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Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
IS THE CITY REALLY SINKING? In Guyana the year 2005 will be remembered as the “Great Flood” due to the widespread flooding in Georgetown and the coastal plain, which resulted in hundreds of millions in damage. The flood affected the economy for several years later. Flooding is not new in Guyana. It began even before modern recorded history. Archaeological evidence shows that Guyana’s coastal belt is below sea level, something the Dutch, French and British colonizers knew and had to contend with. While the Dutch proved more adept than most at sea defence, they, like every other colonial power, were at their wits’ end when the country was faced with heavy rainfall or high tide. The post-independent governments have faced the same problems. Yet, it was the Dutch who moved the country’s original capital from Borsselen Island, which was 20 miles up the Demerara River, to its current location at the mouth of the Demerara River, and named it Stabroek. In 1812, it was renamed Georgetown. Hindsight proved that it was a mistake by the Dutch to move the capital, because Georgetown was below sea level. Today, there are reports that it is sinking. Earliest reports indicate that widespread flooding took place in Georgetown in 1804 and again in 1855. Both resulted in considerable hardship for the residents. The 1855 disaster led to the building of the seawall from Kingston to Kitty. And although the seawall was later extended to Turkeyen, it did not make the coastline, or Georgetown, immune from flooding. In every decade since the 1850s, Guyana has had floods and sea defence breaches whenever the tide is high or there is heavy rainfall. Today, flooding continues in Georgetown and the coastal plain, but 2005 will be forever etched in the memories of the people as the year of the “Great Flood.” In that year, incessant rainfall combined with high tides, and breaches in the sea defence and East Demerara Conservancy, led to extensive flooding. Reports had indicated that many residents in Georgetown were forced to abandon their homes, and electricity in particular was frequently disrupted as trees fell across power lines, plunging some sections of the city in darkness. The situation was also disastrous in Essequibo and Berbice. Since that flood, the governments have spent millions of dollars to upgrade the drainage system. Kokers/sluices and pumps were repaired and canals and drains were cleared and desilted. In spite of the most recent preparations, Georgetown and the coastal plain were once again flooded when the skies opened up on December 23, last. It was a painful reminder of the “Great Flood” of 2005 and of the need for a more rigorous upgrade and maintenance of the interlocking system of kokers, drains, dams and canals in the flooded areas. However, the system worked really well as the water receded expeditiously in the city, except for Albouystown. But there is something else too. Many believe that the kind of flooding the country has experienced in recent years is related to issues connected to global warming. It is also known that the current drainage structure in Georgetown and the coastal plain cannot cope with the intensity and volume of rainfall. The government owes it to the people to develop both short-term and long-term strategies to solve the problem. It should contract specialists in the field to increase the capacity of the current drainage structure in Georgetown and the coastal plain in order to absorb the volume of water from heavy rainfall. The specialists should also provide advice as to the viability of existence of Georgetown, which according to experts is sinking. The pertinent questions would be: What kind of drainage system is needed to ensure the survival of the people in the most fertile part of Guyana? And, more importantly, is the city really sinking?
Thursday January 19, 2017
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email
Urgent need for the reclamation of integrity in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, One of the greatest haemorrhages experienced by Guyana following intellectual and capital flight since the early 1990’s is the erosion of Integrity. Merriam-Webster defines Integrity as the firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values. It is further conceptualized as consistency of actions, values, methods and measures that affect principles, expectations and outcomes. The opposite is regarded as hypocrisy, often manifested by corruptness and a host of other ills. Every day citizens of this country are faced with mind boggling experiences that would be frowned upon or utterly uprooted from most civilized societies. Some include the regularity of inept, callous and unprofessional
behavior, in both public and private sectors. Others are more glaring, in the forms or bribery, deliberate distortion of records and various forms of evasion, including taxes. These trends invariably lead to unwarranted delays or losses in real dollars. Failure by some lofty addressees to respond to or even acknowledge correspondence is a challenge evident in all sectors. The nonchalance and dishonesty that follow the absence of such ethics are simply amazing and harmful to any civilized society. Then there are the ever “busy” bodies; these are office-holders who render themselves inaccessible, while they punctuate their daily duties with frequent and lengthy inter- collegial gaffs or social media engagements.
Of more extremes are the organized white collar racketeers. Those are just a few examples, sampling the new “is Guyana” culture that exposes the deficiency of Integrity. This subject found its way in the recent AFC press conference, where the Honourable Ministers David Patterson and Cathy Hughes gave respective insights into the slow but steady progress that has been made to date under the Coalition Government at discouraging and reversing trends of corruption. As much as we know the issues, responsible personal behavior is the first step we can all take towards restoring integrity in our society. Again I will reference Minister Hughes and her testimony relevant to the option of paying a traffic ticket or “leffing something” with a police officer who had stopped her for exceeding a speed limit. She opted to pay the ticket instead of greasing
the officer’s hand. If she had not demonstrated integrity in that instant she would never be able to face that officer with dignity again, much less talk about it. Recently too, another public servant - a young police rank stationed several villages up the East Coast, who found a tradesman’s phone, travelled to Georgetown to return it to its owner. Such honesty is also another wink of Integrity. This is the type of mental strength Guyanese need to emulate and seek to re-establish as a cultural hallmark. It is responsible behavior, and responsibility begins with nobody but us. This discipline to be responsible builds integrity. Maybe the media can also help by playing its part by capturing more instances when persons demonstrate Integrity so it is seen as normative and not just abstract instances or good luck! Oretta Cutting
Guyanese ruling politicians have always been too inflexible DEAR EDITOR, Plans go out the window when the first shot of any war is fire? Well, that has certainly been the case since the first day of the Granger administration. Everything they promised the people during the 2015 elections campaign has general been misdelivered or in most cases totally undelivered. I specifically ask the people - Have the decision your leaders in the PNC and PPP made over the last 50 years worked out for the nation? How has your life as an individual improved because of these political decisions from the PNC and PPP over
the last 50 years? Are you any better off because of your political support to either of these two political forces that dominated Guyana all of its independent political life? Would you still stand by the PPP and the PNC today? These are not academic questions. They are but the gist of the problems in Guyana as we peel this onion that inhibits Guyana’s economic transformation to unleash its potential. We have seen how little reasoning matters when it comes to the maelstrom of this love/hate relationship between the PPP and PNC. At the end of it all, the unin-
tended disastrous consequences from this relationship between the PNC and PPP have been the main cause for the stagnation of the lives of the ordinary people of Mahaica, Mabaruma and McKenzie and many other towns and villages. The people’s chances of living the good life have always been shot to pieces over the last 50 years because mediocre and overrated pigheaded politicians in Guyana just cannot get their game right; just for once for the people. Today, like old times we find ourselves yet again on the verge of another conflict just because our ruling politicians remain steadfast to this tradition of being politically inflexible about what is the
meaning of Article 161 (2) of the Constitution and clearly does not get what “... any other fit and proper person....” means. How hard is it for Coalition leadership to understand that a bona fide Senior Counsel and experienced politicians Desmond Hoyte suggested Eddie Hopkinson (Engineer), Joe Singh (Soldier) and Steve Surujbally (Vet) to be the Chairman of GECOM and none of them were lawyers or potential judges? So the real question is “what the hell do we do now because overrated politicians chooses to divide Guyana even further and will not be around to clean up this political mess they are single handedly creating. Jai Harry Lall
The Constitution is clear; a person other than a judge is eligible DEAR EDITOR, The President of Guyana David Granger acted erroneously and outside of the Constitution, the Supreme law of this land, when he rejected the list of nominees submitted by the Leader of the Opposition Dr B. Jagdeo. It is a strange anomaly that he would have said that the list is unconstitutional and that he was trying to correct an unconstitutional prac-
tice since there are numerous precedents to say otherwise and the law itself is pellucid on the said matter. It is clear that when Section 161(2) speaks of ‘a fit and proper person’ it was meant to offer a solution in the case where the first qualification is not met, and that is, of finding a High Court Judge, an Appellate Court Judge or former ones. The remedy was offered
but the President cast it aside. Why did he do this? Was he advised wrongly or is it the case where he wants to frustrate the process and appoint a Chairman of his own choice? The mischief rule of statutory interpretation makes it clear that in this case the ‘mischief’ that the second option given in Section 161(2) was meant to remedy is the situation if the qualification in the first part is not met. The lawmakers were not leaving anything to chance so that the nomination and
appointment process for GEOCOM’s Chairman is frustrated. The AG must know this! We have thus seen a flagrant disregard for a simple literal interpretation of the laws and the literal interpretation is rudely dumped just because of this government’s misplaced tendency to rule at all cost. This also happened at the Local Government Elections in the case of the tied NDCsa simple section of the LGE Continued on page 6
Thursday January 19, 2017
NICIL RESPONDS TO SARU’S STATEMENT ON GNIC DEAR EDITOR, I hereby respond to Kaieteur News’ front page headline in its Sunday edition of 15 January, which read as follows: ‘NICIL MUST CLEAN UP ‘MESSY’ GNIC LAND DEAL OR REPOSSESS LANDS”. It is interesting that the CEO of SARU, Mr. Aubrey Heath-Retemeyer, had a meeting with me, as Officer-in-Charge of NICIL, just a few days before (9 January) the appearance of the headline in the Kaieteur News. It is reported that, inter alia, “we discussed with NICIL the fact that it has to clean up that mess where the lease (GNIC) is not being adhered to”. However, dealing with GNIC’s rental payment delinquency is a rather complicated matter. Let it be known that the new NICIL Board of Directors and management have been making strenuous efforts from the inception to rectify the GNIC and other land related matters that were inherited a year and-a-half ago. However, to salvage the situation and protect the workers, there were at an early stage social compassion interventions by the Ministers of Business and Social Protection, as well as Larparkan, the Workers Union and others that have stayed liquidation at-
tempts. Then, on 21 April, 2016, the Chairman of National Engineering Company (GNEC) which is owned by the workers and holds 30% of GNIC’s shares, wrote requesting that a hold be put on bankruptcy proceedings for three months, which the NICIL Board of Directors and the Minister of Finance acceded to, so as to save jobs and to allow GNEC discussion with an Investor who was interested in acquiring the company. However, 31 October, 2016 came and went and the workers had still failed to find an Investor. NICIL therefore instructed its lawyers to recommence receivership proceedings against GNIC. NICIL is committed to work through the court system so as to ensure that monies owed are received and will apply all available contractually related remedies, including repossession. In the meantime, NICIL, via court action, managed to ‘garnish’ $35M that was owed by Demarara Distillers Ltd and Nagasor Sawh Ltd to GNIC, and so was able to partially offset that amount against the G$148.86M arbitration judgement of 2013 that GNIC continues to fail to honour. Horace James Officer-In-Charge, NICIL
Rice Producers’ Association needs to do more for farmers DEAR EDITOR, I would like to thank the Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder and his team for visiting Region 5 on Thursday January 12. The outreach saw meetings at Little Biaboo, Mahaica Creek; Strath Campell, Mahaicony; and Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice. Farmers were given the opportunity to face the Minister and vent their concerns, be those, land rates, D&I, cattle rearing, cash crops, etc. The Minister and team addressed the farmers and also advised as to the way forward towards developing agriculture in Region 5. The meeting was well attended and everyone was given the opportunity to voice what was important to them or where they wanted to see improvement. Some farmers voiced their opinion on the increase in the land rent at MMA\ADA. At the meeting in Little Biaboo the farmers said nothing about the increase in the land rent, and they pledged to do some self-help work in the area. Some even offered to purchase their own tubes
to put across the dams for better drainage. I believe that the farmers have agriculture at heart no matter what. But I was very surprised by the attitude of the Rice Producers Association (RPA). Its head, Mr Seeraj turned up after the meeting was finished, as the Minister and his team were about to leave. He was sharing placards with various anti-government slogans. It is a shame to see an MP trying to derail the road to development in the agriculture sector, or any sector. No other RPA representatives were there to listen to the farmers. Region 5 calls on the RPA to do something more active and genuinely represent the farmers. They should stop playing politics with the lives of the farmers. I hope that in 2017 we will see more such visits by the Minister of Agriculture, and not only from him and teams from his ministry but from all the government ministries and agencies. Abel Seetaram APNU+AFC Regional CouncillorRegion 5
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TIME LONG PAST TO PASS THE TOBACCO CONTROL BILL DEAR EDITOR, Russia where almost half of the population smokes is considering banning tobacco. Between 2001 and now, I have been urging a global ban of tobacco by 2040. We need to introduce a Tobacco Control law in Guyana. We need to also increase tobacco taxation. The government has unreasonably increase more than 200 taxes in 2016 and 2017 but inexplicably ignored tobacco. In May 2001, as Guyana’s Minister of Health, I committed to bringing a Tobacco Control Bill to Parliament. After much consultation and technical support to draft the Tobacco Bill, I was ready to introduce the Bill in 2009. The then Cabinet and President, Bharat Jagdeo, took into consideration the urgings of the Private Sector Commission which thought that ex-
cluding the Tobacco Companies from consultations was unfair. It is true that the tobacco companies were excluded from the intense and comprehensive consultations. But that was because the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Guyana was a signatory to prohibits consultations with tobacco companies. The FCTC was the first and still only global health treaty ever. Guyana was an early signatory and 2016 marked our 10th anniversary since becoming a party to the FCTC. To satisfy the Cabinet and the Private Sector, we started another round of consultations. I explained to the Private Sector that I could not invite the Tobacco Companies. The Private Sector invited the
General Manager of DEMTOCO to lead the private sector team to the consultations. In 2011, I prepared again to introduce the Bill. But Parliament was dissolved for elections. By 2012, I was shifted to the Ministry of Agriculture and the new Health Minister decided to resume consultations. By the time he was ready to bring the Bill to Parliament, the Parliament was prorogued and subsequently dissolved for the 2015 elections. I am re-publishing the Bill which I had first published for public consultation in 2009 and which was ready for the second time to be introduced in 2012. I heard more than a dozen times that Ministers Norton and Cummings would be introducing the Bill at the “next meeting of Parliament”. But each time the sitting comes and goes and nothing happens. This is a bipartisan issue.
It affects all Guyanese, those who smoke and those who do not. I am again appealing to the Minister of Health to bring the Bill to Parliament and send it to a Special Select Committee. Let Parliament invite the public to make presentations. In the end, let Guyana have a Tobacco Control Bill. We have been dithering for too long. While we dither, more people are exposed and get sick. I urge the Parliament to raise the tobacco tax. It is unconscionable that the government has introduced or increased more than 200 new taxes, but did not touch tobacco. This is reprehensible. Since 2001, I am on record in calling for higher tobacco taxes in Guyana and around the world. In fact, I am on record calling for a global minimum tax on tobacco, a minimum tax that applied to all countries. Continued on page 6
Jagdeo and Nandlall should stop the nonsense about tain of discriminations and the liberate in his attempt to a one term government pain and suffering they had marginalize one section of DEAR EDITOR, Most Guyanese believe that Anil Nandlall was unfit to be the Nation’s Attorney General. Once on a taped message, Nandlall, which up to this day has not denied he was the speaker, was enquiring about a certain female journalist for his uncle. He was also heard to be threatening the staff at Kaieteur News. Now this is the same person who is giving the impression that he cares so much, and has the country at heart and wants to rescue the Nation from the APNU/AFC coalition. Both Jagdeo and Nandlall are telling their supporters that this Administration is for “One Term”. Well both of these men need to understand that although many might be disappointed with this Administration they are not going back to the PPP. Jagdeo must account for the 400 black lives taken by extra judicial killings. Nandlall must explain why there has been no investigation into those killings. He must tell us what the Ramotar Govt. knows about Courtney CrumEwing assassination. So when they are saying that this administration is a one term government, they should know that the PPP is not regaining power in 2020, even if we the people have to crawl to the polling station. Jagdeo talks about wooing disaffected APNU/AFC supporters, however under the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime
they could not find a single Afro-Guyanese to fill diplomatic positions. While Jagdeo was in government no one Guyanese of African descent could ever look forward to get beyond a certain level at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Does Jagdeo expect that the people are so silly as to compare the concerns they have with this present Administration as against the moun-
to endure under the last PPP administration, which was corrupt to the hilt. Jagdeo and Nahdlall complain bitterly of discrimination now. During their regime, the PPP sterilized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the point that many people in the USA, UK and Canada never realized that this was a multi-ethnic society. This was because Jadgeo was callous and de-
this society to virtual exclusion. There is in my view no need to waste time to even listen to the empty talk by these two men of ill repute. We voted for change and we intend to push this administration to function. We are not going back to being second class citizen under PPP domination. George Archer, New York
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Guyana, as a matter of policy, must restore the death penalty DEAR EDITOR, On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, an unrepentant Dylann Roof was sentenced to death for killing nine black church members during Bible study, the first person to face execution for federal hate crime convictions. A jury deliberated his sentence for about three hours, capping a trial in which the white man did not fight for his life or show any remorse. He was his own attorney during sentencing and insisted that he wasn’t mentally ill, but he never asked for forgiveness or mercy, or explained the crime. Editor, months before Mr. Roof was tried and sentenced to death, the families of the deceased did not want Mr. Roof to be put to death. This was due to their religious beliefs and opposition to capital punishment. However, editor, this case was not only about what the deceased families wanted, but more importantly, it was about justice and a just punishment; not just for some people, but for all
people. In the end, justice prevailed. Despite President Obama not being a strong advocate for the death penalty, he wanted the death penalty for Mr. Roof. For example, even though Mr. Roof’s attorney offered to plead guilty to life in prison, the US Attorney General rejected the offer and sought the death penalty. One of her arguments for the death penalty was that she was afraid that if Mr. Roof didn’t get the death penalty for killing nine people it would set a bad legal precedent. She argued that if you don’t give the death penalty to Mr. Roof for killing nine people, it would be hard to put someone to death for killing only one person. Here is the Attorney General’s statement: ”Following the department’s rigorous review process to thoroughly consider all relevant factual and legal issues, I have determined that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty.” (New York Times May
24, 2016). Editor, why is justice in our land such an injustice to victims? How do we in Guyana juxtapose Mr. Roof being given the death penalty for killing nine people and yet, we have people in Guyana who killed many more people than Mr. Roof and not one of the killers who have been found guilty have been given the death penalty. Editor, the people of Guyana can never receive true justice because they are living in a developing country and in developing countries the presidents do not have the authority to enforce the death penalty without groups like the donor governments withholding financial aid. Our own president, Mr. Granger will not dare risk losing financial support from the donor governments by enforcing capital punishment laws. Editor, the difference between justice in developing and developed countries is money. Money rules the developing countries. Money supersedes justice. In developing countries, whoever pays the piper calls the tune. In Guyana, the donor govern-
ments are paying the piper and they are calling the tune. In Guyana, President Granger is not calling the shots regarding the death penalty. The donor governments are calling the shots when it comes to enforcing the death penalty. They are the biggest opposition to the death penalty. Even President-Elect Trump supports the death penalty. If the donor governments say there will be no capital punishment or you will loose your aid, the government will never put anyone to death. Therefore, President Granger’s hands are tied with respect to enforcing the death penalty. If President Granger enforces the death penalty, President-Elect Trump will be his biggest supporter. I think it is time for Guyana to bring back the death penalty. If the Americans can put a 22 year old to death, why should we not be able to do the same? After all, we have adopted the Americans other social issues, why not adopt this one as well. Anthony Pantlitz Chairman of the Kilcoy/ Hampshire NDC
THE MORNING TRAFFIC SITUATION ON THE EAST BANK IS WOEFUL
DEAR EDITOR, With deep frustration and anger I pen this letter as I am seated at the eastern end of the Demerara Harbour Bridge waiting for the retraction to end. I am aware that there are many commuters travelling to work on a daily basis, however, it seems that very little thought and consideration is given by the Police Traffic Department to commuters who live in Georgetown and work either in Region Three, Diamond or anywhere on the southern East Bank, etc. In the mornings, traffic heading in the southern direction is hindered because one of the lanes is closed to accommodate traffic heading to Georgetown. Those cones are not removed until 8:15, 8:20 or whenever the traffic police see it fit. In the meantime, the southbound traffic is crawling, causing commuters on
that end to be late for work or other important appointments on the West Side. This reason for being late for work may not be considered or accepted by one’s employer. This is the case whether you leave home very early or not. In some instances, if you leave home for 7:15 am, you have to deal with another stall up at the Harbour Bridge since the traffic heading from Region Three has to be given priority even though the bridge is not retracting. There are mornings when the bridge will be retracted at 8:30, there seems to be no collaborated plan between the Police Officers and the Harbour Bridge to address this frustrating situation. The traffic build up is great, the cones placed on the road remain until 8:20 am. By this time the southern bound traffic moves a bit faster, only
to be further frustrated by the Police Officers directing traffic at the Bridge entrance traffic lights, where they continue to give priority to the northern bound traffic even when the bridge is about to close off. The greater frustration is when you get to the bridge, the Eastern end is closed, but there is still a flow from the Western end for almost thirty (30) minutes after the stated retraction time. When the bridge retracts, commuters have to wait for ninety minutes, therefore an 8:30 retraction time which was posted on the information board, will see the bridge closing back at 10:30 instead of 10:00 am. More frustrating is that in this technological age, with increased bridge tolls, longer waiting periods and the announcer informing the public of the new time schedule for the opening, there is no hotspot for commuters to use their various devices to get some assignments or tasks
completed, etc. This makes the long hours of waiting costlier in every sense. One arrives at work late, unsettled, frustrated, and can miss an appointment or lose pay or be dismissed for being consistently late. Something has to be put in place especially on mornings when there is a retraction at 8:00 or 8:30 am. The Police Officers need to be informed so that they can be able to exercise greater efficiency and to remove the cones from the road earlier to effect a freer flow of traffic on the East Bank Carriage way. In addition, the government should invest in providing hotspots on both the western and eastern end of the harbour bridge during the retraction periods so as to facilitate constructive use of time, especially for students, teachers, business persons who may need to complete tasks which may otherwise have been completed at the place of destination. Raelene Andrews
Thursday January 19, 2017
Earnest plea to repair this road in Chateau Margot DEAR EDITOR, The main throughway leading into the small hamlet of Chateau Margot on the East Coast of Demerara is in a deplorable state. This main road from the East Coast highway is daily becoming an impassable one. When it rains, we have ditches almost as deep as one foot wide at several points along this only entrance road to the hamlet of Chateau Margot. Of utmost concern is the canal that straddles its eastern side. Because it was again dug deeper recently and the earth sold, the road name Chimney Road could be renamed “canal road.”
This is because the canal is almost about to swallow it, as it is slowly and inexorably moving into the canal. It seems that the powers that be at the Regional Democratic Council whose office is at Triumph village and the N.D.C office which is at Better Hope East Coast Demerara are turning their heads the other way while blocking their ears. They are pretending that they do not hear or see that Chateau Margot road with its large pot holes and broken back is inexorably moving into the deep canal. Please, could the powers that be attend to this serious matter urgently! Rooplall Dudhnath
TIME LONG PAST TO PASS... From page 5 When I called for a minimum tax, it does not mean a low tax; it means a high tax that represents the lowest ceiling that any country can have. Tobacco is the world’s greatest extra-judicial killer. Last year over 6M people died because of tobacco, more than 600,000 from secondhand smoke. It is expected that by 2025, the annual death rate related to tobacco would increase to more than 10M. We agree as the world to do something about stopping tobacco when we brought into force the first global health treaty - the FCTC. But we are far from doing enough to stop BIG TOBACCO. The time is now for a high global tobacco tax. This is a step towards banning tobacco by 2040, as I had called for in 2001 when I was a Minister of Health. The United Nations have agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a better world by 2030. With the SDGs, there is specific recognition of the importance of the NCDs. This is encouraging. There is also recognition that tobacco is a killer and globally we need collective action to reduce and eliminate the negative impacts of tobacco.
As a Minister of Health between 2001 and 2012, I had emphasized the significance of global action against tobacco. I was an ardent supporter of the FCTC. But I had gone further in calling for a banning of tobacco by 2040. Now that the SDG has embraced the goals of the FCTC, it is time we are more robust in our action to stop BIG TOBACCO. In this regards, we must strictly enforce our agreements in the FCTC to increase taxes on tobacco. Research has shown clearly that increased taxes do reduce tobacco use. We must join in a global collective action to increase tobacco taxes. We need a global minimum tax on tobacco. This way we can guarantee that there are high tobacco taxes everywhere. While leaving individual countries to make a decision on how high to go, we must set a high minimum tax to ensure that for those countries that are hesitant to increase tobacco taxes, they have no choice. I am hopeful that my earlier call to ban tobacco by 2040 will become a global initiative. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
The Constitution is clear... From page 5 laws was conveniently misinterpreted to foist its own people into the Chairman and Vice-Chairmanship positions. This is a serious practice and it will mutate later on into more pronounced and blatant forms of power-misuse if it is not checked in time. I will never believe that with all the legal minds in this Coalition Government that
they are simply misinterpreting the laws. If the President wants Guyanese to believe that he is a just and fair leader then he should use the list provided by Dr. Jadgeo or give some more plausible reasons for rejecting it! The reasons given cannot hold water! Haseef Yusuf (FCCA; MBA) Region 6 Councillor
Thursday January 19, 2017
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Opposition agrees to meet AG on GECOM chairperson impasse
The Opposition has agreed to meet with Attorney General Basil Williams, to learn more about the administration’s interpretation of the Constitution when it comes to the selection process for a chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Yesterday, a statement from the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, disclosed that his office has received a letter from President David Granger “which does not provide the clarifications that the President promised”. The administration and the Opposition are at odds over the selection of new chairperson following the announced resignation of Dr. Steve Surujbally, effective November 30, 2016. A list of six persons sent to President Granger last month has been rejected, with the Head of State making it clear that the names did not meet the requirements of the Constitution. The Opposition disagreed. Jagdeo’s office explained yesterday that on January 5th, he received a letter from President Granger, informing him that the list of nominees which the Leader of the Opposition had submitted to the President for the appointment
President David Granger
Attorney General, Basil Williams
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
of a Chairman of GECOM was “unacceptable within the meaning of the Constitution”. In that letter, the President requested “a new list of persons who are not unacceptable”. “As a result, by letter dated 10th January, 2017, the Leader of the Opposition wrote to the President requesting certain clarifications on the President’s interpretation of Article 161(2) of the Constitution and a meeting to discuss the matter. This request became of even greater importance because of certain interpretations which the President
placed upon Article 161(2) when he spoke to the media at a State House function.” On January 11th, while speaking to the media again, the President indicated that the “legal clarifications”, which the Leader of the Opposition has requested will be provided. “Instead, the President proposed that a meeting be held between Attorney General, Mr. Basil Williams and a person of the Leader of the Opposition’s choice “in order to avoid further misinterpretation or misunderstanding of this important constitutional matter,” the statement from
the Opposition Leader said. DISAPPOINTED “We are disappointed that the clarifications that we requested have not been furnished. We are further disappointed that the President is unprepared to meet with the Leader of the Opposition on a matter of such crucial national importance. We had hoped that such a meeting would have exposed the President to a view that is different from that of the Attorney General, whom we presume, is advising the President on this matter.” Jagdeo’s office said that
Social Cohesion poised to help address nursing shortage A major and protracted challenge that has faced the public health sector is that of staff shortage. This challenge has over the years been particularly evident at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). This state of affairs was recently amplified by former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, who pointed out that the issue of staff shortage had long been triggered by two factors. These he listed as staff being overwhelmed with work and the issue of a wanting remuneration package. Speaking of the latter issue the Minister rhetorically asked “Hasn’t it always been an issue? Remuneration has always been an issue; it is not only for nurses but also for the doctors.” In fact, the Cuban-trained Ophthalmologist recalled that when he assumed a consultant position at the Georgetown Hospital several years ago, there was a protest by medical interns at a hospital in Barbados. Dr. Norton recalled that the interns in the Caribbean Island were in fact protesting over a pay package that was much more than he was re-
ceiving as a Consultant. “They were getting payment that was more than mine, but they were protesting about that... but I stayed, that wasn’t reason for me to leave my country,” the Minister asserted, as he underscored that patriotism could at times prove to be more rewarding than increased pay. And it is this very notion, Minister Norton said, that he hopes to amplify as Minister of Social Cohesion. Minister Norton was recently entrusted with the portfolio of Social Cohesion Minister and, according to him, Social Cohesion is
poised to help citizens gain a greater appreciation for serving their country. “This is why Cohesion is important, unless you address patriotism, unless you are going to convince persons that they are working for the benefit of Guyana we will continue to have issues,” asserted Minister Norton. He added, “We have to help people recognise that the country that they are desirous of going to for a large amount of money had in fact passed through the similar stages that Guyana is going through now, and unless we can get our nurses to get that
mindset, they are going to continue to rush to leave our system.” The Minister is however convinced that in Guyana “although we might be going through a phase we hope we can improve on it...” He underscored that “we have not been doing too bad; health workers no longer have a situation of a ‘take it or leave it’ five percent increase.” In fact, Minister Norton is convinced that the Ministry of Public Health will shortly be able to correct a nurses’ shortage situation. He noted that a number of Continued on page 23
nevertheless, in the best interest of the nation, the Leader of the Opposition will accede to the President’s request, “since we are committed to protecting the democratic process, which the Guyanese people so valiantly and tirelessly struggled to establish. It is our hope that this engagement will provide the requisite clarity and will move the process closer to an early resolution.” Granger and the administration have been arguing that the Constitution is very clear on the matter of the appointment of a chairperson for GECOM. The Head of State emphasised that regardless what obtained in the past, now that the responsibility has been vested in him as President of Guyana, the provisions of the Constitution will be followed. Respo n d i n g t o q u e s tions on his acceptance of the nomination for the GECOM Chairmanship by the late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte in 2000, the President said that the Constitution explicitly states the requirements for the position. He noted that any breaches that may have occurred in the past must not be allowed to persist. NO PRECEDENT HERE ”My understanding is that at all material times a member of the legal profession or several members of the legal profession were on the list, but my acceptance of the nomination does not necessarily mean that I must accept the six names that were submitted. So it doesn’t follow the law of what you would call the
‘non sequitur’ [a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement]. So the point is, even if the Constitution had been breached, or a nomination been made in breach of the Constitution, 10 or 20 years ago, there is no need to repeat it so that’s not a precedent. I am accepting now as President that the Constitutional provisions must be applied,” the Head of State said. Though the list provided by the Opposition Leader contains the name of Christopher Ram, who was admitted to the Bar in 2009, this is the first time a Senior Counsel or person qualified to be a judge or a former or current judge has not been included on a list submitted by an Opposition Leader. The Article first outlines clearly that “…the Chairman of the Elections Commission shall be a person who holds or who has held office as a Judge of a Court having unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in some part of the Commonwealth or a Court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court or who is qualified to be appointed as any such Judge or any other fit and proper person, to be appointed by the President from a list of six persons, not unacceptable to the President, submitted by the Leader of the Opposition after meaningful consultation with the non-governmental political partied represented in the National Assembly.” The position is a critical issue for both the Government and the Opposition, especially after the latter’s loss at the 2015 general elections, following a 23-year continuous reign.
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Jagdeo lambastes Govt. on GuySuCo
By Brushell Blackman Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo believes that the government’s justification of a lack of fiscal space to justify how it is currently dealing with GuySuCo is one that was not properly thought out and very fallacious. He was at the time delivering the feature address at the opening of the 5th Regional Conference of the International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotel, Restaurants, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Union (IUF) conference at Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara yesterday. In his remarks, Jagdeo said that a layman listening to Finance Minister Winston Jordan putting forward this argument would believe that there isn’t another option. However the Opposition Leader disagrees with that notion. He said that what the government has failed to tell the populace is that there are choices when dealing with this much talked about fiscal space. “There are several choices that can be taken in the fiscal space, but government chose the wrong ones.” Jagdeo referred to his tenure as President, saying that they were numerous times he was at odds with the union; however his approach was different. Notwithstanding this, the former president said that the union and his government were still able to arrive at amicable solutions and kept the sugar industry afloat. Heaping criticism on the ruling administration, Jagdeo said that there has been two consecutive years of wage freeze under the current administration; something that has not happened in the past 30 years. He drew attention to another first, saying that
Thursday January 19, 2017
Kaieteur News
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo the annual production incentive was taken away from the sugar industry, something that had not been done in 64 years. And yet again the argument of lack of fiscal space was used to justify the aforementioned decision, Jagdeo emphasised. A visibly enthused Jagdeo said that there is the other side to the fiscal space argument which the government has failed to highlight. “This administration has their priorities mixed up and that’s why they are failing the industry.” He questioned how there could be no fiscal space yet the government has given a $77B debt write-off to DDL. This, he opined, could have been plugged into the industry without becoming burdensome to the treasury. He explained that $8M a year was needed to keep the Wales estate open and save 17,000 jobs. Further he stated that the Gold Board has lost $28B in the two years this government has taken office - more
Foreign currency situation is under control and will return to normalcy – GCCI Head
money that could have been used to aid the sugar industry. Jagdeo said it all comes back to making the right choices and opined that had this been done, all the estates would have been open today. “How can there be no fiscal space but the current Ministers have gotten a wage increase 15 times more than the average worker?” The Opposition Leader was not finished there; he asked what justifies building a stadium (Durban Park) and using it once and then ‘parking it’. All these wasted funds, according to Jagdeo, could have been better spent. He admitted that governments would not be able to do all that is asked of them, but good choices ought to have been made, something he believes that has eluded the current David Granger-led government. He said that they (Government) cannot continue to hide behind the lack of fiscal space argument, since the truth is being exposed daily. The opposition and government continue to be at loggerheads after the subsidy was stopped. The government explained that such an undertaking was not feasible and it was bleeding the public purse.
It appears that the situation of the shortage of foreign currency at local banks will soon be alleviated. At least, this was the promise given to members of the Private Sector Commission and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) during a meeting with the Banking Association. According to GCCI Head, Vishnu Doerga, he has every confidence that the matter is “under control and will return to normalcy.” Doerga had said the situation is one which hampers the private sector logistics, since businesses are unable to pay suppliers in a timely manner, thereby delaying shipments. He said that the scarcity also leads to the exchange rates being increased. In the meantime, businessmen continue to be told that there is a shortage in the system. In other cases, some companies are being told that if they want their transaction to be conducted, then transfers in US dollars would be done at a rate of G$214. There is a concern that the “shortage” is responsible for the hike in the rate for the US currency by local banks. For the time being, Central Bank Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga, insists that the banks have foreign currency. “I don’t know what they
are going on with. There is no shortage. All the banks have money. What is happening is that some of them are just holding on to their money. The foreign currency situation has even improved significantly from last year to now!” Another senior banking official at the Central Bank asserted, “All the banks can provide foreign currency to the consumers, but they are trying to be difficult. Some of them are keeping the money so they can send it to their other branches in the region.” In addition, Dr. Ganga stressed that there was no reason for concern.
“There is no foreign currency crisis looming in Guyana. The fact is, we have a net supply of foreign currency in the system, so there should be no depreciation of the currency by any significant amount. It is not a situation where there is a piling up of demand for foreign exchange at the commercial banks,” Dr. Ganga said. He even provided details which illustrate that the current foreign exchange reserves held by the Bank of Guyana and the commercial banks were in excess of the 2015 figures. “Commercial banks have increased their foreign exchange holdings. In 2015 they had a gross holding of US$357M. As of September 2016 it was US$388.4M, and we were expecting the commercial banks to hold approximately US$403M by the end of the year,” Dr. Ganga revealed. “The (commercial) banks have money… and they have quite a lot. It is not a small amount. The Bank of Guyana had US$598M at the end of 2015, currently we are holding close to US$625M which is much more than last year. You can see, therefore, that there is an increase in foreign exchange availability from the holdings,” Dr. Ganga disclosed.
Smart City Solutions (SCS), the company awarded the parking meter contract for the city of Georgetown, announced yesterday that it is ready to meet with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the National Commission on Disability (NCD). The company made this declaration via a statement, which comes on the heels of several reports in the media about parking meters being positioned in front of public schools as well on the pavements around Georgetown, which would affect teachers and impede the movement of persons with disabilities, particularly those who are blind. According to the company, although it recognizes the importance of dealing with these issues, it must be noted that the SCS has never been approached by either organisation. As such, the company said that it has to now react to second-hand news reports about the concerns of these entities rather than being able to address the issues directly and constructively. The company noted that despite a large number of parking meters being mounted already around the City and hundreds of foun-
dations for meters being installed; only a handful of them are the subject of concern. It was expressed by SCS that the NCD has already been contacted and a meeting is expected to be held as soon as it is practicable for the Commission. This engagement is to ensure that the placement of meters conforms to internationally accepted standards and practices, as well as prevailing local conditions, to minimize the impact on the free movement of persons with disabilities. As it relates to the Teachers’ Union, the company said that it is essential for any properly functioning metered parking system, or for any such generally regulated public infrastructure platform, to establish and adhere to general standards which are fairly and equitably applied across the board. However, despite this general rule, SCS accepts that there are exceptions, and is therefore willing to apply special consideration where there are particular special circumstances. The company has suggested that special arrangements such as parking permits for teachers and specific parking regulations in school ar-
eas are, in fact, consistent with international practice. On this basis, SCS said that it is willing to examine a customized solution as has been done with other organizations and institutions which the SCS has engaged. The parking permits, the company said, can be granted on application for spaces exclusive to teachers during prescribed times, which would regulate those parking spaces on behalf of the permit holders. This would grant preferential access to parking in proximity to schools as under regular circumstances, teachers would have to compete with ordinary motorists for parking spaces. Presently there are two meters mounted in front of The Bishops’ High School on the eastern and western sides of Carmichael Street, and a third has been placed in front of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. Additionally, two foundations for meters have been set up infront of St. George’s High School. When Kaieteur News contacted the Public Relations Officers of SCS, Kit Nascimento last week, he said that the company has been in contact with private sector entities and government
agencies in order to come up with special packages, but no representation was made by the GTU. If teachers are made to pay the current rates for parking starting January 23, 2017, they may end up paying as much as $1,200 a day, or $6,000 per week. The rate for each parking rotation of 15 minutes is $50. As part of the contract with the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, the company is installing 157 parking meters responsible for 3237 parking spaces. The instruments can be located along Quamina Street, Charlotte Street, Avenue of the Republic, King Street, Wellington Street, North Road, Hadfield Street, Regent Street, Croal Street, South Road, Robb Street, Camp Street, Church Street, Water Street and Brickdam. Paid parking will be in effect from 07:00hrs to 19:00hrs from Monday to Saturday. Motorists will not have to pay on Sundays or any National Holiday. If persons breach their allotted time, wardens would place a lock on the wheel of the vehicle preventing it from moving. In the event of this, vehicle owners would have to pay an $8000 fine. If this fee is not paid, owners risk their vehicle being impounded.
GCCI Head, Vishnu Doerga
Parking meter company ready to meet with Disability Commission, GTU
Thursday January 19, 2017
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Kaieteur News
The issue is one of interpretation, not compulsion The goalpost is being shifted so often in the matter of the appointment of the Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission that the whole process seems to have drifted from centre field to off the beaten track. The debate is now revolving around whether the President has to provide reasons for his rejection of the list. Another debate is whether the Courts can order the President. Those are not the issues in contention. The President does not have to give a reason for not choosing any of the names on the list. But he does have to give an explanation if he rejects the list as not suitable. He is not required to make a judgment on the list. He is required to make a judgment on the names on the list. He can reject all of the
names on the list, since it is his prerogative to determine whether any or all of them are not objectionable to him. The President is neither legally nor morally bound to give any reasons for his not choosing any names on the list. He can choose any name or he can reject all the names. He cannot reject the list so long as it has six names. He can only reject the names on the grounds that he finds all of them objectionable. He does not have to say why. Similarly, if he had chosen a name, he does not have to say why. He chooses whomever he chooses. The second debate that has emerged is the misunderstanding that the Leader of the Opposition is planning to challenge the President’s decision in this matter.
This is not the issue at all. There is therefore no need for any long-winded treatise on whether the President can be compelled in the exercise of his Presidential prerogative. What the Leader of the Opposition has proposed is that Guyana’s highest Court of Appeal, which so happens to be the Caribbean Court of Justice, be approached for an interpretation as to whether the sole qualification for appointment is a judge, as the President seems to be inferring from his unclear comments made at a media brunch a few weeks ago. The President has to come out clearly and state whether it is his interpretation that the list must contain all judges, since only a judge can be chosen. He has to state this fact. He cannot dance around this issue. He has to indicate his
Dem boys seh...
Is money fuh de boys Everybody does try a hustle, and when dem get through dem does try a hustle fuh dem friend. Jagdeo do that a lot. He hustle fuh heself till he build a mansion and buy a whole heap of property all over de place. When he done he hustle fuh he friends. He give one of dem a complex and radio station. When dem boys talk bout de radio station, he tell dem how is de court rule and he friend tek de court ruling. He didn’t seh that wha he tek was Vieira radio station. He even give de man a television station then he claim how Vieira sell it, even though de law seh that a man can’t transfer he television licence. When all that was happening other people sit down and watch. It even look like dem copy wha Jagdeo doing, because all of a sudden we see some of the present boys doing de same thing. De issue this time is about special prosecutor. When was Jagdeo time, he tek Chat-3 and he mek him a special prosecutor. Now Basil de Willie tek two of he boys and mek dem special prosecutor. When a reporter ask him how he can do that he tell she that he
ain’t got time fuh answer anybody. Like he talk too hard because Joe Shan hear and he tek one of he boys and mek him a special prosecutor. Dem boys seh that this thing look bad; it look so bad that de Chat-3 seh is money fuh de boys. Well since he seh suh, some of dem other boys want to know if he got short memory. He was wid Jagdeo when Jagdeo mek him special lawyer fuh represent de oil company wid smuggled fuel. He never win a case. But wha got dem boys at he throat is when he seh that de DPP should select de special prosecutors. Dem boys seh dem don’t see how she could hire special prosecutors when she is one of de people who got to get prosecute fuh de property she got at Pradoville. Yet is anybody guess how dem select this group fuh be special prosecutors. Dem got other lawyers who coulda get de wuk, but in this case dem got to give credit to Chat-3. Is a case of dem boys giving money to dem friends. Dem only hope that de one who prosecute Jagdeo wuk fuh he money. Talk half and watch how money sharing.
interpretation of the relevant article of the Constitution, and if it is his belief that only a judge can be appointed. If this is the case, then there is a legal conundrum which can only be resolved by an approach to the Court for an interpretation, not for an order compelling the President to do anything. The Leader of the Opposition is within his right to seek clarification from the President. The President is not being clear on this issue. It makes no sense for the President to ask the Leader of the Opposition for another list of names.
The Leader of the Opposition needs to be clear as to this issue about only a judge being qualified. If this is what the President and his advisers believe, then the problem becomes one of interpretation of the Constitution. This problem can only be resolved by asking the highest court in our land for a legal interpretation, not a compulsion order. The goalpost should not be shifted. The President must come out clearly and state his interpretation of the constitutional provision dealing with the appointment of the Chairman of GECOM.
If this interpretation is not the same as the Leader of the Opposition, then the best way to resolve it is through recourse to the Court. It is a simple matter which should not be complicated by the extraneous and tangential arguments being advanced at present in the media, about reasons for decision and about the jurisdiction of the court to compel the President to act. Neither is relevant to the present controversy.
Recently released bandit robs No. 50 gas station A well-known bandit, who was less than a week ago released from prison, has struck again. On Tuesday he robbed the Number 50 village gas station at Leeds. According to information, the culprit who hails from the area and is well known to the police and villagers, rode up on a bicycle which he parked in front of the gas station, around 16:40 hrs. He then en-
tered the premises, armed with a crowbar and cutlass, and proceeded to relieve two employees - 24-year-old Sheniza Muniz called ‘Jenny’ of No. 59 village, Corentyne, and 18-year-old Remacus Williams called ‘Skinny,’ a pump attendant, of No. 50 village - of a considerable sum of cash.
The robber then sped out of the gas station remounted his bicycle and rode away. The matter was reported to the nearby by No.51 police station. The police responded promptly, but by then the accused had disappeared. He has not been arrested as yet Investigations are continuing.
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Thursday January 19, 2017
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
2016 was the year of Trump and Jagdeo Each one of us says after each year passes, the following words; “I will never forget that year.” And when we reach the end of the new year, we repeat that mantra. The reason is because life has uncertainties that not even the widest and wildest imagination can see. When these unbelievable things touch the world and we see them, they leave their mark on us. The cycle goes on. I said to myself at the end of 2015 that I will always remember 2015. It was the year that showed where a person can vote outside the box of ethnicity to change the course of Guyanese history. History was indeed made.
People thought the PPP would rule Guyana forever and the PNC would never see a return to administering the State of Guyana. 2015 is gone; 2016 too, and I confess, “I will never forget that year.” That year showed me how unfortunate and luckless this country is. We found a golden opportunity to work on the endeavour of diluting (not removing, that will take a long time) social negatives like race suspicion, injustice against the poor, economic de-recognition of the disadvantaged classes, colour and class discrimination, persistence of colonial values, etc. We lifted that endeavour like a heavy carton of discarded items and threw it in
the yard bin. The past year will always be remembered by me, because a brand new PNC outfit (minus a few older folks from the eighties) and a brand new, third party, AFC, displayed thoughts and actions of mediocrity, that for me, was a misdirected journey I could never have imagined after I heard the election results in May 2015. I would go as far as, and I mean far, to say that I don’t think these two partners will change Guyana even in small, meaningful ways. It was an acerbic disappointment. 2016 was a year I will never forget for another reason – this time personal. What I am made of was disdainfully
tossed aside in a little incident that will form the core of another column. Wherever you were in 2016, you had to know the year belonged to Donald Trump. Philosophy had no right to propel such a personality into the power room of the most powerful country in the world. Was it philosophy? The answer is yes. It was the thinking, the thoughts - in short, the ontology of human society - that brought Trump to power. Humans voted for this man in large numbers, even though what he represents is what humans should never embrace. Over here in Guyana, we have a rampaging Donald Trump on our hands – Bharrat Jagdeo. Every moment of the year 2016, in Guyana, proved that there is something deeply troubling about the human psyche. For me it is best described by the European philosophical writer, Arthur Koestler. If you read Koestler, you will see that Trump and
Jagdeo are not mistakes that come infrequently, but a natural process of the working out of the inherent flaws of Homo sapiens. It was a year of triumph for Bharrat Jagdeo. In what could only be described as a pyrotechnic explosion of bizarre sadism, Mr. Jagdeo in 2016 strode the land of Guyana with smiles as large as the three great rivers of this country, and walked tall as if he was the Prodigal Son. He was no son. He was no ordinary man. He was a former dictator that so abused his rule of a small, helpless, hapless nation that the embrace he got in 2016, and still gets, must be described as the largest moment of accepted sadism by a post-colonial country. What is wrong with men and women in the 21st century that they could pick the sweetest of roses to garland a former president whose corruptibility rivals the tallest building in the world in Dubai? Trump is yet to be seen. We may feel trepidation
Frederick Kissoon about his footsteps, but he hasn’t walked as yet. Maybe he will surprise us and turn to God and the angels. Jagdeo walked. We saw his footsteps. We saw his moving hands. He opened the door to state criminality, the stables of corruption, the cupboards of incestuousness and nepotism, and the closets of ethnic ghosts. If we anticipate the wrong moves by Trump, then how do we deal with the wrong moves that Jagdeo made for fifteen consecutive years? We have dealt with it. We have done nothing. Jagdeo still smiles. Jagdeo still perambulates. Jagdeo still preaches. And so do his underlings.
Thursday January 19, 2017
Bartica Massacre trial…
Judge to rule on legal submissions made in jury’s absence
Accused: Mark Royden Williams
Accused: Roger Simon
Accused: Dennis Williams
Justice Roxanne George is expected to rule on submissions made by attorneys involved in the trial of the three men implicated in the 2008 Bartica Massacre. Attorneys Peter Hugh and Saphier Husain made submissions at the Georgetown High Court in the absence of the jury yesterday. The Prosecution was given a chance to respond and the Judge is expected to make a ruling on the submissions today. Last Tuesday, the Prosecution closed its case after calling the final witness to the stand. The witness, Bartica businessman/miner Chunilall Baboolall, testified that he had lost a quantity of gold and diamond following the attack at Bartica in February 2008. Three persons, Mark Royden Williams, called Durant and Smallie; Dennis Williams called Anaconda; and Roger Anthony Simon, called ‘Goat Man’ are on trial before Justice George and a
mixed 12-member jury at the High Court in Georgetown. According to the allegation, on Sunday, February 17, 2008, the men were among a number of gunmen who attacked the mining community of Bartica, Essequibo, killing 12 residents. Among the deceased were Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakir, Constable Shane Fredericks and Constable Ron Osborne; Edwin Gilkes, Abdool Yassin Jr, Deonarine Singh, Errol Thomas, Ronald Gomes, Baldeo Singh, Ashraf Khan, Irving Ferreira and Dexter Adrian. After murdering the police officers, the gang is said to have stolen cash, arms, ammunition and a vehicle from the police station. Using the stolen police vehicle, they drove through the streets of Bartica shooting at civilians. They proceeded to CBR Mining, where they stole arms and ammunition, and removed two safes containing cash and gold.
After their one-hour rampage, the gunmen departed Bartica by boat. In testifying to the court, Baboolall also called ‘Vulture’ recounted that he found his Lot 67 First Avenue, Bartica mining office had been broken into following the attack. The witness recalled that there were what appeared to be bullet holes in the building, and a safe with precious minerals had gone missing. Following Baboolall‘s testimony, State Prosecutors Diana Kaulesar and Stacy Goodings told the court that they had closed their case. The businessman is among some eighteen witnesses who testified in the trial of the three men. On Monday Police Detective Suraj Singh recounted the statements given by the three men accused of slaughtering 12 persons at Bartica in February 2008. Detective Singh recalled that all three men gave oral statements in relation to the matter.
Man stabs stepbrother over payment of $5000 light bill A shop owner, who was reportedly in a drunken state when he stabbed his step brother, who had confronted him over the payment of a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) bill, was remanded to prison on a charge of unlawful and malicious wounding. Warren Welcome, 37, of Port Kaituma, Water Front, North West District, is accused of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Steve Bell, with intent to disable or cause him grievous bodily harm. Welcome was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read to him on Tuesday by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The accused was remanded to prison until February 2, when he will appear in the Matthews Ridge Magistrate’s Court. Police Prosecutor Deniro
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Jones told the court that Welcome stabbed his step brother after he confronted him over payment of the utility bill. According to Jones, the accused was under the influence of alcohol when he broke a mug and stabbed Bell to the neck. The prosecutor said the accused also lashed the man to his face. Jones objected to bail citing the fact that the virtual complainant (VC) is still hospitalized. He pointed out that the VC also received injuries to the eye. Meanwhile, in another
case, 24-year-old Daniel Baird was released on self bail after pleading not guilty to a simple larceny charge which alleged that he stole a bicycle valued $30,000 on January 14. The bicycle belongs to Wesley Parks. Baird, of St. Ignatius Village, told the court that he is a labourer. Prosecutor Jones told the court that the defendant has no antecedent. He also said that the bicycle was recovered by police. Baird will make another court appearance on March 7, at the Lethem Magistrate’s Court.
Man gets eight years for infant son’s death Forty-one year-old James Hunte was yesterday sentenced to serve eight years in prison for the death of his infant son. Hunte was initially charged with murder but he pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when the matter came up before Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court yesterday. Hunte called ‘Dougla,’ a labourer from the North West District, was charged for the murder of Andy Hunte. The incident took place on March 20, 2012 at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara. The two-month-old baby was allegedly struck in the head during a drunken brawl between his parents at a rumshop.After pleading to the lesser count, Hunte expressed remorse for the act. The emotional man repeatedly told the court that he was sorry for what had happened. State Prosecutors Siand Dhurjon and Tuanna Hardy, asked the court to consider that a child is dead as a result of the actions of his father. They noted the child did not get a chance to live his full life. The Judge however noted that Hunte showed much remorse for his actions. He pointed to the fact, that the man rushed his son to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) immediately after the incident. Justice Singh noted too that the man went to the po-
James Hunte called ‘Dougla’ lice shortly after the death of his son and told them everything that transpired. “I want to give you a chance to make your contribution to society. I will be merciful to you,” the Judge said, while encouraging Hunte to make use of the programmes offered in prison. Before handing down the sentence, the Judge took into consideration that Hunte had spent five years in prison pending his trial. Considering that and other mitigating factors, the judge sentenced the man to eight years in prison. According to reports, on the day in question Hunte was drinking Banko Wine in the shop when his reputed wife came in with the baby in her hands. She reportedly took away the intoxicant from Hunte and consumed it. After she drank the Banko Wine, Hunte bought another
one at which point in time the woman grabbed it and attempted to drink it. This reportedly angered the man. The now dead child’s father then reportedly removed his belt and attempted to hit the woman “but she pushed the baby in front of her to avoid getting lashes.” The ‘belt buckle’ eventually struck the baby, immediately rendering him unconscious. ”He father collect he and tek he to the hospital and the mother just went home like she nah bin care,” a villager had recounted. The woman was said to often use the baby as a shield to protect herself during the regular beatings at the hands of her common-law husband. “Every time the man go fuh beat her she does always push the baby in front, the villagers had said.”
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Thursday January 19, 2017
Guyana completes first draft report in quest to end Mother-to-Child transmission of HIV The Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has officially become a programme to eliminate mother to child transmission altogether. This development has been asserted by Junior Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings. According to Minister Cummings, part of the Ministry’s tactic to achieve this elimination goal is a move towards ensuring that “all mothers enrolling in Antenatal Clinics (ANC) are offered the HIV test as part of their care.” In addition to this, she disclosed that rapid testing of ANC mothers is also done on the labour and postnatal wards for those mothers who did not have HIV testing done. Guyana has long been eyeing elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, and Minister Cummings divulged that during the past year Guyana was able to complete the first draft of its Country Report for the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission. In wake of Cuba’s achievement of this feat in 2015, former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, had revealed the Public Health Ministry was keen on doing likewise. “We recognize them (Cuba) for what they have done and there are many things that might have gone in their favour or might be in their favour, but we take away no credit and laud Cuba for being the first country in the world to have achieved that,” said the Minister as he noted that Guyana is poised for a similar achievement. He’d pointed out that unlike Cuba’s island setting, Guyana’s borders are porous. “We are surrounded by countries that we really have no control over and persons traverse frequently,” said the Minister, as he admitted that eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV “would be a difficult thing to do, but regardless of that, we should try to gain that status like Cuba has done.” But Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud had noted that “the bottom line of Cuba’s achievement is that its health system is really built on a solid primary health care foundation.” ”I think that’s probably the key to Cuba achieving their elimination of mother-tochild transmission of HIV and syphilis,” said Dr. Persaud, as he underscored the impor-
Minister of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings tance of primary health care here in Guyana. He noted that while the role of the health sector is paramount, the support of civil society is also a motivating factor in the quest for the ambitious goal Guyana now eyes – the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Guyana has seen a decline in the mother-to-child transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) from 5.8 percent in 2010 to less than one percent in 2015. Moreover, during the past year, much emphasis was placed on training of health care workers to further reduce the transmission rate. Among the measures that were undertaken was PMTCT training in Region Five which saw the participation of some 22 individuals; case-tracking training for 28 persons was conducted and dry blood spot testing for 18 individuals was also done. Site visits were conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, New Amsterdam Hospital, Lethem, Matthew’s Ridge, Moruca, Port Kaituma, Charity Hospital, Suddie Hospital, Skeldon Hospital, and at the West Demerara Regional Hospital. However, Minister Cummings noted that the major challenges faced in the execution of this subprogramme in 2016 included the lack of integration of PMTCT into Maternal and Child Health (MCH) at both central and regional level, and inadequate PMTCT services, especially in the hinterland regions, due to inadequate human resources. However, strategic global partnerships have already put the elimination of mother-tochild transmission of HIV within sight, according to UNAIDS. Continued on page 23
Thursday January 19, 2017
Kaieteur News
US Ambassador knocks T&T police Trinidad Guardian - Outgoing US Ambassador John Estrada says if he were in charge of the Police Service he would fire himself in the face of a spiralling crime problem. Estrada, who is due to fly out of T&T tomorrow after a brief 10 month tour of duty admits to leaving disappointed with two issues, the failure of Parliament to pass the Foreign Exchange Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the worsening crime situation. “The leadership at the top of the police service they need to be held accountable,” he said. Estrada, 60, took up his post in April 2016 and said while it “would have been nice to have a few more months,” he felt he came at “the right time for all the right reasons. I came here at a time when there was a new government, I was a new Ambassador and full of energy, and we accomplished a lot. I think if I had come earlier a couple of years would have been wasted.” On the issue of crime, Estrada said the United States provided a lot of resources to fight crime in T&T, from the FBI to training. “To see the homicide rate spiral out of control ... it hurts me everytime I see a young woman, young school girl, and there was one just re-
…Homicide rate out of control
John Estrada cently. It happens so frequently and I listen to the leadership. The people responsible for fighting crime are the police. There has to be accountability at that level.” Estrada said: “If I were in charge of the police we would get results. If not, I would be the first one to fire myself if I ran the Police Service.” His comments came days after the man in charge of the T&T Police Service, acting Commissioner o f P o l i c e Stephen Williams, gave letters to the head of the Eastern Division Snr Supt John Trim and head of the InterAgency Task Force Snr Supt Simbonath Rajkumar, former head of the Northern Division, outlining shortcomings in their divi-
sions and giving them seven days to respond. While not focusing on that specifically, the Ambassador said the ultimate responsibility for the failing crime situation is the “leadership at the top of the police service.” He also weighed in on joint police army patrols saying it could prove to be detrimental to the army. He said during a television interview: “If you keep the army on the street fighting crime they are going to get as corrupted as some of the police on the street.” At a function at the British High Commission recently, Director of the Police Complaints Authority David West referred to the police service as a gang. The statement prompted calls from the Police Social and Welfare Organisation for his resignation. West has since apologised saying he ought to have said there are rogue officers within the service who have to be removed and brought before the courts. Without referring to West by name, Ambassador Estrada noted that there had been “a big controversy when someone made a comment”, although he was right. “In any organisation you have five, ten per cent of bad actors. He was right to say that.”
Grenada PM “Pained” By Grenadians’ Charge of Humiliation At Hands of Barbadian Police ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – Damning allegations that a Grenadian family visiting Barbados was manhandled and humiliated by Barbadian police are hurting Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell. A disappointed Mitchell is, however, in no mood for a row with his Caribbean neighbour, immediately quashing angry suggestions from his homeland that St George’s abandon its ties with Bridgetown. He has instead opted to await the outcome of investigations on the matter, even as he told the Barbados Today online newspaper that the reports were upsetting and could be a serious indictment on Barbadian police. “It seems to me that there might have been an overreaction from a report, and if what I saw is true, the police may have to examine their approach in a matter of this nature because, as it turns out, there may not be any basis for it from all reports I have heard,” Prime Minister Mitchell said. The Gilbert family told a horrifying story of being
Dr Keith Mitchell wrongfully accused of stealing a mobile phone belonging to a store owner, which led to three members of the group being strip searched and ridiculed by Barbadian police. Tamika Gilbert recounted that lawmen took her family to a police station, despite no evidence they had the missing cell phone, and it was there the nightmare unfolded. “I went to the bathroom and she [female police officer] is
at the stall with her back to the door and she said ‘take your hair down’, cause my hair is in braids and it was in a bun, then she says, ‘take off all your clothes stoop and cough’.” Prime Minister Mitchell, who is married to a Barbadian, said: “It looks very painful and if I had a daughter, I certainly would not want her to go through what I saw reported.” Acknowledging that he personally knew the Gilbert family, Mitchell told Barbados Today “it was not the type of family to walk in and do what I saw reported”. He expressed concern that Barbados continued to be plagued by reports of illtreatment of CARICOM nationals, highlighting the case of Jamaican Shenique Myrie, who in October 2013 successfully sued the Barbados Government before the Caribbean Court of Justice on the grounds that she was wrongfully denied entry to the country. She had also claimed she was subjected to an illegal cavity search and inhumanely treated.
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PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Riverside property, Roed-enRust, East Bank Essequibo, 3 MilesfromParika.Call:266-2217/ 694-5109 SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620
SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 6471773/660-5257
Visa Application: U.S.A, C a n a da & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535.
Exquisite Beauty works have hair and nail or barber station available for rent. Call: 6927307/ 226-6352
INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included. LANDSCAPING: We design, supply and implement residential and commercial indoor & outdoor landscaping. Call: 648-1821 Passport, permanent & visitor visa application, Professional Immigrant Consultant – Sabita Immigration Services. Call: 225-6496; 662-6045 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158
Register Now! Cosmetology, Nails & Wig designs courses, classes commence February 20th 2017. Call: 6182417 The new creation of hair salon (Duncan St) is offering cosmetology & nail arts courses. Call: 270-5074/616-6221
TOURS Need a weekend getaway? Pay just $36000 for a return trip to Suriname. February 2326, 2017. Contact: 600-5509/ 268-2507
Guytec Repairs Services & Spares to washing machines, pressure washer, dryer, st o v e s , r e f r i g e r a t o r, treadmill, vacuum, etc – Call: 680-2377
Eccles New Housing Scheme property for sale by owner. Call: 618-2603 2 Storey house & land at UG area, East Coast Demerara. Call: 657-4349 2 Storey house 35X45 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained @ 5th Avenue Diamond, H/ Scheme.Call:677-0583/664-5052 1-2 Story building: top flat4 bedrooms, 1 self contained, air-conditioned, 2 apartment bottom flat, 2 bedrooms each apartment. Call: 645-9157 Aubrey Barker Road, triple lot -$27M, campbellville, DaSilva Street, Diamond Bungalow 12.5M, East$11.5M. Call GME Realty: 231-2199/ 618-7483 Land 50X120, building 70X22, Friendship Public Road, E.B.D. Call/ Whatsapp: 661-8802 1 Front building & a 2 storey building on 1 (lot) 180 Charlotte Street Bourda W30XL120 - $55M negotiable. Call: 624-7341/ 227-6817/226-5183 3068 Amelia’s Ward: house for sale, double lot will be showing on Sunday January 22, 2017 @ 1pm. Call: 6404731/ 641-6450
B U D H R A M ’ S LANDSCAPING SERVICES: FREE ADVICE, FREE DESIGN. CALL: 656-1326 A&T TRAVEL AGENCY INC: TICKETS GOING VERY CHEAP!! OFFICE IN USA. CALL: 223-1332/ 6137542/+1-347-617-7582/ EMAIL:OMKARLILIAH@ GMAIL.COM
Private custom house broker certificate training course; January 30 2017. Register now & save. Call: 694-8322 or 671-9603 Classes for slow learners in Reading, Spelling, Mathematics, and much more for children all ages. Call: 675-4379
JADESCO: offering architectural designs, 3D modeling and building estimates and quotations. Call: 612-0468/ 649-3059 FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL:PICKUP,9-11 SEAT MIN BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPOTR & FAMILY OUTING, CHEAPESTRATE . Call: 698-7807
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Great Deals on video games & all gaming consoles. PC, video games & repairs – Call: 672-2566; 265-3231 PALMS: Any variety, all sizes, we deliver and plant anywhere. Call: 643-7193 01 Leyland DAF55 Truck, excellent condition, no dump. Call Reaz: 675-4287/ 661-7186 Honda S2000 Convertible$3.2M, Audi A4-$3.6M, 318i BMW-$2.6M, Toyota IST-$2M. Contact#650-0402/260-4988 1 Two storey building @ Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, New Scheme. Call: 628-4436 Cheap! Cheap! CCTV Security Surveillance Kit, 8 Channels DVR with built in Hard Drive, 8 bullet cameras – Tel: 621-4740/686-3500 1 Stembow boat & engine (Yamaha 200HP) with Power Steering kit $1.6M Call 6585299/638-7748 Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999 Elevator, very good condition, price negotiable. Call: 231-1284 Combines 7300 John Deere (2000 hours), Fiatagri L413 (2500 hours), Laverda 132 & Tractors: Massey 399, Fiat 110/90, Ford 6610-Call: 6859878; 338-4354
EDUCATIONAL
TO LET Top flat: 2 bedrooms apartment, Phoenix Park, W.B.D. Call Jennifer: 6782570/ Thandeka: 603-0067
Repairs at low cost: Fridges, air- conditioners, washing machines, TVs, microwaves, freezersCall:629-4946 or 225-4822 Repairs and services all types of domestic, commercial and industrial A/ C, washers, dryers etc. Call: 675-4959
Thursday January 19, 2017
Kaieteur News
VACANCY
Wanted land to buy: Uitvlugt, Tuschen, Zeelugt & La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 6579594
Popular East Coast Gas Station (Non-Pareil) Day/ Night: pump attendants, sales clerk & office assistant. Contact: 695-9880/684-4197
Male & female factory workers from age 18 and older with working experience. Call: 223-0090 2 Waitresses age 18-25yrs, 1 cook & 1 bartender in Grove. Call: 678-2295 To work weekends: female bartenders, attractive waitresses, cooks needed at Eden’s Bar (East Bank). Call: 678-3616 Sales girl to work on a stand in the New Amsterdam area. Call 604 -9596 or 646- 9087 One Receptionist. Apply in person with application to Agriparts, 202 Mandela Avenue,AlexanderVillageG/Town. One experienced sand truck driver preferably from E.B.D. Must be honest- Call: 2653024/609-0766
Sales Representative to sell juices, applicants must have experienced. Apply to Mc Doom C.I.D.I, E.B.D- Call: 233-0910 1 - Secretary & office clerk, must have maths,english and accounts. Contact # 650-0402 \ 260-4124.
Experienced bartenders and cleaners. Call: 225-8572, between 7am-9pm
One live in domestic to work in Mahaicony River. Call: 655-9419/ 644-6905
Driver/Salesman, lorry licence, residing on East Bank Demerara. 266 4427
Senior Mechanic & Driver. Call: 227-1717
One driver for office in Eccles, four times a day per week. Call: 233-2745
Need immediately dry cow mold 400 bags, preferably from Berbice Area. Call: 6437193
Exist for female to sort/pick goods. Apply in person to Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling.
Live in or live out babysitter/ domestic. Call: 223-7500 Monday-Saturday 8:15-4:15
American Variety Store, 140 Regent & Light Street: experienced & mature cashier apply with written application.
The Boardroom: one experienced cashier to work evening shift. Call Kareshma: 680-9091/ Sasha: 652-6533
Wholesale: Foxtail Palm Plant -$300.00, Foxtail Palm Seed $200.00. Call: 638-8858
Diesel mechanic to work in the interior. Must have knowledge of Perkins engine & Doosan excavators. Call: 226-9768 or 615-6172 Ladies to work in Suriname. Call: +597-875-4660
Two bedrooms apartment located @ little Diamond Public Road for more info and rental cost call: 679-3213
Office clerk with 5yrs experienced 5 CXC subjects. Apply in person @ Universal Machine, 161 Charlotte Street. Call: 225-2093
1 live in waitress with secondary education, starts at $70,000 monthly, boarding and lodging free. Call: 6103974
Cool Tech Solution: for sale 245 tons chill water system, use to supply chill water work as a A/C – Call: 675-4959/ 2332008
Two bedrooms apartment to rent @ Better Hope, E.C.D – Call: 617-3001
Accounts/office assistant CXC Accounts. Email CV to laltag@yahoo.com or whatsapp: 680-3863
The #1 Plant Shop, sale staff and general maintenance and sales persons 20-30yrs. Call: 643-7193
1 Big music set, owner migrating. Call: 690-5225
FOR RENT
Receptionist, Security Guard, Room Attendant. Apply to 233 SouthRoad–Tel:225-0198
1 Female cleaner for office in Eccles. Call: 233-2745
One welder with knowledge of gas welding @ 21 Broad Street, Charlestown. Call: 643-9125/ 223-5595
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122, EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SEASON. CALL: 690-6494
WANTED
Experienced drivers, waiters, roti/puri cooks, day shift only. Apply at Hack’s Halaal with written application, 5 Commerce Street. FOR HIRE Chauffeur Driven Wedding cars for hire, personal service in Berbice. Call: 604 9596 Or 646 9087
Secretary, operations manager, civil engineer, waitress, cook. Interested persons send e-mail: chungsoffice@gmail.com
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One bedroom apartment suitable for couple or single person -$35,000 monthly. Light, water and garbage included. Call: 638-8858 1 House in South Ruimveldt Park. Call: 629-2912 Continue on page 23
Thursday January 19, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Former Health Minister amplifies need for Paediatric A&E at GPHC A Paediatric Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit should have long been in place at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). In fact, the absence of this facility was one that was gaining the attention of former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton. During a recent interview with this publication, he noted that “the last idea I had, and I’d hoped I could have made it into a reality, was to create an accident and emergency unit for the Paediatric Unit.” After serving as Senior Minister of Public Health for nearly two years Minister Norton was re-assigned to deal with Social Cohesion. The Minister told Kaieteur News of some of the infrastructural issues that had gained his attention. The need for the Paediatric A&E was among these. According to him, such a unit was seen as important since it could serve to reduce possible infection. “If a mother takes her baby to the Accident and Emergency Department today, that mother and her child could be exposed to Tuberculosis or some other infectious disease, and you can imagine what can happen,” said Minister Norton. “This (Paediatric A&E) could reduce a great deal of infection, because no baby goes to the paediatric ward alone, and sometimes a
Former Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton mother isn’t the only one accompanying the baby...Sometimes the whole family goes with her... and added to this you will be reducing overcrowding in the existing A&E department,” said Minister Norton. According to the Minister, a space was already identified for the Paediatric A&E. “We knew it didn’t need to be as large as that for the adults, but the important thing is that once it is in place it would separate the adults from the children,” said Minister Norton. He added, “Currently there isn’t any space near the existing Accident and Emergency Unit to suitably accommodate such an undertaking.”
The area that has been identified for the Paediatric A&E is the patio of the GPHC Paediatric Ward. This area, according to Minister Norton, seems particularly suitable, since it is close to an area where doctors and nurses function. “My expectation was that doctors already on staff could work there after (16:00 hours) when the Paediatric Clinic is closed...This area, I think, can be made comfortable, where babies can be resuscitated, oxygen therapy can take place, and the young patients can be observed,” said Minister Norton. He is optimistic that this venture could still be brought to fruition, since a number of individuals had signalled their desire to donate to a Paediatric A&E. “We should have this unit well prepared for our children with cartoon characters painted on the walls, and so that they can feel a sense of comfort as they recuperate,” said Dr. Norton. But this is only one of the projects that Dr. Norton was hoping to bring to fruition. According to the Minister, Government had long been hoping to bring into being other significant changes at the GPHC. He disclosed that large sums of money were spent to hire consultants to evaluate and make recommendations for the GPHC. “The recommendations
were there, we got funding, but it was never carried out to its fullest, that is why I could have stood up and showed to the National Assembly the plan that was originally there for the GPHC...it was literally cut in half, and when you had plans to build a hospital with a certain size to accommodate a certain number of patients and you have to reduce that, you end up with what is happening there,” Minister Norton reflected. He pointed out that the situation that obtains is that “persons are admitted, but sometimes they have to end up two days at the Accident and Emergency department because you don’t have beds for them.” “One could remember the days when we had a thousand beds available at GPHC, but now if we have 400 with an increased population and more persons going there, we will run into difficulties,” Minister Norton asserted. He said that although there were many ideas to transform the delivery of health care, such as the specialty hospital and the subsequent changing from a specialty hospital to one of maternal and child health, many have not materialised. There were even ideas on how to improve the actual site of the Georgetown Hospital. “There were plans to make the Georgetown Public Hos-
Way paved for Ed Ahmad sentencing From page 13 against him. In admitting guilt, Ahmad told Judge Irizarry that between January 1995 and January 2009, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, together with others, he knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud several lending institutions, in a mortgage fraud scheme that lasted almost 15 years.
The United States Attorney's office alleges that Ahmad was part of a scheme that defrauded American lending institutions of approximately US$50 million, obtaining approval for mortgages on various properties by falsifying documents submitted to the lending institutions, using a string of straw buyers, and other illegal practices. In detailing the allegations
From page 7 well-trained nurses have been leaving the system, not only because of a need for an increased remuneration package, but because they are overwhelmed with work and their efforts sometimes go unnoticed or unappreciated. He noted that the efforts of nurses and other health workers should be continually recognised. Based on information disseminated by the Public Health Ministry, there was as enrolment of 716 individuals in the field of nursing with 119 for clinical and technical programmes. During the past year, a total of 494 students graduated from the field of nursing. This included 312 professional nurses, 91 nursing assistants, 72 post basic mid-
wives and 19 single trained midwives. Reports of a shortage of nurses at the GPHC during the past year were repeatedly amplified. Minister Norton had back then explained that the government and the Public Health Ministry were working towards addressing this dilemma which translated to a consistent depleted complement of nurses. He’s explained that the administration was looking to intervene by reviewing the salary scale of nurses. “We know we have been losing nurses, particularly to other countries, and even within the country to the private sector, and one of the main reasons is emolument,” Minister Norton had asserted.
Social Cohesion poised to help...
against the Queens businessman with strong political connections, Judge Irizarry had outlined a scheme which had as its victims not only financial institutions, but also many ordinary New Yorkers, most of whom were Guyanese immigrants, pursuing the American dream to own their own home, only to find themselves trapped in a real estate scheme. This ultimately resulted in them losing their homes in foreclosure proceedings, while Ahmad and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars. Ahmad's case has attracted much attention from the media in Guyana and in New York, fueled by his strong political connections in Guyana and the U.S. He reportedly has properties in Guyana and had shipped containers of building materials to
former President Bharrat Jagdeo prior to 2011. He had once made an application to open a casino and hotel on a plot of land overlooking the army headquarters, Thomas Lands. Ahmad was supposed to have been sentenced since 2015, but appealed to the New York court several times, successfully, to delay the ruling until after Sampson would have been sentenced. Ahmad's lawyer argued that his client had spent hours helping to gather evidence and testifying against Sampson and therefore deserved to be sentenced after the former senator. Earlier this month, Ahmad's lawyer again successfully got the court to shift the sentencing to a new date March 16th.
Guyana completes first... From page 12 This essentially means that the world is nearly on track to reach the targets to reduce mother-to-child transmission. However, UNAIDS has asserted that the current rate of scale-up of paediatric treatment appears insufficient. As such, closing the gap will require tremendous additional effort to diagnose in-
fants living with HIV and enrolling them in treatment as soon as possible. This suggestion has been amplified in the 2016 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report which highlights that redoubled efforts to close the prevention gap can be built on a foundation of unparalleled global advocacy and financial commitment too.
pital itself larger; lots of thoughts and papers were written on this. But what we don’t want is what is taking place right now,” said Minister Norton. He said that while some amount of money was spent on refurbishing the maternity unit, that was only done to last for some 10 years. “It was not meant to last longer, since it was not broken down and built over, but lo and behold a permanent structure was subsequently built and attached to that...It
was like somebody waking up one morning, getting a brain wave and just rushing with it...We are in need of it, but I don’t think that was the way to go,” said Minister Norton. He added, “I think we have got to look at this whole health care delivery thing in a long term, holistic approach, you just can’t be building a little piece and attaching it unto a structure that is not meant to last for more than 10 years, and hope that it is going to work the way it should.”
From page 22
LAND FOR SALE Uitvlugt -$2.3M, Zeelugt $1.7M, Tuschen -$1.6M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.4M – Call: 642-1252 Land @ La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M, $1.4M, $1.6M, Uitvlugt- $2M, Tuschen School Street -$3M, Providence -$5M, Eccles $5M. Call: 604-6724 15 Acres transported land @ Upper Demerara River next to Kaumudi Creek opposite Timehri Docks. Call R. Mithu: 222-4708 Land @ Soesdyke, 6 lots measuring 135’X175’ -$24M negotiable. Call: 627-3334/ 696-8935, email:fcranmore@ guyanavoice.com Eccles New Scheme (semiconcrete fenced) -$5M, Herstelling-$2.5M, Uitvlugt $2.5M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.6M. Call: 658-5897/ 6511969 26 Acres located in New Hope, E.B.D, transported $2.5M per acre. Call: 645-6498
VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Toyota Allion PVV series: TV Camera, HID, lights, alarm & remote start $2.2M negotiable Call: 649-0956 Leyland DAF 65 (sand truck). Call: 623-3895 One Nissan Duke, lady driven, immaculate condition, PTT series, low mileage. Call: 653-0018/ 6667748, price negotiable serious enquires. Long bass Mitsubishi Canter -$2M, Honda Fit -$850,000, new model Raum -$2M, Audi Car $2M. Call: 604-6724 Nissan Bluebird 2011 model -$2.7M, Toyota Rush 2006 model -$2.8M. (unregistered vehicles) Call:655-3400 Tractor (foreign used) Massey Ferguson -165 $1.7M, MF-135 - $1.2M, MF265 -$2.2M, 165 Loader tractor -$2.4M. Call: 6825230/ 628-9596 2005 Tacoma from Canada bull bar -$2.4M, Ford F150 sport -$1.5M, Ranger sport $1.4M. Call: 682-5230/ 6289596 1 Titan, reasonable cash offer will not be turned down. Call: 623-8737 Toyota Camry 2004 model, excellent condition. Call: 2270609 (Monday –Friday 8:00am-4:00pm) 2009 RAUM -$2.2M, 2009 SIENTA -$2.3M, 2011 MAZDA AXELA -$2.7M, 2001 NOAH & VOXY $2.6M. CALL:617-2891 3 TON OPEN BACK CANTER, NEVER REGISTERED -$3.5M. CALL: 617-2891
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Thursday January 19, 2017
Kaieteur News
Obama says reducing leaker Chelsea Manning’s prison term serves justice Reuters - President Barack Obama said yesterday that former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning had served a tough prison term and his decision to commute her 35-year sentence to about seven years served would not signal leniency toward leakers of U.S. government secrets. Obama told his final news conference as president that he felt it made sense to commute Manning’s sentence because she went to trial, took responsibility for her crime and her sentence was disproportionate to those received by other leakers. “Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence,” Obama said of his decision to reduce her sentence, which was announced Tuesday in a batch of 209 commutations and 64 pardons granted. “I feel very
comfortable that justice has been served.” Manning gave classified information of more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to antisecrecy group WikiLeaks in 2010, the biggest such breach in U.S. history. Congressional Republicans criticized the commutation as a dangerous precedent for leakers. Sean Spicer, the press secretary for President-elect Donald Trump, told reporters yesterday it sent a “very troubling message.” Obama said the commutation was done without regard to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who said on Twitter last Thursday that if Manning was freed, he would accept extradition to the United States, where there is an open criminal investigation into the activities of WikiLeaks.
Trump’s strategy on Mexico could be ‘dagger at Ohio’ DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to firms using Mexico as a manufacturing base will be counterproductive and could eventually cost thousands of American jobs, Lawrence Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary, warned yesterday. Summers noted that Trump’s “rhetoric and announced po l i c i e s ” o v e r Mexico have led to a big fall in the value of the Mexican peso against the dollar. The peso has fallen almost 20 percent against the dollar to a record low since Trump’s victory in November. That makes it even cheaper to invest in Mexico and export goods from there. “That decline in the peso is a dagger at Ohio; it is a major change in the rela-
tive attractiveness of locating production activity in Mexico versus locating it in the American heartland,” Summers told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “And the consequence of that is measured not in the dozens or hundreds but in the thousands, or ten thousands or even hundreds of thousands of jobs.” The lesson of history, he added, is that “classic populism is invariably counterproductive for those in whose name it is offered as a policy regime.” Ahead of his inauguration as president tomorrow, Trump has demanded the auto industry build more cars i n t h e U . S . F o r d , Hyundai, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler have all recently announced large invest-
ments in their U.S. operations and the creation of jobs. Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the RenaultNissan alliance, has a contrasting view to that of Summers, arguing that carmakers will likely increase capacity in the U.S. in the years to come. Speaking to The Associated Press, Ghosn said Trump’s policy was clear: “It’s America first and jobs in the United States.” Ghosn said he hoped this would be expanded upon in the coming days with clear policies from the Trump team. “All the carmakers have listened to this message and will act in consequence,” he said. If the U.S. car market, as the world’s second-largest, continues to grow, then Ghosn expects “more and more capacity.”
Ukrainian president calls for global response to Russian threat Reuters - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for a worldwide effort to counter the threat of Russian cyber warfare and urged the United States to “be great again” by demonstrating leadership on issues such as global security. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to improve ties with the Kremlin and open admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin has put Ukraine, whose Crimea region was annexed by Russia in 2014, under the spotlight. Poroshenko played down speculation that
Washington could backtrack on its support for Kiev, noting that Trump had said publicly he would stick to U.S. obligations and there had been “promising” statements by nominees to his cabinet. “That gives us a lot more optimism for the future,” Poroshenko told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, adding he already had a visit planned to meet the new U.S. president “in a few months”. Poroshenko said joint global efforts were needed to halt Russian aggression, both military and cyber:
“There is a global cyber war of Russia against (the) whole world, there is lots of evidence. This is a global danger and the world should be together to fight this danger.” Ukraine’s utility Ukrenergo told Reuters on Wednesday in Kiev that a cyber attack was behind a Dec 17-18 power blackout in the capital city. Ukrenergo did not say who was behind the incident, although Ukrainian security services blamed Russian cyber attacks for similar power outages in December 2015. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in cyber attacks on Ukraine.
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Former St Kitts-Nevis ministers called on to return millions to the treasury
MPs and former ministers Marcella Liburd and Dr Denzil Douglas BASSETERRE, St Kitts — Former St Kitts and Nevis ministers in the Dr Denzil Douglas-led Labour/NRP administration are being called upon to return millions of dollars to the country’s treasury. The renewed call has arisen as the intensity of debate increases on the streets and in traditional and social
Thursday January 19, 2017
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media regarding the conduct of government ministers with regard to their private business dealings and issues of conflict of Interest, Times Caribbean reported. Specific mention has been made of Douglas and former minister, now opposition MP Marcella Liburd and Nigel Carty. According to one blogger the former
prime minister and now opposition leader Dr Denzil Douglas has to date acquired over $1million in rent from the Taiwanese government for the property that houses the official Taiwanese ambassador’s residence and a property in which Douglas has a partial beneficial if not significant or total interest.
EU leaders welcome Brexit clarity, Merkel says EU united ahead of talks Reuters - EU leaders yesterday welcomed clarity from Britain over what it wants from Brexit talks, with Germany’s Angela Merkel promising a united front in what will be “very intensive” negotiations. Responding to Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday that made clear that Britain would quit the European Union’s single market, Merkel welcomed the fact that London had accepted that free movement of EU citizens was not something it could opt out of without losing other EU rights. “There cannot be any cherry picking by Britain in Brexit negotiations,” Merkel told an economic conference, adding that access to the bloc’s single market was ultimately linked to accepting the EU’s four freedoms - of movement of goods, capital, people and services. “The speech made by British Prime Minister Theresa May has given us a clear impression of how Great Britain
wants to proceed,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. “The main thing is that Europe does not let itself be divided and we will make sure of that via very intensive dialogue,” Merkel said. Gentiloni said the EU was “ready to discuss the issue with the correct approach, which is in solidarity and friendship with the UK”. A spokesman for the German finance ministry said London’s vision for implementing Brexit could prove to be “pretty complicated” given that Britain would have no “EU passport” to conduct financial transactions once it left the bloc. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said he feared the two-year negotiation period, which will begin when Britain launches Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, may not be enough. “Everybody needs to think through the timetable for these negotiations because in
practice we have actually not more than perhaps one-anda-half years, perhaps a little bit more,” Lofven told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Autumn 2018, that is a very, very short time for these complex negotiations, so I think that the UK ... is a bit optimistic (on the) timetable.” While European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said EU negotiators were “not in a hostile mood” toward Britain, Slovakia’s prime minister said the EU had to ensure London did not win a deal that would be to the detriment of the remaining 27 members. “I am convinced that in no case will a future agreement be more favourable for Great Britain than current membership in the EU,” Robert Fico told a news conference. “Negotiations over Brexit will be very tough and painful and it would be wrong if (remaining EU members) emerged weaker and Britain stronger.”
Xi portrays China as global leader as Trump era looms GENEVA (Reuters) - China will build a “new model” of relations with the United States, President Xi Jinping said yesterday in a speech that portrayed China as the leader of a globalized world where only international cooperation could solve the big problems. Two days before the inauguration of Donald Trump who has promised to be a U.S. president putting “America first”, Xi urged countries to resist isolationism. “Trade protectionism and self-isolation will benefit no one,” Xi told an invited audience at the United Nations in Geneva. “Big countries should treat smaller countries as equals instead of acting as a hegemon imposing their will on others.” Xi called for the world to unite on everything from environmental protection to terrorism and nuclear disarmament, in contrast to Trump who has said he has an “open mind” on climate change and that the United States would win any nuclear arms race. “We will build a circle of friends across the whole world,” Xi said. “We will strive to build new model of major country relations with the United States, a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination with Russia, a partnership for peace, growth, reform and among different civilizations
Xi Jinping
and a partnership of unity and cooperation with BRICS countries.” While U.N. SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres told Xi it was “very reassuring to see China assuming such a clear leadership in multilateralism in today’s world”, rights campaigners expressed concerns about China’s record. “It is unfortunate that Chinese President Xi was given an obsequious red carpet treatment at the U.N. today while NGOs with concerns about his dismal rights record were kept out,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.Western governments have accused China of wide-
spread rights abuses and its smaller neighbors say it has expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea, things Beijing denies. “We always put people’s rights and interests above everything else and we have worked hard to develop and uphold human rights,” Xi said. “China will never seek expansion, hegemony or sphere of influence.” Xi’s speech was the finale of a trip that included topping the bill at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The United Nations - at risk of budget cuts from Trump - ensured the grandest possible welcome for Xi, and many U.N. staff went home early to clear the way for the red carpet.
Thursday January 19, 2017
Federer wobbles but roars... From page 30 He served out the set to love, wrapping it up with a deft half-volley from the baseline that curled sumptuously away from Rubin as he darted across the court. Yet barely 20 minutes later, Federer found himself 5-2 down, defending set points on serve. The usually unflappable Swiss made a rare show of frustration, berating himself loudly as his backhand went awry. But he saved both set points and hung tough in the next game to prise two break points from his opponent.
“Come on Rog, get up!” yelled a man in the crowd. Federer obliged him on the second break point, h a m m e r i n g a t R u b i n ’s weaker backhand and the American buckled with a harried shot into the net. Federer roared back to take Rubin into the tiebreak and raced to three match points at 6-3. He needed only one to close it out, crushing a forehand cross-court that Rubin could only parry high and wide. Coming back from a knee injury, Federer conceded before the tournament that he had no idea whether he was ready to
withstand the long four and five-set matches of a grand slam. He was understandably thrilled to escape with only three sets before the Berdych battle. “If I could have signed (a contract) to be in the third round, feeling this way, weeks or days or a month ago, I would have taken it,” said Federer. “I’m still hoping to feel better and better and better as we go along. “I’m getting tons of information out of these last few days now, which is big hopefully for the third round.”
Thursday January 19, 2017 ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Your boss may be pushy. Reevaluate your motives. Take care when dealing with older relatives. TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) Be creative in your pursuits. Take your time and try not to overload yourself. You may find that female colleagues will be more help than you anticipated. GEMINI (May 22-June 21) Don't use emotional blackmail on someone you love. Your talents might just be discovered. Get the whole family involved in a worthwhile cause or cultural event. CANCER (June 22-July 22) Get involved in groups that are creative in nature. Listen to the advice given by those with experience. Talk to superiors about problems that you feel are getting out of hand. LEO (July 23-Aug 22) You can make gains if you work in conjunction with others. Travel could turn out to be more exciting than you imagined. VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Do not get into uncertain financial deals. Matters pertaining to work must be completed before you leave.
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LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Someone you like may be receptive and actively seeking your company. Financial limitations are likely if you take risks. You can receive recognition for the work you've done. SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) You can make new friends if you get involved in group activities. Be sure to double-check the house on your way out. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) You may make someone else look bad. Opportunities for romance will develop through group endeavors; however, the association isn't likely to last. CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Don't let your emotions take over. You can make successful moves. Help if you can, but more than likely it will be sufficient just to listen. AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) You will gain new friends if you get involved in environmental issues. Your ideas can be put into action. PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) You've been a little down and you need a lift. You can make drastic changes in your professional direction today. Unexpected visitors are likely.
South Africa lose De Villiers for England tests (Reuters) AB de Villiers has ruled himself out of South Africa’s tour to England later this year, having already said he would not be available for the test series in New Zealand in March, as he focuses on limited overs cricket. The former world number one test batsman will also sit out the two-test home series against Bangladesh starting in August, meaning he will have missed five series in a row for his country since suffering an elbow injury last June. South Africa visit England for four tests in July and August without one of their premier batsmen, who has recovered from injury but is reluctant to overload his schedule having targeted a place at the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales in 2019. The 32-year-old De Villiers will play in the Indian Premier League and South Africa’s Twenty20 competition, but will not be available for other domestic tournaments around the world. “I’m just not ready yet. I’m aware of my elbow. The surgeon said it will be normal. I’m feeling really confident,” he told reporters
Leonard, ldridge ... from page 27 with 17 points in the half while Rubio had 16 (going 10 of 10 from the free throw line) and Muhammad hit for 15. The Timberwolves shot 55.9 percent from the floor and took 30 free throws (making 29) in the first two periods. Leonard paced the Spurs with 17 points and Aldridge had 15. San Antonio had just two turnovers in the first half and shot 56.1 percent on its field goals. The Timberwolves ran their lead to as much as eight points in the third quarter and looked to be in a comfortable spot after Towns’ 3pointer at the 1:40 mark had Minnesota up 90-83. But the Spurs woke up in a major way, scoring the final nine points of the quarter including a 4-point play by Leonard with 38.6 seconds to play that pushed San Antonio on top at 92-90 heading into the fourth quarter. A driving layup by David Lee gave the Spurs a 94-90 lead with 10:50 to play in regulation — their biggest of the game up to that point — and San Antonio just wore down the Timberwolves for the rest of the game.
on Wednesday. “There is a lot of cricket but the situation has changed for me, my priorities have changed. Playing three formats felt like the world is on my shoulder.” De Villiers, who has played 106 tests averaging 50.46, said he hoped to restart his five-day career at the end of the year when India tour South Africa, followed by a home series against Australia. He denied speculation on Tuesday that he was about to give up the longest form of the game altogether. “I’m not retiring out of any format, that’s for sure.
I am not prepared to do that,” he told South Africa’s Radio 702. “My main aim is to get to that 2019 World Cup and I am going to do everything possible to get there. “It’s important to play the other formats but mentally and physically I need to be in a good space come the 2019 World Cup and that’s what I am aiming for.” De Villiers is slated to play in the third Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on Jan. 25, and then captain the side in the five-match one-day international series that starts three days later.
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Murray hands out masterclass to reach third round MELBOURNE (Reuters) Andy Murray looked every bit the world number one as he gave Russian teenager Andrey Rublev a lesson in grand slam tennis to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-0 6-2 win yesterday. Only a nasty tumble in the third set on Rod Laver Arena stalled his march to victory and the top-seeded Briton said the right ankle he rolled on was “a bit sore” at the end of the contest. “I don’t know how bad it is,” said the 29-year-old. “Just normally if it’s something like severe, a serious ankle injury, you can’t put weight on your foot. “It just a little bit stiff just now. It’s okay. I don’t think I’ve done too much damage. See in the morning how it feels when I wake up. But hopefully it will be all right.” Five-times a losing finalist at Melbourne Park, Murray had laboured through his opening round victory over Illya Marchenko in the full heat of the opening day
of the tournament. Wednesday’s performance in the evening of a much cooler day was of a far higher calibre. The Wimbledon and Olympic champion was in clinical form, smashing 29 winners and ensuring that the 19-year-old Rublev was unable to get a single break point on his serve. “It was better than the first match. I was hitting the ball a bit cleaner. I was hitting through the court more. More winners,” said Murray. “I was able to get myself up to the net more. I served way better, too. That helps you and allows you to dictate more points. “Second serve was harder than the other day. Yeah, most things were better tonight. But still think I can improve.” Several times, he delighted the crowd with a series of deft shots that sent the Russian qualifier scurrying around the court before delivering a crunching winner that brooked no reply. Rublev, the son of a one-
time boxer, spent Tuesday sparring in a Fight Club gym and Murray, also a fight fan, suggested the teenager was not quite yet up to competing in the heavyweight division, in tennis at least. “I think in comparison with some of the guys that are his age, physically he’s going to get stronger,” he said. “I still think he’s got some developing to do there. When he does, I think he’ll do really well because he hits a big ball. He’s a clean ballstriker. “ The final time Murray sent the world number 156 running around the court brought up match point, which Murray converted when the qualifier went long after one hour, 37 minutes . Next up for Murray in the third round on Friday is American Sam Querrey. “He’s obviously a dangerous player,” said the Scot. “Big serve. Goes for it. Obviously had a big win a couple slams ago against Novak (Djokovic) in the third round (at Wimbledon). “I’m aware of that, and I’ll be ready.”
Police say 526 possible victims in UK soccer abuse scandal, 184 suspects (Reuters) British police investigating allegations of widespread child sex abuse at soccer clubs dating back to the 1970s said yesterday they had now identified 184 potential suspects and 526 victims, adding other sports had also been implicated in the scandal. Police forces across the country launched inquiries after former player Andy Woodward revealed in November he had been abused as a boy by a youth team coach, prompting other ex-professionals to come forward with allegations.
The soccer abuse revelations are the latest in a series of paedophile scandals to have hit Britain in recent years. Victims say the scale of wrongdoing is likely to be worse than in the case of TV star Jimmy Savile, a cigar-chomping BBC television host who abused hundreds of youngsters over six decades until his death in 2011. So far 1,016 referrals of sports abuse have been passed to specialist detectives from a child protection charity and police. The number of possible victims is now 526, up from
about 350 last month, with 126 suspects. The National Police Chiefs Council said 248 soccer clubs had been impacted, from English premier league teams to amateur sides, although not all were under investigation. Police said 22 of the referrals related to other sports including rugby, gymnastics, martial arts, tennis, wrestling, golf, sailing, athletics, cricket, and swimming. “Allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse are complex, often require specialist skills and knowledge, and can take time to progress,” said Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the national police lead on child protection. “However, all allegations and information received by police forces across the country are being acted upon,” he added. Last month, the Premier League cleared Chelsea of breaking its rules in failing to report allegations of historical sex abuse made by their former player Gary Johnson in 2014. Johnson, 57, said he had been abused by former Chelsea chief scout Eddie Heath in the 1970s and received a 50,000 pound ($61,550) settlement from the club in 2015.
Thursday January 19, 2017
Mischa Zverev emerges from Isner trance to progress
John Isner of the U.S. hits a shot during his Men’s singles second round match against Germany’s Mischa Zverev. (REUTERS/Edgar Su) (Reuters) Tennis players have come to dread being caught up in the phenomenon known as the ‘Isner trance’ - as Germany’s Mischa Zverev discovered at the Australian Open yesterday. Ever since John Isner emerged victorious from ‘the endless match’ at Wimbledon in 2010 - when he beat Nicolas Mahut in a three-day, 183-game epic lasting over 11 hours - the American has left a string of opponents feeling dazed and confused. On day three in Melbourne, Zverev was sucked into a whirlwind for over four hours, lost his bearings and lost track of the score against the tall American. He somehow survived the ordeal to reach the third round with a 6-7(4) 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(7) 9-7 triumph over Isner. “Honestly, I just felt weird. At times I didn’t even know the score. I think in the fourth (set) I had love-40 on his serve and I didn’t know that,” said the 29-year-old, whose younger brother Alexander made the second round on Tuesday. “Then saving match
point at 5-4 in the fourth, I also didn’t know it was match point. I thought it was 4-3. “In the fifth set... I didn’t know if it was 9-7 or 10-8.” Struggling to keep score in an Isner match is nothing new - in 2010 even the Wimbledon courtside scoreboard could not keep up as it got stuck midway through a fifth set that ended 70-68 - but Zverev could at least rely on one person to save his day. “I kept looking to my box. Everybody is kind of nervous,” said the world number 50, who next faces Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri. “My mum is the only one smiling and laughing the whole time. She’s like ‘Whatever, it’s going to be fine.’ I think that helped me a lot.” THE WRINGER However, he did feel guilty for putting the family through the wringer because for the second day running, his parents had to watch a son survive a fiveset thriller. “At one point I thought about Sascha (Alexander) winning in five sets yesterday... I felt like maybe I could do the same today,” said Mischa.
“I looked at my dad. I am like, Poor him. He has to watch five sets of Sascha yesterday, now he’s watching five sets of me. He must be struggling inside.” But Mischa has endured much worse. He considered quitting in 2014 as his ranking plummeted to 1,067 following a catalogue of injuries including a fractured wrist, two fractured ribs, a herniated disc in his lower back and a torn knee tendon. Seeing his teenage brother break into the world’s top 20 spurred him to make a comeback, and survive the Isner test. “The last time I played third round in a slam was Wimbledon in 2008. It’s been a long time. I couldn’t believe it,” said an emotional Mischa. “I’ve never actually won a best-of-five match if I haven’t won the first two sets. So being down two sets to love is a whole other story, especially against John Isner. “Trying to return his serve for four hours is really frustrating... “I was so happy that tears were coming. That was the moment you train for, you live for as a tennis player.”
Iranian duo make history in women’s... From page 28 Europe over the past two years, with Bulgaria being a popular transit routes. Shumen has a centuriesold Muslim community and Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s population of 7.2 million, but in September the government banned wearing face veils in public.
Borhani and Giveh will be the first in the Bulgarian league wearing hijabs but Borhani said what players wear should not be what matters. “The hijab is worn with pride by the Iranian women,” she told Reuters. “Hijab is a belief, it’s a religion and that’s not important when we’re playing.” Borhani also said that the
move to Shumen could also perhaps open a new frontier for Iranian women athletes to move abroad. “I think (the transfer) is opening a new way for all female athletes in Iran, especially volleyball players,” she said. Giveh agreed: “I think there are other Iranian players who can play in Europe.”
Thursday January 19, 2017
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Leonard, Aldridge propel Spurs past Timberwolves
San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) celebrates with teammate Tony Parker (9, right) after making a three point basket during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at AT&T Center. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports) (The Sports Xchange) Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 as the San Antonio Spurs shrugged off a ragged first three quarters and rolled to a 122-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at the AT&T Center. Leonard’s rebound and rush down the court for a
dunk over two Minnesota defenders with 7:36 to play highlighted a 20-2 run for San Antonio that turned a 90-83 deficit into a 103-92 lead. Leonard has 12 games of 30 or more points this season and has reached that mark in four consecutive contests. He’s the first San Antonio player to score 30-plus points in four straight contests since
Tim Duncan in January 2004. Tony Parker added 14 points for San Antonio (32-9) and Patty Mills had 11 points. The Spurs’ bench outscored Minnesota’s reserves 37-21. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves (14-28) with 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 14 assists, Zach LaVine had 18
Limacol Football Tournament Trophy Stall adds its name to list of sponsors Trophy Stall became the latest member of t h e corporate community to add its name to the list of s p o n s o r s o f t h i s y e a r ’s Limacol Football Tournament which is being organised by the Petra Organisation. The entity donated the championship trophy and two goal nets yesterday at their South Road and Bourda location to Petra Organisation member Mark Alleyne in the presence of Co-Director Troy Mendonca and staffers. Proprietor Ramesh Sunich, who made the presentation during brief comments, thanked the Petra Organization for allowing the company to be part of the event, adding that the entity is the reason for football currently being played right now. Meanwhile, Mendonca in his remarks said, “On
behalf of the Petra Organization, we thank Trophy Stall for their continued support,” d e c l a r i n g , “ We h a v e always tried to full areas that need assistance.” He added, “The donation will go a long way in giving the second tier of teams in the country the opportunity to compete.” The event will be contested in an initial round-robin format, with the top two finishers progressing to the quarterfinal round. Group-A consists of Milerock, Wi n n e r s Connection, Grove Hi-Tech and Northern Rangers, whilst group-B features Western Tigers, Uitvlugt, Eagles and NA United. Group-C comprises Santos, Pouderoyen, Den Amstel and Ann’s Grove, while group-D contains Guyana Police Force (GPF),
Riddim Squad, Camptown and Mahaica Determinators. The tournament kickoffs off on January 23rd at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bourda with a group-D doubleheader as, GPF square off against Mahaica Determinators and Riddim Squad clash with Camptown. It will then resume on the 27th, with Western Tigers taking on NA United in a group-B affair, while Santos go up against Ann’s Grove in a group-C encounter at the GFC ground. Similarly, the winner of each group will receive $100,000, while the respective finishers will pocket $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 apiece. Winner of the event will pocket $500,000 and a trophy while the second, third and fourth placed teams will receive $250,000, $125,000 and $75,000 respectively and trophies.
San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at AT&T Center. (Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports) points, Gorgui Dieng scored 17, Shabazz Muhammad poured in 15 and Andrew Wiggins hit for 10. Minnesota utilized only eight players in the game and six of them scored in double figures. The first quarter was back-and-forth between the
two teams, featured 11 lead changes and ended tied at 30. The Timberwolves opened up a 51-44 lead on a Towns putback layup at the 6:15 mark of the second quarter and Minnesota kept its lead through the rest of the session. The 71 points scored by
the Timberwolves in the first half were the second-most surrendered by San Antonio this season and were just 16 points less that Minnesota scored the entire game in its last contest, a 98-87 loss to Dallas. Towns led Minnesota (Continued on page 25)
FA Cup to make Jamaican stop on Caribbean tour Jamaica Observer - The new year is already gearing up to be a great one for Jamaican football fans and others across the region, as FLOW and Manchester United — current FA Cup holders — team up to give Caribbean fans unprecedented access to the famous trophy. The trophy will arrive in Jamaica on January 19 (today) following stops in Trinidad and Barbados. FLOW has an exciting three-day schedule planned for local sports fans, following which the Cup will end the tour of the Caribbean in the Cayman Islands. Dwight Yorke, Manchester United ambassador, who himself lifted the FA Cup in 1999 with United’s glorious, treble-winning team, will join Flow as a special guest on the final leg of the tour to make a special announcement about the soon-to-be launched skills development initiative for young footballers — an-
other FLOW/Manchester United partnership. “This is all for our customers who are lovers of the beautiful game,” said Garfield Sinclair, newly appointed president, Flow Caribbean. “We are the home of sports in the Caribbean and our relationship with Manchester United enables us to give our football fans this amazing opportunity to get up close to the FA Cup which, for some, is a once in a
lifetime event. This certainly underscores FLOW’s commitment to give sports fans more of what they want.” As the FA Cup makes its way around the Caribbean, fans will have the opportunity to take photos and create personal memories of these exciting events. Fans will also get a chance to participate in activities and win prizes from FLOW and Manchester United.
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Yesterday’s simulation match washed out But Crandon feels preparations not affected by the rain By Sean Devers Despite the two scheduled Trial matches and yesterday’s second simulation games being washed out at Providence, Head Coach Eusan Crandon says the Guyana Jaguars preparations for this month’s Regional Super50 tournament has not been really affected by the adverse weather. The Jaguars, who compete in Zone ‘B’ in Barbados along with last year’s runnersup Barbados Pride, Jamaica Scorpions, Combined Campuses & Colleges Marooners and the ICC Americas, depart Guyana on Saturday morning for Barbados for the 2017 tournament which commences next Tuesday with the Jaguars opposing the host in the opening game at Kensington Oval. “Even though the rain affected the trials, we were just out of the first half of the FirstClass tournament and apart from (Jonathon) Foo everyone was playing together and we have developed into a well united team. So I don’t think we were affected too much by the rain since the team virtually picked itself,” Crandon informed. The 35-year-old head Coach said the two practice matches showed that the
batsmen were on track while the bowlers all had good performances. “We know that the pitches in Barbados are expected to have more bounce and pace than those here so we are prepared for those conditions and are confident of doing well this year. It’s been a long time since we won a 50-over title and I think this year could be the year for us to do that,” said Crandon, who took 90 wickets from 38 First-Class matches for Guyana. Guyana has nine titles but none since 2005 when they beat Barbados at Bourda. The closest they have come since then was when they lost to T&T in Trinidad in the 2015 Final. Crandon says everyone is fit and rearing to go into action, adding that although the simulation game was called off the players still had the chance to get some turf practice at the Stadium yesterday and hopefully will get two day’s practice in Barbados. The team spends five hours in transit in Trinidad on Saturday before arriving in Barbados later that evening and should have a full practice session on Sunday before having a light session on Monday.
Manager Rayon Griffith watch as Ronsford Beaton goes after Jonathon Foo during yesterday’s practice session at Providence. (Sean Devers photo)
The Jaguars practice at Providence yesterday ahead of Tuesday’s opening Regional Super50 in Barbados. (Sean Devers photo)
Iranian duo make history in women’s volleyball by moving to Bulgaria
Iranian volleyball players Maedeh Borhani (L) and Zeinab Giveh talk during an interview following a training session of ‘Shumen’ volleyball club in Shumen, Bulgaria January 14, 2017. Picture taken on January 14, 2017. (REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov) SHUMEN, BULGARIA (Reuters) Iran’s first two women volleyball players to compete outside the Islamic Republic joined Bulgarian club Shumen this month, a move which has taken years of negotiation with Iranian authorities and which could
help break down some gender barriers at home. Women are still not allowed to attend men’s volleyball matches in Iran despite attempts since President Hassan Rouhani’s election in 2015 to relax some of the strict Muslim rules that limit
women’s activities to the family and home. Maedeh Borhani, 28, and team captain Zeinab Giveh, 34, arrived in the northeastern town of Shumen amid a rising tide of nationalism, sparked by huge migrant inflows to (Continued on page 26)
Manchester United appoint counter-terrorism manager (Reuters) Manchester United have appointed a full-time counter-terrorism manager in what they believe to be a first in English club football. British media reported that the Premier League club had hired a former inspector from Greater Manchester Police’s specialist search unit. The Manchester Evening News said the new chief had started work “alongside the club’s current senior security team, with an emphasis on counter-terrorism and general security improvements”. The appointment of the unnamed officer at one of the world’s biggest and best-supported clubs comes amid heightened global concern after recent attacks in Europe and security breaches at United. Two stands at the 75,000seater Old Trafford ground were evacuated just before the start of a league game against Bournemouth in May when a suspicious package was found in the toilets. The game was called off
Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their first goal v Liverpool. (Reuters / Phil Noble Livepic) soon afterwards and the stadium cleared. The package was later revealed to be a fake device accidentally left behind after a training exercise. Two fans on an official
tour of the ground in November managed to hide in a toilet and stay in the stadium overnight in the hope of watching a Premier League game against Arsenal.
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BFA eyeing historic finals berth with expanded World Cup BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados Football Association president, Randy Harris, has hailed the decision by football’s world governing body, FIFA, to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup finals and now hopes Barbados can make their mark by qualifying for the global showpiece. FIFA announced last week that 16 teams will be added to the 2026 tournament, bringing the total to 48. Harris told CMC Sports that the latest development gave Caribbean countries a greater chance of qualifying for the global tournament, especially with continental governing body, CONCACAF, expected to receive an increase in World Cup spots from the current three automatic places. “It is not beyond our reach, as you know both Trinidad and Jamaica had qualified already with the 32
teams and I believe that going to 48 should give us two or three more places, and if we work hard it is possible that more teams from the Caribbean could be playing in the World Cup,” Harris said. He said Barbados had a strong chance of securing a spot in the finals, if they put in the necessary work. “As president of the Barbados Football Association my dream is to make it to the World Cup,” Harris stressed. “But I think seriously that if we put a programme together starting from now, with say Under-13, Under15 and Under-17, we can have proper direction and [with] the experiences of people who have been there before, helping us to work a programme, we should be able to get there.” Barbados have struggled over the years in World Cup qualifying, and have never reached the crucial final round of the CONCACAF
Barbados Football Association president, Randy Harris. phase. In fact, in confederation qualifying for the last three World Cups – along with the 2018 event in Russia – Barbados have failed to get past the second round. Addressing the issue of football administration in the Caribbean, the BFA head raised concerns that restructuring at CONCACAF in the wake of
a corruption scandal by top executives, was resulting in the relegation of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) as a regional body. According to him, CONCACAF – which governs the sport in North, Central America and the Caribbean – was planning various tournaments with the individual national football associations, rather than the
CFU. He argued the CFU now had to “close ranks and ensure that not only the individual countries were being assisted, but the region as a group”. “I am not afraid of it but it may affect the amount of activity that we have here in the Caribbean in the near future,” Harris pointed out. “We have to give the new CONCACAF a chance to put its programmes in place but … there is some concern that they are controlling all of the football tournaments within the region, unlike in the past where the CFU organised and administered the tournaments in the Caribbean.” The changes came in the wake of the arrest of former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, who was one of seven FIFA officials arrested on corruption charges in Zurich in May 2015. In December that year, he pleaded guilty to
racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud charges. He also agreed to forfeit over $6.7 million as part of his plea deal, and is currently awaiting sentencing in the United States. The US has been also pushing for the extradition of former CONCACAF president and FIFA vicepresident, Jack Warner, who was named on fraud charges in the 47-count indictment unsealed by the Department of Justice two years ago. “It is a most unfortunate situation. As you know the two former presidents were friends of the Caribbean, from the Caribbean and they understood everything about the Caribbean,” Harris said. “They understood exactly what was needed to take the Caribbean forward. It is unfortunate that those things happen, and I think this had a big part to play in the election of a Canadian (Victor Montagliani) to run CONCACAF.”
England, India jostle with middle-overs challenge ESPNcricinfo - With so much cricket happening these days, you don’t get to savour incredible performances for long. Two days later, you are again staring at the prospect of a gruelling ODI. They are gruelling on the players because so much is packed into those 100 overs. Teams are mentally stronger than they used to be, and hardly carry negative momentum from defeats, but England have got to wonder after Pune what more they need to do. They scored 350, had India at 63 for 4, and didn’t really bowl awfully, but still lost with 11 balls to spare. India will enjoy that England might be worried now. Remember Virat Kohli’s statement after Pune? He said he told Kedar Jadhav that England would panic if India reached 150 for 4. Part of England will be doubting themselves, but another part will be telling them that the kind of chase India put up is not as repeatable as England’s performance in the first innings. England had almost everybody performing for them; India relied on individual brilliance, that too batsmen stretching themselves. Kohli had to play a game he doesn’t like: take
After conceding 0 for 63 in Pune, will R Ashwin still look to just contain or go for wickets proactively? © Associated Press risks early by stepping out and premeditating. England will tell themselves they at least made India play lowpercentage cricket. Both sides will have identified areas of improvement. India will want more from the other batsmen. England wanted to start their final surge around 36th over, but Hardik Pandya bowled a good spell, taking the wicket of Jos Buttler, and India conceded just 40 in the next seven overs. Both batting units will be looking
to iron out these kinks, and bowlers will have to find new ways to stay in the game. In the spotlight Since last February, in the 14 limited-overs matches that he has played, R Ashwin has not been called upon to complete his allotment on eight occasions, including in Pune where he went for 63 runs in eight overs, his economy rate of 7.88 his worst when he has bowled five overs or more. Ashwin had decided to bowl defensively, and never veered
off that plan. These are important matches: at a time when finger spinners are generally struggling to stay relevant in limited-overs cricket, Ashwin has to figure out what he wants to do to buck the trend. India need wickets in the middle order, and Ashwin took the place of a man who took five wickets in the last ODI India played. Of course the pitch was different when Amit Mishra took five, but generally wrist spinners are more effective in current limited-overs
cricket. It will be interesting to see how Ashwin approaches the rest of the series. Does he still look to just contain or go for wickets proactively? This might be the era of wrist spinners in limitedovers cricket, but India’s turnaround began when they took 26 runs off Adil Rashid’s first three overs. It was just the time England needed magic from their legspinner, their highest wicket-taker by some distance in 2016, and also second-highest overall. Rashid had a bad night, which can raise self-doubt after a disappointing Test series. How well Rashid bounces back could determine if England come back into the series. Team news India generally aren’t fickle with their batsmen. All
four who failed should retain their spots. It’s with the ball that India will debate whether Amit Mishra should replace Ashwin. Did England play one spinner too many considering the flat pitch and the psychological hold the India batsmen have on them after the Test series? Should they go for the tall Laim Plunkett instead of Rashid? The answer will be in whether Rashid feels confident of bouncing back. Pitch and conditions Another high-scoring match will not be a surprise, considering the small boundaries at the Barabati Stadium. There was a thin layer of grass on the pitch on the eve of the match; there are chances it could be trimmed further. Dew could be a factor too, and the toss could play a decisive role.
Bekele sets 02:01:30 marathon career target DUBAI (Reuters) Triple Olympic track champion Kenenisa Bekele, the second-fastest marathon runner in history, said yesterday he can shave around 90 seconds off the current world record over the classic 26.2 mile distance before he retires. Ethiopian Bekele, widely regarded as the greatest distance runner of all time and world record holder over 10,000 and 5,000 metres, is making an attempt at the world record tomorrow at the Dubai Marathon. He ran two hours, three minutes and three seconds when winning Berlin last September, six seconds outside Dennis Kimetto’s world record of 2:02:57 set on the same course in 2014. The 34-year-old, who said he is eyeing “just the world record” this week, told reporters he believes he can run “around 2:01:30” before retiring. The last time Bekele competed in the Dubai Marathon was in 2015 when an injury forced him to pull out mid-race. “I am fully confident. My preparation is going well. I am healthy enough,” he said on the sidelines of a press conference ahead of Friday’s race. He said he expects a better time than in Berlin.
Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia celebrates winning the men’s competition at the Berlin marathon in Berlin, Germany, September 25, 2016. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch) To run 2:01:30 Bekele said he would need to change his training programme. “The way you prepare yourself is very different. You need nutrition groups and facilities have to be perfect,” he said, adding that he had not changed his preparations since Berlin. Dubai is offering a bonus 250,000 dollars to any runner who can break the
world record this week on top of the 200,000 dollar first place prize money. Bekele, who is also due to run the London Marathon in April, the Ethiopian told reporters he would put his hand up for selection for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 if he was fit. Bekele was left out of the Ethiopian team for last year’s Rio Games.
FA set to consider final three-man shortlist P O RT O F S PA I N , Trinidad, CMC – Francisco Maturana, Stuart CharlesFevrier or Englishman Terry Fenwick could be become the next Trinidad and Tobago men’s senior coach. Media reports here say the trio have been shortlisted for the vacant position, with the Trinidad a n d To b a g o F o o t b a l l Association board expected to meet shortly to decide on a final candidate. An announcement on the new head coach could be made by tomorrow. Former national star and coach Russell Latapy and former national defender Dennis Lawrence have been excluded from the initial five-man shortlist. One of the favourites for the vacant post is Colombian Maturana who has led T&T in the past. The
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67-year-old brings a strong resume, having previously led Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica and his native Colombia. Charles-Fevrier, meanwhile, a St Lucian, has won numerous titles in the local Pro League, and is the current coach of top Pro League outfit, W Connection. Like Maturana, the 57year-old has coached the T&T national side in the past. Englishman Fenwick has extensive experience coaching in the Pro League where he has won titles with San Juan Jabloteh. The 57-year-old is a f o r m e r Q u e e n ’s P a r k Rangers star who also represented England during the 1980s. T h e FA w e r e l e f t searching for a new head coach after Belgian Tom
Briton Evans stuns seventh seed Cilic at Australian Open
Great Britain’s Dan Evans celebrates during his match against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer (file photo). (Action Images via Reuters / Andrew BoyersLivepic) M E L B O U R N E (Reuters) Britain’s Dan Evans came from a set down to upset seventh seed and former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open yesterday. The gutsy world number 51, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Sydney last week, prevailed in a shade under three hours on Court Three to set up a contest with Australia’s Bernard Tomic. Ranked in the 700s only a couple of years ago, Evans was grinning from ear-to-ear after securing the biggest win of his career on his third match point. The 26-year-old, wearing mismatched kit after his clothing sponsorship deal expired, then let out a huge roar as he came off court. “It was a relief
o b v i o u s l y, ” h e s a i d . “Obviously getting across the line against him. In the (best of) five sets... is a big thing for me to sort of last. It was great to win. Just great to win.” Cilic, who won his sole grand slam crown at Flushing Meadows in 2014, mixed 55 winners with 69 unforced errors and was able to convert just three of 19 break points during the match. The Croatian had looked firmly in charge in the first set, though, when Evans also had to deal with an insect flying into his eye. Gradually, however, Evans started to neutralise t h e 2 8 - y e a r- o l d ’s b i g weapons and the energy Cilic used up in his gruelling fiveset victory over Jerzy Janowicz in Monday’s opening round and the cool
conditions became factors. “I mean, he’s obviously seventh in the world,” Evans added. “I knew I could win (but) he was giving me a good hiding at the start. Yeah, just hang in there. “Obviously it got quite cold out there. He struggled to hit through me. Yeah, got the win.” Evans scored his first ever win over a top-10 player as recently as last week, beating Austria’s Dominic Thiem en route to the Sydney final. “Last week was (in best of) three (sets)... against Thiem,” said Evans. “Five sets is the ultimate test, I think. It was really good. I think I played as well as I can play today. I was really pleased with how I played especially towards the end of the match.”
Federer wobbles but roars back to reach third round Colombian Francisco Maturana. Saintfiet resigned suddenly last week, after just five weeks and four games in charge. Stephen Hart, who spent three years in the post, was sacked last November after T&T’s dismal start to the CONCACAF final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
MELBOURNE (Reuters) Roger Federer dug himself out of a late slump to fend off American qualifier Noah Rubin 7-5 6-3 76(3) yesterday and draw vital confidence for a tough third round clash against 10th seed Tomas Berdych at the Australian Open. The 17-times grand slam champion, still finding his feet after a six-month break, had to save two set points and rally from 5-2 down in the third before closing out a galvanising win on a breezy afternoon at Rod Laver Arena. Rubin, a 20-year-old baseline hustler with a big serve and powerful forehand, played above his 200th ranking and Federer doffed his cap to the Long Island native. But the Swiss master said he would need
to play better against big-hitting Berdych, despite winning their last five meetings, including a comfortable quarter-final victory at Melbourne Park last year. “He’s caused difficulties for me in the past on faster courts: Cincinnati, New York, Wimbledon, Olympics in Athens,” said Federer, whose 17th seeding ensured a demanding path to the second week. “I know what he’s got. I don’t need to tell you where he’s beaten me.” Federer needed time to unpick Rubin, who showed few nerves in his first match against the Swiss, but by the second set the Swiss master was cruising like a luxury car. (Continued on page 25)
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GT through to quarterfinals Seppi ousts Kyrgios after Australian blows up
Italy’s Andreas Seppi celebrates winning his Men’s singles second round match against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. (REUTERS/Issei Kato)
Players in action during the quarterfinal game. GT chalked up 77 games to win their quarterfinal match up against Beacons and Mix Up when the Mark Wi l t s h i r e 6 2 n d b i r t h anniversary dominoes tournament continued on Monday night at Dynasty. Beacons finished second on 71 games, while Mix Up placed third on 65. GT were led by Lynette
Armstrong and David Hunte with 17 and 15 games respectively, while Leroy Seymour made 16 and Kenneth Solomon 15. Rawl Peters and Ewie Gordon got 14 each for Mix Up. The other quarterfinal game ended in dispute and was replayed last night along with the semifinals and final at Dynasty.
Meanwhile, Wiltshire will be hosting a two-day tournament starting at 14:30 hrs on Sunday at Faye Joseph residence, Gaulding Place and conclude on Monday night at Dynasty. Entrance fee is $10,000. Te a m s c a n c o n t a c t Wiltshire on 665-5855 for more information.
Pollard’s best sends Brathwaite, Thunder tumbling out SYDNEY, Australia, CMC – Kieron Pollard produced a season-best knock to hand Carlos B r a t h w a i t e ’s S y d n e y Thunder a solid 77-run defeat here yesterday and end the reigning champions’ dream of reaching the playoffs of the Big Bash League. The big-hitting Pollard slammed 47 off 22 deliveries to help the previously bottom placed Adelaide Strikers rack up 178 for five off their 20 overs at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Needing to win to have any chance of reaching the next round, Sydney were then undermined by New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi who snatched six for 11, as the hosts tumbled to an embarrassing 101 all out in the 16th over. The defeat left Thunder as one of four teams on six points but bottom of the standings courtesy of net run rate, following their preliminary round campaign. Strikers, already eliminated, moved up to fifth on six points. Sent in, Strikers benefitted from a top score
Kieron Pollard
of 65 off 40 balls from opener Ben Dunk, who put on 92 for the second wicket with captain Brad Hodge whose 39 came from 32 balls. Pollard, arriving at the crease in the 13th over, smashed five sixes to give the visitors momentum down the stretch. Brathwaite, in his third game for Thunder, finished with one for 33 from his four overs of medium pace. In reply, the hosts were cruising at 60 for one in the eighth over but suffered a sudden collapse to lose their
last eight wickets for 41 runs in the space of 45 deliveries. Captain Shane Watson struck 39 and opener Kurtis Patterson, 29, in a second wicket partnership worth 58, but were the only two batsmen to reach double figures. Brathwaite, batting at number five, faced just two deliveries before he was bowled by Sodhi in the 12th over at 81 for four. Pollard, who shared the new-ball, picked up one for 36 from three overs of slow medium.
MELBOURNE (Reuters) Australia number one Nick Kyrgios blew a two-set lead and failed to convert a fifthset match point before slumping out of his home grand slam with a 1-6 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 10-8 defeat at the hands of Andreas Seppi yesterday. The Italian, who blew a similar lead to Kyrgios on the same court in the fourth round two years ago, saved the match point with a sizzling forehand down the line and his 16th ace sealed the upset of the 14th seed after a threehour thriller. “Maybe it was meant to be?” said Seppi. “I couldn’t find my rhythm at the start, but I kept fighting and I played very well in the important moments in the end.” Kyrgios, returning to tennis at the Australian Open after a ban - for not trying at the Shanghai Masters - ended his 2016 season, could only rue a big chance blown. “It’s obviously disappointing. But it was ultimately a pretty fun match. He’s a great guy and he deserved it, so... I’m not going
to beat myself up about it,” said Kyrgios. “I’m disappointed. I’m okay. Like, I’m all right. You know, the world keeps spinning. I lost one match.” Looking fit, determined and committed, the 21-yearold had appeared to be coasting to victory in the third set of his contest on Hisense Arena. A warning for swearing had been the only reminder of the more controversial side of the Australian’s character until Seppi broke his serve with a sizzling forehand return to take a 5-4 lead. Kyrgios tossed his racket into the air as he walked back to slump into his chair disconsolate, the confidence and focus he had shown in the first 90 minutes of the contest gone. World number 89 Seppi took full advantage, holding comfortably to take the third set before unleashing his silky strokes from the back of the court to race away with the fourth in 25 minutes. Roared on by a crowd that had long ago shed any pretence of neutrality,
Kyrgios grabbed three break points in the eighth game of the decider only for Seppi to save them all. Kyrgios was now looking tired, keeping his movement at the back of the court to a minimum and relying on his shots, including one “tweener” to stay in the match. The 32-year-old pounced to break for 6-5 and, while Kyrgios took advantage of some nerves to strike straight back, that only delayed his misery for a few more thrilling games before Seppi secured a third-round meeting with Belgian Steve Darcis. Kyrgios said a knee injury had bothered him during match and he had learnt a valuable lesson about working on his conditioning in the off-season. “It’s on me,” he said. “Did a couple things in the offseason that I’m probably not going to do next time. My body’s not in good enough shape. You live and you learn. “Maybe (I should) not play as much basketball. Actually take my pre-season seriously.”
t r o Sp
Yesterday’s simulation match washed out But Crandon feels preparations not affected by the rain
Head Coach Esuan Crandon watches Paul Wintz bowl to Steven Jacobs at Providence yesterday. (Sean Devers photo)
Limacol Football Tournament
Trophy Stall adds its name to list of sponsors
Trophy Stall proprietor Ramesh Sunich (3rd right) hands over winning trophy and nets to Petra Organisation member Mark Alleyne in the presence of Petra Organisation co-director Troy Mendonca and staffers yesterday. Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210