Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Govt. cuts Carnival budget by $44m PAHO gives MOH supplies to Trinidad Guardian - The Government has reduced the budgetary allocation for Carnival 2016 by approximately $44 million. This was revealed by Culture, Arts and Community Development Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly. In 2015, the allocation for Carnival was $314 million but has decreased to $270 million for next year’s festival. In an interview with reporters after Wednesday’s opening of the $13 million Beetham Gardens Community Centre, GadsbyDolly said the current economic conditions have forced the Government to cut back. The 14 per cent reduction is the latest in a series of cuts announced by the Government. Earlier this month ministries were advised to reduce spending on Christmas parties and a far as possible scale them down to cater for staff only. Gadsby-Dolly said: “Yes, that is what we are consider-
Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly ing at this point because in every ministry there are shortfalls but we are looking to determine how we can establish the quality of the festival and not sacrifice that just because we don’t have the exact allocation that we would have expected from before.” Asked if the Carnival stakeholders should be wor-
ried about the proposed reduction in allocation, GadsbyDolly responded quickly: “We have been in contact with our stakeholders and they understand the situation.” She said the ministry was “in constant communication (with them) ensuring that they have what they need and the support from the ministry to be able to bring off what they have to for the Carnival.” Gadsby-Dolly said there was other funding provided from the ministry and different State enterprises for Carnival but she did not elaborate. The National Carnival Commission (NCC) has said it was looking at creative ways to manage the reduced allocation. In an interview yesterday, NCC chairman Kenny de Silva said the commission was looking at how to cut costs or increase revenue.
Cuba says Obama welcome to visit but not to meddle HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is welcome to visit Cuba but not to meddle in its internal affairs, a senior foreign ministry official said on Wednesday on the eve of the first anniversary of the two countries’ historic rapprochement. “The day that the president of the United States decides to visit Cuba, he will be welcome,” Josefina Vidal, director of U.S. affairs in the Cuban foreign ministry, told reporters. “Regarding what I just said, I’d like to recall that Cuba has always said ... it is not going to negotiate matters that are inherent to its internal system in exchange for an improvement in or the normalization of relations with the United States,” Vidal said. Obama told Yahoo News in an interview about the Dec. 17 anniversary that he hopes to visit Cuba in 2016 but only if enough progress has been made in bilateral relations, he is able to meet with political dissidents, and if he can possibly “nudge the Cuban government in a new direction”. It was a year ago that Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro shocked the
U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro meet at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 29, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque world by announcing the former adversaries would normalize relations. By July they had agreed to restore diplomatic ties after a 54-year break. Obama has about 400 days left in office before handing over to the next president, potentially a Republican hostile to his new Cuba policy. Castro has 800 days left before stepping down and handing over power to a new Communist leader. Both have some urgency to cement the new relationship while advancing their strategic interests. “We are playing a game of chess and we have to make a
certain number of moves before the time is up,” said Rafael Hernandez, a Cuban political analyst. “We have to make enough moves so that if there is an unfavorable change in the U.S. administration, we will be too far along to turn back.” In the year since detente, more Americans are visiting Cuba, and more Cubans are trying to reach America, concerned that preferential treatment for Cubans migrants may end. Under Cold War-era laws, Cubans are welcomed without a visa and given residency with relative ease. Since detente, Cuban overland arrivals to the United States have soared nearly 80 percent while the number arriving by sea has more than doubled. Since Obama eased restrictions on travel, U.S. visits to Cuba have climbed more than 70 percent, with 138,000 arrivals in the first 11 months of 2015.
improve health care delivery
Minister of Health Horace Dalley (second right), seems very pleased as he examines supplies donated by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) to the Ministry of Health, Wednes, at the PAHO Jamaica office, at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. Looking on (from left) are: PAHO/WHO representative in Jamaica, Dr Noreen Jack; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kevin Harvey; and Disease Prevention and Control Advisor to Jamaica, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, PAHO/WHO, Dr Kam Mung. (Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson) KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Ministry of Health has received supplies valued at some US$103,000 (J$12.26 million) from the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), to support the immunisation, mental health, environmental health, and infection control programmes of the ministry. The items include several computers, vaccine refrigerators, printers, hand sanitizers, hand sanitizer dispensers, and organic vapour monitors valued at US$77,400 (J$9.2 million), and information, education and communication material, such as child health development passports, immunisation flyers, polio posters, and polio prevention posters worth US$25,768
(J$3.1 million).; In his address at the handing-over ceremony Wednesday at the PAHO office at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, Minister of Health Horace Dalley thanked PAHO for their unstinting support to the country’s health sector. “We can count on PAHO/ WHO. This partnership has been longstanding and will become even stronger,” he said. Dalley informed that the ministry is in dialogue with PAHO/WHO to provide training for hospital personnel. “Unless we train our people to the point where they become change agents in delivering health care, then all that we do will come to naught,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kevin Harvey, said the organisation has made invaluable contributions to Jamaica’s health sector over the years. “When you look at what we pay to PAHO, which is under US$100,000 per year, and what we get back in terms of technical assistance, goods and services, and the partnership and support that we have had, which is valued at over US$1,000,000... there cannot be any better return,” he said. PAHO is the leading international public health agency that provides technical cooperation to member states and mobilises partnerships to improve health and quality of life.
Brazil prosecutor seeks removal of Congress speaker Brazil’s prosecutor general has called for the lower house of Congress speaker, Eduardo Cunha, to be sacked. Rodrigo Janot, told the Supreme Court Mr Cunha was using his political position to avoid investigation for alleged corruption. Mr Cunha is being investigated over a massive kickback scandal at the state-run oil company, Petrobras. He is also the driving force behind impeachment proceedings against Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff. She faces accusations of
breaking budget laws last year. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on Mr Janot’s request over Mr Cunha. Mr Cunha is facing mounting pressure to resign. State prosecutors accuse him of lying about owning Swiss bank accounts and about having allegedly receiving bribes. On Tuesday two of his properties, his official residence in Brasilia and a property in Rio de Janeiro were raided by federal police searching for evidence. BBC Brazil correspondent
Julia Carneiro quotes local reports as saying prosecutors have evidence that Mr Cunha received 52 million reais ($13m, £8.5m ) in bribes from companies paid into accounts in Switzerland and Israel. Mr Cunha has responded by saying the investigation against him is an attempt to divert attention from the impeachment proceedings. The Congressional ethics committee has also tried for months to begin investigations against Mr Cunha which he has blocked. (BBC News)
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
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RUSH HOUR IN PARLIAMENT Democracy is not like the Christmas rush. It is never in a hurry. Democracy is not one of the things that we should fear. What should be feared is fear itself, especially the fear of democracy. Yesterday, the ruling APNU/AFC was supposed to move a motion to suspend the Standing Orders to facilitate the tabling, debate and passage of three Bills - all in one session of the National Assembly. As at press time, there were reports seeping in to Kaieteur News that this plan had been aborted. But the damage has already been
done. Why the rush? Why the haste? What could have been so compelling to have forced the ruling coalition to race these three Bills through the National Assembly? The members of the National Assembly were elected by virtue of democratic process. These members represent the people. Attempting to race these pieces of legislation through the Assembly, amounts to an attempt to whiz past the necessary consideration that the democratic process involves. The National Assembly is an institution of democracy. It is a manifestation of the
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday refused bail for a 26-year-old gold miner after he appeared before her, charged with the illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday. Dinesh Dharamdeo of Lot 1350 Block Three, Providence, East Bank Demerara, is accused of having a 9mm pistol in his possession, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence. It was further alleged that he had seven live rounds of 9mm ammunition in his possession. He was allegedly found with the articles on December 16, at Black Water Backdam, Cuyuni River. Dharamdeo pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was represented by Attorney, Peter Hugh. Police Corporal, Kerry Bostwick presented the prosecution’s case. He told the court that on the day in question, the police were on patrol when they saw the defendant on an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV). Bostwick said that after the suspect saw the police, he began acting in a suspicious manner. The police stopped the vehicle and carried out a search on
the defendant. According to the prosecutor, the illegal firearm and ammunition were found in Dharamdeo’s crotch. He said that the man admitted to the police that he was not a licenced firearm holder. Bostwick said that the man was taken to the Bartica Police station and charged with the offences. Attorney Hugh requested that his client be granted bail on the grounds that he would not be given a trial within a fair time. The lawyer explained to the court that there is a backlog of cases at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court and that the Magistrate is currently on leave. However, his bail application was met with objections by Bostwick. He opposed bail citing the seriousness and prevalence attached to the offences. He also pointed out that no special reasons were provided by the attorney for his client to be admitted to bail. These objections were held by the Magistrate, who remanded Dharamdeo to prison until January 7. This matter was transferred to the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
SAN JUAN (www.laht.com) – Fifty-four Haitian migrants left marooned north of Cuba when their boat broke down were rescued by a geophysical survey vessel en route to Guyana. “We found a boat that was adrift with 54 Haitians on it, so we helped rescue those guys and got the Bahamian Defence F o r c e a n d t h e U.S. Coast Guard and h e l p e d coordinate all of that,” Eric Long, a senior crew member of the Fugro Americas, told reporters late Tuesday during a tour of the
survey vessel in Georgetown. Long said he spotted the Haitians as the Fugro Americas was just north of the eastern tip of Cuba. All ocean-going vessels are required by international law to assist other vessels in distress and to aid with search-and-rescue operations. Fugro Americas has been hired by ExxonMobil Corp. to map the seafloor in preparation for evaluating a significant oil deposit discovered off the coast of Guyana’s Essequibo region.
Gold miner remanded for gun found in crotch
ExxonMobil’s survey ship rescues stranded Haitians
democratic will of the people. It allows for consideration and debate on legislation and national policy as part of the democratic process. Democracy in the National Assembly requires that the members must have adequate time to consider legislation and policy; must have adequate time to debate this legislation and in their judgment decide whether to approve of such legislation or policy. This is how democracy is exercised in the National Assembly. Democracy entails that the people’s representatives should be given adequate time to consider proposed legislation. It makes a mockery of the democratic process and of the duly elected representatives of the people if attempts are made to railroad legislation through
the National Assembly. How can the National Assembly be expected to make considered assessments of legislation and policies if the members are not given adequate time to consider legislation? APNU/AFC promised change. Not exchange. Not shortchange. Simply change. If there were reasons why it was necessary to race the three pieces of legislation through the National Assembly, then emergency discussions should have been held, with the Chief Whip of the Opposition providing reasons why the legislation has to be passed immediately. Once there are valid reasons in the national interest why legislation should be passed, there is no
reason why any opposition will want to be seen to be trying to force a national crisis by opposing the rapid passage of legislation. The public is also entitled to such an explanation, because what goes on in the National Assembly is not a private affair, it is of public interest, and if there were good reasons for rushing the legislation, the public ought to have been advised of those reasons. It is highly contemptuous to attempt to not provide such reasons. APNU/AFC is going down a slippery slope. It should not be taking Guyana down this road. It should be open and transparent and let the people understand why certain things have to be done. It should not be afraid of letting the opposition know
as well, because if the government is dismissive or arrogant towards the opposition, the opposition will gain political capital off of the government’s attitude. Do not take the people of Guyana for granted. Do not feel that because you have a majority of the votes, people will look beyond your mistakes. Those days are over. The people’s patience is thin. People have demonstrated that they are not afraid of making change. The majority of Guyanese whose votes were deemed valid voted for change. They need change. Not exchange, not shortchange. And not in the National Assembly.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
The iconic Clive Thomas speaks! Perhaps the harshest condemnation of the Jagdeo/ Ramotar era to come from a leading figure in the APNU+AFC Coalition Government emerged from the iconic Clive Thomas. Professor Thomas is head of the assets recovery project and made these pronouncements as carried in the Wednesday edition of this paper; “They were drunk, drunk with greed…it’s inhuman what they did.” The earlier the discoveries of PPP corruptibility are submitted for perusal to the Guyanese people, the better to stem the rising tide of PPP’s hypocritical, destructive, racist activism. East Indian
people that stood behind the PPP for over sixty years should know the devastation the PPP brought to this country. Thomas’s exposure should destroy the myth, long cherished by Indian constituencies all over Guyana that the PPP was of superior fabric best suited for Indian interests than African Guyanese leadership. This belief was put of graphic display by an influential body of Indians during the election campaign in May this year. Swami Aksharananda threw off his religious clothes and came out swinging for the continuation of PPP’s hegemony, read that to mean Indian rule. He reminded
readers of what a Black party did to Guyana when the PNC ruled. Aksharananda chose not to tell readers what an Indian party did to Guyana when the PPP secured twenty-three years of domination. Clive Thomas’ facts will be an education for this religious man The writer, Ryhaan Shah, academic Lomarsh Roopnarine, journalist Leon Suseran, all joined in to warn us that the election was a battle between Indian and African leadership. And they had made their choice. The choice was not a fight between a tainted politician, Donald Ramotar and a man without baggage, David Granger. It was a duel between an East Indian, Ramotar and a Blackman, Granger. This had to be a sad day not only for Guyanese but for human nature (even though Freud warned us that there is no such thing). Look what humans had become. It was better to choose one of my own to run my country, never mind he would raid my bank and take my savings, than vote for a person that is not from my race even though he is far more decent.
This Indian mind-set was best summed up by the attitude of Dr. Baytoram Ramharack. He was the more honest of the pro-Indian advocates. He penned a letter to both KN and SN in which he asserted that the PPP was not the best choice for Indians, but between the PPP and APNU, Indians should chose the PPP. After the elections, one of these pro-Indian advocates gave us one of the funniest jokes for the year, 2015. Journalist Suseran wrote a pleading missive to both KN and SN begging for the PPP to pay him for media work done for the PPP during the election. One wants to avoid cruel labels in social analysis, but there are times when persons deserve harsh adjectives. Didn’t Suseran have twenty-three years to see how the PPP operated? As a journalist Suseran had to know that many poor printers and budding artists were not paid for their Carifesta work. But Suseran made ethnicity the criterion
that determined his vote. He deserves a derogatory adjective. What Clive Thomas will soon be showing this nation will depress the average citizens, but not persons in the media and political society. The facts of PPP’s high corruption are patently emblazoned on the face of this country. Ministers after Ministers got prodigious rewards from certain type of investors. These monies were not chicken feed, but mountains and oceans of finances. Lands were given away and in return ruling politicians were handsomely paid. Billions of dollars went up in high-rise buildings and the owners are masks for the real builders – ruling politicians. Gold was received in lieu of cash and the golden handshake afterwards tells the story of naked corruption under Jagdeo and Ramotar that the Indian advocates need to see. They will see it soon. Clive Thomas appears to be on a mission. It is a mission
Frederick Kissoon that had to come once the PPP was toppled. We in the media know a lot, and each of us have our favourite investigation. Two of my preferred inquires are Khurshid Sattaur and Nirmal Rekha. Rekha in 2004 was found to have signed over one hundred duty free letters that were false. Under Sattaur, some people whose money cannot be counted even by the most sophisticated CIA computers were not forthcoming with their submissions. Surely, the tax man couldn’t miss that. The taxman didn’t miss this Kaieteur News columnist, then how could he have missed the multi-billionaires?
Dem boys seh...
Jail time is real time Everybody know de saying that what goes around does come around. What you sow is that wha you does reap. When CANU ketch dem two women wid cocaine dem women defence was that de devil mek dem fetch de cocaine. Dem gone to jail. Clinty de Willie get ketch wid he irrevocable power of attorney in he underwear he seh that is a private matter and that nobody dare to search him much less come close. He waiting to go to jail. Jagdeo is another one who get ketch wid everything down. Dem boys hear bout de millions of dollars he got in foreign bank accounts. That is no secret now because dem boys hear that every govt in de country wheh he bank de money, send every information to dem boys and dem boys send it to Soulja Bai and SARU Bai. He got to spend a long time in jail and is not dem boys seh suh; Soulja Bai seh suh. Soulja Bai also seh that de one who he send pun leave today did a lot of wuk but he
tired. At least he can’t trouble Freddie and tell him that he got to pay fuh dem old rocking chair he got in he house fuh more than 50 years. Dem boys also hear de jail door calling fuh Irfaat fuh some of de wealth he got in he possession. He was one who seh that he get he money from he grandfather but de grandfather didn’t even have a proppa shirt and pants to wear. As fuh Ashni and Brassy—one shaat and one fat—de two of dem got to keep hiding because Jagdeo got dem like that. Brassington seh he put close to US$10 million in Linmine. When Goolsarran question him he seh was to pay staff. Now de staff seh he never pay dem one cent, that dem tek money from de Linden Bridge to pay demself. Wha Brassington do wid de money only he know. Dem boys seh that he and Ashni got to live in jail. Talk half and help dem boys look fuh some good contractor to expand de jail.
Man threatens to chop pregnant neighbour ...court hears A painter yesterday made an appearance before City Magistrate Annette Singh in Court 11 of the Georgetown’s Magistrates’ Courts to answer a charge of threatening language. The court was told that the man had threatened to chop his pregnant neighbour. Anil Cumberbatch, 45, of Lot 190 Meadow Brook Gardens, pleaded not guilty to the charge which stated
that on October 6, at Silverbali Street, Meadow Brook, he made use of threatening language to Fiona Forde. He was released on $10,000 bail and will make a next court appearance on January 7. Police Corporal Adunni Inniss presented the case for the prosecution. Forde told the court that on the day in question, at around 23:00hrs, she was watching television when the defendant started to hurl disrespectful remarks
towards her. She stated that at the time the man was outside the house, armed with a cutlass. According to the woman, Cumberbatch continued his tirade and she reported the matter to the station. Cumberbatch had no attorney and declined to give a response to the complainant’s version of the story. At the next court hearing, Forde’s landlord will testify in the matter.
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Opposition walk out after heated debate in Parliament By Kiana Wilburg After much mudslinging and over an hour of debate, the Opposition walked away with a hollow victory yesterday in the National Assembly, as it was able to get the Government Members of Parliament (MPs) to go through two crucial bills instead of three. The Bills which Government decided to follow through with were the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill and the Municipal and District Councils and Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill 2015. The Anti-terrorism and Terrorist activities Bill was dropped until the next meeting of the House on December 30. However, it is against parliamentary protocol to have three readings of a Bill followed by a vote on it in the same day. But since this was not observed, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo took the floor to lay a motion to suspend the Standing Orders to allow for the smooth passage of the three Bills. But his motion was met storm of negative comments and opposition from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Taking the floor to present her arguments was Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira. The former Presidential advisor contended that not all of her members had the opportunity to properly read the Bills, as some of them live in the interior and are without access to the internet. She went on to state that she is quite certain that some of her “learned” members of the Government side did not even read the Bills properly. Teixeira also blasted the government for seeking to rush through all the stages for the passage of the Bills. She contended that the Opposition and the nation, by extension, were being denied their democratic right to properly go through the Bills and make meaningful contributions. The Opposition Chief Whip said that the only reasons Bills are rushed is in the case of an emergency. With that said, she passionately stated, “My colleagues ask me, why are we rushing? What is the rush? What is the emergency?” Teixeira also argued that the Bills were not properly circulated and that complex Bills such as the AML Bill are supposed to be sent to a select committee. The PPP Executive member said that since government has been in office
for seven months, it has suspended the Standing Orders to do as it pleases more times than the former administration. She added, “I know that Nagamootoo is a spin doctor, but he didn’t even do any spinning for us. He just get up, read the motion and sit down. This is wickedness and it is undemocratic, comrades.” She recalled that Attorney General, Basil Williams had said that Guyana was not blacklisted and that the country is “fine.” On that basis, she said, “If the country is fine then why are we rushing? This bill should be properly scrutinized in a select committee and allow for persons to come and make presentations on it as what was done before. We are not alone in this call, but we have support from the Private Sector and the Guyana Human Rights Commission.” Teixeira argued that the government has spoken extensively about Article 13 of the Constitution which speaks to inclusive governance and the need for the citizenry to participate in decision-making. She said that Government’s by its very actions has damaged the framework for democracy in Guyana. “It’s only been seven months and this government has harmed democracy in this country. What more do you have planned? If you have damaged parliamentary democracy then you are eroding the democratic framework of the country by rushing these Bills,” Teixeira asserted. “This motion denies civic society the opportunity to be informed and to have an opinion on these Bills, and it is unconscionable that this government is trying to railroad these Bills through Parliament. We object, but we know you have the majority, so you can bulldoze it through. This is bulldozing.” She then called on the Prime Minister to “do the
honourable thing and withdraw” the motion. Her comments were strongly supported by former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. But it was the impassioned presentation by Nagamootoo which threw the House into uproar and fits of laughter. The First Vice President was appalled that Teixeira had the audacity to lecture the eastern side of the House about the tenets of democracy given their “sins against the nation”. He emphasized that the motion to see the passage of all three Bills was deemed admissible by House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland. So passionate was Nagamootoo about his presentation that his hands began to visibly tremble. He was instantly heckled by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo who shouted, “why your hands shaking Moses.” The Prime Minister responded, “My hands may be shaking, but they are clean.” This sent both sides of the House into loud applause for the retort. Nagamootoo went on, “On what grounds are they exempt from their own sins… these democrats were spending billions without parliamentary approval and you lecture us about democracy? …They want to delay and frustrate the work of the people.” “The ones who bawl of democracy being destroyed did not hold Local Government Elections, but they seek to frustrate our process of revolutionary democracy.” The Prime Minister insisted that there is indeed great urgency in seeing all the Bills passed. He however amended the motion to have all three Bills passed and reduced it to two. Given the Government’s majority hold in the National Assembly, Nagamootoo’s motion to suspend the Standing Orders was passed.
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Suspected serial knife robber nabbed after snatching bag, wounding woman Women living between Alberttown, Queenstown and Kitty may now have a safer Christmas, following the capture yesterday of a man suspected of carrying out a spate of knifepoint attacks on women in these areas. The man, who identified himself to police as Devon Morrison, 22, was captured shortly after 08.00 hrs in Queenstown, Georgetown, after slashing a woman and snatching her handbag. His arrest was due to the quick response of security guards attached to a mining company in the area, backed up by police ranks involved in the Operation Dragnet anticrime fight. Video footage of the arrest suggests that the robber had an accomplice, who is seen pulling down his cap and sneaking away from the area. According to reports, a woman had just left the compound of a Queenstown mining company when the thief slashed her hand and grabbed her bag. He then fled through an alleyway that labourers were cleaning. But security guards from the mining company gave chase, though they were forced to fire in the air because of the presence of
The alleged serial robber being taken into custody the cleaners in the alley. One of the guards eventually nabbed the robber, who still had the victim’s valuables. It was then that some members of the cleaning gang confronted a guard who was holding the suspect and forced him to release the thief, who sought refuge in a nearby schoolyard. By then, police ranks had arrived, but the same cleaners refused to disclose the suspect’s location, choosing instead to whisper to a reporter on the scene: “He safe.”
The ranks eventually found the hiding thief, even as his alleged accomplice managed to slip away from the scene. Police sources said that while the suspect was being taken away, at least five other women spotted him and identified him as the same man who had recently robbed them at knifepoint. The victims are said to be from Alberttown and Kitty. The suspect reportedly gave the police several addresses, including Linden, Kitty and Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Govt. meets medical suppliers on procurement procedures
Representatives of the Medical supply companies at the forum As Government moves to strengthen its procurement process for medicine for its health institutions across the country, the new administration has started meeting with its suppliers to sensitize them about the requirements. The event, at Regency Suites on Wednesday, was geared to bring more transparency to the sector, Government said yesterday. Speaking at the event, Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, pointed out that this undertaking is in keeping with Government’s promise to allow greater transparency, and to be accountable to the Guyanese people. “Today’s activity also represents the fulfillment of yet another campaign promise made by this Government to break the monopoly of the pharmaceutical supply chain that was created by the
selective tendering process,” he said. Further, the Minister stressed the importance of allowing a variety of bidders to have the opportunity to deliver on the demands of the various sectors. He pointed out that it is Cabinet’s desire to create a “level playing field.” “The responsibility of the Ministry is to provide whatever clarity is needed and to ensure at the end of this session there is a full understanding of what is required…I therefore wish to assure you that with this tender process of procurement of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies, all bidders will have an equal opportunity to submit a tender, and once they meet the requirements incorporated, they are in for a favourable response.” Several presentations, including one by the
Ministry’s Food and Drug Department, were also done on the various aspects of the procurement process. The procurement of drugs was a big problem for the previous administrations of the P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) after Guyana learnt that for more than a decade, one company, New GPC, received the majority of the contracts for the medicines and other supplies, to the tune of billions of dollars. Other suppliers had objected, but little had been done to allow other pharmaceutical companies to have a fairer chance. The Coalition government, while in Opposition prior to the May 11th General elections, vowed to bring sweeping changes to the country’s procurement process, including the establishing of a procurement commission.
Special inspectorate to monitor State contracts Government is set to reintroduce a special unit of engineers to help monitor its multi-million dollar contracts across the country. According to Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, the unit, which was once under the Ministry of Public Works, was scrapped some years now. The move for the reintroduction of the inspectorate unit of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure would come at a time when there have been increasing calls for more
monitoring of State contracts to ensure they are in keeping with the requirements. Over time, consultants hired by Government to oversee State contracts have been accused of taking bribes to allow substandard work. There have been several cases across the country of roads breaking up or bridges and wharves collapsing after a few mornings. It is the intention for the inspectorate department to regularly check ongoing projects and ensure they are being executed in keeping with
the bills of quantities and other quality control data, the Minister explained. The idea is to ensure that contractors do not produce substandard work. Trotman noted that in the past, projects were plagued with shoddy and sub-standard work even resulting in cost and time overruns. Among other things, inspectors will be charged with monitoring contractors to ensure health and safety systems are observed. With the current Minister David Patterson himself a quantity surveyor, Trotman was of the view that the unit will comprise persons with engineering and construction backgrounds. Government will be pushing for more community involvement in the process to ensure a wider monitoring of projects. The Minister, in his arguments for the special unit, referred to a Secondary school at Kato in the hinterland, which has been under construction for more than a year, and is still unfurnished. It is likely to surpass the $1B cost mark, making it the most expensive school ever in the country.
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
506 trained teachers added to education system Just over 500 teachers received their certificates at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE)’s 81st graduation exercise, yesterday, at the National Cultural Centre. When the final roll was called the number of graduates was 506. Chief Education officer, Olato Sam, praised the teachers for their hard work and dedication saying that he cannot “think of any religion whose central prophet is not considered as ‘teacher’ either directly within the respective holy text, or at the very least by implication.” Teachers, he said, often spend their lives preparing students for opportunities they themselves may never have. Sam commented upon the challenges the teachers face with regards to promotion, adequate remuneration, inadequate infrastructure and “outdated” curriculum. Perhaps, he said, the work of a teacher is so ubiquitous and pervading that often the disastrous consequences their absences could bring is not recognized. “No one, after all notices the lung unless it is suffered some grievous injuryeducation, knowledge, is the oxygen upon which this society will depend for survival and the teaching service is the organ which processes it for our consumption,” said Sam. Sam charged the teachers to not give up on the “war” that is education. It is their “duty to be at the forefront of the struggle against ignorance, poverty, division and underdevelopment.” President David Granger recently outlined the crisis and challenges in the education system, inclusive
of the extremely high rate of decimation that impacts the teaching profession, with half as many teachers being dismissed from the system as they are entering on an annual basis Principal of CPCE, Viola Rowe, commented on the major challenges and notable successes the institution has had. The recruitment of part time staff, she said, remained a challenge. There was not the right “skill mix” to supervise distance education students on their in-school practicum attachment. Staff for the areas of Physical Education, Music Education and Information and Communication technology (ICT) also remained a challenge. The college was unable to offer those disciplines as specializations. However, the institution has had its share of successes as ten staff members completed studies at the Master’s level, while nine continued to pursue their programme of study. Lecturers also completed Intensive Training Programmes in pedagogical practices in critical areas such as Mathematics, Science, multi Grade Teaching, teaching of reading and writing, guidance and counseling, English as a second language and special education needs. She added that with the exception of one, all staff members received Government of Guyana scholarships through the Guyana Improving Teacher Education Project. Fourteen students who accessed the ADE one-year programme were awarded the Level of Attainment of Distinction and 13, the level (Continued on page 14)
The Cyril Potter College of Education’s 81st batch of graduands taking the Teacher’s oath.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
50 graduate from Aeronautical Engineering School Along with hosting its 22nd anniversary celebration, the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School, hosted its 17th graduation and prizegiving ceremony yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was held at the Wings Aviation Hangar, Ogle. The occasion saw almost 50 students of the 2013 group being honoured for excelling in their various fields. Chief Executive Officer, Captain Malcolm Chan-A-Sue, the graduates. He gave a brief background of the school, it’s “humble beginnings” – one desk alone, to the school’s rise to becoming a major tertiary educational institution in Caricom with an ISO 9001 Certified Quality Management System, which it has managed to uphold thus far. He said that the school could not have been what it was if not for the hard work and determination of its instructors and the students’ willingness to learn. Chan-A-Sue added that the school will be attempting to obtain certification from the European Aviation Sector Authority (EASA), with coordination from the United Kingdom Caravan Engineers Association (UKCEA) which he pointed out, is the highest license in the world. Present at the ceremony was Pilot Linden Hillman who has served almost four decades in the aviation
fraternity both locally and abroad. Hillman said that he returned to Guyana at the invitation by Chan-A-Sue. For a country and a career that has given him much, he has decided to give back. Hillman has consulted with Southwest Airlines, to which he is attached, and has asked that an internship programme be put in place. “I went to my company and said, I needed some help and what could they do to help the folks of this school?…So right now, Southwest Airlines and I have begun, in conjunction with the school, we are going to work to get Sout h w e s t Airlines to offer tutorships to the school,” Hillman stated. Present at the ceremony was First Lady Sandra Granger who assisted in the handing out awards and prizes. It was revealed at the ceremony that the school, under Chan-A-Sue, has graduated 293 Students under the Ab-Initio and Modular Programmes which commenced in 1993. These engineers have moved on to work across Guyana, the rest of Caribbean and overseas with a number of “major airlines”. The School‘s student enrolment for the first AbInitio Programme in 1997 was seven. Enrollment this year stands at 128. The School is operated by the Aircraft Owners’
A section of the gathering yesterday, including some of the honourees Association of Guyana Incorporated and is accredited and certified by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System of CARICOM,
Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Suriname. An audit was conducted in February 2008 by the United Kingdom Civil
Aviation Authority where it found the school acceptable for certification within the British Overseas Territories in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean inclusive of Bermuda and the Falkland Islands.
It was further revealed that the School was certified on July 24, 2006 by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards and is now certified to the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems Standards.
Sugar workers picket estates for increase, API payment Sugar workers, this week, picketed several of the estates in Berbice and Demerara to push for a salary increase and payment of the annual production incentive (API). According to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), workers are not surrendering their right to a wage rise and an API award in keeping with past awards. They have been picketing outside the Administrative Offices and pay offices of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) across the industry. Picketing exercises have taken place at Wales, Enmore, Albion and Blairmont Estates, at Rose Hall and Uitvlugt Estates. “The periodic protests undoubtedly will, in all likelihood, roll over into the New Year as the workers are highly demotivated at this time by the treatment they are experiencing by the authorities. They feel
Sugar workers picketing at Wales estate justifiably that they have been singled out for d i s c r i m i n a t i o n notwithstanding the acknowledgement of their hard and dedicated work which has led to the industry breaking new records including the surpassing of the Corporation’s production
target for the first time in eleven (11) years,” GAWU said yesterday. According to the union, with the “pittance” API award to be paid until March next year, it wrote the Minister of Finance on Tuesday requesting that the $50,000 Christmas bonus award to public sector
employees be awarded also to the sugar workers who are also employees of a stateowned enterprise. “After all, GuySuCo and the Government must know that sugar workers have families including children too. The GAWU awaits the minister’s response.”
506 trained teachers added to education... (From page 13) of attainment for credit. On the ADE two-year programme, nine students gained distinction; 418 passed with credit and three passed. Students who received distinctions are Devon Thomas from the One-year ADE programme. Tameshwor Mohabir, Narendra Lall, Delicia Vancooten, Nick Edwards, Kamini Debi Singh, Alyne Ann-Downes, Dianne Abigail Persaud, Sherry Ann Austin and Anthony Ray Chatterpaul in the twoyear ADE programme. Fourteen students
passed with credit and 16 attained a pass on the TTC programme. Of the 506 graduates, 104 are early childhood trained, 196 are primary trained, 192 are secondary level trained. Fourteen were trained as technical instructors. Of the total number of students presented, 88 per cent were females. This was reportedly a nine percent increase in the number of men graduating in the reporting period over the previous period. CPCE prizes were presented to Lynette Fiedtkou and Donna Ambrose. Tameshwor
Mohabir received the Prime Minister’s Prize, the CPCE prize, the Director NCERD prize and a prize for the most outstanding student of region six. Other students who received prizes were Nikita Natasha La Rose, Delicia Vancooten, Nick Edwards, Narendra Lall, Kerissa Williamson, Cordacia KarAnn Grimmond, Alyne-Ann Downes, Stacy Janice Monah-Gomes, Ratna Hemraj, Stepon Dass & Rukmini Nadram. Also, Chandradai Nandalall, Simonetta Northe, Taleshia Devi Munilall, Esther Sinclair,
Neela Persaud, Schemlyn Naomi Benjamin, Cordacia Kare-Ann Grimmond, Rishi Naraine, Alyne-Ann Downes, Devon Thomas, Gilly Ann Davis, Narendra lall, Delicia Vancooten, Kerissa Williamson, Melisa Menever Melville, Val Ann Edwin, Antonia Barjoan and Nick Edwards and Valence Austin. The CPCE offers a Oneyear Associate’s Degree in Education programme, a two year Associate’s Degree in Education programme, trained teacher’s certificate (TTC) and teacher upgrading programme (TUP).
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Public health sector benefits from visiting Chinese team's support From page 18 endoscopy centre catering to 600 cases and a trauma centre catering to spinal issues. Dr. Wang who specialises in spinal care has overseen the examination of some 1,000 patients and 200 cases of surgery. The various levels of expertise were not only available in various departments at the GPHC, but also at several regional facilities. According to Dr. Wang, China has supported the public health sector here for many years. This is part of the quest, he noted, to further promote the development of the local health sector complete with the provision of millions of dollars in equipment. China has been offering support in the areas of medical treatment, health care and health education. “I believe the cooperation will go deeply...it has a bright
future,” said Dr. Wang. Dr. Wang, who has been in Guyana for almost two years as part of the 11th Medical Brigade, disclosed that the continued collaboration was seamless even with the change of Government in May. “The Minister of Health, Dr. (George) Norton, has been very friendly,” he said. According to a statement disseminated by the Ministry of Public Health yesterday the visiting team of Chinese specialists are performing vascular surgeries, surgical operations for glaucoma, as well as ophthalmology-related operations at the GPHC. The team, it was noted, includes a bio-medical engineer who will be performing maintenance and repairs to various medical equipment at the GPHC, including the Orthopaedic C-Arm donated by
the Government of China last October. Dr. Shu and the other members of the visiting team are expected to depart Guyana on Sunday. During a meeting with Minister Norton, it was disclosed that China, by April of next year, will be providing laser equipment to the GPHC to facilitate the various eye surgeries. The delegation further stated that the Chinese Government will develop an agreement with the Government of Guyana in 2016, to offer training to Guyanese doctors. Minister Norton has welcomed the offer and said that he looks forward to the continued support from the Government and people of China. The visiting team also extended a formal invitation to the Minister to visit Jiangsu Province, China, next year.
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Consideration should be given Fatal shooting of mentally-ill man… to those in acting positions $150,000 bail each for accused cops - Acct. General tells Public Service COI Accountant General and Chairman of the Dependents Pensions Fund, Jawahar Persaud, has stressed the need for due consideration to the recruitment of officials acting in pertinent areas of the Public Service Sector. The Accountant General, in a presentation before the Commission of Inquiry in the Public Service, said that careful consideration must be taken before personnel from other parts of the public service are selected and posted to sensitive positions in the sector. Persaud, a Colonel of the Guyana Defence Force, has been acting as Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance, for in excess of five years. He told commissioners that he is still being paid the same salary as an officer of the GDF. The official noted that the difficulty associated with those in acting positions is that they conduct the same level of work as those in substantive positions but are only being enumerated for part of their efforts and responsibility. As such, Persaud called for more support and consideration to be given to officers even in acting
positions. “In the long term, officers from the Guyana Defence Force, the Police Force or anyone these security forces posted to sit in a sensitive position like the one I am in…I think due consideration should be given.” Persaud said that he brought the issue to attention of the commission as a means of making intervention on behalf of other officers that they would not suffer the same disadvantage or be short changed. The witness said that rather something should be concretized to bring about reform on the way forward. Persaud noted too that the Public Service Commission, (PSC) does not publicly advertise for vacancies—the advertisements are circulated within the sector. He explained that this practice sets the various departments at a disadvantage since staff tend to leave their current posts vacant to fill a more rewarding one. In terms of increased wages and salaries, the economy must have the potential to give the raise and sustain it. “If the government purse
is unable to sustain the increase it should be a oneoff like a bonus.” Persaud added. In addition, the witness also gave a written submission on the fund which was established to provide benefits to relatives of deceased pensioners. The COI was established as part of a plan to support President Granger’s vision for a modern public service and the establishment of a Public Service Staff College. The Commission is slated to operate during the next three to five months with the possibility of a renewal should the Commissioners need more time to complete the task. The hearings are open to the general public for oral presentations, which will be conducted at the Secretariat Building of the Public Service Ministry on Waterloo Street, Georgetown. Hearings will also be conducted at other locations in the country.
Two police constables who were involved in the fatal shooting of a mentally challenged man at Cane Grove, Mahaica, five months ago made their first court appearance on Wednesday before Magistrate Suanna Lovell, at the Mahaicony Magistrate’s Court to face manslaughter charges. The two ranks, Constables Marlon Cruickshank and Elvis Jones, were not required to plead to the indictable charge. They were granted bail in the sum of $150,000 each. They are accused of fatally shooting Junior Gulliver during an attempt to arrest him on July 4, last. The two cops have claimed that they acted in self defence, while relatives of the dead man are insisting that Gulliver was unarmed and did not pose a threat to the cops when he was shot. Magistrate Lovell had initially set bail at $250,000 each but reduced after stirring arguments by the defence. Constables Jones and
Cruickshank were both represented at Wednesday’s hearing by Attorney at Law Patrice Henry, who in his argument for bail, told the court that this case is clearly a result of public pressure. He argued that from his assessment there is very little evidence to convict the two policemen. Jones and Cruickshank were ordered to return to the Mahaica Magistrate’s Court on January 15. On July 4 last, the two cops, who were attached to the Cane Grove Police Outpost, first responded to a report that Gulliver was threatening persons in the village. Upon arrival at the scene, the policemen, who were unarmed, came under attack from Gulliver, who had a cutlass, and they had to hastily retreat. In the process the vehicle they came in was damaged by Gulliver, who had struck the window with his cutlass. The ranks went back to the station, and after
receiving another report that Gulliver was still acting in a threatening manner, they returned to the area to confront him, this time carrying firearms. There are differing versions of what occurred at the time of the shooting, but minutes after the police returned to the area, Gulliver sustained two bullet wounds to his upper body. A post mortem examination performed on Gulliver’s body by Dr. Nehaul Singh revealed that he was shot twice, by two different calibre weapons, the larger of which inflicted the fatal wound. The post mortem found that Gulliver died from perforation of the lung and spinal gunshot injury. According to a police source, the fatal bullet which was fired from a rifle, passed through his lung and spine from the front of his body. The other bullet, fired from a smaller calibre weapon, struck his left shoulder, causing minimal damage.
Police step up presence around Giftland Mall Police yesterday signaled their intention to increase patrols in the vicinity of the Giftland Mall, in the wake of two attacks by gunmen on minibuses in this area. Yesterday, a police official announced that the presence of both plainclothes and uniformed police has increased around Turkeyen and Liliendaal, East Coast
Demerara (ECD) to ensure that citizens carry out their activities in a safe and secure environment. Most importantly, this newspaper was informed that the move was made by police officials to facilitate late night shoppers at the mall. This comes two days after ranks at the Sparendaam Police Station received
reports of armed men, posing as passengers, and robbing at least two minibus drivers and the passengers. In one instance, one of the drivers was shot and is battling for life at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) On Monday, one man allegedly flagged down a minibus. When it stopped, two other individuals with guns appeared, and robbed all the occupants of the vehicle after which the trio escaped. That matter was reported to the police by one of the passengers. And, at around 22:00 hrs on Tuesday, a bus driver, Jermaine Burrowes, was shot during a botched robbery, shortly after he had picked up passengers at the Giftland Mall at Liliendaal. Kaieteur News
understands that the driver was shot in the back. The bullet exited his right side. As a result of the shooting, Burrowes, a father of one, lost one of his kidneys and is battling for his life in the Intensive Care Unit at GPHC. According to information, when the 28-year-old man drove off after picking off passengers at the Mall, a man stopped him in the vicinity of the “Steel Bridge.” Just as he stopped, another individual on the opposite side of the road, started walking towards the driver. One of Burrowes’ passengers suspected that the two men were robbers and pulled the door shut, preventing one of the men from entering the bus. At that point, the bandit, who was approaching the bus from the opposite side of the road, pointed a gun at Burrowes and shot him. This newspaper understands that with passengers screaming and telling Burrowes to drive, the wounded man continued in the direction of Georgetown, before losing control of his vehicle and ending up in a trench. The father of one was taken to the hospital by passengers where he continues to battle for life. At nights, the area where persons would usually wait on transportation (on the embankment) is usually dark and desolate.
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
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NICIL expenditure claims deceitful By Enid Joaquin Linden Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairman, Orrin Gordon, reflecting on the findings of a recent forensic audit report of NICIL, has echoed the sentiments of the forensic auditor, Anand Goolsarran, who said that the whole thing” does not add up.” The audit showed that Linmine’s total expenditure for the period 2002 to 2014 amounted to $8.6 billion with operating expenses amounting to some $2.144 billion. “It does not add up; there is no way that Linmine which became a division of NICIL in 2004 could have incurred so much expense. He added that the whole thing is a “brazen attempt by NICIL to hoodwink the municipality and the community.” He noted that were it not for the forensic audit, “we would not have known what was going on.” “All this money that they’re claiming that they would have expended is a blatant lie, and I reject outright the amount, $122.342 million, that was quoted as being paid in rates and taxes.
That is totally inaccurate. “No more than $35 million was paid to the municipality, so what happened to the restthe $80 or $90 million- Where it gone? The IMC Chairman said that prior to the advent of the IMC at the end of 2003; Linmine had been paying about $5 million per year. However after the transfer to OMAI in 2004- some assets, about half, went to OMAI. “So it was half of that amount, which is $2.5 million that was being paid by Omai/ Bosai and the other half by the Linmine Secretariat, which comes under NICIL. “From that time, how on earth could you reach to $122 million over a period of 13 years? Gordon said that Linmine used funds from the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge to pay staff and to maintain the operations of the Linmine secretariat. “How then, you saying that Linmine is a burden to you? Linmine secretariat doesn’t owe any money. The Secretariat hasn’t done any major capital investment within that period to warrant the expenditure cited,” he declared.
- Linden IMC Chairman Gordon said that NICIL would have sold 83 properties on South Mackenzie, including the old Surapana Golf course, for which it would have received millions of dollars. “So where has the money gone?” He added that to date, the municipality has not received “a single cent” for rates and taxes since 2009, when those properties were sold, and that NICIL currently owes the municipality about $500,000, which he claims as `being an “extremely conservative” figure. Sales from scrap iron was another revenue earner for NICIL, Gordon said, but yet the question remains, “Where the money gone?” He also pointed to the Toucan Call Centre which recently ceased operations, and for which NICIL had been collecting rent. Gordon questioned what happened to that money. In a story published recently, Gordon had demanded that NICIL release the $270 million being withheld from the municipality by the entity.
“Let them release the gravy train (bridge)! We need the money to take care of the municipality’s business!” He had pointed out that NICIL had withheld some $270mil for the period 20122015. Gordon had stated further that the withheld money is even more than that, if consideration was given to the fact that monies were withheld before 2012. Unfortunately the files containing the evidence were lost in the 2012 fire which destroyed the Linmine secretariat building. Gordon noted that based on his extrapolation, the money withheld for the period before 2012 would amount to some $420.million, bringing the total amount to approximately $600 million. Meanwhile according to the forensic audit report on the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the company’s directors have apparently failed to properly account for millions worth in assets for Linden Mining Enterprise (LINMINE).
Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran, found that NICIL directors pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into LINMINE and are unable to properly justify it. Goolsarran said that NICIL’s total expenditure for the period 2002 to 2014 amounted to $8.6B. Its operating expenses, he said, amounted to $2.144 billion.
Goolsarran said that LINMINE accounted for $1.260 billion or 59 percent of the operating expenses, including salaries of 75 staff members ($983.319 million) and rates and taxes ($122.342 million). LINMINE accounted for $1.914 billion or 22.3 percent of NICIL’s expenditure for the period 2002 to 2014.
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Kaieteur News
VACANCY 1 Accounts Clerk, apply at Alabama Trading, Georgetown, Ferry Stelling.
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, business cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana Passport application. Graphics design, Advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building. visadocumentsgy@ y a h o o . c o m . Call: 2256496, 662-6045 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer-Call: 2310655; 683-8734. Omar Repairs at low cost: Fridges, air- conditioners, washing machines, TVs, microwaves, freezersCall:629-4946 or 225-4822 New and used parts for all types refrigerators, air conditioners, microwaves, stoves, washers etc.- call: 233-2008/ 613-8800 REPAIRS & SPARE, FRIDGE, FREEZER, A/C, WASHERS, STOVES – CONTACT NICK: 6831312, 627-3206 Building Contractor, house plan, general home maintenance, free estimatesCall:216-0671;622-0267;692-8464
WANTED Experienced canter truck driver and labourers –Call: 225-2618 between 9am-4pm for more information Damage batteries in any quantity, best price offeredCall: 696-5728, 656-2783, 6225941, 648-9395, 223-1111 Cooks to work in Trinidad, must be experienced in Indian and English dishes- Call Selwyn in Trinidad- 001-868680-2083 Eccles, Herstelling, Providence, Farm, Phoenix Park, Utilight, Zeelught & Parfaite Harmonie land to buy- Call: 604-2207; 611-7223 Traveller’s Cabs, looking for yellow HC car or HC car to rent-Call: 225-3341; 657-6801 Attractive female bartender to work in Trinidad 30TTD/hr. Contact Deborah Batson +868-326-0821/ email:debra_batson@ yahoo.com
American Indian Male is seeking female, age 32plus, no texting –call: 679-9646 I’m told Guyana have beautiful women, just want one, age 28 to 40, grown and sexy. Whatsapp only: 6134085 LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
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FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 1-One bedroom apartment for rent at Grove E.B.D-Call: 2660892; 681-1047 Commercial Space for rent at Lot 12 North Road, salon & barber stations – Call: 6628715, 680-1198 2 Storey @ Robb Street Building, top flat furnished, 3 bedrooms apartment for living/office/storage, bottom flat for business-Call: 2272454 1- Two Bedrooms apartment to let for $50,000 per month at Linj Street. Call: 669-7203
Computer genius needed to work in private business organization, attractive salary -$80,000 per month- Call: 6857064
1 Bedroom apartment preferably working couple or single person. (Light, water and garbage included) $35,000 monthly- Call: 638-8858
Live in waitress to work in a bar & hotel-Call: 604-6606 Licenced motorist for weekend job-Call:686-9296; 655-1534 Contract Cars & DriversContact: 619-2229 or 6606102; 227-1720 Male and female to work in the Interior –salary-$80,000 – Call: 674-1767; 675-7043; 6592708 Security Guard –Call: 2271717
Experienced Cosmetologists and Barbers required for upscale Salon- Please call: 670-9011 / 698-9394 BOND WORKER/ PARTTIME DRIVER. MONDAY TO SATURDAY, OVER 21 AND WITH POLICE CLEARANCE. CALL: 231-8529; 231-8344 OFFICE CLERK NEEDED: MUST HAVE COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE, CXC IN MATH, ENGLISH, ACCOUNTING AND OFFICE WORK EXPERIENCE. CALL: 2318529; 231-8344
LAND FOR SALE Providence house lots, size 50ftX100ft -$7M –Call: 6002031; 233-5535 House and land for sale. Call Molly on 669-3683; 234-1241 Land @ Sunshine Villa’s & lot 262 Land of Canaan. Call Bibi: 220-6799; 666-8901 Land at Parfaite Harmonie $1M, $1.6M, $2M 50X100, Tuschen 11th Street -$2.5M, Phase 2, $1.2M, term available. Call: 604-6724 Parfaite Harmonie -$1M, $1.3M, $1.5M, Eccles -$5M, Herstelling -$4M, Zeelugt $1.6M -Call: 604-2207, 6117223
WANTED Live in domestic must know to cook Salary $70,000$80,000 monthly –Call: 6105043 FOR SALE/RENT American Pools table-Call: 277-0578
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. 2 Based music sets -Call: 6741291
Wash bay workers –Contact: 697-9540
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Full & Part time & Seasonal, local & international work available, training provided $5,000 plus daily – Call: 6221957/ 233-6517, www.jobfairworldwide.com Welder/Fabricator, 3yrs experience, 30yrs & older, apply within: send application & photograph -Technical Services, 18-23 Industrial Site. One female cleaner for office, apply within: send application & photograph to Technical Services, 18-23 Industrial Site Eccles. 1 Driver:5yrs experienced, police clearance, driver’s license, 30yrs & older, apply within: send application & photograph Technical Services, 18-23 Industrial Site. Accounts Clerk: Requirements: 5 CXC subjects, computer literate, MS Office, 2yrs experienced. Email:shellramsburg@gmail. com, A&B Ramsburg Providence.
Friday December 18, 2015
Offices to rent @ 220 South Road, near the High CourtCall: 691-8420; 227-1042 Top flat, 2 bedrooms @ East Street opposite Balwant Singh Hospital, no children. Call: 227-6776; 667-3062 2 Flats; 6000Sq.Ft of prime space, @ 14 Longden & Croal Street, formerly Salt & Pepper –Call: 663-0376 Spacious 2 bedrooms apartment in Festival City. Asking $80,000- Call: 6192141 Bond space in Sandy Babb Street Kitty- Call Tony: 6783945
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VEHICLE FOR SALE One Honda CRV, immaculate condition –price $1,650,000- Call: 626-2884 1 RZ mini-bus -$750,000 negotiable, down payment & installment acceptedCall:694-8322; 223-1506 Toyota 2 RZ BTT Series, power window, sunroof, TV, fog, mint condition, owner leaving country- $1.6MCall: 612-6121 Toyota Dyna (enclosed), never registered, lift gate (hydraulic), back camera, excellent condition, low mileage -$2.6M –Call: 629-4494 Smart Choice Auto: Premio, Allion, Bluebird, 212, IST, Fielder, Spacio- Call: 6523820/ 665-4529 One Axela Mazda -$1.550 negotiable, one Nissan Titan, one Audi A4; all vehicles in excellent condition-Call: 6653038; 226-4356 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154
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Bloodline German Shepherd puppies for sale-Contact: 612-6672; 697-1141 Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc Call: 225-9032, 647-2943 250 Rebel Motorcycle, one 250 nighthawk motorcycle, for more information contact: 662-8715; 680-1198; 771-538887 One Massey Ferguson 165 Tractor in excellent working condition (first owner) –Call: 679-8454 EDUCATIONAL Registered for Phonics, Reading, Spelling etc, classes for all ages, private tutoring also offered –Call: 675-4379 9 Courses Diploma in Computer Studies, –Xmas Deal -$20,000 off @ Micrographics, Vreed-enHoop, Royal Castle BuildingCall: 264-3057 Computerized Accounting: QuickBooks, Peachtree, Excel 2016, P.O.S Pre-Xmas giveaway -$35,000 Micrographics, Vreed-enHoop, Royal Castle Building. Call: 264-3057 TO LET Apartments for rent @ Nandy Park -$90,000 negotiable –Call: 227-5194
2008 PTT series, Allion, 17" rims, TV, Viper alarm -$2.9M negotiable. Call: 669-7298 Toyota Raum, L-Touring Wagon, AT192, EP71 Starlet, Nissan 4 Door pickup, Yamaha R1 & R6, Honda 600RR-Call: 644-5096; 6971453 2013 Mercedes C250 turbo AMG coupe, retractable glasstop, mileage 15K, alcantara leather interior, brush aluminum acc- Call: 650-5136 Toyota Raum with press start alarm system -$900,000 negotiable-Call: 693-8192 Holiday Discounts!! Get a gift with the purchase of unregistered: Allion, Bluebird, Axela Fielder, Etc @ City Motors-Call: 626-7478 Honda Accord, 2003, leather, TV, DVD, radio, 35,000km, like new, price negotiable- Call: 689-1194 Blow out sale! Cheapest: Super GL automatic and stick gear VVTI buses, Hilux-1RZ engine. Call: 616-7635 Continued on page 31
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 31
Relatives demand answers for mom, baby deaths Eight weeks later…
Relatives of the 33-yearold mother and her baby, who died hours apart after a cesarean section was done at a private hospital, are demanding answers as it relates to their demise. Eight weeks have passed and the relatives of Liloutie Ramlall are claiming that officials from the Ministry of Public Health and the Davis Memorial Hospital have failed to make contact with them. On October 21, last, Ramlall died while delivering her first baby at the private hospital. Her infant son did not survive. He died a few hours later at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Post mortem examinations performed on both bodies revealed that Ramlall died from Hypovolemic shock and rupture of the spleen due to a Caesarean section. The baby died from neonatal respiratory distress.
Dead: Liloutie Ramlall What is unclear is how the woman’s spleen got ruptured while undergoing surgery. “We want to know what really happened. We want an explanation as to how she
died,” the woman’s sister, Parbattie Ramlall told this newspaper. Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton could not be reached for a comment
ascertaining the assets of the co-ops, after which Government will enforce its policies. She assures that the societies will begin functioning shortly. The Minister also pointed out that the co-ops department of the Ministry will be completely overhauled. The intention is to create an enabling environment so that co-ops can function effectively, and that they adhere to the laws. Cooperative societies are a self-generated, voluntary and self-sufficient activity, democratically controlled by its members. In Guyana, co-ops are governed by the Co-
operative Societies Act, and are supported by the respective co-operatives regulations and policies. Government is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining order and effectiveness in the movement. Over the years, co-ops were granted acres of land and other incentives. But migrations, death and mismanagement have left the bodies in tatters. Problems with poor bookkeeping and in-fighting have seen a number of co-ops heavily divided with lands taken over and controlled by a few. Some of the cases have even landed in the courts.
Countrywide inquiry of co-op societies being conducted
Minister Simona Broomes The Department of Labour of the Ministry of Social Protection, is currently conducting a countrywide inquiry into the country’s cooperative societies to assess their state. Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes, according to a government statement, disclosed that when the Government took office in May, it did not find any document indicating which co-op societies are functioning or not. “There is nothing at all that can say which are the coops that are functioning and which are not functioning. So far we have one co-op that was difficult and we had some challenges with, but apart from that, we have the inquiry going on to see what is functioning and what is not,” Minister Broomes explained. She further noted that the Ministry will also be
yesterday, but he had explained that there is a routine for all maternal death investigations. He said that the hospitals in question would usually do their investigations first, after which the findings would be passed to an expert committee. Dr. Norton added that the expert committee, which is made up of specialists, would then view the hospitals’ findings and then they would do detailed investigations. According to the Minister, the hospitals would usually take a week to do their investigations and the expert committee would take two weeks. The findings would then be related to him. “The reason why this case took so long is because a doctor who is a part of the committee was not in the country. They had to wait on him to conduct the investigation,” Norton stated. The report from the expert committee should be available by now. The woman’s sister explained that the doctor had told relatives that the baby
was delivered from a ruptured placenta. “He (the doctor) said that when he cut Liloutie (a bikini incision), he found a pool of blood. He said that he didn’t know where it was coming from, but it wasn’t coming from below (the lower abdomen).” She added that the medical practitioner further related that he managed to “get out” the baby and sutured her wound, but the bleeding still did not stop. “He said that they gave her four pints of blood and then they cut from her chest right down to her upper abdomen to see where the bleeding was coming from,” Ramlall explained. She added that the doctor then told them that her sister was bleeding from her spleen. The sister further revealed that her sister’s spleen was removed and she later suffered a cardiac arrest. Liloutie Ramlall died at the Davis Memorial Hospital at 18:45 hrs on October 21. Her son succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation a little after 09:00 hrs the following day.
From page 30
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 33
$1B in state contracts green-lighted - UG to get new furniture, CCTV upgrade for Camp Street jail Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman, speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, said that government had given its approval for over $1billion in contracts for several projects. Over $235M was approved for a contract for the construction of Mahdia community roads- Region 8 from Campbelltown to the primary school and the Cenotaph to the Dormitory road. In the same region, $302,310,531 was approved for a road from the hospital roundabout to Campbelltown’s main access into Mahdia’s roundabout to Government quarters. For the construction of a rip-rap river defence at Cane Garden in Leguan, Region 3, the sum of $52,102,500 was approved. A contract valued $20,272,500 was approved for the purchase of 60 drums of foam concentrates for the Guyana Fire Service. The Minister of Governance also related that students at the University of Guyana will be benefitting from the supply and installation of furniture. Contracts valued US$238,257 and US$1,141,844 were cleared. For the supply installation and testing of the Secondary Competency Certificate programme, of the Ministry of Education, the
sums of $5,207,400 and $15,281,600 were awarded to separate contractors. The same Ministry will also be receiving computers, accessories and networking labs with a sum of $35,078,768. For the procurement of dialysis fluids for the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), a contract was given approval in the sum of $34,708,654. A total of $3,200,000, an increase to the original price of $42,437,736 was awarded for the construction of a storage bond for the pesticide and toxic chemical control board located in Mon Repos. For the provision of consultancy services for the design and construction of access roads in Regions 2, 3 and 5, an increase of $34,588,285 from the original sum of $128,838,909 was approved. This will cater for Parika paved road- public road, Naamryck Cross Dam, Ruby paved road - public road, Ruby/Parika Cross Dam to the Parika primary school, Laluni all-weather road, Kuru Kururu and Onverwagt all weather roads. Tail regulators will be constructed at Buxton sideline at a total cost of $15,918,360. For operation and security for the Nation Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) mobile and fixed pumps in Regions
2, 3 and 4, an increase in the sum of $14,640,000 was approved. The total cost is now $53,802,000. For the supply of labour and installation of pipelines and service connections at Hill Foot, Linden/Soesdyke Highway, a contract was approved in the sum of $16,224,915. Pipelines are expected to be installed across the Wismar/Mackenzie Bridge at a sum of $17,751,500. Contracts were valued$74,867,328 and $10,304,698 for the provision of security at E-Government and LGE sites at the Ministry of the Presidency were given no objections. The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs is set to receive tractors, trailers, ploughs and harrows as Cabinet approved a contract sum of $52,080,000. For the procurement of electrical lines, and hardware materials for the Central Housing and Planning Authority, a number of contracts were allocated in the sum of $12,140,435, $15,505,910, $57,596,025 and $31,515,750. The construction and resurfacing of the National Park tarmac will be done at a total cost of $18,753,000. For the supply of CCTV surveillance systems at the Guyana Prison Service, Cabinet approved the sum of $20,909,711.
Nigeria yet to decide on joining Saudi-led anti-Islamic State alliance Reuters - Nigeria has yet to decide whether to join a Saudi-led alliance to fight the militant group Islamic State, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced a 34-nation Islamic military coalition, a move welcomed by the United States, which has been urging greater regional efforts to push back Islamic State, now in control of large parts of Iraq and Syria. However, there has been confusion over the initiative, with some of the countries named as members of the coalition caught unawares by the announcement. A list published by the
in the form of Boko Haram, a group that like Islamic State wants to carve out a territory ruled by Islamic law. “Nigeria has been formally invited to be a member of the alliance and President Buhari is looking into it,” Buhari’s spokesman Garuba Shehu told Reuters, in the first official comment from Abuja. “A decision to join has not been taken yet. Nigeria is not in or out.”
Muhammadu Buhari Saudi state news agency included Nigeria, which, with other West African states, is battling homegrown militants
Cameron pleads for ‘real progress’ in EU talks Reuters - Prime Minister David Cameron took the floor at a European Union summit yesterday to try to persuade fellow leaders to give Britain improved membership terms, including disputed relief from immigration, before it votes on staying in the bloc. EU officials said Cameron began his pitch after European Council President Donald Tusk told the summit there was good progress on three of London’s four key demands, but the fourth - to deny EU migrants in-work benefits for four years - was “very difficult”. Other leaders around the dinner table want to help Cameron ensure Britain chooses to stay in the EU in a referendum due within two years, with opinion polls showing the number of Britons wishing to leave is growing. But the Conservative leader faced an uphill struggle to win agreement on curbing welfare payments to EU migrants to try to reduce immigration, a proposal several leaders, especially from eastern Europe, say breaks the fundamental EU principles. “Tonight, here in Brussels, we are going to have a conversation dedicated to Britain’s renegotiation of its position in Europe and I want to see real progress in all of
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron arrives at a European Union leaders summit in Brussels yesterday. REUTERS/Yves Herman the four areas that I have mentioned,” he told reporters on arrival, referring to four topics on which he wants to negotiate change. “We’re not pushing for a deal tonight but we’re pushing for real momentum so that we can get this deal done. So I will be battling for Britain right through the night and I think we’ll be getting a good deal.” Over filet of venison with parsnip mousse and Szechuan pepper jus, the British prime minister sought to convince fellow leaders that the continued membership of Europe’s second biggest economy and one of its two top military powers hinges on finding a convincing solution to the sensitive immigration
question. Cameron says he wants Britain to stay in the EU, but has hinted he could campaign for an exit if he fails to win an agreement that can reduce the influx of EU migrants, improve business competitiveness, give more sovereignty back to Britain and protect London’s banks from discrimination by the euro zone. His proposal to make immigrants from the other 27 EU states wait four years before claiming “in-work” benefits in Britain - income supplements to people in lower paid jobs - has been roundly criticised, especially in eastern Europe, for breaking EU law banning discrimination.
U.N. Security Council puts sanctions focus on Islamic State Reuters - The U.N. Security Council warned yesterday that some countries are failing to implement long-standing sanctions against Islamic State, as an unprecedented meeting of finance ministers put the global focus on cutting off the militant group’s funds. The 15-member council unanimously adopted a U.S. and Russian-drafted resolu-
tion that ties together existing measures targeting Islamic State’s finances and offers guidance on implementation in a bid to push more countries to act. It builds on a Security Council action in February that banned trade in antiquities from Syria, threatened sanctions on anyone buying oil from Islamic State and al Qaedalinked Nusra Front militants
and urged states to stop kidnap ransom payments. “This resolution is a critical step, but the real test will be determined by actions we each take after adoption,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told the council after the vote. “We need meaningful implementation, coordination and enforcement from each country represented here, and many others.”
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Haiti PM advises president to form electoral commission PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul called yesterday for creation of a special commission to guarantee the credibility of the Caribbean country’s elections before presidential and legislative runoffs can be held. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Haiti’s No. 2 official said the commission should have three days to produce its recommendations to Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council and the government. A week-and-a-half before the scheduled Dec. 27 presidential and legislative runoffs, Paul said he advised President Michel Martelly that it’s now necessary to “ensure the credibility of the process” because “transparent, participatory and inclusive” elections are a must amid deepening suspicions of official results from earlier rounds of voting. He did not detail how many commission members would be needed, how they would be chosen or what the scope of their review would
be. An opposition alliance including Jude Celestin, who finished second in the initial round of presidential voting, has been calling for an independent review of Oct. 25 elections for weeks. But the council that oversees the electoral process has rejected the demand, suggesting that it was a political strategy and insisting the agency lacks authority to authorize a review of the results. A spokesman for Martelly, who has been ruling by decree since January, and officials with the Provisional Electoral Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The prime minister’s call for a special commission came hours after parliamentary opposition candidate Gerald Jean and other office-seekers told Haitian radio stations that they were approached to shell out bribes to council members and judges in an electoral court to pave the way for a legislative seat.
It also came on the heels of an appeal by the 10 sitting members of Haiti’s Senate for Martelly to use a constitutional article to prevent electoral authorities from issuing final results for legislative races until a review panel could be set up to verify the integrity of elections. Mosler Georges, executive director of the electoral council, said earlier this week that it planned to release overdue legislative results on Thursday. The electoral council has insisted that a Dec. 27 runoff for president and parliamentary seats be held as scheduled despite deep public suspicion about the tally from two rounds of voting. Celestin has called the council’s results a “ridiculous farce” and independent observers, Haitian rights groups, the religious lobby and nearly every political faction except the one led by outgoing President Michel Martelly allege fraud and manipulation in the Oct. 25 balloting and vote-counting.
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Swimming legends Hackett and Phelps train together ahead of Olympics Sydney (AFP) - Swimming legends Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett have been training together and swapping tips about their “ups and downs” as they target next year’s Rio Olympics. Dual Olympic champion Hackett, 35, has come out of six years of troubled retirement to try to make Australia’s team for Rio next year, and has just spent three weeks training with Phelps under coach Bob Bowman in Arizona. He also trained with American stars Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin, who gave him a crash course in cutting-edge techniques in the sport, The Australian newspaper reported. Hackett, who retired in 2008 after winning the 1500m freestyle at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympics, and claiming four world titles in the event, said he found his time with Phelps particularly beneficial. ”I really, really enjoyed that. It was nice to go somewhere and have a single focus and sit in there and see how they approach training,” he told the broadsheet. “I stayed with Michael for
Michael Phelps (R) and Grant Hackett have been training together and swapping tips as they target 2016 Rio Olympics (AFP Photo/Al Bello) some time. He’s been through his ups and downs as I have and we talked very candidly about those things. He’s a very insightful character.” The toned and fit-looking Hackett said his level of focus felt like he was approaching his first Olympics again. “When I look at my birth certificate I know it’s not my first Olympics but this campaign is also like a rebirth for me. I have come back to it with a totally different perspective,” he said.
”The last three times I went to the Olympic trials I was already thinking about winning the Olympics, not about making the team.” He added that spending time with America’s Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, had left him “confident that I can get back to where I want to be”. Hackett will now return to his regular training group on Australia’s Gold Coast under coach Denis Cotterell, determined to be at the top of his game for the Olympic trials in April. “When you see the intensity that Michael Phelps approaches his training with, the expectation he places on himself, you want to make sure you go back and do everything right,” he said. ”That’s given me more clarity about what I need to do to be competitive.” Both Hackett and Phelps, widely seen as two of the greatest swimmers ever, have endured troubled times in recent years. Hackett’s life after swimming quickly ran into problems with a messy divorce and allegations he smashed up his Melbourne apartment, while 18-time Olympic gold medallist Phelps has battled alcohol issues.
Friday December 18, 2015
Wambach bows out... (From page 33) artificial turf in Hawaii, a stance that forced the US Soccer Federation to cancel the contest. Outspoken to the last, she made her swansong on artificial turf at the Superdome just hours after saying U.S. men’s coach Juergen Klinsmann should be fired for playing too many overseas-born players. Wambach retires just months
after finally adding a World Cup winner’s medal to her collection, even if she only came on as a substitute late in the final against Japan. The World Cup capped a career that includes two Olympic gold medals and the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year title. ”She’s been vocal about everything, whether it’s turf-related issues, whether it’s just making this team atmosphere
better, whether it’s fighting for women’s rights, equal pay, she’s done it all,” team mate Carli Lloyd said. ”I don’t think anyone will ever bring what she brings, her leadership on and off the field ... She’s basically carried the team on her shoulders over the years.” Coach Jill Ellis summed up the feelings of many in U.S women’s soccer. “She will be irreplaceable.” (Reuters)
Historical launch of boxing... (From page 39) contributed to the rich (local) boxing legacy. The former boxing champion said that the broader objective is to transform the ALBG into a place where boxers could congregated for social evenings while expanding their knowledge of their predecessors and their contribution to the sport. Later on, the facility will have the
records of all the boxers on display for research purposes. When the forum commences tomorrow, officials will tour the facility while being briefed on the exploits of those pugilists on display. Officials are also expected to deliver brief remarks. Meanwhile, boxers from several gyms will bare fists in the final Demerara Distillers
Ltd/Guyana Boxing Association U-16 boxing tournament which will be staged on the ground floor of the building. As usual, fans could expect raging battles as the boxers vie for trophies and medals as well as bragging rights. The North Ruimveldt (Multilateral) Secondary School steel band will provide musical renditions.
Friday December 18, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Financial difficulties could be overcome today through the help of someone considerably older than you.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A long-term goal you've been working toward could finally be reached, bringing good fortune and acknowledgment.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Today a piece of information for which you've been searching could become known. Your money management skills might be called upon to help out a friend or perhaps a family member.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Your strong business sense and practical skills couple with imagination and innovation to bring advancement.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) With the shifting planetary alignment, all of your efforts over the past few weeks could finally bear fruit. Success and good fortune are strongly indicated, especially where money is concerned. CANCER (June 21–July 22) A long-awaited vacation or a move you've been hoping to make could finally be possible. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Heightened imagination and ingenuity could bring new thoughts for advancing yourself in the financial arena. Practical information from outside sources merges with insights to bring useful ideas your way. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Relationships with partners of all kinds should be fruitful and mutually beneficial, particularly when the people are also close friends.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Friends and family could visit you today. They're likely to bring new friends whose expertise benefits a project you're working on. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You could make some valuable contacts. Information received from neighbors could prove enlightening. You should feel optimistic, enthusiastic, and motivated. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) With the current astral environment, your professional and financial interests could take a turn for the better. Any difficulties you may have had seem to disappear as if by magic. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Love matters should also be going well, and children bring great pleasure today. This is a good time to make plans for the future and pursue your most cherished ambitions.
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 37
Letter to the Sports Editor
CGI Local Franchise 50-over League
Foo, Fudadin spurs U/C’tyne to My thoughts on the tomorrow night final at Albion AAG’s role at Nationals By Sean Devers West Indies left-hander Assad Fudadin and Jonathon Foo led Upper Corentyne to a seven-wicket win over Georgetown in the play-off of the Cricket Guyana Inc. Local Franchise League 50-over tournament at the Port Mourant ground in Berbice yesterday to advance to tomorrow’s final under lights at Albion. The 25-year-old Foo followed up his ton earlier in the tournament by stroking five fours from 51 balls in a matured unbeaten 40. The righthander featured in an unfinished 77-run stand with 30 year-old Fudadin, one of three Guyanese centurions in this year’s PCL First Class tournament. Fudadin ended unbeaten on 38 from 36 balls decorated with three fours and two sixes, the last one off left-arm spinner Raj Nannan ending the contest in 27.2 as the home team reached 145-3 replying to the paltry 142 all out in 43.2 overs. In sultry conditions on a ground which produced three of the best West Indian batsman (Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher and Alvin Kallicharran) Upper Corentyne opted to bat on a good batting strip and a parched, fast and very rough outfield which made fielding a nightmare. Andrew Lyght Jr. was the first to go when he was removed by the versatile Fudadin for six with 10 runs on the board. Shemron Barrington (26) and Jeetendra Sookdeo (24) took the score to 52 before Fudadin broke the promising partnership
Jonathon Foo gathers leg-side runs during his match winning stand with Assad Fudadin at Port Mourant yesterday. when he induced Sookdeo to edge a catch to the wicketkeeper after reaching the fence three times. Leon Johnson (2) fell five runs later before Chris Barnwell (4) was caught and bowled by leg-spinner Shawn Perriera at 67-4; when Barrington, who stroked the ball with consummate ease, ran himself out the city side were on the ropes 73-5 much to the delight of the small partisan crowd who were entertained by pulsating ‘old dub’ music in between overs from the sound system. Sherfane Rutherford and Kemol Savory (7) struggled to get the spinners away before Eon Hooper, who bowled beautifully with lots of variation and flight, trapped Savory LBW with an arm ball to leave GT on 93-6; they never recovered although the lefthanded Rutherford changed gear and dumped Foo for six before smashing him like a
bullet past mid-off next ball. But on reaching 50 (4x4 1x6) from 76 balls he was bowled by the crafty Hooper (3-20) to end the innings after Fudadin (2-37) and Foo (2-24) had also contributed with the ball. Upper Corentyne lost Sharaz Ramcharran, LBW to left-arm seamer Andre Stoll for 11 at 14-1 but Jason St Clair dominated a second wicket stand with Lyondell Lewis (9) who was caught behind off Kellon Carmichael 50-2 and when the free flowing St Clair was bowled by Lorde for an entertaining 39-ball 29 with five thumping boundaries, the visitors were launching a fight-back. But authoritative batting from Foo and Fudadin who showed he could step on the gas if required to do so looked untroubled as they took their team into tomorrow’s final against New Amsterdam, in an all Berbice affair.
Dear Sport Editor, An article published in the Kaieteur News Sunday edition titled “After ‘Nationals’, what?” (Kaieteur News, December 13) prompted me to add to the ongoing conversation about the role of the Athletics Association of Guyana at ‘Nationals’. The article suggests that there is a tit for tat relationship between the AAG and the management of the Championships which includes the writer of the article, Mr. Edison Jefford. There was also a suggestion that there may be a mischievous agenda in deliberately misleading Hon. Minister Norton about the role of the AAG. These innuendos may cause serious damage to a system in dire need of an upgrade. As noted in the article ‘context is everything’. Although I am not a member of the AAG, I have intimate knowledge of the Association’s involvement leading up to ‘Nationals’. The AAG participated in a Forum for the Development of the National Schools Championships (see Kaieteur News: January 30, 2015, p. 41 by Edison Jefford) along with representatives from the Ministry of Education, Guyana Teachers Union, Guyana Olympic Association, Guyana Cycling Federation, Guyana Amateur Swimming Association, Armed Forces, other relevant government agencies, PE teachers and student-athletes. The Forum was moderated by Mr. Noel Adonis, VicePresident of the Guyana Olympic association, on January 29, 2015 at the National
Wambach bows out in defeat as China end 11-year U.S. streak Abby Wambach, the most prolific goalscorer of all time in international soccer, bowed out of the game in defeat on Wednesday when the United States women’s team lost 1-0 to China to end an unbeaten run of 104 matches on home soil. Despite the best efforts of her American team mates to get the ball to her in the friendly played in front of 32,950 fans in New Orleans, Wambach had only a couple of half-chances to add to her tally of 184 international goals. China struggled to get the
ball out of their own half for long periods, but scored on a rare attacking foray when Wang Shuang connected with a cross in the 58th minute, her shot deflecting past a wrong-footed American goalkeeper Hope Solo. The result, the first home loss for the U.S. since 2004, was not exactly the perfect Wambach send-off but it did not detract too much from an evening that was largely a celebration of her career. She was substituted after 71 minutes, trotting off the pitch to a standing ovation after removing her boots and
hugging several team mates. Wambach bowed out with 184 goals, the most by either man or woman in internationals, from 255 matches. Iranian Ali Daei holds the men’s record with 109 goals in 149 games. ”It is time to go. I think it’s a little fitting that this is the result,” Wambach said in a pitch-side interview. “I know everybody wanted to get me a goal. That’s probably why we didn’t score, because they were so focused on trying to get me a goal. ”I think it’s kind of appropriate I lost my last game. Today wasn’t about winning.
Today was about celebrating a long career and almost the end of an era.” Wambach, 35, will be remembered for her unflinching determination to advance the cause of American, and women’s, soccer on and off the pitch. She was part of an unsuccessful player lawsuit that sued FIFA over its decision to play this year’s Women’s World Cup in Canada on artificial pitches. And just two weeks ago she was a member of the American team that refused to play a match on what it said was sub-standard (Continued on page 32)
Racquet Centre. The stakeholder workgroup findings were handed to the moderator, Mr. Adonis, who called subsequent meetings with a smaller group of stakeholder representatives to fine-tune the final report. Relative to Track and Field at ‘Nationals’, the following was recommended: A hybrid system (participation Vs. elitism) should be instituted to allow for ‘other qualifiers’ to participate. This would ensure that more of the best athletes across Guyana are allowed to participate and develop timing and measuring systems at the district levels. A dual points system should be established to recognise school teams in an effort to increase a sports culture in schools. Specific training for officials working in managerial and technical areas. Articulation of rules and regulations as currently many international rules are not followed and there is no document on the technical rules. Further, primary school aged pupils should participate in ‘fun-athletics’ while secondary school aged students should have more competitive experiences. More ‘developmental meets’ should be organised to ensure that student-athletes are able to systematically improve their technique and physical conditioning prior to ‘Nationals’. Facilities (accommodation and competition) should reflect international standards; minimum standards in keeping with host districts’ involvement should be developed. This year the grass track at the Guyana National Stadium was not marked to specification which led to some athletes running an extra 17 metres in some lanes; while the order of events, the weight/type of implements and age groups are not in line with international standards. So coming back to the article which prompted my input in this conversation, the above mentioned recommendations are key to the proper execution of any programme after ‘Nationals’. It would be like receiving oranges from your neighbour when you really needed coconuts to complete the cookup on the stove. The outputs of ‘Nationals’ must be of a particular standard which may be achieved by ensuring that certain national and international standards
are instituted at the Management level. I agree with Mr. Jefford on the need for synchronisation of the grassroots work but he also has a misplaced perception and a misunderstanding of the function of the AAG. I also agree that the silence from the AAG is deafening. On the other hand, this situation is similar to another which occurred some time ago between the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) and the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) organisation. The GABF did not sanction the tournament held by YBG and thus penalised all participating registered players. The ordeal took months to find a solution. What if the AAG was to penalise athletes for participating in an unsanctioned competition? The AAG may not want similar negative publicity or short-term disruption to the sport. In relation to Swimming and Cycling in the current format, I would suggest that the swimming competition be held on the last day and the cycling events be held at the National Park. The swimming competition on the last day would allow swimmers and team managers from across Guyana some time to get accustomed to the National Aquatic Centre and to work with qualified coaches to improve technique and knowledge of the rules of the sport. While I would posit that the cycling events held on the grass track has little value locally or internationally: there is no international competition where cyclists ride on grass tracks. We should concentrate our energies on developing road cyclists. In the end politics may have been the victor while Guyana’s Track and Field as a sport continues to slide behind other countries which created more cohesive developmental systems for their athletes. To embrace the true spirit of sport, I long for the day when current and past Presidents, Directors, etc of various Sport Associations, bodies, etc and other stakeholders will work together to ensure that Guyanese sport is put before emotion, lack of knowledge, politics and divisiveness. Together anything is possible. Yours in Sport, Nicholas Fraser
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Kaieteur News
Thieves targeting vehicles at Sports Hall tarmac A series of unfortunate events unfolded on the tarmac of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall over this past week where two vehicles were reported to have been broken into at two separate basketball events that were being held inside the indoor facility. This has led to the belief that thieves are targeting the vehicles of patrons that are left on the west of the facility where the tarmac is located. There is a guard boot at the southern end of the tarmac but Kaieteur Sport has learnt that this is unattended. One of vehicles was said to have been compromised last weekend during the Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Titan Bowl Schools’ Tournament. The other was tampered during Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABA) League.
President of the GABA, Andrew Hercules have since lodged a report with the National Sports Commission on the matter. At its meeting on Tuesday, the Commission had discussed the YBG matter with a swift resolution on beefing up security forthcoming. “I am reporting a matter to the National Sports Commission for which has escalated to the point that requires your attention. Over the past four weeks players, and fans, to a lesser extent, who attended the GABA 2015 League Championships, have been complaining to GABA about their vehicles being broken into,” Hercules said in his letter. “More recently, as last night (Tuesday night) another vehicle was broken into. The perpetrator (s) carried away monies and a laptop from a player, who is a military officer of the Guyana
Defense Force. GABA was informed that the content on the laptop was invaluable,” he continued, adding that the week before a junior player’s side window was broken and $20,000 removed. Hercules went on to suggest that based on information he received from fans and players, those tasked with securing the venue appears to be negligible. “Sentiments were expressed, indicating that the security officer(s) on the night duty must have known something about these burglaries,” the GABA President posited. According to him, the GABA is unable at this time to provide any extra security for patrons who park their vehicles at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall parking lot. The National Sport Commission considers this matter grave and will seek an urgent resolution.
Friday December 18, 2015
2nd Stag Super XVI
West Dem. teams flawless on first night; Uitvlugt and Beavers advance West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) celebrated their debut in the Stag Super XVI knock-out competition in fine style when both their teams, Uitvlugt Warriors and Beavers FC won their matches on the opening night at the Leonora Track Football Field on Wednesday night. Recently elected Guyana Football federation President Wayne Forde and Vice President Rawlston Adams were both on hand to witness the opening match that saw Beavers thumping East Banks’ Herstelling Raiders 6-2 while Uitvlugt squeezed past East Demerara’s BV Triumph United by the lone goal of a scorching battle. Forde in remarks to the teams before performing the traditional kick off, congratulated them for being a part of the competition that involves 16 teams from West Demerara, East Bank and the East Demerara Football Associations. The GFF boss committed the federation to assisting and guiding the development of the game on and off the field of play in a structured way that will grow the game for the benefit of all. The feature game of the double header between Uitvlugt and BV Triumph United produced end to end action from start to finish as the battling players sough to gain the upper hand in eth many exciting exchanges. Chances were created at either end but the constant bug bear of poor finishing was very much present, many of the opportunities were too easy to miss but the players somehow did.
Sean Bobb As the minutes ticked away many fans and players too were contemplating the possibility of extra time in order to arrive at a winner but Uitvlugt had other ideas. The West Demerara number one side through one of its most potent forwards, Sean Bobb, brother of current Golden Jaguar Trayon Bobb scored beauty with just two minutes remaining in regulation much to the delight of his teammates and supporters. The goal saw BV’s goalkeeper Rayshawn Simon who had a good evening not being able to deny Bobb and Uitvlugt a Christmas night (Farm ground) date with the winner of the Victoria Kings / Stewartville clash today at the Victoria ground, East Coast Demerara. It was the second year that BVTU has faltered in the round of 16 stage. Beavers were led to their emphatic 6-2 win over fellow debutants Herstelling Raiders by Junior Whitrite and Esan Nelson who both netted three goals each. Beavers, a more seasoned unit at this level
Junior Whitrite took some time to get into the scoring act. But even before that, Herstelling had two chances but failed to make them count. Once the West Bank based Beavers got going they made sure Herstelling had no chance of coming back despite the East Bank boys scoring two goals. Whitrite opened the scoring in the 31st minute from the penalty spot. He hit the network again in the 42nd and 75th minute to seal the fate of the opposition. His teammate Nelson while also hammering home three goals became the first player of the tournament to be red carded as a result of his second bookable offense in the 88 th minute. Nelson scored in the 35th, 39th and 63rd minute and would have to miss his team’s next match against the winner of today’s first game of a double header between Ann’s Grove and Eagles at the Victoria ground; that date will be a quarter final clash on Boxing night also at the Victoria ground.
Digicel continues to support KMTC Boxing Day Horse Race Meet Digicel continued its long association with the Kennard Mem o r i a l T u r f C l u b (KMTC) after pleding its support for the entity’s Annual Boxing Day Horse Race Meet scheduled to be staged, at the club’s Bush Lot Course in Berbice.
According to a release from the cellul a r p h o n e c o m p a n y, S p o n s o r s h i p Executive Louanna Abrams handed over the sponsorship to Presid e n t o f t h e C l u b , Cecil Kennard, during a simple ceremony that was conducted at
Digicel Head Office, Kingston yesterday. With the exception of last year, the Compnay has been on board for the past five years and is also a significant contributor to the sport of horse racing for sometime now.
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Luis Suarez nets hat-trick to book FIFA Club World Cup final clash against River Plate Unlike on the Ballon d’Or shortlist, there was no Lionel Messi and there was no Neymar, but there was a Luis Suarez. And the Uruguayan forward did what he does best; being the judge, jury and executioner of Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande in Yokohama, scoring a hattrick to send Barcelona through to the Club World Cup final against River Plate on Sunday. With less than two hours before the game it was announced that Messi was ill with severe abdominal pain and couldn’t play, leaving Suarez as the only one of Barcelona’s attacking trident fit to start against Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side, who had gone 24 games unbeaten before this. ’This was for the squad, for Leo, for Ney, for those that didn’t play, for Douglas, for everyone,’ said Suarez, after the game, although coach Luis Enrique said he doesn’t know if the two South American forwards will make the final. Barcelona are in this competition as champions of Europe and it was technically Suarez’s goal which won it for them in Berlin against Juventus, a moment he relived in this clash. Then it was Messi’s strike which was parried for the striker to fire home instinctively, this time Ivan Rakitic’s shot was repelled and Suarez reacted first, blasting home and celebrating wildly. It gave Enrique’s team a breakthrough which they didn’t much deserve, with the Catalans playing within themselves at the start. Only the magical Andres Iniesta was near his best, creating three clear chances for Barcelona which were not finished. The first saw him slide in Munir El Haddadi, with the youngster’s shot well saved by Shuai Li, who was out of his goal quickly to deny him. Another fine Iniesta pass put Dani Alves in around the back of the defence, but again the goalkeeper was out quickly enough to deal with the danger. And Iniesta’s third contribution was a sparkling dribble and cross from the left, with Munir heading the ball wide of the post. The veteran playmaker took to the field with a mohican, a strange haircut for someone who usually isn’t interested
in such things - so it wasn’t just his wing play that was reminiscent of Neymar. Barcelona’s Brazilian, on the bench after his groin injury, was remembered by Suarez as he celebrated his first goal, pointing his fingers up to signal the No 11, Neymar’s shirt. Guangzhou built some attacks of their own towards the end of the first half, with striker Elkeson superbly denied by Claudio Bravo, as he angled a header towards the bottom left corner. Paulinho also went close, but Gerard Pique blocked his header, as the former Tottenham man tried to put his side level before the interval. Guangzhou also suffered a blow late in the half, when defender Zou Zheng suffered a severe injury after challenging for the ball in his own box with Dani Alves and losing his footing. He was taken off on a stretcher and early reports suggest he has a broken leg. If Scolari and his men thought they had a chance of turning things around in the second period, it was soon ended by the Iniesta and Suarez partnership after just five minutes. Suarez played a short pass to his team-mate before darting into the box. Iniesta looked for his run and lofted an inch-perfect pass over the top, which Suarez controlled on his chest and then volleyed past the goalkeeper, without the ball touching the ground. That was game over for Guangzhou, with Suarez’s celebration on the touchline seeing him run over to Neymar, perhaps to tell the Brazilian not to bother straining himself by coming on. Munir earned a debateable penalty a few minutes later, after going down easily in the box under ressure from Huang Bowen, which Suarez converted to seal his hat-trick and put a gloss on the scoreline. He is the first player to net three goals in one match in this competition, with only Pele managing it in the Intercontinental Cup, which was the predecessor to the Club World Cup. The Uruguayan is brutally effective and showed just how lucky Barcelona are to have him. He’s a player most would build a team around, but with Messi and Neymar on the scene that won’t happen at the Camp Nou. He is brutally effective in front of goal, and here he has
a 100 per cent conversion rate. Three shots, three goals. Some River Plate fans managed to get tickets for the game and sang loudly and proudly about their team, but by the end left chastened; even a Barcelona without two key players and not at their best will be an incredibly tough proposition for their side to topple on Sunday in the final. (MailOnline)
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Cummins in for Gabriel on Aussie tour Miguel Cummins
Melbourne, Australia – The West Indies Cricket Board’s Selection Panel has named fast bowler Miguel Cummins as the replacement for pacer Shannon Gabriel on the ongoing Test Series against Australia in Australia. Cummins, 25, has taken 99 wickets at an average of 22.83 in 36 firstclass matches. He has made one international appearance for West Indies – in an ODI against Ireland at Sabina
Park, Jamaica in February, 2014. The 27-year-old Gabriel suffered a stress reaction in left ankle bone while bowling in the first innings of the first Test match at the Blundstone Arena in Hobart. He will return to Trinidad in the coming days to continue his rehabilitation. FULL SQUAD - Jason Holder (Captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (Vice Captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine
Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican. T E S T M AT C H SCHEDULE – December:
Thu 10 to Mon 14: 1st Test – Blundstone Arena, Hobart: Australia won by an innings and 212 runs. Sat 26 to Wed 30: 2nd Test – Melbourne Cricket G r o u n d January: Sun 3 to Thu 7: 3rd Test – Sydney Cricket Ground (WICB)
Athletes’ insurance plan gets Cabinet approval
Sandrea Falconer Cabinet has approved the Government’s athletes insurance plan to provide group health, as well as life and personal accident insurance, for more than 1,000 athletes across all sports. Information Minister Sandrea Falconer made the announcement during Wednesday’s Jamaica House press briefing. ”Cabinet has approved the selection of the Guardian Life Insurance and Allied Insurance Brokers as the providers of insurance of our athletes,” said Falconer. “Guardian Life will provide group health, while Allied will provide group life and personal life and personal life accident coverage,” she said. Falconer added that all national sporting associations and federations have also committed to supporting the Jamaican Athletes’ Insurance Plan by contributing five per cent of the cost for their participating member athletes. ”The Jamaican Athletes’ Insurance Plan has received funding support from the Sports Development Foundation, Tourism Enhancement Fund, the National Health Fund, and Culture, Health, Arts, Sport and Education (CHASE) fund. Falconer noted that one must be a current athlete in order to qualify for the insurance scheme. ”They have to be in a programme representing Jamaica and so once you are not active in a programme then you will not qualify,” Falconer stated. Falconer said Minister with Responsibility for Sports Natalie Neita-Headley, will provide further details on the schemes at a later date. Meanwhile, newly appointed president of Netball Jamaica, Paula Daley-Morris, said her association welcomes the move by Cabinet. ”We spend a lot of money on our players in terms of taking care of their medical issues,” said Daley-Morris. ”This is going to help to keep a little bit more money in our coffers and so I wish to thank the Government for being so considerate at this time and supporting athletes in general,” she said. (The Gleaner)
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
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James’ ton guides T&T Academy to first win on Guyana trip Berbice go down by 90 run at Albion Led by 104 from Trevon James and 93 from Keagan Simmons the Trinidad & Tobago Academy Under-19s registered their first win on their four-match tour to Guyana when they defeated Berbice U-19s at the historic Albion ground in Berbice yesterday in their penultimate game. The consistent left-
handed Simmons and righthander James, who were both let off a few times by the butter fingers Berbicians, rode their luck well and shared in a 175-run second wicket partnership to see the Trinis to an imposing 285-5 when their 50 overs expired in scorching heat. Although the left-handed Joel Seitaram stroked a
Orin Joseph Memorial Dominoes play offs set for tomorrow The playoffs of the Orin Joseph Memorial dominoes competition will commence at 16:00hrs tomorrow at Faye Joseph residence, Gauling Place, South Ruimveldt. The final will be contested on Sunday night at the said venue; the winning team receives a trophy and $200,000, runner up a trophy and $100,000 and third place a trophy and $75,000. Te a m s t h a t h a v e qualified are Phantom, Scramblers, TNT, Saddam, Sparton, C Point, Police, Turning Point, Mix Up, Providence, Determine, Frankies, Brothers, Dream Team, Gangster, Rage, F and H, Thunder, Specialist, KTS, Rugged, Beacons, Impressors, Transports SC, Saddest and All Seasons Racing Service. The competition is being sponsored by President of the Georgetown Dominoes
Faye Joseph Association (GDA) Faye Joseph in memory of her late husband and former President of the GDA Orin Joseph. Meanwhile, Whitie Sports bar of Best Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara will be hosting a 20/20 competition tonight starting at 19:00hrs. Entrance fee is $10,000. For more information teams can contact Mark Wiltshire on 665-5855.
confident 62 and Avindra Chatterpaul contributed 33 the hosts were bowled out for 193 in 35 overs to lose by 90 runs on the fast outfield and slow track. Daniel Lewis bowled his unrelated namesake Kristoff Lewis (1) at 13-1 but was to their last success for a long time as the Berbice teenagers toiled long and hard to
separate the two most consistent Trinidadian batsmen and when the chances came they failed make the most of them. Both batsmen played some audacious before Simmons, who hit nine fours in his innings, was bowled by Balchand Baldeo before Lewis had James stumped eight runs later but Byran
Boodoo chipped in with an aggressive 45 to see the visitors to their highest total s o f a r . Baldeo (2-61) and Lewis (243) were the most successful bowlers for Berbice who slipped to 28-3 as pacer Shaaron Lewis removed Leon Andrews (6) and Adrian Sukwha (8) and although Seitaram batted
fluently for his half century and Chatterpaul (33) and Daniel Lewis (26) offered fight the home fell well short of their target. Boodoo took 3-26 and Shaaron Lewis had 2 2 8 . The T&T Academy play their final game today against Demerara U-19 at Wales. (Sean Devers)
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Kaieteur News
Friday December 18, 2015
Mohamed spurs Enterprise to Busta title
Members of the victorious Enterprise XI display their hardware with representatives of the sponsors. CEO Robert Selman is at right.
A fine all-round performance by Zaheer Mohamed Shadir guided host Enterprise XI to a fivewicket victory over Enmore in the final of the Busta T20 Festival on Sunday last. Mohamed bagged 4-28 from four overs as Enmore were bowled out for 111 in 19 overs, batting first. Vivian Albert and R. Pooran supported with 2-13 and 227 respectively. Imran Hassan struck 31
for the visitors while Keno Ramascindo made 22. Mohamed then stroked an unbeaten 38 to guide Enterprise to 112-5 with two overs to spare. Rohan Mangal and Nishad Ulla scored 22 apiece; seamer Gavin Moriah picked up 314 off four overs. Mohamed copped the Man-of-theMatch, Best Batsman and Best Bowler awards. Enterprise A beat Buxton by eight wickets in the third place game played earlier. In a match reduced to 10 overs, Buxton posted 50-7, taking first strike. M. Cole got 19; V. Sundar snared 3-
14 and Seemangal Yadram 2-4. Enterprise A responded with 51-2. S. Mohabir and R. Beepat scored 27 and 15 respectively; Cole had 2-20. Enterprise XI took home $50,000 and the Busta trophy, while Enmore had to settle for $25,000 and a trophy. Trophies were also given to the winner of the third place playoff. The competition was organised by the Enterprise Busta Sports Club and sponsored exclusively by Guyana Beverage Company Inc.
Sarwan to Captain Team in ‘Cricket for Unity’ match
Ramnaresh Sarwan. WindiesCricket.com Former West Indies Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan fans will now be afforded the opportunity to see the gifted 35-year-old once more in action as the right-hander who led Guyana to the inaugural Stanford T20 title in Antigua in 2006 has confirmed his participation in the Legacy and 007 Promotions’ ‘Cricket for Unity’ match on January 30 under lights at the Providence Stadium.The event is being held in collaboration with corporate sponsors and support from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GSCA); the match has also been approved by the WICB. According to PRO of the event Sean Devers, Sarwan has agreed to Captain one of the teams and will reunite with some of his West Indies teammates in a game which is expected have all the fanfare of an International T20 game. The event should be a memorable night for fans who are expected to flock the Stadium to get a rare chance of seeing such a collection of top class players assembled at one venue in Guyana. ”I will play! The match is not until January 30 so I have some time to get some practice” Sarwan said. Keiron Pollard, Riyad Emrit and Sarwan are the latest big name players to confirm their participation in the eagerly anticipated showdown which will be preceded by softball cricket from the top softball teams in the country in both the male and female categories in addition a fun day for the Children which starts at 10:00hrs. Apart from Sarwan, Pollard and Emrit, Lindl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Krismar Santokie and Nick Pooran have all confirmed their participation. Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika, Chris Barnwell, Jonathon Foo, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Raymond Reifer, Jevon Searles and Shiv Chanderpaul could be names featuring in the match which will see the winning team collecting G$1million and the President’s Trophy. The Manof-the-Match pockets G$100,000. Tickets will go on sale by the first half of January. th
Friday December 18, 2015
Kaieteur News
Historical launch of boxing hall of fame coincides with DDL U-16 boxing tourney
Wayne Braithwaite
Gary StClair
At just around 13:00hrs tomorrow afternoon, boxers, managers, promoters and other affiliates of the sport, will join officials of the National Sports Commission, and other sports officials, to pay homage to Guyanese boxing stalwarts that have distinguished themselves in the sport. The occasion is the launching of Guyana’s first Boxing Hall of Fame at the Andrew ‘Sixheads’ Lewis Boxing Gym (ALBG), Callender Street and Independence Boulevard, in a ceremony that promises glitz and glamour. President of the Guyana Olympics Association, K A Juman Yassin and Mayor Hamilton Green, are also expected to grace the function with their presence. Further, the launce will coincide with the Demerara Distillers Ltd U-16 boxing tournament that will see the Simon Pures battling it out for top honours. Several of Guyana’s outstanding boxers have been honoured in the first phase including such stalwarts as Guyana’ first world champion, Andrew Lewis, Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite, Gary StClair, Vivian Harris and Guyana’s lone Olympics bronze medalist, Michael Parris among others. The three female world champions, Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil, Shondel ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred and Pamela London, have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Former Continental of Guyana and local welterweight and lightweight champion, Michael Benjamin has teamed up with businessman, Maurice Pyle to form the Mike Pyle Promotions, the entity that has spearheaded the initiative. The former
boxing champion said that the idea came out of a casual discussion between him and Pyle some two years ago. ” We w e r e s i m p l y discussing the historical aspects of the sport and the feats of such stalwarts as Lennox Blackmore and the late, Patrick Forde among others and that discussion sparked off the idea to create a forum where our boxers would be tangibly honoured,” explained Benjamin. The two then started a campaign to raise the necessary funds and bring the initiative to fructification. Benjamin further said that he approached members of the corporate community with the idea but while some were able to visualize the benefits of such an entity. Others brushed it aside as fantasying. This did not daunt the spirits of the inaugurators and they persevered with the aim of realizing the facility. This resulted in several business entities acquiescing to support the venture and among the first to donate funds were Abdool and Abdools Insurance, Hand in Hand Insurance, Ramchand Auto Spares, Dr. Max Hanoman, Modern Optical Services, German’s Restaurant, Attorneys-atLaw Joe Harmon and Euclin Gomes, Claude Raphael’s Real Estate, Eddy Grant, Lawrence Atherly, GFF President Wayne Ford, Ansa McAl and Phillip Fernandes. Mr. Benjamin expressed deep gratitude to his benefactors while imploring the input of other corporate bodies. “This is an ongoing initiative that aims to recognize our boxing p r in cip als , ” ex p lain ed Benjamin. He said that these include manager, promoters, referees, judges, coaches and all others whose input have (Continued on page 32)
Michael Parris
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t r o Sp 2nd Stag Super XVI
West Dem. teams flawless on first night; Uitvlugt and Beavers advance
GFF President Wayne Forde officially kicks off the tournament with VP Rawlston Adams to his right, players and officials observing his skills.
Digicel continues to Foo, Fudadin spurs U/C’tyne support KMTC Boxing to tomorrow night final at Albion Day Horse Race Meet CGI Local Franchise 50-over League
Assad Fudadin clobbers Devon Lorde for six.
Sponsorship Executive Louanna Abrams hands over the sponsorship to President of the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club, Cecil Kennard yesterday, at Digicel’s Head Office.
James’ ton guides T&T Academy Luis Suarez nets hat-trick to book FIFA Club World Cup final to first win on Guyana trip Berbice go down by 90 run at Albion
clash against River Plate
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