Kaieteur News

Saturday Edition

Online readership yesterday 77,579

June 29, 2013 - Vol. 7 No. 25 - Price $80 kaieteurnews@yahoo.com Website:http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Guyana keeps attracting unflattering reports P. 3

Diplomatic community says not doing enough to fight corruption

A local contractor built this tray

Chief Magistrate

Brazilian MP

jailed for sends man for corruption Psychiatric check up Kaieteur News Editor, reporter fined $200,000 for contempt - after defendant asked her to shoot him

Natan Donadon

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Finance Minister lauds investment environment

T

he hard work of the Guyana Government to fashion the right environment needed for investors, has been successful as seen in the

decision of several large international companies and respectable local firms to either invest or expand their operations.

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh who addressed the Guyana Investment Conference yesterday, at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, said that the Blackstone Group has invested more than US $700 million locally.

Guyana Gold Fields Inc, Reunion Gold and Manganese, ETK Sand Springs and CGX which, at the peak of mineral prices

had more than CDN$2 billion invested in Guyana.

“I don’t believe that they invested because they had a conversation with me or because they had a conversation with the High Commissioner (Canadian). I believe that as sophisticated investors they made a conscious decision to put $2 billion in Guyana”.

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said, local businesses such as Banks DIH, Demerara Distillers Ltd. and Beharry Group are moving to expand their operations and widen their product lines through further

investments, the minister noted, and this is because they all recognise opportunities locally.

These companies can take their operations overseas and while they all have subsidiaries abroad, they continue to see the benefits of more expansion in Guyana.

The fact that more small businesses are being launched with more than 2,200 entities starting up in 2012 alone, according to the Small Business Association, is tantamount to the fact, that many recognise the opportunities in

communities across Guyana and have an enabling environment to do so, the minister added.

They are all contributing to the economic growth that prevails, but government’s work is far from complete, noted the minister. Issues and challenges such as energy costs, corruption, bandwidth costs, crime, reducing red tape and regulatory frameworks are being addressed.

Minister Singh stressed that stakeholders must not be naïve or simplistic about the reality of democracy. He said that in a competitive political environment, where all are competing for political space, many issues are politicized; such as the issue of corruption. He urged that there be caution in perpetuating some of these issues, particularly from those persons representing esteemed institutions.

He identified the case of US Lobbyist Dick Morris, who has cited US President Barrack Obama for condoning various issues.

The conflict between the Republican driven Fox News and the current US Administration was also referred to, as another example that is well known.

The Haitian reconstruction effort, the minister noted, has its own challenges and these are just a few of the issues which governments face, but they do not cloud the judgment of those who seek to do business with them.

“Because of the size of the US and other developed nations, these stories get diluted away and don’t enjoy the prominence that they enjoy in Guyana…not because this happens in the United States or Canada or the United Kingdom does it make it acceptable.

We have an obligation as a government to have strong institutional structures in place to eliminate opportunities for corruption, for waste, mismanagement and fraud. We have a responsibility as a government to ensure that such systems are in place, and we will not shirk that responsibility”.

Minister Singh added that these issues are not acceptable anywhere, and urged that political rhetoric be left to politicians.

The Finance Minister advised that the conversation on investments and the way forward be cast much wider to include a variety of factors. (GINA)

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Guyana keeps attracting unflattering reports

Diplomatic community says not doing enough to fight corruption

A

two-day forum geared to e x a m i n e challenges facing Guyana’s investment climate is over with the US yesterday brushing off accusations that unfair perception reports coming out of that North American country, has forced investors to rethink coming here.

According to US Ambassador, D. Brent Hardt, responding to queries of whether President Donald Ramotar was fair in criticizing the reports, said that it is a fact that trafficking in persons (TIP) happens all over the world.

This includes the US which fortunately has institutions to deal with issues that crop up. With TIP being experienced throughout the world, even the US with its share is criticized, too.

What is important is that the US has institutions in place to deal with it.

The focus, he insisted, should be on the victims of crimes and the systems to protect them.

The Ambassador pointed to Thailand, long known for facing a major problem with TIP, and said that it has not affected investments there.

Overtime, TIP and other reports, including the ease of doing business, have not been very flattering of Guyana. In most cases, the suggestions were that Guyana has failed or seemed not interested in addressing issues of drug trafficking and erasing the red tape to make it easier for foreign companies to invest here.

Government has not been happy with the reports.

President Ramotar on T h u r s d a y, d u r i n g t h e opening session of the

US Ambassador, D. Brent Hardt and Canadian High Commissioner, David Devine during the press conference yesterday.

seminar, responded to the criticisms with attacks of his own.

According to the Ambassador, the response to victims of crimes including TIP, should be the focus.

The issue was one of several that came up during the two-day session at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

This seminar was a multi-stakeholder collaboration with several partners including the High Commission of Canada, the Government of Guyana, the European Union, the US Embassy, the British High Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and the InterAmerican Development Bank, REPSOL, Pacific Rubiales, the Private Sector Commission, the Beharry Group of Companies and the Georgetown Chamber of

Commerce and Industry.

With a virtually untouched forest, gold, bauxite and vast expanse of lands, Guyana’s extractive industries have become a main attraction for investors.

With gold prices up in recent years, Canadian companies have been knocking on Guyana’s doors.

But the complaints of long waits and corruption to acquire permits have been lingering.

During a press conference with the US Ambassador, Canadian High C o m m i s s i o n e r, D a v i d Devine, said that challenges facing Guyana in terms of bandwidth capacity and the need for regulatory reforms were among the issues raised during the seminar. So too were corruption, red tape, and anti-money laundering measures.

Guyana has long been

accused of not doing enough to seize properties believed to been acquired by illegal means and prosecute money launderers. This country has to pass critical legislations, to fight money laundering, this year or face international sanctions.

There were no government officials at yesterday’s forums.

There were at least 10 or so issues that were discussed during the two days and these will be made public during the critical follow-up phase, Devine said.

He was quick to point out that the issue of corruption is a global one. “The difference is how countries chose to deal with it effectively.”

There will be need for proper institutions, regulatory changes and enforcement, he said.

A c c o r d i n g t o Ambassador Hardt, the US is

interested in investing in Guyana, with the emerging oil and gas sector a big attraction. According to Devine, the idea behind the seminar was to look at ways to improve investments in the country, including promotion, protection, capital markets and how they work and issues including that of security.

During the seminar, there were presentations from the Private Sector Commission, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders.

The High Commissioner hinted that there might have been perceptions that the forum should have focused more on branding Guyana as a hot destination.

However, issues like TIP, bribery and corruption are very relevant to the whole question of investment, he insisted. As such, the

seminar has helped to put many of the issues on the table. Arguing for the US Embassy’s involvement in organizing the seminar, Ambassador Hardt made it clear that it is the duty of his mission to bring investments to Guyana.

He acknowledged cases where businesses from his country decided to pull away. These are business decisions by the company that are influenced by a number of factors, including safety and security.

Almost 400 invitations were issued for the seminar with presentations made by local and international experts, from organisations including the Export Development Canada, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, CARICOM IMPACS, Department for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, Private Sector Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The diplomatic community, among some of Guyana’s biggest donors, has been unusually vocal lately. Recently they called for the early local government elections which has been overdue since the 90’s. The failure to hold local government elections has been blamed for a breakdown in the local communities.

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

Corruption is not unique to Guyana Last week, former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran touched on a chink in the government’s armour, a sore spot in the heart of the ruling party and certainly an embarrassment when Guyanese have to face foreigners. That issue is corruption, something that many would like to wish away but that which is endemic in the society.

Ramkarran, lawyer by profession, writes a blog in which he expresses thoughts that were once considered his innermost feelings. Just under two years ago he, as Speaker of the National Assembly, would challenge statements of corruption from the opposition benches unless these were substantiated.

Needless to say, the opposition could only repeat anecdotal experiences because those who reported the incidence of corruption often asked not to be identified.

And so it is all over the country. It is as if the culture is that people are expected to be part of the corrupt regime.

For example, Mr. Ramkarran wrote that the society has grown accustomed to contractors delivering substandard work then complaining that they have had to pay officials so much that they barely had enough money to complete the project. Of course, they must have told Ramkarran that they either paid the officials directly or through intermediaries.

But that level of corruption is only the tip of the iceberg.

There are the house lots that have provided substantial earnings for those who dealt in them. For example, the society is of the firm belief that people close to the government were sold plots of land in blocs for housing development. They in turn, further subdivided these blocs into house lots and at the end of the day, they made perhaps twenty times the amount they paid for the whole plot.

The government would insist that it is not into business and is prepared to let the entrepreneurs construct the homes and the like. The entrepreneurs would indeed build houses and put in the necessary infrastructure but only because the entire exercise was made as profitable as ever.

For example, Eddie Boyer was sold 104 acres of land in a prime location on Lower East Coast Demerara. The pittance he paid would be grossly magnified when he parcels off the area into house lots. A cursory examination revealed that by the time Mr. Boyer sells two acres of developed house lots he would have recovered his initial investment.

Like many of the housing developers today, Mr Boyer is a friend of the government and this has not escaped the notice of the people who are insistent that corruption is pervasive in Guyana. There are many others like him, one of them a Member of Parliament, another major financier of the ruling party.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo and President Donald Ramotar insist that they cannot be held responsible because they have been doing all they could to stamp out corruption.

Former President Jagdeo is on record ads proclaiming that should he be provided with the evidence then he would act condignly. He has never done so although provided with evidence by people in the system, including a former Secretary to the Treasury. How could he not investigate and make public the findings of an investigation into a woman who earned $48,000 a month with the Guyana Oil Company when she was employed there but who bought a house for $60 million?

President Ramotar would be hard pressed to explain some of the mansions that adorn the landscape. The Head of the Guyana Revenue Authority would not be able to provide the income tax reports for these people because very little tax would have been paid. Because this was allowed to happen none could deny that there was corruption.

It is unfortunate that fingers are pointing at this time.

And it is not that there is no corruption or fraud or trafficking in persons in other countries. What makes them look more attractive than Guyana is the fact that they have systems that dispense harsh penalties to those caught. And none is exempt—there are no sacred cows.

This is where Guyana is failing.

Saturday June 29, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

Those Mobilization and Performance bonds lodged by ‘Fip’ Motilall DEAR EDITOR, I must again put pen to paper to correct inaccurate reporting by Kaieteur News about the Mobilization and Performance bonds that were lodged by ‘Fip’ Motilall, which was a condition of contract for construction of theAmaila Falls Road.

The mobilization bond was for eight months while the performance bond was for sixteen. Both bonds had a start date of March 18th 2010 hence the mobilization bond ran through 17th Nov 2010, while the performance bond was good up to 17th July 2011.

As correctly reported, there was provision in the performance bond that permitted the Government of Guyana (GOG) to make claims for an additional six months, however not reported was that these claims could only be made under certain conditions.

If these conditions were met then it would be Hand in Hand’s responsibility to pay claims up to US$1.5M through 17th Jan 2012, and not through last Wednesday as reported in Sunday’s Kaieteur newspaper.

Now this is the sticking point. On Dec 19th, GOG made a claim, and while

this claim was made within the stipulated six-month period, Hand in Hand has to date made no payment, because they are not sure that the certain conditions have been met.

Hand in Hand takes the position that a claim against a performance bond needs to be for an infraction during the validity of the bond, and it seems they feel this is not the case. I would imagine this matter will have to be sorted out in court.

My gripe in all this is why a claim was not made prior to 17th July 2011?

Possibly, either the person responsible for keeping an eye on the upset date of 17th July dropped the ball by missing this date, or that individual did inform GOG the upset date was upon us and GOG knowingly did not make the claim for reasons not yet made public.

For the benefit of the public, the process would normally go something like this: SRK’N gineering headed by Dr Narine is the supervision consultant for the project and usually it would be the supervision engineer’s responsibility to keep an eye on the upset date.

If they were responsible, and if they

have a letter in their file informing the Government Engineer that the 17th July was fast approaching, then they will be covered. If the Government Engineer who is appointed by the Minister of Works and Transport to safeguard GOG’s interest, in this case Walter Willis, was responsible, and if he has a letter in his file to the PS Ministry of Works and Transport, then he would also be off the hook.

If neither of them have letters to this effect, then one or both of them could be responsible for dropping the ball.

This is the usual procedure; however in this case it could have been someone else’s responsibility.

The fact is the opportunity was lost to certainly recover US$ 1.5 million by ,making a claim prior to 17th July 2011 and there is now a possibility that Hand in Hand may not have to shell out the US$1.5 million.

In view of the above I think it would be appropriate for the GOG to sue and debar consultants as well as dismiss Government officers who through negligence cause serious loss to the People of Guyana.

Edward Gonsalves

The changing face of Guyana DEAR EDITOR, It is no exaggeration to say that we live today in a Guyana that is vastly different from what obtained during the pre-1992 period. For one thing we are today a democratic country. People are free to choose which from among the competing political parties they want to administer the affairs of state.

Gone are the days when the country was a laughing stock in the Caribbean and the rest of the world. Guyanese were looked down upon by their Caribbean counterparts because of the stigma of rigged elections and undemocratic rule. Political posturing at the international level by the then PNC government did very little to erase the widely-held perception of a failed state. It was not until the late 1980s that international pressure was brought to bear on the PNC regime to democratize the political system. This, along with growing resistance by the Guyanese people over deteriorating conditions of life, forced the PNC to agree to free and fair elections which were convincingly won by the PPP/Civic alliance.

Regardless of what some people may wish to say about our politics today, one indisputable fact is that our body-politic today is healthy and dynamic as never before. We now have a situation where the combined opposition parties are in control of the Parliament and the major party, the PPP/C is in control of the Executive by virtue of having won the plurality in the November 2011 elections.

This has given rise to a fair amount of tension and stress in the body-politic among the major political players.

The PPP/C administration, unaccustomed to interference by the parliamentary opposition in the execution of its national development plan, has to now expend lots of its energies in trying to convince the opposition parties as to the efficacy and benefits that its programs, both capital

and recurrent, could bring to the Guyanese people, even though the projects hardly need justification having regard to the manifest benefits that will accrue to the population when they come on stream. I refer specifically to the hydro-electricity and the Cheddi Jagan Airport expansion projects which could be regarded as transformative projects.

Politics, it is said, is concentrated economics. Without the correct political perspective and vision, no country can move forward. The current administration has always subscribed to a vision and philosophy of social justice where the benefits of development must spread to the population as a whole.

This philosophy has found expression in the manner in which all national budgets presented by the PPP/C administration are configured.

There is a clear bias in terms of spending on the social sectors, more particularly in the areas of education, health, housing and water.

All of the aforementioned sectors impact directly on the quality of life of the Guyanese people. Our children today are doing much better at school today than at any time before and the performance of our children at local and regional examinations are getting better and better with each passing year. The University of Guyana is producing more and more graduates in almost every discipline offered.

The doctor to patient ratio has improved steadily over the years, thanks to generous scholarship offerings by the Cuban government in the field of medicine, which is supplemented by medical graduates from our own university and that of friendly countries such as China and India.

The same is true of professional nurses and nursing assistants who are posted to health facilities throughout the c o u n t r y, t h e r e b y i n c r e a s i n g significantly the nurse to patient ratio.

There is absolutely no doubt that the “critical mass” approach of the administration in the development of our human resources is today paying dividends. This is manifesting itself in better student performance at examinations and a much more literate and healthy population.

Contrary to what is sometimes being peddled by some people, some with obvious political biases, Guyana is not faced with an education crisis. The statistics on student performance is showing an overall improvement at both the CXC and NGSA examinations.

Perhaps more significant is the fact that there is a much better spread of the results, in which rural and hinterland schools are becoming increasingly competitive at examinations.

There are some who credit this enhanced student performance to afterschool lessons and to the emergence of private schools both at the primary and at the secondary levels.

While these may be contributory factors, they in no way diminish the central role played by the Education Ministry in terms of providing the correct policy prescriptions for all schools to follow, especially in terms of curricula development and in the area of pedagogic skills, so vital for effective teaching and learning.

The fact is that we are seeing the creation in Guyana of a stronger, knowledge-based economy, where the impact of information and communication technology is being increasingly felt.

This is good for Guyana as it becomes more and more integrated into the mainstream of global economics and politics. We now live in what is referred to as the information age in which our ability to access, interpret and transmit information will determine how far and how fast we advance along the road of progress and prosperity.

Hydar Ally

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

IS THERE ANY PLAN TO UPLIFT THE POOR? DEAR EDITOR, Over the past few weeks, the President has been crisscrossing Guyana making speeches to those he views as supporters to shore up his dwindling popularity prior to the Congress.

While such political propaganda did not shore up his Presidency, it did bring to the fore a significant issue; why has he not done more for the poor?

First of all we must define what a ‘poor agenda’ is. A poor agenda is one which would take into account the current – and pre-existing – conditions of the poor in Guyana and actively seek to do something to improve their lives especially at the micro-level, rather than simply addressing them as part of a wider macroeconomic policy.

In reality, there are more than a few valid and pressing reasons for a specific poor agenda.

The current unemployment rate for poor Guyanese is worse than for the rest of the nation which is experiencing an average unemployment of close to 25%.

The economic situation of the poor has become a

chronic problem, resulting in social diseases such as spousal abuse, suicide, alcoholism, illegal drugs, and a general breakdown of social order.

Too many children are being born in Guyana today that have no scope to make it out of the army of the poor or even get a proper education, and after 22 years in office, the PPP has done little or nothing to improve the situation.

Education and jobs are the only avenues for the poor children to make it out of the army of the poor, but they continue to be underserved by attending schools with inadequate facilities and not enough experienced and qualified teachers, and are more likely to receive a substandard education.

When it comes to healthcare, the poor are massively over-represented in death rates, with some of them dying for elementary reasons such as childbirth.

The West Demerara Regional Hospital is now labeled a “death zone” and as one singer said, “if you go to the public hospitals with a gum boil, you will end up six feet in the soil.” All this is

happening as the leaders and their families seek medical attention abroad.

Superficially it makes sense to say that addressing education, healthcare and the economy in general is enough. That view assumes, however, that the bulk of the expenditure in these sectors actually reaches and/or impacts the poor.

It also assumes that all communities have the same needs, and that a one-size-fitsall approach works. Yet, the reality continues to reveal that this is not the case.

The PPP budgets have not gone far enough to help the marginalized communities, and they lacked transparency and accountability.

We l l - t a rg e t e d investments are required in critical community-level infrastructure such as parks, playfields and the conversion of primary schools into night schools for the job seekers to build their capacity to increase their skill set like rewriting their CXC English and Maths examinations, how to prepare a resume for a job application; how to apply for a Bank loan; and how to run a small cottage business etc.

Solving the issues that directly affect the poor strengthens Guyana as a whole, since chronic unemployment, poverty and healthcare issues have not only a cultural and societal impact, but an economic one as well. Any society which ignores or overlooks the problems affecting the poor is a society that cannot function to its full potential and is doomed to fail.

Guyana is certainly performing way below its full potential and this is because the regime continues to ignore their plight.

Transformation of the lives of the poor is not something that the President can solve on his own and there is no doubt that he requires the support of not only civil society but of the political opposition.

That is why the tripartite meeting makes so much sense; but this process continues to be abused by the President and yet the leader of the opposition continues to meet with him.

Mr. Granger is playing a dangerous political game and he might be relieved of the leadership of the PNC sooner rather than later.

In truth, though, this is not just about the poor people. This is about the underlying and continued systems of disenfranchisement, poverty, and inequality in Guyana.

Unfortunately, many of President Ramotar’s initiatives have so far not uplifted the poor who need the most support; certainly not the G$31 billion investment on the Airport Expansion Project or the G$12 billion Kingston Marriott Hotel, or the billions needed

to build the Specialty Hospital.

Though these Ponzi scheme Projects may make a few Guyanese super-rich from the commissions they receive for every deal; they nonetheless continue to undermine the fabric of the Guyanese society as a whole.

We call on the government to make the agenda of the poor their primary focus. To do otherwise would be failing all Guyanese.

Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

CONDEMNING JAGDEO DEAR MR EDITOR, Under the caption (is Jagdeo pandering to racist sentiments) of your edition of 14th April, 2013, I was appalled at the statement coming from a former head of state of this our beloved nation.

I wish to congratulate the writer, Mr Frederick Kissoon, publicly, for bringing this article to the attention of this nation. If a former head of state can publicly say to the nation and foreign dignitaries at the funeral service of one of Guyana most beloved and prominent Hindu priests and a founder member of the People’s Progressive Party that there is a resurgence cf anti-East Indian resentment in Guyana, what is he calling upon our Indo brothers and sisters to do to the African race, and all the other races here in this country?

I wonder if the African brothers and sisters of the PPP/C are taking note of the statement made by their party leader. It seems to me that this undignified and provocative

statement should be condemned by one and all especially the Chambers of Commerce , the Catholic church ,The Anglican church The Guyana Trade Union Congress ,The Federation of Trade Union, etc .

Does he think that we are not educated enough to see through the P P P/ C’s scheme and plan of things?

Although they have stopped free education from primary to university, we are still a people of some intellectual understanding and dignity I call upon all

Guyana to condemn the statement and call upon him to make a public apology to all Guyanese at home and abroad.

I call upon all and every Guyanese to desist from anything that would harm your fellow brothers and sisters: (1.) there are no more street protest (2 ),the Opposition is too smart for them now (3 )so they can’t get people to start rumours and cause confusion in the city streets and business places of this our beloved nation.

David Noel

GPOC responds to letter about thieving DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) wishes to respond to the Kaieteur Newspaper’s June 26, 2013 letter that was published under the caption, ‘Thieving at the GPO’.

We take objection to the bold and misleading caption: ‘Thieving at the GPO,” in the letter without evidence of same being provided. We believe better editorial judgement should have prevailed.

The Corporation would like to thank the writer for the opportunity to notify the general public that the GPOC investigates all complaints received from the general public. We have noted that

the complainant indicates that the particular mails were breached and resealed. While the Corporation is not in a habit of rescuing itself from its responsibilities, it is to be noted that certain mails identified by agencies, are sometimes subject to rigorous checks, prior to leaving Guyana, and this is particularly in the instances of sample checks for narcotics. This is out of the Corporation’s remit and control.

The GPOC remains committed to service to all our customers and to the protection of the integrity of all mails entering our system.

The GPOC apologises to the writer and would be happy to meet with her, at her convenience, on any matter pertaining to her complaint and/or the postal services.

Mr. Henry Dundas Postmaster General Guyana Post Office Corporation

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 28, 2013

Brazil MP jailed for corruption

Brazil truckers call for 72hour strike starting Monday

A Brazilian congressman sentenced to 13 years in jail for corruption has given himself up after two days on the run.

Natan Donadon is the first serving congressman to be jailed in Brazil since military rule came to an end in the 1980s.

Mr Donadon was convicted three years ago of siphoning off nearly $4m (£2.6m) from the State Assembly in Rondonia, in Brazil's Amazon region.

The Supreme Court threw out an appeal on Wednesday and ordered his arrest.

"For the first time in Brazilian history a congressman is arrested after losing a final appeal," said analyst Ricardo Roqueti from the Max Weber Centre in the capital, Brasilia.

"Other politicians were detained before, but either they were released later or they were struck off before serving a sentence," said Mr

Roqueti. Congress has begun proceedings to expel Mr Donadon, who on Thursday was thrown out of his centrist PMDB party, which is part of the governing coalition, Mr Donadon gave himself up to federal police agents at a bus stop in Brasilia and has now been taken to the Papuda penitentiary. His brother, Marcos Donadon, a politician in the Rondonia State Assembly, has been convicted of the same crime.

He was arrested on Wednesday at an airport in Rondonia, reportedly as he attempted to escape to neighbouring Bolivia.

Earlier this week, Brazil's Senate approved a proposal that introduces tougher punishment for corruption.

According to the proposed bill, which needs to approved by the lower house of Congress, corruption would become a "heinous crime" and those found guilty

of it would not be eligible for parole or amnesty.

Public anger against corruption and impunity has prompted millions of Brazilians to take to the streets in the past month.

The protests began in the city of Sao Paulo when local authorities put up transport fares by 10%.

But the demands for the fare hikes to be revoked turned into a nationwide movement, which turned violent in several cities. Protesters have been demanding better public health care, transport and state education.

Many complain about the high costs of preparations for next year's football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Huge protests are due to take place on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, where the Brazilian football team face Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup - a dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) Brazil’s trucking union is calling for a 72-hour strike starting Monday, potentially slowing the movement of record soy, corn and sugar crops to ports, although unlikely to stop exports.

MUBC, as the most influential truckers union in Brazil is known, encouraged all sectors involved in transporting cargoes in the country to participate in a “passive protest” starting 6 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday, in a written statement posted online.

Threats of a general strike in Brazil, which saw its largest protests in 20 years last week over issues ranging from

education to corruption in politics, are generally considered overblown, with pledges of participation waning.

The trucking union’s demands include a subsidy for diesel fuel, exemption on highway toll payments for drivers and the creation of a new federal government department of cargo transportation.

The threats comes as the last of Brazil’s record soybean harvest is on the way to the ports and traffic from sugar and corn crops is picking up.

Unlike the United States, the western hemisphere’s other grains powerhouse,

Brazil relies overwhelmingly on trucks to move commodities and has not developed many trains or waterways.

The MUBC last went on strike for a week in July of 2012, disrupting the flow of goods in the country’s heavily populated southeast and spurring fears of higher food prices.

The main ports of Paranagua and Santos did not report snags in the flow of bulk commodities to foreign markets and most exporting companies keep grains in private storage units to minimize the effect of interruptions to ground transport.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – A reporter, who was dismissed in 2009 for refusing to disclose the source of his information for a story, has been awarded TT$600,000 by the Industrial Court for wrongful dismissal.

Darryl Heeralal sued the Trinidad Express after he was dismissed for failing to submit his source to the then editorin-chief Omatie Lyder on June 29, 2009 for the story that concerned a probe into a shootout between police and bandits in Wallerfield, east of here in August 2007.

The shootout led to the death of five people, including Wendy Courtney, a mother of five children, who was shot by a stray bullet as she lay in her bedroom.

Heeralal was dismissed after he refused to reveal his source to Lyder when the

police officers sued the Express for defamation after their matter was dismissed after a preliminary inquiry.

In his evidence, Heeralal said in refusing to reveal his source he had expressed concern to Lyder about confidentiality within the newsroom and wanted that issue addressed before he would reveal his source.

“An entire arm of national security could have been compromised and there were death threats,” he said.

But the newspaper argued that the employee had failed to comply with a legitimate instruction and therefore there was a loss of trust.

But in its ruling, the Industrial Court said the reasons for dismissal were “not valid,” given the circumstances of the case, and that Heeralal “was denied

the basic principles of a fair opportunity to be heard”.

The Banking, Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU), which is the bargaining body for print journalists, at the newspaper, asked the court for Heeralal to be reinstated or be granted damages of TT$750,000. But the court did not award the full amount.Heeralal told reporters while he was pleased with the ruling, he wanted the opportunity to clear his name, which he had built during his 11 years at the newspaper.

“Trinidad is one of the very few places where freedom of the press is constitutionally enshrined.

The meat of journalism is sources. If a journalist has to be forced to reveal his sources, then journalists will stand on nothing.”

Journalist wins case against Trinidad Express

AG has no trust in cops

Trinidad Guardian Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is confident a compromise will be reached with police to allow for his cellphone and other electronic devices to be handed over soon to investigate the Section 34 email matter. But he is insisting that only an international IT expert will be allowed to look at them because he is not confident the police will ensure the information remains confidential. In fact, he fears his confidential information might be leaked and used against him on a People’s National Movement platform. Ramlogan said so in response to questions from reporters during Thursday’s post-Cabinet news

‘Only foreign IT expert will get my devices’ conference at the Prime Minister’s office in St Clair. “In the current climate there are current international best practices, protocols and procedures that must be followed in circumstances such as these,” he said.

He said his lawyer Pamela Elder, SC, had refused to hand over his devices Thursday because the proper arrangements were not in place for their safety and integrity. Once proper arrangements were put in place, the devices would be handed over, he said. But he insisted no local investigator will be allowed to look at the devices. “I have no difficulty [with] an international IT

expert whose credibility and reputation are beyond reproach and question going through my stuff,” Ramlogan said. “The agreement is, that is the only person that can go through the equipment. I have no difficulty with that, but I have a serious problem with anybody else going through your business that contains anything and everything.”

Ramlogan said his reason for adopting that stance was obvious. “We are all human beings and we have a private life, a personal life, but more than that, we have a professional life as a government minister. I am the AG of the country, I sit on the National Security Council.”

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 9

REWARD THE COCHORES The government is bailing out Guyana Power and Light to the tune of billions of dollars each year. This is in order to ensure that tariffs are not increased.

In the meantime, electricity theft is rampant.

Some estimates place the theft of electricity as high as one third of total power generation. Other estimates say that this, when combined with technical losses can run as high as fifty per cent.

In effect what it means is that between 33 per cent and 50 per cent of the total electricity generated is nonrevenue earning.

It is either lost due to technical deficiencies or due to the stealing of electricity.

However, since the government is subsidizing the cost of electricity, it means that if these losses can be cut then tariffs could plunge by as much as one-third. Thus if your electricity bill is around $18,000 per month, you should really be paying $12,000 had there been no illegal connections.

The Guyana Power and Light has been trying to reduce electricity theft but it seems as if the smarter they get, the wiser becomes the population. All manner of illegal connections are established. It is also believed that many workers of the power company are in league with customers in a conspiracy to steal electricity.

The average consumer cannot slow down a meter; the average consumer cannot create a bypass from a meter; the average consumer cannot connect a line to the pole to steal current. These things have to be done by persons who are either part of the power company, were part of the power company or in the case of those connecting illegal lines, with some knowledge of how to make these connections.

Thus, unless corruption is rooted out in the GPL, the power utility will always face an uphill battle to control the situation. In the meantime, legitimate consumers are being saddled with high electricity costs and the

Dem boys seh...

Donald cuss back and then walk out Dem got some words that some people don’t like hear. Once you use dem words is like if you show a red flag to a bull. Don’t worry wid all who seh that a bull colour blind.

De Investment conference going on good.

Everybody smiling and clapping but dem boys seh that all good things must come to an end. De Canadian had to talk bout corruption.

Dem boys seh that from de time de word come out of he mouth Donald raise he flounce skirt, de one Bharrat give he, and he start a buse. Instead of telling de people thanks fuh bringing de conference, he give dem a first class cussing. Was tit fuh tat. Dem talk bout Trafficking in Person and Donald tell de Americans that dem got de same thing.

De Canadian talk bout corruption and Donald mek he know that Canada got dem too. Dem boys seh that he shoulda shut he mouth. He go on, shaking he flounce skirt.

He holler how he ain’t do nutten and de Americans drop he down de TIP ladder.

Well if de thing going on and you ain’t

doing nutten you got to slide. Is then de people remind Donald that dem does ketch in dem country. In fact dem even ketch and jail some of Donald people who he and de whole police force couldn’t ketch. And dem got some more fuh ketch and jail.

Donald get vex and he stay away from de closing session but Ash Knee been and he seh that crime and corruption ain’t keeping away investors.

Dem boys want to know since when. He was de same man who join wid Bharrat and claim how de Waterfalls paper chasing way people when it report on crime and talk bout corruption. It got to be that de corruption turn a way of life that people stop worrying about it. And besides Guyana ain’t got no plane to bring or carry people. A man want come home fuh a funeral and he nearly had to walk from de States.

But then again, Guyana is a country wid nuff plans.

Talk half and watch how Donald fold he flounce skirt.

treasury is being forced to bail out the GPL in the main because of power theft.

This is not good enough but unfortunately there is reluctance on the part of consumers to report theft taking place within their communities.

Unless we do away with this culture of turning a blind eye to electricity theft, the situation will not improve.

Guyanese therefore have to be blamed for what is taking place because the theft of power is no secret but people simply refuse to report those who are stealing electricity.

The Guyana Power and Light has changed the laws to allow them to back bill those found stealing but by the time they find the persons stealing, the amount of theft that has taken place cannot be compensated for by any back billing.

It is interesting that most Guyanese were outraged when they discovered what the people of Linden were paying per kilowatt hour while they had to pay more. Many said it was not fair.

Well, it is also not fair for persons to be stealing electricity while legal users of electricity have to end up paying for the electricity stolen.

This is exactly what happens. There is no free ride.

Somebody has to pay because tariffs are calculated based on the total power

generated and not on the total power used.

As such if your neighbour is stealing electricity, it is you who will end up paying because the GPL has to recover the total cost of generated power.

It is time therefore for persons to begin to report those who are stealing electricity. And the GPL should offer some financial incentives to the public for making such reports. There are of course, persons who may be willing to give information but who are not sure about the confidentiality of the information.

As such, the GPL should establish a toll free number whereby persons can call an overseas operator and give their report to someone living overseas. The overseas receiver will then inform GPL as to which property they should check. They will not reveal any details as to who made the report.

In return, the person

making the report should be paid 10 per cent of all the monies that are recovered due to back billing.

In this way if one million dollars is recovered, the person giving the information will be guaranteed one hundred thousand dollars which will be channeled through the overseas operator.

Once persons begin to be rewarded for giving information, including information on GPL staff, the reports will flow and electricity theft will be eradicated.

GPL should seriously consider such a strategy since it would help the corporation but more importantly, it will help consumers to reduce what they pay for electricity.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Saturday June 28, 2013

Operators encouraged to mine Police dealing aggressively despite reduction of gold price with piracy on the Corentyne Although the gold price has significantly dropped on the international market; mining operations in Guyana are encouraged to press ahead to achieve this year’s ambitious target of surpassing 460,000 ounces.

Already, they have declared 230,000 ounces of the precious mineral, says Patrick Harding, President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) during the Association’s General Meeting on Thursday, where he was re-elected president.

Harding said that GGDMA guided miners from a declaration of gold from under 10,000 ounces to a record of 438,645 last year. In 2013, the Association aims to exceed 460,000 ounces setting the record for the highest gold declaration, surpassing, OMAI and local companies combined of 458,000 ounces.

According to Harding, the current price of gold is US$1,210 a far reduction from US$1,750-- six months ago-representing a loss of US$540.

He said that when prices were high, miners made capital investment that they are obligated to repay.

The Guyana Gold Board has no control of the pricing mechanism for gold and

…230,000 ounces of gold declared thus far for 2013 therefore miners have to be cost conscious; increase recovery rate of operations; and access to better roads will reduce transportation costs and provide more accessibility to work sites, he noted.

E x t e n d i n g congratulations to miners for their efforts and sacrifices made over the years he said, “This Small and Medium Scale Alluvial Gold and Diamond Mining Industry will not fail”.

According to Harding, small and medium scale gold and diamond mining industry contributes to the economy through the provision of direct employment for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers. And, between 100,000 and 150,000 are provided with a source of income and employment in Guyana’s interior where there are few Government jobs.

He stressed that mining has helped to develop the infrastructure of Guyana’s hinterland region, which is connected by roads, airstrips, bridges and landing.

“Miners built shops, hotels, installed electrical facilities and communication services in communities, Mahdia, Imbaimadai, Port Kaituma, Matthews Ridge, Kurupung etc…The development of Guyana’s hinterland is directly entwined with the development and

prosperity of the mining industry, which provides opportunities for Guyanese,” He said that local firms and industries have also developed and prospered owing to this growing sector.

For instance, MACORP, Genequipt, AINLIM, have benefited through sales of heavy-duty machineries and spares, and also the domestic airline services.

However, some large companies serving the mining industry increased prices when gold prices were high and those prices must now be reduced comparatively to assist miners, he emphasized.

Mining has an impact on the environment and as such, miners are responsible to restore lands to pre-mining condition after completing their operations.

According to Harding, not every area is profitable and therefore the miner may not be able to afford the cost of effectively rehabilitating that area. GGDMA is working with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to research techniques or systems for rehabilitation.

He said that the various areas to be researched are equipment required; soil condition of the area; reforestation and suitability of types of plant area that can be used for aquaculture, agricultural development, and eco-tourism.

The Guyana Police Force yesterday refuted suggestions by a Corentyne official that the Force has been tardy in investigating acts of piracy.

Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Cooperative Society and Berbice Anti-Piracy Squad, Mr. Pravinchandra Deodat, had made the allegation in last Monday’s Kaieteur News. He had also claimed that the Force and the Judiciary have failed to enforce the Piracy Act. Deodat had also accused the police of not sharing information with the Society.

But a release from the Police Public Relations Department stated, that police have made numerous arrests of suspected pirates and that a sibling of a Corentyne coop society official was among those implicated.

“The Guyana Police Force wishes to state that we have been dealing aggressively with acts of piracy,” the release stated.

“Over the past five years

- say some fishermen involved in attacks the Police have conducted investigations into 30 reports of piracy in Berbice, that occurred within the territory of Guyana, and which resulted in 23 cases being placed before the courts.

“In many instances fishermen living in and operating from Berbice have been implicated and charged, including a sibling of the Chairman of the No. 66 Fishermen’s Coop Society.

Given the fact that fisherfolk from Berbice are involved in these acts of piracy, the Police have some reservations concerning the sharing of information on their operations/strategies,” it added.

Deodat had also stated that the Force is not adhering to the Piracy Act, which he said gives power to the law enforcement officials to deal with perpetrators of piracy, even in cases where the crime is committed out of Guyana’s

territorial waters.

Responding to this charge, the release stated that “it also appears that the C h a i r m a n ’s understanding of the law in relation to the Piracy Act is not adequate. With the exception of incidents occurring on the high seas under certain circumstances, the Police can only prosecute offenders for offences committed within the territory of Guyana.

The Guyana Police Force has a very productive working relationship with our counterparts in Suriname on reports of piracy, in addition to other law enforcement issues.

President of the Upper Corentyne Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UCCCI), Mr. Krishnand Jaichand, had also acknowledged to Kaieteur News that some fishermen are believed to be involved in acts of piracy.

Corentyne man freed of rape and sodomy charge Rape and sodomy accused Fazal Roy Hussein, 29, of Ulverston, Corentyne, Berbice walked out of the Berbice High court a free man.

This was after the mixed jury sitting in the Liverpool rape and sodomy trial returned with a unanimous verdict of not guilty on both counts.

The jury had earlier listened to the summation of Justice Dawn Gregory and retired for just

half an hour to consider the evidence before they returned with their unanimous verdict.

Hussein on being told that he was free to go, left the court in a hurry and went to a church to offer prayers.

This was after both the Prosecutor Attorney at Law Diana Kaulesar and Defence Counsel Attorney at Law Sasha Roberts had presented their closing arguments to the

judge and mixed jury on Thursday.

Hussein was on trial for the two offences which were allegedly committed between April 27 and April 28, 2009 at Liverpool Village, Corentyne, Berbice on his one time live home lover.

The accused had maintained his innocence and had stated that any sex was consensual.

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Page 12

Kaieteur News

GGDMA, GGMC researching alternatives for mercury Finding alternatives for the use of mercury in the recovery of gold is ongoing with Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) teaming up with the regulatory body.

This is according to Patrick Harding, President of GGDMA, who said that, the Association and Officers of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) have been visiting mining camps to demonstrate several recovery systems.

He said that Guyana has been exempted from proposed 2013 ban on the sale of Mercury.

“A small country, like Guyana, whose economy is heavily dependent of gold mining, has been allowed to continue the use of mercury.”

However, mercury should only be used in the cleanup process, is used under safety conditions, require proper handling, safety gear, use of retorts; and the substance is

not allowed unto the waterways.

He said that Guyana’s mining industry must provide alternatives for the reduction in the use of mercury. Harding requested miners to offer the locations of their camps or locations for testing purposes.

He also asked his fellow miners who are familiar with recovery equipment or any other recovery technology to share their experiences.

“I know that you have been out there in the fields and you are more experienced and knowledgeable than the Mines Officers that GGMC will be sending into the fields,” he added.

He noted that the sluice box is the main recovery system equipment used by the miner. Over the years, there have been modifications and improvements to the sluice box.

However, the recovery rate of the sluice box is still between 40 percent and 50

percent. This means that miners are at best only recovering half of the minerals that pass through their sluice boxes.

“An increase in the recovery rate will benefit your operations by making it more effective and contributing to offsetting your overall operating costs…To this end GGDMA is working with GGMC to teach the miners better ways of operating the sluice box system and the introduction of other recovery systems to compliment the use of the sluice box.

Any new recovery system/method must be effective and at an affordable price to the miner, he said.

Saturday June 28, 2013

‘Contracts are only awarded to friends and those paying bribes’- Culture Ministry contractors The process of how contracts are awarded by the government has been up for question for quite some time.

Recently, carpenters attached to the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports have been complaining that contracts are being sabotaged.

According to a few of these contractors, unless their colleagues are willing enough to pay a significant “small piece”, jobs are handed out only to those considered friends of the official who is closely involved in the process of issuing the contracts.

Workers are also annoyed at not being provided the opportunity to view any of the tenders, and that assignments are given on the

basis of favouritism.

“If we are not his friends, we don’t even get to see the tenders that he issuing, so we have no chance at getting the good jobs,” one man told this newspaper.

“If he like me, and we are friends, I gon be considered priority for the big jobs. And who give them the biggest small piece (money) gon definitely get the work,” he added.

Those who depend mainly on works given to them have said that the situation has affected the livelihood of their families, especially their young children. “This cannot continue. Yes, we getting one, two private work, but that ain’t making a difference. We can’t continue just on that.

We working with the Ministry, and I feel like we are entitled to li’l more regular jobs,” another contractor said.

Kaieteur News understands that the official has been disciplined on many occasions for similar doings, at the level of the Permanent Secretary.

Collectively, the workers are asking for clarity where the issuing of contracts is concerned. “Our aim is not to get anybody fired, but we want this individual to be disciplined so that we don’t continue to lose out on our daily bread.”

The contractors are strongly calling on the higher ministry officials to once again investigate and to permanently discipline the errant individual.

Divorced mother of four in jail for ganja As the police continue their war on drug traffickers, a female drug dealer was nabbed trying to hide a quantity of marijuana in

her roof around midnight.

The woman Rene Leach, 26, of 108 New Street Cumberland, East Canje, a divorced mother of four was on Friday remanded to jail by Magistrate Roby Benn when she appeared before him at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court and pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.

She was allegedly found with 180 grams of cannabis concealed in a bag which she was trying to hide in her roof.

According to Prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Sheriff, around

23:30 hrs on the day in question the police were on mobile patrol in the Cumberland area, when in the vicinity of New Street they noticed the defendant leaning through her window and trying to throw something on her roof.

The police stopped and descended on the property where the bag was retrieved and checked and what appeared to be leaves, seeds and stem of the marijuana plant was found inside. The items were tested and weighed and found to be 180 grams of the prohibited plant The woman and the bag with the contents were taken into

custody.. She was subsequently charged.Attorney at law Charrandass Persaud asked the court to consider bail for his client.

He stated that special circumstances should apply to his client. He said that the accused is divorced and mother of four. The house is owned by the grandmother of the defendant and is also occupied by six other adults. The drugs he submitted were found on the roof of the house. The magistrate disagree that those were enough circumstances to grand bail and remanded the accused to jail until July 29.

Body of Bounty Hall lad to be exhumed for “proper” autopsy Relatives of Troy Ryan Livan, the 11-year-old Bounty Hall, Essequibo resident who died hours after he was hit in the head with a cricket bat, are moving to have his body exhumed for the purpose of conducting a second autopsy.

The post mortem examination conducted shortly after the Primary School student died on May 16, revealed the cause of death as being diabetes.

His family members are however, dissatisfied with these

results, maintaining that apart from the customary cold and fever, Livan did not have any illnesses.

According to them, shortly before the lad succumbed, he told relatives and friends that he was attacked and beaten about the head, neck, and belly, by three male students while at school.

“He even get the marks to prove it. Big black and blue on he head and so. I don’t believe that he died of diabetes. The beating that he got and the fact that he just died shortly after that

beating, proves to me that is them knock to he head killed him,” the dead child’s aunt, Judy Livan said.

The woman explained that she and her sisters, including Troy’s mother are working to have a foreign Pathologist come in and conduct a proper autopsy.

Should these results determine the cause of death as being anything besides diabetes, the Livan family said that they are prepared to ensure that strict actions are taken against the guilty parties.

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

Guyana’s Energy is main deterrent to investment - Ashni Singh

Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh The high cost of energy continues to be a deterrent of sorts for potential investors and government recognises this, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said yesterday.

He was addressing the inaugural Guyana Investment Conference at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

Minister Singh said that contrary to some who opine that crime and corruption are the main disincentives to business start-ups, the need for cheap, reliable energy is the main factor.

“The cost of energy today, in Guyana, is acknowledged by the private

sector as prohibitively high.”

This issue took a back seat to crime and corruption and needed to be addressed, during the Investment conference, the minister said.

The issue of cheaper power is one of the biggest challenges facing them, and every business, particularly those in the manufacturing sector; cite the need for cheaper, reliable energy to boost their success and profitability, locally and internationally.

He cited the operations of Qualfon, the largest private sector employer locally, as an example of another challenge facing investors in the technology sector, that of the bandwidth.

This was another issue which was apparently overlooked during the scheduled items to be discussed at the conference hosted by the Canadian Government under the theme “Maximising opportunities for investment in Guyana”.

The tremendous effort to improve the local economic performance is as a result of the collective effort of the government and stakeholders such as the private sector, the Finance Minister said.

(GINA)

Retraction Contrary to a report in the Friday edition of Kaieteur News under the headline “Speaker censures family-related heckle in the Nat’l Assembly, Robeson Benn J r was not charged with assaulting his former girlfriend.

The story was rooted in an incident in the National Assembly when an APNU

Member of Parliament heckled Minister of Public Work, Robeson Benn.

The article stated that the junior Benn was charged with assault after he had allegedly raped and beaten his “ex” girlfriend.

Kaieteur News therefore apologizes for publishing that inaccurate piece of information and for any harm caused.

Page 13

Medical and security team unite at special confab in Berbice

Participants of the confab at UGBC: Medical students; senior ranks of the GPF; Prof. Samad and UGBC Admin Officer, Mr. Cort A confabulation specifically meant to bring the security and health sectors together, was held at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) this past week.

Attending were medical students attached to Fordham University in New York, part of the team ‘DreamCatchers’, and senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Director of UGBC, Professor Daizal R. Samad noted, “What we‘ve done is an attempt to facilitate these students from New York to explore areas where we can engage one another.”

He added that the job of the police force is to serve and protect without fear or favour and “medicine… Their job is to alleviate suffering and illnesses wheresoever they may be found.”

He said that it seems a logical step to put the health and healthcare delivery sector together with the

Guyana Police Force “because we are serving the same purpose in different ways.”

UGBC’s role, he stated, is to facilitate the education of the nation. He noted that one major problem, is that people tend to compartmentalize education in Guyana.

“We don’t see the holistic picture that it is connected— you interfere with one and the rest come apart, so by bringing you all together, I hope you can have a fruitful discussion and see ways how you can connect up.”

DreamCatchers has been visiting Guyana over the past four years at the behest of the Association of Bible Churches in Guyana and holding medical outreaches all across the country. So far, they have visited all the hospitals in Guyana. They also visited Edinburgh, Wakenaam, Mahaica and St. Cuthbert’s Mission yesterday to distribute medical items.

The team comprises Jessica Geer, Robert Rock, Omashwari Antooa, Melissa Buchan, Anesha Narain and their local on-the-ground coordinator, Pastor Shawn Geer. At the UGBC confab, a health fair has been planned for today on the UGBC tarmac. According to Geer, an informative session involving 30 members of the police force will begin at 10:00 hrs and this will be followed by the health fair whereby members of the public can visit and have various medical tests carried

out.

At the confab, too, it was discussed with the police how they can deal with mentally-ill persons as well as persons with heart diseases, whom they may come in contact with (whether in prisons, on the streets, in court) from time to time.

Acting Commander of ‘B’ Division, Senior Superintendent Calvin Brutus and Assistant Superintendent Terrence Brown represented the GPF at the confab.

Page 14

Kaieteur News

Saturday June 28, 2013

Education Ministry clamps down on Former Mexican governor excessive graduation, supplies costs Villanueva sentenced in the US

The Ministry of Education has put a cap on the volume of contributions a parent could make for graduation exercises in light of mounting complaints from parents. In addition, guidelines have been imposed in relation to the soliciting of resources from parents.

In a press statement yesterday, the Ministry warned that head teachers who contravene the guidelines, will stand before the Teaching Service Commission’s Disciplinary Committee. And, Education Officers, who condone such illegal behaviour, would be placed before the Public Service Commission.

According to the Ministry, “We have received numerous complaints from parents regarding the amount of money requested by teachers and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) for various school-based activities and for various supplies.

Specifically, the cost of graduation exercise has been excessive for many parents and students.

Additionally, parents are being requested from time to time, to supply schools with toilet paper, soap, hand towels, paper for printing exams, inter alia.”

It was noted that every child should be given the opportunity to participate in

school-based activities, National Assessments, and Regional Examinations. The Ministry stated that measures are in place to ensure that students are provided with the best learning experience.

In circulars--outlining pertinent guidelines--issued to all schools via the Regional Departments of Education, the Ministry has ended growing demands of schools on parents and students for money and other supplies.

According to one of the circulars, the amount of monetary contribution for any graduation exercise should not exceed $3,000.

The Ministry emphasized that the fee is contributory and it could be lower than $3,000.

The Ministry also sought to address the additional expenses involved in graduation exercises.

“Students should be encouraged to wear their respective uniforms to graduation; No student should be required to rent or purchase caps and gowns for graduation—such costs, where necessary, should be borne by the school; and in addition, students should not be prevented from school-based graduation activities because of nonpayment of fees,” the release stated.

Another circular highlighting guideline in relation to the acquisition of

non-budgetary funds and donations was distributed.

According to the release, no head teacher, member of staff or PTA is authorized to charge parents specific sums for Tests or End-of-Term examination papers. “Such funds can be raised through various fundraising activities, for example, cake sales, fairs, and so on, but should not be directly solicited from parents.”

In addition, the above mentioned are not authorized to request parents to supply schools with toilet tissue, soap, paper for printing, inter alia.

Further, donations to school, whether cash or kind, must be entirely voluntary, and given without condition.

Such donations must be entered in the school’s inventory or stock book, whichever is appropriate as stipulated by financial regulations, the release stated.

It was noted that the Heads of Departments of Education must be informed within seven working days of the donations received.

The Ministry requests parents and or community members to call any of the hotline numbers provided below if they have been required to pay more than recommended by the Ministry. The hotline numbers are as follows: 2237891, 623-0550, 623-4010.

Villanueva, briefly freed in Mexico in 2007, was immediately rearrested for extradition Later Villanueva began A US court has sentenced authorities, he could be rea former governor of the Mexi- leased in two to three years, transferring vast amounts of money to accounts in the US, can state of Quintana Roo to said his lawyer said.

The former governor was Switzerland and other coun11 years in prison for money in office between 1993 and tries. laundering.

He was put under investiMario Villanueva pleaded 1999. Prosecutors said he guilty to transferring millions made an agreement with the gation in 1999 and went on the of dollars in bribery money Juarez drug cartel in the early run before being arrested in 2001. from the Juarez drug cartel to years of his tenure.

He was paid up to £330m Quintana Roo state is foreign bank accounts.

Villanueva, 64, received ($500m) for each shipment of home to the Caribbean resorts large sums of money in ex- cocaine despatched to the US of Cancun and Playa del change for allowing cocaine from Quintana Roo. In ex- Carmen. change, the authorities turned The region has avoided to be smuggled into the US. He was arrested in Mexico a blind eye to the drug smug- m o s t o f t h e v i o l e n c e Mexico has seen since Dein 2001 and extradited to the gling.

"This defendant violated cember 2006, when former US in 2010.

Villanueva served six years the public trust to enrich him- president Felipe Calderon in Mexico for money launder- self," Assistant US Attorney deployed the armed forces to Glen Kopp said in the Man- tackle the drug trafficking caring before his extradition. tels.

As he co-operated with US hattan court.

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 15

Sir Shridath Ramphal receives Commonwealth Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 Sir Shridath Ramphal with his award

G

uyana-born Sir S h r i d a t h Ramphal, the Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral from 1975 to 1990, received the Commonwealth Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 during a Gala Ceremony in London on Thursday.

Sir Shridath is the second recipient of the award which was first bestowed on the legendary Nelson Mandela

last year.

Organised by Nexus Strategic Partnerships, the award was delivered to Sir Shridath by the present Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral Kamalesh Sharma before an audience of some 200 persons representing various organisations in the Commonwealth.

The citation of the Award recalled that “Nelson Mandela said of Sir Shridath

that he is one of those men who have become famous because in their fight for human justice, they have chosen the entire world as their theatre”.

It continued: “Elected

three times by Commonwealth Heads of Government, he served for 15 momentous years as Commonwealth Secretary-General - the only person to have so enjoyed the confidence and trust of leaders over so long a time.”

The Guyanese placed the Commonwealth at centrestage in the common challenges that confronted the world and he effectively fashioned a consensus that allowed the Commonwealth - even though it could not negotiate for the world – to help the world to negotiate.

Under his stewardship, the Commonwealth tackled the issues of poverty and development, of climate change and disarmament, of bridging the divide between countries of the North and South and seeking new paths for international co-operation.

He believes in the

oneness of humanity.

“He led an unremitting Commonwealth struggle against racism in Southern Africa and in particular against apartheid in South Africa. He led that struggle with political acumen – often appealing to people over the heads of reluctant leaders – and bound together the Commonwealth’s values of democracy and development, and of human rights and human advancement,” a statement said.

At the Commonwealth

Secretariat, he focused on change and renewal – constantly ensuring that the Commonwealth was relevant not only to the people of its own member states but also to the global community.

“The Commonwealth owes more than it can repay to the tireless endeavours and creative statesmanship of the recipient of the 2013 Commonwealth Lifetime Achievement Award to Sir Shridath Ramphal”.

Page 16

Kaieteur News

Guyana-born leader of massive motorcycle theft ring convicted New York (New York Post) - The kingpin of a massive motorcycle theft ring was convicted of enterprise corruption in Manhattan last week.

Steve Dow, 31, who went by the nickname “Jersey Dred,” now faces anywhere from one to 25 years in prison for his role in the ring, which officials said, viewed the city’s streets as an o u t d o o r, m o t o r c y c l e showroom and was responsible for half of all cycle thefts here.

Ring members would drive around in vans — themselves often stolen — into which they’d load flashy motorcycles in a matter of seconds. The bikes — some 300 stolen a year, according to investigators — would be sold intact, or dismantled and shipped to buyers in the Caribbean and Senegal.

The ring was busted through a 17-month joint NYPD and Manhattan DA investigation in which undercover cops purchased 63 bikes and 17 guns, including four assault weapons.

Saturday June 29, 2013

Chief Magistrate sends man for Psychiatric check up - after defendant asked her to shoot him

K

- after using vans to swipe up luxury rides The same Manhattan Supreme Court jury also acquitted one of Dow’s codefendants and convicted two other co-defendants.

Omar Thomas, 25, was acquitted after NYPD staff accidentally deleted two surveillance tapes which prosecutors had said showed him selling a total of four bikes to under covers.

Damian Jones, 31, was also convicted of enterprise corruption and faces a higher

possible minimum sentence, 4 and a half to 9 years, because of his previous convictions for assault and kidnapping.

Trumaine Francis, 28, was acquitted of enterprise corruption but was convicted of criminal possession of stolen property and grand larceny.

“Each of the defendants played different, but critical roles in a highly organized operation that systematically

stole expensive motorcycles off the streets of Manhattan,” District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. said after the verdict.

To date, 25 defendants charged in connection with the ring have been convicted, including fellow ringleaders Tiwane Paul, who is serving seven and a half years to nine years prison and Selwyn Mills, who is serving five to nine years.

areem Stewart, 1 9 , w a s yesterday o r d e r e d t o u n d e rg o a psychiatric examination after he asked Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court, to shoot him.

The defendant entered the court room singing, “Oh I will go to heaven, I know I will go to heaven,” as officers placed him into the prisoners dock.

On June 27, last, the defendant broke and entered the dwelling place of Somattie Ali at 566 Toucan Drive, South Ruimveldt. To the allegations, the defendant pleaded not guilty.

Police reported that Ali who is the owner of the home, left everything in tact but when she returned, she found the defendant in her yard. She made several checks and noticed that a number of blocks in the yard were broken. The matter was

reported and the accused was arrested and charged.

The unrepresented defendant then said, “Is not she house; she was not even in the area but me and she could still be friends.”

Stewart then asked the Magistrate to shoot him in his head because he does not know what is wrong with it.

He then turned his attention to members of the court, as he pointed to a few saying, “You and you is a cross.”

After it was discovered that the defendant gave the complainant’s address as his place of abode, he then asked the Chief Magistrate if he could live at the court house.

Chief Magistrate Beharry then indicated to the court that the defendant was refused bail and would be sent for a psychiatric evaluation for 14 days.

As the defendant left the court room he said to the Magistrate, “I kinda like you though. But bye, bye.”

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Visiting doctors treat ailing Essequibians A

number of Essequibians capitalized on the free medical care and services offered to them by qualified doctors and nurses from the United States, when the team visited the Region on Wednesday, and again on Thursday.

The team comprised 35 doctors who visited Airy Hall, ‘Pomona, Charity and Bush Lot, Essequibo Coast.

Medical care was offered in the areas of dental and general health care.

However, while most of the doctors were affiliated to

Dr. Janice Emanuel Bunn Christian churches in the states, fifty percent of those doctors emerged from the

Patients waiting to be treated Seventh Day Adventist Church. Dr. Janice Emanuel Bunn, an overseas-based Guyanese who heads the Action Performance Commitment Organization (APC) and also functions as a lecturer of Advanced Studies at the University of Phoenix, said that most of the doctors are Guyanese who migrated to the United States. It was a great opportunity

for them to give back of their services, especially to fellow Guyanese, she said.

Dr. Bunn strongly believes life is about giving and wherever that need is, they would continue to avail both their time and services.

Dr. Bunn, who has roots in Anna Regina, said that her field of studies lies in Public Health. She has been working in the United States

for almost 33 years. She said that most of the medical cases that the team of doctors confronted, especially with patients on the Coast, were high levels of Cholesterol and Diabetic ailments.

She advised that if the patient learns to manage his/her disease, that patient would be able to live a good, quality life. The services extended by the team were

open to the public.

The team of doctors included Dr. Wendy Reece, Dr. Edward Kan Kam and Dr. Orin Douglas, who was identified as the Medical Director.

For the past five years a medical team has been visiting Guyana.

The team plans to visit St. Vincent in 2014.

(Yannason Duncan).

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 19

Turkeyen Police Station to receive facelift I

n rehabilitating the Turkeyen Police Station, The Station Management Committee has launched a cleanup campaign which will see a number of activities including a painting exercise.

In a press release the committee said that this is just one of many efforts made by the body to build a better relation with the police and members of the Turkeyen (Sophia) community.

According to the Chairman of the committee, Mr. Warren King, their sole

responsibility is to maintain the station, bridging the community and the police officers for a better relationship.

King added that the first phase will be to paint the front of the station “which is not in a lookable state”, giving it a face lift.

He said that the committee held a number of fund raisers which included a Barbeque and take away lunch; raising some of their much needed funds. King added, that apart from the “face lift” operation, the entire yard will be “weeded down” and the broken

Two years later…

Computer technician

still missing after first trip to interior

D

avid La Rose was 40-yearsold, two years ago when he left his Alberttown, Georgetown home, and for the first time ventured off into the interior for work. His family has never heard from, or seen him since. They believe that something might have gone terribly wrong, as that is unlike La Rose not to make contact with his family.

Relatives said that he never disclosed who his employer was, so they have no one to contact about his whereabouts.

The man’s youngest brother, Dale La Rose, told this newspaper that the man would not have spent such a long time away from home, especially to be in the interior, and that even if he was there, he would have at least informed his family that he was alright.

“David ain’t stay so. He would’ve at least called me.

Everybody stressed out because we ain’t know how and where he deh. And he wouldn’t have missed his own brother’s wedding last

David La Rose year,” La Rose said.

The brother added that his family members, especially his parents, have been even more worried since they have already lost one son. Yesterday was their son Carlos La Rose’s death a n n i v e r s a r y. H e w a s murdered 17 years ago, the family is still grieving.

The La Rose family is seeking answers, and are asking persons who have any kind of information as to who La Rose had gone with or where, to make contact with them on telephone numbers673-7169, 225-8133.

windows will also be fixed.

The four-day activity will start with two days of intense cleaning of the entire compound and end on Sunday when the painting will commence.

King also made mention that the entire expense will be about $200,000. He added that voluntary work was provided by the young men of the Sophia Boxing Gym along with Inmates from the Lusignan prisons.

Members of the Station Management Committee in front of the Turkeyen Police Station.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

French complete training stint with Fire Service

F

ollowing four days of training by a F r e n c h delegation of fire fighters from the French Guiana Fire Service, 25 ranks of the Guyana Fire Service are now equipped to render their services to assist not only victims from a fire scene but also victims involved in road accidents.

The trainees were officially certified as rescue agents following a ceremony, yesterday, at the Fire Service Headquarters.

Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle, French Police Attache Jean Yves Le Clech and Major Patrick Castello attached to the French Guiana Fire Service were among those witnessing the graduation ceremony.

The training in first aid and traffic accidents which commenced last Monday was designed to assist the Guyana Fire Service to adopt the French system where, according to French Police Attache Jean Yves Le Clech, 90 per cent of their interventions were in traffic accidents. Fires accounted for the other 10 per cent.

Chief Trainer, Patrick Castello, said that the trainees began at a very low level but after four days, major improvement was seen.

He said that he is confident that the job will be done right if there is need for their intervention in any traffic accidents.

However, in order for the Service to be fully competent, the training, normally a three week programme in French Guiana, must be completed.

According to the French Police Attache, measures

- Equipped to respond to road traffic accidents

French delegation of fire fighters along with their Guyanese counterparts and Minister Rohee (centre) pose for a photo op. will be taken to have a selection of the best trainees to attend advanced classes in French Guiana so as to complete their training.

Following the extended programme, the fully trained fire fighters will be in a position to relay to their colleagues what they had taught.

The fire fighters were trained to assess the situation of a road accident by determining the state of the victim; whether the person is conscious, unconscious, assessing the victim’s breathing and checks to determine if internal injuries were sustained.

In addition, the programme involved enlightening the trainees to the uses of a spinal board and a decompression mattress, equipment that are pertinent to saving the lives of victims in an accident scene.

The Major explained that getting the victim out of a badly or partially damaged vehicle is the most important aspect of the job.

“Sometimes moving the victim makes the situation worse and the victim dies on the way to the hospital,” he said.

He said that with the training received during the past week, fire fighters are

now capable of extracting the victim out of a badly damaged car, a process that would involve bringing the car to pieces.

Following the ceremony, a number of the trainees demonstrated the actions that must be taken to successfully extract an injured victim from a damaged car.

The process involved using the spinal board, which is designed to protect spinal column, head and neck from further damage.

The victim was then placed in a decompression mattress, which prevents the victim from being jerked

about while being transported to the hospital.

The spinal board and decompression mattress used in the demonstration along with neck braces were elements included in a donation by the French to equip the local fire service with items that are necessary in any accident scene.

Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle, in an invited comment, said that the training and equipment received will definitely help the service to be more efficient in saving people from crashed vehicles, getting them out without further injuries and being

able to stabilize them before medical personnel can take over.

According to the Home Affairs Minister, even though the move to change the name of the service from the Guyana Fire Service to the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service was rejected by the political opposition without explanation; the service will be practicing rescue services for the people of Guyana.

He added that he is very pleased with the international cooperation of the French Government for providing the necessary assistance to the Guyana Fire Service.

Guyanese-born drag queen fired as “racist” portrayal Canada (Toronto Star) - A notoriously outrageous drag queen has been fired from a Pride Toronto event after a controversial performance that some are calling “blackface” and a “minstrel show.”

Daytona B—ch was fired as TD Pride Drag Queen following a performance Monday in which she dressed up as Miss Cleo, a kitschy telephone psychic from the late ‘90s, complete with black face paint.

After tweeting photos of the costume, she received several outraged responses on social media from members of the LGBTQ community.

“The whole concept of blackface being an art form or being entertainment, to me it doesn’t make sense at all that anyone would think that’s okay,”

said Alphonso King, who performs drag under the name Jade Elektra.

When the controversy came to light, TD Bank Group decided to fire B-ch, said Scott Mullin, community relations vice-president.

“The performance in question was perceived by some as racist, which is not consistent with TD’s commitment to diversity and inclusion,” he said.

B-ch refused to comment when reached by the Star. “This has already affected my career enough, and I don’t need it to affect it anymore, as well as my safety,” she said.

She earlier told Xtra magazine that she did not think the performance was offensive, but that she apologizes to those who were upset. “I know what blackface is. It was not a minstrel show. I was

doing a character.”

Paras Prashad, co-owner of Crews and Tangos, the club where B—ch performed that night, said the drag queen was “very, very distraught” and has received threats on social media.

Prashad, who is Guyanese, said the majority of the audience that night was of Caribbean descent.

The crowd of about 200 people were clapping, laughing and singing along, he said.

“Daytona B-ch is known for going over the top,” he said. “If it was really such a big deal, then we would have had flak from our customers.”

But Nigel Holdbrook, an audience member who walked out on B—ch’s performance in disgust, said he heard complaints from

others at the club.

“In a multicultural city like Toronto, it’s obvious why some people would find that offensive,” he said. “It disturbed me that in 2013 someone would think that was cool.”

However, Prashad is not alone in his support for the performer.

Some have spoken out on B—ch’s behalf on social media, suggesting that those offended are overreacting.

“She’s already a man dressed as a woman … crossing character l i n e s i s T H E AT R E , PERFORMANCE,” tweeted one user. Another wrote: “It’s drag people! Take a chill pill!”

But Alphonso King, who has received nasty comments for speaking out against B—ch’s performance, worries that racist

acts are too often dismissed in the LGBTQ community.

“The problem is that there hasn’t been an open dialogue about this,” he said. “It’s a positive step that (TD) is looking at this and saying we can’t have our name attached to this, because that would mean we condone it.”

The Pride gig would have seen B—ch perform on a music stage sponsored by TD, a major corporate sponsor of the festival.

Pride Toronto was not involved in hiring or firing B—ch, but executive director Kevin Beaulieu said the organization would not have allowed a performance of that nature.

“It doesn’t meet our mission or our mandate, which is to celebrate the full diversity of Toronto’s LGBTQ community,” he said.

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Heart disease fight to be boosted with second batch of echocardiography graduates

T

he number of heart disease cases seen at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) was yesterday described as “unbelievable”

by Professor Debra Isaac of the University of Calgary in Alberta Canada.

“I see more heart abnormalities here in a period of a week than I would see in a couple of months at home,” a state of affairs she claimed was ideal for the purpose of teaching.

Professor Isaac, who has since 2012 been integrally involved in delivering the Guyana Echocardiography Education Programme o ff e r e d a t t h e p u b l i c hospital, made the revealing remarks when she presented a Report of the Programme at a graduation ceremony for the second batch of doctors to undertake the programme.

Four doctors – Angelina Dhani, Arnelle Sparman, Thashana Teekah and Sarah

V. Lalman – undertook the programme, which according to Professor Isaac, was a very gruelling experience that lasted for a period of eight weeks.

Doctors Sparman and Lalman are attached to the GPHC while Doctors Teekah and Dhani are attached to the East Bank Demerara Hospital and the Linden Hospital Complex respectively.

The programme was first introduced in 2012 when three doctors experienced its intense sessions.

Speaking at the simple ceremony at the GPHC Resource Centre, Professor Isaac, in explaining the importance of the programme said, “You can have all of the equipment that you need, but if you don’t have human resources and you don’t have people who know what to do...it doesn’t really work that well.”

Professor Isaac said that after being engaged in a

meeting with the local Ministry of Health, the GPHC and the University of Guyana, it was deduced that an imperative requirement was an education programme.

As such, a programme was developed to educate Guyanese health professionals to perform and interpret ultrasound which in essence is the practice of echocardiography.

This required moves to put in place an echocardiography laboratory, complete with equipment and software, at the public hospital which was setup last year and has since been utilised by two of the three members of the first batch of graduates to perform various cardiac diagnostic tests. The other graduate is currently undertaking similar procedures at the New Amsterdam hospital.

According to Professor Isaac, the Echocardiography

FROM LEFT: Doctors Arnelle Sparman, Angelina Dhani, Thashana Teekah and Sarah V. Lalman, who together represent the second batch of graduates from the local Echocardiography Education Programme. programme consisted of a pre-course education module where information is provided to the candidates and this is internalised over a period of four weeks.

During this time, the candidates of the programme were subjected to an online mentorship p r o g r a m m e a n d examinations which were

Salvation Army Captains complete a decade of contribution to Guyana

A

fter spending more than nine y e a r s i n Guyana, two Salvation Army Captains will be leaving these shores with a complete package of the Guyana experience.

The captains, a Haitian couple, have spearheaded various aspects of the Salvation Army fulfilling their mission of tending to the spiritual and social needs

of the Guyanese populace.

Mr. Matignol Saint-Lot and his wife Mrs. Mireille Saint-Lot have dedicated 10 years of their lives to travelling to various parts of the country teaching, training and counseling via social networks of the church.

They have counseled numerous recovering addicts through the drug rehabilitation programme of the Salvation Army.

The couple noted appreciation for their experience in Guyana and cited their contribution to the rehabilitation programme. In fact the service to the programme has made their time here even more valued.

“One of the things we can be most proud of; the many lives we’ve seen changed through the Rehab programme. We are blessed to watch people who had

given up on life get back on their feet and give life a second chance,” The couple has three children, one of whom is Guyanese.

“Guyana has been the place where the children grew up they are more Guyanese than we are, therefore we could never forget our experience here.”

The family will be heading to Jamaica for the next mission.

immediately followed by an eight-week programme at t h e G P H C echocardiography lab.

The final week of the programme saw candidates undergoing several clinical correlation sessions and evaluations and according to Professor Isaac who noted that “it is surprising that they are still able to smile...”

A n u m b e r o f echocardiography specialists and technologists volunteered their time and knowledge to the programme which complemented the skills of doctors which were recruited by the Health Ministry to facilitate the programme.

Addressing the now echocardiography lab certified doctors, yesterday, was Cardiologist attached to

the Caribbean Heart Institute, Dr. Mahender Carpen, who also acts in the capacity of Director of Internal Medicine.

According to him, it is expected that the graduates would utilise their knowledge to specifically target cardiovascular diseases and help to have a significant impact on reducing mortality in the population.

“We are hoping that in the near future we will move from a third to maybe a quarter and then even less...elsewhere 80 and 90 years is the life expectancy; we are going to get there at some point and it will start by targeting the area that takes most of our people – cardiovascular diseases,” said Dr. Carpen.

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Saturday June 29, 2013

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Fisheries Chairman to take GPL to court for $300M in losses …co-op without electricity since 2004

The No. 66 Fisheries The Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-operative Society, Pravinchandra Deodat, intends to take Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL) to court for $300M in losses.

The organization has been without a GPL connection since 2004, after the company and the fisheries had a big falling out over electricity tariffs.

“Our company, for no reason got cut off since 2004.”

He said that the fisheries used to pay normal bills every

month. Deodat, who was Treasurer in those days, stated that the entire matter started with two GPL employees whom he accused of corruption. “They [the two named GPL employees] said that they can ‘assist’ us; that we can pay less [light bills] and asked us for a ‘raise’. We will pay just $300,000 or $400,000. We refused.

After we refused, then we started to get the problems and our bills started to increase for no reason.”

Deodat noted that before then, the power company

used to send a bill for over $ 1.2M per month. “It went up as high to $3M per month.

And GPL complained that we owed them $26M.” He added that Prime Minister Samuel Hinds intervened and visited the complex in 2003 to listen to their problems about the electricity matter. He promised that he will intervene but he did not.”

GPL took them to court and they had to pay $10M. He noted that the fisheries continued to pay GPL…”and [in] August 2004, they took

ImmigrationINFO...

Some deterrents to accessing visas

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram Through this “Question & Answer” column, our goal is to answer your immigration questions. Many of you have questions on backlog time and eligibility – we seek to clarify these issues and more. We appreciate your comments and questions. If you have a question that you would like answered in this column, please email: Gail@GailLaw.com.

Question #1: My daughter recently left Guyana with her dad and step-mom. Her step-mom was the petitioner who sponsored her dad and her. Her dad left Guyana in December 2010 and my daughter left in January 2012. I am told that she got her green card. However, she cannot leave the US within two years. Or if she leaves, only her step-mom can accompany her.

My question is: Is this possible and true? I have never heard anyone saying this before. And why does she have to be accompanied if I want her to return home this summer for vacation with me? I can only afford her ticket and not two tickets.

Answer #1: This is incorrect. It sounds like your daughter has a two-year conditional green card based on the fact that maybe her dad was married for less than two years to the step-mom at the

time of visa approval. She can travel immediately after receiving her green card (even if it is a two-year green card)there is no two-year waiting period. If she is a minor (under age 21), she can also travel unaccompanied (without an adult) but arrangements need to be made with the airline.

Question #2: In February 1992, I was arrested in Puerto Rico going to USA with somebody else’s name. I spent six months in jail and was deported on September 6, 1992.

The judge banned me for two years.

I am a farmer. In 2006 I was chosen to go to a trade fair in America California. I paid someone to full up my visitor visa application form. I told him about the issue. He told me not to worry that my issue was a long time ago. He did not list my prior deportation. It was the first time I ever went in the U.S.A embassy in Guyana. They took my finger prints and my file came up.

They refused the visa and said that I lied to them. In 2008 I wrote an apology letter to them. They replied to me saying that it will be left to their discretion.

Answer #2: Once you lie to an immigration office to gain an immigration benefit then this is a ground for denial of a visitor

visa and immigrant visa. Also, if you were deported in the past, depending on the grounds for the deportation, this may also be a bar to obtaining a visitor visa and immigrant visa.

Question #3: What is the procedure for a US citizen husband to file for his newly married wife and her two children (not his) who are over age 26 and married?

Answer #3: He can file for wife but not her children.

Processing time is about one year.

Since wife’s children are married, wife would have to become a U.S. citizen before she can file for her children.

Question #4: M y grandmother is a US citizen and she had sponsored my father and family case preference category F3- Married sons and daughter of US citizen. I am 23 years old I wrote to the visa center since I was 20 for child status protection, but never got a reply from them. My brother is 20. Will he be able to go with my parents and how much longer must my family have to wait to get through?

Answer #4: For F-3 visas, married child of a U.S. citizen, visas being issued for petitions filed on or before October 2002. Note, child status protection cannot be determined until the visa is available.

away the meter… they never notified the Committee of Management…they didn’t give any reason, only that we owed them $26M…I did not owe them…” Deodat stated that his organization has historical records and proof that he paid …”They never find us stealing current.”

The Chairman plans to take GPL to court and sue them for $300M in losses since 2004 in addition for wrongful disconnection for owed bills.

The company suffered because it was their fault….they never said why they took away the meter.

“I went and meet [Bharat] Dindyal several times and in my presence the Prime Minister called Dindyal and asked him to resolve the problem. I don’t know if they were bluffing or they are serious,” he opined.

“Unto now we using generator and it breaking down steady and high costs”, he complained.

When asked how they stock up on ice, he noted that the boats usually go to

Suriname, where the ice is cheaper, load and return to Guyana with ice. “It’s affecting the industry.

The government is not interested to give some dutyfree diesel. We pay $50,000 per drum of diesel”, he stated.

Deodat noted that he spends over $6M in operation costs for his diesel generator per month, while it costs over $7M to operate the generators at the fisheries, including for payment of staff there. “After GuySuCo, this is one of the biggest industries in the Upper Corentyne area and no attention. Some time the President passes—the only President that visited often was President Jagdeo—since President Ramotar takeover he never come and approach the fishermen.”

Several efforts to make contact with the Berbice Manager of GPL, Mr. Ayube Bacchus, proved futile.

“The government is spending billions of dollars on drainage and irrigation on rice farmers but they must realize

Pravinchandra Deodat that international markets don’t have demand for rice, and they should focus and pay more attention to fishermen,” he urged.

The Number 66 Fisheries is governed by a Committee of Management which comprises seven persons.

They all do voluntary work, he stated. They are Assistant Chairman, Mr. Thankoor Persaud Gopaul; Secretary, Mr. Bhawase Harripaul; Treasurer, Mr. Parmeshwar Jainarine; Assistant Treasurer, Mr. Madan Kumar; and Committee Members: Mr. Budnarine Persaud, Indar Persaud, and T. Ramdharry.

Deodat also bemoaned that the Committee receives no assistance from the government.

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Residents seek help from Region 10 Chairman Residents of #47 village on the Linden Lethem Highway, 47 miles from Linden, say that they are now waiting on the Region Ten Democratic Council to take action to ensure they can get a good quality source of potable water in the village.

A spokesperson for the group said, that members of the community raised the problem with a team from the RDC led by Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon last week.

The meeting was held at the Primary School in Number 47 Village. The team from the RDC travelled to the village from Linden.

The residents said that

Mr. Solomon had promised to raise their plight with Guyana Water Inc. as a matter of urgency and they were now looking forward to some sort of positive development on the issue.

The community of about 200 is mainly loggers and their families and some gold miners who had settled in the area some twenty odd years ago.

Mr. Myrtland Simmonds, another resident, disclosed that the GWI had sunk two wells in the village some five years ago but both wells had collapsed. The village is located on the watershed between the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers. Residents have since those days been

forced to use water from a nearby creek or to travel further afield to the Demerara River to obtain potable water.

Apart from the hardship endured in this, members of the community are continuously and sometimes uncomfortably suspicious that, the ground water they are using may be contaminated either by dead animals or other sources of pollution.

The assurance that the matter of a good quality source of water supply in the form of an artesian well, will be dealt with, was given by Solomon during an RDC outreach to the village last Friday.

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News Editor, reporter fined $200,000 for contempt Editor in Chief of Kaieteur News Mr. Adam Harris, and reporter Rehanna Ramsay were fined $150,000 and $50,000 respectively after they appeared before Justice Brassington Reynolds charged with contempt.

The newspaper had published an article on Thursday June 27 that forced the judge to declare a mistrial in a murder case. The newspaper published the details of a voir dire.

Justice Brassington Reynolds yesterday at the trial called the article a “jaundiced” account that imported evidence that was not even before the court and some of which might not have been heard by the court.

According to the judge both parties, the defense and the prosecution, were upset, which caused him to discontinue the trial. Justice Reynolds chastised both the reporter and the editor, stating that the “quality control”

of what hits the press lies at the feet of the latter. He said that this had to be sadly lacking in this instance.

Attorney at law Khemraj Ramjattan, in a plea to the judge explained that the reporter Rehanna Ramsay has been working at Kaieteur News for about a year and would be classified as a “junior reporter”.

The lawyer said that Ramsay mistook the proceedings in the court for an open court trial, when in fact it was a voir dire.

She submitted the report which was carried by the editor.

Ramjattan said that a full front page explanation was carried, after the newspaper recognized the damage.

Ramjattan pleaded with the judge that although there should be some form of reprimand, he urged for leniency.

The judge in responding to the lawyer urged that whoever is doing the court reporting be well grounded. Brassington said

that person cannot be inexperienced. The reporter should be in a position to recognize a voir dire.

The judge added that the “gate keeping” was flawed and this led to a slippage which is considerably reprehensible.

Harris was fined $150,000 with an alternative of 14 days in jail. His reporter Rehanna Ramsay was fined $50,000 with an alternative of seven days on the contempt charge. The fines have already been paid.

The Judge filed the charges against the two after the newspaper carried details of the voir dire of the murder trial.

A voir dire is a trial within a trial that is conducted without the jury’s presence. It is mostly conducted to ascertain specific facts in a case and whether those facts would be admissible during the trial. The details of the voir dire are not made public since those details could prejudice the case.

next.

Sami Yusuf has a huge audience with a large young fan base and has sold over 15 million albums worldwide. He has inspired many by his spiritual and meaningful lyrics and his interpretation of the current state of the world.

Best known for the singles “Al-Mu’Allim”, “Mother”, Asma Allah”, “Ya Mustafa” and “Allahu” the 32-year-old was named Islam’s Biggest Rock Star by the Time Magazine and King of Islamic Pop by Aljazeera.

Yusuf produced his fourth and latest album “Salaam” in 2012, which continues to spread love, peace and unity.

“Our decision to invite Sami Yusuf to perform in Guyana is driven by our desire to inspire our country, especially our young Guyanese who are the leaders

of tomorrow. We will continue to plan events and activities that will positively impact our nation.

“As we continue to grow economically, we must also grow morally and spiritually.” said Yog Mahadeo, Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Inc. “This is why this event will be promoted as ‘Peace, Love and Unity’,” he added.

This will be Sami Yusuf’s first visit to Guyana. He has performed in numerous countries across the world, including: the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Bosnia, Turkey and the MENA region.

“6We eagerly await the arrival of the inspirational artist, Sami Yusuf, to our shores”, Mahadeo said.

Inspire brings Islamic international artiste

Sami Yusuf Inspire Inc. in collaboration with the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana and the Muslim Youth League of Guyana is hosting internationally renowned artiste, Sami Yusuf, at the Guyana National Stadium, on September 28,

Saturday June 28, 2013

Kaieteur News

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WANTED One qualified Cook, for East Bank area- call:614-4358 Live In Live Out Babysitter Domestic - Call: 225-6070 Receptionist- Call:225-3234 Office Clerk: CXC English/ Mathematics- Call:225-0188/ 225-6070 Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 Experience taxi- minibus drivers and dispatchers at Princess Hotel Contact:6165419, 265-7076 One live-in or live out maidcall:668-3985/264-3355/6837936 One female general worker to work shift in Parafaite Harmonie call:668-0306, 6947817 West Site Taxi service: Wanted experience dispatcher & contract carscall:613-0419/ 600-0699 One live in domestic very good accommodation rates, light duties call:227-1830 1 Handy-boy to work: Living accommodation free- call: 228-5655/628-1756 One experienced driver, gear & automatic: Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with application, 5 Commerce Street

WANTED Cashier/ sales girls at Nirva’s: 49 Sheriff street: Apply in person- Call:227-5771 Machine Operator to work in Garment Factory- Call:2222541 Urgently Needed: 1 Captain for Vessel, must have Captain License & 2 years experience in Guyana & Venezuela waters- Contact: 699-1220/ 658-6548 Cashier/ sales girls at Sachi’s: 136 Regent street: Apply in person- Call:2272472 1 Sales clerk with knowledge of Microsoft excel & Sales representative @ Marcos Trading- Contact: 225-944511 North road Lacytown.

Mangers to work in the Interior on Land Dredges: Mining Firm has own excavators & bulldozers.

Call: 226-9768/ 629-0037 Live- in domestic must know to cook & live-in waitress 1825yrs: $50,000 monthly.

Boarding & lodging freeTele:610-5043

VEHICLE FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY M E R C U R Y (QUICK SILVER) 9 9 . 9 9 9 9 5 % PURITY - $20,000 PER POUND CALL:604-6108

Cannon IR400 Photocopiers Call:649-0956

Toyota RZ, BMM 3828 $1.6M- Call:679-3168

One 7 weeks male pure breed German Shepherd pupCall:638-5778

Toyota Fielder $2.1M, Premio $2.6M, Axio $2.9M: Vehicles fully loaded & unregisteredcall: 617-2891

One Carina 212 Car, sold by owner- Contact Marcia 6299511/ 225-4511

Sheep for sale- call:695-6139

Household appliances: Generator 7500 watts, music set etc. Call:269-0959

Pure Bred Rottweiler puppies; Romel: 653-6281

Pure Bred Rottweiler pupsCall:650-8496

CRV PMM series call:6925460

500 Ton Cargo Ship with Contract- call: 687-6174

Dell laptops & desktops complete computers from $55,000 Futuretech. Call: 2312206

Games for PS 2, $900,PSP $900, Xbox360 $2600, PS 3 $2600, call:672-2566

Fluffy Dashund PuppiesCall:666-5199/ 669-8421

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943

1 PS3 for sale: $105,000 negotiable: 5 free gamesCall:682-0940

R o t t w e i l e r, B r a z i l i a n , German Shepherd puppies: Hunting dogs (Pointers) fully vaccinated- Call: 6822148/655-8674

1 Chicken Farm (8 acres): 5 Pens (capacity 30,000 birds) with own water source and other amenities @ LaluniCall:611-8049

Original games for sale. Call: 265-3232

Sale! Sale! Blow Out Sale At Aaliyah’s Cheap Shop: Lot 4 Cove & John, E.C.DCall:664-2209

Nanny wanted, preferably from Georgetown or E.B.D. Contact cell: 693-4075

Male Enhancement Viagra: 4 in a Pack For $3000- Call: 642-6664/ 638-1627

C a s h i e r, 2 5 - 3 5 y e a r s : Salary $12,000 weekly: F a b r i c Wo r l d @ 1 4 0 Regent & Light street with written application & CV

1x1 galvanized angle, galvanized gutter, filing cabinet, 10" cast iron wheel call: 627-7835 1- 10 RB Dragline, 1- F150 Ford Truck- Call: 687-6174 Fluffy pups call: (Home) 2225671, cell: 641-6162

Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery, Call: 670-0798. Also Wedding dresses for sale Courses for: Bridal accessories, Cake decoration, Floral arrangements, Cake & Pastry-contact Sharon:6728768/223-3303

One blue female pitbull puppy; Vaccinated and ears cropped- call: 692-3329 Beds, Dining Table, Cabinets, Wall Divider, Wardrobe, Clothes Dryer, Sofas.

Call:219-3732 (After 5pm) Used Massey Tractors- MF 165, 175, 275, 1100, 1130, Ford 5000, Yanmar Vegetable Tractors: Affordable PricesCall: 675-9314 6" & 8" Flood control pump with engine, tool sets, ploughs, chippers, slasher, massey ferguson loaderCall:675-9314

Hairdresser must know to cut all styles with nail designing experience: Ruimzeight W.C.D.Call: 2691525/ 656-3561

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad.

Call: 660-5257, 647-1773

Experienced Taxi Driverscall:667-9013/ 627-9424

Natural beauty salon & spa: Grove Market Street EBD tele:265-4138,652-5800 specialized in everything for women & children

Strong Tables & ChairsCall: 650-2391 Pure Bred Rottweiler puppies Call: 227-0828, 604-7105

2- 2008 Toyota Premio TV/ DVD & push button start, 2006 BMW 320i- Tele:6154114

Toyota Starlet Turbo: Working A/C, interior in excellent condition- Call:4446183 or 686-0910 1 Mitsubishi Lancer, excellent condition. Call: 677-9527 / 616-3802 / 222-4650

Lexus, Pitbull never registered- Call:655-0800/ 263-5300

1 Toyota Tacoma 4x2 – 1997; $1.6 million; not registered Phone:265-2103, 611-0674

1997 Ford F350 Canter truck: 14 feet enclosed box with glass case & food warmersCall: 641-4708/ 612-9999

RZ mini-buses BMM & BNN series, AT192, 212, AT170, Tacoma, Canters, NZE & cheap cars- call:680-3154

Massey Ferguson 6140: 4×4 Turbo: $3.2M negotiableCall: 688-6274 or 691-3851

One Toyota grey Ipsum for sale: Excellent condition: Price $1,600,000- Call:6002405/ 651-5073 (serious enquires only)

One 4×4 Toyota: 3VZ engine, GFF series $600,000- Call:6773520/ 689-4483 2- 07 Toyota AvensisCall:698-0674

On Saturdays & Sundays items as low as $100: Sale starts from 6am to 6pm- Call: 664-2209

Toyota 4 Runner Jeep: 3000cc: Black & Grey, left hand drive $1.2M- Call:6742586

1 Mercedes Benz C200: PNN 6967- Call: 680-4990 / 277-3033

Empty Fuel Barrels (50 gal)Contact Nicky on 226-7948/ 646-6000/ 697-9610

1 Toyota Land-cruiser Prado PMM series- call:225-0188/ 225-6070

Promix starting at $ 7 , 5 0 0 , green formula (growing mix)- Call: 6152346/263-5300

2 Ford F150: Price $4.5M & $3.5M- Call: 643-5249 / 2654979 1 F150 (Ford) XLT fully loaded: In Excellent condition - Call: 690-6520/ 642-0110 Toyota IST PLL 7683- Call: 639-9553

Daschund mixed with Pekingese pups six weeks old $15,000- Call:677-2476 CAKES & PASTRIES

2000 Tundra 4×4 3.4L V6 excellent condition: black with off-road package- call: 651-6050

We buy & sell vehicles for cash & we do trading-in of vehicles: 30 Seater Busescall:680-3154

1 Leyland DAF 620 truck with lots of parts, DEF spring bottom-half, welding generator- Call:654-3488

Nail Plates & Anchor Seal: 4×6, 3×6, 4×8- Call: 265-3541/ 695-4785

Diesel Mechanics: To work in the Interior: Knowledge of excavators and Perkins engines an asset. Call:2269768

Live in waitress- Call:6439007/ 697-2978

FOR SALE

5 Month Male RottweilerCall:220-6879

One domestic between 25-35 years, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm. Call: 227-7355 / 615-2483 Cooks, 64 High Street, Kingston Nacie building opposite Digicel call:2261019

FOR SALE

Workers at Wash Bay in Town, male & female- Call: 669-4676

Urgently needed, land to buy in Parfaite HarmonieCall: 675-7292

Saturday June 29, 2013

FOR RENT Fully furnished Salon to rent with A/C in GeorgetownCall: 686-8223 Office (spacious compound) business premises with living quarters, barber chairs/ shop.

Call: 672-3662/ 694-1440 One bedroom apartment for rent. Call:657-8335 Houses & Apartments to rent- Call:223-8479/ 647-3768: www.spaceseek.gy One furnished 2 flat fenced executive property in gated community, Roraima H/S, Versailles W.B.D: Price $120,000. Call:668-6808 /6734216

1 Flock sheep, goats and flock Rams- Call:696-8103

Short Term Apartments/ Rooms Available- Call: 687-3017

155 Leyland DAF excellent working condition: Price $3.5M (negotiable)Call:656-8346

Located at Enterprise road and railway embankmentCall: 677-9527/ 616-3802/ 222-4650

Honda ATV 500 4×4: New $2.6M- Call: 624-5000 2 Premio, silver & dark grey & 1-2004 silver spacio: Alloy wheels, TV optional: Excellent conditioncall:624-7684/ 617-2378 1 To y o t a R a u m , Vi t z , AT212, AT192, AT170, Ceres, Hilux Pickup Solid DEF, EP82 & 71 StarletCall: 644-5096 / 697-1453

Shop your car online for the original price through D.North Auto Sales and save big- call:663-0584 Unregistered Solid Def Hilux2005 Raum $2.150,000; Dump Truck $2.3m- Call: 227-1737/ 641-1800: Annadale Public road Nissan Sentra, manufactured year 1999: Imported brand new: PGG series $1,000,000 (1M) Neg- Call:665-6151/ 2335287

LAND FOR SALE House lot for sale: Friendship EBD & drafting of house plans. Call: 2230733, 223-0730 Yarrowkabra- Call:6723662 / 694-1440

Toyota Hilux 4×4, A/C, auto, leather seats, 3RZ engine: Asking $2.7M- Call:225-0398/ 623-1299/ 658-5097

Three Stories House on 1,500 acres of land. Call: 2238479/647-3768: www. spaceseekgy

1 Model M bush Truck 4x4 with winch GRR series Tele:226-9492 or 226-9485 office hours

Parafaite Harmonie - $1M; Schoon’ord -$2.4M; call :675-7292

1 Toyota Raum (Black) with body kit, rims, low mileage, first owner, late PKK Price:$1.4M negotiable call: 628-8799 RZ minibus: High BKK series $760,000- Call:6131810/ 697-2550

2 House Lots (39×150 & 38×150) $16M each: Blankenburg public road, W.C.D- Call:658-0132 Twelve House Lots in one block along Corriverton public road- Call:626-6245 (Continued on page 23)

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Saturday June 29, 2013

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Large quantity of expiry goods seized from supermarkets

A

large quantity of expired goods has been seized from New Amsterdam supermarkets.

And the guilty parties have been deemed regular culprits by the Environmental Health Department of the New Amsterdam Town Council.

The municipality led by its environmental health department, has been conducting regular visits to various supermarkets and grocery stores in the town to make sure that they do not offer expired or damaged goods for sale and that their business places are up to standard.

Eating houses in and around the town are also

being visited to make sure that they are in line. The latest raid was carried out on Friday at a number of supermarkets and grocery stores in the town.

M. Ali and Sons Supermarket at Main and Pope Streets and both stores of Bob and Sons Groceries on Strand, New Amsterdam were found to be in possession of a number of expired items which they were offering for sale.

Among the items seized ,were baby foods, soya milk, split peas powder, icing sugar, cookies, lollipops, margarine, evaporated milk, lard, baking powder, corn flakes, essence, mustard, bottled juices, mayonnaise,

Some of the expired goods seized from the supermarkets and grocery shops in New Amsterdam salad dressing, tooth paste and cooking oils among others.

Town Clerk Sharon Alexander stated that contrary to some reports, the Council has not targeted any particular business, but has

been acting on information which includes complaints and reports and will continue to do its work.

She said that the safety of the town’s citizens come first. Residents are also being asked to continue

reporting any instance where expired goods are being offered for sale.

Concerns have been expressed also, over the quantity of expired goods which are being offered for sale at some supermarkets

and grocery stores in the town, and following reports the municipality decided to carry out another operation last Friday and a number of items were seized some of which carried expiry dates back in early 2012.

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Kaieteur News

Obama’s ties to Mandela loom over South Africa visit JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s struggles in South Africa, a young Barack Obama joined campus protests in the U.S. against the racist rule that kept Mandela locked away in prison for nearly three decades.

Now a historic, barrierbreaking figure himself, President Obama arrived in South Africa Friday to find a country drastically transformed by Mandela’s influence — and grappling with the beloved 94-yearold’s mortality.

It was unclear whether Mandela’s deteriorating health would allow Obama to make a hospital visit. The former South African leader is battling a recurring lung infection and is said to be in critical condition at a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he made his way to Johannesburg, Obama said he would gauge the situation after he arrived.

“I don’t need a photoop,” he said. “And the last

Barack Obama thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela’s condition.”

Obama’s visit to South Africa is seen as something of a tribute to the man who helped inspire his own political activism. The president will pay homage to Mandela at Robben Island, the prison where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. And with South Africa’s ruling

party, the African National Congress, facing questions about its effectiveness, Obama will urge the government and the South African people to live up to the democratic example set by their first black president.

“He’s a personal hero, but I don’t think I’m unique in that regard,” Obama said during a news conference Thursday in Senegal, the first stop on his weeklong Africa trip. “I think he’s a hero for the world. And if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we’ll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages.”

Obama and Mandela have met just once, a hastily arranged meeting in a Washington hotel room in 2005 when Obama was a U.S. senator. A photo of the meeting hangs in Obama’s personal office at the White House, showing a smiling Mandela sitting on a chair, his legs outstretched, as the young senator reaches down to shake his hand. A copy of the photo also hangs in Mandela’s office in Johannesburg.

Snowden’s father says former contractor may return if conditions met

(Reuters) - The father of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said in an interview that while he has not had recent contact with him, he is reasonably confident his son would return to the United States if certain conditions were met.

Those conditions could include not detaining Snowden before trial, not subjecting him to a gag order and letting him choose the location of his trial, NBC News said yesterday.

The NBC report added that Lonnie Snowden plans to make those points in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to be sent through his lawyer later yesterday. Representatives for the Justice Department could not be reached immediately for comment on

(Reuters) - Britain’s slow economic recovery is picking up a bit more speed, data showed yesterday, just in time for the arrival next week of the country’s next central bank chief Mark Carney.

The services sector, which accounts for about three quarters of British gross domestic product, grew

Saturday June 28, 2013

Mugabe, Tsvangirai register to run in Zimbabwe elections HARARE (Reuters) Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai registered yesterday for elections scheduled for July 31 in which Mugabe is seeking to extend his three-decade rule.

The 89-year-old leader will fight Tsvangirai, 61, for the presidency, while his ZANUPF party faces Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the parliamentary election after four years in a forced coalition following a disputed 2008 vote.

Welshman Ncube, who leads a splinter MDC party, also entered the presidential race, but the serious contenders are Mugabe and Tsvangirai, a former fiery trade union leader who says the president has rigged elections since 2000 to shut him out.

“As ZANU-PF we are confident of victory. We are supporting our president because we have progressive policies,” Defence Minister

bloodshed that marred the 2008 election.

The government has asked the Constitutional Court to move the July 31 date, but local political analysts say it might not agree. A ruling on the appeal is expected next week.

“I have no doubt that Morgan Tsvangirai will be the next president of Zimbabwe.

We are tired of 33 years of a predatory government that has no love for us,” Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also MDC Secretary-General, told reporters after registering Tsvangirai’s candidacy.

In March, Zimbabweans overwhelmingly approved a new constitution to replace the one forged in the dying days of British colonial rule in 1979. It trims the powers of the president and enshrines media freedom, among other measures.

Zimbabwe’s current parliament ends this weekend, effectively meaning reforms cannot be pushed through the legislature.

James Clapper Washington Post.

Snowden, who has requested political asylum in Ecuador, has not been seen since he arrived in Moscow on Sunday. Russian officials said he was in a transit area at Sheremetyevo airport.

The release of the material has prompted a firestorm of concerns about the extent of government data tracking as well as questions about lawmakers’ role in approving

the legislation that allowed the data collection.

Critics of the surveillance programs see them as infringing on Americans’ privacy rights, while backers said they are important tools for national security and subject to close control by the courts. The senators said the purpose of their letter was to foster debate.

“Reliance on secret law to conduct domestic surveillance activities raises serious civil liberty concerns and all but removes the public from an informed national security and civil liberty debate,” the senators said.

In the letter they said it was “regrettable” that information on the programs came through a leak to the media instead of from the Obama administration, “but we appreciate the comments that the president has made welcoming debate on this topic.”

after two years of stagnation.

But data on Thursday showed that the damage wrought on the British economy by the financial crisis was deeper than previously thought, and a combination of low wages and high inflation earlier this year inflicted the sharpest quarterly drop in a generation

on household living standards.Carney starts at the Bank on Monday, taking over from Mervyn King, and will chair his first meeting of policymakers on Wednesday and Thursday.

Less inflation pressure could eventually help reduce opposition within the Bank to more bond buying.

Senators want public answers on government surveillance

the letter.

Lonnie Snowden, in part of the NBC interview that aired on the “Today Show,” also said he is concerned that his son, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, was being manipulated by others, including people from the

anti-government secrecy group WikiLeaks.

“I am concerned about those who surround him,” he told NBC. “Wikileaks - if you look at past history - their focus isn’t necessarily the Constitution of the United States. It’s simply to release as much information as possible. So that alone is a concern for me.”

He faces espionage charges in the United States and has requested political asylum in Ecuador.

He has not been seen since he arrived in Moscow on Sunday, but Russian officials said he was in a transit area at Sheremetyevo airport.

Snowden’s father said he has not had contact with his son since April, NBC reported.

WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) - More than a quarter of the Senate’s members asked the top intelligence official yesterday to release more information on the government’s bulk collection of data on Americans’ communications.

Led by Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has long hinted at the broad scope of the classified surveillance, the group of 21 Democrats, four Republicans and one independent sent a letter to James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, requesting public answers to a series of questions about how the data is collected and used.

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States for taking records about secret surveillance of Internet and phone traffic and releasing them to the Guardian and The

slightly more than expected in April.

Consumer confidence and annual house price growth also increased, both showing their strongest readings in over two years.

Some economists said overall growth in the second quarter could turn out to be better than the 0.5 percent

predicted by the Bank of England.

Alan Clarke, an economist at Scotiabank, said growth could come in at around 0.7 percent, or possibly as high as 1 percent, though others said the bigger question was whether it would prove sustainable.

“What the incoming

Governor Mark Carney has to try and work out is if this performance has ‘legs’, or if it will run into the sand in the second half of 2013,” said David Tinsley, UK economist at BNP Paribas.

To some economists’ surprise, Britain’s economy avoided falling back into recession at the start of 2013

Edward Snowden

Emmerson Mnangagwa told Reuters after registering Mugabe’s candidature at the High Court.

In power since the former Rhodesia’s independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe left Harare for a medical checkup in Singapore on Tuesday.

Tsvangirai is already on the campaign trail in Zimbabwe’s southwestern Matabeleland region. Mugabe, Africa’s oldest leader, denies reports he suffers from prostrate cancer or other major health problems. He says he has cataracts and is expected home this weekend from what his spokesman called a routine visit to an eye specialist.

“He is fitter than you,” Mnangagwa told a journalist when asked whether Mugabe was healthy.

Tsvangirai has asked the 15-nation Southern African Development Community to prod Mugabe into delaying the poll to allow media and security reforms designed to prevent a repeat of the

UK economy shows signs of recovery ahead of Carney’s start

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 31

Barbados to slash budget by US$200M In what appears to be Government caving in to pressure, Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has announced that his administration will drastically cut spending.

But while welcoming his projection to reduce expenditure by Bds$400 (BDS$1 = 50 cents US), the opposition and trade unions are asking for details as they fear such a massive slash in government’s budget spending may cause mass layoffs of public servants.

Opposition Leader, Mia Mottley, was quoted by the Nation newspaper reacting to the budget adjustment announcement.

“The one thing that came out of today [announcement] was how bad things are and we have been saying that for some time. Government has finally admitted that the situation is very bad and that urgent action is needed.

But if urgent action is needed why are we still waiting for months to pass in order to hear the specifics of that action,” she said The next budget presentation is due in August and Finance Minister Chris Sinckler is expected to reveal public expenditure figures for

the 2014 to 2015 financial year that are way below the $3.8 billion spending of the current budget.

When Sinckler had presented estimates for financial year 2013 to 2014 (the current budget), it showed projected revenue at $2.6 billion, which meant that government will spend $1.2 billion more than it expects to receive.

But Prime Minister Stuart said Thursday, “The challenge now, therefore, is too reduce the fiscal deficit while maintaining a reasonably adequate safety net and taking those steps that would promote sustained growth in the economy”.

The decision to cut at least $400 million out of its spending was based on a warning by Central Bank Governor, Dr Delisle Worrell, that the sluggish economy is placing the country’s foreign reserves at risk, which in a worst case scenario could threaten the value of the Barbados dollar - meaning devaluation. “What has happened is, in the first six months of the year, the amount of foreign exchange that has been coming in, is significantly less than we expected,” Dr Worrell said.

Muslim organisation hosts annual “Welcome to Ramadan” Programme The Anna Catherina Muslim Youth Organization, youth arm of the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex will be having their 8th Annual “Welcome to Ramadan Dinner Programme” on Saturday July 6, 2013 at 6.30 p.m. (18.30Hrs) at the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex.

The programme is geared towards educating Muslims about their responsibilities and obligations during the Muslim Holy month as well as the great benefits of this gift to mankind.

It will contain multi-media presentations on Ramadan by prominent Sunni Muslim scholars including Huzoor Maulana Zain ul Akhtab Siddiqui.

Tickets for the Dinner are available from any member of the ACMYL/ACIC or at Guyoil Service Station, Anna Catherina, Medina Halaal Restaurant, De Willem or

Celebrity Indian Fashion, Cornelia Ida on the West Coast Demerara or by emailing: muslimjournal @yahoo.com

CAR RENTAL Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup- Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807 Progressive Auto Rental - cars from $4000 per day.

Call 643-5122, 225-8711; email www. progressive autorental. com Premio, Vitz call: 689-6668 Untouchable Car Rental: Low Rate , Low Deposit call:231-8653,621-6827

VACANCY Vacancy exist for experience welders Apply at Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek 24 hour East Coast Guyoil needs day & night pump attendants, sales girl, Experienced Fuel Tanker Driver Tele: 688-9611/ 684-2838 One Club/ Entertainment manager to work at a Hotel in Charity, Essequibo CoastCall:226-9768/ 642-7963

Gowns, Shalwars, Khimar, Scarves, Khimar accessories and much more. Dates for Ramadaan available. Halaal Heaven. Call: 226-0311 or 6678141

Princeton College: CXC classes for day and evening students: Register for summer classes 5-18 yearscall:690-5008 SUMMER CLASSES: Phonics, Language, Mathematics, Art & Craft & Fun day: (4-12 years)- July 15th- August 15th: Roxanne Burnham: Call 619-4355/ 2182076 Get trained as a live-in Caregiver to live and work in Canada, under Canadian curriculum- Call:227-4881/ 416-674-7973 CXC Maths, English, Business and Science, January/ June 2014- Call Imperial College at 227-7627/ 683-5742 LAND FOR SALE 2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at ParikaCall:226-7968

Moulder & wood mizer operators, porters, lumber clerk call Richard :609-7675, 233-2614 One security guard for day shift: West Side Shore Plaza public road Ruimzeight, W.C.D- Call: 269-1525/ 656-3561 Vacancies: Security Officers, Drivers, Dispatchers: Apply Monday-Friday: Security Alliance Barrack street, Kingston (upstairs FedEx) 1 General domestic must know to prepare vegetarian meals: Apply @ Alabama Trading Ferry Stelling Stabroek, G/Town

FOR SALE

EDUCATIONAL SUMMER CLASSES: July 15th – August 15th: Phonics, Mathematics, Language, Spanish, Craft, Tours & Fun day: Garnett St. KittyCall:654-8650

Vacancy exists for waitress & handyman: Apply in person @ Cool Square 537 West Ruimveldt- Call:226-7418 Salesboys, salesgirls and security guards: Apply @ Avinash Water streetCall:226-3361/ 227-7828 Engine Room Operator: Apply in person with written application @ Wieting & Richter Ltd. 10-13 Water street, Georgetown

MASSAGE American Style massage services- Call:609-4036

Female Office Assistant: Sound Secondary education (Maths and English included) $19,000 weeklyCall:223-0595

The Gent’s spa: Come be pampered by beautiful sophisticated masseuses four hands special. Call: 657-5979

Clerical Staff (Computer Literate), Graphic Artist, Gardener & Handyman: Apply to Risan’s @ 51 Main street, Georgetown

PROPERTY FOR SALE Tuschen Housing SchemeCall: 692-3454/616-7632 1 Business Property at Bloomfield public rd, BerbiceCall: 690-6520/ 642-0110 1 Two Storey Business Property (Transported): Brickery Public Road, East Bank Demerara. Call: 660-8128 (1) One House & Land: Samantha Point Grove: $27 million- Call:679-6952/ 6437125 1- 2 Storied Business property (transported): Robb street Lacytown, between Camp street & Alexander Street- Call:683-6153/ 2615464 (after 6pm) East Coast $5.5M, Kitty (50×123) $51M, Bel-Air $39.5M, AA Eccles $65MCall Diana @ 227-2256/ 6269382 1- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, semi-furnished house & land: Located @ D’Edward village W.C.B: Price $13MCall: 613-9438/ 679-9162 Three Bedrooms House @ Guysuco Gardens $45MCall:617-4261 Two stories House, Diamond- Call: 223-8479/ 6473768: www.spaceseek.gy Versailles 5 Bedroom House with modern facilities and beautiful landscape- Call: 592-684-9203 / 592-624-8704

TO LET Fully furnished short term apartments @ Eccles call: 689-6668 Secret Villa apartment, fully furnished apartments Landof-Canaan E.B.D- Call:2665243/266-5245

Parcel 877 of Block XXXIII, Bachelors Adventure public rd, E.C.D opposite Guywa:0.585 acre- call Pearl Realty:689-9991 House and Land @ D’Edward, W.B.D- Call: 6892973/698-3703

1- Two bedrooms bottom flat house apartment at lot 60 back street McDoom village, E.B.D-Call:233-0044/ 6823988 Harmony Inn: Fully furnished,air - conditioned apartments; Parfaite Harmonie, 5,000 Per night call:668-0306, 694-7817,602-8769 Diamond $35,000, Queenstown $80,000-US $900, Kitty $65000, Republic Park US$1200 - Call Diana @ 227-2256/ 626-9382

(From page 26)

LEARN TO DRIVE B & C Driving School: Lot 5 Hadfield Lodge- call:2250150,229-7258,680-6826 Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166, 622-2872, 615-0964

Two bedrooms apartment at Eccles Park $45,000- Call:6041788/ 233-2219

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Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Boxers raring to go as Guyana Fight Night poised...

From page 38 Barbados. A skilful boxer, Stewart has weathered the storm at the amateur level.

Indeed, the Green bout will be testing but Stewart is no slouch which makes picking a winner for this one somewhat problematic. However, despite the pundits’ view, one thing is for sure, a scorching bout was promised and a scorching bout it will be.

Boxing buffs will know more of Revlon Lake than of Dexter Gonsalves; Lake had avenged a four round loss to Mark Austin with a crunching left hook that left his man prostrate for the full count.

Since then, Lake has surrendered that title to Clive Atwell, also by the knockout route.

Notwithstanding, Lake has had quite a few epic battles with Barbadian, Miguel Antoine. Those bouts have served him well in the experience department and he may feel he has the edge.

But just who is Gonsalves? His claim to fame

is a points decision over Prince Lee Isidore in a bout held in Trinidad and Tobago.

This is a very good victory to have on his resume especially when one notes the determined display turned in by Isidore against local triple champion, Clive Atwell earlier this year. Otherwise, Gonsalves said that he had been in Lake’s corner when he lost to Antoine in Trinidad.

“And despite my best efforts I could not get him to follow simple instructions,” exclaimed Gonsalves. He said that he is aware of Lake’s Achilles heel and has every intention of exploiting it.

While all this sounds good Gonsalves may do well to remember that Lake has one of the best left hooks in the business. Troy Hill has spoiled many a good fighter’s dreams with his crude but effective style. He packs a terrific punch and George is yet to prove that he could take a strong punch. However,

George has been promised an incentive should he win; he will secure a bout against former World Boxing Association champion, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis. Some fighters perform better under certain circumstances and the ‘Sixhead’ bout might just be the spark to ignite Georges’ adrenals.

Otherwise, Leon Moore tackles Errol Trotman and the latter fighter, who has had a torrid professional career, has promised to turn his fortunes.

The burden of vindication will rest heavily on his shoulders especially since Moore has had a lengthy hiatus from the ring and may just be a little rusty.

The amateurs are also expected to provide excitement starting with Jamie Kelman of the Young Achievers Boxing Gym (YABG) up against Quancy Wright of the Essequibo Boxing Gym (EBG) in the 50-54lbs class followed

by Squalie Wright (EBG) against Shemar Bumbury of

Saturday June 29, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): You aren’t likely to take yourself too seriously today, even if you stop and think about what you are doing.

After a few moments of concerned contemplation the spontaneous Aries Moon has you ready to return to action, whether or not you handled the underlying issue.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): You might not have as much to hide as you think you do today, because your story will probably come out into the open sooner than you expect.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Today may be more fun than you expect, even if you have lots of work on your plate.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): Although you might have the day off today, you still have inescapable responsibilities to fulfill.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): You can use your contagious enthusiasm to enlist others to assist you with your project or join you in an enjoyable activity. Just remember not to say too much; the more verbose you are now, the less sincere you sound.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): It can be annoying when your family and friends seem to be so optimistic, especially if you believe that they’re avoiding the truth.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): Relationships are highlighted by the reflective Moon’s presence in your 7th House of Companions today.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): Taking a chance and doing something new and different for your health is a smart idea today. The enterprising Aries Moon is visiting your 6th House of Routine, encouraging you to reassess the daily habits that contribute to your current lifestyle.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): The fiery Aries Moon harmoniously trines sweet Venus in radiant Leo, heating your emotions and tempting you to burn your candle at both ends.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): Your integrity is your greatest strength now because others won’t have a good reason to resist your efforts when they see that you are consistently walking your talk.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): Playful interactions with others are lovely today, but a simple misunderstanding could temporarily create tension in a friendship.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): The Aries Moon is hanging out in your 2nd House of Money, supplying you with new ideas about potential sources of income.

the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) in the 75-79lbs division. Wright’s gym mate, Shaka Moore, will take on Stephon Green of the Harpy Eagles (HE) in the 105-109lbs category and Quincy Boyce (GDF) will bring the amateur segment to a climax when he faces Travis Hubbard (HE) in the 118-125lbs division.

So Guyana Fight night has broadened its scope and

the various principals are spouting confidence. For their part the organizers have put the necessary modalities in place just in case it rains and large tents will cover the ring and the seating area. Admission is $1,500 for any part of the ground and Slingerz Sound Systems will provide musical entertainment. It’s a ‘don’t you dare miss a punch’ affair. Bell time is 20:00hrs.

Christ Church hammer...

From page 34 blasted the nets from the top of the box with a powerful right foot shot in the 65th minute that curled away from Fitzpatrick who made a gallant effort to save the shot; Christ Church 3 Cunnings Lodge 0. Second half substitute Carlon Harris

put the game away for his side four minutes later sealing their place in the next round of competition, next week. Cummings Lodge were unable to get into Christ Church’s attacking third, goalkeeper Shamar Carrington enjoying an easy game.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Murray hits form to Oscar Pistorius resumes ‘lowblast Robredo off court key’ training (Reuters) - The sweet spot of Andy Murray’s racket was put through its paces as he signed of his first week at Wimbledon by stylishly dispatching Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-4 7-5 to move into the last 16 on Friday.

No prizes are awarded for hitting top form in the third round but Britain’s number two seed can be satisfied with the way he outplayed 29th ranked Robredo with his aggressive ball striking.

Murray broke for the first time in the third game of the first set against the number 32 seed and followed that with two more to close out the opener.

A rasping backhand pass delivered another break at the start of the second set and, apart from a brief moment of vulnerability as he was serving it out, the Scot never looked like relinquishing control.

The 31-year-old Robredo, who had never been past the third round in 12 appearances

Andy Murray (Reuters)

at Wimbledon, upped his aggression levels in the third set but found Murray’s defenses watertight.

Murray, aiming to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, broke in the 11th game and wrapped

up the win when Robredo netted a backhand on his second match point.

Waiting for Murray will be the winner of the match between Russia’s number 20 seed Mikhail Youzhny and Serbia’s Viktor Troicki.

MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow claims first British pole in 11 years Cal Crutchlow

BBC Sport - South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has resumed training, weeks before he is due back in court over the killing of his girlfriend.

His family has released footage showing the Olympic runner jogging on a track. A statement on his website said the “low-key routine” was not “a formal return to athletics”, but a way of helping him “process his trauma”. Mr Pistorius denies murdering Reeva Steenkamp, saying he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder.

His next hearing is scheduled for August.

Mr Pistorius, 26, is a double amputee who won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.

‘MENTALEQUILIBRIUM’ On Friday, his family released video of him training at the High Performance Centre in the capital, Pretoria.

In the video, Mr Pistorius can be seen putting on his prostheses before lightly sprinting on a track.

Oscar Pistorius says he shot Reeva Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder (AP) The statement on his website said that his focus “remains entirely on the court case”.

“Oscar is not contemplating a formal return to athletics and his training is not aimed at preparing for competition,” the statement read.

“His family, and those close to him, have encouraged him to spend a few hours a week on the track to assist him in finding the necessary mental and emotional equilibrium to process his trauma and prepare for the trial.”

Mr Pistorius’s arrest in February stunned many

South Africans who saw him as a national sporting hero after his long legal battle to compete in the Olympics. The athlete shot his 29-year-old girlfriend through the bathroom door of his house in Pretoria on 14 February.

The prosecution has accused him of premeditated murder, alleging that he killed Ms Steenkamp intentionally after a fight.

Mr Pistorius was freed on a bail of 1 million rand (£74,000; $110,000). A court in March eased his travel restrictions, allowing him to leave South Africa to compete as long as he complied with certain conditions.

Floodlight softball at Tuschen on Saturday Local comedian Rajan “Zapper Man” Tiwari will on Saturday stage a floodlight softball cricket competition at the Tuschen Community Centre ground.

According to Tiwari, interested teams are required to pay an entrance fee of $15,000 and they can register by calling him on 652-9570 or turn up at the venue on the

day of the competition.

The first match will bowl off at 18:00 hours, and the champion team will pocket $150,000, while the runner-up will receive $50,000.

Tiwari noted that there will be several side attractions, including a chutney show featuring local artiste Bunty Singh and his one man band.

Rajan Tiwari

Digicel Nationwide U-18 Schools Football C/ships

CHRIST CHURCH HAMMER CUMMINGS LODGE 4-0 BBC Sport - Cal Crutchlow became the first British MotoGP rider in more than a decade to achieve pole position, securing the fastest qualifying time in Assen.

Crutchlow, 27, finished 0.357 seconds ahead of Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez. The last Briton to finish on pole in the premier class was Northern Ireland’s Jeremy McWilliams at the Australian Grand Prix in 2002.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Crutchlow had qualified in the second best grid spot on three previous occasions.

He last achieved that position in the previous race, the Catalunya Grand Prix, but crashed out on lap six to end his dreams of a third

successive podium finish.

“It had been a long time coming. I have been very close to a pole a few other times, but have made mistakes,” Crutchlow told BBC Sport.

“In my own head, it is overshadowed by the fact that [the injured] Jorge Lorenzo was not here, it would have been nice to beat him straight-up.”

In a frantic finale in Assen, Valentino Rossi, Stefan Bradl and Marquez all took the top place before being demoted at the death by Crutchlow’s 1.34.398 lap.

Championship leader Dani Pedrosa had looked on track for his third consecutive pole, but the Honda rider crashed

with six and a half minutes remaining and could only struggle home in fifth.

It was also a stand out day for Crutchlow’s Tech 3 team-mate Bradley Smith, as he finished behind Pedrosa in a career-best sixth.

Meanwhile, world champion Lorenzo has had surgery on a broken collarbone he picked up in second free practice. He will fly back to the Netherlands to “spend the remainder of the grand prix weekend with his team”, Yamaha revealed.

Despite missing qualifying, if the Spaniard receives medical clearance for Saturday’s race, he will start in 12th after posting a fast time in Thursday morning practice.

Christ Church Secondary led by a brace from their Captain Jovontay Best got their 2013 bid for top honors in the Digicel Nationwide Under-18 Schools Football Championships off to a winning note when they turned back the challenge of Cummings Lodge Secondary yesterday at the Camptown Ground, Campbellville.

Playing in soggy conditions as a result of the current weather pattern, the Christ Church lads despite having the advantage of playing with two more than Cummings Lodge which started the game with 9 players, never really got going until the second half when all the goals were scored.

After a first half which lasted 40 minutes due to a late start, quite a few chances went off target for Christ Church but Best would not take similar chances in the second period and took matters into his own hands by converting the first two goals to settle the nerves of his fellow teammates whilst setting the platform for the eventual win.

His first came in the 51st minute after he received a well directed pass from Travis

Fitzpatrick on the right side. Fitzpatrick skillfully got around the defender before squaring to best in the box and with consummate ease, Best fired his shot past Russell McIntosh, Cummings Lodge’s custodian for a 1-0 lead.

Fitzpatrick finally got his game in the right frame after missing two easy chances in the first half including a penalty which he sent way over the cross bar. Another came with just the keeper to beat but again the shot sailed way off target.

Also paying a fine game was Andre Trotz Jr. son of former national forward Andre Trotz who was on hand to lend support to the Christ Church lads.

Best doubled his tally and the lead in the 63rd minute with another well placed shot.

Again he was well positioned in the six yards box where he beat McIntosh at the near post, Christ Church 2 Cummings Lodge 0.

The game would have been sealed in a 20 minute rampage by Christ Church. Fitzpatrick finally lived up to expectations when he (Continued on page 33)

Saturday June 29, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 35

GAYLE, BOWLERS GIVE WEST INDIES COMFORTABLE WIN Mahela Jayawardene slashes down the ground (Associated Press)

ESPNcricinfo - Chris Gayle had failed to leave a mark in cold and wet England, but he probably knows there is only one thing cool in the warmer climes of Jamaica - he himself. And no one at Sabina Park would disagree. After a lean patch in the Champions Trophy where his highest score was 39, Gayle scored

his 21st ODI century - his first against Sri Lanka - as West Indies brushed the visitors aside by six wickets and earned a bonus point in the first match of the tri-series.

Sri Lanka didn’t have a strong total to defend after their batsmen were felled by the spin of Sunil Narine.

Angelo Mathews kept his

main bowlers on throughout to try and ensnare the big fish, but Gayle kept blocking, blocking, and then powering it over the ropes with metronomic precision. The big wicket did come, when Gayle finally top-edged a sweep that was intended for the stands, but by then, the match was all but over.

It was a typically ‘measured’ Gayle innings, following its own rhythm, irrespective of the conditions, the pitch, the attack, and the field.

He followed his own modus operandi - dead-bats to hittable deliveries, axeswings against good ones giving not even an inkling of a chance to the fielding side.

Defending a middling total, Sri Lanka knew Gayle was one hurdle they had to get past quickly, but it wasn’t to be. Mathews opened with Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara as expected, but introduced Ajantha Mendis in the fifth over to see if Mendis could do what Narine had done in the first innings.

Mathews persisted with fielders in catching positions, however, Gayle was in no hurry. Whenever it seemed a hit was needed, he had one.

But despite Gayle hitting three sixes and four fours in the first 10 overs, West Indies hadn’t run away. Johnson Charles was doing his best to keep Sri Lanka interested with a laboured stay. There

Richmond to continue MCY&S/NSC cricket coaching programme today Cricket Coach Daniel Richmond will continue his programmes for youngsters along the East Coast corridor today from 9:00am at the Paradise ground.

Richmond is conducting the cricket coaching programmes under the auspices of

the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, in collaboration with the National Sports Commission. He has had sessions at Golden Grove/Haslington, and several other villages.

Session have also been held at Agricola on the East Bank Demerara.

Doping ban plans criticised by Professional Players’ Federation BBC Sport - Plans to increase bans for first-time doping offenders to four years have been strongly criticised by the body that represents sportspeople in the UK. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is in the process of updating the rules that govern sport’s approach to drugs.

A key proposal is to double the standard two-year ban.

But the Professional Players’ Federation (PPF) says it is draconian when many positive tests are for inadvertent use.

The PPF, an umbrella organisation representing 15,600 professional athletes, says the change in the rules - known as the Wada Code - should only apply to serious cases.

“It is deeply worrying that the new Wada Code is proposing four-year bans as a starting

point for such a wide range of doping offences,” said PPF general secretary Simon Taylor.

“Four years is career-ending in professional sport and needs to be reserved only for the most serious cases and not for stupid mistakes.”

Taylor highlighted the cases of footballer Kolo Toure and cricket’s Shane Warne as examples of sportsmen whose relatively minor offences were the result of ignorance rather than a genuine intention to cheat.

Toure was given a six-month ban in 2011 while Warne was suspended for a year in 2003.

British athlete Dwain Chambers is an example of how the current system works, with the sprinter banned for two years in 2004 after being found guilty of taking the anabolic steroid THG.

couldn’t have been a starker contrast. Charles struggled to read Mendis’ spin and the quicks’ swing, his misery prolonged by first, a dropped catch by Mathews, and then, by the umpire who let him get away against two good lbw appeals.

He finally hit his first boundary - a six - off his 45th ball, but from West Indies’ perspective, he helped put up 115 for the opening stand.

Sri Lanka’s openers had started positively after being put in but their lower middle order failed yet again to shore up a faltering innings after the dismissals of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, who fell to the menacing spin of Narine, and, but for a fighting half-century

by Mathews, they could have finished with much less than the eventual score.

Jayawardene, opening for only the 26th time in 370 ODI innings, scored an effortless half-century, but the innings lost steam after he fell in the 18th over. The innings was, however, not about Jayawardene’s half-century, nor Narine’s four wickets, but about how Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne - the much talkedabout, but yet to fire, young brigade - coped with the situation.

Mathews, dropped on 7, decided thereafter to curtail his strokemaking but this was also a chance for Chandimal and Thirimanne to send a message to their detractors.

Instead, both allowed the pressure to build and fell to soft dismissals, reducing the innings to a crawl.

Only 15 runs came in the seven overs after the 28th and by the time they were forced to take the batting Powerplay, Sri Lanka were left with little firepower to take advantage.

The Powerplay brought further damage. Ravi Rampaul picked up two quick wickets and Sri Lanka were left trying to use up the full quota of overs rather than going for runs.

That shouldn’t take away anything from the way West Indies came back. Dwayne Bravo had elected to field hoping his fast bowlers would exploit the early moisture in the pitch, but Sri Lanka’s openers had made smooth progress to 62 and it was Bravo who provided the first strike, getting Upul Tharanga to edge to the keeper.

There was no looking back once Narine, who now has 33 wickets from 14 matches at home, was introduced. Gayle then provided the ideal finishing touches.

Chris Gayle's attacking hundred led West Indies to a sixwicket win against Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Kingston

Page 36

Kaieteur News

Saturday June 29, 2013

Serena up for Vegas ‘battle WATSON DENIES PART of the sexes’ against Murray IN WARNER AFFAIR Andy Murray and Serena Williams

Serena Williams’ iron grip on the women’s game has reached such a level that even Andy Murray fancies taking on the American.

Williams showed she remains the immovable rock at the top of women’s tennis with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win over France’s Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon on Thursday, exhibiting none of the vulnerability that sent her rivals tumbling 24 hours earlier.

Murray, second-ranked in the highly competitive men’s game, has seen enough to make him think the ultraathletic Williams has the tools to give him a match, challenging her in his blog to a showdown in Las Vegas.

Williams is game, but she is not feeling confident. “He wants to play me?,” she said after moving into the third round. “Is he sure? That would be fun. I doubt I’d win a point, but that would be fun.

“He’s probably one of the top three people I definitely don’t want to play. But maybe we can have a little bit of a showdown,” Williams added.

The battle of the sexes has had a prominent place in the history of tennis stretching back to Bobby Riggs’ efforts to prove a macho point against then Wimbledon champion Billy Jean King 40

years ago. The format was dusted off in 1992 when Martina Navratilova took on Jimmy Connors, but with the rules slightly altered in her favour and without the burning chauvinism that had marked the earlier clash.

Should Murray and Williams ever set this up, the American wants it to be on her terms.

“I get alleys (tramlines),” she said. “He gets no serves.

I get alleys on my serves, too.

He gets no legs, yeah.”

In the real world, Williams set about returning the tournament Richter scale to normal against Garcia on Thursday, after tremors ripped through the All England Club the previous day, leaving seeds cast aside in the women’s and men’s draws.

Williams’ French Open final opponent Maria Sharapova bowed out moaning about the slippery courts and second seed Victoria Azarenka exited through injury without hitting a ball on Wednesday after suffering a knee injury in her opening match.

Williams showed she is made of sterner stuff.

Her 19-year-old opponent, ranked 100 in the world, had a rasping forehand and booming serve, but could

not put it all together consistently enough to trouble Williams.

In a rematch of a secondround clash at the French Open last month, Williams noticeably upped the tempo in the fifth game of the first set to break and then closed it out after 30 minutes with a second coup against the serve.

Another two breaks in the second set wrapped up the encounter to set up a thirdround match against the 42year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Asked to pick a winner between her younger self and the 2013 version, Williams said probably what every women’s player past or present has thought: “I wouldn’t want to play me at 21 or 31.”

The consolation prize for those hoping to see an end to her reign is that she will not be around forever and certainly not at 42 like DateKrumm.

While the pair have never met, Williams’ big sister Venus came through a lengthy second round clash against the Japanese in 2011, winning 8-6 in the third set.

Serena has not forgotten.

She quipped: “I think I lost four years of my life watching that match.” (Reuters)

ESPNcricinfo - Shane Watson has emphatically denied any part in calling David Warner to account for the night out in Birmingham with other Australian teammates during the Champions Trophy that involved the punching of Joe Root and contributed to the sacking of the coach Mickey Arthur.

However Watson stated that the decision of Arthur and the captain Michael Clarke to suspend four players including himself for failing to follow team instructions in India earlier this year had set a “dangerous precedent”, and lauded the new coach Darren Lehmann for dissipating the tension that had built up in the team over the past six months, a period in which he admitted to “not having much fun”.

Reports emerged in the aftermath of Warner’s suspension for the Root incident that it was only dealt with formally after Watson had referred to it in conversations with Arthur about disciplinary standards and their consistent application. At the time Watson did not comment publicly on the matter, but in the first days of Lehmann’s new coaching regime he spoke frankly, rejecting all notions he had forced the disciplinary process that had Warner suspended until the first Test against England at Trent Bridge.

“Absolutely not,” Watson said when asked if he had informed Arthur of events at the Walkabout. “In the end the coaching staff and Mickey and the leadership group found out about Dave’s incident off their own bat. It had absolutely nothing to do with me in any way shape or form and I’m not sure why that was brought out in the media because it certainly wasn’t the truth.

“They obviously found out, there were some people who were in and around the incident at the time who had relayed the information, so it certainly had nothing to do with me. The precedent that was set through Mohali was quite a dangerous precedent, there’s no doubt about that.

But in the end this is now a new group, a new leadership group, new team dynamics obviously with Darren coming in, so I’m not looking back any more at the things that happened in the past.

“This is a change for all of us which is a very good thing. I’m not looking back at what happened in the last few months, I’m just excited about what we’re doing now as a group and what Darren is going to bring to our team.”

Watson’s happiness about Lehmann’s arrival is only partly explained by the decision to promote him to open the batting. Arthur’s close alliance with the captain Michael Clarke had

marginalised Watson somewhat, as injuries and an inconsistent job description contributed to his decline from the personal heights he reached under Ricky Ponting.

He was happy to admit that the team would now play more fearlessly under Lehmann, who had already encouraged the members of the Ashes squad to express themselves with the bat.

“The way Darren operates is a more light-hearted way,” Watson said. “He played the game for the enjoyment and as a coach one of the big things he instills in the group is to make sure we are having fun. There were certainly times after Mohali that I wasn’t having that much fun, and that is something Darren has ensured, that things are little bit less tense and more about enjoying the absolute privilege of playing cricket for Australia.

“It should be the time of our life, it’s a dream come true, and that is something Darren has instilled. Darren’s perspective on the game is to go out and back your talent and not worry about failing at all, that’s going to be part of the game of cricket. Things in that regard will change because that is how Darren played. He will make sure everyone does that with bat or ball, that people aren’t worried about failing, more so about showing how good they are.”

Shane Watson says the decision of Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke to suspend four players in India this year had set a “dangerous precedent” (Getty Images)

CALDERA PLEASED WITH GVF\FIVB PROGRAMME

Ulric Caldera, one of the participants in the ongoing Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF)\Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) five day Beach Volleyball Grassroots course told Kaieteur Sport that he is pleased with programme.

He said that it is very challenging and hoped that everyone can gain the necessary knowledge to teach the basics of the game in their community, clubs and schools. Caldera stated that the game will help to get the youngsters off the streets and calls on the

Government for support.

“The Government can play an important part in the development of the game. We will be very happy if they can assist the clubs so that we can spread the knowledge. The participants are determined to develop the game and we are hoping that the game can be played at several tourist resorts,” added Caldera.

He informed that Instructor Mauro Hernandez is impressed with the talent of the locals.

Wiltshire Dominoes set for July 1 The Mark Wiltshire organised 20\20 Dominoes competition is set to take place on Monday July 1 at Mandela Avenue and

Durban Street Lodge.

The winning team will receive $70,000 and a trophy, while the runner up team will take home $30,000

and the third place $20,000.

Entrance fee is $7,000 and action gets underway at 14:0hrs.