Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

The exchange rate should be state controlled In the two decades since the People’s Progressive Party acceded to the seat of Government the exchange rate has soared to heights that have people outside the country demanding that the West Indies cricket team perform to reflect this country’s exchange rate. In fact, that was the cry from people in the Caribbean even before the PPP came to power. Between 1983 and 1992 the exchange rate moved from $4.35 to the US dollar to $125 to the United States dollar. When the exchange rate was officially announced at $10 to the United States dollar the then opposition which now forms the government, screamed ‘Murder’ to mimic the calypso by the Mighty Sparrow, ‘Ten to One is murder’. And as the exchange rate climbed so too did prices and the cost of living. There were adjustments to the wages and salaries but at no time could the pay hikes compensate for the inflation. Even today when the government claims that it is paying increases to compensate for inflation, a close look would reveal that the people always continue to be worse off. We have seen people who were comparatively comfortable, slump to the ranks of the poorly paid although there was no change in their employment status. But there were contradictions. The government says that people now have a larger disposable income because they can now buy cars. And indeed, it does seem that way when one sees the streets fast becoming overcrowded with cars to the point that people are reluctant to drive into the city. To add to the contradiction is the fact that over the past few years the government has been distributing house lots and housing schemes have been springing up. To build houses people had to be in a position to spend more. But those comprise no more than ten per cent of the population. The vast majority are poor people—those who live from paycheck to paycheck, who rely on remittances from friends and family overseas. Many smiled as the exchange rate rose because they would get more local currency for the same volume of foreign currency. And that remains he case today when the exchange rate has risen to somewhere between $210 and $213 to the United States dollar. In just over two decades the local currency has declined by seventy percent. However, prices have risen by much more. Using a loaf of bread as an example one is now paying far more than the $10 per loaf one did back in 1992. House rents have risen by a similarly high per cent as have transportation costs, clothing costs and even construction costs. Some say that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. A decade ago, the United Nations reported that Guyana was a country with abject poverty. That agency reported that sixty per cent of the country lived in poverty and more than half of those lived in abject poverty. Yet from many indications the country seems to be doing well economically. High rise buildings are shooting up all over the country. Some say that the high gold price financed a few who undertook these constructions. It would be interesting to see whether these constructions are halted because the price of gold has plummeted. Many still wonder why has there been no shift in the number of poor even though the country has benefitted from debt write-offs and from significant loans and grants, the largest grant coming from Norway. Money contributed by the European Union was not insignificant. Now we must ask the government to intervene. Way back then the government promised the United States that it would remove itself from controlling aspects of private sector development. The government agreed. The currency market is now one that the government has consigned to the private sector, something that would be unheard of in most other countries. Even the great and liberal United States controls its money. Can we expect some intervention? Must the free market determine the exchange rate? We are seeing hoarding of foreign currency thus the rising exchange rate. A pity that the Central Bank is not in control

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Letters... Where your views make the news

Let’s not have any confusion; the sugar industry is being destroyed! DEAR EDITOR, There has been a lot of confusion and misrepresentation regarding remarks made at an APNU press briefing on Tuesday 11th March 2014. I was asked to offer some comments about Clement Rohee’s accusation that the international community had destroyed the sugar industry by removing the preferential price of sugar to the ACP countries. In my comments I informed the media operatives who were there that the dire situation in which GuySuCo finds itself was due entirely to the incompetence of the PPP Board of Directors and GuySuCo, and not due to the opposition, the international community or the weather, which has been the spurious claims of the PPP in order to hide their incompetence in destroying the sugar industry. And let’s not have any confusion, it is being destroyed! I alerted the media to the fact that there were numerous aspects of the Skeldon Project, i.e. shortage of labour, clumsy mechanisation, poor overall management and the absence of a viable Board of directors who are acting in total secrecy. It was certainly not an advisable plan to be expanding the Guyana industry, which was not and could never be a viable competitor, at a time when everyone else in the ACP was

downgrading theirs, in view of the withdrawals of the EU subsidies. It was a stupid, incompetent and illiterate thing to do and we are paying the price now. As if to reinforce my contention, Dr Clive Thomas’ exposition of costs published in the Stabroek News of Sunday 16th March 2012 tells us that in 2012 we produced sugar at 36 cents a pound when the world market price in March 2014 is 17.25 cents a pound. The Minister now tells us that by 2017 we will be producing sugar at competitive prices. He does not say how. The most important defect of the plan is the inability to supply the new factory with 8400 tons of cane per day, instead of the 2200 tons per day which was what the old Skeldon factory required, without establishing that it can be done. Also they never established that mechanical harvesting was feasible in Guyana given our low-lying, badly drained soils and heavy rainfall. So even if they had built a perfectly good working factory, they have never resolved the other problems, even today. It was also always questionable whether the farmers at Skeldon had the capacity to plough, plant and harvest 10,000 acres in 5 years, which was equivalent to the acreage of Skeldon in 2004. I also dealt with the deprivation of the EU Developmental funds, which the

government took into the central government coffers, instead of giving it to the sugar industry to modify or to diversify the industry to make it more competitive. It is my opinion that: 1. This money was kept locked up in central government by the PPP executive to deny the workers of the industry any share of it, since the management was telling the workers that they had no money for wage increases, as the industry was uneconomical and was making huge losses; and 2. That they would have had to pay out 9-10% of this money to the cane farmers who were also affected by the drop in price and were entitled to their share of the compensation, but were not offered the relief of the developmental funds to make themselves more efficient producers; which I still think that they are entitled to. At all times we have to remember that Donald Ramotar, now president, was sitting on that Board of directors and said and did nothing. But in depriving the Industry of these badly needed funds, we see in a GuySuCo document called “Revised Commentary on Capital Budget 2008” [two years after the compensation to enhance the efficiency of the (Continued on page 23)

It can be done, but please stop the lies! DEAR EDITOR, In Hindu philosophy we have a Sanskrit quote from the B[hadâraGyaka Upanishad ”asato ma sadgamaya” which translates loosely into “lead me from the asat to the sat – from untruth and non-reality to truth and reality”. What the PPP has attempted on Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan with respect to this latest GuySuCo issue, is a revelation that the PPP is very prepared to continue to live in the domain of the “quadrupled monster”. Only such a beast can tell such a blatant untruth with such a straight face and hope to get away with it. For the record, Mr. Ramjattan never said, “if the AFC has its way, they will close the sugar industry and use the cane fields to cultivate tilapia,” as was willingly misrepresented by GINA. If one is to reflect back to May 11, 2011 in the run-up to the 2011 General Elections, it was Mr. Ramjattan who at an AFC Press Conference categorically stated that GuySuCo must move to greater mechanization to cut cost and it is the duty of the industry to find employment for the disenchanted workers who are staying away from the slave-like conditions in the field. At that Press Conference, Mr. Ramjattan clearly stated that his party is “committed to building a sugar industry that is based on innovation and sustainability where the infrastructural and technological needs of the industry are in place”. The operative words here are ”building a sugar industry”. He further told reporters at that Press Conference that in the AFC’s sugar action plan, the party has plans to create many new jobs by engaging investors in

ethanol production. He commended the Jagdeo Government on the Enmore Packaging Plant and demanded that more of such value added ventures could be undertaken to save the industry. This is a clear AFC public policy, as certified in the AFC Action Plan. Nowhere in the AFC’s Action Plan is there any strategy to close down sugar production as is being misrepresented by the PPP today as they practice their trade-mark of “gutter politics” in their determined quest to follow their racist political playbook to regain lost political grounds in Berbice that the AFC took from them in a fair campaign on the issues. Any rational mind reading such positions from the AFC will find not one statement to substantiate this blatant falsehood from the PPP. So why this untruth? This public display of gross deception brings us straight to Romans 3:13 and we quote “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips”. This is NOT how politics ought to be practiced. It has been more than five years now and even after two Ministers, GuySuCo is still turning on its head, all because the PPP remains clueless on how to undo the travesty called the Skeldon White Elephant. In 1990 under Hoyte, the cost of production at GuySuCo was 18.8 cents per lb as certified by the World Bank. By 1998 when the Jagans departed office, the production cost was 22.1 cents per lb as certified by the National Development Strategy. At the end of 2013, after 14 years of the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal, GuySuCo was

producing sugar at 39.9 cents per lb, while we sell sugar to the EU market at 21.9 cents per lb as certified by the GuySuCo 2013-2017 Strategic Plan. These facts cannot be washed away with lies and untruths. The Skeldon Sugar Factory was presented to the Guyanese people as the primary strategy to reducing the production cost to 21.8 cents per lb by 2013, but the PPP failed miserably on this task. This continued mis-management of the industry over the last 14 years under the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal, has brought nothing but perpetual poverty to the majority of the people on the sugar belt. But as classic Stalinists, they blame the world for their under-performance. Well in 2011 the Berbicians saw through their lies and told them at the ballot boxes what they think of them as a Government. So does the PPP think more lies today will help them at the ballot boxes in 2014 or 2016? We in the AFC firmly believe that the sugar belt can be turned around, but it has to be done using the best technical skills, both locally and internationally, especially from Brazil and India. The Government of Guyana has to make a determined effort to increase production along with a strategy to move the process to more value added activities like more production of packaged “food-grade” Demerara Gold, more sale of electricity to the national grid and of course, ethanol production to aid our fuel imports. Yes, we in the AFC believe it can be done, but please stop the lies! Dr. Veersammy Ramaya (MP) and Sasenarine Singh

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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

Justice Sukul’s disbarment raises many questions DEAR EDITOR, The recent resignation of Mr. Rabi Sukul, a UK trained and admitted Barrister, as a Judge of the Guyana Court of Appeal, was viewed with great concern by many of us in the Guyanese diaspora in North America. The obvious question was: what could possibly cause his untimely judicial demise so soon after he mounted the appellate bench. After all, the man “strived so hard and for so long to ... return to [his] homeland”! (his words). While it appears that Mr. Sukul’s resignation resulted from a request by Chancellor Carl Singh following the former Judge’s disbarment in England where he practiced law prior to his appointment, of greater interest to the legal mind and judicially minded is the process by which this English Barrister got himself appointed to the nation’s highest appellate court. Mr. Sukul, whose disbarment has since been suspended pending the outcome of his appeal, advised the local press that he was targeted by a hostile British Court Registrar and the Bar Council “with a view to ending his career on the bench” and blamed an English solicitor, known to him, for filing, without his knowledge, draft grounds of appeal which he admittedly prepared but which he originally advised were non-existent. This lawyer claims that as a consequence of the unauthorized filing of the aforesaid draft grounds of appeal, he was ultimately “disbarred in his absence, meaning he was unrepresented” (Stabroek News: 19/02/14) Respectfully, this contention lacks credence and/or logics. It certainly strains the legal mind to accept this argument as no lawyer becomes disbarable, simpliciter, for the filing of draft grounds of appeal: nor is a lawyer guilty of professional misconduct for making procedural errors in so

filing e.g. for lack of perfection of the appeal. There may, however, be cases in which “filed grounds” could lead to serious disciplinary action against counsel. e.g. where the grounds filed are so egregious in that they are factually distorted, nonexistent and effectively misleading such that they would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. In his disclosures to Stabroek News (19/02/14) , Mr. Sukul states that he advised the solicitor involved in the case that he did not identify any obvious grounds of appeal, yet upon request by said solicitor, three months later, he proceeded to draft “two possible grounds of appeal” which were “genuine and lawful”. Why were they ever drafted if no appeal was intended or instructed? Why were the grounds filed without Mr. Sukul’s permission or knowledge? Did the solicitor require counsel’s permission at that stage or could the solicitor perfect the filing of the appeal without the Barrister who unsuccessfully represented the client at trial? While these questions remain unanswered, the former judge’s explanations themselves raise a number of red flags. Mr. Sukul admits that he received two letters from a case officer from the Court of Appeal re: information relating to the two grounds of appeal, presumably the very ones that he drafted. And what did learned counsel do? Did he respond? No! He refused or failed to do so on the basis that “wrongly and to my peril, I did not respond to those letters because I knew that I had not submitted any document to the Court of Appeal”. As if this was not sufficient disrespect to the Court, Mr. Sukul was, on a Judge’s direction, offered to be provided with the transcripts in order to perfect

the appeal, but said offer was equally refused upon the rationale that: “It is a major, and possibly significant procedural irregularity for a judge of the Court of Appeal to give directions to perfect the two draft grounds submitted not by trial counsel but by the solicitor, three months after the deadline had passed ...” As a lawyer, one is tempted to ask why did Mr. Sukul not avail himself of the opportunities presented to him thus far to explain his non-involvement in the matter. He refused to attend before the judge who issued directions and further refused to follow those directions on the argument that the judge was procedurally wrong. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal was without any knowledge that Mr. Sukul was uninvolved in the Appeal before it. He was otherwise occupied disobeying official enquires and recommendations! I pause to think how would Sukul JA react toward an equally erring lawyer in circumstances akin to his own case. Mr. Sukul blamed a number of officials and Tribunals, as well as the British justice system, a colleague, the Registrar and the Court of Appeal for his plight, but significantly ignored his own deliberate and wrongful actions which eventually led to his disbarment. Not only did he refuse/fail to respond to communications and directions from the Court, he was actually called in to explain his professional inadequacies which he apparently flunked. Need anyone remind him that failure/refusal to respond to communications from the court constitutes professional misconduct? Undoubtedly this gentleman was the author of his own misfortune as he rationalised ex post facto. “It is a great travesty that I did not respond timely to the Registrar’s offer...all I needed to do was to remind the Court of Appeal that I had not

submitted the grounds of appeal, and in any event, I have no instructions from the Solicitor nor client to pursue an appeal...If I had done so I would not have been disbarred today”. The question is why didn’t he! The practice of law in England and indeed in many common law jurisdictions is governed by regulatory bodies established under enabling legislation. These regulatory institutions establish rules of professional conduct which must be maintained by every member of the bar. Violation of any such rules or codes of conduct leads to disciplinary proceedings against the defaulting member and penalties range from reprimand to disbarment. Professional Conduct rules require, inter alia, that lawyers must at all times conduct themselves in a professional and principled manner, must act with civility toward others and be respectful to the court: respect, in this regard, includes an obligation to respond, on a timely basis, to all communications from the Court. By the very nature of their profession, lawyers are required not to knowingly do, or cause to be done, anything that may bring the administration of justice into disrepute: and “knowingly” is determined on a standard of reasonableness! Reading his side of the story (and we only know the other side’s from Mr. Sukul) one gets the impression that the former judge may have been somewhat brash in his dealings with the authorities. Media reports indicate that Mr. Sukul had practiced law in England for 25 years prior to the instant case and he had never had a complaint upheld against him during those years. Given his practice record, he ought to have known that his actions, in the circumstances, would not satisfy the required professional standards of a barrister, acting reasonably,

and consequently became the subject of a conduct hearing leading to his disbarment. Whether or not Mr. Sukul’s actions warranted disbarment or lesser discipline or none at all would hopefully be determined at his appeal if same were heard on its merits. If not, we would probably never know. Unlike the view of Peeping Tom, a KN columnist, and others, it is not correct to hold that Mr. Sukul was disbarred for filing unmeritorious grounds of appeal. He became the subject of a conduct hearing as a result of a complaint by the Registrar. The complaint was heard by the Bar Council and, rightly or wrongly, he was found guilty of professional misconduct and ordered disbarred. That said, I lay no blame on the powers that be for the appointment of this English Barrister to our appellate Court. Neither the JSC nor the Executive must be faulted for his appointment. Indeed, the Government had nothing to do with it. Mr. Sukul was sworn in by the President pursuant to his constitutional powers upon recommendation by the JSC. Mr. Sukul, however, must take total responsibility for this embarrassment. He had a professional obligation to disclose the fact that he was under active investigation and was the subject of a conduct hearing immediately prior to his appointment, but he chose otherwise. In the circumstances, I am of the respectful view that Rabi Sukul’s failure to so advise the Chancellor or the Judicial Service Commission is an act of professional dishonesty which disqualifies him for the position of Justice of Appeal or any other judicial office.

Had he done the honourable thing and made full disclosures of the Bar Council’s pending conduct hearing against him, he might not have been the subject of Breaking News! The Sukul fiasco does not necessarily require any significant changes to the appointment process of puisne and appeal judges. Our Constitution provides an adequate framework for such tasks. What is really needed is the establishment of a proper selection and appointment mechanism through which an applicant’s personal status and professional history could be judiciously scrutinized. At the very least, a letter of good standing should be obtained directly from the regulatory body of the applicant’s practice jurisdiction in the case of external candidates - Bar Council, Law Society, Bar Association etc. Letters of standing usually cover such factors as qualifications, year of call, areas of practice, discipline, accolades, suspensions, reprimands, fines, pending investigation/ conduct hearing, bankruptcies etc. The JSC has the constitutional mandate to appoint our judges. However, it needs to get out of its slumber and actively pursue its responsibility to ensure that judicial positions are filled by legal professionals of unquestionable conduct and integrity. Kaisree S. Chatarpaul Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Public: Toronto, Canada

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

19-year-old Corentyne robbery accused says he was tortured The father of a 19-year-old multiple robbery accused is sparing no effort to see that he gets justice for the brutal beating his son allegedly received at the hands of police ranks who arrested him a month ago. Once again the word torture is being associated with the police. This time around, the victim, Kishan Hemnauth, of Lot 160 Section ‘B’ Number 65 Village, Corentyne is telling a tale so horrifying that previous allegations of police brutality pale in comparison. Hemnauth, who is facing six charges of robbery under arms, was picked up by police last month, a suspect in a spate of robberies in the Corentyne area. He spoke of being suffocated, thrown into a trench, beaten with batons before being dumped into a dark cell, despite his obvious critical condition by overzealous cops who were angry over the full scale removal of their colleagues from the Number 51 Police Station. Thanks to medical intervention, he survived to

tell his story, having secured bail in the High Court. Hemnauth recalled that on the morning of February 20, last, around 08:00 hours, he was attending to his father’s cows in their yard when a group of heavily armed police ranks barged in. “Dey surround me and dem dey scramble me. Dey say is me dey come for. Dey run in de house, shove me mammy to de side; me nah know wha dem ah look for and then dem come out back and carry me way. Dem carry me ah (Number) 51. Dem nah tell me nothing. Some policeman story dem talking bout, how dem police dem get transfer and dem gat to get back dem police to dem righted spot,” Hemnauth told this newspaper. That was only the beginning of his ordeal. At the Number 51 Police Station, Hemnauth was made to kneel on the floor after he could not tell the police what they wanted to hear. They wanted to know what Hemnauth knew about the gang that was committing the robberies. From the Number 51

Station, the police drove him to the Divisional Headquarters at New Amsterdam where the alleged torture commenced. “Dem beat me up li’l bit deh, cuff up and thing and then dem carry me at a station in Canje Road…Dem sehe they coming back fuh me later.” The ranks did return around 19:00 hours that night and took Hemnauth in handcuffs back to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam. There they placed a plastic bag over his head and started to cuff him about his body. According to the young man the police took a piece of wood and lashed him on his shoulders before ordering him to walk and jump into their jeep. It was night and the already badly injured Hemnauth had no idea where they were taking him. He said that he honestly thought that they were done with beating him and were taking him back to the Number 51 Police Station where they would eventually release him. He was wrong. Since he was lying face

Millers can pay farmers better prices - Minister Ramsammy - Govt. optimistic about rice exports to Venezuela It is the belief of Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy that millers can pay farmers better prices for their paddy. He added that when the Venezuela agreement is finalised, the Ministry will give priority to the millers who paid farmers a reasonable sum for their paddy. The Minister made this response to farmers’ complaints of low prices they are receiving for their paddy. The Minister, in an interview on Friday, said that this issue seems to have become an annual feature. Prices are not set by the government, but by the millers. “The Government of Guyana does not set the price; these are private sector ventures. Rice is done mainly by farmers. Private farmers and the millers are private businessmen,” he said. “We have been talking to the millers; it is my belief that the millers can pay a better price than they are paying at this early stage. It’s very early right now and harvesting is just starting. “Our indication is that in Essequibo the millers are

paying somewhere between apparently $8000 and $8800 …and some farmers are getting about $3000,” he said while noting that the price also depends on the quality. “I believe that the millers are taking advantage of the contract with Venezuela. The shipment to Venezuela has not started, but we as a Government will make sure that the millers who treat farmers more fairly are the ones who get priority when it comes to selling rice to Venezuela. We are going to take that into consideration.” “We cannot force the millers or the farmers what price one should pay or one should sell at, we can only facilitate and advise and that’s what we are doing right now,” he added. Noting that these individuals sell their products to international markets, he said, “They all sell rice to individuals in the markets that we would have in Jamaica, Europe etc. The only place where we as a Government sell rice is Venezuela”.. “Last year at this time we had similar problems, because Venezuela had not signed the contract until late … I believe was April by the

time Venezuela signed the agreement. Once that was signed everything moved smoothly.” He added that advances have been made towards this agreement; however it will take some time to negotiate everything. “All that usually takes a long way of completing it, all that we are waiting for now is for Venezuela to sign a purchase order indicating to us that we should start shipment, that we have also made some advances on, and I do not want to give at the moment any kind of false hope to anyone, but I expect that should be done shortly,” he added. He acknowledged that Guyana has managed to secure shipments to some other countries. “As of now we have made arrangements to ship about 1500 tonnes every week to Haiti. We have a small agreement with Belize and we have another country that I am finalising agreements with. That country at present buys mainly from the United States of America, about 120,000 tonnes of rice, and Guyana is hoping to enter that market which will be an entirely new market for us.” (GINA)

down in the jeep he got the shock of his life when he eventually got a chance to get up and see where he was taken. “When I come from de van now, I see a canefield.” He explained that while handcuffed with his hands behind his back, two of the ranks held on to his feet and lowered his head into the trench. This was the local equivalent of waterboarding. This they did several times. “While me in de trench, me feeling sick. When dem tek me out and me lie down pon de dam, one ah dem start fuh jump up pon me stomach. Me nah able breathe, I start fuh vomit out water,” he stated. Hemnauth told this newspaper that the ordeal continued with the ranks tying a piece of wire to his pants waist and this time throwing him into the trench. Weak and still handcuffed, he was unable to help himself and he started to ingest a substantial amount of water. Eventually he was pulled back on to land by the ranks who now started to beat him with a rubber hose. It was not enough for the ranks, who took him to the front of their vehicle and discharged a round from a gun close to his ear. “Me hear when one ah dem ask de other one if he get rounds fuh put back, if he walk with extra. Then dem tell me dat dah one miss me and de next one going to me head. Dem kick me back again overboard and then tek me out.” Hemnauth said that he became so weak that he started to tremble and still the ranks did not tell him about the robbery allegations. “Me ah loss me vision and everything get shaky, if me stand up. Me just walking

and drop,” he stated. Eventually he was taken back to Central Police Station where he again had to endure the plastic bag over his head. “Me ask den wha dem beating me for and they say ‘you gon know’. All I tellin myself, ah gon dead now.” Eventually he was placed into the lock-ups at the police station at Canje where he remained until his father and lawyer visited him. “When I go in de cell, other people been in deh but I go in a corner and lie down. Is de fuss time I get lock-up. I go in a corner and fold up a cry,” Hemnauth recalled. The following day he managed raise his shirt to show his father and his attorney his battered body. Of course this angered the police. He was promised release after 72 hours but this did not happen. He recalled that one night while he was in the lock-ups before he was taken to court, the police came for him but they were prevented from taking him out, thanks to the human feces that had piled up in the cell. Hemnauth explained that another prisoner who was in sympathy with him, pushed his hand into the toilet bowl and threatened to throw the contents he had pulled up on anyone who dared to take the youth out of the cell. “He tell dem he gon shy s…t, and dem can’t come and tek out nobody from in hey tonight. Dem run and dem lock back de door,” Hemnauth said. He was denied medical attention. It was not until he was taken before the court that an order was made for him to see a doctor. He sustained a suspected broken rib. Although the marks have begun to pale, this

Robbery accused Kishan Hemnauth newspaper observed signs of a brutal physical assault on Hemnauth’s body. A complaint has since been lodged with the Police Complaints Authority as well as the Police Office of Professional Responsibility. Hemnauth told this newspaper that he could recognize the ranks who allegedly tortured him. On February 25, he appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Whim Magistrate’s Court, and was not required to plead to the charges. The charges read that Hemnauth on December 30, last while in the company of others and armed with dangerous and offensive weapons—guns, knives and cutlasses at No 56 village Corentyne, robbed Chinese national Zhuoxing Su, Chandee Jagdeo and Kemrai Dindiyal all of No 56 village. During the heist, Hemnauth is accused of robbing Su of one laptop (continued on page 21)

Legislation needed to monitor ... From page 2 the form of kidnapping and organ trafficking and therefore has the potential of lending to a “very slippery slope and certainly not one that you want to go down.” According to Chairman of the Kidney Foundation, Major General Joseph Singh, even as the Kidney Foundation notes with concern talks about transplantation, the body has no say, nor no involvement, in such activities. He however disclosed that the Foundation had previously written to the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer requesting a meeting, a forum at which he anticipates that the issue of transplantation legislation will be

discussed. “One of the agenda items we wish to discuss is that we feel there needs to be that framework in place in anticipation that there will be opportunities where people, who wish to have transplants, will be able to do so but also ensuring that the legal proceedings and after care are in place before that happens,” said Singh. He underscored that one of the insidious aspects of kidney disease is that it could “creep up on you and you don't know until you have a problem.” Singh said that the Foundation, which has as its mandate to raise awareness about chronic kidney disease with a view of prevention or

reducing fatal outcomes, has been stressing the need for members of the public to be screened. “You may feel that you are perfectly healthy but you need to get screened to determine whether you have any of the symptoms that can lead to chronic kidney disease. This is why every single citizen, not just those who are probably experiencing problems, needs to do this, including children so we would like to see this as a national campaign to ensure that every single person has a screening.” And screening, according to him, could include simple things such as blood pressure, blood sugar or even kidney function tests.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

AG DENIES GOVT. STALLING AML BILL Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall has responded to the A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) accusation that Government is delaying the work of the Anti Money laundering Bill (AML) in the Special Select Committee by “dragging its feet.” Nandlall, in a recent interview, accused the Opposition of having amnesia when he mentioned that Government tabled the AML Bill in April last year in the National Assembly. He said it was the Opposition “without any good reason that sent it to a Select Committee and kept it there for six months without making a single amendment to it… During those six months they employed every dilatory tactic available, including manufacturing a statement … the President called them terrorists and boycotted the Committee.” “It was in their absence that we got an opportunity to wrap up the work of the Committee and return it to the Assembly when they rejected it by vote. They then requested us to bring it back in the National Assembly and it was re-tabled by me in December of 2013.Again the Opposition by vote took it to the Select Committee where it currently is.” According to the AG, the Opposition presented “for the first time in nearly ten months” on the 9th of February, two pieces of paper, one by APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance Carl Greenidge and the other by Member of Parliament Jaipaul Sharma which he said the Opposition “claimed were the proposals for amendments. These proposals were badly written and they collided with each other. Though they were coming from the same party it

was obvious that they did not even discuss it among themselves. So after ten months of repeating to the press that they have amendments to make to the Bill …yet they first presented those carelessly scrambled together proposals and put it before the Committee.” The Attorney General also outlined that the Alliance For Change (AFC) for the last ten months have repeatedly said that they have no problems with the AML Bill “all they want is the establishing of the Public Procurement Commission now they suddenly have professed love for APNU amendments and are arguing that the Bill must be amended.” Nandlall further articulated that APNU did not amend the Bill, but the Principal Act, and stressed that the Special Select Committee has no mandate to review the Principal Act but the Bill that was given to it, “so at that late stage they brought amendments that are completely irrelevant and outside the remit of the Principal Act. Those amendments had to have been put in proper legislative language and their impact had to be examined against the Amendment, Bill, the Principal Act, the Constitution of Guyana as well as other legislation to see whether they will not be inconsistent.” As such, Nandllall explained that the Government has tabled their own Amendment to counter

APNU’s. He said that both APNU’s Amendments and counter Amendments will be sent to CFATF to see which one is found to be compliant. The Attorney General said that APNU’s Amendments were put to the populace and was rejected.”We have a duty in Government to ensure that the wishes of the people of this country are respected and are not highjacked by parliamentarians who are pursuing an agenda that is radically different from that which the people want.” Speaking to the reason why the work of the Select Committee was placed on hold, which the Opposition is citing as an example to of Government “dragging its feet,” Nandlall said that Chairperson of the Committee Ms. Gail Teixeira had to leave to attend an international engagement representing Guyana and that is why the next meeting was fixed for the 26th of March. Additionally he said that many times meetings were adjourned to facilitate lawyers from the Opposition going to Court and for them travelling overseas. “The attendance record of the Committee and the minutes of those meetings will show the constant battle that the Government had to have been engaged in to have meetings held frequently. So it is blatantly dishonest for the Opposition to attempt to blame the Government for any delay in this Bill” said Nandlall.

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Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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BUNNY’S PHILOSOPHY Way back in 1986, city businessman, now deceased, Mr. Bunny Fernandes, addressed the new city council in Georgetown. The Mayor at the time was Robert Williams and Bunny’s message was straightforward: talk less and work more. Bunny in his short presentation, told his fellow councillors that he was against committees being established to report on what was being done. He wanted to see committees established to do the work. He also called on them to stop reporting to the press about what they planned to do but instead report on what they had actually been done. As always his motto was: stopping the talk show and get the work done. These days there are too many statutory meetings in Town Hall. What is needed is for those appointed to get around to doing the work, to take a hands-on approach as Bunny would have suggested. Bunny was one man who talked very little. He concentrated on getting the job done. He was not into a lot of planning. He knew that in simple organizations, the need for detailed planning was

unnecessary. He believed that if something needed fixing, it should be fixed rather than spending a great deal of time discussing how it should be fixed. Right now there is a problem with the wage bill at City Hall. It is taking up too large a percentage of the total revenues of the council. It is unsustainable. If Bunny were alive and asked what he felt should be done, he would recommend that all the fat be trimmed and all the committees that have been established to report, be disbanded and that the councillors should be out on the ground helping to fix the problems. Bunny would advise that an organization has problems whenever there are too many deputies and assistants. Whenever you see an organization having too many managers, plus deputy managers, then assistant managers, this translates to fat and this fat must be trimmed. The first step towards efficient management is to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy management at the top. You need one manager to be overall in charge. You need supervisors and you need clerks. This is

Dem boys seh ...

Two man learn bout de dog story Old people got a saying. “Every dog got its day.” Well nuff dog day run out over de holiday weekend and some of de way de thing happen got some people still smiling. A man was riding he motorbike and towing he friend. None of dem had on helmet but dem riding. De man see a roadblock and mek an about turn. De police spot he and call pun he fuh stop. Well de man know that de police can’t chase because by de time dem fuh get in de car he gone. Suh he look back and show dem he middle finger and smile. When he look forward he didn’t even had time to duck. Is into de back of a garbage truck he ride. Dem boys hear that de same middle finger that he show de policed get bruck up. Some people hear that de finger get cut off. Dem had another dog who day come to an end. This one is a Member of Parliament. He know that de law seh that he got to get permission from de Minister of Home Affairs before he can put tint pun he car. Now dem boys know that all two of dem is Member of Parliament. Under normal conditions all he had to do was to meet de man during de break and mek he case. But he did burn that bridge when he vote that de man get put out of parliament. Was a no confidence vote. Anyhow, like a big thing, he tint up he car. That is why de police stop he. Dem boys seh that de man puff up he chest and holler ‘Hem Pee’ when de police ask he bout de tint. De police tell he that he don’t care if he is Pee Hem, he got to show that he got permission. Well de man know that he can’t bluff. He couldn’t even push he hand in he pocket and offer a small piece because he ain’t get de Hem Pee pay yet. De man call Granger but as old people seh, ‘Dog know which limb fuh jump pun.’ Granger stay in he corner. De police mek de Hem Pee strip off de tint in front of everybody. Dem boys like that policeman. Dem only hope that he can do de same to some of dem other people who riding around wid tint like if dem is de President. And of course, Donald don’t drive wid tint. Talk half and wait fuh you day.

the structure that worked in the distant past. However, today there is a manager and he is usually supported by a string of deputy managers who in turn have numerous assistant managers reporting to them. Each one of these managers is required to occupy offices and have telephones and secretaries. You would believe from all these layers that it is a multinational corporation that is being run and not a simple public office. It is the same with the City Council. Is there really a need in such a small city for Deputy Mayor? Is there a need for a

Deputy Town Clerk and an Assistant Town Clerk? Is there a need for a Deputy City Engineer? If the City was London you would expect that, but not Georgetown. Indeed if you examine the organization structure of the City of London Corporation, it is quite a simple structure without the many layers that have come to suffocate public bureaucracies. Guyana needs to simplify the organizational structures of not just the City Council but also the entire public bureaucracy, including the police and the army. A good rule would be to abolish any position that begins with the

word deputy and assistant. So we can have a Commissioner of Police but we do not need any Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners. Similarly there can be superintendents but deputy and assistant superintendents should be abolished. This would be an effective way of cutting fat. The next step would be to have committees that did work rather than report. There are far too many committees around these days. All they do is report and report. There are more reports done than the real work that the committees are supposed to be overseeing.

As Bunny would say, the committee should get out there and ensure that the work is done, instead of reporting. If Bunny’s advice is taken on board we would have a great deal of progress. He always believed that there is too much talking and too little work being done by those in positions of authority. He was right.

World Consumer Rights Day…

Time has come to regulate the cell phone sector - Minister Ali In a drive to highlight the importance of consumer protection in building a safer, fairer world, the Consumer Affairs Division, in collaboration with the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission and the Guyana National Bureau of Standards hosted a consumers’ awareness session on Friday. The forum was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal under the theme ‘Fix our Phone Rights’. Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali, delivering the feature address, said that the time has come to regulate the cell phone market. The event was geared to celebrate the rights of consumers and fixing their phone rights as they join with international partners. World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) was celebrated by consumer organisations worldwide every year on March 15. Ali said that the only right to a consumer is very basic and that is the power of the consumer to consume or be consumed. Because of that reason, big phone companies spend such large budgets on marketing and why technology in phones is changing rapidly as they have seen the ability of consumers to consume themselves in a better phone daily. He added that very often, people become too engrossed in their mobile phones that they take away from society and often forget that landline instruments exist. Ali said that the consumers today, more and more, allow themselves self redress in terms of protection when they purchase phones. Often, they bring cell phones

from foreign places and unlock them and, thereafter, if there is a problem with the instrument where will they go for redress? The mobile market has become so exciting that there are deals like paying nothing down and the many trade-in offers. Given the many imitation cell phones on the market, the time has come to regulate the sector, noting its size and that of the consuming public, the Minister said. Ali stated that, as such, the small cell phone dealers will have to subject themselves to scrutiny as well as the large companies. Chairman of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission, Mr Ramesh Dookhoo, said that the legal infrastructure changed over the years with the introduction of the Consumer Affairs Act 2011. He said this pioneering legislation has led to the composition and formation, in 2011, of the Consumer Affairs Commission known CCAC. In actual fact, the first bit of legislation that governs its establishment was the Fair Trading Act of 2006. He said that cell phones

have become an indispensable part of people’s lives. They can be found in every country around the world and in 2013 the Consumers International estimated that 6.8 billion people owned mobile phones. Guyana is currently in the process of fine tuning the Telecommunications and Public Utilities Commission (Amendments) Bills, which are both before a parliamentary Special Select Committee. The Telecoms Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a

telecommunications sector and for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith.

This is a landmark piece of legislation that would place Guyana in the League of Nations with modern legislation in the provision of telecommunication services. It will move Guyana from a nation with a monopoly provider to one where free and fair competition in all segments of service provision is allowed. These are all very relevant issues raised by Consumers International in relation to mobile phone rights.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Presidential nonsense I am absolutely sure that the decision by President Ramotar to reject parliamentary appointments to an authority to supervise the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to monitor moneylaundering did not originate from his head but within the hierarchy of the PPP and an incapacitated Luncheon may also have added his voice. It is not only the rejection that is nonsensically based but equally so the reason. Mr. Ramotar has opined that parliamentary selection of the authority would politicize the process. His alternative is a body that consists of people who have no independence but are appointed by Mr. Ramotar and his PPP. These

are heads of some important state institutions. Here is the thing. In Mr. Ramotar and his PPP acolytes’ epistemological understanding of politics and life, the presidency and the Cabinet are not politicized institutions, only Parliament is. Whereas the President and the Cabinet dropped from the sky and assumed public office, the Leader of the Opposition is a politicized animal who belongs to a political party and so are his colleagues in APNU and the AFC. To conclude then, in the collective mind of the PPP, Parliament dabbles in politics not the President and his Cabinet.

In the collective mind of the PPP when you appoint the head of the Central Bank and the Police Commissioner and other State functionaries to comprise the authority to oversee the FIU, the issue is not one of politics because these State employees were selected by men and women who dropped from the skies and did not come from a political party. Only Mr. Granger, the APNU and AFC people belong to political parties. Isn’t this pathetic nonsense? Isn’t this rascality of ideas? Isn’t this vulgar hilarity? Let us expose this pathetic attempt at intellectualizing on the part of the President and his cohorts.

The US Government informed President Bharat Jagdeo that it would be unwise to confirm Henry Green as Commissioner of Police. Look which country made that opinion – the US whose scientific equipments in gathering intelligence on security and narcotic issues are ultra-modern. The US can tell the Guyana Government more about drug traffickers here than the Guyanese police would ever know in hundreds of years. Any fool would know that the US had intelligence on Henry Greene. But Greene was confirmed and by whom? Yes, you are right! A president named Jagdeo who dropped from the skies, not a man who won the presidency after becoming the presidential candidate of a political party. In other words, Mr. Jagdeo was not a politician or

a politicized person. He was Guyana’s neutral president. Such asininities inform the PPP position on the authority that will monitor money-laundering in Guyana. So a year before the Police Commissioner ’s contract renewal comes up, he defies the PPP hierarchy and participates in the FIU’s investigation into one of the PPP friends who has a lot of money that suddenly dropped in his lap. And he expects to have his contract extended? Which head of which State institution is going to disregard the subtle and not so subtle hints of the leadership of the PPP about who to protect and who to leave alone when it comes to the sudden accumulation of vast wealth and yet expect contract renewal? The amount of absurdities we have inherited from the British is simply incredible to believe in the 21st century and the stories are essentially full of stupidities. Do you know the Police Commissioner is independent of the Government but the circus comes into play when you

Frederick Kissoon find out that he is appointed by the Government? The University of Guyana is a legally autonomous body but its present Council consists of seven card-bearing members of the PPP and four PPP Parliamentarians. I repeat; it is these asininities that the PPP is asking the opposition to accept. Should the AFC and APNU concede to this clownish approach, then they surely are no better morally than the PPP. And for civil society and Guyanese in general to accept this corrugated approach to civil servant neutrality under the PPP is to admit we are unfit to be a modern country. But here is another thing. If Parliament is going to politicize the issue because Parliament is a politically driven body then why are Cabinet members still sitting in Parliament? Why is a PPP member who is a Minister of the Government and a Parliamentarian less political than Mr. Granger and Mr. Ramjattan? Of course no one should pay attention to the Private Sector Commission (PSC) who takes the same position as the President. With each passing day, the PSC is becoming more irrelevant to the fight for a democratic Guyana.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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AOAG’s proposes 5-part aviation policy for budget consideration Executive members of the AOAG

With the 2014 budget presentation expected by month end, the Aircraft Owners’ Association of Guyana (AOAG) is already looking forward to funds being spent to meaningfully improve the country’s aviation sector. The agency has thus submitted to the government a five-part model for a national policy; with specific interest being placed on safety,/security, infrastructure development and sustainability. The body had engaged the government to address what it said were concerns in those particular areas. Last year, the Public Works Ministry had the second largest cut, some $5.6 billion removed from the budget. This included funding for the CJIA airport expansion plan, transport projects like hinterland airstrips, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ogle Airport. Reporting a ten-fold increase in the use of aviation services, AOAG President Michael Correia (Jnr.) has however indicated the need to upgrade the sector as a matter of law and for the continued growth of local aviation. Correia was optimistic that Government would consider the proposals when he pointed out that stakeholders, including the Tourism

Ministry, Public Works Ministry, GCAA, and the Civil Aviation Board seemed extremely positive towards the proposals. It was proposed that building institutional capacity involved a legal frame work which spoke to two international conventions, five local Civil Aviation laws and three suggestions. It also involved a regulatory and administrative framework by which the administrators of the sector should be governed. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has already recommended an autonomous Civil Aviation Authority, “for effective regulation, management and safety oversight of civil aviation affairs...” AOAG said. The issue has already been raised about the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) involvement, especially in aviation probes while it (GCAA) is the sector’s oversight body. Aviation veteran, Captain Gerald Gouveia, was very vocal on the issue. He said that GCAA could also become subject to probes for poor management and therefore should not lead plane crash probes, incidents or accidents. The AOAG proposes a short-term GCAA technical

capacity plan within two years. A separate agency was also recommended for probing plane crashes, incident and accidents. A national search and rescue system with appropriate protocol was also suggested for oversight by the Civil Defence Commission. Safety has become a major concern not only for the AOAG, but also for the GCAA and the Public Works Minister Robeson Benn, who had expressed concern over the number of local plane crashes that recently occurred. Aviation safety and security involved several aspects such as the use of satellite based technology with aircraft tracking systems for improved safety and to meet future domestic air traffic

TSU ranks force MP to remove tint It appears that the Guyana Police Force is sparing no one in its ongoing campaign to remove tint from motor vehicles. Last Wednesday, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Christopher Jones was forced to remove tint from his motor vehicle windows after being accosted by ranks of the Tactical Service Unit (TSU). According to Jones, his contention is not that he had to remove the tint but rather, the rude manner in which he and his family were treated by the ranks which stopped him at Sheriff and William Streets, Campbellville He recalled that three armed TSU ranks approached his vehicle and ordered him to step out. He complied with the orders but was taken aback by the question that followed. Jones claimed that one of the ranks rudely asked what weapons he had in his vehicle, suggesting that he was into something illegal. The Member of Parliament said he answered in the negative

while looking at his wife and two children who were with him in the vehicle. Jones added that the ranks said that they will not search the vehicle because of the occupants. However, the man said he encouraged the ranks to execute their duties since the episode was becoming a spectacle. Though Jones does not have a permit from the Ministry of Home Affairs as yet for the tint he said he showed the police ranks the vehicle pass provided by Parliament. That was not effective. The ranks eventually ordered Jones to take his car to the Eve Leary Police Station and remove the tint from his vehicle. Jones said he explained to the ranks that he was taken to Eve Leary Police Station recently concerning the same issue and had assured an officer that he would have gotten a permit for the tint. Jones said he further informed the ranks that he is in the process of filling the application form but stressed that the tint on his vehicle is from the manufacturer and as

such he is seeking an audience with Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee at the next sitting of Parliament. Relating the incident, Jones said that with guns still drawn and a buildup of traffic at the traffic lights, a businessman who operates in the vicinity approached the ranks and tried to convince them to let the matter go since Jones is a Member of Parliament and by no means a criminal element. Jones said to avoid a bigger scene he took his vehicle to Eve Leary. There he was forced to remove the tint from his vehicle and was placed on $10,000 bail. The Member of Parliament said he was unaware he was under arrest and to make matters worse, had no money on his person at the time. Having explained his situation, Jones was forced to ride in the back of a police vehicle to Brickdam Police Station. He was placed on the bench and then taken back to Eve Leary where he was reunited with his family. Before leaving, he was told that he has to appear in court.

capacity demands. The AOAG also proposed US$2M for the acquisition of Category one status so that local carriers can fly directly

to the United States. A timeline of 18 to 24 months was recommended given government’s economic support.

For the domestic and regional aviation sector, AOAG believes that the government should grant (continued on page 21)

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Govt. alone cannot establish Public Is the EPA serious about Procurement Commission - Dr. Singh implementing new litter laws? Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, recently sought to debunk the myth that Government is solely responsible for establishing the Public Procurement Commission. Dr. Singh was speaking at the recent consultation over the non-passage of the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill at the International Conference Centre and was responding to queries from a member of the public in relation to its establishment. “Let it be clear that the appointment of the Public Procurement Commission does not reside in the hands of Government,” said Dr. Singh. According to the Finance Minister, it is the Public Accounts Committee that is responsible for the nomination of the members of the committee after which a two-thirds majority vote is required in Parliament. Dr. Singh said that the Public Accounts Committee is chaired by A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Carl Greenidge. “This business of creating the impression that Government alone can do it is a misrepresentation.” The political opposition, specifically the Alliance for Change (AFC), had upped the ante in the call for the establishment of the

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh constitutionally mandated commission, when it took a stance that its support for the Anti Money Laundering Bill would be tied to the establishment of the committee. This past weekend the AFC, through its leader Khemraj Ramjattan, reiterated that call. In a letter, responding to Dr. Yesu Persaud, the AFC Leader said that the government has frustrated the establishment and operationalisation of a constitutionally mandated Procurement Commission for twelve years. “And as you must be aware, corruption has run riot in matters procurement because of its nonoperationalisation during that time,” he added. The Finance Minister when

he addressed the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission also used the opportunity to make a pitch for the preservation of the role of Cabinet to offer an objection or no objection to the awarding of contracts. Dr. Singh was adamant that the preservation of this role does not in any way restrict or reduce the constitutionally enshrined powers of the Public Procurement Commission. He argued that should this role of Cabinet be removed from the law then the executive cannot be held responsible for the violation of the execution of any of the contracts. Government recently tabled an amendment to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act seeking to preserve this role but that has been deferred given that the opposition had indicated that it would not support it. According to the law as it currently stands, the role of Cabinet will be phased out upon the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission. Government has argued that this provision was not the subject of a Cabinet decision but was rather done on the floor of the House when law was originally passed.

Vessel with Guyanese crew released by St. Lucia St Lucia -The MV Lady Zai has been given the all clear, following a health scare aboard the vessel. The cargo ship entered St. Lucia’s waters on March 8th, with one crew member dead and another seriously ill. An emergency post mortem determined the 53year-old Guyanese national died from Bronco-Pneumonia and the hospitalised crew member was also suffering from a respiratory illness.

Ministry officials say the health scare has been effectively managed and the quarantine lifted. Chief Environmental Health Officer, Wenn Gabriel, says a thorough inspection of the vessel and its cargo was conducted. The vessel brought animal feed to Suriname and Guyana and was destined for Port Vieux Fort. Managing Director of Caribbean Grains Limited, Max Edouard, says

the lifting of the quarantine is a great relief for the local poultry sector. On Thursday, health officials presented Professional and Confidential Services Ltd, the agency responsible for the cargo vessel, with formal notification of the order to lift the quarantine. The order allows for the ship’s cargo, to be dispatched at Port Vieux Fort under specific conditions. (htsstlucia.org)

Even with the advent of the Litter Enforcement Regulations 2013, the lawlessness of indiscriminately dumping waste seems to continue. Apparently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not prepared to enforce the regulations. For weeks, personnel of the EPA have been informing business operators and individuals of the regulations made under the Environmental Protection Act, 11 of 1996. The regulation provides that any individual found guilty of an offence will be liable to a fine of $50,000, while a corporate body will be issued a fine of $100,000. In addition, business operators were encouraged to inform the EPA of companies or individuals who are litter bugs. It has been observed that some members of the business community

have been paying vagrants to dispose of their waste. Without receptacles readily available, the vagrants only relocate the waste from one place to another. But, as it related to complaints reaching the EPA, nothing could be done until the public awareness campaign is over and litter wardens are appointed. According to an Environmental Officer, the EPA is unable to approach litter bugs or enforce the regulations at this juncture. “The EPA needs to complete its public awareness campaign and hire litter wardens.” The officer opined that City Hall should step in since its role in keeping the City clean still obtains. However, City Hall seems to have taken a step back to allow the EPA to enforce its regulations.

Last Friday, a businessman operating at the corner of Regent and Light Streets informed City Hall about construction waste which was left by a contractor operating on behalf of the Guyana Water Incorporated, in front of his premises. The man claimed that City Hall refused to act and so he called the EPA and spoke to an Environmental officer (name given) and was advised that the agency cannot do anything. He was referred back to City Hall. The businessman said he is confused about the actions of both agencies, but moreso the EPA, since the name of the litter bug was provided and nothing was done. He said for years neglect to the garbage situation in and around Georgetown has left many business persons displeased with City Hall.

AFC councilor dies Alliance for Change Regional councillor, Bhowanie Persaud, a/ k”Solomon” died at the Suddie Public Hospital, after a brief illness yesterday. He was 57-years-old. A family member said that Persaud complained of feeling unwell several days back. He was subsequently taken to the Suddie Public Hospital but by then he was

said to be suffering from a mild fever. After receiving treatment from the Suddie Public Hospital, Persaud returned to his La Belle Alliance home, where he continued to complain of feeling unwell. He subsequently died. Persaud had replaced Archie Cordis as the Alliance For Change councillor. Persaud was a mechanic by profession.

Bhowanie Persaud

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

Cuban Five…

Int’l Commission in London calls on Obama to free prisoners Attorneys and family members of the Cuban Five gave powerful testimony before an audience of 250 people at the prestigious Law Society in central London, to argue for the immediate freedom of the three Cuban Five members still in U.S. prison. On March 7 and March 8, expert witnesses, René González was scheduled as the key witness but the British government denied him a visa, telling him that as an ex-prisoner who served more than four years in prison, it was sufficient grounds to deny entry into England. President of the Guyana Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) Haleem Khan said that this was precisely the reason González needed to come to London, to explain how each day of his more than 13 years of prison was wrongly imposed. Still, González sentiments rang through the hall as the judge-commissioners and audience listened intently to him via Skype, Khan noted. The Commissioners were Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob, former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa; Philippe Texier, former Judge, French Court de Cassation; and Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal, former Chief Justice of India. Presiding were Professor Sara Chandler, Chair, Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales; and Elizabeth Woodcraft, attorney and author, of Great Britain. Cuban Five attorneys, Phil Horowitz and Martin Garbus, gave details of the egregious denial of the Five’s rights to a fair trial by the U.S.

Haleem Khan government’s misconduct and poisoned political atmosphere in Miami. Garbus also presented a 558-page document to the Commissioners outlining the U.S. government’s illegal and secret payments to prominent Miami reporters who worked to condemn the Five through their highly prejudicial coverage. The document is a product of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five’s research of the last five years, and contains Garbus’s important affidavit on behalf of Gerardo. Gerardo Hernández’s affidavit of his innocence on the false conviction for murder conspiracy is also included. Attorney Peter Schey spoke of the U.S. government’s refusal to produce vital satellite images of the shoot-down of Brothers to the Rescue planes on February 24, 1996. The shoot-down was falsely pinned on Gerardo Hernández and is the reason he is serving

a draconian double-life sentence. A women’s panel on the second day of the Commission, coincided with International Women’s Day, and emphasized the hardships that the mothers, wives and children of the Five have endured, and their supreme dedication to their loved ones’ freedom. Featured were Irmita González, daughter of René; renowned author Alice Walker; Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary of UNITE union; Mirta Rodríguez, mother of Antonio Guerrero; and Kenia Serrano, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. Olga Salanueva, wife of René González, Elizabeth Palmeiro, wife of Ramón Labañino, and Adriana Pérez, wife of Gerardo Hernández, gave moving testimony in other sessions. Among the many others who spoke were family members of victims of antiCuba terrorism, Margarita Morales, whose father died in the 1976 bombing of Cubana flight 455 (73 people were murdered by terrorists Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch), Betina Corcho, whose mother, a Cuban diplomat, was murdered by a terrorist bomb directed against Cuba in Portugal, and Roberto Hernández Caballero, investigator of terrorist crimes committed against Cuba. Former Cuban National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcón, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and vice-president of Europe’s Parliament Miguel Angel Martínez headed a panel. The final report will be sent to President Barack Obama.

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Kitty resident in court battle over his own property

Seelall Salikram and his wife A Kitty resident who returned to Guyana from Canada recently discovered that the house and land where he lived from birth was given to his brother and nephew by order of the Land Court. Seelall Salikram, who is now a pensioner, was born at Lot 69 Station Street, Kitty (Railway Line). He lived in the upper floor and for a while, his brother occupied the lower floor. His brother, Mahadeo, known as Bodo, removed to his own house where he lived until he migrated with his family some time in the 1980s, to the United States. He never returned to the Kitty home. Salikram told Kaieteur News yesterday that he continued to live at Station Street after his marriage. His three children were all born at the Kitty home. He converted the lower flat to two apartments, and rented them.

AOAG’s proposes 5-part aviation ... From page 11 subsidies for certain hinterland communities on routed uneconomical to the service. Airdrome inspection should be upgraded with heavy penalties for violations, weather aids and the discouragement of

GDF owned or controlled commercial air transport operations were among other issues identified. Price reduction was mentioned as part of a detailed study to improve access of aviation fuel at market prices.

19-year-old Corentyne ... From page 6 computer valued $120,000; one phone valued at $200,000 and $92,000 in local Currency. During the robbery Jagdeo lost one cellular phone valued $10,000, phone cards to the value of $62,000 and $35,000 cash Guyana currency; Dindiyal was robbed of a cellular phone valued at $40,000. Another charge read on Thursday January 24, last at No 47 village, Corentyne, he robbed

Dhanranjie Seenauth of $270,000 and Mark Fernandes one sliver chain worth $4,000 a silver ring valued at $6,000 and a silver hand band valued $2,500. The man is also accused of robbing Vimlawatie Ramdeen of $32,000 Guyana currency, a pair of gold bangles valued $18,000, two gold rings value $40,000, a gold chain costing $20,000 and a gold ring worth $10,000 on January 24, last.

AOAG is against fuel subsides. The aviation workforce was also tagged for an upgrade with proposals to better equip and train workers in the aviation sector. AOAG suggested non-profit aviation training schools, university education for aviation subjects and the availability of financial support by government. It was stated that the aviation sector depends on a highly- skilled workforce to support growth; therefore planning and development must take worker’s skills into consideration. The domestic and regional suggestions offered that consumer protection regulations should be enacted to address misleading fares, predatory

pricing and fuel subsidies for international airlines, passenger and shippers complaints and fair compensations following an air accident. Commercial traffic rights and air cargo transportation was also highlighted as that needed to be reviewed in the sector. This included items such as catering services on flight, marketing of local products, multi-destination agreements etc. Modernizing, improving and upgrading airports and airdromes were also topical issues. Some $1.5B was recommended for the improvement of hinterland airports over a three-year period, while inspecting and maintenance crews were deemed pivotal.

Again, this was done in 1980. He explained that he had inherited the property from his father. Salikram said that although he migrated to Canada in 1993 he and his wife would return to their Guyana home twice a year and keep up with the payment of property taxes and other taxes. In Land Court documents, which this newspaper has seen, Mahadeo and his son, Dr. Robby Mahadeo, who operates a medical clinic on Liberty Avenue, Richmond Hill, claimed that the Kitty land and house belonged to them, jointly. The problem with that claim is that they have been living in the United States since 1980, and no one in the neighbourhood has ever seen them on the Station Street property. Two next-door neighbours, Altrice Cosbert , and Anita Persaud, a former tenant, denied ever knowing Mahadeo or his son as occupiers or owners of the property. They swore that only “Uncle Seelall” and his wife have been the occupiers over many years. Since the court order, Mahadeo and his son have sold the property to an American resident, one Al Ramganase, whose address is that of Dr. Mahadeo’s clinic in Richmond Hill. Kaieteur News was told that Mahadeo and his son were in the process of passing transport to him when Salikram filed a notice of opposition in the Deeds Registry, claiming that he is a victim of a massive fraud. On Thursday, Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire granted an injunction against the Registrar of Deeds and Mahadeo to block

conveyance of the Station Street property to Al Ramganase. In an action in the Demerara High Court filed by Attorney-at-Law, Moses Nagamootoo, Salikram claimed that he owns the property by transport. Since 1986, his rates and taxes to the municipality were paid in his name. Salikram has done several renovations to the property and as recently as this year, he raised the concrete level of the yard to avoid flooding. Even though, he and his wife were still living on the property, unknown to him, his brother and son filed a petition for title to the property. The Land Court granted an Order on 17th July, 2013. This order was registered in the Deeds Registry on 24th September, 2013 as a title. Salikram has sued his brother and nephew claiming damages in excess of $10 million for fraud and deliberate, intentional and material misrepresentation to the Land Court that they have been and are continuously occupying, and have been in sole and undisturbed possession of his property. In the court documents, Salikram is asking the High Court to declare that the Order of the Land Court was obtained by fraud and that the Title ought to be recalled and cancelled. He also wants the court to declare that the sale of his property is fraudulent and the conveyance of transport to the American resident would permanently deprive him of his property. “I am still in shock. I can’t believe that my own brother is doing this to me,” Salikram told Kaieteur News yesterday.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR SALE

FOR RENT

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

Lot 52 Bella Dam, Pouderoyen W.B.D. Call: 615-4775

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

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. One 14" river dredge in excellent condition - Call: 669-8985 One female German Shepherd Pup - Contact: 665-9140 or 639-1431 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 Tractors: MF285 $2.8mil (neg) Ford 5000 $3.2mil (neg),Both Good Condition -Call 257-0212, 628-8487

Black & white photocopy and colour copy - Tel:6268586 2 Trucks – Tel:618-1967; 6984321

Property for sale - Call:6275416

COMPLETE SAWMILL with all new industrial machine, going business with contract - (Wanted Kabukalli Logs) - Tel:6845868.

2 Storey concrete building, 7 bedrooms: 4 upstairs & 3 downstairs @ Paradise $5M negotiable Tel:6796377; 667-0064

Fishing boat, 5" nylon Seine, 40 Hp Yamaha $1.6M - Tel: 267-1563; 6913501 / 4162667627

1 Newly built 2 storey concrete house @ Canal No#2 Belle West - Tel:6153333; 648-9428

Tacoma Tundra lights & Parts - Tel: 641-1127

Unfinished two storey concrete house @ Bladen Hall E.C.D – Call:688-6316

Blow out sales on Steel Rods: ¼”, 5/8", ½”, 3/8" Call: 657-4072 1 Music system, 3 crown amps, Numark CD player crossover & mixer, 2 base box with 15" Mid range & tweeters - Call: 619-2800

One 3 bedroom house in La Parafaite Harmonie -$16M negotiable – Contact:6221782; 658-5803; 264-0042

1 Toyota Raum fully air conditioned – Tel:678-6108, 692-8419, 266-2771 Tibetan Terrier mixed with Pekingese puppy – Tel:2270945; 623-8811 Cannon digital camera A720 power shot, 4GB SD card & case asking -$17,000 – Call:663-2079 or 695-3091

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call: 660-5257, 647-1773 Experienced hairdresser, must know to do hair & nails, experienced barber for interior location – Call:6655812; 233-2186; 697-6726 Natural Beauty Salon & Spa: Grove Market Street EBD Tele:265-4138,6525800 specialized in everything for women

FOR HIRE Bush Truck for hire - Tel: 660-3400

GT TOOLS RENTAL: TEL: 675-0767; 627-5098

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 House in Diamond/Grove Tel:692-8513

TO LET Apartments to rent in Cummings Lodge - Call:222-4389

New Vendor Mall - Tel:6154775

LAND FOR SALE

Original Games - Call:6722566

One Transported large Lot at Zeelught EBE - $2.2M – Tel:617-4439

New Japan Parts & Batteries in stock with a 10% discount @ Ray’s Motor Spares - Tel: 227-2322; 227-2330

Hair station to rent, professional hairdresser with client -$7,000 weekly - Call: 645-9266

Looking for friendship 4050yrs – Call:626-8482

1 smoothie machine,2 ice machine- Contact:2310655,683-8734

One treadmill – Contact:6718100

3 Bedroom, upper flat, unfurnished apartment to rent @ Alberttown Area $75,000 per month, 2 months security – Contact:613-7555

PEN PAL

Tibetan Terrier pupsCall:225-4780; 601-5927

Greenheart Piles - Tel: 6393450

MOVE IN ready fully furnished two bedroom upper flat apartment @ Atlantic Gardens - US$1,000 dollars negotiable - Call:600-9981

Three bedrooms top flat Diamond E.B.D – Tel:6851140; 678-9835

EDUCATIONAL Balloon decorating classes – April 05 - Call: 225-3133; 6137513 for more information and to register.

One 2 Bedrooms bottom flat Tel: 613-6402

Newly constructed furnished\unfurnished apartments, with & without A/C. Parking available, LBI East Coast. Call: 603-0000.

One 6 Base music set in parts – Call: 641-2088; 266-2503

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

2 Income properties at bargain p r i c e - $ 4 0 M negotiable - Tel: 686-4899; 684-3718

Romrima Trust Versailles @ W.B.D - Tel: 652-3707 50 Acres transported land at Grant Belfield, Lower Pomeroon – Tel:671-8100 House lots in Friendship. Tel: 692-8513

CAR RENTAL Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com A i d a n ’s C a r R e n t a l & Pickup Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807 Premio, vitz call:6797139,639-4452 Wings Car Rental - Call: 643-1131

Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call:6193660,639-4452 1 -4 bedrooms house at Happy Acres, $300,000 per month – Call:231-7839 Fully furnished rooms for foreigners in Diamond – Call:687-1392 Wings Two bedrooms apartment – Tel:643-1131 FOR SALE/RENT American pool table – Tel: 227-0578; 685-9714

VEHICLE FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

One Toyota Tacoma 2006, 12ft Aluminum Boat, Tacoma : rims & tyres – Call:641-6162; 220-1981; 222-5671

Toyota Premio- Dark interior with TV, mags, spacio. Tel: 697-0294

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 Cheap Deals on all English & Japanese Vehicles Online Call: MRR Imports on 6917475; 626-9590 1 Toyota Hilux Single Cab 4X4 solid Axle pickup $2.7M Tel: 658-5193; 6382525; 648-4374 EP-82 Starlet – Call:685-9696

1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 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 bus - $1.5M. Immaculate condition [Hardly Use] – Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400

Fully loaded Toyota Rush W/ TV, spoiler, rims, etc, 2008 Toyota Premio – Tel:615-4114

110 Corolla new model, crystal Lights, CD, AC, good condition - $850,000 – Tel:618-1047

Unregistered 2002 Toyota Fielder Body Kit, mags, HID fog lamps – Contact:6449277 ($2.2M negotiable)

Toyota Mark 2 for sale: very good condition - $1.5M negotiable – Call:641-6725

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: 6175536

One Raum – PMM series $1.2M – Contact:671-6051 AT170 Corona, automatic EFI, SV10 Toyota Camry Tel: 676-8475 1 RZ minibus, stick gear, BKK series (working Condition) – Tel:693-2174 AT192 - Call: 602-0236

AT192, Good condition, must see – Price - $850,000 – Tel: 616-1671

CHEAPEST: - Pitbull, Manual Buses, IST, Allion – Tel:616-7635

Toyota Hilux Surf 3RZ engine fully loaded with 20’ Chrome rims -Tel:643-5182; 669-8803

Toyota Raum, Spacio, AT212, AT192, AT170, NZE and L- Touring wagon, Nissan E24 Caravan – Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453

Toyota Fun Cargo, RZ minibus, IST, 4X4 Hilux pickup - Tel: 644-5096; 697-1453 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 Toyota Tundra bubble back fully loaded with 22" Chrome Rims -Tel:643-5182; 669-8803 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154 FOR HIRE Large enclose canter, double axel Hiab truck – Call:6945460, 662-8884; 266-5771

One Honda accord DX manual transmission, excellent condition – Call:618-5972; 685-57-27; 218-1204. 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 BJJ series, long base RZ minibus – Call:667-6045 (Continued on page 23)

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Letters... Where your views make the news

Let’s not have any confusion; the sugar industry is being... From page 4 corporation had started to flow from the European Union] the following: “the limited availability of funds in 2007 saw the factory investments limited to less than G$350 million instead of the $G1.35 Billion requested; and in 2008 the factories asked for 5.6 billion to do their capital works but were only given 2.34 billion, less than half what they needed”. The Board of GuySuCo then noted in their summary of the 2008 capital cuts that “this starvation of funds will significantly restrict management’s ability to achieve their objectives outlined in the GuySuCo strategy plans”. There were substantial amounts of compensation paid to Guyana starting from 2006, and between 2006 and 2012 the total amount paid was 24.7 billion Guyana dollars, but GuySuCo got none of it. To date 140 million Euros [G$38.9 billion] have been given to Guyana and neither the corporation or their workers or the farmers got any of it. My calculation is that, the cane farmers who are leaderless, are owed somewhere in the vicinity of 3 billion dollars in compensation and have been denied it. The government at the time, when pressed, told us in the Kaieteur News that the money was going to be used to establish low-cost housing and sea defences. Nevertheless, in 2014, the sea defences are no better than they were in 2006. Another betrayal of the sugar workers is contained in a Review of the 1998 to 2008 strategic plan, in which I saw what follows and I reported it in a commentary I did since 2007. The Review is clear: to overcome the consequences of raising the sugar workers’ salaries after coming to power in 1992, the PPP government, unable to pay the 12 billion dollar wage bill that resulted, decided around 1995 to reduce the workforce to 18,000 workers. Let me repeat this, they decided to reduce the workforce from 28,000 to 18,000 a reduction of 35.7%! I know this, since in the 2001 Review of the Strategic Plan I saw the following and I quote it “efficiencies have improved immensely and, although overall employment has reduced from 28,000 to 18,000 the increased output means that an annual employee productivity, measured in terms of tons sugar per employee has improved from under 6 [tonnes per

employee] to nearer 17 tonnes [per employee] in 1999. The corporation intends to continue this improvement in performance through the strategy outlined in the following pages.” Not one cent in compensation has ever been given to the workers, who were forced to leave the industry. Sure, the PPP loves the sugar workers and have their interest at heart at all times. The PPP cannot complain now that they have a shortage of labour. They deliberately created it. Also they were very free in giving huge raises in pay to the workers after coming to power, but subsequently, by their own admission, the increases in the sugar wage bill were too great to be sustained. This country has workers other than the sugar workers living in it; and it is unfair for them to be subsidising, with their taxes, hand-outs from the budget to bolster the sugar industry, which now finds itself in a dire situation. It was at this point that I stopped my presentation. I cannot say that this is verbatim what I said, but I was not told that I would be asked to speak, so I had no prepared speech and spoke from my considerable knowledge of the industry. But with some additional and relevant observations, the above was the essence of what I said. After my presentation, some of the concerned media workers, including those from Stabroek and Kaieteur News, who understood from my presentation the dire state the corporation was in, asked me what the alternative was if sugar failed; and I said that it was my opinion that the industry may have to diversify - possibly to ethanol production and to

Aquaculture. That was all! At no time did I or anyone else from APNU call for a closure of the sugar industry. I don’t have to. It is closing itself. It was the PPP, using its Chronicle newspaper, which has deliberately misrepresented this situation with scare tactics to bolster its sagging popularity; and which is lying to the public and has everyone, including the cane farmers, in a fullblown panic. The quality of our cane is very poor; Skeldon for example in 2012 took 16.29 tons of cane to make a ton of sugar. In circumstances like this if we diversify to ethanol production, the industry may fare better economically, since it takes one ton of cane to produce 10 gallons of Ethanol, regardless of the quality of the cane. I fail to see how this will affect cane farmers adversely, since the quality of their cane would no longer be an issue. So instead of wasting time, money and power trying to produce sugar and buying expensive equipment to produce special sugars, why don’t we look into the production of ethanol? The Minister of Agriculture is supposed to be a biochemist. I am forced to ask where exactly he received his qualifications, if he does not know that ethanol is made from sugar cane. And the cane farmers should understand that the 10 gallons of ethanol is produced from the cane regardless of their juice purity, ensuring that they are given a more equitable price when the estate tells them that their juice is bad and gives them 20 tons of cane to make a ton of sugar. So something has to be done and quickly, since I do believe that most of the road to disaster has already been traversed. Nevertheless, I cannot agree that every person in

this country should be required to pay for the mistakes the PPP has made in the sugar industry, simply because it is from there that it garners its support. If we are spending this money to make the industry more efficient then I would have no objection, but to keep subsidizing the industry simply to cover losses indefinitely, could not be a viable policy, even for the PPP. Tony Vieira

(From page 22)

WANTED Taxi Drivers – Apply at Gems Taxi – Call:667-9013 1 Live in maid between 4048yrs – Contact:675-5256; 662-9861 1 Whole day domestic – Tel:667-5717; 650-4761 One live in maid for Georgetown preferable from country side – Contact:6995359

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION, WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 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) We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar

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

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

WANTED Salesgirls & Porters. Apply with written application at Lot E Dennis & Middleton Street, Best Buy Food Supplies. 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 One female cook for home in the interior contact: 681-6044

VACANCY 1 Driver must have a valid Tractor Licence. Apply in person @ Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek

One mechanic must know about Perkins and Cummings to work interior Contact: 681-6044

Two mature hire car drivers to work with taxi services – Tel:611-1018 or 642-6564

Attractive Live-In waitress Tel: 228-5129; 604-8277

Tudor’s Business Linden, have vacancies for Two 2 sales clerks. Apply in person Tel:444-5883

Experienced Carpenter Call: 668-9863; 625-0930

Attractive waitress and experienced cooks - Tel:6227201/ 622-0494

Barbers – Contact:683-1534; 609-4983

One Hire car driver 35 years and older from W.B.D or W.C.D – Tel:616-0111

Sales Executive, experienced in corporate computer supplies and accessories – Cal:223-1556

Experienced Cashiers to work @ supermarket on the East Coast, Age 25-50yrs Call: 642-1141

One experienced hairdresser – Contact Magic Touch Beauty Salon – Tel:225-6492

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.

DRESS-MAKING Courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration Tel: 670-2653; 618-1706 FOR SALE/RENT Vacant corner lot 58"X30" @ Garnett & Republic Streets, Newton, Kitty – Tel: 645-0616

Experienced Babysitter, age: 20-40yrs, Contact: 223-5273-4 Experienced driver & dispatcher @ Princess Hotel Tel: 265-7075; 265-7076; 6165419 One experienced welder to work in interior – Call:6816044

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Consumers shopping conservatively to survive In a seemingly developing Guyana that has been registering positive growth within recent years many households are still struggling to make ends meet. Taking into consideration that the average working class family spends over $20,000 on a ration bill containing basic items, it is questionable how minimum wage employees and the lower bracket of public servants and their families survive. It was observed that working class consumers have taken a conservative approach to buying. As such, there is no spike in the persons’ grocery lists but a shift from purchasing costly items to the more affordable ones. Last July, Government implemented the new minimum wage of $35,000 per month or $200 per hour and by year-end made its annual arbitrary five percent increase to public servants salaries. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) such as Red Thread and the Guyana Public Service Union have always been vocal about the increasing cost of living and the meager wages and salaries paid to employees. Their views are echoed across Guyana and reflected in the struggles to purchase essential items that would

keep the burners of the stove lit. After paying utility bills, transportation, and rent or mortgage putting aside money for food is probably the last thing a couple does. In fact, many don’t even reward themselves with allowances or take a mini vacation. In Guyana the majority of the population undoubtedly lives from paycheck to paycheck. This is the reality for Nalini Singh, an elderly widow, who lives with her three sons in a rented house in Diamond Housing Scheme. Singh moved from Essequibo to “Georgetown” for her sons to acquire jobs because of limited job opportunities there. Being semi-skilled labourers, the three boys were lucky to land work in the construction industry. Those jobs are not fulltime and require careful spending of limited financial resources for “rainy days”. According to Singh, she buys about $20,000 worth of basic groceries on a monthly basis and spends a further $16,000 on vegetables and $6,000 on meat, fish, eggs and sausages. Some months she finds it difficult to replenish the empty containers in her kitchen. Singh, who is very conscious of the increasing cost of food items, said that within the past two years the

two main items- rice and flourhave increased. But, because these items are needed to prepare a meal for her working boys other items like peanut butter and Milo were struck off the list. Her expenses were similar to Margaret Charles, who lives a few doors away. Charles has a nuclear family and both she and her husband work. She does poultry farming on a small scale and her husband is a public servant. For the past 11 years, the Charles family has been living in their own home in Diamond

paying a mortgage of $14,500. Charles recalled that three years ago she spent about $50,000 to $60,000 on ration. But, with the increasing cost of food items and other expenses Charles was forced to drastically cut her ration bill to about $20,000 monthly. According to Charles, she now buys goods fortnightly, essentially replenishing what would have been used up. She said that if increases to her husband’s salary over the years were substantial, cuts to the grocery bill would not have been necessary. Her small scale poultry

operation has been helping to supplement the finances of the family. But, the ration list is very basic and does not comprise items like biscuits, jello, cake mix, peanut butter, cheese, tin milk and even red beans. According to a shopkeeper in the area, she does not stock her shop beyond the basic food items since the majority of the customers buy only those basic items. On average, a person who buys items weekly, spends about $8,000. She noted that the prices for onions, garlic and

potatoes tend to fluctuate. For instance, two weeks ago a bag of potatoes was $3,000 while last week suppliers were asking for $4,200 per bag of potatoes. However, the cost for sugar has been the same for some time and the prices for some items like Chinese sauce, sausages, and split peas have been constant with minor increases of a $10 or so. The shopkeeper said that the cost for a tin fern leaf milk powder has dropped by $1,000 but loose milk powder which is purchased by majority of her customers increased. The cost of cheese, which is bought by daily shoppers, has increased. Last year a slab of cheese was sold for $8,000 but this year cheese is sold $10,000 per slab. Previously, $100 could have bought three eggs now a customer has to pay $120 for three eggs. She added that some items such as chowmein and bread would increase whenever the cost of flour increases. Whenever, this happens consumers purchase more rice and channa. According to the shopkeeper, consumers are becoming conscious about the cost of their goods and have been changing their buying habits by looking for cheaper brands.

Youth Coalition on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights launched Several youth-led, youth serving organisations and their leaders met at the President Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) building to launch the first Youth Coalition on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights in Guyana last Saturday. The launch and meeting was a follow up to the UNFPA hosted Youth Forum on the International Conference on Population Development which was held on June 22, 2013 at School of the Nations and a subsequent meeting to discuss the formation of the coalition. The launch was attended by young people from the United Nations Population Fund – Youth Advisory Group, One World Youth Project, Come Alive Network Inc, Global Youth Movement – Guyana, Caribbean Youth Environment Network – Guyana branch, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association and Artistes In Direct Support. Ms. Patrice La Fleur – Assistant Representative for UNFPA in Guyana, confirmed her agency’s support to the

Coalition members in discussion coalition and reminded those present of their importance in national development especially in reducing adolescent pregnancy, gender based violence, and ensuring equal opportunities for girls and women. She congratulated the group and pointed out that there is important work to be done to achieve the unfinished agenda of the

ICPD which will observe its 20th anniversary at the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2014. Ms. La Fleur also called on the organisations to continue the work in their communities to empower young women especially with information on sexual and reproductive health and comprehensive sexuality education so as to prevent and reduce

Adolescent Pregnancy. She made the call that youth organizations should mainstream sexual and reproductive health into their programmes. The aim of the coalition is to provide young people with sexual and reproductive health information by first educating them on their rights to basic health services. A public education

campaign will begin shortly under the theme “Youth Have Rights”, which will focus on basic human rights such as the rights to education, health, protection, access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and commodities. In the coming months the coalition members will undergo several capacity building sessions so

organisations can begin to mainstream sexual and reproductive health and rights into their work programme. Already some organisations are conducting outreaches, training and distribution of reproductive health commodities; the coalition will support these activities so that they become more broadbased and reach underserved and vulnerable communities.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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U.S., EU set sanctions as Putin recognises Crimea “sovereignty” (Reuters) - The United States and European Union imposed personal sanctions yesterday on Russian and Crimean officials involved in the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the region as a sovereign state. The moves heightened the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War, following a disputed referendum in the Black Sea peninsula on Sunday in which Crimea’s leaders declared a Sovietstyle, 97-percent vote to secede from Ukraine. Within hours, the Crimean parliament formally asked that Russia “admit the Republic of Crimea as a new subject with the status of a republic”. Putin will today address a special joint session of Russia’s State Duma, or parliament, which could take a decision on annexation of the majority ethnic-Russian region. That would dismember Ukraine, a former Soviet republic once under Moscow’s thumb, against its will. Kiev and the West said the referendum, held under armed Russian occupation, violated Ukraine’s constitution and international law. Russian forces took control of Crimea in late February following the toppling of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich after deadly clashes between riot police and protesters trying to overturn his decision to spurn a trade and cooperation deal with the EU in favour of cultivating closer ties with Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on 11 Russians and Ukrainians blamed for the seizure, including Yanukovich, and Vladislav Surkov and Sergei Glazyev, two aides to Putin. Putin himself, suspected in the West of trying to resurrect as much as possible of the former Soviet Union under Russian leadership, was not on the blacklist. A White House spokesman declined to rule out adding him at a later stage. Amid fears that Russia may move into eastern Ukraine where there is a significant Russian-speaking community, Obama warned that “further provocations” would only increase Moscow’s isolation and exact a greater toll on its economy. “If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions,” he said. A senior U.S. official said Obama’s order cleared the way to sanction people associated with the arms industry and targets “the

Participants in a proRussian rally wave Russian flags in front of a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in Simferopol. (Credit: Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

personal wealth of cronies” of the Russian leadership. In Brussels, the EU’s 28 foreign ministers agreed to subject 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials to visa restrictions and asset freezes for their roles in the events. They included three Russian military commanders in Crimea and districts bordering on Ukraine. There were only three names in common on the U.S. and European lists - Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov, Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov and Leonid Slutski, chairman of the Russian Duma’s committee on the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), grouping former Soviet republics. The EU blacklisted Yanukovich earlier this month. The U.S. list appeared to target higher-profile Russian officials close to Putin, including a deputy Russian prime minister, while the EU went for mid-ranking officials who may have been more directly involved on the ground. Washington and Brussels said further steps could follow in the coming days if Russia does not back down and formally annexes Crimea. A senior Obama administration official said there was “concrete evidence” that some ballots in the Crimea referendum arrived in some Crimean cities pre-marked. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was named on the White House sanctions list, suggested that the measures would not affect those without assets abroad. DISMEMBERING UKRAINE Obama said Russian forces must end “incursions” into its ex-Soviet neighbour, while Putin renewed his

accusation that the new leadership in Kiev, brought to power by the uprising that toppled his elected Ukrainian ally last month, were failing to protect Russian-speakers from violent Ukrainian nationalists. Moscow responded to Western pressure for an international “contact group” to mediate in the crisis by proposing a “support group” of states. This would push for recognition of the Crimean referendum and urge a new constitution for rump Ukraine that would require it to uphold political and military neutrality. While a Western diplomat said some of the Russian ideas may offer scope for negotiation, Ukraine’s interim president ruled out ever accepting the annexation of its territory. A complete preliminary count of Sunday’s vote showed that 96.77 percent of voters opted to join Russia, the chairman of the regional government commission overseeing the referendum, Mikhail Malyshev, announced on television. Officials said the turnout was 83 percent. Crimea is home to 2 million people. Members of the ethnic Ukrainian and Muslim Tatar minorities had said they would boycott the poll, held just weeks after Russian forces took control of the peninsula. Putin’s popularity at home has been boosted by his action on Crimea despite serious risks for a stagnant economy. Russian shares and the rouble rebounded as investors calculated that Western sanctions would be largely symbolic and would avoid trade or financial measures that would inflict significant economic damage. However, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said EU countries had begun

discussing the need for Europe to reduce its reliance on Russian energy “over many years to come”. Much of that energy is shipped through gas pipelines crossing Ukraine. Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, gets 40 percent of its gas from Moscow and could become more dependent as it switches from nuclear power.

In a sign of possible internal debates ahead, euro zone newcomer Latvia said the EU should compensate any countries hurt by sanctions against Russia. The three former Soviet Baltic states, home to Russian-speaking minorities and dependent on Russian energy supplies, could suffer in any retaliation. MOBILISATION Moscow defended the takeover of Crimea by citing a right to protect “peaceful citizens”. Ukraine’s interim government has mobilised troops to defend against an invasion of its eastern mainland, where pro-Russian protesters have been involved in deadly clashes in recent days. The Ukrainian parliament yesterday endorsed a presidential decree for a partial military mobilisation to call up 40,000 reservists to counter Russia’ military actions. Ukraine recalled its ambassador from Moscow for consultations. Russia’s lower house of parliament will pass legislation allowing Crimea to join Russia “in the very near future”, news agency Interfax

cited its deputy speaker as saying. U.S. and European officials say military action is unlikely over Crimea, which Soviet rulers handed to Ukraine 60 years ago. But the risk of a wider incursion, with Putin calculating the West will not respond as he tries to restore Moscow’s hold over its old Soviet empire, leaves NATO wondering how to help Kiev without igniting a wider conflict. For now, the West’s main tools appear to be escalating economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation. A pressing concern for the governments in Kiev and Moscow is the transfer of control of Ukrainian military bases. Many are surrounded by and under control of Russian forces, even though Moscow denies it has troops in the territory beyond facilities it leases for its important Black Sea Fleet. Crimea’s parliamentary speaker said yesterday that Ukrainian military units in the region would be disbanded, though personnel would be allowed to remain on the Black Sea peninsula.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Govt. negligence caused Riverton Landfill fire, JLP says (Jamaica Observer) Kingston, Jamaica —The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has blasted the government, accusing the administration of being negligent where the recurring fires are the Riverton City Landfill are concerned. Spokesman on Local Government and the Environment, Desmond McKenzie, on Sunday afternoon said that government and the National Solid Waste Management

Authority (NSWMA) the agency responsible for managing the waste disposal site, have again failed the citizens of the Corporate Area. “The frequency with which fires are breaking out at the landfill is not only disturbing, but distressing for persons affected by the smoke, the overhang of smog, and interruption in the ordinary course of business. The Government and the NSWMA have again failed to protect the citizens affected

by these recurring dangers,” said McKenzie. Dr Andrew Wheatley, who shadows the Environment portfolio, also expressed concern about the way the Riverton landfill facility is being managed and argued that the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) should play a more significant role in monitoring activities at the site. “The ineffectiveness of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment has again been revealed.

The JLP has blasted the government, accusing the administration of being negligent where the recurring fires at the Riverton City Landfill are concerned.

Police to revamp evidence storage protocols - DPP (Jamaica Gleaner) Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn says her office and the Police High Command will be revamping the protocols relating to the storage of items pertaining to cases before the courts. She was responding to an Editorial in The Sunday Gleaner regarding the grave investigative and procedural incompetence on the part of the police and prosecutors during the just concluded Vybz Kartel murder trial.

It was revealed during the case that critical pieces of evidence went missing or were tampered with. Llewellyn also admitted that the prosecutor who was first assigned the case appeared to have borrowed a disc from the police which was not a copy. She explained that the prosecutor died and her team was unable to find the disc. In that regard, the DPP says her office will ensure that no original material is

released. Llewellyn says she has been in touch with the high command and a case review in respect of protocols and procedures is already in train. She says protocols will be revamped and new ones set to ensure the integrity of the systems in place at her office. The DPP says despite the inefficiencies in the case, the work of the police cyber experts, other police personnel and the prosecution team must not be overlooked.

Venezuela unrest toll rises as soldier is shot in head (Reuters) - A Venezuela National Guard captain died yesterday after being shot in the head during a demonstration, the military said, the 29th fatality in six weeks of clashes between protesters and security forces. General Padrino Lopez, head of the armed forces’ strategic operational command, said the captain was shot late on Sunday at a street barricade set up by demonstrators in the central

city of Maracay, in Aragua state. “He was another victim of terrorist violence,” Lopez said on Twitter, calling for an end to the confrontations. “Our armed forces don’t repress peaceful protests, they protect them ... Much more Venezuelan blood would have been shed if it were not for the responsible actions of our National Guard.” Since early February, students and hardline opposition leaders have been calling supporters onto the

streets to protest against President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist government. The demonstrators are demanding political change and an end to high inflation, shortages of basic foods and one of the worst rates of violent crime in the world. The protests, however, show no signs of toppling Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver who narrowly won an election in April 2013 to replace his late friend and mentor, Hugo Chavez.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

T&T at risk of being blacklisted - Former FIU director designate

From left, president general of Fitun David Abdulah, Mary King, former director designate FIU David West, chairman of Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) Lyndira Oudit, former minister of Foreign Affairs Ralph Maraj and Dr Joseph Laquis share a moment during Saturday’s event. (Trinidad Guardian) If the Government fails to begin prosecuting people under the money laundering laws, T&T runs the risk of being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The warning was issued by former director designate of Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) David West who pleaded with parliamentarians to work together to ensure the legislation is enforced. He was speaking at the launch of the first local Chapter of Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) at Soongs Great Wall Restaurant in San Fernando on Saturday. West said the fourth round of FATF evaluation was in 2015 and the country was not

ready because there had been no prosecutions and no convictions for money laundering. In an interview afterwards, West explained that if T&T was not compliant in enough of the standards or recommendations of the FATF it would go on the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) list. If that happens, he said T&T would be regularly evaluated and monitored. “We don’t have any convictions. We don’t have any prosecutions on money laundering and that is what they are looking at now. “Previously, we were getting all the legislation in place and we have legislation, but now it’s time to get the investigations and

prosecutions going. “It is highly likely that we could be back on the ICRG list and if nothing happens in the near future we could be blacklisted.” He said the FATF would issue a bulletin saying T&T had failed to comply with certain standards and advise countries not to do business here. “It hits the man on the street,” he added. “We don’t want a situation to happen like in Guyana, where the Caribbean FATF based in Trinidad has warned countries not to do business with that country. “In Trinidad this can easily happen because the opposition may not support the legislation and we may end up in a situation like Guyana.

Cubans fret as government prepares currency unification (Reuters) - Cuba is laying plans to move to a single currency, a reform that many feel is one of the toughest challenges facing President Raul Castro as he tries to kickstart the Communist country’s moribund economy. For years Cuba has had two currencies — the peso (CUP), in which most wages are paid and local goods priced, and the convertible peso (CUC), used in tourism, foreign trade and some stores carrying imported goods. The peso, says the government, will remain and the CUC will become history. Economists applaud the government plan, but secrecy over the all-important details of how and when the change will come is causing some anxiety in the country.

News this month that state companies were ordered to prepare for unification and that personnel are being trained for what the government dubs “Day Zero” has added to the worry. Cuba is a country where almost the entire economy is in state hands and most prices fixed. Companies must exchange convertible currency and CUCs, pegged to the dollar, with the government at the official exchange rate of one peso, while the CUC has been valued for years at 24 pesos by state-run exchange offices. Which currency to hold on to, if any, has become the talk of the town. Foreign and domestic economists are unanimous that the current monetary system and fixed exchange

rates mask inefficiencies, make accounting difficult and undermine other reforms. But they also believe unifying the currencies is perhaps the most difficult and socially disruptive of a series of market-oriented reforms. The experts admit they are not sure how the government will proceed, nor how it will keep Castro’s promise not to create further hardship for Cuba’s 11.2 million inhabitants who worry that the little money they have will be devalued directly or through inflation when unification occurs. Some Cubans aren’t taking any chances and are cashing in CUCs at the 24 peso rate now, questioning Castro’s promise to make good on its value when “Day Zero” arrives.

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Tuesday March 18, 2014

Malaysian airplane investigators look at suicide as possible motive (Reuters) - The co-pilot of a missing Malaysian jetliner spoke the last words heard from the cockpit, the airline’s chief executive said yesterday, as investigators consider suicide by the captain or first officer as one possible explanation for the disappearance. No trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found since it vanished on March 8 with 239 people aboard. Investigators are increasingly convinced it was diverted perhaps thousands of miles off course by someone with deep knowledge of the Boeing 777200ER and commercial navigation. A search unprecedented in its scale is now under way for the plane, covering an area stretching from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the north to deep in the southern Indian Ocean. Airline chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya also told a news conference that it was unclear exactly when one of the plane’s automatic tracking systems had been disabled, appearing to contradict the weekend comments of government ministers. Suspicions of hijacking or sabotage had hardened further when officials said on Sunday that the last radio message from the plane - an informal “all right, good night” - was spoken after the tracking system, known as “ACARS”, was shut down. “Initial investigations indicate it was the co-pilot who basically spoke the last time it was recorded on tape,” Ahmad Jauhari said yesterday, when asked who it

An updated map showing the projected flight path for missing Malaysia Flight MH370. (CBS News) was believed had spoken those words. That was a sign-off to air traffic controllers at 1.19 a.m., as the Beijing-bound plane left Malaysian airspace. The last transmission from the ACARS system - a maintenance computer that relays data on the plane’s status - had been received at 1.07 a.m., as the plane crossed Malaysia’s northeast coast and headed out over the Gulf of Thailand. “We don’t know when the ACARS was switched off after that,” Ahmad Jauhari said. “It was supposed to transmit 30 minutes from

there, but that transmission did not come through.” FOCUS ON CREW The plane vanished from civilian air traffic control screens off Malaysia’s east coast less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian authorities believe that someone on board shut off its communications systems as the plane flew across the Gulf of Thailand. Malaysian police are trawling through the backgrounds of the pilots, flight and ground staff for any clues to a possible motive in what they say is now being treated as a criminal

investigation. Asked if pilot or co-pilot suicide was a line of inquiry, Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: “We are looking at it.” But it was only one of the possibilities under investigation, he added. Intensive efforts by various governments to investigate the backgrounds of everyone on the airplane had not, as of yesterday, turned up any information linking anyone to militant groups or anyone with a known political or criminal motive to crash or hijack the aircraft, U.S. and European security sources said. One source familiar with U.S. inquiries into the disappearance said the pilots were being studied because of the technical knowledge needed to disable the ACARS system. Many experts and officials say while the jet’s transponder can be switched off by flicking a switch in the cockpit, turning off ACARS may have required someone to open a trap door outside the cockpit, climb down into the plane’s belly and pull a fuse or circuit breaker. Whoever did so, had to have sophisticated knowledge of the systems on a 777, according to pilots and two current and former U.S. officials close to the investigation. Malaysian police special branch officers searched the homes of the captain, 53-yearold Zaharie Ahmad Shah, and first officer, 27-year-old Fariq Abdul Hamid, in middle-class suburbs of Kuala Lumpur

close to the international airport on Saturday. Among the items taken for examination was a flight simulator Zaharie had built in his home. A senior police official familiar with the investigation said the flight simulator programmes were closely examined, adding they appeared to be normal ones that allow users to practice flying and landing in different conditions. A second senior police official with knowledge of the investigation said they had found no evidence of a link between the pilot and any militant group. Some U.S. officials have expressed frustration at Malaysia’s handling of the investigation. As of yesterday morning the Malaysian government still had not invited the FBI to send a team to Kuala Lumpur, two U.S. security officials said. The FBI, which has extensive experience in investigating airplane crashes, and other U.S. law enforcement agencies have indicated they are eager to send teams to Kuala Lumpur, but will not do so unless formally invited. VAST SEARCH CORRIDORS Police and a multi-national investigation team may never know for sure what happened in the cockpit unless they find the plane, and that in itself is a daunting challenge. Satellite data suggests it could be anywhere in either of two vast corridors that arc through much of Asia: one stretching north from Laos to

the Caspian, the other south from west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra into the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia. Aviation officials in Pakistan, India, and Central Asian countries Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - as well as Taliban militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan - said they knew nothing about the whereabouts of the plane. China, which has been vocal in its impatience with Malaysian efforts to find the plane, called on its smaller neighbor to immediately expand and clarify the scope of the search. About twothirds of the passengers aboard MH370 were Chinese. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had spoken to Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak by telephone, and had offered more surveillance resources in addition to the two P-3C Orion aircraft his country has already committed. Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said diplomatic notes had been sent to all countries along the northern and southern search corridors, requesting radar and satellite information as well as land, sea and air search operations. The Malaysian navy and air force were also searching the southern corridor, he said, and U.S. P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft were being sent to Perth, in Western Australia, to help scour the ocean. NORTH OR SOUTH? Electronic signals between the plane and satellites continued to be exchanged for nearly six hours after MH370 flew out of range of Malaysian military radar off the northwest coast, following a commercial aviation route across the Andaman Sea towards India. The plane had enough fuel to fly for about 30 minutes after that last satellite communication, Ahmad Jauhari said. Twenty-six countries are involved in the search, stretching across much of Asia. A source familiar with official U.S. assessments of satellite data being used to try to find the plane said it was believed most likely it turned south sometime after the last sighting by Malaysian military radar, and may have run out of fuel over the Indian Ocean. The Malaysian government-controlled New Straits Times yesterday quoted sources close to the investigation as saying data collected was pointing instead towards the northern corridor.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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VCB scolds media, JADCO, Dereck Chisora and Tyson while offering advice to JAAA Fury in world title eliminator Jamaica Observer - A fully absolved Veronica Campbell Brown launched a scathing attack on the media, lambasted the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) and offered advice to the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) at a press conference last Friday. Campbell Brown, 31, who was exonerated from any doping violation last month by the sport’s highest body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), after it was said she failed a drug test last May, didn’t mince her words, but spoke with power and measured tranquility. “On June 3, 2013 I received the news no clean athlete expects to hear, that of an adverse analytical finding. After the initial shock, my team and I set out on a two-part mission — the clearing of my name and restoring my character, which the local media on the forefront, and the foreign press went about smearing,” said Campbell Brown. “I can only ask the local media to seek truth in their quest to be the first with the latest scoop. While I may have the spiritual strength and support to withstand your false

reporting, some boy or girl, if pulled in a similar situation, may not have the same strength and support team and could be emotionally destroyed by your false reporting,” she added. She continued: “What is another day of writing for you is another day of a person’s character and life you maliciously destroyed by your baseless reporting.” Veronica Campbell Brown, more commonly known as VCB, is one of Jamaica’s most decorated athletes. Bursting onto the scene in 1999 at the IAAF World Youth Championships and winning the 100m and the 4x100m relay, and copping the sprint double at the World Juniors in 2000, she became one of a handful of athletes to win gold medals at World Championships at the youth, junior and senior levels. She is also the second woman in history to win two consecutive Olympic 200m events in 2004 and 2008 for approximately 38 global medals. The UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador was not pleased with what she called JADCO’s outburst to the media, particularly the overseas press.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 ARIES (MAR. 21APRIL 20) Keep on your toes when dealing with others. You should get involved with activities that can be enjoyed by both young and old alike.

LIBRA (SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23) You should avoid getting involved in the personal problems of colleagues. You can make new connections through friends or relatives.

TAURUS (APR. 21MAY 21) Coworkers may not be completely honest with you; try not to rely on help from others. Time spent with family, children, or good friends will be regenerating and positive.

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 NOV. 22) Be ready to explain your actions. You should teach children some of your unique creative talents. Romantic encounters will be full of excitement.

GEMINI (MAY 22JUNE 21) You’ll feel much better when your slate is clean again. Hidden matters are likely to surface. Your mate may not be too sure about your intentions. CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) You’ll have great insight. You can’t make things better if you don’t know what to fix. You may want to make plans to take a vacation together. LEO (JULY 23-AUG 22) Your emotions may get the better of you. You can pick up some overtime today. Don’t hesitate to look for alternatives that will enable you to raise the kind of donations you need to do the job right. VIRGO (AUG. 23 SEPT. 23) Your fight for those less fortunate is not likely to end in sweet victory. Travel and creative hobbies will be your best outlet. Look into family outings or projects.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 -DEC. 21) You have been going through a period of change that no doubt caused problems with your loved ones. Don’t be afraid to talk to close friends or relatives about pressing personal problems. CAPRICORN (DEC 22. - JAN. 20) Don’t let the erratic behavior of someone you live with interfere with your professional performance. You should get into programs that will enhance your appearance and help you to be the best that you can. AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 FEB. 19) Keep on your toes when dealing with others. Stick to travel or do things in conjunction with groups. PISCES (FEB. 20-MAR. 20) Hide your cards and learn to say no. You can make a huge difference to children if you are able to put yourself in their shoes. You must deal with an emotional problem with your loved one that you have been avoiding for some time now.

BBC Sport - Dereck Chisora is to face Tyson Fury in a world title eliminator on 26 July. The fight will take place in Manchester with the winner going on to challenge IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Fury beat Chisora on points the last time they met, in 2011, and the bad blood between the pair since then has shown little sign of abating. “It will be good to make mincemeat of Chisora in front of my own people in Manchester,” said Fury. Speaking at a news conference to announce the fight, which will take place at the Manchester Arena, the 25-year-old added: “Chisora is what he looks like - a mug. “I’ve got more heart in my little finger than there is in the bodies of 10 Dereck Chisoras. He’s just cannon fodder and a high-level journeyman. “Dereck was beaten fair and square by a 22-year-old. Now I’m 25, a lot more experienced and with a lot better record. “The Chisora I faced the first time was a much better opponent than he is now. “His resistance has been worn down and there’s mileage on the clock. If you have a car with 120,000 miles you’re asking for it to blow up when you keep driving it down the motorway.” However, Chisora has promised fellow Englishman Fury he will be facing a different opponent to the flabby and unfit British and Commonwealth champion who was relieved of his belts in 2011. “A villain recognises another villain when he sees one,” Chisora said. “I’ve achieved so much since he beat me, while he hasn’t progressed at all. He’s four steps behind me now. “I know he’ll be mentally ready, but I have much more power than him. I’m looking for the knockout. “On my bad day he couldn’t knock me out, so imagine what will happen when I’m fit. I wasn’t fit and he couldn’t knock me out.” Promoter Frank Warren confirmed that he will be applying to make the bout a British title fight.

Tyson Fury (right) beat Chisora on points the last time they met, in 2011. (Getty Images)

Myburgh powers... Fropm page 33 Khurram Khan and keeper Swapnil Patil having added 67 off 52. Both were bowled in the 11th over by Tom Cooper trying late cuts with no room to play the stroke. Rohan Mustafa and Shaiman Anwar put together another partnership, worth 47, but UAE surrendered the advantage again, and there was no comeback from the lower order. Mustafa was run-out by a

direct hit from Borren and Anwar was yorked by Timm van der Gugten. UAE managed only 20 in the last four overs. They had still achieved what they were looking for at the start, but the Netherlands batting was to come good on the night when it mattered. Scores: Netherlands 152 for 4 (Myburgh 55, Tom Cooper 34*) beat UAE 151 (Khurram 31, Shaiman 32, Malik 3-16) by six wickets.

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Got To Go takes feature at Port Mourant Horserace meet Jumbo Jet stable triumphs again, Colin Ross is top Jockey Rose Mohammed of The Jumbo Jet Stable is all smiles as she collects the winning trophy in the feature C class event for Got To Go win.

Got To Go of the Jumbo Jet stable, which was guided by Colin Ross and running with a classification of D3, went all the way as it returned to winning ways. The animal carrying a weight of 108 pounds beat off a competitive field to take the feature C3 and lower 1700M event when the Port Mourant Turf Club in collaboration with the Horse Owners Association held a grand one day meet last Sunday at the Port Mourant Turf Club. Got To Go trained by Deonarine “Black Boy” Ramroop was out of the starting gates quickly with California Strike, the newly imported Jack is my Style, the Message and Milwaukee Blitz all in the running. Into the back stretch, there were some jostling and the contest looked wide open as the animals battled for the hefty $1M winnings up for grabs. But it was soon realized that the horse to beat was Got To Go as it again took the lead. Maintaining its composure and running well, the racehorse was pointing them into the homestretch as California Strike returned to challenge with C P Got Even came into the reckoning. However, Got To Go had enough in its tank to beat off California Strike and the fast finishing C.P Got Even to take the top prize compliments of Banks DIH Limited. Jack is My Style finished fourth. The 1300M race for three year old Maiden and West Indies bred horses saw Royal Empire of the Colin Elcock stable with R. Ramnauth on the hunch making sure the Elcock stables returned to winning ways in royal style. The animal blazed down the homestretch, bursting past front runner Release the Beast, I will Get Another and Quiet Dancer to take the $600,000 purse and trophy.

Quiet Strom of the Ramotar Stable with Ajai on the perch silenced its opponents with victory in the F and lower 1200M sprint to take the $500,000 winner’s money and trophy, from Appealing Harvest, Traditional Man and Mission King. The Jumbo jet stable was one two winners in the four year old 1700M race with Princess Alicia with Colin Ross, edging out It’s My Turn for the $500,000 top prize and trophy as Silent Night and Another Jet rounded out the money. Joyful Victory of the Jagdeo Stable with Trinidadian Nicholas Patrick took the $400, 000 and trophy winning the G3 and lower 1200M event from Quiet Storm, Silent Night and Monsoon. Cat Messiah of the Gansham Singh Stable with Paul Delph returned to winning ways as it took care of business in the ‘I’ class 1200M event, taking home the $ 250,000 first prize and trophy ahead of Mary Ann, Savion and I want Revenge. Windy Killer with Ramnauth won the J and lower 1000M race and the $200,000 and trophy. The top individual prizes on offer compliments of Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market and the organisers went to Jockey Colin Ross, the Jumbo Jet stable again rode away with the top stable accolade, while Deonarine “Black Boy” Ramroop and Sham “Short Man” Singh of the Jumbo Jet Stable the top trainers. Over $8.5M in prizes were at stake and some 80 horses entered for the event. The day’s event was incident free and the police lead by Cadet Officer Dufu was again commended for their excellent work. (Samuel Whyte)

All smiles as the connections of the Gansham Singh stable receives their Silverware for Cat Messiah Victory in the I and lower race.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

GMR&SC March 23 Race Meet...

Roshandin banking on recent upgrade to dominate on Sunday He knows what it takes to be a champion, having earned the accolade many times before, so when Group 2A and B driver Shairaz Roshandin takes to the track this weekend to participate in the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club Race Meet, those lined up against him on the grid should know that he has come fully prepared. Roshandin, who pilots a Honda Civic Type R machine speaking with this newspaper via telephone yesterday, spoke about his readiness and how much work has gone in to make the car more competitive and reliable. “After last November Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC), we realised that the Barbadians were much more superior than us so we knew right away that in order for us to dominate the two categories

we had to make some improvements and we immediately set about doing such and from an early testing we are satisfied with the results,” Roshandin said. He said one of the primary aims of the team is to be successful at the CMRC and to do so require constant upgrading of the car since there is always the need to generate more speed to combat the developments being made by the other drivers. The local speedster revealed that they have done a lot of work on the braking and suspension systems and the early prognosis seems to indicate that they will be much faster and clearly more competitive come Sunday, at the South Dakota Circuit. Asked to name a few who could potentially steal the spotlight from him,

Roshandin pointed to drivers such as Chet Singh, Raj Singh, Jad Rahaman, Andre Dhanraj and John Joseph as among those who he will have to watch closely. “At the CMRC I was doing lap times of 38.5 seconds, while the Bajans were hovering in the 38.4s so we understood right away that in order for us to eclipse their performances we had to make improvements and we’ve done so and ready to give the fans a real treat.” He extended thanks to the following sponsors: M.S Roshandin and TOTAL Lubricants, oil of the 2013 Formula 1 champion Sebastien Vettel of Germany. Twenty-seven races are listed for the day and spectators could expect a day of exhilarating racing among the best locally and regionally.

Fifa bans English footballers for life after match fixing in Australia BBC Sport - Two English footballers have been banned for life by Fifa after helping fix games in Australia for a global betting syndicate. Reiss Noel and Joe Woolley, both 24, pleaded guilty to conduct that corrupts a betting outcome in December. The pair, who played for Southern Stars in

the Victorian Premier League, were originally suspended by the Football Federation of Australia. A coach and two further players remain under indefinite bans by FFA. Fifa has pledged to tackle match fixing with a number of moves. “Fifa continues to work closely with its member

VCB boosts Vere Tech... From page 31 forward to seeing Vere at the top again and whatever I can do to contribute, it’s always my pleasure,” said Campbell Brown. The equipment was purchased at the Giscombe’s Sports Warehouse in Premier Plaza and was presented to Vere’s head coach, John Mair. “We just want to say how grateful [we are] so we can place it in our gym which has limited equipment. But as we go along, I hope a lot more past students can come along and contribute,” said Mair. Campbell Brown, who was recently exonerated from all doping violations, admitted that her recent ordeal cost her in excess of 90 per cent of her financial earnings, adding that the resulting ripple effect has affected her charities, most notably her Veronica Cambbell Brown Foundation that assist young women. But she was still able to contribute to her alma mater and will continue to provide for her Foundation as long as

she can. Campbell Brown, who led Vere Technical to the title in 2001 and still holds the 100m record with 11.12 seconds, is contemplating attending this year’s Champs, having resided overseas for a number of years. “I haven’t been to Champs for a while, but I haven’t decided yet, but I will look into it and see,” she told the Observer.

associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation,” the world governing body said in a statement. “As part of a 10-year programme of collaboration with Interpol, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while elearning programmes are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation. “Other initiatives include the signing of an integrity declaration by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via Fifa’s subsidiary Early Warning System and the setting up of an e-learning ethics tool, an integrity hotline and e-mail address and a confidential reporting system.”

Results from Queen’s College Inter Class football Following are the results of the Queen’s College Inter Class football tournament which was contested recently at the Queen’s College ground. 1 A Girls defeated 1 A D girls 1-0 on penalty, 1 B Boys overcame 1 C boys 2-0 through Christian Pile and Aseeb Alli efforts, 2 A boys got the better of 2 B boys 2-0 with Ashmar Angel and Azel Mannerlall scoring, 2 A girls and 4 D girls gained walkovers from 2 D and 3 C girls respectively. Trophies for the winning teams were donated by Lewis Enterprise, while the outstanding players will receive medals on Wednesday with the compliments of Gavin Hope, Trophy Stall Bourda Market, and Mrs. Henry. The competition was organized by Johnny Barnwell.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

Saheed Mohamed hits half century as Everest beat GYO Saheed Mohamed slammed a fine half century as host Everest Cricket Club defeated Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) by 38 runs in a specially arranged 35- over match on Saturday last. Everest took first strike and posted 203 all out in 29.2 overs. Mohamed stroked twelve fours in his 57, while Garfield De Roche claimed 4-33 and Wazeer Mohamed 2-22. GYO were bowled out for 165 in 28 overs in reply. Mohamed top scored with 55 with nine fours as Raphael Singh snared 4-31 and Saheed Mohamed 3-19.

Saheed Mohamed

VCB boosts Vere Tech with gym surprise

John Mair, head coach of Vere Technical High School, chats with Veronica Campbell Brown while sitting on a piece of exercise equipment she purchased for her alma mater at the Giscombe Sports Warehouse last Friday. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR) Jamaica Observer - IT has been 11 years since Vere Technical last won the ISSA Girls’ Championship and that time span is almost unbearable for Veronica Campbell Brown, the most decorated athlete to have walked its hallways. Although she doesn’t expect immediate success, Campbell Brown has donated weight training equipment that will certainly help to elevate her alma mater back to the glory days. “It’s been a long time that Vere has not won Champs and I really missed that

because we have such a competitive spirit at Vere Technical High School and such a rich history and so, I just hope that they can get back to winning streak, work hard, train hard and this machine is just a new addition to their programme and I know coach will put it to good use,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “I am not saying that this machine will get them there. But it will indeed help with their weights training and I am happy that I am able to help in that regard. I am looking (Continued on page 30)

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Revlon Lake starts his campaign for big bucks as ‘The Contender’ series commence Barbados based Guyanese boxer, Revlon Lake, is bristling with confidence as he prepares to enter the ring in a highly anticipated slugfest against Jamaican, Sakima Mullings at the Chinese Benevolent Centre, Jamaica when the Jamaica Boxing Board presents the second segment of the Contender Series tomorrow evening. Lake has been categorized in the yellow team’ while Mullings is placed in the Green Team. The tournament is being promoted by Wray and Nephew Contender and enters its fourth season; organizers have added a new twist and a Caribbean flavour to the boxing competition where the Green Team will comprise Jamaican boxers who will go up against the Yellow Team, which consists of boxers from the wider

Caribbean, Guyana, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. A total of eight Jamaican boxers including Mullings, Tsetsi ‘Lights Out’ Davis and Donovan ‘Police’ Campbell, under coach Carl Grant will do battle against Team Caribbean trained by Andrew Boland. The boxers will be competing for a share of J$3 million in prize money, with the winner of the Wray & Nephew Contender walking away with J$2 million and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Welterweight Boxer. The runner-up will receive J$500,000, third place will receive J$250,000 and fourth place, J$200,000. Meanwhile, Kaieteur Sport spoke with Lake yesterday afternoon and he said that he is ready for the bout. He said that the Guyanese contingent is currently residing in Cherry

Gardens, Kingston and conducts training sessions at the Browing Gym. “I am in good condition and ready to take on Mullings,” pronounced Lake. Lake is one of four local boxers that have travelled to Jamaica just over a week ago to participate in the tournament. The local team also consists of Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman, Gladwin Dorway and Derick Richmond, accompanied by local coaches, Joseph Murray, Mark Thom and Orlan ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers. Eon Jardine has also accompanied the team in the capacity of referee/judge. The team remains in the Island for approximately four months and will engage their counterparts of the host country, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Once a fighter loses, he will be ejected from the tournament but during

Pennetta beats injured Radwanska in Indian Wells final

Flavia Pennetta with the championship trophy after winning final match against Agnieszka Radwanska. (Jayne Kamin-OnceaUSA TODAY Sports)

“After so many years of working hard, this is the best moment.” Radwanska went into the match as a slight favorite but was unable to play near her best because of a knee injury that severely restricted her movement. She called for a medical timeout early in the second set and struggled to control her emotions at the ceremony. “I’m sorry I could run as much as I could,” she sobbed. “But I had a great week, it was my first final here. “It’s disappointing to lose but Flavia was just playing too good today.” Pennetta beat rising American Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals and Australian Open champion Li Na in the semis and was never in trouble against Radwanska. She chalked up 20 winners and saved both break points she faced as she

claimed the 10th singles title of her career and her first in four years. “After so many years and so much work and everything, this is the moment I’ve always waited for,” said Pennetta. “And it’s coming when you don’t expect it, because in the beginning of the week I never expected to be the champion or to be in the final or semifinal. “I was here and tried to play my best tennis...so for me it was something I was waiting a long time, and finally I have a good trophy in my hands.”

(Reuters) - Italy’s Flavia Pennetta captured the biggest title of her career on Sunday when she beat Poland’s ailing Agnieszka Radwanska in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. As Radwanska struggled with a knee injury, Pennetta cruised to a 6-2 6-1 victory in less than an hour and a quarter in the Californian desert. Better known as a doubles player, Pennetta had contemplated retiring last year after tumbling down the world rankings, but the veteran Italian has rediscovered the fountain of youth. She reached the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Open and has now won one of the biggest events outside the four grand slams. “Today was my day and I really enjoyed this moment,” Pennetta said at the trophy presentation.

their stay in Jamaica, will receive a weekly stipend to sustain them while all related expenses will be offset by the promoters. The remaining boxers on the Guyanese entourage continue training and will be in action soon. The other members of the Jamaican team are Kevin ‘Bus Boy’ Hylton, Ramel ‘Sub Zero’ Lewis, Richard ‘Frog’ Holmes, Derrick ‘Guts’ Spencer and Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford. Team Caribbean (Yellow) – Coach Andrew Boland: Gardel ‘The Judge’ Roberts (Guyana), Prince-Lee Isidore (Trinidad), Lake (Guyana), Christopher ‘Shaka’ Henry (Barbados), Derick ‘Dangerous’ Richmond (Guyana), Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman (Guyana), Gladwin ‘Tiger’ Dorway (Guyana) and Anthony Osborne (Jamaica).

For Radwanska, it was a forgetful day. The 25-year-old was chasing her 15th career title and her first in Indian Wells but never got into the match and was clearly limping at stages. “The disappointing feeling always comes first, especially when you really, really have ambition to win the tournament,” she said. “Of course, still good two weeks. First final here. Big event. And still good result. But it’s always disappointing that I really couldn’t play my 100 percent today.”

South NA Teachers defeat their North counterparts in feature football encounter 6-1 South New Amsterdam teachers defeated their North counterparts 6-1 in the feature football match of a triple header card that also included male and female teams. The games were organised by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) New Amsterdam Branch and Hearts of Oak Masters and

were played last Saturday evening under lights at the All Saints Scott Church ground. South’s demolition was led by Rocky Hudson with a triple and former Berbice player Colin Bowery with a double with Graham Thomas netting the other. Micah Erskine scored a late goal in injury time to save

face for South New Amsterdam. While the teacher’s game was lopsided, the school children encounters were more competitive. The boys match up was a bruising affair with the game ending in a 2-2 draw. Scoring for North were Steffon Boucher and Jeremy Samuels, while South got their

goals off the boots of Stafford Edwards and Orin Glen. In the female students encounter, North New Amsterdam defeated their South counterparts’ 21.Scoring for North were Taniean Savory and Marsha Narsaiah. South got their goal off the boot of Shantia Leacock.

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Tuesday March 18, 2014

‘Sugar’-less Raiders ground Jets; Ravens ‘tie-up’ Colts - Teams to clash in National Basketball C/ship Final

Ravens forward, Akeem Kanhai (airborne with ball) splits Colts’ defenders, Shelroy Thomas and Dave Causway for an uncontested jumper in the paint Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. By Edison Jefford Retrieve Raiders and Dyna’s Ravens will play for the National Division I Basketball title Sunday after winning their respective semifinal games at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the ‘Road to Mecca’ Nation-Wide Championships. Raiders, without Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts, who was unavailable owed to his work commitments, grounded Amelia’s Ward Jets 55-50, with Neil Marks stepping up to pour in 20 points and seven rebounds, while Louis James added 11 points and 10 rebounds. The ‘Sugar’-less Raiders overhauled an eight-

point third quarter Jets lead (40-32) to seize control of the game in the final quarter for the win. Centre, Shane Webster scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Alistair Webster added 11 points for Jets. In the second semi-final, Ravens displayed a high level of basketball IQ to ‘tieup’ Colts for a 71-68 win in the final minutes of an intense contest. The win for Georgetown’s Ravens set up a final showdown with Linden’s Retrieve Raiders on Sunday. Akeem Kanhai was at his best with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Ryan Stephney scored 13 points.

Raiders’ guard, Deval Wilson (left) blows to the glass for a lay-up against Amelia’s Ward Jets Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Dominic Vincente had 12 points while Jermaine Slater scored nine points, but racked in 16 rebounds for the top Georgetown club. Shelroy Thomas almost pulled off a remarkable win for Colts with his prolific scoring when he dropped 22 points. Forward Steve McSeen scored 13 points while Nikkoloi Smith added 12 and Nicko Fraser 10 points in a remarkable team effort. The game started with an up-tempo pace with both teams hitting jump shots, before Thomas put patrons at the Sports Hall on their feet with an up-and-under layup for a 10-9 lead with four minutes to play in first quarter,

which eventually ended 18-16 for Colts. Back-to-back lay-ups from Smith held Colts’ lead at 22-21 in the second period; down 24-25, Thomas drilled a three-point jumper midway through the period to continue to signal to Ravens that they will have to legitimately earn a place in the national final. However, Kanhai showed up with his usual offensive prowess to give Ravens a 3229 lead in the last minute before halftime. Thomas again set the near packed venue alit when he stepped behind the arc to land a big three-pointer that leveled the scores (32-32) at halftime.

But Ravens scored four unanswered points to start the third period strong, before Fraser finished a lay-up to again equalise. Then McSeen and Fraser went to work inside for Colts for a 6-0 run at the rim that gave the team a 40-36 lead before both teams exchanged points in a physical stretch that produced a 46-45 result for Colts and the end of third period. Ravens again fired to start the last quarter when Stephney nailed a three-point jumper and Kanhai finished a lay-up for a 50-46 lead. However, Thomas responded with a big threepointer that cut the lead. The game was on!

Colts remained in the game until the last half of the fourth quarter when Vincente drained a huge shot from downtown to give Ravens a 60-59 lead with four minutes to play. Ravens then seized the momentum for a run with Slater finishing a put-back and Vincente effectively tightening the noose around the necks of Colts with another three-point jumper. Ravens produced a fastbreak play with Kanhai finishing a one-handed dunk for a 10-point 69-59 lead with a minute to play in the game. Colts added four points in seven seconds within the final minute, but it was not enough to pull back Ravens.

Large turn out to 1st Annual Thompson’s Reunion and Sports day A sea of national colours filled the National Park yesterday, as colorfully dressed relatives of the Thompson family held its first annual Family Reunion and Fun Day. The event which attracted some 300 odd family members were well supported

by family members, which came from across Guyana decked out in the country’s national colours. According to one of the organizers, Desiree ‘Baby’ Nurse, the family members used the event to familiarize themselves with other

relatives while engaging in a number of sporting events, which according to Nurse is geared at bringing out their athletic skills and abilities. Nurse said that it also afforded them to enjoy the sights and sounds of the diverse culture of the

Keisha Thornton outsprinting the field in winning her race comfortably.

Guyanese people while showcasing the family and united skills and culture of the family members who turned out in their numbers. The event, which according to Nurse will be an annual event, got into full swing with a two children’s race, while the young lady’s race was win by Keisha Thornton with Benjamin Nicholas taking the male version in fine style. Both races produced electrifying results with Thornton winning comfortably and Benjamin edging his cousin Ryan Nicholas in a close finish. Several other sporting events were contested among them including two major cricket matches which consisted of a 10/10 and a six over tapeball match which was keenly contested by a numbers of relatives. Fueled by sentimentality, the family members also engaged in a football match, lime and spoon races and a Plus size race for women. In

Organisers Sharon Bayley (left) and Desiree Nurse. the first match the older Thompson’s generation was bowled out for a meager 14 in 4.5 overs in the 6 over affair, while the runs were easily knocked off in 3.2 overs from the younger Thompson’s generation. Nurse who expressed satisfaction with the turn out and urged all in attendance to ensure that for next year’s event the turnout would be much greater stating that it’s

imperative that they remain in touch and knowledgeable with each other. “As we continue to grow older it’s important that as we get more children that we keep them aware of what and who they need to know within the family,” she reiterated. The Thompsons represents off springs from Benjamin Thompson who was originally from Suriname but migrated to Guyana.

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Ireland beat Zimbabwe Myburgh powers in T20 opener Netherlands to six-wicket win

Paul Stirling’s 34-ball 60 propelled Ireland to a three-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Sylhet © ICC BBC Sport - Ireland clinched a dramatic last-ball win over Zimbabwe in their World Twenty20 opener in Bangladesh. Zimbabwe were going at almost 10 runs an over before eventually posting 163-5 from

their 20 overs. Paul Stirling’s quick-fire 60 put Ireland in control as they entered the final over needing four runs to win. But, after losing two wickets, Stuart Thompson needed to scamper through for a single off the final ball to give his side a three-wicket victory. It is the second time Ireland have upset a Test-playing nation on St Patrick’s Day, having beaten Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup. Ireland appeared to be cruising towards their target of 164 after opener Paul Stirling’s 34-ball 60. The Middlesex right-hander hit nine boundaries and a six as he and captain William Porterfield (31) put on 80 runs for the opening wicket. Tinashe Panyangara then brought Zimbabwe back in the game with two wickets in the 15th over. The swing bowler, who was taken for 18 in his first over by Stirling, also dismissed the dangerous Kevin O’Brien (17) before returning to deliver the final six balls with Ireland needing just four runs for the win. Ed Joyce (20) fell to Panyangara and Max Sorensen was run out off successive balls as Ireland looked in danger of throwing victory away. But Thompson managed to scamper a bye off the last delivery as Zimbabwean wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor missed a run out. Earlier, Taylor had hit six fours and two sixes as he scored 59 off 46 balls for Zimbabwe after his side had been put in. Elton Chigumbura hit 22 off 13 balls, including two sixes in the last over, to take Zimbabwe to a competitive total after spinners George Dockrell (2-18) and Andy McBrine (2-26) restricted them in the middle overs. Meanwhile, as the top eight teams began their warm-up games, Pakistan beat New Zealand by six wickets in Mirpur. Scores: Ireland 164-7 (20 overs) beat Zimbabwe 163-5 (20 overs) by three wickets.

ESPNcricinfo - Peter Borren will not have any reason to be “pi**ed off” with his batsmen tonight, the way he had been after they had blown potentially winning positions in both their warm-up matches. When it came to the game that counted, Netherlands, led by their openers, made short work of a potentially tricky target of 152. Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart took on from where Paul Stirling and William Porterfield had left off earlier in the evening. Ireland had been 61 for 0 after the first six overs of their chase. The Netherlands openers did even better, taking 67 off the fielding restrictions. By the time Swart top-edged a pull to midwicket, Netherlands needed 83 from 80 balls. Myburgh kept going on, and it needed a suicidal dash for a single to send him back at the midway stage for 55 off 36, with 59 needed from the remaining ten overs. Myburgh had set about UAE right from the opening over, as Manjula Guruge went for 34 in his first three overs. UAE’s seamers did not have the pace to trouble the batsmen but they kept pitching it back of a good length and Myburgh, especially, kept pulling them for fours and sixes. He went so hard at the ball that even a couple of top-edges flew over the wicketkeeper for boundaries. Amid Myburgh’s assault on Guruge, Swart went after left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva, taking 16 in his second over after a tight first one. A short ball was muscled over midwicket and the fuller one next up was sent soaring over the straight boundary. Although Netherlands had imploded from similar positions in the practice games, there was no looking back after such a start this time. Helped along by a few chances put

Stephan Myburgh struck seven fours and two sixes in his 36-ball 55 © ICC down by UAE, Netherlands cruised home in the 19th over. Wesley Barresi and the late, controversial replacement Tom Cooper ensured the openers’ efforts weren’t frittered away and also avoided the kind of late stress Ireland had managed to build for themselves (although Borren did fall cheaply in the 18th over, needlessly ramping a shortish ball to third man). The game was effectively taken away from UAE by the Netherlands openers, but they would think they should have got more than the 151 they did after choosing to bat. Despite the early loss of their openers, UAE were 79 for 2 in the 11th over, captain (Continued on page 29)

Series win shows Windies have what it takes - Gibson BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) - West Indies’ recent series win against England has provided head coach Ottis Gibson with the biggest indication yet, that his side can retain the Twenty20 World Cup. While acknowledging the difficult nature of the task at the March 16 to April 6 tournament in Bangladesh, Gibson said the 2-1 win over England last week had been instrumental in showing that the Windies possessed the mettle in each department to

mount a serious defence of their title. “We know it’s going to be a tough job to retain the World Cup but from the last three games (against England), we’re in a good place at the moment,” Gibson said. “The batting is in a good place. It’s good to see (Lendl) Simmons getting runs. In the first game it was Marlon Samuels and Chris (Gayle), it was Simmons, (Dwayne) Bravo and (Darren) Sammy in the middle game so everybody is

Sparendaam Station MC Softball set for Sunday

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parendaam Station Management committee will stage a 10 overs softball tournament at Hope Community Centre ground starting from 09:00 hrs on Sunday. Entrance fee is $15,000 and the winning team will receive a trophy and $100,000 and the runner up a trophy and $50,000. The finals will be played under lights. Teams can contact Rafman Khan on 654-2233 or Mr. Wong on 670-6731.

getting an opportunity to find some form. “The group is gelling well also so once we get over there and get ourselves settled, the players are well aware of the opportunity in front of them to do something really special.” West Indies won the first two matches of the T20 series convincingly, capturing the first by 27 runs and following up two days later with a five-wicket triumph at Kensington Oval here. And even though the Windies lost the final game by five runs, the contest came down to the final over, and could have gone either way. Gibson said the series had been invaluable in helping his side to gauge their progress in all departments. “This series has given us an opportunity to sit down as coaches and what we will do now is look at where we need

to tweak the bowling, what we need to look at in the batting and where we need to improve as a fielding team,” he pointed out. West Indies won the T20 World Cup two years ago when they beat host Sri Lanka in the final. Boasting an array of international T20 stars like Gayle, Bravo and off-spinner Sunil Narine, the Windies will again start the tournament as one of the favourites. Key to any successful campaign will be the wiles of Narine who was outstanding against England, and who produced an astonishing spell in the 2012 final, to hand West Indies the title. “Looking at Bangladesh and the conditions we’re likely to face there, spin is likely to play a massive part and it’s good for us that we’ve got two outstanding spinners (Narine and Samuel Badree),” Gibson noted.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy addresses a press conference. “Marlon (Samuels) has bowled well [in the England series], Chris hasn’t bowled but he’s also capable of bowling and when you mention seam and you look at what (Krishmar) Santokie has done in the two games, he’s been doing it all his career in the Caribbean so

hopefully he will take a lot of confidence into the tournament.” West Indies will play in Group B alongside India, Pakistan and Australia, and another side which will be determined following the qualifying phase of the tournament.

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Tuesday March 18, 2014

Dick’s five guides Grove Hi Tech to big win over Herstelling

Stag Beer/EBFA Division One League

Joel Dick (3rd right) on the attack against Herstelling.

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oel Dick banged in five goals for Grove Hi Tech yesterday leading his team to a big 8-0 win over Herstelling Football Club when play in the Stag Beer/East Bank Football Association division-one league continued at the Grove Playfield. Grove and Dick wasted no time in getting down to

business with the first goal coming three minutes into the match. Dick was on target again in the 6th, 23rd and 29th minute, netting all the goals in the first half. The young Herstelling side tried their best to keep the rampaging Grove side at bay for some time in the second half but could not stop the flow of goals once Grove got into the act again

in a game that was reduced to 70 minutes. Breaking the deadlock was Anthony Griffith in the 45th minute. Tybert Muir got his name unto the score sheet in the 60th minute, seven minutes later it was Shelton Joe who was on target. As the game started, so it ended with Dick slamming in his fifth goal and Grove’s eight to seal a big win for the

home team. It was Herstelling’s second loss of the league by that margin,

suffering a similar fate to Agricola. The win for Grove move them up to the third

place in the points table while Herstelling remain without a point.

Wolf’s 58th birth anniversary softball tourney

Talechandra guides Wolf’s Warriors to victory

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i s h n u Ta l e c h a n d r a stroked six sixes and five fours in a top score of 71 as Wolf’s Warriors defeated Speed Boat XI by nine wickets to claim the Wolf’s 59th birth anniversary 12 overs softball tournament yesterday at GNIC ground. Chasing 134 for victory, Wolf’s Warriors from the West Coast of Demerara reached their target in 9.3 overs. Talechandra and Ricardo Adams put their team on course with an opening stand of 120 before Adams was dismissed for 47 with four sixes and three fours. Amrit Rai was not out on six when victory was achieved. Earlier, Speed Boat XI, who drew the bye to the final, batted first and was guided to 133-6 off their allotted 12 overs mainly through Shazim Karim who

Members of the winning Wolf’s Warriors team display their trophy after their victory with representatives of the sponsor.

scored 52 and Narine George 24. Narine Bailey grabbed 218 for the winners. Bailey received the best bowler award and Talechandra the most outstanding batsman

prize. Wolf ’s Warriors pocketed a trophy and $130,000. Wo l f ’s Wa r r i o r s overcame Memorex of Berbice by two wickets in

the lone semifinal contested earlier. Memorex batted first and scored 102-8 in 12 overs with Roy Jafferally getting 39; Bailey and Diaram Persaud captured two

w i c k e t s e a c h . Wo l f ’s Warriors encountered some nervous moments before they eventually won the game in nine overs ending on 103-8. Azad Azeez led with

42 not out; Andrew Percival took 2-11. Frontline Rangers beat Super Star by five runs in the Over-40 final. Frontline Rangers took first strike and posted 156-4 off their allocation of 15 overs. Mohamed Rafeek slammed 69 and Mahendra Arjune 31. Super Star were bowled out for 151 in 15 overs in reply. Jagdesh Persaud scored 41 and Sunil Khan chipped in with 29 as Michael Safie snared 3-22, Asif Safie 2-14, Mohamed Rafeek 2-34 and Rudy Rodrigues 2-34. Rafeek Alli took the best bowler prize and Mohamed Safie the best batsman trophy. Frontline collected a trophy. The competition was sponsored by Imran Hussain of Wolf’s Furniture store of L e o n o r a , We s t C o a s t Demerara. (Zaheer Mohamed)

Tuesday March 18, 2014

Kaieteur News

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Qualafon Guyana win MSC Corporate cricket tourney Beat Upper Level Barbers in final

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ualafon Guyana romped to an emphatic 10wicket victory in fading light against The Upper Level Barbers in the Final of the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) Noble House Seafoods Corporate 15-15 Cricket Tournament fundraising cricket tournament yesterday at the MSC ground in Thomas Lands. Played in sultry conditions, Qualafon’s openers Kelon Carmichael and Marcus Watkins tore into the opposition bowlers in the grand finale of the four-team tournament, galloping to 58 without loss from four overs in reply to the 57-3 posted by Upper Level in a game reduced to 10 overs per side due to time constraints. Skipper Carmichael smashed six fours and a six in his unbeaten 31 while Watkins’ 17 was decorated with two fours and a six.

Larry Smith top scored with 15 while former National player Lennox Cush hit two fours in 12 and ex-West Indies under-19 left-hander Kwame Cross pulled former Guyana under-19 pacer Seon Daniels for a six on top of MSC Pavilion and followed it up with a boundary in his 13, being the only batsmen to reach double figures as Daniels ended with 2-11. Qualafon Guyana, which included former West Indies fast bowler Colin Stuart, received the Noble Seafoods Trophy for their effort. National Park BBC, a team which comprises a group of entrepreneurs and media officials who come together daily at the National Park for physical activity and Wartsila Operations were the other teams in the competition, but both teams lost their matches yesterday. The tournament was held

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! Qualafon Guyana Captain Kelon Carmichael receives the Noble House Seafoods Trophy from MSC’s Teresa Pemberton as his team share the moment. to foster camaraderie and encourage physical activity among Corporate Guyana and to raise funds for Malteenoes’ developmental drive. Each team had the presence of guest cricketers

to bolster their ranks. Stuart and Carmaichael (Qualafon), Cush & Jermaine Neblette (Upper Level Barbers), Roderick Lovel & Paul Castello (Nat Park BBC) and Neil Barry,

Sean Holder and Troy Lewis (Wartsila) all came out of retirement to don their whites for the worthy cause. The tournament which attracted a ‘who is who’ of former National cricketers

and others sporting personalities, was sponsored by Noble House Seafoods, Star Party Rental and Friends of Malteenoes and was deemed a success by the Organisers. (Sean Devers)

Pistorius knew South African Djokovic beats Federer gun safety rules, court told IN INDIAN WELLS FINAL

Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius takes notes as he sits in the dock during his trial for the murder . REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko PRETORIA (Reuters) Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius, on trial for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was aware of South African firearms and self-defence laws that say you cannot shoot at an intruder unless your life is in danger, a court heard on Monday. Testifying on day 11 of the trial, firearms instructor Sean Rens read out a gun license test passed by the track athlete, who shot dead Steenkamp through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year. One of the questions asked whether a homeowner was allowed to open fire on burglars on the other side of a security gate. Pistorius answered: “No”, Rens, who taught Pistorius gun safety and sold him

weapons, told the court. Asked in the test about the legal basis for using lethal force, Pistorius answered: “The attack must be against you, a person and be unlawful.” In answer to another scenario, Pistorius replied: “No, life is not in danger.” Pistorius also made clear that a gun-owner should never shoot unless he was knew what he was shooting at, and what lay behind the target: “Know your target and what lies beyond,” Rens said, quoting Pistorius’answer. The Paralympic gold medalist, known as the “Blade Runner” on account of his carbon-fiber prostheses, denies the murder charge, saying he shot Steenkamp in a tragic accident after mistaking her, through the door, for a nighttime intruder.

Rens also told the court of an incident, related to him by Pistorius, in which the athlete heard noises in his house and went into “code-red or combat mode” only to find the source of the disturbance was a washing machine. At the time, Pistorius joked on his Twitter account of having gone into “full attack recon mode in the pantry” after thinking an intruder was in his home. Rens also testified that Pistorius had ordered seven firearms - including an assault rifle and a Smith and Wesson 500 revolver, one of the world’s most powerful handguns - although the orders were cancelled shortly after Steenkamp’s death. The testimony is likely to back the prosecution’s attempts to depict Pistorius as a gun-obsessed hot-head. Pistorius’ lower legs were amputated as a baby but he overcame the disability to become the “fastest man on no legs”, running on artificial limbs to win gold medals at the Beijing and London Paralympics. He also reached the 400 meters semi-finals at the London Games, competing against able-bodied athletes.

(Reuters) - Novak Djokovic beat his old rival Roger Federer 3-6 6-3 7-6(3) on Sunday to win a nailbiting BNP Paribas Open final at Indian Wells and capture his first title of 2014. The Serbian overcame a shaky start when he dropped his opening service game, then survived a nervous finish when he failed to serve out the match at the first attempt before finally sealing victory in the tiebreaker. “Today was an incredible match,” Djokovic said after being presented with the winner’s crystal trophy. “It was an incredibly difficult match. Roger is playing great and it’s always a pleasure playing with him.” The thrilling victory gave Djokovic his third championship in the Californian desert tournament and lifted his career tally to 42 titles. It was Federer’s first loss in a final at Indian Wells after he had previously won a record four times. But the 32-year-old showed he was anything but a spent force as he went toe to toe with the best hardcourt player in the world. “Personally, I’m very happy. I think I’m playing great tennis now and I’m really enjoying myself,” Federer said. “Of course, I

Novak Djokovic (SRB) with the championship trophy after winning the BNP Paribas Open against Roger Federer (SUI) at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Djokovic won 6-3, 3-6, 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports would have liked to have more won a few more points at the end but Novak made it tough, so congratulations to him for winning.” Federer reached the final without dropping a set and made a flying start against Djokovic, in their 33rd career meeting. Despite Sunday’s loss, Federer leads their head to head record 17-16. Djokovic double-faulted twice in his opening service game as his Swiss opponent snatched the early break and went on to take the first set in 31 minutes. Djokovic made a much

better start to the second set, winning the opening point with an ace right down the middle, then broke Federer’s serve in the eighth game to lead 5-3. He served out the set then broke Federer early in the third and had the chance to serve out the match when he led 5-4. But with Federer chipping and charging from the baseline, Djokovic cracked. Roared on by the crowd, Federer tied the set at 6-6 to force a tiebreak, but Djokovic regained his composure to clinch the title after almost two and a quarter hours.

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