Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Will the political elite rise to the need of the hour? As we brace ourselves for the battles that will accompany the presentation of the next budget, it might be useful to remind the politicians why they were elected to office in the first instance. It was not just to score political points. If we cut to the chase, we believe that all Guyanese would agree that what they desire is a good economy, a good society and a good political process. The first would give them the material basis for enjoying life, the second, the social relations to live in harmony and the third, the wherewithal to vote the rascals out if the first two are not delivered. We are not saying that the good life will be easy to achieve: but if the politicians do not begin to work together, they will make it impossible. For one, there are the inevitable trade-offs in the policy prescriptions for achieving our goals. If the present practice of reflexive finger-pointing is not abandoned when one’s recommendations are not followed, then the society will never congeal into a nation. We all admire the tremendous achievements of China over the last three decades. They have lifted more people out of poverty in a shorter span of time that in any other period of human history. But they were only able to do so under conditions that most in the west, including Guyana, would claim to be of quite restricted freedom. The new leadership, for instance, was basically ‘selected’ rather than ‘elected’. Some argue that the discipline the Chinese political system imparts on the populace may be duplicated under conditions of greater political freedom. But as the experience of India and other democracies demonstrate, the answer is not quite so simple. As to where the line is drawn is a question that only responsible leadership in a democracy such as ours can answer. But that answer, for sure, cannot be just protests and marches in the streets. There is also a trade-off between high income growth and equal income distribution. We all aspire to the standard of living in the developed countries. But today there is great dissension in those countries over the ridiculous incomegap between the top 1% and the remaining 99%. This gap ballooned tremendously in the last two decades. The defenders of the status quo assert that the imperatives of human capital growth inevitably conflict with the goals of savings and capital formation. This trade-off had always been faced in countries in their early stage of development. The question raised now is whether it continues even into the developed stage of economic development. To assume that we can somehow avoid this trade-off, as the local political rhetoric asserts, is plain irresponsibility. One trade-off that is presently creating much angst in the local landscape is that investment and technology transfer, which is the basis for generating sustainable high growth levels necessary for catapulting us into ‘developed country’ status, means high interdependence in international relations. More specifically, with China awash with foreign reserves that could facilitate technology transfer embedded in investments, we would assume that the politicians would agree on better bilateral relations. However, from the continued cacophony raised over the spate of Chinese investment and the concomitant conditions, it appears that our politicians want the investment, but not the strings. This is not how the real world operates, and we only have to revisit our previous dominant economic partnerships for a reality check. Whether it is “politicking” or otherwise, the brouhaha demonstrates that the political maturity necessary to accept the need for trade-offs is missing here. It means, therefore, that the creation of the conditions necessary for us to enjoy the good life is that much farther away. Will the political elite rise to the need of the hour?

Thursday January 23, 2014

Letters... Where your views make the news

Technical Vocational Education is in its best position in the history of Guyana DEAR EDITOR, A letter entitled “What is the status of the technical/vocational education curriculum in our schools” (KN 2014/01/20), sought answers to the state of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Guyana. Permit me to first thank the writer for the interest shown in the education system and particularly in TVET. It appears however, that a fundamental mistake was made by the writer in confusing the process of quality assurance and certification, alluded to in the Hon. Minister’s comments, with the state of technical vocational education and training in the country. The Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA) has certification guidelines and processes with their concomitant external verification and quality assurance mechanisms, which must be met prior to receiving recognition to award CVQ. It was this “readiness” that the Minister of Education spoke about; in relation to Guyana having met those administrative and other system related requirements. The Hon. Minister assured that Guyana is in the process of being recognized to award the CVQ, something we could not unilaterally declare, we are subject to the regulations of the Regional governing bodies, including CARICOM. In 2004, as a requirement of

CANTA, in preparation for the CVQ, the Ministry of Education established the Council for TVET through an Act of Parliament. The Council is charged with spearheading the transformation of the TVET Institutions from the traditional mode of training to Competency Based Education and Training (CBET); which is the mode of training that leads to the award of the CVQ. The expectations of CVQ and the CBET programme entail a complete change in the way TVET is delivered. There is strong emphasis on quality assurance and facilities, staff, qualifications and experience, training and assessment practices must all meet Regional guidelines and standards. More importantly, throughout this process there is a strong participation and involvement of industry practitioners. When this right is conferred on Guyana, the Council for TVET will begin to award the CVQ to persons trained by Technical Institutes and other private training institutions while the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), will award the CVQ to persons trained in the Secondary Schools across the country. In relation to the state of TVET in the education system, however, Ministry of Education is eager to engage all interested parties in a discussion of where we are and how we can move the system forward. It must be unequivocally stated that, as a matter of fact, TVET is in its best

position in the history of technical education in Guyana. The Ministry of Education, with the addition of two new Centres in Mahaicony and Leonora, currently operates ten (10) TVET Institutions in Regions #2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. There are plans as well to establish a Centre in Region #9. The Institutions have a combined students’ population of over 3000 and graduate more than 1500 students annually. Further, the Ministry of Education, along with the TVET Council, continues to re-tool and upgrade facilities, train and re-train the staff of these Institutions and expand the programmes offered to ensure that we continue producing world-class graduates consistent with the ever-changing industrial expectations and standards. The Ministry of Education has also revitalized the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP) which is currently offered in fifty (50) Secondary Schools and seven (7) strategically placed Practical Instruction Centres (PICs) serving our secondary school population nationwide; with more than 1000 students successfully completing this programme last year. This programme offers a Competency based modularized curriculum in TVET and gives secondary schools students the opportunity to acquire entry level (Continued on page 5)

Much talk and little action in Bartica DEAR EDITOR, There has been much talk and little action when it comes to managing the garbage situation in the little community of Bartica. Our major dump site is located in an area of the community called Byderabo/Over-the-Creek. This is the area that the local authorities have selected to dump all the garbage that is collected from around the community. However, when the sanitary service in Bartica known as “General Sanitation” collects and dumps the garbage at the dump site, there is no further action to properly get rid of it. The dump site has become so saturated that on a regular basis one can see the garbage truck(General Sanitation) dumping the garbage on the road side. As a result, cows, donkeys etc are harboured and cause traffic jams on the road. Not only is this area a public roadway and the only road to reach into Byderabo, but people also reside in this area. Children as well as working people traverse this road to go to school\work on a daily basis enduring the putrid stench of this garbage

dump. Is this healthy for the community as a whole? More so the residents of Byderabo. As the saying goes “he who feels it knows it.” Every year Bartica hosts one of the biggest events held in the country; The Bartica Regatta, which as we know comprises various

events that attract a lot of tourists from all parts of the world. Is this the way the community plans on boosting tourism in this region and the country as a whole with a garbage-filled environment, hence a garbage-filled country? As a concerned citizen I am kindly asking for the

local authorities to look into this matter. To find a healthy, satisfying and permanent solution to this problem that has existed in this community for too long. With that I leave you with these words; “the health of one’s community should be of prime concern.” Concerned Citizen

Why are we surprised? DEAR EDITOR, All the papers of Saturday January 18, 2014, carried reports of David Granger calling for a better standard of living in Region 10. Clearly the call by Granger and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is designed to create the impression that Region 10 is neglected by the administration. It is also subtly insinuating racial discrimination, since it is known that mostly Afro-Guyanese live there. However, the facts are vastly different. People in Linden, where the bulk of the citizens in Region 10 live, enjoy free electricity. No other area is this happening. That area has one of the most modern and well-equipped hospitals in our country. The government spent billions keeping the Bauxite industry afloat until it found investors to take over the company. Moreover, tax concessions were given to a company to establish a call centre in the area that is providing many jobs. Jobs are also created by companies in the forest sector.

Clearly Granger cannot be serious, his talk is cheap. The Government also set up a Fund, LEAP. It would be interesting to publish the names of all those who took loans from LEAP and how much was repaid. The problem in Linden is that the Opposition has created a dependent mentality in the area. They expect that government must give them everything. Moreover, they have also created a callous outlook in some of their supporters. The bullyism, threats etc. are what the Opposition offers their supporters as leadership. Business people suspected to be government supporters, either by their race or because they make their views known are attacked, and many leave in fear of their lives. Clearly the APNU/AFC leadership in Region 10, like the Georgetown City Council, is disastrous. It has led to chaos and decline. Why are we surprised? They did it to the whole country when they were in power from 1964 to 1992! Rebecca Constance

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

McRae is petty in criticising The perfect recipe for gift of bridge for burials an untold health disaster DEAR EDITOR, Something is seriously off balance when the gift of a bridge for public use in burial of the deceased is reportedly criticized…For what? What’s next to go on and on? Both SN and KN reported that Mr. Elton McRae, a Triumph-based Guyanese, reportedly found the report on the bridge “offensive”. The media reported that the area of the BV/Triumph community burial ground for Hindus and Muslims, without an official entrance, received an $840,000 adorned gateway and bridge. It was donated by former Deputy Chief Education Officer, Mrs Bibi Shariman Ali, her husband and two sons. Chairman Mr. Bruce Adams received the bridge on behalf of the NDC. The Roman Catholic section of the cemetery has its own bridge and is well maintained. But Mr McRae is complaining that: “The bridge was given to their Muslim community between Success to Mon Repos. It was a facilitating endeavor for the members of that religious community so that they can have easier access to their burial ground.” Mr. McRae did not volunteer what impediments actually prevented anyone’s use of the bridge. Could normal maintenance without any tolls be anymore abnormal? Neither race nor religion is prerequisite “power sharing”, bridging death and burial. Could it however provide jump start motivation to at least restore gracious goodness which avoids

death and burial as issues of disagreements? Can it? If not so, There must be something to the examples of PNC veteran deputy leader Dr Ptolemy Reid choosing to be buried in his native Essequibo and Presidents Dr Cheddi and Janet Jagan’s cremation in Berbice - with the latters’ ashes scattered elsewhere over Guyana. All three leaders are far removed from the usual hubbub of our living. Even in death we find so much contentiousness among Guyanese that a donated bridge makes us more abridged. Indeed, what can be more downright petty for such insensitive disrespect for the dignity of the defenseless dead? See Mr. Elton McRae’s complete letter in the KN of 16-1-14 titled “everything linked to this report is offensive” and in the SN of 16-1-14 titled “BV/Triumph bridge should be maintained by Muslim community not NDC”. Then the urgency of decentralized Federalism becomes more validated by his criticisms. Now contrast this to Georgetown’s Le Repentir cemetery where bodies locomote themselves, not by bridge or by boat, but by flood water! Let’s assume Mr. McRae’s criticism unburdens the BVTriumph NDC of its responsibilities. Such would give matching justifiable glorification to the PPP/C’s astuteness for Mayor Hamilton Green to remain unhinged from theirs. Righteousness would expect Mr. McRae to then bravely go

tell it on the garbage mountain. Hopes that the Mayor, so preoccupied in the press, would ever awake to his caretaker responsibilities to restore Le Repentir, must not be without effort. Only the PNC/APNU is best equipped to evaluate humbugs which hamper its trek to any new promised land for all. Maybe long tortured minds and souls in the cemetery are now in silent screams of remorse, neglected even in death. How did their misplaced, trusting votes prescribe them such karmic Le Repentir hell in Georgetown under the PNC? All the brimstone and fire raining on Town Clerk Ms Carol Sooba may also explain why some remain quite so comfortable among decay and nastiness to celebrate another Triumph. Everyone knows dignity and respect for the dead is without religion. What else could it be to look a gift Arabian horse in the mouth? For Mr. McRae what is very bothersome is that the NDC taxpayers’ funds would take care of the free bridge in future for everyone’s wellbeing. He was indeed a surprising protester, with no money no love for those families undertaking sanctuary’s final rest of their beloved. The PNC cannot be so dead, unable to first fix Georgetown as a symbol of their ideals and aspiration. Everyone knows where they would not be welcome if dead. Can they do it? Only God knows. Sultan Mohamed

Technical Vocational Education is in its best position in the... From page 4 technical skills in various trade areas. The graduates of this program continue their careers in the TVET Institutions, seek employment, or transition to the CXC programme in schools. The Ministry of Education has not only continued to expand TVET across the length and breadth of Guyana, but has also developed a strategic plan for TVET in Guyana that outlines how this component of the system will be implemented from Nursery through to

University and Post-Graduate levels. It envisioned combining CBET and labour market intelligence and other strategies to address the existing and emergent skills in Guyana. We would encourage any interested parties to contact the TVET Unit of the Ministry of Education for more information on TVET in Guyana: Tel: 231-8815 or 223-7900 ext 252/253 or E-mail us at aceo_tech@yahoo.com. Patrick Chinedu Assistant Chief Education Officer (Technical)

DEAR EDITOR, At the Kitty/Campbellville bus park, just next to Demico House, runs a drain between the road and the pavement parallel to the St. Andrew’s Kirk Church fence that every commuter knows about, an area which is a hive of activity daily. People vend all sorts of stuff: they sell snacks, a wide menu; men barber, ladies plait hair and manicure, an assortment of beverages are sold among so many other things and of course there are unrelenting ribald lively discussions, heated arguments, and debates on almost every topic and news item around the Capital/ Country that comes to light. All amidst the regular throng of school children and commuters of every walk of life - the students themselves locked in unending conversation. No doubt and as everyone can attest to; this area is forever pulsating, teeming with energy-life, especially at peak hours when the hustle and bustle starts

to roar as minibus drivers, conductors, touts and taxi drivers swing into high gear. The aforementioned drain is permanently clogged with everything imaginable: styrofoam boxes, juice cans, drink bottles, unrecognisable stuff, all still like a statue, stagnant, a kind of blackgreenish surface that glistens, most unspectacular, obnoxious and repulsive, rather nauseous and some parts are covered (boarded up). My focus and concern is that this scenario is the perfect recipe for an untold health disaster or disease epidemic. As mentioned above, that drain seems stuck in time. Hasn’t this most shocking sight attracted the attention of an environmental officer? A single medical doctor/senior medical functionary? Any senior executive from the forever vocal private sector? The Human Rights movement? Child Care and Protection Agency? This is one of the most popular areas…Next to

the courts, my goodness! Don’t any members of parliament, members of the judiciary, their wives and children pass by? And don’t tell me that Demico House can’t be affected. Good God, we are a sick people. Shouldn’t the police be charging someone for dereliction of duty, which is the same as breaking the law? I’m aware that there are many other drains, trenches even worse, but look what goes on around this area, food is sold daily. But you know what; apparently it is not so bad after all. Never will you see anyone turning up their nose because of any stench. No sir. I myself don’t remember smelling any such, maybe not until a dead body shows up, maybe then and only then will action be taken. Tell me, how could we permit something like this. But like they said in the “No big thing” show, this is Guyana “anything can happen.” Frank Fyffe

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Thursday January 23, 2014

No increases, bonuses for GuySuCo’s senior staffers …Estates shutdown loom …Industry set tentative 216,000 tonnes target More than 400 senior staffers of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) are claiming discrimination after being told that they are not likely to receive any salary increases that were supposed to have been paid since December. They will also not be paid any 2013 production bonus. The senior staffers are now weighing legal options and have threatened to down tools starting this weekend. The staffers were told the news by their estate managers who had attended an emergency meeting earlier in the day with GuySuCo’s management. Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, a number of the staffers complained that normal, unionised workers received their increases since December. “We have been told that we will not be getting any increases. The rest of the workers of GuySuCo have received their increases retroactive to January 1st, 2013. Public servants have also received theirs. What is happening to us? Are we not entitled too?” a spokesperson of the aggrieved workers asked yesterday. With a number of the estates set to start the first

Chairman, Dr. Rajendra Singh

Board Member: Geeta Singh-Knight

Board Member: Badri Persaud

crop within weeks, this latest development would spell even more worry for the industry. Already, GuySuCo has set a tentative target of 216,000 tonnes of sugar for 2014, after falling to 187,000 tonnes, way short of its original 240,000 tonnes for last year. That target had been adjusted downwards a number of times to finally 190,000 tonnes after it became clear that it was unrealistic. This was the worst performance for the industry in over two decades. GuySuCo was successful in asking Government for bailout cash in December with the National Assembly approving $4B. As of last December,

GuySuCo’s main union, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), confirmed that the Corporation owed creditors, including suppliers and banks, over $10B. GAWU’s members have been paid increases and have received the first of two tranches of their 2013 annual production incentive. While the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has assured that the $10B figure was in no way unusual in light of the volume of business that GuySuCo does, industry experts were worried especially in the context of falling production and the Corporation’s cash position. PENALISED SENIORS? Yesterday, the senior staffers said that they represent only three per cent of the GuySuCo work force and play a critical function. “We are talking about $70-

$80M that GuySuCo will have to pay us. Other staffers- the union workers- have been paid $700M. We are on 24hours call. Even some junior staffers are working more than us. How can this be fair? Are we being penalized for a failure by the board to address the situation of GuySuCo?” Kaieteur News was unable to speak with Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bhim, who was in meetings. However, a senior official said that he too is mystified why the senior staffers, who include engineers, shift managers and factory managers, were not paid. “We are being told that there is nothing management can do, any payments to us will have to be approved by the Board. They are saying that GuySuCo has no monies,” a senior staffer said. GuySuCo’s Board of Directors, headed by Dr. Raj

Board Member: Dr. Dindyal Permaul

Board Member: Keith Burrowes

Singh, has been largely silent on the industry. Also sitting on the board are Keith Burrowes, Dr. Dindyal Permaul, Badri Persaud and Geeta Singh-Knight. Government had expressed worry over the industry which at one time was the largest foreign currency earner for the country but has fallen to third behind gold and rice. The industry has been a major embarrassment for the Administration which seems to have little answers for a 16,000-plus worker strong Corporation, and is considered the country’s biggest employer. In the last few years, Government has been plugging billions to help keep GuySuCo afloat. The woes have been blamed on poor yields; problems at especially the new Skeldon factory and at Enmore; a lessening work force and an accumulative, phased 37% price cuts by Europe, GuySuCo’s biggest sugar customer. The Board has reportedly, with the blessings of Government, hired an Indian firm, Integrated Casetech Consultants (P) Limited, to overlook the operations of the estates, to provide technical help and to improve production. Three of these technical experts, including an electrician, chemist and mechanical technician, are already on the job at Enmore, on the East Coast of Demerara. At the US$200M Chinese-built Skeldon project, Berbice, a few overseas experts, including a Tate and Lyle official, are reportedly still there. MORE OVERSEAS HELP

About a dozen of Casetech experts are set to arrive in the coming weeks, senior staffers confirmed yesterday. The Skeldon factory itself remains a major problem. While it had targeted 43,482 tonnes at the beginning of 2013, actual production at December 21 was a miserly 25,380 tonnes. The problems at the factory have been known since being commissioned in August 2009, more than four years ago. A key punt dumper, critical to taking the canes from the waterways into the factory’s conveyor systems, has been malfunctioning. So too have other areas in the factory. Several faults have been fixed by the Chinese contractor, but with the defects liability period over, GuySuCo turned to South Africa’s Bosch Engineering this year to help address some of the issues. With more than US$8M ($1.6B) reportedly being spent on Bosch, GuySuCo and union officials have admitted that the remedial works have not gone so well. Workers are now attempting to fix those “repairs”. In December, to reach its 190,000 revised target, GuySuCo harvested a significant quantity of young canes that were earmarked for the first crop this year. Industry experts are now saying that this decision will have significant impact on production this year. A number of Caribbean countries, following announcements by Europe to cut sugar prices, have pulled out from production altogether.

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Thursday January 23, 2014

Carol Ann Lynch remanded for husband’s murder After three years on the run, former beauty queen Carol Ann Lynch was yesterday brought before the court to face the murder charge long set to be reinstituted against her for the death of her husband, former Swiss House Cambio Managing Director Farouk Razac. In the courtroom of the Chief Magistrate, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, Lynch, once again stood accused of the capital offence. Decked in all black, the woman who once held the title of Mrs. South America, stood alone in the prisoner’s docks with her eyes fixed on the presiding Magistrate, as the charge of her husband’s murder was reread to her. The charge held her accountable for the 2007 murder of Razac. It alleges that on May 7, 2007 at Ireng Place, BelAir Park, Georgetown, she committed the act. Ever since the 2008 discharge of the matter, the charge which in 2010 was ordered to be reinstituted to

Lynch by the Director of Public Prosecutions was only read to her yesterday as she had evaded the police for the past three years. Lynch, who was represented by Defence Attorneys Peter Hugh and Latchmie Rahamat, was not required to plead since the charge was deemed indictable. She was later remanded until February 5 when the date for the commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry would be set. Addressing the quiet courtroom at yesterday’s hearing, Attorney at Law Latchmie Rahamat first requested to have the second Preliminary Inquiry (PI) conducted before the Chief Magistrate. The lawyer expressed confidence that the court will once again find her client innocent of the charge, since according to her there is no new evidence. “There is definitely no new evidence that warrants her being recharged.” Rahamat claimed that Lynch’s former attorney had

Carol Ann Lynch Dead: Farouk Razac proceeded to the High Court requesting the new evidence, but it is yet to be provided. “So the outcome will be the same as when the then Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys presided,” Rahamat contended. On the other hand, the Prosecution requested ‘some time’ to prepare the file. At the next court hearing they are expected to announce the number of witnesses they will present to support their case of murder. In 2007, Lynch was accused of killing her husband but the charge was discharged in 2008 by the then Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys. In 2010, however, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had recommended that the murder charge be reinstituted against her. Reports indicate that on May 7, 2007 Lynch discovered her husband’s lifeless body lying on the bedroom floor of their 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, residence. Razac was purportedly found with blood oozing from his mouth. The post mortem showed that the businessman died as a result of “asphyxiation (suffocation) due to possible ligature strangulation.” Four days later his wife, Carol Ann was charged with his murder but in 2008, the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) ended when the then Magistrate discharged the accusations, citing insufficient evidence had been provided to establish a case of murder against her.

Aviation authorities worried over increased domestic crashes ... To review and beef up safety procedures The Ministry of Public Works and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) will partner up to boost safety measures relating to domestic air travel. With estimations of over 50,000 air travel activities occurring annually, and some 130 airplane movements daily, the Ogle International Airport has easily become the nation’s busiest aerodrome. However, the increased incidences of aviation accidents and incidents have frightened aviation authorities who are now bent on having a firmer grip on the adherence of safety regulations. Both GCCA head Zulficar Mohamed and Minister Robeson Benn registered concerns regarding the safety of flying domestically and has noted their intent to increase surveillance and random checks at the nation’s second largest aerodrome. Mohamed told media workers during a press conference that inspectors from the agency’s Air Safety Regulatory Directorate will also be conducting frequent operations at interior landing strips. The agencies said they have been prompted to review safety mechanisms and the adherence of these mechanisms. Minister Benn said that, “The Ministry has been recently quite concerned over a number of aircraft incidents. One week before this (Saturday’s) crash we had an aircraft flipping at Ogle aerodrome.” That incident, Benn said is also being investigated, “and that one (accident) may be related to weights on the aircraft at take off.” Benn continued that, “we have been discussing additional measures, additional oversight in respect to heightening the level of surveillance in respect to aircraft operations. Domestic flights particularly from the Ogle Aerodrome are of a very high number.” “Comparatively and statistically speaking we have much, much more activity, and the entire system has been responding to this increase in the level of activity and responding

to the amount of effort needed to manage the overall system.” Benn said that obviously there are other aspects that aviation authorities will have to look into, arising out of last week’s accident and some prior to that.Minister Benn continued that, “one of the issues arising out of some recent incidents is whether the issue relating to the loading of planes, their practices and prescribed standards are being followed.” He said shuttle operations are mostly in the interior and not the coast so safety officials will be requiring “adhoc inspections in the operational areas and also at Ogle itself.” While these inspections are done from time to time, Benn said that as a routine measure now, “a higher frequency of these inspections will be done both on the coast and Ogle.” Weight onboard aircraft, Benn said, is becoming a grave concern for safety officers at the operational level and these concerns are also known to flight operators out of Ogle. “The operators are aware of our concerns and we will be firmly dealing with a number of those concerns. From time to time, the various agencies have been engaged with the GCAA with respect to issues that would have been noted from the Ogle Tower or from the Timehri Tower and also with respect to mishaps or deviation from the safety norms in the interior.” The Minister noted however that several other safety issues will be looked at by the agency, including the communication and the usage of Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) signal which is used to transmit distress signals via satellite. The Minister has however reassured domestic flight users that the Ministry is doing all in its power to ensure safety in the sky and in some cases on the ground. He said, “I want to reassure the general public and all Guyanese particularly, that we would want to mitigate as much as possible and we would work to ensure that we do not have recurrences of this time.”

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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The Technical Committee’s work is of vital importance to the Economic Committee Linden is an industrial town. It was created around the bauxite industry and its future has historically been tied to that industry. One of the mistakes made after nationalization was the absence of attracting foreign direct investment to the industry. This was seen as incompatible with the desire to bring the commanding heights of the economy under State control. The bauxite industry has historically required significant capital investment. The need to attract foreign direct investment became more demanding because of the gross inadequacy of financing from the State, a situation aggravated because of the terms of nationalization, which required compensation to be paid to the bauxite companies. Burnham was not keen on foreign direct investment. He however recognized the need for cheap energy so that a smelter could have been built. As such, he conceived of a plan to build a hydroelectric station to generate energy to power a smelter. The future prospects of bauxite were therefore hinged on cheap energy, which it was hoped that the Upper

Mazaruni Hydroelectric Project would provide. That project in itself was fatally flawed. While the excuse made was that the World Bank and the Venezuelans vetoed the project, the reality was different. The project was heavily premised on the sale of excess energy to Venezuela and when this did not materialize, the project was doomed, and with it the future of Linden. In later years, Burnham’s successor, Desmond Hoyte did attract foreign direct investment to Linden. But all this resulted in was the massive depletion of bauxite reserves, with very little invested by the companies in the town itself. Millions of tonnes of ore were extracted by foreign multinationals. Linden had little to show for this investment but massive debt. This debt eventually forced the then government to convert this debt into bonds, because of the inability to repay the debt. Under the PPPC also, the bauxite industry was bailedout to the tune of billions of dollars each year. Foreign direct investors were later invited to take over the mines. Things did change

Dem boys seh...

Rohee can tame de Bees Rohee call fuh new ideas de other day. Fuh some time now he always complaining that it expensive to keep prisoners. Dem boys suspect wheh he get that from, but dem Bajans now showing he how he can keep prisoners and don’t spend one cent. In fact, he can mek a profit. A boy lef Guyana and walk wid cocaine like if is small change he walking wid. He get ketch and dem had he in a cell fuh a couple days. De food dem give he wuss than anything he ever eat. He eat fish boil in lime water; he eat dumpling wid water, and he had de nerve to tell de people how when he deh home he don’t eat things like that. Mistake. Dem tell he that if he want go home he can pay a fine and keep out of jail. De man smile but when he hear de fine, he cry. De magistrate tell he that he got to pay 150,000 Bajan dollars. It didn’t sink in till he do a quick calculation and find out that he gun be paying 75,000 US. That is $15 million GT. He tell de magistrate that he never see such money. De magistrate seh that if don’t pay he gun spend four years eating dumpling and water and fish boil in lime water. Dem boys wish dem magistrate can ketch de Bees and give dem three times that fuh all de money dem tek from de Guyanese people. Of course, that is chicken feed to dem, but dem gun learn a lesson. Rohee should learn something from de policy that dem Bajans does use. De prison would not have any drug dealers and drug pushers. Meanwhile, de people in Aunt Joan court still waiting pun Bobby fuh de bank statement and dem invoice. He try fuh tell he lawyer that dem lost, but de lawyer seh that he can’t tell Aunt Joan that. De cat deh among de pigeons. And dem boys seh that dem reading ‘bout problems all over de world and dem ain’t hearing ‘bout blackout. Guyana got to be different. De Maths seh ‘No problem, no lights.’ Dem poor people singing, ‘no lights, no problem’. That is de same song Bee Jay gun sing pun he birthday because he got a generator more big than dem Wartsila engines. Talk half and wait fuh de backlash.

though. Under the PPPC, the economy of Linden was diversified. Linden has become more diversified than any other region in Guyana. But it still remains primarily an industrial town. Linden remains a bauxite town, but there are other economic activities that are taking place there, and this is as a direct result of the policies pursued by the Jagdeo administration. The PPPC in the run-up to the 2011 elections promised to create 1,000 new jobs in Linden. Last year, a major company advertized for seven hundred and fifty jobs, the majority of which were to be in Linden. The media has not followed up as to how many persons from Linden took up that offer, or indeed as to how many new call centre jobs have been created in Linden since 2011.

Industrial towns require cheap energy. Without cheap energy, investors will not come and existing industries will remain uncompetitive. After the tragic events in Linden in July 2012, a number of committees were established including a Technical Committee to examine the electricity issue and an Economic Committee to look at the development of Linden. Given that Linden remains primarily an industrial town, the work of the two committees are interrelated. It makes no sense for the Economic Committee to do any work unless it has a clear understanding of the electricity issue and the costs at which energy can be made available in the future. No Economic Committee can plan properly without this information. It therefore

makes little sense for the work of the Economic Committee to go ahead without benefiting from the findings of the Technical Committee. Amaila has been effectively euthanized by the opposition parties. Even if it is revived, it will take five years at the minimum to get going. Linden cannot wait that long. It is therefore important that the problems affecting the constitution of the Technical Committee get going. The parrying over who should head the Technical Committee, indeed any committee at all, is totally unwarranted. Professionals, regardless of their political persuasions, generally work well together. In fact, politicians from across the political divide have shown that they can also work well together in committees. It is

outside of the committees that problems arise. Guyana needs more opportunities for our professionals and our politicians to work together. Doing so will break down the high degree of mistrust that exists. For this reason, the sides that negotiated the agreement over Linden should not get bogged down as to whom to appoint to head the Technical Committee. Just appoint someone who is technically competent. Whether that person is PPP or APNU really does not matter. At the Committee level, that person will work well with the other members and there will be progress.

TWO YOUTHS NABBED WITH M16 AND GRENADES - were planning to smuggle them into Camp St. Prison

The police may have averted a major catastrophe in the Georgetown Prisons with the apprehension of two men in whose possession an M16 rifle with two full magazines and two grenades shortly before midday, yesterday. Police say that the two men were nabbed by ranks of an alert police motorcycle anti crime patrol while they were walking along Aubrey Barker Street, South Ruimveldt. And according to reports, the men said that the items were intended for someone in the Georgetown Prisons. They reportedly claimed that they were given the weapon by the son of a well known city resident. This newspaper was reliably informed that one of the men is a sibling of a notorious high profile inmate who was recently jailed for decades on a murder charge. Police said in a press release that at about 11:15 hours yesterday, ranks of a police motor cycle Anti-Crime Patrol observed the two men walking along Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt. As the police ranks got closer to the men, one of them threw away a bag that he had in his possession. The bag was retrieved by the police and found to contain an M16 rifle along with two magazines and 60 rounds of ammunition, a fragmentation grenade and a

A police rank searches the guitar bag for the weapon and explosives while his colleague guards the suspects. concussion grenade. An eyewitness told this newspaper that the men were seen desperately trying to flag down a taxi. “They look suspicious and dem taxi man radio dey base who then contact de police. Dey had dis guitar bag and we know dat it didn’t had in no guitar,” the eyewitness said. “When dey see de police, dey panic more and

drop de bag. But de couldn’t run no way. Is two youth man,” the eyewitness added. The two men were arrested and are in police custody assisting with investigations. Yesterday’s discovery and the subsequent revelations by the suspects are now major sources of worry for law enforcement officials who are extremely

grateful that the weapon and explosives did not reach its intended targets. Exactly one month ago, prison officials foiled a plot to smuggle ammunition to a high-profile inmate accused of committing acts of terror against the state. The plot was reportedly unearthed after a warder at the Georgetown Prisons found two 12-gauge shotgun cartridges stashed in a pair of Nike sneakers that a civilian, Kellon Benjamin, had brought for his cousin, Anthony Watson. Watson is one of the inmates accused of the November 4, 2009 arson attempt at the Supreme Court and of the murder of a civilian. He has been on remand since December 2010. Police sources allege that the cousin, Kellon Benjamin, took some clothing and a pair of Nike boots to the prison for Watson. However, during a routine search of the items, a prison officer found the two cartridges stashed in one of the boots. He alerted his superiors and Benjamin was taken into police custody. The discovery of the ammunition had sparked fears that a weapon may have already been smuggled into the prison. Immediately after the find, the entire prison population was on ‘lockdown,’ while police and prison officials scoured the premises. However no weapon was found.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday January 23, 2014

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

The politics of confusion or brutal power? To the average person in Guyana, the politics of the PPP is confusing and this may go beyond the average citizen, even opposition politicians and analysts. How do you explain the virtual runaway train of unpopular policies by the Government, yet the constant exclamations from the PPP leadership and its lackeys in

the Private Sector Commission (PSC), that the opposition undermines the good intentions of the Government? It simply does not make sense. It has no logic. It is amazingly confusing. Perhaps we can offer a hypothetical example. I am the deputy headmaster. I make proposals often to change

some things about the school. On each submission, the headmaster rejects it saying he must be consulted. Why am I going to continue that course of action only to find it is a waste of time? Would it not be commonsensical to discuss your new suggestions with him? Former President, Jagdeo got up at the Convention

Centre and screamed out; “They killed hydro-power” after Sithe Global ceased operations. He named the killers. All were critics of the government and some aligned to the opposition. Then the screams were heard again about mining in the New River Triangle when the Brazilian company pulled out. Minister after Minister, including past president Jagdeo and President Ramotar, on every occasion where the opportunity comes up, yells out that the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News are devastating Guyana’s image and wrecking prospects of foreign investments. The new tune by both the PPP leadership and the PSC is that the opposition majority is wreaking havoc on social stability through its refusal to cooperate with the Government. When the Government and the PSC make these claims they are openly conceding that the Government

does not command the society and the opposition has latitude to influence the Guyanese people. In his latest interview so far with the New Yorker magazine, President Obama openly conceded that his latitude to change the direction of the United States in accordance with what he set out to do when he was elected in 2008 is seriously circumscribed by the nature of power in the US. Time after time, President Obama has made reference to the obstruction of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Maybe the government and the PSC do not want to be as honest and open as President Obama, and concede that in criticizing the opposition for hindering development, they are in fact acknowledging (as President Obama did in the New Yorker) that power is distributed in other quarters and not only in the presidency.

Frederick Kissoon The confusion comes in when you constantly exclaim that the opposition is hurting Guyana, but you are not prepared to concede an inch of territory, not only to the opposition, but even stakeholders that are not in Parliament and have no interest in being in Parliament. The most conspicuous characteristic of the PPP regime is that there is no lull in its authoritarian overdrive. Day after day, the PPP regime pursues policies that are not only unpopular, unpleasant, insensitive, but downright brutal and cruel. There is no lull. Yesterday it was the horrible five percent increase for public servants. Today it is the terrible handling of the Colwyn Harding beating by the police. Tomorrow it will be another atrocity. Then in March, it will be the budget impasse. The confusion is simply mind-boggling. Why refuse a request from the relevant ethnic constituency to put a monument where they want it. It is their history and their culture. There is no logical reason to refuse them. But the Government did. Why sugar-coat the brutal beating of an accused when you know the police are accustomed to abusing the law? The enigmatic fact emblazoned on the clothes of the PPP is its daily excesses that seem unstoppable, much of which are avoidable, and commonsensically so. Why invoke the wrath of African Guyanese over a monument that concerns African Guyanese? Why award a tiny percentage to public servants that is essentially insulting? Why would any government appeal a court case in which a fifteen-yearold was awarded 30,000 American dollars after he was tortured and burnt badly by the police? Yet in the same breath you scream that the opposition and government critics are hindering progress. Why not shut the opposition and your critics up by being a nice guy just for once? Can’t the PPP be nice just for once? So is there really confusion? Or is the PPP fully aware of the horrible mistakes it is making but is content to drown in a sea of brutal power? “Whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.”

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Guyana mulls introduction of automatic ballot counting system Results of future elections in Guyana may be announced much earlier if a pilot project to test an automatic ballot scan and tabulation system proves successful. According to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the body that oversees local polls, it is exploring the possibility of embarking on a pilot project in which the automatic scanning and tabulation machines could be used in a future election. In the past, the official announcements of results were delayed by as much as three days to compute votes from especially outlying districts. The computerization of the results has also been seen as a timely exercise which has contributed significantly to the delays. According to GECOM, on Monday, a team of the DELIAN Project, an independent, non-profit organization registered in Canada, and the United States of America, met with its officials and conducted a demonstration on the use of automatic ballot scan and tabulation technology. The DELIAN team comprised Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Chief Executive Officer of the International Foundation of electoral systems and currently Chairman of the DELIAN’s

Advisory Board. He has served as the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada from 1997 to 2010. The team also included John Hollins, Chairman of the DELIAN Board of Directors, who was Chief Electoral Officer for the Province of Ontario form 2001 to 2008, and Allan Best, Managing Director. The DELIAN Project was created in 2011 as a philanthropic entity by the Canadian elections technology firm, Dominion Voting Systems (DVS). The Project procures and donates electoral technology to emerging and growing democracies. DELIAN is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, and recently joined the Clinton Global Initiative. According to GECOM, at the demonstration, it was pointed out that the DELIAN Project could donate up to 25 paper-based, automatic ballot scan and tabulation machines to Guyana for a future election. “Each machine can handle roughly 1,000 – 1,250 voters on a typical polling day. The automatic ballot scan and tabulation system could be deployed on a pilot basis at up to 25 polling stations at a future election, as selected by GECOM,” the Commission said yesterday in a statement. The advantage of a

From L-R: Keith Lowenfield – Deputy Chief Election Officer (ag); Allan Best, Managing Director of the DELIAN Project; John Hollins, Chairman of the DELIAN Board of Directors; Juanita Barker, GECOM’s Legal Officer; JeanPierre Kingsley, Chairman of the DELIAN’s Advisory Board; Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of GECOM, and Calvin Benn – Chief Election Officer (ag). paper-based, automatic ballot scan and tabulation system solution is that results are tabulated (counted) as they are sent in at the close of the polls, resulting in the ability to announce results immediately, while still maintaining the comfort of a “paper trail” should a physical re-count be required. “The automatic ballot scan and tabulation systems are paper-based and allow for electronic, automatic tabulation of results. They are a form of document ballot voting systems, meaning that there

TRIUMPH HANDYMAN STABBED TO NECK After being accused of stealing a bicycle, 48-year-old Troy Hope called ‘G’, was beaten and stabbed to the neck. He is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), while law enforcement officers are in search of his attacker, Arnold Henry, who is on the run. Up to press time yesterday, the injured man, of 98 Ogle Street, Triumph, East Coast Demerara, was waiting to be taken to the male ward of the institution. According to a female relative, the wound on the left side of Hope’s neck measured several inches, both his knees are swollen and he is experiencing a lot of pain in the stomach, apparently due to the ‘blows’ he received. The incident resulting in the man’s injuries allegedly occurred at about 22:30 hours on Monday at a place called ‘Buck Man shop’ located at Beterverwagting. The relative said that Hope seems to have no memory of the attack as he was incapable of giving an

…assailant on the run

Stabbed: Troy ‘G’ Hope account of what exactly transpired. “All he could say was that it happen at Buck Man Shop, that’s in front of the Community Centre,” she related. However, after going into the community, they were

able to gather enough reports from the villagers to implicate Henry, who lives a few houses from where Hope resides. A report was lodged at the Beterverwagting Police Station and investigations into the matter are ongoing.

is a tangible record of the voter’s intent even as a voter still marks a traditional paper ballot.” According to GECOM, the procedure for using the automatic ballot scan and tabulation system involves the voter simply using pen and paper to mark his/her intent on the ballot, and the voter’s ballot paper being confidentially scanned and dropped into a sealed ballot box. “At the close of polls, results are tabulated and the statement of poll is printed and shared with polling station officials, and then sent to the Returning Officer through a secure, electronic medium.” GECOM explained that in the case of an unclear mark, the ballot scan and tabulation machine returns the ballot to the voter for review and correction, if desired. “Finally, the Returning Officer electronically collates and tabulates poll results received from the multiple

machines to rapidly and accurately produce consolidated poll results. Of importance, is that the ballot paper can be used to complete an audit trail if a manual recount becomes necessary.” During their three-day visit to Guyana, the DELIAN Project Representatives also met with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change. They also visited Leguan and Wakenaam Islands, in the Essequibo River, to get a feel of the type of terrain in which the machines could be put to use in any pilot project. GECOM, however, pointed out that Guyana’s election laws do not currently provide for the use of electronic voting systems. “Hence, the laws would have to be amended accordingly, should there be agreement between GECOM and the bona fide political parties pertaining to any

introduction of the automatic ballot scan and tabulation systems in Guyana.” Witnessing the demonstration which was conducted in the GECOM Boardroom were Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of GECOM, Commissioners Sandra Jones and Arun Mangar, Calvin Benn – Chief Election Officer (ag), Keith Lowenfield – Deputy Chief Election Officer (ag), and technical staff from the Commission’s IT Division. Subsequent to its visit to Guyana, the DELIAN Project Team conducted another demonstration to a wider audience during the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Caribbean Electoral Organisations (ACEO), which was held under the Chairmanship o f D r. S u r u j b a l l y i n Paramaribo, Suriname on January 16-17, 2014. Local Government Elections is set for this year, after almost 18 years.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday January 23, 2014

Harding leaves for medical APNU moving to sanction Finance Minister over NICIL failures attention in Jamaica Alleged police brutality victim, Colwyn Harding, will be jetting out to Jamaica tomorrow (Friday) to access medical treatment, having been discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) last Monday. Harding was hospitalised for more than a month nursing a ruptured intestine which he allege was due to a Police Constable, attached to the Timehri Police Station, forcing a baton up his anus while he was detained on allegations of break and entry and larceny. His mother, Sharon Harding, informed this newspaper she and her son will be leaving on Friday morning. She expressed that this venture was undertaken independent of the GPHC and funded by thousands of supporters so that her son can receive “the best of medical care.” The distraught woman had earlier made a request to have Government foot expenses for the overseas medical treatment of her son; to which Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran, had responded was not on Government’s agenda. He had said that the case was “well within the reach” of local practitioners’ skills. Due to this, the woman said that she opted to have her son examined at a private hospital

after he was discharged. The report of the findings will be sent to the Jamaican hospital where he will be accessing treatment. The Health Minister has also disputed claims that the young man’s injuries were sustained as a result of sexual assault, stating instead that it was due to an incarcerated hernia. Harding’s mother said that she hopes first and foremost, that the foreign doctors are able to ascertain whether or not her son was indeed sexually assaulted. Added to that, she expressed that it is of prime concern that the condition of his intestines be rectified so that he can go back to living “a normal life.” “I don’t want him to go on the rest of his life using colostomy bags. I just want him to be normal again. He is not normal right now.” Asked of his condition currently, the woman said that her son is still “highly infected” and as such was in “no condition to be discharged”, but is “hanging in there”. Last week the woman had reported that her son had developed septicemia. She expressed deep gratitude for the support received both from local concerned individuals and organizations, as well as worldwide.

Baroombar murder accused thrashed in prison Kurt Clarke, the 34-yearold accused in the Baroombar murder case, was yesterday rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after allegedly receiving a sound thrashing in the Camp Street Prisons. According to reports, shortly after midday on Wednesday, Clarke was attacked by four other inmates from the Capital ‘C’ Division, where he was also housed. He sustained lacerations to the head and about the body. While the basis of the attack is still unknown, Kaieteur News was informed that Clarke was accused for “seeing and talking”. The man is currently serving time for murdering Jamal ‘Gaga’ Fernandes on September 4, 2013 outside of the popular Brazilian strip club on North Road. According to court documents, at about 03:20 hours that morning, the deceased, Fernandes, was

Baroombar murder accused Kurt Clarke standing outside the bar with two females, when the accused drove by with his car and called out “sexy” to one of the women. This led to Fernandes becoming incensed and calling Clarke an “anti-man”. Clarke then reportedly

exited his vehicle and dealt the man five stabs to his chest. The injured Fernandes was rushed to the hospital but succumbed on the way. Clarke is committed to stand trial at the High Court on the next practicable sitting of the Demerara Assizes.

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh Within the next two or three sittings of the National Assembly, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will be moving to have Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, sanctioned for his failure to adhere to the resolutions of a motion passed by the House. This was confirmed by Finance Spokesperson for the coalition, Carl Greenidge, who told this publication that the process has already started. The motion that the House passed, instructed the Finance Minister to take a number of measures regarding the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and its operations. Reminding that the Government has already made public its position that it is not obligated to adhere to the resolutions, Greenidge said that it was “utter nonsense.” According to the parliamentary standing orders, members of the House are bound by the rules, and as such, Greenidge insists that the Finance Minister must reign in the holdings company headed by Winston Brassington. Greenidge said that APNU will be employing a number of strategies this year to deal with NICIL and the first wave will come when the House gears to make a prima facie case for his committal to the Committee of Privileges of the

Former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge

NICIL’s Executive Director, Winston Brassington

Parliament. The operations of NICIL have been the source of severe criticism for a number of years to the point that it has been described as a “rogue company.” NICIL owns and control a number of state entities as well handles government privatizations. In recent years it has been involved in a number of controversial large scale investments such as the Berbice Bridge, the Marriott Hotel, the Amaila Falls Access Road and was also pursuing the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant. It is now pursuing the construction of a new river crossing over the Demerara River. At the last sitting of the National Assembly, Dr Singh tabled belatedly, NICIL’s annual report for 2012. That report documented that of the $7B in revenue that it earned, only $1B was handed over to the Guyana Government. According to the 2012 report, NICIL’s assets in terms of property and equipment were just over $1.4B while it holds another $5B in investments. Having never collected any dividends from the Berbice Bridge Company Inc, the report disclosed that in 2012 NICIL sold all of its shares to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for $950M. By the end of 2012, the company had also invested almost $3B in Atlantic Hotel Inc, which is building the Marriott Hotel in Kingston. The report also documents that during the year 2012, NICIL also sold all of its shares in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company for US$30M. As at the end of 2012, NICIL received US$25M for the sale with the remaining US$5M payable in two years. The report stated that other than Brassington, who has a contract for service with NICIL, there were no other contracts between the company and any of its Directors.

The Directors for NICIL, at the end of 2012 were Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, Sonya Roopnauth, a Director in the Finance Ministry’s Budget Office, Nigel Dharamlall who is also the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the Executive Director, Winston Brassington. In November Greenidge had lashed out at the Finance Minister for failing to comply with the resolution which came out of the motion on NICIL that the opposition had voted for. That motion in the House arose from general concerns about the unaccountability on the part of NICIL for a variety of actions; how it had taken decisions with Government resources in a number of projects and also because NICIL was originally established as a holding company which was intended to oversee the allocation of assets that came out of the privatization. It was also responsible for advising on how properties are disposed of but the government instead, “uses NICIL to get these lands and distribute them to its friends without having to go through any proper procedure for vetting or for setting prices or anything like that,” according to Greenidge. “State lands are not supposed to be handed out at personal whims and fancies, which is what the government has been using the company to do…This is the heart of the problem.” And so a motion was passed in 2012 calling on the Government to account for the lands that it has been entrusted with and to explain the basis upon which these lands have been handed out. It was also asked to ensure that the agency brings its accounts up to date and that they hand over the monies and excess funds to the treasury.

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Work will continue to improve High profile cases among Moruca Bridge - Minister Persaud first sitting of criminal assizes

Bibi Gopaul and Jarvis Small

San Jose Bridge in Moruca While admitting that the work done on the San Jose Bridge in Moruca, Region One, has been poorly executed, Minister of Local Government Ganga Persaud has announced that efforts are underway to improve the condition of the crossing. Last Sunday, the Alliance For Change (AFC) described the $43 million project a catastrophe, as members of the political party lashed out at the contractor for the substandard work done on the bridge. The issue was highlighted after AFC Member of Parliament Valerie Garido-Low, Region Eight Councillor Niem Gafoor and Andrew Correia made the discovery on December 31, 2013, while on an Outreach exercise in Moruca. After their arrival at Kumaka Landing, the group met with residents and had a first hand view of the revetment stretching across to San Jose from the Kumaka Bridge. This bridge was supposed to be “properly completed” within seven days after MP Garrido-Lowe had asked the question of Minister Ganga Persaud in Parliament at the last sitting of the House on December 19, 2013. It was reported that persons, who had to do business on either side of the Kumaka Bridge were forced to walk through this thighhigh, muddy water fetching their shopping bags, or, in the case of one young woman,

carrying her baby on her hip while the other arm was stretched out for balance. However, on Monday Minister Persaud announced that work will continue on the bridge as soon as the weather improves. “I am highly sympathetic with residents of Moruca, Region One, particularly school children who have been severely affected by the state of the adjoining road to the bridge over the last two weeks.” “The contractor was initially hired to execute works on the bridge, but after that was completed, there was a request for the approach to the bridge to also be upgraded since it usually floods,” Persaud added. He explained that “a proposal was taken to Cabinet and approved for the replacement of the revetment and land filling. However, the original contractor was awarded the deal since he was already on site.” “Here is where the problem started. We went back, we checked… but the contractor was not keeping within the specifications and so he had to do remedial work. Having done that remedial work, heavy rains came, and the work was stalled” However, Minister Persaud further explained that a sub-contract was awarded to another person for the sand filling and capping of the approach to the bridge. “As soon as the weather improves, work will continue,” he announced.

Several high profile cases have been listed for the first sitting of the Demerara Criminal Assizes. Among the matters listed for the January session, which commence at the High Court on January 15, are that of Jarvis Small called ‘Barry’ and Bibi Shareema Gopaul, who has been accused of the unlawful killing of 15 year-old Queen’s College Student, Neesa Gopaul, the Carnal Knowledge matter involving, former President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Colwyn King, and the case of popular promoter, Colin Mack, who is facing charges of rape, assault and forcible abduction of a female. In addition, Michael Assanah, the driver of the minibus ‘Red Rat’, who was involved in the horrific smash on the East Coast of Demerara, causing the death of seven persons will also be called up for trial. Those killed in the accident are Sewsankar Sewdat, Pamela Yaw, Sharon Lall, Sharon Simmons, Cheryl Primo, Leslyn Boucher and Leyland Prince. Justices Navindra Singh,William Ramlall and Franklin Holder will be presiding over the criminal session for January 2014.

According to information in the Official Gazette, an average of 233 cases is set to be heard during this session of the Assizes. At least ,54 murders, 25 manslaughter and 86 matters of sexual offences which include carnal knowledge, incest ,rape and buggery are listed to come up before a Supreme Court Judge and Jury. The trials of Parsram Lalchand called ‘Desmond’, who was accused along with six other men for the murder of Viranjan of Lusignan in 2008 and the case against Tramangra Williams called ‘Queenie’, for the murder of Barbadian Tyrone Mc Donald Best has commenced. During the last Assizes the presiding Judges were able to dispose of 17 cases out of a total of 228. Justice Singh heard six matters; five murder cases and one for manslaughter; Justice Diana Insanally completed seven cases while Justice James Bovell-Drakes disposed of four murder matters Of the murder cases over which Justice Singh presided were Tyrone Rowe, called ‘Cobra’, who is also set to reappear at the High Court on

“Provide better services to residents” While the recent heavy rainfalls have drawn attention to the scope of services provided by the municipal authorities, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (MLGRD) is appealing to the various Municipal Councils to place more emphasis on improving the standard of services being provided to citizens. At a recent press conference held at the Ministry’s Fort Street Kingston headquarters, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker shed some light on the issue. “The Ministry has for a lengthy period of time focused on the achievements of municipalities in 2013…

- Minister Whittaker urges Councils However much attention was drawn to the city of Georgetown in regards to the flooding because of its land mass, size of the population and as it is the metropolis of Guyana.” “We have engaged the Georgetown City Council over a lengthy period of time on some of the things that are needed in order for critical services that will reduce the impact of heavy rainfall to be implemented,” Whittaker added. He urged officers of the council to channel their energies towards providing better services. “Don’t make excuses… The Georgetown City council

needs to place more emphasis on maintenance of the outfalls and pumps in their locality. Don’t wait till rainy season to ensure that the pumps and so on are working. Ensure that these devices are always in a state of readiness.” “Is this asking too much? Are the taxpayers of Georgetown, the rate- payers, asking too much if they requested that a significant amount of the rates they pay- as distinct from paying people for the work they don’t do anyhowbe used to ensure that sluices and pumps are in a state of readiness 365 days a year?” Whittaker asked. He revealed that “within

the last year, as much as 65 % of rates and taxes collected by many of the Councils have been used to meet employment expenses, which would be to the dissatisfaction of residents, who would expect that the rates and taxes would go towards providing better services.” “Within the past year, a lot of focus was placed on upgrading infrastructure among the six municipalities. There has been work done to the roads, kokers and sluices in Anna Regina, Corriverton and Rose Hall, to ensure adequate drainage in those areas and tons of effort in

providing better solid waste management.” However, Whittaker says that this year, the Ministry will be working with the various municipalities to monitor the extent and manner in which they grant services to the residents. “We want to encourage the municipalities to have more consultation and dialogue with the residents …we are confident that the people will later buy into the ideas and will pay their dues.” Minister of Local Government Ganga Persaud in his support of the call for better services, stated that the collection of extra revenue will contribute to the reduction of the Councils’ financial dilemmas.

Neesa Gopaul

Colin Mack charges of robbery underarms. He was sentenced to 78 years behind bars for the 2010 murder of Troy Collymore, Ramesh Muniram, who was found guilty by a mixed jury and sentenced to 76 years imprisonment for killing his wife, and 62 yearold Jeffrey Ward, who received 71 years imprisonment; a similar offence. In another murder case the accused Andrew Gomes, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after changing his plea to guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter. Other high profile trials that took place during the last session were that of Cyon Collier called ‘Picture Boy’ who was on three separate murder charges. The trial concluded with a second hung jury verdict and Collier was ordered to face another retrial. Recently, Justice Singh presided over the trial of Bissoondial Mahadeo, also called ‘Weedman’, Hoosman Khan, Bibi Shamiza Khan and Bibi Farida Khan called ‘Pum’, who were all charged for the murder of US-based Guyanese, Motilall Singh. Mahadeo was acquitted of the murder which occurred at Windsor Forest in 2009, while the three other accused - Singh’s stepchildren- await a retrial as a consequence of a hung jury. However, Prosecutor Judith Mursalin-Gildharie, who is appearing on behalf of the State in the case, has expressed the intention to appeal Mahadeo’s acquittal.

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Kaieteur News

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES O F H IGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICKSILVER) 99.99995% PURITY $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. New Red RX8, Lambo doors & Rotary 7sp engine Contact: 680-2095 Large plucked chickens, wholesale only $300 per lb Contact: 266-2711, 609-4594 Yellow G-Touring Wagon immaculate condition $1.1M negotiable - Tel: 6855011; 692-1051 Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Dell computers complete with 20" LCD $65,000, 6 months warranty @ Futuretech- Call:231-2206 Used Furniture: 1 Baby crib, Stroller, 1 sewing machine. Price Negotiable! Contact: 616-6060. 1 Bedford 4x4 truck with Hiab, 1 4x4 bush ready pick up - Contact Kim - Tel: 6585193 House lot at friendship and Diamond H/Scheme, EBD Tel: 223-0733; 692-8513 Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203 1- 500 Ton Cargo ship - Tel: 676-6933 1- Rome plough 20 dish, 11630 Bedford truck articulated with 2 trailerCall: 693-4596 2- M132 Lavarda Combine, 1- 22RB Dragline, 3- Pressure pump 4x3 for gold field, 12640MF tractor 4WD- Call: 627-0447

FOR SALE 3 Female (8 weeks old) German Shepherd pups - Tel: 638-5778 WHIRLPOOL WASHING MACHINE – TEL:644-5151 Diving Suites - Tel: 265-3449; 613-5158 Two plot of land ¼ Acre or 3X25 Rod each @ Lot 15 & 16 Doctor Dam, La-Grange WBD - Tel: 697-5009; 665-7022 1 Stall @ Stabroek Market Tel: 658-0115; 718-757-8031 Bedford 330 engines and gearbox for sale along with other parts - Tel: 661-9196 Rottweiler Pups, both parents importers with full Pekingese from champion blood lines - Tel: 685-2584

VACANCY

WANTED

24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl & office assistant Call: 670-8893/684-2838

One Male Caretaker Contact: 220-8110; 622-4364

Vacancy Exist at Nirva Supermarket for cashiers. Apply in person with written application Bartenders, cooks, kitchen assistants & attractive waitress between ages 17 – 27 to work in the Kitty Area Tel: 227-5857; 610-8269 Security & I.T Technician. 5 CXC & Cabling Experience Tel: 627-8786 One Female Clerk - Tel: 231-5171 Vacancy exists for security. Apply at Alabama Trading Georgetown, Ferry Stelling

Puppies – Breed Pekingese & Tibetan Terror Contact: 644-1972; 661-2837

Greenheart Piles - Tel:6393450 One 45Ft fishing boat with Ice box (8000lb), 375lb catguts sane (5 inch) 40 Yamaha Engine – Tel:2207655; 667-8921; 695-9860 One 50ft fishing boat with ice box (1300 lbs) and 450lbs Bangamary Seine 2¾ Contact:695-9860 1 Complete 6" Dredge. Tel: 623-2728; 667-5717 4 – 250 Gallons fuel tanks – Tel: 667-5717; 623-2728 1 Farm at Yarrowkabra 20.1 Acres – Tel:265-3586

TO LET Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call: 347933-9790, 639-4452. Aracari Hotel. West Bank Demerara Rates from $30 Tel: 264-2946-8 1 House in South Ruimveldt Tel :667-5717; 629-2912 Furnished rooms & Apartments (1,2&3) bedrooms apartment long & short term rental @ 95 Fifth Avenue Subryanville Phone: 227-2199; 227-2189 Fully furnished apartments for rent: TV, air-conditioned, hot and cold water @ South Ruimveldt Park- Tel:689-5877

1 CAT standby 3306, 194 KVA 3 phase 60 cycleCall:641-8472

1 - New Bottom flat concrete apartment, fully tiled, 1500 SqFt on the E.C.D suitable for office - Tel: 610-9809; 614-6316

1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact: 231-0655 ,683-8734

2 Bedroom apartment @ 2290 Section C Block X Diamond New Scheme – Tel:673-8128

Yamaha R1 motorcycle. Excellent Condition - Tel: 685-1231

Bond Space 20x10 @ West Ruimveldt – Tel:672-7194

One RX-8 Mazda fully air conditioned, stick gear, wheel lights, fog lamps, power windows - Tel: 6532477 1 IPod Touch 64Gb - Tel: 6913812 Games PS2 $900, PSP $900, X-Box 360 $2600 & PS3 $2600- Call:672-2566 Original Games - Call:6722566

CAR RENTAL Wings Car Rental- Call: 643-1131 Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com

Cashiers, waitresses, cooks & dispatchers – Tel:2332322; Cell:678-4470;629-4878 (Preferably applicants from EBD) DIESEL MECHANIC FOR INTERIOR/ GEORGETOWNCONTACT: 223-5273/4

Fully furnished Vacation home with all amenities- Call during working hours- 2271218 1 - Three Bedrooms house to rent @ Belyzheit Gardens Tel: 652-6565

Live-in waitress, bartender and going and coming cooks Tel: 643-9007; 664-1804

Single or small family for live in, security - Tel:227-1830

Labourers - Call:225-6070; 225-4492

Celebrity Look Beauty Salon Station To Rent: Hair - $6,000 & Nail: $4,000 [ between Camp & Alexander St - Tel: 602-2337 (Leoita)

Mechanic for interior Contact: 223-5273/4

Couple (Husband & wife) to work on a Farm -Tel:601-5500

Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665

One Technician specialized in nail art design, air brush and hair extension – Tel:2316000

Female worker needed, 3 CXC subject or sound secondary school education - Call: 612-1607

One skilled mechanic with atleast 4 years experienced – Contact: 649-1290; 6718122. Attractive Salary!

One experienced excavator operator to work in interiorContact:681-6044

General Domestic between ages 20-35. Call for further information – Tel:226-2710 General Managers to work on land dredges Contact# 226-9768; 669-0855 2 Men to work on Chicken Farm in the interior – Contact:684-7516 Live in Domestic must know to cook 25 years & up starting salary - $50,000 monthly. Boarding & Lodging free – Tel:610-5043 Experienced Roti / Puri Cooks, Pastry Makers, Counter Servers & handyboys. Apply at Hacks Halaal, Lot 5 Commerce St. Land to buy in Parafaite Harmonie - Tel:675-7292

Land to buy in Eccles – Tel:675-7292

Used Laptops $30,000 to $60,000 – Tel: 227-0095

J o s h u a ’s C a r R e n t a l Call:665-6485; 679-8400

Designing and sewing classes in your district. Sharmela (Canadian- trained) - Contact: 626-2629, 676-6312

One experienced female shop attendant to work in interior Contact: 681-6044 One cook for family in interior - Contact: 681-6044 Experienced Taxi and bus driver and dispatcher at Princess Hotel - Tel: 2657076; 616-8419 One live-in maid between age 30-45 - Contact:681-6044 Waiter & waitresses for 704 Sport Bar – Tel:223-5273/4

1 Truck Driver with Fork Lift & Bobcat experienced – Tel:274-0424; 274-0435 One experienced male shop attendant to work in interior, contact:6816044

EDUCATIONAL Balloon Décor Training. Classes on 28th January 2014. Call 225-3133; 613-7513 to register and more info. Courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral & cake decoration - Tel:670-2653; 618-1706 Princeton College: From 15, CXC adults classes, lesson for school children: Business & Science subjects - Tel: 231-5678, 6905008, Albertown Foundations of Nursing Practice courses in Home Nursing and child care Tel: 692-2063; 613-0803; 2315756 Learn to cut & sew at Enid’s Dressmaking Certificate Classes @ 66 Sixth Street Alberttown – Tel: 223-9106; 643-7966. Sewing Also Done!!

LEARN TO DRIVE Shalom Driving School @ 2 Croal Street and enjoy 20% Discount – Tel:227-3835; 227-3869;622-8162 Ultraviolet Driving School. Contact: 231-2372; 226-0765; 602-2583 Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166,622-2872,615-0964

1 Handy Man, 1 Small Engine Mechanic 3yrs experiencecall: 233-2408 1 Night Security – Tel: 6675717; 650-4761 LAND FOR SALE Parika - $4M – Tel:675-7292

House lots to buy in Parika Tel: 675-7292

A i d a n ’s C a r R e n t a l & Pickup Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807

Dodge 4X4 GLL 8918 - Tel: 222-5649; 222-2242

ONE SHOP KEEPER FOR THE INTERIOR (MALE) CONTACT: 223-5273/4 One live in maid - Tel:6568930; 682-0951

Land to Buy in Herstelling – Tel:675-7292

DRESSMAKING

Porters & Salesgirls. Apply with written application at Best Buy Food Supplies, Lot 1 Middleton & Dennis St, Campbellville.

Live In Housekeeper, Trinidad, 25-30 years. Wanted Immediately! Call: 1868-756-9730

Premio, Vitz call:347-9339790, 639-4452.

Latest model vehicles @ unbeatable Prices – Tel:6855011; 692-1051

WANTED SPRAYMEN, JOINERS & WOMEN to work in furniture factory preferably from East Bank Demerara – Tel:6642604; 233-6743

ONE COOK FOR XENON HOTEL [CHARITY] CONTACT: 771-4989/ 6706559

Urgently need live in waitresses to work in bar, reasonable salary offer - Tel: 259-0574

270 Amps Portable Honda Welders and 1-2002 Tundra Tel: 611-5114 Ford F150 spare parts and accessories - Call:685-2584

Thursday January 23, 2014

MASSAGE The Gent’s Spa: Let beautiful sophisticated masseuse pamper you: New masseuse available- Call:657-5979 American Style massage services- Call:678-7499

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773 Earn a Certificate in Cosmetology, wig designs or nails alone, beginning February 3rd Limited Spaces Tel: 666-5241/ 619-7603 Beautopia School of Cosmetology: Cosmetology, nails, facial/make-up courses Tel: 604-3002; 629-3497 (Continued on page 23)

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Priority given to completion, not... From page 2 Northern Relief Channel was undertaken by former Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, who estimated an 18-month completion, when construction commenced in February 2011. Late last year Dr. Ramsammy, in his capacity as Agriculture Minister, announced an extended completion date – June 2013. This was subsequently extended to August 31, and later to December 2013. One of the largest infrastructure initiatives in Guyana's history, overall works on the Hope/Dochfour Canal is approximately 80 percent completed. It has been purported that the relief channel would have the capacity to withstand floods greater than that which

occurred in 2005. The channel is being constructed to ease the pressure of water on the East Demerara Water Conservancy at times when it reaches its maximum capacity, releasing it into the Atlantic Ocean, via the Sluice. So far, the three-gated Head Regulator- the component assigned to BK International – is nearing completion. The excavation of the 10.3km long earthen channel, which is being carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, is also just about complete. The overhead bridge, DIPCON's component of the project, stands parallel to the East Coast Demerara Public Road, and is fully complete, but not yet open to traffic. “As soon as the President finds time to commission it, it will be,” Dr. Ramsammy said.

Panamanian... From page 18 also hinted that a similar announcement is expected to be made later this year. Ali told the gathering that since negotiations with Copa were done in confidence, and did not see any hindrances, the same approach will be taken with this new venture. Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia are subsidiaries of Copa Holdings, a leading Latin American provider of passengers and cargo services. With a fleet of 90 aircraft, Copa has been the holder of

Skytrax awards for “Best Airline and “Best Cabin and Airport Crew” in Central America and the Caribbean. Also, the airline is expected to add eight new Boeing Next Generation 737-800 aircraft in 2014, bringing its total fleet to 98 state-of-the-art aircraft, with a seat increase capacity of 14 percent. As operations commence here, Panamanian airline, a member of Star Alliance, will simultaneously be operating to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Montreal, Canada.

Police advancing... From page 19 Service and the Guyana Fire Service in order to identify their shortcomings and to recommend remedies to respond to the public safety crisis. The final report was presented to the Speaker of the National Assembly on May 6, 2004, including the Minority Report of Ms. Maggie Byrne, who had differing views on several of the recommendations. After the report was laid before the National Assembly on May 17, and accepted unanimously, the government insisted that it should still be sent to a Select Committee, which was established on November 4, 2004. The mandate was that the Select Committee should report to the National Assembly in four months.

The four months became almost seven years and stretched over the life of two Parliaments. Yet, after what was described as procrastination, the level of professionalism of the GPF remains questionable. This is obvious since the circumstances, which gave rise to the appointment of the Commission in the first place, appear to be on the rise again. (From page 22)

PROPERTY FOR SALE VERSAILLES: Furnished 5 bedrooms, self-contained rooms, modern facilities, generator, beautiful landscape, gated community - Call: 592-6248704/ 592-684-9203 Close to Regent Street$46M, Campbellville (2 Buildings)-$23M, Camp Street - $34.5M - Contact Diana: 227-2256; 626-9382 One - 2 Storey House @ Avenue A Diamond Tel:643-5161 2 Business Property on Whim Public Road Berbice Tel: 619-7134; 225-6481 One three storey business property @ Middle Street Georgetown - Tel: 619-7134; 225-6481 House and land @ De’ Edward W.C.B - Tel:689-2973 2 Storey Property Agriculture Road - Tel: 612-2522 Ogle – $40M, Republic Park - $40M, Business Concern in Georgetown - $60M, 155.55 acres – High Way - $30m – Tel: 645-5938 If selling your house or land Call Ron: 675-7292 Painted 2 storey concrete building 53x26, transported property at 69 Jackson street, Daniels Town, Essequibo Coast - Call: 621-7346 Rice Factory @ Wakenaam Tel: 686-4994; 225-3070 1 – 3 Bedrooms Transported concrete house with foundations for upstairs, Bungalow roof, high concrete fence 5184Sqft Land - Tel: 641-4812

Cactus Auto Sales: Instock Spacio, Fielder, Raum, Premio, Allion, Etc - Tel:6814208; 220-6262 Mazda RX-8 Blue, 6 speed manual, Type S, Mint condition, PNN Series - Tel: 681-4208; 220-6262 Nissan Pathfinder (Left Hand Drive) - $1.7M & Nissan Laurel - $700,000 [Both Negotibale] Telephone: 644-1144 2002 Rav 4 PNN series, fully loaded - Tel: 694-6537; 6507875 One Honda XR 125 Scrambler – Price $320, 000 negotiable – Tel:699-7697 2005 Toyota Raum, fully loaded - $2.1M - Tel:6917475; 626-9590 One Super Custom Bus, unregistered 1 Toyota L Touring wagon, EP71 Starlet, Spacio - Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453 Black Toyota Fielder, Rims, Aero Body kit, DVD, CD, Stereo - $2,250,000 negotiable - Tel:689-7325 First Class Auto: Premio, Spacio, Passo, IST, 212, Raum Cold & New Modles Tel: 609-8188; 602-6307 Unregistered Toyota Fielder, TV Rims, Alarm, Camera etc, low mileage – Tel:654-2036; 663-2700

AT192 Toyota Car - $850K. Negotiable – Tel:697-8545 LAND FOR SALE 10 Acres Farm land next to Creek @ Splashmins, Linden Highway - Tel:687-1392

FOR RENT

Parfaite Harmonie - $2.2M [100ftX50ft]– Tel:675-7292

Prime Business flat to rent @ 78 Hadfield St. by the Stabroek Market – Contact Simone:227-0501; 626-5317

Gold and Diamond mining lands already prospected Tel:699-3992

1 Semi-furnished apartment in Diamond H/Scheme – Tel:685-6397

1 Black Titan 4 wheel drive, fully loaded - $3.5M – Tel: 699-2322 or 678-2814

2008 Toyota Premio, unregistered - $3.7M, 2004 Toyota Spacio PRR $2.4M negotiable – Fully Loaded. Tel: 615-4114

2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at Parika- Call: 226-7968

Newly Built Apartments on W.C.D Furnished and unfurnished – Tel:698-6496

VEHICLE FOR SALE 2008 Honda CRV imported from England 17" Rim Antitheft stereo system 2000 CC fully loaded $6.8M – Tel:642-7295; 220-2345

FOR RENT CAMP STREET, Prime Business Space Call:6394499 2- Two bedrooms bottom flat – Tel:613-6402

VEHICLE FOR SALE One RZ Mini-bus BHH series –Tel:615-5784 ALYEA AUTO SALE: PREMIO 2004, ALLION 2008 NEW SHAPE & CARINA 212 @ 40 CROAL STREET STABROEK – TEL:231-7284; 622-3823 Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered Premio, IST, Runx & Spacio - Tel:6523820; 665-4529 1 Toyota NZE corolla, AT192, AT212, AT170, IST, Funcargo, Rav-4, Hilux pickup 4x4 – Tel:644-5096; 697-1453 2008 Fielder, latest Model $2.7M – Tel: 617-2891 Cheapest: Manaul VVTI Buses, Spacio, CRV - Tel: 6167635 2 - 2007 Toyota Avensis - Tel: 698-0674 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms - Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma - Call: 680-3154 1 RZ Bus EFI series BMM Price:$1.5M negotiable Contact: 685-6415 Toyota Runx – Tel:645-5893 One Toyota Premio, year 2002 to 2005 – K/M -43,000, fully automatic, TV,CD, DVD, cameras, 17" mags – Tel:600-4011 Nissan Wingroad wagon $1.6M – Tel:645-5893 Unregistered Toyota Sienta (2004) 1500cc & 7 seater - Tel: 617-5536 One Toyota AT-192 Leather interior, rims, etc - Tel: 6161671 AT 212 Toyota Carina – Contact:223-6901; 622-1514

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

1.5 & 2 Ton Canter with power gate - Tel:617-2891 One Toyota Premio, excellent condition, fully loaded, magrims, PMM series $2.3M negotiable - Tel: 6041811

1 – Three bedrooms house in Grove, E.B.D – Tel:2230733; 692-8513

Crashbar, grill, bannet fog & headlamps - $160,000 (Veigo) - Tel: 617-7113

Two Bedroom flat @ East Bank Demerara – Tel:6280681

1 Ford F-150 2009 GRR 7452. In Perfect Condition! – Tel:227-3728; 618-3712

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032,647-2943 Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar Instant Blackberry unlocking - Call: 675-2239; BBM 25C58FEO HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000CALL:694-9843/227-2766 Make your music available in 95+ online stores, Email: infopack@sslbs.com to download details. For all your prefab building works & welding fabricating etc. 5 Brickery EBD -Tel:6582567; 660-3466 Brains Construction & Rental Services: Excavator, Bobcat, Truck, Tools - Tel:6015024/ 227-4536 (Bobcat & Excavator Operator needed) Technicians available for appliance repairs – washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc – Tel:6190793; 218-0050 For professional Visa & Passport Applications: K&P Project Management Co. Tel: 231-5876 House plan drafting from$10,000 surveying and estimates services available Tel: 667-2189 Masons seeking daily or job work - Tel: 678-9043 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call:225-6496,662-6045, 223-8115 GT TOOLS RENTAL: EVERYDAY SPECIAL! RANSOM, HEAVY TOOLS, SAW, TILE & STEEL CUTTERS, MANY MORE – TEL: 675-0767; 627-5098 LAND FOR SALE Lot A Good Intent, Essequibo Coast - Tel: 6491382; 699-4736

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Kaieteur News

Thursday January 23, 2014

Colwyn Harding’s alleged assault...

Disclosures of patient’s information raise questions about breach of professional oaths Officials within both the Nursing and Medical Councils have confirmed that moves by any medical personnel, who fall under their purview, to disclose to the public confidential information, provided to them by patients in their care, constitutes a breach of their professional oaths. In fact this particular state of affairs was alluded to in a missive published in the letter section of this newspaper yesterday. The letter inked by Registrar of the University of Guyana, Vincent Alexander, stated that he was in fact “bewildered” to view a national telecast where two doctors and a nurse were “providing full disclosure on the state of Colwyn Harding and what he confided or did not confide in them.” The matter involving Harding is one where the 23year-old alleged that he was sexually assaulted with a condom covered-baton by a Police Officer while in custody. The assault reportedly resulted in the young man sustaining medical complications which warranted him being taken for care at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). But the matter has since taken on, what some has described as “political undertones.” In fact, the matter was brought up for discussion in Parliament last week Thursday during which Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, sought to explain

Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran

Registrar at the University of Guyana, Mr. Vincent Alexander

away the sexual assault allegations. He revealed to the House that Harding had undergone surgery for an incarcerated hernia and disclosed that the condition had reached a point where Harding’s bowels had become gangrenous. This development, the Minister explained, resulted in a section of the young man’s intestines being removed and rejoined. However, a septic condition subsequently erupted in his abdomen which saw health officials having to reopen the wound because the patient developed a strangulated hernia. The following day a press conference hosted by Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC, Mr. Michael Khan, along with medical personnel of the hospital, saw disclosures supporting the Minister’s comments being made. The

officials said that, not only was the man diagnosed with hernia, but they first learnt of the allegations of a sexual assault through reports in the media. In fact, Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Sheik Amir was quoted as saying “He (Harding) never told us that he was raped...up to this morning (Friday last) we met with him and he said nothing to us.” But Alexander in his letter emphasised that both the Hippocratic Oath, for doctors, and the Florence Nightingale Pledge, for nurses, speak to these medical professionals keeping in confidence, information pertaining to their patients. Alexander’s letter outlined that for the past five years, in the capacity of Registrar, he has ensured that graduates of the Health Sciences Faculty including

medical doctors, dentists and nurses, take their professional oaths publicly at the University’s convocation ceremony. When contacted for a comment yesterday morning on whether the medical professionals breached their oaths, Minister Ramsaran said that although he hadn’t yet seen Alexander’s missive his view is that “definitely oaths must be observed.” However he noted that “I understand from the briefing I saw on television that the doctors laid out the facts...I wasn’t there but the doctors laid out a case very professionally.” He added though that “I don’t know that is a breach of the oath but what I am saying let’s (see) exactly what Mr. Alexander is saying...the nitty-gritty; we have to be careful in these high profile cases ...” According to the Minister, “...this thing is so politically sensitive...” even as he pointed out that “...Mr. Alexander is closely associated with the (political) opposition. His opponents could say that he is just using his academic position to push a political point....” Nevertheless, the Minister noted that “I want to see exactly what Mr. Alexander said so as not to discredit him or not to disservice his comment.” Dr. Ramsaran stressed his belief too that the doctors within the public health sector are “fond of defending their

Colwyn Harding oath and their obligation.” However, he urged that efforts be made by this publication to contact officials at the GPHC to ascertain whether they felt they had breached any medical oaths in disclosing information about Harding. “I think they would feel comfortable in terms of defending that position...the letter will be looked at and I will send it to the hospital and ask them to comment, that would be the best way not to cause them discomfort,” said the Minister. But according to an official close to the operations of the hospital, the matter was only brought up in the press conference because it was already in the public domain. The official said that “we would not have said anything about his (Harding’s’) condition...so I don’t even understand Alexander’s letter. Parliament is the place where all issues can be discussed openly and after then it

becomes a public matter,” added the official. The Harding’s matter has sparked much controversy in the society with even Human Rights Activists who have dubbed the case one of “injustice and human rights violation.” In fact there have been calls for an independent investigation into the matter, a notion that has been embraced by the Alliance for Change (AFC), political party. At the party’s press conference yesterday, Youth for Change (YFC) Representative, Trevor Williams, said that “the YFC calls on all other youth groups and organisations to step forward and demand a full and independent investigation into the Colwyn Harding’s allegations.” According to Williams too, the Guyana Police Force must demonstrate its integrity in administrating justice and deal appropriately with the guilty perpetrators of such disgraceful behaviours.

Tertiary education facilities limited in Region Ten - Political games places region’s development in limbo - AFC Region Ten Councilor, Mr. Audwin Rutherford of the political opposition party; Alliance For Change (AFC), at a press briefing yesterday lambasted Central Government for their ‘evident” neglect of the district. During his presentation at the Side Walk Café on Middle Street, he spoke to several issues affecting the province. He then in a most assertive manner, pioneered the call for an immediate improvement of the educational facilities and programmes offered in the Region. He then reminded that the Upper DemeraraBerbice (Region Ten) area is known for being a basin of untapped resources. But be that as it may, he stressed that the area continues to be stifled by government’s plans which have been poorly executed and have only induced thus far

a state of underdevelopment in the Region. The people of the Region continue to be stifled by poverty and other critical issues. And according to Rutherford, the AFC will not stand idly by and allow this “violation and undermining of the growth of the people” to continue. Committed to fighting for the betterment of the people of the Region, the AFC member expressed that while they call on the Government to make a change in their behavior and attitude towards the area it has already outlined its own solutions to some of the problems by which it is affected. He noted too that Linden itself represents an irony in that the people are sitting on a minefield with the Government giving them plans that are only steering

them down the steep slope of an economic depression. He added, “What Linden affords in terms of tertiary education is terrible and on the educational front, the Government and the Minister of Education (Ms. Priya Manickchand) in particular, need to address this issue.” He also alluded to the fact that the Central Government continues to treat the people of the Region as though they are not cognizant of their existence. “It is clear that there is no intention towards the development of Linden and this has changed immediately. It is time that these terribly written plans are reformed and they stop treating the people of Linden as though they don’t exist.” As it relates to the social economic development of the Region, he categorically stated that there needs to be

a change in the approach to the construction of roads, housing distribution, as well as the construction of meaningful facilities that adequately promote sports. “Our party represents over ten percent of the Region and we continue to hear the outcries of the people of the area and they all spell out that the people feel neglected. It is clear that the Government has no intention to set up any kind of infrastructure in Linden, but noticeable are the other facilities which are being constructed in other areas. We are worried; and when the people of the Region observe the government’s actions in other areas around the country, they feel they are not worth something.” “We want to be a part of monitoring process of contracts. We also want

Audwin Rutherford, the Region Ten Councillor of the Alliance For Change

housing distribution to be done in a systematic way. We also want a discourse to take place on business and investment in the Region.”

“The political games that are being played by Government must end now as they continue to serve to stagnate the Region.”

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Venezuela opposition leader wary of Maduro’s rapprochement HIGUEROTE, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela’s opposition leader has welcomed President Nicolas Maduro’s dialogue with oncevilified political foes but also suspects it may be a ploy to defuse anger over his failure to control crime and end economic scarcities. After years of polarized politics dating from predecessor Hugo Chavez’s 14-year rule, Maduro’s socialist government has held a string of meetings with opposition governors and mayors since December to strategize over violent crime and other national problems. A curt handshake between opposition leader Henrique Capriles and Maduro at one meeting was the most visible sign of the rapprochement. It was their first encounter since last year’s disputed presidential election and followed months of mutual insults. “Time will tell if this was for TV, just a photo opportunity, or if there really is an intent to unite the country and win the war on violence,” Capriles, the centrist 41-year-old governor of populous Miranda state, told Reuters. “It suits them to cool the political heat ... By lowering tension and asking (us) to work with them, they buy time. But let’s see in 3 months when there’s no milk - what will they say then? It’s unacceptable you can find whisky but not milk, diapers, flour, sometimes even soap. The world upside-down!” The participation of

Capriles, who also met for eight hours at the weekend with a minister who once helped put him behind bars, has raised hackles in the opposition’s more militant wing. Capriles and the Democratic Unity coalition lost the presidential election last April by just 1.5 percentage points. They then saw Maduro, 51, consolidate his position in local elections in December, when his candidates won 10 percentage points more of the overall vote than rivals. Less moderate opposition leaders believe Capriles should be taking a more aggressive stance, such as advocating street protests, and are challenging his leadership. Capriles, speaking late on Monday at a housing project in the coastal town of Higuerote, said the majority of Venezuelans were relieved at an easing of political tension and a truce in the vitriolic rhetoric that had been flying. “If you stop insulting me, well those on this side are going to stop hurling insults. That’s a good thing,” he said. “If I have to go to hell and meet the devil for the sake of our people’s security, I will do it.” “This doesn’t mean that we’re giving up our struggle. Some people get confused, they think the one who shouts loudest is the cleverest, when it’s totally the opposite.”

While supporting government-opposition dialogue, Capriles has little confidence in Maduro’s ability to resolve crime rates that are among the world’s worst or chronic economic problems such as shortages of basic products and Latin America’s highest inflation rate. “The problem of insecurity has overwhelmed the government,” he said, noting some 20 crime plans under Chavez and Maduro had failed while underlying causes such as a corrupt judiciary were still not on the national agenda. “This Castro-communist model, of the state controlling every sector of the economy, has failed here and around the world ... They’re trapped. Is the government correcting things? It seems not. What’s next? More shortages, inflation won’t go down.” With no more elections on the horizon until a parliamentary vote in late 2015, Capriles said opposition leaders’ focus should be on maintaining unity while fixing grassroots problems to demonstrate to Venezuelans that there is an alternative. Capriles supports a Brazilstyle model of free-market economics with strong social welfare policies. He says he worries, though, that Venezuelans could simply become accustomed to queues, shortages and soaring prices - “fighting for a liter of milk” -

while the rest of Latin America progresses. “What’s this government most concerned about, Venezuelans’ welfare or staying in power? I have no doubt, staying in power.” Having fallen short in two presidential bids - against Chavez in 2012 and then Maduro last year - Capriles’ role as opposition flag bearer is an uncertain one. For now, he has focused on his duties as governor of Miranda, a state ranging from Caracas suburbs to Caribbean fishing villages. “I honestly feel more alive than ever!” he said in Higuerote, looking more refreshed than the haggard

Henrique Capriles figure he sometimes cut during two punishing presidential campaigns. “This is a moment for new leaders to emerge, for renovation. My role is not fixed, I don’t believe in lifelong posts.” Though not drawing the same crowds or creating the

same stir as during his election campaigns, Capriles was warmly greeted and embraced by excited residents in a poor area where malaria, floods and the need for building materials were among locals’ concerns. Some women jokingly begged him to marry them.

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Thursday January 23, 2014

Britain’s Cameron comes under pressure to take in Syrian refugees LONDON (Reuters) Britain’s opposition Labour party yesterday called on the government to join a U.N. programme to help resettle the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, putting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to fall into line with other Western states. While Cameron’s government is the second biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria, it has not joined an initiative led by the United Nations’ refugee agency which asks European and other states to accept a share of 30,000 Syrians displaced by the country’s civil war and now in refugee camps in the region. Brita i n h a s g r a n t e d around 1,500 Syrian nationals asylum in the l a s t y e a r, b u t h a s n o t agreed to take cases directly from the camps. Eighteen countries, including France and G e r m a n y, h a v e s o f a r joined the scheme. Labour called a vote on the issue to be held next week. They said this would mean accepting a “few hundred” refugees,

David Cameron including torture victims and orphans, which compares to some 500 admissions pledged by France so far under the scheme. “It is important we see some more movement from the prime minister to help some people who are in truly a desperate situation,” a Labour spokesman said. U.N. data shows the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 130,000, has also created around

2.3 million refugees. The Syrian government and opposition met for the first time on Wednesday at a conference in Switzerland which U.N. officials hoped would lead to peace negotiations, but there was little sign that any party was ready to make concessions. Asked about joining the U.N scheme by Labour party leader Ed Miliband, Cameron said he did not believe that accepting a few hundred people would solve a crisis on the scale of Syria’s, and that Britain was fulfilling its moral obligations. However he added that he could be prepared to do more in the cases of the most vulnerable refugees, particularly those where children were involved, but his office was unable to provide any further details. “If there are very difficult cases of people who don’t belong in refugee camps, who have been either disabled by these dreadful attacks, or are in very difficult circumstances, then I’m happy for us to look at that argument,” Cameron said.

Israel PM threatens to teach Hamas a lesson ‘very soon’ Jerusalem (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Tuesday to teach Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement a lesson “very soon” following a surge in militant rocket attacks on the Jewish state. “We have a very clear policy. We prevent terror attacks when we identify them in the making, and we respond forcefully against whoever hurts us,” Netanyahu told reporters at a press conference with visiting Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper. “This policy produced a quiet year in 2013, which was the quietest in many years. If Hamas and the terror organisations have forgotten this lesson, they will learn it again powerfully very soon.” His warning was issued shortly after Hamas said it had deployed forces in Gaza to “preserve the truce” following an uptick of rocket fire on Israel. Over the past month, tensions have risen in and around Gaza after more than a year of relative calm following a major Israeli

Benjamin Netanyahu confrontation with Hamas in November 2012. Since December 20, four Palestinians and an Israeli have been killed in violence in and around Gaza, with militant rocket fire sparking retaliatory air strikes by Israel. Army figures show eight rockets have struck Israeli territory since January 1, and another five were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, sparking fears that a new confrontation with Gaza militants is looming.

Netanyahu has warned that Israel would not allow the intermittent rocket fire to turn into a deluge. “Security requires constant maintenance which means we don’t accept what I call the ‘drip irrigation’ of rockets without a response - that is not the policy of this government,” he told foreign reporters in an address on January 16. “ M y g o v e r n m e n t ’s policy is to respond so we don’t let the drizzle of rocket accumulate into rain, which then develops into a storm. We act.” Earlier, Hamas confirmed its security forces had fanned out along the frontier to put a halt to firing by various militant groups. “National security forces have been deployed in order to preserve the truce,” Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shawan told AFP, referring to an Egyptianbrokered deal which ended the last major confrontation with Israel. Militants fired at least one rocket at southern Israel late on Monday which caused neither casualties nor damage.

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

Japan-China tensions take center-stage with Abe in Davos DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing took centre-stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday as Japan’s prime minister called for military restraint in Asia and a senior Chinese academic branded him a troublemaker. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his visit to a controversial shrine to Japan’s war dead, which outraged China and South Korea, and took a veiled swipe at China’s military buildup in his speech to global business leaders. Sino-Japanese ties, long colored by what Beijing considers Tokyo’s failure to atone for its occupation of parts of China before and during World War Two, have deteriorated in the past two years over a territorial dispute, Abe’s visit to a shrine that critics say glorifies Japan’s wartime past and a new Chinese air-defense zone. Asia’s two biggest powers each accuse the other of bellicosity. Strategic experts in Davos said their tensions posed the biggest risk of conflict around the world in 2014, along with hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “We must ... restrain military expansion in Asia, which could otherwise go unchecked,” Abe, the first Japanese leader to give the keynote address, said in a speech dominated by a

Shinzo Abe defense of expansionary economic policies dubbed Abenomics. “The dividend of growth must not be wasted on military expansion,” he said. “We must use it to invest in innovation and human capital, which will further boost growth in the region.” Abe is pursuing a more assertive military and national security policy, such as moving towards approving the use of force to help allies under attack and calling for debate on revising Japan’s pacifist post-war constitution. His government has ended years of declines in defense spending and plans modest increases in coming years. At the same time, Tokyo has criticized China’s decades of hefty rises in military spending and

implicitly accused Beijing of a lack of transparency in its defense budgets. “Military budgets should be made completely transparent and there should be public disclosure in a form that can be verified,” Abe said, following his government’s custom of not naming China in such references. He also called for resolving disputes through “dialogue and the rule of law, and not through force and coercion”, a formula Japan has used to criticize China’s actions including its abrupt declaration in November of an “air defense identification zone” overlapping the disputed East China Sea islets controlled by Japan. Abe said the Yasukuni Shrine honors the dead of World War One and the 1868 Meiji war, not just war criminals or others who died in World War Two, and it also contains a memorial to all the victims of war regardless of nationality. Previous prime ministers had gone to the shrine, he said, noting he had made a commitment on his visit to ensure that Japan never again became involved in a war. His stance draw sharp criticism from Chinese academic Wu Xinbo, speaking on another Davos panel, who branded the Japanese leader a “troublemaker” and equated him with North Korea’s unpredictable leadership.

India foreign minister and Kerry discuss diplomatic row (Reuters) - The United States and India could soon reschedule a visit by the U.S. Energy Secretary that was cancelled because of a diplomatic row, New Delhi said in a statement after foreign minister Salman Khurshid met his counterpart John Kerry. “Both sides looked forward to the early realization of the mutuallyagreed calendar of bilateral exchanges,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the two men met in Montreux on the sidelines of a conference about Syria. The statement mentioned a visit by Ernest Moniz, the U.S. energy secretary, who postponed the trip earlier this month because of a dispute over the arrest and strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York on charges of visa fraud and lying about how much she paid her housekeeper. The meeting,

Salman Khurshid yesterday, was the highest level exchange since the spat. In December, Kerry expressed regret for the incident in a phone call to India’s National Security Adviser. He also tried to call Khurshid, but could not reach him. No firm timeline was given for the trip to India by Moniz,

or other outstanding visits. The argument plunged ties between the friendly nations to the lowest point in 16 years before a deal was struck and the diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, returned to India. Relations have still not returned to normal, and Khurshid made a point of questioning Kerry about the use of visas reserved for human trafficking cases to evacuate the housekeeper’s husband and children from India. The statement also said “outstanding issues” related to privileges and immunities of diplomats in both countries were discussed. India sharply curtailed privileges granted to U.S. diplomats stationed in the country after the arrest, to bring the them on a par with the treatment of Indian diplomats in the United States.

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Study finds most of prison inmates attended non-traditional high schools KINGSTON, Jamaica — A report based on a study of Jamaican prison inmates produced by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), says that seven out of 10 inmates in adult prisons went to non-traditional high schools. According to the report compiled by the JCF’s Research, Planning and Legal Services Branch (RPLSB) and completed in March 2012, the persona of a “typical” inmate in the Jamaican prisons is: “A Jamaican-born male, under the age of 34 years; hails from either Kingston and St Andrew (Corporate Area) or St Catherine and comes from a single parent home”. The report also states that the study concluded that such an inmate typically has had some exposure to a secondary level education at a non-traditional high school, and dropped out before reaching Grade 11 without achieving any subject. “There is overwhelming evidence to infer with a high degree of confidence that, at least, seven out of every 10 inmate inmates in our adult prisons has had some association with a non-

Ronnie Thwaites traditional high school,” it stated. The report was tabled in the House of Representatives Tuesday by Minister of Education, Ronnie Thwaites, who disclosed that it will be used as the basis for his ministry’s intervention into 56 schools, including 18 named by the JCF, in an initiative aimed ameliorating what he described as the “crime scourge” in Jamaica, in partnership with the Ministry of National Security. “There is no other institution with such

potential for positive socialisation. As such, law abiding habits ought to be expressly connected with the school experience,” Thwaites said. Holy Trinity High, the best known non-traditional school in Thwaites’ Central Kingston constituency was the second highest ranked among the criminal producing school, behind the former Kingston Senior School, now Kingston High, situated in West Kingston, which topped the list of schools connected with the 894 inmates who were interviewed in the survey. Next were – Vauxhall High, in East Kingston, which numbers among its recent graduates 2013 Rhodes Scholar, Timar Jackson; and Norman Manley High in East Central St Andrew, the constituency of Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Peter Phillips. Jamaica College was the only traditional high school among the 18, while downtown based primary schools – Calabar and Jones Town— were the only ones at that level. Kitson Town in St Catherine was the only AllAge school on the list.

Bahamas defends policy to fingerprint foreign teachers NASSAU, Bahamas CMC – The Bahamas government has defended its

policy of fingerprinting foreign teachers saying it is necessary to ensure that people entrusted with the interacting with students do not have a criminal past. The Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) said it was “very concerned” over the practice and that expatriate teachers were being threatened with job losses if they did not conform to the instructions. The union said that over the past two weeks it had sought unsuccessfully to discuss the matter with the Ministry and Department of Education, Ministry and Department of Labour and the

Department of Public Service. But in a statement, Education, Science and Technology official, Jerome K Fitzgerald, defended the policy saying he would not entail any “compromise when it comes to protecting our ‘little darlings’ and making decisions which are in their best interest. “I have made it clear on numerous occasions…my first and most important responsibility is to the safety and well being of our students and teachers and also to ensure there is order on the school campuses which promote and encourage excellence.”

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Blatter has fifth term as FIFA Boss Rest Team upset Guyana... after four confederations back him Sepp Blatter already has the support of four of the six FIFA confederations to stand for a fifth term as president next year, by which time he will be 79. The leaders of Asia, Africa, North and Central America, and South America are understood to have pledged their backing last month. The verbal endorsement took place at the presidents’ meeting before the last FIFA ExCo summit ahead of the World Cup draw in Brazil. And African federation president Issa Hayatou went a step further by confirming

his organisation’s championing of Blatter in a letter to the FIFA overlord. No wonder former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne, who launched his fanciful bid for the presidency in London this week, admits he has no chance if Blatter stands again. Blatter has said he will make up his mind before this summer’s World Cup. But as long as he remains in good health, only massive opposition from daughter Corinne or his new girlfriend Linda Barras is likely to deter him. (Mail Online)

Thursday January 23, 2014 ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19): Today you should be feeling very energetic, Aries, both physically and mentally, and you're likely to feel rather anxious for some physical activity. Go for a workout if you have time or for a short walk if you don't. *************************** TAURUS (APR 20 MAY 20): A lot of physical and mental energy could be channeled today into artistic projects of some kind, Taurus. *************************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUN 20): It's another potentially anxious day ahead, Gemini. But you have the power to soothe your ruffled feathers. *************************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Your level of physical and mental energy should be very high today, Cancer, and so you could feel restless throughout the morning. As a result, you might spend your afternoon and evening out and about, shopping, paying visits, or attending classes or lectures. *************************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): Your level of imagination and inspiration should be operating at a very high level today, Leo, so if you've been planning to start a new artistic project, this is the day to do it. You're also likely to be feeling quite intuitive, so don't be surprised if you find yourself tuning acutely in to the thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires of others, even strangers. ************************ VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): A group with which you're affiliated could ask you to take care of a few tasks. This might involve making phone calls, running errands, or both. Your energy and enthusiasm are high, Virgo, so this is a good day to prove how valuable your work is and how efficient you are.

LIBRA (SEP 23 - OCT 22): Important projects, either job related or personal, might need to be completed today in order to meet a deadline or fulfill a promise. *************************** SCORPIO (OCT 23 - NOV 21): A long-awaited vacation may be coming up soon for you, Scorpio. The study of travel books might be on your agenda for today. *************************** SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 DEC 21): This could prove to be a very busy day, Sagittarius. Someone close to you might come to you for advice on how to manage their resources, perhaps because of successes you've had in the past. *************************** CAPRICORN (DEC 22 JAN 19): Social events, probably family related, could take up a lot of your time today, Capricorn. They might involve outings, perhaps to parks or other recreational areas. *************************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): Your home today could be like Grand Central Station, with lots of people coming and going and a lot of activity taking place within the house itself. The phone could be also ringing off the hook, Aquarius. *************************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): This is probably going to shape up to be a busy and rather chaotic day. You might find yourself spending a lot of time out and about, Pisces. You may need to run a lot of errands and see a number of people. A friend might accompany you. Phone calls might need to be made in order to make arrangements for future events, and someone might take up too much of your time calling to chat.

From page 31 overs cricket with 84 matches to his name. Last Tuesday under clear night sky and bright shining flood lights a handful of spectators saw him shrug off cramps to hit a top score of 77 from 121 balls as the National Team with six players who represented the West Indies in the top order, crawled to 218 all out in 47.3 overs replying the 250-6 made by the Rest Team. The slow scoring rate by the Nationals must be a cause for concern among the Coaching staff as they prepare to battle 2015 World Cup qualifiers Ireland in their opening match on January 31 at the Queens Park Oval in a Day/ Night encounter. A 39 year-old veteran of 153 Tests, Chanderpaul must have watched in disgust as his opening partner, Test

player Assad Fudadin pulled a short ball from pacer Keon Joseph and spooned a catch to mid-on in bright sunny conditions and on a good batting pitch and a fast outfield. Several of the Guyana team batsmen threw their wickets away with impetuous shot selections, although the new ball attack of the lively Joseph and fast improving left-arm seamer Andre Stoll kept the shackles on the top order, consistently stalling their run chase. Chanderpaul and Deonarine (21) put together 50 for the third wicket in the most productive partnership of the innings as Chanderpaul, who struck five fours and a six, was allowed a runner before he departed inside the last 10 overs. Only Robin Bacchus (26) and Royston Crandon (25) of

the other batsmen, reached double figures as Joseph (327) and leg-spinner Amir Khan (3-37) had impressive spells with the ball. The match was interrupted after 12 overs when someone entered the player’s dressing room and was in the process of stealing the player’s belongings when he was spotted by one of the players from the Rest Team. He was subsequently chased and caught by the players (who all ran off the field) before being handed over to the Police. E a r l i e r, Skipper Sewnarine Chattergoon (55) and Rajendra Chandrika (62) added 82 for the second wicket before Chandrika and Vishal Singh (49) put on 47 for the third wicket to set up the 250 total although national captain Chris Barnwell captured 4-44. The next practice game is scheduled for 13: 30 hrs tomorrow at Providence. (Sean Devers)

Wiltshire Birth Anniversary dominoes Wins for C 7, TNT C7 and TNT recorded victories when the Mark Wiltshire 59th Birth Anniversary Dominoes competition continued on Monday last at Dynasty Sports Bar. C 7 marked 74 games to beat Scramblers with 70 and R and R on 65. Brian Edwards chalked 17, Leon Moore 15 and Cody Cadogan 14 for the winners while Errol Rodney scored 16 and Basil Bradshaw 15 for Scramblers. Marlon Browne with 17 games and Orin Favorite 15 were R and R leading players. TNT registered 75 games to triumph over Rage who managed 71 and Providence 66 in their encounter. Trevor Smith and Sonia Goodluck made 16 games apiece and Shawn Morgan 15 for TNT. Orin Steven scored 17 while Cargill DeFreitas and Mark Welch supported with 15 games each for Rage; Deon Kelford made 15 for Providence. The finals will be played on Saturday and Sunday on La Belle Sports Bar and will commence at 14:00 hrs each. Teams from the West Bank Demerara are asked to contact Godfrey Samuels on 6649469.

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Federer wins Murray dog fight, Nadal gets lucky MELBOURNE (Reuters) Roger Federer’s revival gathered pace as he edged Andy Murray in a late-night dog fight to set up a blockbuster Australian Open semi-final with world No.1 Rafa Nadal who earlier on Wednesday had rode his luck to beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Swiss Federer played sublime tennis to open a twoset lead over Murray but had to withstand a late charge from Briton before claiming a 6-3 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 win in the first “Big Four” clash of the year. Nadal had dug himself out of a hole to suppress an inspired Dimitrov, winning 36 7-6(3) 7-6(7) 6-2 after his opponent had squandered a golden chance to win the third set. Victoria Azarenka could only blame herself after she was earlier shown the door 61 5-7 6-0 by Agnieszka Radwanska to leave the tournament without a defending champion in the last four of either draw for the first time in the professional era. After ending Azarenka’s hopes of a third straight title, Radwanska will face Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, who crushed Simona Halep 6-3 6-0, to decide who meets China’s Li

Na or Canadian teenager Genie Bouchard in the final. With Tomas Berdych meeting Novak Djokovic’s conquerer Stan Wawrinka in the first men’s semi-final on Thursday, the winner of the Nadal-Federer clash will like their chances of adding another grand slam title to their considerable hauls. “It’s going to be a good match,” 32-year-old Federer, who had reached only one grand slam semi-final since claiming a 17th major title by beating Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final, told reporters of Friday’s next installment of his Nadal rivalry. “It’s going to be brutal and all those things. Looking forward to slugging it out with him in a couple of days.” A free-flowing Federer had looked in total command against Murray until late in the third set when he served for the match at 5-4, having just broken the fourth seed’s serve. Murray broke back and forced a tiebreak and then hung in doggedly to overturn a 4-6 deficit and force a fourth set. Federer shrugged off missing his chance, however, keeping his cool through an hour-long fourth set to outlast a tiring Murray and avenge his defeat in the semi-

finals here last year. “I’ve been in these positions before,” Federer, who has reached the semifinal for an 11th straight year at Melbourne Park, said. “For me it was just a matter of staying calm and forgetting about it a little bit. “The match was great until that point when I couldn’t get it done really.” Having lost three finals, Murray has endured plenty of heartache in Melbourne but the Wimbledon champion was philosophical in defeat given his recent return to action after back surgery curtailed his 2013. “I’ve come a long way in four months,” he said. “Obviously right now I’m very disappointed. “Wasn’t too far away in the end.” Thirteen-times grand slam champion Nadal’s match with Dimitrov turned on the third set tiebreak and there was enough entertainment in those 16 points alone to justify the ticket prices. Dimitrov, desperate to shed the “Baby-Fed” tag he acquired because of his stylish game and step out of the shadow of girlfriend Maria Sharapova, had produced some brilliant tennis in his first grand slam quarter-final to take the first set.

Enterprise Busta SC rewards players

From left Zaheer Mohamed, Kamesh Yadram, Bhaskar Yadram and Kavita Yadram display their prizes. The Enterprise Busta Sports Club of East Coast Demerara recently rewarded several of their cricketers for their achievements at a simple ceremony held at the Enterprise community centre. The players that were presented gears and other tokens are Zaheer Mohamed who represented Guyana in the U-15, 19 and senior level, Rajendra Chandrika for representing Guyana at the

junior and senior levels and the West Indies A team, Kamesh Yadram (Guyana U-15 and U-19), Bhaskar Yadram (Guyana U-15) and Kavita Yadram (Guyana female U-19 and senior teams). The club expressed gratitude to their sponsor, the Guyana Beverage Inc for playing a major role in their development and molding their young members. Special

mention was made of Mr and Mrs. Yadram, the parents of the Kamesh, Kavita and Bhaskar. Meanwhile, Enterprise Busta Sports Club won the Yadram Distributors Dominoes c o m p e t i t i o n which was played recently at the Enterprise community centre. Busta Tigers took second place while Balkissoon team placed third.

Struggling to maintain his control over his racket at times because of a painful blister, Nadal almost inevitably battled back to even up the match but Dimitrov was not finished. The 22-year-old had three chances to go two sets to one up but shanked a return to blow one at 6-5 on Nadal’s serve, blew another in the tiebreak when he went long with a forehand and a third when the Spaniard cut off a volley. “I got lucky,” said Nadal. “(But) if that ball, that forehand from him, goes in and he win the third, I going to keep fighting, because I felt that I was ready for the fight. “I will keep fighting until the end.” Nadal made the most of the reprieve to clinch the tiebreak 9-7 and race away with the fourth set, leaving

Dimitrov shattered. “I shed a few tears, but it should hurt. It should hurt. And it does hurt,” he said. Radwanska went for broke to snap Azarenka’s 18match winning streak at Melbourne Park with a thoroughly deserved victory. Azarenka came into the match as the only woman not to have given up a set in the tournament but Radwanska, who had lost 12 of their 15 previous meetings, wasted no time in giving her a reminder of how it felt. The Pole, scuttling around the court to retrieve everything thrown at her, raced out to a 5-0 lead and went a set up after 33 minutes. Azarenka charged back to clinch a tight second set with a fierce forehand winner but the shriek with which she celebrated failed to galvanize her and Radwanska whipped

through the decider in another half an hour. “I really had nothing to lose,” said Radwanska, the losing finalist at Wimbledon in 2012. “She was defending the title, not me. I was really trying to play my best tennis, go for every shot I could.” Azarenka made 47 unforced errors and knew she made a hefty contribution to her own downfall but leavened her self-flagellation with some praise for the fifth seed. “It’s not the end of the world,” she said. “I’m not happy with what I did today (but) I can’t take away what she’s done. She played amazing.” An aggressive gameplan also paid dividends for 20th seed Cibulkova as she demolished a hapless Halep to reach her maiden grand slam semi-final.

Neymar transfer investigation goes to court BARCELONA (Reuters) The transfer of Neymar to Barcelona is to be investigated by a Spanish court over claims of misappropriation of funds and club president Sandro Rosell may be called to give evidence. The Brazilian was paraded as a 57.1m euro signing by Barcelona from Santos in June last year but the details of the contract were not revealed due to a confidentiality agreement. A hearing will now decide whether an wrongdoing took place after legal action was pursued by disgruntled fan Jordi Cases who had demanded a response from the club to his request for clarity over the high-profile transfer. State prosecutors backed the legal challenge and called for a hearing, having decided that there was sufficient grounds to believe there could be a case of “contractual simulation” or distorting the final figures over what has to be paid. They pointed to 40 million euros that was paid as part of the overall fee and went to a company owned by Neymar’s father. It caused the wrath of Rosell who has adamantly denied that any more than 57.1 million euros was paid. In light of a claim by Spanish daily El Mundo on Monday that the figure was in fact 95 million euros, Rosell changed tack and from calling the judge to throw out the case he said he would be willing to give evidence and

Brazilian soccer player Neymar (R) shakes hands with Barcelona’s president Sandor Rosell after signing a five-year contract with FC Barcelona, in front of their offices close to Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona in this June 3, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Albert Gea clear his name. “Having anticipated you would ask about this, there are two points I would like to make,” Rosell told a news conference on Monday. “The first is a reaffirmation that Neymar cost 57.1 million euros, full stop. “I am saying it for the umpteenth time and that’s enough now. The second is a request, with all my respect for the judge in this case. Ask him to initiate proceedings and call me to testify, precisely so I can tell the judge anything he would like to hear because there is nothing to hide. “Everything is absolutely legal and absolutely clean. Any confidentiality clause

that existed was always because it was asked for by the other side,” he added this week. Judge Pablo Ruz has decided to open a hearing and will be asking for more information from Neymar, Santos and Barcelona, while a decision will be made at a later date over whether Rosell will be called in person to provide evidence. On the basis of the evidence already received, an order from the judge on Wednesday read: “It leads to the conclusion that the facts given by the complainant are plausible in being a crime of misappropriation as laid down in article 252 of the penal code.”

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

GB shooting Coach ends successful two week stint with GNRA

GNRA members take time out for a photo op. with GB shooter Ian Shaw after the final session at the Timehri RRanges on Sunday last Great Britain shooter and Coach Ian Shaw concluded a successful two-week stint with members of the Guyana National Rifle Association which sought to improve the competencies and abilities of the local shooters. Facilitated in a major way by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), Shaw wrapped up activities on Sunday last with a complete rehearsal during a team match using coaches and shooters who are expected to be in Jamaica for this year’s Caribbean Championships. National Fullbore Captain Mahendra Persau d , w h o also playe d an instrumental role in Shaw c o m i n g to Guyana, said that the final session on Sunday saw Coaches using the graphs as demonstrated by Shaw.

The new strategy Persaud said was practiced and seemed to work very well. As a means of showing gratitude for Shaw taking time out from his busy schedule to come to Guyana, the GNRA on Sunday evening held an appreciation function at the New Thriving Restaurant where Shaw was presented with a plaque by Persaud to express GNRA’s gratitude for the valuable time spent in Guyana imparting his knowledge. Shaw, who will shoot for Scotland at this year’s Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, England, July 23 to August 3, 2014 where over 40 nations will compete, expressed thanks to the GNRA, GOA and Persaud for inviting him to come to Guyana noting that the shooters adapted well to the

training and he is looking out for great things from the Guyanese team at this y e a r ’s Caribbean championships. National Wind Coach Paul Slowe, who is also Vice President of the GNRA, shared his thoughts on the two week programme. “I think that the training was very timely. We are all aware of the shooting skills of the trainer, Ian Shaw. He has been a consistent member of the Great Britain Rifle Team, and a member of the Scottish shooting pair at the Commonwealth Games. Ian has been able to reinforce many of the things that make for consistent top quality performance. He has also been able to impart some new and progressive aspects of the sport. We are very grateful for

the exposure.” Slowe, who has also been a prominent member of the dominant Guyana team at the Caribbean level and also captained the West Indies Fullbore Shooting team, posited that it is his hope that the those who participated would be able to put all that was imparted into practice during Guyana’s preparation for the upcoming Caribbean Fullbore Championship in Jamaica. ý “Because of the training we should be able to improve our individual performances, and of course, our performance as a team.” Team training will continue on Sunday at the Timehri Ranges while sessions using the electronic Scat machine will be done at least once per week. (Franklin Wilson)

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Letter to the Sports Editor

More support for the Cricket Administration Bill DEAR MR. EDITOR, We wish to register our support for the Buxton Sports Club’s recent claims of discrimination and unacceptable conduct of the illegally constituted Demerara Cricket Board. We have been eagerly awaiting the passage of the Cricket Administration Bill 2012 (CAB 2012), which is expected to bring order, transparency and proper accountability to our badly damaged cricket culture. From all appearances the process seems to be dragging on for too long and we are now pleading with the Combined Opposition to use their influence for the speedy passage of this legislation so that our youngsters could have the opportunity to showcase their talent for

National and West Indies selection. We note that there have been many calls from different areas including Berbice, Linden and Georgetown for the long - awaited CAB 2012 to be passed. As Parliament is the highest decisionmaking forum in Guyana and is represented by the Political Parties who in turn represent the people of Guyana, we expect that the CAB 2012 will be accepted by all and will pave the way for the holding of proper elections for the Guyana Cricket Board and also the three (3) County Boards. Our dear national game has been in crisis over the past three (3) years and a final resolution is urgently needed. Raymond Barton, Plaisance Cricket Club

German Olympic Committee received same Sochi threat emails as Hungary

Rest Team upset Guyana side in first Day/Night practice Match

The Rest team dented the confidence of the Guyana side presently preparing for the 2013 Regional Surper50 cricket competition in Trinidad & Tobago from January 30 to February 16 with a demoralizing 32-run victory at the Providence Stadium on Tuesday night in the first of two Day/Night practice matches. Shiv Chanderpaul has not only played the most Tests by a West Indian, he is also the most capped Guyanese in 50 (Continued on page 25)

Jackets of the official German Olympic uniform for the Sochi Winter Olympic Games await collection by athletes in Erding January 20, 2014. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Shivnarine Chanderpaul pulls during his top score in a losing cause

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it had received the same emails threatening attacks at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games as its Hungarian counterpart and had forwarded them to German authorities. The committee’s spokesman said in an email to Reuters that the mails appeared to have been sent widely. “We take all tips on security questions seriously and are in close contact with the relevant German authorities” said spokesman Christian Klaue.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday January 23, 2014

Soca Princesses praised for brave Hoax threats before Games showing in CONCACAF Under-20 play on Sochi security fears

Russian Cossacks patrol the Adler district of Sochi January 22, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk The Trinidad Soca Princesses celebrate one of their goals against Costa Rica at the Truman Bodden Stadium in the Cayman Islands on Sunday. (PHOTO: COURTESY OF CFU) PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under-20 women’s team has been showered with praises after placing fourth in the 2014 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship in the Cayman Islands on Sunday. President of the Republic, Anthony Carmona and Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president Raymond Tim Kee have led tributes for an outfit that was on the brink of becoming the first team to represent the Caribbean at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. The Trinidadians were five minutes away from securing a 3-2 win against Costa Rica when an equaliser forced them into extra time which the Central Americans exploited to win 7-3. President Carmona said the Under-20 women

“displayed grit and determination to become real contenders in the Cayman Islands qualification tournament. “I can tell you I felt a great sense of national pride and joy when I saw how those young women fought on behalf of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” Carmona said during the launch of a football programme. The T&T Soca Princesses led 3-1 at the half and seemed on course towards creating history after two first-half goals from captain Anique Walker. Tim Kee said the women played hard and the defeat will give an indicator to the technical staff and coaches about what needs to be done to ensure the team remains competitive in the future. “From what I saw yesterday, remember we led 31 at half-time, I get the

impression that they were legweary, because it was a hectic schedule and that will of course point our technical staff in a direction to correct things like that,” he said. “I know some initiatives have been taken in the past about fitness and the level of preparedness that is necessary for those types of games and I know that we made a decision to make it policy, so you would not see a recurrence of that moving forward, but those things do not happen overnight.” The United States recorded a 4-0 win over Mexico on Sunday to capture the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship for a third straight time. Both teams already had qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and will be joined by Costa Rica for the event to be hosted in Canada this summer.

Little DIVA Flames Team selected The Little DIVA Flames Female Football Club will intensify their training as they prepare for their 1st Friendly game on Sunday 26th January 2014 at the #5 Football Ground, West Berbice against Monedderlust commencing at 16:00 hrs. Training will be today and Saturday 25th January 2014 at 16:00 hrs and 06:30 hrs respectively at the GFC Ground under Coaches Joseph (Bill) Wilson and Sheron (Sherry) Abrams. There will also be a meeting at 17:00 hrs with the parents of the players at the GFC today to discuss this trip and other upcoming events of the Club. The following players have been identified to travel on Sunday to represent the Little DIVAS: Aaliyah Stanley, Cindy

McPherson, Mariska Corbin, Precyous Johnson, Sieda Dummett, Atabia James, Janet Chiniah, Keisha Gordon, Jennel Brown, Shaunna Taylor, Troyann Barton, Deborah Waldron, Dacaycia Norville, Tiffeney Jupiter, Gabriella English, Sonya Denny, Tandica La Rose, Shania Riley, Aquenna Forde, Sherita Singh, Kevona Hackett & Aaliyah Goodluck. The friendly game will be followed by 2 games in the Berbice Football Association Play off Tournament to select teams to participate in the GFF Nation Cup KO Tournament scheduled for later this year. At 18:00 hrs NA United and Rosignol United will clash and at 20:00hrs Monedderlust and Cougars will lock horns.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - At least five European countries’ Olympic committees received letters in Russian on Wednesday making a “terrorist threat” before the Sochi Games, but Olympic chiefs said they posed no danger. Despite the assurances, the letters to committees in Italy, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia briefly caused alarm and underlined nervousness over security at the $50-billion event on which Russian President Vladimir Putin’s legacy may depend. Suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in a southern city last month, Islamist militants have threatened to attack the Winter Games and security forces are hunting a woman suspected of planning a suicide bombing and of being in Sochi already. “I am very pleased to inform everyone that both the IOC and the Sochi organizing committee ... declared after the analysis of the letter that this threat is not real,” Zsigmond Nagy, director of international relations at the Hungarian Olympic Committee, told Reuters. He said “this person has been sending all kinds of messages to many members of the Olympic family.” The letter, he said, threatened Hungarian nationals, competitors and officials, saying that “persons attending the Olympic Games might be blown up.” Nagy also quoted IOC officials saying the letters had been sent by someone living outside Russia who had carried out such hoaxes before, but did not identify the person. “This threat is not a real

one and there is nothing to worry about,” he said. Officials in Italy, Germany, Slovakia and Slovenia said their national committees had also received threats and all had passed them to police. The IOC, which is based in Switzerland, moved quickly to ease concern after the first of the letters was received in Budapest. It said it took security very seriously and passed on any credible information to the relevant security services. “However, in this case it seems like the email sent to the Hungarian Olympic Committee contains no threat and appears to be a random message from a member of the public,” it said. RUSSIAON HIGHALERT The IOC has said it is confident that the Games, opening in Sochi on the shores of the Black Sea on February 7, will be safe, and Putin has put about 37,000 security personnel on combat alert in the Black Sea resort and increased security nationwide. Russia has also been discussing its security operation with the United States, and Putin, who has played a big role in winning and organizing the Games, spoke about security at Sochi with U.S. President Barack Obama by telephone on Tuesday. Even so, Moscow has failed to dampen concern that it will be able to guarantee visitors’ and competitors’ safety, despite the most elaborate security preparations for an Olympics. A militant leader, Doku Umarov, has called for insurgents fighting for an Islamist state in Russia’s

North Caucasus to attack Sochi - which lies on the western edge of the Caucasus mountains where the insurgency is focused. Security concerns were heightened by the suicide bombings last month in Volgograd, a southern Russian city which serves as a gateway to the North Caucasus, and by a video in which the Islamist militant group which claimed responsibility for the attacks threatened more violence. In Sochi, which plans to host hundreds of thousands of visitors during the Games, security forces are searching for a woman called Ruzanna Ibragimova, 23, who they suspect may be planning a suicide attack. She may have arrived in the Olympic host city on January 11-12, a letter seen by Reuters said. “(She) may be used as a terrorist-suicide bomber by (insurgency) leaders to organize terrorist acts during preparations for and during the 2014 Winter Olympics,” read the letter, asking police to look immediately into the matter. The letter from Russia’s Federal Security Services to local police said she was the widow of a slain Islamist militant and is believed to have recently left her home in Dagestan, in the turbulent, mainly Muslim North Caucasus. Photographs of Ibragimova show a woman in a hijab, wearing a long dress. Some Russian media say Russian forces may also be looking for other would-be suicide bombers known as “Black Widows”, but the reports have not been confirmed.

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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How the ICC has failed Guyana’s cricket By Colin Benjamin To celebrate 20 years as a the world’s premier cricket website, ESPNCricinfo compiled a panel of some of the sport’s greatest players, journalists and commentators to discuss that state of international cricket under the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) stewardship. One of the discussed topic was “Who runs cricket?” and spoke specially of how the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bullies world cricket and the ICC, to its benefit, due to their vast financial clout in the sport. In describing how he v i e w e d t h e g a m e ’s custodians - ICC and all cricket administrators of the various nations - legendary Australian captain and now commentator, Ian Chappell spoke of a conversation he once had with great Australian leg-spinner, Bill “Tiger” O’Reilly on the matter. Chappell described the scenario when we all played backyard cricket. Firstly, two boys would be chosen as captains, then they would pick the best players for their respective teams from the enthusiastic brigade of young men. After completing this task, the least talented of the group would be left on the sidelines. Eventually some of the selected may go onto be international cricketers, while those not selected,

Alan Isaac (Getty Images)

Secretary of the GCB Anand Sanasie (left), with WICB President Dave Cameron (centre) and GCB President Drubahadur. while still being fans of the sport, would go into other jobs, resigned to the fact that they are not talented enough to become professional cricketers. Somewhere along the way, Chappell insinuated that those young men who were surplus in backyard cricket - became administrators, not good enough to play the game – but have the power to administer the game. A ridiculous dichotomy, Chappell labelled it. Fast forward to when the embattled Guyana Cricket

Board (GCB) held its awards ceremony on December 3 after a two-year absence. Due to the tumultuous and fractious state of local cricket observers can safely say that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and ICC, arguably the weakest sporting governing body on earth, have failed cricket constituents in Guyana. It was somewhat amusing when this strap-line appeared in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper the following day: “Following a two-year hiatus for reasons unknown, the Dru Bahadur -

St Lucia confirms attendance for GBA National Goodwill tourney St Lucia has confirmed their participation in the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) National Amateur Goodwill tournament here from February 14-16. The St Lucians will arrive on February 13, same day as Jamaica, who was the first to confirm being here, with a six member delegation. President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, had earlier indicated that invitations were extended to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Lucia. Barbados is unavailable, but Ninvalle said that he is expected to get a firm response from Trinidad and Tobago shortly. Ninvalle disclosed that the St Lucia team will

Steve Ninvalle comprise of three officials, headed by David ‘Shakes’ C h r i s t o p h e r, C o n r a d Federicks, formerly Hunte, and Brian McDonald, who is the Manager; while the

fighters are Arthur Nangillur (75kg), Ron Bastiam (69kg) and Linden Micilin (64kg). Jamaica is coming with four boxers and two officials: Patrick Sahadeo (Lightweight), Anthony C l a r k e ( L i g h t Welterweight), Kestna Davis (Welterweight) and Michael Gardner (Middleweight), Carl Grant (head coach) and Godfrey Collins (coach). The aim of the tournament is to prepare local boxers for the South American championships set for Chile from March 1318. Local boxers have already commenced training; among them are Stephan Gouveia, Imran Khan, Bert Braithwaite and Eon Bancroft.

stewarded Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) last Tuesday night hosted its Annual Awards Ceremony and Reception for 2013 in the upper pavilion of the Georgetown Cricket Club”. Reasons unknown? Is it really unknown to the media, public and fans that the current GCB has been under scrutiny because of questionable practices ever since former president Chetram Singh resigned the post in 2011? Is it unknown that the Berbice and Demerara cricket boards did not vote in the last two conducted elections? Is it still unknown who the purported members of the Raj Singh-led DCB are? Or maybe none of this happened, and many have been sipping a concocted brew, leaving all of the above a figment of everybody’s imagination. While journalists would have gauged their headlines from the awards, based on comments from WICB director, Baldat Mahabir, clearly the most controversial and jawdropping revelation of the night was controversial GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie being bestowed with a Special Services Award for “his spirit and commitment to the development of Guyana’s cricket” What! L e t ’s g e t r e a l , n o executive whether with or against the current GCB, deserves any award, given the tumultuous episode in

local cricket since 2011. Sanasie, definitely, is the least deserving. The WICB, under the guidance of two presidents – Julian Hunte and now Dave Cameron - allowed the current GCB to consolidate its power, therefore focus should be placed on the ICC. In March 2013, the WICB sent its Corporate Communications Officer Imran Khan and Barbadian Director, Conde Rikey to oversee the GCB election and they called it legitimate, when Berbice did not vote and a faction of the DCB voted. The WICB also saw it fit to include Sanasie on a panel to fix the problems affecting Leeward Islands cricket, completely ignoring or sweeping under the carpet the ones affecting Guyana. The irony of ironies! ICC contradiction Recent developments in Pakistan show the ICC’s contradictory position on government intervention in the sport. After condemning the Guyana government on February 1, 2012 for intervening in the GCB saga, new ICC president Alan Isaac stated on November 17, 2012 that the ICC was “reviewing its antigovernment stance”. This review came after former ICC president Haroon Lorgat, gave cricket boards two years to be free of government intervention in June 2011. That deadline was up in June 2013 and no

announcement was made. But yet, last month the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with similar corruption charges being leveled, the board, just as is the case in Guyana, the Pakistan government implemented an Interim Management Committee (IMC). How is it therefore t h a t w h e n G u y a n a ’s government established an IMC, it received immediate condemnation from the ICC? Now Pakistan (Sri Lanka also had regular IMCs running its cricket in the last decade which Kumar Sangakkara had spoken about in his MCC speech in 2011) has done what Guyana had done and the ICC has been quiet. Faux pas On January 11, 2013 FIFA gave an example of how a world sporting governing body should operate to the Guyanese audience. T h e y, a l o n g w i t h representatives affiliate body, CONCACAF, came directly to Guyana and ended a similar squabble in the football fraternity between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and Georgetown Football Association (GFA). All the dissenting groups were sat down and this singular action brought an end to saga and fair elections took place. The ICC made a major faux pas by letting the WICB administer the Guyana situation, and the WICB’s deplorable handling of it has made the GCB debacle even worse. Therefore, gratitude is extended to the ICC for allowing Guyana’s cricket to plunge further into the mire under the Druahadur-led GCB.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday January 23, 2014

ICC’s revamp plans

Edwards responds to ‘Big Three’ criticism ESPNcricinfo - Wally Edwards, the Cricket Australia chairman and a key figure in the drafting of a proposal to centralise power in world cricket with India and England, has broken his usual silence to defend the plan in the face of heavy criticism from the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA). T h r o u g h F I C A’ s chairman Paul Marsh, the world’s cricketers have voiced their strong opposition to the proposed r e v a m p o f t h e I C C ’s structure, declaring that it would only serve to strengthen India, England and Australia while weakening the rest. Commonly preferring to work the back channels of cricket administration before speaking publicly, Edwards said he felt compelled to respond to FICA’s contention that the nations involved in drafting the proposal had defied their commitment to work in the best interests of the ICC by doing so. “Traditionally, CA does not comment on ICC discussions it is about to have - we talk to other ICC nations across the table rather than via the media,” Edwards said. “But we were today disappointed to see the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations question whether CA and others have met their fiduciary duties as ICC members. “Setting aside the fact that we are yet to discuss and v o t e , C A’s a p p r o a c h internationally is consistent with its approach at home where we have made significant strides improving the governance of Australian cricket. There will be a discussion in the next few days among the ICC’s full member nations about possible changes to how the ICC works. “CA’s view going into that discussion is that we need to continue to promote international cricket competitions including the primacy of Test cricket, we need to improve global cricket leadership and we support that members should be working to promote the interest of the game as their priority.”

Edwards is the first chairman of the three nations tabling the proposal to speak publicly about it. Neither N Srinivasan of the BCCI nor Giles Clarke of the ECB have been prepared to talk about the proposal or its implications, preferring to wait until the raft of changes are voted on by the ICC executive board at their next meeting on January 28 and 29. FICA, which represents player associations in seven of the ICC’s ten full member countries, had declared itself “extremely concerned” with the leaked proposal, which would place the ICC largely in the control of the so-called “Big Three” nations. Marsh said players had a real fear the proposal would leave countries outside the Big Three to “wither on the vine”. “There are a myriad of issues with this proposal,” Marsh said. “First and foremost, as board directors of the ICC, the Chairmen of the BCCI, Cricket Australia and ECB owe fiduciary duties to the ICC that include putting the interests of the ICC ahead of those of their individual boards, a duty to remain loyal to the ICC and avoid conflicts of interests and to act in good faith to promote the success of the ICC. We seriously question whether all of these duties have been met. “The proposals relating to scheduling are disturbing. The reassurance to the boards outside the ‘Big Three’ that they are guaranteed to earn more in the next rights cycle than they have in the current one ignores the fact they are almost certain to lose more money from a re-shaped Future Tours Programme (FTP) than they will gain from ICC distributions, when the ‘Big Three’ inevitably pick and choose who, when and where they will play. “Of significance is the s e c t i o n t h a t o ff e r s a guarantee from Cricket Australia and the ECB to play three Tests and five ODIs per cycle to each of the top eight members, yet there is no mention of any such guarantee from the BCCI. Each of the member countries, including Australia and England, rely

heavily on Indian tours for sustainability of the game in their country. What chance do the majority of members have of survival if the BCCI decides not to tour their countries on at least a semiregular basis? “The result of this is that the gap between the ‘Big Three’ and the rest will get bigger and bigger, which will undermine the competitiveness of future ICC events and therefore the value of rights in future cycles. This will affect everyone and it cannot possibly be in the interests of international cricket nor of the health and sustainability of the world game of which the ICC is supposed to be the custodian.” Boards of ICC members outside the Big Three have expressed differing views on the proposal, with Cricket South Africa arguing the idea is “fundamentally flawed” and “in breach of the ICC constitution”, while New Zealand Cricket said it was wrong to jump to the conclusion that the proposal would be bad for cricket. However, FICA has raised concerns about the potential increased financial strain that could affect countries already struggling to make money from the game. “ We a l s o h a v e significant concern with the notion that distributions from ICC events should be based on commercial contribution,” Marsh said. “The result of this will be the countries that need ICC income most will receive the least, whilst the ‘Big Three’ will get the lion’s share even though they are already financially healthy because of the value of the rights to their bilateral series. “The role of ICC events should be to assist in levelling the financial playing field by distributing the proceeds from these events fairly, rather than further widening the gap between the rich and poor. Whilst these are an entirely foreseeable commercial outcomes, for the cricket fan the greater concern is the increasing gulf in quality between the ‘Big Three’ and the rest. The essence of sport is competition and those in control of the ICC should be doing all they can to promote

Cricket Australia’s chairman Wally Edwards, seen here with the ECB chairman Giles Clarke, has been a key figure in the proposal to be voted on by the ICC © Getty Images and provide a level playing field. This proposal will achieve the complete opposite. “Ironically the proposal espouses the principal of meritocracy. The linking of

i m m u n i t y f r o m Te s t relegation for BCCI, ECB and CA to an argument that this is necessary ‘solely to protect ICC income’ is plainly wrong, given the fact no Test-based ICC events

feature in the forward thinking and therefore all revenues generated from Test cricket are kept by the boards h o s t i ng the respective series.”

WIBC frantic as ICC threatens Windies Test status Jamaica Observer - ST JOHN’S, Antigua — The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has called an emergency meeting to discuss proposed changes to the International Cricket Council (ICC) which some officials in the region believe could have devastating consequences

for West Indies cricket. The proposed changes are contained in a working paper for a revamped ICC which will come before members as early as the quarterly meeting in Dubai on January 28 and 29. According to reports the proposed changes, among other things, could see West

Indies relegated to second tier in a two-tier cricket ranking. A WICB release says the Board of Directors met by teleconference and discussed the issue on Monday and was to reconvene, again by teleconference, yesterday to continue the discussion.

Thursday January 23, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Bank of Nova Scotia renews Jamaican bobsledders hit sponsorship with RHTY&SC Sundance before Olympics

Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani (left) presents the cheque to Hilbert Foster. The Bank of Nova Scotia on Tuesday last renewed their ties with the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) by cosponsoring their Annual M a g a z i n e , Aw a r d s c e r e m o n y, Tr i b u t e t o Teachers programme along with an Essay and Spelling Bee competition. Marketing Manager of the Bank Jennifer Cipriani handed over a cheque of $200,000 to CEO\Secretary of the club Hilbert Foster at t h e N a t i o n a l Communication Network studio to facilitate the aforementioned. The RHTY&SC has set its self a total of 200 programmes\activities for the year. If achieve this would represent a record for

the club which is widely c o n s i d e r e d G u y a n a ’s leading youth and sports organisation as the most they have completed in a calendar year is 185. Special emphasis would be placed on programmes under the sub heading of sports, Culture, Charity, proeducation, anti-drugs, youth d e v e l o p m e n t , awards\honour system and community enhancement. Speaking at the ceremony, Foster explained that the main reason for the club’s achievement over the years is because of the dedication and hard work by its members as well as the massive support they received from donors and sponsors. He thanked the bank for

their support and hailed the entity as one of the main pillars for their rise to the top, “For the last six years, the bank has assisted us in a massive way by sponsoring several activities and has also supported us with $100,000 in toys at Christmas. We are very grateful for this assistance as we seek to fulfill our god-given mandate to make positive differences in the lives of youths, the elderly and less fortunate”, added Foster, who also singled out Cipriani for special mention. Cipriani in a brief remark said that the bank is committed to supporting communities and they are pleased to be part of events organize by the RHTY&SC.

Sunburst Linden schools b/ball final fixed for tomorrow at MSC hard court The eagerly anticipated 2013 Sunburst Linden Secondary Schools Under17 basketball final will be played tomorrow at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court with Mackenzie High School taking on C h r i s t i a n b u rg Wi s m a r Secondary in the championship game at 4:30pm, while the supporting game at 3:00pm is between losing semifinalists New Silvercity

Secondary and Linden Foundation Secondary Schools. Company officials from the official sponsors, Continental Group of Companies, distributors of Sunburst Orange Juice, are expected to be in Linden to witness the final which was postponed for various reasons including the inclement weather. With a change in the weather pattern play is likely to be and the contesting

schools are asked to ensure their teams are present on time for the conclusion of this tournament. Organisers of the championship, the Linden Amateur Basketball Association, in a release said that all plans are on stream for a successful final with the necessary approval coming from the Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice) Education Department earlier this week for the teams to participate.

(From left) Jamaican bobsled team members Wayne Blackwood, Marvin Dixon and coach Wayne Thomas at the MorningStar Veggie Burger Bar in Park City, Utah, on Monday. (PHOTO: AP) PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — This year’s Sundance Film Festival has featured two former presidential candidates, rap stars, male strippers and rescue dogs. So why not the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team? The group appeared at the festival on Monday to promote their trip to Sochi for the Olympic Winter Games and seek some muchneeded cash. When the team was approved entry this month, Jamaican officials said they didn’t have the money to travel to Russia to compete. Coach Wayne Thomas said some funding has flowed in, but the team is still in need. “What we really need now is money to buy the equipment, specifically the runners,” Thomas said of the skates attached to the bobsled. “The runners that we are using are very close to illegal right now.” When asked what the deadline was for the cash, he joked, “Yesterday.” So the team decided to head to Sundance to raise awareness, hoping that some celebrities with deep pockets might want to contribute. “We’re here to let people know that we are here and still in need of funding,” Coach Wayne Thomas said, adding jokingly, “And also to

see some stars.” “Only lady stars,” said pilot Winston Watt, as the team broke into laughter. For some at Sundance, seeing the Jamaican bobsled team was like catching a glimpse of the movie stars who have packed Park City for the festival. The team attracted attention and happily posed for eager picture seekers in between bites at the popup MorningStar Farms Veggie Burger Bar, which has been providing free veggie burgers and other food for moviegoers. It was just one of their pit stops on Main Street as they tried to draw attention to their need for funding. They’ll get an even bigger spotlight when they travel to Sochi next month. The Caribbean island nation’s entry to the Winter Olympics in 1988 caused a huge media stir and inspired the movie Cool Runnings. This year’s team says that members of the 1988 team have offered advice. The athletes have been training since last summer and have been in Evanston, Wyo, for practice in icy conditions. “Despite being from a tropical country, we don’t think of lots of obstacles,” said Wayne Blackwood, a brakeman.

“We stay focused.” “We just want to go up there and do our best,” said the team’s other brakeman, Marvin Dixon, who will hold the flag for Jamaica during the opening and closing ceremonies. They don’t see themselves as a novelty act in the Olympics, but real competitors. “I’m one of the best brakeman in the world right now,” Dixon said matter-offactly. Blackwood said they would be comparable to other nations excelling in the bobsled competition if they had better equipment. “That’s what we want, equipment — and we are up there with them,” he said. The Jamaican delegation has to be in Sochi on February 4. They say they’re not concerned with security despite bombings in Russia last month that left several dead. They also expressed tolerance for gay athletes, who will compete in Sochi d e s p i t e l a s t y e a r ’s implementation of a law banning homosexual “propaganda” among minors. Russia’s crackdown on gays had led some to call for a boycott of the Games there. “For me, you is you, I am me. You be yourself, I’ll be myself,” Dixon said.

GB shooting coach ends successful two-week stint with GNRA

Blatter has fifth term as FIFA Boss after four confederations back him P.29

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Ian Shaw (right) receives the Appreciation Plaque from National Captain Mahendra Persaud Sepp Blatter (AP)

Federer wins Murray dog fight, Nadal gets lucky

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates defeating Andy Murray of Britain in their men’s singles quarter-final tennis match at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 22, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic

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Radwanska reached the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time. (Getty Images)

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