Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
Mixed Races are very responsible The Government and PPP/C for Guyana’s racial mess too cannot hold back the inevitable DEAR EDITOR, Gordon Forte misses a critical point on racialism and ethno-politics in this country in his letter “Appeals to race are now being dishonestly used for purposes of naked greed” KN, June 4, 2013. That point is that Mixed Races play racial politics and are also responsible for the nasty racial and ethnopolitical mess Guyana has become. Some Mixed Race individuals like Forte love to romanticize this notion of Mixed Races as the solution to our racial bitterness and ethno-politics but refuse to accept Mixed Races are also a big part of the problem. This holier-than-thou prognostication by Forte that the ‘douglarisation’ of Guyana is the final solution to our racial bitterness and division is unproven based on current evidence. Mixed Races who comprise at least 20% of the population are, along with Amerindians, who are more than 10% of the population, equal culprits in creating our devious racialpolitical mess. The undisputed fact of the matter is that the majority of Mixed Races or ‘douglas’ and Amerindians who actually vote in our elections do vote for the race parties, PPP and PNC/APNU. This happens even with multi-racial political options like the AFC around. It strengthens racial voting and it serves to continue the destruction racial separatism and racial politics has heaped on this country. Even when they refuse to participate in elections rather than voting for multiracial parties like the AFC, Mixed Race and Amerindian voters are also deepening racial voting by leaving a remaining pool of predominantly race voters who give us ethnic voting outcomes. Now Forte and many Mixed Race and Amerindian individuals will come running with pitchforks at me for this comment but I genuinely believe this Mixed Race and Amerindian voting behaviour is rooted in a tragic loss or lack of ethnic identity or a malformed ethnic and group identity, a lack of political awareness, lack of comprehension of their political clout and how to lever it to their advantage and a missing national patriotic consciousness that should drive Mixed Races and Amerindians to make political decisions to benefit themselves and the nation first and foremost. When the majorities within the Mixed Race and Amerindian ethnic groups
which control over 30% of the voting power continue to vote for race parties dominated by other races (Indians and Africans) in a racially divided nation steeped in ethnic triumphalism, their sense of racial and ethnic identity has to be deeply troubled. It strongly suggests identity domination and cultural subservience reminiscent of the Clark doll tests where significant percentages of Black children in segregated 1940s America ended up choosing White dolls over their own Black dolls and indirectly choosing Whites over themselves. Even worse, it suggests Mixed Race and Amerindian sense of decency, morality and integrity is tragically broken and subverted for they continue to politically support divisive politics that is destructive to the nation and their own interests. There are many root causes for these conundrums afflicting Mixed Races and Amerindians. Arguably, the biggest reason is living in a society dominated by African/Indian conflict, which has socialized an entire society into a racially dominant consciousness, mentality and mode of thinking; seeing race and its nasty manifestations in virtually everything and anything. Part of the problem also facing primarily Amerindians is economic bribery, where economic enticement and entrapment have been historically used to force and extract political support. But this is no excuse for Mixed Races and Amerindians who have palpably failed to use their powerful voting power (30% or more of the votes) to engineer a way out of the dark tunnel of racial antagonism burdening Guyana. And they know of the darkness race has landed upon this land! Multiracial political movements are the only ones capable of offering Mixed Races and Amerindians a fair share of the pie, yet they continue to reject them, choosing race parties instead. This tells a truly epic and tragic tale of how politically lost Mixed Race and Amerindian voters are in Guyana. Unless the majority of mixed races and Amerindian ethnic populaces change their voting habits and stop contributing to the destruction of this country by supporting race parties, they cannot be trusted or relied upon as catalysts for change. Ethnic voting leads to ethnic
cronyism and nepotism which in turns leads to resentment, disillusionment and strife from excluded and marginalized ethnic groups. This deepens the societal racial rage, anger and resentment. As the economy grows and the ethno-political favouritism grows with it, race relations in the wider society deteriorate even faster. As the fastest growing ethnic groups in Guyana, Mixed Races and Amerindians will in 30 years collectively surpass Indians and Africans numerically. But without clear cut ethnic identity, group identity and pride, political awareness, strategic political knowledge and comprehension of how to coalesce their political clout for national betterment, they are likely to continue to be politically lost tribes, voting against their own and the nation’s interests, for Indian and African-dominated political entities rooted in ethnic aggrandizement. This country will be in the same stagnant sinkhole unless Forte’s saving grace Mixed Race voters, and Amerindians with them, radically change. More douglas may be the solution but only if more douglas equal less racial voting, the derailment of race politics, the devastation of race parties and the emergence of less racialism in society in general and the profound positive alteration this will usher in. Frankly, Mixed Race and Amerindian voters are the only ones with the psychological and cultural capacity to politically change Guyana in the short term with their votes. But you wouldn’t know it from their own destructive voting habits. Considering they have no ethnic interest in the racial-political fight between pro-Indian and proAfrican parties (PPP and PNC/APNU), one can argue that Mixed Race and Amerindian voters who vote for race parties in Guyana are even worse culprits than the traditional Indian and African race voters supporting those parties. M. Maxwell
DEAR SIR, It is clear that the government is very scared of Local Government Elections. Their antics in Parliament and elsewhere demonstrate a great governmental fear to go forward with those elections. All Guyanese are fully aware of what the government is trying to do to hold on to power at the national and local level. Their antics will not work because Guyanese are not stupid; they know what is happening. The PPP/C has been talking about being ready for the elections but now that everything is in place to pass the bills and hold the elections, they are dillydallying and making excuses. For years, they have been doing that, pretending to be anxious to hold elections but doing everything to stall the process. Minister Ganga Persaud’s absence in Parliament on Thursday was indeed calculated to ensure that the bills were not brought up in the House. What a shame for
a government that claimed to be democratic. The truth is the Minister wants to hold on to power he is not entitled to have. By default, the Minister is exercising powers and authority of the Local Government Commission because that Commission has not been in place for years. This gives him the authority to ignore the wishes of democratically elected local representatives to do the biddings of the PPP/ C party. This is why he can appoint Town Clerks, and other officers in these local government bodies. This is why he could install Interim Management Committees wherever he very well pleases. He has been enjoying the use and abuse of powers and apparently, he has grown accustomed to exercising such authority. It is difficult for him to relinquish it and allow the mushrooming of our democratic process. It seems to be the plan of the government to allow the
Parliament to go into recess without the passing of those Local Government Bills. Then during that recess they will attempt through the Minister to push their agenda in local communities, like installing more IMCs and putting their cronies as Town Clerks and Regional Executive Officers. I believe that that they are in for a rude awakening. If the government is refusing to honour the democratic process to allow people to choose their local representatives as is their constitutional right, then residents might have to take the governance of their communities and villages into their own hands. Perhaps, they would need to mobilize and organize themselves to reject government appointed IMCS and PPP/C Officials in local government offices, and to manage and develop their communities. In any case, the government and PPP/C cannot hold back the inevitable; it will come. Aubrey James
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Monday July 29, 2013
Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news
Solomon’s presence in the PNC The massas are living large, while the workers are catching hell Central Executive is welcome DEAR EDITOR, I read with interest a recent opinion in one of our dailies which stated that Region 10 Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon’s ‘wings are effectively clipped’. The writer opined that Mr. Solomon’s admittance to the PNC’s Central Executive was - in essence - a grave mistake. I beg to differ. Contrary to the opinion expressed, I welcome Mr. Solomon’s presence in the PNC Central Executive as it represents - to me - new blood being injected into the polluted veins of that institution. In fact, I posit that he will be a breath of fresh
air...bringing a new, younger, more robust direction to the aged Central Executive. Concerns that Mr. Solomon’s future actions will be ‘tainted’ by party affiliation and are ‘not in the interest of the people of Linden’, are ludicrous. Isn’t this the same man who, it was reported, has threatened to ‘march against and burn anything green’ should the APNU act against the interests of the people who voted green in the first place? Words which can be construed as blatant antagonism to the very ‘party’ of which he is a part? The fact is that Mr. Solomon has always
represented himself as a man OF the people and FOR the people. I doubt very much that any of that will change. I, unlike naysayers, base my claim on Mr. Solomon’s actions of last year and since. This is no man who will bow to party influence if it stands in the way of Region 10’s progress. As to Mr. Solomon’s possible motives for making such a significant move, I would, based on the reported words and actions of the gentleman, venture to say that he is motivated by the people he serves – the people of Region 10. He will likely use his position at Central Executive to further advance the cause of Region 10. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Solomon’s move has not had the support of the people whose interests he seeks to protect. PNC stands to benefit by having more individuals like Mr. Solomon at its strategic level. I look forward to Mr. Solomon’s continued fearlessness in the time to come. Shermann Thompson
DEAR EDITOR, My friends drew my attention to the Sunday Kaieteur News’ letter “Disappointed in the party we supported” written by Mr. Reaz Holladar. We feel this is a letter from the PPP letter writing factory. The PPP Congress is coming up soon and they are trying to give the remaining supporters the impression we who voted
for the AFC, regretted it. Myself and other friends are between 24-33 years old. We voted for the AFC. We would like to say that M r. H o l l a d a r a n d h i s friends do not speak for us. We would like to say to the AFC, continue exposing the PPP fat cats and keep up the good work. We are silently watching but are still supporting the party.
Oh, my parents asked that I include a message f r o m t h e m t o M r. Ramjattan, Mr. Nagamotto and Mr. Ramayya. They say they would like to see the corruption in Guysuco exposed. They say the AFC must come to the estates and see how the new massas living large and the real workers are catching hell. Suresh Ramkellawan
Juan Edghill, Dr. Henry... From page 4 caused Dr. Jeffrey to call me a megalomaniac? He merely reproduced his 2004 letter to show that under his aegis, the Ministry of Education, school placement was logical. What then could have prompted him to classify me as a megalomaniac? I am not going to develop an elaborate defence. Henry Jeffrey is not a psychiatrist and secondly, I live in Guyana and mix with all types of Guyanese and I can assure readers that I am treated
with respect and dignity. What is quite intriguing is that Jeffrey has never referred to his former boss, Bharrat Jagdeo, who ruled Guyana with an iron fist but choose to lay that description on a mere columnist, not the Editor or a columnist with a policymaking job. This same Jeffrey worked as a Minister for ten years under Jagdeo in which Mr. Jagdeo became enmeshed in the worst controversies ever to visit a Caribbean Head of Government/State. This
same Jeffrey now writes a weekly column on the use of power in Guyana but to date has not seen it fit to categorize Jagdeo as a megalomaniac. I will continue to write and I will expect venomous denunciations from Ministers and former Ministers. This is a life media practitioners should expect. These are the travails that a journalist encounters on the journey. It happens all over the world. Guyana is no exception. Frederick Kissoon
Monday July 29, 2013
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THE IMMINENT RETURN OF MAJORITY RULE The opposition may appear to be keen on passing the four outstanding local government Bills. But are they really keen on the holding of local government elections? The last time local government elections were held the ruling People’s Progressive Party swept the polls, accumulating 60 percent of the total votes cast. This was something that the PNC had predicted. So afraid was the PNCR of a second successive humiliating at the hands of the PPP/C following their mauling in the 1992 general and regional elections that they decided that they wanted their candidates to appear as if they were part of community and civil society groupings, a strategy that did not work at all. The PNC did badly in the 1994 local government polls. They even lost to the Good and Green Guyana in the municipal election in Georgetown, long considered the bastion of PNC support
in the country. APNU should therefore not get too excited about its prospects at any forthcoming elections. The PPP/C is going to humiliate the opposition at the polls and is likely to do much better than it did in the 2011 elections where it just barely failed to win a parliamentary majority after a disastrous performance in Region 6. However, it was not APNU that denied the PPP/C a majority. It was AFC votesplitting in Region 6 that delivered a minority to the PPP/C in the National Assembly, even though the PPP/C gained almost nine per cent more votes than its nearest rival, APNU. APNU’s performance was below what the PNCR tallied in the 1992 and 1997 elections, and therefore it must not believe that it stands to do better in forthcoming local government elections than it did in the 1994 polls. In fact, serious questions
are now being asked as to if the PNCR, the main alliance partner in APNU, is the same party it was in 2001 when its electoral share declined appreciably to 35 %. There are also serious questions as to whether indeed the PNCR has reinvented itself as APNU, as it tried to do with the community groups in the 1994 local government polls, or whether the party has been overrun by veterans. Does the party of Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte still exist or is it now a veterans’ institution? Is this the same old PNCR or has it been taken over by forces which were not part of the traditional PNCR? These are the questions that are being asked in some quarters and more so following the secrecy that characterized the results of the elections of the last Congress, where the results took an inordinately long time to be made public, and following the failure to hold a
Dem boys seh
The big man copying the secret dealing When people talk bout de exchange rate, dem does seh that it high. And it high. Years ago it used to be $125 to one. Now is 208. Then people start to talk bout de cost of living. Dem seh that it high and is true; it high. Well dem got something more high than de exchange rate and de cost of living. De cost of de Amaila project suh high that people can’t see de top. It more high than any hydro in de world and every day it getting higher. Dem boys want to know how it get suh high and dem find out that nuff people want a pay day and de best place fuh get a pay day is from de project. Nuff of dem didn’t expect to get back in government after de last
elections suh dem decide that dem gun tek de money and run. And dem do it in a strange way. When Bharrat announce de project he seh that it gun cost US$550 million. Dem boys check and find that it was a reasonable cost. But when Bharrat announce another US$300 million to de project is then dem boys know that something wrang. Dem boys check hydro all over de world and find that de price really get jack up. What get dem boys vex is that de project ain’t got to cost suh much. Them try to get Donald to call back de project and tender fuh a new project. But Donald behaving like if Bharrat is a man who do everything right and he ain’t
challenging none of de project. He even copy de secret dealing and that is wha got dem boys wondering if Donald is he own man. Then de same Donald whisper to dem boys that if he call back de project nuff people gun either end up in jail or dead. Some of dem tek so much that when you add wha dem tek you can get a whole new budget. In fact, some of dem tell Donald that if de opposition insist in stalling de hydro, then dem gun tek some of de money that dem tek and fund de project. That is why Donald now saying de project gun go ahead regardless. Talk half and watch fuh more secret dealings.
post-Congress rally as is usually the norm. APNU may still, however, do well in the traditional constituencies of the PNC and PNCR. The AFC in turn is not likely to do well at all in local government elections. The middle class from which the AFC draws much of its urban support is not generally interested in local government elections and thus the AFC is likely to face a staggering defeat in local government polls. The PPP/C has in turn lost some ground within its rural base but it should still be able to better its 1994 local government elections’ performance when it defeated and humbled the PNC. The Americans are keen on the country having local government elections. They see these elections as important from two angles. First, for them it will be a referendum on the PPP/C’s performance since the last elections, and may signal whether Guyana may be in for
an extended period of minority rule. This would be problematic from American security interests since they need a certain degree of stability and predictability when dealing with local administrations. They want democracy to work in Guyana because this is in their own interest as well as to ensure that democracy take firmer root in a former socialist country. As such, they are on the populace a regular experience of democratic participation and in so doing make elections results less volatile. What happens though if local government polls reveal what many know already? That the opposition parties cannot win an election in the very near future in Guyana? The only party with any chance of defeating the PPP/ C is APNU but that party cannot close the nine percentage points gap that separates it from the PPP/C. In fact, it is more than likely that the PPP will come back stronger than ever whenever
elections are held. The PPP/ C is likely to win back it majority. The AFC’s best chance is to hold the balance of power but it has shown its hand over the past two years and even its own supporters will be disgusted at its vindictive, vengeful and inflexible approach to national politics. All of these approaches play right into the hands of the PPP/C. The PPP/C has nothing to lose by the acrimonious political climate that exists at the moment. This is what the PPP/C needs more than anything else to go back to its supporters and say, “We told you do!” It is for the opposition parties to demonstrate that shared governance will work. They have not been doing a good job at it and this can only mean a return to majority rule.
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Seven maternal deaths, still no satisfactory answers The names may change but the stories remain the same. An expectant mother enters hospital, often with no apparent complications, then, hours later, relatives are told that the patient has died. Accusations are made, investigations are launched, findings are revealed, recommendations are made…then silence…until the next death starts the cycle of blame and denial all over again. Today, Kaieteur News highlights six maternal cases that remain unresolved. AVALENTINE’S DAYTRAGEDY Nazeema Abrahim was just 19 years old when she entered the Georgetown Hospital’s Maternity Ward on February 13, 2000. The teen’s sister-in-law, Annie Sakar would later report that she accompanied Nazeema to the
ward at around 2.00 p.m. Sakar said she sat outside the ward until around 9.00 p.m. and was eventually told by a senior nurse that her sister-in-law had given birth and was fine. But Sakar was also reportedly told that Nazeema’s ‘afterbirth’ was still in her and that staff had telephoned for a doctor. The sister-in-law eventually left without being allowed to see the young mother. She returned to the Maternity Ward at around 6.00 the following day and was told to collect Nazeema’s belongings from the Intensive Care Unit and return to see the baby. But Sakar said that when she entered the ICU, she observed that Nazeema was “breathing hard” and that tubes were attached to her body. “I went back to the Maternity Ward and told
Nazeema Abrahim
Deborah Crawford
Esther Dwarka
them that my sister was dying and they said that she was okay. But when I returned to the ICU another relative who had gone there came outside crying and told me that Nazeema was dead.” According to reports, a doctor was on duty in the Maternity Ward on February
13 when nurses informed him that there was an emergency. He was taken to Nazeema’s bed and reportedly found her in “a pool of blood.” The doctor reportedly then asked the nurses why they had not informed him earlier about Nazeema’s condition but got no satisfactory answer. He then had Nazeema rushed to the ICU where all efforts to save her failed. At the time, a senior hospital official had told Kaieteur News that the patient was already “in crisis” when the doctor examined her. An internal probe was conducted into Abrahim’s death. It revealed that on February 13, an intern who had recently graduated from the University of Guyana Medical School removed the maternity patient’s placenta (or “after-birth”) shortly after Nazeema had delivered a baby girl. This was reportedly done without consulting senior medical personnel. Interns are not allowed to carry out this medical procedure on their own. It is alleged that the patient began to bleed profusely after her placenta was removed. Indications were that the procedure was incorrectly done. It was also alleged that at around 7.30 p.m., the nursing staff contacted a senior doctor and informed him that Nazeema was unwell. However, the physician reportedly did not arrive until around 9.30 p.m. He found the teenage mother in “a pool of blood” and rushed her to the ICU where she died the following day. A death certificate stated that the patient had died from Hypovolemic shock, which occurs when there is severe blood and fluid loss. The intern was subsequently removed from the Maternity ward, but it is unclear whether any other disciplinary measures were taken against him or the senior physician who failed to
immediately respond when the nursing staff contacted him. THE DEATH OF DEBORAH CRAWFORD It was ten years ago that 38-year-old Deborah Crawford was admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital’s Maternity Ward. But on October13, 2003, the Corriverton, Corentyne, mother of two died after suffering massive haemorrhaging while delivering a full-term baby boy. The baby also died. Her mother, Mariam Crawford, filed a complaint with the Guyana Medical Council, in which she claimed that her daughter had developed a diabetic condition during pregnancy and was being treated with insulin. At the time, she was attending the High Risk Clinic at the New Amsterdam Hospital as well as the Skeldon Estate Clinic. The statement to the Medical Council said that because of the patient’s condition, a medic advised that her delivery be done by Caesarean section, since the diabetic condition would cause the baby to be larger than normal. It is alleged that although this information was documented on Crawford’s clinic card, the gynecologist ignored this advice and induced labour. During the delivery, Crawford suffered massive haemorrhaging and her uterus was also removed. Following an investigation, the Guyana Medical Council, headed by the now-deceased Dr. M. Y Bacchus, found that the accused physician had committed “gross professional misconduct.” The Medical Council found, among other things, that the physician had been negligent, and had been guilty of medical malpractice. It issued its findings in a letter to the physician dated August 4, 2006. He was subsequently struck off the Register of Medical Practitioners. However, the accused
Survivor: Nazeema’s baby daughter doctor took the Guyana Medical Council to court. He alleged that he was never notified of the allegation, or of the independent review the Council had taken to arrive at its decision. The High Court subsequently ordered that the doctor be reinstated. In September, 2006, Mrs. Mariam Crawford filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General and the physician. That matter is still before the High Court and the patient’s mother, Mariam Crawford, has since died. ‘TAKE CARE OF MY DAUGHTER’ The circumstances surrounding Maureen France’s death appear to mirror Deborah Crawford’s. In early October 2008, Maureen France, a 21-yearold patient, was admitted to the GPHC to deliver her second child. Her family claimed that when Ms France delivered her previous child, some two years ago, she was diagnosed as needing a Caesarean Section, because of complications she had experienced. This time around, the hospital staff reportedly indicated that France was fit to deliver vaginally. But the family alleged that internal rupturing ensued during the delivery because of the baby’s size. They also claimed that France was apparently left in the Operating Theatre, where she bled to death. France’s mother, Marlyn France, has said that she told the nurses that her daughter had a CSection before. At this point, the mother said, the nurses asked a flurry of questions and when she tried to respond, one of the nurses asked if her daughter was unable to speak for herself. Leaving her daughter in the care of the GPHC, France’s mother left with one request of the nurses: “Take care of my daughter.” It was not until she returned to the GPHC the following day that she learnt that her daughter was in a (Continued on page 21)
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Diamond car park forced to relocate again As extension works to the Diamond, East Bank Demerara Public Road progresses; hire cars traversing the Diamond Housing Scheme will, for the third time, be shifted from their temporary parking area situated in front of the Demerara Distillers’ Limited (DDL) distillery. It had been noted recently by an engineer of the Public Works Ministry that while the extension works are continuing in the area, the car park was to be accommodated in front one of the commercial banks in Diamond. However, it was later revealed by the Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council overseer, Parmanand Babulall, that the car park will be relocated to the vicinity of the Diamond market tarmac in July. According to Babulall, the relocation was scheduled to have occurred simultaneously with the opening of the Diamond market. It was envisioned that with the car park being located in the vicinity of the market, both vendors and drivers would derive benefits from the vast availability of clientele. Babulall said that the area provides adequate
space to accommodate parking for consumers, vendors and taxis. With the July deadline approaching, however, the tarmac remains vacant while hire car drivers are forced to park randomly along the Diamond, East Bank Demerara thoroughfare, to avoid obstructing the road extension project. Babulall, during a recent interview with this publication, said that although not visible, the plan is still intact. He explained that due to a delay in the securing of funds pertinent to the operations of the Diamond market, the relocation of the car park has been delayed, since the two are expected to be executed simultaneously. The overseer specified that funds that are to be dispensed by the Ministry of Local Government to assist in infrastructural work on the tarmac, and the time taken to approve the financing, have contributed to the delay. The funds will cover the fencing of the tarmac for security purposes, which is one of the terms of agreement requested by the applicant vendors. There will also be provision for storage of the stalls on the tarmac following
A section of current parking area being utilised by hire car drivers
sales. Babulall explained that since vendors will not be allowed to use permanent stalls; following sales, the stalls will have to be dismantled and stored in the secure area which the finances will make provision for. He stated that with time taken to approve the funds
by the Ministry, a renewed deadline cannot be premised. Meanwhile, with their most recent move edging closer to the Diamond ‘high bridge’, hire car drivers are now even more concerned about their safety and that of their passengers. In addition, with their temporary parking area bearing large pot holes, the
drivers are fretful about damages caused to their vehicles as well as adequate parking space. “As down here (pointing to area) get bad, we keep moving all the time. We don’t have a fixed space. That’s the problem,” one driver lamented. The drivers are hopeful that with a permanent parking
area, other relative systems will be put into place. “We got to get a car park. And when we get a car park, we would form a body. But we can’t form a body if we don’t have a car park”. As road engineers near the area where the car park is now temporarily located, the drivers are left to wonder where they will be placed next.
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UG Berbice campus in financial meltdown - Samad Outgoing University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) Director, Professor Daizal R. Samad has stated that the campus is in a financial meltdown and that the campus’s budget is in tatters while the institution is operating in a deficit. Samad resigned early July from his position. It will take effect in October. The Guyana Government allocates more than $200M annually to UGBC. Prof. Samad has stated that he cannot work under the “dictatorial policies” of Turkeyen. The situation over the months, he said, has become much worse. Relations with the new Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Jacob Opadeyi, too, have become distant and tumultuous over the past months. He believes Turkeyen is responsible for the ultimate destruction of UGBC and has called for the government to intervene or watch UGBC collapse. Prof. Samad decried that millions of dollars are spent every week shuttling UGBC lecturers to Georgetown for meetings and other unnecessary and minute
...blames Turkeyen’s “dictatorship” things… “meetings to set a couple of questions for exams; meetings for marking the exams, how you mark, to check the marks; meeting to photocopy exam papers;’ to pick them up; to bring them up, and so on—that’s a lot of money!” He alleged, too, that millions are being spent for those meetings, “so you’re spending tens of millions of dollars to do what?” He believes that with prudent financial management, UGBC can keep the student tuition to $127,000. “However, we don’t want the government to be giving us money ad infinitum; we can fund plans here, easily, and make Berbice financially self- sufficient in seven to eight years. We can do that. Let other people talk about increasing tuition; not us!” “Turkeyen …is a broken place, but we are coming under the broken place. It’s distressing when you have people who are foreigners, coming here and treating our citizens in Berbice as if we’re third class citizens- -we are not slaves!” He added that the situation exists where you have a “failed enterprise like Turkeyen dictating to a successful enterprise- -what will they teach us, how to fail?” Prof. Samad is calling for full autonomy from the Turkeyen Campus and for Berbice to have its own University. “You call it University of Berbice in
Guyana or the Cheddi Jagan University, which was Cheddi’s dream in the first place—not UG! “UGBC is the most successful organization in Berbice; nobody can deny it, and certainly one of the most successful organizations in Guyana.” “CUTTING BACK” He stated that the campus will not be holding its Annual Reading Programme which benefits over 50 children from primary schools on the Corentyne area. The reading programme costs about $100,000 to execute and lasts just under three weeks. Prof. Samad stated that he has learnt through the Administrative Officer at UGBC, Mr. David Cort that the reading programme is one of the areas that the Vice Chancellor “wants to cut back.” “To help our children is a necessity—that is an area of cutback. If that is not rubbish, you tell me what is?!” Additionally, the Berbice Campus was also reportedly barred from participating in this year’s Berbice Expo and Trade Fair. For several years, the campus had a booth at the premier trade fair, exhibiting its courses, talent and giving information to visitors to the expo; not so this year. “We’ve been told no. they are not releasing our money to participate in Berbice Expo…that is what is happening here. So our engagement with the private sector is being broken…” He added that the monies are there for the Annual Reading Programme and participation at the Berbice Expo, and it hurts him, “but we are being told—dictated to like slaves, ‘you can’t get the money’”.
Monday July 29, 2013
House awaits details on Government/ TVG contract for learning channel By Abena Rockcliffe It has been over a month since questions were posed to the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on the agreement/ contract between the government and Television Guyana INC. (TVG). But, Alliance For Change (AFC)’s Catherine Hughes is still awaiting the answers. The questions have been repeatedly appearing on the order paper of the National Assembly for a written response. The AFC Member of Parliament had asked Manickchand to provide copies of the contract between the government of Guyana and television Guyana Inc for the use of TVG’s teleport/transmission facilities to broadcast the learning Channel. It was also requested that the duration of the contract/agreement be made known as to whether it is renewed monthly, yearly or if it’s an indefinite contract. Hughes asked, as well, that the Minister state when the tender for the provision of this service was advertised and in which media. Further, it was asked how much money has been paid over to the TVG to date for the provision of these
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand
AFC Member of Parliament, Catherine Hughes
services. Hughes said that her questions were posed as a result of her not knowing of any advertisements for the contracts. She said that it is also a part of the campaign to have a level playing field for media in Guyana. The Member of Parliament stressed too that “these are things that I need to know and the Public needs to know as well. Hughes, who has worked in the media, said that as a member of the AFC, she zeros in on broadcasting. She said that it would be good days when one can say candidly say that all is fair in Broadcasting in Guyana. The AFC executive member informed Kaieteur
News that Minister Manickchand informally told her that she is working on getting the information. According to Hughes, the Minister told her that the information had been gathered but some of this information was inadequate and needed correction. Hughes said that she hopes the answers will be available by the next sitting of the National Assembly. Another question that was posed is if the Learning Channel possesses its own satellite receivers/ dishes; from whom were they purchased and at what cost. Copies of such purchase agreements were also requested.
1823 Monument Site nearing... (From page 2) imposed on slaves. However, he explained that while the slaves’ intentions were not to fight or kill anyone they were prepared for any eventualities. “They were just protesting; they were demanding freedom and the Governor was withholding that right from them,” underscored the sculptor extraordinaire. INGRAINED TALENT Although he doesn’t think of himself as an extraordinary artist/sculptor, Thom recounted how from a very young age he was drawn to artistry. He grew up at Victoria, East Coast Demerara, but when he was about 15, he
joined the Guyana Youth Corp. He spent two years at Tumatumari, Region Eight, and then Port Kaituma, Region One, for a short while. He eventually enlisted in the National Service where he remained for about 17 years. It was while there he was granted a scholarship to study at the Burrowes School of Art. In fact, he was among the first batch of students graduating from the Art School and was one of the first graduates to complete a sculpting course. He continued his studies in Cuba before heading to
Canada where he participated in a technology exchange programme where he demonstrated his green sand sculpting technique and learnt a ceramic shell technique. Thom later migrated to the United States where he started working at a number of art foundries for several years before returning home. According to the artist/sculptor who lives a relatively modest life, “I am from a very simple and humble background; nothing worth telling the world about.” However, that truly isn’t the case as he will go down in history as perhaps Guyana’s best sculptors.
Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Monday July 29, 2013
At the end of a dinner in honour of the retirement of the President of France, Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, turned to Madame de Gaulle and asked politely what she was looking forward to in her retirement. Quick as a flash the elderly lady replied, “A penis.” After the initial stunned silence, Macmillan mumbled, “Well, I can see your point of view, don’t have much time for that sort of thing nowadays”. An unapologetic Madame De Gaulle insisted, “I believe it is the case for all women, everything can be endured as long as we have a penis.” The silence became deafening for many, many seconds, until De Gaulle’s characteristic voice rose, “My dear,” he said, “I believe et eez pronounced ‘APpiness’...” Increasingly, as my spam inbox is swollen, engorged and grossly enlarged with
Kaieteur News
ads for penis enhancement, I can see both Madame de Gaulle’s point and that of her husband the General. Happiness has traditionally been less about sex and more about general wellbeing. What it is and how we get it were never clear but now they have become increasingly confusing. Rodney Dangerfield, the comedian, said, “My wife and I were happy for twenty years! Then we met.” Another comic, Max Kauffman moaned, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married and by then it was too late.” A few years ago a British survey revealed that 33 is the age of maximum happiness. One of the participating psychologists is quoted as saying, “By this age innocence has been lost, but our sense of reality is mixed with a strong sense of hope, a ‘can do’ spirit, and a healthy belief in our own talents and
abilities.” At the same time, three economists working for the United Nations came up with a “happiness index” and declared that Denmark was the happiest nation in the world. In other words, the happiest person in the world had to be a 33-year-old Dane. The “Happy Planet” index does not agree. It rates countries based on three criteria - Experienced Wellbeing, Life Expectancy and Ecological Footprint. In this survey, Costa Rica tops the list with a rating of 64, Belize is fourth (59.3) and Jamaica is sixth (58.5). Then another study found that Australia (and not Denmark) is the best place to live and work. And new research has said that the happiest years of our lives are when we are 23 and 69 (not 33). According to a study conducted by the Center for Economic Performance at the London School of
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Economics, 23 is when you have the dreams and set off on a journey of achievement, the intervening period is more like a roller-coaster and you then come down to earth when you’re 69. Even the adage that “Money can’t buy you happiness” has found that it can- up to US$75,000 per year. INC magazine revealed, “Who says money can’t buy happiness? Certainly not two Princeton University researchers — including a Nobel laureate — who suggest it comes with a $75,000 price tag. Not having enough money causes emotional pain and unhappiness, the researchers found. But the happiness tipping point is about $75,000 – more money than that doesn’t make a person cheerier, though it can help people view their lives as successful or better.” One of the researchers, Daniel Kahemann, the 2002 Nobel Prize winner for
Seven maternal deaths... (From page 10) critical condition, and that her baby had died during childbirth. DAMNING REPORT ON CONDITIONS AT SKELDON, N/A HOSPITALS In 2010, a preliminary report into four maternal deaths was heavily critical of conditions at the Skeldon and New Amsterdam Hospitals. The report concerned the deaths of patients Esther Dwarka-Bowlin, an acting headmistress; Nadira Sammy, a 15-year-old from Number 69 Village, Corentyne, who died on September 16; Rebekah Seegobin (also called Rebekah Chinamootoo), 27, of Number 36 Village, Corentyne, who also died in September and Heerawattie Bisham, 21, (also called Yogeeta Bisham), who died on October 20. The report on Esther Dwarka-Bowlin revealed that although she was a high-risk maternal patient, no ultrasound was ordered for the acting headmistress, no blood was available for her when she needed a transfusion, and no doctor was present when she was ready to deliver. It stated that hers was a post-term pregnancy (a pregnancy lasting 42 weeks or more). She was referred to the High Risk clinic at 36 weeks and again at 41 weeks. According to the report, Bowlin was admitted to the Skeldon Hospital 44 weeks into her pregnancy on October 15, at 19:45 hrs. It said that her blood pressure increased on two occasions,
and she was given Aldomet (a medication for hypertension) and advised to rest. The report stated that giving a patient Aldomet at this stage “is a waste of time.” According to the report, Dwarka-Bowlin pushed through an undilated cervix at 23.38 hours (delivering a baby boy). It also added that the patient was not monitored during labour. The report stated that at around 05.30 hrs, Bowlin’s condition deteriorated. However, though she needed a transfusion, no blood was available at the Skeldon Hospital. She became unconscious, and ceased to breathe at 05.40 hrs. A postmortem showed that Bowlin died from internal injuries. In a section of the report marked ‘questions’, queries were raised as to why no ultrasound was done on the patient. Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon later summoned officials from the Skeldon Hospital to appear before a special Cabinet subcommittee, to explain the circumstances that led to Dwarka-Bowlin’s death. The review on the death of 15-year-old Nadira Sammy of Number 69 Village, Corentyne, stated that she had 15 ante-natal clinic visits at the Skeldon Hospital. She was referred from Skeldon Hospital and admitted on September 16 to New Amsterdam Hospital at around 14.05 hrs. No vaginal examination was done because the patient was not complaining of abdominal pains.
According to the report, at around 21.25 hrs that night, the teen was seen by the consultant. This was some seven hours and five minutes after she was admitted to the institution. The report said that the teen subsequently developed shortness of breath. Her condition deteriorated and she ceased to breathe. She passed away before delivery. A post mortem report stated that Nadira Sammy died from cerebral haemorrhage and eclampsia (a condition that causes seizures or coma in a patient). The Health Ministry report queried why the consultant was not informed about Sammy when she was admitted to hospital. It also stated that there was a delay in the management of the patient for Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. According to the report, the junior doctor who treated the teen failed to recognise the signs of imminent eclampsia and inform the consultant. One of the observations made in the report was that high-risk patients were left in the hands of junior doctors, who were unable to handle emergency maternal cases. A similar observation was made during the Guyana Medical Council investigation earlier in 2010 into the deaths of high-risk maternal patients Tricia Winth and Salima Ram at the Linden
Hospital and the West Demerara Regional Hospital respectively. No staffers were disciplined, although investigations revealed that negligence contributed to both deaths. A complete review of the four cases was to have been done by the Expert Maternal Mortality Committee. This report was to have been followed by a comprehensive report fashioned by an ongoing investigation. In late October, 2010, Former President Bharrat Jagdeo ordered an independent investigation into the spate of maternal deaths at the New Amsterdam Hospital and promised that if negligence was found to be the cause, then those culpable will face the brunt of disciplinary action. Jagdeo had told journalists that a strong message must be sent to those that go to work and laze around while persons under their care are in pain. He said that the investigation will not be hidden, given that they will make the findings known emphasising that there shall be no cover up. Now, nearly three years later, the recent death of 28year-old Luan Rodney has once again raised questions about the quality of care maternity patients receive at the GPHC and other state facilities.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
economics explained, “We suspect that this means, in part, that when people have a lot more money, they can buy a lot more pleasures, but there are some indications that when you have a lot of money, you will savor each pleasure less. Perhaps $75,000 is a threshold beyond which further increases in income no longer improve individuals’ ability to do what matters most to their emotional wellbeing, such as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease, and enjoying leisure.” Kahemann makes more than $75,000 per year. I am not sure how many of us in the Caribbean earn that kind of big bucks but yet a picture stays in my mind that helped to shape my own happiness index. Many years ago, I was in a taxi passing through a village far from Georgetown and I saw some kids on the way to school. Here was a country where one US dollar is equivalent to 200 Guyanese dollars so that US$75,000 is worth Guy$15million. The children were clean, they were laughing and they were
barefoot. It took me back to my schooldays and the poem about the shirt of a happy man. A king became quite out of sorts and sunk into a deep depression. He and his doctors were convinced that the only thing that could rouse him from that state was for him to wear the shirt of a happy man. They finally found a genuinely happy man: “This is our man,” the courier said; “Our luck has led us aright. I will give you a hundred ducats, friend, For the loan of your shirt to-night.” The merry blackguard lay back on the grass, And laughed till his face was black; “I would do it, God wot,” and he roared with the fun, “But I haven’t a shirt to my back.” *Tony Deyal was last seen saying that he relishes the choice of 69 as a happy number since it best combines the positions of both Madame de Gaulle and the General.
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Are the budget cuts hurting... (From page 15) execute for citizens, he added. According to Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ronald Webster, the negative effects of the budget cuts is being felt by businesses, particularly those in the building and construction sectors. From the outset, the Commission had been vocal about the cuts and pointed out what it said would be negative effects these cuts would have on the economy, taking into consideration that Guyana’s economy is based on commodity items such as gold, rice and sugar. In GBTI’s unaudited report, it refers to these
items, particularly gold which has depreciated in value on the world market. The delayed signing of the Guyana-Venezuela rice and paddy agreement and the low production of sugar also helped to slow the economy. According to Webster, the building and construction sector is of critical importance to Guyana’s economy and contributed 11 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He added that this sector could be better appreciated if it was better known that in 2012 construction and real estate ranked number four to the economy behind agricul-
ture and forestry; mining; and wholesale and retail businesses. The Chairman recognized the need for new projects to come on stream since construction has a huge impact on the economy. Construction is the best stimulant to any economy since stimulus spending stays within the country, he said. The sector also provides employment for the skilled and unskilled. In addition, the end products such as roads, bridges and houses are long lasting and are an asset to the economy. As such, the Private Sector supports this exposition 100 percent.
Monday July 29, 2013
President calls for Unity at COFONA Emancipation ceremony in NA President Donald Ramotar was the main speaker yesterday at the start of two weeks of intense activity planned by the Council of Friends of New Amsterdam (CAFONA) group which has been organised to celebrate Emancipation celebrations in New Amsterdam, under the theme ‘From Resistance through Emancipation, towards Empowerment’. The activity which was held at State House in New Amsterdam saw hundreds of Guyanese in attendance and represented the mixed
heritage of the town. This year Africans are celebrating 250 years of the Berbice Slave Uprising and 175 years since the abolition of Slavery. The President used the opportunity to call for unity, stating that at this time of the year all of our ancestors struggled and had a horrid past in the history of Guyana. “We must unite and come together to continue to build this lovely country of ours,” he said. He called on the politicians to put pettiness aside and work together for a better Guyana.
Mr. Ramotar reflected on the history of Guyana where the Africans contributed significantly to the development of this county. He stated that Berbice is very important for its history where the resistance for freedom all started. The President, in response to earlier speakers, promised to do whatever possible to assist Berbicians to realize their dream in having a building to commemorate the activity. This was following calls for Berbice to have its own cultural centre and museum, and a monument to celebrate especially the 1763 uprising. A number of speakers, including President of COFONA group Dr Leonard Lewis and Ms Paulette Henry, had asked why the Government built the various monuments to celebrate the Berbice slave rebellion and the 1763 uprising in Georgetown and not in Berbice. They stated that Berbice was where the resistance to slavery was started by Cuffy 250 years ago, and as such something in recognition of the achievement should be built in Berbice. Other speakers included Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Dr. Frank Anthony; Regional Chairman David Armogan; Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Greene; New Amsterdam Mayor Claude Henry; President of both the overseas and local chapters of COFONA, Dr Leonard Lewis; and Marcia Williams. The CAFONA group, which was formed in New York, is made up of former New Amsterdam residents now living overseas and was formed with the aim of helping to revive the town. The group is headed by US-based educator Dr. Leonard Lewis, An International Conference with discussions, workshops on masquerade, mask making, music and instrument training, Queh Queh, and African drumming are among the numerous activities planned. Renowned Berbice playwright Ras Leon Saul will also be staging his play ‘Berbice Uprising’, during the celebration. A tree-planting exercise where over 250 trees will be planted around the town of New Amsterdam has commenced. The idea is to recognize the years from 1763 and 2013, so one tree will be planted for each year. A street parade which moved off form Marks Bridge in New Amsterdam lead by the COFONA Drum Corps preceded the activity.
Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
DTV CHANNEL 8 08:25hrs. Sign On 08:30hrs. This Morning 09:00hrs. Live! With Kelly and Michael 10:00hrs. Roseanne 11:00hrs. The View 12:00hrs. World News 12:30hrs. The Young and the Restless 13:30hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful
14:00hrs. The Talk 15:00hrs. Without a Trace 16:00hrs. Criminal Minds 17:00hrs. Charmed 18:00hrs. World News 18:30hrs. Nightly News 19:00hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00hrs. Channel 8 News 21:00hrs. DTV’S Summer Movie Fest 23:00hrs. Sign Off
MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 05:30hrs Dharan Kai AwazThe Voice of Dharma 06:00hrs Islamic Perspective 06:30hrs The Diary 07:00hrs DAY BREAK (live) 08:00hrs Dabi’s Musical Hour 08:30hrs Avon Video & DVD music hour 09:00hrs Current affairs
Monday July 29, 2013 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Today, set money issues aside and focus on things you can have an immediate effect on. Money can definitely give you power, but it can give you only so much -so don't place too much importance on your finances right now. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Right now, feeling good about who you are and where you are in life are getting easier and easier to do. You are appreciating the good things that are happening to you, and you are finally seeing them as blessings you deserve. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Is someone failing to meet all of your expectations? If so, the problem could be with your expectations. You can either choose to rethink what you want out of this person, or make it clear to her or him that the current situation just isn't going to work for you for very much longer. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): If a relationship isn't moving forward as quickly as you would like, take a look at who is driving all the action. Are you waiting for the other person to call you? To make the first move? To say those three little words? It's time to take a more active role. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Whether you realize it or not, your reputation has been on a steady climb upward for the past few days! Make the most of that today, when you run into a person who holds a lot of power in your life. Engage her or him in an interesting conversation. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): You are entering a time of great organization and efficiency -- it's a philosophy you are ready to live by! Your highly structured personality is coming out in full force right now. *********************
LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): You should be in a very social mood right now, so why not hit that hot new restaurant in town with a few of your food-loving friends? Good food and a nice atmosphere will create the perfect environment for enjoyable communication and will set the scene for you and your people to relax. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Today, try to be more open about your fears and worries. Sure, doing so might leave you feeling vulnerable, but it will definitely take a huge burden o ff y o u r s h o u l d e r s . A s soon as you start to talk, you'll feel relief. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): It might feel as if your relationship is built like a house of cards -- it's shaping up to be quite impressive, but one slight breeze or jiggle could send it all tumbling down. This sense of insecurity can be tricky to deal with. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): You've been taking a lot of risks lately -- and lucky for you, they've been paying off. But your luck is bound to change -- and it'll do so soon. Make sure you get ahead of the curve today by playing it much more conservatively. M ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): The eccentric energy that swarms all around you today won't annoy you as much as it would on any other day. Instead, you'll be able to use it to spark your creativity and start a few social experiments. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): If you listen carefully to the soft voices around you, you will hear things of great value. It's easy to get distracted by the loud voices, but it takes your style of patience to hear what many people don't take the time to listen to.
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09:15hrs Top Notch Music Break 09:30hrs Caribbean Temptation music break 10:00hrs Amanda’s music break 10:30hrs Comfort Sleep Musical 11:00hrs Teleview Ramadan 11:30hrs Salvation Message with Pastor Kelvin 11:45hrs Cartoons 12:00hrs Village Talk: Hydronie 12:30hrs The Young and The Restless 13:30hrs Days of Our lives 14:00hrs General Hospital 15:00hrs The Katie Couric Show 16:00hrs The Bold and the Beautiful 16:30hrs Barney Show 17:00hrs Birthdays & other Greetings 17:15hrs Death Announcements/ In Memoriam 17:30hrs Sitcom 18:00hrs Aracari Resort Hour 19:00hrs CNN News 19:30hrs News Update 20:30hrs Getting it Right 21:30hrs Ramadan special with Bibi Khan 22:00hrs Movie: Secret Access 23:00hrs News Update 22:30hrs English Movie: Secret Access Sign Off
‘Eyewitness’ claims men in car... (From page 19) seat pon the ground,” the woman said. When this publication asked if the alleged shooter might have exchanged fire with the policeman, the woman said that the young man, just like everyone else, was trying to “run f o r cover”. “I heard no gunshot coming from our side; all the bullets is the same policeman fire off.” She, however, added that she could not say who fired
the fatal shot which killed Elvis Fernandes. Kaieteur News understands that the police constable who was in the car alleged that a passenger in the front seat of the bus shot Fernandes and that he then shot the passenger, identified as Lloyd Britton. However, Britton is alleging that he was unarmed when the rank shot him. The shooting occurred shortly after a minor accident which involved the two vehicles.
According to reports, a police patrol had advised the men to report the accident. However, the owner of the car, accompanied by Fernandes and a police rank, reportedly went in search of the bus driver and eventually caught up with them on Mandela Avenue. It is alleged that the owner of the vehicle, who was armed with a cutlass, attempted to attack the driver while Fernandes attacked the conductor and was subsequently shot.
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Monday July 29, 2013
Monday July 29, 2013
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Egypt’s Brotherhood stands ground after killings CAIRO (Reuters) Thousands of supporters of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stood their ground outside a Cairo mosque yesterday a day after at least 72 were gunned down by security forces, braced for a move against them by the army chief behind the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. General Abdel Fattah alSisi made his first appearance since Saturday’s bloodshed, smiling before television cameras at a police graduation ceremony, recruits decked out in starched white uniforms. He received a standing ovation and was hailed by Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as “Egypt’s devoted son”. Fawning coverage in state and private media reflected Sisi’s rising political star, in a country ruled by former military officers for six decades before Mursi’s election in 2012. Saturday’s dawn killings, following a day of rival mass rallies, triggered global anxiety that the Arab world’s most populous and influential country risked broader conflagration. The Brotherhood accuses the military of turning back the clock on the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and demands that Mursi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, be reinstated. Mursi has been in military detention since his July 3 overthrow and the militarybacked interim government has placed him under investigation on charges including murder. Authorities also say they will move soon to clear the Brotherhood’s tent vigil. “It’s a source of terrorism that’s threatening the whole society, and that’s being confirmed by the day,” said Mostafa Hegazy, adviser to interim President Adli Mansour. “We’re calling for the sit-
Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans during a protest at the Rabaa Adawiya square, where they are camping, in Cairo. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany ins to be dispersed peacefully,” he told reporters. Army vehicles surrounded entrances to the square outside the Rabaa alAdawiya mosque in northern Cairo yesterday, where Brotherhood supporters used pictures of the bearded Mursi to shelter from the fierce sun. The Interior Ministry has rejected eyewitness accounts that police opened fire on the crowds and a public prosecutor has launched a probe into the violence, investigating 72 suspects for an array of crimes including murder and blocking streets. “They will not be content until they bring back everything from the era of the corrupt, murderous security and intelligence state,” senior Brotherhood official Essam el-Erian said on Facebook. “They’ve stepped up their efforts to do so by committing massacres never before seen in Egyptian history.” Cairo was quiet yesterday, but violent clashes rattled the Suez Canal city of
Port Said, where a 17-year-old youth was killed in fighting between pro- and anti-Mursi camps and a further 29 people were injured, security sources said. The violence has deeply polarized Egypt, with its secular and liberal elite so far showing little sympathy for the Brotherhood or reservations about the military’s return to the political frontline. In a first sign of doubt from within the interim cabinet installed after the military takeover, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ziad Bahaa El-Din said the government must not
copy the “oppressive” policies of its foes. “Our position must remain fixed on the need to provide legal guarantees not only for the members of the Brotherhood, but for every Egyptian citizen,” Bahaa ElDin wrote on Facebook. “Excessive force is not permitted.” The Tamarud youth protest movement, which mobilized millions of people against Mursi and has fully backed the army, also expressed alarm at an announcement by Interior Minister Ibrahim that he was reviving Mubarak’s hated secret political police, shut
down after he was toppled. Citing “extremist and religious activity and things like that”, Ibrahim said on Saturday that “safety cannot be restored without political security”. The move, however, could shake the enthusiasm of some secularists, who have otherwise seen little to object to in a government campaign against their Brotherhood enemies. The military says it does not want to retain power and aims to hand over to full civilian rule with a “road map” to parliamentary elections in about six months. But the very public role of Sisi as face of the new order has sowed doubt. The United States, which provides more than $1 billion a year in military aid to Egypt, urged its Middle East ally to pull “back from the brink” and respect the right to peaceful protest. New York-based Human Rights Watch said the Saturday killings suggested a “shocking willingness” by police and politicians to ratchet up violence against backers of Mursi. U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said confrontation was “leading to disaster”. “Egypt stands at a crossroads,” Pillay said in a statement. “The future of this great country that gave so much to civilization depends on how its citizens and authorities act over the following days and months.” Close to 300 people have
died in violence since Sisi deposed Mursi. Besides the Cairo bloodshed, some of the worst violence has been in the lawless Sinai peninsula, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, where Islamist militants have targeted security forces on an almost daily basis. State news agency MENA said yesterday that 10 “terrorist elements” in north Sinai had been killed and 20 others arrested in security sweeps over the past 48 hours. Egypt’s Salafi Nour party, the country’s second-biggest Islamist movement which has supported the army road map, said Saturday’s bloodshed showed the need for a political solution. “The crisis will not be resolved with crowds and counter crowds and neither will it be solved through violence,” party chief Younes Makhyoun told Reuters. Islamist politician and former presidential candidate Mohamed Selim a l - Aw a o ff e r e d a compromise that would see Mursi reinstated but with new elections within months. It was swiftly rejected by the interim presidency and Egypt’s biggest liberal and leftist coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF). “It’s clearly a non-starter,” said NSF spokesman Khaled Dawoud. “You can’t rewrite history; Mursi is out and there is already a road map.”
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Monday July 29, 2013
Millions at Brazil Mass hear pope ask youth to change world RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio’s famed Copacabana beach, usually the venue for scantily-clad sun-seekers and revelry, became a massive Catholic campground yesterday as Pope Francis concluded a youth festival by urging young people to go forth and build a new world. A festive crowd estimated by organizers and the Vatican to be more than 3 million strong, including many who slept in the area and local residents who poured out of homes and buses, turned out to see the Argentine pope on the final day of his week-long trip. Aerial television footage showed the sand and pavements blanketed with people for several kilometers along the crescent-shaped shoreline. “I was totally tranquil, waking up among the people on the beach. This view made it a very special and unique experience,” said Aline Vonsovicz, a 23-year-old Brazilian of Polish origin. The throng of people, many in the green and yellow Brazilian colors, gave Francis the kind of ecstatic welcome
that he has received all through his trip to his home continent. They shouted and sang as he was driven through the crowd in an open-sided popemobile, stopping often to kiss babies offered to him by their mothers on the shoreline most famous for its bars and nightclubs and hedonist spirit. His message to the young people in Rio for week-long World Youth Day festivities, sometimes called “the Church’s Woodstock,” was serious: they should not make their time in Rio a one-off experience. In his sermon during the Mass from a huge white stage at the beach’s northern tip, he said they should return to their home countries energized and ready to work for social change. “Bringing the Gospel is bringing God’s power to pluck up and break down evil and violence, to destroy and overthrow the barriers of selfishness, intolerance and hatred, so as to build a new world,” he said. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez,
Bolivian President Evo Morales and several Latin American vice presidents were among those who attended. The Copacabana events were to have taken place on a pasture on the outskirts of Rio, but days of unseasonable rain turned the area into a field of mud. “It was cold in the morning and there was a problem with a long wait for the toilets. Some people went in the sea. It was a bit chaotic. But it was lovely,” said Marcel Stelsberg, 27, who came from Copenhagen with a group 65 people from Scandinavia. “People were playing guitars and drums and singing and dancing to religious songs different languages. Now we don’t feel so alone, especially coming from Scandinavia where there are so few of us Catholics,” he said. Francis, who was due to leave for Rome on Sunday night after addressing Latin American bishops, has dedicated much attention in his speeches to the problems, the prospects and the power of youth. He announced that the next World Youth Day will
Catholic faithful greet Pope Francis as he arrives for his final mass on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. (Reuters) be in Krakow, Poland, in 2016. On Saturday night, he encouraged Brazil’s young people, who have protested against corruption in their country, to continue their efforts to change society by fighting apathy and offering “a Christian response.” Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation and still the world’s most Catholic
country despite declining numbers of faithful, was rocked by protests against corruption, the misuse of public money and the high cost of living. On Friday night he urged them to change a world where food is discarded while millions go hungry, where racism and violence still affront human dignity, and
where politics is more associated with corruption than service. The day before, during a visit to a Rio slum, he urged them to not lose trust and to not allow their hopes to be extinguished. Many young people in Brazil saw this as his support for peaceful demonstrations to bring about change.
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe warns rival against early poll win claim HARARE (Reuters) Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe yesterday warned his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai that he would be arrested if he claimed victory before official results were announced in an election this week. In his final campaign rally ahead of a presidential and parliamentary vote on Wednesday, Mugabe said his ZANU-PF party was confident of victory, which would extend his three decades in power. But he expressed concern that Tsvangirai, who is making a third run at the presidency, had threatened not to wait for official results from the electoral authorities. Tsvangirai told his own Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters at the weekend that although ZANU-PF was trying to rig the elections, he expected an overwhelming victory and did not have to wait for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). Yesterday, Mugabe dismissed Tsvangirai’s charges of ZANU-PF vote rigging as unfounded complaints of a “political cry baby” staring at inevitable defeat, warning him to respect laws giving only the ZEC the power to announce results. “I can tell you in advance that if you breach the law and become a law breaker, the police will arrest you,” he said
Robert Mugabe to cheers from thousands of supporters at a stadium in Harare. In 2008, the election commission announced presidential election results after five weeks, which showed Tsvangirai had beaten Mugabe but not by enough votes to avoid a runoff. His MDC said ZEC had cooked the figures to keep Mugabe in office, and Tsvangirai went on to occupy the prime minister’s post in a power-sharing government. Tsvangirai will address his last major rally today. Mugabe, 89, is seeking to extend his 33-year hold on power after leading the former Rhodesia to independence from Britain in 1980 and surviving his party’s loss to the MDC. Although both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have been
predicting that they would win the July 31 contest by huge margins, political analysts say it could be a tight race in which Mugabe’s control of the electoral machinery might prove the decisive element. Yesterday, the veteran Zimbabwean leader - who denies he has been receiving treatment for prostate cancer in Singapore over the last few years - said he deserved reelection to continue a black economic empowerment drive opposed by the MDC. “Tsvangirai and his MDC are shameless Western puppets, created by the West, funded and controlled by the West, and I urge you to reject them once and for all in these elections,” he said, repeating charges he makes often about his rivals but which the MDC strongly denies. Mugabe jokingly said he would suffer heart failure if the capital Harare, an MDC stronghold in which ZANU-PF won just one of the 29 parliamentary seats in the 2008 elections, backed Tsvangirai again at the polls. This year’s short election campaign period has been largely free of the violence that has marred previous polls. But the MDC accuses ZANU-PF of rigging the July 31 polls in its favor through a shambolic voters’ register and a refusal to open up the media to all sides or to restrain security forces from active politics.
Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
Israel approves prisoner deal to clear way for peace talks JERUSALEM (Reuters) Israel’s cabinet yesterday approved the release of 104 Arab prisoners to help restart U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians after nearly three years of diplomatic stagnation. Thirteen ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition cabinet voted in favor of the prisoner release, seven voted against and two abstained, a government official said. “The cabinet has authorized the opening of diplomatic talks between Israel and the Palestinians...,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu had urged divided rightists in his cabinet to back the prisoner deal. “This moment is not easy for me, is not easy for the cabinet ministers, and is not easy especially for the bereaved families, whose feelings I understand,” he said when the cabinet met, referring to families who have lost members in militant attacks. “But there are moments in which tough decisions must be made for the good of the nation and this is one of those moments.” Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is set to head Israel’s negotiation team, told her cabinet colleagues that resuming talks with the Palestinians was a vital national interest. “Today’s cabinet decision is one of the most important for the future of Israel... Starting a (peace) process is in Israel’s security and strategic interests,” Livni said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded the release of prisoners held since before a 1993 interim peace accord took effect. Israel has jailed thousands more Palestinians since then, many for carrying out deadly attacks The prisoner release would allow Netanyahu to
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (centre) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem yesterday. (Reuters) sidestep other Palestinian demands, such as a halt to Jewish settlement expansion and a guarantee that negotiations over borders will be based on boundaries from before the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed Israel’s decision, which he said had come 14 years late, and pledged to work for the release of all prisoners held by Israel. “This Israeli cabinet decision is an overdue step towards the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement of 1999,” he said in a statement. “We call on Israel to seize the opportunity ... to put an end to decades of occupation and exile and to start a new stage of justice, freedom and peace for Israel, Palestine and the rest of the region.” In any future peace deal, Israel wants to keep several settlement blocs and East Jerusalem, which it annexed as part of its capital in a move never recognized internationally. Hundreds of protesters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) staged a rally against the resumption of peace talks,
clashing with police in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the seat of Abbas’s Palestinian Authority. PFLP activists also demonstrated in Gaza and chanted: “Listen Abbas, our land is not for sale... The (Palestinian) cause will never be resolved except by the rifle.” Appealing for support on his Facebook page on Saturday, Netanyahu said the inmates would be freed in groups only after the start of talks, expected to last at least nine months. The 22-member cabinet also discussed legislation that would require a referendum on any statehood deal reached with the Palestinians involving a withdrawal from land Israel captured in the 1967 war. It will be sent for parliamentary debate shortly. The U.S.-sponsored talks, expected to reconvene in Washington as early as tomorrow, broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, which Palestinians say denies them a viable state. Before the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told ministers from his Likud party that Israel would pay a price if peace talks did not resume,
according to one official who was there. The latest diplomatic push follows months of intense shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who said a week ago the groundwork had been laid for a breakthrough, while setting no specific date for talks to restart.
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Afghan eyes Iran deal to boost trade to Europe, India KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan hopes an agreement with Iran to use one of its ports will help boost exports to Europe and India and reduce its dependence on neighbouring Pakistan’s ports for trade. Iran will allow land-locked Afghanistan to use the port to export goods like fruit and carpets to India and other countries, according to the spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries. “We want to export to central Asia and Europe, India wants to use the port to send goods to Afghanistan,” Wahidullah Ghazikhel told Reuters. Afghanistan currently relies on the port of Karachi in Pakistan for the bulk of its sea exports. But that leaves traders vulnerable to political disputes between the United States and Pakistan, which has closed its border with Afghanistan at least twice over recent years, cutting U.S. military supplies to Afghanistan, as well as routine trade. “If the Pakistani government’s relationship with the United States goes bad, this impacts our traders,” Ghazikhel said. In the most recent disruption on the Afghan-Pakistani border, private transport companies were banned from moving Afghan goods to Karachi, delaying containers for about three months. Not only did the contents, including milk and eggs, spoil, but companies were also charged a total of $10 million for renting storage space for their delayed containers, he said. “We are very interested in exporting to European countries and working on other ways (that avoid Pakistan’s port),” the spokesman said. Millions of dollars have been invested in companies that aim to export “premium” fruit such as pomegranate, prized by the health-conscious in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Afghanistan also exports many other types of fresh and dried fruit, saffron and carpets. But although it sees agriculture as a driving force in its economy, Afghanistan continues to rely on imports for most of its food.
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Monday July 29, 2013
Brazil’s Rousseff rules out more Prime Minister outlines goodies, but spending cuts: newspaper opinion polls show Warner winning
SAO PAULO (Reuters) Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ruled out additional spending cuts or a reduction in the number of government ministries from 39, saying the benefits of such measures to spur economic growth would be minimal, Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported yesterday. Rousseff said in an interview with Folha that all possible measures to contain budget expenditures have been taken and that trimming the number of ministries might hamper the government’s efforts to reduce social and economic inequality. Rousseff reiterated that Finance Minister Guido Mantega “will stay where he’s always been: at the finance ministry.” Critics of Mantega have called for him to quit, saying his efforts to kick-start economic growth have failed and have eroded credibility in the soundness of the government’s policy framework. Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, has been rocked by a wave of massive
Dilma Rousseff protests, by mostly young people angered by government corruption, the misuse of public money, the high cost of living and a lack of jobs. Rousseff defended her policies, saying inflation remains under control, the labor force is still adding workers, debt measures are around record-lows and investment in key areas is growing slowly. “We are still growing, despite grappling with a storm in our faces,” she told the newspaper. Rousseff is struggling in
opinion polls and there are mounting calls for the return of her popular predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, her political mentor. Asked whether Lula might run for president again, she said: “I don’t know if Lula would come back because he never went off, he never left” the government. Lula, whose two-term presidency lasted between 2003 and 2010, has repeatedly denied he has any intention of running for the presidency again. “Everything that rises, comes down, and everything that comes down, rises,” Rousseff told Folha when asked about the decline in her popularity. In recent weeks, three key pollsters have shown her approval ratings as well as that of her government plunging an average 30 percentage points from almost record highs. Rousseff declined to comment on a potential cabinet re-shuffle. Calls to the presidential palace’s press office to confirm the content of the Folha interview were not immediately returned.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar is promising residents in the Chaaguanas West constituency an array of goodies ahead of today’s by-election that opinion polls show will be won by her former national security minister Austin “Jack” Warner. Addressing a rally of the United National Congress (UNC) on Saturday night that was brought out Bollywood singer Kumas Sanu, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said that her government would provide TT$50 million to former Caroni sugar workers, who were “cheated” by the previous administration when they invested more than TT$400 million in a “sweetener” loan. “Your government has already approved the management fee payment of six million to offset all fees and return this money to the workers who paid for such services. “I will now commit our government to paying TT$50
T&T, Venezuela meet on developing gas field Trinidad Express Trinidad and Tobago has taken another step toward developing the Loran Manatee gas field with neighbour Venezuela. The second meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) for the Unitisation of Cross Border Hydrocarbon Reservoir s b e t w e e n t h e Republic of Trinidad and To b a g o and the Bolivarian Republic of Ve n e z u e l a w a s h e l d a t the offices of the Ministry of Energy in Port of Spain on July 23 and 24. The meeting involved delegations led by the cochairperson from Venezuela, Angel González Saltron, Vice Minister of Hydrocarbons, People’s Ministry for Energy
and Pet r o l e u m a n d h i s counterpart and cochairperson from Trinidad a n d To b a g o S e l w y n L a s h l e y, permanent secretary of the ministry, a statement from the ministry said last week. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine met with the committee before the start of the discussions and highlighted the importance of these meetings among the technical experts in facilitating the development and monetisation of gas fields in this region and the potential benefit to the Latin American and Caribbean communities. In an e-mailed statement to the Sunday Express Saturday, he said: “On July 23
Kevin Ramnarine and 24 the Steering Committee to oversee cross border gas field development between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela met. The meeting came out of
discussions between the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the President of Venezuela at a bilateral meeting between both countries during the recently held CARICOM Heads Summit in Port of Spain on July 6. Five days before I had met President Maduro in Moscow during the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. In my speech in Moscow I had called on Venezuela to partner with Trinidad and Tobago to develop the plataforma deltana natural gas reserves for the benefit of the peoples of Venezuela and T&T and to seed a Caribbean and Latin American natural gas market.”
Kamla Persad Bissessar
Austin “Jack” Warner
million to the former Caroni workers who invested on the promise of the PNM (Peoples National Movement) and were duped into putting their money in that plan. This TT$50 million will be paid as partial payment to offset any payments that would have been due to the Caroni workers by way of interest received.,” she said. Opinion polls published yesterday and last week, showed Warner as a comfortable winner in the seat that is considered the heartland of the UNC and one of its safest seats. The ANSA McAL poll showed Warner enjoying a 48 to 22 per cent lead over the UNC’s candidate Khadijah Ameen, while the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (Nacta) has him leading 41 to 36 per cent. The by-election was occasion after Warner resigned the Chaguanas West seat in April following the release of a report by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that had been critical of his leadership of the group. Warner also submitted his resignation as a government minister and as the UNC chairman but was by-passed by the party, who selected Ameen. Persad Bissessar told supporters that her administration plans to return a significant portion of the 500 acres of prime agricultural land which was taken away by the PNM government in 2006 for the development of a military base. She said Cabinet approved TT$48 million to finish developing a residential site where the government expected to have over 700 lots for distribution later this year. “This will benefit many of the former Caroni workers in Felicity and the surrounding areas. We will also seek funding for the completion of
the residential site nearby on the Caroni Savannah Road,” she said, adding there were also plans to construct a health center in the area. “So you the people of Pierre Road, Felicity, and surrounding areas will get your long-awaited health facilities. We have identified a parcel of land on the Caroni Connector Road for this purpose. This is the longterm development which my government is known for.” In her address, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar dismissed any notion that Warner, who has since formed the Independent Liberal Party (IPL), would be allowed back into the coalition partnership government. “Maybe I was too forgiving before. “Maybe I was too understanding when the accusations and charges of alleged misdeeds were swirling incessantly. “When the Opposition and other civil society groups, all with abundant self interests, but now ominously silent, were calling repeatedly and vociferously for his head, I stood with him. We all stood with him. I chose not to respond to the persistent allegations and innuendoes,” she said, denying claims by Warner that she is controlled by a “cabal” within the government. “There is no doubt he helped rejuvenate our party at a critical juncture and played a central role in our march to government. But those of us who actually lived the history know he was but one of many who stood up valiantly for our party.” She said his resignation as UNC chairman was “a pure unadulterated act of vanity. It was a total unilateral decision,” adding that Warner slapped his constituents in their faces because he did not consult with them.
Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
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Finance Minister confident NY consultant to tell Caribbean tourism players how to enhance visitor experience of economic growth KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Jamaica says it is confident the island will start to see economic growth as it implements the multi-million Economic Reform Programme (ERP) with assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finance Minister Dr. Peter Phillips is urging citizens to support the ERP, which aims to reduce the country’s debt, and set a platform for growth. He told a Manchester Chamber of Commerce Biz Clinic 2013 Forum recently that while the programme’s implementation was a prerequisite for concluding the new US$932.3 million fouryear IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), it is also a “requirement for us to put our economy on a firm footing to achieve sustained levels of growth”. The four-year EFF forms a critical part of a total funding package of two billion US dollars from Jamaica’s multilateral partners including the World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), with each having preliminarily agreed to allocate US$510 million over the next four years. The programme aims to reduce Jamaica’s debt from the current 145 per cent of gross domestic product
(GDP), to 96 per cent by 2020. Among the components of the ERP include the attainment of a 7.5 per cent primary budgetary surplus target; implementation of a National Debt Exchange (NDX) programme; tax reform; and public sector reform, restructuring of salaries to reduce ratio to GDP from 10.6 per cent, as at March 31, 2013, to nine per cent by 2015/16. Phillips said that there is “a tendency on the part of commentators” to associate the programme solely with the EFF, indicating that whether or not there was an agreement, “we need these economic reforms, primarily, because we have an unsustainable level of public debt. “It is true that the pain
Trinidad Express Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is expected to begin phasing out its expensive fuel subsidy in a bid to become self-reliant. The Sunday Express understands that at the start of the next fiscal year, the company will begin the process with the hope of weaning off Government’s subsidised fuel help over the next three years. “This would inform how the company does its budget in the coming year. The company wants to move away from that reliance,” a source close to the process told the Sunday Express Saturday. Asked if that could mean higher ticket prices or reduced routes, the source explained that ticket prices were expected to be stable and routes will be rationalised. “The intent with CAL at this point is not to be profitable but to break even and become fairly sustainable moving forward,” the source said. CAL’s subsidy has been
criticised by regional carrier LIAT which argued recently that the subsidy has given the national airline an unfair advantage in the regional travel market. LIAT was hoping to secure the same subsidy for its ATR aircraft but the suggestion was dismissed by Finance Minister Larry Howai. CAL’s subsidy also extends to its Air Jamaica (AJ) aircraft. The subsidy, which is estimated at over $300 million, is part of Government’s expensive fuel subsidy bill. It was granted for a threeyear period at a fixed price— US$50 a barrel of oil—when CAL was formed in 2007. It was subsequently extended but the pricing changed. It moved from US$1.50 to US$2.34 a gallon. On May 4, 2012 former finance minister Winston Dookeran disclosed to Parliament that the airline made an unaudited loss of US$52.8 million ($339.5 million) for 2011 while Air Jamaica recorded an
Dr. Peter Phillips
generally comes before the gain, and we are in a period now where the stresses are being felt. But, it is also the case that we can see the prospects of the growth, which is the focus of the entire programme,” he said. Phillips said the inflation outturn for the April to June quarter was 1.2 per cent, which fell below the two to three per cent forecast. Additionally, the Net International Reserves (NIR) stood at just over one billion US dollars, representing approximately 13 weeks of goods and services imports. This figure, he indicated, was US$119 million higher than the outturn at the end of the January to March quarter. “The turnaround will not come instantaneously. But, I think it is important to recognize that there are important opportunities for us to even exceed what, admittedly, are moderate growth targets for the first phase of our programme. “We can…complain about all the things that could be different, or we can become part of the change. I want to urge all of you to inform yourselves and be evangelists for economic reform in the country,” Dr. Phillips added.
CAL looking to shrug off Govt. fuel subsidy
unaudited loss of US$38.1 million ($245.2 million) for 2011. CAL is expected to file its financial statements for 2011 and 2012 in Parliament soon. The company has been challenged with financial debt, had issues with corporate governance and had its board fired by Howai. It has had to write off some $200 million in cargo losses and alleged credit card fraud. Former acting chief executive Robert Corbie resigned from the company last month and the airline is searching for a replacement.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The executive director of the New York based Avant-Guide Institute (AGI), Daniel Levine, is to advise Caribbean tourism players on how to deliver more perfect visitor experiences as he delivers the keynote address at the State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) which takes place in Martinique in October. The conference, organised by the Barbadosbased Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in conjunction with the Martinique Tourism Bureau, will be held from October 1518 and is expected to be attended by various tourism stakeholders. It will be preceded by a series of business meetings, including the meetings of the board of directors and the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism. The CTO said that Levine, described as an international trends consultant, will speak on the topic, “Delivering More Perfect Visitor Experiences - How to turn Authenticity into Greater Visitor Numbers”. “We are pleased that Daniel Levine is bringing his considerable experience and
Daniel Levine award-winning ‘trend spotting’ expertise to the State of the Industry Conference, where he will deliver a targeted and meaningful keynote message to conference delegates about providing more perfect visitor experiences,” said Sylma Brown, the director of CTO-USA Inc., the CTO’s New York-based office. SOTIC is the Caribbean’s leading tourism conference, bringing together decisionmakers from the public and private sectors, academics, travel professionals and journalists from the region and around the world. At this year’s event,
themed, “Perfecting the Experience; Delivering Authenticity,” delegates will explore a range of elements that are critical to the development and success of the sector in the region. These include training and education, service quality, standards, visitor satisfaction, and community involvement. Brown said that the conference should be particularly appealing to a cross section of the Caribbean tourism industry “because experts will focus on how we utilize the latest technology with the attributes that make the Caribbean unique. “Every participant will leave with ground-breaking ideas that will give the region a competitive edge because the authenticity of the Caribbean cannot be replicated. “The media will leave with new story angles; the service providers will better understand from best practices the importance of overall excellent customer service; and the destinations will be exposed to the latest trends in technology that can keep their visitors connected and informed while in the region,” she added.
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Kaieteur News
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Monday July 29, 2013
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Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
Page 33
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Kaieteur News
Monday July 29, 2013
Lewis Hamilton takes first Mercedes win in Hungary BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton took his first win for Mercedes by dominating the Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton controlled the race as he beat Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel into second and third. Red Bull’s Mark Webber recovered from 10th on the grid to take fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen moves one point ahead of Alonso into second in the championship, 38 points adrift of Vettel, who is on course for a fourth title. Alonso spent the last stint of the race holding off Lotus’s Romain Grosjean, whose podium chances were wiped out by a penalty for overtaking off the track. The Frenchman passed Ferrari’s Felipe Massa around the outside of Turn Four on lap 29, but had all four wheels beyond the white line that demarcates the track limits and he was given a
drive-through penalty. Grosjean was given a second punishment - 20 seconds added to his race time - after being found guilty of causing a collision McLaren’s Jenson Button. The penalty did not change the race result. He appeared to edge Button off the track on the outside as he passed him into the chicane on lap 24. At that stage, Grosjean was battling with Vettel for what was a de facto second place behind Hamilton, who was out of everyone else’s reach. “We really had no idea we could do that well,” said Hamilton. “The last 20 laps I was just managing my tyres and cruising. “I think you can say I was hungry for it today.” Hamilton had said after taking pole position on Saturday that it would be a “miracle” if he won the race, considering the high temperatures in Hungary and
the problems Mercedes have had with tyre wear in recent races. But he was in control throughout, leading off pole position, losing the lead to Grosjean and then Webber after making his first pit stop and then regaining it when the Australian made his first stop on lap 23, having started on a different tyre following problems in qualifying. Hamilton, who had crucially given himself some clear air to show his pace by passing Button straight after his first pit stop, made sure of victory with two impressive overtaking moves on Webber. The Mercedes rejoined behind the Red Bull after both his second and third pit stops, and each time immediately passed him around the outside of Turn Two and into the fast Turn Three. The moves took place shortly before the same spot that Nigel Mansell famously passed Ayrton Senna for victory in Hungary in 1989
Wismar Christianburg reign... From page 39 whose lobbed ball was clinically headed past Neil Henrito in the 19th minute. Despite being two down, the pace of the game was brisk with Waramadong enjoying better ball possession. It was no surprise when they pulled once back 23 minutes on. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player – Whazir Bascome – who ended with a whopping 19 goals, weaved his way past the defenders and into shooting zone before letting off one of his trade mark bombs that sailed into the roof of the nets past the outstretched hands of Daniel English. The goal brought an eruption of cheers from their supporters, and the game was on. The break came with the core unchanged and the thousands on hand discussing the possibilities of what will happen in the final 45 minutes. They {fans}hadn’t the slightest clue that it was going to go down to the wire. Linden came out all guns blazing as they sought to increase the advantage, while their opponents were keen on leveling the score in the first instance and that is exactly what they accomplished. Fifty-three minutes on, Waramadong were rewarded with a free kick just outside the box and made no mistake when Jesse Morris’ shot settled at the back of the nets after flying past the wall and English: Waramadong 2 Wismar/Christianburg 2. The game well and truly on now, Bascome, truly the
inspiration of his team, stepped up big time yet again, putting them ahead with a another well executed free kick in the 72nd minute. With the adrenalin flowing and the advantage theirs’, Waramadong kept the pressure up but like true champions, Wismar/ Christianburg never buckled. The Lindeners missed three clear cut chances, Davidson missing two of those opportunities. It almost came back to haunt them as the time quickly went by. With two minutes of added on time shown by the fourth official, it was almost as if the game was secured by the Waramadong but the Lindeners were not down as yet. In the 91st minute Shane Luckie came up lucky for his team, capitalizing on a rare defensive lapse by Waramadong to score the equaliser in the nick of time; a goal that changed the fortunes of Wismar/ Christianburg. From the spot, Waramadong missed their second kick while Wismar/ Christianburg’s 5th kick, taken by Benny Neblette was saved by Isaacs. It ended 4-4 after the first five. Wismar/Christianburg’s custodian English then came up with a big save on the first sudden death kick by Waramadong before his teammate Anthony Lane, with poise, calmness and assurance scored his kick which sent the their fans racing unto the field to celebrate their victory. In the third place game,
Covent Garden hammered a St. Georges 7-4. Esan Haynes netted five goals for the winners. He hit the onion skin in the 18th, 32nd, 36th, 60th and 64th minute. Kevin Agard in the 21st and Matthew Charles in the 68th were the other scorers for Covent Garden. For St. George’s, which ended the game two players short after both were booked twice, Ozia Small converted a brace (14, 35), Adolph George was on target in the 7th and Azumah Small in the 47th. Azumah was sent off in the 54th minute, attracting the first yellow in the 29th minute; Neil Cameron got his second booking in the 90th, his first was in the 41st. Wismar Christianburg Secondary will receive One Million dollars compliments of Digicel to do a school project of their choice as the winner of the competition. Waramadong will receive $500,000; Covent Garden $300,000 and St. George’s $200,000 for projects of their choice. This was disclosed by Head of Marketing, Ms. Jacquline James at the presentation of trophies and medals to the top four schools. Digicel CEO Gregory Dean congratulated the winner while also complimenting the other schools for making the 3rd edition of the DSFC, another resounding success. The fans and area coordinators also came in for high praise by Dean who promised that the tournament will be even bigger and better in 2014.
Hamilton (left) gained some ground on his rivals in Hungary, but Vettel (right) is still comfortably ahead. (AFP Getty Images)
and underlined Hamilton’s superiority. The 28-year-old has now won four times in Hungary out of his seven races here. In an intriguing race, Vettel survived problems with a front wing broken when he touched Button trying to pass the McLaren in Turn Two shortly after the world champion’s first pit stop. At the time, Vettel was being urged to cool his car because his Kers power boost system was overheating. Those problems cost Vettel a chance to fight with Hamilton for the win and put him into a battle with Raikkonen for second place. The Finn had made up ground impressively on a two-stop strategy - when all the other leading drivers did three - after dropping to 10th following his first pit stop.
Vettel rejoined just over two seconds behind the Lotus after his own final pit stop with 15 laps to go, but with Raikkonen on far older tyres, on which he was asking to do 28 laps in his final stint. The German was on Raikkonen’s tail with 11 of the 70 laps to go, but the experienced Finn was able to hold him off. Vettel made one attempt to pass Raikkonen around the outside of Turn Four on lap 68, but he defended and Vettel had to back off. Webber recovered well from his 10th place on the grid to run second before his final stop, after which he dropped to fourth. Alonso’s Ferrari ran fourth in the early laps after starting fifth but did not have the pace to compete with the cars in front. Alonso was lapping
around a second slower than Vettel, despite the damage to the Red Bull, and he was forced to focus on holding off Grosjean to take fifth, exactly where the Spaniard finished in Hungary last year. Ferrari were fined £13,000 following the race after Alonso used his DRS overtaking aid three times when more than one second behind another driver. Button took seventh place, ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who drove the entire race with a damaged front wing after being hit by Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes on the first lap. Rosberg was on course for ninth before retiring in flames with five laps to go, promoting McLaren’s Sergio Perez to ninth ahead of Pastor Maldonado, who scored Williams’s first point of the season.
Punches galore as nation’s Simon... From page 37 connected to Benjamin’s head and she sought refuge behind high guards. She managed to survive the first stanza but her demeanour never suggested permanence. Arokium attacked just as the second round commenced and a stiff jab landed on Benjamin’s nose and drifted her backwards prompting the referee to wave the proceedings off. Shaka Moore (EBG) failed to show up for his 105-109lbs bout and gifted a walk over to Orin Bancroft moments before Tefon Green (HE) and Junior Henry (FYF) squared off in the 110-114lbs class. Both fighters were superbly conditioned and engaged in toe to toe exchanges much to the delight of the spectators. The bout swayed like a pendulum with both pugilists enjoying great moments. Green backed his man to the ropes and pummelled him but Henry retaliated with a four punch combination that evened the score somewhat.
The third round was felt to be the decider but even then the boxers refused to relent and punches rained right up to the end. It was indeed a pity that one had to lose and the judges decided that Henry had done enough and awarded him the bout. The bout in the 85-89lbs class between Joshua Corbin of the Caryll Boxing Gym (CBG) and Deshon Elcock (EBG) ended when the referee stopped the proceedings in favour of the latter boxer. The entertainment continued when Keion Williams of the Pocket Rocket Boxing Gym (PRBG) faced Rayon Legal (FYF) in the 115-119lbs division. Once again a slugfest ensued with both boxers scoring wicked punches. In the end it was Williams that won the bout and the title. With one fight to go, the crowd started to walk out but were stopped in their tracks when Quincy Boyce (GDF) opposed Travis Hubbard (HEBG). The two gladiators went after each other with
gusto and Boyce first wilted after a clout to his temple. Luckily the referee missed it and he was not subjected to the mandatory eight. Undaunted, Hubbard lashed out and had his man on the back foot for most of the bout. Boyce did manage to stitch in a few salvos but found the determination and grit of his opponent too much to handle thus conceding a majority verdict. Eight years old, Malrick Walcott, received a special prize for being the youngest boxer in the tournament. Earlier, Government official, Odinga Lumumba delivered a pep talk to the boxers and urged them to box within the ambits of the rules. Mr Lumumba complimented Mr Ninvalle on his astute organizational skills even as he noted that the ALBG (which is now under the care of the GBA) was properly maintained. “Let’s hope that we are able to produce future world champions from these tournaments,” exhorted Lumumba.
Monday July 29, 2013
Kaieteur News
Guyana make sweep of team titles at 31st Junior C’bean Squash C/ships Guyana made a clean sweep of the team titles when the 31st Junior Caribbean Squash Championships concluded at the Cascadia Courts in Trinidad yesterday. The Guyana Girls team won its eighth consecutive team title and Team Guyana won its ninth consecutive Overall Team title. In the Girls Team final first on court Rebecca Low played Alyssa Mullings the Caribbean Under-15 Champion. Rebecca would prove to be no match for Alyssa and went down in straight games losing three love. In match number two Makeda Harding came up against Mira Handa and Harding, who had lost to Handa in the individual tournament three games to love, turned the table on this occasion. A fired up Makeda won the first game, then her opponent won the second, but Makeda took the third. It then seemed as if the girls title would be in Guyana’s grasp because with a win in this match the Guyana team would be certain to win. However Mira Handa dug deep won the fourth and the fifth game in a see-saw battle with both players really playing well. With Makeda leading nine points to eight the victory was still within her grasp but Mira won the next three points and the match by three games to two. Girls captain Victoria Arjoon was next on court, facing Jessica Perkins with Guyana trailing in the tie by two matches to nil. But Arjoon was not to be denied as she romped to a comfortable win, three games to nil. Gabby Fraser then came on court for Guyana against MichaelAnn Denton and here again the match was a pretty easy one for the Guyanese girl, as she won in straight games three love. It had now come down to the Under-17 Girls match to decide who would win the Girls team title. Akeila Wiltshire was matched up against Ashley Lynch. This contest was not close at all and Akeila blew away her opponent in straight games three games to nil handing Guyana the Girls Team Title. In the Boys Team final, Ben Mekdeci was first on court against Tahjia Lumley. Mekdeci was by far the best Under-15 player in the tournament and displayed his class with a comfortable win three games to nil. Shomari Wiltshire then faced Adam Ardito and the Guyana team felt quite confident that with
Page 35
Regional U-19 3-Day tourney
Homraj hits century for Guyana Ashkay Homraj slammed a fine century as Guyana grabbed first innings points from the Windward Islands in the third round of the Regional U-19 three day tournament yesterday in at Conaree St. Kitts. Guyana resumed on 323-9 and progress to 334 before they were bowled out. Akshay Homraj stroked 100 while Tagenarine Chanderpaul 66, Shawn Pereira 47 and Brian Sattaur 46 supported well. Edwards claimed 3-81 and Gabriel 2-78. Homraj century came in 151 minutes off 103 balls and contained eleven fours and three sixes. Pereira picked up 4 wickets in 4 balls as Windwards were bowled out for 235 after being placed on 234-5 to hand Guyana a 99 runs lead. George led with 48 while Benjamin and Gabriel made 22 each. Batting a second time Guyana lost Shimron Hetymer (00) who was run out and Brian Sattaur(00) to be 2 wickets down with out a run on the board, but Tagenarine Chanderpaul 28 * and Pereira 3 *saw them to the close at 42-3 in 23 overs, leading by 141.
Volleyball action in Berbice set for Sunday August 4
The respectative Guyana girls (above) and boys squash teams.
Volleyball action is set to return to the Ancient County when the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA) stages the Annual Rick Sakawat one day Inter-club Competition on Sunday August 4th at the Guysuco Port Mourant Training Centre Courts, Corentyne, Berbice. The competition is being sponsored by overseas based Guyanese Devo Girdhari, who is a former colleague of the late Rick Sakawat, and is being used to keep the name and memory of the former player who played for Port Mourant Volleyball club alive. The competition is expected to attract both male and female teams. Among the teams slated to participate are –PMTC 1&2, Port Mourant Jaguars, Three Doors Strikers 1&2, Albion Sports Complex, Union-Renaissance Sports Club, Falcons of Canje and Vikings of Blairmont. The female category is expected to see participation from Sunshine Girls and a
Berbice U-19 females selection. Trophies and other incentives will be presented to the first three finishers in the male category while both female teams will receive incentives. Prizes will also be presented to the outstanding individual players including the MVP, best setter, best spiker, best defence, best blocker, best server and best libero in both categories. According to Girdhari, teams will be outfitted in different coloured Rick Sakawat T-Shirts. The competition will be played on a “round-robin” basis and the action is scheduled to commence at 9:30 hrs. Teams are urged to be punctual for the opening ceremony since latecomers will be penalized. PMTC 1 is the defending champions, having won the last competition played in 2011. Last year the competition was not played due to unforeseen circumstances. (Samuel Whyte)
Spectre of corruption... a win here the title would be almost secured. The youngest of the Wiltshire family won the first, but Ardito came out blazing in the second and took the game. However, Shomari held his nerve to take the third and then the fourth to take the match by the score of three games to one. The Under-19 Boys number one strings were on next and Jamaica would have felt that they would pull one back here as Jean Claude
Jeffrey was up against Caribbean Under-19 Champion Ashante Smith. Jean Claude however felt that he had a chance in the match after earlier losing to the same opponent in the group match three games to two. Jean Claude won the first game and also took the second. However in the third game it seemed as if Ashante was now warming up and Jean Claude was tiring very quickly. Jean Claude continued to play hard and at nine all in the third
it was do or die for him. Jean Claude won the next two points and the match three games to love. The Boys Team title had been secured. Steven Xavier then played Julian Morrison and Julian won the match by three games to love. The fifth match between Nyron Joseph and Jake Mahfood was played as a friendly with Nyron winning by two games to nil. The closing ceremony took place at the Cascadia Hotel last evening.
From page 36 almost impossible to track, with trades carried out illegally in India and the Middle East. The ICC are expected to request more detailed information from legitimate bookmakers to try to identify potential wrongdoing surrounding West Indies v Pakistan, though with many online firms registered offshore for tax purposes, they are not obliged to provide information on their customers’ activity. A ‘memorandum of understanding’ exists between sites such as Betfair but they do not come under the remit of the Gambling Act, which requires high street bookmakers in the UK to notify the publically owned Gambling Commission as well as the respective governing body of any suspicious behaviour. The ICC’s anti-corruption unit were approached for an official statement but replied: ‘It is our policy not to comment on any investigtion, ongoing or otherwise.’ Betfair declined to comment, while a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said: ‘We have no knowledge of an ICC investigation.’ The West Indies Board were unavailable for comment.
Page 36
Kaieteur News
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Spectre of corruption returns to haunt international cricket * West Indies-Pakistan series to be investigated * Suspect betting identified in tied ODI * Slow scoring rates will be at centre of inquiry Daily Mail - Cricket is once again facing up to the spectre of corruption with the recent one-day international series between the West Indies and Pakistan set to be investigated over allegations of wrongdoing. Suspicious betting patterns were identified during the low-profile fivematch series, which concluded on Thursday, while unusually slow runrates during certain overs followed by bursts of high scoring have ‘set alarm bells ringing’, according to industry experts. Concerns have been raised, in particular, around the tied third match of the series played in St Lucia a week ago on Friday, as well as the final game, which resulted in a last-ball win for Pakistan on Thursday. The second ODI, which saw Pakistan fail to score a run off the bat in the first five overs after being set 233 to win, will also be looked at. One betting website reported unusually large sums of money — said to run into several millions of pounds — being wagered between innings on a tied result during the third ODI after the West Indies were set 230 to win from 50 overs. Pakistan appeared to be cruising to victory, with their opponents still requiring 45 off the last 21 balls and only three wickets left. But with the tail-enders scoring at more than four times the rate of most of their team-mates, West Indies scraped the unlikeliest of ties. Field placings for the final over, when No 11 Jason Holder and fellow tail-ender Kemar Roach crashed 14 off six balls from Wahab Riaz, will be scrutinised by officers of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), along with a failed run-out bid off the last delivery. Television commentator Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler, said at the time: ‘There is no way, no way, that you can convince me, whatever happens to this last ball, that Wahab Riaz and Misbah ul Haq have had this field right to the length they have been trying to execute. There is no one who can convince me of that. Totally wrong.’ The fifth ODI, which saw
Pakistan win by four wickets off the final ball, is also to be scrutinised. ACSU officers will also analyse patterns on spread-betting sites around the first 18 balls of the West Indies innings when only one run was scored. ‘There were suspicious betting patterns on a betting exchange,’ said betting expert Ed Hawkins, the author of Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy. ‘A suspicious pattern, simply, is a flood of money wagered on an outcome just before it happens. There were some noticeable examples of this during the West IndiesPakistan series. In the tied match, a weight of cash arrived on the tie market before Pakistan’s innings.’ Another passage of play, between the 29th and 34th overs, when experienced West Indies batsmen Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels were at the crease, will also be analysed in an effort to understand why just two runs were scored from five overs before 16 were hit off the 35th over. ACSU investigators, who have been criticised in the past for failing to root out deep-seated corruption in cricket, will analyse betting patterns around those overs amid concerns that anyone with prior knowledge could have made a certain profit in the market for run predictions, which are usually based on totals in five-over ‘brackets’. The same process will occur for the second ODI. ‘If I was presented with this level of information, I would want this series investigated,’ said ECB information manager Chris Watts, who is responsible for anti-corruption in domestic cricket in England. ‘There are some classic signs [of wrong doing].’ In May 2008, Samuels was suspended for two years. The West Indies Board said he had ‘received money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game into disrepute’. They looked into charges that Samuels had passed on team information to a bookmaker during a oneday series in India in January 2007, which he denied. Key to any investigation will be to establish a link between illegal bookmakers, normally working on behalf of billionaire businessmen in
India or the Middle East, and the players. The ACSU have the power to access a player’s bank records and analyse mobile phone data. Deleted text messages can be accessed through improved data retrieval methods. ‘Players know we are on the look-out for wrongdoing, but they also know it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,’ said an ICC source. The ICC and their constituent governing bodies have introduced education programmes in recent years to warn players of the dangers of getting involved with the murky underworld of blackmarket betting and reminding them of the potential punishments if they are caught. The ECB have looked to identify so-called ‘courtsiders’ at county games who have the opportunity to interact with players, potentially garnering information about pitch conditions and teams. Strict limits on the processing of mobile data at county grounds have also been implemented in an effort to stop ‘court-siders’ passing real-time information on to bookies. Last week, two individuals were ejected from the T20 game between Northants and Somerset at Wantage Road after being caught by ECB anticorruption officials phoning live commentary to the subcontinent. The nine-second time delay between live action and the TV broadcast in India is enough for ‘market manipulation’. The ECB say there have been 17 incidents this season, with 14 individuals removed from 13 different county grounds and they are putting pressure on broadcasters to reduce the gap between real-time action and when it is broadcast ‘live’. In May, six illegal bookmakers were arrested by Indian police for their alleged role in fixing matches during the lucrative Indian Premier League. Since then, liquidity in the Betfair market, largely driven by money from cricketobsessed India, has dropped ‘dramatically’, according to one industry insider. ACSU investigators face a tough job to establish a link between onfield behaviour and insider trading. Many markets are Continued on page 35
Monday July 29, 2013
Akmal, bowlers give Pakistan T20 series ESPNcricinfo - Umar Akmal’s 46 off 36 gave Pakistan the final surge to take them to 135, which their bowlers made look like 185 on a slow, dry and used pitch to give them the Twenty20 series to go with the ODI spoils. Pakistan threatened to leave Ahmed Shehzad’s platform of 44 off 46 to waste, but Akmal did just enough - with 38 in the last four overs for the bowlers, who were soon all over the West Indies batting. Sohail Tanvir’s extra bounce accounted for Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels, Mohammad Hafeez got Chris Gayle for the second time in two afternoons, and before you knew West Indies were 17 for 4. A strategic promotion for Sunil Narine injected some life into the chase as he scored 28 off 16, Kieron Pollard gave them late hope with 23 off 10, but they were fighting too much quality. After Charles edged Tanvir to Akmal, Gayle’s horror home season continued as he fell to a leading edge; since his century in the first ODI of the tri-series earlier in the season, Gayle has not crossed 30 in 10 international innings, and has averaged 10.2. Samuels got a bit of a brute that kicked at him just outside off, and took the gove. Lendl Simmons soon played for a Shahid Afridi legbreak, but it didn’t turn and took the middle stumps. As Dwayne Bravo fought hard, Narine swung merrily, and enjoyed some good timing and some good luck. The two added 47 in 5.3 overs, and brought the target down 72 off 39. Pollard took time to get going, and by the time he decided everything needed to go as West Indies needed 62 in four overs. Over the next four balls, he brought out some savage hits against the 34-year-old rookie Zulfiqar Babar, losing two balls and scoring 20 runs. Babar, though, went over the wicket, and managed
to get the outer edge, which still carried to deep cover. Immediately, he got rid of Bravo, who also wanted to go over the off side but found long-off. In those two balls, the brief life in the chase had frizzled out. Not even a shambolic no-ball call - for the front foot cutting the side crease - could make any difference. In contrast, Pakistan might not have had any such spells of brilliant hitting, but they stayed around the six-an-over mark before going for the big runs in the end. West Indies seemed to have learned their lesson from having failed to defend 152 in the first game. They didn’t give Pakistan any pace to hit. When the visitors ended the Powerplay at 39 for 1, it was the last time their run rate would reach 6.5 before Akmal’s hitting in the 19th over. They had to fight a controlled West Indies effort throughout. Shehzad, who scored 44 off 46, found little support from the other end. Hafeez, opening in the absence of the dropped Nasir Jamshed, was caught on the late cut again. Umar Amin was done in trying to drive on the up. Haris Sohail swung before he got used to the pace of the pitch. Shahid Afridi hit Narine into the strong wind and in the air. Shehzad perished trying to pull Pollard, who had dug the ball in and provided no pace to go with. At 96 for 5 in the 16th over, it seemed Pakistan would struggle to get to a defendable total, but Akmal kept them in the game. Most of his good work came in the 19th over when Bravo went round the stumps and angled the ball across Akmal with little cover on the cover boundary. He was taken for a four and a six in the 16-run over, but Narine ended his good spell with just six runs in the 20th. As it turned out, Akmal had done enough damage by then.