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Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
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No evidence Ramroop’s R/veldt complex is a GWI - Operations could be back-billed tens of millions$$$ customer - Investigators asked to leave compound
An aerial of Ramroop’s Ruimveldt complex.
Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo
T
he state-owned Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has started investigations on the Ruimveldt property sold by Government to Queens Atlantic Investments Incorporated (QAII), a company controlled by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Known as the Sanata Textile Mill property, GWI technicians reportedly visited it more than a week ago to carry out checks. From indications, according to GWI officials, QAII, has not been paying its water bills. It appears that the connections are illegal. As a matter of fact, GWI could find no trace of the property even being listed as a customer. “We have made checks of that property, and it is, as you know, a
pretty large piece with many buildings, and surprisingly enough, there is no trace of it as one of our customers,” a GWI officer disclosed yesterday. GWI officials are mystified, as the water company owns the well that had been sunk right in the compound. That well was there for at least two decades, as far back when a Chinese company was there operating a textile mill. GWI technicians have been accessing the compound quite regularly to carry out maintenance and other works. The well currently serves about 9,000 customers in the Ruimveldt area, including D’Aguiar Park, Alexander Village, Meadowbank and West Ruimveldt.
NOTICE:
“What we found from the initial checks is that there is a bulk meter in place serving the buildings. We were unable to conduct more investigations as our team was ordered to leave the premises.” The GWI official declined to explain who ordered his team to leave the premises - GWI’s management or QAII. It is believed that QAII which has been in the compound has been utilizing water from the well since it started operations as far back as 2008. It therefore could be backdated tens of millions of dollars now by GWI for using water and not paying for it. GWI will have to determine the extent of the usage of possible illegal connections. GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, declined yesterday to speak on the issue,
TO QUEEN’S COLLEGE (QC) LOWER SIXTH FORM APPLICANTS - FOR CAPE All Lower Sixth Form applicants (for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination – CAPE) are advised to check with the school’s general office on Monday, August 29, 2016 between 09:00 and 15:00 hours (9 a.m. and 3 p.m.) to learn of the status of their applications. Registration for successful applicants with surnames beginning with letters A – M will be on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 from 10:00 hours to 14:00 hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) Those with surnames beginning with letters N – Z will be registered on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 between 10:00 and 14:00 hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) Orientation will be conducted on Friday, September 2, 2016, between 13:00 and 15:00 hours (1 p.m. and 3 p.m.) Applicants are reminded of financial contributions which will include: PTA -
$2,000; college tie - $2,000; college tie pin - $1,500; college T-shirt - $2,000; crest - $500 and rule book - $500. N.B. The presence of parents or guardians at Orientation will be of great importance.
noting, through his management, that the matter is currently engaging the attention of the entity. The Sanata Complex houses a number of QAII subsidiaries including the Guyana Times operations, TVG28, and Radio Guyana. It also houses a drug bond and administrative offices for New GPC. The problem is a huge one for GWI which currently has more than $4B outstanding from delinquent and other customers. Over the past year, almost $1.8B was collected. A large number of customers remained unmetered, so it is difficult to determine how much revenue is actually lost. Additionally, a number of new private schemes and commercial operations have been receiving w a t e r, b u t t h r o u g h i l l e g a l connections. GWI, the official said (Continued on page 26)
QAII owner, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop
Kaieteur News
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Friday August 26, 2016
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
We must halt this continuing decline in education There is another reported drop in the performance of students in Mathematics at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. The reports are that the percentage passes are even lower than last year, and this is worrying. Coming at a time when Guyana is on the cusp of oil production - when the country would need technicians and engineers - the importance of Mathematics cannot be overemphasized. One would expect Mathematics would be the most passed subject when one considers that Mathematics is all around us. Numbers dominate our lives. At every turn people are confronted with numbers, be they the prices for goods, the number plates on vehicles, and even the numbers on telephones. From birth children are confronted with numbers. Even the games they play often involve numbers. So what goes wrong later in life? Teachers for one reason or the other shy away from this subject, simply because they refuse to apply everyday practices. They have a certain number of pupils in their class, and that should be the starting point for any lesson in Mathematics. The basics in teaching are that a teacher should move from the known to the unknown. But it would seem that teachers simply do not see the Mathematics around them. Indeed, in years gone by, passes in Mathematics were a given. That is the reason for employers asking for passes in Mathematics and English. Guyana would have suffered a great loss when other countries made demands on the local teaching resource. The best left and we simply could not replace them fast enough. The others who are left behind never developed teaching skills, to the point where the practical teachers are almost non-existent. The leading secondary schools must now share teachers in the crucial subject areas such as Mathematics and the sciences. Gone are the days when these schools boasted a surfeit of teachers in these areas. This situation could be reversed, but there must first be a study of the existing situation. We are spending money on buildings to house these children, but we are not spending enough on training the people who must impart knowledge. A look at the developed countries would show that no pains are being spared to get children mathematically inclined. For one, there is the focus on computers. These days computers exist in every aspect of life. They are in cars, aircraft, domestic appliances including television sets, and in the field of medicine. These days, without these things one can only imagine what life would be like. A simple study of training programmes overseas would reveal that there is a concentration on Mathematics. People training to be nurses must have mathematical skills, and for good reason. They must calibrate medicines; they must be able to adjust the equipment which read patients’ vital signs. Guyana should begin to get the few skilled Mathematics teachers in the society to feature at workshops and to train those who are in the profession. Certainly, these teacher trainers would not be averse to being compensated for their efforts. In fact, the groundswell would be great, because no one ignores money when all that is necessary is a little effort. Guyana is not alone in this poor performance in Mathematics. The reports suggest that it is widespread in the Caribbean. This may be as a result of the fact that we as a people were trained not to work in the land of our birth, but in the big cities. Our leaders of yore tried to reverse this trend by producing textbooks more suited to our conditions and situations. But the advent of television, with its exclusive North American and European bias, actually reversed this trend. It took children away from books and so reduced their ability to reason. Mathematics and English language became the biggest losers and as a consequence, the nation. It is not too late to use the very television to improve our lot.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
One is never certain what motivates Freddie Kissoon Dear Editor, I crave your indulgence to respond to Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s column, which was published in Kaieteur News on Monday August 22, 2016, captioned, “The WPA is appearing dishonest and barefaced”. Mr. Editor, this is not the first time nor will it be the last occasion that Mr. Kissoon has questioned and will question the WPA’s politics and our political judgment on how to best influence political developments in the country. Additionally, on several occasions in the past Kissoon had deemed the party to be dead and buried. It seems to me that he is so haunted by the ‘ghost’ of this organization that he has tremendous difficulty in finding a final resting place for its carcass. That is why his position as regards to the WPA is so contradictory. On the one hand he sees the WPA as dead, and on the other hand he has high expectations of this dead entity. Someone should help him to make up his mind as to whether the WPA is really dead and buried or, is in fact alive. What I find somewhat surprising is the accusation in his article of the WPA as being “dishonest and barefaced”. Freddie’s latest accusation is a new one. Having read his column I see nothing in it to support his claim of our dishonesty and barefacedness. Editor, because one is never certain what motivates Kissoon on these matters, you are forced to wonder if he is really attempting an objective political analysis of a situation or, if in
fact he is being driven by a hidden political agenda (which I believe is the case in this instance) and is in the process, attempting to use the WPA to bolster the political fortunes of his chosen political allies. Whatever are the reasons driving him, his public pronouncements are usually important enough to warrant a public response, since the reading public take note of his utterances. Kissoon’s attempts to compare the WPA’s approach to matters relating to the coalition government with that of the AFC, while appearing on the surface to be reasonable, at closer examination, they are misplaced and unfair. The views I am about to express are purely mine and not the WPA’s and the WPA is therefore not bound by them. Objectively, the AFC has a greater responsibility for what takes place in the government than the WPA. (1) The AFC has 40% of the government while the WPA at best, has 2%. Please note that this is not intended as a complaint on my part, but must be seen for what it is a pure stating of the facts. (2) Since in recent times the WPA has not contested elections in its name, its electoral strength is questionable. Some of our detractors say that electorally we are irrelevant. However, while I respect the right of persons to have this view of the WPA, I disagree with them. While some may say otherwise, in my view the WPA is politically more relevant in the present and future politics of the nation. As a party, WPA
takes this perception of the party into its political calculations, and the way it engages politically is informed by this.(3) The AFC does not have the same problematic history with the PNCR as the WPA ,therefore they have more freedom to engage without the risk of being accused of pursuing old political vendettas. Some will say that that thinking is over-played. However, our experiences on the ground make it an important factor in determining how we engage politically. (4) It is only the politically naïve who will not realize that the WPA is in a difficult position. This has been compounded by the PPP’s use of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (WRCOI) in the politics of the country. Further, the PNCR’s position on the WRCOI, from the commencement of the hearings up to and even after, the report on its findings has exacerbated the situation. In that political environment it is hard, if not impossible to be understood even when you are being objective and taking a principled position. (5) Given the complicated nature of WPA, PNCR, and AFC political relations, the WPA politics in the coalition is not always as straight forward a matter as it appears. This has become even more problematic since the party is not a favored political force in the public media at this time of its history. These realities put us at a great disadvantage when we have to explain our position. This allows our detractors to exploit our (Continued on page 5)
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
The role of the magistrate A forensic audit of City Hall will reveal all the secrets in a trial DEAR EDITOR, I read Freddie Kissoon’s column where he stated that he was afraid to return to give evidence in the current matter before the court. I would like to tell Freddie Kissoon to keep his chin up; he is doing the right thing as he moves forward to seek justice. First, as a seasoned magistrate Ms. Latchman it appears have a problem running her courtroom; if a witness tells her he/she does not understand a question it is her duty to ask the lawyer to rephrase the question to the
witness for better understanding. If there is a problem with grammatical presentation from a lawyer to a witness, it can be easily misinterpreted and the wrong response can cause a problem in the outcome of a case. Freddie KIssoon is right, the magistrate is obligated to ask the lawyer for clarification as to what indiscretion was committed by the witness, and if there was one, then advise the witness as such, or inform the lawyer that there was none. Mr. Hanoman advising the magistrate to address Freddie Kissoon’s demeanour and that it should have a bearing on the
outcome of the case, was just a ploy to influence the magistrate. Who among us would not be upset to relive a horrible incident? Kissoon should know Hanoman probably reads his columns and knows the capability of his mental faculty, so when he asks the magistrate to rule that Kissoon was mentally incompetent, it was in jest. He is doing his very best as a lawyer representing his client and will throw the kitchen sink at Kissoon if he can. Let’s understand the important aspect of this case, KISSOON IS NOT A WITNESS, HE IS A VICTIM. Attorney-At-Law
Time for heads in the Coalition Govt. to roll or efc o gKnai si ee t etuhre DEAR EDITOR; After a mere 18 months, element s w i t h i n t h e present Coalition government have made the PPP crooks look like amateurs. I want to unreservedly say that the “Fourth Estate” in Guyana could have been more forthright during the PPP years and brought them to book long before 2015. Guyana would have been better off for it. H o w e v e r, my compliments to Kaieteur News at this stage (and I have heard lots from many others who sing the praises
News) speedy exposure of dishonest acts by Government Ministers and officials who are fast surpassing the “scampishness” of the PPP. The Norton affair, the GWI fiasco, the Harmon episode which still has the true story to be exposed, the Deputy CEO matter at the GPHC, etc., etc., must be brought to the people. The time for ethnic/party sympathies has ended. This is our country. Those who want to steal from the people are enemies of the people and of this nation. I urge that the same
vehemence with which you probed and exposed the wrong-doings of the PPP regime must also be employed as regards this administration. If the President wants to defend acts which are so palpably wrong and injurious to Guyana, then he must be held accountable. After all, he promised to stamp out corruption at all levels. Or are his Ministers and senior functionaries exceptions? It is time for heads to roll, both within the APNU and the AFC! Guyanese expect it! Guyanese demand it! Charles Selman
One is never certain what ... From page 4 position. Another factor that complicates politics in Guyana is the partisan political and racial division in the society, and a populace conditioned to simplistic politics, compounds the problems. (6) The inability of the APNU leadership organs to meet also negatively affects our engagements on issues. This needs no elaboration. (7) WPA’s ability to engage in a responsible way is also influenced by the fact that it has only one representative in the cabinet. Unfortunately that person has a questionable approach to cabinet business and the issue of confidentiality. The Party’s executive members agonize over having to be restricted to information in the public domain on important government business. This does not allow for effective political interventions.
In closing, I want to say that while I do not share Freddie’s view that the WPA is “dishonest” and “barefaced, I tend to agree with him, that in spite of the challenges facing the party, it ought to speak out on some issues impacting the country in a more timely way. However we have to be mindful that in doing so, we don’t help the P P P ’s c a u s e a n d u n d e r m i n e t h e APNU+AFC coalition and government. In my view WPA’s criticisms of the government must be objective, must be based on reliable information and must be well calculated, if it is to have a positive impact. The WPA’s criticism of the government can in some regards undermine the political situation in the country. Conscious of this reality we in the WPA often see it as a duty to err on the side of caution. Tacuma Ogunseye.
DEAR EDITOR; How could the Town Clerk of Georgetown have the audacity to tell the citizenry that there is no secrecy regarding the Council’s accounting system? If there is no secrecy, then why is he and others so vigorously preventing the commissioning of a deep wide ranging forensic audit of its accounting system? If there is no secrecy, then why have they not presented their accounts for qualification by the state auditors for more than a decade now? If there is no secrecy then why aren’t all of their account holdings reflected on their financial statements? If there is no secrecy why then can’t all of
their Councillors be given a copy of the crooked parking meter contract they signed with Smart City Solutions/ National Parking Systems? If there is no secrecy, why then have they not yet made public the city’s budget for 2016, when it is already August of 2016? If there is no secrecy, why then are the members of staff of the Finance Department being muzzled and prevented from speaking to the press regarding matters of considerable importance to the citizens? If there is no secrecy, why did they so hurriedly appoint a Chairman of the Finance Committee after the Mayoral election process and stuff the committee full
with old timers from the past scandalous Council? If there is no secrecy, then why the senior administrative and financial management staffers of the Council refusing to proceed on their vacation leave like everyone else has to within the municipality? No other public organization in the whole of Guyana is less transparent, more secretive, more corrupt, and more untrustworthy than the Georgetown Municipality and yet the Town Clerk goes to the media to say they have no secrets. Wait until a forensic audit is held, then there will no doubt be the discovery of more secrets than those held by the KGB, CIA or the MI5 all together Debra Gibson
Business community and citizen have no confidence in City Hall DEAR EDITOR, The Georgetown Municipality could not be serious in its call for an increase and improvement in its revenue collection rate. Is it not quite obvious to them by now, that the citizenry at large and the business community in particular that belong to Georgetown and beyond, have absolutely no confidence whatsoever in the Council to manage properly and account for the money it collects on a daily basis?. And who could blame them for their lack of confidence? An agency such as the Council which should have its accounts qualified and presented for scrutiny on a yearly basis t o t h e A u d i t O ff i c e o f Guyana and to the citizens of Georgetown has not done so for over a decade. This is wholly unacceptable. In any decent, progressive and democratic society, at the very least the Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officers would have long been given pink slips and sent along their w a y, b u t n o t h e r e i n Georgetown. In fact they have even been given acclamations in some quarters for cleaning up the
city for the Jubilee celebrations, in spite of their complete lack of accountability. To add insult to injury, T h e To w n C l e r k h a s indicated his desire to obtain funding including loans and grants from international organizations and foreign countries. That is unbelievable. Which credible foreign agency do they think would even consider putting a dime into the black hole of City Hall? Clearly they are mistaking the charity of the Central Government who has been bailing them out for decades now, as some endorsement of its crooked accounting system. The first step that must be taken before any consideration be given to give the Council a blind cent whether from local or foreign entities, is the qualification and presentation of its accounts to the Audit Office of Guyana, its accounts for the last ten
years. The second nonnegotiable step has to be the effecting of a deep and thorough forensic audit of its financial and human resource systems by a private, competent and independent audit agency, with the findings presented to parliament debated and made public. The third requirement is for the Council to recommence making its yearly budget a public document, so that the citizens could be apprised of its proposed work programmes and expenditure along with its projected revenue. In the meanwhile, until the Council gets its act t o g e t h e r, i t w o u l d b e foolish to give the Council more money such as the container tax, and the parking meter fees which would only exacerbate the problem that it has with corruption, nepotism and fiscal impropriety. Sean Moniz
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
My comments on the criticisms of a Berbice magistrate DEAR EDITOR I refer to the caption “Magistrate adjourns matter without allowing witness to sign deposition” contained in the front page of the Kaieteur News of Saturday the 20th day of August, 2016 and also at page 3 of that date’s issue and request that you publish this article. The fact that the Magistrate recorded the evidence on sheets of paper is not contrary to the law. A Preliminary Inquiry is
governed by the provisions of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, Chapter 10:01. Section 64 (3) of that Act provides that the evidence shall be taken down in writing in the form of deposition. For the past 40 years (I can speak to that) depositions have been taken on sheets of paper and at the end of the Preliminary Inquiry those sheets are bounded together by the Clerk of Court and sent to the Registrar and
the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). There is no requirement for the evidence to be taken down in a book. In fact, no book is provided to Magistrates for the purpose of taking the evidence at a Preliminary Inquiry. The fact that the Magistrate did not read over the evidence of the witness, and cause him to sign the depositions immediately after the taking of that witness’s evidence, is not and was never an illegality.
How much are they paying these commissioners? DEAR EDITOR, Has the Minister of Education committed the error of ‘premature cognitive commitment’? I refer to the article captioned, “GTU representative belatedly dropped from Education COI” that appeared in the 25 August edition of Kaieteur News and note with concern the jettisoning of Mr. Mark Lyte, the President of the GTU as a member of the COI. It may be useful to note that the National Education Plan 2014-2018 specifically identifies the GTU and its members as key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the plan. How can the Minister of Education expect the complex programme that is the Education Sector Plan to be successfully implemented without the collaboration of the teachers, whom Mr. Lyte represents? And to jettison him on the grounds of limited funds? The question then is: How much money are they paying the commissioners? The second point I wish to make is that your newspaper has been carrying the notices of several commissions of inquiry, the most recent being the “Notice of Hearing, Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the Conditions and Circumstances Facing Veterans of the Guyana Defence Force ...” It should be noted that the administrators of that COI have done a good job in informing the public through
those notices. My question is why isn’t the Ministry of Education publishing Notices of Hearing of the Commission of Inquiry into Education? More so, in light of the fact that there have been significant changes in the composition of the COI. According to your newspaper, cabinet has recommended that there be 5 commissioners instead of the previous set of 10 commissioners. Further, the Ministry of Education should follow ‘Best Practices’ as was done by the Veterans COI and publish not only ‘Notices of Hearing’ but also the Terms of Reference of the COI and the names of the current commissioners. This is important since the Minister of Education claims that they are appealing to all to participate in the process. It is imperative that the public be aware of the Terms of Reference so that they can make a meaningful input. My other question relates to the ‘expertise and skills-set’ of those appointed as commissioners of the Education COI. If the rationale for holding the COI is to ‘review, revise, upgrade, expand and modernize the Education Sector Plan 2014 2018, then ‘Best Practices’ in the education sector would suggest that the persons making up the commission would have the relevant ‘expertise and skills-set’ in those areas. Does the reconstituted commission
have the required ‘skills-set’? If a critical element the COI has to consider is the ‘delivery of education’ then the question should be asked, who among the commissioners has expertise in this area? In ICT and Education? Who has ‘expertise’ in modernizing the education sector? In modern teaching methodologies? In Developing Countries such as Guyana, the focus always seems to be only on picking persons for the job, rather than first identifying the areas of expertise and skills-set required to get the job done. No wonder one sees changes such as the dramatic 10-to-5 reduction in the composition of the COI. Is this yet another case of putting the cart before the horse? I recall the Minister of Education responding to a question by a journalist who asked him whether the recommendations of the COI would be implemented and he responded affirmatively. I see a danger there. And the danger lies in the error of ‘premature cognitive commitment’: committing to something you have not seen, much less studied is dangerous. I hope however that the Minister of Education publishes the Report of the Commission when it is finished. I recall the words of Albert Einstein, “The only thing that gets in the way of my learning, is my education.” Concerned citizen
The Magistrate did not act contrary to law as is implied in the article of the 20th day of August, 2016. Once the depositions are signed sometime before the accused is called upon for his defence, it is lawful and the deposition would be regular and admissible in evidence if that need arises at the trial. Section 64 (4) reads: “The deposition shall, at some time before the accused person is called on for his defence, be read over to and signed by the witness and the magistrate; the accused person, the witness, and the magistrate being all present together at the time of the reading and signing.” It follows that if the depositions are not signed immediately after, they are taken, the witness or witnesses can be re-called on any date prior to the close of the prosecution’s case to sign. I agree it would be prudent to have the depositions signed immediately after the evidence is taken down. Nevertheless that is a far cry from saying that the Magistrate’s omission at that stage is questionable. In any event, if that is not done, the trial in the High Court can still go on once the depositions were signed before the close of the prosecution’s case, that is, before the Accused is called upon for his defence. I also wish to offer my comments on the caption “Magistrate evicts public and journalist from the courtroom” contained at page one of Monday’s, the 22nd day August, 2016, issue of the Kaieteur News. Article 144(9) of the Constitution which was enacted in 1980 provides“Except with the agreement of all the parties thereto, all proceedings of every court and proceedings for the determination of the existence or extent of any civil right or obligation before any other tribunal, including the
announcement of the decision of the court or other tribunal, shall be held in public.” Nevertheless, paragraph (10) of that article gives the Judge or Magistrate a discretion to exclude the public under certain conditions. That article reads: “Nothing in the preceding paragraph shall prevent the court or other tribunal from excluding from the proceedings persons other t h a n t h e parties thereto and their legal representatives to such extent as the court or other tribunal- (a) may by law be empowered so to do and may consider necessary or expedient in circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interest of justice or in interlocutory proceedings or in the interests of decency, public morality, the welfare or persons under the age of eigh t e e n y e a r s o r t h e protection of the private lives of persons concerned in the proceedings; or (b) may by law be empowered or required so to do in the interest of defence, public safety or public order.” Moreover section 62 (d) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, permits the Magistrate to: “order that no person, other than the officers of the Magistrate’s Court, the persons engaged in the prosecution, and the accused person, and his counsel (if
any), shall have access to or remain in the room or building in which the inquiry is being held (which shall not be deemed an open court) if it appears to him that the ends of justice will be best answered by so doing.” It follows that nothing is wrong with a Magistrate “clearing the court” of members of the public if he feels that the ends of justice would be better served by doing so. One may wish to make the argument that the Constitution is the Supreme Law and any other law inconsistent with article 144 is void to the extent of such inconsistency. However, there is a valid counter argument and that is, section 62(d) is a pre-existing law and is saved by the saving provisions of the constitution itself: (Attorney General -v- James Ramlochan -civil appeal No. 40 of 2011).In other words article 144 does not and never did make section 62(d) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act obsolete. Murseline Bacchus Editor’s note: we are not in agreement with certain positions adumbrated by Mr. Bacchus as legal advice we received are in opposition to many of his positions adumbrated here. It would have been enlightening if Mr. Bacchus could have explained why the presence of the media in this instance would have been harmful. It seems he failed to contextualize
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Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Shady bond deal a reminder of Guyana’s darkest days under PPP- Dr. Hinds Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds is deeply disappointed in the Government’s handling of the controversial Sussex Street bond deal. The political activist said
that it is important to note that the nature of the deal and how it was awarded in a less than transparent manner is “a stark reminder of Guyana’s darkest days” under the former regime. Dr. Hinds said it is
unfortunate that the Government seems to be facing some of the same problems. The transparency advocate said, “I believe that the process should be transparent and adhere to
rules that are democratic and fair.” He also hammered home the point that the contract for a warehouse to store the nation’s drugs was sole sourced to Lawrence Singh of Linden Holdings Inc. In this regard, Dr. Hinds said that sole sourcing should be a very last resort, since it is fraught with possibilities of favouritism. Hinds asserted, “I think this whole situation with the bond should be scrapped and subjected to transparent process. This government came to office with the expressed promise to clean up the mess of the previous government, so it should hold itself, and be held, to a higher standard.” The WPA Executive Member also knocked Government’s excuses for sole sourcing the contract. He reminded that an international report categorically states that the state-owned Diamond warehouse can store all of the nation’s drugs and supplies and even more. However a Cabinet subcommittee is still insisting that the rental of a storage bond in Sussex Street is necessary. The three-man committee comprised Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. Even though the subcommittee acknowledged that the Diamond facility can indeed store drugs for the
WPA Executive Member, Dr. David Hinds entire nation, it said that there are other factors which must be considered. It was determined that it is not safe to have all of the nation’s drugs and medical supplies in one facility, in case of a fire or some natural disaster that can have calamitous consequences to the national health care system. The sub-committee stated too that the location of the Diamond warehouse can affect distribution of medical supplies, given traffic congestion issues that are associated with the East Bank thoroughfare. In the circumstances, Dr. Hinds maintains that the reasons given for sole sourcing the contract are shaky at best.
However, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said that the possibility of a fire and the issue of traffic congestion were just two of the many reasons considered for embracing the contract. Nagamootoo noted that there was a visit to the Diamond facility and the Sussex Street Bond. He said that committee members who visited the Sussex Street bond were satisfied that it was suitable for use as provided for under the contract. He said that the members recommended that the bond be used until the Government is able to build an alternative facility. The Prime Minister said that when the bond proposal came to Cabinet initially, the issue of traffic congestion affecting the access to medical supplies at the Diamond facility was not raised. He said that it might be used as a rationalization for the continued use of the Sussex Street bond. Nagamootoo said what was advanced was the necessity of a new site, consequent upon the demand of the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) for Government to either pay a rent for the facilities or take its drugs elsewhere. Nagamootoo said that when Government made it clear that the New GPC was not going to be enjoying sole sourced contracts anymore and that “an era of competitiveness” is what is going to take over, “we were basically told to take our drugs and get lost.” Nagamootoo was also asked why the committee did not address the fact that they gave a contract to someone who is inexperienced in the storage of drugs and pharmaceuticals. He replied that Government “is not renting the contractor but the facility”.
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Different strokes for different folks! Remorse is good for the soul. But how many in the government have been remorseful about the actions which they have taken and which have been highly criticized? The Cabinet is not a pack of angels. The members of Cabinet are human – all too human. They make mistakes. Those who make mistakes deserve a second chance. Everyone in life deserves a second chance. If a government Minister makes a mistake, then the Minister should be given a second chance. It sounds all well and good on the part of the government to be asking for a defaulting Minister to be given a chance because he or she is not an angel and is liable, as we all are, to make mistakes. In other words, what the learned Vice President is saying is do not be too harsh on a Minister who had made a mistake. Do not call for that Minister to be dismissed. Give the Minister a chance. But how many persons has the present government
given a chance to? The government has been hounding persons out of the public service. They have dismissed persons. They have retired others. They have replaced some persons with their own supporters. They have refused to renew the contracts of persons whose contracts had expired but which could have been renewed. Those persons have not been given a second chance. They have not been deemed liable to mistakes. They have been sent packing without any regard for the effects of their dismissals on their families. They have been put on the breadline. It sounds nice to hear one Minister pleading with the public to give his colleague a second chance. But how many persons were given a chance much less a second chance by the new government? The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health was sent packing without so much as a hearing. He was not given a second
chance. The heads of many agencies were sent off their job. The head of one senior official within the health sector is now on the chopping block. He will be the next to be fired, because the government does not want him on the job. He is not being given a second chance. The Chief Education Officer, after years of service, was sent packing when his contract expired. No one was saying then that the man should be given back his job. The Head of the GPL was sent packing. Nobody said, “Let us give him a second chance. He is human” Persons from the GRA were fired without the chance of even knowing why they were fired? Why then should the only persons to be given a second chance, be those affiliated with the ruling coalition? Why should only Ministers of the government be given a second chance? The Registrar of Births and Deaths was sent packing because she allegedly refused an instruction from a Minister. This woman was a
Woman fined for smuggling birds, another remanded for cocaine A woman was yesterday fined $100,000 with an alternative of serving five months imprisonment, after she pleaded guilty to smuggling 21 ‘towa towa’ birds out of Guyana via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri. Sadika Rodney admitted that on August 24, at the CJIA, without the necessary permit, she attempted to smuggle the birds. Rodney told Magistrate Renita Singh that she had collected the bag from her uncle for travelling, and failed to check what was inside. She claimed that she only became aware of
what was concealed inside the bag after she was intercepted at the airport. Meanwhile, in another case, a 21-year-old woman was remanded to prison after she denied having four grams of cocaine in her possession. Ariel Singh of Alexander Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was allegedly found with the illicit substance on August 23. Singh was represented by Attorney Adrian Thompson when she appeared yesterday in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The defendant is scheduled to make her next court appearance on September 26.
$850M E.C.D. drainage project to be implemented – NDIA Boss Residents of the East Coast of Demerara are expected to benefit from an initiative which will see a $850M project implemented which will bring about improved drainage in that area of the country. In addition, three new pump stations will be constructed, and a similar number of pumps will be installed. The bids for the execution of the works which will be done at Buxton/Vigilance, Enmore/Hope and Lusignan are being evaluated, and contracts are expected to be awarded shortly. This project, which is a component of the East Demerara Water Conservancy’s (EDWC) adaptation project, will be administered by the World Bank. The institution’s website states that the objective of the adaptation project is to “reduce the vulnerability of catastrophic flooding in the Guyana low-lying area that is currently threatened by sea level rise resulting from global climate change”. The project has been developed to guide a comprehensive upgrading of the EDWC and lowland drainage system, aimed at increasing discharge capacity and improving water level management.” Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, (NDIA) Fredericks Flatts said the works are being executed under the Flood Risk
Management Programme, funded by the Government of Guyana and the International Development Association (IDA), an agency of the World Bank. The US$11.89M Flood Risk Management Programme is a four-component project and stemmed from pre-feasibility studies done under the Conservancy Adaptation project. Speaking about the scope of the works and expected completion date for the $850M project, Flatts said, “The pump stations will take about nine months and the earthworks in the EDWC are supposed to take about 30 months…” The Flood Risk Management Project seeks to upgrade critical sections of the EDWC dams and canals; significantly improve the drainage capacity in priority areas along the East Coast; and increase the institutional capacity by implementation of dam-safety measures and practices, including the installation of instruments to monitor hydrometeorological data. The project also caters for acquisition of heavy equipment to facilitate the upgrading and increased pumping capacity of the critical drainage areas, and will see more than 300,000 citizens in flood-prone regions of the East Coast Demerara benefiting from reduced flooding and climate risk.
senior public servant and no Minister should be instructing a public servant. The instructions have to be given by the Permanent Secretary and not the Minister. But this professional who did so much to improve the service at the Registry of Births and Deaths was not given a chance. The Head of the Land Registry was sent on leave pending a probe. We have not heard about the outcome of the probe and who did the probe. But the good lady has not returned from leave. She was let go. She was not given a second chance. The Head of the Geology and Mines Commission was sent packing. No second chance. Nothing criminal was found against persons at the Privatization Unit. Yet senior officials were sent packing. No second chance. Low level officials at the Guyana Embassy in New York had their services ended or their contracts expired. No second chance for them. All over the
public service people are being let go. No one is asking whether they deserve a second chance and whether they have mouths to feed at home. It is all nice and good for the APNU+AFC minister to speak about people liable to make mistakes and therefore due for a second chance. But that principle is conveniently applied. It applies only to Ministers of the government The Cabinet approved a 50% increase in salaries for its members last year. But the final proposal for public servants ranges from 1% at the top of the scale to 10% at the bottom. How come the same 50% could not have applied to all workers?
One percent of a million dollars is $10,000. Ten percent of $50,000 is $5,000. Who is getting the bigger increase in absolute terms? The Guyana Public Service Union should turn to the government and say. “We all make mistakes. You have just made a mistake. We will give you a second chance. Come back with a better offer!”
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Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Big corruption scheme in the police force It didn’t make sense to me. I thought about it, but in the end accepted that the Guyana Police Force is one of the worst in the world, and will continue to be a sordid, unprofessional bunch. So I stopped thinking about it. Actually I had the answer; so I thought. My conclusion was that it was a way of the lower ranks topping up their salary. What am I talking about? Each time I saw the occurrence of a random traffic stop, and wrote about it, it continued all over Guyana the next day, the very next day. Many times I would call the commanders of the various stations and they would assert in unambiguous language that the force has discontinued random traffic stops. But the station of that very commander, the very next day, would do the random stops. I could only have found one answer – the constables want some money. In fact, my explanation is shared by countless numbers, including very educated and intelligent people. They all believe that traffic cops take money
during those random stops. But there is a hidden, dangerous dimension to this money-collection scheme. It was explained to me last Tuesday by a detective. Everything has now fallen into place. I now know why a station chief would apologize to me for his men doing the sudden halt sign to oncoming traffic, yet the next day the identical deportment is displayed right in front of the station. Here now are details of a huge corruption scheme in the police force that Commissioner Seelall Persaud knew about, after complaints from the Government in December 2014 were made to him. Persaud then tried to derail the corruption train as early as the beginning of 2015, but he was ignored by senior officers who run the scheme. Persaud persisted and tried to get around the recidivist tentacles of the senior officers by going through the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) which police officers and the government would like
us to believe is the equivalent of the Department of Internal Affairs (IA) that you find in the police force of most States in the USA. This is not only a joke, but a manifestation of asininity. In the US, IA officers are insulated from the powerful big wigs who run the anti-crime departments in the respective States. In States like California and New York, the anti-crime bigwigs do not even know who these IA personnel are. The IA personnel cannot be given orders by the very people they are investigating. In Guyana, the OPR is run by people who are subordinate to the very seniors that they will have to investigate. Seelall Persaud failed to stop the random traffic halts and to get OPR to investigate corruption on the streets that stems from those random stops. Why did Persaud fail? Because the random traffic edict is a huge corruption racket run by some very top police officers. Here is how it works. Each day, the junior rank has to collect a
sum of money from drivers who were stopped but whose papers were not in order. The day’s take is then shared with the constable, his immediate senior and the ultimate senior officer. Each month, these corrupt officers take home hundreds of thousands of blood dollars coerced from drivers. Depending on the violation, the payment begins from $5,000. If you d o n o t h a v e a d r i v e r ’s licence, it is $10,000. All one has to do is take a cheap calculator and do the simple calculation. If a constable stands on Vlissengen Road facing Kitty Public Road and he stops a hundred drivers in
three hours, out of that hundred, twenty will not have all their required papers. It is hardly likely that he will collect $5,000 from each erring driver. Some will pay as much as $12,000 depending on the fault. Do the calculation; these men take home a whopping sum each month. It was no accident, or it wasn’t coincidence, that Zena Henry, a practicing journalist, wrote that the first thing the anti-crime unit asked her for was her documents. They didn’t stop her to search the car first. They knew she was alone and they knew there was no suspicion to warrant a search. But they wanted to see her papers. Once she fell short, money would have
Frederick Kissoon been requested. The detective told me one senior officer in full view of other ranks shouted to a constable; “Yo! Yuh shaart dis month!” Translated, it means, you were short in your payment this month. The constable didn’t collect the agreed sum. Maybe he stopped drivers who were too poor to pay.
Dem boys seh...
Soulja Bai operating like Saila Bai When pot tell skillet he bottom black that is the ultimate insult. Jagdeo call a press conference to tell reporters how de government in a cover-up. Everybody can remember when Jagdeo was not only de master of cover-up but was also de master of hiding everything, till he hide from heself. But de real problem is that de government should never let things reach de stage wheh it got to do damage control. Rum Jattan seh that all of dem is human and that dem gun mek mistakes. That is true, but mistakes mustn’t be beefsteaks. Dem boys want to know how you gun
rent a place and don’t even know if it finish. In this day and age nobody don’t buy pig in bag. But Soulja Bai like he sailing. Dem boys don’t want to call him Saila Bai. He got to step up and rule, because that is wha people accustom to. He can’t worry about who seh he is a dictator. De people who deh behind him want to see action or dem gun get really vex wid him. How he can sit down and mek a man tell him that he settle because de other man threaten to sue. De people at de Waterfalls paper now threatening de boss man. Dem write a threatening letter to him demanding nuff money.
But dem smart. Nobody ain’t sign dem name, because de boss man would never do wha Basil de Willie do. Of course, dem boys seh that if Soulja Bai call on him to pay back that money, bet he wouldn’t settle another court case. Jagdeo people never use to settle; dem use to ignore everything, including de court decision. Since Rum Jattan seh all of dem in de government is humans dem boys wondering wha next dem gun see or hear. Dem hope that dem don’t hear that de government trade Ohh Pee fuh Freedom House. Talk half and poke Soulja Bai
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
GO-Invest to increase due diligence checks for high risk companies For years, local analysts have argued that Guyana’s inability to properly screen for high risk companies spells nothing but dangerous implications for the economy. In fact, a report by the United States Bureau of Economics and Business Affairs, (http:// www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ ics/2013/204653.htm) says that the Government of Guyana actively encourages foreign direct investment (FDI), but needs to do more to facilitate investment and implement more transparent and accountable procedures. It says, too, that Guyanese law permits foreign ownership of companies, and there is no mandatory screening of foreign investment. However, the government conducts de facto screenings of most investments to determine which businesses are eligible for special tax treatment, access to licenses, land, and approval for investment incentives. However, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin is intent on making some drastic changes where this is
concerned. And the first place he is starting with is the Guyana Office For Investment (GO-Invest). In an interview with this newspaper, Gaskin spoke of the number of anomalies which characterized the onestop-shop for business in Guyana under the previous administration. The Executive Member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) said, too, that he and his team have identified Guyana’s due diligence capacity as a major area which needs to be strengthened. Gaskin said that thanks to a new Chief Executive Officer and Board at GO-Invest, a new system is in place and other options are being considered. The Business Minister said that in the past, companies would visit GOInvest and provide their information without the necessary checks being done on what was received. Gaskin said that today, for local companies, GO-Invest is looking at compliance issues. The Minister added, “And we have a form that requests certain information on the
- Business Minister source of the company’s funds.” For foreign companies, he said that there are detailed due diligence reports which are issued by reputable firms which GO-Invest can tap into. He explained that there are some companies which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and background reports can be requested on those companies. Additionally, Gaskin said that GO-Invest is currently considering a scenario where firms interested in investing in Guyana would be asked to pay for a due diligence report which will be conducted by a reputable company. That due diligence firm would be selected by GO-Invest as well. To make Guyana more business-friendly, Gaskin disclosed that the Ministry of Business is currently engaging various State agencies with a view to reducing bureaucratic red tape and making official procedures easier to navigate. The Minister said that his
ministry is currently seeking financing to implement the Single Window Automated Processing System (SWAPS). He noted that when established, the SWAPS will link licensing bodies along with the Customs and Trade Administration to facilitate the sharing of information and to enhance the efficiency with which trade transactions are carried out. Gaskin said that these improved procedures will not only reduce the amount of time that private businesses spend mired in paperwork, but also increase government accountability, reduce corruption, and make data and information more accessible. He pointed out that the Ministry of Business has already established a Help Desk for businesses, which acts as a single point of contact for information and advice for businesses, traders, and the Government. Furthermore, while consumers and large
Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin businesses can access loans, small businesses commonly face a financing gap. Gaskin said that this is being addressed by Government through the implementation of the Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) initiative implemented through the Small Business Bureau of the Ministry of Business. To build both generic and sector-specific skills, the Minister said that training opportunities for small businesses will be expanded to cover all ten administrative
regions. This year, 400 individuals are targeted to benefit from training. A newly-appointed Small Business Council chaired by Commonwealth Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2015) awardee, Ms. Valrie Grant is now in place, and tasked with significantly improving the work and expanding the reach of the Small Business Bureau over the next few years. It has also been noted by the administration that efforts must be geared towards enhancing Guyana’s brand and visibility as an investment destination. As such, it is expected that GOInvest would work towards improving agency websites and developing partnerships with other investment promotion agencies worldwide. The Ministry of Business’ Strategic Plan calls for the development of a national export strategy and the design of a sustainable national investment strategy. GO-Invest is expected to play a key role in the implementation of these initiatives.
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Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
$55M dump truck contract award…
El Dorado Trading boss insists his company has track record Head of El Dorado Trading, Tamesh Jagmohan, has insisted that his company has a proven track record in tendering and the equipment supply business. The executive of the gold trading company was responding to a report yesterday which raised questions over a $55M contract awarded to his company for the supply of two dump trucks to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI). According to Jagmohan, for years now he has been supplying equipment and other items to local businesses involved in the mining and construction fields. With regards to public tendering, Jagmohan insisted that he has also been financing projects for his brother’s company, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Constructing Services. That contractor has been in the equipment supply business. The official also produced letters to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board in which he guarantees financing to his brother’s business. As recent as 2012, he guaranteed $600M for the Linden water supply rehabilitation, which included mains and distribution network. On Wednesday, two contractors said they are
Owner of El Dorado Trading, Tamesh Jagmohan objecting to what they consider a questionable award of the multimilliondollar contract for two dump trucks to MPI. They claimed that El Dorado had no track record in supplying. The 20 cubic yards trucks were for the ministry’s Special Projects Unit. The tenders were opened on April 12. According to bid information, eight offers to supply the trucks came in. They were Dax Contracting $70,200,000; Car Care Enterprise - $42,500,000; S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies and Construction Services$57,600,000; El Dorado Trading - $55,400,000; R. Bassoo and Sons $46,970,000; Industrial Supply of Guyana $51,639,840; Samaroo Investment - $84,100,000 and Japarts - $50,000,000.
Better Hope murder…
Son, two others released on station bail The son of 76-year-old David Ramkissoon, the pensioner who was found in his Better Hope, East Coast Demerara (ECD) home last Sunday with his throat slashed, has been released on station bail. Acting Commander of ‘C’ Division, Paul Williams said that the two other persons, who were taken into custody along with the pensioner’s son, were also released. Williams assured that it is an active investigation. The Divisional Commander pointed out that the dead man’s son was arrested based on the information the police would have received at the scene, compared with the statement the younger Ramkissoon gave to the investigating ranks. Kaieteur News was told that while the focus of the investigation is a robbery/ murder, investigators are exploring other theories, one
Dead: David Ramkissoon of which includes a dispute over the man’s property. Police are also still trying to ascertain whether there was indeed $6M stashed in the pensioner’s home. Ranks who went to the scene, found no signs of forced entry. David Ramkissoon, called “Shortman”, was found in a pool of blood in the living room of his home at around 19:30 hrs last Sunday.
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Public Servants’ wage negotiations…
Union calls Govt.’s final offer “absurd” The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) considers the ‘final offer’ proposed by the Government of Guyana concerning wage increases for public servants to be an absurdity, since the state’s negotiating team has yet to address the issues of de-bunching and allowances. During a press conference last June held by the GPSU on the issue, its President Patrick Yarde had relayed that the allowances and de-bunching were of significant importance to the Union and would play a critical role in both parties arriving at a consensus. A statement issued by the Union yesterday said that the two important components which were substantive parts of the negotiations have not been remotely addressed by the government’s delegation. According to the Union, it had engaged the Government of Guyana in the wages, salaries and allowances negotiation with a clear mandate that the engagement should focus on the goals of a living wage for Public Servants, the resolution of the de-bunching issue within scales, and addressing the matter of the adequacy of allowances paid to public officers. The Union’s position is that these objectives, and no less, wholly inform their negotiating approach in the engagement. According to the Union, the de-bunching exercise should start immediately at the conclusion of the negotiations. The format
- denies making isolated 25% proposal
GPSU President, Patrick Yarde would be that after the first three years of service, one increment, and for every additional two years of service, one increment. On the issue of Allowances, the statement said that an agreement was reached with the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan since 2015 to commence the review of allowances paid to public servants. The process agreed to was by establishing a Tripartite Committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Public Service Management and the Guyana Public Service Union. This was also expressed in the Minister’s Presentation of 2015 National Budget in Parliament. According to the Union, there has been an inordinate delay in addressing this matter. The Government had issued a statement explaining what took place during negotiations. It
acknowledged that the matter of allowances was brought up, along with the Union’s initial 40% increase proposal which it supposedly reduced to 25%. But according to the GPSU, it has never proposed an isolated 25% increase for wages, salaries and allowances. Moreover, during the initial period of the negotiations, the government’s negotiating team made two offers commencing at the base at 5.5%. They then increased that by .5% to 6%. The Union’s negotiating team rejected both proposals. The Government’s team which was headed by Reginald Brotherson, Permanent Secretary, Department of Public Service, proposed a differentiated approach to increases which sought to provide the greatest relief to those within the lower salary bands of the Public Service Wages and Salaries Structure. As such, the government proposed that persons earning below $100,000 would receive 5.5%; those earning $100,000 to $300,000 would receive 5% ; persons earning $300,000 to $800,000 would
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receive 4.5% ; those earning $800,000 to $1,000,000 would receive 2% and persons earning over a $1,000,000 would receive 1%. The below $100,000 percentage offer of 5.5% was later increased to 6%. On the issue of allowances, the government had said that it would consider a review of allowances for public servants immediately upon the conclusion of the negotiations for wages and salaries, utilizing the same process outlined by the Union. To allow the Union to make informed proposals, it had requested detailed information on several aspects of government’s revenue and expenditure. However, up to this time, none of these have been provided. Despite this, the Union proceeded to submit its proposals which were presented on August 9, 2016. The proposal asked for salary increases spread across a three-year period. It was proposed that for Year one (January to December 2016) a flat increase of $7500 per month would be added to
Permanent Secretary, Dept. of Public Service, Reginald Brotherson the salary of public servants at December 31, 2015, as well as the amount payable at the minimum and maximum of each of bands one to 14 of the schedule of salary in the Public Service. This was to be accompanied by a 25% increase across-the-board for each public servant, as well as to the amount payable at the minimum and maximum bands. A $7,000 per month January to December 2017 was proposed to be added to the salary at December 31,
2016, and to minimum and maximum bands. In addition, a 20% increase across the board to the salary as at December 2016 to the amount payable at the minimum and maximum bands. For year three, January to December 2018 it was proposed that there should be a flat increase of $9,000 per month added to the salary at December 31, 2017. Also, a 20% increase across-theboard to the salary as at December 2017, of each person employed in the public sector. The Union also took into consideration inflation and therefore proposed that for the three years there shall be an additional increase as determined by the Bureau of Statistics. A response to the Government’s offer will be forthcoming after a meeting of its General Council.
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Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Man’s bound body in sandpit…
Two women among suspects in custody Two women are among three suspects in custody in connection with the murder of fisherman Levan Chanderpaul, whose battered and decomposing body was found in a sandpit at No 68 Village, Corentyne on Wednesday. Police sources said that Chanderpaul was involved in a relationship with one of the detained women, whose husband is overseas. The woman resides a short distance from the area where the fisherman’s corpse was found. Chanderpaul’s mother said that her son spent most of his time at the woman’s home. According to reports, the
fisherman was also recently threatened by a suspected drug dealer over the theft of a turkey. Although the matter was settled out of court, the man had reportedly promised to ‘do away’ with Chanderpaul. That man and his wife are also in custody. At around 15:30 hrs on Wednesday, the fisherman’s body was found in a sandpit about half of a mile west of the public road and not too far from where he lived. His hands were bound behind his back and he was clad in only his underwear. A post mortem examination conducted yesterday by Dr. Vivekanand
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Brijmohan showed that the victim died from shock and hemorrhage and that his skull was fractured. According to the man’s distraught mother, Mala Seeranie Chanderpaul, her son had lived with her and his father, Kushipaul Chanderpaul at their Lot 116 Number 68 Village residence. However he had only recently resumed going back out to sea . During the time away from sea, she said he helped his father in the rice field. The woman stated that her son left home around 19:30 hrs last Monday, and had said he would return in about two hours’ time. When he failed to return, the family at first assumed that he had changed his mind and was hiding somewhere. His mother eventually made a missing person report
on Wednesday morning and search parties were dispatched. The mother alleged that while searching for her son, the alleged drug dealer’s wife suggested that she “go behind he woman house at the back street, he deh deh.” Chanderpaul’s body was eventually spotted in the sandpit, after a boy who was grazing sheep and goats went to the area. According to the woman,
her son was scheduled to return to sea on Tuesday and had already packed his bags. Investigators speculate that the fisherman was beaten elsewhere and his body dumped in the pit, since they found no signs of blood or evidence of a struggle near the sandpit. Chanderpaul was well known in the community and was charged numerous times with various offences, including piracy.
Levan Chanderpaul
EGovt. school connectivity programme well on its way Presidential Advisor on eGovernment and Chief Executive Officer of the eGovernment Agency, Floyd Levi, yesterday led a technical team to inspect ongoing works at secondary schools and learning institutions along the East Coast. The ongoing works are geared to provide high-speed internet access to schools before the commencement of the new school year. The national connectivity programme has its genesis in President David Granger’s pledge to ensure internet access to citizens across Guyana, free of cost. This phase of the project caters for 94 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas and aims to create Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hubs in poor, remote communities to provide designated areas for public access. “We started at the easternmost high school and we’re working our way to Georgetown. What this internet connection will do is to allow all students, particularly those who are CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) students to have access to the internet for research,” Levi said, during a site visit at Skeldon Line Path
Secondary School, Upper Corentyne. He pointed out that connectivity is, in today’s world, a critical resource to ensure that CSEC students successfully research and complete School Based Assessments. Further with online submission now a new requirement of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) from 2017, the programme is being implemented at an opportune time. Connectivity will also facilitate the delivery of the National Centre for Educational Research and Development (NCERD)’s new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum, he added. The schools, ICT hubs and learning institutions are all being served by 54 towers that have been erected along the Coast and connected to the eGovernment Agency’s 11 LTE sites; a 4G mobile communications standard that provides data speeds that are as much as 10 times faster than 3G standard. Eight network sites run from Skeldon to New Amsterdam and three from Rosignol to Mahaicony, Mahaica-Berbice Region. The last tower was erected in
the compound of the Whim Police Station, Corentyne and the Agency is exploring the possibilities of erecting another tower in the backyard of the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) at Kiltearn to further augment this service. On Tuesday, the team installed internet servers, routers and other ICT gear in schools and technical institutes, starting from Skeldon Line Path Secondary. Installations were also done at Skeldon High Secondary School, Tagore Memorial Secondary School, Upper Corentyne Industrial Training Centre (UCITC), Queenstown, Corriverton, Winifred Gaskin Secondary School, Manchester Secondary School and several others. Last week the programme started in West Demerara from the westernmost schools in Charity, Essequibo Coast. The connectivity programme is expected to benefit 8,219 students enrolled in grades 7 – 11 in 17 schools in East BerbiceCorentyne (Region Six), 3,000 students in 11 schools in West Demerara, 15, 854 students in 20 schools in Georgetown and 4,243 students in 7 schools along the Essequibo Coast.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
C’tyne man charged with killing boy, 14, dumping body in drain The man whom police had held as the main suspect in the murder of a 14-yearold Corentyne boy was yesterday charged with the crime and remanded to prison. Twenty-six year-old Terani Goolcharran, called “Bruise Up”, of Number 60 Village, appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh in the Springlands Magistrate’s Court and was not required to plead to the indictable charge of murder. He is accused of murdering Akeem Grimmond between the 20th and 22nd of August at No. 61 Village, Corentyne, Berbice. Goolcharran, who was unrepresented, was remanded to jail until September 14th when the matter will be called again in the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court for report. Police Prosecutor Inspector Bernard Brown told the court that the accused and his alleged
victim knew each other. The teen used to work with the accused and they would pick coconuts in the backlands and sell. A few weeks ago, G r i m m o n d ’s mother stopped Murdered teen: him from being in company with Akeem Grimmond the accused, due to reports she was receiving about the accused, suggesting that he was of bad character. Subsequently, on several occasions Goolcharran went to collect Grimmond at his home, but was chased away by the boy’s parents, a move which reportedly angered him. Grimmond, of 53 Section ‘B’ Number 61 Village, was last seen alive around 17:30 hrs last Saturday when he left his (Continued on page 26)
Accused killer: Terani Goolcharran
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Friday August 26, 2016
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Friday August 26, 2016
New tax measures in place for steel importation T
he Guyana R e v e n u e Authority (GRA) has taken steps to reduce tax fraud involved with the importation of steel. The authority announced new measures yesterday which call for importers to submit what is known as a Mill Test Certificate. In essence, the certificate verifies the quality of steel being imported thus impacting on what taxes are to be charged. GRA explained the measure is one of the many to protect the state’s revenues. “All importers of steel and steel products will now be required to submit Mill Test Certificates from the manufacturer of the product, along with their Customs
declarations,” the statement indicated. In a recent review on the classification declared by importers on steel and steel products imported into Guyana, the GRA said it recognized that the Harmonized System (HS) classification cannot be correctly determined without the Mill Test Certificate. “ T h i s M i l l Te s t Certificate shows the proportion of the elements contained in the steel imported, thus the need for the certificate to accompany each shipment of steel in accordance with the provisions of Section 233 (1) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01.” The authority made it
GRA has announced new measures to reduce tax fraud related to steel importation clear that that the Mill Test Certificate must relate to the specific consignment in the declaration - invoices, Bills of Lading, quantities, specifications etc.- and can be facilitated by the supplier, who would be able to obtain the certificate from the manufacturer. “The new requirement is in keeping with the Common
External Tariff (CET) which also makes provisions for products of ‘non-alloy’ steel that attract a 10% customs d u t y. U s u a l l y, m o s t declarations submitted by importers label the product being imported as ‘alloy’ steel which attracts 5 % customs duty.” The Mill Test Certificate accompanying a shipment,
GRA explained, would assist in clearing up any anomalies, as the certified classification will be verified by GRA’s Entry Processing Unit, with guidance from GRA’s Harmonized System Classification Committee (HSCC). “The classification determined by the HSCC will be used to process and clear the consignments. GRA wishes to advise importers that if the required Mill Test Certificate is not submitted with the customs declaration, then the importer will be requested to
deposit at the rate determined by GRA pending submission of the certificate. Should the HSCC d e t e r m i n e a d i ff e r e n t classification afterward upon examination of further documentation presented, a notice of demand will be issued to the importer under Section 17 (2) of the Customs Act, Chapter 82:01 for payment of the additional taxes.” The tax collection entity said that it must also be noted that importers have the option of presenting their case to the Customs Tariff Tribunal for a determination, should they challenge the classification after depositing the duties requested by GRA. “Importers are further advised that in order to reduce the delay in processing time and clearance of their goods, they can apply to the HSCC in advance for classification decisions on their imports to confirm whether they have used the correct classifications.” With a booming housing and building industry, Guyana’s importation of steel in recent years has been high with a number of hardware suppliers opening doors.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
PAGE 19
Tucville fatal shooting…
Police await advice from DPP car, hence he opened fire. The suspect alleged that he and a few persons had an argument earlier on Tuesday and the men had threatened to return and “finish him off.” When he noticed a heavily-tinted car on his bridge around 21:20 hrs on Tuesday, he thought that the (Continued on page 26)
Injured: Gail Ann Chacon
The police are awaiting the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before they proceed to charge a man, who is alleged to have opened fire when a car turned on the bridge of his Tucville, Georgetown premises, killing a father of
one and wounding a female, on Tuesday night. Yesterday, a police official said that the suspect, who is presently in custody, will most likely be charged with murder and attempted murder. Charges can be laid as
early as tomorrow depending on the time the file is returned to the police. Kaieteur News was told that the suspect, who has been identified as a contractor, claimed that he thought persons wanting to kill him were in the tinted
Dead: Colin Perreira
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SARA Director will be second most powerful person in Guyana - Nandlall and authority. APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR Nandlall said that the process for the appointment of the Director and Deputy Director is legally questionable. The two are to be appointed by the National Assembly, of course by way of a simple majority. Nandlall thinks that this is another major error that the Bill has.
By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell “He will be a power unto himself,” was the opinion of former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall as he spoke about the powers to be given to the Director of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) if the Bill is accepted by the National Assembly in its current form. Consultations on the SARA Bill are ongoing. The Bill creates an agency – SARA - which is to be headed by a Director. This Director, Nandlall claims “would arguably be, apart from the President, the most powerful person in Guyana.” The lawyer pointed out that while SARA has no l e g a l p e r s o n a l i t y, t h e director does. “He is a corporate sole; he is the legal embodiment of the agency. He is its Alpha and its Omega.” The Former Attorney General said this at a public forum that the People’s Progressive Party held on the Bill. Indeed, in the discharge of his functions, the Bill makes the SARA Director answerable to no one, not even the President. He determines and controls all operational matters. There is no-line Minister to guide him on policy matters. He has a right to demand any information from: the Director of Public P r o s e c u t i o n s , Commissioner of Police, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Head of the Special Organized Crime Unit, Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Head of CANU, Chairman of the Gold Board and Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration. Nandlall said that with such a provision, the Bill ignores the fact that many of those officials are prohibited by their respective legislation from disclosing certain information. He added that the Bill also ignores the constitutional protection which is accorded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, making that office answerable to no one in the discharge of its functions. The former Attorney General said that in this regard, the SARA it
Former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall violates article 187 of the Constitution. This Director is empowered to call upon the Minister of Public Security to designate himself and other officers of SARA with powers of a police officer and powers of an immigration officer, and to call upon the Minister of Finance to designate him and the other officers revenue and customs officers. If this section of the Bill is to be retained, the Director will have police powers, immigration officer powers, customs officer powers and revenue officer powers. Nandlall said, “ F o r t u n a t e l y, t h e s e Ministers themselves do not have these powers; neither do they have the lawful authority to confer these powers.” He stressed that these powers were conferred on the respective officers by virtue of different pieces of legislation. “Ministers do not and cannot have legislative powers and therefore cannot give legislative powers. Any attempt by the executive to confer legislative power outside of the legislature would be heretic, a violation of separation of powers and an abrogation of the constitution. “ Nandlall said that no public officer should have the amount of powers which are concentrated in the Director of SARA and its officers, as there is bound to be abuse. He further pointed out, “There is no tribunal exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over this director or any of his officers. This is a recipe for abuse and misuse of power
He said that the APNU+ AFC coalition made the same error in the AMLCFT Bill 2015, by conferring upon the National Assembly, the power to appoint the Director and the Deputy Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit. “Parliament has two essential functions: lawmaking and oversight. Parliament is not an a p p o i n t i v e b o d y. T h e constitution never
contemplated parliament appointing public officers. At its highest, Parliament may recommend for appointment, persons to sit on constitutional commissions. But this is expressly authorized by the constitution itself,” said Nandlall. Further, the Member of Parliament said that the use of the National Assembly to appoint the Director and the Deputy Director is “a mere
charade, to create an illusion of independence and inclusivity in the appointment process. The truth is the Government has a simple majority in the National Assembly. And therefore, they alone will determine who are to be appointed to these positions.” Nandlall said that the Opposition will be nothing but a rubber stamp in this process.
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Police await advice from DPP
From page 19 men had returned to make good their threat, so he decided to open fire first in an effort to save himself. However, the occupants of the car
were not Benn’s would-be attackers. They were 24-year-old Colin Perreira of Barr Street, Kitty and 22-year-old Gail Ann Chacon. Perreira was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital, while Chacon is said to be in a stable condition. Kaieteur News was told that Perreira and Chacon worked for the same person, and at the time of the shooting, the man was dropping his co-worker home. The woman lives a few houses away from the alleged shooter. The injured woman’s uncle, Peter Jeffrey had said that they were at home and heard rapid gunshots and his
grandchildren rushed out of the yard to see what was happening. ” They see this boy (Perreira) coming and he said he get shoot and I asked him where is Gail, and he said that she in the car, and me and her father rushed to the car and pulled her out,” Jeffrey recalled. He explained that while they were trying to get his niece out of the vehicle, the suspect was standing there with his gun in his hands. According to Jeffrey, the shooter was telling persons at the scene that he had a problem with someone who threatened to kill him. “He said that when he saw the tinted car, he thought it was the persons who wanted to kill him.”
Friday August 26, 2016
C’tyne man charged with killing boy, 14, dumping... From page 15 home to tend to some cows. According to his m o t h e r, 3 2 - y e a r- o l d Parbattie Takurdyal, her son would usually tend to a villager’s cows which he would round up in the afternoons. After he left home on Saturday he did not return, which prompted his mother to make a report at the No. 62 police outpost. Search parties were then organized and the boy’s badly decomposed body was found in a drain aback
of a burial ground some 700 yards west of the public road in the same village. The corpse reportedly bore a four-inch wound behind the left ear. Grimmond was clad in the same clothes that he had left home with – a pair of green short pants and red and white vest. A post mortem conducted by Government Pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan gave the cause of death as suffocation and compaction of mud in the airways.
No evidence Ramroop’s R/veldt complex is a... From page 3 y e s t e r d a y, i s n o w systematically going throughout the country to determine how much it is losing. With regards to Ramroop’s operations, it is unclear how long the complex has been receiving water and whether the connections were made when the property was handed over to Ramroop and company. What is known is that previous Governments u n d e r t h e P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) spent US$5M to refurbish the complex before questionably selling to QAII for a mere US$3.4M around 2008. It is unclear whether the US$5M was spent on refurbishing the water connections.
The entire complex, 18.891 acres of it with buildings and erections, has been described as a giveaway by former president, Bharrat Jagdeo, to his best friend, Dr. Ramroop. The Jagdeo-led administration in 2008 approved the privatization of the Sanata Textiles Complex (Sanata), Industrial Site, Georgetown to QAII for the purpose of establishing a multipurpose investment c o m p l e x . Dr Ramroop at the time had intimated that he envisaged an overall investment of US$30M and the creation of 1200 jobs of which 600 new, permanent jobs would become a reality by the end of 2008. This never materialized.
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Man stung by Africanised bees succumbs Rawle Singh, the man who was attacked two Tuesdays ago by a swarm of Africanised bees at Phase Two, Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, has succumbed. The 30-year-old man died around 19:00 hrs on Tuesday at the West Demerara Regional Hospital after he was rushed there by his mother, Rajmattie Etwaroo. Singh was badly stung in the face and upper body while walking along a roadway, near some trees in which the swarm had nested. Yesterday, his mother said that the West Demerara Hospital discharged her son while his face was still swollen and he was in a lot of pain. “We are poor people and I couldn’t afford to take him to a private doctor so we were pleading with the public for help,” a teary Etwaroo said
Dead: Rawle Singh while adding that her son didn’t eat for eight days because of the attack. The woman recalled that her son started vomiting blood and crying out for severe pain, forcing her to rush him back to the hospital on Tuesday where he eventually succumbed. Last Saturday, Singh in an
interview had said, “They were all over my face and head. When me brushing dem, dey not coming off.” He said that he then dived into a drain to flee the bees but they followed him. He was rescued by a neighbour who was clad in a coat. He was hospitalized for two days. At the time of the interview, Singh pointed out that, “All my face and eyes still swell, and I am not seeing out of my left eye.” To the relief of residents, the swarm was removed after well-known bee-keeper Ernest Younge visited the area. Younge lit tyres and destroyed the hive. He confirmed that the swarm comprised Africanised bees. Younge has had many an encounter with the insects, and has seen how lethal they can be. He’s one of the individuals that officials from
Bheri Ramsaran falls sick, court decision postponed The sudden illness of former Minister of Health under the PPP regime, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, has forced the Magistrate to put back the date when he is to know his fate on a charge of using insulting language to a female rights activist. Ramsaran who was appearing in the Whim Magistrate Court before Magistrate Charlene Artiga was expected to know his fate yesterday. However, he was a no show and reportedly sent a medical certificate indicating to the court that he was not well. The Former Health Minister is accused of using insulting language towards Women’s Rights Activist, Sherlina Nageer on Monday 20th April, 2015, while outside the Whim Magistrate’s
Court. Prosecutor Inspector Phillip Sheriff is presenting the state’s case. Ramsaran’s lawyers had moved to the high court to have the matter thrown out. The lawyers had stated that after perusing the documents their client is convinced that the prosecution hasn’t established the ingredients of the charge based on the statements that were supplied to the defence. However that matter was dismissed and the trial continued in the Magistrate’s court. The Prosecution’s case was conducted by Inspectors Althea Solomon, Bernard Brown and Phillip Sheriff at different stages. The defence had put forward a no case
Dr. Bheri Ramsaran submission. However this was overruled by the magistrate who ordered that they lead a defence. Ramsaran’s case has been put down for September 19.
the Ministry of Agriculture’s Guyana Livestock Developmental Authority (GLDA) contact when the deadly swarms are in an area. The Africanised bees came about in the late fifties in Brazil, when someone decided to mix the African honey bee with the Italian species. Research indicates that their venom is no more lethal than that of other honey bees.
What makes them much more dangerous is their aggression and the numbers in which they attack. When a few Africanised bees launch an attack, they release a scent that brings out hundreds more, which can pick up the scent from great distances. Younge is convinced that man is now paying a hefty price for mixing the two species and ‘tampering’ with nature.
“They are dangerous. They don’t like people. Nature has a way of fighting back when you mix it. I have seen these bees kill cows, donkeys, horses and people. I go on operations where the people were crying out for mercy (after being stung),” Younge lamented. Anyone willing to assist Rawle Singh’s family with funeral expenses can contact his mother Rajmattie Etwaroo on 691-5388.
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Rowdy impeachment trial opens against Brazil president Brasília (AFP) - Senators launched the tense impeachment trial of Brazil’s first woman president, Dilma Rousseff, yesterday, with high expectations that she will be sacked within days. The warm vibe of the Rio Olympic Games faded and tension returned as the emotionally-charged affair neared its climax, threatening to end 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America’s biggest economy. Chief justice Ricardo Lewandowski declared the trial open and later briefly suspended it as senators yelled at each other while debating procedural matters. The proceedings in the capital Brasilia were considered almost sure to result in Rousseff, 68, being found guilty of cooking the budget books to mask the depth of economic problems during her 2014 reelection campaign. If she is removed from office, her centre-right former vice president turned rival Michel Temer will be sworn in to serve until 2018. “Senators, now you must turn into judges and set aside your ideological, partisan and personal positions,” Lewandowski told the house. Rousseff’s rivals blame her for economic chaos and are out to crush her Workers’ Party. Rousseff, who was tor-
Dilma Rousseff tured and imprisoned by the 1970s dictatorship for membership in a Marxist urban guerrilla group, has sworn to resist what she calls a coup. “We will fight to reinforce democracy in our country with the same force that I fought against the military dictatorship,” she told supporters late Wednesday in Brasilia. In yesterday’s opening session, Rousseff’s allies voiced procedural objections in vain before the first witnesses were to be heard. The trial will climax Monday when the president, who was suspended from office in May, addresses the Senate herself for the first time. A vote is then expected within
...confirmed cases hit 335
rus and that only ‘high risk’ cases are confirmed by CARPHA. High risk cases are pregnant women, children under five years, persons over sixty years and hospitalised cases.” The Ministry contin-
ues to state the elimination of breeding sites for mosquitoes is the best way to reduce the mosquito borne disease and continues to encourage the population to keep the surroundings clean.
Nurse Practitioners Sign Wage Agreement With Govt. The Gleaner - Public-sector nurse practitioners are the latest group of healthcare professionals to sign a wage contract with the Government for the 2015/2017 period. The nurses signed the two-year heads of agreement Wednesday and are set to
receive a four per cent salary increase for year one and three per cent in year two. State minister in charge of the Public Service Rudyard Spencer, says the Government could not afford to give the nurses more, especially considering Jamaica’s agreement
Jamaican government committed to universal access to secondary education KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his administration is committed to ensuring universal acce s s t o s e c o n d a r y e d u cation. He said although government has limited resources and there are challenges, education should be a right for all Jamaican children.
Holness said children should be entitled to a place in primary school a good quality high school regardless of their background or ability to afford it and the country should provide that for every child. “ We u n d e r s t a n d t h e cost of education, but we also understand the cost of ignorance. If we are go-
ing to see the fulfillment of all our children, we need to have an education system that caters to their various skills and abilities,” said the Prime Minister in a delivering an address at a function on Wednesday. He added that the government is also trying to put plans in place by initiating a no tuition fee policy at the secondary level.
US$33M to finance climate change resilient infrastructure in the Caribbean
48 hours, with a two thirds majority of the 81 senators required to bring Rousseff down.Senator Raimundo L i r a , a Te m e r a l l y a n d strong backer of impeachment, told AFP that senators “have already made up their minds and I don’t think there will be any change at the vote.” A huge metal barricade was been on the esplanade outside Congress to separate rival demonstrators, with large protests expected Monday. Inside the chamber, many senators can barely disguise their eagerness to finish Rousseff off — and inflict lasting damage on the once mighty Workers’ Party.
170 Zika-positive pregnancies in T&T Trinidad Express - There are now 335 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Trinidad and Tobago. The Ministry of Health issued a press release yesterday stating that ten cases were from Tobago. The ministry stated said that following consultation with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), as of August 25 the number of confirmed cases of Zika Virus in Trinidad and Tobago stands at 335, and that ten of these cases are in Tobago. The number of Zika positive pregnancies is 170. The Ministry reminds citizens that four of five infected persons will not show any symptoms of the Zika vi-
Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
with the International Monetary Fund. Spencer is also lauding the National Workers Union (NWU) which lobbied on behalf of the nurse practitioners, for its tolerance and understanding of the issues the government is facing.
Patricia McKenzie (centre), CDB Vice-President, Operations and Eric de la Moussaye (right), French Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Barbados, sign the Credit Facility Agreement. Looking on is Dave Waithe, Legal Counsel at CDB BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Officials from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have signed an agreement to provide US$33 million towards financing sustainable infrastructure projects in the Caribbean region. At least 50 percent of the funds will be used to fund climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. The agreement was signed last month at the CDB headquarters in Barbados, by French ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Barbados, Eric de la Moussaye, in the presence of CDB vice-president (operations), Patricia McKenzie. “Caribbean countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with our geographical location leading to
high exposure to natural hazards. Economic conditions also play a role, as there is a lack of access to long-term resources to finance sustainable climate-related infrastructure projects. We believe that these additional funds will go a long way towards building resilience and mitigating the impact of climate change in our region,” McKenzie said. The funds are being provided by AFD under a credit facility agreement with CDB. AFD is the primary agency through which the government of France provides funding for sustainable development projects. This marks the first time that CDB has accessed financing from AFD. The facility will be used by CDB to augment financing for infrastructure projects in several areas: renewable energy, water and sanitation, waste management, adaptation of infrastructure to the effects of cli-
mate change, protection of coasts and rivers. Countries that are eligible to benefit from this facility are: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. The facility is also complemented by a EUR3 million technical assistance grant, which will finance feasibility studies for projects eligible for financing under the credit facility. The agreement supports the improvement of Caribbean economies’ resilience and vitali t y through the development of sustainable infrastructure projects with significant environmental or climate impacts. It is in alignment with the Bank’s corporate priority of promoting environmental sustainability. (Caribbean News)
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Italy quake toll hits 250 as Clinton, Trump clash over who rescuers search flattened towns is best for U.S. minorities
A body is carried away by rescuers following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, yesterday. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca Reuters - The death toll from a devastating earthquake in central Italy climbed to 250 yesterday as rescue teams scoured mounds of rubble for a second day in towns and villages flattened by the natural disaster. The 6.2 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome early on Wednesday as people slept, destroying hundreds of homes. Dozens of emergency workers with sniffer dogs clambered over piles of debris trying to find anyone still trapped, while cranes removed huge slabs of fallen masonry and trucks full of
rubble left the area every few minutes. “People like myself have lost everything, but at the same time the fact that we have survived means we have to move forward one minute at a time,” said Alessandra Cioni, 45, who managed to crawl out of her crumpled house after the quake. “We have been saved, not like half the people in this place who have lost their lives,” she said, breaking down in tears. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi promised to rebuild the shattered houses and said he would renew efforts to bolster Italy’s flimsy defenses against earthquakes that
regularly batter the country. “We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories,” he told reporters in Rome. A violent aftershock yesterday afternoon sent rescuers fleeing as stones fell from the already severely damaged bell tower of the 15th century church o f St . A u g u s t i n e i n Amatrice. The jolt, which struck fear and panic in survivors, detached the church’s facade, leaving it leaning dangerously over the main street where the emergency services were working under blue skies and a hot summer sun.
Reuters - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump yesterday of fuelling America’s “radical fringe” with racist rhetoric, even as her Republican rival sought to soften his image with an appeal to minorities. Clinton needs to retain support from black and Latino voters to win the Nov. 8 election, the same coalition that helped propel Democrat Barack Obama to the White House in 2008. Trump, whose support comes mainly from whites, is unlikely to be victorious unless he can cut into that support. “Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia,” Clinton said in a scathing speech in Nevada. “He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America’s two major political parties.”
“This is a moment of reckoning for every Republican dismayed that the Party of Lincoln has become the Party of Trump,” Clinton said, referring to Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation and championed the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution during the Civil War that led to the abolition of slavery in 1865. Trump, who trails Clinton in national opinion polls, has polled poorly with minorities and has been criticized for his proposals on immigration, which include deporting millions of undocumented foreigners, building a wall along the Mexican border, and suspending Muslim immigration to shore up national security. He described some Mexican immigrants as “criminals and rapists” in a 2015 speech
launching his candidacy and more recently questioned the impartiality of an Americanborn judge of Mexican heritage. Yesterday, the New York real estate mogul-turned-politician criticized Clinton before her speech, saying she and her party had let black Americans down with failed economic policies and were falsely labeling Republicans as bigoted. “When Democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument: You’re racist, you’re racist, you’re racist,” Trump told a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire. “It’s a tired, disgusted argument and is so totally predictable.” At a Mississippi rally on Wednesday, Trump called Clinton a “bigot who sees people of colour only as votes, not as human beings.”
Eastern India struggles to evacuate reluctant villagers as floods wreak havoc
Africa’s children to account for 40 percent of world’s poorest people by 2030: thinktank LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - African children will account for more than 40 percent of the world’s poorest people in 2030, almost double the current share, unless more is done to improve education and healthcare, a UK-based thinktank said yesterday. One in five children in sub-Saharan Africa, or nearly 148 million, will be living on less than $1.90 a day in 2030, the deadline set by the world leaders to eliminate extreme poverty, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) said in a report. “This prospect of 40 percent plus of world poverty in 2030 being African children is one that I think should focus the minds of the international community,” said Kevin Watkins, ODI executive director and co-author of the re-
port. “We’re talking about getting kids into school (and) tackling the most extreme forms of poverty. This is doable,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Italy. By 2030, ODI estimates that 88 percent of all children living on $1.90 a day will be in sub-Saharan Africa, up from some 50 percent today. To reduce poverty, extreme inequality and change demographic patterns in sub-Saharan Africa, investment was needed in cash transfers, education and healthcare, ODI said. Education, in particular, was “absolutely central” to reducing poverty in the region, Watkins said. “It’s through education (people) gain skills, girls are
more likely to go into marriage later and women secure confidence to demand healthcare and reproductive care,” he said. Nigeria was the “hotspot” for the progress on the continent, Watkins said, noting that Africa’s most populous country with 188 million people has the largest number of children out of school and some of the biggest gender gaps in education. “Unless the picture improves in Nigeria, it’s almost guaranteed that sub-Saharan Africa as a region will be pulled off track,” Watkins said. Despite the challenges, sub-Saharan Africa has chalked up many economic gains over the past few years and recorded significant progress in child survival, Watkins said.
People affected by flooding run to receive emergency food parcels delivered by an Indian Air Force helicopter on the outskirts of Allahabad, India, yesterday. REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash B H U B A N E S WA R (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Authorities in eastern India are struggling to evacuate more than 100,000 people stranded in villages after floods intensified, killing more than 300 and driving hundreds of thousands from their homes, officials said yesterday. The heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers including the Ganges and its tributaries to burst their banks forcing over 200,000 people into relief camps in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The deluge has submerged thousands of villages,
washed away crops, destroyed homes and roads and disrupted power and phone lines, affecting millions of people across the five states. In India’s eastern Bihar state, one of the worst-hit regions, disaster management officials said villagers in some areas were not willing to be evacuated, r e l u c t a n t t o leave their homes, possessions and livestock for fear of looting. “We are asking them with folded hands, please come to the relief centers. Those who do not want to leave homes, their number is very large, probably more than 100,000 people,” said Bihar’s Princi-
pal Secretary for Disaster Management Vyas Ji. “The water is rising downstream and we do not want people in those areas to stay in their houses,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Since the monsoons began in June, more than five million people across 26 out of Bihar’s 38 districts have been affected and at least 127 people have died, mostly due to drowning. In the past week, 2.3 million people have had their lives disrupted and the death toll has reached 28. At least 107,000 people have taken refuge in government relief camps.
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Experienced female bartender, live in/live out waitress, cooks & bouncers needed @ Eden Bar & Lounge, Garden of Eden-Call: 652-0074
We l d e r / F a b r i c a t o r f o r interior location. Applicants must be experienced with verifiable references. Call: 618-2020
1 Mature female to help able bodied middle age man 4-5hrs daily, preferably from ogleMon Repos area. Call: 6685205; 219-1565
LEARN TO DRIVE
One live in maid. Call: 6749114/ 672-3886
C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages).
1 Small one bedroom apartment toilet & bath included single or couple no children. Call between 9 to12pm & 2pm to 5pm @ Charlestown. Call: 225-1418 Bachelor’s apartment to rent. Call 233-0327 between 7:00pm-8:30pm Upper Flat; three bedrooms at 143 Pike Street Kitty. Contact B.Badal: 234-0733 Apartments for rent at Nandy Park, 2 bedrooms -$70,000. Call: 227-5194 3 Bedrooms house; top and bottom property at Canal No.2 Polder -$35,000 monthly. Call: 613-1860 House located @ 696 Section C, Grove Housing Scheme. Please call 611-1963 for further inquiries
FOR SALE/RENT
DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL. COM
American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
Aidan’s Car Rental: 4WD pickup. Call: 698-7807
PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM Wings Car & Pickup Rental: Low down payment, cheap reates,special offer for the summer. Call: 690-6494
2009 BELTA -$2.3M, 2011 BLUEBIRD -$2.7M, 2009 IST -$2.7, 2012 RACTIS $2.6M, 2009 ARUIS -$2.5M –CALL: 617-2891
ADORABLE FLUFFY PUPPIES FOR SALE. CALL: 615-0146
RZ minibus -$1.2M, 192 Car $800,000, 2009 unregistered bluebird -$2.8M, excellent condition, owner leaving country. Call: 265-0204; 676-5824 Fielder 2006, Bluebird 2006, Army general 6X6 truck, extendable 40 FT Trailer. Call: 616-5595; 665-3676
Vreed-en-Hoop Junction: office, church, storage bond lessons, internet, stationery & photocopy shop, other place -$20,000 per month. Call: 603-6400
CAT 320 BL excavator, 428 CAT back hoe, CAT930 Front End, 9 Wheeled Pneumatic Roller -Call: 275-0538; 683-7225
One 2008 Toyota IST-Call: 614-9742 SALE @ STAR CARS: PREMIO, RUNX, IST, AXELA, RZ BUS, SPACIO, FIELDER. CALL: 679-3140
D4H CAT Bulldozer, Mack 8 Cubic Yard, cement mixer truck, all in working order. Call: 275-0538; 683-7225
1 Nissan Bluebird 2006 model, PSS series, alarm, headlight, camera. Immaculate condition. Owner migrating. Price $2,300,000- Tel:629-9500
Prime commercial building for sale @ Broad & Charles Streets, Georgetown, 68,000 square feet. Call: 592-231-6694
1-2006 GX 470 Lexus 44000 KM, A1 Condition. Call: 661-6161 One Hilux pick up; 4X4 2L Diesel Turbo, sunroof. Call: 693-1480
Model M truck GTT series $3.9M negotiable- Call: 6667380, 603-7090
Top flat 3 Bedrooms apartment at Alberttown $75,000 monthly. Call: 6485417
Purple Heart: 30X80 $25,000, 32X80 -$28,000, 34X80 -$28,000, 36X80 $28,000, Free Delivery- Call: 688-9712; 651-0717; 671-2490
1 Perkins V8 Turbo Charge 170KVa Generator in working condition, Call 223-7380
Stand for rent in the New Amsterdam area. Interested persons contact 6469087Price affordable
EDUCATIONAL
CAR RENTAL
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
1-2006 Nissan Dump Canter, 1-Potable trailer. Call: 6626567; 691-4340
Live in waitress 18-25yrs, salary $70,000, boarding & lodging free. Call: 610-5043
CAR RENTAL
VEHICLE FOR SALE 3 TON CANTER ENCLOSE AND OPEN BACK WITH 4D ENGINE, PRICE -$3.6M, NEVER REGISTERED – CALL: 617-2891
3 Bedrooms top flat for rent at Cross Street, Alexander Village . Call: 688-1647
One office clerk. Call: 2332725/ 233-2439
A.Bhopaul &Sons Trucking Services: sand, stoves & cement transportation etc. Call: 228-5080; 603-1838 HEALTH Need Herbal supplements? Contact Hazel’s Herbal Store. Call: 226-9136 TAXI SERVICE GR TAXI SERVICE. CALL: 219-5000; 227-1982 & 2257878 (24HRS)
Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Oswin J’s Auto Imports New Arrivals: Premio, Allion, Axio, Fielder, Rush, five comprehensive insurance for 6 months. Call: 609-2815 2011 Prado, very low mileage, diesel, automatic, 3000cc excellent condition. Call: 6245838 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BRR, RZ & Pitbull, Pajero Junior, Spacio: Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154
Classes for cake decoration, cakes & pastry, bridal accessories, classes start September. Call: 612-4193; 672-8768; 223-3303
Honda Civic M/Car “SS” series -$1.3M negotiable, very good condition- Call: 696-2815 LAND FOR SALE
IAE: Register for full time school (Grades 7-11) CSEC lessons; adults and school leavers CXC classes. Call Mr. Roberts: 683-5742
La Parfaite Harmonie-$2.3M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$2M (Corner Lot), Zeelugt -$2.3M, Herstelling 4th Bridge -$4M. Call: 642-1252
Register your child for our after school program for slow learners in Maths, Reading, Spelling Etc. Call: 675-4379
La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M & $1.6M, Uitvlugt -$2M (100X50ft), one mining claim -$1.5M. Call: 658-5897; 673-2692
Double Steel Drum Compactor, CAT 215 Excavator, Leyland DAF55 Truck, 400 GLS, Bitumen Kettle. Call: 275-0538; 6837225 One complete trout boat for sale, less than a year old. Call: 654-2817 1 Heavy Duty Juki sewing machine, straight stitch. Call: 642-6079 1-Hooka lounge at Giftland Mall Profitable business. Call: Call: 661-6161 Elevator (good condition), Diesel Generator (23KVA, 110/220V). Call: 231-1284; 223-9719 1-210 Hyundai excavator, good condition, any reasonable offer accepted. Call: 610-0515; 2161390; 612-8009 1 Used QC see DVR 16 Channel -$30,000, 1 Heir Fridge -$35,000, 1 GE washer -$35,000. Call: 646-0966; 6972969 N-27 Perkins engine & dredge. Call: 622-9147 Cargo Trawler. Call: 682-8724; 616-5954 LAND IN 11 STREET DIAMOND. CALL: 2253234 LAND FOR SALE Tuschen Front (Phase 1) $3.5M, Tuschen (Phase 2) $2M with foundation, Uitvlugt Main Road -$2.3M. Call: 642-1252 85.6 Acres titled land located @ Loo Creek E.B.D River. Call: 625-8589; (518) 859-5313 Continue page 31
Friday August 26, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Attorney argues prosecution case weak in illegal gun, ammo trial A no case submission was yesterday presented to Magistrate Judy Latchman by Attorney Charles Ramson Jr., on behalf of his client who is currently charged for illegal firearm and ammunition possession. The lawyer is seeking for the court to dismiss the charges against 23-year-old Darryl John, of Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg, on the grounds that the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence to make a case against him, thus not necessitating his having to lead a defence. John is accused of having a .38 revolver in his possession on September 27, 2015, when he was not the holder of a firearm licence. He is also accused of having in his possession six .38 ammunition, four 9mm ammunition and two .32 ammunition in his possession, on the same
day. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to the allegations and is currently out on bail. It was reported that on the day in question, John whipped out a firearm and threatened to kill several police ranks who were on patrol, when they requested to conduct a search on motorcar PRR 7001, he was driving. According to reports, when ranks approached the vehicle, John pulled out the weapon and pointed it at the ranks before speeding away. A nearby police patrol was reportedly summoned and they managed to intercept the vehicle and search it. It was reported that ranks recovered a .32 pistol and several rounds of ammunition. Ramson told the court that there is no case for his client to answer to, based on
CHARGED: Darryl John the evidence led by Police Prosecutor Kerry Bostwick. He argued that the case of the prosecution is “weak” since it cannot secure the conviction of his client. He said that the prosecution has failed to prove the key elements of the offence whether his client had physical control, knowledge and custody of the arms and
Essequibo man stabbed to death - mother, sister and reputed wife detained Police have detained t h e m o t h e r, s i s t e r a n d reputed wife of a 30-yearold Better Success man who was stabbed to death during a family row yesterday. M a x t o n L a wr i e , t h e victim, sustained several stab wounds shortly after midnight and was pronounced dead at the Suddie Public Hospital. Lawrie reportedly met his demise after being involved in an argument with his sister at the family’s home. Family members claimed
that they are unable to say exactly what transpired between the brother and sister. The slain m a n ’s reputed wife, who is six months pregnant, claimed that Lawrie returned home in a drunken state between midnight and 01.00 hrs yesterday. He then threw down a keyboard after she refused to sleep with him. The sound awoke Lawrie’s sister, and the siblings began to argue which led to them fighting. Their parents attempted to subdue Lawrie, who threw
a clothes basket downstairs. The reputed wife said the man’s relatives were cautioning her to remove from the scene since they feared that Lawrie might hit her. “I went downstairs and removed the cutlass and knife and the sharp objects.” The reputed wife said that when the commotion ended she saw her spouse, who was covered in blood, lying motionless. He was pronounced dead by doctors at the Suddie Hospital.
ammunition. According to the lawyer, the only link between his John and the firearm is an oral statement the police claimed his client gave when the allegations were put to him. Ramson said that his client never made such statement. Ramson recalled part of the evidence given by Police Constable Cummings, a witness called by the prosecution. He said that Constable Cummings testified that he made an entry of what John told him after the allegations were put to him in the Brickdam Police Station diary. However, the lawyer pointed out that during the trial it was revealed that the page in which the entry was made was missing from the station diary. Ramson related that no fingerprint analysis was done on the firearm or ammunition. He said that police should have retrieved fingerprint evidence from the items they found in the vehicle, if they wanted to ascertain if his client had contact with the weapon. In addition, Ramson raised the issue of police ranks failing to question the owner of the car his client was driving, and also a passenger who was in the vehicle at the time it was stopped and searched. He stated that his client made it known to police that he was not the owner of the vehicle. He said that this was confirmed by police after checking several of
the vehicle’s documents. Ramson added that in spite of this, police ranks failed to make contact with and question the owner of the vehicle. In response to these contentions, Prosecutor Bostwick told the court that a Prima Facie case was made out against John for the offences charged. He recounted that seven witnesses testified on behalf of the prosecution and urged the court to believe the evidence given by Constable Cummings, who searched the car in the presence of the defendant and other ranks. The prosecutor noted that after the alleged firearm and ammunition were found in the vehicle, they were shown to John, and he remained silent. It was at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Brickdam Police Station, Bostwick said, that John uttered to Constable Cummings, “Sir, about 15 days ago I find the firearm with the rounds in Albouystown and was planning to hand it over to the police,” after the allegations of possession of illegal firearm and ammunition were put to him. According to Bostwick, police ranks who were present at the CID office witnessed when John and Constable Cummings were engaged in the dialogue. Magistrate Latchman is expected to make a decision today.
From page 30
PROPERTY FOR SALE Property for sale at Lot 32 Princess Street, Werk-EnRust- Tel: 621-8767 One (2) plus storey house, 3 self contained bedrooms, fully carpet. Price negotiable. Residential scheme, W.C.DCall: 275-0582, 650-6723 Tuschen, Light St, upfront, 1-2 storey concrete house $23M negotiable, Non-Pariel E.C.D - 1 two storey concrete house 56X36. Call: 642-1252 Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities -price reduced– Call: 662-9335; 612-3244 One two stories concrete building- 45ftX30ft; land 5,606 sq ft, 2nd Bridge Grove New Scheme, E.B.D- Call: 639-3450 Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 High value transported land and 2 bedrooms newly built house, Greater Diamond E.B.D -$16M negotiable. Call: 265-4338 1 Church building in front and 2 story building at the back 30X120, vacant possession, 180 Charolotte Street Bourda. Call:624-7341/ 227-6817/226-5183 Transported property for sale located at Vreed-enHoop not far from the Junction, price negotiable. Call: 638-0271
TO LET Fully furnished; 2X3 bedrooms, luxury apartments to let (long & short term). Call: 655-3505 2 Bedrooms apartment for rent (semi-furnished) @ Dennis Street, Sophia, (water & light inclusive). Call: 6626567; 691-4340 One bedroom apartment at MonRepos E.C.D, no children. Call: 662-9043 Three bedrooms concrete bottom flat in South Ruimveldt Gardens-$75,000. Call: 218-1949 2BEDROOMSAPARTMENT IN ECCLES -$60,000, ROOMS INALBERTTOWN, SHORT & LONG TERM. CALL: 225-3234
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Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Russia backs 48-hour Aleppo truce, U.N. wants other sides to commit Reuters - Russia has agreed to a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo to allow aid deliveries, but security guarantees are awaited from other parties on the ground, U.N. officials said yesterday. The United Nations has pushed for a weekly 48-hour pause in fighting in Aleppo to alleviate suffering for about 2 million people, but major powers back opposing sides in Syria’s five-year-old civil war, complicating its implementation. “We have ... agreement now from the Russian Federation for the 48-hour pause, we’re waiting (for) it from the other actors on the ground. That has taken more time frankly than I thought was needed,” Jan Egeland, who chairs the U.N. humanitarian task force, told reporters. Egeland’s boss, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, echoed his comments, saying Russia was on board but they were waiting for others parties to agree: “... we are ready, trucks are ready and they can leave any time we get that message.” Russia is the main external supporter of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel groups opposing Assad are supported by Western and Gulf powers. The White House on Thursday said it supported U.N. efforts to bring all sides
Jan Egeland together to deliver humanitarian relief to Aleppo and would welcome Russia’s constructive engagement. The U.S. State Department said while Washington backed the 48-hour Aleppo cease-fire it was focused on achieving a broader countrywide cessation of hostilities, which would be the focus of talks in Geneva on Friday. “If the U.N. says they need 48 hours, of course we support the U.N. But ... our focus is on a nationwide sustainable cessation of hostilities,” said State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau. She said that would let all Syrians have access to aid and provide a basis for a political transition. On Aug. 19, the main umbrella group for the Syrian
opposition cautiously welcomed a proposal for a weekly truce in Aleppo, provided this would be monitored by the United Nations. De Mistura has been trying to bring government and opposition representatives back to the negotiating table this month to revive a shattered broader ceasefire. He said he awaited Friday’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva before commenting further on his “political initiatives” to relaunch the political process. The U.N. relief plan for Aleppo entails simultaneous deliveries of food to the rebelheld east and governmentcontrolled west, Egeland said.
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Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
U.S. Navy ship fires warning shots at Iranian vessel Reuters - A U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots toward an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two U.S. ships, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday, in the most serious of a number of incidents in the Gulf area this week. “They did feel compelled ultimately to fire three warning shots and the reason for that is... they had taken steps already to try and de-escalate this situation,” spokesman Peter Cook told reporters. Tensions have increased in the Gulf in recent days despite an improvement in relations between Iran and the
United States. Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran in January after a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions but serious differences still remain over Iran’s ballistic missile programme, Syria and Iraq. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Squall patrol craft fired three warning shots from a .50 caliber gun in the northern Gulf on Wednesday after warning flares did not work. The incident started with three Iranian vessels, but
there was only one around by the time the warning shots were fired, the official said. He described the Iranian behaviour as “unsafe, unprofessional, and not routine.” At one point, the Iranian vessel came within 200 yards (193 meters) of a U.S. ship, the official said. Another interaction took place between an Iranian and U.S. ship on Wednesday, the defense official said but gave few more details. The Pentagon earlier this week accused Iranian vessels of harassing a U.S. warship near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
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Friday August 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
Champions League: Manchester City and Celtic to meet Barcelona Manchester City will meet Scottish champions Celtic and manager Pep Guardiola’s former club Barcelona in the Champions League group stage. German side Borussia Monchengladbach will be the other team in Group B. Premier League champions Leicester will play Porto, Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen in their debut campaign. Arsenal have been drawn alongside Paris StGermain, Basel and Ludogorets, with Tottenham facing Monaco, CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen. Spanish side Real Madrid beat neighbours Atletico on penalties in last season’s final, becoming European champions for a record 11th time. Zinedine Zidane’s side meet German outfit Borussia Dortmund, Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw of Poland. Guardiola, who replaced Manuel Pellegrini at the end of last season, is Barcelona’s most successful boss, lead-
ing the Spanish club to 14 major trophies between 2008 and 2012. He helped the Catalans, who are five-time European champions, win the Champions League in 2009 and 2011. After leaving the Nou Camp, the former Spain midfielder took charge of German side Bayern Munich and lost to his former side in the 2014-15 Champions League semi-finals. City, who lost to champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals last season, qualified for the group stage thanks to a 6-0 aggregate win over Romania’s Steaua Bucharest. As well as facing Barcelona for a third time in four seasons, City also return to Monchengladbach, whom they beat home and away in last season’s group stage. “It is not a nightmare draw because we are in a wonderful competition - but it is a very tough group,” City director of football Txiki Begiristain said. ”Pep knows the group
very well - obviously Barcelona but also Borussia Monchengladbach from his time in Germany.” Leicester produced one of the great sporting shocks to win last season’s Premier League title and qualify for the Champions League for the first time. The Foxes’ last involvement in European football saw them knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round by Red Star Belgrade in 2000. Claudio Ranieri’s side could have been drawn in a group with last season’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and Turkish league winners Besiktas. Although they face Portuguese champions Porto, who have reached the group stage for a sixth successive season, Belgian title winners Club Brugge and Danish champions FC Copenhagen have shown little Champions League pedigree in recent years. Brugge are competing in the group stage for the first time since 2005-06, while Copenhagen are 81st in UEFA’s club rankings. “With the history of all the clubs we could have been drawn against, it was always going to be an interesting draw,” said Foxes director of football Jon Rudkin. “These are three very established European football clubs and strong teams.” Russian side Rostov - the only other Champions League debutants this season - face Atletico and German champions Bayern Munich. Tottenham mark their return to European football’s top competition for the first time in six seasons, while Arsenal will aim to qualify for the knockout stages for a 13th successive year. Spurs, who reached the quarter-finals in 2010-11 with wins over both Milan clubs, have avoided the European heavyweights despite being drawn in pot three. With White Hart Lane’s capacity reduced as work begins on a new stadium, Tottenham will play their Champions League games at Wembley this season.
Their toughest test is likely to come against Russian champions CSKA Moscow, the 2005 Uefa Cup winners. “We know very well that Russia is always difficult and CSKA are sure to have a very good team,” said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino. Arsenal, who reached the last 16 last season, and PSG will be favourites to progress from Group A. French champions PSG knocked Chelsea out in the last 16 before losing to Manchester City, but have not met Arsenal since the 1993-94 Cup Winners’
Cup semi-final. Full group stage draw Group A: Paris St-Germain (France), Arsenal (England), Basel (Switzerland), Ludogorets (Bulgaria). Group B: Benfica (Portugal), Napoli (Italy), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Besiktas (Turkey). Group C: Barcelona (Spain), Manchester City (England), Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany), Celtic (Scotland). Group D: Bayern Munich (Germany), Atletico Madrid (Spain), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rostov (Russia).
Group E: CSKA Moscow (Russia), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Tottenham (England), Monaco (France). Group F: Real Madrid (Spain), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Legia Warsaw (Poland). Group G: Leicester City (England), Porto (Portugal), Club Brugge (Belgium), FC Copenhagen (Denmark). Group H: Juventus (Italy), Sevilla (Spain), Lyon (France), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia). (BBCsport)
Friday August 26, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Don't say something you'll live to regret. Visit friends or relatives you don't get to see very often. Love could develop with someone of a different cultural background. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Don't be a pest or a troublemaker today. Things are looking up. You will have to make changes in order to eliminate the tension. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You'll have amazing ideas, but superiors may try to block your attempts at implementing them. Stop telling others about your problems. You could find yourself having problems with coworkers and employers. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Property investments will payoff. You can look around for the right place and enlist some of your friends to help you move. You may want to put everyone to work on a project that will keep them all too busy to complain. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't get upset. Partnerships may be strained if one of you has been erratic and hard to deal with. Do your chores and get on with the things you enjoy doing. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You are able to make changes in your home that will be favorable to all involved. You will get bored quickly, so make sure that you have scheduled enough activity to hold your interest. You don't need to pay out in order to have fun.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Be sure to get involved in self improvement programs that will bring you in contact with interesting people. You will benefit through hidden assets and property investments. Your charm and generosity will bring new friends and romantic opportunities. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Your position may be in question if you haven't been pulling your weight. You could meet an interesting individual you'll want to get to know better. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Try not to take everything so seriously. You can pick up additional responsibility that will lead to higher wages and a better position. Investments will cost more than you anticipated. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Try not to hang out with coworkers if you wish to avoid problems later. Resistance leading to conflict will only make it twice as hard to turn the situation around. Having your own business is a good idea. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You will be able to get along well with colleagues. You should be traveling to that exotic destination you've been dreaming about. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Try to keep your cool; you may be a tad frazzled by all the rushing around. You may find that your emotional partner will not be too eager to accommodate you.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
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Strong chess contingent for 42nd chess Olympiad in Baku Azerbaijan They have been engaged in many competitive tournaments locally and several players have matched wits to distinguish themselves among their peers. Now, the nation’s top chess players will be required to replicate their local performances when they travel to Baku Azerbaijan to match skills with the best in the world at the 42nd chess Olympiad from September 1-14. The team consists of six males, CM Wendell Muesa, CM Anthony Drayton, Haifeng Su, CM Taffin Khan, CM Ronuel Greenidge and Roberto Neto and five females, WCM Maria Varona Thomas, Sherrifa Ali, Julia Clementson, Yolanda Persaud and Jessica Clementson. Muesa will also double as the Coach and according to President of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), Irshad Mohamed, the Guyana plaeyrs will also benefit from Slovanian Grandmaster, Georg Mohr, who has been assigned to the Guyanese contingent by the ruling body, FIDE to assist in them in their techniques. Mr. Mohamed is confident that the local players are ready for this level of competition and voiced the belief that some of them may even return with improved rankings. He explained that the Candidate Masters (CM) can improve to Grand Masters (GM) provided they could win at least 90% of their games while the Fide Master (FM) title is available for those players winning a slightly lower percentage of their encounters. Mr. Mohamed is also grateful for those among the corporate community that has rendered support for the team’s travels. He expresses regards to Somwaru Travel Service, Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, Attorney-atLaw, James Bond, Kings Jewelry Wo r l d , D r S e n g u p t a a n d Associates, Hardware Depot and William Walker of Oasis Café. Kaieteur Sport present a preview of the selected players. Anthony Drayton, 22, is a
Candidate Master with a FIDE rating of 1947. He has represented
Guyana in many international tournaments, including the 41st Chess Olympiad and the UMADA Cup Challenger. Taffin David Khan, 23 (1861),
is one of Guyana’s most decorated players He won the National Junior Championships and continued his rampage, winning the National Senior Championships one year later, in 2010. He represented Guyana in the Inter-Guiana Games and also participated in many local tournaments, most of which he played unbeaten. This year he also won the title of Candidate Master (CM) as a result of his participation in the 2.3.6 Sub-Zonal Tournament. Roberto Neto, 19, (1557) is an
ambitious and cultivated player. He started playing chess in 2010 and after some practice he was able to defeat the senior champion in 2012. One year later the 2013 Junior Champion suffered the same fate after facing off with Neto. He was also awarded the title of Best Unrated Player for his participation in the UMADA cup that same year. He also represented Guyana in the Inter-Guiana Games, where the team placed 2nd overall. Haifeng Su, 21, (1775) is a
very competitive player. In 2010 he entered in his first tournament and placed 2ndin the junior category. Later that year he placed 3rd in the National Junior Championships
and represented Guyana in the Inter-Guiana Games. In 2011, he won 1st place in the Individual category in the Inter-School Championships. He also won the National Junior Championships and participated in the 2011 UMADA Cup and the Suriname Open Championships. He placed 3rd in the Open category in the UMADA Cup 2012 and placed 2nd in National Junior Chess Championship. He also placed 3rd in the Sagicor 2013 Championship and 4thin the Barbados National Junior Championship Qualifiers. He represented Guyana in I.G.G. and reclaimed his title as the National Junior Champion. He also represented Guyana in the 41st Chess Olympiad held in Norway and played again in the UMADA Cup in 2014, where he tied at 6thplace. RonuelGreenidge, 33, (1725)
is a skillful player who has represented Guyana internationally at the 41st Chess Olympiad, where he earned the title of Candidate Master. In 2007 he won four of the local tournaments he participated in and placed 4thin the National Senior Championships. The following year he won the Qualifiers for Nationals and went on to place second in the Senior Championships. In 2009, he placed 5thin the Qualifiers and then placed 2nd in the National Senior Championships. In 2010, he placed 3rdin the qualifying tournament for Guyana’s First FIDE Rated Tournament. he has won many local tournaments. he is currently pursuing academic accolades in Civil Engineering at the UG. ]Maria Varona Thomas, 47,
(1790) a proficient players who started playing chess at 9 years old in Cuba.She later migrated to Guyana and participated in many local tournaments. She then took a
hiatus from the sport but returned in 2012 to represent this country in the UMADA Cup in Suriname. She also represented Guyana in the 41st Chess Olympiad and the 2014 UMADA Cup held locally. This year she has played in three local tournaments but her major achievement to date is the Womens’ Candidate Master title she acquired after her good showing in the 2.3.5 Sub-Zonal Tournament in Barbados earlier this year. Jessica Clementson, 20, is one
of Guyana’s most decorated female players and was introduced into the game in 2009. One year later, she participated in the Royal Chess Academy Chess Championship and won Best Female title . She also tutored underprivileged children of Albouystown at the RCA. The following year she represented Guyana in the InterGuiana Games and participated in the Sagicor U16 Open Tournament and secured the Best Female award. In 2013, she finished 2ndin the Inter-Guiana Gamesand played in the Sagicor U20 Open To u r n a m e n t . I n 2 0 1 4 , s h e represented Guyana in the InterGuiana Games and secured 2ndplace. She earned her rating in the SCL Rated Tournament in Barbados and boosted it to 1281 after her participation in the 2.3.5 Sub-Zonal Tournament. She was also an arbiter for the Massy Primary Inter-School Championships in Barbados Yolander Persaud, 25, learnt
to play during her early years of about age 6. She was awarded the Best Female Player in Trinidad & Tobago’s 22nd F.W. De Verteuil Memorial Open Chess Tournament in 2014, the Most Outstanding Junior Chess Player in 2007 from the Guyana Chess Federation, the Most Outstanding Junior Player in 2005 from the Queens College
Chess Club. She accompanied the Guyana National Team to the Olympiad hosted in Norway, where she attended the Instructors’ Seminars and the Arbiter ’s Seminars where she obtained a Developmental Instructor ’s license and was also awarded the title of FIDE Arbiter after successfully writing the exam. Sheriffa Ali, 17, is an
accomplished female junior. She played in her first tournament in 2007 and competed in several local tournaments. She has represented Guyana in the Inter-Guiana Games multiple times from 2011-2014. In 2014, she has received chess training from an International Master. After taking a break to focus on her studies, she had rekindled her passion and participated in the Andrew Art Memorial Rated Tournament. Julia Clementson, 17, was
introduced to chess in 2009 along with her sister. That same year she participated in her first local tournament hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation. She also played in her second local tournament the following year. After the expansion of the U-Knighted Chess Institute, she began to teach students of School of the Nations as a service project, while managing her duties as the Multimedia coordinator. In April she also participated in the 2.3.5 Sub-Zonal Tournament. Recently, she placed 3rd in the B a r b a d o s U 1 8 Championships
Wendell Meusa, age 27 Player/Coach.
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Friday August 26, 2016
Third annual CCCSFC underway in Guyana Guyana’s men retain Tri nation youth football tourney WCDF Three-Hand title; creating unity and building friendships females place second By Sean Devers
Members of the Guyana male and female teams. Guyana male team successfully defended their Three-Hand title when the World Council Dominoes Federation (WCDF) staged the international tournament recently in Antigua and Barbuda. Guyana chalked up 14 points to finish narrowly
ahead of Antigua & Barbuda with 13.5 and the United States of America on 13. The most outstanding p lay er s w er e M ich ael Pooran and Bruce Goodman, both accumulating 79 games throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, the Guyanese
female team narrowly lost out to Antigua and Barbuda for the title. The locals ended on 13 points one less than the winners, Barbados was third with 11. Lorane Rodway was named the MVP of the tournament for her tally of 79 games, overall.
Trinidad and Tobago arrive Gill gauges revenge in 800m The Trinidad and Tobago contingent that will be competing in this weekend’s Boyce and Jefford Track and Field Classic VII arrived in Guyana yesterday. The four athletes and the manager were very are optimistic about putting on a show in Linden. The 2015 International Men’s 800m Runner-up, Ashton Gill is the most experienced on the team and will lead them into the competition. “He’ll win that race this year for sure,” Manager, Kelvin Nancoo asserted yesterday. Gill and now United States of America-based Kevin Bayley had an epic showdown last year for the 800m title with Bayley using his bottom end speed to win.
Bayley arrived in Guyana from the US earlier this week and is hoping to defend his title. The other athletes on the Trinidadian team include, Recardo Prescott, who will also compete in the 800m with Trinidad looking for a top two finish against the local middle distance athletes at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground, Linden. Shikyla Walcott will compete in the 100m and 200m Women’s races with the 200m earmarked as an International event as well. Joanna Rogers races in the 1500m against Grenadian Kenisha Pascal, along with other top local middle distance queens. The Jamaican contingent
arrived in Guyana last night while the other athletes are expected in Guyana today. There are eight international events that carry a total purse of US$500 each with US$250 for the winner, US$150 for second place and US$100 for third, which amounts to US$4000, which will be handed out on the day. In addition, the Champion Male and Female athletes will pocket $50,000 each while the Media and Masters races also have a similar $50,000 prize. Trophies will be given to the top four clubs, while medals will be given to all athletes placing 1-3; the total prize money for the clubs amount to $2M with the winner running away with $1 million.
The third Annual C a r i b b e a n C h i l d r e n ’s Charity Shield Football Classic for Under-15 and 17 teams from ‘troubled’ communities in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and Guyana got off to an auspicious start on Wednesday at the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) ground with the feature address being done by Guyana’s President, His Excellency David Granger. This tri-nation tournament concludes on August 30 at the same venue with the semi finals of the age group comp e t i t i o n s i n t h e morning; finals of the U-15s from 15:00hrs and the U-17 from 16:30 hrs. The event is organised by the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation (HLHDF) and was inaugurated in 2014 in Barbados. It was contested in Trinidad last year and is a Sporting and Social Development initiative conceptualized in Trinidad by Barbadian Lashley whose name is affixed to the Foundation. This year’s competition includes 12 clubs from the host Country, six from Barbados and four from T & T. N e x t y e a r ’s tournament, scheduled for St Vincent & the Grenadines could include girl’s teams for the first time while the ultimate goal is to involve as many Caribbean nations as possible. This event is sanctioned by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) whose President, Wayne Forde along with a representative from the NSC and the Ministry of Tourism also spoke at the opening
Hamilton Lashley - HLHDF Head
Tricia Browne - Tournament Secretary
ceremony. Barbadian Tricia Browne is the tournament’s Secretary and told Kaieteur Sport that President Granger (then Guyana’s opposition Leader) witnessed the 2014 event and was impressed by the concept of the tournament. ”President Granger wanted the tournament to come to Guyana and when we approached him he was very supportive and the Government has been very accommodating. I am totally satisfied with everything so far” Browne said. Lashley was also high in praise for President G r a n g e r ’s e f f o r t i n supporting this event in a major way. “President Granger ensured the use of the GDF ground and we would like to thank the GDF for facilitating us here” Lashley stated. Browne, who is also the Manager of defending U-17 champs ‘Pride of Gall Hill’ in Barbados, explained that the tournament is not all a b o u t f o o t b a l l o n l y. Football is a powerful tool we use for strengthening unity, friendships and social ties, encouraging individual and economic development, promoting the ideal of peace
and stopping discrimination against ‘at risk’ communities” stated Browne, who has been with the programme from its inception. She said a special presentation to President Granger by a representative of Barbados and T&T and a cu l t u r a l s h o w p i e ce is planned. Browne said the only challenge is funding and informed that this year there has been a ‘slight drop’ in numbers from the last two years because of higher airfares. ”Most of these youths have never travelled before and were so excited to get passports, fly in a plane and compete not only against players from other communities but from other countries” Browne disclosed. It was also mentioned that each club is responsible for their airfare and accommodation and they do that by getting donations, sponsorship and holding fund raisers. Yesterday, the different team-uniforms produced a kaleidoscope of color with music and commentary, done by 1990 T&T Strike Squad member Nevick Denoon, blasting from the sound system all day long. The national flags of the three nations on show fluttered merrily in a strong breeze blowing from the Atlantic Ocean. Today, the action shifts to the GFC ground where the U-15s will be involved in four matches while the U17s will play four matches at the Tucville ground. The opening game is set to kick off at 09:00hrs while the last match of the day starts at 15:00hrs.
Grand Central Bar to host pool competition on Sunday Grand Central Bar (Jerries) of Grove will be hosting a pool competition starting at 15:00hrs on Sunday. Entrance fee is $2,000 with the winner set to take home a trophy and $100,000, runner up a trophy and $40,000, third place a trophy and $20,000 and fourth place a trophy. The MVP will pocket a cell
phone. The competition is sponsored by Eddies Bobcat, Excavator and Construction Service, Shaffie Mohamed Mining Company, Ansa McAL, L. Mahabeer and Son Cambio, Sahadeo Mining, Khemraj Nauth Contracting Service, Grand Central Pool Bar, A1 Imports and Cell Phone Shack.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
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Wes Morgan (#4) was called up to Jamaica for a pair of World Cup qualifiers in September 2016. (Photo: Mexsport)
Jamaica names 23 for key WCQs Kingston, Jamaica — Jamaica’s bid to reach the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup was put in the hands of the 23 players named Tuesday to the roster for a pair of encounters next month. The last Group B matches against secondplace Panama (2W-1D-0L, 7 points) and fourth-place Haiti will be played on September 2 (away) and September 6 (home), respectively. The Reggae Boyz (1-1-2, 4) occupy third place and will be eliminated from contention if they lose to Panama. Head Coach Winfried Schafer assembled a side that consists of 21 foreignbased competitors, including 11 with clubs in the United States and seven in England, led by defender Wes Morgan – captain of Leicester City, the 2015/16 English Premier League champion Leicester City. Jamaica lost to Panama (0-2) and defeated Haiti (10) when they first met earlier in the fourth round last year. GOALKEEPERS: Jacomeno Barrett (Montego Bay United), Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union/USA), Ryan Thompson (St. Louis
F C / U S A ) DEFENDERS: Shaun Francis (San Jose Earthquakes/USA), Rosario Harriott (Harbour View), Michael Hector (Chelsea/England), Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls/USA), Adrian Mariappa (Hull City/England), Alvas Powell (Portland Timbers/USA), Jermaine Ta y l o r ( P o r t l a n d T i m b e r s / U S A ) , We s Morgan (Leicester C i t y / E n g l a n d ) MIDFIELDERS: Rodolph Austin (Brondby/Denmark), Michael Binns (Wilmington Hammerheads/USA), Omar Holness (Real Salt Lake/USA), Jobi McAnuff (Stevenage/England), Garath McCleary (Reading/England), JeVa u g h n Wa t s o n ( N e w England Revolution/USA), Lee Williamson (Burton Albion/England) FORWARDS: Giles Barnes ( V a n c o u v e r Whitecaps/Canada), Cory Burke (Bethlehem Steel FC/USA), Simon Dawkins ( S a n J o s e Earthquakes/USA), Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City/England), Dever Orgill (IFK Mariehamn/Finland). (CONCACAF)
Dilshan to retire from int. cricket Sri Lanka batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, who pioneered the “Dilscoop” f l i c k o v e r t h e wicketkeeper’s head, has announced his international retirement. Dilshan, 39, will step down after a final one-day international on Sunday and t w o m o r e Tw e n t y 2 0 internationals next month, all against Australia. He appeared in 87 Tests, 329 ODIs and 78 T20 games for his country. Dilshan made his international debut in 1999 and was part of the Sri Lanka team that won the World Twenty20 in 2014. As well as being an innovative, aggressive batsman, he was also an offspin bowler, taking 152
international wickets, an excellent fielder and an occasional wicketkeeper, also captaining his country for a spell between 2011 and 2012. Dilshan, who has scored 17,624 international runs, is the most capped T20 player in Sri Lankan history and the fifth highest in ODIs, though he retired from Tests in 2013. He was the top scorer at the 2009 World T20 - where he popularised the “Dilscoop” and was named as player of the tournament - and the 2011 World Cup. Sri Lanka were losing finalists in both those events, as they were at the 2007 World Cup. (BBCsport)
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Friday August 26, 2016
Pakistan’s first day-night test against WI in October Pakistan will play their first day-night Test with a pink ball in Dubai against West Indies from October 13 to 17, the PCB announced yesterday. The Pakistan board released the schedule for West Indies’ tour of the UAE, which starts on September 23 and comprises three T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests. Dubai will host the first two T20I matches on September 23 and 24, with
the third one being held in Abu Dhabi on September 27. The ODI series will be played between September 30 and October 5, with Sharjah and Abu Dhabi listed as venues. The day-night Test will be the first in the threematch series, and West Indies will play a day-night tour match against PCB Patrons XI between October 7 and 9 in Sharjah to prepare for the first Test. The second
and third Tests will be held in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, from October 21 and October 30 respectively. In June, an initially reluctant WICB had agreed in principle to play a daynight Test in the UAE, following the PCB’s offer of a practice match and training sessions under lights. Pakistan are also scheduled to play second day-night Test in the 2016-17 season, against Australia in Brisbane
from December 15. Apart from the day-night tour game, West Indies are scheduled to play two tour matches - a T20 and a twoday game - against an ECB XI. Both matches will be held at the ICC Academy in Dubai. The PCB had also mulled hosting West Indies in Sri Lanka to counter the growing expenses in the UAE, which has been host to Pakistan’s home series for a
decade now. The idea, however, was dropped after assessing the drawbacks of
playing in Sri Lanka during the monsoon. (ESPNcricinfo)
Pakistan v WI in the UAE September 20: T20 tour match v ECB XI, ICC Academy September 23: 1st T20I, Dubai September 24: 2nd T20I, Dubai September 27: 3rd T20I, Abu Dhabi September 30: 1st ODI, Sharjah October 2: 2nd ODI, Sharjah October 3-4: Two-day tour match v ECB XI, ICC Academy October 5: 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi October 7-9: Three-day tour match v PCB Patrons XI (D/N), Sharjah October 13-17: 1st Test, Dubai (D/N) October 21-25: 2nd Test, Abu Dhabi October 30-November 3: 3rd Test, Sharjah
Piotr Malachowski donates Olympic medal to help three-year-old with cancer
Malachowski won silver in Rio with a throw of 67.55m Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski has donated his Olympic silver medal to raise funds for a three-year-old boy with a rare form of cancer. Malachowski, 33, won his second Olympic silver in Rio, finishing 82cm adrift of Germany’s Christoph Harting. His donation enabled compatriot Olek Szymanski, who has retinoblastoma - an eye cancer affecting young children, to go to New York for treatment. “My silver medal is worth a lot more than a week ago,” said Malachowski. “It is worth the health of little Olek.” Malachowski, who also won silver in Beijing eight years ago, said fate had given him the chance to “increase the value of my silver”. He added: “We were able to show that together we can do wonders. It is our great shared success. ”Winning an Olympic medal is one of an athlete’s life dreams. Of course, the most precious is gold. “I did everything in my power to get it. Unfortunately this time I did not succeed.” (BBCsport)
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
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Chanderpaul confirms participation at DJ Stress’s T20 Cup Dave’s West Indian Imports sponsors left-hander Albion in Berbice will come alive on Sunday September 11 when the DJ Stress Champions T20 Cup rolls into Corentyne full of International stars eager to shine under what is anticipated to be a clear night sky at Albion. Former West Indies Captain and Guyanese with the most Test runs Shiv Chanderpaul is the latest high profile name to jump on the DJ Stress T20 train. Chanderpaul is being sponsored by Dave’s West Indian Imports which distributes West Indian products of all sorts across the USA. Chanderpaul sponsorship will go to an orphanage to be named shortly. The Champions T20 Cup event will have an exhibition match at 16:00hrs before the feature event which will bowl off at 20:00hrs and will feature
any array of West Indian superstars. Guyana’s Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Romain Maniram will be joining Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Mohamed, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Rayad Emrit and Kieron Pollard. Berbice stars on show will be Shimron Hetmyer, Assad Fudadin, Gajanand S i n g h , Ve e r a s a m m y Permaul, Davendra Bishoo, Jonathon Foo, Anthony Bramble and Gudakesh Moti. The players will be divided into two fullpowered teams. Dave’s West Indian Imports will also give $2,000 for every boundary scored in the match. Tickets which will cost $1,500 go on sale today at the following locations in
Martarkai Sports Committee Super 6 cricket climaxes on Sunday T h e Tu r u M i s s i o n ground at Canal Bank in Region One is expected to come alive on Sunday when the finals of the Martarkai Sports Committee Super 6 male tapeball and female softball cricket competition are contested. Commencing at starting at 12:00hrs, Sebai will take on Canal Bank in the playoff game with the winner taking on Oronoque in the final of the tapeball competition. Sebai and Four Miles will then battle for the right to meet Oronoque in the softball final. Among the players expected to be on show are Ron Blair, Alex Allicock, Guywin James, Dick James, Sherlon Rodrigues, Amar Sahadeo, Jonathan Benjamin, Melissa Ramdeen, Lovia Mendonca, Pinky Lowe, Sylvia Benjamin, Marva
Benjamin and Hermena Robinson. Cash prizes and trophies will be up for grabs. The Martarkai Sports Committee is expressing thanks to the following companies and individuals for contributing towards the success of the competitions. Sherlon Rodrigues, Ryan James, Quincy of Guiness Bar, Matarkai NDC, International Import and Supplies, Frands Delight Restaurant @ 5 Sisters’ Hotel, Bobby Grocery S t o r e , M i c k e y Confectionery, Damion Wo n g , P K P L , Yo y o Trucking Service, Farook Ishmael, Chiney and Daughter General Store, Ray, Babita and Norville’s Meat Centre. There would also be added attractions for the entertainment of the kids attending.
Berbice, Georgetown, and West Demerara: Lalsa General Store (D’Edwards Village), A. Ally & Sons (New Amsterdam & Corriverton), Imran & Son (Rosehall), Imran & Daughters (Rosehall), Sham Beer Garden
(Cumberland, Canje), Joseph Music Store (Regent & King Streets, Georgetown), Avon DVD Club (City Mall and Uitvlugt). Persons with tickets would be allowed to enter the venue first. (Sean Devers)
Shiv Chanderpaul
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Friday August 26, 2016
GDF armed and ready for battle at Boyce/Jefford Classic VII The Guyana Defence Force (GDF), which has developed into one of the top clubs in Guyana at the moment, is armed and ready for battle at the seventh Boyce/Jefford Track and Field Classic at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground in Linden this weekend. Top sprinter from the GDF, Akeem Stewart has declared his and his team’s readiness despite an injury plagued season. GDF is the only major club yet to win the Classic, losing out by a mere 16 points last year in the competition.
“Well I’m just looking to go out and have a great day, I mean I have been having a rough time this year due to injuries but I’ve been working very hard with the Coach and he’s expecting me to pull through,” Stewart said in a recent News Room interview. “I am going out there to have fun and compete with my fellow sprinters and e n j o y t h e d a y, ” h e continued. The sprinter highlighted that the road to recovery was not easy. “It has been slow but most times pressuring and
sometimes I am jealous of my training partners because I cannot do the explosive work or the programme they are doing, but I still have faith in myself and believe in myself that whatever I go out and do, I will do my best,” Stewart continued. With GDF being a top contender and then winning the 4x100m Men last year, Stewart talked up the chances of his GDF team. “Well the 4x1 team coming around you know we looking to break the 40s barrier, we have been
running some very fast times this year, so we looking to run at least 39s, but the team has been training hard and they are confident in going out and putting their best foot forward and will be supporting 100 percent,” Stewart mentioned. The GDF is a certain contender for the $1M top prize and apart from Stewart, has a host of other athletes in its arsenal, including, Patrick King, Rupert Perry, Cleveland Forde, Davin Fraser and females Aniqua Powley and Natricia Hooper.
Akeem Stewart (right) undergoes some light work in the Gym earlier this week.
Thompson brings Rio magic to the Pontaise
Elaine Thompson (JAM) won the Women’s 100m (10.78) at the 2016 Athletissima in Lausanne - © Gladys Chai von der Laage Elaine Thompson made good in her new role as the world’s premiere women’s sprinter after her dominating 100m victory at Lausanne’s famous Athletissima meeting, the 11th stop in the 2016 IAAF Diamond League, yesterday. Unfazed by an initial confusing start that forced a second running of the race, the double Rio 2016 Olympic Games champion blasted away from a tight field just beyond the 50metre point to win convincingly in 10.78. ”There was a mix up at the start, so to be able to produce 10.78 on the second attempt is a great time,” said Thompson, whose 100 and 200m triumph in Rio marked the first women’s Olympic
sprint double victory in 28 years. “I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season.” Thompson is also looking forward to returning to Jamaica where celebrations of her double triumph await. “I’m the same person I was before the Olympic Games. The reality of being double Olympic champion has not really sunk in.” It’s probably a feeling the will come when she finally land in Kingston but first comes a showdown against Dafne Schippers in Brussels for the 100m Diamond Race. USA’s Jenna Prandini was a distant second in 11.11, ahead of compatriot Morolake Akinosun who
Asafa Powell (JAM) clocked 9.96 winning the Men’s 100m (additional event) at the 2016 Athletissima in Lausanne - © Gladys Chai von der Laage
w a s t h i r d i n 11 . 1 6 . Thompson’s run stole the thunder from Kendra Harrison’s return to action in the 100m hurdles, her first appearance since her stunning 12.20 world record in London one month ago. The 23-year-old US hurdler, who didn’t run in Rio as she only finished sixth at the US Olympic Trials, didn’t disappoint. Despite a lacklustre start, Harrison was clearly ahead by the midway point and forged onwards to a 12.42 victory. She’s equalled or surpassed that mark four times already in 2016, and is eager to add to that number. Dawn Harper Nelson, the 2008 Olympic champion who was also absent in Rio, was second with a season’s
best 12.71, just ahead of Jasmin Stowers, who clocked 12.75 to complete a top-three sweep for the USA. Like Thompson, another Rio winner who carried her momentum to the shores of Lake Geneva was Dalilah Muhammad, who flew to a 53.78 victory to cap her fairy tale season. Next up the 26year-old? “Home for some good rest.” Great Britain’s Eilidh Doyle was second in 54.45 to extend her lead in the Diamond Race and partially make up for a bad run in the Rio final, when she finished eighth and last. Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen, the Rio silver medallist, was third in 54.98. The top performance on
Churandy Martina won the Men’s 200m in 19.81 (NR) at the 2016 Athletissima in Lausanne - © Gladys Chai von der Laage the men’s side came in the evening-capping 200m which witnessed Dutch sprinter Churandy Martina power off the turn en route to a 19.81 win, a personal best at 32-years-of-age, and the fastest European time of the year. He beat Panama’s Alonso Edward, who clocked a season’s best 19.92. In the men’s 110m hurdles, Orlando Ortega edged Omar McLeod by just 0.01, winning in 13.11 to reverse their finishing order from Rio. The pair exchanged the lead several times over the second half of the race with the Spaniard finally pulling away for good over the final few strides to secure the pole position in the Diamond Race ahead of the final in
Brussels. Elsewhere, Rio 400m bronze medallist Lashawn Merritt notched his third series victory of the season, clocking 44.50 to fight off the Bahamas’ Steven Gardiner, who clocked 4 4 . 7 5 . O ff t h e I A A F Diamond League programme, Asafa Powell notched his fifth 100m victory in Lausanne and his 97th sub-10 time when clocking 9.96 ahead of Ben Youssef Meite of Ivory Coast, who stopped the clock in 10.01. In the men’s 400m hurdles, Rasmus Magi of Estonia ran down 2015 world champion Nicholas Bett of Kenya over the final 20 metres to win 48.59 to 48.68.
Kaieteur News
Friday August 26, 2016
PAGE 43
Eagles soar to 3-2 win over Netrockers GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League
Jamal Allicock heads home Eagles’ opening goal against Netrockers, in blue. Eagles United romped to their second win in as many matches when they edged Netrockers on Wednesday afternoon last as play in the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) leg of the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 league continued at the Wisburg
School ground. Contesting the feature match after Topp XX had taken care of business against Amelia’s Ward Panthers 6-0, Eagles soared to a comfortable 3-0 lead by the end of the first half and despite a late rally from Netrockers which scored two unanswered second half
goals, Eagles sealed full points. The winners took an early lead when Jamal Allicock headed into the back of the nets from a corner taken in the 3rd minute of play. They never looked back and by the half hour mark, had virtually sealed the win.
Omar Brewley who had netted a double in their previous 4-0 win over High Stars, continued his fine form by slamming in the second goal in the 12th minute. Rasheed Johnson who also scored in the High Stars win scored their third goal on 3 0 m i n u t e s .
A re-energised Netrockers came out in the second half intent on drawing level and almost accomplished that aim by hammering back to back goals within a two minute span. Joel Isaacs reduced the deficit when he hit the network in the 56th minute and two minutes later, it was
a Kennel Batson goal that further reduced the lead as Netrockers came within one goal of drawing level, 2-3. But Eagles was able to keep their opponents at bay for the remaining 32 minutes, in the process securing their one goal advantage to walk away with all three points.
FIFA 5-day RAF programme continues
Peter Prendergast (2nd left) makes a point to the local referee instructors yesterday.
The FIFA Referees Assistant Programme (RAF) continued yesterday at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue. The five-day programme which is being facilitated by FIFA Regional Development Officer / Technical Instructor Peter Prendergast of Jamaica and FIFA Fitness Instructor Allan Brown of Costa Rica is
designed to understand the revised and updated laws of the game and its interpretation. The clinic commenced on Wednesday and targets the Elite Referees of the Guyana Football Federation. Speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday, Brown who works with Spanish and English speaking countries
said that this is part of the development of the referees. ”We are looking for consistency in the application of the laws of game and fitness so part of the course is to evaluate the physical level of the referees in Guyana and the methodology used to prepare them. We are also looking at
Referees going through their paces during a practical session.
the level of instructions they are receiving from the people in charge,” he added. Brown pointed out that another objective of the course is to enlighten the referees about the new changes to the laws and to review their performance. He stated that he is impressed with the fitness level of the local referees.
”The fitness level of the referees here is very good; i t ’s t h e b e s t i n t h e Caribbean. What we have seen from the referees on the international stage is that we need to work more on the technical aspects, i.e. the application of the laws on the field. So we will definitely
look at that and will illustrate various drills to address this concern. This is an issue in the entire Caribbean,” he said adding that it’s all part of the referees development.” Brown singled out Guyanese Sherwin Moore for special mention stating that he is one of the best referees in the region.
t r o Sp Third annual CCCSFC underway in Guyana
Tri nation youth football tourney creating unity and building friendships Guyana’s men retainWCDF Three-Hand title; females place second
Players from Pele (yellow) and Fruta Conquerors battle for possession at the GDF ground yesterday
Trinidad and Tobago arrive Gill gauges revenge in 800m
Seated from left: The 2015 International Men’s 800m Runner-Up, Ashton Gill, Shikyla Walcott, Joanna Rogers, and Recardo Prescott with Manager, Kelvin Nancoo in background, shortly after arriving in Guyana to compete in this weekend’s Boyce/Jefford Classic VII.
Guyana select strong contingent
Pakistan’s first day-night test against WI in October
Eagles soar to 3-2 win over Netrockers
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