Kaieteur News
PAGE 04
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
US-CARIBBEAN RELATIONS UNDER OBAMA The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States was welcomed in the Caribbean with enthusiasm. Like most people in the Caribbean, he is black and is the first AfricanAmerican president of the US. The leaders of the Caribbean were hopeful that because of his race and that the Caribbean is in the backyard of the United States, relations with the United States will improve. They were right. Indeed, President Obama made things better for the region during his eight years in office in spite of the fact that world conditions were not always kind to his Administration. It had to contend with conflicts in the Middle East and problems in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, refugees and terrorist groups. Some claimed that his global agenda was overly ambitious, others felt that it was not tough enough to deal with the challenges in the world. Upon taking office in 2008, President Obama embraced the view that a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Caribbean Basin is in the interest of both the United States, which views the region as its Third Border, and the Caribbean for whom the US is a vitally important economic and security partner. With this in mind, he embarked on several development projects to develop and improve US relations and influence in the region. He revived the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act/Caribbean Basin Initiative which was implemented in 1983 by the Reagan Administration to improve trade and development in the area. In April 2015, the Obama administration launched the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) to boost energy security and sustainable economic growth in the region. The CESI attracted investments from several energy technology companies. The Obama administration also implemented the Caribbean Green Energy Project and committed US$20 million to finance the development of solar energy facilities in the region. It pioneered the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative which granted hundreds of scholarships to youths from the Caribbean to study in the United States. It is an entrepreneurship programme intended for the youths to return and establish small businesses in their respective countries. At the sixth Summit of the Americas held in Florida in 2012, President Obama launched the Small Business Network of the Americas to promote and support job creation in small and medium sized countries in the region. The Obama administration did not stop there. It committed over US$400 million to aid in the fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean, provide training to law enforcement officers and allowed thousands of youths from the region to participate in crime-prevention programmes. President Obama’s greatest achievement was the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, which led to the re-opening of the American embassy in Havana and the rescinding of Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror. It is fair to say that President Obama’s efforts to strengthen US-Caribbean relations have borne fruit. However, there has been some disappointment which may hurt the Caribbean or obstructed its progress. The Administration is dissatisfied with the region’s intolerance of homosexuality. Its gay Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, James Brewster, who is married to a man, has made it clear that the countries of the Caribbean must have tolerance of, and respect for gays, lesbians and marginalized groups and an appreciation for diversity. Perhaps the most frustrating thing President Obama has done to the Caribbean is the deportation of a record number of Caribbean nationals from the United States. This has had a deleterious effect on the Caribbean, whose fragile economies and poor infrastructures cannot absorb a single other mouth to feed. However, one of President Obama’s last acts before demitting office was the signing of the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act, which aimed at strengthening relations between the US and the Caribbean on energy and security. Ultimately, history will be kinder to President Obama for his treatment of the Caribbean than it has been to most of his predecessors. We do not expect President Donald Trump toake any changes to US-Caribbean relations.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Parking Meters generate revenue for development Dear Editor, The introduction of parking meters in any jurisdiction in the world attracts opposition. Similarly, a vocal minority opposes the establishment of paid parking in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. The group launched a campaign to dissuade motorists from parking around the city to starve the city of funds. The dissenters who seek to obstruct this initiative are on the losing side of modernization. Ultimately the policy will normalize when an informed citizenry accepts that its benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the inconvenience. The manufactured opposition therefore is no empirical indicator of the potentiality of paid parking in Georgetown. The unveiling of this project indeed featured operational and implementation challenges, which were resolved. Glitches during the launch of technology projects are common. When the Air-train to the JFK Airport was launch in New York in 2002, the train derailed from 150 feet in the air, killing the test engineer on the very first test run. Today the Air-train is a
perfect system, because those initial glitches were fixed. No one died from the introduction of Parking meters in Georgetown. Initial glitches will be fixed, and the system will work perfectly over time. Parking meters are presently law in Georgetown. Opposition to this law is not grassroots driven. It is believed to be clandestinely driven by “special interests” who did not win the contract to execute this project. Institution of fees and taxes on the citizenry normally elicits legitimate skepticism and dissent. These are characteristics of an open, democratic society. But generating public chaos, under the pretense of opposition to a policy that one previously espoused, and will otherwise support, if given the commercial benefit of its execution, is illegitimate, deceptive and scandalous. We elect governments to make decisions to advance development, i.e., improve living conditions, create economic and social growth, enhance infrastructure and services and transform the social order for citizens to realize successful lives in a
modern society. This vision can only be realized by generating the requisite revenue. Parking meters are a feature of every major city in the world. They are a hallmark of a modern city, and serve three purposes. They regulate parking and bring about order; generate revenue to maintain and develop the city and, provide an avenue for motorists, who reside outside that city but utilize its services, to contribute to its upkeep. Parking on city property is not a right, but a privilege granted by an authority. The law empowers the Georgetown Mayor & City Council to levy fees, rates and taxes. Parking meter fees are a tax to park on city property, similar to fees paid to park on private property; which is far more expensive and unopposed. Paid parking is the exact concept as property tax which the city levies for services concomitant with owning a property - Except the city outsourced the parking meter project to a private c o m p a n y. T h e C i t y contributed zero dollars to this project. It will receive 20% of gross receipts – a percentage I concede should be renegotiated upwards.
This fund should be dedicated to a specific modernization project for citizens to see the tangible benefits of paid parking. Georgetown needs drastic development. The city administration must therefore generate additional revenues to fund a modernization program. Development comes at a cost to the people. Good drainage, efficient garbage disposal, effective building and environmental code enforcement, good, safe streets, modern integrated traffic signal networks, superior sanitation and quality garbage disposal, excellent water purification and supply, state of the art sewage disposal etc, all require significant financial resources. Budget allocations to municipalities from the central government are inadequate to fulfill their mandate. Therefore, alternative revenue generation is crucial. Georgetown must also enact policies to facilitate citizen education and participation in city government. There will not be unanimous agreement with every policy. But public engagement is essential for (Continued on page 6)
Here are the reasons I’m glad my mom didn’t abort me Dear Editor, On Friday, January 25, 2017, pro-life advocates descended on Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life event. This event reminded me of something my mother said to me. “At least I didn’t ‘throw’ any of you away,” This she said to me when I was growing up and even as an adult. I heard these words countless times. What did she mean? She meant that she could have aborted me but didn’t. As a child, when she said it, again and again, I for one thought that I would have been better off being dead. Because I had little food to eat and was always hungry, I didn’t care if I had been aborted. In my hard circumstances, it might have been better from my limited thinking. My mother had eight children; I was the second. I saw my mother pregnant six times. And each time a new baby was born, it meant less food and more suffering for me. I hated every time a new baby was born because I
knew it meant one more mouth to feed and one more child will suffer. I dreaded the fact that I was born into this cruel world. I wished that my mother had several abortions to make it easier for the family. Editor, my mother had no husband and no supporter or provider. She was the lone breadwinner. She worked at a Chinese Restaurant, and many times she stole food to feed us. I don’t know how she did it. How was she able to provide for eight children on a ‘waitress’ salary? What made my mother say those words? I believe it was part frustration and part pride, an essential deepseated dignity. Because she was doing the best she could, and l wasn’t grateful. Editor, today, I am grateful that she didn’t abort me. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have been able to adopt two children, and I wouldn’t have been able to have three other children. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to earn two
degrees and have a dream career with the US military. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and defend the United States. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to work as a volunteer. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to counsel women who are contemplating having an abortion. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to become a successful professional. If she had aborted me, I wouldn’t have had the chance to write this letter and tell my story. I thank you mother for not aborting me. Do I believe that my mother had too many children and that she couldn’t adequately care for them? Yes. Do I believe she should have had some aborted? No. I would say to any woman thinking about having an abortion don’t do it. Someone said, “Life is not
perfect, but each life is perfect.” Every year in the United States one million babies are killed by abortion, which is approximately twice the population of Guyana. “We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, of killings, of wars, of hatred. If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other,” wrote Mother Theresa. Editor, I still don’t understand how my mother did it but I am grateful that she didn’t abort me. Why she didn’t have an abortion? I could only say it must have been the love of a mother for her children. I now realise that God didn’t let my mother abort me for a reason. It wasn’t until I was older that I realised that my mother didn’t have an abortion because she loves me. My mother believed Mother Theresa when she said, “Abortion kills twice. It kills the body of the baby and it kills the conscience of the mother.” Anthony Pantlitz
Saturday February 04, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association is not our friend
DEAR EDITOR, I have been paying keen attention to the call of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association GGDMA) to small miners to protest against the new tax measures imposed by the government. It is so funny hat GGDMA will call on the miners whom they have never upported. It is a known fact hat the members of GGDMA are the ‘big boys’ in mining, ome of whom are guilty of questionable acts in relation o small miners, known as ributors on their lands. The rend is that these claim holders would give you oral permission to work a piece of and, and most small miners accept out of desperation. As oon as there is a significant
gold find, however, they will remove you with brute force and ignorance. Over the past two years I have heard countless stories of this happening. Our dredge was shot up with 36 gunshots, an incident which was caught on camera by the claim-holder as we had an injunction from the high court giving us permission to work. The gunmen who were security personnel attached to the claim-holder’s mining firm came in their uniforms and were heard saying on camera that they don’t care about paperwork they got orders from the said claimholder. These men were basically treated like celebrities by a former senior officer of F Division. Who told us the
men would turn themselves in because they cannot leave their work ground? These men are free as a bird today. Instead of the DPP laying attempted murder charges, because my husband was seen on camera jumping in front of a shotgun to save his workers, they were slapped with malicious damage to property. The excavator operator who was shot in the head has since appeared in court and withdrew the charges. We have since found out that he is now employed with the said claim-holder. Again we see the claim-holders’ influence all around. Until now nothing has come out of this and we are forced to fight in the courts for damages. We now
This country cannot go on being so the cultural story grams with all the relevant terribly dirty confirmed of garbage disposal; old agencies.
DEAR EDITOR, This country needs a peron with a radical vision to ransform the environment rom a garbage laden one to a clean and decent place. When the coalition government became a reality, we saw he massive transformation of Georgetown. I expected this pirit of cleanliness to engulf he length and breadth of this country but this was not so. magine we just go about our ives surrounded by garbage everywhere as normal. The culture of dirtiness has taken oot to the extent that it doesn’t bother most Guyanese anymore. Both past and present governments are guilty of accepance of this cultural lawlessness. Editor, my work takes me o almost every village on the coastal belt of this country. Every street corner and parapet is greeted with unsightly garbage heaps. Pick any three villages and I can show 100s of garbage heaps. Recently a drag-line dug the trenches in Cornelia Ida, WCD. What came out of the trenches told/
fridge, stove, bicycle, cloth, tire; the list is too long to mention here. Our seawall tells a story of the psyche of this nation after 50 years of independence. Government continues to pump billions into the drainage and health sector while this cultural lawlessness is causing us billions as a side effect. Our tourists and visitors continue to express alarm and some pledge never to return to these filthy shores. Our days are filled with battles with garbage flies whilst our nights are overtaken with mosquitoes. It is time for all the relevant environmental agencies to wake up. Is there a sanitary department of the Ministry of Health in operation? What about the Environment Protection Agency. Our NDCs are filled with political misfits. They lack the common decency of cleanliness for our community enhancement and development. They too are numbed by the culture of dirtiness. But what about our government? Are they too numbed about the situation? They travel the world and I’m sure have observed what a proper and decent society is. There is no doubt that Guyana can’t continue this way. Our Government needs to embark on a radical solution of legislation and strong collaborative pro-
I would recommend: 1) Every house/business must by law subscribe to a garbage disposal company. 2) Every house must take care of sanitation as well as10 feet in front the yard. 3) Every Car, Mini Bus Truck etc., must by law carry a garbage disposal bag. 4) Government must place garbage disposal bins along the road way for easy disposal. 5) Government must open dump sites for easy access. 6) Sanitary and environment inspectors must inspect villages regularly with intention to warn or charge defaulters. 7) Those found guilty of improper disposal must be fined 100,000 or three mouths community work. 8) Substantial reward must be offered for evidence of person(s) violating environmental laws. All the ‘talks” of green economy and environmental protection so far are mere talks. We can’t even get a garbage free country muchless a green economy. We can find 10 more oil wells, but our country’s development will go nowhere unless we free this place of the culture of dirtiness. The responsibility stops at the feet of the government of Guyana. Colin Woolford.
have to find a way to recoup our losses and start over. We then began hearing all these horror stories coming out of the same area allegedly committed by the same claimholder. Further, we hear stories of this happening to small miners working on lands belonging to current members of the GGDMA. The GGDMA has done nothing over the past two years to help us. As members we approached them first after the shooting to assist us and offer support, however we were told abruptly by a senior executive he could not get involved because he is on a retainer for the said claim-holder and as such it would be a conflict of interest. He then referred us to another executive member who advised that I had a strong case, but never offered any further help. We quickly realized that the said claim-holder had a lot of friends in the association and it was a lost cause. This blatant injustice and disrespect handed to small miners which was a trend during the previous administration has left a bad taste in our
mouths. There are so many families which are in ruins right now contemplating their next move, and me trying to find the will to live after losing it all. Some still have debts to repay which in turn have them fearful for their lives. We would like to thank Minister Trotman, Minister Broomes and the newly appointed closed area committee for hearing our cries and doing their best to help us small miners. We have since been able to secure our own gold-bearing land for which we are still awaiting the paperwork. This gives us hope that we are not at the mercy of claim-holders. The call by GGDMA for small miners to join in solidarity with them to protest is totally insane. This confirms to me that the GGDMA exists in their own world, and are truly out of touch with the reality of the small miner. I would like the GGDMA to cite one instance recently where they assisted a small miner. They even insulted the newly started Konawaruk Small Miners Association which attended a meeting with them and the government recently.Why does GGDMA
think they are the only ones with the right to represent miners? Who gives them the right to insult and demean this group of hard-working miners? Have GGDMA ever given back to the communities? Have they done any outreach programmes? Have they ever represented a miner who was not an ‘old boy’ in mining? We all know who these ‘big ones’ in mining are and we are watching them closely. It is a fact that combined they have so much money it’s pointless to fight. So small miners feel it’s either put up or shut up We will not be treated like second class citizens. I say the time has come for small miners to rise up, not against the government which has been helping us and regularizing the sector, but against GGDMA. They cannot call themselves the representative of the entire mining body in Guyana when their interest is only for a few. Small miners should not be part of the political ploy of the GGDMA they do not represent the real gold miners. Alisha Figueira Figaro Mining
Guyana is now in the “taxication zone.” DEAR EDITOR, In 2007, I wrote a column on the topic of ‘Oil and Guyana’. Ten years later it has become a reality. I first introduced the concept that any oil reserves we find in Guyana are for the benefit of the citizens, not just for the company or for any government to squander. We must all benefit from this discovery I was fortunate to meet with the executives of Exxon in a briefing for the Opposition Leader and former president, Dr Jagdeo who was the president at the time the deal was signed with Exxon. Guyana is on track to producing 100,000 barrels of oil daily some time in 2020 or after with just the few wells that have been found so far, compared to Trinidad at 70,000 barrels of oil from numerous wells. This will give us time to review the critical issues facing us as a nation, given the failure of the APNU+AFC government in managing our economy. I am very concerned that the gov-
ernment has talked about advancing themselves future revenues based on 2020+ projections. This in normal terms, means borrowing money. This is a recipe for disaster. It will defeat the entire purpose of an oil fund, if we are paying back debt prior to oil production post 2020. Another issue of major concern is the hype that the industry will create new jobs and expend monies to build a refinery at
Crab Island. They are in a dream world at this time. None of the data justifies such an investment. I wanted to once again explore the oil formula I had proposed for the country so to keep us focused on the prize that is ahead of us, and not allow ourselves to be hoodwinked by this government. UK journalist Nicholas Shaxson says: “If citizens had the oil money in the first (Continued on page 6)
Nowrang Persaud wants EB John to answer his question DEAR EDITOR, I was rather amused (on a more serious note, I should be quite disappointed) when I read the typically exhaustive letter written by Mr. E B John in SN of February 1 and KN of February 2, lamenting the fact that there has been indifference to the recommendations of the CoI into the public service. I am tempted to ask
Mr John, my friend: ‘What else is new, Earl’? It would be interesting to hear how Mr John and some of my fellow Commissioners from the CoI into GuySuCo (who are now actively ensconced in the top echelons of GuySuCo) feel about similar indifference to the recommendations of the CoI into GuySuCo! Nowrang Persaud
Kaieteur News Not in any text books
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Saturday February 04, 2017
NCN has refused to broadcast our paid political programmes
DEAR EDITOR, When the PPP/C was in government, the PNC opposed the fact that NCN would not carry their ads nor cover their events. They even voted to remove the subsidy from NCN. Now that the PNCC is in power, they are refusing to carry our paid programs. The URP executive met with the lower management of the NCN (Ron Robinson was there at the time), concerning the broadcasting of our program – URP Practical Talk. They give us the cost for the program ($35,000 + VAT), the day we will be on (Tuesdays),
and the time that the program would be aired (19:30 hours). We were told that we could pay an additional amount ($10,000 + VAT) to have their Berbice station carry our program also. We were very encouraged by this news, as we thought that democracy had returned to the governmentowned, public, media houses. However, our hopes were dashed when we went to pay. We were told that our program request has gotten to senior management and that there was a problem. We were told by a senior manager that, “The players have changed
but the game has remained the same!” What we shockingly found out is that the station will not air any program from a non-Coalition party. In essence we were informed that democracy has not returned to the media house and that the public airwaves have not experienced any kind of change. All our prodding and appeals for a democratic approach to the matter fell on deaf ears. Then we traveled to Linden to see if they would allow us on the government TV station there. Again, they at first told us we can. So we paid
Donald Ramotar has found his memory on Red House lease
DEAR EDITOR, I would like commend former President Donald Ramotar on the sudden recovery of his memory with regard to necessary imprimatur on the Red House ‘lease’. I suppose we can be forgiven for thinking that no such imprimatur was originally given considering the strenuous protestation of his then AttorneyGeneral, now Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Inc’s legal representative in this case, that none was necessary. Ramotar himself curiously declined to offer this critical bit of information in his own letter on the issue a month ago. Of course, there are outstanding issues such as documents in support of said imprimatur, and the conflict of interest situation of Ramotar as President giving his supposed approval of a lease to a company of which he was not only management but a lease he had originally attempted to file in a management capacity for the entity to which the ‘lease’ was issued. All that is of course academic - Red House as of April 2001 became property of the National Trust via gazetting under the provisions of the National Trust Act. Ramotar as Presi-
dent therefore would have signed a lease invalidly issued with the Lands and Surveys Commission as lessor. It seems - generously presuming that recently remembered imprimatur was actually given - that Mr. Ramotar would have been misled by his Minister of Culture, Dr. Frank Anthony; Chairman of the National Trust and fellow CJRC Inc. principal Dr. James Rose; and then Commissioner of Lands and Survey, and statutory National Trust member, Mr. Doorga Persaud. In brief, Mr. Ramotar would have put his signature (actual or implicit) to permission for a lease document that his venerable Attorney General Anil Nandlall has explicitly claimed as not needing said signature, issued under an inapplicable section of the law. Were the implications not so dire, this would be the height of comic absurdity. I look forward to a swift reconciliation of this issue in the interest of the people of Guyana and the protection of their common heritage from illicit appropriation, however risible and clumsy the attempt. Ruel Johnson Cultural Policy Advisor Government of Guyana
Parking Meters generate revenue...
From page 4 accountability and good governance. Furthermore, in an established democracy, we do not obstruct the decision of the majority, because we lost a vote. We embrace and implement it as a decision of the body. Education is power. When citizens become knowl-
edgeable that they will be ultimate beneficiaries of this new policy, the manufactured opposition will become irrelevant, new citizen - city partnerships will emerge and the policy will be successful. I am also mindful that a less vocal majority supports paid parking, and that some dissenters do not even drive, much less park. As an act of transparency, the city should open a dialogue with its residents to solicit their support and feedback on a reasonable fee for parking. This effort cannot be an act in futility. It
should be done in concert with the investors who made the capital investment in this project. The outcome must be a settled fee based on consensus or a majority opinion. This is how you empower citizens to help manage their government. The citizenry must be mobilized to embrace a vision for a modern Georgetown. This is the real challenge of the City council.. Rickford Burke President, Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID)
the $10,000 for the half-hour program (we have the receipt to prove it). We were given a day (Tuesdays) and a time (19:00 hours). Then the news reached the senior management of NCN in Georgetown and again the suppressive, PPP/C-type mentality, again surfaced. They are also refusing to broadcast our program in Linden. They even have the unconscionable and unethical presumption to ask us to send someone to collect our payment. Editor, the URP is very disappointed in these latest moves by the NCN management and directors, and by extension, this APNC-AFC government. While we expected the same kind of petty, political, backwardness from the PNC, we were actually hoping that the Granger administration was more magnanimous and ethical than this. We are also appalled that this administration which swept into power with such political goodwill and objectivity, would now stoop so low to practice the same failed policies of the PPP era. The PPP/C failed to call
local government elections, they failed to make certain persons substantive in their positions, they refused to meet with the unions and engage them in collective bargaining, they plundered the coffers of the treasury, they victimized and abused the citizens and sought to stifle their voice. Now this administration has come into power and at first they looked so promising. But after only such a short while, they have been found guilty of many of the same sins of the failed PPP/C. The Public Service Union and the Teacher Service Union are embroiled in a struggle over their promised pay increases. The parking meters are a national fiasco. The taxi drivers, teachers and average workers, are completely opposed to the exorbitant cost they have to now pay for merely doing their jobs. VAT has now been added to light and water, which will send up the cost of products and services, thereby affecting the poor man. Now the public media houses are again held selfishly hostage
by this autocratic govern ment. The citizens of Guyana are at a loss as to what ben efits they have derived by voting for the Coalition Editor, we thought abou writing to Prime Ministe Nagamootoo or Presiden Granger, however, if the PSU and the TSU with all thei hundreds of members canno make the Coalition do right we are sure that right is not a priority for them now. This has led the URP to commit to remaining in the political arena to fight for the average Guyanese. This time we are going all out to make sure that we secure some seats in Parliament. The Guyanese citizens have to pu a stop to this crazy winner take-all madness that obtain in Guyanese politics. The URP is convinced that next time around Guyanese will be sufficiently dissatisfied with the PPP/C and the APNU-AFC and they will give a third party a chance. We are praying tha commonsense and patriotism will trump race and party loy alty in 2020 Dr. Vishnu Bandhu
Guyana is now in the “taxication zone.” From page 5 place, and the state had to bargain with them to get its cut, it seems likely that would change the game entirely.” We do not want to get what academics call the ‘resource curse’. 1. I propose that we the people get a portion of the royalties. “The people may get lazy,” you say. Is that worse than the government using all the money to selectively bless others with laziness? 2. “Well people may waste the money,” you say again. This government seems to have the monopoly on being wasteful. People spend according to their priorities but the APNU+AFC government spends money on what is politically expedient. We should be asking if people are more wasteful than this government. I have concluded that for every year of failure by the APNU+AFC government, it puts our nation three years behind. Just driving down the
streets of the capital city, and seeing the ghostly sights of no vehicles, no shoppers, brings about despair to many in the business community. This government has not been able to determine a sensible balance between expenditures and tax rates and the effect on our economy in getting it wrong. The fiscal policy of taxing the people to manage our economy becomes a problem, post- oil 2020. How will they manage new monies? One of the key factors in the management of our economy is growth; it really matters in the long run. Our economy is on the decline, there is no growth and consequently without that we have fallen into depression. Once again, if one visits any business and asks the question, ‘How are you doing?’ The answer is slow, bad and worrisome. Long term growth has ceased. We are now in the ‘Taxication Zone’. I doubt whether the Minister of Home Affairs would put a curfew on
that too. If the AFC had brought any value to the equa tion, we may have seen a bet ter economic strategy. The 200 plus new taxes have taken our economy down. The fac is that we are no better of solving our energy problem with this government halting the hydro project; we will no be producing more good from existing production. In stead we have to start cutting back. What has been affect ing are our living standards. The present governmen seems intent on continuing to follow the path which i slowly but determinedly lead ing us to at best economic stagnation and at worst to the destruction of a healthy economy which they inher ited from the PPP/C. Their ac tions to date leave us with no confidence in their ability to wisely manage the potentia bonanza which is expected to flow from oil revenues. It i incumbent on all of us to shape our future by being in volved. Peter R Ramsaroop
Saturday February 04, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Negligible amount of blood discarded last year – Minister Cummings …Blood transfusion policy on the cards
Blood is crucial to life and he National Blood Transfuion Services (NBTS), the main national Blood Bank, will his year be working to improve its blood recruitment process. In so doing it will be aspiring to improve both the quality and technical aspects of blood banking. Reports suggest that the Blood Bank was able to achieve its 10,000 units of volunteered blood donations during the past year with a negligible amount, just over 100 units, being discarded due to infectious markers. This is according to Junor Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings. Dr. Cummings said that in he quest to ensure that there s an improved service ofered, moves will also be made o ensure that there is trainng for persons at regional peripheral sites. “There will be more sensiization sessions conducted across the country in an efort to educate the population on the benefits of blood donation and erase any negative tigma attached to donating blood,” said Dr. Cummings. The NBTS will again this year be aiming to achieve 100 percent voluntary donation, she
said. The regional blood banking facilities, the Junior Public Health Minister said, will be visited during the course of this year with the intention of assessing and improving quality and standards in relation to blood banking and donor recruitment. While statistics have not yet been shared regarding blood donations for this year, the Ministry has released figures that suggest that in 2016 there was a favourable start to blood donation. This translated to a total of 2,018 in the first two months in comparison to a slower start in 2015 with a total of 1,756 for the same two months. The New Amsterdam Regional Hospital was a very productive section in blood collection but there is evident need for two Donor Attendants at their Blood Bank, Minister Cummings said. She added that the department needs to be equipped with more staff in order to expand and supersede its blood collection which is possible but had failed to materialize due to the lack of staff. Another major challenge is the absence of a Blood Donor Organiser/Recruiter at
the Blood Bank. This is a critical position which needs to be filled urgently. According to the Minister there needs to be specialised attention to donor recruitment and organising blood drives. She added, “The lack of a Donor Organiser has been a tremendous setback for the Blood Bank.” But it was blood drives that were a major contributory factor to the donation in 2016 with the NBTS conducting approximately 93 blood drives across the country. There was interface with numerous organisations, institutions and business entities. The Blood Bank had also participated at several health fairs where there were successful blood donations and collection, Minister Cummings revealed. Donations would have seen an increase since the blood bank was able to expand its target population which now includes schools, military, faith-based organizations and Non-Governmental Organisations among other target groups. This has been done injunction with increased sensitization and awareness, according to Minister Cummings. The blood bank has also conducted training on the
Guyana to attend preventative chemotherapy meeting
Guyana will have a presence when the Eighth Neglected Tropical Disease Strategic Technical Advisory working meeting convenes at the World Health Organisation WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. According to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Cabinet has approved the attendance of Dr. Fabu Moses of the Ministry of Public Health to attend the meeting. The meeting, according to Harmon, will address the monitoring and evaluating of preventative chemotherapy between February 15 and February 17, 2017. Preventative Chemotherapy and Transmission Control is the term used to cover the
approach to persons treating people affected by diseases related to parasitic worms such as ground worm, filarial worms, hook worms and tape worm. According to Harmon, it is anticipated that approximately one billion people worldwide and especially in developing countries, are affected by these parasites with school children being the most affected. The meeting later this month will determine priorities worldwide to combat these diseases in 2017 and beyond, Harmon disclosed Thursday. According to WHO, Preventative (Continued on page 8)
ZIKA Virus and capacity building in the area of improving quality, in the phlebotomy, component separation and overall laboratory standards and practices. There was also a capacity building workshop for doctors. Minister Cummings divulged too that moves have been made to have some major capital items be approved that will aid immensely in improving the blood banking process. In fact she revealed that a Blood Transfusion Policy was reviewed last year and was waiting to be presented at a Directors Meeting for approval. Meanwhile, another achievement that the NBTS is currently boasting is that of becoming computerized. According to Minister Cummings, the Blood Bank donor records can now be officially declared as fully computerized. She noted that at the beginning of 2012, the Blood Bank officially started using the Delphyn Software which is designed to register and
Dr. Karen Cummings, Junior Minister of Public Health. store all donor information, inclusive of test results. The software also allows for traceability of each unit when it is distributed to various hospitals. However, it must be noted that this is not the sole method of storing data. All computerized records at the
Blood Bank are backed up with forms and log books as a precaution. Through its record keeping, the NBTS will on June 14 next, honour voluntary blood donors as part of the celebration of World Blood Donor Day.
PAGE 8
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
APNU, AFC partnership...
Dispute mechanism never resorted to ... parties resolved matters through interactions – Ramjattan
Chairman and outgoing Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, said on Thursday, that the dispute-settlement mechanism provided for in the political accord with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was never used. The Cummingsburg Accord, struck on Saturday February 14, 2015 by the APNU and the AFC to contest the May 11, 2015 General Elections on a joint slate was the most significant coalition in
opposition politics in Guyana since independence, he said. The dispute mechanism provides for a three-member commission comprising a mutually agreed independent person as Chairman; and two non-executive members of the AFC and APNU. They are supposed to hear all legitimate complaints and recommend solutions which the two sides are bound to accept except if they are illegal. The Cummingsburg Accord,
which has a lifespan of 36 months, comes to an end in 2018. Ramjattan, the nation’s Public Security Minister, during the AFC’s bi-weekly press conference on Thursday, admitted that the provision was not 100 percent implemented because both parties, at the leadership level, and other members at various levels would resolve most of them through interaction. “Most of them were resolved – 90 percent of them. There are some that are hard to resolve
because of financial and economic realities. But there was provided for, a mechanism that we thought came off as a bit cumbersome and especially, of the advantage of dealing directly with the General Secretary and Leader to Leader. It resolved almost all of them; we utilised that. Ramjattan said that he does not know if the Coalition will have to “fall back” into that dispute resolution mechanism because the provisions “it is a little complicated”. “And when you’re in such a good relationship with your
partner, I think we can resolve it at the Leader-level or the General Secretary-level. This is a partnership; this is not something like a commercial transaction whereby you’re going to be like the Merchant of Venice asking for your pound of flesh. “You have a political contract, not a commercial transaction – where you go and you talk and you resolve –and we have been doing that,” Ramjattan stated. The party was established in 2005 by Trotman, Ramjattan, and the late Sheila Holder from the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).
AFC Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan
Guyana to attend preventative... From page 7 Chemotherapy and Transmission Control focuses on diseases for which a strategy exists, as well as on tools and the availability of safe and effective drugs that make it feasible to implement large-scale preventive chemotherapy. The diseases, WHO has outlined, include cysticercosis, dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), food-borne trematode infections, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and soiltransmitted helminthiasis. Blinding trachoma control through the SAFE strategy – combining drug treatment with hygiene and environmental management – can be linked to helminth control interventions to improve the overall health of affected communities, WHO has noted. Moreover, the goal, as outlined by WHO, is to provide national programmes with technical guidelines that emphasize a coordinated, cost-effective approach to the implementation of national elimi-
nation and control activities where preventive che motherapy is the main tool, i.e. regular anthelmin thic drug administration to all people at risk o morbidity due to helminthic diseases, starting early in life. The objectives therefore, according to WHO include developing technical guidelines and tools building capacity through development of train ing tools, workshops and guidelines; advocating for a coordinated approach to preventive chemo therapy; to build new partnerships and expanding those that already exist. The strategy to achieve this, WHO has as serted, will be “to coordinate preventive chemo therapy and transmission control global strategie in consultation with WHO country and regiona offices, collaborating centres and partners from academic and research institutions, the private sector, non-governmental development organiza tions, international agencies and other United Na tions organizations.”
Saturday February 04, 2017
PAGE 9
Kaieteur News
Not in any text books
Guyanese, wherever they have gone have been repected for their professional achievements. These achievements have been atributed to the standard of education of Guyanese and have helped to develop an ntellectual tradition. Without doubt, there are op-class Guyanese academcs and scholars. But Guyana’s intellectual tradiion is not home grown. It is a product more of foreign universities than the University of Guyana. Those Guyanese who are considered part of Guyana’s intellectual tradiion are all products of foreign universities or have lived outide of Guyana. The Guyana Prize for Literature has nothing to do with nurturing an intellectual tradition. It was intended to help promote the arts, particularly he literary arts. But that Prize was dominated by foreign writers and poets. It is to the
credit of the Granger Administration that it has continued with the Guyana Prize since from all accounts it was helping to improve local literary standards. On top of this all, the prize money was considered such a bounty by locals that it was encouraging people to write simply for the prize. The University of Guyana is now in a process of experimentation. This is all so that you can describe what is taking place there at the moment. They are starting a school of Entrepreneurship and help was sought from a foreign university to establish the viability of an entrepreneurship programme. That is risible. Can you imagine someone in America trying to prepare a programme on entrepreneurship for Guyanese? Guyanese are the one who should be lecturing to the Americans about entrepreneurship.
Guyanese have rewritten all the textbooks on entrepreneurship. Which foreign university can teach Guyanese about making money? You want to know how to make money, turn back the clock forty years ago when there were import restrictions on almost every conceivable item you can think about. It was ordinary Guyanese unschooled in entrepreneurship who saved Guyana from mass starvation and nakedness and they did this while making a lot of money. You will not find in any of the major textbooks on entrepreneurship having a chapter on suitcase trading. The textbooks will tell you about the various startup costs. But they will not factor in the bribes that Guyanese have to pay to get some permit or document or some license. The textbooks will tell you about keeping overhead low. But they will
Govt, Opposition granted time to...
From page 3 iled in the High Court by ormer President Donald Ramotar to support the motion iled by the PPP/C opposition eeking to bar the revocation of a lease to the Red House. The case was called beore the Chief Justice (Ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards at 11:00 am. According to sworn document, Ramotar said hat at all material times, he was aware and authorized and anctioned the issuance of a ease of the Government and for educational /ree arch purposes on the March 30, 2012 in respect to areas 'A' now called Red House comprising of Lots 65, 66 and 67 High Street Kingston acting on behalf of he Government of Guyana and the Cheddi Jagan Reearch Institute, (CJRI). In the affidavit dated Janu-
ary 30, 2017, Ramotar explained that as President of Guyana, he exercised all powers conferred upon himself by the Constitution and Laws of Guyana in leasing the property. During the hearing, Attorneys -at- law Priya Manickchand and Anil Nandlall appeared for the Cheddi Jagan Research Committee Inc. (CJRC) and the Attorney General, Basil Williams, appeared for the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys. The hearing was set to deal with an application by way of a Summons by Attorney General, (AG) Basil Williams in which he is seeking to vary/amend the Consent Order which was granted on the 30th of December 2016. Attorneys representing the PPP/C had opposed the
application and requested 14 days leave to file an Application in Answer. The AG was granted 14 days leave to file an Affidavit in reply. This aspect of the matter was adjourned to March 8, 2017. Yesterday the AG indicated that on February 20, 2017, he will make preliminary submission of law, that the Court has no jurisdiction. To date, he has failed to file the Affidavit in Answer which he was ordered to do within 21 days since December 30, last. This goes against initial reports that the Red House lease agreement was initiated without the approval of either the President of the day or The National Trust of Guyana, which is in contravention of Section 10 of the Lands Department Act Chapter 59:01.
not consider the possibility of things such as blackouts and crime which afflict businesses. Businesses in Guyana are being robbed in their stores and shops. They are being robbed when they leave the banks. Employees are robbing some businesses right under their noses. The text books do not cater for such crashes. It assumed that crime is an externality. But in Guyana’s business it is not. Even with high security costs, there is always the risk of a business being robbed as so many seem to be experiencing these days. The entrepreneurial textbooks will tell you that you must cater for competition. The books mean legal competition from persons producing similar goods. But they do not refer to competition from those stealing electricity and
those who are favored in government contracts. The textbooks assume that the playing field is level and that all you have to do is to be more cost efficient and you will be successful. That is simply not so. The textbooks also do not tell you that if you produce a certain product that the absence of strong copyright legislation means that somebody is going to counterfeit that product and oust you from the market. The textbooks do not instruct you about vendors coming in front of your store and underselling whatever you are selling. Right now there is a multi-million-dollar business established in Georgetown. The business has overheads, staff to pay and no doubt debts to be serviced. It pays taxes, includ-
ing rates and taxes. This business which deals with fast food is being undercut by a Bar –B- Que outlet established on government’s parapets and outselling the newly established fast food. So tell me, does Guyana need a school of entrepreneurship? Guyana needs a dose of law and order. Guyana must develop an indigenous intellectual tradition, one that is geared to doing things such as helping people to establish businesses in Guyana. No textbook or foreign university can do that right now.
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Kaieteur News
Saturday February 04, 2017
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Aristotle should be compulsory reading for APNU and the AFC
In Plato’s breath-taking philosophical treatise, THE REPUBLIC, he put the philosophy-king class at the apex of society. He argued that because of their advanced learning, they are better humans therefore society should rely on their judgments. As Plato came under criticism for treating the philosophy-king class as impeccably virtuous people, he extended the class to include others and it became less elitist. He changed the name from philosophy-king class to Nocturnal Council (nocturnal in those times did not mean
“occurring at night” which is its present meaning). Aristotle, Plato’s student, was still unhappy with Plato’s shape of justice distribution even though Plato had essentially moved away from the omnipotent rule of the philosophy king-class by conceding power to the less noble in the form of the Nocturnal Council. Aristotle can safely be described as the first philosopher in the western world who adumbrated the system of legal rules in the distribution of justice. His work had great influence on the Romans
thus it was no accident that the Romans were known for the systemization of laws. Aristotle’s contribution to philosophy was his invention of mechanism to serve in the distribution of justice. He felt justice should never be left to the integrity of the philosophically endowed ruler because despite his impeccability he is after all human and humans make mistakes. Since Aristotle two thousand years ago then, laid down ground rules backed by functioning mechanisms have been a staple diet in the role of government. The American constitution is said to be one of the most elaborate ones of how these mechanisms work. Against this background, it is unthinkable that the AFC would want to remove from
the Cummingsburg Accord, the laid out mechanism for solving dispute between the Coalition partners. At a press conference on Friday last the AFC said that it will delete that feature in the Cummingsburg Accord when that document comes up for renewal next year. The AFC says it prefers the leaders to thrash out their differences through direct talks. That is a very dangerous, retrogressive step. It is unthinkable that the leadership of APNU would want to concur. What is mind-boggling about this intention of the AFC is that it comes right in the middle of a semantic dispute between the PPP and the Government over the interpretation of what the words, “And any other fit and proper person” means in the Guyana Constitution. One recalls Yesu Persaud’s now famous revelation. He explained that in the house of medical doctor, Moti Lall, in Republic Park, shortly after he became President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan had a meeting with some businessmen. President Jagan rejected a request to see as a priority the changing of the constitution to lessen the enormous powers it gives to the president.
Mr. Persaud recounted that President Jagan told the group; “Can you see me being a dictator?” Dr. Jagan did not change the constitution and one of his successors, Bharrat Jagdeo, did become a dictator. Dr. Jagan grew up in politics with the culture of Leninism. Leninism has as one of its main fulcrums, the Vanguard Party. This in Leninist ideology is a pure, omnipotent body that is charged with the task of bringing about the classless society. Lenin never admitted it, but he borrowed the concept from Plato’s philosophy-king class. No one dares to question the Vanguard Party under communism. Those who questioned the purity of the Vanguard Party were put to death under Stalin, Mao-tse Tung and Pol Pot. The figures run into the millions. If you have a coalition of two parties with different ideological and class backgrounds why would you not want a functional referee system of either or two or three or six impartial and neutral persons to handle the disputes and come up with solutions? Why would that be of lesser value than the leaders
Frederick Kissoon
trashing it out themselves? What happens when they cannot agree on a matter tha is of utmost importance to them both politically and emotionally? Isn’t that how the world operates? Don’t we have judges that adjudicate? Don’t we have a mediation in stitution in which the media tor is a neutral person? Isn’ there a United Nation dispute body that hears complaint from nations? Isn’t there an arbitration system in indus trial relations and the arbitra tor must be neutral and his her ruling must be accepted? In a country that is politi cally unstable for over sixty years, and in which there the spirit of compromise hardly exists, why would the AFC want to remove such a pre cious clause from the Cummingsburg Accord? Bu then again, does in Guyana make sense?
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
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PAGE 12
Kaieteur News
Saturday February 04, 2017
Opposition leader wants international firm to track money ‘stashed’ abroad Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is urging the government to hire an international firm to track down large sums of monies that are reportedly stashed away in accounts overseas. At a press conference at his official office on Church Street yesterday, Jagdeo said that his party is not satisfied with a number of provisions that are a part of the State Asset Recovery Authority (SARA) Bill that is currently before parliament. Jagdeo said that he finds it worrying that these provisions infringe on the independence of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and it takes away powers from the Guyana Police Force. The former President bemoaned the slothfulness of charges being brought against officials that are fingered in corruption. He noted that the government has spent many millions of dollars on a number of forensic audits but nothing is being done. “Proceed with charges once investigators find that a corrupt act was committed.” Jagdeo said that there isn’t a need for a SARA Bill to charge persons who have stolen from the state’s purse. Further, Jagdeo said that the government has asserted that persons have stashed stolen Government funds
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
abroad and that the SARA Bil will address this with a hope of recovering those monies However he is urging the gov ernment to seek help from a reputable international firm to help in this regard. “Hire an international firm to work on this or ask Interpo for help.” Jagdeo said that a list of all Members of Parlia ment (MP) and Presidents current and past, should be made available to this body so that they can trace wha assets these individuals hold abroad and its legitimacy. The former President said this move will enable expedi ency with prosecution when (Continued on page 23)
Kaieteur News
PAGE 18
Saturday February 04, 2017
2014 restaurant waitress murder ...
Crippled suspect entered prison after Debra Blackman was killed - source A police source has indicated that 21-year-old Shelton George, who was arrested on Wednesday for the murder of 48-year-old Debra Blackman, was in prison when the waitress was killed. Kaieteur News understands that after the woman was killed, the cops got a tip that the waitress killer was in prison but they were provided with an incorrect name. Reports are that after the woman was gunned down, George was arrested on a robbery under arms charge. “He was around when the woman was killed. It was
after her murder that he was arrested,” the source indicated. Kaieteur News was informed that the young man was arrested on two counts of murder—for Blackman and for Bernadette Campbell, who was shot in a minibus at Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The source said that the crippled gunman is definitely going down for Blackman's murder, thanks to surveillance footage. While George chose to remain tight-lipped, the source said that they have enough evidence to pin murder charges on him.
“He was attending court on a robbery charge but we didn't know it was him. But we have footage and from that, you can identify him,” the source said. George, who was arrested on Wednesday at his mother's Better Hope home, is currently in police custody. Reports are that the cops are looking to charge his mother, Rosaline Monroe, for aiding and abetting a criminal. Monroe insisted that her son is not the killer. She said her son went to Suriname on January 9, 2014, and he sustained spinal injuries and
lost a kidney after he was shot there. Mrs. Munroe said he returned to Guyana in September 2014. She further related that in September 2015, police charged him for armed robbery and he was remanded. According to Munroe, he remained on remand until June 2016, when he was released on bail. Mrs. Munroe said that he has been attending court and she was surprised when police came to her home on Wednesday and arrested him for murder. Mrs. Munroe has since retained a lawyer for her son. While one of the suspect's Facebook profiles shows the tattooed Munroe posing near a huge stack of cash, his
Shelton George, the alleged gunman who shot and killed Debra Blackman mother insists that he is not a criminal. She said that the photograph was taken in Suriname, and the money belongs to an individual with whom her son was employed. The wheel-chair bound
alleged gunman was shot twice to the back by Kellon Hinds, who was hiding out there after murdering Sherwyn Barrow. Kellon Hinds was gunned down in August 2015 upon his return to Guyana.
Prime suspect in Kaneville deadly fire arrested in Mahdia
A
young man who along with his gang allegedly burnt a house down at Third Field, Kaneville, East Bank Demerara (EBD) which resulted in the death of eight-
month-old Romain Seth, was arrested at Nine Miles Mahdia, Region Eight. Kaieteur News understands that the man, who is in his early 20s and was apprehended after ranks
in 'F Division' were alerted to the man's presence in the area. A young woman previously held for the fire was released on bail. A c c o r d i n g t o information, the prime suspect had accused the toddler's grandmother of 'snitching' on him and his gang to the cops, resulting in lawmen raiding the neighbourhood frequently for guns and drugs. The baby's grandmother, Michelle Menezes, believes that the fire was indeed as a result of a report she made to the police after finding a gun stashed in a tree in her backyard, allegedly by the young man. The suspect and other villagers used her yard as a short cut to get to another street. Menezes said that after she reported the matter, the police started raiding the place and eventually she started getting threats from the young man and his gang. Recalling what transpired on the day of the fire, she said that she had just fed the baby and had put him to sleep when she heard a strange noise at the back of her home. ”I get up and went to the back to see what it was and then I hear another sound. When I watch (out the window) I see big balls of fire (being thrown at the house). They roll up paper,
Dead: Romain Seth light it, and fling it at the house. If you see was how much; like two, three coming at one time,” the woman recounted. She explained that by the time she called out for her relatives to run out of the house, the blaze had already engulfed most of her p r o p e r t y, b e c a u s e i t wasconstructed of old wood. ”When I went for my grandson, he was already burn up, because they (suspects) push open the window and throw in a ball with fire on the bed,” the woman lamented. She said that she was forced to run out of the burning house and leave the baby behind since he was already dead. The woman said that it was during the fire that she ran over to the building next door, which she claimed is the hangout for the teenager and his friends, and found the items which were used to set the fire.
Saturday February 04, 2017
GRDB Forensic Audit Probe....
SOCU raids Kingston office, seizes documents -probing vehicle driven by Agri official Days after Government handed over the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB)’s forensic audit – amongst others – to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), agents of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), descended upon the GRDB Kingston Office to secure documents which may contain potential evidence. The search was conducted to unearth further evidence in addition to what has already been discovered by the forensic auditors. SOCU’s inquiries led them to the Ministry of Agriculture, Regent Street and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive where a vehicle, PNN 5632, registered to the GRDB was discovered within the confines of the Ministry’s compound. Upon inquiring of the vehicle, SOCU was reportedly told that it was being operated by a senior official of the Ministry who is the wife of a former Freedom House operative. The official is said to be in no way, connected to the GRDB. According to a source, the official was not around when SOCU visited. She would return some time around 15:00hrs before departing some minutes later. Prior to the visit to the Ministry, the SOCU team – from all indications – was successful in its bid to secure documents that may contain evidence. UK Advisor to SOCU, Dr. Sam Sittlington, told media operatives that it is important to take action quickly to gather the documentation that is needed for evidence in cases of money laundering, tax evasion, theft etc. SOCU’s presence created quite a stir as persons came out from neighbouring buildings to get a view of the ranks that were armed with what appeared to be assault rifles, circling the Cowan Street Office.
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Kaieteur News
UK Advisor to SOCU, Dr. Sam Sittlington
OCU Head, Sydney James
Dr. Sittlington said that the documents would help them build solid cases to charge and prosecute persons. He was quizzed if SOCU would have got wind of anyone ditching evidence prior to the search. He responded, “There is an audit trail for everything and there may be documents missing but you still have an audit trail in terms of financial transactions and there should be projects ongoing.”He said that he was confident that investigators would be able to track down the information required. Present at the Office also, was the Head of SOCU, Assistant Commissioner Sydney James who was asked if the unit would have found anything or whether anyone was arrested or charged with regards to the GRDB audit. He declined to comment. He then said that the investigations have just begun and assured media operatives that he would provide the necessary updates when developments arise. GRDB is the authority charged with overseeing the rice industry throughout the country. Upon entering Government in May 2015, the David Granger-led administration immediately ordered a number of forensic audits to determine the health of the state agencies. Among them were GRDB,
the Guyana Energy Agency and the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL). Billions of dollars pass through these entities’ accounts. Last week, during a postCabinet press conference hosted by Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, it was disclosed that in all the cases, there were issues in these audits that warranted further investigations into “financial irregularities”. With regards to the GRDB report, Trotman noted that over a three to four-year period, more than US$500M from the PetroCaribe proceeds (Venezuela rice-for-oil deal) would have passed through the accounts of the entity. Among some of the “anomalies” found were loans without proper paperwork or promissory notes. There were other instances of persons in the agency using GRDB’s money to trade in foreign currency. The losses for the Government would have been significant, especially if the money was traded for less than it should have been. The Auditor General and the forensic audit reports have all pointed to severe deficiencies in the manner the monies of the state have been handled by the entities. Meanwhile, several senior officials have resigned or are no longer working at the entities, Trotman noted. At GRDB, the former General Manager, Jagnarine Singh, is gone.
Forensic audit reveals…
Keith Burrowes treated Go-Invest like his private business —Showed total disregard for company’s rules and regulations It is hard for some to swallow that the dreadful state in which forensic auditors found the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) was largely, the doing of one person and not a natural disaster. Throughout their report, forensic auditors from Nigel Hinds Financial Services (NHFS) documented how former Chief Executive Officer, Keith Burrowes, misused his authority, made numerous ad hoc decisions and essentially, treated the entity like his private business. According to the audit report which was released by the Ministry of Finance, yesterday, Burrowes’s tenure at Go-Invest was one where “ad-hoc and peculiar decisions” were made in several areas. These include the issuing of a Memorandum of Understanding by an Investment Officer; sending Initial Investment proposals directly to the Minister of Finance instead of the Commissioner General of Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); exclusively managing the recruitment, selection and hiring of staff, among others - all without the approval of his Board of Directors at the time. It was also discovered that there was no clear policy at Go Invest for remuneration of employees. Burrowes dealt
Go-Invest former CEO, Keith Burrowes with this process in a “discretionary” manner. He made it seem as though his Human Resources Officer was redundant. Elaborating further, forensic auditors said that the hiring function was conducted in an ad hoc manner thus allowing the former CEO to solely make hiring decisions. In fact, Burrowes sourced applicants, invited and conducted interviews for new hires by himself, instead of utilizing the Administrative Department. The interview committee comprising the CEO, Accountant/Personnel Officer and a Senior Investment Officer was rarely utilized. Burrowes also re-designated employees and
fixed new allowances for them. Additionally, the Accountant/Human Resources Officer/Administrative Officer had little or no input in the recruitment and selection process. It was also discovered that repairs and maintenance of vehicles were performed by mechanics “sole sourced” by Burrowes instead of being tendered. The auditors noted that the Guyana Office for Investment is a statutory body that was established in 1994, under the 1988 Public Corporations Act to replace Guyana Manufacturing and Industrial Development Authority (GUYMIDA), with a mission to contribute to Guyana’s Economic Development by promoting and facilitating local and foreign private sector investment and exports. The forensic auditors concluded that after 20 years of operations, Go-Invest has failed to fulfill its mandate and the organization is plagued with poor Governance, mismanagement, no strategic plan, an absence of Standard Operating Procedures for the different departments and no policy for the of Investment Agreements, which is compounded by an appalling filing system for investor documents. (Kiana Wilburg)
PAGE 22
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2 Bedrooms furnished apartment for overseas guest or short term rentals. Call: 227-3626/ 627-8900
FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Cheap! Cheap! CCTV Security Surveillance Kit, 8 Channels DVR with built in Hard Drive, 8 bullet cameras – Tel: 621-4740/686-3500 Used furniture in need of repair- Tel:616- 2445 Leyland DAF 75 Hauler in good condition GNN series -$2.2M. Call: 655-5117 or 623-3839 One complete sawmill situated at Yarrowkabra Industrial Site Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. Call: 6441190/ 609-8041 Houses at Blankenburg$12.9 M and Up. Contact # 650-0402/260-4124 Elevator very good condition, price negotiable. Call 231-1284 Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999 25 Lbs 8" and 25lbs 10" Nylon drift seine number 18 and 30 twine, double knot complete. Call: 670-3912 1 3600 watts generator, 1 30HP motor 3PH, 1 Automatic switch 600A more electrical stuff. Call: 627-7835 Combines 7300 John Deere (2000hrs), Fiatagri L413 (2500hrs), Laverda 132 & Tractors: Massey 399, Fiat 110/90, Ford 6610-Call: 6859878; 338-4354 1 Big music set, owner migrating. Call: 690-5225 1 Stembow Boat & Engine, 200HP Yamaha with Power Steering Kit. $1.6M Negotiable Call 658-5299/ 638-7748 2 -950 Caterpillar front loader, 1 clark ranger skidder, 1 Watkins 6 head molar plain, 1 LT 300 woodmizer saw. Call: 662-2078
LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
CAR RENTAL 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
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122, EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SEASON. CALL: 690-6494
VEHICLE FOR SALE
WANTED
2009 RAUM -$2.2M, 2009 SIENTA -$2.3M, 2011 MAZDA AXELA -$2.7M, 2011 NOAH & VOXY $2.6M. CALL:617-2891
Cook & Cashier for snackette, attractive salary. Call: 697-5387/ 677-9279
3 TON OPEN BACK CANTER, NEVER REGISTERED -$3.5M. CALL: 617-2891 1 Dyna Toyota open back canter in excellent condition, $1.2M negotiable- Call: 6848231, 629-4236 One Nissan Duke, PTT series, lady driven, low mileage, price negotiable. Call: 653-0018/ 666-7748 serious enquiries only. Toyota Sprinter Vintage, AE 110: AC, fully powered, automatic, all 4 drive used by pensioner, excellent condition. Call: 234-0510/ 674-0278 after 4pm 320i BMW for sale. Call: 6381106 1 Hauler, 1 Dump Truck for more information. Call: 6811132 1- Toyota Fielder Wagon, automatic, 15 inches magrim & automatic remote start, price $1.575M. Call: 668-8431
LAND FOR SALE
One -on- one with Mark Chand: Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw, Aftereffects, Premiere Pro, InDesign. Call: 602-3136
1 Waitress, 1 bartender & 1 bar supervisor. Call: 6965768/ 218-0013/601-1949
Handy boy, must have police clearance. Apply to Shanta’s @ 225 Camp & New Market Street
Live-in housekeeper to care for sick person; cook and general care. Call: 603-3571 between 7:00am-7:00pm
Wa n t e d U rg e n t l y ! 1 Houselot in Diamond between 7th to 11th Avenue. Call: 610-5957
2 Beauticians with pleasant personalities & passion for their work must be qualified and have clients. Call: 626-6450
One general domestic to work in Bel-Air, must know to cook, Indian & English dishes. Call: 223-9888/6643507
1 Experienced office staff, must have Accounts experience. Apply: written application, police clearance, photo @ 112 3rd &Albert St. Albertown. Call: 225-6255/ 226-9000
Land @ Soesdyke, 6 lots measuring 135’X175’ -$24M negotiable. Call: 627-3334/ 696-8935, email:fcranmore@ guyanavoice.com
We buy land in Zeelugt, Bartica, Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, Providence & Florida. Call: 233-3006/658-5897/6511969
Hararuni, Linden Highway, Road Side Land, 21 Acres (good on housing) price negotiable. Call:692-8216/233-5539
Wanted land to buy: La Parfaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt, Zeelugt, Tuschen. Call: 6579594
Eccles (100FT X 50FT) $5M, La Parfaite Harmonie- $1.3M, New Diamond Scheme -$7M, Uitvlugt $2.5M.Call:2333006/ 658-5897 /651-1969
Cleaner to work- Call: 2253234
Tuschen front (with fence) $2.8M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.6M, Zeelugt -$2M, Uitvlugt -$2M. Call:642-1252
Glass cases/ metal shelves and photocopy machines for store & offices. Call: 2332725/2439 Grease Rag any amount $200 per lb, white spandex cloth 60" width -$120 per yrd. Call: 266-2700/ 681-9130 EDUCATIONAL
a Urgently wanted professional cosmetology at Natural Beauty salon and spa, Grove, Market Street, E.B.D – Call: 652-5800
Earn cash as a photo/video model for advertisements and TV commercials. Call Mark: 602-3136
The Garage @ Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt Gardens : Admin Assistant, Cashiers, counter staff & handyman. Apply within. Call: 223-2300
Office staff with 5 CXC subjects, must be computer literate. Also 1 MechanicTel:218-5105 WANTED One driver/porter & porter. From Diamond, Grove area. Call: 216-1043, 677-6620 To rent one restaurant/liquor restaurant or bar at E.B.D or Georgetown- Call: 673-9283
One domestic to work in Trinidad, between ages of 25-35. Call 1-868- 683-1528
Ladies to work in Suriname Call: +597-875-4660 Continue on page 23
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
PAGE 23
GNBS recertifies Eureka Laboratory
The Guyana National Bueau of Standards (GNBS) recerified the Eureka Medical Laboatory under its Laboratory Cerification Programme after the aboratory continued to meet the equirements of the Guyana Standard (GYS 170) – General requirements for the operation of a Laboratory. The Laboratory is located at Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg. A laboratory certification is the process by which a third party gives written assurance and recognition that a laboratory is conforming to pecified requirements. Yesterday, the renewal cerificate with a validation of two years was presented by the Head of Conformity Assessment Department for GNBS, Rodlyn Semple, to the Managing Direcor of Eureka Medical Laboraory, Andrew Boyle. Boyle strongly believes that GNBS has supported and kept he Laboratory on a path of qualty and continual improvement. Semple expressed satisfacion that Eureka continues to maintain conformance to the requirements of the national standard despite its Accreditation to he ISO 15189 (international) tandard. The GNBS determines whether laboratories involved in esting, measurement and or calibration activities are satisfying he criteria outlined in the Naional Standard through its Naional Laboratory Certification programme. 1Laboratories which conform to the requirements of
Opposition leader...
From page 12 that time comes. Jagdeo doesn’t believe that the process should be stalled by this Bill. He called on government to move swiftly in addressing the issue. He believes that SARA is not interested in bringing charges against Government officials for their transgressions but rather the SARA Bill is design to do the government’s biddings. Jagdeo accused SARA of “talking the talk” but forgetting to “walk the walk”. “They are targeting opposition people and private individuals only, what about government officials” he asked. The former President said that he has nothing to hide and that he is at the ready to participate in this process and assist the current administration in resolving these malfeasances that were allegedly committed by former government officials. A number of former government officials have been fingered in corruption and some are charged and are before the court for financial irregularities.
Public Relations Officer for GNBS, Lloyd David this standard are provided with formal recognition that they have implemented a laboratory management system, thus providing quality assurance for customers as they identify and select reliable testing or calibration services to meet their needs. GNBS also carries out surveillance and monitoring activities during the period of certification to ensure that laboratories are maintaining
the system. The recertification of Eureka Medical Laboratory has kept it among the group of certified medical laboratories in Guyana. These include St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory, GPHC Medical Laboratories, Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital Laboratory, Medical Arts Centre Laboratory, Georgetown Medical Centre, Quest Medical Centre Laboratory and Woodlands Hospital Laboratory. Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GNBS, Lloyd David said that the National Standard allows labs to develop a comprehensive management system which will enable them to issue accurate, reliable and consistent test results. The certification allows the laboratories to determine whether they are performing their work correctly and to the appropriate standards. David added, “Laboratories can further be accredited to International Standards. He explained that other countries can send samples to Guyana to be tested and know that the results will be internationally recognized.”
From page 30
FOR RENT
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Bottom flat house @ 25 North Road & Oronoque Street, fully furnished/ air condition/residence / business. Call: 226-7012
Newly renovated, grilled, self-contained apartments for rent (light & water included) in Sussex St. Charlestown. Price-$35,000. Call: 689-8757/659-3597
Bottom flat to rent for store, shop, etc at Lot 117 Bagotville front, W.B.D. Call: 647-1347/ 665-3512
Brains Construction & Rental Service: we rent all types of equipment, excavator, bobcat, trucks, tools. Call: 2190904/601-5024
Three storey 75X30 feet building/bond, open floor, two offices, 2 washrooms, driveways @ 25B Princes St., Charlestown. Call: 2230654/225-0605
Space for rent at Ashmin’s ideal for commercial, office and cafeteria use, no deposit. Call: 616-9660/ 6711846
One large two bedrooms top flat in Wortmanville- Tel:6162445
Two bedrooms apartment to rent @ Better Hope, E.C.D – Call: 617-3001
Lot 14 Croal & Longden Street: 4 Storey building (infront Demico). Call: 6631876
One- two bedroom apartment in ‘B’ Field Sophia. Contact Maureen: 650-8827/ Colin: 621-5781
2 Bedrooms apartment in Eccles & rooms in Alberttown. Call: 225-3234
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Kaieteur News
Saturday February 04, 2017
M&CC removes signs...
Caribbean countries rocked by strong earthquake
From page 16 barriers threatens its wellbeing due to the heavy traffic congestions which are experienced daily. Giftland said it believes that M&CC's action is a backlash also to its current campaign of free parking, “which may not be sitting well with the architects of the failed car parking meters in the capital.” National Hardware had controversially bought the 103 acres aback Giftland property in 2010 for a paltry $510M or just under $5M per acre. A 4.7-acre plot of land in the same area had been sold a few months before to Scady Business Corporation, an overseas company based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands for $115M or $23M per acre. Yesterday, Roy Beepat, President and founder for Giftland, made it clear that he had been allowing residents of the housing scheme started by National Hardware to use his road and property to enter and exit their homes. “We asked that the barriers in place not be removed as there is a traffic congestion
Giftland’s owner, Roy Beepat problem and it could cause chaos.” However, a few residents of the National Hardware housing scheme were not too happy with having to drive around the barriers.
Beepat explained that the housing scheme had even built a bridge leading to his compound and he had attempted to work with them allowing them to use the access road.
Pressure mounts on City Hall...
The circle indicates the location of yesterday’s earthquake CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 rocked at least three Caribbean countries yesterday but there were no immediate reports of injuries or destruction. The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) said that the quake struck at 3.54 pm
(local time) and was felt in St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica. It said that the earthquake was located at Latitude: 15.04 North and Longitude: 60.59 west at a depth of 21 kilometres. The quake was 73 km northeast of Fort-de-France, Martinique, 93 km east-southeast of Roseau, Dominica and
120 km north east of Castries, St. Lucia. Some residents said the quake lasted ‘several minutes”. “Just felt a serious earthquake,” one person from St. Lucia wrote on his Facebook page, while others posted pictures of goods thrown off supermarket shelves.
From page 16 looking out for. This is not about politics; tell them to stop with that nonsense. Absolute trash!” He argued that the M&CC should produce the feasibility study which was done that justified the implementation of parking meters in Georgetown. When asked why the protest was organised after the project was rolled out and not after its initial announcement, the businessman said, “I think the reason why you're hearing from us now is because we have a forum, we have numbers, we have strength in numbers. All of us have come together and we realised that this is an issue, this is a problem. “We are city business people; do you want us to continue doing business? Then give us the opportunity to do business, create the enabling environment, this is not enabling.” Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase-Green, said that the parking meter project is one of the council's interventions for the next generation. Asked to comment on the issue of revenue generation, she said that a fair assessment can only be done after the first month. “I could only be able to tell you about the revenue after we would have completed a first month, then I can tell you anything about revenue coming in. “Georgetown is much cleaner; there is less
congestion…People are able to go into the banks easily and come out. People don't have to drive around for a whole hour looking for space. “So, all I'm asking people; you have a right to be upset…so we must understand that we must work with it, work together.” According to the Mayor, if persons were paying their taxes, the council may not have had the reason to consider installing parking meters to generate revenue. She said that parking meters were in the vision of the person who wrote the Laws of Guyana, particularly the Municipal and District Councils Act Cap. 28:01. She said that the idea existed since 1967. “You're telling me 50 years later I can't introduce the vision of a man?” On the issue of a slowdown in business in Georgetown since the introduction of the meters, the Mayor said that she received no such complaint. In fact, Chase-Green said that some businesses have approached the council requesting a special package. “So I can say that I have the majority of the business people on my side.” She said that the parking contract is sitting in the Town Clerk's office for persons to go and view. The Mayor said that it is not logical that every contract which the council signs be made public. Town Clerk Royston King believes that it is backward thinking for persons to be
against the parking meters. He said that the city is on a path of progress and development and the project is one of way going forward. “For you to be against parking meters in a modernized world, in a global society, it is backward thinking; and I can only assume that they are against the parking meter wants Georgetown to stay in a state of confusion, indiscipline and lawlessness and as a City we have the statutory responsibility to deliver to all citizens a city that is green, clean and safe.” According to King, the municipality expects to collect at the very least $240M for 2017. King said that the council employed a democratic process to have the project implemented. He said that all councillors were involved and given opportunities to make contributions. One of the anti-parking meter protesters suggested that the City could have easily made more money by using a different system of paid parking. The man said that at least 150,000 vehicles pass through the city each month. He said that each motorist could have been asked to buy a ticket for $2000 per month to park in the city. Using these figures, the man said that City Council could have made $300M directly since there is no middle man. Another protester against the parking meter system said that her group is not necessarily against the parking meter system but rather against what is being done.
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C’bean tourism stakeholders look to Mexico for new market NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Caribbean tourism officials have ended a twoday meeting here saying they are moving to capitalize on the growing number of Mexicans expressing an interest in traveling to the Caribbean for vacations. “We are living in very interesting times and there continue to be developments on the international front, that affect us one way or the other. “But Mexico over the last few years has certainly expressed more and more an interest in working closer with the Caribbean, and some of its more affluent travellers appear set to visit this region since the recent fall out ýover immigration issues with the new US administration,” said President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Karolin Troubetzkoy. Troubetzkoy, who was speaking with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) during the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2017, said that the issue of airlift remains the major challenge for ýthe region if it is to capitalise on this opportunity.
She said it was just not Mexico but other South American markets such as Columbia and Brazil. “It is clear to us that our challenge is that the airlift for many destinations is not ideal for Mexicans and other South American travellers who would now obviously prefer to by-pass the USA in their travels. “The traditional gateways via Miami and Atlanta would ýnot be suited so we need to determine how the airlift out of Mexico, and possibly Colombia and Brazil, could be addressed. But while they do have their own carriers and there are gateways via Panama, ýmany Caribbean destinations do not have the airlift required to open up that market,” the CHTA president added. The Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2017 brought together hundreds of tourism enterprises whose representatives meet face to face with wholesalers from around the world selling Caribbean vacation travel. This year ’s engagement attracted at least six new buyer companies from
CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Ireland. Troubetzkoy said that ýher organisation has been engaged in active discussion with private sector representatives and heads of governments on the entire system of intra-regional travel. “I think the if we embrace an open sky policy, to some extent the connectivity from Mexico in between the
islands would allow us to grow market share from that region, but that remains a challenge not having that accessibility sorted out.” The CHTA president said that all of Latin America remains potential destinations for the Caribbean but issues such as transportation and interconnectivity must be resolved from a multidestination perspective. “It will also require a lot
of work from the human resource perspective, as many of the English speaking Caribbean seem ill prepared for our Portuguese and Spanish speaking clients. “ We m u s t l o o k a t signage and make a more serious effort to bring language training to our schools but especially to hospitality workers,” she added. In her assessment of Caribbean Marketplace 2017, which ended late T h u r s d a y, t h e C H TA president ýsaid she was quite pleased with the feedback from the one thousand odd hoteliers, buyers and tourism enterprises represented. “Last year there were mixed comments and
feelings but this time around most are reported to have had great meetings. Everyone is looking towards 2017 with optimism, the booking pace is up again,” Troubetzkoy noted. She said “often one wonders whether meetings ýsuch as marketplace are still relevant but whenever I come I can’t help but feel strongly that it remains extremely necessary for tourism stakeholders to sit t o g e t h e r, no email exchanges, no Skype or telephone calls can really make up for the mix that develops when talking to each other, emerging with fresh ideas and most times a completely adjust strategy to roll out, so we all look forward to an engaging and productive year”.
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Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
Jamaica, UK in talks to improve nursing sector KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Jamaica says it wants to establish an agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) that will allow for the exchange and rotation of registered nurses in both countries to receive training and clinical experience in specialist care. London and Kingston have agreed to set up a joint working group to work out the details of the initiative that Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had proposed during a recent visit to the United Kingdom. He said that the initiative is aimed at addressing the chronic shortage of health care professionals affecting both countries and that the proposal had been outlined to policymakers, technocrats of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, training institutions as well as lobbyists in the UK health sector. “We also did the unusual thing of meeting with one of the recruiting agencies in the UK that actually recruits health care professionals for that market, because we felt it was important to understand their perspective and to encourage them to think in a different direction,” Dr Tufton said, adding that
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton the response from London has been encouraging. The Health Minister said that the proposal would see a programme designed to have lecturers from universities in the United Kingdom teaching at the main local nursing institutions in order to beef up the numbers of registered nurses and specialist care nurses. He s a i d t h e n u r s e s would receive their qualification under that bilateral arrangement. “There is a shortage on both sides. We could train
more locally at the RN (registered nurse) level, but we have a shortage of faculty — I hear people saying we should train more, (but) you cannot train more if you don’t have faculty, because there is a ratio of lecturers to students that is required to ensure certification, and there is a shortage of lecturers, so it restricts the c a p a c i t y t o t r a i n , ” D r. T u f t o n s a i d , noting that without the capacity to attract more lecturers, or expand facilities, the alternative is to collaborate with a jurisdiction with which Jamaica has friendly relations, and which can assist with faculty exchange, as well as giving local nurses access to infrastructure. “The third component to the proposal is once they are qualified, we design a programme that allows rotation of employment between the countries… a nurse would therefore spend some time working in facilities in the UK and in Jamaica in a given period of time. “What that approach does, too , i t w o u l d n o t disturb the immigration issues that the Government of the UK is attempting to address based on their mandate in terms of Brexit,” he told reporters.
Tens of thousands of visas revoked in Trump travel ban (Reuters) Tens of thousands of visas were revoked under U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban affecting seven Muslim-majority countries, the State Department said yesterday. “Fewer than 60,000 individuals’ visas were provisionally revoked to comply with the executive order,” said William Cocks, a spokesman for consular affairs at the State Department. Earlier news reports, citing a government attorney at a federal court hearing, put the figure at more than 100,000 visas. Cocks said the visas had been voided for now but may be restored without travelers needing to apply again once the ban is lifted. “A provisional revocation means the Department of State has invalidated a visa for use to travel to the United States and apply for entry, but may restore the visa’s validity at a subsequent time without requiring the traveler to submit a new visa application,” he said.
“We will communicate updates to affected travelers following the 90-day review,” Cocks added. The immigration executive order signed by Trump a week ago temporarily halted the U.S. refugee program and imposed a 90-day suspension on people traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump said the measures would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. Under President Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor, the United States added those seven countries as “countries of concern” under its visa waiver program, effectively toughening U.S. visa procedures for individuals who visited those places during the past five years. Trump’s executive order was at least in part informed by those restrictions. The new president, who took office on Jan. 20, went further by temporarily barring passport holders from those seven countries. Under Trump’s order,
people from the seven countries who hold dual citizenship would be allowed to enter the United States on the passport of a non-restricted nation. The New America think thank says the largest majority of “jihadist terrorists” in the United States “have been American citizens or legal residents.” It added none of the deadly attackers since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks emigrated or came from a family that emigrated from one of these countries. Foreigners on the visa waiver program killed no Americans in terrorist attacks in over 40 years, according to the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington.
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Saturday February 04, 2017
Simpson Miller to announce March departure as PNP President (Jamaica Gleaner) President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Portia Simpson Miller is expected to announce tomorrow that she will demit office at the end of next month. According to party insiders, Simpson Miller is expected to make the announcement during a meeting of the PNP’s National Executive Council (NEC). PNP General Secretary Julian Robinson would not confirm that the report. However, he said members of the PNP’s NEC will meet tomorrow. Robinson said, as is customary, Simpson Miller will address the meeting. Reports of Simpson Miller ’s pending announcement come amid
Portia Simpson Miller claims that there has been unease among senior members of the PNP over her failure to announce a timetable for her departure as PNP president. After more than 40 years
as Member of Parliament for St Andrew South West, Simpson Miller, the country’s first female prime minister, announced in December that she would not seek another term as party leader.
CCJ declines to hear interparty application from Belize PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday issued an order declining to hear an interparty application for an antienforcement injunction which was brought by the Belize government. The application sought to restrain British Caribbean Bank Holdings Limited (BCB) and the Belize Bank Limited (BBL) from enforcing a final arbitral award that was issued by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The CCJ, had in a judgment issued on July 26, 2013, declined to enforce the award by the LCIA on the ground that enforcement in Belize would be contrary to public policy. The dispute has its
genesis in 2005 when, in order to settle a commercial dispute, BCB and BBL entered into a settlement agreement with the Belize government. The CCJ said this agreement essentially provided that the two companies would benefit from a tax regime that was specifically created for them without the knowledge or approval of the Belize parliament. The agreement was honoured by the Belize government until 2008 when there was a change in government after general elections. “The new government rejected the agreement and sought to collect the taxes owed by the two companies for the two years under which the agreement was honoured. The companies
subsequently initiated arbitration proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration as provided for in the agreement and obtained an Award in their favour.” The companies then sought to enforce the award of the LCIA in Belize, but the CCJ declined to permit enforcement of the award on the basis that enforcement would sanction acts that were both unconstitutional and contrary to public policy. BCB and BBL then successfully initiated proceedings in the United States to enforce the LCIA award in that country. The CCJ noted that the application by the Belize Attorney General was for an injunction to restrain such enforcement but, “in pursuance of the overriding objectives of the Rules of the CCJ, which ensure that the Court remains accessible, fair and efficient to litigants, the Court convened its full sevenmember Bench and pronounced upon the application on the same day, February 2, 2017, it was filed before the Court. “The Court unanimously decided that, having already issued a final judgment in these proceedings on July 26, 2013, it had no jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief in the absence of a pending appeal before the Court,” the CCJ ruled.
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GVF boss says more to happen for... Radical schedule shake-up proposed... (From page 28) attended. He said that the world is now moving away from indoor volleyball, which is one format popular in Guyana, to more shorter and visible games, due to Television and other factors. He said the focus is being shifted to outdoor and beach volleyball. Guyana should not have a problem in adapting to the Beach volleyball format because there is an abundance of sand around. He said that beach volleyball is becoming popular and the GVF will be pushing for more participating in the sport. The South American
Confederation of which Guyana is a part is pushing the participation in beach volleyball. This year Guyana will be a part of the Commonwealth Games and this year a number of countries will be coming to Guyana in April to plan for the games. “So Guyana will have an opportunity to participate against countries in the Caribbean and North America, countries we know we can beat.” He said that Guyana is the only Commonwealth Country in South America, so we have an opportunity to be a part of both Confederations.
“We want our players, both males and females to participate in all the tournaments. We also want to develop specialist players for both the indoor and outdoor competitions, especially the beach volleyball. There are some differences with some different rules and techniques with the games. Some players can play all the formats while some might specialized. However, we will strive to have players ready to compete.” He pledge the GVF’s continued support to the BVA in all forms - ball, tournaments, training, seminars among others.
Saturday February 04 , 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Don't get depressed, get busy. You can accomplish a lot if you're willing to put in a little extra time. You may want to take a look at your direction in life. Unexpected events may be upsetting. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Take the time to do your job correctly or you may find yourself looking for a new one. Make arrangements to spend quality time together. The danger of minor accidents will increase with the turmoil. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Discord could be unnerving. You may be sensitive to a point of absurdity. Enjoy some socializing today. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Don't push your mate if you want to keep this union going. Be careful that you don't overextend yourself. Don't divulge secret information. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Put your money into a safe place that will ensure a profit if you let it sit long enough. Residential changes, renovations, or moves are likely to disrupt your routine. Sign up for tours or courses that will enlighten you. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Your partner's a little jumpy. You have been going through a period of change that has caused problems for you with your loved ones. Don't be too quick to voice your opinion. Listen to others carefully. LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Emotional deception is evident. It's time to consider putting money into long-
term investments. Your doubt could lead to insecurity. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You can make a big difference to children if you are understanding of the difficulties they are experiencing. Cultural activities open your eyes to new ways of doing things. Your emotions may be hard to control if your mate is forcing you to undergo drastic alterations in your relationship. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Don't give them the use of your credit card. Unrealistic promises will only get you in trouble. Your persuasive nature will win the heart of someone you've had your eye on. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You will find that social activities will lead you into passionate meetings. Your diplomacy will be of utmost importance today. Secret affairs will only lead to heartache. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You need to concentrate on your business ventures more than on your relationship today. It might be time for you to take a quantum leap from one career to another. Moneymaking ventures may just turn your life around. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Deal with the needs of children and get into groups that deal with self awareness. You may have personal problems, but professional duties might be pressing. Travel will promote new romantic encounters.
(From page 26) will be part of a criteria for Test status; another criterion is for countries to have a domestic first-class competition. Ireland’s domestic competition was approved last year; Afghanistan’s came up at the CEC meeting and it is believed it will also be granted first-class status. ODI cricket A 13-team league will be played over three years, one series against each other on a home and away basis (because there are more teams involved, the cycle is longer). The 13 teams are likely to include the ten Full Members, Afghanistan and Ireland, and the winner of the World Cricket League. There will be a minimum of 12 ODIs in a year for every team (with no upper limit) and bilateral series can be of any number of matches. At the end of the league period, the top-ranked side will be rewarded in some way. For the World Cup, the top seven sides plus the hosts will qualify automatically. The bottom five will play in a qualifying event along with an undecided number of Associate sides, from which two sides will go through to make up a ten-team World Cup. Member nations can organise ODIs outside of this framework should they choose to and they will be given ODI status, but those matches will not carry points towards the league. T20 cricket In one sense, the most uncertainty remains over T20 international cricket, mostly because talks are still ongoing over whether two extra World T20s should be played
in 2018 and 2022. That is what will determine the length of any cycle for the format. As it stands, the proposal includes one regional qualification event - perhaps similar in style to the Asia Cup - in each of the five ICC regions. Teams enter that event on the basis of points they earn from the bilateral T20s they play in a cycle. Each member, when scheduling an ODI series, is allowed to also schedule a T20 series, with a maximum of three games. Points in those games take you through to the regional event that will include Full Member sides and the top Associates, and from here sides will qualify for the World T20. The potential impact of these three models on the international calendar as it stands could be far-reaching. It could mean, for instance, encroachment into what have been considered fixtures in the year - an England home season for example, or Australia’s Boxing Day Test. Though there is consensus now for these models, much of how and when they
are finally implemented will depend on the broadcast market. Full Members are locked into individual, long-term broadcast deals; some of them are up for renewal in 2017-2018 and how broadcasters react to these plans will necessarily have an influence in the outcome. So too will the pursuit by some boards of a pooled TV rights policy where they put the value of their overseas market rights into a pool and divide the income among themselves. How far the plans go will also hinge to some extent on the Board meeting on Saturday, in which the focus of discussions will be the new financial model by which cricket expects to organise itself. All reports suggest a hefty scaling down in ICC revenues for the BCCI from the figure that would have been due to them in the Big-Three model. If, as is likely, the BCCI puts up resistance - and dependent on how much support they can round up - some worry that their support for these new structures could be linked to how they fare in the financial model.
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Fraser-Pryce braces for uncertain year as niggling foot injury persists Jamaica Observer - It will be another challenging year for double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as she prepares to grapple with that niggling toe injury that hampered her throughout 2016. “It’s still not healed. It’s still causing me a lot of problems, but I am just being patient right now. Majority of what I went through last year is because I wanted to go the Olympics. It’s the Olympics. It’s every four years and I don’t know if I am going to 2020 (Olympics). I am still not a 100 per cent sure, but things are leaning in that favour of me going beyond 2017,” said Fraser-Pryce. “The toe is what it is and I can’t do anything about it right now because I spent the 2016 season doing the worst things I possibly could have done to the toe, and that was to make it even worse,” revealed Fraser-Pryce. “But right now I am in contact with my doctors overseas and we are looking at the best solution to make sure this stays away for the upcoming season or by next year,” she added. FraserPryce was in tears on a number of occasions, especially during the Rio
Olympics after competing with the injured toe that caused excruciating pain as she battled for her country. She was chasing history as the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 100m titles, but she was beaten by countrywoman Elaine Thompson and American Tori Bowie. Her season ended after the Olympics and it was thought that she would have had surgery, but that never materialised and for the new season, it’s still touch and go whether she goes under the knife. “I won’t comment on that aspect just as yet because we are still working out the best way to get this thing done,” she told the Jamaica Observer. Fraser-Pryce, who turned 30 years old last December, burst onto the scene nine years ago as a relatively unknown athlete by capturing gold in the 100m at the Beijing Olympics in 10.78 seconds. She became the first Caribbean woman to win gold in the event at an Olympics. Fraser-Pryce would then successfully defend her title at the London Olympics in 2012, becoming only the third woman to achieve that feat. And though
she failed in her attempt at a third-consecutive Olympic Games 100m gold medal, she is looking forward with much gusto to defend her 100m World Championships title. But it will be another difficult year. “I don’t want to say another challenging year. But I don’t think it can get any worse than 2016. But I am optimistic and I am always an optimistic person and I always trust the process and believe that bigger and better and greater things are ahead, and I am looking forward to that. “It’s still January. It is what it is right now’, still background time for me and I am just following the instruction of the coach and taking things easy and accessing things as we go along,” said FraserPryce, whose strained relationship with coach Stephen Francis appears on the mend. The diminutive athlete who became a world beater under the guidance of Francis parted company after the Olympics, but has since returned to the all-powerful MVP camp. She refused to reveal what went wrong then. “I can’t speak to that. Up until this day I have not commented about it for
(From right) Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson celebrates winning the Women’s 100m Final ahead of USA’s Tori Bowie, Jamaica’s Shelly- Ann Fraser-Pryce, USA’s English Gardner, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye during the athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 13, 2016. (Photo: AFP) many, many reasons and I still don’t want to comment about it,” said Fraser-Pryce. She continued: “What happened, happened, and I don’t know how it got to where it did, but it got t h e r e a n d t h a t ’s j u s t history right now. We have moved past that and we are focusing on building the relationship and moving forward as coach and athlete.”
Only last week her training partner and Olympic champion Elaine Thompson made her seasonal debut in the 60m with a personal best of 7.02 seconds. But Fraser-Pryce is uncertain when she will take to the track. “I am not sure. Before I actually started the season, Stephen and I actually sat down to talk and we were not planning to start the season till later
down in the season,” she revealed. But whenever she starts, the “Pocket Rocket”, as she is called, will once again have to suffer through the pain barrier caused by that toe injury. “It’s still hard to decide what will be the best source of treatment for the toe, so I am just working with the doctors right now,” ended Fraser-Pryce.
Radical schedule shake-up proposed at ICC meeting ESPNCRICINFO International cricket has brought itself to the cusp of a radical shake-up of its calendar after top executives agreed on proposals that provide more context for all three formats. If the ICC Board approves them, a twoyear Test league, a 13-team ODI league, and a regional qualification process for the World T20 could be ushered in from 2019. At the end of a two-day meeting in Dubai yesterday, the Chief Executives Committee (CEC), tasked with creating structures for Test, ODI and T20 cricket that give meaning to international matches, arrived at the proposals that will now go to the ICC Board. The ICC Board does meet on Saturday but it is currently unclear whether these proposals will be discussed in that meeting or at the next one in April: much of the Board meeting on Saturday is expected to centre around a new financial model cricket hopes to implement. Having
A two-year Test league is among the likely changes in the pipeline © Getty Images come through the CEC meeting, however, means there is consensus in the first place. If the CEC proposals are approved, then from 2019 onwards cricket may see a rolling two-year Test league with a 9-3 format, where the top nine Test countries compete among themselves and against the three lowerranked teams comprising Zimbabwe and most likely
Ireland and Afghanistan (depending on whether they earn Test status). It is understood the CEC also approved a three-year, 13team ODI league, the culmination of which will result in qualification for the 50-over World Cup, and a system of regional qualification tournaments through which teams attempt to qualify for the World T20. And as the strongest
signal yet that the short-lived era of the Big Three is well a n d t r u l y o v e r, t h e overseeing of this calendar will once again become the responsibility of the ICC. The proposal for each format is as follows: T e s t c r i c k e t Despite talk of a conferencestyle structure with 12 teams, the proposals call for a 9-3 league. That is, nine Full Members excluding
Zimbabwe will play each other in Test series either home or away once over a two-year period, at the end of which there will be a play-off between the top two teams. The duration of the series will be up to the members even a one-off Test can be considered a series. The system of how points will be awarded, given that each series will not be of the same length, is yet to be worked out. The home and away stipulation is such that, if, for example, New Zealand tours Sri Lanka in the first twoyear league cycle, then in the following one Sri Lanka will tour New Zealand. If one team refuses to play another as has been the case with India playing Pakistan - they will forfeit points. Full Members will retain the power to schedule bilateral series should they wish outside of this league structure. The details of how the bottom three teams operate within this league are still to be fully worked out. They will play against each other
in what will be Test matches, but essentially outside of the league structure and with no points at stake. Administrators, however, are also working out a way for the nine Full Members play a series against at least one of the three in each cycle, to provide them with exposure and the opportunity to improve. Part of the reason this is not yet finalised is because it is linked to the question of membership status for Associate sides, which is on the agenda of the ICC Board meeting on Saturday. There is talk of decoupling Test status from Full Membership, so that a side such as Afghanistan or Ireland - can play Tests without being Full Members. At the end of a four-year period - of two cycles - the performances of these three teams will be assessed and it is here, presumably, where the Test ambitions of other Associate sides come into play. Performances there (Continued on page 25)
Saturday February 04, 2017
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Kevin Pietersen fined New McLaren F1 car name for calling umpire’s to break with the past decision ‘shocker’ on air ESPNCRICINFO Melbourne Stars batsman Kevin Pietersen has been fined AUD 5000 for criticising an umpiring decision on air while fielding during the BBL semi-final against Perth Scorchers on January 24. The incident occurred during the Scorchers’ chase, when opener Sam Whiteman was given not out when he appeared to bottom edge Scott Boland to the wicketkeeper. Pietersen was wearing a microphone on the field at the time to be part of the BBL’s commentary broadcast and he made a comment on the umpire’s decision. “That was a shocker, an absolute shocker,’’ Pietersen said. “He says it could have been glove or pad, and I said, ‘well, he’s got big gloves and big pads to reach that’. Massive nick.’’ Cricket Australia said Pietersen “was reported for breaching CA’s Code of Conduct Article 2.2.3 public or media comment that is detrimental to the interests of cricket,
McLaren’s Fromula Onde driver Fernando Alonso drives at Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. (REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker)
Kevin Pietersen has got himself in trouble for being too candid on the mic © Cricket Australia irrespective of when or where such comment is made - a level 2 offence. As per the CA Code of Conduct procedure, the Match Referee, David Talalla, considered the umpires’ written report, and the proposed sanction was a $5000 fine.” On January 27, Pietersen decided to “dispute the
sanction” and after a hearing, which included “additional submissions from Pietersen along with video footage and the umpires’ written report,” on February 2, Talalla upheld the AUD 5000 fine. Pietersen has 48 hours to appeal the match referee’s decision and take the issue to a CA Code of Conduct Commissioner.
Fund raising softball set for February 18 at Lusignan The Mon Repos Market Ve n d o r s D e v e l o p m e n t Committee (MRMVDC) has embarked on a major fund raising venture set for Saturday February 18, 2017 at Lusignan Community Centre ground. The day’s event includes a bar-b-que and softball cricket competitions which will be played in four categories; female Open, male Open, male Over-40 and male Over-50 years old. All proceeds from the day’s event will go towards the maintenance of the biggest
market on the East Coast Demerara. All players from each team will be given medals while there will be trophies for outstanding performances. According to chairman of the MRMVDC, Kishan Sarwan the truly family fun day will have musical entertainment, trampoline and novelty games for the children and a variety bar to go along with the cricket action which will conclude under lights. No entrance fee will be
STSC small goal football on today The South Turkeyen Sports Committee in collaboration with the Black Stallion Football team 4-a-side small goal football competition which was set for January 29 will now be staged today at Vryheid Lust Basketball Court commencing at 15:00hrs. Among the teams slated to take part are Sophia Warriors and Black Stallion. At stake are trophies and medals donated by Tent City, Henry Chase, Trophy Stall Bourda Market, Trevor Mc Arthur and Johnny Barnwell.
required for the female teams and this category will be played on a10-over basis. The Male Open and Over 40 competitions will be of 10 overs duration and will be played using the white balls. The entrance fee is set at $15,000 per team and the organizers will take the first eight teams in each category. The finalists are guaranteed cash and trophies. At a simple launch ceremony in the market on Thursday, Sarwan unveiled the array of trophies that are up for grabs and said that the committee is aggressively approaching sponsors with the aim of getting more persons involved to make the day a resounding success. Sarwan further stated that, “Saturday is market day but that Saturday will be a Saturday with a difference and the entire market will benefit once everybody (vendors) come out.”
(Reuters) McLaren’s 2017 Formula One car will be a break with the past, and the era of now-departed boss Ron Dennis, the team said yesterday. “2017 is all about change, and our car name is changing too,” McLaren said on Twitter, announcing the car would no longer have the MP4 prefix that has been carried by every McLaren since 1981. The prefix alluded to Project Four, a team founded
by Dennis in 1976 that merged with McLaren in 1980. Dennis was forced out as team boss by McLaren shareholders in November, with American Zak Brown coming in as executive director of the former world champions. McLaren said the new Honda-powered car, which would have been the MP432, would now be designated the MCL32. The car is due to be launched at
t h e t e a m ’s Wo k i n g headquarters on Feb. 24. Formula One is undergoing major change this year, with Liberty Media taking over as the commercial rights holder and American Chase Carey replacing Bernie Ecclestone as chief executive. On the track, the cars will have bigger tires and revamped aerodynamics aimed at making them faster, more aggressive looking and harder to handle.
Inaugural Guinness Rugby Sevens scrums off today The inaugural Guinness One-Day Sevens Rugby Competition organised by the Guyana Rugby Football Union scrums off today from 15:30hrs, at the National Park Playfield. Beverage giants Banks DIH under its Guinness brand has pledged over $300,000 to the event to be played under floodlights with the men’s winner receiving $150,000, runnerup $50,000, 3rd place $25,000 along with trophies, while the women’s winner will take away $50,000 and a trophy. The Most Valuable
players will be rewarded with $5,000 each, while fans will also have the opportunity to win prizes through participation in novelty events. The participating teams in the men’s category are: Police Falcons, Panthers, the Guyana Defence Force, Pepsi Hornets and Yamaha
Caribs, while the women’s category will see two teams battle in a best of three series. Police have recruited two guests’ players from Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o (T&T) who according to local officials are highly regarded in rugby circles at home and expected to provide a significant boost to the team. They are the Pantor brothers Jeron and Leon. Meanwhile, fans are being urged to come out and support the event and have fun with drinks and food for sale throughout the day.
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Berbice Volleyball 2017 season GVF boss says more to serves off today with one day happen for volleyball this year Urges others to follow in BVA footsteps competition at Blairmont By Samuel Whyte t h e S o u t h A m e r i c a n with the amount of activities After having an outstanding year 2016 and being touted as one of the top sports organisations in Guyana, the Berbice Volleyball Association under the astute leadership of President Levi Nedd has to intentions of not letting up and will hitting the ground running for 2017. T h e B VA 2017Volleyball season kicks off today with the playing off of the Ashwell “Pumpkin” Mohabir Open, one day competition at the Blairmont No2 ground, West Bank, Berbice beginning at 10:00 hrs. A number of top teams have so far registered for the competition including Port Mourant Training CenterOne and Two, PMTC Juniors, Rollers of New
Levi Nedd Amsterdam, Three Door Strikers of De Edwards, Black Bush Polder, Tain Humanitarian seniors and juniors. Among the female
teams expected to participate are, Corriverton Jets, Orealla Females and Port Mourant females. Other teams are also expected to be a part of the competition. Teams are asked to turn up with their uniforms and balls if possible and get registered. Prizes, trophies and other memorabilia are up for grabs and will be presented to the top teams on show. The outstanding individual players will also be awarded including the best setter, best spiker, most disciplined team and the best uniformed team. The day’s competition will be played in three parts Senior, females and juniors The coordinator is Levi Nedd. (Samuel Whyte)
More is in the pipeline for volleyball and its development for 2017. Those were promises made by President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) Captain John Flores. Flores was giving remarks at the awards and presentation ceremony of the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) last Saturday at the Port Mourant Community Center. Present among those in attendance was Director of Sports Christopher Jones and BVA President Levi Nedd and Toshao of the Orealla David Henry among others. One of the reasons for the increase in activity is because Guyana is lucky to be in two confederations. “Because of our location in South America we are part of
Confederation and because we are part of the Commonwealth we are part of the Commonwealth Caribbean grouping.” In his speech he first congratulated the BVA and its President Levi Nedd for the wonderful work they have done and are doing for Volleyball in Guyana. He also congratulated the players and BVA and expressed best wishes for 2017. Captain Flores stated that it is always good to pause and recognize players and officials for the good work they have done. That in itself is an incentive for players to strive to higher heights. Mr. Flores stated that he is very impressed with the activities of the BVA for 2016. He is also impressed
concluded and the amount of clubs (31) associated with the BVA. That speaks volumes. What is also impressive is that the BVA is not only about playing volleyball, but having its players develop into good ambassadors with all-round ability. The Association anti suicide awareness drivetells a story. He took the opportunity to urge other associations to follow in the footsteps of the BVA. Turning to 2017, Flores stated that there is more in store in terms of Volleyball for Guyana and Berbice in terms of Inter country, inter club and the like, activity. He mentioned that a number of decisions were arrived at the Volleyball Congress he (Continued on page 25)
STAG Nations Cup KO Football Final – Western Tigers vs Santos
Tactical battle tonight as Coaches confident of winning By Franklin Wilson The 2016/17 edition of the Stag Nations Cup knock-out football championship is set to climax tonight at the Georgetown Football Club ground with the final between arch rivals Western Tigers and Santos Football Club. The respective Coaches have expressed confidence in their charges and are both positive of claiming victory and the top prize of 2Million dollars, 1 Million will go to the loser. The third place match, which kicks off at 19:00hrs, will see losing semi finalists, Guyana Police Force and Riddim Squad throwing down the gauntlet
at each other with the winner set to pocket $500,000 and the loser, $300,000. I n t h e G e o rg e t o w n Football Association Premier League last year, Santos won the first round match against Western which rebounded in the final match of the season to turn the tables and produce a win which secured the championship for the West Ruimveldt based unit. So tonight’s showdown has all the ingredients for an explosive tactical battle between a young, energetic and hungry Santos against a seasoned Tigers unit out to prove that experience is what it takes to deliver the prize on
the big stage; that is what it is tonight. On his third stint in charge of the red hot Western Tigers, Calvin Allen, who took over the team last July, boasts that under his tenure collectively, Santos have never defeated the Tigers. He said that the game Santos won in the GFA League last year, he was not in charge. Allen aka Flu, confidently stated that his charges would be going all out to conquer Santos once again and in this regard, they have been putting in the necessary work, noting that the players are warming to the new style of play he’s
Calvin Allen Western Tigers FC Coach implementing. ”Confidence is high among my players, I do believe that we have more depth than our opponents, we have an experienced unit and I think this is the difference between the two
Western Tigers players doing some stretches at their West Ruimvedlt ground yesterday afternoon ahead of today’s final.
Kavin Pearce Santos FC Head Coach sides,” Allen asserted. He also said that rather than individual effort, he is banking on a total team effort to see them over the line. Allen’s counterpart at Santos, Kavin Pearce, also exuded confidence and was quick to point out that he was in charge when Santos had defeated Western Tigers in that first round Premier League match but was overseas when the Tigers turned the tables. The experienced Pearce informed that he is very proud of his young charges and has offered congratulations to them for their discipline and focus which has seen them to this stage to date. ”This is a young team which I inherited last year, I would like to say that they have really been working hard and improving with each match. With all but two
of our players being under19 you can understand and appreciate the level of commitment they have been showing in order to reap the kind of rewards they have been enjoying.” Pearce also pointed out that his record speaks for itself when it comes to playing against the Tigers. Santos, leaving no stones unturned to tame the Tigers tonight, encamped their team from yesterday afternoon. While encouraging the Santos fans to wear white in support of their team, Pearce said that he is banking on his U19 brigade of Captain Samuel Hunte, Job Caesar, Delon David, Omar Jones (goalkeeper), Orin Yard along with the experienced Brian October and Vassel Cansellar to take them to championship glory.
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Desmond Dorsett Memorial road race and family fun day
Only road races were possible as the inclement weather takes toll As the rains came in its might only the road race segment were possible at the seventh annual Desmond Dorsett Memorial Road Race classic and fun day slated for last Sunday at the No53 Sports Complex on the Corentyne. As the road race culminated, the rains came with a vengeance leaving the organisers with no other choice, but to call the activity for the rest of the day off. However, the road race came off with a bang with over 35 athletes drawn mainly from the Police Youth Clubs across Berbice taking to the road. It was held in a number of categories including males and females Open, U19 and U15. The Senior and U19 athletes cover a distance of five KM, beginning at the
No43 Village, while the U15 and the females began their segment at No 47 Village, covering a distance of three KM. They all finished at the popular No53 Sports Complex Corentyne. The overall winner was Delroy Leitch as he won the male Open category from Demarcus Williams. The top U19 male runner was Austin Gray with Devon Joseph second, Thaddeaus Donald third and Enoch Rutherford fourth. In the female category Swarswattie Matadeen placed first with Naomi Bourne second. Among the U15 runners Deandre Shabazz ran away from his opponents with Jahvon Angel second, while Jahiel Jeffrey came in third ahead of Nigel Prince who placed fourth. The first female to cross
the finish line was Lisa Douglas. The outstanding performers were presented with cash, trophies, medals, ribbons, T- Shirts and other memorabilia compliments of the Dorsett Family of No50 Village, Leeds Corentyne, Berbice and other wellwishers. Certificates of appreciation and participation were presented to all the participants. The top finishers from the Leeds, No51, Union, No53 catchment areas were presented with special prizes. A c c o r d i n g t o Coordinator Miss Waveney Dorsett the fun day will be held on a later date during the year. A native of East Canje, the late Superintendent Desmond Dorsett worked
GCB donates brush cutter to Bayroc Sports Club
Lancelot Easton (left), President of the Bayroc Club, receives the equipment from GCB’s Territorial Development Officer, Colin Stuart. The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) countrywide ground preparation assistance continued this week as the Board handed over a Honda Brush Cutter to Bayroc Sports Club in Linden. The brush cutter is intended to be utilized for the maintenance of the Club and Training Centre ground. Lancelot Easton, President of Bayroc Club, received the equipment from G C B ’s Te r r i t o r i a l Development Officer, Colin Stuart. The presentation was done at the GCB office on Regent Road, Bourda. Easton thanked the Board for its continuous support to Bayroc and Linden. He assured that the equipment would be properly taken care of and be used for its
intended purpose and will definitely benefit the Community Centre tremendously. He noted that a brush cutter is a necessity at any sports ground and they are happy to have a brand new one. Bayroc Community Centre is home, to a number of organized matches, ranging from club matches to secondary and primary school cricket competition games. From Monday, 6th February 2017, Bayroc Sports and Training Centre will begin hosting the 2016/17 GCB/MOE NSSCL for Secondary Schools in the Upper Demerara Zone. Thereafter, the winning school from the Upper Demerara Zone as well as the Combined School team
from the area, will join other zone winners from across the country to compete for the 2016/2017 GCB/MOE NSSCL nationwide winners’ Trophy. Upper Demerara District will also participate in phase 2 of the 2016/2017 GCB/MOE NSSCL which will see Combine Teams from districts nationwide c o m p e t i n g f o r Championship honours. This initiative of donating brush cutters to cricket clubs started last year. Thirteen Clubs in Berbice and the eight Associations in Essequibo already received theirs. Mackenzie Sports Club in Linden is also earmarked to benefit from the donation of a Brush Cutter from the GCB.
Desmond Dorsett Road Race classic winners in the various categories pose with their silverware. mostly as a detective during his tenor in the Guyana Police Force. He was an ardent sports fan who participated in numerous sporting activities including Cricket and athletics. Dorsett migrated after retiring and returned with his family from time to time to do charity and community
work. H i s w i f e Wa v e n e y Dorsett, a retired head mistress, and community activist continues in the same vein and is the spearhead of the activity. She can be contacted on telephone numbers 339-4475, 3394133 and 339-4436 for further information.
Miss Dorsett would like to express special thanks Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam and his top brass including Deputy Commander Errol Watts and sub divisional Officers of the three police subdivisions for their support and assistance. (Samuel Whyte)
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Saturday February 04, 2017
Johnson, Chanderpaul hit fifties as Jaguars beat CCC by 6 wickets By Sean Devers in Barbados In Association with Bounty Supermarket, Vnet Communications, Life Time Reality & Ming’s Products & Services A well complied 54-run third wicket stand between Skipper Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin and a further 85 between Johnson and Shiv Chanderpaul, fired Guyana Jaguars to a sevenwicket win in their fifth round encounter against CCC Marooners in the Regional Super50 tournament last night at the Kensington Oval. Urged on by raucous Guyanese fans on a night when Chanderpaul became the leading run scorer in Regional 50-over cricket, Man-of-the-match Johnson stroked nine fours from 115 balls in a top class 71,
Shiv Chanderpaul broke another record with his 61-ball unbeaten 58 last night at Kensington. Chanderpaul smashed an unbeaten 61-ball 58 with four fours and two sixes, while Fudadin made a patient 25 from 52 balls with two fours. Led by Amir Jangoo’s 30 from 68 balls, with three fours, an unbeaten 28 from 42 balls with a single four, Nino Henry 26 from 35 balls
with three fours and two sixes and 25 from Ryan Hinds from 31 balls with four fours, CCC Marooners were bowled out for 188 from 49.2 overs. Ronsford Beaton 3-52, Veerasammy Permaul (2-29) and Steven Jacobs (1-22 from 10 overs) bowled well for the Jaguars who replied
Sonics school UG Trojans in GABA Division I ‘League of Champions’
Akeem Kanhai Pepsi Sonics schooled University of Guyana Trojans Thursday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the continuation of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) ‘League of Champions’ for Division I and Under-23 Clubs. In the Division I game, Sonics topped Trojans 82-72 with shooting guard, Trevor Smith scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and guard, Jason Squires adding 14 points. The point guard,
Aubrey Austin pitched in with 11 points for Sonics as centre, Earl O’Neil also putting up 10 points and seven rebounds. For the University, national forward Akeem Kanhai scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for a double-double with guard Quincy Easton adding 16 points. Akil Lewis also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, in the Under-23 competition, Colts bolted passed Plaisance Guardians
Jonathan Mangra 64-56 with Jonathan Mangra scoring 19 points and Mikhail Broomes 15 points. Centre, Timothy Thompson had another double-double with 12 points and 22 rebounds. For Plaisance, Andrew Johnson scored 11 points, while Terrence Daniels and Delroy Critchlow had 10 points apiece. Daniels also had 10 rebounds while Critchlow pulled down eight ‘boards’ for the East Coast-based team.
Leon Johnson clips Nino Henry for four. (Photos by Sean Devers) with 189 in 45.5 overs to move to 13 points from five matches. Chanderpaul and Chris Barnwell (11) were at the crease at the end. Keon Harding (2-22) was CCC’s best bowler. Jaguars, who left out Jonathon Foo, Devendra Bishoo and Anthony Bramble, who missed the match due to an ankle injury, needed to get the runs in less than 40 overs for a bonus point and Fudadin and Rajendra Chandrika again failed to give their team a good start. Chandrika (9) was stupendously caught by Kyle Corbin off Jermaine Levy to leave the score on 11-1 for Shemron Hetymer who joined Fudadin and spanked Keon Harding back past him like a bullet. Hetymer (5) played three consecutive powerful drives off Harding but they all went straight to the fielders before impatience got the better of him and he edged the last ball of the over to keeper; slashing at a ball that left him to leave the score on 19-2. Fudadin magnificently punched Raymon Bynoe for four, while Johnson leaned back and delightfully cut him behind point before falling to Hinds for 25 from 54 balls with two fours. Johnson clipped Henry for an attractive boundary past mid-on before Chanderpaul turned Henry to deep square leg and a misfield on the boundary by Bynoe took Chanderpaul to 11 and past Floyd Reifer’s 2,878 runs. Johnson then blasted Hinds down the ground for four and then reached his 11th fifty from 85 balls
decorated with five well timed boundaries as the partnership with Chanderpaul progressed. Johnson danced into Jermaine Levy and pounded him over his head for a onebounce four and pounced on him like a cat upon a mouse and cut him to the point boundary like a bullet, while Chanderpaul crashed Levy to the backward point ropes for another four in an expensive over which cost 13 runs. Chanderpaul rocked back and slapped Bynoe for a well timed boundary before Johnson threw his wicket away with 31 runs needed for victory when he was removed by Mohan at 158-4. Barnwell got off the mark with a straight six off Nino Jones while Chanderpaul brought up his 23rd Regional 50-over fifty with a six off Hinds and celebrated with an even bigger one next ball which sailed over the Greenidge and Haynes stand before the Tiger ended the match with a single to Square-leg as the over cost 15. Earlier, Mohan (8) eased Beaton behind point for four before Wintz, in the side for Bishoo, had cramped for room to spoon a catch to mid-on in the 4th over with the score on 17. Jangoo stroked Beaton for a couple of boundaries before Kyle Corbin edged Beaton for four. He was replaced by Jacobs who bowled five dot balls to Corbin (11) before he attempted an impetuous scoop sweep off the last one and was taken at short third man at 42-2 in 17th over. Cassius Burton joined
the Jangoo who favoured the cut and square drive and lofted Reifer back over his head for four to bring up the 50 in the 14th over. Jangoo, who hit three fours from 68 balls, seemed set for his third fifty before he was run out at the non striker’s end when Jacobs deflected a straight hit off his own bowling to leave the students on 72-3. It was soon 89-4 when Burton was run out for 20 from 38 balls before Aaron Jones (9) was removed by Permaul at 106-5 and when Hinds, who hammered Beaton for four but fell in the same over when he provided Hetymer with his first List ‘A’ catch as a Keeper, the Marooners had sunk to 1175. Henry hit Permaul for six over square leg and pulled Beaton for four. Permaul came in for rough treatment with Henry dumping him a six and four off consecutive balls before he was bowled by Beaton at 158-7. Jamal Smith took 42 balls for 28 before he ran out of partners as Harding (4) was removed by Permaul at 163-8, the last two wickets fell for 25 runs. The Jaguars come up against unbeaten Barbados Pride with 24 points at the 3Ws Oval tomorrow from 09:00hrs. Scores: MAROONERS 188 off 49.2 overs (Amir Jangoo 30, Jamal Smith 28, Nino Henry 26; Ronsford Beaton 3-52, Veerasammy Permaul 2-29). JAGUARS 189 for four off 45.5 overs (Leon Johnson 71, Shiv Chanderpaul 58 not out).
Saturday February 04, 2017
Kaieteur News
PAGE 35
DMLAS on board with GCB for NSSCL Demerara Mutual and Life Assurance Society (DMLAS) is the most recent company to come on board with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), giving their support to the National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL). This partnership was made official on Thursday in the DMLAS boardroom on Avenue of the republic where President of the GCB, Drubahadur and Clarence Perry, Executive Marketing Manager of DMLAS signed the contract. Rajendra Singh, Marketing Manager of the GCB, commended DMLAS for their valuable sponsorship of the League. He indicated that the GCB found the sponsorship as a very worthwhile initiative, which is highly expected to assist in raising the standard of the tournament. Singh also indicated that the marketing strategies, suggestions and guidance of the Demerara Mutual Life,
GCB President Drubahadur (right) accepts the cheque from Clarence Perry, Executive Marketing Manager of DMLAS in the presence of officials of the GCB, from left Territorial Development Officer Colin Stuart, Treasurer Anand Kalladeen and Marketing Manager Raj Singh.
Fire And General Insurance Company, will serve the GCB well, in its attempts to create a school structure that stimulates high levels
of interest and which provides a progressive avenue for future development. Drubahadur pointed out
that the partnership is an integral step in helping to provide, establish and sustain a systematic youth development program.
Nitro Athletics: Usain Bolt All-Stars team to face England in ‘revolutionary’ meet BBC Sport - England will provide one of five teams competing against Usain Bolt’s All-Stars in a new athletics event IAAF president Lord Coe says will “revolutionise” the sport. Jamaica’s Bolt, an eighttime Olympic gold medallist, will be the star attraction at the first Nitro Athletics event in Melbourne today. It includes both traditional and new events, such as the elimination mile. “This will be track and field as it’s never been seen before,” said Bolt. The 30-year-old learned last week he would have to hand back one of his nine Olympic gold medals after Jamaican team-mate Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance. Bolt said at the time: “I’m not happy, but it’s just one of those things that happen in life.” He is now preparing to captain the All-Stars in an event he says will bring “something different” to world athletics.
Usain Bolt won three gold medals at the Rio Olympics in the summer. (Reuters) Lord Coe, head of athletics’ governing body, said: “Athletics, in its traditional form, remains the cornerstone of the Olympic Games. “However, we need innovation and more opportunities for our athletes to interact with fans and show their personalities.” What is Nitro Athletics?
Athletics Australia president Mark Arbib says it is “the sports entertainment product track and field needs to move athletics beyond the existing format of one-day athletics meets”. He believes it will be a “game-changer”, an event showcasing a mix of power, endurance, technique and teamwork disciplines across sprints, distance, field and
Para-athletics events. Cue mixed events, medley relays and target javelin, with countdown clocks, athletes wearing microphones and fluorescent blocks and batons. Points are awarded for each of the 12 events, as the six teams compete over three one-day meetings at M e l b o u r n e ’s L a k e s i d e Stadium.
Drubahadur indicated that while coaching education and training are important elements to players’ development, competition is a vital component. As a consequence, he praised the Demerara Mutual Life, Fire And General Insurance Company for their financial support, suggesting that the company could not have invested in a better aspect of cricket; the development. Drubahadur, reminded those present, that “Our Youths are the Future of tomorrow,” and as such the structured school league is apt to result in a highly quality product of tomorrow. Drubahadur also said that the GCB holds the view that children of school age should be in school, and that with the provision of such a structured school program, interest among schools and students are likely to both encourage academic soundness and high level sports involvement. He further stated, that with the students requiring 65% attendance in order to be eligible to participate in the league, it provides an implicit rationale that students in school (not out of school) are more likely to draw a parallel between intellectual soundness and practical match application. Drubahadur, concluded by once again thanking Demerara Mutual Life, Fire And General Insurance
Company for coming on board and encouraged them to continue to play a vital role in the development of the GCB’s youth program through its NSSCL. C l a r e n c e P e r r y, Executive Marketing Manager of DMLAS indicated that their company was very pleased to partner with the GCB and its youth development program through the NSSCL. He pointed out that such an invaluable investment in youths was highly envisaged to greatly assist in the empowerment process of students, and to give them a foundation that can be effectively built on. He indicated that the initiative of the GCB to utilize National Secondary School League structure in their youth development program, is an ingenious concept which is likely to reap multiple benefits; elaborating that while players development is perceived to be high on the list of the program objectives, students were likely to gain valuable exposure to group dynamics, team work, team ethics and values of discipline and commitment. Perry also stressed that DMLAS perceived the NSSCL as an invaluable instr u m e n t w h i c h catapult cricket development to new heights, in helping to return West Indies to its glory days.
t r o Sp Nations Cup KO Football Final – Western Tigers vs Santos
Tactical battle tonight as Coaches confident of winning
Santos FC during their final training session at the Parade ground yesterday afternoon.
Inaugural Guinness Rugby Sevens scrums off today
The kind of action fans could anticipate today in the inaugural Guinness One-day Sevens Tournament.
Johnson, Chanderpaul hit fifties as Jaguars beat CCC by 6 wickets Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210