Kaieteur News

Saturday Edition

Online readership yesterday 79,236

August 03, 2013 - Vol. 7 No. 30 - Price $80 kaieteurnews@yahoo.com Website:http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Lusignan massacre trial ...

Accused - DPP appeals freed verdict

Mark Royden Williams

James Anthony Hyles

Ramotar ready to battle “uncompromising” opposition

30th PPP Congress underway …

Missing Mocha Amaila Falls Hydro Project… man found dead Show us how the tariff will be in backdam significantly reduced - APNU

Dead: Delon Melville

Kaieteur News

Page 02

Saturday August 03, 2013

Missing Mocha man found dead in backdam The partly decomposed body of 26-year-old Delon M e l v i l l e , t h e Mocha/Arcadia, East Bank Demerara resident who had gone missing without a trace since Monday night, was discovered early yesterday morning in a clump of bushes, approximately halfmile away from his home.

According to relatives, Melville had disappeared having left his home after receiving a mysterious telephone call at around 20:00hrs (8 pm) on Monday.

He had been last seen entering a motor vehicle several blocks away from his home, clad in a brown shirt, denim pants, brown cap and a pair of slippers. Prior to yesterday's distressing discovery, members of the missing man's family had expressed serious concerns about his safety.

Muriel Vickerie, the dead man's aunt, told Kaieteur News that his remains were discovered by villagers venturing into the muddy terrain of Barnwell North popularly known as “Mocha Backdam.”

“We received a phone call from my niece early this morning saying that dem

The body was found in a clump of bushes, approximately half-mile away from his home boys find a body past Sluice Bridge ….Apparently like dem boys de going into de backdam when they get the stench and when they look dey see de body.”

Vickerie said that after her nephew went missing, an unidentified caller had contacted the family via his (her nephew's) cellular phone. “ The person de say he is

Delon friend and dey de go to some dance in Sophia and a fight break out and he run away and left Delon and …another time the person call and say how Delon dead and we will know later where to find the body….”

Vickerie said that her worst fears were confirmed, as the latter proved true.

She explained that officers of the Criminal

Investigations Department, CID Headquarters, at Eve Leary spoke to the suspicious caller, who is now suspected to know about the circumstances of his demise.

Vickerie opined that the police could have acted in a swifter manner to conduct the investigations.

“They woulda already find this person that got my nephew cellular phone.”

Dead: Delon Melville

“Another thing is that Delon would never leave the area, to go out of the village that hour of night without telling anyone…all of this makes everything more suspicious” At the Nelson Street Mocha residence, griefstricken relatives were still trying to figure out what may have caused Melville's gruesome end.

“It is particularly strange how Delon's body was discovered in the bushes.

Who could have committed this gruesome act?” another member of the family reflected.

Crowds converged at the crime scene hoping to get a glimpse of the body while concerned villagers and other relatives extended (continued on page 14)

Saturday August 03, 2013

Page 03

Kaieteur News

Lawmakers brawl over nuclear power plant

Accused freed

Ah gon buss yuh .... head

- DPP appeals verdict

Lusignan massacre trial…

The men leaving court last evening after the verdict

By Latoya Giles

Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw water at each other Thursday ahead of an expected vote that would authorize a referendum on whether to finish a fourth nuclear power plant on the densely populated island of 23 million people. Nuclear power has long been a contentious issue in Taiwan and became more so following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. (AP)

In a packed courtroom last night, a mixed jury found that the two men accused of killing eleven persons at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, in January 2008, including five children, were not guilty of the charges. The men James Anthony Hyles, known as 'Sally' and Mark Royden Williams, called 'Smallie', were charged almost five years ago.

The jury went into deliberations shortly after 11:30 hrs and returned several hours later, with the not guilty verdict. As the foreman was finished giving the verdict, Senior State Prosecutor Judith Gildhaire-Mursalin served a notice of appeal.

Attorney at law Nigel Hughes, who represented James Anthony Hyles, then made a bail application.

According to Hughes, his client was incarcerated since 2008. The lawyer explained that after Hyles's first committal to stand trial, it was delayed thrice due to the actions of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Hughes disclosed to the court that the DPP had sent the matter back to court so that further evidence could be taken. According to the lawyer it was only after five years, in 2013, that Hyles was finally indicted. Hughes told the court that he had filed a constitutional motion for his client, for him to be brought up for a trial. In the Chief

Justice (CJ)'s ruling, Hughes said, it was seen an abuse of power by the DPP. Hughes said that the CJ stopped short at saying that delay was “unreasonable”.

The lawyer further told the court that his client had suffered extra years while being incarcerated. Hughes said that any suggestion to deny bail would be a further abuse of power.

He opined that if the prosecution gave notice of appeal, they had anticipated the verdict. The lawyer went on to state that his client had no previous antecedents.

Hughes said that it would be a “dark day” if the court was to send Hyles back to jail while the appeal is being presented.

Prosecutor Mursalin in responding to Hughes's application explained that the notice of intention of appeal had to be served before the accused was discharged from the prisoner's dock and that is why the appeal was done. She explained that this is stipulated by section C 1 of the Court of Appeal Amendment Act 4 of 2010.

Mursalin said that for Hughes to say that the state knew they would get that verdict would be misleading.

After hearing both sides, Justice Navindra Singh said that he would be granting bail.

The judge explained that he would be granting in the tune of $100,000 on each count of murder, which totaled $1.1M. Hyles is also expected to (continued on page 21)

Page 04

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

The needless problems with Amaila Certainly the most talked about thing at this time is the Amaila Falls project. For the first time we are seeing so many challenges to what the nation originally took for granted. It also exposed the extent to which the government went to ignore legitimate queries from the people who must pay for all these things.

From as far back as 1999 there was talk about this new hydroelectric project. There were meetings in Prime Minister Samuel Hinds’s office with the then proposers of the project. Ever since then there was controversy.

Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall came with a proposal to construct the hydroelectric project and to sell the current to the Guyana Government.

The project sounded good because Motilall promised to bring in all the necessary funding. In 2001 he returned with some supposed Canadian financiers and once more the government seemed inclined to support the project. On the basis of his plans, the government sold him the rights to the project which should have delivered power by 2005.

That Mr Motilall sold his rights to Sithe Global to continue the project is not in the interest of the public. What is of interest is the fact that Guyana now seems to be saddled with the cost of the project. This fact is the major bone of contention.

The government must support large loans to the point that the taxpayers would be responsible for the lifetime of their grandchildren and probably, their great grandchildren.

Meanwhile Motilall is at least US$10 million richer for merely selling a national asset to a foreign entity. The Guyana Government gave Motilall something for nothing and must now pay Motilall for that which it gave away. The argument may be that Sithe Global is paying Motilall, but Sithe Global is affixing that payment cost to its bill to the government.

But the government went even further to indebt the nation to Motilall. In fact, this is even worse than paying for what it once gave away. It awarded a road-building contract to Motilall despite the pleas and admonitions of the nation.

Motilall had no road-building experience, but people like Winston Brassington insisted that Motilall was qualified and that he could finish the work at a cost of US$15.4 million.

We now see that the road is going to cost twice as much; that Motilall was overpaid; and that long after his agreed completion date, he finished a mere 28 per cent of the work.

The additional money now being spent to complete the road is being added to the project cost. The taxpayers must pay for a decision that Brassington and the administration took, knowing that it was a reckless decision.

There is another thing that seems to be a worrying factor; each day the project is becoming more expensive.

But that need not have been the case. If the contractors were serious, then they should have already signed on, and the project cost would have been fixed.

But there is more to all this. If Sithe Global is bent on having the project and the Chinese are willing to make the money available, then why should Guyana have to pay risk insurance? They are the people taking the risk and should be responsible for any such cost. Instead, this insurance is being affixed to the cost of the project and the taxpayers must bear it.

It goes without saying that the nation needs hydro power, but what the nation seems not ready to accept is the cost burden. The project’s cost without all the trimmings, some contrived by the government, and the perceived desire to help friends and comrades as was the case of ‘Fip’ Motilall and the road contract, would have been much cheaper.

And it is the cost that has people complaining. People now want a review of the project, something that President Donald Ramotar says will not happen. Some want the present project scrapped despite the large investment.

Whatever the case, it would be unfortunate to see a meaningful project collapse, and all because of arrogance and a refusal to hold meaningful discussions with the people who must pay.

Saturday August 03, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

Guyanese cannot afford to subsidize another investment like the Berbice River Bridge DEAR EDITOR The briefings provided by the Sithe/Blackstone group to the Parliamentary sectoral committees on Natural Resources and Economic Services and to the National Stakeholders Forum are no substitute for a Green Paper that includes the findings of independent objective technical and financial assessments.

At the National Stakeholders Forum on 31 July, Sithe Global stressed that it had spent US 16M and 6 years so far on the Amaila project; although it was not explained how the money had been spent other than ‘hundreds of scientists working on environmental issues’. How odd that there are no published reports from these hundreds of scientists in the public domain.

According to Mr. Brassington, Sithe Global had begun to have some engagement with the Parliamentary Opposition parties only from January 2012 (not before), and had shared confidential documents with them.

Internal Sithe/Blackstone documents, whether confidential or not, are no substitute for independent technical and financial assessments of a project of this magnitude in Guyana.

If Guyanese taxpayers had had the benefit of an external review, we might have been spared the debt burden of the white elephant named Skeldon Sugar Factory whose costs to date are US $200M, and counting.

We might have had an alignment of the Berbice River Bridge that did not turn New Amsterdam into a backwater settlement; a toll that did not cost G$2,200 per car versus the Demerara River Bridge toll of G$200 per car.

While the Berbice River bridge was being constructed, the majority of poor Berbicians might have thought that they would be paying the same toll as the Demerara River bridge commuters.

They lost corn and husk: there is no alternative cheap ferry. They must use the Berbice River bridge. Wealthy investors are the principal beneficiaries of that bridge; the State has been foregoing revenues so that the privileged investors can earn dividends.

We would definitely have avoided the use of taxpayers’ money to fund the construction of a casino/hotel named the Marriott by a Chinese company

using Chinese labour, and that will bring no named social or economic benefits to Guyana. Dr Luncheon has already signaled that the casino will be sold on … Guyanese have been speculating on the identity of the likely beneficiaries.

We would not have embarked on an unnecessary expansion of the Timehri Airport at great social and economic cost.

According to Mr. Brassington, if Amaila becomes a reality the government will force self-generators to go back on the national grid by withdrawing the duty free concessions now given for generators and spare parts. Neither those self-generators nor the Guyanese on the grid know what will be the cost of electricity sold by GPL, nor how power will be supplied when the water level at the Amaila dam drops below the critical level during periods of drought, or when the turbines are undergoing maintenance.

It is GPL, not the Public Utilities Commission, that is legally charged with setting that tariff, and GPL which has to maintain alternative generator capacity. The drip, drip, drip of varying estimates of the component costs of this major construction project and associated commercial debts give no confidence that the Government knows what it is agreeing to with Sithe Global Inc. – whose only other venture into hydropower is the expensive and poorly-managed construction at Bujagali in Uganda, although the same personnel working for another Sithe company are said to have built other hydels. No details were provided other than a dam in Philippines.

Sithe clearly does not want to get sucked into questions about the management and capabilities of GPL and whether GPL can pay the future debt in full and on time. The current draft agreement commits to Sithe getting the first cut of GPL income paid into Republic Bank, before GPL itself gets any money to pay its own costs.

Sithe contested the comparison between the construction costs of Amaila Falls dam and other recent hydropower in other countries, published in Kaieteur News on 31 July, arguing that some of the lower prices in US dollars per megawatt reflected the

exclusion of the cost of transmission lines and access road which are needed for Amaila Falls. However, even taking those into account, Amaila Falls appears to be among the highest-cost in the world, due partly to the inclusion of several hitherto unrevealed costs for which details are still not in the public domain. And surely it was odd that the President and Prime Minister and Minister Irfaan Ali had not been provided by Blackstone/Sithe with the most recent cost data before putting the apex of Government on public display?

There are still several major questions unanswered so it was reassuring that Blackstone/Sithe said at the second National Stakeholders’ consultation that they would be willing to answer them and to provide to everyone their presentation slides from the meeting on 31 July.

Blackstone/Sithe confirmed that they would be willing to assist in the preparation of a Green Paper to the National Assembly, laying out objectively in sufficient detail the pros and cons of different options for future supply of electricity, including the final line item costs to the Guyanese taxpayer; until now, the Government appears to have been considering only the single option of Amaila Falls and only cost estimates provided by the project partners.

So, even if late in the day, now is the time to have expert independent input and check on these project developer’s figures, to inform the members of all political parties in the National Assembly and civil society in general. It is surely not acceptable for the Government to try to co-opt individuals by taking them into private meetings and showing them documents; that is not transparency nor the freedom to receive information which is assured by Article 146 of the National Constitution.

I hope that our Parliamentarians will think long and hard before voting for something that could turn into another Berbice Bridge — one in which most of the benefits are privatized, even while all the costs are socialised. We do not need another Berbice Bridge — the costs borne by the average Guyanese, a cash cow for the private investor.

Janette Bulkan

The opposition parties are viewing developments through their own political lenses DEAR EDITOR, It is amazing how perspectives on fundamental issues affecting the lives and well-being of the Guyanese people vary according to where people stand on the political divide.

The opposition parties are clearly viewing developments through their own political lenses and are therefore unable to see things objectively and clearly.

A good case in point is the Amalia Falls hydro-electric project which everyone agree is good for Guyana but some opposition elements with obvious political agendas continue to throw up roadblocks from make the project a reality.

The time has come for us to put the

national interest before narrow partisan interests. Cheap and reliable energy is an important pre-requisite for the modernization process as so many countries have demonstrated both in the developed and developing world.

The parliamentary opposition should stop playing politics with the overall good of Guyanese and the future of this nation. I urge all those who are genuinely interested in the growth and development of this country to support this ground breaking project which when become operational will have a transformative effect on the lives of all Guyanese. Regardless of what is being peddled by some people as to the

viability and long term sustainability of the project hydro-electric energy is much cheaper, cleaner and costeffective than fossil-based fuel and very much in consonance with the low carbon growth trajectory that is now widely embraced by the international community.

Let us think and act big and stop being narrow-minded and petty. We must eschew the tendency to oppose for the sake of scoring cheap political points.

Let us put nation before self. The Guyanese people will not take kindly to those who seek to, as it were, put spokes in the wheels of development and progress.

Hydar Ally

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 5

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

GECOM Public Relations Officer replies to Gocool Boodoo DEAR EDITOR, In reference to the letter under the name of Mr. Gocool Boodoo, former Chief Election Officer (Stabroek News of Monday, July 29, 2013), it is incumbent upon me as Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to respond to those issues which are classified as technical/official and not the accusations which relate to Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of the Commission.

Accordingly, please note the following:DECLARATION OF THE RESULTS Mr. Boodoo’s letter states that the fact of the matter is that the results presented to the Commission for ratification was what was presented to him by the Information Technology Section. This did not happen. Here is what is written in a document which is titled “Procedure for the Ascertainment of the Election Results – General and Regional Elections 2011, and signed by Mr. Boodoo on 26.09.2011:- “Source: Representation of the People Act, Cap. 1:03; Sec. 96 (1) The Chief Election Officer shall, after

calculating the total number of valid votes of electors which have been cast be each list of candidates, on the basis of the votes counted and the information furnished by returning officers under Section 84 (11), ascertain the result of the election in accordance with Section 97 (Allocation of Seats) and 98 (Membership of the National Assembly).

(2) The Chief Election Officer shall prepare a report manually and in electronic form in terms of Section 99 for the benefit of the Commission, which shall be the basis for the Commission to declare and publish the election results under Section 99 (Declaration of the Results).”

It must therefore be unambiguously clear that the Chief Election Officer, in this case Mr. Boodoo, had the legal responsibility to “ascertain” the results of the election. Definitely not the IT Section. Further, the IT Manager has stated categorically that he had no role in the preparation or calculation of the results which were presented to the Commission by Mr. Boodoo

for ratification.

PUBLICATION OF VACANCY FOR INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY MANAGER The Commission had instructed Mr. Boodoo to publish the vacancy for IT Manager in the Economist and in the Caribbean.

Mr. Boodoo was asked at least twice during subsequent Statutory Meetings of the Commission whether the vacancy was published as instructed and he misled the Commission by replying in the affirmative. Mr. Boodoo reported to the Commission that the vacancy was advertised specifically in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados (Minutes of the 381st Statutory Meeting).

This never took place.

At the 382nd Meeting, Mr. Boodoo was again instructed by the Commission to advertise the vacancy for an IT Manager in Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and in the Economist. Again this never took place.

However, at the 383rd Meeting, Mr. Boodoo reported that the cost for advertising in the Economist was in the vicinity of $200,000. per publication and the Commissioners felt that this

was too expensive.

The Commission was never informed that a cheque had actually already been prepared to pay for this. The Commission never withdrew its instruction for the vacancy to be published overseas and always held the view that this was done based on what Mr. Boodoo reported when asked specifically.

THE ISSUE OF TONERS. Mr. Boodoo claims that the Report on the internal investigation into the appearance of two new toners in printers at GECOM pointed to a particular person and was “ducked for obvious reasons”. This was at time when GECOM needed toners to commence the production of ID cards, but had none in stock. Consequently, efforts were being made to purchase new toners at exorbitant prices.

The Commission intervened by stopping the purchase and sought and received permission to purchase the toners overseas.

Suddenly thereafter, two toners appeared in two printers in GECOM’s ID Production Section.

GECOM’s Chief Security Officer was mandated by the Commission to

conduct an internal investigation pertaining to the sudden emergence of the two new toners.

The report did not identify anyone as being responsible for the placement of the toners in the printers nor was the report ever ducked. The Report was shared with Mr. Boodoo and all of the Members of the Commission.

Here is essentially what is documented in the 3rd paragraph of page 12 of the Report on the internal investigations:“It is the view of the investigator that some person or persons unknown outside of the ID Production Section, collaborated with someone within the Section to clandestinely plant the toners in the printers…” The motive for doing so is unclear.”

The Members of the Commission were clearly disappointed that the Report on this matter did not find anyone culpable.

In view of the foregoing on this matter, it is obvious that the Report did not point to anyone, nor was it “ducked”.

THE ISSUE OF FILMS Mr. Boodoo asked that Dr. Surujbally tell the nation

about the $31 million worth of films provided to a local firm based on a contract which was a two- paragraph document in favour of the Company. This request insinuates that Dr. Surujbally was in some way involved in some kind of skullduggery associated with this matter. The following would dispel this inference.

At the 174th Statutory Meeting of Tuesday, March 20, 2007, while Mr. Boodoo was on leave, the Commission learnt for the very first time via Mr. Calvin Benn – then CEO (ag), that the Secretariat was in possession of about 90 cartons of film valued at about G$35 million.

This film had been purchased from ACME with the expiry date of April, 2007.

He said that he had requested of ACME that the Company should repossess the film for resale and that when the need arose, GECOM could be compensated by way of ACME replenishing the stock of film. Further, Mr. Benn pointed out that the CEO had imposed a penalty of in excess of G$2 million on ACME for failure to supply some specific items for the (Continued on page 23)

Page 6

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

INCREASED DEBT CEILING…

‘We will cater only for GPL shortfall payments’ - AFC The Alliance For Change (AFC) will not be signing off any ‘blank cheque’ to the Guyana Government that would allow it to incur/ guarantee debt of up to US$750M (G$150B) for any public corporation. The party will instead be looking to limit the debt ceiling sought by Government, to that which will only take care of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL)’s repayment commitments to Sithe Global, for power purchased from the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant.

Annual payments for power coming from the Amaila Falls Project are expected to be between US$110 to US$120M annually, and according to party leader Khemraj Ramjattan, the only guarantee that the developer, Sithe Global wants, is for Government to foot the bill of any shortfall in payments by GPL, annually.

Ramjattan along with Chairman Nigel Hughes, Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo and Executive Member Cathy Hughes, met with media operatives yesterday and announced the intention to amend the government motion.

Ramjattan indicated further that in increasing the debt ceiling, the party wants to have the guarantee isolated to only GPL, rather than any

other public corporation.

He said that while the party has not definitively finalised its position, at this stage “we have gone through the Hydro Electric (Amendment) Bill as proffered a couple of days ago and we are very satisfied, collectively, and we have indicated that we are supportive of that Bill.”

This proposed amendment speaks to conservation matters, according to Ramjattan.

He indicated that the AFC, along with members of Government and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), met with the Sithe Global and the Blackstone Group’s Executives.

According to Ramjattan, the party is still in the process of deliberating over the answers provided by the officials.

“In relation to the matter of the guarantee, however, we still feel that there is still too sweeping a motion that states that all public corporations can borrow to the extent of $150B from $1B which it used to be.”

Ramjattan says that based on the answers provided by Sithe Global, the raising of the debt ceiling being sought by Government and the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, are not interlinked.

“Sithe (Global) has indicated to us, when we asked the question that they would like to have as a guarantee, the shortfall of payments for any year….So assuming GPL does not pay the price for electricity delivered to GPL in any one year that balance that is left unpaid is what they would like government to guarantee.”

Ramjattan said that despite the significant losses currently accrued by GPL, it still manages to rake in at least US$120M from the consumers, “so we feel that it will be in a position to pay Amaila Falls (Hydro Power Inc) for the electricity that it will buy from them…We could understand their position.”

The AFC leader said that this cannot now mean that GPL will have to go borrowing US$150B, “that is too much and we have a huge concern there.”

Ramjattan said too that what the party is also looking to extract from government, as part of the agreement, is support for four pieces of legislation that would pave the way for the holding of local government elections.

He said that the AFC would want the local government bills approved on the same day that the Hydro Electric (Amendment) Bill as well as the motion to

AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan (left) and party Vice Chair, Moses Nagamootoo addressing media operatives. increase the debt ceiling for public corporations, are brought forward.

That debate has been scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Vice Chairman Nagamootoo in his presentation began by expressing gratitude for the body of information that has been provided by the various personalities that have weighed in on the project, including Professor Clive Thomas, Ramon Gaskin, Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Ram, among others.

“We have now come to an

understanding of a project that hitherto had been a secret.

The way it has been conceptualised; the initial transactions relating to the hydro project were treated almost like a state secret.”

Speaking to the amendment being sought by government on the raising of the debt ceiling, Nagamootoo called it, “very deceptive.” He said that a perusal of the Principal Act would illustrate, “this is an act to provide for guarantee by the Government of Guyana of loans to public corporations and companies in which the government has a controlling interest and to authorise the government to give undertakings to sources of financing under which sums payable by government shall become chargeable on the consolidated fund”.

Nagamootoo, an Attorney-at-Law, said that among the aspects of the deception was when the opposition was asked to guarantee the liabilities on public corporations and companies.

“Well it could be NICIL if they run afoul with the Marriott, it could be GuySuCo, if they can’t fix

Skeldon and get the modernisation on stream…it could be any (public) company or any corporation.”

He said that the move by government to up the debt ceiling to $150B, “is government asking us to give them a blank cheque…a signed blank cheque to incur debt to the amount of $150B.” Nagamootoo said that there is no doubt as to the motive, which is that government is looking to bail out “all the troubled corporations and companies or encourage them to incur debt, because they don’t want to come to the Parliament for Parliament to approve the bailouts.”

He said that by increasing the debt ceiling to $150B, the Government was looking to subvert legislative process “Ultimately these debts, if incurred, will have to be borne by the taxpayers, by the people of this country,” Nagamootoo said.

“We have to be careful that we don’t give a carte blanche to this government to guarantee loans or debts for public corporations that does not have a cap or is not confined to a particular institution.”

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 7

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

I have been a victim of flooding for 20 years DEAR EDITOR, For 20 years now, I have been the victim of continuous flooding to my t r a n s p o r t e d house plot property located a short distance away from the northern side of the Riverstown Creek in Region Two. The only remedy to solve the unbearable flooding is by way of revetment work which falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Works to an 80-foot stretch of embankment which has disappeared to become a mud flat from persistent erosion.

During the flooding

caused by the opening of the three-door flood relief at the backland conservancy, my plot will remain under cover for about one and a half to two feet, with a further aggravation to my predicament during spring tide and heavy rainfall.

All because of the ongoing flooding, it is not possible for me to rear livestock or even to grow any kind of vegetable crops which makes living conditions for me and my family much more difficult through no fault of my own.

The Ministry cannot be

exonerated from the blame for my suffering and inconvenience to have a better life and living which can be solved once and for all by doing the revetment works, but it’s the negligence to do so that remains very much baffling.

I have seen in situations not as serious as mine, where such works was done to bring immediate relief and since it is the responsibility of the Ministry to do so, the hesitation to the execute the revetment works is indeed unacceptable much to my detriment.

Following repeated complaints made by me, the subject Minister, in company with the then regional Chairmen Ally Baksh, made an on the spot inspection and provided three trailer loads of mud to build up my plot, but it was just a waste of time as all washed away into the creek, from the flooding.

A team of technical officers from the region also visited the site with a well known contractor, where the assurance was given the unnecessary revetment works will be done, but all along, it remains only a promise still to be fulfilled.

What is urgently needed is for positive action to be taken to bring about a solution. And I do expect that this will be done with the earlier the better.

Rudolph James

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 9

AFRICA’S ENIGMATIC HERO The election victory of Robert Mugabe in his country’s parliamentary elections - and no doubt also the presidential vote represents a massive blow for western imperialism.

For years, they have tried to foist their favoured candidate on the people of that country, getting as far as forcing a power-sharing arrangement after the disputed elections of 2008.

Mugabe’s words after that vote were instructive. He told his supporters that they brought this situation on themselves.

Had they come out then as they did this past week, there would have been no disputed elections and no need for him to have had to share power.

Power-sharing never worked in Zimbabwe. It failed primarily because the very

idea is alien to the electoral system in that country. But it failed also because it was always seen as a holding arrangement until new elections were held.

The results of this week’s elections in Zimbabwe are a confirmation of the people’s dissatisfaction with the workings of that arrangement.

It is a lesson that the local opposition parties should be particularly interested in, because they have the most to lose from the failure of shared governance in Guyana and therefore they are the ones who should be trying to be more conciliatory.

If they do not make a concerted effort to reach an accommodation with the ruling party, then the public, including their supporters, will become increasingly frustrated and will reject the opposition, as has been done

in Zimbabwe, where an 89year-old leader was swept back to power this past week.

Mugabe has made a great many political mistakes, just like Mandela did. But Mandela is the poster-boy of neo-liberalism. Mugabe is their arch enemy.

Mugabe was betrayed by the British who failed to honour the commitments made during the Lancaster House Agreement in relation to funding for land reform.

Mandela did not have that problem. He signed away the future of Black South Africans in his agreement with De Klerk.

Constitutional guarantees were provided to the rich landowners of South Africa as part of the deal that led to the end of apartheid rule.

Mandela made peace, like Arafat did, and like Arafat that peace turned out to be lop-

DEM BOYS SEH...

If Sam ain’t lying he got Alzheimer’s Whatever people do in secret does come to light. And when people get ketch dem does shame. Some does even get vex and try fuh bully people fuh seh that everybody lie.

Well Sam did sign a document in secret but de document come out. Dem boys sit down and dem wait fuh a time to pass before dem ask Sam if he sign de document. De man seh that he ain’t sign no document and he tell dem boys fuh provide de proof.

Old people always seh that when blind man seh that he gun pelt you he already got brick in he hand. Sam didn’t know that dem boys already had brick in dem hand, suh when he tell dem to provide de proof dem provide it.

Imagine Sam deny he own signature and that’s de man who telling people that dem gun pay less fuh electricity when Amaila done. How he could know that, when he ain’t even know he own signature? Dem boys seh that is either he is a liar or he suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Either way people got to tek he statement that Guyanese gun pay less fuh current wid a pound of salt. He ain’t de only one. Brazzy

bareface. He don’t sign nutten unless it got to deal wid money and he don’t deny; he just don’t answer or he tell people that it confidential.

Well dem boys seh that dem just question de Amaila project till all de confidentiality gone. He and Sam can’t explain how all dem other hydro cheaper than Guyana. If anybody ask Sam he gun tell dem that he can’t remember anything like that but if dem ask Brazzy he gun tell dem that it confidential.

Dem learn all dem tricks from Jagdeo who plan all dem project. That is how Clive Thomas know that Jagdeo was trying fuh lef he mark. He want go down in history as de man who bring hydro, who get de big airport, who build de Marriott, who build Skeldon and who build de Specialty hospital. De only thing is that some of dem ain’t even get off de ground.

Wha he don’t know is that people gun remember he as de man who mek he friends and family get rich from de Guyanese people.

Talk half and watch Sam, Brazzy and Jagdeo.

sided. And for doing this, Mandela became the darling of eco-liberalism, their favorite poster-boy, the communist and convicted freedom fighter who turned to peace and preserved the economic system in South Africa.

Today that system fails to fulfill the great expectations of the supporters of the party of Mandela.

Mugabe also signed an agreement in which certain promises were made. He was betrayed by the British who did not honour their pledges.

This failure triggered the terrible farm occupations. The tragic development cost many lives in Zimbabwe, and was used by British imperialism to galvanize global opinion against Mugabe.

Mugabe should not have allowed those occupations to occur. He should have intervened and stopped it. Many atrocities were committed in the process and Mugabe has to accept responsibility for this happening.

As a consequence of his failure to intervene and what seemed as tacit encouragement of the occupations, he faced international sanctions.

These sanctions have crippled his economy and brought immense hardships to his people. He will still have to face the judgment of his people for his mistakes, and that judgment may not be kind.

Mandela has no such problem. Recognizing his own frail health, he stepped aside from the Presidency. In so doing he spared himself from an unkind judgment from his own people, who today are blaming the African National Congress (ANC) for the sloth in improving their lives.

The social inequities now have constitutional protection. This was all part of the agreement that was signed by Mandela during his deal with De Klerk.

For now he is considered their greatest hero. But eventually the disaffection will hurt the ANC. The ANC probably will not lose power, but they certainly will suffer political fallout similar to what Mugabe suffered after he turned a blind eye to the farm occupations.

Had there not been these occupations; had Mugabe found a better way to solve his land problems,; had he not decades earlier railed viciously against his former

political ally in the revolutionary struggle, he could have today been hailed as the ultimate hero of the continent.

Ironically, that title will go to Mandela, because he opted for a path of democratic reform and constitutional guarantees that perpetuate the social inequalities in his country.

But Mugabe must not be counted out as yet. He has achieved a heroic victory in this week’s elections. He has defied western imperialism and decimated at the polls his western-supported rival. It may perhaps be his last hurrah.

He still has a formidable task ahead of him to restore the economy of his country.

But in winning the election, he benefitted from the frustration that the people felt over the failure of the powersharing government. And he may still have a chance of redeeming himself and emerging as Africa’s enigmatic hero.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Lawyer among four wounded by assailant Sophia chopping spree…

Attorney-at-law Wanda Fortune was among four persons injured after her step father went berserk and chopped her two sisters and mother at around 9:00pm on Thursday night in Sophia.

Fortune, 26, was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) early yesterday. She sustained about three lacerations to her back and another to her head.

She refused to speak to the media because she claimed to have lost a lot of blood and was feeling “weak.”

Her mother, Dorothy Blackman-Fordyce is in a critical but stable condition at the hospital’s High Dependency Unit with her 20year-old daughter, Latoya Wilson, just a few beds away from her.

Wilson was chopped once to her neck while her mother sustained two chop wounds to her head, which has left her with a fractured skull. She also sustained wounds to the hands and about her body.

Twelve-year-old Donette Fordyce is also a patient at the hospital but in the Paediatric Ward. She sustained wounds to both her hands.

The alleged assailant, Shawn Fordyce, has been on the run since the brutal assault. Yesterday, Donette Fordyce told Kaieteur News that her mother was supposed to go out with her sister but because her father objected, she cancelled.

“She left to go and buy a phone card and he think she still going out, so he come out and while we walking, he take his hand and dip the muddy water from the holes on the road and throw it on mommy.”

The young girl added that her sister, Latoya Wilson pleaded with the man to stop,

The Fordyce’s home in Sophia

Wanda Fortune

Dorothy Blackman-Fordyce which he did. “He stopped but he run inside and come out back with the cutlass and he start chop ‘Baby doll’ (Wanda Fortune) and then he turn to everybody and start firing chops.”

According to the younger Fordyce, her mother was holding her two-year-old granddaughter and when her father aimed his bloody cutlass at her, she (mother) turned and took most of the chops on her back.

“Mommy turn and take most of the chops in her back so that the baby wouldn’t get hurt. He chop everybody on their neck, but I put up my hand so that he wouldn’t get my face and neck that’s how my hand get chop up,” the 12year-old recalled.

Relatives of the injured said that the accused had intended to kill Fortune, because he claimed that she had been giving her mother

money to beautify herself.

“He hold on to her (Fortune) and start chop, but he cutlass fall down and she just pull off the tube dress she was wearing, because he hold onto the dress and she run up the road in her undergarment.”

“The other day when he was reading the newspaper and he see that story at Zeelugt where the man kill his

two children and chop his wife… he said that man cruel and that he ain’t got a heart, so now I want to know if he got a heart,” a relative who asked to remain unnamed said.

Blackman-Fordyce has been selling newspapers at the junction of Alexander and Church Streets for over 30 years. Her daughters help her on a daily basis.

Twelve-year-old Donette Fordyce

Lethem suffers persistent power outages A timely supply of diesel to top up generators has resulted in Region Nine communities, Lethem and St. Ignatius, having to cope with persistent power outages.

The outages reportedly started two days ago with blackouts lasting two hours in duration but grew unbearable when the first outage at 04:00 hours yesterday lasted 10 hours.

The second occurred just two hours after power had been restored to sections of the communities and was expected last until 23:00 hours.

According to disgruntled residents, the Lethem Power

Company (LPC), supplying electricity to the communities, had not given any notice of the power outages.

“What nonsense is going on? And no one is saying anything. They have gone over and beyond,” were the comments of one resident.

It was later reported by an employee of LPC that the outages had been so persistent because the company was running low on fuel.

According to reports, the company was forced to obtain fuel from a nearby gas station in order to keep at least one of its engines running.

The borrowed fuel was said

to be used to power the communities, sections at a time, allowing each section two hours of current.

The company reportedly had not anticipated the predicament since they were expecting fuel on Thursday.

She said one of two fuel tankers that were sent out to acquire fuel from Georgetown, had unfortunately broken down en route, causing the delay.

The staff assured that the service was expected to return to normalcy by 18:00 hours yesterday, however, at the time the tanker had not yet arrived.

It is the strong belief of residents that poor direction and planning are the leading factors that caused the rundown since information suggests that key officials of the company had been absent during the period.

Added reports reveal that while one of the tankers had experienced difficulty, the accompanying tanker remained on spot, instead of returning to deliver its fuel so that power could be restored to the communities.

Residents are now left to question on whom they are depending for the return of electricity to their homes.

The Lethem Power Company

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Amaila Falls Hydro Project…

By Abena Rockcliffe A briefing aimed at changing the minds of the parliamentary opposition parties about the Amaila Falls Project has resulted in A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) questioning, even more, the authenticity of the project.

On Wednesday, Brian Kubeck, President of Sithe Global and Sean Klimzack of the Blackstone Group along with their teams, at the invitation of the Government of Guyana, met with the opposition.

The teams’ “obvious” remit was to convince the opposition parties to support the Amaila Falls Hydro Project. But APNU declared that the details which emerged as a result of the interaction with opposition political parties made clear the massive public relations scam the Government is engaged in.

According to APNU’s shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon, quite a few displeasing particulars were revealed at that meeting.

Those included the fact that the project cost had moved from $840 million in June to $858M in July.

The $18M hike was already in the public domain as the teams, also on Wednesday, attended a public forum at the Conference Centre to brief stakeholders.

What Blackstone, Sithe Global and government representatives did not admit was that the cost to the consumer is yet to be determined and that the design of the Hydro plant was still being finalized.

Contacted yesterday, APNU’s shadow Minister of Finance Carl Greenidge reiterated that the party’s major concern is the cost to the consumer after Amaila

Page 11

Show us how tariff will be significantly reduced - APNU

comes on stream.

He noted that the government keeps purporting that the tariff will be reduced “but that has been proven not to be so.”

According to Greenidge, the unfortunate truth is that the price of 11 US cents per Kilowatt hour is a figure at which the Amaila Falls Hydro Project will deliver power to GPL, not the consumer.

The former Minister of Finance explained that “that is the wholesale price; the price from the transmission line to the substation, it is certainly not the price that consumers will have to pay— that is yet to be determined.”

Greenidge said that the formula as reflected in the draft of the purchasing agreement could not be used

by APNU to arrive at a price for consumers.

The Member of Parliament informed that at the most recent meeting held between the opposition and the InterAmerican Development Bank;-July 17-Jerry Johnson, a senior IDB representative and Steven Gray the “technical man” couldn’t explain how the formula works to arrive at a cost.

Greenidge said that head of the Amaila Hydro Project’s technical team Winston Brassington, Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon and Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh were also present. Not even they could have lent any explanation as to how the given formula would or could be use to determine a price.

Greenidge registered that what must be noted is that “it is not Sithe Global or the IDB that are responsible for securing a cheap rate; it is the government of Guyana that has such a responsibility to its people.”

Further, Greenidge said (Continued on page 25)

Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon

Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge

President of Sithe Global, Brian Kubeck

Senior Managing Director, Blackstone, Sean Klimczak

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Amending legislation not ruled out to ensure teens’ access to health care With a view to ensuring that teenagers are able to access needful healthcare, a proposal has been made by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, to remedy any impeding legislation.

Dr. Anthony tendered this suggestion in recognition of the fact that some health workers are unwilling to provide certain levels of healthcare to young individuals without parental consent.

This state of affairs he classified as “a major issue across the Region,” as similar practices were related by representatives from Caribbean territories who attended a recent International Conference on Population and Development. The confab was held at the International Conference Centre.

And it was following

initial deliberations that Dr. Anthony in the company of Health Minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, and Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, sought to brief the media on the foregoing session.

“Right now across the Region there are varying challenges, because if teens want to access sexual reproductive health services from the health system, the health workers do not provide this,” lamented Dr.Anthony, who has an extensive background in healthcare delivery.

Moreover, he said that one of the things that the meeting advocated for is to change the fact that health care is not readily provided to some teenagers.

“If there are legislative barriers that are in place we can remove those barriers to allow teenagers access to

- Youth Minister healthcare, because it is more detrimental if they don’t get the service,” Dr. Anthony asserted.

He referred to recorded facts which state that of the more than 14 million births per year, close to 74 thousand are to teenage mothers who die during childbirth. Adding to this daunting state of affairs, is the fact that another 2.2 to four million young girls have varying degrees of difficulties during their pregnancy experience, the Youth Minister explained.

“So it is a big issue and it is something that we have to pay close attention to...This is something that relates

specifically to Guyana and the programmes we have in place,” said Dr. Anthony, who used the opportunity to emphasise moves by Guyana to address the situation.

“We have seen in Guyana trends where teen pregnancy has been decreasing... This is because we have put a number of programmes in place in terms of education which I think has contributed to the decrease,” he boasted.

But although teenage pregnancy is viewed as a challenge for the Health Ministry, Dr Persaud confirmed that the rates have been noticeably decreasing.

According to him, in 2003, the under-15 age group accounted for close to four percent of all pregnancies, but was reduced in 2011 to just about one per cent. This reduction, according to Dr Persaud, represented less than 100 pregnancies.

During the same period, too, there were about 5.2 per cent of girls between the ages

of 15 and 16 who were pregnant, but the percentage was reduced to 2.6, Dr. Persaud noted.

And though the age of 17 is regarded as a consensual age of sex, the CMO disclosed that the Ministry of Health has ascertained that even pregnancies among girls between the ages of 17 and 19 have declined.

He revealed that in 2008, girls this age accounted for 21 per cent of all pregnancies, but by 2011 the figure had dropped to 17.1 per cent.

“Across all of the age groups we have made significant progress in reducing pregnancy in the under-19 age altogether,” said Dr. Persaud.

Moreover, it was deduced that the health sector, because of intervening programmes, has been scoring successes in reducing the incidence of complicated pregnancies, since teenagers are viewed as the main group that suffers

Youth Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony from high-risk pregnancies.

However, it is the view of Dr. Anthony that there is need for more advocating at the international level to put more programmes in place, “especially at our health centres, to offer sexual reproductive health to our young people as an essential part of the package of reproductive health services that we offer.”

As such, he concluded that the recent conference was a move in the right direction, adding that “I think we will be making some serious recommendations on how we move forward.”

However, the decisions that were arrived at during the conference and the ultimate recommendations have not yet been disclosed to the media.

The forum, which continued over a period of two days, also directed focus on the declining of funding to some health programmes across the Region.

“We have to be careful that these programmes are properly absorbed within our countries and that we continue to allocate monies for the fight against sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV or else we can see a resurgence of the epidemic, and I think that is a very important point,” Dr. Anthony said.

Non-Communicable Diseases and the associated challenges were also amplified, with emphasis on how it is posing a threat to young people. In addition, Dr. Anthony highlighted the need “for us to inculcate values of exercise at an early age, so that as they grow older they would take those values with them and practice them.”

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

No bail for Security Officer for alleged illegal firearm, ammo

J

ulian Winter, 43 of Sussex and Lombard Streets, was yesterday remanded to prison after he was brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court.

The allegations, to which he pleaded not guilty, stated that he did not have a valid licence whilst being in possession of a .32 Taurus revolver.

It was also alleged that he had in his possession, seven matching rounds without being the owner of a licence.

Court documents revealed that on July 31 at a bar within the vicinity of

Georgetown, Winter was seen with the said firearm strapped to his waist by a police officer who was on patrol. The officer asked him if he had a licence for the weapon and he said, “No.�

He was subsequently arrested and charged with the said offence.

Prosecutor Bharat Mangru objected to bail based on the seriousness of the offence and the fact that no special reasons were submitted for such to be granted.

Mangru's objection was upheld by the court and the accused is expected to return on August 5 for the commencement of his trial.

Porkknocker remanded for discharging gun Michael Pollard of 3769 North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was yesterday denied pre-trial liberty by Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry when three charges were read to him at the Georgetown Magistrates' Court.

The 60-year-old was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on July 24 at Mango Landing, Wenamu River, he discharged a firearm at Nigel Jerrick of Lot 40 Bee Hive, East Coast Demerara, with intent to disfigure.

It was also alleged that on July 30 at the said location, he had in his possession, a single barrel shot gun and three 12 gauge cartridges. To the charges of possession of firearm and ammunition without being the owner of a

valid licence, Pollard pleaded not guilty.

Police Prosecutor, Bharat Mangru told the court that on July 24, during an argument with Jerrick, Pollard removed a shotgun from his waist and fired at the complainant which caused him injuries to the right arm.

The matter was reported and on July 30, the alleged assailant was arrested and charged.

Prosecutor Mangru asked that bail be denied as there is a high likelihood that the accused may not return for his trial.

Bail was refused and the matter was transferred to Kamarang Magistrate's Court where Pollard is expected to make his next court appearance on September 16.

Page 13

Page 14

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Audit Office still investigating NDIA fraud allegations Investigations into fraud allegations at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) are still ongoing, despite indications

by Auditor General Deodat Sharma that the Audit Office was wrapping up investigations in March, last.

According to Sharma, t h e A u d i t O ff i c e h a s completed its first interview with NDIA's Chief Executive Officer, Lionel Wordsworth, one of the two

persons against whom allegations were made. The Office has to conduct another interview with Wordsworth and look at other details before concluding the probe.

In October 2012, a report prepared by a Field Auditor recommended the immediate dismissals of Wordsworth and Senior Engineer Aneel Chowbay. It claimed several instances of fraud and conflict of interest.

The report was leaked to the media.

The report on fuel consumption and equipment operations and maintenance, was conducted between May and September 2012. It was completed and submitted to the Chairman of NDIA Board of Directors Dharamkumar Seeraj on September 26, and carbon copied to President Donald Ramotar.

In an interview with Kaieteur News, Seeraj had confirmed that there were procedural breaches at the e n t i t y. E v e n b e f o r e documents were sent to the Audit Office to be investigated, Sharma began his own probe.

In March, Sharma said findings of the investigations would have been concluded, but that did not occur.

Apparently, the probe took into consideration the death of a close relative of Wordsworth and his visit to India for NDIA. Ye s t e r d a y S h a r m a admitted that the investigations are taking a while to conclude and the precise conclusion date is unknown, since the Audit

Auditor General Deodat Sharma Office has more work to do.

Previously, Sharma said the Audit Office was conducting a comprehensive probe into NDIA and the findings would assist with the compilation of the Audit Office's report on the entity in its 2012 report.

It is likely that the investigations would be completed during this month since the Audit Office has to complete checks of operations of Government Ministries and State agencies to present its 2012 report to Parliament in September.

The Audit Act provides that the Head of the Budget agency be presented with a draft report including f i n d i n g s a n d recommendations. In turn, the Auditor General is provided with a written response within 30 days and it shall be included in the report before being presented to the National Assembly.

Missing Mocha man ...

From page 2 condolences and moral support to Melville's immediate relatives.

P a u l e t t e Vi c k e r i e , Melville's mother, recounted that she had spoken to her son on the night that he vanished.

“At around seven o'clock on Monday, I told Delon that I wanted to watch the news…. so I turn on the television and was watching.

My son said that he was going on the road to get some DVDs to watch with his nephew…. and I fell asleep” Vickerie said that it was until the following day that she realised that something was amiss.

“The following day (Tuesday) after I woke up to do my regular devotion, at around 4 am, and I notice

that Delon was not in his bed, I told my daughter that I was worried, but she said to me 'mommy, Delon will come home and I will call', so I left for work….”

The woman said that her grandson subsequently related that whilst watching television his uncle had received a phone call at eight o'clock and had left immediately.

Relatives described the young man as a secluded but friendly person, who seldom had trouble with anyone.

Melville was also an active member of Mocha Nazarene Church.

“We can't think of any one that he had problem with, we ain't had no big problems home or so… He hardly had friends that we know about, so we can't say anything like that.”

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Reference lab still to receive int'l accreditation - CMO

By Keeran Danny Guyana's National Public Health Reference Laboratory is working towards strengthening its operations to acquire international accreditation. The aim was for the facility to be accredited l a s t y e a r, b u t s e v e r a l challenges were encountered.

This was the assertion of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, during an interview with this publication.

The National Public Health Reference Lab is an initiative out of the PEPFAR (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) programme. In December 2010, after more than two years of existence, the institution was certified by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards. That was the first step leading to international accreditation.

Dr. Persaud explained that because of the US Government's involvement in the programme, a US accrediting body was the preferred option as the certifier of Guyana's laboratory. There is an accreditation process that involves thorough examinations of all procedures.

“The accreditation process involves everything; for the qualifications they even do competence testing, disposal of waste, airflow, ask if you have spills, how you manage chemicals… everything they look at.

We are in the process of being accredited internationally… we are already accredited by our local Bureau of Standards. We are now looking for external accreditation,” he said.

He said this period is essential to ensure the laboratory's resources human and equipment - meet high standards, which would eliminate doubts in persons' minds and “take the mystery out of medicine”.

Commenting on the delay of international accreditation, Dr. Persaud said both Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)'s laboratory and the Reference Laboratory have been accredited locally.

The international accrediting body that visited the laboratories identified

certain gaps, and corrective actions such as training and quality management system are being implemented.

“So we are now getting some assistance in training from Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to get some of those on board. The microbiology lab… we had some challenges, you know, how we are managing samples and so. You know all the little gaps they saw… so we can meet the certificate of accreditation,” Dr. Persaud added.

Even with international accreditation, the National Public Health Reference Laboratory would still have to send samples for testing to other reference labs in the Caribbean and further afield if necessary.

Explaining the levels of testing done in Guyana, he said laboratories at hospitals around Guyana do testing immediately for clinical care.

GPHC has the capacity to conduct advanced clinical testing and a more advanced form of testing is done at the Reference Laboratory.

According to Dr. Persaud, the laboratory focused heavily on HIV. Initially it does testing for other infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis and diseases in the kidneys and lungs. However, Guyana depends on CARPHA as a higher reference laboratory to test high risk samples that require bio-safety level. “Once you start growing these germs, even the people who are operating in the laboratory are at risk of contracting them.

And if they are multidrug resistance TB strains it can't be treated. So you would want to ensure that you have the level of security in place and the skilled technical staff, and most of these works are done by people with PhDs and higher order degrees.

Our laboratory staff is pretty much trained to a level to manage the services we provide locally,” he added.

Dr. Persaud related that this is not unique to Guyana, since sister CARICOM states send their samples to other reference laboratories. For instance, the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre sends its samples to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing.

Page 15

Page 16

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 17

Kaieteur News

Page 18

30th PPP Congress underway …

Saturday August 03, 2013

Ramotar ready to battle “uncompromising” opposition

By Leonard Gildarie Amidst tight security in Berbice yesterday, the ruling People's Progressive Party, at its 30th Congress, started discussions on plans to improve its fortunes over the next three years, with President Donald Ramotar warning that he is not prepared to relent to an “uncompromising” Opposition. He hinted that the possibilities of snap elections are more than likely.

Shifting away from a normal conciliatory tone, R a m o t a r, t h e c u r r e n t General Secretary and leader of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), also insisted to delegates and observers that his party continues to stand firm in the principles and beliefs of its founder, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. There have been accusations that the party had strayed away, becoming corrupt and losing some of the values that had made it popular in the 1990s and up to the mid-2000s.

Since being sworn in, the President has been publicly expressing his intentions to work with the Opposition.

This was not so yesterday.

“The time for harsh decisions may be now,” he disclosed. The PPP's 30th Congress at the J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School, to elect new leaders and chart the way forward for the party, comes at a time when the Government and the Opposition have been continuously clashing over several projects, the national budget and key legislation.

It has led to the blocking of billions in funding for the flagship Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, the slashing of the national budget for two consecutive years, and

gridlock on important legislation, including tighter anti-money laundering measures.

Hundreds of delegates from across the country were among the gathering. In a show of strength and unity, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, was at the head table alongside President R a m o t a r, D r. R o g e r Luncheon and Gail Teixeira, among others. Several diplomatic heads and representatives of the party's overseas groups from the US, Canada and Trinidad were also in attendance.

Ye s t e r d a y , m e d i a operatives were kept on a tight leash and ordered not to take photos of the delegates.

They even had to ask to visit the washrooms. They were escorted out as soon as the opening ceremony concluded.

The Congress, the highest decision-making forum of the party, would take special significance in light of rumours that the Government is seriously considering heading into early elections with the current situation in Parliament. That situation is the loss of its majority in the National Assembly by one seat to the Opposition following the November 28, 2011 polls.

President Ramotar said that the Congress would be making a number of decisions regarding the current political impasse with the Opposition.

BATTLE THE FORCES “There is only one hope here in Guyana and that lies right here in this hall with us.

We must continue to battle against the force,” the Head of State charged the (continued on page 19)

Scenes from the opening session

Saturday August 03, 2013

Page 19

Kaieteur News

DPP recommends murder charges for Mandela Avenue fatal shooting … wounded passenger, two others - Top Cop

By Michael Jordan In an unexpected twist in the Mandela Avenue killing of Elvis Fernandes, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has recommended that wounded minibus passenger Lloyd Britton and two others be charged with murder.

Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell made the disclosure last night, while adding that one of those to be charged is an individual who had allegedly collected a firearm from Britton.

Kaieteur News understands that

investigators have spoken to an eyewitness who claimed to have seen the wounded Britton give another minibus passenger a firearm before being admitted to hospital.

Commissioner Brumell also indicated that a .38 warhead was recovered from Fernandes's remains following a post mortem.

However, the Top Cop said that investigators have not recovered the firearm that was used to shoot Fernandes.

Police sources said that the recovery of the .38 warhead indicated that Fernandes was slain by someone other than the

armed police rank who was at the scene.

Kaieteur News was told that the police constable who shot Britton was armed with a 9mm Taurus pistol.

There had been suggestions that the policeman had shot both Fernandes and Britton during last week Friday's altercation with the occupants of a minibus.

Commissioner Brumell had stated that the constable had lodged his firearm for testing. .

Police had stated in a release that Britton shot Fernandes and was himself

wounded by a police rank who intervened.

However, Britton denied having a firearm and suggested that the same policeman who wounded him, also shot Fernandes.

Fernandes was slain two Fridays ago during a confrontation with minibus driver Adrian Brandt and passenger Lloyd Britton.

Brandt had told Kaieteur News that he was driving along Mandela Avenue that day when Fernandes, who was on a scooter, and another man, in a silver car, blocked his path.

The driver reportedly

Ramotar ready to battle ...

From page 18 gathering.

The attendance at yesterday's opening was said to be almost 1,500 persons, which is believed to be the largest turnout of its kind for the 63-year-old party.

Ramotar said that with significant investments in areas of health, education, infrastructure and other social programmes, the party was not prepared to move away from its mandate of lifting the quality of life for the people of Guyana.

He mentioned several major transformative projects like the Berbice Bridge, the Takutu Bridge linking Guyana and Brazil, new roads, hospitals, the Amaila Falls Hydro project, the new stelling in Essequibo and even the new ferries plying the Region Two/Three area, as among the most impacting initiatives that the party has been fulfilling as part of its mandate.

With several Region One residents in the gathering, Ramotar also disclosed that there are plans for a new ferry

for the Mabaruma/ Georgetown route and a new crossing for the Demerara River. He said that soon there will be another entrance to the city from the East Bank of Demerara to ease the traffic woes. Ramotar also listed the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and Ogle Airport as projects that will set Guyana in even more firmer footing. Making his case of why the party has been targeting solid programmes as its mandate to Guyanese, he pointed to the government's housing drive which since 1992 has allocated over 100,000 house lots, empowering the people as a result.

BETTER LIFE “All the sweat and frustration… the efforts that have gone into making these things happen, is for the sole purpose of making a better life for the people of Guyana.”

The President also made reference to the pre-1992 era when, he said, teachers were

without resources, the medical situation was worrying and there were long lines for basic supplies.

“We still have blackouts, but nothing like those days when people used to scream for being in blackouts for two weeks!” Mention was also made of the country's excellent foreign relations which has improved in leaps and bounds, especially with neighbouring Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname.

E a r l i e r, Vi s h w a Mahadeo, PPP's faction Chairman in Region Six, noted that the situation in the National Assembly, which has essentially led to a nonfunctioning Parliament, must be changed. In a plea that acknowledged that the party has lost ground and would need to recover, he urged for control to be taken back.

Indra Chandarpal of the Wo m e n ' s P r o g r e s s i v e Organisation (WPO), an arm of the party, also kept up the pressure on the Opposition, describing their blocking of key legislation as unpatriotic.

The party, according to P r o g r e s s i v e Yo u t h Organisation President Omar Sharif, has revamped its youth arm, which has been under a mandate from Ramotar to take

its work to another level.

Yesterday, the delegates were scheduled to hear a report from the party's Central Executive on the reasons for the 2011 poor performance at the polls. Decisions will also be taken today during several workshops on the way forward.

Perhaps the most watched part of the event, though, will be the election of new leaders who would make up the 35-member Central Committee. This is expected to take place tomorrow.

The Congress yesterday took place a short distance from the birthplace and resting place of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the party's founder.

accused Brandt of scratching one of his car mirrors during a collision on a previous occasion.

Brandt alleged that Britton, who was in his front seat, intervened, and the men began to threaten Britton, while Fernandes called the passenger a 'thief.'

But a police patrol reportedly arrived and ordered the men to disperse.

The ranks also reportedly suggested that the owner of the car file a report about the alleged accident.

Brandt said that he then r e t u r n e d t o t h e We s t Ruimveldt minibus park where he picked up other passengers, while Britton remained in the minibus.

Brandt said that he was driving east along Mandela Avenue a few minutes later when the same car intercepted him.

He alleged that a police r a n k e m e rg e d w i t h a handgun, while the driver had a cutlass and Fernandes had an ice-pick.

The minibus operator claimed that while Fernandes ran towards the conductor side of the bus, the driver of the car began to attack him with the cutlass.

He also said that his passenger, Lloyd Britton, exited the bus when the men emerged from the car.

Brandt said that shortly

Lloyd Britton

after he heard gunshots and saw the policeman shooting.

Brandt said that his passengers began to scream and urge him to drive away, but then Britton clambered back into the vehicle and said “I get knock.”

It was then that the wounded Britton allegedly handed another passenger a “shine object.”

Brandt said that he dropped off the other passengers in Mandela Avenue and headed to the Ruimveldt Police Station before taking the wounded man to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Fernandes was pronounced dead on arrival at the same hospital.

Kaieteur News

Page 20

Saturday August 03, 2013

The 'Black Community' is in crisis, says African Rights Activist

By Sharmain Grainger

T

he fact that there is a limited quota of upstanding role models in the 'Black Community' could be the root cause of many disheartening dilemmas in some sections of the country.

This assertion was unequivocally alluded to by African Rights Activist, Dr. David Hinds, during a recent interview with this publication.

According to Dr. Hinds, who also holds the position of Executive Member within t h e Wo r k i n g P e o p l e ' s Alliance (WPA), there is a dire need for “black men” as role models in the African communities across Guyana.

This is essential, Dr. Hinds said, since the women have been the ones taking up the responsibility for the communities, as many of the male figures are no longer there.

“When you go into (some) of these communities now, all you see are women and children, and the women

- underscores importance of addressing challenges are the ones trying to hold the communities together; the men are gone – they have gone into the bush (interior), they have gone to the islands, and even when they are there (in the communities), they are still not there, because for the most part they are marginalised,” a passionate Dr. Hinds emphasised.

Marginalisation, he explained, is the resulting state of affairs, because some men are unable to find meaningful employment, which therefore leads to t h e m b e c o m i n g emasculated.

As such, he opined that the situation that a number of African communities find themselves in is one of “social crisis”.

“The communities are not able to reproduce themselves...It is for this reason that the drug dealers, the 'don man', the 'sweet man' and all others can go into these villages as they like and become the role

models, because there are no others.”

“And that is very serious because, you see, a community has to reproduce itself.” Dr. Hinds said that for subjective or objective reasons, some people are unable to live in their communities of origin. He however emphasised that the reality is that “it has hurt us.”

And since it is evident that “the black community is in bad shape,” Dr. Hinds said that there is need firstly for villagers to recognise the problem through community-wide conversations.

“As communities we need to sit down and face some hard facts,” said the African Rights Activist, who highlighted that even education is no longer the premium in the black communities.

“Our children are not doing well at the exams because they are not doing well at school; they mean

African Rights Activist, Dr. David Hinds well, but they are simply not doing well. Our teachers also mean well, but when a teacher goes to school and has to worry about 'where am I going to get the things that my children need' or 'how can I make an extra dollar' they are less inclined to give our children real attention,” Dr. Hinds said.

He said that with education in an alarming state, good jobs are certainly lacking. He pointed to the Region 10 community of Linden, even as he alluded to a startling unemployment rate of 70 per cent. According to him, with seven out of every 10 individuals being unemployed in Linden it creates a disturbing situation.

“That is the enormity of the situation – lack of education, lack of jobs,” Dr. Hinds stressed as he turned his attention to the fact that there are many young individuals in the 'black community' who are even desirous of creating their own businesses, but are yet unable to do so.

“Where are they going to get the loans from? If you go to the bank, the bank asks you for collateral, and if you don't have collateral you can't get the loan...” the WPA Executive explained.

But plotting a responsible way forward

will include creating a database which details life in the black communities, Dr. Hinds said.

“We say things are bad in the black communities...but do we know to what extent?

So we have to pool all of our experiences...Let's hear f r o m th e w o men , th e children, the young men, and let's even hear from the farmers who are still trying to work in the backlands.

Let's hear what the problems are that they are encountering.”

Calling to mind his upbringing in the East Coast Demerara community of Buxton, Dr. Hinds said that there were many professionals who young individuals were only too anxious to emulate. Among these, he said, were uniformed policemen and nurses, various Government workers; teachers and politicians who were ideal role models for the young children of the community.

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 21

GPHC beautification works pending directive from Mayor Following moves by a faction of the Georgetown Mayor & City Council (M&CC) to deter beautification works to the environs of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Mayor Hamilton Green has informed that he is taking the matter into his hands in order to provide a peaceful outcome.

During a telephone interview with this newspaper, the Mayor noted that although he is in support of the enhancement project being undertaken by the GPHC, it was started through the wrong procedure and consultation via the wrong medium.

The construction of concrete flower containers at the entrance of the facility's New Market Street entrances commenced last week, following permission granted by Town Clerk, Carol Sooba.

According to the Mayor, upon granting permission for the project, the Town Clerk consulted with no one. “This is typical of her behaviour.

She thinks she is imperial over the City.”

He added that had the Clerk sought proper direction by consulting with the Mayor and the engineers' section of the council (where applications are initially lodged for reviews and recommendations before being forwarded to the

Works Committee for overall approval), the situation would not have occurred.

The Town Clerk, along with approving the construction of the flower containers, had also indicated that the roadside vendors who sold food items and confectionary at the facility's entrance should be removed.

With that, constables of the City Council were sent to urge the vendors to remove from the location. When Kaieteur News visited the location, vendors had complained of being ousted from their selling spots because of the ongoing construction.

The project has thus far been halted due to an order given by the Council's Building Inspector after it was established that no official application was tendered to have the structures erected.

According to Councilor, Gregory Fraser, the Town Clerk has no authority to authorize such works and thus her approval is not valid.

Repeated efforts to contact the Town Clerk for comment proved futile.

Nevertheless, the Mayor indicated that during the coming week, he intends to consult with the hospital's administration as well as the vendors to find a peaceful way to solve the issue and to satisfy both sides.

Accused freed From page 3 report to the Vigilance Police Station every Monday until the appeal is completed. The other accused, Mark Royden Williams, will however have to remain in prison since he has other pending matters.

Some 15 witnesses testified and the matter had begun three weeks ago.

Williams was represented by attorney Roger Yearwood.

On the morning of Saturday, January 26, 2008, gunmen stormed into the village of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, and murdered eleven people, including five children. Five families were affected by the killings.

Police believed that the gunmen who were armed with shotguns and AK-47s entered the village around 2:00 am, and invaded the homes of five families.

Within about 20 minutes eleven people were

murdered.

The victims were Clarence Thomas, 48, Vanessa Thomas, 12, Ron Thomas, 11, Mohandan Goordat, 32, Seegopaul Harilall, 10; Seegobin Harilall, 4; Dhanwajie Ramsingh, 52; Seecharran Rooplall, 56; Raywattie Ramsingh, 11; Shazam Mohammed, 22; and Shaleem Baksh, 52.

The mastermind of the massacre was believed to be Rondell “Fine man” Rawlins. The alleged motive for the attack was that Rawlins's girlfriend, 19year-old Tenisha Morgan, had vanished on January 18, 2008 while on her way to a city hospital to deliver her baby.

Rawlins believed that his girlfriend was kidnapped by law enforcement officials in an effort to force Rawlins to turn himself in. The Joint Services have categorically denied this claim.

The GPHC enhancement project has been a source of contention

Page 22

WANTED Investor needed to invest in Fish processing Plant: Land available & plant partially completed- Call:612-0200/ 602-6477 One live-in domestic. Call 617-1679 One three bedrooms apartment anywhere around town- Call:617-7865 Four experienced Welder/ Fabricator- Call:676-7226/ 613-7006 One experienced shop assistant to work in InteriorCall: 666-6836 Domestic & Handyman to clean yard. Call 227-5500/ 227-2027 One Handy Boy to work around yard in InteriorCall:666-6836

Kaieteur News

WANTED Night & day Jet men and cook needed- Call:684-6356 (11:00am to 1:00pm and 4:00pm to 6:00pm) One Live in domesticCall:614-6053/600-6053 Maid & Internet WorkerCall:231-8421/223-9725 Bond Supervisor (over 35yrs) & Data Entry Clerk (over 25yrs) @ Survival Shopping Complex 173 Sheriff St. Call:227-5286-90 Experienced counter servers, roti/puri cooks, pastry makers & cleaners: Apply @ Hacks Halaal 5 Commerce St. Mason & Carpenters $6000 per day: Porters $3500 per day: Ladies to do cleaning @ Tushen, W.C.D- Call:684-8231

Live in waitress; must be honest & courteous. $50,000 monthly, accommodation free. Tel 610-5043 Sewing machine operators with factory experience. Call 626-2629.

Attractive live in waitress.

Call 327-0252/674-4665

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166,622-2872,615-0964

To work in Newly open Salon: Barbers, Nail Technicians & Tattoo Artist: Located opposite Kitty Police station- Contact:6445362 Do you need excavator operator for the Interior? 12 years experience in miningCall:254-0624/655-4440 City Taxi Service: Contract Cars Needed- Call:6601100 Live in waitress to work at a bar- Call:672-5860/604-6832

Suriname Carifesta Summer Tour: August 15th-20th & August 22nd-27th; Casino & Site seeing; Book early. Call 639-2663/ 644-0185/ 6655171/227-8290

Minibus driver for contract, living in GeorgetownPlease Call:675-3093 1 Whole day maid for East Bank area- Call:614-4358 Boat Captain With License For Essequibo River ResortTel:225-3557 Urgently needed 1 plot of land to buy in Parfaite Harmonie- Call:675-7292 Able bodied Male to work in Water store located in G/ T- Call: 678-1234

FOR SALE

FOR RENT

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY M E R C U R Y (QUICK SILVER) 9 9 . 9 9 9 9 5 % PURITY - $15,000 PER POUND CALL:604-6108 500 Ton Cargo Ship with Contract- call: 687-6174

Eddie’s Auto Parts: Just arrive Japanese used partsCall:227-2835

Apartments & Houses in Ogle, Kitty, Prashad Nagar, Queenstown, Republic Park, Bel-Air, Campbellville & Diamond- Call:223-8479/6473768/ www.spaceseek.gy

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Canter and Truck tyresSizes: 295.80 22.5, 195.85.16, 205.85.16- Call:222-3538/ 6600342 1- 48’ Fishing Boat- Call:6120200/ 602-6477

EDUCATIONAL I.A.E (Camp street): Register for full- time, lessons & adults CXC classes: Maths, English, Business & ScienceCall:223-0604/683-5742

Zack’s Lumber Yard Georgetown: Millcut form board $115 per BM, Softwood & H/wood $180 per BM- Call:687-5361/674-0013 Tibetan Pups for sale 6 weeks- Call:645-1208 Pure Breed Pitbull Pups for sale- Contact Johnny @ tele: 628-9884 1 Apple desktop computer, 1 Epson printer, 1 Whirpool Dryer & 1 baby swing. Call 662-6045

Subryanville- furnished US$1000, Turkeyen house US$1200, Farm 5 bedrooms, Lusignan, Carida Park sea side, Alberttown- bondCall:231-2199/626-4890 Newly constructed apartments, with & without A/C; Parking & security available, LBI East Coast. Call 628-8008/603-0000

Games for PS 2, $900,PSP $900, Xbox360 $2600, PS 3 $2600, call:672-2566

3 Bedrooms unfurnished house to rent US$2200 per month: Located in Lamaha Gardens- Call:616-5415

Pure Bred Rottweiler pupsCall:650-8496

Desktop Computers complete, Windows7, 80GB $40,000- Call:223-1719/6000036

Apartments $50,000-$70,000: Executive rental US$800: Entire house KingstonCall:675-7292

KS Photo Paper 300 sheet per pack $8000- Call:690-0998

Pitbull Pups for saleCall:223-9497

Dell laptops & desktops complete computers from $55,000 Futuretech call: 231-2206

Canvas, Cloth & Knitted Hammocks for sale: Good quality & Good price- Call: 689-0554

1 Business location ideal for Doctor’s Clinic/ Pharmacy/ any other business. Upper flat 3 bedrooms & 1 Taxi BaseCall:223-9727/673-0373

Pure Rottweiler Pups. Call 220-6879

1 Freight Liner Hauler, 1- 48ft trailer, 1 Low Bed (hauler & trailer)- Call:613-6979

WE HAVE ANY SIZE AND AMOUNT OF PALMS: #1 PLANT SHOP, 70 SHERIFF ST. CALL:227-8094

Grizzly 6" universal surface grinder, Ryobi 10" bench drill press, electronic DW625 electronic plunge cut routerCall:265-3070/645-1895

Mix breed pups, Rottweiler and German Shepherd: Both male and female- Call:222-0410 1 CAT Engine 3164 & 1 JCB Back Hoe: Needs transmission onlyContact:691-1161/ 670-7235 Wall dividers, Cabinets, Sofas, Beds & WardrobeCall:219-3732 (After 5pm) 1 -115 Evin Rude four stroke outboard engine: Asking price $450,000 in good condition: Price neg. Call: 649-8324

1 Nail Technician and 3 Barbers: Address: 1 Smyth & Durban St, Werk-en-Rust: Call: 674-8555 One live-in or live out maidcall:668-3985/264-3355/6837936

FOR SALE

Timber Harvester Sawmill just arrived from U.S.A with setter, sharpener and extended frame- Call:2612553/625-4393

TOURS

Saturday August 03, 2013

150KW Genset, 12" Moulder, 7 Head Moulder, Resaw & Crosscut Saw- Call:616-5595 S & N Mining Inc. Large Quantity Of Virgin Mining Mercury: Best In Guyana: $14,500LB, Wholesale Negotiable- Contact Carol: 649-8505

2 A/C- (sizes 12 & 15), solar system 45 gallon (hot & cold) Call:691-9071/674-1231 Empty plastic fuel drums (55gal) Contact Nicky @ 226-7948/646-6000/697-9610 1 Male English Mastiff Dog $150,000- Call:678-2814/6992322 Sawzall, porter cable model 347 7 1/4" heavy duty circular saw, Thakita, Grizzly 12" table saw- Call:265-3070/645-1895

TO LET Fully furnished short term apartments @ Eccles call: 679-7139 Harmony Inn: Apartments fully furnished, airconditioned apartments: $5000 per night- Call:6680306/602-8769/694-7817

Bobcat 753, Air compressor, 40ft Aluminum container, cement mixer- Call:677-9155

Fully furnished Vacation home with all amenitiesCall during working hours227-1218

1-75HP Yamaha four stroke outboard engine in excellent condition asking price $800,000 price negCall:649-8324

Furnished two bedrooms apartment in Linden for short term local & overseas guests- Call:444-4704/614441

GPS Map 76- Call:600-0036/ 223-1719 One Honda Honmel 1000 CBR, condition usedCall:610-7005/219-1342

Semi- furnished apartment: Single room $50,000 @ ‘B’ field Sophia- Call:661-3801

Original games for sale call:265-3231

Kitty $65000, Diamond $35000, Bel-Air US$1200, Nandy Park US$1200- Call Diana@ 227-2256/626-9382 Two bedrooms apartmentCall: 617-3001

LAND FOR SALE At Soesdyke Linden Highway- Call:678-7355 House lot for sale $600,000Call:678-7355 Large land, great for farming/ residence @ Bagotville, W.B.D- Call: 600-0036/ 223-1719 2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at Parika.

Call 226-7968 Parfaite Harmonie $1.1M, $1.2M, $1.5M- Call:675-7292 House lot for sale: Friendship, D i a m o n d EBD & drafting of house plans. Call:223-0733, 2230730, 692-8513 Gold & Diamond land, Berbice District (1)- Call:6000036/223-1719

SERVICES Dianne’s Bridal and Party Accessories Rentals, Decorating, Catering and Event Planning. 103 Regent Road Call: 225-8111 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call:225-6496,6626045,223-8115 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, m i c r o w a v e s , washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool.

Call: 225-9032, 647-2943 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer. Call:2310655, 683-8734 Omar Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) ONLINE SHOPPING ZERO COMMISSION, WEEKLY SHIPMENTS,AFFORDABLE RATES, FREE PRIVATE MAILBOX.CALL: 2315789, 225-9030 WE FILL OUT VISA FORMS:USA, UK & CANADA & CREDIT CARD SERVICES CALL: 231-5789 We repair LCD, Plasma, LED TV, Microwave, Washer & Dryer, Amp etc. Call:6472276/693-3277

Enroll now for certificate in nursing practices: Home nursing, Geriatric nursing child care- Call:692-2063/6130803/685-9095

Delta Jointer, Delta ShaperCall:265-3070/645-1895

CAKES & PASTRIES

Construct a strong lifetime literacy: Choose Caribbean First Class NurseryElementary: Lessons and Adult classes- Call:684-7403

Delta 14" Band Saw, Grizzly G1021 15" planer, Grizzly G10147 combination sander, DeWalt D28474W-B3 Angle grinder- Call:265-3070/ 645-1895

Courses for: Bridal accessories, Cake decoration, Floral arrangements, Cake & Pastry-contact Sharon:6728768/223-3303/612-4193

Ducklings- Call:617-9300

DRESSMAKING Classes in Designing and Sewing. Call Sharmela (Canadian-Trained) @ 6410784/626-2629

Computer repairs in homesCall:675-7292 We Refill HP cartridges for $1800 call: 650-7699 (Continued on page 23)

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Letters... Where your views make the news

GECOM Public Relations Officer...

From page 5 2006 elections. He said that ACME had indicated a willingness to retake possession of the film, but that it was requesting that the penalty be waived.

Mr. Benn acknowledged that the film, because of its nearness to expiry, would have to be sold at reduced cost with the result being that less than 90 cartons would be returned to GECOM. Mr. Williams suggested that a GECOM team comprising members of the Secretariat and Commission meet with ACME to flesh out a mutually favourable arrangement regarding the situation outlined by Mr. Benn.

The Commission agreed that the team would comprise Commissioner Robert Williams, Mr. Calvin Benn and Mr. Tyrone Semple, Administrative Manager.

Mr. Williams’s nomination to act on behalf of the Commission stemmed from his cordial relationship with the Management of ACME in his position of Deputy Mayor of Georgetown.

This was a Commission, and not a Surujbally, decision which led to GECOM entering into an agreement with ACME return the film to ACME to avoid loss by expiry. As with all matters relating to GECOM assets, the Chairman has/had no involvement. It is essential to note that the Chief Election Officer is the Accounting Officer and the custodian of GECOM assets.

The agreement between GECOM and ACME provided for the film to be returned to the ACME Photo Studio for resale before expiry. GECOM was entitled to claim replacement film from ACME or any other material(s) being offered for sale by ACME Photo Studio which could be used by GECOM, providing the Commission paid the applicable VAT. The contract did not provide for cash to be refunded to GECOM with respect to the resale of the Polaroid film. The agreement with ACME Photo Studio was

arranged in good faith with input from Commissioner Williams.

At the 214th Statutory Meeting of Tuesday March 18, 2008, Mr. Boodoo reported to the Commission that ACME had managed to sell $8.1 million worth of the film which GECOM had returned to this Company with the understanding that the Commission could access necessary items like printer toners etc to this value from the Company, in keeping with the agreement between GECOM and ACME. It was later reported that a letter dated 03.09.2007, from ACME General Store as written to the CEO delineating the details associated with the Polaroid film that was returned by GECOM to this Company and showing that GECOM at that time had a credit of actually $8,069,600.

At the 241st Statutory Meeting of February 17, 2009, Mr. Boodoo reported that internal calculations had revealed that ACME Photo Studio owes GECOM more money than the amount this Company had admitted to being liable for.

He said that a correspondence had been dispatched to ACME indicating the actual amount owed, requesting that the Company’s records be adjusted accordingly, and that the money be paid to the Commission.

At the At the 241st Statutory Meeting of February 25, 2009, Mr. Boodoo reported that he had no new information from ACME Photo Studio regarding the outstanding money this Company owes GECOM. He undertook to follow up this matter to bring it to satisfactory closure - to no avail.

GECOM had considered instituting legal proceedings against ACME to recover the total value this Company owed the Commission, but was advised by Mr. Boodoo to stay this course of action and that he will try to negotiate with ACME. After this failed GECOM again, in 2012

considered taking legal action against ACME, but was advised by lawyers that the time for so doing had elapsed.

It is important to note that ACME General Store wrote a letter dated 4th May, 2007, and captioned “Proposal for the sale of Polaroid 669 films” to Mr. Boodoo, detailing the status of the films returned to this Company to be “salvaged to the loss of dead stock due to their limited shelf life”.

The letter provides information on (i) the amount of films which had already been resold, (ii) stocks which were classified as damaged, (iii) expired films, (iv) remaining films, and (v) value that would be applied to GECOM as credit in regards to films already and about to be sold. Further, the last paragraph invited Mr. Boodoo confirm the outlined details by signing on the document (the letter) in the space provided for him to so do. Mr. Boodoo signed the letter so confirming and applied his official stamp thereon.

This is a matter of which the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor General’s Office and the Public Accounts Committee is aware.

All of the above are authentic and verifiable from the relevant records at GECOM. Vishnu Persaud Guyana Elections Commission

PROPERTY FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

Prospect $13M, West Bank $18.5M, Section ‘K’ $40M, AA Eccles $60M- $40MCall Diana@ 227-2256/6269382

2- 2007 Toyota Avensis. Call 698-0674

2 Storey concrete house at Charlotte St. next to Office of the President: Asking $32M- Call:614-0335/6260017 100ft×45ft 2-storey building located at Bourda Market area. Call 626-7765

For that relaxing and sensual happy ending- Call for appointment @ tele 699-3519

1 Nissan Frontier 4×4 fully loaded, GPP series: Immaculate conditionContact:697-1849/227-4856 Sale! Axio: TV, DVD $3.1M Neg: Pre-order Premio $2.5M Neg- Call: 655-3400

VACANCY Sales Girl and Clerk Needed.

Must be Computer Literate.

Good Communication Skills and Personality. Call: 6006053 / 614-6053

Ray’s Motor Spares & Auto Sales: For best price, wholesale & retail dealer in Japanese automobiles & parts- Call:233-5151/ 231-7839

House and Land @ D’Edward, W.C.B.- Call: 6892973/698-3703

2 Ford F150: Price $4.5M & $3.5M- Call: 643-5249 / 2654979

Good Business Properties: Alexander, New Market, Lamaha, Middle, Camp, Waterloo, Lance Gibbs & Lombard street- Call:2317805/231-2200/618-7483

Model 192, PKK 3392 $1.1MCall:697-3191/697-8934

Refrigeration, A/C Technician. Call 231-0655/ 683-8734

1 BMW 318i PNN series $3.2M, 1 Toyota Raum PKK series $1.250M: Both in immaculate conditionCall:613-5308

Male sales person for Plant Shop 18yrs-25yrs, must have secondary education- call 648-1821 (between 8:00am4:00pm)

One Nissan Pickup: Good condition- Call:696-7664 or 614-8996

1 Live in maid must be from country & able to cook, age 35-45 years- Call:662-1124 or 611-0200

Prashad Nagar $65M, Diamond front, Atlantic gardens, Atlanticville, South $15M, La Penitance & W.C.D, W.B.D- Call:2317805/ 618-7483

Sale! Sale! Toyota Premio (unregistered), fully loaded $2.5M-Call:617-2891/220-2345 205 Mercedes Benz C180 compressor: PPP series: Navy Blue- Call:613-5955

CAR RENTAL

MASSAGE

Relax your mind and body with a massage- Call:622-6256

1 Hilux Surf: Excellent condition: Price $1.5 millionCall:697-1849

Houses on East Coast & East Bank for sale- Call:2238479/647-3768/ www.space seek.gy

Aidan’s Car Rental & PickupCall: 645-7981/ 698-7807

The Gent’s Spa: Let beautiful sophisticated masseuse pamper you: New masseuse available- Call:657-5979

(From page 22)

VEHICLE FOR SALE Two yellow AT192 for the price of one: HB series, both working. Asking $800,000Call:621-3659 One G-Touring Wagon: HB series. Call 674-8982 Fielder Wagon- Call:6913812

1 Toyota AT170, AT192, AT212, Ceres, Vitz, EP 71 Starlet, Hilux Pickup Solid DEF. Call 644-5096/697-1453 New Raum, Premio, Fielder, Alex and Vitz: Never registered- call: 269-0432/ 686-0323 Raum 04, Nav $2.4M: Fielder Nav, SP $2.5M: Spacio 03 $2.4M- Call:609-8989/6165595 Axio Special- 2007, TV/DVD & Reverse Camera $2.950MCall:617-2891 Toyota Altezza, PNN, tiptronic. Call 622-0108 2003 Allion PRR series: Equip with alarm, HID, back up camera $2.5M- Call:667-0338

1 AE91 (EFI)- Call:265-4346

First Class Auto: Allion, Premio, Spacio, IST, Axio, 212, Fielder, Verossa & AllexCall:609-8188/602-6307

Toyota AE 81 in good condition: Price $450,000 Neg- Call:628-5988

Unregistered Nissan Bluebird Sylphy: Fully loaded, 17" rims- Call:692-9252

3Y Surf $1.6M, Toyota Wills $1.6M- Call Shawn 618-7483 Toyota L-Touring Wagon: automatic, A/C, Mags, leather seats, white, PLL. $950,000- Call:612-2258

Unregistered Mitsubishi long canter $3,350,000Call:615-7526/653-4560 One black Titan (2005) 4 wheel drive, fully loaded: $4.2M negotiable- Call:6782814/699-2322

Toyota Ipsum mini van: 7 seats, sun roof, A/C, automatic, mags, etc. Blue $1.6M- Call:612-2258

Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered Premio, Allion, IST, Fielder- Call:652-3820/ 665-4529

One Hilux Surf- Call:6173001

One Upholster & two JoinersCall:219-1342/610-7005 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl & office assistantCall:688-9611/684-2838

Needed sellers to walk & sell Tin fruit juices: Apply at Alabama Trading G/Town Ferry Stelling Vacancy exists for able bodied male cleaner: Apply at Alabama Trading G/Town Ferry Stelling One person to build chairs in work shop- Call:610-7005/ 219-1342 Vacancy exists for one Manager to work at an out of town Hotel/ ClubCall:226-9768/642-7963 CAR RENTAL Progressive Auto Rental - cars from $4000 per day.

Call 643-5122, 225-8711; email www. progressive autorental. com Premio, Vitz call: 679-7139 FOR SALE/RENT American Pool TableCall:277-0578

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad.

Call: 660-5257, 647-1773 Natural beauty salon & spa: Grove Market Street EBD tele:265-4138,652-5800 specialized in everything for women & children

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 25

GRA customs officers, security agent remanded on cocaine charge Three stirring submissions were presented yesterday by Attorneys at Law Nigel Hughes, Abiola Wong-Inniss and James Bond, who represented the trio arraigned on charges of conspiracy to traffic cocaine via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

Anthony Thomas, 28, Gregory Lou, 30, and Ravindra Singh, 19, were brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court where the particulars of the charge stated that on July 27, they conspired together with others to traffic 11.448 kilograms of cocaine.

The accused pleaded not guilty.

Special Prosecutor, Oswald Massiah of the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) stated that Thomas of Lot 43 Main and New Market Streets was employed as a Grade 2 officer at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for 12 years and was assigned as an officer at the airport.

Singh also known as “Ravi,” of Lot 8 Company Road, West Ruimveldt, was employed as a security agent with Security Innovations Concept at the Airport where he served for two years.

Lou of Lot 22 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, was an employed at GRA as a Grade 1 officer and was also stationed at the airport.

It is alleged that on July 20, Singh approached a Caribbean Airlines officer and asked him to generate a baggage tag for which he

would be paid US$2500. The tag was produced, but the officer had a change of heart and returned the money and asked for the tag to be returned, but it was not recovered.

The charge also stated that on July 27, Thomas who performed late night duties which ended at 7 am on Sunday last, was relieved by another officer, but stayed around the compound. Singh on the other hand, had a conversation with an operator who controls the baggage being loaded on the plane. He then allegedly asked the operator if he could have a word with Lou. After their interaction, it was noted that Thomas offered money to Lou to act as a lookout and remove the bag and place it on the baggage cart to go on another plane which was headed for JFK Airport in New York – CAL Flight 526.

A senior security officer conducted a search and discovered the illicit substance in the bag. Officers from CANU were contacted and ten packets containing the narcotic were discovered.

Further investigations were carried out, legal advice was sought, and the relevant charges were laid.

Representing Thomas was Attorney at Law, Nigel Hughes who related to the court that his client is a father of two, is the principal breadwinner of his family and his passport was misplaced in excess of one year. Prior to his current charge, he enjoyed the benefits of an immaculate reputation.

From left: Gregory Lou, Anthony Thomas and Ravindra Singh Hughes stated that the facts of the prosecution are not only unreliable but cannot be used as admissible evidence since they are only going on what was said by the defendants.

“The bag was not found in the custody of my client and no witnesses have been identified to say that the bag was in his possession. They don’t have a confession statement, a caution statement or an admission.”

That in itself, Hughes said, amounts to special reasons.

In Singh’s defence, Attorney at Law Abiola Wong-Inniss said that from the narration of the facts presented to the court, it is

Show us how tariff...

From page 11 that, “IDB was of the view that a price couldn’t be determined until the due diligence is completed.”

DESIGN YET TO BE FINALIZED “It is unclear how one can determine the cost of a project before a design is finalized or before even identifying a spot. However, that is the state of affairs with the Amaila Falls project.”

Trying to be optimistic, Greenidge said that even though the design is unfinished, “it is probably largely done and they are probably hoping to finalize based upon details about the space situation.

What is even more astonishing is Greenidge’s report that it is still not clear what the chosen spot is.

The former Minister said “one would think that all that would have been assessed

before a costing figure could have been arrived at”.

In fact, Geeenidge said that under “normal circumstances” knowing those “important” things would have been the standard procedure to follow by a commercial enterprise.

He said that the spot and design is a determination of the enterprise, but government should have satisfied itself by knowing these essentials by now.

Greenidge said that government is obviously not in control since it seemed as “they” too are surprised about the revelation. “We are just wondering along.”

At the recent stakeholders’ consultation, Kaieteur News asked about the numerous artist impressions that are in circulation. That question was asked so as to ascertain the most accurate image of the

power plant. But Sithe Global noted that artist impressions are irrelevant. What is said to be most important is the engineers’ design. However, Sithe Global neglected to inform that that design is yet to be completed.

Yesterday Harmon said that “The PPP/C is now in a fit to explain the decision it made to take over this project, knowing full well it would suck the lifeblood of this country.

The details that are now emerging have made bare the lies being peddled by the PPP/ C Government that consumers will see a reduction in their light bills of between 20 to 40 percent.

This is simply not true.”

He concluded: “We cannot allow persons who are inept at negotiating projects of the scale of the Amaila Falls Hydro Project to continue to throw dust in our eyes.”

not admissible evidence and the only reason her client is before the court is based on the fact that he refused to give useful information, “now he is facing a conspiracy charge and the person who admitted to the allegations, was released. I don’t believe that this is the way the system was intended to work.”

Lawyer James Bond, who represented Lou, stated that no evidence was submitted by the prosecution in which they could prove that his client had knowledge of any illegal activity in relation to the charge.

A critical part of Hughes’s submission was where he pointed out that the

particulars of the charge against his client lends itself to section 95 of the Psychotropic Substances and Narcotic Drug Control Act 1988.

“Section 95 of the Act creates the offences of conspiracy to traffic as opposed to trafficking. In the particulars of the charge, the prosecution has alleged conspiracy but has not charged him with conspiracy in order to avoid the defendants getting bail.” The lawyer contented that the charge of conspiracy which falls under Section 95 of the Offences Act is a bailable offence without need to prove special reasons.

To this, Prosecutor Massiah was not tempted to respond but objected to bail on the grounds that no special reasons were presented to the court for such to be considered and with reference to Thomas, the prosecutor said that he found it particularly hard to find when efforts were made to contact him.

“It was only until his picture was placed in the Stabroek Newspaper, that he was found.”

Hughes sprung to his feet and articulated his disappointment in the prosecution. “I am deeply disappointed with my learned friend. No contact was made with my client.

I was contacted by his relative who informed me that his picture was in the papers and I instructed that he be taken into the police in the company of an Attorney. That is such a perversion. I will restrain myself from saying further.”

Massiah described the lawyer’s remarks as “derogatory” and said that it is not perversion.

Chief Magistrate then considered the grounds and seriousness of the offence along with the submission made by Counsel Hughes with regard to the particulars of the charge and Section 95 of the Offences Act. Bail was refused for the trio and the matter was transferred to Providence Magistrates’ Court on August 5 for report and fixture.

Page 26

ZEELUGT HORROR SLAYINGS… Part of her right arm severed and the fingers of her left hand hacked off, Bibi Nazarena Houston yesterday recounted how her husband went berserk and butchered their two children last Wednesday after she finally found the courage to leave him after years of physical abuse.

The 21-year-old woman is the lone survivor of the vicious attack at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo that left fiveyear-old Kimberly Houston and two-year-old Tarif Lord dead, and Ms. Houston, maimed.

Police were up to last night still looking for the suspect, Richard Lord, even as rumours circulated that the fugitive had hanged himself from a coconut tree.

Lying in her hospital bed while being fed by one of her sisters, Ms. Houston said that she had decided to leave her husband because “it (the

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Suspect drank wine, sharpened cutlass before slaughtering kids abuse) was too much and it was for too long.”

A week ago, she left her home with her children. But then on Wednesday, she returned home after visiting a probation officer.

“When I go home, I tell him that I don’t want him anymore and that I was leaving him. I tell him I went to the probation officer, but he keep asking me where I went when I wasn’t home for the week, so I tell him that I wouldn’t tell him anything, because he does normally go and cuss up de people dem and I was begging for shelter and I can’t make him go and cuss de people dem,” the grieving mother related.

Ms. Houston said while she was telling him that she was leaving him, her reputed husband was sharpening his cutlass, but the thought of him killing his two children didn’t cross her mind. “He de drink wine earlier and he keep

on arguing, and I was planning to run out the house but he lock up the door.”

According to Ms. Houston, her husband asked his daughter to pack his clothes for him.

“My daughter ask him to pull off the clothes from the line and he pull the clothes off and then when she turn, he pick up the cutlass and chop her behind her neck. Her head almost come off. She didn’t had time to scream or do anything and I freeze.”

Nazarena said after her husband chopped her daughter, he hacked her twoyear-old baby then vented his rage on her.

Nazarena was just 14 years old when she eloped with the suspect, Richard Lord. She said that she was constantly beaten and accused of being unfaithful, but she had stayed in the violent relationship for the sake of her two children.

Dead: Five-year-old Kimberly Houston

Dead: Two-year-old Tarif Lord

ImmigrationINFO:

IMMIGRATION NEWS FOR OUR COMMUNITY

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram Through this “Question & Answer” column, our goal is to answer your immigration questions. We appreciate your comments and questions. If you have a question that you would like answered in this column, please email: Gail@GailLaw.com.

Question #1: My father was recently denied a ‘waiver of grounds of inadmissibility’ so he’s more or less placed on a 10-year ban.

I don’t know what the reapplication process is like after the 10-year ban or what forms I have to fill out or documents I would need.

Would you kindly point me in the right direction?

Answer #1: The 10-year ban may not be a result of the denial of the waiver. The 10year ban may have resulted from one of the following: (i) accumulated unlawful presence if he was in the U.S. illegally for more than one year and returned to his native country, (ii) removal/deportation proceedings in the U.S. and he returned to Guyana voluntarily or involuntarily, or (iii) commit fraud or misrepresentation to gain an immigration benefit. The denial of the waiver could have been appealed to the Administrative Appeal Office in the U.S. Another waiver could be

submitted with greater evidence of hardship if another I-130 interview is scheduled at the Embassy through a pending family based petition.

Question #2: My wife petitioned for me and my daughter and we are at the affidavit of support step in the process. How long will it take for me and my daughter to get an interview date knowing that my wife is a permanent resident?

Answer #2: Currently, visas are current and there is no backlog for spouses and children under age 21 of a permanent resident. If your wife has not received notification to pay visa fees from the National Visa Center then she needs to contact our office.

Question #3: I would like to know if a common law wife of 19 years together would get to go with her kids ages 8 and 14 and common law husband for petition filed by U.S. brother of common law husband.

Answer #3: In response to your question, you need to be legally married for common law wife to benefit from the visa petition. While petition is pending, you all should marry and advise the petitioner to notify immigration of the marriage by sending the marriage certificate. Under F4 preference category (filed by brother/sister of U.S. citizen) marriage would not change the processing time of the pending petition.

Question #4: I am a green card holder in USA. I got married last year. My wife is in India. She doesn’t have any visa. She tried for a student visa twice, but she was rejected both the times. Which visa should she apply for? What would be the easiest way to bring my wife to USA? Answer #4: You as a permanent resident should submit an alien relative petition for your wife to get lawful permanent resident status. The visas are currently available with no backlog so processing time is only six to nine months.

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 27

Integrity Commission considering Wake up from your slumber probe into Warner’s ‘money pit’ President Anthony Carmona

Jamaica Express - An official request for a probe into former government minister Jack Warner is being considered by the Integrity Commission.

The commission’s registrar wrote to chairman of the Equality Council of Trinidad and Tobago Kristal Maharaj with respect to a formal request for a probe into Warner.

Maharaj, wrote to commission chairman Ken Gordon citing the Sunday Express exclusive report “Jack’s Money Pit” on July 14 which found that during his tenure as a Government minister, Warner wrote to contractors, including businessman Junior Sammy, asking for monetary contributions to throw a Christmas party for ministry staff. The report stated the Christmas party was pegged

Jack Warner at some $1.9 million while bank records show that $9.5 million passed through the account which received the monies.

Warner has denied any wrongdoing saying he did not ask for money for himself but for a party for his staff and compared it to the Prime

Minister’s Christmas toy drive which is funded by private businesses.

However, in Maharaj’s letter to Gordon, a legal opinion by attorney Jagdeo Singh was attached which noted the laws relating to the Prevention of Corruption Act and Integrity in Public Life Act as it pertains to the liability of Warner.

In response, the commission’s registrar noted the subject re: Complaint alleging breaches of the Integrity in Public Life Act by Jack Austin Warner in relation to his soliciting of donations from contractors.

“I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 23, 2010, which was received on July 23, 2010 relative to the caption.

This letter has been referred to the Integrity Commission for consideration,” stated the registrar.

Venezuela to raise interest rates in PetroCaribe deal KINGSTON, Jamaica — Starting in October, the Venezuelan government will increase the interest rate it charges to finance oil purchases by Central American and Caribbean countries that participate in PetroCaribe agreements a source with the Venezuela state-owned oil company said on Monday.

According to Guyanabased Kaieteur News the source, who spoke anonymously, said the increase was the result of higher administrative and maintenance costs of the loans.

Since PetroCaribe was created in June 2005, 17 member countries have enjoyed an annual interest

rate between 1 per cent and 2 per cent. Beginning in October repayments will be increased to 2 per cent to 4 per cent, the source said.

The increase, however, will not be uniform across all countries and could be lower for poorer nations.

Under the programme, PetroCaribe members can buy oil or refined products from Venezuela at favorable rates and through a long-term financing agreement at the low interest rates.

The source said the planned interest rate increases are permitted under the agreements Venezuela signed with the member nations.

He added that no additional increases in rates

are contemplated in the near term. Venezuelan exports an average of 180,000 barrels per day (b/d) to PetroCaribe nations, of which 143,000 b/d is oil and 37,000 b/d is refined product, the source said.

According to the report in the past two years, PetroCaribe countries’ debt for oil purchases has risen to $5.7 billion, with Cuba and Nicaragua accounting for much of that total.

PetroCaribe members are Antigua and Barbuda, Honduras, Bahamas, Jamaica, Belize, Nicaragua, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala, Saint Lucia, Guyana, Suriname, Haiti and Venezuela.

Cubans welcome new U.S. visa policy, government largely silent (Reuters) - Cubans are cheering a U.S. visa policy that gives them five years to travel to the United States, while Cuba’s government and state-run media have largely remained silent about the new travel measure.

They still are allowed to remain in the United States for only six months, but the change in U.S. policy, which took effect on Thursday, allows them to make multiple U.S. visits over the five years instead of repeatedly applying and paying the $160

fee for the privilege.

Havana retiree Antonio Fernandez, who has visited his children and other family members in the United States, welcomed the new policy, which he said would allow more contact between divided Cuban families.

“I am in the process of applying for a visa at this very moment,” Fernandez said.

“And I know well how many steps and how much money you have to pay. This measure will eliminate these problems,” he said. Cuba

liberalized travel restrictions earlier this year, making it easier and less expensive for residents to travel and return home. The new Cuban travel measures extend to 24 months the amount of time Cubans can be out of the country without losing rights and they can seek an extension of up to 24 additional months.

More than 900,000 Cubans traveled abroad in 2012, according to the government and more than 46,000 emigrated, the highest number since 1994.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – A new session of the Trinidad and Tobago parliament began yesterday with the interim leader of the Independent Liberal party (ILP) Austin “Jack Warner being sworn in as a legislator and President Anthony Carmona urging the Inland Revenue to rise from its slumber and deal with “allegations of profligate enrichment by persons in authority”.

In his first address to the legislative chamber since becoming head of state earlier this year, Carmona, a former High Court judge also made a plea for Trinidad and Tobago to decide on whether or not it wants to join the Port of Spain-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the island’s final court.

The CCJ was established in 2001 to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court, but while many of the 15member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping have signed on to the court’s original jurisdiction, only Barbados, Belize and Guyana as signatories to the appellate jurisdiction.

The CCJ also functions as an international tribunal interpreting the Revisted treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the regional integration movement.

Carmona, a former judge with the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that while Trinidad and Tobago has legislation that gives jurisdiction to the ICC, to the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), “we have none that recognizes the final appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ. “Why can’t we start believing in ourselves and our competencies? Let there be a vote of

President Anthony Carmona conscience, by secret ballot, on whether it becomes the final Court of Appeal or, if as Parliamentarians you lack the confidence to make that change, place it before the electorate by way of public referendum on the ballot paper.”

He told legislators that the upcoming Local Government elections, in two months’ time, “affords an ideal opportunity for doing this.

“We must no longer pussyfoot on the matter.”

In his wide-ranging speech, President Carmona said that he was also interested in the issue of election campaign financing which he described as “a veritable juggernaut that results in financiers arrogating political power unto themselves and thereby undermining the system of governance.

Government transfers funds from CLICO to new company P O R T- O F - S PA I N , Trinidad - CMC - Over TT$8 billion (One TT dollar =US0.16 cents) worth of Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited’s (CLICO) profitable business will be transferred to Atruis, a new company that will be owned by the state.

The Trinidad Express reports that the Cabinet approved the transfer as the Finance and General Purposes Committee continues to discuss a letter of intent hammered out by the Ministry of Finance and CL Financial’s 400 shareholders, which envisions taxpayers will recover the more than TT$20 billion Government has injected since 2009 to keep CL subsidiary CLICO and other companies afloat.

CLICO financially caved in on itself at the end of 2008 after the investment instruments of major policyholders matured and they wanted hundreds of millions of dollars they were owed.

At its annual general meeting last month, CL Financial shareholders voted

Larry Howai to extend the agreement with Government until August 25 while Cabinet decides on a new framework accord to recover the debt owed to Government through divestment of CL subsidiaries, including Methanol Holdings, Republic Bank, Angostura Holdings,

CL World Brands and Home Construction Ltd. Proceeds from the divestment of these assets will go toward Government’s recovery of the billions it pumped into CLICO. According to the report in the Trinidad Express, it will also be used to repay credi-tors, and shareholders who will benefit if the assets are sold for higher than valuation prices when they go on the market.

It is expected that CLICO agents and staff members at the company’s eight branches and Port of Spain head office will be absorbed when Atrius opens its doors for business in the coming months.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Larry Howai confirmed the CLICO-Atrius transfer. “Cabinet has approved the establishment of the company and a portfolio of assets sufficient to meet its commitments as well as approved third-party obligations will be transferred to it,” he said in an email to the newspaper.

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 29

U.S. issues global travel Israel to host next round of alert, cites al Qaeda threat talks with Palestinians - Livni

(Reuters) - The United States issued a worldwide travel alert yesterday warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence that prompted it to close 21 U.S. embassies and consulates tomorrow, chiefly those in the Muslim world, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula,” its statement said.

“Current information suggests that al Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” it added, saying the travel alert would expire on August 31.

Among the most prominent of

al Qaeda’s affiliates is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a Yemenbased group whose attempted attacks included the Christmas Day 2009 attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

U.S. security sources said the threat was related to AQAP, but there was not a specific target and it was not limited to U.S. interests but applied more broadly to Western interests.

A British Foreign Office official said British authorities were in close contact with U.S. authorities. “The British embassies remain open but staff are advised to exercise extra vigilance as we approach Eid,” the official said, referring to the Muslim celebration at the end of the month of fasting.

On Thursday, the State Department said U.S. embassies that would normally be open on Sunday - chiefly those in the Muslim world - would be closed that day because of security concerns, adding that they might be shut for a longer period.

The embassies in the

following countries will be closed: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The consulates in Arbil, Iraq; Dhahran and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates will also be shut.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, which is normally closed to the public on Sunday, said all its facilities would be shut this coming Sunday (tomorrow) and workers not essential for the building’s security had been told not to come in.

It also said the American Center in Jerusalem and the Haifa Consular Agency would be closed tomorrow.

While the U.S. State Department routinely releases what it describes as a “Worldwide Caution” warning U.S. citizens of the general potential danger of attacks around the world, yesterday’s travel alert was based on more specific information, said one U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. sees hope in Iranian president-elect, but still cautious WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is signaling its hopes for an easing of nuclear tensions after Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani takes office, but holding off on substantive moves until the moderate cleric shows a willingness to negotiate seriously.

Rouhani, a former nuclear negotiator and veteran of Iran’s 1979 revolution who will be inaugurated tomorrow, has pledged domestic reforms and more international engagement, in an apparent break from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies.

In one sign that the United States sees a glimmer of hope in Rouhani’s June 14 election victory, the White House this week declined to publicly back tough new sanctions on Iran approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. officials say they still favor intense economic pressure to force Iran to halt what Washington and the European Union say is a nuclear arms program. But they argue for a pause in new measures to see if the Westerneducated Rouhani may be interested in a nuclear deal. “(We) want to give the newly elected president a chance to engage substantively on the issue,” said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials, however, remain skeptical of a thaw, pointing to what they see as Tehran’s failure to respond to President Barack Obama’s 2009 offer of improved relations, and its continued enrichment of uranium that can be used to fuel a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“Actions will define how our policy moves ... There needs to be action which backs up

Hassan Rouhani that promise to engage,” said a second senior official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

“One hundred percent, the ball is now in Iran’s court at this point,” the official said.

The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, shortly after students and Islamic militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The two nations remain divided over myriad issues, from Iran’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to suspicions in Tehran that the “Great Satan” wants to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

In a possible olive branch to the United States, Rouhani, said he intends to choose former U.N. ambassador Mohammed Javad Zarif as foreign minister. Zarif has been at the center of several informal efforts to overcome U.S.-Iranian estrangement.

And Rouhani has called the chasm between Washington and Tehran an “old wound” that should be healed.

(Reuters) - The next Israeli-Palestinian peace talks session will be held in Israel in the second week of August and a first group of Palestinian prisoners will be freed by then, Israel’s chief negotiator said yesterday.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel’s Channel 10 television that the parties had agreed on alternating venues for talks in initial meetings with the first to be held in Israel.

“We and the Palestinians both determined that the first meetings would be held once in Israel and once in the Palestinian Authority ... we want to do it directly (and close to home). The next meeting will be in the second week of August in Israel,” she said in a broadcast interview.

Livni added that the prisoners would be freed “by that time” but did not give a

Tzipi Livni more specific timetable, saying that the case of each inmate slated for release still had to be scrutinised before final approval.

Last week, the Israeli Cabinet approved the release of 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in stages according to progress in the talks. Thousands more remain in Israeli jails.

The parties held their first peace talks in nearly three years in Washington this

week hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who said the “objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months”.

The United States wants to broker an agreement on a two-state solution, in which Israel would exist peacefully alongside a new Palestinian state created in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands occupied by the Israelis since a 1967 war.

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Women’s Super50 bowls off Monday WICB Media - St John’s, Antigua – The top women’s cricketers in the West Indies, including world number one Twenty20 bowler Shanel Daley, world top rated Stafanie Taylor, spinner Anisa Mohammed and West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira will be in action for several weeks this month as they compete for the coveted annual regional titles.

The West Indies Cricket Board Women’s Regional Super50 Tournament will bowl off on Monday August 5th with four matches in Grenada.

The tournament will comprise of three rounds followed by the semi finals

and final which will be played at the Tanteen Ground on Wednesday August 14.

The WICB Women’s Regional Twenty20 Tournament will then commence on Friday August 16 and conclude with the grand final on Thursday August 22 at the Grenada National Stadium.

Both formats will comprise eight teams: Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Women’s Super50 was last played in 2011 in Barbados and Jamaica are the reigning champions while Jamaica also hold the T20 title

having won the inaugural regional tournament on home soil last year. This is the first time both formats will be played in a season.

Taylor was voted the Most Valuable Player in 2012 after scoring 409 runs at an average of 81.80 and grabbing 13 wickets at 6.15 apiece.

The extra-ordinarily talented Taylor is currently ranked the number two bowler in ODIs and number six in the ICC ODI world rankings. She is the number eight ranked Twenty20 bowler.

Between the two formats the WICB will host a Player Development Seminar for all players participating in the tournament.

Tuesday July 16, 2013 ARIES MAR 21 - APR 19): Connect with the stable, grounding energy of the day, Aries, but beware that tension may come in the form of fast talk and misinformation.

People could be fickle and frantic. ********************** TARUS (APR 20 - MAY 20):Any expansive feeling you experience may be rained on today. You could get the feeling that you've lost touch with reality. Make sure you connect with real life, Taurus, and do a bit of planning to balance your whimsical side. ********************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20):Walk to the beat of your own drum, Gemini. If you try to latch on to the smoothtalking, fast-paced information of the day, your voice could get lost in the crowd. ********************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Connect with the fellow sitting next to you or perhaps the woman behind you in line at the store. He or she could share a piece of wisdom that changes your life forever. ********************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): Your self-esteem may be challenged today by a fast talker or unpleasant situation, Leo. Don't accept things at first glance.

There's a much deeper meaning brewing below the surface, and you'd be foolish not to recognize that. ********************** VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): Jump on board the fast train and see how far it takes you, Virgo. You'll be surprised at how far you can go with minimal effort.

LIBRA (SEP 23 - OCT 22): Flexibility is an important part of today, Libra. Take a relaxed, laidback approach. Trying to ram your ideas through isn't the best tactic. ********************** SCORPIO (OCT 23 NOV 21): Things coming at you from all sides are forcing you to make a move, Scorpio. Don't be pressured into something you don't want to do. A nervous restlessness may urge you to act. ********************** SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 DEC 21): Lock into the practical, grounding force of the day that is not only realistic but also flexible.

Attend to details and organize yourself, Sagittarius. ********************** CAPRICORN (DEC 22 - JAN 19): Today is one of those days in which prosperity is much closer than you think, Capricorn. You may know what you seek, but it's up to you to take the first step toward going after it. ********************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): Indecision may leave you helpless at a crossroads today, Aquarius. Others may be just as undecided regarding which way to go. ********************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): Latch on to the expansiveness that comes when you connect with others in a social arena, Pisces. Communication is a key aspect of the day. If you go with the flow you will land exactly where you need to be.

Page 31

Seven Seas cycle race on today in National Park National Cycling Coach, Hassan Mohamed MS has organised the 10th Annual Seven Seas Cycle Programme for today at the National Park Circuit starting from 09:00hrs.

Several events have been scheduled which include: 12 to 14 yrs Boys & Girls 3 Laps Veteran U – 50 yrs - 5 Laps Veteran O – 50 yrs - 5 Laps Veteran O – 60 yrs - 5 Laps Juveniles - 10 Laps Mountain Bikers - 5 Laps BMX Boys 6 to 9 yrs 2 Laps BMX Boys 9 to 12 yrs - 3 Laps BMX Boys 12 to 14 yrs - 3 Laps BMX Boys Open - 3 Laps School Boys & Invitation -

35 Laps The programme is sponsored by Seven Seas which is distributed by Geddes Grant Guyana Limited. Ms. Karen Cornell, Pharmaceutical Specialist, will distribute the prizes to the winning participants.

Last winners in the event are:

Senior - 35 Laps Raynauth Jeffrey – 1Hr/ 17Mins/29.96Secs Juveniles - 10 Laps Raynauth Jeffrey – 22Mins/53.05Secs Veteran - 5 Laps - Junior Niles – 12Mins/09Secs Mountain Bikers - 5 Laps Nigel Kingston – 13Mins/ 54Secs

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

I still have two or three years left, says Pacquiao SINGAPORE (Reuters) Eight-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao believes he has two or three years of fighting left before he quits the sport and still retains the hope of securing a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Two straight defeats, the second a brutal sixth round knockout by old foe Juan Manuel Marquez in December, prompted pundits and fans to suggest retirement for the 34-year-old Filipino.

But he will step back in the ring after an extended break on November 24 to take on American Brandon Rios for a first fight in Macau, keen to re-establish himself as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.

“Great opportunity for me to give a good show for the people, to get back my name into the top of boxing,” the Filipino congressman told

the ring.”

The 27-year-old Rios, an aggressive former lightweight world champion known as ‘Bam Bam’, will provide a stern test for Pacquiao although he lacks the box office numbers that a fifth bout with Marquez or a first with Mayweather could bring.

Pacquiao, who said three years ago his mother had given her blessing for him to fight once more, remains open to both options and has no plans to call it quits any time soon.

“I’m not really sure (how many fights left) as long as I can still fight I can fight. In my mind right now, maybe I can still fight maybe two to three years from now,” said Pacquiao, who has amassed a 54-5-2 record with 38 knockouts.

“I tell you frankly, honestly in myself I can still fight and I feel strong. If there is something wrong in my body or something wrong in my boxing skill I have to think about that and think about retirement. “But since I lost the last fight, I never feel something in my body, I still feel strong and I can still fight.”

P A C Q U I A O MAYWEATHER Pacquiao, whose power punching from both hands

and lightning speed helped him win titles from flyweight through to light middleweight, said he had trained every day since the Marquez defeat and that his body was ‘addicted to exercise’.

But having achieved so much already and with the lucrative Mayweather clash appearing destined to never happen, talk returns to retirement.

His Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who also represents Rios,

BBC Sport - Cricket Australia and the Australian prime minister have criticised the decision to give Usman Khawaja out in the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford.

Khawaja was ruled to have been caught behind despite video replays suggesting he did not hit the ball. Now Cricket Australia has asked the International Cricket Council to clarify the decision review system.

Australian PM Kevin Rudd tweeted: “That was one of the worst cricket umpiring decisions I have ever seen.”

Legendary Australia legspinner Shane Warne said: “That’s a shocker, that’s an absolute shocking decision.”

The decision review system has been under constant scrutiny during the Ashes following a series of controversial decisions. The latest incident will only increase concerns.

On-field umpire Tony Hill gave Khawaja out for one shortly before lunch on the first day, believing the batsman had edged Graeme Swann to wicketkeeper Matt Prior as he attempted to drive the off-spinner. Khawaja

asked for the decision to be reviewed, but, despite Hot Spot technology appearing to back his view he had not touched the ball, television umpire Kumar Dharmasena upheld Hill’s call.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland responded on Twitter by calling on the world governing body to account for how the procedure was used in this instance. “CA chief executive officer James Sutherland seeks clarification from the ICC on the dismissal of Usman Khawaja,” Cricket Australia tweeted.

Sutherland added in a statement to the press following the close of play: “Cricket Australia has sought an explanation from the ICC on the dismissal of Usman Khawaja. In our view, the onfield decision and referred decision using DRS were both incorrect.

“CA remains a strong supporter of DRS and believes it is important that cricket continues to improve and build confidence in the DRS. “We understand and accept that from time to time

mistakes can be made.

However, in this instance, on behalf of the player, the team and all cricket fans, we feel duty bound to seek further explanation as to how this decision was arrived at.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board also took to Twitter to question DRS after Jonathan Trott was also controversially given out lbw in the first Test at Trent Bridge last month. Australia opener Chris Rogers, who hit 84, was the non-striker when Khawaja was given out.

He added: “Even in real time I didn’t think he hit it, I didn’t think he was anywhere near it.

“I thought it was not out and that’s why we reviewed it. And from what we saw on the replays, I think even the England guys had given up hope of it being out.”

Legendary Australia legspinner Warne said: “There was daylight between bat and ball; there was no hot spot and no noise.”

Australia, who are 2-0 down in the series, need to win the Test to have any chance of regaining the Ashes.

reporters in Singapore on Friday on the latest leg of the promotional tour for the bout.

“Brandon Rios is a good boxer, tough opponent and I believe we can give a good fight. Especially his style and my style it is very good to fight each other, we can create a lot of action in

Boxer Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines waves as he arrives for a news conference in Singapore August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Edgar Su acknowledged politics and not boxing was Pacquiao’s main focus.

“What is the end game with Manny? The end game is to run and win for the highest possible office in the Philippines, boxing is just a way-station for Manny Pacquiao,” the veteran promoter told reporters. “I think he has much to offer his country.

“He will know when to call it quits in boxing and it may very well be before a normal fighter would call it quits because he has what I think are more important things to accomplish.”

For now though, fighting in Asia and putting on an entertaining show for the high number of Filipino fans expected to take the two-hour flight to Macao is Pacquiao’s focus.

China’s gambling enclave also means no long haul flying to America for training, but

Pacquiao acknowledged the 1130 a.m. local fight time to cater for the U.S. television audience would be slightly problematic and require 0400 wake up calls.

Pacquiao, though, made strong hints about future fights in the region instead of America, with Arum touting the Philippines and Singapore as possible venues.

A move that Arum hoped might finally lead to Mayweather, one of the true greats of the sport, getting in the ring with Pacquiao.

“Never say never,” Arum said of the possible match up.

“I think when Floyd realizes the economic benefits of doing a fight in Asia, maybe at the new Singapore stadium ... maybe that will open up a dialogue for a PacquiaoMayweather fight in Asia.”

Lochte wins third 200 meters backstroke gold

Cricket Australia asks for DRS clarification

Ryan Lochte of the U.S. reacts after winning the men’s 200m backstroke final during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea BARCELONA (Reuters) - American Ryan Lochte won the third 200 meters backstroke gold of his career at the world championships in Barcelona on Friday.

The decorated 28-yearold clocked a time of one minute 53.79 seconds, with Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland taking silver in 1:54.24 and Lochte’s compatriot, Olympic champion Tyler Clary,

bronze in 1:54.64.

Lochte, who won 200 meters individual medley gold on Thursday, is only the second man to win three 200 backstroke titles after compatriot and world record holder Aaron Peirsol, who won four in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2009.

Lochte was champion in 2007 and at the last world championships in Shanghai two years ago.

Meanwhile, Cate Campbell of Australia won gold in the women’s 100 meters freestyle also yesterday. Campbell clocked a time of 52.34 seconds, with Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden taking silver in 52.89 and Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands bronze in 53.42.

American teenager Missy Franklin, who has four golds this week, was fourth.

Saturday August 03, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Duminy helps South Africa pull off heist ESPNcricinfo - Replay the manner in which South Africa were defeated four times on their tour of Sri Lanka so far and you would have expected them to lose this match as well.

The top order failed, the middle order was exposed but only just hung together and the bowlers had too little to work with. But this time, they pulled off a heist despite all their deficiencies.

JP Duminy followed up his half-century with a matchwinning bowling performance while Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell finally showed capabilities of bowling at the death. Kumar Sangakkara’s 59 was one of only two doublefigure scores on Sri Lanka’s card as the rest battled on a slow surface.

South African fans would not have expected that, after their team seemed to have lost the match before the first innings powerplay was even complete. Sri Lanka’s offspinner Sachithra Senanayake plucked three wickets from a top order that has yet to find their confidence. Their bowlers, though, had theirs boosted after they defended a low total which required Sri Lanka to score just 37 runs in the last five overs.

Sri Lanka looked set to chase down the total without much fuss when they scored 13 runs in the first two overs.

South Africa’s bowlers were miserly as only two Sri Lankan batsmen managed double-digit scores © AFP Kusal Perera showed attacking intent but his temperament gave way when he mis-hit Morne Morkel to point.

Dinesh Chandimal also

seemed in a hurry. He hit two boundaries before bottomedging Lonwabo Tsotsobe, after struggling with the extra bounce.

With early setbacks, Sri

Lanka’s seniors Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara knuckled down and tried to pick singles off Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir. But all the patience

Dilshan showed in the ODI series vanished when Duminy was introduced, as in an attempt to take the bowler on, Dilshan only managed to offer AB de Villiers a catch at longon.

Sri Lanka needed to score 70 runs in the second-half of their innings but with the inform Sangakkara at the crease, they would have thought it more than possible. While he found the boundary, the rest found the fielders.

Angelo Mathews gave Duminy a tame return catch and then Jeevan Mendis swept him to deep square leg the next ball. Duminy didn’t complete a hat-trick but he wouldn’t mind that.

Lahiru Thirimanne and Thisara Perera holed out within six balls of each other and suddenly, South Africa had the upper-hand. With 21 runs to defend off 12 balls, Parnell mixed up his pace in a double-wicket maiden and Morkel bowled a few full to ensure run-scoring opportunities were unavailable. Sangakkara hit two fours off the last over but he could not do it alone and in the end, Sri Lanka ended up with a worse batting performance than South Africa.

That hardly seemed possible after Senanayake’s start. He exposed Quinton de Kock’s inexperience and had

the young wicket-keeper batsman playing down the wrong line to one that straightened to get him lbw.

Henry Davids also could not read Senanayake. After trying to work him to leg and push him to cover, he went for the sweep to a full delivery and was trapped in front. And then, Faf du Plessis’ lean series became leaner. After constant shuffling at the crease, he tried to play inside the line of a straighter one and was bowled.

De Villiers and JP Duminy posted a small stand of 27 and Duminy took on the responsibility of anchoring the innings. He hung around for long enough to accelerate slightly and along with David Miller, helped South Africa manage 21 runs off the 16th and 17th over.

Miller became Lasith Malinga’s 50th T20 victim but Duminy notched up a more favourable record. He brought up his fifty with a slog-sweep off an Ajantha Mendis full toss, which took over 1,000 T20 runs and made him South Africa’s leading scorer in the format, overtaking Graeme Smith, and giving the team a morale-boosting win during a tough tour.

Scores: South Africa 115 for 6 (Duminy 51, Senanayake 3-14) beat Sri Lanka 103 for 9 (Sangakkara 59*, Duminy 318) by 12 runs.

Australia dominate England in third Test BBC Sport - Australia continued to dictate the course of the third Test as captain Michael Clarke posted his highest Ashes score before Peter Siddle made early inroads into England’s reply.

Clarke made an imperious 187 and was backed up by half-centuries from Steve Smith, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc in Australia’s first-innings 527-7 declared.

Siddle then removed Joe Root and nightwatchman Tim Bresnan to leave England 522 at the close of the second day. Captain Alastair Cook survived two near-misses to reach 36 not out, with Jonathan Trott on two.

On a pitch offering little to the seamers but plenty to the spinners, England were reliant on Graeme Swann, who took advantage of considerable turn to take 5159, his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests.

Stuart Broad’s 200th Test wicket aside, it was a difficult day for the England pace attack. James Anderson was

Michael Clarke bottom edged into his stumps for 187 (PA Photos) particularly innocuous on his home ground, recording his worst Test figures of 0-116 two days after being described as the best bowler

of his era by Pakistan legend Wasim Akram.

Clarke’s declaration 15 minutes after tea gave Australia more than two hours to bowl

before stumps and they almost claimed the prized wicket of Cook early on. A fizzing delivery from spinner Nathan Lyon in his first over of the series grazed the edge of Cook’s bat before cannoning off wicketkeeper Haddin’s pads and landing just short of Clarke’s despairing dive from slip. Root played with extreme caution to make eight off 57 balls, but succumbed half an hour before the close when he edged Siddle behind.

The seam bowler then had Bresnan caught behind after missing a pull. Bresnan opted against referring the decision, only for replays to show the ball brushed Bresnan’s thigh.

There was more drama in the penultimate over as Trott called Cook through for a sharp single, leaving his captain at the mercy of David Warner’s throw, which came within a whisker of hitting the stumps.

Earlier, Clarke - 125 not out overnight - continued to make good on his pre-match promise that Australia would fight back from 2-0 down in

the series with three Tests to play. Setting an aggressive tone, he cracked consecutive fours off Anderson followed by three in a row off Tim Bresnan as he and Smith set a new record fourth-wicket partnership at the ground of 214. Smith, who resumed on 70, had moved to within 11 runs of a maiden Test century when he aimed a swipe towards cow corner and holed out to Jonny Bairstow at midwicket.

Warner was greeted like a pantomime villain as he strode out for his first Test innings since he infamously punched Root in a Birmingham nightspot.

He was soon departing to an even louder chorus of boos after penning a whole new chapter in the decision review system subplot that is fast becoming a major diversion from the main narrative.

Given out for five to a slip catch off Swann, Warner risked Australia’s last remaining referral and was made to look foolish when replays revealed a clear edge on to Matt Prior’s

pad before the ball looped to Trott at slip.

Despite the England fans’ delight in seeing Warner so embarrassed, there was no shift in the momentum as Haddin attacked the home side’s bowling in a sixthwicket partnership of 62 with Clarke.

Clarke’s downfall, gloving Broad on to his stumps, and the castling of an overambitious Siddle by Swann, also proved to be momentary blips as Haddin and Starc kept Australia on top with an entertaining unbroken stand of 97 off 118 balls.

Starc, in particular, belied his position at number nine with some straight drives reminiscent of former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and had hit nine fours in his 66 not out by the time Clarke called time on the innings.

Scores: England 52 for 2 (Cook 36*, Trott 2*, Siddle 27) trail Australia 527 for 7 declared (Clarke 187, Smith 89, Rogers 84, Starc 66*, Haddin 65*, Swann 5-159) by 475 runs.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Saturday August 03, 2013

Inaugural London cycle race ‘does not fulfil Olympic legacy’ BBC Sport - Some of the world’s best cyclists will take to the roads of London this weekend for the inaugural RideLondon.

But a leading female cyclist has been critical of the organisers’ decision to host an elite men’s road race but not an equivalent for women.

“It doesn’t fulfil the Olympic legacy,” said Britain’s Helen Wyman, the European cyclocross champion.

Organisers said it was logistically difficult to hold two elite road races in the first year of the event. But they added that the schedule would be reviewed after a post-event debrief this year.

Rather than a road race,

women will have a criterium today (at 18:30 BST) - one of four events which form the two-day cycling festival, which forms part of London’s Olympic legacy.

Around 100 female riders, including Olympians Laura Trott, Dani King and Jo Rowsell, as well as Wyman, will compete on a special 1.3 mile street circuit, known as a criterium, around Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park.

The men will be in action tomorrow, in the 140-mile Surrey Classic (12:45 BST), which will feature around 150 of the world’s top male cyclists.

Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, who beat Mark Cavendish to

Some of the world’s best cyclists will take to the roads of London (Getty Images) win the green jersey for the points classification at the Tour de France, will take part, as will British veteran rider David Millar.

Pakistan to host Sri Lanka in UAE

The festival opens with an eight-mile ride through central London, where roads will be closed for up to 50,000 people to take part.

Then tomorrow, around 20,000 thousand amateur cyclists - including celebrities such as three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker - will take part in a 100mile challenge from Surrey to the capital.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Wyman, 32, added: “It’s unfortunate, it’s a shame that they have a criterium (a short

circular race) for the women but a really impressive road race for the men.

“Cycling became really big in the last two or three years because of what Bradley Wiggins and Lizzie Armistead have done. People who are new to the sport don’t see inequalities so why enforce these inequalities by not treating men and women as equal?

“It’s reinforcing the idea that women’s cycling is not really a professional sport when it genuinely is. It’s really

sad.” Last month, a number of female cyclists signed a petition, which currently has more than 70,000 signatures, to resurrect the women’s Tour de France, which was held between 1984 and 2009 before sponsorship problems contributed to the event’s demise.

However, it was recently announced that from next year the Tour of Britain would have a five-day international women’s race, a first step towards a full women’s version.

Increase ban on drug cheats - Bubka

The series will be the second time Pakistan are hosting Sri Lanka in the UAE © AFP ESPNcricinfo - Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between December 2013 and January 2014 for a bilateral series that includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s. The series, the second bilateral contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

The T20s and ODIs have been scheduled before the Tests. The T20s will be played on December 11 and 13 in Dubai, while Sharjah will host the first ODI on December 18.

The last two ODIs will be played in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan will take on Afghanistan in a T20 match before the start of the Sri Lanka series, although the venue for the match has not

yet been announced.

The first Test has been scheduled for December 31 in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will host the second and third Tests, from January 8 and January 16.

“The tour itinerary has been approved after consultation between Pakistan Cricket Board and its counterpart Sri Lanka,” the PCB said in a statement.

Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, Pakistan have been forced to play their home series overseas, with UAE being the preferred venue. The last time the two sides played in the UAE in 2011, Pakistan won the ODIs 4-1 and won the Test and T20 series 1-0.

Pakistan enjoyed little success on their tour of Sri

Lanka in June and July 2012 the last bilateral series between the teams - losing the Tests (1-0) and ODIs (3-1), while the T20 series was tied.

Fixtures 1st T20I: December 11, Dubai 2nd T20I: December 13, Dubai 1st ODI: December 18, Sharjah 2nd ODI: December 20, Dubai 3rd ODI: December 22, Sharjah 4th ODI: December 25, Abu Dhabi 5th ODI: December 27, Abu Dhabi 1st Test: December 31January 4, Dubai 2nd Test: January 8-12, Abu Dhabi 3rd Test: January 16-20, Sharjah

LONDON, England (AFP) — International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential candidate Sergei Bubka urged athletics authorities to clamp down on drug cheats and increase the length of their bans.

The 49-year-old polevaulting legend is backing fellow athletics great Sebastian Coe’s recommendation that athletes who fail drugs tests be banned for four years instead of the current two-year sanction. Bubka was speaking yesterday in the wake of a recent wave of highprofile positive dope tests that have seen sprinters such as Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay sidelined and have damaged the credibility of the sport. The Ukrainian is adamant bans must be longer if youngsters are to be attracted to track and field and the sport is to retain its integrity and that athletes must not hide behind the use of supplements if they fall foul of the drug testers. “We will not excuse the dopers. It must be increased from a two-year ban to a four-year ban,” Bubka told reporters.

“We need to go this way and we must protect the honest athletes. We must eliminate the cheaters and this

Sergei Bubka is very important for sport, very important for the youth and for the credibility of the sport. We need to be very strong and tough with the doping. You are responsible.

The supplement business has become a multi-million dollar business and we give them information but in the end it is the athletes’ responsibility.

“They could simply use vitamins. Who is paying the price? The athletes. Of course, some positive cases are unpleasant but you will pay the price if you go the wrong way.”

Bubka is one of six candidates for the IOC presidency along with Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico, Denis Oswald of Switzerland, Ng Ser Miang of Singapore, Germany’s Thomas Bach and CK Wu of Taiwan. The elections will take place on September 10 in

Buenos Aires at the 125th IOC session to see who will succeed Jacques Rogge in the sport’s top office. And if he is successful Bubka, who was a six-time world champion and is current world record holder, hopes to use his influence to bring more youngsters to athletics and build on the success of last year’s Olympic Games in London.

Bubka added: “One of the priorities is the youth because we want to promote what is good in the generation. We had a successful Olympic Games, but we need to promote the sport.

“We need to look at the health condition of the kids with obesity and diabetes.

With computers and social media there are a lot of activities that replace physical activity.

“Physical education at school is not very good in many countries and we need to change and engage the youth with the help of governments and institutes of sport. We need to get a legacy for future generations. This is a great opportunity for me to run for the IOC presidency.”

Bubka is currently the president of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee, senior vice-president of the IAAF, and a member of the IOC Executive Board. He has also been a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.