Wednesday July 10, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
Maxwell exaggerates the WPA dead DEAR EDITOR, Many pressing things have kept me from making sure I read the Guyana online media. I have just seen in a forwarded email a copy of a letter bearing the signature of that keen correspondent, usually well informed, M. Maxwell. It says that four persons fell at the hands of the State before the internationally known Walter Rodney. Clearly the writer relies on a 1980 source. I have no email address for M Maxwell or I would direct this advice there so that the statement could be reconsidered and made accurate. Maxwell writes that four WPA activists were killed by the regime. If no one has done so before, I wish to say that the WPA will hardly be laying the
reported killing of Claude Bovell on November 18, 1979 at the feet of the regime of those days, simply because he did not exist, and was therefore neither a WPA member nor a victim of police killing. The flesh and blood ones were, since there was only one daily morning newspaper at the time reporting the breaking news , the mischief was the state-owned Chronicle, which for some reason had given that name, Claude Bovell, to a WPA member Brother Ohene Koama. I had known Brother Ohene since his days in the Young Farmers’ Cooperative and took the chance to confirm with his sorrowing widow that even before his name change he was not named Bovell. There is of
course always room for error and new information to which I am open. May I add that some of us including attorney at law Moses Bhagwan, watching the interests of the family attended the inquest diligently and made public statements about its quality when it suddenly ended. There is just a chance, not claimed, that Brother Ohene had some Bovell in his ancestry. However, the name Claude Bovell did not arise in the aborted inquest and the number of WPA victims before June 13, 1980 and Rodney’s contrived death remains at two, Ohene Koama and Edward Dublin. Eleven months before his own death, Dr. Rodney had referred to the late Rev. Bernard Darke as “ the first martyr of the Guyana revolution.” Eusi Kwayana
Don’t write the epitaph DEAR EDITOR, A column in the July 9, 2013 edition of the Kaieteur News by one of the Peeping Toms caught my attention, not for its profundity though. The commentator dedicated his/her column to a recent press statement by a party, the WPA, which the column described as a “spent
force.” Peeping Tom said the recent intervention by the WPA is political entertainment. The irony is that the real joke is on the Tom who spent an entire column on a spent force and a joke.This Tom belongs to a dedicated group in Guyana which has since June 1980 declared the WPA
Harricharran was... From page 4 position, as Raj Singh did according to Mr. Sasenarine Singh, leave it for 20 years and then return to it as executive chairman. It is typical for these semi qualified semi-literate people like Harrichand to write what amounts to total diatribe for the consumption of the Guyanese people, and in doing so they insult them, since they are comparing cheese with chalk as if it is cheese with cheese, since they don’t understand the difference themselves. I stand by what I said in my letter and I also support Mr Sasenarine Singh’s position in this matter, Raj Singh is not the man for this job, he is a political appointee and his knowledge of the industry is very superficial, he does not appreciate the fundamental problems of the corporation and what to do to address it, just like the rest of the political board at GuySuCo today and he will lead it to an even greater disaster than it is in now. Tony Vieira
dead. If 33 years later that group is still doing so, it means that ether the WPA keeps rising from the deadand/or these people have some mortal fear of a living WPA. Whatever the truth is, let me tell a party secret: We, the WPA, love it when we speak, even from the grave, we move these cynics to put on their battle gowns and start behaving crazy. The WPA lives, not only because the cause of justice and liberty lives, but because cynics like Tom dread the thought that we are alive. If they want to kill us off, then perhaps we are standing in their way or disturbing them. If we are not dying off, then perhaps the country still finds us useful. Premature death of national institutions was dealt with by the Mighty Sparrow in one of his classics: “Sparrow Dead.” Take a listen Tom and then write another column. David Hinds
The sex trade is alive
DEAR EDITOR, I respectfully request that you grant me space in your Column to express my disgust at the alarming rate of the sex trade, all because of their financial circumstances. And I wish to congratulate Comrade Simona Broomes for her sterling contribution to this nation and women at large. The Honorable Bibi Shaddick spent thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to charter airplane and could not have
found one case of sex abuse. She came back to Georgetown and accused the press , and the American Government of lying. “There is no evidence of sex trade in the regions”. But the Women Miners Association and Comrade Broomes did not even use a bicycle, or an airplane , they did it on foot and are finding cases of sex trade every day. I call on the Chambers of Commerce, the Private Sector
Commission, and all religious organizations to strongly condemn this illicit sex trade. Open your mouths, sound your trumpet and call on the Government to get it stamped out. Help our women.) I call on the Commissioner of Police Mr. Leroy Brumell to discipline the policemen involved immediately for they have brought shame and disgrace to that Honorable institution known as the Guyana Police Force. David Noel
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Letters... Where your views make the news
This robbery could have been avoided
DEAR EDITOR, Past victimisation is indeed the most accurate indicator of future victimisation. This is very true of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the armed robbery which left Mr. Victor Da Silva dead and his long standing friend, wounded, psychologically traumatised and several million dollars poorer; let alone the fact that he too could have have been dead. From a security standpoint, when the anatomy of this robbery is reexamined, one sees that a lot have gone wrong from the very beginning. 1. The transporter and custodian of this vital asset
in transit were both 72 years old. 2. Mr. Gajadar by his own admission has become what is known as a ‘habitual victim’ having been robbed on several occasions in the past. 3. The victim had indicated a preference for a particular route. 4. The victim admitted that substantial amounts of cash have been stolen in the distant and recent past. Thinking as a thief would, this state of affair translates into what could be described as ‘easy pickings’. Closely aligned to this development is the case of liability, while I understand that these two gentlemen were very good friends, the deep and abiding
affection they developed over the years has been shattered by adversity; a long winded way of saying that there is no place in business for emotions or sentiments. Perhaps the Da Silva family may chose to let sleeping dogs lie, but make no mistake, for many others this could be the beginning of a long and bitter liability case, all of which could have been avoided had better judgement prevailed. The transporting of valuables and assets in transit is about the management of critical risks, which in today’s climate is best handled by professionals. Clairmont Featherstone
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
John Lewis responds to Freddie Kissoon
DEAR EDITOR, Please allow me to respond to an article written by Mr. Freddie Kissoon published in the Kaieteur News on Tuesday July 9, 2013 entitled “John Lewis’ style is strangely unstylish”. Firstly I would like to thank Mr. Kissoon for his patronage and his compliment on aesthetics. We apologise for the absence of local newspapers to entertain him while waiting in our lobby but numerous magazines are always available with varying titles covering fashion, sports, business travel and other interests. From his article, it appears that Mr. Kissoon was upset that his wife was asked for a copy of the receipt before exiting the store, so I will attempt to explain why this is done. We are happy that he noticed the electronic tags and surveillance cameras which are all part of our security system. What he may not know is that the request of the third copy of the receipt upon exiting is also a security feature. When a customer purchases an item, the receipt is printed in triplicate. The first copy (white) is the customer’s c o p y, t h e s e c o n d c o p y (pink) is the cashier’s copy and the third copy is the security’s copy. Upon the completion of a transaction, the cashier gives the white and yellow copies to the customer
who is reminded prior to leaving the checkout counter that he/she should surrender the yellow copy to the security at the door. Additionally, there is also a very visible sign to this effect above the exit door. The yellow copy provides a proof of payment to the security. Ordinarily, shopping bags are not searched nor items counted eliminating any delay. This security feature may reduce the suspicion of any collusion between the cashier and the customer where the electronic tags can be removed, items placed in a bag and the customer is allowed to leave the store without paying and without setting off the alarm. This can only be detected when doing inventory or if picked up on the security cameras, often times belatedly. This same copy (yellow) is then used by the security to tally at the end of the day, the total number of items sold. The cashier would then submit to the security all electronic tags taken off during that day. This is to verify that the total number of items billed is equal to the total number of items that were delivered to the customer. This is done to reduce any over-billing or under-billing by cashiers on a daily basis. It safeguards the customer from being billed for items not delivered and the business from delivering more items than for what were paid.
If this is detected then the use of the CCTV cameras will help to identify the discrepancy and those responsible. If for some reason the customer misplaces the third receipt copy (yellow), then the customer copy (white) will act as proof of payment and the security will request a reprint from the cashier for his records. I do hope I was helpful in explaining the purpose of the third receipt copy requested. Might I hasten to add that in similar self-service stores in North America, including Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club and many others, a customer ’s receipt is requested at the door as proof of payment. In some cases, a quick piece count to verify with what items on a receipt is done. In closing, you will appreciate that these security measures are implemented to safeguard both the interests of the customer and the business. We would welcome the future patronage of the columnist and hope that he co-operates with the established procedures of our business. John Lewis Managing Director
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
DEAR EDITOR, My son Vijai Arjune, called Kevin, and his girlfriend Parbatie Raghu died on Thursday night, May 9, 2013 in a car. They had gunshot to their bodies. His girlfriend Parbatie Raghu was not pregnant according to Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh and she did not have an abortion recently. Vijai Arjune, Parbatie Raghu and her, sister, Sandy slept in one room at Johnny’s Hotel in Paramaribo,
Suriname. Parbatie Raghu saw text messages on Kevin’s phone which she told Kevin’s mother about. She concluded that her sister was having an affair with Kevin weeks before she died, Parbatie R a g h u ’s mother claims that Kevin returned from Suriname the Thursday which was a lie. According to Kevin’s passport he returned on Wednesday May 08, 2013. Neighbors saw Kevin at
Parbatie Raghu parents’ home Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning. Why didParbatie Raghu’s mother lie. Her sister Sandy sent a text message to Kevin’s mom phone on Wednesday May 01, 2013 saying that she will lose her son within one week. Kevin’s mother indeed lost her son. How did Sandy predict that? Was Sandy a part of the killing? Who killed Kevin and Parbatie? Babita Parmassar
AN OPEN LETTER TO ROBESON BENN Hon. Robeson Benn Minister of Public Works and Communication. Ministry of Public Works and Communication Kingston, Georgetown Guyana. DEAR MINISTER, Re: Cost of air travel to and from Guyana. Having regard to the recent steep increase in the cost of airline tickets for travel to and from Guyana and the claim by Airlines that the increased fares are unavoidable;
I wish to strongly recommend that the government travel voucher tax of 15% which is a component of the ticket cost be reduced by 10 % to help cushion the impact on the Guyanese travelling public. It is hoped that government sees the wisdom in this recommendation and act swiftly upon it.
With highest regards. Yours truly, ........................................... Joseph F Harmon, MP. Shadow Minister Public Infrastructure, Communication, Tourism Industry & Commerce. Cc. Hon. Min. Irfaan AliMinister of Tourism, Industry & Commerce.
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THE COST OF AIRLINE TICKETS IS A FUNCTION OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY APNU has some nerve! Having cut a major chunk out of the appropriations for the air transport sector, they now have the temerity to demand that the government reduce the airline ticket tax so as to reduce the cost of airfares. This suggestion, while well-intentioned, is illinformed. It is premised on a misunderstanding as to the cause of the recent spike in airline tickets. But on this score, APNU has company, since the government itself is of the view that the reasons for the steep rise in airline travel is because of the predatory pricing of one airline. Both APNU and the government need to avail themselves of the facts about airline ticket pricing. It is no longer a case of one price per seat. Seats today are sold in blocks. And since the demand for seats is more than the supply, it means that the forces of demand and supply are going to push up airline fares so long as airline tickets are sold under this type of system. If you book early you get a base price for a seat, but for every block of seats sold afterwards, the price increases, because there is great demand for the limited available seats. This is why ticket prices are soaring
through the roof at the moment. If you wish to travel in December you can get a bargain if you book today. But if you wait until November, not only will the price be prohibitive, you may not get a seat. This would tend to suggest that with additional airlines prices will taper downwards. Not necessarily so! The new airlines that are supposed to come on board are not likely to cause fares to go into freefall. Airlines have to cover their fixed operating costs. These costs are high and this means that the base price per flight is high. Airlines cannot afford to have a great many empty seats per flight. Profits are derived from the volume of head traffic, not the number of flights, and therefore margins for each flights are razor-thin, just like the opposition’s majority in the National Assembly. As such, even if additional airlines are licenced they are not likely to offer flights that depart without a full load, because to do so would mean losses on each flight. What this means is that there will always be competition for seats on flights, and once this happens, persons who book
Dem boys seh... Young gyal mek Minister find new use fuh he mouth Is not only children does learn by example. Big people does do things when dem see others do de same thing. Young see big people do things and dem decide that dem gun follow. That is how nuff of dem run in de bush fuh mek a dollar. But sometimes dem don’t even meet in de bush before dem got to deliver. Imagine two policemen who had to prevent young people from going into de bush decide that dem got to sample de girls before dem go into de bush. Dem boys seh that is such slackness mek people ain’t got respect fuh Guyana. Is de same slackness got women coming from all over. Imagine that de other day, some women from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil get lock up fuh slackness in a city night club. No Guyanese woman ain’t in that because some of dem still got respect fuh demself. De same Guyana that didn’t have human trafficking suddenly locking up people fuh de same human trafficking. One man in Georgetown collect dem gyal passport and tell dem up front that dem got to wine till dem drop before dem can get de passport. And wha got people lef wid dem mouth open is de fact that nuff Ministers of de government does visit de club fuh meet dem gyal from foreign. Dem boys see one of dem same Minister pay fuh a lap dance and dem see another suh drunk that he use he mouth fuh more than drinking in de people club. De police who conduct de raid suh shame that dem had to call de Commissioner. A woman trying to clean up de bush. She want to keep children out of de bush and she might get lucky because gold ain’t fetching suh high price like last year. But even then, de pork knockers know that dem still got to pay some big ones. That is why a certain woman end up wid a whole heap of counterfeit Uncle Sam dollars. People pay she husband wid de fake money and he dead and lef she wid that. Talk half and pray fuh dem young gyal.
late will have to pay high prices. Reducing the ticket tax will not alleviate the problem. (The opposition has no authority to reduce taxes). Reducing the tax will encourage more persons to contemplate traveling, which in turn, will boost demand and thus lead to a return of the cycle of high prices. To reduce fares, what is needed is a reduced unit cost per head per flight. And for this to happen, larger aircraft are needed. But for large aircraft to land at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport there has to be a lengthening of the runway at Timehri. But do not tell that to the opposition. They have cut the provisions for that project from the Budget, even though APNU has admitted to lacking the
technical expertise to evaluate major projects. That confession was not surprising. After all, despite being provided with all the information it needed, the main opposition took months to reconcile the statements of poll of a mere 2000 polling stations. The situation is not helped by some of the independent analyses that are offered about the airport project. Much of those analyses leave much to be desired. One such analysis concentrated on the price of toilet bowls and the limited bathrooms provided, as if what was being constructed is a sauna rather than a stateof-the-art international airport. These “toilet- bowl” analyses need to be flushed down the drainpipe.
There are obviously limited credible sources available to the opposition to arrive at sound evaluations of projects. The AFC, for example, has said that it is awaiting the analysis of the IDB before it makes a decision about another major project. This is the same party which in the run-up to the elections had highly- lettered individuals offering advice and analysis about the economy of Guyana. Yet they now are awaiting the opinion of the IDB, instead of parading the talent which they were hoping to call on to administer the country had they won the elections. If the Guyana government had bothered with the IDB, the Berbice River Bridge would never have been constructed. Financial institutions like the IDB are
no doubt worried about the money that China is offering the region. These loans are enticing and will result in countries moving away from multilateral financing. The IDB can be bypassed in preference for loans from China, India and Brazil. So how with this obvious conflict of interest can any serious political party be awaiting the verdict of the IDB before making a decision about a major project? While the AFC is waiting, the prices of air transport tickets are rising and the window of opportunity for a larger airport and hydropower is being slowly closed.
Cellular phones in prisons are a threat to national security - Home Affairs Ministry The Ministry of Home Affairs is concerned with the penetration of cell phones at the various prisons, particularly at the Georgetown and New Amsterdam Prisons, as evidenced by the recovery of these items during security searches. According to the ministry, this concern is premised on the fact that cell phones can be used as weapons to undermine national security. The Ministry is of the view that since the Guyana Prison Service is an integral part of the Criminal Justice System, it is expected to strengthen and support the integrity of national security. Consequently, the proliferation of cell phones in prisons must be fought aggressively. “Every security search, whether by the prison administration or joint services, invariably yield cell
phones,” the ministry said in a statement yesterday, adding that the instruments pose a security threat and danger to staff, and prisoners who do not indulge in the practice of procuring and keeping this prohibited item. The Home Affairs Ministry said that while the challenge of cell phones in prisons is not unique to Guyana, it does not mean that this trend must be accepted and the ministry is playing its part in addressing this issue. A special meeting convened recently by the Minister of Home Affairs, with the middle and senior management of the Guyana Prison Service, including Cadet Officers, discussed the penetration of cell phones and marijuana in prisons, and the Officers were encouraged to remain on the side of the law. A number of recommendations emanated from that meeting, all of which
are being actively pursued with a view to stamping out the penetration of cell phones and other illegal items in prisons. Most of the illegal articles found in the prison are taken in by staff members. This view was expressed by two retired correctional officers from the United States of America, during a training programme for local prison officers a few years ago. Within recent times, local prison officials have been increasingly unearthing
contraband substances within the prison, including drugs and weapons. In some cases, these items are smuggled in by the prisoners themselves, while the authorities have caught staff members trying to take in drugs and cellular phones in some of the most ingenuous ways. There are reports that a local prisoner could get almost anything illegal within the prison environment. These illegal items are (continued on page 27)
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THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Psychoanalyzing Curtly Ambrose’s response What it is about this country that Caribbean people and other nationalities do not like? When we had Cricket World Cup, the fixtures placed New Zealand in Guyana. Yet most amazingly, when their team was competing in Guyana, the New Zealand fans were enjoying themselves in St. Lucia. During the match, a former New Zealand cricketer who was doing commentary made a flippant remark about Guyana and was quickly pounced upon by his fellow commentator, Colin Croft. The story about this “Guyana thing” has a long history. For some reason, in the Caribbean family of nations, people look down upon Guyana. There has to be an explanation. Before we theorize, let’s look
at the reaction of Curtly Ambrose to a question put to him by an Antiguan sports journalist. In the upcoming Caribbean Premier League, Curtly Ambrose of Antigua has been assigned to coach the Guyana team. In an interview aired on Sunday night, the interviewer solicited Ambrose’s feeling about going to Guyana. Ambrose paused and uttered the following, “I’m a professional; I will work where I have to go.” Then Ambrose went off the topic and spoke of his coaching experience. Curtly Ambrose never mentioned the word Guyana, and did not answer the journalist’s question about how he feels about going to Guyana. Anyone who looked at
that interview and has a little exposure to psychology can tell that there was a Freudian dimension to the avoidance of an answer by Ambrose. You can tell that psychologically, he wasn’t enthralled with Guyana. He didn’t want to praise Guyana. The story of this “Guyana attitude” can be seen everywhere you go in the Caribbean. It comes from ordinary citizens to the middle classes, the business world and ruling politicians. Then Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, accused this country of being an international beggar. For decades now, BWIA renamed Caribbean Airlines Limited, has treated the Guyanese people with obnoxious contempt that few countries
in the world would ever put up with. Canada moved its consular services to Trinidad in the eighties and despite the phenomenal Hoyte years and twenty years of PPP rule, the Canadian consuls aren’t coming back to Guyana. There are three broad clusters of explanation for this “Guyana attitude.” One is that Caribbean people at a psychic level see Guyana as not belonging to the family of West Indian islands and thus will never embrace it. It is like how the entire continent of Europe sees Turkey. Come another hundred years and European people will not recognize Turkey as being an integral part of the continent Secondly, Caribbean people are fed up with Guyana. For over seventy years, they have been seeing this country as being in perpetual turmoil. For them it is a cursed land that God has abandoned. In Guyana, they tell you, for almost four
decades, all you see is social and political instability. If these are the reasons why Caribbean people look down on Guyana, how do you explain the attitude of the New Zealand fans and the rest of the world? It has to do with the bestiality of primitiveness. In comparison with our Caricom neighbours and Latin America, Guyana is a shockingly poor, underdeveloped land, perhaps in the eyes of foreign journalists, a simple swampland. I always remember the uncontrollable exclamation of then student leader at UG, Jason Benjamin. Benjamin made a short visit to UWI in Jamaica and on his return said to me, “Freddie, if yuh see dem people student gym; it is more modern than the whole of UG.” Young people, when they leave Guyana, will not return because what they see in the outside world in comparison with Guyana is a dog kennel
Frederick Kissoon versus the palace of an Arab sultan. I honestly doubt that there is a clean toilet in any public institution in this country When Ambrose comes here, can he survive a heart attack or apoplexy? What will happen to him when he sees the drains in Georgetown, the bushes in Georgetown that look like real mountains, the stink, ubiquitous garbage, the sewage overflows, the dilapidated University of Guyana, the outdated 18th century Theatre Guild, the schools without windows and toilets. What is going to happen to Curtly Ambrose after he leaves the cocktail function of the Convention Centre and as his car turns east onto the Railway Embankment, it hits a cow because there are no street lamps on that highway east of the Convention Centre. The place is so dark in the night that if VS Naipaul should visit Guyana, and look at the particular street, he will write a sequel to An Areas of Darkness and title it, An Area of Madness.
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Lone bid received for docking, repairs of M.V Makouria Transport and Harbours Department received a lone bid for the docking and repairs of the M.V Makouria yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main Street. The M.V Makouria has a capacity to hold 1200 persons, 30 cars and 15 trucks. The vessel will later this year complete 50 years of service since it was commissioned.
Bids were also submitted for the supply and delivery of dietary supplies for the Essequibo Technical Institute dormitory. Bids were divided into three lots.
In addition, bids were received for the acquisition and supply of spares for vessels. Still within the Education sector, bids were opened for the delivery of photocopy Machines and Risographs - National Library, Office of the Minister, TVET Council, C.P.C.E Department of Education and University of Guyana, Berbice. The bids were divided into three lots: Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing and Water received bids for the infrastructure development at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD) Region Three.
For the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, bids were opened for the rehabilitation of an office building.
Still in the Housing Sector, bids were opened for the infrastructure development at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, Region Three. The bids were divided into three lots.
The National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) received bids for the construction of living quarters and office at Monkey Mountain, Region eight.
The Ministry of Education received bids for the supply and delivery of ration, janitorial and bread supplies for President’s College.
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One in four persons worldwide paid a bribe in last parties seen as most corrupt institutions 12 months - survey says -- political watchdog body urges declaration of assets T r a n s p a r e n c y International (TI), a global organization devoted to fighting and eradicating corruption, has released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), and it is not heartening with indications that one in four persons paid a bribe in the last 12 months, when accessing public services and public institutions.. According to a release from Transparency Institute Guyana (TIG), the local arm of TI, the related survey involved 114,000 persons in 107 countries “These results did not reflect any improvement over the years since the barometer was first launched in 2003,” TI said. The encouraging news is that nine out of ten persons surveyed indicated that they are prepared to act against corruption, while two out
of every three persons who were asked to pay a bribe refused to do so. However, governments, civil society and the private sector need to do more to assist in the eradication of corruption. In particular, many respondents believe that governments are not doing a good job in fighting corruption and that institutions that are relied upon to fight corruption cannot be trusted. Topping the list are the Police and the Judiciary. In 51 countries, political parties are seen as the most corrupt institutions while 55 per cent of respondents indicated that governments are run by special interests. T r a n s p a r e n c y International’s release suggested that politicians can lead by example by publishing asset declarations for themselves and their immediate families while
political parties and individual candidates need to disclose the amounts and sources of funding for their activities so as to, among other things, avoid potential conflicts of interest. TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT The key recommendations of Transparency International include the need for Governments to be more transparent by opening up their books and activities to public scrutiny and by ensuring that accountability mechanisms and channels are in place to get the public engaged in oversight. There will also be the need for the promulgation of legislation to provide citizens with freedom of access to information on government programmes and activities; ensuring codes of
conduct are in place for all public officials and standards of public procurement and public financial management are consistent with, among others, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. According to TI, prioritising anti-corruption reforms in the police and ensuring the independence of the judiciary and providing checks and balances to ensure that private interests and power groups do not dictate governments’ policies and actions will become key. “Citizens should be encouraged to refuse to pay a bribe whenever asked and should use existing reporting mechanisms to speak out about corruption that they witness or experience; ending impunity by effectively preventing, detecting, investigating, prosecuting and punishing acts of corruption, and citizens
should use their voice, vote and spending to punish the corrupt, such as only voting for clean candidates and parties that stand in elections, and only buying from companies that have strong integrity systems and clean business practices.” DONATIONS TIG, meanwhile, said that passing and implementing laws on making political party financing transparent, including requirements for political parties, political candidates and their donors to publicly disclose donations along with whistleblower laws, will also help. TIG noted that while Guyana was not among the countries surveyed, the suggestions made will resonate powerfully to local conditions and “have been advocated repeatedly by a wide cross section of civil society organizations,
opposition activists, and private individuals. Unfortunately not every country could be included in the sample due to funding restrictions.” According to the watchdog group, “every dollar we spend to grease someone’s palm is a dollar diverted for the enrichment of an undeserving few and our own impoverishment not to mention the reinforcement of a bad habit. Let us as Guyanese citizens join the nine out of ten in the rest of the world and not wait until we have a situation as in Zimbabwe, where women giving birth have been charged US$5 every time they scream as a penalty for “raising a false alarm”.” Among the countries surveyed were the US, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Jamaica, Colombia and Canada.
Wanted bulletin issued for Carlton Bourne The Guyana Police Force is seeking Carlton Akeem Bourne for questioning in relation to the death of Winston Ragnauth. The victim was discovered dead on November 07, 2012. Ragnauth called ‘Tony’ was found with his throat slit at his home at Whim, Corentyne, after his grocery shop had been broken into. Bourne is described to be of African descent, dark complexion and is medium built. The police are asking anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Carlton Akeem Bourne to contact them on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-6978, 225-2227, 333-2151 to 3, 333-
2191, 337-2225, 911 or the nearest police station. Based on previous reports, Ragnauth’s reputed wife Zaira Ally, her son related to her that a policeman went to purchase something from Mr. Ragnauth’s shop which would normally open early in the morning. The shop was open, but the police got no answer from Mr. Ragnauth. The rank then went to ask Constable Emmanuel Ragnauth if his father had left his shop open, because he got no answer from him. Between 07:00 and 07:30 hrs Constable Ragnauth left to check on his father when he made the gruesome discovery. He immediately alerted his mother, other
Carlton Akeem Bourne relatives and the police. The neighbours said that they noticed nothing strange. Kaieteur News understands that Mr. Ragnauth was robbed prior to his death and one of the bandits served a jail term for the robbery.
Students back at school; final exams underway – GSA official Two weeks after a series of unusual events which forced the students of the Guyana School of Agriculture to leave the institution, officials yesterday confirmed that the students returned to sit their final exams. According to Chief Executive Officer Brian Greenidge, the students who evacuated on June 26 returned yesterday and finished their examinations which were scheduled during the period of what had been described as “demonic” attacks.
Greenidge said that” everything is back to normal”. Meanwhile, some of the students who were victims of the manifestations are still recovering while others have returned to complete their examinations. One male student who had previously spoken to this publication said that he had since returned to the school but the atmosphere is not the same. “When we come back is like the place was a whole different atmosphere, people who use to be friends now
suddenly turn enemies. Everybody scared… don’t take what happened couple weeks back for granted,” the young man said. A female student when contacted said that she still has “nightmares” about the night she was forced to sleep on the school tarmac. “I had to run for my life that night and all they did was apologize. What about some of us who are still traumatized about this whole thing?” There were no reports of any other incidents.
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Wednesday July 10, 2013
Kaieteur News
GPSU female execs call for removal of embattled Region Three official By Zena Henry Female executives of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) are very unhappy with the way authorities are treating the matter of an alleged sexual assault involving one of its members at the Regional Democratic office, Region Three. The union is most of all upset that the embattled official at the centre of the controversy is still on the job days after the allegations would have been made and is demanding his removal. The women of GPSU are thus calling on the Human Services Minister to launch a full investigation into the matter. They have registered their concern via letter to the government official and have, in an earnest call to fight against sexual assault in the workplace, echoed this call for women’s rights, support groups and the public at large to voice their concerns over the matter. GPSU has asked for the alleged victim, who was transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, to be sent back to her place of work and for the official to be sent on special leave. According to them, during the union’s preliminary stage of investigations-which is now complete- there was much difficulty in getting information from staffers who expressed fear of being victimized. General Secretary (acting), Deborah Murphy reported that staffers were fearful of giving evidence and written statements as the senior official was still on the job.
Some senior staffers have started giving additional information while others are still skeptical. At this stage, the union claims investigations are being compromised, while the accused official and others indirectly involved have the opportunity to tamper with witnesses. The union executives opined that an accused cannot be “left to dwell at the scene of a crime and tamper with evidence’. The union believes that at the government level, the Human Services Ministry should conduct a transparent and fair investigation into the matter. The letter, which is also directed to the President, the Prime Minister, Labour Minister and Opposition Leader, states that while the victim in the sexual assault matter was transferred to the West Demerara hospital, there is no position there for an Accounts Clerk III. Dawn Gardener, Second Vice President of the union said that currently, “she is sitting at a desk with nothing to do and all day to do it.” The victim, she said, should be reinstated to her previous duties. The Region Three office and Permanent Secretary of the Local Government Ministry said however that the victim was already slated to be transferred to the West Demerara hospital because of her “attitude.” Gardener said that the victim is appointed at the Regional office by the union, yet in relation to allegations of her having an attitude problem, there was no report about it. “If the victim had (continued on page 24)
Wounded gas station owner believes attack was planned From page 2 money was still in the car that is why I drove to the bank. After the gunmen left, I back out, I made a right and a left into Cowan Street (Kingston) with blood gushing down my face.” Gajadhar told Kaieteur News that with the blood pouring down his face, he could have barely seen where he was driving. “I blow my horn and drive and when I reach to the bank and realize that the money wasn’t in the trunk I start calling 911, but nobody answered.” “If I knew the money was gone I woulda drive straight to the Police Station or the hospital.” Presently, the 71-year-old is hospitalized in a stable condition. The bullet has been removed from the right side
of his face, but he is being kept in the hospital for observation. On November 19, 2011, the businessman, his wife and Da Silva were attacked and robbed at gunpoint by three armed men. Da Silva was beaten and the gunmen managed to escape with more than $5.5M in cash. On March 26, last, Gajadar was again attacked, but on that occasion, police managed to catch his attacker before he escaped and the businessman retrieved his $4.5M. The attack occurred in front the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Camp Street. When asked if he will continue his business despite being robbed so many times, the injured and bold Gajadhar said “yes, definitely, you cannot allow people to change your mind.”
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Kaieteur News
E.B.D four-lane expansion…
Contractor to construct temporary turning lane at Diamond - Public Works
Commuters traversing the East Bank Demerara Public Road could possibly breathe a sigh of relief, as the daily traffic jam at Diamond, where road-widening works are ongoing, could soon be significantly reduced. This is according to an Engineer at the Public Works Ministry. The Ministry has requested that the contractor, BK International, construct a section of the roadway from Demerara Bank to the junction of the Diamond Housing Scheme entrance to facilitate the turning lane. The contractor will still have to construct the two additional lanes to create the four-lane when all utilities in the stretch are cleared. In addition, the traffic signals would also have to be relocated. Work in this section, which is part of the four-lane expansion project from Providence to Diamond, has
experienced several delays, primarily because of utilities. BK International commenced construction in January 2012 and this was expected to conclude in 18 months. But, owing to the presence of the aforementioned utilities including pipelines and poles, works were stalled. The contractor resumed in May 2013 even though all the utilities were not removed and construction is progressing slowly. Meanwhile, the heavy flow of traffic that traverses the corridor and that also enters Diamond Housing Scheme is forced at different periods during the day to wait for almost 30 minutes in a sometimes mile-long line. People who live in Diamond must leave their home two hours earlier to travel to Georgetown, which is a no more than 15-minute journey in normal circumstances. According to the
engineer, negotiations are currently ongoing with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company to relocate utility poles and aerial and buried cables. Also, not all Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) conduits and pipelines have been relocated. In October 2012, Construction Company, Macsood Ahamad, was contracted by Government to the tune of $97M to relocate conduits and pipelines from Providence to Diamond. The company commenced works in Diamond that said month. And, according to reports, that relocation project was expected to have been of a one-month duration. The Public Works Ministry engineer related that in Diamond the roadwidening would be close to properties. As such, GWI’s relocation contractor will have to find practical places to lay the pipelines.
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Prisoner treatment of TIP victims must end - GWMO The “prisoner” treatment of victims of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the unresponsiveness of some officers of the Human Services Ministry need to stop, in order to encourage victims to testify against their perpetrators. And police ranks and social workers coming into contact with victims of TIP should be specially trained to understand their symptoms and behaviour. This is according to Simona Broomes, President of Guyana Women Miners’ Organization (GWMO), who was part of a team that rescued five young ladies, ages 14, 16, 18, 20, and 26, from the sex trade in Region Seven over the weekend. Since being rescued the victims have been assisting ranks of the Guyana Police Force with their investigations. Up to yesterday, they were at Eve Leary’s juvenile branch, giving statements of their respective ordeals. They were also expected to identify their perpetrators, including two ranks of the Sherima Police Station, who are accused of raping two of the girls. Broomes, during an interview with this publication, expressed disgust with a situation where the police and Ministry are not working in the interest of the victims. According to Broomes, disrespect shown to the young ladies by some officers of police headquarters and neglect displayed by Human Services Ministry are unwarranted, since they are
GWMO President, Simona Broomes the victims and not the perpetrators. She explained that if ranks were specially trained to react to victims of TIP professionally, the young ladies would not have been treated like prisoners. “The young ladies clad in revealing clothes and dirty were forced to sit on a bench at Eve Leary in view of officers and civilians. They were shouted on, stopped from speaking with each other, laughing or moving about. The police need to understand that these girls were in a lawless environment where they were exposed to consuming alcohol, dressing inappropriately, and all sorts of crazy things. Now, they are supposedly back in the civilized world and need to be treated with dignity,” she added. Broomes opined that some of the victims’ discomforts could have been reduced if the Ministry were more responsive. Cognizant
of the victims need for proper clothing, Broomes contacted an official of the Ministry early yesterday and was promised that their needs would have been met. However, after hours of waiting at Eve Leary for the change of clothing, Broomes contacted the official again, who made it clear that she was not at work and could not directly help. In addition, the Ministry, which has a TIP Unit, was not expecting the victims, and so they did not have such materials on hand, Broomes added. According to Broomes, those comments incensed her, since the Ministry should be geared to respond to such social plights. However, requests to take the girls to purchase clothing and wash their hair at a salon were turned down on the premise that the victims needed to be at Eve Leary. Broomes said that she is infuriated about the situation and wants a complete overhaul of how victims are treated and information is obtained. She said that the GWMO is willing to have its office used as an area where the police could obtain statements from the victims and only when there is a police Identification Parade should they go to Eve Leary. Broomes stated that information obtained from interaction with other countries indicate that NonGovernmental Organizations, police and the Ministry work hand-in-hand. Broomes stressed that if this situation does not change, victims would be less inclined to testify against their perpetrators if they are treated as criminals. In addition, this could discourage other victims from speaking out or cooperating.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Education sector not affected by teachers’ migration Although teachers’ migration is not entirely a thing of the past, it has certainly not had a dire impact on the public school system of recent. At least this was the deduction of Minister of Education, Priya
Manickchand, and Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam. The two were addressing the media at a recent press conference held at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).
- Minister Manickchand Sam said that migration has not been a major concern for the Education Ministry adding that “we have in fact seen a recognisably
significant increase in the number of people applying to teach so we are at a different place.” Manickchand in support
Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, and Education Minister, Priya Manickchand of her chief officer said that the education sector is even being boosted by a remigration of teachers. “I spoke to two teachers – husband and wife – who returned from The Bahamas and one is going to apply to teach at a high school here...” the Minister asserted. Moreover, she said that the concerns that the sector had in the past about the exodus of teachers is no longer there. She alluded to a significant surplus of teachers at the primary school level adding that “we believe there is a strong correlation between trained teachers and children doing well.” The Minister said that Region 10, has been an example of this development, and is in fact a Region with 100 per cent trained teachers at the nursery, primary and secondary levels. This, according to Manickchand, has allowed for Linden to consistently produce the best results for the nation, emphasising a “huge correlation.” The Minister disclosed too that the country has moved from having 30 per cent trained teachers to 70 per cent, thereby allowing for corresponding moves in grades. As such she reiterated that the exodus pattern of teachers has changed significantly, even as she pointed out that while teachers are still migrating they are not going disproportionately. This has therefore allowed for the required teacher to students ratio, at least in the primary schools. “We have one teacher to 25 students...in my time we
had one teacher to 40 students. I want to see it come down to one teacher to 15 students. Fifteen students are more likely to pass and so I want to see it come down to 15,” the Minister stated. And even as the Ministry looks to achieve this ambitious goal, Manickchand said that training of teachers has improved. She explained that this is no longer limited to a trained teachers’ certificate but rather to an even higher level. “So training is not stopping at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE). In fact we have gone further...we are actually taking our trained teachers to the level of a degree,” the Minister emphasized. She also seized the opportunity to highlight that the Education Ministries of the past hadn’t a history of being open about results and performance. “We don’t believe that we should huddle around bad results and bad grades because it is not just our responsibility to change them, it is the entire country that must be on the trajectory to making sure that our children do well. “So we believe you will hear from us first before you hear from any Member of Parliament or any politician or anybody else who has an interest,” Manickchand said. At the moment the Ministry’s effort in this regard is guided by regular publications and according to the Minister, “our Chief Planning Officer, Ms Evelyn Hamilton, should take a bow for producing yearly digests.”
GPSU female execs ... From page 21 attitude problems, the union expects that an investigation would have been launched and the necessary action taken. To transfer her without an investigation means they would be transferring the problem to the West Demerara hospital.” Gardener said that the union is in receipt of a detailed description of the incident which led the victim to involvement of the police, and of other instances where the accused
official would have made sexual passes at the woman. The man is accused of putting his hand down the worker ’s blouse. He reportedly blocked the woman’s path while on the work premises and made verbal passes at her. When he picked up the woman’s work bag and umbrella, fumbling with it, it was said to be the last straw. She went to the police before informing the union.
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Kaieteur News
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CARICOM officials receive emergency-related training Interpol and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) are hosting a twoday workshop which began yesterday. This will enable the Member States within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to develop capabilities to respond to a national or regional emergency related to the accidental or deliberate use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) materials. The workshop, which is being convened in Kingston, Jamaica, is bringing together several senior officials representing law enforcement agencies in the region, as well as policy personnel from ministries of foreign affairs and the national security from CARICOM member states. The objective of the
Wednesday July 10, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) You have an inborn ability to guide and lead others through the hurdles of life. You could be very much in demand as a counselor--even if you are not a counselor. Solving problems in the workplace seems easier than usual. TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) There are many opportunities to make practical decisions today--you may need to give yourself a little time before responding in some cases. Your ideas run deeper than superficial issues in which an interest in depth psychology could evolve. GEMINI (May 22-June 21) This is a great time to be with others, in any sort of group situation. In the workplace, your day should move along quickly. You have a sense of true understanding and real sacrifice to devote toward worthwhile projects. CANCER (June 22-July 22) You feel understanding and accepting and are easily moved by the problems of others. An understanding into the needs of others and an appreciation for their frailties, as well as your own, make you cautious and conservative - pick your battles with care. LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Discovering what you truly believe in--fighting for it, even--is a high personal priority. You may decide to quietly create an opportunity to push a truthin-lending law or uncover the real story behind a story. VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Things are happening and your career depends upon your own ambition and drive. You are able to use your good thinking process and you feel what is the right thing to do; you enjoy being in control.
LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Your thoughts and ideas may not mesh with the plans and methods of someone you meet with today. You enjoy exploring and extreme sports; you can take advantage of these few weeks to improve the physical status. SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) You may decide that this is the best time to buckle down and secure your career. Your organizational abilities and sense of responsibility guide you and prove successful. There is a special job that you would enjoy. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 Dec. 21) You may find yourself very appreciative of your very own skills today. You might enjoy putting together facts, solving problems and finding solutions for others, etc. A renewed appreciation for your work may be apparent to your superiors and others. CAPRICORN (Dec 22.Jan. 20) Your presence is important in the workplace, particularly today when you are most tempted to stay home. You do tend to overwork and over worry about the people you help and today you are needed in a place similar to a courtroom. AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) You are able to draw a clear picture of your ideas and others will understand your meaning. This afternoon you are very outfront and candid. Your intensity and passionate approach to life are obvious to all who meet you. PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Mental discipline should come easily for you. Problems and obstacles are easy to conquer. You know what you are doing so well that you could be chosen to help or teach others.
initiative is to acquaint security planners and law enforcement with best practices and related methodologies integral to the development and implementation of national emergency response systems to strategic threats and to acquaint them with the critical infrastructure needed to develop adequate national and regional response capacities. O’Neil Hamilton, the coordinator of a joint CARICOM-United Nations programme aimed at preventing the transshipment, transit or export of CBRNE materials and related technology
within the region, has described the workshop as “an important initiative which serves to deepen cooperation between the international community and CARICOM states in facing non-traditional security and potential public health challenges. This also broadens our focus and capability beyond responding to natural disasters to also include events that are of an unconventional nature, resulting from an accident or deliberate action.” The workshop also represents an expanded engagement between INTERPOL, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
and CARICOM member states to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction within the Caribbean and to adequately equip regional first responders with the necessary training and expertise to effectively deal with the aftermath of a national catastrophe, particularly resulting from exposure to chemical biological or radiological agents. In addition to delegations from CARICOM Member States, the meeting is being attended by Dr. Gabriele KraatzWadsack, Chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch of the United Nations.
UG VC to engage Ministries on critical ... From page 3 monthly basis. A call has also been made to reconvene the UG Negotiating Team to recommence negotiations on salaries and benefits with the Unions. Concern has also been expressed that the life of the Council came to an end on June 30 and according to the Unions, the Minister of Education to date has not yet appointed another Council. As such, the Unions note that “this ad hoc, unplanned approach to the University's governance by the Honorable Minister has had a negative
impact on the functioning of the University.” For instance, it was observed that the UG Negotiating Team cannot be convened without at least two Council members, so recommencement of salary negotiations is dependent upon the appointment of a new Council or the extension of the life of the current Council. Additionally, an Appointment Committee meeting scheduled for this week had to be cancelled, as it needs Council members to be quorate. This means that new appointments and renewals
and extensions of contracts are still to be completed. In the meantime the Unions remain concerned over the fact that the new academic year is scheduled to commence in just over a month but there still is need to repeat an appeal for the Education Minister to appoint persons to the Council. According to the Unions, the Council requires people who are competent and possess the necessary skill-sets to transform Guyana's sole national University into an outstanding, creditable tertiary institution.
MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 Sign on 05:30hrs Dharma Kai Awaz: The Voice of Dharma 06:00hrs Islamic Perspective 06:30hrs News Update 07:00hrs DAYBREAK 08:00hrs Dabi’s musical 08:30hrs Avon DVD Musical 09:00hrs Barney Show 09:15hrs Top Notch Music Break 09:30hrs Caribbean Temptation Music Mix 10:00hrs Amanda’s Costume jewellery musical 10:30hrs Comfort Sleep musical 11:00hrs The View 12:00hrs Village Talk: Parika Backdam 12:30hrs The Young and the Restless 13:00hrs Days of Our Lives 14:00hrs General Hospital 15:00hrs The Katie Couric Show 16:00hrs The Bold and the Beautiful 16:30hrs Barney Show 17:00hrs Birthday and other greetings 17:15hrs Death Announcements/ In Memoriam 17:30hrs Sitcom 18:00hrs Aracari Resort Hour
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Kaieteur News
WANTED Live In Live Out Babysitter Domestic - Call: 225-6070 Office Clerk: CXC English/ Mathematics- Call:225-0188/ 225-6070 Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 One experienced female cook to cook for family in Interior- call:697-6747 Female Domestic & Office Employees For An Expanding Company In Trinidad, 18-35yrs: Email:rattan.david@ yahoo.com- Call:690-1855/1868-389-8454
Experienced Taxi Drivers. Call: 667-9013/ 627-9424 Handy-boys to work, living accommodation and meals free: $40,000 per monthCall:228-5655/628-1756 Live in domestic & waitress (ages 18-30 years): Salary $50,000 monthly- Tele no.610-3974
One experienced Hair Dresser- Contact Magic Touch Beauty SalonCall:225-6492
Three (3) waitressesCall:650-3699 Machine Operator to work in Garment Factory- Call:2222541 Urgently wanted land to buy in Parfait HarmonieCall:675-7292 1 Driver/Salesman needed: Clean drivers record & police clearance needed: Reference required- Call:642-1141 2 Experienced Cashiers needed to work shift in supermarket on the East Coast- Call:220-2128 One live-in maid, must be able to cook, 30-50 yearsCall:671-9715 One experienced Shop Assistant to work in InteriorCall:697-6747 Drillers, major drilling Suriname: 3 yrs experience on hydraulic drills- Call: 001597-426-920. Ask for Melissa 1 Weekends Dispatcher, full time cars: De General Taxi Service, 120 Regent StreetCall:231-8888/ 231-2900 Experienced workers for land dredge- Call: 681-3801/ 672-8566
VEHICLE FOR SALE
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY M E R C U R Y (QUICK SILVER) 9 9 . 9 9 9 9 5 % PURITY - $15,000 PER POUND CALL:604-6108
Ford super duty/ power stoke truck, Massey Loader, Many tools, Yanmar Vegetable tractors, Roto Tiller- Call:675-9314
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Toyota Starlet Turbo: Working A/C, interior in excellent conditionCall:444-6183 or 686-0910
Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943
One experienced driver, gear & automatic: Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with application, 5 Commerce Street
City Taxi Service: Contract Cars Needed- Call:6601100
VEHICLE FOR SALE
25-35 years live-in domestic, Georgetown area- Call:2271830
Workers for land dredgeCall:694-2310
Skilled Carpenter and Mason, must be able to work with limited supervisionCall:602-9469/625-0930
FOR SALE
Pure Bred Rottweiler pupsCall:650-8496
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(1) Waitress 18-25 yearscall:653-6017
FOR SALE
WANTED Female worker needed, 3 CXC subject or sound secondary school education- Call:612-1595
Live in waitress- Call:6439007/ 697-2978
Experienced drivers with minibus and hire cars license- Call:645-0025 Minibus driver for contract living in GeorgetownCall:675-3093 EXPERIENCED (FOOD) SALESPERSON WITH VEHICLE: EXPERIENCED SECURITY GUARD, MUST KNOW HOW TO HANDLE WEAPONS- Call:231-8529 Reliable receptionist & room attendants (shift work)Call:223-6284/225-9211 1 Male to work at a Car Wash from Kitty or C/Ville- Call:6108561 One live-in or live out maidcall:668-3985/264-3355/6837936 Night & day Jet men and cook needed- Call:684-6356 (11:00am to 1:00pm and 4:00pm to 6:00pm) 1 Qualified cook (East Bank area)- Call:614-4358 Driver for Toyota Raum, preferably from West Bank/ West Coast Demerara- Please contact:614-3280 1 Whole day domesticCall:667-5717 or 650-4761 Workers for Land DredgeCall:667-5717/623-2728 HEALTH Enhance your health with genuine herbal supplements- Contact: Hazel’s Herbal Store @ 244 D’Andrade Street, Newtown- Call:226-9136
Wednesday July 10, 2013
500 Ton Cargo Ship with Contract- call: 687-6174
5 Month Male RottweilerCall:220-6879 Male Enhancement Viagra: 4 in a Pack For $3000- Call: 642-6664/ 638-1627 Property for sale @ Canal #2, 1 Mazda Demio, 1 Pressure Washer, Still garden pump: Owner leaving countrycall:691-0875 Male & Female English Mastiff dogs: $300,000 for both- Call:678-2814/699-2322 Nail Plates & Anchor Seal: 4×6, 3×6, 4×8- Call: 265-3541/ 695-4785 2 Bedford MJ trucks, price negotiable. Call Kim:658-5193 Terrier Pups for saleCall:649-4247 6" & 8" Flood control pump with engine, tool sets, ploughs, chippers, slasher, massey ferguson loaderCall:675-9314 Pure bred German Shepherd puppy, 2 months oldCall:231-9419/617-7577 Used Massey TractorsMF175, 275, 1100, 1130, Ford 5000, Yanmar Vegetable Tractors square axle & wheel- Call: 675-9314 Promix starting at $ 7 , 5 0 0 , green formula (growing mix)- Call: 6152346/263-5300
75 HP Marine Outboard engine, 4ft Food Warmer, 6ft Cooler- call:254-0052/6632687/686-8580 1- Bedford Model M, GFF series: 30 Dell desktops: 260" Samsung flat screen LED/LCD- Call:255-0347/ 664-2020/ 625-0931 1 Complete 4 cylinder Kubota engine on bed- call:666-4000/ 257-0193 1 Baby Play Pen & diaper changer; 1 Baby swing; 1 Imac computer; 1 printer; 1 Whirpool dryer; 1 Welding plan. Tele: 662-6045 Large land @ Bagotville, W.B.D: Great for farming/ residence $6.5- Call: 6000036/223-1719
2008 Honda CBR, 600RRCall:610-0785 2- 07 Toyota AvensisCall:698-0674 Unregistered 2008 Toyota Premio: 2006 BMW 320iCall:615-4114 2 Ford F150: Price $4.5M & $3.5M- Call: 643-5249 / 2654979 1 Toyota Verossa, 1 Mitsubishi Colt: Excellent condition- Call:648-6444 Toyota Altezza, PNN, triptronic- Call: 622-0108
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PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for Contact:699-9926
sale-
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New ATVs: Introductory price $1,450,000 (Duty Free)Call:691-0234 Glanza EP 91 Starlet Turbo charged, stick shift- Contact No.648-3248 Nissan pick-up in excellent condition, suitable for small business or farmers: Price negotiable- Call: 616-0504/ 223-2068 Leading Auto: Unregistered Runx, Premio, 212, Allion, Spacio, IST- Call:677-7666/ 610-7666 1 Mercedes Benz C200: PNN 6967- Call: 680-4990 / 2773033 One black Titan (2005) 4 wheel drive, fully loaded: $4.2M negotiable- Call:6782814/699-2322 1 Toyota G-Touring wagon PHH series $900,000, 1 Toyota AE 192 PHH series $800,000 (negotiable) owner migrating- Call:673-9138/ 641-6239 1 Leyland DAF 60 single axle & dump- Call:613-6615/ 216-1315 Just arrived: New RX8 cars & Spacios- Call:684-3374Clean! Clean! Quantum Auto 2004 silver Spacio & Silver Premio with Alloy wheel & dark interior: Excellent condition- Call:624-7684/ 617-2378 1 AE100 Corolla $650,000: 1212 Carina with alarm, A/C, CD deck & mag rims $950,000- Call:611-6632 Toyota Alex (2004): Mags, black interior, CD, rear spoiler, never registeredCall:269-0432/686-0323 Toyota Fielder $2.1M, Premio $2.6M, Axio $2.9M: Vehicles fully loaded & unregistered- call: 617-2891
LAND FOR SALE
1 Hand Sanding Machine, 1 De Walt Saw 7 inch, 1 Extension Pressure Washer Pole & 1 Set Hanging Ceiling Lights- Call:223-5641
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Lexus, Pitbull never registered- Call:655-0800/ 263-5300 First Class Auto: Spacio, IST, Verossa, 212- Call:6098188/ 226-2689 1 Toyota Land-cruiser Prado PMM series- call:225-0188/ 225-6070 One Mitsubishi Canter, 16 feet tray: GNN series: Price $3M- Call:612-0320 HILUX SOLID DIFF: 2L Diesel Engine, Excellent condition: UK Auto 60 Brickdam- Call:227-0424/ 676-6429 (Continued on page 27)
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Businesses can save up to US$5M in energy conservation - says internationally recognized Specialist Calculations have revealed that companies practicing energy conservation can save at least five percent of their annual energy expenditures, which, for some companies, would amount to as much as US $5M. This is according to Guyanaborn and internationally recognised Energy Management Specialist, Dr. Carl Duncan. He is one of two International Consultants appointed by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) to execute a landmark energy efficiency awareness and implementation project here in Guyana. The Energy Efficiency Project is being funded by both the GMSA (30%) and the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American
Dr. Carl Duncan Development Bank (70%). GMSA has said that this project is critical to the development of enterprises in Guyana, as it directly addresses the often contentious issue of high
energy costs. Its aim is to sensitize companies to the best means of measuring, and managing their energy distribution, equipment/ components, and consumption. The target companies include those in the Manufacturing and Services sectors, including those powered from the national grid and those that selfgenerate. The Project was divided into two (2) major components. One is via an Energy Efficiency Rating Study designed to establish a data baseline showing Consumption, Utilization and Cost patterns, and two, an Energy Audit & Study which would involve live ‘In-Plant’ measurements and monitoring of Electrical assets.
Death of Guyanese nurse…
Relatives want body brought home After being provided with a fraction of clarity into the present condition of her daughter, Morlyn Scipio is now out to establish confirmation of the information received and is hopeful that her many questions of the circumstances under which the woman passed away will be answered. Thirty-seven year-old Guyanese nurse, Lucinda Abiola Solomon-Lee, who had been residing for the past four years in India, was reported by her Nigerian husband of one year as having died on Thursday, July 4. The man, identified as Austine Molar, reportedly contacted Solomon-Lee’s relatives, by means of telephone three days after her passing, to inform them that she had died. This, family members noted, had caused them to become suspicious of the Nigerian, added to the fact that he had contacted the woman’s father in St. Maarten some three weeks ago,
demanding money without giving a valid reason. Family members had initially believed that Solomon-Lee was still alive and that she was somehow being held at ransom. However, information most recently received through the Indian High Commission in Guyana and other sources suggests that the woman has indeed died. Based on a Facebook message that was sent by Molar to the nurse’s sister on Monday, the First Secretary of the Indian High Commission, Tirath Singh, was able to contact the hospital at which the nurse reportedly passed. According to the message, the woman had been hospitalised two months prior to her death to undergo an ovarian surgery. Within the message, Molar identified three hospitals in India, one of the three, SAFI hospital, where she underwent the surgery and another, NAIR hospital, where she died. Following a search that
Cellular phones in... From page 9 either smuggled in through the gate, although the administration has installed an x-ray scanner, or it is thrown over the prison walls, such as with the case of a firearm on one occasion. One of the retired US correctional officers, Carlyle Holder, pointed out that although some prison officers are guilty of facilitating the entry of contraband goods into the prison, this represents a small percentage of the staff. “What happens is the good people look the other way, and what we have to get them to do is not look the other way, but make reports. Let’s get rid of the few bad apples that make the agency appear to be corrupted with a lot of dirty staff. This training will probably remove some of that wall of silence, so that people will realize that if you look the other way, you are just as guilty as the person that’s doing it,” he said.
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Lucinda Solomon-Lee was conducted by the First Secretary of the Indian High Commission, contact was made with the NAIR hospital. During a conversation between the Secretary and the staff on duty at the hospital, it was revealed that a woman who had been listed as Lucinda Aisting Nichols, who had been taken to the facility by four Nigerians, died at 12 a.m. on July 5. Further, the staff disclosed that a post mortem has reportedly already been conducted; however he was not authorized to reveal what had been determined as the cause of death. The body is currently being kept in the hospital’s mortuary. Even as further insight has been revealed into the matter, family members are not satisfied with just the fragments of information that they have received thus far. According to Scipio, they want to “see the body, cry, and then we will be satisfied”. The family is currently exploring the possibilities of having the body being brought back to Guyana, an operation which is premised to cost in excess of GYD$2 M.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Egypt showered with Gulf billions in show of support for army (Reuters) - Gulf states showered Cairo with $8 billion in aid yesterday, showing their support for the Egyptian army’s move to push the Muslim Brotherhood from power, a day after troops killed dozens of the movement’s supporters. Military-backed interim head of state Adli Mansour named a liberal economist as acting prime minister and announced a faster-thanexpected timetable for elections in six months. Mansour’s army backers are under pressure to plot a path back to democracy less than a week after they overthrew Egypt’s first freely elected president, the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi. The country is now more divided than ever in its modern history after 55 people were killed when troops opened fire on Brotherhood supporters in the capital. The movement says the victims were praying in peace; the government blames the Islamists for provoking the violence by attacking the soldiers. Mansour, a judge installed as acting president
when the military removed Mursi, named Hazem elBeblawi as interim prime minister. He served briefly as finance minister in 2011. Former U.N. diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, now a liberal party leader, is to be deputy president responsible for foreign affairs. Importantly, the choice of Beblawi won the acceptance of the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party - sometime ally of Mursi and the Brotherhood. Nour leaders have been courted by the interim authorities to show that Islamists need not be marginalised. Monday’s bloodshed has raised alarm among key donors such as the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979. Wealthy Gulf Arab states, long suspicious of the Muslim Brotherhood, have shown fewer reservations. The United Arab Emirates offered a grant of $1 billion and a loan of $2 billion. Saudi Arabia offered $3 billion in cash and loans, and an additional $2 billion worth of
much-needed fuel. In a further demonstration of its support, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed visited Egypt yesterday, the most senior foreign official to arrive since Mursi’s removal. The army brought down Mursi a year after he took power, saying it was acting on popular will because millions of people had taken to the streets to demand his resignation. To the Brotherhood, his removal amounted to the reversal of democracy by entrenched interests who would never accept their election victories. The longbanned Brotherhood fears a return to the suppression endured for decades under autocratic rulers. “The only road map is the restoration of the president elected by the people,” said Hoda Ghaneya, 45, a Muslim Brotherhood activist. “We will not accept less than that,” she added. “Even if they kill us all.” Thousands of Mursi followers gathered yesterday at the site of a vigil near a mosque in northeast Cairo, where they have vowed to remain camping out in the
fierce heat until he is restored to power - an aim that now seems vain. “Revolutionaries! Free people! We will complete the journey!” chanted a speaker as the crowd held aloft a wooden coffin draped in an Egyptian flag. The vigil and rally lasted through the day and well into the evening, with speaker after speaker calling for the restoration of Mursi, who is in custody. Brotherhood supporters also marched in their thousands in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, Egypt’s second city, which has been the scene of violence in recent days. Medical sources confirmed at least 55 people had been killed in Monday’s dawn shootings, raising the death toll in the incident, the deadliest in the two and a half years of Egypt’s political turmoil apart from a riot at a soccer stadium in 2012. The Brotherhood says Monday’s violence was an unprovoked attack on worshippers holding peaceful dawn prayers outside a barracks where they believed Mursi was being held. The authorities say the shooting was in response to an attack on army troops and announced an investigation into 650 suspects for offences from “thuggery” to murder and terrorism. Egyptian media, mainly controlled by the state, praised the army and denounced Monday’s violence as the work of terrorists. Amnesty International said that whether or not the security forces acted in response to provocations, they were guilty of using “grossly disproportionate force”. But in a sign of the country’s deep divisions,
Ibrahim Alassaf most Cairo residents seemed to accept the official account and blame the Brotherhood for its own members’ deaths. “Of course I condemn this: Egyptian versus Egyptian. But the people attacked the army, not the other way around,” said Abdullah Abdel Rayal, 58, shopping in a street market in downtown Cairo yesterday morning. Some in Cairo are flying banners from balconies with portraits of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the military commander who toppled Mursi. In an address before Wednesday’s start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Sisi made clear who was in charge: “No party has the right to oppose the will of the nation,” he said. Tuesday’s Saudi and UAE aid provides Egypt with urgently needed funds to distribute the subsidised fuel and food that sustains its 84 million people. Coffers are desperately short since Arab Spring unrest drove away tourists and investors. The money also buys time for Cairo to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion rescue loan, long stalled. The United States gives Cairo $1.5 billion a year, most of it in the form of direct aid to the Egyptian military. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had promised aid after former autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011, but withheld it under Mursi. Mursi’s administration had help, notably, from Qatar, which has warmer ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. Another country which developed good relations with Mursi, Turkey, has been criticised by Cairo’s new leaders. Its ambassador was summoned to explain why Ankara’s Islamist-rooted government denounced the army move as an “unacceptable coup”. Acting Egyptian leader Mansour decreed overnight that a parliamentary vote would be held in about six months, faster than many
expected. That would be followed by a presidential election. An amended constitution would be put to a referendum. The Brotherhood rejected the plan. Senior Brotherhood figure Essam El-Erian condemned a “decree issued after midnight by a person appointed by the putchists, usurping the legislative power from a council elected by the people, and bringing the country back to stage zero”. The military-backed authorities seem to be resigned to restarting politics without the Brotherhood. Instead, they are courting the country’s other main Islamist group, Nour, which had said on Monday it was pulling out of all political talks as a result of the attack on Mursi supporters. Nour’s signal that it would now support Beblawi as prime minister showed it had not fully abandoned politics: “We do not object to Dr Hazem. He is an important economic figure,” Nour Party head Younes Makhyoun told Reuters. In what appeared to be an olive branch to Islamists - and a move that also angered liberals - Mansour’s decree included language put into the constitution last year that defined the principles of Islamic law, or sharia. Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Egypt’s constitution at George Washington University in Washington, said that while the overnight decree laid out a clear sequence for transition, it also repeated some mistakes made two years ago, after Mubarak. “It was drawn up by an anonymous committee; it was issued by executive fiat; the timetable is rushed; the provisions for consultation are vague; and it promises inclusiveness but gives no clear procedural guidelines for it,” he told Reuters. The West, and Washington in particular, has had a difficult time formulating a public response after years of pushing Arab leaders towards democracy while nervous about the Brotherhood’s rise. Demonstrators on both sides in Egypt chant anti-American slogans, accusing Washington of backing their enemies. Washington has refrained from calling the military intervention a “coup” - a label that under U.S. law would require it to halt aid. The State Department said yesterday that Washington was encouraged that the Egyptian authorities had “laid out a plan for the path forward” with the election timetable.
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Lenders sound alarm over lack of action in Athens – report BRUSSELS (Reuters) Greece’s inability or unwillingness to collect taxes threatens to create a new financing shortfall, its lenders said in a report seen by Reuters that signals a new low in relations. After months of relative calm, concerns over the bloc’s first bailout recipient as well as a teetering government in Portugal have reignited the threat that the euro zone crisis may return. Athens is far from financial independence and even as Greece received a fresh lifeline from the
European Union and the International Monetary Fund on Monday, the report underscores the sense of alarm over Greece’s willingness to change. If Greece’s long-term funding looks no longer secured, there is a risk the IMF may have to pull out of the rescue. In private, European officials have struck an increasingly damning tone on Athens in recent weeks, with some saying the government was doing just the bare minimum and the country’s economic outlook was
dimming. The 47-page report, coauthored by the European Commission and seen by Reuters yesterday, formed the basis of the lenders’ decision to give Greece fresh cash - on the condition it delivers - but it also questions Athens’ “willingness and capacity” to collect taxes. “The strengthening of the tax administration constitutes a key pillar of the fiscal consolidation strategy,” the report said. “Failure to deliver the targeted improvement in collection performance would imply the need to seek
Afghan officials sceptical as U.S. mulls complete withdrawal (Reuters) - The United States is considering pulling out all its troops from Afghanistan next year but is far from making a decision, White House and Pentagon officials said yesterday, but Afghan officials expressed scepticism that President Barack Obama would back a complete withdrawal. Amid tensions between Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the path forward, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that a “zero option” of leaving no U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is among the policy possibilities under consideration. “This is not a decision that is imminent,” Carney said. Obama is committed to winding down U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The United States has been talking with officials in Afghanistan about keeping a small residual force there of perhaps 8,000 troops after 2014. At the Pentagon, spokesman George Little played down friction with Karzai and expressed confidence that there was still “plenty of time and space” to negotiate a bilateral security pact allowing for U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan. Karzai suspended talks on that pact in June, accusing Washington of mixed messages regarding peace talks with the Taliban. It was among the latest signs of deep tensions between U.S. officials and the Afghan leader. A June 27 video conference between Obama and Karzai aimed at lowering tensions was confrontational, officials said. “I wouldn’t say that we’re frustrated. We continue to work through issues,” Little said. “We realize that there are going to be points of
Hamid Karzai contention from time to time. That’s natural of any partnership. But we think we can get through them.” Senior Afghan figures close to Karzai expressed scepticism that the United States would consider a complete withdrawal. “Both sides understand how to pressure each other. But both the U.S. and Afghanistan fully understand the need for foreign troops, especially U.S. ones, to stay beyond 2014 and that it is vital for security here and in the wider region,” a top palace official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “We don’t think the U.S. will compromise on that, because past experience of abandoning Afghanistan was that the country descended into chaos,” the official said, recalling the bitter civil war that raged after the 1989 Soviet withdrawal and subsequent toppling of the Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992. Much of Kabul was gutted in the ensuing conflict between rival warlords until the Taliban seized control of the country in 1996 and introduced their austere Islamic regime. Afghan Defence Ministry
spokesman General Zahir Azimi said there had been no decisions on the pace and scale of a U.S. withdrawal, and similar scenarios had circulated in the past. A former Karzai political adviser, Nasrullah Stanikzai, said the Afghan government must pursue its own strategic and political interests in negotiations with the United States, but tense relations between Obama and Karzai were not helping. “But U.S. officials saying they are considering leaving no troops behind after 2014 is just propaganda to put pressure on (the) Afghan government so Washington can get an outcome it wants in a bilateral security pact,” Stanikzai said. The negotiations on the future U.S. role in Afghanistan that were suspended by Karzai will cover vital basing issues and whether reduced numbers of U.S. troops may be able to continue attacks against al Qaeda and other extremist groups, including in neighbouring Pakistan. The United States also considered keeping a small force in Iraq after the broad troop withdrawal from that country, but talks with Iraqi leaders failed to yield such a deal. The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan — now around 63,000 — already is set to decline to 34,000 by February. The White House has said the great majority of American forces will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001. The United States invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban rulers who had harboured the al Qaeda network responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States weeks earlier.
alternative measures to close the emerging fiscal gap.” The report showed Athens could face a fiscal gap of up to half a percent of gross domestic product (GDP) - 2 billion euros - this year and next if it fails to deliver on the reforms its backers demand in return for fresh bailout cash. For 2015 it predicts a fiscal gap of more than 1-3/4 percent of GDP and of over 2 percent in 2016. “The fiscal outlook for 2013-14 remains subject to high uncertainty,” according to the report, marked as a draft and dated July 2013. It noted tax collection is concentrated in the second part of the year. “ A f t e r m e a s u r e s had been taken in May to avoid the emergence of a fiscal gap for 2013 and 2014, the mission identified new shortfalls that threatened the achievement of the fiscal targets, going as far as half per cent of GDP in either year,” according to the report. GDP was 194 billion euros in 2012. The report said, however, authorities had identified measures to address the issue and to reach the targets
Antonis Samaras of a primary balance - before debt servicing costs - in 2013 and a primary surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP next year. Completing those steps is the condition for the EU and IMF to pay out. They would deal with overspending by the health care fund EOPYY through rationing healthcare and preventing misuse of publicly funded services, according to the Commission paper. An income tax reform such as a solidarity surcharge on income from interest and dividends as well as lower tax deduction allowance for
medical costs - would also lead to moderate revenue. Other steps initially planned for 2014, such as a luxury tax and higher court fees, would now start in 2013. Protests against public sector layoffs have picked up, reflecting stiff opposition to Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s coalition government and the reforms meant to kickstart the economy. The troika of international lenders gave Greece an extra three months to put 12,500 public sector workers in a mobility pool - giving them eight months to find work in a different department or be fired - after missing a June deadline. Greece’s economy could shrink by as much as 5 percent this year, Athensbased IOBE think tank said yesterday, revising down its previous projection and offering a more pessimistic forecast than the country’s foreign lenders. The lenders stuck to forecasts the economy would shrink 4.2 percent this year and 0.6 percent in 2014. It did not detail revenue targets for privatisation.
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Wednesday July 10, 2013
Israel warns Arabs against Berlusconi’s final tax fraud ‘bashing’ it at U.N. nuclear meeting appeal hearing set for July 30
VIENNA (Reuters) - Arab diplomats signaled yesterday they would seek to step up pressure on Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal but the Jewish state said any attempt to “bash” it would be counterproductive. Arab countries, angry at the lack of movement in efforts to move towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, have served notice they plan to target Israel for criticism at the U.N. atomic agency’s annual member state gathering in September. “We need to raise our frustration, we need to raise our concern about this issue,” one Arab envoy in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based, said. Israel’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ehud Azoulay, told Reuters that Arab states “are taking a counterproductive route by raising this issue ... and trying to bash Israel”. In a letter to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, posted on the U.N. agency’s web site, 18 Arab member states asked for “Israeli nuclear capabilities” to be included as an agenda item of the September 1620 gathering in the Austrian capital. The IAEA meeting “must take appropriate measures to ensure that Israel places all its
Ehud Azoulay nuclear installations under agency safeguards and accedes to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the letter, dated in June, said. Arab countries are considering putting forward a non-binding but symbolically important resolution on the issue after refraining from doing so at the previous two annual gatherings of the IAEA’s 159 member countries, Arab diplomats said. Such a move would likely draw a rebuke from the United States and its Western allies, which argue that singling out Israel for blame could undermine broader steps aimed at banning weapons of mass destruction in the volatile region. Israel is widely believed
to possess the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, drawing Arab and Iranian condemnation. It is the only regional country outside the global Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to prevent the spread of atomic arms. Israel and the United States regard Iran as the world’s main proliferation threat, accusing Tehran of covertly seeking a nuclear arms capability, something the Islamic state denies. An Egyptian plan for an international meeting to lay the groundwork for creating a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction was agreed at an NPT review conference in 2010. But the United States said late last year that the conference would not occur as planned in December 2012 and did not make clear when, or whether, it would take place. The United States, Britain and Russia are cosponsors of the meeting. “We are disappointed but we are still eager to convene the conference,” the Arab envoy said. U.S. and Israeli officials have said a nuclear arms-free zone in the Middle East could not be a reality until there was broad Arab-Israeli peace and Iran curbed its nuclear program.
(Reuters) - Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s final appeal against a prison term for tax fraud is expected to be heard in court on July 30, much earlier than expected, his lawyers said on Tuesday. The surprise timetabling heightened the pressures on Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s fragile coalition government, which depends on the 76year-old Berlusconi’s centreright People of Freedom party (PDL). Although he may avoid jail due to his age, a ban on public office, depriving him of his seat in parliament, could deepen the problems bedevilling a government already divided over key elements of tax and economic policy. Berlusconi, who often says leftist magistrates want to destroy him politically, is not a minister but plays a big behind-the-scenes role ensuring the stability of the coalition with his traditional rivals in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Berlusconi was sentenced last year to four years’ jail with a five-year ban on holding public office, for complicity in tax fraud at his Mediaset television empire, a decision
that was upheld on appeal in May. A final appeal had been expected at the end of the year with reports in Italian newspapers speculating that the court could run into the statute of limitations at least on some of the charges, potentially curbing any sentence against Berlusconi. However the decision to schedule the final appeal hearing before the normal summer break caught his legal team offguard and drew a furious reaction. “I have never seen a hearing programmed as quickly as this. I am astonished,” one of Berlusconi’s lawyers, Franco Coppi, told Reuters. “This is a real squeeze on the rights of the defence.” If the verdict against the billionaire media tycoon is upheld, he will have no more right of appeal. In a caustic comment on the timing of the hearing, Gaetano Quagliariello, minister for constitutional reform and a member of the PDL, said it contrasted sharply with the normal snail’s pace of the Italian justice system. “One can only hope that people will realize that the
Silvio Berlusconi question of justice is not only a problem for Silvio Berlusconi or the centreright but is affecting our whole state,” he said in a statement. Berlusconi has pledged to continue supporting Letta’s coalition but some hardline allies in his party have threatened protests if the verdict goes against him. The tax fraud trial is only one of a series of legal battles against Berlusconi, who was sentenced last month to seven years’ jail for paying for sex with a minor in the “bunga bunga” case involving former teenaged nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug, alias “Ruby the Heartstealer”.
Cameron leaves some powers with EU after security warnings LONDON (Reuters) Conservatives, who want to claw back a host of powers delegated to the EU, opted yesterday to leave key justice powers in Brussels after their pro-EU coalition partners and police said national security was at risk. Home Secretary Theresa May said Britain wanted to remain part of 35 pan-EU measures including the European Arrest Warrant, a system that allows the transfer of suspects between member states. Prime Minister David Cameron, trailing in the polls, is under pressure from Conservative Eurosceptics to take a harder line with Europe or even leave a 28-nation bloc that they see as a threat to Britain’s sovereignty. He has said he will try to secure a “repatriation” of powers from the European Union across all areas of government and then hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the bloc, provided he wins the next election, due in 2015. The opposition Labour Party taunted May in parliament, saying the justice
David Cameron deal was “hardly a triumph of repatriation”. Conservative Eurosceptic Jacob ReesMogg called it a surrender of sovereignty. May said the government had listened to criticism that opting out of the justice measures would hamper criminal investigations across Europe. “Some of these measures covered by this decision are important tools which they need to protect the British public,” she told parliament. Britain’s right to repatriate a package of justice powers was agreed by the previous, Labour government before
the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, the agreement that reformed the EU’s constitutional framework. After formally opting out of all of the legislation, comprising more than 130 powers, Britain must now ask the EU to allow it to opt back into the areas it wants to adopt. The European Commission said in a statement: “At first sight, it appears that the UK has looked at the opt-ins in a pragmatic way.” Labour portrayed May’s announcement as an early failure in Cameron’s wider attempt to win back powers from Brussels. “This is hardly a triumph of repatriation,” said Labour home affairs spokeswoman Yvette Cooper, pointing out that some of the measures where Britain has chosen to retain national responsibility were defunct and others had never been used. “The Home Secretary has tried to play Britannia, clothing herself in the union jack (flag), parading powers that she is repatriating from Brussels. The truth is, she isn’t wearing a flag, it is simply a fig leaf.”
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Wednesday July 10, 2013
Confusion on Snowden U.S. NSA “spied” on most Latin acceptance of Venezuela offer American nations - Brazil paper
MOSCOW (AP) — The WikiLeaks secret-spilling site yesterday said NSA leaker Edward Snowden has not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela, trying to put to rest growing confusion over whether he had taken up the country’s offer. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has offered asylum to Snowden and says his country received a request from the former NSA systems analyst. But Snowden, who is believed to be in a Moscow airport’s transit zone, has applied for asylum in a number of other countries as well, and it is not clear how easy it would be for him to travel to the Latin American country. Yesterday, a prominent Russian lawmaker tweeted that Snowden had accepted Venezuela’s offer, then deleted the posting a few minutes later. It was not possible to immediately reach Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee who has acted as an unofficial point man for the Kremlin on the Snowden affair. But soon after the posting on his Twitter account disappeared, he sent another message saying his claim was based on a report from the state all-news television channel Rossiya 24, also known as Vesti. The channel said Pushkov misunderstood its report on Maduro’s
comments Monday night during a meeting with Panama’s president, which the anchorwoman introduced by saying “Venezuela has finally received an answer” from Snowden. She then clarified that Maduro said Venezuela had received Snowden’s official request and showed a clip of him saying in Russian voiceover that Snowden “should decide when to fly to Caracas, if he indeed has decided to come here.” WikiLeaks, which has been advising Snowden, said yesterday on Twitter that Snowden had not formally accepted the Venezuelan offer, and that any decision on asylum would be announced by the “states concerned” and “then be confirmed by us.” Pushkov, however, followed up with a third tweet that essentially repeated his initial claim: “As Vesti 24 reported citing Maduro, Snowden accepted his offer of asylum. If this is so, then he considered this the safest option.” Pushkov had posted messages over the weekend encouraging Snowden to accept Venezuela’s offer, signaling that the Kremlin was now anxious to be rid of him. The Kremlin declined comment yesterday’s developments. Snowden, who revealed details of a U.S. intelligence program to monitor Internet activity, came to Moscow’s
Edward Snowden Sheremetyevo airport on June 23 and was believed to be headed for Cuba. But he did not board that flight and has not been seen publicly since. In his comments, Maduro did not say what process Venezuelan officials might use to follow up on Snowden’s request. For Snowden to leave for Venezuela, he would need the country to issue him travel documents and find a way to get there. The only direct commercial flight from Moscow stops in Havana, Cuba. The Moscow-Havana flight goes over Europe and the U.S., which could cause complications. Some European countries refused to allow Bolivian President Evo Morales to fly through their airspace on his way home from Moscow last week because of suspicions that Snowden was on his plane. The presidents of Bolivia and Nicaragua have also said that Snowden was welcome in their countries.
BRASILIA (Reuters) The U.S. National Security Agency has targeted most Latin American countries in its spying programs, with Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico ranking among those of highest priority for the U.S. intelligence agency, a leading Brazilian newspaper reported yesterday. Citing documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the fugitive former American intelligence contractor, O Globo newspaper said the NSA programs went beyond military affairs to what it termed “commercial secrets.” These included petroleum in Venezuela and energy in Mexico, according to a graphic which O Globo identified as being from the NSA and dated February of this year. Also swept up in what O Globo termed as U.S. spying were Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and El Salvador, the story said. While the purported spying on these countries was “constant,” the most intense surveillance was directed at Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico, the newspaper said. The Globo article was written by Glenn Greenwald, Roberto Kaz and José Casado. Greenwald, an American citizen who works for Britain’s Guardian newspaper and lives in Rio de Janeiro, was the journalist who first revealed classified documents provided by Snowden, outlining the extent
of U.S. communications monitoring activity at home and abroad. Greenwald said on Sunday in a Twitter message that he had worked with O Globo on the reports to more quickly relay the scope and reach of the alleged surveillance. The bulk of Greenwald’s stories thus far have appeared in the Guardian. O Globo cited documents saying that from January to March this year, NSA agents carried out “spying actions” via “Boundless Informant” which it said cataloged telephone calls and access to the Internet. Also used was Prism from February 2 to 8 this year, O Globo said. As disclosed by Snowden to the Guardian, the NSA’s Prism program collated mail, Internet chat and files directly from the servers of companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Skype. A main NSA surveillance target was Colombia, the United States’ top military ally in the region, where drug trafficking and movements by the FARC guerrilla group were monitored, O Globo said. In Venezuela the NSA spied on military procurement and the oil industry, and in Mexico the agency gathered information on the drug trade, the energy sector and political affairs using Prism. The newspaper reported on Sunday that the NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency had gathered telephone and email data in Brazil, based on documents
Snowden provided to Greenwald. B r a z i l ’ s telecommunications agency said on Monday that it would investigate whether local operators had violated customer privacy rules in alleged surveillance of Brazilian telecommunications data by the U.S. spy agencies. The decision came as U.S. officials, including the American ambassador in Brasilia, sought to reassure Brazil that O Globo reports on Sunday and Monday about NSA surveillance of Brazilian communications were incorrect. According to O Globo, access to Brazilian communications was obtained through American companies that were partners with Brazilian telecommunications companies. The report did not identify any of the companies but said an NSA program called Silverzephyr was used to access phone calls, faxes and emails. O Globo also reported this week that the CIA and the NSA jointly ran monitoring stations to gather information from foreign satellites in 65 countries, including five in Latin America, citing documents dating from 2002 leaked by Snowden. The so-called Special Collection Service operated from the capitals of Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico and Brazil. The newspaper said it was not known whether the alleged satellite espionage continued after 2002.
No quick fix to our problems says Premier HAMILTON, Bermuda Premier Craig Cannonier has reiterated a warning that recovery for Bermuda’s reeling economy, which has been in recession for more than four years, would take time and effort. Cannonier, made the statement in a televised address late Monday as he summed up the One Bermuda Alliance’s (OBA) first six months in power. “There are a thousand things to do before we’re out of the woods. It is not going to be easy. There is no magic wand to wave; there is no quick fix. It will take time and patience, with steady leadership focused on the big and little things, with all of us working together, playing our part. Our goal is to renew the promise of Bermuda, to shake off past mistakes and
reposition the island to meet people’s needs.” The OBA inherited a national debt of US$1.4 billion after it ended 14 years of rule by the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in last December’s general election. The debt ceiling has since been raised from $1.45 billion to $2.5 billion to help the country pay its bills and stay afloat. Local unemployment is running at 10 per cent. “Everything we are experiencing tells us we must chart a new course forward, doing things better. Everything tells us we must be about solutions — prepared to change what is not working — for the sake of building the strongest possible future. For this government, the first imperative is to get outof-work Bermudians back to work, providing once again
for their loved ones, growing pay cheques and new opportunities.” He urged the people of Bermuda to “remember that nothing will be handed to us on a platter”, saying: “We have to work for it. There may be no easy answers.” Cannonier also announced that the school day would be extended to benefit students, while municipal government would be reformed. At the same time, new standards had been introduced for teachers in the core subjects of English, maths and science. He said: “Some issues will ask you to support change that you’re not yet comfortable with. Do not give in to scaremongering and remember that we Bermudians control our destiny, no one else. What we do is up to us,
no one else. We make the rules, we make the decisions. Through it all we must do our best to work together – to look beyond differences that so often keep us apart. All of us have a role to play in the renewal of Bermuda, because all of us are in this boat together.” Concerning the achievements of the government, Cannonier pointed to axing work permit term limits and cutting back on red tape to make the island more attractive to investors and boost job prospects for Bermudians. He added that a payroll tax exemption for new Bermudian hires made them more attractive to employers. He said in an effort to cut mushrooming debt, government ministries now had to file monthly reports on their spending.
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BARBADOS ECONOMY CONTRACTS BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The Barbados economy contracted during the first six months of the year with the main foreign exchange sectors also suffering a decline, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) on Tuesday. The CBB said that the local economy grew by just 0.6 per cent and among the priorities for the future will be to reduce spending “in the economy so as to balance the inflows and outflows of foreign e x c h ange “and also “to revive economic growth led by tourism, international business, agro processing and alternative energy”. The CBB said that the first half of 2013 saw a contraction in the main foreign exchange earners, namely tourism and international business and financial services. “At the same time, private foreign capital inflows were less than a quarter of the figure recorded in the same
period last year, the CBB said, adding “foreign exchange levels were relatively unchanged for most of the first three months, but weakened considerably during the second quarter”. The CBB said as a result, the foreign reserve cover fell from 19 weeks of imports as at March to 16 weeks at the end of June. “Overall economic growth is estimated to have contracted by 0.6 per cent in the first half, inflation rate is estimated at 2.7 per cent to June and the rate of unemployment was 11.5 per cent at end-March,” the CBB added. It said that long stay visitors decreased by seven per cent for the first six months of the year with earnings also declining by three per cent. The Central Bank said the island recorded declines in all markets including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. The average length of stay was higher by about four
The CBB said that the first half of 2013 saw a contraction in the main foreign exchange earners. per cent but airline seating capacity and hotel room occupancy rates were below last year’s levels,” the CBB said, adding that within the financial services, the island also recorded declines. It said the number of new licences issued to international businesses and financial services (IFBS) increased by eight per cent up
to May, but renewable fell by 14 per cent. “Measures to stimulate this sector included amendments to the tax structure and intensified marketing in Canada and Latin America.” The CBB said that rum exports also declined by 37 per cent and exports of sugar were down significantly in the
first four months, the CBB said, adding that similar declines were recorded for exports of chemicals and other beverages. Activity within the construction sector declined by nine per cent and the government’s deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for the April to June period “widened to an estimated 9.4 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent during the first quarter of fiscal year 2012/13”. The CBB said that tax receipts fell BDS$36 million (One Barbados dollar=US$0.50 cents) or six per cent due to declines in value added tax (VAT) and personal income tax BDS$20 million in each case, On the other hand, expenditure rose by BDS$18 million or three per cent, interest payments rising by BDS$12 million and transferred to state-owned enterprises rising by seven million dollars. The CBB said the government’s deficit of BDS$198 million was financed
by commercial banks, non financial institutions, the National Insurance Scheme and the CBB itself. It said that external indebtedness fell by BDS$22 million. “The overall public debt, net of public sector financial assets, increased by BDS148 million to the equivalent of 58 per cent of GDP,” the CBB added. The CBB said that going forward, economic growth of three per cent by 2017 is achievable, noting last month the government held a national consultation with special partners with a view to addressing the priorities for the economy. “Based on investment projects that have been identified by private sector enterprises and infrastructural and other projects which the government plans over the next five years, growth rates rising from about one per cent in 2014 to over three per cent in 2017 are achievable,” the CBB said.
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Tropical Storm Govt. ministers attack Opposition Leader Chantal passes over following top cop’s ‘fake e-mails’ statement Eastern Caribbean BLOWS FOR ROWLEY
Trinidad Express Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was yesterday deemed to be an unfit leader who must tender his resignation in the face of the emailgate controversy. Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Local Government Minister Suruj Rambachan and National Security adviser to the Prime Minister Gary Griffith Monday asserted that they were right from day one—that the e-mails never existed—and the statements from acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) Stephen Williams vindicated their position. However, they further called on the police to speed up their investigations and go to the servers to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the e-mails were false. Williams, in an exclusive interview with the Express published Monday, said based on the documents before him, the e-mails, which were exposed by Rowley on May 20 in Parliament, were fake. The alleged e-mail exchange between Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar, Ramlogan, Rambachan and Griffith points to a alleged plot to cover up the Section 34 debacle, an attempt to bribe the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by using the Chief Justice to offer him the post of a High Court judge and an attempt to intimidate a reporter. However, while Williams dismissed the authenticity of the e-mails he also said the content was under probe. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mervyn Richardson is leading the investigation. Ramlogan said yesterday he was neither surprised nor satisfied by the statements made by the acting CoP. “I am not surprised because I know that these
Dr. Keith Rowley
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
fake e-mails are a political fabrication. I am not satisfied because this investigation is dragging on too long and the police seem preoccupied with devices when they should be concentrating on verifying whether these e-mails were sent from the primary source which is the servers,” he said. Ramlogan said all persons involved have indicated their willingness to give consent so that Google can be approached to ascertain whether these e-mails exist. “To date, the police have not indicated their willingness to do this and it is difficult to understand their reluctance to go directly to the source of our e-mail accounts to get the truth,” said Ramlogan. “The devices are an unnecessary ‘sideshow’ that has become a political circus because of the absence of any proper procedure of protocol by the police to deal with these devices in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the information that is on it,” he added. Attorneys representing Persad-Bissessar, Ramlogan and Rambachan have advised their clients to not hand over their devices to the police in the absence of “proper protocols”. Griffith was the only person to hand over his cellphone and hard drive.
Ramlogan said the police have not yet provided the requested protocols. “We have made proposals as to what international best practice is and they have not responded. So I’m at the mercy of the police living in hope that they will hire an international IT expert who can get pass this pappyshow of the devices and conduct the real investigation by approaching the primary source which is the server,” he said. Ramlogan said he has nothing to fear and was confident that “absolute vindication” will come, not from the CoP but from Google itself. Rowley must step down, he said. “Dr Rowley is in the political departure lounge and it is only a matter of time before his scandalous political conspiracy will lead to his downfall. He is reckless and irresponsible and unfit for leadership and I now understand why Mr Manning described him as a hooligan,” said Ramlogan. Rambachan told the Express he took it upon himself to write to Google to query whether the e-mails were legitimate. “I had written to Google International and Google International indicated to me that there was no such e-mail,”
he said. Rambachan said he hopes that the police continue their investigation and put the matter to rest as quickly as possible. “And, if in fact there was a malicious act on the Leader of the Opposition then the police should also deal with that,” said Rambachan. “One wonders to what extent he was protected under the cloak of Parliament and privilege,” said Rambachan, adding that Rowley had indicated previously that if the e-mails were fake he would resign and he (Rowley) should keep his word. Griffith said the end result of the police investigations would prove that the e-mails were fake. Griffith said he, the Prime Minister, Ramlogan and Rambachan were falsely accused and the perception was that they were guilty until proven innocent. He criticised the group Fixin T&T for placing fullpage advertisements in the press calling on the Prime Minister, himself, Ramlogan and Rambachan to hand over their devices to the police while leaving Rowley out of the picture. “I think that Dr Rowley fully recognises that he erred and it is up to his conscience to decide what he wants to do,” said Griffith. “If you are a leader you need to be very careful in your decision-making process, you just can’t shoot from the hip and hope things will happen. He (Rowley) should step back and realise in future as a political leader you can’t just jump the gun and stop playing the game of ‘Aha, I catch you’. You need to be professional and controlled as a leader,” he said. Griffith added that he was a not a Member of Parliament and had written to House Speaker Wade Mark on the heels of Rowley’s disclosure of emailgate in the Parliament. “A Member of Parliament can smear my name, make allegations and nothing can be done, it is totally ridiculous because it can happen to anyone,” said Griffith, adding that to date he had not received a response from Mark. He said further that if any other citizen in the country had made such allegations, the police would have charged him/her with wasting police’s time.
Could reach Hurricane strength today ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Tropical Storm Chantal raced across small islands in the eastern Caribbean yesterday as officials issued a Hurricane Watch for the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. The storm was centred about 335 miles (540 kilometres) southeast of Puerto Rico around 2:00 pm EDT yesterday, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), and was moving west-northwest at 29 mph (46 kph). Officials in Dominica reported that heavy winds ripped off the roofs of several homes. But no injuries were reported in Dominica, or anywhere else in the region.
“It’s getting rough out there,” said Conrad Ceasar, an emergency management official for Dominica’s southern region. “Some parts of the island are without electricity.” The government cancelled the country’s ferry service and closed airports, and National Security Minister Charles Savarin said government offices would close at noon. “Chantal is a serious storm,” he said. Chantal was expected to move away from the Lesser Antilles late Tuesday and be near or over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, according to the Hurricane Center. Chantal could be near hurricane strength before it reaches Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Recompense integral to growth - Antigua PM
Baldwin Spencer Jamaica Gleaner - Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, believes a call for reparations is an integral element of the community’s development strategy. Spencer noted during discussions by CARICOM heads of government last week that the legacy of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean severely impaired the region’s development options. “We know that our constant search and struggle for development resources is linked directly to the historical inability of our nations to accumulate wealth from the efforts of our peoples during slavery and colonialism,” Spencer said of the discussions that took place during the fourday 34th Heads of Government Conference held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The conference
wrapped up on Saturday. “These nations that have been the major producers of wealth for the European slave-owning economies during the enslavement and colonial periods entered independence with dependency straddling their economic, cultural, social and even political lives.” Spencer said reparations had to be directed towards addressing the damage inflicted by slavery and racism. “We, as political leaders, must encourage our various reparation agencies to continue the education of our Caribbean people and our diaspora, and enhance their awareness of the reparations issue,” he argued. “It is important that there is solid people and multi-party support for our efforts, and we must impress on our colleagues in both government and opposition that this is not an issue we should use as party politics fodder. Our various reparation organisations must see the forging of bipartisan political support and civil-society consensus for reparations as one of their main objectives.” CARICOM Chair Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, described the progress on the subject as a very positive outcome.
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Everything in place at Bourda for Ashes 2013: England captain warm-up game - says GCB President Alastair Cook prepared
The authorities are leaving nothing to chance as a pump empties the drains around the world famous ground. The sun was out all day yesterday and the pumps were on standby on North Road as the water level around the GCC ground Bourda was very low and the outfield dry. Since the construction of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence for the 2007 World Cup, Bourda, the venue for the first ever West Indies Test victory in 1930, has sunk into disrepair. The last time an International match was staged at Bourda, West Indies, led by 93 from Guyanese Shiv Chanderpaul, amassed 333-6 off their 50 overs against Zimbabwe in 2006 to give the hosts an 82run win. The only Test venue in South America, Bourda has hosted 32 test matches and 13 ODIs from 1988 after five ODIs were held at Albion in Berbice up to 1985 including the first ever ODI in the West Indies against Pakistan in 1977. Tomorrow Guyana and the touring Pakistan team are scheduled to play a warm up game ahead of the first two
ODIs at the Stadium on Sunday and Tuesday and President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Drubahadur informed that everything was in place for the warm-up game. He explained that the main worry at Bourda is rain on match day but added that the pitch was expected to be the typical flat track while a fast outfield is anticipated. “The Roan Kamahi stand will be opened and admission is free. The Clive Lloyd stand has been replaced by a tarmac and if required, fans could be accommodated there,” Bahadur informed. The GCB head added that if the weather is bad it would be on too short notice to swift the match and get another facility ready. Bourda was opened in 1884 and the last of the 187 First-Class matches was contested in February 2011 when Guyana opposed the Leeward Islands. According to the Bahadur the Providence ground is in tip top shape and fully ready for Sunday’s ODI. He added that ticket sales are going
great and can be had from the GCB office on Regent Street. “Pakistan, who arrived in Guyana on Monday night were supposed to have their first practice session at the Stadium yesterday. He noted that the West Indies team were scheduled to arrive in Guyana on Friday but since the team failed to qualify for the Final of the TriNation series they could arrive here earlier. Bahadur opined that this was maybe the first time that a visiting team had arrived before the home team for a home series. The GCB topman also informed that the Stadium was inspected yesterday by security personal. The Guyana 14-member squad to face Pakistan tomorrow read: Veersammy Permaul (Captain), Christopher Barnwell (ViceCaptain), Trevon Griffith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Devendra Bishoo, Rajiv Ivan, Zaheer Mohamed, Paul Wintz, and Keon Joseph. (Sean Devers)
BBC Sport - England captain Alastair Cook has told his players to be ready for an almighty tussle when the Ashes series against Australia gets under way today. England are favourites to win their third Ashes in a row, a feat they have not achieved since 1956. Ahead of the Trent Bridge Test, Cook said: “Australia have fantastic players and it will be one heck of a battle. “Every Ashes series I have played in is always intense and that is what we have got to prepare ourselves for.” Cook, 28, who will be captaining his country in an Ashes series for the first time, added: “Cricket isn’t played on paper and it never will be. It’s about who delivers out there come tomorrow and the next 24 days of cricket.” The momentum in one of sport’s oldest rivalries has shifted towards England in recent years following an era of Australian dominance. Having lost eight straight series between 1989 and 2002-03, England have won three of the last four, culminating in a resounding 3-1 triumph in 2010-11, their first victory in Australia since 1986-87. Recent form points to another England success, with Australia having suffered a 4-0 whitewash by India in March, three months after England’s 2-1 away victory over the same opposition. The tourists have also endured a chaotic build-up to the series. Batsman David Warner was banned after punching England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar and Coach Mickey Arthur was replaced by Darren Lehmann just two weeks before the series. Captain Michael Clarke, however, said Australia had put the turmoil behind them and, after encouraging
Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke with the Ashes. (Getty Images) performances in their warmup matches against Somerset and Worcestershire, were capable of surpassing expectations. “We come here as underdogs and we know it’s going to be tough but I know the boys are up for the challenge,” he said. “I think every single one of our boys has prepared as well as they possibly can. Now it’s about going out on that stage and playing with freedom and backing your own ability. “We have so much talent inside that room and I just want to see the guys play their natural games. “We’ve spoken about a lot but I think the talking is done for us as a team now. Now it’s not what you say, it’s what you do.” While Clarke declared himself “100% fit” for the contest following a longstanding back problem, both captains vowed not to disclose their team selections until the toss at 10:30 BST. Lehmann hinted last week that Warner could be a surprise inclusion at number six for Australia as the tourists look to unsettle England with an aggressive brand of cricket. Clarke said he was confident that Warner would be “a success” if selected. England have won seven of their last nine Tests at Trent Bridge, including a famous victory in the 2005 Ashes, when unlikely batting heroes Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles helped put the hosts 2-1 up in the series with one to play. The ground will be full to its 17,000 capacity for all five days of the match after tickets
sold out within hours of going on sale in October. Cook, who scored 766 runs at an average of 127.66 in the 2010-11 Ashes, said expectation levels across the country were consistent with his experiences in past contests against Australia. “The biggest thing I’ve noted from playing in Ashes series is that when you’ve been successful, people come up to and tell you what a great series that was to watch,” he said. “Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had a lot of people come up in the street and say good luck in the Ashes - that’s very different to any other series. “But you have to keep yourself very true to what you are and remember that it’s another game of cricket. “This is what we have been doing all our lives and we have handled these situations before so I don’t see reason why we can’t now.” He also echoed the feelings of off-spinner Graeme Swann, who said on Monday he hoped England’s cricketers could build on recent British sporting success. Cook said: “It was an incredible moment for British sport when Andy Murray won Wimbledon and when the Lions won after such a long period of time. In our dressing room, there are a lot of big rugby and tennis fans, so watching that as a genuine British sports fan was fantastic. “We’d love to be able to join them in that success but there’s a hell of a lot of hard work to do first.”
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Guyana turn in impressive showing at Powerlifting C/ships Guyanese powerlifters were outstanding at the recently held 7TH 1PF/ NAPF Caribbean Powerlifting Championships – Open and Team competitions and the 14TH IPF / FESUPO / NAPF Pan American Powerlifting Championships – Junior /Open / Team and the 7TH Caribbean Powerlifting Championships. The team captured several gold and other medals along with first place in the Caribbean event overall and third in the NAPF competition. Here is the full list of the performances:
going heavy, Guyana would have been assured of a further 7 points through at least fourth place finish catapulting them into undisputed second place and silver medal win with a final tally of 43 points. South American giants Ecuador proved simply unstoppable capturing both male and female open titles along with men junior titles. Guyana – men open joint third / men juniors 4th of 8 teams / men masters 4th of 8 teams
7TH 1PF/ NAPF CARIBBEAN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS – OPEN / TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS ONLY WOMEN OPEN 84.0kg weight class - GOLD Kimberley Mars – Loncke MEN OPEN 66.0kg weight class - GOLD Vijai Rahim 74.0kg weight class - GOLD Winston Stoby - SILVER Paul Adams 83.0kg weight class - GOLD Randolph Morgan - SILVER Anis Ade Thomas 120kg weight class - GOLD Colin Chesney -SILVER John Edwards DID NOT QUALIFY 105.0kg weight class Karel Mars (started too heavy squat 325kgs)
OUTSTANDING LIFTERS FOR GUYANAWERE WOMEN OPEN– Kimberly Mars Loncke Gold Medal 84kg Caribbean Level MALE OPEN – Randolph Morgan Gold Medal Caribbean 83kg Best lifter overall Men – Caribbean Championship Silver Medal Pan American 83kg Dead lift record 330kgs Pan American level MALE JUNIOR & OPEN Vijai Rahim Gold Medal Men Open 66kg Caribbean Level Silver Medal Men Juniors 66kg Pan American level Bronze Medal Men Open 66kg Pan American level MALE SUB JUNIORS Gumendra Shewdas Gold Medal 53kg Pan American level World ranking - No 1 with total of 497.5kg MALE MASTERS 1 John Edwards Gold Medal 120kg Pan American level
14TH IPF / FESUPO / NAPF PAN AMERICAN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS – junior / open / team categories WOMEN OPEN 84.0kg weight class - BRONZE Kimberley Mars – Loncke MEN OPEN 66.0kg weight class - BRONZE Vijai Rahim 83.0kg weight class - SILVER Randolph Morgan - BRONZE Anis Ade Thomas MEN MASTERS I 120kg weight class - GOLD John Edwards MEN MASTERS II 74.0kg weight class -SILVER Winston Stoby MEN SUB JUNIORS 53.0kg 105.0kg weight class combined - GOLD Gumendra Shewdas (highest l wilkes points 485) MEN JUNIORS 66.0kg weight class - SILVER Vijai Rahim - BRONZE Fabian Ketwaroo DID NOT QUALIFY 59.0kg weight class Suraj Shewdas (started too heavy squat 190kgs) 105.0kg weight class Karel Mars (started too heavy squat 325kgs) TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS PLACING (GUYANA) 7TH CARIBBEAN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS – 5 nations participated MEN TEAM PLACINGS 1ST Place GUYANA 57 points 2ND Place PUERTO RICO 51 points 3RD Place US VIRGIN ISLANDS 37 points 4th Place TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 36 points BEST LIFTER MALE OVERALL - Randolph Morgan (GUY) - 562.28 WILKES POINTS WOMEN TEAM PLACINGS 1st Place PUERTO RICO 60 Points (full team) 2nd Place GUYANA 12 Points (1 lifter) 3rd Place TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 9 Points (1 lifter) 4th Place US VIRGIN ISLANDS 8 Points (1 lifter) BEST LIFTER FEMALE OVERALL Maria Vasquez (PUR) - 539.6 WILKES POINTS 14TH PAN AMERICAN POWERLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS – 15 Nations participated MEN TEAM PLACING 1ST Place ECUADOR 53 Points 2nd Place USA 38 Points PUERTO RICO 38 Points 3rd Place MEXICO 36 Points GUYANA 36 Points 4th Place CANADA 35 Points 5th Place BRAZIL 30 Points 6th Place COSTA RICA 28 Points 7th Place US VIRGIN ISLANDS 27 Points 8th Place TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 25 Points 9th Place GUATEMALA 14 Points VENEZUELA 14 Points NOTES Caribbean Championships Guyana easily brushed aside rivals Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago for team honours. On the distaff side, despite fielding just one lifter, Guyana managed to gain the silver. Pan American Championships Guyana enjoyed its maiden entry into the team championships at the Pan American level by tying with Mexico for joint third place. Had lifter Karel Mars secured his safety lift before
Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Championship
GITC STUN DOLPHIN, OREALLA ALSO WIN
Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) produced a stunning comeback to eliminate Dolphin Secondary after defeating them 6-3 in their Georgetown Zone quarterfinal encounter as action in the Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Championship continued yesterday, at the Police Sports Club (PSC) ground, Eve Leary Jamal McPherson opened the scoring for the Woolford Avenue side in the second minute of play when he lobbed a shot over the goalkeeper’s head from about 30 yards out. Dolphin, however, levelled the proceedings in the 11th minute through Joshua Perreira, who struck a right footed shot into the bottom left hand corner. Lavar Baptiste gave Dolphin the lead five minutes later, courtesy of a brilliant lob from the left wing that was
delivered from about 25 yards out. Dolphin increased their lead to two goals compliments of a Toquan Clarke penalty conversion in the 26th minute following an infringement in the foul area. Dynamic forward Randy Layne reduced the deficit to one goal from a well taken 40yard free kick from the left side of the field that nestled perfectly into the top right hand corner of the net. The break came with Dolphin clinging to a slim 3-2 advantage. Parity was restored in the match when Layne completed his brace in the 48th minute from a curling corner kick that eluded everyone and landed in the goal. GITC took the lead in the 61st minute through a Jamal Williams header from another right sided corner kick. Williams completed his brace in the 84th minute,
compliments of right footed strike after being left unmarked in the six yard area following a fumble by the opposition’s goalkeeper following a cross from the right flank. Poor goalkeeping ended the fixture as Colwyn Daniels engraved his name on the scorer’s sheet with an 89th minute 50-yard effort that laughably bounced over the Dolphin shot stopper. Over at the Skeldon Community Centre ground in Berbice, Orealla Secondary through second half strikes from Jermaine Biswane, Kelvin Dick, Evan Herman and Winston Peneux in the 70th, 78th, 80th and 86th minutes respectively overcame Berbice Educational Institute (BEI) 4-2. Rolex Archibald and Jason Drake were on target for the losers in the 25th and 31st minutes respectively.
David Haye vs. Tyson Fury
FIGHT ON FOR 28 SEPT. IN MANCHESTER BBC Sport - Tyson Fury has confirmed he will fight British heavyweight rival David Haye in Manchester on 28 September. Former WBA heavyweight champion Haye, 32, has not fought since a fifth-round stoppage victory against Dereck Chisora in July 2012. Fury, 25, was last in action in April when he spectacularly stopped American Steve Cunningham in the seventh round of their bout in New York. The Haye v Fury contest will take place at the Manchester Arena. Haye, who has also held the WBA, WBO
and WBC cruiserweight titles, withdrew from a June date with Manuel Charr because of a hand injury sustained in training. A defeat by Wladimir Klitschko in October 2011 led to Haye announcing his retirement, but he reversed his decision in order to meet Chisora in 2012. Prior to the confirmation of his meeting with Fury, Haye had goaded the Manchesterborn fighter on Twitter, saying: “Let’s hope he finally agrees and doesn’t keep delaying. “Word is he’s looking to duck me and fight Tony ‘The Tiger’ Thompson. Let’s hope they’re just rumours.”
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday July 10, 2013
Afridi selected because of 10th edition of GTA/P&P Insurance C’bean Conditions says Pakistan Brokers Annual Tennis Camp commences Captain Misbah-ul-Haq More than 50 exuberant young racquet wielders well many young and eager faces children, all well attired, and said that his organization here today, all willing to enjoy
By Sean Devers Despite the loss of fast bowler Umar Gul to a knee injury and the out of form Shoaib Malik from their squad, which is scheduled to play the West Indies in a five match ODI series starting in Guyana on Sunday, Pakistan Captain Misbah-ul-Haq is confident of success on their tour of the West Indies. After a long and tiring trip the Pakistanis arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri on Monday night and Misbah admitted to feeling the effects of the travelling. “I am really tired at the moment but we have come here to play hard cricket and we have a good team. I am confident that if we do the right things we can be successful in the West Indies,” Misbah disclosed. The tourists, who lost by 10 wickets in the last ODI match played at the Guyana National Stadium on May 5, 2011, will face West Indies in the first of two ODIs on Sunday and Tuesday, in the five-match series before leaving for St Lucia for the remaining games. The Pakistanis will face a Guyana line-up in a warm up game at Bourda tomorrow and Misbah feels playing a warmup game before the start of the series is a good thing. “When you go somewhere new you want to acclimatize and get accustomed to the conditions and I think this game will help us before the tour begins to get us settled down here,” the 39-year-old batsman opined. His unbeaten 94 is his
Shahid Afridi highest score in 120 ODIs, but he has notched up 25 fifties and averages 43.40 and is considered a solid batsman in the middle order. Misbah took over the leadership role at the age of 36 and his cool temperament was what Pakistan’s cricket needed after the rough period it had gone through after the spot fixing episode in England in 2010. On their 2011 tour here, Pakistan won the first three ODIs in St Lucia before losing by one run on the Duckworth/ Lewis system in Barbados and again at Providence in the final match to win the series 3-2. With scores of 73 not out, and unbeaten 43, 30 in the wins, but could only manage five in Barbados and one in Guyana when the West Indies registered consolation victories, on that trip, the Pakistan Skipper is banking on a rejuvenated Afridi doing well in what he expects to be in spin friendly conditions.
Shahid Afridi and WicketKeeper Umar Akmal returns to the team replacing Shoaib Malik and Keeper Kamran Akmal. “I expect Afridi to find the conditions here more suited to his bowling, while Akmal should do the bulk of the wicket-keeping duties. Most of the players have been here before and know West Indies conditions so I expect us to do well,” Misbah explained. “Afridi was picked mainly because he is an option who can help us on slower tracks,” Misbah revealed. Afridi has six tons and 348 wickets from 354 ODIs but has not been in great form in recent times. The 33 year-old Afridi, who was first dropped for the one-day leg of the India tour in January before making a comeback in South Africa, was left out again for the Champions Trophy. He has been recalled in place of Malik as an extra all-rounder who can roll his arm on turning tracks and contribute quick runs at No.7. According to Misbah, the team is a balanced one with capable fast bowlers and good spinning options. He added that the entire Pakistan is hoping that the team can perform well. Pakistan ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdur Rehman, Haris Sohail
Two Sri Lankan umpires banned after sting ESPNcricinfo - Sri Lanka Cricket has banned two umpires, Sagara Gallage and Maurice Zilva, who were named in a sting operation last year dealing with illegal payments for influencing firstclass matches. A third umpire, Gamini Dissanayake, has been downgraded from the top umpire’s panel for a year and issued a “severe warning” by the board CEO. The decisions came after an emergency executive committee meeting in Colombo, where the recommendations of the disciplinary committee’s recommendations were endorsed. The sting, broadcast by India TV, claimed to have
“exposed” several first-class umpires from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan who were allegedly willing to give decisions favouring players for a fee. In the sting, conducted in July and August 2012, the reporters claimed to belong to a sports management company and promised the umpires officiating assignments in events of all kinds around the world, largely domestic Twenty20 leagues. The hardest hit of the three Sri Lankan umpires was Gallage, who was banned for 10 years from all cricket, while Zilva got a three-year ban. Dissanayake, the third Sri Lankan umpire named in the sting, was the most high-
profile of the three, having regularly been the fourth umpire in international matches, though he was yet to be one of the main officials in an international game. The Pakistan and Bangladesh boards have already handed out punishments to their umpires caught in the sting. Bangladesh’s Nadir Shah was banned for 10 years by the BCB on corruption charges, and Pakistan’s Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqi have already been slapped with bans. Zilva and Gallage were the reserve umpires in two warmup matches each before the World T20 in Sri Lanka last year.
convened at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue and will be tutored in the intricacies of lawn tennis when the curtains went up on the 10th edition of the Guyana Tennis Association/ P&P Insurance Brokers Annual Tennis Camp at that venue yesterday morning. Several stakeholders attended the ceremony including Managing Director (P&P Insurance Brokers), Bishwa Panday, President of the GTA, Ramesh Seebarran, 1st Vice President, Grace McCalman and level 2 Coach, Shelly Daly Ramdyhan. Leyland Leacock will support Ms Ramdyhan in the coaching department. Mr. Panday wished the
was extremely delighted to once again extend corporate assistance. “P&P Insurance Brokers has been involved with the GTA for some 9 years and we are once again happy to support their programme,” he said. The P&P executive said that he is happy with the progress made by the organizers and was delighted with the exposure procured by aspiring tennis players. “It is an established fact that sporting activities are complimentary to the development of young individuals and help in the cultivation of a healthy lifestyle and it gives me satisfaction and pleasure, especially when I note the
themselves and to learn and develop a new sport,” said Mr. Panday. Mr. Seebarran humbly accepted the sponsorship package and thanked his benefactor. “It is not easy obtaining corporate support and we are indeed grateful for it,” he said. The GTA President encouraged participants to soak up as much information as possible in preparation for future duties in their respective clubs. At the end of the coaching sessions the youngsters will engage in a mini tournament where they will be able to show off their newly acquired skills. Organizers will also issue souvenirs and memorabilia.
Busy day for J’cans at World Youth Championships Jamaica Observer MONTEGO BAY, St James — World Youth leaders Yanique Thompson and Devaughn Baker will lead Jamaica’s charge as the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships get under way in Donetsk, Ukraine, early this morning Ukraine time, at around 1:00am Jamaica time. Sixteen athletes, including sprinter Michael O’Hara, who is seeking to become only the second man to win the World Youth sprint double after Great Britain’s Harry AikinesAryeetey did it eight years ago in Marrakesh, Morocco, will participate in 10 events on a busy opening day. The Jamaicans who are seeking to match the ninemedal haul from two years ago when the event was held in Lille, France, finally had their full squad in the European country just Monday when the final batch of athletes and officials landed. The team was originally expected to leave last Monday and take part in a one-week camp, but several setbacks forced a change in the schedule. Thompson and Rushelle Burton will be the first athletes in competition when they take part in the heats of the women’s 100m hurdles. Jamaica has high hopes in this event with Thompson who ran a personal best 13.23 seconds to win the JAAA/ Supreme Ventures National Junior Trial in mid-June and has three of the top-four times run this year, while Burton is ranked at number four on the IAAF list.
Michael O’hara Baker has two of the topfour times in the men’s 400m and will join Martin Manley in the first round heats set for the afternoon session. CARIFTA Games Under17 champion Tiffany James and Yanique McNeil will contest the women’s 400m heat. O’Hara, who is ranked
second in the 100m, will seek to become the third Jamaican man to win the event, behind Odail Todd two years ago and Dexter Lee in Ostrava, Czech Republic in 2007. Waseem Williams will also contest the 100m, while Trials double sprint champion Jonielle Smith and Saqukine Cameron will contest the women’s 100m that also gets under way on the first day. Jamaicans will seek to make it to two finals on the opening day, Paul-Ann Gayle in the women’s discus throw and Demar Gayle in the men’s shot put, both of whom will have their first round then finals later in the day. Andrenetta Knight is the lone contestant in the women’s 400m hurdles, while Marvin Williams and Okeem Williams are in the men’s event. Tamara Moncrieffe, who will contest two events, took part in the triple jump elimination yesterday.
Texas judge allows Lance Armstrong lawsuit to proceed AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has refused Lance Armstrong’s request to dismiss an insurance company’s lawsuit seeking $3 million in bonuses it paid him from 1999 to 2001. Nebraska-based Acceptance Insurance Holdings sued Armstrong, saying he cheated by using performanceenhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. Armstrong’s attorneys argue the statute of limitations for fraud and breach of contract claims expired by 2011. The company says the clock didn’t start until Armstrong admitted to doping last January. Travis County Judge Darlene Byrne on Monday denied Armstrong’s request to dismiss. Armstrong’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit is one of several pending against Armstrong, including a federal case seeking to recover more than $40 million paid to Armstrong and his team by the U.S. Postal Service.