Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Bandit injured in shootout with Haslington businessman Three young bandits, one of whom was shot by a Haslington, East Coast Demerara homeowner, are now in police custody following a botched robbery early yesterday morning. The men, whose names were given as Devon Manroop, 22, of Bee Hive, and brothers Delon and Bevaughn Boucher of Haslington, East Coast Demerara were held in a house into which they had fled after they bolted from the home of their intended victim in the face of stiff retaliation. The police were loud in their praise of the homeowner, Bourda Market stallholder Deonauth Rajkumar who used his licenced firearm to good effect and who bravely chased after the bandits even though they were armed, until he observed them entering the house of another notorious criminal not far away. The men had earlier attacked Rajkumar’s elderly mother while she was preparing breakfast in the lower flat of the two storey house. A Police statement yesterday said that at about 05:15 hours yesterday, Dularie Rajkumar, 63, of South
Farmers decry losses over deplorable Parika Backdam road
- later caught hiding in wardrobe with two accomplices Haslington, ECD, was in her home when three men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, entered through the open door. The men held up the woman and began assaulting her while demanding cash and jewellery. Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, the businessman said that he was in the upper flat when he heard the commotion downstairs. “Dey already buss up she (mother) face and she mouth after she resist while they trying fuh carry she upstairs. I hear de noise I ran out (the bedroom) and peep.” He said that he armed himself with his licenced firearm and peered down the house’s inner stairway, only to see one of the bandits with a gun in his hand coming up. “He fuss fire a shot at me and I duck and fire back and hit he,” Rajkumar stated. According to him, his response shocked the young bandits, who abandoned their mission and bolted from the house. “Dey had to jump
fence and cross trench fuh get away,” a police source said. Meanwhile, Rajkumar said that he chased after the bandits but after a while he hid in some bushes and watched to see where they were going. He observed them going into a house which is sometimes occupied by a well known kidnapping accused. “A lady open de door for them,” Rajkumar said. He borrowed a telephone and contacted the police who responded quickly by sending an armed mobile patrol unit. The house was surrounded and a search of the interior exposed the bandits, one of whom was hiding in a wardrobe with blood oozing from a bullet wound on his right hand. They were quickly taken in to custody and are expected to be charged soon. The police also arrested two females who were in the house where the men had fled and they too could face charges for harbouring criminals.
Statutory and constitutional appointments…
Positions held by Chancellor and Chief Justice should be confirmed Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon at a press conference yesterday disclosed that while Attorney- at- Law, former Justice Winston Moore will soon be sworn in by President Donald Ramotar as Guyana’s Ombudsman, the positions held by the Chancellor and Chief Justice should also be confirmed. Luncheon said that the Constitution imposes on the President, the appointment of constitutional post holders. It also provides for the legal consultation with the Leader of the Opposition for certain appointments…He added, “The reform process made the approval of the Leader necessary to some
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- Dr. Luncheon appointments, particularly the two most senior appointments in the Judiciary; the Chief Justice and the Chancellor. The President has sought to have these two positions confirmed which have been filled for many years by acting appointments by Mr. Carl Singh as the Chancellor and Ian Chang as Chief Justice.” The President, Luncheon said, had made his position clear during consultations with the leader on the confirmation of the two. However, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. David Granger, proposed an alternative which was that of a public application process
for the filling for those posts. Granger had recommended that the positions be advertised and eligible candidates be interviewed by a special panel. Luncheon, who disagreed with this “novelty” process, told members of the media that while nothing is wrong with that format, Guyana should not be the first to stray from the current system for constitutional appointments.
Frustrated residents are pleading for a permanent fixture of the Parika Backdam road. Once again, residents are furious over the deplorable condition of the Parika Backdam Access Road, which has been a major hindrance for farmers trying to make ends meet. They have been losing thousands of dollars worth in produce, which would constantly fall from the vehicles struggling to negotiate the potholes on the road. Many are also peeved that transportation operators are refusing to take them to their homes because of the poor condition of the road, especially in the case where schoolchildren are stranded for hours waiting to go home. Residents complained about their vehicles being destroyed, causing them to be constantly buying new parts. One resident, Mr. Doodnauth told Kaieteur News that the Region Three administration has been neglecting the road which serves as the main access to three communities – Naamryck, Parika and Ruby backdams. These communities are home to more than 1000 residents. According to the Region’s Alliance for Change (AFC) Councilor, Harry Narine Deokinanan, he raised the issue with those present
at a recent statutory meeting, but was told by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/ C)’s representative that residents were comfortable with the condition of the roads. “That is a lie! Who can be comfortable with the condition of such a road? I even went back there to show the people the minutes of the meeting, and they said that it was a lie,” Deokinanan said. He told Kaieteur News that prior to the statutory meeting, he sought the assistance of Regional Chairman Julius Faeber, but was told that the administration does not have the money to purchase a grader with the needed crusher-run. The Ministry of Agriculture has always been fully aware of the farmers’ plight, but shabby works continue to further annoy residents. In 2011, residents were forced to voice their grievances via a protest. Some amount of works was carried out, but just one year after its construction, the Parika Backdam Access Road, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) was once again in an appalling state. Some works were carried out in July 2013, but the residents’ struggles with the road continue. The multi-million dollar two-mile road was constructed around
February-March 2010. Even then, according to residents, the road did not meet their satisfaction since the contractor was said to have utilized substandard materials. “Even tar dem na bin put,” one resident had stressed. It was explained then that only crusher run, sand and loam were administered in the process, causing the road to continuously deteriorate. Since mainly heavily laden vehicles carrying loads of produce in and out of the Backdam mainly traverse the road, it is essential that the road gets a permanent fixture. “It’s thousands of pounds of vegetables and fruits in there that have to be accessed to be taken to markets such as Leonora, Parika and Bourda,” Deokinanan said. Kaieteur News was unable to get a comment from the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, but according to an official at the Ministry, works will commence on the road “soon”. Residents are hoping that the planned works would be carried out in a proper manner this time around .
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Women are the key It would seem that the number of women killed as a result of domestic conflicts is increasing at a rapid rate. This is a trend that has been worrying the authorities for some time but precious little was done. Indeed, pressure on the police pushed them to respond to every report of domestic violence. There was once a time when the police would sit back and say that such a dispute is a private matter and that the victim should pursue the matter in court. And a few did, but the majority had no relationship with the court except through the police. It was this recognition that caused the pressure on the police to help such victims. Today, the courts are less sympathetic to the abuser. Jail time is now mandatory as are restraining orders which do precious little to help the victim unless the victim has time to call the police. We are aware that the female victim is often reluctant to call the police because she feels that to cause the arrest of her abuser is to threaten her income or line of support. Many of them have gone to court only to beg the magistrate to let the abuser off with a warning. This has got to change. Recently, the call was for the court to ignore the plea for a warning. Sadly, prosecution is difficult without the testimony of the victim. But the courts are doing their best to put the abusers behind bars. They tend to ignore the pleas of the victim and send the abuser to jail, even if it is for a short time. Already for this year, two women are dead and one critical. Some others have been injured. And there seems to be no ease in sight. The reason for this escalation of domestic violence was once believed to be copycat. Men would hear of others abusing their spouses with seeming impunity and they would attempt the same. It is not that domestic abuse is something new; it has been with us for as long as many of us have been alive. Men beat their wives for whatever reason and the woman did not have the support. She could not return to her parents who simply said to her that she should deal with whatever came her way. Some ran away but most stayed. Few were killed. This time around, death is almost a certainty of domestic abuse. Men simply feel that they could kill their spouses and get away with it. In fact, most of them believe that killing is the solution to their problems. And strange as this may seem, women are responsible for this. Mothers set store by their sons and more often than not, would show resentment to their daughters-in-law. There are various organisations that believe that there is a special measure that could reverse the tide. These organisations believe that men should be the leaders in the reversal of domestic abuse since they are for the greater part, the abusers. But the focus should be on the mothers. They are the people who actually fashion their sons. Sociologists may credit this hike in domestic abuse to the fact that mothers are no longer as active in their sons’ lives largely because they are single parents who must spend time putting food on the table. If only there could be a reversal of this trend then mothers must be the prime movers. They should instill in their sons the need to respect women, to see every woman as being their surrogate mother. But there is more. More often than not, an abused woman turns to her mother-in-law for some comfort. She would report any abuse to that woman who must act decisively and this is where the relationship between the man and his mother comes to the fore. But regardless of that relationship the man always listens to his mother. The bottom line is that women are the key to ending domestic violence.
Request for nominees to the Public Procurement Commission DEAR EDITOR, With respect to the captioned subject, readers would have noted a related advertisement by the Parliament Office in the press, including Sunday Stabroek of January 05, 2014. One appreciates the constraints of space imposed upon the advertisement, but it does not appear to provide sufficient information for stakeholders’ guidance. In the circumstances, it is hoped that your columns can accommodate some relevant extracts from the provisions of the Guyana Constitution which address the subject. Following on the published article 212X, article 212Y states as follows: 212Y. ( 1 ) Subject to paragraph (2), members of the Commission shall be appointed for three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment, for one other term of office, not earlier than three years after the end of their first term. (2) Of those members first appointed, two shall hold office for four years. (3) The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the
Commission shall be elected by and from the members of the Commission using such consensual mechanism as the Commission deems fit. (4) The provisions of article 225 shall apply to the office of a member of the Commission, and for the purpose of paragraphs (4) and (6) of that article the prescribed authority shall be the Speaker of the National Assembly except that, in relation to a member other than the Chairperson or a member for the time acting in the office of the Chairperson under the next following paragraph, the prescribed authority for the purposes of paragraph (6) shall be the Chairperson. (5) If the office of Chairperson of the Commission is vacant or the holder thereof is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then the holder of the office of Deputy Chairperson, or if that office is vacant, or the holder thereof is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office of Chairperson, one of the
other members, may be elected to act in the office of Chairperson; and the Deputy Chairperson or such other member shall continue so to act until a person has been elected to the office of Chairperson and has assumed the functions of that office or, as the case may be, until the Chairperson or if a member other than the Deputy Chairperson is acting therein, the Deputy Chairperson has assumed or resumed those functions. (6) If the office of a member of the Commission other than the Chairperson is vacant or if the holder thereof is acting as Chairperson under the preceding paragraph or is for any other reason unable to perform the functions of his or her office, a person may be appointed to act in that office and the provisions in relation to the appointment of members of the Commission shall apply to such an appointment as they apply to the appointment of a person to hold the office of the member concerned; and any person appointed under this paragraph shall, subject to
the provisions of paragraph (4), continue to act until a person has been appointed to the office in which he or she is acting and has assumed the functions thereof or, as the case may be, until the holder thereof resumes those functions. Examination of the above does not confirm the assertion in the advertisement that ‘Commissioners once appointed will be part-time’. This interpretation needs to be urgently clarified by the PAC, importantly for the information of prospective nominees (and their sponsors). In fairness also, the latter should be further advised of how the Commission will function. The advertisement has been palpably lacking in this regard. Please see article 212Z on the subject, which incidentally further confutes the notion of part-time membership. 212Z. (1) The Commission shall establish a secretariat comprising its officer and employees. (2) The Commission shall (Continued on page 24)
One of Guyana’s unsung heroes DEAR EDITOR, For most people from my generation, the radio was our main source of entertainment while growing up. My memories of the voices of legends like Matthew Allen, Pat Cameron, Bibi Narine, Clem David, Rovin Deodat, Pancho Carew, Christopher Dean and Ron Robinson would live with me forever, for the joy and relaxation they brought to me during studies, moments of trials and loneliness. Then television came and with other attractions along with a full work schedule at the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC), I lost contact with radio for over a decade. Early last year, a colleague at the RHTY&SC who is a security guard encouraged me to listen to NCN radio at night. His voice was full of excitement as he spoke about a particular radio announcer and the wonderful programmes he hosted. To please my colleague I brought a radio and during one of my evening work sessions I tuned into NCN. The end result is that I hardly watch television in the evening anymore, as my work companion is now my radio. The name of the NCN radio host is Mr. Franklin Langhorne and he is without doubt one of Guyana’s
unsung heroes. In the era of a shortage of professional radio announcers he is a role model and hero. His programmes - Nightrider, the three ‘M’ show and ‘Sunday kind of love’ are not only inspirational but posses a certain kind of magic. Sometimes after a stressful day of work, I promise myself to do no more work in the evening but half hour into Mr. Langhorne’s collection of music and quotations, I find myself with paper and pen coming up with new projects and programmes for the RHTY&SC. Many of the plans are formulated while listening to
the unbelievable music and programmes of the remarkable radio announcer/host. On behalf of the thousands of Guyanese here at home and others who listen to him on the World Wide Web, I would like to offer a big thank you to Mr. Langhorne for a job well done, with professionalism, dedication and class. Silent heroes like him should be recognized and honoured and newspapers like Kaieteur News should immediately honour him as a ‘Special Person’ while my good friend Michael Gordon should honour him at NCN for upholding the rich tradition of the legends of the past. He is
as asset to NCN and should be recognized. Please upkeep your high standard of work, Mr. Langhorne and continue to bring inspiration to your listeners. On Monday 2014.01.06, you quoted a quotation: “If you can’t do great things, then do small things in a great way”. You sir, are the best example of that quotation. My wife and family join me in extending congrats to you on a job well done. The RHTY&SC is currently looking at a recommendation to honour Mr. Langhorne under our tribute to heroes 2014 programmme scheduled for April. Hilbert Foster
Routine examination of various mail prior to leaving Guyana DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) wishes to take this opportunity to further respond to the recent letter published in the Stabroek News’ January 1, 2014, edition and captioned: “Envelopes received from Guyana had been cut open and retaped.” We wish to thank the writer for the interest shown in the Post Office’s service and wish to assure that we do appreciate the feedback. As acknowledged in a previous GPOC release published in the June 29, 2013, edition of the Kaieteur News, various mail may be identified by the respective authorities and subjected to routine examinations prior to leaving Guyana. This is the case particularly
during instances of sample checks for narcotics. It must be noted that such examinations are out of the Corporation’s remit and control. Please be advised that the GPOC remains committed to serving all our customers and protecting the integrity of mail entering and exiting our system. Customers with issues as alluded to by the consumer in the print media are requested to contact the GPOC’s Customer Services Department on telephone number 226-3127 for further clarification and/ or to enable us to conduct an investigation if warranted. Telesha Whyte Public Relations Officer Guyana Post Office Corporation
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
For how long will these people continue to suffer? DEAR EDITOR, “Madam Speaker, our Government continues to place the highest priority on ensuring the long term viability of our sugar industry by increasing its competitiveness. The enhancement of agricultural productivity, diversification, increased investment in research and development, and the establishment of new processing facilities are among the key areas targeted to achieve the goals of the sector.” (Source - Page 21 of the 2008 Budget Speech from the Hon. Minister of Finance Dr. Singh) Yet in 2013, GuySuCo’s production dropped to a 23year low at a dismal 186,807 tonnes some five years after. Clearly the PPP has failed in the sugar belt. The main risk at Guysuco continues to be the inability of the decision-makers to be entrepreneurial and effectively invest the limited resources in the industry to immediately stabilize production. Why can’t GuySuCo guarantee the nation a minimum production of 235,000 tonnes by fixing all the key performance
inhibitors? (Our international and local quotas add up to 235,000). For this to happen, GuySuCo has to be managed like a business, not a PPP political step-child. Thus, I strongly encourage the PPP to do the following: Separate Skeldon Estate as a new and distinct sugar company that will not be the financial responsibility of Guysuco. The Skeldon Factory was imposed on the nation, by the Jagdeo PPP Government, and thus the PPP has to take full financial responsibility for Skeldon. This new sugar company will be vested to and owned by NICIL who will bear the full financial burden of this estate. Ideally, NICIL should hire GuySuCo on a Management Contract to manage the estate and supervise the work of the South Africans with the caveat that the new General Manager of the estate is a new talent; that they understand the Chinese technology at this estate and also the technical works that the South Africans are carryingout. That person will be rewarded on production. Consolidate the
operations on the other functional estates and divest 49 percent of the shareholding of GuySuCo to the local private sector, and international investors. This will preserve this socio-economic industry firmly in the hands of the State, which is not the optimal economic decision, b u t i s t h e better sociopolitical decision. Such a decision will allow for new skills to be broughtinto the boardroom and at the same time raise valuable private capital to conduct comprehensive rehabilitation of the factories and the fields. Every single estate will become its own cost centre so that we can identify which estates are financial drains, why, and take corrective strategic action. Just go back to basics please! Let us review the current agronomical and engineering practices and compare it to the Jock Campbell days to assess what he did better and why, and just make some basic changes like re-establishing the flood fallowing system from those days and readopting the techniques his scientists used when they
allowed field hands to check the leaves of the cane to ascertain how and when to apply fertiliser. As the final leg of this recommended four-step approach, concurrently set up a special projects team made up of technicians and policy-makers from the Ministry of Agriculture, NAREI and the University of Guyana who will be tasked with conducting comprehensive scientific research on the production bottleneck issues, with an objective of unleashing strategic solutions and funding options. F o r J o c k ’s s a k e appoint, empower and embrace a professional and competent board. This letter is not intended to attack the PPP, but to appeal to them earnestly to stop seeing “ghosts” all over the place and start doing something concrete for the 90,000 mouths that depend on the sugar belt. For how long will these people continue to suffer? All of us are in this together and thus we all are committed to the rehabilitation, rationalisation and modernisation of
GuySuCo to ensure its longterm sustainability. For how long will Khemraj Bagwandatt, a sugar factory worker at Enmore and his children, have to endure the small dilapidated shack at Pigeon Island in abject poverty because the PPP mismanaged the industry since 2001? (see article at h t t p : / / w w w . stabroeknews.com/2013/ features/sunday/beyond-gt/ 12/29/pigeon-islandsquatting-area/) I am extremely concerned that the majority opposition,
especially Dr. Roopnaraine, the agriculture spokesperson, has not found it within their power to make a difference in the life of the Bagwandatt family and all other sugar workers who continue to live in slave-like conditios some 40 years after the “white man” left the sugar estates. Why is the opposition not opposing, exposing and working hard at deposing the respective PPP Ministers of Agriculture and that Board of Directors who have failed these people since 2001? Sasenarine Singh
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Canadian remanded 15-year old uncle to face murder charge for cocaine possession Sodomising of Haslington two-year-old…
Almost three months after the police launched an investigation into the suspicious death of two year -old Kimanie Watson, the Director of Public Prosecution has advised that her 15 year old uncle be charged for her murder. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the teenager, who was the prime suspect in the death of the child after a post mortem report confirmed that she had been sodomised, will appear today at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court. The advice comes after weeks of intense investigations during which the teenager was detained and released. The two-year-old, of Lot 46 South Haslington, East Coast Demerara died on October 21 last year under suspicious circumstances, a few hours after she was seen playing in her yard with her cousins. Watson’s grandmother, Dianne Graham, had explained that on the fateful day, the child’s mother, who
is a security guard, had left her at home to go to work as usual. “All of we live together and my daughter does leave her children with me.” Kaieteur News was told that Graham subsequently went out to collect some money from Western Union, leaving the two-year-old at home with her 15-year-old son. “When I was coming back, I get a call to come at the hospital and when I go there then I hear Kimanie died,” the grandmother had related. This newspaper understands that after the child was pronounced dead, her body was taken to the mortuary. However, officials at the hospital upon reflecting on the child’s sudden death, decided to take a second look at the body. They first discovered what appeared to be an old bite mark on her back. They were further shocked when they found that her anus was enlarged and they concluded that it was a clear case of penetration from the outside. “The child was wrapped
up and taken to the mortuary but was brought back and examined in the presence of a social worker. They found that the anus was wide open,” a source had informed this newspaper. The police were informed and immediately launched an investigation. While it was hoped that a report from a private medical practitioner may clear the teenage suspect, a post mortem report pointed investigators in a different direction. The medical report from the private practitioner, which was seen by this newspaper, revealed that the 15-year-old suspect, under whose care little Watson was left prior to her death, had no recent or old bruises on his penis. However, the post mortem, which was done by government pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)’s mortuary, revealed that little Kimanie died from hemorrhage and shock due to multiple abdominal injuries.
A source who witnessed the post mortem told this newspaper that the child’s anus was fully dilated. “She spleen rupture. It appear like she been face down when this thing happen.” The incident has created a huge rift among family members. One section of the family had claimed that the child was suffering from a severe bout of diarrhea, but medical practitioners found enough evidence to suggest that she was the victim of a brutal sexual assault. Dianne Graham is maintaining that her son did not sexually molest her granddaughter. “I could put my head on a block and swear that he didn’t touch that child.” According to Graham, her daughter, Venice Phillips, the dead child’s mother, had threatened to kill her on many occasions. “She run me with a cutlass the wake night and she would still talk nonsense even though I contributed financially to the funeral.”
Guyana records double digit increase in tourist arrivals - projects 15% increase in 2014 Over the last 10 years, visitor arrivals have been increasing significantly to Destination Guyana, and in 2013, it was one of three countries in the Caribbean to record a double digit growth with an 11.7 percent increase in arrivals. The Guyana Tourism
Authority’s record shows that last year, there was an average of 2,630 tourists per month. In August alone, Moleson Creek recorded 3581 arrivals and in September, 3602. Over 11,600 visited Lethem, Region Nine during the year. The increase represents visitors from across the Caribbean region, especially from Suriname, Brazil, and Jamaica. This is a result of several initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, along with the GTA. Some of these include
familiarisation trips, British Birdwatchers’ Fair in London, and Trade Shows in New York and Canada. The inaugural Trade Shows in New York and Canada created a firsthand opportunity to showcase the country’s tourism potential and products on the international market. The British Birdwatchers’ Fair has been significant in terms of disseminating information about Guyana as a tourist destination, taking into consideration that as a
spot it was virtually unknown to many persons, when it first participated in this event. Many tourists, who have had the privilege of experiencing Guyana, have recommended the country as a tourist destination. Through this event, they have helped to create an excitement about Guyana and its rich, abundant diverse nature. The “Fam” trip is the most proactive, cost effective trip and it promotes Destination Guyana. The Ministry of Tourism is determined to sell Destination Guyana, and in 2014, it projects a 15 % increase in arrivals. Several FAM trips are scheduled to be conducted, and will result in more persons visiting Guyana.
A Canadian national who was apprehended at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport for allegedly possessing 9.545 kilograms of cocaine in the false bottoms of his suitcases, made his first court appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday just two days after the drug bust. Fifty eight-year-old Edward James pleaded not guilty to the offence of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking but the court, presided over by Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry ordered him remanded. The prosecution team led by Corporal Bharat Mangru who briefed the court, stated that on January 7, James, who had two suitcases, was an intransit passenger to Canada. Mangru reported that around 13:45 hours, the suitcase was checked by a Customs Anti Narcotics Branch (CANU) officer who during the course of the inspection observed broken false bottoms on both pieces of luggage. According to the prosecution, a large quantity of the illicit substance concealed in transparent bags was unearthed in the false bottoms of the suitcases. The Prosecutor stated that when questioned by the CANU officer, the Canadian man denied having knowledge of the illegal drug.
Edward James James was subsequently arrested and charged. Representing the accused was Defence Attorney Marcel Bob who, in submitting his application for his client to be granted reasonable bail, stated that it was James’ first time in Guyana. He said that his client who suffers from hypertension and diabetes is not a flight-risk. However, his application was met with objections from the Prosecution who argued that no special reasons for bail to be issued were raised (Continued on page 23)
BV mason charged for armed robbery A 20-year-old mason who hails from Lot 134 Canterbury Walk, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, is now a remand prisoner after he made his first court appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday, indicted for armed robbery. Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry read a charge of Robbery Under Arms to Wendell Austin which detailed that on January 4, at Longden Street, Georgetown while in the company of others and armed with a knife, he robbed Kishan Persaud of one Toshiba laptop computer, one BlackBerry Bold cellular phone, one silver band and one ring. The prosecution said that the items which belonged to Persaud were valued at $216,000. However, Austin had pleaded not guilty to the
charge. Corporal Bharat Mangru, who represented the prosecution, related that at about 12:30 hours on that day the victim who was journeying to the Timerhi Bus Park was walking along Longden Street when the accused and another male cornered him. He explained that they then placed a knife to the neck of the victim and relieved him of the items. The matter was reported and the accused who was subsequently arrested was later identified in an identification parade. The prosecution asked that the accused be denied his pre trial liberty, offering the serious nature and prevalence of the offence as grounds for same. In response, the Magistrate denied bail and the man was remanded to prison until January 24.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
13,000 families flee Fallujah amid Iraq standoff
Iraqi families flee Falluja and Ramadi as al Qaeda militants battle with government forces for control of the two key cities. Mana Rabiee reports. Fallujah (Iraq) (AFP) More than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah, NGOs said Wednesday, warning of a dire humanitarian situation in Iraq, as masked gunmen held the city, locked in a days-long standoff with the army. And though traffic police returned to its streets, some shops reopened and more cars could be seen, Fallujah was still rocked by clashes and shelling, after an AlQaeda-linked group urged Sunnis to keep fighting the Shiite-led government. Fallujah and parts of nearby Ramadi, both in the western, Syrian-border province of Anbar, have been outside government hands for days — the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. Yesterday, the Iraqi Red Crescent said it had provided humanitarian assistance to more than 8,000 families across Anbar but added that upwards of 13,000 had fled and were living with relatives, or in schools or other public buildings. “There is a critical humanitarian situation in
Anbar province which is likely to worsen as operations continue,” Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special envoy to Iraq, said in a statement. “The situation in Fallujah is particularly concerning as existing stocks of food, water and life-saving medicines begin to run out.” Yesterday, uniformed traffic police, whose sole responsibility is directing vehicles and controlling intersections, were back on the streets in several parts of central Fallujah, an AFP journalist reported. They were apparently on duty with the blessing of the gunmen, whose allegiance was not immediately clear. The gunmen were deployed in areas around the edge of Fallujah, at the entrances of neighbourhoods, and on bridges — including one from which the bodies of American contractors were infamously hung in 2004, prompting the first of two US assaults that year. Some shops in the city reopened, and light traffic returned to the streets. But the city still faces the threat of an assault by soldiers deployed
nearby. A suicide detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Ramadi on Wednesday, killing two Sahwa anti-AlQaeda militiamen and wounding four others, while another bombing damaged a bridge in the city. And two areas of Fallujah saw brief clashes and shelling, witnesses said, but it was not immediately clear who was involved in the fighting. More than 250 killed The Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been active in Fallujah, but so have antigovernment tribes. The security forces have meanwhile recruited their own tribal allies in the fighting that has raged in Anbar province for more than a week and killed more than 250 people. Near the prov i n c i a l capital Ramadi, meanwhile, soldiers backed by helicopters battled gunmen in the Khaldiyah area, a police captain said. On Tuesday, ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani urged Iraqi Sunnis to continue battling government forces.
Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama invited German Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit Washington this year, the White House said yesterday in a brief statement about a phone conversation between the two leaders. The visit would give Obama a chance to make amends after revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency had been monitoring Merkel’s cellphone.
Merkel accepted the president’s invitation to come, her spokesman said in a statement. Obama is set to announce this month his decisions on how to rein in U.S. surveillance. Obama wished Merkel “a speedy recovery” after she broke her pelvis while crosscountry skiing, the White House said, and the two leaders discussed ongoing
talks for a U.S.-European Union trade deal and an upcoming NATO summit. Asked at a briefing whether Obama had reached the German chancellor on a land line or by cell phone, White House spokesman Jay Carney the president’s calls to foreign leaders are done by hard line. He did not have further information on whether Obama and Merkel discussed the NSA scandal.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Government has no intention to increase taxes this year KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC - The Jamaica government says it has no intention of increasing taxation this year but would continue with its efforts to reform the tax system as well as reduce the financial deficits facing the country. Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Peter Phillips said that the Portia Simpson-Miller government would also seek to complete the tight financial-legislative agenda in keeping with requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) four-year US$958 million External Fund Facility (EFF). “We don’t have plans for taxation. We have plans for tax reform, generally,” Phillips told the Gleaner newspaper, adding “but we will have to maintain our deficit targets.” Phillips told the newspaper of the government’s expectations in 2014, including growth, lowering of the commercial interest rates, and the stabilisation of the Jamaican dollar. The finance minister said reports of missed revenue targets that have fuelled speculations in the country of increased taxation this year were largely overstated. “The revenue targets have been missed slightly in
Dr. Peter Phillips relation to taxation, and I say slightly, although the numbers loom large because they have reached approximately 97 per cent of the targets, “But we are going to have to maintain our 7.5 per cent surplus, as it is the only way if we are going to pay down this debt,” he told the Gleaner newspaper. Phillips suggested a cut in expenditures or increase revenues as at least two ways to stop the rapid accumulation of debt:. “That is a reality that we face, but we have committed to an o p e n d i s c u s s i o n about our alternatives and
that is why have laid the fiscal policy paper before the House,” he said, listing also some of his expectations in 2014. “I expect that we will see continued trending downwards of the interest rates and increased lending by commercial banks, particularly to businesses. I expect to see improved investor confidence, both domestic and foreign, in relation to the economy. “We will still have a market-determined exchange rate, and I expect that the value of the Jamaican dollar will level off and see increased positive momentum in the economy,” Phillips said, warning that tigh t budgetary circumstances continued to be necessary. “ We h a v e o v e r c o m e many challenges, but we are still facing difficulties, which I expect us to overcome,” said Phillips. The government has until March 31 to push forward several key pieces of legislation in keeping with IMF commitments and Phillips said these would include the Insolvency Bill, Amendments to the Banking Act, as well as the Bank of Jamaica Act.
Union prepared to take “action” over LIME decision to retrench workers ROSEAU, Dominica CMC – The Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) yesterday warned it was prepared to “do something about the situation” as it seeks Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments support for its ongoing industrial problem with the British telecommunications company, LIME. DPSU general secretary Thomas Letang said negotiations with the telecommunications company over plans to retrench workers had broken down. He said the company was seeking to outsource its services. “A number of employees at LIME are going to be made…redundant. So what LIME would be doing is concentrating on their mobile services… but all the other services…will be outsourced. “We were looking at the whole question of compensation, the separation package…and that’s where we have some problems and as I said it appears to be a regional thing.
Thomas Letang “We are at a juncture where we have to do something about the situation,” Letang said, noting that the union had written to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who has promised to raise the issue with his regional colleagues. “But as I said time is running out and even if he had taken it to the level of CARICOM, it means that is very likely that the redundancy, the separation
from LIME…would have taken place even before that reaches CARICOM and therefore what the kind of attention we are requesting would not have taken place. “And therefore while we…do not want it to appear that we are embarking upon industrial action because we the prime minister has not been involved…our discussions with LIME have actually broken down. “We are not getting LIME to make any improvement towards what they are offering. But I think we have reached the point where we have to face the criticism and you have to do what you have to do,” he said, reiterating “we are at a juncture where we have to do something about the situation”. “If you ask me how I feel about the whole thing, very disappointed and at this time, while I the union has tried as much as possible…we believe that it appears we may have no choice but to take some action,” Letang said.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 9
THE NATIONAL CULTURAL CENTRE It makes no sense for the government to be investing another eighty million dollars in the National Cultural Centre (NCC) if the facility continues to be underutilized. Right now the NCC is not hosting anywhere near the number of productions that it needs to turn over a profit. It is not that the NCC is undercharging those who use the facilities. In fact, most promoters complain about the high cost to use the center which unless you obtain a packed theater, would not give the sort of returns that the promoters are looking for. The promoters have a right to feel shortchanged because they are paying but the facilities that are being afforded to patrons are discouraging. At the moment there is a serious problem with the airconditioning unit. The place is extremely hot. In fact, it leaves one to believe that the air conditioning is not functioning because there is hardly an event there in which patrons do not have to use their programmes to fan profusely. Unless the situation is remedied, someone is going to have a sun-stroke. The National Cultural Centre should be closed until such time as the air conditioning is fixed. As it stands now it is unfit for persons to go there for any event. The air-conditioning is
not the only problem. There are serious problems with the sound system. It seems as if the NCC has joined the ranks of the boom-boom boxes because this is what passes for a sound system in the NCC. We live in the age of surround sound where speakers in major auditoriums and operatic halls are now virtually invisible. In those world class places you at times wonder whether the singer is right next to you. The sound is crisp, clear and without static. Not at the NCC. As you enter the auditorium, the ghastly sight of massive boom-boom boxes greets the eye. That is not good enough for Guyana’s leading cultural facility. This facility is underutilized. There are too few productions to guarantee a profit. It is uneconomical for small productions to be held there and therefore unless major concerts, recitals, beauty pageants and ceremonies are hosted there almost weekly, the NCC would not be able to meet its operating expenses. And if now it cannot meet its operating expenses, imagine how bad it will be when it gets a fully working air conditioning system that will up the energy charges of the NCC. The lighting is also a problem and some of the fixtures are in need of
Dem boys seh... De Americans waiting fuh de Rat and he friends All over de world somebody arresting corrupt people and extraditing dem. Another Prime Minister who was not even as corrupt as dem we have in Guyana, get arrested in Brazil and is being extradited to Brazil. This show that decent people don’t like thieves except in Guyana. Dem boys thought that when de New Year break de people woulda turn over a new leaf. Instead, dem turn over a new page in de diary to write down wha dem do and what more dem got to do. Some of dem done change ten diary because of de number of things dem do. De Amaila Falls alone use up two and if it didn’t collapse it woulda tek up two more. Marriott still continue to tek up pages and one page is how to smart Donald. But is not everybody crookish. Dem have good people in de government and dem is de ones who people expect to help change dem bad ones but dem is de ones who keeping dem mouth shut because dem fraid victimization. Dem boys seh that Guyana deh in de same plane as Liberia. De corruption suh bad that even in de education system dem got corruption. De Liberian government does seh that any effort to fail those not up to the academic standard has the following connotation, “If you don’t pass them they may end up breaking your house.” Dem boys seh that Guyana got people who does do dem homework well but that is only fuh de bad things. Later this month dem got a big gathering of de corrupt. De Rat celebrating he fiftieth birthday. All of dem gun gather at he mansion in Pradoville. De Americans waiting fuh dem. Dem setting up de cameras fuh know who is who. Then dem gun give visa to all of dem just to get dem in de States. Is deh de hammer gun fall. Talk half and wait fuh de backlash.
replacing. It costs money to sustain and maintain that facility and the NCC was never able to generate sufficient income to maintain itself. It is therefore heavily dependent on government funding. The mere spending of money on the NCC will not solve the problem. If as the Minister of Tourism said recently, Guyana wants to become the entertainment hub of the Caribbean, then there has to be some coordination between his ministry and the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport to ensure that more events are hosted at the
National Cultural Centre because unless this happens, the NCC will continue to be unable to pay its way. There are of course challenges. A play or a production cannot be held every week. Not only do we not have the artistic resources to sustain this sort of thing but also the paying public cannot afford to attend a play every week at the NCC. There are quite a few mass concerns which are held in Guyana these days and are attended by thousands. But a piano recital or a beauty pageant does not always fill the auditorium at the NCC.
The management of the NCC therefore has to explore alternative uses for the NCC. Unless this is done the NCC will continue to be in the red and will be forced to continue to charge high rates to promoters which will in turn continue to discourage promoters. Every country needs a cultural theater and the NCC is the only one that meets the standard to host major productions and events. It takes money however to keep it going and it is hoped that the parliament will show some understanding of the need to preserve this
important institution and avoid it deteriorating further. In the meantime, the Minister of Culture Youth and Sport should place this facility under a new Board of Directors comprising persons who can attract funding for the NCC and who will also ensure that it is maintained and preserved in good condition.
President Ramotar outlines Guyana’s planned advocacy for climate change in 2014 to CCCCC Officials President Donald Ramotar yesterday met a delegation from the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) which included Executive Director, Dr. Kenrick Leslie and Deputy Director and Scientific Adviser, Dr. Neville Trotz. Among issues raised by President Ramotar was Guyana’s keen interest in promoting and supporting increased action in the Caribbean region on the issue of climate change. President Ramotar indicated to the delegation that in light of the increasing and devastating impacts to the region from extreme weather events linked to climate change, Guyana will be advocating for climate change to be a main item for discussion at the next session of CARIOCM Heads of Government. The President welcomed the recent statement by incoming Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, which calls for CARICOM’s prioritisation of climate change issues.President Ramotar underlined the need for the region to be more vocal on climate change and the need for strong presence by CARICOM Heads of Government in 2014 at two main climate change fora; the UN Secretary General’s Climate Change Summit slated for September on the
From left to right: Head of the Office of Climate Change Shyam Nokta, Deputy Director and Scientific Advisor of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) Dr. Neville Trotz, President Donald Ramotar, Executive Director, CCCC Dr. Kenrick Leslie, and Technical Specialist Dr. Mark Bynoe margins of the UN General Assembly, and the Conference of Parties Meeting of the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru in December. The need for enhancement of the region’s efforts at the technical level, particularly the negotiations in the UNFCCC for a targeted 2015 global agreement, was also raised. The President stressed the need for the region’s negotiators to be provided with clear guidance in accordance with the region’s position on key issues. President Ramotar indicated that while the region has a strong position on climate change as outlined in the Liliendaal Declaration of 2009, perhaps there exists
room for a strengthening of that position. His Excellency indicated Guyana’s willingness to work with the CCCCC and CARICOM to support briefing sessions for the negotiators prior to major UNFCCC sessions. President Ramotar took the opportunity to express Guyana’s recognition and unwavering support for the work of the CCCCC and introduced Shyam Nokta, Guyana’s representative to the Board of Governors of the Centre. The President noted that the Centre has a crucial role to play in providing scientific and technical advice to the region, while supporting the implementation of regional initiatives on climate change and fostering a progressive
agenda on which the region can access opportunities for financing to support climate action. President Ramotar also took the opportunity to underline Guyana’s interest in sharing its experience in developing and implementing a Low Carbon Development Strategy and its REDD+ initiatives, and to work with countries in the region that might be interested as is already being done with Suriname. The President informed the delegation that in 2014, Guyana will be giving priority to climate resilience and integrated water resources management under its LCDS, issues which he contends are also of importance for the region as a whole.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
After two years of delays ...
Hope Canal gets another deadline extension The date of completion for the $3B Hope/Dochfour Canal has been extended again. This time, Kaieteur News was informed by an official of the Agriculture Ministry, that contractors have been given until April of this year to complete the remaining works. While the three major components could have been completed in time for the project’s previous December 31 deadline, the eight-gated sluice, an aspect contracted to Courtney Benn Contracting Services, was way behind schedule. The overall construction works on the Northern Relief Channel is more than two years behind its original deadline. This newspaper understands that the contractual agreement made with Courtney Benn Contracting Services, will have to once again be adjusted. Despite many attempts, Kaieteur News was unable to meet with the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy to find out what would be the changes made in the contract, and if the
Works on this eight-gate sluice has delayed the entire Hope/Dochfour Canal project.
contractor would be penalised. In November, Dr. Ramsammy was determined not to entertain another extended date of completion, suggesting that Courtney Benn Contracting Services
hire additional workers to complete his component of the Hope Canal project. During that time, Minister Ramsammy had even announced that the government was finally prepared to impose the
penalty clause on contractors, should the Canal not be completed by the agreed date of December 31, 2013. He noted that this was especially since the Agriculture Ministry has been quite patient with the
Six-week-old abandoned baby adopted Child Care officers have confirmed that a six-week-old baby girl, who had been abandoned by her 19-yearold mother just a day after giving birth at the Georgetown Public Hospital, has been adopted. According to reports, ever since the mother ’s desertion, the child had been taken under the wings of nurses at the hospital’s Maternity Unit. The combined efforts of the nursing staff gave the baby the love and care she required at that time and she was considered family. Her stay at the hospital ended yesterday, however, after she was handed over to her adoptive
parents. According to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA), the course of action was based on a clear decision made by the mother of the child. Kaieteur News was told that prior to giving birth in late November, the young mother had made it pellucidly clear that she would not be taking the child home since she was already experiencing financial strains in caring for her first child who is two years old. According to a CCPA official, a visit to her home has revealed that the family is “clearly living in poverty.” She said that the young mother is unemployed and is currently being aided by her
mother in caring for the twoyear-old. The official added that the suggestion was put forward to her to have a relative take responsibility for the child but it was dismissed. The young woman reportedly decided that it was best for the child to go to a “stranger”. The mother of the young woman appears to share the same view as her daughter since she, too, has told welfare officers that she thinks the child should be adopted; resulting in the ultimate course of action taken by the CCPA. Additionally, the Agency has directed the 19-year-old
to the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CR&MA) to assist her in finding employment. Meanwhile, Kaieteur News spoke to Director of Nursing Services, Matron Audrey Corry, who noted that instances where newborn babies are abandoned by their mothers are very rare; so much so that there has been no such occurrence during 2013. She said that newborn babies are normally carried home. At the same time, she noted that the presence of agencies such as the CCPA is very assuring as they specialise in offering help under these circumstances.
three contracted companies – DIPCON Engineering, BK International and Courtney Benn Contracting Services, as it relates to accommodating extensions of proposed deadlines. The construction of the $3B Hope/Dochfour Northern Relief Channel was undertaken by former Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, who estimated an 18-month completion, when construction commenced in February 2011. Late last year Dr. Ramsammy, in his capacity as Agriculture Minister, announced an extended completion date – June 2013. This was subsequently extended to August 31, and later to December-January 2013. One of the largest infrastructure initiatives in
Guyana’s history, overall works on the Hope/Dochfour Canal is approximately 80 percent completed. It has been purported that the relief channel would have the capacity to withstand floods greater than that which occurred in 2005. So far, the three-gated Head Regulatorthe component assigned to BK International – is nearing completion. The excavation of the 10.3km long earthen channel, which is being carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, is about 93 percent complete. The process of shaping the dam is currently ongoing, with about 40 percent already done. Ultimately, the delay on the sluice will stall the entire project operation, since each structure is dependent on the other. The channel is being constructed to ease the pressure of water on the East Demerara Water Conservancy at times when it reaches its maximum capacity, releasing it into the Atlantic Ocean, via the Sluice. Meanwhile, the bridge, sited on the East Coast Public Road, is about 80 percent complete. Works are being carried out by DIPCON Engineering. Dr. Ramsammy said that the process of building an incline road to the bridge is also currently ongoing. During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Dr. Ramsammy did not disclose what the penalty would be, should the contractors not meet the projected deadline. The Minister usually defends that the contractors have been working under strenuous circumstances, but despite this, a substantial amount of work has been completed so far.
Man pleads guilty to killing wife Murder accused Kumar Ranji Singh, 48, a cane cutter of Sixth Street, Johns, Port Mourant on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter when he appeared before Justice Diana Insanally at the Berbice High Court. The man, who is charged with murdering his wife Yaswattee Samaroo called Sunita on Friday 23 July 2010 at Johns, Port Mourant, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. He is being represented by Attorney at Law Kim Kyte who requested a probation
report on her client. Justice Insanally concurred and set the January 15 date for submission of the report and sentencing. The State is being represented by Attorney at Law Renita Singh who, after reading the incitement did not read the opening address because the accused pleaded guilty. A post-mortem examination which was conducted by Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan revealed that the woman died from shock and hemorrhage due to an incised wound to the neck. (Samuel Whyte)
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 11
US Govt. disrespectful to Guyana Govt. The decision by the United States of America’s (USA) Government to proceed with a project that the Guyana Government has already rejected is disrespectful. “The US Govt. has in essence said to the Government of Guyana, we have no respect for what you said and what you direct and what conclusion you came to… we are going ahead with what we want.” This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who yesterday was asked to provide an update on whether or not the US Government has responded to Guyana’s ‘Note Verbal.’ Dr. Luncheon had earlier informed media operatives that the ‘Note Verbal’ was lodged with the US State Department, asking it to clarify why it was proceeding with a project in Guyana that the Guyana Government had rejected. He was making reference to the USAID/Guyana –
…we ain’t negotiating under duress -Luncheon Elections and Political Processes (EPP) Fund, Leadership And Democracy (Lead) Project. Dr. Luncheon yesterday told reporters that the response from the US essentially called the Government of Guyana to engage its bilateral partner, the US in the discussions on the project and its design. The Government Chief Spokesperson lamented the fact that it is being asked to discuss the project, even though it is already being implemented by the US, despite Government’s objection. “I for one feel that this is not an insurmountable matter to be resolved but they are principled ways to address this issue. We ain’t negotiating under duress, we are not going to discuss a project and its implementation while it is being implemented.” Dr. Luncheon is of the opinion that while much has
been said and written about the merits of the project, at this point in time that is of lesser significance. “What is most significant,” according to Dr. Luncheon, is the fact that the Guyana Government, which is a sovereign authority had declared its position on the project but despite its rejection, a foreign power has decided to ignore this and go ahead with its implementation. Cabinet, which is the council of Ministers chaired by the President, had rejected the project when it was considered. Dr. Luncheon had recently described some of the objections made by Cabinet as it relates to the project. He said that the four components of the project were analyzed by Cabinet and one contained major activities that captured a relationship between USAID and individual political parties in
Guyana. This he said was a source of concern, given that Guyana does not have a public policy by government for the support for political parties. He said that there is nothing like that in the law nor in practice and the Americans through the project “invited a profoundly sensitive issue.” Dr. Luncheon said that this is something that has not been dealt with by any postindependent Guyana Government and further “for us represented a usurpation of our authority.” He said that this was drawn to the attention of USAID which was asked to make the overtures and activities to be a relationship between institutions such as Parliament or the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and not parties. Dr. Luncheon had recently castigated the US Ambassador, D Brent Hardt over comments he would
have made publicly despite the fact that at the time there was no response to the formal ‘Note Verbal.’ He had said that the Ambassador’s comments were arrogant and contentious. “Cabinet felt that the Ambassador’s public comments were arrogant, contentious and those utterances that the US Ambassador made indicating that notwithstanding a rejection, a disapproval of the USAID project that they intend to and are implementing the project, is really of severe significance,” said Dr. Luncheon. According to Dr. Luncheon, the project was conceived and designed, and a contractor procured to implement all before approaching the Guyana Government. Below is an excerpt of the project outline: USAID/Guyana – Elections and Political Processes (EPP) Fund, Leadership And Democracy
(Lead) Project. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is developing a programme to strengthen democratic institutions in Guyana. Through this programme, USAID seeks to strengthen the democratic functioning and characteristics of political parties and the Guyanese National Assembly through the provision of technical assistance. The objectives are to enhance the technical capacity and functionality of the legislature through the regular use of consultative practices and mechanisms for legislative drafting, analysis, review, and passage. The programme should further reinforce democratic governance in Guyana by broadening political participation through more representative and competitive multi-party engagements. This programme will include a particular focus on women and youth.
2013 was a tough year for the Linden Municipality IMC Chairman Orrin Gordon
2013 was a tough year financially for the Linden Municipality, according to IMC Chairman Orrin Gordon. In his inaugural press conference for the year yesterday, Gordon alluded to the issue of the disbanded toll booth, which had been one of the financial mainstays of the municipality and said it was a real hard blow to the council. “We had been struggling a long time to put our business in order, and we are still struggling with no seeming solution on the horizon, in terms of filling that gap.” To make matters that were already bad even worse Gordon said, the Ministry of Local Government has even gone so far as to stop the collection of fees from out of town vendors. “Now that is totally unfair,
because the local vendors (Linden)have to pay a fee to the Council, but now the people at Central Government have mandated that no fees should be collected from the ones who come with their trucks and so on from out of town. BUDGET We have submitted our budget for 2014, but Central Government is saying that it is not complete. But we’re trying to be frugal, because you know in the past our budget would be about a hundred pages or more, but a lot of those pages were almost empty, so we’re trying to be frugal and cut down on all the excess pages, with little information on them.” Gordon said that the budget had a shortfall of some $33 mil, and as such the municipality had requested a grant from the government.
Gordon highlighted other issues including the proposal by the Council to give each worker an additional $9,000 on their salaries for December, but which was rejected by the Ministry. “I wrote the Minister asking him why, because somebody head in deh on properly. These are workers that are barely making the minimum wage, and after the five percent increase was proposed, we decided that after taking care of our expenses we would use what was left by dividing it up among the workers, now the Ministry said no.” As it relates to works carried out by the Municipality, Gordon posited that it was ‘fair measure’, “We failed in a few areas but we partnered well with our partners, including the people in the community.” He pinpointed the Linden Water project, adding that every effort was made to ensure that residents suffered the least discomfort during the pipe laying process and other rehabilitative works. But Gordon expressed dissatisfaction with some of the roads that were rehabilitated or resurfaced, and which were done so poorly, that they deteriorated soon after. Of particular concern were the roads in the Block 22 area and phase1 B Amelia’s Ward where over $160 mil was reportedly spent. Gordon said that the contractors were advised that a sand seal be put on the roads, but that was not done, so there
- IMC CHAIRMAN are already huge potholes in the newly constructed and rehabilitated roads. CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT “We need continuous development, not continuous degradation, Gordon emphasized, pointing out that as an ‘extractive community’, it is important that there be commensurate benefits to the Community and its residents, as there would be to the investor, based on all the extraction of ore and other products that are taking place. “You would have seen in the newspapers that
government would have foregone some US $53mil of levy and so on. And that is the kind of thing that we are talking about. How can we (do that)in an extractive industry, where that sum is not going to come back. These things are not going to come back (bauxite)they can’t grow back, it’s not renewable. The bauxite when it goes, it leaves a hole, because you have to disturb the surface -that’s an environmental issue. You’re also going to have “fools” in the psyche of
residents, so that’s a social issue, that’s also going to be created.” But Gordon said that the issue is not just environmental or social, but also an economic one. “Now as it is, Bosai employs about six hundred persons, now that is an operating cost, it is not developmental. It has a developmental component within, but it is an operating cost.” “We need development in infrastructure and education, we’re talking providing services from the social fallout that may accompany what happens in an extractive industry; therefore some levy ought be put aside not just for the country, but for the community.’ (Enid Joaquin)
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
What have we learnt from 2013? If there was anything last year that was graphic in the eyes of the people of Guyana and Guyanese who live in other countries, was the stark contrast between the behaviour of the Executive in Guyana and the United States in relation to the Legislature. In the US, one part of the Legislature, the House of Representative, legally shut down governmental spending, meaning that outside of defence operations, the Executive had no money to spend on state
functions. The Executive was virtually crippled by the Legislature. In another branch of the Legislature, the Republicans used the filibuster weapon to stop the Senate from voting on a Bill that the Executive wanted. The world saw the comical spectacle of Senator Cruz rambling on for 21 hours; the marathon included Cruz reading a bedtime children story as part of his delaying tactic. Then as 2013 was about to come to an end, the two
branches of the Legislature handed the Executive a bitter defeat. They passed a budget that denied unemployment benefits for 2014, much to the bitter chagrin of President Obama. While in the US, the Legislature showed the Executive who has power, according to the US Constitution, in Guyana, the roles were reversed. In the Guyanese Parliament, even though the Guyana Constitution permits the Executive certain powers over the Legislature, the
Executive in 2013 (as in 2012) was totally contemptuous of the National Assembly. Last year saw the biggest comedy on stage when the House voted for four Local Government Bills and the Executive refused assent to one of them with the Executive finally taking on the role of the judiciary by declaring one of the Bills unconstitutional. In 2013, the judiciary continued its long tradition of questionable behaviour that would find rejection in most countries in the world. In a motion that is so vital to the value of electoral viability, filed in 2012, a decision is yet to be given and we are now in 2014. The Executive moved to the courts to deny the Legislature (not the opposition Parliament of which there is no such concept but the country’s Parliament) the right to remove certain allocations in the national budget referred to in political jargon as “cutting.” Most disgracefully, this country went through another budget in 2013, and a judicial decision on the 2012 motion is yet to be handed down. Contrast this with a libel writ, the President of Guyana filed in September 2010, and by July of the next year, the case was being heard in court – a time span of eleven months from the time of filing
to the date of hearing; surely a record in Guyana. So we are coming to a third national budget and there will be cuts again, and the nation is yet to hear from the judiciary on the cuts. What have our ruling leaders, opposition politicians, business community, churches and civil society learned from the year that has passed into history? One may not be on exaggerated grounds if one says, nothing, and maybe we can qualify it by the adverb, “absolutely.” First, we can discount the collective minds of the ruling cabal. People with state power who are corrupt and power drunk will not change because power destroys their rationality. They eventually go down either by being removed through street protest or are engineered out of office. Secondly, our Opposition politicians do not seem to understand that unless the Gandhian principle of non-cooperation with evil is applied to their politics, they will encourage more evil from those quarters. Once dictatorship is not threatened with a nononsense attitude it will not stop its use of naked power. In 2013, civil society has been non-existent. Some may want to use the word tamed, but even that may not reflect reality of life in Guyana in
Frederick Kissoon 2013. The TUC and Red Thread are the only ones that seem to have a voice. The anti-homophobic group SASOD seems to be preoccupied with one human rights issue only - ending discrimination against homosexuality. The Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Press Association were completely reticent in 2013. Praise must be given to Transparency Guyana for holding a march against corruption. In 2013, the people of Guyana have learnt nothing from history and the years of authoritarian government under Presidents Forbes Burnham and Bharrat Jagdeo. We continue to be meek and sheepish and lose our rights and freedoms. But then again Guyana can tire even Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. One can go so far, without being irreverent, and say that Guyana can even wear down God himself.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Underage pregnancies in Region One ...
Police, Child Protection Agency continue investigations The Child Care Protection Agency
Police, together with officers of the Child Care and Protection Agency, (CCPA) are still feverishly investigating two cases of underage pregnancies that were uncovered during the latter part of last year in Region One. Initial reports that reached the Child Care and Protection Agency are that one of the girls was 11 years -old and had been living at Falls Top, Port Kaituma with a 19-yearold man since she was 10. Persons from the area had also insisted that the child’s cohabitation with the man was fully endorsed by her parents. However, the mother of the girl, when questioned by police ranks and an officer of the Child Care and Protection Agency yesterday, was not only adamant in stating that her daughter had run away on several occasions with the man with whom she lived, but that she is in fact 18 years old. The woman in her fervent efforts to dispute the claims of the officials urged them to inquire further at the level of the school system since her daughter had attended school for a short period. But instead of confirming the woman’s claims, school records presented to the
investigating team revealed that the girl, who is about eight months pregnant, is in fact currently 13 years old. Moreover, police are continuing their hunt for the young man who impregnated the girl. The man since last year had reportedly gone into the Falls Top backdam, where he reportedly works. However, there are other reports that the man has gone into hiding having learnt that he is being sought by police. According to Deputy Director at the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ms. Stacey Fraser, although there have been many such cases where persons “supposedly went into the backdam,” a charge for child rape is still imminent for the young man. “As far as I am aware the police will continue efforts to locate the man and charges should be instituted once he is caught because the girl, even at 13, is still underage,” Fraser firmly noted. Meanwhile, the other girl said to be 12 years old has since given birth to her baby at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by way of Caesarean Section. However, all efforts to ascertain her true age have proven futile. Although the girl continues to insist that
she is 17 years old, investigations have not proven this, according to Fraser. The Child Protection official explained that since the girl had never attended school at any level, there are no records to substantiate her claims. Even the girl’s mother has not been able to provide documentation to prove her age as she was not registered at birth, Fraser disclosed.
Muri Brasil pull out…
Opposition should stop playing politics with projects geared towards economic development - Dr. Luncheon The recent decision by Muri Brasil Ventures Incorporated to no longer pursue exploration activities in the New River Triangle area under the Permission for Geographical and Geophysical Surveys (PGGS) has caused Cabinet to be concerned with the possibility of future investors losing confidence in Guyana. This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon at a press conference yesterday held at the Office of the President. The company, through a public notification had indicated last week that although the process was legal and transparent, their “decision is due to the misinformation, prejudice and hostility to this proposed survey by persons and agencies which are fostering an adverse investment climate in Guyana.”
Dr. Roger Luncheon Luncheon told members of the media corps yesterday that Cabinet had examined the decision made in the natural resources sector by the said investor, and, “the similarities in the way in which this project was addressed by the Opposition and sections of
the media with that of the Amaila falls Hydro project were readily recognized by Cabinet. Once again, the outcome in this case is regrettable. Cabinet went beyond the specifics of the unfortunate episode and was addressing its deeply rooted ominous concerns of the likely loss of investors’ confidence in Guyana combined with the concurrent parliamentary position of the opposition.” Luncheon further stressed that, “the ideal situation for Guyana is for the Opposition to stop playing politics with projects for economic development.” Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh had recently blamed the Opposition Collation, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as well as the Alliance For Change (AFC) for the decision made by the company.
Although the young mother remains a patient at the GPHC, the other girl is currently a resident at the Princess Street, Georgetown, Amerindian Hostel, where she is expected to remain until investigations and the relevant actions are taken, Fraser said. Fraser during an earlier interview with this publication noted that the Child Care and Protection Agency is well aware that in some far-flung regions young girls engaging in sexual activities is accepted as a norm. However, she noted that the Agency has a constant role to “get the message across that this is not acceptable. It is hard to change the way people think because these things might have been going on for generations, so we have to educate people about the laws, because it is always difficult to see a child getting a child,” said Fraser.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Cabinet’s no-objection to $32.5M petting Deputy Speaker jets zoo contract is foolishness - Dr. Luncheon off to Florida Hospital for medical tests
Children looking at the domestic animals at the petting zoo Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon believes that the construction of a petting zoo at the Zoological Park, Georgetown is foolishness. Though Cabinet headed by President Donald Ramotar gave its no-objection for the award of a $32.5M contract to construct the petting zoo, Dr. Luncheon said he would have never agreed to that. Yesterday, whilst presenting contracts that Cabinet gave its noobjections to, Dr. Luncheon said he was unaware of what the petting zoo is. However, following his press conference a few media operatives enlightened him of the petting zoo concept.
Last year, during an interview with Adonika Spellen, Senior Supervisor of Guyana Zoological Park, this publication was told that the main objective of the petting zoo is to allow greater appreciation for animals and create the distinction between domestic and wild animals. “It would be an educational area also we’re trying to package as the children’s area for the zoological part. We would have stories about the animals to sensitize people not to abuse the animals,” she had said. The design of the petting zoo entails turnstiles in the front and stables at the back, providing an escape for
animals. Spellen had said the petting zoo would provide visitors the opportunity of interacting with various domestic animals including ducks, goats, cows, and donkeys. “The children would get a chance to feed the animals, especially the ducks, with feed provided by the zoo in small cups for a small fee,” she had added. Interaction with animals at the zoo is currently prohibited since the majority of them are considered to be wild. Dr. Luncheon said yesterday that the petting zoo is not really a zoo since a dog could be placed there and $32.5M should not have been allocated for this project. “I
can’t understand… we gon spend so much money for them to go rub a horse and play with dog,” he said. He believes that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment headed by Robert Persaud should have placed the “petting zoo” in the National Park. This would also serve the same purpose of having persons interacting with the animals he said. He reflected that years ago there used to be a pony in the National Park. Cabinet also gave its noobjection to the award of a $20.4M contract to construct a parking lot and bicycle shed at the National Park.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Backer, was yesterday flown to a Florida Hospital to undergo medical tests. This was confirmed by Leader of the Political Opposition, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger. While he was able to confirm the overseas trip, Granger could not give details as to what kind of medical tests the politician would be accessing. He said too that he was unaware as to what her ailment was and as such did not want to speculate. Granger did say however that Backer is fully aware of the January 16, sitting of the National Assembly and as such it is expected that she would return to Guyana by January 15. In recent weeks, the Deputy Speaker has been unwell to the point where she has missed three Parliamentary sittings and had been hospitalized. Fellow Shadow Cabinet member, Dr. George Norton was also contacted for details on Backer’s ailment but he too was unable to provide specifics. He did divulge that Backer underwent surgery recently but says he is unsure as to the nature of the operation as he was not the surgeon. Dr. Norton said that she was treated at the hospital and discharged. Granger at a recent press conference was questioned as to whether the party would consider vacating Backer’s seat in Parliament as had been the case of former Member of Parliament, Richard Allen, who had fallen ill during a sitting of the National Assembly. He responded by saying that the two scenarios are different and that, “Mr Allen fell during the budget debate and there were some critical actions which had to be taken together with the Alliance For Change at that time and the budget scenario is quite different to what is taking place now.” At the time he said that Backer’s condition was stable and “we don’t have any
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Backer reason to speculate on her attendance.” Backer reportedly fell ill a few weeks ago and was resting at the Georgetown Public Hospital and according to reports, the family has been exceedingly tight lipped about the details of the condition of the elected public official. This publication was told that even the visitors to Backer at the Hospital had been kept to a minimum. Backer, who is currently the serving Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, is also a well known Attorneyat-Law. She obtained her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad in 1983 and a Bachelor of Law from the University of the West Indies in 1981. Backer is a member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and Vice-Chairman of the Peoples National Congress Reform. She has been a Parliamentarian since 1997 and had also served on the Georgetown City Council in 1994. Backer is also a serving member of a number of important organisations such as the Lions Club International and is currently an organising member of the Women’s Millennium Caucus.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 19
Ant-Money Laundering Bill ... Linden schools in need of attention - APNU Member of Parliament Financial sector feeling the squeeze
of Guyana’s blacklist status
APNU MP Renis Morian chats with the Headmistress at New Silver City Secondary Schools reopened on Monday across Guyana, and quite a few schools in Linden reported a poor turnout, with the exception of the Mackenzie High, New Silver City Secondary and the Wi s m a r / C h r i s t i a n b u r g Secondary Schools, all of which reported a high turnout. But even as a new school term commences, there are new expectations, especially as it relates to the environment in which learning takes place. At the New Silver City Secondary school, there is the dire need for better security lighting and the installation of a new fence at the back of the school. Based on reports, the absence of a proper fence has seen the escalation of larceny, which is severely affecting the proper functioning of the school’s agricultural programme, reportedly on hold at present. Work on the fence had commenced, but it was never completed, informed sources claimed. “We can’t do anything here in terms of agriculture, until the fence is fixed,” one source claimed. There is also the need for general maintenance.
Several issues were highlighted at the Wismar/ Christianburg Secondary, such as the absence of a proper rest room facility for staff for several years now, and also the presence of exposed electrical wires in classrooms. At Christianburg Primary the need for a photocopying machine was highlighted, and a part of the perimeter fence needs fixing. According to reports, work commenced on the fence last term, but is still to be completed. There is a wall that’s caving in and a supporting beam for stairway needs changing as it is rotting. These issues were highlighted during the customary New Year school visit by APNU Member of Parliament Renis Morian. Morian said that by visiting the schools, he is trying to garner information on the functioning of these institutions, both as it relates to proper infrastructure and amenities available to promote conducive learning environments. “I would like to reduce the gap between the schools that would have most of the amenities, and those that don’t have as much, so these
visits, afford me the opportunity to see firsthand some of what is missing so that I could make recommendations in Parliament, and so on; there is so much more that needs to be done.” Morian also took the opportunity to visit the only low vision unit in region 10, which is located at the Wismar Hill Primary School. There, some of the challenges facing the unit, were highlighted. “We definitely need a larger space, because here we are very cramped- as you can see we are sharing this classroom with two other classes, and this makes our work so much harder. You see a lot of the work we do, we have to use audio tapes, because of the children’s eye problems, but because of the noise from the other classes, most of the times we have to wait until they are dismissed, before we can actually work properly. We can’t record with all the background noise, so we definitely need our own space, and one that is big enough to house not only a primary unit, but a Secondary one as well,” it was pointed (continued on page 20)
The New Year is here and Guyana’s financial sector is facing the realities of Guyana being blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in November 2012. According to Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, during his post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President yesterday, the banking system, money transfer services and insurance companies have been affected by Guyana’s blacklisted status. Because Guyana did not amend its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism legislation by the November 2012 deadline s e t b y C FAT F, i t w a s blacklisted. The Bill is back in the Parliamentary Special Select Committee. A c c o r d i n g to Dr. Luncheon, in Government’s most recent meeting at the Office of the President with
the leadership of the Bankers’ Association in Guyana, specific incidents of the problems they have and are encountering owing to the blacklisting, were brought to the fore. They specifically emphasized dealing with the transfer of money and their engagements with corresponding banks in foreign jurisdictions, he added. “The difficulties range from enormous increases in procedural aspects to the more difficult situation of the abandonment…of the agreements and working relationships between these working banks,” Dr. Luncheon said. “And then the insurance companies, money transfer companies… they have all been identified as institutions/ sectors in which the impact of the blacklisting reared its ugly head and to be honest, there is a strong
Three relatives of 72-yearold Mahaicony cash crop farmer Dearoop Siewchand are heading to court today charged with his murder. Kaieteur news understands that the police have unearthed sufficient evidence to support murder charges against the trio. Siewchand was found dead at his Zeelandia, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home with multiple stab wounds about his body early Sunday morning. His wife Davi survived the attack, although she was badly injured and had to be hospitalized. Their 10 yearold nephew also escaped without a scratch by hiding in a cabinet. A reliable source has informed that the dead man’s wife has positively identified the suspects as the persons who had entered her house
on Saturday night. This she did from her hospital bed. Kaieteur News understands that Detectives were also able to match fingerprints obtained from the house with those taken from the suspects. The brutal murder of Siewchand has plunged the peaceful community into a state of shock. Although the Siewchand’s house is located at the back of a yard in which two other houses are built, no one heard any screaming or other suspicious noises. Except for Amar Siewchand whose house is directly in front of the one where the murder occurred, none of the other occupants of the house at the front was aware that such brutality had taken place; they only learnt of the tragedy when they saw the police going into the house.
suspicion that the situation would more than likely deteriorate,” he said. Dr. Luncheon believes that “a definitive resolution and enactment of the awesome piece of legislation need to be embraced.” Explaining the use of the word “awesome,” he said every conceivable actor in Guyana has voiced its support for the Bill safe and except the Opposition. According to Dr. Luncheon, there hasn’t been on record a single stakeholder, both domestic and international that has opposed the Anti-Money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill. “It enjoys total support of all stakeholders safe and except the Opposition. They stand isolated and solitary in whichever corner of the universe that they occupy on this matter,” he said.
Three relatives for court over Mahaicony farmer’s death
Dearoop Siewchand In fact, Amar, who was not at home earlier Saturday night, was only made aware of the murder when his son, who had slept through the night with his badly wounded aunt, informed him at daybreak.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Expert Committee to pronounce on death of four-year-old at GPHC - CMO The untimely demise of four-year-old Jaden Mars, who died days after being admitted a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation to have his tongue sutured, is currently gaining the attention of an Expert Committee established by the Ministry of Health. This is according to Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, who during an interview with this publication disclosed that under the new Ministry of Health Act, it is mandatory that all deaths of children below the age of five must be reported to the Chief Medical Officer's office immediately. However, Dr Persaud disclosed that moves are being made to extend the mandatory reporting for the death of children to as old as 12 years. “The intent is that for all children who die, there must be some sort of review of the reason, and especially if it is a death
that occurred within 24 hours of admission to hospital,” said the Chief Medical Officer. And so it was to address the cases of child mortality that the Expert Committee was created. The Committee has the Ministry of Health's Adolescent and Young Adult Coordinator, Dr. Ernestine Hamilton, as its Secretary. She is ably supported by the Ministry's Director of Maternal and Child Health Unit , Dr. Janice Woolford, Dr. Persaud informed. Other members of the committee include medical experts from both the public and private health sectors with veteran doctor and recent Masters of Medicine in Paediatrics graduate, Dr. Clive Bowman as its Chairman. And according to Dr. Persaud, the recently established Committee has had its first meeting and has in place its terms of reference, and a few cases including the death
of Mars, are high on its agenda. Already, the Chief Medical Officer has been provided with all necessary reports, records and other documents relating to the death of Mars and according to him, “I am awaiting the outcome of the meeting on this matter.” He related that the Committee has disclosed plans to conduct a number of interviews with all parties involved, including the child's parents. Additionally, he said that the Committee will be tasked with reviewing the procedures that were in place during the child's stay at the hospital. On December 4 last, Mars was admitted a patient at the hospital after accidentally falling and hitting his chin on a five gallon plastic bucket while at his 45 West Ruimveldt home. The impact resulted in his teeth damaging his tongue thereby causing it to
bleed profusely. At the time, the Ascension Nursery child was at home with his grandmother Nancy Gittens who rushed him to the East Ruimveldt Health Centre where his wound was attended to in order to stop the bleeding. The child was however referred to the GPHC to have his wound, which was deemed “not life threatening”, sutured. At the GPHC, the child was administered two doses of 25 milligrams of Ketamine intended to sedate him so as to allow the attending doctor to suture his wound. And since the medication administered was rendered ineffective, a decision was made to take the child to the hospital's theatre to have the wound sutured under controlled medication. However by the time officials had finished attending to Mars he had slipped into a coma. No explanation was
GuySuCo has passed ‘point of no return’ From page 16 recent years. Government has remained largely quiet on its plans for the industry this year. Already, there have been calls for parts of the industry to be privatized, including the flagship Skeldon factory. Government has not held anyone accountable for the poorly run industry and despite indications from President Donald Ramotar that he would have started making changes last year, commencing with the Board of Directors, there has been no such
movements. The Skeldon project, to the tune of US$200M, has been a major embarrassment, with a number of defects affecting performance. While it had targeted 43,482 tonnes at the beginning of 2013, actual production at December 21 was a miserly 25,380 tonnes. GuySuCo, with over 16,000 workers, had been looking for foreign management, discarding UK-based Tate and Lyle and now experimenting with a number of Indian experts at its Enmore factory.
Last month, the National Assembly approved a $4B bailout to help pay its 16,000plus workers and meet other critical expenditure. Once the 'sweet king', earning the hog's share of foreign exchange, sugar has slid to third, behind gold and rice. The Corporation is facing the squeeze from its suppliers, with a number of them refusing to extend more credit. Hard-hit are supplies of spares and fertilizers. The main union has blamed agriculture for a large part of the problems with low
yields affecting production. The Alliance For Change has called for the immediate sacking of the entire GuySuCo board and replacing of management. Last month, after days of strike action, GuySuCo agreed to pay its workers their annual production incentive. This will be done in two parts, during the first quarter of this year. The Opposition, during the 2013 National Budget debate, had demanded an updated recovery plan for GuySuCo to be laid in the National Assembly.
Dead: Jaden Mars readily afforded the child's mother, Natalie Caseley, who had remained at the hospital since his arrival on December 4. Mars would remain in an unconscious state in the institution's Intensive Care Unit until passing away about one week later, leaving his family with more questions than answers and grave concerns about the service offered at the health care facility. Currently, the investigating Committee is not only reviewing the competencies of the professionals who attended to the child but attempts are also being made to ascertain whether there were some systemic weaknesses that need addressing. And according to Dr. Persaud, “I think there are already some conclusions, but the recommended actions would have to come from the Expert Committee.
That Committee was specially set up for that purpose so that it doesn't appear as though I am arbitrarily making a big decision like this...so any decision would be a collective one as to how the necessary actions would be meted out to who might be at fault,” the Chief Medical Officer stressed. He disclosed too that as part of efforts to ensure that the parents are kept informed, the hospital was expected to remain in contact with the parents with a view of providing them with as much information as possible as it relates to the ongoing investigation. But although diligent moves are being made to address the case, a sombre Dr. Persaud intimated that “the whole situation has been very heartbreaking...I must say I am very saddened by the whole occurrence.”
Linden schools in ... From page 19 out. The hope was also expressed that more parents become involved in their children’s education. Morian meanwhile made an on the spot commitment to present a television set to the unit, within the next couple of weeks. Children from the One Mile Primary school are still currently housed at the Wismar Hill Primary, and the Block 22 Multi Purpose hall. The One mile Primary which was burnt by arsonists during the July – August 2012 unrest, is still to be completed almost two years later. After its destruction, members of both the Linden community and those in the diaspora had pledged to rebuild the school without the help of the Government. Monies and building materials were subsequently collected towards that end,
and cleanup and some construction had commenced. However, to date, the structure is yet to be completed. Chairman of Region Ten Sharma Solomon, in an earlier interview had noted that with the budgetary allocation of some $50 million towards the school’s rebuilding, the ‘rebuild committee’ would instead be focusing on upgrading the new school facilities, with the monies that were initially collected to rebuild the school. The rebuilding project had commenced in October 2012, with residents volunteering their labour, but was later discontinued. Recently Minister Priya Manickchand had pledged government’s commitment to rebuild the school, which is expected to cost in excess of $60mil. (Enid Joaquin).
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 21
There was no earnest attempt to implement Burrowes’ report on City Hall - report consultant Some three years after the management- improving report of Government officer Keith Burrowes was handed over to City Hall executives, none of the 45 recommendations has been implemented. This is according to Ramon Gaskin, the consultant hired to monitor the report’s implementation progress. Gaskin has strongly criticized the Council for not accepting responsibility for the non- implementation of the recommendations. He is adamant that City Hall’s failure is based specifically on the laissez faire and corrupt culture of the Councils’ operation. From his findings, Gaskin highlighted that the Mayor and Councilors were not earnestly seeking to ensure the implementation of the Burrowes’ Report. “It is easy to say we accept the recommendations, but to ensure its implementation is another thing,” he told Kaieteur News. Gaskin laid blame at the feet of the Mayor and City Councilors for the poor state of the city, given that Burrowes’ report dealt specifically with the administrative process of the
City Hall
Ramon Gaskin
Keith Burrows
city managing body, where it was felt that top brass improprieties were the main causes of the “deteriorating Garden City.” Gaskin explained to Kaieteur News that sometime in 2009, Burrowes, under the direction of the Government was tasked with looking into the administrative functions of City Hall with the aim of ascertaining management flaws that was hindering the Council’s smooth operation. This came as a result of information out of the Auditor General’s office about the financial irregularities at City
Hall. Gaskin continued that the Burrowes’ Report submitted 45 recommendations to address City Hall’s administrative problems which included fraud, theft, misuse and mismanagement of resources ,but years later the city has failed to improve, because of its non- implementation. Gaskin was then tasked, some three years later with checking the progress of the implementation. “Not one of those recommendations was implemented,” he said. He added that during his investigation of City Hall,
although he was not given the task, he too discovered other discrepancies and formulated his own report which saw the police being called in to address criminal offences occurring at the
Council. City Mayor Hamilton Greene and his Deputy Patricia ChaseGreene explained in a previous report that the Council cannot cope with the constant imposition of town
clerks by the government, who continuously refuse to give the Council 100 percent dedication. They added also that the Council endorsed the Burrows Report but its (Continued on page 23)
Tuschen resident blames shortage of drugs for his stroke attack Nezam Ali, a resident of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo recently suffered a stroke, and blames it on the lack of drugs and equipment at both the Tuschen Health Centre and the Leonora Cottage Hospital. According to the elderly man who is diabetic, a few weeks ago, he started visiting the health centre repeatedly to have his blood sugar level monitored. However, he claimed he was told by nurses there that this could not be done since there were no machines or strips to do so. A few days later, Ali developed complications due to his condition and had to be rushed to the Emergency Unit of the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he said he was told that there wasn’t an adequate supply of medication. Ali subsequently suffered a mild stroke, and Kaieteur News understands that both public health facilities are in short supply of basic drugs like cold and cough medicines. “Not even for children,” Ali stressed. Meanwhile, Karmachand Motilall of Lot 224 Belle West, Canal No. Two, West Bank Demerara complained that the
The Tuschen Health Centre is one of several public health institutions experiencing drugs shortages. same problem is being experienced at the Belle West Health Centre. He highlighted that this is a worrying situation, since the precious lives of persons are involved. In speaking with Kaieteur News, Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor of Region Three, Harry Deokinanan said that he brought the issue up for discussion at a recent statutory meeting, but was told by the Region’s Health
Officer, Nadia Coleman, that the nurses at the various institutions are to be blamed, since they did not submit the list of needed drugs. Deokinanan however noted that that was a “silly” excuse, since it is unlikely that nurses at more than one public health institution, “all forgot to submit the list.” Just yesterday, Kaieteur News published an article in which Chief Medical Officer
(CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, confirmed that several public health institutions have been experiencing drug shortages. Dr. Persaud said that the Ministry of Health has recognized this state of affairs as being a daunting dilemma, and has been seeking to reverse the trend which has been plaguing the public health sector since late last year. Dr. Persaud also acknowledged that there
cannot be a good outcome if the health sector is not able to provide the proper health care, an important aspect of which includes the availability of medication. The CMO pointed out that one of the primary reasons for the shortage is in fact linked to the tendering process which sometimes sees the supplier(s) failing to comply with the recommended delivery schedules. Dr. Persaud told Kaieteur News that Permanent Secretary of the Health Ministry Leslie Cadogan has been working in collaboration with the Deputy Permanent Secretary to address this situation that has the potential of greatly affecting the proper delivery of health care. Persaud in his deliberation disclosed that while in previous times the Health Ministry hadn’t the capacity to store its own medication, such a challenge no longer exists. However, he mentioned that there remains caution in procurement; since there are some medications that have a relatively short shelf life. Moreover, he explained that although the Ministry would tender for medication for an entire year, some are delivered in tranches to cover
the need for three to six months. And since the utilisation of these medications is likely to vary at various health facilities, there is a possibility that the limited supply may not span the entire period it was estimated for. This could therefore, result in the shortage situation, Dr Persaud expounded. Another way in which the shortage situation can occur, he explained, is via the process of distribution. According to Dr. Persaud, “sometimes the items may be present but it is not getting to the peripheral levels, especially at the health centres and some of our hospitals and so on. It might be held in a bond or somewhere, but we are working to see how best we can strengthen those (regional) distributions with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.” AFC Councillor, Deokinanan believes that the situation of drug shortages is unacceptable, and should never occur. He is calling for the administration to put systems in place so as to ensure that such scenarios are not repeated.
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Kaieteur News
VACANCY Writer needed. Web and article copywriting. US$1,000/month. www.capitaltyping.com/ gypro for details. 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl & office assistant - Call: 6910894/684-2838 1 Lorry driver apply @ Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling. 1 Live in maid must be from the country & Know to cook, age 35-50 - Tel:6110200; 662-1124 Sales person to work in store. Police Clearance and 2 references – Tel:226-5473 Two joiners to work in workshop - Tel:610-7005; 219-1342 1 Computer Legal Clerk - Tel: 226-4283; 624-7087 Cosmetologist: Certified in facials, manicures, pedicures & waxing - Tel: 231-0321 One Trainee Refrigeration & AC technician - Tel:2310655; 683-8734 Experienced Cleaners Call:225-8572 (Between 7am9am) Primary Teacher needed from 3:30pm – Call:654-8650 Driver and Salesman for Gas Trucks on E.C.D, W.C.D and E.B.D, Security Guards, Part Time Gardener. 266 4427 Ice Loaders & General Workers @ B.M. Enterprise Inc. GFL Wharf Houston Tel:592-227-8176/7 Welders & fabricators (Must Have (3) Years’ Experience) - Apply Technical Services @ Eccles Industrial Site. General Machinists (Must know about Line &Engine Block Boring).- Apply Technical Services @ Eccles Industrial Site. Skilled Machinists(Knowledge to re-grind Crankshaft, Engine Head & Block ) Apply Technical Services @ Eccles Industrial Site. Cleaners, (1) Industrial Electrician- (Must have Experience) Apply Technical Services @ Eccles Industrial Site. Mechanical Engineer- 3 Years experience & hold a diploma/degree in this field Apply Technical Services @ Eccles Industrial Site Female Accountant and Accounts Clerk. Apply at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Stabroek
WANTED 1 Cook with atleast 2 years experience. Must have a valid food handlers certificate – Tel:604-0392; 616-2902 between 10am-4pm Experienced roti/puri cooks, curry cooks, pastry makers, counter servers, handyboys & cleaners - Apply @ Hacks Halaal, 5 Commerce St. Live-in waitress, bartender and going and coming cooks - Tel:643-9007; 664-1804 1 Female Cleaner for office, twice weekly @ Eccles Industrial Site – Tel:614-4358 1 Domestic for East Bank Area- Tel:614-4358 Girls to work as waitress in bar. Age 18-25yrs – Tel:2564096 One male & one female live in domestic – Tel:613-6613 One dragline operator – Tel:613-6613 Experienced female bartender & waitresses. Apply in person @ Sheriff Night Club on Sheriff St Between 2-4Pm Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 Experienced general domestic, must know to prepare Indian dishes – Tel:656-6388
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Experienced Taxi and bus driver and dispatcher at Princess Hotel – Tel:2657076; 616-8419 Hairdresser must be able to work with nails & handyman. Apply @ West Shore Plaza, 15 Public Road Ruimzeigt W.C.D - Tel: 269-1524
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1 experienced cook for interior, male or female, also jet man, marack man. Call 8am-5pm – Deo: 655-7991 Empty 20" & 40" shipping container to buy. Must be in good working condition – Tel:623-1615
Thursday January 09, 2014
Mercedes Benz CLK 200 Kompressor 2005; PRR Series. Flawless Condition! Price Negotiable! - Tel:6235492 2008 Toyota Premio for sale (unregistered) – Tel:665-4480 One Honda CRV fully equipped with running bars & other accessories, PNN Series. Excellent Condition! Price Negotiable – Tel:6606763 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154
VEHICLE FOR SALE Unregistered Toyota Raum (2004) - $2.150M – Tel:6917475; 657-1796 One 800 Ford Tractor and one 450 Ford Towing Truck – Contact Floyd:694-5599 or Gurro: 689-1864
1-55 Leyland Daf Excellent working condition. Price $2.8M Negotiable – Tel:6568346 1- 5L Dielsel Toyota Hilux Extra Cab, ready for the interior - Price: $3.5M negotiable - Tel:667-2703 or 662-5570
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
Promising Diamond and Gold one Block in the Ekeruku area, serious enquiries only - Tel:673-8217
Live and pluck chicken - Tel: 220-9203; 650-4421 Diving Suites - Tel: 265-3449; 613-5158 One 210 Hyundai Excavator with one complete 6" Dredge and also 4" Dredge Contact: 650-2391 1 Fishing boat: Length: 38ft, width 7ft & Depth 4½ft with 400lb Nylon 5" Seine &1- 40 HP Yamaha Engine Tel:220-9891; 679-3457 Large plucked chickens, wholesale only $300 per lb Contact: 266-2711, 609-4594 Dell computers complete with 20" LCD $69,000, 6 months warranty @ Futuretech- Call:231-2206 New arrival: 1 Toyota Tacoma, aluminum boats (12ft & 14ft)- Call:2201981,685-8282,690-1945 Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032,647-2943 1- 320 C.L Caterpillar Excavator. Excellent Condition with 2 complete 6" & 8" Dredge - Tel: 648-5371 Greenheart Piles - Tel: 6393450 1 Toyota Chaser, 2000 CC GX100, PHH series - $2.5M, 1- Toyota Celica 3 SGTE, PGG Series - $1M – Tel:616-2902 1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact:2310655,683-8734
Pluck chicken - Call:6760931 L- Touring Wagon in excellent condition – 15’ Rims, DVD, Tv, Remote Start Alarm & HID lights $1,300,000 Negotiable – Tel: 667-9013 Stall at Bourda Market 25FT Long & 7FT wide. Good for Pharmacy, Grocery Store or Boutique - Tel:621-7451; 231-7677 Salon. Turnkey Business @ 6 Goed Fortuin Public Road. Phone:600-3927 ATTENTION LOGGERS! ¾ METAL STRAPS, NAIL PLATES, ANCHORSEAL WAX – TEL:265-3541; 695-4785 Two plot of land ¼ Acre or 3X25 Rod each @ Lot 15 & 16 Doctor Dam, La-Grange WBD -Tel:697-5009; 665-7022 One Kindle Fire HD Tablet 16GB - $80,000, two Nintendo DSI - $35,000 each, PSP games, PSZ Games - Call Reyaz:652-3652 Ridgid Pressure Washer, Honda Engine, Honda Pressure Washer - Tel: 627-7835 House and Land in Pigeon Island East Coast Demerara contact within –Telephone # 220-4776 3 White water tanks that can be used for water business Call: 622-5986 2 Female German Shepherd mix with Pit-bull – Tel:6941900; 687-6072
1 Stall @ Stabroek Market Tel: 658-0115; 718-757-8031
Gold and Diamond land @ Potaro Mining District # 2 Tel: 689-4119; 217-0049
1-500 Ton Cargo Ship - Tel: 676-6933
Green Concrete Stall @ Bourda - Tel:692-7888; 610-022
Tibitean Terrier- Pups for sale: (Fluffy) - Tel:655-0054; 226-4166 1 Toyota Surf 3Y Engines 4x4 Pick-up – Tel:680-4631; 6393948 One fishing boat 350lb Catguts seine (5 Inch) 40 Yamaha Engine – Tel:2207655; 220-0410; 667-8921 1 RZ longbase mini-bus. Excellent Condition – Price: $1.2M. First Owner!! - Tel: 666-4999 or 698-6898
PEN PAL Male Indo Guyanese from USA looking for a female for friendship – Please email to: sramesh68@yahoo.com (Continued on page 23)
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Dredge owner before court for shooting at ex-employee A 32-year-old dredge owner was yesterday indicted at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for allegedly firing two shots at one of his former employees. Carl Couchman, a resident of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara pleaded not guilty when the charge of discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm was read to him by Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. The particulars of the charge laid against him detailed that in on December 21, in Georgetown, he, with the intent to harm Jared Hamilton, fired two shots at him. Representing the prosecution was Corporal Bharat Mangru who told the court that the victim was once employed by the accused. He related that on the day in
question, the victim spotted his ex-employer in a car with a few other persons and decided to approach him. The prosecution said that Hamilton then inquired about payments owed to him and an argument ensued between the two. He said that the accused then punched the victim to his face who after receiving the blow decided to “run up the road.” Couchman allegedly chased after him and in the process discharged two rounds in his direction. A report was made and the accused was arrested. Subsequent investigations led to him being charged with the offence. Defence Attorney, George Thomas representing the accused, submitted an application for reasonable bail. He said that his client is a dredge owner who has a
There was no earnest... From page 21 implementation was outside of their power, since the town clerks were the ones refusing to carry them through. Gaskin suggested however, that it is a poor excuse by the Council since three years later, there was no sign of any effort being made to implement the recommendations. Gaskin said that he is unaware of any Council minutes in which they would have questioned regarding a follow up on the recommendations. “Council and management has to ensure that the administration implement the Burrowes’ Report,” he charged. “But the Burrowes’ Report was never revisited.” The report spoke to the financial, personnel and management aspect of administration among other things. It looked at accountability and transparency.” Gaskin’s report also highlighted grave matters such as the Councils’ financial books not being audited for the last 10 years because records are unavailable, while others are difficult to follow. Fraudulent transactions, including a payment made to a bogus company affiliated with a staff member’s family also surfaced. Brand new compactor trucks not in use and parked, fuel theft, sold
resources unaccounted for and missing funds was also recognized. This would have been the recurring matter Gaskin said, opining that it is a continuous culture at City Hall, which “is accepted.” “It is just like a house; if you are comfortable with your house one way and someone comes and tells you to do something else, you will not change years after if you accept the way it is.” Despite his input and intervention in pivotal areas ensuring the smooth operation of the Council, nothing was done, he reiterated. Gaskin said that some findings at City Hall warranted criminal proceedings against some of the past town clerks, engineers and treasurers. The Local Government Ministry has however opted to fire these persons and replace them, while the Mayor and City Councilors continue to make excuses. While Burrowes accepted that enough was not done to ensure changes at City Hall, he was adamant that massive re-planning is needed in maintaining the city. He said yesterday that his report alone cannot suffice for what the city needs and opined that the city is modernizing under old foundations and principles.
Canadian remanded for cocaine possession From page 6 by the Defence Attorney. He opined that James is a flightrisk who may not return to face the charges pressed against him since he has no ‘ties’ to Guyana. The Chief Magistrate
upheld the objections of the prosecution and James was refused a court bond and remanded to prison until January 13. The matter is set to be called before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Providence Magistrates’ Court.
business to maintain. The application met with no objections from the prosecution but Mangru put forward an application of his own to the Chief Magistrate. He requested the court to consider offering substantial bail with conditions attached. He asked that if the accused is granted bail, he should be instructed to report to the Station Officer at the Brickdam Police Station. In response, the Chief Magistrate allowed bail in the sum of $150,000 with the condition that Couchman reports forthnightly, starting this Friday. He is expected to return to court on February 7 for the filing of statements.
(From page 22) DRESSMAKING
PROPERTY FOR SALE
Designing and sewing classes in your district. Sharmela (Canadian- trained) - Contact: 626-2629, 676-6312
VERSAILLES: Furnished 5 bedrooms, selfcontained rooms, modern facilities, generator, beautiful landscape, gated community - Call: 592-6248704/ 592-684-9203 Transported property : House + property for sale by owner @ Lot 153 Sparendaam Scheme - Call: 592-220-8573; 592-672-2348
TO LET Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call: 347933-9790, 639-4452. Newly built apartment - Tel: 698-6496 Aracari Hotel. West Bank Demerara Rates from $30 – Tel:264-2946-8
VACANCY One maid - Tel:227-0557 Workers for land clearing – Tel:627-4754
Fully furnished apartments $5,000 per night @ Harmony Inn – Tel:694-7817; 602-8769 Furnished apartments, long term & short term -Tel: 687-3017
Existing Vacancies For: Western Union CSR, Office Assistants & Cleaners. Apply @ Survival Shopping Complex 173 Sheriff St Georgetown - Telephone # 227-5286-9 General worker (maid) for hotel at 12 Henry St. Must be 25yrs/over - Tel: 225-9211
Transported property for sale @ Eccles - $4.5 negotiable. For More Information call:696-3214 3 Storey 17 rooms hotel @ Broad St - Tel: 654-4939; 6984700 Upper 3 bedrooms & 2 Apartments lower flats @ Eccles - Price:$38M- Tel: 6441144
CAR RENTAL Wings Car Rental- Call: 643-1131
Latest model vehicles @ unbeatable Prices – Tel:6855011; 692-1051 Joshua’s Car Rental Call:6656485; 679-8400
House on Double Lot @ Norton St Lodge - $17M – Tel:687-3017
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar
HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000CALL:694-9843/227-2766 MASSAGE American Style massage services- Call:678-7499 The Gent’s Spa: Let beautiful sophisticated masseuse pamper you: New masseuse available- Call:657-5979
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166,622-2872,615-0964 FOR SALE / FOR RENT American pool table - Tel: 277-0578
Business space @ 78 Hadfeild Street, behind Brickdam Police Station, upstairs Kissons - Tel:2236284 1/2/3 Bedrooms @ Lot 2 Anna Catherina, WCD – Tel:276-0818
Learn any Language Fast: Tel:662-0001 Balloon Décor Training. Classes on 28th January 2014. Call 225-3133; 613-7513 to register and more info.
We Refill HP cartridges for $1800 call: 650-7699 House plan, estimates & construction. Contact T. Boodhoo:625-9883 Appliances Technician: Specialized in repairing and servicing of refrigerators, dryers, washers, stove ovens, etc – Tel:661-5099 Technicians available for appliance repairs - washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc - Tel:6190793; 218-0050 Brains Construction & Rental Services: Excavator, Bobcat, Truck, Tools Tel:601-5024/ 227-4536 (Bobcat & Excavator Operator needed) Masons seeking daily or job work – Tel:678-9043 GT Tools Rental: Call this month, specials on ransom & steel rod cutter, etc - Tel: 675-0767; 627-5098
EDUCATIONAL IAE @ 194 Camp St – CXC 2014. Full-time, morning, lessons & adults classes: Mathematics, English A, Business & Science Subjects Tel: 683-5742; 223-0604
Fully furnished 2 bedroom apartments – Tel:222-7891; 609-9202
Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. U l t r a C o o l , call:225-9032,647-2943 Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick)
Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup - Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807
One Vegi Shop to rent, one shop Merrian Mall – Tel:6426381; 223-6862 2 Bedrooms house in New Hope EBD – Call:618-2517
Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call:225-6496,6626045,223-8115
2 Flat houses on the Essequibo Coast D-Town. Transported Property – Tel:618-2517
Premio, Vitz call:347-9339790, 639-4452.
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One steel building 5000 square ft, 3000 PSI floor. Just outside of Georgetown, East Bank Demerara - Contact: 619-2475
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Looking for someone to take care of a sick person, do dressing or take patient to Hospital – Tel:694-0096
Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com
FOR RENT
SERVICES
LAND FOR SALE 2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at ParikaCall: 226-7968 10 Acres of Land @ Long Creek - Tel: 699-3723
Repairs: TV, DVD, Microwave, amplifier, stereo, washing machine etc - Tel:693-2683 FOR RENT Fully furnished apartment in Nandy Park, suitable for a single person or coupleCall:619-4824 for further information.
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Thursday January 09, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PLAN NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE SOLID WASTE PROBLEM
DEAR EDITOR, Guyana needs a holistically integrated management plan addressing the solid waste problem across the country by focusing on a three-step process that starts from waste generation and storage, moves to safe collection, and culminates in environmentally responsible final disposal. While short term, fragmented approaches can be welcomed, we will not get anywhere in the longer term if we do not take into consideration all three components in achieving an effective solid waste management system. At the operational levels of waste generation and storage there are many initiatives that could be pursued. These include awareness programmes emphasizing the importance of reducing waste and using environmentally-
responsible storage methods; the sorting or source segregation of waste, initiatives encouraging household composting, and the provision of large public waste receptacles. At the collections stage, initiatives can encompass timed and increased collections of solid waste; use of appropriate collection equipment; outsourcing to private enterprises; the provision of an incentive - or market-based schemes for collectors of recyclable materials (that is, such collectors could be formally organized under umbrella organisations or categories). At a more creative level, upgraded judicial rules could allow for community service sentences and collaboration with the reform prison system to carry out g a r b a g e collection with working prisoners who have been classified as low security risks.
At the point of final disposal, the country needs a technologically updated recycling plant; proper landfill and dumpsite management sites across the country; tipping fees to ensure sustainability of landfills, and landfill composting facilities. It is widely acknowledged that finished compost has a marketable value and can be sold to enrich our soils, improve vegetation and reduce the need for fertilizers. However, for this threestep process to work, it must rest on a foundation where appropriate laws are adopted upon the principle of zero tolerance for irresponsible solid waste disposal. Likewise, efforts must engage participation of citizens and residents through community programmes and awareness campaigns involving schools, NGOs, citizens’ groups, municipal authorities,
We are being fed with an unchanging menu of sensationalism and gloom DEAR EDITOR, A perusal of the headlines of our newspapers in Guyana carry stories of murders, domestic violence and robberies. This has now become a trend especially with respect to the Stabroek News and the Kaieteur News. Development support communication has certainly taken a back seat and the population is being fed with an unchanging menu of sensationalism and gloom. The Stabroek News of January 7, 2014 carried a front page caption “Cop killed trying to nab armed escapee” along with three other front page stories - “ BV man shot dead at Liliendaal ; “Spurned lover charged with murder; “Nude body of missing Pomeroon woman found” In similar vein, Kaieteur News of the same day had the
following as its lead story: “Prisoner disarms cop, shoots detective dead” and on the same page in less bold letters “Body at Liliendaal identified as taxi driver; Five teens nabbed on highway with victim’s car” I thought of drawing attention to these sensational headlines if only to point to the dangers of perception, especially among overseasbased Guyanese, that Guyana is a crime-infested society where fear stalks the land and people are at risk of being robbed or even killed. I know of several overseas-based Guyanese who are afraid of coming back to Guyana out of fear for their safety and would rather go on vacations to other destinations in the Caribbean and elsewhere, even though in many of those destinations the per capita
crime rate, including that of murder, is much higher. I rather suspect that much of that perception of Guyana as a crime haven is the result of media sensationalism. The desire to sell newspapers, it would appear, outweighs the national interest and the negative image that is being projected of the country, both at home and abroad. I would like to respectfully suggest that newspapers and for that matter the media as a whole revisit the content and presentation of news. The sensationalist “man bite dog” approach to presenting news may be good in terms of selling papers or grabbing media attention, but it could also do harm to our nation, especially from a tourism perspective. Hydar Ally
local businesses, and other entities. Other essential considerations should encompass adequate, stable funding for relevant institutions as well as financial oversight, transparency and accountability in the procurement and budgetary allocation process. More critically, the plan should promote the use of appropriate technology, such as biomethanation for organic wastes and composting equipment. At the most significant level, the plan should be coordinated through a central
coordinating agency (for example, at the ministry level of local government or other governing unit) that involves the broadest spectrum of stakeholders representing, among others, municipal departments, private enterprises, waste collectors, NGOs, and residential groups. A central policy clearinghouse will help avoid the potential problems of disintegrated approaches, duplicated efforts, waste of resources, or an unwieldy solid waste management programme. Finally, local government
reform and regularly held elections also are critical components, as they ensure accountability from municipal authorities and gives the people of Guyana their duly merited say in how and who should manage the day-today affairs relevant to their geographic constituency. Indeed, the proper, responsible management of solid waste disposal is a hallmark of an effectively functioning government and society. Clinton Urling President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Request for nominees... From page 4 appoint a Chief Executive Officer, who shall serve as Secretary, and such other officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions. The terms and conditions of the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer and the two most senior officers shall be subject to the approval of the National Assembly. (3) The Chief Executive Officer shall be under the direction and control of the Commission and he or she shall be responsible for the other officers and employees of the Commission who shall directly report to him or her. (4) The Chief Executive Officer may, as directed by the Commission, attend meetings of the public procurement bodies. (5) Before the Commission appoints to act in any office referred to in paragraph (2) any person who holds or is acting in any office, power to make appointments to which is vested under this Constitution in the Judicial, the Teaching, the Police or the Public Service Commission, the Commission shall first seek and obtain the approval of the Commission in which that power is vested. (6) Where a public officer is appointed to an office referred to in paragraph (2) that officer shall, subject to the said paragraph (2), remain a public officer unless the Commission determines that office shall be independent of any other Commission. (7) Nothing in this article shall be construed as precluding the Commission from appointing any person who is not a public officer to an office referred to in paragraph (2). (8) The emoluments and
allowances payable to the members of the Commission shall be determined by the Public Accounts Committee in consultation with the Commission. Political and civic stakeholders of any stripe, as well as the public at large, are entitled to know what are the functions of the Public Procurement Commission. Article 212AA accordingly states: 212AA. (1) The functions of the Public Procurement Commission are to – (a) monitor and review the functioning of all procurement systems to ensure that they are in accordance with law and such policy guidelines as may be determined by the National Assembly; (b) promote awareness of the rules, procedures and special requirements of the procurement process among suppliers, constructors and public bodies; (c) safeguard the national interest in public procurement matters, having due regard to any international obligations; (d) monitor the performance of procurement bodes with respect to adherence to regulations and efficiency in procuring goods and services and execution of works; (e) approve of procedures for public procurement, disseminate rules and procedures for public procurement and recommend modifications thereto to the public procurement entities; (f) monitor and review all legislation, policies and measures for compliance with the objects and matters under its purview and report the need for any legislation to the National Assembly; (g) monitor and review the procurement procedures of the ministerial, regional,
and national procurement entities as well as those of project execution units; (h) i n v e s t i g a t e complaints from suppliers, contractors and public entities and propose remedial action; (i) investigate cases of irregularity and mismanagement, and propose remedial action; (j) i n i t i a t e investigations to facilitate the effective functioning of public procurement systems; (k) enlist the aid of such persons, as may be necessary, to assist the Commission with expert advice; (l) liaise with and refer matters to the police and the Auditor General; and (m) do all other acts and things as may be necessary to facilitate the efficient discharge of the functions of the Commission. (2) In addition to the functions prescribed in this Constitution, the functions of the Commission may be provided for by law; any addition thereto in the Constitution shall be approved by the votes of a majority of all the elected members of the National Assembly but the removal on variation of any function shall be by the votes of not less than two-thirds of such members. (3) The Commission may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as it thinks fit, delegate any of its functions to any one or more members of the Commission, or to such officers of the Commission as the Commission may determine. There are other important legal obligations included in related articles, but hopefully the above should suffice, or possibly encourage interested parties to conduct further research. E.B. John
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
A very disturbing security situation DEAR EDITOR, The American Mafia has a saying –”friends and family often prove more loyal than competent”. This saying quickly came to mind when I read a letter to the editor over the Christmas holidays which chronicled an event that took place at the wedding ceremony of cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan. According to the letter writer who was also a guest at the event, behaviour unbefitting of a statesman was displayed by former president Bharrat Jagdeo, which insulted the integrity of President Donald Ramotar, by not according him the customary deferential esteem reserved for Heads of State upon their arrival at events. This conduct, according to the writer, did not only cause the President gross embarrassment, but compromised the security of the president to the extent that he appeared timid and
traumatized thereafter. The critical question that begs an answer is exactly how did the president’s advance party prepare the groundwork for his visit? Agreed or not! It is the author’s view that loopholes in that process led to the indignity visited upon the president. Practices developed among nations in the course of their contacts with one another define the essence of protocol. Protocol is the combination of good manners and common sense, which allows effective communications between heads of state, their representatives and nation. The aim of close protection is to proactively and reactively protect the President against direct personal risks, such as Mortus Discriminatus assassination, kidnapping and assault; and indirect personal risks, such as threats, intimidation and
crimen injuria. The doctrine crimen injuria is a concept in South African law and has to do specifically with the protection of one’s integrity. In general, close protection operatives (CPOs) do not work by rote or in a haphazard manner, but usually take several factors into consideration, which forms the basis of their protection initiates. When a proper threat assessment is carried out, one finds that the greatest degree of threat to a principal revolves around the vehicle; with the next highest risk to the potentate being the venue, which should be protected from all possible threats. Conversely, over many years past, the responsibility for protecting the President of Guyana has been delegated to mostly friends of the government. A report authored by L. Jacobs and G. Schneider highlights the
danger of this practice. Following are excerpts of that report: There seem to be four key points relating to the provision of Close Protection Services in developing countries (non-regulated) which were identified and outlined in a report authored by L. Jacobs and G. Schneider. This report emanated from experience gained after providing close protection training at presidential level in Equatorial Guinea between November and December of 2002. (Schneider 2005). The points mentioned in this report are as follows: • The tendency to appoint untrained family members as CPOs as opposed to selecting and training the best possible candidates for the job. • The belief that the more loyal the persons are around a Principal the better protected and therefore safer the Principal is. • The focus on excessively tight information
security and secrecy during all operations and movements (travelling) of the Principal, to the point where the CPO team is uninformed, which negates effective planning and development of close protection contingencies. • The belief that training, retraining and minimum actual competencies; which are vital for effective operation is on the whole ignored and security is handled in an ad hoc, unplanned and therefore unprofessional manner
(Jacobs & Schneider, 2002: 2). When the abovementioned points are examined, it becomes clear that Guyana holds much in common with the above case study, which when viewed in security and safety terms, is a very disturbing situation. Clairmont Featherstone
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Thursday January 09, 2014
Government-union to meet again on job cuts BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – Government and trade union officials are to meet on Saturday following three hours of “cordial talks” on Tuesday night. Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Chris Sinckler and Social Security and Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, met with officials from the national Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) to discuss the plans by the Freundel Stuart administration to lay off 3,000 public sector workers as it seeks to revive an ailing economy. Byer-Suckoo described the discussions as cordial, adding “everybody understands what we are trying to achieve. So it was not combative. “We are really trying to achieve the same goal, to save Barbados, to save our economy with minimal collateral damage, without the loss of jobs if at all possible. So we have started discussions and we think we are on a good path and we will continue discussions,” she added. Sinckler described as “interesting” some of the proposals submitted by the unions to deal with the situation, adding “others would have challenges (and that they would not take us where we want to go”. The unions had submitted a 10-point proposal that included salary cuts and following the meeting said they had received an “unqualified apology” from
Chris Sinckler the Minister of Finance regarding the dismissal of 300 workers employed with the Drainage Unit. “That is not to say that some people may not in fact be required to leave that particular project, but it is to say that the NUPW has made a very clear, very lucid and a very balanced judgement on what went wrong in all of this and the government officials have recognised, without apportioning blame to any specific person, they are aware that the matter has to be re-examined,” said BWU general secretary Sir Roy Trotman. He said the discussions centred primarily on how the stakeholders “might be able to put together a body of initiatives that would have the effect of completely removing the threat for those 3 000, and if we cannot remove the threat for all 3000, remove the threat for as many of them as possible. He said among the initiatives was possible earlier
retirement for a number of volunteers who may wish to leave the system,” Sir Roy noted. “We are looking at enhancing retirement age for some of them, with packaging that would help to make that more desirable. We’ve given consideration to other proposals which were submitted by the NUPW,” he said, adding “I’m not saying they (government) have agreed to all of them, I am saying that they went to the trouble of looking at them, costing them and that discussion has got to the stage where we are going to have a follow-up meeting on Saturday…” “We are hopeful that we will continue to make progress,” Sir Roy said. Late last month, Sinckler announced the plan by the government to cut public service jobs in a bid to save BDS$143 million (One BDS dollar = US$0.50 cents). He said government would also institute a “strict programme of attrition” across the central public service, filling posts only where it is absolutely unavoidable, over the next five years, ending 2018-2019. “This attrition is expected to reduce central government employment levels from approximately 16 970 to 14, 612 jobs – a projected loss of 2 358 posts; and savings of BDS$121 million. Over the current 19-month adjustment period public sector employment will be reduced by an additional 501 jobs with a projected savings of BDS$26 million,” said Sinckler.
Dominica pledges support for One China policy ROSEAU, Dominica – CMC - Dominica yesterday pledged its continued support for the One China policy as it welcomed Beijing’s new ambassador to the island. President Charles Savarin said China could also rely on Dominica’s support in the international arena as he accepted the credentials of Ambassador Li Jiangning. “This government is firmly committed to the One China policy and looks forward this year to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between our two countries. “Our cooperation with your country in the international arena can be
Charles Savarin counted upon and we look forward to providing continued support for the candidacy of the People’s
Republic of China on various international bodies in appropriate circumstances,” said Savarin. Under the One China policy, Beijing has made it clear that countries seeking to establish diplomatic relations with it must break off official relations with Taiwan that China regards as a renegade province. The policy also insists that countries must accept China as the legitimate representative of Taiwan or acknowledge its views on the China-Taiwan issue. Savarin said China remains “one of Dominica’s most significant bilateral partner and relations between our two countries continue to develop steadily”.
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Kaieteur News
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Zuma vows ANC will rule Libya’s PM warns may sink oil tankers nearing east ports South Africa ‘forever’ Johannesburg (AFP) South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma vowed yesterday that his ANC party will rule Africa’s wealthiest nation “forever” as the country gears up for elections expected within months, a local newspaper reported. “We will continue to run this government forever and ever. Whether they (detractors) like it or not,” Zuma was quoted as telling ANC supporters in Zulu, one of the local languages. He was speaking during an impromptu door-to-door campaign in a township in Mbombela, the capital of northwestern Mpumalanga province where the party will tomorrow launch its election manifesto and kick off the polls campaign. He urged his supporters to vote in numbers to ensure that the African National Congress (ANC) garners 90 percent of votes in the province, already a stronghold. Observers predict a fall in nationwide support for the ANC this year, to around 60 percent or less. Repeated corruption scandals, increasing crime
Jacob Zuma levels, poverty, high unemployment levels and internal bickering are hurting the ANC’s popularity. The country’s largest labour union, the National Union of Metalworkers’ of South Africa, decided last month to ditch the ANC and will not campaign for it nor support it financially in the upcoming polls. But the ANC leader scoffed at suggestions that support for his party is waning. “They are dreaming while they are awake. We are going to hammer them,” said Zuma in remarks quoted and
translated by the City Press. “We are stronger than before”. ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu confirmed to AFP that Zuma had been quoted correctly. The president’s statement infuriated the opposition which accused him of using intimidating tactics. “The ANC is resorting to scaring and intimidating voters,” said James Masango, chairman of the opposition Democratic Alliance in the Mpumalanga province. “These thinly veiled threats are symptoms of a party and a president that is feeling the heat,” added Masango in a statement. Masango labelled Zuma’s statement as “antidemocratic” and “unbecoming” of a president of a republic. In 2008, Zuma also declared that his party would “rule until Jesus co m e s back”.Zuma, 71, was first elected to office in 2009. As the party’s leader he is almost certain to be its presidential candidate in the polls whose date has yet to be fixed.
(Reuters) - Libya may sink tankers trying to load at eastern ports seized by armed protesters in an escalating confrontation over control of oil exports, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said yesterday. His warning came after Libya’s navy fired shots at the weekend to ward off a tanker that the state-run National Oil Corp. (NOC) said tried to load at one port that has been out of government control for six months. Brent crude rose above $107 (65.07 pounds) a barrel on Wednesday, supported by the new worries over Libyan supplies, which have been slashed since summer by the blockade of three key eastern ports. Negotiations to end the protests have failed as eastern federalists, whose self-styled Cyrenaica government seeks more autonomy from Tripoli, have threatened to ship oil independently to world markets in defiance of Zeidan. Protesters on Tuesday said they would guarantee security for vessels docking at the three eastern ports, inviting foreign tankers to load crude and bypass government control.
“Any country, or company, or gang trying to send tankers to take oil from the seized ports without coordinating with the NOC, we will deal with them - even if we are forced to destroy or sink them,” Zeidan said. “We warn all countries there will be no leniency.” The confrontation is a major challenge two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, where former rebels, militias and tribesman have all resorted to force to make demands on a state that is still mapping out the new democracy. In the east, the Cyrenaica regional authority and its armed protesters have taken over Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina ports, which previously accounted for 600,000 barrels per day in crude exports. On Monday, the Libyan navy said it fired warning shots at a Maltese-flagged tanker trying to reach Libya to load oil at Es-Sider, but the tanker’s owners accused Libya forces of firing on them in international waters. Analysts said they believed it would be difficult for Cyrenaica protesters to
find clients to buy oil because of the government view it considers any shipments that bypass its control as illegal. Stepping up warnings, Oil Minister Abdelbari Arusi told Reuters on Wednesday Libya will sue any foreign firms trying to buy o i l f r o m eastern ports and stop doing business with them. “Any firm... dealing with the armed groups which have closed the oil ports will be sued and banned from any future cooperation,” he said. “There won’t be any market for them in Libya anymore. We are warning all global and small firms against dealing with the armed groups. The deepening oil standoff adds to Libya’s turmoil as Zeidan struggles to control the armed groups that helped oust Gaddafi in 2011 but which have kept their guns an d n o w d e m a n d political power and a bigger share of oil wealth. The conflict is hurting oil revenues, which fund the OPEC n a t i o n ’s government, which has warned it will be unable to pay public salaries if the standoff continues.
Eyeing Syria talks, Iran may put Assad ties in play BEIRUT (Reuters) - For weeks, American officials have lobbied to exclude Iran from the Geneva talks on the Syrian conflict in late January, pointing to Tehran’s military and financial aid to the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. But last Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry did an about-face: Iran could take part in the conference on the sidelines, he said, a move that could bolster the importance of the talks. Kerry’s statement was dismissed by an Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman who said that Iran “will not accept any proposal that does not respect its dignity.” Still, the comments could present an opening for Iranian officials who have long wanted the international community to acknowledge their role as a key regional power and have indicated that there will be no resolution to the conflict in Syria without their participation. Most importantly, they may now be willing to make some unprecedented compromises in negotiations to end the conflict, including removing Assad from power,
diplomats and analysts say. “I don’t think it’s a red line for them,” said a diplomat who recently met with senior Iranian officials. “They would be ready to see some alternative to Mr. Assad provided that alternative is credible and does not generate chaos,” said the diplomat, who asked that he not be identified because of the sensitivity of his discussions. Since the conflict broke out in 2011, Iran has firmly backed Assad with weapons, shipments of oil and military advisers. As the Syrian civil war took on an increasingly sectarian character, Shi’ite Iran has seen Assad as a bulwark against the spread of hostile Sunni Muslim militancy across the Arab world. Assad is a member of the Alawite minority sect, an offshoot of Shi’ism. Nevertheless, there has been a price to pay for Iran in losing support in Arab countries where Sunnis are the majority, and in the rise of sectarian hostility in Syria’s volatile neighbors like Lebanon and Iraq. The new suggestions that Iran might consider loosening its support for Assad come
after a year in which the Syrian leader markedly improved his position both on the battlefield and in the diplomatic arena, with firm Iranian help. A year ago rebels were steadily advancing on Damascus and many Western countries were openly proclaiming that Assad’s days were numbered. But since then Syrian government forces have won battlefield victories with the support of thousands of fighters from Iran’s allies, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Shi’ite militia. If Iran is now open to a compromise on Syria, it is likely to find the West far more receptive than before. Western countries that once demanded Assad be removed as a pre-condition to any settlement are showing reservations about their support for his foes as al Qaeda-linked fighters have seized control of rebel-held areas. In September, U.S. President Barack Obama called off missile strikes to punish Damascus for using chemical weapons, ending more than two years of speculation that the West might join the war against
Assad as it did against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. Iran’s own relationship with the West has also been transformed with the election of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate. Secret negotiations with the United States culminated in an historic deal in November to ease some sanctions on Iran in return for curbs to its nuclear program. However, even if they were to accept the removal of Assad it is unlikely that Iranian leaders would agree to a successor government hostile to Tehran or one that would threaten their logistical pipeline through Syria to Lebanon’s Hezbollah. “The person of Bashar Assad is expendable for Iran,” Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in an email. “The question is whether Iran believes it can preserve its strategic interests in Syria and the Middle East if the Assad regime were to collapse.” Despite Iran’s steadfast support of Assad, there have been occasional signs that it was keeping its options open: last February, then
foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi met with Moaz Khatib, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition at the time, on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich. There have also been signs that support for Assad was divisive among senior Iranian government officials. In late August, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a veteran politician who heads the Expediency Council advisory body, was quoted as blaming the Assad government for a chemical attack in Damascus which killed hundreds of people and nearly led to U.S. armed intervention. “From one side the people are chemically bombed by their own government and from another side they wait for the bombs of America,” Rafsanjani said in an audio clip leaked on the internet which was quoted by a semiofficial news agency. The news agency later changed the comments and Rafsanjani claimed he had been misquoted. Iranian officials are also taking stock of the high price the country is paying for its involvement in the Syria
conflict which has inflamed sectarian divisions across the region. In late November, the Iranian embassy in Beirut was hit by a double suicide bombing which killed at least 23 people. Among the dead was the cultural attaché at the embassy. The group that claimed responsibility was the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a militant group which supports hardline Sunni rebels in Syria. And in Iraq, a Shi’ite-led government with close ties to Tehran is facing one of its strongest challenges yet as Sunni militant fighters allied with Syria’s rebels have taken control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. The attacks sufficiently alarmed Iranian officials that a top military official offered to send military aid to the Iraqi government on Monday. “What has changed is that the Iranians for the time being have so many strategic and security problems on their hands,” said Walter Posch, an Iran expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.“Any security apparatus would be stretched with these problems.
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Thursday January 09, 2014
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
Valcke comments on 2022 World... From page 30 Cup. “The decision would not be taken until the end of 2014, or at the March 2015 meeting of the executive committee.” After hearin g Va l c k e ’s pronouncement, Philippe Piat, the president of FIFPro, the international players union, told Reuters: “It is excellent news, we have been asking for that for months.” Asked if he was surprised
by the timing of the announcement, he said: “Yes and no because the decision was supposed to be made last October but it had been postponed because the clubs and the leagues had asked for a delay.” OCTOBER DELAY FIFA delayed its decision in October saying it was setting up a consultation process to decide when to stage the finals. At the time, FIFA
president Sepp Blatter said it would reach a conclusion sometime after this year’s World Cup in Brazil. “The stakeholders include the players, the clubs, the leagues, the national federations, the confederations and FIFA, but it doesn’t only include sports,” he said. “There are other partners, economic ones, be they from marketing, the media or television.
Thursday January 09, 2014 ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19): There's no question, this has been a long time coming. But today the change you have been hoping for so long is likely to occur, Aries. The enormity of the change may not be obvious, at least at first. *************************** TAURUS (APR 20 - MAY 20): This is a time to take care of yourself in the truest sense of the word, Taurus. This doesn't mean indulging in excesses, but rather just the opposite. *************************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUN 20): It's another potentially anxious day ahead, Gemini. But you have the power to soothe your ruffled feathers. *************************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Hobbies and diversions are wonderful; no one will argue this with you, Cancer. But there comes a time when you use your hobbies as a way to avoid other responsibilities. Your intuitive levels are at an all-time high right now. Perhaps you can use them to your own benefit. *************************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): There is no question about it, Leo, change is in the air! Perhaps you can't feel it because you have allowed yourself to become bogged down in disappointment. You can't help but wonder if you will ever attain your goals. Well, take heart. The times they are a'changing, as Bob Dylan says. ************************ VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): All living things benefit from your gifts, Virgo. Nurturing has always been part of your nature, and is especially so today. But sometimes you lavish more attention on others than you do on yourself, and this benefits no one.
LIBRA (SEP 23 - OCT 22): At some point, popularity becomes a burden rather than a blessing. Your bulletin board is cluttered with invitations to lectures and parties, Libra, but your eyes begin to glaze over at the thought of attending all these events. *************************** SCORPIO (OCT 23 NOV 21): It's another fortuitous day for finances, Scorpio, so be sure to take advantage of any opportunities that come your way. *************************** SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 - DEC 21): You are seeing a new side of yourself today, Sagittarius, and what a lovely side it is! *************************** CAPRICORN (DEC 22 JAN 19): We are all gullible to a certain extent. And you are no exception. You can expect to receive some financial offers today. *************************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): You have heightened sensitivity right now, Aquarius, and you know just how to use it. While it can be difficult to be so needed by others, right now it is your place to give help where it's needed. You are uniquely suited to the task at hand, so why not give of yourself wholeheartedly? *************************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): Your warmth and good nature draw people to you like a magnet today, Pisces. Of course, you're used to this occurring, but today these aspects of your character are especially enhanced. You will find that encounters with other people leave you feeling full and satisfied. After all, it is our loved ones who truly make life worth living.
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Federer rallies with Laver in rare Australian Open... From page 33 racket was feeling extremely heavy, that means I was very nervous which I really was because you don’t want to miss a shot. “I was happy we had some rallies. What an honor it was for me and I hope that the crowd enjoyed it and I’m very thankful that he was willing to do something like this because it’s not normal in any way and that’s why I really appreciate it.” The 32-year-old Federer has won four of his 17 major titles in Rod Laver Arena and famously burst into tears when receiving the second of his winner’s trophies in 2006 from the Australian, the only man to complete two grand slams in calendar years.
Laver has returned the admiration and said during the Melbourne launch of his autobiography in October last year that the Swiss could hit back from his disappointing 2013 by winning the year’s first grand slam. Federer heads into the grand slam seeded sixth and after losing the final of the Brisbane International to fellow 32-year-old Lleyton Hewitt of Australia. The Swiss has not set any goals for himself at Melbourne Park as he battles to return to peak form but said the tour was still keeping the competitive
juices flowing. “It’s a different feeling today and the enjoyment factor I get out of playing on tour is totally different,” he said. “It’s a much deeper love I have today for the game and a much bigger appreciation and respect I have. “I just remember playing on court 25 all along in my career. So now that I can play on center court it’s an absolute privilege most of the time and if they put me on Hisense (Arena) or Margaret Court (Arena), I don’t care,” he said of the two other showcourts at Melbourne Park.
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Kaieteur News
Letter to the Sports Editor
Buxton ask Parliament to stop the profiling in cricket DEAR MR. EDITOR, Members of Buxton Carl Hooper Cricket Club would like to record our full support for the Cricket Administration Bill 2012. Our members signed the Cricket Bill Petition since we felt that our cricket needs urgent attention to restore order and accountability at all levels. Our club has suffered tremendously from the chaos of the group that has taken over the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB). We were never made aware of when elections were held and who the purported elected officials of the DCB are. However, on several occasions at the Everest Cricket Club, a group of five men, who by no means played cricket at any competitive level, selected teams for Demerara. We were also informed that this is the same group that has usurped the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) authority and proceeded to select the East Coast teams in clear violation of the DCB constitution. What is remarkable is that this is the first time in the history of Demerara Cricket that the Selection Panel is
comprised solely of on ethnic group and appallingly persons who have never represented Demerara or Guyana and in some case unknown to the cricket fraternity. The members of our club are essentially Guyanese of African decent and over the past three years or so have been deliberately ignored in their selection of players to represent East Coast and Demerara. The statistics in the East Coast competitions would clearly establish this discrimination. We have been patiently awaiting the resolution of these issues affecting our cricket by supporting the Parliamentary process. But sad to say there seems to be no immediate end to the problem since it appears that the members of Parliament are probably more interested in political showoff rather than the issues of the desecration and the rapid deterioration of our national game. This situation just cannot continue especially with the new unknown criteria for team selections which apparently include racial profiling. Cricket must not be held to ransom by a few misguided individuals who
have not only hijacked the game but has brought a new dimension to it. Time for intervention of those who we elect to represent us nationally, if not our youngsters will be deprived of the opportunity to exploit their talents, while unqualified and unsuitable persons, who do not have cricket at heart, continue to destroy the game. The Cricket Administration Bill holds the key towards providing a solution of our cricket problems since there will be free and fair elections at the Demerara Cricket Board and Guyana Cricket Board levels and our basic fundamental right to exercise our franchise to elect professional Boards and to appoint representatives to all the subcommittees will be restored. We are therefore humbly requesting that the combined Opposition in the National Assembly seriously and expeditiously address this situation by supporting the Bill that will ultimately bring sanity to our beloved game. Yours faithfully, Essie Peters President
Valcke comments on 2022 World Cup timing stir controversy LONDON (Reuters) - An announcement from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar would not be played in the summer created yet more controversy around the finals on Wednesday. It led to a shocked response from FIFA vice president Jim Boyce who said that only the world governing body’s executive committee could decide when the World Cup would be played. In a later statement, FIFA backtracked on Valcke’s comments which came in an interview with radio station France Inter. Valcke said: “The dates of the World Cup will not be in June or July. I think it will be played between November 15 and January 15 at the latest. “If you play between November 15 and, let’s say, the end of December, it’s the time when the weather is the most favorable. “You play with a temperature equivalent to that of a rather hot spring in Europe, you play with a temperature of 25 degrees (Celsius), which is perfect to play football,” he added.
The average temperature in the summer months in Qatar can be around 35C (95 Fahrenheit) and 45C (113F). In a subsequent statement FIFA appeared to backtrack saying Valcke was giving “his view” that the 2022 World Cup must take place in winter and the best time would be November 15 to January 15. The FIFA statement added: “The precise event date is still subject to an ongoing consultation process which involves all main event stakeholders, including both the international football community (FIFA, confederations, member associations, leagues, clubs, players) as well as FIFA’s commercial partners (Commercial Affiliates and Media Rights Licensees). “As the event will not be played until eight years’ time the consultation process will not be rushed and will be given the necessary time to consider all of the elements relevant for a decision. “Consequently, no decision will be taken before the upcoming World Cup Brazil as agreed by the FIFA
Executive Committee.” BOYCE SHOCKED FIFA VP Boyce of Northern Ireland told Sky Sports News he was very surprised by the timing of Valcke’s announcement. “I am totally shocked to be honest,” said Boyce. “The situation, as far as I’m aware, is that the FIFA executive committee was awaiting a report set up by all the stakeholders involved in the World Cup - television companies, leagues, sponsors - meeting between now and the World Cup in Brazil. “The plan was that there would be no further discussion on the World Cup in Qatar until December at the end of this year. “Whether Jerome was making a personal opinion or not I just don’t know, but I can confirm this has not been discussed by the FIFA executive committee. I am very surprised about what has happened this morning. “100 per cent I can confirm that the FIFA executive committee has not decided to move the World (Continued on page 29)
Thursday January 09, 2014
Edwards, Bravo set up WI’s crushing win over NZ ESPNcricinfo - A few days ago, West Indies barely had enough fit players to field an XI but, almost out of nowhere, they produced an outstandingly powerful display to square the one-day series 2-2. Their victory by the overwhelming margin of 203 runs - New Zealand’s second heaviest ODI defeat - was based around hundreds from Kirk Edwards and Dwayne Bravo who formed a 211-run stand for the fourth wicket in West Indies’ highest ever one-day international total. For Edwards it was his maiden ODI hundred, while Bravo’s was just his second in a 154-match career where his runs return have been far below what they should have been for his talent. The overall total of 363 for 4 surpassed a mark from back in 1987 when West Indies scored 360 against Sri Lanka. Although West Indies had taken the opening match in Auckland, there would have been long odds on this team producing such a performance after two insipid displays in Queenstown and Nelson. They could hardly have wished for better conditions to try and overturn their poor batting form; a flat pitch, small ground and a fast outfield. Brendon McCullum was happy to bowl first, backing his team in a chase, but the final carnage was probably 80 runs more than he would have wanted. This was one of those occasions when mishits reached the boundary and chip shots clear them, but that is to take nothing away from the performances of Edwards and Bravo, who both produced textbook oneday innings consisting of a period of rebuilding, then increasingly fierce strokeplay as the innings progressed. The fact they did not join forces until the 25th over highlighted how dominant they were. Edwards had not previously passed fifty (which he reached with a flick for six over midwicket) in the first ten matches of his career, but was able to start his innings from a rare position
of strength after Kieran Powell, who raced to 73 off 44 balls, had dominated an opening stand of 95 in 12 overs. His hundred came from 90 deliveries with an inside edge past the stumps - the second fifty requiring 28 balls as he cut loose in excellent batting conditions. He favoured the leg side, where he hit two of his four sixes, but also drove strongly through the covers as McCullum struggled to stem the flow. Bravo had joined Edwards with the innings at a tipping point on 143 for 3 after New Zealand had hauled back the early charge but after a few overs of consolidation - aware that West Indies did not have a huge amount of batting to follow - opened his boundary account with a six over long-off and produced the stylish strokeplay that has been so often lacking during his international career. This, though, has been a good series for him with the bat and he moved to his hundred from 79 deliveries (his second fifty taking just 25 deliveries) in the penultimate over of the innings which was followed by his third six, straight towards the sightscreen off Kane Williamson. The last 10 overs - six of which cost double figures for the bowlers, including 21 off the 44th bowled by Corey Anderson - produced some severe damage as West Indies scored 117 runs; the five-over block from 40-45 brought 75 runs. Although it was a tough ground to defend on, New Zealand’s bowlers did not help themselves by often delivering a hittable length. Powell, the tall lefthander, set the tone in the opening over when he collected consecutive boundaries off Tim Southee and in the paceman’s next over another pull carried for six. His innings kicked into a higher gear during the sixth over of the innings, from Mitchell McClenaghan, which cost 19 runs including another six: this time it was
caught, one-handed, by a supporter in the crowd which earned the lucky man a prize of NZ$100,000. Powell’s fifty came off 28 balls and he was eyeing a rapid hundred when he went to sweep McCullum and was taken on the boot. Replays showed it would have missed leg stump but Powell declined to use the review available. In the 14 overs following Powell’s wicket, there were only three boundaries, the pressure helping to bring about Lendl Simmons’ wicket when he drove to point, but it was the only period where New Zealand were not chasing the game. Given what the home side achieved in Queenstown albeit in a reduced game - they could not immediately be ruled out of the chase, but hunting down such a vast total is a very different challenge when compared to setting one. It needed a hundred from one of the top four, but instead they were all dismissed by the 11th over. Martin Guptill was beaten by a nip-backer from Bravo, Jesse Ryder top-edged behind square, Williamson walked across his stumps to the impressive Jason Holder and Ross Taylor edged a delivery that turned from Nikita Miller. When Brendon McCullum skied into the deep, the challenge was already verging on the impossible and the sight of him losing his bat trying to slog Miller was apt given he will see this as a series victory that his team let slip from their grasp. The final mention, though, should go to West Indies. The last two wickets came courtesy of a superb running catch from Bravo and a direct hit by Holder. They were as brilliant today as they had been woeful earlier in the series. It was only a shared series, but given their recent woes it probably felt like a lot more. Scores: West Indies 363 for 4 (Edwards 123*, Bravo 106, Powell 73) beat New Zealand 160 (Anderson 29, Miller 4-45) by 203 runs.
Singh wants to continue... From page 32 Under Armour gear; Masters League and an outreach programme where Division I Clubs will adopt schools. His long-term goals include: ensuring activate and strong succession lines in every capacity of basketball, from the national teams to referees; a
programme to train young basketball administrators; ensuring each subassociation has a programme and funding for an indoor basketba l l f a c i l i t y w i t h effective lightning and other amenities; commencement of a basketball drive in all other administrative regions and
areas; ensure other nonbasketball type of revenue programmes such as fundraisers are done on a regular basis to maintain income; Guyana being able to reach the Basketball World Championships and the Olympics in eight years and possible semiprofessional Leagues.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
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‘No alarm bells’ GSCL Inc\ Republic Simpson relying on mitigating Cup set for February …$1M for open winner The Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc (GSCL Inc) in collaboration with the National Sports Commission will be hosting the inaugural Republic Cup, which is slated to start on February 14 and consist of two categories, the open and over 40 and will be of 20 overs duration. The winning team in the open category will pocket G$1M, a trophy and 15 medals, with the runner up collecting $200,000, a trophy and the same number of medallions. In the Over-40 category, the winners will receive $600,000, a trophy and medallions, while the second placed team will take home $200,000 a trophy and medals, with the Man of the series for both categories receiving a three piece living room suite or cash equivalent and the
Mahendra Hardyal Man of the Match of the final, $10,000 and a trophy. Teams desirous of competing in the Open category, are asked to pay an entrance fee of $140,000, while those who wish to do battle in the Over-40 segment will have to pay an entrance fee of $120,000. The drawing will take place on a date and venue to be announced.
The competition is the brain child of GSCL Inc Trustee Mahendra Hardyal who told Kaieteur Sport recently that invitation has been extended to teams from Suriname, Canada, Florida and New York. It is expected that teams such as Wolf Warriors, Berbice Titans, Regal XI, Memorex, Speedboat and Trophy Stall will seek to capture the first place prize in the Open category, while Regal XI, Savage Masters and Industry Super Kings, should be amongst the list of competitors in the Over-40 segment. Preliminary matches are expected to be played at Everest Cricket Club, Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary, and the Ministry of Education ground. The semi finals and final will be contested at Everest Cricket Club; the final in the open category will take place under lights and is expected to be broadcasted live on radio.
Del Potro stands firm as... From page 32 controversy by his coach and father John Tomic. Tomic senior has been barred from the Australian Open after a court in Spain convicted him of assaulting his son’s former hitting partner last year. “The majority of the crowd like me in Australia,” the 21-year-old Tomic told reporters after setting up a quarter-final with Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. “At the end of the day, if you win, it’s going to put a zip to everyone.” The women’s draw, which has already seen top seed Agnieszka Radwanska and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki sent packing, lost third seed Sara Errani, last year’s surprise French Open semi-finalist, who was upset 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 by Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals. The Italian world number seven took a medical time-out in the second set to have treatment on her lower back, raising concerns over her fitness ahead of the year’s first grand slam. Former Wimbledon semifinalist Pironkova will play second seed and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who wore down Lucie Safarova 7-6 6-2, for a place in the final. BERDYCH WINS The invitational Kooyong Classic kicked off in
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina (R) meets France’s Nicolas Mahut of France at the net following his second round men’s singles win at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney, January 8, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Reed Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs o n We d n e s d a y, with a smattering of men’s top 10 players warming up at the eight-man exhibition, which offers the same surface used at Melbourne Park. World number seven Tomas Berdych roared back from a 5-2 deficit in the first set to overhaul Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-5 6-2 in his first hit-out of 2014 in brilliant sunshine. Japanese number one Kei Nishikori also enjoyed an opening win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. World number nine Richard Gasquet of France nearly suffered an embarrassing defeat by teenager Jordan Thompson, and had to save two match
points before fending off the 321st-ranked Australian 7-5 36 7-6 (7-4). Sam Stosur’s stuttering revival after a dismal Hopman Cup continued with a second straight win at the Hobart International in front of home fans. The former U.S. Open champion had to save two match points against 54thranked Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic as she labored through a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (9-7) match blighted by an astonishing 22 double-faults from both players. World number three David Ferrer, bidding for his fourth straight Auckland Open crown, began his 10th appearance in the event with a 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 6-1 win over American Donald Young.
circumstances at hearing
Jamaica Observer ATHENS Olympics 4X100m relay gold medallist Sherone Simpson is relying on mitigating circumstances, even as she identified an Epiphany D1 supplement as the cause for her positive drug test during the opening day of a scheduled two-day hearing before a Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) disciplinary panel at the Jamaica Conference Centre Tuesday. While the 2006 Commonwealth Games 200m champion said she didn’t knowingly take the banned substance, as she researched the unknown supplement thoroughly, Lackston Robinson, JADCO’s attorney, argued that she was “significantly negligent” and could not rely on mitigating circumstances in her defence. The supplement Epiphany D1 was identified as the product that triggered her adverse analytical finding last June at the National Championships, despite what she claimed was thorough research on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list. A c c o rd i n g to Simpson, she was given a number of supplements by Canadian physical trainer Chris Xuereb and being familiar with most except Epiphany D1, she went online for nearly three hours before taking it. “I Googled the Epiphany D1 on the WADA banned list and saw nothing on the bottle which appeared on the WADA list. No alarm bell. No red f l a g , ” s a i d S impson. “I double-checked with a banned substance and typed it in and it brought me back to the banned list,” she explained. But Robinson was not satisfied that Simpson was sufficiently responsible and asked her to take him through the procedure which led to the consumption of the
supplements. “Is it that what you do is sufficient? Robinson asked repeatedly as Simpson stuck to her answer. “I did all I could,” she said in a raised tone. “I see that as a refusal to answer the question,” said Robinson. “We will contend that the respondent was significantly negligent, therefore she cannot satisfy the requirements of articles 10.4 and 10.5.2. Therefore she cannot rely on the provisions of article 10.4 and 10.5.2 in the mitigation of sanctions.” Simpson, who returned a positive analytical finding for a stimulant, oxilofrine, last June, along with then training partner Asafa Powell, revealed that she had actually parted company with Xuereb at some stage prior to the National Championships. “For the simple reason he was getting too friendly,” Simpson explained while under cross-examination. “I had trusted Chris. He was helpful with my hamstring injury. My circle is small and I got to trust him and accepted him... I was comfortable with him,” she noted. According to Simpson, she saw Xuereb, while she was training at the Stadium East field, attending to Asafa Powell on May 13, then officially met him three days later and he started assisting with her injury. Having been consuming supplements since 2003, she was unfamiliar with Epiphany D1 and did her research which caused no alarm. But Robinson was relentless in trying to punch holes into Simpson’s testimony. He even suggested that on several occasions her testimony differed from her initial statements. He also questioned why she failed to identify that supplement on the doping control form prior to her drugs test. The athlete replied that it was relatively new to her and she didn’t remember it
at the time. Robinson also suggested that she could have taken the substance to a doctor and have consultation with JADCO or members of the JAAA before taking the product. During crossexamination, Simpson revealed she had never attended a drug seminar for o n e r e a s o n o r a n o t h e r, because she was either away of competing. “Are you aware that supplements may be contaminated by prohibited substances. If they are, would you agree with me that you would not find that on the ingredient list?,” asked Robinson. Simpson agreed, with some hesitation, then Robinson threw his next piercing question. “So you are willing to take the risk?” “I did all I could to check the supplement,” was Simpson is recurring answer. “You are determined to stonewall,” Robinson rebutted. “I am not a cheat, when I got the call that I got a positive test I said that it may have been from something that Chris had given me. I cried because I did so many tests before and none came back positive,” said Simpson, as her voice cracked up. The hearing was halted at 3:45 pm and will resume today at 10:00 am with Simpson still under crossexamination by Robinson. It appears that the twoday trial could be extended, as the JADCO three-member disciplinary panel, comprising chairman Lennox Gayle, Dr Jephthah F o r d , a n d f o r m e r F I FA referee Peter Prendergast, awaits a report from a lab in Kentucky, USA, which the defence claims proved that the Epiphany D1 supplement contains the banned substance oxilofrine. Former MVP teammate Asafa Powell, and agent Paul Doyle were expected to take the stand yesterday as witnesses for Simpson.
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Kaieteur News
Guyanese fast-bowler Jeremy Gordon confident as Canada depart for ICC W/C Qualifiers Guyanese fast-bowler Jeremy Gordon has uttered deep confidence of performing well again for Canada at the 2014 International Cricket Council (ICC) 50-over World Cup Qualifiers tournament. He made this declaration on Friday when the Canadian team departed at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto destined to host nation New Zealand. The Guyanese cricketer is looking to replicate his form from the recently concluded ICC T20 W/C Qualifiers in Dubai where he was outstanding snaring 11 wickets during the championship. Canada was eliminated though having triumphed in only two of their seven matches. ”Yes, I [am] very confident of doing well for Canada again this time in the 50-over version; I was disappointed that we didn’t qualify for the T20 but we just have to put that aside and focus now on this tournament,” the 26-year-old right-arm bowler declared. Canada will be among several other associate teams vying for qualification and to be part of the global event in early 2015 billed to be played in Australia and New Zealand. They have been placed in Group A which included Scotland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and Nepal. The action bowls off on January 13 with the North American boys confronting their newest rivals UAE. “Obviously, it is a different format of the game and new venues but I think we as a team better prepared for this tournament and ready to make an impression; Canada
Jeremy Gordon (NYcricket) has done well over the years in this version and would want to keep up the good work,” Gordon, a former West Indies under-19 reserved player, also related. Notably, Canada had participated in the last three world cup tournaments, ranging back from 2011, 2007, 2003 while their inaugural featuring was in 1979 when former Windward Islands player Brian Mauricette captained the side. According to Gordon, the team is anxious to play in this form but they will not take any team for granted. He believes the side carries a good allround strength and the guys have also shown lots of enthusiasm and commitment in preparations for this major assignment. On the last tour, Gordon, who plays for Brampton Master Tranzac Sports Club in the Toronto and District Cricket Association Elite League, attributed his personal success to great
determination and commitment. “I just wanted to do well for Canada; it was a great honour to represent your country despite ended on the losing side but we have high hopes now to go back to the World Cup; in Dubai, I worked very hard and was very determined to take wickets on a regular basis, so I am looking to continue in New Zealand,” Gordon stated. Earlier last year at home in Canada, Gordon was also successful picking up two eight-wicket hauls against the Netherlands and UAE in the four-day Intercontinental Cup while he counting on his experience and exposure for Guyana at the highest level. He made his debut for Canada 2011 in the West Indies Cricket Board regional T20 tournament while several months after he toured with the Canadian side in Scotland for his first four-day and oneday appearances. Meanwhile, the team will be led by veteran all-rounder Jimmy Hansran, taken over the captaincy from Ashish Bagai who made a sudden retirement just after the selection of the touring party. Andy Pick is the new coach having replaced former West Indies batsman Gus Logie who was part of the losing contingent in Dubai. Hansra via a press release also commented on the side’s preparation camp and declared they worked on specific scenarios for this trip in New Zealand. He is also cognizant of the opportunity that lays ahead with only two spots available for the 2015 mega event. Ireland and Afghanistan have already qualified as the other two associate teams.
Del Potro stands firm as seeds tumble in Sydney MELBOURNE (Reuters) World number five Juan Martin del Potro, the man tipped to challenge for grand slam titles this season, began his year with a scrappy win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday. The Sydney warm-up to the Australian Open has proved a graveyard for the seeds this week but the 25year-old former U.S. Open champion avoided an early flight to Melbourne by
coming back to win 1-6 6-3 64. Rated a dark horse to win the title at Melbourne Park and add to his sole grand slam triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2009, the top seeded Argentine will next take on Czech veteran Radek Stepanek for a place in the last four. Other seeds struggled, with No.3 Andreas Seppi from Italy bundled out by Australia’s Marinko Matesovic 6-3 6-4 and sixth seed Julien Benneteau of
France dumped in straight sets by Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky. Defending champion Bernard Tomic advanced with a hard-fought 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over Slovenian qualifier Blaz Kavcic, continuing his habit of raising his game for home fans at the start of the year. The rangy 21-year-old, ranked 52nd in the world, has disappointed some in Australia for failing to live up to sky-high expectations and has been drawn into
Thursday January 09, 2014
Singh wants to continue work as GABF President - Presents impressive manifesto to stakeholders By Edison Jefford Against the background of resurrecting basketball corpse, President of the Colts Basketball Club and Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Michael Singh wants the opportunity to continue his prolific work as President of the national federation. Singh circulated an impressive manifesto, which among many other goals, takes aim at structural strengthening of the sport domestically through constitutional reform, grassroots programmes to develop the sport’s popularity, infrastructural development and international spotlight, which include hosting the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships next year. Singh hopes to bring his ability to mobilise funding and connect with the base of the sport to his leadership of the basketball fraternity nationally. Following the 2011 death of Colts Club Coach, Phillip George, Singh was unanimously thrust into the leadership of the Club where he has since propelled them to a top three berth among clubs in Georgetown. “The rejuvenation and resuscitation of the game locally from the grassroots level, requires social, energetic and an on-theground (GABF) President,” Singh said in his manifesto, which was sent to basketball stakeholders Tuesday night ahead of S a t u r d a y ’s A G M a n d Elections. “I’m in this rebuilding process with you, bringing back basketball to where i t ’s s u p p o s e d t o b e - a vibrant crowd-pulling game with lots of energetic fans. Do not ask what basketball can do for you, ask what you can do for the game,” he continued, urging the voting blocs to recognise what he called “an urgent dilemma to resuscitate” basketball. The 35-year-old Singh is a combination of youth, experience and entrepreneurship. Singh played basketball at Saint Stanislaus College as a student and also at Colts Basketball Club in the guard position. He is the owner of Paladin Security Firm, which he started in 2008, after spending
Michael Singh most of his professional life in the Security Sector. He is a successful businessman, who also has Gold Mining Operations in Guyana. His impressive slate for Saturday’s election, which this newspaper has seen, also combines youth and professionalism along various sectors that include discipline, finance management, logistical management, officiating, marketing a n d p u b l i c relations among others. Following his election to the post of GABA President, Singh immediately swung into work with an invitation to the LABA for them to participate in a 3-on-3 Basketball Fun Day as an exchange programme between the two associations and fostering an amicable relationship. With very little support from major local companies last year, Singh invested personal resources to ensure that his programme was completed. The result was basketball enjoyed one of its busiest years in recent times. Singh was able to complete an extensive League in the Division I and III level, a fourteam playoff following the League, an exchange among the Surinamese Yellowbird team and the Phillip George Legacy Championship. He also participated in exchange programmes in Linden and the Inter-Ward Competition. In his manifesto for the further development of the sport, Singh lobbied against the background of having literally hauled basketball back into consistent
competition and literally being there for the sport when it struggled financially and publicly for support. He intends to rebrand local basketball to represent a modern and international content, lobbying for support from global brands such as Under Armour and Molten. Singh said that he also intend to enact an aggressive, funfilled and inclusive fun-raising initiative. “We intend to engage corporate, religious and other members of civil society as a whole, partake in blood drives and other such initiatives. In this way, GABF will be a bit more involved with the public, rather than just sending sponsorship letters asking for financial support,” he said. “We intend to issue scholarships to studentathletes; we’ll also source and select under privileged basketball players in need of text books, basketball gear and mentorship. The young ambassadors of the federation will in turn reciprocate in performance,” Singh continued. He believes that “the new GABF President cannot be isolated to his desk; this isn’t a desk job but one of engaging the game and programs at the grassroots level,” he contended. Among Singh’s shortterm goals are building relationships with CBC, FIBA and the United States Diaspora and maintaining an open-line of communication with all stakeholders; it also includes two annual national tournaments; funding and development for the GBOC where new officials are identified, trained and provided the foundation for them to be FIBA Certified; one community-based national tournament; national 3-on3 community-based outreach tournament; women inclusion in Division III basketball and women schools’ outreach; national schools home and away t o u rnament; endorsement and affiliation of the Youth Basketball Guyana Organisation; comprehensive website development (guyanabasketball.com) featuring a l l b a s k e tball activity and a players’ national data base; GABF Shop where the sale of local merchandis ed basketball equipment will be available such as shoes and (Continued on page 30)
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
RHTY&SC team up with E-Networks for Multi-Million Pro-Education Programmes - donate $250,000 in books to Churches
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Chanderpaul available for all formats, looking forward to Regional Super 50
Shivnarine Chanderpaul Secretary/CEO of RHTY&SC Hilbert Foster hands over one of the books to Pamela King of St. Francis Youth Club in the presence of members. The cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club (RHTY&SC) on Thursday last launched their Multi-Million dollars ENetworks Pro-Education Programme for 2014 with donations of $250,000 worth of children story and educational books to the Port Mourant St. Francis Xavier and the New Amsterdam Church of Ascension Roman Catholic Churches. The donations would assist the St. Francis Xavier Church to establish a mini library for youths, while the Church of Ascension would add their books to an already established library. Each of the Churches also received a notice board from the Club. Club Secretary/CEO, Hilbert Foster, who presented the items, stated that the cricket teams would be placing special emphasis on the importance of reading in
its 2014 E-Networks ProEducation campaign. Books would also be donated to several nursery and secondary schools in Berbice while several cricket clubs would also receive assistance towards the establishment of mini libraries for their members. Foster noted that reading enables the mind to develop and allows individuals to form ideas quickly. While noting that reading is his favourite hobby, Foster urged the younger generation to develop a culture of research; studying and reading pointing out that this would lead them to successful careers. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports club strongly believes that Education is the key to success and the veteran cricket administrator issued an appeal for all young sportsmen and women to
place emphasis on education and not to forsake it entirely for success in sports. RHTY&SC, Foster disclosed would be working together with the Berbice Cricket Board to establish mini libraries at the Bath, Blairmont Community Centre, Young Warriors, Chesney, whim and Edinburgh Cricket Clubs in an effort to get young players to develop a culture of reading. Rose Hall Town Farfan & Mendes Under-15, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Metro Females and Gizmos & Gadgets Under-12 and First Division Teams, under their Pro-education Programme for 2014 would be sharing out educational kits, school bags, school uniforms and other materials to less fortunate students; make donations to several schools; hosts
television programmes; provide educational scholarships; host Evening Classes and the annual Republic Bank Summer Camp among other projects. President of the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Youth Club, Andrew Smartt, expressed gratitude to the teams of the Club and pledged that the mini library would be opened to Church members and youths from January 5, 2014. The role that was played by the Club and Secretary/ CEO Foster in the resuscitation of the St. Francis Youth Club came in for high praise by Smartt as well as their role in the investing in the activities of the Port Mourant Catholic Church. He wished the Management and players a successful year on and off the field during 2014.
Federer rallies with Laver in rare Australian Open warm-up MELBOURNE (Reuters) Roger Federer traded shots with his hero Rod Laver on Wednesday in the stadium that bears the Australian great’s name before promising that his hunger for grand slam titles remains as strong as ever. The 17-times grand slam champion beamed with pride after enjoying a few rallies with the 75-year-old, who was dressed in traditional whites and impressed a packed crowd with his movement ahead of Federer’s exhibition match with French world number 10 Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga. “Hitting with Rod Laver for me clearly is an absolute dream come true,” Federer told reporters after a crowdpleasing 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5 win over Tsonga in the fundraising event for his charity, the Roger Federer Foundation. “It’s in his arena as well, it’s named after him and he deserves it so much. “He told me that his wrist was hurting less on the forehand so he asked me to play there a bit more often. “While I was playing my (Continued on page 25)
Switzerland’s Roger Federer (R) talks with Australian tennis legend Rod Laver at Rod Laver Arena during a charity event in Melbourne January 8, 2014. REUTERS/David Gray
By Zaheer Mohamed West Indies star batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul said that he is available to represent the West Indies in all formats of the game. He was speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday at the Everest Cricket Club during the Guyana team practice session. Chanderpaul has so far accumulated 11,219 runs in 153 tests at an average of 51.93 and became the second highest West Indian run scorer in the longest version of the game behind Brian Lara. The feat was achieved during the recent test series against New Zeeland. He stated that he is happy to achieve the milestone. “I never thought that I could have done this and I am excited about it. It has been a long road, I take one game at a time, and this is the result of the hard work that I have put in over the years”, he added. Chanderpaul, who hails from Unity on the East Coast of Demerara, stated that he wants to achieve similar heights in One Day Internationals. “I am available to represent the region in all formats of the game and would also like to achieve similar feat in the 50 over version,” he said. Chanderpaul has 8,778 runs from 268 One day games at an average of 41.60; he is just
1,222 runs short of his target in ODIs. Chanderpaul informed that he is looking forward to the Regional Super 50 and 4day tournaments as well as fulfilling his contract with Derbyshire. When quizzed about Guyana chances in the Regional Super 50, Chanderpaul expressed confidence that they can go all the way. “We have a good team, the batting, bowling and fielding look fine, but we have to play hard in all departments, keep it simple, put our trust in God and hopefully we will come out on top,” he explained. The lefthander, who was the helm when Guyana last tasted success at this level in 2005, said that it is a good choice by the Guyana Cricket Board to have the Guyana Defence Force trainers assist with their preparation adding that it will help to improve team spirit and discipline. Chanderpaul however stressed the need for the younger players to occupy the crease for longer periods. “We had a practice match and some of the players threw their wickets away with poor shot selections. They need to rotate the strike without taking much risk,” said Chanderpaul. The Regional Super 50 tournament starts on January 30 in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday January 09, 2014
Powerlifting face testing 2014, previous year was rewarding
Peter Green
John Edwards
Steffi De Nobrega
Kimberly Mars-Lonke
By Franklin Wilson Despite ending the year on a very low note as a result of the a failed in-competition doping control test by Gumendra Shewdas, the sport of powerlifting enjoyed another successful year at every level, locally and internationally. Shewdas, who became Guyana’s first Sub-Junior World Champion having won gold in the 53kg class at the Wo r l d championships held in Killeen, Texas, USA was banned for two years by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) after his urine sample was found to
have Methylhexaneamine and Oxilofrine, both being Prohibited Substances and Stimulants according to the WADA Prohibited List and the IPF Anti-Doping Rules. Along with Shewdas’ twoyear exile from the sport which commenced on October 21, the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) was fined Euro $2000, over half a million Guyana dollars. Failure to pay would result in the federation also being suspended by the world body. Apart from that negative which will certainly have rippling effects on sports across the board in Guyana,
the GAPF enjoyed a rewarding year. Five (5) local competitions were held, Novice, Junior, Intermediate, Masters and Senior’s. Guyana participated in the Caribbean, Pan A m e r i c a n a n d Wo r l d championships, while ‘Big’ John Edwards and Edwin Spencer were both successful at their Judges examinations. The year under review also saw the emergence of more female competitors, a breath of fresh air for the sport. With the progress being jerked by Shewdas’ negligence, it will be a challenge for the federation to
keep the interest of the females intact. To be specific, from a position of having just two (2) females compete in 2012, 2013 saw nine (9) competitors on the distaff side. There were a total of 85 athletes who competed during the year at the various levels. For females there were three (3) juniors and six (6) in the open category. Among the males there were nine (9) sub-juniors, sixteen (16) juniors, forty-six (46) in the open and five (5) masters. The top ranked lifters in the various categories for the year 2013 are as follows:
The youngest lifter for the year was 14-year-old Terry D’Ornalles of Hardcore Gym who competed in the SubJunior 66kg category. John Edwards and Edwin Spencer, both International Powerlifting Federation Category 11 Judges, officiated at the Caribbean and Pan American Championships. Guyana captured the male team title at the Caribbean
championships; joint third of twelve (12) teams at the Pan American Open championships; fourth of eight (8) teams at the Pan American Juniors and Pan American Masters. T h e w o m e n ’s t e a m placed second at the Caribbean level while they were 7th of nine teams at t h e P a n A merican Open championships. GAPF Peter Green, while
disappointed with the turn of events towards the end of the year, said that the federation will have to meet and decide on the way forward in spite of the evident challenges. He said that there would be no overseas travels this year, while the federation will be making efforts to ensure that athletes are fully ceased with the ills of using substances, including energy drinks that are harmful to their
health and progress in the sport. Goals for 2014: conduct anti-doping education seminars with the IPF assistance; procurement of additional weights with assistance from the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport; construction of a home for powerlifting, weightlifting and bodybuilding; regional teaching seminars on powerlifting.
Republic Anniversary t/20 cricket fixed for W/B’ce Cricket fans in West Berbice will be in for a treat when the Goodwill Promotions holds its inaugural Republic Anniversary T20 cricket Festival in Region five to celebrate Mashramani this year. According to the
Final to be played under lights Promotion group, this competition is scheduled to be played on Sunday February 23, which is a National holiday, with the Final to be contested under floodlights.
It is expected that four top teams will vi e for supremacy in the oneday knock out tournament in addition to an Invitational match, w i t h t h e teams vying for
bragging rights. The first match is scheduled to commence at 09: 00hrs and cash and trophies will be up for grabs. During the evening a number of side attractions will be available for the fans, while there will also be gate prizes for spectators.
An innings well played Terry Holder! Gone at 73 By Sean Devers Barbadian Priest Father Paul once said, “We cannot say we know how it feels. None of us can know how he feels. What we can do he said, is to help bear the cross for them. To ease their burden until such time as they are able to bear it again.” This could be directed at the family of long serving Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Guyanese Terrence Holder, who passed away yesterday afternoon at his home in Georgetown after losing his battle with cancer. He was 73. Holder held the position of PRO for the GCB for the past 20 years and only gave-up the job because of ill health. Such was his love for cricket that only last year he was at the Guyana National Stadium for a West Indies match. In October 2011 Holder, the Deputy General Manager of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a City Hospital. He retired from GT&T after his health deteriorated. Holder began his broadcasting career at the then state-owned Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS) before ascending to the position of General Manager of the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) during the 1980s. He also served the Caribbean as SecretaryGeneral of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) before returning home to take up his post with GT&T. Holder also served the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA). His wife Yvonne died at the Suriname Airport in 2007, but he continued to be a consummate professional in all areas of his work. Holder opposed some of new systems by the government and was moved to the Ministry of Information. After his tenure as General Manager of the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation in the 1980s, he was placed on the board of directors at the National Communications Network (NCN), maintaining his link to broadcasting. Holder often expressed his disgust with the falling standards in local radio in recent times. The first time I met Terry Holder was in 1988 in Barbados and since then he has been an inspiration to me at several important junctions in my life. Back in 1988 Holder was residing in Barbados and headed the then CBU, which is now CMC. I was a member of the Guyana under-19
cricket team. He was willing to chat with us youngsters about the importance of cricketers interacting with the Media and that sparked my interest in Radio. I later became a radio cricket broadcaster and I would frequently seek out Mr Holder at the GCB or at GT&T for advice on my commentary. But Mr Holder’s most significant intervention in my life was when I developed Cancer in 2012 and had to get a brain Surgery to remove a tumor. I visited his home while he was ill and was inspired his by his fighting spirit. Thinking of him and Reds Perreira, who suffered a stroke in 1996, provided me the motivation to never give up when ill. Holder, who was also a Table Tennis Administrator, is the father of three girls and a boy and his eldest child, Dawn Holder, remembered him as a wonderful father who was also her friend. “The most lasting memory of daddy is that he was always there for his children even after mom passed away. He was a wonderful father who stood for very high standards and had excellent values which he instilled in us,” remembered Dawn, a Lawyer by profession. “Daddy also loved sports, especially cricket and so did I. We would often engage in long conversations about cricket and he was proud of the relationship he had with many of the International Cricketers. He was especially fond of Trinidadian Darren Ganga,” Dawn explained. Funeral arrangements for Holder, whose mother is still alive at 101 years, have not yet been made since two of his daughters are overseas. Meanwhile, Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board Anand Sanasie said that Holder’s passing came as a shock. “Even though we were all aware that Terry was ill for some time now, his passing still came as a shock as I spoke with him just before his demise,” he added. Sanasie stated that Holder’s contribution as a cricket Administrator can be compared to very few. “His integrity, intellect and quest for fairness would be missed. Personally I would miss his subtle suggestions even after he departed from us at the GCB due to his illness, words of reason that we will forever remember. I, on behalf of myself and the cricket fraternity, express deepest condolences to Terry’s immediate family, relatives and friends,” said Sanasie.
Thursday January 09, 2014
Kaieteur News
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The Shewdas doping issue: Why the deafening silence? By Rawle Welch Now that the revelation of powerlifter Gumendra Shewdas’s positive test for banned stimulants has reached the public domain, one would have thought that a more detailed and serious disclosure would have emanated from the local governing body, given that it had no less than two months to do so. The prolonged silence, or lack of meaningful representation of the facts as presented, must be construed as deliberate and an attempt to sweep under the carpet, Shewdas’ monumental transgression after becoming what is more than likely the first person from these shores to be labeled a drug cheat. It would be interesting to know at what stage of the process the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF), or its President Peter Green, received correspondence of Shewdas’s positive drug test, as it must be noted that the athlete’s ban became effective since October 21 last, while most Guyanese, if not all, only knew of the offence two months later. The question to be asked therefore is: why there wasn’t an official disclosure e a r l i e r o f S h e w d a s ’s violation or was there an attempt to hide the findings of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)? To make the disclosure to this nation two months after the ban became effective was/is bound to raise suspicions. There must have been correspondence flying back and forth on Shewdas’s status as it relates to the tests by the WADA, so it is highly unlikely that the local governing body would
not have been duly apprised of the situation. W h y d i d t h e authorities/administrators here wait so long to make such an important announcement? Was it that Green was somehow hoping that many Guyanese would not notice the information on the internet or was it due to the pressure felt after Shewdas was showered with the many accolades after returning home with the gold medal and a fair degree of world renown in the sport? Only Green has the a n s wers to the above questions, and he may also be privy to the facts as to who, if not Shewdas, was responsible for the young lifter’s reported resorting to the use of performanceenhancing drug (s), and if there will be a thorough investigation by the GAPF, Ministry of Sport or even the President of the Cooperative Republic. Yes, it is that serious! It will be remiss of me if I don’t remind the readership of some of the interventions that the Government of Jamaica led by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller made when several of their athletes were tested positive last year. It included boosting anti-doping initiatives in addition to the proposed introduction of testing programmes from the high school level among others. S i m p s o n M i l l e r ’s involvement was a direct result of the effect such a scandal could have on the nation’s branding which it generated through sports. Minister Frank Anthony’s skeletal exertion to explain the way forward might have been avoided
Gumendra Shewdas (right) shake hands with Dr Frank Anthony in the presence of Powerlifting boss Peter Green (centre). had the Ministry been more proactive in taking the lead in the development of sports rather than offering piecemeal assistance. The Minister ’s pronouncement of the existence of an anti-doping committee in Guyana for some time now must be news for many sporting organizations, and this is because he would be hardpressed to provide details of any sort about the committee’s workings or if it
had conducted any tests on local athletes heading into regional or international competitions. The continued absence of seriousness about the welfare and well-being of our athletes, along with the educational deficiencies in our sports administrators due to the uncaring attitude of those in authority has borne fruit, but sadly not the ones that are fit for human consumption. The shocking disclosure
has created an ineradicable mark not only on Shewdas, the Ministry of Sport and the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation, but the country as a whole, and this is why many are exasperated by the matterof-fact and trivializing manner in which the issue is being treated. This development in a responsible society would/should elicit a major reaction among all stakeholders in sport with
immediate effect, as well as a serious engagement between all the administrators in all disciplines that represent the country internationally. Shewdas’s failed attempt to cheat, which was subsequently uncovered by none other than the World Anti-Doping Agency, has put Guyana notoriously on the wrong side of the sporting landscape, and no doubt means that all our athletes from now on will be subjected to intense scrutiny. The Ministry of Sport, the National Sports Commission, the Guyana Olympic Association and the GAPF, among others, should all see this as an opportunity to work together in an attempt to stop the bleeding from what is being treated as a small wound before it becomes a gaping hole that could further embarrass this nation. J u s t r e m e m b e r, i f administrators continue to keep athletes unaware of what they must not put in their bodies, then the consequences for them (athletes) and Guyana are dire, because come January 2015, athletes found guilty of doping will be banned for a minimum of four years and forced to miss at least one Olympic Games, even as a first offender. The WADA passed that ruling last November at a Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, as they aim to get tougher on drug cheats. There is no time for a ‘drag your feet’ position, but rather a ‘down to business’ approach by the relevant stakeholders before Guyana is disgraced once again. We have ample warning.
Caribbean Football Union unveil new logo The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) recently unveiled its new logo with the tagline, “Purpose, Passion Performance”. Following is the new logo rationale. Evolving... through the years... Tackling the issues, monitoring, promoting and expanding the development of football within the Caribbean. Football! It’s our passion... held dear to our hearts and protected by all
who are united in the CFU. One sport! One Caribbean people! Characterized by our vibrancy which cuts across cultures and continents. Our skills and determination, and a union of expressed passion for the development of Football within the Region. Our goal - to take our place among the stars on the international football scene. With our new logo comes a re-commitment to our
continued support of this vision as played out in the colours in the logo design: The blues are representative of the Caribbean Sea and the bright skies of hope. Yellow and orange signify our vibrancy and radiance reminiscent of the Caribbean sunshine. Red represents our passion for the game and the Green is our continued growth and expectations of prosperity and success in the future.
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Edwards, Bravo set up WI’s crushing win over NZ P.30
Kieran Powell raced out of the blocks. (Getty Images) Dwayne Bravo leaps in celebration of his second ODI hundred. (Getty Images)
Kirk Edwards ensured West Indies built on their rapid start. (Getty Images)
An innings well played - Terry Holder! Gone at 73 P34
‘No alarm bells’
Simpson relying on mitigating circumstances at hearing P.31
Sherone Simpson
Terry Holder, his daughter Dawn and Lance Gibbs at the National Stadium last year. Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210