Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Moses Nagamootoo APNU has not removed itself from the PNC’s past and Clive Thomas betrayed sugar workers DEAR EDITOR, The sugar industry continues to be one of the most important industries in Guyana. It supports more than 15,000 jobs and $22 billion in taxable compensation to workers. The sugar industry also attracts direct investment valued at close to $3 billion directly and more than $5 billion indirectly. This is approximately 4 percent of all direct investment in Guyana, more investments than what the “permanently travelling to conferences” CEO of GOInvest has developed in all his work life. So what we see Clive Thomas is doing today by clandestinely making decisions that continue to accelerate the breaking up of Guysuco is nothing but antinational and anti-patriotic. His action continues to spread misery in the industry and will continue to deny Guyana economic activity. Clive Thomas, an academic with little real world and business experiences, by his very utterance and actions in the sugar belt has comprise the rural economy of Guyana and will bring great economic hardship to those who seek a livelihood from the sugar belt. Is this a way of getting back at the sugar workers for rejecting him and choosing Dr. Jagan in the PCD talks in the 1990’s? But strangely enough, there are tons of academic literature from the 1970’s proving that it is this same Thomas who wrote widely on the relevance of the
sugar industry, its usefulness to Guyana, how much the sugar industry contributed to the Guyanese economy by way of the sugar levy and how it has paid its dues and subsidizing other industries. So why this fip-flop from Thomas? Why this determined attempt to destroy the sugar industry by Thomas? Is he suffering from a serious state of amnesia? But this stubborn attempt to defund the industry and bring greater poverty to the rural folks of Berbice and Demerara will back fire on Thomas and his new political masters in the PNC. This group is now dogmatically supported by their chief apologist who has now added his voice to the oppressive dialogue. Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo told the media that “Bailing out Sugar is like raiding the Treasury”. Is that so? But this same Nagamootoo was the one who wrote extensively in the Mirror newspapers in the 1980’s on how the PNC was attempting to actively destroy the sugar industry with the sugar levy. Today this same Moses has “turncoat” on the workers and joins with the PNC elitist in their aloft agenda of destroying the livelihood of sugar workers. This makes him nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing who is prepared to destroy the welfare of the people at the bottom. That makes him antiGuyanese. Jai (Harry) Lall
Comments on a suicide... From page 4 who have sworn to protect and serve. Or is the citizenry being succinctly treated to their just deserve? As the investigations continue I can’t help but in some way draw an analogy between the place and cause of Sumner’s death and the venue of Colwyn Harding’s demise. Not wanting to rehash any painful pasts or evoke bitter memories, it should not be forgotten that the beating of Colwyn Harding took place in a police outpost and then continued for some time in a police station. Sadly, despite all the publicity, social media exposure, transfer and demotion of ranks, a sane thinker would have thought that there would be measures put in place to capture any mistreatment or personal misconduct of those being held in custody. The particulars of Maurice Sumner’s death remains en-
shrouded in mystery, and sounds like a judicial science fiction. Had he managed to survive, Guyanese might have caught a whiff of progress through admission of fault on the part of the officers involved, and exposure of real inaptitude by those who profess to be serving and protecting. It is my sincere wish that the agency (Police Office of Professional Responsibility) mandated to investigate the circumstances do conduct a thorough unbiased investigation, and at best come up with some suggestions that would totally eradicate the possibility of further or future recurrences. Pardon my nagging fear, but nevertheless permit me to inquire as to the presence of a civilian member on the board of those investigating. After all, the fox can only look after the hen house when he has proven to be a true vegan. Yvonne Sam
DEAR EDITOR, When the APNU/AFC coalition was on the campaign trail soliciting votes they made it clear that they were not a reincarnation of the despotic PNC, which created such hardship and suffering during its time in power, but rather a new political entity with a modern vision of democracy. This message resonated with undecided voters, especially the younger and educated masses, who were in need of a different kind of political leadership after the PPP/C lost its contact with the small man and descended into a mire of corruption and nepotism. It is therefore extremely worrying and uncomfortable
to see this government now embracing key players of the despotic PNC past with such open arms. It started with the President’s reverent ramblings on the former PNC leader, LFS Burnham. Now it has gone even further by offering Hamilton Green such generous offerings that he will now live out his life in ample wealth and comfort. Probably the most influential PNC leader who led us on the path of revival, Desmond Hoyte, is given very rare mention by our President. This is a most worrying observation of our President for it gives us an insight as to who were his role models in those terrifying days. Is this the new political
vision that we were promised? Why is the APNU/AFC so openly embracing the key players so highly reviled by the masses for the roles they played in our tragic past? Have they conveniently forgotten the message they preached of starting a clean and unburdened messy past? What is now playing out is making the APNU/AFC look like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They are nothing like what they painted themselves to be during their campaign time. As one of the undecided voters who decided to give my vote to the present government in the hope of a new political direction, I can’t help but express my extreme dissatisfaction on the direction
we seem to be heading. If national elections were to be held today my vote is most certainly one that they would be losing. Even of greater disappointment has been the acquiescing nature of the coalition partner, AFC, who is now a silent supporter in all things they deemed wrong while in opposition. The decision to give Hamilton Green such a generous pension package as reward for the many sufferings he foisted upon the masses of our country,is the clearest evidence yet that the APNU/ AFC is still PNC and they never intended to do away with the terrible past of this country. Emile Manning
Attempts to discredit the National Accreditation Council DEAR EDITOR, Quite recently Guyana has once again been associated with notoriety by virtue of an article by Andrea Fernandes and subsequent articles in the little known online paper: Guyana Guardian, whose “Editor in Chief” is one Dennis Adonis, who is well known in Guyana for the accusations of unsavory and deceptive acts levelled at him over the years. The articles referred to were widely circulated and seek to discredit Texila American University and besmirch the name of the National Accreditation Council of Guyana, which is the legally authorized body responsible for regulating post-secondary and tertiary level educational institutions in Guyana, including the granting of registration, accreditation and related instruments. In the prevailing circumstance the Ministry of Education would be remiss if it did not lend clarity in relation to
the post-secondary and tertiary education landscape, which is being put at risk by the these crafty and defamatory articles. The Ministry firstly wishes to reiterate that the National Accreditation Council (NAC) by virtue of the National Accreditation Act, Act no. 12 of 2004 is the body responsible for regulating post-secondary and tertiary level education in Guyana and is the source of authentic information on post-secondary and tertiary institutions in Guyana. Much of this information is public and available on the Council‘s website: www.nac.gov.gy. The Ministry has observed that in the Guyana Guardian articles there are quantum leaps from the factual information, which they rely on for legitimacy, and the conclusions which they draw that are oft times erroneous. One such case in point is their article of Nov 25, 2016, in
which they purported NAC to “have revealed that medical degrees issued by institutions in Guyana are only recognized if the degrees are accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM_HP). And since CAAM-HP has also confirmed that the Texila America University is not accredited, it is now officially confirmed that the medical degrees issued by that institution along with several other offshore universities in Guyana are not recognized anywhere at all” While NAC has stated that “Medical institutions, …, are required to seek accreditation from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other
Health Services”, it also stated that “The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) of the USA recognizes the authenticity of the quality assurance process of the National Accreditation Council and accepts medical schools that are registered by the National Accreditation Council”. NAC further stated that “Texila American University is listed with the ECFMG which allows students and graduates of the institution to apply for ECFMG certification and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). This is but a sample of the Guardian‘s conclusions. It is erroneous, at least, and may well be mischievous if their intellect Continued on page 6
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Activism against gender-based violence continues DEAR EDITOR, This is the second of our letters to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against GenderBased Violence. While we acknowledge improvements made by the Guyana Police Force to address and reduce crime generally, little information is available to NGOs and members of the general public about the composition and functioning of the police domestic sexual violence units. Quite a few years ago when these units were first being discussed, it was recognized that NGOs and other civil society organizations have a crucial role to play in any system for prevention, protection and prosecution of domestic and sexual violence. The police force has initiated the Cops and Faith programme which has been cited as being very successful, especially as it relates to juveniles in conflict with the law, but little effort has been made to initiate similar collaborations with NGOs that have years of experience and
who run successful programmes addressing all forms of gender-based violence including all forms of child abuse. We know that domestic and sexual violence is seen as playing an important role in constructing gender roles, power relations and as a means for some men to dominate and inflict harm on women. We only have to listen to some of the lyrics dominating popular music to understand how this is affecting the psyche of young men and boys and young women and girls. All forms of genderbased v i o l e n c e s h a r e a common thread, i.e. power relations between men and women and gender inequality. Sexual violence is often used as a mechanism for controlling the body and sexuality of women. The pervasiveness of rape culture and rape myths also fuels a psychological and cultural mindset that blames the victim/survivor (‘She asked for it’) and trivializes sexual offences (‘Boys will be boys’).
It tolerates sexual harassment in the workplace and schools; defines masculinity and manhood as the ability of men to exert power and control, especially over their women, including control over their sexuality and defines femininity and womanhood as being submissive, sexually passive, obedient and subservient. Rape culture believes that when women say no they mean yes in sexual matters and that when men get sexually turned on it is impossible for them to stop; assumes that men don’t get raped or that only ‘weak’ men get raped; is influenced by music styles and lyrics that glorify violence, portray explicit sexual imagery and is homophobic, insults and denigrates women and incites and encourages sexual assault and rape of women and the killing and maiming of gay and homosexual men; assumes that only promiscuous - ‘fast’, ‘easy’ - women and girls get raped and minimizes the physical and psychological trauma of sexual violence.
Attempts to discredit the National... From page 5 and competence are to be assumed. It should be noted that in quality assurance parlance, terms such as registration, accreditation, recognition et al each has a specific meaning; results from different processes; and signifies different statuses. The Guardian seems to
unwittingly or intentionally substitute these terms, one for the other, in pursuit of the predetermined plot of their articles. While the Ministry of Education does not hold a brief for the off-shore medical schools and even NAC, in National Interest and in the interest of the reputation of the country, the Ministry
found it necessary through this one example to expose the injurious and defamatory nature of the Guardian articles. Many of their conclusions are founded on illogicalities and characterised by quantum leaps. Whether intentional or not, they bring the education sector and the country into disrepute and must be exposed and refuted at all cost, hence the Ministry‘s foray and exposé. Vincent Alexander Technical Facilitator Ministry of Education
Factors that increase men’s risk of committing sexual violence include gang membership; harmful or illicit use of alcohol or drugs; exposure to domestic violence as a child; history of physical or sexual abuse as a child; belief in gender inequality; limited education; acceptance of violence (belief that it is acceptable to beat one’s wife or girlfriend); multiple partners and infidelity. Let us not forget that criminals and persons in conflict with the law are not born but are the product of the social, economic, cultural and political environment in which they are r a i s e d . And as long a s programmes and policies fail to address the acceptance, and tolerance for gender-based violence in Guyana, the high level of intimate partner domestic and sexual violence will continue. Danuta Radzik Niveta Shivjatan Denise Dias Chabela Lord For Help & Shelter
Wednesday December 07, 2016
The football scandal in Britain DEAR EDITOR, When I read the letter in Kaieteur News by the Rev. Gideon about the London football scandal, with mention of “the Christian theology and teachings of Jesus Christ”, I thought ‘how ironic’, and decided to let you have something I sent to the London newspapers I read every day: here it is: “Hello, the sexual fiasco among footballers brings to mind a situation I was made aware of in the 1950s, when I worked as a typist in the government social services in my country of origin in the Caribbean. It might have some relevance now. The Salvation Army ran a hostel for youngsters (up to the age of about 14, as I recall) who had nowhere else suitable for their accommodation. One day a child of about 10 came to his probation officer in distress, complaining to him about practices an elderly S.A. Captain performed on him at nights.
As the child complained, the P.O. listened but expressed strong doubts. The child then named other boys who had experienced the same thing, and could support him. The more he complained, the more the P.O. expressed doubt. The child stopped complaining and probably lived in distress forever. The P.O. later told me the tale, and when I asked why he did not believe the child and try to help, he said he did, but “I wanted to hear more”! I have always wondered what happened to that poor child. When officials who should be protecting us take this attitude, where do we stand? And that is why now every time I see footballers coming on field holding hands with “little human mascots”, I cringe or walk away. While the players are on field, are the children on their own, I wonder?” Geralda Dennison
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy says the drug... From page 4 was out of commission because certain supplies were unavailable. All surgical patients were being referred to the GPHC. One main medicine that was required for safe surgery, but was not available was suxamethonium. As I write this note, the biochemistry lab at the hospital is nonfunctional. Several weeks ago, pregnancy induced hypertensive (PIH) women were told that they could not be safely managed at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital because the institution did not have the relevant medicines available to manage their
condition. Common hypertensive medicines were among the long list of medicines that the hospital has been experiencing for some time now. The women were referred to the GPHC. The relevant medicine in this case is hydralazine, a common medicine costing pennies. Instead, patients are forced to seek distance care at exorbitant expense because the Ministry of Public Health simply cannot assure the public health institutions reliable supplies of medicines and other supplies. Adding salt to the injury, the women’s families were told that the ambulance service was unavailable to transport them. It turns out the ambulances are more down than functional most days. This is a situation that has become too frequent at the Region 6 hospitals and is applicable to public hospitals across the country. Medical professionals are embarrassed every day as they try to provide the best care they can to their patients. The fact is this is not an isolated case. It is common everywhere in the country. Hydralazine is a common medicine and is included in the National Essential Medicine List. I had included this medicine in a list of medicines that must be available 100% of the time. In my time as Minister we had a list of medicines that was monitored on a daily basis across the sector to ensure
that we would never experience shortages of these medicines. We recognized that the first step in achieving a reliable supply chain was to first ensure 100% availability of a list of critical medicines and medical supplies. Long before December 2011 when I departed from the Ministry of Health we had achieved this target. By 2011, a shortage of medicines like hydralazine was unthinkable. Today, these critical medicines appear to be in short supply across the country more often than they appear to be available. In 2016, it is a shame that hospitals like New Amsterdam, Suddie, Linden, West Demerara and others must refer PIH women to GPHC for management. I know that these institutions have the professional capacity to safely manage the health care needs of these women. But doctors and other care providers need medicines and medical supplies to be able to meet the health care needs of those who depend on them. Without the relevant medicines and medical supplies, doctors are made ineffective. They are asked to fetch water in a basket. As more than $30B is likely to be allocated to the health sector in the 2017 budget, it should not be too much for us to ask that medicines like hydralazine and suxamethonium should never be in short supply. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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UG to know int’l accreditation GuySuCo wants salary negotiations delayed amidst budget debate fate by July 2017 Plans for a new Health Sciences Faculty, improved clinical and lecture facilities and other amenities for medical students are among the factors that have been taken into consideration as the University of Guyana (UG’)s School of Medicine seeks to regain international accreditation. This is according to Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Emanuel Cummings, who, during a recent interview with this publication noted, “We did our best and we are awaiting a response.” Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP), which is based in Jamaica, is the accreditation body that withdrew the School of Medicine’s provisional licence last year July. CAAM-HP is the legally constituted body established in 2003 under the aegis of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), empowered to determine and prescribe standards and to accredit programmes of medical, dental, veterinary and other health professions on behalf of the contracting parties in CARICOM. According to CAAM-HP, the decision to revoke UG’s accreditation was taken because there were no progress reports forthcoming from the tertiary institution for the years 2014 and 2015. But the university was not in a position to submit these reports since a number of measures had to first be put in place. Several
Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Emanuel Cummings of these related to infrastructure, educational resources, faculty and the curriculum itself, among others. But according to Dr. Cummings, the majority of the necessary requirements are currently in place. He, however, noted that “we don’t know what will be the outcome.” The outcome is likely to be known by next July when CAAM-HP is expected to convene a meeting to discuss the progress of measures implemented by UG. As part of its site visit to assess the measures implemented, officials of the body also visited the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) between November 20 and November 23 last. The GPHC is a venue where medical students are exposed to clinical practice. One of the concerns of CAAM-HP that also led to the withdrawal of international accreditation was the fact that there was no standing
Memorandum of Understanding between the University, the GPHC and the Ministry of Public Health making these clinical practice sessions formal. But according to Dr. Cummings, not only has the MOU been signed but a Committee is in place to deal with any issue raised by students regarding their medical training experience. Dr. Cummings disclosed, too, that moves have also been made to introduce new teaching measures whereby an adjunct faculty has been put in place. This means, Dr. Cummings said, that staff will be given a contract that specifies allotted time for clinical work and teaching allowing for a more structured and organised concept. The University has been gaining immense support to get things on track, Dr. Cummings said. He pointed to financial support from businessman Yesu Persaud as well as Government to move measures apace. The University Administration has also been giving keen attention to the process to help put measures in place that could lead to certain reaccreditation. Regaining the accreditation is something that Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, has identified as a top priority. Dr. Cummings disclosed that currently the University is in discussion with the World Bank for a grant to construct a new Health (Continued on page 15)
- union says The country’s largest sugar workers’ union has accused the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (GuySuCo) of continuing to frustrate current negotiations for salary and wages increase. According to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) yesterday, the Ministry of Social Protection has engaged the corporation and the union in two conciliatory proceedings on November 23 and 29, 2016 with respect to sugar workers’ claim for a wage/salary increase of eight per cent this year. A third conciliatory meeting is to be fixed by the Ministry to continue the conciliatory proceedings. ”To the union’s surprise and, certainly, the workers’ dismay, GuySuCo by letter of December 5, 2016, wrote inter alia:- ”We also wish to bring to your attention that [the] Parliamentary debate on the 2017 National Budget will commence on Monday December 5, 2016, which will be addressing some aspect relating to the sugar industry. We therefore, humbly request that our current conciliation on wages/salaries and fringe benefits be put on hold during these engagements at the Parliament,” GAWU said in a statement yesterday. GAWU said that it is of the view that the current Parliamentary debate and discussion on the Budget speech and the approval of the estimates cannot be used as a pretext to what, effectively, is an attempt to delay or avert the legitimate
workers’ claim. ”Certainly this is yet another effort by the corporation to frustrate the Ministry’s conciliatory service. GAWU calls on the Ministry not to be cowed and allow GuySuCo to succeed in pushing workers’ claims to the backburner, especially in light that the workers were denied wage increases in 2015.” GAWU called on the Ministry to fix urgently another meeting without delay in order for the discussions to be concluded
and indeed for them to reserve their deserving pay award. GuySuCo is facing tough times, with production plunging and the Stateowned corporation owing more than $80B to creditors. Government has been forced to plug billions of dollars annually to keep the sugar industry afloat. Government has announced plans to close Wales Estate and diversify some of its operations to rice and sale of lands to raise cash.
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$800 pension increase unacceptable – Opposition MP ...calls for elderly to be exempted from taxes Opposition Member of Parliament, Africo Selman, during her presentation yesterday on budget 2017 said that the $800 increase to old age pension which government promises for the New Year is unacceptable. In Minister of Finance Winston Jordan’s 2017 budget speech which he delivered two Mondays ago, he announced that the old age pension will be increased from $18,200 to $19,000. Yesterday, Selman described the budget as presented by Jordan to be a slap in the faces of the nation’s elderly. She said that the senior citizens deserve much more than $800 which she said would not be able to buy a proper meal. According to Selman, it is inhumane and unkind of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change government to effectively increase pension when the recipients have not been exempted in any way from paying Value Added Tax. She said, “The timely reduction in value added tax being thrown at the Guyanese people can in no way benefit pensioners. I call on the APNU and AFC coalition to exempt senior citizens from paying all taxes including the value added tax.” Selman said that it is
unconscionable that out of a grouping of $250B scheduled for spending over the next fiscal year, persons who would have toiled for this country are worth more than the $800 increase they are receiving. In her argument, Selman said that given inflation and the rising cost of living for 2016, the elderly have gained nothing, she said, “In fact, they are definitely going to suffer ; and increasingly so, as with each passing month, cost of living continues to increase.” She went on to say that the budget is a clear indication that the Granger administration has become numb to the needs of people and unresponsive to public outcry. She questioned how Jordan could have presented his budget to the nation under the theme “Delivering the Good Life to All Guyanese” when measures will be instituted to remove subsidies from their utility bills and saddled with the imposition of the 14 per cent VAT on their water and electricity bills. Further, the parliamentarian said that she finds it difficult to comprehend how such measures can contribute to the good life. She said that the 2017 budget will only add undue burdens to Guyanese. She called on the Finance Minister to
PPP/C Parliamentarian, Africo Selman review the budget and to remove the draconian measures to be implemented. During the presentation by APNU-AFC P a r l i a m e n t a r i a n Jennifer Wade, she said that although the pension will be increased by $800, it must be noted, that since her government has been in office, it has increased the pension from $13,000 to $19,000 and therefore considers the $6,000 increase in less than two years. This is a monumental achievement for the nation.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Charged with armed robbery at 19…
‘Career criminal’ a prime suspect in two gun-related killings A man whose criminal life allegedly began at 19 has now been implicated in two murders that occurred over a two-month span. One killing was the shooting to death of a man for a gold chain. The other is the execution-killing of another outside a school. The suspect, who is now 22 was arrested last week in a South Ruimveldt house. Police are making a case against the suspect, and another alleged career criminal known as ‘Gun Butt,’ in the murder of 29-year-old Paul Rodney. Rodney, of Lot 530 West Ruimveldt resident, was riddled with bullets outside the East Ruimveldt Secondary School on November 21, during an argument with two men. The killers fled on foot and police recovered several spent shells of a small caliber weapon at the scene. The prime suspect’s 34-year-old accomplice, known as ‘Gun butt’ was reportedly taken into custody when he turned up at a police station to clear his name. Police said that the prime suspect in Rodney’s murder was also positively identified as the gunman who shot and killed Gregory Garraway, 25, last October. Garraway, of Charlestown, Continued on page 9
SHOT DEAD: Gregory Garraway
SHOT DEAD: Paul Rodney
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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BUDGET JITTERS! The market is sending signals which cannot be ignored. The rise in both the buying and selling rates for the US dollar indicates that less money is being sold to the cambios and there is greater demand for the US dollar. In other words, there is a shortage of US dollars on the cambio markets in the country. The commercial banks have not yet seen an increase in their selling rates. But everyone in Guyana knows that it is the cambio that is a sign of future trends in the foreign exchange markets. The government is denying there is a shortage of foreign exchange. It has pointed to the asset position of the banks in Guyana and the fact that international reserves remain at around four months of imports. These markers – financial sector assets and the international reserves – have never prevented the slide in the Guyana dollar. The PPPC had used the same argument
that the APNU+AFC is now using. When the problems with Anti- Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism Bill began, there was slide in the exchange rate, particularly that relating to the use of credit cards. Some businessmen were complaining that they had to pay as much as G$230 to US$1 to complete international transactions. This has an effect on prices. Yet the government said that Guyana had negative inflation in 2015. The same APNU+AFC which has been highly critical and skeptical of the low inflation rates of the PPPC, now seems very comfortable reporting that inflation in Guyana was below 2% in 2016. Take the people who have to go to the markets and supermarkets, they are not going to be convinced that prices have not moved higher than the government is claiming. They will also point to the fact that the US dollar at one
stage used to be selling at G$200 and it is now selling for as high as $213. At this time of the year, there is usually a fall in the buying and selling prices of the US dollar because of the flood of remittances from abroad. That avalanche usually occurs from after the December 15, 2016 after the bonus is paid in the US and Canada. The fact that the Guyana dollar is depreciating in recent days would be a source of concern given what the government says are healthy reserves, financial assets and US currency held in the banking system. So what can be accounting for this mad rush? It is hardly likely that the forex shortages in Barbados and Trinidad are responsible. Those countries have had their difficulties for some time but they are not buying up US dollars on our local markets since the cambios are not going to take off any great deal of Trinidadian or US
Dem boys seh...
Look at de barrel, not de apple People quick fuh seh is one bad apple does mek all de rest spoil. Even Rum Jattan seh suh and since he tun ministah he does pick out one, one rotten apple from de barrel. De first one he pick out he smile and think ee getting somewhere. Little do he know a old policeman name Conway, and he is not a con man, did mek a study of our police force. De man tell everybody that de rotten apple theory wouldn’t wuk anymore. He seh de problem is not de one rotten apple in de barrel. Is de barrel itself. He seh de senior police officers learn quick that when dem go pun de road dem had to carry back a sutten fuh de barrel. “Some barrels are very demanding.” That is wha Conway seh. Fuh years dem boys see de big ones in de police force that control de barrel get rich more than dem salary could ever give dem. Henry Greene collect till he collect counterfeit US dollars. He had nuff in a safe. He wife coulda get jail. Laurie collect left, right and centre. Dem boys hear he collect so much he didn’t know what to do wid it that he end up sending it to ee brother overseas and de brother rob him.
Dem got de others who still alive but dem boys don’t want to be in a position to settle wid dem. Some of dem can afford to go to de casino and gamble every night. De ex-police officer Conway seh if de juniors don’t give to de barrel dem don’t get promotion and in most cases they are thrown in a corner and another set tek dem place. Inside de barrel got nuff young policemen who seeing wha de top of de barrel doing and dem want gamble too. So what you expect? How dem getting de money to gamble? Conway tell Guyana in a letter that de best way to clean out de entire barrel is to break de Code of Silence. People must talk de truth and if dem see wrongdoing dem must talk de truth. De Ram in de force did get a taste fuh breaking de code of silence when he expose Rohee fuh not actually giving de police money when he seh he give dem. Dem boys believe Rohee tek all de sutten. Talk half and ask Rum Jattan fuh a stainless steel barrel and throw out some of dem at de top of de old barrel.
‘Career criminal’ a prime suspect in... From page 8 Georgetown, was shot and robbed of a gold chain while in the company of his brother outside the Dynasty Sports Club, Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt. He succumbed nine days later. Police are seeking legal advice in connection with the two killings. Kaieteur News was told that the 22-yearold, who is implicated in both murders, also had a firearm in his possession when he was arrested. He will also be charged with unlawful possession of arms and ammunition. In July, 2013, the suspect, who was 19 at the time, was remanded for allegedly robbing a woman of her jewellery at gunpoint. He was positively identified by the victim in a police line-up. It is alleged that being armed with a gun and in company of others, the suspect, of East Ruimveldt, robbed the woman of a quantity of gold jewellery, valued $135,000. He pleaded not guilty. In June, 2014, the same suspect and others
were charged in connection with breaking into a City store and carting off a quantity of electronic items. The case against all the accused was dismissed. The other detained man, ‘Gun Butt’, was remanded in November 2015, for allegedly ambushing and robbing two America Street money-changers. It is alleged that the accused robbed one victim of $520,000, US$3000, TT$2,000 and SRD$2000 – all totaling $1.6M—-and the other of $400,000 and US$700. In 2010, “Gun Butt” was remanded for attempted murder of one man and the unlawful wounding of the victim’s brother. One brother was stabbed in the region of the heart, while the other was slashed to the neck. In 2011, ‘Gun Butt,’ and three others, were remanded for allegedly robbing another man at knife-point of a gold chain and pendant valued $100,000, two gold rings valued $80,000, and $58,000 in cash.
dollars. It is likely that what has happened is a case of Budget jitters. People who have US are holding their money because they do not know what the New Year will bring. The Budget has created shockwaves in the country. There are no growth policies. It is essentially a taxation Budget aimed at financing government expenditure and with the government likely to be borrowing to finance its deficit, people are afraid and are holding on to their US dollars. A great many people are also likely to want to move
their savings out of the country in order to avoid it being garnished for tax purposes. They may be willing to pay a higher rate for foreign currency to enable their capital flight. The Bank of Guyana should be calming the fears of Guyanese by pointing out just how much foreign exchange they have released into the economy. They should be releasing more money to ensure that the Guyana dollar appreciates rather than depreciates. Guyana should not be holding international reserves greater than the
value of three months imports. Any excess should be put into the banking system but for use only for legitimate uses for major capital expansion. It is no use putting money into the system to facilitate capital flight. Foreign exchange should be released to help stabilize the Guyana dollar. And of course to calm the Budget jitters.
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
The man in that photo tells the story of unchanging politics My opinion is that Jagdeo will lose the constitutional case of the two-term presidential limit which is now in front of the Court Of Appeal. But Jagdeo is in 2020 campaign mood. I don’t think he is looking at the court case in itself. He is acting out of the recognition that the appeal will not be heard before the election campaign. Jagdeo is not deterred by the rejection he received when he went to Stabroek Market Square to sympathize with the evicted vendors. At that time in his entourage was Jason Abdulla. Mr. Abdulla is certainly not a figure that
earned a good reputation when Jagdeo was president. He is currently charged along with Kwame McCoy and Shawn Hinds, with assaulting me. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that huge political players far above the subordinate status of these three men were the planners of that violent act. Mr. Abdulla belongs to a circle, two of whose members were questioned in the police investigation into the assassination of Courtney CrumEwing. Against this background, it would be politically correct and morally obligatory for Jagdeo to shun these figures
from his public political perambulations. On the contrary, Abdulla is always with Jagdeo on the walkabouts and McCoy works at the PPP’s radio station. Last week, Jagdeo was in the downtown area to canvas people’s attitude toward the 2017 budget. And guess who was seen in the photo? None other than Mr. Abdulla. The nature of Jagdeo and the aging faces in the PPP’s leadership are not going to respect public opinion. The PPP never did and it never will. Mr. Jagdeo is not going to sideline Abdulla or any other PPP apparatchik that has acquired an infamous reputa-
tion. This is not the nature of the man and his party. It brings into intriguing focus the question; how sincere is the PPP’s strategy of seeking the thoughts of stakeholders on a new GECOM chairman. Let’s analyze this new direction of the PPP to see if it is a high class con game. But first the need to consult was never a method in Jagdeo’s arsenal. In his 12 years of hegemony, who or what did Jagdeo consult in the planning and execution of policies? I was on the Council of the University when we heard that the university had a new Vice-Chancellor. Not even the board knew; under the UG Act, it is the Council that appoints the Vice- Chancellor. When the American Government advised that it was a dangerous misstep to appoint Henry Green as Commissioner of Police, who were the stakeholders that were contacted before Green was confirmed in his post by President Jagdeo? This same Jagdeo as President overlooked the line
of seniority in the army and bypassed the next four officers at the apex and appointed Gary Best as head of the GDF. Did he consult with stakeholders when he did that? We come now to the new mood of democratic thinking discovered by Jagdeo. Of all places he went to ask for an opinion, it was the Trade Union Congress. On Saturday night at Beterverwagting (commonly referred to as BV), I pulled over to observe traffic cops as they randomly stopped drivers, including a pregnant woman. Up came Lincoln Lewis. He pulled over, came to me to ascertain if I was alright. I needed to engage Lincoln on the téte –â- téte with Jagdeo with regards to the consultation for a new GECOM Chairman. Lincoln said he was in a rush to get to town so he couldn’t chat. Did Jagdeo as President seek the advice of other trade unions when he withdrew the monthly stipend from Critchlow Labour College? The newborn Jagdeo has
Frederick Kissoon changed or has he? If Jagdeo has undergone what Forbes Burnham liked to refer to as an attitudinal metamorphosis then why is he walking around with Jason Abdulla? Isn’t it a moral convention for high-ranking politicians to avoid the limelight with party officials who are before the courts charged with criminal offence? Maybe it is, but not for the leadership of the PPP. This columnist believes from the deep recesses of his mind that if the PPP gets back in power Jagdeo and the troglodytes will be more bestial, vicious and totalitarian. Jagdeo and the PPP have already identified the person they want to be the GECOM chairman. The consultations with stakeholders are what the Trinidadian playwright, Freddie Kissoon, called mamaguay.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Charged Guyanese-born wife killer Proposal submitted to supervise construction of E.B.D “a very bad person”— daughter overpass, pedestrian crossings Government is fast-tracking plans to ease the traffic nightmare at several busy intersections along the East Bank of Demerara. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure earlier this year had revealed plans to construct a vehicle and pedestrian overhead crossings at several areas including the Diamond intersection. Projects Manager of the Ministry, Sunil Ganesh, had disclosed last October that the tenders for the project would be advertised shortly and works are pegged to commence early next year. “There are about 20,000 vehicles that use that intersection, so this vehicle overhead pass would significantly reduce the backup of traffic existing in Diamond, so when the
vehicle overhead pass is completed you have free flow of traffic coming out of Diamond, there will be almost zero delay,” Ganesh had explained. In addition to the vehicular overhead pass at Diamond, pedestrian overhead passes would be constructed at the Harbour Bridge next to the office of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, another at Eccles on the eastern side of the traffic light and a third in the vicinity of the Houston Secondary School. Yesterday, it was revealed that one company – RM Engineering Limited out of Trinidad and Tobago, submitted a financial proposal to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), for the Supervision Services for the construction of these structures.
New York - “My dad was a very bad person; my mom didn’t deserve to die like that,” Shalhi Ronaldo Ramjaiwan, 30, told The Post in a phone interview from her home in Guyana. Police said Prem Rampersaud, 50, stabbed his wife and tried to saw off her head in front of witnesses Monday around midnight because he believed she was cheating on him. He was still wearing his pajama bottoms as he was escorted by officials from the 106th Precinct Monday afternoon to the Queens courthouse, where he was expected to be arraigned on murder charges.
MURDERED: Rajwantie Baldeo But Rampersaud’s daughter said he’s been looking for any excuse in the
book to kill the mother of his four children. “He was a drunken type; he always threatened he would kill her,” she said. A woman renting an apartment to Rampersaud said he came to New York from Guyana two weeks ago on a tourist visa and was looking for work. “He said his wife was cheating on him, but that was BS,” she said. “I called his daughter in Guyana, they have four kids together, three girls and one boy.” Rampersaud told cops he was angry because he believed his wife – who got to the city a year ago — had made a date online with another man. (abc7ny.com)
LINDEN TO KWAKWANI ROAD CORRIDOR The development of the Linden-Ituni-Kwakwani road is part of a plan to stimulate development in Region Ten. The enhancement of these road networks is vital to the creation of jobs, and the possibility of improving commercial activities, a Senior official of the Regional Democratic Council had stated earlier this year. The project was included into the Region’s five-year “action plan”. Numerous complaints were lodged over the past months by drivers also, who stated that they are required to spend more monies to repair their vehicles. “You do not even have jobs (in the region) but you have a case of the drivers spending more money to repair their cars, service their cars,” a driver stated. Financial proposals were submitted yesterday for the consultancy of a Feasibility Study and Design for the Linden to Kwakwani Road Corridor in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice). The Ministry of Public Infrastructure was listed as the procuring entity.
RECONSTRUCTION OF ST. ROSE’S HIGH SCHOOL Tenders were open for Design and Supervision Services for the reconstruction of the St. Rose’s High School, Georgetown. The procuring entity was listed as the Ministry of Education.
REHABILITATION OF CHRISTIANSBURG – WISMAR SECONDARY SCHOOL Tenders were open for Design and Supervision Services for the rehabilitation of the Christiansburg – Wismar Secondary School in Region 10.The procuring entity was listed as the Ministry of Education.
Bids were also submitted for the provision of security services for the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs.
Habits are not the product of one decision — They’re the result of repeated choices that eventually become automatic responses. How can you know your true spiritual condition? By the company you keep and the choices you make. When you’re free to go, where do you choose to go? Whose company do you prefer?
The video surveillance and accused killer, Prem Rampersaud being led to the police station.
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
PPP’s list of “witch-hunted” affiliates remains elusive As the Main Parliamentary Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), continues to lay claim that persons affiliated with – or perceived to be associated with the party – were witch-hunted, the evidence further remains elusive. Following the General Election held in May last year, which saw the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) pulling off an upsetting win, a number of persons were brought under the microscope faced with various allegations, with corruption being chief amongst them. Subsequently, the PPP/C claimed that there was a “vicious ongoing witch-hunt that the Granger Administration has launched within the public service and beyond.” The Opposition has stated that “Contrary to the bleatings of government officials, the witch-hunt exercise is proceeding at a fast and furious rate. T h u s f a r, p e r m a n e n t secretaries, presidential guards, contract workers, media workers, advisers, Chairmen and Members of State Boards, Diplomats, Regional Executive
Officers to mention a few have had their services terminated with immediate effect and without their legally due benefits.” The PPP/C sought to bring this issue to the media’s attention however; requests were made by Media Operatives including Editorin-Chief of this Publication, Mr. Adam Harris, to be provided with a list of these persons that were supposedly witch-hunted. The General Secretary of the Party, and Former Home Affairs Minister, Mr. Clement Rohee, had stated back in June that the party was in the process of preparing the list and would release it to the respective media outlets soon. Mr. Rohee is yet to do so. Instead, he advised that the media do some “Investigative Journalism” to identify the “victims”. During a recent Press Conference hosted at the Party’s Headquarters, Freedom House, at Robb Street, Georgetown on Monday, Mr. Rohee spoke about issues that are fundamental to the preservation of Human Rights. International Human Rights Day will be observed on Saturday.
The General Secretary said that since the May 2015 Elections, the rights of Guyanese citizens are being “shunned and flayed” with every passing day. He continued that the “whole slate of dismissals of persons perceived to be supporters of the PPP/C Administration and the thousands of young Amerindians by the current regime since its assumption to high office, “reeks of political and racial discrimination – another blatant violation of our fundamental Human Rights.” Mr. Rohee was once again challenged by Mr. Harris to provide the list – even one name would suffice, Mr. Harris had pleaded. The General Secretary told the veteran Media Operative that the list is still being prepared. The Party Executive was asked whether he has any knowledge of persons that are knowingly affiliated – or perceived to be affiliated with the Opposition – that are still carrying out their respective duties in the various Governmental agencies. Rohee replied, “The Government will have to say that, I don’t know of any. Maybe there are but I don’t know them.”
Blairmont sugar worker charged with raping villager, 67
Rape accused Mario Cobis, right, making his way to court handcuffed to the number one accused in the ongoing Bush Lot murder trial. A 36-year-old man accused of raping a 67year-old woman, was placed on $200,000 bail, when he appeared before Magistrate Rhondel Weever, yesterday, in the Blairmont Magistrate Court, West Bank Berbice. According to the case before the court, the accused and the victim live in the same neighborhood, and so they are known to each other. On the night of November 13, last, the victim had secured her premises as per routine before retiring to bed. However, about midnight, she was awakened only to discover the accused, Mario Cobis, a cane harvester attached to the Blairmont Sugar Estate, on top of her. He was naked, and he was armed with a knife. The victim resisted, and sustained cuts
to her right hand, while Cobis was able to subdue her, threatening to kill her during the process, and then he proceed to forcibly have sex with her. It is alleged that Cobis had gained entry to the house through a window on the lower flat, and he made his exit through the very window. The matter was reported to the police, and the investigators had sufficient evidence to arrest and charge Cobis who was refused bail when he appeared in the Fort Wellington Magistrate Court on November eighteenth. He was asked to return to court on Tuesday 6th December. When the case was called the defense applied for bail which was granted. The matter will be called again on January 16, next.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Deposed GPHC Chairman reveals attempts to hide drugs shortage situation etc. Guyana’s premier public health institution, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), is faced with a protracted drugs shortage challenge. This state of affairs was yesterday amplified by Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman who during a press conference held at his Brickdam, Georgetown clinic, attributed the situation to political interference. Dr. Hanoman up to Wednesday was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the hospital. But he insisted that during his tenure as Chairman he was not able to operate independently because of interference from Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton. Dr. Hanoman was appointed to the position of Chairman earlier this year after Dr. Noel Blackman who was initially identified for the position of Chairman was found to be involved in an indiscretion linked to his United States-based medical practice. Yesterday’s press conference came on the heels
of Dr. Hanoman’s receipt of letters from the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Public Health, Mr. Trevor Thomas, and Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, informing him that the life of the Board had come to an end effective November 30, 2016. Dr. Hanoman said that he had received these letters one day earlier. While Minister Norton urged in his letter to Dr. Hanoman that projects such as the appointment of a Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO), which was initiated by Dr. Hanoman, be left to a newly appointed Board, the Permanent Secretary hinted that he (Dr. Hanoman) was not likely to return as a Board Member by wishing him “success in his future endeavours.” According to Dr. Hanoman, he had taken up the meagrely compensated ($10,000 per month) task of Chairman with the understanding that he would be in that position for a period of three years. This publication was reliably informed that
typically, the life of the Board is supposed to span the period of three years with the members of the Board being informed of the continuance of their membership in the month of November each year. But Dr. Hanoman is convinced that he was essentially relieved of his duty because he did not always “see eye to eye” with the Public Health Minister. Dr. Hanoman disclosed too that when he took up the role as Chairman he immediately recognised that there were a number of difficulties at GPHC. He claimed that he was prepared, despite little or no support, to improve the operation of the hospital. “There were administrative difficulties in that governance was poor...the nurses and doctors were not getting along and the place was in turmoil,” related Dr. Hanoman as he revealed that on the occasions that shortages of drugs were highlighted in the public domain the Minister would wrongly assure that
Dr. Carl ‘Max’ Hanoman displays the letters informing him that he has been relieved of his position as Chairman of GPHC. this was not the case. “Patients would accost me on the road and say they don’t have insulin or the hospital does not have this or that type of drugs...” divulged Dr. Hanoman as he pointed out that addressing the problem was not easy given the prevailing
interference. “I realised at that time that the hospital could not have been autonomous...decision making processes were under the thumb of the Minister of Health. He felt he was the ‘allpowerful’,” said Dr. Hanoman. He disclosed that his many efforts to address
the drugs shortage issue and other problems at the hospital it were often to no avail. The situation became even more damning, according to Dr. Hanoman, following the revelations of a forensic audit that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Continued on page 15
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday December 07, 2016
DEBATE ON 2017 BUDGET…
Dr. Roopnaraine details successes of Education Sector in 2016 By Kiana Wilburg There is arguably, no other area of public administration, as intrinsically challenging as that of the Education sector. Using this as his premise, Education Minister, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine made his contribution to the second day of debate on the 2017 budget which took place in the National Assembly. His presentation focused on some of the successes of his sector for 2016, key strategic interventions for the upcoming year and how they are intended to lay the foundation for the arduous task ahead in building a solid education infrastructure as a central pillar of the country’s survival in this still new century. Starting off with his review of 2016, Dr. Roopnaraine said that in keeping with the sector’s mission, the Ministry of Education embarked on new interventions designed to improve access to and the quality of education across all regions. Recognizing the need to improve school attendance, he said that the Ministry launched its pilot breakfast programme in nine East Coast of Demerara schools, which was equally divided between the communities of Buxton and Enmore. The Education Minister said that the project benefited 657 pupils. Further, Dr. Roopnaraine noted that there was the expansion of the hot meal programme
in another 50 nursery and primary schools in Regions One, Seven, Eight, Nine and the Pomeroon River. He said that these improvements benefitted an additional 4,000 students. In 2016, a total of over 70,000 pupils would have received some form of nutritional snack or meal through the national school-feeding programme. Coupled with this, the Education Minister said that his Ministry continued its support service programmes. He said that these included the issuing of school uniform vouchers, of which over 133,000 students benefitted across all levels and the distribution of footwear and bicycles to students, particularly in the hinterland and riverine communities. In an effort to cushion the cost of transportation for the nation’s students, as well as, reduce the rate of dropouts at the post-secondary level, Dr. Roopnaraine said that a monthly stipend has been given to students of the Leonora and Mahaicony Technical and Vocational Centres and the Upper Corentyne Industrial Training Centre. Currently, over 500 such students are benefitting from this initiative, expressed the Education Minister. In keeping with the thrust of balancing the expressive arts with academic excellence, the Education Minister said that an additional
52 primary teachers were trained this year in the delivery of the music programme, giving a total of over 135 music teachers in schools. Further, an additional 1,000 pupils have been introduced to the playing of the recorder across Regions Two, Three, Four, Six and Ten. At the secondary level, he said that a total of 80 students were for the first time, introduced to the playing of the steel pans at three schools namely, Stewartville Secondary, Diamond Secondary and Bladen Hall Secondary. The Education Minister also told the House that the Ministry has recognized that there is a need to address the increased rate of psycho-social issues in schools. To this end, he said that initial efforts have been made to construct counseling rooms in 10 secondary schools namely: Cummings Lodge, Richard Ishmael, St. Mary’s, Lodge, South Ruimveldt, Tutorial, Dolphin, East Ruimveldt, Tucville and Charlestown to provide a space for remedial sessions with students. He said, “We also continued to recognize the invaluable role parents play as partners in education. In this regard, for example, we launched the READ, PLAY, LOVE mass media campaign which - through print, video, radio, and web-based interface - will inundate communities across Guyana with the core message that primary caregivers and the community at large have a critical role to play in the education and socio-emotional development of young children.” Dr. Roopnaraine continued, “We recognize that curriculum is the cornerstone of any education system. This year, the Ministry took some steps towards conceptualizing the revision of its curriculum, including stakeholder consultations, curriculum review and assessment, curriculum development, training for curriculum pilot programmes and implementation and development of national assessment for the curriculum.” The Education Minister added, “In this era of rapid technological change, the Ministry has a mandate of ensuring that all secondary schools are adequately equipped for the teaching of ICT-related subjects. In addition to its ongoing work in providing a growing number of schools with new or upgraded computer lab facilities, 2016 also saw the launch of the One Laptop Per Teacher initiative.”
Education Minister, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine Further, in collaboration with the EGovernment Unit, 82 secondary schools, Dr. Roopnaraine said that eight TVET Institutions and six departments of education were provided with Internet and network connectivity, while 33 additional secondary schools and seven CPCE sites are in the process of being connected. Under the Secondary Improvement Project, the Education Minister said that Grade 7 students from eight pilot secondary schools of North Ruimveldt, Diamond, Bladen Hall Multilateral, Annandale, West Demerara, Leonora, St. Ignatius and Bartica were recipients of 1,120 tablets, all fully loaded with mathematics software with the aim of enhancing learning through the use of technology. Dr. Roopnaraine said that the teachers have been trained to utilize this new methodology and the schools have been equipped with projectors and servers to facilitate this process. Further, the Education Minister said that three science laboratories were completed at Vryman’s Erven, Canje and Annai Secondary schools to enhance the delivery of the sciences in schools. Consistent with the drive to embrace the fundamentals of a green economy, he said Continued on page 30
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
Deposed GPHC Chairman... From page 13 hospital, Mr. Michael Khan, was guilty of some indiscretions in carrying out his duties. In spite of the findings and the fact that a recommendation was made for Khan’s services to be terminated, Dr. Hanoman said that he decided to retain him. But this, he noted, yesterday, was only intended to be for a period in order to utilise Khan’s institutional knowledge to help improve the facility. He alluded to his need for Khan’s support to help revamp sections of the hospital that are required to facilitate clinical sessions for medical students of the University of Guyana. This was recognised as a necessity to aid the possible re-accreditation of the School of Medicine by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP). Khan has since been sent on leave which will end in July 2017 after which his contract will not be renewed. “I am not an advocate for Mr. Khan but...if a Government appoints a Committee of Inquiry and pays $8 million of taxpayers’ money I am duty-bound to heed the recommendations of that Committee,” said Dr. Hanoman. He, however, noted that when the Board of Directors questioned the auditor as it relates to Mr. Khan, the pronouncement was not in sync with the publicised findings. It is Dr. Hanoman’s belief that “(Dr.) Norton had his own agenda against Khan and he did tell me that there is no way that Khan is going to come back here. “’I said but the man is a civil servant, he must have rights...’” According to Dr. Hanoman, he is convinced that his dealing with Khan’s situation was “right and just”. He noted that he was also prepared to act similarly with the Director of Nursing Services (Matron), Sister Collene Hicks, pending the outcome of an investigation into complaints levelled
against her. In this case too, Dr. Hanoman said that Minister Norton instructed that Sister Hicks be sent home. “It was reported that I was the one who sent the Matron on leave but that was not so...The (Minister) said he did not want the Matron there because she was causing disruption at the hospital,” related Dr. Hanoman. Dr. Hanoman also has an issue with the fact that while efforts were made to retain a Deputy CEO in the absence of Mr. Khan to help with the management of the facility this too has essentially been put on pause by the Minister. In fact, he is convinced that the Minister has plans to put in place someone he has favoured for the position. Although attempts were made to appoint the DCEO with the Minister’s approval, Dr. Hanoman said that this simply was not realised and this too he believes was due to deliberate interference. Dr. Hanoman is certain that he was not allowed to be effective in his duty as Chairman because the Minister simply did not want him to be there from the day he was appointed. According to Dr. Hanoman, what is particularly troubling to him is that although he was appointed by the Ministry of the Presidency he was relieved of his duties by the
Minister and the Permanent Secretary. According to Dr. Hanoman, he has written to President David Granger seeking an audience with him but he is yet to be granted this privilege. While he is not willing to return to the hospital as Chairman during the tenure of Minister Norton, Dr. Hanoman said that he is however worried about the efficacy of the operation if it is not under professional management. “(Minister Norton) never worked along with me; there was no cooperation...he is myopic and I will not go back to Georgetown Hospital if George Norton is the Minister of Health. I hope the Government sees the wisdom in looking after the health of this nation,” asserted Dr. Hanoman. But the Minister of Public Health in an invited comment yesterday insisted that the decision to relieve Dr. Hanoman of his duty as Chairman was not his doing but rather it was a Cabinet decision. “I seldom, if ever, make decisions without Cabinet’s approval just to be on the safe side.” Commenting on the reported drugs shortage situation, the Minister shared his belief that while such a development is more a shortcoming of the Board and its Chairman “the Minister gets the blame.”
UG to know int’l...
(From page 7) Sciences Faculty complete with all necessary CAAM-HP amenities. “We are currently negotiating...we are at the level where we have received the design brief from the World Bank that will be fully funded, constructed and furnished, complete with laboratories,” said Dr. Cummings. Dr. Cummings who has been Dean of the Health Sciences Faculty for more than 10 years had given up the position of Dean at the time of the accreditation withdrawal. He reportedly accepted a request to return as Dean to help put measures in place to regain international accreditation. According to Dr. Cummings the School of Medicine has over the years been producing quality individuals who have gone on to advance their skills and are currently excelling in their respective areas of medicine. Among those who have been identified are Dr. Mahendra Carpen, Resident Cardiologist at GPHC; Dr. Zulfikar Bux, Emergency Medicine Specialist at GPHC and Dr. Kishore Persaud, Kidney Transplant Surgeon at the GPHC.
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Man attempts to raid home with owner in bedroom
The robber yesterday.
A man, who identified himself as Vijay Singh attempted to rob a Camp Street, Georgetown house while the owner was in his bedroom. According to information, the man entered through an open door and began packing items into a bag. A neighbour saw and started shouting for the owner, who was in his bedroom in the upper flat of the property. According to police sources, the owner
claimed that he heard the neighbour calling but ignored at first but after hearing the woman calling repeatedly, he decided to venture out. By then, the suspect had run away with a carpet. “The man said he ran through some street and he saw his carpet. When he looked through some crack, he saw the man hiding.” Kaieteur News was told that the suspect was picked up at New Market Street and dropped off at the police station.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Educator Kwame Apata passes Police debunk claims that Lindener was bludgeoned
Guyanese educator, political activist and former UG lecturer, Kwame Apata died yesterday in his adopted homeland of Suriname. Apata belonged to a generation of young African Guyanese men who came under the influence ASCRIA under the leadership of Eusi Kwayana. Apata spent most of his life in Buxton where he worked closely with Kwayana in the field of education. He taught English at the University of Guyana and became an early victim of the
fall-out of Kwayana and Prime Minister Forbes Burnham when he was charged for possession of an unlicensed firearm. Kwame Apata, an activist of the Working People’s Alliance, was tried for the illegal possession of a revolver and ammunition in the wake of the July 1979 arson of the head office of the People’s National Congress that occurred on the anniversary of the July 1978 referendum. As a founding member of the Working People’s Alliance and one involved in
the period of the activities of Walter Rodney, he was dismissed from the University of Guyana. Apata moved to Suriname during the intense confrontation between the WPA and the Guyana government where he remained until his death. In Suriname he worked with the Surinamese government in the field of culture and education where he excelled. Apata was also a poet and playwright. Details of his funeral arrangements would be announced later.
Commander of ‘E’ Division, Farouk KarimBaksh has rubbished reports by some Christianburg residents that one of their own was attacked and bludgeoned in his house. According to the commander, the death of Christianburg resident, John Gonzales, is now being treated as one occasioned by natural causes. This is however expected to be verified after a post mortem is done on the man’s remains, the Commander said. According to KarimBaksh, Gonzales was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex, because he was ill. But several residents in the community begged to differ, and remain adamant that Gonzales was the victim of foul play. Gonzales, of 34 Alstrom Alley, Christianburg, Wismar, Linden, was discovered early yesterday morning by a neighbour, whose sister was alerted by another neighbour,
that he was in his house groaning. The neighbour, upon checking in on Gonzales said that she started to scream after she saw him on his bed drenched in blood. “I was in so much shock, and I kept asking myself who would want to kill John, he never troubled anybody. I’ve lived here all these years and I’ve never known him to trouble anybody.” Gonzales was rushed to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he succumbed while being prepared for transfer to the Georgetown Public Hospital. According to reports, it is suspected that Gonzales was forced to ingest a poisonous substance, and was later bludgeoned with a heavy object. A medical source claimed that Gonzales exhibited symptoms that indicated he would have ingested a poisonous substance. A few persons have reported that Gonzales, who
would often give away stale tennis rolls to persons with fowls, had over the past few days been giving away the rolls which were found to contain rat poison. “One day when he gave me some of the rolls I observed that the rolls were cut, and when I opened it there was rat poison, so I told him about it and he said to just soak it and give the fowls. Other reports indicate that Gonzales was the victim of ‘petty criminals’, who often broke into his apartment and stole his money and other articles. Gonzales, a senior citizen, lived in the bottom flat of a relative’s house in Christianburg. A former employee of the local Bauxite industry, he was unmarried and lived alone. It was inadvertently stated in yesterday’s edition of this paper that Gonzales was 34 years old. Gonzales in fact, lived at 34 Alstrom Alley.
Father of one remanded Tyrone Kennedy was yesterday remanded to prison after he appeared before Magistrate Madan Kissoon in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The charge read that on November 25 at Georgetown, he had in his possession one Glock .40 pistol without being a licensed firearm owner. Police Prosecutor Kerry
Bostwick objected to bail citing the nature of the offence and the fact that the firearm was found in his presence at his home. The Prosecutor stated that there is no special reason for bail and if granted bail it’s likely that he will not return to court. The 52-year-old was remanded and will make his next court appearance on December 13.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
You are the ears and eyes... (From page 23) our history. Even as we celebrate our 50th anniversary of Independence we have had to put up with 50 years of provocation. Some people don’t understand how we feel about this river and about this territorial controversy. “The Venezuelans have been preventing investors from coming here. It has not been easy and I tell my colleagues in the other countries that it is like a bone is stuck in our throat, it is causing us pain, it is preventing us from developing this country to benefit the Guyanese people,” the President said. The President noted that as far as Guyana is concerned, the matter had been settled 117 years ago with the signing of the Geneva Agreement. He noted too that Venezuela at that time, had been awarded land space, which had originally been demarcated as part of British Guiana, yet it continues to claim even larger territory to this day. The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces said that while Guyana is a peaceful and friendly country and is open to discussions, Venezuela too must understand that it is infringing and laying claims on territory, which in no way belongs to that country.
”We can live in peace. Guyana and Venezuela can live in peace. We live in peace with Brazil and we can live in peace with Venezuela but people across the border must understand that this territory is ours. We cannot stop being vigilant because this land belongs not only to us because we are just the trustees. We have to give [this land to] our children and grandchildren. You [soldiers, policemen and civilians] are the eyes and ears at this western point of Guyana to keep us informed, to let us know if there is any breach of our territorial integrity. All of them must understand and respect our territorial integrity,” he said. The President expressed gratitude to the servicemen for their commitment and dedication during that past year, noting that Guyana is grateful. ”I’ve come to thank you for your service to the nation in 2016; I want to urge you to continue to be vigilant. I recognise the work of the GDF and that is why I had designated November 1 as National
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Kaieteur News
Defence Day. “Notwithstanding, the moment we drop our guard or our vigilance, the moment we are slack, we are going to face aggression and provocation. This is a permanent duty we have to the people and the country. “While I know you won’t be able to be home for the holidays, you can rest assured that the duty you are performing here is vital to our nation. I would remind our nation that their peace, comfort and security were bought at a price by the vigilance of the GDF and the Guyana Police Force,” President Granger said. After serving lunch to the servicemen and villagers, who were invited to be a part of the festivities on the base, the Head of State visited the Eteringbang Police Station to get a first-hand look at the facilities. He was warmly received by the policemen there, who noted that this is the very first time that a President, sitting or otherwise, has visited that facility.
Elimination of Gender Based... (From page 17) women, society now would have adapted these same practices. The abuse of any kind to women can lead to low self esteem, body image issues, lost in self-worth and value which could in turn lead to mental health concerns. Barbados and Dominica have started a movement using the hashtags #lifeinleggings and #LeveDomnik (Stand up Dominica) that is quickly becoming popular in Guyana. The movement is where women share their experiences of street harassment on social media. The Guyanese version is similar with the hash tag #ahdontalk at the end. Confidentially is being strictly enforced with the stories that are being shared. One woman wrote: “Growing up I used to think that being called cat and told how much someone wanted to have sex with me was normal. Considering the fact that almost every day I would either experience for myself or see other women go through
the same, I believed that it was okay, it was culture and it was just how things went. “That is until one day on my way to lessons a boy from another school walked up to me, grabbed my privates and ran away. I didn’t even know what to do. I went to lessons and didn’t tell anyone. “I remember the night I was on my way home in a bus. I was sitting next to two young men who began telling me in detail what they wanted to do to me. The people in the seat in front of us heard and did nothing. I am sure that there are many other girls that have accepted this as normal. But no one deserves to have to go through this.”
This was just one of the numbers of women that have anonymously told their stories on social media. In Guyana street harassment happens all the time, it doesn’t matter anymore if you are provocatively dressed or not. When young women walk down the streets the young men and even the older men make it their duty to harass them. They would call them names and tell them about what they would do with them given the chance. On December 10, 2016, GRPA will be hosting an event portraying poetry, dance and drama about the 16 Days of Activism which will commence on that day.
PAGE 26
Woman charged for threatening language Leonie Thurton on Monday appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Madan Kissoon to answer to the charge of assault. The charge read that on November 23, last, at Second Street, Agricola, she threatened Eon Thomson. Thurton, pleaded not guilty to the charge at a sitting of the Night Court in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The 64-year-old, who resides at Lot 79 Brutus Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara, was placed on $10,000 bail. Upon hearing that she was placed on bail, the woman told the court that she does not work anywhere and does not have any money to pay. According to the facts presented on the day in question, the Virtual Complainant who is the nephew of the defendant was at the same address where they both reside. On the day in question the Virtual Complainant refused to do any chores and an argument erupted; the defendant threatened him. Immediately, he made a report to the Police Station. Thompson was not present in court for the hearing of the matter. Thurton made several attempts to address the Court but was not given the chance to do so, rather she was told to go sit on the prisoners’ bench. But even then she refused to be quiet. She returned to court yesterday.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Barbados, T&T gobbling up US$ on Guyana Market By Leonard Gildarie One day after a number of businesses and banking officials warned of an impending foreign currency crisis, government has denied any such situation. Yesterday, both Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, and Governor of Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga, assured that Central Bank is standing by to make the necessary interventions if any shortages arise. Current jitters may be blamed on hoarding by commercial banks compounded by traders from Barbados and Trinidad who have been off-loading their currencies in Guyana and buying up US dollars. Both countries are facing
…Stop hoarding foreign currency, sell at regular rates — says Finance Minister shortages and have been capitalizing on the Guyana situation. In a taped statement yesterday, the official said that yesterday’s lead headline in Kaieteur News on a looming foreign currency crisis was misleading and would come at a time when there is a budget debate and the Opposition has been attempting to scare the populace. The “sky” is not falling, Jordan assured yesterday. According to the Central Bank chief, Dr. Ganga, there is no major foreign exchange crisis. “It is a misleading article. Headline (is) more misleading than anything else.” He said that there is a net supply of foreign currency in the system and as such there would be no depreciation of the currency by any significant amount. He said that there is also no evidence of problems by businesses and citizens to remitting monies from any commercial banks in Guyana. Banking officials and businessmen claimed Monday that a number of US correspondent banks have severed ties with Guyana with
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan
Central Bank chief, Dr. Gobind Ganga
locals forced to turn to the United Kingdom to ensure they receive monies and do business with the US. A badly performing economy and world
commodity prices for sugar, forestry and rice have been seeing less foreign currency coming to Guyana. A dent in the drug trade Continued on page 29
Accused recalls joining... (From page 3) Reid read, the accused and Chi Chi spent about two days in the bush before they travelled to Georgetown. Williams also told police that he did not see what was in the canister but Chi Chi gave him about three ounces
of raw gold. The next day, he took the raw gold and converted it to cash under the clock at Stabroek Market. “Me ain’t know the man but he give me about $200,000 fuh de gold. Me buy clothes wid some ah the money and me spent out the rest pun food and other things. That is all I know, me ain’t know who plan it. Me bin go with Chi Chi in the bush to collect something… “Dem man give the gold because me see what happen… To tell you the truth Big man (Officer), ah vex about the whole thing,” Williams’ statement concluded. Moments after it was read into evidence, the authenticity of the statement was taken to task by Williams’s attorney, Saphier Hussein. The attorney had suggested to the witness that his client was beaten to give the alleged statement. Hussein also suggested that police officers had used “a baton to shock” his client into admitting that he had involvement in the Bartica killings. The witness denied the suggestions. Several of Hussein’s questions were met with objections from the Prosecution and Judge. The questions posed by the attorney to the witness were met with a number of “don’t answer that question” from Justice George. The judge would ask the attorney on occasions to either rephrase the question or tell the witness to completely disregard the question owing to its irrelevance.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
WANTED Couple to work on farm @ Yarrowkabra, ages 35-45yrs, must be experienced in farming. Call: 642-9191/ 2311408 8am-2pm
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620
SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 6471773/660-5257
Visa Application: U.S.A, C a n a da & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535. INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045 Eagle’s: Re-gas -$8,000, Washing machine repairs, Gas Stove, Plasma flat Screen & more. Call: 697-2969/6460966 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Need fairy lights to put up & beautifully arrange for homes, business or parties. Call Elon: 604-7623 Weeder available for yards or lawns, reliable and affordable. Call Elon: 6047623
ACCOMMODATION
FULL TIME WAITER/ WAITRESS AT AAGMAN RESTAURANT, SHERIFF STREET. EXPERIENCED PREFERRED.CALL:219-0158 Receptionist, bartenders, handyman. Apply in person @ 12 Henry Street, Werk-enRust. Call: 223-6284 Security officers wanted, 8 hours & 12 hours shifts, remuneration $3,000 daily, base on qualifications. TIN/ ID/NIS needed. Call: 2316052/40
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One house @ Lamaha Gardens -$1,000US per month, one business place on Sherrif St. - $2,000US per month. Call: 670-7171 1 Business space in Ablert & 6th Street Alberttown. C a l l : 6 1 8 - 3 5 7 5 2 Bedrooms apartment for rent, recently renovated. Call: 641-3318 4 Bedroom apartment fully furnished in Industry, 2 full bathroom -$1200USD. Call: 684-7853/619-2388 Available from 16-12-31: 1-2 bedrooms apartment @ 529 Section ‘B’ Block ‘X’ Diamond, E.B.D. Call: 2164200 after 6:00pm & 689-1518 Rooms to rent in Guest House, Soesdyke Highway, great get away -$7,000 per night. Call: 6000036/ 261-6454 DRESSMAKING Evening wear, working uniforms and more professionally done. Call: 626-2629/ 676-6312
1 Porter to work in shop in the Interior. Call: 678-0565 Live in waitress to work in a bar- Call: 604-6606;692-4646 Live in supervisor for restaurant and guesthouse, experience in cooking and cleaning on Highway. Call: 600-0036/223-1273 Hair stylist specialize in cutting, weaving, body massages, waxing, barbering. Call: 616-6221/ 270-5074 Live in domestic must know to cook, live in waitress (secondary education) $70,000-$80,000 monthly. Call: 610-3974 Salesgirls @ Christine’s Variety Store on Lombard St, must be experienced. Call: 227-8529/626-8003 CHICKEN FARM WORKER NEEDED IN TRINIDAD, FREE HOUSING , SALARY TT$1000 WEEKLY. CALL KELVIN: 868-287-4454 / 868-647-3785/ 718-6411252 TO LET Fully furnished vacation home with all amenities Call during working hours 2271218
CAR RENTAL
C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Cat 928F loader, 3406 Cat Engine, 3116 Cat Engine, 3208 Cat Engine. Contact #650-0402 One complete sawmill situated at Yarrowkabra Industrial site, Soesdyke, Linden Highway. Call: 6441190/ 609-8041 2 CBR bikes 600 RR 2014 and 2009 (year model), 1 raptor 2012 (year model), bike 700R. Call: 677-7970/660-1269 Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc. Call:225-9032;647-2943;604-5198 Kilm Dried Boards, purple heart & greenheart, great prices, will dress. Call: 6270056 Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999 1 Complete boat & engine with hydraulic power steering system 200HP $2.5M Negotiable. Tel:658-5299 Brand new! 1-75HP Yahama outboard power & head complete, 1 complete foot $800,000 Negotiable. Tel:6585299
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SEASON. CALL: 690-6494
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MIN BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPOTR & FAMILY OUTING, CHEAPESTRATE . Call: 698-7807
VEHICLE FOR SALE
LAND FOR SALE
Bluebird for sale 2011 model, dark interior, reverse camera $2.7M negotiable, preorder any vehicle Call: 655-3400
House lot for sale @ Blankenburg -3.5 & 4.5 M, Schoonord -6.5 M. Contact #650-0402
2009 NOAH & VOXY $2.6M IN ‘G’ SERIES, 3 TON OPEN BACK CANTER -$3.6M. CALL: 617-2891
Land at Tuschen -$2.5M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.4M, $1.2M, Zeelugt, Herstelling, All price reduced & terms available. Call: 604-6724
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: SIENTA -$2.3M, RAUM $2.3M, RACTIS -$2.3M, FIELDER -$2.6M, NEVER R E G I S T E R VEHICLE.CALL: 617-2891
38X1200 FT land in Independence St. La Grange -$8M negotiable. Call: 6847853/619-2388
One Freightliner truck and trailer. Call: 615-0887
18,000 Sq.Ft suitable for warehouse or bond at Eorl’s Court, LBI, E.C.D. Call: 626-7127
Honda Civic (04) stick shift from Singapore. Rims, deck. In immaculate condition $1.150M negotiable- call: 618-4257 1 Toyota Allion PVV series: TV Camera, HID, lights, alarm & remote start $2.2M negotiable Call: 649-0956
PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Two buildings on lot at180 Charolotte Street Bourda (W30XL120). (Price negotiable). Call:624-7341/ 227-6817/226-5183
1 Mabe Refrigerator -$58,000, 1 RCA Smart TV with DVD Player -$30,000. Price Negotiable. Owner migrating. Call: 687-3241/656-1153
Vreed-en-Hoop -$27M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$4.5M & $18M, Second Bridge Herstelling -$4M, Parika $45M. (Terms Available). Call: 604-6724/ 673-6300
Nintendo DS lite, Nintendo Wii, Samsung Galaxy TAB4, Apple I-pod 2, I-phone 6 plus. Call: 621-9604/694-1748
House & land for sale at Good Hope Public Road, East Bank Essequibo. Call: 689-0785, 660-2504, 671-5095
Organic Potting soil -$900, lawn grass -$1400, Ficus, Exora, Crotons, Foxtail palm, Supari palm, Ashok trees. Call: 626-1044 40lbs bags halaal whole chicken $265 per Lb, special prices on large quantities. Call: 629-4272 (Sheriff) or 6019602 (Zakir) anytime.
Harmony Inn: furnished apartments and rooms, ideal for overseas visitors from $6,000 per night. Call: 6680306/ 218-1400/ 694-7817
LEARN TO DRIVE
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Kaieteur News
Pitbull/American bully puppy for sale, vaccine and de-wormed up to date, for more info whatsapp or call: 592-6597121
VACANCY One sales representative needed. Please contact: 2258205 Cooks, kitchen assistant, waiters, waitresses, handy boy, bond clerk. Send email to chungsoffice@gmail.com Porters; apply in person @ Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Stabroek. One Experienced Waitress to work in bar contact 677 9085
VACANCY Once Salesman/driver contact 223 5273/4
Experienced carpenter apply in person at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek.
80X160 located in D’Aguair’s Park, gated community, transported. Asking price $38M. Call: 645-6498 High value transported land with small two bedrooms house @ Great Diamond, Housing Scheme -$12M negotiable. Call: 265-4338
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
US$18M smart meters, new transmission lines project…
Cabinet approves troubled Chinese contractor for $1.1B over engineer’s estimate After 10 months of questionable delays in the evaluation of tenders for a multibillion-dollar power project, Cabinet yesterday reportedly granted its no-objection for a Chinese company that has been under fire for its performance. However, news that the contractor, China National Machinery Import and Export (CMC) which is teaming up with China Sinogy Electric Engineering Co. Limited- has been green-lighted for $4.6B- some $1.1B over the engineer’s estimate- has angered other contractors who also tendered. The contractors are now planning to lodge protests with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Public Procurement Commission. Among other things, they want the evaluation process to be investigated. CMC was the same contractor that was involved in the building of seven substations, running new high powered transmissions along the coastlands and laying of two submarine cables across the Demerara and Berbice Rivers. That project, commissioned last year February, is being criticized. The Demerara River cable was badly damaged in July under unclear circumstances, leaving East Demerara and Berbice isolated and without extra power for several months now from the new power station at Vreed-enHoop, West Bank Demerara. The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) shockingly turned back and engaged the same contractor, CMC, to repair that same cable which was badly laid in the first place, spending over $120M. Works are ongoing to repair
-other bidders to lodge protests at IDB, Public Procurement Commission
IDB’s country head, Sophie Makonnen Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan
that cable. A consultant report had blazed CMC over the quality of work on the sub-stations and poor laying of the submarine cable in the Demerara River. The awarding of the project was supposed to be one of the biggest to be embarked on this year by the state. It is part of a US$65M initiative known as the Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP). The monies are coming from IDB which is contributing over US$37M in loans and financing from the European Union for US$27M –mainly grants. The implementation of all the projects is being overlooked by the IDB. The project which has been under evaluation for the past 10 months has raised several eyebrows from the public due to the lengthy time it took to evaluate and the secrecy that surrounded the
project. Many letter writers have commented on the delays. Kaieteur News was contacted yesterday by one of the contractors and it was indicated that their company will protest the decisions to the Public Procurement Commission and the IDB’s independent mechanism, MICI (The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism). MICI is the independent accountability office of the IDB Group. MICI received complaints from communities in the region alleging that they have been harmed by projects financed by one of the group’s institutions as a result of noncompliance with one or more of its operational policies. According to one contractor yesterday, when the facts come out, it will point to severe irregularities and even suggestions of corruption in the evaluation process. It involved officials of GPL and
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
GPL’s Chairman, Robert Badal
the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. Both the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and GPL have been largely tight-lipped about the status of the project. Opposition leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, recently said that delay was unacceptable. ”Under (Minister David) Patterson, that Ministry (of Public Infrastructure) has become a cesspool and that is putting it mildly…There are several (instances)… it is unacceptable.”
The Opposition Leader believed that the reason for the delay was that the evaluators were attempting to go through several “iterations” of the bidding process as they don’t like a particular company. The project is for the procurement and installation of over 25,000 smart meters on the coastlands along with the running of new low and medium voltage transmission lines. Five companies tendered for the project- Sino Hydro
Corporation (China)- $7.1B; Multi Electrical System N.V. (Suriname)- $6.4B; China National Machinery Import and Export (CMC)/China Sinogy Electric Engineering Co. Limited – $4.6B; Cummings Electrical Limited- $3.67B and Enrique Lourido/Fixit Depot$3.5B. The PUUP was in the making for a number of years and is designed to reduce GPL’s inefficiency and increase training for staffers. GPL is facing major problems with technical and commercial losses at a massive 29 percent. GPL wants to reduce its losses to 23.8 percent in the near term.
Murder of Berbice carpenter…
Bisram’s US attorneys promise to cooperate with Guyanese authorities More than a month after he was implicated in the murder of Berbice carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt, US-based suspect Marcus Bisram is finally speaking about the allegations being leveled against him. A statement that was released yesterday by his US attorneys, Mario Gallucci and John Ciurcina, said that the two lawyers have been retained to handle Bisram’s “American interests and work in conjunction with foreign counsel.” “Mr. Bisram would first and foremost give his condolences to the family of Faiyaz Narinedatt. Mr. Bisram denies the rumours, lies and speculation that have been circulating throughout the Guyanese community. “His attorneys have been, and continue to be in contact and co-operate with the Guyanese authorities and local counsel.” But the statement did not indicate whether Bisram will be returning to Guyana to clear his name. Bisram is wanted in
Marcus Bisram Guyana for the murder of carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt, who was found battered to death on the Number 70, Corentyne Public Road on November 1. Several others have been charged in connection with Narinedatt’s death. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has issued a wanted bulletin for Bisram who has been implicated in the murder of a carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt. Bisram returned to the
United States of America shortly after the murder of the carpenter on November 1, last. Bisram is 27, and his address in Guyana is listed as Lot 115 Section ‘A’ Number 70 Village Corentyne, Berbice. The multi-millionaire, who is the founder of the Marcus Brian Bisram Foundation, is said to have donated $2M to a Berbice Community Policing group and recently pledged $200M annually to the needy in Berbice.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Setting sights on fourth term, Merkel vows tough line on migration (Reuters) - Angela Merkel laid out her case for a fourth term as German chancellor yesterday, seeking to energize her conservatives with a call to ban full-face Muslim veils and the promise of a tougher stance on immigration after a record influx of refugees. Speaking to a party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Essen, the western rust belt city where she won the party leadership 16 years ago, Merkel sought to present herself as a guarantor of stability in an uncertain world. The meeting was taking place a month after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and at a time when Europe is reeling from a surge in populism and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Merkel has been described as the last guardian of western democratic values, a suggestion she rejected. “You must help me,” she said in an impassioned appeal to 1,000 CDU delegates. “No one, not even someone with great experience, can change things for the good in Germany, in Europe, in the world more or less on their own - certainly not a chancellor of Germany.” She was later re-elected head of the party by 89.5 percent of the delegates present, down from 96.7 percent two years ago. Europe’s most powerful leader announced in November that she would seek to win a fourth term next autumn - a feat achieved by only two postwar chancellors, Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl, both of the CDU. Merkel’s decision to allow
German chancellor Angela Merkel the migrant influx last year hit her popularity, triggered a damaging fight with her Bavarian allies and led to a surge in support for the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party is expected to win its first seats in the federal parliament next year. In a nod to these troubles, Merkel began her speech with a promise not to allow a repetition of last year’s migrant influx, when nearly 900,000 migrants poured into Germany, and drew cheers when she said the Muslim fullface veil was not compatible with German culture. “Here we say ‘show your face’. So full veiling is not appropriate here. It should be prohibited wherever legally possible,” she said in a speech that lasted an hour and a quarter and was followed by 11 minutes of applause. A year ago, the CDU rejected such a ban. “OFF THE RAILS” Admitting that many people felt the world was “going off the rails”, Merkel told
the conference: “We are faced with a world, especially after the U.S. election, that needs to re-order itself, with regard to NATO and the relationship with Russia.” Britons voted for Brexit in June, while Trump has questioned the relevance of the postwar transatlantic alliance and sent conciliatory signals to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The brutal war in Syria has led hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee to Europe. The AfD is one of many populist parties across Europe that are challenging the political establishment and threatening the liberal democratic values that have shaped the West since World War Two. In her speech, Merkel called the bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo a “disgrace” and warned Britain there would be no “cherry picking” in its Brexit talks. She made a case for free trade and won applause when she talked about slashing German unemployment. When she came into office in 2005, George W. Bush was U.S. president, Jacques Chirac was in the Elysee Palace in Paris and Tony Blair was British prime minister. An Emnid poll on Sunday showed support for the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) at a 10-month high of 37 percent, 15 points ahead of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). “The 2017 election for the Bundestag will be difficult like no previous election - at least since German reunification” in 1990, Merkel told the conference.
-Terror after T&T TREMBLES strong earthquake All cardinal points of Trinidad and Tobago were rocked by an earthquake yesterday around 5.42 p.m., with the UWI Seismic Research Centre later giving a preliminary reading of 6.1 on the Richter Scale, with a origin depth of 29 kilometres. The United States Geological Survey reported a Magnitude of 5.8 at a depth of 35 km The tremor left people traumatised. Citizens took immediately to social media site Facebook to state that the shake-up was the worst most of them had ever felt. The location of the ‘quake was given as Latitude: 11.04N and Longitude: 60.70W, with its centre closer to Scarborough, Tobago. Tobagonians reported items falling off shelves and smashing, and minor property damage. According to the University of the West Indies, it was felt 16 km SSE of Scarborough, 78 km NE of Arima and 99 km NE of Port of Spain. The UWI Seismic Research Centre stated on its Facebook page that the event has not been reviewed by an analyst and was automatically located by a seismological computational system. It is therefore a preliminary result and this may vary when new additional data is processed. In Port of Spain, people still at work in high rise buildings – which swayed and rattled as the ‘quake progressed - vacated the premises right after, fearful of aftershocks. On Facebook, citizens in
Barbados, T&T gobbling up US$... From page 26 has also reportedly been affecting the foreign currency inflows. Dr Ganga made it clear yesterday, that Guyana has managed to acquire at least one large correspondent bank to replace Bank of America and JP Morgan. According to Minister Jordan, Central Bank has always helped the local financial market whenever a shortage crops up… a genuine shortage that is. In some cases, the Central Bank has even stepped in also and mop up the excess cash. This happened earlier this year during and after the Independence celebrations when a number of visitors came. These interventions, Jordan explained, are typical of Central Bank’s operations. The minister admitted that while sugar and rice have
fallen short and therefore affecting what is coming in, Guyana’s foreign reserves at the Central Bank have improved from US$595M from end of 2015 to US$625M with considerable holdings at the commercial banks. These holdings have improved from US$955M to US$1042M. As such, there is no shortage and no crisis. He said that Central Bank, as regulator of financial institutions, will take all the necessary actions to protect the economy and reserves. While not naming measures, the minister warned that Government is paying close attention to indications of traders from Trinidad and Tobago and from Barbados who have been coming to Guyana and dumping their currencies here, buying up US dollars. The Central Bank
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Kaieteur News
Governor said that special attention will be paid to how foreign currencies are being off-loaded at the bank. The attention will focus on the transactions occurring at both bank and non-bank cambios. According to figures provided by Bank of Guyana, there is evidence of “offloading”. In 2014, there was $9M from Trinidad and Tobago in the system. This has leapfrogged to $38M. Barbados dollars moved from $8M in 2014 to $13M this year- indications that something is happening. “This is crucial. It (the Kaieteur News headline) is not based on reality. There is a net supply of foreign currency- last week a net purchase.” Ganga is hoping that instead of commercial banks
de p e n d i n g o n C e n t r a l Bank for interventions to release foreign currencies when the need arises, there should be more interbank trading. It is not happening now. Meanwhile, to bolster his arguments of a tougher stance on legit traders, Minister Jordan recalled in the late 70s and in the 80s when a number of countries in the region adopted measures to ensure Guyana currencies are not flooding their territories. He pointed out that Guyana has the right to protect itself and ensure no raid on the international reserves. He said that there are “lots of foreign currency” in the commercial banks but what they should be doing is stop hoarding and “sell the people” at the regular rates.
6.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Trinidad and Tobago. Source: UWI Seismic/ Image from social media various parts of Trinidad reported feeling “a huge earthquake”, with some reporting that their pets showed signs of anxiety right before the event. Meanwhile, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) issued a statement denying that a tsunami warning had been issued for the east coast of Trinidad or anywhere. Two weeks ago, Trinidad and Tobago was hit by a 5.0 magnitude earthquake. Citizens were reminded then, that the Big One was overdue and they need to prepare. According to the SRC’s director Dr Joan Latchman,
that tremor occurred in the Gulf of Paria and was felt in San Fernando, Port of Spain and Arima. Latchman said that there has been 65 “events” for the year, ending in July, in the Gulf of Paria. Eight events have been greater than 4.0 magnitude. On April 7, a 5.6 magnitude was registered making it one of the larger ones to have occurred in the Gulf of Paria, from the data collected up to the end of July. Latchman said it is not unusual to expect an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude or higher occurring each year and this has been consistent.
Cuba, U.S. to discuss detente in wakeof Trump election (Reuters) - Cuba and the United States will draw up a roadmap for deepening their detente today in a first meeting since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and the death of Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. The fifth U.S.-Cuban bilateral commission comes at a time of increased uncertainty about the future of U.S.-Cuban relations given Trump’s promise to end the detente if Cuba did not offer a better “deal.” The administration of outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama has pressed American companies to complete additional business deals in Cuba to help further cement the president’s policy by the time Trump takes office on January 20. “We will define the actions that will be carried out
in the coming weeks to further the process of improving relations,” the Cuban foreign ministry said yesterday. Those actions would include high-level visits and accords of cooperation in areas of mutual interest, it said. Communist-ruled Cuba has so far mostly stayed quiet on Trump’s statements, waiting to see whether he converts his tough rhetoric into policy change. Several major U.S. companies, such as General Electric, are in the final stages of negotiating deals with Cuba, sources familiar with the matter say. One of those sources, based in Washington, said more than half a dozen announcements, ranging from cruise ships and travel to manufacturing and telecommunications, are believed to be in the works.
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Kaieteur News
Brazilian charged with murder of man found in pit
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Police vehicle WRECKED
OOPS! – This police pickup reportedly crashed in the vicinity of the Weldaad Police Station, WCB yesterday. There were no indications of injuries. (Photos by Javed Ishmael)
Brazilian National Makael Jackson DaSilva was yesterday remanded to prison for the murder of Ked Lewis, whose body was found with multiple injuries in a pit at Dukwari Backdam, Cuyuni River last week Wednesday. DaSilva, 24, of Iracema, Boa Vista, Brazil was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan yesterday, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The unrepresented man who spoke to the court through a Portuguese interpreter, will return to court on December 15, at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court. According to reports, Lewis of Quataman Village, North Rupununi, was in the company of Jackson at around 16:00hrs on November 29. However, at around 10:00hrs the next day, the General Manager of the camp and a group of workers discovered Lewis’s body in the pit after they followed a trail of blood some distance away from the camp.
Dr. Roopnaraine details successes of...
REMANDED: Makael Jackson DaSilva
From page 14 that the Ministry of Education has partnered with the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) in an attempt to reduce the usage and cost of electricity. The Education Minister said that the GEA has conducted energy assessments at 29 secondary schools across Guyana and has conducted energy saving awareness exercises at three schools in Georgetown. He said, too, that GEA has also provided support to the Ministry of Education through the rehabilitation of photovoltaic systems at five hinterland schools in the hinterland regions. Dr.
Roopnaraine stated that GEA has also installed solar photovoltaic systems at seven schools, all in an attempt to ultimately reduce the usage of energy and electricity costs. This year, the Education Minster said that two new schools were completed— La Parfaite Harmonie Primary School and Smyth Street Nursery School. Additionally, the process for the construction of three additional nursery schools commenced at Mocha, Turkeyen and Carmelita. This year, too, the Education Minister said that the Ministry continued to position the national
university as a centre for innovation. In this regard, Dr. Roopnaraine said, “Under the University of Guyana Science and Technology Support (UGSTSP), 15 Bachelor’s Degree programmes in the faculties of Natural Sciences, Technology, Agriculture and Forestry and Earth and Environmental Sciences were reformed and introduced in the 2016/2017 academic year.” He said that in addition to this, 13 buildings were rehabilitated and laboratory equipment and furniture were installed in the science and technology faculties and a
fiber optic ring and wireless network was installed. The Education Minister stated that research projects in the areas of the impact of mining on biodiversity, alternative medicine and the integration of environmental education in the mathematics curriculum were completed. He said, too, that research in other areas such as the carbon storage potential of the mangrove forests in Guyana; the effects of corilla on secondary and primary cancer cell lines; and the impact of mining on fish diversity and diet in coastal and inland rivers of Guyana, continued.
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
Syrian troops enter Aleppo’s Old City, poised for war’s biggest victory
Civil Defence members look for survivors under rubble of damaged buildings after air strikes on the northern neighbourhood of Idlib city, Syria. (REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah) (Reuters) - Syria’s army and allies pushed into rebelheld parts of Aleppo’s Old City yesterday, a monitoring group said, looking closer than ever to achieving their most important victory of the five-year-old civil war by driving rebels out of their last urban stronghold. A rebel official said they would never abandon Aleppo, after reports that U.S. and Russian diplomats were preparing to discuss the surrender and evacuation of insurgents from territory they have held for years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks with the United States on a rebel withdrawal would begin in Geneva as soon as this morning. But sources familiar with the plans later told Reuters no talks would take place this week in the Swiss city. The rebels, who controlled large parts of eastern Aleppo for nearly five years, have lost around two thirds of their territory in the city over the past two weeks. Government forces entered rebel-held parts of the Old City late yesterday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. A rebel official denied they had entered but said the army and its allies were trying to enter and battles continued. A military source said troops were “advancing in that direction”. The government now appears closer to victory in the city than at any point since 2012, the year after rebels took up arms to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, made more than half of Syrians homeless and created the
world’s worst refugee crisis. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said it would now accept no truce in Aleppo, should any outside parties try to negotiate one. Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Monday calling for a week-long ceasefire. Moscow said rebels used such pauses in the past to reinforce. Tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in rebel-held districts of Aleppo, reduced to a few kilometers (miles) across. The United Nations, whose staff are restricted to government-controlled areas of the city, on Tuesday described “a very disastrous situation in eastern Aleppo”. “There has been heavy shelling on us, there are massacres (of civilians), there’s no electricity and little internet access,” said Abu Youssef, a resident of one of the areas still held by the fighters. Damascus and Moscow have been calling on rebels to withdraw from the city, disarm and accept safe passage out, a procedure that has been carried out in other areas where rebels abandoned besieged territory in recent months. Moscow wants negotiations with Washington to facilitate such an evacuation. But despite Lavrov’s announcement of a meeting in Geneva, a U.S. official said firm plans for talks had never been set, though Washington was still working to reopen negotiations. “We’re not going to negotiate this publicly,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Rebels have told U.S. officials they will not withdraw, and said there had been no
more formal contact with Washington on the topic since last week. “The Americans asked if we wanted to leave or to stay ... we said this is our city, and we will defend it,” Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official for the Fastaqim rebel group, told Reuters on Tuesday. The Cold War-era superpowers have backed opposing sides in the war, but Russia has intervened far more openly and decisively, joining Iran as well as Iraqi and Lebanese Shi’ite groups to back Assad. Some of the groups fighting in eastern Aleppo have received support in a U.S.backed military aid program to rebels deemed moderate by the West. However, this has been minimal compared to massive Russian air support to aid Assad’s government, which has turned the tide of the war in his favor over the past year. The army said it had taken over areas to the east of the Old City including al-Shaar, Marja and Karm al-Qaterji, bringing them closer to cutting off another pocket of rebel control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said alShaar and some other areas had been taken, but did not immediately confirm the takeover of all the areas announced by the army. A Turkey-based rebel official denied al-Shaar had been taken but said fighting continued in the neighborhood. Outside of Aleppo, the government and its allies are also putting severe pressure on remaining rebel redoubts. The Observatory said a heavy Syrian and Russian (Continued on page 33)
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
Syrian troops enter Aleppo’s... (From page 32) aerial bombardment in the last three days in the mostly rebel-held Idlib province to the southwest had killed more than 100 people. WINTER IS COMING The rebels’ loss of the eastern half of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city before the war, would be the biggest victory of the conflict so far for Assad, securing his grip on all Syria’s main cities. It would also be a success for President Vladimir Putin who intervened to save Moscow’s ally in September 2015 with air strikes, and for Shi’ite Iran, whose elite Islamic Republic Guard Corps has suffered casualties fighting for Assad. U.N. official Jens Laerke said: “Winter is approaching, it’s already getting very, very cold so that has come up as a priority need ... Food is running out, the little food that is available is being sold at extremely inflated prices.” While rebels have said they will not leave, one opposition official, who declined to be identified, conceded they may have no alternative for the sake of civilians who have been under siege for five
months and faced relentless government assaults. Insurgents, meanwhile, have fought back ferociously inside Aleppo. Some of the fighting took place on Monday within a kilometer (half a mile) of the ancient citadel, a large fortress built on a mound, and around the historic Old City. With narrow alleyways, big mansions and covered markets, the ancient city of Aleppo became a UNESCO heritage site in 1986. Many historic buildings have been destroyed in the fighting. Apart from their support for rebels fighting against Assad, Western countries are also taking part in a U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group which broke away from other anti-Assad groups to proclaim a caliphate in territory in Syria and neighbor-
ing Iraq. Moscow says helping Assad is the best way to defeat Islamic State. Western countries say the group gains strength from the fury unleashed by Assad’s military crackdown on his enemies. France, a staunch backer of the anti-Assad opposition, will convene foreign ministers of like-minded countries in Paris on Saturday to try to come up with some form of strategy in the wake of the Aleppo onslaught, although few diplomats expect anything concrete to be achieved. Western countries say that even if government forces take Aleppo, they will still not be able to end the conflict, as long as millions of Syrians see the government as a brutal enemy. “Aleppo falls, but the war goes on,” said one U.S. official.
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REDS, AN ICON CALLS IT A DAY... (From page38) handicap. ‘In Guyana I was employed by Hugh Cholmondely (1969), at a radio station which he managed. I broadcast my first test match at Bourda (Guyana) in 1971.’ When asked to name the two most memorable cricket matches he broadcast, Reds took a long pause and then said: ‘There are so many, it’s difficult to choose just two. ’He then settled on the quarter-final match between West Indies and Pakistan in the first ever cricket world cup, a sixty-over affair played at Edgbaston, England in 1975. He then mentioned a test match between the West Indies and Australia at Adelaide, in January 1993,
which West Indies won by one run. In that one-day quarter-final contest Pakistan scored 276. West Indies with a strong batting line up were struggling at 203 for nine. Few if any, had given the West Indies any chance of winning that match. But in walked Andy Roberts to partner Derek Murray in the middle. The two began slowly taking quick singles and two’s whenever the opportunity arose. Slowly but surely these two were inching towards 276, which they eventually achieved and won the match for West Indies. The West Indies went on the win the first ever one-day cricket world cup. Reds observed that during that tense last wicket part-
nership, no one left West Indies players dressing room. Many players wept openly as victory was snatched from the certain jaws of defeat, on that fateful day. At Adelaide in 1993, the last Australian pair of Craig Mc. Dermott and Tim May needed two runs to win, after they had added 40 runs for the last wicket. Walsh bowled a delivery outside the leg stump which Mc. Dermott played for what seemed a certain boundary. Desmond Haynes dived full length at forward short leg and brilliantly stopped any runs. The last ball of the over was a bouncer which Mc. Dermott gloved into the hands of wicketkeeper Junior Murray. West Indies won that
Wednesday December 07, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Keep your wits about you and be sure that you can trust those you confide in You can learn valuable information if you listen and observe what others are doing and saying. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Family trips or projects should be on your mind. Your home may be in an uproar and you are best to stay out of the line of fire if at all possible. Travel will be on your mind, but you should be sure that you've got all your work up-to-date. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You could be quite erratic regarding your personal relationship. Take a long look at your present direction and consider your professional options. Be careful disclosing information. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't be afraid to speak in defense of others. Try not to hurt your partner's feelings. Try to spend more time with children and relatives. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Your ability to work with detail will bring recognition. Residential moves look hectic and sudden changes in your life are likely. Entertainment should include the whole family or a lot of your friends. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Try not to let relatives or friends cause any friction
with your mate. Don't hold back. Avoid too much discourse with colleagues today. LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Don't be too quick to judge your position or surroundings at work. It might be time to shake a leg and do a personal makeover. Throw yourself into your work. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You can make changes that will enhance your appearance. Escapist tendencies may lead to overindulgence. Don't overspend on friends or children. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Be sure to pay attention to your bank account. Pleasure trips will ease the tension between you and your mate. Be quiet about your intentions or ideas that might bring added cash. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Someone may try to damage your reputation. Don't push your opinions on others today or you may find yourself in the doghouse. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You need to spend some time pampering yourself. Don't be too quick to sign documents. Don't draw too much attention to yourself at work. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Moves or the possibility of having someone different living with you may be difficult at first. You should be doing something special with children. Opportunities to make financial gains through investments look promising.
match by two runs. That victory tied the series at one game each. West Indies then went to Perth where they demolished the Australians within three days of the five day test. Ambrose took seven for seventy-six in that match. Reds colleague and friend Tony Cozier (who passed away earlier this year), was fondly remembered. Reds, on his first tour of duty, was sent with Cozier by the CBU to broadcast the series between England and the West Indies in 1975. They were joined by Jeffrey Charles of Dominica who then worked for the BBC in Lon-
don. The English commentators in that series were Christopher Martin-Jenkins and John Arlott. Reds and Cozier went on to broadcast cricket for the next forty years together travelling the then known cricketing world. When asked to what does he attribute his obvious success Reds replied thusly: ‘I think there was some guiding hand which led me to the life and profession I eventually had. There was also very hard work and effort on my part. At no time did I allow myself to think I was not good enough to achieve becoming
a cricket commentator.’ It may very well be that that same guiding spirit led him to Saint Lucia where he headed the OECS sports desk from 1984 to1996. Reds now calls Saint Lucia home. During his many years in Saint Lucia Reds has been a great asset to sports in general and cricket in particular. Sports enthusiasts will welcome this opportunity to wish Reds the best of health and good luck as he retires from broadcasting the game he so dearly loves. Reds is due to broadcast his last cricket match in Guyana between that country and Barbados from 9 to 12 December, 2016.
Eagles face Net Rockers; Amelia’s... (From page 37) the forward line. Eagles will call on the exciting young Christianburg/ Wismar Secondary ‘Multi’ School forward Omar Brewley who is destined to be one of the best players in the region, he will combine his talent with Tashiki Whitehead to bring the Christianburg side victory tonight. In the other match, both teams are hoping to begin their quest on a positive note, Ray Bobb-Semple should be key in Panthers’ opening game but equally important would be the young and talented duo of Keshawn Dey (defender) and Omally Castello. However, their opponents Hi Stars will rely on the free scoring ability that Tony ‘Spirit ‘ Adams brings to the
Russell leads Dhaka to...
(From page 32) slipped to 65 for 5. Russell counter-attacked with three sixes and four boundaries in his 25-ball 46, and also added 49 runs for the seventh wicket with Dwayne Bravo who struck one six in his 22-ball 23. Junaid finished with his second four-wicket haul of the tournament by dismissing Alauddin Babu in the final over. Dhaka Dynamites 140 for 8 (Russell 46, Junaid 4-24) beat Khulna Titans 86 (Bravo 3-10, Russell 3-16) by 54 runs. (ESPNcricinfo)
pitch in addition to the efforts of Jermain McBean and Marley Major. Tomorrow night, another set of matches will be contested at the same venue in the 10-team tournament. The defending champion is Fed-
eral Winners Connection a title they have held for the past three years. The grand prize at stake is $1M compliments of beverage giants Banks DIH through their GT Beer brand along with several other incentives.
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
Warner, Marsh help Australia reclaim Chappell-Hadlee Trophy Fourteen years and one month after Nasser Hussain infamously offered Australia first use of a Gabba pitch that proved brimful of Ashes runs, Kane Williamson gambled similarly and was left with an equally bitter taste of defeat, surrendering the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in the process. Now, as then, there were mitigating circumstances: the pitch looked to have something in it after rain, and humid, overcast weather suggested apt conditions for swing. But after a couple of useful early deliveries things cleared for Australia’s batsmen; so much so that they accelerated to the team’s second highest total on home soil. D a v i d Wa r n e r a n d Steven Smith set a platform that a supercharged Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh took full advantage of, leaving Williamson’s visitors to chase in hope rather than expectation. Granted so many runs to defend, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all put in strong stints, while Head’s part-time off spin was frugal. After the toss was delayed by more than half an hour due to light drizzle in
Canberra, the hosts were given an ideal start by Warner and a noticeably tighter Aaron Finch, getting through an early period of new ball movement to ease the pathway for the rest. Wa r n e r ’ s h u n d r e d combined judicious shot selection with plenty of hustle between the wickets and power off the bat, his sixth in ODIs this year. Most notable were his muscular, punched drives down the ground that gave New Zealand’s seamers very little margin for error. Smith, following up from his ground record 164 at the SCG on Sunday, produced another innings of substance and style in Warner’s wake, as the pair combined for a stand worth 145 at better than a run a ball. Head was promoted above Marsh when Warner exited, and vindicated the decision by clattering 57 from 32 balls, before Marsh himself followed up with a bullying 76 from 39 - the swap appeared to suit both players. Needing to win to keep the series alive, New Zealand dropped Lockie Ferguson after his Sydney debut for the more experienced swing bowler
Tim Southee. Australia dropped Adam Zampa from the side that won handsomely at the SCG, replacing him with the allround skills of James Faulkner. Having gambled on overcast skies and the potential for a slightly tacky pitch, Williamson needed early wickets but did himself no favours when placing only two slips for Warner. In his first over, Trent Boult found enough swing and bounce to draw an edge from Warner, but it flew past Jimmy Neesham’s outstretched left hand at slip rather than straight into the lap of where third slip might have been. Finch, meanwhile, showed he had worked on his first ball dismissal at the SCG, getting forward and across to cover the moving ball, and ensured that Williamson resorted to the spin of Mitchell Santner in only the 11th over of the innings. By the time Finch was bowled behind his pads trying to sweep Santner, there were 68 runs on the board and a platform had been laid. Smith wasted little time picking up the thread left by his Sydney innings, while
U.S. U-17’s top Brazil, capture Nike International Friendlies title Lakewood Ranch, Florida — The United States under-17 national team (3W-0D-0L, 9 points) earned a first-place finish in the 2016 Nike International Friendlies after a 3-0 win over Brazil (1-1-1, 4) on Sunday night in front of 4,072 at Premier Sports Campus Stadium Field. It marked the Americans’ third Nike International Friendlies title since 2010 and first since 2013. Ayomide Akinola, Josh Sargent and Timothy Weah led the way with a goal apiece, while goalkeeper Justin Garces kept a clean sheet. The U.S. broke through in the 43rd minute, when Akinola chased down a ball over the top and forced Matheus Stockl into a turnover, before sliding his effort past the onrushing goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao. Six minutes after the break, Sargent doubled the
Australian players celebrate after winning the match and clinching the Chappell-Hadlee series © Getty Images
Warner played shots all round the ground without ever losing control of his tempo. Through strong running and the occasional boundary, he pushed on to three figures, doing so with near enough to 20 overs of the innings still remaining. It took a fine low catch from Williamson at cover to account for Warner, before Smith skied an attempt to loft over cover and so missed out on consecutive hundreds. Head was rapidly into stride, pinging boundaries with relish, in contrast with a more halting effort from Marsh. These two had traded places in the batting order, and it was not hard to imagine Head keeping his new-found place at No. 5 in the future, even if Marsh gradually found his rhythm to strike the ball with the sort
of power associated with his best batting days. He put an exclamation point on the innings with a trio of straight sixes in the final over from a humbled Matt Henry. Of the New Zealand bowlers, only Santner avoided considerable punishment; a trio of noballs and the resultant free hits did not help either. They commenced their pursuit with a brazen Martin Guptill, following up from his SCG hundred. But Guptill was robbed of his opening partner Tom Latham via a return catch from Josh Hazlewood, before the ball of the night from Pat Cummins found his outside edge. From there the visitors were always facing a dreadfully difficult task. Williamson put together a typically organised innings, and had staunch support
from Neesham - even after he was struck a stinging blow to the right arm by Mitchell Starc. But their efforts did little to prevent the asking rate blowing out, and the consequent pressure delivered a steady stream of skied catches to Smith’s infielders. After a horrid start to summer, the Australians have found a little of their former strut - Hazlewood and Starc can expect to be given a breather from the third match at the MCG on Friday. Williamson’s men, meanwhile, have some thinking to do, starting with t h e c o i n t o s s . Scores: Australia 5 for 378 (Warner 119, Marsh 76, Smith 72, Head 57) beat New Zealand 262 (Williamson 81, Neesham 74, Cummins 4-41) by 116 runs.
Russell leads Dhaka to BPL final with Khulna rout USA U-17 forward Joshua Sargent (right) tries to elude a Brazil defender. (John Dorton/isiphotos.com) advantage, receiving a clever through ball in the right side of the box and finishing inside the left post beyond substitute goalkeeper Arthur Gazze. Weah completed the scoreline in stoppage time off a Bryan Reynolds assist. ”The players are technical enough now that we can play against the best teams in the world and in some cases, not only compete with them on a technical and tactical side,
but be successful like we were this week,” said U.S. head coach John Hackworth. “I don’t like to put results and development together as one, but it is an important part of the process that you learn how to be successful, in these games and tournaments.” Portugal (1-1-1, 4) captured third place and Turkey (0-0-3, 0) ended up in last. (CONCACAF)
Dhaka Dynamites qualified for the BPL final by crushing Khulna Titans by 54 runs in the first qualifier in Mirpur. They will play the winner of today’s second qualifier between Rajshahi Kings and Khulna, who will get a second chance for a place in the final. Andre Russell turned in a fine all-round performance, making 46 to help Dhaka recover from a poor start to finish with 140 for 8. He then took three wickets to help bowl Khulna out for 86 runs in 16.2 overs. Dhaka’s defense turned feisty in the first over when pace bowler Abu Jayed charged towards umpire Khalid Mahmood after he had denied a lbw appeal
against Andre Fletcher. Shakib Al Hasan released Dhaka’s anger by having Fletcher stumped in the sixth over. Russell then removed Mahmudullah and Hasanuzzaman, who was given out lbw by umpire Mahmood but replays showed the full toss was missing the leg stump. Shakib sent Hasanuzzaman with a few words. Benny Howell was also the recipient of a poor umpiring decision. He was given out lbw after getting a thick inside edge onto his front pad, but umpire Nadir Shah didn’t budge. Left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam was the beneficiary. Abdul Mazid and
Nicholas Pooran popped easy catches to the bowler and long-off in the 10th and 13th overs respectively. Bravo removed Shuvagata Hom and Mosharraf Hossain in the 15th over, which left Khulna tottering at 84 for 8. Bravo finished the game with his third wicket. Junaid Khan had earlier rocked Dhaka’s top order, removing Mehedi Maruf, Kumar Sangakkara and Evin Lewis withing the first four overs. Nasir Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan recover the innings briefly but fell to Fletcher’s legspin after making 13 and 18 respectively as Dhaka (Continued on page 31)
Kaieteur News
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Nand Persaud Karibee Rice Sprint Classic
Golden Blue Echo/Appealing Harvest dominate day’s events
Mohini Persaud presents the winning trophy to Nazrudeen Mohamed for Appealing Harvest’s victory. ‘Golden Blue Echo,’ out of the Nand Persaud Karibee Rice Stable, capitalised on home turf to defeat a competitive line-up in the feature event when the second Nand Persaud and Sons, Karibee Rice Mega Sprint concluded at the Company’s race facility, #36 Vi l l a g e , M a c e d o n i a , Corentyne, Berbice last Sunday afternoon. Eighty horses competed in the day’s activities, coordinated by the Sky Plus Inc., for hundreds of thousands in cash and other prizes which also saw ‘Appealing Harvest’ of the Jumbo Jet Stable dominating the track in the G and Lower event while relegating ‘Quiet Dancer’ and ‘Big Man Bass’ to second and third place respectively. T&T finished in the fourth place. ‘Appealing Harvest’ returned later in the day to claim the H & Lower event
from ‘Sweet Return,’ ‘Amazing Run’ and ‘Maid of the Cat,’ in that order. Owned and trained by Mohendra Persaud and imported from Canada, ‘Golden Blue Echo’ showed that its recent victory at a previous meet at the very venue was no fluke when it replicated the win in convincing fashion. Known for its speed and power, Golden Blue Echo, ridden by Jockey Randolph Richmond, wasted little time in establishing its dominance early in the 880 yards event. Sustained speed and stamina saw it crossing the finish line well ahead of its competitors to cart off the $400,000 winner’s prize and the Republic Bank trophy. Its stable mate, Honey Flow, finished in second place with Got to GO closing off the podium spots. Another thoroughbred out of the Karibee Rice stable, Brave Sky, finished fourth.
The event for two-yearold and J & Lower horses was won by Liquid Lion ridden by Willis of the Baker stable while ‘Secret Escape’ finished second. There was a dead heat and the third place slot was shared by Seven Dust and Massapequa Dr. Secret Escape of the Vibert stable, with the Jamaican, Brian Blake in saddle, won the K & Lower race just in front of ‘She’s in Control’ and ‘Plane Land’ respectively. There was a dead heat between Daddy’s Dollar and Red Region for the fourth place slot. Ms. Olympic of the Singh stable sprinted away from the field in the event for two-year-old maidens with Miss Angelie, Genuine Risk and Irish Baby following in that order. ‘I am Back’ won the L Class open event from Easy Lion, Blondy and Christmas Feelings, respectively while
Mr and Mrs Persaud receives the Republic Bank trophy from Gobin Harbajan. ‘Release the Heat of the Busgith stable proved too hot to handle, galloping over the line before Wicked Champion, Stormy Express and My Swallow respectively.
Activities were not conducted devoid of mishap as Stormy Express, ridden by Ross, fell after a collision with another animal, broke two of its legs and had to be put down. Meanwhile,
Randolph Richmond was adjudged Top Jockey and received a trophy from organizer, Mohin Persaud, on behalf of Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Bourda Market.
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
T&T to bid for CPL opening Zaman Khan triumphs at new Brian Lara stadium in Flying Ace Cycle Club season closing event
Brian Lara Stadium
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, CMC - The Trinidad and Tobago government is planning to bid for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to be staged at the long awaited Brian Lara Stadium which is nearing completion, according to media reports here. Work on the stadium was restarted a year ago after a delay in construction that ran for several years but now officials are looking to finish
work by January 2017. The Guardian newspaper has quoted government sources as saying a bid will be made to CPL for the stadium to host the opening ceremony in July to coincide with the official opening of the ground. Construction of the facility started in 2006 with an estimated cost of $500 million TT dollars however this figures is expected to have increased significantly as a result of cost overruns
and the increase in the prices of materials. The Brian Lara stadium, named in honour of the former West Indies captain and one of the finest batsmen of his era, will serve as a training facility for cricket players. It will feature four indoor cricket training pitches with computerized biometric technology to m e a s u r e a n a t h l e t e ’s performance, including two full-length run-up pitches for fast-bowlers.
Juvenile cyclist Zama Khan capitalised on a five minutes head start to defeat a competitive field of his contemporaries when the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) staged its season ending cycle race in Berbice last Sunday morning. Staged under the theme ‘Youths Cycling Against Crime,’ the event, which only facilitated participation of club members, was held in collaboration with the ‘B’ Division of the Guyana Police Force. Coordinator of the Police Community Relations Department, Assistant Superintendent Keith Williams, sent the cyclists on their way at approximately 09:15hrs. The 28 miles event started at Tacama Turn, Stanleytown New Amsterdam, and headed to Rose Hall Town Arch where the riders retraced their wheels to finish at Main and Alexander Street New Amsterdam. Khan who is the national juvenile champion rode at a steady pace and maintained the lead right up to the end to defeat a field of competitive riders. Another promising rider, Curtis Dey, finished in the second place slot while
Zaman Khan receives the winning trophy from Assistant Suprientendent Keith Williams. two veteran riders, Syborne Fernandes and Samuel Mootoo, crossed the finish line 3rd and 4th respectively. In the juvenile category, Khan rode home in front of Rakheel Gordon, Ralph Seenarine and Alex Burnette. He also clinched all six of the prime point prizes on offer. The event was coordinated by Coach Randolph Roberts who joined Superintendent Williams to laud the effort of the participating riders. Mr. Roberts applauded also the effort of members of the Guyana Police Force who facilitated a smooth process. He also noted the extensive work of the lawmen in respect to community relations and youth
development. Superintendent Williams acknowledged Roberts’ sterling contribution in youth development even as he actively contributed to cycling in Berbice. The lawman also pledged continued support of similar initiatives. Trophies were donated by Acting Commander, Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, Senior Superintendent Kevin Adonis, Superintendent Budnarine Persaud, Assistant Superintendent, Keith Williams, Inspector Clay Rose, businessman Sherwin Ford, Crystal Net Internet Café, the Foster family and Nazima Khan among others.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday December 07, 2016
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Parika Salem SC are EBECC T20 Champs Parika Salem Sports Club (PSSC) trounced Hyde Park by four wickets to win the final of the East Bank Essequibo Cricket Committee (EBECC) T20 tournament which concluded on Sunday last at the Vergenoegen ground, East Bank Essequibo. Hyde Park never recovered from the bad start and were sent packing for 72 in 15.5 overs after they decided to bat, watched by a large and colourful crowd. Medium pacer Javed Shafeek put them on the back foot early on when he bowled opener Mark Braithwaite off the very first ball of the innings before Nandkishore Rodman was run out without scoring. Jimol Marks then uprooted the stumps of Yougister Bachan (00) with the score on 16-3. Adrian Johnson cut Shafeek to the point boundary before hitting Marks for four while Ricardo Adams smashed offspinner Richie Looknauth over mid-wicket for a six before hitting him for four in the same region in the next over.
Third place winner, Vergenoegen However Adams was then caught just inside the cover boundary off Ravin Balgobin at 35-4 before Ucil Armstrong was lbw to left arm spinner Hemchand Persaud for 10 with Hyde Park tottering at 53-5.
Any hopes of a formidable Hyde Park total from this juncture would have depended on Johnson but after he was caught off Jason Heyliger for 18, the rest of the batting crumbled against some tidy bowling
from Balgobin with 4-16, Marks backed up with 2-9 and Persaud 2-13. Chasing the runs for Parika Salem, openers Kevon Boodie and Mark Gonsalves set their team on a solid foundation with a stand
Sammy’s blitz eliminates Chittagong Darren Sammy blitzed a 27-ball 55 to lead Rajshahi Kings to the second qualifier after they beat Chittagong Vikings by three wickets in Mirpur. Rajshahi recovered from 57 for 6 to chase down 143 in 18.3 overs after Sammy put on 37 and 49 with Mehedi Hasan and Farhad Reza respectively. Chittagong were knocked out of the competition. Sammy cracked Mohammad Nabi for three fours in the 12th over to get the chase rolling again. Mehedi’s needless run-out in the 15th over dented their progress, but Sammy smashed three fours past point in the next over, bowled by Subhasis Roy. Sammy reached his second fifty of the tournament with a straight six off Nabi, before Farhad struck two fours to seal the chase. Sammy was unbeaten on 55 with seven fours and two sixes, while Farhad struck three fours in his 11-ball 19. As soon as he struck the winning runs, the Rajshahi players celebrated in their unique style of pretending to
Darren Sammy hammered an unbeaten 55 to complete Rajshahi’s come-from-behind win © Raton Gomes/BCB take group photos and selfies. Chittagong, though, lost their way towards the end of their innings where they lost 30 runs in the last 5.1 overs. The top order had set a strong platform and a strengthened batting line-up was unable to capitalise. Chittagong included Dwayne Smith as an opener, pushing Chris Gayle to No. 3, just the sixth time he has not opened a T20 innings. After fast bowler Kesrick
Williams had Smith caught at slip in the third over, Gayle launched five sixes, four over the straight boundary. However, Gayle chipped a full toss off James Franklin to long-on, which began Rajshahi’s comeback. His 44 came off 30 balls. Shoaib Malik and Tamim Iqbal, who made a record equalling sixth fifty in the BPL, lofted catches into the cover region before Mohammad Nabi was brilliantly run out by a
Sabbir Rahman throw from the deep midwicket boundary in the penultimate over. I n t h e s a m e o v e r, Williams removed Abdur Razzak and Taskin Ahmed to complete his second fourwicket haul in T20s. Rajshahi Kings 143 for 7 (Sammy 55*, Sajib 2-24) beat Chittagong Vikings 142-8 (Tamim 51, Gayle 44, Williams 4-11) by three wickets. (ESPNcricinfo)
of 32 before the latter was removed by Bachan for 14. Boodie who took boundaries off Adams but was then lbw to Looknauth Chinkoo for 18 when the score was on 50. Kevol Savory who hit two fours and one six, skied left arm seamer Rodman to short mid-wicket as he fell for 17 while Chinkoo had Looknauth (01) stumped leaving the score at 55-4. Michael Goberdhan and Travis Mohamed carried their team closer to victory before Mohamed was removed by Adams for 14. Chinkoo who bowled with variation and control removed Marks for one before Goberdhan (06*) hit the winning runs as they finished on 78-6 in 14.5 overs. Chinkoo claimed 3-12 while Bachan, Adams and Rodman had one each. Earlier Vergenoegen thumped Tuschen A by 94 runs to win the third place playoff game. Led by a fluent 78 (7x4 3x6) by Lennox Andrews, Vergenoegen posted 168-7, taking first strike. Andrews shared in useful partnerships with Royden Hendricks (16) and Stephon Johnson (22) as the anchor for his team’s batting. Julio Jones 15. D. Singh and Mohamed Saffie picked up two wickets each. Yestesh Dhanpaul took a few boundaries in the first over delivered by Eon Daniels and added 42 for the first wicket with V. Kissoon to get his team’s reply off to a fine start.
But when Dhanpaul and Kissoon departed for 20 and 13 respectively, Tuschen A suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for 74 in 13.2 overs. A. Khan was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 11 in a disappointing batting display. Jones snared 3-14 while Daniels, Jamal Gomes and Johnson had one each. The presentation will be done on Sunday at Tuschen ground. EBECC President, Alvin Johnson in remarks after the game congratulated the winners and urged the players to remain committed to the game. He singled out f o r m e r E B E C C Vi c e Chairman who represented Essequibo as an off spinner Orville Stewart for special mention and informed that their U-19 final will be played on Saturday at Tuschen. Stewart said that while there is an abundance of talent in Essequibo the board needs to ensure that more cricket is played. “At the moment there is no first division tournament in the county and we need to have such a tournament up and running. In East Bank we have U-19 and senior tournaments being played and the Essequibo Cricket Board should follow suit,” he added. ”I am confident we will grow immensely if more emphasis is placed on the game, but due the lack of that, cricket in Essequibo will not improve as it should.” While Stewart said sponsorship is difficult to get, he feels that not much efforts are being made to obtain same. He noted that he is certain sponsors can be had as long as the board works towards it. “But I don’t feel it’s a lack of sponsorship as much, rather it’s a lack of interest in Essequibo cricket. We need to work together for the growth of the game here,” Stewart pointed out. He said the board needs to lift its level of administration. “They will call and ask to send players for trials which put added pressure on some area committees because it’s s o m e w h a t d i ff i c u l t t o indentify the players to send to the trials without a first division competition. So if there is cricket being played then selecting the players will be much easier,” Stewart said.
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
Athletes identified for National Elite Camp
Chantoba Bright
Daniel Williams Thirty seven (37) athletes were identified following the completion of the National Schools’ Championships two weeks ago for a National Elite Camp, which is expected to begin at the end of January once all the logistics are formalised among the main stakeholders. Thirty two (32) of the athletes competed at
Nationals while five, who ar e s eas o n ed n atio n al athletes did not. The vision of the Camp is to have the athletes together every weekend for training leading up to the 2017 CARIFTA Games with the hope of generating consistent improvement. Edison Jefford identified the athletes based on their performance at Nationals.
Samuel Jordon Jefford, who is a Commissioner on the National Sports Commission, said that the list will be sent to the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) for concurrence. He informed that following a collaborative effort between hosts of the Schools’ Championships: Ministry of Education and Guyana Teachers’ Union and AAG to introduce The Fully Automatic Timing S y s t e m ( FAT S ) a t Nationals, authentic times were produced for the athletes. The Commissioner stated that he played a major role in facilitating the AAG that operated FATS at Nationals for the first time this year where discussions were held with AAG President, Aubrey Hutson about i d e n t i f y i n g potential athletes for national selection. “It is hoped that the AAG, National Sports
Letter to the Sports Editor
Don’t blame the GOA solely for the decline of sports in Guyana D e a r E d i t o r , Having ventured out to the local arena of sports in Guyana some years ago, it was a decision to be independent with photography coverage and my objective was basically to add something new for Guyana which is to help educate the globe that we may not be to their level, but we are alive and making baby steps. I met some great personalities during the adventure, I learnt a great lot from being stationed in the
fields about sports in Guyana and trust me, there is so much that the general public is not aware of what goes on. Sports in Guyana has been on the decline for many years, but from an independent perspective, all stakeholders needs to shoulder responsibility and we must never lay blame on the current President of the Guyana Olympic Association, Mr. K. A Yassin and his establishment for the current state of Sports in Guyana.
In a KN report dated Sunday, Dec.4,2016 penned by Mr. Frederick Kissoon, I honestly didn’t know of the situation which was meted out by a Guyanese boxer, Mr. Richard Subratee and the Guyana Police Force. In all fairness, perhaps a press release should be forth coming from the GPF, National Sports Commission, Ministry of Sports, Guyana Olympic Association etc. Yours Faithfully, T. Pemberton
Kenisha Phillips Commission and Government partner in a substantial way to facilitate the training and de v e l o p m e n t o f t h e s e athletes since they will form the core of a national team for the CARIFTA Games,” Jefford indicated. He believes that what is
required for the Elite Camp and programme to succeed is a national effort where all differences are cast aside, and Guyana succeeding at the Caribbean’s premier track and field competition, CARIFTA Games, becomes top priority. As such, Jefford said that all senior Coaches should be
Denita Jackson invited to assist in training the athletes; he named Wanda Richmond, Johnny Gravesande, Julian Edmonds, Mark Scott and Rawle Griffith among the possible candidates for the Coaches Panel; the athletes identified for possible national selection are below:
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Nightmare scenario in the heart of the GOA? By Rawle Welch With the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) election of office bearers’ just weeks away (December 21 to be exact), ballot carriers must know that they have a civic responsibility to elect the best possible candidate for the job of steering the entity over the n e x t t e r m . According to GOA Treasurer Garfield Wiltshire, who spoke with Kaieteur Sport via telephone yesterday, in response to the question of whether incumbent President K.A. Juman Yassin will be seeking re-election, he said that no one knows beforehand who are the contesting candidates so he was unable to ascertain the candidate (s) interested in vying for the top post. Asked further to elucidate on the rather unusual electoral system that does not allow stakeholders to have prior information and confirmation on the contenders, Witlshire’s reply was that it was a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p o l i c y. The problem with this policy is that is provides a distinct
advantage to the incumbent as was highlighted in previous articles. The sudden shower of goodwill to associations leading up to elections could be interpreted as strategic and meant to connect with the conscience of ballot bearers. Should Yassin retain the Presidency it certainly isn’t the end of the world, but it is important that conveyors of the ballot who represent the member associations send convincing signals that they are not going to allow Yassin or anyone else to frustrate the development of our dedicated athletes any l o n g e r . Reliable sources are predicting a tough time at the polls for the current executive, the mood in the world today has changed from inert to revolutionary and there are many examples of this new form of radicalism both within the political and sports realms so don’t be surprised if a changing of the guard occurs. It is possible. The Arab Spring uprising a few years ago was a stunning example of the new level of activism, while more recent
UDFA/UDFA GT Beer KO continues tonight
Eagles face Net Rockers; Amelia’s Ward Panthers oppose Hi Stars
Intense rivalry is expected tonight when the Upper Demerara Football A s s o c i a t i o n ( U D FA ) organized GT Beer Christmas football championship continues with two more matches at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground, Linden. Following last evening’s opening double header, Net Rockers will be hoping to
open their campaign with a win when they face Eagles United from 18.00hrs. the main game will see Hi Stars of West Watooka take on Amelia’s Ward Panthers from 20.00hrs. Net Rockers will fancy themselves getting out of group play but will have to start on a positive note against the up and coming Eagles side. The Rockers themselves have a group of youngsters from which they will choose their best team tonight, among them, the likes of O r a n d e Wi l l s , f o r m e r standout school boy player Shane Luckie and the seasoned Denzil Pryce on (Continued on page 31)
illustrations could be seen in Brexit, Donald Trump ascendancy to the Presidency of the USA and Italy’s referendum results which is being referred to as a ‘nightmare scenario in the heart of Europe’. These occurrences show the
courage of the people so for Yassin and his Establishment to believe that the upcoming elections will be smooth Sailing they had better think again. The impending elections could provide a nightmare scenario in the heart of the GOA.
K.A. Juman Yassin
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Wednesday December 07, 2016
REDS, AN ICON CALLS IT A DAY On the day Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira was to broadcast his final cricket match in Saint Lucia before settling into retirement from broadcasting, he was instead sitting with me at a popular Rodney Bay café relating how the broadcasting of cricketing had taken him throughout the cricketing world. Surely, it was not how he had anticipated ending his
long love affair with the gentleman’s game. But a low tropical trough had dumped so much rain on the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium that play had to be abandoned. It was the fourth and final day of a regional match between ‘Reds’ native Guyana and the Windward Islands. There was however sufficient play on the first two days to earn Guyana first innings lead while sinking
the Windward’s team into further despair. As a child, Reds suffered the unenviable inability to speak clearly due to severe stuttering. He loved the game of cricket more than anything else in the world. His first recollection of being glued to rediffusion radio station was during the England versus West Indies test matches in England in 1950.
During that series John Arlott, Rex Alston and E.W. Stanton of England were to make a lasting impression on the young Perreira as they described the game, ball by ball, from the commentary box. The following year (1951) when West Indies toured Australia Reds listened to the broadcast of these matches from 11pm to 4am. He listened intently to
Joseph ‘Reds’ Pereira Australian commentators Jonny Moyes, Michael Charlton and Allan Mc. Gilvrey. ‘I became even more fascinated by the theatre and imagery of the game. I could see in my mind’s eyes the perfect green outfield as I listened to the crowd’s applause and saw the polished red sphere raced to the boundary from a perfectly timed cover drive.’ Reds was later to broadcast Australia versus West Indies test matches with Mc Gilvrey in 1973, 1978 and 1979. ‘I began to watch intercolonial matches in my teens. The games were between British Guiana (BG), as it then was Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. The first regional game I witnessed was between Barbados and BG. I was there for the highest opening partnership of 390 runs between Leslie White and Glendon Gibbs of BG – White 260 and Gibbs 216. That record lasted for 50 years. In those days my father, who was a very strict man, had given me a choice between the movies and cricket as recreation. I chose cricket.’ As the young Perreira watched he also listened to the broadcasts. By then he had dabbled in second division cricket and soon came to the realization, that he should concentrate on broadcasting the game, rather than pursue it as a career. He used to lie in bed every day broadcasting cricket from imaginary contests. His mother listened
without ever asking him to desist, or to suggest that her son may have been a little off kilter. ‘I credit my mother for her subtle support in helping me overcome my embarrassing stuttering. However, the children at my school (St. Mary’s R.C.) were not as kind and supportive. I literally abandoned school in my teens because of the constant teasing.’ After school Reds worked for a short period and then left for England for five years to develop himself. ‘In England, I knocked around the BBC where Alva Clarke of Saint Lucia worked as a broadcaster. I also watched a lot of test and county cricket.’ Reds decided that he would return home at the end of 1967. He also made the decision to spend the greater part of that year in Denmark. It was in Denmark that his working hours finally allowed him the time to kick the stuttering habit once and for all. He worked the morning, noon and evening shifts as a dish washer and had the time between shifts to himself. He used that time to read the English newspapers which he bought at the railway station across the street from his workplace. ‘Pronouncing ‘R’s and ‘S’s were a particular challenge. I rehearsed these until my confidence began to grow. ’By the time Reds returned to Guyana at the end of 1967 he had broken the back of his stammering (Continued on page 31)
Wednesday December 07, 2016
Kaieteur News
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GFF hosts Technical staff training as part of Youth Development focus The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) yesterday commenced a three-day technical Staff Training of ‘D’ License CONCACAF and GFF Coaches at the National Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue. The session which included a power point presentation and a question and answer segment, was conducted by GFF Technical Director (TD), 31-year-old Englishman Ian Greenwood and GFF Executive Keith Ojeer. Ojeer informed that the aim of the session was to identify Coaches for training of youth players as a part of the federation’s, Yo u t h D e v e l o p m e n t programme. Greenwood, who was given a four-year contract by t h e Wa y n e F o r d e l e d administration to replace Claude Bolton in October, showed the Coaches how to implement what their
GFF’s TD with the Coaches yesterday at National Racquet Centre knowledge to the youngsters. Greenwood, informed that 17 of the 24 participants turned up yesterday, adding that three females were a part of the programme.
It was disclosed that there is three month probationary period after which further training will be done and if the Coaches are still unsuccessful they will be cut from the programme in which the
successful Coaches will be paid a salary. Ojeer said he was confident that nobody will be replaced but feels that some further training may be required. He further noted that all
of the Coaches who were previously trained are still in the system and the coaches present yesterday were mandated to report to each of the TDOs of the 9 associations who must put in developmental work with
the youngsters. According to TD, Ian Greenwood, the purpose of the staff training event is two-fold. “First, it will serve to upskill selected coaches who have recently completed either the CONCACAF D. and/or GFF D. License Course. This will be based on the new G F F Te c h n i c a l D e p a r t m e n t ’s n a t i o n a l playing and coach philosophy as we strive to overhaul, improve and professionalize football on a national level. S e c o n d l y, w e a r e assessing the coaches on the course to recruit a brand new workforce of Technical D e v e l o p m e n t O ff i c e r s (TDOs) and GFF Youth Coaches in all nine Member Associations.” GFF Technical Development Officer Lyndon France is the other facilitator.
t r o Sp
Parika Salem SC are EBECC T20 Champs
The victorious Parika Salem team following their triumph.
Zaman Khan triumphs in Flying Ace Cycle Club season closing event
Assistant Superintendent Keith Williams presents the winning trophy to Zaman Khan as other riders and Coach Roberts (3rd right standing) savours the moment.
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