Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
We anxiously await confirmation of the grand alliance DEAR EDITOR, I write concerning the ongoing APNU-AFC pro-democracy talks due to conclude in four weeks. Guyana anxiously awaits confirmation that an alliance has been forged between these two progressive entities. However difficult these negotiations may be, the two negotiating teams must practise putting Guyana first and never losing sight of the goal which is to rid Guyana of the dominant evil. No doubt, both sides will want the grand alliance leader to come from their ranks. In the final analysis and given what’s at stake, it matters not. What matters more, is the big
picture—the creation of a country that is fair to all who live here—provides adequately for all its citizens and embraces a decision-making process that includes all stakeholders and not just a clutch of deviant characters. The Japanese have a saying that a good negotiation is defined as one, which after it concludes, leaves both parties happy or both parties unhappy. It is this symmetry that the two negotiating groups have to achieve for Guyana’s sake. Knowing most of the negotiating members as well as I do, I am confident they will succeed. F. Hamley Case
Helpless in the face of noise DEAR EDITOR, I watched my grandfather cringe every time the never ending abuse of squibs and those bomb-like devices
being thrown at the midnight hour welcoming the new year 2015. I watched my 95-year-old grandfather cringe and tears
The sacking of longserving policemen DEAR EDITOR, I am a wife and a mother of four. My husband and two other members of the Guyana Police Force were dismissed for one box of ammunition that went missing at the Prime Minister’s residence. The matter was investigated by the CID. They carry out checks at my residence and at the home of the two other officers. Nothing was found. On the 2nd January, 2015 they were told that their services were terminated. These officers were never stripped of the rank or even given the benefits of the doubt that they were innocent. They ranks have more than 17,18 and 20 years respectively to the Guyana Police Force and I really wish if someone could help them to get this matter sorted out. They have not received their benefits from the force. Please help. Name withheld
Awake, awake Caricom! The alarm bell is ringing! DEAR EDITOR, Thanks to the British High Commissioner for awakening the powers that be at Caricom. They have surely been in a very deep sleep; so much so that they slept all through the trials of Guyanese being harassed at sister Caricom airports; they slept through the atrocities brought to bear on Guyanese by this corrupt Government; they slept through the non adherence to free movement of skills within Caricom states; they slept through the situation with our Law Students furthering their law studies and more. Then suddenly they come awake to chew the head of the High Commissioner when he was actually doing a part of their job – speaking the truth and calling a spade a spade. (Yawn). Go back to your slumber Caricom. If you have nothing to say, please do not say it so loudly next time. In any case, like our Parliamentarians, you will all continue to be handsomely paid. Courtenay Mitchell
flow from his eyes each time my demonic neighbour who lives four doors away from us blasted his boom box from his vehicle as if he alone was living in the area on New Year’s Day. I watched my dog run from one corner to another, stark terror in his eyes trying to evade the horrid sounds of those punishing squibs. Then I sadly asked myself what did the Guyanese do to be saddled with such a sadistic administration? Why do we have to endure this added burden in the form of a useless, uncaring, hate filled Home Affairs Minister who continues to fail miserably in this capacity? Why doesn’t he remove those stupid boom boxes from all vehicles? Isn’t this one of the main contributors to the many gruesome accidents on our roads? Why can’t this administration understand how damaging noise is to citizens especially our seniors and very young children, and to the working class people. Animals should not be forgotten. Where is our Health Minister to speak out on this atrocity? Will this be allowed to continue for 2015 or will some effort be made to ease the suffering of people all over this country? HEAVEN HELP USALL IF WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS ADMINISTRATION FOR ANOTHER FIVE YEARS. R.Kumar
Are the police working on this case?
DEAR EDITOR, Randy Charles, a business man of Lot 68 Premniranjan Place, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown Hereby wishes to inform you that on 16th November 2014, my residence was broken into by persons I suspect and I suffered financial losses in cash of $1.8 million, one laptop computer valued $120,000 and other valuables. I made a report to Corporal Edwards at Prashad Nagar Outpost. I also gave a statement but no follow up action was taken.
While I was asleep in my home I was awakened by a masked man armed with a firearm. He demanded cash and jewelry and also threatened to kill me. I was accosted by the armed intruder to the upper flat of my home where I tricked him to believe I had cash in a closet. I managed to flee and close a bedroom door, but shortly after ’ heard a loud bang, Immediately after, I noticed I was bleeding from a wound on my left hand and from my chest. I raised an alarm and fled
my house. I later return and discovered my iPhone valued $120,000 a flash drive with a recording of the previous forced entry into my home also $560,000 cash, one Alcatel phone valued $75,000 and one Plum phone valued $18,000 gone. I, made a report to Corporal Edwards at Prashad Nagar Outpost. The scene was visited but fragments from what appears to be a bullet is still in my house. I’ am frustrated by the inaction of the Police. Randy Charles
Workplace conflicts should... From page 4 control violence at workplaces regulated by the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the Joint Health and Safety Committee or health and safety representative. Supervisors; Take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect workers from violence in the workplace. Advise workers of any potential or actual health and safety dangers known by the supervisor. Ensure workers know the health and safety measures
and procedures in place to protect themselves from workplace violence Workers; It is recommended that you become familiar with your workplace’s violence and harassment policies and programs, including health and safety measures and procedures. Report to your supervisor or employer any known hazards, including ones involving workplace violence, as well as any contraventions of the Health act and its regulations. Know your right to refuse work if you have a reason to believe you are in danger of
being exposed to workplace violence. Work in compliance with the Ministry of Health and its regulations In addition, employers, supervisors and trainers should emphasize the need for health care workers to communicate any questions or concerns they may have about workplace violence hazards. Supervisors should be familiar with the unique workplace violence and workplace harassment concerns faced by health care workers. L.N.
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Kaieteur News
Bermudian woman jailed, fined for trafficking cocaine A Bermudian woman who was nabbed while attempting to smuggle a quantity of cocaine via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, (CJIA) Timehri last Saturday, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment. Twenty–three year old, Njere Sharifa Fubler of 64 Roberts Avenue, HM 15 Bermuda, admitted to ingesting a total of 551 grammes of cocaine, when she appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, yesterday. According to the allegation, on January 24, Fubler attempted to smuggle cocaine pellets, which she had ingested, onto an outgoing flight bound for the United States. Police Prosecutor, Deniro Jones told the court that Fubler was scheduled to join Caribbean Airlines flight BW524 destined for John F. Kennedy International Airport, when a rank noticed that she was acting in a suspicious manner and requested to conduct a search on her luggage. During the search, Jones
said that the rank unearthed suspicious-looking pellets in the woman’s purse and upon further examination discovered that the pellets contained what appeared to be the illicit substance. As a result, Fubler was subject to interrogation during which she admitted to swallowing cocaine pellets. The woman was subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she excreted a total of 68 pellets after she was administered laxatives to assist with the process. The drug was later weighed at Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, and Fubler was subsequently charged for the offence. After entering a guilty plea, Fubler told the court that she has no local address and is self-employed; the woman said that she “fixes and sells electronics” for a living. The Bermuda national was subsequently sentenced to serve four years in prison and fined $1,480,700; three times the street value of the drug.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
UG strike…
Unions urge workers to continue “until further notice” Although a three-day strike action was initially proposed by the Unions of the University of Guyana (UG), recent developments have resulted in moves towards prolonged industrial action. This tactic is based on the fact that Vice Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, seems hell-bent on sidelining the more vocal of the two workers’ unions – the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA). The UGSSA has long been critical of the Professor Opadeyi-led administration. Based on yet another joint missive publicized by the staff unions of the tertiary institution – UGSSA and the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU), the Vice Chancellor seems determined to silence the former. Signed by Dr. Mellissa Ifill, Vice President of the UGSSA and President of the UGWU, the letter informed that on Monday, Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Jacob Opadeyi submitted a two-point proposal for the Unions’ consideration to end the ongoing industrial action. On Monday, the workers, led by their unions, commenced what was supposed to be a three-day industrial action in order to retaliate to a collapse in negotiations as it relates to increased wages and other benefits. The Vice Chancellor, according to the Unions’ representatives, has
- slam VC’s proposal to sideline UGSSA
UG Vice Chancellor, Professor Jacob Opadeyi
UGSSA Vice President, Dr Mellissa Ifill
UGWU President, Bruce Haynes
proposed that the UGWU take the lead in the negotiations with the University’s Negotiation team, and pointed out that negotiations will resume in two weeks after the University’s Administration would have received a remit from Council. The Vice Chancellor’s proposal was communicated to staff at a meeting held at noon Monday in the Small Lecture Theatre of the University’s Turkeyen Campus. At that forum the membership of Unions not only urged that the Vice Chancellor be enlightened to the fact that ongoing industrial action will be sustained, but that they are maintaining a demand for an across-the-board 60 per cent increase in salaries. Moreover, the Unions’ joint letter detailed that the
UGSSA has not accepted the proposal to negotiate with the University under the umbrella of the UGWU and instead demands that negotiations proceed with both Unions, in light of the University’s historic recognition and negotiations with the UGSSA, and as a gesture of good faith. It was pointed out too, that staff will remain on industrial action until UG Council meets, gives the remit to the Vice Chancellor and the UG Negotiating Team, and negotiations with both Unions recommence. Further still, it was emphasized that “the academic staff reiterate its condemnation of the attempt to change the conditions of service of academic staff through the imposition of a new Workload Policy and insist that it be withdrawn
from the University of Guyana’s Council until meaningful negotiations and consultations have taken place.” The Unions’ letter continued that “Union members reiterated their complete demands contained in the Memoranda of Demands for UA & UB staff submitted to your office on November 30, 2014 and the specific demand for a 60 per cent across the board increase in salaries for all categories of UA & UB staff [inclusive of part time and casual staff] payable from March 2015.” And it was underscored too, that “given (a) the protracted nature of the ongoing negotiations, (b) the current disruption in the University’s activities and (c) the fact that the Unions had been advised that the calculations of various percentage increases would have been prepared and ready since December 23, 2014, the Unions anticipate a positive response to our demands by January 30, 2015". The Unions are therefore appealing for workers to support the continued sit-in strike action until further notice, even as it was pointed out that “the Unions are encouraged by the extensive support given by staff…and urge that we continue to stand firm until our demands are addressed satisfactorily. Please continue to show up to classes on time BUT DO NOT TEACH, turn up to work on time BUT DO NOT PERFORM REGULAR DUTIES.” As part of its continued industrial action, the Unions also have plans to lead its membership to protest action outside of the Vice Chancellor’s office. “Please come out and let your voices be heard,” the missive concluded.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
UWI lecturers ‘advised’ to upload students’ grades
The West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) is advising lecturers at the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) to upload the marks of students who sat examinations late last year, no later than Wednesday. WIGUT which met in an emergency session Monday after Tertiary Education and Skills Training Minister Fazal Karim last weekend said the government would provide an estimated TT$87 million (One TT dollar =US$0.16 cents) to the UWI to end the industrial action by lecturers, said a schedule had also agreed upon for the payment of the arrears. According to WIGUT, the schedule “which is unconditional” would result in lectuers receiving 12 per cent of the arrears in February, 40 per cent in March, followed by another 10 per cent in April and the remaining 30 per cent in May. WIGUT said as a result it was advising members that “after consultation with the Campus Registrar, First Examiners are asked to upload their
marks into banner by Wednesday 28th January, 2015 at midnight,” it said noting that “Gradebook will be closed after this time”. WIGUT said “effective immediately, we are to resume to normal operating conditions and procedures thereby returning the University to a state of normalcy”. Lecturers had refused to file the grades for students who sat examinations last semester in protest at the non-payment of the arrears owed to them. Students have been staging demonstrations, including blocking the gates to the university in a bid to get the lecturers to end their action. Karim told Parliament Friday that the arrears will be made in tranches by May 31, this year. He later said he expects once the matter has been settled the students will get their grades. “I expect there will be no more reason to strike.” WIGUT president Dr. Russel Ramsewak in a note to the membership last Friday, said during a meeting with
campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat and other officials he was informed Karim had made a statement in Parliament on the issue. “The Minister made that statement based on information fed to him by Campus Senior Management. I reiterate that up to this point we only had a proposal on the way forward in this impasse, which we meant to discuss with you all at the previously arranged meeting for Monday 26th 2015. “ Given these critical circumstances in which the Minister would find himself in an embarrassing position based on misinformation from Senior Management, the Secretary and myself caucused and sought legal advice on the matter.” He said based on the discussion and advice received, “I had to make an executive decision as President. “In addition, we were informed that if I did not agree with the accord it would have been retracted and Campus Management would insist on mediation as the only way forward.
Police say a Jamaicanborn Home Depot employee shot and killed a supervisor Sunday before turning the gun on himself. Police said Calvin Esdaile Jr., 31, shot the 38-year-old lighting department supervisor three times in the stomach and chest. in the store’s aisle 12 in Manhattan and then shot himself in the head. Police said Esdaile was found dead at the scene with one gunshot wound. His .38caliber revolver was beside him. Esdaile’s victim, identified
as Moctar Sy by a co-worker, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. “Unfortunately, both persons are deceased,” police detective Steven Wren told reporters. Esdaile’s father, Calvin Esdaile Sr., 52, said his son had arrived in the United States from Jamaica in 2006 and lived in Brooklyn, He was the father of a six-year-old boy. “If it’s him, I’m sorry about this thing, and I’m sorry someone has to die by his
hand,” the disbelieving father told the New York Daily News, adding “it’s a shock to me. I don’t know of him having a violent history? Alex Pereira, 32, a former employee of the hardware store, said Esdaile had worked at the store since at least 2011. A Home Deport spokesman called the shooting an “isolated incident. “We’re deeply saddened by this tragedy. We are fully cooperating with the authorities on their investigation,” the spokesman said.
Jamaican national kills supervisor, commits suicide inside Home Depot
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
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PRIDE AND ANGER A person is supposed to have pride in themselves, their achievements, their family, their friends, and most of all in their country. In this regard, pride is a good thing. Sometimes, however, pride can be a bad thing. Being too proud can at times be the downfall of many. Not being willing to say sorry; not being willing to deal with an insult from someone we consider to be a lesser being; not being willing to say sorry; not being willing to ignore the ignorant; not being willing to compromise and treat others like human beings, are all symptoms of a pride which can lead to our own downfall. Each time I drive on our roadways, I see how pride makes us lose our temper. I see situations where a vehicle may cause another to veer from its path, and instead of
the affected driver simply excusing the actions of the other, he instead lets off a mouthful of profanity. I have seen motorists curse out each other, and for no apparent reason other than somebody did somebody wrong. It is because of pride this happens, with neither side willing to let bygones be bygones, interested in winning a battle rather than solving a problem. I have seen situations where the powerful go after the weak, simply because their pride was hurt by something said, done or omitted by the weaker person. I have seen powerful people behaving as if they are lords and demanding a level of respect, which if not forthcoming results in a vicious campaign of harassment and victimization
against the weak. The downfall of many a great person has been his or her pride. It is pride that sometimes drives people to violence. Each day you pick up the newspaper and you read stories of violence. Each day somebody dies because someone else could not control his or her anger. And the reason that triggered that anger is because someone did something to offend another’s pride. Yesterday, I picked up the newspaper and read about another unnatural death in our country. The cause was a quarrel between two persons. This quarrel leads to someone feeling that another should not be doing or saying something, leading to anger, and eventually to violence and murder.
Dem boys seh...
Sam Hinds going, Jagdeo coming back Power is not something that people does give up easy. Dem boys know people who use to be police and walk pun de road and holler pun people. When de man retire he still go to de station every day and tek up chair. Jagdeo was president and when he stop being president it was hard fuh he tek a back seat. He use to go and sit down in Ohh Pee. One time when Donald had to go out, he Jagdeo, tek control of de Cabinet meeting, and dem boys talk. Power suh sweet that de man does tun up at Ohh Pee any time and every time, because he like de salute he does get at de gate from dem sentry. He does also enjoy calling all dem government people and giving dem instructions. Well after a while when people start fuh point dem finger at he and calling he and he friends scamps and crooks, he tek a back seat. He start fuh come out in de night like Dracula wid a black hat.
However, is elections time and Rohee let out de big announcement. He tell dem boys that Jagdeo approach he and offer to do anything fuh get a chance fuh talk pun de platform. He seh that he had to ask Donald, who then tun and seh that he had to ask Jagdeo. Now Jagdeo got a plan fuh dem. He hear that Sam ain’t going back as Prime Minister, suh he decide that he gun be de Prime Minister. He plan fuh do a Putin. He gun be de richest Prime Minister in de region. And wha getting de ordinary man vex is that he gun get another salary pun top of what he getting already. He getting nearly $3 million as pension and allowance; he getting money from de climate change people and now he want to collect another $2 million as Prime Minister. That is greed; that is de power. And Rohee proud fuh announce it. Talk half and watch how Jagdeo reaching fuh power.
If only we can learn to suppress our pride, there would be less violence in our country, and particularly in our homes and in our relationship with others. I have always emphasized that sometimes it is best when you are wrong to not react; when you are insulted to not respond, because your response invariably will be based on your feelings of hurt, and it is best to act out of compassion and love rather than anger and hatred. The many incidents of domestic violence in Guyana are not going to abate unless we deal with the root causes of the violence. One suggestion which has been made is for countrywide anger management classes. But which target audience will these seminars meet? Will they reach down to those households which need it the most, and how will those households be identified? And would training persons how to deal
with anger end the cycle of violence? What needs to be understood is not only how to deal with anger, but more importantly, why one becomes angry. I am sure that if a detailed assessment was done on cases of anger, it will be found that the source of anger has to do with pride. Controlling our pride, learning to understand how to deal with situations which offend our pride, is therefore critical to understanding why there is so much violence within our society. It is terrible to see how lives are being destroyed in this country because persons are seeking to get even rather than finding the solution to a problem. Even if that solution entails someone having to give up ground, it is far better than having to assert one’s pride through destructive and violent actions. A good place to begin to control our pride is on our
roadways. There is too much verbal abuse taking place on our roadways. If someone drives in a manner that is reckless, it would be much more helpful, rather than cursing them out, if they can be advised in a friendly tone that what they are doing may be injurious to others. Similarly, in the home, if someone does something wrong, it is better to allow the passion of the moment to subside before responding. It is also important, before responding, to question our feelings and to ask why it is that we are feeling the way we are feeling. If the answer to that is because our pride was offended, then it is the offended person rather than the offender who has the greater problem.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Raphael Trotman’s theory of gridlock is nonsense When I was doing philosophy at university, I was already committed to a position of uncertainly about creation. Yet I found the philosophy of one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic Church very absorbing. Saint Thomas Aquinas’s argument had an uncanny resemblance to the concept of dialectics, though dialectics and creationism are opposed to each other. I liked the way Aquinas polemicized on the original existence of objects. For Aquinas, objects have derivatives. For him, objects are derived from the working of God. But even if you rejected God, then you have to find an explanation for the origins of objects. When I read an interview with House Speaker, Raphael
Trotman about gridlock in the 10th Parliament, I thought of my university days studying Aquinas. Trotman expatiated on the troubles of the 10th Parliament and pointed to gridlock as the cause of the failure of the 10th Parliament. But not one word was alluded to as to the source of the gridlock or its derivative. Trotman came across in that interview as an opportunistic politician, and his emanations bordered on crass, political dishonesty. In my life I can live and respect a person who is diametrically opposed to me. I don’t want to have anything to do with someone who is diametrically opposed to me but tries to deceive me by constantly telling me he loves and admires me.
Life is about knowing where you stand in relation to your friend and your enemy. Martin Luther King Jr. said; “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” I had this big argument last Friday afternoon in Stabroek Market. I accompanied Michael Carrington of the AFC to the market to buy a phone. I am at the stall waiting and this UG lecturer I knew, Sukrishnalall Pasha, passed by. Pasha is a devotee of PPP rule in Guyana. Stallholders listened attentively to our heated exchange and when Carrington was ready to leave, Pasha said people can disagree but still remain friends not enemies. I told Pasha that was silly reasoning. I want to be the enemy and not the friend of people who hurt others. A person cannot violate the rights of others and you and they remain on good terms. That is sickening nonsense. I
told Odinga Lumumba loudly in front of other protestors outside Parliament not to refer to me as his friend, because I am not his friend. But it goes beyond that. It goes back to Martin Luther King Jr. You know who your enemies are, but it is your socalled friends who may be just as bad as your enemies. Trotman gave a long interview to the Stabroek News and pulled down gridlock from the skies. This gridlock, Trotman had to reach for in the skies because it was never on the ground in Guyana. Trotman found gridlock in the skies. I found it on the ground. When people talk about gridlock of the 10th Parliament they have to describe the inherent, historical arrogance of the PPP. The 10th Parliament failed because a party that was in power for nineteen years before the 2011 election results became intoxicated with power and refused to acknowledge the political consequences of those
election results. Looking back at the 10th Parliament, the question is; given the nature of the Constitution with regards to the power of the presidency, what APNU, AFC and other stakeholders could have done to dissolve the continuous parliamentary impasse? They couldn’t do anything except go for a noconfidence motion, because the presidency is all-powerful and the concessions had to come from the Executive branch. But the presidency and the PPP leadership wanted the compromise to come from APNU and AFC and they wanted the compromise at the expense of the credibility of both of these parties. APNU broke the ranks of solidarity with the AFC and voted for the Cricket Bill. The PPP did not respond with any generous concession. The AFC was prepared to break ranks with APNU and give the presidency the Amaila Falls amendments.
Frederick Kissoon The AFC wanted in return, the implementation of the Procurement Commission. The presidency was inflexible on its rejection of the AFC’s request. This wasn’t gridlock, but the arrogance of power. Looking back at the 10th Parliament, one saw a morbid lust for domination by the PPP that prevented them from making even small concessions. These include the site of the 1823 monument and the composition of the Council of the University. The monument location was the business of African rights groups not the PPP’s, yet the PPP remained intransigent. The PPP was the cause of the gridlock.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Collaborations facilitating increased drug busts By Zena Henry Guyana has been making serious moves towards addressing the country’s narcotics situation, specifically the movement of illegal substances within the country’s borders and its subsequent shipment to international ports. With reports such as the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) released by the US State Department in 2011 dubbing Guyana a transshipment point for cocaine from countries such as Colombia and Venezuela, destined for North America, Europe, and the Caribbean, the United States has continuously offered to work with the country to remedy this aspect. With the report stating also that Guyana has shown marginal commitment to tackle the problem, the US has offered technical and financial support for Guyana to detect and address drug-related situations. One effective strategy employed by the Americans;
- US Charge d’Affaires is the placement of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) ranks based here at the local Embassy. The aim is to have the prominent American antidrug bureau here support local security agencies in various aspects of narcotics control. The Embassy saw it necessary for agents to have a permanent base at the local Embassy since the country was receiving information from those stationed in the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, a few of those anti-drug ranks are here in Guyana, US Charge d’Affaires, Bryan Hunt told this newspaper during an interview on Monday. He said that the agents here are on temporary duty assignment, while those for permanent replacements are in the process of recruitment. How soon those permanent officers will be in the country, depends on the internal hiring process within Drug
Enforcement Administration, he stated. Hunt has reported however, “good successes” between the Embassy and local agencies. He in fact celebrated a number of recent drug interceptions and attributed the successes to the closeness of the agencies. Hunt said that the DEA’s primary strategy at this moment relies on two key pivotal points. “We believe it is most effective to intercept a cocaine shipment when it is moving along Guyana’s internal waterway or when it reaches the port of departure, whether it is the airport or the port itself.” Hunt mentioned several high-profile seizures; including most recently, a Europe-bound vessel intercepted on the Demerara River at Linden and the semisubmersible vessel seized close to the Venezuelan
Tourism Ministry seeks automated system for construction permits The Ministry of Tourism, Industry & Commerce received a lone bid from a consultancy firm to conduct a diagnostic study and implementation of a Single Window Automated Processing System (SWAPS) for issuing construction permits in Guyana. The bid was opened yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Main and Urquhart Streets.
Guyana Water Inc. received five bids for expressions of interest for the consultancy service for a human resources management information system.
For the supply of office electronics for the Fourth Road Project, the Public Works Ministry received three bids.
Meanwhile, a solitary bid was submitted for the servicing and maintenance of the National Communications Network Inc. (NCN) fleet of vehicles.
For the provision of security services, NCN received four bids.
NCN also received a lone bid for the servicing and maintenance of air conditioning units.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett had signed a Letter of Agreement with US Ambassador Brent Hardt last year on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement. border. “If you follow a number of seizures that are happening at the airport, in particular the ports of departure, both on the cargo and passenger side, all of that is indicative of the collaboration that we now have.” The diplomat said that the Embassy, via the US agents, is helping to provide intelligence to the various law enforcement agencies here. The DEA possesses a global network so it has the ability to obtain information that might otherwise not be available to the Guyana government. “We are providing training on search and seizure methodologies as to how best to go about profiling atrisk cargo or at-risk passengers; how best to screen to detect when drugs are moving through the ports, and how best to generate local intelligence, so that they have a better idea of what is moving along the waterways.” The Embassy has also worked close with the Coast Guard to set up the metal shark programme, where they donated boats and others were purchased by the government. Former US Ambassador to Guyana Brent Hardt had
emphasized a greater need for inter-agency collaboration to fight against narcotrafficking, and had reported on talks with the government to establish the DEA unit here. He had stressed too, the nation’s porous borders, which make it easy for cargo of drug cartels to enter the country. His comments had come days after Guyana was implicated as a drug port for players in a major drug smuggling ring infiltrated by anti-drug units in the United States and Italy last February. Guyana has had a number of drug busts in the past
months; numerous inceptions occurring at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The most recent being a 192-kilo coke bust and the detention and subsequent fining of the company which owns the cargo ship MV DELTADIEP. Hunt reminded however, that DEA law enforcement personnel operating here work integrally with the customs anti-narcotics unit, the police force, anti narcotics force and other local agencies involved in aspects of drug trafficking like the special organized crime unit. They are not involved in arrests or such operations.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Nat’l accountability has been stymied by ill-advised decisions - House Speaker Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman and other politicians, are in agreement with recent statements by Former Auditor General (AG), Anand Goolsarran that Guyana is in a crisis situation when it comes to proper accountability for taxpayers’ dollars. “It’s regrettable that (President) Ramotar’s illadvised decision to prorogue the Parliament led to casualties such as this, where national accountability has been stymied,” Speaker Trotman opined. In his recent writings, Goolsarran posited, among other opinions, that since Trotman was unable to lay the AG’s 2013 Report, it means that, “accountability has therefore suffered another serious blow, since by the time the Assembly convenes, some 18 months would have elapsed before citizens would have had any knowledge of how financial resources allocated for 2013 were expended.” The Auditor General’s Report on the public accounts for 2013 was presented to the Speaker on
September 30, 2014, but he was unable to lay the report in the Assembly because of the prorogation of Parliament. AFC’s Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo agreed implicitly with Goolsarran. He told Kaieteur News in a brief interview, that prorogation has truly affected the Parliament, and as a consequence, taxpayers are not able to know to what extent their money was misused, and on what, by the current administration. He said that it is rather unfortunate that taxpayers’ would not be able to benefit from Auditor General Deodat Sharma’s critique of the country’s accounts. Nagamootoo asserted that the absence of the report means that the National Assembly was deprived of that opportunity to scrutinize the areas where irregularities exist for 2013. “The prorogation has denied us the opportunity to really see what went on for that year, and as such, national accountability has been hindered,” he added. APNU’s Shadow Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge who served as the Chairman of the
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma
House Speaker, Raphael Trotman
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran
APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also shared his take on the matter. The PAC is responsible for scrutinizing the AG’s reports and delivering its own report, consisting of its findings and recommendations, to the government. Greenidge said that even though the Parliament is prorogued, the responsibilities of the AG have not been amended and since he is still being paid, is expected to carry out his duties as per normal. This, he said, means that the AG is expected to continue scrutinizing the accounts of the country.
The financial expert said that the AG would not every year, go through the entire accounts of the country, but would take samples from certain agencies and provide his analysis of his findings. The APNU Shadow Minister of Finance said that the AG would carry out his audit in this manner because he does not have the resources to carry out indepth investigations every year. He reminded that the PAC has highlighted on several occasions that Sharma, as well as his agency, lacks the capacity to efficiently report on the accounts of the
country, and that his reports have often been found wanting in many areas. But on Goolsarran’s point that the inability to lay the 2013 AG report represents a blow to accountability, Greenidge said that he highly supports this statement. He said that the government continues to spend, in spite of what the National Assembly says, and that among other financial violations are expected to be well documented in the AG’s report. How this is dealt with, Greenidge said, is truly up to the AG, the courts and the electorate. With further reference to
the court, Greenidge said that APNU is dissatisfied with the pace at which the Court is handling the 2012 Budgets Cut case, and felt that more could have been done, especially with a matter that is at the heart of national accountability. “The procedures of the court are as such that it has left the government with free hands,” he opined. He reiterated his agreement with Goolsarran’s position and went further to state that, “the process of accountability has not only been stymied by the AG 2013 report not being laid, but also Continued on page 24
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 21
Marriott deliberately stealing employees from local hotels - Badal Owner of Pegasus Hotel has accused the nearby Marriott Hotel of deliberately stealing his workers.
President Donald Ramotar Robert Badal, owner of Pegasus Hotel and a leading investor in the industry, is calling on Marriott Hotel to stop pouching employees from local entities. He is also asking President Donald Ramotar to disclose to the nation details of the 500 new jobs he promised that Marriott Hotel would be creating, in an attempt to justify the US$57M being spent. Badal disclosed that all of the executive management personnel recruited by Marriott are foreigners. “In recruiting lower level staff, Marriott is pouching staff from reputable local businesses in Georgetown including the Pegasus Hotel. One city hotel has even banned Marriott Hotel’s officials from entering its compound because of unethical practices in pouching its employees.” The businessman disclosed that Marriott is tempting its employees with much larger salaries which are being covered not by Marriott but the Guyanese taxpayers. “In addition to generous fiscal concessions of a tenyear holiday of no corporate tax, no withholding tax, no property tax, no tax on consumables and capital renewal, the Government is now paying for salaries of well-paid expats and other staff. This puts all hotels in Georgetown at a highly uncompetitive position,” Badal said. The businessman pointed out that local
Pegasus Hotel’s owner, Robert Badal
Winston Brassington hotels have invested their own money with bank financing and have over the years contributed significantly to tax revenue o f t h e l o c a l e c o n o m y, earning foreign exchange and creating employment. “If Marriott wants to
operate a hotel in Guyana it must invest its own money.” Badal called on the Ramotar administration to stop spending the taxes Guyanese pay on the Marriott Hotel. The businessman had earlier this month offered to invest US$8M in Marriott to become the 67 percent equity shareholder, but Government refused. Government had formed a special company, Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI), which is managing the construction and shares of the company. Under the financing arrangement, Government invested just over US$20M and was looking to raise US$27M more from a syndicated loan arranged by Republic Bank Trinidad. Another US$8M would have been coming from two Hong Kong businessmen.
However a court case filed by Member of Parliament, Desmond Trotman, blocking the transfer of the land, has held up those monies. The US$8M would have controversially allowed the two Hong Kong businessmen to gain a 67 percent control of the hotel. But that investment is held up by the court case.
Government has remained silent where it found the monies to carry on construction as the hotel is set to open in a few months time. The Opposition has been asking, but Head of AHI Winston Brassington, and Government, have refused to answer. The extravagant incentives and other benefits to Marriott have left other
hotel operators extremely worried as the new 197-room hotel in Kingston, when it comes on stream this year, is more than likely to close them down. Last month, Brassington admitted that financing for the project was in jeopardy because of the court case filed by Opposition Member of Parliament, Desmond Trotman.
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Kaieteur News
SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257
VACANCY Admin Assistant, within the vicinity of E.B.D & W.B.D. Must be well spoken & have 5 CXC subjects including: Maths & English. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com International Cruiseline Purser officers, waitresses, waiters, cooks, receptionists, storekeepers, cleaners, electricians, carpenters, printers, cosmetologists etc – Tel: 231-6296, 650-9880 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 695-9880; 669-4755 Accounts Clerk: Qualifications, 5 CXC subjects, DacEasy & QuickBooks @ August Beverages Ent, 27 Norton & Creen Sts. N/Burg One manager @ Hotel /Club @ Essequibo Coast, knowledge in hotel field & promotional skills, accommodation provided – Contact: 226-9768 Work from home: Earn $5,000 to $20,000 daily, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday - Call: 233-6517/ 638-0595 or www.jobfairworldwide.com One Diesel Mechanic to work in the interior, must have experienced – Contact: 226-9768 Experienced hairdresser & sales clerk @ West Shore Plaza, 15 Public Road, Ruimzeight W.C.D – Call: 269-1524 or 656-3561
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL: CARS & SUV FOR RENTAL-$4,000&UPPERDAYCALL: 643-5122, 219-3900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206 Vyper Sound System/Studio: Hire, all events, recording of songs, building of Rhythms, etc - Tel: 265-3586, 603-9074 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIRCONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES, FREEZERS- CALL:6294946 OR 225-4822 Repairs to plasma, Led television etc – Call: Abdul Electronics: 225-0391
Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTAL CALL: 225-7126/ 2263693 DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM/ WWW.DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL.COM
MASSAGE Relax your mind and body with a soothing massage – Tel:674-8147
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 5 Acre fruit bearing farm with small cottage sale of least option on Demerara River – Tel: 261-2988 Properties for rent for business purposes only @ 23 Saffon Street Charlestown & 164 Alexander Street Kitty - Call Devon: 663-1876 & 678-5721 Five bedrooms house, 107 Lamaha Gardens & Large Parking; AC Rooms Hot & Cold, Purified Water System – Call: 661-8908, 335-3590 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, , JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE - CALL: 6750767, 639-8101 Fully furnished & unfurnished apartment with TV, Air- Condition, hot & cold, cable in South. Call: 6895877 Barber shop space to rent located @ Diamond Scheme – Call: 655-1829. 3 Bedrooms house to rent @ South Vryheid’s Lust Housing Scheme - Call: 6277092 Prime business place to rent on Sheriff Street, only for offices – Contact: 627-6740
LEARN TO DRIVE
Companion for retired gentleman 38yrs+. Reply with photo to bobbyother@yahoo.com
Mill Cut Lumber Kabukalli, Silverballi, Etc – Call: 6539752; 688-6579
FOR RENT
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar: 2310655, 683-8734
PEN PAL
Certificate in: Cosmetology, nails, wig designs, early child care/ care for elderly classes commence February Call: 666-5241/ 619-7603
Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security - Tel: 698-7807; 690-6494 DRESSMAKING Jean offers courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration @ Barr Street Kitty - Call: 6702653; 618-1706
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Lincoln 500 AMP diesel welders with Perkins 4 cylinder engine - Tel#650-0402
PANEL/FANCY GLASS DOORS @ HADCO IN BAGOTSTOWN PUBLIC ROAD, NEXT TO HARBOUR BRIDGE MALL CALL: 233-6743 Plastic shipping Barrel$6,000; XBOX One $100,000; Nintendo DS $15,000; PSP - $20,000 - Tel: 603-8643/ 621-7497 Cat 320 CL 2005 only 3800HRs sold as is, cash offer only, must go – Contact Azim: 660-3235 Five gallon water bottle caps $25 per piece Call: 614-8957 6500 Watts Construction Grade on wheel Honda Generator - $390,000 – Tel: 261-2988 18 New Home lite Chain Saw, leather sofa, others too many to list – Tel: 261-2988 1-250 KVA Generator $3.6M, 1-110 KVA Generator - $1.8M, 1-9 KVA Generator $700,000 – Call: 223-8161 Complete Snapper Boats for sale – Excellent Condition – Contact: 6486815; 670-4459 Game Shop Equipment for sale - Call: 610-0808 Woodmizer industrial Resaw 75 KW generator and edger, perfect condition – Call: 6832575 Beautiful Tibetan Terrier pups for sale – Call: 696-7467 Used 10 sheet gas oven for bakery – Tel:611-4536; 6775172 Household items for sale, plants, 1 galaxy s4 (brand new) – Call: 675-4066
3 Bedrooms house at 19 Goedverwagting. E.C.D opposite Pradoville, 2 months deposit upfront. Call: 222-9098 or 614-9516 for details On business place to rent opposite Stewartville Primary and Secondary School, W.C.D – Tel: 6135261 2 Bedrooms upper flat $45,000 per month at Grove New Scheme, E.B.D –Call: 642-1956 Office space to rent, 37 Cummings Street, Alberttown (Jus Cakes Building) Tel: 2311154
Wednesday January 28, 2015
WANTED One mechanic to work in the interior, must have experienced with Perkins & Cummins Engine – Call: 6916260 One couple to work on live stock farm, one live in cook Tel:614-2464;612-2057;225-1276 Experienced dispatcher and taxi drivers at Princess Hotel @ Providence – Tel: 2657076; 616-5419 Presser / Clipper, straight stitch/over edge machine operators, cleaner – Call: 2222541 (8:00am-4:00pm) (Mon-Fri). Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 General handyman – Call: 227-5500 Waiters/ Waitresses, apply in person to Aracari Resort, West Bank Demerara. To live in with a single female 35-55yrs @ Lillandale Betterhope – Call: 687-6636; Beeson Window & Doors #641-9000 Urgently needed; attractive waitresses - Tel: 686-3116 Porters wanted to work at grocery stalls @ Stabroek Market – Tel:226-9800 Salesgirls & porters; apply with written application at Best Buy Food Supplies @ Lot 1E Dennis & Middleton Street Campbellville. Experienced driver apply with written application @ Hacks Halaal Restaurant, 5 Commerce Street. One barber, nail technician & hairdresser – Call: 225-5360; 625-7844; 687-7566 Hairstylists and Braidists needed at salon in Tortola. 5+ years working experience. Emailbvisalonowner @gmail. com or call 1-284-543-6822 Sales clerk to work @ Nanda’s Boutique 223 Camp St. Next to Shell Gas Station, apply with application Live in caretaker for sawmill at Linden Highway – Tel: 2612553 One welder, must know grill work Call: 625-5763 Switch to Gulf Motor Oil, Dealer & Distributors wanted nationwide – Call: 260-2037 or email sales@two2brotherscorp.com
ACCOMMODATION Harmony Inn Apartments: comfortable & clean apartments & rooms - $5000, $6,000 & $7,000 – Tel:6680306; 218-1400; 694-7817. Your luxury hideaway…… PROPERTY FOR SALE Two storey building located at Lot 35 Ketley and Howes Street, Charlestown, prime location for business – Tel: 623-9679
Driver living in Georgetown with mini bus license for contract, also relief Driver for Sundays - Call:646-8748 One male shop attendant, age 18-25 yrs and one grocery stall for sale – Call: 679-1151 Wash bay attendant from G/ town, driver’s license will be an asset – Call: 629-5913 We buy all low income land; pay all legal fees – Tel:6757292; 652-2018
VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Prado, Price$5.5M Neg. Call: 643-2403 Toyota Voxy to register in ‘B’ fully loaded never registered - $2.1M - Call: 6172891 Nissan Titan for sale; immaculate condition, owner leaving country - Call: 641-4556 One Nissan Wingroad car, year 2005, price -$1.8M neg. Call: 669-3467 Toyota Premio and Toyota Spacio (new model) never registered. Contact: 227-5950, 681-7117 1 Honda, Fit, rims, spoiler & dark interior, CD/DVD, navigation, PPP Series, one owner - Contact Chris: 6807070 One 170 Carina “As is, where is” - $500,000 – Call: 678-0111; 616-3492 AT 170 Toyota Carina – EFI, AC, Alarm, Mags - $650,000 Neg. – Call: 673-7652 1 Pitbull minibus, stick gear, BPP series, mag rims- $2.2M neg. Call: 673-7652 Double cab Tacoma – Tel: 623-9761 Mitsubishi Lancer car (lady driven) owner leaving country - Call: 638-3203 One Toyota Tundra - Tel: 602-3585 Trade in: T/Alteeza Benz C200, Sale! Spacio, Used T212 – Tel:679-3140 1 Toyota Landcruiser Prado PMM Series Call: 219-5354 Monday- Friday 8:15-4:15Pm & Saturday 8:15-1:15PM 1 Massey Ferguson, 135 in excellent condition – Tel:6169505; 228-5220 Farm workers – Call: 265-3586 One Toyota Alteeza, excellent condition, spider, mag rims, flair kit – Price $2.75M neg – Tel:648-0494; 642-0786 R1 Motorcycle (red) under 1,000 miles- Call: 227-5500 7-250 4X4; off road tyres – Call: 227-5500. New Arrivals @ OJ’s Auto Imports: Allion 2008, IST, Fielder, Allion 2003, Premio. Tel:609-2815 Toyota Tacoma 4X4, stick shift, AC, crash bar, immaculate condition – Call: 442-3311; 616-4115 Toyota IST PMM 755, 65 CF GSS 6715, 75 DAF GNN 5366, price negotiable – Contact Johnson: 613-5212 or 664-1030 FOR SALE/FOR RENT American Pool Table – Tel: 277-0578 (Continued on page 23)
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 23
CHINESE PROPOSE US$70M JOINT FISHERY PROJECT …but local operators’ concerns still not addressed Amid existing concerns of “depleting” fish resources and no definite word from the government on the Chinese interest in the fishing sector, the Administration is in receipt of a mega US$70M (approx. G$1.4B) proposal by a Chinese company wishing to cash in on the country’s local fishing grounds. On September 24 last year, when Kaieteur News had asked Agriculture Minister Leslie Ramsammy about the Chinese fishing interests, he told the publication that the foreign nationals were in the country assessing the industry, but they had not made any proposal. He said that they were hoping to do so before leaving Guyana. However, a proposal from Chinese company Fuzhou Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co. Ltd. to the Agriculture Ministry dated September 18, last, shows that the foreigners want 30 fishing licences to conduct “fishing, cold storage, processing and trade activities.” If approved, the Chinese company will conduct its activities under the Hongfeng (Guyana) Fishery Development Co. Ltd., which will control some 30 fishing vessels and one or two auxiliary vessels. Fishing methods would include drift net, trawl and set net fishing. They plan to construct cold storages, processing plants, ice plants, fuel tanks, fishing port and office building, accommodation and other supporting facilities. At first the Chinese want to conduct testing for the three types of fishing methods which would be no more than one year. The success of the tests will see the full implementation of the project by stages, and the construction of a fishery base. The Chinese told the Ministry that in terms of the establishment of the company and registry of fishing vessels, “the fishery
company will be registered and incorporated by the end of December, 2014... and the Chinese registry of fishing vessel will keep unchanged”. “The operation waters of industrial vessels is beyond 12 nautical miles offshore,” the Chinese proposal indicates. “…in approved fishing method for any fish species, except for species prohibited by the existing laws of Guyana.” These laws, they said, would be observed as any local fisherman. No fish aggregation devices or Turtle Excluder Device will be installed, they said. They say however, that vessel monitoring systems (VMS) device will be installed. Sorting, processing, packaging and freezing will be done on the vessel directly or at the fish processing plant. The Chinese also want the freedom to export the processed fish, according to market demand, without limitation. Fishing vessel specifications will be Trawlers long from 36-40m, drift netter and set net vessels from 3035m, fetching several hundred tonnages with 698-950 and 441-580 kw (horsepower). The auxiliary vessels will be determined according to tests. The size of trawler net mesh will range from 1.5m to 5.5cm. Drift net mesh is around 14cm, while set net mesh, according to the Chinese, will be determined by the country’s regulations. The Chinese say that should Guyana accept their proposal, the country stands to benefit from new fishing techniques and methods and improved fisheries production and processing technologies as well as management. The project will increase fiscal revenue and foreign exchange income. It will bring job opportunity to locals in the processing plant area. The Chinese have asked the government to coordinate
and give preferential tax policies. They seek also tax exemptions on the import of fuel, living supplies, repair parts and other operation equipment and construction material that they will be bringing with them. Kaieteur News was unable to get an update on the current status of the fishing proposal when it was sought two days ago. The local fishing community has totally rejected any approval for the Chinese project. When they got wind of a possible Chinese interest in September 2013, members of the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) expressed concern and dismay should the government move to licence the Chinese. They claimed that the project would surely pressure the industry and local operators, since the proposal came during a period when local sea operators were being urged to reduce fleet numbers
because of dwindling stocks and a growing need for more protection in the fishing industry. In 2010, they had stated, an overhaul of the industry was suggested with the aim of reducing the number of operating trawlers by January 1, 2011. They said it would be a slap in the face if the government were to approve those licences, and a possible strain on especially small local operators who will be unable to match or compete with the advanced Chinese operation. TO LET Three bedrooms upper flat concrete building, parking $70,000 monthly @ Block 8 Agriculture Road E.C.D – Call: 687-1050 Fully Furnished vacation home with all amenities- Call during working hours – Call: 227-1218 Furnished 1 & 2 bedrooms apartments: AC, grilled, parking (walking distance to Caricom & UG) – Call: 6233404 or 222-6708
(From page 22)
LAND FOR SALE 1500 Acres Transported Land @ Bartica 2 ¾ miles River Front, Virgin Rock, Quarry Resort – Call Mark: 704-4652222/603-1266 House Lots in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities @ Eccles, 60X100 - $7.5M. (Special prices) - Call: 2272913; 683-3033 Eccles: Commercial lots for sale at Eccles – Tel:227-2913. Cell: 683-3033 1. Parika, Peter Street; 2. Blankenburg, behind gas station lot size: 75’X76' (3 parcels)= Contact 650-0402 Located in Republic Gardens, Peters Hall, E.B.D. Interest person – Contact: 231-5359 or 672-7189 Riverside land for sale Upper Demerara River, 90 Acres, Please Call: 678-1575 or 223-5890 Grove E.B.D Caneville 4th Field, 1St Street, Concrete $3M 20X40 land 40X100, Parfaite W.B.D Land 45X80 $1.1M – Call:231-2199; 6187483 Parfaiete Harmonie - $1.5M & $4M (high income 110ftX50ft), Eccles - $3.5M, Providence -$4M, Tuschen $2.2M – Call: 675-7292; 6522018 Transported double land lot for sale 100X80 - $16M negotiable – Call:645-0977; 696-2319.
PROPERTY FOR SALE Land with small concrete house; for sale in Grove over 8,000 Sq. Ft. Call: 612-4030; 216-2759 Property at Kersaint Park L.B.I, E.C.D – Contact: 6641865; 698-5713 Transported Property @ Grove/Diamond, 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained, concrete fence, grilled store room & Shed, (45X26) – Call: 660-1353, 216-4338 Corner Property, Grove Public Road - $29M Neg. Call: 613-5645 One concrete two storey building; nine bedrooms @ Samatta Point, Grove E.B.D Tel: 602-3585 Houses & house lots for sale in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities, located @ Eccles E.B.D Tel: 227-2913; 683-3033 House in Lamaha Gardens: 2 self contained rooms, fully concreted – Call: 227-2027 Thomas Street: ideal for Doctors nurse, good location, 3 stories large land – Call: 227-2027. Two flat concrete and wooden building on land 76’X65’, East Street, Georgetown – Call: 225-6330 Property @ Water Pum Street Leonora (24X58) – Tel:6425799 One two storey, 3 bedroom wooden concrete house, fully grilled, ideal for business, spacious land at Enterprise – Call: 667-9781
EDUCATIONAL Balloon Decorating Classes. January 31st – Call: 225-3133 or 613-7513 for more information & registration Earn a certificate in cosmetology or nails alone. Call Miss Jenny: 225-5360; 625-7844; 687-7566 Learn a skill & supplement your income; course offered: Sewing, Floral, Curtain Design, Fabric paint & tie dye – Call: 661-7502 9 Courses Diploma In computers: offices 2013, IT $30,000 @ Micrographics , Vreed-En-Hoop: 264-3057 Computerized Accounting Quick Books; Peach Tree; Excel 2013 @ Micrographics , Vreed-En-Hoop: 264-3057
WANTED Musicians to play in a Bar at Parika, keyboard, Bass guitar, rhythm guitar, head guitar and vocals – Phone: 685-6934 Live in domestic must know to cook - $60,000, boarding & lodging free, age 30-50yrs – Call: 610-5043 One DJ/Selection to work at Club in Essequibo, salary range - $48,000 per month – Contact: 226-9768 One Store attendant, age range 19-27yrs @ Reliance Imports – Tel: 231-6854/ 6224773
Page 24
Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
US seizes more cash Pit bulls viciously attack schoolgirl in Diamond from Ed Ahmad The US Government, as part of its move to collect US$500,000 from embattled Guyanese businessman, Ed Ahmad, has collected another hefty sum as part of a courtordered forfeiture agreement. According to receipts filed on January 20 with the US Marshals, a cheque for the amount of US$27,662.18 was lodged. Earlier this month, US$28.662.18 was also lodged. On November 28th, US Attorneys wrote Judge Dora Irizarry of the Eastern District of New York, asking that she grant a forfeiture order. Ahmad, well known in Guyana for his business and other interests, has to pay the monies before he is sentenced. On October 10, 2012, the defendant pleaded guilty, before the same Judge, on count one of the ten-count criminal complaint against him. He told the court that his attorney had advised him that there is no viable defence to the charges against him. In admitting guilt, Ahmad told Judge Irizarry that between January 1995 and January 2009, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, together with others, he knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud several lending institutions, in a mortgage fraud scheme that lasted almost 15 years.
Ed Ahmad The United States Attorney’s office alleges that Ahmad was part of a scheme that defrauded American lending institutions of approximately US$50M, obtaining approval for mortgages on various properties by falsifying documents submitted to the lending institutions, using a string of straw buyers, and other illegal practices. In detailing the allegations against the Queens businessman with strong political connections, Judge Irizarry outlined a scheme which had as its victims not only financial institutions, but also many ordinary New Yorkers, most of whom were Guyanese immigrants pursuing the American dream of owning
their own homes, only to find themselves trapped in a real estate scheme, which ultimately resulted in them losing their homes in foreclosure proceedings while Ahmad and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars. Ahmad admitted in court that he knew what he was doing was illegal. Before Ahmad entered his plea, in 2012, Judge Irizarry informed him that his guilty plea would mean that he would be faced with a mandatory US$500,000 criminal forfeiture, and a fine that is double the gross monetary loss caused by his conduct. The government has pegged the momentary loss at US$14M. While the offence that Ahmad pleaded guilty to carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines will determine exactly how much of those 30 years he is actually sentenced to. Prosecutors had asked for a jail term of between 121 and 151 months (approximately 10 to 13 years). Ahmad would also be placed on probation for a period that could be up to five years after serving his time. Ahmad’s case has attracted much attention from the media in Guyana and in New York, fueled by his strong political connections locally and in the U.S.
Jady Joseph Residents of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara are calling on police ranks to either kill or capture two pit bulls that have been roaming the community for at least a month and attacking passersby. The demands escalated yesterday after the dogs viciously attacked a 10year-old girl in the vicinity of Eleventh Avenue as the child was heading to her parents’ home after lessons. Jady Joseph, who attends the New Diamond/Grove Primary, was bitten on the legs and left hand after the dogs pounced on her and knocked her to the ground. Only the presence of residents, who threw missiles at the dogs, saved her from further harm. She was admitted to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital. The child, who lives at Twenty-First Avenue, Diamond, told Kaieteur News that she had just left classes and was walking along the access road, near Eleventh Avenue, when the two dogs,
said to be pit bulls, pounced on her and began to bite her. “People came and pelted them and a taxi driver took me to the hospital,” the child recalled. Jady’s mother, Latoya Joseph, said that the same taxi driver informed her of the attack. The animals reportedly belong to a Fifth Avenue resident, whose home is located near to the Diamond access road, which pedestrians, including
children, traverse daily. Police ranks reportedly visited the residence, but failed to find the owner. Kaieteur News understands that the person who owns the animals travels regularly to the interior and that the dogs are often left unattended. This newspaper has received previous complaints of the dogs escaping from the property and attacking children.
Nat’l accountability... From page 12 by the Court.” Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, also weighed in on the issue yesterday. Trotman said that he agreed with the position taken by the former AG. “The AG had the 2013 report ready, but this is one of the casualties of the prorogation which President Donald Ramotar chose to do instead of facing the AFC-sponsored No-Confidence Motion. By doing this you have essentially thrown out the baby and the bath water. And I think that is what the European Union was referring to when it withheld the funds allocated for budgetary support for Guyana, because there is no National Assembly to provide that needed oversight,” the House Speaker asserted. The 11th Parliament, he added, will have to undertake reviewing the AG’s 2013 and 2014 reports when the latter is finished.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 25
Alleged victim testifies in Colin Mack rape trial The woman who alleges that she was abducted, raped and assaulted by Colin Mack, yesterday gave the court a detailed account of what she recalls transpired on the day the alleged incident took place. Mack is on trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed twelve-member jury at the High Court in Georgetown. The matter is being prosecuted by State Attorneys Stacy Gooding, Mercedes Thompson and Diana Kaulesar. Mack is charged with the rape, assault and forcible abduction of a female. According to the indictment Mack had sexual intercourse with a 19-year-old without her consent on April 12, 2009. Reports are that the victim was abducted and taken to a house in Festival City where she was held against her will. The teen claimed that she was held for several hours at a Festival City house, where the accused allegedly raped and assaulted her. The teen said that she shouted for help, but no one came to her rescue even though the houses were within close proximity. She says that she managed to escape after a taxi driver came to her rescue. Yesterday, the victim (now twenty-five years old) related to the court that she was friends with the popular party promoter for about five years before the incident occurred.
Rape accused: Colin Mack She said that they would say “hi and bye,” whenever they would cross paths. After taking the witness stand, the victim pointed out the accused to the court and detailed that Mack had invited her out two days before the incident occurred. The woman explained that on April 10, she met Mack on the road as she was waiting on public transportation to get to her cousin’s house. She said that the accused who was driving at the time offered her a drop and she accepted. She said that on the way over to her cousin’s, Mack invited her out to hang at Latino Bar but she did not accept the invitation. They exchanged numbers. The witness said that she was at home the following day, when she received a telephone call from the accused,
who inquired whether she was going to a reggae show at the National Park later that evening. She testified that she knew that it was Mack who called her since she recognized his voice over the phone. The witness said the accused asked what she was doing at the time and she told him that she was heading to the salon. She said that Mack offered her a ride to the salon and she accepted. According to the victim, that day Mack drove her to the salon and her seamstress in Kitty. She said that he picked her up later that evening and they went to the Reggae show. The woman told the court that she agreed to go with the accused to the Latino Bar later that night. She said that Mack took her home where she changed her footwear since she had “twisted her ankle,” at the show; they subsequently went to Club Latino and Blue Iguana before she requested that the accused take her home since she started feeling unwell. The witness told the court that after they left the club, she noticed that the ac-
cused was not driving in the direction of her home. After inquiring from Mack what was happening, the woman said that he told her that he was tired; he would call a taxi to take her home after he would have arrived at his residence. She said that she kept insisting that she wanted to go home. The woman testified that after arriving at the premises in Festival City, the accused instructed her to get out of the car but she refused. She said that the accused then came out from the vehicle and pulled her by her hair out of the car. She said that she started to scream and attempted to fight off the accused who carried her up the stairs. Once inside the house, the woman said that Mack forced her into a front bedroom of the house. She related that she continued to fight the accused who began to “forcefully” remove her clothes. She told the court that Mack slammed her on to the bed and tried to pry her legs open to have sex with her. The witness said that after a few minutes of being unsuccessful Mack left the room. She said he returned sometime later with a female who
she claimed assisted him in the act. She said that after “taking me to the back bedroom”, Mack told the other woman to perform oral sex on her. The victim said that the female did as she was instructed. She said that she was crying at the time and the accused threatened to kill her if she didn’t stop. According to the woman, before the accused could have penetrated her, she asked him to use a condom and he did. She said that the accused then proceeded to have “sexual intercourse with me without my consent.” Sometime after the incident, the victim said that she attempted to escape but the house was locked. She said that she began searching for her clothing and cell phone but she only found her pants and cell phone, after which she called her mother and a taxi driver to collect her. The woman said that she
attempted to jump from a window to escape after the taxi driver arrived, but the accused pulled her back in the house. It was then, she said, that the accused decided to let her out of the house. Once in the taxi, the witness said that she went to the East La Penitence Police Station, where she made a report. Under cross examination by defence attorney Peter Hugh, the victim admitted that she never tried to call anyone as she was being transported to the home of the accused. She admitted too that no one had restricted her from using her cell phone at that time. The woman told the court yesterday that she could not find her underwear after the incident, but admitted under cross examination that she had told the magistrate that she did indeed find her underwear before leaving Mack’s house. The trial will continue today.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Timehri escapee Another woman jumps to shot, recaptured death from Harbour Bridge - wounded Popeye’s robbery suspect flees GPHC An escaped prisoner had his freedom cut short when he was recaptured in the Grove, East Bank Demerara area, mere hours after he fled from the Timehri Prison yesterday afternoon. Dindyal Persaud is nursing a gunshot wound to the leg after he was shot by a prison warder who was among a party that was hunt-
ing him down after the escape. Details of the escape are sketchy, but Kaieteur News understands that Persaud, a drug addict, who had two years left on his sentence for escaping from lawful custody, was working in the prison yard at Timehri when he made good his escape. But his thirst for drugs led
him back to a drug yard in his home village. Prison warders acting on information went to the drug block and surely enough they found Persaud there. The escapee, who was desperate not to be taken back to prison, made a bid to elude capture but was shot in the leg, rendering him immobile. The injured escapee was taken to the Diamond Hospital where he was receiving treatment up to last night. For the troubles he caused, Persaud will surely spend a longer time in prison than the two years he had left. Meanwhile, police were up to late last night trying to track down wounded robbery suspect Nicholas James, who escaped from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Male Surgical Ward at around 19.00 hrs yesterday. James, 23, was shot in the buttocks last Monday night during a robbery attempt at the Popeye’s fast food establishment in Vlissengen Road. Kaieteur News understands that a police rank, who was guarding James, said he last saw him at around 18.00 hrs, and that the suspect was handcuffed to his bed. The rank is being questioned at the Brickdam Police Station.
(From page 3) told that on arriving at the scene, the rank saw the woman clutching a bag and standing at the edge of the structure. According to this source, the rank called out to the woman, who turned to look at the policewoman, before jumping overboard. “When she noticed the corporal, she jumped off the bridge, Adams said. “At that point we made the necessary contact with the
Marine Police, Providence, and the police on the West Coast Demerara. “The police came and took a statement from the corporal who went on the scene of the incident. As of now, we are running the cameras to see if we can identify the person going on the bridge and from which end.” Ranks from the Police Marine Branch at Ruimveldt scoured the waters for the victim, before finding her at GDF Coast Guard wharf at
Ruimveldt base. It was on December 24, last, that 34year-old Felicia Hussein climbed onto the rails of the Demerara Harbour Bridge and jumped into the deep waters. Her lifeless body was recovered some 45 minutes later. Hussein’s sister, Gwendolyn Lowden, who identified the body the following day, said that her sister, who lived with her mother at Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara, had been battling with mental illness.
Suspended Magistrates still awaiting date with... (From page 3) provision in the laws of Guyana for non-custodial sentence for persons found guilty of drug trafficking. With regards to Magistrate Sohan, the JSC is looking into a complaint made by a woman, in relation to a court matter involving domestic violence. The matter was heard in 2013 at the Vreed en Hoop Magistrate’s Court, when Sohan was briefly presiding there. There are allegations that Sohan appeared to be biased towards the woman’s husband during the time he was
dealing with the matter. However, according to a source, Sohan is known to the couple and merely gave advice for an amicable settlement of the matter before it was dragged through the court. Sohan is also being accused of leaving the jurisdiction without permission. Magistrates are required to get approval from the Chancellor of the Judiciary to travel overseas. This newspaper was reliably informed that Sohan left the country on compassionate leave to attend the funeral of a very close relative. The
source said that at the time, Sohan tried to get the approval of the Chancellor of the Judiciary Carl Singh to deal with his travel request on compassionate grounds, but he was not in the country. He reportedly secured the blessing of his immediate boss, the Chief Magistrate, who re-assigned some of his cases to other magistrates. But perhaps the most troubling infraction being looked at by the JSC is what it called “some inconsistencies” with regards to Ma g i s t r a t e Sohan’s dealing with other court matters.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
Blizzard pounds U.S. northeast, New York spared its brunt (Reuters) - A U.S. blizzard swept past New York City and struck hardest at some 4.5 million people around Boston, dropping nearly three feet of snow in areas and triggering high tides that breached a seawall and forced residents to flee their coastal homes. The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut lifted travel bans they had imposed a day earlier and New York City’s subway system restarted after being closed for 10 hours, but officials urged people to stay off snowcovered roadways. The snow was forecast to continue into early Wednesday morning in eastern New England, which could set a new snowfall record in Boston, where 20.8 inches (53 cm) of snow was already on the ground early afternoon, often piled higher by strong winds. “There are drifts now of
four, five and six feet in some places,” Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker told reporters. Boston-area subways would remain closed for at least the rest of the day, Baker said. Storm-driven coastal flooding added to the state’s woes, with low-lying towns south of Boston seeing flood damage. High tides breached a seawall in Marshfield, Massachusetts, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Boston, damaging 11 homes, several of which were condemned, police said. Waves were splashing over the damaged seawall by afternoon and local police urged residents of the area to evacuate before the next high tide, expected at 5 p.m. ET. Denise Gorham, 57, said she spent the morning watching a heavy wooden shed filled with six window air conditioners float away on waters that surrounded the
house after the breach. “It’s been horrible. I’ve been here 12 years and we’ve weathered every single storm. It was just like the ocean was on the street itself,” said Gorham, a writer, who was trying to keep warm over her fireplace after the power went out. The heaviest snowfall was recorded outside Boston, with 32.5 inches (83 cm) reported in Auburn, Massachusetts, and 30 inches (76.2 cm) reported in Framingham. Authorities were also working to restore power at the resort island of Nantucket, off Massachusetts, where most homes and businesses had lost power early in the day, Baker said. Some 45,900 customers across the storm-hit region were without power, according to local utilities, with the bulk of the outages on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and outlying islands.
(Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatist forces said on Tuesday they had pushed Ukrainian government troops out of two districts on the outskirts of their main stronghold Donetsk, and their aim was to expand their control to the entire region. A rebel advance launched last week has dashed a fivemonth truce, reignited a war that has killed more than 5,000 people and brought threats of new sanctions on Moscow, which NATO accuses of backing the separatists with money, arms and troops. The separatists say their initial objective is to drive back government forces to push artillery out of range of their cities and improve their grip on their main strongholds. Eduard Basurin, deputy
commander of the rebels in Donetsk, said fighters had repelled government troops from the suburb of Maryinka and the centre of the town of Pesky near Donetsk’s airport, a constant battlefield. “They had fully controlled Maryinka before. Now it is neutral. They are only on the outskirts,” he said by telephone. The eventual goal would be to capture the entire Donetsk region, Basurin said. That would include major population centres in government hands, like the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, a city of 500,000 where Kiev says rebel shelling killed 30 people on Saturday. Basurin said there was nevertheless no offensive on Mariupol under way at present. Asked if rebels were advancing on Debaltseve and
Vuhlehirsk, two other government garrisons where Ukrainian government authorities have reported fighting, he said: “Why should we have to advance? It is our land. They should withdraw.” Both sides say the rebels are fighting to encircle Debaltseve, a small town between the two main rebel bastions of Donetsk and Luhansk which straddles key road and rail routes linking them. “The enemy is trying to carry out an offensive on Ukrainian units and occupy strategically advantageous positions for further military operations,” government military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing. Nine Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 30 wounded in the past day, he said.
Ukraine rebels say government forces pushed back near Donetsk
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
United States offer Caribbean new oil deal The United States Monday rolled out a new initiative for Caribbean countries to ensure energy security in a move widely seen as distancing the Caribbean from Venezuela for their oil and energy needs. United States Vice President Joe Biden, addressing the first ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit here, told Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries that there are more options at their disposal now for natural gas delivery than they have ever been. “You can now purchase gas on the open market from many countries including your neighbor Trinidad and Tobago right now. There is also LNG exporters in the United States with licences to export to any of your countries whether you have a free trade agreement or not. If you want gas go talk to them. “Meanwhile we are in the midst of a seismic shift in the global economy, the ascendancy of the Americas as the epicenter of the center of energy production in the world. “We have more oil and gas… than all the states in the world combined. Mexico Canada the United States is the new epicenter of energy,” Biden said. Regional countries have in the past relied on Caracas for oil and petroleum products under the PetroCaribe initiative, an oil alliance of many Caribbean states with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. But Biden told the summit an integrated North America working to promote energy security beyond its borders “can be a major asset for the entire hemisphere and its profoundly in the self interest of the United States to see
the Caribbean countries succeed as prosperous, secure and energy independent neighbours, not a world apart but an integral part of the hemisphere where every nation is middle class, democratic and secure”. Biden told the summit that it is the first time in history such a vision can be accomplished. “You can see it if we make the right decisions. So taken together these changes create a moment of energy opportunity that hasn’t existed. Progress is possible and it is possible to begin now,” he said, insisting “not a decade from now”. He said that was among the issues discussed with the regional leaders, adding “some people think it can’t be done in the Caribbean they are dead wrong. “Not only can it be done, it is being done right now with some of your neighbours, look at what the US Virgin Islands is doing they are combining renewable energy with propane to lower costs…”. Biden said St. Lucia is breaking down the barriers to develop new investments in geothermal energy, it is creating new legislation to create a national regulatory body for energy to “stabilize the rules of the game and make investments more attractive for those of you who are energy suppliers”. He said Barbados “has long been the leader of solar technology (and) is posed to make major new investments in renewables. “Progress is practical, it is possible and it is profitable,” Biden said, adding that significant improvements are within reach for every Caribbean country. But he told the CARICOM leaders that they needed to summon the political will to
United States Vice President Joe Biden ensure success “because as we learn real and lasting progress for energy security everywhere in the world depends on more than just spending money”. He said over the last 10 years tens of millions of dollars had been pledged and invested “but we don’t have nearly enough to show for it”. He said the primary goal of the summit is “not to put up another solar panel or sign another gas contract (but) it is to help you create the conditions where you countries can attract private sector investment and it is there”. He said the Caribbean now has an opportunity” for a supply of energy that is more resilient, more sustainable, cleaner, more affordable than you will ever ever had. “You have a chance to reduce the number of oil spills, protect your waters, pout the money you are saving into schools, hospitals, jobs, infrastructure, manufacturing,” he said, acknowledging “ a lot of work lies ahead”. “But we have a chance …and the single biggest burden that can be lifted upon you right now, economically is the cost of energy and the dependence that you still have on single suppliers,” Biden said.
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Pondering on the Director of Sports... Narine withdraws from...
From page 30 a deserving welcome home after their victory in Mexico. Well it is unfortunate that our Director of Sports and the NSC has to be notified by the President of the Rugby Team that our team won a major championship, it is unbelievable that with the te c h n o l o g y i n t h e 2 1 s t century Kumar and his Ministry did not know just after the game that Guyana R u g b y Te a m w e r e t h e winners and planned a proper welcome for the guys who fully deserved it; because players left their families at home and abroad to represent this beautiful country. Mr. Kumar should not stoop to blaming Mr. Green for not informing him of the victory. Boxing I must congratulate President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle on his election to the executive body of the World Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA).
Cycling Hats off to Mr. Hassan Mohamed who has served with distinction for over two decades and I can attest to his hard work and dedication to the development of cycling in Guyana. • Tennis To the Tennis association and its hard working Executive, Coaches and Players -please continue to make Guyana proud. To the Squash, Football, Hockey, Swimming Associations and players; let’s work hard together to bring full glory to our beloved Country. I hope the Director of Sports will not continue to ignore upgrading the Burnham Basketball Court in Georgetown and also upgrade Vryman’s Erven Court in New Amsterdam and Retrieve Hard Court in Linden. Keep Politics out of sports. I have been in the Basketball Fraternity for over
35 years. I know when the Sports Hall had over 100 white chairs for players, officials and the media; those chairs have disappeared. Questions for Kumar: Was it the N.S.C. that gave the GABF two million dollars ($2,000,000) or was it the Office of The President? Which National Basketball Team was $3,000,000 given to? Did the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports give any funds to the GABF in 2014? I must congratulate the GABF Executive for all that was accomplished in 2014 their first year in office. Congratulations to Mr. Michael Singh, President of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) who worked hard to ensure an outstanding year for GABA. I know 2015 is going to be a good year for Basketball. To the Basketball Clubs across Guyana all the best for 2015. Yours in Sports, Mr. Dennis Clarke
Wednesday January 28, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Relations with partners of all kinds - business, romantic, creative - might be somewhat strained today, Aries. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Stress due to overwork might be causing your energy to flag somewhat today, Taurus. You might even feel a little under the weather. GEMINI (May 21–June 20)
Today you could feel a rush of sensual passion and desire, Gemini. You may want to get together with a love partner in the evening, but not be able to do it right now. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Some problems might arise with equipment that you use at home or with the structure of the house, Cancer. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Some disturbing news could come today, Leo. It's apt to be something about the world situation that might eventually reflect indirectly on you. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A rise in your income could lead to a transformation in your values, Virgo, particularly where business is concerned.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Stress, strain, and a little conflict within a business, romantic, or creative partnership could have you toying with the idea of ending it, Libra. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21)
Today, Scorpio, you might feel a little insecure about your state of physical fitness. You could decide to make up for any lack of exercise over the past few weeks. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Today, Scorpio, you might feel a little insecure about your state of physical fitness. You could decide to make up for any lack of exercise over the past few weeks. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Too many demands placed on you by others could have you feeling used, abused, and stressed, Capricorn. You might come close to losing your temper. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Today you might have thoughts of expanding your horizons, perhaps on a monumental level, Aquarius. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Today you may receive some information about how to increase your income in a short period of time, Pisces.
From page 31 Although the relevant rule (2.1.5) states that an independent analysis would be carried out “as soon as reasonably possible”, a period of 21 days has been worked out keeping in mind the logistical and operational issues. Yesterday, ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said that bowlers reported would travel to Brisbane testing centre to get their actions analysed as soon as possible. “The ICCaccredited testing centre in Brisbane is on stand-by so that if somebody is reported early on in the tournament, he can go straight off to Brisbane, get tested within five or six days, and we can have the report so that he can either continue bowling if he’s found to be legal, or if he’s illegal, then he will be suspended.” The ICC, Richardson stressed, was unrelenting on suspect actions, an issue that had been dormant for a long time but having gained momentum with high-profile bowlers being reported both in international cricket as well as domestic cricket. Pakistan off-spinning pair of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez were previously reported in international cricket while West Indies off spinner Sunil Narine was disqualified from bowling during the Champions LeagueTwenty20 final last year having been reported in two successive matches. “As per 2.2.15 of the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions, the independent analysis shall be carried out and the independent
WICB to send delegation to meet BCCI
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board yesterday communicated its intent to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to find a workable solution for the premature end of the West Indies tour of India in October 2014. WICB President Dave Cameron met with some of the directors of ICC and sought their assistance in resolving the issue. Their support is much appreciated and welcomed by the WICB. The WICB is hopeful of finding a workable solution and to this end will send a delegation to meet with the BCCI in the coming weeks. (WICB)
assessment furnished on an expedited basis. In this respect, every reasonable effort shall be made for the independent analysis to be carried out and the independent assessment furnished within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of the match officials’ report,” an ICC spokesperson said. The faster evaluation is part of ICC’s effort to eradicate suspect bowling actions and is bound to defeat any strategy by a team thinking of saving a bowler with a suspect action for later stages of the World Cup. That would have worked under the Standard Regulations applicable to non ICC Events where the bowler can continue to bowl in international cricket as long as he is tested within three weeks of being reported. Although the relevant rule (2.1.5) states that an independent analysis would be carried out “as soon as reasonably possible”, a period of 21 days has been worked out keeping in mind the logistical and operational issues. Yesterday ICC chief
executive Dave Richardson said that bowlers reported would travel to Brisbane testing centre to get their actions analysed as soon as possible. “The ICCaccredited testing centre in Brisbane is on stand-by so that if somebody is reported early on in the tournament, he can go straight off to Brisbane, get tested within five or six days, and we can have the report so that he can either continue bowling if he’s found to be legal, or if he’s illegal, then he will be suspended.” The ICC, Richardson stressed, was unrelenting on suspect actions, an issue that had been dormant for a long time but having gained momentum with high-profile bowlers being reported both in international cricket as well as domestic cricket. Pakistan off-spinning pair of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez were previously reported in international cricket while West Indies off spinner Sunil Narine was disqualified from bowling during the Champions LeagueTwenty20 final last year having been reported in two successive matches.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Berdych ends Nadal Pondering on the Director tyranny, Murray charges on of Sports 2014 review Letter to the Sports Editor
Dear Editor, I read with great interest in Kaieteur News a story dated January 8, 2015 with Mr. Neil Kumar, Director of Youth and Sport, captioned “IGG Performance, Aquatic Center among highlights of 2014”. After holding that post for 21 years Kumar indicated that in his lifetime he did not expect to see a Cricket Stadium and an Athletic Track in Guyana. I know since Kumar was a small boy, cricket has been Guyana’s number one sport; Athletics was always there, so when Kumar became Director of Youth and Sport in 1994, his first vision should have been for Guyana to have a Cricket Stadium and Athletic Track. Basketball I noticed in his basketball review of the Inter Guiana Games (IGG); Chris Bowman received lots of praise from Mr. Kumar; someone has to tell the Guyanese nation the truth for information purposes. The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation executive was elected in January 2014 and sponsored two referees for participation in a FIBA Course in the Cayman Islands, namely Rawle Toney and Sherwin Henry, with Henry retaining his FIBA license. The Federation also repaired the game clock and the shot clocks in the Sports Hall and also ran pipes for the 24 second clock so there is no more wrapping of wires when the shot clocks are being used. The Basketball Federation was also paying the National Sports Commission for use of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to train our basketball male and female National Squads to
represent Guyana at the July 2014 Caribbean Championship in British Virgin Islands. One of our female players Ms. Ginelle Ifill was spotted by scouts and got a full College Scholarship, also our Guyanese brother Mr. Patrick Haynes was elected to serve on FIBA Governance Commission with the support of the Guyana Basketball Federation; so Mr. Director of Sports stop being bias as it relates to the achievement of the basketball fraternity in Guyana. The Director of Sports also spoke about upgrading facilities: when was the last time, persons on the National Sports Commission (NSC) visited the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to see the pitiable conditions that our athletes have to endure: 1. Players changing their clothes in the toilet facilities in the back of the Sports Hall in view of the public because two of the change rooms are locked and used as storerooms. I am sure the NSC could find a storeroom so the venue could be used to benefit the athletes. 2. For the past two years only one bench is available for the basketball players, the one that is there needs replacing. I was in the Sports Hall when the Disciplined Forces 2014 Basketball Tournament was being played and one of the teams (GDF, Police, Prisons and Constabulary) was either standing or sitting on the floor on the side that did not have a bench, what a shame. 3. The officials table used for scoring is in a state of disrepair, sports journalists are well aware of this. The official entrance to the venue
CONCACAF Hosts Second... From page 27 and TV broadcast metrics. CONCACAF Caribbean Premier League Task Force Chairman: Yves Jean Bart, President Haitian Football Federation Members: Honorable Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive Premier League, Damien Hughes, Caribbean Football Union General Secretary, Simon Firth, Partner, Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands, Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer, Edward Seaga, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of
Jamaica’s Premier League), David J. Williams, Owner/ President of W Connection Football Club, Trinidad and Tobago, Decio de Maria, President Liga MX, Shaka Hislop, Football Commentator and Ex-Trinidad & Tobago National Team Player, Randy Harris, President Barbados Football Federation, Honourable Randolph Horton, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Bermuda, James Johnson, FIFA, Jefferson Slack, Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, Football, IMG, Kieran Foley, Group Head Marketing, Digicel.
stands is being used as a store room on the side with the Car Park. Approximately ten Basketball Backboards are stored there when schools are in need of them, also balls are dry rotting in this area; schools such as Saints, North Georgetown and North Ruimveldt among other schools are in need of basketballs. To top it off my Club (TGH Pacesetters) ran a fund raising tournament in 2013 where I had to actually beg for the venue; we were charged $400,000 for the first eight nights and $80,000 for the last two nights; why should Basketball suffer that faith, how is such high rental for the Sports Hall helping to develop basketball in Guyana. I do not have a problem with School Basketball; as a matter of fact I ran several school tournaments without help from the NSC and before Chris Bowman mostly unsanctioned basketball activities. Tournaments funded by Guyana Secondary School Basketball Association, also school tournament under the Christopher Douglas Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) that were all approved by the Late Col. McPherson, President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF). Now we have Chris Bowman and his Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) group getting the Sports Hall free from the NSC; Bowman and the Director of Sports feel they don’t need sanctioning for basketball events and that is damaging the administration of basketball in Guyana. The National Federation is the head body of Basketball and approval should be sought as is done for other sports in Guyana and around the world. I have nothing against Mr. Bowman or Mr. Neil Kumar but having a discriminatory Director of Sports is harmful to the development of Sports in Guyana. The disrespect extends to Bowman’s YBG not seeking approval from the Ministry of Education and Allied Arts Unit to run the Titan Bowl School Tournament in December 2014. Rugby I read the sad story concerning the Rugby Players not being met at the airport and given
Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada. (Credit: REUTERS/Thomas Peter) Reuters - Iron-willed Czech Tomas Berdych ended eight years of tyranny under nemesis Rafa Nadal to storm into the Australian Open semifinals yesterday before his next opponent Andy Murray restored British colonial rule to the floodlit center court. Maria Sharapova inflicted another grand slam reality check on Eugenie Bouchard and will play an all-Russian semi-final with plucky lefthander Ekaterina Makaraova, who thrashed third seed Simona Halep on a surprising day at Melbourne Park. In the evening session, Murray struck back for the old guard, slapping down local teenager Nick Kyrgios 6-3 76(5) 6-3 to deflate home fans pumped up by the traditional sporting rivalry with former colonial masters Britain. But it was Nadal’s 6-2 6-0 7-6(5) humbling on an unseasonably cold summer’s day that rocked Melbourne Park to its core and shook the biggest monkey in the men’s game off the back of Berdych. The big-serving Czech’s 17-match losing streak to the Spaniard was the equallongest in the professional era and snapping it was the result of a perfectly executed plan. “Oh, it feels great,” Berdych told reporters. “Everything was working. I was able to execute it really well.” In an intriguing twist, the man that helped Berdych create the master plan was Dani Vallverdu, Murray’s former hitting partner and assistant coach, who parted
Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic celebrates after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain. (Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter)
ways with the Scot in November. Now in Berdych’s camp, Vallverdu will provide the intelligence for preparations against Murray. On the strength of Berdych’s tournament, the Venezuelan has been a roaring success, with the Czech not dropping a set. The rangy 29year-old was irresistible in the first two sets against Nadal, wrapping them up in exactly an hour and giving the 14times grand slam champion his first grand slam bagel since the 2006 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. “It was just not my day. I didn’t play with the right intensity, the right rhythm,” said a disappointed Nadal, who was nonetheless content with his run after coming back from injury and illness. Black-clad Murray was all business against brash 19year-old Kyrgios and needed to be for much of a highquality encounter on a chilly, windy evening. Kyrgios lifted to bring the crowd into the equation, but Murray rose with him, closing out the match with a barrage of scintillating winners. “I tried to start as quickly as possible because I know how dangerous he is,” Murray said courtside of his opponent, who dumped Nadal from Wimbledon on the way to the last eight. “I have seen his matches for the last 18 months... So I wasn’t going to underestimate him.” DOMINATING RUSSIANS It was a performance that Sharapova would have approved of after her 78-
minute rout of another young upstart in Canadian Bouchard. Bouchard claimed to have gleaned a lot from her gutting French Open loss last year, overhauled by the Russian from a set down, but nothing could have prepared her for the schooling that played out. Completely dictated, Bouchard had nowhere to hide and the five-times grand slam champion feasted upon her serve. She swooped in for the kill with a string of smoking winners, sealing it with a crunching inside-out forehand. As Sharapova blew kisses, Bouchard headed straight for the exit, biting her lip. “Am I happy that I was able to lift my game after having a couple matches where I wasn’t satisfied? Yeah, absolutely,” Sharapova told reporters. “But the toughest is what’s to come. I hope that I’ll be able to take that and play even better.” Third seed Halep had cruised into the quarter-finals by smiting lower-ranked opponents but ran head-first into a brick wall in the form of lithe left-hander Makarova. The 26-year-old Makarova, who describes herself as shy off-court, blew the nerve-stricken Halep away and has not lost a set all tournament. She heads into her clash with Sharapova fresh and in top form. “I’m not shy on the tennis court. It’s a big stage,” she said. “I never beat (Sharapova), so it will be tough.”
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Kaieteur News
Narine withdraws from West Indies CWC squad In the wake of news that the ICC hopes to submit the assessment report within seven days if a bowler’s action is reported by the Umpires as suspect during the World Cup instead of the previous 21 days it took for the evaluation process of getting their actions tested at the ICC accredited centres, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday announced that off spinner Sunil Narine has withdrawn from the West Indies squad for the Cricket World Cup 2015. Narine has undergone intense remedial work on his bowling action and preliminary tests have shown him bowling all his deliveries under the 15 degrees flexion allowance. However the 26year-old Narine who has 73 wickets from 53 ODI’s informed that he required more time to be able to confidently bowl for a sustained period in international cricket with his new action. “Playing for Red Force and winning the NAGICO Super50 has been a big boost, but going in to the World Cup is a little too much too soon and, after consulting WICB, for both West Indies and my sake we have decided to
delay my return to international cricket until I am 100% confident in all that I do,” Narine said. “Whilst I am very happy with the progress made to date with my action, and I express my thanks to the coaches working with me in Trinidad and Dr. Daryl Foster in Perth, Australia, I am withdrawing from the World Cup,” Narine explained. The WICB supports Narine’s decision to withdraw from the CWC squad as to risk his exposure to the intensity of the Cricket World Cup would be both unfair to him and the West Indies squad. A replacement will be named shortly. Narine has taken a positive approach to his remedial work, remains in an optimistic frame of mind and looks forward to returning to international cricket at the earliest opportunity. “I would like to thank the WICB for their support and wish the West Indies team the very best for the World Cup campaign,” Narine said. The ICC hopes to submit the assessment report within seven days if a bowler’s action is reported by the Umpires as suspect during the World Cup instead of the previous 21
days it took for the evaluation process of getting their actions tested at the ICC accredited centres. “As per 2.2.15 of the ICC Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions, the independent analysis shall be carried out and the independent assessment furnished on an expedited basis. In this respect, every reasonable effort shall be made for the independent analysis to be carried out and the independent assessment furnished within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of the match officials’ report,” an ICC spokesman told ESPNCricinfo. The faster evaluation is part of ICC’s effort to eradicate suspect bowling actions and is bound to defeat any strategy by a team thinking of saving a bowler with a suspect action for later stages of the World Cup. That would have worked under the Standard Regulations applicable to non ICC Events where the bowler can continue to bowl in international cricket as long as he is tested within three weeks of being reported. Continued on page 25
Edward Seaga, Premier League Chairman Richard Scudamore, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, and Liga MX President Decio De Maria, among other important figures in regional football. “This meeting signifies another step that CONCACAF has taken to evaluate the viability of a Caribbean league,” said Webb. “We would all agree that to continue with the advancement of football in the Caribbean region we must improve the foundation of the sport and develop necessary infrastructures and talents.” The Task Force opened proceedings by reviewing the report of a detailed regional stadium infrastructure study commissioned by CONCACAF. The study revealed a group of countries that could host and participate in a potential Caribbean Premier League based on their existing facilities. The study consisted of visits to four countries and nine stadiums and also recommended additional visits to other markets with 5,000-plus capacity venues.
Among the many topics discussed was the initial Caribbean Professional League viability report, created by Rethink Management Group, a renowned consultancy firm focused on advising football entities internationally. The presented report led to the discussion on the positives and negatives of potential competition formats and their correlated financial models. Chief Executive of the Premier League, Mr. Richard Scudamore said: “The excellent work that the Task Force has already done provided a very good basis for our discussions. The Premier League is honored to be involved and will assist in any way it can to bring this initiative of President Webb and his colleagues to reality.” The Caribbean Premier League Task Force concluded the meeting by commissioning additional studies, including one focused on an in-depth analysis of the Caribbean sports market, specifically on existing sporting events from a ticket sales, sponsorship Continued on page 29
CONCACAF Hosts Second Caribbean Premier League Task Force Meeting
Yves Jean Bart Montego Bay, Jamaica The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on Saturday last held the second meeting of the Caribbean Premier League Task Force, hosted by CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb and General Secretary Enrique Sanz. The meeting, which took place in Montego Bay during the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship finals, was attended by regional and international experts from various areas of the football industry, including Former Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of Jamaica’s Premier League, the Most Honorable
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Clive Atwell heightens training sessions in preparation for Jamaican, Sakima Mullings By Michael Benjamin After suffering back to back losses, first in his world title bid to Johnny Gonsalves in Mexico and then to Kye Mackenzie in Australia, multiple champion and world rater, Clive Atwell feels that he has expended the projected losses in his career and is ready to return to his winning ways. Atwell returned to Guyana from his base in Dominica Tuesday afternoon and merely two hours after his arrival, opened camp at the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym (ALBG) in preparation for his upcoming bout against Jamaican ‘Contender’ champion, Sakima Mullings at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Saturday February 21. Atwell is filling a void after Lewis, initially booked to oppose Mullings, sustained an injury to his neck during training sessions and was ruled out by the Board doctor, Max Hanoman. He approached his duties with gusto, under the watchful eyes of coach, Lennox Daniels and is rounding off nicely for the fight he views as extremely important to the continuance of his career. Kaieteur Sport engaged Atwell moments after he had wrapped up sessions yesterday and he appeared confident as he advocated a comprehensive victory against the Jamaican next month end. “I have lost two
fights in a row and I’ve always said to myself that should I lose thrice I will call it a day,” said Atwell when quizzed on his frame of mind for this fight. He said that the two losses have inspired him to work harder to get his career back on track. Atwell debunked claims that he is so dejected after his losses that he would be psychologically affected for the impending fight. He said that despite losing to Gonsalves and Mackenzie, he is satisfied that he had given a good account of himself. Atwell said that despite his two recent losses, he has learnt a few things and he intends to work on his shortcomings for the impending bout. “I realize that I have to settle down and land my power punches rather than punching and hustling to evade my opponent’s retaliation,” Atwell revealed. He also admitted that he was a mite impatient during those bouts that he had lost and he is now practicing to be more concentrative while being more selective with his punches. Atwell admits that Mullings is a good fighter and said that he (Atwell) will have to bring his top game to the ring if he is to be victorious. “Mullings is strong and patient and I’ve never seen him get flustered during his fights irrespective of what his opponent offers up so I know
that I will have to be at my best to defeat him,” Atwell admitted. Yesterday afternoon, Atwell attacked the heavy punching bag with gusto, moments after pummeling the strike pads. He also improved his timings with a hectic session on the speed ball before finishing up with a lengthy period of skipping and intense abdominals exercises. He continues training sessions at the same venue this afternoon. This fight will headline a 5 bouts card that will also see the return of CABOFE middleweight champion, Lindener, Edmond Declou after sustaining a broken jaw in a fight against Dereck Richmond in October 2013. This will be an 8 rounds middleweight contest and Declou has said that he has recovered sufficiently from the mishap to avenge the loss. Another Lindener, Sharon Ward, will also grace the ring after a prolonged absence when she tackles Lorissa Rivas, an American of Trinidadian parentage, in a 6 rounds super/middleweight bout. Fans will also be entertained when former local and current CABOFE bantamweight champion, Dexter Marques, matches gloves with Quincy Gomes in a 6 rounds catchweight affair while in the card’s opener, local debutant, Travis Fraser will square off with Barbadian, Charwyn Eswick over 4 rounds.
WICRICNEWS – Kingston, Jamaica: The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) yesterday announced that St. Kitts and Nevis has joined the upcoming tournament with its very own franchise team. This new team is the result of strong support from the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis as well as support from the local business community who are keen to enjoy the benefits of hosting a CPL team of their own. Based on last year’s success, this announcement is sure to deliver even greater value for St. Kitts and Nevis, as the tournament is beamed to an ever increasing TV audience around world. St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Sports, the Honourable Glenn Phillip, said; ”Last year the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis was delighted to support the CPL by hosting the Semi Finals and Final as well as a series of neutral
games. That partnership reaped great rewards as St. Kitts and Nevis enjoyed a significant return on investment. Overall the economy benefited to the tune of $26m, which comfortably exceeded our expectations.” He further stated; “Hosting the games highlighted that St. Kitts and Nevis is home to some of the most passionate cricket fans in the region and having our own franchise team here will be a source of great pride for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis whilst also benefiting local businesses, as fans from around the region and overseas make the journey to watch the games at the Warner Park Stadium. CPL is watched by millions of fans worldwide and with St. Kitts and Nevis having its own team, it will allow us to showcase all that is great about our Federation. CPL COO, Pete Russell, said; “We have had a wonderful
relationship with the Government since we first started planning for CPL games in 2014 and we are delighted that we are now able to bring a team to St Kitts and Nevis. This is a fantastic opportunity for the country as fans get the opportunity to support their own team – we all look forward to the unrivalled passion that will again be evident at the Warner Park Stadium this season.” “It is also great news for local businesses who will benefit enormously from the economic impact of hosting a CPL team as well as for the local development of young players, who we believe will become inspired by the opportunity to represent the St. Kitts and Nevis team in future years. We wish the team every success in 2015 and are delighted that St. Kitts and Nevis are now part of the CPL family,” concluded Russell.
St. Kitts and Nevis joins the CPL with new franchise
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday January 28, 2015
Football fraternity mourns the Appointment of Cricket death of former treasurer Ombudsman put on hold
Death is impartial and it is destined unto man once to die yet every death comes with shock and deep sorrow and pain that leave family members and friends shocked and grieving. The football fraternity experienced this phenomenon yesterday when news broke that former Treasurer of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Kashif and Shanghai organization, Aubrey Henry, passed away in the United States of America. The news has sent shockwaves across the football fraternity and former President of the GFF, John Yates (1981 – 1982), said that it was a great loss to the country and more specifically, the football fraternity. He said that he has known Henry during the early eighties when they had served in the Jaycees and ever since then had developed a close relationship. Mr. Yates spoke highly of Henry saying that he was always enthusiastic about the
sport and served as the treasurer in several football organizations including Pele, the GFF and consequently, the K&S organization. “He always found the time to give advice to young footballers as well as his executive colleagues and that advice was always valued,” said Mr. Yates. Meanwhile, the principals of the K&S organization were just as shocked at the news and extended deepest condolences to Henry’s wife and children as well as the football family. “We are left in a state of profound shock; we remember Aubrey as a mildmannered individual, a gentleman, a warm and sensitive human being and a man who served sports, particularly football, in several capacities, both at the level of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and otherwise,” the release said. Both Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major and Kashif Muhammad said that they are deeply affected by the
untimely passing of a great stalwart of the sport and particularly remember and cherish those years that he spent as part of the inner circle of their organization. The K&S duo spoke of Henry’s mediating skills and they felt that that particular attribute will be sorely missed. “During some of those difficult, sometimes stormy meetings that had become part of the Kashif & Shanghai tradition, Aubrey never failed to bring a mediating influence on conflict and disagreement. We will miss and remember him and would like to extend our profoundest sympathy, first, to those who were closest to him and to all those others whose lives he has touched during his time on this earth,” the release concluded. Kaieteur Sport joins with all those affected by this death and expresses deepest condolences to his wife, children, other family members and friends. May his soul rest in peace!
GCB refutes Dr. Frank Anthony’s allegations
In a statement issued yesterday, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has refuted the sentiments expressed by Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony in a newspaper article published yesterday. The board took the opportunity to set the record straight, citing some of the allegations made by the Minister as incorrect. “The GCB strongly refutes the allegations contained in the Guyana Chronicle of January 27, 2015, headlined ‘Only I could set the date for GCB elections’. During the said article, it was quoted verbatim by the Minister as follow: ‘He (Dr McGowan) has been trying to investigate the various issues that surround cricket, but I think he has been having difficulties doing that because some members of the GCB are not allowing him to gain access to the things that he needs to do, so that there can be free and fair elections,’ said Dr Anthony.” “The GCB wishes to make it categorically clear that they have never been consulted by the Honorable Minister of Sport at any time regarding his appointment of an Ombudsman neither have they ever been contacted by
anyone calling themselves a Cricket Ombudsman,” the release pointed out. It went on, “Further in the said article, the Minister proceeds to make mention that the Cricket Administration Act was passed with the consent of everyone and that he does not consider his actions in the Act as being political meddling. Perhaps, the Minister is very loose and casual with the actual facts surrounding this matter and may wish to consult with the Hansard records to establish the truth of the voting that took place in the National Assembly in May, 2014. At the same time, the Minister may care to explain in his mind what constitutes political meddling within a private entity.” The GCB release further noted the flaws in the Cricket Administration bill, “Once
again, the GCB wishes to reiterate that the Cricket Administration Act contains numerous flaws and seemed to have been drafted in a very sloppy manner so much so that it cannot withstand serious scrutiny. We are also aware that the process for the appointment of the cricket Ombudsman may not have been followed. Both the GCB and the WICB have made their positions very clear regarding the constitutionality of the Cricket Administration Act which is currently the subject of a legal challenge.” “Be that as it may, the GOG continues to totally ignore t h e n e g o t i a t e d Memorandum of Agreement made between the GCB, WICB and the GOG in July last year along with the agreed upon Amendment to the said Cricket Administration Act. We all agree that the Act is flawed and needs to be corrected. Several pertinent legal matters still engage the judiciary that also have to be ruled upon to provide clear direction. The GCB is of the firm opinion that a legislative solution cannot or should not overtake a judicial undertaking,” the release concluded.
On Monday last, Justice Ian Chang, after hearing an affidavit filed by the Essequibo Cricket Board, issued an order Nisi against Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Frank Anthony, questioning the validity of the appointment of the Cricket Ombudsman. The Cricket Administration Act requires “meaningful consultation” between the Minister and the West Indies Cricket Board for the appointment of the Ombudsman. The order states: IT IS ORDERED that an Order or Rule Nisi of Certiorari be issued, directed to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport to show cause why a Writ of Certiorari should not be issued quashing the decision of the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport to appoint Dr. WINSTON Mc GOWAN as Cricket Ombudsman pursuant to Section 17 of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act No. 14 of 2014 on the ground and for the reason that the said decision to appoint Dr. WINSTON Mc GOWAN as Cricket Ombudsman pursuant to Section 17 of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act No. 14 of 2014 is unlawful, ultra vires, irrational, unreasonable, wholly in excess of jurisdiction, unreasonable, null, void and of no legal effect, in breach of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act No. 14 of 2014, in breach of and a denial of the principles of Natural Justice and legitimate expectations unless good and sufficient
cause is shown to the Court why this Order Nisi should not be made absolute. The judge stopped short of issuing an order of prohibition against Dr. Mc Gowan as the original order Nisi questions and virtually suspends the appointment of the Ombudsman. The Cricket administration Act makes provisions in two instances for meaningful consultation between the Minister and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), one being before the appointment of the Ombudsman is done and the other is before a date is set for the first Elections of office bearers. The revised constitution clearly provides a definition for Consultation or meaningful consultation and outlines the stages or steps to follow and these are: 1. Indentify the persons or entity to be consulted. The communication inviting consultation must state the subject of the consultation and an intended date for the decision on the issue which is the subject of the consultation. 2. The person responsible for the consultation must ensure the each person or entity to be consulted, is given a reasonable opportunity to express a well considered opinion on the subject on which consultation is sought. 3. The person responsible for initiating the consultation must also prepare a written record of the
consultation to be achieved (i.e carefully stored for future reference). In the current situation, where the WICB, having never agreed to be a party to the Act, may very well ask to participate in meaningful consultation. Legal minds are suggesting that the Minister should have firstly received consent that the WICB would be a willing participant before they were entered into the Act as a party to be consulted. In fact, it is understood that the Select Committee had instructed that the Minister confirms the acceptance of WICB before entering their name as a party to the Act. The WICB has continuously maintained that it does not interfere with the internal affairs of the shareholders and would not tolerate government interference or disbanding of its member and shareholder. Each territorial Board is governed by its own rules with the Barbados Cricket Association and Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board being incorporated through an act of parliament but it is important to note that it was the existing entity that was incorporated and all of its assets retained. In the case of our Cricket Administration Bill, all of the assets of the GCB have been seized and placed into a new entity also called GCB. This formed the basis for the current Guyana Cricket Board’s legal challenge to the Act.
From page 33 40 balls to stun the homeside with nine deliveries and a wicket in hand. “We had a meeting amongst ourselves and guys laid everything on the table,” said Sammy in reference to their consecutive defeats. “The captain asked us to show some pride and man up and we did that in the fourth game”. South Africa and West Indies will be looking to finish the series on a high with both teams likely to use the final game as a dress rehearsal since it will be their last match before the all-important ICC cricket World Cup. “We are still a bunch of confident guys. Obviously you want to win matches and series but
the purpose here was to build for the World Cup,” said the allrounder. “I was telling the guys in the change-room, I don’t mind a series loss if we beat South Africa in the World Cup. That would be the perfect response”. West Indies are likely to go into the game with an unchanged team since there are still injury concerns to Lendl Simmons (finger), and Sulieman Benn (back). Pace spearhead Jerome Taylor’s inclusion may still be in doubt after he was rested for the fourth ODI and with both Carlos Brathwaite and Sheldon Cottrell giving decent accounts of themselves. South Africa may bring back the experienced quartet of Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir,
Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn, all of whom were rested for the Port Elizabeth game. Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s first choice wicketkeeper batsman, is set to make his comeback just five weeks after tearing his ankle ligaments. The two teams meet on February 27 and according to the former captain, they will have to deal with different expectations. “When it comes to the World Cup, it’s a different atmosphere, a different venue and more pressure. We all know when it comes to World Cup, once we get to knockout stages we tend to move on. Hopefully we can do something special,” he said. “The West Indies people need us to do something special.”
- no meaningful consultations held
World Cup rehearsal in 5th ODI