Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
ARE THE POLICE CORRUPT? DEAR EDITOR, For most residents of Soesdyke, weekends bring feelings of dread and disdain as we brace ourselves for sleepless nights. If you have ever been to Soesdyke you would fall in love with the idyllic lifestyle, sprawling lots, smiling faces, and scenery. By all appearances it’s the perfect place to live...but it’s far from paradise and those that endure the constant torture are crying out for help. Every weekend the peace is ruptured by loud street parties held at a ‘wash bay’ not far from the junction and although concerned residents have repeatedly reported the noise nuisance to the Police Station, they seem powerless to act. This has been the situation for the last few months. On two occasions in the past month, calls were made
to the Timehri Police Station and subsequently to Brickdam Police Station after the noise levels increased past midnight; the party eventually ended after 4:00 am that morning. We can clearly see when the Police Patrols arrive at the party and subsequently leave, after this happens the music level escalates. There are elderly people and newborn babies in the village who suffer the most as a result of the pounding music coming for the wash bay, not to mention the hardworking women who have to rouse at 3am to travel to the market. On Phagwah night we summoned the Police all the way from Brickdam who promised to send a patrol; they arrived and left a short while after. We reported this and the station sergeant admitted that there was nothing else she could do. This speaks volumes. Imagine
we are living in a society where those sworn to serve and protect admit they are powerless. One would ask why we did not just call the Timehri Station- I believe the ranks stationed there were in attendance! To the best of my recollection there is a law that governs this sort of event. And permission is granted until 12. The police need to enforce this. In this village there is an exception. Clearly there is corruption afoot and it appears as though someone very influential is playing host. There was another soiree last week, after visits to Brickdam Station and a collection of phone numbers, ranks advised us to call if the music went past midnight. Once again the party went till after 4 am and no police materialised. Studies are beginning to
reveal that noise-related stress can negatively affect our health and wellbeing, sometimes significantly so. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, noise pollution is causing hearing problems such as tinnitus, causing disturbed sleep, and triggering stress hormones which can play a major role in many illnesses. I believe it is safe to say that the residents of Soesdyke are stressed out and sick of the inaction by the Guyana Police Force and we are powerless against the drug users flocking the party and those partygoers that defile our homes with urine and litter the parapets. We are at our wits’ end and those sworn to serve and protect are either bribed or blind ( I have never seen a blind man drive). A.M. Singh
Obama couldn’t blame problems on the past as Ramotar does DEAR EDITOR, Could Obama have kept saying to the American after four years in office people that it was Bush who messed up the country? He would have been a one-term President; in fact from the day of his inauguration he was blamed for what happened prior to swearing in. Likewise, could Cameron holler it was Tony Blair or Gordon Brown, or better still, Putin lamenting his failures on Yeltsin? What is wrong with the Guyanese people? In all 23 years of PPP rule, they have not owned up to any wrongdoing but want the masses to believe they have done right by them and all potential missteps are to be
blamed on Burnham and the PNC. Forbes Burnham was not perfect (none of us are) but he was an effective and visionary leader. I would further state that weakness and selfishness have prevented many who served with him from defending him at home and in the international community. Furthermore, the killing of hundreds of black youths was not during the Burnham or PNC years but the PPP want
the masses to forget it. The Phantom squad was not through the PNC years but the PPP want the people to behave like it never happened. Instead, they want to brainwash the young (who only know of the last 23 years) of how evil Burnham and the PNC were and who is responsible for its dismal performance. Burnham is long dead; yet they are using his name to incite fear in the
gullible…now theyare blaming Granger for what Burnham allegedly did. Who is taking responsibility for Anil’s conspiracy to commit murder? Who is taking responsibility for Clement’s inability to grasp that police are not killers for hire? Who is taking responsibility for Bharrat and Leslie’s association with condemned criminal Roger Khan? Who is taking responsibility for Bheri Continued on page 23
Financial treason... From page 4 and why was it excluded? How many pages of the entire report were excluded? Would Mr. Brassington deny that 30 of the 45 pages of the redacted 2012 Study were written by AHI, presumably by himself and that the consultant wrote only 15? What were some of the prospective developments assumed in the chapter on Market Demand? Where are the financial projections and assumptions and why were these excluded? Where is the Environment Impact Study and why was that excluded? Would they deny that the 2012 report was for a Proposed Marriott Hotel and Entertainment Complex? Can they explain why the 2012 Feasibility Study never once mentioned an update? Financing How much has NICIL invested or advanced, in loans, debts and advances to the Hotel Company as at December 31, 2014? Does any of this sumhave a guaranteed return in any form? Who were the directors who passed or signed a written resolution creating subordinated, interest-free, fifteen year loans for G$3,255 million from NICIL? Which individual represented NICIL when a resolution was passed creating an additional 25,125 subordinated loans to the company with a value of G$527.6 million? How much would NICIL lose in present day value if the entire amount of the subordinated loans is not repaid until the end of the
fifteen years? Is there any security for this interest free loan? If no, what recourse does AHI have if the loan is not repaid? Would Mr. Brassington make public the subordinated loan bond which is all financed by public funds? Miscellaneous Was it the Chairman of NICIL who approved a 10year tax holiday for the Hotel Co, NICIL’s subsidiary? Does Brassington consider that a conflict of interest/duty? What would have been the ROCE (return on capital employed) if there was no ten year tax holiday and no G$3,500 million interest free loans? How much Corporation Tax did AHI withhold from payment to the Contractor during the years 2011 to 2014? What was the last year for which NICIL tabled its annual report including statutory consolidated financial statements in the National Assembly? Would Brassington confirm the date on which Share Subscription and S h a r e h o l d e r s ’ Agreementswere executed with ACE Square Investments Ltd. and would he make these public? There is not currently any crime known as financial treason. NICIL and AHI are a good case for one. Christopher Ram
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Miners reject “false claims” in GGMC report - demand release of one million acres of land The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) yesterday called on Government to release millions of acres of mining lands, amidst accusations that its members are involved in landlordism. The allegations were contained in a recently released report of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) titled “Management and Systems Review – Inception Report”. In layman’s terms, landlordism takes place when holders of mining licences rent their land to smaller miners in return for a rent or proceeds from the activities. “The GGDMA recognizes that recently in the local press there has been an orchestrated attempt to resurrect a conversation about landlordism in the mining sectors, specifically with reference to the local medium scale operators who have been in the industry for more than 30 years.” According to the mining association, there is enough land held in the closed area system by the GGMC which can be allocated, especially with the recent abandonment of several new claims, even more land is available to be issued. “The issue of landlordism
therefore rests with the holders of the land, the state. We agree legitimate miners need land and will not allow the government to divide the little that we have while hoarding the lion’s share of Guyana’s mineral wealth.” GGDMA said that since a report of 2010, over one million acres of land have been added to the Closed Area Committee, representing approximately 1,000 claims that were either abandoned or given back each month for one reason or another. “A preliminary investigation would have shown an average of 1,000 medium scale licences were relinquished within the last year. As of March 31st, this year, thousands of claims have become invalid due to lack of payment, and while the GGMC has granted an extension until the 30th of April, it is doubtful that most will be renewed, effectively making even more lands available.” The association said that the question therefore of mineral lands not being available is moot. “The question therefore, is why this proposal on landlordism? It is most obvious that certain individuals want the government to breach their contractual agreement with
licencees by taking away lands from legitimate holders and giving it to others.” GGDMA argued that a more pertinent recommendation that should be looked into is a cap on the amount of land that can be held within the closed area mechanism. According to the body, there are four legal ways of acquiring land - locating and applying for a claim; via lottery- this is restricted and only small miners are allowed to participate; public auction - this mechanism has yielded the GGMC in excess of $455M in auction fees for 2014 alone. This excludes the rental fees that must be paid annually; and via the free market system of sale and transfer by which one can buy and sell property acquired. “Outside of these methods no other system exists for acquiring of mining lands, despite what the consultants would have one believe. The subtle suggestion that lands be seized and reallocated outside of a free market system, one would hope is not the Government’s intention.” GGDMA said that it is greatly surprised researchers for the report did not consider that the issue was already dealt with extensively, by way of the
established Special Land Use Committee (SLUC), established by former President Jagdeo in 2009. “This committee was established as a result of the Guyana/Norway agreement for forest use (under the LCDS) to ensure that there is effective monitoring of forest use.” According to GGDMA, miners have been paying billions of dollars in revenue to the GGMC.
“It is useful to note that many at that hard time, were barely scraping out a living in the mining sector and it would be grossly unfair to punitively deprive them of lands legally acquired and maintained. There has been a conscious investment of time and money to ensure that there is continuity by the larger operators and the association finds it mind boggling that fly by night
operators are seeking to use political leverage to claim lands legally rented and to tempt the government to act outside of the law.” GGDMA claimed that during the height of the gold price, several non-miners entered the arena largely as real estate agents acquiring and selling lands for exorbitant prices, without any regard for the future of the industry.
Embassy releases US$300,000 for elections monitoring
The United States Embassy has released more than US$300,000 for the election monitoring programmes of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB).
According to the embassy yesterday, the resources will assist in efforts to ensure fair, free, and credible elections in Guyana on May 11th. “Both the OAS and EAB have a proven track record of successful election monitoring missions and are widely respected. The U.S. Government is pleased to support the two organizations in bringing their credible and critical analysis to Guyana’s 2015 electoral process.” The embassy said that the US continues to advocate globally for the expansion and strengthening of democratic governance. “Regular free and fair elections are critical in this
regard. The Guyana Elections Commission has established a strong track record of ensuring ýfree, fair, and credible ýelections for the people of Guyana, and we have full faith and confidence in its ability to do so once again in 2015. It is our hope that international and domestic observation will increase public and stakeholder confidence in the electoral process, culminating in all political parties’ acceptance of the ultimate results.” The US said it remains committed to engagement with all stakeholders to help ensure a free, fair, credible, and peaceful electoral process.
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
April session of Demerara Criminal Assizes commences C.N Sharma, Colwyn King among those listed to face criminal proceedings A number of prominent cases are listed to be heard by judges assigned to preside over the April session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes. Justice Roxanne GeorgeWiltshire, Justice Navindra Singh and Justice Brassington Reynolds will preside over the criminal cases listed for this session, which opened yesterday at the High Court in Georgetown. A total of 230 cases are listed to come up before the three judges. Among the list are number of cases of attempt to commit murder, wounding with intent, forgery manslaughter, carnal knowledge, incest, armed robbery, buggery, murder, abduction, rape, unlawful & malicious wounding and discharging a loaded firearm with intent. The prominent cases include that of popular television station owner and social activist Chandra Narine, (C.N) Sharma, Guyana Teacher‘s, (GTU) former President, Colwyn King. Both men are accused of sexually assaulting underage girls. Other notable matters include that of murder accused Cyon Colier called “Picture Boy,” who is indicted for the unlawful killing of brothers; Ray Walcott called ‘Sugar’, and Carl Andrews, called ‘Alo’ on September 23, 2006; the case against Colin Jones, Jahfar Simpson and Randy Mars who are charged jointly for setting fire to the Ministry of Health on 4th November 2009 and the matter against Michael Assanah who is facing six counts of causing death by dangerous driving. Assanah was the driver a minibus which was involved in four vehicular
smash up at Happy Acres on December 3, 1999. The accident claimed the lives of six people. Seventy –six cases are assigned to Panel One Judge Roxanne George. The list includes the matters of Shameer Ali, who is charged for rape and abduction with intent to wrongfully confine a person and Marlene Croft who is accused of obtaining money by false pretense. On the list of panel two Judge, Brassington Reynolds, are cases against popular television station owner and social activist C.N Sharma, Cobian Stephen called OJ and Malvin Taylor. C.N Sharma is facing six counts of sexual assault on minors. He is charged with three counts of carnal knowledge of a girl under 12 years; two counts of carnal knowledge of a girl under 15 years and indecent assault. The incidents are said to have occurred sometime in 2003 and 2004. Stephens is charged for discharging a loaded firearm, wounding with intent and two counts of attempt to commit murder. The incidents are said to have taken place in 2007. Malvin Taylor is also charged with two counts of attempt to commit murder; three counts of discharging a loaded firearm with intent and wounding with intent. Among a list of seventysix cases scheduled to be presented before panel three Judge, Navindra Singh, are the matters against the GTU ‘s former head, Colywn King, Rupert Brown, Selywn Mc Clintock , Colin Jones , Jafhar Simpson and Randy Mars. King is indicted for carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 years. The incident is said to have occurred in 2009. Meanwhile, Mc Clintock is listed as facing four counts of sexual
activity with a child family member; Brown for rape, buggery, armed robbery and three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and the latter trio are allegedly implicated in November 2009 fire which was set to the Ministry of Health. A total of eleven matters were disposed of in the last session, which was presided over by three judges, Justice Franklyn Holder, Justice Navindra Singh and Justice James Bovell-Drakes. Among the matters completed by Justice Navindra Singh were those of Jarvis Small and Bibi Shareema Gopaul who were sentenced to 96 years and 106 years respectively for the murder of Neesa Gopaul, and Popular party promoter, Colin Mack, who was found not guilty of rape and forcible abduction of a female for carnal knowledge. Justice Franklyn Holder completed four matters, two for murder and one each for the offences of rape and rape of a child under 16 years. He sentenced Vinod Balgobin to 43 years’ imprisonment for the murder of his reputed wife, Mary Ann Nauth. Justice James BovellDrakes completed two murder trials. In the first matter Shawn Thom and Orin David were jointly indicted for the murder of Mahaica Farmer Lakram Bihundial. They were released after the judge upheld a no case submission presented by Thom’s lawyer and the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty for the number two accused, Orin David. Edward Skeete was also acquitted of killing businessman Bedi Ramjewan after a jury found him not guilty of the offence. However, the outcome of a third murder trial is still pending.
PANDAY BASHES KAMLA …after PM ‘fails to call UNC elections’ Trinidad Guardian - As the nation waits on Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar to call this year’s general election, former prime minister Basdeo Panday says she is leading the United National Congress (UNC) illegally. Parliamentary elections are constitutionally due by September but internal elections for the post of political leader in the UNC are overdue by two years, Panday said yesterday. Persad-Bissessar was elected leader of the UNC on January 2010, and became Leader of the Opposition one month later. In May she was elected Prime Minister. Persad-Bissessar’s term was for three years and the other officers for two years. This means that the UNC political leader term expired in
2013 when re-election was required. The other executive officers were elected/re-elected in 2012. They were supposed to seek election/re-election in 2014. None of those internal elections have been held. Panday told the T&T Guardian he was grieving for the country on one side of his face and smiling on the other. He said he was grieving because “the country has sunk to the deepest level” under Persad-Bissessar. He explained that he was also smiling because “while they felt they could run the country citizens know now that they cannot. Panday had said since 2010 that PersadBissessar could not run the country. The UNC in a release issued in 2014 said it was reviewing “its constitution and
will hold its internal election after that exercise is completed and endorsed by the party’s National Executive.” That decision was taken at a meeting of the executive held at the party’s headquarters at Rienzi Complex, Couva on February 5, 2014. The release said “the party’s current constitution internal elections are held every two years for all members of the executive except the political leader; the leadership election is held every three years. Natex discussed the forthcoming election and agreed that it would allow an internal constitution review committee to complete its work and submit its report and recommendations to NATEX for consideration and approval before the end of March, 2014.”
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Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Is this how we treat the best in society? Yesterday I argued that the government should honour its commitments as regards the top CSEC student. Not to do so will send a message that nothing the government says should be taken seriously. Today I want to take a philosophical rather than a legal jab at the issue. In so
doing, I want to expose the serious dilemma that any society faces when it refuses to defer to legitimate expectations. If a government cannot stand by its word; if it changes its mind halfway regardless of the expectations it has created, then this has serious implications for the
level of trust by citizens, of government. Indeed, if an expectation for the country’s top student cannot be met, then what message are we sending to those other students who may be aspiring to be the best or among the best in the country? The top performers in any
Dem boys seh...
Bharrat Lie-Nell Jagdeo is back De only thing dem boys nah know is when dem gun dead, and if dem try hard dem gun know. When dem tell people that not every sentence, but every word that come out of Jagdeo mouth is a lie, plenty people believe, but some people cuss dem boys. Even de Chat3 cuss dem. Donald too seh that dem boys get personal wid Jagdeo because dem don’t like him. Well yesterday, de whole nation see, hear and even smell fuh demself. Two weeks ago, Jagdeo stand up and tell de nation that he ain’t deh pun no list, that he ain’t interested in public office. When Donald hand in de list yesterday dem boys want to know if Donald does do voodoo. Dem see Bharrat Jagdeo pun de list, but did not know was this scamp, because his middle name –Lie-Nell— wasn’t there. It had to be that he, Lie-Nell, obeah Donald. Now dem boys know that when Jagdeo seh that he didn’t want a third term, he was lying through he teeth. He playing Russian roulette wid de country. Dem boys hear that he gun mek Harper step down as Prime Minister and he gun step in, just like when Janet did step aside and let de li’l boy pass. That is how he tun president. He tell de nation that he gun go personally to fix that Jhan Jaat wha he give Guyana— de Skeldon factory— wid he own hands. He never go to see de factory. He tell de nation that he spend US$200
million; dem boys know that is a lie, that he mek a hustle. De NIS $69M flat building wha really cost $10 million, he promise to investigate. He never send nobody. He even cuss Luncheon fuh releasing de contract. He lie bout de airport; he lie bout duty free concession; he lie bout Bai Shan Lin; he lie bout Vitarna; he lie bout de Specialty Hospital; he lie bout de Sun and Sand hotel wha disappear from de earth. He lie bout everything under de sun. He lie bout de low carbon strategy which he seh was he baby. That thing did belong to Cheddi and Navin—all two of dem gone to de Great Beyond. He lie bout fighting against corruption. He lie bout early Local Government Elections. He lie bout Public Procurement Commission. He lie so much that he lie and seh that a close female family dead. Dem had a big wake. De funeral day dem was carrying out de coffin from de house when dem bounce a wall going through de door. De lady was only in a coma and he did know; suh when dem bounce de wall she wake up and start fuh kick up in de coffin. She live fuh another ten years. When she dead de other day and dem carrying she through de same door, he holler, “You-all be careful by that doorway. De last time she wake up.” Talk half and look out fuh Bharrat LieNell Jagdeo.
Linden trio granted bail on car theft charges Three Linden men made an appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday after it was alleged they stole two motor vehicles. Harold Rogers, 20, of 2823 Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden; Preston Skeete, 19, a mason, of 1103 Central Amelia’s Ward, Linden, and Shaun Wilson, 20, of 1910 Central Amelia’s Ward Linden were not required to enter pleas to the charges after they were read to them by Magistrate Fabayo Azore. The first charge alleged that between March 1 and March 2, at Wisroc, Linden, they stole one minibus valued $3.5M, property of the Linden Mayor and Town Council. Particulars of the second charge stated that between April 2 and April 3, at Amelia’s Ward Linden, they stole one silver grey Toyota AT 212 motor car, PPP 2664, valued $1.8M, the property of
Harold Rogers Renson Rawlins. Attorney-at-law Konyo Thompson-Sandiford made a bail application for the trio. She pointed out that she is unaware of the first charge, since she was only informed that her clients were accused of stealing the car. Counsel further explained that Harold Rogers rented the car from a rental service in Linden and the other two
accused were passengers of the car at the time, when they were apprehended by the police. “This is a bailable offence,” the lawyer stated, while asking the magistrate to grant her clients their pre-trial liberty. She asserted that the defendants are willing to post bail even if it is granted in a substantial amount. “Releasing my clients on bail will allow them time to prepare their defence,” the lawyer said. Subsequently, she assured the court that the men are not flight risks and they will return to court to stand trial. Police prosecutor Simone Payne informed the court that the police are in possession of a confession statement that was made by Preston Skeete. Nonetheless, the men were ordered to post bail in the sum of $150,000 on each charge. The matter was transferred to the Linden Magistrate’s Court for April 14.
country are persons that others look up to. They are role models for other students. Others want to be like them. They are inspired by them, just as how young cricketers are inspired by a Brian Lara or a Rohan Kanhai. Students aspire to the same achievements as the top performers do, so that they can benefit from the rewards that are expected of such achievements. This in turn encourages and sustains high standards within the system. All societies have to reward their top performers. They have to do this in all fields. It is based on the principle of rewarding persons based on merit. Since some system has to be established to determine merit, that system is inevitably measured on performance, and not on some other criteria such as political connections. If you dismantle such a system; if you remove incentives for super performance and high achievement, then you undermine the basis of justice which, used here, refers to the wider issue conception of how rewards are distributed within a society. If you fail to reward your top performers, this is akin to saying, for example, that top performers in cricket should no longer be paid higher than the lower performers.
Every society has to have incentives to reward the finest and best among us. This is why the first prize is always of a higher value than the second prize. This is why there is a Guyana Prize for Literature where the works judged to be the best are rewarded. This is why companies give incentives to their top salespersons. If they did not, there would be no incentive to do better and the very nature of society based on production and competition would be undermined. It is the same principle with scholarships. But the purpose goes beyond giving something to top performers. It is about the rewards that are expected in order to sustain a meritocracy. I therefore agree that we must, as a society, do our best for our students who have excelled academically. There must be something for them to aspire to. And if there is
something for them to aspire to, there must be rewards involved. Those rewards, however, cannot be the same rewards as if given to anyone else. You do not in a meritocracy give to the first place performer the same prize that you give to the last place performer. There has to be a system of graduation of rewards involved. The best have to be afforded the best that you can afford. If the best a country can afford to give to its best is to take something that has been given as a gift to the country and to recycle it as a reward, then something has to be radically wrong with the system of meritocracy and, by extension, the wider system of justice within that country.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday April 08, 2015
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
The police and Dr. Ng-A-Qui’s serious joke In February, I was a guest on a television programme hosted by Dr. Norman Ng-AQui of Channel 9 and the Cuffy 250 Committee, to analyze the industrial action by the unions at the University of Guyana. During the course of the live discussion, Dr. Ng-A-Qui narrated a joke that though it appeared light, he said, offered a tremendous insight into how freedoms are won and lost. He said a grandson sent two lovely birds to his grandmother. When he came
home from the country he was in and went to see his grandmother, he inquired of how the birds were doing. The grandmother told him that they tasted lovely. In shock, he asked what she did with the birds. She cooked and ate them. In disbelief, he told her he sent the birds to keep her company because the birds can talk, sing, dance and play. The grandmother looked at him and said, “Well son, they didn’t tell me anything.” On the lighter side, the grandmother was saying that
the birds didn’t tell her anything. If they had done so, they would have been alive. On the serious side, the lesson of the joke is if you don’t talk up, if you don’t say something, you will lose your rights and your freedoms. Under the law, the police cannot just at random stop a car and search its occupants and the car itself. They have to have reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion cannot exist when a car comes out of nowhere and a standing policeman on the road flags it
down only to find it has the driver, his aging mother, his wife, his two baby daughters and his dog. That policeman had to have a reason to stop the car. A police rank cannot just turn around while doing beat duty, see a car coming up the road and stop it. If a policeman does that he is violating your rights. Many times each day, I see those anti-crime police ranks on motorcycles randomly stopping people and searching them. I am simply fed up intervening and have
no more energy to confront these ranks. Guyanese, like the birds, will lose their freedom if they allow criminals, misfits, miscreants and devils at both the junior and senior levels in the police force to abuse them. Thousands of Guyanese, each month, meekly submit to the violations of their physical being and property by depraved personnel of the police force Traffic ranks do hundreds of routine checks daily on the streets when they are not supposed to and sheepish motorists slavishly submit to this oppression. There was a letter in the press by Rickey Roopchand of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association, complaining about money the GRA transferred to his account at the GBTI under the Mortgage Interest Relief Scheme, but after a year he was still to receive a cent. The very next day after the publication of his letter, GBTI not only put the money into his account, but sent him a letter of apology. Mr. Roopchand didn’t stay silent like the birds and got what was rightly his. Had Mr. Roopchand behaved like
Frederick Kissoon the cooked birds, his money would have been lost. In the March 1, 2005 edition of the newspapers, Banks DIH put a placement that read; “Very soon, all Demico ice cream flavours will be clearly presented on the lids and containers of all packages.” This was as a response to two complaints I made in my columns that the flavours were stamped with erasable ink and placed where they cannot be easily read. The Registrar of the High Court is getting away with cultural murder. He instructed the police ranks at the courts to prevent litigants with loudcoloured clothes from entering the courtrooms. What are loud colours? About twenty times Leonard Craig and I went to see him on the issue but he is never there. Does he work there?
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Jagdeo’s political comeback is a liability to PPP - Granger ...last three years frustrating, but PPP has winning list – President Ramotar The return of former President Bharrat Jagdeo to political life has come as a shocker after the former head of state announced on numerous occasions and swore that he had no interest in being in the forefront of politics in Guyana. His re-entry to the political limelight was however being groomed for weeks when the former head emerged as the face of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s political campaign. His prominence in the party was however confirmed yesterday when he was highlighted in the PPP’s list of candidates which was
submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Nomination Day at City Hall. The opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) was unaffected by the comeback of Jagdeo who has been established as a major shaker within the PPP, and for some “the real force (behind President Donald Ramotar) controlling the country.” Coalition leader and Presidential Candidate David Granger described Jagdeo’s comeback in unflattering terms. “Bharrat Jagdeo is a
liability for the PPP that they will have to deal with. I don’t think the people want to hear from him after years of cronyism, crime and corruption. I don’t think the people want to hear from Jagdeo at all.” When asked to pronounce on Jagdeo’s “misleading” statements that hold the former president to wanting nothing to do with politics, Granger said that, “Mr. Jagdeo is known for saying things not consistent with the truth.” On the issue of the APNU+AFC list, Granger said that a lot of emphasis was placed on experience,
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo
President Donald Ramotar
Presidential Candidate David Granger
competence and balance, because the mess created by the PPP is “a lot to clean up.” The party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Moses Nagamootoo described the APNU+AFC list as
representing all sides of the Guyanese society. “It has proportionality, balance and diversity.” In describing the current political atmosphere, Nagamootoo said that “this is a new beginning; this is the movement of the future.” The Coalition’s turnout yesterday was huge. Supporters descended on City Hall from two directions, unlike the PPP’s supporters who came from the east on Regent Street. The APNU+AFC supporters to City Hall also came from the east on Regent Street; but at least another three contingents came from the south on the western half of Avenue of the Republic. A relatively small wave of youthful followers chanting, “We want change,” led the first contingent of motorbikes and bicycles occupants honking horns and chanting. The second and third waves of supporters came walking and chanting, while others in several vehicles honked their horns, dancing and singing to the party theme song. Nagamootoo explained that this display by the p a r t y ’s s u p p o r t e r s i s sending a message “that the time is here for change and that elections would be peaceful with a transition from a corrupt government to one that shows Guyana how we can be honest and work for the people and bring development for all
our people.” Nagamootoo said that the situation is such that “we need every one that is honest and has integrity to step forward”. He asserted that he is bringing to the table 53 years of experience in politics and having worked in cabinet, his new role as Prime Minister would offer him the opportunity to serve in a different capacity. The PPP turnout was not comparable to that of the major opposition. President Ramotar stated, however, that Guyanese can look forward to continued progress under his party and promised to create social and physical infrastructure. He said that the last three years has been frustrating, and despite an opposition that seems not interested in development and a conducive international economic environment, Guyana was the fastest growing economy in the Caribbean despite restrictions. He said too that when his party gets the majority this time, the economy could grow by eight to ten percent per annum and provide a much better quality life for the Guyanese people. He said that young people, unsure of which way to vote, can expect that the party is not promising “pie in the sky” programmes, but programmes that are realistic. “They can have a great future with a PPP government.”
Ministry mum about cost to shift CXC exams to facilitate polling day The cost for having the dates of some Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects changed in order to facilitate the May 11 polling day may very well be a ‘state secret’. This is in light of the fact that the Ministry of Education has not yet been willing to share this information. Although unable to shed light on the cost factor yesterday, Public Relations Officer within the Education Ministry, Suelle FindlayWilliams, did insist that all measures are in place to facilitate the examinations. “If you are asking about the cost I am not privy to that information,” said FindlayWilliams. She continued by adding that “at this point I can’t say what is the additional cost or if there was any at all.” According to the Caribbean Examination Council’s Pro-Registrar, Mr Glenroy Cumberbatch, while assisting CXC member
countries to shift examinations dates, if the need arises, is not a challenge to the Regional examining body, the only factor that is not immediately known is the cost that will be incurred. The associated cost to shift the date of the examinations therefore will be one that the Government will have to pay in order to allow CXC to prepare and administer several parallel examination papers to local candidates. “That cost is being worked out and would form a contract between CXC and the Government of Guyana,” Cumberbatch told this publication. Ever since the clash between polling day and the examinations were recognised, the Education Ministry had been in close collaboration with CXC. However Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, had said that “we were not overly concerned…we expect mature behaviour that would not see us having security concerns.” She however
noted that the major concern was how to use the places of poll, which are schools that are deemed exam centres by CXC, to conduct the examinations under examination conditions at the same time. The Pro-Registrar had noted too that CXC’s principal concern was to ensure that the Guyana candidates who registered to write the examinations had the opportunity to write them in the conditions that they would normally write. “The schools are the centres that are chosen and if the schools are to be used as polling stations then it was not possible to have the two activities competing for the same space at the same time. Therefore it was necessary to ensure that the candidates are not disadvantaged in any way on that given day,” said Cumberbatch. Because of the change in the examination dates, the morning of June 15 will see candidates sitting the following CSEC subjects: Agricultural Science (Double Award)-Paper2; Agricultural
Science (Single Award)-Paper 2 and Theatre Arts –Paper1. In the afternoon of June 15, the following CSEC subjects will be written: Electrical and Electronic Technology-Paper 1; Food and Nutrition – Paper2. The CSEC examinations shifted to June 16 will include Home Economics: Management – Paper 2 and Technical Drawing-Paper 2 in the morning, and Electrical and Electronic Technology Paper 2 in the afternoon. Meanwhile, CAPE subjects set for the morning of June 15 are: Geometrical and Mechanical Engineering Drawing Unit 1 – Paper 2, History Unit 1 – Paper 2 and Art and Design unit 1 and 2 – Paper 2 and 3 while in the afternoon candidates will undertake the Communication StudiesPaper 2. The following morning CAPE candidates will sit French Unit 2 – Paper 2 and Environmental Science Unit 2-Paper 2, while in the afternoon they will be tasked with sitting Pure Mathematics Unit 1 – Paper 2.
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Unsafe foods cause over 200 illnesses – PAHO/WHO notes In light of the fact that unsafe foods can cause over 200 illnesses, the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) is recommending preventive action throughout the food chain. PAHO/WHO is therefore advocating for safety in handling foods from production to consumption by implementing “five keys to safer foods,” that it has recommended. The “five keys to food safety” include: keep clean, separate raw and cooked, cook thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures and use safe water and raw materials. Once these are observed, food safety can be assured in the
home and in food establishments, according to PAHO/WHO. This was expressed in a statement issued by the dualorganisation to mark the observance of World Health
According to PAHO/ WHO, food can become contaminated at any point in the food chain, so everyone along that chain must take measures to keep food safe— from producers to processers,
“Diseases caused by contaminated food are a serious problem for people’s health and can jeopardize our countries’ development, trade and tourism” - PAHO/WHO Director Day. World Health Day is observed annually on April 7 and the topic of focus yesterday was Food Safety with the supporting slogan being “From farm to plate, keep it safe”.
retailers and consumers. PAHO/WHO has pointed out that food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites, or harmful chemicals causes over 200 diseases, from diarrhea to cancer. And in order to raise
…as World Health Day is observed awareness and promote protective action throughout the food chain, PAHO/WHO is focusing its 2015 World Health Day campaign on the issue of food safety. “Diseases caused by contaminated food are a serious problem for people’s health and can jeopardize our countries’ development, trade and tourism,” said PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne. “In the Americas, with our abundant food production, we can prevent most of these illnesses with strong food safety systems,” she added. Globally, over 582 million people fall ill and more than
World Health Day observance...
Vendors targeted as ‘Wellness Club’ zeroes in on food safety
Some of the Club’s members during yesterday’s World Health Day observance. Food vendors were the primary targets when the Region Three Health and Wellness Club held its observance of World Health Day at the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling yesterday. And the observance was one intended to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Club as it was launched on April 7 last year. According to recently elected President, Mr Kimani Urlin, the mission of the Club is to sensitise people, particularly those residing within Region Three, about what they can do to protect their health. And since the 2015 World Health Day observance focused on ‘food security,’ Urlin noted that efforts were made to seek out and educate food vendors that they have a big role to play in helping to ensure food safety. “We have spoken to persons who sell at school cafeterias, persons who have shopping marts and grocery
shops. We have also spoken to supervisors and managers of fast food outlets in the Vreed-en-Hoop area. This is a prime area now, where lots of people dwell, and there are a number of food places that cater to them, so it is for this reason that we have targeted them to encourage food safety,” observed Urlin. Among the experts sensitising the vendors and the public at large yesterday were Environmentalist Ms June Nedd and Nutritionist Ms Norma Howard. “Basically our aim is to make them aware of how important it is for them to secure and properly handle foods that they are hoping to sell to their customers. It is important that optimum care, preservation and hygiene are adhered to, from the simple washing of hands to the utensils used,” the Club President added. According to Howard, since there are numerous harmful outcomes of unsafe
foods, “our aim is to encourage everyone to ensure that the food on their plate is safe to eat.” She noted that “in order to make the food that we eat safe, food producers and suppliers along the entire food chain must operate responsibly and supply food to consumers.” “Food not properly prepared or mishandled on the farm, in food factories, markets, at home, in restaurants, snackettes or canteens can result in foodborne illnesses,” Howard asserted. The group, Urlin outlined, is made up of health workers, volunteers, fitness experts, and education specialists, all of whom have a keen interest in advocating behavioural changes that can foster improved health and wellness. “Our aim is to make people aware of what they need to do prior to having any health needs so that they can be the ones taking optimum care of themselves,” said Urlin.
During the outbreak of the Chikungunya Virus last year, club members were very involved in supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Health in raising awareness among Region Three residents, Urlin recounted. This, according to him, saw people being enlightened of the need to use mosquito nets, keeping their environment clean and keeping their drinking water sources well covered to help reduce the prevalence of the waterborne diseases. The Club over its oneyear existence has also been collaborating with a number of religious organisations to offer basic health care services such as blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar, Body Mass Index tests among others. Last month, the Club also supported the Guyana Association of Woman Police’s Medical Outreach as part of the International Women’s Day celebration.
350,000 die annually from foodborne illnesses including salmonellosis, gastrointestinal disease and Escherichia coli infection. These illnesses result from eating unsafe foods such as undercooked meat, fruits and vegetables contaminated with feces or pesticides, and raw seafood containing marine bio-toxins, PAHO/ WHO has said. It has pointed out too that globalization has increased the interconnectedness of the world’s food chains and, in parallel, the number, frequency and sites of foodborne illnesses. Rapid urbanization has also magnified the risks, as people eat more food prepared outside the home, which is not always properly prepared and handled, PAHO/WHO has asserted. In the Americas, about one in four people suffer an episode of foodborne illness each year. Children, pregnant women, immune-suppressed persons, and older adults are the most vulnerable. “Rapid identification of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and timely and coordinated response are crucial for minimizing the impact of these outbreaks on the population’s health and on countries’ economies,” said Enrique Pérez, PAHO/ WHO Senior Advisor on Foodborne and Zoonotic Diseases. While there are no estimates of the total costs, including medical care, drugs and lost work hours, of these diseases at the regional level, the available data indicate US$700,000 to $19 million in annual health costs in Caribbean countries and more than US$77 million in the United States. As part of its efforts to
PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne raise awareness on World Health Day about food safety, PAHO/WHO and the United Nations Foundation collaborated to host a webcast which featured experts who sought to answer questions about “How safe is your food?” Participants included Bernard Vallat, Director of WHO for Animal Health (OIE); Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Juergen Voegele, Senior Director for Agriculture Global Practice at the World Bank; Caroline Smith DeWaal, Food Safety Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and PAHO Director Carissa Etienne. PAHO/WHO has for years worked with its member countries to strengthen integrated food safety surveillance systems, to ensure strong inspection and control systems to prevent national and international incidents due to contaminated food, and to enhance laboratory capacities needed to protect food safety.
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Kaieteur News
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Wednesday April 08, 2015
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Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
That Venezuelan threat DEAR EDITOR, In your April 5 issue, you ran a column by Odeen Ishmael which sought to advance the PPP government’s desire to carry the Venezuelan border dispute with Guyana to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Ambassador Ishmael in his column does show some understanding of the false claim by Venezuela but Guyana going to the ICJ would be a mistake by the PPP and another reason for Guyanese to vote for change on May 11, so that we can get a foreign policy based on the best interests of Guyana and not an artificial Bolivarian concept that Venezuela s pushes in its own selfinterest. In the first place it is only Venezuela among the global community of nations that has an issue with the borders of Guyana as defined by the 1899 arbitration process. There is no other country that supports Venezuela’s position that the Essequibo region is not part of the Guyanese nation. What is most helpful for Venezuela is for Guyana to ask the UN Secretary General to activate his Standby Team
of Mediation Experts to help Venezuela understand that it needs to move on and accept the facts of the border with Guyana. As Ambassador Ishmael showed in his column, the whole issue of the so-called border dispute is a cold war construct which did not even get the support of the USA even though Venezuela was using the smoke screen of Guyana being a bridgehead for the spreading of communism in South America in the early 1960s. Guyana going to the ICJ would give the impression that the Guyanese authorities think that there is something left unfinished by the 1899 award. Even if Guyana were to take the matter to the ICJ and that body were to rule that the status quo should remain then there comes the question of enforcement of the court’s decision. Venezuela knows that with Guyana, it by far has the military advantage. The problems in enforcing the decisions of the ICJ are well documented. One good source is the 2003 thesis by Mutlaq Majed Al-Qahtani where he looked in detail at the issue of Enforcement of International Judicial Decisions of the ICJ in
public international law. What Guyana needs to do in its self-interest is to sign agreements with the ABC countries so that in the event of Venezuelan military incursions into Guyanese territory it can quickly call on military support from those countries to counter the Venezuelan aggression. Also, Guyana should have a plan in place to quickly implement back-up systems in the event Venezuela were to cut, on short or no notice, the Petro Caribe programme under which Guyana gets concessionary terms for Venezuelan oil products. Also in agreements for sale of products like rice Guyana should not let Venezuela commit to buying more than about a quarter of Guyana’s total production so as to minimize impacts in case Venezuela were to cancel purchase agreements as part of economic warfare against Guyana. The bottom line is that Guyanese have to vote for a government whose foreign policy is going to be in the best interests of Guyana and not swayed by romantic Bolivarian ideology and Trojan horse economic agreements. Shamir Ally and Fitzgerald Yaw
GT&T should scrap its Essequibo landline service DEAR EDITOR, G.T. &T. stands to lose nothing but customers like me and many others who suffer from the improper land line service being provided on the Essequibo Coast. For my business place a monthly rental of $1,800 is chargeable despite the many defects making its use seldom possible. Ever so often, there is no dial tone without which calls cannot be made and
even when it is there trying to dial a number evokes a continuous sound like Chinese music with much irritation and annoyance. Whenever there is a conversation the phone suddenly cuts off abruptly which is very disgusting and unacceptable. Although there is a complaints desk at Anna Regina it is a waste of time going there as was done
repeatedly by me who experience no improvements to the service. Paying for a service from which the intended benefits are not derived is tantamount to a presumptuous injustice all because of monopoly in a ‘can’t do better’ situation. In my humble opinion, the company will do a great good to the affected customers by scrapping the service. lshwardin
Don’t tell ex-army officers... From page 4 not nepotism or cronyism. They have looked at the PPP and recognized that Dr. Luncheon is a shameless man, who, in spite of his solid contribution to his party could not aspire to lead it because of his race, yet he stays on. Why on earth should people of Luncheon’s ethnicity associate with such crass racism? Luncheon must understand that no Guyanese should be prepared to grovel at the feet of any organization because it offers them a few dollars and some physical
comforts. One may ask about officers who may be of a different ethnicity to Dr. Luncheon. These officers are independent thinkers and will not be able to stifle their consciences for long. They are aware of how vindictive, spiteful and downright inept the PPP is and therefore they will go elsewhere. Finally, I believe that Dr. Luncheon may have been a coward in his earlier years. To my knowledge he did not serve in any military or paramilitary organization yet
he seems eager to dictate what ex-servicemen/women should and should not do. I believe that Dr. Luncheon is a colossal failure in the appointment which he has held for the past 22 years. His service has done irreparable damage to this country in that he provided or supervised the poorest quality of service to a young struggling nation. Our collective suggestion is that Dr. Luncheon should go home, shut up and save us the earaches of his endless, nonsensical chatter. Aubrey Retemyer
THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY TO RECOVER
DEAR EDITOR, The PPP Minister of Finance was quoted by GINA on March 30, 2015 as saying that the broad-based Coalition (the Coalition) has “resorted to utter promises of random goodies”. Ashni Singh should know better than to utter such nonsense. He sits in a chair that gives him front seat access to information that ought to equip him with the tools to understand clearly why the Coalition cannot offer more than 10 percent in the first 100 days. Over the last three years, the economic performance of the PPP Finance Team was worse than mediocre with their average growth rate of sub five percent growth rates, depletion of the foreign reserves by over $42 billion, squandering of over $62 billion on Ponzi scheme projects and failure to arrest the balance of payment crisis we have in Guyana. GPL and GuySuCo continue to underperform, bleeding the nation for a
further $20 billion over the period 2011-2015. NIS is technically insolvent. And the list goes on. What the Minister of Finance and his sidekick Bharrat Jagdeo has not told you is that very little of these billions went to the masses or the workers. Most of it went to the contracting class and their friends in the PPP cabal. What the Minister of Finance has not told the people is the true financial state of Guysuco? Today the government has announced wildly that they need $20 billion for Guysuco. To do what exactly? Or is this another figure that was plucked out of the sky by the PPP cabal like how the government plucked $10 billion out of the sky to spend on their favourite Ponzi scheme project that is managed by Donald Ramotar’s son— the “ICT cable project to nowhere”? In 2011, the AFC after reviewing the books, made the decision to offer a 20 percent salary increase to all
categories of workers from the sugar belt to the civil service to the semi-autonomous agencies. In 2011, we had a plan to fund every single cent of it from the AFC proposed budget; in 2011, the income generating capacity of the central government operations and the combined semi-autonomous agencies / government corporations were much stronger than they are in 2015. Why? Because of the poor economic performance by the PPP administrators between 2011 and 2015. So these are not random goodies but concrete policy recommendation based on the deteriorated state of the Treasury thank to the “economic kangalangs” in the PPP. The Coalition has no choice but to propose a salary increase that reflect the times. There is one thing the Coalition will not do, spend what it does not have like this “borrow and spend PPP cabal”. Sase Singh
IMAM BACCHUS IS ABOUT FAIRNESS DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me space to respond to an accusation carried in the April 4 Guyana Times. I will confess that I have hit my workers in the past…with bouncers on the cricket field, during the matches that staff and customers in our small community regularly play together. I will confess that I have seen our managers campaign to change their employees minds…to eat healthier and to stop drinking and other destructive behaviours. I confess that I have seen supervisors give employees time off to attend gatherings we support…such their children’s PTA meetings. But we at Imam Bacchus and Sons have never threatened or bribed anyone to support any political view. Our employees are a diverse mix of ages, genders, races, religions and political affiliations and we enjoy it that way. This company encourages independence of
conscience in all things and at the end of the day we all sit down around the same pot as friends and family, in companionship and peace. In this small community where anybody knows everybody’s business, the truth of Imam Bacchus’s fairness lives within our community. Our staff and the people they serve are literally neighbours and family. The labourers, supervisors, managers and customers all sat together in the same school benches as children. Political coercion just isn’t possible in this environment. In this election season, we at Imam Bacchus extend to the country the same message we have always given to our employees and customers. Speak as you see fit. Stand as you see fit. Vote as you see fit. We will continue to welcome you to sit around our pot and share our hospitality. Imam Baksh Personnel Officer
Obama couldn’t blame... From page 5 Ramsaran’s incompetence? Who is taking responsibility for Kwame’s McCoy’s continued harassment of underage boys? Without evidence they continue to blame Burnham and the PNC for Rodney’s demise but they vehemently deny any involvement in the executions of Waddell and Crum-Ewing...they continue to plead innocence to all corrupt practices…Is it not why we are having early
elections? Why would we the people want to continue with a government that admits no wrongdoing? Shameful, or is it shameless? The bottom line is that they are selfish, corrupt, and a racist cabal with no long term interest or vision for the masses or Guyana. How can they fix what is wrong when they don’t even want to admit that something is wrong? This cabal cannot be allowed to continue in office
if it is all the oppositions fault. Perhaps, it was the opposition which had the Commissioners, Felix, Greene and Brummel undermined by their subordinates causing a domino effect in the force. Perhaps, it was the opposition that inflated the cost of all projects parliament rejected. Evidently, they forgot that it was the people who elected the PPP to serve them and not the other way around. Errol J Lewis
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Mother encourages parents to be more involved in children’s education The Ministry of Education has long been calling for all stakeholders to do their part to ensure that the nation’s children benefit from a quality education. But according to one single parent, Mia Ritchie, embracing this call could at times result in a “backlash.” The woman qualified her statement by noting that while some parents are proactive by ensuring that they are involved as far as possible in their children’s schooling, there are situations that can develop and could result in children being victimised rather than supported by their teachers. Ritchie was at the time making direct reference to the administering of corporal punishment in the school
system, something she informed could prove to be “too abrasive at times.” The mother of five claims to have keen focus on her children’s education, a duty she believes all parents should embrace. According to her, she is able to ‘practise what she preaches’ despite juggling jobs and taking full responsibility for the wellbeing of her family. According to Ritchie, because of her fanatical interest in the education system, both private and public, she has been able to accumulate extensive knowledge on what transpires in many schools. And while she is aware that there are many teachers who dedicate much of their
Teen remanded for murder of relative A 19-year-old man was yesterday charged and remanded for an April Fool’s Day stabbing death. The accused, Nicholas Hercules, 19, of 44 Princes Street, Georgetown, walked into the packed courtroom with his head bent. He was not required to enter a plea to the indictable offence. Magistrate Fabayo Azore read the charge to him when he was arraigned before her yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Particulars of the charge stated that on April 1, at Princes Street, Hercules murdered 21-year-old Carlos Solomon. According to Police Corporal Simone Payne, Hercules and Solomon knew each other, since they reside at the same address. She informed the court that on the day in question, the defendant and Solomon were involved in an argument. The situation spiraled out of control and Hercules pulled out a knife and dealt Solomon a stab to his armpit. Payne stated that Solomon succumbed to his injuries while he was being rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Attorney Lyndon Amsterdam appeared on the defendant’s behalf. During his bail submission he pointed out that his client received several injuries to his right knee as a result of the incident. The lawyer argued that Solomon inflicted the injuries on his client with a knife. Amsterdam stated that his client was subjected to a medical examination, but he
— concerned about level of CP in some schools energies towards educating the children within their charge, Ritchie is convinced that there are some who have no place in the system. “Some of them whom I have observed, give attention to children selectively; it is as if they haven’t been trained to deal with children,” said Ritchie. She said that corporal punishment is of particular concern since it is, at times, administered without discretion. According to information from the Ministry of Education the use of Corporal Punishment is governed by strictly regulated written policies that are in place. Nevertheless, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, had informed that the Ministry is ready and willing to be guided by the decision of Parliament on the matter. Corporal Punishment has for some time been gaining the attention of the country’s lawmakers. But according to Manickchand as it is right now Head Teachers as well as
teachers are required to comply with the existing Ministry policy which outlines, that children should not be beaten merely to ensure that the environment is conducive for learning. According to her, “We have specific cases when Corporal Punishment could be inflicted, specific instruments that can be used, and who should administer those blows.” Detailed in a document entitled ‘Maintenance of Order and Discipline in Schools/Alternative Forms of Punishment,’ which has been distributed to public schools across the country, it is categorically stated, inter alia, that only a Head-Teacher can administer Corporal Punishment to students, or identify a senior teacher to so administer punishment in his or her presence. But Ritchie has claimed to have witnessed otherwise and has therefore shared her conviction that “this is cause for concern...This is alarming and I think the Ministry has
to step in.” The situation, she added, is compounded by the fact that there are instances when children complain to their parents or guardians about various levels of abuse in the classroom. However, when parents (or guardians) take these concerns to the school the children are, in turn, the subjects of victimisation. “I think the Ministry has to step in and pay more attention to what is happening in the school system, even in the private schools,” asserted Ritchie. “This whole issue of disciplining the children needs more attention and parents must be aware of the process too, and lend their support because indeed some children might have behavioural issues in school and indeed, some teachers send for parents but some teachers do not turn up...I don’t know if it is that they don’t care or if they don’t have the time,” said Ritchie of some parents as she went
Mia Ritchie on to emphasise the importance of collaboration between the home and the school in the whole scheme of education delivery. “I want to encourage parents to be involved in their children’s lives, to pay attention to not only their education but their general wellbeing even when they are not at home...whether it is activities at school or elsewhere. Know who speaks to them, be aware of what they are involved in,” asserted Ritchie who is currently on an awareness campaign in this regard.
MAN, 21, REMANDED FOR DISMEMBERED BODY MURDER ACCUSED: Nicholas Hercules was unable to obtain the results due to the extended holiday weekend. The defendant’s injuries were shown to the magistrate after she requested to see them. Hercules was remanded to prison. He will make his next court appearance on April 13. Solomon received a fatal stab in the region of his heart by the accused who is said to be his stepfather’s grandson. Hercules was nabbed at the Alberttown Police Station after he went to report the matter. The police were forced to chase after the accused after he sprinted from officers when he learnt of Solomon’s demise. According to information received from family members, the two parties never got along with each other. Solomon died in the arms of his sister-in-law Ormelett Bourne, while being rushed for medical attention just after 18:00hrs, on the day in question. Solomon reportedly received several threats from the accused before his death.
After one week in police custody, 21-year-old Imran Ramsaywack made his first court appearance yesterday, to answer a charge of murder resulting from the brutal death of 45-year-old Samantha Benjamin. Ramsaywack, who was unrepresented by an attorney, appeared before Magistrate Zamena AliSeepaul at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court and was promptly remanded to prison. Smiling throughout the brief hearing, the accused appeared relieved to be let out from the cold concrete of the Cove and John lock-ups, where two other suspects in the woman’s murder remain. Samantha Benjamin was killed in a house at Middle Walk, Buxton, on March 25, last, and her body was dismembered and subsequently dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. It was discovered the following morning, sparking outrage in the village which had not seen such brutality since the days of the crime wave a decade ago. Ramsaywack, who hails from Adelphi Village, Canje, Berbice, was detained on March 31, after relatives of the dead woman began
Imran Ramsaywack being escorted after his court appearance yesterday. making inquiries into her disappearance. Two other accomplices, Ritchie Roseman and Zachariah Alexander were arrested over the Easter weekend, while a fourth man who was also implicated, was arrested yesterday. Relatives of the dead woman had waited patiently at the Cove and John police station compound throughout the morning and a part of the afternoon for the men to be marched before the
Samantha Benjamin
court. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions took time to carefully peruse the file before advising that the suspect be charged, although everyone was expecting three persons to be charged. By then, the Magistrate at Cove and John had left the bench, so there was a mad rush to catch the sitting Magistrate at Sparendaam. In the Sparendaam magistrate’s court, Ramsaywack was not required to plead and the
prosecutor Inspector Hattie Anthony, requested that he be remanded. Before he was taken away, Ramsaywack begged the Magistrate to allow him to spend his remand time at the New Amsterdam Prison, a request that was promptly denied. “I am not in a position to make that decision,” the Magistrate told Ramsaywack. She then transferred the matter to the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court for May 4.
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U.S. closing in on White South Carolina police officer charged with murdering black man recommendation to remove Reuters) - A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder over the shooting death of a black man who appeared to be fleeing from him, local authorities said on Tuesday, with the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department announcing a separate probe into the case. A video of the Saturday incident, showing North Charleston police officer Michael Slager shooting 50-year-old Walter Scott, was viewed by state investigators, and a decision was made to charge Slager with murder, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said at a news conference. “When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” Summey told reporters. “If you make a bad decision, I don’t care if you’re behind the shield or just a citizen on the
North Charleston police officer Michael Slager street, you have to live by that decision.” The incident began after Scott was pulled over for a broken taillight, local media reported. A video of the encounter published by the New York Times shows a brief scuffle between Slager and Scott before the latter begins running away. The
video, which appears to be recorded by a bystander, then shows the officer firing several shots at Scott, who falls to the ground. Scott does not appear to be armed while fleeing from Slager. The incident comes at a time of tension over the deadly use of force by U.S. police, particularly by white police officers against black men, including Michael Brown, 18, who was shot and killed by a white police officer last year in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking nationwide protests. The federal probe will be handled by the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department said.
Minnesota bird flu cases rise as U.S. investigators arrive CHICAGO (Reuters) - A lethal strain of bird flu has infected an eighth turkey flock in Minnesota, the nation’s top turkey producer, in just over a month, officials said on Tuesday, a day after a team of epidemiologists arrived to investigate how the disease is spreading. Minnesota has detected five cases of the H5N2 flu, which can kill nearly an entire flock of poultry within 48 hours, in commercial turkey flocks since Thursday alone. Commercial poultry operations and backyard flocks in states ranging from Arkansas to Washington also have been infected with the deadly strain since the beginning of the year, triggering overseas buyers to limit imports of U.S. poultry from companies like Tyson Foods Inc and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. On Tuesday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Japan
and Taiwan imposed trade restrictions on poultry from Ontario after bird flu was confirmed in the province. The latest U.S. infection of the H5N2 flu was the second case in two days to be found in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The county, located west of Minneapolis, is the state’s top turkey-producing county. On Monday, a team of USDA epidemiologists arrived in Minnesota to investigate how the virus is making its way into turkey flocks, said Erica Gunderson, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. State officials asked the U.S. government to send the team because they needed help responding to the increasing number of infections, she added. “Basically, we just needed more people,” she said.
The USDA has said it believes migratory ducks are spreading the flu, but does not know exactly how the virus is moving into poultry flocks from wild birds. The latest infected flock of 30,000 turkeys in Minnesota will be culled to prevent the virus from spreading, and the birds will not enter the food supply, according to the USDA. In the last week, the number of birds to be culled in the state because of the flu has topped 180,000. Farmers in Minnesota raise about 46 million turkeys a year, accounting for more than $600 million in income, according to the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. Nationwide, farmers raised about 240 million turkeys in 2013, according to the USDA. So far, no human infections of the bird flu have been detected.
Cuba from state terrorism list
(Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is closing in on a decision to recommend removal of Cuba from its list of countries accused of sponsoring terrorism, days before President Barack Obama attends a regional summit with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro. Obama ordered the review after announcing a diplomatic breakthrough with Havana on Dec. 17 and has vowed to act quickly once he receives the recommendation, which would mark a major move toward ending five decades of estrangement. Obama leaves on Wednesday for a trip to Jamaica and then to Panama, where he will participate in the April 10-11 Summit of the Americas and come face-toface with Castro. A U.S. official told Reuters the State Department could send its conclusions to Obama this week calling for the Communist-ruled island to be taken off the blacklist. Cuba’s presence on the state-sponsored terror list has been a major stumbling block to efforts to restore relations and re-establish embassies. Havana has flatly demanded its removal before diplomatic ties can be restored. Cuba was added to the list of terrorism sponsors - a distinction it has shared with Iran, Sudan and Syria - in
1982, when it was aiding Marxist insurgencies in Colombia and elsewhere. Two U.S. officials close to the matter said an interagency team carrying out the review was under pressure from high levels of the administration to wrap up their investigation. But the officials said the exact timing was still being worked out and further delays were possible. ‘White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the State Department process would likely “move to the next stage relatively soon” but said he “wouldn’t necessarily expect a final decision in the next day or two,” suggesting that Obama would still need some time to consider the matter. ‘FINAL STAGES’ In a sign of the slow-moving diplomacy, White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the United States does not expect to seal an agreement for the reopening of embassies in time for the summit. Still, he said the effort to remove Cuba from the terrorism sponsor list was “likely in the final stages.” Obama’s aides hope his historic opening to Cuba will generate goodwill among the Latin American and Caribbean leaders who have long argued against U.S. isolation
of Havana as counterproductive. Not all will be peace and harmony at the gathering. Angered by U.S. sanctions slapped on select members of his government last month and backed by leftist regional allies, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he plans to hand Obama a petition of protest signed by millions of Venezuelans. “The improvement in ties between the U.S. and Cuba certainly gives the Americans a lot of political capital for this summit,” a senior Brazilian diplomat said. But he added that “sanctions against Venezuela will not make things easier for them.” Still, most believe the issue of Venezuela, a close ally and financial benefactor of Cuba, will not overshadow the gathering. “I don’t think they can upset the summit,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. Obama and Castro will “interact” and possibly have “conversations” on the margins of the summit, though no formal talks have yet been scheduled, Rhodes said. Many expect a choreographed handshake to symbolically seal their countries’ reconciliation.
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Nomination Day is positive President’s ‘royal power’ will be sign for democratic process taken away, Hughes promises – Diplomats By Nicholas Peters Political party representatives and their supporters yesterday showed up in droves at Georgetown City Hall to officially enter the race for the May 11 General and Regional Elections, and to members of the diplomatic corps, this symbolised a positive direction for democracy in Guyana. Supporters crowded the streets in their thousands decked out in the colours of their respective parties, contagiously spreading their excitement as they made their way through the capital city to City Hall on Nomination Day. For those in the diplomatic corps this “fanfare” was a sight to behold. They had a front row seat to the electoral process as political parties officially submitted their lists of candidates and necessary documentation to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM)’s Chief Election Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. For many of the foreign dignitaries, this will be their first elections in Guyana with some of them noting a distinctive enthusiasm for the Nomi-
nation process that they have not witnessed before. The transparency of yesterday’s event was also commented upon, with the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner describing it as a promising sign for the upcoming elections. Also at the forefront of Nomination Day processes was the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Khadija Musa. Speaking to this publication, Musa saw the enthusiastic display from party supporters as a true expression of democracy. “I think it’s fantastic that everyone has come out and expressed their wishes so publicly and in a peaceful manner,” said the UN official. She noted that such zeal for the nomination process has been a tradition in Guyana, and is unique to the country and its people. Musa said that it particularly stands out when compared to most countries where “they just send in the papers”. “It is part of the promotion of democracy, so I only hope that it continues throughout the elections process,” said Musa. The UN representative also reaffirmed her organisation’s endorsement to free and fair elections in the country, as is evident
in continued support of agencies like GECOM. As the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Musa pointed out that the organisation has been a keen player in helping to move the electoral process forward. She explained that the UN continues to help in the democratic practice through direct funding to GECOM. The UN has helped GECOM with provisions in transportation and publication of materials for poll workers. “The UN as a family and UNDP in particular has committed to making sure that GECOM has what they need and will to move the process forward.” related UN representative. Musa hopes that the electoral process will continue with the same spirit, to a fair and peaceful outcome. Meanwhile, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy, Bryan Hunt, expressed the same hopes for this year’s elections. He noted that he will be looking forward to a code of conduct for politicians to adhere to. This, he said, would create a framework for politicians to steer clear of inciting racial hate and other forms of divisive language.
…as thousands turn up for APNU+AFC rally post Nomination With A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) having presented its lists of candidates, thousands of supporters marched through central Georgetown yesterday afternoon, escorting their leadership to Independence Park for their first post-Nomination Day rally. Certain sections of the city were brought to a standstill as the entire proceeding unfolded, exacerbating the current traffic woes existing in the city. The atmosphere was a jubilant one as the masses danced to the multi-cultural selections that were played during the rally. AFC executive Nigel Hughes, addressing the milieu of gold and green, reminded those gathered of the historical significance of the ground. He also called for a moment of silence in reflection of all who had lost their lives in the process of fighting for freedom. ‘It has been a long and painful journey. And we have lost brothers and sisters along the way. We lost Shaka Blair. We lost Ronald Waddell. We lost over 400 sons and most recently we lost Courtney (Crum-Ewing).” Citing the prorogation of parliament as one instance of misuse of presidential power, he called for the curtailing of such prerogatives. “There are some fundamental things we have to do so that we do not backslide again. And one of these is to change the Constitution!” “We must understand what about the Constitution has led us to where we are. Never again must we vest in any head of state the powers of a
AFC Executive Nigel Hughes addressing the gathering king or the powers of a queen. Because it is only kings and queens who don’t have to answer to the people. Once we elect a president, he must be liable to us and he must not be a minority president!” “Any President must be a majority president. And we must change the Constitution so that never again will a president wake up one morning and when the people say we have no confidence in you, he removes the parliament. No more prorogation by any king!” Hughes reminded the gathering that there was more to be done, and that to be complacent at this junction was a mistake. He related the importance of preserving unity. “How are we going to protect this unity? Unless we can protect this unity we will end up exactly where we were last year and four years ago. We would have failed our foreparents who gave their blood and died to see this day of unity.”
“We have made many missteps in the past. We have distrusted ourselves and our neighbours. But now that we have this opportunity, we have to show humility. We have to show that we are strong and committed. We have to demonstrate that we will fight, come what may, to protect this unity. “And I have news for you. If you thought Courtney CrumEwing was provocative, in the next 34 days you will see even more provocation!” Hughes exclaimed, much to the crowd’s approval. “We have to be our brother’s keepers, because they will attack our brothers and sisters. They will try to drive wedges between us, because we are facing a desperate regime…a regime that understands that we have only changed Governments once in fifty years. That is our failing as a people.” Hughes also touched on some of the controversial projects undertaken by the administration, “in the name of conservation and economic progress”. “The future of this country does not depend on giving away large tracts of land to people to develop it, when we can develop it ourselves!” “How is it possible that the sons and daughters of slaves and indentured servants can sit down and be told that, while foreign nations are given hundreds of thousands of acres to cut trees, when we can cut trees? There is no magic in protecting the environment. We as citizens can protect the environment. We don’t need any foreign powers telling us how to manage our resources.” “How dare someone tell me, in 2015, that they have to give us a house lot, which we paid for, like if they are doing us a favour? We have already paid, through our foreparents, for every square inch of this country!” Hughes did not spare himself or his colleagues in the opposition. He assured the gathering that they were also accountable and thus the citizenry must never allow them to misuse their office. Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM) chairman Ryan Belgrave also addressed the gathering, condemned the PPP/C for its failed youth initiatives. AFC youth leader Trevor Williams also spoke to the crowd. Wielding his ID card, he urged citizens to ensure that they were on the list of electors in their respective communities. He also led the masses in a rendition of the ‘vote like a boss’ pledge.
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Kaieteur News
Regional leaders gearing for talks with US President BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The prime ministers of Barbados, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago will address the summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders and United States President Barack Obama in Jamaica later this week. Obama arrives in Kingston today for a two-day visit and will hold bi-lateral talks with his host Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller. The regional leaders will meet with President Obama tomorrow and Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, is Dominica counterpart, R o o s e v e l t S k e r r i t and Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar will speak on the topics Competitiveness/Prosperity, Renewable Energy and Security respectively. Newly elected St KittsNevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris, who will be attending his first regional summit since his election last February, said he was looking forward to the meeting as it will
Portia Simpson Miller
Kamla Persad Bissessar
give the region a further boost in its relationship with the United States. “This is an important summit. President Obama by coming to us is signalling the continuing interest of the USA in constructive engagement in the Caribbean. The areas which seem most prof-
itable relate to security, renewable energy and the competitiveness of the region. We look forward to more concrete outcomes and deliverables,” he added. Regional leaders will meet in caucus today prior to the summit with President Obama.
WE WILL BEAT PNM …Moonilal on latest election poll showing Rowley’s party rising Trinidad Express - The People’s Partnership Government will be victorious in the upcoming general election. This was the response Monday from United National Congress (UNC) deputy leader Dr Roodal Moonilal to the latest Solution by Simulation (SBS) poll commissioned by the Express. The poll published in Monday’s Sunday Express found that the People’s National Movement (PNM) would have an edge over the People’s Partnership at 31 per cent to 26 per cent if the election were called today. Moonilal said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar continued to soar ahead of Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley with respect to the favourability rating. The poll showed 50 per cent of those polled rating her favourably, and 33 per cent unfavourably. Dr Rowley’s favourability remains at 40 per cent. “I take all polls seriously and the findings of this poll as with others would strengthen us to work harder to deliver goods and services to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and uplift the quality of life for all,” said Moonilal. “I’ve also taken note that what the poll found was that the PNM was unable to move, they are locked within their own column and they cannot
Dr Roodal Moonilal move further because the poll suggests that the undecided is still there to be convinced and the PNM has not been able to convince the undecided to support them so their figure has not moved,” he
added. The poll puts the undecideds at 33 per cent. “We are also heartened by the continued high approval rating by the political leader and Prime Minister and when one considers that she has been the one to make the tough decisions to face the governance challenges and steer the ship of state and she is still a mile ahead of Dr Rowley in popularity speaks to the facts that she is today the single political personality capable of uniting Trinidad and Tobago and managing the affairs of the State. Dr Rowley continues to trail behind the Prime Minister,” said Moonilal. He said the People’s Partnership has different strategies to employ and its election campaign has not gone into top gear, unlike the PNM.
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Mumbai brace for dynamic Knight Riders President Obama plays tennis Defending champions and Chris Lynn. Robin games of competitive cricket. with Caroline Wozniacki versus former champions Uthappa was the top-scorer Not the best ratio for an acmakes for good billing. Being in the Ranji season. tive cricketer. So the biggest the season opener entices its share of audience. A dash of chequered recent history and both Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians have points to prove. A 14-match winning streak for Gautam Gambhir’s men screeched to a halt in the Champions League T20 final. Sunil Narine’s absence - he was suspended for an illegal action - coloured an eightwicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings. There had been doubts over his participation as late as last Sunday, but the BCCI sub-committee for suspect actions is satisfied with the changes. “It has never been our strategy to have a back-up for Sunil, because there can’t be a back-up for him,” Gambhir said. Now though they don’t have to worry about plan B. They have most of their Ateam to call on, barring the injuries to James Neesham
Morne Morkel was one of the bowlers of the tournament at the World Cup. Ryan ten Doeschate and Andre Russell have excellent pedigree as T20 finishers. They retain Shakib Al Hasan’s services for the first couple of matches. Options aplenty. Options that should worry Mumbai. Last we saw them; they became the first IPL team to fail the qualifying round into the Champions League T20. But there were extenuating circumstances: Rohit Sharma, their captain, was injured and left their team combination a mess. His presence at the helm, along with Ricky Ponting as coach, and the Lasith Malinga-led bowling raises expectation. Kieron Pollard will have his own spotlight, as well. Since his time away from the West Indies team, he’s written two columns for Al Jazeera and played only twice as many
question Mumbai will face is if the various cogs fit together smoothly. Watch out for… Since the acquisition of Sunil Narine, the Knight Riders’ spinners boast the best average (20.86), economy rate (6.5) and strike-rate (19.2) in the IPL. A T20 captain’s dream, they rip through the overs, leaving batsmen in a daze and the scoreboard stagnant. A “fresh pitch,” according to Gambhir and evening rains in the lead-up to the opening match can limit the amount of purchase available. So how can Mumbai combat the spin strangle? That vast thinktank would look to Rohit Sharma to provide an answer. He is arguably their most versatile player and his ability to soak pressure and beat it was on show when he struck a century against Bangladesh in the World Cup quarter-final. (ESPNcricinfo)
Wednesday April 08, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Try to stay disciplined and focused today, Aries. This may be easier said than done, but it's crucial for preserving your sanity. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) These rewards won't come without hard work and discipline, however, and this seems to be a focus of the day. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Don't mess with superiors or people in authority today, Gemini, or you might end up in some serious hot water. CANCER (June 21–July 22) . Make sure you're building with bricks and not straw, and that the mortar you use is strong. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) There's a sober feeling to the day that may leave you feeling a bit down, Leo. There may not be any specific instance or situation that causes you to feel this way, so don't sweat it. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) People may be extra stubborn today, so try to avoid any confrontations that could lead to full-scale war. Your emotions may feel restricted and restrained.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your freedom-loving nature may seem a bit dampened today, Libra, but don't let it get you down. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today is a great day to get rid of the stuff that's cluttering up your life, Scorpio. Get to the heart of the issue and stop beating around the bush. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Don't sweat the small stuff. You may feel like something is restricting your otherwise light, witty nature, but don't worry about it. Things probably seem worse than they really are. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) There are opportunities open to you now whether you realize it or not. It may be hard to be aware of them today, given the astrological weather. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Your emotions may feel restricted today, Aquarius. You may feel bad about something you did in the past. Somehow your heart isn't able to let it go. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You're going through a period of major evaluation and assessment of certain life projects. Today's energies bring much of that tension into focus, and put it right in the place where it affects you most - your heart.
U.S. President Barack Obama (left) reacts to hitting a winner down the line against a tough volley from Caroline Wozniacki. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) Reuters - Thousands of children gathered at the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. This
year tennis star Caroline Wozniacki was invited to the event where she played a friendly game of tennis with
President Obama. Check out photos from the fun-filled afternoon in the nation’s capital.
Spotlight on Khan as GABF... (From page 34) is this (different) and Khan understanding is totally different, thus we are having conflict,” Haynes indicated. The question is why only the discipline of Basketball has a problem with the CASH. That edifice was built as a multi - purpose facility with preference given to Basketball,” Haynes continued, as he concluded that had the administration built other indoor sport venues, the problem would have been easily resolved. However, the GABF and NSC were able to work out a schedule of time and date that will see the national teams gaining unprecedented access to the Sports Hall. The federation informed that it is in possession of preliminary training squads for both na-
Raj Singh Insurance/GCB... (From page 35) Mahendra Mahase, Satesh Latchana, and David Williams. Manager is Harvey Gobin and Coach, Vibert Johnson. Guyana U-17 squad: Raymond Perez, Joshua Persaud, Adrian Sukwah (vice-captain), Ramnarine Chatura, Bhaskar Yadram, Kevin Sinclair, Richie Looknauth, Ronaldo Ali Mohamed (captain), Timothy McCalmont, Steve Deonarine, Ashmead Nedd, Joshua Jones, Stylus Tyndall, Asif Ally, Sagar Hatheramani, RomainMuniram, and Tameshwar Motieram. Manager is Nazeer Mohammed and Coach, Garvin Nedd.
tional teams, with the first session set for yesterday. The women’s team is to officially depart for Tortola, British Virgin Island on June 6 and return on June 13 while the men depart on June 13 and return on June 22. Guyana’s
men placed fifth at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships last year while Guyana’s Ginelle Ifill earned a full basketball scholarship to College in the US as part of the women’s team.
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Woods grouped with Walker and Donaldson for first round Reuters - Tiger Woods, set to attract huge crowds on his much hyped return to the Masters, has been grouped with fellow American Jimmy Walker and Welshman Jamie Donaldson for tomorrow’s first round at Augusta National. Four-times champion Woods, who missed the Masters last year while recovering from back surgery, will be competing for the first time in two months after a self-imposed absence from the PGA Tour due to poor form. Woods, Donaldson and Walker, a double winner on the 2014-15 PGA Tour, will tee off in the penultimate group of the day at 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 GMT). Northern Ireland’s world number one Rory McIlroy will launch his bid for a third consecutive major victory, and a career grand slam, in the company of Americans Ryan Moore and three-times Masters winner Phil Mickelson. McIlroy, who is seeking his first green jacket at the picturesque ‘Cathedral of Pines’, and his playing partners are scheduled to tee off at 10:41 a.m. tomorrow. In other groupings, 2013 champion Adam Scott of Australia will set off with long-hitting American Dustin Johnson and Austra-
Tiger Woods hits off the second tee during his practice round ahead of the 2015 Masters. Reuters/Mark Blinch lian amateur Antonio Murdaca while 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa has been paired with Dutchman Joost Luiten and South Korean Bae Sangmoon. Defending champion Bubba Watson, aiming to become the sixth triple winner at Augusta National, will launch his title defense in the
company of U.S. amateur champion Gunn Yang of South Korea and England’s Justin Rose. Spaniard Sergio Garcia, American Rickie Fowler and Australian Jason Day, who has recorded top-three finishes at the Masters twice in the last four years, will tee off in the final group of the day tomorrow.
April 26 is date for Bush Lot United Turf Club Meet Preparation continues in earnest for the Bush Lot United Turf Club (BLUTC) one day meet set for Sunday 26th April 2015 at the club’s track at Sea View Park, Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice. Eight races are carded for the day with over $5M up for grabs. The Feature race will be for horses classified ‘C’ and lower for a total package of over $1.2M and trophy over 1500M. There is an event for
horses classified D3 maiden and E and F Class winners over 1500M for a first prize of $400,000 and trophy. The 1200M race for three Year old Guyana and West Indies bred and born animals has winning money of $300,000 and trophy. Horses classified G1 and lower will be running for a winner’s take of $350,000 and trophy over 1300M. The G3 and lower 1300M race will see the winner also pocketing $300,000 and trophy. The ‘I’ and lower horses will get their opportunity to race for the winning purse of $250,000 and trophy over 1300M. The final two races are for animals classified the J and lower and K and lower over 1300M for winning takes of $200,000 and $150,000 and trophies respectively. A number of sponsors are already on board including Inshan Bacchus of Hard Running Trucking Service and Horseracing stables, Banks DIH Limited and Lakeram Buddy Sukdeo and family.
Rehabilitation work is ongoing at the facility with the grand stand, the paddock, fencing, the rails, jockey board and the officials housing area all being upgraded. Water supply, lighting and other amenities have been included in the upgrading. Land filling work at the venue has also been completed. Most of the turns on the track have also been reshaped. Coordinator Lakeram ‘Buddy’ Sookdeo is promising turfites a grand day of racing. Top individual performers including top jockey, stable and trainer will be presented with trophies compliments of the organizers. Interested persons can make enquiries with Coordinator and Treasurer Lakeram B. Sukhdeo on Number 2320558 or 672-0810 or Ramnauth on 337-5311 or 697-1979. The event will be conducted under the rules of the Guyana Horse racing Authority. Race time is 12:30 hrs. (Samuel Whyte)
Wednesday April 08, 2015
NBA takes basketball know-how to Cuba, first for U.S. pro league Reuters - The National Basketball Association, along with basketball’s international governing body, announced plans on Monday to host a developmental camp for male and female players in Cuba, in the first such initiative by a U.S. pro sports league since the United States and the communist-ruled island embarked on a diplomatic thaw in December. Retired NBA stand-outs Steve Nash and Dikembe Mutombo and former WNBA star Ticha Penicheiro will lead the camp, set for April 23-26 in Havana. The NBA will also join with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to refurbish three basketball courts and host youth basketball clinics at two Havana locations. Cuba has a long history of basketball and has participated four world championships, but its players’ links to the NBA have been limited by a 50-year standoff between
the Cuba and the United States. Mutombo, a CongoleseAmerican elected to the U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, said “this visit to Cuba will be a fantastic opportunity to teach the values of our game and learn from one another.” The United States and Cuba agreed on Dec. 17 to restore diplomatic ties after more than a half century of tensions, and President Barack Obama called for an end to a long-time U.S. economic embargo. FIBA President Horacio Muratore said in a statement it was “extremely gratifying” to see Cuba hosting the camp. Cuba’s men’s national basketball team has participated in six Olympics, winning the bronze medal at the 1972 Games in Munich. The NBA said Cubans have played basketball since 1906, when the game was introduced after being learned in
North American colleges and YMCA gymnasiums. The NBA said two players and one coach from Cuba will be invited for the first time to participate in an upcoming camp of Basketball without Borders, a global NBA and FIBA basketball development and community relations outreach program. ”To have both the NBA and FIBA collaborate on youth instruction and the development of the game in our country is magnificent,” Cuban Basketball Federation President Ruperto Herrera said in a statement. Cuba allows its some of its top athletes to play in professional leagues abroad as long as Cuban sports officials retain the right to recall those players for international events or domestic competition. But so far that system has not been tested in U.S. sports because of restrictions imposed by the American embargo.
Mexico wins CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship Costa Del Sol, El Salvador – Ramon Maldonado scored two goals and set up another to help lift Mexico to a 4-0 win over Costa Rica in the final of the 2015 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship on Saturday night at Estadio de Futbol Playa. Both teams already clinched berths for FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup later this year in Portugal. Mexico, which beat Guatemala (5-2) in the quarterfinals and the United States (4-3) in the semifinals, captured its record third CONCACAF title, breaking the mark it shared with the Americans. Maldonado opened the scoring with 2:12 left in the first period, when he avoided
a Costa Rican defender and put a low effort inside the far post. He added his second of the game, and sixth of the tournament, in the second period, taking the ball off his chest, off his knee and then blasting a shot into the upper 90 to give the Tricolor a 2-0 lead with 10:10 left in the second period. Maldonado then played provider, laying the ball off to Adrian Gonzalez, who gave Mexico a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the third period. Greivin Pacheco, Costa Rica’s top scorer in the tournament with 11 goals put a low shot off the far post with nine minutes left for Ticos’ best scoring chance. Diego Rodriguez capped
the scoring for Mexico with a bicycle kick with 2:43 remaining in the game. While Costa Rica scored the secondmost goals in group play with 25, six behind leader El Salvador, Mexico had the stingiest defense and that was again the case in the final. Mexico, which also won the competition in 2008 and 2010, conceded three or fewer goals in each of its six 2015 CBSC games. The Mexicans will be making their fourth trip to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup after also competing in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Costa Rica will appear in the tournament for the second time, previously qualifying in 2009.
Mexico in a jubilant mood displaying the championship trophy after defeating Costa Rica in the final of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer C/ship. (Photo: Mexsport)
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Bolt to compete in next Alastair Cook completes England month’s World Relays century in St Kitts warm-up draw Reuters - Usain Bolt will compete in next month’s IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association said yesterday. The May 2-3 competition, which will be held in Nassau, is the newest addition to the IAAF’s global events and will feature over 600 athletes in five relay disciplines and the distance medley relay for both men and women. ”I am happy to be part of the Jamaican team. I am fit, healthy and ready to run,” Bolt said in a statement. “I hear the meet was a lot of fun last year and there was a great atmosphere. Jamaica has a long and successful tradition in relays and when we put on our colors we always do our best to make the country proud.” The event will serve as a
Usain Bolt
qualifying competition for the 2016 Olympic Games. Bolt was part of the Jamaica 4x100 meters relay team that won gold medals in London and Beijing and he has also featured in three world championship
winning teams in the same event. The Jamaican won gold medal in 100 and 200 meters at both those Olympics and he currently holds the Olympic and world records in both 100 and 200 meters.
IPL hopes to cure World Cup hangover Within ten days after the World Cup final, the IPL is here. But one factor that will draw Indian crowds in is that after Australia and New Zealand, cricket is now closer to the fans. Kolkata is under the spell of Kalboishaskhi jhor (thunder showers). But within a matter of hours from now this grey, besieged city will erupt in joyful technicolour as the eighth season of IPL starts at Eden Gardens with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders playing Mumbai Indians. Seventy-thousand fans are likely to fill the majestic ground not just to watch the cricket, but also to sing and dance at a party to be hosted by Knight Riders owner and in-house DJ Shah Rukh Khan. But in contrast to the past, the hype this time has been restrained, eclipsed by the build-up for the elections for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which take place next week. Take a walk or a drive across Kolkata and you will see more faces of local politicians staring and reaching out from cut-outs hanging across the city than cricketers. Add to the fact that the IPL is being played so close to the World Cup and it might be heading to a damp squib. But IPL has faced bigger challenges before. One factor that will draw crowds in is cricket is now close to the fans. The World Cup was played far away in Australia and New Zealand. A lot of those matchwinners are now in the IPL. It would be a great opportunity
to watch the heroes in person. But it is the stories and feats that will build the excitement. Will there be an almost famous story that Sanjay Bangar’s Kings XI Punjab scripted by finishing runnersup last season? Riveting moments like Corey Anderson smashing Rajasthan Royals’ fast bowlers to capture an insurmountable asking rate which forced the usually stoic Rahul Dravid to throw his cap in disgust as Mumbai Indians made the playoffs. The new season has its own attractions: Ricky Ponting enters the coaching arena for the first time as the head coach of Mumbai Indians. Would his team be the no-holds-barred outfits he led wearing the baggy green? Can Virat Kohli, back after a dominant season in the Test series in Australia in his first stint as India’s captain, finally inspire Royal Challengers Bangalore to their first IPL title? How many and what kind of records can Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Brendon McCullum break in a tournament that favours batting? Theatre is a huge part of IPL’s fabric. One of the most controversial moments of IPL history was witnessed when a verbal tussle between Royal Challengers’ Mitchell Starc and Mumbai’s Kieron Pollard virtually came close to physical blows. Starc threw the ball at Pollard who responded by flinging the bat in the direction of his opponent. Even at the World Cup, sledging was one of the biggest talking points and the
IPL is bound to witness more. As reported last week players want to sort the issue among themselves as far as possible without being suffocated by the match officials. But would the new BCCI administration allow such leniency? Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, even when he was the interim BCCI chief two years back when the corruption scandal broke, has always favoured austerity. In his second stint as the BCCI head, Dalmiya wants to get the focus back on cricket. His administration reportedly did not want to spend too much on hiring very expensive A-list entertainers for the opening ceremony and instead set a restricted budget for the occasion. Probably Dalmiya understands the real entertainment remains in the tournament. It is a place where both cricket and Bollywood come together. Even the skeptic taxi driver is getting curious. He wants to know the big buys of this year’s auction. Who bought and dropped whom? How many matches are Kolkata playing at home in April? Despite the weariness, the cart puller, the taxiwallah, the man on the street knows the IPL is here. The skies are clear. They know their team is the defending champion. Soon the addas and kattas and local trains will be raging with debates about matches from around the country. The IPL might start on a muted note but the volume is only going to get louder by the day. (ESPNcricinfo)
Alastair Cook hit his first England century since November 2013 on day two of their warm-up match against a St Kitts & Nevis Invitational XI. The England captain, unbeaten on 95 overnight, reached 101 not out off 198 balls before retiring. St Kitts stuttered to a draw with a second innings of 76-7, after England had declared on 379-6 at tea. Another two-day game follows but with an agreement for England to bowl and bat for 90 overs regardless of wickets. The first Test against
West Indies starts in Antigua on 13 April. Cook, 30, has scored an England-record 25 Test tons but has not reached three figures in his last 31 Test innings. His last century for England in any match was 154 (retired out) against Australia A in Hobart on 6 November, 2013. Cook, who was dropped from the one-day squad on the eve of the World Cup, is looking to reassert himself as batsman and captain before England attempt to win back the Ashes in July and August. Ian Bell also retired on 59 as England
Every one of Africa’s 54 member countries will vote for Sepp Blatter in next month’s FIFA presidential election, the continent’s soccer boss said yesterday, referring to the 79year-old Swiss as “dear Sepp.” In front of Blatter’s three challengers, Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football, promised unanimous support in his speech to open CAF’s annual congress in Cairo. African football leaders applauded his pledge in apparent agreement. ”Africa is comfortable having you. Africa stays with you,” Hayatou said to Blatter, according to a transcript of his comments provided by CAF. Blatter was present in his role as FIFA president, and made a speech to the delegates, where he praised Hayatou as “a pillar” of African football, according to CAF. “I’m a happy man,” Blatter said. Africa is the largest of the six continental confederations and has 54 of the 209 FIFA member countries eligible to vote in the presidential election in Zurich on May 29. Although the individual countries don’t have to follow Hayatou’s directive, the continent is expected to be a strong base of support for Blatter when he seeks a fifth term to extend a presidency that began in 1998. FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, Dutch FA head Michael van Praag, and former Portugal international Luis Figo are standing against him. Hayatou, who has led CAF since 1988 and is senior FIFA vice president, also removed a hurdle to his own possible re-election as African football head when the congress voted to remove CAF’s age limits.
Like Blatter, the 68-yearold Hayatou said his current term would be his last, but also appears ready to go back on his promise and stand again in 2017. The rule changes removed restrictions on candidates who are 70 or older running for CAF office, and mean Hayatou could stand again in two years, and maybe take his reign beyond 30 years. The changes were passed unanimously, CAF said. CAF also elected two new members of FIFA’s executive committee: Tunisia’s Tarek Bouchamaoui and Congo’s Constant Omari Selemani. They will serve two-year terms, and not the normal four years because of another change to CAF’s statutes. From 2017, African places on FIFA’s ruling board will be decided by region, CAF said. Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast, who was prevented from standing against Hayatou in the last CAF presidential election, failed to keep his FIFA seat in Tuesday’s elections. Mohamed Raouraoua of Algeria, who is viewed as a possible future challenger to Hayatou, didn’t stand for reelection and also left FIFA’s executive committee. Six members were reelected to CAF’s executive committee, all of them unopposed. Africa’s expected show of support for Blatter indicated that while the appetite for change at the top of world soccer is strong in Europe, it isn’t everywhere else. The praise Blatter received in Egypt was in contrast to his uncomfortable reception at the UEFA congress in Austria last month, when his presidency was criticized by the three candidates standing against him, and some European officials. Blatter’s three presiden-
replied to St Kitts first innings total of 59 all out. Pace bowlers Liam Plunkett and Mark Wood, initially left out of the side, shared the new ball in the second innings and both were among the wickets as coach Peter Moores used 14 players. Kent off-spinner James Tredwell was the pick of the bowlers with 3-35. Scores: St Kitts Invitational XI 59 (Stokes 3-10, Broad 2-16) and 76 for 7 (Tredwell 3-35) drew with England XI 379 for 6 dec (Cook 101, Trott 72, Root 64, Bell 59).
Africa promises Blatter unanimous support
FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, and Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou. (AP Photo/ Hassan Ammar) tial challengers didn’t address CAF delegates like they did at UEFA’s congress and attended the CAF congress only as “observers,” CAF said. Cameroon’s Hayatou, now an ally of Blatter after failing to unseat him as FIFA president in 2002, made an apparent reference to that UEFA congress. ”Dear Sepp,” Hayatou said. “I want to reiterate that here in Africa you are never on some strange or hostile territory. You shall always be at home here, on this continent.” Blatter later gave an angry response to a reporter questioning his support of Hayatou, who has been the target of corruption allegations and was reprimanded by the IOC in 2011 for receiving money in a World Cup kickbacks scandal in the mid1990s. ”This is an absolute disgusting declaration that you are doing here. I reject it,” Blatter told the reporter.
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Mixed Martial Arts Karate Association turns in good performances The Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Karate Association took part in the Guyana Classic of Classic Martial Arts Tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Sunday last. Master Lloyd Ramnarine took nine students from the Black Cobra Karate Club in La Parfait Harmony Phase 2 Westminister, West Bank, Demerara and eight were successful. Alliyah Ramnarine toke part in the traditional kata form and got 1st place and Zafar Ramnarine 2nd, Mark Ramatar 3rd. Joshua Sooklall in the 8-10 category traditional kata form got 1st, Daniel Chandler, Philip Jaikissoon, Christopher
Mahadeo got 4th place in the team kata and were also awarded medals. Shiloh Sydney got 1st in the 10-12 in kumite (sparring). In all they claimed 3 trophies and 5 medals. Master Lloyd Ramnarine expressed satisfaction with their performance. The club is preparing for the next tournament on May, 31st when the Association stages their first inter club tourney in June and also exams in the same month and that will be followed by the rest of the month with several competitions. The association has four branches; one in Great Diamond at the Community Centre, in Herstelling at the Nurs-
Wednesday April 08, 2015
Rising Sun Judo and Jiu-Jitsu dominates yet again
ery School, in Independent which is middle dam on the west side and Black Cobra Karate Club in La Parfait Harmony Phase 2 Westminister. Master Ramnarine said karate is not there to promote violence, political or religious affiliation nor also of race or colour. Rather, it is all about discipline, self-control, selfdefence and helps a person to be more focused and it will also be part of academics. Parents and or Guardians are encouraged to send their children to any karate dojo to help instill discipline that will see changes in their lives. Interested persons can contact the association on 6986727; 673-0823 or 681-7062.
Some of Rising Sun’s athletes display their medals.
Master Lloyd Ramnarine (left back row) with his charges who performed well at the recent event.
Jebon Crawford rides away with cycling event in Berbice Jebon Crawford of The Trojan Cycle Club was in winner’s row when he out sprinted club mates Andrew ‘Padlock’ Green and Brian Harris to take top honours when the Flying Ace Cycling Club (FACC) last Sunday held a 40-mile cycle race in Berbice. The event was organised by coach Randolph Roberts and sponsored by a number of entities in Berbice including Hand In Hand Insurance Company, Berbice River Bridge, Visual and Sons Enterprise of Crabwood Creek, Raymond and Nazeela of West Berbice, Mara and Sons of New Amsterdam, Froze Grocery and Tahal and Sons Construction among others. The race got on the way at 09:30hrs with the riders be-
ing sent on the way from in front of the Benjamin Sports Store at Fyrish Corentyne before proceeding to No 43 Bridge before turning back to finish at its point of origin. A tight bunch stuck together for about 10 miles into the race when the three riders in Crawford, Green and Harris made a break to the front and were never caught. It was a straight battle between the three riders as they swallowed up all the spring prizes. Crawford winning time was 1h: 58 seconds. In second position was Green, while Harris finished third. The second bunch was so much out of the race they finishing a considerable distance behind. The sprint home for fourth among the chasing pack saw
a number of veterans in contention with Wilbert Benjamin copping fourth, Syborne Fernandes fifth and Wasim Hassnu sixth. In the beginners category David Sampson rode home first. Among the veterans Benjamin, Fernandez and Hassnu finished in the top three positions. The sprint point prizes were taken by Crawford and Green three each, while Harris copped two. Speaking at the prize giving ceremony, organizer and coach of the FACC Randolph Roberts stated that the race was used as a warm up for the Berbice cyclists who are preparing for the annual Independence three stage cycle race set for May.
Rising Sun Judo and JiuJitsu Club attended the Guyana leg of the Classic of C l a s s i c s martial arts tournament that was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Easter Sunday and competed in the submission grappling category where they turned in an excellent performance. Although invited to participate on short notice, the core team also missing a few “ b i g guns” coupled with the fact that Guyana was required to put up some strong resistance against a foreign invasion from Trinidad and some other Caribbean islands,
Guyana’s flagship Judo club, Rising Sun Judo and Jiu-Jitsu (club) still managed to dominate the grappling category at the Classic of Classics Martial Arts Tournament held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Easter Sunday. The unavailability of local powerhouses such as Paulo Melo and Carlos Rodrigues did not seem to fluster Sensei Bruce Fraser as his charges; 2014 Inter-Guiana Judo silver medalist Stephan Barry, up and coming sensation Ryan Soares and the slick Corwin D’Anjou spearheaded an onslaught that totally set them aside from all the rest...as the athletes of Rising Sun
s h o w e d why they are the best grapplers in Guyana. D’Anjou dominated all his fights winning all by submission, cleaning up the lightweight division and as predicted Barry met the dangerous Soares in the final heavyweight showdown and claimed victory via a last minute arm lock. Monique Fotso claimed the ladies open title over 2014 Inter-Guiana silver medallist Khadija Ba. There were also memorable performances by Paul Ignatious, Ricardo Molina, Kwanza Thompson and Prince out of Trinidad and Tobago.
Health Run Marathon fixed for Sunday Carlton ‘Benjie’ Stephenson is once again holding his annual ‘Health run Marathon’ from Soesdyke Junction to Sophia Red shop on Sunday morning. The 26mile run is scheduled to commence at 03:00hrs and according to the organizer registration is free and anyone can be a part of the run by turning up at the starting point before 03:00hrs on Sunday. Stephenson who turned 60 last month is participating in the run and informed that refreshments and transportation will be provided for the participants. Stephenson also known as ‘Corn Man’ said he would like to set up a Sports programme for the youths in Sophia after Elections, adding that this Marathon has been
in existence for the last 12 years and up to two years ago was contested on Emancipation Day. ”I hope in the future others can come on board for the benefits of sports among the young people of Guyana” Stephenson said. The over-60 runner lamented that the lack of a Marathon race in Guyana for close to two decades since Banks DIH Ltd sponsored the ‘Go Guyana Run’, is a concern since Guyanese have to travel to Suriname, Barbados or Trinidad if they want to compete in Marathons” ‘Corn Man stated. ”I spoke to the Sports Minister Dr (Frank) Anthony about the absence of a Marathon in Guyana and he prom-
Carlton Stephenson ised to try to organise such an event but up to now I have not heard anything back from him,” Stephenson concluded.