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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Teamwork is focus of GMSA’s “Leadership excellence” workshop Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, David Devine, in a keynote address stated that teamwork is a key focus when exhibiting good leadership qualities. The diplomat, along with Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA)’s head, Mohindra Chand, spoke yesterday at the GMSA’s “Leadership Excellence Training Seminar” at the Regency Suites, Hadfield Street, Georgetown. The programme is hosted at least three times annually, with invitations being extended to business owners, managers and staffers in the manufacturing and service provision sectors. At least 40 representatives from various private and public firms such as Banks DIH, GuySuCo, Toolsie Persaud Ltd. and the Bureau of Standards were in attendance. Devine stressed on the pivotal role leaders play when fulfilling and executing their mandates since the focus of the programme, facilitated by internationally known and locally-bred business development and communications consultant
GMSA head Mohindra Chand (at far left) addresses the gathering Sandra Ann Baptiste, was based on cutting-edge leadership techniques. The one-day workshop was geared at inspiring and motivating leaders for peak team performance. Before focusing his attention on effective leadership and declaring open the training seminar, Devine shared some of his experiences as a leader in the various positions he held, and
pointed out the absolute necessity of understanding the importance of managerial and other directive positions. He said to the participants that their purpose at the seminar was to see how teams could work effectively. In his perception of what leadership excellence means, Devine said, “Despite popular opinion that leaders are born,” he opined that a more accurate statement is
that, “The best leaders are made. They are tried, tested by experience, patience and hard work. “ He said that leadership is not about hierarchy, title or position. Leader excellence, he explained, is the ability to motivate and inspire despite challenges in difficult circumstances. Great leaders, he asserted, create and build partnerships, using various forms to achieve their goals. GMSA head, Mohindra Chand, told the gathering that he believes in the great benefits of learning about leadership, motivation and teamwork.
“Leadership is an art that is driven by passion, commitment, sincerity, determination, sweat, humility, risk taking, doing the right thing, selflessness and most of all teamwork Leadership is not about power or high positions, but the power to bring people together, foster change and promote teamwork.” The GMSA head however mentioned that the training session was being held at a time when the organisation is observing its golden anniversary. In June this year, GMSA will begin to observe 50 years in existence, “As the leader in advocacy for the manufacturing sector.” He emphasized that, “The strength of GMSA’s leadership as the prominent voice of the manufacturing and services sectors lies with the unity and substance of the association”. The 50 years of the organization’s existence exemplifies the true meaning of leadership, he said. “As we go through the new year, we (gathered) have to be increasingly dynamic leaders with a sense of purpose for development. Your companies have placed in you tremendous confidence, by affording you the opportunity to participate in this knowledge-sharing
exercise. Being able to attend this vital workshop should not only motivate you to take advantage of what you learn, but challenge yourself further in being able to assume greater responsibility in your professional and social roles as leaders.” Sandra Ann Baptiste told the participants that she was delighted to be their facilitator, and being able to share with them her experiences and knowledge. According to Ms. Baptiste, mastering leadership techniques first requires a commitment to become a transformational leader who understands and practices collaboration, team-building and effective communication. She stressed that leadership by example is the key to creating a cohesive workforce of people who share and participate in an institution’s forward trajectory. As the seminar’s opening ceremony concluded, Ms. Baptiste immediately started her programme, calling on the various company representatives to swap places and link with persons from other firms. She indicated that the emphasis was that one does not have to be acquainted with others to work as a team. (Zena Henry)
Commercial sex worker murder…
Detained men released on station bail The two men who were being questioned by the police in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Wesley Holder called ‘Tiffany’ have been released on station bail. They were released late yesterday afternoon but are to report to the police on a regular basis. Meanwhile, a post mortem examination on Monday last has revealed that Holder died as result of shock and hemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds.
On Friday last, his battered body was found in the compound of St. Phillips Green Church. It bore several stab wounds. The man’s slippers were found under a nearby tree with freshly used condoms wrapped in tissue and a knife. Holder, a commercial sex worker, was last seen alive on Thursday night last, leaving King Street and heading towards High Street, Werken-rust. One of his close friends said three men had
approached them both, requesting to do ‘business’. However the friend declined, while Holder left with the men indicating that they were heading to High Street. Based on a statement given to the police by Holder’s friend, two men were detained. However a source close to the investigation has revealed that there was not sufficient evidence to press charges against the detained men. Investigations are ongoing.
A female Lance Corporal of Police is presently in hot water following the disappearance of a quantity of cash from the force’s ‘A’ Division Registry. The money represents the proceeds from the sale of firearm licences. Police in a statement yesterday said that “The Audit and Inspection Unit of the Police Office of Professional Responsibility
(OPR) in conjunction with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is conducting investigations into financial irregularity that has been uncovered in the Police ‘A’ Division Registry Section. The fraud involves the sale of Firearm Licences and a female Lance Corporal has been placed under open arrest as the investigations continue.”
Kaieteur News understands that the female rank was previously transferred from the Police Finance Office where she and others were implicated in another massive fraud, for which no one has been prosecuted. In fact, the rank was recently promoted at the last police promotions announced on January
Female cop in hot water over firearm licence money
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Race on to meet June deadline…
President inspects Amaila Falls hydro road project
Aerial views of the road to Amaila Falls under construction. As contractors race against time to complete access roads leading to the Amaila Falls hydro project site in Region Eight, a team of government officials led
by President Donald Ramotar visited the area on Monday to check on progress. The roads are critical for start of the project, with
financial closure expected by the third quarter of this year. Not finishing the roads in time could very well see financing, being considered by the Inter-American Development
Esso starting 3D seismic activities for oil offshore Guyana
Esso Exploration/Shell Exploration is to start 3D seismic activities from Sunday using CGG Veritas equipment. Preparations to restart offshore drilling for oil are underway, with a group expected to commence conducting 3D activities from Sunday. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), fisherfolks and mariners should be on the lookout for the sensitive devices that will be used. The activities are being conducted by the Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd./Shell Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd., through CGG Veritas offshore Guyana. “The exercise will involve towing a streamer of sensitive
devices over a breadth of approximately one kilometre, length of eight kilometres and at a depth of seven metres. As such the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment is urging all mariners and fisherfolks to be alert and take necessary precautions to avoid contact with sensitive equipment used to conduct oil explorations activities” In October 2008, Guyana and Esso reaffirmed a Petroleum Prospecting Licence and Petroleum Agreement. A release from the GGMC then said that Esso was required to immediately acquire a regional 2D seismic target area. “These surveys may be followed with 3D imaging methods that will include 3D
seismic, all in an effort to identify possible targets for drilling. The decision point for drilling will be made if any suitable targets are identified,” GGMC had said. Esso got its licence in July 1999 for exploratory works and commenced its programme of regional aeromagnetic and 2D seismic exploration along with other investigative procedures. These operations were discontinued as a result of the Guyana/Suriname maritime boundary dispute which has since been resolved in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Guyana has already had two wells drilled in its waters, but these failed to find oil in commercial quantities.
Bank (IDB), among other institutions, being delayed. It could have implications in the financing costs also. With the hydro project expected to be Guyana’s largest project ever, costing at least US$840M, delays will be the last thing government would want. The access road contract, originally estimated around US$15M ($3B), had been awarded to Synergy Holdings for the upgrade of approximately 85 kilometres of existing roadway and the design and construction of approximately 110 kilometres of new road. Synergy Holdings was granted the road contracts, despite public protests that its owner Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall, did not have the relevant experience for the road works which was through rough terrain. However, government persevered and last January,
after the work fell months behind schedule, the administration ended the contract with Synergy. It has now been awarded in parts to a number of companies. Even government, through the Ministry of Public Works, is tackling a portion of the work. According to a government statement, the inspection by President Ramotar on Monday brought a greater understanding about the challenges ahead of the June deadline when completion is expected. “A helicopter reconnaissance by the Head of State, in the company of Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, and Technical Consultant, Walter Willis, provided insight into the state of preparations on the physical infrastructure beginning from the Mabura trail into the Essequibo River.” The officials landed at
Butukari for a first hand inspection of the river crossing conditions before continuing the aerial journey up the Kuribrong River into an area Minister Benn described as one of concern, and which grants physical access to the falls. According to Minister Benn, fair weather and low water levels made it possible for the team to visit critical areas and to have an understanding of the unresolved issues. The IDB loan for the project, according to President Ramotar recently, hinges on a set of safeguard measures that were advanced following environmental impact studies that were conducted. Government has insisted that the hydro project, providing some 165 megawatts of power, will ease Guyana’s dependence on fossil fuel and increase its productivity.
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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Truth Commissions
Following a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Mr. David Granger, for an Inquiry into criminal violence between 2004-2010, the governing party has moved that it may be better to establish a Truth Commission, with a mandate to hear testimony on violence going back to 1973. We are of the view that the idea of a Truth Commission has merit and we hope that it will be discussed and debated and finally established. Ever since South Africa’s groundbreaking initiative in the post-Apartheid era with their “Peace and Reconciliation Commission”, the device has been used by quite a large number of states in post-conflict situations. This editorial will discuss the evolving practice of truth commissions and explore claims made on their behalf. They are increasingly seen not as weak substitutes for trials, but as having unique benefits and as superior to trials in some respects. Since the mid-1970s, an unprecedented number of states have attempted the transition to democracy. One of the significant issues many of these states have had to deal with is how to induce different groups to peacefully coexist after years of conflict. Particularly since the early 1990s, the international human rights community has advocated truth commissions as an important part of the healing process, and they have been suggested as part of the peace process of virtually every international or communal conflict that has come to an end since. Advocates of truth commissions argue that some reckoning with the past is necessary in order for former opponents to look to a peaceful shared future. Truth commissions are generally understood to be “bodies set up to investigate a past history of violations of human rights in a particular country — which can include violations by the military or other government forces or armed opposition forces.” One expert delineates four main characteristics of truth commissions. First, they focus on the past. The events may have occurred in the recent past, but a truth commission is not an ongoing body akin to a human rights commission. Second, truth commissions investigate a pattern of abuse over a set period of time rather than a specific event. In its mandate, the truth commission is given the parameters of its investigation, both in terms of the time period covered as well as the type of human rights violations to be explored. Third, a truth commission is a temporary body, usually operating over a period of six months to two years and completing its work by submitting a report. These parameters are established at the time of the commission’s formation, but often an extension can be obtained to wrap things up. Fourth, truth commissions are officially sanctioned, authorized, or empowered by the state. This, in principle, allows the commission to have greater access to information, greater security, and increased assurance that its findings will be taken under serious consideration. Official sanction from the government is crucial, because it represents an acknowledgment of past wrongs and a commitment to address the issues and move on. Furthermore, governments may be more likely to enact recommended reforms if they have established the commission. A number of other bodies have also been created to serve the similar function of investigating the past. In some instances, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) have sometimes created their own truth commissions where governments have failed to create one. For example the archbishop of Sao Paulo, with the support of the World Council of Churches, investigated human rights abuses under Brazil’s military regime when the government refused their calls for a formal inquiry. Other commissions of inquiry have examined individual events. Truth commissions also need not be national in scope. The Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project in North Carolina created a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in May 2004, to examine racially motivated killings by the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party in 1979. Nor need they be governmental at all. South Africa’s African National Congress created two commissions in the early 1990s to investigate the internal activities of its own organization. Let us move beyond pointing fingers.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Letters... Where your views make the news
Women must live on their own terms without being raped DEAR EDITOR, We have noted, with equal measures of interest and dismay, an ongoing debate in the letter columns and have come to the conclusion that there is a lot of confusion when it comes to human beings and rape. We join the discussions now in an attempt to assuage the confusion: Rape is an act of violence. Sex is the weapon used against the victim; a medium through which the attacker can exercise power and unleash anger. The primary motivation for rape is not sexual desire but an urge to control. All that is necessary for rape to have occurred is a lack of consent from one participating party. Persons raped may have been fully dressed or not. They may have been sexually active or celibate. They may live in a liberal society or a conservative one. A total stranger or a friend or even their spouse may have raped them. They may have been threatened with physical force or the authority their attackers held over them may have coerced them. They may have said “NO!” loudly or they may not have been able to say anything at all or they may have even said yes initially and then changed their minds and said no afterwards. All human beings have inalienable rights by mere
virtue of being human. These rights must be respected at all times – not just when others conform to our personal moral codes or when it is easy or not “tempting” to do otherwise. Every human being has the right to live a life free of violence and fear, a life free of rape. Conversely, under no circumstances doe s a n y human being ever have the right to rape another. Not even if one spies a woman fully naked prancing through the streets, in a country where women prominently display “lewd” or suggestive behaviour, where every other woman is known to say yes, as attested to by an objective census taken, is there justification for rape. You may think what you like of the woman in question, but you may not violate her body. Women are neither sex objects nor symbols to hang society’s reputation and values on. Women are human beings with desires and choices of their own. They have lives to live on their own terms, as they see fit. If they want to backball on TV, this is their choice. If they want to wear short skirts, that is their call to make. They do not owe anyone sex and they are definitely not responsible for other people’s sexuality. Everyone has desires and breaking points. Everyone also has the responsibility of
self-regulation and of not harming others. If some men find it difficult to not want to rape women then those men need to be watched carefully and possibly seek counselling. Global statistics show that most women who have been raped do not report it for fear of being stigmatized, disbelieved or because they know that it will not lead to justice. A new study by the GHRA shows an average conviction rate of 1.4% in rape cases compared to reports of rape made between 2000-2004. That is nine convictions out of 647 reports. Only three per cent of complaints made it to trial. So, to say that “The current Sexual Offences law in Guyana is so badly drafted that it apparently suffices that the ‘victim’ rises in the morning, and claims to have felt threatened at the time the act was jointly committed for the perpetrator to face a heavy sentence” not only irresponsibly makes light of the courageous women who manage to report the crimes carried out against them but is also false as it is unlikely that any sentence will occur. Furthermore, it is a gross misrepresentation of the Sexual Offences Act. Guyana’s Sexual Offences Act is a robust piece of legislature, stating in unequivocal terms that it is unlawful to sexually assault another human
being. It is also the most progressive of all laws of its type in the English speaking Caribbean. In fact, while we encourage all persons to familiarize themselves with its text, we would also like to remind them that the legislation has thus far not been sufficiently enforced to afford greater protection to complainants and much more could be done to take a tougher stance on rape. Rape culture is one in which rape is downplayed or viewed as normal, acceptable or inevitable. Victim blaming is a manifestation of rape culture. A violent culture is one in which violence is viewed as a justifiable response to provocation or as a valid teaching tool. Rape is a manifestation of a violent culture. People deserve to be treated with respect regardless of how they dress, what their beliefs are or how they choose to live their lives. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to establish a new culture of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence instead of rape and violence. On behalf of the Sisters of the S4 Foundation, Krysta Bisnauth Oluatoyin Samantha Alleyne-Williams Iana Seales Karen Abrams Janick Arjoon Susanna Jamal Stella Ramsaroop
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Breaking a lance with Ivor Thom DEAREDITOR, I was intrigued to read Mr. Thom’s letter, in Kaieteur News of Friday 11th February, 2013, in which he focused on an earlier letter coming from the pen of Mr. Mark Archer. I would not try to come to Mr Archer’s help, for from his earlier letter, I am sure that he has the potential to deal with anything coming from this clearly misinformed and may I say devious individual. My issue is with his attempt to smear a group within The Coalition of the 1823 Parade Ground Monument, in a very underhand way. Mr Thom informs in his letter that “In 2007 a group approached me to design a monument to depict the story of slavery with the proposed site being a plot of land they acquired near the seawall. What I find intriguing is that some members of this very group who are in the forefront of the call for Parade Ground to be the site the 1823 monument, did not see it fit then to erect their intended monument at Parade Ground even though the emotional attachment and historical significance of Parade Ground was the same then as it is now.” That statement is very
misleading, and I would even say Mr Thom is not being honest when he says that the group engaged him to do a monument on the story of slavery. This, from all appearances, is an attempt by him on behalf of those he has been trying to cover for, to present groups in the African Collective as existing in a world of double standards. My recollections of the engagements with Mr Thom is one in which he was fully aware that the proposed monument was to memorialise the African Holocaust, which some of us feel is continuing today. The African Holocaust which was initiated when Columbus set sail in 1492 and stumbled on the Americas, in our view is linked to the Atlantic in many ways. It was the ocean over which our ancestors were exiled into slavery. It was where the rebellious sacrificed themselves and the sick were thrown overboard. The seas became the burial ground of a significant portion of those who walked through the Doors Of No Return. It is that barrier across which most of all they could not see themselves reuniting with their families on its eastern shores. In view of the aforesaid, I would like to reiterate to Mr Thom that the
DEAR EDITOR, I read Mr Bisram’s letter which “disagreed with Geralda’s position on the need for writers to reveal their identity”. Mr Bisram has scored a point - my statement was perhaps ambiguous. There is no need for any writer to give what I would describe as “a biographical M.O.T.” of him/herself, and I must confess it never occurred to me that Messrs. Mohamed and Maxwell were not ‘real’ people. I was referring to the characters who make mean, spiteful, hurtful comments about others in blogs, comments and similar
columns under assumed names, knowing their identities are protected and they can say what they like under a cloak of anonymity. What is titillating to some could be severely damaging to others. However, I maintain that newspapers should not print nasty personal anonymous attacks, particularly about well-known figures, and am glad to hear that at last this question is being looked at seriously by the UK media. “Do as you would be done by”, or else “Be done by as you did”. Touche, Mr Bisram. Geralda Dennison
DEAR EDITOR, “The ruling by Chief Justice Ian Chang affirms that as an elected Member of Parliament, Rohee could not be gagged. I share this opinion and, indeed, no one objected or protested when Rohee voted on issues, which is a form of speech in Parliament. “Whether he could speak as HomeAffairs Minister in the face of the no-confidence motion touching and concerning his discharge of that portfolio is another matter,” said Alliance for Change (AFC) Executive
Member Moses Nagamootoo. Kaieteur News, Jan13, 2013. Moses Nagamootoo agrees that Clement Rohee cannot be gagged, because he is an elected MP. If it can be reasonably to assume that Clement Rohee is the Minister of Home Affairs because he has been elected as an MP, can it be reasonably posited that he can be gagged, on some other count? It will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out. Kesh Kumar
Do unto others
The Rohee gagging issue
Atlantic is indeed a very significant element in the African Holocaust. It is with that singular thought that a decision was made to erect a memorial at the Georgetown Sea Walls which is bounded on the North by the Atlantic. Granted there was disengagement in the collaboration with Mr. Thom on that monument, I would take this opportunity to inform that it would be built. Based on recent happenings, I was beginning to have some doubts as to whether or not this renowned sculptor
should be re-engaged. Initially his recent posturing had me wondering, if his is case of the manifestations of the words of Martin Carter; - “a mouth is always muzzled by the food it eats....” However his letter says that he is somewhat of a mercenary. Thus I for one when it is time to make a decision would be opposing his candidature to be the Sculptor of the monument to memorialise the African Holocaust. I believe Mr. Thom when he
said that he was the one who chose the site (definitely a usurpation of authority), thought in Friday’s letter that he meekly tries to indicate that his preference was Bachelor’s Adventure. The rationale for my conclusive position is I do not think that anyone else in the so called (non-existent) committee would have chosen that site, all and sundry in a rational and logical fashion would have focused on a site of relevance
save Mr. Thom who was focused on a location of high visibility. In his mind, the memorial to the Demerara Martyrs is also a monument to depict the story of slavery, so as ole people seh “six ah wan an haf ah dozen ah de adda ah same thing”. The location for the African Holocaust memorial is in the same general area as the one Mr Thom chooses to place his master piece. What’s new? Elton McRae
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
SANASIE SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT FOR DOWLAT SAMAROO DEAR EDITOR Your recent letter published in the January 13th edition of the KN signed by one “Dowlat Samaroo” was way off target and spewed a fair amount of bile. As such, I would like to set the record straight on these mostly unwarranted and unjustified personal attacks on me that emanated from this “unknown” source. I will also deal with the very few substantive issues raised by “Mr. Samaroo” and refrain from attacking him personally as he has chosen to do. Firstly, this was an official release of the Guyana Cricket Board which was incorrectly published as a letter to the Editor, but since I am the Honorary Secretary of that said Board and was an integral part of the construction of that release, I feel compelled to respond to the diatribe expounded by” Mr. Samaroo”. Prior to its publication, this release was approved by all of the executives of the GCB and we collectively stand by every word stated therein. We are fully aware of the functions and responsibilities of the GCB, its computation and its membership. “Mr.
Samaroo” would have noticed that the GCB through its Executive has been administering cricket throughout the length and breadth of Guyana at all levels irrespective of the persecution of its Officers, seizure of its Offices and personal property and the continuous harassment and intimidation of these said Officers. These said Officers should be commended and applauded for standing up to the bullyism that they have had to experience in the execution of their duties for the past few years. The GCB has ensured that the cricketers do not suffer as a result of the pressures that its Officers have had to endure and has continued to plan and execute these plans in the interest of our cricketers and the development of cricket in Guyana. We have continued to send representative teams to represent our country at all levels of the Regional cricket tournaments. All of our member Boards have participated in our matches, trials and camps over this period, save and except for one Under 15 tournament last
year when Berbice unfortunately decided not to participate. This situation has now been corrected by that member Board. If our cricketers do not participate in the GCB/WICB administered tournaments, they will not be eligible to be selected for the West Indies cricket team. Our current T20 team is performing very creditably in the Caribbean T20 tournament and we continue to make representations and make all the necessary preparations for our cricketers to be selected on the various Regional teams. These cricketers are very appreciative of the work being done by this Board in their preparations for the future. This is no easy feat when you have to be fighting every day just for survival at the same time! If “Mr. Samaroo” would like to be schooled or educated on the ICC’s position on interference in cricket and other issues, I can furnish him with all the necessary literature and CDs for his general and specific knowledge on government interference in cricket and
Why is this matter so secretive? Mr. Lloyd obviously made his decision to forego his international appointments in lieu of his appointment with the GOG as he was obviously fully aware of the repercussions at the levels of the WICB & the ICC with his actions. That is totally Mr. Lloyd’s prerogative to determine what affiliations he would like to be associated with vis a vis complying with the rules and regulations of those organizations. My administrative ability and accomplishments will not be commented upon by myself. Anand Sanasie
administrative thuggery by a few of his friends in this whole manufactured scenario. Like its parent Board, the GCB’s position on the formation of the IMC has always been very clear and has never agreed with the Government on its alleged disbanding of the GCB and replacing it with the IMC and that position was very clearly stated in our release to which “Mr. Samaroo” was referring. We always agreed to accept and work with the IMC as an advisory body but the body never functioned as such if it ever did function. We cannot join something which we do not agree with. I have had the distinct
pleasure and honor of serving the WICB as a Director alongside Mr. Lloyd as a fellow Director with whom I have a very cordial relationship. I have a very healthy respect for the accomplishments of Mr. Lloyd as a cricketer and a captain of the Guyana and the WI cricket teams. The GCB questioned certain aspects of Mr. Lloyd’s appointment on the IMC with the subject Minister and we strongly feel that they should be answered by Mr. Lloyd or the GOG. This is not an attack on Mr. Lloyd as it is my personal opinion that he, like others, would be a victim of our brutal political landscape.
DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me space to highlight a plight we the resident of Sea-view, Cornelia Ida West Coast Demerara have been suffering for about 20 years. Every time there is high tide, water would roll over the seawall and flood our yards and homes. The water would rise by as much as 20 inches and even cover the road. There were some attempts in the past to
solve this regular disaster. We have some engineers who believe they have supreme knowledge and just do whatever they think is right instead of consulting with the residents. They put some culverts with little regard to the volume of water to be handled. In some instances they put some tubes lower than the drain level rendering it useless. The residents of Seaview Cornelia Ida vow that
enough is enough. They also vow that if this situation is not remedied urgently, come next election will definitely see the backs of those who once voted for them. It is disgusting after hearing how many millions are spent and no positive result is forthcoming. The floods came once more and we are still in the same suffering stage as 20 years ago. C. Woolford
DEAR EDITOR, Recently, there has been an upsurge of criticisms and complaints over continuing attempts by the PPP/C Regime to administer Guyana in a dictatorial and highhanded manner. Allow me to remind your readers that during 2002, Khemraj Ramjattan had tabled a motion at the Port Mourant congress of the PPP/C, proposing that the party’s membership should elect top
party-leaders, as opposed to the current practice where the 35 members of the Central Committee picks the PPP/C’s leadership. Mr. Ramjattan was later expelled from the PPP/C and went on to form the Alliance For Change (AFC). Former stalwart of the PPP/C, Ralph Ramkarran, who left the party in June of last year, also fought with the party over its refusal to have its membership elect the
leaders of the party… Even after leaving the PPP/C, Mr. Ramkarran has maintained his advocacy for the party to democratize its processes. So, if the PPP/C’s leader would not tolerate complaints, motions, and resolutions within their own home – the party; why would they show such tolerance outside of the home to the wider GUYANESE SOCIETY? CHANGE is the only answer. Morris Wilson
Cornelia Ida still suffers high tide flooding after 20 years
So the Party! So the Government!
Wednesday January 16, 2013
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
Legislative reform in the making for health sector – Ministry official In recognition of the fact that its new operations framework will have to revolve around updated legislation, the Ministry of Health with the support of the Attorney General is currently working towards having key legislation repealed. At least this is according to the Health Ministry’s Parliamentary Secretary, Joseph Hamilton, who during an interview with this publication revealed that the Ministry currently functions under legislation that dates back to the colonial period. “They will have to be repealed and we have started on that journey,” said Hamilton. At the moment at least two outdated pieces of legislation are gaining the attention of the Attorney General’s Chambers. These, according to Hamilton, are the Nurses and Midwives and the Optometrists’ legislation. It was also disclosed that there are plans to commence consultations very shortly with stakeholders and the public, even as measures are put in place to repeal the existing Public Health
Ordinance. The proposed replacement will take the form of the Health Promotion and Protection Bill, Hamilton said. “In the next couple of weeks I will commence consultations with the Regional Democratic Councils, Municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, because the Public Health Act straddles everything...whether it has to do with housing, hotels, eating places or the types of foods we eat...and so we have to do wide consultations,” said the Parliamentary Secretary. Added to this, Hamilton disclosed that moves are afoot to include in the Health Promotion Bill how mass gatherings are dealt with. This undertaking is especially crucial, since according to him “I suspect we are unprepared...if you have 10,000 people gathered and you don’t have medical facilities, what will happen if there is a tragedy.” Hamilton said that against this background there must be prescription to allow for people to hold mass gatherings, inclusive of a
medical tent complete with doctors and nurses. He alluded to an incident during the most recent Bartica Regatta which resulted in the death of a popular speedboat racing champion, Orin Belle. “I suspect he died because we are back in time. If I understand it, he took about an hour before he got medical attention, and all the information suggests that he bled to death.” “If we had a medical outpost at Lake Mainstay I suspect Mr Belle might have been alive, because he would have been stabilised; he would have had medical intervention before being taken to the hospital some 45 minutes away,” said Hamilton. “We can’t have situations where we have men driving at 100-odd miles an hour and these things have propellers that can kill you, and you don’t have a doctor and you don’t have nurses. So that is a new remedy you have to bring.” Moreover, he asserted that there is need for water sports to have legislation governing them, as should
other high speed sporting activities such as car racing. Referring to car racing, the Parliamentary Secretary said that he has been informed that over time measures were put in place to ensure that medical outfits were organised during such events. “They have had their medical outfits there but that was ad hoc. They just thought they should do it...but this is the way it must be done.” According to Hamilton, in order for any mass gathering to be held today, permission must be granted by the Police Force as well as the Fire Service. However, the new proposed legislation will require that permission is granted by the Chief Medical Officer as well. “He will have to ensure that you are suitably
prepared. If you are going to gather 5,000 you have to prove to us that you have a tent, a doctor, nurses, an ambulance on standby...but if you go beyond 5,000 the same remedy cannot apply.” Another issue that the legislation is likely to govern is the operation of pools in public spaces. This is in light of the fact that over the past 10 years there were several drowning incidents at a particular public pool and other resort type locations. “There is a need for a lifeguard and that is how it must be done. Were those measures in place we could have saved a lot of lives. We have to do consultations with the promoters, sponsors of these events, business people and all the people concerned.” Also, Hamilton said that
in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, another Bill will be crafted with the intent of establishing an Environmental and Solid Waste Authority to address garbage disposal. “People often just focus on the garbage but fail to consider the wider situation. We have to find a way, holistically, how we deal with solid waste management, from Crabwood Creek to the North West District to the South Rupununi,” Hamilton insisted. The Environmental Protection Agency, he said, hasn’t the remit to address solid waste management and currently “we have no framework, and so the Attorney General is working to develop the legal prescription.”
GT&T gears for 2013 Jingle and Song competition - Only English segment this year
After months of speculation, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has announced that it will launch another edition of its Jingle and Song Competition. The show, according to the telephone company, will once again give “Guyanese the opportunity to showcase their talent and live their dream” through the competition set to be launched in February. Under the theme ‘Live your Music’, contestants from 16 years and older will compete for chances to win big prizes. A countrywide audition drive will be launched in Essequibo on February 2nd at the Urbayne Oasis Hotel. From there, the team will move to Linden on February 9th to the Edward Benjamin Center. On February 16th, Berbicians can look out for the judges at the Little Rock Suites while Georgetown will see a fourday audition from February 18-22 at the National Cultural Centre. “Contestants who survive the auditions will be placed into groups, rehearse and complete a performance production through the month of March. There will also be a duet round followed by the quarter finals in which acts will be performed individually. The semi-finals and finals will be completed in April while the Grand Finale is set for May 11.” In 2006, Guyana saw the first staging of the GT&T
GT&T is preparing to host yet another edition of its successful Jingle and Song Competition in February. Jingle competition which attracted the attention of thousands, GT&T said yesterday. “It was the following year’s Jingle and Song Competition that saw the career birth of Guyanese songstress Timeka Marshall being launched. Several competitions followed and multiple stars were born, with Lindener Malika Boyd walking away with the coveted title in 2009.” Again in 2011, another Lindener, Brandon Harding, was named the GT&T Guyana Star while Berbician
Gail Ann Singh emerged as the winner of the Indian segment in January 2012. G T & T, h o w e v e r, indicated that while producers had opted to introduce the Indian segment in the last edition, this year, there will only be the English segment. The future of the show, which drew a strong following, following the last edition, was thrown into question after executives of the National Communications Network became embroiled in a scandal over payments from GT&T.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD APPEAL THIS DECISION The government should file an appeal against the decision of the Chief Justice in the case challenging the decision of parliament to prevent the Home Affairs Minister from speaking until a determination by the Committee of Privileges of the motion laid against him by the joint opposition. That decision to refer the motion to the Committee of Privileges was highly questionable. The Minister violated no standing orders, did not disrupt the proceedings of the National Assembly as did the opposition (without sanction), nor was he ever charged with a breach of any of the privileges of parliament. The government was left with little option but to challenge the constitutionality and legality of that decision as well as the accompanying ruling that the Minister of Home Affairs should not be allowed to speak until the matter is heard by the Committee of Privileges. There has been a ruling in that challenge. The Chief Justice has ruled that the member could not be gagged. It is pure balderdash for anyone to be arguing now that the minister was never gagged. It is also twaddle for anyone to claim that the voting rights of the minister amounted to a right to speak. The effect of the ruling preventing the Minister from
speaking until the determination by the Committee of Privileges amounts to a temporary gag order. However, the minister is an elected member of the National Assembly and therefore cannot be gagged unless he has committed a breach of privilege. His election to the National Assembly is by virtue of provisions of the Constitution and since the court is, in the words of the Speaker, the guardian of the Constitution, it is the duty of the court to review any action which contravenes the rights that are implicitly created by virtue of the member’s election to the National Assembly. The National Assembly cannot claim that it enjoys total immunity; it does not. The local courts have held that the immunity of the National Assembly is limited and is subject to the constitution and to the law. Ironically, it is this very aspect that needs to be appealed, because while the government has won major constitutional cases in recent times involving acts of parliament, the interpretation by the courts remains constrictive, narrow and cautious. This is true, both in terms of judicial review of parliamentary actions as well as with respect to fundamental human rights. For example, with respect to freedom of expression, the
local courts have not ventured into ordering the authorities to grant broadcast licences. The courts have failed to order the issuance of a specific licence to a claimant, even as it ruled that the failure to consider an application for a licence amounted to a breach of freedom of expression. Regional courts and the Privy Council have not been guarded. There have been instances were these courts ordered that licences be granted to claimants. When it comes to comes to violations of the Constitution, the courts in the OECS and in Latin America have not been timid. In one case in Dominica, the court refused to be constrained by narrow interpretations of judicial reviews of the actions of the National Assembly. In that case, the court adopted a philosophy that it would not just question parliamentary violations of the constitution, but that once a body acquired powers by virtue of the Constitution, it was duty-bound to apply these powers in consonance with the constitution, fairly and justly. In Latin America, the courts have gone as far as overturning constitutionally entrenched immunities of former Heads of States. For these and other reasons, the government should appeal the limited interpretation that the local
Dem boys seh...
De Big Man give Bharrat a warning Bharrat get a warning de other night. De sea pay he a visit. Donald did see it coming and he decide that he going in de bush. He go far wheh he know that de water couldn’t reach he. He only come back when de tide go down. But dem boys seh that Bharrat didn’t got nowhere to go so he stay in he house and he watch de sea. That is when he know that he shoulda lef some money fuh sea defence instead of tekking de money to do other things. Irfaat been in town when de sea decide to behave bad and he and all start fuh worry if it was coming fuh he house. Dem boys willing to bet
that in de near future dem gun see some ‘For Sale’ signs going up, and is good property that gun be put on sale. De only thing is that dem gun have to sell de property fuh less than dem buy it, unless is a foreigner gun come to buy because that happening. A Trinidadian buy Bharrat first house and he pay plenty money for it. Brazzy sit down too and he start fuh wonder if de new hotel wha dem building gun also end up in de sea. He call out some engineers ,but all of dem was drinking at de time, suh he stand up pun de seawall alone and start fuh pray, not
because is he money, but because is de money that he hope to mek when de hotel done. De man above see wha happening and he sending a warning – a serious warning—that people got to stop de nonsense dem doing and think straight. Dem boys seh that this is just de first high tide fuh de year. Later in de year de tide does be more high and more bad, suh if people think this was bad, wait till de one in August. Poor Donald gun have to find money fuh de sea defence when de other man shoulda do that long before. Talk half and tek warning.
courts are adopting in constitutional cases. This should be one of the main planks upon which Justice Chang’s decision should be challenged. The second main plank should be the ruling that while the gag on Minister Rohee was unlawful, ultra vires and unconstitutional, the right to speak was not an enforceable right. This aspect of the ruling needs to be challenged, because a constitutional right is either “justiciable” or “nonjusticiable”. If it is the former, then the court can decide whether the right was breached or not breached, but if it is the latter, then the court does not have to consider whether there was any breach. With the highest respect
to the learned Chief Justice, it is hard to contemplate how the court can rule that there was a breach of the constitutional rights of a member of the National Assembly, and then claim that this right is unenforceable. It could only be unenforceable if it is the position of the court that it is for parliament to correct the breach or if the right is merely declaratory. But if it was declaratory, the court was not obligated to consider whether there was a breach, because the right would have been “nonjusticiable.” The refusal of the court to order parliament to reverse itself is in contrast to the position adopted in the case of the Ethnic Relations Commission when the court ordered the restoration of the
funding for that body. The government should therefore challenge the recent ruling on the enforceability of a member’s right to speak, as well as on the restrictive interpretation being adopted by the Courts. Having done this, it can move on to launching its political challenge to force the resignation of the Speaker.
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
=== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ===
Nokta’s noctiluca and Anthony’s antonomasia The lead letter in Monday’s edition of KN described a situation where a citizen by the name of Shyam Nokta (the son of a member of the executive committee of the PPP) has a private company that does environment and climate research. At the same time, he is a consultant with the Office of the President (OP) to which he applies for consultancies in the same area. We don’t have to even mention for one second that this is a conflict of interest. But a conflict of interest can exist on paper only. Let me explain. Let us say that I work with the President and I have a printing company that tenders for Government printing jobs. Suppose I never received a successful tender, then it means that a conflict of interest never occurred. So is Shyam Nokta in a conflict of interest? Only if he receives contracts from OP. It is for Nokta and President Ramotar to deny that any contracts were offered to Nokta. If there is silence the opposition should act; but not only the opposition, civil society too. This Nokta conflict of interest thing surfaced two
years ago and not even one citizen picked it up. Times like these my mind focuses on that defunct body called the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA).With a large office on Hadfield Street, I wonder who funds that outfit which a man and wife have headed for the past thirty years and to which no one goes to complain and from which we don’t hear about any investigation into human rights violation. More on the GHRA in future columns. Now we have a new kid on the block, Transparency Institute (TI). Does Transparency Institute see an impropriety in the Nokta connection with OP? If yes, it must publicly state so. I am now calling on Transparency Institute to make a statement on this issue. This column’s support for TI will stop in the future if TI does not see the wisdom of commenting on this intriguing situation. Guyanese cannot go on watching organizations telling them that they have their interest at heart, but choose to be diplomatic, evasive, subtle or even silent when wrongdoing is right in front of our eyes. It may not only be Shyam
Nokta who may be in a conflict of interest cocoon with OP, but also the son of another member of the PPP executive whom I am told has a private business and gets a lot of OP contracts for internet and other cyberspace work. Not to mention, he is very wealthy, with the expensive purchase of prime real estate - not too far from the Guyana Police Force - from a foreign diplomatic mission in Guyana. I keep telling individual members of the opposition parties that I associate with, that with each passing day, the enormity of wealth possessed by the PPP leaders, their second-tier cadres, their third level activists, their devout supporters and those generally associated with the PPP is going to be so widespread that it will be tantamount to buying out Guyana. Let us move from Nokta’s noctiluca, to Anthony’s antonomasia. Mr. Ruel Johnson has publicly stated that there are indications that Minister Frank Anthony is planning libel action against him. If this is so, then I hereby offer free legal advice to Frank
Anthony. I hope Mr. Anthony takes it and refrains from seeking wisdom from one of his colleagues, a lawyer that rose from being an obscure attorney in landlord-tenant cases and then fell into infamy by publicly exclaiming that “I is a man that is do illegal things.” Here are my wise words to Anthony. When a President, Prime Minister, Army Chief, Police Chief, or Cabinet Minister sues another citizen for libel, the defence lawyer automatically puts the plaintiff’s (the person who sued) integrity in the witness box
All kinds of past decisions, past mistakes, past controversies are aired in court, because office-holders like Presidents, Prime Minister and Ministers are powerful people whose policies and judgements may have twists and turns that the defence lawyers will want to highlight in court. If Minister Anthony thinks that he is going to sue for libel and not be made to feel the heat in the kitchen, he is wrong. The first thing that will run through the mind of the defence lawyer is “I am going to deal with this guy, I have the evidence.”
Frederick Kissoon It has been reported in the newspapers by Malcolm De Freitas, of the Theatre Guild that the Carifesta Secretariat still owes the Guild over a million dollars. Weren’t you the Minister in charge of Carifesta? Is the money paid as yet? Just asking!
Guyanese crewmen scared to return home
The ‘Gold’ boat ‘Summer Bliss’. Its crewmen are reportedly scared to return to Guyana Investigators in Curacao are liaising with the US authorities to find out whether 11 gold bars seized by Customs in Puerto Rico were from the muchpublicized heist in the Dutch Caribbean Island. A report in the Curacao Chronicle yesterday also indicated that the Guyanese crew of the Summer Bliss, the Guyana-registered vessel aboard which armed gunmen committed a brazen robbery on November 30th, may be reluctant and scared to return home. According to Norman Serphos, Public Relations Officer of the Public Prosecutor ’s Office in Curacao, the vessel is still docked in the harbour in Willemstad. “We did not confiscate this boat. If the crew wants to leave, they can do so,” according to the official. The article suggested that the Guyanese crew may be afraid to return home because of possible repercussions. Serphos also said that Curacao investigators want to know about the seized gold bars and therefore have
contacted the United States Department of Homeland Security. In mid-December, U.S. authorities in Puerto Rico confiscated 11 gold bars sent by mail from Curacao. Investigators immediately began probing whether the seized gold was from the heist. The gold bars were found in several courier packages at an airport in the Puerto Rican town of Aguadilla, said Jeffrey Quinones, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The bars weighed nearly 77 pounds and have an estimated value of US$1.7 million, said a report in the Miami Herald. Inspectors noted that the packages that arrived in midDecember were “unusually heavy,” and flagged them for inspection before confiscating the bars as suspected contraband, Quinones said in a statement. On November 30th, gunmen disguised as police stole 70 gold bars, worth an estimated US$11.5M from the fishing vessel that had been used to transport it. A captain and three crewmen, all Guyanese, were on board.
In late December, authorities in Curacao and the US made some major breakthroughs in the investigations, arresting six suspects, including a prominent downtown jeweller. Some 56 gold bars were recovered before the discovery of the 11 in Puerto Rico. It has been reported that the gang made contact with a US buyer and sent 30 bars via FedEx. However, the buyer, already notified of the stolen gold, alerted the US Customs and the bars were confiscated. The incident at the Curacao port had sparked an international investigation that spanned the US and Guyana. Guyanese authorities said that they had not green-lighted any shipment of gold via the vessel and wanted, too, to know more. Government has long admitted that not all its gold produced is officially declared for tax purposes, as is the law. There are some beliefs that more than half of the gold is smuggled.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
GPHC delivers 5777 babies in 2012
Some of the mothers who received hampers, along with GPHC staffers and Rotary Club members By Romila Boodram A total of 5777 babies were delivered by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)’s Maternity Unit last year, according to the Unit’s senior Departmental Supervisor, Sister June Cato. The Supervisor made this disclosure yesterday, while adding that officials from the health institute are currently discussing future plans for the Maternity Unit. According to Sister Cato, the main focus of GPHC’s Maternity Unit is to educate the staff as well as the patients about their health and in some cases, their families, because they too play a role in the patient’s wellbeing. “We are currently in a meeting discussing the plans for 2013. We are doing it in quarters, because we don’t want to do it too long and then not achieve it,” the Supervisor said. She also added that a social worker is stationed 24 hours-a-day at the Maternity
Unit. “We realized that there are lots of small issues that need a social worker.” The social worker would meet with patients on a daily basis. Meanwhile, 40 hampers were presented to the GPHC for mothers in the Maternity Unit who may be in need of the basic post natal necessities, by the Rotary Club of Georgetown in collaboration with Courts. President of the Association, Khalil Alli said that the club has been in existence for the past 50 years and “we have endeavoured to provide service with effective projects, targeting communities in need.” He added that the improvement of maternal and child health is one of the areas that the club focuses on and “given the high proportion of maternity cases handled by the public health system, and in particular the Georgetown Hospital, we felt it was appropriate to focus our efforts towards the needs of the users of this hospital.”
Pamphlets were also donated by Mike’s Pharmacy for use by expectant mothers. The leaflets demonstrate the negative symptoms a pregnant woman should look out for. It also advises the persons to visit their midwife or doctor if they experience any of the symptoms shown in the diagram. The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Khan, thanked the NGO for making the contribution. He urged the expectant moms to pay keen attention to the leaflets, “read it so that when you come to the hospital we have less complication, and I hope all those women who become pregnant not only come to the hospital but go to the nearest health centre to seek pre-natal care because it is very important.” Khan again thanked the Organisation for the “kind donation” while noting that there are many persons who visit the hospital for delivery and don’t have the basic necessities.
Hemchand Dowlatram’s
found her husband’s boat at sea in the vicinity of ‘Four fathoms’ but no one was in it. It is believed that the two men encountered extremely rough waters and the boat capsized. A search was immediately launched, but rough waters prevented the rescue team from getting close to the vessel on Monday evening. However yesterday the rescue team returned to sea and continued the search, during which Hemchand Dowlatram’s remains were found. Up to press time the other man had not been found.
Fisherman dead, another missing as boat capsizes
The body of a Fryish, Corentyne fisherman was early yesterday recovered in the Albion Channel after his boat capsized at sea some time Monday. Reports are that 53-yearold Hemchand Dowlatram’s body was found at around 10:00 hours yesterday. The dead man’s wife, Inmattie Gopaul, told this publication that her husband and his brother Naimchand Dowlatram, 42¸ left for a routine fishing trip at around 05:00 hours on Monday. However at around 15:00 hours the woman said other fishermen informed her that they had
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Speaker to appeal CJ’s ruling on Rohee gag order By Abena Rockcliffe With his highlighted intention to act in the interest of parliamentary democracy, Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman yesterday announced that lawyers representing the House will be moving to the Court of Appeal to clarify whether the High Court has any authority over the National Assembly. Stressing that his move to court on behalf of the National Assembly will be done “only” to seek clarity on issue of the powers and authority of the High Court over the National Assembly, Trotman said the Chief Justice (CJ)’s ruling didn’t shed much light on that which needs to be made clear. Chief Justice Ian Chang, in a 33-page ruling, stated that the Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has a constitutional right as an elected member of the National Assembly to speak on any matter, and that his constituents have a reciprocating right to have their representative in the Parliament speak on their behalf. The issue at hand stemmed from leader of A Partnership for National Unity, David Granger, filing a no confidence motion in the National Assembly against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, which was subsequently committed to the Privileges Committee by Speaker Trotman. That move has effectively seen the Home Affairs Minister being temporarily prohibited from speaking as a Minister in the National Assembly until determination of the matter. The Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, seeking to overturn the Speaker’s
decision, filed a motion in the High Court on November 27, last, which replaced a withdrawn application, asking for a declaration that the decision of the Speaker to commit Granger ’s no confidence motion to the Privileges Committee, and prohibiting Rohee from speaking or not recognizing him for the purpose of presenting bills, or making other representations in the house, is unlawful, in excess and without jurisdiction. However, Granger subsequently described Nandlall’s move to the court as legally misconceived and filed a counter summons in the High Court seeking to strike out the orders being sought by Nandlall. Granger and Trotman were named as respondents in the matter filed by the Nandall. Granger in his affidavit in support of his summons stated that the declarations and orders sought were without merit. He noted that the decision of the Speaker to send the matter to the Privileges Committee was an internal proceeding of the
Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall
Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee
APNU leader, David Granger
Yesterday, Trotman told the media “I don’t believe the issue, as to what supervisory if any authority the High Court has over the National Assembly, has been adequately addressed, and in my view, it has been avoided, and I believe that in the interest of our parliamentary democracy this matter needs to be clarified.” Trotman, stating that the last move to the court marked the fourth since the beginning of the tenth Parliament, asserted that “the
Justice Chang in his ruling stated that the minister has a right to speak in the House as an elected member, regardless of his ministerial portfolio. However, Trotman said that Rohee’s portfolio is what matters and is all that is relevant in the National Assembly. “I am concerned with what is happening in the National Assembly. The motion brought by Mr. Granger says in his capacity as minister, not as a Member.” Trotman made it clear that
Rohee was prevented from generally speaking in the National Assembly, which he said was information misleading the court. “Regrettably and inexplicably, the honourable Attorney General has sought to convince the Chief Justice that Mr. Rohee was prevented from presenting any Bills, Motions or making any other presentations to the House. This is a blatant untruth.” The Speaker also pointed out that the day upon which he ruled that the matter be sent
so by the honourable Attorney General and this is very troubling to me, because it is reflected in the decision of the court.” Trotman said that he intends to address the aforementioned concerns with Nandlall. On the way forward, the Speaker said that the Committee of Privileges will be meeting on Monday. The Committee, Trotman said, is set to examine whether Rohee violated any of the parliamentary standing orders or regulations; if the National Assembly has the power to sanction a minister for failing to resign following a motion of no confidence, and what sanctions are available to the House, if the answers to the first two issues are yes. He noted that Rohee is a part of the Committee of Privileges and “it is expected that he will be a contributing member of that committee.” The Speaker said that he is optimistic that all matters relating to Minister Rohee will be resolved before the next sitting of the National Assembly set for January 25. “There has to be a way.”
“The Court is being used as if it is the supervisor of the National Assembly, it is not a case where the authority of the court is not respected, but it seems as if the House is the child and the court is the parent. The democracy we all cherish is under threat and we all need to play our part”- House Speaker Raphael Trotman National Assembly. The Opposition Leader argued that the court has no jurisdiction to inquire into the validity of internal proceedings of the National Assembly, where there has been no breach of the constitution. He further argued that the Speaker’s decision to commit the no confidence motion to the Privileges Committee is not in itself unlawful.
Court is being used as if it is the supervisor of the National Assembly, it is not a case where the authority of the court is not respected, but it seems as if the House is the child and the court is the parent. The democracy we all cherish is under threat and we all need to play our part.” With that being cited, Trotman urged the media to refrain from “sensational journalism.”
his intention is not to dismiss the Chief Justice’s ruling, as it will be considered and reviewed in the Committee of Privileges. However, he kept stressing that the independence of the National Assembly needs to be addressed as “our entire democracy rests on it.” Trotman expressed disapproval of some of the information submitted to the court, which suggested that
to the Committee of Privileges, there was a “scholarly debate” with contributions from both sides, and “Rohee was not prevented from speaking during this session… another misrepresentation by the Attorney General.” The Speaker then noted that “Both of these seem to have been accepted as fact by the learned Chief Justice, because he was led to believe
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Nat’l Assembly clerk peeved at Speaker’s rebuke - Trotman clarifies actions By Abena Rockcliffe Sherlock Isaacs, Clerk of the National Assembly, has made public his letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman which sought to make known his “great dismay” caused by the Speaker’s casting of blame upon him and his staff. The Clerk’s grievance stemmed from last week’s parliamentary sitting which saw Trotman’s refusal to deal with Government’s amendments to an Opposition Motion, saying that he hadn’t adequate time to review the proposed amendments. The Motion was circulated to Parliamentarians at last week’s sitting. Trotman had then told the National Assembly that he had only been in receipt of Amendments when he assumed the position to address the National Assembly. With that, he expressed apologies to the Government’s side that that business would have to be postponed to the next sitting, since he had concerns about some of the elements. The Clerk’s letter stated that “you sought to cast
blame on me and the Parliament staff for failure to deliver copies of the amendments to you in a timely manner.” Isaacs informed Trotman of his consultations with former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran for guidance on the matter. Attached to the letter was the advice offered by Ramkarran. Isaacs stated in the letter that his office followed the practice inherited, which was to have the amendments circulated to members “as soon as possible” for their perusal. The Clerk conceded that the amendments might not have been given to Trotman with adequate time for his consideration, but noted that he did receive them before the sitting, as it was handed to him by his secretary. Isaacs said that the matter at hand isn’t the first of its kind, as the Speaker had been publicly critical of him and his staff before. “Our works and efforts have not gone unnoticed as we were complimented in and outside of Guyana. Nevertheless, on the rare occasions when orders were made, no public
Flashback: Speaker Raphael Trotman being sworn in by Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs in January 2012 (KN file photo). a d m o n i s h m e n t , embarrassment or humiliation ensued. Instead, private correction and encouragement were received,” Isaacs stated. At a press conference yesterday, Trotman was asked about the issue, where he stated that he had not seen the letter and had no recollection of laying blame on the parliamentary staff. “Last week Thursday…I noticed a document that said amendments and it contained in my opinion scandalous
matters, and I was disturbed about it. “I felt that I ought to have been shown this document before the sitting and some of the material in it ought not to have been published and I also said that as per the Standing Orders, if the Speaker determines if a motion is in order … it necessarily follows that an amendment to such a motion will come under the scrutiny of the Speaker,” Trotman said. According to him, he does not believe that that was casting blame on anyone and he went on to say that the practices of the past nine parliaments could not be observed in the tenth Parliament. “There’s too much at stake, a misspoken word or a misstatement could derail so much and so I think it is wellknown that extra caution has to be taken at every step of the way with everything that we do. In the past we’ve had majoritarian rule and so the majority always had it right, but everything said or done in the tenth Parliament has to be above board, has to pass scrutiny and we all have a duty,” the Speaker declared.
In a subsequent written response, Trotman stated that “We are both dismayed albeit for different reasons. I was dismayed to be asked a question about your letter by the Stabroek News reporter who, from all appearances, is aware of its contents, even before I was.” The Speaker stated that it is “unfortunate that you felt that I “sought” to cast blame on you and the Parliament staff for failure to deliver copies of the amendments to me in a timely manner.” Trotman stated that his actions at the last sitting were meant to, among other things, “prevent a serious violation of the Standing Orders; and even a possible conflagration in the House.” “You seem as dismayed as I was when the opposition parties, and especially, APNU, cast blame on me for approving the amendments in the form in which they were circulated,” Trotman stated in his letter. Further, the Speaker opined that “The facts, as narrated by the Hon. Attorney-General, as to how, and when, the amendments were submitted were what perhaps caused the dismay.”
The Speaker stated that “regretfully” he cannot take responsibility for the statements, and effects thereof, of the Hon. AttorneyGeneral. He added that, in previous times, as a Member of Parliament, he had experienced amendments to Motions disallowed by the then Speaker, Derek Jagan. In addressing the Clerk’s point that he was handed the amendments by his secretary, Trotman said that “I was handed a bundle of documents on my arrival in the Speaker’s Chambers indeed, and then shortly after, Ms. Haniff (his secretary) placed the bundle on the Speaker’s desk. I never had a chance to go through the bundle as my mind was focused on the issues that were likely to arise from the Financial Paper.” Trotman further stated “You may not agree, but I believe that prior to the sitting, you as Clerk, in my humble opinion, should brief the Speaker on issues arising on the Order Paper and provide advice accordingly. This is what you normally do; moreso when there is something contentious or controversial on the Order Paper.” “Given the contents of the amendments, and the many references (and allegations raised) to named sitting Members of Parliament, former heads of Disciplined Forces, a former Leader of the Opposition, and prominent citizens, I would have expected that as Clerk, and having knowledge of these things, and that they violate the Standing Orders, you would have not left the task of “notifying” me to the Secretary. In my view the contents of the proposed amendments contained material that was obviously in contravention of the Standing Orders and I would have hoped that you would have detected same and advised me promptly by phone or in person.” Trotman also addressed the claim of him being publicly “critical” of the Clerk and the Parliament staff and stated that upon the provision of evidence to prove his public criticism, “I will make the necessary public correction and apology.” Trotman concluded by saying he has the greatest respect for Isaacs, who in his opinion is as an excellent Clerk. He also noted that he was quietly working on having the Clerk receive a National Award. He expressed his continued “unstinting” support and acknowledged the Clerk’s oath to do the same.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Health sector seeks to raise awareness about termination of pregnancy The Ministry of Health is currently on a mission to raise awareness among women about the medical termination of pregnancies and according to Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, young girls will be a major target for edification. The move is premised on observations that the first sexual encounter of girls is at a very young age. “We hope to have our young girls more enlightened because the debutant age is somewhere between nine and 11, so we’ve got to wake up and smell the coffee and start working with these young people.” Added to this, the Minister said that strides will be made towards empowering women so that they know that they have a choice and do not have to be subjected to becoming pregnant. As such, he stated that efforts will be made to ensure that they have access to reproductive health products so that “they determine and have control of their lives.” Dr. Ramsaran noted that continued efforts will be made
Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud
to improve the existing pregnancy termination process, that is, from Dilation and Curettage (D&C) to the more sophisticated method of Manual Vacuum Evacuation, which is rated as much safer. According to the Minister, the latter method causes less damage to the inner uterine lining and there is less possibility of infection and trauma to the uterus which could lead to infertility as well as continuous chronic
issues and even pain. “This is a well thought out plan. We are not just rushing into it madly and we are certainly not using termination of pregnancies as a method of birth control.” Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, indicated that all doctors who are certified to perform the surgical procedure will have their names published in the Official Gazette and their names will also be placed on
the Medical Council’s website. “We would like to encourage the public also to utilise those doctors who are certified to use those procedures if they need a termination of pregnancy and we are appealing to other doctors to have their licences updated for the year 2013,” Dr Persaud emphasised. The termination of pregnancy is facilitated by an Act which was passed in the National Assembly in 1995. Prior to this, the CMO pointed out, because of the pressure of deliveries, the health sector wasn’t able to provide that service consistently. But according to him, the termination of pregnancy has always been offered by the public health sector. “We have always done so with regard to persons who are victims that are raped and become pregnant, cases of incest, or other instances where it is absolutely required in terms of protecting the woman’s life.” However, in accordance with the existing Act, the CMO said that moves will be made towards providing the service on a more regular basis with the commencement of a training programme for those operating in the key area of obstetrics. He stressed that the termination process should always be a conscious decision of both the woman seeking the operation as well as the health professional required to
conduct it. This is important since according to him “not everyone is of the conviction that they can do a termination of pregnancy in a healthy pregnancy. So all those factors need to be taken into consideration and once doctors are comfortable, we will commence offering this service to women who are unable to afford to pay for the service which is offered routinely in many private sector institutions...” As part of being certified to conduct such procedures, doctors must undergo training and the facility in which they operate must be inspected and licenced by the CMO to deliver such a service. “What is happening is already what is in the law books and it is a very serious, well described piece of legislation...the doctors have to be trained, and it is not every doctor that gets in his head that he can do this surgery that will be allowed to do so. He has to be retrained, he has to be recertified and the institution wherever he is doing it, regardless of what level it is, has to have that certification,” said Minister Ramsaran. Added to this, there is also a process of counselling which patients should be subjected to. Even as he noted that there are a number of private doctors that have offered the
service, the Minister said that there were quite a few that were botched, which public hospitals were forced to complete. “It is a taboo issue and some women don’t speak about this. Sometimes they come in, in very critical conditions, with rotting Retained Products of Conception (RPOC) and the hospital, in order to save their lives, has to intervene and do what basically is a termination of pregnancy. We have to clean up the job while somebody else would have collected the money.” Pointing to the fact that the termination of a pregnancy is a lifethreatening intervention, Dr Ramsaran said that oftentimes efforts to save women can prove to be extremely expensive, since it can require the use of flagyl injections and antibiotics among other medical requirements. There are some cases, he said too, that require women to be hospitalised for weeks, and even cause them to have to undergo a hysterectomy. “There are lots of cases like that happening, and the frustration of infertility and the woman being disabled. There are also the concomitant issues of depression and all manner of other issues that we don’t speak on that is a part of this and don’t always come to light,” the Minister asserted.
Simone Samuels, 40, of Georgetown who is serving a three-year sentence for trafficking in narcotics and was expected to be released in April, told the court that she has her children at heart. But the woman may end up serving more time in the penal institution after she was caught with a quantity of marijuana recently, while still in jail. The woman, on Monday,
appeared before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the New Amsterdam Court and pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics. The court was told by Prosecutor Corporal Orin Joseph that on Wednesday November 28, last, while in the prison compound the woman was seen acting in a suspicious manner. She was challenged by prison officials and searched.
What appeared to be leaves, seeds and stems of the marijuana plant was found concealed in a plastic bag in her skirt pocket. She was arrested and the substance was tested, weighed and found to be nine grams of marijuana. The accused was remanded until Friday, January 18, when she will have to return for sentencing.
Paul Fraser, 27, of Lamaha Springs, Georgetown, has been remanded to prison for reportedly assaulting and threatening his relative, Sherwin Thomas. On January 14, Fraser is said to have assaulted Sherwin Williams causing him actual bodily harm, and in the process, threatened to kill him. The defendant told the court that he is self employed as a vendor. Fraser stated that he had several charges before court, but was never convicted. He then claimed
that he is innocent of the allegations. “I get injury from dis man he just evilous” However police prosecutor Shavonne Jupiter objected to bail. This was on the basis of the likelihood that the defendant may interfere with witnesses involved in the case, since they share the same address. Williams, the complainant in the matter, told the court that the defendant is in the habit of causing trouble. “I think that this fella should be
Woman found with drugs in prison
Man refused bail on assault charge taught a lesson your worship.” The man told the court that due to the defendant’s behaviour, he plans to move from his present residence to avoid any further issue with him. “Your worship, I will be moving in about a month, I just need time.” After hearing the testimony, Magistrate Judy Latchman ordered that the defendant remain incarcerated until February 27 when the matter will be called again.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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High tide flooding… The aftermath of Monday evening’s flood was especially bad for management of the Ocean View International Hotel. While the overtopping waters caused a great deal of unease to commuters, it was not comparable to the damage that the owner of the Ocean View International Hotel and Convention Hall, Mr. Jacob Rambarran, experienced. He is now counting millions of dollars in damage. The strong waves bolted through the hotel’s lobby and into 20 rooms as well as two offices and a storage room in the bottom flat of the building. Speaking with this publication, Rambarran said that while this is not the first time that his Hotel has been affected by floods, the water being “this high” is not regular. Within the span of 30 minutes, water began seeping through doors at the back of the building. This is despite precautionary measures being taken to stack up sand bags at all entrances. “This is nothing new, so we had our sand bags prepared. It was helping for a while, but after the waves
Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Ocean View Hotel suffers major damage; alert ends today
Traffic had to be rerouted from the public road due to the unsafe conditions started to come stronger, we couldn’t do anything else. We had to give up,” Rambarran said. He added that he had to stand and watch as the water rose to about three feet in height. Rambarran’s entire property was under water. Guests even had to be refunded their monies and
booked elsewhere. Rambarran also told Kaieteur News that soon enough, he might be prompted to erect a wall around his property in an effort to keep the waters out. Also flooded was a Ministry of Health building, east of the Ocean View Hotel. No significant damage was
reported. Homes and businesses facing the seawall were not affected. Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn yesterday visited the Liliendaal/ Pattensen area where persons were deployed to remove mud from the road as well as garbage that came in with the tide. Engineer attached to the Ministry, Dennis Ramsingh, told Kaieteur News that the spring tide alert, which began on January 8, will conclude today. Meanwhile, the Hydrometeorological Service in a press statement advised marine operatives and fishermen to avoid going out
to sea during this period. The statement further explained that what occurred on Monday last, was as a result of the frontal system passing through the Atlantic, just north east of the Lesser Antilles. This supported the increase in wind flow/speed resulting in the weather system, coupled with the spring tides which created the type of storm-surging experience. It was pointed out that although the volume of the swells have decreased, sea conditions remain hazardous and all marine interests are advised to continue to exercise extreme caution as models are suggesting rough and high seas in open waters
and along the coast of Guyana until tomorrow. The situation is being monitored. The confusion began at around 17:00hrs when unusually high waves (authorities say 3.15 metres) began slamming into the sea defence structures. The water was pounding on the seawall for hours. It was reported that given the volume of water that had rushed in, persons called to report a breach in the sea defence, and could not be convinced otherwise. It was a few hours of panic and confusion with commuters who use the East Coast Demerara public road. The roadways were flooded, causing police to cordon off from the Celina Resort and reroute traffic from the public road to the Railway Embankment. The conditions caused traffic to stretch for miles. The flooding affected both the northern and southern carriageways of the East Coast Highway. The northern side of the road was flooded and rendered impassable to traffic. On one occasion the southern carriageway had to be used for vehicles to the city. It was made into a two-way while police tried desperately to control the heavy traffic. After awhile that too was closed to traffic. Last evening there was more overtopping, but the situation was not as overwhelming as the previous day.
Recyclable material storage area for Haags Bosch landfill Bids were opened yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board for the construction of a storage area for recyclable material at Haags Bosch Sanitary landfill. The project falls under the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme. With an engineer’s estimate of $7,329,500 the bids submitted were:
Meanwhile, the Audit Office of Guyana received four bids for the supply of laptop computers and related hardware equipment. The bids were divided into three lots and were as follows:
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
PM says IMF not only solution to Jamaica’s problems KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – The Jamaica government says while an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will it some needed assistance, it is not however the solution to the problems facing the country. “The IMF will not solve the problems of Jamaica. We all have to make some sacrifices and it is us as Jamaicans that will have to work together in unity to move this country forward,” Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said, adding “it must be all of us working together for the growth and development of Jamaica as one Jamaican family shaping our future together”. In 2009, Jamaica entered into a US$1.27 billion Stand By Agreement (SBA) with the IMF, but the Portia Simpson Miller administration has been seeking to renegotiate the package. On Monday, Finance Minister Dr. Peter Phillips said the government had signed off on several measures that will allow the island to move into the next round of negotiations with the IMF on a new SBA. But Phillips did not however provide details of the measures agreed upon. “I must point out that
Portia Simpson Miller these negotiations cannot be carried out in the public domain and by their very nature are both sensitive and technical. “I do not intend to go into details at this time but I will be making a full report as soon as we have clearance on both sides in respect of all the issues,” he added. But while he gave no details on the measures, Phillips said that a programme had been unanimously agreed on to reduce the country’s debt stock, which is estimated at J$1.7 trillion (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents). Prime Minister Simpson Miller said the three-day Cabinet meeting last week had discussed the IMF
negotiations and that “in the weeks ahead, we will be providing regular updates to the nation on the progress of the programme to reposition the economy and the society as a whole”. She said the negotiations with the IMF have been protracted for three specific reasons, including the recent country record which saw an administration failing to honour their commitments to the IMF “so the Fund now wants to be absolutely certain of the viability of our commitments and our willingness and capacity to see them through”. She said there have also been changing “dynamics” following exhaustive reviews of the best configuration of the fiscal consolidation process to achieve the specific targets, and that “both sides have taken the time to agree on all the elements of the fiscal consolidation”. Prime Minister Simpson Miller said the Finance Minister and the negotiating team have the full support of the Cabinet and whilst “we accept that an agreement with the IMF is necessary, at this point in time to support our macro-economic programme, this is not an end in, and of itself.
Govt. hints at new taxes - No IMF deal before wage talks settled No job cuts; more executive agencies coming
Jamaica Observer Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips Monday hinted at new tax measures, but did not go into details, as he announced that public sector wage negotiations will have to be settled before an agreement is inked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The public sector wage issue, he said, was one of several “prior actions” the country must settle to satisfy the requirements of the lending body with which the Government has been in negotiations for months. “Another prior action requirement of the programme is likely to be a firm commitment on wage restraint in the public sector,” the finance minister told journalists attending a special media briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston, called to report to the nation on the Administration’s three-day Cabinet retreat which ended Saturday. The Government has been adamant that it will be unable to meet the demands of trade unions representing
Dr Peter Phillips public sector workers, who have rejected calls for a wage freeze as part of the cashstrapped Administration’s measures to contain costs. Just last week, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance Horace Dalley, in reiterating the State’s inability to pay wage increases to public servants, cautioned union leaders that it made no sense “sticking up” a broke Government. “You can’t stick up a bruk man. I am asking them to understand that there is no increase on the table, but we are going to fight to keep the jobs,” the Jamaica Observer
quoted Dalley in a January 8 story. It was not clear yesterday how the pronouncement from the finance minister would be accepted by public sector unions, including the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, Nurses Association of Jamaica, Jamaica Police Federation, and the Jamaica Civil Service Association, which have all demanded higher wages and improved allowances for their members. Senior trade unionist Helene Davis-Whyte, who heads the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers, was quoted in the January 8 Observer story as saying that the talks had just begun and it was too early to predict a resolution, suggesting that the unions are likely to put up a fight against plans for a wage freeze. The Administration has also again insisted that there will be no job cuts, even while it said it is “accelerating the Public Sector Transformation Programme which aims at rationalising the entire public service for greater efficiency”.
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Cuba acknowledges 51 cholera cases
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s Public Health Ministry yesterday acknowledged 51 new cases of cholera in the capital amid growing concerns about the illness’ spread and disappointment in the diplomatic community over the government’s lack of transparency. The ministry said nobody had died from the latest outbreak, which began Jan. 6, and stressed that preventive measures already taken had put the disease “on the way to extinction.” It said cholera was first detected in the capital’s Cerro neighborhood, and then spread elsewhere. No other areas of the capital were mentioned, but there have been reports of cases in the leafy Playa neighborhood that is home to many foreign embassies. The government has not responded to repeated requests for comment in recent months, nor has it made any experts available to talk about the cholera situation. The family of one man, 46-year-old Ubaldo Pino Rodriguez, told The Associated Press last week that he died of cholera in Cerro on Jan. 2, about two weeks after going to the hospital with severe
vomiting. Rodriguez’s sister, Yanise Pino, said her brother had a drinking problem and lived in squalid and unhygienic conditions in a tiny makeshift wooden dwelling. “When he began to feel bad he thought it was from drinking and nothing else,” she said, adding that he left the hospital of his own accord last month. She said that following his death authorities sealed off Ubaldo’s room and told her to burn all his belongings. Juan Bautista Ferrera, a retiree in Havana’s Miramar neighborhood, told AP that he was hospitalized with cholera for five days last week after suffering severe diarrhea. “I was isolated in a room and nobody could come to see me. I communicated with my wife by phone,” he said, adding he never worried about his life. “I’m 75 years old and I don’t fear anything. The medical attention was very good so I never thought for a minute I could die of it.” Ferrera’s wife, Caridad Neyes, said health workers gave them chlorine to clean their home and also handed
out medicine. She said several restaurants in the neighborhood were closed but have since reopened. Cholera is a waterborne disease caused by a bacteria found in tainted water or food. It can kill within hours through dehydration, but is treatable if caught in time. Cholera is unusual in Cuba. But recent outbreaks in nearby Haiti have killed more than 7,200 people. It was unclear why a new outbreak was being seen in Havana. Rains, which can help spread the disease, are common in January, but the weather has been unusually dry this year. In August, Cuba announced that a cholera outbreak had run its course after sickening 417 people and leaving three dead. That outbreak originated in the eastern city of Manzanillo, in Granma province. Some have speculated the epidemic gained new life following the widespread devastation caused in October by Hurricane Sandy, which damaged more than 200,000 homes in eastern Cuba.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Venezuelan VP: Chavez Opposition Leader brushes aside suggestions of economic growth asked questions during visit KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent - CMC – Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace yesterday brushed aside predictions by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves that St. Vincent and the Grenadines would record economic growth in 2013, saying the economy is worse than the country is being made to believe. Responding to the EC$799.1 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) national budget presentation on Monday night by Prime Minister Gonsalves, the leader of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) accused the government of engaging in “gonsieconomics”. Eustace likened Gonsalves to Empero Nero, saying in this case, the prime minister was fiddling while St. Vincent and the Grenadines was burning. “It is time he recognises that he is unable to manage the economy. We are just securing a failed state with gonsieconomic.” Eustace, an economist, said that to include National Insurance Scheme statistics showing that more people had entered the job market were misleading since NIS figures
Arnhim Eustace include people who have worked for just one day. He said the latest figures released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on St. Vincent and the Grenadines did not support the government’s prediction of economic growth in excess of three per cent, noting for example, banana production for last year had totalled a mere 1,411 tonnes, adding “that performance to say the least is disgraceful”. Eustace also dismissed
Prime Minister Gonsalves prediction of economic growth of 1.5 per cent last year, saying “I don’t know where the 1.5 per cent came from. He recalled that earlier predictions of growth of less than one per cent could also mean “zero growth” adding “that is what is going to happen when all the assessments have been made. “We have a situation here…where we are all struggling, our people are having it hard, really because we don’t feel any revival of the economy”. Eustace said it had become the norm in the Caribbean, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for most regional leaders to blame the ongoing global economic and financial crisis for their domestic problems. “I agree it is the worst financial and economic crisis in the world…but not every small country has negative growth,” he said, adding that some of these countries had implemented measures to deal with the impact of the crisis and as a result were experiencing growth.
Venezuela’s Vice President Nicolas Maduro, right, speaks with opposition leader, Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles, center, and Lara state Gov. Henry Falcon during a meeting with state governors in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press Office) CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s vice president said yesterday that President Hugo Chavez has been making progress in his treatment for a severe respiratory infection and asked questions of his aides during a recent visit to Cuba, where the president is recovering. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that he and other officials including Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez met with Chavez on Monday. Maduro said they provided him with an update on “the government in a new stage” and other matters. “He asked our friend Rafael Ramirez about (certain) aspects” of the government, Maduro said in a televised meeting with state governors, adding that Chavez had questioned other officials present. “Our commander is climbing the hill, he’s advancing, and that fills us with great happiness,” he said. Maduro expressed gratitude to Chavez’s medical team but didn’t give details, only saying that Chavez “is
in battle.” The 58-year-old president, who was re-elected in October, has not made any public comments since his latest cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 11. He has been fighting an unspecified type of pelvic cancer, and his long silence has fed speculation about why he hasn’t addressed the country by phone on television, as he has during past treatments in Cuba. Government officials have said Chavez is being treated for “respiratory deficiency.” Officials have indefinitely postponed Chavez’s inauguration despite complaints by the opposition that the move is unconstitutional. Pro-Chavez lawmaker and congressional Vice President Dario Vivas told Venezuelan radio station Union Radio that Maduro would represent the government at the annual state-of-the-nation speech Tuesday afternoon before the National Assembly. Opposition leaders, however, said that under the constitution the president is responsible for giving the annual address. Last January,
even as he was between cancer treatments, Chavez spoke for nine hours before lawmakers. Francisca Harvey, 46, a member of the progovernment group Frente Francisco de Miranda, showed her support outside the National Assembly, where she and others eagerly awaited Maduro’s speech as loudspeakers blared the song “Chavez, heart of the people.” “He’s a strong man,” Harvey said. “It’s important that we have him healthy.” Another woman outside the palace gates, Emiliana Quintero, a 54-year-old beautician, said she was loyal to the new government, even without Chavez present. “We are going to support Nicolas while the president recovers,” Quintero said, referring to the vice president. Maduro made his comments about Chavez’s health Tuesday at a gathering of state governors in Caracas after returning from Cuba along with Ramirez, Attorney General Cilia Flores and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will meet in Haiti next month, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat announced yesterday. It said that the arrangements for the February 18-19 meeting had been finalised at the 31st meeting of the CARICOM Council of Ministers meeting here on Monday. This will be the first time that Haiti will be host of a
CARICOM summit. The French-speaking CARICOM country, which is recovering from a powerful January 12, 2010 earthquake that killed 300,000 people and left more than a million others homeless, assumed chairmanship of the 15member grouping in January. The Secretariat said the CARICOM Council of Ministers, the second highest decision-making organ within the grouping, also discussed the reform process within the
Community. It said that Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran made a presentation on a new thrust for the integration process. The Secretariat said that plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of CARICOM were also discussed as well as well as preparations for the region’s premier cultural festival, CARIFESTA X, I which will be held in Suriname August 16-25.
CARICOM leaders to meet in Haiti next month
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Central Bank projects growth for T&T economy Trinidad Guardian Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is optimistic about T&T’s economy for 2013. “I was cautiously optimistic about the prospects for this year. I have not changed that assessment. We at the Central Bank are actually projecting growth of 2.5 per cent in 2013,” he said Monday at the presentation of the Central Bank’s Financial Stability Report for December 2012. “There are a number of actions that have taken place over the course of the last year that has set the economy on a firmer growth path. That in itself should provide an overall boost to confidence.
“In relation to the CLICO issue you have the launch of the CLICO Investment Trust. That has put a considerable part of the anxiety created by CLICO behind us. We have seen the economy show tremendous resilience in the face of the global fallout. Also, our financial system has been resilient in the face of a harsher domestic environment. When you add those positives there are enough to suggest out prospectives are pretty favourable,” he said. Rambarran also commented on a Market Facts and Opinion Survey about a better perception of the economy which showed
that 26 per cent of respondents now have a favourable opinion of the economy—an increase from 2011. He said it was encouraging that there was positive news about the economy as it filters through the system and creates a better investment climate. Rambarran added that T&T’s economic performance comes against the backdrop of fragile global economic recovery. “The global economic recovery was set back by the intensification of the sovereign debt and the banking crisis in the Euro area and the fiscal situation in the
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent - CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has presented Parliament with a EC$799.1 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) national budget outlining increased taxes and predicting economic growth for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2013. Government had last month presented Parliament with the estimates of the fiscal package that showed a marginal increase on last year’s figures and comprise recurrent expenditure of EC$622.2 million and capital expenditure of EC$176.8 million. In his presentation on Monday evening, Gonsalves said that the country is expecting economic growth in spite of the ongoing global economic crisis. “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is showing
tentative signs of a slow recovery after three years of negative growth, 2008, 2009, and 2010 inclusive. “In 2011 real gross domestic product grew by 0.4 per cent and in 2012 real economic growth is estimated at 1.53 per cent. For 2013, the real growth of 1.5 per cent is also projected and at least a four per cent real growth is also projected by our government in the midterm, slightly in excess of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) projection of just over three per cent.” But Gonsalves told legislators there is need to do better “even in the midst of the global economic uncertainties”. He said the economic situation has not only affected St. Vincent and the Grenadines
but all the member states of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). “In the case of our country and the rest of the Currency Union, the collapse of the regional financial company, CL Financial and the demise of the subsidiary insurance entities, CLICO International Limited and British American Insurance Company (BAICO) have caused immense economic dislocation, loss and damage that can’t be swept aside”. Gonsalves said that the a g g r e g a t e e x p o s u r e of liabilities from CLICO and BAICO within the ECCU amounted to nearly two billion EC dollars, adding that for his country alone, the liabilities were in excess of EC$375 million or 17 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
St Vincent PM predicts economic growth, announces new taxes
PM faces more PNM protest Trinidad Express - For a second consecutive day in Tobago, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was greeted with protesters from the People’s National Movement (PNM). At the opening of the $9 million Roxborough Gas Station, Valentine McKenzie told the Express he was upset area representative for Roxborough/Delaford, Hilton Sandy, was not properly invited to the opening. “He is the brainchild and he has not been invited in a proper way, neither the Chief Secretary he was invited by text message,” McKenzie said. When contacted, the text message invitation was confirmed by THA Chief Secretary Orville London, who received the text
Kamla PersadBissessar yesterday. The $9 million facility started late June of last year and was completed in six-and-a-half months. Chairman of NP, Neil Gosine, said the company is looking at the northern coast of Tobago and Hope Estate
for additional service stations to be constructed. “This service station is well placed, and it will help the community. It will also help the driving public,” Gosine said. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said the occasion was a historic one as NP has plans to expand its Tobago operations through the construction of a new administrative building at its current site. “So it would also be a boost for the tourism sector and a fillip for development in the Roxborough area. No longer will residents and visitors travelling from the Crown Point area have to plan their day trip around the opening and closing of a gas station more than 20 miles away,” Ramnarine said.
Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran , left, speaks with Carl Hiralal, Inspector of Financial Institutions, centre, and chief economist Dr Alvin Hilaire following the release of the Financial Stability Report for December. Photo: ABRAHAM DIAZ US. Growth faltered in the US around June but picked up later on in the year. In the Caribbean many of our peers continue to struggle with low growth and very high public debt levels,” he said. Dr Alvin Hilaire, chief economist at Central Bank, said there were signs of a turn around in the T&T economy as early as the third quarter
of 2012. “The preliminary numbers show that we do have some growth of close to 1.5 per cent which is encouraging as it comes after several quarters of contraction of the energy sector. Natural gas output has been moving up. On the non energy sector there was also growth and the problems like Trinidad Cement Limited
(TCL) had stopped. This augurs well for the future and will be spread out among the economy,” Hilaire said. The report showed that the banking system remained well capitalised despite a sluggish economy and nonbanking financial institutions have been affected more by the slower economic environment.
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France to stay in Mali until stability restored BAMAKO/DUBAI (Reuters) - France will end its intervention in Mali only once stability has returned to the West African country, French President Francois Hollande said yesterday, raising the prospects of a costly, drawnout operation against al Qaeda-linked rebels. Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out air raids since Friday in the northern half of the country, which Western and regional states fear could become a base for attacks by Islamist militants in Africa and Europe. Thousands of African troops are due to take over the offensive but regional armies are scrambling to accelerate the operation initially not expected for months and brought forward by France’s bombing campaign aimed at stopping a rebel advance on a strategic town last week. “We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory,”
French soldiers walk past a hangar they are staying at the Malian army air base in Bamako. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MALI - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS) Hollande told a news conference during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, accompanying Hollande, said the offensive against the Malian rebels could take some time, and the current French level of involvement could last weeks. Elections, however, would take months to organize. French aircraft earlier hit rebels with fresh air strikes and a column of dozens of
French armored vehicles rumbled into the dusty riverside capital of Bamako overnight, bringing to about 750 the number of French troops in Mali. Paris has said it plans to deploy 2,500 soldiers in its former colony to bolster the Malian army and work with the intervention force provided by West African states. West African defense chiefs met in Bamako
yesterday to approve plans for speeding up the deployment of 3,300 regional troops, foreseen in a United Nations-backed intervention plan to be led by Africans. Nigeria pledged to deploy soldiers within 24 hours and Belgium said it was sending
transport planes and helicopters to help, but West Africa’s armies need time to become operational. Mali’s north, a vast and inhospitable area of desert and rugged mountains the size of Texas, was seized last year by an Islamist alliance combining al Qaeda’s north African wing AQIM with splinter group MUJWA and the home-grown Ansar Dine rebels. Any delay in following up on the French air bombardments of Islamist bases and fuel depots with a ground offensive could allow the insurgents to slip away into the desert and mountains, regroup and counter-attack. The rebels, who French officials say are mobile and well-armed, have shown they can hit back, dislodging government forces from Diabaly, 350 km (220 miles) from Bamako on Monday. Residents said the town was still under Islamist control yesterday despite a
number of air strikes that shook houses. An eye witness near Segou, to the south, told Reuters he had seen 20 French Special Forces soldiers driving toward Diabaly. Malians have largely welcomed the French intervention, having seen their army suffer a series of defeats by the rebels. “With the arrival of the French, we have started to see the situation on the front evolve in our favor,” said Aba Sanare, a resident of Bamako. Aboudou Toure Cheaka, a senior regional official in Bamako, said the West African troops would be on the ground in a week. The original timetable for the 3,300-strong U.N.sanctioned African force - to be backed by western logistics, money and intelligence services - did not initially foresee full deployment before September due to logistical constraints.
Obama to unveil gun violence measures today
U.S. President Barack Obama takes questions from reporters during a news conference at the White House in Washington, yesterday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil today a series of “concrete proposals” to counter gun violence that will include a push for an assault weapons ban and measures to strengthen background checks for gun buyers. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who led a task force that developed recommendations on the issue, would present the package of legislative and executive measures at a White House event at 11:45 a.m. (1645 GMT). Children from around the
country who wrote letters to the president expressing concern about gun violence and school safety were to attend the event with their parents. “The president has made clear that he intends to take a comprehensive approach,” Carney told reporters. “There are specific legislative actions that he will continue to call on Congress to take, including the assault weapons ban, including a measure to ban high-capacity magazine clips, including an effort to close the very big loopholes in the background check system in our country,” he said.
Biden delivered his recommendations to Obama after a series of meetings with representatives from the weapons and entertainment industries requested by the president after the December 14 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six adults were killed. Obama, who has said the day of the shooting was the worst of his presidency, said on Monday he would study the panel’s ideas and then move forward “vigorously” on those that he endorsed, including some actions he could take without congressional approval.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
Explosions kill 52 at Syrian university as exams begin
Two explosions rocked University of Aleppo yesterday. REUTERS/George Ourfalian BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two explosions tore through one of Syria’s biggest universities on the first day of student exams on Tuesday, killing at least 52 people and wounding dozens, a monitoring group said. Bloodshed has disrupted civilian life across Syria since a violent government crackdown in early 2011 on peaceful demonstrations for democratic reform turned the unrest into an armed insurgency bent on overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. More than 50 countries asked the United Nations Security Council yesterday to refer the crisis to the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes people for genocide and war crimes. But Russia - Assad’s longstanding ally and arms supplier - blocked the initiative, calling it “ill-timed and counterproductive. Each side in the 22month-old conflict blamed the other for yesterday’s blasts at the University of Aleppo, located in a
government-held area of Syria’s most populous city. Some activists in Aleppo said a government attack caused the explosions, while state television accused “terrorists” - a term they often use to describe the rebels - of firing two rockets at the school. A rebel fighter said the blasts appeared to have been caused by “ground-toground” missiles. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britainbased monitoring group, said at least 52 people were killed and dozens wounded, but it could not identify the source of the blasts. “Dozens are in critical condition. The death toll could rise to 90,” the Observatory said in a statement, citing doctors and students. State television - which did not give a death toll showed a body lying on the street and several cars burning. One of the university buildings was damaged. Video footage showed students carrying books out of the university after one of
the explosions, walking quickly away from rising smoke. The camera then shakes to the sound of another explosion and people begin running. If confirmed, the government’s report of a rocket attack would suggest rebels in the area had been able to obtain and deploy more powerful weapons than previously used. The nearest rebelcontrolled area, Bustan alQasr, is more than a mile away from the university. Activists rejected the suggestion that insurgents were behind the attack, however, and instead blamed the government. “The warplanes of this criminal regime do not respect a mosque, a church or a university,” said a student who gave his name as Abu Tayem. The rebels have been trying to take Aleppo - once a thriving commercial hub since the summer, but have been unable to uproot Assad’s better-armed and more organized forces.
MOSCOW (Reuters) Russia said it had suspended operations at its consulate in Aleppo after two explosions rocked a university in Syria’s second-biggest city. “The activity of the consulate of the Russian Federation in Aleppo ... has been temporarily suspended,” the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement. It said anyone with consular issues to resolve
was welcome to contact the consular section of the Russian embassy in the capital, Damascus. At least 52 people were killed and dozens wounded in two explosions that rocked the University of Aleppo on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Russia has blocked three Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at putting pressure on
Syrian President Bashar alAssad or pushing him from power, and says his exit must not be a precondition for a peace deal. Russia has said that, if necessary, it will evacuate its citizens from Syria, where more than 60,000 people have been killed in a conflict that began with a government crackdown on protests in March 2011 but has escalated into civil war.
Russia suspends operations at consulate in Aleppo, Syria
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Pakistan turmoil deepens as court orders PM’s arrest ISLAMABAD (Reuters) Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister yesterday on corruption allegations, ratcheting up pressure on a government that is also facing street protests led by a cleric who has a history of ties to the army. The combination of the arrest order and the mass protest in the capital Islamabad led by Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri raised fears among politicians that the military was working with the judiciary to force out a civilian leader. “There is no doubt that Qadri’s march and the Supreme Court’s verdict were masterminded by the military establishment of Pakistan,” Fawad Chaudhry, an aide to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, told Reuters. “The military can intervene at this moment as the Supreme Court has opened a way for it.” However, the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has a majority in parliament and lawmakers can simply elect
another prime minister if Ashraf is ousted. In June, Ashraf replaced Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court in a previous showdown between the government and the judiciary. Also, elections are due in a few months and President Asif Ali Zardari hopes to lead the first civilian government in Pakistan’s 65 years as an independent nation that will complete its full term. But power struggles will distract the unpopular government from tackling an array of problems - a Taliban insurgency, economic stagnation and growing sectarian tensions triggered by bomb attacks and tit-fortat shootings. The military, which sees itself as the guarantor of Pakistan’s stability, has long regarded the PPP-led government as corrupt, incompetent and unable to prevent the nuclear-armed country from falling apart. Pakistan’s powerful army has a long history of coups and intervening in politics. But these days generals seem to have little appetite for
a coup. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has vowed to keep the military out of politics. But many believe top military leaders still try to exert behind-the-scenes influence, and any moves by the military in the latest crisis could not happen without a green light from Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan. “Extra-constitutional regime change, or “outside of the political calendar” if you will, is only possible in Pakistan with the tacit nod of the military, on account of it being a long-time stakeholder in Pakistani politics,” said Shamila Chaudhry, an analyst at Eurasia Group. “The Qadri march was like a trial balloon. The military indirectly sent it out to see if it would work.” Some politicians believe the military will try to dominate the caretaker administration that will oversee the run-up to the polls after parliament is dissolved, which is due to happen in March. An election date has yet to be announced.
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
Iran: Khamenei’s ban on Indian PM says no “business nuclear weapons binding as usual” with Pakistan
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran sought yesterday to spell out in its clearest terms yet that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, highlighting a religious decree issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that bans nuclear weapons. The latest reference to Khamenei’s declaration is seen as a bid to close the door on debates that Iran may have carried out atomic bomb trigger tests as inspectors from the U.N. atomic watchdog were on their way to Tehran for a new round of discussions. Iran authorities have often cited Khamenei’s religious edict, made more than seven years ago, in attempts to counter Western suspicion that Iran could be moving toward nuclear arms. But Iranian leaders now appear increasingly desperate to reopen talks with world powers as a possible way to ease sanctions. Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast touched on a cultural rift between the Islamic Republic and the West, saying the United States and its allies
don’t understand the significance of the edict. “There is nothing higher than the exalted supreme leader’s fatwa to define the framework for our activities in the nuclear field,” he told a press conference. Mehmanparast could not be more definitive in dispelling suspicions that Iran may ultimately develop a nuclear weapon. “We are the first country to call for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons,” he said. When the highest jurist and authority in the country’s leadership issues a fatwa, this will be binding for all of us to follow. So, this fatwa will be our top agenda.” Mehmanparast said Westerners “don’t have an accurate understanding of Islamic beliefs and fatwas issued by great scholars,” suggesting that the U.S. and its allies must take Khamenei’s edit seriously. To highlight its seriousness, he said Iran is willing to “register the fatwa as an international document.” Although Iran views Khamenei’s 2005 fatwa as a
binding declaration, the West and its allies have repeatedly accused Iran of using any tactic to prolong the standoff and possibly advance its nuclear capabilities. The perception gap also strikes at the role of the supreme leader himself. The most ardent followers consider the post as divinely imbued and answerable only to God. For Iran’s opponents, Khamenei is often seen as guiding a ruling system seeking to outwit the West and threaten Israel. They want Iran to stop enriching uranium to a level that could be turned relatively quickly into the fissile core of nuclear arms. Iran denies such aspirations, insisting it is enriching only to make reactor fuel and to make isotopes for medical purposes.Senior U.N. investigators trying for more than a year to restart a probe into Iran’s alleged work on nuclear arms chose their words carefully Tuesday about hopes for success as they left for Tehran on a trip that sets the stage for separate talks between six world powers and the Islamic Republic.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday there could be no “business as usual” with Pakistan after a clash last week along the line dividing the arch-rivals in Kashmir in which two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated. Speaking to reporters at a ceremony to mark India’s Army Day, Singh said that the killings on January 8 on the Line of Control, in which one of the soldiers was beheaded, were a “barbaric act”. His remarks came after Indian army chief General Bikram Singh said his country reserved the right to retaliate and he had instructed his ground commanders to respond to any provocation aggressively. Adding to the tensions, troops from both sides exchanged machinegun fire across the line for more than two hours last night, Indian army intelligence officials told Reuters. No one was injured and no property was damaged during the latest shooting in Poonch district, they added. Despite each side blaming the other for the worst outbreak of violence in the area since a ceasefire was agreed nine years ago, analysts said a breakdown in ties between the nucleararmed neighbors was highly unlikely. Singh has been pushing
Manmohan Singh for a rapprochement with Pakistan, despite opposition not only from the main rival political party but also from within his ruling coalition. Yet Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said ties could not remain unaffected by the flare-up on the border. “Such actions by the Pakistan army which are in contravention of all norms of international conduct not only constitute a grave provocation but lead us to draw appropriate conclusions about Pakistan’s seriousness in pursuing normalization of relations with India,” he added. Each army has lost two soldiers in fighting along parts of the 740-km (460mile) de facto border this month. The decapitation of one of the Indian soldiers provoked outrage in the country and demands of retribution including from his
family which wanted the severed head of the soldier back. Pakistan has dismissed the Indian allegations as propaganda and instead accused India of violating the ceasefire in Kashmir, which has been the cause of two of three wars between the two neighbors. But Khurshid said New Delhi had asked Pakistan’s government to conduct an investigation into the attack and ensure that the grave act by its army was not repeated. “It should not be felt that the brazen denial and a lack of proper response from the government of Pakistan to our repeated demarches (official statements) on this incident will be ignored and that bilateral relations could be unaffected or that there will be ‘business as usual’,” he said in a statement. The two countries have been trying to revive a peace process that went into deep freeze after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 by a Pakistan-based militant group. Pakistan remained committed to the peace process, a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement yesterday. “Pakistan attaches great importance to the ongoing peace process with India, and is committed to resolve the issue of LOC violations under the agreed mechanism,” the spokesman said.
White House condemns comments from Egypt’s Mursi
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House yesterday strongly condemned remarks that Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi made almost three years ago about Jews. Mursi was a Muslim Brotherhood leader in 2010 when, according to a video obtained by The New York Times, he asked Egyptians to “nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred.” Months later, in a television interview, Mursi referred to Zionists as bloodsuckers who attack Palestinians, describing Zionists as “the descendants of apes and pigs.” “The language that we have seen is deeply offensive,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “We completely reject these statements, as we do any language that espouses religious hatred.” The Obama administration called for
Mohammed Mursi Mursi to make clear he respects members of all faiths, saying the comments heard in the video are at odds with Egypt’s democratic aspirations and the best interest of the region. “This kind of discourse has been acceptable in the region for far too long, and is counter to the goal of peace,” Carney
said. Mursi’s remarks and the Obama administration’s rebuke marked a new point of tension in the complex relationship between the U.S. and Egypt’s fledgling democracy. Since being elected in June of 2012 in the aftermath of the revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, Mursi has promised to abide by Egypt’s decades-old peace treaty with Israel. Mursi was also instrumental in facilitating a ceasefire in November between Israel and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, despite his refusal to speak directly with Israeli officials. The White House yesterday noted Mursi’s willingness during that crisis to work with the U.S. toward mutual goals, and said Egypt’s continuing commitment to its peace treaty with Israel is essential for U.S. relations with Egypt.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
Privatisation transactions… “There were hundreds of questions asked formally by members of parliament, but by the end of ninth parliament there was no question asked by a member of parliament, opposition or otherwise that remain unanswered. That fact is verifiable with parliamentary record. At the parliamentary library a list of questions asked by opposition MP’s could be found and there was none unanswered.” These assertions were made at a press conference yesterday hosted by Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh at the National Communications Network (NCN) studios. Head of the Privatisation Unit Winston Brassington was also present. The conference was called to underscore that the details contained in the “Privatisation In Tables,
Phase 11-1993-2011”, prepared by Brassington and released last Friday during President Ramotar’s first press conference of the year, are the complete transactions of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), and are deals that are transparent. The government has been under pressure for a number of years now to release details of privatisation transactions, with the Opposition parties leveling accusations of secrecy and corruption involved in the deals. The Finance Minister said that the tender reports contain details of every transaction and various analyses presenting not only the description of the transactions but “the values, and methodology used, etc.” “If somebody would peruse the wide range of documents placed in the
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“Any question asked in Parliament will be answered”- Finance Minister public domain, one would see that on virtually every aspect of government operation, we have ensured there is ready public access to information.” Dr. Singh said much of the information provided and transactions in the report would have been in an open and competitive public tendering process which was advertised in the national newspapers. This is supplemented with the openings of the tenders which are a public event and the eventual award would also be in the public domain “We trust the information would be useful to persons following privatization matters and those interested in the general theme of openness and transparency. We welcome and encourage all open debate on any issues of public interest…as a
PAHO/WHO lauds B’ce health structure The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization [PAHO/WHO] is considering adopting the health structure implemented by the Berbice Regional Health Authority [BRHA], since it is consistent with standards encouraged by PAHO/WHO said representative Dr. Malhi Cho recently. Dr. Cho who represents the PAHO/WHO in Guyana made this announcement after participating in a oneday conference organized by the BRHA where heads of departments in the health sector of Region Six presented reports for 2012. “The direction Region six is taking is aligned with the direction encouraged by the WHO and PAHO for the country, for the region, for the Americas, not only regions for Guyana… I want to congratulate Region Six for setting the standard for a new level of health care delivery in the country.” Dr. Cho was an observer and contributor at the conference, the first such hosted in the region by the BRHA which started out as a pilot project to regulate and administrate the delivery of health care in Region Six. The Health Authority commenced operation officially in 2005 and is yet to be ratified by the Ministry of Health, However the announcement by Dr. Cho could come at no better time, since the Health Authority is pushing for the Ministry of Health to adapt the programme. PAHO/WHO has been very instrumental in helping the health care delivery in
Guyana and many other countries around the world. Such a statement from Dr. Cho could make a significant difference on how the Ministry of Health approaches the BRHA. Dr. Cho described the health model of Region Six as inspiring and as such, PAHO/WHO would lean on the region to conceive a health model for the rest of Guyana. The BRHA is responsible for the function of all the health institutions in the region including four medical hospitals, the Ophthalmology centre, Fort Canje Psychiatric hospital and about 26 health centres and health posts extending into the Corentyne and Berbice Rivers. Dr. Cho was very pleased after examining firsthand the programme in place to deliver health care to the Region Six population. Of special interest were the new programmes introduced successfully by the BRHA, the Home Based Care Programme, the Care of the Elderly and the Health Facilities Day.
Of notable interest also was the level of motivation by the BRHA for the hundreds of employees in the health system. “The discussions we had with Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo is to try to use the experience of Region Six, the knowledge of Region Six , the difficulties that Region Six has experienced and overcome, and to try to modify the other regions through the same way, through the same path as Region six … so we really encourage you because this is a very valuable human resource. ’ Among the programmes implemented by the BRHA is the ‘Health Facilities Day’ where all these facilities are required to give an open account of the service delivered. They must also endure scrutiny from members of the public. A Regional Blood Bank was established while massive infrastructural changes have been done to the formerly dilapidated Psychiatric Hospital. The BRHA is governed by a Board of Directors.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh and Head of the Privatisation Unit Winston Brassington at NCN yesterday. government we have no issues on having open and frank discussions on national interest.” With the placing of the information in the public domain, he said there should be more informed comments, rather than resorting to misrepresentation and sensationalising items that pass off as analysis and objective commentary. “What we would like to see and encourage is fact based discussion, commentary and analysis in debate.” SECRET DEALS “Let me say this first of all, every single privatization transaction can be laid bare and open for scrutiny, every single one without exception! And the document does that, and so there is no transaction that we cannot specifically say when it was advertised, how many attempts were made to advertise it, how many proposals were received, what the price paid was, absolutely no transaction at all would be exempt from that degree of scrutiny, irrespective of who was involved in the transaction,” the Finance Minister emphatically stated. Adding that government’s position and every single transaction can
be subject to scrutiny, Dr. Singh said there has never been a time in history where government’s operations have been open and transparent as today. “What you have is the political opposition and its agents conjuring issues that sometimes they misrepresent and distort or selectively identify dimensions… really part of a political contest for scoring points. What we are hoping for as a government is that objective analysis will premise their arguments and discussions on the facts before them, and that is the contribution we hope the document will make.” Underscoring that there is no rule exempting any Guyanese from being entitled to participate fully in the pursuing their economic aspirations, Dr. Singh said there are open and transparent processes which can be scrutinized, whether persons are relative or perceived as friends of the government. “There is no room for ministerial discretion, it is documented and administered by technical agencies such as GOINVEST and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and in some cases NICIL, where privatized transactions are involved.” Head of the Privatisation
Unit and NICIL boss Winston Brassington said whether the person is liked or disliked is not a criterion for persons obtaining anything through a transparent documented process. BUDGET The Finance Minister noted that the 2013 budget is being worked on and is an ongoing endeavour which takes technical work in its preparation. He explained that the parliamentary opposition has been engaged in the process - they were invited to a meeting several weeks ago at which representation was made by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC.) At this meeting, Dr. Singh said, initial comments were offered on issues that are on the shared agenda. “We did invite them to make submissions of issues of interest and priorities. Submissions were received from the AFC and subsequently the APNU. The submissions are being looked at and carefully considered, many issues did not come as a huge surprise, many of the issues were publically debated. We hope to have a budget that will continue to serve the cause of the country.”
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NCN CHANNEL 11 05:00 hrs - Inspiration 05:30 hrs - Newtown Gospel 06:00 hrs - BBC 07:00 hrs - Guyana Today 08:00 hrs - Guysuco Round up (R/B) 08:30 hrs - Close Up 09:00 hrs - Stop the
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Suffering 10:00 hrs - CCTV 11:00 hrs - History 12:00 hrs - CNN 12:30 hrs - NCN Newsbreak 12:35 hrs - Tourism Sector Review (r/b) 13:05 hrs - African Moves (R/B) 14:05 hrs - Movie – Aiya (Indian) 16:05 hrs - Cartoons 17:00 hrs - Anderson 18:00 hrs - NCN News Magazine – Live 18:30 hrs - Oral Tradition 19:00 hrs - Al Jazeera 19:30 hrs - GINA Water Sector Advanced towards achieving MDG Targets 20:00 hrs - 3d/daily millions/ play de dream/lotto draw 20:05 hrs - NCN Newsbreak 20:10 hrs - Security Sector Reform 21:05 hrs - NCN Sports Magazine 22:05 hrs - NCN News Late Edition 22:35 hrs - Caribbean Newsline 23:00 hrs - Caribbean T20 Highlights 24:00 hrs - Movie – 1929 Evil Returns (Indian) MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65
Sign on 06:00 hrs - Islamic Perspective 06:30 hrs - News Update 07:00 hrs - DAYBREAK 08:00 hrs - Dabi’s musical 08:30 hrs - Avon DVD Musical 09:00 hrs - GINA programme 09:15 hrs - Top Notch Music Break 09:30 hrs - Caribbean Temptation Music Mix 10:00 hrs - Amanda’s Costume jewellery musical 10:30 hrs - BBC World News 11:00 hrs - National geographic 12:00 hrs - The View 13:00 hrs - Village talk 13:30 hrs - The Young and The Restless 14:30 hrs - Days of Our lives 15:00 hrs - General Hospital 16:00 hrs - The Bold and The Beautiful 16:30 hrs - Cartoons 17:00 hrs - Birthday and other greetings 17:15 hrs - Death Announcements/ In Memoriam 17:30 hrs - Sitcom 18:00 hrs - Aracari Resort Hour 19:00 hrs - Fire fest Update
19:30 hrs - News Update 20:30 hrs - DJ Stress Update 21:30 hrs - English Movie: Braddock 23:00 hrs - News update 23:30 hrs - English Movie: Braddock continues Sign Off DTV CHANNEL 8 08:55 hrs. Sign On 09:00 hrs. GMA 10:00 hrs. Live! With Kelly and Michael 11:00 hrs. The Ricki Lake Show 12:00 hrs. The View 13:00 hrs. Prime News 13:30 hrs. The Young and the Restless 14:30 hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful 15:00 hrs. The Talk 16:00 hrs. Steve Harvey 17:00 hrs. The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 hrs. World News 18:30 hrs. The Wayans Bros 19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00 hrs. Channel 8 News 21:00 hrs. NCIS 22:00 hrs. Criminal Minds (New Episode) 23:00 hrs. CSI 00:00 hrs. Sign Off
Guides are subjected to change without notice
Wednesday January 16, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Reconnecting with your ambitions can be rewarding today, especially if you are willing to make some hard choices. Personal desires might need to be set aside in order to accomplish your career objectives. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You’re not content to talk with friends about safe topics like sports or the weather today. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You might not be able to sidestep your partner’s intensity today. Uncomfortable issues keep popping up in different places and in different forms, no matter what you do. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You could become a bit obsessive about someone close to you today. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Perhaps you have lost your temper in the past, followed by regrets. Ironically, you can throw a tantrum today and actually end up stabilizing a relationship in the process. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Expressing a strong opinion in a relationship might bring you face to face with a challenging emotional issue today; however, it isn’t as dangerous as it appears.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You are in your element when playing the role of the diplomat, looking for the sweetest possible way to deliver a difficult message. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You may be redefining who you are now and what’s most significant to you as attractive Venus aligns with your key planet, Pluto. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) The conjunction of beautiful Venus and dramatic Pluto emphasizes the cluster of four planets in your 2nd House of Self-Esteem. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You experience emotional turmoil today as vulnerable Venus aligns with potent Pluto in your sign. However, others might not even realize that you’re upset. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) A colorful vision or a vivid dream may seem so real today that you look for ways to make it come true. There is an unusual intensity to your desires, drawing you into unfamiliar landscapes. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your social life may be a source of a significant power struggle now, even if you don’t understand why the dynamics are so tense.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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GPL worker dies in Harbour Bridge crash By Romila Boodram A 22-year-old Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) worker was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday, minutes after he was involved in an accident on the Demerara Harbour Bridge. Dead is Lemuel Ogle of 27 Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara. The accident occurred around 13:20 hrs. According to reports, it was raining heavily at the time and Ogle, who was heading east along the Harbour Bridge on a motorcycle, skidded and collided with a car heading in the opposite direction. The driver of the car immediately assisted in taking the injured man to the GPHC, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Yesterday at the hospital, Ogle’s sister, Liana, said she was in Georgetown when she received a phone call from her mother, informing her that her brother was involved in an accident and was at the Georgetown Hospital. “When I reach the hospital, they told me that they want to speak with someone older, so I called my
The dead man’s sister, Liana Ogle (in pink striped jersey) being consoled by relatives
Dead: Lemuel Ogle sister and when she reached here, then they told us that my brother was involved in an accident and he died,” a tearful Liana Ogle recounted. The grieving woman added that she could have hardly recognized her brother, “his foot was badly injured, his chest gash open and he was all bloody.” She said she last spoke to her brother the morning before the accident. Lemuel Ogle was reportedly heading to his brother’s home in Georgetown when the accident occurred. Ogle was on leave and was scheduled to resume duty last night. Police in a press release said that they are investigating the accident. The driver is assisting with investigations.
Mentally-ill man clubbed to death after attacking cop A 27-year-old man was clubbed to death in an alleyway in Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara at around 19:00 hrs yesterday, allegedly after attacking a police rank with a cutlass and knife. Jermaine Hamilton, said to be of unsound mind, was reportedly beaten by civilians after he attacked the rank who was walking in an alleyway in Canterbury Walk, Beterverwagting. Hamilton was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where he was pronounced dead. Kaieteur News understands that the police rank suffered minor injuries during the incident. According to reports, the policeman had just left a friend’s home when Hamilton attacked him with a cutlass. A female resident said that she was in the area at around 19:00 hrs when she heard the sound of thudding blows. She reportedly then heard someone saying “throw water pun he,” and upon looking outside, saw Hamilton’s motionless body in the alleyway. A taxi driver and two other men reportedly hoisted the victim into a vehicle and took him to the Georgetown Hospital. At press time the police rank at the centre of the incident was still giving a statement to his colleagues at the Beterverwagting Station.
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Georgetown’s Ravens take on Linden’s Jets Saturday night - as local basketball titans clash in grudge contest U n d o u b t e d l y Georgetown’s number one basketball club, Dyna’s Ravens will leave its nest in the City on Saturday to face Linden’s top club, Amelia’s Ward Jets in the ‘Jets Basketball Exchange Classic’ at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Hard Court. The much-anticipated showdown between the two top clubs in the country will give enthusiasts a good impression as to who rules the roost in basketball in Guyana. Jump ball will be at 7pm with a first game fixture between Kings and Victory Valley Royals. Essentially, the Linden/ Georgetown grudge contest came to fruition after Ravens Coach, Darcel Harris approached Jets member, Rawle Toney to organise what is definitely a clash of the titans, signaling Ravens undaunted attitude in the face of any challenge. “We’re on a high right now and looking to just play basketball. We’re just off winning two back-to-back tournaments and the players are all eager to continue
GCB Senior 4-day Inter County tourney - Rd 2 Play on the first day of round two of the Guyana Cricket Board Senior 4-day Inter County tournament was yesterday cut short by the rain. When rain sent the players off the field at 16:35hrs Demerara were 107-1 in 27.3 overs after being put in by the President’s XI at DCC; Rajendra Chandreka is unbeaten on 52 and Shemroy Barrington not out on 13. Earlier Chandreka and Robin Bacchus put together 42 for the opening stand before the rain intervened at 11:04hrs after 7 overs with Chandreka on 21 and Bacchus on 20. When play restarted at 15:15hrs pacer Seon Daniels soon trapped Bacchus leg before for 33 (5x4, 1x6) at 55. Chandreka was then joined by Barrington and brought up his half century which contained nine fours just before the rain came; Daniels ended the day with 1-33. Demerara made one change to their starting XI replacing Totaram Bishun with Shaquille Williams, while the President’s XI included Steven Latcha.
playing,” Harris, a former national point guard said, adding that Ravens take friendly contests very seriously. “Sometimes, not everything should be about money. Sometimes teams should travel around and play each other because we have to learn to help each other out to better our clubs. So us going to Linden will help our club, it would help Jets club and its bringing back the fun in the sport and camaraderie, which is missing at this point” Harris continued. “It’s not often Ravens go to Linden so we’re hoping to make the best of it. I must say we are all very happy to play against new competition, and we are going to have fun. I am happy and must thank Jets for hosting us, as well and to the people of Linden, I’m asking you all to come out and support the game,” the Ravens Coach concluded. Ravens won two titles in two weeks when they lifted the Phillip George Legacy tournament title late in December then returned a week later to take the Albert
Bentick Championship. While still in transition, Ravens has established itself as the team to beat in Georgetown. For Jets, they were forced to settle for second place as the young Royals unit took home the just-concluded Banks Malta Supreme Championship. But notwithstanding that result, it was revealed that Jets topped the Linden ranking with their performance. “I think what is heartening in this entire event is that two major clubs in Guyana are putting the same intensity and preparation into a friendly game, so we are asking everyone to come out and give them the support,” one of the organisers, Toney said yesterday. Meanwhile, The Trophy Stall joined Ansa McAl under their Stag Beer Brand and Major Sports Centre as the main sponsors of the game. Parliamentary Secretary within the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports, Steve Ninvalle has sponsored the M o s t Va l u a b l e P l a y e r (MVP) Trophy for the Ravens/Jets game.
Chandreka hits unbeaten half century as rain stops play on day one
At Wales, GT&T Berbice won the toss and inserted Essequibo who had progressed to 55-3 before the rain stopped play just before lunch. Essequibo found themselves on the back foot
after pacer Keon Joseph removed opener Royan Federicks for 05 at 11 and Clinton Pestano accounted for Norman Federicks (07) and Wayne Osborne (09) to leave the score at 27-3. Ricardo Adams 06 not out and Herrell Green, who is unbeaten on 14, steadied the ship somewhat for the Essequibians by adding 27 for the fourth wicket before the interval. Both matches continue today. Meanwhile, Dillon Heyliger, Kenzo Baksh and Roopesh Motilall were replaced by Kemo Paul, Mark Gonsalves and Mark Tyrell in the Essequibo team after sustaining injuries.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the GuyanaAmateur Body Building and Fitness Federation which was originally scheduled for Saturday January 19, has now been re-scheduled for Sunday February 3, 2013.
The venue is Olympic House, High Street and apart from the elections of a new executive, the President’s and Treasurer’s Reports will be presented to the members as will the GABBFF’s Vision for 2013.
Rajendra Chandreka
GABBFF AGM pushed back to Feb. 3
Trophy Stall’s, Devi Sunich (right) hands over the winner’s trophy to Rawle Toney for the Ravens/Jets game in the ‘Jets Basketball Exchange Classic’ Saturday night at the MSC Court in Linden.
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Jumbo Jet Auto Sales West Berbice Under-23, 2-Day match The Berbice Cricket Board as part of its efforts to improve the standard of cricket in the area, last weekend organised a two days cricket match for Under-23 players from there at the Blairmont Community Centre. Upper West Berbice defeated their Lower West Berbice counterparts by five wickets to clinch the Jumbo Jets Auto Sales Trophy.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Brilliant Jawahir leads Upper West Berbice to five wickets victory over Lower West Berbice Batting first after winning the toss, Lower West Berbice were bowled out for 132 with Keon Gravesande topscoring with an attractive 42 (5x4) and received support from Keon Fraser 34 (3x4) and R. Gossai 12. Bowling for Upper West Berbice, promising leg spinner Kevon Jawahir claimed 6 wickets for 43 runs from 17 overs, while left arm
spinner Wagar Hassan took 2 for 32 from 8 overs. In response, the host made 169 all out in 56 overs with skipper Deveshwari Prashad topscoring with 45 (2x4), Derick Narine Lalsa Jnr 17 and Abdool Subhan 21. Medium pacer Keyron Fraser was impressive claiming 5 wickets for 43 runs from 13 overs and Kris Ramnarine 3
for 40. Batting a second time with a first innings deficit of 37, the visitors were bowled out for 120 in their second innings with only Ravi Gossai 39 (3x4), Azib Khan 26 and Quacy McPherson 24 offering resistance to the bowling of Jawahir who took 3 for 39 to end with match figures of 9 for 82. Wagar
Hussain supported with 4 for 40 from 14 overs. Needing to score 83 runs for victory in a maximum of 15 overs to claim an outright victory, Upper West Berbice reached 85 for 5 with five balls remaining. Aviskar Sewkarran was unbeaten on 30, while Nick Ramsaroop supported with 20. Keyron Fraser took 2 wickets for 16 for the Lower West Berbice Team. Public Relations Officer of the Berbice Cricket Board and Special Events Committee Chairman, Hilbert Foster, at the presentation ceremony, expressed gratitude to the Management of Jumbo Jet Auto Sales for sponsoring the match at the cost of $50,000. The two-day match was organised by the Berbice Cricket Board as part of its countywide effort to get
young cricketers to play the longer version of the game and Foster praised the young cricketers for their commitment, passion and discipline. He committed the Berbice Cricket Board to invest even more in West Berbice Cricket and urged the players to work hard at developing their personal game as 2013 promises to be an exciting one in Berbice Cricket. The Berbice Cricket Board would like to express its disappointment that five cricketers selected from the Young Achievers Club to play in the Lower West Berbice Team, did not turn up for the match while no excuses were submitted. Disciplinary actions would be taken against the players very shortly.
West Indies beat South Africa by 22 runs
Windies ladies celebrate a wicket during their victory (WICB) ROSEAU, Dominica – West Indies Women defeated South Africa Women by 22 runs in the fifth and final OneDay International at Windsor Park here Tuesday. The five-match series finished 2-2. Scores: WEST INDIES 177 for eight off 50 overs (Stafanie Taylor 76, Shemaine Campbelle 47; Dane van
Niekerk 3-31, Chloe Tryon 228) SOUTH AFRICA 155 all out off 46.3 overs (Marizanne Kapp 40, Cri-zelda Brits 35, Mignon de Preez 25; Shakera Selman 2-14, Shemaine Campbelle 2-28, Shaquana Quintyne 2-34). Stafanie Taylor copped the Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series awards.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
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SERENA HURTS ANKLE; Jazz stifle Heat as Miami’s road woes continue MURRAY, FEDERER... From page 37 works me very hard ... he tells you exactly how it is and t h a t ’s e x a c t l y w h a t I needed.’’ In other men’s matches, No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro, 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Ts o n g a , N o . 1 3 M i l o s Raonic of Canada, No. 14 Gilles Simon, No. 17 . Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 21 Andreas Seppi and No. 25 Florian Mayer advanced. Bernard Tomic, who beat Djokovic at the Hopman Cup two weeks ago, defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a night match. Tomic has been on a New Year’s high after winning his first ATP tournament on Saturday at the Sydney International. Williams sounded almost matter-of-fact about her ankle ailment and its potential to affect her play in the rest of a Grand Slam she has won five times. ‘’I’ve played this
tournament with so many injuries and was able to come off pretty on top,’’ she said. ‘’So for me, it’s just another page and a great story to tell the grandkids one day.’’ Williams is favored to win the season’s first major, coming into Melbourne with 35 wins in her previous 36 matches, including titles at Wimbledon, the London Olympics and the U.S. Open. In other women’s matches, former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki won the last six games to beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 2-6, 6-3, 63 to advance along with No. 16 Roberta Vinci, No. 17 Lucie Safarova and No. 29 Sloane Stephens, the American teenager who beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-1. Former U.S. Open and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova continued her comeback from a knee injury that kept her out of the U.S. Open, ending her
run of 40 consecutive majors. Also, No. 14 Maria Kirilenko had a 6-4, 6-2 win over American player Vania King. Two seeded players lost night matches. Julie Hampton of the U.S. beat No. 31 Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-4 while Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko defeated No. 24 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 75, 3-6, 7-5. And 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan upset No. 12-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-2, 6-0 to become the oldest woman to win a singles match at the Australian Open. While Serena Williams will have the day off to rest her weary ankle Wednesday, her sister Venus will be back in action against Alize Cornet of France, and Djokovic returns to play his secondround match against American Ryan Harrison.
(Reuters) - The Miami Heat were unable to complete a furious second half fightback as the defending NBA champions continued to struggle on the road, falling to a 104-97 loss to the Jazz in Utah on Monday. LeBron James scored 32 points to help the Heat cut a 21-point deficit to just two when they pulled within 9391 in the final few minutes, but the Jazz held firm to consign Miami to a third loss in four contests on their six-game road trip. “The game was too close to be nervous,” Utah big man Al Jefferson told reporters. “I knew they would make their run, they are too good.” Gordon Hayward scored seven of his 22 points in the final three minutes, Al Jefferson added 23 and 11 rebounds as Utah (21-19) made sure their early hard work would result in a victory. After being buried by the home team’s assault through the first three quarters, Miami (24-12) embarked on a 21-5 spurt in the fourth to get back into the game. Hayward responded with a pair of jump shots down the stretch and the Jazz made free
Utah Jazz guard Gordon Hayward (right) watches as Miami Heat forward LeBron James reacts to a call during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City, Utah January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart throws as the Heat misfired. “We can’t dig ourselves a hole,” said James, who moved to within 18 of becoming the youngest NBA player to reach 20,000 career points. “Low energy against a team like this in their building in front of their amazing crowd - we can’t play with low energy.” Chris Bosh added 16 and Dwyane Wade scored 11 for
Miami, who were also outrebounded by a comfortable 40-23 margin. Wade did not play in the fourth quarter with coach Erik Spoelstra opting for an unconventional lineup. “I don’t know. I just always stay ready,” Wade said. The loss meant Miami’s Eastern Conference lead was trimmed to just half a game ahead of their trip to Golden State on Wednesday.
Trophy Stall contributes as Banks Premium Beer Futsal Classic set to launch Thirty two teams out of the Linden community will vie for honours when Unique Entertainment, a promotional group out of the Mining Town, stages the inaugural Banks Premium Beer Futsal Classic on the hard court of the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground on Friday January 25 next. The promoters received further support for the tournament when the proprietor of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market, Ramesh Sunich, donated a large trophy which will be given to the winners. Representative of the sponsors, Bryan Sealey handed over the prize to a representative of the organizers, Marlon Washington at the Trophy Stall establishment yesterday morning. Mr. Sealey expressed delight on behalf of Mr. Sunich in offering the assistance. He wished the organizers well even as he pledged continued support for initiatives of this
Trophy Stall representative, Bryan Sealey (right), hands over the prize to Marlon Washington yesterday morning. nature which provides law abiding activity for young people. Mr. Washington expressed gratitude to his benefactor saying that the gift would assist greatly in the promotion of the event. He also intimated that the registration is ongoing at the Lee building, Republic
Avenue, Linden up until this Friday. The winning team will pocket $500,000 while the runners up win $300,000. The team finishing third will receive $150,000. The organizers are scheduled to visit the Thirst Park offices of Banks DIH this morning for the launching in the Boardroom.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
New Amsterdam/Canje win inaugural Lennox Allicock Memorial Over-35 tribute match New Amsterdam/Canje registered the first win in the Inaugural Lennox Allicock Over-35 20/20 Memorial cricket match when they defeated Lower Corentyne by 28-runs in the game which was played on Sunday last at the Port Mourant Cricket ground. The New Amsterdam Canje win was due mainly to a fine all rounder performance by former Berbice all rounder Anil Beharry. The burly allrounder, who still don his colours for the Young Warriors Cricket Club, rolled back the years with a fine performance with both the bat and ball to lead his team to the win. Former National player Andre Percival also had a good all round game, but in a losing cause playing for Lower Corentyne. Batting first in the game which was reduced to a 15over-a-side contest, New Amsterdam Canje reached 118 - with Beharry leading the
way with the bat clobbering 26 of 14 deliveries which included two towering sixes. He got good support from Khemraj Sumair 19, Rudolph Baker 16 and Charles Sheppard 12. Bowling for Lower Corentyne, Percival mixed it up well to end with 2 for 21 off 2 overs. When Lower Corentyne took to the crease they were off to a brisk start with Percival 22 and Eon Gibson 16 putting on 36 for the first wicket off six overs before Percival went. After that there was not much resistance and at one time Lower Corentyne was tottering at 65 for 5 eventually reaching 90. Beharry again was on top of his game with his left arm spin grabbing 3 for 14 off of his three overs, while former national all rounder Hubern Evans picked up 2 for 8. At the end of the game each member of the winning team was presented with gold
lined trophies. While the losers each received a trophy lined with Silver. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, organiser Godwin Allicock remembered his father as a good all-round sportsman. Allicock who died a year ago was a one-time all round sports personality and sports enthusiast who participated in a multiplicity of sports during his hay day including cricket, football, athletics, Table Tennis, bodybuilding and basketball among others. In his later years he was a part of many sporting organisations including Cricket, football and athletics and was described as an ardent sports fan, administrator, organizer and critic. He was an integral part of the once feared Port Mourant Cricket Club and was instrumental in them winning many national titles. He would have been 64-years on Sunday. (Samuel Whyte)
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Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler agree rematch in UK in May BBC Sport - Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler have agreed terms for a rematch, to take place in the United Kingdom in May. Froch said he was leaning towards Saturday 25 May as the date, while last week the BBC learned London’s O2 had been pencilled in as the venue. Nottingham’s three-time world super-middleweight champion Froch was outpointed by Kessler in 2010. “I feared Kessler had second thoughts about his promise but the man has come good on his word,” said Froch. “Our first fight was pure warfare. We went at each other for every minute of every round and the rematch promises to be even more fiercely contested. “I seriously wish I was ringside myself for this fight because I’m gunning for revenge at all costs and the fight fans are in for a real
treat.” In taking the fight against his Danish rival, Froch is likely to be stripped of his IBF title after the governing body ordered Froch to defend his title against Canadian Adonis Stevenson. Kessler, 33, is the WBA’s ‘world’ champion which ostensibly would give Froch, 35, the chance to become a four-time world champion. However, American Andre Ward is the WBA’s ‘super’ champion, meaning FrochKessler II would not be for a world title in the strictest sense. Kessler said: “Since that first fight, I have become even stronger. I am fresh, I am healthy and I am ready to defeat him once again. “I don’t care where we fight, I said anytime, anywhere. I plan to make my loyal Viking fans, as well as everybody else in Denmark, very proud once again. I am ready for war.”
Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler have agreed terms for a rematch (Getty Images) Froch said he had never felt so motivated for a fight, adding: “If Mikkel thinks he saw the best of me in Denmark then he is in for a rude awakening.”
Froch became a three-time world champion with a brutal fifth-round stoppage of Lucian Bute in May and defended his crown with a third-round stoppage of
Yusaf Mack in November. The Kessler defeat is one of only two on his record, the other being a points defeat by Ward in 2011. Kessler’s last fight was a
third-round stoppage of Northern Ireland’s Brian Magee in December and he, too, has only been beaten twice, by Ward and Welsh legend Joe Calzaghe.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
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Mahendra Dhoni inspires hosts to resounding win
MS Dhoni sends one to the stands during his knock of 72 (BCCI)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar took crucial wickets to peg England back (BCCI)
BBC Sport - India outplayed England to inflict a crushing 127-run defeat and level their five-match one-day series at 1-1. Captain Mahendra Dhoni (72) and Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) blasted 82 off the last six overs as India accelerated to 285-6. Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar then removed Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan in the space of three balls to rip the heart out of England’s batting line-up. India’s spinners did the rest as the tourists were all out for a dismal 158. England’s batting performance was as dispiriting as it had been uplifting in Friday’s first oneday international, when they racked up 325-4 batting first and held on for a nine-run win. The loss of Ian Bell caught behind in the second over by Shami Ahmed - got things off to an inauspicious start and, after captain Alastair Cook had been harshly adjudged lbw to Kumar, the same bowler struck twice in the 15th over to deal a fatal blow to the visitors’ hopes. Pietersen was bowled through the gate for 42 by a ball that jagged back sharply off the seam and Morgan was brilliantly caught one-handed by wicketkeeper Dhoni from a ball which moved away from the left-hander. The promising Jadeja added the wickets of Joe Root for 36 and Chris Woakes to his superb cameo with the bat and Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets as England’s tail-enders offered
Money can’t buy integrity... From page 39 includes bribery, kickbacks, nepotism, cronyism and influence peddling. Local sport must place high importance on the values of sport, fair play, sportsmanship, integrity, principles and ethics. There will always be individuals who are bent on using sport for private gain, or for the illicit gain of others. However, the mentality of gain by dishonest or corrupt means must not become a norm, or a way of life. Local sport must act courageously and sincerely to ensure that the cancer of corruption is rebuked by standing up and speaking out for what is right. Lead by example, make your voices heard; do not take comfort in quietly voicing concerns in the safe confines
of private conversations. Be prepared to publicly call a spade a spade, don’t be afraid to be ridiculed, marginalised, victimised, or isolated. Call it
idealistic, airy fairy, ideological, naïve, even stupid but integrity and dignity can have no dollar sign. (Trinidad Guardian)
Budhan’s Memorial Sports Club to stage horserace meet Jan. 20 The Budhan’s Memorial Sports Club will stage a 7-race horserace meet on Sunday January 20 at their racetrack to get their 2013 programme off and running. Ansa McAl has teamed up with the organisors to be the major sponsor on board for the event which is scheduled to attract a number
of the leading lower class horses. The main event is for I3 & Lower horses over 1 mile and keen competition is promised. Other races on the programme will feature J1 & Lower, J3 & Lower and K Class among others. Action is set to get underway at 12:30hrs.
little resistance when faced with a lost cause. After winning the toss, India were largely kept in check by some disciplined England bowling until Dhoni and Jadeja provided the fireworks that a raucous crowd at Kochi’s Nehru Stadium had been craving. They lost both openers cheaply as Gautam Gambhir was clean bowled by Jade Dernbach and Ajinkya Rahane perished in an almost identical manner to Steven Finn. Yuvraj Singh looked in good form for his 32 and was furious to be given out lbw to James Tredwell’s second ball after umpire Steve Davis failed to spot a bottom edge onto the pad. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina both added useful runs without ever really getting on top of the England attack, and when Raina was caught by Bell off Woakes on the point boundary to leave his team
174-5 in the 40th over, India were in need of some lateinnings impetus. Enter captain Dhoni, who found a willing accomplice in the 24-year-old Jadeja. Just as England’s Samit Patel and Craig Kieswetter had in the first one-dayer, they exploited new fielding regulations - which only allow four men outside the circle in non-powerplay overs - to find the boundary with alarming regularity in a partnership of 92 off 10 overs. Dhoni, who survived an appeal for caught behind off Woakes when he was in single figures, hit two sixes and seven fours. He deployed his trademark
helicopter shot to devastating effect as both Finn and Dernbach were catapulted through the finest of gaps on the leg side. Dhoni’s dismissal in the final over - caught on the cover boundary by Root merely cleared the stage for Jadeja to finish the innings with a blistering blast of two fours and a six, propelling India to a total that proved to be well beyond England. The third match of the series takes place on Saturday in Ranchi. Scores: India 285 for 6 (Dhoni 72, Jadeja 61*) beat England 158 (Pietersen 42, Bhuvneshwar 3-29) by 127 runs.
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Several teams register victories as Coca-Cola Cup League Beach football tournament starts Banks DIH Branch Manager, Shondell Easton performs the ceremonial kick to start the proceedings
Defending champion, Vasco defeated Silvertown All Stars 5-2 when the Guyana Beach Football Association (GBFA) 2013 Coca-Cola Cup League commenced at the Bayroc Community Centre Ground, Saturday January 12 last. Ameer Allicock netted thrice with support from Mervin Sobers and Michael Wilson who scored one apiece for the winners. Mark Hope and Jamal Haynes narrowed the score but it was just not enough to earn Silvertown All Stars the victory. Game two saw Cool Runnings defeating Winners 11-2 with Sean Brewley (5), Ron Fiedtkou (4) with Marlon Benjamin and Rawle Gittens netting one each for the winners. In the third game, Blueberry
Hill defeated Alikyu SC, 3-0 on the back of goals from Troy Miller (2) and Keith Gilkes (1). Other winners were Eagles United over Netrockers 5-4 after Allan Halley had registered a hattrick with support from Derron Smith, who scored a double. Shattas FC then gained a walkover from Timehri Panthers in Sunday’s lone game. Meanwhile, the teams were involved in a march pass where Banks DIH Outdoor Events Manager, Mortimer Stewart took the salute. GFF representative, Cindy Saigon and Rollin Tappin of the GBFA also comprised a part of the group on the dais. Delivering remarks shortly afterwards, Stewart extended New Year ’s
greetings to the players while endorsing his company’s commitment to the development of the sport. Ms Saigon pledged the continued support of the Guyana Football Federation even as she wished the players well. Mr. Tappin cited beach football as another important development for local sports and urged participants to work hard in the acquisition of rules and other intricacies of the game. He conveyed deep gratitude to Banks DIH Ltd for its support even as he informed that Guyana is poised to enter the qualifying race for the Beach World Cup competition for the first time. He said that the GBFA will soon identify a 25 member training squad for this engagement.
Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany’s red card overturned
Vincent Kompany (centre) is sent off by the referee. (EMPics) BBC Sport - Manchester City have won their appeal against the red card shown to captain Vincent Kompany in the second half of the 2-0 victory over Arsenal. The centre-back was dismissed by referee Mike Dean for a tackle on Jack Wilshere but the Football Association has overturned the decision. Kompany, 26, had defended his challenge in the aftermath of the game. He tweeted: “If the ball is overrun by the opponent and a 50/50 challenge occurs, [a] collision is inevitable.” A FA statement read: “An Independent Regulatory Commission has upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal
regarding Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany. “The defender was dismissed for serious foul play during his side’s match against Arsenal on Sunday 13 January 2013. “As a result, Kompany’s three-match suspension has been withdrawn with immediate effect.” City decided to press ahead with their protest after boss Roberto Mancini said Kompany had been the victim of a “big mistake” by Dean. “It was no sending off,” he told BBC Sport after the game. “He went into the tackle with one foot in front and the other behind. “I think that the referee did make a big mistake.”
Despite winning the ball in the 75th minute, the Belgium international was adjudged to have committed a reckless tackle. Although he disputed the call, Kompany refused to blame Dean. “No grudges against the referee, I understand the difficulty of the job,” he further tweeted. “Ultimately I’m a defender: Appeal may work or not. I will never pull out of a challenge, as much as I will never intend to injure a player.” Kompany would have faced a three-game suspension against Fulham and QPR in the Premier League, either side of an FA Cup fourth round fixture against Crystal Palace or Stoke.
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SERENA HURTS ANKLE; MURRAY, FEDERER ADVANCE MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Serena Williams frightened a few people, including herself. Defending champion Victoria Azarenka had a momentary lack of concentration. Two of the biggest names on the men’s side at the Australian Open Roger Federer and Andy Murray - had straight-set wins. Day 2 at Melbourne Park on Tuesday brought another day of perfect weather but a few anxious moments for Williams, who fell awkwardly on her right ankle in her 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 110-ranked Edina Gallovits-Hall. Williams had the ankle heavily taped by trainers and was able to continue and still dominate the Romanian player. Later, she said she hoped to continue playing she’ll have a scheduled day off Wednesday (today), returning Thursday (tomorrow) to play her second-round match - and maintain her quest of winning her third Grand Slam tournament in a row and sixth Australian Open. ‘’I think I was really, really close to panicking because a very similar thing happened to me last year, almost on the same side, the same shot,’’ Williams said. ‘’I just had to really remain calm and think things through.’’ She left little doubt she’ll be back to play her secondround match tomorrow against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who needed a 14-12 win in the deciding set to clinch her first-round match Tuesday against Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. ‘’Oh, I’ll be out there,’’ Williams said of her second-round match. ‘’I’m alive. My heart’s
beating. I’ll be fine.’’ Azarenka trailed 3-0 in the second set of her match with Monica Niculescu before leveling the set at 4-4 and winning 6-1, 6-4. ‘’I started well but I struggled a little in the second set,’’ Azarenka said. Told that her biggest threat on her half of the draw had injured her ankle, Azarenka wondered, tonguein-cheek, how serious Williams’ ailment could be: ‘’I heard she won love and love, so what kind of injury are we talking about?’’ Murray, playing with more confidence since his U.S. Open win in the final over Novak Djokovic that ended a 76-year drought for British men in majors, beat Robin Haase of the Netherlands 63, 6-1, 6-3. The secondseeded Federer defeated Benoit Paire of France 6-2, 64, 6-1. Murray needed only 1 hour, 37 minutes, and Federer 1:23 in their first-round matches. They’ll need to conserve their energy for a potential semifinal against each other to determine a final against top-seeded and defending champion Djokovic, assuming all three men are still around on the final weekend. Before a ball was hit Tuesday, players and officials were shocked to hear of the serious illness and pending resignation of ATP World Tour executive chairman and president Brad Drewett. The ATP said in a statement Tuesday that Drewett, a former player, has motor neurone disease, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, but will continue in his role on an interim basis until a successor
Roger Federer of Switzerland thanks the crowd after winning his first round match against Benoit Paire of France during day two of the 2013 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Andy Murray cruised through to the second round with victory over Robin Haase (Dave Shopland) Serena Williams of the US is attended to by a trainer after falling during her first round match against Romania’s Edina Gallovits-Hall at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
is found ‘’in the near future.’’ Drewett has held the top ATP position since Jan. 1, 2012. The 54-year-old Australian was a top 40 singles and top 20 doubles player before he retired as a
UCI would ask repentant Armstrong to testify PARIS (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong would be asked to testify to the commission investigating allegations made against the International Cycling Union (UCI) if reports about his doping confession are true, world cycling’s governing body said on Tuesday. The American - stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life - has finally admitted using performance-enhancing drugs in an interview with Oprah Winfrey to be aired on Thursday, USA Today reported. The UCI set up an independent commission after the United States Anti-
Doping Agency (USADA) report which led to Armstrong’s fall from grace said the 41-year-old had told former team mates he made a positive test go away with a payment to the UCI in 2001. The UCI acknowledged it received a $100,000 donation in 2002 but has denied the money was part of covering up a positive test. “The UCI will not be making any further comments on matters concerning Lance Armstrong until it has had the opportunity to view his much publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey,” the body said in a statement on Tuesday. “The UCI notes the media
speculation surrounding the interview and reports that he has finally come clean and admitted doping during his cycling career. “If these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the independent commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision.” The independent commission, chaired by former International Court of Appeal judge Philip Otton, is set to hold a hearing on the matter in London in April and will submit its report to the UCI by June 1, 2013, or shortly afterwards.
player in 1990. Federer, president of the ATP Player Council, said the news was difficult for the tour and its players. ‘’I saw him yesterday and he told me the news,’’ Federer said. ‘’Obviously very emotional ...’’ Murray said it was
‘’shocking news.’’ ‘’He’s definitely had an impact in the time he’s been working there,’’ Murray said. “It’s a big shame.’’ It was Murray’s first Grand Slam match as a major champion. ‘’It didn’t feel much different to me,’’ he said. ‘’I was still nervous before I went on to play the match. ‘’The benefits of that is if I get myself deep into a Slam this year and you’re playing against the top players -
that’s when you’ll draw on that experience and use it in the right way.’’ It’s been 12 months since Murray started working with eight-time major winner Ivan Lendl, and he attributes much of the success in his breakthrough 2012 to his partnership with his new coach. It’s relaxed ‘’in front of the cameras,’’ Murray joked. ‘’Behind closed doors he (Continued on page 32)
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Wednesday January 16, 2013
Oprah: Armstrong ‘did not come clean in expected way’ BBC Sport - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has said Lance Armstrong “did not come clean in the way I expected” about claims he used performance-enhancing drugs. She said she was “mesmerised and riveted” by what the former cyclist, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, had to say during their two-and-ahalf hour interview. She said she would leave it to others to decide whether he was contrite. Armstrong, 41, has vehemently denied he took drugs during his cycling career. He was accused last year by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) of what it called “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme” the sport had ever seen. He is now said to be discussing whether to testify against sport officials. ‘SURPRISING’ Ms Winfrey told CBS that the interview in his home town of Austin, Texas, was so lengthy that it would be
broadcast over two nights, starting on Thursday. She said she had prepared well and took 112 questions into her interview with him, most of which she got to ask. She said he was “serious and thoughtful”, had prepared well for the interview, and “met the moment”. “I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected,” she told CBS, without giving further details. “It was surprising to me. I would say that for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerised and riveted by some of his answers. “I didn’t get all the questions asked, but I think the most important questions and the answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered,” she also said. Ms Winfrey told CBS that she had agreed with Lance Armstrong and his team that they would not talk about what had been said until the broadcast. “By the time I left Austin
and landed in Chicago, you all had already confirmed it. So I’m like - how did you all do that? We all agreed that we weren’t going to say anything,” she said. “I’m sitting here now because it’s already been confirmed.” When asked why Armstrong had agreed to the interview, Ms Winfrey said: “I think he was just ready.” ‘LEGAL ISSUES’ The interview was recorded just hours after Armstrong apologised to staff at the Livestrong Foundation but stopped short of a full admission of guilt. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, lost most of his sponsorships and was forced to leave Livestrong after the damning Usada report. Admitting doping might be a first step into trying to mitigate his lifetime ban from competition. He is also said to be planning to testify against powerful individuals in the world of cycling though not other cyclists - he
Lance Armstrong admitted doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey (OWNTV)
will claim knew about or facilitated the doping, sources said. But an admission of guilt would raise legal issues as well as further backlash from the cycling world and cancer community, in which Armstrong is a prominent figure as a cancer survivor. The New York Times has reported Armstrong’s supporters are concerned he could face perjury charges if he confesses to using performance-enhancing
drugs, because he testified in a 2005 court case that he had never done so. Former teammate Floyd Landis - who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping - has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit accusing Armstrong of defrauding the US Postal Service, which sponsored the team to the tune of more than $30m (£18.7m). The US Department of Justice is considering whether to join the lawsuit against him,
reports say, and Armstrong’s lawyers are said to be in negotiations to settle the suit. The UK’s Sunday Times is already suing Armstrong for up to $1.6m over a libel payment to him in 2004 after the newspaper alleged he had cheated. And a Texan insurance company is pursuing Armstrong for $11m over insured performance bonuses paid to the American after he claimed his fourth, fifth and sixth Tour de France victories.
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Money can’t buy integrity, dignity By Brian Lewis Money or the lack of it is fundamentally changing how sport is played, managed, administrated and governed. This has nothing to do with sport as a business or the modernisation and professionalisation of sport. Greed and the abuse of sport purely for the money are certainly not about modernisation and professionalising sport or for the benefit of sport. The core values of sport and a passion for what is true, invaluable and priceless about sport can stand on their own merit. In the local operating environment, alarm bells
should be ringing as there is the perception that corruption and influence peddling is eroding confidence and trust among the stakeholders in local sport. Is it that national sport organisations aren’t undertaking environmental auditing? The perception of wrongdoing has come to be seen as a routine occurrence. Everything has a price. Money is now the big ticket in town. Name your price. Compromise seems to be the currency of choice. The best insurance against corruption is honesty. Allegations of misdeeds and a lack of procedural justice are undermining the essential
Sarwan, Deonarine recalled for limitedovers tour to Australia
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Narsingh Deonarine
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board’s Selection Panel yesterday named the 15-man squad for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia. The squad will be led by Darren Sammy. Dwayne Bravo has recovered from injury and has been named as Vice Captain. Ramnaresh Sarwan, the experienced right-handed middle-order batsman, and Narsingh Deonarine, the lefthander, have been recalled. Sarwan, 32, last played for West Indies in ODIs in June 2011. He has played 173 matches and made 5,644 runs at an average of 43.41 runs per innings. Deonarine, 29, has made 20 appearances for West Indies in ODIs. His last match was back in June 2010. The squad departs from Barbados on Wednesday, January 23 and arrives in Australia on Saturday, January 26. West Indies Squad to tour Australia for 5 ODIs and 1 T20: Darren Sammy (Captain), Dwayne Bravo (Vice Captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine,
Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Devon Thomas. TEAMMANAGEMENT Ottis Gibson (Head Coach) Richie Richardson (Team Manager) Toby Radford (Assistant Coach) C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist) Hector Martinez Charles (Strength & Conditioning Coach) Richard Berridge (Video & Statistical Analyst) Philip Spooner (Media Manager) Courtney Browne (Selector) TOUR SCHEDULE Tuesday, January 29: vs Prime Minister’s XI – Manuka Oval, Canberra Friday, February 1: 1st ODI – WACA Ground, Perth Sunday, February 3: 2nd ODI – WACA Ground, Perth Wednesday, February 6: 3rd ODI – Manuka Oval, Canberra Friday, February 8: 4th ODI – SCG, Sydney Sunday, February 10: 5th ODI – MCG, Melbourne Wednesday, February 13: T20I – Gabba, Brisbane
element of trust. Corruption is impossible to measure as perpetrators do their best to hide their dirty deeds from public view. As mistrust dig in its heels, wrongdoing is more lucrative, as well as easier to hide. The temptation to bend the rules is great. Sir VS Naipaul once described T&T as a materialistic society in which every person grasps what can be grasped for self, without regard or loyalty to
any value set. Is it that his definition of T&T society is true? National sport organisations occupy a position of leadership, a position of responsibility and a position of trust. Therefore the issue of corruption and the money first ethos ought to be a concern and a significant problem. That corruption has invaded and taken over daily life here in T&T is not an excuse or
should it be a default position within local sport. Corruption is an obstacle and an impediment to the sustainable development of sport. It will also undermine the democracy and autonomy of national sport organisations. The issue of corruption, is, therefore, something which should not be treated lightly and must not be under-estimated. The cancer of systemic corruption is a significant by-
product of poor standards of governance, accountability and transparency. It is imperative that local sport resist and don’t allow a deep rooted culture of greed and dishonesty to take root. Local sport must emphasise and reaffirm the core values of sport and don’t be tempted to lower moral and ethical value and governance standards. Corruption requires two parties, and (Continued on page 35)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Long serving BUSC official backs decision to revoke Jacobs’ membership - damning revelations exposed
Lyndon France Following the revoking of membership of Dwayne Jacobs by the Buxton United Football Club, a senior club official who has been with the entity from the inception, is backing the decision to sever ties with the player. Lyndon France, the backbone of the club from a Technical and Administrative standpoint, speaking with Kaieteur Sport stated that when Jacobs approached the club last year to become a member, he was told in no uncertain terms that to be eligible, he had to bring a certain level of leadership and if he couldn’t, he would surely not be allowed to stay at the club.
Club Secretary Eton Moses in a letter dated January 15, 2013 wrote to Jacobs informing him that his membership has been revoked from the date of the letter. Moses pointed to a number of shortcomings by the player in his short stay at the club. France pointed out that for the short time Jacobs was there he did bring some level of leadership on the field with his playing ability but he has not been able to measure up to the high standards the club has set and is striving for. “We have learnt that during the Kashif and Shanghai tournament that Mr. Jacobs made an agreement with a member of another club that once there was a certain result from a particular game he would receive a certain amount of money and he collected that money.” “Our club over the years has always shared everything, we agreed before
we played that all the prizes won were going to be pooled, we said should a member of our club win the MVP we were going to give him the lion’s share of the MVP prize but that the other members should be able to benefit since football is a team sport, first of all.” France went on to explain that the dust was not settled from the final on the night of January 1st when Jacobs made contact with club officials to state he won the car and he was going to keep his prize. “And so with all these acts that we do not tolerate, we asked Mr. Jacobs to leave the club but he had been very reluctant to do so. He was lobbying executive members and players. The other thing is that Mr. Jacobs in his plea to keep his prize (MVP) said that he is prepared to give up the monetary part of it and that he was prepared to give
monies to the club in future but we said no, he should go. As soon as Mr. Jacobs learnt that we collected the cheque, he said that he wanted his money as well. So he is definitely not the kind of role model we want at the club.” The long serving member commenting on the performance of the club by winning the Kashif & Shanghai said that their achievement sends a strong message to coaches, club administrators, owners and leaders around Guyana that football is not all about having a set of stars. He mentioned that one of his players, Michael Phyll was on a TV show at Ch. 11 and said that he knows that Alpha team has a number of star players but that stars don’t play football, we are going out there and play as a team. “We strategize for each game, I can tell you that before the Western Tigers game we worked on recovery moves of the defender; before the Alpha game we worked on nullifying Dwight Peters and taking the playing chemistry away from Alpha. Before the final we worked on countering on any moves to take Jacobs away because he was one of our key players and for the team to flow and all the time it paid off. Football is all about having the right physical conditioning, the right mental attitude, the right technical and tactical capabilities and being able to execute.” CLUB POLICY Commenting on the club policy, France emphatically
stated that they believe they ought to win by producing individuals that are successful in life and not winning on the pitch while winning on the pitch goes hand in hand with being successful.” Buxton United FC players are encouraged to attend the Government Technical Institute (GTI), Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) and to generally do well in school. He pointed out that their 16-year-old goalkeeper, Jason Cromwell, who is also the National Under-16 goalie, will be writing CXC soon and he was told that he should ease playing to focus more on studying and attending lessons. As a result of this, Cromwell only attended training twice a week leading up to the K&S tourney. It was also revealed that the reserve right back is 15-year-old Jerry Rodriguez while the club has four other players who are 19 years old; Les Charles Critchlow, Quadro Garnett, Jamaal Booker and Denzil Phillips among others. “The core of the players is 24 years-old or younger. When we started in 2003 the core of the players was under15 years, we had taken a decision then to get rid of all those who were older since they did not share the club’s vision and work towards what the club wanted to achieve. So from then to now it is these players who have been together with the younger ones coming through that have built the unit that has
shaped our success.” He explained that Jacobs wanted to come to the club and because of his experience and ability they accepted him since they were of the view that he would have been an inspiration to the club. “I think he did provide some inspiration but if we continue with him given his shortcomings, I think the club would go to pieces in a short while and we really would not like that to happen.” Honing in on the history of the village of Buxton, France made reference to a group that sang the Buxton battle song (written by the teachers of two schools) at the recently held K&S presentation pointing out that it is endeared to the history of the village which started in 1923. “A native of the village, E. R Fredericks went to Europe to study, became a lawyer, came back to Guyana and started a scholarship for Buxtonians. Education has always been a top priority in this village; the club has and will continue with this kind of policy and principle that the players must look to uplift themselves through education.” Quadro Garnett, France informed, has 9 CXC subjects and currently attends the GITC. Another leading player is Clive Andries who also played cricket for Guyana; he attended President’s College and has 6 CXC subjects. “We believe that we need to win by producing successful people more than winning a game on the pitch.”
BUSC revokes membership of Dwayne Jacobs After being on a high and winning the historic MVP prize of a brand new car, Dwayne Jacobs has found himself without a club as of January 15, 2013. Jacobs, who joined the Buxton United Sports Club in October of 2012 after leaving Alpha United FC and featured in the historic winning of the 23rd edition of the Kashif and Shanghai tournament following victory over Upper Demerara Football Association Amelia’s Ward United on New Year’s night, has had his membership of the club, revoked. Following is the full text of the letter dated January 15,
Dwayne Jacobs 2013 addressed to Dwayne Jacobs and signed by club Secretary, Eton Moses: “The Management
Buxton United Football (BUFC) is pleased to inform you that it is grateful for the services you have given to the club over the past months, however, your deportment as a member of the club is at odds with the club’s developmental agenda. It is observed that your recent consistent insubordination and unprincipled behavior / attitude have brought club unity into disrepute. Hence, your Membership of the Buxton United Football Club has been revoked as of 15th January, 2013. Best wishes for your future endeavours.”
Wednesday January 16, 2013
Kaieteur News
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WILSON PLEASED WITH OUTCOME OF FIFA/CONCACAF VISIT - development initiatives discussed with Webb President (ag) of the Guyana Football Federation Franklin Wilson has disclosed that he is pleased with the outcome of the recent FIFA/CONCACAF mediation visit which resulted in a 9-point agreement being inked between the Guyana Football Federation and the Georgetown Football Association to end the impasse between the two entities. FIFA Vice President and CONCACAF President Jeff Webb headed the team to Guyana and held meetings with many stake holders during the one-day visit including Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony and the Member Associations of the federation. Minister Anthony has since expressed satisfaction at the outcome. Wilson believes that the outcome paves the way for the continued development of the game in Guyana involving all the associations whom he believes have vital roles to play in this regard.
“I do believe that the outcome resulted in the game being the ultimate winner at the end of the day. It has been a while since the entire matter started but I think that that is now behind us and we must all now see the bigger picture and that is the continued development of the game and our players. There is a lot of work for us to do but if we are committed to work as a team, there is no telling of what we can achieve as a nation.” The FIFA/CONCACAF five-member team has since expressed their appreciation on the level of professionalism exhibited and the desire by both parties to end the impasse for the good of the game. Wilson had initially reported the matter to FIFA via the Meeting of the Caribbean Football Union President’s which was held in Zurich in December 2011 and would have been following up at various intervals. The relevant documents were also
forwarded to the FIFA Legal Department. The signed agreement between the parties will be reviewed and endorsed by the FIFA Executive Committee while the world governing body and CONCACAF will work closely with the GFF to ensure that the agreement is carried out and that the GFF elections are held by April 15 as has been agreed. It was also reported by Wilson that he met with CONCACAF President Jeff Webb at which meeting an array of development matters were discussed. Among the areas discussed were Coaches and Referees Development. The GFF head said that briefed the CONCACAF head on the federation’s move to localize its Technical Staff. “This is in keeping with our development thrust. We also discussed the issue of Coaches Exchange at professional clubs so that
FIFA Vice President Jeff Webb and GFF President (ag) Franklin Wilson they can develop and be exposed at a higher level. Looking at the referees, an area where we have been doing well, there is room for improvement so we want to consolidate their progress. As you are aware, Dianne Ferreira-James is now part of the CFU Referees Committee.”
It was also revealed that the GFF Referees Committee as outlined by the FIFA Referees Regulations will be meeting shortly to put a programme in place for this year. Wilson also noted that Futsal and Beach Soccer Development also formed part of the talks. “This was
focused on Technical assistance, I have spoken already with a former English based Guyana player who is now into Futsal Coaching and he has indicated his willingness to come and assist us in this area. Assistance in the area of Administrative Capacity building was also sought.”