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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
The Indian diplomatic debacle The dismissal of visa fraud charges against India’s former Deputy Consul-General in New York, Devyani Khobragade, does not mean that she has been fully absolved of wrongdoing, but it does provide an opportunity for India and the United States to pursue the path of normalisation in their bilateral relations. The New York District Court did not go into the merits of the charges against her, but decided the matter on the technical ground that she enjoyed diplomatic immunity after she was accredited to India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. This immunity was acquired during the pendency of criminal proceedings for allegedly giving false information to procure a visa for her housekeeper. The diplomatic immunity was a status that India cloaked her with to avoid a felony trial. India’s refusal to waive her immunity led to the host country asking her to leave. A fresh indictment, however, is still possible. This means that Ms. Khobragade will never be able to return to the U.S., unless she is prepared to face fresh prosecution. India’s guarded reaction - welcoming the outcome but noting that the verdict is silent on the merits of the case as well as the legality of her unseemly arrest and intrusive body search indicates that it expects a little more from the United States. By saying “the government hopes to see further progress in this matter in a manner consistent with international norms and conventions,” India is seeking a permanent closure of the case. A remark by a State Department spokesman that the U.S. administration is “surprised” by the court ruling is intriguing, as it knew all along that diplomatic immunity created a jurisdictional bar on her prosecution. The road ahead for both the countries lies in putting behind the frostiness created by the episode and restoring their high-level engagement. Both countries understand the need to restore trust and moderation in bilateral relations. The dismissal of her indictment paves the way for this, but there are issues that remain to be addressed. India has to strengthen the principle of reciprocity in dealings with other nations. It needs to devise a code of conduct under which its officials posted abroad will not violate domestic laws. It needs a policy on consular and diplomatic officials engaging domestic workers so that there is no room for suspicion of human trafficking. On a wider canvas, the country needs legislation to protect domestic workers from under-payment and exploitation. The U.S., on the other hand, will have to introspect on its overall approach: its failure to anticipate the fallout of the arrest, the manner of the arrest and its controversial decision to “evacuate” the family of the maid at the centre of the storm in an obviously pre-emptive move. It is amazing that one never heard of such a conflict with any other country but then again, no other country suffered as the United States did on September 11, 2001. This has led to the establishment of what is now known as the Department of Homeland Security. There is more than meets the eye here. The maid recruited by the Deputy Consul-General certainly did not travel with the woman. She was therefore recruited by the Deputy Consul General. Had she travelled with the Deputy Consul General then she would have had to be in possession of a visa to enter the country. This maid was therefore recruited in New York and she must have been there on a holiday visa and needed another to cover her new status. But then again, this woman had been working for a while. She felt that she was underpaid and made to live under slave-like conditions. Whatever the case, this was a case that has effectively ended the diplomatic career of an Indian woman. Anywhere she goes she would be seen as the diplomat caught up in a visa problem over a maid.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com
Regardless of the positions we take locally, on the Int’l Scene we are only seen as Guyana His Excellency President Donald Ramotar - President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana Honorable David Granger - Leader of the Opposition Honorable Khemraj Ramjattan Leader of the Alliance for Change DEAR SIRS, RE: THE AML/CFT AMENDMENT BILL I am writing to express that I am deeply concerned about the delays in passing the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill 2009 (AML/CFT) that are necessary for Guyana to comply with International Standards and to offer my views on the way forward. It is my understanding that noncompliance to these standards will bring
significant burdens on local businesses and their customers if counter measures are applied by our international trading partners as a result of Guyana appearing on any ‘watch list’. It must be noted, that in the Financial Sector, Guyana is already known as a high risk and low margin market for our international counterparts and any further deterioration of their margins or increase in risk may result in their withdrawal of service to us. I take note of the work of the Parliamentary Select Committee and the fact that the original amendments in the bill placed before them were all accepted after some corrections were made. I further note that these amendments are sufficient to comply with the minimum standards of the Financial Action Task Force when
passed and will result in compliance from the legislative perspective. With regards to the additional amendments proposed by APNU, I believe in good faith, some compromises can be achieved as follows: • The idea of having a Money Laundering Authority or Board is a good one. However, its members should be independent and appointed on technical and professional merit only. • The recommendation to have a parliamentary appointments committee select the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)has several limitations and may impede on the objectivity and effectiveness of the unit. However, the Authority mentioned above should serve as the Board of the FlU and will be responsible for the (Continued on page 6)
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With some serious managerial and policy changes, sugar could make the turn for the better DEAR EDITOR, Even after the worst showing in over two decades by Guysuco, I cannot subscribe to the opinion that “sugar has passed its point of no return” as expounded on, quite skillfully by Professor Clive Thomas. The sugar industry has formed an important bottom in 2013 but that bottom could be a false bottom proving Thomas correct. But I am intimately aware of the talent in the sugar belt and I know with some serious managerial and policy changes in 2014, we could make the right turn for the better. I was hearted that Guysuco was able to produce some 18,000 tonnes of sugar over the last two weeks and that is the kind of performance that can easily roll out production levels of 225,000 tonnes in 2014, which is critically needed to stabilize the cash flow situation in the industry. I have observed some commentators postulated that “it is better Guysuco cut its loss and diversify into ethanol production”, This comment makes much sense, since any sugar or sugar value-added product bears a good omen for the sugar belt. However, I do not believe switching is the most cost effective strategy. I believe that we should expand production and use the additional production to compliment sugar with ethanol, increase agro-energy and increase packaging of “table quality” Demerara Gold sugar. Sugar is here to stay, since it is intertwined with the socio-economic life of the nation, especially for those 80,000 mouths that feed directly from the industry. I was extremely happy that the AFC cleared the air on sugar and provided 100 percent support to the industry, since any other path would have been political “hara kiri” for that party that got more than half of its support in the 2011 elections from the sugar belt. But these comments from the experts to diversify into non-sugar activities are
nothing but careless political adventurism that ignores the core competence of the people in the industry. Any dabbling in non-sugar projects is a recipe for disaster and Guysuco should reject any such ideas swiftly. This business of “ultimately getting into aquaculture farming in the long run” is a great idea to be conducted by the Guyana Private Sector using their experts on un-utilized lands, but is not a project for Guysuco. Sugar planting and manufacturing remains Guysuco’s forte and should never be watered down on economic sideshows. In the days of cooperative socialism, the PNC Government tried its hands at diversification with the clear intention of reducing the industry’s vulnerability to external market forces. All these diversification projects failed miserably. Land at an old sugar estate at Versailles was converted into a diary project which was supposed to feed the dietary needs of the nation for milk products including cheese. Tens of millions were lost in this adventure and caused Guysuco to lose focus on its fundamental business. Guysuco clearly did not
have the core competence to pasteurize, store, transport and distribute the product at a price below what the market was willing to pay. Then there were the tilapia ponds that were constructed on many of the estates. It was found by Booker Tate in 1990 to be uneconomical because clearly Guysuco did not have the talent to aggressively market and improve the product quality to compete both nationally and internationally. It is quite fool hard to want to try a failed strategy again in 2014 when
Guysuco does not have the talent to execute these ambitions; it is like giving a fisherman a pig pen and saying you are now a swine farmer. No we cannot! I have now read the 20132017 Strategy Plan for Guysuco (so called Turnaround Plan) and while the document does have much merit, there are some elementary yet fundamental flaws in the document. It should be updated forthwith. First off, the vision of the plan clearly cannot be reconciled with the mission which does not have a clear
enough commitment on the financing, who are the identifiable skilled personnel responsible for the implementation of the plan, a very poorly constructed SWOT analysis and a missing sensitivity analysis. Already in 2013, the plan is off-course but yet we continue to talk in the Plan of a 350,000 tonnes production by 2017. Clearly not possible! All energies should be focused on taking Guysuco to its vision (half a million tonnes of sugar). The mission on the other hand has to be more realistic since clearly by
2017, Guysuco will not be producing 350,000 tonnes. Many of the projections are clearly off target and not grounded in reality. If the foundation of the plan is not grounded in reality, how can it illustrate with confidence how much and how it plans to increase sales of packaged Demerara Gold, reduce the cost of production and return the corporation to profitability. What is really missing from the document is who will be held responsible for each targeted activity to produce (Continued on page 6)
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Kaieteur M@ilbox
Are we to continually cast a blind eye on this situation?
Can Guyana be saved? Who will save it from the PPP?
DEAR EDITOR, More and more are we seeing in the media reports instances of police officers either neglecting their duty or involved in some shady practice. This is not to mention the innumerable incidents reported personally by our associates of the now seemingly normal habit of officers demanding bribes from persons perceived to be committing some crime so as to lessen the punishment that they believe is forthcoming. Are we to continually cast a blind eye on this situation that is daily eroding the rule of law in our society, and perpetuating this evil by people who should be paragons of lawfulness? It does seem that the administration has no answer to this pervasive atrocity as
this infectious disease keeps spreading its tentacles. I am not aware of the content of police officers’ training programme but, to my mind, one salient ingredient of this should be ethical conduct. If there is such a component, then by all appearances it has failed to produce the required high standard of behaviour that we must demand from the officers who are entrusted with enforcing the laws, part of which is the setting of a shining example to members of the public. Ethical behaviour must not be assumed, but must be taught by a deliberate effort by persons who are qualified. If this has been a part of our police recruits’ training programme, then it was obviously handled by
those who were not properly equipped to obtain the required results. If it had been, then those who benefited from this would have been so schooled that morality and uprightness would have become more or less permanent hallmarks of their character, which in turn would have obviated the unethical culture that seems to be routine among our officers. I think that some definitive action should be made towards inculcating moral rectitude into the psyche of our policemen, and I am sure that our entire population would welcome such a development. Let us take urgent action towards this end, and arrest this slide that can eventually lead to chaos in our society. Roy Paul
With some serious managerial... From page 5 the desired outcome. I want to know who is the Field Manager at each estate and his experience at enhancing field productivity, I want to measure what each Factory Manager and Field Manager are being held to and if they fail to deliver on the targets what will be the consequences. Are they getting all the resources needed to do their jobs? If there is no accountability clause in the Plan, then it is only fit for a country club. Then, I am not sure if these figures in this Strategy can stand up to scrutiny. In 2013, we had an abysmal performance of 186,807 tonnes (a 23-year low), yet the Strategy talks about a 2013 production of 203,191 tonnes and a 2014 production of 250,986? This is comical at
best! Are Guysuco fortunes a fairy tale for them to continue to mislead the nation like this? Yet the Board members were returned by President Donald Ramotar to continue to serve their diet of foolishness for another term but this time with a most unsuitable and incompetent new CEO Mr. Raj Singh. Based on my discussion with some senior people in the industry who “live for sugar and will die for sugar”, the industry cannot produce at best more than 235,000 tonnes in 2014? So how come these “sugar-experts” arrived at 250,986 tonnes? The buck on this one stops at the President Ramotar’s desk and he will be answerable if Guysuco does not meet its performance targets in 2014 because he is the one who appointed Mr. Raj Singh.
I also observed that this entire 2013-2017 Strategy is contingent upon the Skeldon Sugar Factory moving its production from 34,000 tonnes in 2013 to 52,780 in 2014. Now we are really living in Alice in Wonderland on this one if we think this is possible. In light of the Skeldon Factory been downrated from a 350 tonnes of cane per hour to 250 tonnes, the Strategy continues to speak of a production rating of 300 tonnes of cane per hour at that Factory. I have to recognize the excellent work done by the South African firm, Bosch Engineering at a cost of close to US$2 million. These critical refurbishment works have put that Factory on a trajectory to meet a production capacity of 250 tonnes of cane per hours but there is still much work and testing to be done. Only until the second crop of 2014 is completed, will we know with greater certainty the capacity of this reconfigured factory. I will stop here for now but I shall return with my thought on the following later: 1. The community cost being absorbed by Guysuco at close to G$700 million a year; 2. Some ideas on the mechanization process; 3. The yield issues on the cane lands; 4. Other cost cutting ideas; 5. My thoughts on the SWAT analysis in the Strategy. Sase Singh
DEAR EDITOR, The PPP has been in office for almost twenty-two unbroken years and during that time politics has been a zero sum game, it’s all or nothing for them. The dystopian society that exists under the PPP today stretches human credulity when the word democracy and PPP are mentioned in the same sentence. The PPP controls the means by which duly scheduled local government elections should be held and has failed to do so in twenty years and mendaciously then claimed that the main opposition party that lost the last general elections rigged the ballot. Amazingly, a large number of their supporters believe this fallacy, which is understandable since it was the PPP that introduced the term “aapan jaht” into the Guyanese lexicon. Imagine an entire generation has come of age where basic services such as reliable electricity and drinking water are a luxury and not a necessity. Debt forgiveness, good will and numerous opportunities to inclusively move the nation forward have been squandered and the national patrimony now lies in the hands of PPP oligarchs who have been created within the past decade. The PPP has knowingly, willfully and systematically bamboozled their followers into believing that their party believes in Marxist communist ideology, while government ministers and well-connected party supporters are super
capitalists making up the richest one percent of this impoverished nation. The PPP has demonstrably proven that unless the ideas, policies or people in charge of governmental institutions have sworn fealty to the party, you will be marginalized; victimized and ostracized. Ironically, the very things the PPP lobbied and protested against have been perfected under their watch and now Guyana is a semi lawless state that is teetering on the brink of becoming fullfledged narco-state which is one step from being a failed state. Under the PPP, Guyana is not a nation of laws that are to be abided by everyone, regardless of social or political status. A permissive atmosphere has been created under the PPP that gives carte blanche to ministers, high level government functionaries or those well connected to those in high office. The list of PPP ministers and those connected to the government who have broken the law with impunity is long and well documented, but the latest incident involving the minister of finance is the most recent in this pattern of unconscionable alleged criminal behavior. There is little doubt that if the situation was reversed, the deeply compromised police and equally hobbled judiciary would have found and punished a regular citizen who committed a crime against a minister or one of the PPP oligarchs, or their spouse or off spring. When the sitting attorney general represents a member
of the cabinet in what appears to be a private matter, it is gravely troubling and should raise the hackles of every person of conscience. When last checked, Brian Yong is a private citizen and not part of the government, but is a friend of the minister. Why then did Brian Yong and not the attorney general or a member of his legal staff, respond to the crime scene? For the attorney general to belatedly proffer that the minister was acting within the ambit of his duties when he allegedly drove drunk, caused an accident and fled the crime scene, is an insult to the nation. Was former minister Kellawan Lall performing his official duties when he discharged his firearm in a business establishment at a patron? He also fled the scene and was later promoted to ambassador to Brazil. I won’t even wade into the money laundering bill imbroglio but suffice it to say that after sitting on this piece of legislation when they had the majority in parliament, the PPP has a vested interest in seeing t h i s bill not become a properly functioning law lest their oligarchs and wealthy ministers of government will have to face the long arm of the law. Setting aside the two wellmeaning but uninspiring leaders of the main opposition parties and given the foregoing litany of scandal and damage that the PPP has inflicted on the nation; it begs the question, who will save Guyana from the PPP? Nigel Jason
Regardless of the positions... From page 4 appointment of the Director as in the manner of the Board of a Company appointing a CEO. The Authority should be responsible for governance and oversight of the work of the FIU. It is my understanding that the FIU is not a law enforcement agency but an intelligence gathering agency supporting the Police and the Public Prosecutors in their law enforcement and justice efforts. • Cash seizures should only be done at the points of entry and exit of the borders
as is currently allowed by the AML/CFT Act of 2009 and recommended by FATF standards. If cash seizures are necessary for persons being investigated or under suspicion of money laundering within the borders, I recommend that the Police or Prosecutors obtain an Order of a Court issued by a Magistrate or Judge. I hope all of you can find some merit in my proposals above. In conclusion, I wish to further state that issues requiring compliance to International Standards and Conventions, when used as bargaining tools in the local political arena to extract political gains or wins from each other are dangerous and threaten the reputation of the Country as a whole. Regardless of the positions we take locally, on the International Scene we are
only seen as Guyana, irrespective of which Party is in Government or Parliament. In this regard, the amendments required to be passed for the AML/CFT Act of 2009 should not be tied or made conditional on any other local political objective being accomplished. I am convinced that there are many other opportunities which exist for such negotiations to take place. I urge the Parties addressed in this letter to pass the amendments necessary to comply with the legislative requirements of the FATF Standards and to implement those standards rigorously to root out from our society the use of proceeds derived from criminal activities. Dr. Yesu Persaud Concerned Citizen of Guyana
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
US orders review of deportations to the Caribbean WASHINGTON, United States - CMC - United States President Barack Obama has ordered a review of deportations to the Caribbean and other countries, saying that removal of undocumented immigrants should be done more humanely. “The President emphasised his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system,” said the White House in a statement after Obama met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) at the Oval Office. “He told the members that he has asked Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to do an inventory of the Department’s current practices to see how it can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law,” the statement added. It said Obama thanks the CHC for their work “on these challenging issues”, and expressed his strong desire to work together to put pressure on Congressional Republicans to pass bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible. The White House said the discussion focused on mutual efforts to pass “common sense immigration reform legislation through the House of Representatives this year”. CHC’s chairman Ruben Hinojosa, CHC Immigration
Barack Obama
Task Force chair Luis Gutierrez, and chairman of the US House of Representative’s Democratic Caucus Xavier Becerra attended the meeting. Gutiérrez, an Illinois Democratic Congressman, told reporters afterwards that it was “clear that the pleas from the community got through to the president”. He said he and his two colleagues at the meeting Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, Democrat of Texas, and Congressman Xavier Becerra, Democrat of California - “were adamant that the president needed to act”. Analysts say Obama is under increasing pressure from Hispanic advocates and Congressional Democrats to suspend aggressive efforts in deporting illegal Caribbean and other immigrants. US officials also say that more illegal immigrants have
been deported during the Obama administration than under any previous president. Within weeks, officials say Washington is likely to have deported two million immigrants during the president’s six years to date in office. Caribbean American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, has been pushing Obama to curtail deportation to the Caribbean, saying that too many families left behind are suffering. “Relief delayed is relief denied,” said Pablo Alvarado, the director of the National Day Labourer Organising Network. “The president has no excuse to continue his unjust deportation policy,” he added.
Venezuela’s Maduro gives ultimatum to Caracas protesters (Reuters) - Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro warned protesters in Caracas yesterday to clear a square they have made their stronghold, or face eviction by security forces. Plaza Altamira, in upscale east Caracas, has been a focus of anti-government protests and violence during six weeks of unrest around Venezuela that has killed 28 people. “I’m giving the Chuckys, the killers, just a few hours,” Maduro said, using the name of a murderous child-doll in a horror film to describe anti-government demonstrators who have made the normally genteel 1940s square a base of operations. “If they don’t retreat, I’m going to liberate those spaces with the security forces,” Maduro added. “They have a few hours to go home ... Chuckys, get ready, we’re coming for you.” Students and other protesters have been using the square, in the pro-opposition Chacao district of Caracas, as a rallying point since a wave of protests started to gather steam in mid-February. Most nights around dusk, a hard core of several hundred demonstrators has been fighting police and army lines there, in an attempt to access a nearby highway and block traffic. On Friday night, for example, security
forces used water cannon and teargas in a battle against protesters using stones and petrol bombs, Reuters witnesses said. At least a dozen people were arrested, and the noise of the fighting echoed across east Caracas for several hours. In a speech at a military rally, Maduro also alleged that right-wingers in the State Department and Pentagon were recommending extreme measures against the Venezuela government, including economic sanctions and even his assassination. “President (Barack) Obama, if this message reaches you, you should know that it would be the worst mistake of your life to sign the authorization of the assassination of President Nicolas Maduro,” he said in a high-octane speech recalling his predecessor Hugo Chavez’s spats with the United States. The U.S. government says Maduro, like Chavez, is inventing “imperialist” threats to distract Venezuelans’ attention from their domestic political divisions and economic problems. But U.S. antipathy to the Socialist government has been in evidence since the start of Chavez’s 1999-2013 rule, not least in Washington’s quick recognition of a brief 2002 coup against him.
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There must be no party politics in the FIU appointment DONALD GET JUK HARD Dem boys seh
Everybody like sleep but some does sleep more than some. Jagdeo and Bobby does sleep wid one eye open. Donald like sleep, too but he does sleep home. Some does get ketch sleepin out. Every minute Donald get he does dose off. He sleep suh till dem boys watch how he Minister tek advantage and do all kind of things wid de nation money. Dem boys beg he to wake up just after he tun president. A lot of people, big and small, high and tall, use to juk he but that was joke juk. Dem beg he fuh tek charge, tek control of de country and its money. Dem boys beg he fuh open he eye and watch de wholesale thiefing of Guyana. But he refuse to wake up. At one time dem boys believe that he been in a coma because he use to walk and snore. De other day, Rob de Earth tell dem boys something that mek dem suspect that Donald wake up. He had to get a really severe juk in he B…, not in he back or he belly and not in he behind. You figure out which other B… he get juk. Rob de Earth seh that Donald call back Irfaat from a trip. Irfaat was already sitting in first class next to Jagdeo when de call come. He did think that Jagdeo is still de president suh he didn’t have to inform de real president. Dem boys deh pun de Vlissengen Road and dem hear Donald holler out, “Who give Irfaat permission to lef de country?” Half hour later Irfaat was back in he office. He had to fly. Then he had de nerve to tell Donald how he was in de office all de time and that somebody mislead Donald. That is when de big man get vex. De man seh that I shoulda leh you backside guh and then call you back like how de Kuwaiti president tell Jagdeo to go and when he near reach de man tell he fuh tun back. But Brazzy can’t tun back de clock. He had he budday Friday night and he invite a bunch a thieves. De next budday dem boys praying that he spend in pumpkin jumpsuit. Today is Rohee budday. He plan a big party too and he invite dem boys and tell dem to walk wid dem own likker. Anyhow, dem boys wish him Happy Budday and dem hope to see he wid a head of black hair. Talk half and juk Donald some more.poaay BuiddayH
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is not in agreement with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to have the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU be void of any political influence. The FIU is the body set up to gather information and intelligence for law enforcement officers to fight anti money laundering and other financial crimes. Leader of APNU Brig. David Granger said that he is perplexed by the position taken by the Private Sector Commission, since according to him the FIU is being selected by political Ministers. “I cannot see that the selection by a Parliamentary body is going to be worse than the present situation.” Granger said, “It’s an improvement because the Parliament is more balanced…we feel that it’s a move in the right direction to have it in Parliament.” Granger said that the private sector has its own interest and expressed that APNU had meetings with the
PSC “but we feel we have a responsibility to have a strong FIU and I don’t think the private sector has articulated the same issues we have articulated but we want a strong FIU, we want a strong Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), a strong Bank of Guyana, a strong Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), I don’t hear the private sector speaking about this” Granger outlined. According to Grange, there must be certain laid down criteria. He said, “Parliament is the best institution to have that. We are not interfering in the internal management of the FIU but we are just creating a professional framework so that the FIU and SOCU would be able to operate without undue political influence that’s what we are trying to do.” Chairman of the PSC, Ronald Webster, said that the PSC had found favour with the Barbados model, which has an Authority in place to which the FIU reports. This Authority is made up of
persons drawn from agencies involved directly or indirectly in managing the problems associated with money laundering and terrorism. In giving a breakdown of Barbados’ model, Webster noted that the Chairperson of the Authority is drawn from the University of the West Indies and its deputy from the private sector. The PSC Chairman had outlined that the issue is not about politics but the very lives of Guyanese. President Donald Ramotar who responded to
the position taken by PSC had outlined that he heard that CFATF was beginning to have problems with the Barbadian model and what Government is looking to have passed is a CFATFcompliant Bill. “My contention is that we have a Bill at the moment that CFATF has pronounced on and found it to be compliant, and that is the Bill we should pass, if there is any amendment to that it has to be within the framework of CFATF,” said Ramotar.
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Company paid $16M more than contract price Leonora synthetic track incomplete The German company contracted to lay the synthetic athletic track at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, has been paid in full and is back in Germany but the project has not yet been completed. By the end of October, the company was paid all of its money – US$547,192. At that time, only 65 per cent of works were completed. This project was awarded to BSW on March 18, 2011 for US$465,000. But that contract price was later revised due to what the company said was an increase in world market prices for materials. In addition, the German company hired its own supervisor for the project. That supervisor had to provide additional services, thus sending up the price, further. Alfred King, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, confirmed that the contractor has been paid in full and has returned to Germany without the job being completed. He said that the company had indicated that it was awaiting good weather before
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
returning to Guyana to complete the job. “We have told them that they can get five to 10 sunny days to get the job done,” King told Kaieteur News via telephone. Mr King said that the contractor will have to return to Guyana to complete the project but that cost would not be borne by the Ministry. The company started laying the track in November but stopped because of rain. Minister of Culture, Frank Anthony, was quoted by the Government Information Agency as saying that he would have to “re-invite” the company to finish the project. Steve Ninvalle, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, said the German company is expected back in Guyana this Thursday and would require 10 days of good weather to complete the laying of the surface. All materials for completing the project are on site. The contract should have been completed on September 18, 2011. The project has a fiveyear warranty period. The laying of the athletic track is just one aspect to develop the Leonora facility. Other aspects of the project include construction of a Club House/Main Pavilion, spectator stands and parking lots.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Asphalted Parika-Goshen Road coming this year Construction of the Parika/Goshen Road as an alternative access to interior communities, particularly mining districts, is inevitable. It is hoped that this infrastructural development would open-up more mining districts and reduce travel time. This is according to a senior official who said that Government recently advertised for companies to bid for the design and supervision of the Parika/ Goshen Road better known as the East Bank Essequibo Road or the Del Conte Road. The deadline for submissions has not yet elapsed. During the early 1960s there was an attempt to construct the East Bank Essequibo Road commencing from Parika going along the river to connect to Bartica. Government hopes to resuscitate this project. According to the Ministry of the Natural Resources and the Environment, because this project was conceptualized a number of years ago and work was done in relation to a feasibility study, further analysis will be conducted during the consultancy aspect of the project. This project will be undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment since the road is regarded as a mining road. It
is being funded by the government. The executing agencies will be the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Ministry of Public Works. Construction of this asphalted surface road should commence later this year once the design is completed. Instead of depending solely on the Linden-Mabura Road to get into the interior, miners and commuters would be able to use the Parika/ Goshen Road as the first leg of that journey. In July 2012, when protestors effectively shutdown the mining Town of Linden, many mining operations in the interior suffered. Miners were unable to take cargo in and out of mining camps through the Linden-Mabura route. There were calls for Government to aggressively pursue constructing an alternative
road access to the interior. To reach mining camps safely and avoid the criminal elements that infringed the protest, miners accessed Bartica via the ferry from Bartica. This ignited earlier calls by miners in Regions Seven and Eight to have the road access. According to the senior official, mining continues to play a significant role in Guyana’s development and is now the leading foreign exchange earner. While the sector is faced with a number of challenges, one of the key issues continues to be the inability of miners to access the various locations in the shortest and safest possible manner. The Parika to Goshen Road which has been under consideration for many years offers an alternative to this issue. It would also result in
the opening up of additional agricultural lands in Region Three. The purpose of this intervention is to increase the productivity and competitiveness of Guyana’s extractive sector. Mark Crawford, Region Eight Chairman, hopes that Government would take this project one step further to include the rehabilitation of the road linking Bartica and Mahdia. He said that the Parika to Goshen Road would benefit the Region Seven community which is also a mining district. According to Crawford, during the colonial and People’s National Congress days, the Bartica to Mahdia roadway was existent and travel time was about six hours. Now, there is practically no roadway and a linkage between Region Eight and Region Seven is desirable.
Guyana’s Cricket: An expensive and slow train crash By Charles S. Ramson (Attorney-at-Law) Even though the Georgetown to Rosignol public train service ended in 1972, we are witnessing a train crash very slowly in Guyana – the Guyana Cricket train. Ryan Ramdass, one of the thousands of passengers, is a useful yet common example of the majorly accepted notion among cricket enthusiasts in Caribbean i.e. Guyana has the most talented cricketers (especially batsmen) in the Caribbean and possibly the world. The list of cricketers who are or were competitive with the best players who have EVER played the game is impressive indeed: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Colin Croft, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, Ramaresh Sarwan, Alvin Kallicharran, Carl Hooper etc. This, I would respectfully submit, makes Guyana, on a per capita basis, one of the most successful countries in the world for producing exceptional cricketers. Back to the emblematic Ryan Ramdass: Among cricket circles in Guyana, Ramdass is discussed as if he were a feared giant– one of the best opening batsmen that Guyana has produced over the last 20 years. After his three first class centuries in one season, including two back to back centuries against Barbados, Ramdass was selected for West Indies team in 2005. Fate
had it that he unfortunately sustained three injuries that left him sidelined for years one shoulder, and both knees. Ramdass underwent surgery for all of those injuries and he has been fully healthy for the last few years. After his recovery, he refused to let his talent die so he continued training as many as six days a week. With virtually no cricket tournaments playing in Guyana over the last few years, Ramdass was forced to play cricket in Canada, the USA and Trinidad. In his last season in Canada, he was the second highest runs scorer in their premier league which includes some of the best players not only in Canada but other countries too. Last season, in Trinidad’s premier league he was the second highest run scorer with three hundreds (a highest of 183 not out). After being left out of the Guyana team recently, he returned to Trinidad where he is currently playing in their premier league. In the last six innings, he has scored over 400 runs including two centuries. When there were trial games for the national one-day team, he and Chattergoon were the only openers to score a fifty. At a bare minimum, there is no reason a healthy and in-form Ryan Ramdass should be left out of a Guyana four-day squad. Yet he was. When I asked for an explanation, I was told that he
has to make runs in Guyana. But when I responded that there are no tournaments being played in Guyana I received no appropriate response. I use Ryan Ramdass as a symbol that represents the derailment of cricketing talent in Guyana– not by their own efforts or lack thereof but at the will of selectors and the Guyana Cricket Board. I often wonder to myself if the managers of Guyana’s cricket worked as hard as some of the cricketers for so little reward if they would still continue this endeavour and if Guyana’s cricket would remain on course for this tragedy. Who are the passengers of this slow train crash Guyanese cricketers and the Guyanese people. And the reason for this disaster is clear - the absence of proper management, structure, organisation, academies and execution of programmes. It is definitely not for a lack of resources. I am reliably advised from a senior WICB officer that every year the Guyana Cricket Board gets US$100,000 or $21m to run cricket in Guyana. In addition, for every four-day match that is currently being played in Guyana, the Board receives US$35,000 or $7,350,000; there are three matches being played in Guyana so that’s US$105,000 or approximately $22m. This will be the most expensive train crash in Guyana’s history.
Sunday March 16, 2014
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Operations of Go-Invest increases risk of corruption - APNU A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Shadow Minister on Public Works and Telecommunications, Mr. Joseph Harmon has categorically stated that the weakness of the Guyana Office for Investment (GOInvest) increases the risk of corruption. GO-Invest on 190 Camp and Church Streets, Georgetown is an organization which provides advice and concessions when necessary, to investors who are looking for the best way to start a business in Guyana. It also helps foreign entrepreneurs tap into the wealth of trade and investment opportunities available in the country. In an invited comment, Harmon, a Member of Parliament said that the organization was intended to be a “one stop shop for investors but government has over time, weakened the office.” He said that the company is too important to the life blood of the country for it to be allowed to dwindle as it is doing. “So what has happened is if you need a land title you have to go to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and if you need a permit you need to go to Ministry of Finance. This simply means that everything you need, you have to go to some Government entity. That
Go-Invest Chairman, Keith Burrowes process increases the cost of doing business in Guyana because you have to be going all over the place and it increases the risk of corruption. You have more opportunities for officials to be corrupt and this is what the Transparency International report said. That official corruption was at a very high level… If you have a clear one-stop shop, clear policies with a professional board and a direct head you can get business done in a more efficient manner rather than having to run all around.” The politician said he is not pleased with the poor, inadequate business infrastructures that are used to facilitate potential investors. He recalled one incident
APNU’s Shadow Minister, Joseph Harmon where he visited the Registrar of the Lands Registry and noticed that investors were crammed in a room awaiting titles or waiting to make inquiries with regard to titles. “There are hardly any lights and no air conditioning, and the Registrar and the staff at the back; you have to wait on them at their leisure… We have to correct these things. We need to create the environment and physical structure for businesses to be conducted in a proper way. Go Invest should be properly equipped… I think we need to have the management system in place to make it functional and we need to have a
Government in place with an attitude that is welcoming to business and will remove the barriers to conducting businesses in Guyana.” Go-Invest Chairman, Keith Burrowes, in an interview with this publication however sought to clarify what he described as “key things about Go – Invest.” He said that under the Guyana Investment Act 2004, it says that the organization (Go-Invest), was established under the Public Corporations Act 1988, and it shall be the corporation responsible for facilitating and promoting investment in Guyana. It shall provide investors with all forms necessary to apply for incentives and assist them in completing forms accurately. Burrowes said that the organization was once a one stop shop for investors but the functions that gave it that branding were removed and placed under appropriate Government Ministries for reasons unknown to him. He was also unable to say when these functions were moved. Nevertheless, the investment agency he says, now serves to facilitate the
investors with proper referrals to the necessary agencies so that the work is done smoothly. When asked if the agency has adequate resources to carry out its current mandate in an efficient manner, he said, “No we do not.” He even went on to express that Go- Invest is also supposed to be doing promotional work but are starved of the physical and human resources to do even that. As it relates to Harmon’s belief that the company’s weaknesses is creating opportunities for corruption he said, “I am not going to comment on that.” He also expressed that he had a meeting with President Donald Ramotar at which it was agreed that the
investment company needs to be promoted. “We are working on that.” The Chairman added, “We are also working on a plan to enhance the institution. Our plan mainly revolves around ensuring that the investor doesn’t have a long time to wait to get certain concessions… But right now we are enhancing the knowledge of the investor as to what they would have to do when they go to a particular agency.” Burrowes admitted that at this point, the company lacks any specific data on which markets or areas have the most potential for investment opportunities. He contended however, that the company is working on improving this.
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APNU accuses Govt of stalling AML Bill Brig. David Granger, the APNU leader, has said that complaints have been leveled about APNU’s role in the deliberations of the Special Select Committee. Granger however emphatically said that APNU was the only party that was calling for the strengthening of the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AMLCFT). He said that last November the government announced the setting up of the SOCU and since then the body hasn’t even started to function. “Nobody can tell you who is the head; where is it located; has it started to work? APNU is not the organization that has been delaying this process it is entirely within the domain of the government of Guyana.” Granger said that the government is delaying the work in the Select Committee by dragging its feet. He made reference to the next date of
Leaader of APNU David Granger the Committee which is March 26 as being an example since he is of the opinion that the Committee could have reached earlier than that date. “The government is taking its own sweet time; it is not hurrying. It is talking about deadlines and not attempting to bring this matter to a closure. This is what has been happening since October 21,” he said. Granger said that the government has no interest in
speeding up this process and is scaring the population “about deadlines, catastrophe and apocalypse.” APNU is anxious to get this matter in the Committee over and done with so that a strong Bill can be presented in the National Assembly, he said. “We feel that because of the government’s behaviour over the last 14 years; it’s delinquency over the last fourteen years. The fact that it attracted criticism from the CFATF [Caribbean Financial Action Task Force] over the last 14 years, we needed to have a strong FIU and much of the debate, was not centered about delays; they were centered on the strengthening of the FIU and we are confident that the amendments that we have inserted will lead to a stronger FIU.” According to Granger the big problem that CFATF had over the last 14 years is enforcement. “It is the delinquency of the FIU, the failure to be able to bring anybody to justice, the failure to submit suspicious transaction reports, the failure to have a single prosecution that has brought Guyana to where it is, nothing to do with the APNU. “It’s the failure of the old system and APNU has worked assiduously in the Special Select Committee to ensure that the Guyanese people have a strong FIU.”
Sunday March 16, 2014
Bandits take victims’ cigarettes, wish them a nice day Bandits stripped a truck like this of millions of dollars in parts
Brazen bandits, early Thursday morning, raided an East Bank Demerara sawmill, and tied up the two security guards, before escaping with hundreds of thousands of dollars in truck parts. During the two hours or so ordeal, the bandits also smoked cigarettes that they took from the security, before assuring them that they would be freed within a few hours when their colleagues turned up for work. According to the Dax Kissoon, an official of the property, total losses may add up to over $2M with his family, the well-know Kissoon family, now offering a “lucrative” award for information that could lead to the recovery of the parts. The case is indeed a strange one from the perspective that bandits traditionally go after cash.
However, in this particular case, the intentions were clear, Kissoon said. The compound at Coverden, on the right bank of the Demerara River, is home to a sawmill and bond. It seemed that the bandits were familiar with the operations of the facility, arriving at around 03:00hrs and leaving two hours later. The bandits, not masked, held up the two guards, and bound them with duct tape. One of the bandits reportedly took out a pack of cigarettes from one of the security guards and helped himself. The bandits, armed with at least one gun, then took their time. They headed straight to a Bedford TM 6x6 model truck that is used to haul logs for the business. They had come with a Canter truck. It was reversed
into the compound. According to Kissoon, the truck that was targeted was under repairs at the time. The bandits stripped the gear box, transfer box and drive shaft from the truck and loaded it onto the Canter. It seemed clear that they knew what they were doing. The parts are said to be worth in excess of $2M. The bandits, on leaving, even told the two bound guards to have a nice day, Kissoon said. Kaieteur News understands that there has been an increase in the number of reports of raids on business facilities especially along the East Bank Demerara. It is believed that the bandits have been using the river to gain access, as well as to escape. The matter is being investigated by Timehri Police Station.
Anna Regina moves to end roadside vending The Interim Management Committee (IMC) which now runs the town of Anna Regina has served notices to vendors, who have been vending for years on the road shoulders of the Anna Regina Old market. The vendors were given an ultimatum to desist from vending there by March 28. Reports emerging from within the council body of the IMC are that the street vendors will be allowed to vend along the road shoulders of the Anna Regina old market for the next two weeks.
At the expiration of that deadline a meeting would be held with the IMC and members of the Local Government Ministry to decide on a more appropriate vending area. It is suggested that some of the vendors who are currently vending on the road shoulders of the Anna Regina Old market had initially given up their stalls in the old market, when a new market was constructed at Cotton Field. This new market was to have replaced the old Anna Regina market. That plan by the Anna
Regina Town council however, did not materialize. The vendors in the old market kept their stalls and were reluctant to move from Anna Regina to Cotton Field. The Council was forced to prosecute those vendors but the vendors at the Anna Regina Old market had won that case in the High Court. The council, still determined to have the vendors removed from the Anna Regina Old market to the new Cotton Field market, has appealed that case. The Anna Regina old market was constructed through a self help initiative in the 1970s. The Cotton Field market only operates on Fridays. Both vendors and shoppers are saying the distance is out of reach. Anna Regina is the town and the hub of daily business.
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Regional Integration and the fear of getting wet feet! By Dwijendra Rooplall Much has been studied, researched and advanced about regional integration, its benefits, its disadvantages and the ever-evolving dynamics associated with such a profound application. For the most part regional integration has been a success case, take the European Union as a primary example of what can be achieved when sovereign nations pool their resources, for economic sustainability and international might. One of the strongest arguments for regional integration which intellectuals posit is the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of small countries that rival some of the most developed nations. Were it not for integration, those small countries would have taken longer to develop because of the economic constraints faced individually. Take, for example, regional integration in subSaharan Africa “ which has 47 small economies, with an average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$4 billion, and a combined GDP equal to that of Belgium or 50% of the GDP of Spain.” (Sourced from Regional Integration-Concepts, Advantages, Disadvantages and Lessons of Experience) Within the context of the Caribbean and CARICOM (Caribbean Community), regional integration takes on a very important dimension, which is, attaining a collective voice as a single market and economy so that the voices of the many small countries can be conglomerated into one formidable body or bloc and command the respect
and economic competitiveness to be influential within the international arena. “The collective bargaining power argument is especially relevant for the poor and fractioned countries... It may help countries to develop common positions and to bargain as a group rather than on a country by country basis, which would contribute to increased visibility, credibility and even better negotiation outcomes.” (Ibid) One of the dilemmas associated with regional integration within the Caribbean is that even though significant strides and feats have been achieved, there is no entrenched position that a sovereign nation must relinquish its sovereignty where certain integrative mechanisms are needed to make many pieces into something whole. So in essence, while we have integration, a treaty country can refuse to implement a decision which it deems
outside the sovereignty of the individual nation. It is for this reason that the European Union, even though successful, has not been able fully integrate all of its signatory countries. Something Professor Fraser Cameron in his work ‘The European Union as a Model for Regional Integration’, describes as an “identity crisis.” What we experience within CARICOM is a hesitation by most countries to relinquish their sovereign status and open their barriers to a governing body which will essential reduce it to a state. In short, we are afraid to test the depths of the water (Integration) and get our feet wet. This hesitation for the most part is a genuine one, where countries have a vested interest nationally among anything else, but that interest would have to be broadened regionally for integration to truly be successful. The fact that we have taken the necessary steps in relinquishing some of that power and vesting it in a
collective body is a sign that we are getting there, but more needs to be done. An example of such a transition is the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The mere fact that CARICOM countries are actively considering signing on to the CCJ as the final court of arbitration in state matters is a good sign. The other tenants of regional integration such as reducing barriers, promotion of free trade and the proliferation of collective liberalized polices aimed at competitively uniting signatory countries which, while adopted, has not been fully implemented, something which has stagnated the impetus necessary for CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) to be successful. There are genuine fears that counties could lose their identity, or
that by reducing all barriers to trade and passage the countries that are part of that integration would no longer have mechanisms in place to protect the interest of their nationals. The field would be leveled and however the chips fall so would the outcome be. So, for example, if a poorer country of the integrated bloc relinquishes its sovereignty then that country might find that in the long run, due to how integrated development is polarized, that country might be the one to benefit the least from integration, something most countries use as the measuring stick for going all out in the integrative approach. Emilio Pantojas García in his work, ‘Economic integration and Caribbean identity: convergences and divergences’ posits that “one
factor that conspires against economic integration is the asymmetry of the economies of the Caribbean Basin. Small island economies, with high rates of industrial concentration depend on a few specialized activities.” As such he states that “trade liberalization increases the vulnerability of these sectors to international fluctuations and competition…sustainable development for small economies requires not only free trade, but a flow of investment and technical assistance both at the level of production and at the level of managing in an open environment.” So from an economic perspective there is the fear of inequitable open competition and sociopolitically there is the “identity crisis” that individual countries face, something that time might fix provided that signatory countries push for integration and are not afraid of getting their feet wet, since regional integration is the nexus for economic growth and prosperity for small economies within the Caribbean to be globally relevant because of how the world is structured. What is needed is for signatory countries to develop a political, economic and “cultural identity” as well as a coherent framework, which according to Garcia, will increase regional integration beyond the Caribbean.
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Aquaculture - a struggling industry that begs for relevant technology By Keeran Danny The potential is there for aquaculture to emerge as a grand industry making significant contributions to Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product. Securing markets locally and abroad is no problem, but aquaculture has not yet proven to be economically feasible. Beni Sankar has been involved in aquaculture for five years and has invested about $50M in this venture. Currently, he has 50 acres of land at Hampton Court, Region Two, dedicated to rearing tilapia, pacu, hassar and arapaima. Sankar comes from a long line of rice farmers but in an evolving Guyana, where the new generation is not too keen on being farmers, he has boldly ventured into aquaculture. Rice farming, a traditional industry, is very risky, especially during the harvesting season, and requires a lot of attention. He believes that rice farmers should get involved in fish farming on a semiintensive scale. Not much infrastructural works are required to create fish ponds. In fact, it is similar to preparing a rice field with drainage and irrigation canals. Interchanging the farmlands could help with the fertility of the lands, Sankar added. According to him, about seven persons are currently involved in the industry and not many are tempted to join because aquaculture has not yet been proven economical. In addition, there is a challenge accessing help from the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station and the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department. DEVELOPING SINKING FEED Tilapia may be synonymous to aquaculture in Guyana, but Sankar believes pacu should be the fish the industry aggressively pursues. Even though tilapia is a prolific fish and pacu is difficult to breed, pacu gives a higher output because it could grow up to about 15 pounds.
“Pacu is a more hardy fish; it gains the weight twice as much as tilapia. It can be grown in more acidic lands than tilapia. So if you get a lot of pagasse land the pacu can make it there,” he said. He added that pacu is a natural fish of the wild and likes to feed at the bottom of the pond, which suits the sinking feed being developed by Sankar and his team at Hampton Court. Currently, Sankar’s team is trying to formulate a feed that would be affordable, satisfying, and allow for greater output. The sinking feed is made from ingredients available locally such as fish meal, shrimp meal, and wheat meddling. The formula to have the right amounts of ingredients in the feed needs the input of an expert. Many failed attempts by the hatchery could be frustrating, but the aim of one day finding the correct mixture is comforting. Developing this feed is important to make the operations profitable, Sankar says. He believes that the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station should have been in the forefront helping to make the sinking feed. “Buying feed from the United States and transporting it to Hampton Court is quite costly and feed is about 65 to 70 percent of the input needed to produce fish. So if you can cut your cost in whichever way, then you are in business. Those are some of the things I have thought about…When you are doing floating feed it’s very expensive and you would have to get things like an extruder and other materials which would cost a lot of money,” Sankar said. BREEDING PACU Pacu breeding is very specific. It requires a fish about three years old and special hormones have to be injected in both male and female. The sperms and eggs are bled from the male and female respectively. The sperms and eggs are fused together and placed in an incubator. This process has
A small section of Sankar’s 50acre aquaculture farm
Beni Sankar been attempted many times, but Sankar’s team has to date been unsuccessful. He feels strongly that the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station could help with this process. But, like in many instances the station remains good in principle but is not proactive in this emerging industry that is struggling. AQUACULTURE STATION On a scale of one to 10, the aquaculture industry in Guyana is currently at one, according to Sankar. Farmers are exposed to basic knowledge and everything is learned through trial and error. Sankar said that Guyana’s tilapia production is unsuccessful because of the unavailability of the right technology. “We are suffering…we are drifting.” He emphasized that the system from the Stations is not much help to farmers and the authorities seem to be less knowledgeable than the farmers. He noted that in the past there were some initiatives to supposedly help aquaculture farmers but these were unsuccessful. In addition, some programmes focused on marketing of the produce which he found wasteful since farmers need help with technology. MARKETING According to Sankar, there is a large market for every fish caught locally and
this is therefore no problem. In fact, the price one would get for pacu, tilapia and hassar locally is greater. “People keep asking about market, market isn’t a problem you can get that anywhere in the world, but it’s the price…So if you can bring down your cost of production you are in game. Like right now, a lot of pacu is being sold to Suriname. The Brazilians love pacu so there are a lot of Brazilian miners who come and buy it,” he said. He noted that there will always be a demand for fish, more so food, around the world. In fact, with the depleting fish stock in the oceans and seas, aquaculture surely has a place. SANKAR’S IDEAL MODEL The troubles encountered by fish farmers could be
reduced if Government helps to facilitate the development of the industry. Sankar has been highlighting the need for Government to provide lands for a centralized aquaculture initiative. The model Sankar is pushing is to have an aquaculture park comprising approximately 1,000 acres of land, rented or sold to private farmers, and surrounding a central area privately managed. This central area would provide the relevant technology, feed and market links for farmers. He believes this would accommodate the growth of the industry, eliminate some of the hurdles farmers are encountering and empower persons. COULDAQUACULTURE REPLACE THE SUGAR
INDUSTRY? Having being born on a sugar plantation, Sankar is saddened with the state of the sugar industry today. However, he does not believe the industry should be closed or be replaced by aquaculture. “The sugar industry is very important and recent initiatives such as the Skeldon Sugar Factory and the Enmore Packaging Plant have deep rooted good principles. But, they were badly managed projects. With many countries not continuing with sugar production, Guyana essentially has an upper hand to sell to those markets. The heavy investments made in the sugar industry should have been able to allow Guyana to tap into those markets.”
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
Living with the circus in a failed state If you are a student of politics and you have been in this country since the PPP came to power, but especially since Mr. Jagdeo became President, you must have said to yourself one morning while having your coffee or tea and while reading the newspapers; “Which lunatic asylum did these Guyanese leaders escape from?” Central African Republic, South Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela and Ukraine are going through terrible times, but at no time would you hear the foolish things come out the mouths of governmental leaders as we have in Guyana. As a student of Guyanese society you are torn between contrasting emotions – exasperation and hilarity. The sad thing about the PPP leadership is that no one in the hierarchy possesses the authority to say; “Wait a minute, stop that nonsense; you are embarrassing the party and the nation. Be careful in the future.” The PPP leadership not only fails to shut up its clowns that continue to ruin their image but on the contrary, they are promoted in rank. A Minister says that he is “a maan dat does illegal things” and he is elevated to
the upper echelons of the judiciary. A Parliamentarian, Neil Kumar, does not know that in politics and journalism in Guyana, we call the three states that provide the bulk of Guyana’s aid, the ABC countries – America, Britain and Canada. So he publicly refers to these three friendly nations as Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Since then the PPP has put him on a number of parliamentary committees. Anyone who comes from another planet and sees Roger Luncheon on television at his press conferences would refuse to believe that he is perhaps the second in charge after former president, Bharrat Jagdeo. No one from the top of the PPP pyramid has whispered to Luncheon that his press conferences are more noted for his amusing style than for substance. If Luncheon resumes work, he will continue to host the Government’s weekly press briefings and the country will be entertained. Clement Rohee has become the PPP General-Secretary. He doesn’t deserve it and for one reason – he refuses to learn that after you leave the gutter, there are behavioural forms that you have to adopt not to please
the Joneses, not to please your friends, not even to please society but because that is essentially what life is about. You do not go to a wedding in short pants. And why not? Because that is life. You do not go to your swearing in ceremony and your hat is on your head. And why not? That is life. No matter how hungry you are, you do not open your sandwich wrapper and eat in church while the preacher is conducting his sermon. And why not? Because that is the way life is for all humans. Mr. Rohee has made a mockery of himself countless times and he has not learned and will not learn. Why would any nation vote for a man who wants to be president when in announcing his intention exclaimed; “Why not, goat ain’t bite me!” Foolishly, Rohee could not have seen that in such an explanation, an irony would have been produced because in such a style, people would say that goat did indeed bite him. No one from within the helm of the PPP ever lectured Rohee on his deportment. On the contrary he was elevated to the General-Secretary’s post. And the circus goes on.
At every press conference, there is a laugh when his utterances are carried in the media. And it is also his reaction to questions that is predictably funny. Tell me if as a journalist or a citizen you wouldn’t laugh at the following. Rohee said that the opposition politicians are friends of the drug traffickers. Asked to produce evidence, a simple educated answer should have been; “At the appropriate time, I will release such.” Here was Rohee’s reply to the reporter, “I ain’t dealing with that.” Keep an eye on Rohee’s
pronouncements at his press conferences.Here is the latest. The PPP issued a statement asserting that a Minister is a Minister at all times. He is never off-duty. This was the explanation for offering governmental support to Finance Minister Ashni Singh who was the erring driver in a road accident in which he fled or left or moved away from the scene of the accident. So when a Minister is looking for ladies of the night or having sex in his marital home or fishing or drunk to hell in a rum shop, he is on
Frederick Kissoon duty? So while rum-drinking at midnight or fishing on a holiday in the Mahaicony creek, he can take the Ministerial car? The circus goes on.
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Sunday March 16, 2014
APNU has no regard for sugar workers and their families The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has noted the callous and insensitive comments of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in which that Party has called for the closing down of the Sugar Industry. The call by APNU must be viewed as
wanton disregard for the wellbeing and livelihoods of thousands of sugar workers and their families across the sugar belt. APNU’s call for the shutting down of the sugar industry must be deemed reckless and total disrespect
for sugar workers, their dependants and the thousands of others who benefit directly and indirectly. The PNC/APNU has by this call shown scant regard for the sugar industry and the thousands who depend on it for their livelihood. It must be
recalled that two estates were closed by the PNC government. More recently, APNU refused to support the government’s efforts to ensure that the industry remains viable. They voted against the infusion of some four billion dollars into the industry and when questioned why, boasted that it was “a PPP problem”. This position is further demonstrative of the callousness of APNU towards the dedicated and industrious sugar workers. The PPP views this call by the PNC/APNU as part and parcel of its long held desire to deprive sugar workers of their jobs, thereby demoralising and reducing their capacity to provide for their families and their children’s future. The PPP, since its establishment, has always struggled and fought for the rights and wellbeing of sugar workers as reflected in its annual observance of Enmore Martyrs Day and the construction of the new factory at Skeldon. This factory was envisaged to ensure the continuity of sugar production and to save thousands of jobs for the ordinary working class. The stringent measures
imposed by the European Union resulted in many challenges for the local industry and were in many ways responsible for some countries in the Caribbean closing their factories thereby putting thousands on the breadline. The PPP-led Administration, cognisant of the tremendous loss this could bring to bear on sugar workers and the country, given sugar’s contribution to the economy, took the bold and visionary step to save the industry and jobs through the construction of the Skeldon factory. While there are some teething challenges with the factory, it remains pivotal to the future of the industry and its workers. The PPP and the government it leads will continue to work to ensure that the sugar industry remains relevant and that the workers are secure in their employment. The Party will not allow APNU to trample on the livelihoods of the workers. Our Party has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all Guyanese through the continuous transformation of Guyana. Sugar workers are an integral part of this process and as such their advancement through job
security must be assured. History has shown that the PNC through its gross mismanagement of the economy brought tremendous economic hardships to Guyanese. The sugar industry was not spared and production spiralled downwards drastically. It was the PPP, under the leadership of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, that revived the industry and saw increased production and improved conditions for the workers despite the challenges faced. Now that the PNC through APNU is in the Opposition, their efforts to impose hardships on the nation and its people, continue. Their unconscionable cuts to the budget since 2012 have shown their efforts to ruin the progress made over the years and to deprive Guyanese of the advancements they now experience. The PPP would like to assure all sugar workers that it will continue to stand by them and will continue to work to protect their interest and that of their families. The Party will not sit idly by and allow APNU to achieve its callous objective in taking away the livelihoods of the workers.
Sunday March 16, 2014
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My column
There are many sick people out there Scarcely a day goes by without something really horrific happening in Guyana. We have had the bizarre case of a man attempting to rob a woman on a road in Sophia when the police just happened to be on patrol. The man is so resolute about his trade that he opens fire on a party of armed policemen who return fire. It is either that the policemen are so well trained or that they simply cannot shoot to kill. The man lives to be taken into custody but not before he manages to jump into a trench to elude capture. Another man is probably bent on impressing his wife that he opts to kill himself, probably after telling her that he would. We would never know what he expected but surely he did not expect her reaction. I once saw a movie of a woman so in love with her about-to-beexecuted paramour that she hung on to his feet as he dangled from the gibbet. Surely her weight at his feet would not help and so the man passed to the Great Beyond. In our case, the
The madness is far from over. We have seen the arson; we have seen the senseless attacks and we have seen the police being at a location at the appropriate time when a gunman decided to pounce on a hapless victim. This is only a part of the scheme of things in the country. There is going to be an even more interesting development. Two men will be arrested in a stolen car. Inside they will have the
report is that the woman watched as the man used the rope to fashion his noose. I would not be surprised that she actually accompanied him to buy the rope. He then fashions his own gallows right before his wife’s eyes and when he took the jump she simply stood t h e r e t o watch him. It could be that she did not believe him or that she was so petrified that she couldn’t do anything. But then again, it could have been that she simply told herself that if he is so stupid as to kill himself then she wouldn’t stop him. To t a k e t h e c a k e i n horror was this report out of Port Kaituma, a community in the North West District. There I was in the newsroom when a colleague called me to enquire if I had heard about the man burning down his home with his wife and children inside. The paper was being put to bed. The news caused me to ask my colleagues to pull out to the stops to find out what happened. Many of us had
contacts with people in Port Kaituma. Nigel McKenzie sprang into action as did Mitzy Campbell. They got hold of people at Port Kaituma and got the story as it unfolded. They got people to take photographs and in the end they got the details. But even as the story was unfolding shivers were going through me. As a father I could not see my children come to harm. When my sons became teenagers and they began to go out later than I was accustomed to I could not sleep until they got home. And I set the time. I can count the times I put a cane to their behinds on one hand. I simply could not stand to see them hurt. I enjoy them to this day although they are grown men and women. So when I heard that a man secured his home with his wife and children inside, then set the building on fire I was dumbfounded. To make matters worse for me, I got a report that people outside heard the children screaming while the fire raged. Then I
tools for a robbery. ** There will be some interesting developments on the border. A foreign country
with interests in a neighbouring country will be exposed. There will be the initial denials but the facts will not be hidden. ** Road accidents are now commonplace so when two cars collide and a passenger dies, there will be the usual muttering, but not much else. However, there will be a survivor attacking the driver of one of the vehicles. That will be the talking point.
became angry when I learnt that the sick son of a ‘who cut he hair” as my mother would say, was still alive. I am of the view that he initially intended to perish in the blaze but when the heat became too much for him he escaped. His wife and children were not so fortunate. They screamed as they died. Not so long ago, there was another man who killed his children. He hacked them while they slept. I was similarly sickened as were the people in the jail where he was confined. I am told that after the beating his cell mates inflicted on him, he contemplated suicide. He probably found that death was too much to contemplate,
the same way as the man who killed his wife and children Friday night. There is no married couple who did not have confrontations, but it takes reasoning to settle disputes. Of course, there is the view that there is no reasoning with a woman, so if you are wrong say that you are wrong and if you are right say that you are wrong. There is bound to be peace and no need to burn a house with a wife and children inside. There is going to be a trial if the man is not allowed to escape from custody as some have done in the city. People made a big song and dance about the man being handcuffed to his bed. There were others similarly
Adam Harris handcuffed who managed to secure their freedom. If this one does not escape then some of my money will pay to try him and if he is convicted –lawyers always manage to achieve the impossible—then more of my money will pay to keep him in incarceration.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday March 16, 2014
As economy slips, AFC holds the key to unlock our gridlock By Moses V. Nagamootoo and Sasenarine Singh Overshadowed by the crisis in the sugar industry, Guyana’s economic performance last year is far from satisfactory. Gone
forever is the 7% economic growth rate in the last years of Desmond Hoyte and Cheddi Jagan. Whilst prices for our primary products in 2013 have dipped, it is primarily the lack of vision, bungling and incompetence of the minority government that is at the heart of Guyana’s
lukewarm economic performance. The political hustle for survival and rule by propaganda, have eaten valuable time to hone in on how to change things around. Guyanese need leadership and statesmanship, not
propaganda trash and cussdown pantomimes. Reports indicate that in 2013 production of sugar, fish, bauxite and poultry meat declined. We need to urgently do clinical analyses of our failure in these sectors, and come up with answers. Rice, forestry, diamond and gold output improved, but the fall in price for gold, and uncertainty over the rice market, have affected performance. For example, the increase in gold production from 438,000 oz. in 2012 to over 459,000 oz. in 2013 was eroded by a 28% decline in gold price. All of our energies need to be on how to improve our economic performance. Instead, the myopic Robb Street gang diverts attention away from this task, and gets lost in the political propaganda game of “blameit-on-the-opposition”. The September 2013 Quarterly Report from the Bank of Guyana gives some startling indications of our economic status. These are some key facts: 1. The overall balance of payments recorded a deficit of US$220.4 million as compared to a surplus of US$57.8 million for the same period in 2012. This, in ordinary expression, means that Guyana has a shortfall because our use of funds is more than that what we earned. The situation has gotten worse over 2013. 2. This deterioration was primarily due to an expanded current account deficit and a lower capital account surplus. This enlarged current account deficit was mainly on account of lower inflow of current transfers and higher services payments. As at September 2013, the deficit on the services account expanded by 57.3 percent or US$75.8 million to reach US$208.0 million on account of higher payments for non-factor services. (In the simplest of terms an increase in payments for non-factor services can be
driven by increase payment for shipping costs, airline travel costs, etc. and is an outflow of cash from the economy) 3. Remittances decreased by 47.5 percent or US$181.5 million to US$200.9 million when compared to the previous year. 4. The capital account surplus decreased by 20.2 percent to US$172.2 million on account of lower foreign direct investment and portfolio investment by private citizens. (Investments are down as at September 2013 and are expected to decline in 2014 and this is a real problem, But the Minister of Finance is too high of propaganda on the antimoney laundering issue to pay any heed to this crisis) 5. Inflows from bilateral and multilateral agencies decreased by 19.7 percent to US$120.6 million as at the end of September, and this is a clear sign that the “gravy train” is slowing down. It may not be surprising that after investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the productive sector, the international community expects that Guyana should be in a much more opportune position to facilitate the private sector as the “engine of growth”. But, instead, PPP tried to haul the private sector onto its opposition-bashing propaganda train. 6. The gross international reserves were drawn down by some US$200.9 million from US$834.9 million to US$634.0 million over the year to September 2013 to finance the overall deficit. (That was almost a quarter of the international reserves vanishing as a result of the PPP mismanagement of the economy). 7. Even though the international reserves increased to US$751.2 million at the end of December 2013, when compared to December 2012, we lost some US$74 million of our reserves in 2013
under this PPP Government. The PPP must answer to the people for the state of our economy. They must say why they have squandered the many opportunities to allow this economy to grow at 7-8 percent annually, which is what is required to grow our people out of poverty. As a result of the wanton squander-mania and mismanagement of the economy by the PPP, our people continue to suffer in increasing numbers in abject poverty. The latest estimated poverty rate is closer to 40 percent of the population with 70 percent of the Hinterland residents (mainly Amerindians) continuing to live in wretched conditions. The UN has also revealed that in 2011 some 46.1 percent of our youths are classified as unemployed; classic economic NINJAS (no income, no jobs, no assets). On the flip-side, almost 90 percent of the Guyanese with a University education are on a plane out of the country permanently. These are horrifying revelations that expose that the current Ramotar administration is failing to deliver on promises to turn the economy around. They have instead turned it upside down. The AFC stands ready to work with all patriotic Guyanese to transform our society and economy within the next generation. As we said in our Action Plan, we stand ready to pool ideas on re-vamping and re-energising our economy to create more jobs and to resuscitate hope that we could survive. But Guyana cannot turn around unless we have serious leaders in Government who are focused and driven with an ambition to do what it takes politically to forge national unity and make necessary compromises to put the entire Nation to work.The AFC has become, over a very short time, the conscience of our people, especially our young people, and we see urgent need for a national conversation on the way forward. We are not interested in Budget Talk on who to blame for the wretchedness in our society. We need a Budget Plan on how to take us out of the rot, and how to manage our limited financial resources so that everyone, especially our lowly-paid public servants, could get a small bite of the cherry. It is time this minority government follow the AFC road-map for recovery. In the AFC, we remain confident that we hold the key to unlock our gridlock, by using political consensus to open the door to better economic performance.
Sunday March 16, 2014
From page 27 the Bills as well as have the Minister of Local Government issue the commencement orders for those assented to, so that the process for the holding of elections can commence. THURSDAY EDITION BRASSINGTON DODGES QUESTIONS ON MARRIOTT HOTEL … DISPLAYS RUDE, VULGAR BEHAVIOUR Chairman of Atlantic Hotels Inc, (AHI) Winston Brassington, on Wednesday continued dodging from Kaieteur News on the Marriott Hotel issue. So rude was Brassington that when he answered his mobile phone, he drew (sucked) his teeth and hung up. Continuous calls were made after that to Brassington but he refused to answer. Attempts were also made to contact the Minister of Finance Ashni Singh. Those calls were all unanswered. Junior Finance Minister, Juan Edghill, who was the only person to answer his phone, when questioned about the private investors at the Marriott Hotel said that he was not in possession of the documents. It’s almost more than five months since a commitment by Brassington to disclose who the US$8 million equity private investor would be. Brassington had made several assurances that the public would know the face of the investor. However the identity remains a mystery. Further, when this newspaper visited the construction site Wednesday, work appeared to be at a “stand still.” No one present was willing to speak to this newspaper. One source explained that the “slow up” in construction was probably due to the fact that the project has not been able to secure financing from Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. That bank was approached to prepare an investor-friendly package to source US$27M for the project. The Guyana Government is to date the sole investor in the Georgetown Marriott Hotel, given that AHI is yet to have financial closure for US$39M of the US$58.5M required for its completion. NICIL has already injected its US$20M, which it had committed to the project, so it is unclear what the source of financing is for the works currently being executed. Prior to the NICIL money, Government had given a local company a US$1M contract for the rerouting of the sewerage system in the
Kaieteur News
Kingston locale. That contract was pulled after more than US$700,000 was paid over. It was then given to an overseas company this time for a further US$2M. AHI also leased the prime seven acres of shorefront property on which the Hotel rests for a measly US$120 (G$24,000) per month with the option to buy. The Food and Drug Department which had a building in the locale was removed and that property was dismantled. ST. LUCIA QUARANTINES CARGO SHIPAFTER GUYANESE CREW MEMBER DIES Several Guyanese crew members were ordered quarantined by St. Lucian health authorities after one of their own died on board a St. Vincent and the Grenadines registered cargo ship. According to the Maritime Administration Department (MARITIME), MV LADY ZAI departed Georgetown, Guyana, on March 6. On board were 10 Guyanese crew members and a consignment of cargo in bulk, with its destination being the island of St. Lucia. By the time the vessel arrived in that Caribbean island on Sunday, a crew member had already died with another ill. MARITIME said that prior to the ship’s arrival in St. Lucia, Port Health officials there were informed of the situation and the vessel was immediately quarantined. According to the Ministry of Health in St Lucia, the deceased was taken off the vessel and an emergency post mortem was done. The other crew member was simultaneously taken to hospital where he was treated, MARITIME said. The local authorities did not release any names of the crew members. FRIDAY EDITION PRIVATE SECTOR REJECTS POLITICALLY SELECTED FIU … POLICE CURRENTLY UNABLE TO ENFORCE THEANTI MONEY LAUNDERING LAW – AG The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has joined calls for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to be devoid of political influence, and as such, Guyana should adopt Barbados’ model for an Anti-Money Laundering Authority, but this has been stoutly rejected by none other than the Head of State, Donald Ramotar. The appeal came Thursday from PSC Chairman, Ronald Webster, at the International Conference Centre, which had a capacity audience, as President
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The view of the Marriot recently
Ramotar held a public consultation over the nonpassage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill. The attendance represented a broad crosssection of society, primary school-aged children in uniforms included, and scores had to be accommodated outside of the conference hall to watch the proceedings on large television screens. Ramotar in his presentation chronicled the history of the recommendations by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) which was submitted in 2011. He did concede that when the recommendations were received, Government did not immediately act on them because at the time they were preparing for elections. GECOM NOT CONSULTED ON HOLDING LOCAL GOVT. ELECTIONS THIS YEAR – CHAIRMAN …BUT READY TO MOVE INTO REQUIRED MODE The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says it has not been consulted by Government or any political parties on the holding of Local Government Elections this year, but stands fully prepared and ready to move into the required mode. GECOM’s Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, during a press conference Thursday at Cara Lodge to introduce Keith Lowenfield, who was appointed Chief Election Officer (CEO) and Commissioner of National Registration on Wednesday, also made it clear that the Commission has not yet received any signal from the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development on a possible date. Under the law, the Minister is the one who would “start the ball rolling” by indicating a date. The
Opposition has been tagging August 1 as the date to hold the long-overdue elections, following the passage of critical reforms for Local Government Elections a few weeks ago. After Local Government Elections in 1994, a halt on the agreement of Government and the Opposition was placed on the future polls until reforms were in place. The elections are critical for choosing new Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and City Councils. The absence of elections has been blamed for the breakdown of infrastructure in the 65 NDCs, as a result of death, migration, mismanagement and plain corruption by Councillors. SATURDAY EDITION TRAGEDYAT PORT KAITUMA…MOTHER, FOUR CHILDREN PERISH AFTER BERSERK FATHER TORCHES HOME A mother and four of her five children were burnt to death at around 20.45 hrs Friday, after a 50-year-old Port Kaituma businessman set his heavily-grilled two-storey home alight with his family trapped inside. Reports out of Port Kaituma stated that two of the man’s daughters and his two sons perished with their mother. Police listed the victims as Lurlene La Cruz, 39, Leah La Cruz 14, Labron La Cruz, 8, Lavette La Cruz, 3, and Levon La Cruz, 1 . The name of the lone survivor has been given as Lisa. Residents spoke of hearing the children screaming inside the inferno, but not being able to do anything to help them. They said that they feared the possible explosion from the gas cylinders and fuel stored nearby. They identified the businessman as Lenas La Cruz, who owned a variety store that was in the bottom-
flat of the property at Main Road. Sources said that La Cruz suffered burns to the head, back and limbs after fleeing from the burning building. He was subsequently detained at the Port Kaituma Hospital where he sought medical attention. Irate residents hurled threats at the suspect as he was being taken into custody. Kaieteur News was told that the suspect’s 12-year-old daughter managed to escape. She was reportedly taken to the Port Kaituma Hospital for observation. Kaieteur News was told that she was subsequently taken to a teacher’s home, where she remained. The entire building was destroyed, and residents lamented the absence of a fire station in the community and the shortage of water to fight the flames. Fortunately, despite heavy winds, the flames did not spread to Abdool’s Fuel Depot which also stores cooking gas. It is believed that the businessman may have waited until his family was asleep before torching his property. Residents said that they were alerted to the tragedy after seeing flames and hearing the screams of the children who were trapped in the heavily grilled building. A resident who was at the scene recalled seeing the lone survivor, who is in her teens, standing outside the burning building and screaming “My daddy kill my mommy and my brother and sisters.” ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING BILL… APNU ACCUSES AG OF HIJACKING AMENDMENTS A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has rejected the Attorney General’s revised version of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Cecil Dhurjon’s submission. Those submissions
incorporate the changes APNU made to the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill (AML/CFT) that is currently with the Parliamentary Select Committee. APNU’s Executive Member, Joseph Harmon, in a public missive, described as “obnoxious”, the position taken by the Attorney General Anil Nandlall to submit a revised version of APNU’s amendments that were completed by Dhurjon at the same time his (Dhurjon’s) amendments were submitted. Cecil Dhurjon, Harmon said, did a good job of implementing APNU’s amendments. He said that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) will find the amendments uncomfortable because they fit in so nicely with the law. “It’s basically going to be at variance with the public statements that have been made by the State, the President, the Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General, by the Ministers of Finance both junior and senior going around the country on these so-called consultations. We are satisfied with the recommendations which we made for strengthening the AML architecture.” It is against that backdrop that APNU rejected the revised version of Dhurjon’s work. According to Harmon, “Mr. Nandlall has already submitted the revised version of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s work even before it came to the Select Committee and I had cause to remind the A t t o r n e y General that he sits in the Committee as a member of the Committee not as the Attorney General. “Therefore he has no prior right to the work of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.” He said that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s office is located within the of f i c e o f t h e Attorney General and Dhurjon’s work comes under the purview of the Attorney General himself. Harmon contended, “Nandlall is to receive documents just as any member of the Committee and if he intends to make any recommendation it should be made then. The manner in which the government sought to submit to us, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s recommendations and revised version by the attorney General dated the same day we consider that to be obnoxious and out of hand in fact we haven’t considered his amendments.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday March 16, 2014
Local democracy and local development The People’s Progressive Party Civic administration has undermined local democracy for the past 20 years. This has led to the administrative paralysis of the entire local government system and the economic underdevelopment of many municipalities and neighbourhood communities. The deterioration of physical infrastructure in many communities has been a visible indication of urban and rural economic stagnation. Progress has been impeded by the central government’s authoritarian attitude. It has been impeded by its inattentiveness to public needs and lack of major investment in physical infrastructure. It has been impeded most of all by the PPPC’s failure to conduct local government elections under reformed legislation. The PPPC’s Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development – MLGRD – became infatuated with the old legislation. It seems, on the one hand, to be obsessed with the day-today, micro-management of
local organs. It pays a lot of attention to picayune issues such as the selection, promotion and removal of personnel. The Ministry, on the other hand, seems not to be able to see the bigger picture. It cannot comprehend the complexity of, or to discharge its long-term countrywide responsibility for, encouraging economic enterprise and development. The MLGRD deliberately destroyed most neighbourhood democratic councils. It can now, like a sort of colonial regional overlord, exercise suzerainty over the entire administrative apparatus. Wielding absolute power seems easy enough. Developing human communities and encouraging economic enterprise are much more difficult and require different skills. The MLGRD’s major failure has been its inability to visualise a realistic transportation strategy. Guyana, after all, is bigger than England. Its population, apart from that of the coastland, is thinly
distributed and its density is among the lowest in the hemisphere. Public administration cannot succeed without public transportation. Central government’s responsibility for transportation has been evident for over a century and a network of state-sponsored road, rail and river transport started to transform rural and hinterland life. The PPPC administration has not learnt the historic lesson of the importance of transportation and proceeds without a plan. The PPPC seems to regard good roads as special favours granted to selected communities and withheld from others. Traversing some roads in out-of-favour regions, therefore, has become an agonising and costly experience. Residents of Bartica, Sophia, Ituni and East Bank Berbice have frequently had to publicly protest the poor condition of roads which have remained in a deplorable state for over a decade. Poor roads prevent ambulances and buses from accessing certain areas; they
delay workers and schoolchildren on their everyday commuting; they starve businesses of customers and prevent farmers from taking their produce to markets. They suck the oxygen out of communities. Many wooden bridges, which connect roadways, are unsafe. The collapse of the Moco-Moco Bridge temporarily stopped travel in the Rupununi. The Kumaka-San Jose Bridge became an expensive nightmare for Moruca residents. Safe, sturdy structures are necessary for present-day, heavy-duty, vehicular traffic. Stellings are essential to the economies or riverain communities. Many of them, built of wood decades ago, have been damaged or are in a state of disrepair. The stellings at Bartica, New Amsterdam, Parika, Rosignol, Stabroek, Vreed-en-hoop and Wakenaam all need major rehabilitation. The Parika stelling, for example, has become one of the busiest and most important commercial hubs in the country but its infrastructure is inadequate for the increasing volume of daily traffic. Isolated, but potentially productive, communities are heavily dependent on
airstrips for services, supplies and the evacuation of medical cases. Several dozen frequently used airstrips in the hinterland receive only marginal maintenance and this has been a contributory factor to aviation accidents. The PPPC, despite all this, constructed an unwanted and still unused airstrip on Wakenaam Island. The PPPC damaged local democratic organs over the past two decades and also damaged the prospects for economic development of urban and rural communities. It implanted an autocratic, bureaucratic, centralised, despotic, meddlesome Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development in place of vibrant, decentralized, democratic organs. The MLGRD, despite its airs, is incapable of promoting the economic development of municipalities and neighbourhoods. It is clear that the holding of local government elections is essential to the restoration of local democracy and, consequently, to the reenergising of local economies. The PPPC needs to create an economic environment that is inviting to investors and that encourages
residents to remain in their communities and establish economic enterprises. The PPPC needs to radically change its approach to local government and regional development. It needs to introduce a new policy for the rehabilitation and construction of safe airstrips, bridges, canals, roads, stellings and other physical infrastructure. The absence of a coherent infrastructure policy, the lack of a comprehensive plan and the failure to coordinate construction works have impaired economic development in local government areas where the majority of people live. Guyana’s abundant resources will remain underdeveloped and its transportation assets will continue to deteriorate without a public infrastructure plan. Local government elections are essential to the re-emergence of real local democracy. Local democratic organs are best placed to restart the reconstruction of local physical infrastructure. This, in turn, can make municipalities and neighbourhoods economically competitive and provide residents with the good life to which they are entitled.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Sunday March 16, 2014
Book review… Vintage Capildeo delivers Book: Utter by Vahni Capildeo Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby Vahni Capildeo’s “Utter,” reaches into the belly of the subconscious. It’s intuitive poetry that bellows with unbridled angst. Hardly is Capildeo an activist in the likes of Velma Pollard, her contemporary. She cries out, but her words seem smothered. It signifies an inability to express weighty emotions openly. There are feelings metaphorically wrapped, refusing to budge, remaining in the loins of a masterful poet. An irony of ironies, no doubt. “Utter” is Jungian in scope, a poetic version of Stanislav Grof ’s psychological work, bleeding a ribald consciousness that struggles to break free and creating more internal havoc for its creator in the process. At times symbolic, the reader is challenged to interpret. Not an easy undertaking by any means. But think and you will decode Utter’s paradoxes and enigmas. It will take time, but it’s an endeavour well worth the effort. “Utter” harps back to the days when poetry provoked
the readers’ intellect, oftentimes leaving them unhinged as they unravelled a searing literary labyrinth of diverse meanings. Call this classical poetry, if you will. In “Utter,” hope struggles to peer through Capildeo’s mental imbroglio and any semblance of freespiritedness is blanketed. Caplideo is almost tortured by her surroundings, her life, her loves, her culture. She zeros in on maritime life. There is symbology in the water and on a more pedestrian level it is emblematic of working class struggles - the pain, the resignation and the selfinduced panacea. Tusk is one of her most haunting pieces; it is deftly written with an evenness of tone and colour. A quietly delivered, almost philosophical message, that bores the heart of the most incorrigible culprit. “I have achieved such a polish presentation oh as never before, you who are not my love, purely in curved transmitter glow; you have a terrible memory; you who are not my love. I am feeling to bowl along and bite you on the leg.” Interestingly, “In a
Dream” borders on fatalism, even thanatology. The quintessential poet, Capildeo views life, history and culture, through a skewed prism. She refuses to dismiss cultural superstitions and fables as illusory. In “Into Darkness/Plus Que Noir”, she welcomes and integrates the most notorious figments of the imagination. But are they really? No, suggests Capildeo. They are authentic, meaningful and a shot in the arm for those who care to discern. They tell us more about ourselves than even the most a c c o m p l i s h e d psychoanalyst. Of the Trinidad mythical “loupgarou,” she writes: “Speak to me though I cannot answer. These days I cannot think and speak when you are near. ..The “louparou” is a lover, Perennial and never let in.” And of the “douen” she views as dwelling “on the past, Allured by the facelessness we follow.” If only we knew. Capildeo explores a life bereft of love in “In a Dream,” a subtly poignant and emotive piece. In “Gift of a Staircase,” there is yearning for requited love, so
passionate that it is washed with a biblical undercurrent: “I desire you attentive to the unpicking of your own ribcage. I desire you vertiginous if you rise, if you walk if you remain. I desire you with ascent.” Here, she truly utters, soaring emotionally, with desires expectant. Some of Capildeo’s works are ambivalent, indecisive, as she offers up her personal side, her ambitions. There are dashes of mundane introspection: “I was happy; now I am one of those: I am unhappy…I am thinking of leaving. But where should I go? It’s strange that you should say that. I almost went there years ago,” she muses in “For Z.”, But she is far more at ease in her poetic cocoon. Surely, Capildeo is abstruse, adept, tailoring and weaving her art with varying linguistic expressions. To aficionados of this literary genre, to the existentialist moved by spirit and intuition, Capildeo is a precious gem; to all others, brace for a work of magnetic befuddlement. Capildeo is that good. That complex. Utter by Vahni Capldeo, 2013
Publisher: Peepal Tree Press, UK Available: amazon.com Rating: Interesting read
Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Combating kidney failure with awareness By Sharmain Grainger Guyana is currently saddled with an estimated 7,000 people suffering from kidney disease, among whom are some in the early as well as advanced stages. This disclosure was yesterday made by Dr Claudette Harry who holds the position of Secretary/ Treasurer at the Kidney Foundation of Guyana. “We know how bad the situation is at present,” said Dr Harry, as she considered the number of dialysis centres that have been established to help treat those ailing because of kidney failure. The Five G Dialysis Centre was arguably the first facility to offer dialysis service, but has since been accompanied by others at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, the Balwant Singh and Woodlands hospitals, along with the Doobay Renal Centre; and reports are that the St Joseph Mercy Hospital is making moves to incorporate this service as well. “The need is great, but we don’t want to perpetuate that,” insisted Dr Harry, as she underscored that “the whole idea is that we have got to stop this.” Dr Harry’s conviction is in fact based on the fact that treating the disease is a rather expense undertaking, not only to patients, but to the country as a whole.
- The Kidney Foundation of Guyana remains focused three years later As such, she noted that prevention is definitely the direction that the Kidney Foundation is advocating for. Moreover, she noted that immense focus is being directed to the prevention of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes. And certainly there is need to address obesity, which could be an off-shoot of sedentary lifestyles and improper diets, and of course smoking. All of these, Dr Harry noted, can be contributory factors to chronic NCDs, among which renal failure is listed. In addition, the most atrisk persons can include persons with high blood pressure and diabetes and people who have a history of kidney disease in their families. Once people develop the disease their kidneys can stop working, thereby causing them to require dialysis or even a transplant. Further still, such persons could be subjected to an early demise due to heart disease and blocked arteries. Moreover, the Secretary/ Treasurer disclosed that the Foundation has been helping to address the existing challenge through sensitisation. The appeal being voiced by the Foundation is to “stop
smoking, lower your blood pressure, reduce the amount of salt you eat, eat less sugar and more vegetables, increase your physical activity, and make sure you weigh what you should.” The work of the Foundation was especially amplified during the past week when World Kidney Day was observed. But according to Dr Harry, “we need more exposure...we need the help of the media with this because we really need to put a stop to this (kidney failure) situation.” Additionally, she spoke of the need for more doctors to help address the escalation of renal failure simply by detecting from an early stage the signs and symptoms that patients may have. INITIALISINGAN AWARENESS MOVEMENT Although the concept of the foundation was crystallised several years before, it was only on the observance of World Kidney Day in March 2011 that it really became a reality, fully endorsed by the Ministry of Health. The movement was in fact the brainchild of Professor George Nicholson, a Guyanese Nephrologist who has been attached to the University of the West Indies for a few decades. The need for the
Dr Claudette Harry and Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh Foundation was nestled in the concern aroused within Professor Nicholson, who has had a consultancy relationship with the Five G Dialysis Centre located in South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. Moreover, he sought to approach a number of influential personalities including the likes of Hugh Cholmondeley (now deceased), Major General Joseph Singh, Dr Claudette Harry and Vic Insanally, among other well-known
personalities. And according to Singh, who currently functions as Chairman to the Foundation, “he (Professor Nicholson) motivated us to see the merits of volunteering our services through an organisation like the Guyana Kidney Foundation in order to support the Ministry of Health and agencies involved in the health of citizens”. Understandably, the intended focus was on the prevention of chronic kidney disease, thereby ensuring that persons at risk of developing
chronic kidney disease are assisted in terms of information flow on how they could better manage their conditions. But perhaps more importantly, the Foundation was established to enlighten persons on how to avoid reaching to that stage altogether. This was especially crucial since, according to Singh, the Foundation was privy to the fact that for many people dialysis which was long being offered was not affordable to (Continued on page 41)
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Sunday March 16, 2014
Nominal increase in biofuels could push water demand for agriculture by 20% The increasing momentum in the production of biofuels has created a growing demand on water resources, according to the United Nations (UN). The United Nations will be observing World Water Day (WWD) 2014 on March 22. According to the UN, water and energy are closely interlinked and interdependent. These interdependencies lie at the heart of what is known as the “water-energy nexus�. Energy has different forms, and water is crucial to produce, transport, and use all forms of energy to some degree, and these activities have different impacts on water resources. It was underscored that water is used in the extractive industries to produce fuels such as coal, oil, gas and uranium, and as such, the UN noted that the increasing momentum in the production of biofuels has created a growing demand on water
- UN resources. WWD 2012 predicts that even a nominal increase in biofuel demand (say 5% of road transport by 2030, as predicted by the International Energy Agency) could push up the water demand by as much as 20% of the water used for agriculture worldwide. The UN disclosed that the conventional energy generation requires the mobilization and utilization of considerable water resources, particularly for cooling, for nuclear and thermal energy, and reservoir storage and driving turbines for hydroelectricity. Power generation is particularly sensitive to water availability and several power plants have been forced to shut down due to lack of cooling water or high water temperatures.
In terms of renewable energy, solar power, depending on its type, can use little water (solar photovoltaic) or five times more water per unit energy
(concentrated solar power) than a gas-fired thermal power plant or two times more than a coal-fired plant. Wind power uses a negligible amount of water but has other limitations. Geothermal energy has been reported to use and consume less water than other electricity generating technologies, though actual water requirements are
variable and dependent on site conditions, while the water is generally re-injected to the reservoir, co-production of water and energy offers interesting opportunities to energy and water-scarce countries. On the other side of the nexus, about 8% of the global energy generation is used for pumping, treating, and transporting and water to
various consumers. Water, being dense, requires much energy to move it. According to a 2014 UN report, globally, the amount of energy used for irrigation is directly related to the huge amounts of water pumped. In addition, water and water treatment processes can require a lot of energy, though this is dependent on the contamination and treatment technology. Moreover, different levels of treatment are required depending on the use. For example, drinking water for municipal systems typically requires extensive treatment, and once it becomes wastewater, it requires treating again before it can be discharged to the environment. Growing demand for limited water supplies puts increasing pressure on waterintensive energy producers to seek alternative approaches, especially in areas where energy is competing with other major water users (agriculture, manufacturing, drinking water and sanitation services for cities) and where water uses (Continued on page 42)
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Combating kidney failure with awareness From page 31 many. In fact, statistical information even then had indicated that there was a serious problem in Guyana, as there were many people who didn’t even know that they had kidney disease. The need to collaborate was therefore needed with partner organisations like the Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organisation and other agencies, in order for those at the helm of the Foundation to gain an understanding of how many people were in need of dialysis and how this could be facilitated. Collaboration was also important to ascertain the extent of the threat of chronic kidney diseases and end stage renal failure to the Guyanese public. And so a decision was soon made, Singh said, for the Foundation to focus on public awareness and education, with the internet being the primary means of dissemination. The Foundation currently channels crucial
information via its website: www.kfg.org.gy. With partner support, the Foundation has been engineering the distribution of posters, brochures and even the facilitating of talks to ensure that the wider population is able to get its message about the threat of kidney disease. STRATEGIC COLLABORATION In addition to the linkage to the Five G Dialysis Centre, the Foundation went the extra mile to forge relationships with other such facilities around the country and also overseas, a process that has been ongoing since the Foundation first launched its operational presence three years ago. “What we have done is further that public awareness and education process,” said Singh, who together Dr Harry spoke of the evolution of the Foundation yesterday. Public awareness has also been channelled through the Medical Council’s Continuous Medical Education (CME), so
as to ensure that the medical fraternity would be exposed to kidney disease, in terms of the importance of dealing with it and having a standard approach. Moreover, the last CME in September included presentations from Professor Nicholson. In addition to its education drive, the Foundation has also been strategically meeting with a Canada-based company which has been working to help standardise local laboratory testing facilities. According to Singh, this is imperative, since those persons at risk for kidney
disease require the services of these facilities, and it is expected that there would be an internationally-accepted testing standard, and not one that differs from facility to facility. “The danger is you can go to one lab and the readings are very different, I think the range is between 0.1 and 1.2, and there is not much tolerance... and that would determine the treatment,” Singh explained. He pointed out too that the Foundation has seen as important the crafting of a register for persons who are at risk, an undertaking he
believes is being adequately done by the Health Ministry. “All the community health workers from throughout the country should be able to provide information on patients, for example those who are diabetic or who suffer from hypertension which are two of the primary reasons why you end up with kidney failure,” Singh said. He is adamant that once
persons are screened and tested then the counselling and guidance on how they can manage their health to avoid getting chronic kidney disease will be more efficient. Singh is also confident that even if persons are categorised in the chronic kidney disease stage, awareness could help people avert the end-stage failure course.
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Sunday March 16, 2014
Nominal increase in biofuels... From page 32 may be restricted to maintain healthy ecosystems. Uncertainties related to the growth and evolution of global energy production (e.g., via growth in unconventional sources of gas and oil, or biofuels) can create significant risks to water resources and other users. Securing water and energy must be central to the new and emerging agenda around the Sustainable Development Goals and the post-2015 development dialogue. This must also be linked to the design of a resilient climate and robust green
economy, as noted in the Section III of the Rio+20 document “The Future We Want.” With industries being major water and energy consumers, a green economy will be contingent to the greening of the industrial sector and that is more resource efficient, and has cleaner production. A particular emphasis has to be placed on increasing the water use efficiency in energy production – essentially producing more kWh per drop of water. This would require a policy environment in which economic and social incentives are offered to promote water use efficiency and protect freshwater ecosystems. The UN system – working closely with its international partners and donors – is collectively bringing its attention to the water-energy nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for the ‘bottom billion’ who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and survive without access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, sufficient
food, and energy services. It also aims to facilitate the development of policies and crosscutting frameworks that bridge ministries and sectors, leading the way to interlinked energy security and sustainable water use in a green economy. Particular attention is being paid to identifying best practices that can make a water- and energy-efficient ‘Green Industry’ a reality: several methodologies are at play in which industrial productivity can be increased while reducing the water and energy footprints. The world cannot continue to ignore or escape the strong link between water and energy. They are not independent variables in the world’s economic-ecosystem equation. The goal of WWD is to show the positive aspects of that connection and how it may be put to better and more efficient use by the cooperation of all interested and affected parties; that is essentially everyone, as we all need water and energy.
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Sunday March 16, 2014
Calgary University cardiology team arrives today Immigration INFO: - to assist in setting up children’s clinic As the Ministry of Health continues its strategic partnerships with international health institutions, a team of cardiologists, headed by Professor Debra Isaacs, Director of Cardiac transplant of the Calgary University, is scheduled to arrive in Guyana today, according to Minster of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran. The Government Information Agency (GINA) reports that the five-member team’s focus will be on paediatric cardiac surgeries, and will be offering the capacity needed to
conduct these surgeries locally. They will be looking at means of upgrading cardiac interventions, primarily in babies. This group, according to GINA, has over the past two years worked with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) to establish the Guyana Paediatric Cardiology Steering Committee (GPCSC) which is solely responsible for the vetting of cardiac patients for further intervention. Key members from the committee such as Dr. Frank Dicke, Paediatric Cardiologist,
Alberta Children’s hospital and D r. I s a a c s , w i l l b e working to establish a Cardiac Programme in Guyana that will allow these surgeries to be conducted locally. The committee has been formed to oversee the development and ongoing management of accessible and modern paediatric cardiology at the GPHC, for the benefit of Guyanese children. The clinic will include focus on education of paediatricians and nurses, provision of a database/ electronic medical records and evidence based plans for monitoring and follow-
up for paediatric patients with heart diseases. Minister Ramsaran noted that this clinic should be up and running later in the year. Earlier in the year another team fro m t h e s a i d University was in Guyana, and conducted a series of CMEs on Chronic Kidney Disease/Transplant Services in Guyana. They also met with government officials on that aspect of medical health. Guyana has thus far benefited tremendously from strategic partnerships, not only from the Calgary University, but several such universities and organisations.
Immigration News For Our Community
Why is DNA testing required? By Attorney Gail Seeram, Gail@GailLaw.com In many cases, the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may ask a petitioner to submit a DNA test proving the parental or brother/sister relationship with the beneficiary. Some people are taken aback by this request since they feel that the birth certificate is sufficient in proving the relationship. The first reason why a DNA test may be requested is because the U.S. Department of State at one time had a fraud warning posted on Guyana birth certificates. The reason for the fraud warning was because it was believed that people could obtain a fraudulent birth certificate from the black market in Guyana. Thereby, if the birth certificate presented displays any characteristics of fraud, then a DNA test will be required between the petitioner and beneficiary. Next, a DNA test may be required when a parent is filing for a child and that child was born out-of-wedlock, meaning the parents were not married. In particular, when a father is filing for a child and the father never married the child’s mother, then a DNA test may be required. In these situations, the U.S. Immigration may request a DNA test to confirm this is the biological father filing the petition and not someone who claims to be the father. In addition, evidence to prove that the father legitimized the child would also be required to prove the parent-child relationship (such as proof of financial support and proof father held child out to be his). Lastly, a DNA test may be required in sibling relationships where brothers or sisters have only one similar parent (in other words, step-brother/step-sister relationships). In these cases, a DNA test is requested and
Gail S.Seeram the percentage of likelihood is examined in order to prove the relationship. WHAT IS DNA? DNA is the carrier of the genetic material that determines who you are (genetically). Your genetic makeup (determining things like eye colour, hair colour, bone structure, organ size, etc.) is controlled by the paring of the chromosomes contained from the female’s egg (23 chromosomes from her) and the chromosomes from the male’s sperm (23 from him). Each of the 46 total chromosomes is made up of long threads of a very specific type of molecule called DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. Each molecule of DNA is made up of thousands of genes, which determine your “genetic makeup”. The DNA test is not intrusive, as the lab simply takes a quick swipe or sample of the saliva in your mouth (there are no needles or blood involved). There are many labs that work internationally and coordinate DNA testing between petitioners in the U.S. and beneficiaries living abroad. U.S. Immigration accepts DNA testing from labs accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks. A list of accredited labs can be obtained from the following website: http://www.aabb.org/SA/ FACILITIES/Pages/ RTestAccrFac.aspx
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’12 Years a Slave’ Oscar winner spotlights rock legend Jimi Hendrix Writer John Ridley holds up his award for best adapted screenplay for ‘’12 Years a Slave’’ as he arrives with his wife Gayle
At nearly the same time filming of “12 Years a Slave” began in Louisiana, the man who would win an Academy Award for writing its screenplay was in Dublin to start shooting his movie about the year that changed the life of rock guitar icon Jimi Hendrix. “Jimi: All Is by My Side” from writer and director John Ridley was shown this week at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. The small film drew much greater attention thanks to Ridley’s Academy Award. “There is this added thing now, and people will see it through that prism of the Oscar,” Ridley, who won the award for best adapted screenplay for “12 Years a Slave,” said in an interview this week. The movie, starring the hip hop duo Outkast’s André Benjamin as Hendrix, looks at a year in the life of the rock legend when he was an unknown backup guitarist living in New York who moved to London and became a budding star. The film opens in the United States in June. Ridley, who wrote and directed the Hendrix film, said there were parallels between Hendrix and Solomon Northup, the man whose narrative was the basis for “12 Years a Slave”: Both men were struggling with ways to express themselves. Northup’s struggle was keeping his soul alive while trapped as a slave. Hendrix had to meld rock, blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues into a musical style to call his own. “What must people don’t realize is that when Hendrix was 24 years old, he was pretty much washed up,” Ridley said. The movie shows Hendrix being
discovered in New York by Linda Keith, played by Imogen Poots in the movie. Keith, then the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, found Hendrix a guitar because he could not afford one, and a manager who took him to London. In England, Hendrix found his voice, his style, and with his spellbinding performances drew the attention of rock luminaries, including Eric Clapton and the Beatles during his year there spanning 1966 and 1967. The oddest part of the Hendrix film: There are no Hendrix tunes in it, mostly because his estate would not grant rights to them for the movie. Critics said that without essential Hendrix songs such as “Purple Haze,” “Foxy Lady” or “Little Wing,” viewers got an incomplete picture of the man who lit the rock world - and occasionally his guitar - on fire in the late 1960s. Ridley said that without the Hendrix song catalog at his disposal, he could focus more on what shaped the artist. In the movie, Hendrix is seen jamming with artists from the era, playing guitar riffs and covers, including a rendition of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” In 1970, fans were stunned by Hendrix’s drug-related death at age 27. “When people think of Jimi they think of it as a tragic, tragic story. But in reality, in his life there was a lot of beauty and a lot of connectivity and love,” Ridley said. “I wanted to write a story that ended on an upbeat and hopeful note. This will help people revisit songs that they thought they knew.” (Reuters)
Sunday March 16, 2014
Jennifer Lopezbacked channel offers to buy Fuse TV: Bloomberg Latino-focused cable network NuvoTV has made an offer to buy Madison Square Garden Co’s Fuse TV for more than $200 million in cash and stock, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The offer from NuvoTV, in which pop singer Jennifer Lopez owns a minority stake, pits her against former boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs, who made a bid of about $200 million for Fuse TV, a music TV network, earlier this week, Bloomberg reported. (r.reuters.com/xuf67v) The Dolan family, which spun off Madison Square Garden from Cablevision Systems Corp four years ago, has been asking for about $400 million for Fuse, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. A spokeswoman for Madison Square Garden, Kimberly Kerns, said, “As we have stated, we are exploring strategic alternatives for Fuse, and will have no further comment during what is still an ongoing process.” NuvoTV was not immediately available for comment. Lopez is the chief creative officer of NuvoTV, an English-language network for
Latinos that reaches more than 32 million households. Fuse reaches about 74 million homes through pay-TV systems including DirecTV and Dish Network Corp. Combs, the celebrity rapper-turnedbusiness mogul, planned to merge Fuse with his music cable network Revolt TV, which is backed by Comcast Corp, in an attempt to gain wider distribution and higher subscriber fees, Bloomberg said. (Reuters)
New York Asian art auctions bring buyers from around the world Ancient ritual wine vessels, modern contemporary paintings and masterpieces representing Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism and Shintoism are among the highlights of Asian art sales in New York next week. The Asia Week auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s will feature thousands of items in a series of sales that could top $100 million. Last spring’s auctions totaled more than $130 million in sales. “We’ve got collectors coming from China, Hong Kong and India and Europe, of course,” said Hugo Weihe, Christie’s International director for Asian art. Asia has become a dominant player in the global art market, particularly in post-war and contemporary art sales. “I think one of the most wonderful and fascinating things about Asia Week is that it covers literally the whole of Asia,” said Henry Howard-Sneyd, vice chairman of Asian art at Sotheby’s. “We offer art from predominantly
China and from India, but of course we also have material from other parts of Asia as well,” Howard-Sneyd said. Weihe said in addition to the aesthetic appeal of the works, collectors view art as an alternative asset class. “People see it as something beautiful you can live with, but it is also going to hold its value over time. And if you look historically the way prices have risen, it is a very good proposition,” he explained. CHINA SECOND LARGEST ART MARKET The global art market totaled $65.9 billion last year, an increase of 8 percent and the highest level since 2007, according to a report by the European Fine Art Foundation. Although the United States is the biggest art market with an estimated $25 billion, sales in China were nearly $16 billion, a rise of 2 percent from the previous year. It accounts for about 24 percent of global art sales, the figures showed. (Reuters)
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Diabetes meal plans and a healthy diet By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj, BSC, MBBS To keep your blood sugar levels in check, you need to make healthy food choices, exercise regularly, and take the medicines your health care provider prescribes.There are many Diabetics who constantly ask themselves and their medical doctor, “What can I eat?” I encourage all diabetics to stop worrying because the good news is that living with diabetes does not mean feeling deprived. People with diabetes can eat the same foods the family enjoys. Everyone benefits from healthy eating, so the whole family can take part in healthy eating. It takes some planning, but you can fit your favourite foods into your meal plan and still manage your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. For people with diabetes, the total amounts of carbohydrates consumed each day must be monitored carefully. Of the different components of nutrition carbohydrates, fats, and proteins - carbohydrates have the greatest influence on blood sugar levels. Most people with diabetes also have to monitor total fat consumption and protein intake, too. From my clinical experience with diabetics, there are many patients who approach dieting in different ways: · Some may take diet extra seriously and deprive themselves of many healthy food groups because of lack of knowledge. · Some will be very carefree and do not put any emphasis on diet. They continue to eat anything that is called food. · Some depends on others to provide food for them and may desire to eat healthy, but will have to eat what is made available to them. · Those who adhere to their health care provider’s advice and make the right diet choice, and are on their way to have excellent blood sugar control. · Those who cannot afford to buy the different food types and limit their diet on what they can afford. Diabetic patients need to adopt a way of eating that reduces risk for complications such as heart disease and stroke. Healthy eating includes eating a wide variety of foods including: vegetables, whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products, beans, lean meats, poultry, fish etc. However, how much of these you eat is of great
Dr. Kumar Sukhraj, BSC, MBBS concern.People with diabetes have to take extra care to make sure that their food is balanced with insulin and oral medications (if they take them), and exercise to help manage their blood glucose levels. This might sound like a lot of work, but your doctor and/or dietician can help you create a meal plan that is best for you. When you make healthy food choices, you will improve your overall health and you can even prevent complications of diabetes. A diabetic meal plan is a guide to help diabetics to choose the right type of food to eat at meals or snack times. A good meal plan should be applicable to your schedule and eating habits. Some mealplanning tools include the plate method, carb counting, and glycemic index. For patients who follow the right meal plan, it will help you improve your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol numbers and also help keep your weight on track. Whether you need to lose weight or stay where you are, your meal plan can help. The Plate Method is a simple way of choosing good portions of available foods at lunch and dinner. You do not have to do any sophisticated counting. Make sure that you have a 9-inch plate and fill half of it with non-starchy vegetables (calalu, bora, lettuce, ochro etc.), quarter with starchy food (e.g. Rice, roti etc) and the remaining quarter with meat/protein (chicken, chunks, beans etc. CARBS COUNTING Carbohydrate counting is a meal-planning technique for managing your blood sugar levels. It will help a diabetic to keep track of how much carbohydrates he or she is eating. However this must be balanced with your physical activity and medications. The first step in carb counting is to have a meal plan. If you don’t have a meal plan, meet with your doctor or dietician. Diabetics need to
learn which foods contain carbohydrates. Most people know that starchy foods, such as bread, pasta and cereal contain carbs. But other food groups, such as fruit, milk and desserts and sweets, have carbs, too. THERE ARE THREE MAIN WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT CARBS IN FOODS: 1. Ask for a food choice list from your doctor or dietician. 2. Learn how to read the Nutrition Facts on labels. 3. Purchase a food count book that provides the number of grams of carb in various foods. In order to accurately count carbs, you’ll need to be accurate with the portion sizes of foods that you eat. Invest in a food scale to weigh foods such as fruit and bread. Use measuring cups to measure cereal, pasta and rice, and use liquid measuring cups for carb-containing beverages such as milk, juice and energy drinks. A place to start is at about 45-60 grams of carbohydrate at a meal. You may need more or less carbohydrate at meals depending on how you manage your diabetes. GLYCEMIC INDEX Many people are still wondering what causes blood sugars to reach very high levels after meals in those living with diabetes. Potential culprits have included sugar, carbohydrates, and starches, among other foods. The glycemic index is a ranking that attempts to measure the influence that each particular food has on blood sugar levels. It takes into account the type of carbohydrates in a meal and its effect on blood sugar. Foods that are low on the glycemic index appear to have less of an impact on blood sugar levels after meals. People who eat a lot of low glycemic index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels. High glycemic index foods generally make blood sugar levels higher. People who eat a lot of high glycemic index foods often have higher levels of body fat, as measured by the body mass index. Talk to your
doctor, a dietician, or a diabetes educator and ask if the glycemic index might work to help gain better control of your blood sugar levels. ALCOHOLAND DIABETES If you are a diabetic please use your discretion when drinking alcohol. Alcohol is processed in the body very similarly to the way fat is processed, and alcohol provides almost as many calories as fat. If you choose to drink alcohol, only drink it occasionally and when your blood sugar level is wellcontrolled. Remember, most wine and mixed drinks contain sugar. It’s a good idea to check with your doctor to ask if drinking alcohol is acceptable SOME GENERAL TIPS ON EATING RIGHT WITH DIABETES · Be sure to eat a wide variety of foods. · Use small portions at meals and snacks · Have frequent meals (do not pass 4 to 5 hours without having something to eat) · Spread Carbohydrates throughout the day · Use methods of cooking low in fat and salt · Having a colourful plate is the best way to ensure that you are eating an adequate amount of fruits, vegetables, meats, and other forms of protein such as nuts, dairy products, and grains/cereals. · Eat the right amount of
calories to maintain a healthy weight. · Choose foods high in fibre such as whole grain breads, fruit, and cereal. They contain important vitamins and minerals. · You need 25 to 35 grams of fibre per day. · Drink water to quench thirst instead of juices and drinks · Using non-caloric artificial sweeteners instead of sugar also greatly reduces calories in your favourite foods. I will like to encourage all diabetics to plan their diet in accordance so that they can have better control over their
diabetes. Please remember that diet alone cannot help you with your diabetes, but it must go hand in hand with exercise and medications. Please feel free to send an email to kumarsukhraj @yahoo.com or call 6228032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important in the diagnosis and management of diabetes and any other illness. Please look forward for a continuation of the discussion on diabetes in the next publication.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Once upon a time in New Amsterdam By Ralph Seeram One of the highlights of visiting the Botanical Gardens was to see the manatees; there were two living among the “water lilies”. Parents out for an evening stroll brought their children for a glimpse. These manatees did surface frequently, and some visitors to the New Amsterdam Botanical Gardens sometimes tried to feed them. Yes New Amsterdam had its Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful garden, well laid out with palm trees, a variety
of flowers, ferns as well as benches to relax. It also housed a gazebo, and a lovers’ den at night, where many New Amsterdamers were conceived. It was a place where families went to relax surrounded by, where children could run around and play, and where one could always find a peaceful corner to meditate. There is no sign of the Botanical Gardens ever being in New Amsterdam. Well it was where the High Court is now located at the junction of Princess Elizabeth Road, Vryheid Street and Esplanade
Road. There is a lot of history in those gardens, because the same compound once housed the seat of government of the then country of Berbice. Berbice was a separate country with New Amsterdam as its capital until the three counties merged to become British Guyana in the 1830s. It was a beautiful time to live and grow up in New Amsterdam which was a very clean and peaceful town, a friendly town where almost everyone probably knew each other resident, where you were always greeted with a friendly “good morning” or “good afternoon”. I thought it ironic when I read reports on the opening ceremony for the celebration of the 122nd anniversary as a
Berbice High School student triumphs at Impromptu Speech Competition
From left , third place Aliya Cameron, second place Makhailia Patterson and winner Chante Leacock A number of topical issues were craftily ventilated by students at the finals of the keenly contested Regional Impromptu Speech Competition for secondary schools in Berbice. The event was held on Thursday at the St. Francis Community Developers Multipurpose Conference Hall in Port Mourant. The activity was organised by the Region Six Department of Education in collaboration with St. Francis Community Developers (SFCD) and Metro as the main sponsors. It was coordinated by Simone Dainty, Literacy Advisor attached to the Department of Education. In the end it was Chante Leacock of Berbice High School speaking on the topic the “Social Media” that took top honours ahead of six other contestants. The competition which began a few weeks ago saw participation from a number of the schools in the region. There were the eliminations
in the earlier rounds. The final was slated to be contested by nine contestants, however only seven participated. Before the competition
began the participants including a large turnout of students from neighbouring schools, were addressed by (Continued on page 64)
Municipality. The ceremony which was held at the “Government House” is just across from where the Botanical Gardens and the very historic Court of Policy building were. The history of the town goes back a 100 years beyond 1891 when the municipality was established. New Amsterdam, Guyana’s oldest Municipality is more than two hundred years old, so the natural question one would ask is what progress has the town made in its 200 years of existence. I visit my hometown and I am ashamed to see the filthy condition the town is in. There was a time the town was very clean. The Town Council had a team of people just to keep the drains clean and cut all overgrowth and bushes. There was never an issue of flooding in the town unlike today when “if rain set up the town flood”. I go to Vryman’s Erven, a once neat and clean laid out housing scheme and I am appalled at the condition of the place. It is laced with potholes, overgrown bushes and garbage among some beautiful houses. This was a town that was very independent; it provided its own electricity and water. Blackout was not as frequent as it is now because the Municipality once owned the electric and water supply plants. Do you know Republic Road used to be the place to have an evening stroll? The parapets were clean, those large trees that lined the road had their trunks painted with “white wash” which made the place even more attractive. As it got darker a few lovers could be spotted behind the huge trunks of the trees. Besides the Gardens parents often used to take their kids for a stroll to the Esplanade, sometimes for a
band concert conducted by Mr. Randolph Bennett. One could also take an evening walk to the New Amsterdam stelling to enjoy some fresh sea breeze (at least when mosquito and sand fly not in season). I go to New Amsterdam and my friends take me outside New Amsterdam for entertainment. People used to come to the town for entertainment. Penguin Hotel used to be the place to stay or for entertainment. I recall my brother holding his wedding reception there. Recently Penguin Hotel has made moves to recapture its glorious past as a centre for entertainment and culture promoting poetry night and other cultural activities. Wedding receptions and conferences are back and hotel rooms are upgraded. There was a time when visitors only stayed at the Penguin Hotel or Church View Hotel. Fast forward to the present, one wonders what can bring the town back to its glorious past. First the town has to get rid of the filth and garbage. I know recently the Municipality entered into an arrangement to have the garbage picked up at regular intervals. What is needed is cooperation of its residents; the resources of the people need to be harnessed, but it takes a special kind of leader to harness people. We need to get back to the
old self help days, which I must say was a credit to the then PNC government. It’s not a major task to clean up the town; all it needs is the cooperation of it residents and the business community. A large blame for the unsanitary condition of the town lies with the business community who should ensure garbage is disposed of properly. These New Amsterdam businessmen can start by placing receptacles so the public can dispose of garbage in containers rather than litter the streets. The residents need to be reeducated on keeping their environment clean. The town needs to address the needs of youths, provide outlets like Community Centers and playfields for them. Some time in a future column I will deal with moving the town from “shop keeping” to manufacturing, to create jobs, you see “shop keeping” sends money away from the town, manufacturing brings money and jobs to the town. Then again we do need a reliable supply of electricity. The town has been experiencing frequent blackouts recently and I have been asked to complain about it, so can anyone from GPL say when the blackouts in New Amsterdam will end? Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmil.com
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VEHICLE FOR SALE
LARGE QUANTITIES O F H IGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICKSILVER) 99.99995% PURITY $19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
Toyota Forklift - Excellent condition, 4,000lbs capacity, 117” Lift, Solid Wheels, Automatic Transmission, 4 Cylinder LPG Motor. Call: 6046108. One glass-case 5ft X 4ft. Call: 647-1773
AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154
Toyota Tundra bubble back fully loaded with 22" Chrome Rims -Tel:643-5182; 669-8803
Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203 1- 500 Ton Cargo ship - Tel: 676-6933 One Cabin Cruiser 30ft length, 6½ft width and 3½ft depth, 15HP Tohatsu engine Tel: 697-0648. Desk, wardrobe, dining table, antiques, brass plants, radio set and more – Tel:6735882 One 14" river dredge in excellent condition - Call: 669-8985 One female German Shepherd Pup - Contact: 665-9140 or 639-1431 One farm at Yarakabra and 1 house and land - Call:6178369; 265-3586 Games PS2 $900, PSP $900, X-Box 360 $2600 & PS3 $2600- Call:672-2566 One hardly used cradle $20,000 with accessories & one brand new play pen $33,000 - Call: 670-2343 1 Used Model M Truck with winch. Price:$5M negotiable Contact: 601-0763 Organic Herbal medication for all Chronic and Genital sicknesses and diseases. Call: 671-1518 Brazilian Virgin hair sale Top Grade 18"&16" body shapers Top Brands, Low prices - Call: 626-6335; 600-2220 Virgin Coconut oil & animal feed – Tel:666-5319 Tractors: MF285 $2.8mil (neg) Ford 5000 $3.2mil (neg),Both Good Condition -Call 257-0212, 628-8487 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, Nissan Frontier $2.9M, 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, DJSystem - $2.8M– Tel:6959807 1 Yamaha Guitar AC3R and 1 fender blues deluxe tube AMP 40 watts – Tel:6435182; 669-8803 Black & white photocopy and colour copy - Tel:6268586 Canadian rebuilt Perkins Duetz engine, Lincoln generator welder, model M with winch, 320 excavator Call: 691-2921 2 Trucks – Tel:618-1967; 6984321 Tibetan Terrier pupsCall:225-4780; 601-5927
COMPLETE SAWMILL with all new industrial machine, going business with contract - (Wanted Kabukalli Logs) - Tel:6845868. Fishing boat, 5" nylon Seine, 40 Hp Yamaha $1.6M - Tel: 267-1563; 6913501 / 4162667627 Tacoma Tundra lights & Parts - Tel: 641-1127 Blow out sales on Steel Rods: ¼”, 5/8", ½”, 3/8" Call: 657-4072
We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154
FOR SALE Generac Generator 15,000 watts portable, $450,000 cash Tel 227-3939, 621-4000
Lumber Locust, Tatabu and mixed hardwoods - Contact: 600-5872; 600-1329 1 Music system, 3 crown amps, Numark CD player crossover & mixer, 2 base box with 15" Mid range & tweeters - Call: 619-2800
Clean Garden Earth and builders waste also Bobcat rental, excavating, clearing and leveling down- Call:6160617 or 663-3285
1 Frigidaire Fridge - 12.5 Cubic - Good Condition - Call: 668-1319
Cheap earth delivery to spot E.C.D and E.B.D- Call:6279977, 698-0182
One 6 Base music set in parts – Call: 641-2088; 266-2503
One 40ft boat and 300000lb ice box 40 Yamaha and seine for sale – Contact:275-0955; 275-0078; 680-8755; 663-1879
1 Toyota Raum fully air conditioned – Tel:678-6108, 692-8419, 266-2771 Natural Herbal Turmeric & Neem soap from $120 – Tel:666-5319 New Vendor Mall - Tel:6154775 Original Games - Call:6722566 Greenheart Piles - Tel: 6393450 One Massey Ferguson 3 Dish Plough @ Canal W.B.D Price:$350,000 negotiable, excellent condition - Call: 611-9297 One treadmill – Contact:6718100 New Japan Parts & Batteries in stock with a 10% discount @ Ray’s Motor Spares - Tel: 227-2322; 227-2330 60FT Antenna (Mass) for Radio, TV, Cellular, with cables, brackets, sky light $350,000 Tel:227-3939, 6214000 Diesel Generator silent 28,000 watts SDMO John Deere engine, missing Fuel Pump, Panel, Avr $800,000 Tel: 2273939, 621-4000 Clarke forklifts 3pcs- 2000, 3000, 4000 Lb, lifting capacity, $250,000 and up Tel: 227-3939, 621-4000
Mercedes Benz S 300 bullet proof, leather seats, automatic, 19" rims $2.2 million cash Tel 621-4000 Mitsubishi 3000GT sports car, 18" rims, leather seats, excellent condition $1.7 million- Tel 621-4000, 227-3939
Chicken Hatchery (Robbins), 28,000 eggs capacity fully ready, $ 5. million or credit available Tel: 227-3939; 621-4000
1 Stall @ Stabroek Market – Tel:658-0115; 718-757-8031
Toyota ‘BB’ PPP Series Fully Powered, Back Up Camera, Head Rest Tv Deck, Remote Start $2.6 Million Tel 621-4000
1 Inboard boat 215 HP Perkins engine, 52 Feet length , 50-50 gear box, working condition, price negotiable – Phone:647-0699; 220-5271 Tibetan Terrier mixed with Pekingese puppy – Tel:2270945; 623-8811 1 Stall at Stabroek, Stelling View, mall for sale – Tel:6118291. 1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact:2310655,683-8734 Cannon digital camera A720 power shot, 4GB SD card & case asking -$17,000 – Call:663-2079 or 695-3091
5Pcs Trike Can-Am style Motorcycle, 200cc new, unregistered $275,000 neg or credit, Wholesale Tel 2273939, 621-4000 Stretch limousine, Lincoln Town car, fully powered $5.5 million or credit available Tel 227-3939, 621-4000
Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807
VEHICLE FOR SALE
VEHICLE FOR SALE
LF / DAF truck in working condition, 1 super custom diesel bus – Price Attractive for Both – Call:681-5988; 6755448
Toyota Premio- Dark interior with TV, mags, spacio. Tel: 697-0294
One Toyota Tacoma 2006, 12ft Aluminum Boat, Tacoma : rims & tyres – Call:641-6162; 220-1981; 222-5671 2 Ton Canter with power gate, unregistered - Tel:6172891 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 2700 CC – 4 Cylinder @ 31 Grove Housing Scheme EBD Call: 665-8933; 416-836-1466 1 Toyota Minibus pit-bull, BRR Series, immaculate condition, owner leaving country – Tel:629-3663
Nissan Maxima, fully powered need repairs sold as is $250,000 cash 227-3939, 621-4000 Leroy Trident Car 250 CC, 4 doors, power window, keyless entry $275,000 cash or credit Tel 227-3939, 6214000
Madza 2 PLL series; leathered upholstery, BMW 318i PMM series, Toyota Corolla Axio PRR series. Excellent condition - Contact: 600-1329
2004 VVTI automatic, bus, BNN series @ Bargain Price, Excellent condition. Serious Enquires! – Tel:697-0203
Cheap Deals on all English & Japanese Vehicles Online Call: MRR Imports on 6917475; 626-9590
1 Foden 20 Ton Double Axle dump truck – Tel:648-6871
1 Toyota Hilux Single Cab 4X4 solid Axle pickup $2.7M Tel: 658-5193; 6382525; 648-4374
Driven Auto Blowout Sale!!! – Unregistered Mazda Axela - $2,295,000 – Pioneer CD, crystal lights, remote start alarm -Tel:643-6565; 226-9931 Toyota extra cab pick-up (22 R engine) manual, (EFI) 4×4, (GPP series) price $2.5MContact Rocky 621-5902/2251400 1 Toyota RZ bus - $1.5M. Immaculate condition [Hardly Use] – Contact Rocky: 6215902/ 225-1400 1 Toyota extra cab pick-up automatic (3RZ) 4x4 $3.7M – Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400
CAR RENTAL
Sunday March 16, 2014
Toyota Extra Cab [RZ] pickup, 4X2 automatic $2.1M -Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 1 - Toyota Raum, automatic, fully loaded - Price: $1.2M Contact:Rocky: 621-5902 or 225-1400
Premio, vitz call:6797139,639-4452
CHEAPEST: - Pitbull, Manual Buses, IST, Allion – Tel:6167635
Wings Car Rental - Call: 643-1131
AT192 Carina Blue - $700,000 negotiable – Tel:695-8545
EP-82 Starlet – Call:685-9696
Toyota Allion (Black) – Fully powered, automatic, late PMM series, Excellent condition – Tel:622-0112 2008 Fielder & Axio, fully loaded with bodykit, rims, TV/DVD unregistered - Tel: 617-2891 First Class Auto: Avensis, Allion, IST, 212, Premio, Spacio, Raum, Passo, Fielder, Verossa -Call:6098188; 602-6307 Unregistered Toyota Premio $2.450, Toyota Spacio - $2.250 Tel: 616-3001; 628-4284 1 Toyota RZ for sale – Price : $1.2M – Contact:616-5310; 692-3028 110 Corolla new model, crystal Lights, CD, AC, good condition - $850,000 – Tel:618-1047 Toyota Mark 2 for sale: very good condition - $1.5M negotiable – Call:641-6725 One Raum – PMM series $1.2M – Contact:671-6051 AT170 Corona, automatic EFI, SV10 Toyota Camry Tel: 676-8475
Fully loaded Toyota Rush W/ TV, spoiler, rims, etc, 2008 Toyota Premio – Tel:6154114
1 RZ minibus, stick gear, BKK series (working Condition) – Tel:693-2174
Unregistered 2002 Toyota Fielder Body Kit, mags, HID fog lamps – Contact:6449277 ($2.2M negotiable)
Corona AT190, PHH Series . Contact: 217-0138; 686-0251
2003 Honda Civic, stick shift, low mileage, music, with rims Tel: 696-4659 1- 2007 Toyota 4X4 Tacoma for sale Call: 670-3328 for more information. Unregistered Toyota Raum 2004 & Spacio -2003 - Tel: 617-5536 AT192, Good condition, must see – Price - $850,000 – Tel: 616-1671 Toyota Hilux Surf 3RZ engine fully loaded with 20’ Chrome rims -Tel:643-5182; 669-8803 1 -1RZ, 15 seater, automatic mini-bus, BNN 3760 - $1.7M Negotiable. Good condition, never used for public transportation – Tel:6280310 ; 672-5429 Toyota Fun Cargo, RZ minibus, IST, 4X4 Hilux pickup - Tel: 644-5096; 6971453
AT192 - Call: 602-0236
Toyota Raum, Spacio, AT212, AT192, AT170, NZE and L- Touring wagon, Nissan E24 Caravan – Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453 One Honda accord DX manual transmission, excellent condition – Call:618-5972; 685-57-27; 218-1208 Toyota Marino AC, mags, CD, recently sprayed over $750,000 – Tel: 618-1047 1 Freight liner hauler with sleeping cab, 1 -48ft trailor with treated wood – Call: Rakesh 613-6979 1 DAF 4X4 Bush Truck Winch - $3.8M - Tel:6585193; 638-2525; 648-4374 Toyota RZ mini-bus BPP series excellent condition, hardly worked - Price: $2.5M Negotiable - Contact: 6948825 (Continued on page 63)
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
VACANCY
FOR RENT
1 Driver must have a valid Tractor Licence. Apply in person @ Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek
PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Two mature hire car drivers to work with taxi services – Tel:611-1018 or 642-6564 One experienced taxi service dispatcher, excellent salary Call: 611-1018 or 642-6564 Tudor’s Business Linden, have vacancies for Two 2 sales clerks. Apply in person Tel:444-5883 Cashiers and porters vacancy at Marcos Trading, experience would be an asset Tel:225-9445 1 Experienced Nail Technician (preferably Air Brush) @ Nalline Beauty Salon, Vreed-En-Hoop Junction – Contact:604-2900; 625-3899 Barbers – Contact:683-1534; 609-4983 Sales Executive, experienced in corporate computer supplies and accessories – Cal:223-1556 One experienced hairdresser – Contact Magic Touch Beauty Salon – Tel:225-6492
One 2 Bedrooms bottom flat Tel: 613-6402 MOVE IN ready fully furnished two bedroom upper flat apartment @ Atlantic Gardens - US$1,000 dollars negotiable - Call:600-9981 3 Bedroom, upper flat, unfurnished apartment to rent @ Alberttown Area $75,000 per month, 2 months security – Contact:613-7555 Hair station to rent, professional hairdresser with client -$7,000 weekly - Call: 645-9266 Barbers and hair stylist station for rent @ Prime Location – Tel:663-5964 One flat 2 bedrooms house in Parafaite Harmonie $30,000 per month –Tel:6688799 One bottom flat Apartment with 2 bedrooms – Call:6870835 GT TOOLS RENTAL: TEL: 675-0767; 627-5098 Newly constructed furnished\unfurnished apartments, with & without A/C. Parking available, LBI East Coast. Call: 603-0000.
LAND FOR SALE 2- Acres cultivated, 2-1 Acres cultivated, 7 Acres cultivated, citrus, house, fish pond, storage at Parika- Call: 226-7968 One Transported large Lot at Zeelught EBE - $2.2M – Tel:617-4439 Romrima Trust Versailles @ W.B.D - Tel: 652-3707 Parfaite Harmonie With foundation (30ftX20ft) $1.5M - Tel:675-7292 Herstelling - $3.2M (110ftX60ft) - Call: 675-7292 Schoonord - $2M - Tel: 675-7292 25 Acres land @ Mouth of Bonasika Creek - Tel: 626-7212 50 Acres transported land at Grant Belfield, Lower Pomeroon – Tel:671-8100
1 Lower Flat 2 bedrooms located at Diamond H/ Scheme, 2nd Bridge - $45,000 negotiable – Call:625-3695; 663-6479 Executive 5 bedrooms house @ Bel-Air Park, automatic gate, garage & generator, A/ C, semi-furnished- Contact: 223-8479;647-3768 - www. spaceseek.gy 2 One bedroom apartment, fully furnished @ Lot 4 Henry Street, Werk-en- Rust, Georgetown – Contact:6606446; 644-6030
(Continued on page 64)
Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 647-2943 COOL TECH: Repairs Services & Installation of all types of home appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration units - Tel: 2332008; 675-4959 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 6626045 Masons seeking job work – Tel:678-9043 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) Painters available, job work prefer – Tel:694-6823 Florida to New York Road Trip – Tel:675-7292 Upholstery – Cornelia Ida W.C.D, recovering of sofas, couches – Tel:648-9485 Computer Repairs low price $2,500 – Tel:661-0515; 6227036 Brian Moe @ 642-3543: Computer Technician: FB/ Brian.Moe.165/ Home and Office visits at your comfort!! USA, Canada & UK Visa application forms filled electronically @ Mohamed’s Internet Café – Enmore Call:256-4001 or 2563464 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar
House in Diamond/Grove – Tel:692-8513
MASSAGE American Style massage services- Call:678-7499
Lot 52 Bella Dam, Pouderoyen W.B.D. Call: 615-4775 WANTED
2 Income properties at bargain p r i c e - $ 4 0 M negotiable - Tel: 686-4899; 684-3718
Urgently needed 2 plots of land to buy in Parafaite Harmonie – Tel:675-7292
Property for sale - Call:6275416
Taxi Drivers – Apply at Gems Taxi – Call:667-9013
Near Regent Street -$37M, Campbellville (2 buildings) $25M, Lamaha Gardens $55M – Contact Diana:2272256; 626-9382
1 Live in maid between 4048yrs – Contact:675-5256; 662-9861
2 Storey concrete building, 7 bedrooms: 4 upstairs & 3 downstairs @ Paradise $5M negotiable Tel:6796377; 667-0064 House and land @ De’ Edward W.C.B - Tel:689-2973 1 Newly built 2 storey concrete house @ Canal No#2 Belle West - Tel:6153333; 648-9428 Durban Street close to Mandela Avenue 2 flat fairly new concrete building $30M - Contact B&G’s Realty :617-9717;682-4094 Queenstown, second building, 3 bedroom cottage in good condition - $16M Contact B&G’s Realty :6179717;682-4094 Unfinished two storey concrete house @ Bladen Hall E.C.D – Call:688-6316
Experienced Babysitter, age: 20-40yrs, Contact: 223-5273-4 One live in maid for Georgetown preferable from country side – Contact:6995359 1 Whole day domestic – Tel:667-5717; 650-4761 Experienced driver & dispatcher @ Princess Hotel Tel: 265-7075; 265-7076; 6165419 1 Female sales person to work in meat outlet in Georgetown – Tel:266-2711; 609-4594 Carpenter/Mason with small family to work on livestock farm on EBD all accommodations provided – Tel:266-2711; 609-4594 One experienced welder to work in interior – Call:6816044
2 Storey business premises: 94 Campbell Avenue, C/VilleCall:680-8857/647-300-4294 2 Storey Transported property with 2 kitchens, 6 bedrooms, 2 toilet & bath @ Tuschen East Bank Essequibo – Tel:650-2982
EDUCATIONAL Balloon decorating classes – April 05 - Call: 225-3133; 6137513 for more information and to register. Natural Farming and diet c/o Channel 9 office – Tel:6645947
WANTED Salesgirls & Porters. Apply with written application at Lot E Dennis & Middleton Street, Best Buy Food Supplies. Wallaba posts, greenheart and bullet wood lumber (milled sawn preferably) Tel: 600-5872; 600-1329 Sawmill workers - Tel: 6539752. Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 CHAINSAW LUMBER: Kabukalli, Shibadan, Silverballi, Simarupa, etc – Tel:653-9752 One Domestic to do general domestic work - Age 4550yrs to work at Montrose Tel: 600-5253 Live in , live out babysitter Tel: 225-6070 Arc/ Acetylene Welders, good fabricating skills, high rates – Tel:610-2978 Rangers. Must have experienced reading maps and using GPS - Contact: 223-5273/4 Live in waitress- Call:6439007/ 697-2978 Hire car driver need - Contact: 611-2414 or 693-8176 One female cook for home in the interior contact: 681-6044
Price Reduced:- Prime commercial property @ Albertown, 3 lots with business, (Nut Centre). Tel 621-4000, 227-3939
Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773
Natural Beauty Salon & Spa: Grove Market Street EBD Tele:265-4138,6525800 specialized in everything for women
(From page 62)
One three storey business property @ Middle street, Georgetown, 2 business Property on Whim Public Road Berbice - Tel: 619-7134; 225-6481
SALON
Experienced hairdresser, must know to do hair & nails, experienced barber for interior location – Call:6655812; 233-2186; 697-6726 DRESS-MAKING Courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake - decoration Tel: 670-2653; 618-1706
PROPERTY FOR SALE
One house lot & one 3 bedrooms house in La Parafaite Harmonie & 1 three bedroom house in Bella Dam – Contact:622-1782; 658-5803
Three bedrooms top flat Diamond E.B.D – Tel:6851140; 678-9835
House lots in Friendship. Tel: 692-8513 20 Acres Poultry Farm @ Yarrowkabra & 120 acres @ Mahaicony, 10 acres @ Moblissa, house & land @ Windsor Forest. – Tel:6864994; 225-3070
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
Page 63
PEN PAL Foreign Man: loving, generous & loyal seeks female Guyanese friend (1736yrs) , Email picture to iluvguyanesewomen @yahoo.com / Tele: 1-246835-6908 (7pm – 8pm) Looking for friendship 4050yrs – Call:626-8482 Meet your match! Lifelong partners/friends, singles only, confidential – Tel:592223-8237; 592-648-6098. 8:30am-5pm (both phones same hours) Female looking for male friend Age 25-30 – Call:6611870 FOR SALE/RENT Vacant corner lot 58"X30" @ Garnett & Republic Streets, Newton, Kitty – Tel: 645-0616 American pool table – Tel: 227-0578; 685-9714
One mechanic must know about Perkins and Cummings to work interior Contact: 681-6044 Experienced Carpenter Call: 668-9863; 625-0930 Attractive Live-In waitress Tel: 228-5129; 604-8277 Attractive waitress and experienced cooks - Tel:6227201/ 622-0494 One Hire car driver 35 years and older from W.B.D or W.C.D – Tel:616-0111 Experienced Cashiers to work @ supermarket on the East Coast, Age 25-50yrs Call: 642-1141 Do you need excavator operator 12 years experienced in mining , I’m Available Call:Tel:696-2510; 254-1874 Experienced Roti, Puri cooks, cashier, counter servers, pastry makers, handyboys. Apply @ Hacks Halaal, Lot 5 Commerce Street. One maid – Tel:612-9570
Page 64
(From page 63)
TO LET Apartments to rent in Cummings Lodge - Call:2224389 Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call:6193660,639-4452 Ruimzeight Garden – 3 bedroom house: toilet, bathroom, fully furnished – Tel:269-1277; 667-2338 1 -4 bedrooms house at Happy Acres, $300,000 per month – Call:231-7839 Campbellville -$90,000, Queenstown -$US800, BelAir - $US900 & Many More Contact Diana:227-2256; 626-9382 Fully furnished rooms for foreigners in Diamond – Call:687-1392 Wings Two bedrooms apartment – Tel:643-1131 Single room apartment (furnished) in Eccles – Call:233-2770 Guyana Variety Store & Nut Centre 2 floors located @ Albertown, equipped, glass cases, fully air condition, office, Tel 621-4000, 2273939 2 Bedrooms apartment to let on ECD – Tel:684-8906 FOR HIRE Bush Truck for hire - Tel: 660-3400 Large enclose canter, double axel Hiab truck – Call:6945460, 662-8884; 266-5771 One large enclosed canter, ideal for beverages, goods & furniture - Call: 611-9297
LEARN TO DRIVE Shalom Driving School @ 2 Croal street. Fee $16,000Call:227-3869 Soman Son & Outar Driving School @ Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 Ultravoilet Driving School – Contact:231-2372;6022583;658-4015
For our advertising rates call: 225-8491
Kaieteur News
People’s National Congress Reform The People’s National Congress Reform extends sincere Holi greetings to the Hindu Community of Guyana in particular, and Guyanese in general, on the occasion of the celebration of the Festival of Phagwah in Guyana. The significance of Phagwah is two-fold. Its secular significance lies in the advent of the season of spring, and its real and allegorical implications of fertility, rebirth, renewal and regeneration. The religious significance of Holi lies in the conquest of good over evil, manifested by the destruction by Prahalada of his demonic father, King Hiranyakashipu. In Guyana today, our spirits are becoming increasingly sullen and sour in the brooding darkness that now engulfs our land. Violent crime, pervasive joblessness, narco-trafficking, gunrunning, creeping despotism, social disintegration and deepening poverty, stalk our
land; partisanship, discrimination and executive lawlessness compound bad governance. We urge all Guyanese people to see some spiritual inspiration in this Festival and to brace themselves against these many evils that are in our midst, and resolve, at this juncture, to take steps to end these calamities that now bedevil our country, and to restore equity, justice, peace and prosperity to our dear Motherland As the celebrated Indian National Kulapati Vani wrote many years ago, “festivals are gathering for refreshing spirit and enjoying life.” We urge all Guyanese to use this occasion of Phagwah to refresh their spirit and enjoy life, and to participate fully in this colourful festival and enjoy the rich elements of our religious and cultural diversity. Happy Holi to all Guyanese!
Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) wishes Guyana’s Hindu community a Happy Phagwah week-end of celebrations, or, as we can say Shub Holi! The mythological origins of this Festival of Holi will be repeated often this week-end. FITUG understands those origins and groundings tell of green, envy and their eventual destruction as the wicked covetous “Queen” Holika is burnt to ashes. However, Holi or Phagwah is also celebrated as springtime begins in India and the whole sub-continent. Hindus emphasize their connection to the productive earth and this is what all of Guyana should also appreciate. Guyana has enough arable land for most of us to benefit from. And many of FITUG’s members are in agriculture and can lead the way in teaching the importance of the earth. It is for our elected managers to provide the infrastructure and incentives for even more agriculture production. Guyana has no business importing so much food items from others. On the other hand, the Festival of Holi, with its joyous chowtals, dancing, abeer and powders; sharing of sweet meats; is a festival – not unlike Christmas – which can attract the participation of thousands of non-Hindus. The infectious merriment and clean fun to observed on Sunday and Monday is not national in character. FITUG wishes that this harmony is demonstrated throughout every year but uses this opportunity to caution the younger devotees not to impose certain elements of their celebrations on those who are not interested. Alcohol and dirty water must never sully the clean joy of Phagwah, the love it generates. Guyanese and Guyana are blessed to celebrate peacefully and in togetherness in a world where, elsewhere, there is too much toxic hated and sectarian violence. A Happy Holi weekend to all!
Berbice High School student... (From page 61) Regional Education Officer, Volika Jaikishun and Chief Executive Officer and founder of SFCD Alex Foster. Also addressing the forum was CEO of Metro Avia Lindie. The finalists were Tasha Jailall and Jana Hendricks both of Skeldon Line Path Secondary; Simone Guyaram of Skeldon High School; Chante Leacock of Berbice High School; Makhaila Patterson and Aliya Cameron, of Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary; and the lone male Marlon Kadoo of Winifred Gaskin Secondary. The finalists of Berbice Educational Institute and New Amsterdam Secondary were absent.
Sunday March 16, 2014
First Lady of Guyana, Madame Deolatchmee Ramotar I am extremely happy to send greetings to all Guyanese, especially the Hindu community on the occasion of Phagwah 2014. This holy festival, celebrated with great vibrancy, fun, colour and joy reminds us all that life is meant to be lived with hope and in the pursuit of betterment and true happiness. Phagwah is a celebration of the quintessence of life. Whatever difficulties we may encounter in our lives we know that the flame of hope is never extinguished. New days and new seasons rekindle that hope that more glorious and prosperous days lie ahead. The rewards of life are to be grasped by everyone.
Let us therefore on this special festival of Phagwah be thankful for the great bounty that life has given to us and let us use that good fortune to promote greater harmony and unity in our country. Ours is a very special country, blessed with great diversity of peoples and cultures. Phagwah is one of the main cultural festivals of Hindus. As we all join in celebrating with them, let us renew the bonds of friendship and respect that have traditionally existed amongst all of our peoples and let us mark this Phagwah festival by acts of overflowing joy and kindhearted friendship.
Alliance for Change The Alliance For Change extends Phagwah Greetings to all Guyanese at home and abroad, especially our Hindu brothers and sisters. As we celebrate this holiday and cover each other in the colours of spring let us bear in mind the religious significance of Phagwah – the triumph of good over evil. Phagwah this year comes at a time when our moral values are being tested. Increasing levels of violence against our youth and women, abuse of the poor and vulnerable by those in authority and the deprivation of the basic human rights of so many of our brothers
and sisters are but a few of the evil we see taking over our society. In too many instances we see the rich taking advantage of the poor, of those in positions of power abusing their power to the detriment of the vulnerable. But, as Phagwah teaches, good will triumph and evil will be vanquished. The AFC urges all Guyanese to take a stand against evil and not to be disheartened. Let Phagwah 2014 be a celebration of hope for a more just and peaceful future and a commitment to the oneness of the Guyanese people. Happy Holi!
Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union Harvesting hope in a hostile spring There first must be crop to be sown before there could be any reaping or harvesting. Effort has to precede results. Springtime around the world promises a period of work and hope – even new beginnings. As the Hindu community celebrates the Indian Springtime Festival of Holi, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) joins in the joyous occasion. Indeed, the nation needs these brief periods of celebrations and joy if only to enjoy the therapy of submerging the numerous challenges of daily living. This year, Holi or Phagwah as Guyanese like to describe it, finds the nation is witnessing continued Parliamentary wrangling between our elected representatives. This seems unnecessary at most times even though our parliamentarians are expected to analyse and debate before coming to the best decisions on our behalf. Also, GAWU would trust, at the governmental and parliamentary levels, there is good reason for hope as the National Budget nears presentation. May all the Holikas of hate and retrogression be banished from our national psyche and development.
And may the thousands of GAWU’s Hindu members recall and relive the virtues most desirable for clean, healthy living including the values of family life notwithstanding the daily challenges. Let the chowtals, the abeer and powders celebrate love and not domestic abuse in our towns and villages. Let Phagwah force more ethnic harmony as understanding of Hindu mythology is promoted. Finally, GAWU again enjoins those responsible for Guyana’s agricultural development to explore, in a hurry, ways to increase
production. We think of the travails of sugar; we laud the current success of rice but we call for increased attention to other crop, including all types of nuts and such items our earth can provide even for export. Drainage and irrigation must always be our collective business. Phagwah is the springtime turning of the land and sowing seeds of food. Let us sow seeds of love too, even when the environment and conditions are hostile. Guyana’s resources are numerous enough for all of us to share – now and beyond the Festival of Holi 2014. Shub Holi!
The Mayor of G/town Hamilton Green Fellow Citizens, Joyous Phagwah Greetings to my Hindu brothers and sisters and indeed all Guyanese. This is a very special occasion, in the Hindu calendar of events, where purity of heart and spirit is emphasized. I hope and pray that, as you celebrate the quest for purity we would reflect on our local communities. We wish for the general environment, to be clean and tidy, and there must be a general sense of neighbourliness and goodness. As we celebrate, let it bring us closer together in Unity regardless of our race, colour or religious persuasion. Let us remember that in Unity there is strength—a value we need now more that even to arrest the noticeable degeneration of spiritual and moral value in our society. As we celebrate, pray for peace and be an Ambassador of peace, order and prosperity. Once again, Happy Phagwah
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Sunday March 16, 2014
Malaysian PM says lost airliner was diverted deliberately
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (R) addresses reporters as Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein stands by him, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (MALAYSIA - Tags: DISASTER TRANSPORT POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A missing Malaysian airliner appears to have been deliberately steered off course after someone on board shut down its communications, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday. A week after the disappearance of flight MH370, Najib said its last transmission of satellite data came nearly seven hours after it disappeared from radar screens. But the new satellite data gave no precise location, and the plane’s altered course could have taken it anywhere from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean, he said. Minutes after the Malaysian leader outlined investigators’ latest findings, police began searching the house of the aircraft’s 53-year-old captain for any evidence that he could have been involved in foul play. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in the early hours of March 8 with 239 passengers and crew aboard. Najib, giving his first statement at a news conference since then, confirmed reports that investigators believe somebody cut off the plane’s communications reporting system, switched off its transponder and steered it west, far from its scheduled route. “In view of this latest development the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board,” he said. “Despite media reports the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear, we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate.” Search operations by navies and aircraft from more than a dozen nations were immediately called off in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia, where the plane dropped off civilian air traffic control screens at 1:22 a.m. last Saturday (1722 GMT on Friday). Malaysia said new data showed the last communication between the missing plane and satellites at 8:11 a.m. (0011 GMT), almost seven hours after it turned back and crossed the Malay peninsula. The data did not show whether the plane was still flying or its location at that time, presenting searchers with a daunting array of possible last locations. Seven hours’ more flying time would likely have taken it to the limit of its fuel load.
Najib said the plane’s final communication with satellites placed it somewhere in one of two corridors: a northern arc stretching from northern Thailand to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the vast southern Indian Ocean. “Clearly, the search for MH370 has entered a new phase,” said Najib, whose government has come under criticism for its slow release of information surrounding one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. India stepped up its search in two areas at the request of Malaysia - one around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and another further west across the Bay of Bengal - but found no evidence that would indicate that the plane had come down in its waters, the Defence Ministry said. A senior military official in Port Blair, capital of the archipelago, said Indian aircraft had combed waters stretching up to 300 nautical miles offshore and overflown all 572 islands in the chain but “we don’t have anything so far”. India’s Eastern Naval Command was investigating a separate rectangular ‘box’ 15 km wide by 600 km long, some 900 km east of Port Blair, but had found nothing. About two-thirds of the passengers on board the flight were Chinese, and Beijing has been showing increasing impatience with the speed and coordination of the Malaysian search effort. Yesterday, China said it had demanded that Malaysia keep providing more thorough and accurate information, and added that it was sending a technical team to Malaysia to help with the investigation. China’s Xinhua state news agency said in a commentary that Najib’s disclosure of the new details was “painfully belated”. “And due to the absence - or at least lack - of timely authoritative information, massive efforts have been squandered, and numerous rumors have been spawned, repeatedly racking the nerves of the awaiting families,” it said. The fate of flight MH370 has been shrouded in mystery since it disappeared off Malaysia’s east coast less than an hour into its scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. But investigators have increasingly discounted the possibility of an accident due to the deliberate way it was diverted and had its communications switched off.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
Thousands march in Moscow to protest Crimea vote
Demonstrators hold Russian and Ukrainian flags during a massive rally to oppose president Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine, in Moscow, yesterday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters marched in central Moscow yesterday against a Kremlinbacked referendum in Crimea on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia. It was the largest antigovernment demonstration since 2012. Demonstrators waved Russian and Ukrainian flags, while opposition activists — including two members of the Pussy Riot punk band — shouted “Say no to war!” and “Putin, go away!” from the stage. Protesters also held up banners that read: “For your freedom and for ours!” One demonstrator held up a plate of salo — cured pork fat that is a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and adored by many Russians — along with a poster that read: “Make salo, not war!” Nearby, a rally of several thousand was held close to the Kremlin in support of Russian intervention in Crimea. Crimea’s referendum today has been loudly condemned as illegitimate by much of the international community. As heavily armed forces apparently under Russian command have effectively taken control of the peninsula, the vote to join Russia has been widely criticized as a mere formality. Russian support for reclaiming Crimea majority has intensified amid weeks of relentless state television coverage of purported aggression toward ethnic Russians by the new Kiev government, which came to power after Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled the
country in February. While President Vladimir Putin’s ratings have risen since he announced Russia’s willingness to use force in Ukraine, the anti-government demonstration yesterday showed that not everyone is happy with the decision. “I love Ukraine — it’s Putin who needs war and an empire, not me,” said Dmitry Maksimov, a 29-year-old lawyer who held a bouquet of flowers dyed blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of Pussy Riot, called for defiance against the authorities. “Don’t believe it when they say that we are few, that we are weak. Together we will change this country,” she said in a speech from a stage. None of Russia’s stateowned news channels showed footage from the anti-government protest, and instead showed live video from the rally near the Kremlin, where large gangs of men from a group called “Essence of Time” dressed in uniform red jackets and marched to the sound of Soviet-era military music in disciplined columns. Pro-Russian leaders in Crimea made final preparations yesterday for a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine to Moscow, despite the threat of sanctions and condemnation from Western governments. Today’s vote, dismissed by Kiev as illegal, has triggered the worst EastWest crisis since the Cold War, and ratcheted up tensions not only in Crimea but also eastern Ukraine, where two people were killed
in clashes late on Friday. The streets of the Crimean capital of Simferopol were calm yesterday, despite a heavy military presence incongruous with the normally sleepy town. Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, whose election in a closed session of the regional parliament is not recognized by Kiev, said there were enough security personnel to ensure that today’s vote would be safe. In Kiev, the Ukrainian parliament voted to dissolve the Crimean regional assembly which has organized the referendum and backs union with Russia. One Ukrainian nationalist leader in the Kiev legislature said the Crimean assembly must be sanctioned to discourage separatist movements in the mainly Russian-speaking east of Ukraine. Aksyonov and Moscow do not officially recognize that Russian troops have taken control of Crimea, and say that thousands of unidentified armed men visible across the region belong to “selfdefense” groups created to ensure stability. But the Russian military has done little to hide the arrival of thousands of soldiers, along with trucks, armored personnel carriers and artillery. Masked gunmen surrounding Ukrainian military installations in Crimea have identified themselves as Russian troops. Moscow leases the Crimean port of Sevastopol from Kiev to station its Black Sea Fleet. Under the deal it can station up to 25,000 troops there but not on other Ukrainian territory.
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Arson/murder at Port Kaituma…
Residents saw trapped child screaming at window - alleged killer tells cops he was depressed over debts Port Kaituma residents yesterday recalled seeing a child screaming at a barred up window as flames engulfed the building that businessman Linus LaCruz had set alight with five family members inside last Friday. They also spoke of later seeing police ranks removing human remains that were so badly burnt that they were carted away in buckets. Police have identified the dead as Lurlene LaCruz, 39; her daughters, Lea LaCruz, 14, Lavette LaCruz, three; and sons Labron LaCruz, 8, and one-year-old Levon LaCruz. The suspect’s 12-year-old daughter, Lisa LaCruz, was the lone survivor. She is said to be in the care of welfare officials. It is believed that the suspect, 50-year-old Linus LaCruz, soaked the heavilygrilled building with petrol before locking it from the outside and setting it alight. He sustained burns to the head, back and limbs and is being kept under guard at the Port Kaituma Hospital. Kaieteur News understands that LaCruz has indicated to police that he committed the act in a fit of depression over debts. According to a source, LaCruz claimed that he owed several people money and “was depressed and
frustrated.” A resident had told Kaieteur News on Friday that the businessman had appeared to be “stressed out.” A police release stated that at about 20.45hrs on Friday, police ranks responded to a report made by a twelve-year-old girl at the Port Kaituma Station that her father and mother were involved in an argument and he had threatened to burn down their house at Main Road, Port Kaituma. “On their way to the scene the police observed that the building was on fire and suspecting that persons were inside, attempted to enter the building, but was prevented from doing so by a locked grill door. The police ranks and nearby residents formed a bucket brigade but were unable to extinguish the blaze.” They said that the charred remains of housewife Lurlene LaCruz, 39, and her four children were later found among the debris. Residents believe that some of the victims could have been saved had there been a fire station at Port Kaituma. Others suggested that ranks at the station, which is some two minutes away, did not immediately respond to the 12year-old girl’s report. This newspaper was informed that only one rank was on duty at the time, while the others were resting. One eyewitness said that the entire building was consumed within 20 minutes. He recalled arriving on the scene and hearing the children screaming inside. The eyewitness said he saw two men, who had come from a nearby church, trying in vain to smash open a barred-up window to get to the victims. “Two guys who had come from the church were hitting a window with a big wood and when the window broke the
flames jumped out,” he said. “We heard screams inside.” According to another resident, “One of the children was at a window hollering for help, and when they (rescuers) broke the window, it was grilled.” “They (the victims) were burnt to nothing. They were picking up the bodies in buckets, there was no way that you could have recognized them. It was very sad.” Some reports suggest that Mrs. LaCruz was slain before the building was torched, since none of the eyewitnesses recalled seeing her in the building or hearing her screams. Mrs. LaCruz’s sister, Marcia Garraway, who also resides at Port Kaituma, said that she ran outside after hearing shouts of ‘Fire.’ Ms. Garraway said that by the time she arrived, the flames had already engulfed the building and a store-room. She then learnt that her sister, nieces and nephews were still inside. “All the windows and doors were grilled; he padlocked the door from outside,” she said. While some portrayed the suspect as a model resident and attentive family man, Marcia Garraway alleged that her sister had suffered years of physical abuse at the hands of her husband, whom she claimed often accused her of infidelity. “The man don’t want her to have contact with her family. Last year he beat her and she end up in hospital.” “He threaten her many times (but) she never made a report at the station. When he going anywhere he would lock her inside, and still he saying she got man. He jealous and ignorant.” However, the sister said that LaCruz also tried to hide the abuse from her family.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Abandoned, elderly patients at GPHC - relatives respond Human Services Minister Jennifer Webster says the State does not have unlimited resources and as such persons need to take responsibility for their relatives who require home care. The Minister made this comment in the wake of the issue that was highlighted recently of patients being abandoned at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). She noted that more frequently than is highlighted, elderly persons, especially those who have been abandoned by their loved ones, lead lives of neglect and poverty. “It’s a sad situation and hospital officials would usually network with probation officers to find alternative accommodations for these persons but there is only so much that we can do. “Social workers would visit the hospital, on a regular basis but this not the issue, people need to take responsibility for parents and elderly relatives. While the government has a responsibility to its citizens, the state does not have unlimited resources and the homes are often overcrowded.” The Minister says that she plans to table legislation in Parliament for protection of the elderly. Often these elderly persons are being placed at a disadvantage by their very relatives for selfish reasons. While the Ministry would like to see a similar facility as the Palms in operation, it costs money. The administration of GPHC has been saddled with this problem for some time now. “ GPHC is primarily responsible for providing healthcare to the citizens, free of cost but the facility has been overwhelmed by elderly patients, who have been deserted by their families. When Kaieteur news visited the hospital earlier last month, some of the deserted
patients claimed to be ‘making do’ with whatever the hospital has to offer. Seven patients were found cramped in a room of the hospital. Chief Executive Officer of GPHC, Michael Khan explained that the problem has had a severe impact on the hospital “We have been inundated with patients who have been abandoned by their relatives. This becomes critical because of the high influx of people seeking medical care here and there are times when no beds are available and these discharged patients are occupying beds,” Khan said as he explained that there is an additional cost attached to keeping the patients at GPHC. “It is a very sad situation and when abandoned patients die, we are forced to bury them after a period of waiting for relatives to claim the bodies.” According to hospital staff, the cost for burial attached to that amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. Earlier this week, Kaieteur news opted to speak with the persons, who found themselves living at GPHC. While their circumstances may differ, one statement resounded from among the elderly patients, who were cramped in a room of the male surgical unit at GPHC. “We family aint want we and we aint got nowhere else fuh go.” Some of the patients were living on the streets before they were admitted at GPHC; hence the hospital has become a shelter for them. They have been living there for more than three years. “Me aint got nobody meh used to dey at Bourda Market,” Bhola Bacchus said. He is bound to a wheelchair after suffering injuries to his spine. Although they did not give details, quite a few others claimed to have led normal lives and never thought that they would have been deserted by his loved ones. “Me used to wuk… me neva had trouble with me
family, me gat one daughter, me nah know how she nah come fuh see meh, me glad fuh see she, meh nah really gat nobody else,” 67 year old, Terrence Teixeira said as he sat on hospital bed. Teixeira is unable to walk; he was taken to the hospital to seek medical care for a fractured hip last March. However, despite his current physical condition, he recalls his life beyond the walls of GPHC. “Me come from East Coast… me used to live at 74 Success Railway, Embankment.” Attempts made to contact the man’s relatives proved futile. However his colleague, Kenneth Jairaj of Swan Street Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara has been a patient of Georgetown Hospital for almost three years. He was treated for multiple injuries, after he was admitted to the institution in 2012. Jairaj said that he has made an application to become a resident of the Palms. “Meh bin get in one accident and meh family leff hay and tell me dem ah come back, meh neva see none body till now. Me ah wait fuh go at de Palms. De only people does come fuh see awe ah people wha does do social work.” His relatives claimed that they did what was best, since they do not have the resources to take care of him. Relatives of Salim Rashid, shared a similar notion, Me come from a poor family we nah really got nothing and before we punish he, we leff he ah Georgetown Hospital and dem go send he ah de Palms. Rashid is 57 year old. He was admitted to GPHC in 2012. He was being treated for malnutrition. He believes that his relatives, did what they thought was best for him. Several attempts made to contact the relatives of other patients proved futile. Many of them declined to speak with the press while others simply stated that they can’t help the situation. They all wished to remain anonymous
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
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“Maybe West Indies could win ICC T-20 World Cup again too!” Maybe West Indies could surprise us again, and, as the team I played in did in 1979, after a similarly-led Clive Lloyd team had won ICC’s first World Cup in 1975, WI can repeat as ICC World T-20 Champions 2014, in Bangladesh, after powerfully winning last ICC WT-20 championship in Sri Lanka 2012! WI’s showing against England was impressive, giving enjoyment and hopes for a repeat! If West Indies does win in Bangladesh, it would be our fifth success at ICC world events, since, WI were unlikely winners of ICC Champion Trophy in 2004, in England. England, who invented cricket, has only won one ICC trophy; WT-20 2010; to date! Despite losing the last game of this T-20 series, there is no cricket team anywhere that is as uniquely suited for T-20 cricket, as West Indies, with batting line-up and bowling attack deliciously varied! T-20 cricket is exactly what present WI cricketers,
right now, are engineered for; intense, powerful, energetic cricket throughout! Maybe Darren Sammy would do a Lloyd too, since Sammy was captain when WI won in Sri Lanka. He has certainly matured as a cricketer and leader, and as shown in T-20 No. 2 against England last Tuesday, carries a heavy bat. His muscular hitting is out of this world. T-20 No. 1 v England was as efficient a performance by West Indies as could have been imagined, but, closing at 170-3, West Indies had made 30 runs too few, especially given the start they had from returning, but still out-oftouch Chris Gayle, and the thunderous Dwayne Smith. What a duo of openers! In just 37 deliveries, Gayle and Smith had put on 57 before separation, a start that WI should have capitalized on, but by the time Gayle was out at 87-2, for 43, 69 of the 120 deliveries had gone. Marlon Samuels, a classical batsman showing that T-20’s is not all about slogging, and, remember, “Man of Match” of WT-20
2012’s final, made a magnificent 69 not out, including ten fours and one six. To look at Samuels at the crease brings back so many memories of that other majestic Jamaican batsman, Lawrence Rowe. Spin was always going to be West Indies trump card, even at Kensington Oval, where England were fooled into playing mostly faster bowlers. But here is where, if anywhere, West Indies selectors erred overall. WT-20 2014 is being played in Bangladesh, on slow, low pitches, where spinners would probably be even more lethal, but as was seen in T-20 No. 1 v England, it only takes one injury incident to remove either of West Indies star spinners Samuels Badree or Sunil Narine, or both, leaving a massive hole in the attack. The selectors should have added another spinner, probably Barbados’ Sulieman Benn, or Guyana’s Veerasammy Permaul, as cover, instead of selecting yet another faster bowler,
Sunday March 16, 2014 ARIES (March 21 April 19): Today you'll likely awake, look around your home environment, and realize that there is much room for improvement. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 May 20): You are a hard and conscientious worker, Taurus, and certainly have been applying your skills and doing your best for some time now. efforts. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 June 20): You may find yourself thinking of looking for a new job in order to increase your income, Gemini. ******************** CANCER (June 21 July 22): You have a lot of charm and tremendous social skills, Cancer. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): This is a day when you could greatly benefit from spending some time outdoors in quiet reflection, Leo. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 Sept. 22): You're a hard and conscientious worker, Virgo, and sometimes you work so hard that
LIBRA (Sept. 23 Oct. 22) : Today may find you longing for some spots of color in your life, Libra. ********************* S C O RP I O ( O c t . 23 - Nov. 21): Today you may discover that you have more in common with your neighbors than you thought, Scorpio. ******************** S A G I T TA R I U S (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21): You may receive some kind of windfall today, Sagittarius. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19): Romance is very much highlighted today, Capricorn. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 2 0 - F e b . 1 8 ) : Anything you attempt to do today is likely to turn out really well, Aquarius. ********************* PISCES (Feb. 19 M a r c h 2 0 ) : To d a y you'll likely find that you begin to make real progress on a project that may have been stagnating for a while, Pisces.
Sheldon Cottrell. In T-20 No. 1 v England, Badree and Narine were almost unplayable; 4-0-17-3 and 2-0-8-1, respectively, 36 deliveries for only 25 runs while getting four wickets; before Narine had to leave the field with a foot injury. Indeed, there was yet another scare too when Badree injured his hand attempting a return catch. But the composure, efficiency, elegance and energy that West Indies used to beat England, by 27 runs, in T-20 No. 1 were as aesthetic as a sleek Bombardier LearJet 60; fast, classy and highly productive! With mystery spinner Narine sensibly rested for T20 No. 2 v England, Jamaican left-arm, round arm swinger Krishmar Santokie was included. Santokie did not disappoint, as his accuracy and pace confused the English to such an extent that he finished with a superlative 4-0-21-4; incredibly good figures for an almost T-20 expert. England should have been dismissed for less than
100, had West Indies taken their catches, and had umpiring decisions gone their way, but 152-7 from England should have been manageable. It was not! Gayle and Smith were again dynamic, but once separated, West Indies wobbled slightly to be 111-3, then 117-5 by over No. 17. Then Sammy, with that Herculean, over-powering approach, stepped in. 30 runs, including three sixes and two fours, in only nine deliveries from the tall St. Lucian, in an unbeaten partnership of 38 with Dwayne Bravo, showed how adept Sammy has now become at T-20 cricket. T-20 No. 3 was in WI’s grasps too, when England were 138-6, over #19, after being 112-1 at one stage. Then Christopher Jordan really took to Dwayne Bravo’s last over, hitting four sixes in an over that WI’s ODI captain would want to forget, trying too many slower deliveries and variations, as England got to 165-6; a very useful score. With West Indies immediately wobbling at 28-
Colin E. H. Croft says: 3, there was need for intelligent batting, this offered by Lendl Simmons, who made an enterprising 69. Alas, the task was way too much for West Indies, as even lusty blows by Sammy could not keep England from winning by five runs; West Indies winning the T-20 series 2-1. So, after that, all that we can do now is wish WI luck in Bangladesh. All the best, gentlemen! Enjoy!
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Sunday March 16, 2014
Territorial boxing associations in dire straits By Michael Benjamin In association with the Loft nightclub Despite the high level of confidence placed in them, and after expending hundreds of thousands of dollars in their preparations, Guyanese boxers failed to pass the qualifying rounds of the London 2012 Olympics staged during the qualifiers in Brazil that year. Undeterred, the executives of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) have signaled an intention of attending the Brazil 2016 Olympics and have intensified efforts to provide as much international exposure for local pugilists. Consequently, the recent upsurge in activity has witnessed local boxers pitting their skills against their Caribbean counterparts as administers of the GBA attempt to increase their chances of procuring lucrative medals at the imminent 2016 Brazil Olympiad. Consequently, local boxers were matched against their Caribbean counterparts from Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia in a tri-nation, three nights tournament staged in Guyana, February last. They then traveled to Barbados for a one night goodwill tournament on March 8.
Barbados boxing president mulls creative initiatives
Anthony Jones Further, even as this article is being written, three local boxers, Dennis Thomas, Theresa London and Eon Bancroft, are in Santiago, Chile battling for honours in the South American Games and within the next two weeks, local pugilists would be heading for St Lucia to participate in a 3 nights Goodwill tournament organized by the St Lucia boxing authorities. However, despite this hive of activity among the Caricom nations, all is not well on the boxing front and
President of the Barbados Amateur Boxing Association, Anthony Jones, feels that the time has come for territorial associations to unite towards a common cause if they are to see improvement among Caricom nationals at high profiled tournaments. Mr. Jones spoke to Kaieteur Sport at the finals of the two days Horace Phillips Memorial Boxing Tournament at the Springer Memorial School, Barbados, March 8 last and remains adamant that the fortunes of Caribbean pugilists would only be improved when the territorial associations lock horns towards one cause. Despite his prognosis, the Barbados Boxing Association President is hardly optimistic and adamantly proclaimed that “the Caribbean people seem not to love their own.” “There is a need for Caribbean integration and while this view has been touted before it seems that we are only observing this concept in the breach,” lamented Mr. Jones. He also said that behavior of this nature is responsible for the poor showing and meagre returns of Caribbean representatives at international games.
NAWF Girls U17 Inter-Secondary Schools Football
Leonora maul West Demerara Leonora mauls West Demerara eonora Secondary shrugged off a 2-0 deficit to rebound in grand style to hammer West Demerara Secondary 7-2 when play in the National Association of Women’s Football (NAWF) Under-17 eight-team Inter Secondary School competition continued on Friday at the Den Amstel Community Centre Ground. West Demerara started red hot and were 2-0 up by the 9th minute through goals from Tinesha Frank in the 4th minute and Sheneal Hughes in the 9th. It took Leonora some time to get warm but when they did, West Demerara were no match for the Leonora girls. Mandy Dainty banged in five goals as she took on scoring all alone up to the 55th minute. She rocked the nets in the 20th, 41st, 45th, 49th, 55th minute. Stacy Adams was on target for Leonora in the 57th with Kimberly Damon putting the icing on the cake in the 60th minute from the penalty spot. Competition is set to continue on Wednesday when Vreed en- Hoop match skills with Uitvlugt Secondary at the Den Amstel Community Centre Ground.
He noted that other than the Michael Parris bronze medal feat in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, no other Caricom boxer has been able to break the jinx. He further said that the cost factor is another variable that precludes boxing administrators in the region from effectively addressing their mandates even as he noted the laissez-faire disposition of governments in the region in promoting the sport. “We are operating on a shoestring budget and sadly, fail to attract meaningful funding from the (Barbados) government or the corporate community,” lamented Mr. Jones. He further explained that his executives are forced to dig into their pockets to ensure that the boxers remain active. “We do receive a little assistance from the Barbados Olympic Association but though such support is welcomed, even that proves to be inadequate,” bemoaned Mr. Jones. The aggrieved Bajan official said that after a survey was conducted in Barbados two years ago, boxing officials decided to host a boxing card among the territorial members and to simultaneously plan a symposium to ventilate strategies to correct the many anomalies plaguing the sport. He said that eleven countries, including Guyana, attended the forum, at the end of which, a motion was moved to examine ways of reviving boxing in the region. “That is
as far as we got because the members returned to their respective countries and nothing further was done to promote the idea,” Mr. Jones explained. Despite such debilitating challenges Mr. Jones said that his executives have been implementing ways of counteracting these grave difficulties and the just concluded Horace Phillips Memorial tournament was just one of the many initiatives Barbados boxing authorities have implemented to keep their boxers occupied. “Barbadian boxers have not competed in international tournaments for the last five years and have only competed across the border in a goodwill tournament in Trinidad and Tobago last year,” Mr. Jones explained. Notwithstanding, he said that over the years, his organization has hosted boxers from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St Lucia and Martinique just to ensure that Bajan boxers are kept active. “On all those occasions the bulk of funding came out of our pockets and when you take into consideration that we hardly get support from the government and business community you will understand the challenges we face,” bemoaned Mr. Jones. Determined to improve the lot of boxers in the Caribbean, Mr. Jones said that he attempted to strengthen the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association (CABA) but was given the thumbs down by
officials of the parent body, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA). Mr. Jones said that after disbanding the entity, AIBA did an about turn and said that permission would be granted to reenact the entity provided that CABA officials were prepared to meet the costs and criteria. “We were being asked to foot an astronomical bill and even before that, we were required to engage in a bidding process among Caribbean countries,’ explained the Barbados boxing president. He said that upon closer examination no Caribbean country could have conformed to such draconian criterion and so the CABA became defunct. How then could Caribbean boxing entities extricate themselves from this conundrum? “We will just have to return to the old strategies where we as a Caricom body will have to pool our resources and organize domestic tournaments while hoping that our boxers garner valuable activity for bigger engagements,” suggested Mr. Jones. He said that his executive is currently preparing local boxers for three important engagements; the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC), the Commonwealth Games and the World Youth Championships. “It is the best we could do under the circumstances but it is my hope that a more concerted effort is made towards a unified approach at the Caricom level,” he said.
Sanasie donates cricket gears to Wales CDC.
Wales Community Centre Cricket Club of West Bank Demerara received a quantity of cricket gears from Anand Sanasie at a simple presentation ceremony last Saturday after Wales CDC defeated a team from St. Cuthbert Mission in an invitational match. Mr Sanasie urged players to ensure they take good care of the equipment as cricket is an expensive game and quality gears come at a significant cost. He also encouraged the senior players of the club to pass on their knowledge to the youngsters and ensure discipline and teamwork is practiced. The Club’s Senior Team Captain Ramesh Takur thanked the West Demerara Businessman for his interest in the youths’ development at
Ramesh Takur (left) receiving the cricket gears from Anand Sanasie. Wales and assured him that the club values the timely presentation and he would
personally ensure that the equipment is secured and cared properly.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
ECB/Busta 50 over festival
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Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Competition
Central trounce Pomeroon Ten-man St. George’s hold on for a draw to book final spot Central Essequibo overpowered Pomeroon by 10 wickets in the first semifinal of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB)/Busta 50 over festival yesterday at Imam Bacchus ground, Affiance. Pomeroon were skittled out for 71 in 15.1 overs after taking first strike. Aubrey Rodrigues was the only batsman that showed fight with 20 while extras supported with 29. Left arm spinner Herry Green claimed 3-6 off 4 overs
and Lallbachan Narine 2-11 off 3. Central replied with 72 without loss in eight overs. Herell Green led with an unbeaten 43 and extras contributed 21; Navindra Persaud (08) was the other not out batsman on 8. Central will play the winner of the second semifinal between Wakenaam and East Bank Essequibo which will be played on a date and venue to be announced in the final.
Herry Green
SOUTH AMERICAN GAMES 2014 SANTIAGO CHILE
Guyanese athletes lose in opening action Guyanese athletes and boxers lost on their opening action at the National Stadium of Chile at the South American Games 2014. Alisha Fortune finished sixth in the 100m semifinal won by Angela Micolta Tenorio of Ecuador.
Winston George was only good for fourth in the 400m final which was won by Ande Freitas Henriques of Brazil. Cleveland Thomas (4:02.20) and Cleveland Forde (4:02.36) finished eighth and ninth respectively in the 1500m final. The race was won by
Federico Bruno (3:39.96) of Argentina. Gabriel Maestre of Venezuela beat Eon Bancroft of Guyana 3-0 to hand the Guyanese a loss. Guyanese boxers Dennis Thomas and Theresa London were scheduled for action yesterday.
Defending champions St.George’s confirmed their dogged characteristics when they scrapped to a 0-0 stalemate against a technically efficient Queenstown Secondary when play in the Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Competition resumed yesterday, at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue. The champs who have displayed an obstinate attitude sine the inception of the competition once again had to dig deep to repel the Queenstown unit who threatened on many occasions to create an upset, especially after the defending champions lost their goalkeeper to a straight red card following a hand ball infringement outside the box. It occurred after Queenstown produced a counter attack that saw one of their strikers involved in a breakaway from a clinical
pass from the back which left him with only the St’ George’s custodian to beat and his lobbed attempt resulted in the keeper, who had advanced outside the box making a save with his hands. However, they held on tenaciously to earn a draw and share the points after surviving a testing period of ferocious attacks from Queenstown. In the day’s other results, Bishop’s High cruised past School of Nations 5-1, while Lodge eased to a convincing 3-0 triumph over St. Mary’s. In the final game of the day, Dolphin beat South Ruimveldt 2-0. Bishop’s High beat School of the Nations 5-1 Bishop’s Scorers Joel Morrion-2nd, 52nd Davin Chan-30th Nathaniel King-54th Romario gonsalves-59th School of the Nations Scorer
Lyndon Dorway-7th Lodge Secondary defeated St. Mary’s 3-0 Lodge Scorers Orlando Gravesande-15th Tavel Janos-45th Jarel Grannum-51st St. George’s and Queenstown Secondary drew 0-0 South Ruimveldt Secondary went down to Dolphin Secondary 0-2 Dolphin Scorer Dequan Matthews-15th Lenroy Forde-52nd The competition continues today with four more matches at the same venue. The fixtures are as foilows: 11:00 hrs Carmel Secondary versus David Rose 12:30 hrs St Winifred Secondary vs.Tutorial High School 14:00 hrs Kingstown High vs. Richard Ishmael 15:30 hrs Chase Academy vs. Queen’s College
GMR&SC March 23 Race Meet
Last minute changes made to PMTC/ Allie relishing the competition Horse Owners race meet today
A bumper crowd is expected to throng to the Port Mourant Turf Club, Corentyne Berbice for that entity’s and the Guyana Horse Owners Association (GHOA) grand one day horserace meet today. With all systems in place a scintillating and action packed day of racing is anticipated. Close to 80 entries have been received, with over $8M in prizes at stake. Digicel and Geddes Grant have come onboard with Banks DIH Limited, Trophy Stall, Jumbo Jet, Shariff Business Enterprise, Inshan Bacchus Trucking Service, Lakeram Sukhdeo, Delmur Shipping Company, Republic Bank, Romell Jagroop Construction, Chris Jagdeo Construction, Anirude Ramcharitar Construction, Ramoo Funeral parlour, Balram Shane General Store, Satro Ramdin , Rajbance Gajnabi, Yunas Construction, Karma Rice farming of Black Bush and Rambrich Business Enterprise among the others.
The main C 3 and lower event, which has been upgraded from D, has the likes of Swing Easy, Got To Go, Run Nana Run, The Message, CP Got Even, California Strike, Red and Lovely, Grand De Roja, Treacle, Force Entry and Some Legend among others set to compete for the $1M winners take and trophy compliments of Banks DIH Limited. The highly anticipated F and lower event has been changed to 1200M for a winning take of $500,000 with Swing Easy, Rosetta, Mission King, Appealing Harvest, Traditional man, Joyful Victory and Quiet Strom looking to cause a ruckus. The top animal in the Four-year-old Guyana and West Indies bred event will race away with $500,000 over 1500M, among them are Princess Alicia, It’s My Turn, Ameer’s Joy, Another Jet, Guyana Star and Monsoon. Release The Best, Time to dance, Royal Empire, Quiet dancer, I will have another,
Unthinkable Girl and Nobody wants will be competing for the $400,000 top purse in the Three-year-old event for Guyana and West Indies bred horses over 1300M. There is a race for animals classified G3 West Indies Maiden and Guyana open over 1200m for a $400,000 first prize. Joyful Victory, Quiet Strom, Battle Hymn, Feels The Gold, She So Special, Easy to win, Silent Night and Viking are lined up to compete. Among the horses lined up for the ‘I’ and Lower 1000M sprint for a $250,000 winners pocket are Mary Ann, Funny Side, De Gump, and Windy Killer. The J and Lower 1200M for a $200,000 prize has over 10 entries including Affinity, The Road is Mine, Romeo, Prince Bayaya, Smarty Light, and Iron Man. The top jockey, trainer and stable will collect accolades compliments of the Trophy Stall Bourda Market and the organisers. (Samuel Whyte)
South are ECB/Sterling Products U-15 champs South Essequibo were crowned champions of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB)/Sterling Products U-15 50 overs tournament after recording a 57-run victory over North/Pomeroon in the final round game played recently. South batted first and scored 194 all out in 36 overs. Vishal Singh scored 26, Arnold Adams 23 and Dasrshan Indar 20; Shivnarine Chattergoon bagged 4-17. North/ Pomeroon replied with 137 all out in 29 overs. Omesh Ramgobin top scored with 54 and Chattergoon made 20; Indar claimed 4-12. Central/East Bank Essequibo beat Wakenaam/Leguan in their encounter. South along with runner up Central received trophies.
Reigning Group 2B champion Afraz Allie speaking ahead of the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club March 23 Race Meet said he is relishing the opportunity to compete against the best drivers in the category. Allie, who is currently overseas, told this newpapers that from what he is hearing it seems as though the Group will be heavily subscribed and he will have to be on top of his game to stave off the competition. “I am scheduled to arrive on the morning of qualifying so right now it is up to my team of mechanics and electricians to ensure that the machine is in perfect shape for me to do well,” he stated.
He revealed that the team has started work on his Toyota Starlet and they are hoping that the gearbox problem which plagued the car last November will be fully rectified come race day. “I have to be ready to defend my title since word is that most of the guys have done significant upgrades since the last Meet so right away you see I have my work cut out,” Allie noted. He, however, expressed optimism that they will be ready in time to repel all the anticipated challenges and continue his reign as champion. Allie reckoned Syed Hassan and Shairaz Roshandin among the drivers who could pose a threat to
his dominance, but according to him, they too will have to be on their game to dethrone him. “The challenge is going to be great, but I welcome it because only by winning amongst strong competition could you feel truly rewarded.” He extended thanks to the following sponsors for their support over the period and they include Banks DIH Ltd under its R1 White Ice, Mohammed’s Enterprise, Ready Mix, Prem’s Electrical, Mike’s Copy Centre, Tulshi Machine Shop, Cellphonix, Clifton Auto Spares and Sales, Imran Electrical, Mohamed Haffiz – Mechanic and most of all his family.
Jamaica Observer MONTEGO BAY, St James — American Justin Gatlin will run in the men’s 100m at the May 3, Jamaica International invitational (JII) to be held at the National Stadium, it was confirmed Friday. A release from the organising committee said the former Olympic Games 100m champion and silver medallist in the straight sprint at last year ’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia, had joined an already impressive list of athletes that had earlier this week confirmed their participation.
Unlike the other 12, however, only Gatlin has so far been confirmed for an event but it is expected that Jamaica’s World Championships bronze medallist Nesta Carter may line up against Gatlin. The release also announced that the meet, which is an IAAF World Challenge-designated event, would be launched at a press conference set for the Hilton Kingston next Friday morning. Gatlin, meanwhile, joins a list of glittering stars led by Jamaica’s Olympic, IAAF
World Outdoor and Indoor gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix, Olympic and World Championships gold medallist Sanya Richards Ross, World Championships men’s 400m gold medallist LaShawn Merritt as well as Francena McCorory who won the World Indoors 400m in Sopot, Poland, last weekend. Nigerian World Championships 200m/long jump medallist Blessing Okagbare and Americans Curtis Mitchell and Briana Rollins are also named.
Gatlin for Jamaica International invitational
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Kaieteur News
Sunday March 16, 2014
Regional four-day cricket Lewis Hamilton on Australia pole, with Sebastian Vettel down in 13th Permaul (6-42) orchestrates BBC Sport - Mercedes driver Lew i s H a m i l t o n grabbed a last-ditch pole position in a thrilling wet qualifying session at the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton edged out Red B u l l ’s Daniel Ricciardo by 0.317 seconds with the very last lap of the session. R i c c i a r d o ’s w orld champion team-mate Sebastian Vettel was only 13th. Hamilton’s team-mate Nico Rosberg took third ahead of an impressive d e b u t f r o m M c L a r e n ’s Kevin Magnussen in f o u r t h a n d F e r r a r i ’s Fernando Alonso in fifth. The Spaniard’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen was 12th after crashing in the second knock-out session shortly after completing a lap 1.6secs slower than Alonso. It was an exhilarating way to start a new season that has seen the introduction of the biggest rule changes in F1 for a generation. R e d B u l l ’s r e c o v e r y from a troubled pre-season programme has been impressive but Vettel was not the beneficiary. The German, who has won the last four World Championships, had a scrappy qualifying session. It was the first time he had failed to make it into the top 10 shoot-out since the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. Vettel pitted towards the end of the second session for a fresh set of intermediate tyres, hoping to benefit from their increased grip on the slippery track. But while Ricciardo, who stayed out on track on his tyres, finished the
session second fastest b e h i n d R o s b e rg , Ve t t e l could not improve. As he walked back to the garage, the reigning world champion was booed by some fans in the crowd. Vettel later said he had suffered an engine mapping software problem which a f f e c t e d t h e “driveability” of the car. The final session produced a nail-biting conclusion as drivers tried to second-guess the ever-changing conditions. A heavy shower before it started led most to start the session on full wet tyres, but as the track dried drivers were split as to whether the intermediate would be a better choice for the final runs. Ricciardo went for the intermediates while everyone else bar Williams’ Felipe Massa went for the full wets. Hamilton went fastest i n i t i a l l y, o n l y t o b e beaten by Rosberg, who was then toppled by Ricciardo, before Hamilton grabbed top spot back with the very last lap of the session. In doing so, Hamilton moved into sixth on the all-time list, equal with fellow Briton Nigel Mansell on 32 pole positions. “It’s been an interesting weekend and today has made it so much harder for everyone with the conditions, but I’m really happy for the job the team did,” Hamilton said. “These new cars are a lot harder to drive in the wet and it was the first time for me in the wet, as I’m sure it was for a lot of
people. It’s great to be up here with Nico.” Ricciardo, who had the edge on Vettel throughout qualifying, said: “To start the season with a front row does a lot for the confidence. “The weather added to the mix and the whole session went well. Q1 looked like it was going OK for us and then when the rain came it is the first time we have driven these cars in full wet conditions. “I’m really excited, but tomorrow is what counts.” Behind Alonso, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne took sixth ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, the second Toro Rosso of rookie Daniil Kvyat, Massa and the second Williams of Valtteri Bottas, who has a five-place grid penalty because of a gearbox change ahead of qualifying. Alonso is under investigation for impeding Gutierrez. Magnussen is under scrutiny from the stewards to find out whether he slowed down enough under yellows. Vettel was cleared by the stewards for the latter incident. Lotus have had a terrible weekend, struggling with reliability problems and getting almost no track time. Neither car was ready to go out for the start of first qualifying and by the time they did get out on the track they did not set a competitive lap time before it started to rain. Romain Grosjean and team-mate Pastor Maldonado qualified right at the back in 21st and 22nd places.
Flying Ace Cycle Club race set for today in Berbice Living true to their word of being even more active this year, the Flying Ace C y c l e C l u b ( FA C C ) o f Berbice has organised another road race for cyclists in the Ancient County only. Fresh from the Benjamin classic, the Mashramani Cycle Road race and The Cheddi Jagan memorial race, riders are expected to take to the roads again today when the club stages a 40-Mile event. It has been sponsored by various persons in the County including Wilbert Benjamin of Benjamin
S p orts, Guinness Bar, Furniture World, Lloyd Williams, Home Line Furnishing, Steve Ramsuchit and D. Balram Shane. The race pedals off from in front Marks Bridge at Tacama Turn, 60 Stanleytown, pass through New Amsterdam and proceed to Adventure on the Corentyne before turning back to finish at Main and Alexander Streets, New Amsterdam. Prizes will be awarded to the first eight finishers, the first two females and the first two beginners. There will also be eight prime point
prizes up for grabs. The females and beginners are expected to ride shorter distances. The event is expected to be a continuing battle between riders of the FACC and Trojan Cycle clubs and among those expected to take to the road are Elijah Brijadar, Andrea Green, Andrew Hicks, Romallo Crawford, Syborne Fernandes, Jeban Crawford, Wasim Hassnu, Ray Millington, Audrel Ross, Edmond Francis, K e i t h G r i ff i t h , Wi l b e r t Benjamin, Turhan Harris and Gary Benjamin among others.
Guyana fight-back
Veerasammy Permaul extracted bounce and turn to claim his 10th 5-wkt haul yesterday.
By Sean Devers Windward Islands were 98-8 in their second innings when bad light stopped play on a truncated penultimate day of their Regional four-day third-round cricket fixture against host Guyana yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Guyana lost their last three wickets yesterday for just 26 runs despite a 62-run eighth wicket partnership between Anthony Bramble (35) and Devendra Bishoo (28) with left-arm pacer Kenroy Peters finishing with 4-46 and off-spinner Liam Sebastien 275. Guyana, replying to the Windwards’ 307, fell for 213. Twenty-four year old Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (6-42) then spun webs around the batsmen, capturing his 10th five wicket haul at this level as he extracted prodigious bounce and turn from the surface. Off-spinner Narsingh Deonarine supported with 228 to orchestrate a Guyana fight back despite a fluent unbeaten 40 from 31-year-old Vincentian Romel Currency which helped his team to a 190-run lead going into today’s final day. On a day in which 177 minutes were lost to rain, Guyana resumed on 187-7 when play began 40 minutes late due to morning showers and progressed to 197 before a sharp shower at 10:53 sent the players scurrying off the field. Devendra Bishoo, 23 overnight, got going yesterday with a cover driven boundary in the day’s opening over bowled by Sebastien, while Bramble, who started the day on 29, edged Peters between the
Keeper and first slip, all along the ground for four. Bishoo was on 28 and Bramble on 34 and when play resumed for post Lunch session after a delay of 170 minutes with Guyana on 1977, Bishoo was caught behind off Peters off the first ball after the interval. Peters then bowled Bramble for 35 when the wicket-keeper was two short of his highest first class score and then trapped Permaul LBW for 12 to end the innings 35 minutes after lunch. Peters captured the last three wickets in an impressive spell on a slow track offering plenty of assistance for the spinners. When the visitors began their second innings with a lead of 94, they lost three quick wickets before reaching double figures as Guyana opened the bowling with the spin of Deonarine and Permaul. Smith, like he has done several times at the International level to off-spin bowling, played back to Deonarine in the first over of the innings and was trapped LBW. In the next over Permaul got one to spin and had Tyrone Theophile caught behind before the Windwards had scored a run. It was soon 7-3 when a fierce whip off his pads by Keddy Lesporis (6) rebounded from Assad Fudadin’s shoulder at short leg for Deonarine to take the offering off his own bowling to the dismay of the batsman. First innings centurion Sunil Ambris and his brother Currency took the score to 23 before the 20-year-old Ambris (8) was well taken at silly point by Fudadin when he prodded forward to Permaul to sink the visitors into more
trouble. When Skipper Sebastien, who made a fighting 60 in the first innings, got a delivery from Permaul that bounced on him and provided Fudadin with his second catch under the bat, he had made just six and his team was wobbling on the ropes on 35-5 as the Guyanese fought back well in the post lunch session. Currency, who has been playing at this level for 14 years, used his feet nicely to the spinners and an elegant drive down the ground and a sweetly timed sweep for fours off Deonarine were out of the top drawer. However, the Vincentian watched Lyndon James (4) fall to a catch at slip by Chris Barnwell off Permaul and the Windwards slumped to 43-6 to the delight of the handful of the fans in the stands in overcast conditions. By Tea the Islanders were 62-6 with Currency on 22 and Alton Bobb, who hammered Deonarine for consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over before the break, unbeaten on 12. Their partnership was worth 19 and lead 156. After Tea, Bobb (16) was caught at forward short-leg by Fudadin off Permaul who also had Peters (6) LBW as the Windwards lost two wickets for nine runs to stumble to 89-8. The 94 runs lead and Currency’s presence could prove critical for the visitors on a last day track expected to help the bowlers, especially since the Guyana batting has been poor this season. And with rain being factored into the equation, an enthralling final day is anticipated when play is called at 09:30hrs this morning.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Another resignation rocks US Soccer Coach to host EBFA Coaching Programme the GFF as General Secretary Coaches attached to clubs in the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) will benefit from a coaching programme organised by the EBFA and facilitated by United States based US Soccer Federation B license Coach, Ralph Green. The programme which is set for tomorrow at the Grove Community Centre commencing at 09:00hrs will see Green touching on the Fundamentals of coaching; What makes a good coach (speaking to players, portraying a positive image, being a mentor to your players, role model). A practical session will be held on Wednesday from 16:00hrs at the Grove Playfield and will see the coaches being taken through the paces on the following areas; working on defense, midfield, attack and
Ralph Greene goalkeeping among other areas. Green, who arrived in Guyana yesterday was a p p r o a c h e d b y E B FA Secretary Franklin Wilson to lend his expertise to the association and readily agreed to assist. The former Camptown defensive player is an
accredited United States Soccer Federation ‘B’ Licenced Coach, having also completed the C and D licences. He represented Camptown in the early 1970s. Green migrated to the USA in 1979 where he played in the Amateur League (Bankers Athletic League) in New York which was made up of ex professional players working in the financial industry and was Manager for European American Bank team.His coaching career commenced after the C a m p t o w n N e w Yo r k chapter was formed in 1992 and Green is the current President. His career in coaching at the youth level kicked off in 1998 with Woodhaven Soccer Club in the Long Island Junior Soccer League where he currently still coaches.
prepares to vacate position Football administration, already in chaos following sanctions meted out by the General Council to several officials of the Upper Demerara Football Association, has taken a further nosedive following the sudden resignation of the General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Noel Adonis sometime last week. Kaieteur News learnt of this development and sought a comment from President of t h e G F F, C h r i s t o p h e r Matthias. He said that he did not wish to speak on the matter and suggested that this reporter clarify the issue with Mr. Adonis. When contacted, Mr. Adonis hinted that his contract has reached the expiry date and he has no interest in being reinstalled. Meanwhile, a source close to the GFF revealed
Noel Adonis that the General Secretary was asked to tender his resignation. The source also said that the holder of the position is appointed and is placed on a contract for a stipulated period. Notwithstanding, the
General Secretary is a creature to the (GFF) President who can terminate the contract once reasonable grounds exist. It must also be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t M r. Matthias had exercised this prerogative in a matter with f o r m e r M r. A d o n i s ’ p r e d e c e s s o r, G e o rg e Rutherford. Meanwhile, Kaieteur Sport was reliably informed that Matthias has recently engaged a high profiled female football affiliate in a meeting at the GFF Dadanawa Street, Section K Campbellville office. It is uncertain whether that meeting had anything to do with a replacement of the portfolio in question. In the meantime, we were told that Mr. Adonis will retain the position until the expiration of his contract in the very near future.
10th annual DMW 11 Race Cycle Meet
Orville Hinds tops field in feature clash; Michael Anthony takes juvenile race Orville Hinds of United Bike Shop pedaled to victory in the feature 35-lap school boys and invitational race, topping a star studded field when the 10th edition of the Diamond Mineral Water 11Race National Park Cycle Meet was held yesterday. Hinds, in winning the contest that attracted 26 starters, clocked One Hour 14 Minutes 45.38 Seconds, relegating last year’s winner Raynauth Jeffrey (1hr 15min 01ses) to third place behind Warren Mc Kay. The fourth to sixth positions were occupied by Andre Abdool, Robin Persaud and Stephen Fernandes. The race pedaled off in a steady shower but that dissipated as proceedings progressed. Hinds eventually won with more than a minute on the second placed rider, his win was so dominating that he won six of the eight sprint prizes on offer, the other two shared between Jeffrey and Godfrey
Pollydore. Like Hinds, Michael Anthony of Team Coco’s was dominant in the juvenile 10-lap contest which he won by a long way, clocking 24 Minutes 01 Second. Andre Green took the second place with Alanzo Ambrose third. Anthony and Ambrose shared the sprint prizes with one each. The face of the veteran’s Under-50 race continued to be the indefatigable Junior Niles (Team Coco’s) who completed the 5-lap contest in 13 Minutes ahead of Wilbert Benjamin in a fierce finish, Ralph Williams placed third. Linden Blackman topped the field in the Over-50 race over a similar distance, Virgil Jones was second. Ozia Macullay was unstoppable in the mountain bike 5-lap event, stopping the clock at 13 Minutes 01 second to win from Clyde Jacobs and Wayne Nurse in that order. Sherwin Sampson was a
double winner on the day claiming victories in the BMX 6 - 9 and 9 – 12 years races, maintaining his supremacy. Following are the full results of the day’s proceedings: Race Laps Placing BMX Boys 6-9 1 Sherwin Sampson, Terimiha Harrison, Esau Jaisingh BMX 9-12 1 Sherwin Sampson, Taran Garbarran BMX 12-14 2 Rawle Small, Ammo Gomes, Stephen Wiltshire BMX Open 3 Adrian Sharma, Jaleel Jackson, Ammo Gomes 12-14 Boys & Girls 3 Christopher Griffith, Avish Ramkellawan, Toshawanna Doris Veterans Under-50 5 Junior Niles, Wilbert Benjamin, Ralph
Williams Veterans Over-50 5 Linden Blackman, Virgil Jones Veterans Over-60 5 Anthony Fariah Juveniles 10 Michael Anthony (24m 01s), Andre Green, Alanzo Ambrose Mountain Bike 5 Ozia Macullay (13m 01s), Clyde Jacobs, Wayne Nurse School Boys & 35 Orville Hinds(1h 14m 45.38s), Warren Mc Kay, Raynauth Jeffrey, Invitational Andre Abdool, Robin Persaud, Stephen Fernandes Photos saved as Michael Anthony cruises to victory in the juvenile race Sherwin Sampson is all concentration as he nears the finish line Ozia Macullay,
Mountain Bike winner
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Kaieteur News
Sunday March 16, 2014
Thrill on board with Mayor’s All Star U-20 squad tour to Suriname
Thrill support Mayor Under 21 - Route Supervisor Sylvester Persaud, Marketing Manager Alicia Katideen, General Manager Jailall Ragnauth, Josh Kamal U20 squad captain, Christine Schmidt, Manager and Lennox Arthur, Executive Coordinator. A local beverage distributor has come onboard for the Mayor’s All Star U20 Football Squad set to tour Suriname this week to play warm up matches in Paramaribo against the preparing Suriname Voetbol Bond (SVB) Olympic squad. At a simple handing over ceremony at the local
distributor’s MC Doom office, General Manager Mr. Jailall Ragnauth indicated how delighted he was to come aboard in support of this team heading to Suriname to participate in a preparatory event for the SVB. Executive coordinator of the Mayor’s All Star squad, Lennox Arthur,
expressed thanks to Thrill in their response to assist the team with travelling shirts and refreshment during the journey. He noted that the well prepared squad is ready to give their counterparts a test in the game which would enable them to be more prepared of the challenges of
their group in the Concacaf qualifier soon. The squad which is captained by seasoned campaigner Josh Kamal will see Joshua Browne, Les Charles Critchlow, Delon Lanferman, Dominique Garnett, Trevor Jones, Clive Matthews, Jeffery Perreira, Andre Hector, Jamaal Petty,
Dwayne Wilson, Randolph Wagner, Reshawn Hicks, Devon Charles, Malcolm Wilson, Orville Stewart, Nickel Fraser, Kevin Layne jnr, Keron Solomon, Rondell Arthur. Joseph Wilson, head coach, Marlon Washington, assistant coach, Gordon Braithwaite, assistant c o o r d i n a t o r, C h r i s t i n e
Schmidt, Manager, Mark Bradford, Media officer and Lennox Arthur Executive coordinator. The team is expected to depart tomorrow and will be engaged in two warm up matches against the Olympic squad in preparation and will play friendlies against FC. Prakash NV.
Elizabeth Styles U-19 50 overs tourney bowls off this weekend in Berbice The 2014 Elizabeth Styles Under-19 50 overs competition sponsored by US based Cosmetic Firm, Elizabeth Styles and organised by the Berbice Cricket Board has started this weekend with first and second round matches. The competition will be played on a round-robin basis with twenty four (24) teams participating in five geographical zones. The Zone winners of the preliminary rounds along with the three best runnersup will move on to the quarter-finals. Play in three of the Zones started yesterday and continues today, while the East Coast/Lower Corentyne and the Lower Corentyne/Central Corentyne Zones will get started next Saturday due to the involvement of Albion Community Centre, Rose
Hall Town and Port Mourant in the Tenelec Inc. Under-17 two-day quarter finals over this weekend. Yesterday’s first round matches Zone A - West Berbice Achievers vs Bush Lot New Generation at Bath Cotton Tree Die Hard vs D’Edward at Cotton Tree Blairmont Community Centre drew the Bye Zone B - East Bank/New Amsterdam/Canje Edinburgh vs Police at Edinburgh Young Warriors vs Tucber Park at Cumberland Rose Hall Community Cent. vs Goed Bananen Land at Rose Hall in Canje Zone E - Upper
Proprietor of Bissans Trading, Bissoondyal Singh, hands over the cheque to Administrative Officer Alisa Moonsee in the presence of other officials of the BCB. Corentyne Skeldon Community Centre vs Crabwood Creek Risings at Skeldon No. 72 Cut and Load vs No.72 Young star at No. 72 No.58/59 Cumberland drew the Bye Today (Sunday)
fixtures Zone A Bush lot New Generation vs Blairmont Community Centre at Bush Lot Cotton Tress Die Hard vs Achievers at Cotton Tree D’Edward drew the Bye Zone B
Edinburgh vs Tucker Park at Edinburgh Rose Hall Community Cent. vs Police at Rose Hall in Canje Goed Bananen Land vs Young Warriors at Goed Bananen Land Zone E
No. 58/59 combined vs No. 70 Young Star at No.59 Skeldon Community Centre vs No. 72 Cut and Load at Skeldon Crabwood Creek Risings drew the Bye All matches are scheduled to start at 09:30hrs.
Sunday March 16, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 75
Sankar wants to excel at cricket and football By Zaheer Mohamed Eighteen year old Malteenoes Sports Club leg spinner Steven Nicholas Sankar aims to excel at both cricket and football. Born on 25th of September 1995, Sankar plays football at the school level for Chase Academy. He started to play soccer at a very young age after he migrated to the United States of America where he represented MT Vernon FC at the U-15 stage, scoring six goals in four games as a forward. At the school level here, he played in the 2013 and 2014 Milo tournament as well as the Digicel competition in 2013. His best performance to date is against the Business School where he netted on five occasions, guiding his team to an 8-1 victory in the 2013 Digicel tournament. Sankar was introduced to cricket by his father Devanand Sankar at the age of nine. His talent was spotted by Coach Neil Barry
who took him to the Malteenoes Sports Club. He first turned out for the club in the Brain Street U-15 tournament in 2010 at the age of 14 where he took 7-22 against Transport SC. He won a call up to the Demerara U-15 team the following year after scoring 82 versus Everest at the club level. Sankar caught the eyes of many when he took 5-34 against Essequibo in the 2011 U-15 Inter county competition and earned selection to the Guyana team the said year and grabbed 67 against Leeward Islands in Trinidad and Tobago in the regional U-15 tournament, ending the competition with 20 wickets. He then graduated to the national U17 team taking 4-17 versus Barbados in 2012 in the twin island republic. After performing outstandingly for his club in 2013 in the GCA U-19 tournament, he was selected for the Demerara team in the Guyana Cricket Board inter
county competition where he bagged 15 wickets with a match haul of 12 scalps versus the President’s XI thus winning a place on the Guyana team that contested the Regional U-19 competition in St. Kitts. His best performance was 3-5 against Canada; he played four 3-day games and took 11 wickets and eight in the 6 one day matches. Sankar recalled when he made his second division debut against GDF as a 12 year old and took eight wickets in the 2-day game. “I was a bit nervous, but was guided by my senior team mates,” he added. He got his first division call up at the age of 15 years taking three wickets versus GNIC on debut.Apart from sports, Sankar wants to further his studies in Business Management. He has three subjects at the CSEC examination; Math, Principles of Business and Social Studies. He said that he is looking forward to
Steven Sankar
undertake a few more subjects before furthering his studies in Business Management. “Apart from sports I also take my education seriously. Apart
from being cricketers or footballers, there are other careers in sports such as coaches, managers, referees, umpires, scorers, commentators and
journalists and that’s why athletes should take their education seriously”, he said. Sankar informed that it is challenging to play both games and do his studies. “I relish the challenges and I know there is a time for everything. My senior team mates at Malteenoes are very helpful in this regard,” he stated. Sankar, who attended Eccles Primary School, said that he manages to balance sports with his education, adding that he attends classes in the morning and practices cricket three times a week and football twice in the afternoon. He indicated that he wants to get on the Guyana U-21 football team in the near future and also desires to represent the West Indies at the highest level. “To achieve this I have to stay fit throughout the year because when I am not involved in cricket I play football so I train a lot and always willing to take advice,” he said.
Roberts is Raiders’ hope tonight By Edison Jefford Retrieve Raiders’ hope against the fledging Amelia’s Ward Jets tonight in the Linden showdown for a place in the Grand Finale of the ‘Road to Mecca’: National Basketball Club Championships rests squarely on the shoulders of forward, Dwayne Roberts. A d m i t t e d l y, f e l l o w national forward, Neil Marks, who has not been at his best for Raiders, could also be key to their success if he turns up tonight, but the consistency and hunger of Roberts have already proven his critics wrong after he evaded a six-year ban. Roberts’ 21 points and 20 rebounds was the sole reason Raiders won against Linden top seeded, Kings, which possess much more talent, last weekend. If Roberts keeps those numbers up, then he will be a tsunami around the rim for Jets in this important game. Jets have enough fuel with centre Shane Webster and the Webster clan consistently proving their
- Ravens favoured to beat Colts
Ryan Stephney Shane Webster worth for the team. The We b s t e r s w i l l m o u n t pressure on Roberts that could be the turning point in the game – a fact that places the onus on Raiders’ Marks to perform. If not Marks, Louis James must also step up to combat the Websters; Shane especially has put up similar numbers as Roberts. Allround, Jets will enter tonight’s semi-final as the
Neil Marks better team with the right combinations, including Kevin Joseph and Rodwell Pellew, to win. However, Raiders have already proven to be giant killers and if that hunger and passion continues, Jets will be in for some turbulence, as opposed to the smooth sailing with which it has ascended to this stage of the competition. The winner of the game will play either
Ravens or Colts after the two clash in the featured game of the double-header tonight. In that game, Georgetown’s Colts will want to overcome the one team it has struggled to beat on a consistent basis, Ravens. Colts are ranked higher compliments of a better placing in the League last year, but since then, Ravens have been unbeaten in Guyana. Ravens indomitable rebounding has been on par
Dwayne Roberts compliments of transitioning young players like Dominic Vincente, who has been accurate with his jump shot, and Ryan Stephney who made it rain from beyond the arc for 25 points against Pacesetters last weekend. Ravens guards, Vincente, Stephney and Rodwell Fortune is a speedy combination for them in the backcourt. They will provide the right counter for Colts’ fast-paced guards, Dave Causway and Shelroy
Shelroy Thomas Thomas. The featured game is expected to be a highintensity, speedy encounter among two top teams eager to be labelled ‘the top club in Guyana’. Jermaine Slater and Ryan Gullen are quality forwards for Ravens while veteran, Dane Kendall and newcomer Steve McSeen will line-up for Colts. For their bench depth and recent exceptional form, Ravens are favoured to win against Colts tonight.
t r o Sp Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Competition
Ten-man St. George’s hold on for a draw P.71
Action in yesterday’s segment of the Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Compettiion at the Ministry of Education ground.
Lewis Hamilton on Australia pole, Allie relishing the competition Sebastian Vettel down in 13th GMR&SC March 23 Race Meet
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Reigning Group 2B champion Afraz Allie poses next to his Toyota Starlet at the 2013 CMRC in Jamaica.
Lewis Hamilton (centre) secured his first poleposition since last year’s Belgian Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo’s (right) second place is a career best. Nico Rosberg was third. (AP)
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