei are on record as saying that, Huawei is an “employee-owned” company, and China’s government and military do not hold any shares or control the company.

“However, the Pentagon’s latest annual report on the Chinese military said China’s industry, including Huawei, is closely integrated with the military.

“Information technology companies in particular, including Huawei, Datang and Zhongxing, maintain close ties to the PLA [People’s Liberation Army],” the report says.”

Datang is the company which has been identified as the buyer of the GT&T shares, but this has not been confirmed by the Government of Guyana close to one week after the announcement was made.

Datang is one of China’s showpiece hi-tech companies that specialises in the development, production and sale of electronic information systems and equipment. Founded in 1999, the company is reportedly managed by the Chinese State-run Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Guyana’s murder rate continues downward trend Guyana’s murder rate continues its downward trend as the second quarter of the year commences.

Up to March 31st, there were a total of 28 murders in comparison to 33 for the similar period last year, representing a 15% decrease.

Of the 28 murders, 13 were of the disorderly type, six domestic related and one execution type, while the other eight are so far unknown.

The East Coast Division has so far accounted for the most murders this year, bringing back memories of the days when it was considered the murder district of the country. There has been a significant decline in murders in the city and its environs, a drop from 10 to four at the end of March.

Murders in the interior have also declined, while the Essequibo Coast continues to be one of the safest places, with no murder so far.

However the police have not revealed the solving rate of these murders. It is widely known that more than half of the recorded murders have not been solved as yet.

Meanwhile, an overall decrease of eight percent in serious crimes has been recorded at the end of March

COMPARATIVE FIGURES OF MURDER COMMITTED FOR THE PERIOD 1st JANUARY TO 31st MARCH, 2011/2012

this year in comparison to last year. The total number of reports of serious crimes made

by March 31 this year was 968 compared to 1053 at the same period in 2011.

Offences monitored include murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape and kidnapping. Robbery under arms has increased by 21% unto March 2012, with 246 reports compared to 203 for the same period in 2011.

The statistics indicate an increase of 14% in the number

of armed robberies involving the use of firearms, and a 34% increase in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.

In relation to traffic, there has been a 15% reduction in road fatalities at the end of March this year in comparison to the same period last year, with 22 fatalities this year and 26 last year.

This year also continues to see significant reductions in relation to the other categories of traffic accidents

– serious, minor and damage.

So far pedal cyclists are the main road users affected, with seven such persons having lost their lives on the roads

by March this year.

Six drivers and five pedestrians have also lost their lives up to the end of March.

Speeding is once more a major contributing factor to fatal accidents, causing 14 of the 21 at the end of the threemonth period.

The Force is continuing its enforcement activities along with the use of breathalyzers and radar guns as well as traffic education

and at the end of March, a total of 17,974 cases were made against errant motorists.

Of this total 4,411 cases were for speeding.

It should be noted that for the month of April so far there have been two fatal accidents resulting in the death of two persons.

COMPARATIVE FIGURES OF ROBBERY UNDER ARMS FOR ‘A-G’ DIVISIONS 1st JANUARY TO 31st MARCH, 2011/2012

Chinese Construction Company places bid for Amaila Falls road Under the Ministry of Public Works, three bids were submitted yesterday for the Amaila Falls road and transmission line clearing project (Section Seven) - Kuribrong River Bank to Amaila Falls Approach- at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

Sithe Global, the developers of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, had chosen the China Railway First Group Company Limited to build the hydro plant in northwestern Guyana.

This same contractor has also now placed a bid for a section of the road leading to Amaila Falls. This section involves virgin forest and is deemed the most challenging aspect of the road.

With an engineer’s estimate of $979,491,800 which was submitted by SRKN’gineering Consultants, the bids are as follows:

The Amaila Falls Hydropower project is being vigorously pursued by the administration on the basis that it would significantly reduce Guyana’s US$350M fuel import bill and minimise the impact of fuel price movement on the cost of generating power.

The project which has the capacity to provide over 140 megawatts of electricity is to be located along the Kuribrong River in Potaro, Region Eight.

The contract awarded to Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall of Synergy Holdings Ltd was terminated by government in January after months of delays.

Since Motilall’s US$15.4M contract was terminated, for failure to honour one of the terms of a completion agreement, Toolsie Persaud Quarries Inc. was awarded the contract to build the Kurupukari junction and it also holds the contract for section four. The project, which will now be executed in lots, will see other contractors being recruited.

Section five has been allocated to Ivor Allen, while section six is yet to be allocated.

Meanwhile, under the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the NPTAB received six bids for the completion and modification of the CLICO building, Camp Street, Georgetown.

The engineer’s estimate is $253,997,117 and the bids:

China buys inroads in the Caribbean...

(From page 6) paying little attention to the region.

“They are buying loyalty and taking up the vacuum left by the United States, Canada and other countries, particularly in infrastructure improvements,” said Sir Ronald Sanders, a former diplomat from Antigua and Barbuda.

“If China continues to invest the way it is doing in the Caribbean, the U.S. is almost making itself irrelevant to the region,” he added. “You don’t leave your flank exposed.”

In some places, Chinese contractors or workers have stayed on, beginning to build communities and businesses. So many have opened in Roseau, Dominica, that local merchants have complained about being squeezed out. Trinidad and Tobago has had waves of Chinese immigration over the past century, but locals are now seeing more Chinese restaurants and shops, as well as other signs of a new immigrant generation.

“I am second-generation TrinidadianChinese, and like most of us of this era, we have integrated very well in society, having friends, girlfriends, spouses and kids with people of other ethnicities,” said Robert Johnson-Attin, 36, a mechanical engineer now with his own successful business. “It’ll only be a matter of time before it happens with the Chinese coming in now.”

Here in the Bahamas, Tan Jian, the economic counselor at the Chinese Embassy, said he that believed “it’s only the start” of the Chinese presence across the Caribbean, casting it as one developing country using its growing economic power to help other developing ones.

The Bahamian government, he said,

“cannot afford to build huge projects by itself.”

While the Chinese built the stadium, the Bahamas is responsible for utility hookups and the roads and landscaping outside it.

The $35 million gift “is costing us $50 million,” said Mr. Maynard, the sports minister. “But at the end of the day it will pay for itself” by putting the Bahamas in position to host major sporting events and reap the tourism revenue that comes with that.

For Baha Mar, the Chinese Export-Import Bank is financing $2.6 billion, nearly threequarters of the cost, and China’s state construction company is a partner.

The Bahamas agreed to allow up to 8,000 foreign workers, most of them Chinese, to work on the project in stages, but it also required employment for 4,000 Bahamians, dampening concerns that Chinese workers were taking jobs. American companies will also take part in building and running it.

Mr. Jian played down any economic competition with the United States, whose tourists, he asserted, stood to benefit from China’s presence in the Caribbean. The Chinese workers here live in barracks behind the project fences, largely shielded from public view. “We hardly know they are here,” said James Duffy, watching a track practice next to the stadium one recent afternoon, adding with a chuckle: “Except for the big things they build.”

Karla Zabludovsky contributed reporting from Mexico City, Camilo Thame from Kingston, Jamaica, and Prior Beharry from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

This story originally appeared in The New York Times

Page 12

Rat-bitten infant succumbs Controversy surrounds the death of the two-year-old girl who was reportedly bitten by rats two Mondays ago at her family’s Lot 12 Belmont, Mahaica home.

Rebecca Seecharan died last Monday in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Reports are that the toddler was bitten on her ear and tongue by rats on April 3, last. She was instantly rushed to the GPHC, where she immediately admitted to the ICU. On Monday the toddler underwent surgery and was said to be in a stable condition, but she succumbed later that day.

Her mother claimed that their home has a lot of rats and they had set poison to kill the rodents.

Sources have however doubted what the mother claimed and asked for the police and Child Protection Agency to carry out a thorough investigation into the child’s demise.

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Budget debate…

APNU asked 20% increase for public servants, doubling of old age pension The main opposition, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), yesterday blamed government for wasting five months that could have seen meaningful t a l k s i n r e l a t i o n t o the budget and other critical issues.

Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge also decried the work of the Budget Committee which comprises Parliamentary parties which went nowhere and the Tax Reform body which is still to complete works.

During the debate yesterday, the APNU official also expressed that corruption and inefficiency have played a role in placing the country in the state it is.

“There is an urgent need to revamp and strengthen the Audit Office to improve oversight, with serious questions remaining, whether despite the huge budget, Guyana is getting

value for its money.”

Greenidge urged for the introduction of legislation that will ensure that there is proper use of state resources.

The announcement in the $192.8B National Budget that $4B will go to the Guyana Power and Light Inc., while an additional $6B will go to bolster the Guyana Sugar Corporation which is in dire financial straits after failing again last year to meet its production targets, was also criticised.

Greenidge quoted several international reports which cited Guyana’s lowly position on economic freedom and other indicators.

The budget, he warned, should have taken into account world commodity prices, as these all have implications.

He urged moves to address the improvement of efficiently managing the administration and reducing

“red tape”.

The Shadow Finance Minister also accused government of systematically destroying the public servants by increasing the number of contract workers, and paying them thousands of dollars more.

“The budget also does not address increasing the capacity of engineers, an area in which Guyana is badly lacking in,” Greenidge stated.

He likened Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh to “Alice in Wonderland”.

Regarding the proposed Marriott Hotel, Greenidge questioned the seeming absence of a feasibility study.

He also raised questions on the cost of the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electric Project and the US$155M-plus CJIA expansion project.

“There should have been more tax relief measures in the budget and special tax exemption ones for senior citizens and vulnerable to spur development,” Greenidge emphasized.

The Berbice River Bridge was not spared, with the former Finance Minister urging for a reduction of the rates to cross, something which is causing Berbicians

APNU’s Carl Greenidge to suffer.

He also called for a 20% wage increase for public servants and doubling of the old age pension.

Greenidge also expressed concern about the National Insurance Scheme, noting that initially government had said that the scheme was in good shape.

APNU, he said, will not be tolerant of a last-minute bid by government for a bailout and as such measures should be in place to start widening the scheme and making it more comprehensive to garner increased revenues.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Two youths drown in separate incidents Two youths drowned in separate incidents yesterday as the post-Easter period took a decidedly unhappy turn from the happy weekend festivities.

Stephon Brusche, 14, of Sparendaam New Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara (ECD) drowned yesterday afternoon while reportedly playing in the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) drainage canal.

This canal is located aback of Plaisance, ECD. Sources told this newspaper that the incident took place around 15:00 hrs when Brusche and several friends were swimming in the canal.

“He plunging in and out, in and out. You know how lil boy story does go. The last time he plunge in we didn’t see him raise up back,” said one individual.

Kaieteur News was told that an alarm was raised by Brusche’s friends and a search began.

A little less than 15 minutes later, the friends found his body near the spot where he was last seen plunging.

They desperately tried to get to Brusche’s body hoping that he was still alive.

However, by the time they pulled him out of the canal he appeared to have already perished. This was later confirmed by medical personnel.

Meanwhile, a hangout at the seawall yesterday turned out to be the last for 11-yearold Shemar Success of West Ruimveldt who dived into the water for a swim and was not

Dead: Shemar Success seen again by his companions.

Reports are that the youth went to the seawall sometime yesterday afternoon with friends who lived in his village. They were said to have been accompanied by the father of one of the children.

According to one girl, the group of neighbours was hanging out on the seawall and some decided to go near the water to play. They eventually got into the water and began to “splash about.”

Shortly afterwards, Success continued to venture out further in the water and decided to take a swim. He never surfaced after diving in.

Roy Success, the boy’s father, visited this newspaper at 17:25hrs yesterday to notify this publication of his son being missing.

The man broke down in tears while explaining that his son, who attended Success Elementary School, recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment.

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

“He went to the seawall and now they can’t find his body. I am going to go look for my son. Shemar is 11 years old and he only wrote the common entrance exams the other day,” was all the distraught father could utter before rushing out to search for his child.

Kaieteur News understands that Shemar’s parents are separated and he used to live with his maternal grandparents.

However, his father lived several houses away and maintained a close relationship with his only child.

At the grandparents’ home, Shemar’s relatives were at a loss for words.

The grief was too much for one female who burst into screams and tears. She subsequently began stomping and rolling on the floor.

Neighbours and friends gathered around the house waiting for word of the search at the seawalls.

Meanwhile, Roy Success’ sister and aunt were comforting each other at their home. They told Kaieteur News that the situation was one which words could not offer any comfort.

“Roy didn’t even know that Shemar had gone to the seawall. He was on the phone listening to the news on the radio and riding his bicycle coming home when he was told that his son drowned. He became so frantic and dropped everything and went looking for Shemar,” one relative told this publication.

Up to press time, relatives and friends of the Success family were s t i l l a t t h e seawall scouring the area to locate the body of young Shemar.

(Kristen Macklingam)

Page 13

As the man w h o allegedly inflicted a hammer beating on Eureka Garraway remains at large, relatives of the victim are concerned that her injuries may be more serious than they had first appeared.

A sister-in-law who visited Garraway in hospital yesterday said that the 38year-old failed to recognize her and appeared disoriented. Garraway was also complaining of severe pains and underwent another CAT scan to ascertain if her head injuries were more serious than initially believed.

G a r r a w a y s u s t a i n ed cuts to her head which required more than 100 stitches. The brutal attack also reportedly left her with two broken fingers.

Meanwhile, the sister-inlaw said that the suspect has spoken to some of Garraway’s relatives.

The man, who Kaieteur News contacted by phone on Monday, has promised to turn himself in once his lover is fit enough to be discharged.

He had explained that he wanted to ensure that Garraway does not die.

Asked to explain the reason for the attack, the suspect said that he ‘flipped’ and that he now regrets every moment.

Police reportedly have numerous complaints of assault against the suspect, but Kaieteur News understands that Garraway herself may have often come to her abuser’s defence, stating that “he’s a diabetic and that he’s sickly.”

A niece also alleged that the suspect has a relative in the Force and the rank would intervene on the suspect’s behalf.

Garraway’s lover is well known for dressing up in

- suspect remains at large

Eureka Garraway outrageous outfits, including baby’s diapers, at cricket matches.

Two Wednesdays ago, Garraway was found unconscious and bleeding profusely from the head in a relative’s Non Pareil, East Coast Demerara residence.

She had reportedly been slashed as well as beaten with a hammer.

A niece claimed that Garraway’s attacker contacted relatives by telephone shortly after and threatened to harm them.

However, in the interview with Kaieteur News, the man denied threatening anyone. He said that he did call one family member to enquire about Garraway’s welfare.

According to the niece, Garraway was visiting a sister-in-law at Non Pareil last week Wednesday when her lover arrived.

It is alleged that the sisterin-law and the others eventually went out, leaving Garraway and her lover at the residence.

Kaieteur News was told that before departing, the sister-in-law, who was aware of the suspect’s history of physical abuse, expressed concern about Garraway being left alone with the man.

Garraway reportedly reassured her that she would be “alright.”

It is alleged that at around 15:00 hrs, neighbours heard screams emanating from the house where Garraway was staying.

According to the niece, around 18:00 hrs Garraway’s brother received a phone c a l l f r o m t h e w o m a n ’s lover.

The suspect reportedly told the brother “I leave your sister in a pool of blood; go home (and check).”

The brother relayed the information to his wife, who went home and discovered the unconscious and battered Garraway on a bed.

They rushed her to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

The sister-in-law said that the matter was reported to the Vigilance Police Station.

Page 14

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Budget Debate…

21,000 taxpayers taken off radar

By Leonard Gildarie The Parliamentary debate on the 2012 National Budget, already spiced up by the minority position of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/ Civic, had promised to be anything but run-of-the-mill.

At least, that much was promised by the opposition parties - A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) - and the billing lived up to its name.

Yesterday, the debate got underway with APNU’s financial pointman and former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge, making an hourlong presentation.

This year’s debates will represent the first time since

ascending to power in 1992 that the PPP/C is facing the real prospect of not having its budget automatically passed.

Its majority no longer exists , and it was the opening task of Irfaan Ali, Minister of Housing and Water, to warn opposition that voting against measures in the budget would be tantamount to voting against development of the country and its working class and being judged by them.

According to Ali, it was the same Greenidge who oversaw “a dark period in Guyana’s financial history in the ‘80s”.

“Fast forward to 2012, Guyana is experiencing growth of over 4% as against escalating debts in that

- Minister Ali period,” Ali stated. There were heckles of “mansion” as this reference was cited by the Housing Minister..

“It is not true that government’s tax measures over recent years, including the Value-Added Tax (VAT), have been making life harder for Guyanese,” Ali insisted.

“The figures will show that VAT’s percentage in total revenues collected by the country has been declining in 2011 that number dropping from 32% to 26%.”

“Since its introduction, there have been claims that VAT has been a main cause of consumers, especially the working class, being doubly taxed. As a matter of fact, the raising of the income tax ceiling up to $50,000 will see 21,000 earners falling off the tax radar,” Ali told members of the House Speaking of transparency and accountability, the Minister listed a number of examples, such as the sale of Demerara Woods Limited

which he said, under the People’s National Congress, was sold to an Englishman for 9.7 million pounds, and was later resold for 61 million pounds. This prompted one PPP/C Parliamentarian to utter a clearly audible “oh shucks”.

Then, he noted, there was the sale of a state-owned paint company to a private businessman for US$1.15M despite staffers offering G$150M for the operations.

The businessman was given a deal to put down US$200,000 and interest rate of 6% to pay off the rest when comparable interest rates at the time were a hefty 35%. “It is the same people who are now accusing the PPP/C of not being accountable and transparent,” Ali asserted.

Guyana’s finances have improved, he said, pointing to the huge investments in the agriculture, mining and quarrying, among other areas.

“Housing mortgages have all been adjusted drastically to a home owner

now having the opportunity of paying just over 4%.

Against this background, Guyana has met the UN’s goals to reduce poverty with measures that improve nutrition and child health.

This year, government has allocated $2.6B for creating jobs in the emerging ICT sector; $3.1B for the laying of a high speed internet cable.

This will translate to thousands of jobs and the eventual distribution of 90,000 laptops to poor families. We will achieve 100% IT literacy in Guyana,” the Minister said assuredly.

He continued: “The promise of growth in the economy will come amidst pledges by several mining companies to invest around US$1.6B in coming years, in bauxite and gold mines. It will also come with ongoing plans to establish tourism investment zones.” There were immediate cat-calls and table-thumping at this assertion.

According to Minister Ali, there has been an increase in tourist arrivals, “good news for Guyana when tourism

arrivals are down in the Caribbean”. The opposition wondered whether the tourism figures included families who came for funerals as well.

Regarding the old age pension, Ali noted that government is still not “satisfied”. The recent $600 increase as announced in the budget cost government $400M. “With 42,000 pensioners and the life expectancy rate moving from an average of 59 years to 70 years, government has to balance political ambition with reality,” the Minister cautioned.

This year also, government has allocated $3.6B to housing. Between 1993 and 2009, over 80,000 house lots were distributed countrywide, he said. Miles of roads in the housing schemes, 200 core homes for the vulnerable and 200 more for hinterland communities are all part of the plans as catered for in the 2012 budget.

The budget also boasts of no new taxes and increased social benefits for Guyana, he said.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

T

he Barbadosbased Caribbean E x p o r t Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in partnership with the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Business Climate, will be holding a forum in London, England, in July, aimed at helping

Bittersweet memories are all that the family of the late Adam De Jesus of lot 38 Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara (WBD) is left with after learning of his tragic death yesterday morning.

Reports are that the 26year-old was returning from Joe Vieira Park after Easter Monday celebrations when the accident occurred at Versailles, WBD. De Jesus is said to have died while he was being rushed from the accident scene to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

His brother, Andy, told Kaieteur News that Adam was transporting a friend who was at the Joe Vieira Park to the Vreed-en-Hoop junction, so that he (the friend) could get transportation to go home.

It was around 12:30 hrs when his brother lost control of his vehicle and slammed into the fence of t h e Ve r s a i l l e s P o w e r Station.

“He was taking his friend to the junction to get transportation home when the accident took place.

This was about 12:30 hours, just after midnight,” said Andy De Jesus.

According to one female family friend, Adam was still breathing when he was pulled out of the vehicle.

“He was still alive and they were taking him to the hospital when he passed away. The doctor said he was already dead when he arrived there,” said the young woman.

Meanwhile, De Jesus'

Kaieteur News

businesses capitalise on the Caribbean's free-trade agreement with Europe.

The second Caribbean Forum (Cariforum) EU Business Forum will be held under the theme "Making the Cariforum-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Work".

The organisers said the main objectives of the forum

friend who was in the vehicle, 23-year-old Paul Adams, is said to have suffered minor injuries to his neck. There was also minimal damage to the vehicle in which the two men were travelling.

Kaieteur News was told that quite recently, the De Jesus had joined a private mining company and was enjoying his new job.

He was previously employed at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and the New Building Society (NBS) as a cashier.

Some of his friends described Adam as a popular, jovial young man who “could always bring a smile to a sad face”.

“Every life has an impact in the world. He touched so many lives. It seems so cruel to lose one so dear and time may dull the pain but we will never forget Adam,” were the words of one of his friends.

He is survived by his mother, stepfather and four younger siblings.

include creating awareness about the EPA that was signed between the EU and Cariforum countries in October 2008.

The forum will also seek to promote business opportunities within sectors that are readily positioned to do business in the EU. Caribbean Export Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said what she wants to see is increased investment in the Caribbean and for the region to see this as a new frontier they can enter and not be intimidated.

“It is wide open; there

are potential niche markets in France, in the diasporic market, in the African diaspora. There are investments in the Netherlands, Holland. So I think we need to take the time to develop the relationships, and that is why the business breakfasts are so important.

“Once we have those, we will start the matching or pairing up of businesses with investors, so at the end of the day, they will see something tangible,” she said.

The plan involves pushing the uniqueness of

Page 15

the region and the diversity of its goods and services.

This will be done through a focus on "nurturing our world-class brands, telling our unique stories and creating memorable experiences worth sharing".

"We have decided to utilise this forum through a series of meetings and business breakfasts with various private sector entities and business people, distributors, networks, matchmaking and the EU market, looking at jointventure partnerships. We will be going to France,

Germany and London," she added.

Page 18

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

G

u y a n a ' s preparedness as it relates to addressing the rotavirus has been called into question with recent reports of an increase of the child-preying disease in at least one Caribbean territory.

Reports emanating from St Kitts and Nevis just last week revealed that the Chief Medical Officer there had acknowledged an upsurge in a number of new cases of viral gastroenteritis related to rotavirus.

Although causing some concern, the increased cases have not been regarded as alarming by the health official, who has since urged that parents ensure that their young children are administered the rotavirus vaccine at an early age.

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is a mild to severe disease characterised by vomiting, watery diarrhoea, and lowgrade fever.

Once a child is infected by the virus, there is an incubation period of about two days before symptoms appear.

Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route, via contact with contaminated hands, surfaces and objects, and possibly by the respiratory route. Health research has deduced that the faeces of an infected person can contain more

than 10 trillion infectious particles per gram; fewer than 100 of these are required to transmit infection to another person.

Because improved sanitation does not decrease the prevalence of rotaviral disease, the primary public health intervention is vaccination.

Two vaccines against Rotavirus infection that are safe and effective in children a r e R o t a r i x b y GlaxoSmithKline and RotaTeq by Merck. Both are taken orally and contain attenuated live virus.

It was in recognition of the fact that some young children here in Guyana had died from diarrheal infections, brought on by the effects of rotavirus, that a decision was made by the Ministry of Health to introduce RotaTeq last year, according to Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Debra Henry.

The vaccine, she recounted, was introduced during the second quarter of last year catering to a target of some 14,627 children below eight months. Nurse Henry explained that the vaccine is intended to

immunize children who are two months, four months and six months old, from the impact of the disease.

Mild side effects that have been detected include diarrhoea characterized by three or more watery motions per day after taking the vaccine. No other adverse effects associated with the vaccine have been reported, Nurse Henry has assured.

Due to the introduction of the vaccine during the second quarter, the Deputy Nursing Officer said that the Ministry of Health was only able to realize a 75 per cent national coverage last year.

She asserted that 95 per cent coverage is usually the acceptable target, even as she noted that each Region is tasked with submitting reports of the immunization process on a quarterly basis.

With the first quarter of this year already gone, Nurse Henry noted that it is expected that there would have already been a 25 per cent immunization achievement this year in the area of RotaTeq vaccination, an accomplishment she could not confirm, since reports from all Regions

have not yet been submitted.

In addition to the rotavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health also avails to young children Oral P o l i o Va c c i n e a n d a pentavalant injection containing five vaccines – Te t a n u s , P e r t u s i s , Diphtheria, Hepatitis B and Haemphilus B, all at no cost.

According to the World Health Organisation, rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoeal diseases in infants and young children globally.

It is estimated that the virus

is responsible for approximately 527,000 deaths each year, with more than 85 per cent of these deaths occurring in lowincome countries. Over two million are hospitalised each year with pronounced dehydration.

Children under five years of age, especially those between six months and two years are most vulnerable to the disease.

Based on local health statistics, there were some 45 diarrheal-related deaths recorded in 2008, of which

14 were caused by rotavirus.

In 2007, there were 17 rotavirus-related deaths of a total of 48. The years 2006 and 2005 both saw an alltime high of 76 diarrheal related deaths and 50 such deaths were recorded in 2004.

With the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine, it is the expectation of the Ministry of Health that the number of diarrheal cases in children will be significantly reduced, an accomplishment Nurse Henry is confident the country is poised to realize.

Stock in CGX Energy Inc. closed down more than 11 per cent after heavy trading yesterday following the announcement of a delay in completion of drilling on its Eagle-1 offshore well in Guyana.

CGX in a statement said "minor mechanical issues" on the Ocean Saratoga semisubmersible rig and weather conditions had pushed back completion of drilling beyond the originally planned 60 days.

"It is now anticipated that drilling operations will be completed near the end of April," the company said in a release.

On the TSX Venture Exchange, CGX stock was down 14 cents, or 11.3 per cent, to close at $1.10 after earlier tumbling as much as 15 per cent. Volume was some 4.5 million shares, more than four times the issue's daily average of just over one million shares.

CGX Energy is a

Canadian-based company focused on the exploration for oil in the GuyanaSuriname Basin off Corentyne. It started drilling earlier this year.

Repsol, a Spanishowned company which has formed a conglomerate to

drill in the Jaguar 1 location 100 miles offshore Georgetown, is currently also drilling.

A team, including President Donald Ramotar, visited that rig recently to inspect operations and to receive an update.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 19

Ideal teacher-student ratio is a work in progress Although the ideal delivery of primary education should allow for 15 students per teacher, this does not obtain in Guyana’s public education system.

However, according to Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Marcel Hudson, research has shown that one teacher to 35 students is a reasonable ratio in this country.

At the moment, Guyana has about 438 primary schools which have been adequately catering to between 85,000 and 90,000 pupils, Hudson said.

Nonetheless, he has assured that, “the teacher-student ratio has always been a work in progress. We wish we could actually do, like some other societies, where we can have one teacher to about 15 children, but what we have is quite reasonable at the moment.”

In recognition of the fact that primary education is very important to the continued edification of a child, so much so that it helps to form an educational foundation, Hudson has revealed that continued efforts are being made to improve the delivery of primary education.

“It is like a building, and if you are going to build a structure and the foundation is not right, regardless of what you put upon it, it will collapse. So it is important, as a matter of fact it is compulsory, that all of our children have access to primary education, because of the foundational nature of this level of education,”

– ACEO (Primary)

ACEO (Primary), Marcel Hudson Hudson emphasised.

Part of nurturing this foundational level, in an attempt to ensure that students do well, is the need for collaboration with parents, Hudson added.

He pointed out that studies and research done the world over have shown that where parents are integrally involved in their children’s education, those children’s performances tend to improve.

“The literature is out there in every respect. It is overwhelming, and therefore it has been one of our campaigns at the Parent/ Teacher Association meetings and seminars...it is important to show them the importance of their input in their children’s education, if they are to perform well and go on to do well in society.”

Just last week, some 18,000 primary school students participated in the

National Grade Six Assessment, a move which comes as part of Guyana’s efforts to realise universal primary education, according to Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand. The Minister added that all over the country children have access to primary education, and they are therefore able to readily participate in the NGSA. “If we had to test our skills about being able to deliver across Guyana, it is through this exam (NGSA) that we would do it, because this is the stage (primary level) that is accessible all across Guyana.”

However, the Minister noted that the Ministry of Education is now faced with a challenge to ensure that the same number of students that participate in the 2012 NGSA will also be undertaking the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Education (CSEC) examination in the next five years. As a result, she revealed that the education sector is working “feverishly” to realise universal secondary education, an achievement which is expected to become a reality under the President Donald Ramotar regime.

It is the expectation of senior education officials that programmes that are in place will help to realise this vision.

In commenting on the importance of the school feeding and uniform programmes, to which some $1 billion of this year’s budget

Man fined for threatening...

(From centre) from a watch that the woman took from him and failed to pay for.

Khan said that he would walk and sell items, and about a week ago the woman took a watch from him for $1000. He said that Phill had paid half the amount for the watch and was refusing to pay the other half. Khan argued that on every occasion that he saw the woman she never had money to pay her debt. “Well on that day My Worship I was li'l vex, cause every time I see she, she never have my money, and I wanted to pay for some stocks that I had ordered and she didn't have my money.”

He said he did have a knife but never pulled it out on the woman. He said that the knife was for his protection.

Phill, trying to get her composure, refuted Khan's claims.

She asserted very strongly that she had never seen the defendant before and had never bought anything from him.

Wiping away her tears,

Phill said that she was going about her business when the man approached her and started to call her “big bubby, big bubby”. She said she asked the man if it was she that he was talking to and he replied yes. She said the man then began to advance to her to touch her breast but she shouted on him saying “if you only touch me….”

Phill said the man then pulled out the weapon and that is when people started to come around. One person, she said, told her not to take on the man because he was

drunk. She was further told to look for a policeman and after seeing a patrol vehicle, the man was handed over by those who held onto him.

Khan subsequently begged the court for leniency after claiming that the woman was lying on him. He said he has nine children and named them all, even offering their ages.

The Magistrate then ordered Khan to pay a $10,000 fine on each of the two charges. He will otherwise face three-month sentences that would run consecutively.

have been directed, Hudson extended praises. He insisted that “we can’t run away from the fact that if children are not properly fed or are malnourished they cannot perform. I think the school feeding programme would have contributed to our

children’s performance.”

In terms of the uniform system, which he described as very important, “there are lots of our parents who might not be financially affluent, and they in particular have been able to benefit from these programmes”.

“I have seen these programmes play a major role, particularly in areas where

children have a habit of not coming to school,” Hudson noted even as he pointed out that “since the programme has started, and I say this without reservation, I have seen the numbers increase because of the fact that children are able to get something to eat. It will help them and motivate them to come to school.”

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Teachers vital to national development

By Leon Suseran President Donald Ramotar, in addressing teachers at the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) last evening, said that his government considers teachers as vital stakeholders in national development. The conference, which kicked off at the GTU Hall in New Amsterdam and which would last for the next four days is being held under the theme “Teachers of Guyana: Pillars of Unity and Gender Equality”.

Mr. Ramotar was present during the Opening Ceremony and addressed the teachers and delegates as well as other senior government officials and academics.

“The success of our investments in education depends in great measure on teachers and the quality of education they deliver. We are therefore interested in your opinions and concerns as much as you are in my administration’s plans for the education sector”.

He talked about his excitement in looking forward to the outcome of the conference “to learn about

- Ramotar reminds GTU Conference

President Donald Ramotar and GTU President Colin Bynoe (far right) with recipients of the Presidential Awards, from left: Mark Lyte, Dawn Baker and Carmel Williams, last evening your plans for the future so that together, we can continue the partnership that has developed between the government and the union”.

The Guyanese leader noted that his government has enjoyed “good relations with the union and together we have achieved a great deal

for teachers in Guyana”. He thanked the GTU for its dedicated and unstinted efforts in representing the interests of its members.

He congratulated GTU for adopting a model approach in partnering with the government to ensure a stable industrial relations climate within the education sector.

“The union has also

demonstrated maturity and understanding of the progress made for teachers to rapidly improve and sustain such improvement”.

The Head of State alluded to the Multi-Year Agreement between the Government and the union which has “led to important benefits for teachers”, and lauded such an agreement that caters for many years at a time since it allows for “greater predictability and stability in the system”.

“The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Education and GTU specifies the benefits to be disbursed, thereby avoiding the problems of year-by-year negotiations”.

“Annual salary increases and allowances, new benefits for teachers including incentives for improved a c a d e m i c qualifications...there are provisions for non-salary benefits including duty- free concessions, scholarships for teachers attending the University of Guyana, Whitley Council Leave allowances..,” were lauded by the President.

Ramotar said that he was aware of some “concerns” with the Housing Revolving

Fund, but expressed that he has asked the subject minister to “examine and resolve this issue fortrightly....I am confident that we can overcome whatever bottlenecks exist...I want to assure the GTU that my government is a friend of educators and we do not need agitation to prompt us to act”.

Ramotar stated that the government considers teachers as indispensable to the national development.

“Teachers are the preservers of knowledge...they nurture the minds of those who will eventually shape our nation’s future....without teachers, our people’s skills, creativity, industry and self- discipline will be malformed and our workers will not be able to realise their potential.”

He added that the nation would be “doomed to p e r p e t u a l underdevelopment” without good teachers.

He ended by making a promise to the teachers of the nation and gave his “solemn word that as our economy grows, teachers would not be left behind”.

Other speakers at the opening of the sessions included UG Senior Lecturer, Dr. David Hinds and GTU President Colin Bynoe, while there were messages from the Guyana Trade Unions Congress (GTUC) and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. David Granger. Three teachers received the Presidential Awards from Mr. Bynoe for their outstanding conduct as teachers.

The awardees were Mark Lyte, Carmel Williams and Senior National Power Lifting Champion and National Sportswoman of Guyana as well as Two- time Caribbean & North American Weightlifting Champ, Watooka Nursery School teacher, Dawn Baker.

Over the next few days, the union and its delegates would be discussing several issues and concerns, arrive at solutions and ratify these solutions, after which they will announce how they will address those issues, thus sending a message to the p o l i t i c i a ns and policymakers as well as stakeholders in the education sector.

One of the i s s u e s a t hand would be how the union can attract more males to join the teaching profession.

More details about the conference in a subsequent issue.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Women miners protest arbitrary land repossession by Govt.

Page 21

NGO focuses on East R/veldt Secondary

Members of the Guyana Women Miners Organization picket outside Parliament Buildings Government’s arbitrary repossession of lands owned by miners came in for serious criticism yesterday as members of the Guyana Women Miners’ Organization staged a picketing exercise in the vicinity of Parliament Buildings.

According to the organization’s president Simona Broomes, the group took their grievance outside Parliament so that Members of Parliament heading to participate in the National Budget 2012 debate would read their placards and understand their position.

The members were disappointed that they were restricted to a corner and were not allowed to be in full view of Parliament Buildings.

According to Broomes, owing to Government’s policy governing Amerindian land extension, many miners have been displaced. While some miners were given new lands others were only promised.

While the group is concerned about those lands that were repossessed, future land extension for Amerindian communities is worrisome.

Miners are also faced with the unfortunate possibility that the new lands given to them would not have the same amount or more minerals as the previously owned

claim.

Broomes stressed that Government needs to revisit that policy and make necessary changes following recommendations from miners and villagers. She added that when that policy was created, miners who would be most affected were not consulted. This has created some problems between the miners and villagers; a situation the organization hopes will stop.

According to a Mahdia miner whose land was repossessed, Noreen Mendonza, in 2009 Government took away eight claims she inherited from her mother, who passed away in 2002. She noted that the claims were owned by her mother since 1987.

“These lands were verified and they are in the Official Gazette… Then if your land is in the Official Gazette and they say the land isn’t valid then the Official Gazette wrong,” Mendonza said emphatically.

The distraught woman noted that she spoke to several officials of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission but to date her only compensation is a promise to receive land equivalent to her claims.

According to Broomes, this situation also affected

small miners who had engaged in business deals with foreign investors. She added that Government’s authority to take away lands arbitrarily is scaring away foreign investors from the industry.

Broomes emphasized that women need fair opportunities to develop themselves in the maledominated industry. She noted that for decades, women have work e d tirelessly beside men in the mining industry to have it as one of the major c o n t r i b u tors to this economy.

The mining sector creates wealth and job opportunities to Guyana, and as such, Government should invest in advancing this growing industry as it is investing in the rice and sugar industries, Broomes said.

From left: Colin Canterbury, Tricia Cox, Maloma Bristol and Mark Murray In order to improve the education system at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, the GY Alumni, a Non-GovernmentalOrganization (NGO) recently started a one-week reunion programme which is aimed at facilitating the school’s library and sports facilities.

According to the NGO’s vice president, Maloma Bristol, the members are not only trying to bring the past and present students together, but also to improve the school’s status.

She explained that GY Alumni held its first reunion with a dinner last year and the turnout was more than the members expected, so this year they extended it to “a week of activities.”

According to Bristol, some of the main aims of the

NGO are to create unity, friendship and fellowship among the old and new students and to promote inspiration and guidance to the those currently attending the institution.

The NGO’s Public Relations Officer, Mark Murray said that the secondary school is widely referred to as “Back School” and the members intend to change that view and showcase some of the top students the school has produced - some of whom are doctors, pilots, lawyers, technicians, teachers and

journalists.

He explained that this year they are focusing on improving the school’s library as well as its sports facilities.

He added that reading at times can be boring so they (the members) will attempt to make the experience more interesting for the students by making available more funfilled reading books.

The President of the club, Colin Canterbury said that the “week of activities” is essentially open to all, but members of the NGO are strictly former students of the school.

Page 22

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Kaieteur News

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Wednesday April 11, 2012

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Call: 233-6631, 233-6517, 6221957 One brandnew playstation 3 $100,000. Call: 233-6631, 2336517, 622-1957 (Continued on page 23)

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 23

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

Holding the NBS up to public scrutiny

DEAR EDITOR, It is extremely troubling to read in various newspapers and other internet sites that are out there, about some of the dealings going on with the New Building Society. I find it particularly disturbing that Dr. Ashni Singh would go onto the floor of parliament and state that NBS “disburses record-breaking $4.2B in mortgages, earns $772M profit” per your article dated April 4, 2012, but with no other supporting facts which are all important to understand the health of this institution. We need a complete report not bread crumbs.

I think your newspapers owe the public greater scrutiny of these statements

by requesting from NBS more information to backup or explain these “record” successes of NBS. First of all, we the public would like to know how much did NBS pay out in dividends compared to the past five years, with these record earnings we should expect shareholders to be getting record dividends also correct? This is a fair ask by your stellar reporting organization.

I would also encourage you to ask NBS as well as Ashni Singh formally to provide us with audited statements from NBS so that we the public can review these books for ourselves. Our President speaks a good game but the honeymoon is

SUICIDE BY TRAFFIC? DEAR EDITOR, I write this letter to alert the police and motorists about the suicidal practice of pedal cyclists cutting off motorists on the East Coast Demerara highway. On Sunday I was driving towards Georgetown on the west bound side of the two-lane highway in the vicinity of Atlantic Gardens.

I was in the right lane and there was mini bus traffic in the left lane. Out of nowhere there was a white blur in front of my car and I was forced to apply brakes.

It was a pedal cyclist who was not content with entering traffic in the left lane but chose to immediately go over into the right lane thereby crossing in front of me. He, off course, had to make a left turn to avoid hitting the concrete median barrier and he ended up zig zagging in front of me as he tried to regain control of the bike.

Meanwhile I am on my brakes trying to avoid running over him. Thank God I managed to do that.

I am not sure what the traffic laws are as regard pedal cyclists entering that highway and going straight over into the right lane but the practice is certainly suicidal for the cyclists and placing innocent motorists at risk of a death by dangerous driving charge.

With all the local village streets available to him I am at a loss to know why that cyclist wanted to ride in the fast lane of the highway. Was he trying to commit suicide by traffic?

Malcolm Harripaul

official over, we want to know in more detail why NBS has moved from external independent auditors to internal auditors.

The world over, especially in light of Madoff and Enron etc., is demanding more independent auditors and tighter controls as we have seen introduced in the US by Sarbanes Oxley etc.?

The government of Guyana seems to feel that internal and external audits are one and the same and they are interchangeable, this could not be further from the truth. External CPA’s are required to audit the work of internal auditors and internal auditor also do additional work not required by external CPA’s.

NBS needs to be treated like any other financial institution and NIS also should follow similar standards whereby the Board of Directors of each statechartered bank, savings association, and savings bank must elect an Audit Committee composed of not less than three members, a majority of which should be outside directors not the directors that are part of the NBS board.

The Audit Committee should be required to engage a CPA firm and secure an annual examination of the financial condition of the institution. The Audit Committee should also responsible for overseeing the annual external audit programme and shall require that a written report of the external audit be presented to the Board of Directors and documented in the board

Attacking Justice Chang is a most...

From page 4 competence and ability of Justice Chang to hold judicial office. This is wrong and cannot be condoned.

Fourthly, Justice Chang may not be an elegant judge.

Far from being a timorous soul, he is bold but cautiously bold. As a judge I am sure he must have his shortcomings in judicial defiance but none can challenge his legal competence. He is a judge of substance though not necessarily of form. He is ordinary but yet far from ordinary.

The decisions which will provoke debates will come from him. His decisions will invite comments. But comments must be kept within proper limits and not be used as a whipping horse to achieve political mileage in the public domain.

Finally, based on the statements from Justice Chang himself he has signaled that he does not

need to occupy the post of Chief Justice or any other judicial office.

He quite justifiably feels that damage has been done to him as a judge and to his office by irresponsible commentators in the public domain.

If he resigns as he has threatened to do his detractors may rejoice but the nation will suffer. To the best of my knowledge, he never applied for or asked for any judicial office, it was thrust upon him.

He was requested by our leaders (on both sides of the political divide) to perform the functions of Chief Justice. He reluctantly acquiesced. So to resign would not be a big decision for him.

If you know Justice Chang, you know that he does not give a darn about holding public office. Years ago, he resigned as the acting Director of Public Prosecutions. The nation lost.

I bet the nation will lose

again.

Was it not Justice Chang who, some time ago, chaired the Disciplined Forces Commission which produced a report which met the approval of all the political parties in the National Assembly? How could we allow the political and social issues to becloud a proper assessment of the legal value of the decision of Justice Chang?

He is our nation’s youngest Senior Counsel.

He is the only silk who adorns the judiciary and is the most prolific producer of written decisions in recent times. His workout is unrivalled.

Rather than reacting by beating drums for political mileage, the noise-makers should have taken the time to read, understand and appreciate the decision before jumping headfirst making rash pronouncements.

Jerome Khan Attorney-at-law

minutes.

Some of the other questions that Kaieteur News needs to ask is to show what percentage of mortgages was given to various individuals. You do not need the name of the individuals but you need to see, for example, of the largest amount of money loaned went to one individual or several, were these commercial loans or mortgages to a few individuals or were these a multitude of mortgages to various individuals, this would help anyone interested in NBS and its health to determine if there is any risk that could potentially harm NBS and its shareholders.

These are all the important facts and figures missing from Dr. Singh’s brave pronouncement in parliament.

You owe it to your readers to ask for an explanation of these questions. I would also like to query how much the bank is spending on entertainment, I have been provided with certain details alleging that certain board members are submitting their expenses to the bank to be paid for rum sessions at different watering holes across the country.

These are stiff accusations that audited financials reviewed by the press and parliament should be able to disprove to show that our Minister of Finance and Dr. Gopaul the Chairman of NBS are stalwarts of honor and fiscal responsibility who would not tolerate this kind of improper transactions.

Since Dr. Ashni Singh proclaimed that the PPP is the most transparent government that is above board and that has put the PNC to shame with their transparency and openness to scrutiny and since our President has emphatically stated that there is no widespread fraud and corruption going on the government should have no problems providing this information to the public and

as a matter of fact you in the press owe it to the government and society to test these statements made by the government as is done in all democratic societies which is again another major trait that the PPP and all Guyanese should be proud of.

I would also encourage you to start asking questions about this Maurice Arjoon case. The public really wants to know the truth.

I also feel that the opposition in parliament should be equally concerned and should be asking Dr. Singh and Minister Gopaul who are both involved in NBS these questions in parliament and let us get it on the Hansard the official answers to these questions, because if we get any false answers on the floor of parliament there will be serious consequences.

NBS is a public entity and it is extremely important and I am sure the President and Dr. Singh will be more than happy to prove that there is no hanky panky going on at NBS. They will be more than happy to furnish the necessary information to the press and parliament in this new era of celebrated transparency promoted by the PPP and Dr. Singh himself.

I would like to congratulate President Ramotar for ushering this new era of transparency and his embrace of the independent media which is consistent with the ideals of Dr. Jagan.

John B.Singh TO LET 1 Bottom flat for couple.

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(From page 22)

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Page 24

DTV CHANNEL 8 07:55hrs. Sign On 08:00hrs. Indian Movie 11:00hrs. The View 12:00hrs. Prime News 12:30hrs. The Young and the Restless 13:30hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful 14:00hrs. The Talk 15:00hrs. Boy Meets World 16:00hrs. Smallville 17:00hrs. Beverly Hills, 90210 18:00hrs. World News 18:30hrs. Nightly News 19:30hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00hrs. Channel 8 News 21:00hrs. Criminal Minds (New Episode) 22:00hrs. Law & Order: Special Victim Unit (New Episode) 23:00hrs. Sign Off NCN CHANNEL 11 01:00hrs – BBC World 02:00hrs – NCN Late Edition (R/B) 02:30hrs – Late Nite with GINA 03:00hrs – Movie

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05:00hrs – Inspiration 05:30hrs – Newtown Gospel 06:00hrs – NCN Late Edition News(r/b) 06:30hrs – Feature 07:00hrs – Guyana Today 08:00hrs – Let’s Talk Tax (R/ B) 09:00hrs – Stop the Suffering 10:00hrs – Cricket 1st Test West Indies VS Australia Day 5 12:00hrs – Lotto’s Cricket Info & Quiz 12:40hrs – Cricket Resumes 17:00hrs – Anderson 18:00hrs – NCN News Magazine – Live 18:30hrs – Feature 19:00hrs – Al Jazeera 19:30hrs – Minister’s Forum 20:00hrs – 3d/daily millions/ play de dream/lotto draw 20:05hrs – GWI Alert 20:35hrs – Oral Tradition 21:05hrs – NCN Sports Magazine 22:05hrs – NCN News Late Edition 22:35hrs – IPL#12 Mumbai Indians VS Rajasthan Royals (Delayed)

Guides are subjected to change without notice

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Wednesday April 11, 2012

The Abigail Column My dad’s cheating on my mom DEARABIGAIL, I found out a few years ago that my dad has been having little affairs with other women. There are at least two that I know of that he has actually met and been with in person. I have read some of the online conversations, and my dad says that he does not love my mom anymore, but I know that my mom still loves him.

I can’t understand how he could do this, or how the other women can go along with this knowing that he is married and has kids. I love my dad, and we have always gotten along great. I want to

confront him about this, but I cannot get up enough nerve to do it. I am the only one that knows about this; I have no one to talk to about this and I don’t know what I should do.

Knows Too Much Dear Knows Too Much, It’s pretty clear you’re upset to know your dad has been “having little affairs” outside of his marriage with your mom. You also seem committed to letting your dad know that you’re on to him.

Before you jump in, it’s always good to go into a confrontation after thinking hard about three things: 1) the goals you hope to achieve by confronting; 2) how you will confront (face-to-face,

phone, email, etc.); and 3) how the person might react.

First, what are your goals?

In other words, what do you hope this confrontation will lead to? Once you’ve decided on your goals, you can choose how you will confront your dad.

The hard reality of this situation is that no amount of preparedness and strategy will take away all of the stress you’re feeling. This is emotionally challenging, and you find yourself hardpressed to understand how your dad could act in such ways.

It’s a good thing if you seek support of some nonfamily members as you get through this tough time.

Wednesday April 11, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): If you agree to do something today, you have be sure you want to stick with it. It's not wise to commit yourself to something while simultaneously creating an escape plan. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Is there someone you've been meaning to have a difficult conversation with? Today is the day to do it. Instead of calling them up and plunging right into the issue, invite them over for a quiet dinner. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): People do not always practice what they preach, and it might seem like someone has an ulterior motive when they make a huge effort to help others today. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Today might be an extremely busy one for you, but it doesn't have to be all work and no play! There is nothing wrong with adding a little fun to a business situation -so don't feel the need to take everything so seriously. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): You'll be quite a whirlwind of activity today -- and the people around you will have to step aside in order to give you room. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): You've got a lot of irons in the fire right now, and they're all starting to get too hot to handle. Before there's a total meltdown, you need to get active! *********************

LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): There are many shifts going on in your relationships -- at work, home or school.

Luckily, these shifts are generating mostly good results. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): Let forgiveness and charity take over today -- the peaceful resolution of a situation may require to you take the high road (yet again). You may not realize it, but you are a role model to many other people. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): There may be a lot of noise and excitement around you today, but you will be all too happy to stay outside of the activity. Your energy will flourish in quieter surroundings, with few (if any) people around you. **************** CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): It may be extremely tempting to let other people take the reins today and just follow along ... after all, it is easier to just go where you are told to go and do what you are told to do. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): There is too much going on in your life for you to be concerned with what is going on in other people's lives right now, so avoid any distractions. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): Get together with a group of other people and help make your world a better place! If you can't find a group to help you get things done, then organize your very own beautification project.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 25

‘Work Force’ a force to be reckoned with in the horseracing circle

By Samuel Whyte By name and nature the animal Work Force is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the horseracing circle in Guyana and overseas based Guyanese Mr Desmond Vibert must be a happy man if not one of the happiest horse owners around.

Of recent the name Work Force has quickly come to prominence in the horseracing circle in Guyana and owner and trainer Mr Desmond Vibert is not surprised. Back Home on holiday and speaking to Kaieteur Sports from his home in Plantation Hope (Bath) West Coast Berbice, Vibert who resides in England with his wife Chandrawatie, a nurse and three sons, was happy to speak about his animal’s one horse’s crusade and recent dominance.

He stated that his family actually grew up into horseracing, but after a while he fell out of the game. He decided to return and has done so with a bang. He has been back into the sport for about six years. Horseracing is an expensive sport and to get in the game and be on top you have to have top class horses. And one of his animals, World Class, which he acquired from the Colin Elcock stable, was one of the top animals a few years ago.

That animal won two races in one day. He has owned a few other horses, but they were not as successful.

However Work Force is making him a force to be reckoned in the horseracing circle with six wins to its name

Mrs. Chandrawatie Vibert receiving the winning trophy after a recent event. already. Vibert is presently working on acquiring a few more class animals to boost his stable. He stated that he is in constant contact with Dr Dwight Walrond and popular racehorse owner Colin Elcock.

Purchased as a two years old animal from another popular horse owner and importer, Romel Jagroop and sourced from Trinidad, the

animal now four years old has quickly moved up the ranking and is now Classified G1. It is presently campaigning in the E, G and Four Year old categories and is capable of competing in both the sprints and distance races.

Although overseas, Vibert stated that he is the very involved in the daily training and upkeep of his animal. He and a friend

Guyana friendly a useful...

From page 29 times, therefore it is our aim to have our top players in the UK for this game and consequent match-ups leading into the qualifiers,” Burrell said.

The Boyz have also confirmed a home-and-away series with Panama on May 27 at the National Stadium, with a return match organised just last week for Panama City on June 1.

Jamaica, the number one Caribbean side currently ranked 47th

by FIFA, were busy in February with three matches, then cooling off with a single engagement in March.

For the February matches, they defeated Cuba (1-0 and 30) in Kingston and Montego Bay, then closed out the month with a 3-2 win away to New Zealand. In March, they played to a 0-0 draw with Central America’s Costa Rica inside the National Stadium, also known as ‘The Office’.

overseas will keep in touch with the stable on a daily basis and would use the Social Network Skype to be informed. “I will have to see the animal daily using Skype, before it go and train and even after it returns, I will view it on Skype. I will tell the grooms and trainers what kind of feed, training, how much distance etc, after they are finish I will have to see the horse how it looks and gave further instructions.”

The stable in his absence is headed by his brother Raymond Deodat Vibert. He makes sure that everything is in order including the responsibility for purchasing feed, medication etc.

Vibert will return home at least twice yearly to tend to his stable and participate in the sport. The relaxed horse owner who is also a cattle farmer stated that he would usually attend races when in England at the Grand National which is not far from

where he stays. Ironically it was at one of those meets that he noticed a particular horse named Work Force doing its work and he decided that he will name his animal Work Force a decision he has relished. Vibert stated that he is on a mission to the top and plans to increase his stable by acquiring one or two more top quality animals, presently he as a number of animals on fold.

The animal on most occasions has been among the money whenever it races and by now, even as the name alone would suggest, it is accustomed to being in the top echelons whenever it races. Improving all the time the horse is looking to dominate and its spot in the winning enclosure.

Not too often a one horse would dominate the racing circle and according to Vibert somehow he knew this animal will be a champion. Vibert stated that he has picked up a few tricks from his many

years in the trade and from his sojourn overseas.

In its last encounter on the race track at the Norman Singh Memorial Turf Club just recently, the animals created a major upset by going up in class to take the E class event from its more illustrious opponents. It then returned to place second in the very competitive four year old event. In the last three meets it ran four races with three consecutive victories starting with a victory at the Kennard Memorial Turf Club, and then it returned two weeks later to take the feature event at the Ryan Crawford turf Club meet. Then like a real ‘Work Force’ the racehorse returned a week later to destroy its rivals to race away with the E class event which was worth $600,000 and trophy. From recent results Work Force is definitely on a mission to work to the top weather by class or force.

Page 26

Universal Auto cycle race programme set for Saturday in the National Park

Enzo Matthews

National Cycling Coach, Hassan Mohamed MS has organized the 8th Annual Universal Auto and General Supplies Youth Cycle Programme on Saturday, April 14 commencing at 09:00hrs at the National Park Circuit.

Several races are scheduled with the Schoolboys and Invitational race over 35 laps being the main attraction. The full schedule of races is as follows: Events 12 to 14 yrs Boys & Girls 3 Laps Veteran U – 50 yrs 5 Laps Veteran O – 50 yrs 5 Laps Veteran O – 60 yrs 5 Laps Juveniles 10 Laps Upright Cyclists 5 Laps BMX Boys Open 3 Laps BMX Boys 12 to 14 yrs 3 Laps BMX Boys 9 to 12 yrs 3 Laps BMX Boys 6 to 9 yrs 2 Laps School Boys & Invitation - 35 Laps Manager of the sponsors, Mr. Shameer Baksh, will be on hand to distribute the prizes to the respective winners.

Enzo Matthews is the defending champion in the 35 Laps event, winning last year in 1Hr/22Mins./48.85Secs.

Other winners last year expected to defend their crowns are: Dellon Moore (10 Laps) Juveniles, Kennard Lovell (5 Laps) Veteran U – 50 yrs and Dexter Wilson (5 Laps) Upright Cyclist.

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

2011 Tenelec Inc. 1st Div. 50 over tourney

Edinburg defeat Skeldon; RHT Gizmos and Gadgets and Albion at the top Edinburg, bounced back from a huge loss to Memorex Bermine on Saturday to beat Skeldon Community Centre by 8-wickets on Sunday when play in the 2011 Tenelec Inc. first division 50-overs cricket tournament continued in Berbice.

Winning the toss and batting first, Skeldon were bowled out for 135 in 33.1 overs; Clavern Beresford top scoring with 21.

Bowling for Edinburg, pacers Derick Cadogan took 3 for 20 from 8 overs, Zaheer Hussain 2 for 40 from 9 overs; left arm spinner Mark Sampson had 2 for 3 from 4 overs and off spinner Seeram Seecoomar 2 for 6 from 3 overs.

When Edinburg replied, they slipped to 39 for 2 before Shafiq Khan 52* (8x4) and former Berbice Under-15 wicketkeeper batman Jamal Henry 50* (3x4 3x6) put on 99

in an unbroken third wicket stand to see them to 138 for 2 in 17.1 overs.

Meanwhile, the points standing show that Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets with 14 points and two games in hand and Albion Community Centre on 12 points cannot be challenged as the top two teams in the round-robin stage of the competition which will see the four teams with the most points advancing to the semi finals.

Only Memorex Bermine

(10 points) and one game to play against Skeldon can equal Albion’s points tally; and with the latter winning their head-to-head encounter, they will still be ahead. By virtue of this fact, Albion and Rose Hall Town are already assured of their semi final places.

Memorex Bermine, Universal DVD Young Warriors with 10 points from all of their matches and Port Mourant Karibee Rice and Edinburg who each have nine points with one match each

Points standings Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets Albion Community Centre Memorex Bermine Universal DVD Young Warriors West Berbice Port Mourant Karibee Rice Edinburg Blairmont Community Centre Skeldon Community Centre Police

to play both against Rose Hall Town, are the other teams in line for the other two semi final spots.

Memorex Bermine needs to win their last match to be certain of going forward, failing which their chance would disappear if either Port Mourant or Edinburg or both of them upset Rose Hall Town and can possibly end up with 11 points.

Yo u n g Wa r r i o r s h a d beaten both Memorex Bermine and West Berbice in their encounters.

14 points from 7 matches 12 points from 9 matches 10 points from 8 matches 10 points from 9 matches 10 points from 9 matches 9 points from 8 matches 9 points from 8 matches 6 points from 9 matches 2 points from 8 matches 2 points from 9 matches

Man City’s Mario Balotelli avoids ban for Alex Song tackle

Mario Balotelli is shown the red card

Manchester C i t y ’s Mario Balotelli has escaped the prospect of an additional six-game ban for his tackle on Alex Song in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.

Referee Martin Atkinson took no action in the match, but reported the incident had been seen, ruling out retrospective Football Association action.

Balotelli was sent off after picking up yellow cards for two unrelated fouls.

He could have faced extra three-game bans for violent conduct and what

would have been a fourth dismissal of season.

In addition to his dismissal at Emirates Stadium, Balotelli has previously been sent off in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool in November and was retrospectively charged with violent conduct after he appeared to stamp on Scott Parker in the win over Tottenham in January.

T h e FA i n s i s t s t h a t , while it could reevaluate the incident involving Parker, it would not take a second look at Balotelli’s challenge on Saturday.

“Retrospective action was introduced for off-theball incidents where there was no contest for possession and could not be deemed to be re-refereeing an incident,” it said.

“In agreement with Fifa, this is how ‘not seen’ incidents are dealt with retrospectively in England.

It is a policy that is agreed with all football stakeholders.”

The striker’s existing three-game ban begins a g a i n s t We s t B r o m o n Wednesday.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

BCB team up with BCC for Independence Day 4-team 20/20 Fiesta The Berbice Cricket Board in conjunction with Berbice Chambers of Commerce have combined effort to bring off what is anticipated to be a huge Independence Day fundraising 20/20 cricket competition at the Albion Community Centre Ground, May 26.

Fashioned along the lines of the highly successful Hits & Jams 20/20 Cup, the two entities are seeking to raise funds for the development of the sport in the Ancient County, the work of the Berbice Chambers, Charities and clubs.

Secretary of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club and Chairman of the Berbice Cricket Board Special Events Committee Hilbert Foster had proposed the tournament during a joint meeting between the two organisations with the Chambers of Commerce readily buying into the proposal.

The four teams that would be part of the tournaments are Lower Corentyne Titans, West Berbice/Upper Corentyne Jaguars, New Amsterdam/Canje/Central Corentyne Warriors and the Georgetown/East Coast Pitbulls.

The organisers are hoping to attract a sponsor for each team and also to provide a winner’s prize of $500,000, runnerup $250,000 and the losing semifinalists, $100,000 each.

Patrons would be charged a fee of $500 to enter the venue, while children would have to pay $200. Funds raised from the tournament which would start at 09.00 hours would be divided based on the agreed formula: 40% for the BCB cricket Development Programme; 40% for the Berbice Chambers of Commerce; 10% for less fortunate clubs and 10% for children Orphanages based in the Ancient County.

The two organisations have established a permanent planning committee chaired by Anil Beharry as it was proposed that the tournament would be an annual affair.

Imran Saccoor would serve as Vice Chairman, Cosmota Lindie as Secretary, Angela Haniff - Assistant Secretary, Joel McPherson - Treasurer, Romash Munna - Assistant Treasurer and Hilbert Foster - Public Relations Officer.

Former national cricketer Hubern Evans is the tournament coordinator while Ramesh Maraj, Gurdat Marray and Shabeer Baksh are the Committee Members.

A special Bank Account would be opened at Republic Bank (Guy) Ltd for the tournament while Martin Singh of Associated Business Services was appointed, Auditor.

The organisers would be approaching the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport and the Ministry of Tourism for the event to be added on the national list of tourism activities.

The BCB and the Berbice Chambers of Commerce would like to encourage potential sponsors to support this historic tournament and to contact the organising committee on telephone number 333 2375 for further information.

Page 27

Guyana performed “fairly good” at Caribbean...

From page 31 said that the camp before the Championships was a success and gave an indication that Guyana’s medal tally could be much better if they had fielded teams in the Girls 18-Years and 1 5 - Ye a r s - a n d - U n d e r categories.

However, he lauded the performance of Chelsea Edghill, who picked up her second medal at this level, a silver medal in the 15-Yearsand-Under singles competition. She had won gold two years ago in the Under-13 group and has shown consistent growth regionally.

“What would be required immediately for Chelsea is to get an International Olympic Solidarity scholarship or funding/sponsorship, which would ensure she gets to attend high yielding training camps and play on the international junior circuit for much more exposure,” Munroe indicated.

He said that if that is not done, as Edghill grows and the age difference grows wider between her and her regional peers, she will become less and less competitive. Munroe believes that Edghill’s management should consider the option of exposing the athlete more.

Below is a full synopsis of how Guyana performed in Cuba at the Caribbean Championships, beginning with Guyana’s performance in the 15-Years-and-Under Boys Team and Singles competitions: Guyana beat Aruba 3-0 after Joseph Jonson defeated Allan Croes 11-4, 11-3 and 117; Shemar Britton defeated

Dirche Valentino 11-9, 11-3 and 11-8; Bryton Murray ended proceedings for the Guyanese trio against Jean Pierre with an 11-7, 11-7 and 11-5 win.

The team then faced Jamaica defeating them 3-0 after Britton defeated Darren Chamber 11-7, 14-12, 10-12, 911 and 15-13; Johnson narrowly lost to Simon Ho-On 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9 and 1012; Elishaba Johnson defeated Sean Wilson 11-8, 1311, 8-11, 8-11 and 11-6; Britton closed proceedings with 116, 9-11,11-9 and11-6 win.

Guyana then lost to the might of Dominican Republic team with Murray losing 0-3 to Emanuel Lazano; Joseph Johnson losing 0-3 to Andre Bertencia 3-0 and Britton in a remarkable contest defeated Jefferson Almazar 3-1.

The Guyanese also lost to Cuba’s ‘B’ team and Trinidad and Tobago by 30 margins; the Guyana U15 Boy’s team finished fifth behind the Dom Republic, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba ‘A’. Jamaica, Aruba and Suriname took the other positions.

Shemar Britton advanced as the second placed player from Group Three to the Round-of-16 and in the process he defeated Sean Wilson from Jamaica 3-0 and Jean-Pierre Helmeyer. His only lost in the group stage came against eventual champion, Cuba’s Livian Martinez.

In the Round-of-16, he lost to Enzenat Lazaro from Cuba 3-1. Joshua Lalbachan, Elishaba Johnson, Joseph Johnson and Bryton Murray did not advance from the group stage they both

Australia turn tables on wobbly West Indies From back page feathered behind playing an uncharacteristically aggressive stroke and his edge was so thin that the umpire Ian Gould did not appear likely to give him out, but the batsman walked. In his next over, Hilfenhaus trapped Kirk Edwards lbw and a review of Gould’s decision could not save the batsman, and Clarke’s decision to declare 43 runs in arrears was looking inspired.

The Australian lower order had provided major frustrations for West Indies, especially Harris, who finished unbeaten on 68, and the No.11 Nathan Lyon, who remained not out on 40. They had put on 77 for the final wicket and could have batted on further, but Clarke wasn’t convinced a draw was the best outcome Australia could manage.

Australia added 40 runs after lunch and the innings was nearly brought to an end

with the score at 391 when Harris was given out lbw to Fidel Edwards for 66. But with a review up his sleeve, Harris asked for the third umpire to check Gould’s on-field decision and the replay showed the ball would have sailed over the top of the stumps.

There were precious few other opportunities for West Indies as their heads bowed and shoulders slumped during the final partnership, the second-highest tenthwicket stand ever by an Australian pair against West Indies. Things had started perfectly for West Indies as they took the new ball in the first over of the day and quickly had Michael Hussey back in the dressing room having added only one to his overnight score.

Hussey pushed forward at a Kemar Roach delivery that angled across him and his

edge was well taken by Carlton Baugh low to his left. Siddle followed for 0 when he ducked a shortish delivery from Fidel Edwards and gloved a catch to gully, and Australia were 250 for 7. Matthew Wade and Harris added 35 for the eighth wicket and both men played some promising shots but Wade’s patience eventually deserted him and he drove expansively at Edwards and edged to slip for 28 from 97 deliveries.

Hilfenhaus provided some entertainment with five boundaries in his 24, an innings that ended when he tried to whack Roach over midwicket and lost his middle stump. But it wasn’t the end for the Australian lower order as Harris and Lyon’s partnership reached 37 at lunch, both men having played some impressive strokes and they were particularly good at driving

when the bowlers overpitched.

Harris struck seven boundaries and brought up his half-century from his 76th ball with a clip through midwicket, and his determination was evident in his celebration as he gritted his teeth and settled in for some more batting. Lyon also played some strong drives and brought up his highest first-class score.

Clarke denied him the chance of scoring a halfcentury, but it was the furthest thing from the captain’s mind as he sought a way to win the match. By stumps, victory had become a much more realistic proposition.

Scores: West Indies 449 for 9 dec and 71 for 5 (Hilfenhaus 3-17) lead Australia 406 for 9 dec (Clarke 73, Harris 68*, Roach 3-72) by 114 runs.

finished third in their groups.

In the 18-Years-and-Under Team’s, Doubles and Singles competitions, playing without Brad and Brandon Belle, the Guyana Boys U-18 team was reduced to David Duncan, Sachin Panday, Stefan Corlette and Sunil Logan.

Duncan, a defensive player, had a remarkable Championships picking up games against Cuba Dominican Republic and along with Sachin Panday were the only two players to advance out of the group stages in the singles edition competition.

Guyana defeated Aruba 30; Corlette beat Shain Cian 30; Panday defeated Lifen Dylampe 3-2; Duncan defeated Cendric Vander Linde 3-0; Guyana lost to Jamaica 30 with Duncan losing to Nicolas Mahfoo 2-3; Corlette lost to Glenfort McDonald 30 and Panday lost 2-3 to Samuel Rickettes. However, Guyana bounced back and quickly dismissed Surinam 30 in this competition.

But the strength of the Spanish-speaking teams continued to plague Guyana when the Dominican Republic whipped them 3-0 with Duncan losing David Vila 0-3; Panday losing to Issac Vila 03 and Logan losing to Richard Pichardo 1-3.

Cuba then defeated Guyana 3-1 when Corlette lost to Frank Hector Sola 11-3, 11-7 and 11-4 but Duncan kept them in the hunt with a 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6 and 12-10 win against Reiner Betincia Corvia;

however, Panday lost 3-0 to Yisrell Montalvo and Duncan lost 11-2, 11-4, 9-11 and 11-7 to Frank Hector Sola.

Guyana again finished fifth in the Under-18 Boys competition behind the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Cuba, Jamaica and Guyana.

Suriname, Aruba and Curacao took the other positions behind Guyana.

In the Boys’ 18-Years-andUnder doubles competition, Panday and Duncan advanced to the quarterfinals while the other pairs lost in the first round.

In the singles competition, Panday playing out of Group One, advanced as the second placed player in his group; he defeated Lindriche Vanderlinde from Aruba 3-0 with his only lost in the group stage coming against Cuba’s Frank Hector Sola.

He lost in the Round-of16 to Jean Paul Barrayo 3-0; Duncan also advanced from Group Seven after he defeated Michael Kelly from Aruba 3-0 and Yang Zhen Fu 3-1. His only group lost in the group came against Ernesto Martinez.

He lost to the Dominican Republic’s Issac Vila 3-0 in the Round-of-16. Stefan Corlette and Sunil Logan placed third in their group matches and did not advance to the knockout stage.

In the Girls’ 18-Years-andUnder Singles competition, Akecia Nedd lost in the quarterfinal stage to Cuba’s Yuensi Diaz 3-1 in the group stage. She defeated Maibi Ferro 3-2 to advance out of the fourth group.

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Football Competition Prashad wins Woodlands Eight matches on this Sunday in Amelia’s Ward Golf Tournament Eight matches will be played when the Linden segment of Attackers vs. TrainLine Warriors, Wisroc vs. 1/2 Mile/ 1 Mile,

Like a skilled surgeon, Patrick Prashad dissected the back nine of Lusignan Golf Club on Saturday to stitch up victory in the Woodlands Hospital Golf Tournament.

After a disastrous front nine 42, Prashad shot a stunning 33 on the back nine including an eagle and two birdies. It was enough to card the day’s best gross 75 and best net 68.

Club President Brian Hackett shot 95 for a net 68 and second place and third place went to the long driving Mikey Mangal with a 78, net 69.

The turnout for the event was a field of 29.

Member Hilbert Shields was instrumental in gaining the hospital’s sponsorship through his friend Billy Fung-a-Fat and in remarks he spoke of the doctor’s interest of the game and his pledge to sponsor an annual tournament.

Hackett in turn thanked Shields for helping to arrange the event.

the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Football Competition resumes on Saturday, at the Wisroc/Amelia’s Ward Bus Park on Sunday, April 14.

The fixtures are as follows: Mini Bus versus $100 Car, Classic Six vs. Wash Boyz, Constab Warriors vs. Coomacka,

Amelia’s Ward Russian vs. South Stars, Pepper Skull vs. HIStars Retrieve Unknowns vs. Sheriff Squad.

Starting time is 18:00 hrs.

Meanwhile, below is a table of the current points standing:

Entries pour in for Rising Sun fund raising meet on Sunday

By Samuel Whyte Entries have poured in for the previously postponed Rising Sun Turf Club Fund Raising Horserace meet in collaboration with the Lions Clubs of Durban Park, Central Demerara and Bartica which is slated for this Sunday April 15 at the Rising Sun Turf Club at Arima Park on the West Coast of Berbice.

So far over 60 entries have been received for the meet which will effectively be the first for the RSTC for the 2012 season.

The Rising Sun Turf Club under the stewardship of Inshanally and Fazal Habibulla, which is known for its benevolence over the years, has been one of the leading entities in this regard in the country as they continuously assist other charity organizations with their fund raising ventures and this occasion is no different as they team up with the three Lions clubs to help raise funds for the needy.

Eight races are listed on the day’s card with competitors set to vie for over $5M in prize money which will be available in cash and trophies.

There are a number of top notch events carded for the days programme with the four feature events being for the B and lower, the 3 yr old classic for horses Born and Bred in the Guyana and the West Indies and there is also the E class event and the race for three years old Guyana Bred horses.

The B class event over 1400M will see the horses galloping for a first prize of $1M. The three year Guyana and West Indies Bred event will see the animals battling for the top prize of $400,000 over

1400M. The incentive for the winner in the E and lower event is also worth $400,000 also over 1400M. The race for three year old Guyana bred horses has a winning money of $300,000 and the distance is also 1400M The G Class race which will also be run over 1400M and will see the winner taking away the $260,000 first prize.

Turfites will once again see the top H class animals race for the $200,000 first prize over 1400M. The ‘I ‘class event has a winning tag of $180,000 and is over 1100M. The division 1,2,3 race is the final race on the day’s card and victory in this event will see the champion taking home $100,000 in the 1100M sprint.

With so much on offer a scintillating and action packed day of racing is anticipated.

Businessman Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall in Bourda Market will once again be sponsoring the champion jockey and champion trainer trophies.

Entries closed on Sunday 8th April and additional enquiries can be made with Fazal Habibulla at Chester Fry at Bush Lot West Coast Berbice on Telephone No 232-0232 or 648-6522 or Inshanally Habibulla on tel No 623-4495, and 623-5453, or Donald or Zaleena Lawrie on telephone no 225-4530.

The race will be run under the rules of the Rising Sun Turf Club.

Race time is 13:00 hrs and according to the organisers the track will be in good condition. Turfites are encouraged to come out early as the event will get on the way on time.

Medical facilities as usual will be available.

Part of the action on Day 3 that was played last Saturday at the New Silvercity Secondary School Hardcourts.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Late Carroll goal stuns Rovers Andy Carroll scores an injury time header.

Ten-man Liverpool stopped Blackburn climbing out of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to Andy Carroll’s injury-time header.

Maxi Rodriguez twice slotted home from close range before Alexander Doni was sent off, leaving the Reds with a goalkeeping headache for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Everton.

Yakubu missed the resulting penalty before his free header and second-half spot kick pulled Blackburn level. But Carroll netted in a late twist.

The £35m striker’s intervention, from Daniel Agger’s knockdown, capped an incident-packed 90 minutes and earned Liverpool only their second win in nine top-flight games.

While Reds manager Kenny Dalglish could not hide his delight as he skipped down the touchline, Rovers boss Steve Kean cut a forlorn figure as Blackburn remain in the bottom three courtesy of QPR’s better goal difference.

In the build-up to this game, Dalglish had promised Liverpool would not be distracted by thoughts of Saturday’s Merseyside derby in the FA Cup semi-final. But the Wembley date was

suddenly uppermost in Reds minds once Doni carelessly upended Junior Hoilett after a tame backpass by teenage right-back Jon Flanagan fell woefully short.

With first-choice Pepe Reina already suspended after his red card against Newcastle last month - and barring further misfortune - it is Australian Brad Jones who will be walking out to face Everton at the weekend. The 31-year-old, making his Premier League debut for the Reds, instantly became a hero as he stopped Yakubu’s weak penalty to protect a two-goal advantage established by Maxi’s two early strikes.

But Jones’s good work was undone after the break when he conceded a second spot-kick in calamitous fashion, first seeing his attempted clearance charged down by the advancing Yakubu then, having palmed away the rebound, pushing the Nigerian to the ground before he could pursue the loose ball.

On this occasion, referee Anthony Taylor was content to produce just a yellow card, otherwise Liverpool’s prospects - on the night and at the weekend - would have been even more perilous.

However, Yakubu - whose

unmarked header had halved the arrears before the interval - made no mistake with his second penalty to bring the scores level.

It looked like rescuing what had seemed an unlikely point for the hosts after they were inexplicably caught napping twice within the opening 16 minutes, Argentine midfielder Maxi making the most of his first top-flight start in almost three months.

Martin Skrtel’s 60-yard pass out of his own penalty area picked out an unmarked Bellamy, who surged clear of a floundering Blackburn backline and cut the ball across to Maxi for the simplest of tap-ins.

And Liverpool - without top scorer Luis Suarez and talisman Steven Gerrard made Blackburn pay for another defensive lapse when Rodriguez tucked home Carroll’s pass.

Yakubu’s brace in reply seemed to have earned Rovers a point but it is now four straight defeats for the Lancashire side, with the only consolation for their manager that it was owners Venky’s, and not Kean himself, at whom the home crowd chose to vent their spleen on the final whistle.

Page 29

Millington grinds fields to take Flying Ace cycle event Cyclist Roy Millington in a time of two hours, 10 minutes rode away with the Flying Ace Cycle Club, Easter road race which was held on Sunday last.

The race, which was for cyclist of the club only, began at Marks Bridge in New Amsterdam and proceeded to Bush Lot Farm on the Corentyne before turning back to end at its point of origin, covering a distance of 44 miles.

In second place was favourite Neil Reece with Wasim Hasnoo third and Rohan Persaud fourth.

The four top finishers broke away from the bunch early with Hasnoo making a further break and opening up a lead. Soon he was pulled in by the other three as they continued their battle.

Millington then made a move for it and broke away from the quartet and was never caught. Millington was in devastating form as he rode most of the race alone picking up five of the six prime prizes in the process. The other went to Hasnoo.

Reece, who is back from injury, eventual broke away from the three cyclists and made a last gasp effort to c a t c h t h e l e a d e r, b u t Millington was too good on his day, with Reece finishing a distant second and is yet to secure a victory for the year.

The juvenile category was won again by the promising Andre Green ahead of Osward Ross, Sherwin Park and Trayon Brush in that order. Syborne Fernandes continues to be the only

veteran and finished untroubled.

Andrew Hicks rode alone in the 12-14 Category to complete the 25-mile distance from Rose Hall Town to New Amsterdam.

The event was sponsored by Watson’s Catering of New Amsterdam, Fairfield Rice Inc. of Mahaicony and former cyclist, Jadgesh Ramjug.

The event was coordinated by coach of the Flying Ace Cycle Club, Randolph Roberts.

The next race meet on the Flying Ace calendar is set for Labour Day to be followed by the annual Stretch the Dollar open event sponsored by Businessman and former cyclist Rudolph Blair, owner of the business establishment.

Messi’s 61st goal leads Barcelona past Getafe 4-0

MADRID (AP) Lionel Messi scored his 61st goal of the season and had two assists, leading Barcelona over Getafe 4-0 night Tuesday in the Spanish league and pulling the threetime defending champions within one point of first-place Real Madrid.

Messi capped a superb exchange with Andres Iniesta with a rising shot into the top corner in the 44th minute.

Messi leads the league with 39 goals, one shy of the record Cristiano Ronaldo set last season.

Messi has scored in 12 of his last 13 games, totaling 24 goals. He is the first player to reach 60 for a club in a major European league since Bayern Munich’s Gerd Mueller scored 67 goals in 1972-73.

Alexis Sanchez scored in 13th and 73rd minutes and Pedro Rodriguez in the 75th

Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (R) vies with Getafe's Argentinian defender Cata Diaz. as Barcelona (24-2-6) won its 10th straight league game.

Real Madrid (25-2-4) can

restore a four-point lead by winning at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

GUYANA FRIENDLY A USEFUL TEST FOR BOYZ, SAYS BURRELL Football chief Captain Horace Burrell says Jamaica’s friendly international against Guyana on May 18 will not only provide a stern test, but will form a critical part of the technical programme leading to World Cup qualifiers set to kick off June 8 against Guatemala in Kingston.

The May match-up, slated for the Montego Bay Sports Complex with a proposed 8:00 pm start, will also give western football fans the opportunity to see a number of Jamaica’s UKbased stars on show and to get a glimpse of a Guyana team that has seen a surge in

Captain Horace Burrell regional football in the recent past.

Like Jamaica, Guyana’s

Golden Jaguars have booked their place in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF qualifiers by eliminating a former Caribbean kingpin Trinidad and Tobago in Caribbean play-offs, and they have since demonstrated that it was no fluke with their steady climb and overall growth in the regional game.

“Guyana has improved significantly over the past two years and this is now positively reflected in the FIFA Rankings table (at 97),” said Burrell, the JFF president.

“When Guyana defeated Trinidad & Tobago to qualify for the semi-final round of

World Cup Qualifiers it did not come as a surprise to me as they are definitely a team on the up,” he added.

Apart from giving the team another match-up in its pre-World Cup build-up phase, Burrell believes Guyana will offer a feel of Antigua and Barbuda, who are grouped with the Boyz in the CONCACAF eliminations.

“Jamaica will play Antigua twice in the semifinal round of the World Cup Qualifiers and therefore playing Guyana is an excellent match-up for the players and technical staff.

This will provide very useful insight into what to expect from our Caribbean colleagues, given the similarity in style and culture, and will also allow the coaches to start working on the chemistry of our team,” said Burrell, the visionary leader behind all of Jamaica’s prior World Cup qualifications.

Jamaica are expected to have available to them a number of their British-based professionals.

Among those who should be free from club duties at the time are Ricardo Fuller, Claude Davis, Omar

Daley, Damian Stewart, Keammar Daley, Christopher Humphrey (debut), Nathan Smith, Marlon King and Marvin Elliott.

“We previously agreed the game with Guyana for a date in April, but a change of date was requested to allow the availability of that country’s UK-based professional players. This would, therefore, mean they will be at full strength for the international friendly with us.

“And as I have always maintained, Jamaica will also try to have its best available players on the field at all Continued on page 25

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Gambhir and Balaji set up Delhi thrash listless Chennai KKR’s comprehensive win

KKR players celebrate their win over RCB at Bangalore.

Ya h o o !

Cricket – BANGALORE: Skipper Gautam Gambhir 64 (39b, 9x4, 1x6) and man-of-thematch Lakshmipathy Balaji (four for 18) set up Kolkata Knight Riders’ first win of IPL-2012 as the visiting side smothered Royal Challengers Bangalore by 42 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here, on Tuesday.

Bangalore skipper Daniel Vettori’s decision to field backfired as KKR openers - Gambhir and Kallis – raced off the blocks. The innings survived a stutter in the middle, as eight wickets fell for just 39 runs, but the hasty beginning ensured a competitive 165-8 for KKR. Bangalore’s reply never took off. Cheteshwar Pujara began with a six off Brett Lee, but soon snicked Kallis to slip. The South African veteran struck a death blow when he got rid of Chris Gayle in the fourth over – the hulking West Indian top-edging a short delivery to mid-on.

Then it was time for Balaji to limber into action.

The seamer broke RCB’s back by claiming a wicket in each of his four overs, getting rid of Virat Kohli, A.B. de Villiers, Mayank Aggrawal and Vettori, as the home team found itself virtually out of the contest at 60 for six in the 12th over. The reply concluded on 123-9, woefully short of the target.

Earlier, KKR built on two partnerships at the start of their innings after being sent in to bat.

Gambhir and Kallis added 60 in 6.2 overs, picking regular boundaries off Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar to get the host moving.

Gambhir was particularly severe on

medium-pacer Harshal Patel, taking 15 from his first over, and followed it up with two exquisite fours – on either side of the wicket – off Zaheer.

Not to be left behind, Kallis greeted Muttiah Muralitharan with slogswept six, as KKR reached 60 at the end of the mandatory Powerplay with both openers making it count in the middle. Vettori brought himself on and immediately had Kallis caught behind with one that came in.

Bisla (46, 29b, 2x4, 3x6) walked in and took over the scoring role from G a m b h i r, c a r t i n g a s i x apiece off Vettori, Kohli and Harshal. Gambhir meanwhile had motored along, bringing up his fifty with a cover-driven four off Vinay, as KKR’s run-rate hovered in the vicinity of 10-an-over. At this point, a

total of 200 looked on the cards, but RCB’s bowlers pulled things back admirably thereafter.

KKR lost eight wickets for 39 runs in the last 6 overs of its innings. Bisla led the procession, and Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Ryan ten Doeschate and Shakib al Hasan followed suit. Vinay w a s t h e p i c k o f R C B ’s bowlers as he conceded just five runs in his last two overs, finishing with figures of 4-0-18-2. However, Bangalore’s supremacy in the closing stages of KKR’s innings was all but undone by irresponsible batting during the chase.

Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 8 ( G a m b h i r 6 4 , R Vi n a y Kumar 2-18) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 123 for 9 (Vinay Kumar 25, Balaji 4-18) by 42 runs.

Chennai Super Kings were disappointing with the bat for the second time in three games and their confused running allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict them to their second-lowest total in the IPL for a comprehensive win. Three of the first four Super Kings batsmen ran themselves out as neither Daredevils’ bowlers nor their fielders let up on the pressure.

Off the first ball of the game, M Vijay responded too eagerly to a call for a single from Faf du Plessis only for the latter to stop after taking a few steps. Vijay was almost at the other end and had no chance of making it back.

Such chaos was to be a feature of the innings. Suresh Raina went too far down the pitch in search of a tight single but could not make it back in time; S Badrinath was to meet a similar fate a couple of overs later.

It did not help Super Kings that after hitting three boundaries and looking in fine touch, du Plessis found extra

cover off Morne Morkel with another drive. It allowed Daredevils to come back from Irfan Pathan’s second over, the third of the innings, which went for 14. Raina slogged a couple of sixes over the on side before contriving to dismiss himself.

The last thing Super Kings wanted was for Daredevils wicketkeeper Naman Ojha to pull off a stunning diving catch off Ravindra Jadeja’s outside edge.

With Super Kings struggling on 66 for 5, Daredevils were able to exert even more pressure through their left-arm spinners Roelof van der Merwe and Shahbaz Nadeem.

The duo conceded just 24 runs off seven overs between them. Super Kings’ final hope was the pair of Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni but they failed to push on after adding 23 in 41 balls. Super Kings’ crawl was summed up

by Bravo playing out seven consecutive dot balls against the spinners.

After plodding along to 11 off 18, Dhoni could not clear long-on off Morne Morkel as he tried to break free in the 18th over. Bravo followed in the 19th, and Super Kings signed off their innings with one more runout in the last over.

Daredevils’ first wicket, Naman Ojha, was also to fall courtesy a run-out but he had already launched the chase in style with three fours in three balls off Albie Morkel.

Virender Sehwag sealed the issue with 33 off 21, including a back-foot punch off Albie Morkel that went for six over deep extra cover.

Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene had too much class to allow Super Kings a whiff of a comeback as the visitors slumped to their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining.

Scores: Delhi Daredevils 111 for 2 (Pietersen 43*, Sehwag 33) beat Chennai Super Kings 110 for 8 (M Morkel 2-19) by eight wickets.

Suresh Raina was among four batsmen to be run out

JOSEPH ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE GDA

The new Guyana Dominoes Association Executive poses for a photo op following the completion of its AGM recently. Sitting are -New President Orin Joseph (centre), Vice-President Michael Persaud (2nd left), Secretary- Derek Collymore (2nd right), Committee member Faye Joseph (left) and Senior Organising Secretary- Mark Wiltshire. Back row standing is: (from left) Assistant Secretary Treasurer- Sonia Goodluck, Assistant Organising Secretary- Yonette Christmas, Assistant Organising Secretary- William Sargeant and Committee member- Kevin Boston.

Orin Joseph was recently elected to serve as President of the Guyana Dominoes Association when the Body held its Annual General Meeting last Saturday, at Joseph’s residence, Gaulding Place, South Ruimveldt Park.

His deputy is Michael Persaud, while Derek Collymore will serve as Secretary, Ronald Beharry- Treasurer, Sonia Goodluck- Assistant Secretary Treasurer and Basil BradshawPublic Relations Officer.

Mark, Wiltshire is the Senior Organising Secretary and he will be assisted by Yonette Christmas and William Sargeant, who will both serve as Assistant Organising Secretaries.

The Committee members are Faye Joseph, Kevin Boston, Orwin Trotman and Rudy Collins. Joseph had defeated Jermaine Jackson in the vote for the Presidency.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 31

Guyana performed “fairly good” at Caribbean C/ships - GTTA General Secretary, Munroe believes

By Edison Jefford The General Secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) and three-time National Champion, Godfrey Munroe, believes the national junior table tennis team that returned from the Caribbean Championships in Cuba yesterday performed well enough.

In an invited comment, Munroe said that the team

performed “fairly good” given the fact that the Guyanese are not exposed domestically to the extremely high level of the Cubans and Dominican Republicans especially in the competition that attracted strong participation.

“I would like to reiterate that I believe the results were fairly good considering those factors such as our players competing against higher

Chelsea Edghill

Akecia Nedd

Sachin Panday

financed, and more exposed players, and the absence of

some of our more seasoned players,” Munroe told

Kaieteur Sport.

He said that in the respective categories, Girls 18-Years-and-Under, Adielle Roshuevel, Ambrose Thomas and Brad and Brando Belle and Denzil Duff in the Boys 18-Yearsand-Under were not among the team to strengthen Guyana’s chances of doing much better.

Guyana competed

Fortune explains Falcon Games After making her first International attempt which was unsuccessful for the year to reach the qualifying standards for the London Olympic Games, Alicia Fortune, Guyana’s present sprint queen explains what transpired in her attempt in the 100m and 200ms at the Falcon Games, Trinidad and Tobago.

It was revealed that a lot of factors contributed to her performance which she labeled as ‘a good performance’, knowing where she was and the obstacles she had before the competition.

With over 1300 athletes registering for the Falcon Games, which was staged at the Crawford Stadium a few days ago, Fortune stated that it was very fatiguing for her since at Developmental Meets and Championships at home, the most heats a race will have is three, “The races had numerous heats (over 7), it was as if you were running your actually race; there was no time to relax or anything, that was the only way you could have qualified for the finals.”

Fortune added that the numerous heats added to her fatigue after she was already

fighting to the end to get sponsorship for her daughter, Andrea Foster who was a part of Guyana CARIFTA Team for the Falcon Games.

“I was trying endlessly to get sponsorship for my daughter to travel to Bermuda for the CARIFTA Games. I have m a d e m a n y C A R I F TA Teams myself, but never got the opportunity to go because of finance and I did not want the same to repeat for my daughter.”

The sprint queen who clocked 11.6 seconds on grass at the Guyana Defence Force Developmental Meet after using the 100m as a test run for the Falcon Games clocked 12.21 seconds in preliminaries.

Fortune explained that herself along with another female, Breanna Gomes ran the same time in the 100m and a decision was made which allowed Gomes to run the finals since only one spot was open to complete the amount required for the finals; “I missed my chance of running the 100m finals, myself along with another female ran the exact time in the heats and only one spot was open and a decision had to be made to decide who

Alicia Fortune will run the finals and I missed that opportunity due to fact of not having a manager/coach present at the games to discuss what has required with the technical staff.”

The exhausted Fortune further disclosed that she was surprised when the 200m ran before the 100m, “It was strange to me because I normally run the 100m before the 200m at home,”

adding that the races did not run on the scheduled time.

Asking the athlete about the 200m finals, she said that she got a great start but had a muscle shut down about 5040 meters before the conclusion of the race. “I came out great with the first (Kamaria Durant) and second (Nicole Davis) place finishers in the race but my muscles just shut off on me about 50-40m before the end of the race.” Fortune qualified for the Women’s 200m in a time of 24.50 seconds and clocked 24.90 seconds to finish sixth in the finals.

Fortune, who stated that she was injured last year, revealed that she was experiencing some minor nips and nags on the day of event in her legs, “I couldn’t have run the way I wanted to since I do not want to get injured again. I am trying to run smart.”

Alicia Fortune next International Meet will be at the Trinidad Nationals according to her. Fortune would like to thank her sponsors, Giftland Office Max, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and BV NBC for their assistance.

(Juanita Hooper)

Godfrey Munroe against players from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba Jamaica, Curacao, St. Martin and Suriname at Caribbean’s & Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) Cadet & Junior Championship in La Habana, Cuba.

Munroe said that the management of the team had Continued on page 27

rt o p S

How quickly this game can change. West Indies started the fourth day searching for a way to turn their dominance into a victory.

They ended it hoping to avoid defeat. In between, Ryan Harris led an outstanding tailend fightback from Australia that allowed Michael Clarke to make a bold declaration from behind, a decision that was justified when Ben Hilfenhaus scythed through the top three West Indies batsmen in the first five overs of their second innings.

As tea approached, it was hard to tell who was wobblier, the West Indies batsmen or the rummies in Kensington Oval’s Party Stand. At least the spectators had an excuse for their lack of stability.

Clarke’s declaration gave West Indies half an hour to bat before the break and when it arrived they were 4 for 3. Australia’s last three pairs had just added 156 runs between them. It

was about as disastrous a period as West Indies could have endured.

In a few crazy hours, all the hard work the hosts had done over the first three days evaporated. By stumps, they had steadied a little, but only a little, and they finished the day at 71 for 5, with Narsingh Deonarine on 20 and Carlton Baugh on 2. It meant West Indies held a slim lead of 114 runs and with only five wickets in hand, they still needed a solid batting performance on the fifth morning to prevent the Australians chasing a small target.

The pitch had started to show some variable bounce but after the way their tailenders batted, Australia would fancy their chances of chasing a target of around 200. For West Indies, much rested on the shoulders of Deonarine, a man with a point to prove after he was told by the coach Ottis Gibson he was on probation having been recalled to the side for

the first time in nearly two years.

Deonarine had helped West Indies recover with a 50-run stand that ended shortly before stumps when Darren Bravo (32) edged behind off Peter Siddle. It was just the breakthrough the Australians wanted after Hilfenhaus ripped through the top order and Harris nicked out Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had clung on like a barnacle in the first innings but managed only 12 in the second.

West Indies were 17 for 4 when Chanderpaul was done by a good ball that moved away fractionally off the seam.

Hilfenhaus had also found just enough movement to trouble Adrian Barath, who was the first to fall when he was bowled by a ball that shaped to swing away and then straightened back between bat and pad.

Two balls later, Kraigg Brathwaite Continued on page 27

Pg. 29 Pg. 28

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