Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news...Letters... Where your views make the news
Ethical conduct should be included in police training DEAR EDITOR, More and more are we seeing in the media reports of police officers either neglecting their duty or involved in some shady practice. This is not to mention the innumerable incidents reported personally by our associates of the now seemingly normal habit of officers demanding bribes from persons perceived to be committing some crime so as to lessen the punishment that they believe is forthcoming. Are we to continually cast a blind eye on this situation that is daily eroding the rule of law in our society, and perpetuating this evil by people who should be paragons of lawfulness? It does seem that the administration has no answer to this pervasive atrocity as this infectious disease keeps spreading its tentacles. I am not aware of the content of police officers’ training programme but, to my mind, one salient ingredient of this should be ethical conduct. If there is such a component, then by all appearances it has failed to produce the required high standard of behaviour that we must demand from the officers who are entrusted
with enforcing the laws, part of which is the setting of a shining example to members of the public. Ethical behaviour must not be assumed, but must be taught by a deliberate effort by persons who are qualified. If this has been a part of our police recruits’ training programme, then it was obviously handled by those who were not properly equipped to obtain the required results. If it had been, then those who benefited from this would have been so schooled that morality and uprightness would have become more or less permanent hallmarks of their character, which in turn would have obviated the unethical culture that seems to be routine among our officers. I think that some definitive action should be made towards inculcating moral rectitude into the psyche of our policemen, and I am sure that our entire population would welcome such a development. Let us take urgent action towards this end, and arrest this slide that can eventually lead to chaos in our society. Name and address supplied
Projects executed shoddily at Linden DEAR EDITOR, Recently, I wrote a letter to the editor of Kaieteur News on the subject “Bad engineering, drains and roads construction in Linden Town. First, I am not being provocative but it seems our engineers, contractors, regional and town representatives forget their responsibilities to the citizens and taxpayers of Linden. About four years ago a road between Figgie Entertainment Centre and t h e Wi n i f r e d G a s k i n Highway which separates Wisroc from Block 22, has since broken up. About one year ago, the re-construction of a new road began; the design of the drains is a marvel which confuses people with its curves and turns that are unnecessary and a hindrance to the free flow of water. Road building material, a
mixture of laterite and sand was thrown often, but it keeps washing away when it rains heavily. At present, that road is very muddy and is unusable. I recommend that the Minister of Works or his lieutenants travel to Linden Town to have a first-hand observation of that project and many others, in order to understand the cries of a people who feel neglected so much and so long. “Under the Microscope”, a locally produced NCN Programme presented by a Lindener, had been the only television programme that brought out the ills we suffer from time to time. That programme has long gone, the NCN Linden News, most of its time is spent on coverage of court issues.
Our young people need to see and learn the history o f L i n d e n To w n . T h e y spend much of their time looking at Mickey Mouse and the American way of life. Do they know what year the Wismar Housing Scheme was build? Which was the first high school in the town of Linden? What was Christianburg’s name before and how it got its name? Do they know that Christianburg had a governor and what was his name? How did Wismar get its name? NCN Linden needs to bring to Lindeners, programmes that could teach us something interesting. A Linden Town history park was established at the old R H Carr Steamer Stelling or Sprostons Wharf, but the cutting of the grass in order to enhance its appearance is a very serious problem.
L i n d e n To w n h a s a history of firsts in Guyana, for example the first bridge across the Demerara River (The Hope Bridge), first Bauxite Company (Demba), first Alumina Plant, first Wa t e r- w h e e l , first Aluminium houses, the amateur boxer to represent Guyana at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico (Charles Shortie Amos) and the list goes on and on. Lindeners, fellow countrymen, let’s take leave from the politics and do what is necessary for our development. Let’s look around and ask ourselves as individuals, “Have I done enough for the development of Linden Town?” If your answer is NO! Start NOW! Remember, it’s not what your country can do for you, it’s what you could do for your country. B. Winslow Parris
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Kaieteur News
Monday April 21, 2014
Budget Cuts… Lack of sufficient material pushes back Rodney Commission of Inquiry opening Opposition’s disapproval of $37B Lawyers attached to the Walter Rodney Commission based on suspicion not evidence of Inquiry have now stated that instead of a Tuesday opening the CoI will now commence on April 28. According to Attorney at Law Glenn Hanoman, the Secretariat has decided to push back the start of the Inquiry to April 28, because it didn’t feel that it had sufficient material. Hanoman added that potential witnesses who had signaled their participation were late in submitting their statements. Up until Thursday the Secretariat was still dispatching letters to potential “witnesses”. The Secretariat had earlier set March 26, last as the deadline for the submission of statements and other materials pertaining to the commission. Because of the influx of statements, another Attorney for the Commission, Latchmie Rahamat, had said that they had to extend it. That period for submission of statements had been extended indefinitely to facilitate the participation of all interested parties; including those from remote domestic areas and overseas. Kaieteur News was told that enquiries may be made of and statements delivered
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Attorney at Law Glen Hanoman
Walter Rodney
to the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, at Lot 1 Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown. President Donald Ramotar had told the media that it was Rodney’s family who had asked the government for the Commission of Inquiry. The Commission is costing Government approximately $112 million. Ramotar had noted that the Terms of Reference which some parties have been protesting over were crafted by Rodney’s family and advisors, along with some technical help from government. Ramotar stressed that it was Rodney’s wife who made the comment about not wanting it to be political. “We created all the conditions that no one will be criminally prosecuted and people could come forward and speak what they know,” the President said. He made the point of persons trying to put a spin on it to imply that there’s something sinister, which he dismissed.
Both the Working People’s Alliance and A Partnership for National Unity have declined to participate in the inquiry. Chairman for the Commission Sir Richard Cheltenham (QC) had disclosed that the body would sit for an initial nine days, before taking a break for about two weeks before resuming. Cheltenham had noted that the circumstances surrounding Rodney’s death weren’t fairly investigated and made known to the world, so it’s an unresolved issue for his family. “There has been no clear answer from any investigation to determine this,” the Chairman said. Cheltenham also said that they intend to “dig deeply” in relation to the facts and come to a conclusion as to who was responsible and why it was done. He said that to get an answer would be good, especially for the family, who is mainly the purpose for the inquiry.
The Budget cuts of 2014 appear to consist of more slash and burn tactics, based not on high principle, but on political expediency. This is the analysis of Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, who was responding to the defence arguments being put forward by the Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan and A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Financial Spokesperson, Carl Greenidge. Ramkarran made public his views when he published his analysis on his conversationtree.org outlet. He cited as an example, the disapproval of the Amerindian Fund. According to Ramkarran, the cut to that fund was based on the suspicion, not evidence, that it was used for political purposes by the Government. “I would have thought that when considering disapprovals, to use the word forced upon us by the Court decision, the Opposition would have considered a higher principle which has not been sufficiently articulated and given enough prominence in targeted discourse by Government spokespersons, even by Minister (Ashni) Singh.” Ramkarran in his analytical piece noted that Guyana’s economy is on the move. “This has been set out in the Budget Speech and by various international bodies and persons, including the President of the Caribbean Development Bank on a recent visit to Guyana.” He said that a consistent growth rate of five percent, more or less, and low inflation figures need to be nurtured. “Government spending on clearly beneficial projects such as the Specialty Hospital, the Airport, Tourism and general infrastructure, hydroelectricity and others, whereby money is fed into the economy, helps along the development process and increases economic activity, once inflation is being contained as is now the case. It creates or maintains employment, which the Opposition has severely criticized the Budget Estimates for not doing.” According to Ramjattan, the Opposition cannot argue from both sides of its mouth,
- Ramkarran accusing the Government of doing nothing to create employment and disapproving of major projects at the same time. Ramkarran noted that the Minister of Finance has outlined the challenges faced by the economy and announced that Foreign Direct Investment and exports are both down. Ramkarran stated that investors look at the political climate, and what happens to the Budget is one factor, before deciding whether to invest. The sugar industry needs revitalizing and capital infusion to restore export volume, according to Ramkarran. “The tourist industry can do with all the help it can get…While gold price is down the use of mercury has to be gradually curtailed in keeping with international prescriptions, which might
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran attract the President’s assent, they can go to the public or the electorate,” said Ramkarran. He noted too that the Opposition has indeed argued that relief should be brought to the population by higher old age pensions, higher wages and salaries to public servants, more expenditure on training, more
“Where corruption, extravagance, wastage or political use of funds are suspected, other legislative mechanisms must be deployed to deal with them, not the haphazard and unsystematic slashing of the Budget Estimates.” well affect production.” Ramkarran posits that administrative capacity is needed to keep the governmental apparatus turning over, and infrastructure development is necessary to increase efficiency of both the productive and service sectors. “The rationale for the Opposition disapprovals, based on suspicions and allegations, are not enough grounds to reduce the sums for whole items of the Budget even if difficulties are found with them.” According to Ramkarran, where corruption, extravagance, wastage or political use of funds are suspected, other legislative mechanisms must be deployed to deal with them, not the haphazard and unsystematic slashing of the Budget Estimates. “The Opposition has the creative imagination to legislative checks and balances and if they do not
effort to create employment, increase of the income tax threshold and more. Ramkarran said that their calls are admirable and justifiable, but they can only go up if economic growth is encouraged and increased while maintaining economic and political stability and Government’s budgetary support, “There is no other way.” According to Ramkarran it is certainly not possible if the Government were to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT. “The Government cannot be expected to reduce its income and increase its expenditure at the same time… This argument is therefore not scientifically credible, but of course it is politically popular.” According to Ramkarran, if Guyana has to endure another two and a half years of this political gridlock, a frustrated population may well have something to say about it at the appropriate time.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Deadly gun attack in eastern Ukraine shakes fragile Geneva accord S L AV I A N S K / YENAKIEVO, Ukraine (Reuters) - At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours yesterday near a Ukrainian city controlled by proRussian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict. The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine’s western-backed government with each questioning the other’s compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in Geneva, to end a crisis that has made Russia’s ties with the West more fraught than at any time since the Cold War. The separatists said armed men from Ukraine’s Right Sector nationalist group had attacked them. The Right
Sector denied any role, saying Russian special forces were behind the clash. Failure of the Geneva agreement could bring more bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, but may also prompt the United States to impose tougher sanctions on the Kremlin - with far-reaching consequences for many economies and importers of Russian energy. The deal signed in Geneva last week by the European Union, Russia, Ukraine and the United States agreed that illegal armed groups would go home in a process to be overseen by Europe’s OSCE security watchdog. So far, the pro-Russian militants have shown little sign of budging from public buildings in the east, though there was some hope of progress after Kiev said it
would not move against the separatists over Easter, and international mediators headed to eastern Ukraine to try to persuade them to disarm. But the shootings near Slaviansk - already a flashpoint for tensions between Ukraine’s rival camps - are likely to make that task even harder, hardening the view of the many Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine that they cannot trust Kiev. “The Easter truce has been violated,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. “This provocation ... testifies to the lack of will on the part of the Kiev authorities to rein in and disarm nationalists and extremists.” The town’s selfappointed pro-Russia mayor placed a curfew on the town
and appealed directly to Russia’s Vladimir Putin to consider sending in peacekeeping troops - an outcome Ukraine tried to avoid by holding back its poorly resourced forces. Ukraine’s SBU security service accused Moscow agents of faking a “cynical provocation” at Slaviansk and the foreign ministry hit back, reproaching Russia for rushing to judgment and failing to meet its part of the deal struck in Geneva: “The Russian side must be reminded about their obligations under the Geneva agreement to bring all necessary influence to bear on separatists to clear illegally held buildings, unblock roads, lay down arms and prevent any bloodshed,” it said. Right Sector spokesman Artem Skoropadsky said it
Bankrupt British loans official resigns, embarrassing PM Cameron (Reuters) - The head of a British government agency that hands out billions of pounds of loans to local authorities has resigned after failing to reveal he was bankrupt, Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said yesterday. Cameron appointed Tony Caplin, a former senior official in his ruling Conservative party, to head the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) last year. His resignation ahead of European elections next month and a national election in 2015 is embarrassing for the prime minister. The PWLB is in charge of distributing infrastructure loans to local authorities across Britain and controls a loans portfolio of up to 60 billion pounds ($100.85 billion). However, an investigation by the Mail yesterday newspaper revealed that Britain’s High Court had declared Caplin, the agency’s head, bankrupt in 2012 with debts of more than 3 million pounds ($5.04 million), a fact
David Cameron he had not disclosed. Government rules stipulate that officials declared bankrupt must come clean about it so it can be decided whether they can keep their jobs or not. “He should have declared he was bankrupt,” Cameron’s office said of Caplin in a terse statement. “This has been pointed out to him and as a result he has resigned.” The opposition Labour party, which has a narrow lead
over Cameron’s Conservatives in the polls, said the matter called the prime minister’s judgment into question. “It is astonishing that the Prime M i n i s t e r a n d t h e Chancellor (finance minister) could appoint someone who went bankrupt owing so much to the Treasury to run the Treasury’s lending operations,” Chris Leslie, one of Labour ’s financial spokesmen, said in a statement. He said Caplin’s appointment was “a misjudgement too far by a
Prime Minister with a track record of poor judgment in relation to his cronies.” Earlier this month, Cameron suffered a more serious blow to his authority when a scandal-hit minister he had been doggedly defending resigned, exposing him to charges of weak leadership and poor judgment. Cameron says his government has delivered an increasingly strong economic recovery after a deep recession, a factor he hopes will hand him re-election next year as people’s living standards begin to rise again.
Vladimir Putin
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
was a “blasphemous provocation from Russia: blasphemous because it took place on a holy night for Christians, on Easter night. This was clearly carried out by Russian special forces.” Separatist militiamen near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk told Reuters four vehicles had approached their checkpoint at around 2:00 a.m. and opened fire. “We had three dead, four wounded,” one of the separatist fighters, called Vladimir, told Reuters at the checkpoint, where there were two burned-out jeeps. He said the separatists returned fire and killed two of the attackers, who he said were members of the nationalist movement which has its power base in the Ukrainian-speaking west of the country and is reviled by many in the Russian-speaking east. Police in Kiev said three
men among the separatists were killed and three wounded. A Reuters cameraman at the scene said he saw the bodies of two people, one with what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head and face, lying in the back of a truck. One of the dead was dressed in camouflage fatigues, the other, identified by several bystanders as a local man, was in civilian clothes. The deaths were the first in armed clashes in eastern Ukraine since the Geneva accord was signed on Thursday. The crisis in Ukraine began late last year when President Viktor Yanukovich turned his back on closer ties with Europe, prompting protests in the capital. They led to him fleeing Kiev, and a pro-Western interim administration taking over.
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Kaieteur News
Monday April 21, 2014
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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THE AFC IS ATTEMPTING TO HOODWINK GUYANESE The Alliance for Change (AFC) is attempting to hoodwink the Guyanese people over its non-approval of the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF). Its latest foray in defence of its decision to not approve budgetary support for the ADF is one such example of hoodwinking the people of this country. In a full page advertisement, published in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper, the AFC contends that it did not support the ADF because of concerns over accountability and also because it prefers to see the monies being used to build a technical institute for the hinterland. The AFC seems to have developed a case of Alzheimer’s over the ADF. The Amerindian Development Fund is not an ad hoc arrangement. It is part of the Guyana RedInvestment Fund (GRIF)
which is responsible for administering projects under the Low Carbon Development Strategy. It is an undertaking with developed project plans, timelines and reporting requirements consistent with standards and best practices established by the UNDP. The ADF is being implemented by the United National Development Project which appoints the Project Manager. Further, the disbursement of funds from GRIF for this project is overseen by the GRIF Steering Committee. It should be recalled that it was the AFC, which prior to the 2011 elections, had demanded such a mechanism to ensure greater transparency for funds received under the LCDS. The PPPC government does not have arbitrary control over the funds of this project. The project has a budget and there is a strict
financial disbursement mechanism in place. There are project outputs and timelines, with each output having a specific budget. All of this is no secret. It is public information that is available on the GRIF website. The Community Development Projects under the ADF were not developed at Freedom House. These projects were conceived and developed by the Amerindian communities themselves, not by the government. The communities have ownership of these projects. According to publicly available information, a CDP is required to be approved by a village general meeting, via consensus or majority vote and all residents are encouraged to participate in the entire project. A key element of the entire process is the development of a transparent
Dem boys seh...
Donald investigation mek people get sick Today is Easter and plenty li’l children deh flying kite. Dem boys want tell dem parents fuh mek sure that dem pickney keep far from de electric wire. But de state in which Brazzy and Jagdeo got GPL in most time de lines don’t have current. But please, don’t tek chance wid alyuh children. Dem is people you should never trust wid a dollar, much less you children life. Suh keep you eye open and don’t mek none of you children get shock. But some people get a different shock when dem hear Brazzy put out statement that he gun investigate de Leonora land deal. Under Jagdeo leadership that word investigate was just talk. He and he kavakamites, including that same fat crook, Brazzy, do de gods to Guyana and none body ever talk bout investigate. Dem boys remember de clerk who buy a $60 million house pun a $40,000 a month salary. When that was brought to Jagdeo he seh that he gun investigate. De police or GRA never get call in because Guyana woulda hear something. Instead he, Jagdeo, promote de woman husband. Of course dem boys also remember de $69 million NIS building in Berbice. Again
Jagdeo seh that he gun investigate. He did investigate. He investigate Luncheon fuh find out why he, Luncheon, give de Waterfalls paper de document. Is that wha mek Luncheon sick on to today. Brazzy and Pall getting sick too. Brazzy seh he nah know Ed change plans. Pall, who use to head GuySuCo, seh he nah know, too, but every single day he does pass deh at least two times and had to see de sign board. Dem boys seh even if he miss that, he had to see house going up instead of wood processing plant. He got to be blind, deaf and dumb because de whole of de West Coast know. De thing also deh in all dem newspapers. Suh dem boys want to know how de eff y’aall don’t know.
But is de instruction wha Donald give that getting dem sick. He talk bout investigation. Brazzy do de sweetheart deal fuh Jagdeo wid Ed, de fraudster, in New York. When Donald done wid he, he gun forget he pants size just like how Jagdeo forget if he did going to rodeo or regatta. He know that Ed squeal pun Meeks, de Congressman in de US and dem boys hear that Ed also squeal pun Jagdeo and Brazzy. He still squealing and that is why he ain’t gone to jail yet. Happy Easter to all Guyana except dem scamps, crooks and de Bees including Bobby, Boyah, Bharrat, nuff Brian—coolie Brian, Chinee Brian and black Brian. Talk half and fly dem kite safe.
COI into Rodney’s... (From page 3) no statute of limitation barring indictment or inquiry and this can be described as a Cold Case. This is not unusual and happens throughout the world, resulting in constant examination and re-examination and even judicial review. Rodney, as a national and international figure, continues to be used in various pursuits and deserves closure, however long it takes. Guyana and Guyanese deserve closure to this chapter of our history and an end brought to use of Rodney’s name as a wedge. The GTUC is prepared once again to play its part to the achievement of this end.”
disbursement mechanism. Indeed, the UNDP has gone to great lengths to ensure that this system is in place in the initial phases of the project before the bulk of the 1.8 billion dollars designated for the project is disbursed. It is disturbing, extremely disturbing that the AFC is now claiming that the reasons why it disapproved of the ADF was because of concerns over the use of previous sums approved in previous years. What is the AFC suggesting? Is it suggesting that the UNDP has mismanaged the process? Is it fawning ignorance of the plans to develop a transparent and accountable financial disbursement mechanism? And how come the AFC which has been involved in the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) did not raise questions before about the use of the funds assigned to the ADF? But even more disturbing is the suggestion by the AFC that the funds for the next phase should go towards building a Technical Institute.
What is the AFC suggesting here? Is it suggesting that the CDP projects developed by the Amerindian communities be dumped, that all the work done by the UNDP be discarded and that the entire project be reshaped so that a technical institute can be established rather than allow the Amerindian communities to have control over the projects which they would have agreed upon? The idea of building a technical institute with the ADF funds is beyond comprehension. First of all, the ADF caters for wide ranging projects including technical training, agriculture, agro-processing, village infrastructure, tourism, and village business enterprise and transportation. Why would the AFC want to limit the range of projects under the ADF? Where did the AFC come up with the ludicrous idea of a technical institute? The ADF is intended to benefit Amerindian communities scattered and located in sprawling regions. These communities are widely
dispersed, many of them are small and they are not integrated with each other. Where then does the AFC propose to build this technical institute? If it builds it in Region One, how would the Amerindians from Region Eight and Region Seven and Region Nine benefit from this technical institute? This is where the YEAP comes in. Under YEAP, small and flexible training programmes geared to the size and needs of specific Amerindian communities can be developed. YEAP will allow for more persons to benefit and benefit more meaningfully from training. The Amerindian people developed the CDPs and they developed it based on their understanding of their own needs. To suggest therefore that instead of these CDPs there should be a technical institute can only lead to the inference that the AFC believes that it knows more than the Amerindians about what is good for indigenous communities. It does not.
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Kaieteur News
City Mayor defends Royston King in Beacon Foundation saga Georgetown Mayor, Hamilton Green has come to the defence of Public Relations Officer, Royston King stating that the decision to exempt rates and taxes payment from the well known non-governmental, not for profit Beacon Foundation was a decision “taken in principle” by the Mayor and City Council as provided by the Constitution. Mayor Green told Kaieteur News that the matter which is now being raised to show that King would have exempted the organization without the Council’s authority, has no weight since the matter was brought before the Council and was decided upon. King is being accused of signing off some $36 million in rates and taxes for the Beacon Foundation without the Council’s authority and ahead of his short-lived Town Clerk appointment which came to be in July 2012. King had acted in the position for no more than three days. He was chosen by the Council to replace former Town Clerk Yonette Pluck, but the appointment was cut short when then Local Government Minister, Ganga Persuad removed King and imposed the current Town Clerk (Ag) Carol Sooba. Mayor Green said that, constitutionally, City Hall can exempt some orgainsations, which fall in a certain
Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green
City Hall’s PRO Royston King
category, from paying rates and taxes. “I do not understand the fuss,” Green said before explaining that the law clearly provides that certain agencies, including educational, religious, nonprofit among others, can be exempted from the payment of rates and taxes. Kaieteur News understands however, that a legal challenge by the Council’s Administration was brought against Beacon’s exemption. In its defence, the agency (Beacon) revealed the exemption notice which was signed by King. Mayor Green has reiterated that there is nothing to be alarmed about since the Foundation falls within the requirements to have their rates and taxes exempted.
Under Section 213 and 214 of the Municipal and Districts Council Act Chapter 28:01, the Council is legally empowered to exempt rates and charges since the Act says that no rates shall be levied against properties for the sole use of public worship, education, burial or cremation, etc. Section 214 speaks to organizations which are solely used for advancement of religion, education, health, other social developments and that are not-for-profit. Beacon Foundation is a non-governmental, not-forprofit organization that offers social welfare services. Mayor Green has however dismissed what he said is the attempt by the Minister of Local Government Minister and the Town Clerk to distract attention from the real issues at hand. He said this matter is to overshadow the fact that the Town Clerk would have taken half a million dollars for her own benefit, while she continues to make decisions against and without Council’s authority. Green said that the Commissioner of Police has already been called in on Sooba’s illegal acquisition of Council funds for her personal use.
Monday April 21, 2014
Week of activities for World Safety Day planned - Labour Ministry The Labour Ministry has planned a week of activities in observance of World Day for Safety and Health which will be celebrated on April 28 under the theme “Safety and health in the use of chemicals at work”. In the first event, the public is invited to join the Health Walk, which will be held on April 27. The assembly point for the walk is at the Parade Ground from 06:30 am. A fair is also scheduled for April 29 at the Miami Subs Parking Lot, Albert & Lamaha Streets, Georgetown. There will also be regional fairs hosted in Linden, Berbice and Bartica on April 23, 25 and 30, respectively. The Ministry in a release said it will focus on safety and health in proper handling, storage and use of chemicals. “Emphasis will also be placed on highlighting the need for greater personal responsibility by employers
and employees in ensuring appropriate safety measures are in place, as well as strict adherence to safety rules at all work places,” the Ministry said. “It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure proper storage and handling of all chemicals by trained persons, and employees are obligated to wear the appropriate safety gear and equipment when handling chemicals to minimise the number of accidents, altogether eliminate the fatalities due to industrial accidents. Employers are also obligated to ensure that employees are educated and trained in safety practices. But these alone do not suffice, as personal responsibility is critical to giving weight to the training received,” the Ministry said. The Ministry is calling on all employers, employees and trade unions to place greater emphasis on ensuring safety
and health at work and to seek the services of the Labour Department whenever necessary for guidance and support in implementing safety measures. Regulations are in the making to address the use of chemicals at work, as well as to regulate conditions of work in the mining, forestry, and manufacturing sectors. Regulations to address HIV/ AIDs have already been tabled in the National Assembly. “These will ensure penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. But the Ministry prefers to work with employers and employees to correct defects, rather than penalise persons and companies. Hence, as we observe World Day for Safety and Health, we appeal to all stakeholders to make a concerted effort to improve and prioritise safety and health at work.”
Body of 23-year-old man with stab wound found at Rupununi The body of 23-year-old Terrance Robin James was discovered early yesterday with a stab wound to his upper left chest on the Tabatinga Public Road, Lethem. James of Kwatamang Village, North Rupununi was
found and identified around 05:40 hrs by a resident of Rupununi. Police in a release said that the body of the 23-yearold man was found with a suspected stab wound to the chest.
The body is at the Lethem Hospital Mortuary awaiting a Port Mortem Examination. Kaieteur News was informed that no one has been held for questioning so far. Investigations are ongoing.
Measures apace to improve... (From page 2) and drink industry. The local use of the insecticide sees vector control workers mixing it with water before dispensing same in the various target areas. Fedona is said to be a fast-acting pyrethroid insecticide that quickly and effectively eliminates diseasecausing insects. With its active ingredient being alphacypermethrin, it is regarded as one of the most effective indoor residual sprays for protecting public health in regions where malaria and
other vector-borne diseases are present. The Vector Control Unit has also been engaged in indoor residual spraying in endemic areas, a move Dr Rahman said is expected to be noticeably strengthened this year. This recommended undertaking is characterised by the spraying of the insides of households or living structure and “we actually spray the walls with a type of insecticide that stays there and the residue will stay there for two to three months.” And the result, according to Dr Rahman,
is that when an adult mosquito comes in contact with the solution either it instantly dies or at the most within a few days. The Vector Control Director is also of the view that the fervent strides to combat vector borne diseases will continue to yield positive results even as he noted that “although we have been doing a lot in terms of vector control, I am not satisfied and I don’t think I will be satisfied until we see the number of our cases actually cut in half or further.”
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Guyana unsafe for LGBT people
Singer/songwriter Nhojj
The acceptance of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) in Guyana has always been an issue of contention, but advocates for the rights of those people are taking their fight internationally and turning their heads and voices to countries with pro-LGBT legislation. In a report published by the Huffington Post (Huffpost gay voices) earlier this week, Guyana has been singled out as the only South American country bearing strong anti-gay legislation; which makes same-sex sexual acts illegal and punishable by
imprisonment. The international news website highlighted on a map by the International LGBT Association which shows where countries stand in relation to gay rights, that Guyana stands out as a red spot for having what was described as “harsh anti-gay” legislation. The article highlighted Guyana as being unsafe, not in terms of high rates of violence, but high levels of discrimination, anti-gay legislation and lack of protection for persons in the gay realm. The report on Guyana
Improving special education high on Education Ministry agenda In keeping with the Persons Living with Disability Act, the Ministry of Education has been feverishly working to ensure that children with special education needs are fully catered for within the public school system. Speaking in the National Assembly during the recent budget debates, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand made it clear that “we are going to be looking at making sure that our buildings are friendlier, so that we can cater for children with disabilities so that it does not affect their ability to learn.” In this quest to improve the delivery of special education needs, the Minister said that her Ministry is committed to ensuring that education buildings are designed with those with special needs in mind. This will therefore see buildings being constructed with ramps and even suitable washroom facilities. “We are committed and we are making sure that every building we build complies with the Person Living with Disability Act...” a passionate Manickchand told the House. And efforts to improve the delivery of education among those with special education needs have already started since according to the Minister, moves have already been made to relocate the Blind Unit which was once housed at the St. Rose’s Secondary School. Those students, according to her, have been placed in another friendlier environment since September 2, 2013. However, the Minister asserted that her Ministry is not by any means satisfied with what has been done
with those with special needs education. “We are not happy with that and we are recognising that we are not doing what we are suppose to do; we are not preparing our children with special education needs as best as we can and making them capable of meeting their maximum potential...we would be the first to tell you that we are not happy with the way the education sector has been catering for students with special education needs,” said Manickchand. It was for this very reason, she said, that the Ministry had spearheaded a countrywide stakeholders’ consultation, which has helped to inform the work of the Ministry, over the next five years, in this regard. “People have told us what they want; they want us to make sure we look at how we are preparing our teachers, so one of the things that is going to be done as a matter of priority over the next five years, is to make sure that all of the teachers coming out of CPCE are prepared for integrating special education needs children into the classroom,” assured Manickchand. It was only earlier this year that the Minister intimated plans to give closer attention to teachers tasked with attending to special needs education children, whereby they are treated on par with other teachers. However, she disclosed that such a move will take some work on the part of the Ministry to ensure that this is realised. Moreover, moves to ensure equality among teachers will see the Ministry seeking to revise regulations governing the operation of Special Needs teachers.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand C u r r e n t l y, S p e c i a l Needs education teachers are not eligible for promotion, a state of affairs that prompted Minister Manickchand to emphasise that “our teachers who have been teaching (Special Needs) have been extremely kind…but at the end of the d a y, people want promotion and so on. The system we have now does not allow a teacher teaching in a Special Needs School to be promoted and we are fixing that shortly,” declared the Minister. She pointed out that the Ministry is intent on making sure that the teaching of special needs is seen as beneficial to teachers. As such, Manickchand disclosed that “…we are looking at what incentives are offered to teachers to deliver this very difficult programme.” But since there are certainly not enough trained teachers to cater to this crucial area, the Minister said that efforts are being made to have greater focus on specifically training teachers in this regard.
- Huffington Post report even spoke of the September 2013, ruling of Chief Justice Ian Chang, which allowed cross dressing, but not for any “improper purposes.” The gay advocates have described the ruling as minor progress towards gay rights in the country, but highlighted however that the decision is “unclear” and still, persons are unsure of the meaning of the decision. Nhojj, an out singer/ songwriter from Guyana has been most vocal on the issue, even writing a gay rights reality piece on Guyana for the international news agency last summer. The songwriter who also has a song on the matter, indicated that there have been minor legislative triumphs, but same-sex sexual acts are still very much illegal and punishable by imprisonment. In an interview with HuffPost Live’s Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, Nhojj said that the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), an LGBT human rights organization in Guyana, is now working on appealing the law to make it more transparent. He related that at the end of last year, the CJ ruled that cross-dressing is now legal for men so long as it is not for any “improper purpose”; “However, the court failed
to clarify what an “improper purpose” entails,” Nhojj stated. “I don’t think anyone really understands what those terms mean,” Nhojj told the newscast. He pointed out however that there are strong social and cultural pressures to act straight. “I have (lesbian friends) who live in Guyana, and they say walking down the street, people taunt them,” Nhojj explained. Even when he is walking with friends, persons hurl slurs at them. Nhojj did tell the newscast that there are things LGBT people can be thankful for. “I think the one thing I am kind of thankful for and grateful for is that it’s not to the point that people are being killed. There’s a lot of pressure, social pressure, some physical harm, and of course we want to get to a point where everyone is really safe and everyone can really celebrate their sexuality. But we’re not there yet. B u t I t h i n k t h e r e ’s something to celebrate where we’ve gotten to the point where we can be on the radio talking and there are other organizations that support SASOD in their mission of equality.” In a survey “Attitudes toward Homosexuals in Guyana”, which was launched in July last year, Guyanese were demonstrated as being largely either tolerant or
accepting of homosexuals, while 25 per cent of the population could genuinely be described as “homophobic”. The survey showed that 58 per cent of the people were tolerant or accepting of homosexuals, while 17 per cent were undecided. It also showed that a large number of the survey’s participants believed that discrimination against the lifestyle is incorrect. R e c e n t l y, Zenita Nicholson, a local human rights advocate and Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) member was honoured with the United St a t e s E m b a s s y ’s ‘International Woman of Courage’ Award for the work she has been doing here on gay rights. For her role as a civil society activist, Nicholson was selected for the award since she “embodies the principles of women’s leadership on issues of global importance,” Chargé d’Affaires, Bryan Hunt had disclosed. While on the flip side, recently, two cross dressers who operate as commercial sex workers had to seek medical attention after they were attacked by someone with a paint ball gun. While one person was shot on the leg the other received several hits to the body and was rendered unconscious. They had complained that the police had not taken their complaint of the matter seriously and they did not render the necessary assistance.
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Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce building roads and drains Apparently the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has extended its portfolio to include the construction of roads and drainage structures. In an advertisement in yesterday’s Chronicle, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce invited suitably qualified contractors to submit tenders for the construction of roads and RC drainage structures at Lethem Industrial Estate, Bon Success, Rupununi District, Region Nine, Essequibo. Observers are questioning the rationale of having the roads and drains constructed by this Ministry. According to an observer, while this Ministry is responsible for industrial sites, it is highly unlikely it would have the expertise of Clerk of Works or Engineers to effectively monitor and evaluate the project. “Perhaps Minister Irfaan Ali, who also has responsibility for the Ministry of Housing, would utilize the skills of technical personnel of the Ministry of Housing to monitor this project,” one observer stressed. During the National Budget 2014 debates, Joseph Harmon, A Partnership for National Unity’s Parliamentarian had expressed concern about the decentralization of the construction of roads and bridges. Harmon related that in
APNU’s Parliamentarian, Joseph Harmon
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali
Guyana, the construction of roads and bridges is not limited to the Ministry of Public Works but is divided among other entities such as the Ministries of Housing and Natural Resources and the Environment. This contributes to communities being exposed to different qualities of roads and contractors are allowed to get away with bad practices while citizens’ complaints are not heeded. “Our demand is that this practice must be put to an end…Make one Minister responsible for roads and bridges in Guyana. If Minister (of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson) Benn can’t do it, straighten him or his Ministry. In an APNU Government this will be a priority,” he said. According to the
advertisement, tender document for the project would be available from April 22 at the Ministry. A nonrefundable fee of $25,000 would be charged. Tenders should be submitted no later than May 13 to the Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. It was noted that each tender must be enclosed in a sealed, plain envelop, which must not, in any way identify the company placing the tender. The advertisement stated that each tender must be accompanied by valid compliance certificates from the Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme. Tenders without valid certificates will be disqualified. The Ministry does not bind itself to accept the lowest tender and retains the right to reject any tender without assigning specific reasons.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
Monday April 21, 2014
GTUC alarmed over inactive constitutional Commissions The Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) has found it alarming that important constitutional Commissions are still currently inactive. The Commissions that the GTUC noted as being inactive are the Public Service Commission, the Public Service Appellate Tribunal and the Police Service Commission. According to the GTUC, these constitutional bodies are responsible for the appointment of Public Servants and Police Officers as well as addressing their respective grievances. “These institutions are constitutionally mandated and the failure to institute these constitutional offices speaks to a flagrant violation of the Constitution of Guyana that the President, the Members of his Cabinet and all Parliamentarians have a duty to and have sworn to uphold. All Members of Parliament are held accountable as are the President and his cabinet,” said the GTUC in a recent press statement. The GTUC expressed that it is alarmed at the disregard shown for establishing these bodies and the resultant impact of not having these Commissions in place, since according to them, “many workers are denied the opportunity to be appointed positions they have been acting in.” The GTUC further outlined that “workers continue to receive inappropriate remuneration for the jobs they do and are also denied the right to a hearing by the Public Service Appellate Tribunal in matters
General Secretary of the GTUC Lincoln Lewis of discipline. This violates a fundamental right of workers and undermines democracy.” As such the GTUC pronounced that “government continues to ignore their role and responsibility in ensuring good governance and accountability. They continue to undermine the pillars of democracy and good governance by ignoring and failing to put in place structures mandated by the Constitution to enable this and to help them satisfy the needs of various sectors of society.” Speaking to the inactive Commissions, the GTUC is calling on the “President, Leader of the Government Business in the National Assembly and the Leader of the Opposition to put in place without delay, mechanisms for the appointment of these three Commissions.” INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY That being said, the GTUC also posited on a
different note “government’s acceptance to put mechanism in place to move closer to an independent judiciary, where money will now be directly drawn [from] the Consolidated Fund and will now become law with assent of the 2014 Appropriation Bill (Budget)”. The GTUC cited that the “realization of the financial restructuring came as a result of the opposition’s activism in the House.” According to the GTUC, this marks another milestone in the nation’s development as “we move to strengthen and give true meaning to the independence (and checks and balances) of the three branches of government. This accomplishment also informs of the opposition’s capability to oversee and ensure adherence to the Constitution.” Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, during consideration for the estimates for the Ministry of Legal Affairs, with specific reference to the Supreme Court, amended the Budget Document so as to collapse all of the allocations for that body so that it will be given as a lump sum. This would see the allocations for the Supreme Court for the first time being able to determine on its own how it wants to spend its money in keeping with the Constitution. Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman had hailed the move by Government and reminded the House that the Constitution makes this demand in order to ensure the independence of the Judiciary.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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A midsummer’s night mare Why, then the world‘s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open. William Shakespeare “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.” On July 27, 1990 what my mother thought was a television play turned out to be a real life drama as a former policeman, Lennox Phillip, now Imam Yaseen Abu Bakr, took control of the national television station while some of his men held the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament prisoner in the Red House. Abu Bakr and his men surrendered on August 1, 1990. On that day I published three articles, one of Prime Minister A.N.R. Robinson (A Crisis of Conscience), another on Lennox Phillip (called The Abu Bakr Phantasma) and the third, an alternate history, of Trinidad and Tobago after a year of Abu Bakr’s rule. Under curfew, frightened for my country and what could happen, not scared about myself although I was
advised to use a nom de plume for these articles criticizing Bakr, this is the third article. It is in honour of A.N.R. Robinson for whom I worked as Chief Information Officer after the coup.) As I wake to the insistent howl of loudspeakers with the call to morning-prayer, it suddenly hits me that today is Saturday July 27, the long awaited First Anniversary of our glorious revolution. All during the past month there has been talk of nothing else. In his nightly broadcast following the evening prayer, his Holiness the Hajji, Lord of Light and of the Universe, Lion of the Caribbean, his Royal Highness Colonel Yaseen Abu Bakr, has stressed the importance of the occasion. During this year His Lordship has grown in strength. From that fateful night when he staged his coup and got the army and police to lay down their arms, and a grateful nation gave him their freedom in exchange for their liberation from hateful democracy, he has cemented
his hold on the state. We are now a fundamentalist Muslim State. The Ayatollahs are everywhere denouncing transgressions wherever they occur. Immediately following the glorious revolution all looters, anyone with identifiably stolen goods had their hands cut off. The Police and Ministers on drug charges were publicly executed. Many people no longer miss the television soap operas as the public beatings of wanton women, and the execution of all who oppose the rule of His Glorious Majesty, give us great pleasure and excitement. The months following the glorious revolution were difficult for us all. The closure of the churches and the execution of the Christian leaders were initially difficult to accept. The women also found it difficult to refrain from displaying themselves publicly and from having to share their husbands with other women. In the end, however, good sense
The driver of this SUV lost control and ploughed his vehicle through the metal barrier on Mandela Avenue outside Banks DIH Limited. The cost for repairing this government property will certainly hurt the pocket.
prevailed. As members of OPEC and the Arab League we are now part of the struggle against the Jews and their protectors, the hated Americans under the reviled Bush. It is whispered that we will soon have the capacity to produce nuclear weapons and we will aim them at the pig dog enemy across the Caribbean. Our glorious leader took his tenth wife in a wedding attended by many international leaders and broadcast via satellite on Cable News Network. It was a proud moment for us all. We are now very safe indeed. The police force and army, long since executed or sent to the labour camps, are no longer around to terrify us. The Legions of His Holiness are everywhere around us, armed with the most modern weapons in order to guarantee our survival. It is whispered that there are some infidels in the hills who seek to harry our beloved leader and to take us back to the slavery of the past, but that will not be allowed to
happen. Already our great allies, the Libyan and Cuban military advisers, have started training many of our youths in the finer arts of warfare. Daily the armed helicopter gunships hover over the hills and coastal plains, seeking those who would destroy all we have gained from the revolution. Our children now attend schools supervised by the Ayatollahs. His Glorious Highness has himself taken the responsibility for education and our children can already recite all the Holy Words, and are skilled in guns and other armaments. There is talk, too, of an invasion of Guyana. Our Glorious Leader has spoken oft about a “jihad” to liberate that poor, unfortunate land. It is said that His Highness, Major Bilal Abdullah, will lead his special squad, the Dervishes, into that battle. There was talk,
immediately following the Glorious 27th of July, of elections and of a gathering of leaders, to be called a Summit. His Lordship, in his wisdom, has decreed against that and the Revolutionary Council is now Paramount. It is indeed a great day that I have lived to see. Later today there will be feasting, speeches and a public execution of one of the old politicians who instead of being glad to be allowed to labour in the sugar cane fields sought to foment discord. Most important of all, the greatest Leader of all time, before whom even our Glorious Leader bows, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is here and will address this humble nation. About FREEDOM. *Tony Deyal was last seen asking people in the region to think about what life would have been like had Abu Bakr taken over Trinidad and Tobago.
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Kaieteur News
PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale.Call:627-5416
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
FOR SALE Toyota Forklift - Excellent condition, 4,000lbs capacity, 117" Lift, Solid Wheels, Automatic Transmission, 4 Cylinder LPG Motor. Call: 604-6108.
Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943
Pork - $380, Pork Chops - $650, leg pork - $480lb, salted pork $450 (8 Lbs pails) @ Geroge & Hadfield Sts.
Brand new 60" Samsung LED with 3D smart TV. Interested person - Call: 6231615 One 2600 PSI Honda Pressure Washer : 672-7759
Red Honda 250 Twister motorcycle – Contact:6713533; 681-2217
Blow out sale on 5/8 smooth steel rods – Priced to go – Tel:657-4072
Honda Welder, 270 Amps, 2002 Tundra – Call:611-5114, 220-4495
Houses located Ogle, Diamond, Herstelling, BelAir, Lamaha Gardens, ETC, Contact: 223-8479/684-4748, www.spaceseek.gy
One – 2 Storey concrete house for sale – Contact:618-1754
1,500 Acres of Land located in Berbice. Includes Machinery, Property and Multiples Vehicles, etc, Contact: 223-8479/684-4748, www.spaceseek.gy Wardrobe, desk, divider, vases, beds, sink, photo frame, radio set, etc. Call: 226-2284 Complete 8 Bass sound system 70KVA generator – Tel: 610-1230, 673-5828 Hi-Fi Sound Connection. 6 weeks old pit-bull pups fully vaccinated and dewormed – Please Call: 6913368 for more information. Dell Computers with 20" LCDs - $65,000, Laptops $50,000, Iphone 3GS $30,000 at Future Tech – 2312206, 644-6760 Slate pools table 8x4 $450,000 negotiable, 1 brand new 2 door freezer - $100,000, 1 fridge - $35,000 – Tel:6018083, 689-2658. TAXI SERVICE IN OPERATION - TEL: 6210400
Two 212 Carina, 2 AE100 Wagon – Tel:660-0018, 6411040
Hand Truck, Bar –B-Que fireside – Tel:627-7835 Loving, fluffy puppies - Call: 645-0240, 685-0942 Pure Rottweiler Pups - Call: 672-6402 EPSON TM-T88 THERMAL RECEIPT PRINTER $25 000.00 NEG. EPSON TM0220 RECEIPT PRINTER $25 000.00 NEG. TEL: 6804039. GATEWAY NOTEBOOK, PENTIUM-M, 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD, DVDRW, WIN7, 14" SCREEN $38 000.00 NEG. TEL: 680-4039 BRAND NEW SEALED LENOVO YOGA 8" TABLET WITH ANDROID 0/S $65 000.00 NEG. TEL: 680-4039 HP NOTEBOOK, dual core, windows7 4GB RAM, 120GB, DVDRW, 15" SCREEN $58,000.00 TEL: 680-4039 PS2, PS3 & XBOX 360 (ORIGINAL) VIDEO GAME DISCS. BEST PRICES AVAILABLE,WIDEVARIETY. CALL‘MAX’–609-8132,672-8569
Fresh Halaal pluck chicken. Tel:602-2131, 270-4319, 654-5432, Price $300 per lb free delivery One 6125 John Deere tractor for sale. For more information contact: 670-3328 Pure breed German Shepherd puppies - $75,000 each – Tel:682-2148, 655-8674 1 -65 DAF 210 Engine Foreign used. In Excellent condition - Tel:228-5655 or 628-1756 Complete tyre shop equipment – plus. Phone 225-9753
MASSAGE The Gents Spa: Be pampered by beautiful masseuses. New masseuses Amanda and Crystal – Tel:657-5979 DRESSMAKING Jean is offering courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral & cake decoration. Lot 153 Barr St Kitty – Call:670-2653, 618-1706
Two Storey concrete building. Price$32M, E.C.D. Call: 661-9431 1-2 storey wooden & concrete house with 5 bedrooms, upper flat & lower flat 4 apartments located@ Shell Road, kitty - $38.9M – Tel: 642-7898 South Ruimveldt Park – Two storey concrete /wooden four bedrooms, good condition, asking price -$25M negotiable – Tel:618-3635 W.B.D – Canal No 1 Public Road : Two storey concrete/ wooden, land size 37X900, asking price - $15M neg. – Call:618-3635 East Coast Demerara – Vryheid’s Lust: One flat concrete with servant quarters – asking price: $15M negotiable- Call:618-3635
Monday April 21, 2014
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Cement mixers, generators and water pump - Tel: 643-1131 Executive Four Bedroom House located in Bel-Air Park- USD $2500-Contact: 223-8479/6844748, www.spaceseek.gy Executive Houses & Apartments Located in Queenstown, Prashad Nagar, Kitty, Lamaha Springs, etc, Contact: 223-8479/ 684-4748, www.spaceseek.gy Office Spaces located in secure compound on New Market Street. Contact: 223-8479/6844748, www.spaceseek.gy Large house / Yard available in Bartica – Contact:231-9335
One three storey business property @ Middle St. Georgetown – Tel:619-7134, 225-6481 price negotiable. 2 Business properties on Whim Public Road Corentyne – Call: 619-7134, 225-6481. Price Negotiable Sophia - $3M, 3 houses @ W.B.D - $22M, Diamond A – $28M, Providence- $16M, South - $17M – Contact:2312199, 618-7483 One property for sale at Covent Garden Island, E.B.D – Call:265-3586 House & Land, double lot @ New Rd, Vreed-En-Hoop, W.C.D. Serious enquiries only. Contact Rock Star Blocks Yard:269-1406; 6179230 Property at Third Street, East Meten- Meer-Zorg, W.C.D – Contact: 277-3743 or 6620773. Price negotiable.
EDUCATIONAL Practical Electronic Course beginning May 6th 2014 – Call Abdul Electronics – 2266551 or 225-0391
SALON
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773
Unregistered Toyota Raum Year 2004 , Black interior, HID lights, power door, TV navigation – Tel:617-5536 Toyota Allion PRR 9124, low miles, mags, reverse camera, etc. In excellent condition CallAyube: 233-5557; 610-1309
VACANCY 24 Hour East Coast Guy-oil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl & office assistant - Call: 670-8893/ 695-9880/ 684-2838 Federal Management Security Services: Armed, Baton Officers, bus drivers. Located @ 120 Peter Rose Street, Queenstown - Tel:2260633, 226-0652, 226-0637 Supervisors, Cosmetologist, Massage Therapist. For details call:672-1239 One domestic helper, 25-40 years, Between 8:00am-4:00pm Call: 227-7355,615-2483 Sawmill – Mill wright, porters, wood mizer, band saw & moulder operators. Eccles industrial Site, EBD – Call Richard:609-7675,233-2614 One night security, Apply in writing with a valid,Police clearance to GCC Ground, Bourda. Cashiers @ Shell Service Station Providence EBD. Must be able to work shift (5am-3pm & 3pm-12pm) – Tel: 265-7305
CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental - Call: 225-7126/ 226-3693 dollys autorental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com
Pump Attendant @ Shell Service Station Providence EBD. Must be able to work shift (5am-3pm & 3pm-12pm) Tel: 265-7305
Aidan’s Car Rental & PickupCall: 645-7981/ 698-7807 Wings Car Rental- Call:6431131
CAKES & PASTRIES: Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery; also edible images and Wedding dresses for sale. Call: 670-0798
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 Shalom Driving School @ 2 Croal street. Fee $16,000- Call:227-3869
LAND FOR SALE Blankenburg, Public Road W.C.D (38ftX150ft), (39ftX150ft) $16M each - Call: 658-0132 1 Transported lot#1079 @ Tuschen H/S, 50’X26’ foundation & 10’ column, built for 2 storey building $2.4M – No Agents! – Tel:665-8445 TO LET Wings Two bedrooms apartment in Eccles – Tel:643-1131 Tw o b e d r o o m h o u s e , E.C.D – Call:663-9816 or 619-3887
TO LET 1 – Four bedrooms house with all modern conveniences, semi-furnished - $300,000 monthly, Happy Acres - Tel: 231-7839 (working hours) Have your properties to let, sell or manage? Email: Diana_reality@yahoo.com or contact Diana: 227-2256, 626-9382 La Parfaite (A.C), Diamond, O g l e , P r a s h a d N a g a r, Q u e e n s t o w n , Lamaha Gardens, Stabroek, Robb St, South & North Road Tel:231-2200, 670-9128 Eccles Furnished apartment with cable, TV, internet, phone,A.C, etc – Call: 233-2770 Now Open! Harmony Inn, Georgetown Branch - $6,000 & $7,000 – Contact:6680306, 694-7817, 602-8769 Rooms - Tel:225-9223
Reduced Prices: Premio, Spacio, Axela, Raum, Allex, AT212, Tel: 681-4208, 2206262 1 -1RZ, 15 seater, automatic mini-bus, BNN 3760 - $1.7M Negotiable. Good condition, never used for public transportation – Tel:6280310 ; 672-5429 Toyota Fielder motor car, PNN series, excellent condition, price negotiable – Tel:627-7261 One registered Allion 2003. In excellent condition – Call: 652-3820, 665-4529 First Class Auto: Premio, Allion, Spacio, Raum, 212, Allex, Runx, IST, Fielder, Bluebird, Axela – Tel:6098188, 638-3045 NISSAN TITAN - VERY GOOD CONDITION, LEATHER INTERIOR, FULLY LOADED $2.5M NEG. CALL: 620-1026 One 8,000 Ford Tractor, one 450 Ford Towing Truck & size 16 & 17 tyres - Contact Floyd: 694-5599 1 Leyland Daf 45-130, GNN7347 ,1 Nissan Titan 4x4 GLL3687 for $2.6M-Tele # 660-4483 One RX-8 Mazda fully air conditioned, stick gear, wheel lights, fog lamps, power windows - Tel: 653-2477 2004 Toyota Tundra GNN Series - $1.6M. Owner leaving country - Phone: 647-5919 AT170 Corona – Phone:2340475 or 628-2796 AT Carina - $875,000, AT170 Corona - $775,000, RZ Minibus - $1.8M, Tacoma Van - $2.3M. All prices are negotiable – Tel:618-8703; 601-3439 Smart Choice Auto Sales: Unregistered: Premio, Allex, IST, Spacio, Allion – Call:6523820; 665-4529 Unregistered Toyota Tundra 4x4 leather Interior - $3.1M, 139 Garnett St, Georgetown – Tel:621-7767 BMW 525I M BODY KIT, E X C E L L E N T CONDITION, LOW MILEAGE, PRICE NEG. CALL : 620-1026 To y o t a R a u m , S p a c i o , AT212, AT192, NZE ,LTouring wagon,Fun Cargo, IST, Nissan E24 Caravan – Tel:644-5096; 697-1453 (Continued on page 23)
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Central Africa on the ‘brink of genocide’, warns Tutu Johannesburg (AFP) Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu warned yesterday that the Central African Republic was “on the brink of genocide”, as he urged warring sides to reconcile their differences and “re-learn to live together”. “Over the past 13 months, the nation’s seemingly incessant struggles for political power and resources have degenerated into anarchy, hatred and ethnic cleansing — the country stands on the brink of genocide; some would say it has already commenced,” Archbishop Emeritus Tutu said in a statement released
by his peace foundation. The former French colony, one of the poorest countries in the world, plunged into a crisis after a coup by the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels in March last year. After seizing power, some of the rebels went rogue and embarked on a campaign of killing, raping and looting. The abuses prompted members of the Christian majority to form vigilante groups, unleashing a wave of brutal tit-for-tat killings, leaving thousands dead and close to a million displaced. In his message, Tutu called on people on all sides of the conflict — Christian, Muslim and Atheist — to
Desmond Tutu “rekindle the spirit of tolerance”. “When we forgive we
liberate ourselves and sow a seed for a new beginning; it has a powerful multiplier effect,” he said. “It is the people of the Central African Republic who hold the key to sustainable peace. It is the people who must re-learn to live together,” he said. With the humanitarian crisis in the country spiralling, he said the deployment of a new UN peacekeeping force — which will see 12,000 troops on the ground — was a “massive relief” and would help “protect the people from themselves”. “They will assist to restore broken systems, including policing and justice,” he said.
Iran, world powers to start work on nuclear drafts next month DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and world powers will begin work drafting a long-term settlement of Iran’s disputed nuclear program at expertlevel talks in New York next month, the official state news agency IRNA reported yesterday. During the May 5-9 meeting, the P5+1 world powers and Iran will start “writing draft of comprehensive agreements which will be a complex and difficult work,” said senior nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi, according to IRNA. Hamid Baeedinejad, Director General for the
Mohammad Javad Zarif Political and International Affairs Department of
Foreign Ministry, will head Iran’s team at talks on the sidelines of the NonProliferation Treaty Review preliminary committee meeting, IRNA said. The United States, France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia have agreed a July 20 deadline with Iran to clinch a long-term deal that would allow a gradual lifting of all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran over its atomic program. Tehran denies using its declared civilian atomic energy program as a front for covertly developing the means to make nuclear weapons, saying it seeks only
electricity from its enrichment of uranium. Under a breakthrough preliminary agreement that took effect on January 20, Iran halted some aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for a limited e a s i n g o f i n t e r n a t i o n al sanctions that have laid low the major oil producer’s economy. In its monthly update, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has a pivotal role in verifying that Iran is living up to its part of the accord, said that Iran so far was undertaking the agreed steps to curb its nuclear program.
Brazil’s President also responsible for refinery deal: Ex CEO BRASILIA (Reuters) Brazil´s President Dilma Rousseff must assume her share of responsibility for the controversial purchase of a refinery in Texas by Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the former chief executive of the state-run oil company said in an interview published yesterday. Rousseff chaired the board of Petrobras in 2006 when it approved the purchase of Pasadena Refining System Inc, near Houston. Its high cost and losses later incurred at the refinery have put Petrobras at the center of a growing political scandal that began with bribery accusations and was fanned by the arrest of a former director in connection with a moneylaundering case. The fall-out could
complicate a re-election bid in October by Rousseff, who has said she was not informed of two clauses in the refinery contract that made it an onerous deal for Petrobras. Petrobras chief executive at the time, José Sergio Gabrielli, told the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper that both he and Rousseff were responsible for the purchase that turned sour. “I was president of the company. I cannot escape m y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y, a n d likewise President Dilma cannot escape her responsibility as chairwoman of the board,” he said. Gabrielli echoed statements made by his successor at the helm of Petrobras, Maria das Graças Foster, who told a Senate hearing on Tuesday
Dilma Rousseff that the purchase was a good deal at the time but world economic downturn turned it into a money loser. “I still think that it was a good deal in 2006, a bad deal for the market conditions in 2008-2011 and it became a good business once again in
20113-2014,” Gabrielli said, referring to the refinery operation that turned its first profit for Petrobras in the first two months of this year. Petrobras bought 50 percent of the 100,000barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery for $360 million in 2006 from Belgium’s Astra Oil in hopes of maximizing returns on Brazilian heavy oil shipped to the United States. Gabrielli said the Petrobras board would still have gone ahead with the refinery deal even if it had been informed about the two clauses Rousseff said she had no knowledge of: a Marlin clause that compensated Astra for possible losses, and a put option that in 2012 forced Petrobras to buy the remaining stake as part of a $820.5 million legal settlement.
(From page 22)
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Kaieteur News
Monday April 21, 2014
Sacred Heart rebuilding stalls as funds dwindle The reconstruction of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church on Main Street, Georgetown is now at a standstill as funds continue to decrease. Melissa De Santos, parishioner and member of the Rebuilding Committee on Thursday last said at the church’s annual cross buns sale said that the fund is very low and as a result, work on the building’s reconstruction has stopped. She said that the committee is now considering approaching a commercial bank to secure additional funds. It is also calling on the private sector to support the rebuilding efforts. “We welcome more donations. To date, not too many commercial entities have donated, so if they can come on board, that would be much appreciated,” she said. The church was scheduled to reopen in June but considering the current circumstance, the opening will have to be pushed back to a later date.
Farmer hospitalized after Liliendaal accident A Region Three farmer was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday following an accident on the Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara Public Road. According to reports, the injured man, who has been identified as Farook Mohamed, was proceeding east along the carriageway when the car he was driving slammed into another car at around 15:45hrs. Mohamed’s Toyota Premio then toppled twice before coming to a halt. This newspaper was told that the Ruby Backdam resident had just left his stall at Bourda Market and was heading to a friend’s house when the accident occurred. While the occupants of the other car escaped unharmed, this newspaper was informed that Mohamed may have fractured several parts of his body. “He look like he bruk he left foot though, but me nah too sure. When dem done look after he and suh, then awe guh know wha really happen to he. Fuh now, we can’t really seh anything much,” a close family friend told Kaieteur News at the GPHC yesterday. Efforts to contact Mohamed’s wife were futile, however, up to press time, the farmer was said to be in a stable condition.
The committee plans to use the proceeds from the recent cross buns sale assist in the continuation of works on the church. De Santos said that the church started an annual cross buns sale after a devastating fire completely destroyed the building on Christmas morning in 2004. Sixty-five parishioners were in the building when the fire began, but all managed to escape unhurt. The adjoining Sacred Heart Primary School was also destroyed. The cross buns sale usually attracts hundreds of people and was again successful this year with over 2,800 bags being sold out by noon on Thursday. Those who are desirous of making donations towards the completion of the church’s reconstruction are asked to do so through Republic Bank Guyana Limited account # 268-496-7; Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited account # CIDA 802530; The New Building Society Ltd account #134769; Scotiabank Guyana
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
account # 10006626; or visit the church online at: www.sacredheart.gy.
Monday April 21, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Take advantage of this new opportunity before anyone else sees it -- there may not be room for everyone! ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You are feeling emotionally stable in a way that feels really good -- and different from how you've felt for the past few weeks or even longer. Move forward in the direction you've been meaning to go. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Other people are making life a little harder now -- so see if you can get them to chill out. If not, you've just got to accept that today is a slow slog through difficult terrain. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Some big issue is on your radar, and there's just no way you're going to be able to let go of it. You may as well give it your best, because if you can take care of it all at once, you can get back to important stuff. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Your sweeter, more romantic side is making someone's life a little better today, so indulge it as much as you can. Flowers, chocolate, candlelit dinners -- go all out to make the night special. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22):Romance is in the air today, and you couldn't be happier about your situation. Even if it's in flux you can tell that the road ahead is brighter than anywhere you've been
before. Take a risk! ********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Depression may or may not be a part of your core identity, but today's mood seems to pull you down a little. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Ambition is the word of the day. You may find that you know what you want much more clearly, and that means you are better able to go for it. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Your direct manner is both shocking and approachable -- people know just what they're getting from you. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Your energy feels fantastic right now, and you should be able to see this phase through to a very happy ending. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): You need an iron will to make it through the cavalcade of distractions coming your way today. If you need to get anything done, you may need to put blinders on or work from home in a quiet room. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): A coworker lends a hand today -- even if it's their day off or you are actually on the hunt for a new gig. Something they say or do leads the way to something that is much better for both of you.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Republic to make bid Election rules breached says PNM challenger for Ghana bank Trinidad Express Republic Bank intends to formally make mandatory offer to the shareholders of HFC Bank in Ghana, Ghana News has reported. The bank’s announcement was contained in a circular issued by the Ghana Stock Exchange on Thursday. If the offer is successful, it could lead to Republic Bank becoming the majority shareholder of HFC Bank and possibly take over the institution. Republic this week received approval from the Bank of Ghana to go ahead with the move. Last year, Republic acquired 40 per cent of HFC. By Ghanaian law the bank is mandated to make an offer for the outstanding shares. In June the bank had requested a waiver from Ghana’s Security and Exchange Commission for the Code on Take Overs and Mergers, but was denied. The SEC advised Republic that it must comply with the mandatory takeover requirements and make an offer for remaining shareholding in HFC Bank Ghana Ltd, the Bank had said in a statement last June. Ghana News reported an executive director of HFC nominated by Republic said the bank did not want to rush the takeover, since the bank still wanted to get a deeper
understanding of the Ghanaian market. In a brief telephone interview with the Express yesterday, Republic’s managing director David Dulal-Whiteway said this is just an announcement of the bank’s approval and intention to make the offer, but Republic was still working out the logistics and paperwork. He added that based on the shareholder structure of the bank, he did not think Republic would acquire total shareholdings. He said the bank was “very positive” about its move into the Ghanaian market, adding that he will be in Ghana all week, next week. Responding to why Republic chose Ghana as an
investment, Dulal-Whiteway said in looking at its opportunities to grow outside the region, Commonwealth Africa seemed to be the best option, with the Ghanaian economy doing well, growing significantly over the last decade. “It’s a very attractive economy, (and we felt their growth is) something we can experience in the Caribbean. We at Republic have the capital and the f i n a ncial and human resources to add value (to HFC),” he said. Republic Bank is the largest indigenous financial institution in the Caribbean, with an asset base of over $50 billion.
5.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Leeward Islands THE VALLEY, Anguilla - CMC – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 rocked the Leeward Islands on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages. The Seismic Unit of the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad said that the quake had a depth of 29 km and occurred around 3.31 pm local time. The quake, which occurred east of Anguilla, was also felt in St. Kitts-Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. It was located at 16.13 North and 62.52 West. The epicenter of the tremor was located 23 miles east (37 km) of Saint-Barthélemy, and 49 (79km) NNE of Basseterre St. Kitts and Nevis. The tremor comes two months after the last reported earthquake in the Caribbean when Barbados was rocked by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake in February.
Trinidad Guardian - The team supporting Pennelope Beckles-Robinson in the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) May 18 internal elections Saturday repeated their ultimatum over the party’s voters list, insisting they want to ensure there is full compliance with the rules and regulations. “If the deadline passes we will consider our options, it’s a reasonable request and if they’re prepared to be unreasonable we will take steps and ensure we get the full comprehensive list,” attorney Ronald Boynes, an attorney and member of the Beckles-Robinson team said Saturday. He said Balisier House has until 4 pm tomorrow to comply with the ultimatum or face possible legal action. Boynes said the list contained the full contact details of potential voters and was worthwhile and relevant to Team Beckles-Robinson in their efforts to canvas, campaign and convince people to vote for them. He
Pennelope Beckles-Robinson said the continued refusal to provide the complete list at Balisier House and the party’s subregional offices is a breach of the rules and a mockery of the process. Laventille West MP Nileung Hypolite, the team’s logistical officer, said they can provide documentation to show that the procedure was stacked in favour of incumbent political leader Dr Keith Rowley who is being challenged by Beckles-
Robinson. Hypolite said there were glaring discrepancies with some 7,000 people disenfranchised from the voting process. He said the team could account for 1,900 of those people. He said they had their forms filled out online, registered and paid their $5 registration fees which was sent to Balisier House in cash. Balisier House officials have said that the preliminary voters list is out in constituencies and members have until Thursday to make adjustments, additions or fix issues before the final list is done on April 30. They said the 7,000 people who were rejected from the preliminary list can regularise their status before the final list is done on April 30. The preliminary list for the PNM’s new oneman-one-vote system comprises 79,363 people. In the previous internal election, 800 people were eligible to vote by the old delegate system.
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Monday April 21, 2014
Protesters fight police, burn Maduro puppets in Venezuela (Reuters) - Masked youths battled police, protesters burned and hung from lamp-posts effigies of President Nicolas Maduro and marchers demanded the “resurrection” of democracy on a volatile Easter Sunday (yesterday) in Venezuela. Though millions of Venezuelans have headed for Caribbean beaches and family gatherings over the Easter period, student demonstrators have sought to keep a nearly three-month protest movement going with religious-themed demonstrations. After a barefoot walk and a “Via Crucis” march in the style of Jesus’ tortured walk towards crucifixion earlier in the week, hundreds of demonstrators began Sunday with a rally denominated “Resurrection of Democracy.” Easter marks the day Christians believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead after being crucified. “We’re staying in the street until we get our country back,” student leader Djamil Jassir, 22, told Reuters in a square where protesters displayed dozens of used gas canisters and bullets as symbols of repression. “This is the time to stand firm.” Later, several hundred hooded protesters, many wearing Guy Fawkes masks, set up barricades in the eastern Chacao district of Caracas that has been a neardaily battleground during recent unrest in Venezuela since mid-February.
Chanting “Liberty!”, the youths threw petrol bombs, fired stones from slings, tore down advertising hoardings, and placed wires across streets blocked by debris. Police responded with teargas and water-cannons, as residents banged pots and pans from windows in a form of protest. Some neighbours threw bottles of water and bags of ice down to the students from balconies. Anti-Maduro protests since early February have led to violence killing at least 41 people, according to official figures. The dead have been from both sides of the South American nation’s political divide and from security forces. Activists said a student was shot dead on Thursday night in Valencia city while raising cash for the Easter Sunday tradition of “burning Judas” - when neighbours set fire to effigies of hated figures in memory of the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Gabriel Daza, 21, was constructing a model of a National Guard military officer, activists said via Twitter and in local media. If it is confirmed that his death was linked to the political tensions, he would be the 42nd fatality of the unrest. Around Venezuela yesterday, opposition supporters burned puppets of Maduro, the government’s powerful No. 2 Diosdado Cabello, and other senior officials. Effigies of a red-clad Maduro hung from several lamp-posts in Caracas.
Nicolas Maduro “They’re taking us to the brink, they’re killing us,” one student, who asked not to be named, said before pouring kerosene over puppets of Maduro and Cabello tied to a railing in Caracas. Government supporters, meanwhile, did the same to
effigies of prominent opposition figures, with jailed protest leader Leopoldo Lopez proving particularly popular. “The only Judases in Venezuela are Leopoldo Lopez, Maria Corina Machado, Antonio Ledezma,” one Maduro supporter said on Twitter, referring to the three most hardline opposition leaders. “You all need holy water.” In Petare, the biggest shanty-town in Caracas, residents burned effigies of opposition governor Henrique Capriles and mayor Carlos Ocariz, accusing them of failing to rein in opposition supporters to prevent deaths and damage. Despite the violence and protests of recent weeks, Maduro’s position does not appear under threat, with
numbers on the street dropping and the armed forces seemingly firm behind him. “One year into government, I will continue to fulfil my oath with the people,” said Maduro, who this week celebrated the anniversary of his election win to replace late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. “No-one will deny our right to be happy, free and independent,” he added via Twitter. The troubles have been limited to a few areas of Venezuela’s main cities - and state TV has sought to project an image of normality throughout Holy Week, showing images of packed beaches, happy people, and officials praising Maduro. The ugly side of Venezuela, though, was also on evidence on Saturday
night in Caracas when a driver hit a protester during a street blockade. He tried to escape, but was caught and badly beaten by residents, a Reuters photographer saw. Frustrated by successive election losses, the protesters originally took to the streets in early February demanding solutions to Venezuela’s rampant violent crime, soaring prices, and shortages of basic goods from flour to toilet paper. Hardliners had hoped for a “Venezuelan Spring” that would oust Maduro, but they failed to bring millions onto the streets. Maduro says protesters, encouraged by the U.S. government and international media, are seeking to topple him as happened to Chavez during a brief coup in 2002.
Finance Ministry admits dollar slide pushing up debt stock KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s public debt stock climbed to just under J$2 trillion, or approximately 132 per cent of Gross Domestic Product GDP) at the end of financial year 2013/14, due mainly to the depreciating value of the Jamaican dollar, according to the Fiscal Policy Paper (FPP) tabled by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Peter Phillips, in the House of Representatives on Thursday. According to the FPP, the debt rose from J$1.81 trillion in 2012/13 to J$1.94 trillion at the end of 2013/14, representing a 7.4 per cent increase. The FPP said that the increase in the debt stock during the course of 2013/14
Jamaica’s debt now just under J$2 trillion was primarily due to the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar vis-a-vis the US dollar and other currencies. Domestic debt rose from approximately $1.008 trillion in at the end of 2012/13, to $1.024 at the end of 2014/14. In addition explicit domestic guarantees rose from $31.8 billion at the end of March 2013, to $37.7 billion at the end of March, 2014. The stock of public and publicly guaranteed external debt increased to $921.4 at the end of 2013/14, an increase of 14.6 per cent over the stock
at the end of 2012/13. The depreciation in the value of the Jamaican dollar being the most significant contributor to this increase, as in US dollar terms the stock increased marginally from US$8.1 billion to US$8.4 billion. The stock of publicly guaranteed external debt rose from $128.8 billion at the end of March, 2013 to $140.8 billion at the end of March, 2014. At the end of 2013/14 domestic debt accounted for 52.6 per cent of the total debt, down from 55 per cent at the
Dr. Peter Phillips end of the previous fiscal year. Domestic and external bonds accounted for 44.6 per cent and 20.4 per cent of the total debt, respectively.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Australia sees ‘regroup’ on Malaysian plane search in a few days WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - Australia will decide in a few days whether to alter or scale back the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but will consult all countries involved on any changes, A u s t r a l i a ’s ambassador to the United States said yesterday. Kim Beazley told CNN the search countries would “regroup and reconsider” if nothing is found in a section
of the Indian Ocean floor now being scanned by a U.S. Navy underwater drone. This includes adjustments to the air and sea surface search efforts and the possibility of bringing in private contractors to replace some military assets, he said. “Obviously that’s one of the things you’re going to consider. You may well also consider bringing in other underwater search
equipment,” Beazley said on the “State of the Union with Candy Crowley” program. “All these sorts of things will be on the table if nothing is found in the next few days,” he added. The search coordinators also may reassess the mathematical calculations used in trying to pinpoint the source of “ping” signals believed to be from the missing plane’s flight recorders, as well as
Rouhani says Iranian women not second class citizens
Picture released yesterday by the official website of the Iranian president shows president Hassan Rouhani (2ndR) waving as he arrives in Tehran for a forum attended by members of Iran’s female elite to mark Women’s Day (AFP Photo/) Tehran (AFP) - Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani admitted y e s t e r d a y t h a t women in his country still face discrimination and cultural barriers but he i n s isted they are not universally treated as secondclass citizens. In a speech marking Women’s Day in Iran, Rouhani, seen as a moderate reformer, said more had to be done but that the West did not offer a model that had to be followed. The remarks were followed by confirmation that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had agreed to pardon or commute the sentences of some women prisoners. Rouhani’s speech was consistent with his promise of more social freedoms, a cornerstone of the campaign that gave him a surprise victory in the June presidential election. “I, as the head of the government, confess there are still so many deficiencies with regards to the
vindication of women’s rights,” Rouhani told a conference attended by members of Iran’s female elite. “Based on the Islamic criteria, we neither consider men as the first sex nor the women as the second sex ... they both have the same human dignity and none is superior,” he said, drawing warm applause. Iran’s civil rights record is regularly criticised by international rights watchdogs and Western governments. Among the criticisms levelled at the Islamic republic is a ban on women travelling abroad without official permission. Within the country, many hotels will not allow a woman to check into a room if she is alone. And under the Islamic sharia law practised in Iran, a woman’s evidence is considered to have only half the value of a man’s, which Amnesty International says leads to discrimination in divorce proceedings, child custody disputes and
inheritance. Rouhani has the backing of reformists, moderates and some conservatives in the Islamic republic. Arguing that it was misguided to think a woman’s place should be limited to the home, he questioned why “some people think the presence of women is a threat?”, noting that women are guardians of their own moral standards, not men. “Is that possible to corner and marginalise the role of half of the society? Women should enjoy equal opportunities, security and social rights,” he said. “We will not accept the culture of sexual discrimination.” A message on the supreme leader’s website said he had agreed to pardon or commute the sentences of a group of convicted women, following a request from the country’s judiciary chief. The crimes of those shown clemency on women’s day were not of a serious nature, it said.
electronic signals the plane sent to a communications satellite, Beazley said. The search for the missing Boeing 777-200ER and its 239 passengers and crew entered its 44th day on Sunday, focused on sonar scans taken by the Bluefin21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The remotecontrolled submarine is scouring a 6.2-mile circle of sea floor some 1,200 miles northwest of Perth. The submarine is now in its eighth deep sea mission with no sign of wreckage s o f a r, a u t h o r i t i e s i n Australia said on S u n d a y. T h e d r o n e h a s s e a r c h e d about half its targeted area, and authorities said the operation would be completed within a week. Beazley, former deputy prime minister of Australia, said any changes to the search would be decided by Australia in consultation with Malaysia, China, the United States and other countries involved. “This is an area where we’re all a bit humbled. None of us know exactly what
ought to be done, so you’re going to be in a mode of constant consultation,” he said. On Sunday, up to 11 military aircraft and 12 ships will help with the search, covering a total of roughly 48,507 square km (18,729 sq miles) across two areas, the Perth-based Joint Agency Coordination Centre said in a statement. Weeks of daily sorties have failed to turn up any trace of the plane, even after narrowing the search to an arc in the southern Indian Ocean, making this the most expensive such operation in aviation history. The Malaysian government has said the search is at a “very critical juncture” and asked for prayers for its success. Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has also said the government may consider using more AUVs in
the search. Hopes for further black box signals are fast diminishing, since the batteries on the devices are now two weeks past their 30day expected life span, search officials have said. Beazley said Australia was committed to “keep going” on the search, even if methods are altered. Each country would likely continue covering the costs of supporting its own planes, ships, personnel and equipment. “The question would be who would pay for private contractors if more private contractors were brought in. That would be a decision taken by the Australian government in an environment of great generosity,” Beazley said. “We have responsibility for this. There is an assumption on the Australian part about bearing the burden.”
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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Kaieteur News
Abdullah widens lead in Afghan presidential vote KABUL (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah’s lead in the Afghan presidential race has widened, the latest official tally of votes released yesterday showed, although half of the votes have yet to be counted. Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said initial results based on almost 50 percent of the vote out of the total 34 provinces showed Abdullah in the lead with 44.4 percent, followed by ex-world bank official Ashraf Ghani with 33.2 percent of the votes it said were not fraudulent. “The lead we were expecting, it didn’t come as a surprise, but perhaps we were expecting a bigger lead,” Abdullah told Reuters in an interview at his home in Kabul. “We are still hoping the elections will be completed in the first round.” To win, a candidate must secure more than 50 percent of valid ballots. Failing that, the top two candidates go into a run-off. Final results are due on May 14, and a run-off, if needed, will take place in late May. A run-off is seen as a risky proposition in Afghanistan, given security concerns, the prospect of a low turnout and the cost - the bill for the first round was put at more than $100 million. But Abdullah dismissed the idea of dealmaking to avoid another round of voting. “The idea of coalition building in order to avoid a second round is not on the agenda, at least we are not intending to enter that track,”
he said. “The people of Afghanistan deserve to have a clear outcome.” He said he had spoken with Zalmay Rassoul, running in third place with nearly 11 percent of the vote, as the likelihood rises of them joining forces to defeat Ghani in a second round. Hamid Karzai was constitutionally bound to step down as president after more than 12 years in power, at a time when Afghanistan readies to stand on its own feet as most Western troops prepare to leave the country by the end of the year. Western powers are watching the process intently after a messy presidential election in 2009 resulted in allegations of mass fraud and ballot stuffing. Foreign donors, who are hesitant about bankrolling the Afghan government after the bulk of NATO troops leaves, will also closely scrutinize the composition of the country’s future government to decide if they can work with the new team. Afghanistan’s allies hailed the first round on April 5 a success because of the high number of participants and the fact that Taliban militants didn’t stage any big attacks on polling day. All leave for hundreds of thousands of police and soldiers was cancelled as the government made security a top priority. Official estimates put the turnout at 60 percent of 12 million eligible voters. But as many as 18 million voter cards are in circulation.
Monday April 21, 2014
Ex-army chief, leftist to run for Egyptian presidency (Reuters) - The former army general who toppled Egypt’s first freely elected president will face a leftist politician in next month’s presidential election, as they were the only candidates to enter, the committee organising the vote said yesterday. The committee had received paperwork from former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and former parliamentarian and presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, its head told a news conference, hours after the deadline for nominations had passed. The elections will be held in a barren political climate, three years after the uprising that overthrew autocrat Hosni Mubarak raised hopes of a robust democracy in the biggest Arab nation. There will be no Islamist candidate, in contrast to the hotly contested 2012 presidential race which featured more than a dozen rivals from across the political spectrum and was won by
Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Sisi, who deposed Mursi last year, is expected to win the vote easily. He has gained cult-like adulation from supporters who see him as a saviour who can end the political turmoil dogging the country since the armybacked popular uprising that ended Mubarak’s threedecade rule. Islamists, many of whom have been driven underground, view Sisi as the mastermind of a coup. Thousands of them have been jailed and the Brotherhood has been banned and declared a terrorist organisation, with its top leaders facing trials. Secular activists, including ones who played a key role in the revolt that toppled Mubarak, have also been rounded up. There are no signs political tensions will ease anytime soon. Sisi would be the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military that was only briefly broken
during Mursi’s year in office. The only other contender, Sabahi, heads a political alliance called the Popular Current and was a member of parliament under Mubarak. He came third in the 2012 presidential vote after Mursi and ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafik. Sabahi told Reuters in an interview last month that he doubted Sisi would bring democracy if elected, alleging that as Mubarak’s former chief of military intelligence he was responsible for human rights abuses. Sabahi has said that the country has yet to cleanse a “rotten” system or create a new breed of politicians, and argues that Mubarak-era figures are making a comeback. Human rights groups says authorities have stifled all forms of dissent. Neither candidate has outlined a strategy for tackling the poverty, energy shortages and unemployment that afflict many of Egypt’s 85 million people.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
Kings XI Punjab vs. Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2014, Sharjah
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COP Inter-Division T20 cricket
Maxwell, Miller maul TSU maul ‘B’ Division massive target in one-sided Final ESPNcricinfo - Lightning has struck twice. After they made mockery of a 200-plus chase in their first match, Kings XI Punjab captain George Bailey said this was not going to happen every day, and that his bowlers needed to turn up. The bowlers failed to turn up again, but Glenn Maxwell and David Miller made light of another massive chase. The numbers there were staggering: between them Maxwell and Miller smashed 140 off 64 balls, smoked 12 sixes and reverse-hit and caressed eight fours. What made it better was that this came against the best defenders in the IPL: this was the first time Rajasthan Royals lost after posting 190 or more. Kings XI had got off to a sluggish start, their promotion of Wriddhiman Saha had backfired, and the asking rate was 10.5, to be maintained over 17 overs, when Maxwell walked. The ask would cross two a ball as soon as in the 10th over, and a struggling - by T20 standards - Cheteshwar Pujara would make it more difficult for Kings XI. Maxwell, though, turned it into a ‘me’ v ‘them’, farmed the strike to the tune of 45 balls to Pujara’s 23 in the partnership between them, and ran away with the game with 89 off 45. The innings was full of incredible hitting, preying on one considerably shorter
Glenn Maxwell shapes to play the reverse sweep. (BCCI) side boundary and the short straight ones. He began by going after Kane Richardson in the fifth over, moments after Richardson had failed to latch onto an incredibly difficult return catch to his right. The first ball of the next over he smacked Pravin Tambe over square leg, and then eliminated for the time being - the other big threat, James Faulkner. It began with the first ball of the over again as he flicked a low full toss for six, but he stunned Faulkner with the fifth ball of that seventh over. Faulkner had every reason to believe he had done Maxwell in with a slower bouncer, but from almost halfway down the pitch Faulkner adjusted and upper-cut him for six. Tambe and Rajat Bhatia pulled things back with their non-turning legrollers, and not much pace to work with. The asking rate shot past 12,
and Bhatia began the 11th over with fielders deep on the leg side, and three men behind and around point in the circle. This is when Maxwell in the Mirror made his appearance. Two reverse-sweeps either side of short third man and one reverse-flick over cover later, Maxwell had gone well past his fifty, and had also brought the asking rate back under control. The next over from Dhawal Kulkarni had a similarly strong legside field, and Maxwell produced his touch play again. One upper-cut, one flick, and two gentle pushes past the man at cover brought him 16 runs. Scores: Kings XI Punjab 193 for 3 (Maxwell 89, Miller 51*, Pujara 40*) beat Rajasthan Royals 191 for 5 (Samson 52, Watson 50) by 7 wickets.
Jamaica dominate opening day... From page 35 Yanique McNeil in 54.49 seconds. Earlier in the first session Jamaica got off to a fast start winning four medals: three gold and a bronze. Rochelle Fraser won the Under-20 girls’ shot put with a best heave of 13.63m to beat Jess St John of Antigua and Barbuda (13.26m), and Portius Warren of Trinidad with 12.70m. Two of the medals came in the Under-18 girls’ discus, as Janel Fullerton took the gold with 46.47m, and teammate Devia Brown won the bronze with 43.31m, with Chelsea James of Trinidad second with 43.53m. Fourteen-year-old Lamara Distin won the Under-18 girls’ high jump, clearing 1.68m, while three jumpers — Martinique’s Jeanine Allard St Albin, Bermuda’s Sakari Famous, and St Lucia’s Ashlee Edward — all tied for second with a clearance of
1.60m. The other Jamaican, Shania Ingram, also cleared 1.60m, but was fifth on the count back. Javauny James retained his Under-18 boys’ 1,500m with yet another brilliant run, dominating the field over the last 800m to win in 4 minutes 07.83 seconds, beating the Bahamas’ Benjamin Najman and Akeem Marshall. Chadoye Dawson won the Under-20 gold medal in 3 minutes 56.95 seconds, ahead of Trinidad’s Nicholas Landeau and Bermuda’s Dago Minors. Sasha Gay White ran away from teammate Monique McPherson as Jamaica took gold and silver in the Under20 girls’ 1,500m. White won in 4 minutes 42.44 seconds to McPherson’s 4 minutes 44.08 seconds. Martinique’s Cheryl Fariel was third. Britnie Dixon was third in the Under-18 girls’ 1,500m in 4 minutes 53.84 seconds
behind Guyana’s Cassey George in 4 minutes 40.40 seconds, and Bermuda’s Felicia Scraders (4 minutes 43.30 seconds). Jordan Scott with 15.75m was second in the Under-18 boys’ triple jump, and Obrien Wasom was third in 15.59m, both beaten by Suriname’s Miguel Van Assen, who jumped an impressive 16.33m. Yesterday’s second day of the three-day championships, the athletes were to take part in the 200m semi-finals, 800m, 3,000m open for both sexes, heats and finals of 4x100m relays, the 400m hurdles semi-finals and finals in all categories. In the field, there were competition in the high jump Under-18 boys, long jump Under-18 girls, javelin Under20 boys, Under-20 girls’ triple jump, long jump Under-20 boys and discus Under-20 girls.
By Sean Devers The Commissioner of Police (COP) Inter Division t20 Cricket Competition sponsored by C. Persaud Dental Clinic and Laboratory climaxed yesterday at Eve Leary with Tactical Services Unit mauling ‘B’ division in a one-sided Final to claim the $200,000 first prize after ‘B’ division had beaten ‘F’ division in the semi-final. The sun was out in all of its glory and the large and raucous crowd was entertained beyond the boundary by pulsating music and produced a fantastic atmosphere as they screamed their support for their teams. Commentary on the Public Address system by Sergeant Mark Dial with comments from Constable Linden Wilson and 100 and 800 meters races between the semis and Final added to the excitement in the event which was used to celebrate the birth anniversary of the top Cop Seelall Persaud. In the Final, in which the Commissioner (Acting) bowled the first ball with a perfect off-break action, B Division were asked to bat on a slow track and were shot out for 70 in 15.5 overs as Man-of-the Match, left-arm pacer Rondell Wills orchestrated ‘Operation Demolition’ with 4-16 from four overs. He got excellent backup from Quinton Sugrim (2-16) and Rawle Haynes (2-24). TSU planned their ambush with clinical precision and reached 74-1 in 8.4 overs with veteran Bertie Carmichael, who stroked three fours and a six in his unbeaten 30, getting cover from Stephon Blacks who played the supporting role in their 56-run opening stand with five.
When Blacks, the leading run scorer in the 12-team tournament with 117 runs, was dismissed by Michael Newland with victory 14 runs away, Haynes only needed three balls to formalize the emphatic win; hitting two sixes and a four off consecutive balls. Earlier, Haynes removed Brentnol Woolford (9) and Imaniet Davidson (5) to leave the Berbice team on 21-2. They lost three more wickets in the space of three runs to be wobbling on the ropes at 30-5 and when Zamain Archibald’s middle stump was plucked out by Wills before he had scored, it was 41-7. Opener Kord Griffith (16) and Newland (5) were both removed by Wills while Ancel Doris (15) was the last man to fall. In the semi-final, ‘B’ Division, who had to play back-to-back games after TSU drew the bye to the Final, reached 108- 8 in a game reduced to 15 overs due the late arrival of the Berbice side and then bowled out ‘F’ division for 82 in 12.1 overs after they were well ahead of the required rate at 43-3. Marvin Ford was LBW to Newland for a duck and Doris got rid of Keith Jobe (0) to a breathtaking catch by Jamal Jerrick, running back from mid-wicket, and with the ball going away from him, he dived full length to pouch a stunner and leave ‘F’ division on 3-2. Devon Joseph got to 12 before he gifted his wicket to off-spinner Doris who also accounted for Skipper Trevor Benn at 47-4 to trigger a dramatic collapse. Benn began with all guns blazing and clobbered four sixes and a four in his 12-ball 30 but lost
Zamain Archibald is clean bowled by Man-of-Final Rondell Wills at Eve Leary yesterday.
his head, his wicket and arguable the match, with a totally irresponsible shot and was taken on the boundary. ‘F’ Division never recovered as Doris (5-14) ripped through the batting for the only five wicket haul of the tournament. ‘B’ Division, led by 22 from Jerrick, 17 from Davidson and 12 from Woolford managed to post what turned out to be a winning total to waste the good bowling of Kevis Mendonca (4-14) Kelsey Roberts (2-22) and Benn (2-16). At the Presentation, Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud said the competition was organized in only three weeks and was high in praise for Deputy Superintendent and tournament Organizer Colin Boyce. He also commented ‘Anand’ Coober Persaud for his over $700,000 sponsorship and assured the large gathering that the competition would be an annual one. The winning team took home $200,000, runner-up $150,000 and the third placed team $100,000 while the Manof-the-Final (Wills), batsman with the most runs (Blacks), bowler with the most wickets (Doris), most Entertaining player in the Final (Haynes) and most sixes (Benn and Ronald Alli with 6 each) all received $20,000 for their effort. Had there been an award for best fielding team, ‘F’ division would have won it, while if there was a prize for best catch it would have been won by Jerrick. The tournament, which attracted far more spectators than any recent first division contest, was deemed a resounding success by the Organizers.
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Kaieteur News
Monday April 21, 2014
Lewis Hamilton eases to victory Eton Moses’ Misguided in China GP for Mercedes Letter to the Sports Editor
Conceptions!
DEAR SIR, Reference is hereby made to the above caption as it relates to the publication of a letter captioned “A reply to Lester Sealy’s letter” by Eton Moses (K.N. 12.04.14). Editor, apart from two instances that my surname is mis-spelt which I consider miniscule but is worthy enough for public digestion nevertheless. In retrospect I must say that “Moses’ overindulgence in misguided conceptions is a clear indication of axe-grinding, witch- hunting and continued under-development of the sport! However, I would be extremely grateful for the magic of Moses and Matthias (in tandem) to avail me with a copy of the Forensic Audit; Audited Financial Statement (2011-13) and a Financial Statement for a period of one year, of Matthias’ stewardship, when it’s taken into serious consideration that the previous administration of the GFF, left a debt of $30,000,000 over a few years. Can this be equated with the GFA administration incurring a debt of $20,000,000 for a local tournament over 2 months that had the blessings of the GFF General Council, despite contractual failures? In the final analysis the use of the term “plundering”, in relation to finances, I must say that once again the General Council, as the “Highest Decision Making Forum” has failed the administration of the sport. That it allowed “an undated contract to be signed along
with 36 paid home trips of a national coach”. By contrast it has also allowed a return trip to the USA, enroute to Zurich, while the relevant visa wasn’t obtained. Who is responsible for the payment of the vacation for Mr. Matthias? By the way is there a functioning Finance Committee; as enshrined in the Constitution? Since if this was so, advances on monthly stipends, would have been curtailed, along with excessive and unwanted spending! “While those who forget the past, are condemned to repeat it”. The “magical wand” of former GFF President, Colin Klass had made Moses a junior national team manager, and pardoned Matthias to return to the sport. The latter was in defiance of a previous GFA General Council ruling. So, in actuality with the appointment and the pardon, and the latter in a forgiving mode, then, who is Moses to publicly advocate “but old habits die hard Mr. Sealey. The Executive however must be allowed to function and those who failed us in the past must retire gracefully”. Does this include yourself (Moses) and Matthias? Since both individuals as in the past had failed to transform their respective clubs and associations into something meaningful that is worthy of emulation by others, or can withstand scrutiny! At the association level examine the achievements of East Demerara and Georgetown. Sadly, there isn’t much to shout about, and it
would be bleaker according to Moses’ definition. “That only the FIFA grant and Levy Fees are the main sources of income for the GFF”. How sad that sponsorship, donations, fines and gate receipts are not, along with the rental of goalposts and substitutes benches. At least these were all accounted for by past executives, which I can openly state, with a mind of my own. And also as in the case of the previous GFA Executive Committees I served on in the past, all Standing Committees were documented and functional before the season had commenced! How sad that it took the present GFF Executive Committee one year to enact a Disciplinary and Referees Committee, in defiance of the constitutional requirement. Additionally, of a FIFA mandate in formulating the latter, which should have nullified their voting rights at the last AGM? By the way wasn’t it a travesty of natural justice for the General Council of the GFF, to deliberate on the UDFA Executive, instead of a Disciplinary Committee? While affiliated clubs were not sanctioned, since all were involved, all must be consumed! Was Moses’ vote/pronouncement unilateral, or was it reflective of the collective will of the EDFA General Council? Maybe it’s Moses who needs help to analyze an audited financial report and the relevant constitutional articulation. Lester Sealey
Stanislas Wawrinka beats Roger... From page 31 champion converted with some aggressive hitting, but Federer hit straight back with a break to love. The threat of a heavy rain shower briefly interrupted the action but they resumed in the drizzle and it came down to a tie-break, which Wawrinka dominated from the outset. It was the third seed’s
more powerful hitting that held sway early in the decider and a heavy forehand into the corner earned him an immediate break. From that moment on, Wawrinka powered away from his illustrious opponent, breaking for the third time in the match on his way to a 4-0 lead and sealing victory with a rasping forehand winner. “It’s always special to
play Roger,” added Wawrinka. “We know it’s always a strange match, especially being in the final here. He’s my best friend on the tour. “We respect each other so much. I’m just trying on the court to win the match. Before and after, we are still very good friends.” Federer said: “I think it’s one of the those finals that I could have won but Stan was tougher at the end. I think he deserved it just a little bit more. “Of course, I’m very happy for Stan. It’s a huge win for him after winning his first Grand Slam this year, also to win his first Masters 1000. “To take the opportunities when they’re there, that’s key in a tennis player’s career.”
Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates with a bottle of champagne after winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 20, 2014.(Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)
BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton took a dominant victory in the Chinese Grand Prix to win three consecutive races for the first time in his career. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg took second, fighting back to beat Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso after a poor start left him sixth on Lap One. Alonso held off Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to grab third place. An unhappy Sebastian Vettel was fifth, beaten by team-mate Ricciardo for the second race in a row. The world champion refused a team order to let Ricciardo by in the middle of the race but was powerless to stop the Australian passing him. But Vettel’s travails were a mere sideshow to the unanswerable pace of Hamilton, who was in a league of his own throughout. Hamilton pulled away at about a second a lap in the early stages and was in cruise control for the rest of the afternoon, with less tyre wear and better fuel consumption than his rivals as he circulated serenely at the head of the field. The win closes his deficit to Rosberg at the head of the championship to four points. “I just can’t believe how amazing the car is and how hard everyone’s worked,” Hamilton said on the podium. “After the start it was just really racing myself. I’m really happy Nico is up here with us. Great points for the team.” Hamilton is still making up the 25-point hit he took in retiring from the first race of the season in Australia while Rosberg won. The Englishman has won every grand prix since. Rosberg’s race, meanwhile, demonstrated how much more difficult it is even in a dominant car such as the Mercedes if a driver finds himself out of position. A loss of telemetry before the
race may have contributed to a poor start from fourth on the grid and he survived Williams’ Valtteri Bottas bouncing over his front wheel on the entry to the first corner to track Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo and Williams’ Felipe Massa on the first lap. Rosberg passed Massa on lap four, leapfrogged Ricciardo at the first pit stops, overtook Vettel on lap 22 and then set off after Alonso. The Ferrari driver leapt up to third at the first corner from his fifth-place grid position with a typically sparkling start, despite a side-on collision with Massa. Alonso hassled Vettel around the first lap, but was forced to settle into third in the opening stint. He jumped ahead of Vettel into second at the first pit stops and managed to stay there until his second and final stop on lap 33, despite Rosberg moving up on to his tail. An earlier final stop by Alonso and an error by Rosberg on his in-lap gave Alonso a five-second lead after the Mercedes driver’s own final stop four laps l a t e r. B u t R o s b e rg unleashed the full pace of the Mercedes over the succeeding five laps and cruised past the Ferrari on the straight on lap 42, with 14 laps to go. That left Alonso five seconds ahead of Ricciardo and needing to keep the Red Bull driver at bay. He held on by 1.2 seconds, despite suffering from problems with his front tyres. “It was a good weekend,” said Alonso. “We did improve the car a little bit compared to the first three races, so we felt more competitive. Being in the podium is a nice surprise for us. “I think I’m third in the championship behind these two guys. We didn’t have the start of the season we would
have liked but we are still in the fight.” Vettel had admitted after being beaten by Ricciardo in qualifying that his team-mate was outpacing him fair and square, and he was outpaced again in the race. The Australian closed in on Vettel’s tail by lap 23, whereupon Red Bull ordered the German to let him by. “What tyres is he on?” Vettel asked over the radio his race engineer Guillaume Roquelin told him Ricciardo was on the same tyres as he was but had stopped later. “Tough luck,” Vettel replied. It appeared as if Vettel tried to hold on but, on the more slippery outside line, slid wide allowing Ricciardo through. Vettel said he moved over to let his teammate pass. Ricciardo simply left him behind thereafter and was more than 20 seconds clear at the end of the race as Vettel concentrated on keeping his advantage over Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg in sixth. Bottas took seventh, from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who has now been beaten comprehensively by Alonso in all four of his races since returning to Maranello. Force India’s Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat took the final points positions. An error by the official waving the chequered flag resulted in the race being shortened by two laps. Hamilton was shown the flag at the start of his final lap. All drivers continued to race, but the rules dictate that in those circumstances the result must be declared at the end of the previous lap. This meant that Marussia’s Jules Bianchi retained 17th place despite being passed by Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi on the penultimate lap.
Monday April 21, 2014
Kaieteur News
NBA Roundup:
Warriors edge Clippers 109-105
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, puts up a shot as Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan defends during Game 1 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series, Saturday, April 19, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Associated Press) Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Jeff Teague scored a playoff career-high 28 points and Paul Millsap added 25 as eighthseeded Atlanta rolled past top-seeded Indiana 101-93 on Saturday night, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Hawks ended an
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eight-game road losing streak in the playoffs, which dated to May 2011. Game 2 is tomorrow in Indianapolis. Indiana, which spent the whole season working to get home-court advantage in the playoffs, wasted no time in giving it right back with a dismal third quarter. Paul George finished with 24
points and 10 rebounds. Atlanta opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, breaking a 50-50 tie, then pulled away when Teague scored nine points in a 14-0 run that made it 74-58 with 4:08 left in the quarter. Indiana couldn’t get closer than eight the rest of the way.
Bernard Hopkins becomes oldest boxer to unify weight division
WARRIORS 109, CLIPPERS 105 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 22 points, David Lee added 20 and the Golden State Warriors got Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in foul trouble to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in their playoff opener. Stephen Curry added 14 points for the Warriors, who trailed by 11 to start the game before rallying in the third when Griffin and Paul were on the bench together. Paul led the Clippers with 28 points, and J.J. Redick added 22 points in 30 minutes. Griffin finished with 16 points, fouling out with 48 seconds left and the game tied at 105. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Foul trouble plagued both teams, but losing Griffin and Paul for stretches cost the Clippers at both ends. For the
Warriors, Andre Iguodala fouled out with 3:04 left in the game and Lee played with four fouls. NETS 94, RAPTORS 87 TORONTO (AP) — Deron Williams and Joe Johnson each scored 24 points, Paul Pierce scored nine of his 15 points in the final quarter and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Shaun Livingston scored 10 points and Kevin Garnett had five as the Nets won despite making 4 of 24 3pointers. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Raptors. Valanciunas is the second Raptors player to have a double-double in his postseason debut. Tracy McGrady had 25 points and 10 rebounds against New York in his first playoff game
in 2000. Valanciunas also set a Raptors record for playoff rebounds by surpassing Keon Clark, who had 16 against Detroit in 2002. THUNDER 100, GRIZZLIES 86 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening game of their firstround series. Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who nearly squandered a 25-point lead but recovered from a dismal third quarter to make 10 of 16 shots in the fourth. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but he made just seven of 21 shots and got into foul trouble in the second half.
Stanislas Wawrinka beats Roger Federer in Monte Carlo final BBC Sport - Stanislas Wawrinka won his first Masters 1000 title and denied Roger Federer a maiden Monte Carlo victory with a three-set final win. Wawrinka, 29, came through 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to claim only a second win in 15 matches against his fellow Swiss. Federer, 32, had looked on course to secure one of only three Masters titles to have eluded him after the first set. But Wawrinka, who won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, took control from the second set tie-break. Sunday’s victory ensures he will stay at number three in the world rankings and ahead of Federer as the Swiss
number one. “I can see that when mentally I’m there and I’m fighting, I can beat all the players,” said Wawrinka. “I did an amazing job. I’m really happy after winning my first Grand Slam to win a Masters 1000 so quick. I didn’t expect to.” Wawrinka and Federer are Davis Cup team-mates and their close friendship was evident when, unusually for imminent opponents, they practised together ahead of the final on Sunday morning. For the first time since 2004, there was no Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo final, the world number one having lost to David Ferrer in the quarter-finals. Federer had
been beaten by Nadal on each of his three previous final appearances and went into Sunday’s contest with a 13-1 record against Wawrinka. Both players saved early break points but it was Federer who made the first move in game five and, serving impressively, it was enough to take him to the set. It had been a relatively flat performance from Wawrinka compared to some of his spectacular recent displays, but he began to find his range early in the second. A Federer double fault gave Wawrinka an opportunity at 30-30 in game two and the Australian Open Continued on page 30
Bernard Hopkins (centre) became the oldest boxer to unify a weight division. (Getty Images) BBC Sport - Bernard Hopkins has become the oldest boxer to unify a weight division. The 49-year-old added the WBA light-heavyweight crown to his IBF title with a points victory over Kazakhstan’s Beibut Shumenov. A split-decision verdict two scores of 116-111 in Hopkins’ favour against 114113 for the 30-year-old - did not reflect the American’s dominance. On the undercard, Shawn Porter retained his IBF welterweight belt by stopping
Paulie Malignaggi in the fourth round. Hopkins, who has not stopped an opponent in nearly a decade, could not finish off Shumenov but continued to defy the years in Washington. He came on strong from the third round onwards and knocked his opponent down with a punishing right in the 11th. Shumenov climbed off the canvas but Hopkins, already the oldest man to win a recognised world title, got the nod from the judges after 12 rounds to take his career
record to 55 wins from 65 fights, with six defeats, two draws and two no contests. Earlier in the evening, undefeated American welterweight Porter, 26, retained his IBF belt by beating Malignaggi and could now face Britain’s Kell Brook this summer. Porter sent his 33-year-old opponent crashing through the ropes and on to the ring apron midway through the fourth round, prompting the referee to halt the contest. Undefeated Brook, 27, is the mandatory challenger for the IBF belt.
Stanislas Warinka (left) and Roger Federer (right) with tournament officials after the presentation. (Getty Images)
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Kaieteur News
Monday April 21, 2014
Lambert hundred puts Jamaica ahead Mathew burst sends Trinis plummeting
Tamar Lambert scored a century for Jamaica. (WICB)
Price is Rite Second Division Cricket competition rained out, new date to be fixed Players and cricket fans of the Upper Corentyne area will have to wait a little bit longer to witness the final of the much anticipated Price is Rite Supermarket sponsored Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA) organised second division cricket final. The match, which was scheduled to be played between Corriverton Cricket Club and Number 70 MYO at the Number 69 Vikings Ground Saturday, was rained out. Overnight rain had left the outfield damp and caused
some seepage on the pitch. However play was still scheduled to get on the way on time, but just before the scheduled start, continuous rain forced the umpires to call play off at 12:30hrs. Despite the best effort of the ground staff it was confirmed some three hours after that play would not be possible. Scores of persons had turned up at the venue dressed in the colours of the team they had intended support but were left disappointed. Meanwhile, organizers
from the Upper Corentyne Cricket Association (UCCA) are expected to meet with the sponsor soon to arrange a new date for the match to be played. Corriverton Cricket Club booked their place in the final when they defeated No.71 Cricket Club by 124 runs; while Number 70 M.Y.O. had earlier earned the right to contest the final when they whipped Number 48 Challengers by 40 runs. The final is scheduled to be played using coloured clothing, white ball and would be a 50 overs affair.
Bridgetown, Barbados, CMC – Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert ripped up the form book and gathered his third first-class hundred to fortify his side’s position against Barbados in their Headley/Weekes semi-final here Sunday. Lambert shrugged off his patchy form this season to hit the top score of 121 to be the rock upon which his side built a first innings total of 302 on the second day of the match at Kensington Oval, for a lead of 57. The 33-year-old Lambert reached his hundred from 164 balls, when he slog/swept a delivery from beanpole leftarm spinner Sulieman Benn over mid-wicket for the third of his four sixes. He put on 114 for the seventh wicket with Dave Bernard Jr that took the steam out of the Barbadians and restored stability to their innings, after they slumped to 140 for six in the first hour after lunch. Bernard supported with 42, Jermaine Blackwood made 37, John Campbell got 31, and night-watchman Damion Jacobs added 21. Benn was the pick of the Barbados bowlers with five for 102 from 35 overs, offspinner Ashley Nurse
captured two for 47 from 16 overs and Fidel Edwards took two for 58 from 12 overs. Batting again in their second innings, Barbados reached 18 for one, with Kraigg Brathwaite not out on seven and Shai Hope unbeaten on five. Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell gave the Jamaicans a further boost, when he had left-handed opener Omar Phillips caught behind for two. Earlier, Jamaica, starting the day on 52 for one, were dismissed about half-hour before the close, following a pivotal hundred from Lambert that also included a dozen fours from 173 balls in 220 minutes. Summary Scores: Barbados 1st Innings: 245 All Out (77.3 Overs). Shane Dowrich+ 69, Ashley Nurse 45, Omar Phillips 33, Shai Hope 28; Damion Jacobs 218-58-3, Sheldon Cottrell 8.3-128-3, Dave Bernard 9-2-32-2, Nikita Miller 27-6-56-0. Jamaica 1st Innings: 302 All Out (93 Overs). Tamar Lambert* 121, Dave Bernard Jr 42, Jermaine Blackwood 37, John Campbell 31; Sulieman Benn 35-13-102-5, Ashley Nurse 16-4-47-2, Fidel Edwards 12-0-58-2, Carlos Brathwaite 14-4-31-0. Barbados 1st Innings: 18/
1 (7 Overs). Kraigg Brathwaite* 7*, Shai Hope 5*, Omar Phillips 2; Sheldon Cottrell 3-0-7-1, Jerome Taylor 3-0-5-0, Nikita Miller 1-0-2-0. Meanwhile, Port of Spain, Trinidad - Windward Islands ended Day 2 on 88/2 against Trinidad & Tobago, leading by 196 runs, batting a second time after Mervin Mathew captured 4-19. Summary Scores: Windward Islands 1st Innings: 248 All Out (73.4 Overs). Romel Currency 68, Sunil Ambris 44, Liam Sebastien* 40, Keddy Lesporis 39; Imran Khan 172-59-4, Ricky Jaipaul 17.4-634-2, Shannon Gabriel 11-235-2, Marlon Richards 7-0-301. Trinidad & Tobago 1st Innings: 140/8 Declared (47 Overs). Evin Lewis 47*, Denesh Ramdin*+ 25, Rayad Emrit 21, Lendl Simmons 19; Mervin Mathew 8-4-19-4, Delorn Johnson 10-2-44-2, Kenroy Peters 14-6-18-1, Liam Sebastien 10-2-28-1. Windward Islands 2nd Innings: 88/2 (23 Overs). Devon Smith 44*, Sunil Ambris 13*, Johnson Charles 11, Tyrone Theophile 11; Ricky Jaipaul 6-0-18-1, Rayad Emrit 5-0-23-1, Marlon Richards 4-1-8-0, Lendl Simmons 1-0-2-0.
Roach escapes serious injury in accident
Kemar Roach’s damaged BMW after the accident. (Barbados Today) CMC - BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach escaped serious injury following a car accident here early Saturday, the Barbados Today online newspaper has reported. The 25-year-old crashed his BMW sedan after losing control in slippery conditions at Wanstead Drive, just
outside the city. According to Barbados Today, the car flipped several times before landing in the 3Ws Park, approximately half-mile from the 3Ws Oval. Roach sustained a head wound but appeared coherent as he was taken by ambulance from the scene. Hours afterward, he
took to online social n e t w o r k , Tw i t t e r, t o indicate he was well, though not directly referencing the accident. Roach has played 23 Tests and 61 One-Day Internationals but has not suited up for West Indies in nearly a year because of injury.