Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
Kaieteur M@ilbox
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Things ‘nah regula’ in the Public Service EDITOR, elections was fired sometime Ministry of Public Works sent Ram should not conduct these audits DEAR The late Mr. Lori last year from the Ministry of a letter of resumption for the
DEAR EDITOR, The criticisms that have surfaced about the engagement of Anand Goolsarran and Christopher Ram to perform audits of government agencies should not be ignored by those who hired them. A convincing argument can be made that these two auditors are not qualified to perform the special role for which their services have been sought. This has nothing to do with their competence and experience as auditors and everything to do with their credibility. Impartiality in the fullest sense is the most important quality an auditor must possess, if his findings and conclusions are to be trusted. Any affiliation or circumstances that create the appearance of bias should have been enough to cause the auditor to refuse the engagement. These are not concerns for which the leaders of our APNU/AFC coalition should have a dismissive attitude. These concerns have merit. An audit is essentially a non-
audit if the impartiality of those persons engaged to do it is not above suspicion. It is now common knowledge that the same government agencies which are now the subject of the forensic audit have been the targets of relentless criticism by these well known gentlemen. They have raised allegations of impropriety. These facts clearly suggest they have a vested interest in protecting their reputation and in proving that the allegations they have made are not unfounded. The appearance of bias clearly cannot be missed. If these two auditors are allowed to continue their work into agencies they have criticized, it would undoubtedly be the case that they would be conducting unethical audits. Government officials would have acted irresponsibly in not exercising due diligence when contracting persons to provide audit services. Goolsarran and Christopher Ram ought to know what is required of them. These exacting standards
that apply to auditors have a parallel in the legal profession, especially as regards to judges. For those who may not remember, the year was 1998, and a case involving General Augusto Pinochet of Chile was working its way through the London courts. General Pinochet was arrested and detained in London on allegations of genocide and other human rights abuses. The immediate matter concerned his extradition to Spain to be put on trial. Presiding in the case on appeal was Lord Hoffman who it was later revealed had ties to Amnesty International, one of the parties in the case. Although no one could establish any actual bias on the part of Lord Hoffman, the appearance of bias was sufficient to cause the decision of the court to be set aside. Auditors have the same burden. The mere appearance of bias should be enough reason for them to step aside. They should do so voluntarily. Wesley Hicken
DEAR EDITOR, A letter under the name Edmund Syfox was published in the Kaieteur News on Sunday, June 28, 2015 seems to hit the proverbial nail on the head. Mr. Syfox argues quite convincingly that the PPP knew fully well quite early in the game that they had lost the May 11 elections, and that was why some of them involved themselves in the immoral transfer of State assets. However, that extremely credible assertion has other logistical sequences. For example, if by the Monday night of May 11 or latest by Tuesday morning/midday May 12 the PPP knew the results expressing their loss, then it would be the right time
to begin deconstructing GECOM’s credibility. What better way than to willingly and iniquitously introduce false Statements of Poll (SoPs)? By whom? We may never find the answer to that. Who would ever think in the remotest consideration of elections perpetrations that
such wickedness would be carried out? Only Party loyalists and diehard fanatics would attempt such vicious immorality. Or it could be those who are afraid that they could lose their well-paid positions on the Commission itself. After all, they would Continued on page 6
Only Party loyalists and diehard fanatics would attempt such vicious immorality
Alexander used to say “ting nah regula”. Mr. Editor, indeed things are not regular in the Public Service. We voted for change and with the change in Government, expectations were high that serious changes would have been made, especially at all the senior level in the Public Service. The previous government has vulgarized the Public Service by placing its cronies in almost all the senior position. With the appointments of those persons, they assisted greatly in destroying the Public Service where victimization and discrimination was the name of the game. I have been informed that at the Public Service Commission, a number of irregularities have occurred within the last six to eight weeks. An engineer from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure who is closely associated with the former President Mr. Ramotar and who was a candidate for the PPP/C at the just concluded
Public Works. Apparently after the PPP/C lost power, this engineer went back into the system and fixed himself back on the job and even got promoted by the Public Service Commission. The Secretary of the Public Service Commission is claiming that he was not aware of the dismissal. Now Mr. Editor, this engineer was dismissed from the Public Works Ministry by the Permanent Secretary. A copy of that dismissal letter would have been sent to the PSC. An investigation should be launched to find out where that letter is. But more so, the said Permanent Secretary from the
dismissed engineer to the PSC. There is another issue, the Chief Regional Development Officer from the Ministry of Local Government had resigned sometime in 2005 to take up the post of acting Permanent Secretary in that same Ministry. He was later appointed on contract at the Ministry of Health as Regional Coordinator in 2010. According to information received, his contract will be expiring soon and since he is not certain of it being renewed, he has opted to go back to the Ministry of Communities as CRDO, which is a pensionable position. Continued on page 6
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Kaieteur News
Let’s talk service
The Errors of Our Ways! In most business environments, some companies focus on business opportunities created by government budgetary incentives and are able to target specific groups, whilst securing income. However these initiatives are often halted when governments change and a new political policy environment is established. Whilst these companies that provide goods and service should do so in a transparent environment, incidents of nepotism are frequent. Companies generally find themselves faced with dynasties within various industries that may cause one company to constantly receive contracts and more business, than another. In the literary and performing arts innate creativity may be accepted while in the fields of business, law and medicine, family and friends customarily pull strings. This may be acceptable in some cultures where grooming relatives for family-run business is a tradition. Corruption, Cronyism and Nepotism have long been the focus of studies on developing countries. Today there is growing academic and policy consensus that corruption is often high and costly in low-income developing countries. According to research conducted by Michael Collier (2000), the Caribbean has a
real political corruption problem that is significantly retarding the region’s development. Comparatively, in developed countries like the US, the list of corporations and business leaders that have been involved in legal and ethical wrongdoing, including nepotism, is long – Enron, WorldCom, Rite Aid, Sunbeam, HealthSouth, Global Crossing, Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young, ImClone, KPMG, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley to name a few. Nepotism has been a barrier to skills, careers and talent for decades. The Oxford Dictionary defines nepotism as “the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs”. Many companies after a period of misguided growth due to favoritism normally find difficulty progressing towards profitability once placed within a competitive marketplace. Dependent on the number of companies that are part of this cycle of cronyism, this practice can have an impact on economic development, particularly in small to medium size developing countries. In this regard, a cause for concern arises for new Governments as to how to eradicate corruption whilst maintaining economic prosperity of a country. Transparency International, in a survey of 3000 businesses in May-June 2011, found that a quarter of these companies lost their business because of
corruption and the payment of bribes. That problem, they reported, is most acute in export-oriented economies like Malaysia and Mexico. In 2013 at the World Economic Forum, world leaders identified the greatest impediments to conducting business in developing countries, and of course, corruption was cited as the biggest hurdle in Europe, Asia and Africa. Nepotism impedes companies from realizing their true potential for success. Theorists in the field of Commerce believe in free markets, as they are better for business and allow for all to compete fairly for new development. In this regard, this blog outlines some approaches that companies could adopt to recover from, or to avoid nepotism, cronyism and favoritism: Businesses should be aware of international standards and procedures as well as the domestic laws, particularly relating to managing people; Create self-regulatory industry associations; this will remove decision making powers for the industry from the Government to the stakeholder; Explore joint venture, Public/Private Sector Partnerships (PPP) activities with the Government and Parastatal organizations; Promote corporate social responsibility and philanthropy, this will build public awareness while getting influential stakeholders on your side, a great example is participation Continued on page 12
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur M@ilbox Rupununians must raise their voices against this evil, malicious plan DEAR EDITOR, I got it from inside the local Freedom House at Lethem that the 9 Councillors on the RDC for the PPP are planning to move a Motion of No Confidence on the Regional Executive Officer, Carl Parker. What these people want of this gentleman? They hounded him out of his job as Deputy Regional Executive Officer. They ensured that he could get no work anywhere in Guyana. As far as I am aware, Carl Parker is more that qualified for the job of REO. He got the Prime Minister’s Medal in 1997 for the Best Graduating Student in Public Management. The PPP is stating that Parker should be disqualified because he was an immediate past Regional Councillor. Oh how the shoe is tight when it is on the other foot. Desmond Kissoon, the PPP point man here, moved directly from Regional Vice Chairman to Regional Executive Officer. Ms. Clair Singh moved directly from Regional Vice Chairman on the 2006 RDC to Regional Executive Officer on the 2011RDC. So what is different with Carl Parker who was just an ordinary Councillor? I will tell you. Carl Parker knows the system, something that the corrupt PPP is uncomfortable with. Parker, at the inaugural sitting of the RDC on 30th June carried on that meeting without prompting from anyone, something that I have not seen with other REO’s. Everyone was pleased with the orderly, professional manner in which the proceedings were conducted. During the meeting, Parker
could be seen advising the PPP Chairman on how to conduct the rest of the meeting when he took his chair. I have information too that Parker has already gained the respect and admiration of his staff, many of whom are known supporters of the PPP. In fact many of them prefer him over the immediate past REO. Parker has also started a process to employ young people in the office. He took over a vacancy list of more than 170. He has already recommended 26 persons to fill those vacancies, an action that is not surprising since throughout his discourses he has always maintained the position that enough is not done for the youths. To demonstrate, a young man went to his office with 8 CXC Grade ones, 2 Grade twos and 3 Grade threes in addition to three Grade twos at CAPE. The gentleman was looking for work in the office. From reports received, Parker sent for the
Regional Health Officer to ascertain how the young man can be absorbed into the health system since he had Grade Ones and Twos in all of the science subjects. I was told that Parker was able to convince the young man to take up a career in the medical field. I am confident that the past REO could not careless if the fellow had 8 Grade Ones or 8 Grade Fives. The Region needs Parker, but the PPP would want him gone because they would get a free reign to use the Region’s resources, as they are wont to do, to continue their relentless campaign of lies, division and corruption. I now call on all Rupununians to raise their voices against this evil, malicious plan. I also call on the Minister of Communities to give Parker the support he needs to function effectively. If that is not done, then the PPP will ride rough shod over us. Carlton Beckles
From page 5 have the motive and the opportunity. And further, before and after the May 11 elections, PPP Commissioners have publicly and covertly behaved in a most blatantly partisan way. The miscreants must have known that the GECOM system would identify the fake Statements of Poll. Two Statements of Poll would not arrive with the same Ballot Box number and not be investigated. The fake Statements of Poll would also not have the security
features and therefore would never be entered in the system and be counted. GECOM has explained this over and over. That leaves us with the motive being not to change numbers associated with the Final Count. Rather solely to throw in doubt and consciously confuse the management of the election. And the PPP continues to shamelessly pursue this and other evils, which harms the cohesion of this nation. Shame on you! K. Williams
From page 5 According to information, this move has been facilitated by the Secretary of the Public Service Commission, whereby the Secretary of the PSC has place unofficial documents in his file to cover his movements from the Ministries of Local Government to Health and back to the now Ministry of Community.
What is of more concern is that this Officer, while being employed and paid by the Ministry of Health, was working at the PPP headquarters Freedom House between 2014 and up to the elections. There may be much more than this, but an investigation will certainly bring them all out. Concerned Public Servant.
Only Party loyalists and...
Things ‘nah regula’ in the...
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
Trinidad PM requests Commonwealth election observer group Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (L) meets with Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Kamalesh Sharma
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has requested a technical observer team from the Commonwealth for the upcoming general election in Trinidad and Tobago on September 7, 2015. The request was made on Friday during the 36th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Bridgetown, Barbados. Heads of government met with the Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Kamalesh Sharma.
Persad-Bissessar said an official request will be made in accordance with established protocols through Trinidad and Tobago’s Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC). When the request is received, the Commonwealth will deploy an assessment mission before formally accepting. The prime minister noted that the last time a Commonwealth Observer Group visited Trinidad and Tobago was for the General Elections of 2000, and a great deal of valuable assessments
and recommendations came out of the final report. Also a recipient of the IAPC Democracy Medal in 2013, Persad-Bissessar has consistently emphasised her dedication to fair and democratic elections, and highlighted the exemplary work done by Commonwealth observers during Guyana’s elections in May 2015. Persad-Bissessar also used the opportunity to commend and congratulate the Commonwealth secretary general on his contribution to the institution. Sharma will soon retire from the position.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Boko Haram kills nearly 200 in 48 hours of Nigeria slaughter Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) Boko Haram carried out a fresh wave of massacres in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, locals said, killing nearly 200 people in 48 hours of violence President Muhammadu Buhari blasted as “inhuman and barbaric”. The militants have staged multiple attacks across restive Borno state since Wednesday, gunning down worshippers at evening Ramadan prayers, shooting women in their
homes, and dragging men from their beds in the dead of night. A young female suicide bomber also killed 12 worshippers when she blew herself up in a mosque in Borno. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Boko Haram has used both men and young women and girls as human bombs in the past. And as night fell, Nigerian troops battled “hordes of
Boko Haram gunmen” who seemed set on attacking the state capital Maiduguri, the birthplace of the extremist Islamist movement. “President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest wave of killings... describing them as most inhuman and barbaric,” the presidency said in a statement. The bloodshed is the worst since Buhari came to power in May, vowing to root out the insurgency that has claimed more than 15,000 lives. Up to 50 armed men on motorbikes stormed the village of Mussa in the latest atrocity on Friday, shooting villagers and burning their homes, survivor Bitrus Dangana told AFP. “They killed six people in the village and they chased the inhabitants into the bush, firing at them... 25 people were killed in the bush,” he said. Another survivor, Adamu Bulus, confirmed 31 people had been murdered. It was the fourth time that Boko Haram had attacked the village in the past year, local youth worker Sunday Wabba told AFP, describing how they “killed everyone on sight”. News of the massacres
first emerged on Thursday, when survivors told of raids on three different villages in Borno state the previous evening that left at least 145 people dead and many houses burnt to the ground. On Friday, fresh details of the killings emerged from a resident of Kukawa, near lake Chad, the worst-affected village. Baana Kole told AFP that he and others had managed to escape into the bush where they spent the night, before returning to bury the dead, only to find that the militants had laid mines everywhere. “Some residents who hid in trees saw them planting the mines and alerted us when we returned to the village and started burying our dead,” he said. “So many dead bodies are still in Kukawa lying unattended. We had to abandon them because we could not carry them with us.” Less than 24 hours later, a girl blew herself up in a mosque in Malari village, more than 150 kilometres away from Wednesday’s attacks. “The bomber was a girl aged around 15 who was seen around the mosque when
worshippers were preparing for the afternoon prayers,” Danlami Ajaokuta, a vigilante assisting the military against Boko Haram, told AFP. “People asked her to leave because she had no business there and they were notý comfortable with her in view of the spate of suicide attacks by female Boko Haram members. “She made to leaveý but while the people were inside the mosque for the prayers she ran from a distance into the mosque and blew herself up,” he added — an account corroborated by resident Gajimi Mala. Early Friday morning, as people were sleeping, Boko Haram militants dragged men out of houses in Miringa village and shot them for escaping forced conscription. They “picked 13 men from selected homes and took them to the Eid prayer ground outside the village where they opened fire on them,” resident Baballe Mohammed said, adding 11 died and two managed to escape. He and another resident said the victims had been targeted because they had fled their home village after
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari
Boko Haram tried to force them to join their ranks. Then on Friday evening, local vigilantes said Nigerian troops were battling Boko Haram fighters in Zabarmari village, only 10 kilometres (six miles) from Maiduguri, trying to prevent an apparent rebel attempt to enter the city. With heavy gunfire and more than 10 loud explosions reported, local resident Zanna Shehuri told AFP, “Boko Haram are now in Zabarmari trying to come into Maiduguri but are facing stiff resistance from soldiers.”
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Dem boys seh... Venezuela’s leader tells army officers De night club curfew got about Guyana’s “aggression” people leffing wuk early - again threatens to address National Assembly In the face of growing condemnation and increasing internal pressure over the state of his country’s economy, Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, is threatening to address his National Assembly tomorrow to talk about aggressions from Guyana. He restated his demands for US-owned ExxonMobil to stop its oil exploration activities. According to El Universal online report yesterday, it would be the third time that Maduro is threatening to ask for support from the National Assembly. His statements would also come at a time when CARICOM leaders are meeting in Barbados, and Venezuela’s questionable
claims of Guyana’s lands and seas are being discussed. On Thursday, President David Granger, in his inaugural address to the CARICOM’ Heads of Government Summit called for an immediate condemnation by the regional body and for Venezuela to withdraw a recent decree which included maps that show lands and water of Guyana as belonging to them. The waters claimed included an area that is licensed by Guyana to ExxonMobil to explore for oil. The US company recently announced that it has found significant evidence of oil and is now moving more resources down to the area. Maduro, yesterday addressing the promotions of
top officers of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), said that he will be asking for a cessation of “provocations and insults” by ExxonMobil Guyana. Maduro was due to visit Barbados on Friday for a series of meetings with CARICOM leaders but instead sent his Vice President, Jorge Arreza. President Granger had expressed hope to meet with him to help diffuse the tensions. Maduro was quoted as saying that there are new forms of conspiracy against Venezuela. He made it clear that Venezuela was stripped in 1835, 1840, 1899 of its Essequibo territory from the British empire, with provocations and insults
Guns for fishermen proposal opposed by fishermen themselves - Ramjattan In a bid to address the spiraling rate of piracy in local waters, Khemraj Ramjattan made a daring recommendation in his maiden address to the National Assembly as Minister of Public Security. He said that fishermen should be given guns and ammunition to go out on their fishing trips. It was also proposed that those guns would then be returned to the police station from whence they were uplifted. According to Ramjattan, in a recent interview with this publication, however, that suggestion has since encountered criticism from the most unlikely source-- the fishermen themselves. “They would prefer that we have patrols in mid ocean
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan with them. I told them that that’s too expensive. The other (option) is to arm them and whenever someone comes to attack them they can take care of themselves.”
“However, a lot of them seem reluctant to do that. I don’t know, then, what would be the option.” He did subsequently identify one way that might offset costs and provide fishermen with ample protection to allow them to ply their trade in peace given the arrival of oil and the need for a joint services’ presence in the waters to safeguard oil assets. “The next option would then be to wait until we find oil. Then we could have more patrol boats watching them while they are fishing.” The Minister however spoke of a plan that had been brought to his intention through recommendations in the local media-- the creation of a marine wing. “It was in today’s Continued on page 64
Venezuela Leader, Nicolas Maduro now from ExxonMobil. “On Monday I will be asking national unity, “said Maduro. On Friday, United Nations Secretary General, Ban KiMoon, said he will be appointing a mission to Guyana to assess the situation. Trinidad’s leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has promised Guyana help in its energy needs and oil exploration efforts. Venezuela’s claims on Guyana and its internal economic turmoil have been placing it at increasing odds with not only its neighbours in the region, but with the US, which has been highly critical of the affairs of the Maduroled Government. Guyana has a major ricefor-oil deal with Venezuela.
Is one thing when something face people. Is another thing when people face something. Rum Jattan decide that once is two o’clock in de morning dem night club must close. It ain’t mean that dem must put out everybody by two o’clock because dem would have to stop selling by one o’clock. Wha it mean is that de bar must close at two o’clock. Wha actually happen is that some mek bad fuh others. Dem didn’t care how much noise dem mek because dem had friends in high places. People complain till dem get sick. Old people use to wish dem dead because dem can’t sleep. That is when something face people. Dem boys now see that from de time wuk done Friday afternoon, all dem young people disappear. Dem believe that dem got to start partying earlier fuh meet de two o’clock deadline. But is wha happen Saturday at de Waterfalls paper that mek dem boys laugh. Before de sun gone down reporters disappear. If dem use to run to assignments like how dem run out de office, things woulda been very good. Saturday night by nine o’clock dem night clubs full. Normally, dem empty till midnight. That is good thing because dem bartenders and dem waiters gun go home before day clean. But is Rum Jattan who got problems. As soon as dem night clubs shut dem door de people going to Rum Jattan house and park up outside. One man seh that if he got sense he can mek more money than Jagdeo; all he got to do is open a bar under he house. He ain’t got to play music suh nobody can complain about noise nuisance. De aim is to limit dem road accidents that does happen at dem hours because everybody does believe that is dem alone pun de road. But all this coulda be avoided if people did tek time and build dem night club in a soundproof manner. Then dem coulda close de door and nobody coulda complain. Dem boys seh that de one good thing is that people does adjust. And more people gun go to wuk early de next morning. But knowing Guyanese, dem would buy dem rum fuh de after sport. Talk half and watch how de seawalls gun get popular again.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
CPL seeks $100M from Govt. …even as AG flags $36.3M paid to league The country’s Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, has flagged in his latest report. $36.3M which was pumped into the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) owned Dr.Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the best friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. Kaieteur News also understands that there is currently an invoice before the Ministry of Finance from a CPL agent for the sum of US$500, 000 for 2014. The AG’s report noted that the last set of audited accounts for the Guyana Lotteries Fund shows that the $36.3M was expended in the CPL for 2013. It also shows that the Ministry of Culture received for Mashramani and other activities a total of $200.5 million, while the Guyana Tourism Authority received $13.8 million. The AG noted in his report that the Fund was established in August 1996 by the decision of the former Cabinet which managed the account.
Under the previous administration, Sharma said that the Cabinet was expected to also ensure that amounts expended are within the National Sector and are in accordance with the guidelines for access to the lottery funding, which includes funding for activities that promotes cultural and youth and sport development, medical treatment overseas and support for disadvantaged groups, among others. The Guyana Lotteries Commission is subject to separate financial reporting and auditing. But this expenditure into the CPL has not found favour with many local financial minds, including Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan. He said that the monies pumped into CPL from the Lotteries Fund goes against proper accounting procedures. He opined that the Fund holds taxpayers monies which belong to the Consolidated Fund. He added that moves will be made to
ensure that this is corrected. The Finance Minister noted that the AG report did not say what this money was used for but he has vowed to get to the bottom of it. He said that the AG was correct in flagging it in his 2013 report. “We will have to find out who authorized this money to go to CPL,” Jordan added. Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, is also
which the right to decide on how taxpayers’ monies should be spent, he said. Goolsarran said that if the process by which public monies are supposed to be legally spent, continues to be intercepted then “we are going to continue to have an accounting chaos on our hands.” He said that the Lotteries Fund being held outside of
“If the process, by which public monies are supposed to be legally spent, continues to be intercepted then we are going to continue to have an accounting chaos on our hands.”- Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran against the expenditure which was not subject to any parliamentary oversight. The Chartered Accountant said that it is a license fee which belongs in the Consolidated Fund. He stressed that there should not be any other “parallel treasury”. The National Assembly is the only organ
the Consolidated Fund and being expended without any form of oversight constitutes “disrespect and disregard for the legislative arm.” The Lotteries Fund is currently the subject of a forensic audit. The previous administration and the Granger government had been at loggerheads over this matter for years. Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, had said repeatedly that the court had ruled that the PPP/C had not acted unconstitutionally by not placing the proceeds from the Lotto Fund into the Consolidated Fund. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Tenth Parliament had instructed the Auditor General to seek “independent” legal advice with regard to the controversial fund. Former Chairman of the Committee, Carl Greenidge, had said that the legal advice, should be outside of those given by Nandlall. “He (Sharma) was told to get independent advice, because the advice given before was by the Attorney General and it was not appropriate because the AG
advises the Cabinet, not the Auditor General,” Greenidge had said. The former PAC Chairman held the firm belief that the Lotto Funds and others should be paid into the Consolidated Fund, “because these aren’t bodies established under the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act which allow establishment of extra budgetary agencies.” “It is not established for them to keep the money out of the fund.” Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, in a letter back in January 13, 2013 had said that Nandlall gave his own interpretation on the decision handed down by Justice Diane Insanally in the case of Desmond Trotman versus Attorney General, popularly known as the Lotto Funds case. Nandlall claimed that Justice Insanally decided the case on its merit, finding that “the deposit of the monies in the Development Fund of Guyana (Lotto Fund) is in accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution, the provisions of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and the Lotteries Act, thereby vindicating the Government’s position.” The truth cannot be more different, Ram contended in his letter. The action, he reminded, was initiated in April 2010 by Desmond Trotman, a political activist and now Member of Parliament for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). Essentially, Trotman asked the Court through his Attorneys, Miles Fitzpatrick, S.C and Christopher Ram, whether the share of the revenue received by the Government from the Guyana Lottery Company Limited, a private company incorporated under the Companies Act 1991, is required to be paid into the
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma Consolidated Fund in accordance with Article 216 of the Constitution and Sections 21 and 38 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003. He also asked whether as a consequence, the expenditure by the Government of the money without the authority of Parliament, is unconstitutional and illegal. On June 2, 2010, Ashton Chase S.C. and Pauline Chase, on behalf of the Attorney General did not respond to the issues raised but instead asked the Court to strike out the plaintiff’s action on the following grounds: a) that the action failed to comply with the rules of the High Court; b) that Trotman had shown no right, legal or equitable, to seek any order by the Court; and c) that Trotman used the wrong procedure. On December 28, 2012, Justice Insanally, in a brief hearing in Chambers, delivered her decision on the arguments, ruling against Trotman on the procedural points, but not on the merits of the case. Subsequent efforts by Counsel, Ram said, to obtain a copy of the decision were unsuccessful, prompting Miles Fitzpatrick SC, to write the Judge requesting a written decision. Through his Attorneys, Trotman has (continued page 57)
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Operations of benevolent centers for more monitoring - Minister Lawrence The Ministry of Social Protection will be establishing a structured monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the benevolent centres under its purview. Specifically the Hugo Chavez Center for Rehabilitation and Reintegration located at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, the Mahaica Children’s Home and the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) will come for attention. According to a Government statement, Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence, noted that monitoring and evaluation is a big issue within the different agencies that fall under the Ministry. Where the necessity exists for a monitoring and evaluation department, it will be established. The Minister was at the time visiting these facilities, and took the opportunity to interact with staff and occupants. At the Hugo Chavez Center for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, located at Onverwagt, Region Five, Minister Lawrence pointed out that at present there is no
mechanism in place to enlist occupants. “We have been looking to find some contractual arrangement between the Guyana Government and the Government of Venezuela and we have not been able to find those documents. We are discussing partnering with a number of ministries, such as the Indigenous People’s Affairs, Public Health, and work with the persons from Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). We believe that if we collaborate with other partners we will be able to fill the place with persons who really need this type of care,” Minister Lawrence explained. With regards to the Night Shelter at East La Penitence, Georgetown, the Minister said that she will be visiting the facility shortly. In the interim, the Ministry will be looking at employing a psychologist who can evaluate persons from the shelter and the Palms with the view to their taking up residence at the Hugo Chavez Centre. “There is much left to be desired here…we have heard
Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence checking out the physical conditions at the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute from the residents that they are here and treated like children … the residents themselves are begging for some sort of programme where they can utilise their energy and learn a skill,” the Minister pointed out. She further noted that the Ministry has a lot of work to
Haags Bosch access road incomplete - says Solid Waste Head Years after its initiation, the access road to the sanitary landfill at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara, is estimated to be 75 per cent complete, Head of the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Project, Gordon Gilkes, has reported. Addressing members of the media last Friday during a press briefing at the Ministry of Communities, Fort Street, Kingston, Gilkes said that the road was intended to have a 15-year lifespan but at present it is currently overstressed. The contract for building the roadway was signed in May 2009, by the former administration with H. Nauth and Sons Civil Engineering Contracts. The funding was part of the US$18M loan agreement the then government made with the Inter-American Development Bank, through a partnership approach to develop the landfill which replaced the Mandela Avenue dump in Le Repentir, Georgetown. The Ministry then had reported that of five bidders, H. Nauth and Sons were successful and the project of building the access road was agreed upon with a fivemonth deadline, according to
Head of the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Project, Gordon Gilkes a report carried in the Guyana Chronicle on May 30, 2009. “That road is not completed,” Gilkes said adding that though it had been started years ago it currently stands at 75 per cent completion. The Project head said that its completion is the responsibility of the contractors. According to him the road was designed by consultants to last about 15 years with maintenance but that did not materialize. Gilkes said that the road was constructed on a navigation
dam for cane harvesters with intentions of taking traffic to and from the Haags Bosch Landfill Site. He said at present there are some draglines on site, and trucks, but as time went by there was additional “stress” on the road. “When we started the contract, BK International in association with Puran Bros, requested of the Ministry to use some of the clay on the road for sea defence.” He said that the requested was granted but the trucks used by BK International during that time did much damage to the road. “The road has been over stressed over the period of time and that is why it wasn’t completed. Even more recently, if you look at the records, over the past month or so that road has been traversing in excess of 3000 trucks per month, carrying a total of 40,000 tonnes of garbage or debris so the roads were overstressed.” He told members of the media that even some of the large trucks from Bai Shan Lin and BK International were carrying somewhere between 40,000 – 45,000 tonnes. The Project head emphasised that the road was not designed for that type of pressure.
do, because, “we cannot continue to have a building like this and not be able to fulfill the mandate in which it was setup for.” The $420M Hugo Chavez Center for Rehabilitation and Reintegration is a collaborative venture
between the Governments of Guyana and Venezuela. It is equipped with two dormitories, an administrative building which houses a training centre, library and an infirmary and rooms for persons with communicable diseases and disabilities.
Meanwhile, the Ministry will redesign the GWLI’s agenda to provide programmes for women, thereby, making them more marketable. The children’s home at Mahaica will also be refurbished.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Investigations into public information entities…
Sleaze and corruption were prevalent during previous administration-Prime Minister By Kiana Wilburg Corruption continues to remain a major issue in Guyana, Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo said. Investigations into some public information entities revealed that there are “tremendous and awful manners of sleaze and corruption,” he said. The Prime Minister made this comment on Friday at the Pegasus Hotel where former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, launched his second book, “Public Accountability at the Crossroads-The Guyana Experience.” During his remarks on the importance of accountability
and transparency, Nagamootoo, who is performing the duties of President, said that based on ongoing internal investigations, he received some “disgusting” aspects of the preliminary reports which pointed to collusion and bad management. The Prime Minister said, “Not only was there bad management but also political direction to pay people who were not on the staff of certain entities for work that was totally unrelated to the entity.” Nagamootoo said that the reports revealed that political direction was given for millions of dollars to be paid for political advertisements in newspapers
“You would be amazed as to how some of those who presided over the destiny of Guyana and called themselves leaders, colluded in the draining of the people’s money for narrow, partisan, political purposes and so corruption in Guyana remains a major issue...” and pamphlets that were printed overseas and perhaps never seen here in Guyana. He said that those reports noted that millions of taxpayers’ dollars were used to fund television programmes overseas during the 2015 elections. “You would be amazed at how some of those who presided over the destiny of Guyana and called themselves leaders, colluded to drain the people’s money for narrow, partisan,
political purposes and so corruption in Guyana remains a major issue...” While the Prime Minister refrained from directly naming some of the entities fingered in these corrupt activities, he did make mention of the highly contentious report on the National Communications Network (NCN). “I received quite a number of calls almost persistently from sections of the media for me to comment on what would be done on the NCN report and you know it indicted some officials of the NCN for malfeasance in office.” Nagamootoo added, “Some of the officers, at least one resigned and another suspended. But that report had been sent to the former President, Donald Ramotar, and we haven’t heard anything about the report from him…” The Prime Minister said that a few days ago, he received a copy of the report and he intends to study it and make a recommendation to President David Granger on the way forward. He said however, that the course of action he intends to advise on “does not include prosecution for wrongdoing in the NCN.” In mid-2012, a leaked report on investigations at the stateowned NCN revealed startling details of how two Managers attempted to pressure female staffers to backdate a $3.6 million invoice to January to cover up their tracks. But the staffers from the Marketing Department refused and later told investigators that they thought it unethical at the time. The leaked report, while not making it clear, suggested that the attempts were made even while the investigations were ongoing or about to start. The report also suggested that both officials were probably desperate at the time. In June 2012, Programme Manager Martin Goolsarran was suspended for eight weeks while
Mohamed Sattaur, the Chief Executive Officer, tendered his resignation after the report was tendered to NCN’s Board of Directors. The events had rocked NCN to the core. Leader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, had called for a criminal investigation against the two men and had accused the previous Government of attempting to cover up the report which he said should be handed over to the police as well. It will be recalled that the NCN investigation was sparked after revelations in Parliament that the entity, which controls the country’s only authorized radio stations and has a network of television stations across the land, in 2011 raked in more than $500M in revenue, yet wanted Government subsidies. Following complaints, the Board had ordered a probe into reports that all was not right with payments from GT&T following last year’s hugely popular Jingle and Song Competition. GT&T had hired NCN to tape the show but the state entity decided in turn to sub-contract the work to Hits and Jams Television. The investigations found that Goolsarran was paid more than $3M in cheques from GT&T. He then deposited these into his own personal bank account. The report made it clear that both the CEO and Goolsarran failed to carry out their duties diligently and professionally. The special audit report on NCN that was commissioned by former President Donald Ramotar had been sitting on his desk since 2012. Despite repeated requests
Prime Minister and acting President, Moses V. Nagamootoo from the media, and promises from the former President, he steadfastly refused to release the report and take actions. Within weeks of the Granger administration taking office, more than 20 persons who were secretly working at the Office of President under the guise of being ‘Work Processor Operator’, but were actually doing political work under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, had their services terminated. Almost a dozen of them had contracts with NCN, reportedly receiving salaries from that entity as well as from the Office of the President. The 20-odd persons were said to be under the watch of Kwame Mc Coy, the Press Liaison, who served under the administrations of Bharrat Jagdeo and then Donald Ramotar. Among the persons in the unit was a relative of a former senior PPP/C Minister and another is closely related to a Parliamentarian who lives in Berbice and works at the NCN branch.
The Errors of Our Ways! From page 6 in environmental clean-up campaigns; Choose to accept bureaucratic delays and rework delays into your company’s risk planning; Claim ownership/buyin to national foreign direct
investment activities and commit to doing your part to ensure a dynamic economic environment for all companies/organizations to thrive; Participate in initiatives with Civil Society and Government to explore collective approaches to mitigating corruption; Executives should also remember that the exigencies of the present can obscure the imperatives of the future. In the long term, corruption erodes a company’s credibility, and competitiveness, along with the trust of customers and employees, thereby limiting opportunities to make profits. ‘By staying silent, leaders must ask themselves: are poisoning the pool from which we all drink?
Sunday July 05, 2015
AG’s 2013 Report… In his latest report on the nation’s finances for the period of 2013, Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma highlighted instances within the Ministry of Home Affairs where millions of dollars were overpaid to defaulting contractors. This led to legal advice being sought from the then Ministry of Legal Affairs in an effort to recover the money. In the report on the country’s overall finances, Sharma said that for 2013, overpayments amounting to $22.1M were made on measured works on various contracts administered by Ministries, Departments and Regions, including the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Defence Force and Regions Four, Five, Six, Eight and Ten.
Kaieteur News
Millions overpaid to defaulting contractors within Home Affairs Min.
Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma In relation to the Ministry of Home Affairs, one contract had to be canceled following negligence from the contractor. Overpayment also occurred in the case of the Albion Police Station. Some
$3.5M in materials was left outstanding. According to the AG report, the Ministry was unable to recover the sum of $3.4M overpaid on the contract for the construction of the new capital dormitory at the Georgetown Prisons. The contract was subsequently terminated due to an extreme lack of diligence on the part of the contractor. The Ministry eventually levied on the performance bond held at the Colonial Life and General Insurance Company Limited (CLICO). According to the AG, evidence was seen whereby the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to the Ministry of Legal Affairs seeking assistance and advice for the institution of proceedings against the contractor. A reminder was also sent to the Ministry of Legal
GPSU upbeat after meeting Pres. Granger, ministers
President David Granger (left) greeting GPSU’s President, Patrick Yarde, shortly before convening a meeting to discuss matters affecting the union and the way forward. The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says it is upbeat following a meeting last week with the new administration. According to Patrick Yarde, President of the union, the largest negotiation body for public servants, the recent meeting was to make known to President David Granger that the union stands ready to work alongside the new Government. “We are encouraged… we are dealing in a more credible relationship and while it is a little early, we want to move beyond promises.” GPSU, under the previous administrations of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) have been
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complaining of being sidelined. Over a consecutive number of years, the Government had unilaterally announced annual increases for public servants, in total disregard for the collective bargaining agreements in place. There were delays in raising key allowances. The union had also been complaining about the increasing number of contract employees in Government’s employ which has severely eroded its membership. GPSU had been a harsh critic of consecutive PPP/C governments. “The fundamental thing is that we feel comfortable
dealing with a Government that we can and one we can engage in discussions…meaningful discussions.” Present with Granger at the meeting for the Government, at the Ministry of the Presidency last week, were Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin; Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally; and Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence. President Granger had promised that revamping the entire public service, rebuilding confidence, and working with the unions were among the top priorities for the administration.
Affairs on January 28, 2014 in an effort to conclude the matter. In ruling on this outstanding sum, the AG’s advice was for the Ministry to pursue the matter to finality with the relevant authorities. The report also highlighted cases of overpayment with regard to remedial works done on the floor, walls, roof, windows and doors at the Albion Police Station, totaling $3.5M. The Ministry subsequently wrote to the project consultants for a resolution, resulting in the consultant accepting responsibility. In this matter also, the Audit office recommended that the Ministry pursue the matter to recover the overpayment. Meanwhile, the contract for the rehabilitation of the Kamarang Police Station, which was awarded in 2010 to the tune of $3.3M, was also
cited by the AG. According to the AG, amounts totaling $2.3M were paid on certified works for that year. A subsequent payment of $697,150 in the year 2012 increased disbursements under the contract to $3.088M. An inspection of the works in that year revealed that a total overpayment of $1.2M had occurred as a result of twenty discrepancies in measured works, where payments
amounted to $1.7M and actual works were valued at $508,600. According to the AG, the Ministry was able to clear to the satisfaction of the Audit office an amount of $272,750, leaving a balance of $1M to be recovered. The audit office recommended in the report that the Ministry make every effort to recover the overpayment and put systems in place in order to avoid any overpayments to contractors in the future.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Former AG launches second book on public accountability Given the growing perception that public accountability in Guyana is constantly being eroded by various forms of corruption, the launch of a book which addresses this among other related matters by former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, was greatly appreciated by members of the business community and even the Granger administration. “Public Accountability at the Cross Roads-The Guyana Experience” will be Goolsarran’s second book. Volume two of this edition is expected to be launched by next month. His first book was “Improving public accountability: The Guyana experience 1985-2007.” Goolsarran launched his book in fine but simple style on Friday last at the Pegasus hotel which drew the presence of several high profile members of the society. Included in the audience was Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Junior Finance Minister, Jaipaul Sharma; Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott; and Business magnate, Dr. Yesu Persaud. Chairing the programme was Attorney-at-law and
director of Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI), Gino Persaud. In his introductory remarks of the author, Persaud said that Goolsarran has over 30 years of professional experience in public sector financial management at both national and international levels. He said that Goolsarran served as the Auditor General from 1990 to 2004, playing a leading role in the restoration of public accountability in Guyana after decades of neglect and deterioration. Persaud noted that the anti-corruption activist was also the architect of the Guyana Audit Act 2004 and was also the chief resident auditor of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone and Liberia for two years. Goolsarran is a past president of TIGI. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants with a Masters and a Doctorate degree in Business Administration. The Chartered Accountant said that his book is a compilation of published articles in the Accountability watch column of the Stabroek News. He explained that the book has five sections; General
managerial matters; Public financial management; State audit and accountability; Governance, Transparency and Accountability; and On Corruption. The former Auditor General said that the first chapter looks at approaches to decision making while the second focuses on an overview of the budget process, financial papers laid in the National Assembly, the procurement process and understanding public debt. In the third chapter, he deals extensively with the role of the Public Accounts Committee , state auditing and the Auditor General’s report while his fourth chapter deals with published articles on accountability of statutory bodies , NICIL , the Specialty Hospitality , the Marriott , Radio licenses, the National Insurance Scheme, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and the Guyana Power and Light Inc. The last chapter looks at understanding corruption, the two anti-corruption conventions of which Guyana is a signatory and anti-money laundering. The Foreword of the book was written by Dr. Yes Persaud who took to the podium to deliver brief remarks. He lauded the
From left, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo receiving copies of the book from Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran. contributions of the Chartered Accountant in the fight against corruption and said that Guyana needs more persons like him who have fearlessly spoken out against the abuses which took place under the previous administration. He said that it is time for an environment to be created where citizens can speak courageously about anything they believe is against the law. “The time is right for us to express ourselves and say things as they are. Too many of us hide behind a veil,” the business magnate added. He lamented that the problem Guyana struggles with is the lack of ethics “from top to bottom” and emphasized that this needs to come to an end. Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who later took the floor also agreed with Dr. Persaud’s comments. He hailed Goolsarran as the
“Messiah of anticorruption.” On behalf of the Government, Nagamootoo commended Goolsarran for the “impressive compilation” of articles and said that he would recommend that it be made compulsory reading at secondary and tertiary levels of education. “Having read several of these articles, I can’t see how anyone pursing a course in governance or management or politics or even accounts would want to escape benefitting from this book which outlines what not to do. “If you were to enter into public life, much of what he wrote was born out of a reality of what went wrong in Guyana,” said the Prime Minister. He added, “I welcome the articles which Goolsarran has put into one volume speaking
to the various acts of corruption which are still eating away at every part of our society. We have to be able to set up the system to detect corruption and encourage ordinary folk to report corruption.” He said that Cabinet has started the process by introducing a Code of Service with strict guidelines for upright behaviour “which will trickle down right down to the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.” “We are the image of the clean face and if we are not guided by high ethics then we will contribute to the contamination of the new image we fought so hard to project. So we need constant guidance from those like Goolsarran as they continue to implore us to take the high grounds of accountability transparency and good governance.”
GPHC facilitates successful corneal transplants Just over a dozen Guyanese are about to enjoy clearer vision thanks to a series of corneal transplant surgeries recently conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The surgeries occurred on July 1 and July 2. They saw surgeons performing 11 transplants along with a cataract surgery and one removal of corneal foreign body. According to the GPHC, the surgeries were conducted by a team of experts from the USbased Subraj Foundation. Since June 30, the team has been in Guyana and from that day, the team spent all day at the hospital interviewing more than 35 patients in the clinic. Dr. Shailendra Sugrim, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, generated the list of patients to be seen by the team on the morning of its arrival. From this pool of patients, the team decided which patients would be suitable for transplant surgery. The team will work closely with Sugrim in the follow up of the operated patients. According to GPHC, corneas along with special micro-surgical ophthalmic instruments
to perform these surgeries were brought by the team. The donor corneas came from three US eye banks: Eastern Virginia, Texas Lions and NE Pennsylvania, GPHC said. “The team, headed by Dr. Rahul M. Jindal, has been coming to Guyana since 2008, and already has a record of performing 26 kidney transplants and six corneal transplants in Guyana. The previous six corneal transplants were successfully done by the same team in Guyana in August, 2014. The corneas were donated by the N.E. Pennsylvania Eye Bank,” the hospital further said. George Subraj, President of Subraj Foundation, promised to fund future missions to perform kidney and cornea transplantation at the GPHC. The team also indicated that its aim is to sustain these procedures in the public hospital where the procedures are free. Furthermore, the team is working with Dr. Sugrim to generate a list of patients who may require corneal transplants on the next visit. This visit will potentially occur in September of this year. Patients are urged to contact Dr. Sugrim at the GPHC where all the procedures will be performed completely free of cost.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
New bar curfew sparks debate With the 2:00am bar curfew already evident and the party goers against it, other stakeholders including bars, nightclub owners and promoters have joined in the debate; some signaling their intention to comply with the Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan’s directive, and others describing his move as ‘rash’. In the face of opposition voices, the Public Security Minister, on Thursday, reaffirmed his commitment to go forward with the decision to enforce the 2:00hrs curfew on all bars and nightclub operators. Minister Ramjattan said that his decision is premised on the fact that there is a legal requirement under their (bars/ restaurants) licensing arrangements, that stipulate a halt to their activities at that time. The Minister also noted the direct link between drinking and the types of violence, including domestic violence. Ramjattan told reporters that the imposition of the curfew is likely to stop heavy binges, which start at those hours and sometimes result in traffic offences. They also affect other aspects of a person’s life including their work ethics and the level of productivity the next day. With the decree slated to take effect from last night but for the most part, party promoters and night clubs adhered to regulation since Friday night. However, those who depend heavily on the night life entertainment to sustain their business have expressed their reservation with the precipitous requirement. A spokesperson for Pulse Entertainment party promotion was one such person. The representative, who wished to remain anonymous, noted the adverse effect the implementation of the curfew will have on the revenue of stakeholders in the entertainment fraternity. “We are trying to build a tourism industry and the night life in Guyana is part of what we promote. For some of us that is what pays our bills, our staff, sustains our business and provides employment… After midnight is when most people come out to have fun so this will definitely affect our business. Some persons will have to be laid off,” the spokesman said. He held the view that the implementation of the curfew should have been gradually introduced to the public. “After so many years, this curfew is taking effect I think there should have been some
consultations and public information on it before the actual implementation. Also we have just come out elections and promoters are looking forward for this summer period, which is our peak season to really make up for that time.” he added Proprietor of Jerries All Night hang out spot, Jerry Bacchus, said that while the regulation would affect Jerries “I support it from the moral point of view.” He noted however that the guideline must be observed by all stakeholders. “I must say that it must be observed by all …at the same level we had in the past where (some) were victimized and bribes were rampant,” the businessman said. He is optimistic that the food section of his outlet will not be hindered by the directive since several persons depend on the feature after hours. Meanwhile, Navin Singh, General Manager of Gravity Lounge simply noted that given that the regulation is law the establishment will respect it. The company, he said will however have to remodel its marketing efforts to get patrons out to the events, earlier. “As with everything else, it will take time for the population to adjust. So it’s a waiting game to see if it will affect our sales in the long run. But currently, most of our bar business is done between midnight to 3am. I wish the law would have been to close the bar itself at 2:00 hours and allow customers to stay for longer. But again, it’s the law and we have to respect it,” he said. However, the new trend did not sit well with party goers. Some persons took to social media and other news outlets to express their contention. Some believe that the curfew might cause more harm than good. “In this country we need a form of recreation and what else do we have beside a little night life and the government stopping the clubs at 2:00 hours would only result in more house parties and underground events,” one patron said. Another noted that the legislation was created during a certain era and should have been revised to suit the modern day operations. “There should be some revision of the legislation because we living in a different time now. I think it would be better if the regulation was to close the bars at that hour, allow persons to hang out and not close off the clubs completely.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Colwyn Harding assault trial…
Victim breaks down in tears while testifying …claims officer gagged him with underwear Colwyn Harding, who is alleging that he was brutally assaulted and raped with a condom-covered baton by Police Constables Devin Singh and Roselle TilburyDouglas, will continue testifying on Friday. Two Thursdays ago, Harding stood in the witness box and gave an emotional testimony at the Providence Magistrate’s Court. During the start of his testimony, he told the court that on the day in question, he was in the company of his girlfriend, Tenisha Evans, in a house at Timehri. He recalled that he suddenly saw light in the yard and asked his girlfriend to see what it was. Harding testified that after Evans did not reply he went to the back door of the house to do his own investigation. He said that as he
approached the door, he saw lights. As a result of this, he said that he called out to enquire who was in his yard. Harding said that an unknown voice replied, demanding that he “open the f@#king door.” He testified that he refused to comply because the individual failed to identify himself. Moments later, Harding explained that the back door was kicked open and 10 officers armed with torchlights and guns entered the house. He said that Constable Singh, handcuffed him and dragged him into the bedroom while the other officers continued to search the house. However, Harding emphasized that Singh had enquired if he was a part of the notorious ‘Hot Skull’ gang, and began to beat him when he denied.
He further explained that when he began to scream, the officer gagged him with his underwear and continued to beat him. The witness explained that he was then dragged into the kitchen, where he was further interrogated and brutally beaten by the said officer, causing him to drop to his knees. After this recollection, he broke down in tears which led to the matter being adjourned for a short while. Upon recall, Harding was still traumatized and the Magistrate further adjourned the matter to Friday. The defendants are being represented by Attorneys Glenn Hanoman and Leslie Sobers respectively. Both Attorneys, in addressing the court, requested that the matter be dismissed but Magistrate
Leron Dailey disapproved. Singh, of Lot 125 Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara; and Tilbury-Douglas, of Alliance Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, are jointly charged with assaulting Harding during the period November 1 to November 13, 2013, at the Timehri Police Station, so as to cause him actual bodily harm. Devin Singh was also slapped with an additional assault charge. The duo, who has been on trial since last November, first appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on June 3, 2014 and denied the allegations. Singh was released on $200,000 bail while his colleague was granted bail in the sum of $100,000 by former Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. Harding has alleged that a policeman at the Timehri
Colwyn Harding
Woman Constable: Roselle Tilbury-Douglas
station pushed a condomcovered baton up his anus in November 2013. Harding, who was at the time a prisoner having been remanded for allegedly assaulting the cop and resisting arrest, suffered a ruptured intestine. He
subsequently underwent corrective surgery in Jamaica, even as a dispute arose as to how he had come by his injuries. Medical examinations have confirmed that a ‘foreign object’ was inserted into Harding’s anus.
REMEMBERING THE EMMANUEL NINE Almost every day in Guyana we experienced the power of darkness as we are confronted with evil, no matter our colour, creed or ethnicity. Senseless murders and armed robberies—the twin evils— are daily occurrence in Guyana. However, two weeks ago, the world saw wanton evil in one of America’s historic black churches, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina where several parishioners assembled for weekly Bible study. They welcome a visitor into their midst, seemingly eager to share Christian love. Although he was of another race and was not a member of the church, yet no one turned him away. For almost an hour, he sat next to the pastor who explained the Word of God to him. After, the visitor, Dylann Roof, a 21year-old white youth, stood up, took out his pistol and shot those around him. He fired, reloaded and fired again and again. When he was finished, nine parishioners, including the 49-year-old Pastor and an 87-year-old great grandmother lay dead. The visitor walked away. Evil had done its work against the
righteous by one of the devil’s most vicious disciples. The attack was so brutal that it has shocked the conscience of America and the world. Those killed were innocent and their death sparked a new debate about gun control in America and the significance of the display of the Confederate Flag on the State Capitol. The flag, which represents the States that seceded from the Union in 1861 in defense of slavery, has raised tensions because it embodies how little progress has actually been made on race equality and race relations in the United States. Many, including President Barack Obama have lamented that the massacre shows that racism remains a blight on American soil. The massacre in a church that is supposed to be a sacred place left nine people dead, families in mourning, a young suspect in custody, and a nation in search for answers. It highlights the public’s insatiable need to make sense out of the tragedy. That this tragedy happened in a place of worship only magnifies the disbelief some are feeling.If anything, this incident ought to remind us that places of worship are not immune to evil acts such as mass murders, calamities and tragedies. As the dust settles on the South Carolina church massacre, many have sought comfort in the words of the Jamaican poet, the late Claude
McKay: “If we must die-oh, let us not be like hogs, Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed in vain; then even the monsters we defy, shall be constrained to honor us though dead!” It is without a doubt that America is a society of contradictions; triggered by its history of slavery, violence, discrimination, a Bill of Rights constitution, and a free press. It is also a society in which evil is strengthened by the rights and freedoms given to the good. But if the good people intend to keep having these rights and freedoms, they should be prepared to tolerate the increasing gun violence these same rights have bestowed on the evil and deranged. It is the price of a degenerating democracy. But America is not alone in its contradictions. It is not enough for us as Guyanese to express sympathy to the relatives of the slain Emmanuel Nine; we have to take action because we too have a problem with gun violence. So far we have not experienced such hateful attacks, but we must seek to strengthen our bonds with each other to love and co-exist peacefully in Guyana. Let the Emmanuel nine massacre serve as a reminder of the need for us to temper our hatred and prejudices for the sake of the greater good.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Anxiety Disorder: The missed illness By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Our mind can be our greatest friend and yet it can become our biggest enemy. Persons who suffer with anxiety disorders tend to be fighting their minds more often than anything else in their lives. The reality is that we all get anxious from time to time; when speaking in public for instance or during a personal financial difficulty. We tend to worry and become stressed and depressed. Then we get over our worries and move on with our lives.
The more one looks at a situation the more the solution tends to elude the looker. At present the focus is on noise nuisance, something that people had been appealing to the previous administration about. Now there is some opposition to the early closure of noise-making venues. One such venue is going to attempt to defy the odds and when approached, will claim that the music is way too low to offend anyone. But the authorities will say that stop means just that. A court action is going
Unfortunately, for persons with anxiety it’s not that easy. Their minds worry so often that it begins to take over their lives. How common is anxiety? We may think that it’s not a big deal and it’s not something we have to worry about. Anxiety is a true medical condition and affects 40 million adults in the U.S. That’s 18% of their population. I am quite certain that we are not that far off here in Guyana either. As common as it is in the U.S, only one-third of those suffering receive treatment. My worry is that quite a number of persons in Guyana are not even sure that they
have an anxiety disorder. Either they are not sure of what’s going on with them and blame another medical condition, or they are bewildered by their anxiety and abuse medications, drugs, alcohol, others, or sometimes become so overwhelmed and commit suicide. SYMPTOMS/ SIGNS OFANXIETY Persons suffering from anxiety may have one or more of the following signs/ symptoms: Excessive worrying – this is the hallmark of anxiety. Persons with anxiety disorder tend to worry about everyday things, large and
to be filed. ** Another calamity will occur on the river. A small craft is going to collide with a speeding boat with fatal consequences. The best efforts of the marine authorities will not be able to curb such accidents since
there are just not enough patrols. ** The crime wave has peaked, largely because of police action, but the end is far from near. Frustration would push a group of young men to defy the odds and attack a business place. However, people are beginning to take the law into their own hands, and this will be the case this time around. The role of the police would be reduced to merely investigating the final outcome.
small, for most days of their lives. Sleep problems – persons with anxiety tend to take their worries to bed regularly. They end up having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Muscle tension – anxiety sufferers tend to have near constant muscle aches and stiffness and are prone to muscle and ligament injuries during activity. Chronic indigestion – anxiety sufferers are at risk of having irritable bowel syndrome, a condition characterized by stomach aches, cramping, bloating, gas, constipation, and/or diarrhea. Stage fright – The fear of addressing a group of persons is so strong in some anxiety sufferers that it overwhelms them. Even if they end up addressing the group, they worry about the event constantly after. Self-consciousness – persons with anxiety disorder tend to feel like all eyes are
on them, and they often experience blushing, trembling, nausea, profuse sweating, or difficulty talking. Constant panic attacks – a panic attack is a sudden, gripping feeling of fear and helplessness that can last for several minutes, accompanied by scary physical symptoms such as breathing problems, a pounding or racing heart, tingling or numb hands, sweating, weakness or dizziness, chest pain, stomach pain, and feeling hot or cold. Persons with anxiety tend to have repeated panic attacks. Recurrent flashbacks – someone with anxiety may constantly relive traumatic moments of their life and get depressed over it. Self-doubt – Persistent self-doubt and secondguessing is a common feature of anxiety disorders. Feeling of not belonging – a person with anxiety disorder often feels they are different from everyone and can isolate themselves. Over
Dr. Zulfikar Bux time they may develop suicidal thoughts which if not addressed, can lead to them taking their lives during a stressful situation. We all may have one or more of the mentioned signs and symptoms from time to time. A person with an anxiety disorder has to repeatedly experience these episodes, which often overwhelms them. If left untreated, anxiety sufferers can become a victim of their mind and it can lead to catastrophic consequences for them and their loved ones.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Bury me in a shallow grave By Michael Jordan Had the killers buried her a few feet deeper, it is quite likely that Basmattie Moonsammy would never have been found. She would have just vanished like so many others before her; written off as just another troubled, runaway teen. But then it rained that August, and the downpour led police to discovery of the body, and the young men suspected of killing her. But did they? In late July 2012, Basmattie Moonsammy, also called ‘Manda,’ a student of Woodley Park Primary, disappeared from her parents’ Woodley Park Village, West Berbice home. When days passed and she failed to return, her mother, Padmoutie ‘Padma’ Dyall, a domestic worker, visited the Fort Wellington Police Station and reported her missing. It was not the first time that the troubled teen had
Basmattie Moonsammy
disappeared. She was a frequent runaway, but would always return a few days later.
On the morning of Saturday, August 4, 2012, Maniram Jainauth, a Woodley
Park farmer, was working in his rice field around 10.30 hrs when he saw something partially buried in the mud. On checking closer, Jainauth realised that the ‘something’ was a corpse, buried in a shallow grave but unearthed by recent heavy rains. The farmer instructed his wife to contact the police. Detectives removed the soil and discerned that the victim was a young female. The victim was lying face-down. She was wearing a shirt and brassiere; her underwear was pulled down to the knees, a length of cloth was knotted around her throat. Checking into the teen’s background, detectives were told that Basmatte shared a relationship with a 20-year-old man who lived at Bath Settlement. They also learnt that less than a year before Basmattie’s murder, the same youth had been acquitted of the murder of another teenage girl.
That victim was 13-yearold Kavita Panday, a second form student, whose body was fished out of a trench aback of Block ‘D’ Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, on September 8, 2008. The area around her left eye was black and blue and there was a mark on her left side. Her tights, underwear and the skirt she was wearing were at her knees. Forensic evidence suggested that the victim was still alive when she was submerged in the trench. The accused was only 16 when he was charged. He was acquitted in October 2011. A few days after Basmattie’s body was found, police visited the suspect’s Bath Settlement home and took him into custody for Basmattie’s murder. Two other youths were also detained. The suspect’s parents, meanwhile, vouched deeply for his innocence and even filed a report, at the Complaints Desk in New Amsterdam’s Central Police Station, into claims that he was assaulted. The parents denied that the suspect and Moonsammy shared a relationship, while painting an unflattering
picture of the slain girl. “A murder story happened four years ago and that story done— and just so they came and arrested my son… just so they come and arrested him on Sunday,” the father said. “So anything happening now, they coming and hold him,” the father had told Kaieteur News. According to the parents, their son was at home the entire week that Basmattie had disappeared. A few days later, police were forced to release the young fisherman and the other two suspects. Investigations into the murder of Basmattie Moonsammy, the troubled teen who often ran away from home, are now apparently at a standstill. If you have further information on this case or any other, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office or by telephone. We can be also be reached on telephone numbers 22-58458, 2258465, or 22-58491. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: mjdragon@ hotmail.com.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Lionel Richie surprised the world but not the philosophers This was such a phenomenal surprise that I don’t think any commentator should miss an analysis of it. Before last Sunday, if you had told anyone familiar with music, not necessarily a music analyst, that the biggest crowd ever to watch a performer at the annual Glastonbury Festival would be an aging singer of love ballads, someone would have insulted you. Lionel Richie, who combines pop, crooning, soul and rhythm and blues, pulled the largest crowd since Glastonbury started in the seventies. It is still hard to digest this fact. He did one of the most romantic, easy-listening ballads you could enjoy, “Hello” and the 120,000 attendees went wild. The Festival, which started in the mid-seventies to continue the dying hippie culture, has seen all the rock acts you can think of. If you go through the who is who list of rock stars, they have all performed at Glastonbury. Then Glastonbury introduced rap in 2008 and Jay-Z became the first such artist to entertain. This year’s rap singer was Kanye West. What makes Richie’s act so fantastic is that over ninety-five percent of the Festival’s fans are below thirty-two years of age. When Richie was a global superstar they weren’t even born. I still don’t understand this Richie craze, because even though he is a superb singer, I wouldn’t imagine that he is still at the top of his game to attract such an attendance at Glastonbury. But the Richie craze is still
there. In 2007, the son of Gaddafi, who is currently in jail, paid him millions of American dollars to sing five songs. The Richie phenomenon tells the story of the unpredictable nature of life. Life essentially is an unpredictable thing. It holds unbelievable things that the sooner one accepts that fact the better one is able to understand the world. I don’t think a psychotic idiot like Donald Trump will go far in the upcoming presidential race, but life brings incredible things that we must accept as part of human civilization. Did anyone imagine that the huge empire named the USSR world have just slumped to the ground like a lump of sand? Americans were shocked to know that the most violently inflexible, anticommunist, anti-Black , antidemocratic, anti-homosexual law enforcement officer in the US, the FBI chief, J. Edgar Hoover was a raving homosexual (see Anthony S u m m e r s ’ competent biography on Hoover) Apartheid fell just suddenly and maybe we still cannot believe it. When Barack Obama ran for the presidency against the heaviest heavyweight in the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, no one on Planet Earth gave him even a millimeter of a chance. A Black American would probably become the US President in another 1000 years. Obama did it in 2008. Maybe we still cannot believe it. Allen Stanford spent money on cricket as if the world was about to end.
Stanford is in an American jail and because of the length of his sentence will probably die in jail. The average person would be left psychologically stunned for a long time when they witnessed for themselves incredible things they believe would never happen. But anyone who picked up a philosophy book would tell you that life is about irrationalities, just as it is about logic and reason.
The human must never take life for granted. Human existence is replete with inexplicabilities, inscrutabilities, vicissitudes, vagaries, and of course, insanities. Do not discount anything in life. The office boy who is yet to do his CXC examinations and who you predict will become a waste, may one day become the country’s president. My father’s cousin Dr. Leslie
Mootoo used to hang around GCC asking my father to be a ball-boy (that is, fielding the balls while the cricketers practise). Leslie Mootoo later in life became a doctor. He is deceased, but will remain one of Guyana’s greatest medical doctors, while my dad threw away his life and was even contemptuously shunned by Dr. Mootoo. Life is pregnant with all kinds of weird
Frederick Kissoon possibilities. Look at what Lionel Richie did. I end with the PPP. Up to now, they cannot believe what life has done to them.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
LOUD MUSIC, GUNSHOTS AND ALCOHOL REDUCE OUR PRODUCTIVE LABOUR FORCE The Minister of National Security, Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan, has instituted certain ordinances to restrict the hours that alcohol beverages may be available for sale. His and the entire government’s objective is to identify and implement every available means to reduce road accidents and other types of violence fuelled by alcohol. In the first five months of 2015, the statistics show increased road accidents and nightspot violence - gunplay, threats, fights, serious injury and shooting deaths occurring in and around night spots usually in the period between 2.00 and 5.00 am. The government as a result, now intends to strengthen the laws on driving under the influence of alcohol, re-train policemen and
women, enhance the relationships between the police force and communities, while re-implementing the requirements for acceptable public behaviours. The outcry from bar and club owners responding to the 2.00 am mandatory closing time is understandable, especially since some of these places attract the most clientele after midnight. Their concerns are based purely on economics and this factor was a key element in the Ministry’s considerations. Implementing such an ordinance without considering the bar or nightspot owners’ revenue flows would have been irresponsible, especially since the coalition came into Government with the intention of ensuring that the private sector is placed on a firmer
footing to increase their ability to earn. However, we also have an indisputable responsibility to protect the lives and well being of every citizen. Supported by research projects conducted all over the world, the overriding conclusion is that reduced trading hours (for alcoholic beverages) reduces crime and violence. In fact, strict ordinances for non-negotiable closing times for bars, nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, patios and similar establishments have been in place for years in highly developed countries like Norway, Sweden and Canada, and developing countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Naturally, these ordinances were implemented alongside restrictions on
noise decibels in residential, social and industrial areas. All of the studies assessed the effects of selling alcoholic beverages in onpremises settings, i.e. where drinks are consumed at the place of purchase. There was sufficient evidence to conclude that allowing opening hours of bars and nightclubs for two or more hours (beyond the stipulated 2.00 pm closing in Guyana’s case) increases alcohol-related harms. Some of the analyses of those studies suggested that every one-hour extension of closing time was associated with an increase of 4.8 assaults and other violent crimes (e.g. in Norway) per 100,000 inhabitants, approximately 16%. Alcohol consumption definitely plays a significant role in violent behaviour. Night spots are known to be ‘hot spots’ for such behaviour. It stands to reason that any strategy to prevent heavy drinking will curb the increasing incidence of violence. Reports of gunplay and loud verbal threats with the aid of handguns occurring in and around drinking places (licensed and unlicensed) have been coming in almost daily. T hey are now a source of real concern in every section of society, including residents living near and far (the sounds of gunshots travel long distances in the nighttime), government and nongovernmental social protection agencies, law enforcement bodies, the business community, as well as the diplomatic corps. Statistics are being
compiled on the number of people who have fallen ill because they are unable to sleep at night, or their sleep is constantly interrupted by loud music emanating from night spots and vehicles parked on the roadways. We expect to be told that the levels of anxiety are rising among our citizens who live close to nightclubs, particularly those that have not been soundproofed. Some types of anxiety we understand lead to cardiac problems, diabetes, high blood pressure and the effects of late night eating. These are usually preventable lifestyle ailments that ought to remain preventable once the causative factors (in this case noise pollution) are properly managed. Factor in the effects of loud music, gunshots and shouting in the middle of the night on our senior citizens, on babies, on children who are up studying, on sick people who should be recuperating at home, and know that if this continues, the small size of our labour force that is already affecting Guyana’s productivity will dwindle even further and become an inefficient one. People who lack rapid eye movement sleep are incapable of functioning at optimum capacities. Then there is the huge number of productive citizens whom we have already lost due to so many vehicular accidents caused by inebriated drivers. One 46year-old man left his home (wife and four children still asleep) at 4.00 am one morning to cycle to his worksite just two miles away but he never made it there.
His life was snuffed out by a young drunk driver of a brand new car who had spent all night at a popular city nightspot. Reports said that he swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle because he was in that vehicle’s lane. With his senses and reflexes severely impaired, this youthful driver was unable to keep his speeding car on the road so he ploughed into the cyclist and ended up in a trench leaving the family man with his head crushed and most of his bones broken. More recently three 19 and 20-year-old youths from West Demerara died horribly after a few hours of drinking and joyriding in a car belonging to the father of the 19 year-old driver. He had taken the vehicle without permission. The Guyana Police Force recorded in April alone 35 road fatalities from 26 accidents, among whom were 15 dead pedestrians, one pedal cyclist, one motor cyclist, six drivers and 12 passengers. These were young people cut down in the prime of their lives, most as a direct result of speeding and alcohol consumption. In line with traditional economic theory on the easy availability and consumption of alcohol, Guyana would be doing its citizens a great deal of good when we create and implement a structured menu of measures regarding access to alcohol (including age limitations & cut-off points for drinkers), restrictions on the presence of deadly weapons in social settings, noise levels and closing time. It stands to reason that the implementation of a 2.00 am closing ordinance which is already enshrined in Guyana’s Laws, would prove to be an effective strategy that will in the short term reduce alcoholrelated harms. People generally adapt easily to change, so it is not difficult to presume that patrons who had become used to going out at 1.00 am would recalibrate and start their evenings much earlier.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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MY COLUMN
The return of the dance curfew Someone once said that habits are easy to form and hard to break. I believe that, because I once smoked and smoked heavily. The first time I tried a cigarette a long time ago I was imitating the things adults did. For forty years I tried to quit and found it extremely difficult. I picked up other habits along the way, some good and some atrocious. One of the good ones that I picked up was the habit of listening. If someone was talking to me I would shut my trap until that person was finished having his or her say. Sometimes I got into trouble just doing that. I was married back then and my wife always had something to say about my late nights and whatever else. While she spoke I would simply remain silent. Thinking I was doing something good, I learnt that I only invoked more of her wrath. “Oh, you ain’t answering me? Well I ain’t gun stop till you answer.” I got that same response many times over. But I still try to tell people that remaining silent is the way to go. It is an excellent habit to develop. Many a person regretted saying something in a fit of anger. Had that person kept his or her mouth shut many marriages would have been saved and even worse; many people would have been alive today. I learnt that vanity can be dangerous so when I started to go grey I refused to make any effort to hide the fact. I remember people coming up to me and saying that I should dye the hair but I have refused. It is not that I have anything about people trying to alter their appearances. I picked up the habit of always trying to be on time despite living in a country that seemed to have its own time. If someone said that we should meet at eight, I would be there. Sometimes I would have to wait for an interminably long time, but I maintained the habit. It stood me in good stead outside the country. For this reason, I am exceedingly happy with what operates today when I turn up at the Ministry of the Presidency for press conferences. The one held by Joe Harmon begins at eleven. I remember Joe Harmon telling the media corps that the press conference would begin at eleven whether they are there or not. One reporter, perhaps suffering from a carryover from the press conferences held by Dr Roger Luncheon, walked in some twenty minutes late. She has never been late again. With Dr Roger Luncheon, his press conferences were scheduled for 11:30 hours but rest
assured, except for perhaps three occasions over the past decade, they would start sometimes as late as 25 minutes after the scheduled time. There were other habits that I developed along the way. I remember my father saying to me that if I was going to go home late, when I reach the yard I should make some sounds. I didn’t understand until I became much older, not that I ever surprised anyone in my home. I left Beterverwagting for Bartica to begin my work life. I had grown accustomed to going to the public dances, that were the order of the day, about nine o’clock. By ten, the place would be full. We used to go early because we wanted seats for our escorts. By three the following morning we were out of there, happy and tired. If by midnight the dance hardly had anyone, everyone around would know that it was a bust. The organisers did not have to seek professional advice. When I went to Bartica I got a shock. The first night dance I went to saw me getting dressed for nine that night. There I was stepping out in my nines and heading to the Bartica Community Centre only to see an empty hall and girls on the streets with curlers in their hair. I concluded, immediately, that the dance was a flop, so I ended up in one of the rum shops and started drinking. In those days I couldn’t really drink, so by the time the bottle had reached half way I was well into my cups. I left for home. The next day I heard people talking about this powerful dance. It turned out that the people never started to go into the dance until just before midnight. So it was that I learnt to go to dances at Bartica close to midnight. And here I remember the story about a woman named Phil Hinds who hosted a dance at the Bartica Community Centre. Midnight came and went and hardly anyone turned up. Rebeiro, the man who played the jukebox (as opposed to the stereo systems these days) put on the Eddie Hooper classic, ‘Where are your friends now?’ Phil turned on him like a hurricane turning on a small island. “Tek that f**% thing
off.” I barely remember the rest of the conversation but indeed, what is not remembered is left to the imagination. Then I went to New York. It was a Friday night and my sisters said that we would be going to Larry’s Liquid Love that night. By then I had long left Bartica and had got back into the habit of going to the dances early. New Amsterdam was very different. So there I was ready by nine only to find my sisters fast asleep. I thought that they had changed their minds so I tucked in. About midnight
they were waking me up and asking me whether I was not going out. It was a great party. I now see Khemraj Ramjattan reintroducing the law. Back in the days when one applied for a dance permit, the police stipulated that the dance had to end by two the following morning. The statutes have not changed. In London there I was in a pub with my friend Arnon Adams when just before midnight the bartender rang some glasses and announced, “Last round.” That was another culture shock. I had grown accustomed to
drinking until dawn if necessary. But I remember the rum shops in Bartica closing their doors at midnight back then. People are fretting because the young people have developed the habit of going to parties around midnight. There will be a lot of anger as people are being asked to change their party habits. But as I told my friend, Nigel McKenzie, a few years down the road this new dimension would be so engrained that people would wonder if they ever sought to leave home at midnight. I know that the waiters
Adam Harris and bartenders would be among the happiest people with this new regulation.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
The Case for a Knowledge Economy By Lance Hinds I was at a regional Business Colloquium last year where private sector and governmental agencies were discussing the challenges of regional and extra-regional export. During one of the plenary sessions, a buyer from England was explaining that international retail giants like Costco have moved the various Caribbean Sauce products out of the diaspora market and are now integrating it into their regular product offerings. The challenge with this, however, is that Costco now requires larger volumes to supply these new markets and is complaining that the Caribbean producers are
struggling to meet this new demand along with the new packaging requirement. This apparently was getting to the stage where the megastore was contemplating opening a production plant somewhere in the Caribbean or in Poland and produce Caribbean pepper sauce under the Costco brand. This of course, did not go down well with the participants, and it inevitably started the usual complaints about the cost of production, transportation, lack of financing, “unreasonable” demands by the overseas buyers, lack of government support etc. During my contribution to the discourse I suggested that Costco establishing a
production facility in the Caribbean might not be a bad thing and that there might be creative ways to earn revenue within that dispensation. Despite the sudden chilliness in the room, I then went on explain that if we accept that it is going to be difficult to meet the demands in term of supply of pepper sauce, we should explore the possibilities of the likes of Costco engaging in the mass production of pepper sauce, but using our recipes under a licensing agreement. What that means is that the owners of those recipes would receive royalties every time a bottle of pepper sauce is sold. The revenue received under this economic model could be used by the
owner(s) to become research and development facilities perfecting the recipes for further licensing. This idea gained a lot of currency amongst my colleagues in the room who, like me, are part of the emerging economic sectors. The agro processing community, along with some of the government agencies stared at me like if I had a complete lack of understanding of the sector, hence the reason for my most naïve and uninformed suggestion. That of course is their opinion. The bottom line, however, is that generally the state of affairs has not changed substantially since that meeting, and if a new level of thinking is not applied to these processes, sustainability, profitability and even existence is going to be a more serious challenge. It is time, therefore, to begin the implementation of a knowledge economy for the long term economic benefit of our citizens. A knowledge economy can be defined as one in which the generation and exploitation of knowledge play the dominant part in the creation of wealth. The World Bank proposes four pillars on which knowledge and innovation-related policies should be built on. These are as follows: • An educated and skilled labour force able to continuously upgrade and adapt their skills to create and use knowledge efficiently. • A modern and adequate information structure to facilitate effective communication, dissemination and processing of information and knowledge. • An effective innovation system composed of firms, research centres, universities, consultants, and other organizations that keep up with new knowledge and technology and adapt it to local needs. • A country’s institutional regime and the set of economic incentives it creates
that allows for the efficient allocation of resources, stimulates entrepreneurship, and induces the creation, dissemination and efficient use of knowledge. The World Bank argues that for countries to become successful knowledge economies, “they have to rethink and act simultaneously on their education base, their innovation systems, and their ICT infrastructure, while also building a high quality economic and institutional regime”. Guyana faces significant challenges with the four pillars as described above. This has resulted in the ranking of 80 on the World Bank’s Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) Index. This index measures the extent to which the knowledge economy provides development and a desired quality of life on a sustainable basis by accessing, developing and using knowledge and information. In my opinion this has a lot to do with a long time narrow perspective on how our economy should grow. This must change. We need to develop the culture of using knowledge management as a comprehensive tool for social and economic advancement. Creating a diversified and knowledge-driven economy must be at the core of building international competitiveness and stimulating economic growth. Innovation must be developed and nurtured. We have to get high school and university graduates to further tap into their creativity and channel that into creating businesses. There are lots of young people with wonderful ideas who are unable to develop those ideas into sustainable incomegenerating operations. All stakeholders private and public should commit to finding ways to harness these ideas and support the impetus of moving them from thought to finish. So where do we start? The
Lance Hinds first thing we need to do as a country is to begin to respect the intellectual outputs of others. Our intellectual property-related legislation has not been updated since 1956. This means, for example, that some of the items protected in modern legislation like computer software, databases and digital cultural industries simply do not exist under our current laws. The Guyana Government over the years, despite numerous appeals, has made spurious arguments about the possible adverse effect on the social and economic facets our society and its citizens. The development, management and distribution of intellectual assets is a billion-dollar industry. We need to upgrade all legislation to compete successfully in this arena…especially when one takes into account the enormous potential of the cultural and technology sectors. I was at a youth policy workshop earlier this week, where I was told once again that youth employment in Guyana was estimated at around 40 per cent. I am not certain about the national rate at the moment, but none of the two is going to be addressed or reduced by the traditional economic sectors we have depended on in the past. Critical to our long term economic development is the modernisation of our business processes. Lance Hinds is the current President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of the BrainStreet Group, an ICT consulting and information services company.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
SUNDAY SPECIAL GOVT. WILL NOT BE SIDETRACKED BY CRIES OF WITCH-HUNTING …WILL ATTACK CORRUPTION FROM LEVEL OF THIEVING GAS TO THIEVING VEHICLES- HOUSE HEARS Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan recently told the National Assembly that there is a relative link between corruption and poverty. He said that unless corruption is
closed several dormant government bank accounts and placed the monies from those accounts into the consolidated fund. He said that in that way, the state funds will be better protected against theft. OVER 2000 CASE DOCKETS MISSING FROM MAGISTRATES’ COURT – AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT Over the last two years, 2,080 case dockets have gone missing in the Magistrates’
outstanding for the same period. In addition, 1359 cases filed were noted to be misplaced during the same period in the Georgetown Magisterial District. Seven hundred and seventy-one (771) were reported missing for 2013 alone, the Report stated.
decisions.” The fibre optic cable project is part of an Information Communication Technology Initiative of the former PPP/C government to bring cheaper internet service to Guyana’s shores from the neighbouring Portuguesespeaking territory
MONDAYEDITION
TERRITORIAL CLAIM…COMMONWEALTH SUPPORTS GUYANA IN BORDER AND TERRITORY DISPUTE WITHVENEZUELA
UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDS FUTURE OF BRAZIL-GUYANAFIBRE OPTIC CABLE PROJECT
Captain Khamraj Lall (inset) and aircraft
at its minimum in Guyana, the dream of the elimination of extreme poverty will remain just a mere delusion. Last week Friday, Jordan stood to address the National Assembly for the first time. He was speaking to a motion for the adoption of government polices as outlined by President David Granger. During his speech, Jordan said that poverty goes hand in hand with corruption, and one cannot be dealt with without looking at the other. Minister Jordan, who expressed optimism that he is up to the task, pledged to weed out corruption in state agencies. He vowed that the government will not be sidetracked by cries of witchhunting but will go after persons fingered in corrupt practices in its quest to make Guyana a brighter nation. “To tackle poverty we also have to root out corruption, we must go after this scourge wherever it exists. Whether big corruption or small, we will go after those who will transfer vehicles illegally and those who will get free gas, it is still corruption,” said Jordan. In listing some measures already taken to weed out corruption, and strengthen accountability, Jordan said that the government has
Court located on East Demerara, West Demerara and Georgetown, a figure which has once again prompted recommendations for rectifications from Auditor General, Deodat Sharma. As a matter of fact, in the Auditor General’s Report for 2013 shows that a whopping 1,238 case dockets were listed as misplaced for Criminal Cases alone from the Georgetown Magisterial District between 2012 and 2013. The Report, which was made public after being laid in the National Assembly last week, revealed that the filing of affiliation, criminal and civil case dockets at the main Magisterial Districts continue to be disorganized with a number of case dockets being misplaced or misfiled at the different locations. It was further stated that this was compounded by the fact that the register of case dockets did not contain information on the movement of the files. In 2012, a total of 959 such dockets were listed as missing while 2013 recorded 1121. Over the two-year period, a total of 186 case dockets were misplaced in the East Demerara Magisterial District while in the West Demerara Magisterial District, a total of 535 are recorded as
After some weeks of information gathering, the Granger administration has decided on its plans for the highly contentious Brazil to Guyana fibre optic cable project. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon during his latest press conference told Kaieteur News that this is another project to come under the government’s radar considering that it is absorbing millions of taxpayers’ dollars. “I did indicate to you the last time we met that I had a request from the gentlemen you spoke about, Fasil Mohamed, but I was not ready to meet with him because I need to get a better sense of where we are with the project and I am now able to do so. I have met with the persons in government who had anything to do with it and so I am in a better position to do so,” the Minister stated. He added, “I am looking at several things in this regard because we are spending monies on a daily basis on some of these projects and we may have to just draw the line, and say no more work until we see what is going on here but we haven’t gotten to that as yet because we were in the process of gathering information to put us in a position to make informed
The Commonwealth of Nations has been pellucid in asserting that they are standing in solidarity with Guyana as the controversy with its neighbour, Venezuela over the country’s oil-rich territory continues to brew. “The Commonwealth stands as one and speaks with one voice in our commitment to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are an association of 53 member states worldwide, accounting for one quarter of the United Nations membership,” said the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma on his arrival in Guyana on Saturday, last. Sharma, who was here for meetings with political leaders, pointed out that “Commonwealth member governments, individually and collectively, are also committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes and to the rule of law.” The Secretary-General noted that there have been “recent developments including a claim by a
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neighbouring country over Guyana’s land and maritime areas, and the Commonwealth has moved swiftly and appropriately in collective solidarity with Guyana.” TUESDAYEDITION PLEA DEAL: CASH JET PILOT STARING AT 18 MONTHS JAIL – FACES MORE TROUBLES IN NJ COURT A Guyana-born pilot nabbed by Puerto Rican authorities in a high profile arrest back in November while transporting more than US$600,000 in cash aboard his jet, is facing up to two years in jail. In a plea deal submitted and being reviewed by the United States District Court of Puerto Rico, Captain Khamraj Lall agreed for US$620,588 along with the 1988 Israel fixed wing multi-engine aircraft bearing Registration N822Ql and used in the crime, to be forfeited. Under the deal with the US Government, Lall pleaded guilty to one count– of concealing more than US$10,000 in his plane and attempting to transfer it outside of the US to Guyana. He would have been facing up to five years on a number of charges if he had opted for a trial and found guilty, according to court documents seen by Kaieteur News. Lall, who operates a hangar at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and controlled KayLees Gas Station at Coverden, East
Bank Demerara, has also agreed that other assets may be subject to forfeiture as there is still a pending civil matter for assets seizure in New Jersey, another US territory, where he has homes, vehicles, cash and other properties. He will remain on restricted freedom until a sentencing hearing on October 27 before Judge Jay Garcia-Gregory. Through his attorney Rafael Castro-Lang, Lall’s plea deal was Monday filed and accepted in open court. The defendant was found competent to plea. The court Monday ordered a presentence report. As part of his filings, Lall, who had his licences revoked, submitted a waiver of right to trial by jury. In addition to imprisonment, the court will impose a term of supervised release of not more than five years with no possibilities of parole or that the sentence be suspended for any reasons. JAGDEO TO BE OPPOSITION LEADER – SAYS ROHEE …PPP COMPLETES 32MEMBER PARLIAMENTARY LIST After weeks of suspense, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has finally selected its 32 membersof Parliament. One of them will be Deputy Speaker for the eleventh parliament, at a time when there was much doubt over whether Guyana would even have an opposition presence in parliament. Continued on page 41
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Social Cohesion is a priority of national importance (Excerpts from an address to the National Assembly of Guyana by the Minister if Social Cohesion Hon. Amna Ally MP on Friday June 26th 2015) Social Cohesion is not a
new concept. In Europe, for example, it is considered to be the flagship concept which reminds people to be collectively attentive to and aware of any kind of discrimination, inequality, marginality or exclusion. Right
here in Guyana the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) started work on social cohesion but the APNU+AFC coalition government will take Guyana to another level fostering National Unity and
cohesiveness. Social Cohesion is a complex cultural, psychological and social phenomenon which demands a broad-based approach which includes stakeholders at all levels. There is an obvious nexus between Social Cohesion and nation building. Ours is a country with peoples of diverse origins, histories, cultures, religions and even languages, and it will be a challenge to bring it all together so that Guyana can move forward. In his address to the ceremonial opening of the Parliament of Guyana, His Excellency the President David Granger said; “Government will introduce measures to promote social cohesion and protect vulnerable groups. We shall work towards healing the rifts between social groups in the country. We shall re-establish cordial relationships with civil society, religious organisations and trade unions. We have the responsibility to restore the integrity and viability of working people’s and nongovernmental organisations which have been gravely undermined. Guyana cannot become “One Nation” if gross disparities persist between the hinterland and the coastland, between the educated few and the semiliterate mass, between the very rich and very poor. We shall foster growth in a united Nation in which cooperation prevails over confrontation.” Being cognizant of the ills of our society and having
regard for the establishment of this key Social Cohesion Ministry and with its objectives in mind, a five-year strategic plan will be implemented. Ø The five-year strategic plan will emanate from a Roundtable scheduled for September 3rd 2015 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. This forum will include the involvement of International Stakeholders. Ø The involvement of faith-based organisations Ø Working closely with commissions especially the Ethnic Relations Commission. Ø We will develop programmes with our schools, with our cultural organisations with our Social Protection Agencies, Indigenous Organisations, Human Rights Activists and many others to ensure that our initiatives are geared to achieve the objective of Cohesiveness. Let me proudly acknowledge the input of International Organisations, Embassies, and Faith- Based Organisations, Civil Society and many others who have come forward and expressed their desire to support the Ministry of Social Cohesion to achieve its objective. People are just overwhelmed with the idea of working together. It is time for social cohesion to underpin all National and Local Government priorities. It is time for the inclusion of integrated economic and social development. It is time for us to end discriminatory practices.
It is time that we eradicate inequalities. It is time to promote and preserve all indigenous cultures and knowledge. It is important that this APNU+AFC Coalition Government accelerate this change, since this will improve the quality of life of all people. Our youth, our women, our folks with disabilities, are all important components for the development of Guyana. The Social Cohesion Ministry will build capacity to drive the socio-economic agenda in the country. The respect for human dignity and equality, the promotion of freedom, the rule of law and democracy, the improvement of material wellbeing and economic justice, the enhancement of sound family and community values, upholding honesty, integrity and loyalty, ensuring harmony in culture, belief and conscience and peaceful coexistence are all indeed vital ingredients for the success of Social Cohesion. Social Cohesion should be perceived by every Guyanese as a priority of national importance, therefore leadership at all levels should sanction it. Whether you are a politician, church leader in the Private Sector, Civil Society–All must be involved. It must come from within us. I want to make it very clear this Ministry is talking about uniting all of Guyana, regardless of political affiliation. We live in one country and our work must be to develop and create One Nation.
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From page 31 The PPP/C has however maintained its silence over the future of former President Donald Ramotar, with former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who has been widely rumoured to have been selected as Leader of the Opposition, being tipped by General Secretary of the PPP/ C Clement Rohee, as a front runner for the post of Opposition Leader.
Directors, President of Caribbean Cinemas, Robert Carrady, as well as selected members of Giftland’s customer base. The more than 500 guests marvelled at the beauty of the US$24M project. In his address, Minister Gaskin regarded the venture as an impressive vision by President and founder of the shopping centre, Roy Beepat and his wife Monica.
WEDNESDAYEDITION
SATURDAY EDITION BRAZILTO GUYANA FIBRE OPTIC CABLE TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX – ALEXEI RAMOTAR – GOVT. ADVISED TO CUT LOSSES – OFFICIAL
POLICE IDENTIFY MASTERMIND IN BANK CUSTOMERS’ ROBBERIES Police investigators are busy building a case against a man who they believe is the mastermind behind several armed robberies committed on persons leaving city banks with large amounts of cash. The man, who was positively identified in surveillance camera footage obtained from a city bank, has been fingered in the robbery/ murder of Cane Grove rice farmer, Hardat Kissoon, early last month. Kissoon was shot dead in a mini bus at the Turkeyen Access Road by a man who had trailed him from a city bank, where he had encashed a cheque for $500,000. Last Saturday, police swooped down on the Princess Hotel casino and arrested the man believed to have ridden the getaway motorcycle after the robbery/ killing. He has since provided investigators with information on the shooter as well as the mastermind. Kaieteur News understands that the man told investigators that the mastermind would usually stake out city banks and provide information on persons who make large withdrawals. Surveillance camera footage showed the man, who was previously charged with robbery under arms, in a queue at the bank where Kissoon cashed his cheque. It also showed as the suspect came out of the line when Kissoon left the bank. He then contacted the shooter who trailed Kissoon to the Mahaica Bus Park, where he boarded same mini bus with the target. According to a source, the shooter then contacted his accomplice on the motorcycle and told him to follow the bus. PPP/C TAKES CONTROL OF SEVEN REGIONS Monday morning saw the election of Regional Chairmen and Councilors from across
the ten administrative regions of Guyana, and, while there are mostly new faces in the halls of the councils, the heads for Regions Three and Six were returned. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won Regions One, Two, Three, Five, Six, Eight and Nine, at the May 11th elections, with A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) securing Regions Four, Seven and 10. THURSDAY EDITION LAND REGISTRY BOSS SENT ON LEAVE AMIDST PROBE Amidst complaints by lawyers and others over a sloth in processing of transactions at the allimportant Land Registry, Government on Tuesday disclosed that its head, Juliet Sattaur, has been sent on leave to facilitate a probe. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, speaking with the media following his weekly press briefing, confirmed that the decision was taken to facilitate a probe of certain financial matters of the Land Registry, among other things. The Land Registrar’s leave was effective from Tuesday, July 1st. Sattaur has been insisting that she was doing her job as required by regulations, but lawyers and new house lot allottees have been complaining that land titles processing have been taking forever. FORMER MINISTER GRANTED $2.7M IN UNADVERTISED CONTRACTS SHOW US WHAT YOU DID, WE WILL PAY – HARMON TELLS GANGA PERSAUD The new Government is questioning how a Minister of
the previous administration managed to secure two million-dollar contracts with evidence suggesting that they were never advertised in the first place. Under procurement laws, there are procedures how state contracts are awarded. Former Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, G a n g a P e r s a u d , who suddenly resigned in January 2014, is now asking for pay. His contract at what was formerly the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports was for $1.8M, while at the Ministry of Labour, the figure was $900,000. Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during his weekly press conference Tuesday, believes that the contracts were some sort of payoff to Persaud. Last week, the Minister said that the administration was in possession of a number of questionable contracts that went to former Government officials. He promised to divulge more information. However, following a report by an online media house, Persaud issued a statement claiming that nothing was wrong and he h a d offered services and wanted the money that is outstanding to him. On Tuesday, Harmon made it clear that he had written the former Minister asking him about the contracts which were awarded under such “generous terms”. Rather than answering, Persaud resorted to taking to the newspapers, Harmon said. The Minister found it strange that Persaud was not required to submit any reports to the two Ministries for his work.
FRIDAYEDITION VENEZUELA’S CLAIMS ON GUYANAHAVE DIRE IMPLICATIONS FOR REGION – GRANGER TELLS CARICOM Venezuela’s aggression towards Guyana has dire implications for the entire region, Head of State, David Granger, told top leaders of the region Thursday in Barbados, as he called for a collective condemnation. The President was speaking at the 36th CARICOM Heads of Government Summit. Granger’s inaugural address to CARICOM leaders was widely expected to centre on Guyana’s current troubles with neighbouring Venezuela, a key trading partner for oil and rice. And he did not disappoint. Venezuela has restated its age-old claims to Essequibo and a recent unilateral decree has also turned that country’s attention to Guyana’s waters in the Atlantic Ocean, including where a US drill ship recently discovered oil. The move had angered other small states which are also part of CARICOM and whose waters are being affected by the decree. But a lucrative oil deal that Venezuela has with a number of Caribbean territories that are part of CARICOM, has
been seen as a hurdle that the regional leaders would have wanted to shy away from. Addressing several global leaders, including Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, President Granger’s almost 16-minute address, focused on the implications of Venezuela’s claims on the region’s integration thrust. LONG-AWAITED US$24M GIFTLAND MALL OPENS ITS DOORS! The long-awaited Giftland Mall at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara “against all odds” opened its doors Thursday to the public. The opening ceremony graced with the presence of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo (who is currently performing the duties of President), Minister of Business and Investment, Dominic Gaskin, other Ministers, the Mall’s Board of
In providing the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon with an update on the controversial Brazil to Guyana Fibre Optic Cable project, Head of the EGovernance Project, A l e x e i R a m o t a r, s a i d Friday that the damage to the cable was too grave and would now prove t o o c o s t l y for the new administration to rehabilitate. During a meeting at the project’s office, on Barrack and Duke Streets, Kingston, Ramotar told Harmon that 40 percent of the cable has been damaged. Ramotar explained that he informed Harmon that the cable is in such a bad state that even if Government does move forward with repairing the cable, it would not be able to recover the monies invested. Another government official, Kaieteur News was told, suggested that Government cut its losses regarding the project, despite millions of taxpayers’ dollars already being expended on it.
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National Water Council, National strategy on water management must be implemented - Bulkan Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan on Wednesday issued a call for the re-establishment of the National Water Council (NWC), in addition to the creation of a National Strategy on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). This call was made during a meeting with Senior Management of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) at the GWI Corporate Complex, Vlissengen Road, Bel Air Park, during which Bulkan interacted with the Corporate Management Team, Customer Services and Divisional Operations Managers.
Commenting directly on issues related to Guyana’s Water Sector, the Minister stated that there was an urgent need for the reestablishment of the NWC to make effective decisions on issues related to the long-term management of Guyana’s water resources. He also advocated for the creation of a National Strategy on IWRM, stating that it was essential to the overall strategy of sustainable administration of water. Focusing on matters which directly affected the management of GWI, Minister Bulkan emphasized the need
for a strategy to deal with Non-Revenue Water. He explained that there is an urgent need for the utility to reduce the amount of water that is unaccounted for within the system and the subsequent loss of revenue. Minister Bulkan also underlined the importance of GWI to become financially viable and urged the GWI Management to continue with the aggressive campaign for revenue from water service charges. He also highlighted the need for customers to be educated about the importance of paying for the services provided by GWI as
BASS rank kills suspected man reportedly left smuggler -forwounded several hours on foreshore Police have detained a member of the Berbice Anti Smuggling Squad (BASS) following the shooting death of an alleged smuggler at around 20:00 hrs on Saturday. Charles Caesar, 40, of Line Path, Skeldon, and formerly of Fyrish Village, Corentyne, was shot in the right leg during a confrontation with the ranks. He reportedly bled to death after being left on the Number 66 Village foreshore. According to information, Ceasar and five other men were on the foreshore loading a minibus with beverages that were smuggled from neighbouring Suriname.
The men were cornered by members of BASS who ordered them not to move. However, Caesar reportedly made a dash for it and it was alleged that one of the ranks opened fire, hitting Ceasar in the leg. The other alleged smugglers were taken into custody. But the wounded Caesar was reportedly left on the foreshore until around 00:55 hrs. He was subsequently rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where he died. Information revealed that BASS operatives are saying that they fired one shot in the air.
According to a source three spent shells were found at the scene. The BASS operatives would usually carry 9mm pistols. Residents who knew Caesar are calling for a thorough investigation into the matter. Many have repeatedly called for the group to be disbanded. A police release stated that Caesar was found about 00.55hrs yesterday on the foreshore at No. 66 Village, Corentyne, with a suspected gunshot injury. He was taken to the Skeldon Hospital where he succumbed while receiving medical treatment.
CPL seeks $100M from Govt. From page 10 appealed the decision of the Court. Greenidge had subsequently written a lengthy statement in 2013 saying that he has no view to offer on the decision of the judge in the absence of a written explanation of the logic of the decision. “I am little surprised by it however,” the politician stated. He had said that the difficulty is not with the acceptability of the fund
under the Constitution or the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, but with its administration. In the case of the Lotto fund, over the decade 1996 to 2006 alone, Greenidge said that some $3B of revenues has still to be accounted for. He said that the National Assembly is still awaiting the reports and audited accounts from the government for the use of the millions of dollars of funds
Break and enter accused remanded West Ruimveldt resident Rico Persaud, 19, who recently completed a programme at the Ministry of Human Services, found himself at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts yesterday to answer to the charge of break and enter. It was alleged that the
accused on July 2, at Young Men’s Chr i s t i a n Association (YMCA) club attempted to break and enter the office of Gregory Camacho. He pleaded not guilty and was placed on $25,000 bail. His next appearance is expected to be on July 22.
associated with the2005 floods, the Cricket World Cup, the hosting of Carifesta X and the ICC Twenty/20 tournament. AFC Chairman, Nigel Hughes, had also spoken on the issue stating that the Lotto Fund case was dismissed on a procedural point. “The Court dismissed the case on a preliminary point…the issue on whether or not the Lotto Funds should go into the Consolidated Fund is still unanswered and undetermined.”
Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan well as the critical need for education on the wastage of water. Bulkan also spoke on the structure of the Ministry of Communities and explained that GWI was now within its
purview as a vital arm for the delivery of safe water service country-wide. He emphasized that while the structure of the Ministry may be new to GWI employees; it is essentially a continuation of the existing policies that governed the efficient delivery of services to the nation. The Minister explained that the Ministry of Communities was created with the belief that more empowerment was needed among the local democratic bodies, communities and agencies providing essential services to residents. He also said that the Ministry’s aim would be to provide essential support for local government bodies in an effort to encourage more decision making and execution of community development initiatives at this level. The Minister completed
his interaction with the GWI team by emphasizing that there would be no reinvention of operating standards but instead a focus on certain areas for improvement. Minister Bulkan charged GWI’s management team with ensuring that all services provided to customers are of the highest quality and that all GWI employees perform their duties with the utmost integrity. Bulkan was accompanied by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrell and Technical Advisor to the Minister on Projects, Charles Ceres. The National Water Council was first established under the Water and Sewerage Act for the management of the country’s water resources. The Council served as an advisory to the Minister with responsibility for Housing and Water.
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Gunmen shoot teenager in the face Dorwin Lord, 19, of Bush Lot, Corentyne is now a patient in the New Amsterdam Hospital after he was shot in the face while heading home from church. According to the man’s mother, Rose Raphael, she was at home with one of her son’s watching television. She said that around 19:30 hrs her son left to go downstairs, a little while later she heard her son hollering for ‘help you all come them gun kill me.’ Upon racing downstairs she was confronted by four masked, armed bandits. The men were armed with three guns and a knife. She and her son were held up and taken upstairs where the men demanded cash and jewelry. They asked for some foreigners, then relieved the
woman and her niece, Valerie Williams, who was vacationing, of three gold rings. They bandits then went over to the house in the back of the yard where they held up overseas-based Guyanese, Bibi December and her son Shameer December, and took away a total of $100,000 and a quantity of jewelry. Around the same time as the bandits were making their escape, Dorwin Lord and his brother David, 20, were making their way home. They were about to enter their yard when the bandits opened fire hitting Dorwin in the face. He was picked up and rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was admitted for emergency treatment.
According to pastor of the Grace Bible Church, Vijai Rambarack , Dorwin and his family are dedicated churchgoers and he is happy that God saved his life. According to a police report -at about 20:20h on Friday July 03, 2015, four men armed with firearms entered a house at Bush Lot, Corentyne, and held up the occupants Valerie Williams, Rose Raphael, Bibi December and Shameer December and took away a total of $100,000 and a quantity of jewellery. As the perpetrators were leaving the home they accosted Dorwin Lord, 18, who was entering the premises, and discharged a cartridge in his direction and escaped. Investigations are in progress.
The injured man in hospital
IPED employee charged with larceny An employee of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) was on Thursday arraigned before a City Magistrate after it was alleged he stole $29,480 from the company. Mark Ageday, 44 of lot 70 Friendship, East Bank Demerara allegedly stole the money on June 10, at Georgetown. Ageday, a father of seven, denied the charge after it was read to him by Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan. He was released on $50,000 bail and will make his next court appearance on July 27. His Attorney, Paul FungA-Fat, asked that his client be released on reasonable bail because he has children to
Mark Ageday support. The lawyer explained that his client has
been employed with the company for the past five years. He said that on the day in question, Ageday had issued a receipt to someone and collected the money. Fung-AFat noted that his client failed to lodge the money with the company and was subsequently accused of stealing it. The Attorney added that investigations were carried out and Ageday was arrested and charged. He contended that the matter will not go the full extent. Police Corporal, Deniro Jones, prosecuted the matter and did not provide the court with any facts, neither did he object to bail.
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Youth policy must not just be a report but an action plan – Education Minister As the Government of Guyana begins the process for the formulation of a National Youth Policy, Education Minister Rupert Roopnaraine emphasised the need for the policy to be more than a report. Instead, he said, the policy must be one driven by action and implementation. Minister Roopnaraine made the remarks during the opening session of a two-day workshop aimed at the finalisation of the National Youth Policy. The working sessions were convened by the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). During his remarks, the Education Minister emphasised that the process was not just the crafting of a policy but the crafting of an action plan. “I’m not interested in any more reports; what I’m interested in is implementation. Any report that comes to me that does not have a program of implementation or an action plan is not a report I’m going to spend a lot of my time on,” Roopnaraine stressed. He further said that Guyana could only move forward with the fullest participation of young people in the affairs of the nation. He said too that the future of Guyana belongs to the young people. “We recognized this in the process of the reform of the constitution and what you should know is that when we came to writing the preamble of the constitution, we took word for word the submission that had been made by youths,” he added. Noting that the Education Ministry was enlarged to take in the former Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Roopnaraine said that his ministry became not only one of the largest but the one charged with an extremely
The event was attended by a number of officials including Education Minister Rupert Roopnaraine (fourth, left), Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry (third, right), Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Aubrey Norton (second, right) and UNICEF Representative Marianne Flach (third, left). important task. He noted that persons under 35 represented about 70% of Guyana. Additionally, youths are affected by all society’s ills including poverty, unemployment, and suicide. He stressed that the Ministry of Education and the youths of Guyana must be the main drivers for the work of national reconciliation, something which was much needed in Guyana. ‘This process that we’re embarking on is on engaging youths to find the solutions and we’re very interested in hearing what has to be said,” he said. Noting that Guyana had a “fractured society”, Roopnaraine said that the future generation will be tasked with national reconciliation. “We have a nation that is always hovering on the brink of self-destruction; we need to heal the fissure in society…so I urge you to embark on the crusade for national reconciliation,” Roopnaraine said. Furthermore, the Minister promised that the concerns and recommendations raised during conversations will be taken seriously. He also said that the youths will be seen as partners of development. Roopnaraine noted that these promises were similarly made by previous administrations and never materialised. Nonetheless, he said, he was not only making
new promises but honouring old commitments. He added that, despite the repeated disappointments, youths were still hopeful and actively participating in the development of Guyana. He added that this participation must extend to holding officials accountable. “I urge your full participation and engagement and I urge you to hold us accountable at those times you feel that we are not holding up our end of our bargain,” Roopnaraine charged. During an overview of the two-day session, Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Aubrey Norton said that having ideas clash was imperative to the formulation of the policy. He emphasised that frank discussion was a necessity if the policy was going to be a true reflection of the needs of Guyana’s youths. He said too that the eventual outcome of the policy would be the professionalization of the nation’s youths. “The intention is to ensure that we place youth work on a professional footing so that youths can be involved in youth work well prepared and well trained,” Norton said. He also said that youth work must be shifted to an evidence based approach which will in turn be based on reality. For the workshop, the plenary sessions held were
A section of the audience during yesterday’s opening session.
the forum for discussions on general views. Five working groups were also established to allow for discussion on thematic areas. For the most parts, the youths would be the most active participants in discussions held. While there were adults present, Norton said that these older persons were there as guides. He added that it was
important that the youths and adults have a “symbiotic relationship”. During yesterday’s session, youths were able to take the floor and voice their concerns on the profile developed for the Guyanese youth. Issues such as respect, active participation in civil society and acceptance of
diversity were raised. Today’s session will deal with broad ideas for the strategic action plans. Eventually, the technical group will meet and use these ideas as a guide for the creation of the policy. Recently, Junior Education Minister Nicolette Henry had indicated that not only will the policy be given top priority from the new administration but would also be moved out of the draft stage within the new government’s first 100 days. An updated National Youth Policy has been in the works for a number of years. Though former Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Frank Anthony had promised one in excess of 5 years ago, none had been forthcoming. Instead, Anthony had indicated that widespread consultations were being conducted to produce a draft for the Youth Policy.
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Mentally ill man shot dead by police Two policemen are now in hot water after they shot a mentally unstable man dead at Strathavon, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara yesterday. Dead is Junior Gulliver, called ‘Reggie’, 30 who was shot twice by two police ranks who went to his house to arrest him around 15:00 hours. The police are claiming that Gulliver attacked them with a cutlass, causing them to resort to the use of their weapons. In a statement issued last evening, the police said that about 15:00 hours yesterday ranks of the Cane Grove Police Station responded to reports that Junior Gulliver, 30, of Strathavon, East Coast Demerara, who was reported to be mentally unstable, was threatening a woman with a cutlass. The police stated that during their investigations, Gulliver, who was armed with the cutlass, attacked the police ranks, causing the police to resort to the use of force. He was shot to his body. According to the police Gulliver was pronounced dead on arrival at the Mahaicony Hospital. “The windscreen and other parts of a motor vehicle
Police ranks examine Gulliver’s body.
that was used by the ranks to get to the scene (were) also damaged by Junior Gulliver during the incident,” the police stated. But the man’s relatives as well as several neighbours have a totally different version of what transpired, with many of them claiming that Gulliver’s killing was premeditated, following an earlier confrontation. When this newspaper arrived on the scene yesterday, several villagers had gathered around the area where Gulliver’s body lay on the parapet covered with a bed sheet.
They were eager to give their version of how Gulliver met his death. The dead man’s brother, Kenny Gulliver, said that his brother would usually make remarks about a young woman in the village, claiming that he wanted to marry her. This angered her parents. Yesterday was the same but this time, an argument erupted and the girl’s parents reported to the police that Gulliver was threatening them. “They go to de station and bring two policemen. Me brother see de police car and he charge to de car and lash
de back window and break it,” Gulliver’s brother told this newspaper. The police became afraid and drove away. According to Kenny Gulliver, who witnessed the shooting as the police were leaving they were overhead saying, “This is the last time that he gon pull cutlass pon people” The dead man’s brother said that a few minutes later, the police returned to the area, this time armed to the teeth, one with a rifle and the other with a handgun. According to Gulliver, his brother, realizing that the
police had returned with guns, went and hid himself. After a while, when he thought that the cops had left, Gulliver came out of his hiding place and went to his shack and began to cook a meal. “Dem police come out from de bush and dem ain’t ask leave nor licence. One fire fuss and hit and den de other one shoot he too. Den dey pick up de cutlass pon de ground like if he attack dem. Dey drag he and den dey come telling me fuh carry he to de hospital,” Kenny Gulliver explained.
He said that since his brother appeared to be already dead, he refused to take him to the hospital, so the body was left lying on the parapet in front of his shack. A few minutes later, other police ranks arrived and the two shooters were sent away from the scene. Another woman who said that she was an eyewitness, detailed a similar story. She said when the police returned with their weapons, they hid behind some banana suckers at the back of Gulliver’s shack. “I ask dem whey dey going and dey say dey come fuh Reggie and he gon be a dead man,” the woman claimed. She said that a while later Gulliver emerged from his hiding place and went back into his shack, not aware that the police were still hunting him. “When he see de police, he sit down and dey tell he dat dey come fuh he. One ah de police say dat he gon shoot he and Reggie start fuh come down to dem and is then dey start fuh shoot he,” the woman added. Another neighbour said, “I see everything. Dem shoot Continued on page 64
Consumer Concerns
Protect yourself against foreign scams By Pat Dial Since Independence, knowledge of Guyana has grown world-wide but this also led to the country coming into the sights of international confidence tricksters who are bent on exploiting and robbing innocent and naive Guyanese. They do this by selling various fraudulent getrich-quick schemes. The two most common and widespread of such schemes is the offer of fraudulent syndicated lottery tickets for the world’s richest lotteries such as El Gordo of Spain. By clever and wellcrafted letters which come from addresses all over the world, the victim is enticed to send the purchase price of the tickets. The letters would often begin by telling the victim that he was one of the select few in Guyana to whom the offer is made. The letters often carry a news report that the addressee had won millions of American dollars which will be sent to him immediately once the purchase price of the tickets is sent. Such letters usually tell the victim that the chances of winning are one in six. These letters are attractively convincing and
once one sends the fraudster one’s money, one is caught in the net of a gambling syndrome which would keep one sending more and more money. One very strange thing about these letters is that the fraudster had managed to get the victim’s name, address, telephone number and even e-mail. On little reflection, one would realize there is no way of knowing the authenticity of the letter-writers, whether any tickets were ever bought for the money sent or any kind of receipt for the money sent. Indeed, the addresses to which the money is sent often keep changing. Many Guyanese have been scammed millions of dollars by these fake lottery schemes. The other scam comes mostly from Africa, in particular Nigeria. The writers of such letters often say that some Minister of Government or Government official has come into millions of dollars which he wishes to launder. In this scam, the fraudster also tries to get one’s bank account number or other information about one’s financials so as to extend the fraud. When they use e-mails, the e-mails disappear after a few minutes.
In Nigeria, there are schools in which the fraudsters are trained, and not only have the victim send hard cash but also open the victim’s bank account to being robbed. Of recent years, these fraudsters have developed links with Islamic terrorist groups, and many of them, especially in French Africa, are fronts for financing terrorism. Since the fraudsters have no traceable identity and disappear at will, the only footprint which is left is the victim who has sent the money. And it is the victim who then becomes accused of financing terrorism. There are several other foreign scams floating about Guyana including buying Academic certificates of the University of one’s choice and various real estate schemes. The public could protect themselves by immediately deleting or destroying e-mails and letters from these tricksters and informing friends and relatives of the scam. And it would be wise to always be reminded of two ancient adages: “You will never get something for nothing” and “A fool and his money are soon parted”.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Admission to Princess Movie theatre slashed, schools get computers — as part of two-year anniversary celebration As part of its two-year anniversary celebration, which is currently ongoing, Princess Fun City and Casino on Friday announced plans to reduce its admission costs to its movie theatres. Tickets, according to Public Relations and Marketing Officer, Ali Williams, will now be $1,500 for adults and $1,000 for children all week long, with the exception of Wednesday. On Wednesdays the admission cost for both adults and children will be $1,000. The celebration of the anniversary saw the management of the entertainment venue giving away five desktop computers Friday to deserving schools. The latter move was one undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. On hand at a handing over ceremony at the Providence, East Bank Demerara location Friday were Minister of Tourism, Catherine Hughes; Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, who joined Princess Casino’s General Manager, Eray Kanmaz and Ali to endow representatives of the schools. The schools were selected from among a lot that participated in a school tour activity hosted by Princess earlier this year. The beneficiaries were selected by the Ministry of Education. This publication was informed that the schools were selected by categories – nursery, primary and secondary – because of their improved academic performances. Receiving computers in the nursery category were: Meten-Meer-Zorg and Cottage Nuseries; in the primary category were: J.E. Burnham and Rose Hall primaries and Wisburg Secondary was also a beneficiary. Each school
Flanked by some of the school tour beneficiaries are Minister of Tourism, Catherine Hughes; Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam; General Manager of Princess Casino, Eray Kanmaz and Marketing/PR Officer, Ali Williams, among other Princess officials. received one computer. The school tour which has become an annual feature is facilitated at no cost to the schools over the period February through May.
According to Williams the programme was “very successful. We received overwhelming responses from over 190 schools across the country, coming from several
regions.” The more than 9,000 children, between the ages of three and 17, together with their parents, were able to access the movie theatres and
games free of cost throughout the tour period. “Our Management team were delighted to meet with the youngsters of this nation, who are also the future of this
country. We expect having a pleasant association with them in future,” said Ali as she expressed optimism that the experience gained would be lasting for the beneficiaries.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
GUYANESE WILL HAVE TO CURB THEIR APPETITE FOR ALL THINGS “FOREIGN” By Ralph Seeram Dominating the news this week, is the Guyana Government’s concern over the decline in gold production, or to be more exact the decline in gold declarations. The government must know that large scale smuggling is partially responsible for the drop in declarations. Why is this a surprise? I am sure the government knew that gold smuggling has been going on. The problem is being brought to light now because it’s now hitting the Government where it hurts, “in the pocket”. Low declarations together with declining world prices for gold is robbing the country of valuable foreign currency and increasing the deficit in balance of trade. I spoke about this dependence on gold to drive the economy a year ago, so here’s a repeat of that article. I am actually taking a vacation this July 4th holiday week, hence this repeat article which is still relevant since it was revealed this week gold declarations dropped in the first six months this year compared to same period in 2014. I picked up the bottle of pepper sauce that said
Guyanese Pepper Sauce and bought my brown sugar, (I do not use processed white sugar), I try to buy Guyanese made products, not only out of Guyanese pride but I know that buying Guyanese made products create jobs for Guyanese while earning export dollars for the country. I would later discover to my surprise the “fine print” said Made in Trinidad. I will discover that Guyanese STYLE pepper sauce and Guyanese MADE pepper sauce are two different things. So now you go to the Caribbean groceries, you see a variety of products labeled Guyanese style, but really not made in Guyana. You have to be careful about the brown sugar which a deceptive Guyanese-owned Canadian company passed of theirs as Demerara sugar, and label it as such, but really made in Mauritius. Don’t let me even get in to those bottles of casareep labeled Pomeroon casareep made by people who probably don’t even know where Pomeroon is. However what it tells me is that there is a demand for Guyanese made products in the Diaspora not only by Guyanese but also by the wider Caribbean populace living abroad.
What is disappointing is the lack of Guyanese made products on the shelves of supermarkets abroad. Part of this has to do with Guyanese manufacturers, while they were “sleeping” their counterparts in Jamaica and Trinidad were penetrating the markets in the Diaspora— from simple things like fried channa and plantain chips to sugar and rice. Guyana considered an agricultural country is being “outgunned” by their Caribbean counterparts. And I can tell you why, they simply were not ready for “prime time”. A few years ago there was an expo for Guyanese manufacturers to showcase their products, and quite a few manufacturers were there. I was then the President of the Guyanese Association here in the Orlando area, so I tried to introduce local businessmen to the Guyanese manufacturers. Believe it or not, some of them could not give price quotes for bulk quantities, could not say what the FOB price was or what kind of shipping cost is entailed to get the product to the U S. One guy selling lumber was confused with square feet and linear feet, did not know treated wood from kiln dried wood. The only impressive Company was the Beharry Group of Companies and DDL. Today I see their product on the shelves here.
So while there is a demand for value added Guyanese products in the Diaspora, what we find in Guyana is the total opposite. I read on social media this week where one overseas-based Guyanese who went back home said she was shocked when she saw a local person buying a can of “bhagee” and a can of coconut milk. Today in the US with the proliferation of Chinese goods and inferior at that, you are seeing labels that say “proudly made in the US.” Guyanese go back to Guyana and want to drink Banks beer, the locals want foreign, the visitor wants good old Guyanese Rum, considered the best in the world and Guyanese crave foreign “liquor”. I go and want to drink things made in Guyana and I see Guyanese drinking soda made in Barbados and Trinidad and feel proud about. I find the Guyanese at home feel all things “foreign” are better; it seems as if they gain status by eating, wearing and using things “foreign”. I saw some time ago on YouTube two local women, “busing” each other for the affection of their male lover. At one point one of the women displayed a handful of panties to her rival, holding the handful of panties in the air for all to see. “This is from
Victoria Secret”. I don’t know if wearing Victoria Secret panties gave her an advantage over her rival, but I doubt if any man looks to see the label of a woman’s panties, he is mainly concerned with getting it off. But back to the serious side, the Guyanese economy is showing signs of cracking, Guyana is experiencing Balance of Trade Deficits. I don’t care how you put it, if you spend more than you earn it catches up with you. The proliferation of foreign goods in Guyana, including cars, is hurting the Guyanese economy already. The exchange rates are going up and will continue to go up. The Guyanese economy depended largely on gold exports, forget about the traditional three pillars, sugar rice and bauxite, it was gold that kept the economy alive, along with remittances from the Diaspora. Some will also argue that the white powder that is NOT Cassava flour, or regular flour, but baked into pastries, placed in fruits, vegetables, lumber and other ingenious methods to export is also helping to drive the economy, by laundering its proceeds into real estate construction and business. Guyana has already seen how the dependence on gold
exports is risky business. Gold prices decreased to a third of its peak value in recent years. Besides being a depleting source, it is subject to speculation of the world market. Forget about all this talk of the economy growing every year, the problem is that exports are not keeping up with imports, and while Guyanese are wasting valuable foreign exchange importing fresh flowers etc. the time is rapidly coming when they may have to choose between FLOWER and FLOUR. There are foreign investors willing to invest in Guyana, but the “push around” they get by the uncoordinated efforts discourages them. I was told by a source responsible for promoting trade in Guyana, that when investors go to places like Trinidad and Jamaica the process is smooth, encouraging, in Guyana it’s a NIGHTMARE running around various ministries to get required paperwork, permits etc. Yes, whether its foreign made panties, flowers or liquor, Guyanese will have to curb their foreign appetite, or pay the price, they are already paying it to buy scarce US dollars. Ralph Seeram can be reached at ralph365@hotmail,com and Facebook.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana Passport application. Graphics design, Advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 6831312, 627-3206 Balloon decorating for birthdays, weddings, anniversary etc, make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIRCONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES, FREEZERS - CALL:6294946 OR 225-4822 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building, visadocumentsgy@yahoo.comCall: 225-6496, 662-6045 EAGLE’S FRIDGE REGASES - $8,000 & washing machine repairs. Phone: 697-2969, 646-0966 Brian Moe @ 642-3543: Computer Technician: FB/ Brian.Moe.165: Home and Office visits at your comfort!!
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL:CARS&SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 2193900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM
WANTED Male salesperson for best plant shop in Guyana (G/T)Tel: 648-1821 (8am-5pm) Experienced pastry maker, cake decorator, curry cook, cleaners, apply @ Hack’s Halaal, 5 Commerce St. One live-in maid must know to cook, age: 25-45 – Contact: 691-6260 We buy land in Eccles, Herstelling, Farm Parfaite Harmonie & elsewhere –Tel: 611-7223, 675-7292 1 Live in general domestic for G/Town, must know to cook, bar worker for interior –Call: 231-0363 (Monday-Friday) 9am-4pm (1)One general domestic & (1) one handy boy living on the East Bank- Call: 233-5477 between 8am-12 noon Security guards to work in the interior with mining firm must have military experienced –Contact: 2269768; 642-7963 Driver with minibus license living in G/Town for Saturday & Sunday- Call: 6878728 1 Live-in maid must be from country area, age 35-55 years- Contact: 662-1124, 611-0200 One single, honest and reliable live-in maid. Ages 3545 years- Phone: 691-7790 ARMEDSECURITYGUARD WITH EXPERIENCE AND ALSO PORTERS AND FORKLIFT OPERATORS TO WORK IN WAREHOUSE- CALL: 2318344, 231-8529 Investors to invest in free land. Conditions apply- Call: 602-6477 Junior Accounts Clerk with passes in English, Mathematics & Computer Literacy. Apply @ Mike’s Pharmacy 56 Sheriff St, G/ Town One honest live- in domestic, age 30 to 50yrs- Tel: 650-8632 from 9am to 7pm
Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807 Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up- Call: 690-6494 CAKES AND PASTRIES Enroll Now! Classes start 13 July: floral arrangement, cake decoration, cakes & pastries, bridal accessories –Contact: 223-3303; 612-4193; 672-8768
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
Summer Special: In cosmetology, nails, wig design & hair cuttingClasses commence -13 July Tel: 619-7603, 666-5241
VEHICLE FOR SALE Sale on new model Allion, TV Reverse camera, low mileage, Honda Fit - PLL Spacio - PTT Tel: 697-0294 Honda 600 RR, Toyota AT212, AT192, Rush, BB, RZ-Bus Tundra & 150CC motorbike –Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453 One Toyota Allion PNN SERIES & 1 new & unregistered Mazda Axela, excellent condition -Tel: 649-0956
VACANCY 2 Accounts clerk with Grades 1 & 2 in Maths & English. Apply at Technical Services, Eccles Industrial Site, E.B.D. I N T E R N AT I O N A L EMPLOYMENT: NURSE, TEACHERS,CARPENTERS, ELECTRICIANS, COOK, WAITERS, BELL BOYS, HOUSEKEEPERS, STOREKEEPERS, SECURITIES. CONTACT: 231-6296; 650-9880/ www.plzrecruitme.com 1 Haluer/distribution truck driver to drive hauler & distribution truck, apply to Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling. 1 Crankshaft grinder and machinist to bore engine block-Apply @ Technical Service -18-23 Industrial Site, Eccles.
Nissan Tiida, Hatch Back, PPP series, air-condition, magrims, excellent condition, price negotiable –Tel: 6002170 2005 Toyota Raum with HID, alarm, sound system. $1.7M negotiable- Tel: 659-6932, 6673630 Fantasy Auto Sales: 38 Alexander Street Kitty. Get $100,000 discount on perorders- Tel: 611-1833 1-Toyota 4WD extra cab, pickup LH drive –price $1.9M negotiable –Tel: 668-8431 Smart Choice Auto: Premio, Allion, Spacio, Fielder, Bluebird, Carina 212, ISTCall: 652-3820, 665-4529 First Class Auto in Stock: 09 Allion, 08 Premio, Carina 212, Spacio, Runx, IST, Mark 2, Axio, 06 Premio –Call: 6098188; 638-3045 One pitbull minibus, never used- Call: 220-4181
Cutter/straight stitch/button tack/hole operators. Call: 222-2541 (8:00am-4:00pm Mon-Fri)
D.Persaud Auto Deal- deals on wheel promotion on Toyota Premio & Spacio- Tel: 681-7117
One domestic -$22,000 weekly and one cook -$25,000 weekly- Contact: 220-4031
Blow Out Sale!!! Unregistered Toyota IST $2,100,000- Bodykit, TV, Spoiler, Fogs, Alloy Wheels, Crystal Lights & Alarm – Call: 643-6565, 226-9931
2 Dynamic technicians with @ least 5yrs experienced in refrigeration & air condition repair & trouble shooting @ CoolTech Solutions –Tel: 2332008 Supervisor for fast food Restaurant. Send application to 16 Mudlot Kingston or rtilak@adamantiumholdings.com Customer Services Representatives for fast food Restaurant. Send application to 16 Mudlot Kingston or rtilak@adamantiumholdings.com Qualified grade 3 and 6 teachers with 5 years and more experience at I.P.E Grove, E.B.D- Contact: 265-3996, 6430777 Professional & courteous cashiers for supermarket on the East Coast. Point of sale & computer experience a plus- Call: 220-2267, 601-3679 One Supervisor to Work at Xenon Hotel, Charity Essequibo. Contact 223-5273/ 4
1 Mazda Axela, PNN Series, Flair Kit, 17" mags, etc, price negotiable –Tel:616-9081 1RZ Minibus, fully loaded, USB Deck, A/C, Excellent condition. Price $2.1M negotiable. Phone Andy: 617-9143 or Darius: 660-8160 2008 Fielder -$2.5M, 2004 Spacio -$2M, Carina 212 $1.9M, all vehicles unregistered –Tel: 617-2891 Allion PRR, 42,000KM, alarm, reverse camera, 17" rims, DVD deck, HID, music, hardly used -$1.850M – Contact: 616-3566 1 new model, Toyota Axio for sale – unregistered –Call: 6426079 One short base Mitsubishi canter for sale GRR series in good working condition- Call: 642-5203 AT170 Corona EFI, PGG 4289 -$250,000 – Tel: 685-5298
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FOR RENT
FOR SALE
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
Oceanicvillas air conditioned, apartments/ fridge/stove/washer/dryer/ microwave. Contact Shiv: 678-6887 or email: oceanicvillas@yahoo.ca
Dell desktop & laptop computers from $55,000. Free games & educational software- call FutureTech: 231-2206 600AMPS, 200AMPS, transfer switches, exhaust box 6"-Tel: 627-7835 1 Lincoln arc welder with Perkins engine on wheels – Call: 609-5672 Wholesale brand name cologne/ perfume- Tel: 6719716 One Mitsubishi Canter in good condition 2.5 ton, has dumper. $2.1M negotiableTel: 612-1848 Stall in Bourda market #9698 section ‘B’. Suitable for Pharmacy, grocery & bondTel: 644-5363
GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE- CALL: 6750767, 627-5098 One 2 bedroom apartment for rent –Call: 220-6168; 674-1358, 618-1754; 681-1508 Property for rent at #2 Canal Polder- Tel: 613-1860 1-Two bedrooms house in 1st Street Silvertown Linden, light water and telephone – Contact: 609-5546/ 917-6981564 2-Bedrooms house, sensor lighting, cameras, guard hut & parking for working individuals @ Wisroc H/ Scheme Linden- Contact: 609-5546 1 Bottom flat at Winsor Forest road. Immediately 2 bedrooms house. One business (new) W.C.D- Call: 276-0818 One spacious three bedrooms upper flat apartment at First Street Craig, E.B.D- Tel: 695-1829 Three storey 75ft x 30ft building, open floors, 2 offices, 2 washrooms, driveway. 25B Princess St, Charlestown. Tel: 223-0654, 225-0605 One bedroom apartment for single person or couple @ Howes street, CharlestownCall: 226-2856, 622-8306 1 Bedroom apartment at Grove. Preferably coupleCall: 687-7376 TWO STOREY 3 BEDROOMS, 3 BATHS @CHARLOTTE ST. GARAGE, BUSINESS DOWNSTAIRS. NO AGENTS PLEASE. $3200 USD/ MONTH- CALL: 6951138 Bottom flat apartment @ lot 261 Golden Grove 3rd streetContact: 233-5802, 600-4984, 641-1476 Vacation Rental: cool and comfortable fully-furnished 2 bedroom vacation apartment. Call: 678-6690; 687-3365 EDUCATION Lessons: Maths, English, Accounts, Physics, Social Studies and office Administration, Location: Campbellville –Contact: 6106087
Pure breed Rottweiler pups, fully de-wormed & vaccinated –Tel: 220-2277, 220-8904; 629-1471 Genuine Perkins spare parts for sale- Tel: 233-6459, 6855930 One Honda car PPP series $1.3M- Call: 672-3870, 6479752 150cc Scrambler, very good condition, CF Series -$160,000 –Call: 666-9719 Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc call:225-9032, 647-2943 Pure breed German shepherd puppies - Contact: 615-0513 (afternoons) 40ft Banga boat, complete with 350lb net, 3000lb ice b o x , 4 0 H P Ya m a h a Tel:668-6624, Jack: 6728939 Household furniture: Sofa set, wardrobe, wall divider and more- Tel: 264-1582, 6797587 1-225 HP Yamaha outboard engine on 23ft wooden boat, 1-85 HP Yamaha outboard engine –Tel:2310363 (9am-4pm) Pure Bred & registered pedigree Rottweiler pups for sale, imported, fully vaccinated, serious enquiries –Tel:664-5401, 6155343 Last of the registered pure breed Rottweiler (vaccinated)- Tel: 231-5902, 227-2958 Imported huskies, cocker spaniel, British Bulldogs and German ShepherdCall or whatsapp: 664-5401 Continued on page 64
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 05, 2015
Mentally ill man shot... FOR SALE From page 63
192 Toyota Carina in excellent condition $850,000- Call: 6963787, 229-6870 One complete fishing boat – Call: 626-1856 1-two storey house- two bathrooms, four bedrooms at Diamond scheme, Golden Grove. Price $14M negotiable- Call: 692-8814 1 5L Diesel pick-up $3M. 1 House @ Covent Garden Island. 1 sound system- Call Office: 265-3586 (Mon-Fri) (7am-4pm) Pools table, cloth, balls, pocket, cue stick, rubber, coin Shute, spring coin, chalk holder –Tel: 669-9927 New American made 24ft Werner aluminum ladderCall: 609-7257, 225-7946 WOOD- USED T-SHORE AND 3/8 PLYWOOD, TO CAST DECKING, ONLY USED ONCE @ HALF PRICE- CALL:695-1138 GENERATOR 30KVA, BRAND NEW, AUTO TRANSFER SWITCH, DIESEL. SUPER SILENT, SINGLE PHASE. FROM USA, SIGMA. $3M- CALL: 695-1138 Best price & quality: 9" tablet, used iPhone & laptop- Call: 610-0652 2 Hydraulic hose crimperCall: 688-2880
VEHICLE FOR SALE One Silver Toyota Premio, 2003 model, PNN series, excellent condition –Tel: 6484259
PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale, Grove $18M neg. Tel: 625-5461. Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities –Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 Lot 23, Area F Zeeburg, South, old gas station road, We s t Coast Demerara- Contact: 6218386 (Brodo) Two executive houses in gated compound at Oceanicvillas -$58M eachTel Shiv: 600-6681 Property at Kersaint Park LBI, price $11.5M negotiable- Contact:6641865; 698-5713 2 Storey concrete property @ 19th Avenue Diamond scheme. 3 bedrooms upper flat, 1 self-contained downstairs- $17M- Call: 6229916 Two storey 45X35 concrete property, lower flat incomplete, in Diamond, New Scheme, 5th Avenue, E.B.D – Tel:629-4017 Two storey wood and concrete business building located at 35 Ketley and Howes Street, CharlestownTel: 623-9679 TWO STOREY 3 BEDROOMS, 3 BATHS @CHARLOTTE ST. GARAGE, BUSINESS DOWNSTAIRS. NO AGENTS PLEASE. $80M NON-NEGOTIABLECALL: 695-1138
Toyota Sequoia PKK series, fully loaded, like new -$M – Tel:645-4709, 627-4080 One Toyota Belta Car, PTT series 2008yr -$1.9M negotiable –Call: 649-2535 Fantasy Auto Sales at 38 Alexander St, Kitty. Get $100,000 discount on preorders- Contact: 611-1833 Fantasy Auto SalesAvailable: 2010 Mitsubishi RVR, Nissan X-Trail 2008. New model Premio & AllionCall: 611-1833 Just Arrived! TM Trucks from UK, excellent condition –Tel:679-7587; 264-1582 Toyota Prado, Price$4.4M Neg. Call: 643-2403 One 318 BMW never register for $ 3.1M down payment $ 800,000- Contact # 650-0402
EDUCATION Summer Classes: Phonics, Reading, Language, Mathematics, Art & Craft & fun day (4-12yrs) July 13thAugust 13th @ Roxanne Burnham Gardens-Tel:2182076; 619-4355 Institute of Academic Excellence- registration commenced for our Secondary school (forms 15), lessons & adults CXC classes- Tel: 683-5742 Summer classes. Congratulations to my top student Aselah Najah, 518 (Queens College). CXC classes, Phonics, ComputerCall: 690-5008, 619-7911, 6577398
LAND FOR SALE Land situated at Duke Street Hague, W.C.D. opposite masjid- Tel: 269-1385, 6006477
Gulliver’s covered body outside his shack.
Parfaite Harmonie -$1.5M, Tuschen -$1.6M, Herstelling -$4M, Linden/Soesdyke Highway (30acres) -$9M – Tel:675-7292; 611-7223 Land @ Parfaite Harmonie & Tuschen -$1.5M each, house & land @ Belle West –Call: 604-6724 1500 acres transported land 4½ miles from Bartica Rock, Quarry, Forestry, Agriculture. Contact Mark: 603-1266; 625-9788 50 Acres titled farm land @ The Belle, Upper Dem, River Front -reasonable offer accepted, serious enquiries only! – Tel: 695-3493 Friendship public road (riverview). Parika water front property on 4 acres land. Serious inquires – Call: 6297611, 227-0016 144x37.4 FT house lot available at Webster Avenue, Buxton. $2.6M negotiableCall: 696-8391 Parfaite Harmonie $1.2M, Linden/ Soesdyke Highway 30 acres $7.5M, Herstelling (110ft x 56ft) $5M- call: 6757292, 611-7223 Land for sale at Lot 12 Mon Repos, E.C.D- Tel: 220-7330, 203-850-5235 Professional Realty: we buy/ sell/rent/value your real estate –Call:694-3875; 6490535; 654-6198 Luxury gate community- mall, pool, swipe card entry, underground irrigation selling @ $6USD per sq.ftCall: 609-0783 Land with 30ft x 40ft house foundation for sale Grove Area $3.8M- Tel: 624-2857
ACCOMODATION Aracari Resort –Tel: 264-2946: Rooms from $45USD, double occupancy, fully air conditioned, hot & cold bath, WiFi, breakfast. Harmony Inn: furnished, airconditioned apartment & rooms, suitable for local & overseas guest -$20USD, $30USD, $35USD –Tel: 6680306; 694-7817, 218-1400
TO LET Eccles apartment with cable internet, AC etc.- Call: 2333974 1-2 Bedroom concrete bottom flat young couple preferably @ 8 Charles Street/ Charlestown (3rd building in the yard) -$35,000 monthly – Tel: 616-0126 3 Bedrooms bottom flat situated @ ECD, fully fenced, grilled & meshed. Large bedrooms, kitchen & bathroom, parking optional. Contact: 234-1330; 652-4304 FOR OVERSEAS VISTORSFULLY FURNISHED 2 BEDROOMS APARTMENT @ ECCLES. FRIDGE, STOVE, MICROWAVE ETC. US$40 DAILY- CALL MAX: 609-8132, 672-8569 One 2 bedrooms flat housePlease call: 265-3616, 643-0782
TO LET Church to let @ 180 Charlotte St, Bourda $150,000 negotiable- Tel: 227-6817, 624-7341 Newly built 2 bedrooms house @ Recth Door Zee, W.B.D- Call: 619-5805, 6839369
2 Bedrooms apartment upper flat in Parfaite Harmonie- Call: 648-2111, 685-1321 Rooms in Alberttown, apartments in Eccles available from August 1st–Tel: 225-3234 FOR THE BEST ADVERTISING RATES – CALL US ON: 225-8452 OR 226-8210
From page 60 he with a long gun and de other one shoot with a small gun. There was no attack. Dey pre-meditated because dey talk about it before.” The dead man’s mother said that the police acted with too much force. She said that she did not mind if they had wounded him, since she could have repaid the money for the damage to the car that he had caused. But the police ranks are maintaining that they were attacked and they acted according to standard operating procedures. “If they did not shoot him, he would have killed one of them,” a police source said. It added that the Police Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting investigations into the matter.
Man hurt in the midst of heavy wind and rainfall Recently it was reported that high winds had caused mass destruction to lamp posts, trees and houses around the country, but a man is now nursing a broken leg due to the storm. Omar Khan, 44, of Princes Street said that he slipped into a drain at the La Penitence Market, last Sunday during the destructive storm. Khan, who said that he is a miner by profession, told Kaieteur News that he was returning to his Princes Street home when he was sent skidding to the flooding ground with his bag of calaloo and beef. He is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Guns for fishermen... From page 9 newspaper, where someone wrote about anti-piracy and I have asked the Permanent Secretary (Angela Johnson) to get up that plan.” “The person wrote about setting up a marine wing. I like the idea and I will have to check that plan, which I understand was there since 2013. I will try to implement as much as possible.” Since assuming the post of Public Security Minister, Ramjattan has put forward several recommendations aimed at eradicating piracy. In addition to the ‘guns for fishermen’ plan, he had also recommended equipment that could show the relevant authorities the position of boats when in trouble. He had explained that with such equipment, in cases where a heist was in progressive and a 911 call was made, there would have been a quick response from the coast guard or other police branches, in order to give a chance to ranks that a ‘hot
pursuit’ could be launched. Ramjattan also provided an update on the gun amnesty programme. Though he stated that he was working in collaboration with Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud in order to iron out the operational procedures, he also intimated that he had run into some difficulties with the initiative. “It is not as easy as I initially thought. But it is something I want to see happen. A lot of people have been critical, saying that that will not stop gun violence. It will not, but it is one of the factors that will contribute, if people bring in those illegal weapons that they have.” He stated that the operational phases included working out where the guns would be sent and the requirements. However, he pointed out that the Police commissioner had urged that they (Public Security) think out the amnesty programme carefully before implementation.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
In Barbados, UN leader voices concern about Dominican crackdown on undocumented people BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon told Caribbean leaders last week (Thursday) that he shares concerns about a crackdown on migrants in the Dominican Republic, most of whom are from Haiti or of Haitian descent. Ban spoke to open a meeting of leaders from the nations of the 15-member Caribbean Community, of which Haiti is a member. Its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, is not and does not
have a representative at the gathering. Ban described the Dominican government’s recent decision to start deporting non-citizens who did not submit a p p l i c a t i o n s t o establish legal residency as a “matter of human rights and human dignity.” “I have discussed this with the president of the Dominican Republic and trust there will be further progress in resolving this matter,” he said on a stage surrounded by
Caribbean leaders. Last week, Haitian Prime Minister Evans Paul warned that the Dominican Republic was creating a humanitarian crisis with its crackdown, noting that 14,000 people, many of them children and young adults had crossed the border into Haiti in less than a week. The Dominican government has said deportations will be a methodical and lengthy process.
HAITI IS READY to receive the hundreds of Haitians fleeing back home because of immigration difficulties in neighbouring Dominican Republic, but it must be done in an orderly manner. This is the position of Haiti’s President Michel Martelly, who said Friday: “It is not like we don’t want Haitians at home. We do. We are ready to receive our Haitians at home; we just want to make sure it is done properly.” The recent mass exodus of Haitians from the Dominican Republican, primarily because
of the expulsion of people to whom the Dominican Republic for one reason or another is denying citizenship, has been causing consternation throughout the Caribbean. Concern has particularly
been expressed about the apparent harsh treatment meted out to some of them in the process, as photographs of deported Haitians awaiting deportation may have suggested. (Caribbean News)
Martelly ready for orderly return of Haitians
Pope Francis to visit Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay When Pope Francis arrives in Latin America this weekend, huge crowds are expected - as millions of Roman Catholics in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay turn out to see the man they call the “Pope of the poor”. But the enthusiastic reception masks challenges facing the church. More and more people are turning to Evangelical churches or away from religion entirely.
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July 30 proposed for Tufton wants higher GCT, lower income tax Kamla-Rowley debate The Gleaner - Opposition Senator Dr Christopher Tufton has suggested that the Government moves away from imposing direct tax such as income tax and go instead in the direction of collecting its revenues from indirect taxes such as General Consumption Tax (GCT). Contributing to a debate in the Senate on Friday on a bill to increase the personal income tax threshold, Tufton said that there has been a shift in the structure of taxation. “The trend is towards moving away from income tax, allowing people greater money in their pockets and allowing them to chose how they want to consume,” Tufton said. The bill, which was already passed in the House of Representatives and received the nod in the Senate Friday, will formalise the movement in the threshold or tax-free income to $557,232 per annum, up from $507,312 per annum. This will mean that persons will not pay the 25 per cent income tax that is
Dr Christopher Tufton applicable on the first $46,436 earned monthly. With this increase in the threshold, the tax paid per annum by each individual will reduce by $12,480. The threshold is to be increased to $592,800 on January 1, 2016. Tufton, while contributing to the debate on the bill, pushed for more consumption taxes at the expense of income tax, saying the evidence
shows it is easier to collect and that it would encourage greater levels of productivity. “If we are serious about the long-term interest of the country, let us agitate for tax reforms that shift the burden from income tax and other such forms of taxation to more consumption taxes, and if we do that, that is where we are going to realise true benefits,” Tufton said. The call for consumption taxes in favour of income taxes is not a new one. For example, the Matalon Report (2005) recommended that the Government increase GCT and reduce personal income tax as part of its tax reform efforts. In addition, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute, of which Tufton is co-executive director, said that decreasing reliance on direct taxes and shifting towards value-added taxes would result in a stable source of revenue for the Government since indirect taxes are charged on consumption. Government Minister Mark Golding, in responding to Tufton’s call for more consumption taxes and less income tax, said “higher consumption taxes hit the poor more. Income taxes tend to be less onerous on poor people”.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar (L) and Dr Keith Rowley Trinidad Express - The Trinidad and Tobago Debates Commission has proposed July 30 as the date for the great debate between Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley. Persad-Bissessar, through her debates negotiator, attorney Larry Lalla, had indicated she was prepared to debate this month. The commission has proposed two debates —one this month and another in July, but it is uncertain whether two debates will take place. The July 30 Leaders’ Debate is scheduled to take place at the studios of Stateowned station Caribbean New
Media Group (CNMG). Members of the Debates Commission are expected to meet with Lalla and his team who are representing the Prime Minister, as well as the team from the People’s National Movement (PNM) to work out further logistics and what is expected from the leaders in the debate. In a release this week, the Debates Commission stated an all-media broadcast was costed and a number of sponsors had already committed. It stated donations were continuing to come in and the commission has also established crowd-funding to allow all citizens and other
interested parties the opportunity to support this significant event. It stated public funding, coupled with the fact that questions posed by the public would be included for consideration by the panel determining the questions, makes this in every way a true people’s debate. For more information on the guidelines and objectives, visit www.ttdc.org.tt. It is not certain yet whether the debate will be a one-on-one event featuring the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader because both leaders had expressed that other leaders be allowed to participate in the debate.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
Greeks mull consequences of crucial bailout referendum ATHENS, Greece (AP) — With the crucial austerity referendum a day away, Greeks contemplated Saturday how their vote will shape their future and the impact a “yes” or “no” will have on the country’s youth. Opinion polls showed Greeks evenly split on whether to accept creditors’ proposals for more austerity in exchange for rescue loans, or defiantly reject the deal and send the message that they’re simply fed up with years of harsh economic austerity. With no campaigning allowed the day before the vote, the natural rhythm of daily life in the capital briefly replaced the sense of urgency that was palpable all week when Greeks struggled to decipher a convoluted referendum question whilst being bombarded with frenzied messages of impending doom or defiance. Aris Spiliotopoulos, a 22year-old who is launching his own tourism start-up, said he believes the vote is about whether Greece choses to stay among the club of nations that uses the euro as their currency and ultimately whether the country opts to stay in the European Union itself. “I am voting ‘yes’ because I believe that my future and even my kids’ future, in twenty or thirty years from now, is in the eurozone and the European Union,” said Spiliotopoulos. Gym teacher Alkiviadis Kotsis said he is voting “no” because the country and its people simply can’t take more austerity. “No matter how many loans you take, you cannot get by if you don’t produce things. You can’t do anything,” he said. Greece’s high-stakes standoff with lenders saw the
country default on debts this week, close banks to avoid their collapse, and lose access to billions of euros after an existing bailout deal expired. Yet, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insists a “no” vote will strengthen his hand to negotiate a third bailout with better terms. No matter the referendum result, Tsipras faces a tough road ahead, fraught with uncertainty about whether he will be able to deliver an improved bailout agreement. Yale University political science professor Stathis Kalyvas said the Greek government will face daunting challenges no matter which way the vote goes. In case of a “no” win, Kalyvas said the Greek government could be confronted with the refusal of other eurozone countries to negotiate a better deal because of their distrust of Tsipras. A “yes” win won’t mean a road to the negotiating table strewn with roseseither,butwouldlikelyusherin a new government with a shot at negotiating an improved deal, Kalyvas said. He said if the European Union wants to keep Greece in the eurozone, it will have to come up with “a very generous plan” since the cost
of the crisis has shot up to unanticipated levels. That was borne out by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who told daily Bild Saturday that future negotiations between Greece and its creditors will be “very difficult,” because the country’s economic situation has worsened dramatically in recent weeks. Schaeuble repeated the German government’s position that for a community like Europe to work, all countries need to abide by the rules. Meanwhile, Greece’s Finance Minister Yianis Varoufakis launched a salvo at other eurogroup nations, accusing them of holding out on a bailout deal to allow bank coffers to run dry so they could spring a “vile ultimatum” on the government to accept what he called a humiliating deal.
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IS video shows mass execution in ruins of Syria’s Palmyra Beirut (AFP) - The Islamic State group on Saturday released a video showing 25 Syrian government soldiers being executed by teenagers in the ancient amphitheatre in the city of Palmyra. The video documented an execution that reportedly happened shortly after the jihadist group captured the city on May 21. It shows the soldiers in green and brown military uniforms being shot dead on the amphitheatre’s stage in front of an enormous version of the group’s black and white flag. The executioners all appear to be children or teenagers and are wearing desert camouflage and brown bandanas. The killings are carried out in front of a relatively sparse crowd of men and some children watching from the ancient theatre’s seats. IS reportedly carried out
more than 200 executions, including of civilians, in and around Palmyra in the period when it captured the city. The executions in the Palmyra amphitheatre were first reported on May 27 by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britainbased monitor, less than a week after IS captured the city. At the time, Syria’s antiquities director Mamoun Abdelkarim said he feared the killings could signal the start of “the group’s barbarism and savagery against the ancient monuments of Palmyra”.
“Using the Roman theatre to execute people proves that these people are against humanity,” he told AFP. The Greco-Roman ruins at Palmyra are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city’s capture by IS prompted international concerns for the fate of its spectacular ancient treasures. So far, IS is not reported to have damaged the actual ruins, although it has blown up and desecrated Muslim graves in the city and destroyed a statue outside the Palmyra Museum.
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Despite Bishoo’s heroics T&T Red Steel beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by 3 wickets CPL - The Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel’s bowlers earned them a nail-biting victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors to notch their first victory of the 2015 Hero CPL. After winning the toss and batting the Warriors never got close to posting a big total, with only Lendl Simmons (50 off 47 balls) posing the Red Steel any problems as they were bowled out for only 118 in 19.4 overs. Apart from Simmons, only Brad Hodge and Sunil Narine got into double figures as the Red Steel bowlers ran riot, Dwayne Bravo leading the way with 4-18 - the tournament’s best figures so far - and Jacques Kallis (216) and Kevon Coper (2-25) also doing some damage. Cameron Delport smashed 3 fours off Marchant de Lange’s first
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots beat Jamaica Tallawahs by 119 runs over as the Red Steel got off to a flier in their reply, and though he was out for 22, Kallis for 20 and Darren Bravo for 19, it never looked as though the Red Steel were never in any real trouble. But Dwayne Bravo was out for 10, bowled by a ripper of a leg-break from Devendra Bishoo, and Bishoo also got rid of Kamran Akmal after he had smashed 30 off 17 balls. Bishoo and Narine were turning it square in the closing stages and somehow their brilliance ensured it went down to the final over, with Bishoo bowling and five needed. There was incredible drama when the Warriors appealed for a stumping with two balls left and two runs needed, but TV replays showed Bishoo had bowled a no-ball and with one needed
from two and a free-hit in the offing, Kevin Cooper smashed it for six to win the game. It was a stunning end to the best game of the tournament, with the Red Steel ensuring that every franchise has now won at least once in the third installment of the Biggest Party In Sport! Meanwhile, the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots bounced back from their defeat on Friday with a sensational victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs on a glorious afternoon at Warner Park. Evin Lewis struck a fabulous 82 from only 45 balls as the Patriots were put into bat by Chris Gayle and the Tallawahs and they made hay in the sunshine, Lewis and Martin Guptill (35 off 25)
Sunday July 05, 2015 ARIES (MAR. 21APRIL 20) Help those incapable of taking care of their personal affairs. If you try to manipulate emotional situations you will find yourself alienated. TAURUS (APR. 21MAY 21) Try to curb your bad habits. Watch your tendency to live for the day and to spend too much on entertainment and children; it could set you back. GEMINI (MAY22-JUNE 21) Children may be difficult to deal with. Don't get involved in uncertain financial ventures. You can accomplish a lot if you work out of your home today. CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) You will learn valuable skills if you sign up for seminars today. Make sure all of your travel and driver's documents are in proper order. Be cautious when dealing with coworkers. LEO (JULY 23-AUG 22) Keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself and you won't get dragged into an unsavory debate. VIRGO (AUG. 23 -SEPT. 23) Only offer to do the things you have time for. Luxury items will cost you more than you can truly afford.
LIBRA (SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23) Those who have been too demanding should be put in their place or out to pasture. SCORPIO (OCT. 24 NOV. 22) You may not be as well received in group endeavors if you try to force your will on others. Don't exaggerate. Be aware of any emotional deception. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 -DEC. 21) Real estate ventures will be to your advantage. Your temper could get the better of you if you confront personal situations. CAPRICORN (DEC 22.- JAN. 20) Plan a trip to the country or take a drive to the beach. You can get a great deal accomplished if you bring work home. Call someone you haven't seen in a long time. AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 FEB. 19) You're in a high cycle for romance. You will find good buys and you will lift your spirits. Real estate investments will payoff. PISCES (FEB. 20-MAR. 20) Don't forget that you've only heard one side of the story. You can continue to make gains if you call a few people who can help you close an important deal.
putting on 71 for the first wicket. Lewis was in stunning form, smashing 6 fours and 6 sixes in a brutal display of hitting, perhaps only denied a century by a run out after Shahid Afridi had come to the crease. Carlos Brathwaite pumped 3 huge sixes in a
brilliant late cameo, striking 36 off 18 balls as they made 1995, and the Tallawahs’ chase got off to the worst possible start when the ‘World Boss’ Gayle was dismissed for only 8. Sheldon Cottrell got both openers and gave them both the ‘salute’ send-off, Mahela Jayawardena was run out for
10 and when Chris Lynn chopped Cottrell behind and was caught for 20, it was pretty much game over. Tabraiz Shamsi (4-23) and Shahid Afridi (2-10) made sure they never even got close to keeping up with the rate and the South African left-arm leg-spinner Shamsi destroyed the Tallawahs tail to bowl them out for a paltry 80, an extraordinary defeat.
Lukewarm attendance but plans... From page 66 ECD. The group engaged in more than three hours of intense discussions and at the end, the decision was to meet again soon in order to employ strategies towards the effective commencement of the programme. Ms Murray delivered a pep talk to the participants while giving a brief outline of her plans. She expressed disappointment in the poor turnout but said that she is optimistic of improvement in
Alwyn Callender is only... From page 69 Caribbean and came out of Fernandes’ programme. I believe in Robert’s dream and donated some equipment to him. Garfield Wilshire is another person who gives his all to Squash and has three kids who are really good at the sport,” Callender said. Callender added that the President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA), David Fernandes, is another one whose heart is in sports and especially Squash and Hockey. Callender said he was pleased with the involvement of the parents and family members of the players with regards to funding and disclosed that the players many times have funded their trips when they go overseas to represent Guyana. He lamented that not enough people play Squash in Guyana but that is slowly changing now and one of the reasons is the construction of the Racquet Centre. Callender pointed out that his dream is to see a National ‘Grass Roots’ programme with qualified Coaches and more Squash Courts around the country.
attendance. Mr. Murray also gave a brief preview of the origins of the sport locally and traced the journey to those days when it was just a handful of participants that demonstrated an interest. Mr. Murray has been the backbone of the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) and even sponsored a yearly tournament. He has also pledged full support to the initiative. The attendees have all shown deep interest and vowed to persevere towards the eventual installation of the sport in their respective
schools. Ms Murray indicated that the boards are expected to arrive from the United Kingdom shortly and she will aspire to place at least two of them in each school. The attendees were treated to snacks donated by Kaieteur News journalist, Franklyn Wilson and Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board and Director of the West Indies Cricket Board, Anand Sanassie, while Kaieteur News journalists, Michael Benjamin and Rawle Welch, were instrumental in the planning phase.
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“FIFA Women’s World Cup and Wimbledon 2015 - WORLD SPORTS AT THEIR BEST!” Says Colin E. H. Croft Because of tremendously titillating unpredictability, undermining insecurity, tantalizing intrigue, even confusing yet concrete realities, we love sports so much that it hurts. FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 and Wimbledon 2015 have whetted our appetites, bringing tears to eyes, laughter to faces, and shouts of awe with upsets, unbelievable talent, losses and successes, so that, like Odysseus’ drunk sailors in Homer’s “Lotus Eaters”, we pine for much, much more. As masochists for pleasure and pain, last two weeks of sports have presented all of the above, so ‘Happy Independence Day, United States of America’, 239 years old yesterday 04 July 2015! General George Washington, who fought the British in snow and sleet to 1776, could never have
imagined USA’s women’s soccer team playing defending 2011 champions Japan in steamy Vancouver, Canada today, in 2015, in yet another attempt to hold FIFA Women’s World Cup again. Old foes and finalists from 2011, even adroitly remembering that fracas at Pearl Harbor in 1941, meet again in this year’s final. France, England, 2007’s champions Germany faded in the heat! The agony of England’s second but own goal was arch-foe Japan’s engulfing ecstasy in semi-final No. 2, summarized by veteran forward Shinobu Ohno, substituted twenty minutes earlier, trying to embrace all of her team-mates at once as that decider was scored in the ninety-second minute. The commentators for that game were also amusing, one on Canada’s television suggesting that the Japanese were “altitudinously
challenged”; political correctness at its best! This after arguably England’s best player of the tournament, certainly its best defender, Laura Bassett, had inadvertently guided a stretched, tired, high backpass out of the possible reach of her goal-keeper Karen Bardsley, who was born in California, USA, and into the goal! Yes, the Japanese ladies are mostly diminutive, but what they lack in height, they compensate well for in determination, deadly skill and a never-say-die attitude that even a dubious penalty could not deter or defeat. Japan are deserved finalists again. But the team that has surprised all so far is USA. Their ‘total football’, as demonstrated in semi-final No. 1 v Germany, suggested that USA was a team that was as gelled as any set of sportspersons could be; confident,
Lukewarm attendance but plans on stream for scrabble in schools
close and closed; a squad knowing all creases of its existence. USA are a settled bunch of tough ladies, but also an aging collection, with many players having been in the team for at least one previous Women’s World Cup. Some players have even been incumbents since 1999, when USA, playing at home, won the tournament for the second time. Having also won the inaugural competition in China in 1991, USA will want to “three-peat” later today, but Japan, the best defensive wall in the tournament, could win again too. Very tough call! Anyway, as if to celebrate the 40th anniversary of still the only black man to win coveted Wimbledon Trophy; Arthur Ashe in 1975; the same year that “Altair” the first home computer was introduced and ubiquitous Microsoft was founded, German-Jamaican tennis player Dustin Browne came out, like Usain Bolt, boosted, to make his mark on history at the big tournament. He did! Rafael Nadal never saw what hit him and before he could say “Rafa”, he was removed! Incidentally, Arthur Ashe, with his sporting and educational background; a
degree in Business Administration from University of California, Los Angeles; being a lieutenant in the US army, his teaching and technical skills at US army’s West Point Academy, and his cultural and social humanitarian efforts, could well have been the first black American president, had USA been ready for him, circa 1978, and had not AIDS claimed him through a bad blood transfusion later. That specific political crown was reserved for Barack Obama, and maybe USA will get another black president in time, maybe even a black woman president too, but male black US tennis players are so few that Ashe’s achievements, especially now, seem to be from another world. To Nadal, Browne was from another dimension, the lithe, athletic half-West Indian specimen not only out-lasting Rafa, but beating the once great champion at his own game; severe power hitting. Some of Browne’s shots and placements were stupendous, and that superlative maestro, John Mc Enroe, as brash and honest as ever, even suggested that Rafa needed a new coach. I beg to differ. Rafa needs a new trainer, as his body is so darned
Colin E. H. Croft bulked up, contrary to the lean and mean appearances of Browne, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, that it seems that Nadal is more ready for boxing than tennis, a syndrome which has also affected some present WI fast bowlers. Elasticity is the key for Browne, Novak and Murray, as is will be with Australia’s speedsters Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson when they meet England in Test cricket soon. Australia, despite initial hiccups, should destroy England as Browne did to Nadal. Like Nadal, England will eventually have nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide! What tremendously sublime sports we had last week, topped by excellence. Now it is on to England v Australia Ashes cricket series 2015 and Tour de France 2015. Enjoy! E-mail address = c.e.h.croft@gmail.com
Talented young Essequibo cricketer gets support from Police
Some of the youngsters of Enterprise Primary enjoy their introductory session under the guide of Kampta Ramnarine. The turnout was somewhat disappointing but the small group of attendees seems set to employ every effort to have scrabble as a part of the school curriculum. They formed a part of activities organized by top seeds, Carlton Murray and his wife, Yvonne, whose mission is to train teachers and students in the intricacies of the game and eventually have in installed in the system.
The sessions were scheduled for the Caramel Secondary School, Charlestown, but the full accompaniment of participants did not attend as expected. As such, the coordinators held informal discussions with those present while expounding on the technicalities of the sport. Several schools had signaled an intention to be a part of the exercise including
President’s College, Caramel Secondary, Charlestown Secondary, North Ruimveldt Multilateral Secondary, St Roses High School, Annandale Secondary, Enterprise Secondary and Buxton Secondary. However, only a few turned up including St Roses High School, Caramel Secondary School and as far as Enterprise Secondary (Continued on page 65)
Head of G Division, Kevin Adonis (2nd left) makes the presentation to Joshua Jones in the presence of other police and club officials. Joshua Jones, the 15-year-old Cotton Field Secondary School student and promising opening bowler, received a pair of Holden boots and batting gloves from the management of G Division police during a simple ceremony on Friday last. Head of G Division, Kevin Adonis acknowledged Jones’ talent through cricket and encouraged him to aspire for excellence.
Adonis mentioned that Jones, who is a member of the police youth group in Lima Sands and also a student, of the Cotton Field Secondary. Jones, who played for an under17 team, will be playing a fifty over’s game tomorrow in Trinidad. The opening bowler of the PSID thanked the senior ranks of the Essequibo police for their kind gesture. (Yannason Duncan)
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
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Silver Jubilee Anniversary 1990 - 2015 Culpepper and Grant take Individual Male and Female More sponsors onboard Sprint Triathlon top spots for 2015 Cricket Academy and Summer Camp
Noel Culpepper won the Individual male Sprint Triathlon yesterday at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal while the youngest female in the competition, 13 year-old Amy Grant took the individual top spot on the distaff side when the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and its affiliates staged the Sprint Triathlon competition in observance of Olympic Day 2015. The event which was scheduled for Saturday June 27 was put off to yesterday and Culpepper, who was last year’s winner, achieved the double in fine style. He swam the distance of 750m, rode for 20km and ran for 5km to complete the course, successfully. Danny Persaud took the second place while Silas Brummell was third. The multi talented 13 year-old swimmer Amy Grant added another sport discipline as she took the Individual female winner’s position by digging deep into her energy reserve to complete the course with a sprint to the finish. Grant was the youngest female in the competition and it was also the first time she entered the individual category. The competition was originally scheduled to have the cycling leg start at the Railway Embankment Road outside the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal moving East to UG Road, North into UG Road then West into Public Road then West into Carifesta Avenue and West into Young street then South into Parade Street and East into Barrack Street then North into Camp Street and East into Thomas Lands to the National Park and one lap around the National Park. The running leg was scheduled to be three times around the National Park circuit. However that was changed to riding twice around the zone - the Railway Embankment Road, in front of the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal then East to UG Road, North into UG Road
Noel Culpepper (right) receives his prize from AAG President, Aubrey Hutson.
Amy Grant is rewarded by AAG President, Aubrey Hutson.
then West into Public Road and South into Conversation Tree then East back into the
Railway Embankment. The running leg was once around this same zone.
Two-time defending champion... From page 71 the inception of the race some four years ago, the GSDF in association with the Baker’s family has provided the LBFCC with training DVDs, a Racing Cycle and parts as part of its plan to assist in the de-
velopment of cycling in Linden and eventually, all of Guyana. According to Colin Baker, plans will be made to identify persons desirous of becoming coaches and they will provide local and overseas training for such individuals.
The race was originally scheduled to be part of a criterium event around Mackenzie as part of the Linden River Front Festival but due to the cancellation of the event as a result of the inclement weather, it was decided to use today’s format.
The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club’s much anticipated 2015 TCL Cricket Academy and Republic Bank Grade 6 Summer Camp which bowls off at the Area ‘H’ Ground on Tuesday 7th July, 2015 from 9:00 am. The RHTYSC is catering for 100 young cricketers between the ages of 8 to 18 for the cricket academy which would be conducted by coaches Winston Smith and Delbert Hicks, while Senior Teacher Rohan Etwaru would be in charge of the expected 60 students at the Republic Bank Summer Camp for Grade 6 students. Spaces are available for both programmes and interested parents are asked to call the club on Telephone No. 337 - 4562 for more information. Plans for both the cricket academy and summer camp are on stream and corporate Guyana continues to support the RHTYSC plans to keep youths meaningfully occupied during the summer holiday. Among the entities coming on board are the Bank of Nova Scotia, Len’s Craft, Guyana Beverage Company, H.A. Snacks Co. Ltd, F and H Printery, DeSinco Trading, Food for the Poor (Guy) Ltd, Tiger Sports, Bakewell and Demerara Distillers Ltd. The Bank of Nova Scotia, Len’s Craft, Food for the Poor and F & H Printery donated a large quantity of educational materials. DeSinco contributed cosmetics hampers for outstanding students, Sheik Mohamed contributed two trophies for the top performers of the cricket academy, while Bakewell and H.A. Snacks Co. Ltd donated snacks. The Guyana Beverage Co. Ltd and Demerara Distillers Ltd contributed a large amount of soft drinks to the cricket academy. Secretary/CEO of the RHTYSC Hilbert Foster expressed gratitude to the donors and stated that his executives are working beyond the call of duty to make sure that every system is in place for the successful hosting of the cricket academy and summer camp. The RHTYSC, Foster noted would be using the academy to identify at least 40 young cricketers for its
DeSinco Marketing Director Alicia DeAbreau hands over hampers to RHTYSC Member Mark Papannah.
RHTYSC member Mark Papannah receives trophies from a representative of Tiger Sports junior teams as it strives to remain one of the leading cricket team in Guyana. He extended an invitation to other clubs in Berbice to
send at least five of their members to be a part of the academy as the aim is to make sure that Berbice Cricket continues to excel.
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Regional Under-17 St. Ignatius crush Sand Creek to setup Tournament opens mouthwatering clash against Annai tomorrow in Tobago Tuesday Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Competition
By Rawle Welch in Region 9
Hosts St. Ignatius moved into the final of the Region 9 playoffs after inflicting a crushing 7-0 win over Sand Creek as play in the Digicel Nationwide Schools Football Competition continued yesterday, at the St. Ignatius Community Centre ground. Watched by a fair-sized crowd that shouted vociferously for the home side, St. Ignatius were led to victory through a treble each from Gary James, who netted in the 19th, 47th and 90th minutes and Brandon Parks in the 22nd, 65th and 77th minutes. Orlando Francis completed the rout with a solitary strike in the 62nd minute of play which allowed them to set up a date with reigning regional champions Annai tomorrow at the same venue. The two teams seemed eventually matched for the opening quarter of an hour, before St. Ignatius begun to shake off the little nervousness, perhaps due to the pressure of playing at home. They wasted two solid chances to take the lead, with Parks and James spraying wide of the uprights from close range. However, the fleet-footed James broke the stalemate when he ran on to a cross from the left flank that had initially
The three goalscorers for St. Ignatius pose for a photo op following the conclusion of their clash against Sand Creek yesterday. produced a fumble from the goalkeeper to bundle in. Three minutes later, it was Parks turn as he raced on to a through ball and was left one on one with the goalkeeper, who happened to bring him down with a fierce tackle that forced the referee to award a penalty. Parks gathered himself and took the spot kick, placing it low to the right of the keeper and into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead that stood until the half.
Coming out of the break, St, Ignatius picked up where they left off and stretched their advantage two minutes later when James dispossessed a defender, who was casually walking the ball in the goal area and beat the keeper with a stinging shot. Francis then came into the act when he dribbled past two defenders, before hitting a left-footer out of the reach of the advancing goalkeeper into the far corner to make it 4-0. Not wanting to be
outdone, Parks then delivered a diving header from a cross from the left side that sailed over the keeper’s head only to race into the goal by the St. Ignatius’ talisman. They were not finished and both Parks and then James completed their hattricks to send an ominous warning to the backline of nemesis Annai who they face for the regional tile in front of what is anticipated to be a large and raucous crowd on a holiday.
FIFA’s Webb charged in Cayman Island’s... From page 75 arrested and indicted by the FBI last month and already faces an extradition request from the United States in relation to the soccer corruption charges brought by the Department of Justice. Webb was one of seven powerful figures arrested in Zurich on May 27 two days before FIFA’s annual congress, stunning world soccer. The charges by U.S. prosecutors include allegations that millions of dollars were paid in bribes in FIFA’s selection
process to host men’s World Cups and other major tournaments. Webb’s close associate Canover Watson, also a football official in the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean Football Union, was arrested last year on five charges including fraud, money-laundering relating to the CarePay card swipe payment system at the Cayman Health Services Authority. “The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission can confirm that in connection with the ongoing inves-
Hinds takes feature... From page 73 Over-50 race went to Kennard Lovell ahead of Linden Blackman. The 12-14 boys and girls contest produced a win for Daniel Pereira (7 Minutes 26.53 Seconds) with Casey Abrams second and Marica Dick in the 3-lap showdown. In the BMX races: BMX 6-9 (2 laps) - 1st Alexander Leung, 2nd Jessica Mohabir
3rd Shay Sue Hang BMX 9-12 (3 laps) – 1st Jonathan Jagdeo, 2nd Jeremiah Harrison BMX 12-14 (3 laps) – 1st Jonathan Jagdeo, 2nd Taran Garbaran Representing Malta Supreme at the presentation was Mr. Tony Ramcharran who thanked the riders and organizer for their part in making the event a success.
Holders Barbados are expected to face a stiff challenge against Windward Islands at Canaan when the Regional Under-17 Tournament opens on Tuesday in the island of Tobago. The Barbadians captured the third edition of the Tournament – staged last year in the same island – by topping the points table, following victories over hosts Trinidad & Tobago then Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Their only loss came against the Windwards, when they stumbled to a five-wicket defeat at Shaw Park, and their other match against Guyana was abandoned without a ball being bowled. In the other first round matches of this year’s tournament, T&T meet Leewards at Louis D’Or and Guyana tackle Jamaica at Shaw Park. The Tournament – in its fourth year – will be contested under a round-robin format, featuring five rounds of 50 overs-a-side matches with the team accumulating the most points being declared champions. MATCH SCHEDULE Round 1 – Tuesday, July 7 Leeward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago at Louis D’Or Windward Islands vs Barbados at Canaan Guyana vs Jamaica at
Shaw Park Round 2 – Wednesday, July 8 Barbados vs Leeward Islands at Canaan Trinidad & Tobago vs Jamaica at Shaw Park Guyana vs Windward Islands at Louis D’Or Round 3 – Friday, July 10 Jamaica vs Leeward Islands at Louis D’Or Barbados vs Guyana at Shaw Park Windward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago at Canaan Round 4 – Sunday, July 12 Guyana vs Leeward Islands at Canaan Jamaica vs Windward Islands at Shaw Park Trinidad & Tobago vs Barbados at Louis D’Or Round 5 – Tuesday, July 14 Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands at Canaan Trinidad & Tobago vs Guyana at Mount Pleasant Barbados vs Jamaica at Shaw Park
Belvedere primary...
FIFA President Joseph ‘’Sepp’’ Blatter (R) and CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. April 19, 2013. (Reuters/Carlos Jasso) tigation into the CarePay project, further charges have today been laid at Court in relation to Canover Watson, Jeffrey Webb and Miriam Rodriguez,” said a Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commission statement, according to Cayman 27 television station’s website. “A warrant for Mr. Webb’s arrest has today been issued. We understand that he is currently being detained by the authorities in Switzerland. It is anticipated that proceedings will be instigated for his extradition to answer these charges,” the statement added. The report said that
Webb faces two charges of conspiracy to defraud and one charge of breach of trust, as well as ‘conspiracy to convert criminal property’. The 50-year-old Webb was elected as head of CONCACAF, the confederation governing the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean, in 2012. Before the FIFA scandal he was viewed as a potential successor to FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The Cayman Islands Anti Corruption Commission did not immediately respond when contacted for comment.
From page 74 followed, Lloyd Kanden President of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club commended the five primary Schools for their participation and extended special congratulations to Belvedere Primary for retaining their title for the second straight year. He also expressed gratitude to the Managing Director of Sueria Manufacturing/ Kaieteur Candy, Mr. Frank Sanichara, a former Albion cricketer for coming on board to partner with the club in this important competition. Also speaking at the presentation ceremony were Secretary of the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club – Mr. Vemen Walter and Sales Representative of Sueria Manufacturing/ Kaieteur Candy, Yougeshwar Seepersaud. Walter encouraged the youngsters present to join the historic Albion Community
Centre Cricket Club which he claimed is currently the best cricket club in Guyana. He also urged them to focus on their education. Seepersaud thanked the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club for organizing the competition and disclosed that his company is very much delighted to be part of the competition. The winning team received a beautiful trophy and cash prize while the runnerup team also received a trophy. Arjunen Adolphus received trophies for being the man-of-the-match and the best batsman in the final together with the best bowler in the competition having captured nine wickets for 21 one runs from ten overs. His younger brother Harrinarine Adulphus carted off the trophy for being adjudged the competition’s best batsman, scoring 43 runs from five matches.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
Personal progress is vital for success - Lloyd tell DCC national selectees
Clive Lloyd addresses the gathering.
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hairman of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) senior selection panel Clive Lloyd yesterday urged the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) players who will be representing Guyana at the upcoming Regional youth tournaments, to be proactive and diligent throughout their journey. Speaking at a ceremony held at the club’s pavilion yesterday, Lloyd told the players that their personal progress is vital to attain greater heights. He spoke of a time when he was not fortunate to play youth cricket or even had coaches to guide him. He advised the players to make full use of their coach Garvin Nedd and others who have played senior or international cricket. Lloyd who led the Region to victory in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup added that 12 players from one club being selected to represent their country at different levels is a “Testimony of good work” by the club. He pointed out that education should not be neglected since it is essential for young cricketers to be able to assess game situations. Lloyd also painted instances of how players should not be outsmarted,
stating that the West Indies have been losing matches over the years because teams have simply been better in assessing certain situations. DCC President Alfred Mentore, noted that the club has been moving from strength to strength. “We have our cricketers playing at the first class level, the Barnwell’s, the Griffiths, the Paul Wintz, but the nursery is very important for us,” he added. Coach Garvin Nedd, commended the players for their progress and urged them to play as a team while former players Jamaal Hinckson and West Indies ex Test player Travis Dowlin both encouraged the players to put their best foot forward. The club presented bats, sneakers and gloves to the players’ compliments of Bish Pandy of P&P Insurance, Mentore of Lifetime Real Estate among others. The 12 players that have been drafted into the various teams include Ashmead Nedd, Alphius Bookie, Sachin Singh, Qumar Turrington and Robin Williams (U15). Ashmead Nedd, Sagar Hetheramani, Timothy Mclmont and Raymond Perez (U17) and Kemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford and Tevin Imlach (U19).
Page 73
Alwyn Callender is only Guyanese International Squash Referee By Sean Devers Sixty-year-old Alwyn Callender has been involved in Guyana’s Squash as a player, Manager and Coach for 23 years and more importantly he is the only Guyanese International Squash Referee. Callender has been living in New York for the last eight years although he frequently travels to his homeland due to Squash. He was one of eight Referees who officiated in the 2012 World Squash Championships. He also lived in England from 1993-2003. In the CAC Squash tournament in Mexico there were only three Referees from this part on the World. Two of them were from Barbados along with Callender, who last year became a fully qualified Squash official after doing his first Referee exam in 2005. It’s interesting to note that Callender first picked up a Racquet at age 34 and has three veterans Titles to his name and the Ex Caribbean Masters Champion is now a full time Squash Coach in New York. Callender, who is set to compete in the Caribbean Masters Championships in the Cayman Islands from
Alwyn Callender
August 15-25 and says he is encouraged by construction of the National Racquet Centre by the previous Administration since it now allows those who would have not likely gravitated to Squash a chance to play. “Squash is still considered an elite sport and this provides another quality Squash facility which should widen the pool. If the pool gets bigger then we as a team should get better and I think the National Racquet Centre could play as huge role in our junior players continuing to dominate Squash in the Caribbean,” Callender opined. “Guyana has dominated Caribbean Squash for the past 10 years and last year
Barbados lost both the ladies and Men’s titles to Guyana. Carl Ince does a wonderful job technically with the players and it’s great to see someone like Nicolette Fernandes (former C’bean Squash Champion) playing in the last local Squash tournament, rubbing shoulders with the younger ones,” Callender added. Callender said that Robert Fernandes also plays a key role in the development of local players since he coaches at Everest for free and would even go to various areas to pick up the players to take them to practice. “Nyron Joseph is one of the best young players in the (Continued on page 69)
5th Malta Supreme Nat. Park 11-Race Cycle Meet...
Hinds takes feature 35-lap contest; John is best juvenile
The respective event winners and other top performers take time out for a photo op. following the presentation yesterday
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rville Hinds started what will be a long and hectic weekend for local cyclists with victory in the feature race of the Banks Malta Supreme sponsored
11-race National park Cycle Meet yesterday. The Evolution team member clocked One Hour 19 Minutes 49.90 Seconds to win the 35-lap contest ahead of Alanzo Ambrose,
Stephano Husbands, Akeem Wilkinson, Robin Persaud and Jamal John. The sprint prizes were shared by Hinds who captured two, John (2), Wilkinson (2), Ambrose (1),
Persaud (1). John enjoyed a fine day as he also cantered to victory in the juvenile 10-lap race in a time of 24 Minutes 11.69 Seconds. Andrew Hicks and Christopher Griffith were
second and third. Seon Budhan, Ozia Macually and Nicholas Alphonso were the top three in the 5-lap mountain bike event with Budhan clocking 13 Minutes 56.09 Seconds.
Ralph Williams topped the Under-50 veteran field, taking the 5-lap race from Jaikarran Sukhai and Shameer Baksh in 12 Minutes 51.89 Seconds. The (Continued on page 72)
Page 74
Kaieteur News
Supligen Mr. Guyana Body Building C/ships
Clarke to defend TITLE ON JULY 19
Sunday July 05, 2015
Belvedere primary school are Kaieteur Candies Windball champions
Chaitram Nagessar
Kerwyn Clarke
Mr. Yougeshwar Seepersaud - Sales Representatives of Sueria Manufacturing (left) presenting the winning trophy and cash prize to the captain of the winning Belvedere Primary School team.
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By Franklin Wilson The King of Guyana’s bodybuilding, Kerwyn Clarke is set to defend the Mr. Guyana crown on Sunday July 19 when the Guyana Amateur Body Building and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) brings off the Supligen Mr. Guyana Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships. For the first time, the championships would be held outside the city, it is set for the Park View Hotel, situated at Farm on the East Bank of Demerara. GABBFF President Keavon Bess has disclosed that plans are going smoothly so far and he is anticipating an entertaining evening of muscle flexing featuring the best male and female exponents in the sport. Bess noted that the quality of competition has been on the improve and he is anticipating a competitive evening, informing that so far, 35 athletes have registered; coming from Berbice, Linden, East Coast, East Bank, West Demerara and the City. Cash incentives will be at stake for the top performers apart from the Mr. Guyana receiving one 42" TV compliments of Digital Technology, located on Brickdam and Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara. Apart from Clarke, the likes of Sylvester Andrews, Alfred Jordon, Alex Hamilton and 2015 Novice Champion Chaitram Nagessar will be on stage. Seasoned female campaigner Alisha Fortune and Olivia Bess will be among the females on stage, while Emmerson Campbell will be among the Mr. Physique competitors. Added quality to the evening will come in the form of Guest Poser Huskin ‘Biscuits’ Worrell of Barbados, a 16-time CAC gold medalist in the Under-176lb category. Tickets are already on sale and can be
Sylvester Andrews
EFENDING Champions Belvedere Primary defeated Courtland/ Gibralter Primary by eight wickets in the final of the Kaieteur Candies Inter Primary School Windball Cricket Competition, organized by the Albion Community Centre Cricket Club. Played last Friday at the Albion Community Centre Ground, Courtland/Gibralter Primary won the toss and batted first were restricted to 24 for 6 from their allotted six overs. Belvedere Primary in reply, responded with 25 for 4 from 4 overs to secure victory with Arjunen Adolphus hitting an unbeaten 14. The competition was played on a round robin basis with the five Primary Schools within the Lower Corentyne area; Gibralter/Courtland, Fyrish, Cropper, Albion Back and Belvedere Primary having participated. This competition over the years is being
used as part of the Albion Community Centre’s Cricket Club’s effort to attract young cricketers to the Club. Top Albion cricketers such as Veeraammy Permaul, Gudakesk Motie, Johnathan Foo and Kandasammy Surujnarine have all graduated from this competition. Earlier in the day, Belvedere Primary defeated Cropper by 8 wickets, Fyrish by 10 wickets and Albion Back Primary by 9 wickets to secure their place in the final. Gibralter Primary also trounced Belvedere by 22 runs, Cropper by 3 wickets and Fyrish Primary by 10 wickets on their way to the final. In the other matches played, there were also two wins for Albion Back Primary and one win for Cropper Primary, while Fyrish Primary was the only team that failed to secure a win in the competition. At the presentation ceremony which (Continued on page 72)
Millington six-wkt haul gives Berbice Comprehensive victory
obtained from the various gyms, Fitness E x p r e s s ( S h e r i ff & J o h n S t r e e t s , Campbellville), Dreamworks Photo Studio and any member of the GABBFF Executive.
Off-spinner Plaffiana Millington grabbed six wickets for a meager three runs off four overs to propel Berbice to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Essequibo when the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) senior female inter-county 50-over tournament commenced yesterday. Essequibo’s decision to bat backfired as they were sent packing for 19 in 12 overs at the Guyana Defence Force ground. Selena Shewram and Natasha Boson were the leading batters with six and five respectively. Left arm seamer Erva Giddings supported Millington with 27. Openers Melanie Henry (07*) and Katana Mentore (04*) then saw Berbice to victory in four overs as they ended on 20-0; extras
Player of the match Plaffiana Millington accepts her prize from Berbice coach Andre Percival. assisted with nine. Millington was given the player of the match award.
The competition continues today with Essequibo facing Demerara at the said venue.
Sunday July 05, 2015
Kaieteur News
Page 75
Quest for national schools’ Two-time defending basketball title begins tonight champion John 4th Baker’s Memorial Cycling Classic
Charles will be hard pressed to repeat
- NSBF Conference winners collect prizes
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Director of Sport, Christopher Jones (second, left) join YBG Directors, Rayad Boyce and Chris Bowman (right and third right respectively) in a photo opportunity with the winning NSBF 2015 Conference winners yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall
By Edison Jefford The quest for the coveted Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) National Schools Basketball Festival (NSBF) title begins tonight when the top teams from four conferences across Guyana clash in the national phase of the competition, which is set to officially open. The winners of the four nation-wide conferences collected their prizes yesterday during the 2015 NSBF Media Day, which was also used to usher in the next chapter of the competition. National Director of Sport, Christopher Jones was the main speaker. “We would like to commend YBG for giving athletes a platform to ply
their trade; we’ll continue to support organisations like YBG,” Jones said, adding that it is important that athletes merge the sport with academics so that they are more ‘rounded’. “If for some reason, you are unable to pursue sports, you must have something to fall back on. It is important to twin academics and sport,” Jones told the studentathletes. The NSBF began April 20 in the Berbice, East Coast, City and Linden Conferences. YBG is the organisation that hosts the NSBF. One of its Directors, Chris Bowman, congratulated the regional winners, stating that they have worked hard to reach the national phase. He informed that the week
FIFA’s Webb charged in Cayman Island’s corruption case: media (Reuters) Suspended FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, already facing charges in soccer’s global bribery scandal, has now been charged in a healthcare fraud case in his native Cayman Islands, local media reported on Friday. Cayman authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Webb and are expected to seek his extradition, reported Cayman 27 television. Webb is currently detained in Switzerland after being (Continued on page 72)
ahead will be competitive based on the teams. “I want to encourage you to play with the discipline you exhibited throughout the regionals. You are the ones we are doing this for, our student athletes; we are grateful for this opportunity which allows you to be a part of this tournament,” Bowman indicated. New Amsterdam Multilateral Titans won the Berbice Conference after beating J.C. Chandisingh 42-27; President’s College won the East Coast Conference 46-28 against Plaisance Secondary as St. Roses High School got past Marian Academy 47-34 for the City title. In the Big 10 or Linden Conference, Kwakwani beat Linden Technical Institute 64-60 in a thriller. NA Multi’s Ramone Fogenay won the MVP and Most Assists awards for that conference, while Jahleel Duke was the MVP on the East Coast, Nathan Saul in Georgetown and Dellon Wallace in Linden. Nigel Bowen copped the Most Assist prize on the East Coast, as Anfernee Jervis did the same in Georgetown and Stanton Rose in Linden. Bowen also got the Most Rebounds prize with Tafawa Daly picking up a similar award in Berbice, Timothy Thompson in Georgetown
and Terron Welch in Linden. In the Girls’ competition, Jada Mohan and Georgianna Vy p h u i s , r e p r e s e n t i n g Marian Academy, were awarded the Best Scorer and Most Rebound and Best Defence prizes respectively. St. Roses’ Quacy Roberts got the Most Assist and Best Scorer awards and Corey Graham got the Most Rebounds and Best Defence prizes for Marian in the Under-14 competition. Meanwhile, in the U-16 category, Queen’s College’s, Omarie Joseph copped the Best Scorer award with Joshua Brazao picking up the Most Assist prize and Thompson Most Rebounds. T h e n a t i o n a l championships will officially open today with both the junior and senior Ministers of Education, who also have responsibility for Youth, Culture and Sport, scheduled to attend the formal NSBF Opening Ceremony. “Because it’s our 10 year, we will honour St. Roses High School and Kwakwani Secondary for participating in all the years of our tournament,” Bowman said. In addition, Kwakwani’s Coach, Ann Gordon will get a Lifetime Achievement Award while seven players will be branded Youth Basketball Ambassadors.
ack to back defending champion of the senior race John Charles will be hard pressed to return to the top podium spot when the annual Baker’s Memorial Cycling Classic featuring the best riders in the land comes off today in the Bauxite Mining Town of Linden and the Linden Soesdyke Highway. Today’s event which will cater for senior, junior, juvenile, veteran and female riders is organised by the Linden Bauxite Flyers Cycle Club (LBFCC) and has at stake over $400,000 in cash for the taking, sponsored by the Guyana Sports Development Foundation (GSDF) of the USA and the Baker’s siblings who also reside in the USA. The race is held in memory of the late Baker parents, Joseph and Adelaide of Linden. Three of their siblings were former cyclists, Brentnol, Lindon and Colin who would have won various national titles during the 1970s and 80s. Lindon and Brentnol went on to represent Guyana and Colin was so inclined but in his time according to him, “It was difficult to get a tire
much more leave the country.” Recently crowned National Champion Hamza Eastman, who placed second last year, will be one to watch today as will the inform Orville Hinds who won yesterday’s feature 35-lap school boys and invitational contest at the National Park in the Malta Supreme sponsored 11-race meet. Other riders in contention today are the USA based duo of Pro Rider Gerom Williams and Scott Savory along with Alonzo Greaves, Robin Persaud, Jamal John, Akeem Wilkinson, Alanzo Ambrose, Stephano Husbands and the Linden based Michael Anthony, Silvio Inniss, Akeem Arthur, Shaquelle Agard. Race time is set for 08:00hrs when the respective categories will pedal off from the Baker’s residence. The seniors and juniors will pedal all the way to Long Creek on the Linden Soesdyke Highway before returning to the starting line for the finish while the juveniles, veterans and females will battle all the way to Kairuni Creek and back. Meanwhile, ever since (Continued on page 71)
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Colin Baker (right) with the top three riders from last year’s event, John Charles, Hamza Eastman and Michael Anthony.
t r o Sp
St. Ignatius crush Sand Creek to setup mouthwatering clash against Annai tomorrow Unite. Develop. Excel.
Part of the action in the Region 9 playoffs between St. Ignatius and Sand Creek at the St. Ignatius Community Centre ground.
Lendl Simmons survives a close run out chance at Warner Park, St Kitts. (CPL)
Dwayne Bravo was outstanding with the ball for T&T Red Steel. (CPL) Devendra Bishoo was magical for the Warriors. (CPL)
Despite Bishoo’s heroics T&T Red Steel beat Guyana Amazon Warriors by 3 wickets - St Kitts & Nevis Patriots beat Jamaica Tallawahs by 119 runs
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