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Kaieteur News
KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
Beware of cash
Increasingly these past few days we have been getting reports of people being robbed of cash sometimes as little as $300 as was the case last week. In every case the perpetrator is after cash. Today we repeat an editorial we carried not so long ago. A few days ago, we carried a story of some vacationing Guyanese being followed from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. In the vicinity of Mahaicony the car in which these overseas-based Guyanese were traveling was stopped by the other car. The driver reported that along the way the other car pulled alongside then fell back. At Mahaicony the car passed, then pulled in front of the other car forcing the driver to stop. The driver spoke of a gun-toting man coming out of the attack car, striking his car and eventually shooting at it but hurting no one—fortunately. This was because the driver was astute enough to reverse and spin his car. He avoided pursuit. Two nights ago, another group of visiting Guyanese reported that it was followed from the international airport and robbed on East Coast Demerara. Indeed, such robberies have caused people to believe that there is a leak inside the Department of Customs and Immigration. In short, people believe that when they land at the airport and they indicate on the form their destination it is leaked. If the truth be told, the people at the Immigration counter would not know how much money is being brought into the country because theirs is not the task to ask someone about money. Sometimes when people arrive, they are greeted by talkative relatives. In fact, many people regretted the day when they spoke with their Guyana-based relatives about their impending visit to Guyana. Many people would talk about what they plan to do when they visit. Some talk about repairing homes; about buying household articles and the like. Once the word gets around in the community there are the criminals who know what to expect. The ubiquitous cell phone makes such things easy. Descriptions are passed; the number of the car and the colour are passed and the rest is history. There are times when the robberies occur because of contact with people in the foreign base. If the party preparing to come home has a drink with friends and opts to boast, all it would take is a phone call to Guyana. Sometimes the criminals pick visitors at random but we have never heard of people coming on business and staying at hotels being robbed along the way. So it must be that the rural people contribute to their own robberies. And having contributed they then wonder at the severity of the attack; some wonder how it is that the criminals knew that they had money and jewellery. The police say that theirs is the job to protect the people but given their drastically reduced numbers they cannot be at too many places at the same time. There are not enough vehicles to patrol the thoroughfares and the secluded areas along the roads. But once again we need to appreciate the wisdom of credit cards and manager’s cheques. These days money transfer services have negated the need for cash. Of course, it would appear that most Guyanese prefer to circulate paper money and the many business places love this because they can hide their transactions from the tax man. But then again they too are being penny wise and pound foolish; they now have the risk of getting the large bulk of cash to the commercial banks. Some of the trucks have been robbed and collectors killed; the very people who have been entrusted with transporting the money have been known to steal it. Will there be a time when visitors coming home will not attract criminals? The answer is yes but there must be a drastic reduction in the movement of paper money. But back to the robbery of people travelling from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The police have actually mounted investigations into the operations of the staff at the airport. They came up empty-handed. Now that this scourge is back, people may wish to reconsider their relationship with cash.
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
Suggestions to curb the frequent accidents in the aviation sector DEAR EDITOR, The frequency of aircraft accidents/incidents in the domestic aviation sector has been most alarming, and must be a matter of concern for everyone in the aviation industry and also for those who use the service. Therefore, comments and suggestions, if taken in the proper context, may very well prove helpful. Firstly, it should be remembered that from 1934 to 1999, British Guiana Airways and then Guyana Airways fulfilled the role of the Standard Bearer for aviation in the country. While conducting most of the domestic service there was only one fatal accident and this occurred in Dec.1973. Scheduled International Service commenced in 1978 and there were no accidents during this operation. The pilots of GAC wore the airline’s badge with pride and honour. Perhaps the time has come for a new Standard Bearer to emerge and fill this void. The time perhaps, has also come for the training departments of Certificate
Holders to re-examine whether pilots are being upgraded to Captains based primarily on their ability and skill to fly the aircraft. During World War 1(1914 to1918) the airplane was used for the first time in aerial combat. After the war, an analysis revealed that the best pilots in terms of handling and flying the airplane were not necessarily the most successful pilots in combat missions and engagements. The most successful and reliable pilots were the ones who had an innate sense of Situation Awareness. A further study revealed that the valuable pilot resource of Situation Awareness can be acquired by aviators through training and self-discipline. In multi-crew aircraft, there is a built in level of cockpit discipline because of mandatory cross-monitored standard operating procedures. In single crew aircraft there is no monitoring and therefore the importance of selfdiscipline cannot be over emphasized. The training must take this into consideration. I have noted that All the
aircraft operated in the domestic aviation sector (except aircraft operated by the Guyana Defence Force) are single crew aircraft. Without being judgemental or pedantic, I submit that any upgrade to Pilot-in Command training programme, must include the following: 1. Taking full command of, and accepting the responsibility for the aircraft, crew and passengers. 2. Judiciously using the wide authority concomitant with the command and the responsibility. 3. Reviewing the maintenance log prior to accepting the aircraft for flight. 4. Analysing weather reports, forecasts fuel requirements and an alternate plan of action prior to departure. 5. Making firm Go / No Go decisions based on aeronautical knowledge, experience, standard operating procedures and judgement. 6. Resolving en-route meteorological, navigational and air (Continued on page 6)
Sunday July 13, 2014
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The death of Walter Rodney: Some points to ponder DEAR EDITOR, I would like to place on record as I have done several times in print, my position on the death of Walter Rodney. The opportunity this time is a letter by Abu Bakr (“Those who see Burnham as innocent operate from predisposition and precondition in the same ways those who see him as guilty.”) Abu wrote; “I personally am among those who lost five years at university because of the National Service….I put personal grievance aside.” I don’t know if Abu reads all my columns. I doubt anyone would. I have done a daily column up to 2010, and since then do five a week. It is only natural for a reader to miss quite a lot. In many of my columns, I have taken the opposition that not because President Forbes Burnham personally victimized me, I would put subjective thinking ahead of my academic objectivity. I am proud of my university training and hope at all times to be respectful of history. I don’t think in every instance I have but I do try My position on Burnham is that I think he was a seriously committed nationalist that cared intensely about the life and condition of the working people. He was committed to the preservation of the African race but he was not racist against East Indian people. Both Burnham and Bharrat Jagdeo have served longer than any other leader. My scholarly mind puts Mr. Burnham as a better leader than Mr. Jagdeo. I honestly think Mr. Jagdeo
had very little love for Guyana, cared about the poorer classes and had any standards and values about him. Mr. Jagdeo’s power lust has damaged this country perhaps irreparably. It would be a huge injustice to this nation if a non-PPP government does not implement a judicial commission to investigate alleged illegal use of power by Mr. Jagdeo. Having said that, I want to be pellucid on my interpretation of Burnham’s use of power. He was gravely obsessed with power and fell prey to the post-colonial madness of the one man show. It destroyed his legacy. I come now to Burnham’s role in Rodney’s death I hold to two alternative theories. Burnham was directly involved. It was ether he lived or died because Rodney was out to get him. I hold to the position of Tacuma Ogunseye that Burnham panicked. He conspired in the death of Rodney. The other paradigm so to speak has to do with a sub-plot that was put to Burnham by his key
associates, both political and military These actors told Burnham that if he, Burnham did not want to do something about Rodney, then they will do it. They put to Burnham the understanding that they were part of a political establishment that Rodney intended to remove and they would be victims just as Burnham if Rodney overthrew the PNC Government. Either Burnham was in no position to stop them or he did not want to. But he knew that Rodney would be killed This will remain for a long time to come my two theories. I cannot and will not accept that Rodney was assassinated by state actors and Burnham didn’t know about it. Really that borders on the bizarre. Guyana in 1980 was not the US. China, Pakistan, India, Brazil, Indonesia etc. Those are countries with enormous populations and humongous land space. The military in those countries have so many leaders with access to
so many resources that a general can do things that his superiors or President or Prime Minister does not know about. An opposition leader can be murdered in those countries and the civilian government will not know Not in Guyana in 1980. How many planes the GDF had at that time? How many military bosses we had in 1980 that they could have acted independent of each other? How large was inhabited Guyana in 1980? There is no way the murder of a world renowned scholar could be planned and executed, and President Burnham did not know about it. Let say Burnham did not know about the beginning of
the plot. You couldn’t murder Rodney using so many state actors whose service had to be called upon, and all of these activities took place right in Georgetown and no one whispered anything to the President. Rodney’s death was planned over a protracted period of time. He wasn’t shot by a crazed gunman who came up to him at a rally. You may want to fault R o d n e y f o r misunderstanding the particular nuances of postcolonial Guyana with it ethnic underpinnings. You may want to fault Rodney for
going too far in creating fear in Burnham. You may want to fault Rodney for being out of context in his strategies against Burnham. But you cannot be that indecent to think he was murdered by others and not by Mr. Burnham or those who cared about Burnham. Either Burnham participated directly or he knew and did nothing to stop it. Finally, Rodney’s death psychologically destroyed Burnham. He was never the same man anymore, and took to the bottle and seclusion. I think he regretted Rodney’s murder Frederick Kissoon
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Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur M@ilbox
What is Guyana’s budgetary allocation What to make of for roads in the Bartica/Potaro area? all this negativity?
DEAR EDITOR, The United Minibus union (Bartica Branch) under the leadership of its Chairman Keith Blair protested outside of the Bartica Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) offices on Tuesday 7th of July 2014. Their Concerns: the deplorable and life threatening state of the Bartica/ Potaro Road the UMU members were physically supported in the protest by Eon Andrews and Ronald Backer UMU President and Vice President respectively and other residents of Bartica/ Potaro. During the course of what can be considered to be a very peaceful protest, the protesters were spoken o by R.D.C & N.D.C Chairman
Gordon Bradford and Ovid Benjamin respectively, both acknowledging that the protestors concerns had merit and needed to be speedily addressed. They gave reasons to substantiate their concurrence with the protestors but stated that responsibility for proper repair and maintenance of that road is the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Works. What is ironic, is that all the materials for building/repairing this road, could be sourced in Region 7, from Teperu and St. Mary’s Quarries among others. There is sand for making Bitumen and an abundance of young, unemployed human resources W h a t i s G u y a n a ’s budgetary allocation for roads in the Bartica/Potaro
area? Whatever that is, it should be released immediately. Region 7 probably produces the most and best gold/ diamonds in our very lucrative mining sector, the sale of which contributes significantly to our national coffers. Some of the money ought to be spent to properly repair and maintain the roads of this ultra-important region that we fondly refer to as the gateway to the Interior. The road is a living hell for all road users, especially minibuses and cars that transport the residents of the One Mile to Five Mile area (the Line) and students of the Two Mile Primary School and Three Mile Secondary School respectively. The road is so bad the residents aptly call it the ‘Abortion Road’ or the ‘Cassandra Crossing’: if a
pregnant woman wants to keep her baby it is better to walk the Distance than to use vehicular transportation. The Main objective expressed by the protestors and residents of Bartica/ Potaro is that of having the road repaired now and they are determined to keep up the protest action which begun today July 7th 2014 and is the first of many, until their demands are met, and the road is fixed. They hope that good sense will prevail and that those vested with the authority to effect such repairs will do so with dispatch and not allow the situation to deteriorate to a state of unnecessary confrontations and its concomitant spinoffs. Eon Andrews President United Minibus Union
The PNC’s intentional sidelining of Vanessa Kissoon DEAR EDITOR, With the sidelining of Vanessa Kissoon by the Peoples National Congress (PNC) one is left to ask what is actually happening in the PNC. I believe that the sidelining of Vanessa Kissoon by the PNC Leadership is intentional as David Granger knows that should he win the
next General Election he will not be able to govern Guyana without support from the business community (the majority of whom are Indian Guyanese). Vanessa Kissoon was one of the instigators of the Linden protest/riots which led to the deaths of three Lindeners. I do not believe
that she had the backing of the PNC Leadership as, not only did President Donald Ramotar not meet with them, David Granger did not meet with Lindeners during the protest/riot. Thus, Vanessa Kissoon did not have the backing of the PNC for her rampage. The s i d e l i n i n g o f Va n e s s a Kissoon is a very good strategic move as David Granger continues to court Indian Guyanese voters after his dinner with Mike Persaud. He now needs to appease
the business community and Indian Guyanese voters. So, not only does he need to sideline Vanessa Kissoon. He also needs to sideline Sharma Solomon. The Linden protest/riot, not only cause destruction to infrastructure, also caused mistrust of the PNC as many Indian Guyanese were scared away from Linden. It will take decades to repair the damage to get Indian Guyanese (whom have the majority wealth) to invest in Linden. Sean McLean
DEAR EDITOR, Recently the media, especially this week’s newspapers, contained a series of articles and letters which paint so much negativity concerning the future of and for our young people that even I, as an experienced Human Resource practitioner, feel overwhelmed and challenged by the number of unanswered, unanswerable questions posed and implied. Are we unwittingly inculcating a negative ‘selffulfilling prophesy’ of doom and gloom for our youths? On the one hand I am made to feel relieved that I am not a young person today and that ‘in my time’ we were more focused on what youngsters had to do if they wanted to ‘make it’, despite the many contemporary challenges that confronted ambitious young people then. On the other hand, there is a growing sense of hopelessness when one reads of the lowering performance of public schools, the increasing rate of drop-outs, the continuing failures in English and Mathematics and, worst of all, the descent into immorality and crimes at all levels of society, including the traditional ‘role models’ to whom youths typically look up. T h e r a t e o f ‘unemployables’ matching or outstripping the rate of ‘unemployment’ is obviously a cause for concern among current and potential employers….and to think that we are already importing labour of all types as our population growth takes a holiday are all enough to raise questions about what can and must be done to arrest, if not reverse the slide. F r o m m y o w n perspective, I do believe that
we must go back to basics: the need to focus on attitudes, behavior and character development among people in leadership positions in our society as well as the home, the family and the teachers in our education system. All the concerns expressed about school drop-outs, the need for skills training or higher education are reduced to nought if the basics of good character, good attitude and good foundational education are not there in the first place. All the drums about UG, UGBC, Law School, technical education etc. etc., can escalate their beats to the point of deafness if we fail to listen to the humble cry for foundational development, family values, character building and a sound primary education as was obtained in the good old days when sugar was supreme, bauxite was boss and society was safe! I recognize that this letter might incur the wrath of many who will perhaps characterize me as a reactionary ‘colonialist’ with an obsolete mind-set but, my friends, is there any harm trying out what has indeed served us well, better than all our ‘experimentation’ with so many new-fangled but failing ‘modern’ approaches? How come I (and so many others) used to know more and do better after the good old Primary School Certificate than the majority who now graduate from secondary school? The irony is that inputs and initiatives for character training, attitudinal changes and behavioral improvements are not anywhere near as costly as the increasing amounts of resources being pumped into our education system! Nowrang Persaud
Suggestions to... From page 4 traffic control situations. 7. Making firm divert, land or go-around decisions based on situation awareness, standard operating procedures and judgement. 8. C o c k p i t / C re w Resource Management for single pilot operation. (Single Pilot CRM by Phil Croucher). 9. Familiarity with aircraft limitations while knowing and operating
within personal limitations. 10. Completing the maintenance log for analysis and corrective action by the maintenance crew. In addition to his/her flying skills, a pilot must also demonstrate strength in these areas before he /she can be released as Pilot-in-Command. Re-current training and route checks for Captains should also emphasize these areas. Lloyd H Marshall.
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Putin in Argentina, building Russian ties BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin met Argentina’s president yesterday as part of a Latin American tour aimed at building Russia’s influence and investments in the region. Putin and President Cristina Fernandez, who has been out of the public eye for a week due to an acute throat infection, were expected to sign a series of agreements, including cooperation on nuclear energy generation. The Russian leader then was heading to Brazil for a summit of leaders from the so-called BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. About 150 members of the local Ukranian community waved flags and held large banners outside the Pink House presidential palace to protest Russia’s annexation of Crimea and alleged support for separatists elsewhere in the country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande urged Russia this week to use its influence on rebels in eastern Ukraine so that a meeting on a possible cease-fire can take place as soon as possible. Merkel is due to watch her country’s team play in the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the same day Putin is expected to
be in the city. So far, the countries on Putin’s itinerary have been sympathetic or uncritical of Russia’s position on the conflict. Fernandez has accused the United States and Britain a double standard for criticizing a pro-Russian secession vote held in Crimea while backing a status referendum in the Falkland Islands claimed by Argentina. A few dozen activists also turned out to protest anti-gay laws and prejudice in Russia, which does not recognize gay marriages or civil unions. Putin approved a law last year banning what it calls gay “propaganda” from reaching minors. “It’s not only the government’s problem but the Russian society, which discriminates against us. I have friends who have committed suicide because of this,” said Marina Mironova, 38, a teacher who said she lost her job in Russia because of her sexual orientation and who is now seeking asylum in Argentina with her partner. “We want to stay here and marry legally. There’s freedom, nice people and the president is tolerant.” Argentina is the first country in Latin America to legalize gay marriage. Two Russian homosexuals married in Argentina earlier this year and are also seeking asylum.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez pose for a photo at Government Palace during Putin’s one-day visit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, yesterday. (AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia)
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur News
Govt’s imported garbage truck...
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Dem boys seh...
Minister Whittaker says cost Jagdeo and Donald does not cover the truck only pissing off people Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker, is contending that the reason why the one Hook Lift Truck to be used in solid waste disposal comes at a cost of US$436,000 is “the cost does not merely cover a truck.” According to Whittaker the cost is indeed given as US$ 436,803 and funded by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) which has approved it. The Minister explained during a press conference on Friday that the cost includes a “chassis with 32 tons capacity with double front and rear axles; hook lift equipment; an auxiliary crane; 10 closed top containers 15x4x8 feet; one open top container, 15x8x4 feet and spare parts.” Also included in the cost he said is the provision for training four staff members for which the manufacturer is providing the training. The Minister pointed out that all the pieces of equipment are new. Head of the Presidential S e c r e t a r i a t , D r. R o g e r Luncheon, announced recently that Cabinet gave its no objection to solid waste contracts for the procurement of one Hook Lift truck that costs US $436,000. The price for such trucks online, brand new, ranged from the lowest tonnage and compactor size for US$20,000 to the highest tonnage and compactor size worth US$120,000. The price is also dependent on whether the
truck is coming with the compactor which collects waste, or by itself. It would be cheaper without the compactor so in the case of the price quoted for the highest tonnage brand new truck the price would be less than US$120,000. Luncheon himself was taken aback by the price of the truck when he was delivering the figures within the distribution of contracts. He said, “One hook lift truck— the one that hooks the garbage bin and pull it up is at a cost of US$436,000 odd. That’s a lot of money boy.” He was later asked why
did Cabinet not red flag the pricing taking into context that he himself was taken aback by the price for the one truck. Luncheon responded, “I live three minutes away from here. Anything other than on foot to me is a little car drive so I am not too knowledgeable. But I know about money and that’s a lot of money.” In justifying the acquisition of the vehicle however he had said that the truck would be used to lift huge bins that have already been purchased and distributed across the region.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker
This high tonnage truck with large compactor was quoted between US$96,000 and US$126,000 depending on the Freight on Board cost to ship the truck.
As dem boys grow older dem realise that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing off people is a piece of cake. Dem boys learn that from de former President Jagdeo. Dem hear when he tell somebody that. And he did piss off a lot of people. De president package piss off all Guyana, including Donald Ramotar because he was against it at first. Donald is de now sitting president and now it look like he fall in love wid de package more than Jagdeo. He too pissing off people because he don’t want to change de package. When Jagdeo give he best friend Bobby Ramroop de Sanata complex fuh next to nutten, he piss off a lot of people. He even piss off Donald too. He and Brazzy, that fat crook, piss off de private sector and dem taxpayer when dem plan de Marriott. Then dem had de GuySuCo plant pun which he, de Jagdeo, seh he spend over US$200 million. De plant ain’t wukking up to now and you gun hear dem need another US$200 million fuh mek de factory wuk. He seh that he woulda personally go and mek de factory wuk. Now that he deh out of office, have nothing to do and drawing a healthy, fat salary, eating drinking and living large, he got time pun he hand to go and get de factory up and running. Dem boys would personally tek he every day to de factory so he can put he mouth wheh he seh he put de US$200 million taxpayer money. De list is so lang that just thinking about it pissing off dem boys. Well dem boys promising he, Jagdeo, and he de Donald if dem don’t start doing de right things fuh benefit de people of de country, and change things like that hefty package wha Jagdeo put fuh presidents, dem fancy contracts that carry hefty billions, like Bobby drug contract, then dem boys gun really piss dem off. That is a promise coming from dem boys. A man already pissing off Brazzy. He break in Brazzy house and thief only de remote fuh de TV. Now that man does drive around de house when Brazzy and he children watching tv and switch de channel. Now Brazzy claiming that de fella is a sick bastard! Well dem boys plan fuh break in dem house and thief de AC remote. And when dem scamps sleeping dem boys gun switch off de AC and lef dem fuh sweat dem fat behind. Talk half and hope everybody piss dem off.
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Missing teacher… AFC position will not be delinked just to get ours passed Police question several, “We are parties in opposition and we are not going take out the Alliance For Change position because we have ours.” This is according to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Winston Felix. He was at the time responding to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr. Roger Luncheon’s arguments that the government acceded to APNU demands to get the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill passed but APNU withheld support. The AFC has called for the establishment of the constitutionally mandated Public Procurement Commission (PPC) without Cabinet’s no objection to contracts above $15M before support can be given for the passage of the AML/CFT legislation. While A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had called for the re-tabling of the Local Government Bills within the National Assembly in addition to the amendments they have with AML legislation itself. According to Felix, APNU had in the previous Parliament called for the establishment of the PPC “now the AFC has picked it up, for good governance we see that it is a necessary piece of legislation.” Dr Luncheon has advised that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has given Guyana up to October (four months) to get its Money Laundering act together legislatively as well as non legislatively and face a targeted review by the body. Felix said that the fourmonth time frame granted by FATF is not an issue for APNU. “We want this Bill to
– says APNU on AML Bill
APNU Parliamentarian Winston Felix be tidied up so that it has teeth in Guyana. As it currently stands even if you include all that FATF and Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) wants; the Bill is ineffective in Guyana.” The rationale for this, he said, is because “you don’t have a proper Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), you don’t have investigators; the whole thing is in disarray. You have not charged one person for money laundering from 2000 to now.” Felix said that Guyana needs an effective AML Bill, effective in that there should be a situation when money launderers are caught they will be dealt with by the law. “AML by its very nature is intricate. You need to have forensic investigators who would deal with these issues and put a case together that would make sense in Court… The teeth have to be with the Law. That’s what we are fighting for and then the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) will execute. As the law now stands it doesn’t have that.” Leader of APNU, Brig
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon David Granger, said that his party had meetings with the government side and “they are quite aware of the position of the APNU. In addition to our conditions we also indicated support for the AFC demand for the Public Procurement Commission, so that is where the talks were halted. He said further that the demands that the APNU and AFC are making are all within the constitution. “They are not extra constitutional or in any way in violation of the law.” Dr Luncheon had also established that even though there was a four-month extension the government and the opposition up to the most recent deadline could not compromise on the way forward and that is still what obtains since there is nothing on the table. He went further to suggest that “prayer” is what is needed. Addressing the fourmonth extension granted to by FATF to Guyana, Granger said that “these are matters I said that can be dealt with in one day.” He said that when the discussions ended between government and the opposition nothing changed so “that’s was the position we were at but we are prepared to resume talks.”
including paramour Police are questioning several persons about the disappearance of the 34-yearold St. Stanislaus College teacher who disappeared without a trace two Sundays ago. Investigators are also questioning the teacher, Nyozi Goodman’s paramour, who is said to be an army sergeant. This newspaper was told that the police detectives also combed the army personnel’s vehicle in an effort to find “evidence” which will help them to locate the missing woman. Goodman of William Street, Kitty, was last seen with another teacher at the National Sports Hall where she had taken a few of her students to participate in the Inter-Secondary Schools’ Basketball Championships. There are reports that the teacher told her students that she would be staying behind as she expected someone to pick her up and take her home.
After that night there has not been any news of her since and investigators are questioning a number of persons, including friends, with the hope that they would be able to locate the woman. Nestor Thompson, the missing teacher’s brother, had told Kaieteur News that he and his sister last spoke two Sundays ago and she informed him that she was going to the National Sports Hall. That was the last time he made contact with her. “My mother called me from Linden and asked when last I heard from her and I told her (that it was) on Sunday and then she told me that people were calling her and telling her that they could not get on to my sister.” He added that he immediately went to his sister’s home where he met with the landlord. He went to his sister’s room and noticed that everything was intact. The brother related that
MISSING: Nyozi Goodman family members have already contacted all of the woman’s friends who were known to the family but none of them has any clue as to where she might be or who she might be with. Anyone with information on the missing woman can contact family members on 692-4526 or the nearest police station.
REACHING OUT TO THE LESS FORTUNATE
From left: Mr. Keith Park (Secretary/Treasurer), Kishan Puran (Volunteer), Maulana Rayad Khan, and Mr. Bernard Crawford (Vice President) of Demerara Charitable Foundation. The Demerara Charitable Foundation has been making donations to the less fortunate in the Muslim community. On Friday, Kishan Puran led a team to the old mosque in Alexander Village where the first in a series of donations was made. Puran then travelled to La Parfaite Harmonie where he made another donation, this time to the Masjid-Al-Nur.
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THERE IS NO NEED FOR LEGISLATION TO CAP ANY BENEFITS TO THE FORMER PRESIDENT There are many people who would not have given a hoot if it were some other President, from some other party, who was enjoying the post-presidency benefits now being showered on former President Bharrat Jagdeo. But political frustration is driving many people to demand that those benefits be cut or capped. Many who desire this to happen are not doing so out of any concern for the impact of the benefits on the Treasury. If they were, they would have called attention to the large amounts that have to be expended whenever the National Assembly meets, and they would question whether the nation is obtaining value for that obnoxious sum that is necessary to finance those sittings. It has been a long time since the PPP has been in office. And the frustration and desperation of some persons are obvious. They want to see the government punished. They would love nothing more than the spectacle of seeing a former President humiliated. This is what is at the heart of much of the criticism of the benefits of
Bharrat Jagdeo. There are persons who would love nothing better than to see illluck and deprivation visit former PPP government leaders. I have explained before that the government cannot give effect to any laws to cap the benefits payable to President Jagdeo. To do so would constitute a deprival of property and a denial of the legitimate expectations of the former President, the remedy of which would have to be the restoration of those benefits. Those benefits cannot be capped under the law, because if they are, there will be an immediate court challenge indicating that the capping amounted to a reduction of legitimate expectations. There is, however, a sound basis for arguing that the benefits received by the former President are too high. Look, every country has to treat its former leaders well. You cannot have your former leaders living a hand-tomouth existence. You cannot have them being insecure and not enjoying benefits befitting their former status as leaders of this country. The very opposition that is
now arguing for a reduction in the benefits to former President Jagdeo was protesting the lack of benefits to former President Arthur Chung, as well as to the wife of former President Desmond Hoyte. They felt then that these persons needed to be treated better. Former President Jagdeo needs to be treated in a manner befitting the high office he held, whether you like him or not. And the opposition has a point about the uncapped nature of his benefits. But the law cannot be made retroactive to the point of denying a man his legitimate expectations. But surely also, it is patently unfair for the government, which has to provide benefits to the former President, to interpret the statutes in a way as to allow the former President to enjoy security to the tune of 20 million dollars in two years. One bodyguard is good enough. The former President should be entitled to unlimited medical care, including overseas care, but not to have a medivac for a high temperature. That is unnecessary. But do not blame the former President.
Blame the government. It is the government that is interpreting the law in a way that is granting unreasonable and excessive benefits to the President. It is the government which has to decide what benefits are reasonable for the President. The law is not the problem. The government is the problem. You are not going to find in any country in the world, including the United States, where there are laws placing a cap on benefits to former Presidents. It is not for legislation to do what responsible governments should do. Former President Jagdeo does not need more than one bodyguard and one vehicle. He does not need to be taken overseas whenever he has a high temperature. His benefits include an office and office staff, but surely he can be asked by the government to work from his home. Why should he have a separate building as his office? There is no need to tamper with the law concerning benefits to the former President. We would be making ourselves an embarrassment in front of the
international community if we were to bring into being legislation to cap benefits for the President. Has Guyana not been shamed enough in the past by having restrictions placed on food and on only being allowed to leave the country with US$40? The government has to do its job and interpret the legislation in a way that any reasonable thinking person would. No court would find that those benefits under the law were intended to be
unlimited. They cannot be. And if former President Jagdeo is enjoying excessive benefits, then do not blame t h e l a w. B l a m e t h e government for being too generous and liberal in its interpretation of its obligations to the former President.
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The tailor and the DEVIL’S SHORTCUT By Michael Jordan
I’ve come to dread this short, winding track, with the bushy stretch of land nearby where the cows graze, and the small white bridge that links Diamond Housing Scheme to the neighbouring Grove community. I sometimes pass this way at dawn with the joggers and track-suited walkers. Never after sunset, though. Residents call this area ‘The Aqueduct’. They might as well have named it the devil’s shortcut. Bad things seem to happen to people who use it at night, thanks to the young robbers—male and female, I understand—who lurk there. It’s not unusual for those living nearby to hear the screams of the victims. Bharrat Pitamber, the tailor, knew of the risks of using the shortcut at nightfall. He’d almost been robbed before while riding through that track. But that didn’t stop him from cutting through ‘The Aqueduct’ on the night of Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Maybe he was anxious to go home to his wife and six-month-old daughter, and to a hot dinner after a hard day’s work. Earlier in the day, at around 07:40 hrs, Pitamber left his home at Lot 1401 Section ‘C’ Grove, East Bank Demerara. He then headed for his tailoring shop, located on the East Bank Demerara public road. While there, Pitamber sold a caged bird to an acquaintance for $45,000. He reportedly collected another bird from the same acquaintance. Then he rode through the shortcut for the very last time. THE LITTLE BOY’S TALE It’s said that at around six o’clock that same night, a 15-year-old boy left his Grove home on a bicycle to buy some chicken at the East Bank Demerara Bounty Farm outlet. A friend accompanied him on the same bicycle. Because he had an injured leg, the 15year-old reportedly told the friend to ride to the outlet and buy the chicken, while he waited. The 15-year-old was reportedly joined by two other boys, and they all rode west up a roadway in Grove that runs parallel to the Diamond access road. And
Bharrat Pitamber and his wife they were a short distance from ‘The Aqueduct’ when they saw the friend, who had gone to buy the chicken, riding towards them. This boy alerted the others that he had seen a man lying on the roadside near ‘The Aqueduct’, and that the man was calling out for help. The 15-year-old alleged that when they reached the scene, the wounded man, later identified as Bharrat Pitamber, was still alive. Tw o b i c y c l e s w e r e reportedly on the ground nearby, as well as a caged bird. They also saw a large ‘Rambo’ knife, with which Pitamber’s assailant had
reportedly stabbed him in the chest. The 15-year-old and a 12-year-old rushed to the nearby Diamond Fire Station and told the staff about the injured man. The men summoned the police who took Pitamber to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital. By then, the tailor was already dead. At the scene, police observed a blood trail which suggested that Pitamber was attacked soon after riding through the shortcut into Grove. He then tried to run east up the roadway, but collapsed. From cuts on the slain man’s hands, police deduced
that he had put up a struggle that caused his attackers to drop the murder weapon and flee empty-handed. Pitamber’s cell phone, the $45,000 he had collected after selling his bird, and a receipt, which showed he had paid the rent for use of the tailoring shop, were all in his pockets. They also retrieved a bicycle and the murder weapon. And here’s where things became devilishly strange. TWELVE-YEAR-OLD WITH TAILOR’S BIKE On Saturday, July 2, the day after Pitamber’s murder, a 12-year-old boy reportedly came to the home of the 15year-old whose mother had sent him to purchase chicken the previous day. The younger boy had a bicycle, and that bike belonged to the murdered tailor. “What you doing with that bike?” the elder boy reportedly asked his friend. It is alleged that the lads then decided to take the bicycle to Pitamber’s relatives. The mother of the older lad claimed that Pitamber’s relatives took the lads back to the scene and then handed them over to the police. It was then revealed that one of the boys who had found the tailor had picked up Pitamber’s bicycle. Another took the caged bird. The lad who took the bicycle reportedly tried to exchange it for a phone, but the friend refused to make the swap after learning that the bicycle had belonged to a murder
Sunday July 13, 2014
victim. But what of the bicycle that police found near Pitamber? It turned out that someone had stolen that bicycle from an elderly man, while the owner was cutting grass for his cattle. Police have suggested that the bike thief and the killer are the same. They suggested that the killer panicked and left it at the scene. Police rounded up all the lads, as well as an 18-yearold, who all denied involvement in Pitamber’s death or knowing the identity of his killer. They have all been released, but police are reportedly planning to consult with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on the way
The route Pitamber took when he was slain
forward. Meanwhile, those who believe in fate would say that Bharrat Pitamber’s time had come. Others are left to wonder at what might have been, had the tailor avoided the shortcut that night and chosen to ride the long way home… If you have any information about this case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location, or reach us on telephone numbers 22-58458, 2258465, 22-58473, or 2258491. You can also contact Michael Jordan on his email address mjdragon@ hotmail.com. You need not disclose your identity.
Did the killer leave this bike at the scene?
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Why join the Commonwealth? By Sir Ronald Sanders
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University held a colloquium on Thursday July 10 on the subject of “ W h y j o i n t h e Commonwealth?” I was invited to be a lead speaker. What follows below is a very much shortened version of my remarks given the space restriction of this column. In recent times the relevance of the Commonwealth has been widely questioned. Many critics claim that the association is marginal to the interests of the majority of its member-states and that it has become virtually unknown among their peoples. In part, this is why the question arises of why join the Commonwealth. But, far from having no role, the 53-nation Commonwealth is today more needed than it has been since its heyday of fighting for an end to racism in Southern Africa, the independence of Zimbabwe under majority rule, the freeing of Nelson Mandela, and the ending of apartheid. It is up to its leadership to make it relevant again; the potential and space for a role certainly exists. It is more than a cliché to remind that the membership of the Commonwealth is representative of the world. It is drawn from every continent; it embraces every race and every religion; it is made up of big countries and small ones; it encompasses rich nations and poor ones. Further, its member-states are also members of virtually every regional, economic and trade organisation in the world. But, even more
importantly, in the interg o v e r n m e n t a l Commonwealth and its councils, leaders of all its member-states have access to each other for free and frank discussion in ways that are without equivalent in any other organisation. Quite realistically, the Commonwealth is a network of networks; decisions made within it have the scope to resonate globally and to cause an impact beyond its own councils. That is the considerable 'soft' power that the Commonwealth has when used purposefully. It should be noted that its present 53 member states, including Britain, chose to b e p a r t o f t h e Commonwealth voluntarily, and to remain part of it. Two of these member states South Africa and Pakistan – were withdrawn from the association by their governments at the time, but subsequent governments brought the countries back into the grouping. Obviously, they recognised that the association has value for them. Two other countries were withdrawn from membership – Zimbabwe and The Gambia. In the case of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe's government violated Commonwealth values regarding democracy and free and fair elections. When the Commonwealth sought to suspend Zimbabwe from membership because of this infraction of its rules, President Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the association. Last year The Gambian President Yahya Jammeh withdrew his country from the Commonwealth because,
according to his Information Minister, he no longer wished to “associate with Great Britain” and “will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism”. Strangely, The Gambia did not break relations with Britain. By contrast, the government of Tanzania, under President Julius Nyerere, did not withdraw from the Commonwealth in 1965 when it broke diplomatic relations with Britain over the latter's failure to act against the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Ian Smith's regime in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe). Nyerere kept Tanzania in the Commonwealth declaring, rightly, that it was not British. The Commonwealth is not “British”, and it has not been British since 27 April 1949, when the Heads of Government declared their countries to be “free and equal members of the Commonwealth of Nations”, ending the term “British Commonwealth” – and establishing both the voluntary and equal nature of membership. Before any government contemplates joining the Commonwealth, it would have to take account of the criteria for membership established by Commonwealth leaders in 2007. Among the criteria are: an applicant country should, as a general rule, have had a historic constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, save in exceptional circumstances; the country must demonstrate commitment to democracy and democratic processes,
THE BACCOO SPEAKS Nothing is changing despite advance warning. The young educated men are out on the streets and they have guns. Indeed, the police should routinely stop young men and search them, but the society is insisting on its freedom to move and to associate. The result is that people are being robbed for just about anything, including $300. There is going to be more of the same in the coming days, because more and more of these young men want money. One young robber is going to try his hand once too often, as public-spirited citizens
would respond with a vengeance. ** A simple attempt to cross the roadway in the eastern corner of the country is going to be fatal for a child just at the start of the school holidays. The culprit would be a speeding
motorist who merely needed to exercise caution. It would be a stroke of good fortune that the driver would not collide with other people as he swerves in a panic. ** The goldfields were quiet because people have been going to great lengths to protect themselves. To add to that is the reduced take for the mineral because of external factors. That is why one camp would make the news. Its crew would deal condignly with two men who attempted to or were suspected of stealing.
including free and fair elections and representative legislatures; the rule of law and independence of the judiciary; good governance, including a well-trained public service and transparent public accounts; and protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and equality of opportunity; and the country should accept Commonwealth norms and conventions, such as the use of the English language as t h e m e d i u m o f i n t e rCommonwealth relations, and acknowledge Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth. J o i n i n g t h e Commonwealth now is, therefore, a rigorous process and it is unlikely that, notwithstanding expressions of interest by two countries (South Sudan and Burundi), there will be any expansion of Commonwealth membership in the near future. The only exceptions to this general observation would be Zimbabwe and The Gambia where, if their governments were to rectify
their record with respect to a d h e r e n c e t o Commonwealth values, they would undoubtedly be welcomed back into the fold. At a very practical level, the Commonwealth is a very cost-effective form of diplomacy for all of its members large and small. Consider the campaign at the moment by New Zealand for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Commonwealth countries are a special focus of New Zealand's campaign, as they would be for all large Commonwealth countries, such as Australia, Britain, Canada and India, when they seek support for a cause or a candidate in the international community. Fifty-three Commonwealth votes matter. So too does the influence of those 53 countries, speaking up in organisations throughout the world of which they are also members. The Councils and meetings of the Commonwealth are costefficient means of a country – big or small - maintaining
Sir Ronald Sanders relations with 52 other countries that could be of help to them. For small states, the importance of the Commonwealth lies primarily in the access Summit meetings give leaders of these small countries to leaders of some of the world's major powers on an equal basis. No other international or multilateral organisation affords them such an opportunity. But beyond access, the Commonwealth also delivers research and advocacy vital to the interests of small states. The Commonwealth's research on Economic and Development issues, and its (continued on page 34)
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Only one other leader had what David Granger has Denis Chabrol contacted me and put to me a number of questions on the announcement of Aubrey Norton’s contesting the leadership of the PNC. After reading Mr. Chabrol’s publications of my answers, to which I have no objection, on Demerara Waves, I have been in receipt of many questions to clarify my position as given to Demerara Waves on Mr. Granger’s performance. The Demerara Waves piece quoted me as saying that the PNC needs its leader to be angry. I stand by that statement. I went on to tell Mr. Chabrol that I think Mr. Granger would make an excellent president, but there are line-faults in his leadership, and one of those is that in the context of Guyanese politics, Mr. Granger should be an angry opposition leader. I didn’t clarify for Chabrol what I meant by anger, an explanation of which formed the reason for writing this column. When he was engaged in academia prior to being a full-time politician, I know what was inside the m i n d o f G r a n g e r, t h e scholar. Many persons that I share a friendly
relationship with told me Granger, as a nationalist, spoke with them on the discrimination that was taking place against African Guyanese, among other political depravities by the PPP. One evening, a few years back, I was at a social gathering or what in Guyanese parlance is called a lime, in Beterverwagting, with sports journalists, Edison Jefford and Rawle Welch. A very prominent citizen told the three of us that he would like to see a paper I offered at the annual meeting of the Guyana Historical and Research Society on class decay and class formation in Guyana, because Mr. Granger told him that he accepted the concepts, theories and premises of that presentation. It is outside the scope of this column to discuss the contents of that paper, but it looked at the death of the traditional post-colonial middle class under the PPP Government and the birth of two other classes, one of which emerged out of the unorthodox economy. The other was created by the Jagdeoite state using state patronage.
I argued that both of these new classes offer serious patronage and protection to the PPP Government. What the Guyanese people and the world at large need to know is that outside of Walter Rodney, leader of the Working People’s Alliance, no other leader of an influential, powerful political party has had the type of formal training in Guyanese historical sociology and political history as David Granger. We could go down the list of those who headed an influential party. Jagan – dentist; Burnham – lawyer; John Carter – lawyer; Balram Singh Rai – lawyer; D’Aguiar – businessman; Roopnaraine/Thomas/ Kwayana – none of the three were historians; Moses Bhagwan – lawyer; Paul Tennnassee – trade unionist; Llewellyn John – lawyer; Gunraj Kumar – lawyer; Manzoor Nadir – small businessman; Nanda Gopaul – trade unionist; Hamilton Green – politician; Hoyte – lawyer; Trotman – lawyer; Ramjattan –lawyer; Mrs. Jagan – politician; Robert Corbin – lawyer; Jagdeo/ Ramotar/Rohee – politicians. Only Walter Rodney had
more exposure, both at the University and research levels, than David Granger in the study and writing of the history of Guyana’s ethnic sociology and contemporary Guyanese history. Mr. Granger is the co-editor of a volume titled, “Themes in African History.” My point is if there is a leader of a penetrating political party, other than Walter Rodney, that has studied Guyana’s problems in its history of ethnicity, political divide and evolution of its political economy, it would be David Granger. I now come to what I meant by anger. I was driving with my wife and mother-inlaw, when Mr. Chabrol called me for a comment, so I pulled over on a parapet in Campbellville and offered a very brief response. I should have said “militant,” “confrontational’ and “aggressive.” Although I think the word, “angry” is appropriate, those other adjectives would be more contextual. Given his academic and research background, I feel Mr. Granger lacks the anger that should go into an opposition leader given the dangerous levels of
authoritarian power Guyana has gone through from 2006 onwards. Even if the society is sheepish, the level of degenerative power is so extensive that a leader of almost half of the population does not have the latitude to be a mainstream opposition leader. Perhaps the greatest test facing Mr. Granger is the local government elections. The PPP made a name for itself by denouncing rigged elections and is currently using the Rodney Commission to continue that trend. Yet the PPP refuses to even hold the
Frederick Kissoon second most important national election. Surely, Mr. Granger and his party should not allow the PPP to deny Guyanese what the PNC under Hoyte gave the nation - free elections.
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Sunday July 13, 2014
Book Review…Exploring the healing power of friendship Book: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’DonohueCritic: Dr. Glenville Ashby Anam Cara is a philosophical exploration of life’s purpose that dwarfs the works of pioneers in this field of epistemology, such as Victor Frankl and Rollo May. Anam Cara is transcendental in scope, almost abstruse to a culture that is steeped in literalism and linear thinking. It is anecdotal and poetically warm, brimming with aphorisms and oral traditions. To feel and experience life requires the awakening of the soul and our creative expression. However, this gift is not bestowed through the intellect. The awakening of the spirit allows one to peer through the dimensions without limitations of space and time. In many ways, Anam Cara makes a bold statement on contemporary society. We race about, sometimes blinded by repetition, with little time to feel and blend with nature. The profound
benefits of quietude and selfreflection are lost. We are today’s Sissyphus, engaging in daily challenges that are tedious, shifting our attention away from the clarion call of the soul. The story of French philosopher Baudrillard is recaptured with marked clarity. Its theme of internal harmony is reflected in the wisdom of African workers who refused to budge after days of ceaseless travel, despite the urgent demands to quicken their pace. When Baudrillard asks why his commands are ignored, their response speaks volumes: “We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us.” But how can we break the mould that separates us from experiencing the divine. O’Donohue’s detailed definition of the term Anam Cara holds the key. “It originally referred to someone to whom you confessed; revealing the hidden intimacies of your life…This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an Anam Cara your friendship cut across all
convention, morality and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the “friend of the soul.” Through trust, intimacy and affection toward self and one’s Anam Cara, inner wounds and counterproductive impulses are confronted. We must face the hurt and turbulence; the tenebrous thought forms that imperil our wellness. One’sAnam Cara helps integrate the many disjointed aspects of self. O’Donohue raises the most provocative of psychoanalytic questions: Should we reopen wounds as we struggle for inner peace? Or, should we let be and allow time, our friend, to heal our misgivings and wrongs? He writes: “…..the soul has its own natural rhythm of healing. Consequently, many of your wounds are very well healed and should not be opened up again. If you want to you could select a list of your wounds and spend the next thirty years opening them…If you engage in this practice of woundology, you could turn your soul into a mass of weeping sores.” The concept of the Anam Cara (Soul Friend) is as broad as it is profound. In a mundane sense, the Anam Cara in today’s
society is what is called a soul mate – a term that is loosely used with little understanding of its immeasurable spiritual significance. In a society riddled with individualism, competitiveness and distrust – where every man is a proverbial island – can the concept of the Anam Cara be embraced? Indentifying one’s Anam Cara can happen in a twinkling of an eye. One’s inner impulse can prove to be the consummate judge. In some religious cultures, as in the Yoruba tradition, the baba or Iya (male and female leaders, respectively) refers to their devotees as their children and there is that unmistakable bond, but it pales in comparison to the spirit of Anam Cara. Notably, one’s Anam Cara need not be one who has perfected life or transcended its vagaries and challenges. In many ways the relationship is symbiotic – each learning and growing from each other. An equally interesting approach is accepting the Anam Cara on both levels – mundane and otherworldly. One’s Anam Cara could well be one’s guardian angel or in New Age terms, a spirit guide that helps inch us towards inner peace. O’Donohue’s book explores the rhythm of the human experiences with unchallenged depth. Our body, mind and soul must act in unison, he argues. We are replicas, microcosms of a breathing universe. The exploration of the mind and
Anam Cara: A book of Celtic Wisdom by Jon O’Donohue, 2004 Publisher: Harper Perennial, New York, New YorkISBN: 0-06-092943-x Available: amazon.comRating: Essential the soul shouldn’t be undertaken at the expense of our corporeal self. The body, the conduit of our senses and sensuality is a veritable temple that shouldn’t be pilloried by self abnegation and self mortification. The body should be celebrated
with dignity and fearlessness. Not a single piece of the puzzle should be sacrificed. Our every thought, word and action, rightly performed, draws us ever closer to the seat of wisdom. Only then can we fulfill our divine mission…..with the help of our soul friend, our Anam Cara.
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Kaieteur News
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My column
My country is what it is because… Ever since a friend loaned me the book ‘From Third World to First—The Singapore Story: 1965-2000’ I have been looking at my country with a range of emotions. I have felt anger, pity, sorrow, disappointment and shame. Of course I love my country to the extent that I will never take up residence anywhere else, but I will always experience these emotions. Singapore was led by Lee Kuan Yew at the same time when Guyana was still a colony and had Dr Cheddi Jagan as its premier. Both Guyana and Singapore were at the same level of development at the time. They both became independent about the same time. Guyana had thatched roof houses and range houses. Singapore had the same. Guyana abounded with natural resources; Singapore had none. However both countries had ethnic problems. Of course the root of the ethnic problem was different, but Guyana’s was not as severe as Singapore’s. Last week, I read a news report prepared by one of my reporters. Using information supplied by the Indian Arrival
Committee (IAC) - who culled statistics from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database and some other international sources it was concluded that Guyana is 254 years behind Singapore. That was shocking. It made me place myself against Usain Bolt in the 200-metre dash. Indeed we would be starting at the same point, but at the finish my inadequacies would be most glaringly exposed. That was the case of Guyana and Singapore. How could one country get it so right and the other so wrong? It upset me greatly when people compared my Guyana with Haiti. I knew that my country like every country had poverty, but I also knew that my Guyana was doing reasonably well with the economy. But that was until I looked at the Singapore story. The economic policies of that Asian giant boggled my mind. For one, its leader bought foreign talent when the country had none, but there was a caveat. For every two foreigners there needed to be one Singaporean. There was no attempt to get the foreigner to pay a bribe. In Guyana, nearly fifty
years later we bring in foreign talent who insist on their own staff. There is no need for Guyanese who, by presidential edict, should be employed alongside the foreigners. Instead, we have our leaders justifying why Guyanese should not gain employment, for example on the Marriott hotel project. But even at the national level in Singapore, there was special care to ensure that there was balance. The leaders concentrated on nationalism, something that Guyana tried by way of the Guyana National Service. Our government scrapped it and insisted on ethnic discrimination. The strange thing is that we have examples to follow; instead we have opted to do our own thing. The result is stagnation and a people who merely want to leave the country by any means possible. In this day and age we have skilled Guyanese running to other countries to peddle their ability. We say that we are trying with education, when despite all the talk we are producing increasing numbers of partially literate people. Even our teachers are not much to
shout about. I have heard teachers struggle to speak the Queen’s English. Many cannot spell properly and most lack leadership skills. There was a time when we had skilled artisans. These have all but disappeared and that is because they cannot find jobs in the land of their birth. This should not be, but it is because we insist on ignoring them in favour of the foreigner. We allow contractors to deliver substandard work with impunity without recognising that this is money down the drain. I cannot begin to imagine how many millions of dollars have been wasted in this manner. We see people who take forever and eternity to complete major projects. We don’t work after 4:00 and we don’t work at nights. I have been to some developed countries and I always noticed that when, for example, they have to work on a roadway they do so at nights when the traffic is at its minimum. Our farmers work their butts off and find that they do not have markets, so they dump their produce. There was a time when the
government sent trucks to buy from the farmers and arranged for markets. There was even an attempt at canning. Today, although we believe that we are keeping pace with development, we do not have a recognized cannery to process surplus foods. Instead, we buy canned things from other countries, spending money that could have gone to other things. We are a country of waste and we seem proud to be. We have tried to improve our medical facilities and we boast that these things were non-existent two decades ago, but we do not talk about allowing rookies to work unsupervised; to perform their task alongside their more skilled counterparts and so learn. We do not see the need to develop talent. These are the things that separated us from Singapore. We do not make even a simple bicycle spoke; Singapore makes cars. At the pace we are going, even at the political level, in another ten years we will be 500 years behind a country that started off with us. This is enough to bring tears to my eyes. My leaders are more
Adam Harris concerned with looking good than with being good. They are more concerned with tearing down that which existed to apply their own brand, than with building on what we have. But then again, there is a saying that a people deserve the government they get. Our people, instead of insisting on what is needed, sit back like sheep because they are afraid of being l a beled antigovernment and ostracized. I know these things because I read about what operates elsewhere. We close our eyes to corruption, because we do not want to be like Singapore. We want to be ourselves, poorer than most and happy in our poverty.
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Sunday July 13, 2014
A new airport is difficult to support By Dominic Gaskin Is it not time that we seek to prioritize the series of large projects which are intended to contribute to the development of our country over the next twenty years? The alternative, for an underdeveloped country such as ours, is frightening. With a significant infrastructural deficit, Guyana will have to invest heavily in order to catch up with its needs in several critical sectors. The costs of these investments will ultimately be borne by the citizens of this country in some form or the other, and for some time to come. With a lucky-dip approach to selecting major infrastructure projects, and no long-term plan for harnessing the benefits, we will merely be making monuments instead of developing a country. The danger of costly exhibits taking the place of more urgently needed investments is a very real one. Our borrowing potential is not unlimited. At some point we will become a risky prospect for lending institutions. Even before that, our foreign debt will reach the limit of G$400B imposed by the External Loans Act. And what then? It is clear that the PPP-C government has learnt
nothing from the complete failure of the US$200M Skeldon Sugar Factory to improve the performance of the sugar industry. The magnitude of that disaster alone should have warranted a whole new approach, but instead, exhilarated by the easy availability of Chinese loans, the government has gone on a borrowing spree. In doing so it has done very little to ensure that Guyanese get a decent slice of the pie that these lucrative projects represent. In a world where big projects are usually an opportunity for governments to inject money into their own economies, our government is ceding almost all but a few crumbs to the Chinese. The mandate of the Export-Import Bank of China is to promote Chinese exports and lending is conditional on contracts being awarded to Chinese companies, who in turn will use as much Chinese materials, products, services and even labour as possible. Given our high levels of unemployment, the use of unskilled Chinese labourers here in Guyana is unpardonable. The failure of our government to negotiate better terms and conditions for Guyana is an indication of its disdain for the very
Guyanese workforce it has cultivated during its almost twenty-two years in office. It is in the light of these concerns that the AFC finds it difficult to support the hastily conceived Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Modernization Project which has a price tag of US$150M, mostly financed by the Export-Import Bank of China (US$138M). The Guyanese public first learnt of this deal in 2011 when it was reported in the November 18th edition of the Jamaica Observer under the headline “China Harbour expands to Guyana”. A press release from the regional headquarters of China Harbour and Engineering Company (CHEC) in Jamaica contained details of an agreement it had signed to extend the runway and construct a modern terminal building at the CJIA. In terms of cost, this project is the second biggest ever undertaken in Guyana, and the initial details should have come to our attention via our government and not through a foreign news report. Notwithstanding its shaky start, there are other aspects of this project that are at odds with the transformative role it is expected to play in our county’s development. Whatever was being contemplated under the original CJIA modernization project that first appeared in the budget estimates of 2011 with a total project cost of G$4B (US$20M) was subsequently replaced by the
CHEC agreement, and in the estimates for 2012 the total project cost was increased to G$32B (US$160M). It is suspected that the promise of concessionary financing during an encounter between a Guyanese delegation and Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan at the Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Trinidad in September of 2011 may have cemented an ongoing secret deal between the Government of Guyana and CHEC. In any event, the contract between the Government of Guyana and CHEC to design and construct a new airport was quietly signed on November 10th 2011. After this came the feasibility study produced by the Ministry of Public Works in April of 2012, seeking to justify the done deal. The loan agreement was then signed on October 31st 2012. The sequence of events suggests that this project is a Chinese initiative and it is evident that local procurement procedures were violated in order to facilitate the award of the contract to CHEC. The company would no doubt have been grateful. The AFC has always supported the extension of the existing runway in order to accommodate larger aircraft, and the party’s approval for the sum of G$4.5B budgeted for the modernization project in 2012 was given on the assumption that this sum would go towards the extension. Instead it was used as an advance payment for the commencement of the entire project which the opposition had already indicated it could not support since it had not been fully informed. The revenue projections
contained in the feasibility study are based on increased annual passenger movement estimated at five, seven and nine percent representing low, medium and high growth rates respectively. Even using the lowest estimated rate of growth in passenger movement (five percent), incoming passengers were projected to increase from 236,344 in 2011 to 333,619 in 2015 and to 800,345 by the year 2036. However, with arrivals for the year 2013 reported at 235,967 we are clearly not on the right trajectory. The AFC considers the projected increases in passenger movement contained in the feasibility report to be optimistic. The highest rate of nine percent, which would yield two million arrivals by the year 2036, while not totally impossible, would require a gigantic effort. Simply building a new airport will not bring serious numbers of visitors to Guyana. Nor will building a Marriott Hotel. There are a number of actions that need to be taken if we are to become an attractive destination for global travelers. A few hundred birdwatchers, oilmen and gold rushers will not give us the visitor numbers projected. Neither will returning Guyanese, who currently make up the bulk of the passengers on any given arriving flight. Guyana will have to actively promote itself to the outside world, and what is promoted will have to be backed up by what actually exists. And therein lies the problem. The PPP-C has not demonstrated the capacity or even the willingness to deal with the blatant lawlessness that prevails across the entire
country. The following excerpts from Lonely Planet’s online travel guide do no paint an attractive picture: • “Guyana (Georgetown in particular) is notorious for street crime. Avoid potentially hazardous situations and be aware of others on the street.” • “Hitchhiking is not recommended – the threat of robbery and/or physical danger is very real. You’d be nuts to hitch here!” • “At Cheddi Jagan International Airport, try to arrive during daylight and use only registered airport taxis.” An official travel advisory from the Government of Canada is equally unflattering. • “Poor road conditions, inadequate lighting, roaming animals and poor driving habits are constant hazards. Be extremely cautious when driving, keep windows closed and doors locked at all times, and avoid being on the road unnecessarily after dark.” Under public Transportation it advises: • “Avoid public minibuses, as they tend to be overloaded, poorly maintained and badly driven.” Comments such as these make Guyana a hard sell and, with no credible plan to address these issues, this government cannot hope to attract more than a few curious souls to this dear land of ours. All its talk about tourism needs to be backed up with firm commitments, to ending the lawlessness that has taken over the country. It also needs to show that it has a strategic plan to promote Guyana as a tourist destination and an economic development plan that justifies the prioritization of a new airport. Then, and only then, will the AFC support this project.
Sunday July 13, 2014
SUNDAY SPECIAL US JUDGE’S ORDER EXPOSES NEW GPC DECEPTION A New York court case sparked by investigative reports of the Government’s questionable purchase of drugs from New GPC, has taken a new twist with that company at first refusing to disclose information about its clients. But a judicial order to New GPC to answer the deposition led to some startling disclosures. The excuse for its initial refusal was that it feared victimization from Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall. One question asked New GPC to state how seriously it was affected by the publications, and how “seriously injured and prejudiced in its business reputation” as a result of the publications. The company said that its 90-year-old brand of high quality products for the Guyanese, Caribbean and North American markets has been tainted by “false allegations of unscrupulous practices. Plaintiff’s business reputation was prejudiced as a result of frequent publishing by defendant that plaintiff benefitted from cronyism and was guilty of price gouging.” New GPC said that the frequent publication of allegations of cronyism was even the subject of debates in the letters to the editor published on several occasions. New GPC was asked how it was “seriously injured and prejudiced” in its relationships with its existing customers. The company replied that sales in several international markets recorded a drop in 2012. “Anecdotal reports both locally and in some territories indicated reduction of sales of New GPC’s products as a result of the Kaieteur News’ negative publicity.”
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CARICOM HEADS WANT EARLY RESOLUTION TO GUYANA/VENEZUELA MARITIME DISPUTE The recently completed Heads of Government meeting of the Caribbean Community has called on Guyana and Venezuela to pursue the negotiations with greater expediency towards the conclusion of a maritime delimitation agreement. The Heads made known their official position in an official communiqué issued at the conclusion of the confab held in Antigua. Head of State, Donald Ramotar, led the Guyana delegation which included Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall among others, The CARICOM Heads, following the conclusion of the regional confab, reiterated their firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana and for the unhindered economic and social development of all of Guyana. They expressed their hope for an early resolution of the controversy which arose as a result of Venezuela’s contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899, which definitively settled the boundary between the two countries, is null and void. MONDAY EDITION ASSAULT RIFLE MAGAZINES, THOUSANDS OF SPENT SHELLS FOUND IN ALBOUYSTOWN Police on Sunday night unearthed what appeared to be the remnants of a massive arms cache during a surprise raid at a James and Victoria Street, Albouystown property. The discovery was made around 20.30 hrs, included four assault rifle magazines, army clothing and hundreds of spent shells. The clothing and magazines were reportedly found in a house,
while the shells, which appeared to be various calibres, were found in a shed located at the back of the property. A senior police official told Kaieteur News that ranks had gone to the house after receiving reports of an altercation in which a man had struck his brother with a piece of wood. The team, which included ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken, then entered the property and located the magazines, clothing and a huge mound of rifle shells. TUESDAY EDITION GOVT. TO SPEND EVEN MORE $$ ON US$3M SUPENAAM STELLING The Guyana Government is gearing to spend millions more on the beleaguered Supenaam Stelling which has already attracted just about US$3M ($600M), a figure well above its original price tag. Rehabilitative works are also to be carried out on the Parika Stelling. According to an advertisement that has been running in the Guyana Chronicle in recent weeks, the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) which falls under the Ministry of Public Works, is inviting sealed bids from eligible contractors to undertake the rehabilitation projects. This publication understands that the work is targeting the sections of the driveway of the Supenaam Stelling that had caved-in under the pressure of trucks traversing the facility, coupled with erosion. T&HD had placed metal sheets over the large holes to allow the safe passage of vehicles. Bidders have up to next week Tuesday to submit their bids for evaluation and must lodge a non-refundable fee of $10,000 to uplift the bidding documents. There is no bid security required for the works to be undertaken on the Supenaam Stelling but a
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bid security of $600,000 will have to be in place for those interested in the works on the Parika Stelling. Since the commissioning of the Supenaam Stelling it has been plagued by a number of incidents, including the dislodging of the loading ramp, a sunken pontoon as well as trucks toppling into the Essequibo River. The Supenaam Stelling, because of its seemingly high costs, problems and importance, had sparked an inquiry involving the contractor, BK International – with neither the government nor the consultants prepared to accept blame. BK International was adamant that the problems stemmed from a flawed design, but insisted that the structure had been built to the specifications it was provided with. LUNCHEONADMITS SOME CONTRACTORS ‘SHAFT’ THE GOVERNMENT …STANDS BY CHINA RAILWAY FOR ROAD EXPANSION “I am willing to concede
that there are instances when we have indeed gone behind the lowest responsive tender and indeed we get shafted. I won’t pull any punches; we don’t have to hide that. That’s a fact. There are instances when the lowest responsive tender turned out to be a disaster.” This is according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS) Dr. Roger Luncheon as he was addressing the issue of Cabinet’s no objection in awarding China Railway First Group Company Limited, the contract to upgrade and widen the East Coast Demerara Public Road even though it was found by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to have submitted to a defective bid. Four Chinese construction companies had tendered for the Ministry of Public Works project to widen the East Coast Demerara (ECD) Public Road. But it was awarded to China Railway First Group Company Limited which had the lowest bid. This company is also the contractor for the Amaila Falls Hydro-Electric Project. And as part of a continued deal
with government, it was gifted two plots of land to continue its work on a critical section of the access road at a reduced price. China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd, the contractor in the US$150M expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, submitted a bid for US$60.4M ($12B). Meanwhile, China National Machinery Import/ Export Company Limited, which was involved in the construction of the problematic US$200M Skeldon expansion project, submitted a proposal for US$55.6M ($11B). WEDNESDAY EDITION DYNAMIC AIRWAYS LEAVES THE SCENE - LAST FLIGHT NEXT TUESDAY Embattled United Statescarrier Dynamic Airways has pulled out of the Georgetown/ New York route and will delay operations to the United States until next month. Local partner for the foreign airline, Gerry Gouveia of Roraima Airways told Kaieteur News Tuesday that due to several issues plaguing the operation (Continued on page 43)
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The spate of protests in the rice industry tells its own tale of deception and exploitation. The most recent public protests saw hundreds of paddy farmers last week burning tyres and blockading the Essequibo Coast roadway in order to press their demand for prompt payment by rice millers among other matters. This was the fifth protest by Essequibo paddy farmers this year. There have been peaceful protests in March, April, May, June and July. The situation is a serious one and has had an impact at the personal, regional and national levels. One
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newspaper reported that the distraught wife of one protester lamented: “How we gon survive if they keep doing this? We gat bills to pay, children to send to school, and food to buy. We are selling our rice to the millers and we are not getting paid. Four months pass and we can’t get pay. This is total nonsense!” Protesting paddy farmers had previously converged on the precincts of the National Assembly on 24th April last year to meet APNU and AFC parliamentarians. They delivered a petition of over 1,000 signatures to the Minister of Agriculture
requesting him to ensure prompt payments are made for their paddy. No one can doubt the importance of the rice industry. It is, in geographical terms, spread over five coastal regions – PomeroonSupenaam; Essequibo Islands-West Demerara; Demerara-Mahaica; MahaicaBerbice and East BerbiceCorentyne. The industry, in demographic terms, provides employment for at least 20,000 who depend directly on it for their livelihood and, indirectly, for another 40,000 people in related occupations. The industry, in economic terms, contributed about five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 and accounted for more than US$240M in export earnings. The industry provides the staple daily diet for most Guyanese. All of this depends on paddy farmers. The PPPC administration exerts its political influence and exercises executive control of the industry though the Ministry of Agriculture, the Guyana Rice Development Board – GRDB – and the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association – GRPA. It must therefore bear full responsibility for the current and chronic chaos affecting it. The People’s
Progressive Party Civic – PPPC – administration, therefore, must act decisively to ease the plight of paddy farmers and to pay heed to the pervasive problems they face. Their predicament cannot be ignored any longer. The basic issue is that of under-payment, nonpayment or delayed payment to paddy farmers. The GRDB has a statutory obligation duty to ensure that paddy farmers are paid in full within 42 days of delivery. The GRDB is empowered to intervene and initiate legal action against delinquent millers. The GRPA, also, is aware of this problem. Paddy farmers who are not paid promptly face high interest rates at the banks for their loans, high costs of fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides and delayed purchase of seed paddy. Some have also suffered from poor grading, weighing and pricing of their paddy by millers. Paddy farmers have been complaining for years about the high cost of fuel and fertilizer, inadequate drainage and irrigation, shortage of high-quality seedlings, unenforced regulations which cause massive amounts of ineffective pesticides and weedicides to be imported
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into the country. The effect of all of these is to increase the cost of production, reduce surpluses and imprison farmers in a cycle of indebtedness and impoverishment. Farmers have been complaining also of not being paid on time and sometimes are paid with ‘bounced’ or post-dated cheques. Guyana’s multi-billion dollar, PetroCaribe ‘rice-foroil’ agreement with Venezuela has indeed fuelled increasing production as farmers seek to sell as much as possible to a guaranteed market. It has also fuelled fears that farmers could be left with large surpluses that could push down the price of paddy being offered. It has ignited anger over the management of this trade initiative which seems to be generating wealth but only for a chosen few. Millers in some areas of high production and in the face of a glut, have already started to lower their prices, forcing paddy farmers to sell at reduced prices because of limited storage capacity. Paddy farmers in the some parts of the Essequibo Coast, affected by the inability to readily access water through the Tapacuma Irrigation Project – TIP – complain of having been forced to
purchase water at a high rate of $6,000 per acre to sustain their crops in addition to having to pay land rental. Paddy farmers in West Berbice also have faced land tenure problems and water control crises from the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary – MMA – project. Farmers have also been plagued by an infestation of insects and snails. Poor drainage in some areas has been the main cause of massive snail infestation which has led to a decrease in growth of vegetation and the destruction of the freshly broadcast rice seedlings. Paddy-drying facilities are essential for, without them, paddy must be moved almost immediately to the mills to avoid damage to its quality and even lower prices. Paddy farmers have much to complain about. Their complaints and frequent public protests signal that there are sufficient grounds for the PPPC administration to convene a commission of inquiry to inquire into the impediments to the efficient management of t h e i n d u s t r y. S u c h a commission must make recommendations for the improvement of the livelihood of the nation’s paddy farmers.
Sunday July 13, 2014
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U.S. SPYING ON GERMANY: Making enemies out of allies, and for what? By David Wise (Reuters – Opinion) What were they thinking? In the wake of last fall’s revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) had wiretapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone, the report of U.S. intelligence’s involvement in two other likely cases of spying on Germany is mindboggling. Now the story has taken a dramatic new turn, with Germany expelling the CIA chief of station in Berlin — an almost unprecedented step by an ally. This unusual action reflects how seriously the Merkel government takes these spying allegations. What could the CIA hope to gain by infiltrating the BND, the German Federal Intelligence Service, knowing there was a chance that the operation might be exposed? What was worth this risk? CIA and White House officials have said little to answer the question. But the fact that German industry has strong ties to both Russia and Iran may offer a clue. So economic and political
intelligence about Germany’s contacts with those countries could be high on the list of potential U.S. intelligence targets. The CIA might for example, be interested in whether the Merkel government – heavily dependent on oil imports from Russia – is thinking about softening its opposition to President Vladimir Putin’s support for Russian-speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine. Identifying possible terrorists under surveillance by German intelligence agencies could be another reason. Both the CIA and the FBI are keenly aware that the 9/11 al Qaeda plot that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center was hatched in Hamburg. Germany has long served as a transit hub between East and West, and it also has a sizable Arab immigrant community. Potential targets in the German military are another temptation, despite the fact that Germany is a partner of the United States as a fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organization member. But as
one U.S. official suggested, the Germans don’t always confide either their military or political strategy — especially in the current climate of mistrust. The timing, meanwhile, could hardly be worse for the United States. Washington already has severely strained relations with Merkel. Last month, Germany’s federal prosecutor opened a formal investigation of U.S. eavesdropping on the chancellor’s cell phone — which was revealed by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor now granted asylum in Russia. Merkel reacted furiously to the revelations that Washington had been listening to her calls. “Spying among friends,” she said, “is simply unacceptable.” The breach of trust between the two countries, she added, would have to be repaired. The White House lamely responded that Merkel’s phone was not currently being wiretapped, and would not be in the future. But it said nothing about the past – indirectly confirming that the NSA had eavesdropped on
her. Tension between Washington and Berlin over intelligence operations keeps getting worse. Last week, it was revealed that a 31-yearold employee of the BND had been arrested for allegedly funneling secrets to the CIA. A second case surfaced on Wednesday, when Berlin police searched the apartment and office of a man said to work for the German Defense Ministry, who is another suspected U.S. spy. Germans are particularly sensitive to surveillance and spying, given the legacy of the Nazi Gestapo and, more recently, the years of domestic surveillance by the Stasi spy service in Communist East Germany — where Merkel grew up. “Spying is OK,” one former U.S. intelligence officer told me, “as long as you’re not caught.” But in the age of Snowden and Chelsea Manning, the former Army private
sentenced to 35 years in prison after releasing thousands of secret cables and documents to WikiLeaks, getting caught seems far more likely — and keeping secrets much more difficult. Today, the CIA has to assume that every operation has the potential to be compromised. The former U.S. intelligence officer, experienced in dealing with the Germans, said the cell phone tapping and newest episodes raise the larger question of whether anyone in Washington is weighing the risks of espionage, and the damage that can be caused by exposure, against the benefits — if any. He wondered if the CIA’s clandestine service “is on auto pilot,” continuing to run these espionage operations because it can. The spying revelations have created a dilemma for the Obama administration. Either the president knew about the
tapping of Merkel’s phone and the newest cases, and failed to disclose that information to her, a close ally — or he did not know. If he was not briefed on these cases, then it would suggest that the White House is not exercising enough control over its own intelligence agencies. Spying on the German Federal Intelligence Service is particularly sensitive. The reason is, for decades, Berlin has sought a “no-spy” agreement with Washington, which would guarantee that each country would not spy on the other. Berlin has been seeking to be a member of the secret, English-speaking club called Five Eyes, a formal pact in which the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand agree to share intelligence and not spy on each other. The cell-phone debacle and the latest spying (Continued on page 30)
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Kaieteur News
OAS assures help in Guyana’s elections Key issues associated with the management of elections were elaborated upon when Dr. Steve Surujbally, Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), met with Jean Ricot Dormeus, Director of the Office of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Guyana. The meeting took place at GECOM’s headquarters in Kingston when the official paid a courtesy call on Surujbally on Monday last. According to GECOM, Dr. Surujbally used the opportunity to update Dormeus specifically on issues associated with GECOM’s state of preparedness for Local Government Elections among other pertinent issues currently engaging the
attention of the Commission. The Chairman also updated the OAS official on Guyana’s ongoing efforts aimed at acquiring International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification pertaining to the conduct of elections. Dr. Surujbally and Dormeus also held preliminary discussions relevant to areas the OAS could provide support of capacity building/ institutional strengthening and technology transfer. “Mr. Dormeus assured Dr. Surujbally of his commitment to support GECOM in every possible way pertaining to the conduct and validity of elections in Guyana,” GECOM said. Guyana is preparing for Local Government Elections, which was last held in 1994.
GECOM’s Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally with Jean Ricot Dormeus, Director of the Office of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Guyana.
Sunday July 13, 2014
U.S. SPYING ON GERMANY: Making... From page 29 accusations in Germany are particularly ironic, because the United States created the BND. During World War II, Reinhard Gehlen, a German army general, was chief of Fremde Heere Ost (Foreign Armies East), the intelligence unit that spied on the Soviet Union. After the war, Washington was desperate for intelligence on the Russians, so the United States set Gehlen up in Pullach, near Munich, as head of his own intelligence
organization — which later became the BND. Spying of the kind alleged in the case of the BND employee arrested last week would have been justified during the Cold War if, for example, it uncovered information about the Soviet nuclear arsenal — knowledge that in a war could conceivably save the lives of millions of Americans. But the Cold War is long over. This is 2014 — time for Washington to rethink its relationship with Germany, its most important European ally.
WHY JOIN THE... From page 21 advocacy of agreed positions on debt, on trade facilitation, on development financing, on Global Warming and Climate Change, gives every member country resources most do not have on their own, and advocacy many could not afford on their own. Today, there are great issues that confront the world: high unemployment and restlessness of frustrated young people; growing antagonism between and within nations based on religious grounds; hegemonistic tendencies by powerful countries toward their neighbours; competition
between nations for resources that are becoming scarce; an enlarging gap between rich and poor countries. The Commonwealth of Nations cannot solve these problems, but given its diverse membership, it can make a great contribution to their solution if its diversity is managed effectively by its leadership. (The writer is a Consultant, Senior Fellow at London University and former Caribbean diplomat) (Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com)
Sunday July 13, 2014
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Immense efforts being made to tackle Chikungunya virus - Berbice Health Authority Although the Chikungunya virus is one that is recognised as a daunting public health threat, Guyana’s reaction to tackling the mosquito-borne virus has been lauded by international partners. In fact, unofficial word from a representative from an international partner is that “the best thing that could have happened for Guyana was for the Chikungunya virus to have arrived in Berbice.” This disclosure has been premised on the fact that Berbice from the inception of the outbreak in May has been unrelentingly combating the virus. Although it has since spread to a number of sections of the country including Regions Three, Four and Five, the first cases were detected in sections of East Berbice, Region Six. Reports out of the Ministry of Health suggest that the confirmed cases of the virus currently amount to 31. But although the virus has somewhat stabilised in Berbice, Chief Executive Officer, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, during an
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito which transmits the virus interview with this publication, informed that efforts by the Berbice Regional Health Authority to keep the virus under control are certainly not subsiding. Dr Mahadeo is among the few medical practitioners in the country who have been specifically trained to address the Chikungunya virus. According to him, Berbice currently has one regional hospital, three district hospitals, 26 health centres and health posts, all of which are continuously on alert for symptoms of the virus. Among the symptoms associated with the
Chikungunya virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, are: headache, rash, malaise complemented by high fevers, muscle and joint pains. TACKLING THE VIRUS A mosquito nuisance in Berbice had raised suspicions among health care workers that the Region had been infiltrated by Chikungunya virus-carrying mosquitoes. And when those suspicions were validated by laboratory tests of samples at the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad, Dr Mahadeo disclosed that “we
literally fogged the whole of Berbice.” But since the local health sector had never experience a Chikungunya outbreak before, a team from the Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Services, led by Dr Reyaud Rahman, travelled to the County upon learning of the confirmed cases. There they trained B er b ice h ealth w o r k er s to undertake continuous fogging activities. And ever since that training “we set up our own teams and from then to now our people have been in the fields and they have been working very hard every morning and every afternoon...they are in the fields fogging,” said Dr Mahadeo. As part of the efforts too, moves were made to set up what Dr Mahadeo described as a “war room” through which information about the progression of the virus was constantly filtered. “We knew exactly which team was where, we knew exactly what the constraints they had were; these people went out and although it was raining at times they did what they had to do through rain and mud,”Dr Mahadeo said. And according to him,
Dr Vishwa Mahadeo mosquitoes in the open environment were sprayed with an insecticide, Malathion, which is deadly to insects that are in flying motion. In addition to normal environmental fogging, workers also undertook internal residual spraying with an insecticide called Fendona, in domiciles, to target mosquitoes there. The potency of this insecticide is believed to last as much as three months. “We sprayed walls, the roof, the floor, everything... so when the mosquitoes go and rest there the Fendona, which has a noticeable odour, either causes them to die instantly or within a couple of minutes,” the CEO said. He disclosed, though, that while most residents permitted their homes to be sprayed, there were some who were not willing to comply, despite being advised that the insecticide’s odour would (Continued on page 54)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 13, 2014
GOVT-ASSURED $10,000 GRANT...
Parents prepared to accept via money transfer facilities A section of the gathering at Central Corentyne Secondary School Minister Priya Manickchand addressing attendees at Berbice High
P
arents are prepared to accept their $10,000 grant assured by Government for the public school-attending children via money transfer locations. This unanimous disclosure was made by parents who attended yet another national consultation in Berbice, Region Six. Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has been holding consultations across the country with parents and guardians on the new initiative undertaken by the Government to give each school-age child attending public schools a grant of $10,000. The Minister has already held a number of such consultations which continued on Friday in Berbice. During that visit, the Minister was warmly received by the people of the Region who braved the rains to turn out in large numbers, filling every meeting place. The Minister who was accompanied by Georgetown and Regional education officers engaged parents of 122 schools in several meetings on how the Ministry can best provide the grant to them. Previous fora saw those in attendance unanimously calling for the grant to be paid in cash, a notion that was also embraced in Region Six. Moreover, at the most recent forum too, Minister Manickchand sought to inquire of the parents how they would prefer to encash
their voucher. As such, she asked those in attendance to indicate by the show of their hands whether they would prefer to be able to encash a voucher or if they would prefer to be able to purchase goods from accredited stores with the vouchers. The parents almost unanimously chose to be able to encash their voucher. Reports emanating out of the Ministry is that payment will be made via the mode that is most highly requested across the board, save and except in the case where a special request is made to receive a voucher. The attendees at the Berbice consultation also informed the Minister that they would prefer to utilize financial service facilities including post offices, Western Union, the banks or Mobile Money, as avenues to receive their monies. During consultations, Minister Manickchand encouraged parents to bring to her attention issues that were of concern to them, be it education-related or not. Moreover, concerns about businesses that take advantage of parents who use the uniform vouchers to purchase items for their children by increasing prices on school items were highlighted. In fact the parents were very angry that when the voucher programme is not on, prices for school items would be much less, but as soon as the ministry says they are starting the programme, stores raise their
prices. Parents were clear that ordinarily they would be able to get many more items if they paid cash than when they purchase with the vouchers, and said they felt robbed. One woman at Tagore Memorial Secondary School said “these stores unreasonable. The government trying to help the people and the store gouging out dem eye�. Minister Manickchand said if this indeed is the case, she would be very disappointed with the stores. She assured those gathered that if the ministry finds any store that increases their prices for parents shopping with the government-issued vouchers, the Ministry would deal with the individual businesses condignly. The Minister said that on the other hand, she knew of some stores that would actually give parents shopping with the vouchers special tokens. She publicly called on storeowners to have a conscience and explained to the parents that they have the power to make the stores offer competitive prices. Parents also expressed their views on automatic promotion and made recommendations on how children should be promoted. Meanwhile, Minister Manickchand addressed a range of other issues raised by parents in the County and committed to bringing to the attention of the various Ministers, the matters that were raised.
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Sunday July 13, 2014
Sunday July 13, 2014
From page 27 of the North American end, Dynamic has delayed its services and hopes to recommence operations by August 8. As such, Gouveia told this publication that the company expects the last flight out of Guyana will be on July 15 when the airline will complete all flights that were initially booked. TWENTY CHARGED IN E’BO PROTESTS - AFC COUNCILLOR, RICE MILLER INCLUDED Nineteen farmers arrested last Friday night after a protest over late rice payments on the Essequibo coast have been charged with riotous behaviour, while a miller was charged with threatening language and assault against a farmer. Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor for Region Two, Naith Ram, said to be one of the leaders of the protests which saw the main roadway on the Essequibo coast blocked, and Tage Sewcharran, were also slapped with additional charges when they appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce. Ram is also Chairman of the Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association. Sewcharran is said to be the Secretary. The indictable charges were read to the men at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court even as several rice farmers and relatives of the men lined the roadway outside in support. Ram, who claimed police stripped him naked during a clash, was charged with assault with intent to resist lawful apprehension, speaking at a public meeting where a noisy instrument was used without permission, and holding a meeting in a public place for which no notice had been given to the appropriate officer of police. The police, last weekend, denied that they were associated in any way with Ram being without clothes. A photograph of the naked Councillor was published on the front page of Kaieteur News last Saturday. Ram secured bail in the sum of $5,000 each for the assault charge and holding a public meeting without receiving permission from the police. For the other charge of using a public address system without the police’s permission, he was released on his own recognizance. THURSDAY EDITION GOVT. CURRENTLY WITHOUT PREQUALIFIED DRUG SUPPLIERS
Kaieteur News
…SOLE SOURCING PERMITTED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES–DR ROGER LUNCHEON The timeframe for which bidders who were prequalified to supply drugs to the Ministry of Health, has expired but Government is still to complete evaluation of potential new suppliers. This was confirmed by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who following his post Cabinet Press briefing Wednesday, said that all new contracts would have to await the results of the current process of vetting suppliers to be prequalified. In the absence of that, any procurement of drugs and medical supplies would have to go to a public tender. According to Dr Luncheon, given the current situation, he is certain that Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, is working with alacrity to ensure that the prequalification process is completed as soon as possible. Asked about the abandonment of the practice of resorting to sole sourcing, Dr. Luncheon said that the law cannot be abandoned. He reminded that sole sourcing is permitted in law under certain circumstances. Under the Public Procurement Act, the procuring entity may engage in single-source procurement when the goods or construction are available only from a particular supplier or contractor. It is also applied when a particular supplier or contractor has exclusive rights with respect to the goods or construction, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. INDIA GROUP EYES GUYANAGOLD, DIAMOND FIELDS …PREPARING TO CONSTRUCT HOTEL An India-based company, Sun and Sand Group of Companies headed by Rajesh “Lucky” Satija has made a whopping US$54M investment in Guyana’s hotel industry. But even though it plans to start construction of the multimillion dollar fivestar hotel this month, it is quite eager to venture into Guyana’s gold and diamond sector. The sod for the hotel was turned Wednesday at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara to launch the ultimate luxury hotel project. But the event left media operatives with many questions unanswered. Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce,
Irfaan Ali, was present at the launch as were a number of persons from the local business world. Ali used the opportunity to criticize the media for promoting negative headlines instead of those which highlight the country’s tourism potential. He was also critical of some sections of the private sector for belittling his Ministry’s investment in the hospitality sector. Ali said that the $800M allocation in this area is intended to transform Guyana’s human capital, so that a different approach to international standards can be had. This will improve the country’s ability to provide quality hospitality services. He told the Director of the Sun and Sand Hotel, Bhushan Chandna, “You have targeted the right market and we want to say to you that your investment in this country is secure. We are going to work with you to ensure the success of your venture.” FRIDAY EDITION JAGDEO RACKED UP $45M IN ELECTRICITY, TRAVELAND SECURITY IN 27 MONTHS - DOES NOT INCLUDE MONTHLY PENSION, OTHER BENEFITS After weeks of not providing answers, the Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, on Thursday responded to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Desmond Trotman, disclosing that Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, racked up bills in excess of $45M on transportation, security and electricity bills to be paid for by the State. The expenditure incurred by Jagdeo is provided for under the Former Presidents
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(Benefits and Facilities) Act, which he made Law in 2009. This expenditure ($45, 417, 948) disclosed by Dr Singh, is separate and apart from Jagdeo’s monthly pension, which is excess of $1M, along with his other uncapped benefits. The figures provided by Dr. Singh, represent the money the State spent on Jagdeo on the three items (transportation, security and electricity bills) from the time he demitted office in December 2011 up to February 2014 – a period of 27 months. Jagdeo’s total electricity bill for the duration stated has amounted to $9,875,680. His average monthly bill is $365,766. For transportation, Jagdeo utilized $15, 220, 748 with the largest amounts being reflected in December 2013 ($3, 810,739) and February this year ($7, 592, 911). In February last, the month that reflected the highest transportation cost, Jagdeo was medivaced to United States, Florida, where he was reportedly treated for Dengue. OPPOSITION REJECTS GOVT’S ATTEMPT TO IMPOSE NEW TAX …WE ARE OVERTAXED IN THIS COUNTRY – APNU’S WILLIAMS The political opposition on Thursday prevented government from going ahead with the Customs (Amendment) Bill, which it argues will impose a further tax on Guyanese. Government insists that it is only seeking to amend the laws to bring the country into compliance with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. The matter stems from a ruling by the Caribbean Court
of Justice (CCJ), which found that an Environmental Tax charged by Guyana under the Customs Act was discriminatory. That tax stipulates that $10 be charged on each non-returnable bottled beverage imported into Guyana. The amendment proposed by Government seeks to reduce the tax on what is imported into Guyana to $5, but also impose a $5 tax on each beverage in a nonreturnable bottle produced locally. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds Thursday brought a motion to fast track the second and third readings of the Bill, but it was roundly rejected by the political opposition. A second and third reading of the Bill would facilitate a debate and vote on the Bill. Following a vociferous back and forth between Government and Opposition members, Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman put the motion for a vote which was met with a resounding “no.” A division of votes, requested by Prime Minister Hinds, saw 33 members of the House rejecting the motion while 28 voted in favour. SATURDAY EDITION SWEET NEWS AS GUYSUCO UPS ITS PRODUCTION TARGET -INDUSTRY ASKS FOR $6B TO BUY MORE HARVESTERS In what may be considered a shift for the better in the sugar industry, the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has ambitiously revised its production target upwards. Appearing yesterday before the Parliamentary
Sectoral Committee on Economic Services, recently appointed Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Raj Singh, disclosed that the industry is now looking at 219,000 tonnes, about 3,000 more than was announced earlier this year. It would be the first time in the last few years that GuySuCo, struggling with labour shortages, weather and technical problems, would even be contemplating announcing any targets that is above projections set at the beginning of the year. BROADCASTING ACT… GOVT. PROTESTS BID TO CURB PRESIDENTIAL, MINISTERIAL POWERS Joseph Harmon of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has re-tabled the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill in the National Assembly, which was immediately met with protestation from Government. Harmon had initially tabled the Bill but had asked for it to be withdrawn since there were a number of errors, typographical and otherwise, and as such he wanted to redraft it. When it was re-tabled on Thursday last for a first reading, Government’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira immediately rose to the floor to indicate that the amendments have made the Bill even more problematic. Teixeira said that from the outset, she wanted to place on record that while they are aware that the Bill will be passed given the voting strength of the Opposition, “we will not support this Bill at all.” Teixeira was adamant that Government will not be supportive of the proposed legislation at no stage of its consideration in the House.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 13, 2014
VENOUS SKIN ULCERS By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj WHAT IS A VENOUS SKIN ULCER? A skin ulcer is a type of wound that develops on the skin. A venous skin ulcer is a shallow wound that occurs when the leg veins don’t return blood back toward the heart the way they should as a result of insufficiency. These ulcers usually form on the sides of the lower leg, above the ankle and below the calf. Venous skin ulcers (stasis ulcer) are slow to heal and often come back if you don’t take steps to prevent them. Some things can increase your risk of venous skin ulcers. These include: · Deep vein thrombosis, in which a blood clot (thrombus) forms in the deep veins of the legs. · Obesity. · Smoking. · Lack of physical activity. · Work that requires many hours of standing. There are two other types of skin ulcers that can happen on the lower leg or feet. They are different from venous skin ulcers. · Arterial skin ulcers are less common than venous skin ulcers. They happen
when an artery disease is present (sometimes in combination with venous disease). These ulcers tend to be extremely painful. They are usually on the toes and feet. · Neuropathic skin ulcers are also known as diabetic neuropathic ulcers. They occur in people who have little or no sensation in their feet because of diabetic nerve damage. WHATARETHE SYMPTOMS OF SKIN ULCER? The first sign of a venous skin ulcer is skin that turns dark red or purple over the area where the blood is leaking out of the vein. The skin also may become thick, dry, and itchy. Without treatment, an ulcer may form. The ulcer may be painful. You also may have swollen and achy legs. If the wound becomes infected, the infection may cause an odour, and pus may drain from the wound. The area around the wound also may be more tender and red. TREATINGA VENOUS LEG ULCER With appropriate treatment, most venous leg ulcers will heal within three to four months. Treatment should always be carried out
by a healthcare professional trained in compression therapy for leg ulcers. 1. Cleaning and dressing the ulcer - The first step is to remove any debris or dead tissue from the ulcer and apply an appropriate dressing. This will provide the best conditions for the ulcer to heal. 2. Compression bandages -To help improve the circulation in your legs, your doctor will need to apply a firm compression bandage over the affected leg. These bandages are designed to squeeze your legs and encourage blood to flow upwards, towards your heart. The application of a compression bandage is a skilled procedure and should only be done by a healthcare professional trained in leg ulcer management. 3. Keeping your affected leg elevated whenever possible, ideally with your toes at the same level as your eyes, will also help ease swelling - You may find it helpful to put something firm – such as a rigid suitcase – under the end of your mattress, to help keep your legs raised while you sleep. You should also keep as active as possible and aim to
continue with your normal activities. Regular exercise, such as a daily walk, will help reduce leg swelling. However, you should avoid sitting without your legs raised or standing still for longer than an hour at a time. 4. Appropriate antibacterial agent – This is mainly for infected ulcers. Looking after yourself during treatment To help your ulcer heal more quickly and preventing recurrence, follow the advice below: · Try to keep active by walking regularly. Sitting and standing still without elevating your legs can make venous leg ulcers and swelling worse. · Whenever you are sitting or lying down, try to keep your affected leg elevated. · Regularly exercise your legs by moving your feet up and down, and rotating them at the ankles. This can help encourage better circulation. · Stop smoking, eat a healthy diet and moderate your alcohol consumption. This can help the ulcer heal faster. · Be careful not to injure your affected leg, and wear comfortable, well-fitting
Dr. Kumar Sukhraj
footwear. · You should visit your doctor once a week to have your dressings and compression bandages changed. They will also monitor the ulcer to see how well it is healing. Once your ulcer is healing well, you will probably need to see your doctor less often. · Once you have had a venous leg ulcer, there is a significant chance another ulcer could develop within the next few months or years. The most effective method of preventing this is to wear compression stockings at all
times when you are out of bed. Please feel free to send an email to kumarsukhraj @yahoo.com or call 6228032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of diabetes and any other illness. Please look forward for a continuation of the discussion on common health problems in the next publication. Reference “Varicose veins” in Health Encyclopaedia. www.nhs.uk
In the brain, sex addiction Singing familiar songs may help looks the same as drug addiction prompt Alzheimer’s patients to speak
Pornography triggers brain activity in sex addicts similar to the effect drugs have on the brains of drug addicts, researchers said- but that doesn’t necessarily mean porn is addictive. Although there are no precise figures, experts in the field believe as many as one in 25 adults is affected by compulsive sexual behavior, more commonly known as sex addiction - an obsession with sexual thoughts, feelings or behavior they are unable to control. Excessive use of pornography is one of the main features of the condition. That can affect personal lives and work, causing distress and feelings of shame, the researchers from Britain’s Cambridge University said in a study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The study looked at brain activity in 19 male patients affected by sex addiction and compared them with the same number of volunteers. The patients had started watching pornography at earlier ages and in higher proportions than the volunteers. “The patients in our trial were all people who had substantial difficulties controlling their sexual behavior and this was having significant consequences for them, affecting their lives and relationships,” said Dr Valerie Voon, who led the study at Cambridge’s department of psychiatry. “In many ways, they show similarities in their behavior to patients with drug addictions. We wanted to see if these similarities were reflected in brain activity, too.” The study participants were shown a series of short videos featuring either sexually explicit content or sports. Their brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which uses a blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal to measure brain activity. The researchers found that three regions in particular were more active in the brains of the sex addiction patients compared with the healthy volunteers. Significantly, these regions – the ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate and amygdala – are also activated in drug addicts when they are shown drug stimuli, the researchers said. The ventral striatum is involved in processing reward and motivation, while the dorsal anterior cingulate is involved in anticipating rewards and drug craving, they said. The amygdala helps process the significance of events and emotions. (Reuters)
With advanced Alzheimer’s disease, language deteriorates and patients spontaneously speak less and less. In a small study from Israel, group music therapy sessions using tailored songs helped people with middle- to late-stage Alzheimer’s strike up communication. The study may be small, but it nicely demonstrates what music therapists and gerontologists have known for a while, said Alicia Ann Clair, director of the Music Education and Music Therapy Division at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, who wasn’t part of the study. “It’s one of those things that’s kind of known but has not been researched so it’s great this was done,” Clair told Reuters Health. In her experience, singing is a great way to engage with some people with advanced dementia. People who may not otherwise be able to communicate may start to spontaneously sing along, otherwise vocalize, make eye contact or simply calm down, she said. “But (the new study) was done with people who had a history of singing and
enjoying it and being part of a singing culture. If you try to do this with non-singers I don’t know if they would engage,” she noted. For the study, six patients ages 65 to 83 attended group music therapy sessions twice a week for a month. Four of the patients were born in Israel; the other two were born in Eastern Europe and immigrated to Israel in their early teens. The patients were not able to consent to the study due to their cognitive state, so their legal guardians or main
caregivers gave consent. Ayelet Dassa, a music therapist and the lead author of the study, selected 24 songs popular in Israel between 1930 and the late 1950s for the sessions. “In Israel especially for this group, they came here or were born when the state was becoming independent,” Dassa told Reuters Health. The songs she chose were part of the foundation of the patients’ adult identity, which was tied to their country and their heritage, she said. (Reuters Health)
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur News
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George Clooney rejects apology for UK story on upcoming marriage
JUSTIN BIEBER gets two years probation for egg pelting
George Clooney refused to accept an apology from Britain’s Daily Mail after it published what he said was a false story “insinuating religious tensions” by saying his future mother-in-law opposed his marriage to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. The Oscar-winning actor said the apology showed that the Mail knew the online story about Alamuddin’s mother preferring her daughter to marry within the family’s Druze religion was a lie when it published it on Monday. “What separates this from all of the ridiculous things the Mail makes up is that now, by their own admission, it can be proved to be a lie. In fact, a premeditated lie,” Clooney, 53, said in a statement published in the newspaper USA Today on Friday. “So I thank the Mail for its apology. Not that I would ever accept it ...,” he added. The Mail Online story, which was not published in the print edition, said Alamuddin could be cast out of the Druze community because she would not be wed in a Druze wedding. It added that women have been murdered for not abiding by the Druze religious rules. Clooney rarely comments
about his personal life but he took issue with the Mail Online report for “insinuating religious tensions where there are none.” The Mail Online removed the story from its website earlier this week after Clooney said it was fabricated. It apologized for any distress it had caused and added that the report was from a trusted freelance journalist and based on contacts in Lebanon and Britain. Clooney said the Mail knew the story was a lie and cited another report it had published in April that said Alamuddin’s father had married outside the Druze faith and that her mother was not Druze. “The Mail knew the story in question was false and printed it anyway,” said Clooney, who won an Oscar for best supporting actor in 2006 for “Syriana” and shared the best picture award in 2013 for “Argo.” There was no immediate response from the Mail Online about the actor’s latest comments. Clooney has been dating Alamuddin, 36, since October, according to media reports. News of their engagement was confirmed in April when Alamuddin’s legal practice in London issued a statement congratulating the couple.
Garth Brooks announces country music comeback, digital downloads Country music star Garth Brooks said on Thursday he was coming out of recording retirement and will release new music for the first time in more than a decade. Brooks, who in recent years has been playing concerts in Las Vegas, said at a Nashville news conference he would also make his music available for purchase on his website. The “Friends in Low Places” singer, who has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide, is one of the most successful
musicians who does not allow Apple Inc’s iTunes music store to sell his songs as downloads. Brooks, 52, will also announce a world tour next week. Five comeback concerts planned for Croke Park stadium in Dublin were canceled on Tuesday after authorities denied permits because local residents objected to the disruption so many successive concerts would bring. Sony Music will distribute Brooks’ forthcoming albums.
Pop star Justin Bieber pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vandalism on Wednesday for pelting a neighbor’s home with eggs and was sentenced to two years probation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said. The 20-year-old Bieber, who was not present in Los Angeles Superior Court for his arraignment, was also ordered to pay $80,900 in restitution, serve five days community service and complete an anger management program in what the district attorney called a negotiated settlement. “Justin is glad to get this matter resolved and behind him,” Bieber’s representatives said in a statement. “He will continue to move forward focusing on his career and his music.” The singer, whose hit songs include
“Boyfriend,” was accused of throwing eggs at a neighbor’s home in an upscale Calabasas, California, neighborhood during a dispute in January. Investigators searched Bieber’s home following the incident and arrested a friend, aspiring rapper Lil Za, for drug possession at the house. The incident was the first in a string of arrests and legal problems for the former teen idol, who was later arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Miami Beach as well as being charged with assaulting a limo driver in Toronto. It is not known how the sentence could influence the Miami Beach and Toronto cases. The singer could have faced a felony charge if damage to the home was greater than $20,000.
SoundCloud close to deal with major record labels: Bloomberg
Online music sharing service SoundCloud Ltd is close to a deal with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group for licenses to continue playing their songs and avoid potential legal disputes, Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the matter. SoundCloud is in return negotiating offering a 3 percent to 5 percent stake to the companies as well as a percentage of future revenue, the website reported. SoundCloud is a platform that enables people to upload, record, promote, and share their music and other audio files.
If the deal goes through, SoundCloud would be valued between $500 million and $600 million, Bloomberg reported. The service will pay the record labels based on how many times a song is played until the company’s revenue crosses a certain threshold, the report said. Twitter Inc was also in talks to acquire the Berlin-based startup earlier this year as it sought to add a music service to its offerings. SoundCloud and Sony Music, a unit of Sony Corp, could not immediately be reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur News
GNCPP not part... From page 51 relationship with being able to do our work as private citizens.” However, to achieve this type of civil growth and empowerment that Dr. Thomas said GNCPP is moving towards, the body will be hosting the first ever Guyana National Civil Society Summit (GNCSS) between September 17 and 19 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal. This will involve representatives from some 400 local and international civil societies and non government organizations to implement, “a paradigm shift into a new dispensation on how the country will be governed and managed by a political system imbued with ethics, trustworthiness, transparency, equality and liberation.” Dr. Thomas expounded on his connections with the Guyanese Diaspora and explained how they are feverishly interested and willing to contribute to the cause. He explained that the organization has earned the support of several entities including one US-based charity 'Caring for Others Inc., managed and run by a Guyanese woman who is getting ready to make massive donations locally. The GNCPP has the support of some 60 universities among other educational entities from various disciplines, that are willing to offer scholarships etc. Dr. Thomas explained to the audience that the GNCPP
is aiming to bring about a massive change that demands the voice of civil society. In a television discussion held earlier this year, under the theme “Guyana Human Security and Insecurity”, and “Civil Society's Initiatives to promote Poverty Alleviation,” there was lengthy debate about the pervasiveness of “fear” in Guyanese society, and modern-day social culture. It was related then that, “from public servant to single-parent to aspiring contractor, there exists anxiety, stress and outright fear of rejection or discrimination.” It was agreed that the issue of “fear” at various societal levels threatens to dominate civil society. It was noted however that “the role of Civil Society, which includes the GNCPP, must include the challenge to such a national malady”. It was urged therefore for a more active role of society under Article 13 of the Constitution. It was noted that Article 13 states, “The principal objective of the political system of the State is to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of the citizens and their organizations in the management and decisionmaking processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their wellbeing.”
Music, Lyrics, Innuendo... From page 35 of which embraced the theme of sex. The problem here then is that there is a fairly big difference in the way it is put over in song. Not many people will be unduly offended by sex, matrimonial or otherwise, being clothed in soft tones and romantic sentiments. That somehow seems more acceptable, more socially palatable and less subject to criticism and condemnation than brash dancehall. In our human psyches, the ego and libido, don't like to be unmasked. The façade of a sweetlysuggestive 'love' song is much more tolerable than its barefaced reality. So let's not be too judgmental and selfrighteous in our take on today's songs and music. Some adults who judge some young people may be among the biggest transgressors and
hypocrites you can find, from priests to politicians, and every moralist in between. Human beings are imperfect, and singers/ musicians write and sing about many aspects of this imperfect human condition. Sex and sexual expression are a big part of life, music is universal, and it may simply be that many older folk become very uncomfortable when reminded of their younger libidinous days. Anyway, those of us who are bothered by the lyrics and melodies that pass for music nowadays, shouldn't worry too much. A short generation from now, those who seem caught up in the hedonistic thrall of today's derogatory dancehall and dub lyrics, will probably hold their heads and bawl at whatever kind of new crudity and obscenity their children and grandchildren are gyrating to. And life will go on.
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Sunday July 13, 2014
Immense efforts being made to tackle Chikungunya...
Fogging in Berbice
From page 33 subside within three hours. “Some people still did not want it and we don’t force people,” said Dr Mahadeo. MISCONCEPTION Turning his attention to reports that the mosquito could have migrated from Berbice to other locations of the country, Dr Mahadeo noted that this belief is not quite practical. He explained that “the fact of the matter is that the mosquito does not travel far...even if there is good wind, the maximum that they will travel is about a kilometre, so the mosquito will not be able to migrate.” According to him, this species of mosquito is deemed a domestic type and therefore it lives around human habitation. “This is not the mosquito you would find in swamps, this is not a mosquito that is going to breed in drains and places where there are fishes and stuff like that...This would be the mosquito you find in and around the house and in the yard,” Dr Mahadeo asserted. And once this mosquito targets a victim and moves on to another point it becomes tired and must rest, he informed. EDUCATION DRIVE Since the outbreak of the virus, Dr Mahadeo noted that keen efforts were made to raise awareness among the residents. As part of this endeavour, he disclosed that moves were made to enlighten the public of ways to keep protecting themselves from the virus. These messages, according to Dr Mahadeo, were taken to homes, public places and were even disseminated on street corners. Residents, he said, were encouraged to rid their environments of old tyres, bottles and other containers that can hold water, thereby allowing for the breeding of the virus-carrying mosquito. The mosquito in such environments, he noted, has the potential of reproducing within 10 to 12 years. “I personally had meetings with all the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, Town Council staff; we invited religious
leaders to come, we had lectures with people in Rose Hall, New Amsterdam, Port Mourant and Skeldon; we were in Canje, Whim, Alness and up the East Bank... basically in all the areas, including Orealla and Siparuta. Those meetings were very well attended, even as we continued our daily monitoring of the hospitals and primary health care institution,” Dr Mahadeo disclosed. But according to the CEO, Government, together with the Health Ministry and the Regional Health Authority - which among other things has been ensuring that needful treatment is available - cannot alone tackle the challenge of the Chikungunya virus. “The fact of the matter is that Chikungunya is here and it is not going to go away easily...We have the conditions and people need to do the things to help combat this virus...We can only do about 10 to 25 per cent of the work, most of it has to be done by the communities themselves,” Dr Mahadeo said. CONTINUED EFFORTS While tackling the virus has been a collaborative effort, Dr Mahadeo said that there is no denying that the staff of the Berbice Regional Health Authority must be commended for their ongoing work. “These people came out at two and three in the mornings just to prepare their fogging machines and went home at 12 in the night...I think they deserve some kudos,”the CEO insisted. He noted that while persons in the various communities may still have some concerns about the virus, they should seek answers from the various health facilities. “I would invite anybody who would like to have a discussion and who would like to be a part of this fight against this virus to contact us,” said Dr Mahadeo, who disclosed that the health sector would accept support even in its efforts to tackle Chronic Non-Communicable diseases. “I would also like him to tell people they have to be responsible and join in the fight rather than just lay back and complain,” Dr Mahadeo added.
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur News
TB on the decline in Guyana
T
hanks to the National Tu b e r c u l o s i s P r o g r a m m e , Tuberculosis (TB) has been on a constant decline in Guyana. In fact, within the past 18 months Guyana has seen 150 fewer new cases of persons affected with TB. This is according to Dr. Jeetendra Mohanlall, Head of the National Tuberculosis Programme during an interview, yesterday. He said that from January to June 2014 the programme recorded 203 new cases. During the same period last year 253 persons were diagnosed with TB disease. This vast reduction is noticeable in the cases recorded in the prisons. During the first half of this year the programme recorded only three new cases of inmates being affected by TB in all five prisons. This is indeed the lowest number of new cases recorded in the prisons in over 10 years. The infected inmates are in isolation from the general population and are being treated with the DOTS programme. He attributed this achievement to the excellent screening programme which is done periodically. A central team comprising Dr. Mohanlall, Dr. Rogers and Prison’s DOTS (directly observed treatment, shortcourse) Supervisor Mrs. Gerilyn McKenzie, have been working assiduously to ensure this success rate. The team works in collaboration with the medical staff of the prisons and other TB staff in the regions. The screening programme ensures all persons who come into contact with infected inmates and new inmates are tested and preventative therapy is provided. The programme is not surprised by this achievement since in 2013, about 90 percent of inmates affected by TB were cured. However, providing the care and treatment needed for inmates is challenging owing to the possibility of release from the prison system. Inmates who are found affected and have six-months and above stint
in prison would be fortunate to undergo the full course of treatment. Nonetheless, the programme does not advocate for persons to be denied their liberty. He said that persons are also screened for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and provided with the necessary counselling and treatment. Dr. Mohanlall, who has been with the programme for over a decade, said that in 2003 when the National Tuberculosis Programme initiated the DOTS programme in the Georgetown Prisons there were 39 new TB cases detected. “So we had increased screening for contact, persons coughing and new inmates to ascertain an on entry evaluation. Since 2003 we have rolled out the DOTS programme to cover all the prisons. We are doing screening block by block and cell by cell,” he said. But periodic screening was not enough and so about three years ago the National Tuberculosis Programme hired a Prisons DOTS Supervisor to supervise and monitor TB activities in prisons such as screening and investigations. The National TB programme was facing several challenges with the health authorities in the prisons not doing these important investigations promptly for the Chest Clinic team to evaluate the prisoners. Dr. Mohanlall emphasized that the investigative aspect of the programme is important and includes three periodic tests— X-rays, sputum microscopy and mantoux tests. Prisoners who are diagnosed with TB are also given a nutritious milk supplement, to boost their systems. Another initiative that contributes to the success of the programme is the work of the TB Control in Prisons Committee that meets three times per year. This Committee was established in March, 2006 thanks to the PanAmerican Health Organization for playing an instrumental role in its establishment.
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$500M for city clean up…
Community scrutiny needed to ensure lasting and sustainable impact - Luncheon Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, is contending that the $1B beautification campaign, $500M of which has been allocated for Georgetown and the other $500M across Guyana, should come under the scrutiny of the community for it to be impacting. According to Luncheon, “We must not be dismayed by the challenge. We must recognize that many good intentions line the way to hell and indeed it is the community that has to keep scrutiny on how this project evolves and the ways in which the $500M would have a lasting and sustainable impact on the environmental and other aspects of the Capital City of Georgetown.” The Ministry of Local Government and National Development was identified as the executing agency for the $500M as opposed to the City Council. Luncheon justified this. “There is simply no doubt in our minds that the worst possible alternative to the Ministry of Local Government leading this effort is to repose it in the hands of this City Council. “This City Council is a non starter; its involvement is necessary because it is a statutory body and indeed it is their obligation to undertake these works but they don’t have the environment at the City Council that causes any one of us to be confident that a $500M injection would end up precisely where it is ending up under the Ministry of Local Government.” He said that Local Government established a committee to implement and address how the money will be expended “in
Georgetown in the period remaining before the end of this fiscal year and ditto for the rest of Guyana.” According to Luncheon at the Cabinet meeting on July 8, last, Minister of Local Government Ministry, Norman Whittaker, presented an update that highlighted to Cabinet one main feature “which was to go out and consult the eleven wards in Georgetown, the residents therein on the use of these resources being proposed by the Ministry of Local Government.” “So over the next three weeks a range of consultations would be taking place in Georgetown at the community level to invite the attention of residence to the main features of the expenditure plan for this $500M,” said Luncheon. He said that there is a considerable aspect of the clean-up campaign that deals with mobilization of the residence in communities where work is being done apart from the silting of canals, the silting of drains and internal roads “that will be outsourced, bidding documents, public tender for that aspect of the plan.” Self help Community Based Organizations (CBO) Luncheon said will benefit financially from being “involved in cleaning up in their own activities.” The other big one according to Luncheon is the Le Repentir Cemetery that the Minister of Local Government has proposed a dedicated effort to deal with three aspects of the cemetery’s rehabilitation and the consultations thereof. According to Luncheon, “$500M in less than six months is a tall order and is indicative of the interest of Central Government in addressing these problems in Georgetown.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday July 13, 2014
Once homeless handicap gets own shelter ..compliments of Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd. and Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc.
A
few years ago, a h o m e l e s s handicap, h u m b l y requested his sustenance, beside the traffic lights of Vlissengen Road, with nothing in his ownership, but what he called ‘faith’. Clive Richmond, 47, once an active fisherman and farmer, suffered a severe accident on the Timehri Public Road which left him physically disabled, and consequently impoverished
and homeless. He told Kaieteur News of his hospitalization at the Georgetown Public Hospital for 36 months, and said that life after the tragedy was extremely difficult. He could not work, or help himself in basic routines. This condition left ‘Clive’ to beseech help on the streets. He explained that life on the road was ‘difficult and depressing,’ and he had no one to turn to. He said that all he had left was ‘faith in
God’. He said he ‘struggled through his test’, until one Mrs. Kowlessar and her husband, housed and fed him for a number years. However, what was recently gifted to Clive Richmond, made him ‘extremely happy, overjoyed and thankful’ to all parties involved. O n T h u r s d a y, t h e partnership and generosity of Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd. and Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc.,
presented Richmond his own property on a plot of land granted to him by the government, at Lot 669 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara. This initiative was executed by Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc. and financed by Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd., who currently donates GUY$1 (one dollar) to Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc.; on every product it sells, to construct homes for extremely disadvantaged individuals. Those who attended the presentation included, the Director of Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd., Anjuli Beharry, Marketing Assistant of Edward B.Beharry and Company Ltd., Shivanand Singh, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Inc., Rawle Small, Chairman of Habitat for Humanity Inc., William Harris, Construction Manager of Habitat for Humanity Inc., Kiambu Douglas, Clerk of Works, Cedric Daniels and the Communications Representative of Habitat for Humanity, Eilanna LukeKing. An opening address by Eilanna Luke-King, highlighted the role of Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc. and their progress over the past years. She said the non-profit Christian organisation’s main goal aims to eliminate poverty housing in Guyana. She said that, to date, the
Clive Richmond happy with his new home. organisation has built over 350 houses countrywide and encouraged locals to contribute toward the effort. Director of Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd., Anjuli Beharry, said that it was the company’s way of giving back. She expressed a feeling of honor to be part of giving Richmond a ‘place where he could be safe at night, somewhere he could call home’. She said the company looks forward to continue the partnership with Habitat For Humanity Guyana Inc. Rawle Small said that the partnership between Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc. and Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd. aims to ‘see changes in the life and spirit of disadvantaged people by
providing affordable housing for them’. “Clive is the most positive person I’ve ever met,” he said. “He told me that he went to many places asking for a house.” He explained that Clive saw him as the last option, and so he made it priority to help him acquire a home. After a reading of the scripture and exhortation by Brother Cedric Daniels, a bible, golden apple plant, food hamper and the keys to the house, were presented to Richmond. The house was blessed by William Harris, who is a pastor. A ribbon was cut at Richmond’s door to inaugurate the opening of his home. The total cost of Richmond’s home is $2.4 million.
Sunday July 13, 2014
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Spares for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Yamaha outboard engines, various sizes, tundra wheels, boat trailer – Tel: 220-1981, 690-1945 One used Xbox360 & TV with two controls & four games - $100,000 – Tel: 6217497; 603-8643 One fruit dryer machine (new) 2 compressors, distilled water machine, 4 mag rims - Call: 231-5171 or 619-7134 One XBOX Video game & XBOX Gaming Disc – Call: 675-3061 Dressed and mill cut lumber: Kabukalli, Silverballi, Greenheart, Crab Wood etc Call: 688-6579 PVC Ceiling Panels (USA Standards), all-purpose joint compound, Thompson’s concrete water proofer – Tel: 614-8564; 639-3675; 680-0862 Fluffy Tibetan Puppies Contact: 645-0240; 685-0942 Games for PS2, PS3, XBOX360, WII, consoles also available – Call: 6722566, 265-3231 SONY PLAYSTATION 2 WITH MEMORY CARD & 2 GAMES. PS2, PS3, XBOX360 ORIGINAL GAMES –TEL:609-8132; 672-8569 (MAX) One 4 Wheel Drive Massey Ferguson Tractor - $2.8M – Tel: 697-2492 Pure bred Rottweiler puppies for sale – Contact Natasha: 653-5132, 626-1743 Toyota Premio & new model Spacio, never registered – Call: 227-5950, 681-7117 2-4 Burner gas stoves, 1Chicken plucking machine, 1- Juicer – Tel: 226-4705. Windows, Air Conditioner, 2 Milwaukee saw-saw, computer desktop – Tel: 686-5625 New American made Wener, aluminum ladder: 17 feet$28,000; 24 feet- $38,000, 32 feet- $55,000 – Tel: 609-7257, 602-5794 CAKES & PASTRIES Floral Arrangement, cake decoration, cake & pastry Contact Sharon: 223-3303; 672-8768
Kaieteur News
FOR SALE Used pedicure chair, hair dryer and salon chair – Tel: 668-9583, 698-5272 One EFI RZ, one Bramhin ZEBU foreign breed bull & two milking cows with calf – Tel: 684-1336; 231-1256 View Sonic Projectors & computer monitor - Sizes: 17inches – 27inches (new) – Contact: 623-4919; 646-7768 Pure pit-bull puppies, seven weeks old, price: $30,000 – Tel: 658-3072 Air boat 480 Likanoing Engine Exc, 1-650 Kawasaki Scrambler Motor Bike Exc, 140 Ton ice machine cooling tower – Tel: 616-2222, 6281200 MERCURY 99.99% PURE ELEMENTAL LAB GRADE QUALITY, NOT CHINESE! BEST PRICE! – CALL: 592648-5281 New and used fryers, food warmers, 1 RX8, 125 KVA Diesel Generator 5500 watts generator – Contact Raj: 2604643 Used double door fridge from $30,000 – Tel:223-4207 Need body parts and accessories for Tacoma, Tundra, & Titan? – Contact: Eddie’s Auto Parts : 227-2835; 227-5381 One stall at Stabroek Market – Tel:679-1151 Dell/HP computers with 17", 19"& 20", LCDs from $55,000, laptops from $55,000. Contact Future Tech: 2312206
CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental - Call: 2257126/ 226-3693 dollys autorental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com ProgressiveAuto Rental: Cars & SUV for rental- $4,000 & up per day- Call: 643-5122, 219-3900 ,Email:pro_ autorental @yahoo.com Wings Car Rental- Call: 6906494/ BBM PIN: 24E17558 Aidan’s Car Rental, Canter & Pickup- Call: 645-7981/ 6987807 LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
VACANCY 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 670-8893/684-2838 GUARD for Land of Canaan, accommodation available, LORRY DRIVER living on E.B.D. 266 4427 Part time Medical doctor, Medical lab. Tech. Nurse – Tel:698-2809 for Appt. Exists for Cashier, apply with application & passport size picture @ Survival, Lot 173 Sheriff Street. Tel: 227-5286/9 One female to assort goods & labourer, apply in person @ Alabama Trading G/Town Ferry Stelling Vacancies @ Shell Regent & King Streets: Shift operators, pump attendants & cashiers – Call: 225-0079 Accountants & Checkers at RA Soda Factory, also #7 Bakery for rental – Contact: 330-2399; 330-2772 Bahamas Catholic Board of Education to teach Electrical Installation & Auto M e c h a n i c s : director@cec.edu.bs/ cathboed@coralwave.com – Tel:1-242-352-2544 Factory experienced girls to sew on industrial machines –Contact Roxie’s Fashion: 227-8538/ 6224386 Experienced/professional seamstress to measure & cut only - Salary: $150,000 flexible hours – Call Roxie: 622-4386; 227-8538; 696-4397
LAND FOR SALE Land for sale at Better Hope South – Price $6,350,000, negotiable – Tel: 642-7898 15 Acre transport land opposite Timerhri Docks, next to Kamuni Creek – Tel: 2224708 La Parafait Harmonie - $1.2M, $1.4M, Schoonard - $2.5M, Eccles - $3.5M, Herstelling $3.2M, Grove (with foundation) - $2.6M- Call: 675-7292 Vacant corner lot @ Lot 90 Garnett & Republic Streets Newtown Kitty- Tel: 645-0616 Land at Tucshen New Scheme – Contact : 699-1821 or 647-2007 At Eccles Housing Scheme – price $6.5M – negotiable – Call:616-6000 PEN PAL Lifelong partners, friends, companions- Call: 223-8237/ 648-6098 (8:30AM – 5:00PM) both phones, same hours. Confidential rules apply.
PROPERTY FOR SALE 1-2 storey wooden & concrete house with 5 bedrooms, upper flat & lower flat 4 apartments located@ Shell Road, kitty - $34M - Tel: 642-7898 Diamond: Avenue A - Three bedrooms, two-storey concrete house & 1st Bridge - Flat concrete & high house. Have property for sale? Contact: 643-7633 1-3 storey business – Opposite GPHC, Middle Street, 2 business property @ Whim Public Road Corentyne, Price Negotiable – Contact:6197134; 225-6481 Two transported properties (house & land) & One 100 acres farm land with live stock & fruit trees. – Tel:6928923 2 STORIED CONCRETE 5 BEDROOMS 3 TOILETS & BATH, AIR CONDITION/ HOT& COLD, MULTIPLE PARKING, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY – TEL:6098132; 672-8569 (MAX) Durban Street- $34M, Robb Street - $22M, Nandy Park $22M, AA Eccles - $55MContact: Diana 227-2256, 6269382 2 Storey wood & concrete, 3 self-contained apartments, concrete garage, yard, fence @ Shell Road E.B.D – Price negotiable – Tel: 658-5452 Two storey concrete house (26X45 ft), 4 bedrooms, 3 washrooms, grilled with electronic security @ Grandville Park, Beterverwagting - Tel: 6726169 Three Bedrooms, 2 storey house & land, @ Guyhoc Main Road, $15M negotiable – Tel:264-2154 Two storey with two three bedrooms apartment with kitchen , bathroom and toilet at Tuschen EBE – Contact:650-2982 Planning on buying a building or land from $1M$50M – Call Ron’s Real Estate: 675-7292 Double lot at Ruimzeight, W.C.D – Call: 629-1532; 6647326 Two storey concrete house on a corner lot, land 4079.6 Sq.ft @ Christiani Street, North Ruimveldt, G/Town$40M Neg. Contact: 600-0831 Enterprise East Coast Demerara, Luxury 6 bedrooms including master room W/ Jacuzzi, etc - $38M – Call: 650-0716; 619-5357; 223-1051 Two storey wooden & concrete house with 5 bedrooms upper flat & 1 bedroom in lower flat at Craig, E.B.D – Tel: 627-6810
Page 63
SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773
VEHICLE FOR SALE 2006 Blue Nissan Titan. Fully Loaded GSS Series. Contact: 604-6108.
Summer Special: Earn a certificate in cosmetology, wig designs or nails alone, limited spaces - Call Abby: 619-7603, 666-5241
Mitsubishi Car EVO 2 mag rims, DVD/CD, air brush – Tel: 610-6927 One Toyota Hilux, Extra Cab, Excellent condition – Tel: 663-4978 One Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, PMM Series Call: 2250188, 223-7500, Mon-Fri 8:154:15pm, Sat – 8:15-1:15PM
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Permanent & Visitors Vi s a Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 2256496, 662-6045 Repairs, sales & spares, air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032,647-2943
AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms - Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash. Also parts available & 30 seater buses; extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 Toyota Raum, AT212, AT192, L-Touring Wagon, AE110 Corolla, Tacoma, 2007 Year Model, fun cargo – Tel: 6445096; 6971453 Best 2007 Nissan Titan f l a i r, t r u n k c o v e r, 2 2 " mags, air brush $2.8MCall: 674-9593 New model Raum: PRR Series, very clean - $1.550 Neg. Contact: 662-6024 or 233-6337.
Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312, 627-3206 (Nick) For low cost: Repairs to fridge, freezer, A/C unit, microwaves, TV & washing machine - Call: 629-4946 or 225-4822
One Toyota Mark II, Grande (GX110), excellent condition, leather interior, 18" Chrome $2.5M – Tel: 613-5308
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer- Call Omar: 2310655, 683-8734
1 Ford F150, Colour: Silver, Mint Condition, price - $3.5 M- Call: 610-0808
We Refill HP Printer Ink $2,000; Cannon printer ink $2,500. Phone: 650-7699 COOL TECH: Repairs Service & Installation of all types of homes appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration Units – Tel: 233-2008; 675-4959 A/C & fridge re-gas & repair - $8,000 – Tel: 223-4207 PROFESSIONAL VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES FOR WEDDING AND EVENTS. BRANDING AND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS PRODUCTION – TEL: 603-6823 Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, washing machines, A/C units – Call Lindon: 6411086, 694-2202, 227-8907 Start an internet in the interior - $500,000 until July 20th, No data Cap! – Contact wechatting.com/ 672-4090/ 225-8061 BrianMoe@642-3543; Computer Technician; FB:Brian.Moe.165; Home and office visits at your comfort!! Cell phone unlocking, also PSP games - $800 – Contact: 675-2239 or BBM7A3D58C2
2003 Toyota Spacio, PMM Series, good condition $1.5M negotiable – Call: 6289489; 688-5257 First Class Auto: 2006 Premio, 2006 Allion, 2004 Spacio, IST, Axela, Fielder, Rush – Call: 609-8188; 638-3045 AT192 with AC, mags, music - $820,000 – Tel:675-2650 One Toyota NZE PLL Series excellent condition, fully loaded 17" Chrome, rims, alarm system & music- $1.7M Negotiable – Contact: 6916707; 625-6043 Toyota AT212 Car, Toyota Vigo Jeep, Nissan Pathfinder Jeep, fully loaded, excellent condition, price negotiable – Call: 687-2237/ 225-8427 Toyota Hilux Surf 4X4 Jeep, 3RZ Engine, Low Mileage, Asking $3.5M – Call: 6002984; 618-2984 One Toyota Spacio (Year 2002) – Contact Suraj: 6921135 One Toyota RAV4, 2002 Model, engine capacity 2000cc, in excellent condition, price negotiable - Tel: 611-1385 (Continued on page 64)
Page 64
Kaieteur News
Sunday July 13, 2014
Five member team set up to investigate PNC Kissoon/ Clarke incident (From page 63)
LEARN TO DANCE Learn Latin Dancing in 1 Day! @ National Park Tarmac, July 27th, 2:30-5:30, Register now! $2,000 (1 person) – Call: 6126475; 629-8842
EDUCATION: I.A.E is registering students for its secondary school, Forms1-5; CXC classes for adults – Repeaters and beginners – Call: 223-0604; 683-5742 Summer Classes: Phonics, Language, Mathematics, Art & Craft, fun day (4-12yrs) July 15th – August 15th @ Roxanne Burnham – Call: 6194355; 218-2076 I.A.S 2nd Street Alberttown, summer classes – 4-17yrs ($5,000 for six weeks) CXC classes for adults, 1200 per Subject – Tel:223-7906; 6905008
WANTED Live out domestic babysitter and live in babysitter –Call: 225-0188, 225-6070 (Monday to Saturday ) (8:15am4:15pm) Experienced taxi & bus driver at Princess Hotel, Providence – Tel: 616-5419/265-7076 One live in experienced domestic must know to cook & bake. Starting salary $70,000 monthly – Tel:6105043 Over edge and straight stitch operator to work at Garment Factory – Call: 222-2541 Monday – Friday Salesgirl/boys and porters apply in person, to Avinash Water Street 8:30 to 4:30 Berbice or Essequibo – Live in family: Husbandhandyman duties & WifeLight domestic – Tel:2271830 CLEANING LADY TO COOKAND CLEAN HOUSE MUST KNOW HOW TO COOK GOOD GUYANESE FOOD, EBD. TEL: 684-2552 Female worker needed, 3 CXC subjects or sound secondary school education - Call: 612-1595 One live-in maid; must know to cook & clean properly – Call: 681-6044 One maid from ages 35 – Tel: 231-3647. Ask for Sandy
TEACH YOURSELF: C O R E L D R A W , P H O T O S H O P , ILLUSTRATOR, IN DESIGN, MICROSOFT WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT AND AUTOCAD, TRAINING TUTORIALS AVAILABLE – TEL: 603-6823 Female between ages 20Canadian School of Arts & 35yrs to work in snackette & Science: Now enrolling bar; must know to cook – Call: students for summer classes 647-7432; 223-5798 in remedial Mathematics & TWO SECURITY GUARDS English – Call: 216-6921 WITH DRIVER’S LICENCE/ Writing CXC January/June POLICE CLEARANCE, 2015 Mathematics, English. AGE: 24-44YRS. APPLY BOX10506, Additional Mathematics, P.O. Business Subjects Students, GEORGETOWN workers, Form 3, 4&5 – Call: Barber & Tattoo Artist with 231-2076 Mr. Lee customers needed to work Transitional foundation @ barbershop in Kitty, summer classes July 21st – opposite Police Station – Aug 21st: Forms 1 &2 Maths, Call: 662-2209 English/Lit, Spanish, Music, We buy all house lots in La Home EC, Social Etiquette- Parafaite Harmonie, Call: 227-7850 Mr. Lee Schoonard, Eccles & anywhere else – Tel: 6 75-7292 ACCOMMODATION Tourist Villa: Furnished Workers for land dredge, one Rooms & apartments- 1, 2 male Bahier - $80,000 monthly &3 bedroom apartments at – Tel:616-6702 affordable rates – Lot 95 One general domestic – Fifth Av e n u e , Telephone: 223-9725 Subryanville – Tel: 227Wanted to buy industrial 2199; 227-2189; 227-2186 straight stitch & surging WANTED machines – Contact Roxie’s One experienced wash bay Fashion- 227-8538; 622-4386 worker urgently needed, One driver for 212 preferably please call: 223-6474/694- from East Coast – Contact: 690-4154 0569/693-1782
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Furnished two bedroom apartment at Eccles AA Scheme, One bedroom apartment – Tel: 686-5625. One bottom flat in Enmore $35,000 monthly – Call: 677-1495 Newly constructed apartment on WCD furnished/ unfurnished in healthy and safe environment – Tel: 6986496 Store @ Good Hope, Public Road, ideal for pharmacy or automatic parts, security cameras & showcases included – Call: 614-8018 Hair & nail salon at Mon Repos, furnished or unfurnished - Tel: 220-7315 or 655-5858. One 1 bedroom apartment at Church Street, Friendship, E.B.D – Call:266-2494; 6618700 To let – Four bedrooms top flat, semi-furnished, 2 bathrooms, patio, driveway @ Kitty – Call: 650-0716; 2231051 Prime business flat 100X25 (Boutique/Store/Office) @ Hadfield St. Behind Brickdam Station – Contact: Simone 626-5317; 227-0501
A five member disciplinary team has been set up to investigate the “incident” between APNU Parliamentarian Vanessa Kissoon and People’s National Congress (PNC) General Secretary, Oscar Clarke. According to reports out of the party, Kissoon, a Member of Parliament representing Region 10, was suspended after she reportedly got into a shouting match with the General Secretary of the PNC in the presence of several other party members and other persons who were at Congress Place recently. Kaieteur News was told yesterday that the team was elected on Friday. Investigations will commence on Monday. One source told Kaieteur News that it is unclear how long the investigation would last. The source said that party members are hoping that the matter is concluded very swiftly. It was explained that the matter is being pushed out of proportion, the way it is reported on in the media. It is hoped that once the investigation is completed the truth would be known about what really transpired.
TO LET
MASSAGE The Gents Spa: Beautiful qualified masseuses, new attendants from Cuba & Trinidad, drinks available – Tel: 657- 5979
DRESSMAKING Jean offers courses in dressmaking, designing curtains, floral decoration & cake decoration – Tel: 6181706; 670-2653. LEARN TO DANCE Learn Ballroom dancing in 10 weeks, every Monday & Thursday – starting 10 July 2014 – Call: 642-9053; 6170170 TO LET Two storey 3 bedrooms house, fully grilled with all modern amenities in Diamond, E.B.D – Tel: 6582998
Fully furnished 2 bedroom apartment for rent with TV, Air-condition , hot & cold, cable (in south) for foreigners –Tel:689-5877 Rooms for rent (preferably female) Tel: 649-4711 Furnished and unfurnished two bedrooms apartment in Eccles, for short or long term – Tel: 690-6494 One bedroom apartment at Ogle, E.C.D - $30,000 – Tel: 628-8667 Kitty - $100,000, Kingston$140,000, AA Eccles $US1200, Lamaha Garden $US1000 – Contact Diana: 227-2256; 626-9382 One bedroom apartment, upper flat, for rent @ lot 2387 Diamond H/Scheme, E.B.D $32,000 (thirty two thousand per month) – Contact: 6029302 One apartment to sublet to a single working female at Windsor Forest W.C.D – Tel: 652-0163 Two bedroom house top or bottom flat to let at Mc Doom E.B.D- Tel: 233-0044 Business Space on public road- Call:613-0448/ 672-8625
This newspaper was told that the argument erupted after Clarke requested the keys to the PNC Linden office from Kissoon. One source close to the party said that Clarke had been continuously asking Kissoon for the keys, but was being given various excuses by her. The party had reportedly appointed someone to overlook and maintain its Linden office and as such needed the keys which were in Kissoon’s possession. The source told Kaieteur News that following Clarke’s request, “all hell broke loose and Kissoon became very disrespectful. She was shouting and carrying on, and it was loud. She was even
rushing up to the General Secretary as if she wanted to fight and had to be pulled away by other staff members at the PNC office”. Kissoon was later suspended from the party. Following the suspension Opposition Leader David Granger was accused of acting outside of his purview. However Granger has maintained that he acted well within his authority as Leader of the PNC as is stated within the party’s constitution. Granger has said that his decision was supported by the Central Executive Committee of the party. Kissoon has been alleging that she is being treated “unfairly”.
US-based Enterprise... From page 55 $400,000 to the top 25 students. The group is always anticipating good results from students of Enterprise Primary. They are overjoyed, but they also want them to go on and achieve much more academically, both at the secondary and tertiary level,” Lall stated. He urged parents to play a greater role in their children's education, especially at the Grade Two and Four levels, since this will ensure better performances at the Grade Six Assessment. Lall said that it is possible that the ESG USA Inc. will consider rewarding the top Grade Two and Four performers. Another Steering Committee Member, Parmanand Dindyal, explained that despite the offer made by the overseas group to assist with university education, not
many persons are taking it seriously. The group is offering to support university education to students of Enterprise who achieve certain grades throughout their secondary school years. But according to Dindyal, the students who are eligible have not been achieving the target. “We asking dem for their report cards and dey failing to turn up,” the local steering committee member told Kaieteur News. “Most of the students tend to discontinue further education after leaving secondary school. Dey go and start to work. They want to earn dem own money and do dey own thing. No one has approached us to assist dem to go through university,” Dindyal explained. Apart from education, the ESG USA Inc. has been assisting needy families in the communities.
Ramsammy warns... From page 61 ensuring that every fisherman's need is met.” Guyana is the only country in Caricom whose fishing industry has recorded constant growth over the past 16 years.” Meanwhile, the Chief Fisheries Officer, Mr. Denzel Roberts, compared the industry, then and now, by adding how congested the seas and oceans have become with fisherfolk all trying to get fish. “So we recognize that Guyana has an adequate supply of fish, but we must realize that if we don't take care of it, we will lose it. “We want to ensure that fishing is here for not today and tomorrow, but for very far into the future.” He expressed the hope that there would be 100 per cent of fishermen who are licensed; as opposed to the current 40 per cent figure of those with licensed.
Sunday July 13, 2014
Kaieteur News
Israel deploys more missile interceptors, Gaza death toll up to 125 GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel rushed an eighth missile interceptor battery into service yesterday to counter strongerthan-expected rocket fire from Gaza as the military pounded positions in the Palestinian enclave for a fifth day, killing 19 people, medics said. The Jewish state kept options open for a possible ground offensive into densely populated Gaza despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire in the conflict, which has killed 125 people in the Islamist-ruled enclave since Tuesday. The U.N. Security Council, after days of discussion, issued a statement calling for a ceasefire and expressed serious concern about the welfare of civilians on both sides. “The Security Council members called for de-escalation of the situation, restoration of calm and reinstitution of the November 2012 ceasefire,” the 15-member body said. A mosque in the central Gaza Strip had been bombed to rubble, residents said. The Israeli military said the mosque had housed a weapons cache. Eight other mosques have been damaged by bombing and 537 Gaza houses have either been destroyed or damaged, Gaza-based Al-Mezan Association for Human Rights said. Yesterday, no Israeli had been killed by the rocket salvoes out of Gaza, due in part to Iron Dome, a partly U.S.-funded interceptor system. Racing for shelter has become a daily routine for hundreds of thousands of Israelis, and some 20,000 reservists have been mobilized for a possible thrust into Gaza. “In the past week, we carried out a very complex technological exercise to deliver the eighth (Iron Dome) system,” a Defense Ministry official said on Israel Radio. Israel said it was determined to end crossborder rocket attacks, which intensified last month after its forces arrested hundreds of activists from the Islamist Hamas movement in the West Bank after the abduction there of three Jewish teenagers who were later found killed. A Palestinian youth was then killed in Jerusalem in a suspected revenge attack by Israelis. Asked if Israel might move from the mostly aerial attacks of the past four days into a ground war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We are weighing all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities.” Casualties on both sides would probably rise sharply if Israeli forces stormed the largely urbanized enclave. A ground invasion of Gaza would be the first since a three-week war with
Hamas in 2008-09 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Egypt’s state news agency said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had met with Tony Blair, envoy for the so-called Quartet of United Nations, EU, Russia and United States, in efforts to secure a truce. An Israeli government official said Blair had met with Netanyahu on Friday. “There are no serious contacts toward a truce. There are many proposals, but as long as Hamas keeps firing, Israel will keep fighting and will not discuss a truce.” Cairo played a crucial role in mediating a truce that ended an eight-day war between Hamas and Israel in 2012, when Egypt was governed by Hamas’s Muslim Brotherhood allies. Egypt’s current military-backed government is locked in a feud with Hamas over the group’s alleged support for jihadi militants in Egypt’s Sinai desert - which Hamas denies. This could complicate Cairo’s efforts at mediation. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: “We will not beg for calm and we continue to defend our people. Once we are offered a genuine, coherent and serious proposal, we will look into it.” Gaza medical officials said at least 82 civilians, including 25 children, were among the 125 dead so far from air strikes on the territory into which nearly 2 million people are packed. Three militants and 15 other people, including two disabled women at a rehabilitation center and a 65-year-old man, were killed by air strikes early yesterday, doctors there said. An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment. One of the dead in an air strike that killed six people in a Gaza street was identified as the nephew of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader in the territory. Israel says Hamas puts innocent Gazans in harm’s way by placing weaponry and gunmen in residential areas. A senior Israeli military officer said aircraft had aborted “hundreds” of strikes to avoid collateral damage and that targets bombed were meant to impact Hamas fire capacity. “We are dealing with a variety of families of targets. If there is a kind of a map, or a map of pain that the enemy sees, we create a lot of pain so that he will have to think first to stop the conflict,” the officer said in a briefing to reporters. Israel says it has hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers from the Nahal Infantry Brigade walk across a field near central Gaza Strip yesterday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
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Ukraine jets pound rebels Disputed Afghan after deadly missile attack election to be recounted in full
KIEV (Reuters) Ukrainian war planes bombarded separatists along a broad front yesterday, inflicting huge losses, Kiev said, after President Petro Poroshenko said “scores and hundreds” would be made to pay for a deadly missile attack on Ukrainian forces. In exchanges marking a sharp escalation in the threemonth conflict, jets struck at the “epicenter” of the battle against rebels near the border with Russia, a military spokesman said. The planes targeted positions from where separatists, using highpowered Grad missiles, bombarded an army motorized brigade on Friday, killing 23 servicemen. Warplanes also struck at targets near Donetsk, the east’s main town where rebels have dug in, destroying a powerful fighter base near Dzerzhinsk, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the “antiterrorist operation” said. “According to preliminary assessment, Ukrainian pilots ... killed about 500 (rebel) fighters and damaged two armored transporters,” Lysenko told journalists. In an earlier air attack on a base near Perevalsk, north of Donetsk, two tanks, 10 armored vehicles and “about 500” rebel fighters were destroyed, he said. Rebel representatives, quoted by Russian news agencies, denied they suffered big losses and said the Ukrainians were using outdated intelligence on where separatist forces were deployed. “There were no volunteers (rebels) where the Ukrainian aviation was active yesterday,” said a spokeswoman for the Luhansk-based separatists, referring to the Peravalsk attack. Earlier, the border guard service said jet fighters were scrambled to strike at the proRussian separatists after they resumed missile attacks on government forces deployed near the frontier with Russia, south-east of the city of Luhansk. In the military action, which began on Friday evening and continued well into Saturday, five Ukrainian servicemen were killed, Lysenko said. There were 16 overflights by Ukrainian fighter jets in all, he said. The surge in violence on Ukraine’s border with Russia, south east of Luhansk which is controlled by separatists, sparked fresh Ukrainian
Ukrainian army soldier from battalion “Aydar” guards local residents as they leave the village of Metalist near the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk. REUTERS/Viktor Gurniak accusations against Russia of involvement in the border fighting. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry demanded Russia stop supporting armed groups in its eastern region, and end “provocations” on the border. “The Russian side cynically disregards the fact that Ukrainian servicemen and peaceful civilians are being killed at the hands of terrorists whom it is supporting,” the Foreign Ministry said. “But, on the other hand Russian border guards complained in a letter about Russian household pets being killed by a supposed Ukrainian artillery shell, 500 meters (yards) from the border.” Rebels had also carried out mortar and missile bombardment of army checkpoints at Dyakove and Nyzhnoderevechka near Luhansk, the “anti-terrorist operation” said. Journalists based in Donetsk said Ukrainian forces shelled Maryinka, a suburb, on Friday night and apartment blocks bore traces of fire on Saturday. Igor Strelkov, separatist commander in Donetsk, said his men had headed off a plan to move fighters and armor into the area. Subsequent Ukrainian shelling had killed 30 civilians and the number of casualties could rise, he said. Vladyslav Seleznyov, main spokesman for the “antiterrorist operation”, said the violence there had been caused by rebels out to discredit the Ukrainian armed forces. Poroshenko, whose forces recently seemed to be prevailing over the rebels, vowed on Friday to “find and destroy” rebels responsible
for the missile attack at Zelenopillya, which also wounded nearly 100 and was one of the deadliest yet against government forces. The increasing violence will bring a new sense of urgency to diplomatic attempts to end the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. After a pro-Western revolt in Kiev ousted a Moscow-backed president in February, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and pro-Russian separatists seized strategic buildings in towns in the Russianspeaking east, setting up “people’s republics” and declaring they wanted to join Russia. More than 200 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed since then, and hundreds of civilians and rebels have also died. The United States and the European Union have brought in limited sanctions against Russian businesses amid Ukrainian allegations that Moscow has fanned the conflict and turned a blind eye to military equipment and Russian fighters crossing the border. On Saturday, the EU targeted 11 Ukrainian separatist leaders with travel bans and asset freezes, swerving away from fresh sanctions on Russian business to avoid antagonizing its main energy supplier. ] The rebels’ missile strike on Friday at a motorized brigade was against part of a contingent of troops sent to the area specifically to try to block military equipment and guns being brought in from Russia to help the rebels. Rebel fighters said Ukrainian fighter planes had
also carried out air strikes on Saturday in the eastern town of Horlivka. “There were a series of powerful explosions. Details are being clarified,” a separatist representative, Konstantin Knyrik, was quoted as saying by Russia’s Interfax news agency. Friday’s military setback at Zelenopillya took the gloss off the government’s recapture of the rebel stronghold of Slaviansk last weekend. The Ukrainian military, following the Slaviansk victory, says it has readied a plan to oust the rebels now from Donetsk, a city of 900,000 people where separatist forces are dug in. Poroshenko has said the military plan will be aimed at protecting civilians there and had appeared to rule out the use of air strikes and artillery to crush the rebels. Poroshenko, who was also urged by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to use a sense of proportion in actions against the separatists, had further talks on Friday with Donetsk mayor Aleksander Lukyanchenko on the issue. Western allies and Russia are pressing for a new meeting of the ‘contact group’ involving separatist leaders to try to negotiate an end to the crisis. Poroshenko says he has proposed various venues for the talks but has said there will be no repeat of a 10-day unilateral ceasefire by government forces which lapsed on June 30. The Ukrainian government says that ceasefire was repeatedly violated by the rebels and that more than 20 Ukrainian servicemen were killed while it was in force.
(Reuters) - U.S. State Secretary John Kerry convinced Afghanistan’s feuding presidential candidates yesterday to agree to a total recount of last m o n t h ’s presidential election, which has threatened to split the country along ethnic lines. After two days of intense talks between Kerry, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, all parties agreed that the best way out of the acrimonious and protracted deadlock was to delay the inauguration and recount all the ballots from scratch. Preliminary results from the run-off vote on June 14 put Ghani, a former World Bank official, well ahead but Abdullah rejected the result, claiming widespread fraud and calling the outcome a “coup” against the Afghan people. In a joint news conference with Kerry held just before midnight, the two rivals agreed to abide by the outcome of a U.N.-supervised recount. “Both candidates have committed to participate in and abide by the results of the largest and most comprehensive audit,” Kerry said. “Every single ballot that was cast will be audited... This is the strongest possible signal by both candidates of the desire to restore legitimacy to the process. “The recount was scheduled to begin within 24 hours, but was likely to take several weeks, meaning that a presidential inauguration scheduled for Aug. 2 will have to be postponed. The dispute has raised concerns about a smooth transition of power in Afghanistan just as U.S.-led troops are leaving after 12 years of fighting the Taliban. The stakes are high for the United States. Washington hopes to settle the dispute quickly so it can sign a security pact with Afghanistan allowing a contingent of U.S. troops to stay in the country beyond this year. Unlike incumbent Hamid Karzai, both Abdullah and Ghani have both promised to sign the deal promptly, but the standoff over the vote has delayed the process. After his own talks with Kerry, Karzai said he welcomed the initiative and hoped the full audit would start quickly:
“The people of Afghanistan have been patient and they are in a hurry and would like to hear as soon as possible the result of the election and witness their next president.” Abdullah’s support is mainly in the north, among the Tajik minority, while Ghani is supported by Pashtun tribes in the east and south. Observers have warned that if the dispute is not resolved quickly, Afghanistan could split along ethnic lines, with further violence likely. Karzai, catapulted to the presidency 12 years ago by Western powers after the ousting of the Taliban, is expected to retain influence after stepping down, and Abdullah has accused him of rigging the vote in favour of Ghani. Abdullah and Ghani had not met in person since the vote but Kerry managed to bring them together at a U.N. compound in central Kabul to give a joint news conference. “This audit will be conducted in accordance with the highest international standards,” said Kerry, flanked by both candidates. As he announced the total recount, many in the audience gasped. “The auditing will be internationally supervised in a manner proposed by the U.N. assistance mission; the candidates’ campaigns will each provide joint oversight of the audit.” In a show of unity after months of bitter bickering, Ghani kissed Abdullah on the cheek after addressing reporters. “Since we have agreed to a 100 percent audit of ballots, I request from President Karzai to postpone inauguration of a new government,” Abdullah said. In comments to reporters on Friday, Kerry said Afghanistan’s transition to a self-reliant state hung in the balance unless the legitimacy of the election could be restored. Washington has warned of repercussions if either side declares victory and tries to grab power illegitimately. The United States is in the process of withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting Taliban insurgents, but the country remains dependent on foreign aid, principally from Washington, its biggest foreign donor.
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PAC to question Auditor General on sole sourcing report Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, in September 2012, announced that he was finalizing a report on some of the most controversial government contracts which his department was investigating. But two years later, the Parliament is still to receive this report. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Carl Greenidge, said that the Auditor General should not have taken two years to complete that process. The politician said that the matter should have been dealt with expeditiously and as such, at its next committee meeting, he will be asked to provide an update on what has become of the report and why there was a delay. Sharma had said that he was looking into the controversial projects of his own volition as he is responsible for auditing all public projects. These include the Amaila Falls road project and the Hope Canal on East Coast
Demerara. He had also noted that his department was finalizing a report on drug supply contracts and that it would be laid in the National Assembly soon. A check of the Parliament library for the report revealed that there was no such report in their archives. Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, also said that to the best of his knowledge, the Parliament had not received that report as yet. The Audit Office was also contacted to ascertain the whether the report was completed but a female employee said that the Auditor General was in a meeting and that the report was not finalized. Calls to Sharma even up to late yesterday afternoon proved futile. As it relates specifically to the procurement of drugs, the political opposition has said on several occasions that Government had not adhered to the rules of sole sourcing. The single source method is
Teacher arrested for alleged sexual assaults on students Mohamed Sheikh, a teacher said to be in his late 20s, residing in the Coastal Region and attached under the Ministry of Education, has been arrested in Lethem, following alleged sexual assaults on a male and female student, at his school in
South Rupununi. A group of concerned village representatives, acting on information relayed to them from the school, filed a report against Sheikh at the Lethem Police Station. Investigations are currently being conducted by the police.
in Section 28 of the Procurement Act 2003. It says that for single sourcing to take place, it must be a case where the goods are available only from a particular supplier or contractor, or a particular supplier or contractor has exclusive rights with respect to the goods and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. As in the case of the procurement of drugs, the opposition had said that the pre qualification requirements were changed to such an “unreasonable” extent that it forces only one person or company to qualify for the supply of pharmaceuticals. That company is the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC), owned by former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Under the revised criteria for the pre-qualification of suppliers of drugs and medical supplies, the bidders must demonstrate a gross
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma
Carl Greenidge, PAC Chairman
turnover of $1B (US$5M) and net assets of $500M (US$2.5M). One of the Ministry’s criteria is that maximum score will be awarded to applicants who have paid $50M in corporate taxes annually. The company with 50 or more employees, and warehousing capacity of 30,000 square feet in the city, will also gain an edge. New Guyana
Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) is the only supplier, locally, with its own bond of that size. According to the revised prequalification criteria, maximum points will also be awarded in the evaluation process to the applicants who have been supplying Government for more than seven years without any negative reports. A Partnership for National
Unity’s (APNU), Shadow Minister of Health, Dr George Norton, said that potential distributors are at an absolute disadvantage due to the government practice of overlooking the bidding process. Even the Auditor General report in several instances focused on multi-million-dollar deficiencies in the procurement and supply of products from the New GPC. Dr Norton said that contrary to Government’s belief, the New GPC does not have the capacity to supply the quality and quantity of medications countrywide. Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon had said that the timeframe for which bidders who were prequalified to supply drugs to the Ministry of Health, has expired but Government is still to complete evaluation of potential new suppliers. He added that all new contracts would have to await the results of the current process of vetting suppliers to be prequalified.
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$4.6B spent without parliamentary approval … Jamaican-born chaplain tipped to become Church of Ashni Singh’s behaviour has England’s first female Bishop triggered a constitutional crisis LONDON, (AFP) — The Church of England could be set to allow its first female bishops — and not before time, says one of those tipped for the job, adding the days of women being left to arrange the flowers are gone. Rose Hudson-Wilkin thinks it would be “seismic” if the Church votes tomorrow to allow Anglican women to take the top jobs after decades of debate on their role. As a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Jamaican-born HudsonWilkin is already one of the most prominent women in the Church of England. But she is a passionate advocate of a woman’s right to break through the “stained glass ceiling”, 20 years after the first ordinations of female vicars. “It will be a big deal,” she told AFP, referring to a possible yes vote. “This has been on the agenda of the Church since the 1920s, from the time of the suffragettes when women were saying actually, we’re human beings, we don’t want to be patted on the head and
told: ‘There dear, you’ll be alright doing the flowers or making the cups of tea’. “We have gifts and skills and abilities and we want what we have to be placed on the table as well.” The Church of England’s General Synod will hold a vote Monday which, if passed, could see the first women bishops named by the end of this year. That would mark the end of a divisive struggle in the Church, where opposition from conservative Anglicans led to the rejection of a previous proposal in 2012, prompting an outcry from many clergy, worshippers and lawmakers. A mother of three whose husband is also a chaplain, Hudson-Wilkin was born in 1961 and said she felt “called” to the clergy when she was just 14. She moved from Jamaica to live in Britain in 1985 and became a vicar in the first wave of female ordinations in 1994. Quoting Bob Marley during an interview in the lavish 19th century formality of London’s Houses of Parliament, she seemed equally comfortable with
ceremony and simplicity. She modestly played down media suggestions that she could be one of the first women bishops if the measure goes through. “Everybody thinks that, I’m too busy enjoying what I’m doing,” said HudsonWilkin, who also acts as vicar of two churches in ethnicallydiverse east London. “It is the Church that calls you to act in that role, not you that puts yourself forward.” But she argued that having women as bishops would only make the Church of England “richer”. “Women make up perhaps just over half the population and I think that it is rather out of date to have a major institution like the Church of England that is still run by an all-male group,” she said. “It is about valuing each other. If I value you, I’m not going to put you into a little box and tell you to stay there. “I’m going to let you flourish, I’m going to let you achieve and become the best you can be.” The Church of England is the “mother church” of the global Anglican Communion, which covers some 80 million people in over 165 countries. Anglican women bishops have already been ordained in countries including the United States, Canada and Australia. A Church of England vote in favour of women bishops would not compel the remaining Anglican churches to accept them but could act as a powerful precedent.
- Greenidge tells House By Abena Rockcliffe A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, has made yet another attempt to bring Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh into account for his “illegal” actions. Greenidge, on Thursday, tabled a motion in the National Assembly seeking to bring Dr. Singh before a Parliamentary Privileges Committee. But that motion is pending as the House awaits a written ruling from the Speaker on whether or not he will accept it. Once a motion of privileges is moved, no debate is allowed nor is voting required. It is solely up to the Speaker to either send the motion to the Committee of Privileges or not accept it. Greenidge told the House that Dr. Singh violated the law by spending monies disapproved by the Combined Opposition during the 2014 Budget debates, as reflected in a $4.6B Statement of Excess which the Minister tabled. That Statement of Excess is yet to be considered by the House. The Oppositional Member of Parliament told the House that a “constitutional crisis” has been triggered by the Finance Minister’s use of public funds because the sums included on the $4.6B Statement of Excess represent expenditure not approved by the National Assembly. Greenidge argued that
“He (Dr. Singh) spent the money then come for us to approve what we had already disapproved.” Greenidge said that the Minister continues to defy the decisions of the House and has to be held answerable for his actions. He said that this cannot be condoned. But those sitting on the government’s side argued that Greenidge “can’t go behind his (Dr. Singh) back and do this.” As heckling prevailed, and things started to get out of control, House Speaker, Raphael Trotman reminded that such a motion cannot attract a debate. Trotman said that Clerk of the Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, has received a copy of the motion signed by Greenidge and co-signed by Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan. He told Members that Greenidge would not have known that the Minister would have been absent from Thursday’s session. The Finance Minister, who was granted leave of absence from Thursday’s sitting of the House, has been defending the “legality” of his spending. The Minister has been using Section 218 (3) of the Constitution to justify his actions. To date, in the 10th Parliament, four Statements of Excess have been tabled, 58 per cent of which has been approved by the combined Opposition.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh Last December, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) made good on its promise to hold Dr. Singh accountable for allocating unapproved monies that the combined opposition cut from government agencies and projects in the Budget 2013. Leader of the Opposition, Brig. David Granger, had announced that Dr. Singh’s action was unlawful and that APNU will initiate action through the National Assembly to deal with “Ministers who feel that they are not accountable to the National Assembly and who behave in an unlawful manner.” Last year, the Opposition cut $31.35B from the National Budget. During the Ninth Parliament, Housing Minister Irfaan Ali and Mrs. Deborah Backer were referred to the Committee. Only Mrs. Backer’s matter was ever heard but the Committee’s recommendations were never implemented by the House. In relation to Ali, Parliament was dissolved before the matter was heard against him. The Committee of Privileges may recommend to the House that a Member be reprimanded or called on to apologize or face suspension.
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“Sunday July 13, 2014 - My 13th World Cup Final – What great excitement!” Ha! Ha! In my article on Sunday June 29, 2014, quarterfinals’ time, I predicted that Germany, 2014’s best team; likely winner too; would meet Argentina in today’s W-C final! I am very seldom wrong, except with lottery numbers! Brazil, including Neymar, is ordinary, while skipper Tiago Silva is world class and was missed, but comparisons to past Brazil teams is sacrilege! I even invited bets that Brazil, awful all tournament, would not make the final. No one took me up. They were a disaster waiting to happen, and should have lost from Game 1 v Croatia.
To date, I have ‘enjoyed’ 13 Soccer World Cup Finals, from 1966. A “country-boy”, turning 13 in 1966, so scared when I was to attend one of Guyana’s better high schools, Central High School in Georgetown, I cannot remember much about 1966’s final, except England beating (West) Germany, controversially; 4 – 2. England’s extra time 3rd goal, by Geoff Hurst, per Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst, is still questioned. Did the ball actually cross the goal line? Thankfully, 2014’s new goalline technology has, to a point, solved that type of mystery! 1970 was my ‘coming out’
year, including understanding international football! 17, in 5th form, good at mathematics and sciences, representing CHS at table tennis, football and cricket, I was primed for my first series for Guyana; West Indies Under-19 cricket tournament; played in Guyana. With my father, who also died in 1970, every kick was followed on a short-wave Phillips tubed radio as big as a 13-inch television. Had Italy, including Luigi Riva and Gianni Riviera, played any other team in 1970’s final, except maybe similarly talented Germany, including Wolfgang
Sunday July 13, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Uptight is the word for today, Aries. At some point you might find yourself the center of attention. While you normally might not mind, now it could make you a bit nervous. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You're likely to want to be left alone with your own thoughts today. Relaxing with a good book might be at the top of your agenda, Taurus, and you aren't liable to want to be interrupted. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Worries over money could have you edgier than usual, Gemini. While you may be doing well, you still could be insecure and think your funds might not stretch far enough. Try to consider the situation objectively. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): You probably crave solitude, Cancer. Even though you may have committed to attending a party or two, now you find the idea irritating. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Although you're normally a sociable person who feels most comfortable in the company of others, Leo, today you might rather be alone. You could feel a little under the weather or be stressed from job-related worries. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): You tend to enjoy solitude, Virgo, and today you might feel more reclusive than usual. You could be invited to go out with friends but not feel like accepting. You might even feel a little irritated by them.
LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Today there might be tension in the air with no discernible cause, Libra. Family members could seem preoccupied with problems they can't quite define. Your natural inclination might be to try to cheer them up, but it probably won't work. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): You could get some mysterious phone calls today, Scorpio, like wrong numbers or hang-ups. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21): Confusion over money matters might come up for you today, Sagittarius. You may need to check your records in order to shed light on some past transactions. Don't panic. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Someone close to you might seem more preoccupied than usual, Capricorn, and perhaps a bit difficult to deal with. Don't take this personally. It has little if anything to do with you. He or she doesn't want to share their troubles. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): Today you might be feeling a bit tense, Aquarius, and you probably won't understand why. The secret? ********************* PISCES (Feb. 19 March 20): You probably aren't going to feel much like socializing today, Pisces, though friends might want you to go out. Your patience has worn a bit thin and you could get annoyed at incidents that normally wouldn't bother you.
Overath and incomparable Franz Beckenbauer, my “best player ever”, Italy could have won. But Brazil was mesmerizing, beating Italy 4-1 in Azteca Stadium, Mexico, nearly 108,000 present! Stupendous, superlative, spontaneous, Brazil’s 1970 names still swing off the tongue like magic – Felix, Piazza, Everaldo, Carlos Alberto, Pele, Tostao, Rivelino, Gerson, Brito, Clodoaldo and Jairzinho – best team to play football anywhere! Assistant Air Traffic Controller in 1974, when “Kaiser Franz” lifted FIFA’s new World Cup as Germany’s captain, I too was playing much football, using strength and elasticity from that faster game to help my stamina and fitness for cricket! 2014’s Germany is not as good as 1974’s, not even 1990’s, but that Brazil shellacking, 7-1, was brutal. Germany could have scored 10! Playing Test cricket by 1976/ 7, I was pleased to be contracted to Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester, and able to view all of W-C 1978 from Argentina. The “Live” commentaries of 1978’s tournament is still, including 2014, the best descriptive, blow-by-blow broadcasting I have ever heard, in any sport! Osvaldo Ardilles and Mario Kempes powered Argentina. Holland fought with Ruud Krol and Johnny Rep. Argentina’s 1978 W-C victory was a small miracle too. The country was under strict military rule! 1982, trained as a commercial pilot, and family man, still playing for WI, Brazil was led by “Dr.” Socrates. But Brazil, and (West) Germany – finalists - led by excellent Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, could not stop Italy, and that gazelle, Paolo Rossi. Italy beat (West) Germany 3-1! 1986, migrated to USA, I saw
the “Hand of God” goal, by arguably the best player ever, Diego Maradona. The greatest irony is that Maradona scored a 2nd goal that day too, “best individual goal ever”, taking the ball from midway in his own half, “beating” most of England’s outfielders, before scoring. Spectacular! Argentina beat (West) Germany in that splendid final; 3-2; 114,000 attending again at Azteca Stadium. Assistant Engineer by 1990, when Germany, reunified, exacted immediate revenge, beating Argentina 1-0, in Rome, a violent final, but confirming Beckenbauer, 1974’s winning captain, 1990’s winning manager, as the genius and legend he remains! USA 1994 brought impressive innovation by ESPN. With technology advancing steadily, ESPN superimposed uninterrupted games inside an envelope bordering television screens, which still showed sponsors’ continuous commercials too. Brilliant! Extra time 0-0, Brazil beat Italy 3-2 on penalties, dedicating their victory to Formula 1 driver Aryton Senna, who also died in 1994. America caught soccer fever then too! Re-migrated to enraptured Caribbean, and piloting, by 1998, when Jamaica represented our region well, all enjoyed as surprising French, finishing with 10 men, but including magnificent Zinadine Zidane,
Colin E. H. Croft says: beat defending champions Brazil 3-1. 2002, South Korea and Japan, an experiment, two countries hosting for the first time, which FIFA won. Brazil won its fifth championship too, beating their nemesis Germany 2-0, the best two teams in competition, especially defensively, courtesy of a magical display by Ronaldo. 2006 was “Soca Warriors” time, Trinidad & Tobago carrying our exuberant enjoyment to Germany, where, after extra time, 1-1, Italy eventually beat France on penalties 5-3, the other head-line being 1998 French hero Zidane being sent off for head butting Italy’s Marco Materazzi! 2010’s final, in South Africa, saw Spain beat Holland amid noisy vuvuzelas and a plethora of yellow cards, the most dastardly final ever, Spain eventually winning, 1-0, through Andres Iniesta. Massive excitement, 48 years of W-C finals. 2014, Germany meet Argentina, again. History does repeat itself, several times! Enjoy!
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U-15 practice match All set for horserace meet washed out at GNIC today at Alness Race club
The planned practice match at the GNIC ground for the National under-15 team was washed out without a ball being bowled yesterday despite brilliant sunshine all day. The GNIC ground remained in an unplayable condition forcing the team, which is preparing for this year’s Regional under-15 cricket tournament in Jamaica from July 22, to resort to their second consecutive day of
practice at the indoor nets at the Guyana Cricket Board’s Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence in LBI. The team which being led by Bhaskar Yadram, one of three players returning from last year’s team, Managed by Essequibian Andy Ramnarine and Coached by Berbician Julian Moore, are scheduled to depart Guyana on Friday.
BK International Inc. Golf Tournament rescheduled The BK International Inc. Golf Tournament scheduled for last weekend was cancelled and will now be played on the July 19, 2014, Tee off time is 11:00am. The cancelation was due to the heavy rain fall that left the course very soggy. Club President David Mohamad noted that he wants the players to have good
and safe conditions to play in and those conditions were not good. He also had praise for the Grounds superintendent, Mike Guyadin who, informed of the condition and advised on the cancelation of the tournament. The club regrets any inconvenience and looks forward for a full turnout and excellent weather on the 19th.
Senanayake banned from bowling due to action ESPNcricinfo - Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake has been banned from bowling in international cricket, after his action was found to be illegal following bio-mechanical assessment in Cardiff. Senanayake was reported for a suspect action during Sri Lanka’s fourth ODI against England at Lord’s on May 31, and testing at the end of June found he exceeded the allowed 15-degree flex limit in all four types of his deliveries which were assessed. Among Senanayake’s variations from the stock offbreak were the doosra, an arm ball and a seamup slider. If the bowler is unhappy with how the biomechanical tests were conducted, he now has the option of lodging a notice with the ICC within 14 days, in order to request a hearing with a Bowling Review Group (BRG).A BRG usually includes a humanmovement specialist, a former player, a former umpire, a current
match referee and two ICC officials. If Senanayake doesn’t appeal the decision, he will have to undergo remedial work on his action before he is allowed to bowl in international cricket again. He had been suspected of an illegal action once before when he had toured England with Sri Lanka A in 2011. But he had worked on his action on that occasion, and been cleared in subsequent tests undertaken at the University of Western Australia. If he comes back to international cricket and is then reported and then found guilty of having an illegal action again, within two years of his first suspension, Senanayake will be banned from international cricket for a minimum of one year. Though Senanayake has been through the testing process before this occasion, this is his first suspension. Both he and Sri Lanka cricket will however be wary of rushing him back to top-level cricket until
Despite the inclement weather the Alness Race Track, which has been out of action for close to two years, is set and ready for racing action today. According to the organizers all is set for horseracing action to return to the track, which is one of the better racetracks in the country, when that entity holds a grand one day horserace meet today at their Alness, Corentyne, Berbice venue. The distance for the races have been shortened with the D and G class races being 1200 M events while the other events will be 1000 M affairs. There are seven races on the day’s card with close to $5M up for grabs including cash, trophies and other incentives. So far over 55 horses have entered. There are a number of feature events on the day’s cards with the race for animals’ classified D3 non winners for 2014 and E and lower over 1200M with a first prize of $500,000 being the feature race. Among the horses
entered in that event are California Strike, Run Nana Run, Monsoon, Swing Easy, Jack Is My style, Bridal Stone Corner, and Crazy Hyde among others. The G and lower event over 1200M with a first prize of $300,000 and trophy will see the likes of Feels like Gold, She So Special, Silent Night and Bridal Stone Corner among others. Most of the other races on the programme have full entries with the likes of Savion, Iron Man Mary Ann, among other entered to participate. The other races on the day’s programme are the ‘I1 and lower1000M even for a $250,000 winner’s money and trophy. The animals in the ‘J1’ class event will be competing for $180,000 winners money over 1000M. There is a race for J3 and lower horses which will see them running over 1000M for a winning take of 150,000. There is another J3 and lower event this time for maiden animals (which never won a race) over 1000M for a
winner’s money of $140,000 and trophy. The final event on the programme is for K class horses for a winners money of $150,000 over 1000M. Sponsorship on board are from Banks DIH, Guyana Tourism Authority, Trophy Stall and Shariff Business enterprise and Racing Stable. With their well known ability in bring off outstanding and successful events, the organizers have vowed to make this occasion a memorable one and set the stage for the rest of the year. Outstanding individual performers including top Jockey, trainer and stable will be presented with accolades compliments of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market and the organizers. Over 50 horses have so far entered to take part in the day’s activities. Last minute information can be had from Marcel Crawford Jr. on Telephone number 678-5342, Nikita Ross 662 4668, Compton Sancho 690 0569 and R Matadial 325 3192.
Kwakwani edge MHS in NSBF U-16 thriller
Sachithra Senanayake’s action was deemed to be illegal after testing in Cardiff © Getty Images thorough remedial work has been undertaken. Senanayake has been a key component of Sri Lanka’s limitedovers success in 2014, often bowling inside the Powerplay overs and presenting significant menace through the middle overs. He had been the top wicket-taker in Sri Lanka’s ODI series in England in May and June, and had contributed to World T20 and Asia Cup victories as well. He had an ODI average of 34.82 from 37 appearances, stretching back to early 2012. The ICC’s findings are also a significant blow to Sri Lanka’s World Cup preparation, as Senanayake was expected to be Sri Lanka’s lead spinner in that competition.
Kwakwani Secondary School edge McKenzie High School (MHS) 48-46 in an Under-16 thriller of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) which continued Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Kemmol Benjamin s c o r e d 1 6 p o i nts and grabbed four rebounds while Domair Gladstone had 12 points and six rebounds to lead Kwakwani to the impressive win against its Region 10 rival. Kevlon Cadogan had 15 points and seven rebounds for Kwakwani. Meanwhile, in the Elite 24 All-Star game, the Gray Te a m f e a t u r i n g p l a y e r s from Georgetown beat the Green Team 53-49 with Daniel Haynes scoring 12
- Gray Team wins All-Star Game p o i n t s a nd Nathan Saul adding nine points for the winners. For the opposition, Terron Welch Scored six points and grabbed six rebounds. The Gray Team included Jonathan Pooran, Marvin Durant, Travis Belgrave, Timot h y Thompson, Patrice Agrippa, Shaquille Adonis, Daniel Ramlagan, Jaleel Duke, Judah Stephney and Shakeel Garnett while the Green Team included Leonard Primo, Shafeek Thomas, Edmare Semple, Dennis Niles, Romone Fogenay, Durvash, Roopnarine, Daniel Anthony, Dellon Wallace, Shemroy McKenzie and Travis Sulton. The Elite 24 is used as
the shortlist for the Inter– Guiana Games (Basketball) team. Continuing in the U-16 competition, St. Roses High School beat Marian Academy 53-48 with Saul scoring 25 points and Shamar Huntley 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dwayne Obermuller had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Marian Academy. In the girls’ competition, Saints beat Roses 10-6 with Felicia Johnson scoring six points and Natasha Seymour four points and three rebounds. For Roses, Jada Amerally scored four points with four rebounds and four steals.
“Don’t be afraid to flight the ball and spin it and don’t try to bowl too fast,” Devers, whose best bowling for Guyana is 5-62 against Barbados, advised the spinners. After talking with the players, who asked questions, Devers, a level-two cricket Coach, had a bowling session with the spinners in the team and wished them well as they attempt to give Guyana its third title at this level. Also a non-practicing Umpire, Devers was invited to
talk to his spinners by Coach Julian Moore who played with him for Bermine at the first division level. GCB’s Territorial Development Officer (TDO) former West Indies pacer Colin Stuart, who played with Devers for Malteenoes at division one level, said it was good that the team was exposed to Devers as a resource person due to his knowledge of spin bowling. Skipper Yadram thanked Devers for his contribution on behalf of his team.
Devers emphasizes importance... From page 75 dedication, fitness and most importantly play team cricket if you want to do well and win since cricket is a team game,” Devers, who represented Guyana from 1987-1989, told the Bhaskar Yadram led unit. Devers, who now makes a living from covering cricket, told the youngsters what to expect in Jamaica, saying the heat of the sun and bounce from the pitches there should be some of the things they should be prepared for.
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Record stand and late wickets give hosts hope BBC Sport - A record last-wicket partnership between James Anderson and Joe Root, and two late wickets, gave England an o u t s i d e c h a n c e o f an extraordinary victory over India in the first Test. Anderson and Root thrilled a packed Trent Bridge to put on 198 surpassing the 163 scored by Australia’s Phil Hughes and Ashton Agar at the same ground last year. Anderson scored 81 - the highest score by an England number 11 - with Root unbeaten on 154 as England made 496 to open up a firstinnings lead of 39. The late wickets of Murali Vijay (52) and Cheteshwar Pujara (55) in successive balls left India on 167-3, 128 ahead with one day remaining. Although the draw remains by far the most likely result, England will know that quick wickets today could yet leave them with a tempting target on a pitch that remains good for batting on. Anderson told BBC Sport: “It’s still sinking in what we’ve achieved. It’s a great day for us and we’re really happy we’ve got our team back in the game. “We can come here tomorrow and put a bit of pressure on the Indians in the morning. If we get a couple of early ones, who knows what could happen?”
Root, who began the day on 78 with England 352-9, completed his fourth Test hundred off 186 balls as he and Anderson frustrated the India bowlers. Anderson, 23 not out overnight, was dropped on 46 but delighted a capacity crowd in recording the first fifty of his 168-match first-class career. His innings surpassed the previous highest score by an England number 11, the 59 not out made by John Snow in 1966. Clearly irked, India captain Mahendra Dhoni crowded men around Anderson’s bat, but the tailender responded by finding the boundary with upper-cuts, reverse sweeps and pulls. Root, who frequently turned down singles to shield Anderson from the strike, was more orthodox, driving crisply on both sides of the wickets as he posted his third score of 150 or more in 18 Tests. Having reached lunch on 81, Anderson looked poised to become the first number 11 to score a Test hundred. But before he could add another run to his score, an edge off Bhuvneshwar Kumar carried to first slip, where Shikhar Dhawan dived to his right to claim a fine onehanded catch. Anderson’s delight at his record-breaking batting feats soon turned
Joe Root and James Anderson added 198 for the final wicket. (Getty Images)
to dismay as England wasted an early chance off his bowling. Vijay edged a full delivery but wicketkeeper Matt Prior was late diving and could not get a glove to the ball. The openers added 49 before Dhawan brought about his own demise. Having breezed to a run-a-
ball 29, he cracked a low full toss from Moeen Ali straight back to the bowler. For nearly 30 overs, India were cruising, with Vijay and Pujara both making half-centuries. But in the final half hour, Vijay was caught behind trying to smash Moeen out of the ground
and Pujara cut Liam Plunkett to Ben Stokes at backward point off the next ball. Another wicket or two would have put England in a position of real strength, b u t Vi r a t K o h l i a n d Ajinkya Rahane calmly saw out the last six overs to leave the hosts requiring
early breakthroughs on Sunday to keep alive their hopes of an unlikely win. Scores: India 457 and 167 for 3 (Pujara 55, Vijay 52, Moeen 2-39) lead England 496 (Root 154*, Anderson 81, Bhuvneshwar 5-82) by 128 runs.
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Seasoned Germany expects to edge past Argentina RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Germans expect the experience that runs through their team to give them the edge over Argentina in today’s World Cup final after admitting they restrained themselves when they thumped Brazil in the semi-finals. Germany ruined the samba nation’s dream of winning the World Cup when they hammered Brazil 7-1 on Tuesday but forward Thomas Mueller revealed it could have been worse. The Europeans were leading 5-0 at halftime and decided during the break that they would not embarrass the hosts by showboating with fancy passes or trick shots. “With the score the way it was, we said we should avoid being arrogant and to refrain from humiliating the opponent,” Mueller said on Friday. “There was this agreement and it came from the players themselves.”
Mueller, one of 10 names short-listed for the Golden Boot award given to the best player of the tournament, said Germany were anticipating a much tougher match from Argentina so could not afford to let up at any stage against the South Americans. “I’m not expecting that we’ll be ahead 5-0 at halftime again like against Brazil even though that would be nice,” he said. “It could end up being a tight match like against Algeria or France. But it doesn’t matter. We know what we have to do.” Germany captain Philipp Lahm also said there was no room for sentiment in the final, adding that his team was single-minded in their approach to the game. “We’re here to win the Wo r l d C u p , ” h e t o l d reporters at Germany’s secluded training camp at Santo Andre. “The experience we’ve got all the way through our team is
definitely an edge for us.” END OF AN ERA Regardless of the result, today’s match will mark the end of the road for Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella, who is stepping down, according to his agent. A former midfielder who was capped eight times by Argentina, Sabella got involved in coaching after he retired as a player in 1989 and took on the national job in 2011. “ H e ’s g o i n g . H e ’s leaving whatever happens. Whether they are champions or not, a cycle is ending,” agent Eugenio Lopez said. Argentina were fined 300,000 Swiss francs ($336,000) by FIFA on Friday for failing to bring players to four pre-match news conferences during the World Cup. However, the sport’s world governing body did pick three of their players Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and midfielder Javier Mascherano - for the Golden
Germany’s national soccer team player Philipp Lahm (L) and his teammates run during a training session in the village of Santo Andre north of Porto Seguro July 10, 2014. REUTERS-Arnd Wiegmann Boot shortlist. Germany had four players selected, Mueller and Lahm plus Mats
Hummels and Toni Kroos, while Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez, Netherlands forward Arjen
R o b b e n a n d B r a z i l ’s Neymar, who was injured in the quarter-finals, were also nominated.
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Darren Bravo, Ross Taylor Netherlands beat Brazil in thirdplace match to add to host’s misery guide Red Steel home ESPNcricinfo - Fifties from Darren Bravo and Ross Taylor helped the Red Steel overcome a shaky start and chase down 125 against Barbados Tridents to begin their CPL campaign on a winning note in Grenada. After their seamers had done a good job of restricting Tridents to 124, Red Steel began their chase in the worst possible manner when their opener Nasir Jamshed edged Shoaib Malik to first slip off the very first ball of the innings. They were dealt another blow three overs later when Evin Lewis also departed cheaply, leaving Red Steel precariously placed at 20 for 2 after four overs. Any hopes Tridents had for an unlikely win, however, were quickly dashed by a resolute thirdwicket stand worth 95 between Darren Bravo and Taylor. Both batsmen were happy collecting singles at
the beginning and at one stage went more than four overs without a boundary, but as the target inched closer, they began to open up. Darren Bravo looted Akeal Hossein for 17 runs off the 15th over, including two sixes down the ground, and followed it up with another big hit in the next over off Rayad Emrit. Taylor provided ample support during the partnership, stroking six fours and a six during a 51-ball 62, but could not quite take Red Steel over the line himself as he was trapped lbw by Ravi Rampaul in the 17th over. Ta y l o r ’s w i c k e t , however, was too little too late for Tridents, as Darren Bravo steered the team to a seven-wicket victory with 15 balls remaining. He remained unbeaten on 54, hitting three fours and sixes apiece. Earlier, Red Steel,
having won the toss, sent Tridents in to bat. Shane Dowrich and Dwayne Smith began with a solid opening stand of 40, but incisive bowling from Red Steel’s pacers ensured that the runrate stayed under seven an over. Dowrich top-scored with 37, but received little assistance at the other end, as a middle-order wobble meant Tridents slumped from 83 for 2 to 99 for 6. Jason Holder accelerated towards the end with a 9-ball 17, but could not make a significant difference to the team, as by then Dwayne Bravo and Kevin O’Brien had already snared two scalps apiece to doom Tridents to a below-par total. Scores: Red Steel 125 for 3 (Taylor 62, Darren Bravo 54*) beat Barbados Tridents 124 for 6 (Dowrich 37, Dwayne Bravo 2-17, Kevin O’Brien 2-6) by seven wickets.
Julio Cesar can’t stop a penalty kick from Robin van Persie early in the first half. (Damien Meyer AFP Getty Images)
Blel Kadri wins stage eight BBC Sport - France’s Blel Kadri produced a terrific solo ride to win stage eight’s first mountainous race of the Tour de France. Kadri rode clear of four other escapees in the last 25km, including Britain’s Simon Yates, to be first to the summit finish at Gerardmer La Mauselaine. Alberto Contador finished second to claw three seconds back on leader Vincenzo Nibali, his main rival for the overall victory, who finished third. “Today was my day, and I’m really happy,” said Kadri. Team Sky’s Richie Porte finished fourth on the stage, to move up to third overall, one minute 58 seconds behind Astana’s Nibali. In another enthralling finish, Italian Nibali, who began the day with an advantage of two minutes, 37 seconds over Tinkoff - Saxo’s Contador, tracked the Spaniard up the final 1.8kmlong ascent and believed he could have kept closer but for a technical mistake. “On the final climb Alberto kept attacking but I managed to follow him quite comfortably,” said 2013 Giro d’Italia winner Nibali of the stage’s final climb. “I got the wrong gear and he accelerated straight afterwards. “The important thing was that I was there. He
Brazil players react at the end of the match. (Fabrica Coffrini, AFP Getty Images) Blel Kadri (EPA)
took three seconds in the last 100 metres. I don’t know how significant that can be.” But it is Kadri who deserves the plaudits for a sensational ride that began early in the stage when he, Yates and Adrien Petit (Cofidis) set off in pursuit of Niki Terpstra and Sylvain Chavanel to form a five-man breakaway. The quintet opened a lead of 11 minutes on the relatively flat opening three-quarters of the 161km race from Tomblaine. However, with tired legs in their group and 12km of climbing spread across three hills in the final 30km, the peloton began to reduce their deficit. Chavanel and Kadri, sensing they would be caught, broke clear again with 25km to go, the latter pushing on alone to be first to reach the summit of the first and longest of the three climbs, a 7.2km ride up Col de la Croix des Moinats.
AG2R rider Kadri stayed clear on the descent, building up a lead of more than two minutes over fellow Frenchman Chavanel, while Yates, who rode clear of Petit a n d Te r p s t r a ( O m e g a Pharma - Quick-Step), was between Chavanel (IAM Cycling) and the peloton. Yates, who rides for Orica GreenEdge, was caught by the chasing peloton a few hundred metres from the finish and eventually finished 43rd, almost six minutes behind the stage winner. Kadri also toiled up the final climb, which featured gradients of 16% but he had built up enough of an advantage to clinch a comfortable victory. Riding solo over the stage’s three climbs also ensured that Kadri took ownership of the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey from countryman Cyril Lemoine.
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the Netherlands a 3-0 win over host Brazil in the hird-place match at the World Cup on Saturday. With the result, the Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten in regular play for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals. After finishing runner-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since it lost the final in 1974 and 1978. The loss added to Brazil’s frustration at the home tournament following the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the team was loudly booed by the nearly 70,000 fans that attended the match at the National Stadium in Brasilia. Many had already left even before the late third goal by the Dutch. Van Persie converted a penalty kick three minutes into the match after Arjen Robben was brought down by Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the edge of the area. Blind added to the lead in
the 17th with a shot from near the penalty spot after defender David Luiz made a mistake while trying to clear a cross in front of the goal. G e o r g i n i o Wi j n a l d u m rounded off the win in injury time with a shot inside the near post. “The most beautiful was our resilience. We were knocked out but we came back and finished third,” Wijnaldum said. “We wanted to close it out well.” Brazil looked lost from the start, making many of the same defensive mistakes that marked the historic defeat to the Germans four days ago. The Netherlands took advantage with quick passes and speed in the attack. Silva had to foul Robben after being beaten on the run, leading to van Persie’s firm leftfoot shot into the right upper corner to put the Dutch ahead. The Dutch wanted a red card for Silva for a professional foul, but Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi only gave him a yellow. Silva had missed the semifinal against Germany because of a yellow card
suspension. Blind added to the lead after Luiz failed to clear a cross, heading the ball right back to the Dutch defender for an easy goal. Wijnaldum closed the scoring in injury time with a goal from inside the area after a cross by Daryl Janmaat. Brazil’s best chance in the first half came on a free kick taken by Oscar in the 36th, but Silva and Luiz were not able to reach the low cross in front of goal. In the second, Ramires came close with a low right-foot shot from the top of the area in the 60th. Brazil wanted a penalty when Oscar went down in the area in the 68th, but the referee instead gave a yellow card to the Brazilian for diving. It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match. It beat Sweden in 1938 and Italy in 1978, and the only other loss had come against Poland in 1974. The Netherlands had played in the third-place match one other time. It fell to Croatia 2-1 in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semifinals.
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Colors Boutique aid Local umpires gearing for Regional U-19 tourney two U-17 footballers
Several umpires at the briefing session yesterday. Several local umpires, who are expected to officiate in the upcoming Regional U19 3-day and 50- over tournament which is set to be played here from July 20 to August 10, had a briefing session yesterday at the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) Sports Club. The Ms. Kezia Hetsnerger of Colors Boutique hands over one of the boots to Ryan Hackett in the presence of teammate Keno Washington and Trainer, Trevor Beckles. Wi t h t h e N a t i o n a l Under-17 football team set to leave these shores on Tuesday for the Dominican Republic where they will compete in the Caribbean Football Union leg of the World Under-17 qualifying competition, two of the players have received a pair of boots each, compliments of Color’s Boutique, Robb Street. Yesterday at the entity’s location Supervisor, Ms.
Kezia Hetsberger presented the boots to Ryan ‘Bum Bum’ Hackett who is a left side midfield player and Keno Washington who will seek to score many goals in the Junior Jaguars quest to take their nation to victory. The two players were in the presence of Physical Trainer Mr. Trevor Beckles who thanked Ms. Hetsberger and Colors Boutique for their timely gesture.
Ms. Hetsberger said that they were very pleased to be of assistance to the two young players as they embark on flying the national colors aloft. She also noted that they have always been very supportive of sports and the development of youths. Guyana will come up against the host nation, Dominican Republic, Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda.
Digicel Secondary school’s Football Tournament
Santa Rosa beat North West 3-2 in penalty shootout in Region One playoffs Played in front of a raucous capacity crowd of over 1,500 home fans, defending Region one Digicel Secondary Schools Football champions, Santa Rosa Secondary, squeezed past North West Secondary 3-2 in a penalty shot-out yesterday after the game was deadlocked 3-all after regulation time at the Kamaka Recreation ground in Moruca. The ram-packed Kamaka Recreation ground, in the business centre of the Amerindian Village of Santa Rosa, which is about 30 minutes by aircraft for Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara, produced a fantastic atmosphere in sweltering heat as they excitedly urged the Santa Rosa team on. Despite being in their
own backyard, the defending Champions were never allowed to really dominate and at the end of regulation time it took a come-from-behind effort to leave the goal margin identical and the riveting contest had to be settled on penalty kicks. It was the North West Students, who travelled by boat from Mabaruma, who made full use of an opportunity to score when Orin Charles collected a ‘throw-in’ from the left side and lobbed the ball over the head of a leaping Goalkeeper, whose valiant attempt to parry the ball over the bar resulted in it being ‘chucked’ onto the cross bar before falling back into the Goal. The visitors had little time to celebrate their 15th
minute lead as Brandon Phillips equalized for Santa Rosa by finding the back of the nets, four minutes later. North West attacked Santa Rosa’s goal with Steven Gamall giving his team a 2-1 advantage in the 63rd minute before Odike Headley made it 3-1 in the 79th minute to silence the Santa Rosa’s supporters. However, Santa Rosa upped their attacking play and scored twice inside the last 10 minutes to the delight of the large turnout, which included a large number of female fans. Alanzo Abraham beat the keeper in the 81st minute and Keith Da Silva scored in the 86th minute to level the score and send the pulsating contest into a penalty shot out, in which Santa Rosa prevailed.
umpires discussed the playing conditions and the West Indies Cricket Board code of conduct for players and officials. They were also briefed on roles and responsibilities of match officials and reporting procedures. Among the umpires that attended were Colin Alfred
and Shannon Crawford as well as Guyana Cricket B o a r d Te r r i t o r i a l Development Officer Colin Stuart. Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o , Windward Islands and ICC Americas are the teams slated to take part in the competition.
Gayle hammers first CPL century as Tallawahs start title defence in style A brutal innings in response to the St Lucia Zouks 161 for 5 by Chris Gayle saw the Jamaica Ta l l a w a h s r o m p t o a comfortable 7-wicket win to open the defence of their CPL title in Grenada yesterday. Gayle pillaged 111 not out off just 63 balls. His brutal knock included 5 fours and 10 sixes as his team reached the target in 19 overs. Chadwick Walton 23 and Adam Voges 15 were the Tallawahs batsmen in double
figures as Gayle stole the show like a wrecking ball. The Zouks won the toss and chose to bat and made a competitive 161 for 5 off their 20 overs with Henry Davids 56, Darren Sammy 29 not out, Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles with 27 each. Andre Russell took 2 for 27 from 3 overs to be the best bowler for the Tallawahs. The Tallawahs begun their response and in the process lost 3 wickets, but it was all Chris Gayle and the first century of the
tournament.The action continues Thursday with the Hawksbills versus Tallawahs at North Sound in Antigua from 3:30pm, while at the Providence Stadium here, the Guyana Amazon Warriors face the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel from 7:30pm. Scores: St Lucia Zouks 161/5 (20/20 ov); Jamaica Tallawahs 162/3 (19.0/20 ov). Result: Jamaica Tallawahs won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining).
Germany vs. Argentina the final showdown for football’s ultimate prize USA Today - The two best teams have made it to the World cup final, which should be more competitive than Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil and more compelling than Argentina’s win in penalties over the Netherlands. Argentina came into the tournament with a stacked team primed to score a lot of goals. But injuries to Sergio Aguero and Angel di Maria have left Lionel Messi to shoulder much of the load. In the semis, Messi looked worn down. But he needs only one more performance at the end of a long and trying season to fill the only void left on his resume. Germany is looking to validate a decade-long overhaul of its football
association that produced this generation of technically gifted players. Neither team has suffered defeat in the competition, but the two have taken different paths to the Maracana. Germany’s backline looked vulnerable early in the group stage but has improved since Philipp Lahm’s return to the back-four. M i r o s l a v K l o s e ’s inclusion in the starting lineup has spurred an attack that looks to be peaking at the right time. Argentina’s defence — and some timely Messi magic — has carried the Albiceleste through the tournament. Argentina hasn’t hit its stride offensively. And with di Maria sidelined and Aguero not fully fit, it’s not likely that
it will. Barring a master-class performance from Messi, Argentina will need to play another defensive game to compete with the Germans, who have knocked them out the last two World Cups. Germany has been the tournament’s best team and is peaking at the right time. Argentina is hobbling into the final, struggling to score goals. The Albiceleste’s midfield has held strong throughout the tournament, but Germany has too many weapons to hold down if A r g e n t i n a ’s a t t a c k i s nonexistent once again. Even with Messi, Argentina doesn’t have what it takes to match Germany’s fire power. The action starts at 3pm Guyana time. (Steven Ruiz)
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Kaieteur News
Alpha United President calls for support as team prepare for gruelling assignment Odinga Lumumba is the President of the Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United Football Club and he has often proclaimed his entity to be the best one locally. The players have endorsed Lumumba’s faith in them after defeating Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) playoff in Jamaica earlier this year. Now the local ball weavers are set compete for more prestigious accolades when they square off against USA team, Portland Timbers on August 5 followed by another encounter against a Honduran team on August 19. This much was disclosed to the media when Lumumba called a press conference at the Water Chris Hotel, Waterloo Street yesterday morning. The tournament actually gets underway within 8 days and Lumumba said that the Alpha team is presently encamped and engaged in stiff preparations and train in the mornings and afternoons. He said that is team of administrators are still experimenting in order to arrive at the best component for the impending encounters. The Alpha boss further said that his boys will be matched against teams out of Suriname and Trinidad along with a unit that comprises the best local players. Lumumba also hinted that the squad might go over to Suriname for a game instead of the Suriname team coming to Guyana. “We will see how it work out,” he said. Addressing concerns of the players’ rustiness due to a
Alpha President Odinga Lumumba (left) and Vice President Steve Ninvalle at yesterday’sbriefing at Water Chris Hotel. prolonged period of inactivity, Lumumba said that he is hardly worried about that. He said that his players are hard at work and he does not envisage them being affected by the layoff. “We are preparing well and really there is no valid excuse for ill preparation,” said Lumumba. Meanwhile, as he always does at these forums, Lumumba reissued a call for support from the corporate community. He said that too many times Guyanese expect the best from local athletes yet they fail to make the requisite input towards their d e v e l o p m e n t . “Development in any sport requires a lot of money; too many times Guyanese complain of poor returns of their sports teams yet fail to contribute tangibly towards the preparatory aspects of their development” bemoaned Lumumba. He said that even the acquisition of adequate training facilities are challenging. “This is not only about playing football; it is about
providing young Guyanese with the tools to enhance their potential and stay free o f c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t y, ” Lumumba stressed. Amidst such challenges, Lumumba singled out several individuals and entities that have rendered, and continue to render support to the players’ development. Among them are Head of the GDF, Mark Phillips, Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud, Superintendent of Police, Colin Boyce, administrators of the Georgetown Football Club, those of Survival Supermarket and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Frank Anthony. He appealed for more broad based support while declaring, the support we seek does not embrace Lumumba’s development; it serves to support youth development.” He further said that the coaching staff are working assiduously towards the players’ development while a physiotherapist also supports the projections and objectives of Team Alpha.
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8th Annual Caribbean Powerlifting Championships – St. Croix USVI
Mars cops silver as all Guyanese athletes medal
Guyana ended its participation at the 8th Annual Caribbean Powerlifting Championships at the Kings Hill, St. Croix Education Complex in the United States Virgin Islands on a high when Karel Mars copped silver in the 105kg class, where the big boys play. Mars’ medal meant that every athlete on the six member team medaled which in itself is a monumental achievement by the athletes that financed their own participation. Mars who was on the verge of bombing out after failing his first two attempts (195kg) in the bench press,
was able to call on his vast experience to get his third attempt at the same weight before going on to claim the silver. He also missed his first attempt of the day in the squat (320kg). His best squat was 337.5kg, benchpress 195kg, deadlift 297.5kg, total 830kg. Taking the gold medal was former 93kg champion Puerto Rico’s Ramon Burgos who has stepped up in weight class and proved that he is the best even in the higher division, achieving a best squat 337.5, benchpress 210kg, deadlift 342.5kg to total 890kg. Adrian Browne of Trinidad and Tobago was the bronze
medalist; best squat 315kg, benchpress 190kg, deadlift 315kg, total 820kg. Karel Mars competing at Athletes from the host the GAPF Seniors 2013. nation USVI, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana competed. Guyana were defending Team Champions for the past two years, but based on the fact that only six persons were able to travel, Puerto Rico with the full complement of eight athletes coupled with their high medal return were in line to dethrone the Guyanese. The presentation and official results of team champions were set for last evening at the farewell Banquet Buffet.
Devers emphasizes importance of discipline in rap session with National U-15 cricketers The national under-15 team Friday had their first rap session at the Boardroom of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence and indoor practice facility at LBI as a part of the player’s scheduled Social Skills and lecture programme. The team commenced preparations for this year’s Regional youth series in Jamaica with a one-week camp on Friday. Former Guyana under19 off-spinner and International Radio cricket Commentator Sean Devers
emphasized the importance of discipline both on and off the field and the value of hard work. “I have had the honour of playing with two of the most hardworking batsmen and it was because of their value for hard work that they became the only two West Indians with over 11,000 Test runs. Brian Lara and Shiv Chanderpaul worked harder at their game than most players I know and that attitude made them successful. Devers told the teenagers that hard work comes before
success, adding that the only place success came before work was in the dictionary. “It is good to have a goal, but it is more important to have a plan to achieve that goal. A goal without a plan is just a wish. The harder you work the more successful you are likely to become,” said Devers, who played senior Inter-County cricket for both Demerara and Berbice. “You are all talented but talent alone is not enough. You need the right attitude, pride in what you do, (Continued on page 70)
The National U-15 team listens to advice from International cricket commentator Sean Devers during a rap session at the LBI Hostel.
t r o p S
Germany vs. Argentina the final
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showdown for football’s ultimate prize
Who will claim the ultimate prize in football after today’s final battle.
Gayle hammers first CPL century as Tallawahs start title defence in style Darren Bravo, Ross Taylor guide Red Steel home
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Netherlands beat Brazil in third- P.73 place match to add to host’s misery
Chris Gayle seals the victory for the Tallawahs with a sensational innings from the captain, the first ever CPLT20 century. (Randy Brooks, Latin Content, Getty Images)
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