Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Where your views make the news
Letters... Where your views make the news
Let the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group bring the war to Ramotar DEAR EDITOR, Isaiah 59 King James Version states thus: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Why are the people of Guyana being held to ransom by the present Government? The behavior of the present Government regarding the suspension of Parliament has evoked the ire of the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Andrew Ayre, who made no bones about the fact that he intends to bring the matter to the attention of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group, with a request for immediate action. There are also continued concerns that there have been no local elections for over 20 years, which is also contrary to the democratic principles of the Commonwealth Charter and Guyana’s own Constitution. The Commonwealth Ministerial Group was set up as a mechanism to deal with serious or persistent violations of the principles set out in the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration (the Harare Principles). It is apparent that a sound mind is not resident with the President, or he thinks that being a fool is really cool. The November10, 2014, suspension of the Parliament, a visible effort to avoid a no confidence vote stands in clear violation of both the Commonwealth and the Guyana Constitution. One week later following the proroguing, the said High Commissioner called on President Donald Ramotar to reconvene the National Assembly as soon as possible stating that Parliament is the “central pillar of democracy. Did the President listen? It is blatantly apparent that tar
had seeped into his auditory and visual system rendering him blind and deaf. Then again, divine power or forces unknown have so far been on his side, as the populace, despite their mounting anger, frustration and apathy, has not displayed any acts of harm or violence. On the international stage the President is portraying the image of a full blown buffoon, but one who has failed to amuse the audience any longer. Commonwealth Heads of Government established the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in 1995 to act as the custodian of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values, addressing country situations where serious or persistent violations of Commonwealth values have occurred. Leaders agreed on a series of measures that the Group should take in response to such violations, aimed at the swift restoration of democracy and constitutional rule. As such, CMAG has supported the strengthening of democracy in member countries and has enhanced the Commonwealth’s profile on the international stage. So if the President is dwelling under the delusion that he is a power unto himself, then perhaps the time has come for those in authorities to use the battering ram as a means of splintering his fortress, and breaking open his purported walls of fortification. Yes, there are some folks who according to Guyanese vernacular, do not like a row but adore a riot. The CMG has clearly stated that if after assessment by duly authorized ministers of whether serious or persistent violations of fundamental Commonwealth values and principles have taken place will have full recourse to the range of measures, such as trade restrictions, suspension from the group, limitations of government-government
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contacts, expulsion from membership of the Commonwealth and peoplepeople measures. The CMG has already in place stated rules for situations such as the one arising in Guyana. However, in relation to circumstances where a country is perceived to be in ‘serious or persistent violation’ of the Harare Principles other than an unconstitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government, the HLRG agreed on a six-step approach. This was endorsed by Heads of Government at the Coolum CHOGM in 2002 and has come to be known as the ‘six-step Coolum procedure’; it is the currently valid procedure for dealing with such situations. The CMAG has a role to play in protecting the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values. So Mr. President, release your hold, now you have been told despite the fact that you are playing bold. Get the show on the road. Enough is enough. Remember when you bring the country to ruin as has already been done, then you will walk away leaving the nation and the new Head to clean and clear up your mess. The time is now to do the right thing. Yvonne Sam
Could the Clean up my Country team say why Lodge was forsaken? DEAR EDITOR, Several months ago, the Clean Up my Country team held a consultation with residents of Lodge regarding the cleaning up of our community. The Permanent Secretary, Mr. Colin Croal, promised there would be a follow-up consultation at which time,
details will be given on who or which group/groups will be responsible for the exercise, details of the works to be done etc., so that residents can monitor the works and ensure the funds are properly utilized. Today, residents are in a state of bewilderment after waiting patiently for the
follow up consultation and watching other communities being allocated resources. Could the Clean up my Country team say why Lodge was forsaken or when exactly we can expect to be consulted on the cleaning up of our community? Julianne Gaul Resident
From page 4 overtime and weekends. At this juncture it is reasonable to inquire where was the MPW and Mr. Vaughn when the slippages of these contracts were occurring, particularly in their early stages of construction, since the suggestions he is now making, if they were implemented then, would have made a lot of difference to sort out many of the early problems the contractors faced and would have no doubt gotten the project back on track with the people getting use of their roadway as of Jan. 1, 2015. It is unfortunate that he has at last seen the light of day but its too late as he attempts ‘to close the gates after the horses have bolted away’. It is evident that the contractors at this late stage of their obligations have no intention to speed up construction, unless they are ad-
equately compensated to do so, and which the Govt. is balking to do since as a last resort it intends to reign them into compliance with its liquidating damages trump cards. In my discussions with one of the contractors he told me that he was in the red with his contract and with liquidating damages hanging over his head he has no intention of expending additional funds beyond that of his bid which he would be unable to recoup to speed up his work, unless the Govt. is willing to foot the bill to fast track construction for a speedy completion of the project and so far he has not received any such inkling. It therefore becomes clearer why there is no way this project will be completed by March 2015 despite the assurances by Mr. Vaughn. This project was poorly planned and was executed with little or no oversight of
construction progress by MPW. Now that the contracts have expired and the works are in varying stages of completion, MPW has decided to entrust Mr. Vaughn with the task of closely monitoring the project to ensure that it is completed on or before March 2015. However,no pronouncement was made as to his fate should he fail to deliver without excuses. Failures by these contractors to complete their contracts on time and within budget have been legendary. The evidence of their performances on the Hope Canal, Georgetown Sea Defence, East Coast Highway, Amaila Falls Access Road and GPL facility at Vreed-en-Hoop attest to this. It is rather perplexing that despite their failures to perform they continue to receive lucrative Govt. contracts. Charles Sohan
This project was poorly planned and...
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
MPs earn more than KN previously stated By: Kiana Wilburg Members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) seemed offended when Kaieteur News in an article published yesterday suggested that Members of Parliament (MPs) in this period of prorogation were collecting millions of dollars for essentially doing nothing. The AFC MPs rushed to accuse the newspaper of inaccurate reporting and of lacking thoroughness when conducting investigations. Kaieteur News, in the article, stated that as of the start of this New Year, MPs such as those in the political opposition were taking home gross earnings of $166,000 and their telephone and travel bills paid for. AFC was quick to deem this, among other revelations in that news item, as being far from the truth. The pay slips willingly provided by AFC member Valerie Garrido-Lowe showed that her gross earnings are $180, 040 and after taxes are deducted, the take home is $140, 992, while Cathy Hughes’ gross salary is $282,000. After deductions her take home is $212,000. This newspaper apologizes for the understatement. The issue came up for discussion yesterday at the AFC’s first press conference for the year, held at the Georgetown Club. Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, was asked to address the perception in some quarters that it is considered somewhat unethical for Parliamentarians to be collecting taxpayers’ monies when they are not doing anything, because the Parliament is prorogued. Observers had also said that it is a moral infraction to do such and that the Members of Parliament should not accept their payments.
- We apologize for the understatement This is the chart upon which the initial Kaieteur News article was based.
But Nagamootoo said, “If you apply it to someone who was just knocked down by a careless driver and lost his leg, I suppose the victim should say ‘because I am disabled I should hold the driver culpable for damages’. We were disabled by a reckless driver called Donald Ramotar. It is not our fault that the Head of State chose to have a dispensation where
members of a crippled Parliament, a dysfunctional Parliament, receive their salaries. “You can’t change one fact, that they (MPs) have been duly elected by the people, and that the election to Parliament carries with it, by law, certain entitlements. “So it is not a moral issue; it is a political issue. For those who shut the Parliament down, that recklessness should be placed at their doorstep…They have placed us in a situation where people’s monies are being spent because of this wrongful act done by the
President. “I believe the burden of any moral infraction should be placed at the feet of Ramotar, and I would say no more on the issue.” Ramotar ’s option to prorogue the Parliament instead of dissolving it and calling fresh general elections, ensured that the Parliamentarians who entered the House three years ago receive their Parliamentary pension. They only qualify for the pension after exactly three years of service, and not a single day earlier. That three-year period
ended on Monday, so if the President had dissolved Parliament anytime before Monday, that pension would not have been secured. Asked to comment on this, Nagamootoo said that he does not believe the continuation of the current status quo could be stretched so far as to say that it was intended to give pension rights to new PPP Parliamentarians. “That is not factual and…I don’t think it was done with that in mind. I believe the idea behind it was to simply defeat the No-Confidence motion. I wouldn’t credit
Ramotar as going that far.” AFC Executive member, Cathy Hughes, also commented on the matter. Hughes said that there seems to be the suggestion that the role of a Parliamentarian is purely within the confines of the National Assembly. She said that as recent as last Saturday and yesterday afternoon, an AFC team went to an interior location and on the weekend it was in another area working. “We as parliamentarians represent the people, and there are people who come into our offices every minute (Continued on page 14)
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Charlie Hebdo cofounder blames slain editor for provoking attack
Less than a week after the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo left 12 people dead, one of the satirical French newspaper’s founding members is blaming the publication’s slain editor for provoking the attacks, the Telegraph reports. Henri Roussel, an 80-yearold who contributed to its first issue, in 1970 (when it was known as Hara-Kiri Hebdo), penned a column this week criticizing editor Stéphane Charbonnier, one of five staff members killed in last week’s shootings, for his stubbornness after publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, which was followed by the 2011 firebombing of the newspaper’s offices. “What made him feel the need to drag the team into overdoing it?” Roussel writes in Nouvel Observateur, according to a translation by the Telegraph. “He shouldn’t have done it, but Charb did it again a year later, in September 2012.” “I believe that we [were] fools who took an unnecessary risk,” Roussel, who writes under the pen name Delfeil de Ton, continued. “That’s it. We think we are invulnerable. For years, decades even, it was a provocation, and then one day the provocation turns against us. “I know it’s not done,” Roussel, who called Charbonnier a “blockhead,” added. “[But] I really hold it against you.” The column drew a furious response from Richard Malka, Charlie Hebdo’s longtime lawyer.
“Charb has not yet even been buried, and [Nouvel Observateur] finds nothing better to do than publish a polemical and venomous piece on him,” Malka wrote in a letter to the magazine obtained by the Independent. “The other day, the editor of Nouvel Observateur, Matthieu Croissandeau, couldn’t shed enough tears to say he would continue the fight. I didn’t know he meant it this way. I refuse to allow myself to be invaded by bad thoughts, but my disappointment is immense.” Croissandeau responded by saying it was important to publish Roussel’s opinion.
“We received this text, and after a debate I decided to publish it in an edition on freedom of expression,” Croissandeau said. “It would have seemed to me worrisome to have censored his voice, even if it is discordant. Particularly as this is the voice of one of the pioneers of the gang.” Roussel’s comments came as the surviving staffers of Charlie Hebdo released their latest issue, which quickly sold out at newsstands across Paris. The publishers said Wednesday they would print 5 million copies, or nearly 100 times Charlie Hebdo’s normal print run of 60,000.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
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A BLUE CHRISTMAS The private sector commission is sending a message to the political parties in Guyana: do not expect too much this elections season. A survey of businesses recently revealed that sales were poor during the peak Christmas season. This is a perennial complaint by private businesses. Things are always bad. I have heard the business community come out and say that things are good. None of them are closing down. They enjoyed their Christmas despite the claims that business was poor. Some of the owners of some businesses even spent their holidays abroad. Yet we hear that business was bad. Bad business is usually attributed to a poorly performing economy. The economy did not perform poorly. And those businesses that complained about a blue Christmas surely cannot lay the blame for their alleged
poor sales on the government. After all, the government, as is the case each year, pumped billions into the economy by granting back pay and bonuses to public servants, police and soldiers. Ninety per cent of that money is likely to have gone into the coffers of private businesses. Those private businesses that usually complain about a decline in sales, and how business was not good, usually have a scapegoat. Privately this year, they were saying that it is Chinese that were responsible for their reduced sales. The GRA would be in a better position to shed light as to whether there was an increase in goods imported by the local commercial sector. If there was an increase, then it means there was the demand, and this would make a falsity of the claims that it was the competition from the many Chinese-owned business that are responsible for their alleged decline in sales
volumes. The Private Sector Commission did not this week echo the concerns that are being expressed by private businessmen. They did not complain about either the fair or unfair competition from Chinese-owned businesses. Instead, they said that it was cross-border smuggling that represented the latest threat to business activity in Guyana. When the Private Sector Commission speaks, it usually speaks in the name of big business and it is clear that some big businesses had declining revenue. It was reported, for example, that the profits of one of the country’s leading beverage companies suffered a decline in profits of close to ten per cent. In a growing economy this is a precipitous decline in profits and, of course, a scapegoat has to be found; and the scapegoat is cross-border smuggling. Perhaps the Head of the
Dem boys seh...
Pope seh tell me bout me mudda and ah gun punch yuh Provocation does lead to plenty thing, including murder. De French magazine provoke dem Muslims because de editors feel that dem got a right to seh wha dem want, when dem want and how dem want. Well de Muslim dem seh that dem also have a right to do wha dem want, when dem want and how dem want. Everybody know de result. Even de Pope know that freedom expression got limits. When dem reporter ask he bout wha dem Muslim do, he seh that he Personal Assistant can expect a punch in he face if de man tell he bout he mother. And that is de Pope who does preach love, peace and understanding. But even de Pope seh that is eye pass. And dem boys seh that some MP eyes pass dem. Dem collecting big, fat salary every month. Dem also collecting travelling money and dem don’t go nowhere, not even to dem next door neighbour; entertainment money and dem don’t even buy a Banko wine fuh dem neighbour, telephone money and dem don’t even call dem mattie MP. For three month now dem nah do nutten and dem got de nerve to seh that dem deserve more money. Valerie Lowe, Cathy and Moses who part de back dam trench, seh that dem boys exaggerate. Dem seh is not $166,000 a month as was reported. Dem did want de nation to believe was less. Well dem boys got news
for dem. It wasn’t $166,000. Dem was right. Was $180,000 a month. Thanks fuh de correction. Some of dem gone past $200,000 and some gone past $400,000. Dem boys dare dem fuh send out dem pay slip let de nation see. Dem not-wukking MPs who seh that dem love pensioners and poor people getting 14 times wha dem old people does get. Dem does sit down home and get dem fat, fat cheque. Dem poor old people got to tek rain and sun, and nuff shoving, pulling and tugging in long line fuh hours for a mere $13,000. Nuff time de post office doesn’t got money and dem pensioner got to go back de next day. Dem boys hear when de old people go back de next day, some MP does send dem thiefing family to rob dem poor old people. Dem boys seh that if MP can lie, wha ‘bout an ordinary citizen like Ram. He been in a bar in Queens drinking wid two of he buddies. He tell dem how much he love he wife. Then he start fuh cry. Dem boys hear he cry a lang time. He friend tell dem boys that de crying stop when two White man wid suit and tie walk in and sit down near to he. De next thing de friends look down and see he pants front soak. Talk half and be careful because Parliament got some lying MPs.
Guyana Revenue Authority would like to sit down with the Private Sector Commission so that the captains of industry can share with him what intelligence they have that would have allowed them to conclude that it was competition from goods smuggled across our borders that was posing a threat to established businesses. The bottom line is that if the commercial sector is complaining and if big business in industry and manufacturing are complaining, then the political parties are not going to receive the sort of donations they may expect when the time comes for them to solicit funds for their election campaign.
The private sector is signaling that business was bad, and therefore profits are bad. And if profits are bad, do not expect them to give as generously as they did in the past when it comes to elections. That is going to be bad news for both APNU and the AFC, because they depend on these donations to finance their election campaign. The PPP, however, has no such problem. They do not need any money from the traditional private sector. The PPP can do without such money, because they have the oligarchy to finance exclusively their election campaign, which this time around they have smartly put into competent hands. The same businesses that
complain about poor sales over Christmas will find a way to give a donation to the PPP and to the opposition parties as well. This is how it works. These businesses do not see their campaign funds that they give as representing their support for any political party. It is merely an investment to secure their interests, regardless of who wins. And so they will give to all sides. But not as generously as before. After all, they had a blue Christmas.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Night falls on Stalingrad: The PPP at 65 What is facing the PPP on its 65th birthday is the worst trouble any human being can find him/herself in – the jeopardy of freedom. This explains why the celebrations are so muted. The energy, animation, optimism are not there. When a party in power is facing its final moments, it does not think of celebrations, it is only possessed of fear, the fear of what is to come when mighty people drop down to earth and become mere mortals. At 65, there isn’t a Papa Jagan or Mama Jagan. The Jagans left two biological children, and both think the PPP is a caricature of what their parents created. At 65, the PPP has lost every ounce of moral redemption, every ounce of political decency and every fibre of humanity. At 65, the PPP has not one woman or man that could command any significant level of respect from any level of the
Guyanese society. From Minister Reepu Daman Persaud’s secretary who committed suicide to Jagdeo’s expulsion of his wife from the marital home to Jagdeo’s business friends buying up Guyana to President Ramotar’s unbecoming act of backballing in public at an army party to the miserable doings of Kellawan Lall to the disgraceful behaviour of Priya Manickchand at the US Ambassador ’s home to Nandlall’s encouragement of his relative to sex up a young journalist, this is what the PPP has become as the party reached its 65th birthday. All the signs point to one and only one cul-de-sac – the fall from grace. How will the discarded mandarins face a post-PPP Guyana? If history is any guide, it is not hard to imagine. There will be public humiliation. The Robeson Benns, Charles Ramsons, Manickchands, Westfords,
Teixeiras and their fellow arrogant acolytes cannot display their pomposity and invincibility any longer. I haven’t left out any names deliberately; it is just that people know who these disgraced kings and queens are. They will avoid the public realm. And each time we pass them in the supermarket we should speak to ourselves, but loud enough so they can hear and the words should come from Shakespeare; “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them.” (Julius Caesar – act 3, scene 2) But who says they will go to the supermarkets, stores, restaurants? They will avoid the public realm because the loss of invincibility will be too painful to let others stare at them. The Jagdeos, Ramotars, Gopauls,
Nandlalls, and their powerful allies will no doubt have their day in front of the investigators, and a billion words will run into trillions of pages as to what Guyana went through from 1999 to 2015. Old questions will mingle with new ones. Old curiosities will survive alongside newer ones. Old mysteries will resurface to take their places alongside the new ones that we want to see explained. Who murdered Ronald Waddell? What is the truth behind the killing of Sash Sawh? Who financed the operations of Roger Khan? How much money was spent on Cricket World Cup 2007 and were the funds accounted for? How much was spent on Carifesta and were there financial irregularities? How can a newcomer to the halls of power so quickly build a mansion with swimming pool on the West
Coast of Demerara? How come a mediocre lawyer inhabiting a rat-infested office can so quickly build a house and sell it for a million American dollars soon after joining the corridors of power? How much of the fifty billion Guyanese dollars on wasted projects went into private, foreign bank accounts? What the Guyanese people are seeing today is the crumbling of a Guyanese empire, born in the communist era when the anti-colonial struggle made Stalinists look good (see Mohan Ragbeer, “The Indelible Red Stain: Destruction of a Tropical Paradise” for Cheddi Jagan’s praise of Josef Stalin, the Russian despot). Stalin is long gone, communism is long gone, Cheddi Jagan is long gone, and now, the PPP is set to go. One can well imagine, Clement Rohee rubbishing this article with deafening
Frederick Kissoon decibels of PPP triumphalism as he prepares for his next press conference where bad grammar meets semantic nonsense covered in Mephistophelean evil - the PPP will win the forthcoming elections with a reclaimed majority. But even a school girl who has read just one book on politics would tell you - dictators cannot recognize reality even if it crashes onto their doorstep like an aircraft carrier. As we come closer to the 2015 election, the cemetery of Stalin awaits another burial.
Guyanese missing in Suriname after falling off tug boat Authorities in neighbouring Suriname are still looking for the body of a Guyanese man who fell off a tug boat on Wednesday. Rawle Henry, called ‘Brown’ of Dazell Housing Scheme, Paradise, East Coast Demerara is feared drowned after he fell from the tug he was working on. Relatives told this newspaper last night that they had very little
information on how Henry, a father of one, possibly met his demise. Reports reaching this newspaper, however, indicated that Henry tripped on a rope and fell into the river. “We got news that he fell off the boat,” a relative said. Henry was working with a company that transports logs via river in the Dutch-
Speaking Republic. The incident reportedly occurred just after 17:00 hours, minutes after he had spoken to close relatives in Guyana via telephone. Relatives said that Henry, a former employee of the National Communications Network and CNS Channel Six, recently returned to Suriname after spending the Christmas holidays here.
Friday January 16, 2015
Bitter sugar politics…
AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo The reality that the approval of millions of taxpayers’ dollars for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to rescue the ailing industry was a waste of time, compounded by the poor performance of the “state-of-the-art” Skeldon Sugar Factory, is what led Vice Chairman of the Alliance For Change, Moses Nagamootoo, to the firm conclusion that Guyana is now back to the gloomy days of bitter sugar politics. Nagamootoo made this, among other comments, at his party’s press conference which was held yesterday at the Georgetown Club. He was at the time, referring to a news item in the media which stated that the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) lambasted GuySuCo for its incompetence and subsequently called for a commission of inquiry into the industry. The Union chided the state agency for producing
Kaieteur News
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AFC demands forensic audit of GuySuCo Billions, Skeldon factory sugar at US$40 per pound, harvesting young canes during the second crop, and failing to negotiate a better sales deal with Tate and Lyle. GAWU had also reprimanded GuySuCo, noting that last year’s production of 216,142 was the second lowest production in 24 years. It noted that even this figure was 3,000 tonnes below the corporation’s own target. It was particularly angered by the fact that the sugar corporation harvested immature canes just to reach the 216, 000-tonne target. It warned that such an action will have serious consequences for this year’s target. “The pre-harvesting of young canes on a number of estates during some weeks in November and December, 2014 was not only senseless and costly, but will compromise the production potential of the first crop (this year),” GAWU stated. Nagamootoo, on this premise, said that the AFC supports the call for the inquiry and went beyond this, by calling for a full investigation into all monies given to government by the European Union, as well as a forensic audit into the millions wasted on the Skeldon Sugar factory and the billions given by Parliament to help the cashstrapped company over the years. “I just want to observe that the call made now by GAWU cannot be said to be
some political move, because the head of the Union is a sitting PPP Parliamentarian. Months ago, when renowned Professor Clive Thomas had said that the industry had reached a point of no return, he was dismissed as a doomsday advocate. Now we see what’s happening, the lives of over 1600 works are in jeopardy. “In 2010, Former President Bharrat Jagdeo said that there was a tragedy unfolding in the industry and the Skeldon factory was not showing results. He had said that there were too many mistakes and he would fix it, but Mr. Fix-It didn’t fix it! Now he is fixing elections in Sri Lanka,” Nagamootoo asserted emphatically. The AFC Vice Chairman said that it was felt that a rescue plan would have been implemented, but all the while they were being given false hopes. He then reiterated the AFC’s call for a full scale investigation into the industry. GAWU had also stated that the industry now finds itself more indebted than it was previously, and this has been worsened by poor decision-making on sales with Tate and Lyle. “Suppliers’ payments for service and materials are delayed for months. The present cash flow position of
The beleaguered Skeldon sugar factory the Corporation would not have been in such dire straits had the Corporation agreed in late 2012 to a three-year contract to supply the 190,000 tonnes sugar to the Tate and Lyle market. For three years – 2013, 2014 and 2015 – the Corporation would have been receiving over US$700 per tonne of sugar.
The Corporation insisted on a one-year contract only for 2013, unlike the Jamaican sugar industry which has negotiated with Tate and Lyle a three-year contract for years 2013, 2014 and 2015, and is paid US$750 per tonne sugar. The latest shipments to Tate and Lyle in November/ December, 2014 by GuySuCo
merely attracted US$340 per tonne,” GAWU said. It said too that it believes that while it’s long overdue to have a comprehensive inquiry into the operations of the sugar industry, such inquiry must not be delayed further if the important industry is to be saved from collapse.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
Oil plunges to US$48 per barrel, but little benefits for Guyana World fuel prices have plunged almost 50 percent over the past year, but it is unlikely that Guyanese will feel any significant difference in their pockets anytime soon. That is because airline fares, electricity rates, diesel and gasoline have remained virtually the same. Imported fuel remains one of the biggest costs for Guyana, accounting for a huge chunk of foreign spending. Late last year, Government, as prices fell from US$90 per barrel, raised taxes for gasoline from 20 percent to 40 percent. Diesel was also raised significantly from 15 percent to 35 percent at the same time. Taxes on imported gasoline and diesel have accounted for a significant portion of the country’s revenues. With a number of sectors, like gold and sugar recording dismal performances, the windfall from the fuel tax would be a boon for revenues for Government, but little for consumers.There has not been any reported fare drop for minibuses or taxis. Yesterday, crude hovered around US$48 per barrel, compared to US$90 about a year ago. Several oil-producing countries, like Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, have already downgraded their growth rates. Analysts have been advising Government to pass
the savings on so that the working class can have more disposable income. However, there has been no signal, particularly from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), of moving in this direction. After complaining a number of years that fuel costs have skyrocketed, with consumers being asked to pay a hike in tariffs, it is unlikely any announcements for a reduction will come soon. Neither has the price for diesel gone down much. Diesel is one of the biggest expenses for miners who have been calling for relief after gold on the world market plummeted. Miners purchasing a barrel of diesel and paying $42,000 before the price drop will now pay around $37,000. And this is only because Government this week agreed to drop the 35 percent tax on diesel by 10 percent. At least two big mining companies are reportedly only paying 10 percent tax on imported fuel. Government has granted the miners association a licence to import fuel, but months later, it is unclear what is happening. With regards to air fares, the only airline to have done something about the situation has been LIAT, which announced recently that it is removing a fuel surcharge that had been implemented when fuel had reached over US$100 per barrel. Sol, Regent Street, this
The price for oil has fallen by almost 50 percent on the world market, but Guyana is yet to feel the benefits in a significant way. week was retailing gas for $219.90 per litre while diesel was going for $217. At the Rubis station, Providence, gas was $221 while diesel stood at $222 per litre. Cooking gas has remained around $3,700 for one 20-pound cylinder. The issue of savings being passed on has been heavily debated recently, as oil prices more than halved. A report in USA Today, on Tuesday, said that airlines including Japan Air Lines and Qatar Airways are planning to remove the surcharge. Fuel surcharges are embedded in the price of a ticket, and are especially hefty for international flights. Some power companies around the world have introduced a fuel
surcharge too that is tied to the price of fuel. It is adjusted up and down, depending on the price for oil. The following is a price breakdown on a major U.S. airline’s round-trip ticket
between London and New York in February last year: Base airfare: US$403, Carrierimposed charges: US$458. The carrier-imposed charges, or fuel surcharge, are higher than the cost of the actual
airfare. With a demand for seats on especially the New York/ Guyana route, there is unlikely to be a reduction in ticket prices that will mirror that situation.
E’bo ferry runs aground again The M.V. Sabanto which was transporting passengers to the Good-Hope/Supenaam Ferry Stelling; ran aground in the vicinity of Hog-Island on Wednesday evening, leaving a number of passengers stranded in the Essequibo River until yesterday morning when they were rescued by speedboat operators. The ferry had encountered similar problems
early December last, with the vessel ending up in some bushes aback of Wakenaam. The initial incident involving the M.V. Sabanto took mechanical workers almost a week to render assistance to persons whose vehicles were left stranded on the boat. Wednesday night’s incident saw a number of passengers who were heading to the Essequibo Coast again being stranded for hours due to the boat ending up on a sand bank. A Transport and Harbours official opined late Wednesday that it was a possibility that the M.V. Sabanto was grounded due to the shallow area which the boat was traversing at the time. The official further mentioned that when it was safe, passengers would have been allowed to board the speed boat to Supenaam which they did yesterday morning. The M.V. Sabanto departed the Parika Ferry Stelling after 6 pm and was expected to moor at the Good
Hope/Supenaam Ferry Stelling after 8 pm on Wednesday, before the incident. While concrete information as to what may have caused the ferry to be grounded has not surfaced, a source has indicated that the Chinese-made ferry may have a problem. The source said that the boat may have experienced a computer shut down and when that happens, the vessel would drift and the engine could become stuck in the mud which would pose further difficulty in getting the boat out of the shallow mud. The source further emphasised that the ferry should ply the Supenaam/ Parika route when the tide is high. The M.V. Sabanto after being stuck for hours was able to moor at the Supenaam Ferry Stelling around noon yesterday. Only recently, the Transport and Harbours Department desilted certain locations in the Essequibo River.
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Firefighters control blaze at Durban Street boutique A fire at the Fabulous Plus Size Boutique at Lot A of H Durban Street, Georgetown, was brought under control last evening by firefighters who arrived on the scene promptly after being summoned by concerned residents. According to reports, the fire that was contained to the inside of the three-storey building was the result of an overheated fan that was left on after the close of business yesterday. Moreover, fire officials were all but officially able to confirm that the fire was electrical in origin. This publication was informed that when fire fighters from the Central Fire Station at down town Georgetown arrived on the scene they were forced to break windows in order to put out the fire which had already consumed some clothes on the ground floor of the boutique. However, gaining access to the heavily-grilled business place was no easy task for the firemen. At one
A firefighter attempting to start an electrical chain saw point they could be seen circling the building perhaps looking for a “weak spot� in order to gain entry, but had to resort to the front entrance which they stamped repeatedly, but still were not able to gain entry. As soon as they decided
The Fabulous Plus Size boutique
to resort to the use of an electrical saw, one of the employees of the store arrived with a key. Soon after, the doors were opened allowing for proper ventilation of the building. According to a female
Firefighters desperately trying to gain entrance to the boutique employee of the store who arrived on the scene while fire fighters were working to gain entry, the business place was closed around 17:30 hours yesterday.
She said while she was not aware of the cause of the fire, she was told that it was the result of a burnt-out fan. She disclosed that several pieces of clothing in the
building were destroyed, but was unable at the time to speak of the extent of the damage. She however divulged that the building is insured.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
Fish vendor gets 60 months Businessman remanded on for brazen robbery illegal gun, ammo charges
A fish vendor of Meadow Bank, East Bank Demerara who robbed a man of a hefty sum of cash at gunpoint in broad daylight has been jailed for 60 months. Othello Duncan had spent the past two months as a remand prisoner before he was sentenced on an armed robbery charge by Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday. On July 25, 2013 at the Meadow Bank Wharf, Duncan was armed with a gun when he robbed Hayman Handit of $316,000 in cash. According to the Prosecution’s case, on the day in question around 10:30 hrs, Handit was at Meadow Bank, when Duncan and other another individual approached him. Duncan placed a firearm to the victim’s head and demanded that he “hand over the cheese” while his accomplice, ‘Chippy,’ reportedly cut the man’s pocket and the cash fell. According to Inspector Shellon Daniels, who prosecuted, they picked up the cash and fled the scene. The ordeal lasted for several minutes and Duncan managed to evade the clutches of the police for over a year. On November 8 last year when he was caught and subsequently charged. When he appeared before
Convicted: Othello Duncan Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, he pleaded not guilty and a trial subsequently got underway before Magistrate Latchman. He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Melville Duke. When called to lead his defence on Wednesday, Duncan offered an unsworn testimony and denied any involvement in the crime. He said every morning he goes to work at 03:00 hours and comes off at 09:00 hours. The fish vendor was granted leave to call two witnesses to testify on his behalf, but no one came forth yesterday. As she ruled, Magistrate Latchman said that she disbelieved that he knew nothing of the crime and said that the conviction was based on the strength of the Prosecution’s case. She believed that Duncan’s intention that day was to
deprive Haley of his items and that violence was clearly used to attain that end. She said that the court had considered the evidence presented by the Prosecution and had found Griffith guilty as charged. As focus shifted to antecedents, the court heard that this was the first time Duncan had been charged. Addressing the court during mitigation, Duke said that Duncan is a father of two who works tirelessly to provide for his family. According to him, Duncan had been employed at the Fishery for the past 13 years. He said his client’s imprisonment would be a severe blow to his family and asked the court to be lenient in sentencing. Duke asked the court to consider restitution in lieu of sentencing. In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Latchman stated that she had considered the mitigating factors as well as the fact that he had been incarcerated for two months. She considered too that a gun had been used in the commission of the crime, and the prevalence of armed robberies. “I have considered too that there is a need to prevent others from contemplating committing this offence as well as you yourself.” His lawyer gave oral notice of his intentions to appeal the sentence.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
A 40-year-old businessman held for an illegal gun and matching ammunition found in his house during a police search, has been remanded to prison. Police made the find in the wee hours of the yesterday morning, and it was hours after that Rabindra Rampersaud was brought to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to respond to two counts of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition. According to the Police, Rampersaud, an unlicenced firearm holder, was busted with a .38 Taurus Pistol and 33 matching rounds of live ammunition at his Block ‘Z,’ Schoonord, West Bank Demerara residence yesterday. Appearing before the Chief Magistrate, Rampersaud pleaded not guilty to the charges and submitted an application for bail through his attorney, Ronald Burch-Smith. Police Prosecutor, Corporal Bharat Mangru said that acting on a tip-off, a party of police ranks went to Rampersaud’s house and conducted a search in the
Rabindra Rampersaud presence of the businessman and his wife. He explained that the gun and rounds of ammunition were found in a closet. The court heard that when the couple was shown the items, the wife denied possession of it, while Rampersaud confessed that it belonged to him. The businessman was taken into custody and charged. According to the Prosecutor, the businessman claims that he had applied twice for a gun licence over the past ten years but had been refused, so he bought the illegal weapon. The Corporal objected to
the businessman being allowed his pre-trial liberty, citing the serious nature and prevalence of the offence. He argued too that no special reasons had been raised for bail. In his bid for bail, BurchSmith said his client, a father of two, is well known in the West Demerara area and owns several stalls at the Bourda Market. Rampersaud, he said, had never been arrested or charged prior to this incident. He said Rampersaud is going through a divorce and has been threatened by his wife on several occasions. Burch-Smith said his client has been living in fear of something like this happening for some time. The lawyer contended that the businessman is not a flight risk and added that society has no reason to fear him. Notwithstanding his application, bail was refused and the case was transferred to the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrates’ Court. Rampersaud is slated to appear there next Monday, January 19.
MPs earn more than... (From page 6) of the day. We have outreaches and visits to several places in Guyana on a regular basis—-three to four times a week even, so it’s not as if our work has stopped. “We are not walking into the halls of the Parliament, regrettably, but our work continues,” the politician added. She added that if the PPP Members of Parliament are willing to forego their payments in that capacity, then she and her colleagues would be more than happy to follow suit. Nagamootoo added that those government MPs collecting the “million-dollar entitlement” should donate their monies to “some poor institution.” Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, will receive from January 1, a monthly parliamentary salary of $1.6 million in addition to a duty allowance, an entertainment allowance, which together is just $2,000. He also collects a travelling allowance and his telephone bills are paid. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds is paid the second highest salary – $1.5 million a month. And he receives allowances and benefits similar to those paid to Nandlall. Parliamentarians who are Ministers of the Government are paid a salary of $579,000 per month. Many of these are
also paid a ministerial salary. There are 17 of those, so at the end of the month, that adds up to close to over $10 million. Add their housing and chauffeur allowances, and you get another $2.1 million. Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, is paid $198,694 plus other allowances by the Parliament. However, the government told the National Assembly that Teixeira earns $800,000 per month. AFC MP Trevor Williams said that the Kaieteur News article also carried the misconception that the telephone and travel bills of Opposition MPs are paid as well. He produced his pay slip from the Parliament, and said that it is unreasonable to state that such services are paid for when the telephone allowance is $20 per month, entertainment allowance is $250 and duty allowance is $150. “The telephone allowance, I think, would equate to voice message cost,” he added. But the records show that the parliament pays their cell phone and landline bills. Williams stressed, “It’s unfair to be reporting to the public like this without proper and thorough investigation of the facts. Also, it suggests that if we don’t meet in parliament then there should be no payment. “There are instances
when we don’t meet for a month; even though it’s not prorogued, and we are paid our salaries … We got in the Parliament because we have been working outside. We aren’t just sitting on the street. We are concerned about how the taxpayers’ monies are being spent, but anyone can pick up the phone and call MPs to find out thorough details on what they are being paid.” Hughes said, “The information in the article is definitely inaccurate. We want to encourage our journalists to operate to a higher standard. Call us anytime as you do.” However, while the AFC held that view, Kaieteur News had premised its initial article based on a document (see accompanying chart) obtained from the National Assembly which shows the monthly rates of salaries and allowances of MPs as at January 1, 2015. The salaries of Parliamentarians, including the Speaker’s, together adds up to $22.8 million monthly. If you multiply that by six, it means that in the time since the last sitting of the House, Parliamentarians have been paid $136 million to do nothing. If you add up the allowances over that time, you might want to put in a few million dollars more.
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 15
Duty free concessions for eligible teachers is frontburner issue for union While Government’s intervention is crucial to get a number of issues affecting teachers addressed, there have been indications of support coming from the main parliamentary opposition party – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). In fact, according to President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mark Lyte, a meeting to this effect was held during the latter part of 2014 between the GTU Executive and officials of APNU. He related that at that meeting the APNU recognised that issues affecting teachers must be addressed and therefore there is need for these to be addressed forthwith. Moreover, APNU committed to amplifying issues affecting the country’s teachers. According to Lyte, the outcome of the meeting was
the two sides arriving at an agreement to ensure that meetings to address the issues affecting teachers be a sustained feature. Some of the issues that have remained on the front burner of the GTU’s agenda include the lack of duty free concessions for vehicles for Head and Deputy Head teachers. This was particularly highlighted Lyte when he spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. Lyte was accompanied by his General Secretary, Coretta McDonald, and Administrative Field Officer, Lancelot Baptiste. Speaking of the duty free concession situation, Lyte said that the GTU has over the years submitted several lists of the names of teachers who qualified for a one-off duty free concession. He disclosed that “we have submitted names that would go right back to 2009
GTU officials during Wednesday’s press conference. for those teachers who did not receive their duty free concessions when they were eligible, and as such we were expecting the Ministry to ensure that those teachers receive their duty free concessions...lo and behold,
Guyana, Suriname to meet on minibus stalemate A new measure of Suriname that requires local bus drivers to apply for a licence to operate in that country contradicts agreements in place, Government said yesterday. A meeting is now being arranged between the two countries to iron out the contentious issue. Guyanese minibus drivers have been complaining that they are barred from operating in that country. Their Surinamese counterparts claim that they are losing business and Guyanese drivers are picking up passengers, crossing on the Moleson Creek ferry and driving all the way to the capital, Parimaribo. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on December 19th, the
Foreign Minister, Carolyn RodriguesBirkett
Surinamese Foreign Minister, Winston Lackin
Embassy of Guyana in Paramaribo was informed by four minibus operators that the Surinamese authorities had instituted new requirements for buses plying the route to the capital. “More specifically, they indicated that the new
requirement is that they have to transport the identical passengers they brought from Guyana on their return from Suriname. Needless to say this requirement is impractical given that persons have varying lengths of stay (Continued on page 16)
2014 came to an end and these were not granted.” “We are saying that this in itself is an injustice meted out to our teachers who would have laboured in this profession for over 30 years, only to have to leave the profession without having that duty free concession given to them,” said Lyte. But he is yet hopeful. According to the GTU Head, he is optimistic that during the first quarter of this year,
the process will be expedited so that teachers who have thus far been denied their duty free concessions will be so endowed. “We hope that those responsible will act swiftly,” added Lyte. He went on to disclose that the GTU is also dissatisfied with the debunching process. This process should be one that places teachers in various salary scale categories based
on their years of service. This agreement, according to Lyte, was signed in 2011, but to date, no teacher has been able to benefit from it. “One may want to say that the process wasn’t clear,” said Lyte, as he pointed out that in September of last year a Task Force completed its work in ensuring that the way was paved for the monies to be paid to teachers. “Again the year came to an end and nothing was done,” said the GTU President as he disclosed that the Union had even written to the Education Minister asking that a response on the matter be forthcoming within three days. But according to him, “to date we have not received a response from the Ministry of Education. We are saying that this approach is unacceptable and we will not sit by and allow these things to continue to happen to our teachers.” Moreover, Lyte shared his desire to see that something be done quickly so that teachers who deserve the additional incentive (through the de-bunching process) be given such.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
M&CC reports poor progress in 2014 By Zena Henry Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green has reported poor progress for the year 2014. Given the instability between the executive and administrative sectors of the Council, the Mayor related that none of the decisions made by Full Council during their statutory meetings were fulfilled. Just after the placement of Carol Sooba as acting Town Clerk by the Local Government Ministry, the Council has been divided with the Mayor and Councilors complaining that the Town Clerk refuses to carry out their decisions, while the administrative head cites sections of the law which she says give her power to override some of the Council’s decisions or warrant the intervention of the Local Government Ministry. During a city walkabout which highlighted the ongoing environmental issues plaguing the city yesterday, Mayor Green related that “2014 progress has been very unsatisfactory.” When asked, the Mayor said, “All of our (Council’s) proposals;
Town Clerk (ag) Carol Sooba solid waste, clean-ups for example, were all frustrated by Sooba and (Local Government Minister) Norman Whittaker.” The Mayor said that nothing was achieved with the current Town Clerk and the incumbent minister in place. According to him, the Council is well aware of the issues plaguing Georgetown, but the political surroundings have prevented the efficient functioning of the body. The continued denial of Local Government Elections and the commissioning of a Local Government Commission have both been acts of the government, he opined, and
attributed their absence to the political grip that the government has on the Council. The Mayor had gone through the Stabroek Market, where he met with several stall holders who expressed their concern about various difficulties they face. He had visited also the Stabroek wharf which is in need of immediate repairs. The wharf area is dilapidated and has already been deemed an unsafe location. A man was hospitalized mid-last year when one of the structure’s beams had fallen on his head, rendering him unconscious. The structure continues to fall apart, but daily, persons continue to conduct business there. The Mayor blamed the Ministry for the deterioration of the wharf, since he claimed that the measures put in place by the Council over the years to aid in the financial upkeep of the structure have been shut down or taken over by the government. One such measure, he pointed out, included the introduction of the current speedboat operations at the wharf which allows for operators to pay a fee. To date there is no reason why the government
...as Mayor/Town Clerk feud persists
Mayor Hamilton Green (centre) met with Stabroek Market stallholders yesterday transferred this initiative to an agency where they (government) have direct control, Green claimed. In the presence of several stallholders and passersby who converged to hear the Mayor’s remarks, he outlined other areas where the Council failed. He said staffers were hired and fired without the Council’s knowledge; staffers were not paid when they were supposed to, equipment was not purchased when decisions were made and the Local Government Ministry intervened in matters out of their scope, among other issues. The Council has however passed a fifth no-confidence motion against the sitting Town Clerk. On Monday last, the motion was tabled, seconded and passed by two Council members. When asked, Mayor Green said that, “Sooba and her cabal are trying to push us (Council) to inappropriate action. We have
moved the fifth motion, setting out quite clearly the bad behaviour of the lady. In any normal democratic society she should step aside, because at the moment the Constabulary is investigating criminal charges which we have brought against her for doing things without the fiat of the Council.” Mayor Green went on to say that in light of the unsuccessful experiences that the Council had with previous no-confidence motions, they are depending on city dwellers to express their dissatisfaction with the manner in which Georgetown is being managed. The Mayor admitted that Georgetown lacks proper management and sufficient finances, but he believes that the matter can be addressed if the powers that be, want it fixed. The recently passed noconfidence motion pointed out several reasons why Sooba should go. It related to
the court quashing her appointment to Town Clerk status by the Local Government Minister, her inability to manage her post, her refusal to call staff meetings on the Council’s request, refusal to adhere to Council’s decisions, making decisions without the Council’s knowledge, spending money without the Council’s knowledge and hiring staffers and not paying them. In July of last year, Sooba said that under her management the Council was moving forward despite the split between the two sides. During a press conference attended by all the Council’s officers, she had spoken about $500M slated for the city cleanup project, specifically Le Repentir Cemetery’s rehabilitation, the restoration of City Hall’s building and the rehabilitation of the Stabroek Market – the latter two of which are still to commence.
Guyana, Suriname to meet on... (From page 15) and passengers might also be traveling one way only. The Embassy immediately contacted the Surinamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs who promised to speak with their custom authorities and revert with information pertaining to the issue.” Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn RodriguesBirkett, intervened after there were no updates. On December 24th, she spoke to her Surinamese c o u n t e r p a r t , Wi n s t o n Lackin “explaining that the new requirement has serious implications for free movement between the two countries, especially since tourism and general
movement between Guyana and Suriname have been growing. Minister Lackin promised to get more information on the matter and that he will do his best to have it resolved”. According to the Ministry, the Embassy of Guyana also continued to follow up with the Foreign Ministry in Suriname, but no formal transmission of the new requirements has been received to date. “In the meantime, the Ministry has recently learnt that another requirement instituted by the Surinamese authorities is that Guyanese operators need to apply for a license to operate from Guyana to Paramaribo. This
requirement and the one previously mentioned are inconsistent with the Cross Border Protocol of October 22, 1998.” Yesterday, the Minister again spoke with Lackin and “they both recognize the good neighborly relations that exist between Guyana and Suriname, which has in part facilitated the increase movement of people between the two countries. They have agreed that the resolution of the matter is urgent and that a meeting between the two sides must be convened soonest. The necessary arrangements are being made for the meeting to take place.”
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 25
Albion man to stand Bee attack shuts down Stella Maris trial for wife’s murder - school to re-open Monday
Some of the closed classrooms after the attack
Accused: Prabhudyal ‘Ramesh’ Tarachand
Dead: Geeta “Diane’ Bhishundial
Prabhudyal ‘Ramesh’ Tarachand, 34, of High Reef, Albion, Corentyne, who is accused of strangling his 28year-old wife Geeta Devi ‘Diane’ Bhishundial, at their home on Sunday June 2, 2013, was on Tuesday last, committed to stand trial in the next session of the Berbice High Court on a charge of murder. This was after the completion of a Preliminary Inquiry which was held before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh in the Albion Magistrate’s Court. It was determined that a prima facie case had been made out against him. The accused is being represented by attorney at law Mursaline Bacchus. Prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Sheriff told the court that on the day in question, around 21:00 hrs, the two were involved in a misunderstanding at their residence during which time the woman was strangled. It is alleged that the quarrel was as a result of a suspected triangular love affair involving Bhishundial, Tarachand, and another man. The other man was allegedly in the vicinity at the time. The woman’s lifeless body was reportedly discovered on a bed in the living room. Tarachand, a carpenter at the Albion Estate, after he allegedly committed the act, is said to have drank a quantity of paint ‘thinners’ and tried to hang himself with a cord in a room next door. He was reportedly cut down just in time and the two were rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital where the woman was pronounced
dead. Tarachand was transferred to the New Amsterdam hospital. Tarachand and the other man were subsequently arrested and placed in custody and after investigations, Tarachand was charged with the crime. The couple’s three children are currently living with their maternal grandparents. Defence counsel Mursaline Bacchus had put forward a no case submission in which he argued that there was no case for his client to answer. He had submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove that his client had committed the act. Prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Sheriff in his submission had relied on the evidence which he stated was overwhelming. He said that there were enough motives for the accused to have committed the act, citing the case where he tried to kill himself. During the PI, the prosecution called a number of witnesses, including Police Officer Howard Barlow, Detective Corporals Andrew Ward and Primus Sam and Detective Constables Emanuel Rajnauth and Aulden Reynolds; and the deceased woman’s parents, Inshan and Khemranie Bhishundial. Also called to the witness stand was the man who was at the centre of the misunderstanding and turned prosecution star witness, Brian Luke. The post mortem examination conducted by Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan at the Port Mourant Hospital gave the cause of death as manual strangulation.
Pandemonium broke out in the Stella Maris Primary School compound yesterday when a swarm of bees launched an attack on students there, shutting down operations at the institution for the day. When it ended, at least two students had been stung. Luckily, their injuries were not life-threatening. According to reports, early yesterday, as the children were making their way into the compound, a swarm of bees was observed hovering around at the gate. However, no one paid much attention to the insects. It was a little after 09:00 hrs yesterday, when chaos erupted. This newspaper was informed that the bees were seen in a classroom flying around. Before the children were able to vacate their classroom, a child was stung. According to a teacher, when she arrived at work early yesterday, she first noticed a swarm of bees but did not sense any imminent danger. “After I saw the first set of bees, I didn’t pay much attention, but then I saw them again. I looked around and noticed there were a lot of them flying in the compound.
Several students leaving the compound yesterday
Some of them were in a classroom, so we had to move the children,” the teacher related. She added that they then telephoned the Ministry of Education and were advised to call in parents and send the children home. “The Ministry sent people to spray around the place. We really can’t say where the bees came from, they just appeared, but I guess they were not the Africanized bees,” the teacher said. When Kaieteur News arrived at the school, children were still in the compound, preparing to leave. Vendors were also seen packing up their stalls. One vendor said that the
bees were around her snackette, but she made to effort to chase them from there. “I know when you trouble those things, it does be problems so I just continued selling, and I notice they eventually moved,” the woman recounted. She said that she later saw the children leaving the compound and when she enquired, she was informed that the school was “taken over by bees”. “They were honey bees, because they didn’t really sting a lot of people, just those two children, and they went home,” the vendor said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education via release
indicated that it had been brought to its attention that sessions were disrupted at the Stella Maris Nursery and Primary Schools after a swarm of bees from a nest outside the schools’ compound entered the buildings. The Ministry informed parents and guardians that “all necessary precautions have been taken and the nest has been removed. The area has also been cleared.” It was stated that further checks will be conducted today “to ensure the health and safety of the children and staff of the schools”, and both the Nursery and Primary sections will re-open on Monday, January 19.
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Kaieteur News
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Friday January 16, 2015
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Toyota Prado, Price$5.5M Neg. Call: 643-2403
Female general worker to work at Harmony Inn (Shift System) @ Georgetown & Parfaite Harmonie – Call:2180221; 218-1400
1 RZ Super GL – Call: 2332055; 625-9896 Pitbull Bus - $3.250M, VVTI Bus - $2.675M, Runx $2.275M, 212 -$2.150M, Allion -$2.4M, Raum $2.250M, Sienta - $2.100M – Call:623-6070 Nissan Titan for sale; immaculate condition, owner leaving country - Call: 6414556
Lincoln 500 AMP diesel welders with Perkins 4 cylinder engine - Tel#650-0402 Transformer: 25KVA industrial single phase 480/ 240/120V U.S.A PAD MOUNTED– Tel: 623-9761 Panel/Fancy Glass Doors @ HADCO in Bagotstown Public Road, Next to Harbour Bridge Mall – Call: 233-6743
1 Honda 600RR, Toyota 212, 192, 170, Raum, Allion, IST, AE100 Sprinter, Honda CRV Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453
Fully reconditioned; 6 head Robinson wood, planer for sale – Contact: 642-3828; 6680097
One Toyota Prado - PFF8555 Contact Partners in Rural Development- Tel 226-5891, 2277839 1 Pitbull minibus, stick gear, BPP series, mag rims- $2.2M neg. Call: 673-7652 1 Mit Lancer PKK Series; good condition – Contact: 683-0150
Generator – 65KVA Perkins 4236 Engine – Tel: 623-9761
400 LB Cat guts, 5 inch for sale: 695-9860; 698-8998 Plastic shipping Barrel - $6,000 Tel: 603-8643/ 621-7497 VACANCY One male security guard for the night - Contact: 225-8205
CATERING Catering for conference, retreats, weddings, re-union, family fun day and special events. Phone: 264-2946-8 CAR RENTAL
ACCOMMODATION
DOLLY’S CAR RENTAL CALL: 225-7126/ 2263693 DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM/ WWW.DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL.COM
Harmony Inn Apartments: comfortable & clean apartments & rooms - $5000, $6,000 & $7,000 – Tel:6680306; 218-1400; 694-7817. Your luxury hideaway……
A i d a n ’s C a r & P i c k u p rental, cheap rate, low security - Tel:698-7807; 690-6494
Aracari Hotel 24 HRs: AC, Cable, Wi-Fi, Restaurant & Bar, Pool & Gym, Salon & Spa & more. Rates from $45 Call: 264-2946-8
Money Back guarantee; cleaner, clearer younger looking skin in two weeks, also flatter stomach – Call: 684-9409; 699-4211
WANTED
Toyota Spacio, Body Kit, Rims, spoiler, CD player; never registered - $2.1M – Call: 617-2891 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154
Brand new power fist, 6,500 watts gasoline generator on wheels 110/240 volts AC/DC Contact: 617-2205; 681-1032
Executive houses & apartments - Tel: 223-8479; 647-3768 www.spaceseek.gy
HEALTH LEARN TO DRIVE
1- 10,000 Watts alternator (new), 1-small diesel engine (used) – Call: 669-7224
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Inner Retreat Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Retreat Road Parika. Indoor / Outdoor bar in Picturesque setting – Phone: 260-4504; 685-6934
6X6 Truck & 6X6 long front alligator tractor in excellent condition – price $5.5M – Call: +1-347-865-3762, 6677512, 619-5784 Raum for sale - Price $950,000. Very good condition Contact: 642-1305 & 264-2954 One Toyota Hilux 1988-22R Engine, Solid differential asking - $350,000 “as is, where is” – Tel: 699-1546
One experienced cook to work in snackette- Call: 2230955; 697-4326 (between 9am-5pm) One barber, nail technician & hairdresser – Call: 2255360; 625-7844; 687-7566 1 Live in domestic or maid to work; salary $50,000 monthly; age 25-45 - Call: 675-7043; 688-5409 or 6645199 One babysitter; one maid. Attractive Salary. Call:6388033 One cook for family in the interior – Tel: 691-6260 Sales clerk to work @ Nanda’s Boutique 223 Camp St. Next to Shell Gas Station, apply with application 2 Experienced salesgirls, $18,000 per week – Call: 2239677 between 8am-5pm Experienced Roti/Puri Cooks, Pastry makers, cleaners – apply @ Hack’s Halaal, 5 Commerce Street. One live-in maid; must know to cook; preferably from country area – Tel: 691-6260 1 Live in housekeeper and Te a c h e r t o g i v e c h i l d lesson in Diamond – Call: 675-8101 Urgently needed two house lots to buy in Parfaite Harmonie - Tel: 675-7292 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 One able bodied male clerk @ Tatabu Trading Enterprise – Call:225-2313; 226-1497 Porters wanted to work at grocery stalls @ Stabroek Market – Tel:226-9800 1 Female cleaner; apply @ Technical Services Lot 1823 Industrial Site Eccles. One live in handyman to work in G/Town – Call: 6645199; 675-7045
WANTED
Salesgirl to work in Georgetown, between ages 25-35 - Call: 674-1767, 6422994, 675-7043
Musicians to play in a Bar at Parika, Bass guitar, rhythm guitar, head guitar and vocals Phone: 685-6934
1 Live in domestic between age 30-45, salary $60,000 monthly – Call: 674-1767; 661-1301
Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic –Call: 219-5354 Mon-Sat between 8:15-4:15
Drivers for canter lorry to sell water - $25,000 & Porter to work on water truck$18,000 (WCD) Call:6848231; 629-4236.
Live in Husband and wife Driving & domestic duties, excellent rates - Tel:227-1830
(Continued on page 31)
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 31
Guyana- Suriname Trade Mission is an important step – President Ramotar President Donald Ramotar has welcomed the high-level Suriname Trade Mission to Guyana, describing it as an important step, not only for business, but for the integration of the two nations. Addressing members of the local and Surinamese private sectors, at a welcoming reception at the Princess Hotel last evening, the president said that some have often expressed disappointment with the pace of integration, but added that it not just the job of governments, rather it will be achieved when real links are forged in the economy. The development of the two Caricom neighbours which share a border, he said is important to “developing the quality of life for our people”. The private sectors of both nations can build not only partnerships, but also new links and expand their businesses and strengthen them. The president expressed the hope that more initiatives such as the trade
mission could occur across the region. The fact that both countries have large expanses of land and natural resources, and have achieved a measure of food security, could be used to their advantage, he explained. It was noted that Caricom’s annual bill estimated food import bill of US$4 billion is one area that could see mutual cooperation. He said that during his recent trip to Cuba for the Caricom -Cuba Summit, this estimate was mentioned to President Raul Castro. “I mentioned that if you add Cuba it would be US$5 billion and President Raul Castro said ‘No, put two’ making it US$6 billion that we import in food”. This is but one area where Guyana and Suriname could pool their resources to impact on the region as a whole. A suggestion was also made by President Ramotar for some of the trade regimes to be unified, for example to cut down on smuggling and maximise the benefits for the people of both countries.
WANTED
Urgently needed; attractive waitresses - Tel: 686-3116 1 Female to do ironing – Tel: 233-5755 CAKES & PASTRIES Enroll Now! Cake Decoration, cakes & Pastries, floral arrangement- Classes start February 9th Contact Sharon: 223-3303; 672-8768; 612-4193
President Donald Ramotar This, he said, could be done for resources such as gold which is non- renewable. In closing, he indicated that the initiative was indeed welcomed by government and expressed the hope that it would grow from strength to strength.
Letters... Where your views make the news
No manipulation or discrimination... From page 4 across their network, to have a line with an optical cable incorporated within or attached to the outside of, or alongside. GPL Inc., for some time, has had a Power Line Carrier (PLC) system operating between Garden of Eden and Sophia Control Centre, and the recently completed transmission-upgrade incorporates an optical cable across the 69kV transmission network. Optical cables are now essential for modern, computerized systems control (SCADA), and, yes, there is additional capacity which can be leased to others. The existing ESRA and the new, draft Telecommunications Law, speak to utilities working together, providing access, collocating, sharing, but with no discrimination, on an even playing field. Any preferential treatment can be challenged in court. · This Government is against all types of crime, whether petty, serious, violent, ‘white-collar’, or drugtrafficking; and in the case of electricity-theft, we go after all – the many, small illegal connections, the sophisticated by-passes, and the direct connections. One would be aware that different degrees of “knowledge” are involved in stealing electricity from GPL Inc. and contractors, “knowledge” such as would be had by current and past employees of GPL Inc. GPL Inc. stays watchful and alert, and has a
high turn-over in areas where knowledge required to provide electricity may be used to provide un-metered electricity. · I want to assure my colleague MPs, Greenidge and Harmon, that I have no desire to stigmatize anyone. There is no glory, no achievement, in that. What I want is a change in our electricity culture, and the avoidance of huge investments to fight electricitystealing, which might bring little returns. I am keeping the faith that our people will follow their leaders, once they are given a consistent message – explicitly, implicitly, and ‘body language’. I beg forgiveness if I am wrong, but the language of my colleagues, Harmon and
(From page 30)
Office clerk senior clerk/ junior CXC English / Mathematics an Asset –Call: 219-5354 One Accounts Clerk – Tel:627-2550; 699-7782
Greenidge, in my view, provide excuses, if not justification, for electricity-stealing, and is not helpful, most of all, to those who look to them for leadership. I call again on my colleagues and, indeed, all leaders, to lead those with whom they have some standing, into right paths which bring sound success and satisfaction. My colleague MP, Greenidge, could put his mind at ease, for the IDB $$M are being well spent, well applied, in increasing our understanding and identification of electricity-losses. As usual, the IDB is keeping a watchful eye on how the money is being used, in keeping with its procedures. Samuel A. A. Hinds, O.E., M.P. Prime Minister.
TO LET Fully Furnished vacation home with all amenities- Call during working hours – Call: 227-1218. One two bedroom house to rent in Grove East Bank Demerara – Call: 266-0892; 681-1047 One flat, 4 self contained bedrooms in a gated community (Versailles) on the West Coast of Demerara. Contact: 658-1328 Furnished two bedroom apartment for short term/ overseas visitors – Contact: 699-7559
MASSAGE Happy Touch Day Spa: Come & Experienced heavens touch, visit us today! – 668-4554 FOR SALE/FOR RENT American Pool Table – Tel: 277-0578
One Two bedrooms house Contact Joy: 218-1285 One bedroom apartment for couple ($30,000) monthly – Call: 223-3959 or 660-9463 One two bedroom apartment at Parfaite Harmonie, W.B.D, Price $30,000 (monthly) – Tel: 697-1686 Three bedrooms upper flat concrete building, parking $70,000 monthly @ Block 8 Agriculture Road E.C.D – Call: 687-1050
EDUCATIONAL Child care, care for elderly, body massage, dressmaking, cakes & pastries, cake decoration – Contact: 264-1052; 663-7930 Certificate in: Cosmetology, nails, wig designs, early child care/ care for elderly classes commence February Call: 666-5241/ 619-7603 Computerized Accounting Quick Books; Peach Tree; Excel 2013 @ Micrographics , Vreed-EnHoop: 264-3057 9 Courses Diploma In computers: offices 2013, IT - $30,000 @ Micrographics , Vreed-En-Hoop: 264-3057 Balloon Decorating Classes. January 31st – Call: 225-3133 or 613-7513 for more information & registration Earn a certificate in cosmetology or nails alone – Call Miss Jenny: 2255360; 625-7844; 687-7566
PROPERTY FOR SALE Houses & house lots for sale in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities, located @ Eccles E.B.D – Tel:2272913; 683-3033
LAND FOR SALE PROPERTY FOR SALE Land with small concrete house; for sale in Grove over 8,000 Sq. Ft. Call: 612-4030; 216-2759 2 Bedrooms flat concrete house and land furnished located @ Ocean View, Uitvlught West Coast Demerara – Price $3.7M. Call: 687-0930 Commercial Properties on Regent Street (double & single lot, Size: 81X113 & 41X115- Call: 223-8479/6473768 or www.spaceseek.gy Executive house in Bel Air Park waiting to be designed by you - Call: 223-8479/6473768 or www.spaceseek.gy Double lot property 33A Lamaha Street, Newtown Kitty – Just off Vlissengen Road –Contact: 231-4691 Executive houses located in Georgetown, E.C.D & E.B.D - Call: 223-8479/647-3768 or www.spaceseek.gy 2 Storied concrete house with 3 bedrooms at 8th Street Foulis Housing Scheme – Call: 256-3360; 685-8485
1500 Acres Transported Land @ Bartica 2 ¾ miles River Front, Virgin Rock, Quarry Resort – Call Mark: 704-465-2222/603-1266 Double Land (300X100) @ Lot 7 Tuschen E.B.E – Call: 672-2215 Eccles - $4.5M, Tuschen $3M, Providence - $5.5M, Herstelling - $5.5M, Parfaite Harmonie - $1.5M, $1.6M – Tel: 675-7292; 652-2018 Lot 12 Mon Repos E.C.D – Tel: 220-7330 House Lots in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities @ Eccles, 60X100 - $7.5M. (Special prices) – Call: 227-2913; 6833033 Eccles: Commercial lots for sale at Eccles – Tel:227-2913. Cell: 683-3033 1. Parika, Peter Street; 2. Blankenburg, behind gas station lot size: 75’X76' (3 parcels)= Contact 650-0402 Located in Republic Gardens, Peters Hall, E.B.D. Interest person – Contact: 231-5359 or 672-7189
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
US-Cuba travel and trade: New rules start today New travel and trade rules between the US and Cuba are to take effect today, US officials say. Measures include allowing US citizens to use credit cards in Cuba and for US businesses to export some technologies. Americans will be able to take home up to $100 (£66) in alcohol and tobacco from Cuba. Correspondents say it means the US ban on Cuban cigars is over. The move implements last month’s agreement to reestablish ties severed since 1961. Although the latest moves put a large dent in the US trade embargo against Cuba, only Congress can lift it completely. Earlier this week, US officials said Cuba had completed the release of 53 political prisoners agreed as part of the historic deal. “Today’s announcement takes us one step closer to replacing out-of-date policies that were not working and puts in place a policy that helps promote political and economic freedom for the Cuban people,” said US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in a statement.White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the changes would “immediately enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy”.
Barack Obama
Raul Castro While it still bans ordinary tourism, the new regulations will allow US citizens to travel to Cuba for any of a dozen specific reasons without first obtaining a special licence from the government. US credit and debit cards can be used there and there will be no more limits on how much money US citizens can spend in Cuba each day. About 170,000 authorised US travellers went to Cuba last year, according to the US Department of Commerce. US firms will also find it easier to export mobile phones and software to Cuba, as well as provide internet services there. Cuba currently has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world - estimated at about 5% by the White House.
A change in the regulations will also allow US investments in some small businesses and agricultural operations. The thaw in relations between the two countries was announced last month in simultaneous televised speeches by President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro. Later this month, US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson will lead a delegation to Cuba to discuss migration issues. They will be the first highlevel talks since the easing of relations was announced. President Obama used his executive powers to ease the embargo, defying hardline critics. Analysts say Congress is unlikely to agree to lift the embargo completely any time soon. Cuban-American Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Mr Obama’s policy would harm ordinary Cubans. “This is a windfall for the Castro regime that will be used to fund its repression against Cubans,” he said in a statement. (BBC News)
Now is a good time for business expansion in Jamaica, says PM KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller says that now is a good time for businesses to invest and expand their operations in Jamaica, given the significant improvement in the management of the economy and the reduction in world oil prices. The Prime Minister made the statement as she spoke to company executives, workers and journalists following a tour of Lasco’s new liquid manufacturing plant in White
Marl, St Catherine, on Wednesday. “The business climate is better and this view is supported by the World Bank, the reputable Forbes Magazine and local business confidence surveys,” the prime minister noted, adding that “the lowering of world oil prices is providing a cushion and a window for business consolidation and strategic expansion”. Commenting on the savings that companies are
Portia Simpson Miller now able to enjoy from the reduction in oil prices, Simpson- Miller commended businesses that have in turn reduced prices for consumers or reinvested their savings with a focus on expansion and job creation. The prime minister said investment with job creation is the way forward to continue to grow the Jamaican economy. (Jamaica Observer)
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
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PetroCaribe will continue, Swiss central bank stuns says Venezuela president market with policy U-turn CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday that the PetroCaribe agreement will continue its path toward the consolidation and transformation of a great economic zone between the regional countries that are involved. “There are 20 states that participate in PetroCaribe and what we are going to do is transform it into a large economic zone, meaning that PetroCaribe ‘stings and extends’, as it is said in Venezuelan sports slang. PetroCaribe goes into a consolidation and transformation of a great economic zone,” Maduro said. He explained that such a transformation is vitally necessary in order to provide the mutual benefit of shared development and fair trade among all the Caribbean countries. “It is one of the major economic areas that must continue to be pursued,” he added. When PetroCaribe was created ten years ago, Venezuela’s socialist leader Hugo Chávez was still alive, oil prices were high, and Caracas, which sits on the largest energy reserves in the world, could afford to send 200,000 barrels per day of subsidised oil to 13 countries in the region, including Cuba, in return for their political support and sometimes
repayment with goods in kind. The arrangement has cost Venezuela an estimated $44 billion in forgone income since 2005. Today, however, with oil prices having halved in six months, Venezuela’s economy is in a tailspin and the country may be on the verge of complete collapse, raising doubts as to even the immediate viability of PetroCaribe, Maduro’s most recent assurances notwithstanding. So far, however, Venezuela has not apparently scaled back PetroCaribe; the latest figures show 206,000 bpd delivered until last September. According to the Financial Times, one reason for continued shipments could be that the PetroCaribe subsidy shrinks dramatically at lower oil prices. At $100 a barrel, for example, 60 percent of the price is repaid at low interest rates, after two years’ grace. At $50 a barrel, however, the subsidy is only 40 percent. Meanwhile, the country is grappling with precisely the state of affairs forecast by economists Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards, who in the late 1980s described how countries such as Venezuela that pursue highly expansionary populist policies to the detriment of public finances typically go through four distinct phases in a “boom-bust” cycle.
Nicolas Maduro As expounded by Dornbusch and Edwards, phase III of this predictable cycle is represented by pervasive shortages, extreme acceleration of inflation, and an obvious foreign exchange gap leading to capital flight and demonetization of the economy. The budget deficit deteriorates violently because of a steep decline in tax collection and increasing subsidy costs. The government attempts to stabilize by cutting subsidies and by a real depreciation. Real wages fall massively, and politics become unstable. It becomes clear that the government has lost. The fourth and final phase is when orthodox stabilization takes over under a new government – something that now appears inevitable. (Caribbean News)
Canadians will be able to invest in Jamaican stock market come April 1 KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Beginning April 1, Jamaicans residing in Canada will be able to participate in trading and other related activities, on the local stock exchange. This, as the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) is set to receive authorization (designation) from the Canadian administration, which will facilitate this arrangement, via the Internet, for the over 300,000 persons of Jamaican descent and origin, currently residing in that North American country. State minister for foreign affairs and foreign trade, Arnaldo Brown, said the arrangement will also afford native Canadians the opportunity to participate in the local stock market, which will enable them to receive tax credits in that country. A tax credit is a sum subtracted from the total amount a taxpayer owes the state, and directly reduces taxes. The state minister made the disclosure on Monday in Kingston, while addressing the launch of the Jamaica Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents’ (JARRR) website. Brown, who has responsibility for Diaspora affairs, said the JSE is pursuing similar arrangements for Jamaicans in the
United States, and United Kingdom. “So… Jamaicans, who are looking for outlets to invest, to buy shares, to buy stocks (and) to own companies that are traded on our stock exchange, can do so from (their) particular location,” he noted. “The… advent of technology gives us the opportunity to have what we consider to be a borderless Jamaica. Jamaicans in the UK, Canada, (and) Jamaicans in the US can participate in the activities in Jamaica, without setting foot on Jamaican soil,’ he added.The revamped website, which JARRR president, Percival La-Touché, described as “rebranded, refreshed, and retooled,” will cater to returned residents, persons in the Diaspora, businesses, among other stakeholders, by providing direct linkages to products and services offered locally. In commending the JARRR’s initiative, Brown described the website as a “very important… (and) critical tool of communication,” for persons living in and operating businesses in the Diaspora, as well as in Jamaica. It is estimated that upwards of three million Jamaicans reside in the Diaspora, with the majority of these located in the US, Canada, and the UK.
(Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank shocked financial markets on Thursday by scrapping a three-year-old cap on the franc, sending the currency soaring against the euro and stocks plunging on fears for the export-reliant Swiss economy. Only days ago, SNB officials had described the 1.20 francs per euro cap, introduced in 2011 at the height of the euro zone crisis to fend off deflation and a recession, as a policy cornerstone. The U-turn sent the franc nearly 30 percent higher against the euro in chaotic early trading. Coming a week before the European Central Bank is expected to unveil a bond-buying programme to counter deflationary pressures, it fed speculation that this quantitative easing (QE) scheme will be so big that the SNB would have struggled to defend the cap. On social media, the move was dubbed “Francogeddon”. With more than 40 percent of Swiss exports going to the euro zone, firms across
Switzerland warned of a plunge in profits, with the luxury and tourism industries most exposed. “Today’s SNB action is a tsunami; for the export industry and for tourism, and finally for the entire country,” said Nick Hayek, chief executive of Swiss watch firm Swatch. SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan denied at a news conference that the move amounted to a “panic
reaction”, saying the cap had been scrapped because it was unsustainable. “If you decide to exit such a policy, you have to take the markets by surprise,” Jordan said. As it removed the upper limit on the currency, the SNB sought to discourage new flows into Swiss francs by pushing down its interest rate on some cash deposits held at the central bank by commercial banks and other financial institutions.
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Murray joins Djokovic and Federer for Dubai tournament Reuters - Britain’s Andy Murray will play in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, the organisers of the February tournament said yesterday. Murray will join a stellar field including world number one Novak Djokovic and 17-times grand slam
champion Roger Federer. The Scot, ranked six in the world, has had mixed fortunes in Dubai, finishing runner-up to Federer in 2012 but suffering quarterfinal defeats in two of his three other visits. Djokovic and Federer
have won the Dubai title 10 times between them, including the last six titles. The women’s event, which begins on Feb. 15, a week before the men’s, features eight of the world’s top 10, including Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova.
Friday January 16, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Artistic or spiritual inspiration could come your way today, Aries, although it might be muddled and you could be perplexed about how to deal with it. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) The desire to spend time alone with a special someone may also interfere with plans you've already made to attend a social gathering or event involving a lot of people. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Various personal issues might be on your mind today, Gemini. You could want to work them all out without distractions, so you may decide to spend part of the day alone. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You could be expecting an important letter, call, or email today, Cancer, and sit on the edge of your chair waiting for it. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Someone close may have given you some incorrect information, perhaps about your financial situation, but more likely regarding trends in the economy that could affect your finances. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You don't worry too much, Virgo, but today might be different. Insecurity may arise about a partnership.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Worries about health and work might be on your mind today, Libra. You could be stressed out over whatever you're doing, and this might have you feeling less energetic than usual. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you may want to set aside some time to spend with close friends or a love partner, Scorpio. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today you might concentrate on projects. These could be related to your personal relationships. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Capricorn, making or receiving an important letter or call regarding money might be on your agenda today, but circumstances beyond your control could delay it. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Worries about money might plague you today, Aquarius. They might have little, if any, basis in fact, as you're probably fretting over possibilities that aren't likely to ever manifest. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you could look in the mirror and be appalled by what you see, activating your insecurity about the way you look. This could send you looking for various treatments.
Friday January 16, 2015
Muhammad Ali in hospital for follow-up on Dec. 20 with what after infection: spokesman hospital was believed to be a mild case Reuters - Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been hospitalized for follow-up care for a urinary tract infection for which he received treatment in recent weeks, and he is expected to be released in a day, a spokesman said yesterday. Ali, who expects to celebrate his 73rd on Saturday with his family, was admitted to the hospital earlier this
week and was in stable condition, family spokesman Bob Gunnell said. Gunnell declined to disclose the name or location of the hospital or what day he checked in, but he said Ali would be released from the facility today. The three-time world heavyweight champion was admitted to an undisclosed
of pneumonia. Doctors later determined he was actually suffering from a severe urinary tract infection, and Gunnell disclosed on Jan. 7 that Ali had been released. Ali, who is nicknamed “The Greatest,” was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about three years after he retired from boxing in 1981 with a 56-5 record.
Holder returned as North E’bo CC President Prince Holder was reelected unopposed as President of the North Essequibo Cricket Committee when that organisation held its Annual General Meeting recently. Barry Alphanso is the Vice President, Muneshwar Roop will serve as Secretary, Hakim Khan is the Treasurer, Hemant Beharry Assistant Secretary, Nimron Bahadur Assistant Treasurer and Elroy Stephney, Public Relations Officer. Chevraj Boodram was elected the Organizing Secretary while the Committee Members are Loaknauth Bhagwandeen, Denesh Singh, Chris Collins and Anthony Persaud. The representatives on the Essequibo Cricket Board are Holder and Khan with the alternatives being Stephney and Alphanso. The first executive committee meeting will be held on January 28. Speaking after the elections, Holder said that the committee will resume all unfinished competitions as soon as the weather improves. He stated that while more sponsorship has been promised, additional focus will be placed on playing three -day competitions.
Bannas Foundation small goal football set for Sunday
Bannas Foundation will be hosting a five-a-side small goal and penalty shoot out football competition on Sunday at National Cultural Centre tarmac starting from 09:30hrs. Among the teams slated to take part are Sophia, Lodge, East Ruimveldt and Tiger Bay. At stake are trophies and medals donated by Tent City, the host and Mr. Smith.
The president also pointed out that more coaching will be done at the
various clubs while thanking their sponsors for the support given.
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Warriors beat short-handed Heat 104-89 for 8th straight win Oakland, Calif. (AP) Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but ‘’good problems’’ right now. It’s the beginning of the dog days of the NBA season, he said, those few weeks before the All-Star break when the newness of the schedule has worn off and players begin to physically and emotionally tire. And despite more lapses than he’d like, Kerr’s team just keeps on winning - and usually by a lot. The NBA-leading Warriors continued their latest roll Wednesday night, overwhelming the undermanned Miami Heat 104-89 for their eighth straight victory. Golden State (31-5) has won by an average of 19.8 points during its current streak. With a strained left hamstring sidelining Heat star Dwyane Wade, the Warriors mowed down Miami the way they have most opponents recently. Stephen Curry made seven 3-pointers and finished with 32 points, and Klay Thompson scored 19 to help the Warriors build a 19-point lead in the second quarter. They responded every time Miami moved close, winning their 15th consecutive home game, tying the longest streak since the franchise moved West before the 1962-63 season. Chris Bosh had 26 points and seven rebounds but couldn’t carry the Heat alone. Luol Deng added 19 points, and Hassan Whiteside had 10
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors takes a shot against the Miami Heat. (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) points and 12 rebounds in his first start for Miami. Wade left with the hamstring injury in the first half of the Heat’s win at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. The team said he is ‘’day to day.’’ Miami’s victories at the Lakers and Clippers in a three-day span marked the first time since Nov. 23 the Heat had won two straight - a stunning span of 24 games for the four-time defending Eastern
Conference champions, who are still adjusting to life without LeBron James. A night later in Northern California, the Warriors wore down the depleted Heat (1722) behind a familiar formula: smothering defense, pushing the pace in transition and finishing on the other end often from long range. Up next, Heat will be at Sacramento tonight while the Warriors will be at Oklahoma also tonight.
AFC Asian Cup 2015...
Azmoun sends Iran into last eight Sardar Azmoun’s brilliant solo goal earned Iran a 1-0 win over Qatar and a place in the AFC Asian Cup quarterfinals alongside United Arab Emirates. Solid Qatari defending kept Iran at bay until shortly after half-time in Sydney when Azmoun’s instinctive touch and shot ended their resistance and sent a partisan crowd wild. Carlos Queiroz’s Team Melli are now into the quarter-finals for the sixth time in a row and continue to look strong contenders to break their 39year Asian Cup drought. Qatar crashed out just weeks after winning the Gulf Cup in November and they exit Group C alongside Bahrain, eliminated after a 2-1 loss to UAE earlier. Noisy Iranian fans made for a festive atmosphere at Stadium Australia but the party did not get going on the pitch as the three-times champions
struggled to break down a resilient Qatar side. Rubin Kazan forward Azmoun, a former target of Premier League giants Arsenal and Liverpool, was in the thick of the action and had a header saved early on. The Qatari defence also reacted sharply to smother another promising chance when Ashkan Dejagah picked out the young striker in the box. As half-time beckoned, Morteza Pouraliganji had a header cleared off the line and the busy, Qatar-based Dejagah cut in from the right and fired across the face of goal. Iran looked to be running out of ideas until Azmoun lit up the Sydney evening and ignited the crowd with his fabulous touch and score on 52 minutes. When former Fulham man Dejagah picked out Azmoun on the edge of the box, the
20-year-old still had much to do to evade the attentions of defender Abdelkarim Hassan. But in a moment of supreme quality, he dragged the ball between his legs and into space in the box, before sweeping it into the bottom right-hand corner. Azmoun’s joy was shortlived and he was stretchered off and limped to the bench on the hour-mark, as Qatar threw on the much-hyped Khalfan Ibrahim. However, the diminutive Ibrahim was unable to turn the tide and instead it was Iran who had chances on the counter-attack as Qatar poured forward in search of an equaliser. In a late scare, Ali Asadalla Thaimn hit Iran’s post with an injury-time header but the effort was offside and Queiroz sank to his knees in joy as the final whistle blew. (FIFA)
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Ginobili, Spurs snap Hornets’ five-game winning streak Charlotte, N.C. (AP) Manu Ginobili said he needed a game like this. Maybe it’s the game the San Antonio Spurs needed to get things turned around, too. Ginobili was the focal point of the Spurs’ offense Wednesday night, scoring 27 points on 10of-14 shooting in San Antonio’s 98-93 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. When the Spurs needed a big play, they didn’t hesitate to turn to the 13-year NBA veteran. The Spurs, seventh in the Western Conference standings, played for the second straight night on the road. The defending NBA champions will look to make a push when the play eight of their next 10 games at home. Danny Green scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help the Spurs snap the Hornets’ five-game win streak. The Spurs have won eight straight against the Hornets. Ginobili was the key to this win. After the Hornets drew to 86-85 with 4 minutes, the left-hander drove the right side of the lane and made a high-banking shot off the glass over two leaping Hornets. Then he hit a 3pointer from the top of the key on the next possession
Manu Ginobili #20 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots against Cody Zeller #40 of the Charlotte Hornets. (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/ NBAE via Getty Images) to make it a six-point game. He followed that with a feed to a cutting Tiago Splitter for a layup to push the lead to 93-85. Kemba Walker had 28 points on 9-of-24 shooting after averaging 30.2 points during the Hornets’ winning streak. Lance Stephenson returned from a 14-game
absence due to a pelvic sprain and had eight points in 19 minutes. Stephenson said he didn’t feel winded, and said the time off helped give him a new perspective. Up next, Spurs will host Portland tonight while Hornets will entertain Indiana tomorrow night.
Torres double stuns Real in Madrid derby Fernando Torres struck his first goals since returning to Atletico Madrid, firing a brace to seal a 4-2 Copa del Rey aggregate win over Real Madrid. Atletico led 2-0 from the first leg and Torres stunned the Bernabeu, smashing in left-footed after 49 seconds. Sergio Ramos’s header levelled but, in the first minute of the second half, Torres beat Pepe to slide in a second. Holders Real needed three goals to win after Cristiano Ronaldo’s header but Atleti held on to reach the last eight. Their success - a first domestic cup defeat for Carlo Ancelotti since becoming Real Madrid manager - will likely yield a last-four meeting with Barcelona, who lead Elche 5-0 after their first leg. Los Rojiblancos can also boast being five games unbeaten against their city rivals this season and that record looked safe inside a minute. Soon after Ronaldo stopped parading his FIFA Ballon d’Or award moments
Torres finished with a first-time volley and saluted visiting fans sat high in the Bernabeu stands before kick-off, Torres plundered the opener, sweeping into the top corner from 10 yards with a first-time shot following Antoine Griezmann’s cross. Torres, who left Atleti in 2007, had never scored at the Bernabeu with his boyhood club but, in for the unwell Mario Mandzukic, he left Real needing four goals to progress. Ramos netted a lastminute leveller which spurred Real on to a 4-1 extra-time win over Atletico in last season’s Champions League final and he was in the right place when goalkeeper Jan Oblak - making just his fifth appearance -
flapped at a set-piece delivery. Swarms of white shirts peppered the visitors’ area and Ronaldo’s goal-bound strike was only kept out by Mario Suarez on the goal-line as Real dominated with 76% of possession in the opening half. But Diego Simeone’s side only had 27% of the ball in the first leg and they again demonstrated the resilience he has instilled in them since taking over in January 2011. The Argentine has delivered successive league finishes of fifth, third and first along with Europa League success in 2012 and a Copa del Rey triumph in 2013.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
Dilshan, spinners, run outs foil NZ Sri Lanka sauntered to their first victory of the New Zealand tour, after Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a breezy 116 off 127 balls on a fine batting surface at Seddon Park. The six-wicket win had been forged by the spin bowlers - Dilshan among them - who delivered 37 overs between them, and by New Zealand’s several indiscretions between the wickets. A target of 249 never looked a testing on a pitch that offered little in the way of seam or turn, and thanks to Dilshan, Sri Lanka were in control for the entire duration of their chase. New Zealand losing four wickets to run outs will be cause for concern, but their batting was also ineffective, except for Brendon McCullum, who struck a supercharged 117 from 99. Of the other top-six batsmen, only Ross Taylor had made more than 10, and his contribution had been a pained 34 from 69 balls. Once Sri Lanka dismissed McCullum, four more wickets fell in eight overs, effectively scuttling the hosts’ chances of posting a competitive score. Dilshan began the chase by collecting an easy four to fine leg in the third over, but was very nearly out for 6 in the next, when a Matt Henry delivery jagged in sharply off the seam to collect his inside edge. Luke Ronchi couldn’t hold on to a tough chance to his left and Dilshan profited from his luck. He dismissed Adam Milne down the ground in the fifth over and initiated the theme
of his innings: his driving, in the arc between cover and mid-on. Dilshan sent one screaming past the bowler in Milne’s next over as well, and hung back next ball to cut viciously to third man when the change of length came. Sri Lanka cruised through their batting Powerplay with Dimuth Karunaratne making a good start as well. He was eventually trapped in front by Nathan McCullum for 21, but the chase would stay on track. Kumar Sangakkara launched three hits over the straight fence to kick-start his innings, and was the aggressor in a 52-run secondwicket stand with Dilshan. Milne returned to test Dilshan with the short ball in the middle overs, and soon found that his pull shot was as punishing as his drives. The batsman slowed after the field had spread, but collected regular singles from the seam bowlers and was untroubled by the spin of McCullum and Daniel Vettori. Meanwhile, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene glittered briefly, then fell to well-set New Zealand traps. Dilshan’s drives had largely been down the ground in his first fifty runs, but he began to unfurl the manic thrashes through the covers as he approached threefigures. It was that shot, off Milne, that took him to his 19th hundred. By then, Sri Lanka’s victory was almost assured, and Angelo Mathews took his side home with a hooked four off Henry in the 48th over. Vettori was the first runout victim in New Zealand’s innings, moments after he
Tillakaratne Dilshan
had been saved by his long stride. An lbw referral found the impact to be 300cm in front of the stumps and the umpire’s call of not out was upheld. But he was caught short by after some nifty work by Jeevan Mendis at short midwicket in the 34rd over, and the batting Powerplay brought New Zealand even more woe. Taylor top-edged a sweep to fine leg. Luke Ronchi was run out before facing a ball as he responded late to the prospect of a quick single. Corey Anderson was run out the next over, driving to midon and tore two-thirds of the way down the pitch when he realised Nathan McCullum had not made the slightest response. The next domino in the chain, Nathan McCullum,
was caught short of his ground attempting another quick single too. He punched towards mid-off in the 45th over, and was struck down by a Jayawardene direct hit. At the end of the 30th over, New Zealand had been 158 for 2. At the 45th, they were 208 for 8, and only recovered to 248 thanks to a 26run last-wicket stand between Henry and Trent Boult. It was a dismal return for McCullum who had been positive against Sri Lanka’s new-ball pair and use his maturity to sustain the tempo against the spinners as well. He sat back and allowed the bowlers to stray into his enormous strike zone, and twice lifted Mendis’ short balls into the crowd, carved Rangana Herath over cover,
Brendon McCullum and slapped Sachithra Senanayake to deep midwicket as well. A boundary seemed to come every few balls for much of McCullum’s innings. With 12 fours and five sixes, 78 of his runs were composed of them. That Sri Lanka managed to weather the blitz was due to canny bowling to the men at the other end. Martin Guptill was strangled out and Tom Latham was the victim of a Herath slider that caught the
Manny Pacquiao’s Promoter
A Deal Is In Place for $200 Million Fight With Floyd Mayweather A deal is on the table for a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports. Arum says Pacquiao has agreed to the deal, as have Mayweather’s “representatives.” The way Arum frames it, all that’s left is for Mayweather himself to agree to the deal. Iole reports that Pacquiao has agreed to a 6040 revenue split in which Mayweather would make an estimated $120 million and Pacquiao $80 million. The two sides have been unable to make the fight happen for the better part of a decade, with multiple attempts to come to terms falling through over disagreements on drug-testing procedures and revenue splits. When asked whether he was trying to force Mayweather’s hand by announcing that
Pacquiao had agreed to the fight, Arum told Iole: “I’m not trying to force anybody’s hand, I’m just saying, ‘Hey, we’ve agreed to everything, period.’ The people we have talked to on Mayweather’s side have agreed to everything. Now we need Mayweather to step up and say, ‘Yeah, I’m on board. I agree.’” The fight won’t be as huge as it would have been a few years ago. Mayweather is now 37. Pacquiao, 36, has lost two of his past five fights after not losing a single bout from 2005 to 2011. History has taught us that any word of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight should be taken with a grain of salt. If the fight generates $200 million, it would be the most lucrative in history. (Business Insider)
Floyd Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao
outside edge. When McCullum was reprieved on 104 in the 28th over, the other batsmen had collectively scored only 35 off 73 balls. His team-mates’ ineptitude would continue even after he was out to a smart catch by Mendis off his own bowling. Sri Lanka 252 for 4 (Dilshan 116, Henry 2-34) beat New Zealand 248 (McCullum 117, Herath 2-36) by six wickets. (ESPNcricinfo)
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
South Africa v West Indies, 1st ODI, Durban
Sides seek World Cup momentum Play time is over and it’s down to business as both teams begin their final journey on the road to the World Cup. For South Africa, it is the culmination of something which began six months ago when they started intense preparation for the tournament. They hoped by the time this series came around, they would be able to field their full World Cup squad to give them a dummy run - or five ahead of the event. But one of the most important members of that outfit is unavailable so the perfect practice will not happen. Quinton de Kock, although recovering well from an ankle ligament tear, will not feature in the series, which leaves South Africa with a stand-in opening batsman and gloveman. They are likely to be Rilee Rossouw and AB de Villiers, although Morne van Wyk could fill both roles if required. In all other departments South Africa are at full strength but not fully settled. JP Duminy’s return will require some rejigging in the line-up while they still need to consider the composition of the lower order. The time for experimentation is not completely over for the hosts, but this is their last chance to come up with a formula that works. South Africa may not be comfortable with that level of uncertainty but West Indies will be envious of it, especially as for them, this series is about starting over. Their most recent ODI outing was the abandoned tour of India and the aftermath of that walkout is being strongly felt. There is a new captain in place and a significant senior core missing but for an outfit used to operating on the fringes of crisis, that may not be so bad after all. IN THE SPOTLIGHT JP Duminy spent more two months out of cricket rehabilitating from a chronic
knee condition but if you saw the first ball he faced on his return, you would never have guessed it. He hit Dwayne Bravo high over his head for six. That kind of shot is what South Africa’s middle order was missing for the time Duminy was out of action, when they lost 4-1 to Australia. His bowling will also come in handy, especially if South Africa are looking for variety. A month before the World Cup may not be the ideal time to begin your captaincy career but that is what Jason Holder has to do. He takes over from Bravo at a difficult, but crucial, time for West Indies cricket. The isolation of some of their highest-profile players means the team will have to rely on more than just big reputations but it also affords them the opportunity to band together before a major tournament. How Holder, who is just 23, oversees that process will be closely watched as West Indies plan for the future. TEAM NEWS South Africa will look for a makeshift opener to fill in for the still-recovering de Kock, with Rossouw the likeliest candidate to fill in. That will also ensure there is space for both Farhaan Behardien and David Miler, despite Duminy’s return. De Villiers confirmed he will take the gloves for now but may not want to do it in all five games. The first-choice attack should be fired up and ready to go after a break from the T20s. South Africa: (possible) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Rilee Rossouw, 3 Faf du Plessis 4 AB de Villiers (capt, wk), 5 JP Duminy 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Miller, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.s Chris Gayle took part in training and should return to the top of the order after being rested from Wednesday’s T20 with a long-standing back issue. If he is unable to play,
Lendl Simmons will have to fill in. Without Darren or Dwayne Bravo, an extra batsman may have to be found in Leon Johnson but West Indies should have a decent pack available to them with Jerome Taylor and Sulieman Benn both back. West Indies: (possible) 1 Chris Gayle/Lendl Simmons, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Leon Johnson, 5 Andre Russell, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell. Pitch and conditions On the evidence of the T20, this surface is not for the fast or furious. Slower balls and cutters proved the most effective weapon while runscoring required more discipline than flashiness. Similar can be expected for the ODI. There are some thundershowers forecast in the morning but they should clear to allow for a full game. Stats and Trivia - Hashim Amla needs 54 runs to become the eighth South African to bring up 5000 ODI runs. - West Indies have not won an ODI in South Africa since February 2004. They have lost their last six in succession, including all five in Shaun Pollock’s retirement series in 2008. Quotes “I still feel we will be the best team at the World Cup and I can’t wait to go there.” After South Africa were beaten 1-4 in Australia AB de Villiers said he thought they were the better side and he stuck to that, and went one further, ahead of this series. “I want to be quite positive in what I do. It’s about gaining the confidence and belief in my players. First on my agenda is trying to get the players on my side.” Winning over his own men is what Jason Holder will think about before turning his attention to the opposition. (ESPNcricinfo)
U.S., Mexico to meet in San Antonio Chicago – With an eye on July’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States will play their first-ever game in San Antonio, Texas, when they take on rival Mexico in a friendly international on April 15. The match, which was announced without a location in
December, will be the CONCACAF powers’ first meeting since a 2-2 draw in front of 59,066 fans on April 2, 2014, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The U.S. begin their 2015 campaign on January 28 with a match at Chile in Rancagua,
followed by an encounter against visiting Panama on February 8 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Mexico and the USA have met five times in the Gold Cup final, with the Tricolor ultimately lifting the trophy on four of those occasions. (CONCACAF)
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Panama downs Jamaica to stay top in GROUP A USA maul Aruba 8-0 Panama (3-0-0, 9 points) remained perfect in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, prevailing 2-0 over hosts Jamaica (0-1-2, 1 point) on Wednesday at the National Stadium. Edson Samms and Ismael Diaz scored as the Panamanians reclaimed first place in Group A over Guatemala (2-1-0, 7 points), which occupied that perch temporarily thanks to a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago (1-1-1, 4 points) earlier in the day. In a tightly-contested encounter that produced no first-half goals, Panama’s patience was rewarded in the 56th minute. An ordinary exchange of passes in the defensive side saw Fidel Escobar burst into action and deliver a superb pass with the outside of his right foot down the middle of the field. Out on the left, the intelligent Samms got behind defender Roberto Johnson and raced towards the ball. He got to the edge of the penalty area and snapped a shot past goalkeeper Nicholas Nelson for a 1-0 lead. Only two minutes earlier, Jamaica had an effort from a similar spot on the other end but Donja Smith sailed an attempt high as goalkeeper Jaime De Gracia charged off his line. Diaz netted an insurance tally with four minutes left in normal time. After an exchange with the right-sided Jhamal Rodriguez, Diaz received a return pass and fired the ball into the lower left corner from 17-yards out. The United States (1-1-1, 4 points) won their first match of this competition defeating Aruba 8-0 also on Wednesday at the same venue. Romain Gall led the way with three goals, while Bradford Jamieson added a brace. Tommy Thompson, Emerson Hyndman and Amando Moreno each scored once. Aruba (0-0-3, 0 points) lost for the third consecutive time and played the final five minutes with 10 men after Duncan Homoet was ejected for his second yellow card. U.S. head
Romain Gall
Edson Samms
coach Tab Ramos made seven changes from a 1-0 loss to Panama on Monday. The moves paid off handsomely as his team scored six goals within the opening 32 minutes. The Arubans, though, almost drew first blood in the 12th minute, when Homoet broke free on the right side and drilled a shot just outside of the right post before. After that sequence, the USA took hold of the match. Group A next moves to Montego Bay and will resume play on Sunday with a tripleheader: Panama-Trinidad & Tobago (3:00 p.m. ET), Guatemala-Aruba (5:30 p.m. ET) and JamaicaUSA (8:00 p.m. ET).
Hockenheim to host German GP: Ecclestone Reuters - Hockenheim will host this year’s German Grand Prix in July instead of alternating with the Nuerburgring, Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters yesterday. “It’s going to be at Hockenheim, we’re in the middle of doing something with them. It can’t be Nuerburgring because there’s nobody there,” said the 84-year-old Briton. Hockenheim hosted last year’s German round under an agreement to share with the Nuerburgring, an historic circuit for champions Mercedes and their ‘Silver Arrows’, which is under new ownership. The 20-race 2015 calendar does not currently specify a venue for the July 19 grand prix. The season starts in Australia on March 15. “We’ve got a contract in place (with Hockenheim), we just have to amend the years of the contract. It was alternating with Nuerburgring so we’ll just take that out,” said Ecclestone. “Providing the contract goes through as we expect it to, we’ll be in good shape.” The news, while not entirely unexpected, will be seen as a setback to the owners of a circuit that Ecclestone twice tried to buy last year. Reports on Wednesday had indicated that Nuerburgring executives were hopeful of agreeing a new deal but were concerned about the costs involved. “Formula One is welcome
at the Nuerburgring,” CEO Carsten Schumacher told crash.net. “It provides worldwide television pictures, a positive image and would bring high sales to the region. However, Formula One has to remain affordable.” Ecclestone told Reuters he had not discussed a deal with the Nuerburgring. “We wanted to buy the Nuerburgring, we made an offer and somebody topped us with a few dollars and bought it,” he said. “And then they couldn’t pay and it went on sale again. I said I’d be interested and then they found somebody else. So I don’t know what’s happening.” Russian investor Viktor Kharitonin bought a two thirds stake, through a holding company, in the financially troubled Nuerburgring in October. The remaining third is held by GetSpeed GmbH, which is owned by a management consultant. Kharitonin controls Russian pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard, which has a market capitalisation of more than $1.08 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. Capricorn and GetSpeed won a takeover battle in March to buy the track for more than 100 million euros, including debt, but Capricorn had trouble financing the deal. The European Commission also ruled last year that state aid given to develop the race track into a racing theme park was in breach of European Union rules and must be paid back.
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Kaieteur News
Friday January 16, 2015
FIFA and CONCACAF introduce club licensing in the CONCACAF region FIFA, in collaboration with CONCACAF, today held final discussions during a landmark seminar on club licensing in Miami. The main objective of the two-day event was to inform member associations about the implementation of the FIFA Club Licensing System in CONCACAF that will introduce a set of minimum criteria into national and continental competitions from 2015 and 2016, respectively. FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb opened the seminar by stressing the importance of club licensing for the future of football in the region: “This seminar is a continuation of everything we do for the professionalisation and the transparency of football. The member associations must be the agents of change, the catalysts for the transformation of CONCACAF.” FIFA’s Club Licensing System is based on five key criteria: sporting, personnel and administrative, financial, infrastructure and legal. These criteria aim to safeguard the credibility and integrity of club competitions while improving the level of professionalism within the football family and promoting transparency in the finances, ownership and control of clubs. The adaptation of club licensing at confederation and
subsequently at member association level is a longterm process in which the objective is to provide essential requirements and minimum standards to further enhance club football competitions. At the end of this process, the benefits for clubs, leagues and member associations are numerous: higher level of club management, better level of home-grown players, higher level of play, increase of fans and rev-
enues, and ultimately, better level of the national team. ”The FIFA Club Licensing System will raise the level of club football, both on and off the pitch, and represents a long-term development tool for FIFA member associations. Therefore, FIFA fully supports each confederation and member association implementing the FIFA Club Licensing System,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.
Brett Lee: Former Australia fast bowler quits cricket
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has announced his retirement from cricket. He quit internationals in July 2012 as his country’s fourth-highest Test wickettaker - with 310 in 76 matches - and has focused on Twenty20 cricket in recent years. Lee, who took 380 one-day international wickets, made the announcement at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday. “It’s been an amazing and emotional 20 years and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it,” said the 38year-old. He will see out the remainder of the Big Bash League with the Sydney Sixers - which could mean his final game coming next Thursday against Sydney Thunder. Only Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee took more Test match wickets for Australia than Lee, who was nicknamed Bing. He remains the joint
Brett Lee
leading wicket-taker for A u s t r a l i a i n one-day internationals alongside McGrath. “I’m excited and emotional, certainly happy that I’ve made the right decision,” Lee added. ”I didn’t bother doing the maths but 20 years is a lot of ice baths, a lot of training sessions, a lot balls bowled and a lot of flights - but it’s given me so many great memories.” Lee was a central figure in the Australia sides that domi-
nated world cricket in the 1990s and 2000s, and won the World Cup in 2003, as well as three of the four Ashes series he took part in. ”He has been an exceptional cricketer who gained fans around the world, not only for his electrifying pace and performances with the ball, but [for] the way that he played the game,” said Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. (BBCsport)
The member associations of Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & To-
bago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands and USA were represented at the seminar. The participants attended presentations by FIFA and CONCACAF which laid out the basis for the implementation of club licensing by the members, as well as panel discussions involving famous figures of the region’s football such as Shaka Hislop (TV analyst and former Trinidad & Tobago player), Yon De Luisa
(CEO of Club América) and Cheryl Bailey (US NWSL) and representatives of member associations. While the AFC and UEFA have already established a club licensing system on their respective continents, FIFA is planning to organise further s e m i n a r s i n t h e C A F, CONMEBOL and OFC regions to ensure that the FIFA Club Licensing System operates in all corners of world football.
Permaul spins Guyana Jaguars... (From page 38) Johnson Charles (21) was then trapped LBW first ball by Permaul at 34-4 before Keddy Lesporis (0) was comprehensively bowled by Permaul in the same over without addition to the score. Sunil Ambris, who made a century on his four-day debut against Guyana at Providence last year hung around for an unbeaten 26 but no one else passed five as the Islanders catapulted from 41-3 losing their last seven wickets for just 44 runs in an all too familiar Windwards batting
collapse. Rain, which washed out the other Zone ‘A’ contest between defending champions Barbados Pride and CCC at Couva without a ball being bowled yesterday, assisted the Jaguars’ quest for the 10th title and first since 2005, since both teams had to settle for two points from the abandoned encounter. The Jaguars next match is tomorrow against Barbados at the Queens Park Oval in another day/night affair. The competition continues today with two Zone ‘B’ matches.
Summary Scores: Guyana Jaguars Innings: 227/6 (50 Overs). Rajindra Chandrika 52, Vishaul Singh 49, Anthony Bramble+ 43*, Christopher Barnwell* 34; Shane Shillingford 10-0-34-2, Delorn Johnson 10-1-42-1, Mervin Mathew 10-1-50-1, Liam Sebastien 10-0-35-0. Windward Islands Volcanoes Innings: Sunil Ambris+ 26*, Johnson Charles 21, Devon Smith 13, M Mathew 5; Veerasammy Permaul 10-5-124, Davendra Bishoo 5.4-0-112, Christopher Barnwell 6-023-2, Steven Jacobs 10-1-20-1.
Golden Jaguars to face... (From page 38) The final six Member Associations (ranked 1 to 6) will join the competition for Round 4, which consists of three groups of four teams and is scheduled to be played in a round-robin format between November 2015 and September 2016. The now-famed CONCACAF Hexagonal will constitute
Round Five, continuing in its historic, six-team format (top two teams from each Round Four group), and will be played between November 2016 and October 2017, qualif y i n g three CONCACAF nations directly to the FIFA World Cup and providing a further intercontinental playoff spot for the fourth-placed
team. The match-ups and groupings for Rounds Three, Four and Five of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying will be determined at the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 25, 2015. Please find below the draw from last evening for rounds 1 and 2.
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 39
Britton, Yaw should lead nominations Fraser strong candidate for NSC Sports Personality Award for Junior Sportsman award
Table Tennis Champion, Shemar Britton and quartermiler, Jason Yaw should lead nominations for the National Sports Commission (NSC) Junior Sportsman of the Year Aw ard after dominant seasons that elevated their chances for the award last y e a r. A p a r t f r o m h i s dominant season last year locally, the 15-year-old Britton, who burst on the scene in 2013 after toppling some more seasoned senior players, led Guyana to victory in the Hinterland Table Tennis Championships and Developmental Engagement involving Guyana, French Guiana and Surname last year.Britton was then flown to Shanghai, China where he took part in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Road to Nanjing Training Programme that was held in June, at the Shanghai Sport Training Base. T h e G u y a n a Ta b l e Tennis Association (GTTA) is expected to submit a detailed local, regional
U
Shemar Britton and international fact sheet for Britton as their nominee for Junior Sportsman of the Year. The Queen’s College student also competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Meanwhile, Jason Yaw should be the closest rival for Britton in the Junior Sportsman contest on the heels of his Central American and Caribbean ( C A C ) J u n i o r Championships bronze medal in Mexico in July and
Jason Yaw his South American gold m e d a l i n N o v e m b e r. Yaw also competed at the 2014 CARIFTA Games, but it was his record-breaking gold medal in 46.79 seconds in the 400m at the South A m e r i c a n Yo u t h Championship in Cali, Columbia last November that will really secure his nomination. The two top junior male athletes will clash in an expected straight battle for the Junior Sportsman of the Year Award.
Wiltshire Dominoes tourney
Thunder, Dollars and Delta Force register wins Thunder, Dollars and Delta Force recorded victories when the Mark Wiltshire Dominoes competition continued recently at Dynasty Sports Bar. Thunder chalked up 72 games to win their encounter with Spartons 68 and TNT 62. Faye Joseph and Kevin Boston marked 15 each for the winners; Kanhai Samaroo scored 15 and Leroy Edwards 14 for Spartons while Sonia Goodluck made 15 and Dane Bynoe 14 for TNT. Delta Force proved too strong for Police and Dream Team in their match up. William Sargeant marked 16 games as Delta Force posted 75 while Police managed 62 with Colin Boyce scoring 17; Carl Richards made 16 for Dream Team who finished on 55. Dollars piled up 72 games to beat Village 65 and Golden Masters 60 in the next fixture. Playoff action will commence tomorrow at Malteenoes Sports Club from 16:00hrs. Teams set to battle are Limpy Lotto, Upsetters, Cool Breeze, Allstar, Unruly (Bartica), Mix Up, Rage, Strikers, Providence, C 7, Turning Point, R and R, OPKO, TNT, Spartons, Bad Boys, West Side, GT, Frankies, Brothers, Gangster, Thunder, B6, Strikers, Cody Girls, Scramblers, Legends, Killers, YK6, Transport SC, Mamboo Bar, F and H, Blue Bird, Providence, Scramblers (Georgetown), Determine, Bottom End, Strapers, Golden
Faye Joseph
Masters, Upper Level, Dollars and Israelites (East Coast). The first place team will take home a trophy and $200,000, the runner up a trophy and $100,000, third place a trophy and $50,000, fourth place a trophy and $20,000 and fifth, a trophy and $10,000.
niversity of Guyana Sports Co-ordinator Lavern Fraser is amongst the forerunners for the Annual National Sports Commission (NSC) Sports Personality Award. Fraser, who has been involved in sport both at the participatory and administrative levels, has been influential in reviving Sports at the University of Guyana since her tenure started four years ago. Having arrived at the Institution, Fraser told this newspaper the only sport that was being played at the time was cricket and with the support of the University’s Administration, Sport is now seen in a different light and is doing well. The former national Netball and Basketball player, who confessed to having Sport in her bloodstream, also held administrative and managerial positions on national teams. She holds a
Degree and Diploma with distinctions in Public Management to go with numerous certificates in Sports Administration and Coaching and was also the recipient of two national awards after being named Coach of the Year and Sports Personality of the Year on previous occasions. Her administrative prowess has definitely revitalized interest in sports at the University in a very short time and has been credited for even introducing many students and staff to recreational activities on Campus during the period. Just to name a few, cricket, football, track and field and rugby have all done well with the latter extending the success gained locally on to the regional level. The University on the recommendation of Fraser managed to retain a few coaches of repute to help hone the skills of players and athletes in the different
Lavern Fraser disciplines and their expertise have made the institution a force to reckon with right now. A very sociable person, Fraser’s success could also be tied to her vast knowledge of imparting life skills to those in need and this feature of her character could be the reason for the co-operation she receives from the athletes.
Page 40
Kaieteur News
Permaul spins Guyana Jaguars to victory over Winward Is. Volcanoes after Chandrika’s 52
By Sean Devers in Trinidad in association with Carib Beer, GT&T, Lifetime Reality & Cascadia Hotel The Guyana Jaguars roared to an emphatic win against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queens Park Oval last evening under lights to start the NAGICO Super50 cricket tournament in commanding fashion. Rajendra Chandrika stroked a classy 52, his third half century at this level, while debutant Vishaul Singh, who hit 49 offered middle order support. Anthony Bramble then hammered an explosive unbeaten 23-ball 43 and featured in an unfinished 71run seventh wicket partnership with Bajan Raymond Reifer (23*) to lift the Jaguars to 227-6 when their 50 overs expired. Man-of-the-match, leftarm spinner Veerasammy Permaul produced a mesmerizing spell of 10-512-4 and got support from Skipper Chris Barnwell (223) leg-spinner Devendra B i s h o o ( 2 - 11 ) a s t h e Volcanoes wasted a 34-run start to become dormant after the openers were separated and crashed to an embarrassing 85 all out from 33.4 overs and a crushing 142-run defeat as the Guyana Jaguars captured a bonus point to take an early lead in the zone with five points. The Volcanoes won the toss and invited the Guyana Jaguars, who left out an ill Jonathon Foo, Royston Crandon and Paul Wintz, to bat in hazy sunshine on a track with a tinge off grass. A handful of spectators on a working day in Port-ofSpain watched as Trevon Griffith and Chandrika started the Jaguars’ innings on a lush green outfield. Griffith got going with a pugnacious pull off Mervin Matthew, but his edge was found the next ball for him to be taken by the wicketkeeper for five with the score on 71. Delorn Johnson was pulled for four by Chandrika in Gordon Greenidge fashion to get his innings going. Shiv Chanderpaul, the oldest and most experienced of the Jaguar batsmen with 84 games at this level, was soon trapped plumb in front off Johnson for one to leave the score on 15-2.
Jaguars Skipper Chris Barnwell gathers on side runs yesterday against Volcanoes Chandrika, who played in delightful fashion and Singh, who batted solidly, staged a recovery by adding 60 for the third wicket before Chandrika who steered leftarm spinner Alton Bobb for four to give him his third fifty at this level gave away his wicket. The East Coast righthander played an imperious cover drive off pacer Delorn Johnson but was soon run out for 52 from 63 balls with five fours as the Jaguars slipped to 75-3. Barnwell joined the diminutive Singh who provided the perfect foil for his Captain and together they carried the score to 150 as the Volcanoes bowlers never released the pressure on the Jaguars’ batsmen especially their Dominican off-spinners Sebastien and Shane Shillingford, who operated in tandem on a track that offered some turn for the spinners. Singh was looking solid although he was struggling to score freely but that should not have been a problem with the usually attacking Barnwell at the other end. However, when one away from a debut fifty, Singh, after five unsuccessful tries at the reverse sweep perished in brainless fashion when he tried another reverse sweep off Shillingford and spooned a catch to Mile Bascombe. Singh took 99 balls to score his 49 as the five-over power-play overs produced
just 20 runs. The Guyana four-day Skipper, who scored a magnificent century the last time he batted on this ground in the four-day format, last month, was dismissed with the score 150-4. Shillingford also removed Barnwell for a 57ball 34 without addition to the score before Steven Jacobs (2) was unfortunately run out backing up too far, when the ball was deflected off the hand of Johnson on his follow-through to leave the Jaguars on 156-6. Bramble joined Bajan Raymond Reifer and hammered Matthew back over his head for four after missing a few wild swipes as did Reifer. But the pair launched a late fight back to see their team a 200-plus total with aggressive hitting towards the end. Bramble climbed into Matthew and dumped him for three sixes, two off consecutive balls to finish unbeaten on 43 from 23 balls while the left-handed Reifer made 23 not out from 22 balls to add 71 important runs in their unfinished sixth wicket stand. Shillingford finished with 2-34 from 10 tight overs. When the Volcanoes began the run chase in a hurry, galloping to 34 from eight overs before Devon Smith (13) ran past one that turned from Jacobs and left the West Indies opener stranded. (Continued on page 38 )
Friday January 16, 2015
CONCACAF Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup Russia 2018
Golden Jaguars to face Vincy Heat in 1st game (Rd.2) Guyana‘s Golden Jaguars will commence their quest in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Qualifiers for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia against St. Vincent & the Grenadines following the official draw held in Miami last evening. The Guyanese which had their best ever world cup showing for the 2014 Brazil qualifiers having reached the third round of CONCACAF qualifying has been drawn in Round Two which will feature the thirteen (13) Member Associations ranked 9-21 (Canada, Cuba, Aruba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Suriname, Guatemala, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, Puerto Rico – in order of rank) will join the seven (7) Round One series winners, for ten more home-and-away series to be held between 8-16 June, 2015. The draw which announced the details of the initial phases of the CONCACAF Preliminary Competition involved 27 of the 35 CONCACAF Member Associations seeking to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, determined the match-ups for the first two rounds of the five-round regional qualifying tournament in CONCACAF, which begins in March and runs through 2017. The seeding for the draw for this edition of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying was based on FIFA rankings as of August 2014.The 35 Member Associations competing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been ranked 1-35. The fourteen (14) national teams ranked 22 to 35 (St. Kitts & Nevis, Belize, Montserrat, Dominica, Barbados, Bermuda, Nicaragua, Turks & Caicos, Curacao, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla – in order of rank) will dispute Round One of the Preliminary Competition, which consists of seven home-and-away series to be contested from March 23-31 of this year. Round Three, which consists of another series of home-and-away match-ups featuring the ten (10) Round
Two series winners, joined by the two Member Associations ranked 7 and 8 –
Jamaica and Haiti - will be played August 31-Sept. 8. (Continued on page 38 )
Friday January 16, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 41
Andrew ‘Sixheads’ Lewis set for grand return to the ‘square jungle’
Tackles Sakima Mullings for CABOFE Welterweight title Approximately six years after losing in his bid for the National Middleweight title to former European Champion, Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman, former World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight champion, Andrew ‘Sixheads’ Lewis, is set to make a grand return to the ‘square jungle’ when he squares of with Jamaican 2014 ‘Contender’ Champion, Sakima Mullings, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Saturday February 21. This fight will headline a five-bout card that will also see the return of CABOFE Middleweight champion, Lindener, Edmond Declou after sustaining a broken jaw in a fight against Dereck Richmond in October 2013.This will be an eightround Middleweight contest and Declou will be out to prove that he has recovered sufficiently from the mishap to avenge the loss. Another Lindener, Sharon Ward, will also grace the ring after a prolonged absence when she tackles Lorissa Rivas, an American of Trinidadian parentage, in a six-round Super/Middleweight bout. Fans will also be entertained when former local and
current CABOFE Bantamweight champion, Dexter Marques, matches gloves with Quincy Gomes in a six-round Catchweight affair while in the card’s opener, local debutant, Travis Fraser will square off with Barbadian, Charwyn Eswick over four rounds. The Lewis/Mullings bout has been brewing for some time now but has failed to fructify for various reasons, the most fundamental being inadequate sponsorship. Consequently, promoters in Jamaica had agreed to carry the fight in that country and had started negotiations towards a date in February. They have since held discussions with the GBBC and decided to shift the bout t o G u y a n a . The GBBC President, Peter Abdool further disclosed that the Jamaicans have also agreed to share the expenses associated with the card and will be picking up the tab for t h e i r a i r f a r e s , accommodation and meals. N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , M r. Abdool said that local organizers will still be shackled with an expenditure that exceeds $5.8M. He said that the impending bout is the first of three big ticket fights
Andrew Lewis engages in a quick fire session on the jump rope
Sakima Mullings planned for the year. Consequently, the input of corporate Guyana will be sought towards their success. Mullings has defeated several Guyanese including Winston Pompey, Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman, Revlon Lake and
Derick Richmond in earlier fights and is confident that he can conquer any other Guyanese that stands before him. However, he will be required to dig deep if he is to get past former World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight champion,
Andrew ‘Sixheads’ Lewis, a wily contender that is still capable of holding his own against the best in the Caribbean. Lewis is currently working out at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) under the tutelage of Sebert
Blake and Joseph Murray. He had been somewhat disappointed by the constant postponements but to his credit, had remained in the gym. Now that a definitive date has been announced he is expected to intensify his training schedule.
Britton cops SVT Table Tennis title GFF NC appoints
S
hemar Britton was c r o w n e d champion of the inaugural South Vi e w Ta v e r n ( S V T ) Knockout Table Tennis Championship which was played on Tuesday night last at the entity’s location, Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt. Britton played well throughout defeating his national counterpart Stefan Corlette 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 to claim the title. In the semifinals Britton overcame another national player, Nigel Bryan three games to one while his other victories came against Joel Allen (21) and Jody Blake (2-0). In the other semifinal Corlette thumped Dwayne Gibson 3-0. Britton said he is delighted at his achievement. “The win was a test of my mental strength more than my ability to play”, he added. Manager of SVT, Dillon Griffith said he
Shemar Britton (left) receives his reward from SVT Manager Dillon Griffith.
was pleased to have some of Guyana’s top players on show adding that competition will be played on a regular basis. He also pledged
assistance for the players. Britton received $20,000 and a quantity non-alcoholic drink compliments of August Beverage Enterprise.
Director of Finance
I
n its continuing efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Guyana Foot ball Federation (GFF), Normalisation Committee (NC) has appointed Mr. Kareem Jones as Director of Finance. Jones will be a key member of the Administrative Secretariat and will be responsible for the accounting operations of the federation. He will also have direct responsibility for financial reporting and will be responsible for leading cash flow planning, operational budgeting and monitoring, and strategic business planning. Among the essential duties and responsibilities the Director of Finance would have to shoulder will be designing and implementing all aspects of accounting operations and the preparation of annual financial forecasts/budgets, annual and monthly financial statements and other accounting reports and projects as necessary; Oversee the development and maintenance of internal control and effective accounting systems and policies and be responsible for day-to-day finance and accounts operations among others. The GFF NC recently appointed a new
Kareem Jones
Technical Director in Claude Bolton for the next four years while Jamaal Shabazz was appointed Head Coach for the friendly international against host Barbados on February 1st, next. An ad is currently out to fill the position of General Secretary that has become vacant following the resignation of Ms. Mabiola Howard who was acting in that position under the Christopher Matthias led administration after previous GS, Noel Adonis had resigned.
t r o Sp
Permaul spins Guyana Jaguars to victory over Winward Is. Volcanoes after Chandrika’s 52
Rajendra Chadrika executes a classy cover drive yesterday during his half-century.
South Africa v West Indies, 1st ODI, Durban
SIDES SEEK WORLD CUP MOMENTUM
West Indies claimed the T20 series but will have a new captain and changed XI for the ODIs © Getty Images
Golden Jaguars to face Vincy Heat in 1st game (Rd.2)
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