Monday July 04, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Has GPL’s board turned to single sourcing? DEAR EDITOR, I have been taking note in recent years your newspaper’s coverage of corruption and our public system for procurement. It has become clear that while there was the perception that politicians and office bearers took bribes from new businesses for concessions and other considerations, it was the handling of public contracts that proved to be the biggest scam. There are many persons, including staffers, who see what is taking place but are afraid to say anything. We can look right within the Guyana Power and Light Inc. This entity handles
billions of dollars annually in order to provide a reliable power supply. Its expansion program to cater for the growing demand for power has seen billions being spent. But there are questions now. Mr. Editor, all is not well at GPL. Yes, we have new management. We have a new Board of Directors, headed by businessman Robert Badal. We were promised that GPL would start doing business in a more accountable manner. Sad to say, it seems we are heading in a direction that will only lead down a dark path again and one cannot help but think about corruption. Recent announcements seem to be all about single
CARICOM food import bill is terrible DEAR EDITOR; The Heads of Caricom will meet in Georgetown today. The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the exit of Britain from the European Union which is the largest trading bloc in the world. The impact of Brexit on the Carribean, more particularly the Anglo-phone Caribbean will most likely be the subject of much attention given the fact that the vast majority of Caricom countries were former colonies of Britain which to a large extent continue to have their political and administrative systems fashioned after the British Westminster model. Moreover, the EU still have strong links with the Caribbean both at the bilateral and multilateral level and any change in the internal dynamics of the EU could have repercussions on the economies of Caricom countries. Guyana in particular has been the recipient of substantial assistance from the EU both financially and technically e following the end of preferential prices under the Lome Convention for our sugar and rum. The current plight of the sugar industry is partially the result of precipitate cuts in the export price of sugar to the European market and despite EU compensation assistance the industry remained financially untenable. It was precisely because of such unanticipated exogenous shocks to Caricom economies that the late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan advocated over two decades ago the need for the setting up of a Regional Development Fund aimed at cushioning the effects of economic dislocations for the
more vulnerable economies such as Guyana which heavily dependent on expensive imported fuel and manufactured goods to drive its economic growth. Guyana, like so many other Caricom countries, still remain vulnerable to fluctuating prices for its main exports in particular sugar and rice which together constitute the largest employer of labour. The same is true of the market price for bauxite, gold and other minerals which can and do have an adverse effect on the economy and the thousands who depend on the sector for a living. The challenge facing Caricom is to come up with innovative strategies on how to integrate the respective economies to benefit from natural and comparative advantages. There needs to be much greater inter-regional trade especially with respect to agricultural products such as rice, sugar and other nontraditional crops. The import bill for foods which are grown locally continue to be staggeringly high which militates against those who depend on the farm for their living. The above notwithstanding, there can be no doubt that Caricom has come a long way over the decades in significant ways even though the creation of a single market and economy and the free movement of skills remain elusive. There is still a fair amount of insularity and territorial self-interest which is inconsistent with the dream of our Caribbean people for society where strength is derived from our diversity and our common historical and cultural bonds. Hydar Ally
sourcing. Concerns have been expressed by our senior managers and executive management that the some items being single sourced were never tendered. We have a serious problem with GPL’s procurement of items and parts now. Customers have been complaining bitterly of waiting for months for meters. Yes, Mr. Editor, we have a shortage of meters. People are being told “today,” “tomorrow”. We are learning that to meet the demand, GPL has decided to sole source line hardware spares and meters. We all know in the past that
sole sourcing has been linked to corruption. How do we guarantee that we are getting quality with the right specifications? What about the best possible prices? Mr. Editor, single sourcing is a recipe for major corruption and it seems that the new board is either not aware of the pitfalls or are hell bent on going in a different direction. I appeal to Minister David Patterson to look into this matter since I don’t think he is aware of what is happening under his nose. Perhaps the Auditor General should also investigate. Recently, there was a major tender out for line hardware. A few bidders
wrote letters of protest, because one which has been tendering for many years have two related companies tendering with two prices. One then drops out if the price is too high once the other gets it. This is a very corrupt practice and one can only surmise that it could be facilitated with the help of evaluators. In Brazil recently there was a big scandal with their oil company “Petrobras.” The consequences to the Government go all the way to the top with a recent decision to impeach the country’s leader. One cannot help but feel that the new board wants to run GPL in this manner.
While it can be argued that the intentions are for the best, the reality is that the rule of the land or regulations should take precedence with strict adherence with the Procurement Act. Mr. Editor, all is not well with GPL’s board and its Chairman, Mr Badal, needs to be reminded that there are procedures and accountability. People are paying attention. The new board and its Chairman should do everything in their power to avoid being labeled as corrupt. Mr. Minister, please investigate what is happening. Concerned GPL staffer
The Bureau of Statistics explains DEAR EDITOR; We wish to respond to a letter published in your newspaper on Friday, July 1, 2016 by Mr. Haresh Singh where he called for the detailed census data. In this article Mr. Singh suggested that the chairmanship of the Board of Statistics should be returned to the Minister of Finance. However, Mr. Singh should note that the reason for the Minister of Finance divorcing himself from the chairmanship of this Board was to allow for greater transparency of the statistics produced by the entity as the Stats Bureau, in the past, has been accused of manipulating data to suit the political party of the time. Mr. Singh also suggested that the Board of the Stats Bureau should be headed by someone with more experience such as the Governor of the Bank of Guyana. However, if Mr. Singh had done his homework properly, he would know that the Governor of the Bank of Guyana is a present member of the Board of the Bureau of Statistics. Mr. Singh then reverts his position by saying that the entity should be chaired by a Parliamentary Committee, this clearly indicates that Mr. Singh has no idea as to how the Bureau of Statistics should be governed and is just using the media to air his ignorance of this very specialized field of work. Mr. Singh noted that the present chairman, Dr. Natasha Gaskin-Peters, was academically accomplished but stated that she was young. This is very surprising given that many of these same individuals have accused the present coalition government of hiring geriatrics who were mostly men, but when a young highly qualified woman is hired, they also have an issue with that. It seems to me that you just cannot please some people.
Mr. Singh’s prejudice ideology of believing that our young people have no role to play in shaping the policies of this country, has no place in the twenty first century. With regards to the Census, once again if Mr. Singh had done his homework, he would know that now in addition to the Preliminary Report the first Compendium on the final Census results was disseminated on the Bureau’s website in early June, 2016 as the Minister of Finance did indicate that the month of June would see the commencement of dissemination of the Final Report. The Bureau had selfimposed a target of 30th June (yesterday) for the dissemination of the second Compendium, which now addresses such issues as the most important age-structure of our population, the changing ethnic composition of our population, the median age of our population (is our population still young?) among others. Though yesterday’s target was missed due to some logistical issues, the Bureau can confidently say that the second Compendium will be disseminated on its website in the coming week. More importantly the Chief Statistician did indicate that the dissemination of the second Compendium would be accompanied by a media briefing on the analysis of results so far generated, and it is the Bureau’s intention to hold such an event towards the end of next week. There is now a plethora of information available from preliminary report through to Compendium 1 (did Mr. Singh really check the website?) to be now further augmented in a matter of days by the information in Compendium 2. The intended dissemination of the Final census results has been organized this time
around four(4) main Compendiums that address as priority the highestdemanded issues on the population. Information on the dissemination schedule of Compendium 3 which addresses inter alia the whole aspect of Economic activity and the Labour Force in Guyana will be shared shortly. We also wish to enlightened, Mr. Singh, to the fact that where the conduct and funding of national surveys are concerned the Bureau must receive express approval from Cabinet before it can take the field to conduct any survey, in addition to the provision of funds, and this has been so from time immemorial. Just to conduct the field work for any nationwide survey easily costs about G$ 150 Mn. Even with these constraints, the lack of labour force data beyond 2006is due to the previous administration not giving approval for the execution of the last survey which was schedule for 2008. In recognition of this fact, plans for the next labour force survey are already in train with assistance from a major multilateral organization for a target start of January, 2017. The new model will utilize smaller samples reducing the cost and allow continuous annual executions of the
Survey with key indicators being generated on a twiceyearly basis. While is it easy for Mr. Singh to say “fire all of the senior management team at the Bureau”, this is utterly ridiculous as finding staff with statistical skills is extremely challenging given that the University of Guyana, on average produces less than ten graduates per year in the area of statistics. The Board has recognised these facts and several measures are being put in place in order to expand staffing at the Bureau while strengthening the present skillsset of thecurrent staff of Bureau. The Bureau is a very unique and important entity within our nation and we have to be extremely careful not to jeopardize its survival by making very ad-hoc decisions. For Mr. Singh’s information, the problems and issues facing all statistical offices in the region are decidedly similar to the extent that the Caricom Heads of Government have found it important enough to address the matter collectively. The transformation of the Bureau has and will continue as we aim to make this entity one of the premier statistical agencies within the Caribbean. Dr. Natasha GaskinPeters Mr. Lennox Benjamin
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Rehabilitation of Bartica/Potaro road DEAR EDITOR; Your publication of June 23 gave prominence to a proposal to rehabilitate the Bartica-Potaro Road in order to connect Bartica to Mandia — a project which was not done for the past 20 years. Mr. Naeem Mohamed has been described as the Senior Hinterland Engineer of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and has evidently proposed a method of reconstruction which I find astonishing in this day and age. According to him ‘corduroy work will be done and lateritic material will be used to fill in the road’. Such primitive work should have no place in our technology for road maintenance in any part of the country. I have been commissioned by the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers to write a History of Civil Engineering in Guyana but I would never mention that such methodology was suggested in this day and age. Our aid donors would simply ignore us. Surely the Ministry must be aware of the assistance we have received in road design and construction over the years. The road was once considered a vital access to Lethem as well as the Upper Mazaruni and Issano. I recall that when it was planned to establish connection by road to Brazil, the Bartica Potaro
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
Road was given much publicity and a plan was prepared to obtain access from Georgetown without passing through Bartica. I was authorized to examine the possibility of alternative access to the road and this required establishing a connection via a river crossing near to Teperu. This was amply illustrated by a road sign authorized by President Burnham. This sign was in place until it collapsed under unfavourable weather conditions. It needs to be replaced as it was ordered by the Head of State and implemented. Your newspaper has it on photographic record and the internet has referred to it. There are other matters of concern. Who authorized renaming of the Denham suspension bridge? The bridge was officially commissioned by the Governor Sir Edward Denham and there is adequate record of the ceremony. Information on the bridge is readily available but it should not be ‘renamed’ without proper authority. Replacement of that bridge would be better handled by consultants but
there is much information on record. Some years ago when it was necessary to pass a large bulldozer over the bridge, I, in my capacity as Chief Engineer, Roads
Division in the Ministry of Works and Hydraulics found it desirous to calculate its safe load after reference to the Crown Agents. Nevertheless it can still be considered a risk for modern day traffic. The bridge was opened in 1933 and officially named the Denham Bridge. The Bartica-Potaro Road has been the subject of study by local and foreign engineers. It has a rich history. The very first attempt at constructing a road in the vicinity was made in 1895 by a Government Surveyor named Wilgress Anderson. The road was proposed to be 16 miles between the Potaro Landing and the Upper tributaries of the Mandia and Konawaruk, a distance of 16 miles. Corduroy was to be used only in swamps but the base course would be sand clay, white sand and gravel. The estimated cost was $13,000 but it was not clear whether this was actually implemented. However, the interesting point is that he made use of the best available materials and used corduroy only to cross the swamps. There is much information available through the reports of the consultants who reported on their work in comparing alternative routes to Lethem. Their reports are available. Philip Allsopp
History will not be kind to Mr. Granger if…. DEAR EDITOR; The President said that if constitutional reform means that the Executive powers have to be reduced, so be it. That is what they call in English, a ‘passive’ statement. As a historian, Mr. Granger knows the atrocities which came with the Executive Presidency and its accompanying powers. He, therefore, should have made an ‘active’ statement on the subject. He should come out and say that he thinks that the powers of the Presidency should be reduced. If there is one thing I have observed about the current President is his flexibility and pliability in allowing Guyana to be taken to another level. I do not see him as a generally decisive person. He comes across as more reactive than deliberate. Two recent examples of this are when he addressed the matter of the audits and now this issue. I do not know much about President Burnham personally, however, what I have read and heard about him give me the impression that he was very deliberate. I know more about President Jagdeo, he too is deliberate. President Hinds and Ramotar, were both passive in their behaviours. I do not know enough about the other Presidents to compare them in this regard. This country was shaped largely by the Presidents who were deliberate; Burnham and Jagdeo. They used both the blatant and nuanced innards of the constitution to justify
their deliberations. They milked the edges of the constitution for all that its worth. I wish I could say that the country is the better for it. What I could say – and I have said it before – is that history will not be kind to President Granger if he leaves office and there is no substantive constitutional reform, which includes the weakening of the Presidential powers. He will forever be blamed. I remember that Mr. Burnham used to say, “Shooting me is a waste, another Rasta will take my place”. It is because of this that I agree with Mr. Nigel Hughes when he says, “My position does not depend on who is the President; my position depends on the powers, not who is occupying the position of the President. You don’t wait till you have a good candidate to decide whether or not you are going to change the powers of the President. You try to protect yourself in the event that you have a bad candidate.” Mr. Granger, therefore, will have to do more than just acquiesce to a “taming” of the Executive powers. For this reform to be speedy and significant, the President will have to be out there representing it, a kin to how he represents the pardoning of those young offenders. After all, this issue of constitutional reform is older, with much more ramifications than those judicial pardons. Constitutional reform needs a decisive, deliberate, President as its champion. Pastor Wendell P. Jeffrey
David Dabydeen writes on his father DEAR EDITOR; I wish to pay tribute to my father, David Horace Sookram, who died a week ago, aged 86. He was a lawyer and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Economics. Like many Guyanese, he came from a lowly and deprived background , but his thirst for education saw him qualify as a village schoolteacher in Berbice, where he had a reputation as an inspiring teacher, but a very strict one, wielding his cane freely, as tutors did in the bad old days. After divorcing my mother in the early 1960s, he went to London to pursue his studies. He started a new family. He worked as a teacher and studied in the evenings for his law degree at London University. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was much violence against immigrants. ‘ Nigger hunting’ and ‘Paki bashing’ were the pastime of the hooligan class. He would have had to endure various humiliating situations. On the occasions when he didn’t get any legal employment, he took humble jobs as a hotel worker, factory worker, or sought assistance from the English welfare system. When he had money, he was lavish in entertaining folk, being an excellent cook, a
lover of good rum and an avid card player. He would play for hours with his Chinese friends when they finished their restaurant duties and settled down for relaxing midnight- to-earlymorning sessions of cardplay ( often for money). The years I spent with him in London saw many people from Guyana coming to stay in our house, sometimes for months on end. He was a generous and patient host. After many years practising in England, he emigrated to Canada, where he gained a degree of fame for being one of the lawyers for Ben Johnson( the Olympic athlete who was stripped of his gold medal for failing a doping test). His progress from being a barefooted boy in Guyana, studying by lamplight, to being an eminent professional, is one that finds echo in the lives of many Guyanese. Such progress testifies to the Guyanese spirit of resilience, persistence, and ambition to achieve, in spite of the odds. Before he was bowled out my father had a long innings, ducking bouncers, trying to read the spin, and always aiming to reach the boundary, and beyond. A person with flaws and weaknesses, to be sure, but a remarkable man. I send my condolences to all who knew him and loved him. David Dabydeen
EXASPERATIONS AT THE MISTREATMENT OF GTT
DEAR EDITOR; Kindly permit me space in your newspaper to vent my frustration with the quality of customer service provided by GTT and their lack in customer satisfaction. I was recently overseas for a while, so prior to my return to home I ensured my internet bill was paid so I would be connected the moment I returned as internet is essential for my work and keeping in touch with family and friends. Unfortunately, upon my return I realized I was not connected hence, I called the up the company and they told me that I was connected. Thinking there was something wrong with my modem or router I summoned an Information Technology Specialist to examine my internet connection. His diagnosis was that I had a faulty modem and as such he advised me to call GTT to have their External Technicians look at it. On June 3, under his advice I called the company and reported the matter and one of the representatives told me they would be at by home in 3 to 5 working days. On the fourth day when no one had come to my home as yet, I grew worried that I would have to go yet another weekend without internet, so I called to give a friendly reminder and the person on the other end informed me they should be at by home by the next day. All the while I remained at home to ensure I didn’t miss the technicians but to my disappointment by the end of the fifth day I realized they were not going to come. On Monday morning, I rang the company up and reported my problem yet again and I was transferred to the Internal Technicians who informed me that they had found a fault in my line hence the reason I was not getting connected and they would make contact with the External Technicians to come have a look at my line. The next morning, when they still did not manage to show up at my house, I decided to call and ask to speak to a supervisor. She seemed more interested in letting me know she was a supervisor than solving my problem. However, she said she would speak to them and they would to come to my house soon. This seemed to go on deaf ears since the following day they still had not come. I called back the 0488 number the next morning and they gave me another number with a “another supervisor’s” extension and this time she actually seemed interested and appalled and assured me that they would make urgent contact with me. They finally showed up the following morning and recommended I purchase a new modem.
This made me somewhat upset since had they come earlier and had the Internal Technicians not feed me excuses blaming my line, I would have been able to go into GTT sooner and purchased a new modem and had my internet up and running ever since like my IT guy suggested. During the week I tried calling the Public Relation Department as my frustration was growing but they never bothered to answer their phone What angered me further with GTT is that I decided to go on the $5000 plan since I don’t do any heavy downloading and I facetime occasionally with my family and friends. Previously to leaving the country four months earlier, this was the exact plan I was on and everything worked fine. I browsed the internet, facetimed occasionally with my family and friends and voice called on whatsapp and it worked just fine. However, I realized when I was trying to connect as of recent my calls wouldn’t connect or it would say the internet subscriber did not support my calls. I wondered what had changed in merely a few months so I decided once again to call the 0488 number to inquire. The representative informed me that the $5000 plan did not support voice calls but was only for browsing. When I pressed her to find out what had changed as this was not the case before I departed Guyana just a few months prior, she didn’t seem to have an answer. She said that’s how it is and I would have to take the $9980 plan if I wanted to voice call. I can clearly recall when GTT had upgraded their internet not so long ago they were advertising under the impression that the new $5000 plan was going to be the speed of the old $9980 and the new $9980 was supposed to be lightning fast. I would love to hear GTT’s “explanation” for this. The problem with these companies in Guyana is that they are not genuine. They advertise one thing to customers and the minute they realise they have Guyanese hooked, they change their plans or raise their fees to make more profit. They are never satisfied with how much money they make even if it strains Guyanese pockets. No-one ever thinks of the average Guyanese. For these corporate companies, it’s all about filling their pockets. Will Guyana ever have a telephone or internet company that actually caters to the average Guyanese without exuberate prices and false advertisement? Shame on you GTT! Angry Customer (name supplied)
Monday July 04, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Int’l fraud experts willing to assist Guyana with Forensic Audits - SARU Head By: Kiana Wilburg If all goes well, it appears that Guyana will soon benefit from the expertise of some of the world’s leading specialists in detecting all forms of corruption. The international network is said to be “extremely willing” to provide assistance regarding those damning forensic audit reports. This is according to Head of the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU), Dr. Clive Thomas. The economist said that on the sidelines of a conference which was recently held in the USA, FraudNet representatives informed SARU officials that it is interested in providing assistance on the forensic audits which have been launched by the Government. The economist noted that
the association informed him and his team that it is “extremely confident that Guyana also has strong cases where assets belonging to the state can be regained.” Thomas said he is elated that the global anti-corruption watchdog is interested in helping Guyana in this regard. He asserted that FraudNet contains some of the world’s leading civil asset recovery specialists. The SARU Head related that the entity’s membership extends to every continent and the world’s major economies. He said, too, that FraudNet’s focus is in locating and recovering assets and proceeds of crime for victims of all types of corruption, embezzlement and Ponzi schemes. “They also wrote a proposal for us and we will
take it to Cabinet for its consideration and approval and once this is done, along with passage of our draft legislation, we would be able to hit the ground running when our work goes into full swing.” The SARU Head said that the network had invited SARU members to participate in a one-day conference which was held in Miami, Florida on June 24, last. The conference was based on the fight against corruption and impunity in 2016 and beyond. He said that representing SARU were two of its leading members; Eric Phillips and Major (Rtd) Aubrey Heath-Retemyer. Just recently, Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge commented that if Guyana possessed a “sharp and competent prosecution
system” then questions and doubts about whether justice would be had from those forensic audits would not even exist. He was at the time weighing in on the concerns expressed by outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission, Bryan Hunt and UK High Commissioner, Greg Quinn. Greenidge said that he agrees with the top foreign diplomats that those who have been found by the audits to have committed any financial wrongdoing must be prosecuted. But Greenidge said that while those sentiments are taken in good faith, Government on the other hand is battling a reality which deals with the expectations of the public. The Minister said that he is aware that the citizenry is growing tired of hearing “all
the talk about we want corruption to be out and we will ensure prosecution…” “But when they don’t see these things happening swiftly they begin to wonder if we are responsible for what is taking place. This government wants what is best for this nation. We want to see action taken on these forensic audits but people must understand that Cabinet is not the one in charge of that,” the Foreign Affairs Minister had said. “We are clearly faced with weaknesses in some of our key institutions which are part of the process. Cabinet has issued instructions for the files to be examined and investigated by the police and for prosecutions to be executed where they could be had. “But the problem we are facing with these forensic audits is with the competence of the institutions. People also need to understand that prosecutions are not waiting
Millions spent on 2012 census, but public still awaits findings By: Shenice Blackman The 2012 census sought an expenditure of over US4M , which should have provided valid statistics to the general public. To this date, information is yet to be released from the Bureau of Statistic. On June 3rd at a launch, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin opined that the lack of timely, reliable and accurate statistics is one of the major problems affecting the Business Community and the government as a whole. The Minister of Business said the Bureau of Statistics is in a sad state. He indicated that the Bureau falls under the
ambit of Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan and he will be focusing on strengthening the capacity of the agency. Minister Jordan, he added, will lead the appointment of a chairman for its board of directors. It is the view of the Business Minister that the organisation should be placed under a parliamentary committee which would assist in speeding up the process in the compilation of relevant statistics. He added that consideration must also be given to the diversity of skills and experience in the organization, so as to allow it to effectively execute its
mandate. Census is one of Guyana’s largest national exercises, which is conducted every ten years. Enumerators would visit every household in every part of the country to administer questionnaires that collect social and economic information and data on the population. The population of Guyana counted on September 15, 2012, Census Day was recorded at 746,955, according to a preliminary report of the Guyana Population and Housing Census, 2012. This data shows that there has been a marginal reduction of 3,339 persons from the population count of 746,223 that was recorded in 2002. According to census 2012, Guyana’s coastland population stands at 666,261
persons. This count reflects the reality of the greatest concentration of Guyana’s population living within the coastland regions. Both previous and current censuses have revealed that Demerara-Mahaica (Region 4), among the six administrative regions of the coastland plain, holds the largest proportion of the population. This was closely followed by Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Region 3 (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara). Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) was recorded as the least populated area of the regions within the coastal plain. The population in the Hinterland regions at present stands at 81,623 persons, which represents 10.9% of
the total population. For the 2012 census, the number of households recorded was 210,124. This figure included 723 house-holds which were not available for interview. With the expectation of Region 6, the other regions had recorded significant increase in the number of households. The number of dwellings was reported as 221,741 in the 2012 census. The figure has increased by 16,624. The national building stocks, measured as the total number of buildings regardless of the use was 219,509, had an increase of 187,696 in 2002. The Preliminary Results of the 2012 Guyana Population & Housing Census provide both a summary and profile of the population by regions.
SARU Head, Dr. Clive Thomas on some Cabinet decisions. Furthermore, there has been no refusal of the Cabinet to prosecute.” The Foreign Affairs Minister reiterated that Cabinet is interested in prosecution and has spoken about the forensic audits on numerous occasions. “But if you had a sharp and competent prosecution system here and good judges, then you won’t be asking those questions about whether we are going to see results. The reality is that the system is very weak,” Greenidge added. Asked whether Government has reached out for international support, the Foreign Affairs Minister answered in the affirmative. “A member state from the international community is particularly interested in helping us in securing successful prosecutions and they have told us that they will help us when that time comes.” It was in May 2015 that the Granger-led administration began expending some $133M of taxpayers’ dollars on 45 of the 50 forensic audits to ascertain how the assets of the state were sold, disposed of or transferred under the previous administration. The remaining five audits were sponsored by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB). Over 20 forensic audit reports have been released thus far for the public to peruse.
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Kaieteur News
Pradoville 2 fiasco …
Civil proceedings recommended against Jagdeo, others - but SARU wants criminal charges By: Kiana Wilburg The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) believes that there is no solid ground for the pursuit of criminal charges against former President Bharrat Jagdeo and others in the infamous 2 Pradoville fiasco. Instead, it has informed the Head of the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU), Dr. Clive Thomas, that there seems to be only scope for civil proceedings to be had. That’s not going down well with the SARU boss. Dr. Thomas insists that while SARU will follow the DPP’s advice, it will continue to push for criminal charges to be brought against those implicated in the scheme. The SARU Head believes that there is a strong case
where the 2 Pradoville matter is concerned and insists that the advice on civil charges is flawed. “With regard to the Pradoville case, we wrote the DPP, Miss Shalimar Ali-Hack since last year November and we only got a reply about a week ago. We noted that the DPP did not make detailed comments on the issue, but rather informed us on the advice she received from their legal advisor. The advice is that there are no grounds for criminal charges, but we can pursue civil proceedings.” “We noted in our reply to the DPP that we have received advice from practiced, local and international legal agents, all of whom agree that there are grounds for criminal
proceedings…We therefore believe that the advice she received is flawed. We reject entirely the advice both in letter and spirit. We also received local and international support on the view that the advice is flawed. As far as we are concerned, there is no impediment to
a decision authorizing the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to privatize State lands. NICIL is the body tasked with overseeing the privatization of State assets. It reportedly spent more than $200M to develop the sea front community without
“We have received advice from practiced, local and international legal agents… on the view that the advice is flawed. As far as we are concerned, there is no impediment to criminal charges being laid.” - Dr Thomas criminal charges being laid.” The SARU Head said that he also noted in his reply to the DPP that while it will pursue the civil grounds, the Unit strongly believes that this is not enough. “Even members of the international community, which we received advice from, do not agree with this and we reminded her of our arguments and advice on the matter. We will now wait to see what is going to be her reply in this regard,” Dr. Thomas said. In early October, 2015 SARU completed a report which stated that in 2010, the Bharrat Jagdeo Cabinet made
the knowledge and blessings of the National Assembly and other relevant bodies. The said lands were then secretly sold to the former Ministers and known friends and associates of the previous regime. At the time of the sale, the report said, the lands were grossly undervalued and sold at a price substantially below the market value, thereby depriving the state of its full benefits. SARU said, “There is a direct link between the misconduct and the abuse of powers and duties of their position. The former Cabinet members knew they were doing a wrong in transferring State lands to their names and that of their acquaintances for undervalued market prices for the land. The lands were sold for $114 per square foot at the time.” “Public officers ought to
carry out their duties, not for the benefit of themselves, but for the benefit of the public as a whole. If they neglect or misconduct themselves by their actions in the course of their duties, this may lead to a breach or abuse of the public’s trust. The act of the Cabinet members for their benefit is serious enough to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust.” In a letter addressed to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, SARU had said that based on its findings, it is requesting that Ramjattan’s Office proceed to further investigate unlawful aspects of this matter, with the aim of establishing whether criminal action should be instituted. “It is the duty of this Unit in the Ministry of the Presidency to ensure that no Minister of Government in Guyana would be the beneficiary from any acts of misconduct or unlawful conduct while being holders of Public Office.” SARU had also informed the Public Security Minister that it has also forwarded its report to the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, along with a copy of a Legal Opinion on the potential misconduct in Public Office by the former Ministers. The document on the Legal Opinion says that there is legal scope for the argument of willful neglect by the former ministers in performing their duties without reasonable excuse or facilitation
DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack to an extent amounting to an abuse of the public trust. Further, based on the cases cited, the document outlines that the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, has Legal Standing on this matter. Once sufficient evidence is gathered by his Chambers, Williams had said that a civil action against the former Cabinet Ministers will be instituted. He had explained to the media that former President Bharrat Jagdeo could face prosecution. The SARU report however lists the DPP, Miss Shalimar Ali-Hack as a beneficiary of the controversial Pradoville Two deal. The report said that on September 7, 2011, the DPP bought Lot 184 Sparendaam, ECD, Block IV, which is 0.2767 acres of land. Asked how this looming situation of conflict of interest would be dealt with, Williams had said, “She would have to recuse herself in the determination of the matter.”
Monday July 04, 2016
PAGE 9
Kaieteur News
Ten billions dollars? No way, Jose! When you hear the acronym SOCU you have to be careful. This is an organization which came in for a lot of criticisms over its modus operandi over the past year. Guyanese have had their taste of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). A solider and his wife are dead because of the reckless approach of this organization. The solider was not part of SOCU and should not have been part of any operation.
He was, however, put to do surveillance on a house and ended up watching the wrong house and going after the wrong people. He lost his life and that of his wife. His children are now orphans. There has been no report as to disciplinary action being taken in this matter. The public is disinterested in pressing for such action to be taken even though two persons have lost their lives. Yet the public is buzzing with excitement over the news
that an official of the Ministry of the Presidency who also served under the Ramotar administration is under investigation for alleged money laundering and tax evasion. The reports in the media have been sensational. While quoting no one, there has been mention that some ten billion dollars were secreted in three banks accounts. This clearly is beyond comprehension. There is no way that anyone is going to
be allowed within Guyana’s banking system to have accounts with so much money. It is simply untenable and unbelievable. There is ‘nancy’ story and there is ‘fancy’ story. The ten billion dollar story belongs in a category of itself. It sounds more like a fairy tale. The banking system will come under greater scrutiny if it allowed this sum of money to be held in the accounts of a man and his associate. The banking system in Guyana is not as lax as some people may feel and there is no way that it would have allowed ten billion dollars to be held in three accounts. There is no person in Guyana who will have an account with hundreds of millions of dollars much less with billions. This is simply unfathomable. SOCU has not attempted to offer any explanation as what it is investigating. There has been some talk about tax
evasion but it is clearly not the work of SOCU to be delving into tax evasion case. The Guyana Revenue Authority is the agency that has to deal with this matter. SOCU has a credibility crisis on its hands after its last publicized surveillance operation and therefore it has to be wary that it is not fueling false expectations over this matter. If the sums being bandied about are true then such an investigation is beyond the resources of SOCU and it should have sought international help. The furor over billions of dollars found in accounts has of course led to speculation as to the source of the funds. It surely could not have come from the State because this would mean that the forensic auditors did not pick it up or were investigating the wrong agencies. The forensic audits have only found that US$5M is owed to Guyana by China.
It has not found any billions that are missing. The nation therefore should not get too excited. There are wolves out there just waiting to pounce on any bit of juicy evidence that would implicate officials who served under the previous administration but its stretches the limits of credulity to accept that ten billons dollars can be held in bank accounts in Guyana. This has to be a fanciful tale. We therefore have to wait and see what this case will boil down to. It is doubtful whether SOCU has the capacity at this stage to prosecute a case of this nature. It is questionable whether it has the resources to investigate money laundering. SOCU may have overreached in this instance but we will only know that as the investigation unfolds.
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Kaieteur News
Monday July 04, 2016
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Concrete wall, blond-hair doll and the Whiteman It was President Granger himself, in defending the name change of Ministry of Home Affairs into Public Security, who hinted that Home Affairs was an appellation handed down by the colonials. Personally speaking, I don’t have a problem with the change from “Home Affairs” instead of “Public Security.” What I do know and what I think is intellectually defendable is that the White colonial came and destroyed many things but he left us with many positive values, some of which had we adopted we may have been more developed both morally and in terms of progress When you look at the way many PPP leaders behaved and continue to behave, then the White colonial was a more mannerly, respectful human being. The book, “Sweetening Bitter Sugar: Jock Campbell, The Booker Reformer,” by Clem Seecharan has a saccharine piece of revisionist history. Seecharan tells his readers that the Booker chief, (who in those days would have been a powerful colonial elitist) refused to take his breakfast and lunch at the aristocratic
Georgetown Club where the colonial crème de la crème hung out. Seecharan makes the iconoclastic point that Cheddi Jagan was afraid that Campbell’s Fabian socialist style would have made him (Campbell) attractive to the sugar workers, so Jagan set out to undermine Campbell. As soon as Clement became a Minister, he held his birthday at the Georgetown Club. We are constantly reminded of what colonialism did to us but one wonders if colonialism also destroyed common sense among post-colonial leaders. I simply do not buy the argument that colonial penetration of the psyche of the colonized has permanent effect. Colonialism did not and could not destroy common sense. Is the permanence of colonial values responsible for a blueeyed, blond hair, white-skinned doll that was at the table of President. Granger and other dignitaries at the Golden Jubilee dinner at the Arthur Chung Centre? I know hundreds of people that would have planned that event and would not have put such a doll at the tables. Where then is the efficacy of the argument that colonial penetration
has destroyed the psychology of the freed subject. Here is another example of lack of common sense that has nothing to do with the destruction of the psyche of the colonial subject but rather is a huge manifestation of lack of thinking. They are fencing the eastern perimeters of the Botanical Gardens. In fact they have put up one huge concrete wall. You should never build a wall around a public garden. You fence it. The Promenade Gardens are not walled in. The newly landscaped garden opposite Parliament Building where the Bureau of Statistics used to be on High Street is not walled it. Both of these gardens are fenced It is lovely to see the swaying trees, the green ambience, the birds in the trees, the lush vegetation, and the flowing ponds while driving on Sheriff Street. Frederick It is an aesthetic pleasure of
The eastern concrete wall of the Botanic Gardens
immense satisfaction to be driving and gazing at the vast greenness of a large garden. People all over the world love that. My wife and I always look into the Botanical Gardens when we are driving on Sheriff Street whether going north or south. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever driven past that place without looking in. I believe the equivalent to such a sight of a garden is driving and looking at the sea or the ocean. Whose idea was it to border the eastern perimeter of the Botanical Gardens with a massive concrete wall? Here is what I think happened. Someone suggested that if you put a concrete wall you can make money by having businesses paint the walls with their advertisements. Sorry if I sound rude but that seems to be a philistine argument. Kissoon There must always be a place for music, poetry, art and aesthetics in a country. I know of no ancient society that did not think like that. The ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Greek civilizations, etc. functioned with that kind of attitude. So I guess what you will see now as you drive along Sheriff Street and you come to the Botanical Gardens are the advertisements on the wall of smiling faces extolling the virtue of Danish Powdered Milk, New Zealand Anchor cheese, California grapes, Spanish olive oil and Trinidadian tasty snacks. I remember doing a column on a Hand-InHand Insurance billboard encouraging Guyanese to be insured. It was situated inside the Everest Cricket Ground. The image was that of a Caucasian man in a three piece suit smiling as he welcomed you to Hand-In-Hand. Hope they advertise common sense on the Botanical Gardens wall.
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
Police brutality…
Independent Police Complaints Authority could best serve public - UK High Commissioner BY JARRYL BRYAN The Police Complaints Authority, established under the 1989 Act, is in place to receive complaints made against serving members of the Guyana Police Force. Its Chairman is retired Justice Cecil Kennard. But there have been questions of the Authority’s independence despite the legislation ‘mandating’ that the authority be independent. A process considered by some to be ponderous in dealing with complaints has also eroded the confidence of some in the Authority. In an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News, United Kingdom (UK) High Commissioner Greg Quinn was asked about best practices and institutions which handle allegations of police brutality. He made it clear that having an independent and free police complaints authority was imperative to enhancing public confidence in the police force. “We have an independent and free police complaints authority which has oversight of the police,” The High Commissioner said. “(And) I think (it) is very important that there is an independent police complaints authority that has the powers to investigate and has the right to ask questions.” Quinn said that ultimately, if things are proven to have happened that shouldn’t have happened, the authority can have the leeway to actually initiate proceedings against the officer(s). “And our police force welcomes the fact that there is oversight of what they are doing,” Quinn stated. “(So) certainly our encouragement to anywhere is to have a complaints authority that the public has got confidence in. This can only be viewed as a way of ensuring confidence in the police force more generally.” Quinn also said that training played a crucial part in the entire process. He noted that it was not simply a question of the authority, but also ensuring that the police were familiar with the rules and procedures governing their conduct. “Of course you’ve got to train the policemen on what is the proper procedure. So it’s not simply a case of having a police complaints authority going in and saying what is
wrong, it’s only fair that the police force is told and educated on what they can and cannot do.” The police force, in a notable effort to bridge differences with the public, has been engaged in activities designed to engage youths. The latest example of this was the ‘A’ Division Youth Expo held at D’urban Park last month. There have been calls, however, for specific reforms. With regard to the authority, Chapter 17:02, Section Two of the Act stipulates that once a complaint has not been deemed “frivolous”, the complaint (against a member of the police force) will be referred to the Commissioner of Police for an investigation and inquiry. It also states that “the Commissioner shall cause the complaint to be investigated expeditiously under Section Five of the Police (Disciplinary) Act and a copy of the report of the investigating officer referred
UK High Commissioner, Greg Quinn to in Section Five (Four) of that Act shall be forwarded by the Commissioner, as soon as possible after the report is submitted, to the Authority for his comments.” One of the worst cases of police misconduct was the torture of then 15-year-old Twyon Thomas, a case that was highlighted on the international stage in 2009. The officers who were implicated were Corporal Mohanram Dolai and Inspector Narine Lall. At the time of the incident they were Continued on page 21
An injured Junior Thornton, with his Lawyer Dexter Todd
Torture victim Twyon Thomas, with his mother Shirley and their Attorney-at-Law Khemraj Ramjattan back in 2012.
PAGE 11
PAGE 12
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
FAREWELL TO MY MOTHER Excerpts from a speech about Margaret Deyal (1930 – 2016) I lost my father in 1987. And now in 2016, I have lost my mother. As Oscar Wilde, the Irish author and poet would have said, “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; but to lose both looks like rank carelessness.” My mother would have loved this joke. She was always conscious of her hair – since I knew her, it was always mahogany-coloured and curly. At 86, she never had any grey hair. She insisted on our colouring it for the funeral. In this sense,
she died or dyed twice in three days. She would have quarreled but would have eventually loved this too. One gift my mother and all her siblings shared was the ability to laugh at everything. I inherited my sense of humour from them and despite the poverty and uncertainty that we also shared for most of our lives; our family gatherings were great fun. As several people reminded me, she was a generous lady. Anyone who came to our house was always
offered something to eat and drink. We all looked forward to her “dhal-puree”, for which she was justly famous and even exported to my PAHO colleagues in other parts of the world. On most Sunday mornings, I ground the “dhal” or split-peas on the understanding that the first cooked one was mine. Given its size, texture, taste and the amount of dhal she put in, what you got was a very happy filling indeed. I never realized when I was growing up that my
mother and I were almost contemporaries. She gave birth to me when she was fifteen years old. It is only long after I realized that in those days my mother was still a teenager learning to be an adult (and a good mother), when I was learning to be a child. She had to grow up too fast and too soon like Ruth in the bible who, as the poet Keats said in his Ode to a Nightingale, “sick for home, stood in tears amid the alien corn.” When I was seven, playing Captain Kidd, a
Midnight Robber in the annual Children’s Carnival, she sewed the costume on her manual Singer machine. I won a comic book as a prize and we both read it. When things got rough – as they inevitably did – she earned a few cents from her ability to sew and this helped us survive. Yet, despite the hardships, she always had room in the house for family and food. And books. The one constant in her life – as in mine – was reading. She was not educated – she left school in Forest Reserve, where she grew up, a place of deep forest with little clearings for oil wells, at the age of 10. Mom learnt to cook and sew from her mother. Her father, my “PaPa”, lost his left hand to a cutlass wielded by an angry husband who wanted back his bedroom – and his wife – but despite this, PaPa was a crackshot with a shotgun. My mother learnt from him and many times it was she who shot the family animal protein supplements in the forest which enclosed them. When we went to an abandoned runway at Carlsen Field, a former US airbase, for her driving lessons in our Hillman Minx car, she got some shooting practice at the swamp birds there. In terms of her shooting, she was good. Regarding her driving, the speed limit was the capacity of whichever car we had, including a Mazda RX2. Her love for speed was something that my father took issue with but was outvoted without my ever having a vote in a three-member family. In this, as in many other things, she always had her own way but I was the one who was described as “own-way”. My mother was also adept with a cutlass. One day we found a poisonous snake – a Mapipire Zanana or “Bushmaster”– under the bed in the house. She whipped out the omnipresent sharpened cutlass from the kitchen and the snake lost his head because she kept hers. Yet, she was afraid of spiders and even the “itsy bitsy” one sitting on the wall would cause her to panic. It is a
contradiction that was one of the many that made her so completely different and unique. She loved the old True Romance and True Confession magazines. She collected and shared them. Later on, she read all the crime, western, humorous and adventure stories that I devoured. But she also loved and consumed Romances – Mills and Boon, Harlequin and the others – and it was clear to me that she was living vicariously in a world that she was forever denied but for which she always and constantly longed. She gave dolls to all my children and family, including me, because (I believe) she never had a childhood. She was extremely bright and if she had the opportunities that we have now she would have been a lawyer. The lack of fields to conquer and dragons to slay, as well as the constant struggle to survive, meant that her enormous brain was wasted and occasionally illused. Like Terry Malloy in the classic movie “On The Waterfront” she could have been not just a contender but also a champion. One of my favourite poems is Thomas Grey’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”. This stanza from that poem captures the essence of my mother’s life and those of some of her sisters like my Tantie Joan with their enormous intellectual potential. “Full many a gem of purest ray serene,\ In the dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;\ Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,\ And waste its sweetness on the desert air.” It is at this point she would have started to complain about the length of my speech or the “stupidness” I was talking, so I will stop here with the final verse of Gray’s Elegy adapted for gender correctness: “No longer seek her merits to disclose, \ Or draw her frailties from their dread abode, \ (There they alike in trembling hope repose), \ The bosom of her father and her God.”
Monday July 04, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Nearly 120 killed in overnight Baghdad bombings claimed by IS Reuters - Nearly 120 people were killed and 200 wounded in two bombings overnight in Baghdad, most of them in a busy shopping area as residents celebrated Ramadan, police and medical sources said yesterday. The attack on the shopping area of Karrada is the deadliest since U.S.backed Iraqi forces last month scored a major victory when it dislodged Islamic State from their stronghold of Falluja, an
hour’s drive west of the capital. It is also the deadliest so far this year. Prime Minister Haider alAbadi had ordered the offensive after a series of bombings in Baghdad, saying Falluja served as a launchpad for such attacks on the capital. However, bombings have continued. A convoy carrying Abadi who had come to tour the site of the bombings was pelted with stones and bottles by
residents, angry at what they felt were false promises of better security. A refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up in the central district of Karrada, killing 115 people and injuring at least 200. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement circulated online by supporters of the ultrahardline Sunni group. It said the blast was a suicide bombing.
Top candidates to lead Britain differ on Brexit urgency
Theresa May
Andrea Leadsom
Reuters - Two leading contenders to be the next British prime minister disagreed publicly yesterday on how quickly negotiations should be triggered to plan a departure from the European Union. Interior minister Theresa May, the front-runner who campaigned for a “Remain” vote in the June 23 referendum, said Britain needed to have a clear negotiating position and she would not be rushed into starting the formal exit process this year. Junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, who has emerged as a strong rival to May from the “Leave” camp, struck a more urgent note, saying Britain had to “get a
grip and make progress”. Britons voted by 52 to 48 percent to leave the bloc it had joined in 1973, defeating a campaign led by Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation the following morning. Adding to the political turbulence, the vast majority of the main center-left opposition Labour Party’s lawmakers openly denounced their leader Jeremy Corbyn as unfit for the job but he has refused to resign, citing grassroots support. Five candidates are vying to succeed Cameron as Conservative Party leader and prime minister. The field will be whittled down to two
by the party’s lawmakers over the summer, before party members pick the winner by Sept. 9. May has established an early lead, gaining the support of more than 100 lawmakers, reports said yesterday, four times as many as any other candidate. But her critics, including rivals Leadsom and Justice Secretary Michael Gove, said the next leader needed to come from the winning “Leave” side of the EU debate. May, who vowed to honour the vote when she launched her bid on Thursday, said Britain needed a leader who could bring the country back together. “(People) are not looking for a prime minister who is just a Brexit prime minister, but a prime minister who can govern for the whole of the country,” she said in an interview on ITV. The shock decision to leave the EU has pushed the pound to 30-year lows and raised concerns that the British economy could go into reverse. Media reports yesterday suggested that some Conservative lawmakers wanted Leadsom and other candidates to stand aside so that May could be installed quickly in Downing Street to establish stability and start making progress towards Brexit.
Independent Police Complaints... From page 11 just Constable Dolai and Sergeant Lall. It was alleged that while he was in custody, Dolai and Lall, who was a Sergeant, doused the lad’s genital area with methylated spirits and set it alight. The two ranks appeared in court in November 2009, charged with burning the boy with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm. The criminal case against them was subsequently dismissed in the Magistrate’s Court after the boy and other witnesses failed to turn up. In June 2011, the court awarded Thomas $6.5M in damages. The Attorney General was also ordered to pay $100,000 in costs, while Lall and Dulai were ordered to pay $75,000 each in costs.
The case came back to the fore last year when the Guyana Police Force published an order in January 2, 2015, that Sergeant Lall was promoted to the rank of Inspector, and Dolai to the rank of Corporal. The ranks were subsequently dismissed from the Force under the new administration. There have been other especially notorious cases, including the maiming of the then 19 year old Junior Thornton in 2014 and the shooting of Alex Griffith, another teen at the time, by police officers who were allegedly playing Russian roulette with the youth, while he was in custody. These cases do not numerically scratch the surface, as complaints are made against the police on a regular basis relating to a wide range of other, less dramatic infractions.
Karrada was busy at the time as Iraqis eat out and shop late during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends next week with the Eid al-Fitr festival. The White House yesterday said the attack only strengthened the United States’ resolve to confront Islamic State. “We remain united with the Iraqi people and government in our combined efforts to destroy ISIL,” said the White House statement, referring to Islamic State. Videos posted on social media showed people running after the SUV convoy of Abadi as he left Karrada
after touring the scene, throwing pavement stones, bottles of water, empty buckets and slippers, venting their anger at the inability of the security forces to protect the area. Abadi declared three days of mourning for the victims, according to state-run media that also cited him saying he understood the angry reaction of residents. Another video posted on social media showed a large blaze in the main street of Karrada, a largely Shi’ite district with a small Christian community and a few Sunni mosques. Reuters TV footage taken
in the morning showed at least four buildings severely damaged or partly collapsed, including a shopping mall believed to be the target, and gutted cars scattered all around. The toll climbed during the day as rescuers pulled out more bodies from under the rubble and people succumbed to their injuries. Comments posted on social media accused security forces of continuing to use fake bomb detectors at checkpoints filtering traffic in Baghdad, five years after the scandal broke out about a device commonly known as the ‘magic wand’.
People gather at the site of a suicide car bomb in the Karrada shopping area, in Baghdad, Iraq yesterday. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily
PAGE 22
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Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
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One shed boat with a 200HP Yamaha Engine and turn system, Parika –Supenaam route. Call: 680-5539
PEN PAL Middle age man is seeking female for long term relations 32-40yrs. Call: 670-7969
Furnished luxury 2 & 3 bedrooms apartment for rentCall: 665-3505 One self contained room to rent, preferably bachelor – Call: 223-4545
1 Honda Jet Ski, Aquatrax R12-Low Hours, Garage Kept 1.5m Neg- Contact#661-9096
Newly renovated, 2nd floor apartment @ Eccles fully furnished three bedrooms with Wi-Fi, cable, serious enquiries .Call: 687-2180; 6828057
1 Lincoln Ranger Welder, Briggs & Stratton Gas Engine, 2 Cummins L10 855 Engine- Contact# 661-9096
1-2-4 Bedrooms new house to rent @ West Coast Demerara–Call immediately 276-0818
Yamaha Outboard Motors, Foreign Used 250hp, 200hp, 150hp, 50hp, 100hp & 115hp 4-Stroke- Contact#661-9096
Semi-furnished self contained apartments @ Diamond E.B.D –Call: 6167617
1 Wooden, deep sea fishing boat, complete with seine, engine, GPS, etc. Call: 6562496; 672-0014
Bottom flat supermarket located @ First Bridge Diamond E.B.D- Call: 6017749; 216-3069; 626-7064; 6914808
Caricom Day Bar-b-Que & Pool Splash, Monday, July 04, Aracari Resort (160 Versailles, W/B/D). Admission $2,000 adults/ $1500 kids. Tel# 264-2946 One Lifan 110 motorcycle $60,000, one double door wardrobe -$35,000, one 5pc chair set -$15,000. Call: 227-5169 1 Gold & Diamond Land @ Potaro (Kuribrona) 100 acres. Call: 231-0497
Unfurnished upper flat 2 bedrooms house in La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 6611585 One bedroom apartment for rent at Huston preferably working couple-Call: 6642861 One complete bakery for rent as a going concern situated in Enmore E.C.D. Call: 6775172; 611-4536
33.6 Acre Farm land @ Linden Kuru Kururu Soesdyke Highway. Call: 2257794; 679-1151 TO LET Furnished 2 bedroom apartments in Nandy Park, parking available. For further information – Call: 619-4824; 233-5560 VACANCY Clerical Staff/ inventory clerk apply in person with written application @ Nirva Supermarket. Call: 227-5771/ 49 Sheriff & Craig Street Professional cosmetologist at Natural Beauty Salon & Spa, 110 Grove, Market Street E.B.D– Call: 652-5800
Land @ Plot 882 Yarrowkabra, size 200ftX300ft for $800,000Call: 645-0489 Land @ La Grange Public Road to Sea Dam, 4 Acres,could be use for commercial /Housing Scheme-Call: 625-1514
Zeelugt well fenced, water & light -$2M, Uitvlugt -$2.2M 50X105,(1) -2 Storey newly built concrete building -$26M Tuschen-Call: 642-1252
Male Janitorial / Cleaner, apply in person at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek.
VACANCY Experienced teachers needed for students ages 8-10years/ 11-14yrs for summer & all round. Call: 690-9378 Porters/Labourers needed, apply in person at Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling. One nanny to take care and tutor a 1yr old baby boy. Apply at Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling. Cashiers, Sales clerks & cleaners, apply in person with written application @ Nirva Supermarket. Call: 227-5771/ 49 Sheriff & Craig Street (Continued on page 23)
Monday July 04, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Adult education deemed pivotal to Venezuela’s Maduro advancing C’bean development ends power rationing as drought eases ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) – State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green, has underscored the importance of adult education and lifelong learning to the growth and development of the Caribbean’s economies and people. Green noted that while the region boasts documented supporting research, countries must act to ensure this conclusion materialises. In this regard, the State Minister has endorsed a proposal for speedy implementation of revised United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendations for the advancement of adult learning and education. The recommendations address prevailing educational, cultural, economic, political, and social challenges. The proposed action plan was mooted during UNESCO’s just concluded International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) SubRegional Follow-up Caribbean Meeting, in Montego Bay. Green, who addressed the
Floyd Green closing ceremony at the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall Hotel on Friday, also cited the need for ongoing collaboration involving stakeholders in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and wider Diasporas to support the advancement of adult education. “As a region, we must ensure that the benchmarks and best practices emerging are validated (and) that adult and lifelong learning is viewed within the context of general education, technical vocational education and training (TVET), special education and literacy, as we
continue to train our people for the future,” he said. Additionally, Green said regional states must continue to conduct research which identifies new trends and subjects that will become relevant in schools, and tailor institutions’ curricula to meet the needs of constantly changing workforces. The two-day conference, which was attended by Education Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and senior education professionals from 14 Caribbean countries, was held under the theme: ‘Enhancing Lifelong Learning Opportunities for Youth and Adults’. Green commended UNESCO for providing the forum that facilitated the participants’ deliberations, thereby enabling them to make decisions which were expected to benefit the region over the medium to long-term. Notable among these, he said, was a proposal for the appointment of a regional ‘Champion Education Minister’ to lobby support for and oversee implementation of the UNESCO recommendations. (Jamaica Obseerver)
CARACAS (Reuters) Venezuela as of today will end an electricity rationing programme launched in April in response to a severe drought that crimped the operations of the OPEC nation’s hydroelectric generators, President Nicolas Maduro on Friday. Maduro’s government had rationed electricity in the provinces, c u t t h e w o r k week for public employees to two days per week, and canceled school on Fridays to save power as the country’s massive Guri dam dried up. “As of today we can say that the power administration plan will stop and electrical service will function normally throughout the country,” Maduro said in a televised broadcast. “Today we can say that Guri has recovered and we have the conditions under which power service can function normally.” Heavily subsidized electricity has spurred one of the region’s highest rates of power consumption and left the state-run utilities with
WANTED Hallow Blocks maker- Call: 233-2767 1 Male to cook in the Backdam-Call: 678-0565 Security guard to work in Georgetown –Call: 227-1717 Person to work at bar (night shift). Call: 223-4778 Female domestic worker to work in Trinidad. age 21 to 40 years. Call 1868- 268- 5177
Nicolas Maduro limited revenue. Opposition critics say the government has failed to invest in generation and transmission facilities, leaving the system prone to blackouts and unable to maintain service during periods of limited rainfall. Maduro’s government often blames power problems on sabotage by opposition leaders seeking to destabilize his government.
Holness hails Manning Brazil’s biggest party quits as Stalwart of CARICOM Manning, 69, died
coalition government The Telegraph - Brazil’s largest party announced last week it is leaving President Dilma Rousseff’s governing coalition and pulling its members from her government, a departure that cripples her fight against impeachment proceedings in Congress. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) decided at a leadership meeting that its six remaining ministers in Ms Rousseff’s Cabinet and all other party members with government appointments must resign or face ethics proceedings. Under Brazil’s presidential system, Ms Rousseff will continue in office but the break sharply raises the odds she will be impeached by Congress in a matter of months, which would put Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, in the presidential seat. The opposition is pressing to impeach Ms Rousseff for allegedly breaking budget laws. Their efforts gained steam as Brazilians have grown frustrated with the worst recession in decades and a
Dilma Rousseff vast corruption scandal reaching the president’s inner circle.
Ms Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing and called the impeachment efforts a coup. The loss of Ms Rousseff’s main coalition partner may prompt smaller parties to abandon the government, leaving Brazil’s first female president increasingly isolated as the impeachment process nears its first vote as soon as midApril. Investors weary of Ms Rousseff ’s interventionist economic policies and a deepening recession have cheered the prospect of her ouster, boosting Brazil’s currency 8 per cent this year as the benchmark Bovespa stock index rose 19 per cent.
Andrew Holness The Gleaner - Prime Minister Andrew Holness has extended condolences to the people of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) on the death of their former prime minister, Patrick Manning.
Jamaica refusing NFM products …T&T Flour producer facing problems Trinidad Express - LOCAL producer National Flours Mills (NFM) says it has been finding it difficult to get some of its products into Jamaica because of ongoing tension between that country and Trinidad and Tobago. NFM chief executive officer Kelvin
Mahabir told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain Saturday, that there were instances where products have been refused in Jamaica “simply because it is a Trinidad product and nothing else”.
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Saturday, just a day after he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. In a letter to T&T Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Holness said Manning was “a stalwart in seeking the achievement of the CARICOM ideal” and him for his “contribution to the area of regional security and his high hopes for the growth and development of a strong Caribbean society and civilisation”. Holness said Manning “will long be remembered for his fearless commitment and dedication to advancing the political and economic development of his country towards achieving a better quality of life for all citizens of the twin-island republic.” Holness remembered Manning’s passion for leadership, having given up his first love as a geologist. The prime minister said “politics became his life and for him was the most rewarding job to which one could aspire, as stated in his own words: ‘it has given me the opportunity to shape a nation’.” Holness asked Rowley to convey Jamaica’s condolences to Manning’s widow, Hazel, and sons Brian and David.
General Domestic @ Diamond -Call: 227-8529; 2237357 Salesgirls @ Christine’s Variety Store, Lombard Street –Call: 227-8529; 223-7357 1 Live in hotel domestic. Call: 225-9211 One truck driver/tractor driver with valid license, apply in person at Alabama Trading. Male and female to work in the interior as shop attendants, between ages 2530. Call: 661-5992; 661-8673 Customer Service representative to work at Mon Repos Mall, must have Maths & English (1-3) age 25-40, apply @ 38 Ketley Street, Charlestown. Tel: 2310497 Night Manager, Security, DJ, waitresses, bartenders, 1 experienced secretary between ages 18-25, must have CXC –Call: 668-8332; 638-5303 Experienced driver/salesman and porter to drive & sell beverages. Experienced is an asset. Call: 226-9800 One experienced hire car driver. Call Mrs. Z. Khan: 6888660 or 226-7948 General domestic age 25yrs to 45yrs old, from East Bank Area. Call: 629-9450 Two experienced bar girls attractive salary. Interested persons call: 601-1479 3 Wash bay attendants – Contact: 227-5169 VACANCY Control Room Assistants and Visiting Officers. Massy Security (Guyana) Inc. Lot 0 Ruimveldt, Georgetown.Tel: 225-5573/6 Popular East Coast Gas Station (Non-Pareil) Day/ Night: pump attendants, sales clerk & office assistant. Contact: 695-9880
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Monday July 04, 2016
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Empowerment initiatives aim for brighter future for ... From page 20 information gathered, the Policy listed that youth unemployment is “hovering around forty percent”, that youth entrepreneurship is in an embryonic state and that the education system has remained stagnant, among other findings. Other findings include that Guyanese youth are disproportionately affected by social problems including suicide, mental health issues and teenage pregnancy. Most notably, it was mentioned that the greatest challenge to youth development is that there is weak youth representation and participation in the decision making process and there is a lack of deliberate strategies, opportunities and quotas that can facilitate their inclusion. Youth Empowerment Initiatives Elaborating on the components of the Policy, Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Mr. Aubrey Norton said that the elements aim to create entrepreneurs through methods of training and edu-
cation. “The general position that is taken is that for you to empower people, you need to either educate them for employment or educate them for business,” he said, adding that the draft Youth Policy takes these needs into consideration and identifies a number of strategic areas and priorities that will achieve these goals. Even as the draft youth policy is placed before the National Assembly and is made available for public consultations, efforts have been made to establish programmes that will engage youth in these key areas. Mr. Norton explained that since taking up his current post, he and his team have conducted countrywide surveys, interacting with youth and strengthening youth organisations. Based on feedback, Mr. Norton said many young Guyanese are interested in taking up positions of leadership but are not given the exposure or opportunity to do so. Coming out of this objective was the idea for a Leadership Training
Programme, a week-long session that teaches young people practical leadership related skills. The Programmes are hosted at the Madewini Training Centre on the Linden Highway. So far, three of eight planned sessions have been hosted and have seen almost 200 youth from across the country trained in areas of leadership, management, event planning, communications, effective public speaking, meeting and meeting procedures. By the end of the year, close to 500 young people would have been exposed to these programmes – which Mr. Norton said – will have a long-term impact on their lives. He added that as a spin-off to such programmes, other youth targeted initiatives are in the making. At the graduation ceremony of the first programme early this month, Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon who attended the event, informed the 57 participants that due to the challenges facing young people in Guyana such programmes should start immediately, even while the National Youth Policy is still being
Monday July 04th, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): You may believe that gathering more information is a smart idea today, but additional data won’t help you make a better decision. Usually, compiling more facts enables you to easily choose an effective course of action. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): Your career objectives may have been clear in your own mind, but that was before you set your plan into motion. Now it might appear that you’ve made the situation worse. GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Challenging circumstances might prevent you from being clear about your direction today, making you feel as if you just want to retreat. Unfortunately, this is not a great time to give up on your dreams. CANCER (Jun. 21–July 22): You may not understand why everything isn’t going your way today, but you might be jumping to the wrong conclusions. Whatever seems to be problematic now can actually work out for the best later on. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): You could feel as if you’re fighting an inner battle now, yet it may play out in a current relationship. Don’t withdraw; facing a difficult issue with a close friend or partner is the best way to conquer your fears. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): You may be bored at work today, but still need to fulfill your obligations. Instead of doing your job the same old way, it might help to take a new approach.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): Even if you are receiving encouragement everywhere you turn today, you still might not believe the good news you are hearing. It’s difficult to trust the optimism of others. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): You might not get everything you want today, yet there are still plenty of opportunities to make the best of current circumstances. Part of your problem may be your inflated hopes, leading you to expect things to fall magically into place. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): You don’t like to place all your eggs in one basket. However, you may be so focused on specific tasks that certain aspects won’t likely work out as expected. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19): Everything seems to be blown out of proportion today, so it’s challenging to find the right pace and stick to it. Even the littlest problem could become an insurmountable obstacle. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20– Feb.18): Sometimes you can appear disconnected from reality, but others usually don’t know how far out your thoughts actually are. Now, as the Moon moves through your sign, you can surprise everyone with your uncanny brilliance. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): If yo u a r e j u s t l y accused of a wrongdoing today, quickly admit your guilt and ask for forgiveness. Don’t make excuses or slip into denial.
finalised. The second training session was held on June 17, 2016 where an additional 59 young aspiring leaders undertook the tasks laid out in the training session. At that Graduation ceremony, it was Technical Facilitator to the Minister of Education, Mr. Vincent Alexander who urged the group to be the type of leaders who work tirelessly for the good of their communities even as they pursue their own career goals. He stated that as leaders, they will be expected to give specific guidance with regard to ideas, vision, organising and mobilising. He added that in carrying out these roles, it should be in a manner that shows that they truly enjoy what they are doing, rather than just doing it for an ulterior motive. “I'm not saying leaders shouldn't be rewarded but as leaders you should be inspired not by the possible reward but by the fact that you love what you are doing and you'd like to see the results of what you're doing in the community in which you operate. If you give good leadership you will make a difference to your club and community.And the difference which you will make will impact you because you are part of it,” he said. He advised the participants to be aware that as leaders, also, their behaviour will be scrutinised, but that that could work to their favour in ensuring that they do the right thing.
The three-month programme will train and assess 25 young men in the theory and practice of operating heavyduty equipment. Following the completion of this programme, successful candidates will be certified and assisted by the government to become licensed and assisted with jobs. Like the Youth Leadership programme, the young men on the course hail from all the regions across the country and several expressed that the opportunity was one that could not be passed
up, due to the prospects of certification and possible employment that are in store. Mr. Norton explained that these are not the only programmes planned.Also on the agenda, are counselling and guidance programmes, literary programmes as well as food processing programmes. Mr. Norton said that these initiatives will hopefully be launched later in the year so as to keep the momentum that has been given to youth empowerment in Guyana
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT But Leadership training is only one part of the plans involved in the youth empowerment agenda. As part of developing enterprise, programmes in economic empowerment are also underway. One such initiative is the heavy- duty operator programme currently being conducted at the Kuru Kuru Training College.
Ex-con stabbed to death by lover From page 3 mother. I was supposed to meet her back right at Demico, but I was waiting on my father to call me. After I didn't get no call, I called my father phone but it was off and then I called her phone and it ring out,” Massiah recalled. Fighting back tears, the young man said that he called his father again around 22:00 hrs on Saturday and when he did not get an answer, he decided to return to Parfait Harmonie. “I had a feeling something was wrong so I went there. I reached around midnight and I see a set of police and when I asked what happened, the police said my step mother stabbed my father and he died,” Massiah recounted. He described the suspect as a jealous and violent person who attacked his father
on numerous occasions. “If anyone call my father, she does run him to throw hot water on him and she even stabbed him in his hand already but my father don't do her anything because he said he went to jail already and he knows what it's like and now he come out for his children,” the young man said. In tears, he added, “My father left me since I was seven and my sister was three years and now that he is here, we only get to spend two months with him and she killed him.” A tenant who resides in the same building with the suspect said that the woman moved there late last year with another man. However, a few months before the ex-convict was released from prison, the first man moved out and Peters and his son moved in.
When this newspaper visited the scene yesterday, neighbours were not surprised at all. They claimed that the couple fought and cursed each other daily. In 2007, Peters escaped from the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts lockups, just before he could be transported back to prison. At the time, he was on remand on ten counts of robbery under arms, one count of threatening a police officer, abduction and having a dangerous weapon. The crimes were committed in 2006. Peters robbed ten persons, carting off over $1,088,000 in jewellery, a cellular phone, cash and other items. He also reportedly threatened city policeman Quincy Trotman, had a 'Rambo' knife with no reasonable excuse and abducted Adilah Sabree.
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
Dominica set to raise the price of its citizenship programme from August DUBAI, UAE — Dominica will be increasing the minimum amount of investment required to apply for its citizenship-by-investment programme. Currently, the application cost for a single applicant for Dominican citizenship starts at US$100,000 plus fees, making it the most economical citizenship-by-investment program in the world. From next month, the Dominica citizenship-byinvestment programme will no longer be the most affordable such programme, a factor which for so long has been a key advantage of the programme. Although the revised cost structure of the programme is yet to be announced by the Dominican government, it is expected to be a significant fee increase. Bata Racic, manager of Henley & Partners in the Middle East, said, “We urge those interested in applying for the Dominican citizenship programme to start the application process at the
Roosevelt Skerrit earliest to take advantage of the low fee structure of the programme before it rises next month. The Dominican citizenship programme finds a huge favour among single businessmen as well as families, due to it being an economically viable alternative to other Caribbean citizenship programmes. “In the Middle East, we continue see high demand for the Dominican citizenship-
by-investment programme, mainly from Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Egyptian applicants.” Dominica’s citizenshipby-investment program ranks highly year-on-year, according to Henley & Partners’ annual Global Residence and Citizenship Programmes (GRCP) report. This is mainly due to the low application cost and visa-free travel rights. The passport allows visa-free travel to 119 countries worldwide, including the UK and the Schengen Area. Citizens of Dominica also receive certain limited preferential treatment in the UK due to the country’s membership of the Commonwealth. Dominica’s citizenshipby-investment program, established in 1991, was designed to drive economic investment into the island. Since then, a few thousand families have received Dominican citizenship through the programme. (Caribbean News)
Search vessel recovers human remains at EgyptAir MS804 crash site Reuters - A search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government has recovered all mapped human remains under water at the crash site of EgyptAir flight MS804 in the Mediterranean, Egypt’s aircraft accident investigation committee said yesterday. The John Lethbridge, belonging to Mauritiusbased Deep Ocean Search, headed to Alexandria port to hand over the remains to coroners and prosecution officials, the committee said in a statement. It will return to the crash site to make further checks for any possible remains there, the statement said. The Airbus A320 plunged into the eastern
Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 and all 66 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown. The plane is believed to have crashed in the deepest part of the Mediterranean. Investigators have started analysing one of its so called black box flight recorders and are extracting information from the other. Debris from the jet was brought to Cairo airport last week, where investigators will try to reassemble part of the frame to help establish what might have caused the disaster. No explanation for the disaster has been ruled out. But current and former
aviation officials increasingly believe the reason lies in the aircraft’s technical systems, rather than sabotage. Initial analysis of the plane’s flight data recorder showed there had been smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay while recovered wreckage from t h e j e t ’s f r o n t s e c t i o n showed signs of high temperature damage and soot, the first physical signs that fire may have broken out on the airliner. The Paris prosecutor’s office opened a m a n s l a u g h t e r investigation on Monday but said it was not looking into terrorism as a possible cause of the crash at this stage.
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Bangladesh gunmen made no demands, Islamic State not involved: minister Reuters - Seven militants who killed 20 people at a Dhaka restaurant made no demands and a person taken alive by police was only a suspect admitted in hospital, Bangladesh’s home minister said yesterday, rejecting Islamic State’s claims of responsibility. The gunmen stormed the upmarket restaurant in the diplomatic zone late on Friday and killed their mostly non-Muslim hostages, including nine Italians, seven Japanese and a citizen each from the United States and India. Three of the six gunmen killed were under 22 years of age and had been missing for six months, Asaduzzaman Khan told Reuters in an interview at his Dhaka home. Police and government officials have said the attackers were from well-off Bangladeshi families, a rarity and an indication that religious radicalization was widening its scope. Claiming responsibility, Islamic State warned citizens of “crusader countries” - that is, traditionally Christian western states - in a statement that they would not be safe “as long as their aircraft are killing Muslims”. It also posted pictures of five grinning fighters in front of a black flag who it said were involved in the attack, according to the SITE monitoring website.
Students hold placard and candles as they pray to show solidarity with the victims of the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O’Kitchen Restaurant at Dhaka, Bangladesh, during a vigil in Agartala, India yesterday. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey But Khan said Islamic State was not involved, reiterating the government’s position that homegrown militants were responsible for a spate of killings in the country over the past 18 months, including the latest one. Asked about the photos, the
minister pointed to a wall behind him and said: “If I fix a poster of IS here and stand with a machine gun, will it establish that IS is here?” The minister has blamed Jamaatul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which claims to represent Islamic State in Bangladesh but has no proven links
to it. Security experts believe the suspect, who was hospitalized with serious injuries, would be crucial to the investigation into the attack. Khan said it was not clear if he was involved. Islamic State also claimed
responsibility for two bombings overnight in Baghdad that killed nearly 120 people and wounded 200, most of them in a busy shopping area while residents celebrated the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Reacting to the two attacks over the past three days, Pope Francis asked people attending noon prayer at the Vatican in Rome to pray for the victims and their families. Late yesterday in Bangladesh, hundreds of men, women and children held a candle light vigil near Dhaka’s Shaheed Minar (Martyr’s Monument) to pay respect to those who lost their lives. “We don’t want this,” Nasima, a textile indust r y w o r k e r, t o l d Reuters Television. “Please stop this, stop this, stop this from our society, from our country, I want to live in peace.” A s D h a k a l i m p ed back to normal life, experts questioned the delay in launching the offensive against the militants. More than 100 commandos stormed the restaurant nearly 10 hours after the siege began, under an operation codenamed ‘Thunderbolt’. Analysts say that as Islamic State loses territory in Iraq and Syria and its finances get drained, it may be trying to build affiliates in countries such as Bangladesh for jihadists to launch attacks locally and cheaply.
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Govt. monitoring ‘Brexit’ opportunities and implications for J’ca KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, says the Government continues to monitor the possible opportunities and implications for Jamaica, consequent on Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (EU). She said the ministry, through its Foreign Trade Department, was liaising with representatives from the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and academics, in this regard. Additionally, Senator Johnson Smith said the ministry remains in close contact with the British High Commission in Kingston on the matter. She was responding to questions raised after reading a statement on the ‘Implications of the United Kingdom’s Vote to Leave the European Union’, during Friday’s sitting of the Senate at Gordon House. Senator Johnson Smith, who is Leader of Government Business in the Upper House, said resonating forecasts
about bilateral implications were speculative. She noted that apart from anticipated initial market impact, nothing conclusively suggests that any long-term negative effects would result from the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision. The minister noted, however, that matters relating to trade, development cooperation, immigration concerns, and financial and economic considerations were among the areas being monitored. Responding to a question from Opposition Senator, Sophia Fraser-Binns, regarding the possible establishment of a taskforce to monitor the developments, Johnson Smith said this was not being considered at this time. However, she indicated that discussions were underway with the Caribbean Forum’s (CARIFORUM) Director General, Iván Ogando Lora, to review the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The EPA facilitates a free trade area between the EU and
Kamina Johnson Smith African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Senator Johnson Smith further said that bilateral cooperation initiatives announced at the UK/ Caribbean Forum in April were expected to remain intact. She advised that Britain’s pending withdrawal from the EU was among the matters for discussion during the 37th CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Georgetown, Guyana, from July 4 to 6.
Counting to resume in Australia’s election cliff-hanger Reuters - Vote counting is scheduled to resume today in a dramatic Australian federal election that failed to produce a clear winner on the weekend, raising the prospect of prolonged political and economic instability. The exceptionally close vote leaves Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s centreright Liberal Party-led coalition in a precarious position, potentially needing the support of independent and minor parties to reform government. It has also opened the door to the possibility, albeit less likely, that the main opposition Labor Party could win enough backing from the smaller parties to form government itself. Turnbull said yesterday he remained “quietly confident” of returning his coalition to power for another three-year term but the key independents who have become the powerbrokers after winning a greater share of the vote than anticipated are yet to declare their allegiance for either side. With counting expected to take several days, possibly weeks, the uncertainty is likely to put downward pressure on the Australian dollar and the share market as analysts warned Australia’s triple A credit rating could be
Malcolm Turnbull at risk. Both Turnbull and opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten began talking yesterday with the independents, whose election campaigns ranged from anti-foreign ownership and economic protectionism to anti-gambling and policies to improve the treatment of asylum seekers. The election was meant to put a line under a period of political turmoil which has seen four prime ministers in three years. Instead it has left a power vacuum in Canberra and fuelled talk of a challenge to Turnbull’s leadership of the Liberal Party, less than a year after he ousted then prime minister Tony Abbott in a party-room coup. “I can promise all
Australians that we will dedicate our efforts to ensuring that the state of new parliament is resolved without division or rancour,” Turnbull, whose coalition will rule as a caretaker government in the interim, said yesterday. If the coalition fails to form a government, it would be the first time in 85 years an Australian ruling party has lost power after its first term in office. Official electoral data for the House of Representatives showed a 3.4 percent swing away from the coalition government, with about two-thirds of votes counted before counting was paused early yesterday. Electoral Commission projections give the coalition 67 seats in the 150-seat lower house, against Labor’s 71 and five to independents and the Greens. A further seven seats were in the balance. The Liberal-National coalition and Labor Party require 76 seats in the House of Representatives to form majority government. Small parties are also likely to do well in the Senate, with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation on track to win between two and four seats, marking the return of the right-wing antiimmigration activist to parliament after an almost 20year absence.
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Turkish court remands 13 in jail over Istanbul airport attack Reuters - A Turkish court yesterday remanded 13 alleged Islamic State militants in custody pending trial in connection with suicide bombings at Istanbul’s main airport last Tuesday that claimed 45 lives. The 13 included three foreigners, Dogan, a private news agency said. Three militants opened fire outside Ataturk airport’s international arrivals terminal on Tuesday night before two of them entered the building and blew themselves up. A third militant detonated his explosives at the entrance. “The terrorist organisation called Daesh, which burnt our hearts in this holy month, is the biggest form of evil that targets our religion,” President Tayyip Erdogan told a ramadan dinner in Istanbul yesterday. “They have no links whatsoever to Islam or Muslims,” Erdogan said. A total of 49 people are still being treated in hospitals from the attack and 17 remain in intensive care, Istanbul authorities said yesterday. Two Russian nationals have been identified as suspected Islamic State suicide bombers in the attack, Turkish media said on Friday.
Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
Top U.S. lawmakers confident in fairness of Clinton email probe Reuters - Top lawmakers from both major U.S. political parties said yesterday they trusted the Justice Department to appropriately handle its probe of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s private email server, after a heavily criticized meeting between Clinton’s husband and the U.S. attorney general. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain said on CBS show “Face the Nation” that they would respect Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s decision on whether to prosecute Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also said he respected the process, though he acknowledged Lynch’s private meeting last week at an airport with former President Bill Clinton was unfortunate. “I think both of them wish their airplanes had never come anywhere near each other,” Schiff said on “Face
Hillary Clinton the Nation,” adding that he still had confidence in the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to do a thorough investigation of Clinton’s email use. “If they say they are going to conduct this investigation by the book, I believe that’s what’s going to happen,” said Schiff, who supports Clinton for the party’s nomination. Lynch said on Friday that she would accept whatever recommendations the career
prosecutors working on the case made about whether to prosecute Clinton. The lawmakers’ endorsement for the process follows Clinton’s meeting Saturday with investigators at the FBI’s Washington headquarters, where she answered questions for three and a half hours as part of the probe into use of her private email server. The FBI is investigating Clinton’s email use and whether laws were broken as a result of a personal email server kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Lawmakers and political strategists speculated on Sunday that the FBI’s interview of Clinton signalled its investigation could be nearing its end. But the FBI offered no information about the status of the probe or who its targets may be. Clinton has long insisted she is not a target. Clinton herself said in comments to MSNBC on Saturday that she “was pleased to have the
opportunity to assist the department in bringing its review to a conclusion.” Her rival, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, said it was “impossible” for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against her. The two have already begun an acrimonious battle ahead of the presidential election on Nov. 8. Democrats are hoping the issue will be resolved before their four-day convention in Philadelphia that begins July 25, which is expected to culminate with Clinton’s nomination for the presidential race. It is unclear what Democrats would do if Clinton were to be indicted and if any contingency plan exists. Not all lawmakers said they were confident the Justice Department could maintain impartiality. Tom Cotton, a Republican senator, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday he thought Lynch’s meeting with Bill Clinton “raises questions about political interference in this investigation.”
Monday July 04, 2016
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Kaieteur News
DIGICEL SENIOR NATIONAL SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP
Arjoon dethrones Joseph, Khalil win 1st National Senior title, Wilshire dominate Veterans By Sean Devers Alex Arjoon dethroned defending Champion Nyron Joseph, former Caribbean U19 Champion Ashley Khalil captured her first National senior title and former Southern Caribbean Champion Garfield Wilshire dominated the Veterans as the curtains came down on this year’s Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Digicel Senior National Squash Championship at the Georgetown Club yesterday. Watched by a large gathering of mainly relatives of the players, Arjoon and Kristian Jeffery produced a gem of a final in the last game of the day with a riveting display of entertaining Squash. The pair produced a magnificent level of skill and the battle was intense on the court and off it as tempers flared from heated exchanges of shots and taunts between the two. There were also several complaints from both players questioning the referee’s calls. Arjoon came from behind to defeat Kristian Jeffrey 6/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/3. The pair delighted the fans with highlevel squash and several long and skillful rallies brought those in attendance to their feet in raucous applause as the players matched each other stroke for stroke in a
‘ding dong’ contest. Jeffery, also a race car driver, had a hard fought 7/ 11, 13/11, 11/7, 6/11, 13/11 win in his semi-final clash against Joseph in a match which lasted over an hour on Saturday evening and maybe that took a toll as he seemed exhausted in the third and fourth games yesterday. Arjoon, who won his semi-finals match against Jason Ray Khalil in straight games 11/8, 11/7, 12/10 on Saturday, said he had never seen a race car driver run out of gas after collecting his Championship trophy which filled the Camp Street venue with loud laugher. He also commended the Parents for turning up to offer support to their off-springs, something the sport is known for. In the playoff for third place Jason Ray defeated Nyron 11/5, 9/11, 11/7, 13/15, 11/3. Ashley Khalil defeated Akeila Wiltshire in three straight games 11/4, 11/7, 11/ 8. Both players had won their semi-final matches the previous evening with Khalil beating Larissa Wiltshire 11/ 7, 11/5, 11/8 and Akeila securing a close four-set win over Taylor Fernandes 11/9, 11/5, 9/11, 11/7 in their semifinal matches. In the play off for third place Fernandes had to call on all her reserves to stave
off the challenge of Larissa, winning 11/6, 6/11, 11/4, 2/11, 11/7 and seems a great contender for a Caribbean Girls Junior title when Guyana hunt their 12th consecutive team title later this month in the Cayman Islands. In the Women’s Classic plate final, Victoria Arjoon defeated Rebecca Low 11/4, 11/2, 11/3, while in the Men’s Classic Plate final Regan Pollard gained a walkover from an ill Ben Mekdeci. In the Men’s Plate final, Daniel Islam won an epic five setter against his junior teammate Alec Melville coming from two games to love down to take the match 6/11, 10/12, 11/8, 11/3, 11/8. Wilshire, the father of Akeila and Larissa showed he had not lost any of his skill if only his speed. He turned back the clock with a dominant display to win both the Over-35 and O-50 categories. President of the GSA David Fernandes, who played in the 35-49 division, thanked everyone, especially Digicel, who made the tournament a success. He said from what he saw in the tournament Guyana could reach all four semi-finals in this year’s senior Caribbean Championships set for Trinidad next month. Results: Men’s Open
Alec Arjoon beat Kristian Jeffrey 6/11, 11/9, 11/6, 11/3 Jason Ray Khalil beat Nyron Joseph 11/5, 9/11, 11/ 7, 13/15, 11/3 Women’s Open Ashley Khalil beat Akeila Wiltshire 11/4, 11/7, 11/8 Taylor Fernandes beat Larissa Wiltshire 11/6, 6/11, 11/4, 2/11, 11/7 Women’s Classic Plate Victoria Arjoon beat Rebecca Low 11/4, 11/2, 11/3 Makeda Harding beat Maya Collins 11/5, 11/0, 13/ 11 Men’s Classic Plate Regan Pollard gained a walkover from Ben Mekdeci Raphael De Groot defeated Javed Alli 11/7, 11/ 9, 4/11, 11/6 Men’s Plate Daniel Islam beat Alec Melville6/11, 10/12, 11/8, 11/ 3, 11/8. Alex Cheeks beat Anthony Islam 12/10, 11/2, 11/1 Men’s Veterans Javed Alli beat Medhi Ramdhani 11/3, 11/8, 8/11, 11/4 Douglas De Groot beat Robin Low 11/6, 11/8, 11/2 Javed Alli beat Robin Low 11/6, 11/3, 11/7 Garfield Wiltshire beat Joe Mekdeci 11/9, 11/9, 11/8 Final placing in the various categories were as follows: Men’s Open
Former C’bean U-19 Champion Ashley Khalil (foreground) copped her first National Senior title when she defeated Akeila Wilshire in the Women’s Open final at the GT Club yesterday. (Sean Devers photo) Alex Arjoon – Winner Kristian Jeffrey – second Jason Ray Khalil – third Nyron Joseph – fourth Women’s Open Ashley Khalil – winner Akeila Wiltshire – second
Exciting boxing proposal set to... From page 37 and the pivotal objective is to create opportunities for our boxers on the world platform,” posits Hussain. He said that he has had discussions with members of the corporate community, both local and international, and the response was indeed heartening. Mr. Hussain also said that the first few events are scheduled for the Arthur Chung Convention Centre and after negotiations with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company organizers have been able to broker a deal to have the fights streamed live to many other countries. “This presents the perfect opportunity for Guyana to be marketed to millions of viewers while enhancing the fortunes of our boxers,” explained Hussain. The events are scheduled to run bi weekly and will draw international audiences of some 15 million viewers and allow for the opportunity to market Guyanese products, services and tourist attractions to the rest of the world at a minimal cost. Plans are also in train to incorporate other stakeholders into the initiative and Mr. Hussain said that several of these interest groups will receive a portion of the proceeds to aid in their social programmes. At the moment several organizations have been spotlighted including the Health Ministry, in the form of medical supplies, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, for the creation of youth programmes for young boxers and the Foundation for Battered Women and
Children. On June 14 last, Hussain met with a delegation from the Ministry of Tourism and Telecommunication among whom was Permanent Secretary, Derrick Cummings. The PS was enthused with the project and feels that it would enhance the objectives of his organization. “This Ministry would fully support this venture which has the potential of creating much needed jobs for Guyanese and all resources would be made available to ensure the success of this initiative,” promised Mr. Cummings. He also noted that the initiative can promote positive messages while enhancing the local tourist agenda to millions of potential travelers and buyers while creating a new method of selling goods to the world. The Permanent Secretary also said that the initiative could create high paying, regular and technical jobs for as many as 200 persons in the region. Meanwhile, Mr. Hussain revealed that he is currently in discussions with a reputable Insurance firm to create a pension plan for the local participants of the programme. He assured that the boxers would be well protected after they would have encountered injuries. “We are putting the modalities in place to protect the boxers but there are eligibility rules and other prerequisites that have to be fine-tuned,” he posited. He said that provided the boxers remain in the programme they will become eligible for a lifetime pension.
Tempers flared in an intense and action-packed Men’ Open final between Alex Arjoon (left) and Kristian Jeffery at the GT Club yesterday. (Sean Devers photo)
Taylor Fernandes – third Larissa Wiltshire – fourth Men’s Classic Plate Regan Pollard – winner Ben Mekdeci – second Raphael De Groot – third Women’s Classic Plate Victoria Arjoon – winner Rebecca Low – second Makeda Harding – third Men’s Plate Daniel Islam – winner Alec Melville – second Alex Cheeks – third Men’s Veterans 35 – 49 Garfield Wiltshire – winner Javed Alli – second Medhi Ramdhani – third Men’s Veterans 50’s Garfield Wiltshire – winner Joe Mekdeci – second Robin Low – third
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Monday July 04, 2016
Kaieteur News
Forde wins fifth title BADMINTON PLAYERS to extend domination REWARDED FOR GOA TOURNEY
Cleveland Forde
GOA Open Doubles champions display their prizes. The Guyana Badminton Association held the presentation for the Guyana Olympic Association Open Doubles Badminton tournament and also the badminton players that took part at the GOA Olympic Day jog at the Olympic House Saturday July 2nd, 2016. This event started with a short prayer by Ms. Kara Abrams, followed by remarks from the President of the GBA, Gokarn Ramdhani. The GOA President Mr. Kalam Juman Yassin then make a few remarks followed by a musical presentation by Mr. Ronald Chang Yuen and National Sports Commission Sports Director Mr. Christopher Jones did the closing remarks. The GBA would like to thank the GOA, NSC, SUNBURST, BANKS DIH,
Parents & Players for making this presentation a success. The presentation for the Tournament for the first, second and third placed winners were done by GOA Mr. Charles Corbin, GOA Mr. Kalam Juman-Yassin & NSC Mr. Christopher Jones, while the presentation of certificates to the Olympic Day runners was done by NSC Mr. Gervy C. Harry. RECEIVING MEDALS FOR THE OPEN DOUBLES ARE: LADIES DOUBLES: 1st Place: Priyanna Ramdhani & Ambika Ramraj 2nd Place: Ayanna Watson & Emelia Ramdhani 3rd Places: Kara Abrams & Wonita Yang and Gabriella Pertab & Priyanka Shivnauth MEN DOUBLES: 1st Place: SUNBURST
Narayan Ramdhani & Jonathan Mangra 2nd Place: Gokarn Ramdhani & Nicholas Ali 3rd Places: Ronald Chang Yuen & Avinash Odit and Darrell Carpenay & Marlon Chung MIX DOUBLES: 1st Place: SUNBURST Narayan Ramdhani & Priyanna Ramdhani 2nd Place: Jonathan Mangra & Ambika Ramraj 3rd Places: Cecil Abrams & Kara Abrams and Darrell Carpenay & Ayanna Watson SPECIAL PRIZES: Past National ChampionWilliam Holder Most Improved PlayerGabriella Pertab Upcoming PlayerFardeen Alli O u t s t a n d i n g Achievements 2016 - Narayan
Ramdhani (Junior Sportsman of the Year, National Champion & World Ranked, Suriname International Triple Champion, Peru International Bronze Medalist, GUMDAC Champion, Trophy Stall Champion & GOA Champion). R E C E I V I N G CERTIFICATES FOR THE GOA OLYMPIC DAY RUN WERE: Gokarn Ramdhani Emelia Ramdhani Narayan Ramdhani Priyanna Ramdhani Fardeen Alli Jonnedd Taylor Ariel Haynes Gail Haynes Medharishi Ramdhani Susan Ramdhani Ayanna Watson Kara Abrams Cecil Abrams
Olympic Day Jog participants showcase their certificates.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyanese Cleveland Forde edged out Trinidadian Curtis Cox to pick up his fifth CARICOM 10k title in the 12th edition of the event staged here yesterday. In the race held under the theme ‘Promoting Healthy and Peaceful Societies’, the 31-year-old Forde clocked 32.29 minutes as he crossed the line first at the Guyana National Park, with Cox following him home in a time of 32.56.
Winston Missingher of Guyana finished third in a time of 33:28 Vi n c e n t i a n Linda McDonald, meanwhile, dominated the women’s race, coming home first in a time of 37.57 seconds. Guyanese Euleen J o s i a h - Ta n n e r c l o c k e d 39:46 for second while countrywoman Andrea Foster clinched third spot in 40:37. The race, held ahead of M o n d a y ’s s t a r t o f t h e 37th CARICOM Heads of Government Conference here, was attended by CARICOM chairman and Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerritt, along with CARICOM Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque. “All levels of society need to be involved in physical activity to prevent CNCDs (Chronic NonCommunicable Diseases),” Skerritt said. He reiterated the importance of using physical activity to deal with CNCDs in the region and praised the CARICOM Secretariat for ensuring all levels of society were represented in Sunday’s event.
MoPH Soft Shoe Football Competition
Sophia, Queen Street among teams advancing to quarter-finals Sophia, Queen Street of Tiger Bay, Kitty Weavers and North East La Penitence were the teams making it to the quarter-f i n a l s o f t h e Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Soft Shoe Football Competition after registering wins in Round of 16 action on Saturday evening, at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue. The night began with the matchup between North East La Penitence and Holmes Street of Tiger Bay that had shown terrific form early in the competition, but they failed to get past a determined opponent, losing 2-1.Alwin Moore gave North East La Penitence the lead in the 14th minute, but Jahaal Greaves responded for Holmes Street five minutes later as they went to the break deadlocked at 1-1. Both teams came out in the second half battling for the ascendancy and it was North East La Penitence that got it through Shaquille Brown’s goal in the 33rd minute to seal victory.
The quarter-finals is set for Sunday at the same venue. In the night’s full results: Game-1 North East La Penitence2 vs Holmes Street Tigerbay1 North East Scorer Alwin Moore-14th Shaquille Brown-33rd Holmes Street Scorer Jahaal Greaves-19th Game-2 Leopold Street-2 vs Kitty Weavers-3 Kitty Scorers Leon Grumble-9th and 23rd Nigel Denny-7th Leopold Scorers Akeem Rajkumar-1st Mark Lawrence-3rd Game-3 Alexander Village-0 vs Queen Street Tigerbay-1 Leon Fredericks-23rd Game-4 West Front Road-1 vs Sophia-3 Sophia Scorers Dwayne Lowe-4th and 21st Desmond Cottom-7th West Front Road Scorer Own Goal-17th
Monday July 04, 2016
DIGICEL SCHOOLS FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Mahdia eliminate Paramakatoi 10 FINAL ON after 5-0 crushing - REGION TODAY AT WISBURG
Digicel representative Shawn Weatherspoon hands over the winning trophy and new uniforms to Captain of Mahdia Secondary Travis following the completion of the final on Saturday. Host Mahdia led by a hattrick from Elsword John (51st, 53rd, 66th) and a brace from Iarun Douglas (78th, 85th) eliminated Paramakatoi from this year’s Digicel Schools Football Championship following a 5-0 crushing on Saturday, at the Campbelltown Playfield in Region 8. Playing in front of a large flow of supporters, the
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homesters struggled to penetrate the airtight Paramakatoi defence in the opening period and went to the break frustrated after creating many chances to take the lead. However, coming out in the final period, they made some changes with Douglas being pushed up front to support John and that made all the difference.
John opened their account six minutes after the resumption when he latched on to a ball played from the right side to the left flank and he fired what seemed to be a tame shot at goal only to see the ball elude the goalkeeper ’s grasp and bounce over the goal-line. Two minutes later another poor attempt by the goalkeeper gifted Mahdia their
second goal this time from a corner taken from the right side that found the head of John and the custodian stationed between the uprights once again fumbled the ball, causing it to trickle over the goal-line for the host second goal. Not content with his afternoon’s work John was back in action in the 66th minute, but this time his ripping header from a corner would have given the best of goalkeepers no chance as it was directed with pace into the far corner for a 3-0 lead. Douglas all the while was playing provider, weaving in and out of the opposition defence with alarming frequency and ot was one such occasion that he penetrated deep and hammered a fierce right-footer into the roof of the net to make it 4-0 after seventy-eight minutes of play. Buoyed by the comfort of a 4-0 lead, Mahdia played with more freedom and even made a number of substitutions as they looked ahead and not risk injuries to their marquee players. John was substituted, but Douglas remained to continue his torment of the Paramakatoi defence and he netted his second in the 85th minute when he received a pass from the left flank played down the centre and he fired past the stranded keeper to make it 50 a scoreline that would remain until the final whistle sounded much to the jubilation of their supporters. Meanwhile, the Region 10 final between defending champion Christianburg / Wismar and Kwakwani is set for today, at the Wisburg ground in Linden.
Guyana’s chances of its maiden U-17 title are good By Zaheer Mohamed While Guyana has been one of the most decorated teams in regional age group cricket, the country is yet to win a competition at the U17 level. But their chances of success in this year’s tournament, which will be played in Tobago later this month, are excellent. This year marks the 5th year since the U17 competition began, and the closest Guyana came to winning the top prize was in 2014 when a victory in their last game against the Leeward Islands would have given them success, but they were relegated to fourth position after losing the match by 18 runs. In 2015, despite losing their first two games against Windwards and Jamaica, the Guyanese also finished fourth with victories in their final three matches. However, Guyana’s success for the past two years at the U15 level makes them strong favourites for the title this year since those players have graduated to the U17 stage. Need not to say that the previous U17 players will now look for another U19 title, and there is no reason why they can’t with such a talented crop of players available. The inter county U17 tournament has given the players much needed preparation and also the selectors a firsthand look at their players so that they can come up with the best possible team. This year however, the selectors led by Nazimul Drepaul will have their toughest task of putting together a winning combination due the vast number of talented players in the pool. The Guyana Cricket Board has included the U17 team in their inter county U19 tournament, and has no doubt served in the best interest of the players. Bhaskar Yadram who got a century against Berbice in the U19 inter county contest should be named as the captain. He not only has the ability to get the best out the players, but he can provide a formidable platform at the top of the order. Yadram has played with maturity that belied his age for Enterprise CC senior team as an opening batsman on the East Coast of Demerara. His partner should be another such talent player in GNIC SC batsman Joshua Persaud who played for the West Indies U15 in England last year. Persaud has the ability to rotate the strike and keep his wicket intact especially in pressure situation. With these two at the
Bhaskar Yadram
Joshua Persaud top Guyana can expect a decent start in every game. Sachin Singh who has been named as captain of the U15 team is another capable opener. With the likes of Alphius Bookie, Javed Karim, Kurt Lovell, Kevin Sinclair and Steve Deonarine, the middle order seems rock solid. Spinners Ashmead Nedd and Kevin Umroa are likely to lead the spin bowling department while West Indies U15 pacer Colin Barlow should be a sure pick. Leg spinner Tameshwar Motieram showed immense promise during the inter county tournaments and should easily land a place in the starting eleven, so too is Essequibo pacer Reyaz Khan. Khan is the fastest U17 bowler locally and his place in the team should be assured. Other players that should be included are Reon Venture and impressive left arm spinner Joel Fortune. The squad probable; Bhaskar Yadram (C), Joshua Persaud, Kurt Lovell, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd, Alphius Bookie, Steve Deonarine, Javed Karim, Kevin Umroa, Joshua Jones, Colin Barlow, Joel Fortune, Reyaz Khan and Reon Venture.
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Monday July 04, 2016
Patriots beat Zouks by BEAVERS CLAW BACK TO 58 runs – 6th Game
GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U17 League – West Dem.
BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Evin Lewis once again flaunted his talents in a punishing half-century as St Kitts and Nevis put on an impressive show to trounce St Lucia Zouks by 58 runs and pick up their first win of the Caribbean Premier League here Sunday. Winless in their two previous games, Patriots piled up an imposing 203 for seven off their 20 overs at Warner Park, thanks to the left-handed Lewis who struck a scintillating 73 from a mere 36 balls. In-form Devon Thomas followed up with a stroke-filled 48 while opener Lendl Simmons scored 30 at the top of the order. In reply, Zouks raced to 90 without loss in the 10th over before buckling under the weight of a required run rate of over 10 an over, and declined to 145 for five off their 20 overs. Australian Shane Watson hit a top score off 55 off 31 balls while West Indies opener Johnson Charles struck 40 from 30 balls, but once both perished within 13 balls of each other, the innings lost steam. With the victory Patriots climbed to second in the table on two points while Zouks dropped to one from bottom, also on two points but with an inferior net run rate. Sent in, Patriots were propelled by a 69-run stand off 38 balls between Trinidadians Lewis and Simmons. All told, Lewis struck six fours and five sixes while Simmons counted two fours and three sixes in a 16-
Evin Lewis (Photo courtesy CPL) ball knock. They were initially off to a measured start before Simmons exploded in the fourth over – the first from offspinner Nitish Kumar – belting three sixes as the over leaked 22 runs. It proved to be the cue Lewis needed and he too cut loose in the next over from captain and seamer Darren Sammy, reeling off four consecutive boundaries as 17 runs came from the over. When Simmons perished to a catch a short third man in the first over from left-arm spinner Derone Davis in the seventh over of the innings, Lewis put on a further 46 with captain Faf du Plessis who made six before driving fellow South African Morne Morkel to Sammy at cover in the 11th over. Lewis fell in the next over
with just two runs added at 117 for three, leaving Patriots in need a of a reset and got it through Thomas. The right-hander produced a near flawless exhibition of hitting, facing 27 balls and blasting a four and five sixes – nearly all coming via clean straight hits. He put on 50 off 20 balls with Carlos Brathwaite (8) before holing out in the deep at the start of the final over off seamer Watson, who finished with three for 36. In reply, Zouks threatened to pull off the highest run chase in CPL history when Watson and Charles romped through the early overs, bludgeoning boundaries at will in posting 90 for the first wicket off 55 deliveries. Watson hit four fours and three sixes while Charles followed in the same vein, counting a four and three sixes. The partnership was proving worrisome when Charles fell to a leading edge off leg-spinner Samuel Badree and was caught at midwicket in the 10th over. Watson then holed out to long on in Badree’s next over as four wickets tumbled for 22 runs, causing the innings to quickly lose momentum. Scores: PATRIOTS 203 for seven off 20 overs (Evin Lewis 73, Devon Thomas 48, Lendl Simmons 30; Shane Watson 3-36)beat ZOUKS 145 for five off 20 overs (Shane Watson 55, Johnson Charles 40, Mike Hussey 23 not out; Samuel Badree 2-22)
EDGE WALES UNITED
Beavers (green tops) and Wales United battling despite the conditions. A three goal second half blitz from Beavers FC saw them storming back to erase a one goal deficit before going on to win by a single goal in their clash against Wales United FC when the West Demerara leg of the GFF/ NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Intra Association National Under-17 league continued on Saturday. Playing the hub of football on the West Side, Den Amstel Community Centre, conditions were not of the best as rain over the past few weeks has inundated grounds around the country rendering many unplayable. In fact, two other matches in the association’s senior league were scheduled after this match but were called off by the referee as rain throughout this U17 encounter left the field in a waterlogged state. Wales, one of the minnows in the association, looked very enterprising at the beginning of the match to the extent that they took the lead in just the 2nd minute of play,
Enrico Johnson doing the honours of giving his side the early advantage. Despite dominating play from around the quarter hour mark, Beavers were just not able to put the ball into the back of the nets as their shots went wide or over the bar in slippery conditions. The advantage was Wales’ for all of 61 minutes before a sudden rush of goals from Beavers put the game beyond the reach of Wales despite a late fight back. Telbert Baptiste fired in a hat-trick for the winners with strikes in the 61st, 69th and 85th minutes his goal spree was interrupted by teammate Courtney Liverpool who added their third goal in the 73rd minute. The three unanswered goals by Beavers in a 12-minute burst stunned Wales momentarily. They were able to fire back with two late goals off the boot of Dan Batson in the 87th and 90th minutes but it was not enough to deny Beavers taking full points.
Fly Jamaica donates tickets to Atwell for NY fund raiser Clive Atwell, the 27 year-old who fought for the World Boxing title in Mexico and suffered bleeding in his brain after he fainted in the ninth round of his title fight against Dexter Gonsalves at the Giftland Mall on October 24 and had to an emergency surgery the same night which saved his life, is getting additional assistance. The Boxer has to do a second surgery to put a ‘plate’ in his head to protect his brain and the operation, which cannot be done in Guyana at this time because of unavailability of the equipment and plate, will be done in Trinidad and cost US$25,000. The surgery, which is three months overdue, will be done by Dr Mahadeo at the St Clair Medical Centre as soon as Atwell can acquire the funds. Atwell, his wife and two members of his fund raising Committee departed Guyana for New York on Friday Evening to solicit funds from the US based Guyanese during America’s Independence Weekend actives which included a softball cricket final in NY. On Friday, Fly Jamaica presented four return tickets to NY, while the Director of Sports Christopher Jones paid for the tax waivers were not approved by the GRA. Atwell and his team thanked everyone who has contributed towards his recovery, especially the Payless Varity store where an all day fund raising drive was held. Three of Atwell’s titles fights are on sale at the Wellington Street store. The DVD will also be sold in NY. Meanwhile, Atwell received a donation from Principal Dexter Cornette of GITC, a learning institution which the Boxer attended. Funds were raised by the Students, Teachers and Administrative staff of GITC and were presented to Atwell by Student Association President Jamal Nurse. (Sean Devers)
A Fly Jamaica representative presents the tickets to NYC to Atwell in the presence of three members of his committee.