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Kaieteur News
KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
That gasoline issue This was first printed a month ago but given comments in the wake of the budget debate, we think it is worth revisiting. The price of oil on the world market is at its lowest in 13 years. Today the world market price was under US$30 per barrel, down from the record high of US$110 per barrel a few months ago. Indeed the high fuel prices forced the prices of ancillary products to skyrocket. In Guyana, as the price of oil rose on the world market so did the cost of fuel and fuel products in Guyana. Eventually the cost of transportation went up because the operators of public transport pressed the government to allow them to raise the fares. Their argument was that spare parts and tyres had become expensive as the price of oil went up. What Guyanese noted, too, was that the electricity company would trot up the charges. It included one called energy charge to compensate for the rise in energy costs. Private motorists also complained because the gas stations raised their prices because of what they said were acquisition costs. Today, the converse is the reality; gasoline prices have plummeted. The world price for a barrel of oil is 75 per cent lower than it was this time last year. Needless to say, the government is reaping a harvest. It is spending less money on oil so that the cost of running the electricity generating systems is drastically lower than a year ago. The world is aware of the lower oil prices; Guyana is also aware as it is aware of the falling gasoline prices in the United States. Just yesterday, there was the news that a gas station in Michigan was retailing gasoline at 49 cents a gallon. Of course this was a most unrealistic price but it sent the message that falling oil prices means lower prices at the pump. The price eventfully fell at the pumps in Guyana yet there are mutterings about the government holding on to its windfall. Surprisingly, this has not been made a political issue but there is a movement pushing for the government to slash gasoline and dieseline prices. It is as though the Guyana Government is enjoying the increased savings given that gold prices have hit rock bottom; rice is earning less than it did at this time last year; and bauxite is all but dead. However, if the truth be told despite the lower oil prices many countries are paying much more than Guyana for gasoline and dieseline. Venezuela, an oil-producing country, has the cheapest fuel in the world—about G$20 per gallon or 45 times cheaper than gasoline in Guyana. Trinidad, another oil producing country is retailing gasoline at a cost slightly lower than Guyana. The United Kingdom, a country far more developed than Guyana can hope to be in 200 years is retailing gasoline at US$6.69 a gallon. In countries like Spain, Bangladesh, Austria, New Zealand, Singapore and France the cost of gasoline is higher than it is in Guyana. There can therefore be no claim of a government seeking to reap a windfall at the expense of the people. There must be other factors. Most of these countries are producers of cars, electronic goods and household articles. The export of these products reaps huge revenues on which these countries turn. Guyana is not in such an enviable position. Even when oil flowed from Venezuela this country was paying a high price because Venezuela, while giving away its fuel at home, was prepared to earn from its trade with Guyana, not that this country did not benefit from the trade with its neighbour. Of interest is that despite the low price of oil on the world market Hong Kong is retailing gasoline at US$8.20 a gallon ($1,640 per gallon), and the Netherlands, US$7:50 a gallon ($1,500 per gallon.)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
Man is most ignorant in what he’s most assured of DEAR EDITOR, Comments by Dr. Rudi V. Webster likening the state of West Indies cricket to the Titanic disaster brought forcibly home to me that even in the area of sports administration there are anomalies devoid of rationale. The same can be observed almost daily in very critical areas of public administration. I refer to the public sector because of its traditionally ingrained concept of service as against that of private sector profitability. Permit me to identify a few of the points made by Dr. Webster and let readers judge how applicable they are to the
mindset of some in control of public sector agencies that are expected to deliver service. Webster said that like the captain of the Titanic, the West Indies president and Board signaled that they didn’t need advice; would make its own “dangerously reckless” decisions and do what it has to do without interference from those who had the best interest of cricket at heart. Editor no one can reasonably argue against needing “correct feedback to monitor progress and adjust our strategy and direction on the way to our goals”. But sadly enough that is exactly the mindset of a few
“pompous and overconfident leaders” who underperform and have become “experts at denying objective feedback… because they don’t like the picture” that feedback presents. In describing Dave Cameron as p o s s i b l y t h e B o a r d ’s m o s t overconfident, inflexible and arrogant president, Webster is in sync with the “experts” who cite overconfidence (as) psychological fraud and a prescription for disaster. Heavens forbid! Again we might wish to draw parallels from our varied personal and professional experiences and easily identify those (Continued on page 6)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox Two Ministers who PPP needs to reflect on where it is going show humanity and the DEAR EDITOR, Some in the PPP leadership have shown they are not open to critiques of blunders made by the party in government and in opposition. Such behavior will not ingratiate it with independent minded voters needed to win an election; in fact, voters are turned off by the behavior of some in the leadership. The PPP leadership has to be opened to criticism and heed suggestions on how to transform into a modern party that will appeal to defected (former) supporters and new voters. Elements in the leadership and some party workers did not pay attention to the endless complaints of supporters and members in last several years of governance in which supporters virtually begged for reconciliation with dissenters and democratic reform. The leadership was tone deaf and blind to appeals for internal change and paid a hefty price with loss of office. Unless the party heeds current warnings and accept critiques for what they are, it will not win the next general election. Reforming the PPP and reconciling with excommunicated members will not hurt the party and instead will increase its chance at the polls. The party tends to look at
those who defect from it calling betrayers. As a case in point is Moses Nagamootoo. Moses did not betray the PPP. If any betrayal took place, it was the other way around as many (former) PPP members and supporters felt betrayed by the leadership’s actions (viewed as arrogant even by Bharrat Jagdeo) that cost it the majority in 2011 and government in 2015. The behavior of some in the PPP leadership reminds us of that of a Richmond Hill lawyer now serving jail. In his obsession to win political office, the lawyer was given countless suggestions on how to avoid legal troubles and even to avoid jail when he was indicted for a petty violation of election law that others also breached and subsequently “let off” by paying a fine. The lawyer ignored all the advice and lost a court trial and now in jail. Analogous to the jailed lawyer, had the PPP leadership heeded the countless suggestions and advice given to it over the years by independent individuals who had the party’s best interests in mind, the party would have avoided the pitfalls it now finds itself. After the party lost its majority in 2011, it could have supported Naga as Speaker
as proposed by AFC when incumbent Ramkarran’s candidacy was not viable. The APNU made it clear it would not support Ramkarran or Naga saying it did not want an ex-PPP or PPP member as head of Parliament. Why then did the PPP persist with the candidacy of Ramkarran who himself had earlier endorsed the idea of Naga as Speaker. Ramkarran recognized PNC would not support him even though Ramkarran was perhaps the most neutral and objective Speaker in the history of the parliament and the best person for the job. The PPP was prepared to give the speakership to an ex-PNC (now AFC) and deputy speakership to a PNC (late Deborsh Backer) rather than to an ex-PPP in the name of Nagamootoo. The party was warned about that position by independent friendly advisors and even by Ramkarran. How did the PPP benefit from that obstinate anti-Naga position? That was not promoting the interest of the party and its supporters. The party needs to identify the root causes of its loss of support and not apply a “quick fix” to or blaming others for the problems facing it. Vishnu Bisram
nature of Guyana
DEAR EDITOR, I fear for Freddie Kissoon’s balance and sanity. Like another fellow said: “I have supped full of horrors.” And later “here on this brink and shoal of time, we’ld jump the life to come”. Can you walking and sleeping, day after day 24/7 revisit, recount and share your sense of outrage, of justice mangled and trampled in this police/soldier state filled with spies and informers and thugs licensed for violence, murder and acts of humiliation and terror, manage to keep your wings for freedom? Refusing to take on and be a part of 50 years of ‘independence’ celebration in an effort to cover over the pus of the national boil and carbuncle, canker and cancer, Freddie, you join hands with a few. Like the Musketeers, you form the liberal voice in a country where so many have chosen silence to protect their hard won gains. These form the well to do middle class that live in material comfort next to neighbours they have decided not to see or hear. They keep their heads down, eyes averted and unseeing, dressed in jacket and tie as they keep their
doorsteps clean. They are content outside Pradoville but will speak knowingly in their waterhole parliaments where they solve all the myriad problems of Greater Georgetown and Guyana and satisfy themselves that they have met their duties as citizens and as persons immunized from all harm. They are not part of the liberal voice you raise everyday still conscious of humble and straitened circumstances in your origin driven to deny your Guyanese nature. These are the parasitic cow ticks on the rump of its society. Yet in the middle of this pyramid of manure, murder, and all the accumulated perversities, there are comforts to be taken. The irrepressible Freddie Kissoon disregards
race and ethnicity and bubbles over with vitality, passion, bonhomie, good humour, tolerance. He may even seize any opportunity to do random acts of kindness and generosity with no expectation of any return. He struts his humanity. He makes his day without the benefit of a 375 magnum. Even as we make feeble recognition of suicide and parade with children in tow who may have no idea of despair, apathy, depression and manic tendencies, we do not acknowledge a deeper disease underneath that runs through it all and no know of ways to return this society to good health. In their informal parliaments, some solace is found for conviviality. There (Continued on page 6)
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur M@ilbox
Does Olato Sam know Serious accusation against GTT what he is talking about? DEAR EDITOR, On January 29, 2016 the Chief Education Officer (CEO), Mr. Olato Sam held a meeting with all primary school head teachers in Berbice. A few things were said at that meeting that I acquiesce with but at the same time those things said were contradictory to the requirements of the Officials from the Ministry. Mr. Sam said “teach the pupils and not the curriculum”. I agree with him fully. However, these very pupils that we were told to teach are being tested at a national level based on curriculum regardless of their learning abilities. The slow learners, average and high flyers are being tested with a National
Examination based on the curriculum. How then can we teach the learners and not the curriculum? In this case there is no need for Curriculum Coverage in every classroom. In my opinion, teaching and learning is all about meeting the needs of every learner. Whenever the ministry assesses a school based on performance they do so at National Examinations and will so determine whether a school is considered to be a low performing or a high performing one. Isn’t this contrary to what the CEO was saying? He went on to say “Why teach new things when children did not grasp the previous concept ?” Again, I agree with him. In that way
From page 4 “over-confident leaders (who) think they are better than they really are. It does not take any stretch of imagination to realise that these leaders of critical public sector agencies “usually overestimate their power, importance and ability and underestimate that of other people …(believing) that they are king … they behave recklessly, foolishly
and selfishly and eventually pay a heavy price.” A few are even known to suffer from the “I” syndrome where for the first fifteen minutes in their presence, it is all about “I did this or that.” Editor, I am all in favour of reforming the entire public sector but certain agencies have more priority need of a complete overhaul than others. Patrick E. Mentore
Man is most...
learning will be inevitable. On the other hand, when the Education Officers visit schools and find that the schemes do not correlate with the weekly journals they are ready to bombard the teachers whose schemes do not correlate. For example, a teacher plans to teach “Multiplication “ on the first week and “Division “ the second week. However the first concept was not grasped by most pupils so the teacher works with what the CEO said, then in his/her journal for the second week you will find the first topic repeats itself. These officers questioned that. They want to see the correlation of schemes with journals. This again is contrary to what the CEO said as mentioned above. Headteachers were asked by Mr. Sam at another forum about the contributing factors for the failures of our children. They said “parental involvement “. I think this is indeed one of the contributing factors among many others in the failures of our children. In his response, he said, “do what you are being paid for six hours a day”. Did he tackle the issue of parental involvement in his response”? Certainly not! Most times these officials would not listen to what the classroom teachers have to say since they are in authority and will so dictate the orders hence, our pupils suffer. The classroom teachers know of the problems they are being faced with at present in the education system and should therefore be heard. This does not happen. Officials would tell you they were once classroom teachers and know of the problems well. I ask the question, how long ago that is? Would that help to resolve the current issues faced within the classrooms by these teachers? I would like to call on the Minister to have regular meetings with the classroom teachers and listen to their concerns so that we can take this system forward and continue to mould the nation’s children. Primary School Teacher.
DEAR EDITOR, On February 12 2016 I bought a Unecto cell phone from the GTT mobile outlet at Vreed- en Hoop for 15000. The CSR told me that the internal memory of the said phone is 8 GB. When I returned to my office, I asked my technician to download an app so that I can access live feed from the security camera installed at the business. My technician then informed me that the said phone does not possess enough memory to download the app. When we checked the phone, the internal memory is less that 2 GB. I
called the GTT office and told them my concerns and was advised to visit the commercial office on Brickdam. When I arrived at the Blackberry office, I saw the said phone displayed there. But it said 4GB. The CSR there told me the phone is 4GB. I asked her to show me where in the phone it says that. She kept referring to the display writings on the counter. I told her that GTT can write any thing but show me where in the phone it says 4GB. After a lengthy search she could not find any evidence to support the display. She then apologised to me
and said that she is just doing what she was told. I asked her why she could not remove the incorrect display and replace it with the correct info. She said that is management’s decision. Sir I am appalled at this grave misrepresentation by such service oriented company. How can we allow this to go unnoticed? GTT should not continue to mislead the public just to make money. The consumers need to know that they are getting what they pay for. In my case I feel a sense of disgust and mistrust. Frank Satnarine
From page 5 are rules of conduct that lie above the myriad laws developed by the state that go above and are finer. These unwritten rules create spontaneous order. Most follow such rules regardless of police, soldiers and the state. This is what we must celebrate – the innate decency of ordinary folk. Those children gathered by shallow thinking adults to parade with uniforms, banners and drums like good little soldiers are willing to follow orders in file and rows without missing a beat. These may have already been regularized and tailored into conformity, their inner poets already atrophying. Older high school youth move with confidence looking askance at all even their own peers. Elementary kids walk purposefully to school but play, razz each other on their way back. These will return a hello, a good afternoon singly or together glad to be acknowledged with respect. Their vitality and exuberance is enriching. This needs celebration. ‘Grassroots empowerment’ came and went. Our bureaucrats are beyond understanding how this can work to produce independence. They are determined to enlarge the independence of the powerful in private corporate bodies or the public state. They cannot release anyone from red tape to make their own life. The state and the powerful collude to continue policing with ranks and
soldiers all mainly from one group to perpetuate dictatorship of central power. State police and private police live in a place where the rule of law has vanished. Senior bureaucrats and petty officers all salute the new ministers who already know everything. Allicock and Bulkan and one or two others show enough humanity and understanding for hope. Generally, tell, never ask because like dumb cattle just out of their logies or barracks they can never understand the high powered architects in commissions of inquiry and management including state institutions and the university. These seem stultified beyond reality puffed up with ordained power. Last night, the Wales workers can see that this exists in the upper reaches of their own union and refuse to be pawns in the power game. This refusal to be dumbed down and silenced is cause for celebration. The oppressed and controlled are not yet dead. The poor have been ghettoized into Starbroek Market and Demico Square and adjoining streets. Here they market fruits and vegetables and cheap imported goods on the streets and pavements. They do not see becoming criminals as an option. Their genius shows in many ways. Selling juice in plastic bags, selling chicken foot and plantain chips show the ingenuity of these vendors; innovation and entrepreneurship in active microenterprise. Guyana is on the move looking after itself even in a cluttered, pedestrian minefield like this. Minibuses and taxis take the right of way not a second for those on foot, their likely customers. The mini-bus system and the water taxis at Vreed en Hoop Stelling show what happens in the space that the state cannot fill. For whatever shortcomings, they may have, they supply a valuable
efficient service. This is another cause for celebration. The more the state assumes it can create a society the more it is in error. The state is already over-stuffed with employees and as technology makes an offer no one is trying to refuse, downsizing will follow with efficiency gained from its implementation. The state will scrape every cent it can find but its promise of an oil bonanza is distant and no one has been able to get a fair return from any powerful resource exploiting corporation. Bauxite, gold and diamonds and forests all show this for a few jobs and small royalties. Unemployment and under-employment will remain unless there is a drive to empower these and other enterprise for self-employment. This is not to celebrate but to face the largest threat this society faces. All those letter writers to KN throw risk aside and add thoughtful voices to debates and discussion. They throw in their contributions to add their weight to ‘Freddie Kissoon’s Dem Bwuayes’. This liberal voice is cause for celebration. What kind of celebration could be mounted to salute the basis of independence, of self-determination, of Guyana. Neither Martin Carter or Walter Rodney are here. They have been dedicated literary heroes and activists. Let us celebrate their memory with our wet tears. Our prowess in sports is part of our legend and lives on in our recent accomplishments. Song, music, dance, theatre, public are all alive. All these are causes for celebration to move and inspire our youngsters to greater heights in a dynamite society and culture. Let us “Cry the Beloved Country” but refresh our energies to create another rainbow country. All is never lost, my dear indefatigable Freddie. Your dream and spirit will see to that. Mahadeo Bissoon
Two Ministers who show...
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Clinton beats back strong challenge from Sanders in Nevada caucuses
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton meets employees during a campaign stop on caucus day at Harrah’s Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday. REUTERS/David Becker Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat back a strong challenge from Bernie Sanders in the Nevada caucuses yesterday, a result that could help calm worries about the strength of her campaign. With 72 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton was leading with 52.3 percent of the vote to Sanders’ 47.6 percent. Television networks Fox News and MSNBC projected Clinton would win. Vote counting was delayed in Nevada by heavy turnout. “This is your win,” Clinton said in a tweet, thanking supporters for her victory. Sanders’ strong performance in a state with a heavy minority population, where
Clinton was once expected to win by double digits, suggested the Democratic nominating race could be long and hard-fought. But Clinton’s victory buoyed worried supporters and gave her fresh momentum as she heads into the next contest in South Carolina on Feb. 27, where polls show her with a double-digit lead largely as a result of heavy support from black voters. After routing Clinton in New Hampshire and finishing a strong second in Iowa, states with nearly all-white populations, Nevada gave Sanders his first chance to prove he can win over black and Hispanic voters and compete nationally as the race
moves to states with more diverse populations. Republicans in South Carolina also were voting yesterday in the state-bystate contest to pick nominees for the Nov. 8 election, with opinion polls showing front-runner Donald Trump trying to solidify his spot at the top of the pack and rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio fighting for a second-place finish. Behind them, Republican candidates Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Ben Carson could be vying in South Carolina to keep their campaigns alive before the presidential race rapidly picks up steam in March when dozens of states hold nominating contests.
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GTT’s monopoly has crippled Guyana’s economic development – Digicel CEO It has been widely acknowledged that Guyana’s ICT sector holds great potential for becoming a strong economic driver. But top players in the sector contend that in order for this to be realized, certain key things must be done. Digicel’s CEO, Kevin Kelly, said that one of the most important things which must be done is the removal Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT)’s monopoly in the industry. He said that the telephone company’s monopoly has literally crippled Guyana’s economic development. The Digicel CEO said, “The GTT monopoly has crippled the economic development of Guyana for many years costing thousands of jobs. Due to the GTT monopoly, new companies are reluctant to invest in Guyana and existing companies are putting off future investments to expand their current businesses.” He gave this response when asked to what extent he believes the GTT monopoly has hindered the growth of the country. Kelly added, “This has impacted the quality of daily life for all Guyanese for many years. Besides Guyana, there is virtually no country left in the world with a telephone monopoly, maybe with the exception of North Korea and one or two others.” The Digicel CEO said that the Guyanese public and businesses have been impacted by lack of availability of services (both landline and internet), poor service provision due to the utilisation of outdated technologies across all services and lack of value for money due to limited or no competition.
He opined, too, that the monopoly has even hampered a range of other services it would be happy to offer the Guyanese consumers. The Digicel CEO asserted that the company would like to compete on long distances calls, improve the internet phone service by upgrading to 4G, land a second subsea fibre giving Guyana redundancy and competitively priced connectivity. It also would like to roll out residential internet and landline services. Kelly said that Digicel is of the belief that these developments will give customers and businesses choice, access to latest technology, better customer experience and value for money. He said that the negative impact of the GTT monopoly is not just on Digicel, but on all companies in Guyana and more importantly Guyanese citizens and ultimately the country. Kelly opined that the impact of the introduction of new players into the market providing robust competition can be instantaneous and very beneficial to consumers. To reinforce his point, he recalled Digicel’s introduction into the Guyanese market in 2007. This caused local mobile rates to halve and made handsets affordable to all Guyanese. The Digicel CEO said that countries around the world have seen economic development when there is a global access to communications. He commented that the GTT monopoly has essentially “impacted the full potential of the country for growth.” He was then asked if it is safe to say that once the liberalization of the sector
Digicel’s CEO, Kevin Kelly does not take place, then ICT would be hindered from becoming the next strong driver of Guyana’s economy. The Digicel CEO answered in the affirmative while reminding that the current Government gave a commitment to liberalize the Telecommunications sector. “We believe they will honour this as we approach Guyana 50th anniversary,” added Kelly. He said that the passing of the legislation will allow the ICT sector to become a major engine for growth in Guyana. The Digicel CEO stressed that it is critical especially given the concerns in the manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors. Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, recently stated that the administration is indeed serious about developing the ICT sector. She even spoke of a number of projects planned to take the industry forward. The liberalization of the sector is high on her to do list for 2016. Hughes said that there
can be no doubt that the development of the Information and Communications Technology sector can transform life in Guyana in so many ways. The Parliamentarian said that regrettably, over the years in Guyana, the development of ICT as a contributing, productive sector has been slow. She said that the high cost of supporting infrastructure, absence of enabling legislation, limited skill sets has been a significant contributor to this state of affairs. She said that in general, the growth of ICT in Guyana has been a very mixed bag. Hughes said that it has meandered, it has had its fits and starts, it has had some individual achievements but by and large, 2016 still finds Guyana behind its Caribbean colleagues in terms of scope, function and overall contribution to national development. “There has to be telecommunications liberalization. We will be unable to be competitive without it. The rates in Guyana for enterprise level/ high end connectivity continue to be among the highest in the Caribbean. “That is impossible to work with. It is only competition that will address that state of affairs,” said the Minister. Hughes noted that liberalization of the Telecommunications sector has been on the agenda for several years. She recalled that a revised Telecommunications bill was tabled in this National Assembly and has been subjected to scrutiny of a select committee in the House.
The Minister said that both government and opposition seemed united in the search for a model piece of legislation to bring an end to the monopoly in this sector. She noted however that there are several consequential matters that remain to be settled, and for
which further consultations with a major player, GTT are ongoing. “It is hoped therefore that the process of liberalization would be completed during this year and that national spectrum will be opened to all strategic partners and we promise on an even playing field.”
Dem boys seh...
People cooking and packing basket fuh Monday Remember de days when people use to camp out outside Bourda cricket ground fuh get in to watch Test cricket? Dem was de great days. People actually use to sleep outside de ground. Dem days gone but people gun be doing de same thing tonight. Since yesterday people start to cook and bake what dem had to bake. Was like when dem families use to prepare to tek dem li’l children to see de Mash float. People use to cook and bake then lef dem home soon morning to go to de National Park. Whole day dem boys smelling food; dem see people running to buy picnic basket. Dem boys done believe that was Mash people preparing for until dem hear that Kwame and he boys going to court. People know that de police gun set up barricade suh dem intend to beat de police. That is why dem mekking all de preparations. Dem boys seh that is a good thing that dem ain’t got no big Mash event because Kwame and he friends woulda steal de show. By de time dem lef de court to head to jail people woulda done decide to ignore Mash. Donald and Rohee done holler bout political pressure. Dem boys seh that dem is de only people who can talk because dem name ain’t call yet. Jagdeo very quiet. He and some others ain’t saying nutten. Dem look like when people waiting fuh de hammer drop. And fuh people who don’t have money dem boys got nuff lawyers. One try to see if he could get some excuse suh he holler how de police beat he client. Another one claim how de police starving he client. He tell dem boys that since dem ban Styrofoam, he client got to eat rice wrap up in brown paper. Nobody know who cooking because de police not allowing people from outside to carry food since somebody might want to poison dem men to stop dem from talking. Fuh all de mouth he got Kwame very silent. Dem boys seh that he looking forward to going to remand. As old people seh, out of evil cometh good. Fuh people like Kwame going to jail gun be a good thing. There will be no shortage of what he does get outside. Talk half and pack you basket.
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Sunday February 21, 2016
Contractor shot during early morning robbery A contractor was shot to the upper right thigh early yesterday by one of three armed bandits during an early morning robbery at McDoom, East Bank Demerara. This incident occurred a little after 09:00 hrs at a construction site at Lot 31 Middle Street, McDoom where about seven construction workers were carrying out their daily task. The contractor, Odinie Jordan, called “Coolie”, had visited the site to pay his workers when the masked men stormed the work site and escaped with the payroll and two phones after shooting him. The victim was taken to a private hospital. When this newspaper visited the scene yesterday, police were taking statements from the workers, who all looked traumatized. One worker, Yassakar Williams, said that when he arrived at work early
yesterday, his employer instructed them to clean the building. “I was in the back room cleaning up and the boss call me to come to the front and he was saying that we have to run some wires in the ceiling. When he done talking, I see a man come upstairs with a cutlass and he come straight to me,” a devastated Williams recalled. He said that at one point he thought that one of the women in the village had complained to their partners that he was “troubling” them. “I thought this man coming to chop me up because I does trouble them girls and I thought somebody talk on me,” he explained. He further revealed that he stood there without saying anything as the partially masked man walked towards him. “He snatch me and say don’t move and the boss was standing right next to me.
(The boss) tell the man that he can’t do me anything just like that and then the man (bandit) call a next person from downstairs and the person come and he tell him to shoot this one,” Williams said. He added that he thought it was him the gunman was going to shoot but it was actually his employer. According to Williams, after Jordan was shot, one of the armed men instructed him to go downstairs and lie on the floor with the others. “When I come downstairs and lie down, I see two more workers and I ask them if it is robbery and they say yes,” he said. Meanwhile, two young workers who were working at the side of the house said that just as they were about to enter through the back door, they spot one of the armed bandits and ran for their lives. The two scaled the back
Detectives at the scene taking statements yesterday fence and hid in a neighbouring yard. “When we jumped the fence, one of the neighbours see we and
she come out on the verandah and start quarreling,” the boys said. Scared for their lives, they
claimed that they were worried that the armed men would jump the fence and kill them after hearing the neighbour.
AG meets Essequibo residents
Prolonged issues facing Essequibians for years and were not dealt with in a transparent manner by the previous administration are now been transferred to the coalition government. The people want ready solutions to those teething problems. Issues relating to police brutality, land titling and land distribution, proper garbage disposal, the awards of contracts in a transparent way, social and educational development and the issue of rice were critical issues
highlighted by affected Essequibians, on Saturday during a public meeting hosted by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on Saturday, at the Anna Regina Town Hall. In relation to the recent alleged police brutality involving Dartmouth resident, Maxine Stewart, told the Attorney General that police brutality in the Region was an issue that needs to be dealt with accordingly. Stewart said that Maxwell
Boston was tied up and brutally beaten by police attached to the Anna Regina Police Station. The disgruntled resident said she has a video as proof of the police beating. Stewart informed Williams that the police are also culpable of placing illegal drugs on persons. “I understand that the police usually plant drugs on person to get promotion, especially at Christmas time.” Williams requested that the evidence regarding the recent police brutality on the Coast be filtered to him along with a medical report from the hospital. The issue of having a forensic audit conducted on all of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and the Anna Regina Town Council was raised by Mr. Naipaul. It was agreed that the council needs to be more proactive especially when it comes to building where it is necessary that persons produce the relevant document. The residents were told that the Council is not equipped with a proper enforcement arm. Aggrieved residents also (continued on page 65)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Police have irrefutable evidence against Gilhuys says ‘E’ Division Commander By Jacquey Bourne As investigations continue into the allegations against Attorney-at-Law Gordon Gilhuys who was charged with attempting to pervert the course of Justice in a statutory rape case, a file for legal advice was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Friday. Police in Linden say they were investigating a matter of alleged rape committed on a 16-year-old schoolgirl by Michael Franklin, whose lawyer is Gilhuys. According to reports, the rape is alleged to have occurred sometime last month. Gilhuys was arrested on Tuesday at the Linden Magistrate’s Court and taken to the Mackenzie Police Station by Inspector Singh. He was later released on $10,000 station bail. Reports from the Mackenzie Police Station
further indicated that Gilhuys approached a Woman Corporal and urged her to prepare to false statement in favour of his client. It is alleged that he told the Corporal to prepare the statement stating that the victim did not wish to pursue the matter and did not want any further police action. Gilhuys has however denied the allegation. Gilhuys’ client Franklin, 23, is before the court on another rape charge for which he was granted bail in the sum of $200,000 on December 30, 2015. The young man who lives at 223 Block 22, Wismar, Linden, and is the promoter of the popular ‘Pasa Pasa’ event, is charged with engaging in sexual penetration of a female without her consent on July 23, 2015. The incident allegedly occurred at One Mile, Wismar.
‘E’ Division Commander Calvin Brutus also said on Friday that the Attorney caused the suspect and his mother to approach the victim and her mother, allegedly to have them drop the charge. The incident was reportedly reported to Probation and Welfare Officers in Linden. Brutus said there is evidence in the file, including text messages among other things to prove Gilhuys’ efforts to attempt to pervert the course of Justice. “We have those statements that there were some serious efforts by Gilhuys and his client to intervene and obstruct the investigations.” Commander Brutus noted, too, that there is a tactic used by the Attorney and his clients who allege Police brutality. He alleged that some of the people who picketed recently in Linden
are relatives of Gilhuys’ clients. It was also noted that victims positively identified stolen booty in the home of one of the Lawyer’s clients. Some were even discovered in one parent’s home. Commander Brutus said at least two incidents are being investigated by the Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) based on complaints of Police Brutality by at least one of his clients which he stated was compiled and sent by Attorney Gilhuys. According to Brutus the client who is a prisoner, alleged that he, Brutus, had assaulted him following the escape of two murder suspects who were held for the murder of Linden businesswoman, Shevon Gordon. Brutus said, “Aduni Bowen said I choked him and the Inspector beat him and he
hurt his back but when examined he had no marks of violence. The Magistrate even made him take off his shirt when he appeared before him just hours after and there were no marks which should have been visible.” The other complaint, Brutus said, involves suspect Rawle Hinds, who was recently charged in connection with a recent robbery on the Mabura Public Road.
According to Brutus, Hinds alleged that the police broke into his house at Wisroc and stole four ounces of gold among other items. “Hinds’s house is fully grilled, so how can we break into it? One Mark Gomes opened the door and only two police rank entered and searched.” In relation to these allegations Brutus said, “We have submitted statements and those investigations are being done.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
No proposal for Harbour CPG members feel left out Bridge rate increase before Cabinet - Patterson Police promotions…
The Demerara Harbour Bridge
CPG members have not been promoted for several years. With the police promotions for 2016 finalised, members of the Community Policing Executive are beginning to feel left out. No one from that body was promoted this year and the members are beginning to feel that they are being gradually phased out from national policing duties. Members of the CPG are appointed Rural Constables upon entry into the police auxiliary body, before they are promoted to Corporal and all the way up to the rank of inspector. Kaieteur News understands that there have been no promotions of CPG members for the past three years, and some are beginning to question if their work is being appreciated. Members of the CPGs are promoted based on recommendations to the Commissioner of Police from the Divisional Commanders in the district they serve. According to a source,
these recommendations were not made within the past five years. “One man is a rural corporal for seven years. Every time we submit names for promotion is a problem,” one rural constable stated. “We actually do more work than the police themselves, sometimes. So instead of recognising our role with certificates, the Force should show appreciation by prompting us, after all, we don’t want to take away their work but we just want to be recognized in a better way,” another CPG member told this newspaper. When contacted yesterday, Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, who is now responsible for the Force’s Administration, said that the police is not oblivious to the situation. He explained that the Force has given clear policy directions to the National
Community Policing executive and the Divisional Commanders on the criteria for the promotion of CPG members. This was done at a recently held meeting with the National CPG body in the conference room of the Commissioner’s Office. “Once the recommendations are made, consideration will be given,” a top ranking officer told this newspaper. “We expect that the Commanders would recommend these people in keeping with the time for the Force anniversary this year,” Ramnarine added. CPGs are an integral part of policing in Guyana. They apprehend criminal suspects; go to court and give evidence. For many of them who spoke to this newspaper, the current situation is discouraging. Only recently Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan reiterated the government’s commitment to Community Policing. This is despite claims that the new APNU+AFC government is paying little attention to CPGs. Soon after coming into office, Ramjattan had ordered that some of the vehicles being used by Community Policing groups be transferred to the regular Police Force; a move that sparked some controversy especially on the part of the new Opposition. But according to Ramjattan, these vehicles will be replaced to the Community Policing Groups, along with other needed resources.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, is refuting reports that a proposal to increase rates paid by commuters on the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) is before Cabinet. This issue flared up during the consideration of the budgetary estimates in parliament earlier in the week. Opposition Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill, had grilled the Minister, emphasizing that while there is no problem with approving the money for maintenance, it cannot be while an increase is likely. Patterson had earlier broken down what the $150M estimated for the DHB entailed. He had stated that money would go to servicing pontoons and fabricating the buoys. The supply of shackles was listed as costing $20M, and works on the retractor span would come up to $25M. In response, however, Edghill had raised the issue of increases, which had been reported at the end of last month when the new board of directors of the DHB received their instruments of appointment at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. According to reports in sections of the media, Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, had stated that DHB General Manager, Rawlston Adams, had submitted a proposal for a rate increase and that it was awaiting Cabinet approval.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson “We were told by public announcement, that there was consideration for an increased rate for the Demerara Harbour Bridge,” Edghill told the House. “We were advised by way of media, when the Board was sworn in, that there is a Cabinet paper to increase the rates on the Harbour Bridge.” “This is a capital item here and we are asked to give (money) from tax payers to support the Demerara Harbour Bridge. We have no problem with that,” he said. “What we want to find out is if we are giving money for a capital item; if there will still be an increase in rates as announced.” “There is no Cabinet paper,” Patterson replied. “There is no paper before Cabinet or anyone on an increase in the
Demerara Harbour Bridge (rates).” The existing two-lane floating bridge was constructed in 1978 by the UK firm Thomas Storey Engineers Limited. From 1995 to 1998 the bridge underwent major rehabilitation by the Damien Ship Yards of the Netherlands at a cost of US$9M. At present the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) carries out intensive annual maintenance and element replacement activities on the bridge structure to provide a continuous level of service. The Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation is responsible for the management and collection of tolls. The average annual revenue collection is approximately US$1.9M. However, plans are on stream to establish a new bridge linking the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) with the West Bank. Three possible sites have already been examined and they include a link between Houston, EBD to Versailles, WBD, New Hope, EBD to Laurentia Catherina, WBD or a site close to the existing bridge. Last November, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure invited fresh Expressions of Interest (EoI) from local and foreign consultants, to have a feasibility study and design for the new bridge completed. Almost a dozen companies, both foreign and local, vied for this contract.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Overhead vehicle pass planned for Diamond intersection By Leonard Gildarie With more than 10,000 vehicles entering the country every year, traffic congestion on key arteries leading to Georgetown continues to be a major bugbear. This congestion has been contributing heavily to delays for workers at peak travel times. In the morning, this is between 07:00hrs and 09:00hrs and in the evening from 16:00hrs to 18:30hrs. The problem is very pronounced at the intersection of East Bank Demerara corridor and Diamond and Golden Grove Housing Schemes. The East Bank Demerara road is among the busiest in the country, providing linkages to not only the villages along the way, but to the Demerara Harbour Bridge which leads to the West Demerara and Essequibo; to Linden, and by extension to the hinterlands. The Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the country’s main port, is located at Timehri, further compounding the situation. Over the years, there have been talks of a number of projects to reduce the traffic situation including new roads, shifting bus parks and even better parking. No diagonal parking is allowed on Regent and Robb Streets. The car and bus parks in the Stabroek area have become organized with posts in place to ensure orderliness. Sand trucks have been removed from Lombard Street, a main road that leads from the East Bank of Demerara to the city. On the East Bank Demerara, there are several initiatives underway which Government believes will reduce the congestion. Financing has been secured for a new road to link East Bank to East Coast via Ogle. That roadway is expected to take traffic from Timehri along the back of the housing schemes to East Coast Demerara. A new Demerara Harbour Bridge is very likely with consecutive administrations saying that it remains a top priority. Government says it is currently sifting through proposals and hopefully to a tender within a year. A major bottleneck at
Bagotstown/Peters Hall area has been troubling transportation officials from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. According to Sunil Ganesh, an engineer with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, a number of initiatives are also in the works for the East Bank Demerara corridor. At the Diamond intersection, it is estimated that about 5,000 vehicles come out of the new housing schemes on workdays between 06:30hrs and 09:00hrs. Following a study of the bottleneck there, one of the more likely scenarios in short and medium term is the construction of an overhead vehicle flyover. This elevated exit from the Diamond access road will allow vehicles to flow smoothly from scheme area to East Bank Demerara public road without traffic having to stop. It will easily allow vehicles to turn into the scheme also. Already, using its local expertise and resources, the Ministry has started to prepare designs. A proposal will, within the next few months, be presented to the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) for possible financing. Commuters have been complaining about the situation during peak hours. The previous Government had been toying with the idea of another access road into Diamond but this never materialized. Further up East Demerara, there is also a plan to increase safety for pedestrians with the construction of overhead walkways, Ganesh said. One will be erected at the eastern side of the Demerara Harbour Bridge to allow pedestrians to cross from the southern to northern side and back. Another one is planned for Eccles where the traffic lights are. This will allow pedestrians to cross from the eastern and western carriageways. Still another one is likely to be built at Houston, where the secondary school is located. That area is critical as there is a road nearby leading to the Gafoors mall, among other business places there.
Habits are not the product of one decision — They’re the result of repeated choices that eventually become automatic responses. How can you know your true spiritual condition? By the company you keep and the choices you make. When you’re free to go, where do you choose to go? Whose company do you prefer?
One of the proposed designs of the overhead vehicle structure for the Diamond intersection that Government is hoping will reduce the traffic congestion.
An overhead view of the Diamond intersection, East Bank Demerara.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Govt. should take back lands illegally gifted to China Railway By Abena Rockcliffe Superstition dictates that one should not “give and take back”. But what if that which was given was not yours to give away? Whatever would be the superstitious course of action in this regard does not apply to governance. Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Christopher Ram, is recommending that the government moves swiftly to recover lands that were gifted under the previous administration. Section 77 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act speaks to the gifting of public property. That section makes it clear that “A Minister or an official shall not make a gift of a public property unless the making of the gift is expressly authorized by law.” In 2014, the Alliance for Change (AFC) made public its discovery that National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had gifted a plot of Turkeyen land to China Railway
Official who authorized give away must face lawful consequences - Ram
Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram Engineering Group. China Railway was involved in the controversial award of the East Coast Demerara Road Expansion Project from Better Hope to Belfield. It was also involved in the completion of the Amaila Falls access road after the previous contractor had failed to meet his obligations under his contract. Yesterday, Ram told
Kaieteur News that it is obvious that the decision to gift the property was ultra vires and has no effect in the law. He said that the property should be taken back and the person who made the decision to gift the land should be made to face the lawful consequences. Ram added that the then Director of NICIL, Winston Brassington—who has since resigned—would not have had the power to make such a decision on his own. The lawyer said that it is imperative that Government retrieve what was not lawfully disposed off. Contacted for a comment, chartered Accountant and former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, pointed Kaieteur News to his report which highlighted the
giveaway to China Railway and related issues. In the report, Goolsarran said that the land which was gifted to China Railway was initially GuySuCo’s. Kaieteur News had previously reported that GuySuCo was ordered to halt developmental negotiations because former President, Bharrat Jagdeo had “other plans” for the land. The land was gifted to government and government subsequently gifted it to NICIL. NICIL then disposed of the land to three companies, National Hardware, Multi Cinema Guyana and China Railway. National Hardware and Multi Cinema secured sweetheart deals. National Hardware got 104 acres at $4.9M per acre while, Multi Cinemas Guyana secured 10.002 acres at $16M per acre. Both companies got good deals as another company was made to pay $32M per acre. Nevertheless, China Railway got an acre for free.
Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran Records referred to in Goolsarran’s report indicated that NICIL gifted the land to China Railway the very day that Government gifted the land to NICIL. Goolsarran’s report says that Sub lot AA at Plantation Turkeyen was East Coast Demerara transferred as a gift via order No.16 2014 the same day that it was vested in NICIL via order No. 15/2014. Both orders were signed by the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. Therefore, if Government is to heed Ram’s call, Dr. Singh is the one that would have to face the consequences. Ever since the defeat of the
People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government, former Minister Dr. Singh has been scarce. “He has not taken up a seat on the opposition benches in the National Assembly neither is he serving as a GECOM Commissioner as some of his former colleagues have chosen to do. As a matter of fact, Dr. Singh’s comrades do not even mention him.” Kaieteur News understands that the former Minister is out of the country. But this has not been confirmed. However, efforts to contact him proved futile. When the gifting of land to China Railway was initially made Public, AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, was adamant that the transaction was not above board. He had called on the PPP/ C government to be transparent about the “questionable transaction” and explain why the land was transferred to NICIL and why it was not sold to the engineering group. Ramjattan’s party is now in Government, but nothing has been done to make right the transaction he labeled “questionable” and the government has not signaled any intention to address the issue.
Businessman conned by woman... (From page 3) it for a lot of people. I feel so nice, I took her to new thriving and had lunch,” the businessman told Kaieteur News. A few days passed and the woman telephoned him to assure him that all was well. Last Sunday though when the businessman called the woman he began getting some suspicious vibes, by the way she was responding to his queries. He soon realised that he was conned and he began making moves to recover his money. He even contacted the woman again and offered her more money to speed up the process in an effort to entrap her but after then he never got through to her again.
He confided in some friends who promised to help him locate the woman and eventually they did. The police were called in and they moved in yesterday and arrested the woman at a New Amsterdam, Berbice location. But the woman told police that she did not collect the sum of money the businessman is claiming. She said that she was given $200,000 to secure some “girls” for the businessman to take back to Suriname to work at his business there. While police seem to have bought her story, they are still expected to charge her and place her before the court tomorrow .
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 15
GFC treatment of local loggers - Forest disrespectful, disgraceful Products Association
In photo, a Region 10 compound with some duty-free equipment belonging to Chinese-owned, BaiShanlin.
As stakeholders continue to express concerns over the management of the forestry sector, the Forest Products Association of Guyana (FPA) has come out calling for urgent reforms. FPA, which has memberships of the some of the largest logging companies, both local and foreign, said it welcomes the new Board of Directors for the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) but remains deeply concerned about the treatment of forestry operators. Of special concern to the advocacy body is the uneven playing field that allows especially foreign investors to benefit significantly more, much to the disadvantage of local operators. “Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) is most welcome to Guyana but the manner in which it was conducted under the previous administration was totally disrespectful and disgrace to the Guyanese people. The foreign companies took advantage of the situation arises and misuse the country resources for their personal benefit with little or no return to the country,” FPA said yesterday. FPA would be referring to billions of dollars in tax waivers and concessions granted to foreign-owned loggers. However, many of
FPA’s President (Ag), Deonarine Ramsaroop
them have failed to construct processing facilities. Local operators said they have battled to benefit from concessions. After a number of years of being sidelined, FPA said it has been allowed to place a representative of the new GFC board. President (acting), Deonarine Ramsaroop, explained that it is a fact that the raw materials, including logs being shipped out, with little benefits coming back to Guyana. “The Government we understand is re-examining the contract documents for these companies, but this is just not enough. There are many other companies who are knocking on the doors that want to come in and invest too. We should simply send these (who have failed in their commitment) packing
and bring in fresh investments if that is what it takes to correct the situation,” FPA said in a statement to this newspaper. The body pointed out that its members want the same playing field as international companies because they all compete on the same markets. “…and if we to encourage internal growth of our small and medium sizes businesses then we should all be sitting on the same field. There are tons of issues facing this sector and already we have met with the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and we are discussing a way forward.” FPA said it is grateful for the wisdom of Government to ensure that place was found on GFC board. The move is clear
recognition of “our importance to the forestry sector and its development
and we therefore commit to ensure the forestry sector move forward trough
meaningful dialogue.” The organization said (continued on page 66)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Caribbean Voice IAST technology for launches “ME” initiative mercury-free gold extraction ready for the fields
While suicide continues to be a serious issue in Guyana, several governmental and nongovernmental organisations (NGO) have got onboard with the aim of spreading awareness and at the same time, boost self-esteem. An NGO called the Caribbean Voice, which has been on the forefront of suicide prevention since it was initiated in September 2014, launched “My Self Esteem (ME)” at the Cara Lodge, on Friday. According to the Vice President of the organisation, Bibi Ahamad, “ME” is a new initiative designed to boost self esteem primarily in youths. She continued that the initiative is simply a pocketsized card – a gentle reminder – which would be issued to persons who would be required to affix their signature after making a pledge. The card entails motivational words and numbers to help-lines so when a person is attacked by thoughts of suicide, the card would serve as a reminder of the pledge they took and an on the spot
A copy of the signed pledge access to advice. “When a person’s self esteem is low, it can lead to suicidal thoughts or even attempting or committing
suicide,” Ahamad said. The first persons to sign on were singing sensation, Lisa Punch and television personality, WR Reaz.
The Institute of Applied Science and Technologies (IAST) – University of Guyana (UG) on Thursday, conducted a presentation and demonstration of equipment designed for mercury- free extraction of gold, using cyanidation and activated carbon methodologies. The presentation was held at the Institute’s headquarters at the University of Guyana Campus, Turkeyen. It attracted participation from various stakeholders and relevant representatives from agencies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Gold and Diamonds Miners’ Association (GGDMA) and Ming’s Services Limited. At the presentation, IAST’s Director, Dr. Suresh Narine, revealed that since Guyana became a signatory to the Minamata Convention in 2013, which is focused on the eradication of mercury use in the gold mining sector, various stakeholders in collaboration with the institute have been looking at a variety of measures to begin to address the use of mercury particularly in surface mining operations. While admitting that most of the hard rock mining operations would already be using mercury-free methods, the majority of all of the surface mining operations he stated, are generally owned by locals and are all mercury intensive.
Hence, for the past two years, IAST has focused its efforts on finding an appropriate methodology that will “fit well” into the medium scale surface-type mining operations. Vishal Kishun, a former employee of GGMC and graduate of Trent University, Canada, has spent almost 18 months on an experiment at the University in Canada, where he was shipped ore from local gold mining businessman, Babulall Chunilall. The ore was then assayed by Kishun who became aware of the amount of gold in the ore. Kishun then took the ore; varied its particle size, the power of hydrogen (pH) of extraction, the temperature of extraction in a simplex method and looked at it independently, varying each of those parameters to optimise how the gold must be extracted using cyanide slurry. After extraction by cyanide, an analysis was conducted to find out how much of the gold was extracted by the cyanide slurry as a function of those parameters; particle size, pH and temperature. He then proceeded to use the activated carbon method. Ultimately Kishun was able to recover between 92 per cent and 96 percent of gold in all cases given the optimum parameters. Dr. Narine stated that they have scaled up the methodology from what was done in the lab so that it could
be applicable to the scale of mining being conducted in the interior. “This is no longer a research; we are ready to roll out this equipment into the fields...Partner on it so that we can work together to mount this equipment onto a mobile trailer that can be pulled into the tough terrain and so it need not reside at one person’s operations. “This equipment was bought by government and so various operations can have the benefit of seeing how it works; be trained on it.” Dr. Narine said. The presentation was met with much scrutiny as attendees asked various questions pertaining to the cost of the equipment and the acquiring of key components. It was revealed that the cost of the equipment is estimated at US$15,000 excluding the cost to mount it, which would be an additional US$5000 to US$7000. Some years ago, Pinnacle Investments came to Guyana to look at three projects, one was activated carbon. On Thursday, it was revealed that the company will be providing the activated carbon for the equipment from coconut shells. Director of Pinnacle Investments, Dr. Rajneesh Mehra, told the gathering that the company is looking to set up a “full fledged” manufacturing facility and have approached the Guyana Government for their support.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 25
That ongoing transformation task at UG By Sharmain Grainger The need for colossal changes at the country’s lone national University – the University of Guyana (UG) – has long been recognised, and this may very well be on the horizon. And it is hoped that with the impending changes, the University will be able to finally escape a cloud of controversy that has overwhelmed its operation for far too long. UG, for quite some time, has been plagued with issues ranging from poor remuneration to wanting infrastructure. These have been highlighted time and again. Remedial measures were supposedly put in place too. However, protest actions by the Unions that represent both staff and students alike, all too often followed, to highlight that the very issues that should have been remedied were not, at least not effectively. But immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, has boasted of doing a lot to improve the University during his tenure. This has been attested to by a few. There, however, remain some detractors. Perhaps this is in light of the fact that there are yet too many issues that need to be fixed at the University if it is to advance its status as a tertiary institution to one worthy of regional and international recognition. While some people fully embrace that some measures to realise a transformation have been set in motion by Professor Opadeyi, many, it would seem, are confident that the University is only now on course to truly realising the needed changes that have been advocated for, for years. And it is expected that this will be fuelled by the efforts of a recently
established Transformational Task Force. Professor Eon Nigel Harris, the appointed Chancellor of the University, can be credited with fasttracking the establishment of the Task Force, which was in fact touted by Minister of Education, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, when he took over the reins of the Ministry last year. It is believed that the Guyana-born Professor Harris, who has had a laudable stint at other tertiary institutions including the University of the West Indies, before accepting his UG appointment, is an ideal candidate to lead the transformation of the University. But transforming the national university, based on the recommendations yielded from the inaugural sitting of the Task Force, which lasted for three days, will be no easy task. These recommendations are many, and are all aimed at putting the University on the path for a requisite overhaul. But similar recommendations were made in the past. Professor Harris himself acknowledged this, and has noted that the issue has not been getting the ideal recommendations to transform the University, but rather, the issue has been the failure to implement many of these, thus leaving the needed transformation at a standstill. However, what is especially interesting about the approach of the Task Force is that it has incorporated the support of not only constituent groups of the University, and various stakeholders including the private sector and civil society, but also regional and international academics and professionals. From within the Caribbean, support has been forthcoming from academics
The Baccoo Speaks More cases of the Zika virus will be reported from a border location. The Health Ministry will scramble to deal with the situation. Some containment will be undertaken. But for all this there will be some panic. ** The police will avert a robbery merely because they happened to be in the area in search of a wanted man. At the same time a young gunman will attempt to get rid of his weapon. That is going to alert the cops who will respond in a hurry. ** The Georgetown Public Hospital will be the scene of another horror story. A
woman will present herself at the Accident and Emergency Unit only to be confronted by some very casual staff. This will force the intervention of the administration but by then the situation would have already deteriorated. The Minister will be pressured to take action.
the likes of Dr. Wanda Chesney, Vice President for Academic Administration at the University of the Southern Caribbean. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of her input to the transformation process since I am acquainted with her. When I attended the University some years ago, the then ‘Miss Chesney’ was
a lecturer and Head of Communication Studies, a position I understand she held with pride. She was a fixture at the University for close to a decade, but left to advance her academic standing. I am aware she was a ‘nononsense’ lecturer, as I was fortunate to have attended some of her classes. With
people the likes of Dr. Chesney - having close ties to the University and driven by unadulterated passion for academia - involved in the transformation of the University, I am convinced that the process is poised to succeed. As a Queen’s College old boy, Professor Colin Ramsay, is yet another international
contributor who has been selected to be a part of the Task Force. He is currently the Professor of Actuarial Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but the fact that he has taken up the task to be involved in the process speaks volumes. And there are other renowned academics such as Professor Maya Trotz, an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida and Professor Ian Robertson, a Former Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, who are integrally involved. The Task Force has also benefited from the input of Dr. Idamay Denny, Portfolio Manager within the Social Sector Division of the Caribbean Development Bank. But the deliberations at the recent sitting of the Task Force are not nearly the end of the process. The true impact of this body will be felt when the majority of its recommendations are implemented. And all eyes will be on the Council of the University, which ultimately has the overseer (continued on page 49)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 27
== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Tearful story of an 88-year-old woman in a terrible country I have asked a few lawyers to check this column, because in this country people file libel writs for fun. Do you know a man has sued this newspaper for libel and this very man was charged by the American Government and jailed for visa fraud? This very man was charged for attempted murder after the victim took seven bullets and survived to tell the police his story. And there are more questionable things about this man. Yet such a personality sued for libel. You would think with that criminal past this man would be the last to sue anyone for libel. All you have to do is say that such and such a person doesn’t know the rules of cricket and bang, a court official holding a libel writ is at your gate. No sooner had Kaieteur News released the tape of Anil
Nandlall threatening violence against the newspaper, than Nandlall sued for libel. You would have thought that Nandlall would have been obsessed with trying to plan his damage control strategy, but instead he sued for damage of character. When that case comes up, the Kaieteur News will no doubt summon three of Nandlall’s PPP colleagues who spoke to the press identifying Nandlall as the speaker on the tape. People sue for absolute nonsense in this country and our outdated libel laws facilitate them in their foolishness. A lawyer told me about the libel laws in Trinidad. She said that before trial begins a judge can look at the plaintiff’s writ and decide if there is a case to go to trial. I wish we had that system in Guyana.
I simply wrote that a certain doctor should not be in the administrative position he currently holds at the Georgetown Hospital. That was all I wrote. I didn’t say he stole, he lied, he is a bogus doctor, etc. The man demanded an apology. Surely even by implication, there is nothing in those words to cast aspersions on the man’s character. If you say such and such a person should not hold that position they have, you mean to tell me you have damaged their character? If the United States had the primitive libel laws this hell-hole of a country has, then Donald Trump would have sued a majority of the American population. I am sure many commentators are saying at this moment that Donald Trump is totally unfit to be President of the US.
I don’t expect the ancient libel laws to change in this country. As you would know from my daily offering on this page, I don’t expect this country to change for the better. So I was very careful in penning this column. This article stems from a letter I read in yesterday’s KN. Because of the libel laws, I am going to refrain from naming the former wife of this well-known attorney or even the name of the lawyer himself. I believe if I name the former wife and not him, the lawyer will still sue. If I identify him, he will surely sue. So at the end of the day, no identities will be mentioned and of course I am very, very unhappy with that. But I don’t have time to waste in the court over exasperating frivolities. There are two tragic parts
of that letter that tell of the profound barrenness and bareness of this destructive country. First, despite court judgements, she is not receiving her maintenance allowances. For reason of journalistic and professional proprieties, some of the attached documents that accompanied the letter could not have been published such as bank statements to show the many months, payments were not made. The second sad aspect is that litigation in one case against her former husband took 35 years to be completed. Imagine that! That is nihilism. That happened in a land that time and civilization forgot. This crying 88-year-old woman also said that another writ she filed for division of property never saw the light of day.
Frederick Kissoon It is unbearable to see what the passage of time does to the fate of people. I remember I was pretty young when I read that this very former wife when she was in her younger times challenged the African-rights and cultural organization ASCRIA by walking into its head office. She was ordered out because she was not AfricanGuyanese. Immediately, ASCRIA’s head, Eusi Kwayana apologized to her. I hope I could have done more than just writing a column. I hope this country can help this lady in her quest to find peace of mind at age 88.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
CREATING A DIGITALLY SAVVY NATION (The following is the address delivered by Hon. Minister of Public Telecommunications & Tourism, Catherine Hughes, at the official opening of Teleperformance Guyana in January 2016.) “I bring you greetings from His Excellency President David Granger who sends his own and the entire government’s blessings and wishes for a profitable future for Teleperformance, Guyana. This is my first official engagement under my new portfolio of Minister of Public Telecommunications, and I have to say that your vision of “Transforming Guyana through Education and Employment” mirrors the trajectory that this government has set for its advancement. We are convinced that the only effective way to do this for the benefit of all our people is to ensure that we create a fully functional information-based society and a knowledge-based economy, one in which we
must fast track the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as the mechanism to transform life in Guyana. It is only by investing in the requisite infrastructure; by ensuring that we could source the most advanced technologies and provide education and training, that we are going to produce citizens who are properly equipped to become the new entrepreneurs and drivers in our fast moving digital world. This we know from the experiences of other countries. We can transform the quality of services in the public sector which will ultimately enhance the competitiveness and growth of the private sector. Our vision is to ensure that all of Guyana is Internet ready, with main cities and towns becoming Internet hot spots. This we can achieve with the collaboration of established service providers. We want the student in living at Moruca or attending the Bina Hill Institute in the Rupununi to be given the
same opportunities to learn and succeed as the Queen’s College student, the Bishops’ or St. Rose’s High School student. Can you imagine a student in Region 8 being able to join a live class in Georgetown via Skype? The technology exists and we have an obligation to make that giant leap forward to correct the educational inequality. We are starting the process of creating a digital nation to enable us to participate in the international digital economy. Here at Teleperformance you have started this through the development and operation of your Call Centre. Many of your goals and objectives, your CSR and employee development programmes are very similar to the government’s own projections and objectives with respect to the growth of our people, particularly the youth. I was impressed when I learnt about the programmes that Dr. Dale Dan has espoused and which she
intends to implement here to ensure that Teleperformance’s employees are continuously trained; that their qualifications are consistently upgraded so that Teleperformance could retain your Number One global spot in this field of e-service. I commend you for this initiative and would encourage other companies and agencies in the public and private sectors to emulate it. Today I come with the weight of the Government of Guyana to tell you that this new enterprise which encompasses customer care, technical support, debt collection and business process operations for international clients, though it’s not new to Guyana, raises the bar very high indeed. In a way it has established a standard for the growth of the ICT sector in Guyana. NEW PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY President David Granger in his New Year Address to the nation branded this the year of Guyana’s Renaissance, the beginning of a different period of our lives when we actively join the rest of the developed world which has gone fully digital. We live in a world of change, a New World where everything is instant, everything happens now and the necessary responses and actions cannot wait a day. The information superhighway is no longer just words that only a few people know. It is the new way of life and the sooner Guyanese across all ten regions can have access to the internet on demand, the faster this nation will
develop; the better we’ll be able to compete toe-to-toe with our trading partners; and more of our bright young children will shine in regional examinations. The Government of Guyana unreservedly supports the position that access to the internet, and the utilization of Information and Communication Technology will: 1) improve the ability of Government to develop critical services; 2) provide effective cross-cutting support for all our productive sectors; and 3) facilitate the development of ICT as a sustainable, highly profitable, productive sector. In this vein, we will work to position Guyana well prepared for this world of immediacy through interconnected schools; interconnected police stations, hospitals, fire and water services; inter-connected business zones; and homes. Our promise to this nation is to activate the EGovernment programme and increase its capability to make Internet connectivity available to all citizens in the city, in coastal and rural inland communities like Linden and Bartica, and deep into the hinterland. At present the EGovernment Unit is focused on two main ICT ventures:Project One is the rollout of a fibre optic network that has capacity for high-speed data, video and voice communication. This project involves the installation of robust infrastructure to consolidate all government processes. When the preparatory work is done, a fibre optic cable will connect
Minister of Public Telecommunications & Tourism, Catherine Hughes Georgetown to Moleson Creek in the east, to Anna Regina in the west, and Linden and Lethem in the south. Wireless sites will be constructed and activated along these corridors utilizing 4G technologies, to provide connectivity to all of the socio-economic services and facilities mentioned earlier. The second Project concerns the creation of the Data Network or the Data Centre in Georgetown which will host most of the government’s ICT applications. The objectives are to improve the quality of our social services, to fight crime, to boost the standard of education, to promote digital literacy, to provide ICT Parks and Centres of Innovation, and generally foster a knowledge-based society. Immediacy and even spontaneity is what life is all about now, so we’d better get on board or we will be left farther behind.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
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My column
Selective memory can be embarrassing I would not fool anyone by pretending that I am not politically-minded. I do have a stake in the politics of this country. But I also separate my politics from my journalism. I know what it is to be impartial, although time and time again someone in the political divide would label me with a broad political brush. Just the other day, Member of Parliament Clement Rohee waxed warm with talk about disrespect in the National Assembly. He contended that the present administration introduced disrespect into the House. He must have had a rotten memory, especially since he claimed that he has been sitting in the House for decades and could not recall anyone from his party being disrespectful. Surely he could not have forgotten that former President Janet Jagan sprinkled flour across the House during a debate. But worse, his leader Dr Cheddi Jagan tossed the Speaker’s mace from its holder on the table to the floor. That mace is the symbol of authority in the House.
Mr Jagan was asked to apologise and he refused. The Speaker barred him from speaking in the House until he did. Eventually it took the intervention of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Rohee also claimed that the members on his side never heckled any of the Opposition Leaders. Again I am forced to remind of at least one case that involved Cyril Belgrave and Desmond Hoyte. The fact is that debates in the House are often rambunctious. People on both sides take the opportunity to remind speakers of past indiscretions, not that such should be the behaviour in the House. Suffice it to say that I have seen clips from other parliamentary settings in which there were fist fights. I hear people accuse each other of hiring thugs to do their dirty bidding. Forbes Burnham got his share, but the People’s Progressive Party cannot claim to be Snow White. At this moment the party is claiming political harassment of some of its supporters, even as the police are investigating some
untoward incidents. There has already been an admission of dastardly behaviour involving Freddie Kissoon. No political party in the history of this country ever stooped so low as to hurl filth in the face of someone critical of it. The PPP did. The party may claim that the people acted on their own, but the very party offered them succor. It was the very Clement Rohee who issued an edict to the police to leave Kwame McCoy alone during the recent elections. Anyone who touched McCoy would have to answer to him, he said from his seat as Minister of Home Affairs. And there has been murder. The current investigations seem to suggest that the PPP had a hand in the death of political critic Courtney Crum-Ewing. The very people so involved were actually hatching a plan to kill the publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall. One of the men in custody actually sent a warning to Lall just about the time the then President Bharrat Jagdeo revoked some firearms Lall had issued to his personal
security. Far too often we point fingers at each other for transgressions when we are guilty of the same. I remember the days of political witchhunt. People were sacked because they were perceived to be supporters of the then People’s National Congress Government. Dr Roger Luncheon actually said to me one day that I was lucky to have gained employment; that there were people walking the streets kicking bricks. What manner of politician would vent its spleen on people who appear not to be supporters, then complain when it is visited with the same? Right now, one of the founding members of the PPP is exhibiting the kind of behaviour to his ex-wife that no person should. The woman is now 88 years old, but she is finding the going rough. According to a letter the woman wrote, she filed for division of property forty years ago and the matter has not seen the light of the day. She had to file that matter when J.O.F. Haynes was the Chief Justice. Since then there were Victor Crane, Keith
Massiah, Kenneth George, Aubrey Bishop, Cecil Kennard, Desiree Bernard, Carl Singh and Ian Chang (acting). One of them actually made a decision to have this man pay maintenance. This man actually told the court that he was working for a certain sum of money when the truth was different. This is a man who argued for justice in the courts on behalf of some of his clients, but when it is his turn the situation changes. I know that just recently he was seeking $300,000 from C.N. Sharma for a case that Steve Surujbally dropped. That is just one case. Imagine what he earns at the end of a year. That is why when some people talk, the listener would merely shrug. It is a case of the priest or pastor telling the congregation how to live, but they would do the gods. Sin is something that visits the other person. Anyhow, tomorrow
Adam Harris promises to be interesting. There should be Kwame et al marching up the court steps. I am hearing that the police had a lot of knowledge even before there was the change in government. However, given the political situation they were reluctant or afraid to act. Everything is coming out in the open and the society can’t wait.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Central Govt. has a constitutional obligation to provide finances to local democratic organs The upcoming local government elections on March 18, 2016, will give all the municipalities and neighbourhoods in Guyana an opportunity for a fresh start. For the last two decades municipalities and neighbourhoods throughout Guyana - starting with the City of Georgetown - were generally seen as dirty, neglected places. It is apposite to note that the failure of many of these entities to effectively discharge their responsibilities were not of their own making. The People’s Progressive Party Civic – PPPC – administration while in office determinedly pursued a
course of undermining the authority of these local organs. This included starving them of financial resources. Councillors who comprised the six municipalities and 65 NDCs were elected in 1994 for a 3year term. Today, 22 years later, many find themselves in the same positions. Many of the elected members of these bodies are deceased, migrated, or just simply lost interest or the energy and enthusiasm to perform what is largely civic and community service. A Partnership for National Unity – APNU – salutes the many honest, hardworking councillors who are still present in our local
democratic organs. It is unfair for them to be labelled as the scapegoats for the systemic failures. It is the central government’s obligation – in accordance with articles 77 and 77A of the Constitution of Guyana – to provide finances to local government bodies to enable them to carry out their functions: Article 77 states: The development programme of each region shall be integrated into the national development plans, and the Government shall allocate funds to each region to enable it to implement its development programme. Article 77A states: Parliament shall by law provide for the formulation
and implementation of objective criteria for the purpose of the allocation of resources to, and the garnering of resources by local democratic organs. The PPPC administration took more than a decade to give effect to this constitutional provision. It’s Fiscal Transfers Bill – entitled “An Act to provide for the objective criteria for the allocation of resources to local authorities …” – was a m i s n o m e r. T h e B i l l ’s Explanatory Memorandum stated that it “… seeks to give effect to article 77 (A) (sic) of the Constitution”. The Bill did nothing of the sort. Clause 3 dealt with the garnering of resources by local authorities. Clause 4 set conditions for fiscal transfers. Clause 5 said that “The Minister may establish grants to any local authority”. Clause 6 alluded to “annual subventions or fiscal transfers from central government to local authorities” but offered only a “formula” for eligibility for such transfers and introduced “stipulated performance indicators” as a precondition for fiscal transfers. The Bill, therefore, did
nothing to alter the status quo. Subventions from the central government to local democratic organs remained discretionary and not obligatory. Its title, which professed to provide for objective criteria for the allocation of resources and its claim that it gave effect to article 77 A of the Constitution, were groundless. It did not satisfy the Constitutional requirement nor did it meet the Joint Task Force’s proposal on criteria for allocation of resources to local government bodies. The recommendation stated clearly that such criteria have to be informed by a premise and identified this to be clear definitions of the functions to be undertaken by the various levels of local government. According to the Task Force, therefore, central government allocations would be on the basis of the functions to be carried out at the various levels. APNU in the 10th Parliament (in the Special Select Committee) was able to remedy the deficiency in the Bill. A new cl a u s e w a s included, which states: “In arriving at the determination of the annual subvention from central government to local authorities … it is
acknowledged that central government has a responsibility to provide financial resources to local authorities to supplement their own revenues and in order to assist them to discharge their functions and responsibilities”. Local government organs will now be able to bring legal challenges against the central government if they continue to be unreasonably starved of finances. The PPPC, in its more than 23 years in office, demonstrated that it did not believe in or subscribe to local democracy which is enshrined in the constitution. It (the PPP) has, by its own actions, demonstrated its addiction to centralised control. When we go to the polls on March 18th we should not reward the architects of the demise of local democracy in Guyana, who now masquerade as the champions of all things democratic. APNU has fought for and delivered local democracy and local government elections to the people of Guyana, and we will continue to fight to ensure that these councils be allowed to operate with autonomy as guaranteed by the constitution.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 31
Gallstones: Commonly asked questions By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine The two most common stones that form in our body are usually in the form of Kidney stones and Gallstones. They are both common occurrences, with kidney stones being the more common of the two. Patients often confuse the two and they often mistake their gallstones for kidney stones. Today we will shed some light on gallstones and answer questions commonly asked by patients. WHAT IS THE GALLBLADDER? The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ that is tucked under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid that helps the body break down fat. WHAT ARE GALLSTONES? Gallstones are small stones that form inside the gallbladder. They can be tiny specks or get as big as the whole gallbladder, which can be up to six inches long. Normally, the gallbladder fills with bile in between meals. Then, when you eat fatty foods, the gallbladder empties the bile into the intestine. Sometimes, though, gallstones clog the gallbladder and keep it from draining. Other times, gallstones just irritate the
gallbladder. If the gallstones are pushed out of the gallbladder, they can keep the liver or pancreas from draining. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF GALLSTONES? In most cases, gallstones do not cause any symptoms. When they do cause symptoms, gallstones can cause: * Belly pain – often on the right side just under the rib cage or in the middle top portion of the belly * Pain in the back or right shoulder * Nausea and vomiting * Recurrent “burn stomach” * Bloating or burping from excess gas If you know that you have gallstones but have no symptoms, you probably will not need treatment. But if you start having symptoms, you should get treated. The symptoms can come and go, but they often get worse over time. ARE GALLSTONES SERIOUS? Not usually. In rare cases they can lead to serious problems, including: * Jaundice, a condition that turns your skin and eyes yellow * Infection * Gallbladder tears, which can lead to death * Inflammation of the pancreas (the pancreas is an
organ that makes hormones and juices involved in food breakdown) IS THERE A TEST FOR GALLSTONES? Doctors can find out if you have gallstones by doing an ultrasound. An ultrasound is a painless test that uses sound waves to make an image of your gallbladder. Even if tests show that you have gallstones, that does not mean they are causing symptoms. Your doctor might need to do other tests to make sure your stones and your symptoms are related. HOW ARE GALLSTONES TREATED? People with gallstones generally have three treatment options. They can have:
* No treatment – This option is best for people with no symptoms. If they start having symptoms, they can think about treatment then. * Surgery to remove the gallbladder and the stones – Gallbladder surgery is routine in Guyana given the selection of competent surgeons we have in practice currently. The surgery does not affect digestion very much. But about half the people who have surgery have mild symptoms afterward, including watery bowel movements, gas, or bloating. These symptoms usually get
better. People who have their gallbladder removed do not need to worry about gallstones coming back. * Treatment to get rid of the stones but keep the gallbladder – People who choose this approach can take medicines to break up gallstones or be treated with a device that breaks up stones (or both). These treatments can work, but they take time — months to years. People with severe symptoms might not want to wait that long to feel better. Plus, the stones can come back after these treatments. HOW DO I KNOW WHICH TREATMENT TO HAVE? The right treatment for you will depend on: * How large your stones are * Whether you have symptoms, and how bad the symptoms are * How you feel about the treatment options Ask your doctor how each treatment might affect you. Then work with him or her to find the treatment that makes the most sense for you. CAN I DO ANYTHING TO KEEP FROM GETTING (MORE) GALLSTONES? Yes. You can try to keep
Dr. Zulfikar Bux yourself at a healthy weight. People who are overweight are more likely to get gallstones. If you plan to lose weight quickly — even if you have never had gallstones — ask your doctor or nurse what you can do to keep from getting gallstones. Losing weight quickly — for example, through weight loss surgery — can lead to gallstones. But your doctor can give you medicines to keep that from happening. Eating a healthy low fat diet is a good way to help decrease your chances of getting gallstones. As always, eat healthy, but if you suspect that you may have gallstones, visit your doctor.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
SUNDAY SPECIAL JAGDEO DELIBERATELYMISLEADING ON FOREST GIVEAWAY -RECORDS INDICATE PRODUCTIVE CONCESSIONS ALL GONE In recent days, there has been growing anger in the political sphere over what is left of the country’s forests. During the just concluded National Budget debate in the National Assembly, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, made some shocking pronouncements. He said that upon taking up office in May last year, the David Granger administration met an alarming situation where it was discovered that 100 percent or all of the country’s productive forest was allocated by the past Government, mainly to foreign investors. Minister Trotman questioned, “How could a responsible government preside over the allocation of all, not some, but all of its productive forest?” He said that it was done without any regard for future generations. Trotman said that in the context of the national patrimony, this can only be seen as a threat to the nation’s long term viability and security as a people. However, Jagdeo disputed the statements of Minister Trotman, when he addressed Parliament. Jagdeo, who served as President from 1999 to 2011, told the National Assembly on Friday that it was approximately 55 percent of state forest cover that was in fact allocated by his party. ”The fact is that about fifty-five per cent of the state forest has been given out so far in our history. It’s about seven million hectares out of 12.5 million hectares.” So what is the truth? According to historical documents, including reports that Kaieteur News managed to acquire, Minister Trotman is on point with his report that all of the lands set aside for productive forest use have been given out. Some of the resource materials used to investigate this matter were two books Vivian S. Vieira’s “Logging in Guyana and Considerations for Improvements” and “Profit Without Plunder”.
Rexford Jackson of Hanoman & Associates. His application was dismissed after Justice Diana Insanally in (the Commercial Court of the Georgetown Supreme Court) ruled in favour of the CJIAC. In the course of her ruling on February 10, last, Justice Insanally said. “Gangadin who was named Power of Attorney for Lall’s estate had not been honest with the Court (by pretending to be the owner of the business rather than Lall).” According to Court documents, in 2015 Gangadin filed a Court action against the CJIAC seeking inter alia, a declaration which will compel the association to allow him to continue the use of a hangar. Gangadin had claimed to be the owner of Exec Jet, and claimed that the CJIAC had locked his business out of the hangar location, and had detained his assets inside.
However, Whittaker related that he was made to feel unwelcome on occasions and was even forced to leave at one point. The former Minister stated that recourse was then made to technical people such as the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk, and he got some results. TOP COP SLAMS ROHEE’S ‘OUTRAGEOUS’STATEMENT ON BALRAM PERSAUD CRASH Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud has
MONDAYEDITION
“DISHONEST” EXEC JET OFFICIAL FAILS IN COURT BID TO GAIN CJIA PRIVATE HANGAR
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE FROM CITY HALLKEPT GEORGETOWN FILTHY UNDER PPP GOVT. – WHITTAKER – ADMITS $1B ‘CLEAN UP MY COUNTRY’ PROJECT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER HANDLED
“Dishonest” is the word used to describe local businessman, Deolall Gangadin, who failed to secure continued usage of a controversial private hangar located at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIAC). The said hangar had been utilized by Exec Jet Club (Exec Jet), an aircraft jet-charter business owned Guyana-born pilot Khamraj Lall. Lall pleaded guilty to money-laundering before the authorities in the United States after he was caught by Puerto Rican authorities with US$600,000 in cash stashed in his plane in November, 2014. The embattled cash jet pilot, who is also proprietor of Kaylees Gas Station in Coverden, East Bank Demerara, is currently facing the Courts in the US on a number of other allegations including tax evasion, money laundering and trafficking in narcotics. According to information disseminated to the press, Gangadin had applied to the Court for continued usage of the hangar claiming ownership of Exec Jet Club. The CJIAC was represented by Mr. Andrew M.F. Pollard of Hughes, Fields & Stoby. Gangadin was represented by Mr.
Former Minister of the then Local Government and Regional Development Ministry, Norman Whittaker, is contending that efforts to clean the capital city under the PPP failed because the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) refused to co-operate with him. But he conceded that the $1B ‘Clean up my country’ project during his tenure could have been more effectively executed. Citing ‘political interference’ on the part of Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green and others, Whittaker told Kaieteur News that he had held ‘one on one discussions’ with Green, during his tenure, but these discussions did not produce positive results. ”A lot of what was done was political,” Whittaker said. “They did not support the People’s Progressive Party. Look at the city cleanup. A lot of the containers (were acquired) under the PPP. The apathy was because of political influence.” Whittaker said that he had complained about the lack of cooperation, and efforts were made to deal with Green’s attitude. One measure was Whittaker himself attending the City Hall statutory meetings, during which some discussions with the Mayor were also held.
Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud described as outrageous, statements made by former home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee about the accident involving Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud. Rohee had expressed suspicion about the circumstances surrounding the accident and called for the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to utilize the live feed from the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) link between the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) to uncover what happened to Assistant Police Commissioner, Balram Persaud. Rohee expressed concern that Persaud may have been a victim of an assassination attempt. He was also adamant that there are reports suggesting that the accident occurred on the bridge. But in an interview with this newspaper last Thursday, the Commissioner of Police dismissed Rohee’s suggestion,
which he said was arrived at without any factual evidence. ”I’m not surprised that outrageous things come from certain persons within our society, but it might be something you need to ask him (Rohee),” Commissioner Persaud said. Despite the many reports that the accident occurred along the West Bank Demerara (WBD) road close to Dairy, and not on the bridge or in the vicinity of the bridge, the former Home Affairs Minister had insisted that the accident occurred within the cameras’ range. The Police Commissioner also brushed this assertion aside. ”Where the thing occurred, they have no camera coverage….he says what comes to mind. There was no searching for information, no analysis…it’s just outrageous,” the country’s Top Cop declared. Two Friday nights ago, Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud was driving along the West Bank Demerara Public Road when he lost control of his vehicle causing it to topple several times. He was taken to the Balwant Singh Hospital in Georgetown where he was admitted in a serious condition. TUESDAYEDITION SEVERAL LARGE FOREST CONCESSIONS FORCIBLY REPOSSESSED …AWARDED TO CLOSE FRIENDS BY JAGDEO’S ADMINISTRATION – GFC RECORDS SAYS Records that were once kept under tight wraps by the previous government are lifting the veil on what transpired in the forestry sector in the last two decades. With Government saying that no productive forest lands remain available, records and complaints, including maps, are indicating that several concessions were repossessed, some forcibly, only to end up in the hands of not only close friends but a few foreign companies that have been under the spotlight. The concessions are located in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. Last week, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, said that his Government, shortly after coming to office last year, discovered that hundreds of thousands of acres of the area set aside for logging and other forestry activities are all gone. However, Opposition Leader and ex-President Bharrat Jagdeo, denied this was so, saying that only 55 percent of the forest has been allocated. He said that most of the lands were granted before 1992, under the PNC government, to companies like Barama. Recent maps and other records indicated that indeed no lands in the areas allowed for activities are available. Other records, acquired by Kaieteur News, along with complaints of concessions holders, are showing a pattern where lands were taken away and then re-allocated. In some cases, the lands were acquired, under questionable joint ventures (JV) and other arrangements, by companies like Chinese-owned BaiShanLin and Vaitarna Holdings, an Indian company. Some of the concessions that have been re-allocated included those belonging to Kwebanna Wood Products; Caribbean Resources, Unamco, Simon and Shock; Sherwood Forests and Demerara Timbers. According to the records, these prime forest lands were allocated to not only BaiShanLin, but also to companies like Rong An Inc, Grand Bright Forestry; (Continued on page 33)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 33
(From page 32) Hi Tech and Puruni Woods. MAN CHOPS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, 10-MONTH-OLD GRANDSON An 18-year-old woman and her 10-month old baby are now patients of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after they were chopped by the man whose care they were left in. The mother, Maria Jones, and baby Omar Jones, of Lot 70 Independence Street, La Grange, West Bank Demerara, were rushed to the GPHC at around 20:00hrs on Saturday last, after they showed up at a neighbour’s house covered in blood. Maria Jones refused to speak with this publication. However, she told her sister, Camille Jones, what happened that night and asked that her ordeal be relayed to the media. Camille told this publication that her sister was left in the care of her father-in-law, Jeewan (only name given), by her husband, Vinod, who works in the interior. The woman said that her sister told her that Jeewan came home under the influence of alcohol and was in the front yard talking to someone on his phone when she overheard him say, “The baby is not my son own”. ”After she hear him say that, she call out to him and asked him why he said that and he slap her, and she say, that the two of them (Jeewan and Maria) start to fight in the house,” Camille said. Camille said that her sister after breaking free of Jeewan’s “ground and pound” ran into the room where Baby Omar was. She continued that Jeewan then picked up a cutlass and followed her sister into the room where the duo began tussling again. It was during the ordeal that Jeewan tried forcing himself on Maria demanding that she have sex with him. Maria fought him off, picked up her baby and ran towards the door to exit when Jeewan “fired two chops” on her right hand, around the elbow region. How Baby Omar got chopped in his head is shady, however. Residents believe that the position in which he was cradled in his mother’s hand when the chops were dealt, would have caused the blade to come in contact with his head. WEDNESDAYEDITION MINISTRY OF THE PRESIDENCY ACCOUNTS FOR $839 M IN SALARIES, ALLOWANCES THIS YEAR – 289 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AT PRESENT; 22 CONTRACTS TERMINATED After being the source of a heated debate on Monday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon brought a list of the contracted employees to the National Assembly Tuesday as promised. The list will finally shed some light on the issue of increases in contracted employees in the Ministry of the Presidency and the opposition’s claims of witch-hunting. The detailed list, which was officially addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, consists of contracted employees currently under the Ministry’s various departments, their salaries and emoluments, a list of contracted employees who either resigned, were fired or did not have their contracts renewed, and at least one advertisement – for head of the Office of Climate Change (OCC). It shows that for the year 2016, the Ministry will cost some $838,919,894 in wages, al-
lowances including duty free, vacation allowances and gratuity expenses and National Insurance Scheme (NIS), with some $48.2M in basic monthly salaries. The total number of contracted staffers in the Ministry, as provided by Harmon, stands at 289 employees. For the budding Public Service Staff College, there were 11 employees listed. In the documents provided, there are two Executive Directors earning at least $1.3M in gratuity. The Director of the College will be earning a gratuity of $1.1M. Under the sub-heading Administration, there are 67 contracted staffers, while in maintenance there are five. The documents also showed that in the Cabinet there were 12 contracted employees, 18 working either as confidential secretaries, assistants, advisors, drivers and cooks in the confidential secretariat. In the Minister of State Secretariat, there were a total of 20 contracted workers, while there was just three in the eGovernance unit.
dent employee, Jason Abdulla, about the killing of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed Tuesday that Hinds has been detained and that Abdulla, held Monday, is still in custody. He revealed that Abdulla, a PPP member, was detained “in connection with a murder and another matter,” but declined to give further details. Blanhum also declined to divulge the reason for Hinds’ arrest. According to reports, just after 05:00 hrs Tuesday, two SUVs pulled up outside Hinds’ home, minutes he had returned from his morning run. He was subsequently taken into custody. One eyewitness said that the team that visited Hinds’ home included two men who appeared to be foreigners. This was confirmed by a neighbour, as well as one of Hinds’ colleagues who witnessed the arrest. The man said that Hinds was advised that he was needed at the CID Headquarters.
CRUM-EWING KILLING… COPS DETAIN SHAWN HINDS; PPP MEMBER STILL IN CUSTODY – ABDULLA BEING QUESTIONED ABOUT ‘A MURDER AND ANOTHER MATTER’, SAYS CRIME CHIEF
THURSDAYEDITION
Self-confessed death squad member Shawn Hinds is once again in custody, while police continue to question former Office of the Presi-
KWAME MCCOYARRESTED FOR CRUMEWINGMURDER Investigators probing the murder of social activist Courtney Crum-Ewing have arrested former Press Officer at the Office of the President under the PPP government, Kwame McCoy.
McCoy was arrested on Wednesday after he turned himself in to police at the Criminal Investigations Headquarters, Eve Leary. This was after police had visited his Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara residence to arrest him. McCoy is now the fourth person to be arrested for the week after investigators reopened their probe into the March 10, 2015 murder of Crum-Ewing. Earlier this week police had arrested former Office of the President staffer Jason Abdulla, self confessed hit man, Shawn Hinds and O’Kenie Fraser. Police have already charged Reagan Rodrigues called ‘Grey Boy’ for the murder. But investigators were always convinced that others were involved in the hit. One of the men in custody, Shawn Hinds, had in some explosive television interviews, fingered McCoy and Abdulla as being involved in the murder. GTU CONTINUES PROTESTAGAINST TSC…THREATENS NATIONWIDE STRIKE IF FAVOURABLE RESPONSE NOT FORTHCOMING “We shall overcome some day,” sang those protesting outside the Brickdam, Georgetown Teaching Service Commission (TSC) Wednesday. The occasion represented the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) continued call for a replacement of the TSC. This is the fourth week of the GTU-spearheaded action which followed on the heels of the TSC’s move to appoint a teacher thereby disregarding an injunction filed by the GTU in the High Court to prevent the TSC from appointing teachers until a review of the teachers’ promotion process is done… According to Lyte, for the past 20 years, some teachers have been frustrated since they are convinced that promotions are not based on their eligibility and on the criteria that should be used. And since the prevailing state of affairs “is not auguring well,” Lyte on Wednesday said, “GTU is contemplating moving to the next level which would mean that we will have to call a nationwide strike to make our concerns known and we are thinking in the near future.” But the nationwide strike, according to Lyte, is being viewed as a last resort tactic. He insisted, “We should have gotten a response already but we have not, so we are thinking seriously about calling a strike that would put some more urgency to let them (Government) know that our issue is urgent.” And Lyte said that strike action, whereby teachers will stay away from school, could start as soon as next week if there is no (Continued on page 34)
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(From page 33) favourable response. FRIDAYEDITION CRUM-EWING MURDER PROBE…DETAINEESADMIT THROWING FECES ON FREDDIE KISSOON Nearly six years after feces was thrown into his face, popular newspaper columnist and social activist Freddie Kissoon now feels that he will get justice. This was after two men, including a former employee of the Office of the President under Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar, and a People’s Progressive Party Civic security man, confessed Thursday to committing the vile act on May 24, 2010.
ministration had a hand in the attack on Kissoon, who was at the time, one of their fiercest critics. On the day in question, Kissoon had just emerged from Nigel’s Supermarket on Robb Street around 19:00 hours, and had already entered his vehicle when a man walked up to his vehicle and threw the substance on him. Although momentarily stunned by the attack, Kissoon managed to drive behind the perpetrator who ran north along Light Street then west into North Road before jumping into a waiting white Toyota AT 192 Carina motorcar and escaped. A soiled Kissoon tried to intercept the car, but backed off to avoid a collision. Kaieteur News understands that the police had never given up hope on the case, but were stymied by the previous administration from actively pursuing the matter, given the parties involved. CARICOM AGREES TO LOBBY UN, US CONGRESS ON ‘DE-RISKING’ BANKS ISSUE
Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow. The men, Shawn Hinds, Jason Abdullah and O’Kenie Fraser, who are being held in connection with the Courtney Crum-Ewing murder, also told detectives that the Kissoon attack was planned and organised by Kwame McCoy, the former Information Liaison to the two former presidents. Although it came almost six years later, the revelations did not come as a surprise, since it was always felt that elements of the PPPC ad-
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will employ the full gamut of options available to it to confront the banking crisis that is threatening the region, says Chair of the Community and Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow. He underscored the necessity for collective action, sensitisation and mobilisation. Among the steps Heads of Government decided on at their Twenty-Seventh Intersessional Meeting which concluded in Belize on Wednesday, was the establishment of a high level advocacy group, led by Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne. Prime Minister Browne’s mission is to represent the Community’s interest at all levels, including with the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, and the United States Congress. ”The goal is to underline to all the key players, including the US Congress “how absolutely existential this issue is for us,” Prime Minister Barrow said.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix
Junior Minister of Labour, Keith Scott
A letter under the Chairman’s hand is also to be dispatched to the President of the United States. The threat relates to the possible loss of access to international financial markets by mainly the regional indigenous banks. Several international banks mainly in the US and Europe have signalled to client banks in the region, an unwillingness to continue carrying their business. The so-called ‘de-risking’ by the global banks threatens to impact several critical services including remittance transfers. International trade and the facilitation of credit card settlements for local clients are among the other effects the region faces.
COURT RULES MINISTERS FELIX, SCOTT CAN’T SIT IN NATIONALASSEMBLY
SATURDAY EDITION FECES THROWN ON FREDDIE KISSOON… MC COY, HINDS, ABDULLAH FOR COURT ON MONDAY -ATTACKERS QUARRELED OVER PAYMENT, HAD PLANNED TO VIDEO -TAPE INCIDENT Former Presidential Liaison Officer, Kwame Mc Coy, self-confessed killing squad member Shawn Hinds and former Office of the President employee Jason Abdulla are set to appear in court tomorrow over the May 2010 assault on political activist and columnist Frederick Kissoon. Police sources confirmed that all three men will face charges for the incident, in which feces was thrown into the columnist’s face in Robb Street. Kaieteur News understands that the police yesterday obtained the court’s permission to detain Mc Coy and his cohorts for a further 72 hours. Investigators reportedly have statements which allege that the attackers were paid to assault Kissoon, and that they were also told to videotape the incident. Afterwards, the alleged culprits had a heated row over the money, after one man coveted the entire sum. Hinds and Abdulla have reportedly told detectives that Kwame Mc Coy planned and organised the attack on the outspoken columnist. Kissoon had just emerged from Nigel’s Supermarket on Robb Street around 19:00 hours on May 24, 2010, and had already entered his vehicle when a man walked up to his vehicle and threw the substance on him. Mc Coy, Hinds, Abdullah and O’Kenie Fraser are also being questioned about the execution-style killing of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing, who was gunned down in Diamond New Scheme on March 10, 2015. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum again said that investigators “still had a lot of work to do” on the case.
Outgoing Chief Justice, (Ag) Ian Chang, declared in a ruling on Friday, that Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix and Junior Minister of Labour, Keith Scott, by virtue of their status as elected members of the National Assembly, cannot sit in Parliament as Technocrat Ministers. The PPP had objected to the appointment of Scott and Felix as Technocrat (expert or skilled in their field) Members of the National Assembly following the last year’s General and Regional Elections. The party, via a statement, had contended that “Articles 103 (3) and 105 of the Constitution and Laws pronouncing on the eligibility of appointment of Technocratic Ministers, do not confer Technocratic status on these persons already sworn in by President David Granger as Ministers”. The matter was filed by PPP member, Desmond Morian. Morian also questioned the appointment of APNU+AFC members Felix and Scott to Parliament as Technocrat Ministers. The application cited Articles 60, 103, 105, 160 and 232 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Chapter 1:01. He had contended that the names of the two Ministers were not extracted from the coalition’s list of candidates; hence they did not fit the criteria for the positions. Morian essentially sought a declaration from the court barring the two members of Government from sitting in the National Assembly as Technocrat Ministers. The applicant was represented by Attorney at Law, Anil Nandlall. Attorney General, with (AG) Basil Williams and Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland were the respondents. In the 15-page ruling, Chief Justice, (CJ) Chang outlined that the Court sees it fit to grant Morian the application on the basis that Felix and Scott are elected members of the National Assembly but despite that status, they do not hold seats and cannot sit in Parliament as Technocrat Ministers since their names were not extracted from the APNU /AFC list of successful candidates. Additionally, Chang granted a declaration that Article 105 of the Constitution has no application to elected members of the National Assembly that is, persons whose names were on the successful list of candidates. The CJ also noted that despite their appointment by President David Granger to be executive members of the Government, such an executive appointment does not entitle Felix and Scott to hold seats or sit as Technocrat Ministers. The applicant Morian and his Attorney Anil Nandlall were present at Friday’s hearing. Attorney Prithima Kissoon appeared on behalf of the Attorney General.
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Girl with facial deformity optimistic about her future By Feona Morrison Living in a world that is obsessed with your physical appearance, having any deformity is an everyday challenge. Everyone knows that today’s society is very image-conscious and there is pressure on one to look perfect. When Pamela Tulshi was pregnant with her second daughter she was overwhelmed with joy. However, the mother was taken aback by the appearance of her newborn after giving birth. Her little bundle of joy had a deformed right side face. The infant had no right ear. That baby was named Shivanie Naryan. She is now 19 years old and is still living with that birth defect. Her mother has grown to accept and love her child that way.
Shivanie Naryan, as these photos bear out, still requires corrective surgeries The young woman who hails from Grove, East Bank Demerara, is like any other girl her age. She laughs and
makes jokes. But unlike other girls she’s had a much more difficult life. Whilst growing up, she
always isolated herself from others and didn’t have many friends. Believe it or not, Shivanie cannot even recall playing ‘dolly house’. But despite the fact that she didn’t look like others, this young woman was determined to go to school. She attended the Grove Primary and later gained a spot at Covent Garden Secondary after sitting the Secondary School Entrance Examinations. According to her, she was forced to remain at home on numerous occasions because pain was her constant distraction. So intense were the pains that they sent shockwaves through her body. Shivanie recalled that these pains usually affected her concentration during classes and she had no other alternative but to rest her head on a desk to ease the discomfort. “Like when this thing (pain) start up nobody can’t talk…nobody can’t touch me…” No amount of pain killers made her nightmare disappear. Desperate to put a stop to her daughter ’s everyday agony, the mother took her
child to see a doctor. However, she was told that no medication could be prescribed for her child. Nevertheless, she completed High School and still stresses over the fact that she was unable to take part in work studies. Shivanie, who has never been employed, hopes to one day become a trained teacher. BEHIND THE HAIR Having a facial disfigurement can sometimes be a painful psychological problem for those affected. Shivanie is selfconscious about her appearance. She uses her long, silky, black hair to hide that part of her face, particularly when leaving her home. This, she said, was done in an effort to prevent curious stares, strange looks and hurtful remarks from others. Shivanie recalled that one day during high school she was summoned by a teacher over her prohibited hairstyle. A bit hesitant to disclose her reason for disobeying the school rules she eventually explained to the teacher that her face did not look like
every other child. Her mother later visited the school and held discussions with the teacher. Shivanie was given permission to continue wearing her hair that way. She anticipates the day when she will have a normal life and be able to go about without having people gazing at her. Her mother disclosed that she was told by doctors that her daughter would need to undergo three steps of surgery to fix her abnormality. She would also need reconstructive surgery on her right ear. PLASTIC SURGERY In February 2014, Shivanie and her mother traveled to New Delhi, India, for her first plastic surgery. The cost of the operation was funded by a charitable organization. The surgery was a success and they spent one month in the foreign land. Operations lasted for eight hours, but recovery was the hardest part. Shivanie related that after the surgery she felt very drowsy and was unable to do anything without assistance. But her mother was always by her bedside to answer to her daughter’s every call. Tulshi stated that her daughter’s entire body was swollen and discoloured after the operation. The mother said that it was very hurtful to see her child that way and she looks forward to the day when all surgeries will be complete. For now, Pamela Tulshi will continue to teach her daughter to be confident in herself and show her how beautiful and special she is. She is also requesting assistance from the public with funding her daughter’s remaining surgeries. Persons desirous of making contribution can contact Tulshi on (592) 2663191 or 666-9972
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The deadly side... (From page 38) so to speak, but in how to create the wheel,” says Rudy, brimming with an ambitious plan for the next generation. But sometimes riches cannot wash away the pain of losing a loved one, as he later discovers. On the surface there is a happy ending to this irrepressible tale. But ironically, in a world searching for meaning, the only winners are Blackie and Moonsammy – victims of skewed pride and racial prejudice. Their end, though, is not as regrettable as it seems. There is a redemptive, inexorable lesson in their calamitous existence – an admonition as old as time. But we never learn. Admittedly,
Cumberbatch’s work does not bask in darkness, but the promise that life offers is devoured by the wretchedness we create. The tragedy of Moonsammy and Blackie is an albatross, a lingering stain on a community and nation. To his credit, Cumberbatch succeeds in delivering this profoundly philosophical message. Feedback: glenvilleashby @gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby The Killing of Girlie Moonsammy by Albert R. Cumberbatch, PhD © 2015 Publisher: Xlibris ISBN: 978-1-5035-3355-4 Available at Amazon Rating: Recommended
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That ongoing transformation task at...
From page 25 responsibility. Professor Harris, in responding to a question I posed to him, said that it is his expectation that within four weeks of the conclusion of the Task Force’s deliberation, the University will be able to capture some of the recommendations with a view of designing a broad framework. “A bigger framework, for instance, takes on the question of governance...the whole question of how the University is governed, how the Council is constituted, how the administration of the University itself is structured,” will be part of the focus of the transformation, he pointed out. “What we want is a broad framework out of this brainstorming exercise and so on, and a report that is not too long and not too complex; that serves as a call to action by the society,” Professor Harris asserted. But a main focus of the transformation will certainly have to be financing. The
struggle is definitely real when it comes to financing and our national university. Without financing, many of the recommendations that were thoughtfully derived will remain useless if they are not implemented. Therein lies the challenge that has denied the implementation of recommendations in the past. In fact, the issue of finance or the lack thereof has too often led to many challenges faced by the University. “How does one raise sufficient resources to do all that we want to do? Now that is a question that will probably take a small group under the aegis of Council (to be addressed), with representatives from the private sector, representatives from other areas, maybe the developmental agencies and some other agencies, graduates maybe...” considered Professor Harris, who seems keen on getting the implementation of recommendations right this time. He is optimistic that the
(From page 42) of the most horrific and enduring images of World War Two. On that day, British and American planes pounded the metropolis, reducing it to the kind of rubble reminiscent of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and killed maybe as many as 135,000 people. To me it was one of the bluntest definitions of overkill, as the conflict was drawing to a close and, in the eyes of many war experts, little, if anything was accomplished strategically. Next, who amongst us are so cynical as to forget the romance and the flair of Saint Valentine’s Day, despite its now ridiculous commercial exploitation; and despite the February 14th 1929 Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago in which five of Al Capone’s mobsters gunned down seven of his rival, Bugs Moran’s gang? Maybe Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, had they been alive 80 years after they had published their ‘Communist manifesto’ on February 26, 1848, with its searing commentaries on materialism and capitalism. Finally, on February 1st 2003, on the tiny island of Rum Cay in The Bahamas, my fam-
ily and I watched the muchanticipated, televised return of the space shuttle Columbia from outer space. At around 9 o’clock, excitement turned to shock and disbelief as we watched the barely recognizable streak that was the shuttle, zoom into Earth’s atmosphere and break into smaller streaks falling away from the main craft. Instinctively I knew what was happening. Like the Challenger disaster 17 years before, the shuttle had disintegrated. Seven astronauts died. Poor star-struck February! But just to big up the bewitching month a bit more, let me say that I, two of my sons and my brand new grandson, along with Washington, Lincoln, and Burnham, share this intriguing birth-month with a few literary, scientific, political, and sports giants - Charles Dickens, James Joyce, and H.W. Longfellow, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus, Ronald Reagan and Rosa Parks, W.E.B Dubois and Bob Marley; and even ‘royalty’– The Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, His Airness, Michael Jordan, and soccer ‘King’ Cristiano Ronaldo – not the worst company I guess.
Fanciful...
small group, to which he alluded, will be able to “go forward now and work on crafting some plan to access some of the resources we need.” And it is certainly
expected that Government will seize the opportunity to get its national university to the place it needs to be. The process has however started on the right track, as
the official appointment of the Task Force was recently endorsed by Government, by way of the presence of the purse handler of the nation, Minister of Finance, Mr.
Winston Jordan. It is however left to be seen what happens in the coming months as it relates to the ambitious transformation of the University of Guyana.
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Kesha ‘Must Stay In Contract’
DESPITE RAPE CLAIM
(news.sky.com) Pop star Kesha has failed to be freed from a contract with a record producer she accuses of raping her 10 years ago. The singer, famous for hits like Tik Tok, Timber, and Die Young, claims Dr Luke, whose real name is Luke Gottwald, forced her to “take drugs and alcohol in order to take advantage of her sexually while she was intoxicated”. Kesha made the claims in a civil suit filed in Los Angeles demanding damages and to escape the contracts she has with Dr Luke, with whom she has been contractually tied since she was 18. Dr Luke, who has worked on a string of hits by the likes of Britney Spears and Katy Perry, denies sexually assaulting Kesha and says the allegations have been made up by the singer purely because she wanted to get out of the contract.
“All of their horrific allegations of abuse, threats and other purported misconduct by me against Kesha are completely untrue and deeply hurtful,” he said in a sworn statement in December last. Lawyers for Dr Luke and Sony Music Entertainment - his partner in Kesha’s record label, Kemosabe Records - say she is violating a five-album agreement by not recording. They say she doesn’t have to work with him personally, though he has rights to produce at least six songs on each of her albums and could pursue damages if he doesn’t. Kesha watched in tears as Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich handed down the ruling before hugging some of the scores of fans gathered to support her as she left court.
Kylie Minogue Announces Engagement To British Star (news.sky.com) Kylie Minogue has announced her engagement to a British actor in The Daily Telegraph. The Australian singer, 47, revealed she is tying the knot with Joshua Sasse, 28, in the forthcoming marriages section of Saturday’s newspaper. It has been a whirlwind romance for the couple, as they began dating about six months ago. They appeared to let the cat out of the bag while attending a party after the NME Awards on Thursday night - with Minogue wearing a dazzling diamond on her wedding ring finger. During an appearance on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in December, the former actress said she had “a love in my life, which is just a beautiful thing” - adding it would be “incredible” if she and her husband-to-be were to start a family. Sasse is best known for playing the titular character in Galavant, a US TV comedy series. They are the latest couple to rely on the old school method of declaring their upcoming marriage.
Back in November 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter - both British actors - discreetly announced their engagement in The Times. The comedian David Mitchell and writer Victoria Coren also chose the formal
approach when they became engaged in March 2012. In both cases, it didn’t take long before avid readers made the celebrity connection and used the modern medium of Twitter to offer their congratulations.
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MMA/ADA irrigation woes improved through water rationing WHAT IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF TOOTH LOSS IN ADULTS? By Dr. NerominiFagu If I were to ask you what do you think is the number one cause of tooth loss in adults, what would you say? Dental Caries/Tooth decay? You might be surprised by the answer - according to the American Dental Association the number one cause of tooth loss is adults is due to GUM DISEASE. Gum disease, also called periodontal disease, is an infection of the supporting structures of the teeth which include the gum, the bone and the ligaments which attach the tooth to the socket. Three out of four persons will experience some form of gum disease in their lifetime and the disease can affect anyone at any age. The early stage of gum disease is called gingivitis and this condition can be reversed without any long lasting effects on the supporting structures. However, if gingivitis is not treated it can worsen to a condition called periodontitis. Periodontitis cannot be reversed and any loss in supporting structures cannot be replaced by the body. Our mouths are filled with over five hundred different kinds of bacteria, some good and some bad. The bacteria along with particles of food form a thin film on our teeth called plaque. Plaque normally forms within ten minutes of eating, and it can be removed by proper brushing and flossing. However, if plaque is not properly removed it hardens into tartar (also called calculus) and this hardening process can begin in as little as four hours. Tartar cannot be removed by brushing and so you would need to go to your
dentist to remove it. Untreated tartar will cause gum disease mainly because the bacteria in plaque and tartar produce toxins that damage the supporting structures of the teeth. Gum disease may progress painlesslyand some of the warning signs and symptoms are: •Gums that bleed during and after tooth brushing •Red, swollen, or tender gums •Persistent bad breath or bad taste in the mouth •Build up between the teeth and gumline that may appear yellow, brown or black in colour •Receding gums •Formation of deep pockets between teeth and gums •Loose or shifting teeth •Changes in the way teeth fit together upon biting down, or in the fit of partial dentures. But, even if you don’t notice any symptoms, you may still have some degree of gum disease. Only a qualified dental professional can recognize and determine the progression of gum disease. Plaque is the main cause of gum disease but other factors can also contribute to the condition and include: • Hormonal changes such as those occurring during pregnancy, puberty, menopause, and monthly menstruation make gums more sensitive, which makes it easier for gingivitis to develop. • Systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritisinterfere with the body’s inflammatory system and may worsen the condition of the gums. •Medications including some of the steroids, antiepilepsy drugs, cancer therapy drugs, calcium
Dr. Neromini Fagu channel blockers and oral contraceptives can affect dental health. Certain drugs decrease the flow of saliva, which has a negative effect on teeth and gums. Some anticonvulsant medications and some antiangina drugs can cause abnormal growth of gum tissue. • Smoking/Tobacco use makes it harder for gum tissue to repair itself. • Poor oral hygiene habits such as not brushing and flossing on a daily basis make it easier for gum disease to develop. • Clenching or grinding your teeth can put excess force on the supporting tissues of the teeth and could speed up the rate at which those tissues are destroyed. • Family history of dental disease can sometimescontribute to the development of gum disease. Gum disease not only affects your dental health but also your overall health. It is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and lung disease. Research has suggested that the relationship between diabetes and gum disease goes both ways, and so it may make it more difficult for people who have diabetes to control their blood sugar. Gum disease also increases the risk of women giving birth to a premature or low birth weight babies.We will continue our discussion in the following weeks with the types of gum disease and treatment. For more information contact OMNI DENTAL at 295 Quamina Street, Georgetown Tel: 227-0025, Parika Tel: 260-3133 or send emails to nerominifagu@hotmail.com.
AG meets Essequibo residents From page 10 touched on the issue of how contracts are been awarded. The Attorney General was informed that one particular Essequibo contractor who was given large numbers of contracts in the previous regime is been given the same number of contracts, amazingly, under this new coalition government.
In his defence, Accounting Officer, Rupert Hopkinson, said that the tender process is transparent and the issue of sole sourcing is no longer operating in the Region. No one can influence how contracts are awarded.” Minister Basil Williams reminded Essequibians
about the importance and benefits of Local Government Elections which are slated for March 18. Williams said that Local Government Elections are an indispensable adjunct to give everyone a “good life.” Williams later met with residents of Dartmouth Village. (Yannason Duncan)
General Manager of the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/ Agriculture Development Association (MMA/ADA), Aubrey Charles, has said that the imbroglio between rice farmers and the association has been resolved though water rationing. According to Charles, yesterday, farmers have generally been adhering to the Association’s efforts, with farmers who once complained of not getting water now getting sufficient supply. He stated that everyone was prohibited from pumping water for three days at one point. He also stated that the three-day halt enjoyed such popular support that there was an extension by two days. In regards to the vandalism and dam cutting that had been prevalent in the area for weeks, Charles stated that this has almost been eradicated, save for some isolated incidents. Charles also noted that there have been losses among the farmers, though he could not give the exact figures for the amount of rice that was lost. Late last month, the rice farmers closest to the Mahaica river, in a bid to get increased water supply to their fields, had reportedly used excavators to block the main irrigation canals and also diverted the water to their fields. When asked to move their equipment, it is stated that farmers justified their actions because of potential losses owing to the dry weather patterns of El Niño. A team of officials visited the scene of the standoff on Saturday and instructed the farmers to remove the excavators. However, this order was reportedly ignored.
MMA/ADA General Manager, Aubrey Charles
Farmers have had to use irrigation pumps with very little effect, forcing the intervention of the MMA/ ADA and the National Drainage and Irrigation Board. The MMA as well as the National Drainage and
Irrigation Association (NDIA) have been monitoring the situation. It is understood that pumps have been working round the clock. Workers have also been testing the salt content of the water in the irrigation canals.
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GFC treatment of local loggers ... From page 15 that Minister Trotman had no hesitation in deciding on FPA’s return when the idea was raised with him. The proposal for a return to GFC board had before the previous government prior to the May 11th elections but found no favor, the body claimed. FPA also lauded new GFC’s chairpersons, Jocelynne Dow, who has committed to addressing the current issues facing the forestry sector. “The FPA would like to recognize her fairness and openness in dealing with this sector and wishes her success.” FPA, in calling for its members to become more vocal, challenged them to come up with solutions to
make the sector an attractive one, once again for small investors. “This was one huge area that is lacking in the Guyana Forestry Commission. The budget and work plan of the commission are currently being reviewed by the association which will soon be making its recommendations to the board.” FPA also said yesterday that that while Guyana is pushing a green economy, its members continue to face the burden of stifling rules and regulations from GFC with little to show. “The forestry sector has no benefit from the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) funds.” Committing itself to work with the government in
finding new markets and bring changes. “We would like to explore new markets not only India and China. Africa needs lots of our Guyanese woods and we would recommend that we reached out as far as we can to take this sector forward.” FPA made it clear that the current GFC administration “still needs cleaning up” because “once you are part of the problem then you can’t find a solution. We would like this “iron fist” and “big foot” method discontinued. Because a new dawn has come where we have to put people first and personal matters and benefit last.” The troubles of the forestry sector reared their head once again over a week ago when Minister Trotman told the National Assembly,
during the 2016 budget debate, that all of Guyana’s productive forests are gone. He described it as a slap in the face of Guyanese. However, Opposition Leader and ex-president, Bharrat Jagdeo, under whose watch a number of questionable forest concessions were granted, denied this was so. He claimed that only 55 percent of the forests have been allocated. However, records of GFC
among other details, painted a different picture of a sector where the productive forest was grabbed up, by even government officials. Large concessions have been granted to Chinese and Indian investors who have failed to establish valueadded processing despite commitments. There are indications that hundreds of containers of logs have left the country in the last decade, despite a periodical raising of taxes and
royalties. Guyana would be extremely concerned over complaints about the management of the sector especially as a new deal is in the making with Norway to reduce deforestation. The last deal, hailed as an historic one, was for US$250M once Guyana meets certain targets. The country was reportedly penalized a chunk of that money for failing to meet some targets.
Three remanded to prison for robbery Three young men were remanded to prison on Friday when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer a charge of robbery. Kurt Nelson, 21, of 195 La Penitence; Ken Belle 22, of Wismar, Linden; and Ronaldo Johnson, 21, also of Linden; stood before the court to answer to the charge which stated that on
Wednesday February 16, at Bayroc Ball field, the three accused robbed Oswald Mc Allister, of Melanie Damishana, of a cell phone, one measuring tape, one spirit level and $10,000 in cash while armed with a cutlass. It was also alleged that on February 10, Ken Belle, had in his possession one Blackberry and one Coral phone, both thought to be unlawfully obtained.
There was objection to bail due to the gravity of the offence and the Magistrate remanded the three defendants to prison. The matter was transferred to the Linden M a g i s t r a t e ’s C o u r t f o r March 9. The Commander of E Division would like to thank all those who assisted in capturing the defendants.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Dr. Shiwnandand celebrates 21 years at Herstelling AOG Herstelling AOG building
Dr. Michelle Shiwnandand and Rev. Dr. Ravindra Shiwnandand By Feona Morrison Today marks 21 years since Dr.Ravindra Shiwnandand became leader of the Herstelling Assemblies of God (AOG). The church located at 350-351 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara, now has over 200 members. In observance of this milestone, Reverend Pastor Dr. Shiwnandand told Kaieteur News that his
church has organized a series of activities. Last Saturday, the church held its Suicide Walk. Dr. Shiwnandand highlighted that Guyana’s high suicide rate his alarming and saw the need to raise awareness. He said that suicide affects persons of all religious backgrounds and race. He added that his church has outlined a number of strategies to assist youths
with feeling wanted and to let them know how precious it is to be alive. The religious body has over the years served the community of Herstelling and its environs not only spiritually but socially and economically through its various ministries. MEDICAL MISSION This arm of the Church was founded in 1996 by Dr. Shiwnandand and his wife Dr.
Michelle Shiwnandand. It aims at providing holistic care to needy communities in Guyana. However, its main focus is medical evangelism. The church strongly believes that Jesus’s main work on earth included teaching and healing. Herstelling AOG undertakes all medical missions by organizing teams of volunteers, ministers, health professionals and
Palm Court contributes to Durban Park Project
Palm Court has always been a staunch supporter of Guyana’s development. And with this in mind, it recently expressed its support for the development of the Durban Park Project in a tangible way through a handsome monetary donation. Those present at the simple handing over ceremony
included, (from left) BK International Chief Executive Officer Mr. Brian Tiwarie; Palm Court’s Assistant Manager/Events & Marketing Manager Ms. Sasha Lewis; Palm Court’s Managing Director, Mr. Ravin Prashad, Mr. Larry London, Mr Bobby Vieira and Palm Court’s Managing Director Mr. Navin Prashad.
paraprofessionals to targeted areas to expand evangelism and health awareness. The Church hopes to one day develop partnerships with other churches and parachurch organizations. Establishing clinics and urgent care centres in small remote villages to enhance preventative care and treat illnesses and injuries is also another one of the church’s goals. The religious body is also optimistic about training young people to become Community Health Evangelists. Every year, the Church carries out two mission trips to remote areas. Over the past five years, more than 3000 persons have benefited from outreaches at Kaneville, East Bank Demerara; Pomeroon River Villages, Yarowkabra, Santa Mission and other rural areas. Sunday school training, youth seminars and open air meetings were also part of the medical missions. TRAINING FOR DISADVANTAGED YOUTHS Herstelling AOG identified that there were a high number of School dropouts in the community of Herstelling. Other problems detected among the young population were u n e m p l o y m e n t ; hopelessness; low family income; low literacy level and self-esteem; teenage pregnancy among others. In 2008, the church embarked on a Community Bridge Evangelism Project that targeted youths through skill development. With assistance from the European Union (EU), Governments agencies, local churches and communities many young people were afforded training in Information Technology; Office Procedure; radio and television repairs; cookery;
cosmetology; welding and joinery; floral decoration and entrepreneurship. All courses are free, and students receive a certificate upon completion. Many graduates have gone on to either open their own small business or gain employment in both Public and Private Sector. CHURCH PLANTING Church Planting is a process that results in a new church being established. For a local church to be planted, it must eventually have a separate life of its own and be able to function independently under the umbrella of its parent church and wider denomination. In accordance with Matthew 28:18-20, Herstelling AOG Global Outreach Center is committed to the New Testament philosophy of indigenous church planting through soul-winning, discipleship, Bible study, and the organization of churches that govern, support, and reproduce themselves. The Herstelling AOG has thus far established a number of outstations and operation throughout the country. These include Operation Diamond, Operation Baramita Region One, Hutsonville Outstation and Yarowkabra Outstation. EARLYPREGNANCY ADVISORY SERVICES Early Pregnancy Advice Services (EPAS) was co founded by Dr. Ravindra Shivnandand and Dr. Clarence Charles in 1995. The mission of the EPAS is to join forces with likeminded persons and groups to multiply Christcentered, life giving ministries wherever abortions exists or the sanctity of human life is diminished. EPAS counsels mothers with unwanted pregnancies with the aim at preventing abortions.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Former AG calls for official release of Walter Rodney report Days after the final report was handed in, Opposition member and former Attorney at law, Anil Nandlall, has called on members of the government to rise above partisan politics and officially make the findings of the report into the death of Dr Walter Rodney public. Rodney, historian and founder of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), was killed more than 34 years ago after a bomb exploded in a car in which he was an occupant. He was 38 years old at the time. Following the explosion it was widely believed that he had been assassinated by way of a set-up by then President Linden Forbes Burnham. No one paid any attention to the words of his brother, Donald, “There has been an accident.” In 2014, a Commission of Inquiry, (COI) into the death of Dr Rodney was set up by former President Donald Ramotar. The former Head of State had appointed prominent Barbadian Attorney Sir Richard Cheltenham of Barbados, Queens Counsel from Jamaica Jacqueline Samuels, and Senior Counsel Seenath Jairam of Trinidad and Tobago to oversee the public hearings. After two years of public hearings, a number of hindrances and delays, the finding of the report was finally completed and dropped off at Attorney General, Basil Williams’s chambers last week. According to the reports on the Commission of Inquiry, the team of international jurists found that Dr Rodney was in fact a victim of State organized killing. In the 155-page report the Commissioners outlined that the prime suspect, Gregory
Dr. Walter Rodney Smith was not acting alone but had the active and full support, participation, encouragement and or was aided by members of the disciplinary forces and the Political powers of the day to kill Dr. Rodney. It was reported that Smith planted the bomb in a walkietalkie that blew up on Rodney’s pelvic region while he was on John Street, Werken-Rust, between Hadfield and Bent Streets, less than 100 metres from the Camp Street Prison. His brother, Donald Rodney, who suffered injuries during the explosion, alleged that a former GDF electronics expert, Sergeant Gregory Smith, had given the politician the bomb that killed him. Smith died of cancer in French Guiana where he had gone to live, after he had fled Guyana. The document released last week further detailed that Dr Rodney could have only been killed in a State organized assignation since Guyana at the time was a controlled society and that then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham had detailed knowledge of whatever was being done by
the State and its agencies. Burnham was founder and leader of the then People‘s National Congress (PNC) Government, a party which is a large component of the current APNU/ AFC Coalition government. Members of Rodney’s political group (WPA) also make up the Coalition Government. The Coalition Government had promised to release the finding of the COI to the public but to date has not done so. However, given his role in establishing the Commission, former Attorney General, (AG) Anil Nandlall has joined voices of the Opposition including the former President in appealing to President David Granger to officially make the findings of the report public. Nandlall also called on Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo to have the finding laid over in the Parliament. The former Attorney General said that the finding should be made public since the Commission was a publicly funded one. “It was open to members of the public and had live streaming,” Nandlall stated in an invited comment. He held that given that the nation is celebrating in its jubilee and celebrating its 50th Independence Anniversary, it would be a good way to respect the contribution and legacy of a great Guyanese. “This nation is enjoying many things which we did not enjoy as a colony. Dr Rodney is one of the persons who made significant contributions to Guyana‘s independence and many of the things which we enjoy. “He fought for democracy, struggled for national unity and worked
Former Attorney at law, Anil Nandlall tirelessly to secure constitutional rights and freedom for Guyanese from every walk of life. And for that he paid the ultimate price,” Nandlall added. The attorney noted the COI was promised decades ago. He asserted that “Guyanese as well as people who admired Rodney in Africa, Europe, North America and around the Caribbean had called for a COI into the death of Dr Rodney for years.” Now that this finally happened, the PPP/C Member of Parliament noted that the ultimate injustice will be done to those persons if the report is not officially made public. Political and social activist Dr David Hinds welcomed the findings of the COI. “Although I had misgivings about the motives of the PPP for setting up the commission, once it started I fully supported it. “We have been vindicated. Walter Rodney lives anew. And Guyana gets a chance to re-examine its politics.” He opined that Rodney was not the first victim of the
State—his comrades Ohene Koama and Edward Dublin and the Catholic priest, Fr Bernard Darke had met a similar fate in the preceding year— but he was the best known. “Murder by the state had become part of our political veins.” However, Dr Hinds pointed out that there are some lessons to be learned from the findings of the Commission. “First, these findings are an indictment of our State. Some government officials have trivialized the act and in the process diminished Rodney in the eyes of many Guyanese. “ “The State in such circumstances became a tool of repression of dissent. It is a flaw that begs to be corrected.” Dr. Hinds said that Guyana declined after Rodney’s assassination largely because in the Rodney case society (high
and low) justified the brutal acts of the State in defence of the Party and the Leader. “And in so doing we left in place the brutal State that would eventually devour Courtney Crum-Ewing, Ronald Waddell, the Linden Martyrs, the over 400 Black men and tried to devour Freddie Kissoon. What Rodney and all these recent martyrs have in common is that they have been victims of State Violence.” “We are being hypocritical if we cry for Justice for Waddell, Crum Ewing, the Linden Martyrs and the victims of the Phantoms but try to justify Walter Rodney’s murder,” he said. The WPA, Dr Hinds surmised, should not use the findings of the Commission to ridicule those to whom the accusatory finger is pointed. And the PPP should get off its so-called high-horse, for it too presided over political assassinations.
Canada’s benefits derive... (From page 17) disrupted. However, the civil service enjoys continuity. Canadian High Commissioner, Pierre Giroux, then noted that Canada has one of the strongest civil services in the world. He boasted that it is fully non-partisan. He said this does well for continued development. Giroux explained that there is a Clerk that represents the civil service. That Clerk actually counsels the transition from Government to Government. That transition process, Giroux said, has been established for over 100 years now and has been working quite well. Through this process, the new government is informed of what is in place so there is an option to continue or change, said Giroux. Mendes said that the government is also informed about the consequences of change too “because obviously you may promise 10,000 things during campaign that was contrary to what the then government had been doing. “But the Civil Service may say you promise this but if you do, it is going to provoke this, that and the other thing.” Mendes said, too, that one of the things that Canada did very well post Second World War was to professionalize the civil service. It has been for decades, and remains, one of the best civil services in the world. The politician said that there was never a case post second world war where a new government had to do mass firings. “There is absolutely no cause for that, and they (the workers) are all unionized.” Mendes also pointed out that there are people with in-
stitutional memory who know how to oversee continuity, “so we do not have to start from scratch every time there is a new government.” The government of Guyana recently partnered with the Government of Canada to implement the Caribbean Leadership Project, which will see Permanent Secretaries and senior managers of Government ministries and agencies trained in the areas of service delivery, leadership, administration transitions and team building. The $20M project provides training only for top level managers. However, the Public Service Staff College will be equipped to train new entrants into the Public Service, while special programmes will be crafted to train those who serve in middle management. Giroux, said that the project, which is a seven-year programme in the Caribbean funded by his Government, is aimed at training and enabling public and civil servants to deliver a high standard of service. “We have had a regional programme for the past four years. The purpose is to train public and civil servants in the Caribbean and it is delivered through the Cave Hill School of Business. We hope that this will help Guyana to develop its public service, which is important to any democracy,” he said. Upon entering office, the APNU+AFC government has fired quite a lot of public servants. The new Government had highlighted the public service for overhaul, noting growing complaints of inefficiency, poor quality services and poorly paid workers.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
STANDARDS IN FOCUS UNDERSTANDING THE METRIC SYSTEM - USING THE UNITS OF MASS The Metric System, which is the legal system of measurement in Guyana, conforms to the Standard International (SI) units including the kilogram that is used to measure mass. This system is simple to learn and easy to use because of its decimal nature. Today, almost all the countries in the world use the metric system, especially in scientific research, manufacturing and exports. Only a few countries still use the imperial system of measurement or a combination of both measuring systems. In Guyana, most of the sectors have fully adopted the use of the metric system, even though there continues to be a wrestle between the two systems in the retail sector. Over the years, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has worked to educate vendors and shopkeepers to use the metric system and monitor same to ensure only verified metric measuring instruments are used in trade. Let’s look at the metric units used for measuring mass commonly referred to as weight by retailers and consumers. The metric base unit for measuring mass is the Kilogram. When the Kilogram is divided by 1000 the result is one gram and when the Kilogram is multiplied by 1000 the result is 1 metric tonne. (Note the difference in spelling for tonne) The units of Mass (Weight) For everyday transactions especially in the conduct of commerce, there are four commonly used units namely, the milligram, gram, kilogram and tonne. Milligram (mg) - This unit is used for measuring very small amounts of substances for example, ingredi-
ents in medicines or drugs and some ingredients in recipes. It is the equivalent of 1 gram divided by 1000. Gram (g) - The gram is used for measuring intermediate amounts. For example, 100 grams of butter, 250 grams of cheese, 500 grams of peas, sugar, flour, etc. 28.35 grams is equivalent to one ounce. Kilogram (kg) - The Kilogram is used for measuring larger amounts. For example, one kilogram of potatoes, 10 kilogram of bananas, 25 kilogram of rice, etc. One kilogram is equivalent to two pounds, three ounces. Tonne (t) - This unit is used for measuring very large amounts, for example, truckloads of sand or stone, bulk sugar or rice. Remember! 1000 milligrams (mg) equal 1 gram (g) 1000 grams (g) equal 1 kilogram (kg) 1000 kilograms (kg) equal one tonne (t) Consumers, you are urged to start requesting solid goods such as rice, peas, onions and potatoes from shops and markets in grams and kilograms. These units should also be used to weigh solid hardware items such as nails, putty and glues that are sold by weight. These goods can be easily and accurately weighed on verified metric devices used in the market place. Wholesalers and retailers have a significant role to play by packaging and selling their solid goods in metric quantities. Advertise your goods and prepare and display pricelists in metric quantities. For further information please contact the GNBS on Tel: 219-0062, 219-0065, 219-0066, 219-0069
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GECOM reaffirms commitment to transparency in Local Gov’t Polls The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is ensuring that voting procedures for the Local Government Elections are observed and maintained in accordance to the Local Authorities Law. In a release on Wednesday, GECOM noted that members of the Commission recently met with representatives of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) who expressed concerns of transparency regarding the elections; more specifically, the Disciplined Forces Balloting which is scheduled for March 8, 2016. GECOM noted these concerns and assured the PPP and all other stakeholders contesting in the Local Government Elections that the systems employed to execute the success of the voting process is bounded by transparency and fairness. “As the institution responsible for managing the electoral process in Guyana, we understand and support all fundamentals of democracy and the constitutional rights of all stakeholders,” GECOM said in statement yesterday To ensure pellucidity for the upcoming Local Government Elections, GECOM has provided an outline of conduct and procedure. These are similar to those provided in the Manual for Polling Day Officials, posted on the GECOM website and in effect are definitive responses to the concerns raised at the aforementioned meeting. Polling Stations Polling Stations are managed by strict guidelines and modes of conduct. Personnel working there include Polling Agents, who are official representatives of Parties and Groups contesting the polls. They ensure that voting is conducted in accordance with the procedures outlined
in the Local Authorities Elections Act Cap 28:03. A Polling Agent must also witness the examination and sealing of the ballot box and the opening and closing of the poll. They are required to sign the Poll Book as a witness, sign the Statement of Poll as a witness and uplift a copy for his/her Political Party. They should also accompany the ballot box in the same vehicle, if space is available. The structure and operations therefore, do not prevent Poll Agents to act within the context of specified roles. Police presence at Polls A Police Officer is assigned to each Polling Station under the supervision of the Presiding Officer to provide security, to assist the Presiding Officer in maintaining order, to monitor and control the activities of the electors within the 200 yards limits. The Police Officer may be instructed by the Presiding Officer to stand at the end of the queue at 6:00 p.m., if necessary. The entire balloting process occurs within the Polling Station. Disciplined Services Balloting The respective Lists of Electors who are Members of the Disciplined Forces are currently being prepared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in collaboration with Senior Representatives from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Prison Service (GPS). A copy of this list will be issued to all stakeholders. The Ballots cast by members of the Disciplined Forces will be sorted according to respective Local Authorities and Constituencies to be dispatched to the respective Returning Officers for intermixing on Election Day — March 18, 2016.
The packing of Ballot Boxes to be dispatched to the Ballot Stations in each Municipality or Neighbourhood Democratic Council will be carried out under appropriate and adequate supervision of GECOM personnel and witnessed by Agents/Representatives of the contesting Political Parties/Voluntary Groups/Individual Candidates. All Ballot Boxes will be returned to GECOM after DDay voting Tuesday, March 8, 2016 and kept in the secured custody of the Chief Election Officer under guard by Members of the Guyana Police Force. The Ballots cast by members of the Disciplined Forces will be sorted by Local Authority and Constituency to be dispatched to the respective Returning Officers for intermixing on Election Day, which is, March 18, 2016. The Polling Stations identified for the intermixing of the Disciplined Forces ballots will be gazetted. The Ballots cast by Members of the Disciplined Forces will be distributed on Election Day, by the Returning Officers to the relevant Presiding Officers, to be intermixed and counted at the identified/gazetted Polling Stations. The respective Lists of Members of the Disciplined Forces will be scrutinized to determine the electors who had already voted on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. This is done in order to prevent those electors of the Disciplined Forces from voting again on E- Day.
Elector Without ID Card Some members in the Disciplined Forces, especially those deployed in the hinterland, are sometimes, for varied reasons, unable to be in possession of their identification cards on Elections Day. In these cases the following procedures are observed: states his/her name to Poll Clerk; Poll Clerk checks the Official List of Electors to ensure that the name appears; Poll Clerk enquires about elector’s National Identification Card; If elector states that he/she has not uplifted his/ her National Identification Card; The Poll Clerk will direct him/her to another section of the building or to a nearby building where he/she should retrieve his/her Identification Card. If elector states that he/ she is without or has misplaced his/her Identification Card for whatever reasons, he/ she is referred to the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer shall interview the elector in accordance with directions from the Commission, and after he/she is satisfied with the identity of the elector, he/she shall permit the elector to vote in the same manner as if his National identified card was produced. The elector must take an “Oath of Identity” which is administered by the Presiding Officer/Ballot Officer, as mandated by law. GECOM has folios of all these persons and their photos are contained therein.
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Kaieteur News
SERVICES
SALON
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
- Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals and Black Opal - Cosmetology Courses - Nail Technician Course Call: 647-1773/660-5257
Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Building Construction: house plans & estimates, floor sanding, lacquering & painting, boat for Santa Mission –Call: 650-4362 Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves – Contact Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158
WANTED 1 nurse to take care of elderly person for 1 hour. Call: 6623128 1 Security Guard at Eccles Industrial Site, with a valid police clearance. Call: 2332473 Salesgirls, porters and security guard. Apply with written application at Lot 1E Dennis & Middleton Street, Campbellville. Immediate cash for lands in Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, La Parfaite Harmonie, Uitvlugt, Zeelugt & East Coast – Call: 604-2207; 611-7223
Brian Moe @ 642-3543: Computer Technician: FB/ Brian.Moe.165: Home and Office visits at your comfort!! FOR SALE/FOR RENT American pool table – Call: Experienced pastry maker, cake decorator, counter 277-0578 servers, waiters, handy boy, Newly Built at Lenora 2 pleasant personality, apply Storey 3 bedrooms, 2 toilet @ Hack’s Halaal, 5 & Shower, double garage for Commerce St. sale or rent – Tel: 675-5998; Live in domestic to work in 268-2277 Mahaicony River : age 18-40, well paid- Call: 644-6905; 225-6571 1 Live in domestic must know to cook, 30-45yrs, salary $80,000 monthly. Call: 610-5043 PEN PAL
One live in domestic maid – Call: 675-5256/ 666-4153
Overseas man is looking for One welder for grill work- Call: a woman between ages 49- 625-5763 56yrs for serious 2 Live in waitresses to work in relationship. Interesting Bar – Call: 604-6606; 692-4649 woman call: 627-7339 1 Female domestic/cook (30Male seeking female (35- 45yrs) preferably from E.C.D & 52yrs) for relationship. Write: male to assist in snackette. Mr. Other Heskey: Mount (Reference & Police Clearance)92-96 Lord Street, Southport Call: 692-7698, 687-3640 PR8 1JR England Labourers for wood Indian overseas male is concession- Call: 652-1893 seeking female age 29yrs & from 8am-4pm older with good personality Sales assistant with Maths, –Call: 671-6591 (no texting) English & Computer knowledge , multi- task worker, apply @ Key Food Trading Mc Doom Village. Handy boys to work, live in accommodation and meals free. Call: 228-5655; 628-1756 TAXI SERVICES GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS)
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
Sunday February 21, 2016
PROPERTY FOR SALE
FOR RENT
Property for sale, Grove $20M / Rent: $50,000 per month. Tel: 625-5461.
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Transported property @ Tuschen Housing Scheme $7M negotiable. Call: 2641050; 683-7045/669-3553 Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities –Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 4 Bedrooms with washroom & bath @ 138 Uitvlugt, Ocean View, W.C.D -$7.5M – Call: 664-9998; 609-0514 Lot 15 Good Hope, West Coast Demerara – Call: 6906840 Sisher Real Estate- Tel: 6526565; 670-7171; 231-4681: 1 Double lot for sale in Sophia$14M negotiable. Sisher Real Estate- Tel: 6526565; 670-7171; 231-4681: 1 House & land @ De Edwards Village Berbice -$7.5M negotiable. Located @ No.2 Canal Polder, house 3 yrs old & all house appliances, 5 ¾ rice land elsewhere. Call: 690-9331; 661-0374 Property at Lot 173 Diamond Housing Scheme, E.B.D- 5 bedrooms;2storey-Call:663-5560 Transported 2 storey; 5 bedrooms house at East La Penitence –Call: 648-4420; 662-6173 Joint Venture- commercially developed City Park/ excellent facility with swimming pool, snackette. Call: 602-1473; 680-0405 Lot 67 First Street Garden of Eden E.B.D – 7 (seven) acres of land with two buildings. Call: 639-8376 Is your property worth $5M $20M? Are you selling? Owe the Bank? No problem. Call: 604-2207; 611-7223 Property @ Lot 87 Albert Street- Call: 669- 8701
MASSAGE Happy Touch Day Spa: Come & Experienced heavens touch, visit us today! –Call: 690-6079
EDUCATIONAL Music 2016!! Register – learn to play musical instruments and train your voice-Call: 225-1151/ 678-9489
Vreed-en-Hope Junction: Lessons place, office, storage bond, church -$20,000$25,000-Call: 603-6400 Business place: ideal for salon, printery or any other type of business. Call James: 609-3426 3 Bedrooms house (furnished) @ Windsor Estates E.B.D with 24hr security- $USD2, 000 negotiable. Call: 600-2031 3 Bedrooms apartment (furnished), Foreshaw Street, Queenstown-$200,000 negotiable-Call: 600-2031 3 Bedrooms apartment (furnished) @ Bougainvillea Park, Farm, E.B.D -$120,000 negotiable- Call: 600-2031 Renovated: PVC Ceiling & tile floor; one bedroom, semifurnished @ 25 Craig Street & Delph Ave, C/Ville- $50,000. Call: 223-1332
VACANCY Local & International e m p l o y m e n t : www.jobfairworldwide.com. Call: 233-6517/622-1957/6380595 between the hours of 9am-5pm Mon –Sat. Skilled welder & machinist (limited supervision), apprentice, male & female cleaner. Apply @ Technical Services; 18-23 Eccles Industrial Site. Cook/baker for the Interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 Senior Experienced bond clerk around ages of 35- apply @ Alabama Trading with application, Georgetown Ferry Stelling.
Salesgirl; apply @ D. Singh & Son’s- Call: 226-1316 1 Driver- apply @ Technical Service, 18-23Industrial Site Eccles.
Lodge apartments (Vlisssengen/Durban): unfurnished $40,000-$90,000 monthly, furnished (for visitors) USD$600USD$1,000 monthly- Call: 677-9638
1 Massage therapist, 1 pedicurist for new spa-Call: 696-7337 for details
Enmore Public Road: office space/2 bedrooms apartment, ideal for Doctors with AC & fully grilled. Call: 270-6260 House in Bel-Air Park: 3 bedrooms upstairs/ downstairs, all modern conveniences - $1600US monthly-Call: 231-7839 during working hours
Yamaha 40 HP, good working condition @ Meten-MeerZorg. Tel: 672-2578, Boy Blue Three storey building upper flat with 12 offices near High Court (established business). Call: 691-8420; 227-1042 Cheap! Cheap! CCTV Security Surveillance Kit, 8 Channels DVR with built in Hard Drive, 8 bullet cameras – Tel: 621-4740; 686-3500
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Phone – Call: 698-3644 or 622Security to work at Coverden, 6272 apply in person at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Play station 4 system $90,000, XBOX one -$85,000, Stelling. XBOX 360 -$40,000, PS 3Male housekeeping Dept $35,000. Call: 621-7497; 603Supervisor, male security 8643; 649-3277 guard 30-45yrs, 233 South Snackette for sale – Call 638Road Lacytown. Call: 225- 1119 Mon-Sat (6PM) & 0198 Sundays (anytime)
2 Bedrooms apartment, upper flat, located at D5 Waller’s Delight W.C.D. Call: 662-0187
Lodge (Vlissengen/ Durban): Professional/Office/ Business space, (no food retailing). Call: 677-9638.
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
2 Perkins 4 Cylinder 85-90HP -$2.5M negotiable with hose in new gravel pump, accessories included. Call: 676-8623 Two 10 months old pure bred pit-bull male and female for sale. Call Lisa: 697-8867
Single & Bunk Beds; freezers, “Office Assistant Wanted” commercial stove, deep fryer, Computer Skills Required; microwave, excellent MS Word/Excel- condition. To inspect Call: Construction Industry 602-1473; 680-0405 Experience a Plus -Email: promiselanddevelop 40HP Yamaha, tyre machine, ment@gmail.com 40KVA generator, 4 KVA generator, air compressor Maid- apply at Giftland Office Call: 694-0535 Max Great Deals on video games Gardener- apply at Giftland & all gaming consoles. PC, Office Max phone games & applications. Delivery also – Call: 672-2566; 265-3231 1-40ft Keel Boat, 700lbs 5" seine, 3000lb ice box, 15 Yamaha Engine – ($1.6M) Call: 660-1825 Must sell! One three bedrooms wooden building structure, only with accessories including sliding doors & grills. Call: 227-4285; 609-9381
4 Bedrooms house in Bel-Air Gardens; all modern conveniences; no agents!Call: 231-7839 during working hours
TO LET Four storey business place located on Robb Street, next to Bourda Market- Call: 6237731; 629-0636
Executive 2 bedrooms apartment in exclusive Residential Area close to the Ogle Airport. Call for appointment: 653-2920
3000 Ford tractor, price: Fully furnished 1 bedroom, $460,000. Call: 622-3197 air-condition $90,000 monthly, $6,000 daily. Call: 668-0306; 2 0 0 6 N i s s a n B l u e b i r d , 694-7817; 218-1400 imported, newly registered, in excellent condition 1Bottom flat to rent – Call: $2.2M. Call: 613-1946 220-3353 VEHICLE FOR SALE One bedroom apartment Carsmart Auto Sale: Fielder bottom flat at Lot 9 Princes - $ 2 , 0 9 5 , 0 0 0 ; I S TStreet, Wortmanville- Call: $ 2 , 0 9 5 , 0 0 0 , A u d i A 4 626-0651; 225-1127; 611-9070 $3,895,000; BMW 318i One bedroom self contained $2,795,000- Call: 615-3075; apartment, E.B.D. Call: 693- 639-4295; 650-0402 1480 Continued on page 71
Spacious 2 bedrooms house @ Triumph, inside toilet & bath, preferably working couple -$50,000 negotiable. Call: 615-4178 VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Ipsum, fully loaded, music system – 5,800 watt, 7 seater, excellent condition – Call: 653-1003
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 71
Renowned Worldfolio highlights:
Guyana is open for business! The Guyana Government has issued a pellucid message to residents of the United States, “This Englishspeaking South American nation, ideally located and suited to investors, is open for business!” Worldfolio: World News, a globally renowned content provider, recently published an interview titled ‘Fresh approach to Governance, Resource-rich Guyana ushers in new investment incentive push’, with Guyana’s Finance Minister, Winston Jordan. In that interview, his message was unequivocal. Worldfolio said, “Guyana is facing a historical year and its people have elected a new government after a 23-year grip on power by the PPP.” It said the Government is moving away from traditional industries and is initiating a programme of diversification and value-added. Minister Jordan, asked how he would like Americans to perceive Guyana, responded, “What I want Americans to know is that Guyana is open for business.” The Minister said that he wants Americans to get the impression that the new APNU-AFC Government is a friendlier one that is a friend of the United States and all peace-loving people of the world. “I would like to encourage all American investors, non-investors, whether they are coming for tourism and so on to come see what they have been missing,” he urged. The interview with Jordan also appeared in US Today. The Finance Minister was asked to highlight some of the opportunities for Americans in the country. Dubbing Guyana a ‘mini
United States’, he explained that this nation has almost every resource that one can think about, “Be it oil, bauxite, manganese, rare earth metals, gold, diamond, extensive forest, rich agricultural land, or warm people who speak English as their first language.” Apart from Guyana being bestowed with numerous natural resources, another factor in its favour is that it is critically linked to other countries. “… We might be small relative to most of the other countries in South America, but we are an important bridge between the Caribbean and South America. “Add to that our historical links to North America, and we have a country that is ideally situated and suited for investors,” the Minister said. He said, “We welcome investment of all kinds to help us develop these resources, and ultimately, our country.” ATTRACTIVE SECTORS He identified sectors such as Information Communication Technology (ICT) eco-tourism, minerals, alternative energy and agriculture as some of the areas that investors can tap into. There is a wealth of land for agricultural purposes, and on which any type of exotic crop can be grown. Plantation agriculture could be done utilising crops such as oranges, corn, and soya bean, he explained. The mineral sector, Jordan said, holds an ‘abundance’ of opportunities, and while there is heightened interest in gold, diamonds and bauxite, other minerals could be exploited including manganese and rare earth metals. Speaking about the
country’s fiscal incentive regime, Jordan told the Worldfolio that it is highly competitive and attractive. Jordan admitted that the country’s infrastructure still needs to be upgraded and transformed, but this does not take away from what the country has to offer. In fact, he noted the country offers as compensation friendly people, non-hostile climate, and easy accessibility. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS The Worldfolio interviewer asked Minister Jordan about how Guyana can improve with regards ease of doing business, and in so doing raise the bar on international investors’ confidence. He acknowledged that the state of the country’s infrastructure, the level of bureaucracy and corruption and governance issues have affected the country’s image. He said that what is required is “another generation of reforms to modernise the financial sector, improve our laws relating to, for example, acquiring and transferring land investment promotion, thus trying to give the investors the confidence ….based purely on a transparent incentive investment legislative regime. “These are some of the activities we will be pursuing to improve the ranking.” Guyana is one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and the Caribbean with an annual growth rate of over four percent in the last eight years. Jordan cited tumbling oil prices, political uncertainty brought on as a result of the closure of Guyana’s Parliament, falling remittances and Guyana’s dependence
on primary products with little value-added among the factors that affected the 2015 growth. He added that around elections, investors tend to withhold investment decisions. ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION Economic diversification is the government’s vision and to achieve that goal, he said, over the next few years the government will focus on diversification to lessen its vulnerability to external shocks. “There are existential challenges, including the poor state of the infrastructure and the high cost of fossil fuels that we use to generate electricity.” He explained that Guyana will begin exploitation of oil in another few years. This will significantly boost the country’s economy, and aid the diversification process. Some of the oil proceeds, he said, will be used to modernise the country’s infrastructureroads, transportation system and building of a deep water harbour. Water resources will be used to develop small to medium hydro-power facilities, solar farms and other forms of clean energy that include wind and bagasse. “For too long we have depended on the primary sector. We need to get rid of some of the impediments to investment and growth in the economy,” he acknowledged. Minister Jordan expressed that Guyana still remains “an undiscovered gem, a paradise in the making.”
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up rental- Call: 690-6494 Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807 Vehicles for rental: cars, SUV, pickups etc, long term only @ Ray’s Motor Spares and Auto Sales. Call: 231-7839
From page 70
VEHICLE FOR SALE AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall: 680-3154 CAT Skid Steer 236B -$4.5M; CAT 928F Loader -$7.3MCall: 650-0402; 260-4121; 2604018 Toyota Vios- PKK Series, price $1.2M, price negotiable. Call: 644-6346 1-620-240 DAF Engine, foreign used, 1 Canter GNN 722, 1 Twin Steer CF DAF, GSS 5964. Call: 228-5655; 6281756 2005 Mazda RX8, Mileage, 72,000 KM -$1.9M negotiable, first owner driven, excellent condition. Call: 6018612; 276-0006 One Toyota 2003 Fielder Wagon, AC, CD, 17" rims, PMM, never work heir, in excellent condition -$1.4M. Call: 619-1047
VEHICLE FOR SALE Oswin J’s Auto Imports; New arrivals: Allion 2006; Premio: 2004, 2006 & 2008, Fielder 2007 & Suzuki Escudo. Call: 592-609-2815 1AT 212 PRR, 1 Allion PRR Series, 1 Premio PPP, owner leaving country. Call: 642-2645 New model 4X4, RAV4, excellent condition- $2.2M – Call: 618-1395; 220-6380 2010 Toyota Hilux, Extra Cab, Carry boy tray, mud tyres, UK imports -$5.0M- ONO. Call: 629-2200 Toyota Rav4 J (2001),PNN 6964, in excellent conditionCall: 625-2323; 254-0530 2008 TOYOTA FIELDER (UNREGISTERED), FULLY LOADED, RIM, BODY KIT, REVERSE CAMERA, TV, DVD -$ 2.5M-CALL: 6427295 Reduced prices on unregistered cars, Allion, Mazda, Fielder, BlueBird. Call City Motors:626-7478; 6163413 Noah, Voxy: unregistered, fully loaded, ‘G’ Series-$1.7M –Call: 603-9700 1 L-Touring Wagon, Toyota Corolla, HB 9912- Call: 6906840
LAND FOR SALE Parfaite Harmonie; deal land with foundation, light & water, sand filled, front part- $2.6M &1.6M- Call: 604-2207; 6117223 1 House lot in gated community -$4.5M negotiable. Call: 694-7817; 668-0306 One house lot at Mon Repos (Martyrsville) E.C.D, price $3.9M negotiable. Call: 2200538; 645-2395( Joel) or 629-5300 Corner lot for sale 80X45 @ Meadow Brook Gardens, close to Mandela Avenue. Call: 699-9381; 231-4560 5 Acre @ W.B.D- Call: 6580115 We are buying lands –Call: 639-8474; 604-4945 Affordable house lot for saleCall: 639-8474, 604-4945 Are you planning on buying a plot of land in Eccles, Herstelling, Farm, La Parfaite Harmonie, Zeelugt? Call: 6042207; 611-7223 Lot 12 Mon Repos, E.C.D, First Street, Market Road-Call: 2207330
2008 TOYOTA IST (UNREGISTERED), FULLY LOADED, RIMS, BODY KIT, REVERSE CAMERA, TV DVD -$2.5M -CALL: 642-7295 4X4 PFF 6163 (Green) 4 door LHD,3 liter 3VZ engine, good condition – G$1.6M- Call 657-6063 Toyota Hilux Surf 2783 cc, mileage 74,000 km, year 2006- $8.5M negotiable. First owner d r i v e n , excellent condition. Call 626-1372; 656-9100 First Class Auto: Rush, IST, Runx, Sienta, Bluebird, 06 Premio, 06 Allion, Fielder, Spacio, Noah. Call: 6278383; 638-3045 Toyota verossa year 2004, mileage 69,000 km- $2.2M negotiable. First Owner driven, excellent condition. Call 626-1372; 656-9100 Carsmart Auto Sale: Premio (08) -$2,895,000; C-light Premio (05) -$2,450,000; Premio (02) -$2,295,000 & Spacio -$2,095,000. Call: 6394295; 650-0402
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Oxygen with Nicole set for March The motivational series, Oxygen with Nicole, has been confirmed to take place on Sunday March 6, at the Pegasus Hotel, Guyana. The event, to be moderated by International Creative Director, Richard Young, is a motivational series designed to offer a safe space for women to share their life journeys and stories utilizing a guided, and dramatic technique. The event is co-hosted by the Sonia Noel Foundation for the Creative Arts. Ms Noel is carded as one of the distinguished women chosen to share their journey. “I am deeply thrilled to be a part of this experience as an integrationist myself. I understand the importance of regional partnership. “That’s why when Richard [Young] introduced the concept to me, my first instinct was to get on board, as it joins two of my passions, regionalism and the empowerment of women.” O2N is the brainchild of Trinidadian, Nicole Dyer Griffith, who crafted this motivational series as a means to channel the airing of provocative women’s concerns while championing the untold stories of their unique yet ubiquitous achievements. Having constructed a “safe space” for the ventilation of two successful installments of the series, in Trinidad, celebrating resilience, sacrifice, integrity, dignity and downright
empowerment of women, it was felt that a regional presence be the natural segue for substantiating the relevance of this evidently needed forum. The Oxygen with Nicole Guyana event is the first installation being held outside of Trinidad and To b a g o , i n t h e b r a n d s ’ outward and regional reach. This year, the event
is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Ministry of Social Protection in commemoration of I n t e r n a t i o n a l Wo m e n ’s Day. Scotiabank has also come on board as an event partner, along with the Trinidadbased, NDG Communications and Consulting. The March 6, O2N event,
will see an extremely remarkable line up of women, whose identities will be disclosed closer to the event on the facebook page Oxygen with Nicole. Interested persons are invited to pre-book their seats, by contacting Meleesa at 218-2776, or emailing ndgccmarketing@outlook.com. Participation is free to the public.
Refurbished road in Albouystown
A section of King Edward Street, Albouystown, is undergoing rehabilitation. Guyana’s oldest benevolent home, Dharm Shala, is located on this street. The refurbished road will benefit not only the residents of the home, but the wider Albouystown area which is flood prone.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird Author Dies http://news.sky.com: Harper Lee, the elusive US author who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book To Kill A Mockingbird, has died at age 89. Her 1960 novel about a child’s eye view of racial injustice in a fictional Alabama town in the 1930s became standard reading for millions of young people. By 2015, its sales were reported to be more than 40 million worldwide, making it one of the most widely read American novels of the 20th century. And in 1991, when people were asked about books that had affected their lives, Mockingbird was second only to the Bible. It was also made into an Oscar-winning film starring Gregory Peck. A family statement said: “With great sadness, Ms Lee passed away in her sleep early this morning. Her passing was unexpected. “She remained in good basic health until her passing. The family is in mourning and there will be a private funeral service in the upcoming days, as she had requested. Ms Lee was 89.” Hank Conner, Ms
Lee’s oldest nephew, said: “This is a sad day for our family. America and the world knew Harper Lee as one of the last century’s most beloved authors. “We knew her as Nelle Harper Lee, a loving member of our family, a devoted friend to the many good people who touched her life, and a generous soul in our community and our state. We will miss her
dearly.” For decades it was thought Lee would never follow up Mockingbird - but in July last year “Go Set A Watchman” was published. In the first book, Atticus Finch was the adored father of young narrator Scout and a lawyer who nobly but unsuccessfully defended a black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Cameron calls June 23 poll that will shape fate of Britain and EU Reuters - Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday called a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union that could have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s unity and for the viability of the world’s biggest trading bloc. Forty-three years after Britain joined the EU’s predecessor, Cameron clinched a deal from 27 other leaders to give it what he said was a special status before presenting the new settlement to senior ministers in London. In the first British cabinet meeting yesterday since the 1982 Falklands War, Cameron said he had won the blessing of his colleagues to recommend to voters that Britain stay in the bloc it joined in 1973.“Britain will be safer,
stronger and better off by remaining in a reformed European Union,” Cameron, 49, said outside his Number 10 Downing Street residence in London, kicking off a fourmonth referendum campaign. “Leaving Europe would threaten our economic and our national security,” Cameron said, adding that he would propose to parliament that the referendum be held on Thursday June 23, in the middle of the Glastonbury music festival and the Euro 2016 soccer championship. Britain has been divided over its European destiny since France and West Germany sought closer unity to prevent a repeat of the destruction wrought by World War Two and, though Britain eventually joined the club, it
remained a reluctant member outside the core euro zone. Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping have urged Britain to stay, but British voters - and Cameron’s ruling Conservative Party are split on membership. Polls suggest about a fifth of voters are undecided though betting odds have moved further in favour of Britain remaining a member since Cameron’s summit deal in Brussels. A British exit from the EU would rock the Union - already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone - by ripping away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its richest financial center.
Protestors blockade Australian hospital treating infant asylum seeker Reuters - Hundreds of Australians held an overnight vigil outside a hospital treating a baby girl facing repatriation to an offshore immigration detention camp, blocking exits amid reports she would be removed imminently. Doctors at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane have refused to release the girl following treatment for serious burns, adding to pressure on the government over its tough asylum seekers policy. The one-year-old girl, known only as Asha, and her parents face being returned to a camp on the tiny South Pacific island of Nauru, about 3,000 km (1,800 miles) northeast of Australia. The detention centre, which houses more than 500 people, has been widely criticised for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse. Earlier this month, the
A banner calling for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to allow the infant children of asylum seekers to remain in Australia and not in offshore detention centers is shown during a demonstration in Melbourne, Australia. REUTERS/ JOE CASTRO/AAP High Court rejected a legal test case that challenged Australia’s right to deport 267 refugee children and their families who had been
brought to Australia from Nauru for medical treatment. Doctors have refused to release her until a “suitable home environment is identified.” However, refugee advocates said British security firm Serco, which runs detention centres in Australia had a heightened presence at the hospital and called for people to join the peaceful blockade.
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 75
Speaker approves Zika debate Portia Says Her Govt. Created Trinidad Guardian - There may be widespread fear about the Zika virus among some 17,000 pregnant women in T&T who may be at risk due to the virus, now in T&T, Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh said in Parliament Friday. Gopeesingh gave the figure as he requested and obtained approval for MPs to debate the Zika issue as a matter of urgent national importance. The Zika virus is borne by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and is not related to influenza or “flu”, Dr David Bratt clarified Friday. T&T’s first Zika case was confirmed on Wednesday. The patient is a 61-year-old Diego Martin woman who had travelled to New Zeland and returned home recently. Her residential neighbourhood was sprayed by Insect Vector Control Division units Friday. There have been fears in Brazil and other countries that the virus might be linked to microcephaly (occurrence of abnormally small heads and brains in newborns) and possibly the Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. But confirmed links are yet to be proved. Gopeesingh requested the debate since he noted that Health Minister Terrence
Widespread fear among 17,000 pregnant women
Deyalsingh had described the issue as a public health emergency matter and that view had been echoed by Prime Minister Keith Rowley at the recent Caricom Inter-Sessional meeting in Belize. Gopeesingh said the situation required dedicated protocols and was of great public importance due to widespread fear, especially concerning the risk to T&T’s pregnant population. House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George said she was satisfied the matter qualified for debate as a matter of urgent national importance. She called for all who supported debate on the matter to stand. All Opposition MPs
present stood. But the Government MPs all remained seated. Earlier in the session, Deyalsingh said total statistics from 2015 showed that 3,550 Caesarean sections were done by specialist medical officers (SMO) and consultants at public hospitals and 38 per cent were done by SMOs. He said no one was happy with the figures and the latter number had risen to 50 per cent under the current administration. He said the report of the Winston Welch team appointed to review regional health authorities would say if consultants have made an impact on the figures. That team reports in April.
Conditions For Prosperity The Gleaner - People’s National Party (PNP) president Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Friday night trumpeted the work of her administration over the past four years saying it has provided a good platform on which the Jamaica Labour Party can campaign. “It is four years of good economic and fiscal management by the PNP,” Simpson Miller said in Port Antonio, Portland East, noting that four years ago, the JLP was promising “bitter medicine” but now it is seeking to preach “prosperity”. According to Dr Lynvale Bloomfield, the PNP’s representative for Portland East, long ago, the Simpson Millerled government tore up the JLP’s ‘bitter medicine’ prescription and administered fiscal discipline. Meanwhile, Simpson Miller said high investor interest is one sign that her administration has managed the economy well. She also ripped into the JLP’s ‘pay day’ promise saying, “You can’t propose a system where promotion does not guarantee better pay.” “There would be no incentive becoming a supervisor. That plan makes no sense,” she said of the JLP’s promise to abolish income tax for people earning up to $1.5
Portia Simpson Miller million a year, but keeping the threshold of $592,800 for people earning over $1.5 million. Simpson Miller referenced comments from several economists who have said the JLP’s income tax plan would lead to revenue shortfall of about $30 billion which would have to be made up by an increase in the General Consumption Tax (GCT). “The JLP needs to tell the people by how much they plan to increase GCT,” she demanded.
She noted that the PNP increased the income tax threshold three times in the past four years and said people need to be assured that they can aspire to highpaying jobs and still get the benefit of a fair tax system. “With the PNP government, the income tax system is fair....We will not derail the economic reform programme. You have sacrificed too much and we have come too far to turn back now,” Simpson Miller said.
Pastor Suspected of Army called in as teachers, students on… Lottery Scamming Arrested
The Gleaner - Detectives attached to the Westmoreland Proactive Investigation Unit arrested a pastor for breaches of the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transaction) (Special Provision) Act on Cooke Street in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland yesterday. Reports are that on January 27 an operation was carried out at the pastor’s home on Cooke Street. A search of a room he occupied
yielded over 50 sheets of paper populated with identity information of persons living overseas. Following further investigations, the pastor was yesterday morning arrested for his suspected involvement into the illicit lottery scamming. He will be interviewed in the presence of his lawyer following which; formal charges will be proffered against him.
Grab opportunities in Europe, Grenada minister tells businesses ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - Trade and Economic Development Minister Oliver Joseph is calling on the business community to take full advantage of the investment opportunities existing in the region and the Europe. He says government has been working tirelessly to create market access for local entrepreneurs and businesses should not the benefits go unclaimed. “So we have the EPA [Economic Partnership Agreement with Europe], the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and all the trade agreements . . . What the private sector
needs to do is to ensure market presence. So we negotiate for you, but you have to ensure that the goods reach there,” he said. “The government does not sell any goods. In the EPA you have access to the European market under certain conditions. You must be able to take full advantage of all the trade agreements to sell your products. The Trade Minister also urged the business community to get a better understanding of the EPA and foster trade with Europe, especially the United Kingdom. “There are great opportunities for Grenada, and we
have these traditional ties with the UK and Grenada and they can get a lot of our products. The problem is not a shortage of markets, the problem is that we have a supply side constraint . . . And the marketing board is doing an extremely good job in that area of getting farmers to sell their products and they can fulfill it in the UK market.” Grenada was among 14 countries that signed the EPA back in October 2008. The purpose of the agreement is to make it easier for people and businesses from the two regions to invest in and trade with each other.
GANG HIT LIST
Trinidad Guardian Armed members of the Defence Force Friday took up temporary posting at the Chaguanas North Secondary School, after it was reported that the school would come under attack from gang members in the community. The soldiers, who happened to be at the school on another matter Friday, volunteered to offer the “extra security” after a report that a gun attack was to be executed on a teacher, security personnel and students. The attack was to be executed by warring gangs in the area who were dressed as students. The attackers had been asked by students of the school who were part of the gangs to carry out the attack as a planned act of revenge following a recent incident at the school. After the police, Ministry of Education and T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) were notified, the school was dismissed at 9 am. National Security Minister
Edmund Dillon was also notified of the situation and expressed deep concern. Ministers in the Ministry of Education, Anthony Garcia and Lovell Francis, and TTUTA members held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation and held a press conference at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Friday, to discuss the matter. TTUTA president Devanand Sinanan said a parent on her way to the school was flagged down by a student who alerted her to the situation. He said the day before a student had been charged by the police and another student was given a “buss head,” adding he believed revenge came into play and school uniforms were given out to “those not in the school” to carry out the deadly attack against the staff and students. “The plan to execute a gun attack today (yesterday) on a teacher and security officers on the pre-
mises resulted in army presence on the compound and an early dismissal,” he said. He said it was a mere coincidence that a parent who was a member of the Defence Force had also gone to the school to get a report card and was notified of the situation by the parent who was flagged down earlier. The soldier parent immediately volunteered, along with some of his colleagues who were also present, to provide security until the Chaguanas police were alerted. Sinanan said classes at the school were also suspended this past week due to a spate of threats and violence perpetrated by students who had links to gang members. He said students who are members of gangs sprayed the wall with graffiti with the words “Rasta City” and “Muslims” and many of them scaled the wall, lined with razor wire, to gain access to the compound when they were not allowed through the gate.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Golden Jaguars go after ... (From page 76) preparation for the Carib Cup in St Maarten but I can assure you that these players are all competent,” he assured. Mr. Blockson was less talkative and simply pronounced, “We are here to do our job; we are ready.” Mr. Shabazz said that the locals will be turning in a good show even as he singled out his Captain, Richardson, for high praise. He admitted that he had had many face-ups with the talented striker but said that it was all towards the improvement of the team. “He’s demonstrated great leadership skills and that has made a big difference in the fortunes of the team before,” Mr. Shabazz said of
Richardson. He also had high praise for midfielder, Colin Nelson, who he said has improved leaps and bounds. “Should he continue along this line I envisage him as the captain of the (national) squad in the near future,” expounded Shabazz. Mr. Richardson said that the Guyanese squad is one of experience and skill and he views his role as one of support for the youngsters. “This game will be a good test for them and should inform us of the progress we’ve made so far,” said Richardson. Mr. Nelson feels that the team is well balanced and should be able to hold its own against its opponents. “We have quite a formidable line up, the likes of (Devon)
Millington, (Konata) Manning and (Dwight) Peters among others and I am sure that fans will be in for a special treat,” he exhorted. Banks DIH Ltd are the sponsors of the match and Mr. Choo-Hen said that his company is delighted to once again offer its services towards the development of the sport. He envisaged a fun filled day and urged the fans to come out in their numbers, appropriately dressed in yellow, in support of the Jaguars. “I’d like to wish both teams all the best but as a patriotic Guyanese I am going to back my boys to win,” he concluded. General admission is $1,500, while the special admission will cost $5,000.
Sunday February 21, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You don't need to pay out in order to have fun. You will have an inaccurate assessment of your status in society. Be cautious when dealing with coworkers. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Quarrels will erupt if you get into philosophical debates with friends. Efforts made to improve yourself will turn out to your satisfaction. Do not blow situations out of proportion. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You will be emotional about your personal life. You can make money if you concentrate on producing services or goods that will make domestic chores easier. Don't let someone take the credit for a job you did. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Be aware that joint financial ventures could fall apart. Don't expect others to live up to their promises and you won't be disappointed or find yourself stuck with delays. Pleasure trips will promote new romantic encounters. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Renovations or purchases made for your home will payoff. Your ability to dazzle others with your unique and innovative ideas will attract attention. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You must get out and mingle. Complete those hobbies you started a long time ago. You will reap the benefits if you
put money into upgrading your residence. LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Be cautious while traveling; minor accidents are evident. Positive changes regarding your personal status are evident. Family may not want to get involved but an entrepreneur will. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Minor accidents are likely if you take risks. Beware of colleagues who don't have your best interests in mind. Don't overreact if your partner has a poor attitude. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Some relatives will be extremely perplexing. Don't let the cat out of the bag. Your intuition will be right on. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Hassles with female colleagues may lead to problems with your boss. You will need a little competition today. Get involved in activities that will stretch your stamina. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You may want to get involved in some kind of creative group. Use your ingenuity to manipulate things to get what you want. Someone you live with will be impossible. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You are best to avoid joint ventures, and whatever you do, don't lend to friends or relatives. Do not get upset about situations you cannot change.
Page 77
Letter to the Sports Editor
ESSEQUIBO CRICKET BOARD IS FAILING ITS CONSTITUENTS
Dear Editor, There has been a prolonged drought in relation to cricket competitions in the county of Essequibo and as a former executive member of the Essequibo Cricket Board; I am appalled at the current state of affairs with regards to the administration of the governing Board. The ECB comprises of eight area committees namely Bartica, East Bank, Leguan, Wakenaam, Pomeroon, North, Central and South Essequibo. During the past three years, with the exception of the annual senior Busta one-day tournament, no other competition was held for either the junior or senior players. This scenario is totally unacceptable, disturbing and smacks of gross neglect by the ECB to advance cricket development within the county. Where is the much touted assistance from the GCB given that the ECB is the only legitimate Board that is preserving the life of the GCB? The morale of the players has been instantly shattered by this growing fear of mistrust, misguided traits and the imposition of an authoritarian clique of Administrators who continues to lead the Board in despair. There are very little opportunities for the players to showcase their talent and even more disappointingly the method of selecting inter-county teams are always done in a cloud of uncertainty. In fact in several instances the various Committees are asked to submit names for possible selection without there being any trial matches or competitions. Mysteriously though, it seems that players are being selected by placing their names in a bag and arriving at a team.
Which other method can the selectors possibly use? It is indeed quite a frightening disposition even at this time when the GCB has been swift to offer congratulatory messages to the World Cup winning West Indies under-19 team, yet they have been an abject failure to the ECB and the younger players who are eager to emulate their peers. I am not convinced that this faltering trend will be reversed soon since the game seems to be playing more in the Courts rather than on the field. Where is the active plan of the CDC and would Essequibo receive one of the many brush-cutters that were recently acquired by the GCB? Recently an Essequibo team was selected to participate in a tournament in Berbice and surprisingly no one from North Essequibo was eligible. Ironically though, North Essequibo has been the most active and progressive Committee (plays the most competitions) within the county and has produced the most inter-county players
in its history. The selectors have been blatantly dismissive of the players from North, especially the Secretary who is a selector and whose Central Committee where he presides as Chairman has not played a single competition for over four years! Reforms at the level of the ECB are inevitable since its leadership has been at its lowest ebb resulting in the degradation of the sport and the profuse disenchantment of the players from the various Committees. The constituents deserve better management especially when stout resistance has been taken by the Executives including at the level of the GCB to refuse the use of the ECB Hostel for cricket purposes. Yet it has been made readily available for other purposes which are contributing to its rapid deterioration. The Hostel is indeed a true reflection of the stagnant growth of Essequibo’s cricket and so is the ECB! Yours Faithfully, Elroy Stephney.
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Kaieteur News
GCB/BANKS DIH LTD/DIGICEL NSSCL...
Lower Corentyne Secondary advance to national semi-final …set to play Chase Academy
Sunday February 21, 2016
Mashramani sporting activities set for Paradise Village The East Coast Villages of Paradise, Bachelor’s Adventure and Melanie Damishana will be host to a number of Mashramani sporting activities coordinated by Ras Aaron Blackman. The programme will feature a grand day of sports on Mash Day, Tuesday, at the Paradise ground where T20 cricket, 7-aside football, athletics and several novelty events will be staged starting from 10:00am. Meanwhile, the Paradise Bachelor’s Adventure Sports Club will today oppose Enmore Cricket Club in a 40-overs game which is part of the East Coast
Cricket Board competition. The Paradise team will come from Jermaine Martins (Capt), Floyd Jones (vice Capt), Claudius Fraser, Shawn Hassanah, Joel Persaud, Ryan Heywood, Kristoff Nedd, Nicayre Bacchus, Jonahtan Crocker, Hakeem Jones, Hakeem Andrews, Stephon Stuart, Matthew Chester, Damieon James, Anand Persaud, Edmond Pearson, Anthony Mosley and Leon Alves. Meanwhile, on February 28 at the Melanie Playfield, another Fun day is fixed with a number of disciplines and activities scheduled.
Dave West Indian Exports Guy-NY partners with GCB for U-15 Championship The victorious Lower Corentyne team following their victory. Lower Corentyne Secondary crushed Rosignol Secondary by 8 wickets to book a place in the national semifinal of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL) sponsored by Banks DIH Ltd’s Coco
Cola and Rainforest Water along with Digicel as the competition continued. Playing at Cumberland, Lower Corentyne Secondary won the toss and chose to bowl first. Their bowlers made full use of the pitch as they routed Rosignol Secondary
for 64 off 22.5 overs. The pick of the bowlers was national under-15 player Junior Sinclair who took 3-17, while Ezekiel Kempadoo supported well with 2-5. In reply, Lower Corentyne Secondary made light work of their target racing to 65-2 in
just 10.5 overs as Junior Sinclair returned with the bat to top score with 28. Lower Corentyne Secondary will play Chase Academy in the national semi-final of the NSSCL while the second semi-final is between Uitvlugt Secondary and Anna Regina.
Marques, Lake and Moses in top shape as training... (From page 77) issues. Moses battles Ansila Norville over 4 rounds and the former pugilist, in the absence of competent female sparring partners, was forced to spar with Marques and Lake. The slimly built Moses stood her ground and matched her opponents’ punches and is evidently approaching this fight in a serious manner. After sparring, she engaged in several rounds on the heavy punching bag and then skipped for a prolonged period. The lanky pugilist closed off her sessions with a rigorous bout of calisthenics and free hand exercises. Marques continued sparring sessions with Lake and despite being the lighter of the two, stood his ground thus endorsing the confidence of his fans that he is in pristine shape for this bout. He was also taken through his paces with three quick fire rounds on the strike pads, under the guidance and direction of his coach, Lennox ‘Cappel’ Daniels. He also closed off sessions with vigorous skipping complimented with free hand exercises. Marques is an experienced fighter and had won the local bantamweight and the WBCCABOFE flyweight titles after defeating his countryman, Orlando Rogers and
Jamaican, Rudolph Hedge, respectively. The Hedge bout, in April 2014 was his last but Marques is spewing confidence saying that the two year lay-off will not affect his performance. “I am in the best shape of my life,” he pronounced. Indeed, his work ethic and physical condition endorse this sentiment and his speed and endurance was intact as he matched skill and wits with his much heavier opponent, Revlon Lake. Marques’ opponent, Freddy Baleno is no slouch having compiled a 26-10-0 record. He lost his last fight against Jhonatan Romero and is on the redemption trail. One of his most decisive victories was against Breilor Teran for the WBA Fedelatin light flyweight title. Boxing buffs will remember that Teran had created quite a stir in November 2010 when he faced off with Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore at the Princess Hotel and unleashed a vicious two fisted attack that had Moore on the back foot for most of the latter part of the fight. Many in attendance were convinced that Teran had done enough to win the bout. Baleno had removed all doubts as to who was the better man and strengthens the views of the pundits that this fight should be a stern test for Marques.
Anyone seeing Lake in action against Mark Austin in June 2011 for the local lightweight title will admit that the former fighter packs a wicked punch. The two were engaged in a delightful slugfest when Lake unleashed a vicious left hook that sent Austin sprawling on the canvass and gifted Lake the coveted crown. Lake’s journey has been somewhat stymied since then and he had surrendered a lopsided points decision to Barbadian, Miguel Antoine, for the vacant WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) super welterweight title in July 2009. Lake feels that he has made commendable strides since then and is ready to avenge the loss to the Bajan. Antoine, with a 17-3-1(9 KOs) record and a wealth of experience, will have other ideas and will be out to continue his domination of his Guyanese foes. In September 2009, Jermaine King had breached Antoine’s invincibility when he managed to secure a draw and even then, King felt that he was ‘done in.’ This may just give Lake the psychological boost he needs that confirms that Antoine could be beaten once he (Lake) employs the right strategy. His current training programme seems to suggest that he is out to upset the Bajan strongman. Antoine is also on the re-
demption trail after suffering a 2nd round TKO loss to Ayaz Hussain in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in June last year. He has not fought since but has accumulated a 43% knockout ratio which could make a big difference in the psychological battle between the two pugilists. The other fights on the card include Imran ‘Magic’ Khan, who will square off with Quincy Gomes in a 6 rounds lightweight duel while Cassius Matthews battles Kishawn ‘Special K’ Simon in a 6 rounds welterweight return bout. Matthew has already defeated Simon but the latter fighter had cried foul and vowed to avenge the loss. He now gets the perfect opportunity. The night’s proceedings will get underway with three amateur bouts headlined by Nankumar Singh and Jason Phillips. Dennis Thomas will then square off with Desmond Amsterdam in a three rounds exhibition match. These two are preparing for international duty at the impending Brazil Olympics and are expected to leave Guyana shortly for the trials in Argentina. Delon Charles was to have fought Clairmonte Gibson but he has been replaced by Diwani Lampkin to round off the amateur segment. Admission is $5000 for a ringside seat while general seating costs $2000.
Corporate Guyana continues to join forces with GCB in financing critical national competitions. The latest of these corporate sponsors is Dave West Indian Exports Guy-NY whose sponsorship was secured on Friday last for the GCB Under-15 Inter-County 2016. This Inter-county Championship will comprise the three county teams and a GCB President Xi team which shall comprise mainly reserve players from the three counties. Dave West Indian Imports was started in 1990 by Dave Narine and has grown to become one of America’s largest importers of West Indian and Caribbean products. This family owned and operated business supplies distributors, wholesalers and retailers in North America with the finest products at reasonable prices. This sponsorship comes at a time when Guyana’s U-15 teams are dominating Regional Tournaments, winning the title back to back in 2014 and 2015. Sponsorships go a long way in assisting this level of success to continue. Hence, the
GCB is extremely grateful to have Dave West Indian Imports onboard as its new U-15 sponsor and is eager for this partnership to continue in years to come. This corporate entity also came onboard with cricket in Berbice. Such initiative is seen as a fruitful intervention as it helps the organisers to run their competitions smoothly and further assist in the long term development of our cricket. The Under-15 Championship bowls off today with Demerara versus Essequibo at DCC and Berbice versus GCB President XI at GCC. In round two on Tuesday 22 February, Berbice take on Demerara at DCC and Essequibo clash with GCB President XI at Wales ground. The third round is on Thursday 25 February with Essequibo going up against Berbice at Enterprise ground and GCB President Xi taking on Demerara at Wales ground. And the Final will feature the two top teams at GCC on Saturday, 27 February.
Six female hinterland teams to participate in female Volleyball outreach Six female teams from the interior location of Orealla and Siparuta up the Corentyne River have travelled the 70 miles journey to the coast to join their costal counterparts and participate in the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) female volleyball outreach slated for today at the Skeldon Line Path Community Centre. The teams; Force X1 A and B, Siparuta, Reggae Girls A and B, and Falcons are expected to be joined by Black Birds, Skeldon females, Berbice High School and Canje secondary. A number of U-19 teams including boys and girls will also be a part of the activity which will be used as part
of the BVA’s drive to bolster its programme and have more female and U-19 teams participate in the game. The day’s activity is expected to get started at 09:00 hrs. Lectures, coaching and a few exhibition games are part of the day’s programme. The activity will also be used to help select a number of female and U-19 teams to participate in and represent Berbice in future competitions. Persons will also be selected to participate in national trials. Resource persons are expected to include BVA president Levi Nedd and former President Gregory Rambarran among others. (Samuel Whyte)
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
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PCL Cricket
Chase’s 5-27 keeps Bajans on top By Sean Devers in Barbados In association with Tower Suites & Trophy Stall Twenty-three-year-old Roston Chase followed up his prolific run with the bat with his maiden five-wicket haul at Kensington Oval yesterday to keep Barbados Pride on top against two-times defending champions and tournament leaders Guyana Jaguars on the second day of their seventh round PCL four-day First-Class game yesterday. Off-spinner Chase grabbed 5-27 to follow-up his 493 runs and got good support from pacer Miguel Cummins (2-51) as the Jaguars fell for 190 in reply to Pride’s first day score of 274. Skipper Leon Johnson top-scored with 40, but like Raymon Reifer (36), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (31), Veerasammy Permaul (30) and Anthony Bramble (26) he fell after getting good starts. The Pride with a lead of 84 were 71-1 at the end of the day with Kyle Corbin on 25 and Shai Hope on nine and their overall lead on 155 with nine wickets in hand. On a day blessed with glorious sunshine the Jaguars,
chasing the 274 made by the Barbados Pride began their reply and lost two quick wickets. Watched by a crowd of close to 1,000 fans most of them in pink to spread Breast Cancer awareness in Barbados, Rajendra Chandrika (7) pushed at a ball that left him and edged it to second slip off Cummins at 13-1. Assad Fudadin was then horrendously run out for a duck when he slipped going for a suicidal second run as the Jaguars lost two wickets in the space of a run. Johnson whipped Greaves for four through mid-wicket before pulling him to long leg for another boundary on the immaculately manicured outfield as he followed up his unbeaten century in the last round with a positive start. Chanderpaul slashed Kevin Stoute for four behind point as the 50 partnership was brought up in 79 balls from 16.5 overs. The 19-year-old Chanderpaul played the supporting role but encountered problems with his running between the wickets. Chase was introduced in the 22nd over and Chanderpaul dispatched Carter for three confidently pulled fours to race
into the 30s. An injudicious pull by Johnson off Chase was dropped by Greaves despite a valiant dive. Vishual Singh, the only batsman with 500 runs this season, joined his Skipper who disdainfully pulled Cummins for four and at Lunch the Jaguars were 813 with Johnson 11 short of his 26th fifty. With him was Singh on one. After the interval Singh (3) edged to the Keeper off Cummins and without addition to the score Johnson was removed by Stoute for 40 from 76 balls, 112 minutes with seven fours. Bramble hammered Cummins for four and audaciously stroked Greaves for consecutives boundaries, while Reifer danced into Chase and deposited him into the Joel Garner sightscreen to orchestrate a Guyana recovery. Greaves continued to leak runs with Bramble giving himself room to a short and wide ball outside off stump and banged it behind point for four. Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr, the first Antiguan to bowl for Barbados began inauspiciously when his first ball was struck delightfully by Reifer to the extra cover
GCB/Banks DIH/Digicel NSSCL Combine Elite Phase
East Coast Demerara-Mahaicony name squad to play Georgetown As the GCB/Banks DIH/ Digicel National Secondary Schools League continues, players with outstanding performances and those who demonstrated good promise have been earmarked by the selection committee of the league for training. The Combine Elite Stage of the competition sees the top players from different schools within a zone combining to form a zone team which is used to represent their respective zones in the interzone/inter-district stage of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) National Secondary School Cricket League (NSSCL) sponsored by Banks DIH L t d ’s C o c o C o l a a n d R a i n f o r e s t Wa t e r a l o n g with Digicel.
Rajendra Singh A twenty (20) man East Coast Demerara-Mahaicony team has been identified by the
selection committee of the league to participate in a training session on Monday 22 February, 2016 at Enterprise ground from 14:00 hours. The East Coast DemeraraMahaicony Combine team will play a Georgetown Combine team on the February 24 at Everest ground from 9:00 hours. The players called for training with a view of selection are: Robin Williams, Damuka Ngqindo, Pradesh Balkishun, Tameshwar Motiram, Reaz Mohamed, Daniel Mootoo, Ayube Sammy, Chandra Mohan, Rajendra Singh, Wendell Fordyce, Gopaul Applesammy, Amar Persaud, Bhaskar, Yadram and Javelle Fraser.
Republic Bank Nets could bag historic... (From page 76) Stewart, Antwan Austin, Michael Richards, Pelham Doris and Darrion Lewis. Again, these are a bunch of talented players, who could pose a definite threat once the chemistry is there, among all the other facets mentioned earlier. Nets will play Plaisance
Guardians in the First Round and that game should be a humdinger when the tournament starts on March 4 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Republic Bank Nets will want to recall the grit and grind it showed when it edged Pacesetters 74-73 in November 2014 in Phillip George’s
Memorial tournament. Pacesetters went on to win the National Championship title the next year. The point is Nets has showed in the past that it can beat the best teams. There is nothing that should stop the team from believing that it can win the 2016 title.
boundary. Bramble provided Omar Phillips with a stupendous right handed catch at silly mid-off to give Walsh his first wicket for Barbados at 133-6. Bramble’s 26 lasted 42 balls, 62 minutes and included five fours and shared in a 47run stand with the Bajan Reifer. Permaul slashed Walsh square for four but was dropped by the Keeper two balls later as Walsh extracted prodigious turn from a track which offered bounce. Reifer got a ball that bounced from Chase and cut it for four but fell on the stroke of Tea for 37 decorated with three fours and the only six of the innings. After Tea, which was taken at 173-7, Permaul was bowled by a no-ball from Cummins on 25 and the Berbician responded by hitting the pacer over mid off for four next ball before Chase sent back Permaul (30), Bishoo (5) and Beaton (1) in the space of two runs as the Jaguars limped to 190 all out. When the Pride began their second innings they seemed a bit fortunate not to have lost Kraigg Braithwaite (5) at 7-0 when the Umpire turned down a confident LBW appeal off Keon Joseph. Braithwaite and Kyle Corbin played some handsome drives no more so than an exquisite straight drive off Joseph which reached the boundary like a bullet but spin was introduced and Braithwaite edged Permaul to slip to break the 48-run opening stand. Braithwaite’s 33 lasted just over an hour and stroked three fours. Corbin punched Permaul past cover for four and soon settled in to
ensure that no other wicket fell for the day. Meanwhile, a minute’s silence was observed yester-
day as a mark of respect of former T&T’s Test batsman Andy Ganteaume who died last week.
Barbados confirms participation in Schoolboys boxing tourney in April President of the Guyana Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, has informed that Barbados, as of yesterday, signaled its intention to participate in the regions first Schoolboys and Juniors boxing tournament scheduled for April 29 and 30th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Secretary Kathy HarperHall contacted the GBA president, Ninvalle, on Friday with the news he disclosed. Barbados cannot say size of the team at the moment but will finalise and disclose shortly. This brings the tally of overseas participants to three after last week St Lucia and Jamaica confirmed participation.
Ninvalle said that the nucleus of Guyana’s team will come from those who participate at the DDL Pepsi tournament. The School Boys and Junior tournament comes at a time when Guyana has placed itself in the vanguard for the development of the sport in CARICOM. Ninvalle who was last year elected to serve on the International Amateur Boxing Association, AIBA’s council, has been pushing for the development of the sport in Guyana and the region and has received the support of his regional counterparts. Last November Guyana organized the 13-country Car-
ibbean Development Tournament which had the largest congregation of regional nations here for any sporting activity in over a decade. In 2014 Guyana hosted a Four-nation Goodwill competition which saw Trinidad Jamaica and St Lucia competing here. The schoolboys and Junior competition on April 29 and 30th at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall promises to be a slugfest among the youngsters as they seek for glory for their respective countries. The GBA is seeking the support of corporate Guyana and the fans to come out in full support for the event.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
DCC are GCA/NBS second division champs Golden Jaguars go after Surinamese
in International Friendly Affair today By Michael Benjamin
The victorious DCC team with representatives of the sponsors. By Zaheer Mohamed An excellent all-round performance by Sherfene Rutherford handed Demerara Cricket Club a four-wicket victory over Georgetown Cricket Club in the final of the Georgetown Cricket Association/New Building Society second division 40-over tournament yesterday. Rutherford claimed 2-49 as GCC finished on 217-9 after they were inserted on a decent pitch at Bourda. He then struck a fine 65 as the visitors responded with 2186 in 35.1 overs. GCC lost Winston Forrestor run out for three; Manny Ford and Martin Pestano Belle added 51 for the second wicket before they both fell for 22. Deonarine Seegobin and Ronaldo Ali Mohamed then featured in 79run fourth wicket stand to stabilise the innings somewhat before Seegobin was taken at the wicket off Ashmead Nedd for 26. Mohamed played his shots, hitting six fours and one six
in scoring 43, but after he was dismissed GCC lost a few quick wickets, however, Devon Lord propped up the innings with a robust 49 inclusive of five fours and one six. Carlton Jacques snared 239 while Dennis Squires, Nedd and Lynden Lyght picked up a wicket apiece. Raymond Perez and Sachin Singh gave DCC a bright start as they added 40 in 8.4 overs before they were dismissed in quick succession; Perez was caught and bowled by Winston Forrester for 24 while Singh was lbw to Belle for 12. Rutherford and West Indies U19 wicketkeeper batsman Tevin Imlach then steadied the chase with a 133-run second- wicket reunion. The pair mixed aggression with defence as they rotated the strike nicely and dispatched the way ward balls with little trouble. Despite being put down on 31, Rutherford wasn’t afraid to play his shots; he clobbered eight fours and two sixes but was dismissed
when DCC needed a further 45 from 62 balls. Imlach executed a number of handsome shots on both sides of the pitch, hitting six fours and one six before he succumb for 65. DCC then lost their way to an extent before Cleon Mc Ewan (08*) and Dexter George (07*) saw them home. Belle and Mohamed claimed two wickets each. Rutherford was named man-of-the-match and best batsman in the final while Jacques was the best bowler. DCC received a trophy and $100,000 and GCC a trophy and $50,000. Troy Benn of Police took the best individual figures (635), while Dennis Squires of DCC received the best bowler accolade (13 wkts) in zone A, Reginald Rodrigues of Police pocketed the trophy for the highest individual score (100), Sunil Singh of Transport SC took the best batsman (354 runs) prize, while Mohamed was the best allrounder in zone B (249 runs and 10 wkts).
Republic Bank Nets could bag historic national title By Edison Jefford Republic Bank Nets has all the talent to win the historic National Basketball Championship: The Road to Mecca III, but all will come down to if the team can mobilise its resources to bounce off with the accolade in the year that Guyana is celebrating its Golden Jubilee. Nets has both structure and human resource to pose a serious threat to any of its opponents in the tournament, but lack of cooperation and team work has often undermined those important attributes in a way that prevented the team from reaching its real potential. The team has a national and regional conglomerate, Republic Bank as its sponsor, which is the first positive aspect of its structure that should always motivate them to perform well. Finding a sponsor for a local basketball team is no ordinary task, and Nets has a major sponsor supporting the team. The team ought to be aware of the need to maintain
Mortimer Williams the Bank’s image of excellence, in the sport. Nets should also consider mobilising a fan base at the Bank, including staff, to come to games to root for them; Nets has to sell itself positively to the Bank. One way is to let the Bank know how important moral support is; another is to take a bold step to convince the Bank that physically backing them in their games in the national tournament can be an effective ‘sixth man’ presence that can help it win.
The ultimate result of this can be the mounting of the Championship Trophy at one of the Bank’s locations, which can improve its social standing since all will see the result of the Bank honouring its corporate and social responsibility in the sport. It is for Nets to make the management and staff of the Bank feel as though they are a part of the team. Nets should begin a campaign at each of the Bank’s locations, letting the staff know that it is representing them on a journey to win a national title and their support is as important to them as its performance. This can be the turning point for the team. Secondly, the team is naturally endowed with talented players. Those include, forwards, Mortimer Williams, Fabian Johnson and if available, Sheldon Howell and Drumson McCulley. This is quite a formidable line-up in the paint. In addition, the point guards include Hodayah (Continued on page 75)
International football returns to the National Stadium Providence this evening and Guyanese are urged to don yellow apparel in support of the Golden Jaguars when they face off with their nemesis, Suriname, in a friendly international affair that gets underway at 20:30hrs. The Surinamese arrived in Guyana yesterday and almost immediately entertained the media in discourse at a press conference facilitated by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) under the guidance of its Communications Officer,
Deborah Francis. She shared the head table with Coach of the Suriname team, Werner Blockson, Captain, Albert Nibte and team manager, Humphrey Dundas. The Guyanese entourage included Head Coach, Jamal Shabazz, Captain, Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, midfield player, Colin Nelson and Banks DIH Brand Manager (Banks Beer), Brian Choo-hen. Mr. Dundas expressed delight on behalf of his players to have been invited to the country to showcase their wares and assured Guyanese that they will turn in good
show. “We arrived today (yesterday) and are a bit tired but rest assured we will be refreshed for the game tomorrow (today),” he said. He noted that both countries have a rich history of classical football even as he promised fans a top class performance. Mr. Blockson echoed those sentiments while explaining that the team compilation differed from the squad that last came to Guyana when the Surinamese prevailed over the locals 1-0. “Most of those players are currently on international duty in (Continued on page 73)
Letter to the Sports Editor
Raj Singh must tell President Granger who the executives of the DCB are Dear Editor, I wish to record my shock and dismay at what is being perpetrated upon the Guyanese people and the obvious non-action by the APNU / AFC government. Referring to the publications in the national newspaper under the caption “Raj Singh Insurance Brokers renews DCB 20/20 Over - 40 sponsorship”, this must be the most callous if not a total disrespect for the people of Guyana, the laws and the Supreme Court. I call on my President David Arthur Granger, Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnarine, Minister Nicolette Henry, Attorney General Basil Williams and Director of Sport Christopher Jones to subpoena Mr. Raj Singh immediately and let him say who the executives of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) are. It is on public record that the PPP/C government unflinchingly supported Raj Singh and his Comrades as was publicly expressed by their Executive Committee Member Neil Kumar even though they knew that Raj Singh et al have been blocked by the High Court. High Court orders action numbers 2011 No. 59 W, 2013HC-DEM-CIV –W-26 and 2014-HC-DEM-W-492 undoubtedly barred Rajendra ‘Raj’ Singh, Lalta Digamber, Anand Sanasie, Alfred Mentore, Anand Kalladeen, Rabindranauth Persaud, Ronald Sarjoo, Nazimul Drepaul, Colin Europe, Ray Persaud, Krishnchand Mangal, Chetram Singh, Lionel Jaikarran, Ramsey Ali, Fizul Bacchus, Drubahadur, Troy Mendonca, Melinda Bishundyal and Rayon Griffith from holding themselves out to be officer bearers of the
DCB. This Order of Court is still in force. What is incredible is that these orders are often being breached with impunity to the extent that Lalta Digamber posing as the purported secretary of the DCB in an High Court application (2014-HC-DEM-CIV-CM-106), sought and obtained a Court Order from the former Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang to stop all elections even though he was never elected to that position and is wholly aware of the above orders. This nonsense has been going on for too long and seen there is a new government, something must be done. Raj Singh must tell President Granger and the people of Guyana who are the executives of the DCB, when were they elected and by whom since the majority of the DCB membership do not know. The DCB consist of five (5) members of which the three (3) members that produced all the cricketers for Demerara are being disregarded - the Georgetown Cricket Association, the East Coast Cricket Board and the Upper Demerara Cricket Association. This masquerading and scamming is now in its 6th year and for the sole reason, to secretly acquire a quorum when there are AGM’s OGM’s and elections of the Guyana Cricket Board. The DCB is a national institution and so why must this new Government allow this unlawful / undemocratic / immoral act to continue? The new Government is steadfast in launching several investigations involving SARU, SOCU and CANU through their relevant ministries which is very commendable, but where are the Minister and his Ministry of Sport?
Or is it that cricket for which over the years has united our people through social cohesion, created numerous employment and now a huge business is being treated as something unimportant and insignificant? The law is the law and must be respected at all times, so I ask the question, why is it that the majority of the constituent members of the DCB as enshrined in the Cricket Administration Act are being sequestered by persons without locus standi? I therefore call on my President, David Arthur Granger to intervene and Mr. Raj Singh must let the public know who he is sponsoring since he is fully aware of all the High Court’s instructions. This nasty charade must come to an end and justice must prevail without delay. The penitentiaries of Guyana must not be seen as inconsequential. The Attorney General Mr. Basil Williams and the Minister of Sport Dr. Rupert Roopnarine must aggressively and appropriately represent the people of this country and so the Court Order preventing all elections indefinitely must be challenged without interruption as the very two (2) Ministers are the defendants in the matter. Thereafter free, fair and transparent elections of the Guyana Cricket Board and its membership must be held as prescribed by law. I do hope that the well respect Cricket Ombudsman Hon. Dr. Winston McGowan is paying keen attention to the deceit, the illegalities, the irregularities and the injustices that are be foisted upon the people of Guyana. Yours faithfully, Winston G. Boston
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 81
GUMDAC Annual Open Doubles Badminton winners receive prizes The GUMDAC Annual Open Doubles Badminton Tournament culminated Friday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall where the Finals and third places were decided for both the Men and Ladies Doubles. In the Men Doubles Finals Junior Players Narayan Ramdhani & Jonathan Mangra defeated the Senior Players Darrell Carpenay and Marlon Chung: 21-16, 21-19 to take the Championship. In the Ladies Doubles Finals, Junior Players Priyanna Ramdhani & Siya Persaud defeated Ayanna Wi c k h a m - Wa t s o n a n d Emelia Ramdhani: 21-12, 21-8 to take the Championship. In the Men Doubles Third & Fourth Place play off Avinash Odit and
Winners display their prizes in the presence of officials of the GBA and NSC. Stephan Muridall defeated Ernesto Choo-A-Fat and Ronald Chang Yuen: 21-16, 21-19. The Presentation was done By Mr. Christopher Jones, Director of Sport and Mr. Deion Nurse, Executive of the Guyana Olympic Association to the respect winners. The GBA would like to thank all who supported the tournament and look forward to more participation in the upcoming tournaments. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Darrell Carpenay of GUMDAC who have been supporting this tournament for the fourth year in a row and also the West Indian Sports Complex for their assistance.
GBBC ‘Hostile Territory’ boxing extravaganza
Marques, Lake and Moses in top shape as training sessions wind down By Michael Benjamin As boxing buffs commence the countdown for the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) boxing card slated for next Saturday, February 27, at the Giftland Office Max Mall, Liliendaal ECD, three of the main principals, Dexter Marques, Revlon Lake and Mandessa Moses, are in terrific shape and winding down preparations for their respective bouts. The card is headlined by International Boxing Federation (IBF) Inter-Continental Bantamweight champion, Elton Dharry who will take on Colombian, Israel Hidrogo in a ten rounds nontitle bantamweight scrap. These two, along Freddy Baleno, who squares off with Marques, are expected in Guyana sometime later
Revlon Lake this week to keep their ring date. When Kaieteur Sport visited the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym on Friday afternoon, Marques, Lake and Moses were applying the finishing touches to their regimen and engaged in several rounds of intense sparring while fine tuning several technical (Continued on page 74)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday February 21, 2016
Milo Under-20 Schools Football Competition
Favoured teams show no mercy on opponents It was a day when the highly favoured teams clearly demonstrated their superior ability when the Milo Under-20 Schools Football Competition resumed yesterday, at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue. Highlighting the day’s top performances were Tucville, who demolished St. Winefride 9-0 and that, was before defending champion Chase Academic Foundation inflicted a crushing 7-0 triumph over East Ruimveldt. Also cruising to a lopsided win was last year’s beaten finalist Dolphin, who looked impressive in their 6-1 drubbing of Cummings Lodge. Tucville, a team that has a proud record at the junior level seems to be a much stronger unit this year and it will take a good team to stop them from marching much further into the competition. Calvin Peters and Keifer Brandt showed that they possess abundant skills and
-Action continues today
A player from Chase Academic Foundation (green bib) shields the ball from a challenge by an East Ruimveldt player during their encounter yesterday. with their confidence sky high following yesterday’s exhibition, they might just be a handful for opposing teams. Another duo that seems to be in ominous for are Dolphin’s Leon Richardson and Shawn Mohamed, two experienced players at this level and they too will be aiming to continue their rich vein of form against upcoming opponents. However, the reigning champs operated in cruise control in their clash against
East Ruimveldt and their victories have come with a certain level of ease. Perhaps the only blemish in their performances to date is the many chances that has ben squandered due to a degree of selfishness from the more established players. This is a development that the coaching stafff will have to quell and ensure that they play as a team. The competition continues today with three more matches at the same
venue. 12:30 hrs N o r t h Georgetown Secondary v/s St Joseph’s High School 14:00 hrs Brickdam Secondary School v/s Lodge Secondary School 15:30 hrs N o r t h Ruimveldt Secondary v/s Queen’s College In the day’s full results: Game-1 Kingston Secondary-1 vs St. Mary’s-2 St. Mary’s Scorers Andel Smith-5th and 39th Kingston Scorers Vincent Thomas-30th Game-2 Cummings Lodge-1 vs Dolphin Secondary-6 Dolphin Scorers
Leon Richardson-10th, 32nd and 34th Shawn Mohamed-55th and 67th Joshua Perreira-5th Cummings Lodge Scorer Elroy George-33rd Game-3 St. Winefride-0 vs Tucville Secondary-9 Calvin Peters-13th, 21st, 48th and 57th
Keifer Brandt-3rd, 24th, 46th and 59th Sherwin Reid Game-4 Chase Academic Foundation-7 vs East Ruimveldt-0 Keith Caines-44th, 47th and 52nd Jeremy Garrett-16th and 23rd Job Caesar-36th and 50th
Sunday February 21, 2016
Kaieteur News
Page 83
Banks DIH, Trophy Stall hand over trophies for today’s Rising Sun Horserace meet When animals the likes of Score’s Even, American Boss, Big Man Boss, Lady Budapest, Just Call Me Boss, Princess She Not, Storm Bird and Cat Messiah assembly for any race meet the action is usually breath taking. With the day finally here and all systems in place the place to be is the Rising Sun Turf Club Arima Park, West Coast Berbice for the much anticipated Mashramani Horserace meet organized by the Rising Sun Turf Club in collaboration with the Inshan Bacchus Trucking Service. Over 65 horses have been entered for the event which is dubbed “Hellie’s Day of racing” held in memory of the late Zaleena Habibulla Lawrie a former Vice President of the Club. Eight races are carded for the day with prize monies totaling over $4.5M in cash, trophies and other goodies up for the taking. Thousands are expected to throng to the famous venue to see the nonstop action expected to unfold especially with the anticipating return of Score’s Even. All eyes will be on the “A” class event dubbed the “Hellie Mile” with Score’s Even, expected to be tested to the end by the likes of the speedy Princess She’s Not, Jus Call Me Bas, Lady Budapest and Keep On Swinging for a first prize of $800,000 and the Banks DIH trophy in what is expected to be a ding dong battle over 1600M. Campador will be looking for another win in the event for animals classified E and lower and three year old American horses. However, it will not
be easy as it contends with American Boss, Strom Bird and Giant Time for a winner’s prize of $500,000 and trophy over 1400M. Settling Star will have a score to settle against the likes of, Big Man Boss, Rosetta, Midnight Blues and Anfield and in the G3 and lower showdown for the $320,000 first prize and trophy over 1000M. A large field has been entered in the race for horses classified H and lower for the pole position taking of $300,000 and trophy over 1100M. Among them are Princes Paige, Bird man, Atlantic Storm, Big Man Bass, Quiet Strom, Amazing Run, Sweet Return, Anfield, Silver Bell, Ms Lova Lova, Jumbo Gift, Mary Ann, Party Time. Cat Messiah leads the entries in the event for H3 maiden and I and lower horses for a winning purse of $260,000 and trophy over 1100M which also has animals the likes of Fire ball, Party Time and Mary Ann. The J and lower event will see the winner receiving $200,000 and trophy over 1100. Among those entered are Liquid Lion, Affinity, Plane Land, Massaquida Dr. Little and Another storm. First prize of $160,000 and trophy is available for the winner of the race for K and lower animals also over 11 0 0 M . A m o n g t h o s e expected to compete are Affinity, Golden Kiss, Plane Land, Blue Lightning Confusion, Secretariat, Another Storm and Red Region. The animals classified L and lower will race over 1100M for a winner’s pocket of $100,000 and trophy. A large field that includes Shining Copper, Royal
Progressive, Star Boy and Quincy among others has been entered. The nation’s largest horse racing sponsors Beverage Giants Banks DIH Limited, Trophy Stall, Chester Fry Chicken of Bush Lot West Coast Berbice, Hablaw Meat Centre are among the sponsors so far on board. Businessman Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market as usual is on board with sponsorship for the individual prizes which includes the champion jockey, champion trainer and champion stable among others. The Race will be held under the rules of the Rising Sun Turf Club. Race time is 12:30 hrs. (Samuel Whyte)
Score’s Even to be severely tested on return
Banks DIH Limited Manager Mortimer Stewart (left) presents the beautiful Banks DIH Trophy to organiser Fazal Habibulla compliments of Trophy Stall.
t r o Sp PCL Cricket
Chase’s 5-27 keeps Bajans on top
A minutes’ silence was observed for the death of former T&T & Test batsman Andy Ganteaume during the week.
Golden Jaguars go after Surinamese in International Friendly Affair today
Members of the Suriname and Guyana team managements at yesterday’s briefing at Pegasus Hotel along with GFF and Banks DIH officials.
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