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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
Guyana and its HIV prevention fight Hearing of the gains made in HIV prevention to the extent that the prevalence has decreased, nationally, begs the question, ‘What is happening in the workplace?’ In the last decade workplace HIV prevention programmes seemed to be the rage in this country, but these days there is no word on the status of those programmes which, for the most part, were funded by international donors in the form of Global Fund; the International Development Association (World Bank); the International Labour Organisation, and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). It is perhaps noteworthy that PEPFAR which was introduced in 2003, remains the largest commitment in history by any nation to combat a single disease. In 2008, PEPFAR was reauthorized for US$48 billion over five years (2009 to 2013), with the goals of preventing 12 million new infections; treating three million people living with AIDS and caring for 12 million people, including five million orphans and vulnerable children. The various governments benefitting from the munificence of these international stakeholders were expected to, in addition to developing action plans to combat the dreaded scourge of AIDS which is reported to result from HIV infection, contribute counterpart funds to programmatic efforts. Sad to say this aspect of the arrangement has not always been kept by some governments with various excuses as to why they are unable to keep their part of the bargain. Ten years ago it seemed unthinkable that the money would not continue to stream into programmes to treat people with AIDS and its related opportunistic infections, and to prevent others from becoming infected. The sad reality in Guyana is that the World Bank pulled out while the Global Fund has scaled down its financial input to the point where the likelihood of funding for HIV prevention and AIDS patient care to the extent of previous program phases has diminished considerably so much so that it goes without saying that workplace interventions will be the most affected. Interestingly, the fact that non-governmental organisations are in the forefront of prevention and palliative care serves to guarantee continued support for what has certainly proved to be sustainable efforts. What should be of serious concern for everyone is the internal impact of down scaled or total withdrawal of external funding on workplace programs in the education and services sectors. Further, the impact of unchecked HIV infection spread due to the absence of workplace interventions can have a deleterious impact on the provision of services which can affect the stability and development of nations. Guyana will not be unaffected by this eventuality. The answer to this dilemma resides in focused multisector approaches involving the private and public sectors in collaboration with NGOs, Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). What is alarming is the readiness that the authorities in this country have to highlight new initiatives but are found wanting when it comes to sustainability. It is also important that everything that occurs in the field of HIV prevention should be available for public awareness. One danger that is not publicized is the possibility and reasons for people being given HIV-positive results which turn out to be false. The level of apathy in the Guyanese population makes it very unlikely that litigation would follow any such occurrences here. Donors should rethink their role and focus their collective efforts towards providing assistance in a development context inseparable from HIV and AIDS. The government policy should be so constructed to ensure development dialogue continues across sector. But development must not be achieved at any cost and with this in view that the issue of trafficking in persons particularly in the interior mining areas must be revisited.
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
Guyana has become incredibly primitive after 48 years of Independence DEAR EDITOR, Guyana has achieved forty-eight years of Independence. We are quickly creeping up to half a century. Take any textbook on the history of any country in the world and you will see what is achieved in fifty years. At the rate Guyana is going, there is absolutely no reason to believe that when we reach fifty, there will be any improvement in the life of this country Let us say within two years, there is a new government, the population’s disenchantment will be horrible because the retrogression is so
enormous that the take off period will need decades. Just one example will suffice. If on the 50th year of Independence, there is a new government, there is no way within fifteen years, if it stays in government, that new administration can even attempt to put UG half way through what a normal university should be. The funds to resuscitate UG will be so demanding that competition from other sectors will cause UG to do without many types of resources. And that is within fifteen years On this anniversary of Independence what worries me the
most, much more than our primitive conditions, is the acceptance and praise for a horribly poor and backward country by major sections of our society. I can understand the fear people have of criticizing their government. I can understand praise for a terrible government by its citizens if the country is enjoying great moments of wealth as Russia under Putin, Venezuela in the first five years of Chavez, etc But in Guyana where there is no wealth going around (except the extravagance and ostentation of a very (Continued on page 6)
Sunday June 01, 2014
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
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A collation of the major political Guyana has the fourth highest forces may be the best way forward suicide rate in the world DEAR EDITOR, Suicide: it seems to be fast becoming the ultimate answer for every kind of problem. Driven by a range of factors, suicide is often times linked with alcoholism, abusive and triangular relationships and teenage pregnancy. In fact, Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean. Also, the average Guyanese drinker consumes 13.7 liters of pure alcohol each year with 6.1 percent of the population considered heavy drinkers (2010 figures). With respect to domestic violence, of the more than 60 percent of women who were involved in a relationship or union, 27.7 percent reported physical abuse, 26.3 percent had experienced verbal abuse and 12.7 percent experienced sexual violence. (Kaieteur News, Jan. 17, 2012). Additionally, while suicide happens everywhere, for a nation with about three quarters of a million people, Guyana has the fourth highest suicide rate in the world, with 26.4 suicides per 100,000 people (2006 figures). Eight out of every 10 suicide deaths are males; three out of every four suicide deaths are East Indians; the suicide rates are higher in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and Region Six (East Berbice Corentyne); two of every three persons who commit suicide in Guyana are young persons below the age of 35; and young adults 15 to 24
years are over represented among those who commit suicide (1991 figures that may be different today, especially with regards to ethnicity and gender.) In fact in the first 20 days of this year 20 people committed suicide while several others attempted suicide. Given this stark reality, it is commendable that Health Minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsarran, has declared suicide a mental health problem and a cultural issue. The reality, however, is that suicide is more a public health problem and a national social issue as pointed out since 1999 by clinical and forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Frank Beckles. The honorable minister’s recognition that a multisectorial approach is needed must now lead to an actual concerted action plan to make this approach a reality. As it is, what currently exists is piecemeal and intermittent, at best. And because it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel or duplicate efforts, the Honorable Minister should seek to harness all entities and efforts, locally and in the Diaspora, that are already involved in some form, in suicide prevention, as well all those stakeholders that can have a role to play religious institutions, NGOs, social and professional entities, sports, schools, parents associations et al. This would also ensure the maximization of efforts and resources and hopefully provide an intensive and extensive
campaign that would reach into every nook and cranny of the nation. In this respect a group of concerned Guyanese recently launched a Facebook page entitled “The Suicide Epidemic” (https:// www.facebook.com/groups/ suicideepidemic/) which has catalyzed an informative, comprehensive and insightful conversation about suicide. The upshot is that a paper, synopsizing all of this, is currently being prepared and this will be used as the basis for an action plan, which, hopefully will involve other likeminded organizations and individuals and garner the support of the Ministers of Health and Education and other gov’t. agencies and entities. Additionally we have launched a youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WnoQ-7deUxU) that currently houses a set of videos with anti-suicide messages, as the first in a series of initiatives aimed at sensitization. We encourage all to join the conversation on our Facebook group and to access and share the YouTube channel so we can embrace increasing numbers of persons and entities in helping to actualize the multisectorial approach to suicide prevention spelt out by Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsarran. Each one can become an activist at some level. Norkah Carter Devv-Ramdas Daniel Judy Deveaux Annan Boodram
DEAR EDITOR, There has recently been a strong signal from the main opposition party of its willingness to form a united government with the ruling party. I sincerely believe that this may be the very thing that Guyana needs at this time – a government which is seen to cater for all the various interests and has the support of our different groups, especially as these relate to racial and geographical location. It is clear that there can be no end to the squabbling over how the affairs of our country should be administered in the present political dispensation, and I am sure most patriotic, right-thinking and generous-minded Guyanese will see the option of a united front as the best way forward. I strongly feel that both the President and the Opposition Leader are men of this ilk, and would certainly agree if they are convinced of their party being fairly treated in any coalition. It must now be obvious that any government which would be able to hold its own in this country, and truly rule in the best interests of all sections of our society, must not only possess the capacity for so doing, but must also be accepted by all the major groups of its sincerity and ability to succeed in this endeavour. Just so, no matter how capable or earnest each party feels about itself, none on the contenders acting alone will be able to maintain the peace and pace of development that is now urgently required for the recovery of our nation. To my mind then, the best solution to our political dilemma is that we resign ourselves to a unity of forces, albeit incongruent ones, and encourage the major parties to start adjusting their policies and mind-sets so as to be better able to fit in to such a coalition. Added to this, no government that has a sizeable opposition as we have can hope to fulfil its responsibilities as effectively as it needs to. From the lessons of history, men have now generally become distrustful of authority when they are not part of same. We all know of the stories, whether based
on fact or fantasy, that are being constantly peddled around of corruption in the highest echelons of the administration, and without doubt these must be the reaction of those aligned with the opposition. A united government would patently remove this circumstance. Another requirement of any government in a democracy is one that is evolving. We find that in each aspect of modern life the individual is being called upon to accept greater responsibility for participating in the functions of administration. This creates a structure in which each individual in this democratisation process has a bigger say in its management, and so the government must be able and willing to capture the interest and involvement of the great majority of its citizens, as well as accept each individual’s right to share in the decisionmaking processes. We must agree that the present system does not lend itself to this being implemented, and we need to convince our people that their voice is being heard. The extremists and diehard supporters of each of the parties in the executive and parliamentary arms of the administration would certainly raise their voices against any arrangement which involves surrendering their present position. Also, when we look at the disparate positions on issues which the government and opposition have been representing, we can only surmise that the way to a united government may be a long and tortuous one. But I strongly feel that a coalition of the major forces in our country is still absolutely viable and the best way forward, and I would like to posit that the supporters of the two major parties should pressure their leaders to think more of the good of the country, and less of maintaining party power, and start the process of forming a united front. Otherwise Guyana is doomed to this perpetual division and discord, resulting in more and more regression in our affairs and fragmentation of our society and nation. Roy Paul
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Scare mongering on this anti-money laundering issue DEAR EDITOR, The Ramotar administration is engaging is much scare mongering on this anti-money laundering issue and have failed to effectively level with the people. The international body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made it publicly clear that publication of CFATF statements “does not constitute official endorsement by FATF”. Yet the Ramotar administration continues to peddle the gross untruth that Guyana has been blacklisted internationally. Where is the evidence of this statement from FATF? These people at FATF are not idiots, they are well aware of the unique situation that Guyana has found itself and they know the issue needs time, leadership and maturity. Unfortunately the PPP can only offer immaturity and fear politics. Expect solutions? NO! Having said that there are three important facets to this whole issue that the AFC and
APNU have miserably failed on all counts: 1. The facts - they have not effectively disseminated the information on the real facts. The PPP propaganda machinery has turned the truth on its head and they continue to make conceited and arrogant statements such as demanding “unconditional passage” of the amendments to the antimoney laundering laws without leveling with the people. The AFC has maintained its principled position of tying the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission to the passage of the amendments. One of the primary vehicles of money laundering in Guyana is the public procurement system; you cannot repair the ailment unless you address the cause. The APNU on the other hand continues to advocate for the strengthening of the amendments to make the FIU more autonomous with
greater powers; again nothing can be argued against this just position. The AFC and APNU should score full marks for acting very patriotic on this issue against a most unreasonable and unrighteous PPP Government. So how come the dominant message coming out of Guyana on this issue remains that the actions of the majority opposition are antinational and anti-patriotic? The PR Team of both the AFC and APNU have done a great disservice to their parties on this issue and really need to do some serious introspection of their work to assess how effective they are at messaging. 2. The messaging – most of the leaders in the AFC and APNU really need to do a crash course with former Minister of Information, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo as their guru on this entire concept of messaging. Mind you Prakash
Ramjattan and Joe Harmon have been stars at their messaging. However, they are only three among 33 voices. Whenever I read or listen to people like Winston Felix and even the Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, regardless of how brilliant they are, it is time to go to sleep. They and many others on the opposition benches have mastered the art of telling bedtime stories and running around the mullberry bush on the real issues. This is a political battlefield, there is no time for political sermons. I honest believe that Mr. David Granger can have a more battle ready message which has to be backed up by real sharp and disciplined street action. His people are really letting him down. 3. The spin – well no one in that 10th Parliament beats Clement James Rohee and Roger Forbes Luncheon for the political spin, I tip my hat to them. No one can hear a word from the General Secretary of the PNC; he has
been missing in action for years now. The General Secretary of the AFC is youthful and thus he should have the energy to step up his messaging and spin. Politics is not “Sunday school” but it appears that the petit-bourgeois who dominates the political opposition really think they got elected to the collective leadership of these parties for sandwich and high tea. Politics is vicious and it has much spin and unfortunately only the PPP continue to effectively practice their spin to good effect since 2011. Only fools in politics would want not to engage in spin; it is mandatory and everyone is doing it, the Obamas, the Modis, the Clintons, the Millibands and so on. However, the Guyanese political opposition really thinks they will win elections by being political alter-boys. Good luck to them. Only on May 30th, 2014, much respected spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
used his platform to effectively speak the facts, did his messaging and applied the appropriate spin on an issue of principle – his message “Modi has been bashed unjustly for years and years..” Here is a divine soul who lives a life of truth and who is a Guru to hundreds of millions of people, stepping out into the public on a matter of principle. His righteous message was against the unrighteous political elite in India who believes their opinion is the only Indian opinion. There is no room for the opinions of the “dalits”, other backward caste, and the youths. His interview if one reads it carefully has information, messaging and spin. Let the political alterboys in Guyana continue, they will remain as an opposition for all their life if they do not wake up soon to political reality. This is war and yes, the war is not over until the voice of the majority is listened to in Guyana. Sase Singh
From page 4 tiny elite), and poverty and primitiveness are ubiquitous. Why would any citizen continue to see Guyana as a positive place and devote eulogies to it? Even if there are pockets of wealthy people, they themselves must be revolted as human to see what Georgetown is. Make no mistake; the appearance of Georgetown is something you only see in a science fiction movie Is there a citizen living in this country on the 48th year of Independence make a case for national achievements and national development since 1966 when you look at Georgetown? The capital city is a factual indicator that after 48 years of sovereignty, this country has failed. No capital city anywhere in the world looks like this. I saw photograph of an alleyway clogged up in Bosnia during the floods there last week and what those people were clearing is equivalent to a baby stroller compared to Guyana. If you show those Bosnians what we have in our alleyways they won’t believe this is a country on the map It takes a nakedly, depraved and repellant mind to look at the national cemetery of Guyana after 48 years of Independence and say that this country has achieved progress since 1966. Again I say if you are an extraordinary wealthy Guyanese living here, at some point it must lac-
erate your psyche to see how terribly primitive we are as a nation after 48 years of Independence. You may earn great wealth from your investments but could you be happy with the country you see around you? I would like any of the super-rich Guyanese to tell me if they respect Guyana for what it is after 48 years of the ending of colonial rule We hardly manufacture anything for export. Before 1966, we exported rice, sugar, gold, fish, bauxite and a few agricultural products like peppers, fruits. We do exactly the same thing almost fifty years after Independence. Many of the laws British Guiana had at the beginning of the 20th century are still the laws of Guyana even though the world has scrapped similar legislation and has moved on. You have to offer to a judge one of three reasons for a divorce. You have to lie barefacedly to that judge if none of those three reasons exist before the decree can be granted. The law governing divorce goes back to 1913 Forty eight years after Independence, we cannot get traffic signals to work. I return to the wealthy folks of Guyana. Rich people drive vehicles in this country. What happens when a rich man or woman is slowing up at a junction where the signals don’t work, and a foolish driver hits them and they die. Surely, traffic signals would have helped. Do you
know the large numbers of accidents that occur at junctions where the signals do not work? My point here is that even if Guyana’s poverty doesn’t bother you because you are wealthy, you can still lose your life because of the staggering and incredible backwardness of this land Forty eight years after Independence, almost ninety percent of the streets of this entire country have no stop signs or if they do they are faded at the junctions where two streets meet. Guyana must be the only country in the world where the major one-ways have no signs. Church Street, Charlotte Street, Wellington Street, North Road- just to name a few- have no signs to inform strangers to Georgetown that these roadways are one-way. I saw a Mercedes Benz packed with Chinese people driving at a fast rate going the wrong way into Wellington Street. They turned north into Wellington while traveling east on Robb Street. They just didn’t know it was a one-way and there was no sign to inform them For those who have read this letter in the Stabroek News, I suggest you go my May 26 column and reflect on my review of a new book that argues that some races achieve more than others because of genetic factors. I think a case can be made out that certain races will never emerge into a modern world Frederick Kissoon
This fake guru is Guyana has become... exploiting young women DEAR EDITOR, A few years ago I recall your newspaper carried a story of a fake pandit performing work in Guyana to help people and charging them lots of money, I would like to report a similar cases and hope you would send a undercover reporter to investigate. There is a so call “Guru” residing in Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice performing such work and he seems to have a weakness for young
women. He claims to heal people but instead he is sexually molesting them. On May 12 he sexually molested a young girl at his home while her mother was outside. The girl neither her parents are afraid to report the matter. They fear he would do something to hurt them.. I hope in the near future you would investigate this “guru”. A Friend of the Abused
Stop dancing, Mr. Rohee DEAR EDITOR, This P.P.P regime promised us Berbicians, at their last election campaign, that they will create lots of jobs, engage the Berbice Bridge Company to facilitate lowering of the bridge toll, lower the V.A.T, set up sub offices so that passport and birth certificate will be a less hassle for us, build a deep water harbor, and
many more promises. Now we have to say empty promises. Mr. Rohee! Now that questions are being asked about all this empty rhetoric, you and your P.P.P are now scrambling for excuses. Berbicians are not stupid as you and your cohorts might feel. I guess by now you know that we have peeped your cards and know that you are bluffing. We also know that you do not have the answers to give us so you have hatched up this smoke screen about some Commission of Inquiry about who killed who and who shot
who in the 70s and 80s. You need to return to reality and deal with the issues in front of your eyes. Rohee, Berbicians need a better life. The P.P.P must come up with wise solutions and ideas. We do not need arrogance. Stop dancing; bobbing and weaving as if you are in a boxing ring, you are not good at it. Start behaving like leaders. I must close by askingWhere is the master plan and better life you promised Berbicians Mr. Rohee. Anil Sookran
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Ukraine says prepared to pay gas Unified Palestinian government to be announced Monday - Abbas arrears to Russia if gets contract first (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he expects a joint government of his Fatah party and Hamas Islamists will be announced on June 2, completing a unity deal the sides agreed last month. Meeting with French peace activists in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where his limited self-rule government is based, Abbas said: “We will announce the government the day after tomorrow, it will be formed of technocrats and independents.” None of the unity government’s members would belong to either the Western-backed Fatah, which rules the Israeli-occupied West Bank, or Islamist Hamas, which holds sway in the Gaza Strip, Abbas said. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said he could not confirm that all the details would be completed by Monday. Both parties see benefits to a unity pact, though disagreements have blocked them from achieving such a government for years. The deal would heal a rift that opened between Fatah and Hamas in 2007 when Hamas seized control of Gaza. Under a strict blockade imposed by neighbours Israel and Egypt, Hamas struggles to prop up Gaza’s economy and pay its 40,000 employees. Abbas, for his part, wants to shore up his domestic support since the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel last month. ISRAEL THREATENS BOYCOTT Israel views Hamas as a terrorist organisation and suspended negotiations with Abbas as soon as he announced a unity
deal was in the works on April 23. It has said it would impose economic sanctions against any joint government. Abbas said Israel “informed us today they would boycott us if we announced the government.” He did elaborate on which measures Israel has threatened to take. A Palestinian official said Israel had denied requests by three Gaza Palestinians expected to be named as ministers to attend the new govenrment’s swearing-in ceremony in the West Bank. Israel withheld tax revenues from Abbas last month, in retaliation for Abbas signing accords with international organisations, a step Israel said undermined peace talks. In his remarks yesterday, Abbas said a joint government with Hamas would continue to abide by his policy of recognising Israel, though the Islamist group insists it would not change its own policy of rejecting Israel’s existence. Abbas has been keen to assure Western donor countries he will remain the key Palestinian decision-maker and security coordination between his forces and Israel will continue. Abbas asked Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday to head the new unity government, though Fatah and Hamas still disagreed about other cabinet appointments. In a move seen as boosting control over his party ahead of forming a unity government, Abbas ousted five senior party members on Saturday seen as allied with a leading rival, Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian news agency WAFA, said.
BERLIN (Reuters) Ukraine is prepared to pay arrears to Russia for gas once it has a contract with Moscow and will take the country to court if it refuses to sign, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk was quoted as saying by a German newspaper yesterday. Ukraine told Russia on Friday a $786 million partial payment on a bill that Russia says could exceed $5 billion by next week was on its way to Moscow. That averted an immediate threat that Russia would stop supplying the former Soviet republic with gas if it fails to make advance payments. In an interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Yatseniuk said Ukraine’s only demand was to get a “fair contract” and gas should not be used as a “political weapon”. Ukraine insists on a price of $268.50 per 1,000 cubic meters while Russia stands by its demand for $485. The
average gas price paid by European customers to staterun Gazprom is around $370. “We would like a comprehensive marketoriented approach in Ukrainian-Russian gas relations. We’re prepared to pay our arrears but first we must sign a contract,” Yatseniuk said. “If not, we’ll take the case to court,” he said, adding that this would be the best option if Moscow refused to come to an agreement. He gave no further details on the law suit threat but said Russia had confiscated Ukrainian property, including gas, in Crimea, resulting in Ukraine losing billions of dollars. In a separate interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Ukrainian gas oligarch Dmytro Firtash said he would advise Yatseniuk to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine would pay its gas debts if Moscow returned Crimea. “We’re not against paying but our territory was taken
away from us. If you were to take my apartment should I continue to pay for electricity and gas?” Firtash was quoted as saying. European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who acted as a mediator during talks between Ukraine and Russia in Berlin, said both sides had agreed to continue talks on Monday in Brussels as long as the $786 million payment arrives in Gazprom’s account on Monday morning as planned. Oettinger said he was optimistic the energy dispute between Ukraine and Russia would be resolved next week, according to an advance copy of an article due to be published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Sunday. “I think there’s a good chance that we’ll get normal supply relationships,” he was quoted as saying, adding that major progress had been made on Friday and all sides had shown a willingness to come to an agreement.
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U.S. and China square off at Asia security forum SINGAPORE (Reuters) The United States and China squared off at an Asian security forum yesterday, with the U.S. defense secretary accusing Beijing of destabilizing the region and a top Chinese general retorting that his comments were “threat and intimidation”. Using unusually strong language, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel took aim at Beijing’s handling of territorial disputes with its Asian neighbors. “In recent months, China has undertaken destabilizing, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea,” Hagel said. He warned Beijing that the United States was committed to its geopolitical rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and “will not look the other way when fundamental principles of the international order are being challenged”. Hagel said the United States took no position on the merits of rival territorial claims in the region, but added: “We firmly oppose any nation’s use of intimidation, coercion, or the threat of force to assert these claims.” His speech at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia biggest security forum, provoked an angry reaction from the deputy chief of staff of the Chinese Army, Lieutenant-General Wang Guanzhong. “I felt that Secretary Hagel’s speech is full of hegemonism, threat and intimidation,” he told reporters just after the speech. Wang said the speech was aimed at causing trouble in the Asia-Pacific. Hagel’s comments followed the keynote address by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the same forum on Friday evening, who pledged “utmost support” to Southeast Asian countries, several of which are locked in maritime disputes with China. “I felt that they were just trying to echo each other,” Wang said. Hagel later held a bilateral meeting with Wang, where the Chinese military leader
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) listens to Lieutenant-General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, during the start of their meeting in Singapore yesterday. REUTERS/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool expressed his surprise at the U.S. defense secretary’s speech. “You were very candid this morning, and to be frank, more than our expectations,” he said. “Although I do think those criticisms are groundless, I do appreciate your candor … likewise we will also share our candor.” A senior U.S. defense official said that, despite Wang’s opening remarks, the tone of the meeting had been “businesslike and fairly amicable”. While Hagel went over ground he covered in his speech, Wang spent most of the meeting talking about U.S.-China military-to-military contacts, including Chinese participation in forthcoming military exercises, the official said. The U.S. official said Hagel’s speech had been well received by other Asian delegations with the exception of China. In Beijing, President Xi Jinping said China would not initiate aggressive action in the South China Sea but would respond if others did, the official Xinhua news agency reported. “We will never stir up trouble, but will react in the necessary way to the provocations of countries involved,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying in a meeting on Friday with Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia. China claims almost the
entire oil- and gas-rich South China Seas, and dismisses competing claims from Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Japan also has a territorial row with China over islands in the East China Sea. Tensions have surged in recent weeks after China placed an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam, and the Philippines said Beijing could be building an airstrip on a disputed island. Japan’s defense ministry said Chinese SU-27 fighters came as close as 50 meters (170 ft) to a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane near disputed islets last week and within 30 metres of a YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said Tokyo perceived an “increasingly severe regional security environment”. “It is unfortunate that there are security concerns in the East and South China Seas,” he said. “Japan as well as all concerned parties must uphold the rule of law and never attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force.” On Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pitched his plan for Japan to take on a bigger international security role and told the Singapore forum that Tokyo would offer its “utmost support” to Southeast Asian countries in their efforts to protect their seas and airspace.
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
Sugar factories need US$95M repairs Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has completed its latest strategic turnaround plan which focuses mainly on mechanisms to increase production. However, this plan reflects a need for $19B (US$95M) to Capital Expenditure Plan for the improvement of Agriculture operations and rehabilitation of Factories over the next five years. When the Opposition, in the Committee of Supply, approved the $6B budgetary allocation set aside for GuySuCo, it did so on the grounds that it will be provided with a credible programme to resuscitate the industry. Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, had promised that he would take before the House a strategic turnaround plan that would serve as a “credible programme to resuscitate.” A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s shadow Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, told Kaieteur News a few weeks ago that he would be holding Dr. Ramsammy to his promise to take a rescue plan for GuySuCo to the National Assembly by June.
Dr. Roopnaraine said that he and his team are not looking for the regular run of the mill report and suggestions, “…We need this plan to be as realistic as possible giving its critical nature.” GuySuCo had at least two other turn around plans before. Dr. Roopnaraine told Kaieteur News that the last turnaround plan has been over taken by reality as projections for 2013 failed. The new “strategic” plan is said to be based on the initiatives put forth in the original Strategic Blueprint and new initiatives put forward by Estates and other “key management personnel.” Kaieteur News saw the report which it understands has already been handed over to Parliament office. GuySuCo stated in the report that with the declining yields, sugar recoveries and production levels experienced over the last few years has resulted in declining profitability and liquidity. The decline in world market price of sugar and the expiry of the European Union Sugar Quotas in 2017 has caused “the Corporation to present this Strategic Plan
After being tried on charges of illegal entry to Guyana, conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a forged document, a city Magistrate recently moved to dismiss all charges against embattled businessman Euclid Da Silva almost two years after the allegations were made. DaSilva was in 2012 hauled before the courts to face the three charges but it was after 21 months of a fruitless trial that Magistrate Fabayo Azore chose to free him on grounds of the prosecution failing to provide sufficient evidence to support their case against him. Back in August 2010, the man, who operated a business
in Hadfield Street, Georgetown, was arrested and handed over to Brazilian authorities by the local police. It was claimed that he was wanted by the Brazilian authorities for unlawfully escaping from custody while serving a lengthy prison sentence. Previous reports are that Da Silva was arrested by local police on suspicion that he was a Brazilian who was in possession of false Guyana documents. He was wanted in Brazil after escaping from lawful custody there almost nine years ago while serving an 11-year sentence. But despite efforts to prove that he is indeed a
2013-2017, in order to revive the industry, improve production levels and return the Corporation to a state of profitability and a cash positive balance.” GuySuCo, as reflected in the report, intends to convert mechanically friendly layouts to full mechanization. Kaieteur News understands that a total of 22,724 hectares will be converted by 2017. This would not only help to increase production but would be a desired alternative as labour supply continues to dwindle. Also, moves will be made to increase partnership with private cane farmers’ especially at Uitvlugt Estate where this partnership commenced in 2013. This, GuySuCo said, would increase the amount of cane available to be processed. The entity also plans to return to best practices “e.g. elimination of the fifth plus ratoons and increased flood/ legume fallowing. With the reduction of ratoons, cane yields will improve significantly.” The plan states that there will be improved accessibility in the cultivations and that GuySuCo will continue to produce and market value
added sugar particularly bearing in mind the 2017 EU reforms. Notably, there will be a review of GuySuCo’s Procurement Policies. The report states that drainage and irrigation will also be addressed and already established programmes to address such will be continued. GuySuCo, in its report, said that these initiatives are expected to lead the Corporation to produce almost 350,000 tonnes of sugar by 2017. These initiatives are expected to lead the Corporation to produce almost 350,000 tonnes of sugar by 2017, reduce the overall cost of production by 23 per cent and return the Corporation to profitability in 2015. “This plan assumes all eight estates and seven factories to be fully operational for the duration of the plan, all working together toward achieve the Industry’s goals and objectives. Each estate management put forward their strategies for the improvement of their cultivation and factory. This is consolidated within this plan, the report stated.
CONSPIRACY, FRAUD ACCUSED EUCLID DASILVA WALKS FREE
FREED: Euclid DaSilva Guyanese, the local lawmen whisked him away to the border although a court order was obtained to block his expulsion.
Local police had claimed that Da Silva was already handed over to their Brazilian counterparts before the order was actually served. Following the closures by the Prosecution and Defence, Azore dismissed all the charges against DaSilva saying that there was not enough evidence against the businessman who was reportedly arrested by local police that year on suspicion that he was a Brazilian who was in possession of false Guyana documents. August 2012, DaSilva was hauled before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and indicted on charges of illegal entry to Continued on page 55
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Dem boys seh
Donald like gossip When de money laundering people tell Guyana that it get blacklist Donald, Granger and Ramjattan get confuse. When de people was threatening dem didn’t tek it fuh nutten. Not even Jagdeo, because he keep de Bill wrap up in a tissue pun he desk fuh a whole year till Donald get elect. Dem boys watch this thing then dem hear that Ramjattan seh how de Hay Heff See can pass de Bill in 72 hours. Granger seh that he can do it in 48 hours. Brazzy, that fat crook, run and tell Donald fuh seh that he can pass de Bill in 24 hours. Donald tun and call Granger fuh a meeting. Dem was to meet Friday but that postpone to Monday. Granger announce that he gun talk bout de money laundering Bill. Donald seh that he nah know nutten bout that. Dem boys want to know wha dem gun talk bout. Dem can talk bout Brazzy. He get two Chinee fuh put dem name as de private people in de hotel. De announcement confuse dem boys brain because dem boys did expect fuh hear a Lilawattie Roopram name. Dem boys dream last night that Brazzy, that fat crook and Marcie, cut a deal wid de two Chinee people. Dem gun swap wha dem got in de hotel fuh de new lotto people in Guyana. Brazzy only use de people name fuh let Guyana believe that dem is de real owners. In de same dream dem boys see how de Canadian people guh lose de lottery contract. Yesterday dem boys find out that all de time de Canadian people was getting month to month contract from Jagdeo. Dem Canadian Lotto, like GT&T got to pack dem traps. And dem boys ain’t dream that one. De writing is clear on de wall, for all to see. Fuh those who blind, and who can barely see, dem boys gun tell dem everything. Three big ones go to Donald and agree fuh confess bout de wrong things dem do. Dem ask he fuh pray fuh forgiveness and fuh keep it a SECRET. Jay start off by telling Donald that he hand fast and that he been thiefing people thing since he small. De other one, Berry Berry, seh he like li’l gyal, that he is a child molester, and that he molest plenty. Ganga confess that he is a womanizer, and how he go to bed wid all dem woman who use to wuk in and around he, right down to plenty of dem in de church. When dem done talk Donald start fuh cry. Dem get worried and want fuh know wha happen. It tek de three of dem half day fuh calm him down. In between crying and sobbing, he blurted out to dem, ‘I got a weakness too. Me weakness is fuh gossip.’ Talk half and you-all know who was de first confessor.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
CDB offers technical assistance - Guyana is yet to access this to fight corruption support - CDB President While President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. William Warren Smith, identified the high cost of energy as a primary constraint to the region’s competitiveness, he admitted that corruption is also a contributing factor. He said, too, that the CDB offers technical assistance to Governments that desire to improve their systems in this regard but Guyana has not accessed this type of support from the Bank. The CDB President confirmed that the Bank would be more than willing to do so. Dr. Smith was at the time, responding to questions posed to him by journalists at the recently concluded 44th Annual Board of Governors meeting. At the event, the CDB President had said that if one is to truly examine unlocking opportunities for competitiveness and growth one must include in such a crucial mix, the role energy plays. Dr. Smith said that the Caribbean has a competitiveness problem.
This is responsible for its relatively low rates of economic growth. He said that the high price of electricity and a heavy reliance on imported fuels make the Caribbean region vulnerable. These are the primary reasons for the region’s uncompetitiveness. However, he explained that member states can increase energy independence substantially by reducing the cost of energy and by creating a whole new industry based on this new model. Dr. Smith said that the Caribbean region however, cannot transform its competitiveness landscape without a frontal attack on energy costs. Be that as it may, the Bank has not turned a blind eye to the effects corruption can have on a country’s competitiveness. The CDB President said, “We certainly recognize and insist that good governance is part and parcel of the development of a country. “We want to see and ensure that the persons we
Former President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Clinton Urling elect exercise good judgment and also good governance. I think that there is sufficient evidence out there that when these principles are not observed it hampers the growth and development of a country. “That is one of the reasons why we insist on transparent procurement. That is part and parcel of one
(left) CDB President Dr. William Warren Smith and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh of our principles.” Dr. Smith added, “There is no country in this world, and I dare say, that has not had issues with corruption. It is important that countries continuously adopt measures that will reduce the incidents of corruption in their domain.” He then went on to state
that the CDB also provides technical assistance to countries that want to improve their governance. However Guyana has not utilized assistance of this nature from the Bank. “But certainly if they request that kind of assistance, the CDB would be more than happy to help,” Dr.
Ramesh Persaud, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission Smith added. Considering the CDB President’s statements on corruption being a constraint and the assistance it offers in this regard, the Private Sector and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are of the view that (continued on page 12)
US$40M wind farm project gets green light - Dindyal An example of a Wind Farm
By Gary Eleazar Guyana Wind Farm Inc, has been given the go ahead to pursue a 25MW wind farm at Hope Beach. This wind farm will sell its electricity to Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL). This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the Power Company, Bharat Dindyal, who this past week held a public consultation at the Duke Lodge and said that all of the local necessary approvals to pursue the project have been approved. Dindyal said, too, that the
power company has been given the green light to engage the investor. According to Dindyal it is now up to the investor to secure financing for the US$40M project. A feasibility study has been completed and the environmental hurdles have all been crossed for the US$40M project, according to the local businessman/ investor, Lloyd Singh. Government and the principals of the project have been meeting in recent months with the aim of signing a power purchase
agreement that will see the state-owned GPL purchasing electricity at a cheaper rate. Dindyal, when he made the disclosure, said that GPL is expecting the project to come on stream before hydro power. He noted that shortly GPL will be hosting a team of technical experts with regards the impact of the wind farm on the operation of GPL. He noted that while they would have in the past undertaken such studies with the advent of technology there is a need to reassess. “With a wind farm you are (continued on page 55)
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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NICIL seeks to hoodwink nation over Marriott ownership
The Marriott Hotel under construction in Kingston.
The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has once again created some cloud regarding ownership of the Marriott Hotel under construction in Kingston, Georgetown. By way of a full page advertisement in the four daily newspapers yesterday, NICIL sought to suggest that a deliberate and irresponsible attempt has been made to give the public the impression that the Marriott Hotel investment and its control are being given away to the private investor. According to NICIL nothing could be further from the truth. The holding company went on to explain that the private investor will pay US$8M for 67 per cent equity in the company, Atlantic Hotel Incorporated (AHI). According to NICIL the total value of the equity is US$12M. It went on to state that
equity is the value of the shares of the company or the net value of the assets available to the shareholders. NICIL went on to explain that the private investor is only entitled to 67 per cent of the net assets of AHI. It said that net asset is the total assets minus total liabilities. The total assets amount to US$58.5M. The total liabilities according to NICIL is US$46.5M which consists of loan financing arranged by Republic Bank to the tune of US$27M, outfitting loan for the Entertainment Complex at US$4M and NICIL’s loan, US$15.5 M. NICIL claims that the private investor, British Virgin Islands registered, Square Ace Investment Inc will only be entitled to ownership of the US$8M that it has invested but what the company did not say is that if and when the loans have been repaid, the private investors remains in control of 67 per cent of the
entire project. When the total loan stock is paid off, the private investor will be in control of
67 per cent of the total assets which will be the US$58M hotel with no debt, making that hotel the net asset of the
company. NICIL in the full page advertisement said that it is investing US$4M in shares in the company, AHI for a onethird shareholding, as against the investor’s US$8M. NICIL is lending the company, AHI, US$15.5M in debt which will be repaid in full. What NICIL did not say is that the US$15.5 loan to the project is to be repaid at a 0 per cent interest rate and would be repaid only if cash flow enables. According to NICIL, “It should not be lost that exactly this offer was publicly advertised on 12 separate occasions with sufficient details for any potential investor to know what was being offered.” What it did not say is that the evaluation of the proposals made were shrouded in secrecy and that it had still been looking for an investor long after the project would have began construction using only NICIL’s money. The NICIL advertisement yesterday also did not provide any details as to what informed the decision to choose to partner with ACE Square Investments Limited, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) registered company whose owners have no experience in the hotel industry as had been previously demanded. Hong Kong businessmen, Victor How Chung Chan, and Xu Han have been identified as the shareholders of the
companies. According to AHI, Victor Chan has diverse and substantial investment interests both in Hong Kong and China. “He is an Executive Director of the REXLOT Group and is the single largest shareholder and Founder and Director of the REX Resources Group.” The REXLOT Group is said to be the leading lottery system and distribution company in China and has extensive operations in China’s lottery market, through its local subsidiaries and international joint ventures. The REX Resources Group is principally engaged in gold, coal, rare earth and other metal, mining exploration and development, both in China and internationally. Chan is also said to be the leading investor and shareholder of China Gamma Group. Xu Han is reported to be a long-standing business associate of Chan and holds graduate degrees from prominent US and Hong Kong universities. Additionally, Han has over 30 years of global experience in both the public and private sectors, such as finance, gaming, and mining. Observers are now questioning on what basis the BVI registered company, owned by the two Chinese businessmen was chosen to invest US$8M.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
CFATF compliant bill can Ministry did not hire Sean be passed within 24 hours Hinds - Norman Whittaker President Donald Ramotar has said that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) (Amendment) Bill can be passed within 24 hours to save Guyanese from the hardships of the consequence of the country being blacklisted. The Head of State is of the view that it can be done on the premise that the bill currently at the level of the Special Select Committee of Parliament, has been deemed compliant by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). President Ramotar said the passage of the Bill can be achieved if the Opposition parliamentary parties were to show a sense of nationalism in the interest of Guyana and Guyanese. Opposition Leader David Granger had said that the Bill can be passed in 48 hours. Granger is adamant that in order to get their support, the Government must accede to the Opposition’s several demands! The Alliance For Change
- President Ramotar (AFC) party on the other hand, said 72 hours is enough for the passage of the Bill, but restated that the Public Procurement Commission must be established. On Thursday, President Ramotar issued a call for the Opposition to unconditionally pass the Bill, to limit the harm already done by the latest move by CFATF. His announcement came on the heels of the conclusion of the recently concluded 39th Meeting of the CFATF held between May 26 and May 29, 2014, in Miami, which saw Guyana being the subject of a CFATF review, as a result of the National Assembly not passing the AML/CFT Bill, and being referred to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the parent body of CFATF. CFATF issued a public statement informing the world that Guyana poses serious risks to the international financial system, and called
upon the rest of the world to take measures to protect their systems from those risks. Measures that will be implemented against Guyana include the requirement of enhanced due diligence; introducing enhanced reporting mechanisms or systematic reporting of financial transactions; refusing the establishment of subsidiaries or branches or representative offices in Guyana, or otherwise taking into account the fact that the relevant financial institution is from a country that does not have adequate AML/CFT systems and limiting the business relationships or financial transactions with Guyana or persons in our country, among others. The Government has done everything possible to pass the critically needed legislation through the National Assembly, and at the eleventh hour the Opposition proposed recommendations.
CDB offers technical assistance ... From page 10 Guyana should most certainly tap into the assistance available. An attitudinal report earlier this year by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce reflected that members of the business community are dissatisfied with the way in which public corruption is being addressed by the government. The business community believes that instances of corruption have increased and as such it has said that the situation warrants immediate intervention by Government. Former President of the
Chamber, Clinton Urling, had said that the report is geared towards assessing the views of its members on a wide range of issues in relation to the profits and losses their businesses and their expectations of the economy. Urling said that this year’s responses indicate shrinking business performance in 2013 and muted optimism for this year’s economy. Further, the report had also highlighted that the perceptions of public corruption have grown to an “overwhelming percent”. The survey reported that 70 percent of the businessmen believed that corruption was
high whilst 89 percent believe that Government is not doing enough to curb the situation. While the high cost of electricity was cited as a factor which hinders business performance and the ability to be competitive, political instability also ranked as a worrying obstacle. It was against this background that the President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Persaud, and Urling have jointly said that if the Caribbean Development Bank is providing such assistance then they would strongly advocate that the service be used.
- Town Clerk should have exercised better judgement - Winston Felix
Town Clerk Carol Sooba’s hiring of Sean Hinds (left) as her personal bodyguard has raised several questions. By Dale Andrews The presence of Sean Hinds as the personal bodyguard of embattled Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, is compromising the security arrangement at City Hall, according to a senior functionary of the Mayor and City Council. Hinds, who has been accused of associating with several criminal enterprises, including the infamous ‘Phantom Squad’, was hired to protect Sooba who had expressed fear for her personal safety, in the wake of several verbal battles with the Council over her appointment as Town Clerk. Hinds has been open in his approach towards
Minister of Local Govt, Norman Whittaker
Former Commissioner of Police Winston Felix
protecting Sooba. He is clearly visible in her company wherever she goes throughout the compound at City Hall, in a manner that some say is clearly intimidatory. “He is always there. The city constabulary is unable to do its work professionally because here we have a questionable character squatting on City Hall’s property under the direction of a senior functionary.” And since Hinds is on the premises, what about the security threat he poses to other operatives, who are not in the same boat as Sooba? “His presence also has implications for the security of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor as well as the City Engineer’s Department. The question should be asked if people will feel comfortable coming to City Hall to pay their taxes,” the official said. Kaieteur News understands that many persons who go to City Hall
to meet with Sooba have turned back after seeing the bodyguard on the premises. This newspaper was also informed that apart from Hinds, another questionable character is also protecting the Town Clerk. “What will happen if one of the city constables shoots Hinds in the compound?” the official asked. An expoliceman, Sean Hinds, along with two other persons, another ex-cop Mark ‘Kerzorkee’ Thomas and civilian Ashton King, had been charged with the January 2004 murder of Shafeek Bacchus. Hinds also appeared in court in 2011 as one of the persons charged with robbing popular businessman Malcolm Panday. The state subsequently dropped the charges after the Director of Public Prosecution advised that there was insufficient evidence against Hinds. The decision to hire (continued on page 53)
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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HIV in the Caribbean: Science, rights and justice By Dr Ernest Massiah (Republished from Caribbean News Now) Recently, the discussion on HIV has been a mix of the selective review of scientific evidence, comments on an administrative procedure at the regional university, and perceptions on the existence of agendas that seek either to change or hold back Caribbean societies. Lost in this debate is a Caribbean reality. At the end of 2012, UNAIDS estimated that there were 260,000 people living with HIV in the region. In many countries, approximately one in three new cases is among men who have sex with men. How do we deal with this as we work to end the epidemic in the Caribbean? First we must recognise that HIV is a virus, not a crime. Laws that criminalise being HIV positive, sexual behaviours such as anal sex or sexual orientation, make it difficult to mount an effective HIV response. Persons who know their sexual behaviour or orientations are illegal are less likely either to go to health services or to speak openly about their sexual behaviour while there, thus limiting their treatment options and prevention efforts. A soon to be released UNAIDS internet survey of
Guyana is trying to cope with the indiscipline that has permeated the society. The indiscipline has seen people lose their lives on the roads. This is not about to end because a young motorist who seemed to be in a hurry would attempt to overtake a vehicle that is already overtaking another. This will cause problems for an approaching vehicle and create one of the numerous senseless accidents that have been occurring on the streets. **** A domestic dispute is
more than 3,500 men who have sex with men across the Caribbean, the CARIMIS study, shows that about two in three men who got a negative HIV test result from the private or public health sector, did not talk to their doctors about their sex with men. Our laws should help create an environment in which there is no impediment to delivering targeted prevention and treatment services to a population particularly affected by HIV. There is consensus around this among leaders of the region’s HIV response. Over the last ten years, under the umbrella of the Pan Caribbean Partnership against AIDS (PANCAP), civil society, national AIDS responses and international partners have supported the goal of removing laws that criminalise sexual orientations and behaviours. The 2008 – 2012 Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework reinforced this target. This is a regional goal and a global one. It is one of the key steps that must be taken to end AIDS. Second, we must remember that stigma and discrimination still exist. It is not only the law that complicates people’s lives; it is the prejudice that the law codifies and reinforces. The UNAIDS CARIMIS study shows that within the month before responding to the
survey, almost a quarter of the men were verbally abused because of their same sex attraction. Recent surveys of doctors and nurses in two Caribbean countries show that approximately 25 percent reported seeing HIV positive persons receiving low quality medical treatment and about ten percent would rather not provide services to men who have sex with men. These workers had been trained. They had the clinical knowledge. What they did not have was the ability to overcome their prejudices. Until we overcome prejudice, people will not seek services and we will see a steady rise in new cases. Sexual behaviour and sexual orientation exist in a social context in which prejudice, stigma and the fear of violence influence the behaviour of both those who seek health services and the medical professionals who offer those services. That’s why removing criminal laws against consensual same sex sexual conduct cannot be a stand-alone strategy. UNAIDS urges all governments to implement laws to protect men who have sex with men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people from violence and discrimination; to address homophobia and transphobia through public education campaigns; and to ensure that
going to see a home being torn apart. A man is going to accuse his wife of infidelity and when she denies he is going to lose his temper to the extent that his children would be scared. When the children exhibit terror the man would
become even more incensed and would grab one of them. The home would be destroyed and the child would be hospitalized because the woman managed to escape. **** A political decision would actually cause people to see hope in Guyana but then again, there is another episode that is seeking to tarnish another political party. Some interesting comments are going to come to the fore and all because people do not want to see history distorted.
adequate health services are provided to address their needs. UNAIDS stands for all those living with or vulnerable to HIV, regardless of their social or legal status. Finally, we must ensure the rights of all Caribbean citizens. Caribbean history is one of a struggle to ensure the inclusion of all citizens, against a backdrop of exclusions based on race, class, ethnicity and colour. The individuals who stood for the rights that we now enjoy were called names, jailed, beaten and killed. Today, those who stand up for the rights of gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizens are labelled as supporting a “gay agenda”. There is no gay agenda. There is a human rights agenda, which seeks to ensure that all Caribbean citizens are treated with respect and dignity. Every individual should benefit from HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and all people should have the same human rights
everywhere. All rights are coupled with responsibility. Freedom of expression carries the burden of responsibility for the consequences of one’s speech. In Belize, Mr Caleb Orozco, the young man who asked the court to determine whether the sodomy law violated his constitutional rights, faced verbal abuse, physical violence and death threats. The recent media coverage has led to increased threats against him. The voices speaking for the removal of punitive and discriminatory laws are women, adolescents, gay
men, public health professionals, human rights supporters, researchers, leaders in the regional HIV response, priests, pundits, and imams. These are people from different walks of life, with differing backgrounds and beliefs, united against prejudice. This is what standing up for justice and freedom should be about. This is what will be required if we are to end AIDS and leave no Caribbean citizen behind. (Dr Ernest Massiah is UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team Director)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
THE CASE OF THE murdered moonlighter By Michael Jordan If indeed he had a secret and violent life, then he hid it very well and he fooled everyone. Those who believe that he lived some sort of Jekyll and Hyde existence would say that he had it coming to him. Those who believe that he was an innocent, hardworking man suggest that he had unknowingly picked the wrong kind of friends to be with on that night, a little over a year ago. Nineteen-year-old Jamal Harris lived in Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, and worked in the maintenance department of a large city firm. At around 2.00 a.m. on Monday, March 8, 2013, Harris picked up his fiancée, Tandika Hinckson, from her mother’s home in Tucville in a Toyota Raum that he had rented for $5,000 the previous day. He then dropped her off in Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge. Shortly after, the fiancée received a phone call: someone had stabbed Harris and he was at the Georgetown
Jamal Harris Hospital. Tandika Hinckson and Harris’s mother, Yvonne Smith, rushed to the hospital. They were not allowed to enter the Emergency Unit, but hospital staff reassured Mrs. Smith that they were “working on” her son. Eventually, a nurse emerged from the Emergency Unit and informed them that a doctor wanted to see them. The doctor told the two women that Harris had lost too much blood and they were unable to save him. The story they were told
was that Harris was on the seawall when he got into an altercation with a group of men who stabbed him to the chest and abdomen. A friend, who was with Harris, took the bleeding youth to the Georgetown Public Hospital in the Toyota Raum that they had rented. The unidentified friend then hurriedly left the hospital, leaving the rented vehicle in the compound. Now the man who had stabbed Jamal Harris was a deportee, and when detectives took him to the
Kitty Police Station, he had a strange story to tell. According to the deportee, Harris and another youth were attempting to rob a vendor in the vicinity of the Sheriff Street and East Coast Demerara Highway junction when the deportee intervened. The man allegedly said that he inflicted the fatal wounds while struggling with Harris, who was armed. The vendor who was allegedly attacked corroborated the story. By this time, police had impounded the black Toyota Raum that Harris had rented and which his unidentified friend had left at the hospital. They also detained two individuals who owned the vehicle. A friend of the slain man was also taken into custody. Harris’s mother and fiancée reacted to the deportee’s story with tears, anger and disbelief. “If they say that my son fight, I would believe that, but thieving, I would never believe that. I would never believe that at all,” his mother said. His fiancée, Tandika Hinckson, pointed out that Harris had a “well-paying job” and had no reason to turn to crime. So who was telling the truth?To find out, I took a night trip to the seawall. Someone eventually pointed out the ‘victims’ of the robbery attempt: a woman who was selling beverages with her son and daughter.Known as “the burger queen,” the vendor had a number of other stalls on the seawall and had been vending there for about five years. She had lived for some time in Venezuela and her children have both Guyanese and Venezuelan citizenship.She said that on Sunday, March 7, her son, and a 45-year-old deportee and drug addict who assists them, were at one of her stalls and had remained there until dawn. She was later told that during the early hours of Monday, March 8, her son and the deportee saw two men walking from a westerly direction towards them. She said that her son became uneasy and suggested to the deportee that they should pack up. But then one of the youths allegedly walked up to her son and said “Give me all you got.”According to what she was told, the robber tried to draw a handgun from his waist, but the gun got snagged in his pants.It is alleged that the vendor’s son immediately grabbed the gunman and threw him to the ground. The robber’s
accomplice reportedly then struck the young vendor behind the head with a bottle, picked up the firearm which had fallen, and fled in the same direction from which the robbers had approached. The vendor’s son reportedly was scuffling with the first attacker when the deportee intervened and stabbed the robber. It is alleged that the wounded man, later identified as Jamal Harris, fled behind his accomplice. The victims reportedly then saw a black vehicle heading towards the fleeing men. It is claimed that the driver then stopped and the two robbers entered the vehicle, which drove off.The vendor said that her son, who was bleeding from his head injury, caught a taxi and headed home. According to the woman, she later accompanied her son to the Georgetown Public Hospital and when they arrived there, they saw the same black vehicle, with lights on, in the compound.According to the vendor, a hospital staffer asked her son if he was at the hospital in connection with the vehicle’s occupant, and her son explained that the occupant of the vehicle had robbed him.They were reportedly then told that the person who had brought the wounded man to the hospital had fled the scene.She said that instead of allowing her injured son to be treated, police ranks took him to the Kitty Police Station. The family was reportedly then told to locate the individual who had fatally stabbed Jamal Harris. They eventually located the deportee and he willingly accompanied them to the Kitty Police Station, where he was detained. The vendor’s daughter alleged that Harris and three other youths had purchased from their stall a few days before his death. But Harris’s mother would come up with a third story that appeared to exonerate her son. Determined to uncover the truth about his death, Yvonne Smith said that she went to the Kitty seawall area where the killing had occurred. There, she reportedly spoke to a female vendor who claimed that she had witnessed the altercation. According to Ms. Smith, the vendor said she saw two men running on the seawall on the day that Jamal Harris was slain. One of the men was reportedly speaking on a mobile phone.
Ms. Smith claimed that she was told that shortly after, the occupant of a black vehicle drove up, and her son exited the vehicle. The vendor allegedly heard Harris shout to the two running men: “Why y’all running and y’all call me?” It is alleged that another vendor and others then confronted Harris, while remarking “you is the person that they call to come fuh dem? Okay, we will deal with you.” Ms. Smith said that she was told that the men and her son began to scuffle, but the men held his hands while another man broke a bottle and stabbed him. This information seemed to suggest that Jamal Harris was killed when he unwittingly went to the seawalls in the vehicle to pick up some friends who were committing a robbery there. But police appear to think that Jamal Harris was a bluecollar worker by day, while moonlighting as a thief at night. They gathered information which suggested that the Toyota Raum which he had rented was used in several robberies along the seawall. At the time of the investigation, police said that a young woman alleged that she and her boyfriend were in a car near the seawall, the month before Harris was killed when two young men who were armed with knives attacked them. The female victim is said to have told police that the robbers relieved her of a BlackBerry phone and the vehicle keys. It is alleged that a black Toyota Raum, with the same licence number as the one that Harris rented, then drove to the scene and picked up the robbers. The owner of the vehicle also told me that Jamal Harris had rented the vehicle the same day that this robbery occurred. Police eventually released the deportee who had inflicted the fatal stab wounds on Jamal Harris. He was never charged. If you have any information on any unusual case, please contact us at our Lot 24, Saffon Street, Charlestown address. You can also contact us on telephone numbers 2258465 and 22-58458. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at mjdragon@hotmail.com.
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Pain and memory in cascading moments of history I sat next to Tacuma Ogunseye and chatted about the lawyers’ angles in their cross-examinations. Then I went to a row in front and sat next to Eusi Kwayana. The first thing he said to me was; “How is your daughter?” I had taken her to see Eusi at Rodney House, the WPA’s head office, when she was less than a year old. He took her tiny hand and said to her; “Welcome to the world, little girl.” I took that phrase from him and have repeated it to babies that have been introduced to me countless times. As recent as last month I uttered those words to a baby. I always remember that about Eusi whenever I talk to my kid about my political heroes. Strangely, she can only recall Father Andrew Morrison doing magic for her with his handkerchief. We didn’t get to talk in depth because the voice came over the microphone announcing his name. It was time for Eusi to take the stand. He got up from his seat as any man in his fifties would, without betraying any characteristic of a man entering his 90th year. He clutched his crutch and Tacuma asked him if he would like to be assisted. He
declined. Then came the journey into Guyanese history. Kwayana began his description of the terror of dictatorship in the seventies that claimed the life of one of Guyana’s greatest citizens, Dr. Walter Rodney. The event of course is the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry being held below the library of the Supreme Court in the court’s compound. The young generation of Guyana is not among the audience, just a sprinkling of them. They should have been there but no doubt the media will record it for them. I had warned the admirers of President Forbes Burnham that the contents of that Commission they should be prepared for. It will remind the older generation, will inform the younger generation, and show the world at large that Forbes Burnham was no low level, harmless oligarch. He was possessed of tyrannical power and he used that power without rational reflections. It is simply mentally agonizing that admirers of Burnham could dismiss a decade of untamed power as if it doesn’t exist. It is as if one writes a history book and left out the period of the most defining moments in the history of that nation. Surely,
no one can find that acceptable. Surely, of course, Burnham had his triumphs that made him a huge contributor to national development. It would be silly; bordering on academic prostitution to deny some of the great things about Forbes Burnham. Equally it would be morally sick to gloss over what he did to those who opposed him in the seventies. I will omit details of my own disgust with Burnham over his mistreatment of me. Day after day in that airconditioned room in the High Court compound this country is being reminded of the death and destruction that dictatorial government brings to a nation. It was there with Burnham. The mayhem is still with this nation even though Burnham died almost three decades ago. It only goes to show how tragic has been the history of Guyana, a tragedy that refuses to go away. Eusi Kwayana is a very unique man. A radical crusader for change all his
life, his tone of voice does not give off even a modicum of hint that he has been a nononsense man his entire life. He speaks softly with episodic descent into biting sarcasm and beautifully enjoyable humour. With an inimitable style, he describes the violent mechanisms and cruel methodologies of President Forbes Burnham. As a victim on that Macbethian stage in the seventies, you stare at Kwayana as he recalls the moments and the madness of the seventies, but your mind is elsewhere. Your mind takes you back to the street lamp whose darkness provides
you a canopy as you run from the terror that pursued you, hoping to survive another day. Your soul takes a journey back in time as Kwayana’s words to the attentive room reads like a Shakespearian character philosophizing on the evil that humans generate in their quest to dominate others. Kwayana in the witness box reminds me of so many movies I have seen on the brutalities and bestialities of communist Eastern Europe and at the end of the closing scene, a voice would say, “We must never let this happen again.” I always remember those words.
Frederick Kissoon I close, invoking memories of me and Dennis Canterbury (now a doctor in sociology teaching in the US) running for our lives and seeking shelter in a dark, empty room in the First Federation Building on Croal Street. The time was the seventies. The seventies are long gone, but I am still running to save my life. It should never happen again. But it is. Will it ever end?
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
Sunday June 01, 2014
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My column
The truth about Walter Rodney is being distorted History is often not what is really recorded. What is often recorded is a story told by someone or a group of people as seen through their eyes. Sometimes there has to be a modification because someone recalled the same incident and provided verification of what he recalled. In Guyana another chapter of history is being recorded and the records will be based on the perception of a few. It is an indisputable fact that Walter Rodney died in a blast in the vicinity of the Georgetown Prisons. This cannot be disputed because everyone who was there saw the wrecked car, Rodney’s body, and saw his brother running from the scene. Later, people saw the brother, Donald, with scars from the blast. They heard his story. Those who first saw him heard the story he had to tell. Then there were those who knew what Walter Rodney was doing in the period leading up to his death. They knew about his confrontation with the then President Forbes Burnham. Many heard his speeches at the political meetings he held. They saw the attacks by members of the House of Israel, saw the police trying their best to arrest Rodney at these meetings and they saw Rodney run. In fact, during Mashramani 1980, there was the steel band competition and the Police steel band played a tune, ‘Run Rodney Run’ much to the disgust of some of those who attended the competition. These are indisputable facts and when the history of Rodney would be told, these
would be facts that students would encounter. However, the history would be clouded by the perception of some who were extremely close to Rodney; it would be clouded by the facts that some people would refuse to disclose, choosing instead to paint a different picture. A commission of inquiry is underway, and when it is all over, what comes out of the commission would form a significant part of the history. Distortions would be contained in that report, and if left unchallenged, then the account as published by the commission of inquiry would go down in history as the facts surrounding Walter Rodney’s death. I knew Walter Rodney; I heard him speak at the political meetings. I remember him being arrested and tried for arson. He was accused of burning down the headquarters of the then ruling People’s National Congress. So here I am following the happenings of the commission of inquiry and reading some of the statements that are being made by people testifying before the commission. I am not the only person. There are people who are disputing some of the facts. One man said to me that unless these facts are challenged and corrected then history would be severely distorted. Eusi Kwayana, a man who knew Rodney better than most, testified that Walter Rodney did not have an inherent dislike of Forbes Burnham. This caused raised eyebrows. Then Kwayana
said that the armed guards who were placed in the vicinity of the prisons were removed the night Rodney died. He suggested that the removal came through the orders of the Burnham administration. That comment was published and immediately I got a call from someone in Brooklyn. The caller said that he was calling because he did not want history to be distorted. He told me that there seems to be a concerted effort to tarnish the People’s National Congress and that he would not sit down and see the untruths going unchallenged. I asked him whether he was prepared to come to Guyana to testify, but there are those who do not want to attract undue attention. However, he told me that there were armed guards outside the prisons and that he was one. He gave me his name. He was a member of the Tactical Services Unit that was assigned to guard the outer perimeter of the prisons. He said that on February 20, 1980, the day Mass Games were held that year, a known criminal, Lloyd Kerr, jumped the prisons fence and escaped. Of course he was
caught some time later and from then, the Guyana Police Force stationed armed guards outside the prisons. This former policeman told me that some time later another criminal called ‘Texy’ or ‘Sexy’ jumped the prisons walls and into Bent Street. This former policeman described the criminal as a ‘fair-complexioned Black man’. He was shot and killed by the very armed guards stationed outside the prisons. On the night Rodney was blown up, this policeman said that he and another whom he identified as ‘Lawrence’ were standing at the corner of D’Urban and John Streets. He said that when they heard the explosion, they ran to the scene. They were the first to reach. The scene that he
described to me was described by so many others some time later. This policeman also could not say for sure that the person was a man who had died in the blast. Kwayana was wrong. There were armed guards and this could be verified from the police and prison records. The policeman said that he is prepared to face Kwayana on this issue. Then I got a call from a person who was close to Rodney. This man said that Rodney often visited his house. He too is challenging some of the statements that are being made at the commission of inquiry. He told me that Rodney knew what he had in his possession. Immediately I asked him about coming to testify before the commission and to
Adam Harris my relief, he said that he would. I am not going to say too much about this individual except to say that he has spoken with the people conducting the commission. He has made arrangements to come and he is going to be accommodated. And there are others. All I can do is hope that they will come forward. It would suit some to paint the People’s National Congress as a party of ogres who did bad things to every Guyanese. But then again, there are those who are only interested in accuracy.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
Only a new government can fix Guyana’s problems By Dominic Gaskin While willing to take credit for any positive developments that have taken place during their tenure, most governments are less keen to accept responsibility for things that have gone wrong during the same period. Our government is no different from many in this regard. What distinguishes the PPP-C government from many other elected governments of this era is that it has held office for twenty-two years and therefore cannot dissociate itself from the state of the nation it governs. Around the world, most democratic countries have seen their governments change many times over since
the PPP-C came to power in 1992. While this can blur the lines of responsibility when it comes to assessing the achievements or failures of the various governments in those countries, Guyana’s situation is crystal clear. For better or for worse, the buck stops with the PPP-C. The point here is not simply that the current government must take responsibility for all the ills that plague our country. The objective of this article is not to highlight all the failures of the last twentytwo years. That would be exhausting. The intention is rather to illustrate why these failures will not be corrected as long as the PPP-C government remains in office. Before a solution can be
sought for a problem, that problem needs to be acknowledged and assessed. If an appropriate solution is then applied there is need for follow-up assessments to determine the effectiveness of that solution. If a problem is thought to exist, but is neither acknowledged nor properly assessed, it is difficult to see how an effective solution could be arranged and, more so, how the impact of any solution could be measured. A fine example of such a scenario is the case of Guyana’s unemployment levels and the recent admission by the Minister of Finance, when questioned by AFC Member of Parliament, Cathy Hughes on this issue, that the most recent data
available on unemployment was from the Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2006. Essentially what the Minister is saying is that he manages the economy of our country without reference to unemployment levels. This is pretty bad stuff, but it is part of a broader tendency of this government to refuse to acknowledge the existence of most of the major problems affecting our country. The reason for this is simple and bears repeating. After twenty-two years in office the buck stops with the PPP-C and any acknowledgement of a problem is also an acknowledgement of its own failure. So as far as the PPP-C is concerned, there is no unemployment problem, there is no crisis in the Police Force, there is no crisis in the judiciary, Guyana is not a narco-economy, trafficking in persons is not pervasive and corruption is not as rampant as the “opposition media” would have us believe. And what does this means for the Guyanese citizens? As long as the government cannot acknowledge deficiencies in so many areas it cannot begin to develop appropriate solutions to fix them. A new government coming into power will always be more proactive in identifying problem areas, especially when these are perceived to have been created by a previous government. This is one of the real benefits of a healthy democracy where governments change regularly – governments want to be seen to be addressing the concerns of their citizens. The need for denial is greatly reduced and solutions can be sought without fear of culpability.
On top of being unable to fix what it does not accept is broken, the PPP-C government has unwisely chosen the path of challenging those who seek to highlight issues of concern. Each year the government vehemently rejects the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report and, in doing so, automatically sets itself at odds with anyone drawing attention to actual cases of human trafficking. So in 2013 when the President of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation, Ms. Simona Broomes risked her life to rescue a group of young women who were being held against their will and forced to engage in prostitution by an interior shopowner, she was not doing the government any favours. From all reports there was a clear reluctance on the part of the authorities before, during and after Ms. Broomes’ ordeal to treat the matter with the urgency it deserved. Apart from their standard inefficiencies, there appeared to be an understanding on the part of the authorities that what Ms. Broomes was doing would displease the government. It was therefore not surprising that, four months later, Ms. Broomes found herself arrested and held by the police for questioning in connection with an assault which occurred during the rescue mission. Her accuser was the same interior shop-owner who had since been charged with trafficking in persons. The issue of sex trafficking in our mining areas is real and hotheaded responses to external reports and harassment of decent citizens are no substitute for proper investigations, prosecutions
Dominic Gaskin and conviction. The well regarded Transparency International (TI) with its widely recognized Corruption Perception Index also comes in for an annual tongue-lashing from various Government officials, upset with Guyana’s ranking in the index. Transparency Institute Guyana, Inc., the relatively young local chapter of TI has already been branded antigovernment, as have its past and present presidents. The government is fighting a losing battle. Our people are not stupid. Everyone knows that Guyana is not a well-run country. People see corruption every day without the media bringing it to their attention. There is absolutely no expectation of justice at any level of our society. Guyanese have lost all confidence in the ability of the Police Force to protect them and to maintain law and order. Traffic regulations are savagely violated for all to see on a daily basis. After close to twenty-two years at the helm the PPP-C must continue to pretend that these problems are not as bad as they really are. Only a new government can begin to fix these problems because only a new government will have no reason to pretend that they do not exist. The Guyanese electorate may wish to weigh these considerations against the illusion of ethnic security that unfortunately still remains a significant factor in who we put in office.
Sunday June 01, 2014
SUNDAY SPECIAL EDAHMAD’S GUYSUCO LAND DEAL…AFC, GASKIN DEMAND CONTRACT BE MADE PUBLIC Members of the political opposition and one financial analyst disagree with Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who reportedly said that the onus is on the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to take legal action against a New York-based Guyanese businessman, Edul Ahmad. Ahmad, who is currently before the courts in New York, is a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. He appears to have breached the conditions of a land deal. Dr. Luncheon also said that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd (NICIL) is not responsible for taking action against the defaulting developer since the agency only acted as an agent in providing the needed expertise for the sugar corporation during the “suspicious” deal. The political opposition party, Alliance For Change (AFC) and a financial analyst, Ramon Gaskin, have said that Dr. Luncheon is only being “economical with the truth” and as such they demand that the contract be made public. Ahmad was sold an almost 17-acre portion of land belonging to GuySuCo, at Leonora, for $80M. The conditions of sale were that the company would have established a factory to create jobs for persons in the neighbourhood. The agreement to this condition was the factor which governed the price at which it was sold. However, the businessman ignored those initial agreements and the land has now been converted into a house lot project, Leonora Mall and Hollywood Garden, all being managed by Leonora Projects. It is owned by Shareef and Ed Ahmad. REJECT “DISHONEST” SUPERVISING CONSULTANTS – SAYS ENGINEER Frustrated with the fact that “dishonest” supervising consultants do not face penalties for approving slapdash work, an engineer and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon, have said that applications by the said consultants for government contracts should be rejected. The engineer said that in the absence of the necessary laws which would stipulate the penalties for supervising consultants when they are found to be signing off on shoddy work, their applications
Kaieteur News
to work for other arms of the government should be discarded. Though this has not been done before, when one considers the millions of taxpayers’ dollars that would have to be wasted to correct the mistakes of the supervising consultants; it becomes imperative that some form of blacklisting be implemented. The engineer explained that every contractor enters into an agreement or contractual promise on how a particular job must be done. If those specified articles are not met, the employer would carry out on his promise to enforce certain penalties drafted in the signed agreement. However, the engineer said that supervising consultants have been allowed to “literally get away with murder. They don’t face any punishment when they sign off on shoddy work. They are allowed to continue to work for another arm of the government or even on a project given by the same company. This has to stop.” The learned engineer said, “The contractor would enter into a written agreement and the content of that would stipulate certain special conditions, scope of services to be provided among other conditions. The consultant now would ensure that the contractor delivers on everything he signed on to in the contract. But if the consultant notices that the contractor is not doing the work as he should he can reject the work of the contractor and have the contractor to correct it. However, once the employer can prove that the consultant has signed off on or approved sloppy work he can be rejected in the future. MONDAY EDITION CONTROVERSY CONTINUES TO EMBROIL MARRIOTT…PRIVATE INVESTORS HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN HOTEL INDUSTRY - THEIR BUSINESSES INCLUDE LOTTERY, MINING The Chinese private investors for the Marriott Hotel do not come with the background in the hotel industry that Winston Brassington had demanded. Instead, the named investors come with a background of primarily mining and lottery. Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI) over the weekend announced that ACE Square Investment Inc is the investor and its affiliate, Ace Square Management Ltd will operate the Entertainment Complex. Winston Brassington, who set up AHI, in October 2012, had told the media that
they are “looking for operators who have already established themselves as a brand regionally or internationally and can demonstrate extensive knowledge of the particular field of operation.” By way of an advertisement in the Tuesday, October 23, 2012 issue of the Guyana Chronicle (p.14), AHI said that it was seeking “expressions of interest from reputable organizations to outfit, operate and maintain” the three entities in the Entertainment Complex namely the Casino, Night Club and Specialty Restaurant in the Hotel. The advertisement stipulated that each may be operated individually or collectively, and that the first preference would be individuals or organizations already involved in the business. Two years later, AHI announced that British Virgin Islands-registered ACE Square Investments Ltd, is now the majority share owner of the project (67 per cent) and that Ace Square Management Ltd, reported to be an affiliated company of ACE Square Investments Ltd., have been selected to operate the Entertainment Complex. Hong Kong businessmen, Victor How Chung Chan, and Xu Han have been identified as the shareholders of the companies. FEMALE SWEET TALKS MOM, VANISHES WITH NEW BORN BABY Police in ‘B’ Division are hunting for a Surinamese woman who allegedly abducted a 10-day-old baby boy from his mother last Saturday at the Port Mourant Market in Corentyne, Berbice. The baby, who was not yet registered, was taken away by a woman who his parent can only identify as Bibi Khan from Nickerie, Suriname. According to the baby’s mother, Sandra Vishwanauth, she met with the woman on May 16, last at the Skeldon Hospital where she delivered her baby. TUESDAY EDITION EDUCATION MINISTRY SCRAPS OLD AUTOMATIC PROMOTION POLICY The Ministry of Education has officially scrapped its old Automatic Promotion policy of students in public schools across Guyana. It is now urging all schools nationwide to comply with the changes that were made following extensive consultations. The policy, which received numerous criticisms from a wide cross-section of the population, was revised some time last year. The Ministry of Education has now formally
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school, in more than 50 per cent of the subjects being undertaken, repeat the grade. Also, if students achieve less than the overall pass mark set by the school, with the scores for the subject areas of Mathematics and English being unacceptable, they will be asked to repeat the grade.
Kidnapped baby informed schools across Guyana of the changes in the policy and that students who do not make 50 per cent or more in their examinations will have to repeat that class or grade. The Automatic Promotion Policy was initially introduced under the tenure of former Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, to correct the negative effects of Grade Repetition. However, last July, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, said that the policy will now require that students who score below the overall pass mark set by the
WEDNESDAY EDITION ROHEE BECOMES HOSTILE WHEN QUESTIONED ON MARRIOTT DEAL …AFTER READING STATEMENT WELCOMING INVESTORS General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee on Tuesday read a party statement in which he lauded the investors of the Marriott Hotel project. Two Hong Kong businessmen, Victor How Chung Chan, and Xu Han, who own Ace Square Management Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, has invested US$8 million inAtlantic Hotels Inc. (AHI) for 67 per cent of the company. However, when questioned on the same subject matter, Rohee became
hostile and later refused to comment further. “I have moved on from there. I have a very important meeting at 10 o clock and this issue for the Kaieteur News is not going to go away. You are going to keep it on the frontburner. I know that.” THURSDAY EDITION CARIBBEAN AIRLINES PLANE CRASH AT CJIA…US COURT RULING PAVES WAY FOR INJURED GUYANESE TO SUE The Eastern District of New York recently issued a significant ruling in personal injury cases against Caribbean Airlines (CAL) arising from the 2011 crash landing of Flight BW 523 in Georgetown, Guyana – a flight that originated at New York’s JFK International Airport. The plane broke into two. The plaintiffs, Rajendra Persaud, 64; and Prampatie (Continued on page 37)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
YOUTH…the forgotten majority Half of Guyana’s population (about 50.9 per cent) is young, that is, below the age of 24 years. More than one-third (about 36.9 per cent) is between 25 and 54 years of age. The People’s Progressive Party Civic – PPPC – administration, however, persists in the nonimplementation of a coherent national policy to cater to the needs of this large number of young Guyanese. Young people are the nation’s future but they face monumental challenges. The spate of suicides among
adolescents, the rising number of teenage pregnancies, the large number of school dropouts, the unavailability of new job opportunities, the reports of their being victims of police brutality and torture, the huge prison population (of which youth are said to comprise 75 per cent) and the predicament of juveniles in the New Opportunity Corps are all signs of a dangerous and deteriorating social situation. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport has publicly announced on several
occasions over the past eight years that the National Youth Policy would be reviewed. The problem is that he has promulgated no such ‘Policy.’ The result has been that youths continue to face difficult lives in the land of their birth. The single biggest problem at the national level, with dire implications for the future, has been the growing number of illiterate and innumerate youths. The Ministry of Education reports that nearly 7,000 children drop out of our primary and secondary
schools every year. The CARICOM Commission on Youth Development in its report – Eye on the Future: Invest in Youth Now for the Community Tomorrow – noted, among other things, that the primary education dropout rate was “at a staggering height.” Youths who do not complete their basic education satisfactorily will find it difficult to get jobs. Joblessness among young people in the Caribbean Community, at an average of 23 per cent, is higher than many other developed and developing countries. The majority of young university graduates in Guyana, unable to find employment, are forced to migrate or remain out-of-work. The National Employment Report published by the International Labour Organisation, estimated that, based on Guyana’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey which was last undertaken over a decade ago, about 44 per cent of the population of working age are “not economically active.” This situation has arisen, in part, because the ‘one-size-fits-all’ education model has failed. For many students, it has little relevance to the needs in the communities in which they live. The economies of most
regions, for example, are based on farming and fishing. There is also a great need there for the expansion of public physical infrastructure such as airstrips, bridges, roads and stellings. The education system therefore, should emphasise agricultural, engineering and technology so that schoolleavers could be equipped with the skills to enable them to live and work comfortably in their areas of residence. It does not. The government is aware of the mismatch between education and employment. Its response, in the absence of a coherent policy, however, has been hopelessly haphazard. Five government ministries – the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Labour – jostle each other to offer a variety of unrelated, short-term training courses all aimed at unemployed, out-of-school young people. They all promise but do not provide, the long-term careers that youths desperately seek. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs conducts a multi-million dollar Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneur Programme (YAEP). The Ministry of Culture
Youth and Sport conducts the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) programme. The Ministry of Home Affairs offers training in what it calls “life skills” under its Citizen Security Programme (CSP). The Ministry of Labour conducts a two-year programme called the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE). Programmes such as the President’s Youth Choice initiative (PYCI) and the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) have failed long ago. They had little impact on youths over the years. There are many programmes but there has been little progress in solving the problems facing young people. Despite the ferment of initiatives – CSP; NTPYE; PYCI; PYARG; YAEP and YEST – there have been few new job opportunities. Too many Guyanese youths still leave school unskilled, enter the workforce for the first time and are obliged to resort to the informal sector for employment in low-paying occupations. Four out of every ten youths face a jobless future. The PPPC administration is still to announce a plan to deal with the challenges that face the majority of the population of Guyana - our young people!
Sunday June 01, 2014
From page 27 Persaud, 64; reside in Florida, while Shanti Persaud, 34, and her two minor children, ages 10 and 7, live in Guyana. They were travelling on tickets between Florida and Georgetown when the crash occurred. In a question of first impression, the court ruled that the Republic of Guyana is not a party to the Warsaw Convention – a multilateral treaty that governs international air travel – and therefore allowed a personal injury lawsuit against Caribbean Airlines to move forward in the U.S. and paved the way for the plaintiffs to seek damages for emotional pain and suffering, in addition to physical injuries. The ruling may also impact airlines that fly between Guyana and the United States in that claims of passengers who fly roundtrip from Guyana will not be covered by the Warsaw Convention, which is seen as being protective of airlines over passengers. The personal injury cases are being handled by the law firm of Colson Hicks Eidson. POWER-LIFTING CHAMP
Kaieteur News
ARRESTED AT JFK WITH COCAINE IN STOMACH National power lifting champion, Colin Aubrey Chesney, also known as “Mr. Clean” is in police custody in the United States after he was busted at the John. F. Kennedy (JFK) airport with cocaine. Chesney was detained last Saturday just as he arrived at JFK on a Caribbean Airlines flight from Guyana. According to a copy of the court complaint document, Chesney knowingly swallowed cocaine. The document stated that on May 24 customs agents approached Chesney and requested to inspect him. During the inspection, Chesney appeared “unusually nervous. Specifically, the defendant was physically shaking and sweating heavily.” As a result of this reaction, “Mr. Clean” was taken to a private room for a secondary search where he was found to be ‘not so clean.’ It was during that search that the Guyanese sportsman told Customs Inspectors that he had swallowed “foreign bodies”. Kaieteur News understands that Chesney was taken to a medical facility
at the JFK Airport after he gave written consent for an x-ray to be conducted on him. This confirmed what the bodybuilder had earlier revealed. The x-ray of his intestinal tract showed that “foreign bodies” were lodged there. Chesney subsequently passed 33 pellets, one of which was probed and found to contain a “white powdery substance” which was positively tested as cocaine. He was then placed under arrest but kept in the medical facility at JFK, since investigators believe there may be more cocaine pellets in his body. FRIDAY EDITION CFATFTELLS MEMBERS TO LIMIT BUSINESS WITH GUYANA Guyana’s fate has been ultimately decided at the Regional level; the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Thursday told its members that it considers the country to be a risk to the international financial system. The regional body has therefore advised the implementation of further counter measures to be taken against Guyana in order to protect financial systems from
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the “ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.” As a consequence of failing to meet certain deadlines, CFATF has referred Guyana to its parent body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which will take steps which may include Guyana being blacklisted at the international level. This decision was made Thursday at the conclusion of CFATF’s plenary meeting which started on Monday in Miami, Florida. MAN GETS 78 YEARS FOR DUMPING WIFE’S BODY IN TRENCH - ATTEMPTS GETAWAY Drama unfolded at the High Court Thursday afternoon as Kevin Verwayne, who was sentenced to 78 years imprisonment by Justice Navindra Singh, after being found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict for the murder of his reputed wife, attempted to jump over the rails of the court balcony as he was being escorted back to the lock-ups. As he threw his right leg over the rails, Sergeant Wishart sprang into action, restraining Verwayne, who then began fighting him and
other police officers. He was crying and incoherent and was eventually subdued and taken to the lock-ups without further incident. Verwayne, 25, of Depot Dam Squatting Area, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, was on trial from May 16, for the 2011 murder of his 20-year-old reputed wife, Farida Ramdeen called ‘Susie’. SATURDAY EDITION AML BILL CAN BE PASSED IN 48 HOURS GRANGER - OPPOSITION LEADER AND PRESIDENT TO MEET BY MONDAY The man-in-the-street is even more worried by the recently issued advisory by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and its implications for his money. CFATF has called on its members to further distance itself from conducting business transactions with Guyana. Failure to pass the legislation on required deadlines has left the regional body with no choice but to refer Guyana to its parent body, the Financial Action Task Force, which can see Guyana being possibly blacklisted on the international level. The political opposition
party, Alliance For Change (AFC), which says it remains committed towards having a stronger Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AML/CFT) has made it clear that even though the regional body has taken that action, the Bill can be passed within 72 hours. But A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) has gone further to state that 72 hours is simply too long; that the amended Bill can be passed within 48 hours. The leader of the political coalition, Brig. David Granger made this assertion Friday at his head office on Hadfield Street during a press conference. Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, beat the Member of Parliament to the punch in the “blame game” on Thursday last. He said that the political opposition is solely responsible for the action taken by the regional body. Granger, however, sought to make it pellucid to citizens at the press conference that the Opposition does not accept responsibility and blamed instead, the People’s Progressive Party Administration for the advisory that was issued.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
Why smoking is dangerous if you have diabetes By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj Many may wonder why their illnesses are out of control and sometimes they get frustrated and ignore the recommended care plan. However it is important to note that to manage any illness the first step is to treat the cause of the illness. Researchers have long known that diabetes patients who smoke have higher blood sugar levels, making their disease more difficult to
control and putting them at greater danger of developing complications. A common known complication of smoking is cancer, however smoking can also aggravate many of the problems that people with diabetes already face, such as heart and blood vessel disease. Smoking-related problems include: · Cutting the amount of oxygen reaching tissues. The decrease in oxygen can lead
to a heart attack or stroke · Increasing your cholesterol levels and the levels of some other fats in your blood, raising your risk of a heart attack · If you are pregnant, smoking can result in an abnormally small baby and a higher risk of having a miscarriage or stillborn baby · Damage and constriction of the blood vessels. This damage can worsen foot ulcers and lead to blood vessel disease and leg and
foot infections · Greater likelihood of nerve damage and kidney disease · More prone to get colds and respiratory infections · Increasing risk of developing limited joint movement · Cancer of the mouth, throat, lung, and bladder · Being three times as likely to die of cardiovascular disease as are other people with diabetes · Increasing your blood
pressure · Raising your blood glucose level · Increasing your chance of becoming impotent If you have diabetes, here are a few tips to help you quit, based on guidelines from the American Cancer Society. · Don’t carry a lighter or matches; hide all ashtrays. · When the urge to smoke hits, take a deep breath. Hold it for 10 seconds and then release it slowly. Taking deep, rhythmic breaths is similar to smoking; only you’ll inhale clean air, not poisonous gas. · Spend free time in places where smoking is prohibited, such as a library, theatre, or museum. Go to lunch with friends who are also trying to quit smoking and go to a nonsmoking restaurant. · Eat low-calorie, highnutritional foods instead of smoking. Choose fresh fruit and crisp, crunchy vegetables. Or substitute sugarless gum for a cigarette. Other substitutes to try: lemon drops, cloves, beef jerky, or popcorn (not buttered). · Exercise to help relieve tension. Climb stairs rather
Dr. Kumar Sukhraj than take the elevator, or get off the bus before your destination and walk the rest of the way. For diabetics, smoking can make their condition worse and quitting smoking is the best choice. Please feel free to send an email to kumarsukhraj @yahoo.com or call 6228032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important in the diagnosis and management of illness. Please look forward for a continuation of the discussion on health issues in the next publication.
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
The Mahaicony Horror: From page 30 night air. Then, as her husband reached to close the window, they saw it - an uneven ball of glowing fire that appeared to float about 50 yards away across the road, hovering uncertainly before swiftly receding and disappearing into the opaque darkness. They shuddered simultaneously before he closed the double windows. Then Mrs. Farrier's emotions broke and she began to sob softly, leaning her head against her husband's shoulder. They both felt, rather than knew, what it was. The only one to get any sleep the rest of that night was little Daniel. But it was fitful, and as his parents kept vigil over the crib, they noticed that he would occasionally jump out of his sleep, then settle back into a doze. Clearly, something was disturbing his sleep. Strangely enough, neither parent said a word about what, in their hearts, they suspected; after all they were respectable and educated people. Super-natural events happened only to other people, or in the movie theatres in Georgetown. But deep within the recesses of their soul, they knew something that neither could understand nor explain. The next morning, a Friday, Mr. Farrier casually brought up the subject of the supernatural with one of his more trusted colleagues at school, Ms. Olive, an elderly teacher with sharp eyes and an excessive overbite that gave her a distinct, if somewhat ridiculous resemblance to a reptilian creature well-known to all the villagers. He'd heard that she knew things others only thought they knew. Rather sheepishly, he told her of the previous night's happenings at his home. Her response was definitely un-sheepish. “Mr. Farrier,” she began, “you 'ear what I telling you today (she was an 'H' dropper like several other villagers, though she did it with an elegance that bordered on absurdity) don't play wit' fire. You 'ave a lot of education, but not enough wisdom. We old people know what really goes on in the next world.” She lowered her voice and it took on a conspiratorial tone.
“The spirit world… Old 'igue is real, more real than the two of us standing 'ere. Listen, you go and talk to Cousin Jane, and she going to tell you what to do. 'Urry now, you don't 'ave much time.” Looking now more bemused than sheepish, the headmaster thanked Ms. Olive and went on with his headmasterly duties for the rest of the day. Listlessly, he tried to dismiss the notion and the picture of the old bloodsucking horror that the younger villagers laughed and mocked and cursed about. The older folks (the over-forties, that is) had a more fearful respect for the creature that no one had ever actually seen in the gory act for which it had become notoriously hated by them. But when he got home that afternoon, Mr. Farrier's bewilderment turned to real concern; even to unaccustomed anger, when he saw the condition of his firstborn, and the face of his wife. Her face was flushed, eyes reddened and puffed from crying. However, it was the face of his son, and the posture of the tiny body in the bed that sent his heart racing and his temples throbbing with anxiety, not from an imminent headache this time, but from disbelief and impotence. Daniel Farrier lay, not in his crib, but on his parents' bed. His face had paled to an anaemic chalkiness and contrasted sharply with the thick black curly hair that framed it. He lay perfectly still in the middle of the vast expanse of bed. Tiny, spidery, blue-tinged veins stood out on his hands, and at the side of his neck close to his left shoulder, there appeared two small circular red patches. The headmaster stood transfixed, as his wife gently reached out and took the infant in her arms. It was only then that Daniel's father saw that his son was still alive, and breathing. (In Part 2, Cousin Jane's confession!) (Dennis Nichols is a teacher, journalist, creative writer, and winner of the 2000 International Short Story Competition, run by the UK-based Commonwealth Broadcasting Association)
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Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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NOW EVERYONE FROM GUYANA IS A DRUG SUSPECT By Ralph Seeram The message said “I am embarrassed as a Guyanese; I am embarrassed to identify myself as Guyanese because of drugs”. My friend and I were discussing the latest drug bust of a Guyanese at a New York airport, a prominent Guyanese weightlifter who was caught with ingested cocaine pellets. This cocaine situation has created concerns in the Diaspora, especially if people are returning home from Guyana. One never knows if cocaine will be found in one’s suitcase, placed by airport personnel. There have been documented cases where this has happened. It seems like drug busts are daily occurrences at the Cheddi Jagan Airport. Those who have escaped scrutiny get caught at US airports. I never knew that Guyanese could be so creative—cocaine in
stomach, in fruits, in vegetables, in fish, awara, wigs, lumber, canned, pastries, and any other creative way you can think of, some females even carry in their most intimate part. Cocaine, no doubt is a big and profitable business in Guyana. One friend told me that most of those constructions on Camp and Regent Streets are fueled by drug money. The trouble is, only the “small fries” are caught, the big players are untouched. Money talks, and in a corrupt society like Guyana it talks in a big way. This week we read of efforts to establish a DEA office in Guyana. What was one of the conditions of the DEA, for their Guyanese counterparts? They have to be VETTED; that is another way of saying, we don’t trust you; we don’t trust you with our secrets. Speaking of DEA.
Anybody has any doubt that that they are already operating in Guyana? If those “big ones” in Guyana don’t believe that the DEA has “them in their sights” they are mistaken. The Americans take their time; they give a “long rope” to build their case. When they do put “their hands” on you, save for hiring a defence lawyer. They already have an airtight case. The Guyana Government is seeking the help of the Americans to help stem the drug trade. If the Government is serious, it could demonstrate how serious it is by having an extradition treaty with the US. An extradition treaty will put a serious dent on the industry. The most powerful drug dealers around the world are afraid of the American justice system. You can’t bribe your way, as can be done in local courts. Back to my fear of travelling from Guyana. I make it a point of not bringing anything back from Guyana; no achar, no pepper, no
Ministry did not hire Sean Hinds - Norman Whittaker From page 12 Hinds as a bodyguard for the Town Clerk has come in for severe criticism, especially since City Hall reportedly has no knowledge of the arrangement. The question then arises as to who is footing the bill. “It has to be the government. We are not paying and she does not work for enough money to afford such services,” the City Hall official said. Shadow Home Affairs Minister, Winston Felix, a former Commissioner of Police, is of the view that w h i l e i t ’s s o m e o n e ’s personal choice when it comes to a bodyguard, the Town Clerk, being a public o ff i c e r, s h o u l d h a v e exercised better judgement, especially if she was entirely responsible for the decision to hire Hinds. Felix is of the view that even if a bodyguard is provided for the Town Clerk by others, she has a duty to ensure that the person is of proper character. “I am not too sure if it was Miss Sooba’s choice. Those who are paying for the bodyguard though should know who the bodyguard is …I feel she may not have known much about him (Hinds). What they have done is to throw a basket of rotten eggs at Sooba,” Felix said. The former Police
Commissioner questioned why the Town Clerk did not opt for protection from the City Constabulary, which is responsible for the security of senior Council officials. “She has the authority to use the City Constabulary but then again given the turmoil at city hall, it could be a question of trust,” Felix told Kaieteur News. His view was supported by a top private security expert. “I fully subscribe to the view that the Town Clerk in the circumstances may feel that her physical and personal safety could be compromised if she chooses protection from the City Constabulary,” the expert said. When contacted yesterd a y Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker informed that his Ministry had nothing to do with the hiring of Sean Hinds. He added that his Ministry is also NOT responsible for paying Hinds for his services. The Ministry of Local Government has been supportive of Sooba in her battle with the City Mayor and some Councilors who are closely affiliated to him. “What I do know is that if the Town Clerk has no confidence in the security provided by the City Constabulary and she so desires to have her own, then there is nothing stopping her
from doing so,” Minister Whittaker said. According to Winston Felix, he is unaware of Hinds being issued with a licence to carry a firearm which is necessary for the type of work he is hired to do. “He never applied for a firearm when I was the Commissioner. I never signed any approval for him,” Felix declared. This newspaper understands that at least one of Felix’s successors did not approve a firearm licence for Hinds. Many are of the view that it would be wholly improper and illegal for any process to be put in place for Hinds to be a licenced firearm holder, especially since many persons with unblemished records have been denied. A senior officer of the Guyana Police Force, who is close to the firearm licence process, said that the mere fact that Sean Hinds has a notorious reputation, it is quite clear that some authority or a particular authority who has engaged his services in the capacity of a bodyguard for the Town Clerk, intends to send a message. “The fact it has been publicized that Hinds is her bodyguard, is intended to send a clear message. It only goes to show how nasty and wicked certain situations can become.”
cassareep, not even for my mother. I can get all in Guyanese stores in Orlando. A few years ago, I broke my rule. A relative on the Corentyne caught some fish, smoked and dried them for me. He said that he did for me to take back. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I packed the fish in my suitcase. At Maimi Airport I retrieved by suitcase. At that moment I saw a Customs officer with a dog coming in my direction. I am saying to myself, “I hope this dog don’t come near to me. Well in the middle of the airport with people all around that dog came to my suitcase and start sniffing. In fact, it stopped at my suitcase. I don’t have to tell you how
embarrassed I was, with everyone’s eyes on me. To my relief the officer asked me if I had fish in the suitcase, to which I replied yes. He said that I should make sure that I declare it on my customs declaration form. I guess the way the dog reacted told him what the contents of the suitcase were. No need to tell you I never brought any stuff from Guyana again. The lure of money seems to be too much for the drug mules, and you will note that they transcend all age groups. Right now the Opposition parties in Guyana make a lot of noise about the Government not doing enough to prosecute drug
dealers, while in the same breath refusing to pass the Anti Money Laundering Bill. I wrote on this subject before on the need for the APNU and AFC to put petty politics aside and the interest of the country before. The Opposition is endangering the economic life of all Guyanese and this could work against them come next elections. So while all these drug busts are embarrassing, they won’t stop me from visiting Guyana. However, I know that on my on my arrival in the US that I will get extra scrutiny by customs. After all I coming from Guyana. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com
Kidnapper, abducted baby believed to be in Suriname Police officers in neighbouring Suriname are also on the lookout for the woman who kidnapped a nine-day-old baby two Saturdays ago from the Port Mourant Market. This was confirmed by a senior rank in the police ‘B’ Division yesterday. Local police officers believed that the woman, who goes by the name Bibi Khan, immediately left Guyana to Suriname via the back-track route after she abducted the infant on May 24, last. To date, police have arrested four females who share the same name and similar appearance of the perpetrator, but have been unable to track down the real kidnapper. Yesterday, the infant’s mother, Sandra Mc Lean, said that she went to Leonora, West Coast Demerara to identify a child who was adopted by a couple. “I went to see if it was my child but it wasn’t. They (couple) adopted the child from some home and like when they see the story they call to see if it was my child,” the still grieving mother lamented. The woman further related that no matter how long it takes, she will never give up when it comes to finding her baby boy. Two Saturdays ago, a woman whom Sandra Mc Lean met at the Skeldon Public Hospital, several days before she delivered her baby boy, disappeared with the baby. The woman, whom she identified as one Bibi Khan, was reportedly based in Suriname. Mc Lean said that she met
The abducted baby boy ‘Khan’ on May 16, last, at the hospital. “I was experiencing labour pains and this woman come in and say that she looking for someone name Sandra. I didn’t say anything because my name is also Sandra, plus I was in pain so my relatives talked to her. She was kind of short and medium size and she is Indian and she was wearing a kemar,” the grieving mother recalled. Mc Lean said that the woman returned after she had delivered her son. “She asked to play with the baby. She said that she has to pay him and she put $5000 under his blanket and she lifted him. We were talking and I gave her my address and so. She spent like an hour and then she left.” According to McLean, the woman did not go back to the
hospital. “I didn’t see her back until she come to my house. She come and played with the baby and she gave him another $5000, and she asked if she can buy stuff for him and I said ‘no problem’ because we were having a nine-day celebration for the baby.” “When we were in Skeldon, she went into a store and then she come out back and say that my baby brings luck to her because she got through with whatever business she had to do. She said that she had to buy something in a Chinese store but “like after she see the cameras she didn’t go. But I didn’t really suspect anything.” Afterward, we went to the Port Mourant Market and she said that she wanted fish. She tell me that the baby will be safe with her outside, while I go and buy the fish in the market. But when I come out back she was gone.” A report was made to law enforcement officers, but the search proved futile. “We d e n a m i n g h i m Avinash. He father ain’t even get to see he, but I know me child if I see him anywhere. He get a slight mark on he knee like a birthmark, and I could never forget that woman.’ “I will always remember her face,” the mother said as she noted that she still has hope of finding her son. Anyone with information regarding the missing infant is asked to contact the nearest police station or contact relatives on telephone numbers, 338-1297 6602651 or 693 9484.
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FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Dell computers with 17" Leds -$59,000, laptops from -$64,000, Blackberry 8310 $9,000 @Futuretech – Call: 231-2206; 644-6760 Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203 Dressed and mill cut lumber: Kabukalli, Silverballi, Greenheart, Purpleheart etc – Call: 688-6579 American made Werner Aluminum Ladders; 25 feet -$35,000, 17 feet, multipurpose - $28,000 – Call: 609-7257, 602-5794 One Toyota NZE car: PLL series - $1.5M. Contact: 6256043 One Singer sewing machine, one ice-cream maker & one stroller – Tel:669-4676 or 6996342 Computer box for pit-bull – Contact: 653-5775 MERCURY 99.99% PURE ELEMENT LAB GRADE.USA QUALITY, NOT CHINESE! BEST PRICE! CALL: 5926485281 Tibetan pup, fully vaccinated & de-wormed, 3 piece chair, 7 piece glass dinette, flat screen TV & gas stove - Call: 225-4780/ 601-5927 One house lot, in Butcher Shop Street, Parika. Contact # 650-0402 Clean garden earth, also Bobcat & Excavator rentals Tel: 626-7127 Three lots at Blankenburg behind the gas station Contact # 650-0402 House lots in Schoonord Contact # 650-0402 2 Months old Rottweiler pups & 7 months old female German shepherd – Tel:6834832, 263-5755 One slate pools table 8x4 $450,000 negotiable – lights, chalk, coin included – Call: 601-8083 One dump truck with 5 tons Hi-ab - $3,500,000.00. 1 Flat bed truck 23ft length tray with 5 tons Hi-ab -$2, 500, 000.00 - Tel:618-1967, 698-4321
Kaieteur News
FOR SALE/RENT American Pool tables - Call: 277-0578 FOR SALE Toyota Hilux, 4x4 single cab, diesel turbo, pick-up registration GRR, Nissan 200SX sport car, Turbo - Tel: 616-0427; 227-8448, 612-8319, 220-6542 Jailing Scooter 125cc, silver, like new & gasoline generator 110/220v 60Hz. 25kw. 5 hours use - Tel: 616-0427; 227-8448, 612-8319, 220-6542 Toyota Forerunner, 4x4, automatic, power steering, A/C, bargain at $1,290,000.00 Tel:227-8448; 612-8319; 2206542, 616-0427 Canadian rebuilt Perkins Duetz engine, Lincoln generator welder, model ‘M’ with winch, 320 excavator Call: 691-2921 Food Caravan for sale, payment plan available – Call: 675-5448 15 Bar Stool, table & chairs, Sesame Street baby prom & walker, brand new projector screen, wall divider - Tel: 669-0366 5000 gas fuel tank - Call: 6013194 Games for PS2, PS3, XBOX360, WII, consoles also available - Call: 672-2566, 265-3231 One 5000 Ford tractor engine, one complete back half tractor, one boughton wench 12 tons, 1-6 cylinder Perkins generator 50KVA Tel:261-2785, 615-9862 Dachshund pups – Tel:2163408/ 680-0192 City Printery: Rubber Stamp & Sign at 22 North Road & Camp Street, Imported & Local invitation -$1500 per 100pcs-Call:225-4968/ 621-3345 Dachshund pup mixed with Pekingese for sale - Call: 6772476 PSP games for sale - $800. New blackberry 9370 $34,000 Contact: 675-2239 Desk and benches - ideal for school or lessons - Call: 6833887 One male mannequin $18,000, metal clothes rock double side - $18,000.00 – 59 Hang clothes mannequins $450 each white - Call: 2270501, 626-5317
Sunday June 01, 2014
PROPERTY FOR SALE
VACANCY
SALON
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Commercial property lodge, corner spot – Tel:627-4900 Lot 81 Lamaha Street. No Agent! - Call: 673-5882
Drivers, visiting & security officers. Apply within NM Security Solutions Inc, Lot “O” Ruimveldt Georgetown – Tel: 225-5773/76
Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773
1-2storey wooden & Concrete house with 5 bedrooms upper flat & lower flat 4 apartments located@ Shell Road, kitty - $38.9M Tel:642-7898
24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 670-8893/684-2838
2006 Blue Nissan Titan. Fully Loaded GSS Series. Contact: 604-6108. 2009 Red Nissan Titan. Flex Fuel GRR Series. Contact: 604-6108.
One 2 flat wooden & concrete house, 4 bedrooms, 2 washrooms, Annandale, Sandreef, ECD, Built in 2006 Call:220-3133 or 615-5538
Porters & Experienced Hardware Counter Clerks. Apply in person with reference @ Hardware Emporium, Lot 78 Church Street, G/town.
Prime business and residential 3 storey property in excellent condition, situated 11 Camp and Norton Street G/town, negotiable – Call Pearl Realty: 689-9991
1 – Civil engineer, security personnel, skid steer & excavator operators, labourers, mechanic, body works man (spray), office assistant – Call: 603-4098
Are you planning to buy or sell a house in Guyana or Florida? Call Ron’s Real Estate – 218-5591
Real estate clerks, Road foreman, operations manager & cleaners – Call: 603-4098
Furnished four bedroom house A/C, automatic generator, auto garage etc $30M negotiable @ Grandville Park – Tel:6004409, 623-8172 Two-storey concrete house (26X45 ft), 4 bedrooms, 3 washrooms, grilled with electronic security at Grandville Park, Beterverwagting Tel: 672-6169 For Sale by Owner: Twostorey property at 91 Third Street, East Meter-MeerZorg – Contact Mr. Basant: 277-3743/ Cell: 626-0150 Property with 3 houses on lot at 35 Plantation Walk, VreedEn-Hoop: 3 buildings next to G.T.M – Contact: 667-9978 Apartment building for sale at William Street, Kitty – Call: Shalini on 674-9266 or 686-9248 Kitty - $32M, ‘AA’ Eccles $55M, Republic Park - $22M, Lamaha Gardens - $55M Contact Diana: 227-2256; 6269382 Flat 3 bedrooms house at La Grange. Call: 613-4131 One 2 storey building (business property) in La Parfait Harmony - Call: 6865083 Two-storey wood and concrete. Concrete garage, yard, fence. EBD - 5 minutes from Georgetown -$16M – Tel: 619-3841 House at Lot 97 Fourth Street, Pearl, E.B.D - Tel: 223-9362 ACCOMMODATION Harmony Inn -$5,000$8,000 per night, complimentary breakfast, discounts (longterm), honeymoon package, 3 nights $15,000-$20,000 – Call: 668-0306, 694-7817
Restaurant / bar help & managers @ Friendly’s Bar & Lounge (Timehri), apply in person @ 198 Camp Street, GLU building - Tel: 623-5011 Experienced cosmetologist, preferably from the East Bank Demerara – Tel:652-5800 Work from home, great pay (computer experienced required) visit: jobfairworldwide.com -Tel: 673-7149/622-1957 Models, Graphic Artist, web designers, transcriptionist – Visit: jobfairworldwide.comTel: 673-7149/ 622-1957
Earn a certificate in cosmetology, wig designs or nails alone, limited spaces Call Abby: 619-7603, 666-5241 Beautopia - Offering hair & nails courses, also available - Brazilian & Indian Virgin Hair - Call: 604-3002/ 699-8477
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. COOL TECH : Repairs Services & Installation of all types if homes appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration units - Tel: 233-2008; 675-4959 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar:2310655,683-8734 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 662-6045
CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental - Call: 225-7126/ 226-3693 dollys autorental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com ProgressiveAuto Rental: Cars & SUV for rental- $4,000 & up per day- Call: 643-5122, 628-2284 ,Email:pro_ autorental @yahoo.com Wings Car Rental- Call: 6431131/ BBM pin: 24E17558 Aidan’s Car Rental, Canter & Pickup- Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807
Brian Moe at 642-3543; computer technician; FB: Brian.Moe165; home and office visits at your comfort!!! Free computer training - Visit: jobfairworldwide.com Telephone: 673-7149; 6221957. Ages 16-40 years For Grill work, aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel, vessel, trailer -Call Khemraj: 666-2101 Travel with Ron to Florida or Washington DC. For just $US3000 with hotels & car rental provided - call: 2185591, 675-7292 For low cost refrigeration & air conditioner repairs – Call: 225-4822/ 629-4946 VEHICLE FOR SALE
LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 B & C Driving School: Lot 5 Hadfield Street Lodge- call: 225-0150, 229-7258, 680-6826
Unregistered Toyota Noah with TV, 15" Rim, camera – Tel:663-2700, 629-2619 HUMMER H1, MILITARY GRADE, FULLY LOADED, FULLY SERVICED, EXCELLENT CONDITION, GSS SERIES – CALL: 5926485281
STAR CARS AUTO SALE: Premio, Spacio, Allion, IST, Feilder, Altezza, new Raum, Axela, Carina 212 – Call: 679-3140, 615-1199 First Class Auto: Allion, Premio, Spacio, IST, 212, Fielder, Raum, Allex, Runx, Bluebird, Axela - Tel:6098188, 638-3045 One Toyota Land cruiser Prado, PMM Series Call: 2250188, 223-7500, Mon-Fri 8:154:15pm, Sat - 8:15-1:15PM Two Toyota Corolla AE100 Wagon - $1.1M, 1 Toyota DYNACanter - $1.1M, 1 Toyota 4 wheel drive Tundra - $1.9M – Call: 627-8442, 639-4626 Unregistered Spacio, TV Flair Kit, Noah mini buses BSS series – Call: 697-0294 One Toyota Carina AT192 $560,000, 1 compressor c/w air tool kit master craft $110,000 – owner migrating: 641-6239 One 2 Ton Mitsubishi freezer canter truck, 4D-33 engine (not computerized), immaculate condition – Call: 220-3133; 615-5538. One [1] Ford Driven 60HP Tractor 600hrs, almost new -$2.2M. Contact Junior: 6654611; 261-5304 1 AE100 Toyota Corolla, excellent condition, A/c, mag rims, alarm, DVD player – Price: $775,000 – Call: 2253217, 695-6461, 612-9625 2002 unregistered Toyota Regius 8 seats, fully loaded Tv/Navi/AC/PW/PS, alloy wheels - $1.8M - Tel: 624-5617 One Toyota Corolla AE100 excellent condition – Contact: 615-18-34/267-2083 - $700,000 negotiable AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super-custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 One black Nissan Bluebird; latest model – Call: 687-1392 Tractor Massey Ferguson : MF135 -$1.3M, MF165 $1.9M, MF265- $2.1M, MF285-$2.5M, Ranger Pick -up -$1.7M – Call:682-5230/ 628-9596 Toyota Raum, Silver, year 2002, PMM series with alarm – Call: 621-5244 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 (Continued on page 55)
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 55
Conspiracy, fraud accused... From page 9 Guyana, conspiracy to commit a felony and uttering a forged document. At his first court hearing before then Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton, he was granted bail totaling $3,085,000 on the four charges. The first charge stated that Da Silva had entered Guyana illegally on August 10, 2012, and failed to present himself to an immigration officer. To that charge, the accused had pleaded not guilty and was granted $85,000 bail.He was accused too of conspiring with other(s) to commit a felony in 2007, by obtaining a forged Guyana birth certificate. It was also alleged that during the same year he uttered a forged birth certificate to obtain a Guyana passport. Those charges were at first laid indictably but Da Silva later denied the claims. A fourth charge read that he obtained a Guyana passport using a forged document. For the last three charges, Da Silva was granted bail to the tune of $1M each. The matter which was first called before Octive-Hamilton was subsequently transferred to Magistrate Azore where for the past while it had engaged her attention. DaSilva who was represented by Defence Attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Onassis Granville was being prosecuted by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Prosecutor, Inspector Stephen Telford. In making her no case submission, Rahamat contended that the Prosecution had failed to prove the elements of the offences charged. The lawyer maintained that in order for a conviction to be secured on a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony, the Prosecution must prove that there was
an agreement between two or more persons to do an unlawful act. “Furthermore, there must be proof that an agreement and attempt was actually made to commit the act.” “Your worship, no evidence was presented to show that there was an agreement to carry out any unlawful act. Without the proof of an agreement, the Prosecution fails to prove a very essential element of the offence for which my client was charged.” She contended too that the document with which the Prosecution was seeking to rely on as ‘forged’ document could not properly be identified by the Immigration Officer during the course of the trial. Rahamat reminded the court that the officer in her statement had stated that the documents were signed with her signature but whilst in the witness stand she did not see her signature there. The attorney argued that the nexus had been broken and the Prosecution could not rely on that piece of evidence since the signature the officer mentioned was missing. At the end of the trial, the Prosecution had closed its case but was informed that it had failed to establish a case any of the cases against the Hadfield businessman. Magistrate Azore stated that given the evidence before her and the closure of the Prosecution’s case, she found that insufficient evidence was led by the Prosecution to prove the elements of the offence.. Azore indicated that as a result, the court would uphold the no case submission made by the Defence Attorneys Rahamat and Peter Granville and accordingly dismiss the case against DaSilva.
FOR RENT
Two bedroom house to rent in Vreed-En-Hoop – Call: 2540162 TO LET Furnished and unfurnished two bedroom apartments in Eccles, for short or long term Tel: 643-1131 DRESS-MAKING
Rooms – Call: 225-3234
Learn to cut & sew at Enid’s Dressmaking, certificate classes, 66 Sixth Street Albertown, sewing also done here! - Call: 643-7966
2 bedroom apartments @ Factory Road Paradise, ECD. Large living, dining, etc. One month’s security - $38,500 monthly – Call: 672-2677, 625-9939
Jean offers courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration at 153 Barr Street, Kitty - Tel:670-2653, 618-1706
1 three-bedroom apartment in a gated community at Versailles - For more information: 618-5070 Campbellville - $90,000, ‘AA’ Eccles (House) - $US1200, Kitty -$140,000, Ogle $160,000 – Call Diana 2272256; 626-9382
US$40M wind farm project gets... From page 10 buying energy and not capacity. You will have to have spinning reserves,” according to Dindyal. He did point out that there is current technology available to improve system stability such as storage systems. Singh, who is also the main principal in International Pharmaceutical Agency Group and the major shareholder of Guyana Wind Farms Inc., is partnering with Avic International, a significant player in China’s wind farm development and the first company to install Chinese turbines in the United States. In 2008, Avic International supplied 10 sets of one megawatt wind turbines for Lubbock, Texas and is a major supplier for the USA. Its current project includes the development of a 90megawatt wind farm, also in Texas. Singh, in a recent interview, with this
publication had disclosed that they will be teaming up with Goldwind Science and Technology Co. Ltd., China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, headquartered in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, to develop the wind farm. It is one of the largest Chinabased wind turbine manufacturers by the 2011 market share and the third largest in the world, delivering an installed capacity of 3,584 megawatts in 2011. Singh is looking for the power facility to be built under a ‘Build, Own, Operate, Transfer’ (BOOT) arrangement, where it could end up in the hands of Guyana after a specific number of years. “We are even looking to Lethem, Region Nine area, for a possible similar project and awaiting government’s approval to conduct a feasibility study. The Essequibo Coast is also not being ruled out.” It is not the first time that
Police corporal... From page 51 the mother of six recalled. She explained that she was standing between the incomplete four-lane expansion road and the old road. According to Margaret, as she turned to her left to look for a bus, she noticed a bright light approaching her. “This car turned onto the main public road without stopping and he dashing from this corner to that corner. I say to myself like this man drunk so I tried to run off the road and that was the last thing I remember.” According to the policewoman, her son who went to the scene informed her that he saw a lot of beer bottles in the driver’s car. The driver who is in police custody at the Diamond Police Station reportedly claimed that he dodged from a pothole and ended up hitting the mother of six.
eyes have been cast on Hope Beach for a wind farm. In 2009, Delta Caribbean N.V., a Curacao-based company, had been interested in this project. It had done feasibility studies for a 13.5 megawatt wind farm at an estimated cost of US$26M. FOR RENT One single room for bachelor at 11 Charles Street, Charlestown, G/ Town- Call: 223-4060 One Kitchen for a bar + restaurant located on Lamaha St. - Call: 684-5976, 684-3371. 1 Bottom flat apartment @ Diamond New Scheme, preferably working couple $50,000 negotiable - Tel: 6704484 Unfurnished - Four bedroom house with A/C, hot & cold, Located @ Prashad Nagar $160,000 - Phone:621-6888 Fully furnished apartment as low as - $4,000 per day @ Secrete Villa Albouystown, Georgetown branch or call: 223-0994 All prices have been reduced as low as - $4,000 per day @ Secret Villa, Land-OfCanaan or Call: 266-5243-5 GT TOOL RENTALS SPECIALS: CONCRETE SAW, JACK HAMMER WELDING MACHINE & MORE. 2ND TOOL ½ PRICE – CALL: 675-0767; 627-5098 One upper flat @ 6th Street Cummings Lodge, ECD – Call: 622-3580
(From page 54)
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
LAND FOR SALE 4 Mining Blocks at Kwakwanie - Tel: 627-4900 Farm: East Bank Demerara , New Scheme: land (58X110) (front corner lot) - Tel: 603-9700 At Eccles Housing Scheme price $6.5M - negotiable Call: 616-6000 Residential house lot at Yarrowkabra 200ftX100ft – Tel:682-3542/ 218-1818 High income land (100ftX50ft) @ La Parafaite Harmonie -$2.4M, New Grove (corner lot) with foundation $2.6M–Call:218-5591,675-7292 VEHICLE FOR SALE One AT170, One DYNA Canter truck - Call: 601-4929 One Toyota RAV4 2001 model; call: 686-5083
CAKES & PASTRIES Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery; also edible images and Wedding dresses for sale. Call: 670-0798
WANTED Farm worker, daytime security & gardener – Call: 265-3586 One Cleaner, one receptionist / sales person – Tel:225-3234
Toyota Avensis 2003, PRR series 18" Rims, leather interior, HID, A/C, Alarm, TV, $3.250M, immaculate condition! Tel: 609-7257, 602-5974 2008 Toyota Premio (unregistered) - Tel: 615-4114 TOURS Suriname Tour Return: July 4 / CARICOM Holiday 4 - 7 July – Tel: 639-2663, 644-0185, 665-5171, 227-8290 MASSSAGE
EDUCATIONAL Canadian School of Arts & Science, Third Avenue, Diamond: CAT Accounting Classes begin on July 1, – Call: 216-6921/22 to register
Happy Touch Day Spa: Come & Experience heaven in its many forms – 4 Hands, sweet treat, open at 10AM – Contact: 697-2011
IAE - Camp Street - Registration has commenced Forms 1-5 (full-time school); day & evening, adult CXC classes Call: 683-5742, 223-0604
WANTED Men to work in sea food plant, required ID, NIS & police clearance: contact Mr. James 680-5200/697-3040 3 female general workers between ages 22-35yrs, 1 male general worker between ages 18-30 – Contact: 225-6337 Live out domestic babysitter and live in babysitter –Call: 225-0188, 225-6070 (Monday to Saturday) (8:15am-4:15pm) One experienced hairdresser – Contact Magic Touch Beauty Salon at 225-6492 Experienced bus driver & hire car driver at Princess Hotel - Tel: 265-7075/ 265-7076 One female babysitter to work in Georgetown, age 4045 - Call: 614-5711 between 9-5pm Live-in experienced caregiver Call: 664-8150 Urgently needed live in waitresses to work in bar, attractive salary offered – Tel:259-0574 Drivers, hire cars & bartenders to work at Flambouyant Taxi Services/ Restaurant – Call: 678-4470 Domestic maid, work available at Diamond Housing Scheme - Contact: 609-1535; 227-8529; 216-0979 Experienced Salesgirls, with secondary education @ Christine’s Variety Store – Contact: 609-1535/ 227-8529 One driver and a Cummings Mechanic to work in the interior - Contact: 681-6044 To buy 2 low income land in La Parafaite Harmonie & one high income in Scoonord – Call:218-5591 or 675-7292 Honest, single live in domestic – Call: 646-1758 between 9:00am-4:00pm, attractive salary offered. Live in small family with teenage son/daughter - Free accommodation - Tel: 227-1830 Live-in domestic must know to cook 25-35yrs, live-in waitress 18-25yrs: salary $50,000 monthly, boarding & lodging free- Tel: 610-5043 Pump attendants & cashier at Shell Mc Doom gas station, apply in person Experienced taxi drivers for Gem’s Taxi Service - Call: 2313709, 667-9013 One cashier, send application along with CV to gjmarketing 14@gmail.com
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Cameron says can’t guarantee UK will stay in EU if Juncker gets top job: magazine BERLIN (Reuters) British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned he would no longer be able to guarantee that Britain would remain a member of the European Union if European leaders elect Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief, Germany’s Spiegel said. The European Commission president is selected by EU leaders but must be approved by the assembly, where Eurosceptics from the right made gains in last week’s election. The European People’s Party, which won the most seats in the vote, had chosen Luxembourg’s expremier Juncker as their candidate. In a pre-publication copy of an article, Spiegel said Cameron had explained, on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, that if Juncker became Commission president, he would no longer be able to ensure Britain’s continued EU membership. The magazine said participants understood
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron arrives at an informal summit of European Union leaders in Brussels. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Cameron’s comments on the sidelines of the meeting to mean that a majority vote for Juncker could destabilise his government to the extent that an “in-out” referendum would have to be brought forward. That in turn, they understood, would most likely lead to the British people voting to quit the EU, it said. The magazine said Cameron, who regards Juncker as too federalist and likely to damage his hopes of reforming Britain’s EU ties, dismissed the candidate during a recess with the words: “A face from the 80s can’t solve the problems of
the next five years.” A spokesman at the prime minister’s office declined to comment on the Spiegel article. Cameron has promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership and if his Conservatives win a 2015 national election to hold a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether or not to remain in the EU. On Monday he rejected calls to bring the referendum forward after his party was beaten into third place in European elections by the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) party.
Thai forces out to stifle unrest after army chief sets election plan BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police and soldiers flooded downtown Bangkok yesterday to pre-empt further protests against a May 22 coup after the army chief said a return to democracy would take more than a year. In a televised address late on Friday, General Prayuth Chan-ocha said the military would need time to reconcile Thailand’s antagonistic political forces and to engineer reforms. Prayuth, who ousted the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after months of sometimes violent protests, appealed for patience from Thailand’s international allies after outlining his reform plan to the Southeast Asian nation. But the response from foreign governments was to keep up the pressure on the ruling junta to call elections quickly. At a conference in Singapore on Saturday, U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel urged the Thai armed forces to release detainees, end censorship and “move immediately to restore power to the people of Thailand, through free and fair elections”. Australia scaled back relations with the Thai military yesterday and banned coup leaders from travelling there. “We understand that we are living in a democratic world. All we are asking for is give us time to reform,” Prayuth said in his address on Friday, seated at a table with flowers in front of him and portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit on a wall behind him. “We believe that you will choose our kingdom before a flawed democratic system.” At the heart of nearly a decade of political turmoil in Southeast Asia’s second biggest
economy is conflict between the Bangkokbased royalist establishment dominated by the military, old-money families and the bureaucracy, and an upstart clique led by former telecommunication mogul Thaksin Shinawatra which draws much of its strength from the provinces. Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and has lived in self-exile since a 2008 corruption conviction, was the real power behind the deposed government of his sister, Yingluck. Security was tight around a normally traffic- and pedestrian-clogged Victory Monument where protests flared earlier in the week. The closure of the overhead city rail station at the landmark reduced the number of people on streets and walkways. Security was being enforced predominantly by police, who had at least seven large trucks parked nearby. Police stood taking photos of each other, chatting to a small group of soldiers standing around a Humvee with a loudspeaker strapped to the top. Trucks and police also lined the road near a central shopping mall where demonstrations took place a week earlier, but there was no sign of any rallies. A man was arrested and another fled when police thwarted their attempt to hold a protest at another downtown shopping centre. One of the men held up a sign before a media scrum that said “election only” for less than a minute before police pounced and bundled him into a police truck. Later, three women sat on the steps of a McDonald’s restaurant and sang a song seeking the return to democracy.
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PM: Anil’s fate rests in LifeSport audit Trinidad Express - The results of an audit into the LifeSport programme would determine whether any action would be taken against Sport Minister Anil Roberts, Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar said Friday. Persad-Bissessar said the final report would also determine the future of the programme. Speaking to the media following an Indian Arrival Day celebration in Debe, Persad Bissessar said, “No action has been taken at this time because we await the audit that is being undertaken. And according to the results of that audit, then we will make a decision with respect to LifeSport programme.” Asked whether she had taken a decision on the video showing a man resembling a Government minister partying with ganja and women, first shown by TV6 and now circulating on social media, Persad-Bissessar again said she had no comments to make. Persad-Bissessar said Rob-erts was meeting with the political leader of the Congress of the People (COP). “Minister Roberts is meeting with his leader of his
Anil Roberts party, and I am sure he will give us some feedback,” she said. Persad-Bissessar, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha secretary general Sat Maharaj, Speaker of the House of Representatives Wade Mark, Oropouche West MP Stacy Roopnarine and other Government ministers joined in a parade along the streets of Debe, in commemoration of the 169th anniversary of the arrival of indentured labourers to these shores. The parade ended at Parvati Girls’ College, Debe, where a programme was held to mark the occasion.
Seven suspected cases of virus Barbados Nation - THERE HAVE BEEN no positive cases of Chikungunya in Barbados to date, however, the Ministry of Health is currently investigating seven suspected cases of the disease. Samples of those persons with symptoms of the disease were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad for testing on Thursday and results are expected soon. Routine tests of any
patient with symptoms of Chikungunya have been conducted since December 2013, when the disease was first reported in the Caribbean region. Chikungunya, a virus similar to dengue, is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito as well as the Aedes albopictus mosquito. The symptoms are similar to dengue fever and may include a sudden high fever, headache, rash, nausea and muscle pain.
Persad-Bissessar said citizens need to return to the values practised by the East Indian forefathers, which created the foundation for strong family and community bonds. “Today, there is a general belief that much of the violence, anger and antisocial behaviour that we witness in our country stems from a breakdown of family values, of irresponsibility by parents and lack of respect from young people for their elders. “But if we know these are the problems, then we already have the answers to many of the negative behaviours around us. “Today, we need to go back to these simple, powerful ideals of our forefathers where home and family are the primary source of nurtu-ring you, our children, to become responsible, caring adults, committed to community and country, and where the community collectively reinforces our family values,” she said. Persad-Bissessar said Indian Arrival Day was a time to reflect on the years of hard labour, discrimination and indignity the indentured labourers endured when they arrived in Trinidad. “Many wanted to return to India, some did return at the end of their period of indentureship. But so many more chose to stay and to make this strange new land their home, and in that way, they sowed the seeds for the diverse multicultural society which is our home now, Trinidad and Tobago,” she said. Persad-Bissessar reminded the hundreds of school children gathered about the panchayaat system, a council of elders who mediated disputes, resolved conflicts and at times administered justice. “The system proved the mo-ral compass which gave di-rection to the community and, in particular, offered our younger generation a template for decent living,” she said. Persad-Bissessar said her goal was to provide a proper education system from early childhood to university. She said two new Maha Sabha schools, which were promised 14 years ago, would be opened in the new school year. Persad-Bissessar said all secondary school pupils would be outfitted with laptops while tertiary-level students would be given computer tablet devices.
Sunday June 01, 2014
Female construction worker injures associate over “borrow money” …released on court bond pending probation report A senior city Magistrate is set to sentence a 23-year-old female construction worker who during her first court hearing confessed to injuring an associate in early May over a refusal to repay cash owed. Following the explanations of Althea Andrews, Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry indicated that she will hand down her decision later this month after she receives a probation report for her. Andrews who resides at Lot 134 Victoria Road, Albouystown on Friday appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm to her associate, Onika Thom on May 8 at Cemetery Road, Georgetown. To the charge, she pleaded guilty and asked to explain. The accused told the Chief Magistrate that she chose to confront Thom because the latter failed to make good on her promise to repay her some cash owed. With her head bowed and in a somber voice, Andrews explained, “She (Thom) borrowed some money from me and when I ask her for it she tell me I ain’t got nothing to get. I walked behind her asking for the money and that’s when the fight start.” She told the Magistrate that she had started the fight but the woman had “rushed up” in her face and started cursing at her. At that point, the victim who had her left arm bandaged asked the Magistrate to also address the court but she was instructed that due to the fact that it was not a trial the Prosecution would be speaking on her behalf. Sewnarine-Beharry asked Corporal Bharat Mangru who led the Prosecution, why there was a delay in the accused being brought before the courts. She was informed that Andrews was only arrested on Tuesday since the victim could not have provided an address for the accused. Recapping, the Prosecutor explained that the two women are known to each other.
“Your worship, on the day in question the virtual complainant (Thom) was in Albouystown when the accused and another approached her asking about money owed.” Mangru said that Thom denied it and went away but the accused later confronted her and dealt her several kicks, cuffs and lashes about the body causing injuries. She ran away but the matter was reported to the police. The Prosecution stated that the aggrieved woman sought medical attention. Investigations were conducted which led to Adams being arrested and charged for the offence. The Corporal noted that when she was told of the allegations she admitted to inflicting the injuries to the woman’s arms. At this point, after already listening to the State Prosecutor and the accused, the Magistrate indicated that she will defer sentencing pending a probation report. When asked by the Chief Magistrate, Mangru indicated that he had no objections to the young construction worker being granted bail pending sentencing. He requesed that it be granted in a substantial amount. The Chief Magistrate granted bail to the tune of $100,000 with the condition that she contacts Ms. Joseph or Ms. Granville at the Probation Office housed at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security. Meanwhile, the mother of the accused became emotional and approached the Chief Magistrate humbly requesting a bail reduction since she could not afford the sum offered. The Chief Magistrate stated that bail must be commensurate with the offence for which her daughter is charged and referred to the medical report filed on behalf of the victim which disclosed that the injuries were grave. Nonetheless, her request was met with a reduction to the sum $60,000 (the amount the woman indicated that she could afford). The case will be called again on June 20.
Child Protection Agency still investigating NOC scandal Head of the Child Protection Agency, Ann Greene, said yesterday that her agency is still conducting interviews with four teenage girls from the New Opportunity Corps as the investigation continues. The four girls have alleged that they were sexually assaulted by caregivers at the NOC. Greene told Kaieteur News that they are expected to return to court on Monday. The Child Protection Agency had initially gone to the courts to have the girls removed from the NOC, to begin their investigations last month. Some of the parents, when contacted yesterday, said that they were pleased with some of the action taken thus far by the CPA. One parent told Kaieteur News that she hopes that the court does not send her daughter back to the NOC. The woman said she prefers that her daughter gets the professional help which is being offered by the CPA. On Wednesday, even though Culture Minister Dr. Frank Anthony had emphatically stated that the NOC is not a “closed institution” A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU)
Member of Parliament Christopher Jones was denied access to visit the facility. Jones told Kaieteur News that he had made an oral request to the Culture Minister several days ago to visit the NOC. He explained that he was informed by the Minister that he should make a written request, which was done. Tuesday last, Jones said he received a response from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alfred King, outlining that his request was denied. “The Ministry recognizes your continued interest in the NOC, but we cannot accede to your request at this time, but rather to a date in the near future”, the letter stated. According to Jones this denial raises grave concern since the Minister, the Permanent Secretary and caregivers had categorically stated at a recent press conference that there’s nothing to hide. “What is restricting a Member of Parliament from visiting the institution,” Jones questioned. Because of the denied request, Jones opined that it is clear that the Ministry has
something to hide at the NOC. Jones insisted that the matter will not rest and that they intend to have Parliament intervene. Within the last three weeks several allegations have surfaced from the NOC about caregivers committing sex acts on teenagers. Parents have come forward and told harrowing stories about sexual abuse. Jones had told Kaieteur News that his Party was in the process of preparing a dossier which would be sent to various international organizations. Opposition Leader, Brig. David Granger, had said that his Party had no confidence in the capability of the Ministry of Culture, to administer the New Opportunity Corps. Granger had proposed that the responsibility of the Corps be transferred to another Ministry or agency that possesses the requisite personnel and skills and is better prepared to tend to the lives of juveniles sympathetically. Last week Jones made a call to Government to have the caregivers at the New Opportunity Corps undergo lie detector tests.
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“Is West Indies good enough?” Preambles are almost complete, so, as HBO’s unique, superlative boxing compere Michael Buffer would intone melodically: “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Chris Gayle is still “iffy” for his 100th Test, at ‘home’, while Sunil Narine is the unlikely victim of his own successes in Indian Premier League, and has, very interestingly, opted out of WI v NZ Test series, preferring to appear in 2014’s IPL final. A fit Gayle will play, while Denesh Ramdin, new WI Test captain, will lead, except something untoward happens to him too. That leaves nine, possibly ten, additional players to be
selected for WI for this opening Test of 2014’s Caribbean international cricket season, from fifteen originally submitted by WICB’s selectors. Main question: Can WI be sufficiently good to beat New Zealand? Difficult question, but, having already covered Gayle and Ramdin, let’s examine the others called up. Sulieman Benn: “Big Benny” should have been included in WI squad for ICC WT-20 Bangladesh, last March, as he is the tightest, most aggressive regional leftarm spinner, but this is not T20 or ODI, and a meagre 51 wickets, 17 Tests, 41.41
average is not impressive. With Narine gone, and games, still, in Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, he plays. Darren Bravo: “Lil Bravo” should be straining at the bit after that last tour to New Zealand. His 2014 regional games for T&T were abysmal, but he is one of the young pups of West Indies cricket. 27 Tests, 2011 runs, avg. 44.68 stand him in good stead for continuation. Dwayne Bravo: Darren Sammy has quit Tests, so Dwayne will certainly get his first Test in four years. His ebullience is eye-catching and contagious and WI needs inside cheer-leaders. Fully fit, 40 Tests, 2200 runs, 31.42
Sunday June 01, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): If situations get too hot and heavy, Aries, your first instinct is to run away or jump to the next subject before anyone notices you're avoiding the serious ones. That's one way to deal with today's intensity, but deep down you know it isn't the best. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Your actions today could take an investigative approach, Taurus. You're able to probe much more deeply than usual as you search people's eyes for the answers you seek. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Your courageous strength and desire to take a leadership role may be threatening to others today, Gemini. Be careful of automatically assuming the dominant position before learning what other people feel about the situation. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): You can cut through to the truth quite easily today, Cancer, so don't hesitate to do so. If you come to an intersection and no one seems to know who should go next, take the initiative and go. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): IYou may want to keep your ship on an even keel today, Leo, but remember that no matter how hard as you try, this simply might not be possible. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): This is your day to shine in many respects, Virgo. The action you take is right on target, so draw back your arrow as far as you can before letting it fly.
LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): You could be wondering why everyone has to be so serious and emotional all of a sudden. You're likely to be feeling this way, too. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Don't put up with anyone's shenanigans, Scorpio. Your time is too precious and your energy too powerful to waste on those who see you as a fair-weather friend or emotional crutch. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21): You may have the intellectual side of the equation completely set in your head, Sagittarius. You've collected all the facts and have all the data worked out in such a way that it's impossible for anyone to fault your calculations. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Come out of your shell today and try not to be so aloof, Capricorn. You will never find the exact path you want to be on until you explore the different options. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18):Secure your bunker and make sure it's fully stocked with heavy artillery, because there is bound to be a battle, Aquarius. ********************* PISCES (Feb. 19 March 20): You tend to get quite emotional about things even though you don't always show it prominently to the outside world, Pisces. The difference today is that more people are likely to be openly acting out their emotions, so you, in turn, could feel safer about exposing your true feelings to the people around you.
avg., plus 86 wickets, 39.83 avg. would be welcomed experience for his new captain. Shiv Chanderpaul: Nearing 40, debuting in 1994, “Tiger” remains the backbrace for WI batting. Highest-by-a West-Indian 153 Tests, 11,219 runs, 51.93 avg., are great numbers in any age of world cricket. Shiv cannot go on forever. Those young upstarts must step up to help him at remaining focused, active and at the crease. Kirk Edwards: At nearly 30, cricket’s maturing age, he only has twelve Tests, only 821 runs, but at a fair avg. 35.69. Stupid arrogance and indiscipline do not a great batsman make. Edwards must step up this series or be considered for vacation of his No. 3 position. He is at the crossroads of his WI tenure. Shannon Gabriel: Six Tests, thirteen wickets is way below requirements from a strike bowlers, but with recent, longterm injuries, one hopes that, at 26, he does not become another, lesser Ian Bishop; excellent with 161 wickets, 43 Tests, 24.27 avg. In 2014, Gabriel bowled well in spurts for T&T, but not quickly. If form, fitness and confidence hold this season, he could be a handful. Jason Holder: No Tests
Colin E. H. Croft says:
Denesh Ramdin yet for this exciting prospect, but not since Cameron Cuffy and especially Joel “Big Bird” Garner, has any WI pacer stirred the imagination as this 22 year old. Holder would do well to be even half as good as Garner, one of the best four fast bowlers WI has ever produced. Shane Shillingford: 2014 is also a big year for Shillingford. Still with doubts about his bowling action – twice supposedly corrected – this season will be either the year he sinks permanently or swims to glory. Thirty-one now, “Shilli” has produced well; 14 Tests, 65 wickets, 32.32 avg. He can be a matchwinner in this spin friendly era in WI cricket. Kieran Powell: He may eventually become WI
captain too, but firstly, at twenty-four, 20 Tests, 1044 runs, 28.21 avg., is barely acceptable after coming through the ropes from Under 15. With added responsibility of captaincy for Leeward Islands, West Indians hope that Powell now gets that real desire and batting discipline to go on to much bigger and better scores. Kemar Roach: Also coming back from a lengthy injury lay-off, Kemar’s presence is God-sent, in many respects, including a recent miraculous escape in a onecar accident. 23 Tests, 85 wickets, 27.71 avg. show that he can lead WI bowling attack with his small but wiry frame, a la late great Malcolm “Macco” Marshall. Uncertainty in Roach’s confidence of full fitness could hamper him. If not, look out! Marlon Samuels: West Indies’ enigma, 33 year old “Sammy” could be as warm as the Sahara or as cold as Siberia. Reminiscent of Lawrence Rowe and Carl Hooper, Samuels has every shot, but…...! 51 Tests, 2983 runs, 35.51 avg., mean that this senior batsman must, right now, take on responsibilities for team. Jerome Taylor: Like Gabriel and Roach, Taylor is also coming off a long injury lay-off from WI cricket, but did well in 2014 for Jamaica. However, this trio means that WI fast bowling attack is very suspect, with their long, recent injuries. If fully fit and firing, Taylor, mature at 30, with 29 Tests, 82 wickets, avg. 35.64; could be the come-back of 2014! Which of these would join Randin at Sabina Park, to perhaps beat NZ, is up to conjecture! Enjoy!
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Boyz give spirited display against World Cup-bound Switzerland Jamaica Observer LUZERN, Switzerland — The Reggae Boyz continued where they left off against Serbia with another spirited display which saw them hold out against Switzerland for much of their international friendly here at the Swisspoarena Luzern, until they succumbed to an 84thminute strike, Friday. Played in front of a capacity 15,000 spectators at the intimate venue, which had a few black, green and goldclad spectators supporting the visitors, it was a game of ebbs and flows, as both teams were intent to play open football, which resulted in enterprising play. Half-time substitute Josip Drmic made the difference when he broke into the penalty area to receive a through pass from Blerim Dzemaili before turning Wes Morgan to hit home with the outside of his right boot through the flailing hands of goalkeeper Andre Blake. In the end it was as much as the hosts deserve, having carved out the better goalscoring opportunities on the night, despite another brilliant display between the frame by Blake, who, for the second game in a row, raised eyebrows with his heroics. Head coach Winfried Schaefer was not surprised at the performance of the Reggae Boyz. In fact, he believes they are beginning to regain respect in the
Gutsy Boyz leave Schaefer smiling after losing to Switzerland football world. “I’m not surprised because I know my players have good character and good spirit, but we have to find one player who can keep the ball in front as a striker,” he said at game’s end. “I saw yesterday (Thursday) they had a very good training, the spirit was very good and we have good leaders in the team now,” he continued. He added: “It was not a friendly match, it was for our image, for Jamaica. I saw Dawkins and Grant, they are good players and I never saw them before these games. I told Ottmar (Hitzfeld, coach of Switzerland), when you can beat Jamaica then you can make quarterfinals of World Cup. He was happy with our play, and he was surprised at our ability to play football. “He said, ‘What is this?’ Before, nobody knows about Jamaica, but now there is respect for Jamaica. I’m happy, not about the result, but the performance, it was very good. Our image is better now than before and we will continue to build a good team for all competitions coming up, the Caribbean Cup, the Gold Cup and the Copa America.” The German is hoping that when the local players go home from this tour they will
Jamaica’s forward Darren Mattocks (airborne) eludes a sliding tackle from Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos during their friendly football match here. Switzerland won 1-0. (PHOTO: AFP) train harder on their own to be better players at the international level, so that they can continue to play against footballers from some of the best clubs in Europe. As expected, Switzerland, who will be making their 10th appearance at next month’s FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil, started spritely, forcing the Boyz to hold a defensive line just outside their penalty area. The hosts had their first shot in anger when Dzemaili blasted over the horizontal
Marquez takes sixth straight pole of the season
(Reuters) - Marc Marquez made it six pole positions out of six this season when he was fastest in qualifying for the Italian MotoGP at Mugello on Saturday. The Spaniard produced a lap of one minute 47.27 seconds early in the second qualifying session while Italian Andrea Iannone was second, 0.18 seconds behind, and Jorge Lorenzo of Spain third. Defending champion Marquez has also won the first five races of the season and leads the standings with a maximum 125 points.
from outside the penalty area, after failing to get behind the Jamaican defence on their first few forays in attack. Blake was called into action early, as he raced off his line to avert danger at the expense of a corner. The Boyz were comfortable employing a counter-attacking ploy, and on one such move involving Joel Grant and Darren Mattocks, it resulted in Grant centering from the left, but the ball couldn’t beat the former Arsenal defenders Johan Djourour and Philippe Senderos. Demar Phillips then blasted the rebound harmlessly over the top. Moments later Blake had to be at his brilliant best at
the other end to parry a spliced effort from the boot of the retreating Adrian Mariappa, from a right-sided low cross. In a flash the Boyz made inroads at the other end with Rodolph Austin unleashing a left-footed pile driver which took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, before sailing past the wrong side of the left upright. On the half-hour mark, striker Michael Seaton turned beautifully between Djourou and Senderos, only for the former to pull him down just inside their half. Referee Neil Doyle produced a yellow card, but had it been a competitive game, it could have been red.
From the resulting free kick, Grant’s drive was deflected for a corner. Shortly after, Dawkins and Seaton combined well on the left to provide an opening for Phillips, but yet again the Swiss defence was alert to block the effort. Intent on making their territorial advantage count, Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld introduced his skipper Gokhan Inler of Napoli, and Drmic at the break and they continued to push the Jamaicans deep into their defensive third, but try as they might, the tricky Xherdan Shaqiri of Bayern Munich, Granit Xhaka and company could not find a way past an inspired Blake, who foiled their attempts time and again. On one occasion he had to make a double save on his goal line. Drmic had a glorious opportunity to stab home at the far post after the hour mark, but his effort was drilled into the ground and over the top. It was a sign of things to come. Six minutes from the end, Drmic broke into the penalty box to receive a through pass which Mariappa just failed to cut out. He turned inside Morgan before applying the killer touch to finally beat Blake from close range. The Swiss will now take on Peru at the same venue next Tuesday, before journeying to South America for their World Cup campaign. The Boyz will depart Switzerland yesterday for London, where they are scheduled to face Egypt in another friendly international on Wednesday, before closing out against France in Lille on June 8.
George, Imlach hit half centuries; Dharamlall grabs...
Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain looks on during the second free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello circuit in central Italy May 30, 2014. REUTERS/Max Rossi
From page 67 with a last wicket stand of 100 before rain halted play. George stroked nine fours to remain unbeaten on 78, while Smith who mixed aggression with defence is on 38 (7x4). Dharamlall who bowled with variation has so far bagged 5-56 while Lord has 3-42. At Muslim Youth
Organisation, St. Stanislaus were skittled for 38 in 18 overs against the host after play started 16:00 hrs due to wet spots on the pitch. Imtiaz Pooran was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Parmanand Parsram and Richard Latiff took two each. However, Rain prevented MYO reply. At University of Guyana
(UG), Police won the toss and inserted the home team after play finally got underway just before lunch due to rain. UG were 130-6 when rain prevented further play just before the scheduled close. Omesh Dhanram scored 30 while Rawl Haynes claimed 344, Vishal Jaigobin and Edison Williams has so far taken one apiece.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ National Playoffs
Eagles and Albouystown ‘B’ come through unscathed on opening night Opening night in this year’s national playoffs of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Tournament got off to a scorching start with teams outside of Georgetown sending ominous warnings to their hosts that the path to glory would not be an easy one. The tournament, which is being played at the Demerara Park among eight teams to select Guyana’s representative to the Caribbean Competition slated for Trinidad and Tobago later this month, saw teams and fans brave a steady downpour of rain to witness the action that was clearly affected by the wet pitch thereby restricting the usually entertaining style of most of the finalists. Nevertheless, 2014 champions of Linden Eagles and Georgetown fourth place finisher Albouystown ‘B’, were the only teams to come through the night unscathed on the opening night of action which kicked off at the Demerara Car Park last Friday night. Among those witnessing the first night of action were Minister of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony and Guyana Football Federation President Christopher Matthias along with sponsor’s
representatives Sales and Marketing Executive Carlton Joao, Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste and Communications Manager Troy Peters, who all made remarks prior to the start of proceedings. The eight teams that were placed into two groups of four to contest the round robin/ knockout action did not disappoint the fans, especially the two teams that remained unbeaten at the end of the night. Melanie ‘A’, who one week ago was crowned East Coast of Demerara champions, started off with a 4-1 victory over Stevedore Housing Scheme, Georgetown’s runner-up team. Skipper Dwight Peters got a brace in the 4th and 14th minutes, supported by solitary strikes from Shermon Fraser (10th) and Jamal George (28th), while Gavin Blackman’s 7th minute strike was the lone response for Stevedore Housing Scheme. In the second game, Queen Street of Tiger Bay showed admirable resolve on three occasions to prevail 4-3 on penalty kicks against Wismar Housing Scheme after regulation period failed to separate a 3-3 deadlock. Solid attacking play from
the Linden based team saw them take the lead in the second minute, courtesy of Andrew Chester’s strike, which was nullified eight minutes later by Queen Street/Tiger Bay, thanks to Deon Alfred’s goal. As the heavens opened up and the rains came down, Wismar, through Rawle ‘Boney man’ Gittens, took back the lead in the 8th minute, only to see James Meredith snatch the equalizer once again in the 10th minute for Queen Street who placed third in the Georgetown leg of the competition. At halftime, the scoreline read 2-2 and one minute into the second half, Keon Sears sent Wismar back into the lead with his goal, but urged on by their supporters who ran out of the shelter to witness the action in the rain, Queen Street got the equalizer in the 29th minute, thanks to Jeffrey Newton. In the third game, Eagles who defeated Retrieve Unknowns to take the top prize in Linden early last month, took revenge for Wismar with their 4-1 drubbing over Hope Street/ Tiger Bay, with goals from Delon McAllister (4th), Delon Charter (12th), Renee Allicock (29th) and Deon Charter (30th), while Dennis
Nadal quells brief uprising... match point with one of his trademark forehand winners down the line. Earlier, Simona Halep had too many tricks up her sleeve for Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor as the fourth seed glided into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-0 win. The wily Romanian, the highest seed left in the draw after Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska were knocked out early, found perfect angles and defended superbly to counter TorroFlor’s powerful forehand in Paris. “ I t ’s n o t a s u r p r i s e because I’m more confident now in myself, and I feel the ball really good here at the French Open,” said Halep, who has won more titles in the last 12 months than any other woman except Williams. DEJECTED IVANOVIC Halep, who has dropped only 11 games in three straight-set wins, will next meet American 15th seed Sloane Stephens for a place in the quarter-finals. Stephens was in less devastating form than in her
first two matches but she was still too strong for Ekaterina Makarova in a 6-3 6-4 win over the Russian left-hander. The American has shown her consistency on the big stage by reaching the fourth round at six successive grand slam events, the only active woman to do so, but her ability to blow hot and cold on the WTA Tour has prevented her from climbing further up the rankings. Roland Garros has not been a happy hunting ground for Ana Ivanovic since she won the title in 2008 and the popular Serbian failed to break that jinx on Saturday as she lost 6-3 6-3 to Czech Lucie Safarova. The 23rd seeded Safarova, who entered the match with a 4-2 record against the 11th seed having won their last four encounters, was never really bothered by Ivanovic’s uncontrolled power. A dejected Ivanovic said: “It’s definitely tough. S h e ’s a l e f t y, i t ’s n o t something we face every day and the ball comes a
little bit differently. “In the beginning I felt like I had a lot of chances I didn’t use. Had I used them, the match maybe would have had a different tone to it.” Safarova will face another champion in 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova after the Russian 27th seed beat Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova 6-7(3) 6-1 9-7 in three hours 13 minutes on court Philippe Chatrier. Kvitova took two medical timeouts and came back from the first with a heavily strapped right thigh, but it did not seem to hamper her as she peppered the court with winners. But her 65 unforced errors eventually cost her as she bowed out on the third match point. Italian 10th seed Sara Errani, runner-up in 2012, won 20 points in succession during her 6-0 6-1 demolition of Israel’s Julia Glushko. She set up a meeting with Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic who demolished Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-2.
Caldeira pulled one back for Hope Street in the 25th minute. The final game of the first round ended 3-1 in favor of Albouystown ‘B’ over Retrieve Unknown, with Roy Cassou scoring a double for the victors in the 2nd and 11th minute backed by Chris Marshall’s 14th minute goal, even as Shakiel Charles pulled one back in the 16th minute for Retrieve Unknown. Following the Guinness halftime break, the second round commenced with Eagles’ 1-0 win over Melanie
‘A’, with Deon Charter scoring the game’s lone goal in the 5th minute, followed by Retrieve Unknown’s 5-4 penalty kicks win from the halfway mark over Wismar, following a nil all deadlock. Hope Street/Tiger Bay rebounded from their first round loss to defeat Stevedore Housing Scheme 20, with Rensford Coleridge (17th) and an own goal two minutes later accounting for the win, before Albouystown ‘B’ culminated the night’s action with their 4-3 sudden death penalty kicks win over
Queen Street/Tiger Bay, after a 1-1 scoreline. Marlon Nedd scored for the victors in the 7th minute, with Alpha Fletchman responding for Queen Street in the 15th minute, just before the whistle sounded to culminate the action in the first half and with no more goals being scored in the second period, penalty kicks was summoned and Albouystown ‘B’ was the last standing. The action continued last evening at the same venue, before the finals today.
Letter to the Sports Editor
Upper Demerara Cricket Association rejects phantom Demerara Cricket Board Dear Editor, As has become the norm, pronouncements by the phantom Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) are fraught with inaccuracies and dishonesty and are clearly designed to mislead the Courts and the public. The latest escapade of the DCB is an article carried in the daily newspapers of May 31, 2014 stating that “the Demerara Cricket Board is withholding authentication of the elections of the Upper Demerara Cricket Association (UDCA) and is recording its strongest objection to the recent announcement of the elections purported to be that of the UDCA”. Of significance is the fact that the UDCA is not and has never been a member of the DCB and the DCB had absolutely no jurisdiction for cricket in Upper Demerara at the present time. The UDCA has, for over ten (10) years, made numerous attempts to be affiliated to the DCB in order to be recognized as a cricket association, take part in competitions in Demerara and to receive funding and cricket equipment. For reasons only known to the phantom DCB, the UDCA’s application for membership has, on every occasion, been rejected. The UDCA has been in existence since 2000, has a membership of eighteen (18) clubs, a constitution and an Executive Committee in place. It represents an area that has over forty thousand (40,000) citizen of Guyana. Many national cricketers at the various levels, including Dr. Vincent Adams, Mark Grenville, Lambert Blackman, Anthony Rigby and Vibert Johashen have come from the Upper
Demerara region. There was a concerted lobbing by the Stakeholders of Guyana Cricket including the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) and the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) for membership by the UDCA to the DCB. This found favor with the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (Guyana Cricket Administration Bill 2012) and the Bill now provides for the inclusion of the UDCA in the DCB. To strengthen our claim that there is no legal DCB Executive Body, we are reminded that the Hon. Justice James Bovell-Drakes had ruled that both factions of the DCB were injuncted and were restrained from performing any act or function of the DCB. This matter is currently before the Hon. Justice William Ramlall. In January 2013 Hon. Justice Madam Diane Insanally issued an injunction blocking the DCB elections on January 25, 2013 or any other date until the matter is heard and determined by the court. This matter is also currently before the Hon. Justice William Ramlall. However there is a group of persons unknown to the DCB constituent members and the public pretending to be the DCB Executives. This group of persons has no legal or moral right to represent the DCB or pronounce on the elections of the UDCA. We can only assume that the s u d d e n interest in the affairs of the UDCA by this phantom group pretending to represent the DCB has to do with the constitutional voting rights that have been conferred on the UDCA through the Guyana Cricket
Administration Bill 2012. A patent inaccuracy within the dubious DCB release is the reference of a purported injunction that the UDCA has against Mr. Roger Harper and Mr. Bissoondyal Singh. There is no such injunction. The only injunction that the UDCA has is the one granted by the Hon. Justice Brassington Reynolds in Action Number 468-W / 2010 that restrains Rohan Sarjoo and the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA) from administering or in any way interfering with cricket in the Upper Demerara region. We are convinced that the persons who proclaim that they are officials/ representatives of the Demerara Cricket Board and the Guyana Cricket Board are fearful of the holding of legal and transparent elections to the extent that they had sought a court action to stop the passage of the Cricket Administration Bill even though they participated in the process. In the meantime, Guyana’s cricket under the illegal stewardship of Anand Sanasie, Drubahadur, Raj Singh, Lalta Digamber et al continues its rapid and ignominious descent. With heavy losses and bottom-ofthe-table positions for Guyana at all levels of Regional Cricket Competitions, we sincerely hope that fresh elections in accordance with the Guyana Cricket Administration Bill 2012 are held post haste to usher in decent and competent cricket administrators capable of reversing the slump in Guyana’s cricket. Yours faithfully, Bradley Fredricks President
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
GFF General Council successfully moves no confidence motion against Matthias Just when it seems appeared as though local football has reached its lowest ebb and could not possibly get any worse, several members of the (GFF) General Council convened yesterday morning at the Water Chris Hotel, Waterloo Street, and successfully moved a no confidence motion against Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President, Christopher Matthias and his Vice President, Keith O’Jeer. They have installed first Vice President, Ivan Persaud to fill Matthias’ post in the interim, while the other members of the IMC will be named later. Those sharing the head table were President of the Women’s Football Association, Vanessa Dickenson, Secretary of the East Bank Football Association, Franklyn Wilson, General Secretary of the Georgetown Football Association, Odinga Lumumba and President of the Referee’s Council, Alfred King. Several other high leveled football officials were also at the forum and supported the motion. Among them were representatives of West Demerara FA, East Bank FA, East Coast FA, GFA, Referee’s Council, the Coaches’ Association and the Woman’s Football Association. The decision comes on the heels of an Ordinary Congress held at the Regency Suites Hotel late April where a similar noconfidence motion was
moved. An agreement was reached for the GFF and the displeased associations to meet within 45 days to reconvene the Congress with the aim of reaching common ground on the contentious issues. Those that convened at yesterday’s meeting are contending that the time has expired and after there was no affirmative action from Matthias, they decided to move ahead with the no confidence motion. Matthias was notably absent from the meeting but officials stated that a letter was personally dispatched to him. The group has outlined several reasons for their decision to call for Matthias’ head including the misuse of funds and the lack of accountability among others. They also accused Matthias of operating in contravention of the articles of the constitution. The group further said that they were adhering to the statutes of the constitution which give them the powers to carry the motion. Mr. Wilson said that June 1 had been tentatively identified as the date when affiliates should have reconvened but that specific date was not assertively decided upon. He said that the decision of the aggrieved group would be forwarded to FIFA and CONCACAF for ratification and guidance. Meanwhile, Mr. Lumumba referred to the occasion as historic and a positive move for the sport. “Football has suffered for over 20 years for
a variety of reasons despite our best effort to move the sport forward,” said Lumumba. He said that he has been among those agitating for a change from the former administration but is now forced to admit that the change appeared not to be for the good of the sport. The composition of the entire Interim Management Committee will soon be released but officials have said that it will reflect proportional representation of all of the affiliated bodies. Matthias had successfully averted an earlier attempt to remove him through similar means during an Ordinary Congress late April at the Regency Suites Hotel. Six associations had staged a walkout after failing to win a majority following a vote to determine whether the issue of the no-confidence should be entertained; the vote had ended in a 9-9 stalemate. The decision to reconvene at a later date was endorsed by the CONCACAF team of observers which included Director of Legal Affairs Marco Leal, FIFA Developmental Officer Howard McIntosh and CONCACAF Legal Advisor Bruce Blake. The newly formed IMC group has since said that a letter would be dispatched to Matthias informing him of the decision taken by members of the General Council, while the newly formed group is expected to convene and plan the way forward soon.
World Cup: Banned England fans to hand in passports BBC Sport - More than 1,400 football hooligans in England will have to hand their passports to police in the coming days to stop them going to the World Cup. Passports must be surrendered on Monday or Tuesday, ahead of the tournament in Brazil which starts on 12 June. Police said the rule applied to people convicted of footballrelated violence and given a banning order including a
condition to hand in their passport. Anyone keeping their passport in breach of an order could face court action. ‘EXTREMELYEFFECTIVE’ Courts imposing football banning orders have had the power to make people convicted of football-related violence hand in their passports before overseas matches since 2000, and 1,452 are required to do so in the coming days.Ch Supt Rachel Barber, who will lead the English police delegation in Brazil, said
banning the minority of England fans who wanted to “cause disorder” had proved “extremely effective”. “We are the subject of envy of some of our colleagues across the world for the legislation that we have in the UK,” she said. Ch Supt Barber, of South Yorkshire Police, said there was a “stigma” attached to England fans based on past incidents and as a result they “may become targets” for hooligans from other countries.
Cricket Administration Bill... From page 65 Ramotar provided such an undertaking all arrangements in Guyana will be kept in place. Regrettably the WICB has not received such an undertaking from His Excellency President Ramotar. As a consequence the
WICB is left with no option but to relocate the Third Test between West Indies and New Zealand from Guyana. The WICB is currently considering alternative venues and the new venue o f t h e Te s t w i l l b e a n nounced on Monday June 2nd. The dates of the Test –
June 26 to 30 – remain. The WICB regrets having to take this course of action and seeks the understanding of cricket fans and stakeholders in Guyana. The WICB will continue to review all matters pertaining to cricket in Guyana.
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Heat too hot for Pacers, reach fourth straight Finals
Miami Heat players LeBron James (middle) and Dwayne Wade (right) lead their coaches and teammates in celebration during the second half in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at American Airlines Arena. (Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports) MIAMI (Reuters) - The Miami Heat crushed the Indiana Pacers 117-92 to stay in the hunt for a third straight NBA title after a 4-2 series win secured them the Eastern Conference championship on Friday. Miami, now in their fourth straight NBA Finals, will play either the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder for the championship. San Antonio lead the Western Conference Final 3-2. LeBron James and Chris Bosh top scored for Miami with 25 points each while Paul George had 29 points for the Pacers. After narrowly losing out in Game Five in Indiana on Wednesday, Miami knew they could ill-afford another slip-up and they dominated a Pacers team that in the end was no real match for them. “It is bitterly disappointing to fall short of our goals and bitterly disappointing to lose to this team three years in a row,” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel. “But we are competing against the Michael Jordan of our era and the Chicago Bulls of our era and you have to tip your hats to them,” he added.
Miami become only the third franchise to reach four straight finals - following the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers. It was always going to be a lively atmosphere for such a crucial game but the Heat fans were additionally charged up by the antics of Pacers guard Lance Stephenson who has attempted to wind-up James throughout the series and drew attention – and some ridicule – by blowing into James’s ear during Game Five. If Stephenson thought that he could gain an advantage for his team by trying to get under the Heat’s skin, his approach badly misfired – his mere presence on court ensuring the loudest support Miami have received this season. Miami’s now traditional slow start allowed Indiana to take an early 9-2 lead but that was the last time they were ahead all night as the Heat, producing unselfish and smart offense, took charge. Miami led 24-13 at the end of the first quarter with eleven of those points coming from James. If Stephenson was in danger of becoming a pantomime villain, flicking James in the face between plays, the boos from the crowd had more anger in
them after he sent Norris Cole flying with a palm to the face, ruled a flagrant foul. The score was 33-20 at that point with Stephenson’s 11 points keeping Indiana just in touch but once again his approach had the unintended consequence of raising Miami to another level. Certainly Vogel felt that his player had been unwise to provoke James into additional motivation. “I don’t think it is ever good to tug on Superman’s cape,” he said. The Heat ended the half 6034 up with 15 points for James on 6 of 8 shooting and Bosh with 13 points - also on 6 of 8 shooting – while Stephenson had not added a single point to his tally. The second half was purely about Miami managing their lead and they did so with little trouble as Indiana’s challenge fizzled out. Once again Miami had found another gear when they really needed it but they know they will face a much sterner test from their Western Conference opponents in the final. “We don’t take this moment for granted,” said James. “We are going to celebrate tonight because this doesn’t happen every year.”
NBA moves on Clippers sale... From page 64 NBA, she agreed not to sue the league. Donald Sterling has listed the Sterling Family Trust as a plaintiff in his suit against the NBA which alleges breach of contract and antitrust violations among other damages. A source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Shelly Sterling is now sole trustee of the family trust that controls the Clippers after physicians this month deemed that her husband has Alzheimer’s disease. Blecher did not respond to phone calls or emails seeking comment on Donald Sterling’s health. But in a statement to CNN, he said Sterling was had a “modest mental impairment” diagnosis. In addition to damages, Sterling has asked the court to re-install his top lieutenant Andy Roesler as Clippers CEO and eliminate his $2.5 million fine. Roesler has been placed on indefinite leave and replaced by the NBA with former Time Warner chairman Richard Parsons on an interim basis.
Page 64
Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
GUYANA ROAD TO GLORY, FEMALE YGB Regional Conference results CARICOM CHAMPIONS 1996 - Corentyne Zone commences
Today Statistician Charwayne Walker looks back at Guyana’s basketball history. The main aspect of his focus was the performance of the local female team in the 1996 Caricom championship. This comes in the lead up to this year’s event which Guyana are set to attend and hope they can rewrite the history books with an outstanding performance. The first time Guyana Female National Basketball team participated at the Caricom level was July 1986 in Trinidad & Tobago. The team led by the versatile Joycelyn Merchant, who also represented Guyana at netball, left Piarco International Airport winless. But two members of that historic squad, Karen Abrams and Carolyn Williams, returned to Trinidad 10 years later in 1996 and there was a different atmosphere at Piarco. Unlike 1986 there were no tears of sorrow because the Girls from the land of the Majestic Kaieteur were en route to Timehri International Airport with Guyana’s first and to date only Caricom championship trophy. In Game one, Guyana defeated Barbados 53 to 51 in overtime, while in game two they defeated Bahamas 66 to 57. Captain Karen Abrams
scored 17 pts, Melayni Cromwell 15 pts Urani Browne 9 pts. Game three they lost to host Trinidad 104 to 49; Melayni Cromwell 17 pts, Urani Browne 15 pts, Captain Karen Abrams 11 pts were the top shots for the Guyanese. Game four saw them defeating Jamaica 84 to 82 with Captain Karen Abrams 22 pts, Urani Browne 10 pts and 16 rebounds and Melayni Cromwell 17 pts. Game five Guyana defeated Grenada 58 to 40; Captain Karen Abrams 13 pts, 8 Rebounds Audrey Doorn 11 pts, 7 rebounds and Shellon Adams 10 pts led the effort. Game six, the semi-finals vs Barbados, Guyana romped to a 71 to 52 triumph. Melayni Cromwell 22 pts, Captain Karen Abrams 14 pts, 13 rebounds, Uranie Browne 16 pts, 18 Rebounds, Roschelle Browne 8 pts, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists led the charge. Game seven, the final vs Jamaica, Guyana won 67 to 55 with Urani Browne 22 pts, Roschelle Browne 13 pts and Melayni Cromwell 13 pts. Guyana’s Urani Browne was named the tournament best Defensive Player. 1996 Guyana victorious Caricom Championship squad: Karen Abrams - Captain Chummy Gill
Melayni Cromwell Urani Browne Roschelle Browne Micheala Burnett Carolyn Williams Sharon Jerome Audrey Doorn Shellon Adams Rhonda Charles Shakeila Sampson Linden Alphonso Coach Julian Haynes Assistant Coach The 1986 historic Caricom team to Trinidad: Joycelyn Merchant Captain Yvette Herbert Sandra Armstrong Karen Abrams Marcia Pydanna Ingrid Blades Carolyn Williams Penny Ray Merle Chalmers Marcy Paul Carol Boyce Avril Edmondson Guyana 1988 Caricom Championship Team: Yvette Herbert - Captain Joycelyn Merchant Carolyn Williams Audrey Doorn Peggy Blair Avril Edmonson Ann Gordon Sharon Jerome Marcia Pydanna Shellon Adams Tonia Davidson Dawn Bristol Paula Jones
Nadal quells brief uprising to march on in Paris PARIS (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal put down an attempted coup at the French Open as the eight-times champion saw off Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-2 7-5 6-2 to reach the fourth round in commanding fashion on Saturday. Mayer went for his shots in a tense second set and broke the world No.1 back for 4-4, only for the Spaniard to show why he is still the man to beat in Paris. “It is for me very emotional thing when I am on (court Philippe) Chatrier, a lot of memories come to my mind,” said Nadal, who made only 10 unforced errors with just two coming in a masterful opening set. One moment that may live long in the memory occurred in the second set when the defending champion recovered after being wrongfooted by Mayer to pull off a perfect backhand lob to break decisively for a 6-5 lead. He followed up with a game to love, sealing the set with a jaw-dropping forehand passing shot before steaming
Rafael Nadal
through the third and ending the contest with a service winner. Nadal next faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic, who beat American Jack Sock 6-4 7-5 63 and also has yet to drop a set. Should he prevail, he could face compatriot David Ferrer in the quarter-final, the man he beat to claim last year’s title and one of three men to have beaten him on the red dust this season.
The fifth-seeded Ferrer continued his stroll through the draw with a 6-2 7-6(2) 6-3 win against Italian Andreas Seppi. Ferrer blazed through the opening set but let his guard down in the second after an early break and was forced into a tiebreak he won 7-2. The third set was a mere formality and the fifth seed finished it off on his first (Continued on page 62)
The Corentyne zone of the NSBF-Regional Conference (Berbice) tipped off on Friday, May 30, at the Port Mourant Training Center-Hard-court. The host team, Port Mourant Training School went down 25Pts to 42Pts against the visitors from JC Chandisingh Secondary. Top performers for Chandisingh were: Kevin Deolal 16 pts, 3 asst. 2 stls. and Simon Fraser 11pts, 8 rebs. For Port Mourant, Lanvangt Fraser had 14 pts and Muaaz Inshan 9pts. Play in the Corentyne zone will continue next Wednesday, June 4, from 15:00hrs with Central Corentyne taking on Manchester at the same
Vibert Garette (right) YBG Coordinator receives a basketball from Tequain Vieira, Tournament Manager at the start of the Corentyne zone. venue. The NSBF Regional Conference is sponsored by
Digicel Guyana, Edward B. Beharry and Company Ltd and Banks DIH.
NBA moves on Clippers sale, Sterling sues for $1 billion
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (C), his wife Shelly (L) and actor George Segal attend the NBA basketball game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, December 22, 2008. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association said on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the estranged wife of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to sell the team, opening a new chapter for the franchise after 33 years under Sterling. Sterling, 80, was banned for life by the NBA for racist remarks in a private conversation that were recorded secretly and leaked to the media while the Clippers were playing in the NBA playoffs. The news brought shame on the league, sponsors cut ties with the team and players considered a boycott. Also on Friday, Sterling sued the NBA and league Commissioner Adam Silver in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for at least $1 billion. As a result of the settlement, the league canceled its Tuesday hearing to terminate Sterling’s
ownership, avoiding a vote by NBA owners to consider removing one of their own. In his lawsuit, Sterling says he was unaware he was being recorded and was caught in a jealous quarrel with a “lover.” He alleges Silver and the NBA forced him to sell the Clippers using a recording illegal under California law as evidence. Sterling also says in the suit the NBA did not respond to his query on Friday if the hearing had been canceled following the sale of the Clippers. NBA executive vice president and general counsel Rick Buchanan called Sterling’s lawsuit baseless and said Sterling did not have any recourse since his wife had sold the team. “There was no ‘forced sale’ of his team by the NBA - which means his antitrust and conversion claims are completely invalid,” Buchanan said in a statement.
Sterling’s attorney, Maxwell Blecher, said he had no comment on the NBA’s move to tentatively approve the $2 billion sale of the Clippers by Shelly Sterling to former Microsoft Corp chief executive officer Steve Ballmer. “I have big dreams for the team. I’d love to win a championship. I’d love the Clippers to be the most dynamic, vibrant team and name in professional sports, but I’ve got a lot to learn,” Ballmer said in an interview published by The Los Angeles Times on Friday. NBA owners still must approve the sale, but the vote is believed to be a formality because Ballmer was vetted by the NBA last year as a suitor for the Sacramento Kings. As part of the deal between Shelly Sterling, the Sterling Family Trust, which owns the Clippers, and the (Continued on page
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Digicel ends Coaches Workshop in Essequibo
Andre Blackman Resource personnel (sitting from left) Ivan Persaud, Lavern Fraser and Andrew Hazel pose with participants of the Coaches Workshop following its conclusion on Friday at the Chic Paris Hotel, Dartmouth, Essequibo. By Rawle Welch With the clear intention to assist in the general improvement of the standard of the game, sponsor of the biggest annual Schools Football Tournament Digicel held another Coaches Workshop on Friday, this time at Dartmouth on the Essequibo Coast. The Workshop, which was held at the Chic Paris Hotel, saw in attendance coaches, teachers and students from participating schools including Aurora, Eight of May, Cotton Field, Charity Abrams Zuil and Wakapoa. Facilitators of the Workshop Ivan Persaud and Andrew Hazel of the Guyana Football Coaches Association and referee Victor Fowler, conducted both theoretical and practical sessions over the two-day period on a variety of aspects of the game,
which from the general reaction of the participants was long overdue and welcomed. Hazel, a former goalkeeper lectured to the participants on the rudiments of becoming a top flight goalkeeper, while he also conducted practical demonstrations on the various techniques of goalkeeping and these two sessions received full focus from all the attendees, especially the practical display at the Devonshire Castle Community Centre ground. Persaud among the most qualified coaches locally also held the firm attention of the participants when he demonstrated techniques on how to defend and attack in game scenarios, while his theoretical teachings received the full focus of participants as well. A m o n g t h e presentations made by
Persaud was the role of the coach, respect for the coach, hydration and nutrition, injury prevention and treatment, team and game management and environment and safety, while Fowler, who hails from the same community, spoke on the Laws of the Game. Meanwhile, also in attendance at the Workshop for the duration of the two days was Vice-President of the Essequibo Football Association Andre Blackman, who offers his expertise to the Essequibo Technical Institute as well and he said that the further development of the sport hinges directly on such Workshops and technical exposure. Blackman praised the work being done by Digicel, adding that its importance and timing cannot be understated or trivialized.
Cricket Administration Bill leads to relocation of 3rd Test ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board yesterday advised that following engagement with the Government of Guyana on matters pertaining to the Cricket Administration Bill in Guyana, the parties have not been able to find a mutually agreeable resolution. The WICB has serious reservations that the Cricket Administration Bill, which was passed in the Guyana National Assembly, thrusts the administration of cricket
in Guyana from an independent body to the Government of Guyana. This the WICB views as undesirable and inconsistent with International Cricket Council tenets. The WICB sought an undertaking from His Excellency President Donald Ramotar that the bill not be signed into law until these matters are resolved. The Board gave its commitment that once His Excellency President (Continued on page 63)
President Donald Ramotar
“What is missing from this community are programmes such as these, we’ve not had persons with such expertise coming to this community and conducting seminars such as this one on a consistent basis and I feel that this Workshop will go a far way in not only equipping the coaches and teachers with the relevant technical and tactical skills, but also helping to improve the standard of play among the players going forward,” Blackman stated. He welcomed the initiative of Digicel and
urged that the Company and other interested members of the business community and even the Guyana Football Federation join forces and organize more Workshops of the same nature to help lift the standard of the sport in Essequibo. Also at Friday’s Workshop was Tournament Co-ordinator Lavern Fraser, who first thanked the participants on behalf of the Company for finding the time and demonstrating keen interest in wanting to improve their knowledge of the sport and more
importantly their willingness to share that knowledge with the students. Fraser, who has a wealth of experience in sport both as a player and administrator reminded the participants that they stand to benefit not only in improving their skills in the sport, but also in life generally since aspects such as learning how to solve problems and resolving conflicts are not only restricted to sports, but life as well. According to Fraser, the Workshop is the final one to be hosted by the C o m p a n y, b e f o r e t h e Launch of the Tournament set for June 6 in Linden.
WADA updates list of prohibited substances Jamaica Observer KINGSTON, Jamaica — The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Friday confirmed that an amendment has been made to the 2014 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods to add two inert gases — Xenon and Argon. “Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) activators Xenon and Argon will be added to the 2014 Prohibited L i s t , a f t e r t h e recommendation was made and approved by WADA’s Executive Committee during its May meeting,” the agency said a news release. WADA said they were recently alerted to the substance of Xenon and its “potential performance enhancing characteristics”, the WADA List Committee discussed the matter during its April meeting and recommended that the two
noble gases — Xenon and Argon — be added to the Prohibited List. “The change will be effective following the required three-month notice period, and once UNESCO has appropriately communicated the amendment to all States Parties,” the release said. “The revised 2014 Prohibited List will take effect on September 1, 2014.” The change to the List reads as follows: S 2 . P E P T I D E HORMONES, GROWTH
FACTORS AND RELATED SUBSTANCES The following substances, and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s), are prohibited: 1. ErythropoiesisStimulating Agents [e.g. erythropoietin (EPO), darbepoetin (dEPO), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) stabilizers and activators (e.g. xenon, argon), methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (CERA), peginesatide (Hematide)].
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 01, 2014
North Rupununi Football Sub Association 2014 First Division Championships kick off
Some of the participating teams at the opening of the Rupununi 2014 football season. The North Rupununi Football Sub Association’s male and female 2014 First Division Football Championships kicked off on Saturday 24th May 2014 at Kwatamang Sports Ground. In the opening match of the tournament played in front of a large crowd, home male team Kwatamang F.C. had to overcome stiff resistance from tournament newcomers Crashwater F.C as a closely contested first half ended 0-0. However experience paid off in the second half as prolific Kwatamang marksman, Kensman Cambridge,
registered a quick double in the 64th and 68th minutes to stun the Crashwater team. Ryan Donald of Kwatamang then rounded off the scoring with a strike in the 73rd as Kwatamang ended up comfortable winners by a 30 margin. In the second match of the day Surama F.C female team took a shock lead over defending champions Annai United as a long range strike by Julia Captain beat the Annai custodian at the far post. However Jillian Hawker of Annai United took the fight out of Surama F.C with a double strike in the 56th and 68th minutes
and Coleen Domingo completed the comeback as the defending champions eased to victory. In the third match of the day a Josephine Daniels strike in the 31st minute and a Julene Donald effort in the 56th minute saw the veteran Kwatamang F.C female team comfortably defeating their youthful Bina Hill Institute counterparts. Despite having better opportunities in front of goal Bina Hill Institute could not take advantage and paid the price for their profligacy. In the final match of the d a y, d e f e n d i n g m a l e champions Surama F.C
overcame some resolute and determined defending by Wo w e t t a P r e m i e r Conquerors to register a hard fought 4-2 victory. Victor Captain opened the scoring for Surama F.C by nodding in a close range header in the 30th minute. Wo w e t t a P r e m i e r Conquerors equalized in the 62nd minute after a fine solo run by Orien Francis ended with him slotting past the Surama F.C custodian. Paul James then put Surama F.C in front with a strike in the 75th minute but Wo w e t t a P r e m i e r Conquerors quickly equalized in the 79th minute
courtesy of a Dexter Torres strike. Surama F.C’s superior passing skills and ball control finally paid off as veteran campaigner Orlando Allicock registered his first of the match with a trademark long range effort. Paul James grabbed his second of the match in the 85th minute as Surama F.C picked up their first points of the 2014 campaign. The action continued yesterday at Annai Sports ground with Net Rockers male team of Massara Village taking on Basin F.C of Aranaputa Valley, while the second match saw
Crashwater F.C male team battling Three Hills of Rupertee Village and in the lone female encounter Annai United came up against Net Rockers. The feature match yesterday saw home team Annai United play the highly touted Splashing Stars of Yakarinta Village. The North Rupununi First Division Football Championships is into its twelfth year and will see nine male teams and six female teams competing to be the 2014 football champions of North Rupununi. The tournament will run for nine weeks.
Barnwell smashes 104 in inaugural match at DCC under lights DCC pile up highest local T20 total By Sean Devers The lights were in full effect and the action was pulsating at the DCC ground on Friday night as the home side took on the Rest of Georgetown combination in a feature T20 contest in the first hard ball night game to be played at the Queenstown venue. While the night skies remained overcast with rain eventually stopping the contest with 3.3 overs bowled in the GT side’s innings, National allrounder Christopher Barnwell proved the star attraction, leading the Queenstown line-up to the highest T20 total in Guyana’s cricket with a destructive 104 as DCC reached 251-5 when their 20 overs expired in Windy conditions. Barnwell, one of three
players in the game selected for this year ’s second edition of the CPL, followed up his pugnacious 165 against GNIC last Saturday with another thunderous display of explosive power hitting as the powerful right-hander reached the boundary nine times and cleared it eight times. Barnwell, who lead Guyana in the last Regional Super50 tournament in Trinidad, added 91 for the third wicket with 27-yearold Jamal Hinckson before Hinckson, who hit five sixes and six fours in his entertaining 56, was bowled by pacer Joshua Wade at 1693. This was after CPL selectee Trevon Griffith was removed by Cordell Mars before a run had been scored and Sherfane
Rutherford (39) who added 78 with Barnwell for the second wicket before he fell to Robin Bacchus, the third CPL player in the contest. In a slight drizzle Dennis Squires, who hit two towering sixes in his 12, departed at 188-4. Barnwell and teenager Kemol Savory (19*) put together 42 runs in quick time as he demonstrated little mercy for the hapless bowlers on the small ground. Barnwell fell to Mars at 230-5 as only left-arm spinner Raj Nanan, who bowled four overs for 25 runs, escaped the vicious onslaught. Mars was the most successful and most expensive of the bowling picking up 2-50 from his four overs. Such was the dominance of the DCC batting that Essequibo leftarm spinner Ricardo Adams
who bowled fours overs for nine runs when Police upset DCC in the GCA first division T20 tournament, conceded 35 runs from just two overs on Friday night before he was pulled out of the attack as a fair sized gathering enjoyed the DCC run feast. Barnwell reached his ton with a huge six out of the ground off Mars and continues to be brutal at the domestic level. The GT side lost Andrew Lyght Jr (12) at 36-1 before the night’s final shower ended the contest with the score on 37-1. The left-handed Bacchus was unbeaten on 11 which included an effortless check-drive to the point boundary and arguable the shot of the match; a magnificent cover drive which reached the boundary like a scud missile.
Christopher Barnwell
Sunday June 01, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Patrick April Inter School U17 Memorial DIGICEL assists cyclist Alanzo Greaves football continues tomorrow in Berbice to train for Commonwealth Games 2014 The Hearts of Oak Masters Football Club (HOOMFC) continues to show that it is the leading organization in organizing football activities, more so youth and school activities in Berbice especially. This time the top schools i n t h e N e w Amsterdam/Canje catchment area will once again take to the football field in the second edition of the Patrick ‘Patto’ April Inter School U17 Knockout football competition which is expected to kick off tomorrow with one match at the Scott’s Church Ground, Princess Elizabeth Road New Amsterdam. The competition which will be an 11 a side affair and will see six schools participating in the 60 minutes encounter which will be divided into two halves of 30 minutes each. The schools down to compete are - New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary School (NAMS), Berbice High School (BHS), Berbice Educational Institute (BEI), Vryman’s Erven Secondary School (VESS), Tutorial Academy Secondary School (CSS) and Canje Secondary School (CSS). The one week
competition will see eight matches being played over four days. Tomorrow’s game will see VESS taking on CSS in what is expected to be a close encounter. Tuesday’s encounter pits NAMS against TASS in a game of two evenly match teams. Wednesday is semifinal day with the winner of Monday’s match taking the field against BEI in the first match, while Tuesday’s victor will match skills against BHS in the second encounter. Thursday will see the teams clashing in the final and the third place play off. Starting time on all the days is 14:30 hrs. The presentation ceremony will take place immediately after the completion of the final. The top teams will be presented with trophies and other accolades, while there will also be prizes for the top individual performers including the most valuable player, best goalkeeper, best defender, the best midfielder and best striker. All players participating in the competition must be full time students of the schools they are
representing and must be born on or after the 1st January 1997. They must also have at a least an attendance of 80% for the current school year. Four substitutes are allowed for each team. A p l a y e r s e n t o ff a f t e r receiving two yellow cards will miss the next game, but any player receiving a straight red Card will be suspending from the rest of the competition. All teams are expected to be in uniform. Where not mentioned, all FIFA rules will be in effect. Patrick April or ‘Patto’ as he was known, was a popular football player and butcher in Berbice and Guyana who went on to represent Berbice on a number of occasions at various levels of the game. He once formed a potent combination with the f a m o u s H u m p h r e y, Alphonso, Fords, Inness’s and Samuels’s siblings among others that dominated the football arena.BEI is the defending champion.The Coordinator is former national player Neil ‘Grizzly’ Humphrey. He will be assisted by former nationals Sam Jones and Kenrick Bowry. (Samuel Whyte)
Georgetown, Guyana: Digicel is dedicated to the development sports and athletes in Guyana and as a result on Monday May 23, Digicel delivered on its promise to assist in sending professional cyclist Alanzo Greaves overseas. Greaves will be going through a bout of intense training in the United States as he prepares for the Commonwealth Games 2014 to be staged in London in June, a release stated. In 2013, Greaves placed third in the Digicel Breast Cancer awareness race; fourth in the National Three Stage; second in the National Five Stage and second in the National Championships. Greaves has participated in several local competitions including the National Three Stage in 2009, which he won. He also won the National
Alanzo Greaves receiving cheque from Communications Manager Vidya Sanichara. Championship and the National Five Stage in 2007 – two of his greatest accomplishments as a young rider. Alanzo Greaves will be representing Guyana in the Commonwealth Games 2014. Digicel sees it
necessary to support sports and sportsmen across Guyana. The importance of sports cannot be over stressed; Digicel Guyana sees sports as providing positive opportunities for youths in Guyana, the release pointed out.
DCB Inter-Association U-17 cricket
GT, West Dem in winner’s row
GCA/Noble House Sea Foods Second division tourney
George, Imlach hit half centuries; Dharamlall grabs 5
Tariq Dharamlall Dexter George and Tevin Imlach slammed half centuries to guide Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) to 243-9 when rain ended play in the final session of their Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA)/Noble House Sea Foods second division 2-day game against Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) yesterday. Batting first at the Gandhi Youth Organisation
Dexter George (left) and Tevin Imlach ground after play was delayed for over an hour due to a moist pitch, DCC were given a bright start by Imlach and Kemol Savory with the pair adding 61 for the opening stand before Savory was stumped by Martin Pestano- Belle off Tariq Dharamlall for 35 (7x4). Steady bowling thereafter by GCC saw their opponents losing wickets at regular intervals and were
reduced to 119-6 before George and Cleon Mc Ewan (12) added 19 for seventh wicket, but when left arm spinner Devon Lord had Mc Ewan caught at first slip, DCC were in danger of being bowled out for a below par total as two more quick wickets fell to be at 143-9. But George and Lawrence Smith batted sensibly, frustrating GCC (Continued on page
Keno McKenzie
Malcolm Hubbard gathers off side runs at Everest.
Kelvin Shewprashad
By Sean Devers West Demerara beat East Coast at Everest while Georgetown got the better of East Bank at DCC as second round action in the Demerara Cricket Board’s (DCB) 50over Inter-Association under-17 cricket competition continued yesterday in the city. At DCC, East Bank won the toss and invited the city lads to bat on a track with moisture which was well exploited by Sagar Hathiramani who again showed why he is considered by many as the best offspinner in the tournament. Hathiramani spun webs around the batsmen to finish with 5-20 as GT were bowled out for a paltry 128 in 27.1 overs on the small ground as only national youth player Renaldo Mohamed, who smacked three sixes and a
four in his 34, passed 20 for the home team. However, Keno McKenzie responded with 516 and got support from Mohamed (2-13) as East Bank were bundled out for 76 in 29.5 overs despite a fighting 25 from Stephan December. GT lost the attacking Sherfane Rutherford (9) as Navindra Seeraj made the break through at 9-1. Raymond Perez (12) and Romesh Muniram (20) carried the score to 46 before Perez was run out to bring the talented Mohamed to the crease, but he lost partners in quick succession as GT slipped from 63-2 to their eventual 128. Hathiramani sliced through the middle order and then got rid of Mohamed at 117-7, Ershad Ali (2-47) cleaned up the tail although
Mohamed was severe on Ali in his last over which went for 17 runs. At Everest, East Coast were asked to bat and made 124 in 40.3 with only Ramnarine Chetura (24), Shinchand Gangaram (23) and Bashar Yadram (19) reached 15 as Looknauth Chinkoo (4-35) and Kelvin Shewprashad (3-16) did the damage with the ball. West Demerara were led to 129-3 in 29.1 overs by the accomplished Renaldo Reene (37) and an undefeated 32 from Shewprashad who finished the match with a six off Vishwanauth Ramlakhan. Shewprashad shared in an unbroken 41 run stand with Malcolm Hubbard. The competition continues today at DCC ground and Monday at the same venue.
t r o Sp Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ National Playoffs
Eagles and Albouystown ‘B’ come through unscathed on opening night P.62
Action in this year’s National Playoffs of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition between Wismar Housing Scheme and Queen Street of Tiger Bay.
GFF General Council successfully moves no confidence motion against Matthias
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Representatives of the Affiliates of the GFF, who moved the no-confidence motion against Christopher Matthias at the Congress at Water Chris Hotel yesterday.
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