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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
The promise of rainfall sends us running The recent flooding of several parts of the city and villages along Guyana’s low lying coastline highlights the perception that no serious effort is being expended by the authorities to prevent a recurrence of financial loss and physical suffering experienced by hundreds during the Great Flood of 2005. It is a given now that the mere promise of rainfall sends many persons scurrying to place their hard earned belongings on high ground, or to find sand bags to protect their property from damage. Flooding is a major source of loss to individuals and businesses; but except for 2005 those affected have not been able to access the type of government disaster assistance that should be automatic in a country like Guyana. Flood coverage has not historically featured as part of standard homeowner policies provided by local insurance companies - at least at affordable rates. Also it is no coincidence that a disproportionately high number of lowincome households are without insurance since the cost benefits of paying premiums is not attractive all things considered. Ideally, once builders are in compliance with minimum foundation elevation requirements insurance companies should have no serious reservations about underwriting flood insurance policies. However, it would be incumbent on lending institutions to also ensure that borrowers’ construction plans comply with building regulations for the particular area. The last is important since some areas are more prone to higher levels of water than others, and does not relieve central government and/or the relevant Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) of their responsibility to maintain effective drainage and flood defence systems. The US Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 which offers flood insurance to homeowners, renters, and business owners if communities agree to adopt and enforce ordinances that meet or exceed Federal Emergency Management Agency’s requirements to reduce the risk of flooding. What makes the introduction of a flood insurance desirable is the fact that Guyana is not affected by hurricanes or other tropical storms which form part of the normal weather patterns in some countries even within the Caribbean. Therefore market penetration in this respect is achievable by the more forward looking in the insurance industry particularly in low-risk flood areas. Of course this could be offset by the premiums generated in the high-risk flood zones as well as the damage costs. Two of the benefits likely to accrue to homeowners must be the guarantee of reimbursement for flood damages; and not having to repay flood insurance benefits once a claim is paid. Government will need to incentivize the private sector to provide flood insurance that is both available and affordable since it does not have the power to force insurers to compensate for its own failure to protect its citizens, and if it will not be emulating the NFIP model anytime soon. A comprehensive examination of insurance regimes adopted by the Netherlands, France, Iceland, Germany and the USA may be a good point of departure for a responsive government. The seasonal rainfall has begun and already people are complaining about the flood waters in their homes and streets. The hue and cry about climate change and rising sea levels have apparently been relegated to the back burner in recent times. Therefore it would be best if the government takes up the role of compensating all those who suffer loss not to mention inconvenience and discomfort since it is the government in whatever form that is responsible for flood defences. Appropriate policy responses are required in the face of the increased frequency of extreme weather events including realistic investment in flood-protection infrastructure, the renewal of urban drainage systems, and innovative agricultural drainage practices.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
Political prostitution of a hero’s death DEAR EDITOR, Nelson Mandela was a revolutionary who opposed the venal political, economic and racist policy of apartheid imposed upon his country by a supremacist ruling elite. At first he attempted to persuade them to change their ways by engaging in non-violent activism. When that did not seem to have any impact on the racist consciousness of the oppressors, he resorted to armed resistance within the folds of an African National Congress Liberation front. Throughout the latter engagement he and the leaders of that front unequivocally rejected any violence against the innocent, regardless of where
their support allegiance happened to be. In 1963 he and ten other leaders of the Johannesburg Rivonia militant wing of the ANC were put on trial and subsequently convicted. In the dock at his trial he declared quote, “ ....the ideal of a democracy and a free society is one for which I am prepared to die”. In the period following the announcement of his passing, expressions of grief, admiration, loyalty and empathy with his life, activism and fealty have flooded the news media, and in Guyana there was no exception. And it is there where the examination of Mandela’s life, his activism for equality and democracy, his philosophical expositions, and the
comparisons with the attitude of his newly epiphanied aspirants become interesting. Interesting because the gap between these expressions and crocodile tears of affinity with Mandela’s life, activism and p h i l o s o p h i c a l understandings and the policies, attitudes and actions of his fair weather admirers in and from Guyana could not be more vast. And nothing better exemplified this than their sneaking exit from Guyana on the way to South Africa in order to usurp credit for the material and philosophical support Guyana provided in South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
From the US, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom etc., there was exhibited a civilized consciousness that political prostitution of this hero’s death would not be something he would have wanted or counseled. They exhibited the understanding that for this icon, his philosophy and ethical adherence to the principles of inclusiveness in leadership as a representative legacy at his remembrance, would be an important gesture from those who ostensibly came to celebrate his life. From Guyana however, where such civilized and principled ideas and consciousness appear to be extinct from the consciences Continued on page 8
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A reply to Mr. Raymond Sangster DEAR EDITOR, This letter is in response to Mr. Raymond Sangster (General Manager Agriculture Services published in Kaieteur News (page 4 and 23 ) on the 07-122013 captioned “Mr. Vieira’s letter is riddled with inaccuracies.” Mr. Raymond Sangster, you should be ashamed to reply to Mr. Vieira’s letter. Mr. Vieira is a reputable and an outstanding person in the Agriculture Sector and in the business community. Mr. Vieira has owned and managed a sugar plantation. Your reply to Mr. Vieira’s letter clearly indicates to the general public that you are not willing to learn and adapt yourself to changes. Instead, you are prepared to make everybody a failure under your watch as the GM Agri. services Mr. Sangster, you betrayed the trust that Guysuco placed in you as the General Manager Agri. Services. You have been entrusted with the responsibilities to ensure that
Guysuco turnaround plan works and makes the industry more viable. Your roles and responsibilities are to ensure that work standards be maintained and make recommendation for improvement, rather than attacking Mr. Vieira. Under your watch, Guysuco achieved a very poor TC/HA of 43 in 2012 second crop and approximately 49 TC/HA in the second crop 2013, the lowest yields ever in the 100 plus years Guysuco has been in existence. In any other part of the world the General Manager Agri. Service would have resigned or be dismissed. Mr. Vieira said that conversion is the cause for low yield and he is absolutely correct. They are various reasons:1. Have you ever done a quality control on a converted harvested field to determine how much millable cane with the highest sucrose is left in the field and how much cane juice is extracted in the
Suggestions for a fitting tribute to Mr. Josiah DEAR EDITOR, There will be many tributes on the death of Asst Commissioner Derrick Josiah. Mr Josiah was involved in a training programme which was designed for Police and others to intervene in domestic violence. He was an accomplished and committed trainer and remained concerned about how the police dealt with cases of domestic violence and child abuse. This concern continued even as he moved into different responsibilities. The evidence of this concern is his presentation in the Help & Shelter video : Break the silence, Stop the Violence. The Guyana Police Force and the Government, in tribute to the memory of Mr Josiah, should consolidate on all the recommendations made to ensure that the Police have a consistent and high quality response to reports of
domestic violence and child abuse. Vidyaratha Kissoon
fields (juice is meant for the factory). Have you ever thought about implementing proper harvesting standards. 2. Have you ever thought of machine movement on a harvested bed? Mr. Sangster please examine that, a harvesting bed has become like a play field, whereby movement is 10 time the amount required of such a great amount of compaction is achieved. 3. Mr. Sangster, have you ever examined Mr. Steve Hall’s mechanical layout fields in regard to the machine movements or are you just prepared to condemn him as you did to Mr. Vieira. Mr. Sangster, there are plenty other major reasons pertaining to low yields. You mention that your major factor for low yield is weather. Well, if this is so, then Mr. Vieira rightly said you need to increase your fleet of harvesters and make use to the opportunity time. Can you please explain to the General Public:- why Skeldon was transporting cane to Albion since October, 2013. - why Skeldon has to carry over in excess of 70,000 tonnes of canes? Mr. Sangster, in your response, you have fed the general public with inaccurate information regarding land preparation, where you
mention long boom excavators are used to establish beds but instead blades are used. You also mention that Filter mud is applied on corner and affected row., I wonder if this operation is mechanized. You also make mention that extra LGRP is applied to correct the acidity in affected areas. I wonder where this is done. I know for a fact soil sample is done prior to land preparation and the amount is determine by sample result, so I do not know where the word EXTRA come from and where it is applied because it is not a practice at Skeldon. Mr. Sangster, as the General Manager Agri Services, I wish to join with you in saying that the Skeldon New Factory is malfunctioning. But let us examine the fields, which are producing at 43 & 49 TC/HA. Is that joyful or is that a factory problem too. Emphasis must be placed on the husbandry of cane to achieve 100 TC/ HA as many farmers are doing. You can learn from them. Sabita Persaud
Shouldn’t Whittaker blame Government for flooding outside of Georgetown? DEAR EDITOR, I am intrigued by statements allegedly made by Junior Minister Whittaker about flooding in Georgetown on November 27. After stating that Georgetown is under the management of the Mayor and City Council and observing that the majority of the councillors are either members or supporters of the )PNC/APNU, the Minister went on to say that “this grouping shamelessly refuses to ever accept responsibility for their mismanagement of the affairs of the City.” The Minister is also reported to have said that the Mayor and City C o u n c i l lors must accept responsibility for the flooding and the destruction it caused. ( Kaieteur News
December3) In reflecting on the Minister’s pronouncements the question arose as to whether it would be in order to use the Minister’s template for the whole country since there was extensive flooding outside of Georgetown. The Minister’s offerings would then be amended by replacing “Georgetown” with “{Guyana” the “Mayor and City Councillors” with “the Government” and PNC/ APNU with”PPP/Civic. and assign blame accordingly! Additionally the Ministry of Local Government has been in the spotlight over the matter of the garbage MOU and Soobagate. Is it not time for a Different Interim Management Team at that Ministry? Rashleighj E. Jackson
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Mr. Josiah touched many with his professionalism and compassion
Political prostitution of a...
DEAR EDITOR, On behalf of the Board of Directors, Executives and members of The Humanitarian Mission of New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc. its Guyana and Toronto Chapter, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family, his fellow Law Enforcement Comrades on the passing of Assistant Commissioner Derrick Josiah. His demise was received with great sadness. However all is not lost. I had the opportunity in meeting with him while he was stationed in Berbice, as Commander. There isn’t much we can say or do to ease the pain of separation from his dear family members, his Law Enforcement Comrades and all those who he had a relationship with him. However, please take comfort in knowing that our prayers and thoughts are with his entire family and friends during this very difficult time.
We recognize that there is much pain involved in letting go of someone so dear to them and so loved by them all, we encourage them to surrender their pains to the feet of God Almighty, knowing that God is capable of and will remove the pain of separation. So let’s celebrate his life and legacy in a meaning full way. He has touched the lives of many with his professionalism, kindness and compassion. Additionally, be assured in knowing that God loves them, He is holding out His arms to comfort each one of them at this critical juncture of the life, and that our collective prayers to God will strengthen their heart to find the solace the truly deserve for him being such a compassionate and caring person especially to his family, friends and all those who he has touched with his genuine love. “Not how did he die, but how did he live -
Not what did he gain, but what did he give.” He was one of those extraordinary people who will never be forgotten in a lifetime. His life was like a sunbeam that lit up the world around him, his family and friends. Now that he is not physically here with us, we can bask in the rainbow of his loving memories that will live forever in our hearts. “Death ends a relationship, but not love.” No, it won’t be the same without him by any means, but we will go on as best as we can and look forward to the day we will meet him again in eternity. We shower his entire family, friends and his Law Enforcement Comrades with our prayers and trust each of them will draw strength from God, their many spiritual friends and family who want to help you through this very difficult time. We may not ever understand why he died. For many years he took good care of everyone. It was so tough to stay so strong, the road he traveled hard and long. But now sihe has gone to walk a beat on some goldpaved heaven street. The angels will rest well forever and we will take comfort together. Lay down your burdens one by one - the time for healing has begun. In memory we love you still and you know that we always will Derrick. Pandit Suresh Sugrim
From page 4 of the ruling elite, we witness this disgraceful exhibition, this insult to the memory of a leader who taught the world the true meaning of peace making. Mr. Editor, Nelson Mandela has always been one of my more admired leaders. At times while I was in prison (on a trumped up treason charge) for a fraction of the time he spent there, I gained inspiration and courage from the example he provided to all of us. Although the distance I walked in his moccasins was comparatively short, I recognized that I was still in the embryonic stage of His Long Walk to Freedom. I continue to reach for that holy grail of values and standards that he provided to this world, and although it is doubtful that any of us can get there, I recognize that the willingness and determination to make that effort, to continue with that reaching, will be more celebratory of his life and sacrifices, than all of the empty rhetoric and chest beatings we witness from many who expect that such manifestations will convince others into believing that they have found “religion”. There is a verse from Shakespeare’s Henry V that exclaims, “From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberedWe few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me, Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall
gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now a bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day”. This should have been an expression from those who actively and philosophically stepped up to the plate when South Africa called, when they mounted that podium to celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Madiba Mandela. Everyone by now knows that I am an aspirant to hold the office of the Mayoralty of the Capital City of Guyana. As I reflect on the travails of apartheid South Africa, I cannot help but find an analogous relationship between the experiences of the people of Soweto South Africa, and the people of present day Georgetown. The conditions of squalor, economic and political marginalization, and environmental degradation that inundated Soweto during apartheid, seem to have migrated to Guyana, taking the form of an “oasis of wealth in vast deserts of human poverty”. And it is quite clear to me that the ideals and p h i l o s o p h i c a l understandings of Mandela would be drastically opposed to the hubris, the arrogance and antipathy that describes the attitude and behavior of the National Government towards the people of Georgetown and their chosen representatives. It is quite
clear to me that it would have been seen as outrageous for the Prime Minister of apartheid South Africa to usurp the wishes of the residents of Soweto by imposing upon them a directorate in whom they had no confidence, and saw as an executive arm of the dictatorial and oppressive regime. The hypocrisy that encourages a leadership to bask in the atmosphere of celebrations of a life dedicated to inclusiveness, fairness and respect for all, while being venally contradictory in their attitudes and policies at home is enough to make one want to puke. As Mayor of Georgetown it is my fervent promise that I would be guided by the magnanimity, the grace, the sense of equal justice, which was reflected in the life of Nelson Madiba Mandela. That I would never insult the intelligence of a city and nation by preaching one thing and practicing another. That I would not simply acknowledge the importance of inclusiveness and equality in my Municipal Administration, but would ensure that standard was manifestly apparent for all to see and behold. My courage to confront what I see as dictatorial and oppressive and unfair power cannot be in question, because I have stood alone and unafraid many a times to oppose the power and authority that encouraged and cohabited with unfairness and persecution. Like the great Martyr Martin Luther King Jr, I do believe that one must never be silent when livelihood and wellbeing of the poor and weak are at stake. Mark A. Benschop Former Political Prisoner
Sunday December 15, 2013
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New River Triangle debacle
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Dem boys seh
Ramotar must scrap mining pact, relieve Guyana get tek from de Guyanese Robert Persaud of Ministerial duties “Whatever the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, may or may not have said to the Natural Resources Committee of Parliament, one fact is clear: Muri Brasil Ventures Inc, has been granted the right to apply to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for, and shall be granted (emphasis added) a maximum of eighteen Prospecting Licences for Rare Earth Elements, Bauxite, Limestone, Nephelene Syenite, Gold, Diamonds and Granite Stones.” This is according to Financial Analyst, Christopher Ram, who in his most recent writings on his chrisram.net media outlet, said that in face of the implications and improprieties, President Ramotar has only one option in this matter. According to Ram, the President must scrap the ‘Permission to survey’ given to the company and relieve Robert Persaud of any ministerial duties. Ram suggested that Persaud’s Ministerial performance has been characterised by some grave lapses and his commitment to responsible governance and accountability is even poorer than Guyana’s. “There are several and dangerous implications arising from the actions of Minister Persaud, whatever he and his Stakeholder Support Officer namesake may try to spin,” said Ram. He suggested that much has been made about whether or not Persaud lied, or as his counterpart in the National Assembly Joseph Harmon, euphemistically put it, “was economical with the truth.” “Of course, lying by politicians and, particularly this current crop, is not a barrier to upward mobility, often goes hand-in-hand with the accumulation of private wealth, and proudly worn as a badge of honour among peers rather than condemned by the citizenry”. BIG DEAL According to Ram, the area involved in this ‘Permission’ cannot be expressed in units of hundreds or even thousands. Rather, the rights granted by the Minister covers an area 2.2 million acres of Guyana, which represents more than four per cent of the land mass of Guyana.” He said, too, that the revenue which the Government of Guyana will collect over the three-year period is a paltry US$85,000.
…Company was secretly granted rights for 2,200,000 acres of land - Chris Ram
President Donald Ramotar
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud
Financial Analyst, Christopher Ram
“Clearly, the Minister places very little value on the resources of this country.” Ram in his analysis of the Permission granted to survey the large tract of land, pointed out that unlike several permissions granted under the same Act, the Muri permission is not limited to one mineral such as gold or petroleum. “This is for at least seven distinct types of mineral…The opportunities and financial incentives for the permission holder to explore for these are commensurately greater.” Ram suggested that with the GGMC controlled by the Minister, as if it is a Unit of his loosely defined Ministry, any expectation that the GGMC would or could competently oversee the execution of the Permission seems hopelessly misplaced. Ram said, too, that among the many concerns is the capacity of the persons
involved. “The company, Muri Brasil Ventures Inc. was incorporated in Guyana just months before the issue of the Permission, with a very modest authorised share capital of one hundred thousand shares with a minimum issue price of $1 each.” He said that while it is unclear how the surveys will be financed, “what we do know is that one of the directors, is it seems, the money behind the project is a Yucatan Reis, believed to be a Brazilian national. The other director is Dean Hassan formerly of North American Resources Incorporated Limited, “with which he parted company in less than amicable circumstances.” He noted that the Company Secretary is David Bacchus, a name that has long been associated with the GGMC and mining.
Ram did note, “I am trying to ascertain whether this is the same person who has been appointed to investigate a complaint in which the Minister was named.” He said that given the circumstances, “you would expect that the Minister would have caused to be carried out a thorough due diligence of the application and applicants, including all statutory compliance and money-laundering clearance, of all the persons behind Muri.” Ram suggested that Hassan has friends in high places and pointed out that at a Christmas party he hosted on Friday night at the New Thriving Restaurant, the Minister and the Prime Minister were prominent by their presence. INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS Ram pointed out too that Continued on page 57
Guyanese a tek everything these days and does shut up. And when dem boys seh tek, dem don’t mean tek like de fat crook and de shaat crook; like Rob de Earth and Irfaat. Dem does tek insult and nuff cuss. Dem boys seh that Jagdeo give China half of Guyana. Rob de Earth give Brazil a quarter and India, de other quarter. Ramotar did sleeping when all this happen suh he didn’t see when Guyanese lef wid de dutty pavement. But was it a giveaway? Dem boys now confirm that wha Rob de Earth do wid a Brazilian company by just giving dem four per cent of Guyana was a deal. It had big draw back and kickback. Nuff of dem foreign-named and sometimes fancy name company is really just a front. De Brazilian company is a front fuh a scampish Guyanese. He been wid another company and dem kick he out after he tek. That is wha open up dem boys eyes, brains and dem behind to de fact that Crooks Incorporated headed by Jagdeo and Rob de Earth and dem Bobby, including de fat crook and de shaat crook is really a foreign entity. Is when de people sit down pun de pave that dem really realize how much these sons of bitches love Guyana and its people. Dem boys only hope that Donald open he eyes. One man seh that he should start looking fuh balls and if he got problem Santa wid he helicopter can drop off some proppa ones at State House. De people at de Berbice Bridge think dem got balls fuh tell this nation that dem lower de Bridge toll when in fact that was to help de rich get more rich. De vehicles that would help de poor man, like minibuses and hire car, ain’t get no reduction. De poor man got to keep paying de same fare. Gerry de Duke only pull out from de private sector statement when he hear people was planning to boycott he businesses. Dem had boycott in Parliament too. People ask nuff question ever since APNU lady didn’t vote and de government get its own way in de parliament. Dem boys seh that it was high drama. De lady who ain’t vote seh how she fall in a trance. She sit down right next to she doctor and she ain’t tell he nutten. When was vote time she didn’t open she mouth, De new $5,000 bill hypnotise she. And was nuff pass by she. She couldn’t open she mouth but…
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Sunday December 15, 2013
Fly Jamaica to start nonstop Buxton children treated to Christmas party Canada flights next Wednesday Elaine McNeal (centre) flanked by relatives and children who received gifts at the Christmas party
Fly Jamaica’s 200 seat 757 Boeing
The Jamaican-based airline Fly Jamaica is expected to start its once a week nonstop Toronto, Canada flights come next Wednesday. The airline’s 757 Boeing is expected to land in Guyana on Tuesday morning and depart for the North American country on Wednesday 08:00hours, arriving 13:00hours local time. Trips to the Canadian destination were expected to commence last summer, but setbacks saw start up being pushed back to November and now December. Airline officials have stated however
that flights on the Canadian route are well underway, while in-bound flights are filled to capacity. The airline also commenced New York bound flights in late September, thrice weekly, in-transit Jamaica. The airline says that it is offering compatible airfares, with in-bound New York flights also filled to capacity. The airline is offering lowest airfares now to Christmas, to New York at US$302 and lowest to Canada US$366 tax included. Officials say that the Canadian route is very
important to link locals to those in the diaspora. Caribbean Airlines recently dominated the Canadian route, as well as the US route. Ticket fares had reached exorbitant prices when the Trinidad-owned airline capitalized following the pull out of US-owned Delta Airlines and the fall out of low fare carriers EZJet and RedJet. Yesterday also saw the return of US-based Travelspan to Guyanese shores, bringing more competition to the much plied GT/NY route.
Heavy rain and high winds flatten...
The Children of Buxton, East Coast Demerara and surrounding villages were treated to a Christmas party hosted by 90-year-old Elaine McNeal of Friendship Village, East Coast Demerara. The event saw hundreds of children receiving gifts and being treated to meals and Ferris wheel rides. Elaine Mc Neal returned to Guyana 28
years ago from the United States and started the event to assist and help children to feel the Christmas spirit. Mrs. McNeal, mother of Presidential Advisor Odinga Lumumba, said the rain might have stalled or kept away some children. “I am happy every year. I always do this as long as I am here. I thank God at 90 that I am still able to
do it and it feels great. I am happy since children look forward to this every year. Thank God that I am healthy, although I may have aches in my knees and I limp a little.” She explained “I want this to be carried on even after I am gone.” Mrs. McNeal catered for 400 children - toys and other goodies were shared.
P&P donates $1M to charitable homes
This heap at Airy Hall, Mahaicony was once the dwelling place of Nannette Williams and her son Marvin Alves. (From page 3) ground,” Nero told this newspaper. Again, no one was seriously hurt. “All that I received was a knock to my side,” she said. Further down Slowe Street, the zinc sheets from
several roofs were blown off, while a coconut tree in Nero's neighbour's yard was uprooted. Over on Canterbury Walk, the electric wire was dangling from a utility pole while a popular shop owner had to
revert to huge pieces of tarpaulin to temporarily cover her roof. Residents are holding their breaths, since the weather forecast predicts more rain which may be accompanied by high winds. Representatives of the charitable homes flanked by Mr. and Mrs. Panday (Standing- far left and far right) P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited once again demonstrated its authentic spirit of giving by donating $1 Million to the less fortunate. The funds were divided between 10 charitable homes, with each receiving a $100,000 cheque. The cheques were handed out on Wednesday to representatives of the homes during a simple ceremony
held at the Guyana Cricket Club Pavilion. According to Managing Director of P&P, Bish Panday, the company recognises the need to give back to the community and seeks to demonstrate leadership in assisting the less fortunate at its corporate level. Panday underscored that the purpose for the donation is to recognise organisations which themselves are
dedicated to assisting those in need. “All of you in your own way have been making a positive impact on the lives of the less fortunate and we are happy to contribute to this cause. I know that finance is always a challenge and we hope that our modest contribution will assist, especially at this time of the year when you all would like to give a little more to those in your care,” Mr. Panday said. Among the recipients were the Ptolemy Reid Rehab Centre, the Hauraruni Girls’ Home, Uncle Eddie’s Home, David Rose School for the Handicapped and the Dharm Shala.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Berbice Bridge toll reduction is not for the poor - APNU The Berbice Bridge Company Inc has announced a reduction of its tolls, but it did not address the poor man who represents the bulk of the people traversing the facility. This is according to A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU), Joseph Harmon, who in an invited comment yesterday, said that while he is happy to see that the company has started to respond to the needs of the people for a reduction in the toll, “I am disappointed that they have not chosen to reduce that category of vehicles which the poor man uses to traverse the bridge.” According to Harmon the announcement by the Berbice Bridge Company Inc is more of an “anti poor measure.” He said that it is the minibuses, cars and motorcycles that the poor man uses to traverse the bridge, but the bridge company did not address the tolls for these categories of vehicles. The bridge company in announcing the reduction o f t o l l s s a i d that the categories to benefit from the reduction are 4 Wheel Drive SUVs/Pickups, Pickups pulling trailers with boats, jet skies for recreational purposes, Pickups and SUVs pulling horse bogies, 50 and 30-seat minibuses and large trucks. According to Harmon, “This is an attempt to give rich people a further benefit at the expense of the poor man.” He said that the general thrust of the motion he intends to lay in Parliament, is to assist the poor people. “If the Berbice Bridge Company wants to make an impact and show that it is
APNU’s Joseph Harmon generous let the administration reduce those categories, minibus, cars and motorcycles. He argued, “If you want to show that you really want to benefit the people then the reduction in the toll must be for the greatest category of vehicles used to traverse the bridge.”
demand an immediate reduction in tolls charged for crossing the Berbice River. Harmon’s position is that a reduction in the Bridge toll is necessary since many Berbicians and commuters are complaining about the high costs required to travel across the bridge. His reasoning behind the reduction was that; if the BBCI could reduce the toll by half for vehicles during the “holiday season” last August (which he felt was really done to facilitate PPP/ C congress that was held in Berbice) then it could be done across the board. Harmon Further articulated that the motion is to address the question of devolution of wealth from the populace into the hands of a few. The money actually belonged to Guyanese people because the shares for the company belong to the
“If you want to show that you really want to benefit the poor people then the reduction in the toll must be for the greatest category of vehicles that traverse the bridge,”- Harmon The decision by the Berbice Bridge to reduce the toll for certain categories of vehicles comes in the wake of the political opposition putting pressure on the government. Harmon is set to advance a motion in the National Assembly for the reduction of the Berbice Bridge toll for all the vehicles. Harmon is requesting that the National Assembly call on the government to instruct its representative on the Board of Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. to
National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the National Industrial Commercial and Investment Limited (NICIL), he said. According to Harmon, since its commissioning in December 2008, the Berbice Bridge has facilitated the crossing of over 650,000 vehicles, resulting in annual revenue of over $1.5B. He said that the Berbice Bridge was built with significant investment by the Government of Guyana, “on behalf of the People of Guyana.”
We are life savers, you should be one too! Donate blood today!!!
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Santa lands at fine style at Siriki, Pomeroon
Children flock Santa Claus Christmas cheer is alive in the community of Siriki in the Pomeroon River, thanks to a visit by Santa Claus, who distributed gifts to approximately 300 children. In the absence of snow, Santa Claus did not use his sleigh driven by reindeer but rather, Air Services Limited (ASL) helicopter to access the remote community. This was quite a fascinating sight for the children who are accustomed to motor boats and corial. Captain Mazahar Ally did the honours of piloting the helicopter into the riverain community so Santa Claus
could have plastered smiles on the children’s faces and hope in their hearts. The Rotary Club of Demerara sponsored the Christmas programme. According to Annette Arjoon-Martins of ASL, “We support hinterland communities all year-round in various ways, and this exercise, in partnership with Rotary, was to give an extra boost to the Christmas spirit in the Siriki community.” She recalled that on December 10, last ASL helicopter landed on Siriki School playground at 11:30hrs and was immediately
thronged by hundreds of waiting youngsters. Siriki resident Ena Rambarran said, “Many of the kids had never seen an aircraft, much less a helicopter, so they were overjoyed, and then to have Santa arrive with the gifts from Rotary was even more special. It made their Christmas.” According to Rotarian Juman Yassin, “We are involved every year with this kind of Christmas outreach in communities closer to town. To have this kind of contact this year with a more far-flung community was particularly satisfying.”
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Sunday December 15, 2013
Travelspan’s arrival brings Impressions cops GCCI fresh hopes of lower fares Award for Innovation Passengers disembarking the Travelspan flight yesterday.
“We are all about providing quality service, on time performance and excellent prices,” stated David Gooberdhan, a top Travelspan official shortly after the Boeing 767 landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) yesterday morning. The airline has returned commercial flights to local skies after a five-year absence. It has come at a time when Guyana is badly in need of extra seats for the Georgetown/New York route. Even the rains could not have dented the significance of the landing. It came at the peak travel time when Guyanese are flying home to spend the holidays. Guyana has been depending on the Trinidadowned Caribbean Airlines and Fly Jamaica, an airline based in Jamaica and is partially owned by Guyanese pilot, Ronald Reece.
With 229 persons on board, the airline joins Venezuelan, CONVIASA, as the two newest airlines to ply the Guyana route, a release from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport said. According to Minister of Public Works and Transport, Robeson Benn, the return of Travelspan augurs well for the aviation sector. “We are making inroads hence the need for a new terminal building. With all the airlines I envision that will be touching down at CJIA - the passenger flow will be boosted significantly,” the official said. Meanwhile, the airport’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramesh Ghir, expressed his appreciation to the airline’s officials for their confidence in returning to Guyana. The 18 year-old company, with head office based in the United States of America, had halted charted flights in 2008.
Travelspan has announced round trip tickets as low as US$647 (one way US$349) using its wide-body Boeing 767 aircraft. The company is also conducting flights from North America to Trinidad. Guyana has been pulling out all stops to attract additional operators after low cost carriers RedJet and then EZjet folded last year. US-owned Delta Airlines also pulled out earlier this year, leaving Caribbean Airlines the only operator on the critical Georgetown/New York route. Fares jumped to a high of US$1,600 at one time, forcing Government to summon Caribbean Airlines. The New York destination has long been one eyed by operators because of the number of Guyanese living there. Travelspan’s President, Nohar Singh, yesterday said that his company is prepared for a long stay in Guyana. Travelspan has hired a number of industry experts to be on its team. The company has teamed up with Vision Airlines, a US company, for the flights.
Patrick Sukhlal (Neal), President Donald Ramotar and Sharda Sukhlal with the award for innovation in advertising An innovative and creative setting often complements an event and this has not fallen short of the expectations of patrons for national events over the past few years. Over the years, Impressions, a private company, has been changing the creativity landscape in Guyana. The company’s hard work has been paying off as they received the Award for Innovation from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Wednesday last. The award was based on the fact that Impressions has been the first company to introduce digital fabric painting in Guyana and the Caribbean. Its state-ofthe-art, full color digital fabric printer that has the capacity to print approximately 10,000 T-shirts per day, and its novelty printing machine makes Impressions the second in the Caribbean, other than Trinidad, to be utilizing this technology. According to CEO Neal Sukhlal, his company has been working around the clock to ensure that the newest technologies are available to clients. He said that once a client chooses his company he ensures that they are given the best work. According to
Sukhlal, both innovation and creativity are essential in today’s quickly evolving technological world. “Coupled with these skills, state of the art machinery and dedicated and creative staff, Impressions continues to lead the way in Guyana, making it the single one stop creative marketing company in Guyana” Sukhlal told Kaieteur News. Impressions, a registered member of several international printing and advertising organizations, has been a pioneer in advertising and creative production in Guyana for the past 15 years. Their unique creativity has been showcased at every national exposition held in Guyana over the past years. Only recently, Impressions transformed the National Stadium tarmac into a Silica City at the International Building Expo. Sukhlal said the company presented an artist’s impression of a ‘green city’ (amidst the mountains and hills) and showcased a masterpiece as the artistic centerpiece which was built on a 350x20 feet digitally printed vinyl. This centre piece captivated patrons at that event. Impressions emerged 15
years ago out of the need for a creative one-stop production agency in Guyana that offers a complete package, from concept design to execution of marketing campaigns, signage, branding, novelties, expo facilities and advertising. Initially the company was known for its embroidery and screen printing expertise and gradually evolved into Guyana’s most sought after creative production house, especially by large corporate entities including those in banking and finance, manufacturing, entertainment as well as the public sectors. The company has been working with the GuyExpo Committee since the introduction of the national event many years ago. Impressions has been known for transforming the main entrance to GuyExpo to reflect Guyana’s manufacturing and productive sector in a creative and innovative manner. The main centerpiece attraction was also created by the production company to further emphasise the manufacturing sector modernization thrust. From the inception, Impressions has been working with GuyExpo in the construction and branding of booths and the general GuyExpo venue.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 13
…to discuss Anti Money Laundering Legislation A delegation from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) recently met with the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) at the office of the Leader of the Opposition to ventilate concerns and to ascertain the opposition’s position as it relates to passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AMLCFT) in the National Assembly. The PSC delegation included its Chairman Ronald Webster; Michael Correia, Ramesh Persaud, Kit Nascimento, John Willems, Clinton Urling, Annette Arjoon-Martins and Leon Bacchus. Those present from APNU were the Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier (Rtd.) David Granger, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Member of Parliament Basil Williams and E. Lance Carberry. Opposition Leader Granger at the meeting with the PSC articulated APNU’s support for the passage of “strong, comprehensive and enforceable legislation which enshrine the institutional capacity and capability to effectively enforce the
provisions of the legislation.” As such the party’s contention is that the 2009 Act must be amended to ensure that an independent Bank of Guyana and an autonomous Financial Intelligence Unit are “empowered and adequately equipped, including suitably qualified and experienced staffing, to discharge their functions without hindrance in accordance with the objectives for the legislation.” Granger said that the AML legislation was in existence since the 2000 Money Laundering Act. It was then supplemented with the AMLCFT Act of 2009. “The problem has been the absence of the political will and commitment to enforce the Legislation.” The PSC delegation expressed “support for the APNU position and urged that every effort should be made to have the legislation passed as early as possible to avoid potentially adverse and damaging impacts for the transaction of international business.” Granger, in a recent press conference, articulated with respect to the Bill being returned to the National
Members of the PSC and APNU in discussion
Assembly that his Party’s position is that the Bill will have to be returned to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee to have their concerns ventilated since it couldn’t be done on the floor of the National Assembly. Had the chairman of the Committee not “blundered” in closing off the Special Select Committee before the work was completed the first time the Bill was presented then the AML legislation would have been passed ever since, said Granger. The Alliance for Change (AFC) position was that its support for the passage of the AMLCFT is conditional only upon the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) in its original form without the
amendments that government wanted to have. This amendment would give the government the final say on contracts above $15M. Guyana has been blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) because of not passing legislation that would see compliance with the CFATF recommendations which is the body mandated with making sure signatory countries are compliant with its treaty bound obligations. The Bill arose from a multilateral evaluation report done by CFATF as it examined Guyana’s compliance with its treaty obligations. The provision in the Bill were instituted and drafted to confirm to CFATF requirements for this
Three arrested in illegal hunting crackdown Local enforcement officials have arrested three hunters and seized over 200 pounds of wild meat during a joint operation Thursday. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the operation at Burro-Burro to curb illegal hunting and fishing has been successful. The joint operation was conducted by Ministry’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Iwokrama, the Fisheries Department and the Guyana Police Force. BurroBurro River is near Iwokrama Rainforest Conservation. The conservation project covers a reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest but there have been reports of illegal hunting. The team’s objective was to observe any fishing and hunting activity and to investigate and ascertain if it was commercial. “Upon investigation, a small aluminum boat was discovered on the right bank of the Burro Burro River with a generator powering a small freezer.” Further investigations by the team found a significant quantity of wild meat in the freezer with evidence of powis
The three arrested hunters being cleaned in the immediate vicinity. The team subsequently detained three individuals and discovered several rounds of ammunition which one of the individuals was apparently attempting to hide. “The police rank informed the three young men that they were hunting illegally for which they would be charged. (They) were accompanied to Kurupukari Police Outpost where the team made an inventory of all seized assets and stored appropriately.”
Approximately 13 labbas weighing 170 pounds and six powis, around 30 pounds, were found to be in the freezer. The Ministry said that it will continue to collaborate with the various agencies to continue similar operations to protect endangered animals and indigenous communities that depend on hunting for a livelihood. The release said that last Thursday, Minister Robert Persaud submitted to the National Assembly the Wildlife Import and Export Bill
of 2013 to be enforced by the Wildlife Management Authority. He has also signed the Wild Management and Conservation Regulation of 2013 to be enforced by the EPA. Wild meat is big business for a number of families and is popular especially for the many drinking spots. However, Government has been moving to clamp down on the hunting of the animals which remain a source of food for many hinterland communities.
particular stage in the evaluation for Guyana’s compliance. When the Bill was presented to the National Assembly in April for its passage the Opposition requested that it be sent to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for review. This caused Guyana to miss its May 27 deadline. Guyana was subsequently given a new deadline of August 26 for the submission of the amended Act and relevant documents. Seemingly challenged by time, Government in the absence of Opposition members completed the works of the Parliamentary Special
Select Committee and announced the Bill would be sent back to the National Assembly. In the National Assembly the Bill was voted against and the AML legislation not passed. The Attorney General did say that if the Bill is passed before February or May, next, then Guyana will be able remove itself from the blacklist and be restored to some level of normalcy. It is expected that both the opposition political parties and government will want to have consensus in passing the returned AML Bill before the plenary meeting in May 2014.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
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HOUSING AND YOU…
Now that the mortgage has been approved By Leonard Gildarie The recent death of Nelson Mandela, the South African hailed as one of the greatest human beings of the last century, has driven home the need for things to be done differently. The traditional way of doing business has all changed with technology and the changing face of the world. Over the past year or so, there has been a lingering theme which includes forcing the contractor to think differently, do things another way. I even suggested doing some of the work yourself to save money. Buying materials in bulk, all at once, can save on transportation and time. We spoke recently of the estimates form that any commercial bank will willingly give you a copy of. This can be used as a valuable guide to track how much is being spent on the home. That reminds me. It would be a good idea to invest in a journal…even a notebook
If the ordinary man is asked to explain the spate of murders at this time he would say that people are just that bit more crazy. And he would be correct. The alignment of certain forces around is affecting the minds of those who are prone to worrying about everything. This worry causes people to become impatient and intolerant. There will be individual clashes, many fatal. The police are going to shift resources to these areas. But as is always the case, some areas would be weakened and the cycle
will do, or for the more modern of us, a PC or Laptop could work. I am especially directing these articles to the folks who will be drawing down on their first mortgage. If you will be working on a tight budget every cent counts, and costs can escalate if instead of buying that toilet bowl, you decide to buy a Jacuzzi…stick to the plan. DETAILED RECORD You need to keep a detailed record of every dollar that is spent, since the bank or NBS would only be releasing what has been approved. In other words, if you have budgeted $1M for the foundation, according to the Summary of Estimates which you would have submitted at the application stage, strive to ensure that this will suffice. It cannot be emphasized more, the need to stick to a budget. Every section of the building, from foundation to painting, will cost you. That is why, in the initial stages, you have to sit down with
your contractor or somebody knowledgeable to work out those estimates. Every pin (read nail) that is to be bought, will have to be included in the summary form. Even extending your home by a few inches will impact on the cost. It happened to me when for some strange reason my contractor poured foundation and it was short by six feet. Last week I indicated that we will be delving into the scenarios that will play out when you have applied for your mortgage and it has been approved. The applicant will be required to sign an acceptance form, which in the case of New Building Society (NBS) is then dispatched to the society’s lawyers, along with the Original Transport, and Certificate of Title or Lease. At this point, the applicant is expected to pay the legal fees. In relation to NBS, for up to $4M, the legal costs will be just over $45,000 while it can
would continue. **** The reluctance of nurses to work is going to take a toll on the sick. Although there are laws that prevent people in essential services from going on strike, the nurses get around by reporting sick. But there will be a lull when
they collect their increased pay. Things would get even better when the government announces a slightly higher pay increase. **** Some young gunmen are going to strike at many locations in the city with the hope of getting money. However, the police with their extra mobility are going to respond with such alacrity that in one case they are going to nab a group in the act. Many are going to find the holidays an enjoyable period because criminals would be kept at bay.
Even extending your home by a few inches will impact on the cost reach over $90,000 for an $8M mortgage. Upon the payment of these fees, the lawyers prepare the mortgage documents which will be signed by the applicants. These documents, which basically prevent the landowner from selling it without permission from the bank, are then filed at either the Deeds or Lands Registry. This process can take a few weeks. In the case of Transport matters, these have to be advertised in the Official Gazette, where a mandatory two-week claims and
objections period becomes necessary. Regarding Certificates of Title, the lawyers for the banks or NBS will uplift these when they are ready and forward them to mortgage departments. Within days, the applicant is informed and the funds are made available for disbursement. TRANCHES If you are applying for a mortgage, none of the banks will disburse the entire amount that has been approved. For example, for an $8M mortgage, the monies could be released in $1.5M tranches, starting with the foundation.
And then these tranches are only disbursed once the lending institutions are satisfied that you have completed those phases, according to your estimates. Not building to the estimates can, and will, cause the release of monies to be delayed. One more thing. You will be required to take out insurance for the property. This can average around $40,000 annually for a mortgage of $8M. Be safe on the roads for the holiday and drop an email at gildarie@yahoo.com or call 225-8491 if you have any comments.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
DEAD LADY IN A LOCKED HOUSE Sirmattie Ramnaress’ home: How did the killer get inside?
By Michael Jordan The teenage boy who did odd-jobs for Sirmattie Ramnaress didn’t see the body right away. He arrived at the spacious Diamond Housing Scheme residence at around eight o’clock on Saturday, August 31; found the gates locked, and observed that the bonnet of one of the vehicles in the compound was up. He pressed the gate buzzer, got no response, and left. According to one report, when the lad was some distance away, he saw the same vehicle racing away from the businesswoman’s 21st Avenue home. He reportedly concluded that ‘Auntie Sabo’ as businesswoman Ms. Ramnaress was also known, was the driver. The teen returned about an hour later. Standing outside the locked gates, he observed that the garage door was now half-open, and lying on the ground, near the entrance, was the motionless body of Sirmattie Ramnaress. He rushed over to a neighbour and related what he had seen. At the same time, the neighbour observed smoke rising from a bond behind the businesswoman’s premises. Firefighters arrived soon after. They were forced to cut through a padlock on one of the front gates to gain entry to the compound. But all their efforts could not prevent the well-stocked bond from being completely razed. Practically nothing inside was saved. A post mortem would later reveal that someone had clubbed the 46-year-old businesswoman repeatedly to the head and body, and had also tried to strangle her. The murder, it is believed, occurred around the time
when the teenager had first checked on Ramnaress. It is even believed that the killer or killers were still in the house. A bloodstained length of wood appeared to be the murder weapon. A clown had reportedly used that same piece of wood as a prop at the victim’s birthday party, held just five days prior to her death. Investigators also observed a trail of blood leading from the smoldering storage bond to the garage. This suggested that someone had attacked Ramnaress in the bond then dragged her, feet first, to the garage. A brother of the victim believes that his terrified sister tried to secure herself in a nearby washroom, but that the killers forced the door open and dragged her out. But he doesn’t believe that Ramnaress died immediately. According to the brother, his sister’s killers, for some reason, picked up a phone in the bottom flat and left a
partial recording of their deed. Checking the phone after the murder, the brother said that he heard a recorded voice say ‘You supposed to be looking outside.’ This is followed by the sound of someone groaning and a glass door being pulled. Police reportedly have this recording, but have suggested that this was merely an incoming call being recorded. Relatives and detectives also surmised that Ramnaress had known her killers and had let them in. Intensely security-conscious, the businesswoman had installed several security cameras in practically every area in and around her premises. The building also had an alarm system. From what relatives said, Ramnaress would only allow very close associates into her home. The system was even set up to allow Ms. Ramnaress to view her premises while she was abroad. A relative points to the spot where the body was found
Sirmattie Ramnaress It should therefore have been easy to identify the businesswoman’s last visitors. But someone had removed many of the surveillance cameras and devices for the security system. Even the digital video recorder which Ms. Ramnaress had concealed in a karaoke machine for the surveillance system was missing. Detectives found that the home was ransacked and according to relatives, a handbag, believed to have contained foreign and other currency, was missing. Ramnaress’ siblings also claimed that someone had carted off several microwave ovens that were stored in the bond. As the handyman had related, someone had also made off with one of the slain woman’s cars. The vehicle was found some hours later on the Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara public road. But the investigators didn’t think that robbery was the primary motive. They felt that someone had tumbled things about the premises to give the appearance of a robbery. They believed that the individual or individuals had even left some beer bottles in the kitchen, to suggest that the killers had consumed the beverages. The investigators were also baffled as to why the killers had set the bond on fire and also doused sections of the house with diesel fuel. Some surmised that someone had attempted to conceal crucial evidence about the
murder. But who would have wanted to murder Sirmattie Ramnaress? Who was this cunning and brazen individual who had apparently gained access to her home and committed murder in broad daylight? Why had he or she come to the scene without a weapon? Ms. Ramnaress, an importer and distributor, had celebrated her 46th birthday just five days prior to her murder. She and her overseasbased fiancé were planning to get married in September. Among the first people at the murder scene was Ramnaress’ former boyfriend, Sergeant Collin Bailey. They’d had an approximately six-year relationship. Understandably, he came under scrutiny of the investigators. They questioned their colleague about his movements at the time of the murder and reportedly took DNA samples from him. He was never detained. Ramnaress’ siblings were upset that Bailey repeatedly described himself as her reputed husband, particularly when, according to them, the relationship had long ended. They were also upset that he was given access to the crime scene, even before they themselves knew of their sister’s death. But Sergeant Bailey insists that he and Ramnaress were still together. He said that he had slept at her home the night after her birthday party. He said that he had extra keys to Ramnaress’ home and he gave the relatives these keys, because the ones Ramnaress had could not be found. Bailey said that he was aware that his ‘reputed wife’ had a fiancé. According to him, she had always insisted that the man, whom he described as a retired policeman, was merely a business partner.
“I’m cooperating with the investigation; I want to ensure that this crime is solved. Despite the understanding that the husband should be the prime suspect, my conscience is clear, my whereabouts are known. “I don’t intend for my wife’s death to go just like that.” Ramnaress’ close relatives insist that they know who killed her, and why. They believe that all the evidence points to this individual, whom they believe wanted to get his hands on her assets. They claimed that their sister had been in an abusive relationship and that she had documented this physical abuse in two diaries. They claim that even after her death, the individual continues to attempt to try to have access to her assets. Some of the relatives feel that police have failed to put this individual under intense questioning. The brother also feels that detectives also overlooked possible DNA evidence at the crime scene, such as a cigarette butt that was reportedly found in a washroom in the bottom flat. It is also his view that a male associate of their prime suspect and a female friend of his murdered sister may have assisted in her demise. Detectives insisted recently that they are still working the case and that they haven’t given up on finding Sirmattie’s killer. If you have any further information on this or any other case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office. We can also be reached on telephone numbers 22-58473, 2258458, 22-58465, or 2258491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address mjdragon@ hotmail.com
The razed bond
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 23
== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Mandela’s symbolism comes at a dangerous time for Guyana Two years ago, one of Guyana’s leading sports journalists related to me an incident that occurred at the annual motor-racing event. He said that there was a VIP section with a security detail at the entrance. Persons passed through without any intervention by the security personnel. But a young African sports journalist (all journalists were permitted in that section) was about to pass in, when the guard stopped him This is my third essay on the creeping reintroduction of colour discrimination in Guyana based on light complexion. My most recent piece was dated Sunday, April 8 last year titled; “White days, white nights in white satin with white lace.” In fact a few months back, as part of a column, I pointed to a huge billboard on the façade of the Everest Sports Club with an advertisement by Hand-inHand Insurance featuring a white man, all dressed up in suit and tie extolling the virtues of insurance. Last week, a commercial
vehicle pulled up in front of me on Vlissengen Road. The back-door sign had the image of a lily white baby advertising a certain soap powder. The one that was unbearable was during the Premier League Cricket in the Caribbean. This fashionable establishment featured a white boy and a clearcomplexioned girl teasing each other as they decide what clothes to wear. Guyana is a mysteriously horrible place. Ninety percent of the faces in commercial advertisements in both the electronic and print media consist of clear-complexioned individuals, mostly white. Yet in the past fifty years, not one white, foreign entertainer has performed in Guyana. Mick Jagger touched down a few times during one of the English cricket team tours and as a guest of Eddy Grant. I saw him and our own Eddy Grant leaving the Pegasus without anyone looking in Jagger’s direction. In a few weeks’ time more nonwhite artistes will entertain Guyanese. If we are so
hooked on whiteness, why are we not sending for white European and American stars? So is the symbolism of the great Mandela, which is sweeping the world right now, about to change Guyana, and will we once again take pride in our culture, colour of skin and texture of hair? It will not happen if there is no organization willing to raise such consciousness. First it was Forbes Burnham who, more than Guyanese in any part of the world, sought to de-emphasize the colonial obsession with whiteness. In this regard, Burnham remains a giant in Third World history. Credit must also be given to both the PNC and PPP and the trade union movement as anti-colonial organizations that sought to move Guyanese away from European cultural domination with its accompanying focus on light complexion. The organization in post-colonial Guyana that sustained such cultural consciousness was ASCRIA led by the phenomenal Eusi Kwayana. In today’s Guyana, Burnham
and Jagan must be turning in their graves to see how the colonial preoccupation with light complexion has overtaken their country. Eusi Kwayana is still alive and you wonder what goes through his mind when he sees those thousands of advertisements with the radiant white faces beckoning you to join them on a journey that you wouldn’t make because you do not have the type of colour we see in Bollywood movies from India. You really wonder what goes through the soul of Eusi Kwayana, one of our foremost anti-colonial fighters. What is reprehensible is that the business owners who place these advertisements are simply shameless. Imagine an import firm puts a placement in the newspapers for popsicles and seven children were featured with broad smiles holding up their little icicle sticks and not one was an African kid. What is interesting is that when you look at these commercials and then you look out your window, onto
the streets, you don’t see many white folks or clearcomplexioned people in their cars, riding the minibuses or going to work on their bicycles. Guyana does not have a majority of white folks or clear-complexioned people in its demography. They are in a minority. How then do you explain the excessive number of lily white faces in the advertisements? I think I know why. Now you may think that what I am about to write is done out of cynical amusement with what Guyana has become. No! I am dead serious! We don’t put dark faces in the placements
Frederick Kissoon because Guyanese people believe dark-skinned people are ugly. By the way, there was a big fuss on Fox News last week because an African American, feminist writer questioned why Santa Claus must be white. Commentators at MSNBC supported the writer. I suppose Guyanese want their Santa Claus to remain white. Don’t they?
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Book Review… Book: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue Critic: Dr. Glenville Ashby Anam Cara is a philosophical exploration of life’s purpose that dwarfs the works of pioneers in this field of epistemology, such as Victor Frankl and Rollo May. Anam Cara is transcendental in scope, almost abstruse to a culture that steeped in literalism and linear thinking. It is anecdotal and poetically warm, brimming with aphorisms and oral traditions. To feel and experience life requires the awakening of the soul and our creative expression. However, this gift is not bestowed through the intellect. The awakening of the spirit allows one to peer through the dimensions without limitations of space and time. In many ways, Anam Cara makes a bold statement on contemporary society. We race about, sometimes blinded by repetition with little time to feel and blend with the nature. The profound benefits of quietude and self
Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
EXPLORING THE HEALING POWER OF FRIENDSHIP reflection are lost. We are today’s Sissyphus, engaging in daily challenges that are tedious, shifting our attention away from the clarion call of the soul. The story of French philosopher, Baudrillard is recaptured with marked clarity. Its theme of internal harmony is reflected in the wisdom of African workers who refused to budge after days of ceaseless travel despite the urgent demands to quicken their pace. When Baudrillard asks why his commands are ignored, their response speaks volumes: “We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us.” But how can we break the mold that separates us from experiencing the divine. O’Donohue’s detailed definition of the term Anam Cara holds the key. “It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed; revealing the
hidden intimacies of your life...This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you have an Anam Cara your friendship cut across all convention, morality and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of the soul.” Through trust, intimacy and affection toward self and one’s Anam Cara, inner wounds and counterproductive impulses are confronted. We must face the hurt and turbulence; the tenebrous thought forms that imperil our wellness. One’s Anam Cara helps integrate the many disjointed aspects of self. O’Donohue raises the most provocative of psychoanalytic questions: Should we reopen wounds as we struggle for inner peace? Or, should we let be and allow time, our friend, to heal our misgivings and wrongs? He writes: “…..the soul has its own natural rhythm of
healing. Consequently, many of your wounds are very well healed and should not be opened up again. If you want to you could select a list of your wounds and spend the next thirty years opening them...If you engage in this practice of woundology, you could turn your soul into a mass of weeping sores.” The concept of the Anam Cara (Soul Friend) is as broad as it is profound. In a mundane sense, the Anam Cara in today’s society is what is called a soul mate – a term that is loosely used with little understanding of its immeasurable spiritual significance. In a society riddled with individualism, competitiveness and distrust - where every man is a proverbial island can the concept of the Anam Cara be embraced? Indentifying one’s Anam Cara can happen in a twinkling of an eye. One’s inner impulse can prove to be the consummate judge. In some religious cultures, as in the Yoruba tradition, the baba or Iya (male and female leaders, respectively) refers to their devotees as their children and there is that unmistakable bond, but it is pales in comparison to the spirit of Anam Cara. Notably, one’s Anam Cara need not be one who has perfected life or transcended its vagaries and challenges. In many ways the
relationship is symbiotic each learning and growing from each other. An equally interesting approach is accepting the Anam Cara on both levels mundane and otherworldly. One’s Anam Cara could well be one’s guardian angel or in New Age terms, a spirit guide that helps inch us towards inner peace. O’Donohue’s explores the rhythm of the human experiences with unchallenged depth. Our body, mind and soul must act in unison, he argues. We are replicas, microcosms of a breathing universe. The exploration of the mind and the soul shouldn’t be undertaken at the expense of our corporeal self. The body, the conduit of our senses and
sensuality is a veritable temple that shouldn’t be pilloried by self abnegation and self mortification. The body should be celebrated with dignity and fearlessness. Not a single piece of the puzzle should be sacrificed. Our every thought, word and action, rightly performed, draws us ever closer to the seat of wisdom. Only then can we fulfill our divine mission…..with the help of our soul friend, our Anam Cara. *** Anam Cara: A book of Celtic Wisdom by Jon O’Donohue, 2004 Publisher: Harper Perennial, New York, New York ISBN: 0-06-092943-x Available: amazon.com Rating: Essential
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 25
MY COLUMN
When there is an insistence on secrecy This is a time when a nation takes stock of what was during the past months of the year. This is the time when comparisons are made, when examine their gains and their mistakes. The police have been the most public when it comes to taking stock of what was and what should be done. There have been reviews elsewhere. Guyana Sugar Corporation, for example, is reporting declining production to the extent that even adjusted performance targets are not being met. This is nothing new. Ever since the nation pinned its hopes on the new Skeldon Sugar Factory, there has been news that the factory is using more cane that any other and producing less sugar. What the sugar company has been mum about is its foray into mechanical harvesting. There are reports that the beds would have had to be reconfigured and that this was not done to the desired specification. There have also been reports that the correct pieces of equipment were not imported. At issue is the clay soil that abounds in the sugar
plantations of East Berbice. Then we turn to gold. Everyone is basking in the news that gold production has surpassed its target. In fact, since the withdrawal of Omai from the local gold production scene, alluvial miners have been hauling the precious stuff from the river beds and from the land in such volumes that Omai’s production is no longer so magical. But there are many other areas that need to be reviewed and one of them is the performance of the government. Every government tries to perform in a manner that would make the people comfortable. Each identifies developmental projects, sometimes with ideas from the very people who are to be the beneficiaries. The largest was the Amaila Falls project. At a cost of almost US$1 billion it was to be the largest ever undertaking by the government. It was designed to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuel which impacts climate change due to large carbon emissions.
The government was not as forthcoming about the project and a skeptical opposition declined to vote enough money for its success. In fact the opposition voted against the project leading to the loss of millions of United Stares dollars in what can be described as the project that never was. The opposition and by extension, the nation was left to believe that the government was being too secretive, that there was something to hide. So it was that everything proposed by the government was examined with the fine-teeth comb. And despite its protestations that it was answering every question, the opposition found that this was far from the truth. It was not really surprising that Guyana failed to pass the anti-money laundering legislation. The government concentrated on the economic impact of any blacklisting and begged that Guyana be spared this frightening outcome. The opposition was not convinced that Guyana was in dire straits and demanded
time to study the legislation. Of course it was operating from the belief that the government was trying to protect some of its friends who had amassed large sums and who wanted to launder this money. But the truth was that Guyana’s relatively small private sector did not have the room to manoeuvre. Many of them were being kindly told by friends to get their government to get things in order. To date the effect of the blacklisting has not really sunk in and Guyanese are going about their Christmas preparations as though nothing is happening, but the reality is something else. People are finding that it is not as easy to send money as it used to be. When the review is done, it would be found that fewer remittances would have come to Guyana this year. It was later announced that the Bill Guyana was taking to Parliament was fashioned by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. The government had not let this out, so it was still keeping secrets. Now more secrets are emerging. Anyone with a modicum
of intelligence would understand that at this time when the opposition controls the parliament, the government needs to take the opposition into its confidence. Secrets would not remain secrets and when the opposition finds out the fall out could be horrible. We have seen the problems with what the government wants to keep secret. The Marriott Hotel project remains shrouded in secrecy. About two months ago the government announced that it was close to finalizing a deal with a private investor. Try as the media might, Winston Brassington maintained that he needed to keep this a secret. It is a good thing that the money is not coming from the National Assembly. There is still no private investor and now the opposition believes that there was never any; that some of the rich people who wanted to launder money
Adam Harris were being targeted, but that the media focus is making many of them cagey. Now there are other deals that are being examined. There is Robert Persaud’s perceived deal with an Indian company; there is the issue with the pumps purchased from India—Some Government officials say that the pumps are here and others say that they are still to come. Things must have been kept so secret that even people in the government are kept out of the secrets.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
Guyana: A long walk from Freedom By Nigel Hughes AFC Chairman As we mourn the loss of the great Nelson Mandela and just as we inter him today, here is a snapshot of justice in Guyana. CASE #1 NAVINDRA SINGH V ATTORNEY GENERAL. ACTION 602 W OF 2006 DEMERARA In 2006 a young lawyer, Navindra Singh (now a Judge of the High Court) was stopped by the police taken to the police station where he was detained for four hours. The antecedents, as disclosed by the Judge’s written decision, are that the plaintiff was stopped by the Police in Croal Street, he inquired about the reason for being stopped when his attention was directed to the rifle which was in the hands of a police officer and told “that’s all the reason we need”. The plaintiff is taken to the Police station but is not placed in the lock ups. He is sent away on $5000.00 bail. He was subsequently charged with minor traffic offences including “interrupting the flow of traffic”. The charges were dismissed one month later. The young lawyer commences legal proceedings against the State for his wrongful arrest and detention. He is subsequently appointed a High Court Judge and the case is heard by Justice William Ramlal. The Judge’s decision delivered in 2013 discloses
that the plaintiff was offered the sum of $500,000.00 (five hundred thousand dollars) to settle the matter, an offer which the plaintiff declined. At the trial, the State does not contest the plaintiff’s version of the events and declines to cross examine the plaintiff. The plaintiff, then a Judge, is awarded the sum of $2,000,000.00 (two million dollars) for damages and the sum of $150,000.00 as costs. In his decision Justice Ramlal finds “This was about the police exhibition of power with utmost disregard of the plaintiff’s fundamental rights.” CASE # 2 PHILIP SIMON V ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION 88 W OF 2012 DEMERARA Akbar Muhammad, a scholar from the Nation of Islam, travels to Guyana to speak to the children of Buxton and Linden about selfempowerment, the importance of education and upliftment. Brother Muhammad is arrested at 2.00 a.m on the 19th day of May 2012 in his hotel room in the Princess Hotel He is taken to CID Police HQ, Eve Leary, without any notification to his hosts about his arrests and without being providing any reason for his arrest. At lunch time one of his hosts, Philip Simon, who invited him to Guyana, discovered where he was and goes to Eve Leary to find out why he was detained. He is arrested for inquiring about Akbar Muhammad. An hour later, the plaintiff’s barber, Tyrone
Seymour, goes to the CID HQ to find out about the plaintiff and he is arrested for inquiring about the plaintiff. The Police Force, through the Crime Chief, informs Guyana and the world that the plaintiff, Mr. Muhammad and the plaintiff’s barber were detained as suspects for terrorism and drug smuggling. Their detention is broadcast on CNN and Reuters by 6.00 p.m. of the day of their arrest. The plaintiff testifies that he was not asked a single question about his involvement in either terrorism or narcotics. The men were placed in the insanitary lock ups at Brickdam where they remained for 30 hours. They were only released after Leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, called President Jagdeo, from the USA. Philip Simon, who was previously a frequent visitor to the United States, subsequently travels to the United States where he is detained for four hours and questioned about his arrest in Guyana for terrorism and drug trafficking. He is subsequently denied entry to the United States of America and told on each attempted visit that he must clear up the issue of terrorism and narcotics in Guyana. When questioned about Farrakhan’s intervention, President Jagdeo says that he “assured him that we don’t lock up innocent people in this country but we have to go through a process…You have to go through the process, the security forces
have to be satisfied, and if this gentleman is innocent …we’ll try to expedite the processing of the gentleman…which is what the security forces did.” When questioned about the apology demanded by Akbar Muhammad, President Jagdeo said “there’ll be no apology or anything of the sort in the context that I mentioned…Even if he is innocent, we don’t have an innocent man in prison”. Philip Simon sued the State for his wrongful arrest, breach of his fundamental constitutional rights and false imprisonment. He also sought exemplary damages. When inquiries were made of the State by Simon’s counsel about whether the State was interested in settling the matter, the State declined the invitation. The matter was heard by the Honourable Chief Justice. The plaintiff testified and was cross examined by the State’s representative. The State led no witnesses to support their case. Chief Justice Ian Chang delivering his decision in March 2013 found, “The arrest and detention of the plaintiff from 12 Noon on the 19th May to the 20th May about 4 to 4.30 p.m. was not only wrongful, but also unconstitutional and oppressive and degrading having regard to the crowded and insanitary conditions which then obtained in the Brickdam Police station lock ups where the plaintiff had to overnight under detention”. He further opined that “The State bears no
Nigel Hughes, AFC Chairman
responsibility for the decision of the US immigration authorities to detain the plaintiff since such decisions involve the exercise of independent discretion of foreign officials over whom the State had no control.” The Chief Justice concluded “In all the circumstances the court sees it fit to award to the plaintiff general damages in the sum of $250,000.00 for wrongful arrest and detention which was not only unconstitutional but was aggravated by the physical circumstances of confinement at Brickdam Police station.” The plaintiff was awarded $40,000.00 costs. CASE # 3 SHEMROY BOUYEA, RON SOMERSET AND ALLAN LEWIS, LINDEN, JULY 2012. COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, OCTOBER 2012, DEMERARA. On the 18th July 2012, three Lindeners were shot to death and several injured while participating in a peaceful protest in Linden against a 400% increase in
electricity rates. One of the deceased was shot from behind and all three deceased were shot through the heart. A Commission of Inquiry is set up. The panel awards the deceased estates $3,000,000.00 as compensation for the loss suffered by the respective dependents of the deceased. One of the deceased had a son who was attending University of Guyana at the time his father was killed. This award does not include any award for breach of the guaranteed and protected fundamental constitutional right to life. The injured were awarded sums of less than $500,000.00 for the injuries they suffered. The President when approached by the relatives of the deceased for an increase in the award said he saw no reason to increase the award by the Commission of Inquiry. *** Mr. Mandela we thank you for all that you have done for us but deeply regret that your long walk did not bring you to Guyana.
Sunday December 15, 2013
SUNDAY SPECIAL FINANCE MINISTER FAILS TO ACCOUNT FOR $8,000 MILLION IN FIVE YEARS The budgetary allocations for Revision of Wages and Salaries for public servants is now being regarded as a slush fund given that over the past five years there is more than $8B unaccounted for. Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, has said that the party is most troubled by the Ministry of Finance’s explanations. According to Ramjattan the amount budgeted for Revised Wages and Salaries for 2013 represents an almost 15 per cent increase for public servants and not the five per cent that is being touted by Government. INDIAN GROUP DENIES ACQUIRING 10,000 ACRES LAND IN GUYANA …BUT RAMSAMMY SAYS YES The DY Patil Group has denied that it has started works on agricultural lands in the Canje Basin and that it is in no way connected or has any links to former President Bharrat Jagdeo. The DY Patil group last week Saturday responded to the allegations in the press. It said that it was still in negotiations with the Government and that no land has been handed over to the company. This is in stark contrast to the pronouncements by Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy who said that the DY Patil Group had already been allocated 10,000 acres of land to develop. According to the group it is committed to making the project successful hence it is necessary for it to do a lot of due diligence, pre-viability and technical studies before it begins operations. MONDAY EDITION COPS STAKE OUT PLANNED ROBBERY, KILL TWO AFTER 20MINUTE SHOOTOUT Two bandits were killed at around 22:30 hrs last Saturday at Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, following a 20-minute shootout with police, who had staked out the home of a trucking service operator that the suspects were reportedly planning to rob. The slain men were identified as Paul Bascom, called ‘Shine Buck’ of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara and Alberto Grant, or Alberto Mustapha, 28, called Mukie, of Lot 299 Meadow Brook Gardens. Bascom was before the court as recently as last March for shooting and
Kaieteur News
robbing a Diamond, East Bank Demerara businesswoman. However, Mustapha’s relatives Sunday said he was gainfully employed and angrily insisted that he was no criminal. A statement from the Police Public Relations division said that the ranks recovered a .38 snub-nose revolver with two live rounds and two spent shells, along with one 9mm. round and two 7.62 x 39 rounds. The intended victim is 33year-old Ravi Dookram, of Section ‘C’, Block ‘Y’ Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara. Dookram operates a trucking service that plies the interior routes. Dookram told Kaieteur News that he was returning from an interior location when the shooting occurred. Contrary to a police report, the East Bank Demerara resident insisted that he is no gold miner. Dookram’s home is just about 200 yards from the Golden Grove Police Station and several residents commended the police for their swift response. UNACCOUNTED $8,000 MILLION…MONEY USED FOR ADDITIONAL STAFF AND PROMOTIONS – ASHNI SINGH ..HIS EXPLANATION HAS MORE HOLES THAN A CAST NET, RAMJATTAN Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, responding to an article by the Kaieteur News, which said that he failed to account for just about $8000M over the past five years, has offered an explanation that AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan says “has more holes than a cast-net.” According to Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, who debunked the Finance Minister’s response, this does not hold water when one looks at the actual estimates of the Budget for the revision of wages and salaries.
It defies logic, fact, and the norms of the budgetary process, and even common sense, he added. Dr Singh in his explanation of the unaccounted monies in the budget over the years sought to argue that as a matter of policy, and of practical necessity, the National Budget only provides allocations to meet the cost of posts filled in budget agencies at the time the National Budget is finalised. He said that should a budget agency promote or recruit new staff, increase salaries or otherwise adjust salaries during the course of a year, that budget agency must revise its budgeted allocation to meet its shortfall. According to Dr Singh, “The shortfall is met by what is described as an interdepartmental warrant of funds provided by the Ministry of Finance from the revision of wages and salaries allocation to the agency where the shortfall has arisen. TUESDAY EDITION
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DEBATE OVER UNACCOUNTED $8,000M…FINANCE MINISTER RESORTS TO CUSS OUT RATHER THAN DEAL WITH ISSUE Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has responded to Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan over the unaccounted $8000M. Dr Singh however, rather that dealing specifically with the issue and provide details on how the money was used or to respond to the charges made by the AFC Leader, has instead descended to a ‘cuss out.’ Below is (part of) the text of the Finance Minister’s statement: “The leader of the AFC Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan has been making some outrageously inaccurate claims regarding the level of salary increase that can be paid to public servants as provided for in the 2013 National Budget. These public statements clearly demonstrate that the AFC, and in particular Mr.
Ramjattan, is unfamiliar with the structure of the National Budget and has not been paying attention to answers provided in the National Assembly in relation to this precise matter. For Mr. Ramjattan to accuse the Ministry of Finance of lacking credibility, reputation or esteem is highly credulous from a man known to possess these very traits. The public has seen Mr. Ramjattan turn a blind eye to ethics and morality when his friends commit these social ills. He has voted down the creation of the Specialty Hospital because his client, Fedders Lloyd, did not win the contract. Likewise, he led the charge against the construction of the Marriott Hotel Project out of fear that it will rival his friend, Robert Badal’s Pegasus Hotel.” CIVIL SOCIETY MARCH IN PROTEST AGAINST CORRUPTION … THE CORRUPT ENRICH THEMSELVES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR – ANAND GOOLSARRAN Scores including members of civil society and opposition politicians on Monday took to the streets in a protest march to mark “International AntiCorruption Day.” The march was organized by Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI), and some of the organizations represented included the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and Red Thread among others. Among those participating in Monday’s march were staunch anticorruption advocates, Glenn
Lall, Christopher Ram, Lincoln Lewis, Alliance for Change (AFC) leaders, Khemraj Ramjattan, Moses Nagamootoo, and Trevor Williams and A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Joseph Harmon among others. The march was led by TIGI’s President, Anand Goolsarran, and Transparency Institute of Guyana directors including Frederick Collins, Gino Persaud and Esther Mc Intosh among others. Goolsarran said that TIGI extended invitations to the President, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira, Opposition Leader David Granger, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Carl Greenidge, and Alliance for Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, to join in the march. An invitation was also extended to the Private Sector Commission and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He had also encouraged all Members of Parliament, non-governmental organizations, the trade union movement and the general public to participate in the observance. WEDNESDAY EDITION GPSU REQUESTS PAPER TRAIL ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING OF BUDGETED PUBLIC SERVANTS FUNDS In light of government’s explanation through the Finance Minister that money designated for public servants did not serve only for the increase of public servant’s wages, the Guyana (Continued on page 37)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
Vulnerable children need and deserve better protection Guyana’s vulnerable children deserve better protection. Children without the guidance and protection of their principal care-givers are often more vulnerable and at risk of becoming victims of violence, exploitation, trafficking, discrimination or other abuses. The result of inadequate protection has been that, especially over the last two decades, many children have been forced to live outside of homes and have become involuntary ‘street children.’ The exact number of children living on Guyana’s streets is difficult to determine
but is believed to run into a few hundreds. The number includes children who live permanently or part-time on the streets, often because they have fled home because of hardship, neglect or violence. The People’s Progressive Party Civic administration thought that it could solve the problem of the growing number of street children by establishing a ‘drop-in centre’ in June 1999. The centre was quickly overwhelmed. It discovered also that groups of vulnerable children were growing in urban areas other than Georgetown New
Amsterdam, Linden and Parika and in rural areas such as the Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara, DemeraraMahaica and East BerbiceCorentyne Regions. The ‘drop-in-centre’ approach did not address the prevalence and causation of vulnerability. It was inadequate to correct the problem of children living on the street and of others who were victims of violence and abuse. The plight of orphans in orphanages across the country and child labourers also had to be considered. The International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC) reported in 2009 that “forced labour exists in the form of forced prostitution in logging camps and mines. The state agencies and the law enforcers do little to address forced labour and trafficking.” The report stated that “the government’s efforts to cope with child labour and enforce compulsory education are inadequate given that the problem concerns at least one fifth of Guyanese children. Many children are engaged in hazardous work and child prostitution is recognised as one of Guyana’s worst forms of child labour. The law on child labour is not enforced effectively.” The administration’s response was to reject the cure without remedying the malady. It then attempted to combine various projects to help vulnerable children in a single-structured programme. The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security sought help from the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to design a National Plan of Action for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children. This Plan, had it been implemented, could have provided a framework for supplementary measures to protect orphans and other vulnerable children, not only street children, from all forms of abuse. The Plan could have provided a national framework to ensure that the rights of the vulnerable children’s right to survival, development, protection and participation – could be guaranteed. These rights, in turn,
would include “strengthening the capacity of families to care and protect orphans and the vulnerable by prolonging the lives of parents and guardians, providing economic, psychosocial and child-care support, promoting children’s participation in gainful activities and helping young people acquire skills.” There has been more legislation to promote children’s rights than ever before. Enforcement, however, has been weak. Several bills and amendments - including the Protection of Children Bill; the Status of Children Bill; the Adoption of Children Bill; the Child Care Protection Agency Bill and the Juvenile Justice, Custody, Contact, Guardianship and Maintenance Bill - have been passed in the National Assembly. The Sexual Offences Act, which was passed in the National Assembly in 2010 and the Domestic Violence Act of 2002, also offer protection for children. The Child Protection and Development Services Act, passed in 2011, caters for the licencing and monitoring of children’s facilities including day-care centres and play groups. Reliance on enacting laws without enforcing them is nugatory. The situation of vulnerable children still continues to deteriorate. The Ministry of Human Services in January this year announced that there were 4,102 reported child abuse cases – about 11 cases daily – last year. There were also hundreds of cases of sexual, physical
and verbal abuse, teenage pregnancy and delinquency. The Ministry’s Child Care and Protection Agency added that 101 children were separated from their parents and placed in institutions, and pointed out that mothers and fathers were the main perpetrators of abuse. The PPPC administration needs to adopt a holistic approach to alleviate the plight of vulnerable children. The persistence of the problem in 2013 suggests that there has been a lack of understanding of the complexity of the problem and a lack of willingness to implement necessary measures to help children who suffer from multiple deprivations of rights. Abuse and violence arise from various social, economic and cultural factors. Meaningful change is unlikely to be achieved without addressing the socioeconomic conditions affecting children and their families. The administration needs to initiate a new process for the implementation of a public policy that guarantees that all children receive the best support possible so they can leave the streets, be included in schools or apprenticeships, or jobs, and return to their families and communities. Vulnerable children, including those on the street, are the inevitable result of the massive poverty that prevails and of the widening disparity between the rich and poor. Implementing a plan of action for vulnerable children needs new political will to deal decisively with this core problem.
Sunday December 15, 2013
From page 27 Public Service Union (GPSU) has requested from the Finance Ministry a detailed explanation of the spending of the budget -approved funds. President of the Guyana Public Service Union, Patrick Yarde has dispatched a letter to several top officials in the country, including President Donald Ramotar, Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, and Speaker of the National Assembly and the Ministers of Labour and Human Services Nanda Gopaul and Jennifer Webster respectively. A statement from the union said that “The Guyana Public Service Union has taken action to request of the Government of Guyana as represented by the Minister of Finance, for pertinent details of expenditure under the Account Code entitled “Revision of Wages and Salaries” for which $4.4 billion dollars were p r o v i d e d and from the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Ministry, for information related to the payment of all contract employees in the Public Service that are paid from allocations approved in the Estimates of the Public Sector-Current and Capital Revenue and Expenditure for 2013.” Yarde told Kaieteur News Tuesday that the Finance Minister must go into detail on how the budgeted funds were spent. OPPOSITION SAYS MINISTER LIED TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE “Firm was only granted permission to survey”Robert Persaud The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment is categorically refuting claims that its head, Minister Robert Persaud is selling out large portions of Guyana. But comments, views and “facts” coming from mining associations, miners and politicians support quite the opposite. Unlike the silence that normally follows media exposures, the Ministry of Natural Resources Tuesday sent out a release to debunk claims that Persaud leased over 2 million acres of land to a “Brazilian” company. The land is located in the south east of New River and is an area where Persaud had told a Parliamentary Committee nothing is going on. However, a letter stating that Persaud indeed granted Permission to a mining company-Muri Brazil Ventures Inc.-to survey the area, has surfaced from an anonymous source.
Kaieteur News
That and other documents to “prove’ that “Guyana is being sold out”, were attached to a letter which called on President Donald Ramotar to take “serious” action. The statement sent out Tuesday read that the Ministry and its regulatory agency, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) want to restate that no mining permit/licence has been issued by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for areas east of the New River. It added that the records that surfaced are not secret. THURSDAY EDITION GUYSUCO SUFFERS COUNTRYWIDE STRIKE OVER ANNUAL BONUS Sugar workers downed tools Wednesday on all eight estates as talks broke down over the annual production incentive. There were differing statements from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) over the ongoing talks. According to the corporation, the union which is the largest bargaining body for the industry submitted a claim on November 18 for an annual production bonus of 6.80 day’s pay for a production of 201,000 tonnes sugar, or alternatively 29,500 tonnes per day pay. On Tuesday, during a prolonged deliberation between GuySuCo and the union, the Corporation suggested that GAWU should review its original demand to facilitate further dialogue on the matter. GuySuCo indicated that Seepaul Narine, General Secretary of the union, who headed the delegation, indicated that the bargaining body was “flexible” on its demand and at the next meeting would communicate its “flexible position”. “On this note the Corporation suggested that both parties meet no later than the current week. It was then mutually agreed, with the concurrence of the delegation that both parties shall meet on Friday, December 13 at GAWU office.” GAWU officials on Wednesday said that its members only decided to take actions after learning that GuySuCo had said during at Tuesday’s meeting that it could not afford the bonus, as the industry is set to record another low production. TRAFFICKED INDIAN NATIONALRESCUED FROM REGENT STREET STORE
A sting operation led by the Guyana Women Miners’ Organization (GWMO), the Human Services Ministry and the Guyana Police Force resulted in the rescue of an Indian national from an abusive labour situation at a Regent Street store. The 23-year-old man, allegedly a Trafficking In Persons (TIP) victim, arrived in Guyana last year December and has been working with Satnam Variety Store as a sales clerk. He claims to have received no salary, though he was promised US$300 monthly. The man whose freedom was allegedly restricted and who was subjected to physical and verbal abuse, resided at his employer’s Georgetown residence, situated in a posh neighbourhood. When questioned by a police rank during the sting operation the employer, also an Indian national, admitted that the man’s passport was in his possession. Both men were taken into police custody to provide statements. FRIDAY EDITION REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON PUBLIC SERVICE PAYOUT…FINANCE MINISTER GIVES NO COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING PAPER TRAIL Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has responded with reservation to questions pertaining to the submission of documents to support his explanation of the use of public funds allocated for payments to public workers. Controversy surrounds the spending of money allocated for public servants’ salary increase. Over 10 years now, workers have received government-imposed increases, but this year’s arbitrary five percent increase has been met with much resistance. There is further disagreement over an alleged unaccounted $8B budgetary allocation for Revision of Wages and Salaries for public servants over the past five years. The union representing the public servants has thus requested a paper trail of the funds and a complete report on the contracted workers in public positions. The Minister has however refused to state categorically whether he would – for the sake of transparency – be directing his team to make the documents available, as requested, to the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).
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In a telephone interview with this publication, Minister Singh charged that the use of the workers’ public funds “is a matter of public record”. “Every year, in parliament, the purpose and use of the funds is explained and it is voted on. Any one pretending not to know the use of these funds is downright dishonest.” SUGAR PRODUCTION TRUDGES TO 23-YEAR LOW The majority of striking sugar workers returned to the fields Thursday, but hopes for a miracle to pull the industry from the slump in which it has found itself are fast dwindling. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Paul Bhim, said that striking cane harvesters have resumed work except for two gangs at Albion Estate, East Berbice. The industry has now further revised downwards its production for the year and it is likely to be at around 190,000 tonnes of sugar, Bhim confirmed. In 1990, the industry recorded 129,000 tonnes, one of its lowest productions in years. Workers downed tools on Tuesday after talks between GuySuCo and its main workers’ union, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), fell
through when the Corporation reportedly said that it could not afford to pay the traditional production bonus this year. The union had been demanding almost seven days’ pay for a 201,000tonne production. During the meeting Tuesday, the Corporation said that it does not have the money to pay. On Wednesday, workers on all eight estates downed tools. SATURDAY EDITION BERBICE BRIDGE COMPANY BOWS TO PRESSURE, LOWERS TOLLS The Berbice Bridge Company INC (BBCI) has announced that it will be lowering the toll and freight charges for four-wheel drives/ SUVs/ pickups; Pick-ups pulling trailers with boats, jet skis and other items for recreational use; and 50seater buses, 30-seater buses and large trucks. BBCI, in a release, established that “no freight will be charged for vehicles carrying pleasure/tourism goods items such as coolers, barbecue grilles, tents, tarpaulin, tables and chairs, food and drinks in the trays of Pick-Ups /4WD/ SUV.” The company said that the reason for making the decision is because it is celebrating being in operation for over five years.
However, the decision comes in the wake of the political opposition putting pressure on the government with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) executive member, Joseph Harmon, advancing a motion in the National Assembly for the reduction of the Berbice Bridge toll for all the vehicles crossing. Harmon is requesting that the National Assembly call on the government to instruct its representative on the Board of Directors of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. to demand an immediate reduction in tolls charged for crossing the Berbice River. Harmon’s position was that a reduction in the Bridge toll was necessitated since many Berbicians and commuters are complaining about the high costs required to travel across the bridge. His reasoning behind the reduction was that; if the BBCI could reduce the toll by half for vehicles during the “holiday season” last August (which he felt was really done to facilitate PPP/C congress that was held in Berbice) then it could be done across the board. Harmon further articulated that the motion was brought to the National Assembly to address the question of devolution of wealth from the populace into the hands of a few.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
DRAWING HIS WAY TO SUCCESS…
Artist Winston Strick M.S. is a ‘Special Person’ By Leon Suseran Our ‘Special Person’ this week saw himself a budding artist since he was a teenager. He agrees that it was perhaps the love for art by his parents that pushed him to nurture the talent. Winston Strick recalls his father not being too enthused with him picking up a book or doing what the other children in the village were doing, rather, his father gave him enough of the time he needed to be by himself away in the village, concentrating, letting the ideas flow-drawing! Winston’s work is today highly regarded for its mastery of technique, its usual wit and elegance of presentation. Many of his pieces contain social commentary, others celebrate individuals; all express sincerity, while others celebrate individuality of vision and commitment to skilled craftsmanship. He attended the St. Aloysius R.C. Boys’ School followed by the Berbice High School. He was also the Art Master at the Government Teachers’ Training College, In-Service branch in 1964. He also taught various subjects at the Berbice High School in 1966, including English Language, English Literature, Religious Education, and of course, Art. “My parents—my mother, Venus, was always into sewing machines; she was into craft and used to take us into the back dams to cut awara and make hats and all these things and my father, Mc Bean, used to do a
lot of cabinet and furniture making, so I grew up in that kind of environment.” Strick remembered how it all started, with him “trying a thing” with wood and then covering it with straps to make footwear. One of his first efforts to get into formal art training in the town of New Amsterdam was due to the encouragement of a friend, a class taught by Mr. Heyliger,
taught me about restoring art works. I knew that those were the prerequisites, so I did some of that. But even before I left Guyana, I was practicing fine arts, because I can remember having a collection of works. I took my first collection of works to Colleen Taitt, who had an art movement in Middle Street (where Cara Lodge exists today), and we used to go there and have
“I always had a liking and passion for art. In growing up, as a young person-friends would have their hobbies, and my hobby was art. My father wouldn’t encourage comic books and cinema-going and things like that. I used the art as an alternative.” a product of the Working People’s Art Class, a functioning body at that time in Georgetown spearheaded by Mr. E. R. Burrowes. Another of his inspirations in those days to pursue the field of art was the British Council, which had offices all over, including New Amsterdam, “and they would show films on art and on the culture and they had books that you borrowed.” In 1969, he left these shores to further his academic and professional skills in the field which he loved. He studied Architectural Drafting and Fine Arts at the Brooklyn Museum of Art (BMA) and pursued more training at New York University (NYU)’s School of Continuing Education. “I was apprenticed to Interior Decorator Joe Lasco while in New York, who
One of Strick’s paintings, ‘Queen Mother’
meetings and she used to have a place to exhibit…and it was during one of those trips I was privileged to meet E.R. Burrowes, in the company of the very famous Donald Locke.” In 1974, Strick worked with the Ministry of Information and Culture and played a critical role in the establishment of the National Trust, working under the distinguished A.J. Seymour, A.A. and the scholarly Dr. Dennis Williams, A.A. As inaugural secretary, he oversaw the designing, creation and erection of the 1763 Monument, Enmore Martyrs’ Monument, etc. He pioneered two videos for the restoration of the forts in Guyana. He was also the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Jaycees of Guyana. “In 1977, after exhibiting leather jewellery at the Theatre Guild, I launched my Art career with a fashion-show at the Umana Yana, an event which Former First Lady, Mrs. Viola Burnham, O.E., opened….I supported Roots and Culture Movement in re-establishing its Art Gallery and producing a collection of leather art for that organization, and there, I made three videos on Fine Arts with Errol Brewster.” Winston Strick held numerous one-man exhibitions (during the period 1977-1994) at his home in Brooklyn, USA; Boa Vista, Brazil in 1981; and during Carifesta in Barbados in 1982, as well as in New Amsterdam and Rose Hall. His works are mainly wooden sculptures, leathers and painting. He loves to do leather craft and art. “Stretching of a canvas was a technique that we never knew in Guyana, and people used tentest to paint on— but it was unlike the real
canvas and that called for stretching, and that was not a very common practice, and I had to acquire that skill by going abroad (at Art School).” Strick recalls his artwork being sought after by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (during previous administrations) and other agencies, and being presented as gifts and tokens to dozens of dignitaries and Heads-of-State. He vividly recalled then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rashleigh Jackson, an art collector himself, “encouraged these diplomats to relate to our art and buy them…also American Ambassador, Ms. Theresa Tull… I made 10, 12 pieces at one time for them…she had a few pieces for her collection.” Strick was involved, too, in planning costumes for several Mashramani celebrations in Guyana including in 1984 and 1986. He taught Leather Craft at the Burrowes School of Art for a few years. “I always had a liking and passion for art. In growing up, as a young person—friends would have their hobbies, and my hobby was art. My father wouldn’t encourage comic books and cinemagoing and things like that. I used the art as an alternative.” In 1991, for his sterling contributions to the field of Art in Guyana, Mr. Strick was bestowed the Medal of Service by the former President of Guyana, the late Hugh Desmond Hoyte. When asked what is the recipe for an excellent artist, Strick said that you have to make a piece that can stir the feelings and appreciations of persons, “the creativity must be there, but it must make that impact so when persons see it, they must light up—that is what artists strive for—so that they can have this bang!” And he names his pieces—all of them! He is currently working on “The Epiphany” for the past two weeks. So how do these ideas come to our ‘Special Person’? “The ideas come easily, but when you’re just beginning, you have to learn to think—meditate— and visualize, and bring your concepts…try to see things in your mind before you bring them out, so you learn this technique as you go about how to visualize things and breathing and seeing what other artists do, [and] you learn from that.”
Winston Strick
Posing with the COFONA award he received earlier this year
Being a good artist, he said, demands a lot of peace and quietude. Mr. Strick lives by himself in Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, and says he gets “lots of peace and quietude so I can concentrate on my works and get the ideas and creative juices flowing.”
Strick invented new techniques in tie craft and leather, too. His advice to young artists our there is “try to understand the road that the artists before you-like Philip Moore and Dennis Williams-try to know how they carried on their careers and (Continued on page 50)
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Kaieteur News
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Sunday December 15, 2013
PPP repeating the mistakes of the PNC, could lose presidency next election By Ralph Seeram During the reign of the PNC, it was fashionable to blame everyone but the party for the problems of the economy, for the shortage of foodstuff. If sugar and rice were scarce it was because shopkeepers were hoarding, not because the country was exporting every ounce of sugar and every grain of rice to scrape up foreign exchange dollars. If you complain or criticize you were deemed “an enemy of the state”. In time the Guyanese people wised up. No amount of propaganda could fool the people of what the true state of the economy was. The sad thing was the PNC government actually started to believe its own propaganda. Enter Dr. Roger
Luncheon, a man who should just fade away before the very little creditability he has left, evaporates. The PPP government could not find a worse spokesperson, every time he opens his mouth he not only embarrasses the Government, but insults the intelligence of the Guyanese public. BLAME THE MESSENGER It’s an old propaganda trick, blame the messenger not the message. So now according to Luncheon the media is responsible for the low ranking Guyana received for perception of corruption and transparency. It’s not because some in the government are corrupt; it’s not because of secretive contracts that enriched friends and families of the administration; it’s the media’s fault for exposing
them. Roger Luncheon needs to step out of his office and ask the “man in the street” what he thinks of the government. While he is at it, take a few Government Ministers like Robert Persaud, Irfaan Ali and Dr. Ashni Singh. Go ask the public what it thinks of the Ministers and the PPP government in terms of corruption and transparency. Georgetown flooded. Who gets the blame? According to Agriculture Minister Ramsammy, it was a failure to forecast the rain, as if had the government known ahead of the pending heavy rain the clogged up drains and grass choked trenches and canals would have miraculously allowed the water to drain. SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES During the PNC regime the government was the largest employer; the major industries were nationalized.
Sugar and bauxite were government controlled as well as all the government agencies. The majority of the PNC supporters got jobs not because they were qualified for the position, but simply because they were “comrades”. The PPP in this respect is no different. The most disgusting display of this is the appointment of Carol Sooba as Town Clerk for the city of Georgetown. No one can say or prove what this woman’s qualifications are. For sure we know she does not hold a degree. Reports said she showed evidence of three subjects, which means she failed the exam. Both Roger Luncheon and Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud evaded the question of this woman’s qualifications. What qualification did this woman use to get into a Law Programme? To hear
Roger Luncheon explain it, academic qualification is not the main criterion. The view is that you must be a supporter of the PPP. The other criterion is that the PPP must be able to “jerk your strings” This appointment of the Georgetown Town Clerk is very sickening if not disgusting and a total insult to the intelligence of the Guyanese public. It sends a message to those aspiring for higher education, not to “waste your time”, just be a card carrying supporter of the PPP and the job is yours. This penchant for the PPP to be in control of everything is going to lead to its demise, The Guyanese people gave the PPP a message at the 2011 election but some in the PPP did not notice. The PPP acts as if it still controls Parliament. Its inflexible attitude and non compromising position will sweep it out of power come next election. Any minority government knows that it has to compromise with its opposition. This is not the case with the PPP. On the Money Laundering Bill it could have compromised. If you look at the issues between the
opposition and the government, they boil down to the PPP wanting control of everything, well the reality is it doesn’t work that way in the real world of politics. While we are on the subject of perception, the PPP comes across as very vindictive to people who oppose or criticize it. I have friends who constantly tell me to be “careful what you say about the PPP, they are vindictive, this is the perception of people living in Guyana, and it is widespread. You cannot mention the word corruption; we all know what happened to Ralph Ramkarran when he spoke about corruption within the party. The problem for the PPP is that the current crop of senior party members is more interested in the interest on their banks accounts than the interest of the working class. The working class party leaders have long been pushed aside by Bharrat Jagdeo and replaced by people who after leaving office would have no need for the PPP. Their bank accounts have already been secured like his. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Lions Club of D’urban Park celebrates 25 years Under the theme, “Committed to our Community,” the Lions Club of Georgetown D’urban Park yesterday celebrated its 20th year as a functioning unit upholding the pride and dignity of Lions worldwide. The club headed by its president, Deborah Backer, reminisced on its humble beginnings and patted itself on the back for the strides made and the positive changes it has been able to impact on the lives of many. “Lions” is a worldwide charitable society devoted to social and international service, taking its membership primarily from business and professional groups. Lions’ International has over 45,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 205 countries around the world and was founded by Melvin Jones in 1917. The Lions Club of Georgetown D’urban Park received its Charter on December 14, 1993 complete
with 25 service minded individuals, 11 of whom were former Lionesses. This Club was sponsored by the Lions Club of Ruimveldt. In keeping with its mandate to serve, which perfectly coincides with its motto “Service in Action,” the Club has, over the years, embarked on many service projects arising from identified needs in its area of service. These include; in South Ruimveldt and Meadow Brook. The Club has been able to carry out its work further afield as well. The Club’s service activities are executed under three umbrella programs; Education and Youth; Health & Service and Sight Conservation as well as Work with the Blind. During the years the Lions D’urban Park has donated a number of white canes and eye products to visually impaired persons. Other works with the blind include ‘sight conversation,’
Board of Directors – Lions Club of Georgetown D’urban Park, 2013 - 2014 a service activity introduced in 1994 as the association’s flagship project worldwide. This event is commemorated in October of each year. To date, the Club has screened the eyes of more than 4,000 students and provided spectacles for over 200.
Other activities include life skills sessions, counseling and an annual spelling bee competition. The Club carried out a dental health clinic in Sophia and delivered blood pressure kits for the elderly as well as hosted a walk for Diabetes
Murder accused admits to killing man who sodomised him A man who killed another who he accused of regularly sodomising him when he gets ‘knock out’ will know his fate on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. The accused, Waynewright Courtney Telford, called ‘Baker’, 51, of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam had pleaded guilty before Justice Dawn Gregory in the Berbice High Court when he appeared before her on December 4, last, on a charge of murder. Telford is accused of murdering Michael Kissoon, called ‘Prickle’ or ‘Redman’, 37, of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam on April 11, 2010. The accused is alleged to have chopped Kissoon to death after he accused Kissoon of constantly sodomising him at a drug yard in Angoy’s Avenue. Before the matter began Telford, through his Attorney, pleaded not guilty to murder. Sentenced was deferred after Attorney at law Charlyne Artiga appearing for him asked that psychiatric and probation reports be presented on behalf of her client, because of the abnormality of his mind. She also stated that her client attends a clinic. Presenting the state’s case, Attorney at Law Renita Singh stated that the accused, the deceased and another would sleep under a shed under one Denise Gomes’s house at Angoy’s Avenue. They had begun the practice
about three weeks earlier. He had told investigators that the deceased would usually sodomise him while he was under the influence of narcotics and would fall asleep. He said that when he awoke, each time he would endure the discomfort. He constantly warned the deceased to desist from such practice, but he continued. One of those episodes took place on the night in question and when the suspect got up he felt pain and when he wiped he felt blood. Around 07:00 hrs Telford stated that he overheard Kissoon telling another ‘Junky’ name Carlo’ that he
buggered Telford last night. She narrated that Telford got into a rage and later saw Kissoon sleeping on a sponge under a shed. He got his cutlass and dealt Kissoon several chops about his body. He later told the landlady that “ah just f… up that one in deh, because he does ‘bugger’ me in me sleep.” He then went to the Central Police Station where he reported the matter and was detained. The victim was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The accused was also taken to the New Amsterdam
hospital after complaining of feeling discomfort in various parts of the body. He was medically examine and returned to the New Amsterdam Prison. A Post Mortem examination was done on the body at the New Amsterdam Hospital by Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan and concluded that Kissoon died from shock and haemorrhage due to multiple chops about the body. Telford represented himself during the preliminary inquiry. The accused had given a caution statement in which he had admitted to the crime.
Awareness Month, observed annually in November. There was also an environmental awareness and clean up exercise held in collaboration with the Avocado Youth Group and Lancers Youth Group in the East Ruimveldt area. In an anniversary message, Charter President, Deborah Backer said “On the occasion of the 20th anniversary it gives me a great sense of pride as I reflect on how our Club has grown from twenty five (25) charter members to become one of the largest Clubs in Guyana. More important to us is the invaluable service projects our Club has undertaken over these years thereby being true to our motto, We Serve.”
In a letter of congratulations, Lions Club International President Barry J. Palmer advised the Club to use the opportunity of its anniversary to reflect on what was accomplished and look forward to new opportunities to serve. He penned, “Your compassion and dedication to reaching out to others is what has kept Lions Clubs International a global leader in service for nearly a century. Your Club was chartered by caring, concerned people who realized that the power of working together as a team far exceeds what we can accomplish alone. Together, we can make a difference in countless lives in our community and around the world. Together, we can realize the dream of a better world through service. Together, there is no limit to what we can achieve.” Regional Chairman, Sean Noel and District Governor, Patrick Taylor also extended congratulations “The exemplary character, grit and determination shown by Durban Park Lions Club members in moving from a fledgling status to being the premier Lions Club in Region 1 within twenty years is a testimony quality of projects executed.” Lions Club of Georgetown D’urban Park Acknowledged the financial assistance of Digicel, Somwaru’s, Citizen’s Bank; Camex and Nigel’s Supermarket.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
Minister Webster taken to court over $12M property deal A city resident has taken a Government Minister to court claiming that the official deliberately attempted to defraud them. The Minister, he said, had already taken $8.5M from his client for a Queenstown property. The case was filed in September by Wolton Ameche Perreira and Ann Anderson.They named Elaine Clothilda Mootoo and Jennifer Webster as the Defendants. Webster is the current Minister of Human
Services and Social Security. The Plaintiffs’ lawyer is Neil Boston. In September, based on an ex-parte application by way of Affidavit for Interim Injunction, Justice Rishi Persaud ordered that the Defendants be blocked from selling, mortgaging or encumbering the North Half of Lot 182 Crown and Irving Streets, Queenstown. The Plaintiffs are seeking damages for breach of contract together with
interest. They are asking for damages for fraudulent misrepresentation According to court documents, Perreira of Hadfield Street, said that Mootoo is the executrix of the estate of the late Nellie Mendes De Franca, who at the time of her death was the owner of property described as N1/2 of lot 182 Crown and Irving Streets, Queenstown. The property included a building and other erections. Webster, Perreira claimed,
was appointed attorney on September 23, 2011. Some time in 2007, Webster claimed that she was representing the estate of Nellie Mendes De Franca on the instruction of Mootoo, the executrix. The Plaintiffs said that they believed her and learnt that the estate owned a property at Crown and Irving Streets, Queenstown. Perreira also claimed that Webster indicated that she had the authority to sell the
STARR Computers launches Samsung Experience Store
A section of the Samsung Experience Store.
With over two decades of experience in the technological business, STARR Computers officially opened its Samsung Experience Store Friday last at 59 Brickdam, Georgetown. With the success of its electronics business, Samsung has been recognized globally as an industry leader in technology. Samsung Experience Store is one of 41 stores planned for roll out within the Caribbean and Latin America. President of Starr
Computers, Michael Mohan, disclosed that the new authorised Samsung outlet will feature fully interactive displays, and individuals can experience the latest technologies with laptops, mobile phones, tablets and televisions. Mohan explained that STARR Computers represents 36 major international manufacturers and the company in Partnership with Samsung will offer an experience of the
latest products from Samsung along with tutorials, free seminars and training on how to use your new Samsung products. He said that it was not an easy task to get Samsung onboard since there would inevitably be more resellers in the future as ‘Samsung is a product of the future.’ Adding that having a Samsung store in Guyana would modernize technology, Mohan said his company would be working with the
Education Ministry to enhance their technological capabilities. He credited Republic Bank with making customers happy as the bank facilitates hire purchase through their credit line. Underscoring that personnel will be trained to execute repairs, Mohan said customers can benefit from International Warranty that can include free parts and labour. General Manager Rehman Majeed said Samsung Electronics leads the global digital market in high-tech electronics manufacturing and digital media through innovative, reliable products and services, talented people and a relentless pursuit of discovery. Meanwhile, in 2014 STARS which boasts the largest service center in Guyana will be involved in educational seminars, school projects, educating the public on cell phones and radiation in addition to genuine and generic products.
property. Webster later took them to the property and described it as North Half of North Half of Lot 182. They agreed on a $12M price for the property. On December 5, 2007, the Plaintiffs paid over $1M to Webster. A copy of the encashed check was attached to the court documents. On September 15, 2008, the parties entered a written agreement with Webster, paying an additional $1.5M. “(Webster) represented to us that Nigel Hughes, Attorney-at-Law, was retained by her to have the said will probated and in three months time she will be able to transfer title in the property to us.” On August 26, 2011, and additional $2M was paid. On September 16, 2011, another $3M was also handed over. One year later, on September 7, 2012, another $1M was handed over to Webster. In total as of September 7, 2012, Webster would have received $8.5M. Perreira claimed that on April 15, 2013, Webster received the grant of Administration with the Will annexed on the April 15, 2013 but never informed the Plaintiffs. “In July 2013, we asked the second-named Defendant whether she obtained a Grant of Administration and much to our surprise she informed us that she is not going to sell the property to us anymore. We found the statement by the second-named Defendant as a brazen and dishonest statement having received our money over a period of time and her several promises to complete the agreement after she gets the grant.”
Minister Jennifer Webster The Plaintiffs said they requested their lawyer Neil Boston to make a search at the Probate Registry in August 2013 and discovered that Webster was appointed Administratrix of the deceased estate. “We discovered for the first time when we were shown the Statement of Assets and Liabilities that the property that was described to us as N1/2 of N1/2 of Lot 182 (one hundred and eighty-two) Crown and Irving Streets, Queenstown, in the City of Georgetown, County of Demerara, Republic of Guyana, is really the N’/2 of Lot 182 Crown and Irving Streets, Queenstown, in the City of Georgetown, County of Demerara, Republic of Guyana.” Perreira claimed that at no time were they buying a portion of the property, nor were the defendants selling a portion of the property. The Plaintiffs immediately moved to court to stop any further transaction regarding the property.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Sugar Workers must now stand in solidarity with Public Servants -- Ramjattan Sugar workers proceeded on strike for one day and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) agreed to pay its Annual Performance Incentive (API). The public servants have been protesting for weeks now but the government maintains that it will only pay the five per cent increase. This practice is discriminatory and will create a divide between the various work forces, said Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan, who said while the party is happy to see sugar workers getting their money the same must also go for Public Servants who are asking for a fair increase in salary. Ramjattan said that the unfairness must not be tolerated and that sugar workers must now stand in solidarity with their fellow public servants.
According to Paul Bhim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), sugar workers are to be paid five days’ pay. The amounts will be paid in two tranches, one on January 3, and the other on March 14, 2014. The agreement with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is expected to be signed on Tuesday. On Wednesday, sugar workers downed tools over the traditional year-end production bonus which GuySuCo said it is unable to pay. All eight estates were closed but the workers returned to work on Thursday. Meanwhile Public Servants will tomorrow receive their December wages and their five per cent retroactive pay increase for the year too.
Ever since the announcement of the five per cent increase it has attracted a string of protests countrywide and public servants demand a bigger payout. Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) which has rejected the proposed five per cent increase, has said that “Enough is Enough.” According to a recent public pronouncement by the GTUC, Public Servants have been the recipients of torrential vilification and demonisation over the years, and it is they who turn the State’s wheels of production. “Without them this nation grinds to a halt. Continuing to carry this great responsibility, undertaking yeoman service, giving of their sweat day in and day out, sometimes working under difficult and unhealthy conditions, it is unacceptable
to treat them with contempt.” The Guyana Public Service Union, on the other hand had dubbed the “illegal” five percent imposition of salaries and wages for Public Sector Workers as insensitive, disrespectful and ruthless. The union charged that, “Certainly the ‘Fat Cats’, who are paid significantly more, would enjoy five percent of their millions to satisfy their Christmas fantasies, without having to touch or deplete savings towards that end. The rest of the labour force, whose percent realizes the bare minimum, finds this payout as a meager aid towards defraying some of the outstanding debt that had piled on their shoulders over more than a year of neglect by an uncaring employer. Christmas then is but a name to many, but truly enjoyed by a few.”
Dutch seizes large shipments of smuggled wildlife from Guyana
Dutch authorities have reported seizure of a large quantity of caimans and snakes being smuggled through one of its airports. According to the Dutch news website, Gazet Van Antwerpen, security officials found a significant quantity of the wildlife dead and a major investigation is now underway. The announcement was made by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) yesterday. The animals were heading to Ukraine. The snakes and alligators were left about 30 minutes in the cold and were so tightly packed that they Continued on page 57
Some of the seized caimans.
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WANTED Magazine writers needed. Email resume & CV to teshawnalall@gmail.com. Contact: 629-2206 Driver for compactor truck Contact:220-8110/ 622-4364 Wanted: contract cars & experience dispatcher @ West Site Taxi - Tel: 6130419; 600-0688 Looking for a work shop to rent or a place to open a work shop- Contact:6827470 or 617-0532 Urgently needed: cleaners & waitress on W.C.D. Contact:592-684-8231 Labourers, Painters & Capenters with own tools to work with limited supervision Tel: 225-6070 1 Couple or small family to live and work on live stock farm @ New Hope E.B.D 2662711, 609-4594 1 Labourer/handyman for half day – Call:226-3736 Urgently needed live-in waitress to work in bar. Reasonable salary offered! Tel:259-0574 Attractive live in waitress- Call:327-0252/ 674-4665
Kaieteur News
WANTED One maid, age 35-40yrs, preferably country side- Tel: 231-4815, Cell: 699-9380 1 Live in domestic must know to cook & 1 experienced waitress. Boarding & lodging free, starting salary $50,000 - Tel: 610-5043
2 - 2007 Toyota Avensis - Tel: 698-0674
Experienced drivers for one RZ mini-bus - Contact Kelvin on:621-6897 or 645-2613 Female to draw cones from machine, small family for caretaking duties & driver (car/van)- Contact:610-2978
ALYEA AUTO SALE: PREMIO 2004, ALLION 2008 NEW SHAPE & CARINA 212 @ 40 CROAL STREET STABROEK – TEL:231-7284; 622-3823
Experienced hotel maids ( Shift System) Age: 25years & above –Contact:223-6284 or come in @ Lot 12 Henry Street Werk-En-Rust 1 Maid living around Georgetown- Annandale ECD. Must Know to prepare Indian & English foods, bake pastries & cakes – Tel:6216006 One [1] handyman. Must know gardening – Tel:6216006 Masons to work with own tools – Tel:613-3347 FOR SALE / FOR RENT American pool table - Tel: 277-0578
URGENTLY WANTED: Thirty five (35) Security officers. Apply: SECURITY ALLIANCE Barrack Street, Kingston (upstairs FedEx) Attractive live in waitressCall:228-5129, 604-8277 Contract cars, Atlas Taxi Service- Tel:661-3043 2 low income land to buy in Parfaite Harmonie - Contact: 675-7292 1 whole day domestic for East Bank area- Contact:6144358 1 experience nail technician specialized in nail art design & air brush- Tel:231-6000 Wanted 1 driver to work in interior must have bus and lorry license - Tel: 681-6044 Person to slaughter and clean pigs at new Hope, E.B.D. call: 266-2711, 609-4594 Experienced roti/ puri cooks, pastry makers, counter servers, cleaner & handy boys. Apply @ Hack’s Halaal @ 5 Commerce St One live in domesticContact:627-2550,658-9495, 699-7782 Waiters/ waitresses $3000 daily - Tel:233-6517,622-1957 All rounded hair stylist needed - Tel: 225-7678 Hire car drivers & experienced dispatchersContact:622-8350
VEHICLE FOR SALE 17ft fiberglass boat with 175 Yamaha Seadoo jet ski - Tel: 651-8870
1 -AT 170 Car: AC, CD, rimsContact:695-8528
Corrola Axio -$2,850,000 , Spacio PRR Series -$2.1M, CRV PJJ - $1.7M – Tel: 6970294 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & cheap RZ buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 1- F150 6CYL, fully loaded $3M Negotiable – Tel:6895254; 256-0504 New 2013 Isuzu: D-Max single & double cabs- Call: 691-0234 1 strong open back customized canter in good condition, Model M bush truck for interior-Tel:2318417, 223-1238,624-0443 1-5L diesel Toyota Hilux ready for the interior, in excellent condition - Contact: 662-5570 or 667-2703 Unregistered Toyota Sienta 2004-Contact:617-5536
VEHICLE FOR SALE Stretch limousine, Lincoln Town car, fully powered $6.5 million or credit available Tel 227-3939, 621-4000 Toyota 4X4 solid Def EFI – Contact: 609-4028 Mitsubishi Pajero (Immaculate condition); automatic, fully loaded, 4×4, price $3.2M- Contact Rocky:225-1400 or 621-5902 AT212 Carina (private), automatic, fully powered, A/ C, CD player, price $1.3M [Hardly Use]- contact Rocky:225-1400; 621-5902
Toyota Runx, Nissan Wingroad wagon - Tel: 6455893 New ATVs: Introductory price $1,199,000 (Duty Free)Call: 691-0234 1 Suzuki 600 GS X – R 600cc, 1 Toyota Hilux Pickup 4X4Tel: 644-5096, 697-1453 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 2005 Tacoma 1995 V6 4x4 Tacoma – Tel: 651-8870 Canter truck BJJ 5205Contact:680-2275/693-6060
Toyota extra cab pick-up (22 R engine) manual, (EFI) 4×4, (GPP series) price $2.5MContact Rocky 621-5902/2251400
First Class Auto: Carina 212, Fielder, IST, Allex, Axio, Spacio, Raum (Old & New models) Please Call:6098188; 602-6307
1 Toyota RZ bus - $1.6M. Immaculate condition [Hardly Use] – Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400
1 Madza PPP series-Tel:6686329
1 Toyota extra cab pick-up automatic (3RZ) 4x4 $3.7M – Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 2251400 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.2M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400
Toyota Allion PNN 9626 $1.9MContact:2335557,610-1309 Toyota 212 car $ 950,000Contact:613-1810,697-2550 1 Toyota Rav-4, IST, NZE Corrola, Fun Cargo, AT 212, AT192, AT170, Tacoma, Caldina Wagon – Tel:6445096; 697-1453
Sunday December 15, 2013
VEHICLE FOR SALE Christmas Special! Premio $2.4M, Spacio-$2.1M, 2008 Fielder $2.7M, Unregistered - Tel: 617-2891 1 Nissan Canter, long tray, GFF 218, unladen WGT 4910 KGS- Tel:266-5986,256-3156 Nissan Pathfinder ($1.65M) & Nissan Laurel ($750,000) immaculate condition, fully loadedTel:698-7878,225-8427 1 RZ longbase minibus BLL series, fully loaded- Tel:6737934 Mitsubishi Canter 4 D32GHH series, short base, open tray, in working condition. Owner drivenContact:627-6305,680-7119 1-55 Leyland DAF truck, excellent working condition. Price $2.8M, Must Go!Contact:656-8346 1 X Toyota Rav 4: Pearl White, Late PMM series, fully loaded, excellent condition, under 80,000 KM Call: 624-5331 One 1995 Toyota Tacoma stick gear 4 wheel drive 3 RZ engine. Price:$1,650,000 negotiable -625-2516 BMW sports (unregistered)Contact: 650-0979 Ford F-150 (2009), immaculate condition, GRR 7452Contact:227-3728,676-2784 BUY/SELL VEHICLES OR PROPERTY; SAVE TIME + MONEY USING PHOTO ADS – WWW.GYTRADER.COM ; TEL: 651-4300, 670-4300 Cheapest manual buses, Spacio, Hilux- Manual , Automatic - Cell: 616-7635 Leroy Trident Car 250 CC, 4 doors, power window, keyless entry $495,000 cash or credit Tel 227-3939, 6214000 Hilux Surf 4 Doors, minor parts needed, sold as is $695,000 cash Tel: 227-3939, 621-4000 Nissan Maxima, fully powered. Needs repairs. Sold as is $300,000 cash 2273939, 621-4000 5Pcs Harley Davidson Motorcycles gas model 50cc key / pull start all = $295,000 or 1pc $70,000 621-4000, 2273939 7Pcs Trike Can-Am style Motorcycle, 200cc new, unregistered $350,000 neg or credit, Wholesale Tel 2273939, 621-4000 Driven Auto Blowout Sale!!! – Unregistered Mazda, Axela - $2,295,000- Pioneer CD Player, Crystal lights, remote start alarm – Tel:643-6565; 226-9931
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
American clothing: Jessica Simpson, American Eagle etc. Wholesale & retail. 126 Thomas St Kitty- Contact: 680-2177
Live and pluck chicken - Tel: 220-9203; 650-4421 Priced To Go! GMC Cargo Van, cross cut chop saw, amplifiers, mixers, Bass guitars- Contact: 647-3608, 638-8195 WHOLESALE PLUCK CHICKEN AND PARTS – TEL:676-0931
Tibetan Terrier (Fluffy) pups - Call: 222-7891; 609-9202 Dell computers complete with 20" LCD $69,000, 6 months warranty @ Futuretech- Call:231-2206 7 piece polished kitchen dinette set, 1 living room cabinet- Contact:685-0942
270 Amps, portable welders Telephone: 611-5114
Fully vaccinated mixed (Pitbull & German shepherd) puppies. Price $40,000- Call: 678-1771
One circular sofa, one shed (greenheart wood) 45X40x20ft. Price negotiable- Tel: 613-0836
PORK wholesale only, whole half and quarter carcass - Tel: 266-2711; 6094594
Blackberry Bold 2 & 4, reasonable price- Call:6851231
Household Items: Electronics, 4x4 Wheels, food warmers, steel grills, carpets, colognes, motorcycles, cars & much more. Tel: 223-1885
Earth delivery to spot also Bobcat and Excavator rentals Tel: 626-7127 Ducks & Pigs – Tel:688-7291 4JG2 engine block & fuel pump, F-150 4.6L V8 triton engine, 41X10 Toyota Hilux differential & bango – Tel:656-7747;226-8851 Live/pluck chicken call:6504421, 220-9203 Kubota welder diesel generator [mounted on wheels], Isuzu 4BEI engine block with camshaft & fuel pump- Tel:226-8851; 656-7747 Honda ATV 500 4X4 DBL shocks - Tel: 688-6274; 691-3851 Curtains and carpet for sale Call: 653-1192 after 6PM Old bottles, stamps and coins - Tel: 694-8486 Farm at YarrowkaaraCall:693-1585 Prime Property. Great for investment / business. 100ftX80ft. Corner Lot. Next to University of Guyana. Contact houseinsophia @yahoo.com Calendars! Calendars 2014for your business. From $9.00. Many options. 50 Minimum. Alert Printing Hurry! –Tel:227-2679 One boat cupeller R-H -24" Contact:676-8324 1 Five month old female pitbull –Tel:225-6137
1 Dewalt Circular saw, 1 Dewalt Miter saw 10 inches, 1-6 light chandelier set - Call: 6739501; 691-9844 1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact:2310655,683-8734 Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032,647-2943 1 Dunlop CBR front tire 120/ 70 ZR 17, 1 Deep cut ban saw, 2 foreign used six cylinder engines - Tel: 6739501;691-9844 Metal scaffold, size 5"X5" & 6.6"X5"-Call: 267-1563. Price negotiable New arrival: 1 Toyota Tacoma, aluminum boats (12ft & 14ft)- Call:2201981,685-8282,690-1945 Massey Ferguson 6140 4X4 Turbo - Call: 6886274/691-3851 Terrier puppies for sale Contact:696-7467 or adorethemdogs@gmail.com Cheap earth delivery to spot E.C.D and E.B.D- Call: 6279977, 698-0182 Chicken Hatchery (Robbins), 28,000 eggs capacity fully ready, $ 5.5 million or credit available Tel: 227-3939 621-4000 (Continued on page 57)
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Ramotar must scrap... From page 9 the news of the Survey Permission granted by Persaud, may even have international implications for Guyana. “It has drawn a not particularly friendly reaction from Suriname where the Deputy Speaker of Parliament is calling for her country to lodge a formal complaint with Guyana…That will certainly complicate issues even as the bigger question remains the border with Brazil.” According to Ram, Guyanese will now wait to see if Ramotar will define himself and protect the integrity of the borders of this country. “Decisive action on this issue will give some credibility to his Presidency…If he fails to act now, nothing ever will.”
Dutch seizes large... From page 55 received little air. About 50 of the caimans did not survive the journey. The three snakes and 14 caimans are in bad shape and will probably die, according to the website. The illegal transport of the wildlife violates international aviation rules for the transport of live animals and could include charges of animal torture, the news report said. In late November, NVWA intercepted 444 crocodiles from Guyana which were intended for a Dutch trader. They were packed in batches of 50 in poorly ventilated boxes. Some 323 caimans did not survive the trip. On Tuesday, Customs at Schiphol held a man who was attempting to smuggle in six Surinamese songbirds. They were all packed in small boxes, disguised to look like VACANCY 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl & office assistant- Call: 6910894/684-2838 Hire car drivers from E.C.D @ A1 Taxi – Tel:220-1000 Vacancy exists for cleaners & drivers send application & passport photograph to Survival shopping complex, 173 Sheriff St Campbellville Contact: 227-5286-89 Salon station to rentContact:695-5336 Barber - Call: 683-1534; 6094983 Inventory Clerk: Send application to Lot A & B Ramsburg Providence, E.B.D. – Email:srwrdepot@gmail.com
presents, complete with gift wrapping and bows.
(From page 56) SERVICES
PROPERTY FOR SALE
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call:225-6496,6626045,223-8115
VERSAILLES: Furnished 5 bedrooms, self-contained rooms, modern facilities, generator, beautiful landscape, gated community - Call: 592624-8704/ 592-684-9203
Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call:2259032,647-2943
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 1 salon station to rent at the back of Bourda Post OfficeTel:225-4665 Rental of wedding dresses & clothing for sale Phone:616-0505 Two salon stations available for rental : Touch of Class Beauty Salon @ 61 David Street KittyContact:685-2832,667-2219 Space to rent as Sports Bar and restaurant – Call:6573274 Cement ransom for rent $15,000 daily- Tel:233-6517 We have space for rental for a Chinese Restaurant @ a popular hotel @ Tuschen Public Road- Tel:638-1627 One - Two storey building @ Ogle ECD - $80,000 Tel: 628-8667 Yard Space for rent @ Vryheid’s Lust Public Road– Tel:654-6394 2 Bedroom apartment Avenue B Diamond EBD $35,000 – Telephone:6193481 1 Bedroom apartment next to SOL Mc Doom, EBD – $30,000 – Tel:658-5452
Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) Brains Construction & Rental Services: Excavator, Bobcat, Truck, Tools – Tel:6015024/ 227-4536 (Bobcat & Excavator Operator needed) We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar Masons Seeks daily or Job work – Tel:619-3296 Technicians available for appliance repairs – washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc – Tel:6190793; 218-0050 Kerrin Stanley Immigration Services, Canada, U.S, U.K visa services. Authorized by Government of CanadaContact: 645-4789, kerrinstanley@gmail.com Christmas cleaning! Power washing for residential & commercial properties – Call:648-1544 Holiday house washing service- Tel: 233-6517, 622-1957 Brian Moe @642-3543: Computer Technician: FB/ Brian.Moe.165: Home and Office visits at your comfort!! Do you need an experienced car/van driver?- Call:6155609 Flyers- $800 for 400. Business cards -$2,600. Bill books. Great for Christmas sales. Call Alert Printing: 227-2679
Property for sale - Call: 6275416 Durban Backlands- $800,000; Parfaite Harmony 4 bedroom$3.500,000; Mandela Avenue$16M; Diamond, Lagrange WBD-Call Shawn:2312199,618-7483 One property for sale in Kitty; 20M negotiable Contact:592-656-9990/592696-3166 One two- storey concrete house, Ave A DiamondTel:643-5161 One two storey business property (Transported) @ Brickery Public Road E.B.D Tel: 660-8128
One wooden shopping complex at Kurupung landing. Price $ 6M- Call: 226-9492, 226-9485. Monday- Friday (9am-4pm) Section “K” C/Ville- 2 flat 3 bedrooms solid building, need some repairs $22M negotiable @ B&G’s RealtyContact:227-4125,617-9717 Property for Contact:699-9926
sale-
2 Flat Concrete Building @ Chateau Margot ECD – $32M Tel:661-9431 Prime commercial property, Albertown, 3 lots with business, (Nut Centre) best offer. Tel 621-4000, 2273939 Ogle – $45M, 2 storey concrete & wooden building with going business- $60M, Republic Park - $40M – Tel: 645-5938 Soesdyke /Linden Highway, Solid concrete building. Building -95"X55"; land space- 200"X100" – Price negotiable – Tel:668-9846; 656-1360
Services and repairs to gas stoves, washing machines – Call: 688-0183
Meet your match! Lifelong partners, confidential: Rules Apply Tel:592-223-8237; 592648-6098 (8:30am-5:00pm), (both phones same time)
TO LET Fully furnished two bedroom, top flat, long term only – Tel: 687-3792 Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call: 347933-9790, 639-4452.
EDUCATIONAL Big Christmas deals on computer classes. Diploma in computers $25,000. Micrographics @ Vreedin- Hoop - Tel: 264-3057
FOR SALE
Premio Vitz (NM), Spacio, Rush latest models, best rates with low deposits – Contact:692-1051; 685-5011
Clean Garden Earth & builders waste also Bobcat rental, excavating, clearing and leveling done- Call:6160617 or 663-3285
Wings Car Rental- Call: 643-1131 Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com
American Style massage services- Call:678-7499 The Gent’s Spa: Let beautiful sophisticated masseuse pamper you: New masseuse available- Call:657-5979 Professional cocktail mixer and massage expert, call now to book your appointments, Ksean @ 651-5260
Panel Doors & Arch Frame as low as $19,995 – Tel:6641109; 626-8141
Premio, Vitz call:347-9339790, 639-4452.
Diesel Generator, 3 cylinder Lister Petter (England) key start, 15,000 watts $595,000 cash 227-3939, 621-4000
Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup - Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807
Generac Generator 15,000 watts portable, $475,000 cash Tel: 227-3939, 621-4000
Joshua’s Car Rental Call:6656485; 679-8400
Clarke forklifts 3pcs 2000, 3000, 4000 Lb, lifting capacity $350,000 and up Tel: 2273939, 621-4000 Diesel Generator silent 28,000 watts SDMO John Deere engine, missing Fuel Pump, Panel, Avr $850,000 cash Call: 227-3939, 621-4000
LAND FOR SALE
TV Sale 27" To 73" some working and others needs checking all sold as is Tel 621-4000, 227-3939
Prime property opposite Leonora Primary School – Contact:652-0709/268-3572
MASSAGE PEN PAL Single female seeking single male for friendship , age 5060yrs- Tel: 692-3239
CAR RENTAL
Wai a kabra, Linden Highway: 1,409’x403’ or 13.73 acres. Concrete house thereon. 1,100 feet from Highway- Call:619-4152 LAND 40FTX600FT, LA GRANGE, W.B.D. (INDEPENDENCE ST) $12.8M (NEGOTIABLE). SERIOUS ENQUIRES CALL “MAX”:672-8569/ 609-8132 NOW! Double lot of land situated at #148-149 North Enterprise, E.C.D. Price $7.5 million negotiable- Contact:6193388,231-1578,639-7817 Parfaite Harmonie (100ft X 50ft) $1.8M, Herstelling (110ft X 56ft) $4MContact:675-7292 Land for sale 46X600- Call: 664-5153 Soesdyke -57.21 acres of land 215’.36 X 8,755’.2 near Linden H/Way junction $125M negotiable @ B&G’s RealtyContact:2274125,617-9717 Parfaite Harmonie $ 1.3MTel:675-7292 2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at ParikaCall:226-7968 Soesdyke land -166.00’ X 131.98’ $4.5M negotiable @ B&G’s Realty- Contact: 2274125,617-9717 5 Acres, 3 lots $15M @ Canal #2- Call:227-7734
60FT Antenna (Mass) for Radio, TV, Cellular, with cables, brackets, sky light $400,000 Tel:227-3939, 6214000 Two propellers – Call:6673124; 226-9659 Rayobe 2 colour printing machine etc – Tel:639-9553/ 277-3627
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166,622-2872,615-0964
SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773 Now in stock body lightening cream, body toning gel, needed 1 hair dresser- Contact Melissa @ 592-668-0503
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Brazil’s Rousseff popularity keeps Govt. gets multimillion-dollar loan for public sector efficiency climbing ahead of 2014 vote BRASILIA (Reuters) Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ’s popularity continued to recover in November thanks to her government’s social programs and a slowdown in inflation, a poll showed on Friday, making her the clear favorite in next year’s presidential vote. Seventy-five percent of respondents rated Rousseff’s government “good/great” or “average” in the latest Ibope/ CNI poll. That was up from 72 percent in September and 65 percent in July, when millions of Brazilians took to the streets to protest poor public transportation, corruption and crime. That wave of discontent and disappointing economic growth brought the lowest ratings of Rousseff’s threeyear presidency and put her reelection chances in doubt. Although the economy remains sluggish and inflation is relatively high, Rousseff has regained the confidence of many Brazilians thanks in part to social welfare programs. An initiative implemented this year brought thousands of Cuban doctors to the most desolate areas of Brazil as part of a
Dilma Rousseff program to improve the country’s public health system. “The government’s response to the problems of the health system was very welcomed by the population,” said Renato da Fonseca, research director at CNI. Da Fonseca said a slowdown in inflation, which reached its year-high in June, also helped improve Rousseff ’s image among voters. She continues to score badly in areas like education and security, which Brazilians see as the weakest points of her government, the poll
showed. Rousseff’s popularity still has not recovered to its preprotest levels. In Ibope/CNI’s March poll, 91 percent of respondents rated her government good, great or average. A pragmatic economist who had no experience in elected office before she was elected president in 2010, Rousseff has increased her appearances in public events across the country to build advantage over potential rivals. One of them, Eduardo Campos, continues to be one of the most popular governors in the country with an approval rating of 58 percent among voters in Pernambuco state, the poll showed. Campos, until earlier this year a government ally, has joined forces with the popular former environmental minister Marina Silva in what could be Rousseff’s biggest electoral threat. The Ibope nation-wide poll of 2,002 people was conducted between November 23 and December 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Suriname Officially Joins Caribbean Development Bank
Suriname takes its seat at the CDB Board of Directors meeting. Caribbean Journal - Suriname has officially taken its seat as a full member of the Caribbean Development Bank. The South American country joined the CDB as a full member at the 259th Meeting of the Board of Directors of the bank on Thursday. Suriname is the 27th member of the regional institution, a development CDB President Dr Warren Smith called “very important for Suriname and the Bank.” “Suriname has a sound economy, which is growing rapidly. The government runs a
tight fiscal operation; and debt accounts for only about 25 percent of GDP,” he said. “Since there is no exposure to Suriname, at this time, CDB has a very good opportunity to improve its risk profile by developing a lending relationship with our new member. We can contribute meaningfully to Suriname’s economic and social development whilst also diversifying our loan portfolio.” As a member, the country will be represented on both the Caribbean Development Bank’s Board of Directors and the Board of Governors.
WASHINGTON, United Sates - CMC – The InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) has approved a US$31.6-million loan to improve the efficiency of the Jamaican public sector by strengthening the capacity of the government in several areas. On Friday, the Washington-based financial institution said the loan will help the government’s efforts to improve in the areas of human resource management, information and communications technologies management and control systems and accountability mechanisms. The loan, which supports the strategic goals of Jamaica’s ongoing stabilisation programme, came on the same day that the World Bank approved a US$130.0-million economic stabilisation loan for the country. “The objective of the project is to support the Government of Jamaica’s implementation of a set of
policy and institutional reforms to increase competitiveness and improve fiscal management,” said the World Bank in a statement, stating that Jamaica’s most pressing challenge is its debt. The IDB said the Government of Jamaica has identified results in human capital management systems, institutional strengthening of information and communications systems and modernisation of budget control systems as “high priorities given their significant potential for efficiency gains and longterm budget savings. “These reforms are expected to contribute to the government’s ambitious fiscal consolidation programme over the next four years,” the IDB said. Among other outputs, the programme expects to train 1,200 government employees in new procurement curricula, the
implementation of a new Etendering software, establishing a new technical office to enhance the oversight role of parliament and training more auditors, the IDB said. The project will also finance an e-Government strategy and training, and establish a one-stop shop for business registration. According to the IDB, these will help cut the number of days required to register a new business from seven to two. The US$31.6-million loan programme is being jointly funded by the IDB, the Chinese Government and the European Commission. The funds will contribute up to US$14 million and the China Co-financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean will provide up to US$11 million. The European Commission will provide a project specific grant of up to •5 million, the IDB said.
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IMF SUPPORT JOB AND PAY CUTS Barbados Today - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports a cut in the wage bill and also suggests that there’s scope to “greatly improve the targeting of social spending and lower costs to ensure that Barbados retains its high standards of equity and social protection.” It says there’s some duplication across ministries, and some social programmes, such as childcare and housing, are not well targeted and may be benefiting middle and higher income groups at the expense of the most needy. Those views are expressed in a statement released a short while ago at the end of 10 days of discussions with Minister of Finance Christopher Sinckler; Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy; Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss, Central Bank Governor DeLisle Worrell, members of the legislature and representatives from the
private sector, labor unions, and academia as part of its 2013 Article IV consultation. At the conclusion of the visit, Ms. Nicole Laframboise, the IMF mission chief, issued the following statement: “The Barbados economy continues to face considerable economic challenges. The authorities agreed with staff on the need for urgent policy adjustments and deeper reforms over an extended period to restore fiscal and e x t e r n a l s u s t a i n a b i l i t y. Weak exports and tourism arrivals, slow growth, and expansive fiscal policy have led to a sharp increase in public debt and fiscal financing pressures. Real output is projected to fall by 0.7 percent in 2013. Inflation has declined and is forecast to average 2.3 percent for 2013. In the external sector, tourism receipts have remained flat and the current account deficit is projected to widen to 11.4 percent of GDP this year. Together with a sharp drop in private capital inflows in 2013,
international reserves have fallen this year to US$468 million at end-October. “In this environment, the fiscal position has come under increasing strain. The central government deficit is expected to rise to 9.5 percent of GDP in 2013/14 and central government debt had risen to 94 percent of GDP by September 2013. Spending cuts under the authorities’ budget proposals announced in August are broadly on track, but tax revenues are falling short of projections. The authorities plan to take additional measures to strengthen adjustment and reduce pressures on the balance of payments. “A strategic, comprehensive approach is needed to address the underlying weaknesses in public finances and to increase efficiency in the p u b l i c s e c t o r. P o l i c y formulation should be guided by a medium-term fiscal anchor to reduce central government debt to below 85 percent of GDP
Christopher Sinckler by 2018. A fundamental review of the tax system is warranted, and the authorities have requested technical assistance on this from the IMF. The goal would be to broaden the revenue base, which has been seriously eroded by statutory and discretionary waivers. In the interim, a number of measures could be taken to significantly improve the yield by strengthening compliance and efficiency in revenue and customs administration. “The central government wage bill rose to 10.3 percent of GDP in 2012/13, the highest in the region, which together with interest payments limits room for investment spending. Staff takes note of the government’s decision to reduce the civil service up front. This will lower spending
and send a strong signal about policy commitment, though these workers should have access to unemployment support and programs for re-employment. Alternatively, downsizing by attrition and implementing a wage formula that freezes the average wage per worker would also reduce the wage bill significantly over time and would contribute to lowering economy-wide labor costs. This is needed to raise Barbados’ external competitiveness, particularly given the nation’s deep commitment to its exchange rate peg, which the IMF recognises. “There is scope to greatly improve the targeting of social spending and lower costs to ensure that Barbados retains its high standards of equity and social protection. There is some duplication across ministries, and some social programs, such as childcare and housing, are not well targeted and may be benefiting middle and higher income groups at the expense of the most needy. “It will be critical to address weaknesses in the oversight and operations of the statutory bodies, whose financial performance in many instances is not available. In the near term, the authorities could establish an independent oversight mechanism tasked with enforcing compliance and accountability. Equally urgent, the operations of the main state entities should be reviewed with a view to identifying their strategic purpose, reducing losses and raising efficiency.
Fund technical assistance in support of reform of statutory bodies is expected to start in early 2014. “Under a new interest rate policy framework in place since April, the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) has increased its holdings of Treasury bills in 2013, resulting in a decline in short-term yields. Direct financing of the government, which is exacerbating pressures on the balance of payments, should be reversed and s h o rt-term interest rates allowed to rise to levels more consistent with safeguarding the exchange rate anchor. This would demonstrate that monetary policy is supportive of the currency peg. “The financial sector, particularly banks, has remained strong, although deteriorating macroeconomic conditions have had a significant impact on asset quality and profitability. Vigilance and strong regulation and supervision will be important in the period ahead, as continued economic weaknesses could further weaken asset quality. The oversight of commercial banks should be strengthened by better monitoring of credit risks and collateral values, as well as aligning the provisioning schedule more closely with international norms. Prudential oversight of credit unions should also be strengthened and a two-tier supervisory framework considered. In the insurance sector, liability valuations and capital adequacy standards should be introduced, and cross-border group supervision and informationsharing enhanced. “A number of large scale private investment and public works projects are expected to come on stream in the coming months, supporting a rebound in capital inflows and offsetting the drag on growth from fiscal adjustment. While these projects should enhance competitiveness, the role of the state should be carefully considered, particularly in the productive sectors, and contingent liabilities of the state minimized. “The IMF remains committed to supporting the government of Barbados in its pursuit of macro stability and stronger growth. The team would like to thank the Barbados’ authorities and officials for their hospitality and constructive, candid discussions.”
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Bachelet set to re-win T&T Chief Justice takes blame for presidency, rule new Chile judges failure to deliver decisions SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Michelle Bachelet seems almost certain to win the presidency today, but she’ll face a dramatically different Chile if she returns to power. The promise she made to keep her country’s economy stable while pursuing social justice when she took the oath for her first presidential term in 2006 will hardly satisfy citizens now. Millions of Chileans have marched in the streets after Bachelet left office and want more: electoral, educational and tax reforms, a new constitution, an end to the privatization of water — all vestiges of the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Even if Bachelet keeps her promise to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund free education, protesters promise to push for more reforms in her four-year presidential term. Bachelet is expected to easily defeat former Labor Minister Evelyn Matthei in a runoff election today. “The change that came with the protests is enormous,” political analyst Alberto Mayol said. “The transformations in terms of values and ideologies are radical. We’re probably talking about a transformation that is equivalent to what would happen in 10, 15 years and it all happened in two years.” With Chile long regarded as Latin America’s most socially conservative nation, divorce was illegal here until 2004 and gay marriage and abortion had been out of the question amid the Catholic Church’s influence. Church leaders, conservative politicians and even allies scolded Bachelet, a pediatrician, when she legalized the morning-after pill during her first presidency. Yet Chile’s inhibitions are now limited to a conservative elite, opinion polls say, and the country’s politics reflect that even after Sebastian Pinera became the first rightwing president in 2010 after the country’s return to democracy. Congress recently passed an anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians, and Chileans are debating loosening restrictions that prohibit abortion even in cases of rape or risks to the woman or fetus. Bachelet has supported both proposals. Bachelet, now 62, has changed as well. After leaving office, she gained international experience running the UN’s
Michelle Bachelet women’s agency and created a center-left “New Majority” coalition replacing the one that ruled Chile for more than two decades. Bachelet has brought Communists, street activists and former student leaders on board. Pinera’s popularity plunged after teachers and parents joined students in demonstrations, along with rights activists, Mapuche Indians and environmentalists. The unifying demand has been to end dictatorship-era policies that protesters say help concentrate wealth and power among a few. Bachelet has responded by saying
“it’s time for a new social and political cycle that is built collectively.” Chile’s schools were free before Pinochet ended central control and funding of primary and secondary education. Pinochet also sold off water services, undid land reforms, privatized pensions, cut wages and slashed trade barriers. Bachelet dealt with nascent student protests in her first term by reshuffling her Cabinet, naming a committee to study the problems but largely declining to tackle them. This time she has enough votes in Congress, including four student leaders-electedlawmakers, to raise $8 billion in new taxes to fund major education reforms. Business leaders, however, are nervous about some proposals such as raising business taxes by 5 percent. She’s also backed the environmental regulator’s decision to stop Barrick Gold Corp.’s $8.5 billion PascuaLama mine until it complies with Chilean regulations. She’s also opposed new coalfired power plants and hydroelectric projects although she approved them in her first term.
Trinidad Express - Chief Justice Ivor Archie has taken full responsibility for his failure and that of other judges to deliver justice in a timely manner. In a three-page statement issued by the judiciary’s court and protocol manager Jones P Madeira Friday, however, Archie promised to speed up the delivery of judgments by setting laudable benchmarks for judges and masters to meet next year. Over last few weeks, Archie and other judges of the Supreme Court have faced unprecedented criticism for their delay in handing down judgments, some of which are outstanding for more than four years. Friday’s statement said the judiciary “views with utmost seriousness all of the relevant concerns expressed. It acknowledges the problem and takes responsibility for the state of affairs.” It acknowledged that “timeliness and quality must co-exist in all decision making if there is to be sustainable public trust and confidence in the administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago.” But as a caveat, the judiciary stated that while it would do all in its power to speed up the delivery of justice, judges are “conscious of the fact that a bad judgment delivered speedily can create binding precedent that seriously undermines confidence in the administration of justice.” Among the factors Archie raised in defence of the judiciary was an increased workload of the Court of Appeal, a vast number
of procedural appeals, the vacancies in the Court of Appeal, because of the death of Justice Wendell Kangaloo, who died in July, and the retirement of Justice Humphrey Stollmeyer in December 2012. On November 25, two death row inmates, Lester Pitman and Gerard Wilson, took legal action against Archie, accusing him of violating their constitutional rights over his failure to deliver their judgments for close to four years. The convicted killers even threatened to remove the chief justice from office for what they termed was judicial misconduct. Archie, who was among the three judges who heard their appeals, had reserved judgment in March 2010 in Pitman’s case and in November 2009 in Wilson’s appeal. Both judgments are listed to be delivered next Wednesday. Last Monday, Archie convened a meeting at the Hall of Justice, Portof-Spain, of almost all the 40 Supreme Court judges and three masters of the High Court, to discuss the public criticism levelled against the judiciary over its failure to dispense justice speedily. At that meeting, Archie, 53, spoke of people plotting against him to force him out of office, but assured he would not allow any pressure to cause him to demit office before his retirement age of 65, according to reliable judicial sources. Archie told the judges he was aware that some people were “caucusing on the weekends,” but did not identify who were his conspirators, one judiciary insider said.
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Mandela makes final journey home in South Africa QUNU, South Africa (AP) — Nelson Mandela came home yesterday. A hearse carrying Mandela’s body drove into his hometown in rural South Africa ahead of burial today, returning the country’s peacemaker to the place where he had always wanted to die. It was here in Qunu that Mandela roamed the hills and tended livestock as a youth, absorbing lessons about discipline and consensus from traditional chiefs. From here he embarked on a journey — the “long walk to freedom” as he put it — that thrust him to the forefront of black South Africans’ struggle for equal rights that resonated around the world. As motorcyclists in uniform and armored personnel carriers escorted the vehicle carrying Mandela’s casket to the family compound, people lining the route sang, applauded and, in some cases, wept. “When I saw the hearse passing, I couldn’t hold my excitement. I felt like I was
holding him by the hand,” said Norma Khobo. “It was very exciting, I saw him!” The vehicle carrying Mandela’s casket, covered with a national flag, arrived at the family compound under cloudy skies at 4 p.m. It was accompanied by an enormous convoy of police, military and other vehicles, and a military helicopter hovered overhead. According to Xhosa tribal tradition, Mandela was honored as a leader by placing a leopard skin on the coffin, replacing the flag. Mandela’s journey started Saturday with pomp and ceremony at an air base in the capital before being flown aboard a military plane to this simple village in the wide-open spaces of eastern South Africa. At the Mthatha airport Mandela’s casket was welcomed by a military guard and placed in a convoy for the 32 kilometer (20 mile) voyage toward Qunu. Residents and people who had traveled for hours thronged a road leading to Qunu, singing and dancing as Mandela T-shirts were handed out.
“We got up this morning at 2 a.m. and drove from Port Elizabeth — it’s about seven hours — and we got here now. We’re waiting on to show our last respects to Madiba,” said Ebrahim Jeftha, using Mandela’s clan name. Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, tearfully embraced at Mthatha airport when the casket arrived. Mandela had been imprisoned for 27 years for opposing racist apartheid and emerged in 1990 to forge a new democratic South Africa by promoting forgiveness and reconciliation. He became president in 1994 after South Africa’s first all-race democratic elections. The late president died in his Johannesburg home Dec. 5 at age 95. His body lay in state for three days this week, drawing huge crowds of South Africans who mourned his death and celebrated his successful struggle against apartheid.
When Mandela’s body arrived at Mthatha airport soldiers in full dress regalia, male and female, were stationed on foot on either side of the road as cows grazed nearby. Local residents lined the route, shielding themselves from the sun with umbrellas. Mandela had longed to spend his final months in his beloved rural village but instead he had spent them in a hospital in Pretoria and then in his home in Johannesburg where he had remained in critical condition, suffering from lung problems and other ailments, until his death. A problem that threatened to mar the funeral appeared to be resolved late Saturday night when Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s spokesman said the Nobel prize-winning cleric would attend Sunday’s funeral in Mandela’s home village of Qunu. Earlier Tutu said that he would not attend because he had not been invited or accredited as a clergyman. Spokesman Roger Friedman did not say what brought about the change in Tutu’s
plans. Earlier, Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for the presidency, said Tutu was on the guest list. “He’s an important person and I hope ways can be found for him to be there,” Maharaj said. In Qunu, residents expressed deep affection for Mandela, their beloved native son. “Long live the spirit of Nelson Mandela,” chanted a crowd on a highway near Mandela’s compound. “My president,” they sang. There were also old songs of the anti-apartheid struggle. “Release Mandela from prison,” went the chorus of one. Many people carried small national flags or banners with a smiling image of Mandela. Periodically, police and other official vehicles passed by, heading to the compound. Khanyisa Qatolo, 28, was born in Qunu and attended children’s Christmas parties hosted by Mandela at his home when she was a child in the 1990s. “I remember his smile,”
she said. “I miss his smile.” Qatolo said she was disappointed that local residents would be unable to go to Mandela’s funeral, in line with local custom, and had instead been asked by officials to view the final rites on big video screens in the area. “The people of the community, they should be there, supporting the family,” she said. “I feel bad not to go there.” Milly Viljoen, 43, drove 12 hours through the night with a friend to stand on the roadside overlooking Mandela’s compound in Qunu. “‘It’s befitting to see him to his final resting place,” she said. Viljoen, a student activist during apartheid, first saw Mandela when he appeared before an enthralled crowd in Cape Town after he was released in 1990. She met him later when he visited the township school where she was teaching. She said: “You couldn’t help but love the man and be touched and hang onto his every word.”
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Afghan president says U.S. indulging German party clears way in brinkmanship over security deal for Merkel’s 3rd term NEW DELHI (Reuters) Afghan President Hamid Karzai yesterday shrugged off U.S. talk of a total military withdrawal from Afghanistan if he didn’t sign a security agreement as brinkmanship and said he wouldn’t back down on his conditions for the deal. Karzai was in New Delhi in a burst of regional diplomacy as his ties with Washington have come under renewed strain over his refusal to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that will shape U.S. military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 when most international troops will leave. He told reporters that the United States would have to stop the practice of raiding Afghan homes and help restart a peace process with the Taliban as necessary conditions for the security pact. “We do believe that the BSA is in the interest of Afghanistan and the Afghan people have given their approval. But we also believe that protection of Afghan homes and the launch of a peace process are absolute pre-requisites,” he said. If Karzai doesn’t sign the deal, Washington says it will have to withdraw its entire force of some 44,500 troops
Hamid Karzai by the end of 2014. Other NATO nations could follow suit leaving Afghan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency on their own. The complete withdrawal, called the “zero option”, would be similar to the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq two years ago. Violence there is now at its highest level in at least five years, and more than 8,000 people have been killed this year, the United Nations says. “I don’t think America is thinking of the zero option, its brinkmanship they play with us, and even if they did, then come what may,” the Afghan leader said. U.S. officials have appeared exasperated by Karzai’s stance on the
security agreement, which they say is needed to help them plan a future mission that will assist Afghan forces fight militants and that will allow for future aid crucial for the impoverished nation. U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Dobbins told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week that the delay in finalizing the deal which U.S. officials had hoped Karzai would sign weeks ago - would impose “damages and costs” on Afghans. But he added that the Obama administration was not on the verge of abandoning its effort to extend its troop presence in the country. The security agreement would allow for the presence of nearly 15,000 U.S. and other NATO troops at nine locations around the country, Karzai said. The agreement includes a provision allowing military raids on Afghan homes in exceptional circumstances when an American life is directly under threat - but it would not take effect until 2015. The issue is particularly sensitive among Afghans after a dozen years of war between Afghan and foreign forces and Taliban militants.
Chinese unmanned spacecraft lands on moon SHANGHAI (Reuters) China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon yesterday, state media reported, in the first such “soft-landing” since 1976, joining the United States and the former Soviet Union in managing to accomplish such a feat. The Chang’e 3, a probe named after a lunar goddess in traditional Chinese mythology, is carrying the solar-powered Yutu, or Jade Rabbit buggy, which will dig and conduct geological surveys. China has been increasingly ambitious in developing its space programs, for military, commercial and scientific purposes. It has moved in lock step with its emergence as a major global economic and political power. “The dream for lunar exploration once again lights up the China Dream,” Xinhua news agency said in a commentary. In its most recent manned
space mission in June, three astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, part of Beijing’s quest to build a working space station by 2020. The official Xinhua news service reported that the spacecraft had touched down in the Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, after hovering over the surface for several minutes seeking an appropriate place to land. A soft landing does not damage the craft and the equipment it carries. In 2007, China put another lunar probe in orbit around the moon, which then executed a controlled crash on to its surface. China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast images of the probe’s location on Saturday and a computer generated image of the probe on the surface of the moon on its website. The probe and the rover are expected to photograph each other tomorrow. The Bay of Rainbows was
selected because it has yet to be studied, has ample sunlight and is convenient for remote communications with Earth, Xinhua said. The rover will be remotely controlled by Chinese control centers with support from a network of tracking and transmission stations around the world operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). For more than a decade, China has been modernizing its economy and developing in areas long dominated by the West particularly the United States. The moon landing will be seen as a demonstration of China’s ability to engage in sophisticated space operations with dual use potential. China is also developing its own satellite system to rival the U.S. GPS system and has sold satellites to other countries. The landing will also be a point of national pride in the country, which is undergoing difficult economic transitions.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s main center-left party cleared the way yesterday for Angela Merkel to start her third term as chancellor, announcing that its members had voted by a large majority to join the conservative leader in government. The ballot of the Social Democrats’ nearly 475,000 members capped post-World War II Germany’s longest effort to form a government. It set the stage for Parliament to re-elect Merkel on Tuesday — ending nearly three months of post-election political limbo in Europe’s biggest economy. Some 76 percent of members who took part approved a deal to form a “grand coalition” government of right and left under Merkel and about 24 percent voted against. “What we want to do now is to show the 24 percent over the next four years that the 76 percent were right,” party leader Sigmar Gabriel said. He added that the party had
Sigmar Gabriel shown a great “sense of responsibility” to the country. Merkel’s conservatives won Sept. 22 elections but fell short of a majority and saw their previous pro-business coalition partners lose their parliamentary seats — forcing them to reach across the aisle for new allies. The Social Democrats already served as Merkel’s junior partners once, between 2005 and 2009 in her first term, and emerged weakened from
the experience. In September, they finished a distant second to Merkel’s Union bloc. In an effort to counter members’ strong initial resistance to working again with their traditional rivals, Gabriel took what appeared the risky move of pledging an unprecedented ballot of the party’s full membership on any coalition deal. Gabriel and other leaders toured Germany over recent weeks to sell to members the deal Social Democrats and conservatives hammered out last month. It featured key center-left demands including the introduction of Germany’s first mandatory national minimum wage, at 8.50 euros ($11.65) per hour, and a change to the pension system that will allow some longtime workers to retire at 63 on full pensions. However, Germany’s position in Europe’s debt crisis will remain largely unchanged and Merkel’s conservatives refused to raise taxes for high earners.
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Man City thrash Arsenal to close... Zimbabwe players threaten strike over dues ESPNcricinfo - Zimbabwe cricketers are threatening to go on strike following delays in the payment of their salaries and have given their board a deadline of December 15 to pay up. ESPNcricinfo has confirmed that the players will travel to Mutare and Kwekwe, the venues for Sunday’s Pro50 matches, but will not take the field until they have received their dues. It was learnt that players on national contract had not received payments for the last four months, while dues to players on domestic contracts had been delayed by two months. ESPNcricinfo understands Zimbabwe Cricket has asked the ICC for an additional loan of US$3 million but an insider said the ICC may only agree to that if ZC provided an audit of the funds they received from the Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme earlier this year. Some of that money is believed to have been used to pay match fees for the Pakistan series, over which the Zimbabwe players threatened to strike. In August this year, the Zimbabwe cricketers had formed a union to participate in
salary negotiations prior to the series against Pakistan. The board’s financial condition also resulted in Sri Lanka’s tour to the country in October being deferred. That delay meant the national team would not play from September until February next year, and a lack of match practice was a major concern ahead of the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. This week a solution emerged with Afghanistan willing to pay their own way for three T20s and an ODI in Zimbabwe in January. It has now emerged that ZC is exploring the possibility of playing those matches in Bangladesh, rather than at home. Part of the rationale for that is to acclimatise to subcontinent conditions but it is understood that a lack of funding is also a consideration. The domestic competitions in Zimbabwe, scheduled to begin in November, were also delayed due to financial problems but the tournaments were finally held without any sponsors.
Sunday December 15, 2013 ARIES (MAR. 21- APRIL 20) Your involvement in sports or entertainment will lead to new romances. You must take care of health problems that have been lingering. Lovers may prove unworthy of your affection. TAURUS (APR. 21- MAY 21) Sudden changes regarding work and colleagues are apparent. Plan events like camping or white water rafting. Deep discussions may only lead to friction. GEMINI (MAY 22-JUNE 21) Do not get into uncertain financial deals. This may not be your day if you are overly melodramatic and unnerving everyone around you. You will accomplish the most through orderly activities. CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) Someone you work with may be withholding valuable information. Those you live with may be experiencing problems. Stubborn about making changes around your home. LEO (JULY 23-AUG 22) You can make financial gains if you are prepared to take a risk. You're in the mood to party. Changes in your home will be positive. Property investments should payoff. VIRGO (AUG. 23 -SEPT. 23) Communication will be your strong point and you should be able to persuade others to see things your way. Promote your ideas now. Confusion regarding other people's money and joint ventures will come to a head.
LIBRA (SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23) Your added discipline will enable you to complete some of those unfinished projects. Minor health problems will cause setbacks if you haven't taken proper care of yourself. You can visit clients and make a big impression just by giving them some hands-on help. SCORPIO (OCT. 24 NOV. 22) You will also encounter individuals who can help you further your goals. Don't be too eager to buy things for those who really don't deserve it. You will be emotional about money matters. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 -DEC. 21) You could receive recognition for a job well done. You may find that romance will unfold through business connections. Let your boss know your goals. CAPRICORN (DEC 22.JAN. 20) Be sure that you lay your cards on the table. You have to believe in yourself and your talents. Try to take care of the needs of those you love. AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 FEB. 19) Finish projects that have been hanging over your head. Don't jump too quickly if someone tries to make you join in on their crusade. You will be a bit of a spendthrift today. PISCES (FEB. 20-MAR. 20) Think before you act if you wish to avoid friction. Look into joining groups that can give you hands-on advice about business. Avoid friction with your mate.
From page 59 proved as Yaya Toure’s penalty gave them another six goals in what is become a catalogue of virtuoso performances at home. As expected City manager Pellegrini restored Costel Pantilimon in goal, despite Joe Hart playing his part in the midweek Champions League win against holders Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena. Aguero has been City’s spearhead and he was at it again after only 13 minutes, showing perfect technique once more to sweep in a rightfoot volley after Martin Demichelis had flicked on Samir Nasri’s corner. Negredo has proved a potent partner for Aguero and he should have added a second from Vincent Kompany’s pass but could only find the side-netting. Arsenal got some encouragement when a poor punch from Pantilimon landed at the feet of Mesut Ozil but the German could not take advantage. It was a short reprieve for City as Arsenal were level just after the half
hour. Toure was guilty of conceding possession to Aaron Ramsey and then Ozil crossed for Walcott to sidefoot past Pantilimon from the edge of the area. Arsenal were only on equal terms for seven minutes, though, before Negredo made no mistake with a sliding nearpost finish from Pablo Zabaleta, who had crossed after being found by Toure’s perfect pass. There was further bad news for Arsenal in the aftermath of the goal with defender Laurent Koscielny sustaining a deep laceration to his knee trying to stop Negredo and being taken off on a stretcher. City suffered a setback of their own early in the second half when Aguero, who seemed to be holding the back of his calf, limped off to be replaced by Jesus Navas. Pellegrini’s side, however, have a rich variety of scoring sources and Fernandinho showed his threat five minutes after the break when he took aim and curled a low 25-yard shot out of the reach of the
stretching Wojciech Szczesny. Arsenal were not giving up and had a penalty claim rejected for handball against Zabaleta from Wilshere’s through ball - with Olivier Giroud also glancing a header wide from Bacary Sagna’s cross. And their continuing threat was confirmed when Walcott got his second to give the Gunners hope again, another curling drive that flew into the top corner. However, Arsenal’s problem was that they had no answer to City’s pace, power and skill on the attack and Silva opened up the two-goal gap again after 66 minutes, giving Szczesny no chance from Navas’s cross. Pantilimon had endured a mixed game but illustrated why Pellegrini has placed his faith in him with a flying onehanded stop from Wilshere. But City looked unstoppable going forward and more pressure was rewarded late on when Fernandinho slipped through some flimsy Arsenal defending to score the fifth. Mertesacker’s injury-time header provided nothing in the way of consolation as there was still time for City to score again, Toure beating Szczesny from the spot after the keeper had brought down substitute James Milner. IN OTHER RESULTS: Cardiff 1 - 0 West Brom Chelsea 2 - 1 Crystal Palace Everton 4 - 1 Fulham Newcastle 1 - 1 Southampton West Ham 0 - 0 Sunderland Hull 0 - 0 Stoke
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“Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela - Invictus!” Colin E. H. Croft By now, after the death of Nelson Rolihlahla “Madiba” Mandela, one of the most influential persons to have lived this last century, in the same company as only Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi, everyone knows the meaning of “Invictus”, taken from the 19th century poem by William Earnest Henley. The word means ‘unconquerable’; ‘undefeated’, and will always be associated with politics and sport. For “Madiba”, that word meant much more, including especially forgiveness, rehabilitation and reconciliation for, and with, all of his enemies, and those who may have harmed him, physically, mentally and emotionally, for twenty seven years that he was in that prison at Robben Island, just off Cape Town. The irony of Gandhi and Mandela being closely associated should not be lost. They both became lawyers but practiced forgiveness, not the sometimes perceived
vindictiveness of that profession. They should have been vindictive, given the treatment meted out to them by their own countrymen. But Gandhi and Mandela will always be greater than that! Both also got their political starts in the Republic of South Africa, before Gandhi went back to try, succeeding but not in the way he had hoped, to liberate his native India from the British Empire, while Mandela, trying to do the same thing for RSA, to free it from the Dutchinfluenced Boers, went to jail! “Invictus” is director Clint Eastwood’s brilliant 2009 film biopic of Mandela’s influence on the Republic of South Africa’s rugby team, and its eventual, extremely unexpected win of 1995 Rugby World Cup. When I first saw the film, which won several academy Awards, on a flight from London to Miami, I was convinced that it is the most influential sporting film that I had ever seen. Yes, I had played a good part in “Fire in Babylon”, that film about West Indies
Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the 1995 World Cup trophy. (Daily Mail) conquests in 1970’s/1980’s, and I have also seen “Senna”, the biopic of the stunning Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. But, unlike those two, “Invictus”, the film, is not about the actual players of the games at all. It is about the man, South Africa’s President by then,
Guyana Wado Ryu Karate Assoc. host successful grading exercise Seven-year-old Sadelle Britton of Mae’s Primary School was among five students who were successful in the Shodan (First Degree Black Belt) when the Guyana Wado Ryu Karate Association (GWKA) held its final grading exercises for 2013 at Mae’s Primary School Dojo and Banks DIH Sports Club Dojo recently. Sixty (60) students were examined by Fifth Dan Sensei Winston Dunbar, who is the Technical Advisor/ Chief Instructor of Wado Ryu Karate in Guyana. The four other students who secured First Degree Black Belt were, Imran Khan, Simeon Campbell, Daren Bobb, Alfred Hescott and Sierra Evans. The remaining students were graded in the ranks of seventh Kyu to first Kyu. Britton is the youngest Black Belt student in the Association. She has been training in the art
since she was four years old and has been diligent and committed to her craft. Her diminutive stature is misleading since she is never afraid to mix it up with the older and taller students, Darren Nurse, President of the GWKA said. Almost half of the examined students attend the Mae’s School Dojo which has had Wado Ryu Karate being practiced there for a period of approximately six years. The school has opened its arms to the GWKA with an extremely supportive administrative staff, who are interested in seeing the club continue to blossom. Sensei Dunbar said he was extremely pleased with the performance of the young students who have showed dedication and commitment which could open many doors for them.
Nelson Mandela, who influenced RSA’s national rugby team to do the impossible, and, in the process, united a dangerously fractured country, by beating rugby powerhouses Australia and New Zealand, expected finalists, on the way to 1995 Rugby World Cup. Both Morgan Freeman, as Mandela, and Matt Damon, who played RSA’s “Springboks” 1995 rugby captain Francois Pienaar, acted out of their skins, literally, one representing the new direction that RSA had to take, for its very survival, the other representing one of the traditions of South Africa’s sports. The most poignant part of the film? After Damon (Pienaar) had completed his invited, unexpected visit to see President Mandela
(Freeman), and was being driven home, he remarked, incredulously, to his female companion, when asked as to how the visit went, and how the President really was: “I think that he wants us to win the World Cup!” That is real influence, to make anyone, an entire team, even a country, do the impossible! In real life and in the film, the bonding chemistry of these two people was amazing. When Pienaar received that trophy from Mandela, who was clad in one of Pienaar ’s actual Springboks jerseys, and a baseball-type RSA cap presented to him by the team, the Republic of South Africa was reborn to the sports world! Talk about seizing the opportunity, timing is everything. Mandela used that exact sporting event in a sport that did not include many Blacks or Coloreds, to unite a nation; the Rainbow Nation. That world rugby championship win in 1995, coming so soon after Mandela’s 1990 release from prison, was the catalyst that everyone in RSA needed, that characteristic ethos of national re-building and reconciliation that that country required at that exact moment! In my several trips to RSA, the most beautiful country I have seen, I have not been fortunate enough to meet “Madiba,” but I have had direct contact; still keep those; with members of his family, including his former wife, Winnie, knowing one of his daughters, Zindzi, and two grand-daughters. I have also visited Mandela’s prison, and cell, at
Colin E. H. Croft Robben Island. In passing, great kudos to Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Ms. Kamla Persaud Bissessar, for insisting and ensuring that everyone in T&T’s Parliament saw the film, after Mandela’s death, before herself leading a T&T bipartisan delegation to “Madiba’s” funeral; a magnificent reconciliatory gesture! Conversely, disappointingly, Guyana’s response was unbelievably poor, given similar demographics of having a majority population of people of East Indian descent. Former Guyana President Cheddi Bharrat Jagan, himself a great revolutionary, must be turning, crying even, in his grave! How could Guyana’s political authorities, including its President, Donald Ramoutar, whose ancestors, like Ms. Bissessar’s, are of East Indian origin, not appreciate or understand that they should have done more, at least attend today’s funeral too, to also represent massive Indian diaspora that includes Durban, RSA. Hopefully, Zindzi’s suggestion, in memory of her father, for all ages; forever; would eventually be heeded. One massive word “Forgiveness!” Enjoy!
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RHTY&SC donates music instruments and signboard to Catholic Church
Sunday December 15, 2013
3rd edition of the GBA/DDL Gatorade, /Pepsi/ Diamond Mineral Water, U-16 Boxing C/ship...
Bartica’s DePrados crashes into town and destroys Young Achievers By Michael Benjamin
Members of the club and Father Joachim de Mello (left) pose with the instruments after the presentation.
Youth Secretary Veronica Narain (left) hands over the signboard to Church Elder Joseph Torrezao. The St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church of Port Mourant last weekend received a donation of a musical instruments and a signboard via the efforts of the recently reformed St. Francis Youth Club and the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club. The Church received musical instruments which included a complete drum set, two guitars and an amplifier worth $175, 000 and an impressive welcome billboard at the cost of $40,000 compliments of Bakewell. Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, Hilbert Foster who recently spearheaded the resuscitation of the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Youth Club stated that the youths of the Church have committed themselves to returning it to its former glory. The instruments were donated by a club member who is a successful businessman but prefers to remain anonymous. The youth club, which currently has a membership of twenty five youths and ten adults who serve as mentors and role models, would like to express gratitude to the musical instruments donor and Bakewell for their assistance. The St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Youth Club, since its resuscitation last month,
has been involved in several activities including an art competition for youths; monthly food hampers for senior citizens; formation of a church choir; and snacks for church members, essay competition for youths and assisting a 96 years old retired teacher with clothing and meals. The youths have also launched a programme to present church members with gifts on their birthdays, while today, December 15th, over 300 toys will be presented to children at churches in New Amsterdam, Palmyra, Port Mourant, Black Bush Polder, Skeldon and Siparuta. Other upcoming activities of the club are a feeding programme for orphans on December 19th; presentation of essay prizes on Sunday 22nd; youth get-together on the 21st; Christmas Concert on the 22nd December, the presentation of Christmas gifts to every church member and the launching of the St. Francis Youth leaflet on Sunday 22nd December. The youth club would also be hosting a monthly Television Programme from January 2014 on DTV-8 with sponsorship from Sterling Products, while the St. Francis Xavier Church Fair would be held on the 15th February, 2014 after an absence of over 30 years. (Leon Suseran)
They might have only recently entered the sport but two Barticians, Stevie DePrado and his sibling, Stephen DePrado, shrugged aside their inexperience behind the (fistic) wheels and crashed into their respective opponents, Romel Maxwell (YABG) and Anthony Gomes (YA) and drove off with convincing victories when the curtains went up on the inaugural day of the 3rd edition of the GBA/DDL Gatorade, /Pepsi/Diamond Mineral Water, U-16 Boxing Championship at the Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym yesterday afternoon. Fighting in the 110-114lbs category, Stevie entered his bout with flailing fists but was met by an equally enthusiastic Romel Maxwell and a delightful exchange had the small crowd screaming in delight. It was a vicious toe to toe encounter with both boxers slugging it out in centre ring. The action continued in the second round and indeed the two pugilists behaved as though they had an old grudge to settle. Midway into the second stanza, the Bartician assumed the control when he unleashed several unanswered blows to his opponent’s head shortly before the bell. DePrado then resumed the onslaught at the start of the final round but Maxwell refused to be bullied and gave as much as he received. It was really a delightful bout and the audience was undecided of the winner; the judges voted in favour of DePrado. Stevie’s sibling, Stephen, also fought in the 110-114lbs class and approached his bout in a no nonsense mood. He laced Maxwell with several unorthodox blows which forced the referee to twice institute the mandatory 8 count. Gomes made it into the second stanza but 59secs into that round he ran into the force of De ‘Prado’ and referee, Romona Agard, performed the duty of traffic cop and parked him least he received severe damage. Earlier, Isaiah Moore (HEBG) continued to devastate his opponents when he disposed of another Bartician, Maziel Ali, in just 20secs of their 75-79lbs affair. Ali never stood a chance as Moore rushed out,
The destructive Prados, Stephen and Stevie, pose for a photo shortly after parking their opponents
Stephen DePrado forces Anthony Gomes to cover up from a two fisted assault delivered several crunching head shots and it was all over. Kevin Mullings (HEBG) also continued in winners’ row and turned in a classy display that earned him a majority verdict over Shaquancy Wright (EBG) in their 55-59lbs clash. Mullings is certainly a special talent that if nurtured, could develop into the kind of force that could do this country proud a few years down the line. In other results, another Mullings of the HEBG, this time Kevon, defeated his gym mate, Anson Wolfe in the 7579lbs category while Devon Armstrong (HEBG), fighting in the 95-99lbs division, dealt Shamar Howard (YABG) several clouts that sent him reeling for the referee to institute the mandatory eight count. The latter boxer lasted out the first round but after a one two combination landed on his temple early in the
second stanza, the referee called in the ringside nurse who after a cursory examination decided to call the bout off after just 4secs had expired. She later explained that the affected boxer was breathing erratically which prompted her decision. Ossapho Barker (YABG) failed to show up for his 8589lbs bout with Stephon Edwards (HEBG) and gifted the latter boxer with a win by walkover while Dishon Elcock (EBG) punched his way to a majority verdict over Ezekiel Benjamin (HEBG). The action resumes at 11:00hrs this morning when the various champions will be determined. Subsequently GBA officials will host their prize giving ceremony where several corporate entities and deserving individuals will be acknowledged for their contribution towards the development of the sport.
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 67
Champions Boxing Gym benefits England falter after good start from Bridge Company donation
Amateurs Boxers and Chairman/Coach of the Robert’s Champions Boxing Gym Jeff Roberts (right) take time out for a photo. The Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) recently donated a cheque for GY$40,000 to Mr. Jeff Roberts, Chairman/Coach of the Robert’s Champions Boxing Gym following a promise to support the Boxing card which was held on November 30, 2013 on the Corentyne. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mr. Omadatt Samaroo stated that he was privileged to have the opportunity to make a donation towards the Robert’s Champions Boxing Gym. The Company, he added, decided to come on board mainly due to the fact “that
Robert’s Champions Boxing Gym creates great opportunity for youths thereby keeping them off the street and away from drugs, crime and other illicit activities.” “The Company will continue to sponsor other events subjected to the availability of funds at that time and is looking at a wider cross section of sports and other charitable, non– charitable, Government, Non–Government and inclusive of Entertainment,” Samaroo added. In the past the Company has sponsored many events that benefited the communities both on the
eastern and western sides of the Berbice River Bridge. Now, for the year 2013 the Company has so far received 101 Public Relation requests and managed to approve 94 of these requests comprising of sponsorship of Mashramani 2013 Events, horseracing, donations of trophies to various Non– profit and Educational Institutions, facilitated tours of various schools and waivered toll charges for tour buses, sponsored cricket tournaments, made donations towards Region’s 5 Cricket tournament and religious organizations together with others. (Leon Suseran)
BBC Sport - England’s grip on the Ashes slipped still further as Australia refused to relinquish control of the third Test in Perth. Setting out to overhaul Australia’s first innings 385, they lost the key wickets of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen in a dramatic threeover spell late in the day to close on 180-4, still 205 runs adrift. And with the Waca pitch showing sign of wear and Australia’s attack offering a threat with both pace and spin, England face a struggle to achieve parity, let alone a position where they can push for more. In contrast to the unhappy collapses in the first two Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide, the tourists’ batsmen showed better application and discipline for much of another blisteringly hot day. Yet relentlessly tight bowling brought its reward as Australia chased the victory that would win them back the Ashes for the first time in seven years. England had prospered in the first half of the day until a significant chunk of those foundations came crashing down in the gripping exchanges that followed in an enthralling afternoon and evening. While much of the damage was done by Australia’s probing five-man attack, there was also controversy in the pivotal moments. With the score on 90-1 10 minutes before tea, umpire Marais Erasmus initially gave Joe Root out caught behind
Man City thrash Arsenal to close gap BBC Sport - Manchester City delivered an ominous message to their Premier League title rivals as leaders Arsenal were thrashed. Manuel Pellegrini’s side closed the gap on the Gunners at the top of the table to three points with another in a
growing list of devastating attacking displays at home this season. And they have piled on the agony for North London’s two contenders as Arsenal suffered following City’s recent 6-0 demolition of Tottenham.
The visitors may point to some questionable offside calls and a rejected penalty claim - but in reality they were ultimately blown away by sheer firepower of a City side who have now scored 35 league goals at home this season and in 58 consecutive
Alvaro Negredo (centre) put City back in front before half-time from close range. (Getty Images)
games at Etihad Stadium. City are not simply beating teams at home, they are dismantling them and if they can replicate part of this form away from home they must surely be title favourites. Sergio Aguero’s early goal was cancelled out by Theo Walcott but Alvaro Negredo put City back in front before half-time. City’s potency was not reduced by a calf injury to Aguero, with Fernandinho extending their lead before Walcott’s second restored some optimism for Arsene Wenger’s side. But the hosts were coming at Arsenal from all angles, with David Silva and Fernandinho again finding the target before Per Mertesacker’s header made it 5-3 in stoppage time. City’s brilliance deserved the final word - and so it (Continued on page 64)
Peter Siddle was highly animated after dismissing Kevin Pietersen. (Getty Images) off Shane Watson, and although the review requested by the batsman produced no clear evidence of an edge, third umpire Tony Hill decided that neither had he seen enough to overturn the decision, and Root was gone for four. The match and thus the series hung in the balance, and Cook reacted with characteristic determination even as Pietersen was forced to play with unusual defensiveness. The number four managed only three singles from the first 38 balls he faced - his slowest start in Test cricket - as Watson and Ryan Harris both found movement through the air and off the parched deck. Cook’s second halfcentury of the series came up off 127 balls, but both batsmen were increasingly bogged down against the seamers, and when Nathan Lyon came on the tourniquet had its reward. Cook cut a short ball that bounced a little straight to David Warner at point to fall for 72, and when Pietersen survived an adrenalised battle with Mitchell Johnson only to slap a mistimed pull off Peter Siddle to the resting bowler at mid-on for 19, Australia celebrated as if the Ashes were won. It was the 10th time Siddle has dismissed Pietersen in Tests, and a sad waste of all that diligence against the higher-profile members of the attack. England had earlier cleaned up the remaining four Australian wickets for the
addition of just 59 runs to their overnight 326, with Stuart Broad removing Johnson for 39 and James Anderson having centurion Steve Smith caught behind in the first 20 minutes. Anderson also had Harris caught in the slips before the last-wicket pair of Nathan Lyon and Siddle added a frustrating 31. Cook and Michael Carberry then looked relatively serene as they compiled only England’s second half-century opening partnership in 15 innings against Australia this calendar year. Smith missed the sharpest of chances full length to his left at third slip off Carberry but the pair continued to flourish after lunch until Carberry played on to Harris for 43, pulling away his bat too late after initially poking at a ball wide of off stump. It brought back memories of three years ago, when England progressed to 78-0 in their first innings here before Johnson and Harris ran through the team to leave them 187 all out. Instead it was the less heralded members of the attack who did the damage this time, and while England remain in the game with Ian Bell (nine not out) and Ben Stokes (14 not out) at the crease, the momentum and smart money remains with their rejuvenated opponents. Scores: England 4 for 180 (Cook 72) trail Australia 385 (Smith 111, Warner 60, Broad 3-100) by 205 runs.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
Bishop’s win humdinger Fourth edition set against Marian - Titans clear after three blowouts for March 29, 2014 Hugh Ross Classic Body Building and Fitness Show
It is now official, the fourth edition of Guyana’s premiere body building show, Hugh Ross Classic, is set for Saturday March 29, 2014 at the National Cultural Centre, Homestretch and Mandela Avenues. Unveiling plans for the competition yesterday was Chairman of the Hugh Ross Classic Committee, Mr. Hugh Ross, at the Water Chris International Hotel, Quamina Street, Georgetown. Ross, who shared the head table with President of the Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) Keavon Bess, Organising Secretary Videsh Sookram and members of the HRC Committee stated that the show, which will be bigger and more attractive, will see athletes competing in six male and three female categories. Bess in his remarks said that 2014 will be another exciting year for the sport in Guyana, while informing that athletes have already commenced preparations for HRC which contributes to the athletes getting in shape for higher levels of competition.
“We’ve already sanctioned the HRC for March; we’re fully on board and will be working along with them. All in all, I think the athletes and people of Guyana can expect a great show and I would urge all to come out and lend support.” Ross emphasized that the event will be very pleasing to the viewing audience and the athletes. With female participation in the sport gradually improving, He noted that the HRC will be aiming to have three categories on the distaff side. For the more hardcore competitors, he informed that they will compete in the female bodybuilding category (females who are of a more muscular body type). The Miss Figure category will be for athletes who are symmetrical and toned while the Miss Bikini contest will be for the softer and more feminine eye pleasing type of figure. The male categories are, Bantamweight – up to 65kgs (143lbs), Lightweight – up to 70kgs (144-154lbs), Welterweight – up to 75kgs (155-165lbs), Light Middleweight – up to 80kgs
(166-176lbs), Heavyweight (176 and over). The respective category winners will then compete in the overall when the winner will be crowned Mr. HRC 2014. A number of corporate entities have already given their commitment to be on board including Banks DIH under their Malta Supreme brand, they have been on board from the inception of the completion, Fitness Express, Giftland OfficeMax and Mohammed’s Enterprise. “I pledge once again on behalf of my team that we will promote an event that will be of major benefit to our athletes as well as very entertaining to our viewing audience.” The first to third placed competitors will be rewarded with trophies and cash incentives while those placing fourth and fifth will receive medals. The category winners will also receive hampers while Mr. HRC 2014 will also be rewarded. With respect to a guest poser, Ross informed that it is the intention of the HRC to secure an IFBB Professional male bodybuilder.
Chelsea is a champion
Marvin Durant beats the entire Marian defence to the basket for an easy lay-up Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The Bishops High School survived a late rally from Marian Academy to win a humdinger Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall when Youth Basketball Guyana bounced hosted the Titan Bowl III featuring the eight top basketball-playing schools. Bishops High School won 49-47 after holding a 14-point lead in the first half of the game against a young Marian squad, which held its own against the more formidable Bishops line-up that were pushed to the limit. Marian made an early run to start the second half, which led to a 40-38 lead with little over three minutes remaining in the game. However, Daniel Ramlagan ignited a 6-0 run, scoring four points to recapture the lead for good for Bishops High School. But Marian were not without chances in crunchtime. With the game tied on 44 and 1:50 left in regulation
time, Marian turned over the ball in heavily contested shots, which spoke directly to their inexperience in such situations. Ramlagan ended with 11 points while Marvin Durant added a game high 13 points for Bishops High School. Forward, Daniel Haynes, who had a huge block-shot in the game, ended with six points and 12 rebounds for Marian Academy. Meanwhile, in the other games, Kwakwani Secondary easily disposed of St. Roses High School 58-27 with Shafeeq Thomas scoring 13 points. Orwin Samuels was a rebounding beast with 15 boards for Kwakwani in the one-sided contest. Damair Gladston and Troy David also contributed 11 and 10 points respectively to the win. The University of Guyana also blew out President College 66-44 in their game; Jonathan Pooran had 13,
while Shaka Codrington scored 12 points in the win. Fonsie James and Orin Thomas each had 10 points apiece to contribute to the win. Shakeel Adonis was the only player in double figures for President’s College with 10 points. The top basketballplaying institutions in the country continued to separate themselves when the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) dismantled the Government Technical Institute (GTI) for a 65-33 win. The game was another one-sided affair. Despite the finishing skill of GTI guard, Darrol Williams, who ended with 19 of their 33 points, and the defence of Lasar Richards, who is a beast on the glass, LTI bounced to an easy win owed to its oncourt and bench depth. Dennis Niles finished with 22 points for LTI while Terron Welch scored 17 points, completed 10 steals and grabbed eight rebounds.
Letter to the Sports Editor Chelsea Edghill (right) plays a shot against Trenace Lowe. From page 63 more table time, improve physically and I need to be exposed to much more tournaments, training camps and to play much more different styles of players in Guyana,” Edghill said then, and she has done just that this year. As such, the fifth form Bishop’s High School student was part of a senior team this year that went to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships in Paris, France and Caribbean Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. Even though she did not
achieve the desired result at the highest level, she knows exactly where her weakness lies. Edghill had complained about meeting the same players repeatedly in Guyana and a need to participate in an international circuit with top players. She believes that she can balance her academics and table tennis career through attending a Latin American circuit during the august holidays. Her club and coach, Idi Lewis is very serious about her development and exposure to as many different levels as possible.
Edghill has had steady growth since she won the Caribbean Championships’ U-13 gold medal in 2010, the same year she won the National Sports Commission ‘Junior Sportswoman of the Year’ Award after other dominant performances in and out of Guyana. The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has vowed to ensure that it continues to invest in Chelsea’s career, knowing that her sometimes solo efforts for her country often keep the Golden Arrowhead on its flag-pole in the sport.
Cricket Stakeholders respond to East Bank, West Demerara Cricket Associations DEAR EDITOR, We refer to Kaieteur News letter to the editor, signed by the Presidents of the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) and the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA) dated 14th December, 2013 and captioned ‘The Government is deceitful’. We wish to state that the WDCA and the EBDCA along with the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) did not sign nor supported the Cricket Bill Petition as it is evident that none of their signatures and or names can be found on any of the schedules presented. However clubs and individuals within their organizational jurisdiction signed and supported the petition, which was in effect the information, intended to convey. It is unfortunate that this was not explicit
in the petition and we sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding caused, since it was neither deliberate and nor intended to deceive anyone. We wish to reiterate that ninety percent (90) of the cricket playing fraternity supports the passage of the Cricket Administration Bill 2012 and strongly believe that the Parliamentary process is the best solution to re-establish order and legalize to our cricket structure. In this regard we are asking government and all parties in the National Assembly to address this matter expeditiously while we take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Mr. Odinga Lumumba MP for presenting the petition. Constituent Members and Stakeholders of Guyana Cricket
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Who will win the Battle of Port Mourant in today’s horserace meet Scores’ Even, Elle’s Vision, Settle in Seattle race for the first time together Who will win the battle of Port Mourant that is the question being asked and is expected to be answered today. All the ingredients are in place in what is expected to be an exciting day of action at the Port Mourant Turf club as that entity joins with the Ryan Crawford Memorial Turf Club and Sports Facilities and the Shariff Business Enterprise and Racing Stable of West Berbice to stage their ‘Champion of Champions’ horserace meet. $8M in prizes is available and a large turnout of fans is anticipated. One cannot ask for more in the feature A and Lower event. With Guyana leading cooperate sponsor, beverage Giants banks DIH Limited taking charge the race, for the first time racing together Guyana’s top three horses in Champion- Score’s Even with six impressive wins under its belt so far, battle two times Guyana Cup defending Champion Elle’s Vision and 2012 champion horse and fit again Settle In Seattle as they racing for the sumptuous $1.2M and Banks DIH trophy over 1600M.
Settle In Seattle at its stable after hectic work out. The three animals have unprecedented dominance on the race track for the longest while, with hardly any feature race being completed without one of the three in the winning enclosure. However, they will have to contend with seasoned campaigners in Got to Go, Grande de Roja, Donut Prince, CP Got Even, Prince Charming, Who is on the Case, Force Entry, the Message, Country Armagh and Zelick. Added to the forecast above is the American invasion of Rock Movie Star, Money in Return and Some Legend all due for a big win. Will this be their day? Only
Reigning champion Score Even with trainer and grooms. time will tell. The Three year old derby for Guyana and West Indies Bred horses has its fair share of excitement which will see the likes of It’s My Turn, Monsoon, Gold Rush, Princess Alisha, Battle Hymn and Gold Princess competing for the winning pocket of $600,000. The D and lower event is expected to be another scorcher as anyone can with the $600,000 top money and trophy. Will Swing Easy have things its way again and swing away with the top prize or will Treacle continue its recent good showing just like Country Armagh, Golden
Reprise and Red and Lovely. Or will Majestic live up to its name and prove them wrong. The G1and lower race is also being talked about with Damascus Dream, Captain Crook, Bridal Stone Corner, War Craft; this cat is Back, Rosetta, Ferry Landing and Wild Grinder among the lot competing for the $300,000 and trophy for the winner. Sunday Silence, Untouchable , Key for the Killer, Shooting Star, Release the Beef (Golden Key) and Triple are among those entered in the race for Two Year old Guyana Bred and West Indies Bred maiden horse for a winner’s purse of
Two times Guyana Cup champion Elle’s Vision ready for action. $300,000. There will be a renewed rivalry in the three years old race for Guyana Bred horses which will once again see the intense battles among Cat Messiah, Silent Night, She So Special and Easy to win for the $300,000 first prize and trophy. The ‘I’ and lower race will have a first prize of $200,000 and trophy with I want Revenge, Savion, Funny Side and Mary Ann among others in action. The J and lower event has among others, Smarty Light, Sango and Golden Reprise running for winning prize of $150,000 and trophy.
Outstanding individual performers including top Jockey, trainer and stable will be presented with accolades compliments of the Trophy Stall Bourda Market and the organisers. The race will be run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA). Contact can be made for Mohammed Shariff on 6110684, Chanu Ramkissoon6249063, or Kris Jagdeo (6246123; 322-0369), Rajendra Jagdeo 618-7278, Ramnauth 337-5311 for more details. Bugle time is 12:30 hrs. The coordinator is Mohammed ‘Nankoo’ Shariff. (Samuel Whyte)
Farfan & Mendes Junior Christmas Tournament Presentation set for today The Guyana Squash Association in collaboration with its number one corporate sponsor Digicel continued to host play in the Farfan & Mendes Junior Christmas Tournament which is being held at the Georgetown Club Squash courts. The event will conclude today with several matches starting at 11:00am with the presentation of prizes following the action on court. Matches continued Thursday night, Friday and yesterday with play in the categories being contested. In results from some of the matches played, mainly Thursday: Category F Aliyah Persaud defeated Alexander Persaud 11 – 8,9 – 11, 11 – 9 Nechemiyah Levans defeated Paige Fernandes 11 – 2, 11 – 2 Kirsten Gomes beat Tome Reis 11 – 2, 11 – 3 Category E Jamila da Silva defeated Nathan Rahaman 11 – 9, 6 - 11, 11- 7 Madison Fernandes defeated Daniel Lowe 13 –
11, 8 – 11, 11 – 7 Rajiv Lee defeated Michael Alphonso 12 – 10, 13 – 11 Category D John Phang defeated Demetrius De Abrue 8 – 11, 11 – 6, 11- 5, 11 – 2 Jonathan Edwards defeated Zachary Persaud 13 – 11, 11 – 0, 11- 1 Category C Michael Ramroop defeated Dennis Bagot 12 – 10, 11 – 8, 9 – 11,10 -12, 12 – 10 Savannah Mendes defeated Maya Collins 11 – 7, 11-5, 11 – 6 Jael Gaskin defeated Makeda Harding 8 -11, 11 – 6, 11 – 6, 11 – 5 Category B Matthew Phang defeated Rebecca Low 11 – 5, 2 – 11, 11 – 3, 11 – 4 Shomari Wiltshire beat Daniel Islam 11 – 4, 11 – 7, 11 – 0 Category A Alec Melville defeated Taylor Fernandes 11 – 3, 11 – 6, 11 – 5 Meanwhile, in results from Friday night: Category F Nechemiyah Levans proved to be too strong for
both Aliyah and Alexander Persaud. He defeated Alexander two games to love 11 – 3, 11 – 1 and then also beat Aliyah two games to love 11 – 1, 11 – 3. The other match played in this category was between Kirsten Gomes and Paige Fernandes with Kirsten winning two games to nil 11 – 5, 11 – 6. Category E Madison Fernandes proved to be too strong for Nathan Rahaman winning 11 – 2, 11 – 4 and Rajiv Lee and Daniel Lowe had a competitive match but Rajiv won out in the end 11 – 7, 11 – 7. Category D Dominic Collins won in straight games against Demetrius DeAbreu 11 – 8, 11 – 4, 11 – 7, while the match of the evening in this category featured Jonathan Edwards against Gianni Carpenter. Gianni won the first game 11 – 5 but Jonathan bounced back to win the second game 11 – 9. Gianni took the third 12 – 10 but when it looked as if Gianni would close out the match in the fourth game
leading 10 – 9 Jonathan dug deep and won the next three points to take the game 12 – 10. However by this time Jonathan was tiring and Gianni was able to close out the match rather easily winning 11 – 4 in the fifth. John Phang had a straight sets win over Zachary Persaud winning 14 – 12, 11 – 7, 11 – 6. Category C Michael Ramroop upset Anthony Islam who up to this point of time had played unbeaten in this category. Michael won in straight games 12 – 10, 11 – 8, 12 – 10. Jael Gaskin took care of Maya Collins winning 11 - 7, 11 – 5, 11 – 6 and Savannah Mendes proved to be too strong for Makeda Harding defeating her in straight games 11 – 4, 11 – 8, 11 – 9. Category B Shomari Wiltshire proved to be a little too strong for Rebecca Low even though Rebecca did put up a good fight. Shomari won 11 – 5, 11 – 6, 11 – 6 but the match of the evening in this category was between Alex Cheeks and Daniel Islam. Daniel won
the first game 11 – 8 and when leading 10 – 9 in the second it looked as if he would go up two games to nil but Alex won the next three points and the second game 12 – 10. Daniel however bounced back to win the third game 11 – 7 but Alex won the fourth game 11 – 5 and then won the first five points in the fifth game and ended up winning this deciding game 11 – 6. Category A There are only four
players in this category and in the first match which was played the previous evening between Taylor Fernandes and Alec Melville, Alec had proved too strong for Taylor winning 11 – 3, 11 – 6, 11 – 5. The match up on this night featured the two Wiltshire sisters, Akeila and Larissa. All three games were very competitive but Akeila prevailed in the end winning 11 – 6, 11 – 7, 11 – 8.
BCB/NBS second division cricket final in Berbice postponed due to inclement weather The advent of the inclement weather has started to take its toll on sporting and other outdoor activities in the country, causing a number of them to be shifted indoors, cancelled or postponements. One such activity being affected in the long awaited Berbice Cricket Board (BCB)/ New Building Society (NBS) Limited, 40 overs second division cricket final. The match, which was slated to be
played today at the No 69 ground, has been postponed due to the continuous rainfall. According to a release from the organisers the long awaited match we will played as early as there is an improvement in the weather. The teams in the final are No 71 Cricket Club from the Upper Corentyne and the Young Warriors Cricket Club from Cumberland, East Canje, Berbice.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 15, 2013
Gibson asks West Indies to ‘man up’
E
SPNcricinfo Ottis Gibson, the We s t I n d i e s coach, has revealed that some harsh words were spoken in the dressing room after his team’s innings-and-73-run drubbing in Wellington and called on his players to “man up” as they aim to level the Test series next week. Phrases such as “embarrassed” and “lack of fight” were at the forefront of
some home truths after the Test had finished shortly after tea on the third day, with 16 wickets falling on Friday. West Indies had a behindclosed-doors training session back at Basin Reserve on Saturday, which included middle practice between the squad, as Gibson tried to repair some confidence before travelling to Hamilton on Monday. “‘Embarrassed’ was mentioned. ‘Lack of fight’ was mentioned. Those are things you don’t want to be hearing too often in your dressing room,” Gibson said. “We haven’t heard those things too often in our dressing room recently. We have played some pretty good cricket. India was tough for us, but we are making it tough for ourselves here. “New Zealand are playing very well but we’re not standing up to what they’re offering. That’s the disappointing thing. When you play away from home you expect it to be tough and we just have to man up and face up to the challenge that New Zealand present to us.” Normally coaches and captains try to “take the positives” even in defeat, but there was little that Gibson could cling to. The die was cast early when they shelled Ross Taylor at slip before he had scored. He went onto make 129 in New Zealand’s 441, a dominant total on a wellgrassed surface that Darren Sammy had been able to give his bowlers first use of. “Sometimes when things are going wrong, everything goes wrong at the same time,” Gibson said. “When things are going well, everything goes well together. We’ve always been a nation of fighters, our backs are against the wall here and we just have to ride it out.” Gibson accepted that his pace bowlers - Tino Best and Shannon Gabriel - had let their chance slip away on the opening day after taking out the New Zealand openers cheaply - albeit noting the impact of the Taylor drop but he was not ready to lose faith in the ones at his disposal on this trip. In truth, though, he can’t do much else. His options are limited with Sheldon Cottrell, the left-armer, the only other frontline quick in the squad. West Indies were keen to
West Indies’ batsmen struggled in both innings at Basin Reserve, after their bowlers had failed to exploit a green pitch © Getty Images play Sunil Narine in Wellington but the pitch was so green as to halt that move, and although Sammy had indicated it may be the only route left for West Indies, Gibson was more reticent to throw his lot in with a spin approach for Hamilton. “Any time you see a wicket with grass on like we have here, especially this one where the ball swung as well, of course you expect better from your attack when you win the toss and put the opposition in. You don’t expect them to make 441,” Gibson said. “What it’s teaching us is a certain set of skills we have to acquire, which we haven’t nailed down yet. In the Caribbean the ball swings for two overs then you have to make it move off the surface. In New Zealand it swings for much longer. It’s evident from what you see on the TV that we aren’t getting it to swing. “Looking at New Zealand, if I was in their camp, it would probably be another green seamer which nullifies the two spin option. The pitches haven’t spun, New Zealand’s spinner [Ish Sodhi] bowled three overs in the match here. They’ve got three seamers who are swinging it and causing us problems so I don’t see why they’d change the format. Tw o s p i n n e r s i s a consideration, but we’ll have to look at what is the best format to win the Test.”
Sunday December 15, 2013
Kaieteur News
Chelsea is a champion Chelsea Edghill
By Edison Jefford Chelsea Edghill has a natural competitive character, and it is perhaps the sole reason why she has her lean frame towering tall, above and over her peers in a country that has its limitations when it comes to the exposure of athletes and the requisite resources. It’s extremely difficult for the top player to hide her passion for table tennis: her passion, coupled with obvious academia, has led the 15 year old phenom to the top of the country and Caribbean, but she is hardly ever cognisant of that fact, which intrinsically creates greater desire. Edghill is a competitor and it may be the one attribute of her personality that makes her a beacon for the sport in Guyana. She is a champion in the connotative and denotative meanings of the word; losing, therefore, is never an option and that is her inspiration. The last time we spoke extensively, Chelsea told me
that she needs to train more. That comment was met with a plain reaction since her routines at her club, Malteenoes Sports Club are anything but effortless, yet she continues to believe that she has to put in more work. Last year, the former National Junior Sports Woman of the Year was the lone medallist on an enterprising national junior table tennis team of over 20 players at the Caribbean Championships in Cuba. She returned to Guyana and went back to practice almost immediately, believing that she can achieve much more with improved table time. Playing against the region’s strongest and more prepared junior players from hosts, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Edghill’s silver medal performance was a beacon of light for the Guyanese contingent that was steeped in darkness against the techniques of the seasoned countries last year. “I need to train more, get (Continued on page 68)
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Hugh Ross Classic Body Building and Fitness Show
Fourth edition set for March 29, 2014
Hugh Ross (2nd right) and GABBFF President Keavon Bess (right) at yesterday’s HRC 2014 launch. Others in photo from left are Videsh Sookram (GABBFF), Dexter Garnett (Sponsorship Officer - HRC), Franklin Wilson (Marketing & PR Officer - HRC) and Alison Yhap (Secretary/Treasurer - HRC)
Who will win the Battle of Port Mourant in today’s horserace meet Bishop’s High win humdinger against Marian Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210